So I just discovered this band thanks to another band (Efterklang). This track is phenomal - simple, chill, and on repeat most of the evening. Give it a go:
This track is the first single from an upcoming album. If you check the band's label's website (Dead Oceans), you can snag a couple downloads - different tracks, though. And if you dig a bit deeper on the site, you can find a little treasure trove of more free tracks from artists such as The Tallest Man On Earth, Gauntlet Hair, and several others I haven't listened to yet but will be checking out in the near future. "Now my feet are gold, and my heart is white
And we race out on the desert plains all night
See honey, I am not some broken thing
I do not lay here in the dark waiting for thee..."
My friend Doug introduced me to this band during a recent LEGO building session (LEGO is cool, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. We were working on this Great Wall of China display for the Cranberry Library.) Sorry, that's a bit of a non sequitur, but it's a true story. Anyway, the band plays an incredible Americana style of music, of which this song is the archetype. Simple, yet poignant, lyrics sung by a fantastic vocalist over beautiful instrumentation evocative of the heartland come together for a tune that will keep you hitting repeat. The band admits to being influenced by Aaron Copland, and if you're familiar with his work you'll hear the similarities... hmm, I should post some Copland sometime... at any rate, have a listen:
If you like this track, you can find a different song on the band's website, available for free download (yeah, sorry, bait and switch... that song is also good but I felt like posting this one.) "A man is walking on the highway
Regina Spektor probably doesn't need the hype from my little blog, and I've already discussed a few of her tracks. But this one, from her new album that drops next week, is just spectacular and I felt like telling you why I feel that way, so here goes.
The first several times I listened were at work with the volume low, unfortunately not the best way to fully appreciate music. However, even in that setting, the musicianship and composition struck me. When I got around to giving the song its proper due and absorbing the lyrics, it only deepened my enjoyment. On the surface, the song is a lament for masterworks of various art forms as they are neglected by today's reality TV society. If you like, you can likely find several layers of deeper meaning as well.
The most poignant metaphor, for me, is the violin. A Stradivarius is in itself a masterpiece, but it only becomes a true wonder when in the hands of a brilliant musician. If it's sitting in a display case, the beauty of its sound is lost... "They've forgotten, forgotten how to sing..."
Here's the track on Soundcloud:
A Letterman performance from last week, complete with a Steinway & Sons grand piano and Regina's trademarked oddball vocalizations - this time in the form of laser sound effects:
Just watched the movie "Happy Thankyou More Please" with Hermano. (Arrested Development fans will appreciate the reference, especially given that a Bluth is in this film...)
While the film is far from perfect - you'll have to accept a few far-fetched plot devices and some perhaps trite & overused rom-com cliches - I found it quite enjoyable. Maybe that can be chalked up to having a crush on Kate Mara (spoiler alert: she can sing, which exponentially magnifies any crush for an audiophile.)
One of the main themes is that we are all worthy of love. Yes, we all have flaws, sometimes fatal ones. We all make mistakes, sometimes major ones. But, if we're willing to look, and willing to demonstrate love to others, we might just find that there are people willing to accept our shortcomings and love us despite them. And heck, that might just be the inspiration we need to overcome some of those shortcomings and better ourselves.
Anyway, I've spoken before about the impact a soundtrackcanhave on a movie, which holds true for this track (and others from Jaymay) and its use in the film. I'll leave it to you to decide whether to watch the film and discern for yourself the profundity of the song's usage, but the song stands alone just fine:
Don't let fear and doubt hold you back. Don't give up on your dreams because they haven't come true just yet; don't give up on people just because they've disappointed you; don't give up on yourself even if you've screwed up colossally. Take a chance, make a move, live your life. You only get one, and it's beautiful despite the rough spots - make it more so by living to the fullest.
You guys. Fun. Is. Spectacular. A combination of, dare I say, fun melodies with upbeat and catchy instrumentation, topped off with (at least on tracks like this) powerful and introspective lyrics. They're exploding across the airwaves, on both the indie and popular stations (and fortunately, "We Are Young" hasn't been mutilated for the Top 40 stations like Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know".)
