Corinne Bailey Rae

Well played, Matt, that was hilarious...

So, I know what you're thinking, "How are you so awesome, Matt?" Okay, maybe you weren't thinking that exactly. It was probably something more along the lines of "Matt, these aren't exactly 'new' artists/ albums you're reviewing." Well, that's true and it's not. Also, that's kinda mean but I'll look past that. I forgive you. Listen to this playlist and we'll talk about it once you've had a chance to cool down and think a bit...

This PLAYLIST includes favs from both her albums and a few rarities.

As I was saying, it's true that Corinne's latest studio album came out 2010 so it's been a while BUT she's great. I feel like everyone forgot about her after 2007. Of course, everyone know's Put Your Records On. So I listened to the whole album (bummed a copy from my aunt) and it was great. Very laid back. Very chill. Don't know if I'd classify it as Awesome... but it was pretty darn good. But then she dropped off the radar. Gone. 4 years later she comes back but I never heard anything about her new album. No radio play. No shows. So I'm playing catch up. That's all.

Also, as a side note, it's hard to find good new music. I've been listening to stuff. I promise. But I try to only put good stuff on here. I don't want to review an album or artist if I don't like them because I think there's too much negativity out there already. If this was a job and people were paying me to review music, I'd have to but it's not, so I don't. But sometimes there's a pretty big gap between good albums or artists. A shortage, a dearth, you might say. Maybe next time I'll post a list of everything I've listened to to prove it...

But, back to Corinne. Her new album, The Sea, was good. Not awesome but really good. I'd give it a Track It. There wasn't any one song, really, that stuck out to me as being as good as Put Your Records On but the thing that DID stick out to me was the instrumentation/ general musicality of the album (ie- not the words, her vocal ability or the melodies). Don't know if that's her playing her own stuff or if it's a backing band but the music itself was AMAZING. It hits HARD and powerful like a punch in the face but one that you actually enjoy? Like, if you were to get punched by your favorite celebrity maybe? Don't get me wrong, she writes great songs and knows her way around a hooky melody. But, to me, the music was the thing that caught my ear on this album. Have a listen. Some good stuff.

There are also two songs on there that aren't from her albums. Another Rainy Day is just relaxing and chill and Corinne's version of Que Sera is the only version to date that I actively enjoy. I absolutely despise that song but she not only pulls it off but absolutely knocks it out of the park! A little long so I stuck it at the end. You don't have to listen to all of it. Or just stick it on in the background while you clean the kitchen and sing into the mop handle like a mic stand. You know you totally do that. Who do you think you're foolin'? But it's okay. No judgement.

With a Little Help From My Friends

Well, from my cousins is more like it. They're really cool so I figured they listen to cool music. Right? Because we all know it's music that makes people cool... At any rate, I got some suggestions, gave a cursory listen and found some stuff worth sharing. 

Playlist- WHATEVER YOU DO, PLEASE PLEASE LISTEN TO THE RIVAL SONS SONG!!!

Cough Syrup- Young the Giant
Miracle Mile- Cold War Kids
Tight Rope- Walk the Moon
Keep On Swingin'- Rival Sons 

This post has been brought to you by Caleb, Holly & the letter Jerry.

The Sara Show

As promised, here's the set list from her 2011 show. Click the link below, close your eyes and it'll be (maybe) just like you're there!

Sara SHOW

Also, I think I may have mis-represented my feelings for her music in yesterday's post. In case you thought I don't, I really DO like her music. I LOVE it in fact. That's why we went to see her live (even though she only played an 8 song show... bummer). See?! I wanted to see more! It's just that a few of her songs sound too "polished" or overproduced and some are just a little off because of the language. But that's only some. By and large, LOVE it. I'd see her in concert again in a heartbeat.

So, to clear up any confusion, here's the Ta-DAA *brand new rating scale* to the rescue!! (Those are supposed to be flashy sparkles.) As far as her individual albums go, Little Voice is a Track It for the above reasons. Careful Confessions is basically Little Voice before she got big so it's also a Track It. Kaleidoscope Heart is almost a buy it but not quite. Still a Track It.

But Sara as an Artist is DEFINITELY a "Love 'Em," which, if you remember the definition, means you have to become obsessed with her and see her LIVE yourself. Give her a listen. Decide for yourself.

Also, here's a video of her new single off her new album coming out soon! Enjoy!

