5-7-12 - "Never Be Daunted" ~ Jaymay

Just watched the movie "Happy Thankyou More Please" with Hermano.  (Arrested Development fans will appreciate the reference, especially given that a Bluth is in this film...)  

(source: collider.com)

While the film is far from perfect - you'll have to accept a few far-fetched plot devices and some perhaps trite & overused rom-com cliches - I found it quite enjoyable.  Maybe that can be chalked up to having a crush on Kate Mara (spoiler alert: she can sing, which exponentially magnifies any crush for an audiophile.)

One of the main themes is that we are all worthy of love.  Yes, we all have flaws, sometimes fatal ones.  We all make mistakes, sometimes major ones.  But, if we're willing to look, and willing to demonstrate love to others, we might just find that there are people willing to accept our shortcomings and love us despite them.  And heck, that might just be the inspiration we need to overcome some of those shortcomings and better ourselves.

(source: scriptshadow.blogspot.com)

(cute kid, no?)

Anyway, I've spoken before about the impact a soundtrack can have on a movie, which holds true for this track (and others from Jaymay) and its use in the film.  I'll leave it to you to decide whether to watch the film and discern for yourself the profundity of the song's usage, but the song stands alone just fine:

Don't let fear and doubt hold you back.  Don't give up on your dreams because they haven't come true just yet; don't give up on people just because they've disappointed you; don't give up on yourself even if you've screwed up colossally.  Take a chance, make a move, live your life.  You only get one, and it's beautiful despite the rough spots - make it more so by living to the fullest.

"what are you so afraid of?

why are you feeling scared?

what's the worst that's gonna happen?..."

1-20-12 - "Somebody That I Used To Know" ~ Walk Off The Earth

Normally I try to avoid using covers as posts, but this one is just incredible.  Plus I've had a rough week with work and such and haven't posted, and I'm minutes away from a much-needed crash and burn marathon sleep session, so a quick one with limited need for deep, insightful commentary was needed.


Walk Off The Earth won the internet with this YouTube video two weeks ago; you've probably already seen it, but if not, watch it now before you're the last person on earth not to.  Seriously, it had something like 800,000 videos when I first saw it, and exploded to several million within like a day.  31 million views in 15 days - almost 2M / day.  I believe that's what you kids refer to as "going viral"...


The gimmick is that it features five people playing one guitar, but man do they legitimize it.  The arrangement is stellar, the voices gritty and true, and the dude on the right is so hardcore you won't be able to stand it.  


The band does lots of covers (pretty much all of them are amazing) but also has their own tunes, so check them out further if you like this:

 Here's the original, btw. 

"But you didn't have to cut me off
make out like it never happened and that we were nothing..."

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...?"

12-31-11 - "Snake Hill" ~ Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band

If you thought Conor Oberst was the only lyrical master in this group, prepare to think again.  This track was written and sung by fellow MVB guitarist Taylor Hollingsworth, and it's a doozy.  Feels like a good one to close out the year, too, for some reason.


It's easy to imagine that the song is about self-destructive tendencies in general, but also quite plausible that the "poison" is the passion of love when it goes awry.  I think there's more than that on Hollingsworth's mind here, though.  The lines about being born with the poison in his body sound to me like the realization that all mankind has some evil inside, even the best of us.  No matter how hard we try, we hurt the ones we love and those around us time and again.  The challenge of each of our lives is to minimize the occasions where we harm those we care about, and maximize our efforts to heal the wounds we create.


But hey, it's open to interpretation, as are all songs.  I definitely empathize with the emotions in this one, and that's why I wanted to share the song with you all.  I hope you enjoy it, and have enjoyed experiencing a wide variety of great music over the past year.  See you in 2012!

(shout out to Jake for hooking me up with this album, and for coining the nickname "Snake Hill" for our residence after having numerous close encounters of the slithering kind whilst mowing the lawn last year...)


"And it was only self defense

but I coiled up and I bit

I let my venom run into her veins..."

12-18-11 - "Whiskey In My Whiskey" ~ The Felice Brothers

A few of my friends (you know who you are) got this song in my head tonight the old fashioned way - by singing it.  The Felice Brothers don't match up to The Avett Brothers (in my humble opinion), but they still put on a rip-roarin' show with some boot-stompin' tunes such as this one.  It's just a little ditty about the inherent evils of cheating on your significant other whilst he is familiarizing himself with the inherent evils of mixing alcohol and guns...

"I put some whiskey into my whiskey

I put some heartbreak into my heart

I make my way across that ole dance floor

And put three rounds Lord, in my Eleanor..."

12-07-11 - "Somebody That I Used To Know" ~ Gotye (ft. Kimbra)

Belgian-Australian singer/songwriter Gotye had a bad breakup, and out of his misery came an internationally charting tune.  Collaborator Kimbra (a Kiwi, by the way) was not the subject of the song, but her vocals add depth to it.  The song has a somewhat odd and unsettling feel to it, but I definitely like it.  The minor chord progression and xylophone riff set the stage, and the unique voices and dynamic shifts paint the picture fantastically.


Speaking of painting, the music video features some bodypaint and tasteful nudity (you don't see anything you wouldn't at the public swimming pool).  But if you prefer not to watch that, or even if you do watch that, check out the recent live performance from KCRW's studios in Santa Monica, CA.

"You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness..."

12-02-11 - "Boomerang" ~ Bassnectar

I've been in strange musical moods this week, or unusual for me, anyway.  Here's a little something you may or may not enjoy - but I enjoy it, and you won't know until you try!