Top 10 Rachael Yamagata

Several years ago, I began a personal quest to discover more female musicians to listen to - not just pop stars who could sing and dance, but real musicians who wrote and performed music. When I embarked on this mission, my iTunes library was overflowing with male musicians (many of them from this very series of top ten lists: Ben Folds, Dave Matthews Band, Coldplay, etc.), but female musicians were dismally underrepresented. That's when I came across Rachael Yamagata's album Happenstance and my journey truly began. It is a beautiful, original and stunning album. Between Rachael and Ingrid Michaelson, my love for female singer-songwriters began and my iTunes library reflects it with many more brilliant and talented female musicians. Many people haven't heard of Rachael Yamagata, but if you like other original female singer-songwriters like Regina Spektor, Ingrid Michaelson, Elizabeth & the Catapult, Feist or Kate Nash, you may enjoy Rachael's subtle and soulful songwriting.

1. Collide - Rachael Yamagata EP - Not to be confused with the Howie Day song, this song may not be fit for mainstream radio, but that's okay with me - in fact, that may be why I like it so much. It's strange, experimental and compelling all at the same time. Love the strings at 3:10 and the following piano solo. Great chaos/clarity moment.
2. Worn Me Down - Happenstance - Probably Rachael's most famous single (though still not played that much on the radio), in spite of it's subject matter (heartbreak, cheating), it's upbeat with a ridiculously catchy melody. Definitely one of Rachael's most accessible songs for new listeners.
3. Sunday Afternoon - Elephants... Teeth Sinking Into Heart - Wonderfully arranged, the strings are ethereal. This 9-minute song may be Rachael's magnum opus, it plays like a movement to a symphony.
4. 1963 - Happenstance - One of Rachael's peppier, happier songs (much of her music is somber but gorgeous), another great start for Rachael neophytes.
5. Would you Please - Rachael Yamagata EP - This song gives new meaning to a beautifully sad song. Love the way it was recorded. The guitar and vocals sound amazing as well as the background sounds.
6. Known for Years - Rachael Yamagata EP - "It'd be a shame to make believe, it's better to leave"
7. Under My Skin - Happenstance - An unusual song, the two parts are quite disparate, but it all seems to fit in the end and Rachael sings the bridge stunningly.
8. Letter Read - Happenstance - I like the orchestration in this song. The drum beat, the piano riff, followed by the bass, it has the sound of improvisation. I'm also quite fond of the chorus.
9. I Want You - Happenstance - I just had to listen to the first 10 seconds to know I was going to like this song. Fortunately, the rest of the song is equally interesting and enjoyable. I love how Rachael sings "no one". And any song with a clarinet is okay by my books.
10. What If I Leave - Elephants... Teeth Sinking Into Heart - Like a lot of Rachael's music, this song is subtle and pensive. There are some songs that may be more passionate (even angry), but in this one Rachael seems calm and at peace.

1963 (Album Version) - Rachael Yamagata

Top 10 Counting Crows

I remember Counting Crows being fairly popular in the 90s with their hits "Mr. Jones" and "Hangin' Around", but I don't know how many people still listen to them (other than when watching Shrek)- I don't hear them mentioned much, but that may just be in the circles I socialize with. I don't listen to Counting Crows all the time - in fact, before writing this list, the last time I seriously listened to their music was back in April. Nevertheless, when the mood is right, few things satisfy as much as a listen to "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby" or these other tunes:

1. Mrs. Potter's Lullaby - This Desert Life - "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby" is not just a song, it's a journey, an adventure, a story, the perfect road trip song (the best road trip songs are long, like road trips) - I imagine listening to this song while driving down the highway with the windows rolled down and the sun just beginning to set. It's the kind of song where a single verse can make my mind wander for minutes afterward. It's about the actress Monica Potter (Con Air, Patch Adams, Head Over Heels), but it's also about dreams, journeys and memories. It's epic, rambling, folksy and a must-hear for all Counting Crows fans.
2. Rain King - August & Everything After - This is the type of 90s music you can come back to after a decade and still enjoy (a la Third Eye Blind) instead of hanging your head wondering what you were thinking (a la Ace of Base).
3. Hard Candy - Hard Candy - Great upbeat song to start off a solid, underrated album.
4. Angels of the Silences - Recovering the Satellites - One of their "rock"-ier songs, but still uniquely Counting Crows.
5. I'm Not Sleeping - Recovering the Satellites - I'm probably not the only one who thinks the build up to the chorus rocks. And the string arrangements are awesome.
6. Carriage - Hard Candy - It took me a while to come up with this one. It was between this, "Why Should You Come When I Call" and "Butterfly in Reverse", all from the same album. I ended with this one because I think it is the most original in terms of Counting Crows' repertoire. I love the slower, relaxed pace and the trumpet solo is perfect (is the musician using a straight mute?), I like how Adam rhymes the line "I wish that I was anesthetized and sterilized". Lastly, the guitar solo at the end is sublime.
7. Sundays - Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings - There's actually quite a few songs I like from the band's most recent album, including "Los Angeles", "Hanging Tree" and "Cowboys", but this song seems to be a real throwback to their earlier stuff and it works splendidly.
8. Holiday In Spain - Hard Candy - What a beautiful, sad song. I really like Adam Duritz's performance on this one. "they left the television screaming that the radio's on..."
9. Four Days - This Desert Life - This tune sort of reminds me of some Barenaked Ladies songs, which together, send me back to the euphoric 90s.
10. Amy Hit the Atmosphere - This Desert Life - This was one of my favorite Counting Crows songs in high school and I still think it has a lot of merit. It has an easygoing feel, ambient electric guitars and an interesting chain of melodies. "All I really know is I wanna know, and all I really know is I don't wanna know..."

Rain King - Counting Crows

Top 10 Keane

1. Leaving So Soon? - Under the Iron Sea - I don't think this is my favorite Keane song of all time, but it energized and motivated me to create this list and it's a fabulous reminder of why I enjoy Keane so much: soaring pop-rock vocals, catchy melodies and creative instrumentation. And the giant inhale at the start is perfect.
2. This is the Last Time - Hopes and Fears - This is an altogether great album, but this song remains one of my all time favorites. I really like the beat the piano establishes from the beginning and then it's amplified by the drums and bass.
3. Your Eyes Open - Hopes and Fears - This song has a good groove, probably because of the bass part throughout. It's nice it doesn't drown out the piano though - they do a great job of balancing the instruments. I like the spacey bit around 2:20, which is definitely typical of Keane.
4. Time to Go - Perfect Symmetry - After many, many listens of the band's latest album, Perfect Symmetry, this song may be my favorite - and I really do like the whole CD. Oddly, this song is sort of the misfit on the album because it's the only acoustic song (just guitar, piano and vocals) and it's also one of the most straightforward, in terms of melody and form. In my opinion, it's also one of the most beautiful. Tom Chaplin really can sing.
5. We Might As Well Be Strangers - Hopes and Fears - Let lead vocalist Tom Chaplin turn an otherwise normal ballad into a wild, dramatic performance. It's nice when a rock band exhibits dynamics.
6. Spiralling - Perfect Symmetry - Wonderfully unique, bizarre and catchy, all at the same time. Love, politics, religion, rhetorical questions and a spacey bridge around 3:00. That about sums it up.
7. The Way You Want It - The Way You Want It Single - Great songwriting. Just piano. Different sound from the rest of their more electronic stuff.
8. Nothing in My Way - Under the Iron Sea - Love the chorus.
9. Snowed Under - Somewhere Only We Know EP - "You know sometimes I feel like I'm getting snowed under with the things you say, when I open my eyes and it's a lovely day"
10. Somewhere Only We Know - Hopes and Fears - Maybe a little cheesy and definitely overplayed on the radio for a while (think: the summer of 2004) but a classic nonetheless (along the lines of Coldplay's "The Scientist" or "In My Place"). This was the song that got me hooked on the band.

