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.

Song of the Day 12/30/10: Kanye West – Coldest Winter

An appropriate song.

Song of the Day 12/29/10: Rise Against – Survive

For some reason, this version has like a minute of silence at the end.  Sorry.

I first heard Rise Against at a Billy Talent show.  Most energetic show I ever went to!  I just moshed with my friend, Kenny, the whole time.  So awesome!  Anyways, I love “Survive” because after an extremely difficult break up a few years back, I was driving around one day and this came on.  And I just started laughing at how amazing it was.  First of all, it has a totally kickass intro.  Second of all, it has the best survival lyrics!  I started laughing as he yelled out:

All smiles and sunshine, a perfect world on a perfect day
Everything always works out, I have never felt so fucking great!

I love it because the tone of the lyrics does not hint, at all, that he believes this at the moment of singing it.  But it’s a drive to survive.  He gets it out, and I dont know if it made him feel better, but I know it made me feel better to sing along.  When life gets you down, listen to “Survive”, because how we survive is what makes us who we are.

Song of the Day 12/28/10: Sondre Lerche – After All

I first heard Sondre’s music when I watched the excellent movie, Dan in Real Life.  He’s responsible for the soundtrack.  Then I went to a show of his where he played a one man show with a guitar, and he won my heart.  He is a funny little man.  “After All” is a song I once had the pleasure of feeling, and hope I can feel it again someday.  It’s such a scary, exciting feeling isnt it?

Song of the Day 12/27/10: System of a Down – Radio / Video

So I think “Radio/Video” has all the pieces that make System of a Down so great!  Awesome guitars, cool harmonies, crazy lyrics and big sections of “oh oh oh ahaha” kind of singing parts.  A ska breakdown.  Dizzying melodies.  I mean c’mon, who doesnt love System?? Ok, so they can be annoying if you aren’t in the mood.  But otherwise!  This song makes me wanna dance in circles.  And then possibly go insane.

Song of the Day 12/26/10: Linkin Park – The Little Things Give You Away

I’ve always loved Linkin Park.  The first album will remain one of the best albums of all time, in my head.  After their second album, I still loved them, but I asked for something different.  For the third album I hoped for something more mature.  Something that went deeper than just break up songs.  While Minutes to Midnight isn’t perfect, “The Little Things Give You Away”  really touched me.  It is  powerful, it has an awesome solo, and it isn’t about love!  This is a song for New Orleans.  It’s a cry against the Bush administration for what happened there, and I think what I love most about it is that it doesn’t come from a place of hate, but of pain.  The chorus is so light and fluttery, but the meaning behind it is a punch in the gut. “All that you ever wanted was someone to truly look up to you, and now six feet under water I do.”  Beautiful.  Please, please Linkin Park, make more music like this.

Song of the Day 12/25/10: Keith Green – Because of You

What better way to give a shout out to Jesus on his B-day, then with Keith’s joy.

Song of the Day 12/24/10: Cloud Cult – The Exploding People

Everyone knows I’m a huge Cloud Cult fan.  Had this one on replay recently.  I love the crazy production on it.  The awesome deep drums.  And the idea of people exploding under self inflicted stress.  Don’t explode under, end of the year, stress.

Song of the Day 12/23/10: The Lonely Island – I Just Had Sex feat. Akon

I discovered The Lonely Island back in high school, way before they became famous on SNL.  I always knew they had musical talent from Kablamo, to Stork Patrol, and my dreams came true when they made I’m On A Boat!  A track so sick, it ceased to be a comedy track and became something you’d actually blast from your car.  Please, please go listen to all their songs, if you haven’t already, especially since they all have great accompanying videos.  This is their latest masterpiece and if I hadn’t been spending the week with my family, I think I would have been singing this everywhere I went.  Can’t wait for the new album to drop in January!  Oh, plus they do their own version of Katy Perry’s “Fireworks”!  And Jessica Alba and Blake Lively are hot.  But mostly, Andy Samberg and Jorma Tacco!

