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:
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.
I stumbled upon Be Honest, Ruth Bryan! through The Ballard Sessions, which are Seattle's version of Pittsburgh blog Draw Us Lines' Echo Chambers. The trio of ladies from the Northwest bring some haunting harmonies and exquisite instrumentation, and in a bipartisan spirit, let a couple of dudes play along as well.
This track is pretty self-explanatory, but I'll give you a few brief thoughts nonetheless. The point of view makes for quite the intriguing take on the story. Dads don't like it when married men fool around with their daughters. Heck, dads don't like it when any men fool around with their daughters. And arpeggios in minor keys are a double-edged sword, but when done well, they can really hit the spot:
Here's a pretty sweet song I heard on a rerun of How I Met Your Mother. I'm not too snobbish to discover tunes through TV shows, so if you're that kind of hipster, deal with it.
A.C. (Carl) Newman may or may not be a familiar name to you (he wasn't to me, but that's just because I hadn't done my research until tonight). This guy is a founding member of The New Pornographers (hmm, I can tell from listening to this song, now that I know...) and what's more, he's CANADIAN. Just like Robin in the show, eh?
Anyway, I like the song. It's catchy, but not too catchy; has pretty solid / motivational lyrics, and anchors a poignant scene in the show (but definitely stands up without the show... just sayin', it's one of those songs... like how "Rivers and Roads" was used in the final scene of the show Chuck.)
"I was a silent partner, I know the part of the forest where you shouldn't go..."
A lot of times, I go with the upbeat, catchy single when first posting an artist on this site. I was tempted to do the same with Madi Diaz, but I'm going a different direction (I can always post more of her stuff later.) My buddy and I basically just discovered Diaz by checking the Club Cafe concert calendar and reading a writeup in the Pittsburgh City Paper, and dropped by her show last Wednesday. It was a near miss, as we both had had a lot going on and were not really in the mood to go out to a midweek show, but we sucked it up and ended up having a great time.
Diaz has a voice that grips you, and her partnership with guitarist/songwriting collaborator Kyle Ryan manages to fill the stage and the room like an aurora fills the sky. Diaz uses a synthesizer to flesh out the sound while playing acoustic guitar, creating a rich background for the vocals.
This song relays the emotions of a somewhat one-sided relationship; Diaz wants more but her counterpart displays inconsistent maturity and fails to put forth the effort to develop a deeper connection. The gentle indie-pop chording sets the foundation for the crescendo of emotion as Diaz wrestles with the delicate situation and exhorts her lover to go all in.
Live at Club Cafe:
Solo performance live in studio:
Album version (you can find the whole album on madidiaz's youtube channel - well worth a listen!):
"So am I fighting a boy, or am I fighting a man
which side will I see when you show up again
the man don’t wanna tell me but at least he’ll try
'cause the boy ain’t hanging 'round tonight..."
EDIT 2-1-12 - get Madi's new album, Plastic Moon, on Amazon for $5 throughout the month of February. It's legit.
Normally I try to avoid using covers as posts, but this one is just incredible. Plus I've had a rough week with work and such and haven't posted, and I'm minutes away from a much-needed crash and burn marathon sleep session, so a quick one with limited need for deep, insightful commentary was needed.
Walk Off The Earth won the internet with this YouTube video two weeks ago; you've probably already seen it, but if not, watch it now before you're the last person on earth not to. Seriously, it had something like 800,000 videos when I first saw it, and exploded to several million within like a day. 31 million views in 15 days - almost 2M / day. I believe that's what you kids refer to as "going viral"...
The gimmick is that it features five people playing one guitar, but man do they legitimize it. The arrangement is stellar, the voices gritty and true, and the dude on the right is so hardcore you won't be able to stand it.
The band does lots of covers (pretty much all of them are amazing) but also has their own tunes, so check them out further if you like this:
(juuuuust under the wire on Pacific Standard Time, thanks to midnight (EST) hockey and uber slow YouTube uploading before I had to leave...)
It's a rare and beautiful thing when you go to a show to see one artist, and another artist on the bill blows you away. Not to take anything away from local bluegrass-core outfit Big Snow Big Thaw, because they were the reason I was there and their set was great, but Jeffrey Foucault just floored us. (Well, except for a few folks loudly talking in the back of Club Cafe... jags.) Just a man, a sweet guitar, and a ridiculous beard (oh, and a legit hat), but what a show he put on tonight.
Something about Arizona makes for good songwriting... here's a taste of what went down:
And here's a "live in studio" performance (with slightly better audio than my video above):
"And the sun gone down In the pale thin pink There's no one to talk to All I can think Is your eyes are full of train smoke And your mouth tastes like rain And I know when I know nothing I will always know your name..."
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:
If you live in Pittsburgh and missed last night's Brillobox lineup, you should be ashamed. Or at least saddened. My first time seeing Whiskey Holler, a fun little outfit with some steel guitar, mini organ, and a hint of banjo. 1,2,3 closed out the night with a bang. But I was most stoked for Meeting Of Important People's set, and they delivered as usual.
I snagged a couple of concert videos, including I Know Every Street (from their eponymous debut LP), a brand new track extolling the virtues of getting up and dancing (on the proverbial "floor"), and this one - a nod to Mark Twain, and according to the band, their "Pitchfork song."
Here's my video from last night:
And here's the Draw Us Lines Echo Chamber video - you may recall (but likely don't) that last July, I typed out my internal debate as to whether to post this track or "Oh, Will You Finally Go?" Guess it worked out that I can now post my own concert vid plus this gem:
EDIT (3-2-12): Here's a link to a video of Josh performing the song solo, which I filmed at the AIR gallery show on 2-18-12:
"and now I'm - I'm runnin' scared my kitchen cabinets are bare..."
