Kata Rokkar’s Favorite Songs Of The Decade

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

You may notice a few differences between this list and the album list. I don’t feel I need to justify that due to the distinct difference between a song and a full album. These are the songs that I still listen to on repeat; they made me laugh, tear up, dance, think, and morph my own tastes into what they are today. So here in no particular order is my Favorite Songs of the Decade. Picking a favorite song is like picking a favorite child, it changes depending on your mood…

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[mp3] Max Richter – The Trees from The Blue Notebooks (2004)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[mp3] Interpol – Obstacle 1 from Turn on the Bright Lights (2002)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Bon Iver – For Emma from For Emma, Forever Ago (2008)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[mp3] Jeremy Enigk – Been Here Before [Remaster] from The Missing Link (2007)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Phoenix – Fences from Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[mp3] Stars – Your Ex-Lover Is Dead from Set Yourself On Fire (2005)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[mp3] Shearwater – Rooks from Rook (2008)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[mp3] Minus the Bear – Pachuca Sunrise from Menos el Oso (2005)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[mp3] Radiohead – Reckoner from In Rainbows (2007)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[mp3] The One AM Radio – A Ghost On The East Coast from A Cloud’s Fear Of Kites (2006)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[mp3] Jonah Matranga – Learning from All Of Always New (2000-2001)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Justice – Genesis from † (2007)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Daft Punk – Robot Rock from Human After All (2005)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[mp3] Explosions in the Sky – Your Hand in Mine from The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place (2003)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

MGMT – Of Moons, Birds & Monsters from Oracular Spectacular (2008)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The Decemberists – The Crane Wife 1 and 2 from The Crane Wife (2007)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[mp3] Sufjan Stevens – Holland from Greetings from Michigan: The Great Lakes State (2003)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[mp3] Russian Circles – Death Rides a Horse from Enter (2006)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[mp3] Cut Chemist – The Garden from The Audience’s Listening (2006)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[mp3] The Notwist – Consequence from Neon Golden (2003)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

dredg – The Canyon Behind Her from El Cielo (2002)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The Arcade Fire – Wake Up from Funeral (2004)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[mp3] Aphex Twin – Windowlicker from Windowlicker [Single] (2000)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Björk – Desired Constellation from Medúlla (2004)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[mp3] Iron & Wine – Fever Dream from Our Endless Numbered Days (2004)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[mp3] Fleet Foxes – Blue Ridge Mountains from Fleet Foxes (2008)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

M.I.A. – Paper Planes from Kala (2007)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The Swell Season – When Your Mind’s Made Up from Once (Original Soundtrack) (2007)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[mp3] Wintersleep – Jaws of Life from Wintersleep (2005)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Date With the Night from Fever to Tell (2003)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

The White Stripes – Hotel Yorba from White Blood Cells (2001)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[mp3] Spoon – All The Pretty Girls Go To The City from Kill The Moonlight (2002)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[mp3] Stars of the Lid – Humectez La Mouture from And Their Refinement of the Decline [CD2] (2007)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[mp3] Sigur Rós – Untitled IV from ( ) (2002)

___

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

[mp3] Battles – Atlas from Mirrored (2007)

___

Tags: Aphex Twin, Battles, Björk, Bon Iver, Cut Chemist, Daft Punk, dredg, Explosions in the Sky, Fleet Foxes, Interpol, iron & wine, Jeremy Enigk, Jonah Matranga, Justice, M.I.A., max richter, MGMT, minus the bear, Phoenix, radiohead, Russian Circles, Shearwater, sigur rós, spoon, stars, stars of the lid, sufjan stevens, The Arcade Fire, the decemberists, The Notwist, The One AM Radio, The Swell Season, The White Stripes, wintersleep, Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Posted in Favorite Songs of the Decade, Music | No Comments »

I Am Getting Laser Vision

Monday, August 31st, 2009

This morning I got Laser Corrective Eye Surgery. No more glasses. No more contacts. Since 3rd grade I’ve been dealing with something that I always thought was never going away. Now I can see. But my eyes hurt and I’m really tired.

I’ll be home all week so I’ll have no excuse to bring you as much music as I can. So here’s a related song from one of my favorite bands…

Wintersleep – Laser Beams from Welcome to the Night Sky (2007)

Tags: Laser Corrective Eye Surgery, wintersleep
Posted in Music | No Comments »

An Horse + Wintersleep @ Hotel Utah

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

Whew. Long overdue but worth talking about. This show was on the 25th of March over at the Hotel Utah, a venue I wasn’t too familiar with since I moved out here in San Francisco this past summer. The place is tiny…like really tiny. In fact it feels more like a dilapidated jazz bar than a rock venue. It has its charm, but I had to squeeze in and find a seat to get somewhat comfortable.
Once I did, I started talking with a few people who were unfamiliar with the awesomeness that is Wintersleep. I have seen them live once before on their debut US tour a few years back in Portland, Maine. This was around the release of their 2nd record, Untitled. Wintersleep has a very powerful presence when performing live. They seem to almost grow in size and consume the audience with their brand of progressive indie rock. I hadn’t heard any of the new songs live before this show, so I was quite excited to see how they translated on stage. They couldn’t have sounded better. Songs like Weighty Ghost and Archaeologists were performed flawlessly with little jam sessions peppered in here and there. It was also nice to see them play a few off their self titled debut, which was a treat for me and those wanting to get the full Wintersleep experience.