Song of the Day 12/15/10: Caedmon’s Call – Mystery of Mercy

This song is about me.

I could talk a lot about Caedmans Call for a long time.  In the interest of you actually listening to the song I’ll say only this, the idea of us being paradoxes, and being both one side and the other, pulls at my heart like nothing else.  And the mystery of mercy puzzles me all the time.  I love the build in this song and how the musical build follows the themes so clearly, as we see the move from shame and sadness, to confusion, to hope and finally worship.  Can it be more perfect?

Song of the Day 12/22/10: Katy Perry – Firework

I hate Katy Perry.

I’ve never liked Katy Perry.  In fact I openly dislike her.  All her bubblegum pop songs are extremely annoying in the worst form of scream autotune.  The music is boring, the beats make my ears bleed and her lyrics are blah at best.  She’s hot.  Thats the nicest thing I can say about her, other than she reminds me of Zooey Deschanel.  That’s not why I hate Katy Perry.

I hate Katy Perry cause she has to prove me wrong by actually making a good song.  I love the strings, I like the encouraging lyrics, and the video is fantastic.  I only watched it because it came up as the first suggested video every time I was on youtube.  I actually watched the video hoping to hate it and when I like it, I resisted and said ” I hate you Katy Perry!”  But yeah, is it still bubblegum pop?  Sure, but at least it’s pleasent this time around. Here’s to hoping Katy makes more stuff like this, and less like Teenage Dream.

Song of the Day 12/21/10: Coheed and Cambria – Welcome Home

Coheed and Cambria…. So yeah it’s no small secret that I do not like Coheed and Cambria.  The biggest issue I have with them is that they are a HUGE investment.  They don’t just have one concept album.  They have a tetrology of them and they are ALL connected.  Only a die hard fan can make any sense of the lyrics.  I’ve listen to every one of their albums in full and I didn’t find enough there, musically, to merit me making that effort to get to know the story.  I don’t doubt that there are some die hard fans of the band and I’m glad they get so much out of it.  My other qualm is that if you’re going to have a band where the story is so absolutely important to the band, then your singer should be understandable.  Beyond all that, I can say this, it doesn’t matter what “Welcome Home” is about.  It doesn’t matter if the rest of the band’s material sounds nothing like it.  “Welcome Home” is a song of epic proportions, and the riff keeps you interested for all 6 minutes.  So if you never listen to anything else by the band, keep this on your iPod.  And if you want more stuff that sounds like this, turn towards 3, a band that keeps this kind of style reputation (though toned down a bit).

Song of the Day 12/20/10: 30 Seconds to Mars feat. Kanye West – Hurricane

30 Seconds to Mars, for those of you who don’t know, is fronted by the one and only Jared Leto.  As my buddy, Henn, once told me, he’s a man that all performers have to envy because he made it as both an actor and a musician, and yet did not use his fame from one to boost the other.  30 Seconds to Mars was always so emo to me, so when they released This is War in December of 2009, I was shocked at the change towards bizarre electronica.  This was before 2010 became electronic central.  I didn’t really like it at first, but I didn’t hate it either.  I just found myself wanting to listen to it over and over.  The song that truly captured my heart, was “Hurricane”.  Featuring one of my favorite artists, Kanye West, it became an anthem for me and my friend, Kenny, last winter.  We were obsessed.  So now, a year after I originally heard the song, I give it to you.  It’s meant to grow on you, so don’t be surprised if you don’t fall in love at first listen.

Song of the Day 12/19/10: Vampire Weekend – California English

I don’t know much about Vampire Weekend.  I just got all their music when Contra came out, but never really listened to it.   Then…I was looking for something new and different, to distract me from my no more new Amanda Palmer until January withdrawal, after listening to Maps of Tasmania like 1000 times in a row.  And now I’ve settled on Vampire Weekend.  BECAUSE THEY’RE DIFFERENT.  lol.  Awesome song.  Super addictive.

