"All Sense Of Time" ~ David Wax Museum

David Wax Museum are coming back to Pittsburgh to play Club Cafe on Feb 2., a show for which I'm pretty excited.  This might be my favorite track from last year's release, "Knock Knock Get Up"... but it's a fantastic album, so that's a tough call.

I love that David sings most of the song in the low end of his register.  It's a dynamic you don't hear often, and it sets the track apart while drawing focus to the lyrics.

There isn't a lot of web presence for the song, but you can listen through the band's site, and/or check out this concert recording from last fall:

I find the lyrics to be quite powerful, so here they are in their entirety, taken straight from the band's website:

"How beautiful when it rains

You can hear the nighttime sing

It’s eight and then it’s nine o’clock

But I’m still somewhere in between 

Remember half the world

Sets out while half returns

It’s eight and then it’s nine o’clock

The sun has set but still it burns 

Look and see how everything

Dissolves and becomes one

It’s eight and then it’s nine o’clock

The whole night moves in unison 

May we lose all sense of time

May we be patient as a stone

All the time we’re given

Is given to us on loan"

5-21-12 - "All The Rowboats" ~ Regina Spektor

Regina Spektor probably doesn't need the hype from my little blog, and I've already discussed a few of her tracks.  But this one, from her new album that drops next week, is just spectacular and I felt like telling you why I feel that way, so here goes.


The first several times I listened were at work with the volume low, unfortunately not the best way to fully appreciate music.  However, even in that setting, the musicianship and composition struck me.  When I got around to giving the song its proper due and absorbing the lyrics, it only deepened my enjoyment.  On the surface, the song is a lament for masterworks of various art forms as they are neglected by today's reality TV society.  If you like, you can likely find several layers of deeper meaning as well.


The most poignant metaphor, for me, is the violin.  A Stradivarius is in itself a masterpiece, but it only becomes a true wonder when in the hands of a brilliant musician.  If it's sitting in a display case, the beauty of its sound is lost... "They've forgotten, forgotten how to sing..."


Here's the track on Soundcloud:





A Letterman performance from last week, complete with a Steinway & Sons grand piano and Regina's trademarked oddball vocalizations - this time in the form of laser sound effects:

And the music video:

"First there's lights out, then there's lock up

Masterpieces serving maximum sentences

It's their own fault for being timeless

There's a price to pay, and a consequence..."

1-26-11 - "1901" ~ Phoenix

Thanks to a jukebox, here's a track straight from Versailles.  I'd definitely heard this song before, but didn't know the band name (and no, I don't have a smart phone with the Shazam app... IDing random songs heard whilst out and about is pretty much the only thing I feel like would make the ridiculously expensive data plans worthwhile.)  


The French band Phoenix bring some punch with this indie-power-rock-pop offering; give it a whirl and see where it takes ya:

"Past and present, they don't matter

now the future's sorted out

watch, you're moving in elliptical pattern…"

1-7-12 - "Live Forever" ~ Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors

Sometimes a song just strikes you as genuine and sincere.  There's nothing particularly amazing about this song musically, but I'm drawn to it nonetheless.  Simple chords, simple lyrics, simple and heartfelt message - it works here.  Not every song has to be groundbreaking.  And you know any artists who have toured with The Avett Brothers have some musical chops, because Seth and Scott have impeccable taste.  Anyway, check it out, I think you'll enjoy:

"Sing me a song, sing me a melody

Sing out loud, you’re a symphony..."

New Year, New Ideas

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 amazing concert experiences, 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.


~ Matt

12-06-11 - "Time" ~ Hans Zimmer

So I know I'm a little late on this, but tonight I watched "Inception."  It was a pretty wild ride, and lived up to the hype in my opinion.  I love a movie that works on the surface levels (action, drama, misdirection) while also requiring the viewer to think.  Christopher Nolan has proven to be adept at creating such films - from Memento to The Prestige to Inception.  The cast is pretty great; a list of actors such as Michael Caine, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Leonardo DiCaprio - all names whose films I can't recall not enjoying, at least the ones I've seen.


Without giving away any spoilers, let me just comment that for someone musically inclined as I am, the soundtrack can be a crucial element in the satisfaction taken from a film.  Just as with the director and cast, Hans Zimmer has never let me down as a composer.  The scores comprising his body of work are numerous, including such great films as Cool Runnings, The Lion King, Muppet Treasure Island (I know, right?), Gladiator, The Last Samurai, the Pirates / Batman series... ok, you get the point, a lot of movies with great soundtracks.


So here's a live performance by Zimmer himself, and below is the recorded version:

I imagine it must be great fun to be privy to the deepest secrets of a movie script like this one, and to get paid to imagine the sounds that should accompany such events as are depicted therein...

10-19-11 - "Piano Pieces for Adult Beginners" ~ Woodpigeon

The Jamaican bobsled team at the 1988 Olympics wasn't the only good thing to ever happen in Calgary. This band came up with at least one sweet song that caught my ear...