Snowed Under - Keane


Spiralling - Keane

double whammy! - Jack's Mannequin

Good morning Kharmonious readers! Thanks for all the recent comments. This post is more of a "have you heard" for Jack's Mannequin, but it's also a "double whammy" because I'll touch on both of their albums, Everything in Transit (2005) and The Glass Passenger (2008).

I first heard Jack's Mannequin on Pandora (I don't remember which station it was on, maybe Muse? They both use pianos... :/). It was their single "Dark Blue" and I was hooked (probably because of the piano - I still love the way the piano and drums bounce off one another with alternate beats). I picked up Everything in Transit soon after and recently The Glass Passenger. I would highly recommend both albums for fans of piano-driven alt-rock with a hint of punk. To this day, I think Jack's Mannequin is the best band Pandora has introduced me to, which speaks very well of the band, and maybe not so well for Pandora :/.

Jack's Mannequin is a four-member band from Los Angeles, California and is relatively new; they formed in 2004. Founding member, pianist and vocalist, Andrew McMahon was in the band Something Corporate before forming Jack's Mannequin, the name which he said was the combination of a song title "Dear Jack" and a band name idea "Black Mannequins". From the very limited amount of Something Corporate I've heard, I think Jack's Mannequin's sound is cleaner and striped of some of the feedback; less guitar and more piano. Something Corporate fans call me out if I'm way off track. It also sounds to me like Andrew McMahon's vocals take more prominence in Jack's Mannequin and the backup vocals are more background.

I think my favorite part about Jack's Mannequin is the energy they bring to each of their songs, even the ones with moderate and slower tempos (see "Rescued" and "Swim"). The talent of drummer Jay McMillan is imperative here, as he keeps the songs from sounding all alike or typical alt-rock. The piano Andrew plays is beautiful too, I have no clue how they recorded it, but it sounds fantastic on both albums (it's never drowned out by other instruments, which happens too often in rock bands, and even the bass notes come through clearly). Of the two albums, my favorite is Everything in Transit which includes "Dark Blue", "Bruised", "I'm Ready", "Rescued" and "Holiday from Real" (<-- one of my favorite Jack's Mannequin songs). The Glass Passenger isn't shabby though, my picks from it would include "Spinning", "Swim", "Annie Use Your Telescope" and "Caves". In my opinion, Everything in Transit is simply a more consistent album, but both have been enjoyable additions to my collection.

*Jack's Mannequin is coming to Spokane tomorrow at the INB Performing Arts Center with the Fray, however, I will be absent, as I don't have the dough to shell out $45 to see the Fray again... :(

RIYL: Something Corporate (?), The Fray, Jimmy Eat World, Relient K
Fave tracks from Everything in Transit: "Dark Blue", "Holiday from Real", "I'm Ready"
Fave tracks from The Glass Passenger: "Swim", "Spinning", "Caves"

Swim - Jacks Mannequin

Whisper House review

To some, Duncan Sheik is the one-hit-wonder behind "Barely Breathing" (released over a decade ago in Duncan's debut, self-titled album). To others, he is the two-hit-wonder behind the aforementioned title and "On a High" from Daylight. And to yet others (myself included in this group), he is the underrated, underexposed and understated singer/songwriter behind "Genius", "Half-Life", Spring Awakening* and now Whisper House. Incidentally, Whisper House shares more in common with Spring Awakening than anything else I've heard of his - and that is a very good thing. Like the Tony-award winning musical, Whisper House is full of stories, surprising melodies and harmonies and thoughtful lyrics. One thing I've always liked about Duncan is his unimposing, restrained melodies - sometimes they're created by ethereal, haunting keyboards, other times pensive, acoustic guitar.

