2-11-12 - "Now We Are Free" ~ Hans Zimmer / Lisa Gerrard

Great movie, great soundtrack, great composer, great singer.  That's all I have to say about that.

Wait, I lied... I have a bit more to say.  In investigating the lyrics(?) of this song, I read that it's not an actual language, but rather, glossolalia (sometimes known as "speaking in tongues"...)  Interesting, no?  We learned a new word today!

1-27-12 - "January Wedding" ~ The Avett Brothers

With a few performances on TV lately and word that their new album is fast approaching, I've been getting excited about The Avett Brothers again lately.  I've waxed eloquent on several previous occasions about the boys, and even posted a song with a month in the title before.  So I'll spare you the rehash of all that, and present you with this sweet, simple love song:


(live)

(album)

"And I was sick with heartache

And she was sick like Audrey Hepburn when I met her...

…no longer does it matter what circumstances we were born in

She knows which birds are singin' 

And the names of the trees where they're performin' in the mornin'…"

11-23-11 - "Matador" ~ Maria Taylor

Oh, just one I heard on the radio several times... it has an interesting blend of instrumentation, including marimbas (or some such instrument) and guitar, creating a bit of a haunting feel.  Seems she's crushing on a contract killer, or maybe he's a literal bullfighter, not quite sure...


After several years with other bands, Taylor has been putting out solo albums lately.  Seems Miss Taylor has also been involved in some Bright Eyes recordings and concerts, so that's kinda cool...


Oh, and she kinda looks like Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity from The Matrix...)

"Watch it disappear in the red sky

keep it here and watch it die..."

11-20-11 - "Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros" ~ Flight of the Conchords

Sometimes art imitates life.  Sometimes life is funny.  Sometimes music is art.  Ergo, sometimes music is funny.  Craig Ferguson and I present you with the inventors of hip-hop, "Formerly New Zealand's fourth most popular guitar-based digi-bongo acapella-rap-funk-comedy folk duo", Flight of the Conchords:

And here's the "music video" from their HBO TV series:

"They call me the Hiphopopotamus

my lyrics are bottomless...

...

...

...

...they call me the Hiphopopotamus

flows that glow like phosphorous

poppin’ off the top of this esophagus

rockin’ this metropolis

no, I’m not a large water-dwelling mammal

where did you get that preposterous hypothesis?

did Steve tell you that, perchance?

Steve...."

11-5-11 - "The 1812 Overture" ~ Tchaikovsky

"Remember, remember the Fifth of November,

The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,

I know of no reason

The Gunpowder Treason

Should ever be forgot."

It's the Fifth of November, and if you're like me, you may watch V for Vendetta tonight.  Mostly because Natalie Portman looks good even with a shaved head, but also because of Occupy Wall Street - standing up to The Man, fighting against... wait, what are we fighting against?  Hopefully something bad...


The movie is about a totalitarian government in the UK in a futuristic dystopian society, and a vigilante who fights against the evils of said government, wearing a Guy Fawkes mask symbolically in reference to Fawkes' efforts to overthrow the British government centuries ago.  There could be a lot of debate about the meaning of the film and the motives of the characters, as well as the justness of their causes.  It's interesting to note the religious side of the original Gunpowder Treason - Fawkes was part of a group of Catholics trying to overthrow a Protestant government and restore Catholicism's power backed by the British crown.  So depending on whether you consider Protestants to be tantamount to Totalitarians...


Of further interest is the use of the end of Russian composer Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture at the climax of the film.  The score has become popular in America and is often used in a patriotic sense here, and it's somewhat implicit in the movie that V is using it to stand for freedom and patriotism as well.  However, despite what most Americans likely think, the music was not composed to celebrate American victory over Britain in The War of 1812 (hmm, more irony that a British freedom fighter would use it, if that were true).  Believe it or not, there was more than one war going on in that year, and Tchaikovsky was actually telling the story of the failed attack by Napoleon's army on Moscow, and celebrating the defense of the Russian city.  Hence the elements of the French national anthem and "God Save the Tsar" within the music.


