http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrdzqMlQt10&feature=related
Apparently I am addicted to these rich voices of older women reaching from a rock 'n roll past. Tina Turner's turn at Bowie's reggae song is riotous, joyful, lovely. The bounce in the melody, the playful mix of their voices, the happy mood of the song. It's so eighties and so much makes me want to dance on a pier with a beloved. It's almost campy when you get these two icons together and the concert footage makes it even more so. They shouldn't exist in the same world, but this song proves their talents mesh nicely.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Marianne Faithfull - The Ballad of Lucy Jordan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KV-PTK0UZ4
I read something once that described Marianne Faithfull as the most famous broken voice in rock and there's something so worn and classy and cigarette stained about her voice and I think it's exquisite. This song, written oddly enough by Shel Silverstein, is delicious - the synths propel you forward, Marianne sings about a housewife's deep desires to escape her Betty Friedan-style life, and the song never arrives at a sonic resolution leaving you still moving after the song ends. This is beautiful despair.
I read something once that described Marianne Faithfull as the most famous broken voice in rock and there's something so worn and classy and cigarette stained about her voice and I think it's exquisite. This song, written oddly enough by Shel Silverstein, is delicious - the synths propel you forward, Marianne sings about a housewife's deep desires to escape her Betty Friedan-style life, and the song never arrives at a sonic resolution leaving you still moving after the song ends. This is beautiful despair.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
If Rap Gets Jealous - K'Naan featuring Kirk Hammett
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlBFLuW-_ek&feature=related
Full disclosure: I fully believe that, done right, rock and rap can live in harmony. It's all about the right fusion of hard and hip and hop - this is why I loved the Wyclef Jean/Serj Tankian collabo on Carnival II and that's part of what drives my love for this song off K'Naan's sophomore album. I also just love Troubadour to make music that combines melodic hooks, heartwrenching choruses, and ill rhymes that blend American pop culture and the harsh relaities of his childhood in Somalia in equal doses. The album features collabos with Adam Levine, Mos Def, Damian Marley, and others, but undoubtedly the prize for oddest guest is Hammett, the guitarist from Metallica. And it works beautifully. "If Rap Gets Jealous" sounds like a 1990's alt rock stadium jam combined with a rapper who can spit rhymes with the best of them, in this case indicting the rap industry for its own failures to embrace change and difference. K'Naan spits with a voice that initially reminds me of the nasal qualities of Eminem, but with greater wisdom, warmth, and vocabulary. Give this track a listen (no video) and if you like, look for more K'Naan. I think it's a shame he's not all over the radio, but he shows why in this song, the industry can't account for a guy who namedrops Mogadishu, Angola and child soldiers instead of Purple Label and Timbs. He's a true twenty first century "troubadour."
Full disclosure: I fully believe that, done right, rock and rap can live in harmony. It's all about the right fusion of hard and hip and hop - this is why I loved the Wyclef Jean/Serj Tankian collabo on Carnival II and that's part of what drives my love for this song off K'Naan's sophomore album. I also just love Troubadour to make music that combines melodic hooks, heartwrenching choruses, and ill rhymes that blend American pop culture and the harsh relaities of his childhood in Somalia in equal doses. The album features collabos with Adam Levine, Mos Def, Damian Marley, and others, but undoubtedly the prize for oddest guest is Hammett, the guitarist from Metallica. And it works beautifully. "If Rap Gets Jealous" sounds like a 1990's alt rock stadium jam combined with a rapper who can spit rhymes with the best of them, in this case indicting the rap industry for its own failures to embrace change and difference. K'Naan spits with a voice that initially reminds me of the nasal qualities of Eminem, but with greater wisdom, warmth, and vocabulary. Give this track a listen (no video) and if you like, look for more K'Naan. I think it's a shame he's not all over the radio, but he shows why in this song, the industry can't account for a guy who namedrops Mogadishu, Angola and child soldiers instead of Purple Label and Timbs. He's a true twenty first century "troubadour."
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
I Really Want You - James Blunt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK4yC7TaTgo&feature=related (ignore the visuals)
I know, I know, chances are you wrote off James Blunt when he sang a marble mouthed pop tune with the genius chorus "You're Beautiful." Or maybe you were over him after the video for that same single, a video that was nothing more than James taking off most of his clothes in the snow and then diving off a cliff into deep waters. James isn't as goopy as his singles, and his second album took the dark undertones of the first and amped them up. This is still pop on the level of a David Gray but with a bit more grit to the voice and a deep menace that runs through this song. He's whispering the song, imploring in the darkness of a bedroom, across the pillow and that's all well and good but there's something unnerving about his insistence ("I really want you") and those skittering strings that insist on something more than meets the eye. As the song crests, his voice raises, cracks, falls to pieces, returns to a whisper, to our shared secret. If you can find it, there's a lovely official vid for this song, but the record company appears to be not so pleased with it being on the internets. The song is slightly more upbeat in the official vid, but the visuals definitely are in keeping with the undercurrent of unyielding erotic obsession commingled with James's reliance on religious metaphors.
