It's a foot tapper. Lately I've been really drawn to soft voices like his, particularly with this type of picked guitar goin' on in the background. It's uplifting without being overwhelming. The lyrics do seem a little uninspired, as though it was a going through the motions kind of thing. Perhaps that's just because they don't speak to me at this particular moment.
"Danny, Dakota, & the Wishing Well" by A Silent Film
I must admit, to start out this is not exactly my type of song. For some reason it really reminds me of "Died in Your Arms" by 80s pop sensation Cutting Crew (only half sarcasm). But after about a minute of nonsense, we get to a little excitement, and the melody really is catchy. On a whim I put it on a workout playlist, and it ended up being a serious burst of energy, so I could do, like, 3 extra pushups. Try that. Listen to music, get bulky.
"A Thousand Thieves" by Trixie Whitley
Let me tell you how obsessed I am with Trixie Whitley: Very. This chick is a powerhouse, I'm telling you. Who has a voice like that? I want to see Katy Perry belt like that. Sometimes the best music arises out of simplicity and soul, and Trixie has just that. I can see where some people would be deterred by the depth of her voice, but I think it just adds to the overall power of her voice. Also, it's impressive to see a wail like that come out of a dainty blonde. Power to you, Trix.
Today. Today is a day that it's great to be alive.
I once had an extended argument with a very, very dear friend over the inevitability of either growing old or growing up. Recently, I began to realize that it doesn't matter much either way because there is no escaping either. They go hand in hand. One of the few absolute and undeniable truths of this life is that time will pass. And with its passing, if we've lived life as we ought, we will experience indescribable joys, chief among them love. And if we've truly loved (loved friends, family, lovers, hobbies, loved anything at all) then without a doubt the natural course of life will, from time to time, leave us feeling loss and heartache as the world spins and things change. We love, we learn, we grow up, we grow old. When all is said, is done, if we can look back and feel something, whether it's an acute and painful nostalgia or a wide sweeping contentedness (and particularly if it's both), we have lived.
Music?
Madeleine Peyroux's cover of "Dance Me to the End of Love" by Leonard Cohen
Alright, so Cohen is the original singer of this song, and it's of course incredibly lovely. But I always love Madeleine's voice, and this version makes me quite happy, so it's what you're getting today. It's smooth and sweet and jazzy and perfect. I think it a great shame that this style of music ever fell out of vogue because it showcases the talent of the singer in a way that I don't think any other genre really has. Go ahead and argue with me, but do it in your head please.
"Barton Hollow" by The Civil Wars
So I saw The Civil Wars earlier this summer, and I was so very impressed with them. I was really struck by their chemistry onstage and the serious talent of those two. Every time Joy Williams sang, I was convinced that she was the more talented of the duo. Then John Paul White would sing or play guitar and I'd get confused again. The biggest disappointment I had was finding that they weren't a couple, particularly after Joy stopped and told the audience that she'd felt her unborn baby kick. So cute. And he looks like Johnny Depp. Also, I've been having an internal struggle with how much I like things sometimes described using the word "Country" like The Lumineers and Mumford and Sons and the soundtrack of Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? and how much I really, really can't stand The Dixie Chicks, Taylor Swift, and plenty of other sounds deemed country. So, naturally, I turned to the internet. This website had a good explanation. It would appear that I'm into what the pros have labeled "Bluegrass" which shares roots with Country, but is a bit more hillbilly. Banjo, mandolin, fiddle, folk... Hillbillies know what's up.
"Lost Kid" by Apache Relay
So, sorry for giving you a bit of musical whiplash today. This song is a bit closer to rock than the other songs today, but I'm still not sure that exactly covers it genre-wise. On Facebook they describe themselves as "Indie Roots." What the heck does that mean? And listen, the genre "indie" really does bug me. Indie is just short for independent, right? That doesn't describe the sound at all! So why is it relevant for the music to be independently produced? It was produced at all, which is what you and I are looking for, right? Rough. Oh, and this song has great lyrics. For the record.
