This is about a band called London Grammar.
They are three young people who met in their freshmen year of college and started playing music together <in 2009 I think>.
In December 2012 <which would have made them college juniors> they posted a song “Hey Now” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTvHcQmKUpU – on YouTube <as of the date of this writing it has received 2,217,203 views>.
Uhm.
Well.
If you happen to listen to this song … I will bet all the money I have that you will not believe it is a 19 year old singer.
Yikes.
What a voice. This girl has a husky set of pipes.
Kind of like Florence <of Florence and the Machine> … but better. Maybe a stronger voiced Hope Sandoval <Mazzy Star> would be an appropriate comparison because this music has that same kind of dark ethereal sound to it as Mazzy Star.
London Grammar’s music has been described as “a blend of ambient, ethereal and classical sounds” with sparse Cure-like guitar, heavy somber vocals and brooding thoughtful lyrics.
I will say that their songs are beautifully, if sparsely, constructed and all their ‘official’ videos are very artistically done.
Hannah Reid, the lead vocal, offers what I can only call ‘brooding vocals’ in every London Grammar song I could find.
And she writes the lyrics “about people who come in and out of my life.”
The song “Wasting My Young Years” which I include in this post was written about her ex-boyfriend.
The Economist review: “Though London Grammar aren’t the first act to replicate the xx’s understated beats, the Nottingham-formed trio differ from their peers in employing a singer – Hannah Reid – who could be a British Stevie Nicks from the folk-rock scene of the mid-1970s.”
Anyway.
You will either love this music or hate this music.
I seriously doubt there will be any inbetween.
Here are a couple of songs I liked a lot:
Wasting my Young Years: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkeDBwsIaZw
Strong: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6drfp_3823I
Lastly.
A cover song. Nightcall <originally by a band called Kavinsky … and that version is dark electronica>.
Nightcall cover: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZYw0MQp_fI
I like this band.
I will be very interested to see what they do and create as they get older.
“What’s missing from pop music is danger.” – Prince
Ok.
This is a self indulgent quasi musical-quasi biographical thought I have been meaning to write for some time … it is also kind of my nod to an influential 50something.
A 50something who while being curmudgeonly in his older years … was also curmudgeonly when young … as well as he has reinvented himself and his music several times … never losing what was at his core <danger> … and remains relevant today as he was back in 1980.
This is about Prince.
To me Prince is a musical genius and an incredibly talented guitar player and musician. It’s hard to argue that Prince is one of the most talented and versatile musicians to ever set foot in a recording studio <even if you have not acquired a taste for his music>. Since 1978 he has over 30 albums and had dozens of hit singles and even had a few movies.
“No child is bad from the beginning, they just imitate their atmosphere.” – Prince, Sexuality
and Prince as a live act? <which I have been fortunate enough to see him twice> Stupendously memorable.
Just go back and watch the movie Purple Rain again <and grit your teeth to get thru the horrendous acting> to see and listen to the music.
Prince and the Revolution are spectacular.
Computer Blues may be one of the most overlooked songs of all time.
Let’s go Crazy is an almost perfect song beginning to end.
And Darling Nikki remains one of the rarest of rare good “fuck you” songs of all time. Good enough that it pissed off Tipper Gore so much she formed the Parents Music Resource Center which – unfortunately – began the whole “parental advisory” stickers on explicit albums <thanks Prince>.
And then there was Sign O the Times album. Two words … ‘Oh my’.
Created from remnants of three abandoned albums <Crystal Ball, Dream Factory and the untitled “Camille project”> Sign O The Times is a wonderfully crafted album. Some call it his masterpiece.
It has a little of everything for everyone … funk, pop, rock, blues and soul.
“In this life, things are much harder than in the afterworld. In this life, you’re on your own.” – Prince, Let’s Go Crazy
“Everybody gets high, everybody gets low, these are the days when anything goes.” – Prince song <Sheryl Crow, Every Day Is A Winding Road>
His band, The Revolution, was also a crazy – sometimes under appreciated – good band <Wendy and Lisa going off and doing some really good stuff on their own>.
