Montt Mardie and Other Business

We here at The World Forgot need to apologize for having spotty reporting over the last week. But that being said and out in the open, it's only about to get worse. You see, the reason that we've been posting less and less is that our trip to Everest Base Camp is soon approaching and we've been scavenging extra money and camping gear and we haven't really had time to sit down and write a proper post. [And this hardly qualifies as one]

So we will be gone for almost two weeks soon as we travel to set our eyes upon the roof of the world. In the meantime you should really check out some points of interest.

First of all take a gander at what Al Gore has done. His documentary is masterful, Oscar worthy, and quite humorous even if being a bit idealistic. Check out his site and watch the movie, An Inconvenient Truth. [In other related news, I'm beginning to hate America more and more.]

Then listen to the following tunes and contemplate eternity. You deserve a break from the pace you've been setting and Montt Mardie is here to provide your ears with a little sonic goodness.

mp3 : Montt Mardie - Hacienda
mp3 : Montt Mardie - 1969

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The Curtains

According to their page over at Asthmatic Kitty, The Curtains used to play "very short songs, like quiet little lists of musical ideas." And I feel like I agree that this is still the realm of eccentric pop that The Curtains inhabits. The songs come across a bit as if they're unfinished. As if they started with one idea but then were distracted by every other sound bouncing around in their heads. At the end of the day the music sounds cozy, if not entirely coherent, or cohesive for that matter.

mp3 : The Curtains - Go Lucky

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Smashing Pumpkins

Like almost anyone who grew up in the Mid West I had an undying passion for anything and everything that came out of Billy Corgan's mind during the middle of the nineties. Here's an older song from his band, Smashing Pumpkins, that feels perfect to start your weekend with.

Stay safe this weekend, but don't forget to have fun.

In other news the rumor is still around that Mr. Corgan is reforming the band, dropping a new album, and beginning tour extensively. Here's to hoping that some rumors are true and that Jimmy Chamberlain is really on board.

mp3 : Smashing Pumpkins - Obscured

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Shapes and Sizes

While Googling this band I got quite a laugh at one of the hits on the front page of Google. Let's just say that it was a website all about finding your correct bra size and we'll leave it at that. All that aside Shapes and Sizes have a very unique, and quite eclectic sound. They might qualify as an acquired taste, but that's only because their songs can be so varied and schizophrenic within a five minute run time. For a quick example of what their music might look like in a visual representation you don't have to look any further than their website's first image. It's a table full of pictures of the band members which produces this slightly awkward, yet structured and highly artistic, vision of the group. I feel like that's what their sound is like too. A bit of hodgepodge, a dash or so of completely random creativity, but overall a sense that they are in control of the sound they produce. And that sound is something to be experienced.

mp3 : Shapes and Sizes - Islands Gone Bad

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Will Ferrell and The Best Picture Ever

We all thought that this was easily one of the best pictures, ever, of anyone, no matter reality you choose to live in. Enjoy. It really is quite amazing.

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Radiohead

I can't remember where I found this slightly rare Radiohead track, but it is worth the download and the listen. Even if just for the novelty of hearing Radiohead cover Neil Young. To be quite honest this isn't my favorite Radiohead track, but we're not all about only listing our favorite music here. Sometimes it's best to bring you your favorite music too. Enjoy.

mp3 : Radiohead - Cinnamon Girl (Neil Young Cover)

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Rafter

Over at Asthmatic Kitty they claim that Rafter is a musician who has no fear. And that might well be true. If you look closely at this picture you'll see that he's busy driving, but maybe more busy simply not caring. He is wearing a seat belt, though, and that does a little to take away from the no fear claim. Oh well, at least he still makes good music, as do the rest of his label-mates.

mp3 : Rafter - Encouragement
mp3 : Rafter - Gentlemen
mp3 : Rafter - Hope
mp3 : Rafter - Monsters
mp3 : Rafter and Stith - Merchandise (Stith Remix)

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My Brightest Diamond

When Asthmatic Kitty first signed My Brightest Diamond I was, to be honest, highly disappointed in their decision. But something happened to me over the past few months and for whatever reason the sound represented by My Brightest Diamond has begun to grow on me. It has somehow slipped into my heart and become something that I will put on in the car, on a long drive, as it slowly forces me to reconcile all the melancholy of my personal life with the gorgeous sounds emanating from the stereo.

