Iron and Wine

• Check out the gingerbread House I made! Get it? Gingerbread House?
• What do you think about the 2008 Golden Globe Nominations?
• You should go see Juno and then check out the movie's awesome soundtrack.
• This Iron and Wine video for "Boy With a Coin" is full of beautiful flamenco dancers.
• Time to weigh in on my best of 2007 polls, from the best dramatic movie actresses to which returning TV show needs a makeover.
• The writers strike seems to be neverending. So, what's your plan for when TV doesn't return to normal?
• The one awesome, normal thing that will return in 2008 is Lost, so check out the fourth season preview.
• Madonna will be inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008, but the Beastie Boys and Donna Summer will not. Discuss.
• The trailers for Penelope and Mamma Mia! came out this week and both look promising.

If you're looking for a richly beautiful and relaxing way to wind down your Monday, take a few minutes to watch this gorgeous video for Iron and Wine's track Boy With a Coin. Despite the title, the video has neither boys nor coins. Indeed, the only male in the whole thing is Sam Beam himself, the man who comprises Iron and Wine. He strums his guitar and sings his song while a group of women perform a lovely Flamenco dance. Then the crazy magic Flamenco dancer takes her turn, spinning out whimsical visual effects with her skirt. The song is pretty enough, but the video actually makes it better, so to take a look, read more

Welcome to BuzzSugar's monthly must-haves, where I show off a handful of the things I'm most looking forward to watching, buying, renting and reading. With fall in the air, here are a half-dozen of the goodies I'm craving this month.

To hear why these six things are at the top of my list, just read more

Yes, I know it was a mere two weeks ago that I posted a new Iron and Wine song, "Boy With a Coin," from the band's next LP, Shepherd's Dog. But I was so tickled to learn that you guys like Iron and Wine too that I just had to share another track that recently surfaced on the Internet. Called "Resurrection Fern," this song will also appear on the new album coming out Sept. 25.

The newly leaked track reminds me a little bit of "The Trapeze Singer," a stellar song that Iron and Wine contributed to the In Good Company soundtrack. Like "Boy With a Coin," "Resurrection Fern" — which you can listen to here — leans heavily on the pedal steel, and the music has a sort of sandy softness that suggests bittersweet beach combing. Check it out and tell me which track you like better.

• It's Father's Day weekend! I made up lists of my Top 10 Movie Dads and my Top 10 TV Dads. Also, check out this Father's Day playlist I created — you can even give it to your dad as a gift!
• Are you watching this season of "Big Love"? I found this cool clip, along with some interesting back stories.
• Check out my favorite new songs this week: one by Iron and Wine, and another by Matt Pond PA.
• Because Hostel: Part II did poorly at the box office, some people are saying the horror genre is dead. I'm not so sure about that. What do you think?
• Did you read the Nancy Drew books as a kid?
• How did you feel about the series finale of "The Sopranos"? David Chase had a thing or two to say about it.
• Feist is pretty awesome in this video of her playing "I Feel it All."
• If you could recast the 1985 movie Clue, which actors would you pick?

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When I heard Iron and Wine's sweet and subdued debut album, The Creek Drank the Cradle, I thought it was pleasant, but I found myself wondering "Geez, what's with all the whispering?! Let's kick it up a notch, guys. I mean, just a little."

Thankfully, Iron and Wine — aka, Sam Beam — heard my silent pleas. His sophomore album, Our Endless Numbered Days, was livelier without losing the languid beauty of his delicately etched vocals, tip-toed guitars, and nature-infused lyrics. An EP with Calexico, In the Reins, even proved that Iron and Wine could rock a little bit.

I like the direction Iron and Wine is going on its next album, Shepherd's Dog, which comes out September 25 on Sub Pop. On "Boy With a Coin," a new song just posted on My Old Kentucky Blog, Beam uses hand claps, pedal steel, and other effects for a track that's rich in textures. To listen, read more