4-30-11 - "Young Folks" ~ Peter Bjorn and John

WARNING: May contain whistling.  Do not consume if allergic to whistling.


Now that we have that out of the way, here's a catchy tune that is a perfect capstone to a gorgeous day here in Pittsburgh.  These guys are Swedish, and maybe there are some grammatical errors in their English, but the song is fun nonetheless.  Check it out.


WARNING (part deux): Video is creepy as all get-out.  At least, I think so.  Just listen.

"i can tell there's something going on
hours seems to disappear
everyone is leaving, I'm still with you"

4-29-11 - "I Know Every Street" ~ Meeting Of Important People

The boys at DrawUsLines posted a new Echo Chamber session today, featuring Meeting Of Important People.  It's a pretty sweet acoustic (outdoor! yay, spring!) set, which you should totally check out here: http://www.drawuslines.com/mind-blowing/echo-chamber-meeting-of-important-people/.

The Echo Chamber session got MOIP into my head today, but I'm not using one of those songs as the ASOD.  I'm going with I Know Every Street, which is one of my favorites of theirs.  If we presume that they're talking about Pittsburgh, and are serious, it's a pretty darn impressive feat.  The song is kinda mellow and sobering, a pretty stark contrast to Brittney Lane Don't Care, and I think it helps establish their range.  Let me know what you think.

EDIT (3-2-12): Got around to adding some of my videos from MOIP / Josh solo concerts:


1-7-12 @ Brillobox:

2-18-12 @ AIR:

"if she's hiding
she'll be coming up burned
it's been a long way
since i made a bad turn
i'm a soothsayer
and i can't be too proud
i know every street in this town
every street in this town..."

PS - you can hear their EP and LP on Bandcamp, check it.

4-28-11 - "Pumped Up Kicks" ~ Foster The People

This is one of those incongruous songs - super catchy, but pretty heavy if you listen to the lyrics.  Great for head-bobbin', cruisin' on a gorgeous spring afternoon in a glorious city (guess where I heard the song today?), but sobering if you give the lyrics a good listen.  I'll leave you to analyze the meaning if you so choose, but I like the song based on musical and lyrical merit alike:

"I've waited for a long time,
yeah the sleight of my hand is now a quick pull trigger..."

4-27-11 - "Prelude in G Minor, Op. 23, No. 5" ~ Sergei Rachmaninoff

If you don't like classical music, you haven't heard Rachmaninoff (or Beethoven, or Mozart, or Chopin, or Tchaikovsky, but I digress...)  This guy came up with some intense stuff on the piano, including this one.  I first heard this prelude back in high school, when my piano teacher had me learn to play a blend of it and the hymn "How Great Thou Art" for a competition.  I never did quite get it right, but it introduced me to a great composer's works.  Check it out; it's only a few minutes and you just might dig it:

Prelude in G Minor, Op. 23, No. 5

4-26-11 - "Rill Rill" ~ Sleigh Bells

A change of pace, here's a fairly nonsensical song that just has a groove to it that I really dig.  We've talked about Broken Bells, now here's some Sleigh Bells.  This track is actually one of the more mainstream / "normal" from the album "Treats", whereas some of the others are just mind-blowingly intense.  You definitely have to be in the mood to listen to the album, but this track gives you a taste of what to expect without totally going over the edge into the abyss that is Sleigh Bells' catastrophic blend of distortion, samples, and floating, nigh-incomprehensible lyrics.  Maybe this band isn't for everyone, but sometimes when my mind needs purging or I'm just feeling it, I just have me some Treats and life just seems a little better for a while.

(No, I don't know what's going on in the video... starts out a simple driving/singing thing, then gets weird...)


"we never blink see
and you can see me
we fell asleep in the middle of the theory..."

4-25-11 - "Fire At The Pageant" ~ The Felice Brothers

This one comes from my buddy Adam.  He's a fellow fan of The Avett Brothers, who happens to also like some other brothers, who also happen to play music like TAB.  Thanks to the miracle of Facebook, Adam linked this song and I listened to it, and it's pretty cool.  I haven't gotten into The Felice Brothers yet, but after hearing this one, I'll have to check out some more of their stuff.  It's a bit weird, but has a driving beat and interesting lyrics, with a cacophony of vocals in the chorus which somehow works.  Definitely not your run-of-the-mill four-chord song.

