Word. And they're totally pushing the envelope too like Daft Punk did once upon a time.Quoting Daniel Davis (view post)
Word. And they're totally pushing the envelope too like Daft Punk did once upon a time.
El Paso by Marty Robbins
A song as sweeping, epic and tragic as the best that Sergio Leone could do, El Paso would be the first song to win a Grammy for best Country/Western song, and deservedly so. More Western than country, El Paso is the crown jewel of Robbins' classic concept album Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, in it, Robbins elevates storytelling to a level virtually unequaled in a tale of a young buck, led by his heart, doomed by a jealous love for Felita, a Mexican maiden, wicked & evil, yet utterly captivating. In the mood for a classic Once Upon A Time In The West - like tale, but don't have 3 hours on your hands? Try El Paso on for size. You'll get the same satisfaction in far less time.
Video
El Santo Dia by Druhá Tráva
Bluegrass music has an interesting history in The Czech Republic. The music du jour during the uprisings of The 1968 Prague Spring, it was considered subversive by the communist government. Still, underground rabblerousers such as Robert Křesťan refused to put down their mandolines, and the illegal bluegrass scene flourished. When the Iron Curtain came down, these bluegrass bands were finally able to come out of the basements and into the open air, and whattaya know, these guys were damned good! At the forefront is Křesťan's band Druhá Tráva, no longer just a bluegrass band, incorporating celtic and jazz and other styles as well into their ever expanding repertoir. This is my favorite song of theirs, as it displays all the energy and joy you would expect from really good bluegrass, but ads in some really skillful instrumentation, and a few surprises as well, such as a baseline that hits like a depth charge about 38 seconds in to the song.
Czech it out!
I think Daft Punk still roxx... :sad:
I've been pimping Kitchens of Distinction since 1991 when I saw "Drive That Fast" on 120 Minutes. Words cannot describe how much I love this band.
I can't pick a favorite KoD album, so here's my top five songs of theirs:
1. The 3rd Time We Opened the Capsule
2. 4 Men
3. Drive That Fast
4. Here Come the Swans (love the acoustic version on their best of compilation)
5. On Tooting Broadway Station
We probably saw it premier on the same episode!
Heh, same here. KoD is probably the only band I first heard about on 120 minutes that I still listen to.We probably saw it premier on the same episode!
Eple by Röyksopp
Eple is one of those songs in which I remember the exact time and place where I first heard it. I was driving across the Mississippi on the Ford Bridge that connected Saint Paul to Minneapolis en route to some movie. I forget the movie, as the memory of hearing this very new entropic whistling sound put to a beat has wiped out all memories of that night that were to follow. It was utterly hypnotic and unlike anything I'd ever heard before. And adding to the coolness of it, this whistle seems to miss the note as often as it hits it, bouncing a few cents up and down every fourth beat or so. And sometimes it falls a bit behind the beat and needs to hurry to catch up. It's like the thing is alive. It's not often that a band is able to not only come up with a new song, but an entirely new sound, but Röyksopp accomplished that with Eple.
Very cool music video
Even Tho by Joseph Arthur
Now, I'm not normally the kinda guy who gets excited about lyrics. I generally could take them or leave them, paying much more attention to the tonal quality of a person's voice rather than the words coming out of his or her mouth. That being said, there are a few artists out there who I like mainly on their lyrical prowess. Joseph Arthur is one of them. Now, in my eyes, anyone can pick up a thesaurus, slap together as many five dollar words as they can muster until they have a turgid mess of forced metaphors that would please only an English major. Much more difficult, in my eyes, is to say profound things with words your every day joe has actually heard of. Joseph Arthur has the ability to do that, and it's not only the beauty, but the accessibility of his lyrics that draws me to his music. He has the power to take words any 6th grader would know and assemble them into statements that really pack a wallop, and it's really on display in this song, Even Tho, a real deep song with a real Americana feel to it. How can you not be affected by a line like "our shadows will remain even after we are gone"?