Unlike his singles, "Barely Breathing" and "On a High", much of Whisper House is reserved, slower tempo and more prosaic. Where those two songs embody a feeling, the songs from Whisper House tell a story; about a lighthouse keeper, a sheriff, a naive man named Soloman Snell... these are the characters of Duncan's songs. And at the same time, Duncan's songs have always been very introspective and lucid, and they still are. As a composer, Duncan has seemed to mature; between Spring Awakening and Whisper House, the two albums have some of the most interesting and beautiful vocal harmonies I've heard. That being said, I wouldn't recommend Whisper House to everyone - there are no clear "singles" ("We're Here to Tell You" is probably the closest semblance to a single) and it may take a few listens through the entire album before it grows on you (it took me three or four - thus my slightly delayed review).

Fave tracks: "Play Your Part", "The Ghost in You", "We're Here to Tell You", "Better to be Dead"
RIYL: Spring Awakening, Brooke Waggoner, Sufjan Stevens, Jason Robert Brown

*Spring Awakening is a Tony award-winning rock musical composed by Duncan Sheik, book and lyrics by Steven Sater. It won the Tony awards for Best Musical, Best Book and Best Score in 2007 as well as a Grammy award for Musical Show Album.

You Found Me

The Fray's new single "You Found Me" has done respectably on the charts (#28 on Billboard's US Hot 100). The Fray is a talented piano-driven rock band out of Denver whose biggest hits were "How to Save a Life" and "Over My Head (Cable Car)".

"You Found Me" is not their greatest song and it treads some familiar territory from their first studio album How to Save a Life. It begins gradually with a short piano riff and a sonically pleasant, but unspectacular verse and then predictably adds guitar and drums about half a minute in. It picks up around 1:30 when the drum beat changes and then slows down again during the bridge. It's not a bad song (and everyone knows singles are generally not the best songs from an album), but if it sounds too much like their first album, I fear it'll be easily forgotten (and won't move the band forward, which would be a shame because they're a great band with mass appeal and fun to watch live). My hope is that the rest of the album will take a few more risks and they'll play with their song progression a bit more. Their new album, self-titled The Fray is scheduled to release February 3rd, 2009.

Listen to the single "You Found Me" for yourself and let me know what you think.

Free Music: Brooke Waggoner

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.

Top 10 Artists with Alliteration

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



Did I forget any?

Lovers in Japan Video Premiere

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.

"The Guilty Ones" from Spring Awakening

If you, like me, wondered what Duncan Sheik had been doing since 2003 when his last hit single, "On a High" played on the radio, here's a quick update: he recorded and released White Limousine in 2006 and released a (probably premature) Greatest Hits collection in 2007. Most notably and unexpectedly, however, he composed the music for the Tony award-winning musical Spring Awakening, which depending on your opinion of musical theatre and Duncan Shiek as a musican, is an incredible blend of the two.



You can find the album on iTunes and there's also a touring production going around the country (for more info go to: www.springawakening.com). My track recommendations are "The Guilty Ones", "The Bitch of Living", "The Song of Purple Summer" and "And Then There Were None".

Have you heard...

I got to hear Raining Jane open last weekend for Sara Bareilles at the Knitting Factory. I thought they were great performers. I liked their sound (self described as "rock-folk"). And one of the members played a sitar (how freaking awesome is that)! So I downloaded their latest album Paper Nest on iTunes and have been listening to it since. My track recommendations are "Castles and Factories", "Desperate Sails", "Incline" and "Browntown" if you want to hear the sitar. A short, but fantastic album. They're an all-female band, which I must admit I was a bit smitten with them at first (one of the members even played a cello during a couple songs and confession time: I'm a huge sap for females playing stringed instruments) , but they're incredible, real musicians and not just a run-of-the-mill female pop group like All Saints or Spice Girls or Bananarama (nothing against the aforementioned groups). Have a listen for yourself!





For more info check out: www.rainingjane.com