Saturday, November 29, 2008

Saturday Music Definitions: Christmas


I know it's early but hey Black Friday marks the beginning of the holiday season. I love this time of year. Yes, people are quite materialistic but people also slow down and spend more time with family and friends, which makes me happy

enjoy the following songs:

Michael Buble - My Grown Up Christmas Wish [mp3]


Blink 182 - I Won't Be Home For Christmas [mp3 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED]


Greg Barkley - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas [mp3]

The Who - Christmas [mp3]

Friday, November 28, 2008

Noel Gallagher compares Oasis to The Rolling Stones


"Everybody knows who we are. You have to see us in league with The Rolling Stones now," he declared. "Everybody's heard of the Stones, everybody knows what they sound like, everybody knows what they do. You either go because you like it or you don't. It's easy."

oh Noel, you are just asking to be attacked. I mean, don't get me wrong, I actually agree with him, but people just LOVE reasons to shit all over these guys.

read the article and subsequent backlash on NME and also check out their "controversial albums" feature

The Muslims change their name...


the San Diego based band is now called THE SOFT PACK.

ugh. how very uncontroversial. I am a tad bit disappointed but I love them all the same.

visit the band on their new MYSPACE page

The Soft Pack - Extinction [mp3]

Concert Review: Ben Sollee @ Cafe Du Nord 24 November 2008


(sorry I forgot my camera and SD card in Berkeley, will upload photos later, for now, you all can enjoy a picture of Dwayne)

Local Artist Goh Nakamura opened up for Ben Sollee last Monday night, starting off his funny set by singing about being hipless in a hipster world. With each song, he gained confidence and the audience’s approval, well articulated with laughter and applause. He has a soft tenor voice which is good but has much room for improvement. His lyrics were sharp and funny, using plenty of puns and explaining his disgust at one night in his life when he had gotten off of a busboy shift where he had earned 30 dollars only to come out to a 35 dollar parking ticket. “I essentially paid 5 dollars to work”, he told the audience. My favourite lyric by him however, was off of a song called “Red Balloons”: “boys chase girls who chase butterflies who chase red balloons who chase better skies”, sung in a heartfelt manner that showcased his range as an artist: he could easily fluctuate between being humourous and sincere. He thanked the audience, saying that this had been his best show ever; we enjoyed it too.
2.5/5

visit Goh on MYSPACE

Ben Sollee surprised me. I expected (and quite honestly, hoped) that he would accurately emulate the songs off of his record. I thought that the quality of his music didn’t really give him much leeway in experimentation with his live sound. I was wrong. Whereas he upped the tempo on almost every song, his voice for the most part was still slow, creating an excellent contrast (which paralleled the whole “I am going to use a cello to play non-classical music” thing). His voice was scratchier, deeper, and more organic live. He remarked that he was still getting used to a “cheering section”, still recovering from playing in the background of an orchestra. He was scattered when he tried to tell the audience stories, but this characteristic was very endearing on the twenty something. He explained that the dinosaur in the background (whom Goh referred to as Garfunkel before worrying “oh no, wait, maybe I am Garfunkel”) was named Dwayne, painted by the modern Kentucky based artist Phillip March Jones, who also designed the merchandise for Ben’s very first solo tour. He played a handful of new songs, including “Meet With a Bullhorn”, which moved me to tears. He told the audience that “I Can’t” took seven years to write, revealing how meticulous he can be. A poignant moment was when he explained what had inspired the song “Panning for Gold”: apparently, Ben has two grandparents who are affected with dementia, and their memory loss caused him to ponder memory and time, and how the new generations must keep the older generation’s memories alive for both of their sakes. He covered Fiona Apple and Jay-Z, remarking after the latter that it had seemed like a good idea at the time. He also sang part of “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley, before falling off of his chair and creating an uproar of concern and laughter. That moment defined the show: while we all adored Ben, we were still able to laugh with him. He then covered a Prince song with Goh, which was cute. He also talked to us fans after the show ended. I had a bunch of questions lined up for him, which I unfortunately didn’t get to ask because it was getting late and I didn’t want to miss the last train back to Berkeley (for the record, I barely caught the very last train), but it didn’t matter because he wrote “Happy Birthday” on my copy of Learning to Bend after I told him that it had arrived on my birthday and made my day oh so much brighter.
3.75/5

visit Ben on MYSPACE

1. Try
2. How to See the Sun Rise
3. A Few Honest Words
4. Prettiest Tree on the Mountain
5. Meet with a Bullhorn/A Change is Gonna Come (Sam Cooke cover) [mp3 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED]
6. I Can’t
7. It’s Not Impossible
8. This is Only a Song
9. Extraordinary Machine (Fiona Apple cover) [mp3]
10. Panning for Gold
11. 99 Problems (Jay-Z cover) [mp3]
12. Bury Me with my Car/Crazy (Gnarls Barkley cover) [mp3]
13. When Doves Cry (Prince cover with Goh) [mp3]
14. Turn a light on

sorry for the crappy sound quality, I only had my mp3 player on me to record but it's not too bad, I've been listening to my own recordings =)

here is a proper mp3 off of his record:

Ben Sollee - How to See the Sun Rise [mp3]

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!


I fucking love this holiday. I'm glad to be home, surrounded by my slightly eccentric family whom I love more every day. I am grateful for all of my blessings (especially in this crap economy we have now), perhaps most for music. Music is the greatest blessing of all. Enjoy the following mp3s and have a wonderful holiday!

John Lennon - Cold Turkey (acoustic) [mp3]


Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American [mp3]

Iron & Wine - Flightless Bird, American Mouth [mp3]

Jason Mraz - Too Much Food [mp3]


I'll post a review of the Ben Sollee show tomorrow

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Sunday Morning Covers

Radiohead - Tell Me Why (Neil Young cover)[mp3]
Thom York's voice is just amazing. there's a very good reason why Radiohead is one of the biggest bands in the world right now. they have that incredible ability to really move you with their music, which a lot of rock bands fail miserably at.

Oasis - My Generation (The Who cover) [mp3]
the guitar work here is a bit over the top but it's Oasis so it's all good

The Rosebuds - Staying Alive (Beegees cover) [mp3]
I bet you never could imagine this song having an ominous feel. download this song and hear just that. this is one strange rendition of one funky song.

BONUS: Arctic Monkeys - Baby I'm Yours (Van McCoy cover)[mp3 HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!]
I think I've posted this one already but I love it so much I want to make sure you all have it!