As for An Horse, I like what I have heard on record, but I didn’t know much about their live shows. The band itself sounds like a stripped down version of Pretty Girls Make Graves or a slightly polished Sleater-Kinney. Fans of Tegan and Sara are understandably flocking to this band due to it’s endorsement from T&S and that similar raw emotion sound. However you take it, it’s nothing new or groundbreaking. But that doesn’t mean it’s not good. An Horse exudes brutal honesty and can still rock pretty hard when it comes to performing live. In fact it’s pretty impressive considering they are a fairly young band. When speaking on stage their interaction is adorable, but when they play, it’s a whole ‘nother monster. Lead vocalist Kate Cooper does not hold anything back and reminds me of old Thom Yorke circa The Bends live videos. It’s this combo of sweet vulnerability and anger that makes An Horse special, particularly with songs like Little Lungs and Camp Out.

You can still catch An Horse opening for the always fantastic Appleseed Cast here. And for you overseas folks, catch Wintersleep on tour in May here.

Click here for a review of An Horse’s debut record, Rearrange Beds.

Wintersleep – Weighty Ghost (Live @ SXSW)

An Horse – Postcards

Tags: An Horse, Rearrange Beds, wintersleep
Posted in Concerts, Music, Show Review | No Comments »

New Year Happiness

Friday, January 2nd, 2009

Well, memorable is kind of an understatement when describing this past holiday week in New York. While it may have been filled with good times (getting back with my old band and laughing so hard I cried, seeing Slumdog Millionaire with my brothers, etc) it also had it’s horrible times (missing the last train to Grand Central because of a detour on RT. 9, losing my luggage, etc) and it’s bizarre times (I found that people who seem overwhelmingly overpowered by their luggage on the conveyor belt mildly amusing, I unabashedly find Dick Clark more interesting now that he’s had a stroke, etc). Anyway, I’m home safe and sound. Here’s to an awesome 2009 with new music and a new president! Woohoo!

Wintersleep – Weighty Ghost

Tags: new year, wintersleep
Posted in Music, Web Site | No Comments »

This Week In Bay Area Live Shows

Sunday, November 23rd, 2008

Here’s some concert photography from the following shows…

Minus the Bear / Annuals / Helms Alee at Bimbo’s 365

Facing New York at The Bottom of the Hill

Well it’s Turkey Day week; so whether you’re going home to family or spending it friends, here’s a few “things to do” in the Bay Area before you stuff your face with extreme yummy-ness.

Sunday (Today):

Drive-By Truckers / The Hold Steady
The Fillmore
1805 Geary Boulevard
San Francisco CA 94115
Note: The Hold Steady will be headlining on Monday at the same venue.

Monday:

Portugal. The Man / Wintersleep / Earl Greyhound (HIGHLY Recommended)
Slim’s
333 11th Street
San Francisco CA 94103

Deerhunter / Times New Viking / Common Eider, King Eider
The Great American Music Hall
859 O’Farrell Street
San Francisco CA 94109

Tuesday:

The Decemberists / Loch Lomond
The Warfield
982 Market Street
San Francisco CA 94103

Wednesday:

wallpaper. / The Lovemakers / Hottub
Mezzanine
444 Jessie Street @ Mint
San Francisco CA CA 94103

Thursday:

What are doing looking here? You should be with people you care about on this day! And what kind of venue would open their doors on Thanksgiving Day anyway? You obviously aren’t a very good businessman to think that this is possible. Phhhh.

Friday:

M83 / School of Seven Bells
The Fillmore
1805 Geary Boulevard
San Francisco CA 94115

Saturday:

Dizzy Balloon / The Frail / The Picture Atlantic
Rickshaw Stop
155 Fell St
San Francisco CA 94102

Let me take this time to share some Kata Rokkar news (among other things). Before you go…

We have a Facebook Fanpage that you can instantly make yourself cooler by joining. Also, two older Kuestionnaires with Division Day and Robby Roadsteamer are the TheHyp.net.

Oh yeah, Chinese Democracy is out. Pick up your free Dr. Pepper. (I think the website crashed though, heh)

Far is currently touring the UK right now. So if you’re in that neck of the woods, do yourself a favor and see them live. This may not happen again…

Members of Death Angel, Will Haven, Phallucy, Eightfourseven, Death Valley High and other “special guests” will take part in a benefit concert for Deftones bassist Chi Cheng on Saturday, November 29 at Fat City in San Francisco, California.

Fat City
314 11th Street @ Folsom
San Francisco, California 94103
Cost: $12

All proceeds will go to Chi’s family.

wallpaper. – Evrytm We Do It

Deerhunter – Wash Off

Drive-By Truckers – Zip City

Dizzy Balloon – Raise A Glass

Loch Lomond – Tic

School of Seven Bells – Connjur

Portugal. The Man – Stables and Chairs

Tags: Chi Cheng, Chinese Democracy, Deerhunter, Dizzy Balloon, Drive-By Truckers, Earl Greyhound, facing new york, Kuestionnaires, Loch Lomond, M83, minus the bear, Portugal. The Man, School of Seven Bells, the decemberists, The Hold Steady, wallpaper., wintersleep
Posted in Concerts, Music, News | 1 Comment »

Homeward Bound

Thursday, November 6th, 2008

After four months away from family and friends, I am returning to my hometown of Fishkill, NY for four days. While I’m out there I’ll be attending both the NYC and Hartford, CT dredg shows as well as meeting some old friends. I try very hard to hide my homesickness. I try to come off like I have quickly adapted to the ‘California Lifestyle,’ but in reality, this trip is very important to me. I miss my family and I miss my friends. It’s so good to feel that comfort again…

Wintersleep – Home

Tags: dredg, wintersleep
Posted in General | No Comments »