@r.v.

mostly music that i hold dear.

[esisveiks]

florence + the machine - “free” (”dance fever”, 2022)

is this how it is? is this how it's always been? to exist in the face of suffering and death and somehow still keep singing

[pocketful-of-covers]

Life's What You Make It

Reinis Vazdiks · Playlist · 30 songs

my compilation of covers of songs from the 1980s.

[esisveiks]

(via https://open.spotify.com/playlist/38t1U8irXRdxjIWBrXHyGH?si=PDYoL_wkQK6ofavoRJ0o5w)

“sunday melancholy”

a selection of 15 beautiful, melancholic songs for a calm, reflective evening. updated every other sunday.

(cover: edvard munch, "melancholy")

[esisveiks]

(via https://open.spotify.com/playlist/08N4llDcfJWnDdkYDmuehB?si=rM6ckwpZRc6_qg4ENm2jRw)

“every you every me” 

my 30 song compilation of 90′s alternative rock favorites. 

[esisveiks]

(via https://open.spotify.com/user/reinis_vazdiks/playlist/5S5pt4J8ITYillcDcywqUT?si=eD7CgMZzScC9Uy3jof88WA)

20 songs from my 20 favorite albums of 2019

[esisveiks]

swan lake - “all fires” (”beast moans”, 2006)

i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again all fires have to burn alive

[esisveiks]

thinking fellers union local 282 - “noble experiment” (”strangers from the universe”, 1994)

if the sadness of life makes you tired and the failures of man make you sigh you can look to the time soon arriving when this noble experiment winds down and calls it a day time has come now to stop being human time to find a new creature to be be a fish or a weed or a sparrow for the earth has grown tired and all of your time has expired all the gardens are sprouting with flowers all the treetops are bursting with birds and the people all know that it's over they lay down all their airs and they hang up their tiresome words

[esisveiks]

early day miners - “night suit (for tarah cards)” (2018)

[esisveiks]

suede - “the wild ones” (”dog man star”, 1994)

there's a song playing on the radio sky high in the airwaves on the morning show and there's a lifeline slipping as the record plays as i open the blinds in my mind, i'm believing that you could stay

[esisveiks]

villagers - “nothing arrived” (”awayland”, 2013)

savanna scatters and the seabird sings so why should we fear what travel brings? what were we hoping to get out of this? some kind of momentary bliss? i waited for something, but something died so i waited for nothing, and nothing arrived it's our dearest ally, it's our closest friend it's our darkest blackout, it's our final end my dear sweet nothing, let's start anew from here on in, it's just me and you i waited for something, but something died so i waited for nothing, and nothing arrived well i guess it's over, i guess it's begun it's a losers' table, but we've already won it's a funny battle, it's a constant game i guess i was busy, when nothing came

[esisveiks]

bjork - “all is full of love” (”homogenic”, 1997)

you'll be given love you'll be taken care of you'll be given love you have to trust it maybe not from the sources you have poured yours maybe not from the directions you are staring at trust your head around it's all around you all is full of love all around you

[esisveiks]

edward sharpe & the magnetic zeros - “man on fire” (”here”, 2012)

i’m a man on fire walking through your street with one guitar and two dancing feet only one desire that’s left in me i want the whole damn world to come dance with me

come dance with me over murder and pain come and set you free over heartache and shame

i wanna see our bodies burning like the old big sun i wanna know what we’ve been learning and learning from

[esisveiks]

rain tree crow - “blackwater” (”rain tree crow”, 1991)

i haul you in a sea of silence on the borderline of truth hope and violence i see no sun i see no place i've loved depending on the signs to find the road

[esisveiks]

20 songs from my 20 favorite albums of 2018. Unranked.

[esisveiks]

20 songs from my 20 favorite albums of 2017. Unranked.

[esisveiks]

20 favorite albums of 2016 (#4 - #1)

#4 RADIOHEAD - “A MOON SHAPED POOL” (experimental rock/modern classical)

radiohead's ninth full-length studio album is possibly their most overtly beautiful album to date.  this album distinguishes itself from previous radiohead albums in that it is entirely mid-tempo, heavily orchestrated songs and thom yorke's voice rarely goes ragged or strained. it doesn't have the alternative rock roots of earlier band recordings and it would probably fit best with modern and minimal classical music genre.

#3 HAYDEN CALNIN - “CUT LOVE”  (singer-songwriter/electronic)

two-part debut album by aussie singer-songwriter and producer hayden calnin. both parts of the album are similar in tone, mood and means of expression, but pt. 1 is a quieter, more subdued record, whereas songs on pt. 2 have a much bigger, grander sound. all those brooding, melancholic landscapes and a mix of acoustic instruments and digital effects inevitably draw comparisons to such artists like bon iver and m83. 

#2 ANDY HULL,  ROBERT MCDOWELL,  DANIEL RADCLIFFE,  PAUL DANO - “SWISS ARMY MAN" (original film soundtrack)

i’ve longed for ages for such a sincere, big-hearted, magical, imaginative and weird film as “swiss army man”, co-directed by music video auteurs daniel kwan and daniel scheinert – aka ‘the daniel’, starring daniel radcliffe and paul dano. it struck me with its bizarre story, alluring cinematography and hauntingly beautiful sigur ros-ish soundtrack (written by andy hull and robert mcdowell of manchester orchestra) that is done mostly a capella with the main cast singing as well.

#1 BON IVER - “22, A MILLION” (singer-songwriter/electronic)

to put it shortly, bon iver released a masterpiece and broke my heart short after by cancelling the european tour this january... a dream almost came true.

[esisveiks]

20 favorite albums of 2016 (#8 - #5)

#8 EDWARD SHARP & THE MAGNETIC ZEROS - “PERSONA” (indie folk)

the fourth studio release for the psychedelic folk ensemble edward sharp and the magnetic zeros led by alex ebert. the band took a step forward to a darker, more matured and fuller, nearly orchestral sound. it is definitely a slow grower because there is no such radio-friendly material like their hit “home” that still featured now-departed vocalist jade castrinos.

#7 SHEARWATER - “JET PLANE AND OXBOW” (indie rock)

texas-based indie rock band shearwater returned with their loudest, most energetic and ambitious full-length release to date. jonathan meiburg’s songs are getting more and more stadium-ready, adding heavier beats and faster tempos to those massive soundscapes that were increasingly present on each of their 8 previous albums. this kind of progression is rarely a good thing but i’d say that shearwater managed it skillfully

#6 ALEXIS TAYLOR - “PIANO” (singer-songwriter)

the second solo release for the hot chip lead singer alexis taylor features stripped down and re-imagined versions of songs from hot chip, his side project about group and some of his favorite artists. it’s a very peaceful, subtle and personal record, perfect soundtrack to a melancholic mood.

#5 DAVID BOWIE - “BLACKSTAR” (experimental rock/art rock)

“★” is the 25th and final studio album by english songwriter and performer david bowie.  it’s a darkly beautiful and haunting “parting gift” for his fans before his death which came as a shocking surprise since he kept his medical condition in secret. 2016 was a bitch...