Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday. So much food, so much family, and no stressing about getting the right presents or having the perfect decorations.
So, in honor of turkey day, here are my top ten songs about being thankful (disclaimer: some of these songs are more sincerely thankful than others...but...the holidays can bring anger and sarcasm too).
1. Ben Folds - You to Thank 2. Vince Guaraldi - Thanksgiving Theme 3. Dido - Thank You 4. Billy Dean - Thank God I'm a Country Boy 5. David Crowder Band - Thank You for Hearing Me 6. Third Eye Blind - Thanks a Lot 7. Caedmon's Call - Thankful 8. Barenaked Ladies - Thanks That Was Fun 9. Loudon Wainwright III - Thanksgiving 10. Charlotte Kendrick - Thank You
Happy Thanksgiving everyone (tomorrow)! A few days ago I woke up to "The Thanksgiving Song" on the radio (the one by Adam Sandler) and it inspired me to write this list of ten food-related songs (without resorting to Weird Al's "Eat It" or "Girls Just Want To Have Lunch"). Believe it or not, there are actually hundreds, maybe thousands of food songs out there - check out this website for a list of 525 of them: http://mixedup.com/foodsongs.htm.
1. All U Can Eat - Ben Folds 2. American Pie - Don McLean 3. Dinner Last Night - O.A.R. 4. Food Chain - Eric Hutchinson 5. Apple Candy - Ben Lee 6. Peaches - The Presidents of the United States of America 7. Breakfast in America - Supertramp 8. Green Onions - Booker T & The MG's 9. Strawberry Swing - Coldplay 10. Orange Crush - R.E.M.
Coldplay's newest EP, Prospekt's March (released today) is in many ways an extension of their latest album Viva la Vida - so much so that there's a deluxe version of Viva la Vida that includes all the new tracks from Prospekt's March. In this critic's humble opinion, Coldplay can rarely do wrong, but Viva la Vida was a little short on tracks and this is how it should've been all along. Regardless, if you liked Viva la Vida, you will love Prospekt's March because it is similar, but not the same.
It takes less risks (like the sweeping "42" or "Yes" - two of my favorite tracks from Viva la Vida), but it is still bold in its own way: unpredictably moving inbetween parts in Glass of Water and playfully overlapping different instrument melodies in Rainy Day. The new Life in Technicolor II is fantastic (and aptly titled) - the most earnest "extension" of a song from the previous album.
I didn't need another version of "Lost!" (yet alone one with Jay-Z rapping in the background) and the "Osaka Sun Mix" of "Lovers in Japan" isn't quite different enough for me to choose over the original (in fact, it sounds virtually the same minus a couple background vocals), but everything else is a must-have for any Coldplay fan - perhaps this album is Coldplay's answer to Keane's phenomenal Perfect Symmetry. Both bands will undoubtedly have their following, but anyone wise enough to enjoy both has a lot to be thankful for this year.
Coldplay's new EP Prospekt's March was released today It features six new songs and two remixes (stay tuned for the full review). Until then, here's their music video for "Viva la Vida" for those who haven't seen it.
So I've been wondering how long do you listen to a song before you decide whether or not you like it? Or if you're listening to the radio, how long before you change stations? I'll listen to a song all the way through at least once (with few exceptions), but I can generally tell whether or not I will like it in the first 12 seconds or 6 measures. Maybe even less. Call me hasty or rash, but more often than not my initial reaction will mirror my final one. To test this I played my library on shuffle and listened to only the first 10 seconds of each song - it was hugely frustrating because the songs I liked had me hooked in the first 10 seconds. The ones I didn't, I could easily pass over.
Try for yourself. How long do you take passing initial judgment?
It reminds me of the psychological study of first impressions that suggests people make up their minds about those they meet for the first time within two minutes.