Morris Day and the Time may truly be the the hidden gem associated with Prince <seen in Purple Rain>. A good band in their own right … they also were spectacular live.
Live <I was fortunate enough to see The Time as well as Prince> their choreography <which you can see some of in the movie> in combination with their music was a funk non stop musical party. Band members Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam went on to be one of the best producer teams ever <they produced Janet Jackson’s first albums and you can see them in her Control video> and Jesse Johnson went solo.
Well.
All this brings back some memories.
So you can skip this part if you would like because I am going to digress. So bear with me … give me a moment and let me reminisce.
It begins in Tampa Florida in the early mid 1980’s. The Time song The Bird was a mainstay at my favorite bar at the time <and I met a future girlfriend dancing on the bar to Jungle Love one night>.
That place was called The Yucatan Liquor Stand.
Some people say that music is the soundtrack of life … so Prince and The Time was a part of my 20something soundtrack.
And that time certainly centered around that place called the Yucatan Liquor Stand.
And a best friend who we did so many things together that my parents, separated from my life by distance and my typical non communicative self, had to ask if we were gay.
<please note: which was an incredibly funny but incredibly uncomfortable phone conversation to have with parents … I will come back to this later>.
And a really special young lady who, for over 3 years of my life, played a significant role.
Yucatan Liquor Stand was THE Tampa bar/dance club at that time. My best friend and I probably went at least one night every weekend for almost 2 years.
Oh … and ‘her’ … the special young lady.
Yucatan is where I first saw her as she was dancing on the bar. She was a waitress working her way through college. As the waitresses typically did every time Morris Day & the Time ‘Jungle Love’ came on the speakers … she was there on the bar … and it was one of those ‘boy, I need to meet her’ moments. And when I did … The Time’s role? I am fairly sure our first dance together was to Jungle Love.
Uhm <picture head hanging with some embarrassment here>.
While there is no photo proof I am fairly sure I was on the bar dancing several times afterwards <doing the Fresh Prince Swerve I am sure>.
<different story and different post>.
Anyway.
Thanks to The Time that dance led to hearing my first real ‘I love you’ <not a puppy love one> several years later … over a phone as I stood in the Columbus Ohio airport on a Halloween night.
That dance led to a Christmas trip that began with a Christmas Eve plane trip with diamond earrings in my bag. Led to a return flight having learned that love between two people isn’t always enough <timing matters>. Led to a scar, that remains today on my hand, from where I had gouged a significant portion from my hand on the corner of a highchair as I desperately dove to keep Tyler, her infant rambunctious son, from falling <note: being a manly man … with all its insecurities … I hid the gouge the entire visit because I feared disappointing her after she permitted me responsibility for her child as she slept late and I almost failed miserably … but I am fairly sure her mother knew>. Led, lastly, to learning that it could be worse than leaving love behind … as I, in my own misery, flew on a puddle jumper small plane home with a 300+ pound Texan, wearing a 10 gallon hat, across the aisle from me who was flying home from gambling in Atlantic City over Christmas … all by himself.
Anyway. Back to Tampa.
This was also the time of my best friend, who abhorred Prince’s music, who put up with the music … focusing more on his overall love of MTV <when the station actually played music videos> … and nights at the Yucatan <although I am not sure he ever danced> playing pool upstairs and talking with women.
But most importantly … this was two guys in a time of our indestructible 20’s.
I remember as we sat together in lawn chairs with coolers of beer watching the sea water rise closer and closer to the top of the sea wall at our apartment complex as the largest hurricane in a decade made its appearance <please note that we were smart enough to get up once the water began creeping over the sea wall>.
He was the guy who listened to me babble on about the Yucatan waitress.
