Happy New Year! I know, I’m just about two days late but better late than never, right? Hope you all had a great New Year’s and are enjoying the first few days of 2009 and long weekend! I’m posting the end of “It’s A Wonderful Life” today since it’s one of my all-time favorite holiday movies. I think it’s a great way to start 2009 and really a touching film. If you haven’t seen it yet I highly recommend it! Enjoy and Happy New Year!
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I know all the music bloggers and magazines have been writing about their favorite albums, songs and moments of 2008, but instead of reading another journalist’s massive “best of” list for 2008, I’m more curious to know YOUR favorites. Was there an album you continually had on repeat in your car or your iTunes play list? What song could you absolutely not get out of your head no matter how hard you tried? What about your least favorite song you seemingly couldn’t escape from wherever you went — be it your drive to work, shopping at the mall or at your favorite bar? I’d love to read your “best of” lists! Plus, it’ll give me some new music to listen to as I ring in 2009!
Below, I’ll post some of the music I’ve featured on my blog this year — hinting at 10 of my favorites to give you some possibilities of new music to check out for yourself. Take a listen. I think you’ll enjoy them as well.
Brent Shuttleworth‘s video for “When I Reach California” below.
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Joshua Radin – “I’d Rather Be With You” listen here.
Jason Reeves – “You In A Song.” For Windows click here, for Quicktime click here.
Brett Dennen‘s music video for “Make You Crazy” featuring Mandy Moore below.
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Passenger – “Night Vision Binoculars” check out here.
Pete Murray performing “Opportunity” live below with John Mayer or check out the music video here.
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Serena Ryder – “Brand New Love” here. For Windows users you can listen here.
Sia performing on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. For Windows. For Quicktime.
Theresa Andersson‘s video for “Birds Fly Away” recorded live in her kitchen.
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Lastly, Ray LaMontagne‘s “You Are the Best Thing.” You can listen to it here for Windows Media or here for Quicktime if you haven’t yet.
What do you think? Can’t wait to read your lists! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Reviews to Peruse . . . I like the rhyme to that, don’t you? I digress. In addition to keeping up my blog on a daily basis, I’ve also been busy working on a bunch of album reviews for a Web site I started writing for a few months ago — ReviewYou.com. Below are three of my latest reviews by Fico, Down the Lees and Ace Merrill. I have a few more albums I’m working on reviewing as we speak as well as transcribing my interviews with Hellogoodbye and Ace Enders from last month. My goal is to have one of those up in the upcoming week so be on the lookout! Click on the links below to read my reviews posted on ReviewYou.com or the above links to check out each artist’s MySpace.
I recently received an email suggesting a track by UK-based band Antiqcool that I might like. Naturally, I gave it a listen. Extremely catchy, “Already Late” caught me off guard. The track recalls Sting’s vocals while the accompanying music and harmonics brings about comparisons to early Coldplay (see guitar centric songs like Coldplay’s “Yellow” and at times slower track “The Scientist”). Other reviewers have even suggested Crosby, Stills & Nash. Either way, there is something seemingly classic and intriguing behind Antiqcool.
Solid, both musically and lyrically, Antiqcool’s melodies and light guitar strumming begs the listener to hit the repeat button. “Already Late,” is just one example of a song that gets stuck in your head long after the last note is played. Click here to listen to the track for yourself! (If that link doesn’t work for you try it on GarageBand here.)
The music featured on Antiqcool’s MySpace page is extremely versatile. “Yesterday’s Gone” is more of a ballad showcasing great emotion throughout the song (a bit airy which begs a Beach Boys vibe to me) while “Full Metal Jacket” is another catchy, yet unexpectedly edgier track.
What’s curious about Antiqcool is that the band, or rather the concept of what is known as Antiqcool, is a mysterious collective pool of artists who write, record and occasionally perform together. There is no set songwriter or musician. Their MySpace states, “Sometimes I work alone as a singer songwriter, other times I get together with friends and collaborate. Making music that we enjoy playing and other people want to hear is all we try to do. I like to think of the Internet as a sounding board to get songs heard and listen to the feedback. It helps to generate an overall picture of what is working and what needs to be fixed.”
Their MySpace description continues: “If you like well crafted songs with intricate guitar arrangements and vocal harmonies you’ve come to the right place,” and I couldn’t agree more. While the “Sounds Like” category describes Antiqcool as, “The Police arrest Fleetwood Mac defended by Crosby Stills and Nash in Simon and Garfunkel’s Crowded House,” I think it may be best if you check them out for yourself and come up with your own conclusion.
Give Antiqcool a listen on their GarageBand profile: here or MySpace. I’d love to hear what you think.
