You guys. David Wax Museum are back in Pittsburgh tomorrow night for a show at Club Cafe. Yes, the Boston-based band with the donkey jawbone will be playing at everyone's favorite PGH venue. Here's a track which epitomizes their Mexo-Americana stylings with an English-language version of a traditional Mexican folk song:
Be sure to check this track and others in their Daytrotter session. Be sure to check some other sweet performances which are floating around the interwebs, like this NPR Tiny Desk Concert which opens with this tune:
And most of all, be sure to be at Club Cafe tomorrow night at 8 (7 Central).
"...your careless heart invites me in, just to see me go..."
Here's one my little brother got me hooked on. This duo met in college, started playing music together, fell in love, got married, and are living the dream of every hopeless romantic hipster musician.
The song starts out minimally, but builds and builds into a beautifully orchestrated arrangement with rich harmonies and deeply sincere lyrics. There's not a lot of digging to be done to interpret this track, so just bask in the glow of the love expressed and the joy of the tune, and the sweet music video filmed in Seattle + Silverdale, WA:
Some good live performance videos out there, too. Here are two good ones:
Also, they have a ton of freebies on their website, for the price of an e-mail address. Ten songs (okay, two are duplicated, so eight songs) just like that; two more if you go to briterevolution (just now found this site; seems cool) and sign up. Download and give it a listen, but if you like it, be sure to go back and support the artist financially (always the best policy for facilitating that good music continues to be made!)
(Aside: can I just say that I very much appreciate artists who post lyrics on their own sites? songmeanings.net is great, but people mishear things a lot even on a site like that. I just like to know that what I'm hearing is what they're saying, ya know?)
EDIT 2-26-12: oh look,MORE free tunes! This time on noisetrade.com.
Here's a sweet new track from a sweet new band. A band comprised of Scott Simons, an expatriate of West Virginia who's been living in LA, and Dani Buncher, a Pittsburgher who you might know from my ramblings about Big Hurry and Big Snow Big Thaw (the other two bands for which she is the drummer) I'm not gonna lie, I'm a bit disappointed this band isn't called "Big TeamMate" or something to that effect...
Oh yeah, and the duo used to date for, like, ten years, so that adds an interesting dynamic. This is their debut single, just dropped last night. It deals with their breakup and some of their story, some pretty rough relationship stuff set to infectious upbeat pop sounds. If this is any indication, they'll be quite a fun show at Brillobox next weekend...
Oh by the way, free download of this track on their facebook page. Bangarang.
"Sometimes all you've got is too much sometimes nothing's ever enough..."
Quickie tonight. This one may not be for everyone, but as always, I urge you to give new things a shot, because it's good for you. Although technically this song isn't brand-spanking new, but rather a few years old...
The Brit-pop duo cranked out a catchy tune, a little on the repetitive side, but in a fun way. And the video is... interesting. How do you make a cheap yet somehow awesome vid for a song? Two parts white people, one part deliberately terrible choreography, one part your cousin's videography skills:
This one has a haunting and ethereal vibe. Sounds like she loved someone whom she thought loved her in return, only to have her heart broken... yet she still holds on to hope that he'll come through in the end... or something to that effect, anyway. Give it a listen; I think you may enjoy it.
Two years ago, I was out of town the weekend my brother and friends went to Johnny Cash Day - a celebration of The Man, The Myth, The Music at a local Elks Club on (or around) the anniversary of his passing. My friends were into Johnny Cash Day before it was cool, and I missed out back in '09. Last year, I vowed not to let that happen again. It was a great event, but word had gotten out and it was packed to the point where you couldn't get a chair and it was difficult to even navigate around the room. But it was well worth it to hear some great covers of Cash's music, and because I won this:
(in '09, our friend Lindsay won a similar print - back to back winners!)
Hatch Show Prints are printed on Broadway in Nashville, and have been since 1879; this is a replica of an original poster, but it's pretty awesome and hangs in my music room by my piano.
This past Saturday was the 2011 JCD, and I missed it due to failure to purchase a ticket before they sold out. I'm sure it was great like last year, and I'm sure several of the performers covered "Ring Of Fire" like last year. (my favorite version was by Mark Williams; he did a more unique take on it and shifted some chords to minors for an interesting vibe.) It's one of Cash's most popular songs, due to the catchy tune and lyrics to which most folks can relate. Well, sort of - it was written by June Carter about her relationship with Cash whilst both of them were married (or divorcing) other spouses. Tough situation, that. So not everyone has ditched one lover for another, but the part about how love is all-consuming rings true for pretty much everyone...
Live performance 1963 (By the way, I love the Mexican horns!) - you can find other live performances online too
Here's an example of the evils of the big corporations being used for good... sort of. I'm not gonna lie, I heard this song on an iPhone commercial a few years back; might never have heard of the band otherwise. Ironically, the song is all about not falling prey to the lifestyle-driven "keep up with the Joneses" mentality that is so prevalent these days. But in conjunction with my "don't judge a band by its genre" policy, I believe there's no wrong way to get your music out there.
As you might guess since it was used in a commercial for a product aimed at the young, hip crowd, the song is super catchy. But along with the hook, there's a healthy dose of food for thought. What is truly important in life? Is it money, cars, climbing the corporate ladder? Or perhaps is there something else to which we should dedicate our pursuits...?
"We're not living the good life unless we're fighting the good fight..."
Sometimes a song just grabs your ear and won't let go. I heard this on my commute home today, and fortunately caught the name so I could look it up when I got home. It's catchy musically and thought-provoking lyrically, which if you've been paying attention you'll know is one of my favorite combinations.
I'll leave to your interpretation the precise meaning of the lyrics, but I think they're certainly a rally cry against apathy...
"The frozen land I'm never going back there It was a lie, a lie believing itself..."