"Harlan's papa wouldn't stay in the ground
dead and buried and he walked into town
Lord God, what is Ma to do?"

4-24-11 - "Someone Else's Arms" ~ MAE

Thanks to an encouraging post by my good buddy Jake regarding the power of music when we give it our full attention, I decided to make the most of the drive back into Pittsburgh from visiting my family today.  Jake recommended listening to a favorite album straight through, with no distractions, so I cranked "The Everglow" by MAE in the car on the way home.  The album was a staple of my college years, and although I don't give it quite as many spins these past few years, it remains in my top ten for sure.


The album as a whole has a theme and a story - it's actually packaged like a childrens' read-along book that came with a cassette tape, like you may have had if you grew up in the '80s and early '90s like me.  I highly recommend getting the album and reading along with it, partially for nostalgia's sake, and partially to absorb some of the deep lyrics on certain tracks.  This track is near the beginning of the album, and helps set the stage for the later songs, but holds up well on its own too.

"more than words, you keep to yourself
like a curse that fares thee well
one man came
one truth to tell
all this blame
hammers your way to hell..."

4-23-11 - "Daddy's Gone" ~ Glasvegas

I'm fortunate enough to not personally relate to this song, but I still like it.  It's catchy musically, and the subject matter is certainly a prevalent issue in today's world.  The singer grew up in a broken home, and rarely saw his father, which turned the unconditional love and respect that a child has for his father into a twisted loathing and resentment.  It's a situation all too common.

"all i wanted was a kick-a-bout in the park
for you to race me home when it was nearly getting dark
how i could've been yours, and you be mine
it could've been me and you until the end of time.."

4-22-11 - "My Body" ~ A Love Like Pi

Here's a kinda weird but pretty cool song.  It starts out very minimal, with vocal harmonies (yea, they're synthy/autotuned, but it works for their style), and gradually adds in a beat, until the breakdown of the bridge when it picks up and starts to go a little crazy with some electronic stuff.  I don't quite know why, but I love this song.  A few kinda cool lyrics, and just something about the groove and the way it builds, I guess.


Plus, all my nerds out there gotta love the band name, no?

(yes, there's about 30 seconds of silence at the beginning.  I think because it was the closing track on the album, almost like a hidden track... just be patient, or skip it.)


"I can barely wait to see your face
crack its weary mouth and let the words float into space
I have learned the Mississippi's pain
every path I take ends up the same..."

4-21-11 - "Gets Me Low" ~ Big Hurry

Not gonna say much because it's late.  It's late because I was at a show.  I was at a show because Big Hurry was playing.  Big Hurry was playing because they are awesome.  It was a short but sweet set, and one of the highlights was "Gets Me Low".  I will admit I was distraught when they didn't play Found Out, but despite that omission, they really brought it tonight.  Love the drums on this one, and the joyous sound emanating from the harmonic vocals and guitar.


Gets Me Low - Bandcamp.com audio
(ps - free download of this track!)


(ps^2 - check out two stripped-down videos produced by the guys at drawuslines, a local music blog, and filmed at the Union Project just after a service of my church, The Open Door.  Small world, eh?)


Enough links for one post?  I think so.  Bedtime.


"things won't ever be the same
now cars and trucks are born from trains
and you cannot go home again, no
cause they'll all ask you where you've been
and what you're learnin' lately..."

4-20-11 - "2.99 Blues" ~ Regina Spektor

I love Regina Spektor's catalogue.  She's a talented pianist, plays some diverse styles, and is not afraid to be weird and unique rather than a cookie-cutter carbon copy of a dozen other acts out there.  Her vocal stylings, in particular, are unlike any other artist I've heard, and that adds a layer of intrigue for me.  This one's definitely a bit strange, but super catchy, and with lyrics worth pondering.  Some of the verses are actually pretty heavy, despite the upbeat melody...

"but in the furthest place I've ever known 
where even I so rarely roam 
there lives a boy who just come back from war 
his flesh was wounded but he made it back home 
his mother calls him by his given name 
and the neighbors whisper how he prefers to be alone 
and he gets nightmares about boys dripping blood
sold for 2.99 a gallon..."

