Tag Archives: Damien Jurado

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When Things Fall Apart (Playlist: July 5, 2016)

When Things Fall Apart

Compiled Jul 5, 2016

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SUPER STOKED to SHARE this BEAST OF A PLAYLIST (80 songs, 5 1/2 hrs, >35 artists) that I’ve been distilling for over 2 months now.

It features bands I’ve recently seen in SF/Bay Area — Frightened Rabbit, Idlewild, Day Wave, Harriet, Beat Connection, Radical Face, Ben Abraham, Damien Jurado, Zach Winters, Holly Arrowsmith, Givers, The Temper Trap, Explosions in the Sky, Matt Corby, Mac Demarco, Andrew Bird, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Covet, Little Tybee — as well as at BottleRock Napa — Cold War Kids, San Fermin, WATERS, The Joy Formidable, Robert DeLong, Misterwives, Ivan & Alyosha, Machineheart, Walk the Moon, Nothing But Thieves, Kaleo, Panic is Perfect.

It also features AWESOME NEW DISCOVERIES that I haven’t yet seen in the flesh (Fuente and Waterstrider), as well as NEW RELEASE from some of my FAVORITE BANDS: Highasakite, Max Frost, Ben Sollee, Mumford & Sons, DOPE LEMON (Angus Stone‘s new side project), I am Machi, Holy Fuck, and MOST OF ALL… Augustines!   😀
(It was almost two years ago that I poured my heart and soul into a blog post about this band and how their music changed my life: https://beatsthatsetmypulse.wordpress.com/2014/08/13/augustines-to-rise-up-from-some-dirty-ashes/)

I could have chosen MANY songs to be the TITLE TRACK of this playlist, but I chose Augustine‘s ‘When Things Fall Apart‘ (off their new album, This is Your Life) because of the hopeful message (“We go someplace, to get a new start, you gotta move on when things fall apart”) it radiates to those wandering  WANDERLUSTS this summer who are in search of a new inspiration and new sun in these summertime skies. It also –along with Mumford & Son‘s new album (Johannesburg) and new song, ‘There Will Be Time,’  — featured strong influences of African music, SETTING ME UP for my BIG TRIP TO AFRICA (Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa) this month!

Hopefully this new playlist will keep everyone FIRED UP from those 4th of July fireworks last night. Cheers to the SOUNDS OF SUMMER!

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When Things Fall Apart- Augustines
My Name Is Liar- Highasakite
First- Cold War Kids     
Woke up Hurting- Frightened Rabbit 
American English- Idlewild
Jackrabbit- San Fermin   
Got to My Head- WATERS
The Water- Fuente
May You Keep Well (feat. Pape & Cheikh)- Augustines
Someone Who’ll Get It- Highasakite
Midnight Moon- Waterstrider
The Greatest Light Is The Greatest Shade- The Joy Formidable   
Death Dream- Frightened Rabbit   
Ceremony- Day Wave   
Never Going Back – Caveman
Mine Is Yours- Cold War Kids   
Running in Place (feat. Pape & Cheikh)- Augustines
El Capitan – Idlewild
Long Way Down- Robert DeLong    
Constellation- Waterstrider
Keep That Letter Safe- Highasakite
Mystery- Fuente
Life Or Just Living- Caveman
Forgotten- Ben Sollee   
Hold Me Loneliness- Augustines
Bring Me When You Go- Harriet
Emily- San Fermin   
Let Them Stare- Waterstrider
Human- Caveman
It’s All Just Pretend- Ivan & Alyosha   
Mexico- Fuente
Pretend- Ben Sollee   
Get Out- Frightened Rabbit   
In The City- Caveman
The Mute- Radical Face   
Shut Up and Dance- Walk The Moon  
Speak- Ben Abraham   
Ad Space- Beat Connection   
These Are the Days- Zach Winters   
Sure Thang- Givers
Diamonds- Holly Arrowsmith   
The Road To Nowhere- Radical Face   
Fall Together- The Temper Trap   
Break- Frightened Rabbit  
Disintegration Anxiety- Explosions In The Sky   
Come Home Now- Day Wave   
Summer Skeletons-  Radical Face   
Vagabond- Misterwives
Monday- Matt Corby   
Salad Days- Mac DeMarco   
Wolves and Moons- Holly Arrowsmith   
You Are Who You Are- Day Wave  
Alive- The Temper Trap   
Pulaski – Andrew Bird   
President- Max Frost   
Cholla- The Joy Formidable   
Itch- Nothing But Thieves   
Reflections- Misterwives
There Will Be Time (With Baaba Maal)-  Mumford & Sons  
Logic Of A Dream- Explosions In The Sky   
Capsized- Andrew Bird       
Maw Maw Song- The Joy Formidable  
Why Dream- Matt Corby    
More Like Jason- Little Tybee  
Wona (With Baaba Maal, The Very Best & Beatenberg)- Mumford & Sons   
Exit 353 – Damien Jurado   
Circles- Machineheart (& Vanic)
I’m Not Fooling Anyone (Bonus Track)- Ivan & Alyosha   
Sea Dragon- Covet  
I Can’t Go On Without You- Kaleo
Echo- Panic Is Perfect 
Shakedown Street – Unknown Mortal Orchestra   
Uptown Folks –  DOPE LEMON   (Angus Stone‘s new side project)
Are You Serious- Andrew Bird   
Hydra- Covet
Go Go Go- Panic Is Perfect     
Lon Bella- Damien Jurado   
Don’t Quit Your Day Job- Little Tybee   
Xed Eyes- Holy Fuck   
Jawbreaker- I Am Machi      

