Oh, just a little ditty from a band about which I recently heard someone say, "They were almost as big as The Beatles back in the '60s..." Apparently, this American trio took the UK by storm, and (if the internet speaks truth) at one time their fan club was bigger than that of the Fab Four. Their counterattack to the British Invasion makes for quite the tale of intrigue... hit up Wikipedia if you're looking for more details. The song has that classic feel, and if you're dealing with a breakup or just wishing you had someone special, this one's definitely for you.
"Loneliness is the cloak you wear a deep shade of blue is always there the sun ain't gonna shine any more..."
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.
A lot of times, I go with the upbeat, catchy single when first posting an artist on this site. I was tempted to do the same with Madi Diaz, but I'm going a different direction (I can always post more of her stuff later.) My buddy and I basically just discovered Diaz by checking the Club Cafe concert calendar and reading a writeup in the Pittsburgh City Paper, and dropped by her show last Wednesday. It was a near miss, as we both had had a lot going on and were not really in the mood to go out to a midweek show, but we sucked it up and ended up having a great time.
Diaz has a voice that grips you, and her partnership with guitarist/songwriting collaborator Kyle Ryan manages to fill the stage and the room like an aurora fills the sky. Diaz uses a synthesizer to flesh out the sound while playing acoustic guitar, creating a rich background for the vocals.
This song relays the emotions of a somewhat one-sided relationship; Diaz wants more but her counterpart displays inconsistent maturity and fails to put forth the effort to develop a deeper connection. The gentle indie-pop chording sets the foundation for the crescendo of emotion as Diaz wrestles with the delicate situation and exhorts her lover to go all in.
Live at Club Cafe:
Solo performance live in studio:
Album version (you can find the whole album on madidiaz's youtube channel - well worth a listen!):
"So am I fighting a boy, or am I fighting a man
which side will I see when you show up again
the man don’t wanna tell me but at least he’ll try
'cause the boy ain’t hanging 'round tonight..."
EDIT 2-1-12 - get Madi's new album, Plastic Moon, on Amazon for $5 throughout the month of February. It's legit.
Here's a little ditty by one of my all-time favorite bands, The Elms. These guys rocked hard for the last decade, and this one was one of my favorites from their 2006 release, The Chess Hotel. It's just a little love song, with the slight twist that it's to a girl who's apparently...eh... otherwise engaged... but I'm sure she'll come around after hearing this:
From the band's final performance in their home state of Indiana:
"No, he won't bring you summer like the way I will And he won't make you shiver like the way I will And he won't love your mother like the way I will And he won't last forever like the way I will..."
So I intended to be all clever and post this song in November, but I plumb forgot. Lucky for you, it also mentions December, so I can still use it and feel somewhat clever. But even if it were May, the song is amazing.
It's from the early days of The Avett Brothers, so it's much more raw than the more polished recordings of the "Emotionalism" and "I and Love and You" albums. The emotions are just as raw and powerful. The intensity of the feelings expressed will pull you right into the moment. Pretty much all of us can relate on some level - whether it be a fleeting crush who doesn't reciprocate, or an extended relationship derailed when one lover moves away.
Here's the Crackerfarm backstage recording of Scotty A. singing the tune, from Kent, OH in 2008 (my bro and some good buddies were at the show, but I missed it). By the way, Crackerfarm has dozens of similar (and similarly awesome) videos of the Bros. Avett singing stripped down versions of their catalogue - check them all out!
And here's an intimate performance from a stage in a high school in Manhattan - being at a show where they bust out a song like this is just a transcendental experience:
"if I had money, would it all look good
and if I had a job now, like a good man should
if I came to you tomorrow, and said let's run away
Would you roll like the wind does, baby would you stay?"
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...)
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.
Got home from work and my housemate was spinning this track. If you don't know it, you should, because it's a cautionary tale every man should heed (and of course, women can apply the same principle...)
These tragic lyrics of heartbreak come from deep within a wounded soul; it is clear that Biz Markie is trying to heal these wounds by warning others of the trap that befell him to spare them the same fate.
The straightforward rhythm and piano, part of which was updated from Freddie Scott's 1968 tune "You Got What I Need", lay the foundation for the song. Markie's wig and breeches in the chorus show that his sense of style was not damaged due to the event:
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!
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):
