Sounds of Summer: Rhye
15/06/2013 § Leave a Comment
I’m a fool for that shake in your thighs
I’m a fool for that sound in your sighs
I’m a fool for your belly
I’m a fool for you love
I wanna make this plain
Oh, I know your faded
Mm, but stay, don’t close your eyes
I wanna make this plain
Oh, I know your faded
Mm, but stay, don’t close your eyes
I’ll admit that Rhye had me going from the opening notes of “Open,” the song you see excerpted above, but when I got down deeper into the honesty of the lyrics and the simplicity of the soul music this Canadian and Danish duo who are currently based in LA. For me, Rhye takes the best parts of R&B and soul, mixes it with a bit of down-tempo house and creates a sound that at once reminds me of the West Coast, but also something a bit more cinematic. It’s on heavy rotation lately, and if you have Spotify, give it a try via the player below or this link.
What are you listening to lately? Would love your recommendations!
Quite Continental Charm School: Day 7 – Listen to Records
07/02/2013 § 2 Comments
The Quite Continental Charm School
A modern guide to creating a charmed life
Heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis listening to a Victrola, 1940.
Taken by William C. Shrout for Life Magazine.
Day 7: Listen to Records
Growing up, I can distinctly remember my parents’ fancy stereo system. It seems funny to think of its individual units and its cabinet with the glass door where it resided, especially when I consider the way we generally experience music today: increasingly smaller and usually on the go. It’s somewhat akin to the difference between an iPad and those old computers that used to take up an entire room. The turntable had a place of honor, atop a special sliding shelf so you could pull out the unit, lift the glass lid and play a record. It also had its own special accessories, my favorite item being the little wooden handled record brush that looked like a chalkboard eraser. Records were special. We kids weren’t allowed to touch the stereo, but we were especially not allowed to take the records out of their protective cardboard sleeves. Even the records that were bought for us!
I may be dating myself here, but my very first “real” stereo also had a turntable, accessible through a lid on the top, along with a double tape deck and a radio. At the time, I had plenty of cassettes, but I didn’t have a record collection. I regarded it as something of a non-essential additional feature until my father discovered an old cache of his records and my mother’s 45s in the garage. From my mother I got Motown, from my father I got the Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel and the Doors. The 12 year-old me was in heaven.
While music recording has no doubt become cleaner and amplification systems have become more refined, there is something irresistible about the sound of a needle being placed on a record — that crackling white noise is almost like a drum roll for whatever aural delight is about to come next. For today’s lesson, I’d like to suggest that you to round up a few albums and spend some time like Joe in the picture above. Today I still have a small collection, consisting mostly of classic jazz singers and a bit of Maria Callas. Spending an evening with them instantly transports me to another time. Nothing else really compares, not even mp3 recordings of records. You have to enjoy that unmistakeable sound of the turntable live — just don’t forget your record brush.
The Quite Continental Charm School
A modern guide to creating a charmed life
Quite Continental Mix V: Let It Snow
19/12/2012 § 2 Comments
Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra with their daughters Gail and Nancy, 1967.
I will admit that I am something of a closet Christmas music listener, but only of a very specific type of Christmas music. Mostly, they have to be the kind of songs that I can picture Dean Martin singing, while he leans over the back of an upright piano with holiday cocktail in hand (and any exceptions to this rule are simply for nostalgia’s sake). So I’ve thrown together a little holiday playlist on Spotify for you that features Dino, Frank, Sammy, Ella, Bing, Nat, as well as a few newer selections that just felt right. I hope you enjoy it. You can access it via the player above or this link.
You can also find my previous playlists here.
Girlcrush || Solange in South Africa
13/12/2012 § 1 Comment
When it comes to the Knowles sisters, it shouldn’t surprise you that I’ve been a fan of big sister Beyoncé from the very start. You just knew that those other – and oft rotated – Destiny’s Children weren’t long for this world, that B was itching for her Diana Ross moment in the spotlight. Now, I definitely love me some divas, but you have to admit that there’s something sort of conventional (and maybe even a bit boring) about the establishment: big hair, red carpet beauty, belted ballads, an affinity for sparkles, etc.
Which is why I think Solange, the younger Knowles, is so much more interesting. A frequent experimenter with her own personal style and something of a slowly burning girlcrush, Solange has officially evolved into the Knowles sister I’d much rather hang with. She pretty much sealed the deal with her video for “Losing You,” which was brought to my attention by a good friend who noted that Solange appeared to be channeling me. Shot in Cape Town, featuring some very dandy Sapeurs (an interesting group of men I mentioned awhile back), as well as a wardrobe that you know I fell in love with immediately, the synth-y groove of the song is almost like an added bonus. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Video directed by Melina Matsoukas.
Photo taken by Daniele Tamagni, via Pitchfork.
Quite Continental Mix IV: Daddy’s Girl
23/10/2012 § Leave a Comment
As long as I can remember, my father has always had a guitar in the house. A member of a garage band when he met my mother, he’d frequently pick at his pretty Guild with its sunburst finish while we watched television that he wasn’t all that interested in, giving our TGIF sitcoms a folksy soundtrack (which we loudly complained about). But when I was about 13, I decided that I wanted to learn how to play the guitar, too. My father, delighted, promptly bought me a classical guitar of my own, showed me a few chords and then gave me all of the dog-eared songbooks he had: Crosby, Stills and Nash, The Eagles, Simon & Garfunkel, etc.