As promised, here's my follow-up to last weeks post: I scrolled through my iTunes library in cover flow again and chose my least favorite cover albums. There were quite a few contenders but I tried to pick the covers that were the most offensive to the eyes. Does this mean they're bad albums musically? Certainly not, some of these are personal favorites (specifically Stunt, X & Y and Third Eye Blind's debut album), but I won't be displaying the artwork in my living room any time soon (as with the last cover art post, you can click on any of the images to see them full-size):
Rolling Stone just released their top 100 Greatest Singers of All Time; a list compiled by "industry insiders" such as Bruce Springsteen and Alicia Keys. They asked them to list their favorite singers from the rock era (which kind of contradicts "of All Time" in my opinion), but here is their list - who would you add/remove?:
1 Aretha Franklin 2 Ray Charles 3 Elvis Presley 4 Sam Cooke 5 John Lennon 6 Marvin Gaye 7 Bob Dylan 8 Otis Redding 9 Stevie Wonder 10 James Brown 11 Paul McCartney 12 Little Richard 13 Roy Orbison 14 Al Green 15 Robert Plant 16 Mick Jagger 17 Tina Turner 18 Freddie Mercury 19 Bob Marley 20 Smokey Robinson 21 Johnny Cash 22 Etta James 23 David Bowie 24 Van Morrison 25 Michael Jackson 26 Jackie Wilson 27 Hank Williams 28 Janis Joplin 29 Nina Simone 30 Prince 31 Howlin' Wolf 32 Bono 33 Steve Winwood 34 Whitney Houston 35 Dusty Springfield 36 Bruce Springsteen 37 Neil Young 38 Elton John 39 Jeff Buckley 40 Curtis Mayfield 41 Chuck Berry 42 Joni Mitchell 43 George Jones 44 Bobby "Blue" Bland 45 Kurt Cobain 46 Patsy Cline 47 Jim Morrison 48 Buddy Holly 49 Donny Hathaway 50 Bonnie Raitt 51 Gladys Knight 52 Brian Wilson 53 Muddy Waters 54 Luther Vandross 55 Paul Rodgers 56 Mavis Staples 57 Eric Burdon 58 Christina Aguilera 59 Rod Stewart 60 Björk 61 Roger Daltrey 62 Lou Reed 63 Dion 64 Axl Rose 65 David Ruffin 66 Thom Yorke 67 Jerry Lee Lewis 68 Wilson Pickett 69 Ronnie Spector 70 Gregg Allman 71 Toots Hibbert 72 John Fogerty 73 Dolly Parton 74 James Taylor 75 Iggy Pop 76 Steve Perry 77 Merle Haggard 78 Sly Stone 79 Mariah Carey 80 Frankie Valli 81 John Lee Hooker 82 Tom Waits 83 Patti Smith 84 Darlene Love 85 Sam Moore 86 Art Garfunkel 87 Don Henley 88 Willie Nelson 89 Solomon Burke 90 The Everly Brothers 91 Levon Helm 92 Morrissey 93 Annie Lennox 94 Karen Carpenter 95 Patti LaBelle 96 B.B. King 97 Joe Cocker 98 Stevie Nicks 99 Steven Tyler 100 Mary J. Blige
It raises the question of what makes a singer good? Pitch? Control? Range? Finesse? I'm more of the traditional school of thought that says pitch, control and range are more important than finesse; or in other words, substance over style - when it comes to vocals. I agree that Freddie Mercury is one of the greatest vocalists ever, but Bob Dylan? I think he's a great musician but I wouldn't have pegged him as "top ten greatest singers of all time". Some other noteable, curious ommissions: Frank Sinatra, the Beach Boys, Brad Delp, Pat Benatar, Diana Ross, Billy Joel, Sting...
My Top 10 Greatest Singers of All Time would be:
1. Brad Delp (of Boston) 2. Freddie Mercury 3. Stevie Wonder 4. The Beach Boys 5. Frank Sinatra 6. Don Henley (of The Eagles) 7. Frankie Valli 8. Michael Jackson 9. Elton John 10. Aretha Franklin
And some newbies: Sara Bareilles, Tom Chaplin (of Keane) and Anthony Kiedis (of Red Hot Chili Peppers)
REI is offering a free music sampler filled with music relating to winter sports. The songs can be downloaded here. It includes tracks by ten artists, a few of whom I'd heard (Persephone's Bees, Eagles of Death Metal) but more I hadn't heard of.