Song of the Day 12/18/10: Depeche Mode – Enjoy the Silence (Reinterpreted)

A Mike Shinoda Remix

Everyone knows that Depeche Mode’s best song ever is “Enjoy the Silence”.  While still not as good as the original, I’d like to bring this 2004 reimagining produced by Mike Shinoda (Yes, from Linkin Park), which is totally cool.  Depeche Mode forever.

Song of the Day 12/17/10: Amanda Palmer – Map of Tasmania

So, while I’d like to write commentary for Amanda’s new single release today, I think she says it better than anyone in her own long winded way:

• it’s time to tell the whole story of this little song for those who havent followed it since its bizarre inception.
  the story is as much a part of the song as the song is, and it bears telling…..

  last year, i went to play in tasmania for the first time ever.

  should i tell the long story or the short story? i’ll aim for the middle.
  so, last year i was in tasmania for the first time.
  neil’s father died. just…dropped down during a business meeting. no warning. heart thing.
  neil called me.
  i was in perth, australia (famously known for being the most remote city in the world…the more populated city furthest away from populated cities).

  it was the end of a long, long, long grueling tour and it was really late at night, australia time.
  i got the call when i was in the back of the Big White Van That Mostly Worked with steven mitchell wright, zoë keating, and the rest of the danger ensemble.
  romany and adam – who we were staying with – lived 45 minutes from the venue, and we were driving through the night to our beds.

  for poetic contrast, we had spent the day before on the beach near our host’s house. here we were:

  (most of us that is; steven and lyndon refused to go to the beach): mark, zoe, me, cat, katie kay, and tora.

  so…late at night. Big White Van That Mostly Worked.
  i get the call.
  neil says, in his very british way, “this is a little strange, but my father just died.”

  we’d only been dating for a few months.

  i knew him well enough to know and i know People When People Die well enough to know that there was no way i was going to really know how he was, because how can you.
  i said: “i should be with you: where are you going? to london?” and neil said “no, don’t come. you have more tour dates” and i said “there’s only new zealand and tasmania left. they’ll live. i’ll cancel the shows and make them up next year” and he said “that makes it worse. the tasmanians never get anybody” and i said “does that make it worse or better, honestly?” and he said “i’d rather you go play tasmania than come here. it’ll make more people happy.”

  and i thought, “if we measured our lives that way where we would be?”

  but i stayed.

  neil went off to funeral things, and i went to tasmania.

  i’m about to do it again.

  i was already as tired and crazy as you can get on a long tour on the other side of the world from your home, but having a boyfriend with a freshly dead father made me even more tired and crazy, because i missed him, worried about him, and wondered if i’d done the right thing. and thought maybe the right thing would have been to ignore neil’s very-british insistences and just cancelled my tour, and gone to hold his hand while he felt whatever he was going to feel.

  i’d forgotten this whole part of the story.

  i’d forgotten it until i went back and watched the video clip of “map of tasmania”, the day i wrote it backstage in the bar in hobart, tasmania.

  and i remembered, because i was looking at the footage, and trying to place where my head was at, where i was on the tour, who i was staying with, and what the hell was going on.
  that’s when i realized that maybe it wasn’t just the touring. it was the worrying. maybe that’s love.

  i had this thing i loved that he did…the way he said things. especially certain words; schedule. banana. tomato. they just sounded incredibly sexy in his british accent. i would ask for him to say them again and again and again and again.

  i would say, “say tomato…”

  “say it again.”

  and he would.

  when i went to bed that night in perth, he was about to do a signing in new york for hundreds of people.

  i said goodnight and went to sleep on the floor.

  and i woke up five hours later in the middle of the night and i called beth, who went to visit him for me to bring him a present for me, and he was still signing.

  he didn’t tell any of the people that he had just found out that his father died a few hours before. they didn’t know.

  beth gave him my present. it was a schedule, a tomato, and a banana.

  when i woke up seven hours later, he was still signing.

  beth gave him the present when he was all done. beth was an amazing assistant that way. she threaded my life together when i was across the globe by doing things like running around new york to find a schedule, and banana, and a tomato.