Bottom line, it's a fine piece of classical music, and the final few minutes - complete with cannon fire which is called out in the score - are spectacular.  To quote the great Calvin: "And they perform this in crowded concert halls??"

I'd love to debate the historical, political, and religious ramifications of all this information with you some time, but for now, just enjoy the music, and remember to stand for what you believe in.

And here's the last two minutes, for those of you who aren't patient enough for the whole thing:

And here's the <SPOILER ALERT> final scene from the film.

11-2-11 - "The Riders Of Rohan" ~ Howard Shore

One of my favorite parts of the trilogy of Lord of the Rings soundtracks, the theme of the Riders of Rohan is weaved into numerous moments in the score, but is first introduced with horns about halfway through this track.  If you've seen the films, you will recognize the music from the first meeting of Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn with the Riders.  The first part of the track is full of chaotic sounds which evoke the tense mood of the meeting, until things are set straight between the two parties.  


It's amazing how a good soundtrack can enhance a movie; this is but one example.

PS - for another occurrence of this theme, this time primarily with strings, check out "The King Of The Golden Hall":

10-27-11 - "You Make My Dreams Come True" ~ Hall And Oates

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...


"What I want, you got

but it might be hard to handle,

like the flame that burns the candle

the candle feeds the flame, yeah, yeah..."

9-16-11 - "Tommib" ~ Squarepusher

I heard this song in the soundtrack for the movie "Lost In Translation."  It's used in a scene (see below) where a character is staring out her hotel room window over Tokyo, feeling alone in a big city, while her husband is off working.  I had a similar culture-shock experience in Japan a few years back - well, without the husband part, and I'm not as good looking as Scarlett Johansson.  But feeling isolated despite being surrounded by people - with that I can empathize.  As an American, the difference between visiting Europe and visiting Asia is drastic.  In Europe, I had at least a rudimentary grasp of German, Spanish, and Italian and used my recollections of high school Latin classes to decipher a decent portion of signs and whatnot in Italy.  But in Japan, ninety percent of what is written is in some combination of kanji, hirigana, and katakana.  Not as easy to get by over there.  Being the only light-haired person in a sea of black-haired folks is pretty surreal, too...

Anyway, the song captures the mood quite well, and is a very simple synthesized instrumental melody.  Check out both the scene and the original tune.

Tommib (audio):

Lost In Translation Scene (once again, YouTube and Blogger have bested my embedding skills!)

9-15-11 - "Truth" ~ Alexander

Last time I posted a song by Alexander, I almost picked this one, but changed my mind and did "Let's Win."  Now I know why, and it's because now I can include the live performance of "Truth" from Conan the other night (see below).  This one's not as upbeat or joyful, but the shambling flow will drag you right in.  

The lyrics are weighty, dealing with the singer's struggle to break free from following the mindless crowds as an unseen force would have him do ("wanna pull me back behind the fence with the cattle").  He has been there, following the hollow "truth" put forth to lure him in, but now he is beginning to see through it.  He is discovering the true truth, and is willing to stand and fight for it, no matter the cost.  It seems the conclusion he comes to is that love is truth...

(live on Conan - a little slower than the album version, but I love that it accentuates the choral harmonies!)

(music video - it's a little creepy and weird, and adds a layer to the song)

"I've seen a million numbered doors on the horizon

Now which is the future you choosen before you gone dying
I'll tell you about a secret I've been undermining
Every little lie in this world comes from dividing..."

"I swear to God I'm only trying to be loving..."