This one (especially the acoustic performance) captures the power of Nate's vocals and the emotion he conveys. The song's message is one of hope and perseverance.
Sick acoustic version recorded for Record Store Day (4/21/2012):
This one has caught my ear on 91.3 WYEP a few times lately. For some reason, it reminds me of Florence + The Machine, but that may just be me. The song is a driving folk rock tune about snakes, and who doesn't love that?
But seriously, the serpents are a metaphor for the poisonous thoughts left over from a traumatic relationship. Van Etten's lyrics are a maelstrom of resentment and conciliatory efforts as she tries to come to grips with these emotions. The harmonies dance a tightrope on the edge of catastrophe, evoking the mental turmoil and dragging the listener along for the ride.
Like 1,2,3, these guys have a nigh un-googleable name: fun. But man, they play some catchy tunes. This one's been around for a bit, but I have not posted it yet, and it turns out the video is a free download on iTunes right now, so I was reminded of the awesomeness of the tune.
Regular:
Acoustic (this. is. legit.):
And, for anyone who's an intermediate pianist, here's a 2-minute tutorial from the band's keyboard dude, Andrew Dost:
So I fail at battery charging pre-show and thus I fail at getting sweet concert video of 1,2,3 like I got for Meeting Of Important People from Saturday's sold out Brillobox show. BUT, I did scour YouTube and found a couple wicked live performances of "Work" which you can check on my post from last summer. And I found someone else's concert video of tonight's song too.
This one is a really chill tune, perfect for a leisurely cruise with the top down, or a relaxing summer evening - wait I mean winter evening. It's just got that groove. Can't explain; you'll have to hear it for yourself. The song is a reminder that we can't expect success to be dropped in our laps; we have to work for it. Don't expect the world to hand you things - get out there and make your dreams happen!
Live at Stickyz (whatever that is):
Album Version:
"Ooh, kid...
no golden yacht will sail you from the shore, kid.
I'm going to admit that I found out about this band/song from a commercial. But in my defense, it's a Pittsburgh Penguins commercial, and they're pretty awesome, so I feel like whatever hipster cred I may have had remains intact. They're not an obscure indie band, anyway... they're a quickly-becoming-less-obscure rock band.
The Parlor Mob is named after a New York City gang which was one of many famous gangs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries - I give them points for a sweet historical nod there. The song itself is blistering rock and speaks of clawing and fighting to make one's way in a challenging world.
"Out of the darkness
and into the light of love
though for now it seems this struggle has only begun
I'm still believing
our day is gonna come
when we step out of the shadows and into the sun…"
Since I just poured my heart out about life, love, and blogging, I'm going to do a quickie post to let you know about some free tunes from Pittsburgh / NYC band 1,2,3 - they just dropped a freebie EP which was originally conceived as a few lullaby tunes for the niece of one of the band members, but they decided to share it with us.
You can read about it and get the download link here; it's definitely some chill but sweet stuff. Early indicators are that the first track, "Riding The Wooly Bug To Dreamland", is my fave of the five, so we'll call that today's song, but the others ain't half bad either. I may drop this EP into my iTunes sleep playlist tonight and see if it works better than my standards at putting me out...
If you like these tunes, go pick up the band's album and support their future endeavors! The ever-evolving music industry is using the power of the internet to allow bands to do stuff like this, but those bands still need to pay the bills for studio time and whatnot in order to continue bringing you the tunes. So, whether it's this band or others, take advantage of the free songs, but also be sure to support bands you love so they can keep making awesome music!
Time flies when you're having fun! I had a blast this past year posting a song every day (ok, fine, I only managed to post 362 songs in 365 days - sue me!) Many of the posts stemmed from surreal and amazingconcertexperiences, or time spent with close friends listening to and discussing the latest songs/artists/albums to blow our minds. It became clear, however, that my writing method could sometimes eat up a lot of time, listening to a track repeatedly while dissecting the lyrics and whatnot.
As part of an effort to dedicate a bit more time to other endeavors this year (like working on some of my own music), I have decided that I'm going to back off a bit here. I'll still try to post a song every day, or most days anyway; but you may get less exposition and insight. It may be I post a link or video with little to no comment more frequently, and leave it to you to listen, decide if you like it, and do some research if you do enjoy the artist.
