Music: Cults (+ lyrics)

It's been a long. lonnnng time since I fell head over heels for a song. How's that phrase go again? When you least expect it, it will come? Bull. I was looking my ass off.

Here's how it happened: I was editing a small little movie that I made. Just a little fun little movie. And I need the perfect song to represent the playfullness of the film, and the dreariness of the weather. And all those feelings in between. I literally (literally!!) searched for a whole day. Poured through every song I had, every compilation on itunes, and came up with nothing.

Then at the end of the day, maybe around 10pm, I started going through random indie music blogs. I don't even know where I ended up, but I pressed play on this one song called, "Go Outside". The title alone was perfect. Then I heard it. Then I knew. I started running around the apartment shouting, "I got it!! I GOT IT!"

So, I've pretty much listened to this song 100 times now. And learned everything I could about this band that sings it. There's not that much out there yet (which makes me even more excited, cause that's a true stumbled-upon moment).

But I'm here to help you:

The band is called: CULTS
The song is called: GO OUTSIDE

The facts are:
They are a guy and a girl from NYC. This just sorta happened to them. Seemingly overnight. They wrote a great song. Bloggers got a hold of it. People started downloading it. 30 days later, they were signed. Now they have an album coming out.

Here are some links:
The website
The interview
The reviews
The Youtube
The remix (yes, already!)

And, the lyrics to GO OUTSIDE:

I really want to go out
I really want to go outside and stop to see your day
You really want to hole up
You really want to stay inside and sleep the light away

I really want to go out
I really want to go outside and make it light all day
You really want to hole up
You really want to stay inside and not care where you lay

Well I know what's good 

Exactly cause I have been there before
Yeah I know what's good
Exactly those things night cannot behold

I really want to go out
I really want to go outside and stop to see your day
You really want to hole up
You really want to stay inside and sleep the light away

I think it's good to go out
cause if you don't you'll never make a memory that will stay
I think that you should wake up
I think I want to live my life and you're just in my way

Singer: Ben Sollee

Absolutely beautiful.
New discovery: Ben Sollee
His version of, "A Change Is Gonna Come"
Listen: mp3
Bookmark for more: website

Lyrics

Well, it's dark in the city
I've lost my pride
The lights in the streets hide the stars from my eyes
It's been a long, long time coming
But I know
That change is gonna come

And it's too hard living
But I'm afraid to die
Cause I don't know what's up there
Just beyond the sky

It's been a long, long time coming
But I know
That change is gonna come

And I miss my family
My little girl
She is my princess
I'd give her the world

It's been a long, long time coming
But I know
That change is gonna come

I just need some comfort
Some kind of belief
that this war we're fighting
can really bring some peace

There's no rhyme or reason
Or sweet melody
More and more weapons
mean less security

It's been a long, long time coming
But I know
That change is gonna come

And I tried to find it
Some better place
Where having the biggest gun
is some kind of race

It's been a long, long time coming
But I know
That change is gonna come

There's been times I thought
I couldn't last for long
But now I think I'm able
To carry on

It's been a long, long time coming
But I know
That change is gonna come

It's been a long, long time coming
But I know
That change is gonna come

Yes a change is gonna come

Online: Music

Remember how Napster totally changed our lives once upon a time ago? Even my mom got into it. She and my sister were stealing music long before I stopped waxing poetic about online ethics. Then I lost my steam, and got on the bandwagon.

Then I stopped. Because after a while, it started to make me feel icky. I admit, I don't really do the mp3player thing. Not into itunes at all, don't have time during the day to walk around with earplugs. But I still really, really like finding new music. And now the music industry has changed so much that it seems musicians are into sharing their music for free a little bit more than they were before. You've heard about the whole Radiohead thing, haven't you? Where they released their new album and told their fans, "pay what you think it's worth to you." Really! It was quite revolutionary. Or, even if it wasn't, it at least garnered tons of press.

But all that means is that there is a lot more free stuff out there, and I don't have to feel guilty about downloading anymore. I get a lot of new music from blogs. But recently I discovered this awesome website that will do all the searching for you, so you don't have to sort through a billion blogs yourself.

Here it is: http://elbo.ws/posts/
Type the song you want into the search box, and it will deliver results containing all blogs that have the mp3 posted, all blogs that talk about the music, and more relevant info. It's really cool and such a great resource. And they've led me to some really obscure stuff!

Also, another revolution to hit the net is this: http://muxtape.com/
The premise is that you can build your own mix tape (like we used to do with cassettes). Only 10 songs allowed I believe. And it's a FAST upload, I can tell you that. Awsomeness. Share your muxtape with your friends, or whomever, and enjoy. Keep it open in another window, and the whole playlist will just stream for you. On the homepage of muxtape.com are all the playlists you should check out today. I think the list changes. Here's my playlist: http://ihavetotellyou.muxtape.com/

Listen and enjoy.
I'll leave the link up on the right sidebar of this blog.

