The Orphic Fiddler

Kim Boekbinder recently compiled a list of Occupy-related songs on bandcamp, donated by various bands and musicans and downloadable for free. Stream the entire thing below and download it if you like. Or share it. Or donate to your local Occupation. Or write a song, too. There’s loads of things to choose from.

My apologies, I took far too long to listen to My Brightest Diamond’s new album, All Things Will Unwind. The album stream has been up on NPR’s website for a week now, but what with going to see Voltaire on Wednesday and listening a number of other albums (including the very odd and disturbing One Pig), I didn’t get a chance to hear Shara Worden’s latest effort all the way through until this afternoon.

And what a beautiful effort it is. I think this is Worden’s most accessible release so far, with less of the dreamy meanderings of previous albums Bring Me the Workhorse and A Thousand Shark’s Teeth, and more infectious enthusiasm. It is, in a fashion, less self-absorbed than My Brightest Diamond’s albums usually are; perhaps this is a factor of Worden’s motherhood - she has found a connection and a solid place outside of herself to expand from, as in “Reaching Through to the Other Side.” Other songs relate to the current economy, like the quietly Dylanesque “There’s a Rat,” or the misleadingly peppy “High Low Middle.” All in all, I highly recommend listening to this one.

I’m an admitted addict of the musical grab-bag that is NPR’s First Listen. That’s not to say NPR is infallible with its picks, but they do stream many an album that I end up liking quite a lot. The fun discovery for today was Giant Squid’s Cenotes.

I love nerdy metal - bands that cover songs from Broadway musicals, or compose pieces about the intricacies of 18th century dueling, or base concept albums on the possibilities of time travel and quantum mechanics. Giant Squid, as you might suppose from the name, writes metal music about aquatic life - a sort of “Jules Verne for headbangers’ row,” as NPR describes it. A great deal of the headbanger fare on this sounds about like you’d expect, but each song also includes a rather Pink Floyd-ish section; the opening to “Mating Scars (Isurus Metridium),” for example, would not feel particularly out of place on Dark Side of the Moon. I’m also immensely fond of the ubiquitous cello on this. More metal bands need to incorporate a well-placed cello, methinks. It’s certainly better than that ghastly saxophone trend that’s running rampant in the indie world.

Björk’s new album is available to stream via NPR’s First Listen. (Well, technically it’s been available to stream since Monday, but I hadn’t gotten around to listening to it until today, and I feel awkward posting on something I haven’t heard yet.) It’s far more spare than her previous albums, featuring only one or two instruments per song, which, oddly enough, makes it extremely suited toward a fall release - a number of the pieces on here have the quality of a tree gracefully showcasing its skeleton. I have a particular fondness for “Mutual Core” and its furiously electronic second half, as well as the Stravinsky-esque “Hollow,” but you really ought to have a go at it yourself and see what you like.