Five Card Draw #5: Well, We Were Bound to Hear Bright Eyes Eventually

Five Card Draw: In which we'll have a friend of LOTD put their ipod on shuffle and write about the first five songs that play. One skip is allowed, so use it wisely. This idea is pretty much the exact same thing as something the City Paper does, so any and all credit should go to them. This week, LOTD's official scientist Tara Favazza gets down with some 8 minute ballads and some mopey music.

1) Neutral Milk Hotel - Oh Comely (In an Areoplane Over The Sea, 1998) Very sad, wicked long, and c'mon, you either liked Neutral Milk Hotel or you wished fervently that Jeff Mangum would learn to sing on key. Beautiful/horrible imagery and alliteration, but I will admit to skipping a good chunk of the 8 minutes and 18 seconds of it more often than not.

2) Stephen Page - Live With It Every Day

Though the song has the same peppy feeling you'd expect from the guys who penned "One Week", the subject matter is pretty dark. You wouldn't think accidental homicide by an 11 year old kid with a BB gun would be good subject matter for a catchy tune, but somehow they pull it off. You'll find yourself singing along with "We were almost 12 but we looked 13/He had baby blue eyes that I shot him between" and not feeling bad about it at all.

3) Bright Eyes - Haligh Haligh A Lie Haligh (Fevers and Mirrors 2000)

You just got cheated on/dumped/rejected and you want to wallow in self pity for awhile. Misery loves company, and you'll find no better than Bright Eyes, who's crying along with you. You'll lose interest in his heart-wrenching tales of woe once you've polished off that 3rd pint of Ben & Jerry's and come out from under the covers, but until then you have someone who totally gets what you're going through.

4) Moxy Früvous and Da Vinci's Notebook - Shoehorn With Teeth (appears originally on Bendy's Law 2000) Two goofy bands doing a cover of a goofy song from an even goofier band. Featuring fake British accents, a baby giggling, and what sounds like a human kazoo. Oh, and it's a cappella too, because it wasn't quite kitschy enough.

5) Skybox - Caravan Cabaret (Arcos Iris)
Honky-tonk piano, toe-tapping beat, and fun lyrics touting the benefits going out and seeing this big wide country of ours. "Well let's get on a train and out, baby/Go wherever it may/We don't need no destination/We just got to get away." Great song to rev up that road trip.