Song of the Day 09/30/12: NEEDTOBREATHE – Drive All Night

Have you gotten this album yet??  Seriously, I cant help but come back to this album every month just as amazed as the first time I heard it.  Every time he says “I need a girl that calls me baby”, CHILLS.  This guy’s voice is just too good.  Plus, “Drive All Night,” reminds me of the Protomen which is a huge plus!  Get this album…

Song of the Day 09/29/12: Lil Wayne – Nightmares of The Bottom

I was really excited for Lupe’s Great American Rap Album and Kanye’s Cruel Summer. This is a positive music website, so all I’ll say is, I listened and turned back to this.  I love the simplicity of the piano and strings beat, and Weezy’s nonchalance.  What a breath of fresh air.  Sometimes you really just want music to be simple.

Song of the Day 09/28/12: Tenacious D – Senorita

NSFW – Lots of cursing.  I’ve been listening to Tenacious D’s latest album recently.  I was driving home after work the other night and this song came on, and I started cracking up.  I think Tenacious D is best when they are aping other genres and telling ridiculous stories.  This song definitely has some of Kyle’s best guitar work, and Jack Black does some ridiculous things.  My favorite part is his argument with Larry where the music changes and he says “I’m sorry I didnt hear that…”  And flamenco guitars!  Every song needs more flamenco guitars and horns!  Can someone please point me towards the music he’s copying?  Thanks.

Song of the Day for 09/27/12: Aqualung – Strange And Beautiful

Aqualung was one of those turn of the century piano rock bands that came up around the same time as Coldplay and Keane.  I’m going to be honest, I’ve never heard an album since their 2002 debut.  What I will say is, I always liked “Strange and Beautiful”.  I was listening to it the other day and thought, “Woah! Was that an early use of obvious autotune in a song?”  There are these little musical glitches in his voice that were always my favorite part and now I’m like, OH!  Nice.  That’s what that was.

Song of the Day 09/26/12: Mumford & Sons – Babel

In celebration of the release of Mumford’s new album, I’m posting my favorite track so far.  “Babel” has that perfect blend of harsh sounds, juxtaposed to quieter moments.  And Marcus’ voice really shines, almost reaching a Jack Black style comical growl.  It’s a very fun song.  Favorite line: “Press my nose up to the glass around your heart.”  What a beautiful image.

Song of the Day 09/25/12: Muse – Supremacy

My favorite song, after “Survival”, on the new Muse album is this track.  I love Muse being over the top and not taking music too seriously.  It’s also the first song by Muse I’ve heard in a long time that reminds me of Origin of Symmetry which gets me really excited.  It sounds like, if Origin of Symmetry era Muse was asked to write the next James Bond Theme.  Enjoy.

Song of the Day 09/24/12: Twin Shadow – Tyrant Destroyed

Have you ever had a song be the soundtrack to your day without even listening to it??  That happens to me quite often.  I’ll be in a certain mood and the beat from a song will play over and over in my head.  I had a very long contemplative day alone at home and the beat of this song was just pumping in the back of my mind.  I love how chill it is, while being just progressive enough to promote a forward thinking mentality.  It was REALLY helping me work through some things in my head.  Naturally I had to share it.  I first listened to Twin Shadow when I found out his album was produced by Chris Taylor, of Grizzly Bear.  His music is very subtle and it may not capture you on the first listen, but someday you’ll find yourself humming this song out of the blue and that’s when you’ll know it finally got to you.

Song of the Day 09/23/12: Jamie Cullum – Don’t Stop the Music

Jamie Cullum is a contemporary jazz musician I love, thanks to a recommendation by my wonderful girlfriend a few years ago.  One of my favorites is this cover of the Rihanna song of the same name.  I love covers that keep the same structure of the original song while completely changing the vibe.  I like that his version feels a lot more personal and meaningful, compared to the one night stand vibe of the original version.

Song of the Day 09/22/12: Alex Clare – Too Close

Have you ever thought to yourself: “You know, I’m kind of interested in that new dubstep sound that everyone is talking about, but it’s just so loud and heavy!  Skrillex’s voice just doesn’t work for me.  If only Gavin DeGraw and Adele had a child who’d make softer dubstep music for me…” ?   If you have, you don’t have to wish anymore!  Because Alex Clare is more than willing to be that man for you.

