Wednesday (not so) Morning Playlist

So, things have finally started quieting down in the Reference Department at the DFL, now that school has been out for a week. And I can finally post a playlist now that things have quieted down. What's new in the world? Goth Taylor Swift has been replaced with my personal favorite Classic Swift version. President Obama is hilarious. I'm re-reading all of The Raven Cycle on audiobook. House Democrats hosted their own Occupy-esque sit-in. American Hogwarts is in Western Massachusetts. And I got engaged! So much in just a few short weeks.

On YouTube — Wednesday, June 29, 2016

1. Bombay Bicycle Club, Rinse Me Down
2. The Lower 48, Come Awake
3. Bastille, The Weight of Living Pt. 1
4. The Weepies, Never Let You Down
5. The Civil Wars, I've Got This Friend
6. José González, Heartbeats
7. Sufjan Stevens, To Be Alone With You
8. City and Colour, If I Should Go Before You
9. The Avett Brothers, Bring Your Love To Me
10. Punch Brothers, Don't Get Married Without Me

Wednesday Morning Playlist

I had a birthday this weekend! And as a present to myself, I bought one of my favorite albums on vinyl to add to the small (but growing) collection of records that my boyfriend and I have been cultivating. Gregory Alan Isakov is an amazing performer (if you have the chance to see him live, don't miss it) and a very nuanced storyteller. His songs are layered and evocative, pulling from themes of travel and journey and growth.

He is about to release a new album at the end of next week (June 10, 2016) that is a collection of his songs arranged with the accompaniment of the Colorado Symphony. He has performed with the Seattle Symphony in the past and due to the fulfilling nature of that endeavor has set out on a national tour with accompaniment from varying regional orchestras. This is so cool.

On YouTube — Wednesday AM Playlist: June 1, 2016

1. Big Black Car (from "This Empty Northern Hemisphere")
2. 3 a.m. (from "That Sea, The Gambler")
3. The Stable Song (from "That Sea, The Gambler")
4. Amsterdam (from "The Weatherman")
5. Dandelion Wine (from "This Empty Northern Hemisphere")
6. If I Go, I'm Goin (from "This Empty Northern Hemisphere")
7. Evelyn (from "This Empty Northern Hemisphere")
8. Suitcase Full of Sparks (from The "Weatherman")
9. Saint Valentine (from "The Weatherman")
10. Virginia May (from "This Empty Northern Hemisphere")

Wednesday Morning Playlist

It's been a weird week so far, and it's only Wednesday. Yesterday our middle schoolers were wackier than usual, and had lots of questions ranging from "What's your last name?" to "How much do tattoos cost?" This might explain why this playlist is mostly atmospheric folk with random sing-along-friendly pop strewn about. Does that explain where my brain is right now?

1. Gregory Alan Isakov, That Sea, The Gambler
2. The Avett Brothers, Swept Away (Sentimental Version)
3. Sara Bareilles, King of Anything
4. You+Me, From A Closet In Norway (Oslo Blues)
5. James Vincent McMorrow, Red Dust
6. Sky Flying By, Irreplaceable
7. The Lumineers, Gun Song
8. Lennon & Maisy, Call Your Girlfriend
9. Gabrielle Aplin, Light Up The Dark
10. Gregory Alan Isakov, This Empty Northern Hemisphere

On YouTube - Wednesday AM Playlist: May 25, 2016

Wednesday Morning Playlist

I just got back from a day at our annual Massachusetts Library Association conference down Cape yesterday, so I'm trying to be good about putting up a post of good music today. I've also got a little bit in the works about Selma, which we watched last month for our Thursday Night Teen Movie. Aaaand I finally watched the New Girl finale, which kind of sort of inspired this list. At least the first and last songs.

1. Langhorne Slim & The Law, Changes
2. Ingrid Michaelson, Hell No
3. John the Ghost, The Whole of Your Heart
4. Ben Folds, The Luckiest
5. Death Cab for Cutie, Soul Meets Body
6. Regina Spektor, Us
7. St. Vincent, Oh My God
8. The Paper Kites, Bloom
9. John Mayer, Why Georgia
10. Seinabo Sey, Still

On YouTube - Wednesday AM Playlist: May 18, 2016

Wednesday Morning Playlist

Let's be real, this weekend was about Lemonade. This playlist is so random, forgive me, but my ears have eclectic needs. That's why it starts with Beyoncé, leads to Vampire Weekend (Ezra Koenig and Father John Misty made headlines this weekend for their minor credits in Lemonade), dives right into some current radio pop and ends up settling among some of my favorite songwriters.

1. Beyoncé, Formation (Explicit)
2. Beyoncé featuring Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, ***Flawless
3. Vampire Weekend, Diplomat's Son
4. Carly Rae Jepsen, Run Away With Me (Patrick Stump Remix)
5. The Middle East, Blood
6. Ruth B, Lost Boy
7. Angus & Julia Stone, And the Boys
8. Gregory Alan Isakov, Amsterdam
9. Ben Howard, Old Pine
10. The Tallest Man On Earth, The Gardener

The linked videos for Blood and The Gardener are both KEXP performances. KEXP is a great place to discover new music and awesome performances!

