THE SILVER THREAD

We all have a story to tell.

Here’s a song I wrote today.

Goosefeathers
Lyrics by Sparrow Hall

Snow comes down like goosefeathers
Around the yellow lights
On city streets a muffled silence
As forms walk through the night
In black coats with collars high
And faces tilted down
They pass outside the closed up shops
And follow trails along the ground

Will they have their lovers waiting at their doors
Will they have some blankets spread across the floors
Nothing’s all that different from the way it was before
So tell me why the snow makes me miss you that much more

I didn’t mean to start a fire
I didn’t mean to let it grow
I didn’t mean to find a love
I didn’t mean to let it go
Nothing’s all that different from the way it was before
So tell me why the snow makes me miss you that much more

Copyright 2008
Sparrow Hall

Plainsong / The Cure
Streetlights / Kanye West
Monkeys / Echo & The Bunnymen
Art Bitch / Charli xcx
Bedroom Scene / The Delays
The Moment I Said It / Imogen Heap
Another World / Antony & the Johnsons
Everybody But Me / Lykke Li
Unusual You / Britney Spears
Just Impolite / Plushgun

Kanye West / Love Lockdown (live on Letterman)

Say what you want about Kanye, there’s no one who does it quite like him. His performance of “Love Lockdown” on Letterman was direct and powerful and devoid of any posturing or pretense. I was blown away, and so was Letterman for that matter, who comes stumbling out at the end looking a bit shellshocked. Kanye’s new album 808’s and Heartbreak is an unexpected turn from the flashing lights of his previous album, Graduation. One of my favorite tracks is featured in this month’s playlist. “Streetlights” is what happens when a hip hop maverick goes home alone on a Friday night listening to M83 on his iPod.

Another shout out this month goes to the Brooklyn artist Plushgun and his track “Just Impolite” which is a little like The Shins crossed with The Postal Service. The video is beautifully shot and edited and the scenes of the girl bashing in the windows of the car during the songs most delicate moments are a stroke of genius.

SH

Plushgun / Just Impolite

Listen to the song “Unusual You” on the new Circus album and tell me if it doesn’t sound like a Depeche Mode track.

SH

Sparrow Hall / Holiday Inn Express – Bridgeville, PA. 2008.

I may like old things (think: musty bookstores and Victorian day beds), but when it comes to cross-country travel, I hold a place in my heart for brand new chain hotels. I don’t know what it is. There’s something incredibly consistent about them, which appeals to the creature of habit in me. My favorite is Holiday Inn Express – the Westin of affordable hotels. I stayed in at least 5 different Holiday Inn Expresses on my last tour through the heartland, and I couldn’t have felt more at home. There’s a lot to be said for wi-fi access and an over abundance of towels. And the cinnamon twist things they serve downstairs are worth waking up for on a cold morning.

SH