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Lyrics on Lockdown:

“We go someplace, to get a new start, you gotta move on when things fall apart.”  -When Things Fall Apart

“You were looking at pictures in the distance
Hoping to see, the future in your pictures
Of the distance, hoping to see
The future looking at pictures in the distance.” -El Capitan

“You’ll find what you find, 
When you find there’s nothing.” -American English

“All we ever need is energy…We brighten up…we raise a cup…we wash the wounds that leave us numb.” -Constellationn

“It doesn’t make all cloudy days worthwhile
It doesn’t make much sense to walk that extra mile
To assign you properties that are not real.”  -Keep That Letter Safe

“At least half of what I’ve done
Maybe more of who I am
Will be forgotten
Won’t be remembered
Like all the stories never told
The digital lives scattered in code
All of the footsteps that will never be traced
The forgotten ways of an ancient race.” -Forgotten

“And if you find yourself somewhere between dark and belief

Remember, remember to think on your knees…
Never trust that man who’s been smiling on his life
His fears will catch up in the end.”  -It’s All Just Pretend
“Some people say money, and others say plans
but I’m hungry for freedom that never changes hand.” -These Are the Days
“No man can know the length of his days…
Not here by chance but purposefully made
Don’t you know that our debt has already been paid
…we don’t have to be slaves to a world that promises much.” -Diamonds

“Raise your voice cause it’s now or never… And if we have to fall then we’ll fall together.” -Fall Together

“People always say, “Get out of your head
You’ve been there too long
Pretty soon, you’ll be dead”
Then I thought, oh, I’ve been thinking too hard
I should come down now to get out of my head.” -Come Home Now

“Vagabond is you,
Ran the mile no shoes
If the sun goes down too soon
Embrace the starry-eyed moon
…
Vagabond is you,
Swam the sea at the darkest blue
You made it, made it through.” -Vagabond

“So open up my eyes to a new light
I wandered ’round your darkened land all night
But I lift up my eyes to a new high
And indeed there will be time.” -There Will Be Time

“If you’re looking for a diamond
You gotta sift through the gold
If you’re searching for a way out
you gotta take the new road
If you don’t keep the motion moving
it can all feel the same
In the heart of the city
where the streets are the veins.” -Circle

 

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Ben Abraham – “You’re hiding like a memory… Calling to the weakness in my soul”: The Independent (May 19, 2016)

Written by Erica Andreozzi

I am very surprised that I never stumbled upon Ben Abraham when I was living in Melbourne last year (Jan – May), as I would have surely stopped in my tracks if I heard ‘Speak‘ as I passed by the usual buskers on Melbourne’s famous Bourke Street (wonder if he ever busked there). Speak is surely one of the standout tracks (in my opinion) on his debut album, Sirens (Secret Canadian).

A son of two Indonesian rockstars (both parents in a successful 70’s pop group called Pahama), Ben had music in his blood, and his relentless urge to “SPEAK” would eventually manifest into a musical masterpiece that would speak to more than Melbourne. “I never wanted to be a musician… I always wanted to be a filmmaker, and although I never quite made it down that path, that desire I had to tell stories still came with me,” Ben said to the crowd that night at The Independent as the opening act for the fantastic Damien Jurado (see review here). Ben’s desire to tell stories soon became a regular routine at his day job entertaining children in hospitals in Melbourne; Eight years later, he honed this craft into the beautiful album (Sirens) that has been sending SIRENS across international boundaries (esp. the UK, US and Canada). This album was recorded with a rotating cast of friends and collaborators including Gotye and Tim Shiel, as well as longtime friend Sara Bareilles (‘This is on Me‘).

Previously having played at Holwer in Melbourne (where I last saw Harrison Storm and Daniel Champagne) and the Servants Jazz Quarters in London (where I last saw Samantha Crain, Ben was eager to announce that tonight was his “first time in San Fran, and actually the first ever tour in the states.” Sporting a right red Hawaiian shirt and big grin, Ben (who usually is “not a fan of doing covers”), was all amped up and feeling “beachy enough” to cover what he thinks is “one of the greatest songs ever written,” ‘Hyper Ballad‘ by Bjork. (He should definitely apply to play Iceland Airwaves… it was one of my favorite festivals of all time!)