Singer: Vandaveer

I am loving ALL things Vandaveer right now. First I found this one song, and then I found all the rest of his songs (and this all happened because I discovered the wonderful world of music blogs!) (Never listen to the same song twice again!) (Unless, of course, it's Vandaveer, and you must, must, must listen to this song (below) over and over and over.)

Absolute Favorite Song Of The Day, And Then Some:
"However Many Takes It Takes" by Vandaveer

Listen here

Lyrics:

We're swimming in the deep end
I find out where your faith begins
You're waiting for an answer that's acceptable

The current sweeps you out to sea
And it keeps you guessing helplessly
You're praying for a savior who's exceptional
Someone who'll lift you from your knees
And save you, and hand you the keys
And offer you the kingdom of your dreams

But nothing's ever as it seems
You find yourself further down stream
Alone, save for the echoes of your screams
Ah, honey, fairy tales are prone to tease

Well candles burn you warm and safe
You lock your door and control your space
And curtains drawn, you think that you're impenetrable
But demons they don't live outside
They burrow deep where they can hide
Inside a safe, you will still feel vulnerable
You draw a bath and pour some wine
You drink yourself into another time
Where you feel truly free
The water's rising overhead
And you wake to find yourself in bed
You're gasping, for a breath that's hard to breathe
Ahh, honey, dreams are rarely what they seem

Oh, how, ever, many takes, it takes

Well, step outside into the sun
Let it dry your eyes and run around
Feel the warmth underneath your skin
The clouds will soon move in again
You can't expect to always win
You got to, take it as it comes

The marching bands and beating drums
Play familiar songs for the alum
We all got scars, but we don't like to show them
Sometimes it's better to be strong
We all got to be moving on
You got to walk a million miles
Ahh, honey, go walk them with a smile.

Oh, how, ever, many takes, it takes.

Song: I Feel It All, by Feist

Is this going to be Feist's thing?

As in, will her music videos consistantly involve her dancing around like a 6-year old in front of highly complex choreography (by people, fireballs, or otherwise) all orchestrated to fit into one single take?

If it is, that's so very cool by me. I'm just a little bummed because that was MY plan for rock stardom. [pause. glance into the camera with a shrug.] Well, you know what they say. If you have an idea and you don't grab on it, it's someone else's for the taking.

PLAY: Video for Feist's new song, "I Feel It All".

And I forgive her.

Music: Covers - Part 2

I was going through my music, putting a new "mix tape" together for the car. I started looking at a bunch of songs I have by artists covering other artists. It's interesting how two artists can interpret the same song in totally different ways.

Play nice, children:

Bjork, covering the musical, Showboat



The Fugees, covering Queen



Ari Hest, covering John Mayer



Teitur, covering Jerry Lee Lewis



Jason Mraz, covering Christina Aguilera

Song: Nobody Does It Better

Nobody Does It Better
I've collected a few renditions of this song, and each one is different in it's own right.
Download to listen and make your own opinion.

--> Carly Simon
--> 8mm
--> Aimee Mann
--> Me First and the Gimme Gimmes
--> Travis

I used this cool website called DivShare to upload the files, so downloading them from here shouldn't be too hard for yous.

Song: Bubbly

A little thing I think is just swell:
The new song "Bubbly" by Colbie Caillat.

The lyrics are trite, the video is remarkably similar to anything Sheryl Crow has ever done, the sunshine branding is so forced that liking this song will make you feel shamefully unoriginal.

However.
HOWever. I don't think that truths like those should ultimately determine whether you should dislike or disregard a song. I'm just not that kind of girl. Music is music, baby.

As a (pop) song, "Bubbly" is beautiful. Perfect, really. The chords are lullaby-esque. The chorus is memorable. So sweet, so simple, so easy to sing, so easy to play on the guitar yourself. It's classic, it's tender, it's lovely. An instant top ten on the radios.

Who said sunshine is so bad anyway?

Watch the video: here

Music: Amy Winehouse

What's up with me and British hiphop/R&B girls? Whatever. I'm rolling with it, cause it's working.

People need to start talking more about Amy Winehouse. This girl is amazing. This girl is cracked out, broken in, wigged out, dressed up, too big, too little. This girl will start singing through your speakers and you won't know what to do with yourself.

She looks kind of scary. Only in her twenties, she already sings like Etta James meets Joan Jett. This album, Back To Black, begins with a bang and then continues to flip out on you every couple of songs. It's got vibe, and intensity, and you'll never forget it.

Music: Lily Allen

Lily Allen would not have played with me in the school yard, I'm bold enough to predict. She was probably the girl pummeling the boys in dodge ball while I hid in the corner. That is, if she decided to show up to school that day. Or managed to put down her cigarette for a moment.

