Paul Simon - Graceland

I think I'll be listening to a lot more Paul Simon in the next years. I just checked out Graceland a few months after a friend recommended it to me and I am thoroughly impressed.

The song "Graceland" is one I've always had somewhere in my head - it would occasionally surface and I would sing it to myself. But I never bothered checking out the whole album. I didn't even really know who performed it. Maybe my mom sang it at home - it seems like the kind of music she would like.

What I enjoy most about the album are the african choir parts. When I first heard "Homeless" it reminded me of "A picture of Jesus" by Ben Harper (which I also love). Well, the choir on both tracks turns out to be Ladysmith Black Mambazo. I had heard of them, but didn't know much about their story. They were around a long time before this album, but supposedly this album made them famous world wide.

Just like Paul Simon's Surprise album, there are also deliciously witty lyrics on this one. One favourite verse is:

I was walking down the street
When I thought I heard this voice say
Say, ain't we walking down the same street together
On the very same day
I said hey Senorita that's astute
I said why don't we get together
And call ourselves an institute

It seems like he's got my sense of humor...

Here's a video of a live performance of "Diamonds on the soles of her shoes". Listen to the bass line... crazy!

I still haven't found what I'm looking for

This is an oldie but I hadn't seen this video before... Gospel choirs never cease to amaze me.

Jason Mraz - Beautiful Mess

This song echoed in my head many times this week...



There are a bunch of lines in the song that I love... "Well it kind of hurts when the kind of words you say, kind of turn themselves into blades" ouch, yes... "But I like being submerged in your contradictions" ...I know that feeling... and "It's like taking a guess when the only answer is yes" ...that line seems to sum up something that I think I've thought but never knew how to express. Finally I really like how uplifting the "Here we are" part is dispite the overall bitter-sweet meaning. It really hit the spot when I started listening to it.

Bob Dylan's "Gotta Serve Sombody"

Somehow I always come back to the blues... This song is as plain as a soul/blues song can be, but there's something about how Bob Dylan sings it that really impresses me.

Chris Thile

I can't believe I didn't blog about this guy yet! And you might not believe that I am blogging about a Mandolin player, but yes, I am.

The first time I heard about this guy was on CKUA when I heard the song "If the sea was whiskey" off of his "How to grow a woman..." album. The harmonies and dynamics really impressed me so I looked him up and found I greatly enjoyed the whole album. Some people call the genre "Newgrass" and I'd agree. Bluegrass plus something that makes it relevant today - I haven't yet figured out what exactly that thing is. My favourite tracks are the title track, If the Sea... and Dead Leaves & The Dirty Ground (White Stripes cover).


I never bothered looking up any of his other albums for a few months. But recently I started listening to the disc again and realized I really needed to look into his other stuff. So I downloaded "Not all who wander..." and "Deceiver". I haven't really touched Deceiver yet, but "Not all who wander.." is simply amazing. The layering of melodies is very intriguing. He wrote all the songs on the album, and I haven't found a single one I don't like. My favourites are "Club G.R.O.S.S." (funny reference to Calvin and Hobbes) and "Big Sam Thompson". Club G.R.O.S.S. is such a groovy jazz piece. And thinking he wrote that whole album when he was 20 just makes you shake your head.

I hope this guy doesn't let the fame get to him and stays away from the booze and drugs! :) I anticipate many good albums to come.

AllMusic Profile

Albums at Amazon.ca (including samples)
How to grow a woman from the ground
Not all who wander are lost (read the reviews!)

Here's an amazing cover of Fiona Apple's Fast As You Can. The recording is pretty bad though - you'd have to know it to appreciate it:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pBfr3mkiCjM

Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek

I've been using seeqpod.com a lot at work to listen to music - I message back and forth with a guy that started a week after me and say - hey, check this out, and hey that song you recommended really sucks. Yeah - unfortunately we have quite incompatible tastes. Today he sent me a link to a David Bowie song, and again I asked myself why Bowie is famous.

Anyway - all the seeqpoding occasionally turns up a few good songs. And today the one I was really impressed by was by Frou Frou singer Imogen Heap. Supposedly this song was, like, on the O.C., like, OMG... it's so awesome!!!111 But since I'm still TV less and also O.C.-DVDless, I didn't have the foggiest.

If this embedding thing works as I hope you'll be able to listen to the song right here and now. Left mouse button down the playing button.

I also came across this interview with Imogen - I always love hearing about songwriter's lives and songwriting process.

