5-19-12 - "Anything Worth Anything" ~ Rachael Johnson

A few weeks ago, my job had me travel to Nashville to work on a prototype system we have set up with a customer.  Same prototype that had my in Tennessee twice last year, but this time I was there all week and had a bit more time to enjoy the city.  Plus, it was spring instead of winter, so the city was coming out of its shell a bit and more lively this time around.


Last year, I stumbled across a girl with some pipes in one of the honky tonk / bar establishments on Broadway (downtown Nashville).  When I found out I'd be back in town, I checked her website, and sure enough, she was playing at a different venue right down the street.  As is the nature of bar entertainment, she and her band were playing a bunch of covers, from Beatles to Bon Jovi.  I put in a request for her original song, "Arizona", which I'd heard her play last year.  Since I already posted that song back then, here's an introspective ballad where Rachael Johnson reflects on the trials of her musical journey and trying to make a living in one of the musical meccas of the world:

And a live performance:

"Anything worth anything don't come easy..."

5-8-12 - "Kids+Poker Face" ~ Weezer

I honestly thought this mashup was my own idea, and I pitched it to my buddy Mike last weekend, who burst my bubble by mentioning the Weezer cover.  Perhaps I'd heard this before but blocked it from my consciousness, perhaps I legitimately came up with the same idea as Rivers Cuomo & Co.  Let it be known, however, that in my head, the "can't read my, can't read my, no he can't read my poker face..." part was directly over the hook from Kids; whereas Weezer just segues from one song into the other.

Let it be known that it's unlikely I'll ever post Gaga other than this cover - just not really what I'm into these days.  Let it also be known, however, that she's a musical genius, but also a savvy businesswoman who figured out that she could achieve much greater fame and fortune by going the extravagant pop diva route than playing classical music or just being a girl with a piano.

While we're on covers, who can forget this gem?

At any rate, the original MGMT song rocks, but this does as well:

"No time to think of consequences..."

1-9-12 - "Ridin' Coach" ~ 1,2,3

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.

(It doesn't happen like that...)"

12-28-11 - "Sprawl II" ~ Arcade Fire

If you've been paying attention, you'll know that I love juxtaposition.  First, the word itself is something special.  Second, the contrast between joyful music and depressing / somber / provocative lyrics or imagery, or maybe satirical commentary on modern civilization, or just plain self-destructive tendencies.  This song is just that - if you listen to the tune without paying attention to the lyrics, it is inconceivable that you won't be dancing, or at least tapping your toes; but if you pay close attention, the song is about the never ending consumerism, drudgery, and mediocrity that is suburbia... not quite as cheerful as the sonic array would lead you to believe.  I choose to view the music as giving a hopeful edge to the lyrical bleakness, and lines like "dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains" do indicate the expanse of the blight, but "mountains beyond mountains" also rings of hope.  The phrase is partially a tribute to a book by the same name, by a doctor who has spent significant time in Haiti working with disaster relief efforts.  To quote the description: "At the heart of this book is the example of a life based on hope and on an understanding of the truth of the Haitian proverb 'Beyond mountains there are mountains' – as you solve one problem, another problem presents itself, and so you go on and try to solve that one too."  I have yet to read it, but it's high on my list for the new year.


If you want to dig deeper into the lyrics and their meaning, this one's a good one to pull up on songmeanings.net - complete with a plethora of comments discussing things.


Now for some fun.  Arcade Fire recently released an intense and awesome and epic (further superlatives escape me) website / interactive music video.  If you have a webcam, I highly recommend using it - and if you don't have a webcam, you can still experience (some of) the fun by clicking around during the song:

 Sprawl2.com 

(If you are lacking confidence in your dance skills and need inspiration, watch this and this first.  And if you're totally lame, you can watch the "traditional" version of the music video on the site instead of the interactive version...)


And just for you audiophiles or lovers of Arcade Fire, here are some live performances to further sate your appetite:


 (live studio acoustic session)

(New Orleans Jazz Festival 2011, with special guest Cyndi Lauper - yes, that Cyndi Lauper)

(different song, but had to include - the prelude to the above, in which Arcade Fire's encore began with a cover of Lauper's "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"... featuring the original artist herself.  If you're clever, you'll watch this one *before* the above...)