Happy Friday Post! Before you get so excited that you jump out of your office chair, let me tell you two items of bad news. It is not Friday and I am not Coco. Stop breathing into your paper bag, I swear its gonna be alright. Firstly, the time on my dying computer reads 1:23 AM. Readers, the times, they are a changing. Coco has moved to the West coast. New time zones are nonsense but something we all must live with. Also, Coco hasn’t yet moved to the West coast (SO MANY LIES!!). She is on a plane somewhere over Nebraska or possibly Kansas, there is no difference… This is her older sister with slightly better taste (getting used to the lies yet?) signing on to make sure you get your fix of Coco Capp.
As Coco’s big sister, I feel compelled to use this post as a platform to give her some advice for this big new adventure that she is embarking on. Anyone else reading this should consider themselves lucky to receive these pearls of wisdom. Glean all you can from me in this short time that we have together.
“Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites” by Skrillex
Lots of people like Skrillex. I have not traditionally been one of them. (Someone should ask Coco about her little run in with Skrillex’s tour bus one of these days!) This version of Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites was a micro-revolution for me. I don’t know that I’d say I was judging a book by its cover (there are worse hair cuts than the half shaved head), but I never gave poor Sonny John Moore a chance. Don’t ever disregard anything or anyone or any experience, deep down (sometimes kinda far deep really deep down) people are good.
"Slumdog Millionaire" by A. R. Rahman
You all know this song. You have all danced to this song. You have all yelled Jai Ho right before you’ve gone and done something maybe a little crazy or unruly. Jai Ho means BE VICTORIOUS! This song should remind everyone that you only get one shot at life. As Drake would say, YOLO. Coco, in this new adventure of yours, I hope you say Jai Ho a lot. Don’t hold back and don’t say no to anything.
"The Past Recedes" by John Frusciante
You don’t have to understand all of the lyrics (word is that John Frusciante has fake teeth) but I want you to listen to this song and know that “every drop of sea is the whole ocean”. Its hard to leave things behind. Things can seem bigger than they are. Heartache sucks. But the future is big and is coming on like an eighteen wheeler on an icy mountain road. The past recedes, except for the people and parts of it that you choose to make a part of the present. Here comes the sun. You know its going to be alright.
Mondays are the least likely to be enjoyable part of the week beside a Thursday that you think is a Friday but is actually a Thursday (which happens to me, like, every week). But you know what? Any day can be enjoyable with the right music, even Monday or the day after Christmas. Lemme help you with that.
"Light On In Every Corner" by Lady on the Moon
One of the best parts of this song has to be the lead vocals. The singer's voice is sort of anti-Nickelback, smooth and feeling but not pathetically smooth and feeling, y'know? Toward the end, around 3:50, the guitar starts to sound a little Coldplay circa X&Y, with a "Fix You" vibe. That's something I'd love to see more of as this band progresses. Very upbeat, very sweet, and worth listening.
"Stubborn Love" by The Lumineers
I saw The Lumineers in concert fairly recently, and these guys totally rocked. I particularly like the percussionist, Jeremiah Fraites. He plays a mean mandolin. They were the opening band, but I found their stage presence and musicianship to be superior to that of the headliner. And they were wearing fedoras and suspenders, so plus 17 points for The Lumineers. I've posted their more popular song "Hey Ho," here. If you haven't heard it yet, I highly suggest you google that.
"Black Vessel" by Pearl and the Beard
There is some serious harmonization going on here, but the use of unity really works for them when they revert to it. I've been meaning to post some Pearl and the Beard forever, but I always seem to forget. There's almost a playfulness (maybe that's the harmony?) mixed in with the intensity of this song, and the opposition there pulls the song together so nicely.
Olympic Fever. I have it. Sports on television, they're not really my thing. But when you've got literally the world's best at each sport, really amazing things happen. The way that people can dedicate themselves to a sport so that they're running inhumanly fast, bending their bodies in impossible ways, or jumping 1.5 times my height in the air is so inspiring that I wish I was doing more than sitting on my couch watching them, eating whipped cream with a spoon. And nothing feels quite so powerful as watching two athletes from different countries and ethnicities embracing after their event, happy to be sharing more than borders and politics can separate: the sting of hard work and passion for the sport.