A catchy little (you guessed it) piano riff anchors the tune.  Mark Hamilton (no, not Mark Hamill) lends his light tenor vocals, and the song builds with a menagerie of instruments.  The lyrics are straightforward, a call to honesty, integrity, and the value of good timing.  Timing is everything.

"Good things come to those who fake..."

9-18-11 - "Photograph" ~ Donora

My first experience with Donora was growing up in the Monongahela Valley ("Mon Valley" or simply "the Valley" for those fortunate souls who live there).  It may be that I'm the only one in the world amused by this, but Donora is three miles from everywhere.  At least, there were a few green and white highway signs that said so scattered about the Valley.  Interesting that all of these signs happened to be erected at points 3 miles from a certain town...


But enough about my strangely-wired brain.  Let's talk about the band whose name is derived from this great town.  Donora (the band) has overtaken Donora (the blue collar coal town) in fame, at least according to a Google search, and that's saying something, considering such folks as Stan Musial and Ken Griffey (senior AND Junior!) were born there.  They're baseball players, in case you didn't know - and pretty good ones, in their respective days.


I'd heard a lot about the band, but hadn't really heard them until their CD release show on Friday.  Fellow Pittsburgh rockers New Shouts were part of the celebratory concert, which made me that much more interested to attend and finally see what the hype was about.  I was pleasantly surprised by the other opener, Way Yes from Columbus, and New Shouts brought Casey on stage during their set for a fun and catchy rendition of one of the tracks from Donora's new album (but we can't talk about that yet - it's a secret!).



"Photograph" is one of the tracks that jumps out at me from Donora's first album, which I picked up at the show.  Their music is primarily lighthearted pop rock with some fun synths and loops, and this track is no different.  However, if one wanted to read into the lyrics, one could surmise that there are underlying intonations regarding the fleeting nature of human existence and emotion.  Change often comes (for good or bad), and we do well to cherish our experiences in memory, learn from the mistakes and look back on the good times to cheer us up in the bad times...

Not from the show I attended, but here's a live performance from a concert (which, unfortunately, I missed) earlier this summer:

"It was supposed to last forever

Every feeling we ever had

We said we'd remind each other

When we'd forgotten the lives

The lives we had..."

7-18-11 - "Turpentine" ~ Brandi Carlile

Brandi Carlile is an artist I've heard of, but not really heard until recently.  This one was on WYEP a few days ago and I thought it was pretty sweet.  Just a folksy song about how time distorts relationships...

"I watch you grow away from me in photographs
And memories like spies
And salt betrays my eyes again..."

7-11-11 - "We Didn't Start The Fire" ~ Billy Joel

You may have preconceived notions about Billy Joel, or even about this song.  I challenge you to put them aside for a few minutes and give it a critical listen.  It's definitely vintage '80s style, and actually made someone's list of the "50 Worst Songs Ever".  In Joel's own words, "It's one of the worst melodies I've ever written. I kind of like the lyric though."  He's on track there - the lyrics are what make the song for me.  (to be fair, the music is catchy, in that awkward way of 80s tunes where if you're in the right mood you dig it, but if not you want to rip your ears off...)


I had a prof in college open a class session with this song.  It was an early class, and most of the kids were kind of dazed and confused and maybe didn't really get it, but I was jamming to it and knew we were in for a fun lesson.  But... you don't care about that.


Joel wrote the song when he turned 40 in 1989, and it's a three-minute rapid fire retrospective look at world history during those 40 years.  The gist of the song is that there's a lot wrong in the world; and "we" don't want to take the blame for problems which we didn't directly cause.  Humanity as a collective over the course of history has done a lot of damage, and yes, we all are responsible in some small part, but most of us are "trying to fight it..."  It plays out as a combination history lesson, morality play, and exhortation to do what you can to make the world a better place.


Surely you'll get some of the references, though if you're around my age you were just a little kid when the song came out so some of the stuff that happened before our time may not be immediately recognizable.  But if you're so inclined, wikipedia breaks down the entire song.


The video goes along with the theme, showing American families over the course of those years and some of the horrible events that occurred during that time frame.  And you have to love Joel sitting in front of a fire drumming on a table with his hands in the choruses:

"Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British Politician sex
J.F.K. blown away, what else do I have to say?

We didn't start the fire
It was always burning
Since the world's been turning
We didn't start the fire
No we didn't light it
But we tried to fight it..."

6-4-11 - "Broken Bride: Part 1" ~ Ludo

This is a song about love lost.  It's also about time travel.  It's pretty awesome, in that strange, kinda nerdy way... what would you do if you lost the love of your life?  What if you could somehow go back and prevent it?  What if you spend 15 years building a time machine, but then something went horribly wrong and you ended up in prehistoric times?  Pretty much what's going on here... it's part of a concept album which tells more of the story, if you're interested.

So yeah, this one's a bit silly, but I think it's a fun song despite the depressing aspect of the lyrics...

"I crashed before the birth of Christ, pterodactyls swarming..."