Oh, just a little ditty from a band about which I recently heard someone say, "They were almost as big as The Beatles back in the '60s..." Apparently, this American trio took the UK by storm, and (if the internet speaks truth) at one time their fan club was bigger than that of the Fab Four. Their counterattack to the British Invasion makes for quite the tale of intrigue... hit up Wikipedia if you're looking for more details. The song has that classic feel, and if you're dealing with a breakup or just wishing you had someone special, this one's definitely for you.
"Loneliness is the cloak you wear a deep shade of blue is always there the sun ain't gonna shine any more..."
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..."
Here's a sweet new track from a sweet new band. A band comprised of Scott Simons, an expatriate of West Virginia who's been living in LA, and Dani Buncher, a Pittsburgher who you might know from my ramblings about Big Hurry and Big Snow Big Thaw (the other two bands for which she is the drummer) I'm not gonna lie, I'm a bit disappointed this band isn't called "Big TeamMate" or something to that effect...
Oh yeah, and the duo used to date for, like, ten years, so that adds an interesting dynamic. This is their debut single, just dropped last night. It deals with their breakup and some of their story, some pretty rough relationship stuff set to infectious upbeat pop sounds. If this is any indication, they'll be quite a fun show at Brillobox next weekend...
Oh by the way, free download of this track on their facebook page. Bangarang.
"Sometimes all you've got is too much sometimes nothing's ever enough..."
Here's a song from a few years back that I'm pretty sure I discovered just by clicking on some "related videos" on YouTube after watching some other band's song... sometimes you strike out doing that but sometimes you find a good one. I like this song, so there you go.
Not entirely sure of the precise meaning, but it's got that wistful, melancholy vibe going on. Kind of seems like a breakup song, only more complicated than that...
Sometimes art imitates life. Sometimes life is funny. Sometimes music is art. Ergo, sometimes music is funny. Craig Ferguson and I present you with the inventors of hip-hop, "Formerly New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo", Flight of the Conchords:
And here's the "music video" from their HBO TV series:
So I finally picked up Foster The People's album recently, because who doesn't love an album that's chock full of tunes just waiting for commercials to use them? I mean, screw Corporate America and The Man, but dang is this album catchy!
After a handful of spins, this track has grabbed me the most. The hook is off the hoo... wait I mean chain. And the lyrics are actually fairly deep too. It delves into the musician's dilemma - opening one's soul up to the masses. It speaks out against conforming and compromising due to fear, fostering the people (a bit of a stretch, I know, but deal with it) and encouraging them to stand strong and put their talents and skills to use. And sometimes we all wish we could pull off miraculous escapes like Houdini...
And lest you think that they're just hiding behind all the electronic sounds and synths...
And here's a hybrid live performance from SNL which still has some of the synths, but brings more focus on the keys and vox while adding some sick horns... (hey, ah, Foster The People, you got a little, uh, Ben Stiller on your shirt...)
Also featuring Kenny G. What.
"With the lights turned up, it's hard to hide sometimes I want to disappear..."
What happens when a raucous punk band grows up? Well, sometimes, some of the members form a new band and start writing music like this. And sometimes, they get back together with the original crew after a decade, when they're all closer to forty than thirty, and we all know what happens then (actually, I haven't heard any of the new Blink 182 stuff yet...)
But yeah, Angels And Airwaves are what happens when a guy like Tom DeLonge decides to write slightly more mature music than "What's My Age Again?" and "The Party Song", and I kinda like it. DeLonge has one of those voices that can grate on you if you're not in the mood, but it actually works most of the time in this context. Here's a song which could have several meanings on numerous levels, but seeing as I had a pretty good day, the surface interpretation implies that this is appropriate for tonight...
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...
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.
Some days, no matter how important your project is at work, no matter how "disrespectful" it may be considered to those around you, you just gotta crank some ska. Today was one of those days.
Ska's prime was a while ago, to be sure; can't say I listen to the genre frequently these days, but if you're in the right mood it's still great. And yes, when I said "crank", I meant "go one click higher than normal on the computer volume button", so I wasn't really sticking it to the man. But man, hearing this album (and especially this song) just made me happy.
Give it a try and just try to stay angry or depressed or whatever unpleasant mood you may be in right now. And if you're already feeling good, this will only expound upon your good feelings. I promise.
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..."
Here's a super catchy track from Alexander Ebert (he of Edward Sharpe AND the Magnetic Zeros). No, it's not about Charlie Sheen "winning". Pretty much just a call for love and peace, perhaps with a little bit of tongue-in-cheek praise of the American Dream thrown in...
Live/Acoustic/Solo/Guitar:
"Do you know the way, the things to say, the way to win the game of life? I should know better..."
Here's a fun one, with a synthy, 80s-ish feel. OK Go are just a fun band, good for when you want to just bob your head and enjoy life and music. Here's another interesting and innovative music video by the band who built a following in that way, this time featuring stop-motion dance moves, a goose, and some other fun and random stuff. Watch for the kid at the bottom right around the 3:30 mark...
"Cause no one's gonna save you if you don't swim for the boat, No one's gonna save you if you won't take the rope..."
So it's officially summer as of last week, and tonight we're going to just enjoy a fun summer song (see what I did there)? The Beach Boys were kings of summery tunes that embodied the spirit of American youth and adventure. Sometimes they sang about surfing, sometimes cars, sometimes girls... sometimes all three. This one's mostly about the latter two, and kicks off with a sweet little tribute to Chuck Berry and "Johnny B. Goode"...
(OK, so maybe Brian Wilson got a little lazy, rhyming "now" with "now" with "now" here, but I think we can forgive that in light of the awesome harmonies and fun story... woops, did it again!)
"Well the girls can't stand her 'Cause she walks looks and drives like an ace now She makes the Indy 500 look like a Roman chariot race now A lotta guys try to catch her But she leads them on a wild goose chase now..."
¿Habla español? If not, you'll have to pull up the full lyrics on freetranslation.com to fully grasp this song. I know a little Spanish, but I had to look it up, not gonna lie. It's a pretty interesting story, actually... and I definitely love me some Ed Sharpe!
The video is a long-form music video that's actually part two of a story sequence told through the music videos of several songs by ES&MZ. Probably worth starting from part one if you're gonna watch it; if you just want the tune, here's the grooveshark link:
It's late and I'm super tired, so you'll be spared in-depth commentary on this one, although I think the lyrics merit some attention. And hey, I just learned that the lead singer of The Wallflowers, Jakob Dylan, is Bob Dylan's son. How about that.
Have yourself some good old 90s alt-rock:
"I seen the sun comin' up at the funeral at dawn The long broken arm of human law ..."
Going with a fun one from the days of our youth. Well, my youth... I don't presume to know the age of the reader. Anyway, it's just a fun ska-ish tune about getting over a dude who keeps calling, or maybe it's about the way technology has permeated our society to the point where "helpful" and "useful" things become a nuisance or even a curse...
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..."
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..."
Sherwood is lots of fun. Here's one about how too much California is never a good thing. OK, that's not really what it's about... it's about a girl.
"And I've been spending too much time in California Where your feelings change but seasons never do And in my dream last night I felt a storm was coming But awoke to sunny skies of baby blue..."
For no particular reason, here's a classic turn-of-the-century punkish/emoish piano rock tune. It's got some witty wordplay, sweet guitars, and a dirrrty piano breakdown in the bridge. I like it a lot, and that's all I have to say about that.
"with your baby's breath, breathe symphonies; come on, sweet catastrophe..."
