Top 5 brother/sister or husband/wife duos I can think of right now.
1. The Fiery Furnaces
Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger are the siblings driving the wildly inventive and colorful rock of The Fiery Furnaces. In a testament to just how deep the nepotism runs, The FF recorded an entire album about their Grandmother, featuring her on lead vocals in the autobiographical Rehearsing My Choir.
The Fiery Furnaces utilize an arsenal of whimsical instrumentation, novel-like narratives, and imaginative song structures to create their quirky, unpredictable and defiantly unique ocean of sounds. Unfamiliar listeners may want to start with 2005's EP. If you are picking up what Eleanor and Matthew are putting down, move onto their operatic 2004 masterpiece, Blueberry Boat. The first time I heard Blueberry Boat, it opened up a new lobe in my brain. The group's most recent effort, entitled Bitter Tea, is a fantastic and largely underrated album. And I have a crush on Eleanor.
Myspace here, website here.
2. The Rosebuds
Instantly likeable husband and wife duo pair up to sing poppy songs about optimistic runaway couples. Birds Make Good Neighbors, their second and best release, features frolicking hooks, memorable choruses, and impossibly catchy melodies. The summery songs flow effortlessly out of the speakers, engulfing the listener in the dreamy, baby blue atmosphere. If you don't like The Rosebuds, there is probably something wrong with you and you should never take notice of anything I write, because we are not only on different pages, but entirely different books.
Ivan Howard's relaxed delivery is perfectly accentuated by Kelly's (his wife) angelic harmonizing. This juxtaposition serves as a metaphor for marriage and accentuates the feeling that you are indeed listening to lovers making songs about love. The adorable call and response on the track "Shake Our Tree" made it one of my wife and mine's favorite songs to sing along. Soft, breezy synth keys dance with rolling drums and glistening guitars throughout this consistently charming but interestingly diverse record. Get this album and fall in love.
Myspace is here (featuring some of my favorite tracks). Website is here.
3. The Knife
Whoa! Creepy masks aside, these two Swedish siblings are behind the eeriest, spookiest, and most engaging electronica to come out in the last few years. The album Silent Shout is a cold, dead tree of an album featuring distorted, ghostly vocals drifting over pulsing, reverberating beats. The ephedra-paced key run on "Silent Shout" deserves a Grammy; it gets me doing the air-piano every time.
House is a genre I never imagined revisiting after that drug-fueled summer of 2001. But, The Knife has done the unthinkable by making raver music that is appealing and attractive to the non-glow stick-swinging segment of the population. Cleverly dubbed "Haunted House" by those snooty bastards over at Pitchfork, The Knife is the preferred music of vampires everywhere.
Myspace is here, website is here.
4. Amadou and Mariam
Blind West African couple create sunshine filled songs by taking African drums, throwing in an instrument from nearly every country across the globe, putting it in a blender until its smooth and creamy and adding a miniature umbrella. Seriously, their sound is as culturally diverse as Brangelina's backyard. Soulful, uplifting, and joyous, Amadou and Mariam are sure to put a bug in your pants and a smile on your face.
What? No official myspace? Blasphemy! Here is a myspace fansite, and their official site is here.
5. Mates of State
Actually, these two aren't very good. I'll stick to top 4.
And, The White Stripes are divorced and therefore disqualified. Wondering about The Carpenters or June Carter and Johnny Cash?
Well, they made that music at least 100 years ago and it is therefore disqualified.
1. The Fiery Furnaces
Eleanor and Matthew Friedberger are the siblings driving the wildly inventive and colorful rock of The Fiery Furnaces. In a testament to just how deep the nepotism runs, The FF recorded an entire album about their Grandmother, featuring her on lead vocals in the autobiographical Rehearsing My Choir. The Fiery Furnaces utilize an arsenal of whimsical instrumentation, novel-like narratives, and imaginative song structures to create their quirky, unpredictable and defiantly unique ocean of sounds. Unfamiliar listeners may want to start with 2005's EP. If you are picking up what Eleanor and Matthew are putting down, move onto their operatic 2004 masterpiece, Blueberry Boat. The first time I heard Blueberry Boat, it opened up a new lobe in my brain. The group's most recent effort, entitled Bitter Tea, is a fantastic and largely underrated album. And I have a crush on Eleanor.
Myspace here, website here.
2. The Rosebuds
Instantly likeable husband and wife duo pair up to sing poppy songs about optimistic runaway couples. Birds Make Good Neighbors, their second and best release, features frolicking hooks, memorable choruses, and impossibly catchy melodies. The summery songs flow effortlessly out of the speakers, engulfing the listener in the dreamy, baby blue atmosphere. If you don't like The Rosebuds, there is probably something wrong with you and you should never take notice of anything I write, because we are not only on different pages, but entirely different books.
Ivan Howard's relaxed delivery is perfectly accentuated by Kelly's (his wife) angelic harmonizing. This juxtaposition serves as a metaphor for marriage and accentuates the feeling that you are indeed listening to lovers making songs about love. The adorable call and response on the track "Shake Our Tree" made it one of my wife and mine's favorite songs to sing along. Soft, breezy synth keys dance with rolling drums and glistening guitars throughout this consistently charming but interestingly diverse record. Get this album and fall in love.
Myspace is here (featuring some of my favorite tracks). Website is here.
3. The Knife
Whoa! Creepy masks aside, these two Swedish siblings are behind the eeriest, spookiest, and most engaging electronica to come out in the last few years. The album Silent Shout is a cold, dead tree of an album featuring distorted, ghostly vocals drifting over pulsing, reverberating beats. The ephedra-paced key run on "Silent Shout" deserves a Grammy; it gets me doing the air-piano every time.
House is a genre I never imagined revisiting after that drug-fueled summer of 2001. But, The Knife has done the unthinkable by making raver music that is appealing and attractive to the non-glow stick-swinging segment of the population. Cleverly dubbed "Haunted House" by those snooty bastards over at Pitchfork, The Knife is the preferred music of vampires everywhere.
Myspace is here, website is here.
4. Amadou and Mariam
Blind West African couple create sunshine filled songs by taking African drums, throwing in an instrument from nearly every country across the globe, putting it in a blender until its smooth and creamy and adding a miniature umbrella. Seriously, their sound is as culturally diverse as Brangelina's backyard. Soulful, uplifting, and joyous, Amadou and Mariam are sure to put a bug in your pants and a smile on your face.
What? No official myspace? Blasphemy! Here is a myspace fansite, and their official site is here.
5. Mates of State
Actually, these two aren't very good. I'll stick to top 4.
And, The White Stripes are divorced and therefore disqualified. Wondering about The Carpenters or June Carter and Johnny Cash?
Well, they made that music at least 100 years ago and it is therefore disqualified.
posted by Michael at 9:33 AM
2 Comments:
haha, I agree, it lost its lulz with me after the second paragraph.
Since when do we need approval on comments?!
This list is...okay. I'm sad to see you left Viva Voce off. Although Fiery Furnaces are good I think Viva's latest album, Get Yr Blood Sucked Out, is far better/more listenable than Bitter Tea - by a long shot.
And you might say, well, Bitter Tea is an aquired taste and takes time to fully explore and appreciate and you'd be right but even after that - Viva Voce's album is still better.
There are my two cents.
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