Nostalgia, 2004 Edition

So there's an old friend of mine who recently got back in touch and made me all nostalgic for 2004, specifically for:

Sodastream

Australian two-man band (cello and guitar, if I recall correctly) in the same vein as Belle & Sebastian but...well, better. And by better I mean, less just-sitting-there-being-pretty and more meaningful storytelling about things that Really Matter without cramming it down your throat that they are Telling You About Things That Really Matter.

Sodastream - "Fitzroy Strongman"



Rasputina

I saw Rasputina live in San Francisco before delving into their collected works much, largely on the strength of this song - I had bought an EP with this track on it. Good times are associated with it, very good times indeed. For the rest of y'all, other excellent tracks include a version of "Wish You Were Here" and the inimitable "Signs of the Zodiac".

Rasputina - "Rusty the Skatemaker"



Nick Drake

Nick Drake's music reminds me of that line from American Pie, where the dude looks at a plastic bag and says something along the lines of "Sometimes I think there's so much beauty in the world, I can hardly stand it."

Nick Drake - "River Man"



Elliott Smith

Yeah, this song has been in more than one soundtrack and you might have heard it a lot on college radio. The measure of a good song is that it can remain a song in spite of being in more than one soundtrack and overplayed on college radio.

Elliott Smith - "Waltz #2"



Gerling

Lest we get too downtempo and downright down, here we have a shimmering, sparkling track from our Australian friends. Not sure this remix had been released in '04. Not sure I really care.

Gerling - "Hot Computer (Summa Laptop Mix)"



Ella Fitzgerald

Respect.

Ella Fitzgerald - "One Note Samba". Live 1969.



Bon appetit!