In Appreciation of: Honey in the Sun
Please add me to the Tracyanne Campbell appreciation society. The Scottish lead singer/guitarist for Glaswegian Indie Pop band Camera Obscura caught my attention recently when “Honey in the Sun” rang out sweetly from my Mac speakers (hard to romanticize, ha).
Her voice is indeed sweet like honey, and the sun-kissed, wistful beauty of the song itself just hits me right where it counts. “Honey in the Sun” is the last song on their fourth album, My Maudlin Career, released in 2009. The comparisons to Belle & Sebastian are obvious, and after reading up, I came to discover that B&S singer Stuart Murdoch produced their debut album Biggest Bluest Hi-Fi.
In fact, “Honey in the Sun” gives off the same vibes as my favorite Belle & Sebastian tune, “Another Sunny Day.”
Long story short, I’ll be exploring Camera Obscura’s discography, and taking in the beauty of Tracyanne’s voice.
The Friday Five: February 25, 2011
Friday Five : ‘frī-(,)dā,-dē ‘fīv : On the sixth day of every week, I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes, then share the first five tracks and thought for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, occasionally we’ll have a guest, but most of the time it’s just me. The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.
The Five:
It’s another busy Friday at the office. I’ve got the iTunes shuffling away in the background, here’s the first five tunes that popped up …
“Daylight Fading” by Counting Crows (from Recovering the Satellites, 1996)
“French Navy” by Camera Obscura (from My Maudlin Career, 2009)
“Follow You Down” by The Twilight Singers (from Blackberry Belle, 2003)
“Ship Shape” by Modern Skirts (from Gramahawk, 2011)
“Heaven” by Bryan Adams (from Reckless, 1984)What’s on your shuffle today?
The Friday Five: November 13, 2009
Friday Five : ˈfrī-(ˌ)dā,-dē ˈfīv : On the sixth day of every week I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five and drop a little knowledge and insight for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, sometimes there isn’t. Sometimes we have guest, but most of the time it’s just me. The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.
Editor’s Note: While short on time it occurred to me that I always have time for some twitter-sized goodness so once again, this week’s five is all in 140 characters or less. @michaelparrThe Five:
Prince & The Revolution – “Paisley Park” (from Around the World in a Day, 1995)
Paisley Park is in your heart. I’ve spent a bit of time considering my ‘Desert Island’ discs lately, and I keep coming back to this record.
The Damnwells – “Down With the Ship” (mp3) (from One Last Century, 2009)
My earliest contender for album of the year, this record delivers on every level. You can help the band fund their next release here.
Weezer – “Buddy Holly” (from Weezer, 1994)
Save for “Say It Ain’t So” and playing “Undone – The Sweater Song” on Rock Band, I rarely listen to Weezer. I do still love those songs.
Janet Jackson – “Control” (mp3) (from Control, 1986)
This really should have been billed as Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis – “Control” (feat. Janet Jackson), I’m just saying.
Camera Obscura – “French Navy” (from My Maudlin Career, 2009)
Another contender for album of the year,My Maudlin Career is the happiest group of utterly depressing songs you’ll ever listen to.
What’s next on your shuffle?The Friday Five: September 25, 2009
Friday Five : ˈfrī-(ˌ)dā,-dē ˈfīv : On the sixth day of every week I hit the shuffle button on my iTunes and share my five and drop a little knowledge and insight for each track. Sometimes there is a playlist involved, sometimes there isn’t. Sometimes we have guest, but most of the time it’s just me. The rest is up to you, our friends and readers! Fire up your media player of choice and share the first five random track of your shuffle in the comments.
The Five:
The Juliana Hatfield Three – “Spin the Bottle” (from Become What You Are, 1993)
In the early ‘90s Juliana Hatfield was kind of like everyone’s slightly older, slightly dirty sister – whereas Liz Phair was your slutty college-aged sibling, but I digress. After obtaining a moderate bit of notoriety with her first band, Blake Babies, she struck out on her own releasing her debut solo record, Hey Babe, in 1992. It wasn’t until 1993’s Become What You Are and the inclusion of this particular tune in the generation defining film Reality Bites that secured her place as an alternative rock superstar. With its simple sing song melody and lyrics that seem ripped from every teenage girl’s diary she connected with Gen X’ers soft side.
Hall & Oates – “Kiss on My List” (from Greatest Hits: Rock ‘n Soul, Part 1, 1983)
Little known fact: In an interview with Mix magazine, Daryl Hall said: “Eddie Van Halen told me that he copied the synth part from ‘Kiss on My List’ and used it in “Jump.” I don’t have a problem with that at all.”
Channel Live – “Homicide Ride” (mp3) (from Station Identification, 1995)
Taking cues from the grimy sparse beats of Wu-Tang Clan and the vivid street imagery of the Notorious B.I.G. the hardcore rap duo behind Channel Live should have been huge. Add to it the tight production and guidance of “the Teacher” KRS-One and it just further boggles the mind how this crew could only drop one single record and disappear.
Dweezil Zappa – “Anytime at All” (mp3) (from Confessions, 1991)
In the rampant resurgence of Beatlemania in pop culture in recent weeks I had nearly forgotten about this gem of a cover. Confessions was produced by Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt and his influence can be heard all over the record, but no more than on this the cover of an album cut from A Hard Day’s Night. The layers upon layers of vocal tracks (provided by Nuno, Dweezil and Ahmet Zappa) take the song to a new level and the addition of a backwards tracked guitar solo – an obvious nod to George Harrison’s use of the technique – make for a truly stellar tribute.
Camera Obscura – “Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken” (from Let’s Get Out of This Country, 2006)
Scotland’s Camera Obscura is easily one of my favorite groups of the last few years. The perfect blend of lush orchestral indie-pop married with beautifully twee vocals and just a hint of a throwback to a simpler time the band here is issuing a – albeit 22-years-late – response to Lloyd Cole‘s classic “Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken?”
Okay, I’ve shown you mine, you know what to do…