  she took this picture:

  neil tells people nowadays about our relationship and about what happened when and how. and sometimes he says that he knows i loved him when he called me on that late night, in the back of the Big White Van That Mostly Worked, when i told him i’d come to him. i think maybe i knew too, something i didn’t know before.

  anyway.

  i wound up staying with dianna graf, an artist-type who was also a friend of neil’s who had not offered me a place to stay but was more or less responsible for getting me the gig, since when she saw i was coming she promised to find SOME sort of bar or pub for me to play in (and she did).

  so you know, tasmania is not here:

  it’s here:

  anyway.

  she told me, the day of the gig, about the term “map of tasmania”.
• apparently, in australia, you can hear bogans (aka jocks) shouting “SHOW US YOUR MAP OF TASMANIA” out of moving cars when they pass by tasty looking morsels of the female persuasion.
  whether this debased mating call actually works is a topic of debate in some cellar that i’ve never tread in (simply put: doubt it), but i loved the term of phrase. i mean….….you can see the point. uhhhhh.

  anyway, i started thinking how funny it would be if i penned a ridiculous “map of tasmania” song that night, in honor of the little island i was playing on.
  and in honor of….well, you know. the freedom to do whatever the fuck you want with the Hair Down There.

  so here it is, in all it’s glory. i’m not lying in the clip about how long it took. wait, i actually probably am lying. my guess is the song took me closer to a half hour to write….not 7 minutes.
  it is NOT a lie that i wrote it 45 minutes before the show. ask jeff. he’ll tell you.

  there is a light that never goes out.

  i asked casey to read this blog after it was all written. this part wasn’t written yet.
  she said, kind of, “what does neil and his dead father have to do with ‘map of tasmania’?”

  well, nothing, really i guess. i could make a connection if i wanted to. and maybe i want to.

  there is death.
  and there is joy.

  but i guess that’s too easy.

  maybe: there is sadness, emptiness, tiredness, love, and out of it manifests the strangest things.

  i think that’s more like it.

  here it be, in all almost-3-minutes of glory:

  ….my favorite part of this clip:

  me: “it’s a very simple song”
  random girl: “just like tasmanians!”

  if you’ll notice, i mention at the end of the clip (at around 2:34) that it’s my “secret dream” that the song will get remixed with some PHAT BEATZ.
  well…after the song hit youtube a few random remixes DID crop up, both on youtube and through the usual net channels….using the shitty shitty youtube audio.
  and my voice sounded like ASS that night.

  months passed. i decided to make a record for australia.

  and i thought that maybe there would be something to the idea of breaking all bounds of every and anything i’d done before and partner with a DJ and actually create some Phat Beatz for “map of tasmania”, as an amazing joke of pure epicness. lo and behold, not long after i had that thought, i wound up in france (don’t ask) going to some crazy french music awards where i found myself sitting dumbfounded watching the black eyed peas and jay-z and beyonce singing a few feet from my head, and wondering what KIND of fucking life i’d stumbled into. my random comrade for the night wound up being the DJ hal ritson, who runs the Young Punx outfit out of the UK – known mostly for his work with Dizzee Rascal and other way more credible people than myself, but i managed to convince him that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to make Phat Beatz for song about Pubix Hair Freedom sung by a crazy chick with a ukulele.

  and ohhhhhh….the remix possibilities.

  word on the street is that peaches has already agreed to write and record a rap for it. i’m beside myself.