 

As if that didn’t raise enough hairs on our arms, he followed with a gorgeous track called  ‘Home‘, and then with the epic encore of ‘Speak.’ Speak is a gorgeous song that just builds and builds with awesome anticipation, and by the end you might find yourself wiping tears off your face. The honest, timid lyrics about ‘wanting to communicate with others but somehow being pushed away’ is definitely a shared struggle most of us face, especially with the recent explosion of social media, and I hope we can all take Ben’s song as a call to humanity for deeper human connection. If the emotive, echoing effects of his vocals in the mic towards the end don’t “SPEAK” to you, then I’m not sure what will. Be sure to grab a copy of the album!

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Damien Jurado – “My name is Damien Jurado, not Damien “Jukebox”: The Independent in SF (May 19, 2016)

Written by Erica Andreozzi

A former pre-school teacher in the days before his budding music career, Damien Jurado (Secretly Canadian record label) was well equipped to handle the crazy “kids” (all grown adults that were probably “secretly Canadian”) that were shouting out requests for their favorite songs. “My name is Damien ‘Jurado’… not Damien ‘Jukebox’…I’ll play what I want to play at my show” (see video footage below) he says in response with a snarky smile and perfect wit. He followed that up with an antidote about how he just “doesn’t do covers,” and how he was asked both in Germany and in the UK (by a respectable musician name Benn Watt, nonetheless) to play some cover songs while on tour. He said that the only cover songs he probably would know are punk-rock songs from bands like Minor Threat that he listened to WAY BACK in the day. When the the crowd cheered in agreement, he laughs and says, “How do you go from listening to Minor Threat to ME?…haha…Maybe you drank more?..” He follows this by saying that he actually has influences from all “over the map” that he hopes to “funnel into one thing” and that he “doesn’t want to be put in a box” or be known for “just one genre.” He mentions that while he “used to the solo thing,” he enjoys evolving musically, aka …“My albums keep getting weirder and weirder.” Personally, I hear similarities to Mark Kozelek, Kurt Vile, and Jose Gonzalez, but was later told by Damien that he respects those artists but actually doesn’t draw from them musically. He mentioned someone obscure (a foreign name that I can’t recall), and I only smiled imaging how big this world is and how many incredibly diverse music style there are out there. 🙂

“You like to talk, don’t you? I feel like I’m having a conversation but I don’t know who with and where you are,” Damien belts out after the chatty crowd continues to shout comments his way. There was one fan in particular, “Mohammad from Egypt,” that Damien actually paused his song for because of Mohammad’s LOUD SIGH that indicated a potential “heart attack.” Damien was baffled by this fan’s adoration (waving his arms up in the air all goofy like a star-struck teenager), and implied being a bit overwhelmed with Mohammad yelling out that he would be “seeing him again in Minnesota” and “CAN’T WAIT.”

Although Damien seemed to be surprised by all of the attention, he surely showed his appreciation. He mentioned being super excited for the San Francisco show, recalling the exact moment (en route on a train from Barcelona to Amsterdam) when he has this very thought (“I love playing SF”). He said that he also loves playing Spain and Greece, possibly because the people there are very expressive, a stark contrast from the “Seattle-ites” that sport stolid facial expressions and movements even when the are excited (we all really enjoyed his demonstration of this on stage!). Haha.

He also joked that if anyone wanted to get married that evening, his bassist could marry them, as he just got done marrying a couple in the back.

 

If anything, I think we were all married to the fact that Damien is a  awesome, admirable musician who one should only be so lucky enough enough to have an intimate “show and tell” with, especially tracks performed from the ace new album, Visions of Us on Land. We look forward to your return, but we expect as least ONE COVER! 😛
(I tease, I tease…)  ❤

(see below for videos from the show)

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Damien Jurado: “I have questions that lead to more questions…”

Damien Jurado– Sasquatch music fest

(May 28, 2012)

Turns out I was standing next to a guy that used to work with Damien Jurado when he was (get this!) a ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHER in Seattle. I am so shocked! After seeing him writhe around on the floor shouting the lyrics to his last song, I have a hard time believing he was once disciplining small children. Haha. I love hearing the interesting backstories of these musicians. Always a pleasant surprise  🙂

Nothing is the News and Working Titles were my favorite tracks from his 2012 album, Maraqopa. Favorite verses back-to-back in Working titles:

“Leave me an exit to damage
I could use a ledge to jump off of
I wasn’t lying when I said this was over
I have questions that lead to more questions  (truth)
…
Running time that will cut off my fingers
You wrote about me on every new record
I’ll show up in the title of your song
I only hope somebody requests it.”   (slayed)

VIDEOS:

Working titles: 

I had no idea the Tallest Man on Earth and Idiot Wind (his wife) cover this! INCREDIBLE.

Also, check out Augustines cover of Damien Jurdo’s Ohio!

PICTURES:

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