TVD First Date with | Elizabeth & the Catapult

Over the past week or more we’ve become quite enamored with Elizabeth & the Catapult here at TVD HQ. I hesitate to even label them ‘indie’ as to do a disservice to a level of songwriting that easily outpaces their peers tagged with that moniker. There’s some real thoughtful artistry on hand here that swells deceptively from simplicity to grandeur. And damn if that isn’t refreshing for a change.

Secondly, if the world is destroyed tomorrow by a nuke, you’ll find us in Elizabeth’s parents’ cool, dry basement. Just sayin’.

"It may sound overly dramatic or sentimental but if the world was destroyed tomorrow by a nuke - all of my digital archives would be destroyed. Completely and utterly gone. My vinyl collection on the other hand, if stored in a cool and dry place (like my parents basement where it currently resides) would actually survive to see the light of day. That, along with my diary, lyrics and my Encyclopedia Britannica. It's a funny thought to think we've progressed to be such highpowered, efficient, organized human beings, yet our modern, fast acting ipods and computers are actually less dependable than a piece of decorated cardboard.

This is definitely symbolic for me and my relationship with vinyl. It goes way back to when I was ten years old and received The White Album for my birthday from a family friend. It totally blew my mind---there was something so organic, so warm, so TANGIBLE about listening to John and Paul singing through my dad's old record player. I would sit with the artwork in hand, cradling the lyrics and singing along to "Blackbird" and "Wild Honey Pie" like I was getting a private showing in my living room. When I discovered Joni and Bob and Stevie, I covered the walls of my bedroom with record covers---a colorful canopy of my idols to wake up to in the morning. 

It's not that I don't love listening to music on my ipod when I ride on the subway to work, it's not that I don't get super excited by the new and improved iphone commercials like everyone else does---it's just that I know that there is absolutely no substitute for the quasi-spiritual experience I get from listening to a Nina Simone record late in the evening. Nothing, not even an ipod chip embedded in my brain, could ever beat that."

Elizabeth & the Catapult - Taller Children (Mp3)