11-19-12 - "Everybody But Me" ~ Lykke Li

Yet another artist that came into my spheres thanks to mi hermano.  Fantastic little ditty about being antisocial and just a bit awkward at parties... or maybe it's a metaphor...?  At any rate, this Swede just might rival another one we've discussed previously on this blog...

There are several versions floating around the intarwebs, but here's the first one I heard, which is a little bit stripped down compared to the second version:

"I get the creeps from all the people in here
I cannot breathe, it's too crowded in here
don't look at me, I don't wanna be seen

touched, heard, bothered..."

5-3-12 - "Carry On" ~ Fun.

You guys.  Fun. Is. Spectacular.  A combination of, dare I say, fun melodies with upbeat and catchy instrumentation, topped off with (at least on tracks like this) powerful and introspective lyrics.  They're exploding across the airwaves, on both the indie and popular stations (and fortunately, "We Are Young" hasn't been mutilated for the Top 40 stations like Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know".)


This one (especially the acoustic performance) captures the power of Nate's vocals and the emotion he conveys.  The song's message is one of hope and perseverance.


Sick acoustic version recorded for Record Store Day (4/21/2012):

Fun. - The Ghost That You Are To Me from Record Store Day on Vimeo.


Another sweet acoustic version (marred slightly by a "watermark", unfortunately...)

Album version:

"And it's nice to know
when I was left for dead

I was found and now I don't roam these streets..."

1-22-12 - "Love And Doubt" ~ Slow Runner

Here's a catchy little tune from a band I saw at Brillobox last year, Slow Runner.  Perhaps the lyrical content isn't quite as upbeat as the music, but we've talked before about juxtaposition, and it's great stuff.  


Is it a love song?  I doubt it... (sometimes I crack myself up...)  


Here's a live performance:

And here's a link to the recorded version on Grooveshark.


"I prefer the tension and the slow relief

a little dirt in your teeth..."

1-11-12 - "We Are Young" ~ fun.

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:

"The moon is on the fly

I have no reason to run

So will someone come and carry me home...?"

1-1-12 - "Riding The Wooly Bug To Dreamland" ~ 1,2,3

Since I just poured my heart out about life, love, and blogging, I'm going to do a quickie post to let you know about some free tunes from Pittsburgh / NYC band 1,2,3 - they just dropped a freebie EP which was originally conceived as a few lullaby tunes for the niece of one of the band members, but they decided to share it with us.


You can read about it and get the download link here; it's definitely some chill but sweet stuff.  Early indicators are that the first track, "Riding The Wooly Bug To Dreamland", is my fave of the five, so we'll call that today's song, but the others ain't half bad either.  I may drop this EP into my iTunes sleep playlist tonight and see if it works better than my standards at putting me out...


Listen on Soundcloud:  "Riding The Wooly Bug To Dreamland"


If you like these tunes, go pick up the band's album and support their future endeavors!  The ever-evolving music industry is using the power of the internet to allow bands to do stuff like this, but those bands still need to pay the bills for studio time and whatnot in order to continue bringing you the tunes.  So, whether it's this band or others, take advantage of the free songs, but also be sure to support bands you love so they can keep making awesome music!

11-21-11 - "If You See My Boyfriend" ~ Donora

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."

11-10-11 - "How'd You Like That" ~ The Kooks

Brit rockers The Kooks are fairly new to me, but this tune caught my ear on the radio recently and it's a toe-tapper.  It seems their style has spanned several genres, but this one is straight up pop rock sweetness:

"Well, I was sleeping

only in my head

slipping in and out of time

and I was lifting 

always higher

and the women of heaven sang

they were singing…"

11-1-11 - "The Kids Don't Stand A Chance" ~ Vampire Weekend

Quickie because I'm on the road and using the "business center" at the hotel due to a wonky laptop which won't connect to the intarwebs...


Here's a super fun song that was in my head today.  Vampire Weekend may have a lame "Twilight"-esque name, and may be The Preppiest Band Ever, but they're still good musicians and an enjoyable listen.  Also they have fairly sharp lyrics.  Check out this tune, and the live street performance:

"I didn't like the business
But that was at first glance..."

10-24-11 - "Moneygrabber" ~ Fitz and the Tantrums

Fitz and the Tantrums are apparently suffering through another nasty breakup.  This time, it seems there's a gold-digger involved.  But hey, life's tragedies lead to some of the best music:

Oh by the way, the band is offering Don't Gotta Work It Out for free right now: 


Don't Gotta Work It Out (mp3 download)

"I don't pay twice for the price of a cheap dime whore"

9-12-11 - "Shores" ~ Paul Luc

Thanks to DrawUsLines, I won free tickets to a show last night that I intended to attend anyway.  Everything came up Milhouse yesterday... except that pathetic performance by the Steelers, which we'll not discuss here.  I went to see 1,2,3, a Pittsburgh band whose work I recently discovered, but was pleasantly surprised by the first band as well.  Paul Luc is another local dude who got some other dudes together to be in his eponymous band.  (Yes, I'm pretty proud of myself for dropping "eponymous" on my blog.  Gold star for me!)


