
hey there all,
welcome to my mog page and my first ever post. in case you're wondering, this is really me. while i'm sure i've been impersonated before on other websites, i can assure you this is the first time i've ever dipped my toe any further into the web than deathcabforcutie.com. okay, so we've got that out of the way... :)
i've decided to post here at least every month and let you guys know what i've been listening to, reading, watching, etc. i've been an extremely infrequent poster even on our own website, but when i have i've always included a top 5 list. i'm gonna try to make good on that more often here at mog.
the gentleman resting atop this post is a singer/singwriter named Harry Nilsson. there's a great documentary coming out soon (when i'm not quite sure) about him called 'Who is Harry Nilsson (And Why is Everybody Talkin' About Him)?' which does a far better job than i could telling you his story, so i'll won't try to go into to much detail here. what i can say is that i've been listening to him obsessively over the last few months and that i've found him to be a a great source of inspiration.
Harry Nilsson has never been a household name, but i'm sure you've heard many of his songs over your lifetime. songs he's written, covered or performed have popped up in movies and commercials quite a bit over the last 10 years. i've posted my top 5 Nilsson songs here so if you feel so inclined, please go out and track these records down. any fan of contemporary bands like the Shins or Belle and Sebastian would most assuredly love them!
Finally, while the Walkmen have recently covered the Nilsson/Lennon record 'Pussycats' in it's entirety, my friend Sean Nelson of Harvey Danger fame has also comp


My Trusted MOGs
can't liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive...if living is without YOU--ooo-iooooo
I LOVE that record. What a talent.
My Trusted MOGs
It's a pleasure to have to here on MOG. Welcome!
My Trusted MOGs
Welcome to the sphere :)
My Trusted MOGs
Awesome! I love "Give Up."
My Trusted MOGs
Yay Ben Gibbard! We have music royalty in our midst, and he is pumping other musicians. good game.
My Trusted MOGs
Hola Ben :)
My Trusted MOGs
Welcome, sire.
Nilsson Sings Newman is pure glory.My Trusted MOGs
nilsson schmilsson!
My Trusted MOGs
hi ben, we met at the milwaukee summerfest last summer--i was playing keyboards in devin davis' band. it's good to see you in mogville! thanks for the nilsson tips and the top 5. 'many rivers to cross' is my favorite of his as well and i thought the walkmen did a nice job with it. i'll look forward to seeing that doc (nice top 5 movies too, by the way) and hearing the sean nelson covers. thanks for sharing... -kent aka roommate
My Trusted MOGs
ben, i wrote an article once that made fun of your bass player's hair. don't hold it against me. i'm a journalist.
My Trusted MOGs
Welcome... I live by Transatlanticism...
My Trusted MOGs
hello ben
My Trusted MOGs
Wow. Who knew MOG could get even cooler?
My first favorite "pop" song was Nilsson's theme to Courtship of Eddie's Father. And Madeleine Peyroux's cover of Everybody's Talkin' is pretty good.
My Trusted MOGs
Hey Ben - welcome to MOG.
My Trusted MOGs
Welcome Ben...see you a couple of weeks in Columbus!
My Trusted MOGs
...if there's anything that could convince my girlfriend to join mog, this may be it...
I like yr records, and more importantly, good post!
My Trusted MOGs
Welcome! :)
My Trusted MOGs
Awesomeness and welcome!
My Trusted MOGs
Welcome to Mog - don't know too much about you or your music, but look forward to learning about both. :)
My Trusted MOGs
Welcome, Ben! Great first post, Nniillssoonn never gets enough attention.
My Trusted MOGs
welcome to mog yeah most of the peeps don't know who in the hell he is like i don't know who in the hell you are :)
My Trusted MOGs
Hey Ben, glad to have you on Mog, I think you're one of the first artists here who's work I'm deeply familiar with. I'm gonna be fanboy for a second: I was hooked on Death Cab at "We Have The Facts..." and I think you guys really struck gold with "Transatlanticism" and "Plans" is one of the 5 best albums of '05.
There, that's enough of that.
Thanks for being a part of Mog, this place really is something special and th support of widely known artists helps us greatly. Take care!
