Ellipse Stream

If you're not one of the 888, 133 people who follow Imogen Heap on twitter, then you may not know that her album Ellipse is now streaming for free off her website. I liked it a lot, and I'm sure that I'll like it even more on subsequent listens. It's below, take a listen, you might just like it!!
PS. I listened to them when they had like 15 listens each!!! I feel ultra-special.



-Donovan

First Train Home

I am a big Imogen Heap fan. The fact that she wrote music for the OC oddly does not bother me. I've eaten up everything she's ever put out, and now she's putting out new material, so I thought I should take a listen. The first time I heard the new single, "First Train Home" I was thoroughly unimpressed. I had already heard bits and pieces from her vBlog and I thought it kind of dragged. But then I listened again. And again. After about 20 listens, I thought I might have a problem. The odd thing is I'm still unsure about the song. I just can't stop listening to it. This is much cleaner and crisper than a lot of the music on Heap's Speak For Yourself, but it's still abound with layers and ethereal sounds. Now that I have the lyrics memorized as well, I'm impressed with her poetic writing, although I always have been in the past as well. I'm looking forward to hearing the rest of Ellipse immensely. Take a listen for yourself, don't just go on what I have to say!

Imogen Heap - First Train Home
Preorder Ellipse on Amazon

-Donovan

Blanket

Fellow blogmate Chandler alerted me to a performance that occured in 2007 and originally aired on BBC with Imogen Heap and Jeff Beck. Being the only writer for the blog both effeminate enough to harbor a soft spot for Imogen Heap and badass enough to be able to rock out to the electric stylings of Jeff Beck. This song is kind of a song that never was for Imogen, it appeared only as a bonus track to her debut, iMegaphone. Needless to say, the song really works in ths instance, as Jeff Beck's guitar perfectly offsets the vocals. Imogen is releasing an album called Ellipse this August, and we'll be providing more updates as the release date approaches. Enjoy.



-Donovan

Cruisin' Song of the Week #11

CThis week's cruisin' song marks the first remix in the series. But the way I see it, taking a song that wasn't at all cruisin' to begin with and making it so deserves major props. To say the subject material is well known is an understatement, and yet while I'm a big fan of Imogen, I must say that I actually prefer this version. Tiësto really gives an already well known song a fantastic spin, really reinventing the melody by mixing it with a dirty rhythm.

Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek (Tiësto Remix)

Imogen Heap's MySpace

Tiësto's MySpace

-Donovan