"Elias" ~ Dispatch

Given my recent track record, and in the interest of more music and less of my ramblings, I'm going to try and post at least every other day, even if it means limited to no commentary.  As such, here's a track off of Dispatch's first release, "Silent Steeples".  The song has powerful roots, which you can learn about in the video below; if it interests you, you can also check out the band's charity, The Elias Fund, which was started to help a man in Zimbabwe provide education for his sons.

"Distance is short when your hand carries what your eye found..."

5-23-12 - "Yes, Maria, Yes" ~ David Wax Museum

You guys.  David Wax Museum are back in Pittsburgh tomorrow night for a show at Club Cafe.  Yes, the Boston-based band with the donkey jawbone will be playing at everyone's favorite PGH venue.  Here's a track which epitomizes their Mexo-Americana stylings with an English-language version of a traditional Mexican folk song:

Be sure to check this track and others in their Daytrotter session.  Be sure to check some other sweet performances which are floating around the interwebs, like this NPR Tiny Desk Concert which opens with this tune:

And most of all, be sure to be at Club Cafe tomorrow night at 8 (7 Central).


"...your careless heart invites me in, just to see me go..."

9-2-11 - "You, Me, And The Bourgeoisie" ~ The Submarines

Here's an example of the evils of the big corporations being used for good... sort of.  I'm not gonna lie, I heard this song on an iPhone commercial a few years back; might never have heard of the band otherwise.  Ironically, the song is all about not falling prey to the lifestyle-driven "keep up with the Joneses" mentality that is so prevalent these days.  But in conjunction with my "don't judge a band by its genre" policy, I believe there's no wrong way to get your music out there.


As you might guess since it was used in a commercial for a product aimed at the young, hip crowd, the song is super catchy.  But along with the hook, there's a healthy dose of food for thought.  What is truly important in life?  Is it money, cars, climbing the corporate ladder?  Or perhaps is there something else to which we should dedicate our pursuits...?

"We're not living the good life
unless we're fighting the good fight..."

8-9-11 - "Treat Me Right" ~ Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

OK, so Hartwood Acres free* summer concerts are pretty flippin' sweet.  Josh Ritter and David Wax Museum were great back in June, and Grace Potter & The Nocturnals brought it this past Sunday.  Here's a video I shot of one of the most rockin' songs I've ever heard played solely on acoustic guitars (x3!)!

(yea, they segued into another song and I just kept filming... a cover of Bill Withers' "Grandma's Hands"... it's all good stuff so roll with it!)

And here are a few photos that hopefully capture some of the energy Grace and the band brought to the show (oh yea, she plays a Flying V AND a Hammond B3 ~ my kind of woman!)

Wow, could I have used any more parenthetical exclamations in this post? (I think not!)


"I'm at the end of a tunnel but there ain't no light..."
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* - except, of course, for the hassles of driving there, sitting in traffic, and parking... if you go, go EARLY and take a picnic and just enjoy the evening.


PS - sorry for the late post; Youtube took forever to upload my video so I had to go to bed.  But hey, it's still August 9th in Hawaii... or at least somewhere in the Pacific Ocean near the International Date Line... I think... anyway, sorry.

8-8-11 - "Where Is My Mind?" ~ The Pixies

The Pixies were largely before my time, so to speak.  But they have some quality stuff which I've discovered several years after it came out.  I can't flash my indie cred on this one and say "I was into that song before it was all mainstream in the Fight Club soundtrack," but hey, I honestly believe it doesn't matter where or how a person finds out about good music, just that they do.  So when your favorite underground band sells out and is featured on some insurance commercial or something, just chill, and be glad that more people will start listening to and hopefully supporting a great band to help them continue to write awesome tunes.

So yeah, the song is probably a stoner song, but it also resonates with the themes of Fight Club, which is a somewhat disturbing movie but hits pretty hard for the corporate whores many of us are these days.  I'm not saying you should take the extreme measures of Edward Norton and Brad Pitt's characters in the film, but I will say that you should pursue what you love, not just punch a clock and while away your hours in monotony to afford worthless trinkets, a bigger and better TV package (to waste more of your life away), $8 a day of Starbucks, and a $70/month smartphone contract.  Life is too short to spend working for the man, and too precious to waste on the opiates shoved on us by our culture, government, and the sheer information overload of the 21st century.  I'm ashamed to say it's been months since I just sat down with a good book and read it, and probably weeks since I spent any length of time playing music myself - although I have caught some sweet live shows which revitalize my spirit during these times.  I have a good job I (usually) enjoy, and it provides me with opportunity to pursue my interests and spend time with people I care about, but it also can be mind-numbing at times... I need those live shows, evenings with family or close friends, or amazing albums to keep me sane when the drudgery starts to get to me.


Find your mind, then use it.

"Your head will collapse
When there's nothing in it..."

7-31-11 - "Goodbye, Dear Friend" ~ Deer Tick

I don't believe I have ever listened to a Deer Tick song before today.  Not for any particular reason, just hadn't ever gotten around to it.  But today a friend posted this one on facebook, so I listened, and it gripped me immediately.  It's a pretty straightforward song, musically simple with just a piano and vocals.  The emotions of losing a dear friend are eloquently expressed in the lyrics and the way they are sung.  We may not all have lost a friend like this, but we can all empathize on some level...

"Some boys won't shed a tear
Oh, but I tell it like this here
It can break medown and get me where it hurts the most..."

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..."