Britty Soundtrack to Central Park (8/19/09)

People, it is hot in New York. Makeup melts off your face. Fruit liquefies in your bag. You wear shorts to work, because who the fuck cares about dress codes? It's hot.

Enter my fave recourse from the heat: lying in the shade in Central Park while listening to a fab array of Britty music, cooing at dogs, and judging passersby for their poor fashion choices. Oh, yes.

The Playlist:

• The Sun and the Moon, by The Bravery
  
  So I meant to buy an album by obscure Manchester band The Sun and the Moon, which was recommended by the lovely Spin magazine. I accidentally bought this album by New Yorkers The Bravery instead. (Yeah, I obviously missed iTunes For Idiots day in school.)
  
  But no matter, 'cause it isn't too much of a stretch to interpret this entire album as a giant reference to Doctor Who (or your sci-fi obsession of choice). Especially "This Is Not the End." Extra-cool hook: The album plays through twice. The first round is the Sun version. The second round has the same lyrics and melodies, but different arrangements: the Moon. (I like the Moon better, but both are pretty ace.)
  
  Post Script: Maybe you shouldn't see these guys live. I was just looking for a video to post, but it seems that Auto-Tune is a necessity for your listening pleasure. Oops.



Take a trip in the TARDIS to The Sun and the Moon with The Bravery.


• The Best of Strange Cargos, by William Orbit
  
  As I suspected, William Orbit did not disappoint, although there is a skippable track (or two) in this collection. Good electronica, though, and probably great for drowning out subway noises whilst reading your Victorian novel of choice. Or, you know, children's books, if that's your thing. (Not that I ever read children's books, of course.)



Chillax in the park with William Orbit's The Best of Strange Cargos.


• Jane Austen Entertains, by Various Artists
  
  Oh. Em. Gee. Some mad-hat geniuses dug through Jane Austen's collection of music and recorded a bunch of it—at Chawton, where she lived with her mother and sister!—on "a piano similar to the one that Jane owned." This is pretty awesome. It's a mixture of solo piano, piano with voice, and piano with flute. It's fairly simplistic, and in addition to being a lovely lying-in-the-grass soundtrack, it would make a fab companion to an afternoon's needlework. Love this shizz!



Jane Austen Entertains. And how.

Tragically, this whole lying-in-the-park thing only flies on the weekend (what is with all this "work" my bosses keep making me do?), and since Monday it's been back to business as usual. But at least I know what my weekend plans are for the foreseeable future. That's something!

Update: Central Park got its ass kicked in a storm last night, and at least 100 trees are down! It looks like my East Side spot is okay, but still. Poor park. (Hat-tip to Kristina!)