Yet another ridiculously fun music video from OK Go. This one takes a different approach on the Rube Goldberg theme of the This Too Shall Pass video - now it's an electric car and some pretty good timing on a piano-laced desert stunt track:
Oh yeah, and here's the album version, where the visuals aren't nearly as impressive but the audio is a little clearer... well actually it's pretty distorted guitar, but.... yeah.
"So I been sitting around, wasting my time
wondering what you been doing
aw, and it ain't real forgiving, it ain't real forgiving
sitting here picturing someone else living..."
PS - you can download the "video version" (car version) of the song on the band's facebook page.
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 amazingconcertexperiences, 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.
If you want to simultaneously warm and break your heart, this one's for you.
The gentleman in these videos is from Botswana, and has unique methods on the guitar (watch to see his work on the fretboard). If you check out the YouTube channel "Bokete7", you can see more from Ronnie and other Batswana musicians on numerous instruments. There are several great things about these performances. They're done with no trappings, no fluff, no agenda - pure love of music. These musicians perform on whatever they have, sometimes a cheap old guitar that may not even have all its strings, sometimes just a bucket; yet they create intricate and engaging sounds. No autotune here, folks.
And yet, watching this makes me uneasy, as I can't help but consider my blessings - including several instruments of significant value - which I often take for granted, and of which I often fail to take advantage.
Music is woven into the fabric of life, and brings joy to the listener, no matter his or her situation. Let's celebrate that joy, and never take it for granted.
(FYI. I know the video's title says "woman", but if you check the other videos it's actually a guy named Ronnie.)
It's unlikely that tonight's post will be groundbreaking to you; most people have at least heard of Coldplay by now. But their latest radio hit caught my ear today, so there you go. I still feel like Parachutes and A Rush Of Blood To The Head are my fave albums by these guys, but they're consistently solid.
This track deals with the loss of youthful innocence and idealism; the realization as we move into our adult years that we're not all going to be pro athletes, astronauts, princesses, models, rock stars, the president, or whatever else we dreamed of in our youth. Most of us end up shifting our paradigm and creating new dreams for which to strive. Most of us endure hard times, but often we emerge stronger and discover a life that is better than the one we'd been imagining. The truth is, life is what you make of it, and paradise is enjoying your life for what it is, not some far-off mystical perfection.
Live at Austin City Limits:
And here's an... interesting... music video. I think you'll be able to see the correlation between the protagonist's plight and journey and the song's meaning. Also, elephants on unicycles are arguably as awesome as hiphopopotamuses and rhymenoceroses. Although I could do without the holding up of cardboard signs with song lyrics - that part is like some bad truck commercial.
Being a bit of a nerd, I considered a post related to the date (11/11/11), but nothing fitting came to mind, except for "Konstantine" by Something Corporate... "I always catch the clock, it's 11:11 and now you wanna talk..." but I already posted that one.
So you're getting a tune that doesn't really have anything to do with math nerdery, or veterans for that matter. (Side note: if you live in America, hug a veteran today! No, our country isn't perfect, and no, our wars aren't necessarily always just, but there are a lot of things we enjoy today that were protected by the efforts of folks like my grandfathers, or someone you know that served.)
Here's a fairly sardonic take on the hipster / hippie lifestyle, with a heavy dose of tongue-in-cheek wit. Or maybe they're completely serious; I'm really not sure. Either way, it's a great one to blast with the windows down, or up if it's chilly and there are snow flurries like today in Pittsburgh.
(WARNING: music video is rated PG-13; think Titanic level. If you have sensitive eyes, use the second "video", which is just the lyrics)
In honor of my housemate Matt's birthday, and the fact that all of us except him have a crush on Zooey Deschanel, and some of us may have a man-crush on Joseph Gordon-Levitt as well, here's a sweet song which was featured in (500) Days Of Summer. Hall and Oates have a surprising catalog - you might not realize how many of their tunes you know and love from various films over the years, or from actually living through the '80s. They're even from Matt's hometown of Philadelphia (poor guys, the lot of 'em!)
(the music video is totally '80s and spectacular...)
(and here's the scene from the movie... kid can dance, eh?)
... and that's what true love is all about; dancing in the streets with strangers, and little animated birdies. I think we all know that feeling, or at least wish we did...
There's something spectacular about wandering around a city like Seattle on a crisp, sunny fall day listening toThe Tallest Man On Earth and Bon Iver. (guess what I did today...?) These two men weave tapestries of emotion and delve into the deepest, darkest mines of human souls, yet always leave me brimming with joy.
Live in studio:
Album:
"Only love is all maroon
lapping lakes like leery loons
leaving rope burns, reddish rouge..."
I rocked some of my slightly older albums today at work (nice and quiet-like, so as not to disturb the other cube monkeys...) Jimmy Eat World is always good for a pick-me-up. This track oozes hope and joy - joy taken in the little things in life, hope that red-letter moments currently experienced with a lover will last forever.
There's more to the song, but I'll let you decipher the nuances for yourself:
