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..."

New Year, New Ideas

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 amazing concert experiences, 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.


~ Matt

9-18-11 - "Photograph" ~ Donora

My first experience with Donora was growing up in the Monongahela Valley ("Mon Valley" or simply "the Valley" for those fortunate souls who live there).  It may be that I'm the only one in the world amused by this, but Donora is three miles from everywhere.  At least, there were a few green and white highway signs that said so scattered about the Valley.  Interesting that all of these signs happened to be erected at points 3 miles from a certain town...


But enough about my strangely-wired brain.  Let's talk about the band whose name is derived from this great town.  Donora (the band) has overtaken Donora (the blue collar coal town) in fame, at least according to a Google search, and that's saying something, considering such folks as Stan Musial and Ken Griffey (senior AND Junior!) were born there.  They're baseball players, in case you didn't know - and pretty good ones, in their respective days.


I'd heard a lot about the band, but hadn't really heard them until their CD release show on Friday.  Fellow Pittsburgh rockers New Shouts were part of the celebratory concert, which made me that much more interested to attend and finally see what the hype was about.  I was pleasantly surprised by the other opener, Way Yes from Columbus, and New Shouts brought Casey on stage during their set for a fun and catchy rendition of one of the tracks from Donora's new album (but we can't talk about that yet - it's a secret!).



"Photograph" is one of the tracks that jumps out at me from Donora's first album, which I picked up at the show.  Their music is primarily lighthearted pop rock with some fun synths and loops, and this track is no different.  However, if one wanted to read into the lyrics, one could surmise that there are underlying intonations regarding the fleeting nature of human existence and emotion.  Change often comes (for good or bad), and we do well to cherish our experiences in memory, learn from the mistakes and look back on the good times to cheer us up in the bad times...

Not from the show I attended, but here's a live performance from a concert (which, unfortunately, I missed) earlier this summer:

"It was supposed to last forever

Every feeling we ever had

We said we'd remind each other

When we'd forgotten the lives

The lives we had..."

8-1-11 - "Generator^First Floor" ~ Freelance Whales

It's a new month, so it seems a good time for a song that speaks of new beginnings.  Freelance Whales are more than just an epic band name.  They bring slightly unconventional instrumentation to indie pop and slather it in lush harmonies.  

The album "Weathervanes" is nonstop fun, start to finish.  Oh wait, there's a pretty sad song right in the middle... but other than that, nonstop fun.  And this track kicks it off with a bang... wait I mean a banjo:

Part of the reason I picked this song today was so I could also show you this video of the PS22 Chorus  collaborating with the Whales:

And just for good measure, an NPR Tiny Desk version which lets you watch them play their instruments (I'm not really sure what that is... a box-cordion? oh wait let me google it ~ a "harmonium".  cool.):

"We keep on churning and the lights inside the house turn on 
And in our native language we are chantin' ancient songs 
Then when we quiet down, the house chants on without us."


__________________________________________________________


In other news, I'm experimenting with a fun site called thesixtyone.com.  It's a little bit of a different take on discovering new music; I recommend checking it out.  Here's this track on the site: http://www.thesixtyone.com/s/Vx2GgH2oe9U/

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..."

5-5-11 - "Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard" ~ Paul Simon

Surely this song isn't about DRUGS, is it?  I mean, come on, some people think EVERY song is about drugs... they're loony.  This song's just about having a friend of Hispanic descent with whom one enjoys a rousing game of hopscotch.  Or perhaps H-O-R-S-E.  Or perhaps they're enjoying 4/20....


It's just a freakin' catchy song.  Maybe it's about weed (that's what I always assumed), but Simon apparently has stated in numerous interviews that he doesn't know what "the mama saw", and it's just a fluff song.  Also, a lot of people apparently think it's about homosexuality, at least according to Songmeanings.net... at any rate, I love the song, and who cares what it's about?

"well I'm on my way
I don't know where I'm going
I'm on my way I'm taking my time
but I done know where..."

2-10-11 - "Help!" ~ The Beatles

Some folks would tell you The Beatles were the greatest band ever.  I'm not one of them, but they sure were pretty good.  Here's a fun one that might not be so light and fluffy as it might seem at first, based on the tempo and chord progression... the writer (Lennon) was actually in some pretty dark times, it seems.  But he knew that if he turned to others for support, he could get through it.  Or maybe it's about drugs... you never can tell with The Beatles...

"When I was younger, so much younger than today,
I never needed anybody's help in any way;
but now these days are gone and I'm not so self assured,
now I find I've changed my mind, I've opened up the doors..."