Last week I headed to SoHo to visit the recently opened Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in New York — definitely the best money I’ve spent in a while. From walking throughout three rooms of exhibits to watching a video of some of rock’s biggest icons live in concert, not to mention an autograph room where each musician’s signature lights up on the wall as their music is being played from speakers, there was something to offer every music fan.
As my friends can attest, I love quotes. So, the live footage of some of my favorite rock legends — Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, James Brown, The Beatles, Aretha Franklin and more — was great, but even better were some of the quotes intertwined with each performance. Here are a few that stuck out for me:
“A live concert to me is exciting because of all the electricity that is generated in the crowd and on stage.” Elvis Presley
“Music has to breathe and sweat. You have to play it live.” James Brown
“The words are just as important as the music.” Bob Dylan
“Music makes me high on stage, and that’s the truth. It’s like being almost addicted to music.” Jimi Hendrix
After the video, everyone was ushered into the first of three galleries where we were given a set of headphones and hand-held audio guide to walk us through each area. With personal memorabilia from every band imaginable — from concert posters, numerous acoustic and electric guitars and clothing from many well-known musicians to Johnny Cash’s boots, Elvis Presley’s personal Bible with handwritten notes in the margins (the page on display read, “The Lord is the strength of my life he shall lead me.”), and Bruce Springsteen’s 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible (see below) there was so much to see!
The Doors, the Who, Metallica, Prince, Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan — you name it, there was something to see from each band and musician. In addition to two rooms of band memorabilia, a third gallery focused solely on The Clash — complete with live concert footage and exclusive interviews as well as posters, tour outfits and band equipment.
Another interesting portion was reading notes to fans written by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones before they hit it big. One of my favorite parts of the exhibit was seeing handwritten lyrics to infamous songs like Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” Madonna’s “Express Yourself” and Billy Joel’s “Scenes From an Italian Restaurant.”
I highly recommend the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for anyone visiting New York. They have a special holiday reduced price until January 2nd which I took advantage of, but if you miss that, it’s still well worth seeing for any music lover. I hope I didn’t give away too much of the exhibit, but provided a glimpse of what it has to offer. Be sure to visit and let me know what your favorite exhibit is! For more information, check out the Web site here.
Wide Eyed Sleeper’s most recent EP, Choking on Menthol might be the most versatile record I’ve heard this past year. Each song is entirely different from the previous and it’s hard to classify exactly what genre the band fits into. Varying from a Foo Fighters rock vibe to a mix of indie, pop and even a little country intertwined, Choking on Menthol has a lot to offer for a five song disc.
Not newcomers to the music scene, band Wide Eyed Sleeper is made up of frontman Brett Ryan Stewart, guitarist Chris Tench, bassist Doc Downs and drummer Kevin Cuchia. Each member has had varying success on their previous endeavors, whether it was a well-received solo album or earning a 2007 nomination for IAC.com’s Indie Song of the Year. The four have combined their talents for an all-around solid release.
Having shared the stage with bands, such as The Strokes, Van Halen, No Doubt, Rush, and Brad Paisley to name a few, Wide Eyed Sleeper shows much promise and Choking on Menthol won’t disappoint. Recorded in Stewart’s home studio, the original plan was to make a follow-up to his debut album. However, once his band came together and the writing became communal, they decided to make the project a band effort.
Opening track, “Let Me Down Again” has that Foo Fighters rock anthem feel, as frontman Stewart’s vocals sound strikingly similar to that of Dave Grohl’s. Even the musical accompaniment is guitar heavy, making it easy to imagine an arena filled with fans singing along.
Title track, “Choking on Menthol” has more of a country vibe to it. Wearing his heart on his sleeve, Stewart sings, “I used to want to talk to you for hours/But now I’m not so sure that you even hear my voice/Oh, I don’t see the point of love.” Narrating the emotionally-filled ballad, he later sings “Oh, I don’t see the point of love/It never lasts that long/Oh, I don’t see the point of love/We’re still going to die alone” as his lyrics play on the listener’s heartstrings.
While “Choking on Menthol” and “Left to Write” are slower ballads, “Wake Me Up” is an edgier track with fitting guitar accompaniment. The music is rougher than heard previously on the album, but suits the band well. Singing, “Wake me up when the revolution comes,” if anything is certain, Wide Eyed Sleeper won’t be in a slumber for too much longer after this release.
You can also read this review first posted on ReviewYou.com.
Be sure to check out Wide Eyed Sleeper on MySpace and listen to songs featured on the EP I wrote about above.
The end of the year is approaching and it’s that time when we all tend to look back and assess the year that was 2008 and prepare our “best of” lists. I’ll probably compile a few of my favorite albums of the year at some point, but in the meantime I wanted to give credit where credit is due, specifically the amazing photos on the blog.
