Iron & Wine

Oh, the joys of Iron & Wine.  Otherwise known as Sam Beam, Iron & Wine is another act that ranks up there in my all-time favorites (if we're keeping track, so far Sufjan and The National are the other two that qualify).  


Iron & Wine would most definitely fall under the definition of folk music: all acoustic, mainly quiet melodies backed by simple guitar, and lyrics about life that almost always have an innate ability to calm.  


For the amount of TV shows and movies that Iron & Wine has been included in, I'm pretty surprised at how few people I know have actually heard of it.  So first, let's do a quick rundown of the songs that you might have heard, loved, and not known where to find: 


TV: 
Passing Afternoon-probably most recognizable as the song playing in the last Amber episode of House; one of my favorites.  I actually don't find it sad, as the House association has forever done for a bunch of people
Naked As We Came-this has apparently been on approximately 203497958 shows, including Grey's Anatomy and Ugly Betty
He Lays in the Reins-with Calexico, included in One Tree Hill


Movies: 
Such Great Heights-actually a Postal Service cover, but included on the Garden State soundtrack
The Trapeze Swinger-ending credits for In Good Company
Flightless Bird, American Mouth-I had to try way too hard to find a link that wasn't full of Twilight. 


So, now that you've realized that you actually DO know Iron & Wine, love them, and want more, what next?  I've got a few suggestions cutting across the slightly-narrow spectrum of Iron & Wine music for you to check out, of course: 


Off The Shepherd's Dog: 


Boy With a Coin-not only is the song great, the video is full of awesome flamenco dancing
House By the Sea

Resurrection Fern
Pagan Angel and a Borrowed Car



Off The Creek Drank the Cradle: 
Faded From the Winter
Weary Memory


Off Our Endless Numbered Days: 
Sodom, South Georgia
Fever Dream
Love and Some Verses


In general, Our Endless Numbered Days is my favorite album, with Shepherd's Dog a close second.  Iron & Wine released Around the Well, which is technically a B-Sides album, in 2009.  There are some good songs on it, but unfortunately my copy got lost when my computer got stolen.  


So go! Take Iron & Wine, and make it yours--I definitely have some serious associations with almost all of these songs (they pretty much made it possible for me to leave Georgetown the weekend I visited before going abroad, haha).