_puff
My Trusted MOGs
hey ben, welcome. nice to see a harry post, i haven't thought of him in a long time. i always heard he got "everybody's talkin'" as title song to Midnight cowboy( one of my favs) because dylan couldn't finish "lay lady lay" in time, but i never have heard if thats true
My Trusted MOGs
thanks for joining our little crew, you are a welcome addition. looking forward to more MOG posts to come. btw, i can't get enough of "Carolina", so good.
My Trusted MOGs
Niiice!
My Trusted MOGs
Welcome to the fun house, Ben.
My Trusted MOGs
For the longest time I thought Nilsson was a novelty act (I danced around the living room to 'Lime in the Coconut' as a kid) until I heard 'Nilsson Schmilsson' and realized how many great songs I knew by others that were actually written by him. The slow unmasking of Nilsson continues for me - so thanks for the recommendations. And welcome to mog - always glad to have more readers.
My Trusted MOGs
I like Harry Nilsson's work. Great post. And welcome!
My Trusted MOGs
Hey! Sounds goooood!
My Trusted MOGs
well hello ben, quite a pleasure to have you on MOG, as per Nilsson (besides all of Nilsson Schmilsson) I've always been in love with LCD's cover of Jump Into The Fire (from some 7" that i could never get my hands on), and just because i have it on hand, hmm, here ya go... LCD Soundsystem-Jump Into The Fire (Harry Nilsson cover) anyway, like i said, nice to have you here, and always nice to have the real artist! you rock (as do the multitude of your bands) wish i could have caught the benefit show a few weeks ago here in the bay, but alas 21+
My Trusted MOGs
Hi Ben. So, only one show in Texas? What's with that? Come on, we're like a freaking country!
Anyhow, welcom to the Mog world! We're really glad to have your here. When is Mr.Walla joining?
My Trusted MOGs
Nillson sings Newman had such an impact on me when I was growing up. I had to know where Dayton, Ohio was because of that record. Then I actually went there. Oh well maybe it was prettier in 1903.
My Trusted MOGs
The Old Town School of Folk Music put on a fantastic show of Harry Nilsson's The Point on October 1st.... it was a kids' show; I took my four-year-old and he just loved it... lots of imaginative puppetry and he totally dug the songs (Robbie Fulks was one of the artists involved, and my kid loves him in any context) so much that he wanted to run out and get all of them on CD! I definitely think Nilsson is one of the more overlooked musicians out there... but that can all change! :)
My Trusted MOGs
Welcome to MOG! - I'm listening to Nillson now (thank you for the tip!) and am also surprised at how many of these songs I know without having known his name. It feels like a walk down memory lane - this is the music of my childhood. The result of wonderfully hippie parents, I am;). Looking forward to more posts and great recommendations!
My Trusted MOGs
what's up ben. nice to see you out here. it's pretty cool. i play bass in sun kil moon, and although we've never met we have a mutual friend in kozelek. so anyway. i've been revisiting harry nilsson the past couple of months and of course see new madness in each time i listen. later
My Trusted MOGs
Welcome to MOG! Nice to have you here. Happy posting!
My Trusted MOGs
i am _so_ not worthy.
My Trusted MOGs
I'm a big fan of Nilsson...great post!
My Trusted MOGs
Welcome to MOG.
My Trusted MOGs
yay! velcome. i can't wait until i earn your mog trust! :)
My Trusted MOGs
junebug was easily one of the most under-rated movies of 2006... i highly suggest the squid and the whale if you haven't seen it...
i feel a little silly asking you this but if you could please play president of what at rutgers on wednesday it'd be really wonderful...
plus... if you want the most insane(in a good way) sandwich you'll ever eat get a fat darell at the grease trucks... it will forever change the way you look at a sandwich...
all the best-
My Trusted MOGs
Any musician who begins his life on MOG by A) not mentioning his own (very successful) band, B) hits the ground running by shouting-out another (long-dead and not-popularly-known, despite his 2 #1 singles and 2 Grammy Awards) musician, and C) makes said musician HARRY NILSSON!!! is A-OK by me. Welcome and thank you! Harry would be proud. And may I suggest 5 more Top Harrys (among true fans, dig): "Blanket for a Sail," "Bath", "Gotta Get Up", and his covers of "Vine Street" (Randy Newman/Van Dyke Parks) and "Mother Nature's Son" (Los Beatles). Viva Harry!