Half the fun of the sampler is the creative presentation. I had fun waiting for the site to load (how often does that happen?) and then found myself entranced by the gently falling snow while I sampled each track. For each track, you can read information about the band/artist, watch the music video, download wallpapers, and listen to a thirty second sample (and if you decide you like it, download the track).
I haven't listened to all the songs all the way through yet, but the ones that initially peaked my interest are "Fallen Snow (Redux)" by Au Revoir Simone, "Colorado" by The Rentals (another "the" band!), and "Bar Clearing Good Times," and instrumental track by Saxon Shore.
If you are a music lover, you probably already know that listening to music you love makes you feel happy, but a new study presented at this week's meeting of the American Heart Association proves that listening to joyful music can dilate your blood vessels and make it easier for blood to flow through them. NPR's Talk of the Nation host Ira Flatow interviewed Dr. Miller of the University of Maryland Medical Center about the study on yesterday's "Science Friday" broadcast. You can listen to the audio here.
Just as music you love can help your heart health, listening to music you hate can make your blood vessels constrict. Dr. Miller also says that for "happy" music to have these positive effects on your health, it's important not to over expose. He recommends listening to a variety of music you enjoy or putting a two week break between listening to the same music, so that you don't become de-sensitized. So, if you're feeling stressed, do your heart a favor and go put on that album you love, right now.
Last Tuesday I had the pleasure of seeing the lovely Ingrid Michaelson perform at the Wonder Ballroom in Portland. I had seen Ingrid once before in Spokane, when she opened for Joshua Radin. She was great then, so I had little doubt that I would be impressed by her again. When I saw her in Spokane, she was accompanied only by Allie Moss, who plays guitar and back-up vocals, and it was great to see her in Portland with a full band. It added some variety and a much fuller sound to the show.
Ingrid is definitely worth seeing live, as she is not only a great musician, but a great performer, playfully interacting with the audience and band. In addition to playing her popular songs from Girls & Boys and Be OK, Ingrid covered Radiohead's "Creep" and did a very cute rendition of "Mele Kalikimaka" in honor of the holidays. (Which reminds me, she and Sara Bareilles recorded a Christmas song for the Hotel Cafe's Christmas album called "Winter Song." You can buy it on iTunes--I just did, and it's really beautiful. I know it isn't even Thanksgiving yet, but this isn't the kind of Christmas song you'll get sick of hearing. There is a video of them recording the song on youtube). I was particularly impressed by the show closing song, a yet unreleased song called "Everybody" (at least I think that's what it was called), which will hopefully find it's way onto her next album.
The show was opened by two British men who were both very enjoyable in very different ways--David Ford and Newton Faulkner. David Ford (whose video I'll post below) sounds like a man who has had a lot of bad breakups (or at least one really bad one). His songs are mournful and angry and beautiful, and I like them a lot. He reminds me a bit of David Gray or James Blunt, and I don't think it's just because they're all British. The unique thing about Ford is that he uses a looping technique to record and replay various instruments and vocals. It is pretty amazing to watch him run around the stage as a one-man band. I'm not exactly sure how to explain it well (Andrew Bird does the same thing, if you've ever seen him live), so here's a video that shows exactly what he does:
Cool, huh? Ford ended his set with a beautiful number called, "Song for the Road" about being homesick and missing his wife in England when he's on tour. If anyone can help me out here, I'd really appreciate it--I know I've heard this song before somewhere, but for the life of me, can't figure out where. I've googled it, but I can't seem to find any answers. Maybe it's from a soundtrack? A commercial? I don't know, but here it is:
Oh, and I mentioned Newton Faulkner, who was also really impressive, but since this post is already unbearably long, I'll write more about him later.
