Shuffled: Beautiful World Edition

Every other Wednesday I hit the shuffle button on my 90 gigabytes of music and post the results. I might have to justify some of the stuff in my library, but hopefully it will help inform you of new music -- Or at least be entertaining.

I came out with a pretty interesting mix this week. I like to think of it as showcasing the diversity in the world and serving as the background music. Melt Banana kicks it off strange and alien, because that's what life can be like sometimes, M. Ward features the beautiful simplicity, Weezer fills in for when you just want to rock out, Devo highlights the dark parts of human nature, and Silk Road Ensemble wraps it all up with the true beauty of the world.

That was pretty deep, huh? Yeah, I thought so too. Now, go enjoy the music!



#1: Melt Banana - Type: Ecco System - from Bambi's Dilemma

I absolutely love Melt Banana, but the singer's voice has turned off many a friend when I recommend them. Being that this track is sort of an intermission between the first and second half of their latest release, it doesn't really accurately represent their sound... at all. I'd give this song a listen, it's what sold me on them in the first place.

#2: M. Ward - Radio Campaign - from Transistor Radio

I haven't actually listened to M. Ward a lot, despite having his music in my collection. I decided to check him out after I got into She & Him and wasn't immediately taken with his sound. Now that I'm getting into the folk-inspired trend of indie music he should be right up my alley.

#3: Weezer - Pork and Beans - from The Red Album

I haven't been crazy about Weezer for awhile. I was really into them when I was younger, but since then I normally just give each new release a quick listen and set it aside, like I've done for The Red Album. Still, I like their straight-forward, to-the-point, rock sound. I'll have to go back and give their last few albums another listen.

#4: Devo - Beautiful World - from New Traditionalists

It always amused me when I saw that car commercial that used this song to try to convey what a wonderful world it was when you were driving around in your new [Insert Car Brand Here]. Clearly they didn't understand the thick layer of sarcasm surrounding the song, and in using it for their car commercial, just added a meta-layer of sarcasm on top of it.

#5: The Silk Road Ensemble - Tarang (Currents) - from Journeys: Beyond the Horizon

This is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard, and it builds to a frantic finish that wows. Yo Yo Ma and The Silk Road Ensemble make music that is amazing to listen to in the dead of night when I'm delivering papers. It brings beauty to the whole thing.