lcrelyea
rebeccapatrick
ce.
Tommy Wilson
stephenkillion
amsettineri
Peter Cavanaugh
AndrewFiled under: Dance like no one is watching,Night Drive Tunes,Songs to listen to with the windows down
So I have decided to change two of my top 10 songs at the moment. I have kept the same bands but two songs will replace the ones previously mentioned. First I would like to substitute javelin – snoop for javelin – vibrations, both are great songs but the snoop rap sample just does it for me. Also I would like to add Memory Tapes – Stop Talking as a compliment to their Bicycle song. Both are amazing songs and the break down in ‘stop talking’ could totally start a dance party (truthfully I keep coming back to this entire album at least once a day, it is def a grower). I would also like to mention Mount Kimbie’s song Maybes as it is totally an honorable mention to the list. I have included Snoop and Maybes below, enjoy!!! (holy streaming Batman)
Filed under: Songs to listen to with the windows down
Well based off of a suggestion by Laura, I thought it would be interesting to post my top 10 songs at the moment (in no real order mind you). Not that it means anything, as the list will probably change again soon, but I thought it fun (and easier as I have planned to post about many of these songs lately). Feel free to search some of them out if you like (mainly the Jai Paul song). Enjoy.
Filed under: Songs to listen to with the windows down,Time to Party Tunes | Tags: dubstep, joy orbinson
Having followed the music of Joy Orbison since last years fantastic Hyph Mngo (if you have not heard it look it up before reading further) I must say, the dudes got talent. I have been enjoying the growing dubstep genre for a while now, and while there are many talented dj’s exploring the style (burial, zomby, and Skream to name a few) none quite have the instant appeal and, excuse the pun, joy of Mr. Orbison. Hell, even the name itself brings a slight smile, not to mention fond memories of the other truly musically talented Orbison, to this writers lips. As I await his first full length (please let is come soon) I will have to settle for the various mixes and youtube videos of his works. The Shrew Would Have Cushioned the Blow is a new single recently put out by Joy Orbison, and it delivers everything I have come to love about this young artist. As music is something that should be listened to, rather than perversely analyzed (well most the time anyways), I offer up the video below. Feel free to nod your head.
Filed under: Dance like no one is watching,Songs to start your day,Time to Party Tunes | Tags: dance dammit, jump around, party hard, sleigh bells
All I am going to say is sleigh bells are loud, sloppy and make me want to dance. Not since Andrew W.K.’s Party Hard have I felt more desire to jump around and fist pump for 3 minutes straight. Also, on a more humorous note, the guitarist was from Poison the Well. Enjoy.
Filed under: Songs to listen to with the windows down,Sunny Dispositions | Tags: Beach Boys, Girls, surf rock, Surfer Blood, The Drums, WAX, Weezer
As my resurrection to contributing to this blog, I present back to back to back posts in the hopes that this is a memorable second coming. I want to begin this marathon of postings by first talking about the revival of surf rock. While bands like LMFAO try to evoke the thoughts of bikinis and corona there is never the essence of the beach in the slightly lazy fuzzy back beat. When I think beaches (and musically surf rock), I think California (and of course by being raised in Indiana, Florida), fruity drinks, mexican beer, and the music of the beach boys talking about lazy summer days with girls and cars. Life is simple on the beach, girls are plentiful, and fun is surely to be had. In the 90′s Weezer with their classic blue album (I cannot help but blog about them again) and Wax’s California revived these good times with distorted power cords and memorable hooks that could turn perfect teeth rotten.
It seems recently that this style of music has been revived in the indie scene. The new kids on the block retain all the hooks and flowing guitar but add a layer of lyrical complexity unseen in the surf songs of the 60′s. No longer is this style of music about instant musical gratification, rather, it is a sugarcoated cry for acceptance. To quote the girls, “Oh I Wish I Had A Sun Tan, I Wish I Had A Pizza And A Bottle Of Wine, I Wish I Had A Beach House, Then We Could Make A Big Fire Every Night…” Knowing the beach boys history, it makes you wonder if that is all surf rock was all along. Either way, I cannot stop listening (and wanting to twist while doing so). Without further ado, I present to you Girls, The Drums, and Surfer Blood.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: 3oh3!, Don't trust me, intimacy, love songs, make out music, make out songs, self titled, xx
I remember reading an article 3 or 4 years ago that described Arcade Fire’s Funeral as one of the best make out albums of 2004. Although I do not remember the exact magazine, I picked it up free from some small indie record store in New York, the article still sticks with me. Part of the reason, I believe, I remember it so well is that I could never imagine making out to Funeral. There is an overwhelmingly intimate tone to the album that communicates delicately and indirectly but, in my eyes, never causes feelings of affection. While it may be tragic at times it never seems to evolve from a conversation with close friends and thus does not succeed at provoking an act such as making out.