Song of the Day 09/21/12: Gungor – The Earth Is Yours

If anyone listened to my last song of the day “The Seer“, or if you just had a stressful day, then I think you might need a break with a more hopeful and happy song.  Luckily Gungor is here to help you, with “The Earth is Yours.”  While the song is definitely a Christian worship song, Gungor does not like the category of “Christian” as a mucial genre, because they feel it doesn’t really describe a music genre.  Instead, they prefer Liturgical Post Rock.  I’ll meet them half way and say it’s both.

Either way, if you haven’t heard Gungor, they are another perfect example of a band that disproves those who say that all “Christian” music is the same 3 chords, over the same 25 words.  If you like this song, check out the rest of the album because each song has its own unique flavor and sound.

Song of the Day 09/20/12: Swans – The Seer

I don’t know why I’m sharing this.  I don’t want to, but I feel compelled.  Swans recently released their extremely long new album called The Seer.  I must admit I was never really a fan of Swans and I still don’t really know if I am.  I don’t even think that you should necessarily listen to this song.  I also don’t think most of you will based on it’s length alone.  The Seer is a MONSTER.  I don’t just mean in the length of the track.  I mean it may literally try to eat your soul.  The song is a WALL of sound!

At first hearing it may even sound repetitive, but I guarantee you it is anything but.  Every repeated sound is slightly different than the last.  The drums especially are constantly changing beats and moving all over the bass.  And this song is LOUD (Obviously turn the volume way up).   Most of all, it is brutal.  When I said it would quite possibly steal your soul I wasn’t joking.  For the first 20 or so minutes the song just builds and builds.  It calls to mind the most violent scenes from movies like 28 Days Later or There Will be Blood, where time seems to move exhaustingly slow during an increasingly traumatic experience.  For me, it felt like I was being attacked by someone and I finally got the upper hand around the 20 minute mark, and bashed their head in with a brick.  When the harmonica section finally falls into place, I just picture myself sitting in a puddle of my blood and that of the person I murdered, and just thinking “What the hell just happened here?”  Strangely, there are vocals over the last five minutes of the track.  This is where I picture the screen going black in the movie in my mind and the credits start to roll.

I’m being a hundred percent serious.  This is the experience you will have if you listen to this song.  So don’t listen to it.  Have a happy day and a happy life without it.  I wish I didn’t have to share it, but in all its dark gritty despair there is just something in this song that was able to provoke emotions I’d never gotten out of music before.  That is something special and something that must be shared.

Song of the Day 09/19/12: Justice – On’n’on

I’ve featured Justice a couple times before, but somehow forgot to add “On’n’on”, my favorite song off of their second album.  I love the falsetto echoing vocals and the guitars that sound like they were taken from Black Sabbath and then placed on top of one of the happiest dance beats around.  This song is so much fun!  So get up and dance while you make your breakfast!

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 09/17/12 Sondre Lerche – Words And Music

I didn’t really know about Sondre until my girlfriend introduced me and we went to see him live.  He just stood up there on stage with an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar with no backing band, and that won my heart.  Since that show, this song has definitely been one of the songs I share with Elaine (well, we have many songs because we’re music obsessed).  I think the lyrics to this song are wonderfully clever, especially when he compares their mood swings to different genres.  IF you have a loved one who doesn’t read this blog, feel free to share this song with them like you discovered it on your own and totally thought of them  ; )   .  But then later, tell them about the site too!

Song of the Day 09/16/12: Brand New – Okay I Believe You, but My Tommy Gun Don’t

You know what I love?  Witnessing someone else rock out to their favorite songs.  I drove to Ann Arbor for my nephew’s birthday and my sister is obsessed with this album.  She sang along to all the words to this in the car.  I love the lyrics in this song.  Jesse Lacey is the ultimate smug asshole song writer.  Some truly great “hate my ex-girlfriend” music.

Song of the Day 09/15/12: ACE+ – One Who Gets In Our Way Away

SO… I haven’t worked on my website in the last couple days.  That’s because I’ve been obsessively trying to finish beating Xenoblade Chronicles.  Anyone complaining that there hasn’t been an amazing JRPG this generation has not played this game! It is phenomenal!  The game takes place on top of two giant fossilized titans.  You literally live on the titan’s leg.  Yeah!  And as you progress through the game, you can look up in the sky and see the other titan looming over you.  The combat system is excellent.  The characters and NPCs have an elaborate affinity system, in order to get to know them better.  I mean, I could write for days about this game.  Maybe an Ode to Xenoblade someday…