Song of the Day 12/16/10: Florence and the Machine – Drumming Song

If you don’t know Florence and the Machine, then you need to listen to this!  Actually the story of how I discovered Florence is pretty funny.  I was in Wendy’s and I saw a video for her song, “Dog Days”, across the room.  The problem was, the song had no audio, and I was so far away I couldn’t read the artist’s name.  All I saw was this crazy red headed woman dancing around, and these angels with harps, and these guys banging on tribal drums, and these asian painted ladys.  Ok, so as you can imagine, after watching a video like that, I was really interested to find out what the song sounded like!  But how do you find a band based on a really bizarre video??  I looked everywhere and asked everyone I knew, and no one else had ever seen the video.  Finally I thought, ok, how many red headed female singers can there really be???  So I just started going through every female red headed artist, until I finally stumbled upon the video, and this is after I had passed up Florence once, as not being the band.  Anyways, the point is after MONTHS of looking for this song, you’d think my expectations would be so high that no song could be good enough to meet them.  I was wrong!!  “Dog Days” was AMAZING!  I immediately downloaded the album and discovered that it was a whole world of amazingly blended tunes, and “Drumming Song” came out as my favorite.  So that’s how we get to “Drumming Song”.  It’s about drums.  And how their awesome.  Oh, and watch the music world, because Florence and the Machine is the next big thing.

Song of the Day 12/14/10: Porcupine Tree – Trains

To say that I became utterly obsessed with Porcupine Tree the first time I heard them, would be the understatement of the year.  I listened non-stop.  Their sound is so perfect.  It is like they listened to a bunch of other really good bands, took the best parts of them and then melded them together into one song.  “Trains” is that song.  PT started as kind of Pink Floyd cover band, and then was later known as their spiritual successor.  The band started out as this “faked” 70’s rock band, with all these old rock records that didn’t actually exist.  But they started getting crazy radio play in underground circles, and now they really do have a lot of albums.  Unfortunately, like any obsession, eventually the initial pull wears off, and you don’t like the band as much as you once did.  However, In Absentia remains one of my all time favorite records.  The vocals, the style changes, the multitude of instruments, all these things I love, and all these things, “Trains” delivers on.  STOP READING!  LISTEN!

Song of the Day 12/13/10: Zac Efron – Bet On It

IF you hate High School Musical, you’ve probably never actually heard any of the music, or you’re just totally cynical.  There are only two types of people, those who love High School Musical and those who haven’t yet admitted that they love High School Musical.  It’s just so High School at its pure and unreal.  But that’s what makes it so great.  The dances are awesome, the acting is terrible, and the singing is just autotuned enough to be listenable.  Listen all I’m saying is you can bet on High School Musical to be stuck in your head for days, and before long you too will be singing along to its ultra cheesy, perfectly amazing lyrics.  And its harmonies.  Though “Bet on It” doesnt have those.  I was going to put this up, and THEN I found out about the sad and happy news of Zac’s breakup, and I felt even more compelled to make this the song of the day.  Sing along, all you High School Musical obsessors.  You know I will.

Song of the Day 12/12/10: Flow – Sunshine 60

Flow is a Japanese punk rock band.  This song is giddiness defined in musical form!  It always cheers me up.

Song of the Day 12/11/10: Panic at the Disco – When the Day Met the Night

I hated Panic at the Disco.  For a VERY long time.  I thought they were a cheap trick.  A boring overproduced ball of garbage that 13 year old girls were fooled by, because they mistook Brendon Urie’s boyish looks for good looks.  I resisted all the way up until the release of Pretty Odd.  I downloaded it because the reviews said it was a totally different sound from their old work, and that it was Beatles-esque.  I never listened to it.  Then I saw a joint video between The Dresden Dolls and Panic, and found out that they were good friends.  I thought hey, if Amanda likes them, how bad can they be??  Now, I love Panic.  When it comes to Pretty Odd, it’s not just Beatles-esque, I think Panic owes their souls to the Beatles.  But still, it all sounds so wonderfully musical!!  “When the Day Met the Night” is a wonderful little love song filled with all the big band you need, for such a wonderful Beatles-y song.  Enjoy.

Song of the Day 12/10/10: Muse – Feeling Good

The Greatest cover of all time.  Post your own best cover.

Song of the Day 12/09/10: Billy Talent – White Sparrows

So this is a song about death.  Billy Talent is extremely good at painting stories with vivid imagery, to better get across their emotions and this is sooo that kind of song.  A song about the pain of losing a loved one, and wondering why.  SO GOOD.  I love when he says, “I’m crying in pain” because it’s so perfectly painful.

