Usually, I try to at least give some detail into the songs I choose to put on here, but Boy & Bear’s “Big Man” is a song whose lyrics speak for itself. For those of you who have been craving more Mumford & Sons, and still are in love with Bruce Springsteen, this piece is right up your alley. Hailing from Sydney, Australia, their choral vocals on par with the best that Fleet Foxes can muster. Surely, Boy & Bear will be big in only a matter of time. Check out the full lyrics below, enjoy the song, download it below, and buy Boy & Bear’s debut album Moonfire. You won’t regret it.
Well I bit on my lip, and I kicked at my toes No, I don’t need your lecture cause your lecture won’t show That you told me so I told you so But I would have managed, I would have been fine I’d do it myself and I’d do it just my way, I’m a big man for thinking just so.
But somebody told me that your mother was born Wa-wa-wandering woman with a spirit so sworn of the riverside And it never surprised me but it meant that my love was immobilized Well, it meant that my love was immobilized Cause when it comes, it comes when it does.
But you came in the middle and you fell in my hands Oh a, wonderful woman and an average man. See that makes me the lucky man I won’t be deserving, but I won’t be denied See, I fell in this position, I will still teach my kids pride Because failure’s a part of it all And if failure don’t hurt then failure don’t work at all
But somebody told me that your nephew was born Oh, a beautiful baby, so smart and so sure of his little self And in a wonderful way he was making me feel so small Was making me feel so small, was making me feel so small. And I don’t think I’ve felt this before.
In all the reasons to come, well they override my body and, I point to the sun, cause where it’s warm is where the wilderness grows And it grows, and it grows ‘til it all becomes nothing And nothing is left as you know.
(We walked it for a thousand years, with broken eyes and salted ears Complaining ’bout the weather like we ever had a choice. Through all the noise and self abuse, you waited for your fill of truth Oh I’m terrified I’ll achieve nothing at all.)
Hello folks, welcome back to a brand new year of Art of the Mixtape. To help kick it off I bring you a nice bucolic little mixture of some great songs.
1. Greatest Show On Earth- The Felice Brothers
On their eponymous debut, The Felice Brothers very much earned their label of following in the tradition of Bob Dylan and The Band. Perhaps what is most impressive is their narrative ability, delivering slices of Americana in a world weary mood. However, “Greatest Show On Earth” stands out with its jaunty New Orleans infused melody. Come for the story, stay for the music.
The Dodos burst onto the San Francisco music scene with a unique drumming centric sound, but don’t let that scare you, they’re very much a rootsy rock band with a percussive twist. Many of their other songs showcase a more daring aesthetic but “Fables” is a very endearing acoustic standout with a nice vocal to boot.
You’ll be hooked from the very beginning of this number by the unfortunately little known Port O’Brien, very much a cousin to The Shins output circa “New Slang”, the guitar/vocal/drum hook is amazing.
Blake Mills came out with a very under-promoted debut and his number “Hiroshima” is delightful ear candy that grows from the likes of worthy predecessors such like the homegrown material of Paul McCartney’s McCartney and Ram, absolutely beautiful melody, before a slide guitar solo comes out of nowhere sounding like Duane Allman coming from the dead.
Detractors would say that they took this directly out of the book of previous acts like Fleet Foxes, they would be right, but they do it so well that its hardly an insult, their harmonies are gorgeous.
16. Let The Distance Keep Us Together- Spoon/ Bright Eyes
Spoon can create a great melody out of anything, but when they write great lyrics to go with it, there’s hardly a modern band that can compete with them.
Perhaps no man is better qualified to write a finger-picked acoustic piece of Americana than one who went to Oberlin and graduated with a self made major in “American History through Narrative Folk Music”
The Art of the Mixtape 