music video
In-Studio Performance (follows an interview. Worth your time if you can get the stream to work)
Everything Happens to Me by Thelonious Monk
Anybody who has ever been to my last.fm page knows that I listen to Thelonious Monk. A lot. A really really really lot. No-one else really comes close in terms of number of listens. That's because I pretty much have Thelonious on all weekend, every weekend. I wake up Saturday morning, and the first thing I do is get my coffee. Then I turn on my Thelonious. Then I can start the day. Thelonious is as present and vital a piece of art as the paintings hanging on my walls. It decorates my house, sets just the right mood, puts a smile on my face, lets me know that things are all right. Of all the Jazz artists, Thelonious is by far my favorite cuz he represents the beauty of imperfection. His piano style is percussive, erratic, often unpolished - but that's what makes it so recognizable, and his song composition is so brilliant, these smudges and stumbles only add to the charm. To be truthful, if I were to list every Thelonious song I would rate a five star song, this list would be be little more than a Thelonious backcatalog with a few other songs mixed in here and there. I had to limit it to just one song to preserve a little variety, so I picked this one, as it's essentially the first Thelonious song I thought of. It's intimate, just a little forlorn, but nonetheless charming.
Listen
Cool choices!
Falling Down by Hybrid
Electronic dance music has sure come along way since the days of James Brown Is Dead. Used to be, all you could expect from such a song was a driving, thundering boom-kick-boom-kick beat and some harsh synth lead that would make you wince if you weren't in the middle of a dancefloor, covered in sweat with a brain full of acid. Nowadays, thanks to bands like Hybrid, dance music is being made that is appealing as much for its aesthetics as it is for its dancefloor appeal. Case in point: Falling Down, off Hybrid's phenomenal third album, I Choose Noise. Applying the same type of classical music theory to electronic music that hands such as Yes and Gentle Giant did decades before to Rock, Hybrid has crafted a dance song that is delightfully rich in complexity. Suddenly you have complex rhythms, morphing, expertly programmed synths; lush, layered soundscapes; varied and interesting chord progressions - all the things you thought you couldn't get from this thing that was once called Techno. And on top of all that, Hybrid adds their trademark sound - a full orchestral compliment, adding a distinctive epic, soundtrack feel to the song. It all comes to a glorious climax after the second refrain, when all these complimentary sounds start swirling around each other, making it actually feel that you are indeed falling, tumbling spinning, down, down, down... or up?
Listen
Fit But You Know It by The Streets
When I first heard this song, I thought it was some late 70s English punk rock band taking a break from screaming anarchy into the mic to record a silly story about some chick they didn't like. But lo and behold, it was something else entirely. It was a rap song by a guy with a thick Cockney accent, crying sour grapes about some wannabe beauty queen who turned down his advances. There's something about hip-hop - I can't think of any other musical medium that is such a good vessel for comedy. Probably since hip-hop places such an emphasis on vocals, I figure. Regardless, Fit But You Know It is a very funny song, and I bet every guy who's been in highschool has met a girl like this - very easy on the eyes, but a total narcissistic hose-bag. It's quite reassuring that someone's finally devoted an entire song to trying to cut them down to size.
Music Video.
Of course, in the context of the whole album A Grand Don't Come For Free, which tells a complete narrative, the guy is cheating on his girlfriend, so I don't feel too bad for his lack of scoring here (although the next song suggests there's a later hook-up).
But, fun catchy song/nifty music video from an amazing album. My favorite song on it is "Dry Your Eyes," but the album is like a book--you can't just read a chapter from the middle; you need to read/listen to the whole thing for the full effect.
I'm gonna need to give the whole album another listen. I've never really listened to it as if it were a book - just to each song itself on its own. Thanks for the suggestion.