He was the inseparable sports and drinking buddy. He had an unfailing schedule of taping Miami Vice <which was on Friday nights>, driving to Yucatan <which we clearly remembered> and driving home <which was not as clear in memory … fuzzy at times> and being up and playing some sport and starting all over the next morning.
Which leads me back to the ‘are you gay?” parents question.
Because I must have mumbled about enough about he & I doing shit over the phone with life updates to my parents that on one hungover Sunday morning they brought me wide awake with the question … “hey, it’s okay with us … but … well … you talk about you guys so much … well … are you gay? … hey … it’s okay with us … we have gay friends.” Insert silence here.
<between the silence shock factor and the smothered immediate loud laugh … I knew I had a story I could tell for the rest of my life>.
Anyway.
The shit he and I did and the fact we lived to tell others about it is a testament to the indestructibility of the 20’s.
Whew.
Ok. I am back to Prince.
Sorry. I digressed. Prince can do that to anyone I imagine.
I guess I write this because music IS the soundtrack of our lives. We can all remember moments and songs and singers and the role it all played in the moments of our lives.
In this case it was Prince and his music. Was Prince’s music integral to my life? Certainly not.
But.
His 50th birthday made me think about times and moments I hadn’t remembered for quite some time.
And you know what?
If Prince <or The Time> does that for other people as well … that is a really nice legacy to leave behind.
Anyway <another personal story>.
I also remember visiting First Avenue, the Prince club most known from the movie Purple Rain, when in Minneapolis on a business trip <only to see Prince … the littlest waifish guy I have ever seen … slide through the crowd flanked by two trucks in the guise of human bodies>.
And watching him play?
Despite Prince’s reputation for being incredibly sexual and raunchy on stage … the dude could play an amazing guitar and he wrote some intricate wonderful songs.
He was also a darn good <if not slightly controlling> producer for other artists like his former bandmate Morris Day’s new band The Time, Vanity, Apollonia, The Family, and Sheila E.
<another personal note: I have a good editor friend Charly who worked with him at his Minneapolis Paisley Studios and told me Prince was a detail nutso freak in the studio … but an amazingly talented editor, producer & writer>
In the end … I always thought Prince was at his best with The Revolution:
Prince on lead vocals, guitar, and piano
Wendy Melvoin on guitar and vocals
Brown Mark on bass guitar and vocals
Lisa Coleman on keyboards, piano and vocals
Matt “Doctor” Fink on keyboards and vocals
Bobby Z. on drums
And the Time?
By 1981, he had built The Time out of a Minneapolis funk band, “Flyte Time” which featured Jellybean Johnson on drums, Jimmy Jam and Monte Moir on keyboards, and Terry Lewis on bass.
To this base group were added Jesse Johnson on guitar and a lead singer and childhood friend named Morris Day as well as Jerome Benton who was a promoter drawn from another local band called “Enterprise” <Jerome was awesome as Day’s personal comic foil>.
The Time:
Morris Day – Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals
Jesse Johnson – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Monte Moir – Keyboard, Backing Vocals
Jimmy Jam – Keyboard, Backing Vocals
Terry Lewis – Bass, Backing Vocals
Jerome Benton – Backing Vocals, Percussion
Jellybean Johnson – Drums, Guitar, Backing Vocals
<THAT was a band, my friends, all doing quite well on their own>
Anyway.
Let me end with My top 5 favorite Prince songs <by the way … this was difficult … he has a bunch of very very good songs>.
Note that I would normally have lots of youtube or vevo videos here … but Prince has gone after YouTube for allowing users to post his copyrighted videos up without his permission and video material of how work is difficult to come by.
– “Computer Blue” http://www.jukebo.com/prince/music-clip,computer-blue,x088xv.html
The chord shift <I think> at about the 2;00 mark is brilliant. This is a crazy good song.
– “Money don’t Matter”
Good luck trying to find ‘Money don’t Matter’ anywhere on the internet … but it is a fabulous song.