And as if her first album with Asthmatic Kitty wasn't enough, Shara Worden took a break from creating new music to remix everything she had done up to that point. A trend that is rapidly catching on with new indie acts and up-and-comers looking to avoid a sophomore slump. As well as those just looking to make their music danceable. In the end there's catchy hooks, clever lyrics, and now a throbbing beat behind a lot of the music. And all of that adds up to something we should all enjoy.

mp3 : My Brightest Diamond - Freakout (Goldchains Remix)
mp3 : My Brightest Diamond - Golden Star (Alias Remix)
mp3 : My Brightest Diamond - Something of an End

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Gary Jules - Mad World

Yes, I do realize that I've already posted this song by this particular artist. But since then a couple of things have happened. First of all the fileserver I was using crashed. Hard. Then I found out that only a few other blogs had posted the song and most of their links were dead as well. Finally I stumbled upon the above YouTube capture of the music video for this song and it really grabbed my attention. All these things considered I decided it was time for a repost of what really could be the greatest cover of all time.

mp3 : Gary Jules - Mad World (Tears for Fears Cover)

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We hope everyone had a great weekend.

Liz Janes

Liz Janes sounds a bit like a mashup of everything Sufjan Stevens has ever experimented with and the voice of a girl who grew up listening to pop radio in the late 70's. Sometimes awkward, to be sure, but most of the time overflowing with warmth, vitality, and a smokey sort of personality that is unapologetically and unabashedly everything she wanted it to be. Maybe swagger would be a good word for Liz. She has a certain experimental swagger that coincided nicely with Sufjan's backdrop of sound.

mp3 : Liz Janes - Lonesome Valley
mp3 : Liz Janes - Proposition
mp3 : Liz Janes - Wonderkiller

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Half-Handed Cloud

For the one hundredth post here on The World Forgot we're featuring an artist that, like this post about him, keeps his artistic endeavors surprisingly short yet refreshingly intricate. He writes about abstract ideas, awkward moments, and the glories found in all thins normal. And he pulls it off with a silly sense of seriousness that leaves you wanting more, and more, and more at the end of each song.

mp3 : Half-Handed Cloud - Animals are Cut in Two
mp3 : Half-Handed Cloud - Can't Even Breathe on My Own Two Feet
mp3 : Half-Handed Cloud - Feed Your Sheep
mp3 : Half-Handed Cloud - We're Very Greatly Loved

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Castanets

Castanets is a band, actually just Raymond Raposa, that sounds a little bit like everything else and yet strikingly like nothing I've ever heard before. According to Castanets' label, "Castanets is American music drowned then reborn clear-eyed and wet with sea spray." And after thinking long and hard about the music I'm posting today I couldn't come up with a better description. These songs are part depressing, part scintillating, part simple, and part staggeringly drunk. But through the entire mess they are beautiful. They are something to be loved or hate but not ignored.

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mp3 : Castanets - Three Days Four Nights
mp3 : Castanets - All That I Know To Have Changed In You

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Belltower

Surprisingly little can be found out about this band, Belltower, and to be honest that might be because there really isn't all that much to be known [or heard]. Apparently they are a small outfit made up of various ragamuffins found throughout the Asthmatic Kitty label, most notably Bridgit DeCook, and some other San Francisco natives.

This song is a bit monotonous and I found it only by digging through the Asthmatic Kitty website. Relentless Googling didn't turn up anything deeper than that. Maybe one of you will download the track, love it, and start a viral campaign for Belltower. Maybe not.

mp3 : Belltower - Two Divided By Zero

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