Sara Bareilles and the Pizza Party

So, after Monday's semi-disappointing post, figured I'd post about someone I actually knew I liked: Sara Bareilles (which, kinda looks like someone left the 'G' out of Bear Grylls...). In one word, TALENTED (notice I used a word other than "awesome"). In two words, Incredibly Talented.... In three words, I'd say "She's incredibly talented"... just 'cause pronouns are important ;)

Here's the PLAYLIST

So, I actually started this back in 2011 after we kinda saw her in concert. I say "kinda" because she was actually the warm-up act for a group I'd never heard of, "Sugarland." Spare me the gasps (What!? You've never heard of them?!), they're country and I don't do country. And they weren't even all that sugary... Also, as a side note, I've asked people who "know" Sugarland what they sing and they don't even really remember! (Guess they're more like a sugar-coma... he he... yeah, never mind)...

At any rate, she's great. You've undoubtedly heard "Love Song" and "King of Anything." If you live in UT like me, which has nothing but top 40's radio stations, then you may have actually heard them too much. If you're unlike me (I don't have TV) you've probably seen her judge on the Sing Off.  But if you're like the average music listener, you probably haven't sat down to listen to the rest of her stuff. That's where I come in!

After listening to all of her albums (3 for now but another out in a month or so?) here's my take: She's great. I don't know if I'd actually rate her as awesome, though. Her songs are really interesting and I don't mean the kind of "interesting" when you can't find a nice word to describe your friends attempts at "cooking," I mean the kind where there is a ton of stuff going on musically in her songs and some elements work and some don't.

Kinda like this. Sockapella... just doesn't fit.

For instance, her general sound is on the lighter, softer, poppy side of things; she sings about romance and relationships, feelings of vulnerability and a range of other emotions; basically what might otherwise be labelled as "chick music." THEN, in the middle of a bubble-gum song or a nice, little ballad, when you least expect it, she'll drops some seriously surprising language; almost as an appeal or plea to be taken seriously; proof that she's a grown up and more mature than your average T. Swizzle song... just doesn't really fit. 

Then there are other elements I'm still on the fence about; her vocals being the main thing. The music and arrangements behind her are fabulously layered and mixed and catchy as all get out. And like I said before, she is also no slouch. She's amazingly talented. She can play and CRAP she can sing. On record and live. But I think what rubs me wrong on her albums is her vocal arrangements. She's her own backing vocals and her college ACapella roots really show. It's almost like accompanied A Capella. The two weren't really meant to be together. And it's not on all her songs. Just some. And that probably wouldn't be a problem for some but myself not really liking A Capella (at all)... I just can't unhear it, ya know?

She really knows how to BELT

The way I thought to explain it is it's kind of like when you go to a party and they've got pizza but you got there a little late so there's not enough plain pepperoni left and no one wants to be the jerk to take the last piece. There are other pizzas there but it's a weird one where half is sausage, pepperoni and anchovies and the other half is some vegan monstrosity that shouldn't actually qualify as pizza... There are parts that would be full on AWESOME without the A Capella anchovies (some people like 'em but let's face it, they're weird) and there are other parts that are just weird combinations that should just never...be...

But don't let me spoil it for you. One man's anchovies are another man's deep dish. (But like I said, they're weird). Give the rest of her stuff a listen. Because although I wouldn't rate her as awesome, she IS amazing. If you do listen to all of "Little Voice" be advised there's swearing in Come Round (several words) & Bottle It Up (one). Minimal or none on Kalidescope Heart. I put my favorites on the playlist; though I'm still on the fence about Morning Side. Also, I think the version of Gravity from Careful Confessions is better than the newer one on Little Voice. The backing band really helps the song build. Tomorrow I'll post a re-creation of her show if I can find the set list I wrote on the back of one of my wife's Real Simple Magazines.

Comment! Pass it on! Feel free to tell me how much you love A Capella and let me know how much I'm missing out on a good thing. Share your favorite song. Tell ya what, I'll even throw this out there, if you can show me an A Capella group that has consistently amazing songs (we're talking Pitch Perfect closing numbers) not just one or two, I'll eat an anchovy and post the video on here. Enjoy!!

PS- A Capella Anchovy would make an awesome band name.

New(?) Songs & a Rating Scale

This is a picture. 

Okay, I know they might not be "new" per se but they're new to me. Heard these and found out who sang them on Sounhound. I put them on the random songs list.

PLAYLIST or just click the individual songs below. They're awesome. As usual. Which leads me to the next item of business.

I've been trying to develop a rating system for things. Just so there's a bench mark for y'all to sorta "standardize" my ramblings. I know I already call most everything awesome. I mean, I try to only post awesome songs in the first place but there are varying degrees of awesome-ness. The only thing is, I haven't quite figured out a "solid" scale yet. In previous posts I've mentioned a scale of "Not to Awesome" but somethings are awesomer than awesome... like THIS, or THIS.