– “Let’s go Crazy”
Probably the most iconic rock pop song Prince ever did. It is non stop musical joy. The guitar riff will last for eternity in music legend.
– Pop Life
In 1985, Prince followed up the massive success of the Purple Rain album and film with Around The World In A Day, a psychedelic pop record that only someone as weird as Prince could make. Despite its many nods to psychedelia, one of ATWIAD’s best songs was “Pop Life,” a song that addresses social issues like the dangers of drugs.
The layered piano riffs, some swirling strings mixed with some sarcastic lyrics like “… what’s that underneath your hair? … is there anybody living there?“ make this a top 5 Prince song.
– “Nothing Compares 2 U” <done by Sinead O’Connor in 1990>
Prince has written many female vocalists’ songs including Chaka Khan, Sheila E. (“The Glamorous Life”), Vanity (“Nasty Girl”), Apollonia (“Sex Shooter”), and The Bangles (“Manic Monday”).
But no other singer ever managed to take a Prince song and so fully make it her own as Sinead O’Connor did with “Nothing Compares 2 U.” Originally written for side project The Family, the song was all but ignored until O’Connor tore through the opening salvo (“It’s been seven hours and 15 days since you took your love away”) against producer Nellee Hooper’s spare piano-and-drum backdrop. The result is unforgettable.
I struggle to think Prince could have ever performed this song better than Sinead but if I could ask him to try … this would be the song I would put in front of him.
Please note.
I almost included When Doves Cry which was the last song written for Purple Rain and is a musical masterpiece. The opening guitar riff grabs your attention and doesn’t let go until the sparsely arranged song comes to an end.
And Raspberry Beret remains my personal favorite Prince song of all time … but it is not a particularly spectacularly written song so I aimed for the better written songs.
Happy 50something Prince.
Great memories.
Great music.
I would have been a much cooler old white guy if I had posted this song a couple months ago when I first heard it.
But now this song seems to be on every radio station everywhere … Royals by Lorde.
Anyway.
When I first heard this song I thought it was clever lyrically and catchy melodically. And I thought her voice was interesting. Not really good … just interesting.
I will admit … the song isn’t a super Beatles Lennon & McCartney well written song but it is really clever.
nd who the heck is Lorde? Apparently Lorde is a disarmingly regular teenager from New Zealand.
“In a perfect world, I would never do any interviews and probably there would be one photo out there of me, and that would be it.” – Ella Yelich-O’Connor <her real name>
Well.
As one journalist said it … “In a generation of endless selfies and attention-hungry YouTubers, Lorde courts enigma, harking back to the mid-’90s heyday of alternative dark-stars like Mazzy Star and Portishead that preferred to let their music do the talking.”
Uh oh. I am not quite sure I would compare her talent wise to hope Sandoval <who I think is very talented> but Lorde does have a nice smoky but higher voice that if she uses correctly could do some damage on the charts.
Apparently she wrote the lyrics to Royals … which is a funny sarcastic tongue in cheek look at fame and the luxurious life in like 30 minutes or so:
” And we’ll never be royals (royals). Let me be your ruler (ruler),You can call me queen Bee …”
I do enjoy it when an artist … particularly a young one … kind of pokes at the establishment <and the established> and the absurdity that sometimes seems to tag along.
Here is Royals: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlcIKh6sBtc
And here is her remake of The Replacements Swingin’ Party:
Swingin’ Party: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wavwT7paPs
And her newest video.
Tennis court: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8Ymd-OCucs
It is fun music.
Good radio listenening.
I also thought it was interesting to find out that a Sara MacLachlan discovered her.
Maclachlan saw a video of her performing at a local talent show, as half of a boy-girl singing duo, and signed her as a solo artist to a development deal with Universal at the age of 12. Lorde spent the next three years channeling her provocative fiction into song structures. “Right from the off, lyrically, her words were incredible,” Maclachlan recalls. “The arrangements required work, but when you’re dealing with a 13- or 14-year-old, you’re not really in a massive hurry … I just let her get on with it, and she just kept on improving.”
