Song of the Day 48: Heavens - Annabelle

If there's anything that can be said about Matt Skiba and Josiah Steinbrick's project, Heavens, it's that it could take the listener to a different place and time. Their debut LP, Patent Pending, sunk the listener into a sort of ethereal darkness where each song swayed and groaned to reach its ultimate destination in that dreary part of your brain. 'Annabelle' captures Skiba at his best, using his ability to craft catchy choruses and imagery akin to that of Edgar Allen Poe to ensnare the listener while still giving them a reason to keep listening. It's not music for a party, but rather a funeral. 

Song of the Day 47: Kanye West - Champion

When Kanye West isn't being an egotistic psychopath, he's usually making some damn fine hip-hop. His music has slowly progressed from his humble days of self-conscious tunes about college and the struggles of the real world, to the now triumphant and success fueled tracks about just how gratuitously rich he is. 'Champion' from his third LP, logically titled Graduation, is an inspiring track that brilliantly samples Steely Dan to create one of the catchiest choruses that West has produced. The song reeks of ego but never quite reaches an obnoxious level, instead feeling more inspirational than boastful which makes it one of his best.

Song of the Day 46: Manchester Orchestra - Deer

Let's get back to this, shall we? Manchester Orchestra's fresh release, Simple Math, sways between tragic and fascinatingly melancholy as it explores each up and down that comes with depression. It begins fittingly with 'Deer', a song that sets the tone with reverberating atmosphere and dream-like flow. Lead man Andy Hull alone and deprived of human interaction as he pleads into the mic with a fragile tone that lends itself to the atmosphere perfectly. Simple Math is an album worth a spin that hits magnificent highs, but never quite sustains them.

Short Story: Beauty Supreme

So here's a really old story I wrote for a contest. It's fairly depressing, so if you're in a good mood I advise you look elsewhere. Enjoy (or don't).