Heard this one on TV radio channel tonight (yea, left my iPod at work, so was listening to the Singer/Songwriter channel whilst doing some chores...) It's a bit... weird... but pretty cool and chill. Check it out:
I'm sure you know the feeling about which Costello coined this term and is singing. She describes it such: " I think having "The Weirds" is a sign of growing pains... Meaning, one probably has that feeling when they are destined to somehow move forward or make a change in their life." Happens to me all the time.
"I’ve overstayed my welcome in this life
and it seems as though time won’t tell you exactly what you’d like
I’ve given up on waving off the flies that have blackened my mind -
Catchy indie pop tune from Detroit duo with witty name. Heard this on the radio the other day, and it's pretty swell. Light and fluffy music and vocals with some hints of darker things creeping around the edges...
And because we can, here's a live acoustic performance:
"Anything you say has already been said a million times..."
It's been precisely 11 months since I last posted a New Pornographers song. Not sure how that happened, but here's a fun one for you. Maybe not their most original, stretch-your-limits track, but quite entertaining and catchy, with a visually enjoyable video.
Beyond the hook, there is some fodder for introspection here, which might explain why I like the song so much. Accompanying the catchy tune are some fairly deep and somewhat obscure lyrics. I'm sure there are a plethora of valid interpretations, so I'll leave you to consider the following and draw your own conclusions:
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.
Old-timey, folksy music is trendy in indie circles lately, but that doesn't mean it isn't great music (well, someofit). I postulate that this is an example of the good kind of trendy old-timey folksy music.
Download the track for the price of an e-mail address on Joshua James' website! (and at least one more freebie if you click through to the site and poke around)
"I ain't cutting' my hair 'til the good Lord comes…"
Just a fun little ditty about staking your claim to a cute girl (or guy). Or maybe that's not it at all. Either way, I bet you'll enjoy this tune from the Louisiana-based indie poppers (can we say "poppers" like we say "rockers"?) The band has landed a track (although not this one) on the FIFA '12 soundtrack (that's a video game, for those who aren't gamers; and it's a soccer game, for those who aren't lovers of the beautiful game.)
So yeah, song:
Song again, SXSW style:
and FREE DOWNLOAD of the SXSW performance (can also score another track, "Atlantic".) Free = Awesome. Get the mp3s here at Big Ugly Yellow Couch.
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:
One I heard on the radio today. It's nothing groundbreaking musically, though it is catchy enough and pleasant in your aural cavities. The lyrics are what grabbed me, though. A son questions his mother's ethical teachings, wondering whether her current lifestyle belies a sordid past. Despite his suspicions of a "do as I say, not as I have done" upbringing, he seems apologetic for times he's failed to live up to her wishes for him. Or maybe I'm getting it wrong. Let me know what you think:
Beirut is an interesting band. I haven't yet fully explored their catalog, but what I've heard, I've enjoyed. However, I say "interesting" because it's not necessarily the kind of stuff that grabs you at the first measure and doesn't let you go, and it's not necessarily easy to grasp the depth of the songs without giving it some time to digest. Don't get me wrong, this isn't some totally obscure and inaccessible music, it's definitely pleasing to the ears; but neither this track nor Elephant Gun (nor several others) are simple and straightforward lyrically, and it may take a few listens to really get into the music (but it's worth it!) So you either have to be in the mood to get into some thought, or just enjoy the music and not worry about the meaning.
This one seems to have to do with more than just the actual town of Santa Fe (although singer/songwriter Zach Condon hails from the town). I kind of concur with some of the folks on songmeanings.net, who think it may be a dual meaning - being called home both physically and spiritually. "Santa Fe" means "holy faith" in Spanish, and I can definitely see the parallels in the lyrics.
The town is overlooked by the Cross of the Martyrs, which may be the cross referenced in the song... or not. Pretty sweet looking though, no?
Then you have the music video, which has some dark moments but conveys a message through them. It doesn't necessarily directly parallel the song's lyrics, but then again, maybe it does...
And just because I can, here's a live performance too:
So due to a combination of a busy holiday with family and a lack of a reliable internet connection, I skipped a few days of posting. I bet you were outside your minds waiting for someone to tell you what songs to which you should listen. Or more likely, you didn't miss it at all, but now you're ready for some more. Good Lord willing, and the creek don't rise*, I'll try to work in a few bonus posts to make it up to you.
Here's a somewhat trippy tune from a Danish band. The intentional "accidental" dissonant chords of the falsetto piano over several sets of lower notes on the keys create an unsettling, yet soothing sensation. The song seems to deal with that feeling of lacking direction that so many of the youthful generation experience these days, and with a relationship struggling to stay afloat through these rudderless times; however, the band apparently doesn't like people posting the lyrics online so it's hard to be sure that everything is being heard correctly...
(WARNING: music video has some PG-13 imagery; kind of like "Bohemian Like You". If you have sensitive eyes, use the second "video", which is just the music, or the third, which is live in Montreal. Several other decent concert videos out there, also...
"When the morning dies and I come to you with a broken lie that I made for you..." _________________________
* - one of my favorite sayings, complete with some interesting history. Also a line from a Johnny Cash song, which I might get around to posting one day... oh wait I'm already looking for bonus/makeup posts so here it is, YAY!
So a while back I mentioned how New Shouts and Casey from Donora combined to perform an as-yet-unreleased track from Donora's new album. Now that the disc has been out a while, I think it's high time we feature the song.
It's pure sonic joy, filled with sass and a weighty lesson for us guys - treat your lady right, or she'll find someone else who will.
"If you see my boyfriend, tell him I left him for a man."
