1-8-12 - "Old Friend" ~ Sea Wolf

I'd talk about how it's been so long and I plan to post more frequently, but nobody wants to read that.  Here's a pretty chill song I'd heard before; caught it on World Cafe tonight driving home from work and it just hit me tonight.

 

Live-ish video:

Oh, by the way, BAM.  Free download, courtesy of Diffuser.fm.  If nothing else, I Google things for you!

"Stood upon the rooftop on a night so clear
that the lights from the city just disappeared..."

11-9-11 - "Old Friend" ~ The O.C. Supertones

I find tonight's track to be incredibly evocative.  Every time I hear the opening chords, I'm instantly transported to a beach in SoCal.  Wait, I've never been to California, but I can still imagine what it would be like!  The music just has that vibe of sitting around a bonfire on the beach, in the late (late) Indian summer, after one last perfect day riding the waves, enjoying the company of close friends and playing some surfy, relaxing tunes to wind things down...

 (photo borrowed from laurenmeg)

This one lacks the trademark horns and blistering ska heat of the bulk of the band's work, but it's one of my favorites from their catalog nonetheless.  As I mentioned, the gentle surf guitar and bass rhythm are just swell, the harmonies sublime, and the guitar solo in the bridge is beautiful in its restraint.

"What do I know? Somebody tell me

I've been running from you for so long…"

(photo borrowed from yan_san)

11-6-11 - "Stranded" ~ Plumb

I listened to some older stuff on my iPod whilst doing some yard work today, and stumbled across this old favorite.  Plumb has spanned several genres over the years, but back in 1999, she was putting out melancholy alt-rock tunes like this one.  The meaning isn't hard to deduce; mourning over a love lost and wondering if it could be regained...

"If it's coming over you

like it's coming over me

I'm crashing like a tidal wave

that drags me out to sea…"

10-26-11 - "Pipeline / Diamond Head" ~ The Ventures

For several reasons, I'm giving you a two-fer tonight (and you can thank my good buddy Ben for that term, although he used it in reference to a piano duet rather than a doubleheader of songs).  First, I couldn't decide which Ventures tune to go with.  Second, I found a sweet live video of two of my top three choices.  Third, the songs are short anyway.  Fourth, it's my party and I'll cry if I want to.


Anyway, the first time I posted a song by this groundbreaking instrumental rock band, I explained just why they are awesome; so I'll just let the music do the talking tonight.  Here are two surf rock classics, performed live back in '64:

(I love the chugging riff in Pipeline, but the best part may be that their demeanor is so laid back while they are playing what was, at the time, some of the most progressive and "hard" music out there.)

10-20-11 - "Morning Song" ~ We Are The City

So you've already read about the band whose show I attended on Monday night.  An unexpected benefit of being there was discovering these guys along the way.  Hailing from British Columbia just like tourmates Said The Whale, We Are The City brought an engaging brand of progressive indie rock with keyboard (which of course gets them a +1 in my book).  The downside was that I really only caught their last song, due to a prior commitment.  But that was enough for me to check them out further.


Morning Song is the back half of a just-dropped EP, and happens to be the song I caught at the show.  (The front half is called Mourning song, and leads into this one quite well - check it out too!)


The piano style reminds me a bit of Keane, but the guitar and vocals differentiate them from the brit piano-pop group.  Evocative lyrics will draw you in, with imagery of the ocean and the frailty of human life.  Asymmetrical phrasing generates an unsettled mood, making the resolution all the more powerful.  The song's subject matter is the suffering in the world, and the hope that burns within us despite the pain.  


Sweet video of the band performing the song out in nature in - you guessed it - the morning:

Perhaps the best part?  You can download the track FREE on Bandcamp!  (but if you like it, I highly recommend going back and buying the $2, 2-song EP to support the further endeavours* of this talented young group...)


* - see what I did there?  I spelled it like a Canadian would, eh?


Morning Song ~ We Are The City (bandcamp)


"Do you feel fine? 

Please pull me like the moon pulls the tide 

And if I'm set to walk on land then my sandy bones will turn to glass and I'll wait for them to crack..."

10-16-11 - "Atlantic" ~ The Midway State

Hailing from Toronto, these guys put out at least one song that caught my ear on my travels... I have quite a lot of bands to check out in depth so it may take time to get to them all, but let me know what you think of this track in the meantime.

"Hard London rain beat colour out..."

10-14-11 - "Brokered Heart" ~ The Acorn

Last day on the West Coast (for now!), so here's another quickie post of a song I heard while on my trip...


The Acorn hail from Ottawa, Ontario and may be the first band I've featured from that town.  Bully for them.  Their style is some kind of indie/folk, and this track features a lot of acoustic guitar and ukelele (booyah!)  


Here are two live/acoustic performances - one in a van, the other down by the river (ok, fine, ocean... it's a body of water and I wanted to allude to a certain motivational speaker...):

"Oh, you signed and sealed it
my brokered heart believed it..."

10-7-11 - "Big Blue Wave" ~ Hey Ocean

Another one from 100.5 The Peak.  Local Vancouver band Hey Ocean! are on form with this track, and hey, David Beckham is in the band!

...wait that's David BeckINGham in the band, not the soccer player... my bad.  But he's pretty cool too!


Anyway, the song is just swell.  Catchy and hopeful, this fits the bill of indie rock-pop brilliance.  And I found an amazing acoustic version as well, which brings out the harmonies and emotive depth in a spectacular way...


Recorded:

Acoustic Awesomeness:

"Sing until you have no voice
sing because you have no choice
sing until you float away
our love is like a big blue wave..."

9-23-11 - "Hold On" ~ Angus and Julia Stone

This one has a haunting and ethereal vibe.  Sounds like she loved someone whom she thought loved her in return, only to have her heart broken... yet she still holds on to hope that he'll come through in the end... or something to that effect, anyway.  Give it a listen; I think you may enjoy it.

"Hold on, what do you take me for?"

5-24-11 - "Ocean Avenue" ~ Yellowcard

Going back to the college years here.  Super fun song, perfect for a road trip.  Probably not a lot of hidden meaning, he's just remembering teenage summers and young love... good for him.  Video is pretty interesting (it has nuns!)

"We're looking up at the same night sky,
keep pretending the sun will not rise..."

5-13-11 - "Oceano" ~ Josh Groban

Josh Groban has one of the best voices I've ever heard.  This song is probably my favorite of his.  If you don't know Italian, you'll have to appreciate it on the musical level, and/or look up a translation of the lyrics, but it's just a cool sounding song, which uses dynamics incredibly well to convey the emotions of the singer.


Live performance on YouTube (skip the chitchat at the beginning), album recording linked via Grooveshark:


"Oceano"

(rough translation; anyone fluent in Italian can feel free to correct it:)



"For the love that I give you
and the love that you do not know
has shipwrecked me
for the love that I have not
and the love that I would like
and for this pain
and this love that i have for you
truly, that guides me through these storms..."



"E' per l'amore che ti do
E' per l'amore che non sai
Che mi fai naufragare
E' per l'amore che non ho
E' per l'amore che vorrei
E' per questo dolore
E' questo amore che ho per te
Che mi fa superare queste vere tempeste..."