Friday, May 22, 2009

Yesterday's Artist


When I say "yesterday's artist," I mean it literally. Both songs of the day for my yesterday are by The Dears, making the band "Yesterday's Artist." Both songs are off of the band's 2006 album, Gang of Losers.


"You and I are a Gang of Losers"




"Ballad of Humankindness"



SPOILER ALERT:
If you're wondering what songs you're hearing in the second verse of "Ballad," the line "No one should have to live all of their life on their own" is straight out of the Beatles "Eleanor Rigby," while the line "I turn on the news and there’s always some dude..." is, if I'm not mistaken, has Wheatus' "Teenage Dirtbag" written all over it. I know it might have been bothering some of you imaginary readers out there, as it was bothering me until it clicked. I thought I'd save you the trouble of agonizing over it if agonizing's not your thing.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

WHAAAAAT

Pink Floyd's excellent tune, "Have A Cigar," covered by Foo Fighters with BRIAN HAROLD MAY, the unmatcheable guitarist from the most excellent band, Queen, who is my favorite guitarist of all time. Enjoy the power of his guitaring. This cover is a force.

The Acoustical Brilliance of Shell Crumbs

Thanks to SoulPancake.com for the enlightenment in regards to the following:


Diego Stocco - Music From Sand from Diego Stocco on Vimeo.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Elvis Perkins Once Again

It's time have yet another session of homage-payment to the one and only Elvis Perkins. Here are two absolutely necessary tracks from his solo album, Ash Wednesday:

"Moon Woman II"


"It's Only Me"


Every song on this album is great, just like every other song Elvis Perkins has written, but the studio version of "It's Only Me" is worth a listen, as the entire album is worth a purchase.

Perkins is the first artist in a long time that I've been so into. I refuse to listen to his music on anything less than Apple Lossless CD import quality, & only thru my Bose headphones if it's coursing thru from my ipod. As little of the quality as possible should be lost when listening to his stuff, because his music is 100% haunting in its beauty, and not a microscopic measurement of his music's depth should be dampened.

If you can catch Perkins in Dearland live, it's awe-inspiring.


I know it sounds creepy, or at the very least unhealthily OCD, but trust me it's healthy, and when you hear "While You Were Sleeping" high quality, you might cry and wonder why you've gone so long without such goodnessforyoursoul. It's a total relaxer, soul-refresher. Elvis Perkins (in Dearland) is the sonic equivalent of a fresh breeze, quenching the once-antsy thirst of your mind.

Too much? I'm sorry...don't be frightened.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Soundtrack for your studious enjoyment:

By 9 am tomorrow, I will be B.A. certifiable. It wasn't easy. I've been running on nap-juices after having pulled 3 allnighters in a row, with little sleep per night before that. I can't tell you how many double shot espressos, red bulls, and other proven-useless goodies I've done in the past week. That's right folks, according to some studies, if I hadn't taken naps, I would have been the mental kind of certifiable. After a night of mild hallucinatons and repeated 1/2 second noddings over my books, I turned on some techno to keep myself awake. It worked like a charm. I am SURE that some of you, my imaginary readers, are or will be soon going through finals periods of your own, so I thought I would provide you with 2 pieces of music to help you get through it:

The Stay-Awake song:
Here's a techno piece. It's "No Static" by Bottin. I'd never listened to techno before, but a tecno-geek / study-buddy of mine was playing some stuff and I found the urgency of the beats he was playing to push me along. From my limited experience w techno I've come to the conclusion that a lot of it is about different textures, and it's much harder to know what to expect w a techno song outside of the beat itself, because the sounds and ornamentation is always changing. The consistent surprise will hopefully keep your brain working just enough for you to stay awake without getting distracted by lyrical music...Another friend and I were talking about the following theory: it's possible that while listening to lyrical music your ability to write is diminished because the language part of your brain is also working on the lyrics. This piece, "No Static" by Bottin is meant to be your lead in to techno world for studying purposes. Careful tho, some techno is too trancey, so if you play the wrong song you might end up zoning into nothingness, which is the opposite of what you need.




The take-a-break-and-relax piece that will inevitably be relevant to your tired situation:
This one's a surprise. Or it would be if it didn't say what song it was on the embedded youtube vid down there. Listen to it on your break...it's a lovely, calming piece that is also amusing in its relevance.

Monday, May 4, 2009

Happy slightly belated, Pete!