From accompanying me on the “Get a Life” tour, including interviewing bassist Jeph of The Used on their tour bus, to assisting and photographing my interview with frontman Kris Roe of The Ataris in the basement of Maxwell’s, Wendy was there for it all. Not to mention her pictures — have you seen them? All the super clear, up-close concert photos on my blog are courtesy of Wendy. I don’t know what I’d do without her!
Sure, I write the reviews, but as they say, “A picture is worth a thousand words” and I have to agree. I try to be overly descriptive in my concert reviews, but seeing a photo as a musician performs, leaning closer and closer to the edge of the stage while every hand is in the air in hopes to shake the hand of their favorite band (see photo above) is priceless. So thank you Wendy for contributing to my blog this year and as a special feature I figured I’d compile a “Year in Photos” post featuring some of my favorite shots from Wendy this past year. What do you think? Here‘s her Flickr account, did I leave out a photo I should have included? Enjoy!
A fitting song for Christmas Day, this week’s song of the week is the 1984 Band Aid song, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” The song features Sting, Bono, Duran Duran, Paul Young among many others, all who contributed to the track to help raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia.
I just read a touching article on CNN.com that demonstrates the power of giving titled “Blog ‘miracle’ saves Christmas.” Oliver Janney writes, “This is a happier story of one family whose financial ruin was averted by the actions of a friend, the compassion of strangers, the networking power of the Internet and the holiday spirit of giving.” Read more here. Merry Christmas!
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I received an overwhelming response from everyone on their favorite holiday tunes from my post last week, so I decided to include some today. Hope you all have a great holiday and you’re spending the season with your loved ones and eating lots of tasty holiday treats. I can’t wait to eat all the cookies I’ve been making as well as my Mom’s amazing fudge! Still have a few Christmas gifts to wrap myself so I’ll definitely be listening to some of your music suggestions while I’m doing that! 🙂
The classic Charlie Brown Christmas song, “Christmas Time Is Here.”
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Vintage Bruce Springsteen. Watch as the Boss and his band play “Santa Clause Is Coming to Town” live from a 1978 performance at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ.
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N’Sync’s beautiful a cappella version of “Oh Holy Night.”
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Definitely not your “traditional” holiday song by any means, but a fun one at that. Check out No Doubt’s quirky punk take on “Oi To The World.”
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Quite possibly the most beautiful rendition of “Silent Night” I’ve ever heard. Watch below for Enya’s performance of it in Gaelic.
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Lastly, try not to give yourself too much of a headache while watching this video of a house Christmas light display as The Waitressess’ “Christmas Wrapping” plays in the background.
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Did I leave out any of your favorites? Let me know! Merry Christmas 🙂
When I was 17 I was worrying about passing my driving test and making it on time to volleyball and band practice, not touring and opening up for notable musicians like Pat Benatar and Marc Cohn. But, this is the case for Chelsea Lee, who mixes high school and performing up and down the East Coast like a pro, selling out shows at Virginia’s Jammin’ Java. Pretty impressive for someone in her senior year of high school.
I first came across Chelsea Lee when I caught her performance last month at the Canal Room right before Luke Brindley‘s set. Her voice really blew me away and the fact that she’s just 17 is unfathomable. Lee’s performance and songs are that of someone well beyond her years.
Her relaxed singing style recalls Colbie Caillat; full of emotion complete with captivating storytelling throughout her lyrics. She’s even been compared to Mary Chapin Carpenter and Natalie Merchant.
On “Long Way Down” — a ballad many can relate to — Lee sings, “It’s hard to fit in when they don’t understand/So much behind these eyes/I can’t pretend that I’m not who I am/A reflection I don’t recognize.” With soft vocals and strong guitar and piano accompaniment she captures the listener’s attention wholeheartedly. She then continues, “I lay on the roof and lose count of the stars/I find myself drifting away/And it’s a long way down/And it’s going to hurt til I hit the ground/There’ll be a lot of mistakes/That I’ll try not to make/On the long way down.”
For more of a feel, listen to “Long Way Down” here.
Lee has received rave reviews from the press and fans alike. Buzz McClain of The Washington Post describes Lee best. “She sings. It’s what she does. Chelsea Lee sings like she means it, with a voice that services the emotion of the song. It’s a voice that carries joy and pain into the heart of the listener, with unbridled passion that borders on obsession,” he writes.
“So Far,” another stand-up track, plays with the listener’s heartstrings as she sings, “Why you got to go so far/Why you got to keep me up here wonderin’ where you are/Why you got to go so far/I’d forget you if I could/And I’m doing pretty good.”
“Fly Me Home” has words of life realization while much of her music has that timeless quality that every artist hopes to achieve. The more I listen to Chelsea, the more impressed I am of her music. An artist that shows much promise, check her out for yourself on MySpace and download a copy of her album on iTunes. Be sure to watch her video for “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” below and if you like what you see, check out her YouTube page as well.
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