Post Previews!

Hey all! So, it's nearing November which means we've almost reached a whole year of blogging and listening.  It's been great and I know I've really enjoyed all the music I've got to listen to because of it (I hope that's true of y'all as well :) and I especially appreciate those of you who have shared stuff along the way. I would love nothing more than to do this all day, everyday until my ears fall off or I go deaf. However, I'm also realistic... and despite the thousands of followers I'm sure are just waiting to share any time now, I think I'm gonna shut things down until/ unless that happens.

I know, I know... you feel as if you'd die without this little blog. But the whole idea was to get people sharing music and to be honest... it's not happening.  I've gotten a few suggestions here and there but for the most part people just post music on FB or listen to Pandora and what not and that's fine. This isn't intended to be accusatory or whiny, just thought I'd let you know what's up. There's still a chance that I might keep going after the year mark; if people started sharing and I got followers and more than the usual 10-15 page views per post then I would definitely do it...but I don't see that happening...

If you really are one of those people who would die without this here blog, let me know and we'll talk. Until then, here's a look at some of the artists I would/ will cover in future posts to pique your interest and make you want to share with your friends. Enjoy!
Entire Playlist HERE
Stay Beautiful- The Last Goodnight
Mr. Blue- Catherine Feeny
The Book I Write- Spoon
Two Steps Closer- Throwback
Southern Girl- Amos Lee
Mr. Maker- The Kooks
Arms- Christina Perri

So there you have it! If things go well, hopefully we'll hear more from these guys, if not, then... not. But "we'll worry about that one later"... until then, pass it on and enjoy!

Underdog Replay!!

So, I've yet to blog about our wonderful experiences at the Josh Groban and Sara Bareilles concerts but there's still some listening to be done... I'm almost there, I promise. I've also started a Sharing Time 3 post but there's still room for more suggestions in case you want to send in a recent/ past favorite (hint hint!) What I thought I do for this post is rewind a bit and give some under-listened tunes another chance. Cop-out for a "real" post?... mayhaps... Nice and easy post for me?... probably... Desperate plea for readership and participation?... OF COURSE! ;)

Really, I was just listening to "TheMusicMann" playlist on Grooveshark and found myself listening to just a handful of songs over, and over and OVER because they're just THAT good.  Oddly enough, quite a few of them were from posts that relatively NO ONE looked at (except for Cliff) which is really sad because they're awesome. So, here's your chance to hear them again. When you skipped over them last time it really hurt their feelings. Please listen to them. It would really make their (and your) day.

The Shark Fighter- the Aquabats. Weird but such a solid, upbeat, movin' tune!
Just What I Needed- The Cars. Classic. Rock. Enough said. Crank it, and crank it NOW!
Have I Been a Fool- Jack Penate. Great little tune. Upbeat, fun to play on the ukulele...
Unlocked- Jesse Ruben. Great guitar work. Great vocals. Great song. Period.
KT Tunstall- Other Side of the World, I Want You Back
Sondre Lerche- Modern Nature, Say It All, My Hands Are Shaking
Newton Faulkner- Teardrop, All I Got, Gone in the Morning
Two Birds- Regina Spektor. This post has done okay but you REALLY need to listen (and love) this song.

I'll make it even easier to listen to this time too. You can always listen to the player over on the right-->, you can click TheMusicMann playlist link above, click all the individual songs OR I've made a special playlist in Grooveshark for just these songs. Click HERE and you can go straight there, click "Play All" any you're good to go! As always, suggest stuff, pass this post on and Enjoy! ;)

Regina Spektor

No clever title this time, sorry. Just Regina Spektor. This post's been in the works for a while and I wanted to get it out there for all the hear because her music is just so incredible. I'll keep the gushing to a minimum (because, let's face it, I'm not a great review-er with an endless vocabulary to basically say the same thing: AWESOME) Which is what her music is. It's fresh. EXTREMELY creative and original.  Her songs are very real, and emotionally charged. Her lyrics are really clever.  She has an AMAZING range of vocal... things... shes does some really cool stuff with her voice... just listen and you'll see what I mean. Sometimes it comes across as weird but it's never harsh or abrasive, it's always FUN. And not to mention her songs are RIDICULOUSLY CATCHY. Absolutely amazing. Seriously, any exaggerations aside, listening to her 5 albums back to back was some of the most fun I've ever had listening to music. She's russain, she's awesome, listen and love it.

Note: Sometimes she does have a mouth so watch out for swears or "not for 5 year olds" content but I only remember one F bomb (Daniel Cowman) and I'm not posting that one... that's just a heads up in case you decide to listen to the rest of her stuff... which you definitely should!... DO IT!... c'mon... you know you want to... all the cool kids are doing it these days...

11:11- First album. Good stuff. Kinda obscure/ weird. But still fun. Listen to Love Affair, Rejazz
Songs- This album was a little slower and more minor but Ne Me Quitte Pas was nice and perky.
Soviet Kitsch- She hit it big with Us but it's not my favorite. Ode to a Divorce is sad but beautiful.
Begin to Hope- Probably her most famous ones came from this album. Better, Fidelity, On the Radio
Far- This album is my favorite by...far! (Tee hee ;) It has most of my favorites. She just keeps getting better but stays true to her earlier style, I think. The Calculation, Eet, Folding Chair, Laughing With, Two Birds, One More Time with Feeling

She also did a great song for the Prince Caspian Soundtrack called "The Call." It reminds me of going to Germany. She also did duets with Sondre Lerche on the Dan in Real Life soundtrack (H*** No) and with Ben Folds on Ways to Normal but hear it here (tee hee) otherwise you'll get a wonderful little F-surprise... You Don't Know Me.

Any favorites I missed? Let me know! Please pass this on and enjoy! Til next week, keep the music coming ;)

Sharing Time 2!

From the title, you might have been able to guess what the final decision was. I'll throw these up really quick because they were fun to listen to and definitely new--which, in case you forgot, is the whole point of this here blog.
First up, in response to the Bass Guitar Therapy post:
Louise- Paul Revere and the Raiders
Gigantic- The Pixies
Many thanks to Rick and Mark for sharing those. The bass lines were fun indeed.

Next, in response to nothing in particular comes the request for Dynomite by Taio Cruz. I frankly had a hard time with this because it's been SO over played on the radio (unless you don't listen to the radio...), the words are ridiculous (in my humble opinion) but then again, it's not exactly like I have a mega hit on the radio and have any room to talk. But it's SO DARN CATCHY.  Not to mention it's also CLEAN hip-hop, r&b whatever stuff... yes that's a new category... look for it in Billboard... "Clean hip-hop-r&b-whatevah-stuff" (the whatever got "thuggin'" at the end there)... Thanks to Angela for that one.

Mary suggested "Happy" by the Kooks. Upbeat. Kinda fluffy. Nice. Almost like cotton candy for your ear.

Last but not least, Opera+Rock= eh? (Seriously haven't found a words to describe...) Wanderlust-Nightwish Emily suggested this one. Maybe a little dark for my tastes (especially since the title means "desire to wander" which usually is a... um... happy feeling) but the idea is to experience new stuff and I'm just more thrilled that people are sharing stuff. So I threw in the next one to end on a fun note. Hocus Pocus-Focus

Remember it's not over until the hairy, hippie Dutch band yodels...

Thanks again for sharing, everyone! Keep the music coming and pass it on! ;)