Conversely, I think there's something to be said for quality over quantity as well. There are tons of great songs and artists out there, and I love discovering as many of them as possible and passing along the good word. However, sometimes in the past year when I had a busy day, and it's late at night, and I haven't had a particular song catch my ear, I found myself throwing up a song that might not have been quite up to snuff. Then again, since musical value is in the ear of the beholder (Willow Smith has a lot of fans, I hear), maybe it's not so bad if I post some songs that I personally only kind of like - maybe those songs will turn out to be some of your favorites. Bottom line, I'm not going to worry about it too much if I miss a day here or there and only post when a song actually inspires me to do so.
At any rate, if you have enjoyed at least a few songs I posted in 2011, you should definitely put my blog in your Google Reader or whatever you use and check it out from time to time, but don't get heartbroken if a day or two goes by without a post. If I let you down in that regard, check out sites like DrawUsLines (PGH music blog gurus), HughShows (PGH concert photos and more), or Tympanogram (Rochester, NY counterparts of the DUL crew). All of these sites put more time and effort into providing quality AND quantity content on their sites than I am able to dedicate right now.
Even better, go exploring yourself and turn up some sweet new tunes, then pass them my way and yell at me to blog about them!
May 2012 be full of joy and love and awesome songs for all of us.
A few of my friends (you know who you are) got this song in my head tonight the old fashioned way - by singing it. The Felice Brothers don't match up to The AvettBrothers (in my humble opinion), but they still put on a rip-roarin' show with some boot-stompin' tunes such as this one. It's just a little ditty about the inherent evils of cheating on your significant other whilst he is familiarizing himself with the inherent evils of mixing alcohol and guns...
I suppose it shouldn't be shocking that a band by this name would put out a video based on one of the most chilling events in recent history - a mass suicide/murder by a group of people following a fanatical and charismatic leader. The video's production is impressive, seamlessly inserting the band members into footage from the cult. You can read a bit about the making of the video here.
Despite the depressing nature of the video's subject matter, I find the song itself encouraging. The ultimate message is to live life to the fullest, not to "hole up" or "stay inside and sleep the light away..." Take advantage of opportunities to see the world, spend time with loved ones, and don't take the little things for granted. And especially, don't let negative or slothful people get in the way of your own enjoyment of this beautiful world. At least, that's what I'm getting out of the tune...
Just the song, without the NBC News commentary and whatnot:
Bonus: The band is featured in a new holiday episode of Yo Gabba Gabba!, which apparently airs on Nick Jr. tomorrow evening. So if you enjoy this song, be sure to tune in for that and trip out whilst watching a children's program... you know, if you're into that sort of thing.
Here's a beautiful track from a group who are no longer together. The subdued string section is woven together with the guitar for a tapestry to backdrop the powerful lyrics. The intensity of the longing to find meaning in life, and find "home", is staggering. Probably you've had times when you felt that way; I know I have. There's a lot about the world that is depressing, and even the masterpieces (man-made, like cathedrals, or natural) are prone to decay into entropy. Yet, the beauty of these things gives us hope, and a desire to preserve the existing wonders of the world, and perhaps to create some new ones.
There are probably ties to human relationships here as well - home doesn't have to be a a physical location; sometimes it's finding the right group of people who make you feel comfortable and loved.
This unofficial fan-made video has some starkly contrasting visuals:
Do you ever get fed up and frustrated with the world? Happens to me on a fairly regular basis, and it's probably no surprise that it often happens at this time of year. November means elections, and then Thanksgiving, and then of course comes Christmas (although given that the TV commercials and department stores start on Christmas in October these days, maybe I have the order wrong.) These annual events bring to a focus the things that make me sick to my stomach - corruption in politics, gluttonous consumerism, and the disparity between the American populace and that of numerous other countries.
This year, Occupy Wall Street has added fuel to that fire. Do I agree 100% with the OWS movement? Probably not, although to be honest I haven't read up enough to know all the details. But do they have a point that the government and big corporations have been pulling a fast one on the "99%"...? Conversely, if you take the American "99%" and compare their wealth to that of the rest of the world's population... who's the 1% now? I'm not going into more detail because this blog is ultimately about the music, but these are things that grind my gears, when I let my mind ponder them.
