Dumbledore holds all the knowledge I ever need, I swear.

"Ah, music...a magic beyond all we do here!" DUMBLEDORE PLEASE BE MY GRANDPA!

007; American Idol is kinda cool sometimes, guys.

This man.



Yes. I love it. I want it on my iPod. I want the whole version. Sweet Jesus. If he doesn't make it to top 12 I'll cry.

I found this on youtube. YES.



Seriously this guy puts the biggest smile on my face. Fantastic. Genius. I want more.

006; Cool Yourself

1. Clean - Pete Yorn & Scarlett Johansonn
2. Let It Fall - Lykke Li
3. Lay Lady Lay (Feat. Gemma Hayes) - Magnet
4. Swimming Pool - Ellie Goulding
5. Glendora - Alessi's Ark
6. Romulus - Sufjan Stevens
7. Land Mines - St. Vincent
8. Mango Tree - Angus & Julia Stone
9. C'etait Salement Romantique - Coeur de Pirate
10. Forever Song - Josh Pyke
11. There But For The Grace... - Parlour Steps
12. Let's Raise Cain - It's True

I made a fall mix entitled It's All Your (Fall)t. I had a lot of ideas concept wise, but I think that it mostly ended up a "how the trees would feel if they were consciously aware of the fact that they're losing all their leaves and then subsequently realized that they would come back to them in the spring." Anna's mix, conveniently called It's All Your (Fall)t Vol. 2 is more of a read a book, drink some coco and sit by the cozy fireside. Enjoy.

1. Black Hole - The Silent Years
2. Turn The Dirt Over - Sea Wolf
3. (Bit Part) - The Wooden Sky
4. Swing - Zero 7
5. Cool Yourself - Thao with the Get Down Stay Down
6. Whole Lotta Losin' - Monsters of Folk
7. Shining Bright - Gramercy Arms
8. Start Today Tomorrow - Youth Group
9. Darlin' Don't - Stephen Fretwell
10. Our Bleeding Hearts - Great Northern
11. In These Arms - The Swell Season
12. Come By Storm - Laura Gibson

005; Don't Sleep

I would consider myself an average fan of The Kooks. I enjoy most of their music but if they released a new album I would not be the first person in line at the record store, I wouldn’t be the one searching for it online, determined to find the deluxe edition. That being said, there are two songs by The Kooks that I will always love: Sway and Love It All. They’re both from their most recent album, Konk, and they both make me relive the excitement and nervousness that was the first few weeks of living in the dorms my freshman year of college, but before classes started.

I planned on posting about these songs about a month ago, but school started and everything sort of snowballed from there. But enjoy these songs and maybe think about your first few weeks in college.

004; Heart of a Lion

So since early 2009 I have been watching this lovely man named Kid Cudi. He is a rapper, but so much moooore. He released a mix tape, which, in my opinion, is the best mix tape ever made, ever! And these lyrics...LISTEN. And with a sample of Band of Horses The Funeral Cudi has these lyrics in his song called The Prayer: "all along, all the while, ’til I’m gone, I'll make my words important so if I slip away, if I die today, the last thing you remember won’t be about some apple bottom jeans with the boots with the fur." OH MY GOD. BOW DOWN TO KID CUDI. Really.

His album which dropped yesterday actually leaked about ten days before then, and when I checked his twitter to see what he though about it...what does he say "my album leaked on a full moon :) wicked." HE IS THE COOLEST DUDE, EVER. And he is so interested in the cosmos it is adorable. But anyway, back to his album. It is spectacular and when I have the money I plan on actually buying the hard copy. :)

The best song on the album in my opinion is Soundtrack 2 My Life.

Listen to it. Please. I beg you. I don't even want to spoil you by talking about it. Just know. It is the very best.

003; Day Dreams

Laura Marling, pictured to the right with one of my favorite instruments ever - the french horn, is a 19 year old from England who happens to share my birthday. But more importantly, she is an amazingly gifted singer/songwriter who shows understanding beyond her years (I should know, since we're the same age). Her debut album, Alas I Cannot Swim, came out last February, and I had listened to it then, pretty casually, but for some reason never noticed this song.

Night Terrors - Laura Marling

I am really really enjoying it right now. The lyrics are hauntingly sad and her voice wobbles in a way that makes you want to know her pain, to sympathize with her situation. There is a break after the repeat of the chorus where a folky, yet powerful violin solo occurs, it is beautiful and the component that drew my attention to the song in the first place. One thing I really like about Night Terror, that I think is different than an average song, is that she uses very interesting rhythmic components. There is a bit around 0:55 that is A++. All in all it's just good music.

Next time I promise to post a song that isn't so dark. I swear, all the music I listen to isn't this depressing.

002; Hunters

If you check my Last.fm account you'll see that Florence and the Machine has been played over a hundred times in the last seven days. That is no fluke. The band itself is comprised of Florence Welch (Florence) - who, apparently, was discovered drunk in a bathroom at a night club singing motown covers - and a multitude of collaborators who do the background music (The Machine). Like so many, I am completely in love with the HBO Original Series True Blood. It is so fun and entertaining in the simplest ways, and there is one Florence and the Machine song that always reminds me of the show. The literal deciphered version of the song would actually be talking about werewolves, which are, historically, vampires ~arch enemies, but the general feeling of the song itself is perfect. It's called Howl, and I think you need to listen.

Howl - Florence and the Machine

The first thing that pulled me in when listening to Florence and the Machine was her raw, almost carnal voice. There are these rhythms and chords within her first album, Lungs, that have such a driving force. I feel like I should be dancing around a giant fire praising some higher power. Too much? Well that's what they do to me. Particularly the tracks Blinding and Drumming Song (surprising? Not so much). The album, lyrically, is pretty dark, but that doesn't really bother me. Not when the music is so richly dynamic.