5-31-11 - "Cry, Cry, Cry" ~ Johnny Cash

Sometimes the little things amuse me, such as posting songs with the same title on back to back days.  I wouldn't do it if they weren't both awesome, though.  So, here's the "old classic" to which I referred last night... sounds like ol' Johnny was having trouble with a lover who strayed...

"When your fickle love gets old no one will care for you
And you'll come back to me for a little love thats true
I'll tell you no and then you'll ask me why why why
When I remind you of all of this you'll cry cry cry..."


PS - Wikipedia says Cash was descended from Scottish royalty... neat, huh?

5-30-11 - "Cry, Cry, Cry" ~ Nicole Atkins

It shares a name with an old classic, but this song is pretty new and fresh.  Nicole Atkins opened for The Avett Brothers at the show I attended in Pittsburgh on Friday, and she was pretty good.  This one was lots of fun, although I couldn't find a decent video of the live performance from Pittsburgh, so I just found a solo acoustic version as the bonus video - highlights a pretty sweet voice.  Sounds like she walked in on a lover as he was cheating... yeesh.


Album:

Acoustic Solo:

"Every one stumbles in spite of themselves 
but you're holding the cards and not sharing the wealth..."

5-29-11 - "Dare You To Move" ~ Switchfoot

So you've probably heard this one, and yes, it got overplayed on the radio and overused in movies and TV shows.  But it's been a while since I listened to it, so I'm ok going back to it now.  It's definitely a good song, and the message is solid - don't just coast through life, take full advantage of it.

"Welcome to the fallout
Welcome to resistance
The tension is here...
Between who you are and who you could be
Between how it is and how it should be..."

5-28-11 - "Hallelujah" ~ Paramore

No, it's not a cover of that one song that everybody and their mother has covered.  This band brings an edgy pop/punk/rock blend with the pipes of Hayley Williams leading the way.  This song is just oozing with hope, and if you check out the acoustic version in particular, the vocals soar over the three-guitar rhythms...

Acoustic:

"holding onto patience, wearing thin
I can't force these eyes to see the end
if only time flew like a dove
we could watch it fly and just keep looking on..."

5-27-11 - "Never Been Alive" ~ The Avett Brothers

How can I choose just one?  Just saw The Avett Brothers perform live for the tenth time, and just like the previous nine times, they brought it from start to finish, and did not disappoint.  Well, to be honest, they did disappoint, but only in that they didn't play their entire catalogue... to be fair, they have to be in Columbus for another show Saturday night so we'll have to forgive them that one.


If you haven't guessed, TAB are pretty much my favorite band.  I'm trying to show restraint and not overhype them on the blog (I went all of April and most of May without using them) but after a show like tonight, I can't help it.


I'm going with a song that hasn't made an album yet, but surely will be on their next release... the first time I heard it was last year's Pittsburgh show, and it blew me away.  I'm glad to have heard it once more this year; Seth is my favorite (by a nose), and this one's lyrics are just swell.  Can't wait for the album version, but the live vid should give you a feel for the energy the boys bring every time they take the stage:

"Money won't do the trick,
but it will help
to open the doors we need it to
to help someone else..."

5-26-11 - "The General" ~ Dispatch

You learn something new every day, or so they say.  Today I learned that Dispatch was formed at Middlebury College.  I learned this because I looked them up (yea, never had gotten around to listening to them previously) after I heard one of their songs on my cousin's iPod shuffle whilst driving home to PA from... Middlebury College.  Small world, eh?  My cousin just graduated from Midd, and I was up there for the ceremonies (and to extract her from her dorm room - no small task!)  Anyway, the song is really chill and really sweet, and has a good message...


Not that I'm anti-war, but the concept that often times the wars which are fought in this world are "not worth fighting" certainly has some truth to it.  The world's a messed up place, and most of the battles fought are over land, power, racial hatred, religious hatred, etc... all kinds of things that we wouldn't need to fight over if people weren't so self-centered and had love for their fellow man.  Regardless of how you feel on the subject, the groove of the song is well worth a listen... and you know a song's legit when it has its own Wikipedia entry...

"I have seen the others
and I have discovered
that this fight is not worth fighting, no...
and I see their mothers
and I will no other
to follow me where I'm going..."

5-25-11 - "When You Were Young" ~ The Killers

The Killers may not be everyone's cup of tea, and to be honest I don't love every song of theirs.  But I do like most of their stuff, and I love this one.  The hook is catchy, the lyrics are intriguing, and, well... it's just a fun song.


There are probably some life lessons to be gleaned here.  A relationship isn't salvation. "Pole, pole." (Slowly, slowly in Swahili - what the porters will tell you as you attempt to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro).  The Devil's Water isn't just a river in England (but it is a river in England...); it'll mess you up if you drink too much... but lyrical interpretation is in the ear of the listener - what does the song say to you?


Theatrical music video (some really cool location shots here):

Just the track:  "When You Were Young" (grooveshark)


Bonus acoustic version at Abbey Road:

(lead singer Brandon Flowers clearly values the piano and the emotion more than, say, hitting notes that make sense in this version... but it's still cool)


"Can we climb this mountain? I don't know
Higher now than ever before
I know we can make it if we take it slow
Let's take it easy
Easy now, watch it go

We're burning down the highway skyline
On the back of a hurricane that started turning
When you were young..."