Songs about the Summer

When I was a kid, I used to say my favorite season was winter... boy was I stupid. Of course that was before I could drive, didn't have to pay the heating bills and didn't have to work during "winter break". Now I enjoy the summer and fall and despise winter. Here are ten songs about the lovely season we're in right now:

1. Summer in the City - Lovin' Spoonful
2. Rainiest Day of Summer - Elizabeth & the Catapults
3. Hot Fun in the Summertime - Sly & the Family Stone
4. Wonderful Day - O.A.R.
5. Holiday in Real - Jack's Mannequin
6. Dreamgirl - Dave Matthews Band
7. Summer of '69 - Bryan Adams
8. Summertime - Bon Jovi
9. Take It Easy - The Eagles
10. Where's Summer B? - Ben Folds Five

All without any Beach Boys! What are your favorite songs about summer?

Enjoy your summer weekend everyone!

New music bonanza

Apparently the iTunes Indie Spotlight Podcast has been around since October of 2008 (Have I been living in a hole in the ground? It's possible.), but I just discovered it this morning. If you're looking for a nice way to hear about a slough of newish artists quickly, this is a great way. Updated once a week, the eleven to twelve minute podcasts features brief snippets of songs, sometimes introducing the artists, sometimes not (The list of artists is supposed to be found at itunes.com\indiespotlight, though I haven't been able to find it yet). As you're listening in your iTunes (or on your iPod), the album cover and song title shows up in the "Now Playing" art box. Conveniently (for iTunes and you), a quick click on the song title brings you to that artist's iTunes page, where you can purchase that song (and others).

This week's Singer/Songwriter Podcast features a new single, called "Maybe," by our dear Ingrid Michaelson, which I will probably have to go download now. Other great artists featured in this week's podcast are Mindy Smith ("Highs and Lows"), Bowerbirds ("Northern Lights"), and Matthew Mayfield ("Lives Entwined"). The podcast also features a beautiful acoustic version of a Matt Duke song that I've been loving for some time ("Sex and Reruns"). I'm also intrigued by "Anchor Made of Gold" by Jenny Wilson, "Cloud Nine" by Ben Howard (as if I need another favorite artist named Ben), and "Airplanes" by Local Natives.

Each week, the Indie Spotlight features a different genre. While I recommend the podcast to anyone who is always looking for new music, I must include a warning here--the Indie Spotlight Podcast, combined with one-click purchasing on iTunes may lead to increased spending and decreased space on your iPod. Proceed with caution.

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

Far - Regina Spektor

To say the very least, Regina Spektor exudes personality. One glance at her website or "Survival Guide to Soviet Kitsch" zine* will reveal this and her music is no different. Wikipedia associates her with "anti-folk" music - which I didn't know existed and am not really sure what it means. Nonetheless, much of Regina's music is beyond classification. It's piano and vocal driven (Regina is one of those gifted musicians who truly uses their voices as an instrument), it's experimental and it's kinda folksy (or anti-folksy if you prefer). Her most famous singles are "Fidelity" and "On the Radio" from her previous album "Begin to Hope" (2006).

Personally, it took me a while to get into Regina's music; "Begin to Hope" was the first album of hers I bought. Her newest album "Far" on the other hand, I fell in love with immediately. From the upbeat opening track "The Calculation", Regina entices and intrigues with interesting melody lines and unpredictable vocals. On the whole, I'd say "Far" is more upbeat than "Begin to Hope" but equally thoughtful and insightful, especially "Laughing With" and "Blue Lips" - two of my favorite songs from the album. In its entirety, the album covers a range of tempos and moods. Her piano melodies often begin simply, but gather steam throughout the song with the addition of percussion, her own beatboxing or a tuba (to cite just a few examples) - her instrumentation is fabulous. Her lyrics often muse on relationships, religion and humanity (but they really do feel like musings and not soapbox rantings). I recommend the entire album, but my favorite tracks at the moment are "Dance Anthem of the 80's", "Eet", "Human of the Year" and "Laughing With". You can also view her music video for "Laughing With" here: http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid4020141001?bctid=23871654001 (the embed code wasn't working, but if it does later I'll add it). I thought it was pretty unique and cleverly edited.

* If you like Regina's music, I highly recommend checking out her "Survival Guide to Soviet Kitsch" zine. Just go to "Reginapolis" on the navigation bar and the pdf download link is in the bottom left corner. There's also a Tetris game called "Spektris" on the same page.

Fave tracks: "Dance Anthem of the 80's", "Eet", "Human of the Year" and "Laughing With".
RIYL: Kate Nash, Feist, Ingrid Michaelson, Sia

Eet (Album Version) - Regina Spektor

The Rebirth of Kharmonious?

Oi, it's been a long time since I wrote an honest review - not to insinuate any of my reviews are less than honest :) suffice it to say it's been some time so please excuse me if I'm a little rusty: I picked up Ben Lee's 7th studio album, The Rebirth of Venus several months ago, right before I drove to Portland to meet Katie. I listened to it a couple times through on the trip there and back on windy Highway 84 and a few times since.

For those of you unfamiliar with Ben Lee, he's a singer-songwriter from Austrailia whose music I'd describe as acoustic-pop-folk. His most recognizable single is "Catch My Disease" from the infectious Awake is the New Sleep (pun intended) - the song appeared in Grey's Anatomy, Scrubs and the film Just Friends - so you've probably heard it somewhere. Like a lot of Ben's music, it's catchy, campy and hokey, all at the same time - and sometimes that's a good thing. Ben isn't afraid to have a crowd of everyday people sing along with him.

The Rebirth of Venus is similar to previous albums, in that it mixes synthetic and acoustic sounds seamlessly (there may be a few more keyboards and mixed sounds this time around, but there still are some great acoustic tracks like "Surrender"). Ben's lyrics usually lean toward sensitive, introspective content, with a positive spin: Ben asks "what's so bad about feeling good?". A few songs on the album have political observations, "Wake Up to America" or social reflections, "Boy With a Barbie" and "I'm a Woman Too". They're completely harmless in that they're not mean-spirited, but some may find them obnoxious. "Blue Denim" sounds like it was written for a Gap jeans commercial, which again speaks to much of Ben's music; it's catchy, but not especially deep which may leave some listeners dissatisfied over the long haul. My picks for the album are "Surrender", "Families Cheating at Boardgames" and "Bad Poetry".

I saw Ben Lee open for Ben Folds a year or so ago, and it was the first time I've ever felt sympathy for a musician on stage: Ben (Lee)'s microphone stand wouldn't stay up and he had to sing his songs standing slouched over the microphone. He sang through several songs before any of the stagehands helped him. He didn't get mad at all and he was still great, but it was incredible to see that even with six studio albums under his belt (he hadn't finished the seventh), he seemed to be a genuinely humble and grateful musician and I admire him for that.

It's also worth noting that the bonus CD version of The Rebirth of Venus includes the track "Ben Lee" which is a song originally performed by the Ataris about how much they hate Ben Lee. Ben Lee isn't above making fun of himself or acknowledging that some people won't like him or his music.

Fave tracks: "Surrender", "Families Cheating at Boardgames" and "Bad Poetry"
RIYL: Ben Kweller, Ben Folds, Kate Nash

Surrender - Ben Lee

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!