SOUNDTRACK: OF MONSTERS AND MEN-“Mountain Sound” (Field Recordings, June 13, 2012).
When this song first came out I was instantly smitten by it. The combination of male and female vocals, the big chorus and interesting instrumentation were just terrific. And the song is catchy as anything.
And then the rest of the world thought the same and this song became inescapable.
Around the same time I heard Of Monsters and Men, I also heard The Head and the Heart who had a similar aesthetic. And I still have a hard time telling them apart (even if OMAM is from Iceland and THATH is from Seattle).
This Field Recording [Of Monsters And Men Brings Out The Sun] was filmed on the first day of the Sasquatch! Music Festival.
We managed to get backstage of the Gorge Amphitheater to capture a live session with one of the hottest new bands to hit the festival circuit, Of Monsters and Men. No strangers to natural beauty, the Icelanders were nevertheless stunned by the picturesque backdrop of the Gorge as they performed “Mountain Sound,” one of the new songs added to the American release of their debut album.
“We sleep until the sun goes down,” they sang repeatedly while the sun instead broke through the clouds as if called out by the song’s radiant optimism. The band will continue to thrill fans in larger and larger venues, but it’s private moments like this when Of Monsters and Men best displays its natural charm.
This is a wonderfully low-key take on the song with just a couple of guitars, and accordion and a trumpet (and a big plastic drum as the percussion).
I’ve heard this song so many times that it’s nice to hear it in such an unadorned fashion. To actually hear the two lead vocals–how unusual they sound. And to see how much fun the band is having playing at the Sasquatch Festival (yes, in Seattle).
[READ: November 12, 2018] “Show Recent Some Love”
I love Sam Lipsyte’s stories. I love the tone and breeziness he showcases, even in stories with serious undertones.
This story ( I assume it is an excerpt) is unofficially set during the #metoo movement. Mike Maltby was recently fired from his own company: “Only an ogre could defend Mike Maltby.” Isaac, the protagonist, was not an ogre–maybe a jerk–said Nina his life partner.
But Isaac agreed that Mike’s ouster was for the best–Mike had done all kinds of heinous things in executives suites, “because it wasn’t about sex. It was about power. And sex. And probably a few other things.”
But Isaac felt a twinge of remorse because Maltby had hired him and “had also been, weirdly enough for a brief time, his stepfather.” (more…)