My Trusted MOGs
Oops...you already listed "Gotta Get Up." Touche. Okay, I'll toss in "Turn on Your Radio" instead. Cheers!
My Trusted MOGs
One last thing:
My Trusted MOGs
Excellent post! Harry Nilsson was one of my all time favorites! Great to see him getting the credit he deserves. He was one of John Lennon's favorites also!
My Trusted MOGs
Hi Ben -- I'm a bit late getting on this 'welcome' wagon. Should you spend enough time in the MOG-o-sphere, you will often find me at the ass end of a post... Not unlike this one. I also use a lot of ...'s and dashes to sell the drama in my writings, and I just found out what Lol means a few months ago so I've been pretty partial to using it lately. A lot of Moggers use this :) as an emoticon for smiles, I use this ( ! ) which is e-talk for me mooning you in jest. Lol... See.
Luv yr wrk, BTW. It really is great to have you here!
My Trusted MOGs
hey. looking forward to seeing you in louisville on november 15th! you're solo performance of "i will follow you into the dark" on leno was kick arse. can't wait for the show! i'm seeing your friends, the decemberists, in columbus on the 10th, too. what a great week of shows. welcome to mog.
My Trusted MOGs
hey. looking forward to seeing you in louisville on november 15th! you're solo performance of "i will follow you into the dark" on leno was kick arse. can't wait for the show! i'm seeing your friends, the decemberists, in columbus on the 10th, too. what a great week of shows. welcome to mog.
My Trusted MOGs
Hi ben. you got me into Electric President, Teenage Fanclub, American Analog Set and lots more, so i'm gunna go ahead an put my full trust in you lol. Can't wait for more suggestions. Did you listen to the mix i gave you guys? i gave it to Nick, it was all toronto artists. -kyle
My Trusted MOGs
sorry for the double post earlier. mog was having issues and i got trigger happy. i just caught you on conan tonight and figured i might as well go for a trifecta and post one more time. your performance was really great, again. did i mention i'm looking forward to that concert?
My Trusted MOGs
Welcome to Mog :)
Its awesome to have you here; I absolutely love your band.
My Trusted MOGs
Top five lists are way more amusing than they should be.
My Trusted MOGs
Ben: You are the coolest person/singer/songwriter/guitarist ever
My Trusted MOGs
Haha, I just realized the hat in your picture says, "MUSICIAN"
Good stuff
My Trusted MOGs
i love your music, man
can we expect a new postal service cd soon?
My Trusted MOGs
hi Ben! I can't wait to see you in 3 days here at UCF! My sister, your #1 fan, won't be able to make it so I hope you tour again!
sincerely, your #2 fan~Jessica :0)
My Trusted MOGs
Nilsson has been a household name in my house since 1972!
My Trusted MOGs
Yeah for Ben and Nilsson and Nelson! All worthy musicians in their own rights. Well especially you dude, but thats sorta implied by the fact that I'm posting here. Eh-hem so anyways, so I have a suggestion for Sean. How about Nelson Schmelson? eh? Just a thought.....
Thanks for all the music.
My Trusted MOGs
I grew up on Harry. My dad had all his albums and listened to him constantly. I loved the cartoon and accompanying album "The Point". If you can score a copy of the flick, it's definitely worth it.
My Trusted MOGs
Glad you're here. I signed up so I could mog with you!
My Trusted MOGs
You should cover "Aerial Ballet" solo style. I'd buy it. And so would most of the human race, thus giving Harry the recognition he deserves.
I've been listening to the Walkmen cover record quite a bit lately, even though "Pussy Cats" is far from my favorite Nilsson album.
Not that you asked, or that you'll read this, but my top five favorite Nilsson tracks everybody, even the pre-teen female DCFC fans, must hear:
1. "Me and My Arrow" 2. "Without Her" (the "Aerial Pandemonium Ballet" version) 3. "Jump Into the Fire" 4. "Bath" 5. "Loop de Loop" (which featured Ringo Starr, Keith Moon AND Jim Keltner all on drums all at once. And that, my dead cabbie friend, is simply ridiculous)