Which brings me to the music.  Wow!  A combination effort by six composers, including those that worked on Xenogears Chrono Cross and Kingdom Hearts!  There are four discs worth of amazing music in this game, and every theme is awesome.  My favorites are the boss themes that include choral elements.  “One Who Gets in Our Way” is one of the major boss/villain themes in the game.  I can tell you the exact point, while playing Xenoblade Chronicles, that I fell in love with the game.  It was the first time they played this music during a massacre on my home town and the part at 1:43 happened!  That was it for me.  That chorus dropped and I fell in love.  This game now holds the record for longest amount of time it took me to complete a single play through.  I clocked in at a little over 90 hours!  And there’s definitely at least another 50 hours worth of content I haven’t touched.  Did I mention that I was playing the game with a guide to make questing more manageable?  Yeah.  This game is massive.  OH!  And it has new game +.  For the record, I FINALLY beat it last night after starting it in mid- March.

Song of the Day 09/14/12 – The Glitch Mob – How To Be Eaten By A Woman

I shared another Glitch Mob track back when I used to post Song of the Day on Facebook.  I really have to get finished posting all the old songs up on this site, so that you have access to more of them.  In the mean time, here is another of my favorites by them.  I love how subtly it builds before that BLAST, at 2:01!  If you can’t listen to this really loud, maybe you shouldn’t even bother.  Another song for those of us without robot ears.

Song of the Day 09/13/12: The Black Keys – Sister

I’ve never been a big Black Keys fan.  That isn’t to say that I don’t like them!  I like them a lot.  I just don’t consider myself a dedicated enough listener of their music, to call myself a true fan.  I’ve really only heard their new albums, and mostly because I follow producer Danger Mouse wherever he goes.  That being said, El Camino is my favorite album of theirs because I like that it has more of a poppy dance sound, which everyone who reads this blog knows I adore.  My favorite track off the album is “Sister”.  Don’t ask me what the song is about.  I have no idea.  Sometimes a beat is so fun and addictive, you have to yell at me before I finally say “I’m sorry, what were you saying?”  I don’t know what it’s about because I’ve never listened to the words.  I’m too addicted to the beat.  I’m assuming it has to do with someone’s sister… If you like this song, definitely check out the rest of the album, cause it is full of beats like this one.

Song of the Day 09/11/12: Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra – The Killing Type

It is no secret that I’m a HUGE fan of the Amanda Palmer.  Everyone knows I’ve been waiting very expectantly for her new album to drop.  I donated A LOT of money to this album and the album definitely sounds like a million bucks.  It is grand, and I mean in scale.  This album is over 70 minutes long, not including the bonus tracks with 5 tracks that are over 6 minutes long.  I’ve only listened to it for two days, so obviously I still have a lot to discover on the album.  So far, “The Killing Type” is the song that’s undergone the most growth for me.  I heard it as a single a couple weeks ago and liked it.  In the last two days I’ve really fallen in love with it!  Make sure you blast it!  That’s how Amanda would want you to hear it.

Song of the Day 09/10/12: P.O.D – Youth of the Nation

Say what you will about P.O.D, “Youth of the Nation” is an amazing song.  I remember it really haunted me and made me think about life when I was in high school.  It was dark, but it had that awesome sing-a-long chorus.  And the cool little guitar solo with the kids singing along side it kicks so much ass.  All that being said, I was laughing the other day because my sister and I started singing the song for some reason and then stopped and went, “Crap! We aren’t the youth of the nation anymore!”  Then I felt old…

Song of the Day 09/09/12: Dresden Dolls – Delilah

For some reason I’ve been humming “Delilah” a lot in my head lately, so I thought, “Why not make it a song of the day?”  This is a very emotional song and it always tugs at my heart strings.  I’m a huge fan of Amanda Palmers lyrics.  Everyone knows someone like Delilah.  That friend of yours in a messy relationship who constantly breaks up with their horrible boyfriend and swears they will never go back, only to start dating again a week later expecting less violent results.  In the song, Amanda tells Delilah this is the last time.  If she goes back to him again, Amanda won’t help her next time.  In an extra special Amanda Palmer twist (the reason I love her so much), Amanda has admitted that the song is actually about herself.  It just adds that extra layer of depth I always search for in her songs.  I love the part where the drums crash in around 2:20 as Amanda’s emotions start to well up.  Go get the album if you like the song.  And all the Dresden Dolls albums, and all of Amanda’s solo work.  It is all amazing.

