What songs prominently feature acoustic guitar and glockenspiel?

September 3, 2009 9:08 AM

I'm a portrait photographer who is looking for music I can sync to a slide show of babies & little kids. So far I've been drawn to songs with folky acoustic guitar (think Iron & Wine) and glockenspiels (scroll down here to listen to "Nattopett"). I also like warm & tinkly cinematic songs (like the more upbeat songs on the K-Pax soundtrack). I've looked at production & royalty free music (Music Box, Triple-Scoop, X-Ray Dog, etc.) and nothing is really quite what I had in mind--it all sounds too "crafted for a commercial". What composers & artists do you know who use a lot of acoustic guitar & glockenspiel? Piano & violin are okay if they're not dark & moody. Vocals are okay too if they're not about sad things. :-) (I have an IP attorney who will be negotiating sync licenses for me, so that's not a concern.)
posted by muirne81 to Media & Arts (10 answers total)

Fly me to the moon

Sometimes

Both have vocals, but I heard them recently on a website and thought they would be great for these types of things.
posted by dpx.mfx at 9:18 AM on September 3, 2009

It seems you'd like Yann Tiersen.
posted by ludwig_van at 9:48 AM on September 3, 2009

A lot of Architecture in Helsinki's songs are like what you're talking about. Almost all of them also have horns/clarinet too but all of the instruments tend to be very mellow. Examples: Spring 2008, Fumble.
posted by burnmp3s at 10:26 AM on September 3, 2009

Blinking Lights(For You) and Bride of Theme from Blinking Lights

Both are by the Eels. Actually, I prefer Theme from Blinking Lights to Bride of... but couldn't find a youtube link for it. They're basically the same, but Theme has vocals(no lyrics, all vocals are the syllable "la" repeated) whereas Bride of... is purely instrumental.

They're all very wistful and nostalgic-sounding to me. I hope that's kind of what you're looking for.
posted by owtytrof at 10:36 AM on September 3, 2009

Mushaboom by Feist would seem to hit most of your requirements. And kid-oriented lyrics (at least the first few lines)
posted by momentofmagnus at 11:32 AM on September 3, 2009 [1 favorite]

Some of Kazumasa Hashimoto's songs might do: check out his 'Gllia' CD, for example.
posted by misteraitch at 11:38 AM on September 3, 2009

You might like Penguin Cafe Orchestra's Music for a Found Harmonium and Perpetuum Mobile. Cheerful and upbeat, instrumental, quirky. Very This American Life soundtrack (in fact I think that's where I first heard of them).
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:40 AM on September 3, 2009

Lenka's Enjoy the Show.
Lenka's We Will Not Grow Old is more piano-centric, but still might suit the mood nicely. So might Regina Spektor's On the Radio.
posted by pseudostrabismus at 1:04 PM on September 3, 2009

Kitty Wu by Jaga Jazzist.
posted by amestoy at 2:57 PM on September 3, 2009

"While You Were Sleeping" by Elvis Perkins could fit the bill nicely.

Some of Dent May's songs could also work -- the lyrics are a little silly, though.
posted by pxe2000 at 3:41 AM on September 4, 2009