Aw heck.
Who knows if she will ever do anything more than the song Royals … who cares. Royals is a fun radio song.
Oops.
Don’t ask me why it was actually on my running mp3 player … but Nik Kershaw’s “wouldn’t it be good” came up on my mp3 player while running the other day and I thought “damn, that is <still> a good song.”
Of course … when you are plodding along like a speedy sloth you have lots of time to let your mind meander. And mine did. And I started thinking about great 80’s songs that are still great.
Well written, well crafted, well delivered songs.
Songs that still sound good today … and probably should be played more often.
I had an objective of 5 songs simply because I knew that if I really got thinking on the topic I would have my ‘baker’s dozen unforgettable’ list and I didn’t want to invest too much time on his.
Frankly … my 5 <albeit I add a 6th> were written on a post it note as soon as I got back to my car.
Enjoy.
– The Church “under the milky way” 1988: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6jhpaX7fNQ
At a time where people were tempted to use a video to shock & awe … The Church elected to simply perform … and let the song be the song.
With nice semi-elaborate guitar structures … the song is both spacious and uncluttered … if that sounds possible.
“wish I knew what you were looking for, might have known what you would find.”
Fabulous song. Fabulous lyrics. Fabulous arrangement. Just fabulous. This may be close to my top song of the 80’s … and it can never be played often enough.
– Split Enz “one step ahead” 1980 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NduGJ0F5sdI
This is the Finn brothers before they became Crowded House.
Their songs were fun and well crafted and performed by some very good musicians. It is just amazing how well their music has held up in their simplicity. I imagine many people would remember “I got you” which is also an excellent song … but the timing shifts and the quirky but steady vocals makes this song timeless.
– Marshal Crenshaw “whenever you’re on my mind” 1982: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXo4vS-81a8
Crenshaw is better known for Someday Someway <a very good song> … but I believe this one is the kepper long term. Crenshaw is a pretty good guitarist who tends to use offbeat chord progressions <as one critic suggested ‘almost verging towards jazz’> and some really nice uncluttered solos.
– Nik Kershaw “wouldn’t it be good” 1984: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIBzbdo2LjU
Elton John, a friend of Kershaw, said he was “one of the best songwriters of a generation.” Well … that may be … it seems a little unbelievable … but this one song is spectacular. Simplicity wrapped in a fantastic chord progression or two. The chorus may be one of the best written choruses of the 80’s.
‘Wouldn’t it be good if I could be in your shoes’ … such a simple line making an unstoppably likeable song.
– Living Colour “Cult of personality” 1988: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xxgRUyzgs0
I could just say – Vernon Reid. Guitar. ‘Nuff said.
But.
Lyrically the song is fabulous.
The song begins with an edited quote from the beginning of “Message to the Grass Roots” a speech by Malcolm X:
“. . . And during the few moments that we have left we want to talk right down to earth in a language that everybody here can easily understand.”
During a rest in the music John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address is heard: “ask not what your country can do for you.”
And the song ends with Franklin D. Roosevelt saying “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” from his first inaugural address.
And the song is special in its simplicity.
The band’s founder, Vernon Reid described the song as very special for the band not just for its commercial success but because it was essentially written in just one rehearsal session. The riff was stumbled upon while practicing something else and by the end of the session they had written what was to become Living Colour’s best known song.
Ok.
I couldn’t stick with just 5.
And I admit … I wasn’t going to include this one mostly because the band was so popular and the song isn’t that obscure … but … at a time when Duran Duran was on MTV nonstop and their music on every radio every day … they had a song that never really got a lot of air play.
The song? ‘Save a prayer’: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Uxc9eFcZyM
A beautiful song from a band that was better known for its videos than its music. It may be Simon LeBon at his best vocally … and the band at its simplicity best.
That’s it.
Just some 80’s music.
