Sunday, April 26, 2009

Rock-a-bye Lullaby

Here's a top ten, short and listy, of the best songs to fall asleep to.

1. "Wildfires," The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter, Josh Ritter. Most of Ritter's music reminds of saloon-style piano and whiskeyed lyrics, but "Wildfires" does stand as a subtle hush to the album's close.

2. "Green Gloves," Boxer, The National. Representing the best of rainy day sets, this one has great cadence balanced by the deepness of Matt Berninger's vocals, who let's not forget, is himself dreamy.

3. "Postures Bent," Beasts of Seasons, Laura Gibson. Gentle strumming and slightly crooked vocals make this a believable lullaby. Next thing we know Gibson will swaddle us and place a crown of daisies on our sweet little heads.

4. "Swing Low Sweet Chariot," Volume One, She & Him. Traditional? Yes. But any of this crew will tell you that Zooey Deschanel's version is well placed, well done, and sure to calm even the chirpiest of nerd birds into a restful mood.

5. "On Ho!," Noble Beast, Andrew Bird. No whistling or vocals in this one, just pure Suzuki method greatness. What's more, Bird's strong strides on the violin are known to transmit sleep spells.

6. "Only Four Seasons," You Can Tell Georgia, Joe Purdy. Purdy's melodic quality with piano accompaniment will make you wish there were more than four seasons either to sleep or to be sad--Purdy's got the blues.

7. "My Dear Acquaintance," My Dear Acquaintance, Regina Spektor. Sure it's a New Year's song, but I rarely stay awake for the ball drop anyway. Thanks to Regina Spektor, you won't either.

8. "Oscar Wilde (Acoustic)," Ordinary Riches, Company of Thieves. A contrast to the album's earlier and much zippier track, this one allows frontwoman Genevieve Schatz's voice to quietly break through the Oscar Wilde confrontation. Sounds like a fun dream.

9. "Marry Song," Cease to Begin, Band of Horses. This song just begs for a slow dance, or in this case, a slow slumber.

10. "Ignorant Boy," Citadel Band, Loney, Dear. You'll never feel more formally hummed to. Plus, Loney, Dear (aka Emil Svanangen) is from Sweden, and this fact has nothing to do with the degree to which the song makes us sleepy. Nevertheless, sweet dreams from Stockholm.

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