Ultimately, the guitar didn’t take, but the music definitely did. And this fall, I’ve been surrounding myself with the kind of music that reminds me of my Dad — rock with notes of folk and country, singer-songwriters with distinctively smoky voices, and more than a little melancholy. I’ve even included the first song that my Dad tried to teach me on my guitar: “Helplessly Hoping” by Crosby, Stills and Nash. Also featuring Dan Auerbach, The Allman Brothers Band, Ray LeMontagne, Ryan Bingham, The Avett Brothers, and The Head And The Heart, among others, it’s just as good for pensive drives in the country to look at the turning foliage, as it is for Sunday mornings with a steaming hot cup of coffee and a big fat newspaper or two. I hope you enjoy it.
You can find it via the player embedded above or via this link.
Image via the US National Archives.
Throwback Thursday || Autumn in New York
11/10/2012 § 1 Comment
Holy smokes! Where’ve ya been, kid?
Guilty as charged! I’ve definitely been quiet this week, and I’ve got to chalk it up to autumn in New York, which is quietly unfurling its beautiful self with cool evenings, hot toddys, falling leaves and flannel bathrobes. I’ve slipped down a few rabbit holes these last few days, of the cultural, literary, culinary, musical, and cinematic kind, which I am looking forward to sharing with you very soon. But today, I am forced to beg your forgiveness for being a wayward parent as of late. I’m hoping a gorgeous rendition of Autumn in New York by Sarah Vaughn might help me win you back…
Autumn in New York
Why does it seem so inviting
Autumn in New York
It spells the thrill of first-nighting
Glittering crowds and shimmering clouds
In canyons of steel
They’re making me feel
I’m home
It’s autumn in New York
That brings the promise of new love
Autumn in New York
Is often mingled with pain
Dreamers with empty hands
May sigh for exotic lands
It’s autumn in New York
It’s good to live it again
Throwback Thursday || Stormy Weather
04/10/2012 § 1 Comment
Throwback Thursday || American Girl
20/09/2012 § Leave a Comment
Little known fact: I went through a serious Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers phase when I was about 13. For some reason, I’ve spent much of the week revisiting some of their older stuff, with this song making a repeat appearance. It’s a song that inspires a delicious sort of restless energy. Immediately makes you want to dance and is perfection on a road trip. Drop the windows and turn it to 11 — you’ll see. The fact that it was written in and inspired by the San Fernando Valley – no, all that University of Florida stuff is an urban legend – the place where I spent my formative years, is the perfect icing for my nostalgia cake.
I’d also like to award honorable mentions for other a few other Americans, namely Tunes (so beautiful!), Women, Boys, Idiots, and Pie.
Quite Continental Mix III: Move It
06/08/2012 § 2 Comments
“I just want to play ball.”
London 2012 has definitely been the year of the woman. I am over the moon at how the stories of Franklin, Soni, May-Treanor/Walsh Jennings, Rhode, the Williams sisters, Richards-Ross, the 38-0 record of the US women’s basketball team, and, my personal favorite, Gabby “USA Gold” Douglas, have dominated the headlines. And while I may be a bit old to start my Olympic career, I’m really hopeful that the little girls watching this summer — like my nine year-old niece who really loves gymnastics — are inspired to push for Olympic gold.
For those of us who are a little older, but have nonetheless been similarly inspired to improve upon our own personal bests, I’ve put together a mix of songs guaranteed to power you through a few extra miles. Or maybe your commute to work. While some prefer running to books on tape (books on mp3…?) I’ve always been a bit dance-heavy in my workout soundtracks. Throw in some Beyoncé, a few rock anthems and a bit of 80s, and I’m good to go. I hope you enjoy it. It is a Spotify playlist that can be accessed via the player embedded below, or this link.
So get on out there and play ball.
Quite Continental Mix II
18/07/2012 § 5 Comments
- Francoise Hardy — Le temps de l’amour
- DJ Cam & Anggun — Un Eté à Paris
- Serge Gainsbourg — Cha cha cha du loup
- Nina Simone — Feeling Good
- Gotan Project & Thelonius Monk — Round About Midnight
- Charles Aznavour — Je M’voyais Déjà
- Bitter: Sweet — Dirty Laundry
- Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald — Summertime
- Yves Montand — Pour faire le portrait d’un oiseau
- Shirley Bassey — Where do I begin? (Away Team mix)
- Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse — Valerie
- Peggy Lee — Fever
- Duffy — Warwick Avenue
- Nina Simone — Lilac Wine
- Stan Getz, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Astrud Gilberto — Corcovado
- Billie Holiday — Speak Low (Bent remix)
- Sammy Davis Jr. — The Lady is a Tramp
A mix that is a little French, a little jazzy and features more than a few of my favorite divas (Dame Shirley Bassey! Nina!). This time around, I wanted to hear the old with the new, so along with the classics, you will notice a few remixes by Gotan Project and Verve, and a few new songs, a few selections by Stéphane Pompougnac (sidenote: did you hear the rumor about Hôtel Costes settling into Tribeca? Yes please!) — but nothing too dancey. Perfect for a sultry summer evening. Enjoy.
You may have also noticed this is my first Spotify playlist, which you can access via the embedded player above, or this link. Let me know if you have any problems with either, yes? And, you can find Mix I here.
*Updated: I also created an abbreviated version of this playlist on 8tracks.com if you don’t/can’t use Spotify. I wasn’t aware Spotify is unavailable outside of the US! Find it here.*
Photo of Lena Horne, singing in Paris in 1947, taken by Yael Joel for Life Magazine.