Beth Orton. I have always been a Beth Orton fan ever since she released her first single on July 16th. This single featured Ryan Adams helping out on vocals. Now. I am not a huge fan of Ryan Adams but his vocals add a dimension to this song that made it even better.
“Concrete Sky” was the first single released by Beth Orton off her 2002 cd Daybreaker … which only had 4 songs <I believe>.
While I love her languid husky voice <albeit on the wrong songs she can almost be painful to listen to> … it is her lyrics that really make her stuff worth listening to. Regardless whether she writes a great song beginning to end or not … I can guarantee that in almost every song there is a moment where you want to replay a section to just listen to a spectacular turn of phrase.
Wonderfully gifted lyricist.
“… wouldn’t take all of your time. Cause it’s as precious as mine”
Concrete sky … a very good song <original promo version>: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJ-63s5xHy4
Re-release with full cd release: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrbH95TkEWU
Beth, since Concrete Sky, has ranged from some odd remix versions of songs <with techno tinge> to sprawling winsome songs. She remains quirky but solid in her music. Her good is really really good. Her bad is pretty bad. But in the end … I would rather be loved for some then simply blend into the mainstream of nothingness on everything.
To me these are the best of her songs <to date>:
I never get tired of this song … Central Reservation.
“… living in the middle of the ocean, no future no past everything that’s good right now, I don’t wish for it to last … today is whatever I want it to be.”
Central Reservation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kFariNYX5M
Ok. Same song but this version’s tempo is very different than the cd original. I call it the Ibiza-mix version.
<great fun quirky video>
Central Reservation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Th3gkE_sP9k
Next.
This one is perfect with her voice … the opening lyrics … heck … the entire song lyrically … is storytelling at its best. Quirky video … great song.
Stolen Car: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ35dnfYKrQ
July 16th. On this date I began to fall in love with Beth’s music.
Song of the Day – Love is the Way … Blaze
The title says it all. Love in the perspective, of Love of Fellowman, or Love of Self. So much wasted energy is given to, hate and lying and scheming to get over on the next person, IT IS A TAUGHT WAY OF LIFE. Every man or Woman for themselves or, Kill or be Killed, Self-Gratification, and many more.
There have been times when I have given a co-worker a hug just because I knew or the lack thereof; it would possibly brighten their day. NO, everyone can’t pull this off, because you’d get tacked up for HARRASSMENT! But how easy is it to REALLY LISTEN when you ask someone “How is your day?”
Don’t be STINGY, Love is free, Brings no Stress, Makes you cry, and at the same time purges out ALL PAIN, helps you breathe easy, you smile more, people want to be around you, and you like yourself all the more for TEACHING LOVE!
You have a call on line 1… Love will be there in 10 minutes!
Dj Luv Dlux
[music-player]I have been meaning to share this for a while.
Four artists I like.
All with new cds.
All pretty good. Okay. All good.
And I imagine I could summarize their style as Americana <with an apology to Kathleen Edwards who is Canadian>. Or maybe it is Alt-country or americana alt folk country … whatever.
All storytellers.
All strong lyrically.
All relatively sparse on the musical composition <no techno stuff>.
All with distinct voices and delivery.
And, fortunately for this post, all with relatively good new albums.
Mindy Smith
Well. I am going to begin with Mindy’s new self-titled cd because it is brilliant. I am not a religious person but I have always thought if I was fortunate to meet an angel her voice would sound just like Mindy’s <with a nod to another Christian singer … Leigh Nash>.
Her voice has always had this fragile strength and when she writes a good song <and she writes her own music primarily> it just sounds perfect. She has a special voice that can deliver in minor keys which makes her songs uniquely melodious but also has a wispy-like harmonious thoughtful and human side.
This cd has only one song I wish she hadn’t put on it <Don’t Mind me> but the first three songs on this cd are as good as any she has ever recorded.
I wasn’t sure she would ever be able to match Long Island Shores <which is almost a perfect cd top to bottom> but this cd sure does come close.