On YouTube - Wednesday AM Playlist: April 27, 2016

"Cleopatra," The Lumineers

The 2016 follow-up, "Cleopatra," to The Lumineers' self-titled debut LP has arrived. The radio and mainstream success of the folk/soul-rock band has allowed them to remain relevant after four years of little in the ways of new music. The mainstream acceptance of the band seems to be because of instead of in spite of Wesley Schultz's oddly beautiful, intimate lead vocals. This intimacy comes through across "Cleopatra," and still remains bright and energetic.

I mentioned on my first Wednesday Morning Playlist that I've been craving upbeat music lately. "Cleopatra," for all of its simplicity and fun has been fulfilling this need for me. Yet the wistfulness and poeticism that draws me to quiet indie rock and folk never wavers. The radio-friendly "Ophelia" is just the tip of the iceberg.

Don't miss: "Sleep on the Floor," "Angela," and one of my all-time favorites, finally released, "Gun Song"

Wednesday Morning Playlist

I thought I'd continue Michael's habit of posting a playlist on Wednesdays. Mostly because he had already started it, and Wednesday is my morning on the Reference Desk. Which was probably why he also posted on Wednesdays. Anyways, it's felt particularly Spring-like over the last few days which has prompted a desire for upbeat music during my commute.

1. Cold War Kids, Hospital Beds
2. The Civil Wars, I've Got This Friend
3. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Home
4. Sia, Cheap Thrills
5. Taylor Swift, Style
6. The Weepies, Wild Boy
7. Jimmy Eat World, The Middle*
8. Alessia Cara, Wild Things
9. The Lumineers, Angela
10. Ben Gibbard, Carolina

*Because I, along with the rest of the internet, love Taylor's Apple Music ads. They've even made me consider subscribing to Apple Music. Almost, but not. I am a librarian after all.

On YouTube - Wednesday AM Playlist: April 20, 2016

Hello (from the other side)

Mural of famous movie stars on building, Los Angeles, California

I'm Larissa and I've been the Teen Librarian at the DFL since the beginning of the year. It's been a great experience so far, and I'm looking forward to all of the new adventures I'll get to go on — like taking over this blog from Michael as he departs onto a new adventure of his own.

Music has always been a part of my life, between growing up with a musical grandmother, and later being a part of my high school band. Now, I've settled into certain sounds and writers that truly speak to me. Some of my favorite bands and performers are City and Colour, Gabrielle Aplin, The Avett Brothers, Gregory Alan Isakov, The Weepies, William Fitzsimmons, Sufjan Stevens, and The Head and the Heart.

One of my best friends once told me that she didn't trust people that only liked one kind of music. And this stuck with me, so I try not to close myself off to music. This is part of why I also enjoy Taylor Swift and Adele, Frank Ocean and Chance the Rapper, and all sorts of other seemingly random music.

Movies have also been a natural obsession for me. I love stories, and I love a well-scripted film or show just as much. This is part of why my boyfriend and I became friends a few years ago. He studied film at art school and together we just completed production on a full-length documentary last summer. This mostly means I've spent more time in the last year making a movie than watching movies, but I'm excited to have more time to indulge, and this blog is as good an excuse as any.

I hope you'll keep reading, because I'm going to keep updating this based on what's going on and hitting the shelves at the DFL. Stay tuned!

This is Ron Burgundy Signing Off...You Stay Classy San Diego

Dear loyal readers (of which I know there are thousands), it is with a heavy heart that I am relinquishing the reigns of Dive Deep Into Music and Movies.  I will be leaving the DFL and moving on to the Hingham Public Library as their Local History librarian.  Writing this blog has been an absolute treat and I will miss it dearly.  I hope that those of you who read it will continue to do so as our fabulous YA librarian Larissa takes over and brings her unique opinions to the ever growing collection of AV materials we have here at the DFL and beyond! Thank you to anyone who has ever read anything I've written.  I hope it inspired you to watch or listen to something new!  For now, I'll leave you with a final playlist...



1. Pill Popper - White Pages
2. Youth Decay - Sleater Kinney
3. Gloria - The Monsieurs
4. Cat and Mouse - Radkey
5. Good Times, Bad Times - Led Zeppelin
6. Dammit - Blink 182
7. Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) - Green Day 
8. Goodbye Cruel World - Pink Floyd
9. Come Sail Away - Rush
10.Leaving on a Jet Plane - Me First and the Gimme Gimmes

Song's from this Morning

1. Life on Mars? - David Bowie
2. Caring is Creepy - The Shins
3. Teenage Superstars - The Vaselines
4. Porcelain - Moby
5. King of Kings - The Evens
6. Rats - Black Beach
7. Going Down - The Germs
8. Validation - Minutemen
9. Burnin' for You - Blue Oyster Cult
10. Keep on Knocking - Death