But we're older now. And wiser. So we can all be friends again. And I think it's safe to say I've listened to this new album, Alright, Still, by this British hip hop star about 100 times in a row. Give or take a dozen.

This album utterly rocks. It's a dance party in my car every time I play it. I first learned about Lily during her premiere performance on Saturday Night Live. And as I listened, transfixed, I thought, "Who is this girl?"

She looks about 16, but sings like she'll kick your ass for saying that. She's pissed off at men, but takes them home nonetheless. She sings like she's whispering a lullaby, but her lyrics are raunchy as hell. She wears puffy school girl dresses, with sneakers. She's worth buying a plane ticket to London for just to see her perform.

Just go, go, go get this album. You cannot, I repeat, cannot, not trust me on this one.

Music: John Mayer - "Gravity"

I'm not a musician, but I imagine if I were, the feeling of being on stage each night would be similar to drawing the same image over and over, and over.

Visual artists don't really do that, draw the same thing repeatedly, unless maybe you're a cartoonist. Fans of a visual artist don't stand behind them at their canvas, and watch them create. You don't hear someone whispering, "Oh, I know that brush stroke! She's going to do Still Life with Urn!" An artist doesn't spend all night working on a canvas and then go to bed wondering what the next canvas will look like with the same exact image on it (unless maybe you're Andy Warhol, but even still, silk screening was a form of mass production, not re-creation).

Artists don't go on tour. But their art does, and it's always the same piece, traveling from one wall to another. But it's not repainted in each city it visits. It's just not the way of the art form. But I have experimented with that idea before. In college we had to pick an object, and draw it 100 times. Each time we drew it, we had to rediscover the object. We had to find it in a new light, and paint it with new momentum. I never got bored, never felt uninspired by the object, even though I stared at nothing else for a week.

Each time I drew it, it was different. I came to expect the unexpected. I would conjure up the feeling that this was the first time the image had ever appeared on a page, even though I already knew it's lines by heart.

I imagine, to some extent, to some minor extent, that's what it feels like for a musician every time they get up on stage and play the same song, for the 100th time. It's not about repetition, it's about discovering a new way to see the light. It's about vibration and pattern. I imagine.

John Mayer is touring the country now, and last night in Florida, he played "Gravity" for the 100th time. Here's how this version came out.

Press play. Provide your own goosebumps.

Music: Kill To Know

I just LOVE this song.

All I wanted to write about today was this ONE song, and how I think it's officially become my new favorite song. I'm going to make a promise to myself that I won't overplay it. I won't listen to it 100 times in a day, learn the bar chords... or, wait... Maybe I will learn the bar chords. I can do that now, you know.

This is just such a rocking song. And Amy Miles does it justice. The video is super cool, and features one of my favorite female funnies, Amy Poehler (see if you can catch her).

Damn, now I want to go roller skating.

Here's the video.



If you wind up liking her as much as I do, you can watch the video in higher quality here: watch

And then visit her website here: amymiles.net

Music: Corrine Bailey Rae

The new beautiful sound on the block can be found in the debut album of Corinne Bailey Rae. The album successfully balances soulful melody with shoulder shaking groove. Who would think that the way to enrapture an audience at first sound is with the quietest song on the album as your opening track. But that's what she does with "Just Like A Star", and enrapture is just what happens.

I hadn't heard of her at all until he blogged about it. Then the next day she swept up all the Grammy nominations one could hope for without anyone knowing your name. I'll make a photo-op prediction here: She could pull a Norah Jones circa 2003 come this February.

I have to tell you, this is a delightful, emotional, uplifting collection of songs from the British Ms. Rae. It's easy to memorize the words to "Put Your Records On" (which you will want to do as soon as you hear it, so you too can sing, "Summer comes like cinnamon, so sweeeet..."). In the past few weeks, after any meaningful conversation I've had with someone, I press the PLAY button on my stereo, and miraculously her songs fill the space with the perfect soundtrack.

All smiles. I recommend this.

Music: Madeleine Peyroux

One of the best things about seeing a great musician live, is simply hearing them. I think it's cool when a singer's "voice" is what makes them so distinct, as opposed to just their outrageous personality, or frantic music video. Sort of like Tom Waits, or the guy from Crash Test Dummies.

Also, like Madeleine Peyroux. She's got one of those "voices" that you can practically see, as you listen. It's unmistakable, and unforgettable. It's what makes her songs so croon-like, so Billie Holiday-like. (Billie Holiday must be the most missed musician in the world. Has there ever been a more aspired to, cautiously reserved accolade than, "She sounds just like Billie Holiday"?)

I got to see/hear her live at City Hall, along with my mom, who I turned into a fan, who in turn got us both tickets to a Fall concert. City Hall is a beautiful venue, and it was certainly an older crowd than I'm used to seeing at shows.