Her strong faith weaves its way throughout without making it a Christian music cd and her country roots weaves its way through the cd without making it a country cd … it is just … well … Americana folk story telling at its best.
Here is an oldy but goody in case you don’t know who she is:
Out Loud: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R44cVfKa7d8&feature=related
And here is the lead single off her new cd:
Closer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb6NnHHcmZg
Oh.
And she really earned a spot in my post when I read what she said about her new song “closer.” Excellent thought for anyone <even if you don’t like her music>.
“Many times in life’s journey, we find ourselves disoriented. For me, I make destructive decisions that can distract me from my ultimate goal. I think I am making the right choices and staying close to my agenda but I just run off course. In ‘Closer,’ I see the North Star as the prize. One that I am always getting so close to but unable to grab a hold of and then it eludes me. Personally this song paints a picture of how I see my musical career and that I see NOW is my moment. Taking the time to listen for the answers to my questions. I guess NOW is always our moment even if it is only etching out one little piece of the bigger picture.”
<if Mindy reads this … awesomely written Mindy … well done>
Kathleen Edwards
As a contrast to Mindy’s voice you have Kathleen’s. She writes different types of songs and with a voice that grits its way through her lyrics she makes you think you are sitting at the end of a smoky bar, maybe 5 beers into the night, doodling on a napkin.
Her new cd is called Voyageur.
Now.
Her Back to Me cd was one of the best cds I have ever purchased. I wasn’t sure she would ever be able to match it <and that’s okay … because it was an almost perfect cd> but her newest cd is pretty good. Not as good … but good.
As a singer songwriter she is seemingly overlooked by the main stream but she is much much better than half the crap you hear on today’s radio.
Ok. Some songs.
The entire Back to Me cd is wonderful but Copied Keys remains my favorite song in it:
Copied keys: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uX0ng43tI8
Next. Another older one …
Goodnight California … a long rambling epic song off of her cd Asking for Flowers is wonderful <Kathleen plays a beautiful violin to help create a richness in tone>: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtR9orLAfbM
And then.
Two new songs off new cd:
Change the Sheets: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdTF_M-h1J4
Mint: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XdOzd7pLVo&feature=fvwrel
And because I have seen her live and I recommend it to anyone who likes this kind of music …
Back to Me live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LcwafD7xmg&feature=related
Aimee Mann
This is about her new cd Charmer:
“When you’re a charmer, the world applauds / They don’t know that secretly charmers feel like they’re frauds.”
“charmer” is the same lyrically subtle ironic music we have come to listen to, and love, from Aimee but she also dazzles us with a really lean economic approach to the music.
“Charmer” is less a term of endearment for Aimee Mann than it is a source of curiosity: What are they after, these charming people? What’s their angle?
Mann explores the concept on her eighth studio album, a collection of smart songs drawn from what she calls the “super pop” of the 1970s and ’80s.
“Labrador” is a spectacular song.
She interpolates a snippet of the 19th century pop ditty “Daisy Bell,” better known as “Bicycle Built for Two,” in a way that’s as unexpected as it is perfect.
This cd ranks up with the best of everything she has ever done. She is always slightly wry in her storytelling and effortlessly catchy at the same time.
<song actually begins at about 1:45>
Labrador: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XA1cX-wgMdM&feature=relmfu
Charmer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcpXTUT0-7o
Oh.
And as she discusses how she writes about people and how she finds the lyrics to write:
“It’s so hard to be a person, isn’t it?”
A great thought for all of us.
Tyler Hilton
I had to finish with this guy. A singer songwriter I have liked for a long time. Just like the other artists here he is a wordsmith through and through. What he may actually be better at than anyone else here in this post is pacing. The way he paces his lyrics in a song creates a feeling that adds a level to the words. He makes you feel the ups & downs of whatever he is singing just by the speed in which he sings. Wonderful wonderful deliverer of lyrics <which is a talent many of us overlook in the great singer song writers>.