I jest. Of course I wasn't using a spoon. You spray canned whipped cream straight in your mouth, no matter how old you get.
But in honor of the games, I thought I'd make an Olympic-themed post. May the odds be ever in your favor! Wait, no, that's wrong...
"Is Your Love Big Enough?" by Lianne La Havas
Wikipedia tells me that Lianne La Havas is from London, and her parents are Greek and Jamaican, so she pretty much embodies the 2012 Olympic effort. Her voice can sound almost Adele-esque at times, but in other songs, I could swear it was Fiest. Looks like she has quite the style and soul, and I can't wait to see her grow and gain a bigger presence in the music world.
"Middle Distance Runner" by Sea Wolf
First, allow me to profess my profound love for Sea Wolf. I love them profoundly. Now that that's done, having been a middle distance runner, I can attest that this song pretty much nails the feeling I had during every single winter run I ever took. A little mellow, melancholy, very steady. In other news, have you seen the Olympic runners? It's just not even fair the way that their bodies move. They're machines.
"Racing Light" by Stars of Track and Field
How could I not use this song? Ignore the fact that it's by a band called Stars of Track and Field. It's called "Racing Lights." How perfect is that?! And when you look at the lyrics, they're really vague enough that you could, through crafty interpretation, construe them to be about an actual race. Go team.
So I hope you're all enjoying the 'lympics, lovin' the music, and eating whipped cream like it was a sport. Play on.
In honor of my new look and increased viewership, I thought I'd make a surprise Wednesday post to say thanks for all the love. Also, I gots something to show you.
The raven. It has absolutely nothing to do with anything. But I like him. He's got good taste in music. Ravens are like music guardians. Accept it.
"I Will Wait" by Mumford and Sons
Debuted (man, that word looks weird in past tense) only August 1st in Hoboken (and really, who names a town Hoboken?), Mumford only put this song up on the internet yesterday, so you can flaunt your early knowledge in front of your friends and feel, like, totally superior. It's from their new album Babel which is set to be released on September 24th. Judging by "I Will Wait," it would appear that M&S decided to go with the same sound as their last album. And I'm not really complaining.
So that's all I really wanted to show you, but it's kind of fun, no? Yes. Thanks for tuning in!
Remember that Ciara song? Actually, remember Ciara? Is she still alive? Someone told me the other day that Kel of "Kenan and Kel" had died of a crack overdose. I freaked. Then I told a friend who also freaked, but it was worse because I was driving and she started screaming about orange soda. So I threw my phone at her and told her to Wikipedia that jazz. Turns out he recently was remarried and has a recurring role on PBS's Curious George. Go Kel. Not dead.
Anyway, music.
"Santa Fe" by Beirut
Well, besides the first half being the most depressing music video in the history of YouTube, I've most certainly seen much worse. I like when his dead wife and dog come back and share pizza with him on the beach. That's how memories are made. A little confused about him stealing the wallets of all the people being baptized, but the song is a gem for sure. It's does a great job of being perfectly upbeat while still remaining tame. Bravo, Beirut.
"Shake Shake Shake" by Bronze Radio Return
This song is exactly what my ears needed. Maybe that sounds lame, but I can't think of another way to say that. Does that ever happen to you, where a song just feels exactly right for the moment you're in? Right now, Bronze Radio Return has done it for me. I could be wrong, but it seems as though there's some strange degree of power or tension or something impossibly unplaceable behind their instrumentals. In that way it's like "Welcome Home Son" by Radical Face, which I posted here. Side note: it's a lyric video by a random person, so don't associate it too heavily with the song.
"Take Your Mama" by Scissor Sister
When my mom first heard this song a year or two ago, she'd just gotten her "Shazam" app on the iPhone and she was so proud of using it and finding this song about taking your mama out. As far as interpreting the lyrics, we try not to.
In other news, lamest music video to date.
If you wanna minimize the window, Scissor Sisters won't know.