I've also thought about a scale for recommendations. Something like if you should buy just the tracks you like, get the whole album or skip it all together. Sort of like, "Track it," "Buy it," or "Skip it." This could go for Artists as well. "Skip 'em," Like 'em" & "Love 'em." Skip 'em would be like, only a few tracks are worth it. "Like 'em," would mean you should listen to most, if not all, their stuff & "Love 'em" would mean you should become obsessed with them and see them in concert if you can. I'll keep thinkin' about it and we can polish it as we go... I'm open to suggestions though!

Tonight- Seether (Never thought I'd like a Seether song but this wasn't too screamy and actually felt happy)
1- Joy Zipper
Whirring- The Joy Formidable
Harlem- New Politics
Hoppipola- Sigur Ros (this one's on a lot of soundtracks it seems...)

Kinda Celtic

So this is probably one of the more interesting mixes so far. Alt. pop rockers, The Script and Celtic masters The Cheiftains... I'll explain later. But first!...

The PLAYLIST

So, this started out as a post on The Script. I'd heard their songs on the radio and thought I should listen to the rest of their stuff. I thought, "that one song is awesome, that means they're all cool, right?" Wrong. Well, semi-cool anyway. Just not as cool as I'd hoped. The first album only yielded one song I cared for and that was the single they played on the Radio. Their second album was sadly like the first, just one song and I'd already heard in the radio. I started listening to their third and most recent album but I noticed over half of the songs were tagged as explicit... Had I liked their other stuff more, I might have listened to see if I could edit them and make them "appropriate" but with only two songs in their favor, I decided to just skip it.

Which left me in a jam because I was not expecting this. I was fully expecting to find awesomeness, not "not-awesomeness"... So, instead of finding an alternate contemporary album I did the only rational thing... I decided the write about an album that's almost 20 years old! Why you ask? Surely there's a higher purpose, some grand, universal connection.... well, I'll tell you. They're both Irish. Yup. That's it. I created a Celtic station on Pandora today (I call it "ookch-aye!" in honor of David Tennant) and I had Scotland & Ireland on the brain. I figured that was enough. Also, the Cheiftans are awesome. My mom loves Celtic music so I grew up listening to these dudes, seen them in concert twice, they're basically the Gaelic version of the Shiz.

So here's one of my favorite albums of theirs, The Long Black Veil. It's actually pretty cool. Almost every song is a collaboration with another famous artist from the UK. My favorite is the first one with Sting. The last one "Rocky road to Dublin" is the Stones as the backing band (in case you didn't catch the "No Satisfaction" hint). And I threw the TWO Script songs on there for good measure but they're the only ones I like.

Also, here's The Who's Roger Daltrey singing "Behind Blue Eyes" with the Cheiftans. Enjoy!

The Kooks

No it's not The Kinks. (Although, I have been known to enjoy Lazing on a Sunny Afternoon with my friend Lola who's a Dedicated Follower of Fashion... what can I say, they Really Got Me!)... It's The Kooks. Kinda sounds like a joke. Something like what do you call a kinky crook? But I digress...

Here's the PLAYLIST

So, I've been trying not to do entire artist posts because they tend to be more intense than a post about a single album... I have to listen to complete discographies (which can be very lengthy at times) and have to pick favorites (which can be excruciatingly hard if you like them all...) But lucky for me, these guys only have 3 albums which went surprisingly quick. So here's my take on the Kooks (for what it's worth).

I can't exactly remember where I heard these guys first. It was either Pandora or on the soundtrack for 17 Again (which is a fabulous movie by the way. Hi-LAR-ious...). At any rate, they're one of those bands where you hear the song in the background and you HAVE to stop everything to listen better. If you're like me, you're frantically pulling your phone out of your pocket to try to get near enough to a speaker to use Soundhound or remember enough lyrics to Google later. Anyway, that first time, I did stop, listened, loved it. So I found out who they were and listened to the rest of their stuff.

Love those Brits!

So, it could just be my affinity for Brit pop (although I don't think so) but I love these guys. Their songs have been described as "catchy as h***" and although I wouldn't say that, I really haven't found a better way to say it (does that make sense?) There's just this ENERGY in their music. Even in the slower ones, there's a sort of subtle intensity... hard to explain. The music is great, they do some fun things with the vocals & harmonies, plus a THICK british accent is always fun...