Song of the Day 12/08/10: Uncle Bob – Swan

Someone who I deeply care about introduced me to this song a while back, and at the time its meaning escaped me.  I listened to it for the first time in a while today, and I realized just how perfectly the song described me towards them.  I want to tear my heart out for making you feel this way.  I’m sorry.  As for the song, it’s simply beautiful.

Song of the Day 12/07/10: Thrice – Come All You Weary

A song that needs no introduction.  I’ll talk more in depth about Thrice at another time.  Find rest for your soul.

Song of the Day 12/06/10: Fall Out Boy – What’s This?

In honor of the first snowflakes of winter for NYC.
One of my favorite cover songs of all time, if you’re not a fan of The Nightmare Before Christmas, then I don’t think we can be friends.  It’s funny because with few exceptions, I’m not a big fan of Fallout Boy.  I’m not a fan of their song writing, so obviously a cover would be my favorite.  Sing along and enjoy.

Song of the Day 12/05/10: 3 – Queen

Ok.  So you know that song “Welcome Home”, by Coheed and Cambria?  Remember how it was amazingly awesome and you were all like, WOW this is so good I wanna check out all their other stuff!  Then you found out that they had a bunch of albums, and got more excited and then you finally listened to them and were like, “that was entirely misleading, none of their other works sound even remotely like “Welcome Home”!  Ok well I’m here to tell you that the band you were looking for exists, and you didn’t know it.  The band is called 3, and they are phenomenal!  I’ve been wanting to do 3 for a song of the day for a while, but it’s been a very trying experience.  They dont have a huge Youtube following, so finding a video with even half way decent sound quality was truly a task.  Also the bands name is 3, which unfortunately does not even register in most search engines.  Add to that, the fact that some of their best songs aren’t even up on Youtube at all.  The real dilemna, is in picking a track even when they are readily available.  They are all so good!  So how did I arrive at “Queen”?  I think “Queen” gives a good sampling of the bands taste.  They have other tracks that focus on one aspect of the bands sound with greater detail, but “Queen” kind of sums up the feel of what you’ll get.  Crazy, crazy awesome acoustic/electric guitar rifts (Joey Eppard is an acoustic guitar guru!), deep bass lines that pull you into almost a dancy flow, unpredictable drums that refuse to follow the normal order of things, and just enough pop to turn a hardcore metal junkie away.  3 is addicting.  I first discovered 3 listening to some college radio station I accidently picked up on Long Island, and when Dregs came on (another perfect track), I was so shocked by its sexiness, that immediatly went on a mad hunt for all their music.  That was like 5 years ago and I’m happy to say, 3 has filled a special void in my musical heart for dramatic pop metal, like no other.

Song of the Day 12/04/10: La Roux – Quicksand

Ok, I promise I’ll stop posting modern day 80s songs after this, but they’re just so good!!  Totally 80s, Depeche Mode, synthpop influenced, La Roux kicks but.  Eleanor has a cool flighty voice, and Ben’s beats are hotter than hot, and completely danceable.  I don’t really have much else to say.  It’s really a track that has to be felt by your body more than anything else.

Song of the Day 12/03/10: Mark Ronson and the Business Intl – Bang Bang Bang

Let’s be honest, the 80s are back and they are back hard.  Mark Ronson is an amazing DJ, and this track off his latest 80s inspired, celebrity filled album, Record Collection, is a masterpiece.  It’s so chill, but it’s so intricate, and you find a new little piece to sing along to on each listen.  Oh and Q-Tip features on it, and you can’t go wrong with Q-Tip can you?  I sing this all the time, especially the “bang bang bang” part.  Long live the 80’s.

Song of the Day 12/02/10: Deadmau5 – Ghosts N Stuff

There really isn’t much to say on this one.  I love Deadmau5.  I love dancing to Deadmau5.  I love singing to Deadmau5, so I like his vocal tracks.  What really gets me about Deadmau5 is the bleeps and bloops.  He has these little effects that no one else does, or at least not until he did them, and they just augment the song in a way that gives it infinite listenability.  That’s all.