This song is pretty clearly the result of Conor Oberst ruminating on the state of the world today. Again - I'm not trying to promote any political views, and I probably don't agree with everything Oberst thinks about the government, but clearly there are things broken in the system and if people don't stand for their beliefs, nothing's going to change.
You'll certainly feel the emotion behind the lyrics and the angry guitar riffs in the song, and hopefully it will inspire you to evaluate your life and the world around you, decide what's important, and make sure you're fighting for it.
Live at Battery Park, Manhattan, Independence Day 2009:
A little late tonight, but only here on the East Coast...
My favorite Interpol song was always Obstacle 1, but I heard this one on the radio today so it's in my head. As much as I love living in Pittsburgh, I always love visiting the West Coast, so whenever I'm not there, I'm asking the same question as the band does in this song.
Anyway, without further rambling, here's some rock from the Big Apple:
" 'cause I've got a chance for a sweet saint life..."
So I intended to be all clever and post this song in November, but I plumb forgot. Lucky for you, it also mentions December, so I can still use it and feel somewhat clever. But even if it were May, the song is amazing.
It's from the early days of The Avett Brothers, so it's much more raw than the more polished recordings of the "Emotionalism" and "I and Love and You" albums. The emotions are just as raw and powerful. The intensity of the feelings expressed will pull you right into the moment. Pretty much all of us can relate on some level - whether it be a fleeting crush who doesn't reciprocate, or an extended relationship derailed when one lover moves away.
Here's the Crackerfarm backstage recording of Scotty A. singing the tune, from Kent, OH in 2008 (my bro and some good buddies were at the show, but I missed it). By the way, Crackerfarm has dozens of similar (and similarly awesome) videos of the Bros. Avett singing stripped down versions of their catalogue - check them all out!
And here's an intimate performance from a stage in a high school in Manhattan - being at a show where they bust out a song like this is just a transcendental experience:
"if I had money, would it all look good
and if I had a job now, like a good man should
if I came to you tomorrow, and said let's run away
Would you roll like the wind does, baby would you stay?"
> Trippy, trance-y, transcendental track. I listened about a dozen times and for some reason couldn't get past it; just one of those strange songs that I'm drawn to. No guarantees that your tastes will agree with mine on this one.
> Once I finally started paying attention to the lyrics, I noticed they drop "asunder". Any band so eloquent is fine by me.
In honor of a show I didn't attend in Pittsburgh tonight, here's a track about, well, falling in with the wrong kind of girl, getting picked up by the cops for questioning, and... you'll catch on pretty quick, I'd imagine. Some of my friends really love The Hold Steady, and I went to see them a while back last time they were in town, and they're not bad, but not my personal favorite style of music either. Enjoyable performance, just not quite in my wheelhouse. This one was my favorite song they performed. Catchy rock tune with humorous lyrics and a nice background piano riff. Check it:
Been a while since I posted some Regina Spektor. This one falls somewhere near the middle of the Spektor Weirdness Scale - it has some odd vocal utterances and disturbing imagery, but isn't nearly as strange as certain other tracks ("Oedipus", "Aching to Pupate", I'm looking at you.) I think my favorite thing about Spektor is she's absolutely unafraid to try new things, be herself, and just have fun with her songs.
The song starts with a driving piano rhythm, explodes with mechanical sounds, and features a sick string breakdown for the bridge. The subject matter here is pretty heavy; I'll leave the details for you to work out on your own but the gist seems to be an homage to / railing against the technological age, or maybe some kind of futuristic dystopian world...
Several clutch live performances are online; here's one from House of Blues (Boston) to start you off:
(look for "Live in London", "Live Paris Bataclan", and "Bonnaroo 2010" for some other sweet ones - better video than this version but this one has that intimate venue feel)
And here's the album version, coupled with one of the most fitting fan videos I've ever seen. The scenes are from Joss Whedon's "Firefly" and "Dollhouse" shows, and although I haven't watched Dollhouse, Firefly was great.
