Sound of Karma III

Sigh. I'm doing this to avoid personal failure to complete a goal. Part 3 of the 3 part boy/girl indie vocal duet Sound of Karmas!


1. Great Northern - Home

Great Northern is my 3rd favorite in my personal list of boy/girl indie bands, preceding Lydia and Stars. Hm, I guess one-word band names are just superior. Anyway, while Great Northern doesn't feature vocal trade-offs as perfect as Stars or Lydia, they could arguably be the most soothing, with their bell/synth/ringing guitar work. "Home" is their best selling and most attractive single.

2. Bright Eyes - We Are Nowhere and It's Now

Don't worry, guys. I wouldn't dare make a Sound of Karma blog without throwing in some Conor Oberst for you. In his album I'm Wide Awake It's Morning, Conor brilliantly invited the vocals of the ageless Emmylou Harris. Wow, what a difference it made. Probably the best example of her giving the gift of her voice to the world is in this track, "We Are Nowhere and It's Now".

3. Broken Social Scene - 7/4 (Shoreline)

I've never been a huge fan of Broken Social Scene, or even gotten into them at all. But hey, they feature both of the singers from Stars, as well as the famous Feist (you know, the one from the iTunes commercials). This song is...well, I know about as much about it as you do. It is pretty sweet, though.

4. Damien Rice - 9 Crimes

WATCH THIS! God, this song is so good. So eerie, so wonderful. Nomar kindly introduced me to it, and he remains the sole keeper of eternal love for this song, but it has drawn many followers, including myself and I believe Super Squirrel or Cincy or someone. LISTEN. LOVE. LOVE SOME MORE.

5. Mates of State - Ha Ha

A lot of magazines/webzines/people who are kind of important to some people are putting Mates of State's new album at the top of the 2008 list. Why? I don't know. Seems kind of like regular folk to me. But oh well, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, since I've never heard the album. Anyway, this is a cool song by them that features the husband/wife duo passing the mic back and forth.

DONE! Yee-haw!

Sound of Karma II

I told you I'd do 3 SoKs about boy/girl indie vocals, and I'm doing it. Here's Part 2. (PS - Yep. The formatting's fucked. I can't fix it.)




1. Lydia - This Is Twice Now

Sound of Karma I

Ahh. It feels good to be back to the act of Sounding Karma. Tonight/today/this afternoon I'm going to begin a 3 part SoK where I show you a musical style that has become a phenomenon my life. Boy/girl vocal duets! Yes, if you think about it, this technique is very seldom used in rock, despite its simple nature. Contrary to common sense, it is actually quite difficult to find bands that A) do this on a regular basis and B) do it well. Here's a few that at least follow b, and some that follow a.

1. Stars - Your Ex-Lover Is Dead

Stars is likely the most famous of the boy/girl indie darlings. With a core made up of fellow Broken Social Scene members, man and ex trade off in describing the chance meeting of two people who may just have known each other in better days.

2. The White Stripes - Rag & Bone



The White Stripes aren't exactly a typical boy/girl duet band. In fact, they're not even a boy/girl duet band at all. However, on "Rag & Bone", Jack and Meg White sing, often in spoken format, of a junk collection trip.

3. Snow Patrol - Set the Fire to the Third Bar

Snow Patrol - Set the Fire to the Third Bar

Again. Snow Patrol, not a boy/girl band. However, in Eyes Open, Snow Patrol made the wise move to take this route in "Set the Fire". It made the already glowing album even more flawless. And yes, there are degrees of flawlessness.

4. The New Pornographers - Myriad Harbor



The New Pornographers are a very weird, foreign band. I don't really care where they're from, however, as long as they're still playing good music. I've never been a huge fan of them, but I always have to appreciate them.

5. The Moldy Peaches - Anyone Else But You



Recognize this band? If you do, there's a 99.5% chance that it's because you've seen Juno. Juno's legendary soundtrack made more fans and enemies of its soundtrack than any movie in memorable history. The star of the musical show was Kimya Dawson, better known for her part in The Moldy Peaches. "Anyone Else But You" is an adowable, innocent duet between two lovers.

These five songs make up the first part of the three part SoK. Two more issues of boy/girl loveliness will come in the near future.