8-24-11 - "Journey To The Island" ~ John Williams

We're going soundtracking tonight, and it's all because The Best Movie Ever was on TV whilst I was eating dinner.  That's right, Jurassic Park.  Okay, maybe not the best movie ever, but pretty great, no?  If you're somewhere around 25-35, you probably were blown away by the animatronics in the film like I was.  Looking back 18 years later, the dinosaurs don't look nearly as awesome as we thought they did back then... must be how people who watched Star Wars as kids feel about the effects when they watch the movies again.


I loved dinosaurs as a kid; still pretty much do.  The movie (and the book upon which it is based) is, at its heart, a cautionary tale about modern progress in science and technology.  It's full of spectacular lines, mostly by Pittsburgh's own Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm.  

"Now, eventually, ah, you do plan to have... dinosaurs... on your dinosaur tour...right?"

Of course, you have the action/adventure/drama of the dinosaurs escaping and chasing the humans around.  But the real winner is the score composed by John Williams.  The soundtrack complements each scene perfectly.  The triumphant trumpet call as the helicopter approaches the island, the wondrous tone of the strings as the guests behold the brachiosaurus for the first time, the foreboding and unsettling horns as they approach the complex... the symphony enhances the film - precisely the intention.  Bad movie soundtracks can be unoriginal and uninspiring, but good ones can really deepen the experience.

____________________


As a footnote - while Google searching for Jeff Goldblum, I found some tragic news (which apparently escaped my attention for two years, for which I cannot forgive myself...)

8-12-11 - "C'mon, C'mon" ~ The Von Bondies

This is one of those songs that caught my ear with the first measures, and never let go.  It's insanely catchy, with a vicious guitar lick and a beat that is perfect for a drive or an athletic warm up mix tape.  The lyrics are actually quite depressing, about a breakup from an abusive relationship, but on the surface it's a real toe-tapper.  Kind of like "Pumped Up Kicks" in that regard...

For those so inclined, the actual music video is here (I still haven't figured out why Blogger sometimes won't embed certain youtube videos...)

Live on Letterman:

 

"And on this day these deepened wounds
don't heal so fast, can't hear me croon
of a million lies that speak no truth
of a time gone by that now is through..."

8-3-11 - "Perth" ~ Bon Iver

In honor of several of my friends who trekked to various locales over the past few days to catch Bon Iver in concert, here's the epic leadoff track from the recent self-titled release.  I wasn't able to make one of the shows, but NPR did the world a solid by streaming last night's DC show live and leaving it up for us schmucks who missed it to catch later.  Definitely worth your time, some evening when you can just sit back and soak it in.


The song features rolling percussion, reminiscent of a drum corps from the Civil War, muted horns creating a surreal sensation, and of course, Justin Vernon's soaring falsetto.  Lyrically, it's pretty cryptic, yet beautiful.  Vernon said in a recent interview that the song was inspired by the happenstance of working with a close friend of Heath Ledger's when the actor died, and the town from which Ledger had come.  The emotions of loss and the conceptualizing of a town form the foundation for the rest of this amazing album...

"in a mother, out a moth
furling forests for the soft
gotta know been led aloft..."
_______________________________


EDIT 8-6-11: my friend Jake, who attended the DC show on Monday, posted a video of this song from the show!  Check it out on Youtube (embedding not so much working right now)

7-29-11 - "Save Your Breath" ~ Big Hurry

Any day you have a chance to move a sofa with a pull-out mattress down a fire escape AND see Big Hurry in concert has to go down as one of the better days it is possible to have on this earth.  Turns out the other two bands were legit tonight, too (The Long Time Darlings and The Harlan Twins - we'll likely talk about each of them some time soon).  BH brought the energy tonight to a packed and sweaty house at Brillobox, and it was good to see their full electric set after they hit an acoustic home run a few weeks ago at the Draw Us Lines birthday bash.

(photo from the acoustic set 7-9-11)

I got to talk to a few of the band members, and they're pretty swell folks.  Additional evidence can be found here (a hilarious interview after a recent show they played in NYC).  I gotta say, I'm disappointed they weren't able to resurrect "Found Out" for me after I asked them about it at the last show, but I'm holding out hope that it will resurface at a future show.