His newest cd is Forget the Storm which is really good.
He says:
“I was looking for a phrase that communicated how we all have something in common, Hilton says. I was spending a lot of time in the South and in Canada and whenever there was a storm, you could be standing in line at the grocery store next to a stranger and they’d inevitably remark about the crazy weather. That’s when it hit me: Everyone shares one common thing … weathering the storms together. And that became a metaphor about recognizing that we all need to be encouraged to weather the storms. Sometimes you need to remind yourself that dreams can happen, but they may take time so cant give up”.
<nice thought Tyler>
Anyway.
This is the song that made me a Tyler Hilton fan.
You’ll ask for Me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIS5g26Bnso&feature=relmfu
New songs.
Jenny: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpSbnyme0W4&feature=relmfu
Prince of Nothing Charming: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koRp38WhXjs&feature=related
A slower song.
Leave Him: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXzCkxsU5bU&feature=related
Nada Surf is one of those bands who seem to live on the fringe of radio play and popularity. The odds are you have heard at least one of their songs at some point … and you actually liked it. It is difficult to not like their music. They just tend to write stuff that makes your toe tap, almost always has a hook that grabs you and most likely has at least one line that just sticks in your head.
Well. they released their 7th album The Stars Are Indifferent to Astronomy (I love the name of the album and it is actually a great line in a great song on the album).
What I have always really liked about Nada Surf is that while they are seriously catchy/poppy they write thoughtful songs … and have that great presenter trait knack in that they have a tendency to only use enough words to say what needs to be said <i.e., they don’t typically waste words nor waste music>.
Always Love and From Now On are brilliantly written simple songs … and 3 minutes or less in length.
Killian’s Red and 80 Windows are more complex thoughtfulness stories and almost 5 minutes in length.
Anyway.
I have always been a Nada Surf fan. I could easily fill up a greatest hits cd with the songs they have done to date <and I will probably write that post one day>. What I do know is that whenever I play something of theirs inevitably someone ends up asking me “who is this?”
Check out their newest cd.
And here is some music to check out here.
“Waiting for something” is everything you will love, or hate, about Nada Surf.
<it is the featured song/video on their site>http://www.nadasurf.com/
Probably most known for Always Love: http://www.nadasurf.com/videos/nada-surf-always-love/
And Weightless remains one of my favorite songs <lyrics + composition> of all bands:
http://www.nadasurf.com/videos/weightless-2/
As a bonus.
Probably my favorite two songs of theirs … lesser known but I love ‘em ..
80 Windows … with the great line … “the moon is closer to the sun than i am to anyone” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUeSP5kfoIY&feature=related
And Killian’s Red: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4tKe5nBbPw
Enjoy.
Whew.
New Killers song just released … Runaways. It is shamelessly relentless Killers kind of 80’s inspired sound. Hooky and fun to listen to with their typical slightly bombastic pop style.
Regardless.
I imagine most people either love or hate the Killers.
Not many people in between.
And if you do love the Killers you will love their new single. It is clearly a Killers song. In fact it kind of sounds like a past Killers song. A good one though (I just can’t put my finger on it).
Their sound is … well … their sound.
And Brendan Flowers has the opportunity to establish himself as one of the preeminent front men of this generation’s music. He has panache. He has the pipes. He has ‘the look.’ And he … well … knows how to work a stage (and video).
The Killers sound has been described as “more Eighties than The Eighties.” <I actually think that is perfect description>. Their music is essentially synth indie-rock, with a twinge of 80’s new wave <think Duran Duran>.
Here is Runaways. This is radio pop at is best.
Runaways: http://www.vevo.com/watch/the-killers/runaways/USUV71201231
And, as a bonus, I thought I would throw in a Brand Flowers solo song.
<Brandon Flowers> Only the Young: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBENjCPS8LI&feature=relmfu
Enjoy.