What I've Been Listening To This Week

Work has been quite overwhelming the past few days, and I've been putting in 10-11 hour days. It's easier for me to get some of the prep work that I need to do after the majority of the library staff go home at 5pm, so from 5-7pm I've been cranking up some music and opening computer boxes, configuring new computers, copying files, etc. without any phone calls or emails summoning me to various offices around the building to fix stuff.

So, what have I been cuing up in iTunes while I'm tearing apart boxes and generally making a mess of my office? This week, the album (am I old fashioned to still refer to them as albums?) that I've been playing up more often than not has been The Dresden Dolls self titled album from 2004.

I first heard of the Dresden Dolls from Ethernaut when he told me he had gone to see them a while ago. A few months later I spotted the CD in the library's new CD selections, and checked it out. I listened a couple times, but it didn't do a whole lot for me at first, probably because I was usually just playing background music while I worked on stuff at my desk, and not really paying attention to the music.

This week, for some reason, I decided to play the album again as I was unpacking laptops, a relatively mindless task which allowed me to really pay attention to the music. And I loved it. It's a unique mix of rock and cabaret music that is unlike anything else I've heard in a LONG time. The song "Coin Operated Boy" is one that struck me and I had to listen to it several times. I'm not sure what it is that I like-maybe it's the vaguely upbeat and carefree piano and drums mixed with lyrics that at first sound silly, but upon closer listening are rather dark and sexual.

I chose this live performance to show in place of the bands music video, it is quite close to the album performance with a few little lyric changes. I don't really like the "real" music video, it sort of takes the darkness and despair out of the song and reduces it to a silly little song with it's visuals. If you want to see the video, it's here.

That's what I'm listening to this week.