It's hard to pick just one song to highlight when you love them all, but I'm going with Save Your Breath tonight.  


"Save Your Breath" (bandcamp)


Acoustic "Echo Chamber" version, courtesy of Draw Us Lines (you gotta love the way Dani does percussion for their acoustic stuff; I know my drummer friend Jake does!):

oh hey look a remix too: "Save Your Breath / Left of the Dial mix" (bandcamp)


three for one tonight, don't you feel special?


"we depicted awful scenes in bright red chalk..."

7-23-11 - "King of New York" ~ Newsies

We're going with a showtune tonight. Why?  Because the movie was on TV today, it's a fun film and great memory from childhood, and the song is just darn catchy.  If you haven't seen Newsies, I must recommend it - it's a chance to see Christian Bale in action long before Batman Begins, Patrick Bateman, or Pocahontas (yea, he was a voice in a Disney animated film!)  He even sings in the movie.  Of course, it was geared towards a fairly young audience, but it's a good story about poor working boys in 1899 New York who were forced to make a stand when the newspaper moguls raised prices on the "papes" which provided their livelihood.  Full disclosure, the movie didn't get great reviews, but I still like it and (most of) the songs are pretty good.


This song comes right after the newsboy union has taken a stand against the scabs who start selling papers during the strike, found themselves at a disadvantage until the Brooklyn newsies came to their aid, and have made the front page of their ally / reporter friend Denton's paper (an upstart rival to Pulitzer and Hearst's heavyweights New York World and New York Journal):

"I gotta be either dead or dreamin'
'Cause look at that pape with my face beamin'
Tomorrow they may wrap fishes in it
But I was a star for one whole minute!"

7-22-11 - "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out" ~ The Smiths

So tonight I finally watched (500) Days Of Summer.  It's a pretty good film, especially if you're into soundtracks (which I am, of course, being a guy who blogs about music...)  It's not just a romantic comedy; it has something to say about our culture, the idea of "love", and how we often allow reality to be shaded by our desires - sometimes to our own detriment.

This song is what brings the boy and the girl together in the early going, and it's got some pretty great lyrics.  It blends romantic feelings with morbid humor, and, well... just check out the song (and the movie, if you haven't already.)

"to die by your side is such a heavenly way to die "

7-21-11 - "Shadowlands" ~ Rebecca St. James

Rebecca St. James might have been my first crush.  Pretty face, pretty voice, doesn't take much more than that.  But seriously, this Aussie songstress may be off the market, but I still enjoy her music.  This one has a lilting Celtic feel in 6/8 time, and is all about hope and faith that although we go through dark times, there is light ahead.


The title stems from The Last Battle, seventh in C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia .  One of my favorite authors, and possibly my favorite book of the series.  The final chapter in the book, called "Farewell to Shadowlands" describes the end of the world of Narnia, and the journey of the main characters of the series "further up and further in" as the "shadowlands" of Narnia are destroyed and they discover that there is a bigger and better Narnia within and they are to stay there with Aslan.

"There was a real railway accident," said Aslan softly.  "Your father and mother and all of you are - as you used to call it in the Shadowlands - dead.  The term is over: the holidays have begun.  The dream is ended: this is the morning."

"The shadowlands surround me now
but You walk with me through the cloud
into the sun..."


* - (Shadowlands is also the title of a 1993 film about Lewis starring Anthony Hopkins)

7-7-11 - "Breakfast At Tiffany's" ~ Deep Blue Something

I've been on a bit of a '90s kick lately, so here's another sweet song you probably heard on the radio back then.  Deep Blue Something might qualify as a one hit wonder, but man it was a good one.  Supremely catchy tune, and I never got sick of it.  Probably ought to watch the movie sometime...

"I see you, the only one who knew me
but now your eyes see through me
I guess I was wrong..."