Song of the Day 09/08/12: Random and Lost Perceptions – Cry of the Planet

Since I’ve started posting my Ode’s to Final Fantasy VII, I figured I should share another man’s Ode to FFVII.  Random, best known by his moniker Mega Ran, is a rapper who started creating beats using Mega Man songs and rapping over them.  He was on a long flight playing Final Fantasy VII on his PSP when he got the ingenious idea to create a FFVII concept album!  The album uses remixed FFVII soundtrack beats, created by producer Lost Perceptions.  Random then wrote raps that take you through the basic storyline of FFVII.  It is truly amazing stuff.  My favorite is “Cry of the Planet” where he gets real, tying the Cries of the Planet from FFVII to the real cries of the planet and rapping about problems in our modern world.  If you’re a fan of Final Fantasy VII and hip hop and you’ve never heard this album, you seriously need to jump on that like right now!

Song of the Day 09/07/12: SOLA-MI – Mother Mother

This is a strange one.  SOLA-MI is a side project of Derek Webb, along with Josh Moore on production and Latifa Philips on vocals.  The album is called NEXUS (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), and I believe it is meant to accompany a movie.  But as far as I know, that movie doesn’t exist.  So I’m not 100% sure.  The song is equally as strange changing from subtle digital beeps, to a bursting chorus.  Unfortunately, the only video I could find also includes the intro track, “Keynote”.  “Mother Mother” starts at around 1:04.  I’m not sure what exactly is so special about this track, but I do know that it has been completely stuck in my head ever since I heard it last week.  Oh and you can download the whole album for free here: http://sola-mi.com/

Song of the Day 09/06/12: 3 – Bramfatura

I posted a Joey Eppard song the other day, and mentioned his band, 3.  I also mentioned Joey’s absolutely amazing finger picking guitar skills and felt it was a shame not to share some of that with you.  “Bramfatura” is a less than 2 minute guitar interlude on 3’s Wake Pig album, that really showcases what I’m talking about.  Even though I’ve heard this a thousand times, it still blows my mind on every listen.

Song of the Day 09/05/12: System of A Down – Chop Suey

You know what stinks about a band breaking up?  They stop releasing new music!  If nobody actively recommends System of A Down, then there’s no way younger audiences will ever hear their music.  If you glance at my Top 100 Albums list, you’ll notice that every one of System of a Down’s albums is on that list.  Tragically, they haven’t released any music together since 2005.  I found out most of my siblings have never even heard of them!  In 2001, I remember sitting around watching MTV hoping, beyond hope, that the next video to come on would be Chop Suey!   In the YouTube era, we can watch it whenever we want!

Song of the Day 09/03/12: Dream Theater – Beyond This Life

So, I’m getting a record player in the mail that was hand-painted by Amanda Palmer.  Obviously,  I’m really excited about it.  What does that have to do with Dream Theater?  Last year, their masterpiece concept album, Scenes From a Memory, was released on vinyl!  Nice!  In preparation, I share this 11 and a half minute juggernaut of a song.  The album’s concept mostly revolves around the murder that is described in this powerful track.  It was the first track I fell in love with on the album.  I feel like every song on this album is super fun to sing-a-long to.  If you like progressive metal and you’ve never heard this album… Just… WHY!?!  For those who aren’t knowledgable of Dream Theater, I think this may be a good intro track since it showcases the variety in their sound.

Song of the Day 09/02/12: Joey Eppard – The Game

I can’t believe this has never been a Song of the Day!  I was looking for something old school to put up for a Song of the Day, and I’ve found it.  Joey Eppard is the lead singer and songwriter of an awesome alternative metal band called 3.  Joey thought about doing an acoustic solo album, but didn’t want to leave out his bandmates.  They finally convinced him to go forward with the project as long as he could write a song about murdering them.  The Game is a brilliant story about getting rid of bandmates, who can’t keep up with Joey for a number of reasons.  The final twist is also pretty hilarious, as Joey laments killing his bandmates because the song sure could use a bass line and a beat.  Just an excellent song all around.  That is all said without even mentioning Joey’s insane guitar skills.  Probably my favorite rhythm guitarist of all time.  Check out his work on 3’s album, Wake Pig, if you don’t believe me.

Song of the Day 09/01/12: Neutral Milk Hotel – In the Aeroplane Over The Sea

Amanda Palmer recently Tweeted that this was the greatest song, on the greatest album, by the greatest artist of all time.  While I don’t agree with that statement, I do believe that “In The Aeroplane Over The Sea” is an absolutely perfect song, on an absolutely wonderful album, by the unintentional founder of the modern day indie rock scene.