No, definitely the most subjective list I've made. I scrolled through my iTunes library in cover flow and chose my favorite album covers. Some are minimalist, some are thematic; all have good composition and colors; I'm not a fan of obscure abstract art or photos of bands standing in front of buildings (see below).
But I am a fan of creative cover art that intrigues and embodies the essence of the album. These 10 are my favorites (and they're also good albums) - stay tuned for my least favorite next week - you can also click on the images for a larger version:
I like all of Kyle's "the" bands, and I didn't know if I'd be able to find ten more that I love. Turns out that I like a lot of "the" bands. Here's ten more to check out.
1. The Shins - So Says I 2. The Rocket Summer - TV Family 3. The Wreckers - Hard to Love You 4. The Dandy Warhols - We Used to be Friends 5. The Decemberists - July, July! 6. The Eagles - Hotel California 7. The Weepies - Takes So Long 8. The Format - Time Bomb 9. The Frames - Falling Slowly 10. The Pale (Pacific) - Gravity Gets Things Done
When my wife and I saw John Mayer at the Gorge a few summer's back, I told everyone I was only going to see Ben Folds open - which was partly the truth, the other part is: I think John Mayer is a phenomenal songwriter and guitarist and I'm particularly fond of his most recent studio release Continuum. Nevertheless, Ben Folds said it best when he introduced John saying, "I knew John when he was still just a chump ass". He probably still is, but I try not to judge musicians on their personalities.
Anyway, this is all to say if the only John Mayer you've heard is "Your Body is a Wonderland" or "Bigger Than My Body" or even "Waiting on the World to Change" - basically anything they play on the radio - you're missing out big time. You might not believe me when I say I think John Mayer has more in common with Norah Jones than Britney Spears; and I think he's more jazz and blues than pop. Have a listen to these tracks, one from each studio album:
Then there's the John Mayer Trio (John, bassist Pino Palladino and drummer Steve Jordan) whose album Try! is just awesome. Recommended tracks are: "Wait Until Tomorrow", "Gravity" and Ray Charles cover "I Got a Woman".
"The Band" was a rock group from the 60s that toured with Bob Dylan, broke up and reformed for the 80s and 90s. But this post isn't about them; it's about ten other bands that start with the word "the" (a practice I could not find the origin of online, but I'd be curious to know) + a song for each:
1. The Fray - Vienna 2. The Postal Service - The District Sleeps Alone 3. The Eames Era - Go To Sleep 4. The Slip - Love and Tears 5. The Killers - Read My Mind 6. The All-American Rejects - Drive Away 7. The Spill Canvas - All Hail the Heartbreaker 8. The Beach Boys - Wouldn't It Be Nice 9. The Rolling Stones - Paint it Black 10. The Who - You Better You Bet
Anyone else happy it's Friday and only 2 1/2 more weeks till Thanksgiving?
It's another rainy day in Spokane and here's my recommendation: listen to "November Rain" by Guns n' Roses at least once a week this month or every time it rains, whichever is more (you have no excuse not to, just click the play button on my playlist to the right). Soak in the Rock and remember "nothin' lasts forever, even cold November rain..."
But that wasn't my thought. My thought: music is like a french fry; it's small, tasty and easily consumed. In fact, it's easy to consume many songs in one sitting. Whereas a movie is like a hamburger and a book is like a T-bone steak (you gotta be ravenous to eat two of those back to back). And visual art (like a painting or an album cover) is like a grain of salt. You could consume a dozen paintings in the time it would take to listen to "November Rain" or you could savor each and every granule...
Almost a month ago I received an anonymous tip on this very blog to check out Brooke Waggoner. (Excuses about how busy I've been aside) this week I finally did and let me pass this tip along to all of you: go to brookewaggoner.com and download her 6 song EP Fresh Pair of Eyes for free - this may be the best free music you get (legally) for some time.
