Things in Light Podcast #6: Up, Up and Away

Contrary to its title, The 5th Dimension's "Up, Up and Away" is not included on the sixth TIL podcast. That Nena tune ain't in the mix, either. This Balloon Fiesta tribute features 12 less well-known balloon-themed tracks and even a little comedy, old-time radio, and spoken word stuff. See the full track listing below.



1. Mitch Hedberg - Hot Air Balloon (excerpt)
2. Twin Shadow - Yellow Balloon
3. The Kills - Black Balloon
4. The Raincoats - Balloon
5. Steven Jesse Bernstein - Party Balloon
6. Spell - Big Red Balloon
7. Wavves - Convertible Balloon
8. The Kinks - Loony Balloon
9. Ween - Blue Balloon
10. Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians - Balloon Man
11. Beastie Boys - Pop Your Balloon
12. Nervous Norvus - Noon Balloon to Rangoon
13. Matmos - Supreme Balloon
14. Adventures in Research - Birth of the Balloon (excerpt)

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X's and O's: Santa Fe Scribbles George Lewis Jr.'s Name On Its Trapper Keeper

My introduction to Twin Shadow was facilitated by stumbling across the Alex Markman-directed video for "Slow" during the languorous heat of July. The video, an incisive and charming casting couch parody, was interesting enough that I immediately procured Twin Shadow's debut album, Forget (4AD, 2010), and put it into rotation. Sometimes referred to as the "Mexican Morrissey" or the "Bangladeshi Bowie," Dominican Republic-born, Florida-raised, Brooklyn-based George Lewis Jr.'s Twin Shadow is pure, sweet, nostalgic new wave-pop that manages to simultaneously sound as sentimental as a preserved rose and as present-tense as a sunrise.

Via 4AD: "Twin Shadow is the nom de plume of George Lewis Jr. The troubled son of a hairdresser and a 'teacher who lived many lives,' his formative years were spent in suburban Florida. Later, George escaped and travelled north to New York, where the slow gestation of Forget took place over a duration of many months in his Brooklyn apartment. Impressed by the unknown Twin Shadow, Chris Taylor (Grizzly Bear) lent his considerable talents as a co-producer, getting behind the dials to add a final flourish to the eleven tracks that would become Forget."

Check out the aforementioned video for "Slow" and Twin Shadow's new video, for "At My Heels," below. Twin Shadow will open for The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, in The Fe at Corazón on Tuesday, April 12 at 7 p.m. All-ages. Bar w/ ID. $10-15.

And check out these The Pains of Being Pure at Heart vids:

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