When Madeleine sang, her voice echoed through the domed hall, and I smiled as soon as I heard her first notes. It was her voice. It was there, in front of me. I could see it.

I have to tell you, you should listen to this song and enjoy.

Music: John Mayer First Listen

I am not writing a review of John Mayer. I'm saving that for Sept.12, the official launch date of the new album. After I listen to it 1,000 times in a 24-hour time period, then I'll tell you all about it.

In the meantime however, I have to tell you about last night's online extravaganza, First Listen. What is that? What a good question, I'll tell you...

No wait, scratch that. I'll let John tell you:

Isn't it strange how these days, the last thing you hear by a band is their record? You hear the live acoustic performances, the "bonus content", the late night TV appearances - but sometimes you've had enough before you even make it to the one piece of work...

Not this boy. I want you to hear my new music the old fashioned way.

On the radio.

Wednesday, August 23, on STAR 98.7 in Los Angeles, I'll be DJing my ENTIRE ALBUM, front to back. A week later, the record will be made available on other radio stations.

Remember when you used to tape the radio? No? Well I used to. It was fun.

I just want you to hear my music. Is that so wrong?

Did you get all that?

I used to tape the radio. When I couldn't sleep at night I would lay my head next to my "box" (re: small, black radio with a handle, two speakers, two tape decks and AM/FM radio). When I would hear a song I liked, I'd quickly press Record. After a few weeks, I'd have a new "mix tape". Of course, each song was cut off slightly in the beginning, and ended with a wild segue into the station name callout. Unavoidable side affects to radio taping, but not something I saw as a detriment. Free music, man!

Once in a while I'd listen to a particular song so many times that I'd pool together my $7.00 and go out and buy the cassette tape. One such time that was Richard Marx. The song was Right Here Waiting. I ran out and bought "the album" and finally got to hear the first 10 seconds and last 10 seconds I had missed out on all these weeks. That was my technology. Richard Marx did not DJ his whole album on the radio.

But John did. First Listen was a great first listen. Some of the songs I had already heard acoustic versions of, some I had never heard at all. But I'm not going to re-listen to the DJ sessions until I get the official album in my hands. Then I'll write my official review and tell you what I really think (or can you already guess?).

However, you can listen! Click here to preview the new album.

CD: Joshua Radin / We Were Here

I was introduced to this new singer by none other than Zach Braff, who is widely known for his role on Scrubs, but less widely known for his grammy-winning choice selection of music, a la the Garden State soundtrack. That man sure knows how to pick 'em.

So for the longest while all I heard were the clips off of Radin's website. And I was captivated instantly. Then this week I finally got a hold of his newest CD, We Were Here. First I'll note that I loved the cover design. Then I'll note that I loved the music.

Think Nick Drake, but alive. Think Elliot Smith, but also alive. One has to wonder what it's like to be the female muse of these poetically tortured boys, but luckily it's great just to be a listener. Radin seems like a nice guy, and probably his happy ending will be by way of a grammy nod, not a tragic demise (re: Drake and Smith).

From beginning to end, this collection of music is dream-like and hypnotizing. It makes you want to take a deep breath and exhale slowly. It's so tightly connected, each song picking up where the last one left off.

I have to tell you, it made me believe in happy endings.

Listen to his song, "Winter", provided by the good folks at freemacmusic.com

Live Music: Ari Hest

Tonight I saw Ari Hest in concert. By "concert" I mean a real small venue out in the middle of nowhere. One of those places where a musician would need to have somewhat of a following in order to convince his fans that they should drive out to see him.

The stage was beautiful. It had a cascading backdrop of lights that transitioned between colors: Blue, green, purple, yellow. The movement of one color into another created these beautiful poignant moments the flowed with the music.

I first saw Ari years ago, when I was just getting into the singer-songwriter, boy-with-a-guitar genre. He had barely finished his first CD. It was a great show, in another cool venue that was most certainly not in the middle of nowhere, but nonetheless closed down soon after and is no more.

So I've been on his mailing list ever since. And this week I got a notice that he was playing near me, and I thought, I have to go.

It was such a great show. His voice is rugged, his songs are deep. He's comfortable on stage. His music can really wrap itself around you.

One of his songs, wow, I have to tell you... it was positively beautiful. It left me beaming. He said it's a duet he wants to have with Norah Jones. Someday. If he ever gets to meet her. In the meantime, he sang her parts for her in falsetto. Very funny. It's a beautiful song called "I Got You", and it's one of the best love songs I've heard in a long while. I can't wait to listen to it over and over. You can listen to it by clicking here or just watch the actual performance below. He'll let you know when Norah is supposed to jump in.

The nice part of the evening was I got to meet him afterwards, and he signed my CD. It's a new EP he has out called, Guilty Hearts. The new big album gets released in the Fall.