It's always tricky to gauge an entire set of music you've never heard before; I liked most of what they did but I couldn't really tell you much about most of the songs after one listen.  Certainly liked it enough to pick up an album and give it some more spins though.  They did play one song that grabbed me instantly, possibly because it was pretty low-key musically which allowed me to grasp the lyrics.  It's a fairly introspective song, seemingly about fighting to survive in a cruel world and the hope of finding redemption and/or love.


Here's a performance they did on local TV station KDKA last New Year's Eve - acoustic and with just Luc on guitar and John Rokosz on keys:

Start at 1:22 if you want to skip the mini-interview and get straight to the song.


Check out the band's website for the studio version and some other tracks.


"I was out in the cold

I was a product you sold

my hair turned white

and the streets turned gold"

9-3-11 - "Empire" ~ Jukebox The Ghost

Catchy track.  Band name that I don't really get.  Recipe for greatness...?


Apparently there's a girl, and the singer is having trouble letting her in, despite his admission that she's the one he's been waiting for.  Sounds like some psychological issues there... if she's "the one", dude, just go for it!  Empirical evidence shows that the rewards far outweigh the risks...

Live quasi-acoustic (keyboard is wired...):

"...'Cause my heart is my keep
and you are threatening me..."

8-26-11 - "Green Light" ~ Leisure

Found this one thanks to the good people at Tympanogram.  The ethereal feel of the song is crafted from a dirty little piano hook slathered over a sparse drum loop, and the mournful vocals float above like the morning fog over the Allegheny River... or perhaps I should say the Charles, seeing as Leisure hail from Boston.  


The lyrics paint a picture of entropic developments, perhaps the waning of a fiery relationship.  

Green Light by leisure


EDIT 1-3-12:  Check out this awesome stripped-down (can't say "acoustic" because the guitar is still wired, but it's sans electronic effects) performance!

"And when the rain comes down and hits us

We'll be dying just to live..."

_________________________________

Oh hey so check Leisure's Bandcamp page for 2 free songs! (not this one, but hey, still freebies and if you like this track you might like those ones too.)  Also of note, apparently they played in London tonight and play in NYC tomorrow... not messing around with those travel plans...

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..."

8-6-11 - "I Will Possess Your Heart" ~ Death Cab For Cutie

Just got back from a pretty sweet show on the North Shore of Pittsburgh, featuring Frightened Rabbit and Death Cab.  I'll be honest, I was there primarily for FR, but DC was also pretty good.  They're just one of those bands whose catalogue I just haven't had a chance to fully take in, so I only knew like half the songs.  It's tough when you're getting into a band that's been around for a decade or so - you have to put in a lot more work to make up for lost time.

They opened with this song, complete with the long intro... it's pretty driving and has some chilling piano riffs which set the tone for the lyrics to come.  It boils down to unrequited love, but Gibbard just knows if he can only convince his love interest to "spend some time" with him, he can win her over.  It seems he's obsessed to the point of stalking her, desperate to make it happen.

Here's the "radio edit", if you don't think you can handle the long intro:

"I won't let you let me down so easily..."
______________________________________________


EDIT 8-7-11: forgot to mention that DCFC kicked off their encore by playing the Batman theme song (from the old TV show), in homage to the fact that The Dark Knight Rises is filming in Pittsburgh and was in fact filming at Heinz Field right next door to the venue earlier in the day.  Here's a vid from their soundcheck (warning - audio is not great):

4-11-11 - "I'm Gonna Hate You When You Go" ~ Slow Runner

So these guys opened for (and backed up) William Fitzsimmons at the show I saw last week.  I hadn't heard them ahead of the show, but they were pretty cool.  This one is my favorite... it's kind of trance-y and chillaxed, and you can feel the turmoil in the singer's words as he contemplates the beauty and frailty of love, and his mind jumps ahead to what he feels is the inevitable departure of his lover... insecurity can destroy many a good thing in life, and it seems that may be the downfall of this relationship... anyway, it's kinda cool, check it out:


 "I'm Gonna Hate You When You Go" (grooveshark)


"I'll burn your pictures,
I'll build an altar
to the careless gods who let such things unfold;
that's miles from you and me,
I love you fiercely,
I lie beside you fragile and exposed,
so I'm gonna hate you when you go..."


PS - the band's bio is pretty funny; check it out.