I know, I know, chances are you wrote off James Blunt when he sang a marble mouthed pop tune with the genius chorus "You're Beautiful." Or maybe you were over him after the video for that same single, a video that was nothing more than James taking off most of his clothes in the snow and then diving off a cliff into deep waters. James isn't as goopy as his singles, and his second album took the dark undertones of the first and amped them up. This is still pop on the level of a David Gray but with a bit more grit to the voice and a deep menace that runs through this song. He's whispering the song, imploring in the darkness of a bedroom, across the pillow and that's all well and good but there's something unnerving about his insistence ("I really want you") and those skittering strings that insist on something more than meets the eye. As the song crests, his voice raises, cracks, falls to pieces, returns to a whisper, to our shared secret. If you can find it, there's a lovely official vid for this song, but the record company appears to be not so pleased with it being on the internets. The song is slightly more upbeat in the official vid, but the visuals definitely are in keeping with the undercurrent of unyielding erotic obsession commingled with James's reliance on religious metaphors.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Video - Aimee Mann
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACPG9_01srI
This tune comes off Aimee Mann's album The Forgotten Arm, an entire album of her spare, gorgeous folk-pop songs which functions as short stories. She speaks with the voices of characters aching for love and reeling from loss. The entire album tells a complicated tale and deserves to be listened in its entirety, but "Video" is perhaps the brightest gem of the bunch. This is the song that I plucked out for mix CDs and listened to on repeat. There's a propulsive move forward, an intimacy, a sadness. The lyrics are so deft and crisp - "labelled like a bottle for Alice, drink me or I'll drown in a sea of giants." It's a song that moves without ever getting there and that's the story she's telling. The video is equally spare and puts all the focus on Aimee's artistry and that's where we should be looking. It's a subtle piece but still an earworm that can embed itself in your brain and never let go. And that's not a bad thing.
This tune comes off Aimee Mann's album The Forgotten Arm, an entire album of her spare, gorgeous folk-pop songs which functions as short stories. She speaks with the voices of characters aching for love and reeling from loss. The entire album tells a complicated tale and deserves to be listened in its entirety, but "Video" is perhaps the brightest gem of the bunch. This is the song that I plucked out for mix CDs and listened to on repeat. There's a propulsive move forward, an intimacy, a sadness. The lyrics are so deft and crisp - "labelled like a bottle for Alice, drink me or I'll drown in a sea of giants." It's a song that moves without ever getting there and that's the story she's telling. The video is equally spare and puts all the focus on Aimee's artistry and that's where we should be looking. It's a subtle piece but still an earworm that can embed itself in your brain and never let go. And that's not a bad thing.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Back of the Van - Ladyhawke
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhPh6ou8Kbk&feature=related
So I was torn between this tune and the one I just posted, both by Ms. Ladyhawke doing her best eighties mid-tempo rock. Here she makes like the Pretenders, mumbling her words in an endearing fashion that speaks of gravity and chilly boredom in equal parts. The vid is pure Stevie Nicks circa "I Can't Wait" and the breathiness is pure sex wrapped in cellophane. Another entirely fun poppy trifle from my favorite singing Aussie after High Jackman.
So I was torn between this tune and the one I just posted, both by Ms. Ladyhawke doing her best eighties mid-tempo rock. Here she makes like the Pretenders, mumbling her words in an endearing fashion that speaks of gravity and chilly boredom in equal parts. The vid is pure Stevie Nicks circa "I Can't Wait" and the breathiness is pure sex wrapped in cellophane. Another entirely fun poppy trifle from my favorite singing Aussie after High Jackman.
My Delirium - Ladyhawke
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKrBlIXzI5I
Oh Ladyhawke. Sweet name referencing odd eighties film jives nicely with a band that's a lone Aussie singer doing that eighties rock indie thing that's all the rage these days in certain circles and makes for synthy rocky fun. Ladyhawke's voice echoes in all the right places, the synths ping around at right angles in the background and the guitar rocks. There's a sweet rock break that will put in mind of the Knacks in all their "My Sharona" glory - the pause just before she pulls out the guitar and breaks it down is lovely, a perfect moment to take a breath and (if you're watching the vid) enjoy the fact that the Thelma and Louise car has gone all badass Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. This is the perfect song for driving away from live in a convertible or dancing at the end of a Brat Pack flick.
