Masters programs and personal blogs don't mix

Okay, so I've officially decided writing a blog is not the best idea for two Masters students, nor the most practical. Nonetheless, the stream of phenomenal music this summer has been awe inspiring (Dave Matthews Band, Mat Kearney, Elizabeth and the Catapult, Regina Spektor... it's euphoric - I also saw Relient K this summer and they were incredible) I feel awful for shirking my blogging duties. So here's a track from Jack's Mannequin's latest CD, The Glass Passenger, which actually came out last year, but I just picked it up. It's called "Annie Use Your Telescope". Enjoy!

Annie Use Your Telescope - Jacks Mannequin

Get Me to the Church on Time...

Faithful readers of Kharmonious (or...faithful reader?), I need your help!

I've been asked to put together playlists for two wedding receptions this summer. While I've already got a good start on some song choices, I'd like to throw it out there for suggestions. Does anyone know any songs that fit perfectly on a matrimony mix? Both soon-to-be-marrieds have pretty eclectic music tastes, so throw out anything you've got!

Music Video Monday!

Happy Monday everyone and Happy Memorial Day!


Breakable - Ingrid Michaelson

Songs about Wind

Dust In The Wind - Kansas

My apartment overlooks a valley so it gets extremely windy quite often: the trees bend, the chimney whistles, sometimes the windows even rattle. Here are 10 songs about wind (and air in general):

1. Blowin' in the Wind - Bob Dylan
2. Dust in the Wind - Kansas
3. People of the South Wind - Kansas
4. Lonely Wind - Kansas (yes, lots of Kansas!)
5. Wind of Change - Scorpions
6. When the Wind Blows - The All-American Rejects
7. Ride the Wind - Poison
8. Candle in the Wind - Elton John
9. Oxygen - Colbie Caillet
10. Air (also titled "Coming up for Air") - Ben Folds

Coldplay vs. Creaky Boards vs. Cat Stevens?

The "Viva la Vida" plagiarism accusations continue. First it was Joe Satriani, then Marty Balin and now it's Creaky Boards and Cat Stevens (you can read our previous coverage here and here). We get the idea, "Viva la Vida" sounds like a lot of other songs - apparently not as original as Chris and the boys thought it was.

First things first, you're wondering who the heck Creaky Boards is (at least, I was). They don't have a presence on wikipedia yet, but their official website says they're a four member folk-punk group from NYC (though confusingly, most of their photos show five people). The band leader, Andrew Hoepfner claimed Chris Martin stole the melody for "Viva la Vida" after hearing them perform the ironically titled "The Songs I Didn't Write". After Coldplay proved they had written the song before the alleged theft, Creaky Boards retracted the accusations and suggested that both songs were inspired by the video game, The Legend of Zelda. You can watch the youtube video comparison here.

Then there's the British singer-songwriter Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens from the 70s - he changed his name when he converted to Islam) who's compared "Viva la Vida" to his nearly 20 minute song "Foreigner Suite". You can see the important parts on youtube here. Yusuf isn't suing Coldplay for plagiarism... yet, saying "it depends on how well Satriani does".

The final verdict: same as before. Not substantial portions. Chord changes aren't enough. As we've discovered, they're all Canon in D in disguise anyway...

now featuring... a search bar!

You can now search kharmonious! Go ahead, give it a try (the search bar is located on the right sidebar just under the welcome message).

"Dave Matthews Band" brings up 14 posts.
"Ben Folds" brings up 18 posts.
"Ingrid Michaelson" brings up 15 posts.
"Zombie" only brings up 1.

Music Video Monday!

Katie introduced us to Meiko (pronounced "MEE-ko") a little over a month ago. Her self-titled debut album is a nice blend of gentle acoustics (a la Tristan Prettyman) and breezy melodies (I suspect fans of Colbie Caillet will enjoy Meiko.) Here's the music video to her catchy single "Boys With Girlfriends":


Boys With Girlfriends - Meiko