This however is completely untrue of the album I would like to discuss within this post, The XX’s new self titled album. If you have not yet heard it, the lyrics have the subtlety of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. At times they verge on being absurdly affectionate ( I am yours now, So now I don’t ever have to leave, I’ve been found out, So now I’ll never explore) but always manage to emotionally evoke the listener. Like the young lovers of the before mentioned Shakespeare tragedy, the two lead singers of XX seem so blinded by love that nothing else matters. It is this since of urgency that makes the album so damn, for lack of a better word, sexy.
When we live in a time where songs like “Don’t trust me” by 3OH!3 are number one hits (She wants to touch me wahoo. She wants to love me wahoo. She’ll never leave me wahoo, wahoo hoo hoo. Don’t trust a ho. Never trust a ho. Don’t trust a ho. Cause the ho won’t trust me.) we need bands like XX to show us what being overwhelmed with affection is really like. And it is because of this forever desirable image of unrelenting love that seems so blurry in a time were everything is abstract and viewed through the lense of pop culture that I cannot stop listening to XX. In a world where music aggrandizes the one night stand and emotionless hookups, the XX forces you to again feel. For this I thank them.
Filed under: Songs for Contemplation | Tags: Britney Spears, covers, my bloody valentine, screamo hurt my feelings, the antlers, the gourds, Weezer
Ok, we are going to talk about it, yes the dreaded cover song. Nothing is worse then some young band attempting to cover one of their (and of course your) favorite bands. When I was much younger, in music years that is, I was suckered into buying a covers album of Weezer hits. Since I have always loved the first two weezer albums, I was excited to see some of the bands I was listening to at the time covering these songs. I walked out of the store, entered my car, tore the wrapper off the the cd and put it into the stereo. By song two I was forced to eject the album and quickly throw in the blue album just to make sure the original songs were still intact. I was a fool to believe that the original, simply catchy, songs could hold up in lesser musician’s hands. Rock Music: A Tribute to Weezer should have been titled Rock Music: A Travesty for Weezer Fans.
Now don’t get me wrong there are some covers I like, for example the Gourds (commonly referred to as Phish’s) Gin and Juice always makes me smile, and The Smashing Pumpkins version of Landslide is delicate and beautiful. But for the most part good covers are just fun distractions from the originals, easy to like but hard to love. It is rare that a cover can truly capture the essence of a musician daring to express there emotion through song. But as a way to make amends for every screamo version of My name is Jonas that lingers in the world, comes the covers that manage to “one up” the original. And that is what I want to really highlight today, those rare covers that manage to capture the true musical essence of a song.
So I now present you 5 songs that I feel undoubtedly fall into this third category, 4 being four sure classics, one being a new classic.
First four in no order
Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen)
Johnny Cash – Hurt (NIN)
Soft Cell – Tainted Love (Gloria Jones)
Aretha Franklin – RESPECT (Otis Redding)
the new classic
The Antlers – When you Sleep (My Bloody Valentine)
I also want to include two videos that fall into a unique category; Covers that expose the appeal of certain songs. Unlike the third catagory, these do not capture the essence of a song, but rather allow us to question our original opinion of a song. I would like to title the duo,
“Top reasons to accept the beast that is Britney Spears into your life.”
I cite the second video as my reason for now liking the real version of toxic. Painful to say but non the less true.
_sk
Filed under: Rainy Day Songs,sing like no one is listening | Tags: Falling Slowly, Netflix, Once, The Frames
First submission to the blog, needs to be a good one (fingers crossed).
Having become a subscriber to Netflix this year I have finally been able to binge on movies much more than ever before. And while this is not a post on how much I love Netflix, I just want to say without it I would not be writing this post. Without it I would not have been told to watch this little Irish movie titled “Once”.
The movie follows a simple concept,
guy meets girl…
they converse…
girl: How come you don’t play during daytime? I see you here everyday.
guy: During the daytime people would want to hear songs that they know, just songs that they recognize. I play these song at night or I wouldn’t make any money. People wouldn’t listen.
girl: I listen.
sing…
connect…
fall for each other…
What makes this love story unique is that its plays out as album. If you have ever made a mixtape to express your feelings, you will understand the instant appeal of this movie. The movie progresses as a series of songs that explain the characters past relationships, their fears, themselves. The entire movie is filmed as if a documentary, doing nothing more then capturing the moments that string the songs together. By the end it is not so much the direct events of the story that linger, but rather the undertones and emotion of the music. The final song falling slowly musically captures the essence of new love. It is as timid as it is bold. Fragile but yet somehow unbreakable. It is the perfect final track to an album about letting go of the past and continuing with the outcome unknown. It is a movie about living in the moment and loving life.
-sk