4-19-11 - "Million Years" ~ Alexander Ebert

Heard this one on WYEP whilst driving around Pittsburgh the other day, and again on last night's episode of Chuck.  Didn't make the connection at first, but Alexander Ebert is actually the lead singer of Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, who are pretty awesome... this is from his new solo album, though.  Catchy, witty, and romantic, it's just a cool track that would fit pretty well in the breakdown portion of a road trip mix tape (or mp3 playlist, to use the lingo of today)... you know, after you've rocked it hard for several hours and need to rein it in for a bit before gearing it back up for the stretch run, when you have the wind whipping through your car and the sun ducking behind a cloud and popping back out, and your friends in the backseat hogging all the Cheez-its... note to self, I need to go on a road trip SOON.


Anyway, songzorz:

"I love you like grave danger
like moon shining disguise...


like exploding sun
let the light unfurl
been a million years full of fears
but I found my girl..."

4-18-11 - "Falling Slowly" ~ The Swell Season

I just started listening to The Swell Season thanks to Coachella.  I'd heard of them before, but never gotten around to listening.  It's pretty mellow stuff, but if you're in the right mood it is pretty good.  The collaboration between Czech pianist/vocalist Markéta Irglová and Irish singer/songwriter Glen Hansard is quite a pairing.  The two voices blend together incredibly well, and this song is just... swell.

"Take this sinking boat and point it home,
we've still got time;
raise your hopeful voice, you had a choice,
you've made it now..."

4-17-11 - "The Heathen" ~ Bob Marley & The Wailers

To polish off your weekend, here's a nice little Rasta tune for you... from the "songs heard whilst driving" series... I'm not entirely sure of the meaning behind this one, as the chorus and verses don't seem to jive, but it's a good song.

"As a man sow, shall he reap,
and I know that talk is cheap,
but the hotter the battle
is the sweeter the victory..."


BONUS FUN FACT: Did you know that Marley's last concert before his untimely death of cancer was in the Stanley Theater (now known as the Benedum Center) in Pittsburgh, PA on September 23, 1980?

4-16-11 - "Roll Away Your Stone" ~ Mumford & Sons

Just watched live streaming of Mumford & Sons at Coachella music festival with my housemates, and it was an electrifying performance.  They'll be at Bonnaroo in June - keep your eye out for a live stream of their set from that festival as well, because it will blow you away.  I hope to be out on my deck, sitting around a fire and listening to the set...  These guys are just great musicians, and Marcus Mumford's lyrics blow me away.  I could go a couple months doing just M&S and Avett Brothers songs, and I wouldn't run out of awesome songs... but I'll try to keep diversifying.


This one combines Biblical and Shakespearean elements, and just blows me away with the weight of the lyrics and the hope that breaks through...

"It seems that all my bridges have been burned,
but you say that’s exactly how this grace thing works;
it’s not the long walk home that will change this heart,
but the welcome I receive with the restart...


Stars hide your fires,
these here are my desires,
and I won't give them up to you this time around..."

4-15-11 - "Under The Knife" ~ The Rural Alberta Advantage

Just a little song from a band who aren't actually from Alberta (but are actually from Canada...)


"Under The Knife"


"And the devil's gonna tear us apart
and the fire's gonna tear us apart
and our love is gonna hold you tight
before it tears us apart tonight

whoa oh the kids are never right
whoa oh the kids'll never find us..."

4-14-11 - "Blood" ~ The Middle East

Found this one by Facebook stalking... by which I mean, my buddy Dustin posted it on my buddy Andy's page, and it came up in my feed, and knowing that these two buddies have exquisite taste in music, I had to check it out.  It's a beautiful and haunting tale of three generations of a family and the various tribulations and heartbreaks they face.

"and you'll find somebody you can blame,
and you'll follow the creek that runs out into the sea,
and you'll find the peace of the Lord..."

4-13-11 - "Boys of Winter (Pittsburgh Penguins Theme Song)"

So I had a pretty insane day at work, and it's the first day of the most wonderful time of the year - the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Two reasons you're getting a pretty lighthearted track tonight.  Anyone who lives in Pittsburgh or follows the Penguins will recognize it - it's the music played when the team takes the ice for home games.  Pretty good as far as theme songs / pump up music go...


