Song of the Day 10/26/12: Mumford & Sons – Broken Crown

Elaine is a HUGE Mumford fan so naturally we’ve been listening to the album while she’s here. I’m really feeling Broken Crown. I really like those dark folk sounds. Ive always been someone who prefers minor keys to major. I also like the blend of hope and despair. For me banjo always reminds me of hopeful happy songs so I love when it is used the way it is in “Broken Crown.” Oh and need I mention it? There are horns. Every song needs horns…

Song of the Day 09/18/12: The Cranberries – Zombie

A couple months ago, I was talking with a friend (who’s only two years younger than me) and we got into the topic of zombie’s.  So, I started singing this song and she just looked at me with a blank face.  I know what you’re thinking, “Isaiah, no one ever knows what song you’re singing!”  That may be true, but then I said, “You know! Zombie!”  Blank Stare.  “Doo doo doo doo doo?”  Shaking of head.  “By the Cranberries?”  Never heard of them.  “What???”  That’s why this must go up.  How can you go through life not knowing The Cranberries or “Zombie”?  This song was a staple at Hoffman music sing-a-long parties when I was a kid!  Yes, we had those.  So let this classic take you back to the 90s, a decade of ripped jeans and flannel, and music that was deadly serious.  Did you see how I worked that pun in with deadly and zombies?  Total accident.

Song of the Day 09/12/12: The Civil Wars – Barton Hollow

Seriously?  How have I never had a Civil Wars song of the day yet??  Probably too little too late since at this point, if you haven’t heard The Civil Wars, you must live under a rock at the bottom of the ocean.  STILL.  This song is AMAZING!  The harmonies, the production, the oohs and ohs!  So good!

Song of the Day 01/14/11: Mumford and Sons – Little Lion Man

So Elaine turned me on to Mumford and Sons recently, even though I’d been tempted to look them up a while back.  I dont have much to say so far except that this song is crazy addictive and I love it!  IF you haven’t heard of them before then just picture Nickel Creek, but heavier, younger and rougher.  You haven’t heard of Nickel Creek?  Go back a few days, since I featured their song “Can’t Complain.”

Song of the Day 12/31/10: Jeff Buckley – Grace

SO to get into all that is Jeff Buckley would take book after book, and I wont attempt it here.  What I will say is that he died way too young.  After releasing only one album and recording a second, he tragically drowned in a river in 1997.  However, the one album he did release before his death is one of the most beautiful pieces of music available.  I first discovered him while rooming with my friend, Henn, in Fresh Meadows, NY.  I came home after an exceptionally bad day at school and work, and just went and lied down in my room, frustrated, and in that insomniac not awake not alseep place.  Henn was doing something in the kitchen and blasting “Grace”, and I just lay there listening to the entire album.  I had no idea who it was but I was in love.  “Grace”, to me, is a song that represents everything that Jeff was about, from the crazy guitar work and the soothing dark lyrics, to the absolutely wonderful vocals.  My friend, Jacek, once asked me who my favorite vocalist was and I said, “it has to be Jeff on that last solo on Grace.”  I highly encourage you to watch the documentary made about him, or at least go find Grace and listen to it.