Brooke's sound is simultaneously delicate and lush, with piano driven melodies, I think it will appeal to fans of Kate Nash, Sara Bareilles or Vanessa Carlton. Her songs are wonderfully arranged (mostly with strings and various percussion) and they brilliantly and organically flow between sections - I just love songs with multiple melodies and time changes ("Hush if you Must"and "So-So" are particularly sprawling and beautiful).
I've been told one reader said our blog is costing him a lot of money because we keep introducing him to new artists - well, here's a freebie for everyone and a fantastic one at that.
I've been wanting to write a post about Justin Nozuka for awhile now. I stumbled across his music, thanks to Pandora, about a month ago and just bought his album Holly on iTunes about a week ago. The first song I heard, "After Tonight" (which I have posted the video of below), had me hooked, but at first I was afraid Justin might be one of those artists where I love one song but am left less than impressed by the rest of the album. After listening to a few more songs on Pandora and sampling the whole album on iTunes, I decided to go for the whole thing, and I'm glad I did.
I've heard Justin compared to Jason Mraz, and although I didn't hear it at first, I think there is a resemblance. There is a fluttery and almost stuttering quality to Nozuka's voice at times that reminds me of Mraz, especially on "After Tonight" and the album opener, "Down in a Cold Dirty Well." I also think he at times sounds a bit like Eric Hutchinson, though more on the soul and bluesy side and less on the jazzy side. His lyrics are heart rending at times ("Mr. Therapy Man" and "Save Him"), which fits his powerfully emotive voice.
The whole album is available for $7.99 on iTunes, and I'd definitely recommend it. If you can't get the whole thing, my other recommendations (besides the tracks mentioned above) are "Criminal" and "Be Back Soon." Also, check out Justin's website. He just recently did some tour throughout the Northwest, but hopefully he'll come back again soon.
Happy Election Day fellow Americans! To celebrate here are ten fantastic songs with more or less political messages (some more overt than others):
1. What's Goin' On - Marvin Gaye 2. Girl America - Mat Kearney 3. Sunday Bloody Sunday - U2 4. War Pigs - Black Sabbath 5. Killing in the Name - Rage Against the Machine 6. What It's Like - Everlast 7. Another Bag of Bones - Kevin Devine 8. Won't Get Fooled Again - The Who 9. I'd Love to Change the World - Ten Years After 10. Blowin in the Wind' - Bob Dylan
*Liberty Leading the People (1830) by Eugene Delacroix was used for the cover art of Coldplay's latest album Viva la Vida (the title "Viva la Vida" is actually taken from a Frida Kahlo painting of watermelons)
I've been thinking about alliteration a lot lately for some reason, and I started wondering how many of my favorite artists have alliterative names. After scrolling through my whole library, it turns out that not very many do, but here's my top 10 faves, along with a song recommendation for each artist (I tried to pick alliterative song titles, when possible), in case you've never heard them before. By the way, I kept it to individual artists whose first and last name start with the same letter, so bands who chose to have alliterative names (like Modest Mouse or Counting Crows) aren't included.
1. Beau Bristow - What Are You Waiting For? 2. Brendan Benson - Spit It Out 3. Chris Cagle - If It Isn't One Thing 4. Colbie Caillat - One Fine Wire 5. Jack Johnson - Fortunate Fool 6. Mandy Moore - Gardenia 7. Martina McBride - Wearing White 8. Melissa McClelland - Factory 9. Shea Seger - Clutch 10. Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans
In case you didn't already know, in the US this week you can download Coldplay's newest music video, "Lovers in Japan", for free on iTunes. It's a pretty good one and a little dizzying. Below is the snippet from the Coldplay Messenger and a sound clip of the acoustic version of "Lovers in Japan". Enjoy!
LOVERS IN JAPAN VIDEO PREMIERE
Hello again. We're pleased to announce that the new video for Lovers In Japan will be premiering on iTunes stores around the world today (Friday). What's more, folks in the US of A will be able to download it free of charge for a week. The video was made by Mat Whitecross in London. It's based on the new Osaka Sun mix of the song and features fireworks, butterflies and Guy on a trapeze.