Fine and Mellow by Billie Holiday
Singer Billie Holiday met saxophonist Lester Young in Kansas City in the 30s when the both of them were part of Count Basie's Orchestra. They quickly formed a lasting bond. Probably should have been something more than friendship - the two had strong feelings for each other, but things never worked out that way. Billie bounced from bad relationship to bad relationship, Lester to the sax & the bottle. They eventually stopped talking to each other, but their feelings lingered, tortuously, inside of them, until one day, after many years apart, they were reunited in 1957 to record Billie's blues hit Fine and Mellow. Billie was in rare form, waxing smooth, sexy and sad. But it was Lester who would steal the show, crying through his saxophone when it was his turn to play. Legend has it his solo started the entire sound room crying as well. Regrettably, this performance would be Billie and Lester's farewell to each other, for both would be dead less than a year later - two legends taken before their time, a great loss to the Jazz world.
Watch (Lester Young has the second sax solo)
Okay, the last few weeks have been crazy, so I had to shelve this for a while. But I'll be firing this list back up momentarily. Thanks to all who have indulged me so far, and thanks for your patience.
Flat Beat by Mr Oizo
Sometimes a whole song's feel can be drastically altered by a certain visual. Such is the case with virtually every song I've heard from Mr Oizo. My first exposure to his unique brand of electronic silliness was probably the same as yours: that Levis commercial, you know, the one with the guy driving a car down the road while, next time him in the driver's seat a sock puppet is totally rocking out to this weird dance song featuring a synth, sorta farting rhythmically to a cute little dance beat. And now, I can't help but seeing in in the back of my head that weird yellow bear-monkey looking thing rocking out whenever this song comes on. And always puts a smile on my face.
Watch the full music video
Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss by Built to Spill
I think I appreciate Built to Spill more than I actually like them. Sure they make a lot of music that I really enjoy listening to, but the main thing that draws me to them is their lack of all the trappings I normally associate with a rock band. I mean, take a look at Doug Marsch. His hair's falling out, he has an unkempt beard, looks like he enjoys a good hamburger. In other words, he's keeping it real for the rest of us. My favorite song from these guys is Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss, probably because it takes the conventions of how a rock song should flow, and basically reverses them. Instead of a slow build to a full-force refrain, you have a song that kicks in full speed right from the get go, before lurching to a halt and suddenly switching time signatures at the refrain, bouncing around between 3/4 and 4/4 time sorta like a car trying to swerve to avoid a deer. And then after the mess of a refrain subsides, before you have a chance to get your bearings, it's right back to full speed for the second verse. I love this shit.
Sorta Crap Live Footage But Whatever
Good question. I don't have any of their albums - just a mixed tape with a lot of songs from a lotta different albums on it. But you could certainly start with the album Ancient Melodies of the Future - that's the album Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss comes from.
I love this guy, and this isn't even my favorite song of his
(Forever) Live and Die by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Man, back in the 80s, I tells ya... I was totally down with the OMD. And who wasn't? LOSERS, that's who. These guys were like machine guns of 80s synth-pop goodness - Tesla Girls, Enola Gay, If You Leave, So In Love With You, and this, Forever Live and Die, which came out at the peak of their popularity and showcases pretty much everything I love about OMD - a catchy tune that will get stuck in your head and refuse to leave for days on end, skillful keyboard work with a nice staccato to it, the occasional classical flourish, and heartache. Quite a bit of heartache. I have to really hand it to all the ladies who walked out on bassist Andy McCluskey & Paul Humphries. They were responsible for some of my favorite songs of the middle to late 80s.
Freaks! Freaks! by Pigeon John
This song took me about five tries to get through the first time. Not because it was painful to listen to - far from it - but because it's so chock full of so many funny as hell zingers, all rhymed by a middle aged rapper who at times sounds kinda like that guy from Fountains of Wayne, that I would hear a line like Freaks! Freaks! Eating their Taco Bell! Eating Bean Burritos and they're eating them well, would commence to spit-take, and the next five minutes I wouldn't be able to hear a damned thing cuz I'd be laughing so hard. Then the song'd be over, and I'd have to start listening to it all over again. I'd maybe make it past the taco bell line, only to get nailed again about five measures later with another zinger. And so it would go. Man, this guy needs a laugh track. And I've seen song of his live footage too. Man, that is some funny shit.
Get your Freaks! on
Posting Permissions
forum
Reply With Quote