(Matt isn't as techno-savvy as he'd like to be sidebar: So if anyone knows why I occasionally can't get a YouTube video to show up when trying to embed it in my blog, I'd be glad to hear it... the version I want is easy to find on YT but won't come up here...)


Current Version:  "Boys of Winter"


Original 1967 Version:

4-12-11 - "Dry" ~ William Elliott Whitmore

This is another one I found out about from my brother.  Whitmore has that classic bluesy/folksy tone in his voice, and the song just rambles over the banjo strumming in a pretty cool fashion.  The song has a traditional theme of persevering through hard times, and a hopeful eye toward better days ahead.

"And the Morning Glories and Queen Anne's Lace,
baptized by the wind,
these inspirations are my saving grace
in these times we're living in...



Whisper the truth into your childrens ears,
let them know, let them understand, let them hear..."

4-11-11 - "I'm Gonna Hate You When You Go" ~ Slow Runner

So these guys opened for (and backed up) William Fitzsimmons at the show I saw last week.  I hadn't heard them ahead of the show, but they were pretty cool.  This one is my favorite... it's kind of trance-y and chillaxed, and you can feel the turmoil in the singer's words as he contemplates the beauty and frailty of love, and his mind jumps ahead to what he feels is the inevitable departure of his lover... insecurity can destroy many a good thing in life, and it seems that may be the downfall of this relationship... anyway, it's kinda cool, check it out:


 "I'm Gonna Hate You When You Go" (grooveshark)


"I'll burn your pictures,
I'll build an altar
to the careless gods who let such things unfold;
that's miles from you and me,
I love you fiercely,
I lie beside you fragile and exposed,
so I'm gonna hate you when you go..."


PS - the band's bio is pretty funny; check it out.

4-9-11 - "Luisa's Bones" ~ Crooked Fingers

This one's got some cool, kind of haunting harmonies, and an intriguing story in the lyrics.  Another one that I heard on Chuck (see? cross-promotion works!)  So yea, I like this song.  It seems to be about redemption, finding rest and peace, or something along those lines...

"You take the road, I'll take the river;
you bring the fire, I'll bring the jewels;
and in the evening underneath the roaring sky
we will meet and wait and pray for the monsoon..."

4-9-11 - "Ragged Wood" ~ Fleet Foxes

This song is full of beautiful harmonies, singing lyrics of springtime love and how it should feel.  Amazing stuff, although it's probably even better when heard in the context of the entire album "Fleet Foxes / Sun Giant" (the Sun Giant EP was included as disc 2 of the deluxe edition, and I think it flows well leading out of the LP...)  Such a great album.  Highly recommend.  

"Lie to me if you will, at the top of Barringer Hill;
tell me anything you want, any old lie will do,
call me back to you..."


PS - the title of the song is likely inspired by the following poem:



The Ragged Wood
William Butler Yeats


O hurry where by water among the trees
The delicate-stepping stag and his lady sigh,
When they have but looked upon their images -
Would none had ever loved but you and I!


Or have you heard that sliding silver-shoed
Pale silver-proud queen-woman of the sky,
When the sun looked out of his golden hood? -
O that none ever loved but you and I!


O hurty to the ragged wood, for there
I will drive all those lovers out and cry -
O my share of the world, O yellow hair!
No one has ever loved but you and I.

4-8-11 - "Paper Planes" ~ M.I.A.

This one may not be everyone's cup of tea... it's a catchy beat and a little spittin' from the street... hey, that rhymed!  Sorry, it's late and I am on a bit of a sugar / hilarity high from a fun night with some great friends.  We had a little gathering with good friends who moved across the country a while back, and it reminded me of another fun evening we shared just before they moved away, in which we happened to hear this song and get a little crunk.


So anyway, it's the freakin' weekend, just enjoy the tune (oh, and watch Slumdog Millionaire sometime - it's a great movie):

"Pirate skulls and bones,
sticks and stones and weed and bombs..."

4-7-11 - "Never Let You Go" ~ Third Eye Blind

Here's another one from several years back... Third Eye Blind had a string of hits in the late 90s, and this might be the poppiest of them all, but it's good in its own right.  Just a great one for the first cookout / fire of the year, on a cool spring night looking toward the summer, and with a little bit of meaning too if you pay attention to the lyrics...