(plain ol' music video, for you lame folks)

"They heard me singing and they told me to stop

quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock

sometimes I wonder if the world's so small

can we ever get away from the sprawl...?"

11-20-11 - "Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros" ~ Flight of the Conchords

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:

"They call me the Hiphopopotamus

my lyrics are bottomless...

...

...

...

...they call me the Hiphopopotamus

flows that glow like phosphorous

poppin’ off the top of this esophagus

rockin’ this metropolis

no, I’m not a large water-dwelling mammal

where did you get that preposterous hypothesis?

did Steve tell you that, perchance?

Steve...."

8-19-11 - "Hip" ~ Lovenotes

We're going super light and fun and catchy tonight, because hey, it's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday!


Sorry.  It's not Rebecca Black's fault, you know... she's just a kid who wanted to have fun making a music video...


Anyway, I can pretty much guarantee you'll have a smile on your face listening to this song.  At least, if you ever got rejected when asking someone out, or can even imagine what that's like.  But the moral of the story is, if you keep trying, you just might find success!  

Find more artists like Lovenotes at Myspace Music

(yes, a myspace link is a first for the site, but there's a first time for everything, no?)


Here's a live video too, if you want to lose control watching the boys ooze hotness while they sing:

"I guess I didn't do enough for her to care
'cause I moved in for the kill,
but she moved her chair
away..."

7-23-11 - "King of New York" ~ Newsies

We're going with a showtune tonight. Why?  Because the movie was on TV today, it's a fun film and great memory from childhood, and the song is just darn catchy.  If you haven't seen Newsies, I must recommend it - it's a chance to see Christian Bale in action long before Batman Begins, Patrick Bateman, or Pocahontas (yea, he was a voice in a Disney animated film!)  He even sings in the movie.  Of course, it was geared towards a fairly young audience, but it's a good story about poor working boys in 1899 New York who were forced to make a stand when the newspaper moguls raised prices on the "papes" which provided their livelihood.  Full disclosure, the movie didn't get great reviews, but I still like it and (most of) the songs are pretty good.


This song comes right after the newsboy union has taken a stand against the scabs who start selling papers during the strike, found themselves at a disadvantage until the Brooklyn newsies came to their aid, and have made the front page of their ally / reporter friend Denton's paper (an upstart rival to Pulitzer and Hearst's heavyweights New York World and New York Journal):

"I gotta be either dead or dreamin'
'Cause look at that pape with my face beamin'
Tomorrow they may wrap fishes in it
But I was a star for one whole minute!"

7-8-11 - "When We Were Young" ~ Turning violet Violet

I've been waiting almost two months for this.  DrawUsLines finally posted the Echo Chamber session of Turning violet Violet.  I fell in love with this band after hearing their acoustic versions of this song and Pink Sky on a Saturday afternoon back in May, and seeing their full set at Brillobox that evening.  Well, honestly, I was pretty much sold as soon as Jake told me the band's name - I love me a good Roald Dahl reference!

This song had better be on TvV's upcoming album, because it blows me away every time I listen.  This acoustic version features accordion and viola (NOT a violin, don't let Sarah P catch you calling it a violin), and drops some heavy lyrics, the meaning of which which I won't presume to interpret for you.


Click to watch on Vimeo, since blogger won't let me embed the vid here:


"When We Were Young" (acoustic Echo Chamber session)

"and well-dressed men remember the score

as we roll through the floor

my bed made of leaves, an old shot rings out..."

Be sure to check out their Bandcamp and blog; you can download a free track or three if you ask nicely!  You can also hear a few other tunes on myspace, like their facebook page, and follow them on twitter, if you're into that sort of thing.  Ain't the internets great?


(sorry if that many links seems like overkill, but hey, they're a sweet band and I really think you should check them out!  Just tryin to give you options.)

6-3-11 - "Penny Lane" ~ The Beatles

Oh, just a catchy little song by a fun little group from Liverpool... you've probably never heard of them.

"he likes to keep his fire engine clean,
it's a clean machine..."