Oh Ladyhawke. Sweet name referencing odd eighties film jives nicely with a band that's a lone Aussie singer doing that eighties rock indie thing that's all the rage these days in certain circles and makes for synthy rocky fun. Ladyhawke's voice echoes in all the right places, the synths ping around at right angles in the background and the guitar rocks. There's a sweet rock break that will put in mind of the Knacks in all their "My Sharona" glory - the pause just before she pulls out the guitar and breaks it down is lovely, a perfect moment to take a breath and (if you're watching the vid) enjoy the fact that the Thelma and Louise car has gone all badass Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. This is the perfect song for driving away from live in a convertible or dancing at the end of a Brat Pack flick.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Knock You Down - Keri Hilson feat. Kanye West and Ne-Yo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQ6sp3X_LVk
Keri Hilson has written for everyone - Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, U(r)sher, J. Lo, and most recently did the vocals for Timbaland's monster hit "The Way I Are" - and now she's put out a debut album (which I have been eagerly awaiting through two years of delays).
I suspect (hope) this song soon won't be flying under the radar but for now I'm posting it here. There's an urgency with that backbeat, a "Go Girl" feel, Kanye actually laying down some ill rhymes (for those of you who hated that whole AutuTune phase) and Ne-Yo being all honeyed. But Keri rules with her sass, her coos, her straightforwardness. I <3 Keri because she's very down to earth glam and there's a rawness in her voice and edge, while still pulling on those higher notes that land right in the sweet spot.
The vid's pretty sweet too - Chris Robinson uses awesome split screens, pretty people and that badass falling Matrix-style move. Let's be honest, I want Ne-Yo's outfit and Yeezy actually looks like his old self (he was getting all puffy in his jowls). Best moment: Keri's move on 'Ye's line "Bad, read bad, Michael Jackson." Check it. Love it.
Keri Hilson has written for everyone - Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, U(r)sher, J. Lo, and most recently did the vocals for Timbaland's monster hit "The Way I Are" - and now she's put out a debut album (which I have been eagerly awaiting through two years of delays).
I suspect (hope) this song soon won't be flying under the radar but for now I'm posting it here. There's an urgency with that backbeat, a "Go Girl" feel, Kanye actually laying down some ill rhymes (for those of you who hated that whole AutuTune phase) and Ne-Yo being all honeyed. But Keri rules with her sass, her coos, her straightforwardness. I <3 Keri because she's very down to earth glam and there's a rawness in her voice and edge, while still pulling on those higher notes that land right in the sweet spot.
The vid's pretty sweet too - Chris Robinson uses awesome split screens, pretty people and that badass falling Matrix-style move. Let's be honest, I want Ne-Yo's outfit and Yeezy actually looks like his old self (he was getting all puffy in his jowls). Best moment: Keri's move on 'Ye's line "Bad, read bad, Michael Jackson." Check it. Love it.
Happiness - Goldfrapp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=So93Iny2HWI
On Seventh Tree, Goldfrapp left behind the danceyness (oh that's a word) of their album with it's "Oo La La" (betcha heard it in a commercial once) and instead went for dreamy, gauzy, poppy, synthy, frosty fun. I mean, this song, "Happiness" is dancey but in a sort of drug induced, lazy spring afternoon sort of way. I don't know if it makes ME want to hop around the neighborhood, but it makes me want to swing really fast on a porch swing.
On Seventh Tree, Goldfrapp left behind the danceyness (oh that's a word) of their album with it's "Oo La La" (betcha heard it in a commercial once) and instead went for dreamy, gauzy, poppy, synthy, frosty fun. I mean, this song, "Happiness" is dancey but in a sort of drug induced, lazy spring afternoon sort of way. I don't know if it makes ME want to hop around the neighborhood, but it makes me want to swing really fast on a porch swing.
The Song Not Traveled
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less travelled by,
and that has made all the difference."
Oh Bobby Frost. So oft misquoted.
Even by me, in creating this blog.
About songs that might have fallen under the radar (and the occasional song that you've heard everywhere but should still hear again).
So here goes, The Song Not Traveled.
I took the one less travelled by,
and that has made all the difference."
Oh Bobby Frost. So oft misquoted.
Even by me, in creating this blog.
About songs that might have fallen under the radar (and the occasional song that you've heard everywhere but should still hear again).
So here goes, The Song Not Traveled.
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