(also a pretty ridiculous video, but fun!)

"But I still feel you pulsing like sonar from the days in the waves..."

4-6-11 - "Wonderwall" ~ Oasis

So I have some Finnish houseguests tonight.  One is studying for a semester in Ontario, and the other came over for a few weeks to visit, and they decided to drive down to Pittsburgh because they heard how awesome it is.  When they got to my house this afternoon, they were getting settled and one of them wandered into our music room and picked up my guitar, and started playing this song.  I haven't listened to Oasis in a while, but this song (and the album) is definitely good stuff.  It was half a lifetime ago - heck, I was 11 when this came out - but it's still great.

"Back beat, the word is on the street
that the fire in your heart is out;
I'm sure you've heard it all before,
but you never really had a doubt..."

4-5-11 - "Kylie" ~ William Fitzsimmons

Saw an awesome show tonight, William Fitzsimmons with Slow Runner at Brillobox (a sweet little venue in the Bloomfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh).  Billy Fitz is from the area, so this was a bit of a homecoming show for him... he made a few jokes about kicking his parents out... all in fun, of course.

It was a late show, and I'm super tired, so I was going to just post Song of the Sparrow (the first of his songs that I heard, and possibly still my favorite), but then I remembered I already did.  So, here's another good 'un.  It's actually a bit of a departure from the majority of his work, as this one features a bit of reverb and some looping, but it's just as beautiful as some of his less produced work, and just as meaningful...

"Her body was found on a Sunday

Her spirit found rest, her heartbeat unturned"

4-4-11 - "Like Blood Like Honey" ~ Holly Brook

This one is just a girl and her guitar, and it can hit you hard if you let it.  There are lots of songs about love, and they cover a plethora of aspects of it.  This one deals with the power of love, the beauty of it when we give it, and the chaos it can create when coupled with the fallibility of our human nature.  Life's greatest joys come from love, and life's greatest sorrows as well...


"Like Blood Like Honey"


"Sometimes it's easier to let yourself drown..."

4-3-11 - "C.S. Lewis Song" ~ Brooke Fraser

I'd heard of Brooke Fraser before, but never really heard her music until something my brother said today got me to look it up.  She's got some talent, that's for sure.  This song hit me hardest - C.S. Lewis is one of my favorite authors, and was one of the great thinkers of the 20th century.  I kind of wish Fraser had come up with a better name for the song, but other than that, it's gold.  The first verse is almost a verbatim Lewis quote, and it sets up the entire song's existential pondering.  If you listen and think, maybe you'll have an epiphany... or maybe you'll just dig the music.

"Am I lost, or just less found,
on the straight or on the roundabout of the wrong way?
is this a soul that stirs in me?
is it breaking free, wanting to come alive?
'cause my comfort would prefer for me to be numb,
and avoid the impending birth of who I was born to become..."

4-2-11 - "The Girl" ~ City And Colour

Just a simple little love song for you tonight...

"And when you cry, a piece of my heart dies,
knowing that I may have been the cause;
if you were to leave, fulfill someone else's dreams,
I think I might totally be lost..."

4-1-11 - "Keep Yourself Warm" ~ Frightened Rabbit

This was the first song I heard by Frightened Rabbit, and it reeled me in quick.  One of many great songs I've discovered through the TV show "Chuck", it was used in a critical scene that it fit perfectly, and helped set up the last big story arc of that season.  It's really not all that complex musically, just a few chords, but they're well-organized and it builds on itself and the emotional lyrics bring it to a climax that's worth the ride.


The song's meaning is pretty clear; it's a guy realizing that chasing after casual sex is a hollow and empty pursuit, which ultimately leaves him unfulfilled and regretful.  Within the context of the album (which is full of songs about a nasty break-up), it can be inferred that he's gone a little wild trying to heal (or simply mask) the pain of his broken heart by sleeping with any willing partner he can find at the club.  However, it's not helping, and in fact just makes him feel worse... be forewarned, he doesn't use euphemisms here, so if you have virgin ears maybe this one's not for you... I think the use of the explicit term makes the song all the more powerful, but I realize not everyone wants to hear that.  At any rate, here you go:

"Can you see in the dark?
can you see the look on your face?
the flashing white light's been turned off,
you don't know know who's in your bed..."