The general consensus seems to be that their first album, Inside In/ Inside Out is their best but I think I like their 2nd album, Konk just as much. I was kinda disappointed with their third album, Junk of the Heart but in their defense, I've only listened to it once and the others 2 or 3 times. And to be honest, I don't like every song on these records (there are even a few that just fall flat) Regardless, the main thing I love about these guys is although every song might not be a masterpiece, they have a consistently GREAT sound. The guitar is what I like to call "punchy" (sort of pronounced, stacatto-ed, really crisp) with some pretty funky riffs & licks. They've got some REALLY fun bass lines that have a sort of run-don't-walk energy that feels kinda like a chicken with it's head cut off but who's oddly happy about it.... just all over the place which is always welcome & refreshing. Drummer is super talented... don't know what else I can say. Just an all around good sound. On a scale of "Not" to "Awesome," they get a solid "Awesome."

Have a listen, check 'em out. Make sure to comment! Who's your favorite British band (past or present)? Pass it on (this blog is all about sharing)! Enjoy!

Fiction Family Reunion!!

So, I know I'm not supposed to be concerned with readership and page views but I kinda am in this case but not for my sake. It's because y'all are SERIOUSLY missing out on amazing music and you don't even know it. And that's actually pretty sad. But I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and pretend you all have already heard Fiction Family that Google is wrong as far as page views goes and you've all listened to last week's playlist over and over and you can't get enough of these guys. In that case, as promised, this post is PACKED with fiction-ey goodness!

Here's the PLAYLIST (which, if you're paying attention, has 2 songs not on either of their albums)

So, back in Feb. we went to see these guys. They were headlining the "Heavy & Light" Tour. It was really interesting. A band or two would play then there would be a bit by a youth therapist/ counselor dude talking about overcoming addiction & adversity, then another band or solo act would play then there was a dude reciting/presenting/performing (?) some of his REALLY awesome poetry then there'd be more music... REALLY new experience for me, really uplifting, really cool. So, the boys came on after all the other groups and played 10 or so songs. Tried to scribble the set list down in the dark on a scrap of paper. So this week's playlist is a recreation of their portion of the show so it's almost like you were(n't) there! (But not really)... But that's okay. You're still cool and we can still be friends. But you have to promise me you'll stop dropping the ball like that. Or at LEAST listen to their album, love their music, become obsessed and see their next show, is that really too much to ask?

Here's who else played at the show

They didn't play hardly anything from their first album which was kinda sad but it was still epic to see Sean Watkins go to town live. The solo from Damaged is just masterful; it rises, it falls, builds, moves, just, just, AWESOME. I maintain that bluegrass pickers make some of the best "shredders" there are. Give me back my girl was really fun to see in person. And for Dare You to Move, the rest of the band left for a bit and it was just Jon who told everyone who was there to squish up close to the stage, he unplugged and stepped away from the mic and gave an intimate, acoustic performance which was just surreal. They closed with Friday I'm in Love which is actually the only version of this song I can stand and they had everyone who had performed before them come back on stage and sing a little bit of the song which was a fun note to go out on. 

For those of you who just can't get enough and want to hear the whole album, have no fear! I uploaded them all on Grooveshark and that playlist can be found HERE. Please listen to that as well. Just Rob Me is awesome and I love, love, love Fool's Gold. I still think I like this version of "Give Me Back My Girl" better but I'll let you decide for yourself.



Here's a video of one of the poems by Anis Mojgani. Maybe not as good as it was live but in a way I still think it's beautiful.



I waited around after the show and got a not so flattering picture with Jon. But that's okay. To me, it was a privilege just to meet him and I count it an absolute blessing to have been able to shake his hand and thank him for his music and what's it's meant to me in my life. Sappy, I know, but it's just something you have to experience for yourself, I s'pose. In the off chance you see this, Jon, thanks again.

Infamous Stringdusters

It means they're more than famous... (if you don't get it, see HERE)

No Resolution- The Infamous Stringdusters

Heard this and it was too good not to share. I thought it was just plain beautiful. Maybe an odd way of describing it? Enchanting? Magical? Just plain captivating. Needless to say I'll be listening to this whole album soon. Maybe my next favorite Bluegrass band? I'll keep you posted. Enjoy!

45

Today's song. I mean, there are plenty of other songs I listen to in a day but this one stuck out today and needed to be shared. This one's already been on the radio a while so it's nothing new but it's AWESOME nonetheless. Pretty rockin'. Plus it's break up song which is always fun. It's not even a bitter one, more of a "Peace out, I'm gone" sort of song which is a great feeling. Sort of like a huge weight is off your shoulders and you're in the wind. Have a listen. Enjoy!