The wonderful activist, folk revivalist, and (of course) 1996 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee (see his HoF profile here: http://www.rockhall.com/inductee/pete-seeger) Pete Seeger, was 90 years old yesterday (b. May 3, 1919). Unfortunately I had to miss his birthday party in Madison Square Garden because, ironically, I'm writing a term paper on the music of the Vietnam War, which of course has quite a bit of Seeger in it. Thus I must wish Seeger a happy birthday from my on-campus suite just 22 hours before this paper is due (and, not to belittle the importance of this post, that's where the procrastination comes in).

In honor of this great musician, who inspired the likes of Bob Dylan, as well as the rest of the Vietnam War protest music, I'm enlightening you, my imaginary (& apparently Seeger-unawares) audience, of his ohsogoodness, that makes my life ohsonice, and was created to make everyone's lives ohsonice&peaceful&loving&beautiful.

"Where Have All the Flowers Gone," written by Seeger & Joe Hickerson



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Here's Seeger's birtday invite, including the amazing birthday lineup which makes me want to weep bitterly, thank you very much Peace & Justice major final term paper (from: http://www.seeger90.com/)

"You are cordially invited

The Clearwater Concert:
Creating the Next Generation of Environmental Leaders

A benefit concert in celebration of

Pete Seeger's 90th Birthday

Sunday, May 3rd, 2009, 5:00 p.m.
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

Tickets available at Ticketmaster.com.

Tickets range in price from $19.19 (the year Pete was born) to $250,
with the majority of seats at $90 to honor Pete's 90th birthday.

Every ticket purchased includes a one-year membership to Clearwater (new members only).

Featuring....
Pete Seeger
Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine)
Bruce Springsteen
Tyler Ramsey (Band of Horses)
Dave Matthews
Warren Haynes
John Mellencamp
Abigail Washburn & the Sparrow Quartet
Ani DiFranco
Bernice Johnson Reagon
Arlo Guthrie
Dar Williams
Béla Fleck
Eric Weissberg
Ben Bridwell (Band of Horses)
Guy Davis
Ben Harper
Jay Ungar & Molly Mason
Billy Bragg
John Hall
Bill Nershi (String Cheese Incident)
Kate & Anna McGarrigle
Bruce Cockburn
Larry Long
Del McCoury
Martha Wainwright
Emmylou Harris
Mike & Ruthy Merenda
Joan Baez
NYC Labor Chorus
Keller Williams
Ruby Dee
Kris Kristofferson
Scarlett Lee Moore
Michael Franti
Tao Rodriguez-Seeger
Patterson Hood (Drive-By Truckers)
Teddy Thompson
Preservation Hall Jazz Band
Tom Chapin
Ramblin' Jack Elliott
Tom Paxton
Richie Havens
Tommy Sands with Moya & Fionan
Roger McGuinn
Tony Trischka
Steve Earle
Toshi Reagon
Taj Mahal

And the Native American Indian Cultural Alliance...
Bill Miller
Margo Thunderbird
Casper Lomadawa
Oren Lyons
David Amram
R. Carlos Nakai
Eddie Benton
Tiokasin Ghosthorse
Joseph Firecrow
Vernon Masayesva
Joanne Shenandoah
Victorio Roland Mousaa

All proceeds to benefit the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater (www.clearwater.org),
a non-profit organization created to defend and restore the Hudson River."


Ouchies, that hurt BIGS.

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And here's a link to the post-party article in some publication I hadn't heard of. I post this link mainly because of a most excellent Seeger quote midway down the page:

"Springsteen said that he never saw Seeger more happy than at Obama's inauguration, noting that Seeger saw Obama's ascendancy as proof that he, Seeger, had 'outlived the bastards.'"

YES.

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/05/03/pete_seegers_90_birthday_concert_and_president_oba/

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So happy 90th, Pete. You have no idea how sad I am to have missed it. I'll see you next year, at your 91st!

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Are you moving much too fast?

We need a breeze to blow us all away.

"The Breeze"by Dr. Dog

Friday, May 1, 2009

Sacred Harp goodness

"The Traveler, 108b" - Sacred Harp singing by Cordelia's Dad.

Sacred harp singing is completely awesome live. I know b/c I saw the Interstate Sacred Harp Singers opened for Elvis Perkins in Dearland at Brattle Theater. You should definitely check it out live if you get the chance, b/c it's definitely something else, and completely different than when you hear a recording. DO IT.