Cool music video

I was just checking out the group Over The Rhine - some of their stuff gets a big thumbs up from me. I really like the song they've been playing on CKUA here called "Trouble". While poking around I found this video and thought the idea of the video was awesome. Check it out:

And the song I really like (Trouble):

Jamie Lidell - Multiply (song)

I just heard this song on CKUA the other morning. I was sure it was from the 60s/70s with some famous black soul/R&B singer like Otis Redding, James Brown, or Marvin Gaye. Very soulful. But the voice didn't quite seem to match. Well it turns out that Jamie Lidell is actually white, alive and can sing like a black man.

http://music.aol.com/artists/the-interface/jamie-lidell

I downloaded his Multiply album and was fairly disappointed by the other songs though. It's really cool how he's combining soul and electronica, but other songs really don't groove the same way Multiply does. Possibly because they're trying to be new? The title track is just plain good soul and doesn't try to be anything else.

Paul Simon - Outrageous

I was going to blog about John Mayer's new album but then I relized I hadn't talked about this song/album yet. The name of Paul Simon's new disc is "Surpise." And "Outrageous" is one of the wonderful tracks. This song is such a breath of fresh air. And it comes from someone who's been around for a long time - surprising.

This song is funky! The lyrics are great too... the first time I heard the following section of the song it made my cry.

Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?
Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?

God will,
like he waters the flowers on your window sill.

Take me,
I'm just an ordinary player in the key of C.
And my will,
Has been broken by my pride and my vanity.

Gotta love it.

The other songs on this album are great too. My other favourite is "Father and Daughter."

Caedmon's Call - 2 songs from 40 Acres

I hate it when I find a disc that has one or two songs I really like and the rest appear uninteresting. That's the case with this disc...

The two songs I really like are "Faith My Eyes" and "Table For Two." It took me a while to get used to the guy's voice but now I'm enjoying the songs a lot. Again - kind of folk/country - I think I should blame the Norah Jones disc "Feels like Home" for my recent bend in this direction.

The lack of rhymes in the verses of both songs kind of caught my attention. Maybe it's intentional and maybe it's just bad writing ;) I can't tell.

Both songs sound great - guitars, piano, cello, accordion (!), organ, drums played with brushes... wonderful! What I love about "Faith my Eyes" is the chorus. The way the drums come in and that little bit of banjo into this train rhythm (or that's what I call it cuz it sounds like a train... think Johnny Cash... "steady as a train, sharp as a razor"). The lyrics of the chorus are also beautiful:

So keep'em coming these lines on the road
And keep me responsible be it a light or heavy load
And keep me guessing with these blessings in disguise
And I'll walk with grace my feet and faith my eyes

Hmm... inspiring, ain't it?

Kate Rusby - The Girl That Couldn't Fly

I've just started listening to this album... It's amazingly calming in a time where I'm everything but calm...

She does old english style singer/songwriter folk with a enough of a modern enough touch to make it interesting for 20-somethings like me. I've appreciated the british/english/scottish folk but it always annoyed me a little after a while. Kate Rusby must be doing something different to not annoy me - I'm not sure what exactly it is at this point. It might be that the language is still understandable rather than using old obscurce that I need to look up in a dictionary.

Plus: Her accent is sooo cute :)

Favourite songs right now: The Lark, You Belong To Me, Moon Shadow, and Little Jack Frost

Ray LaMontagne - Trouble

It appears that I'm stuck on the folk thing. Maybe it all comes from listening CKUA, maybe from living in Alberta, maybe it's just part of growing up. Final destination country music? Well, we'll see about that...

I heard this guy on CKUA a while back (I think the song was Trouble). Then just a few days ago I heard a different song and it caught my ears. Now I just started listening to the songs he's got up at

http://www.raylamontagne.com/listen.php

and I'm quite intrigued. I really like his voice - to me it's got the rawness of a male folk singer mixed with the power of a female soul/blues singer (think Etta James /Aretha Franklin / Nina Simone). Who would have thought that combination works... At some points his voice sounds quite female - not in a skinny white girl but more of a big black woman way. I like it.

The sample songs (Trouble, Shelter, and Jolene) are very soulful... I haven't paid much attention to the lyrics yet - quite simple soul-type lyrics as far as I can tell - but... never underestimate the power of simplicity.

Just read on the web site that he's touring with David Gray. Very cool. I'll be keeping an eye on this guy.

John Mayer Trio - Vultures

A new post has been long overdue... but when I started this blog I decided I only was going to post when I was really excited about some music. And it happens that sometimes I just don't get excited about anything for a few months... I think that's ok, right?

Well, I'm really excited about this song and the album it's on. I hadn't even realized that John Mayer had started up a trio. This guy doesn't fail to surprise me. He seems to be going into a strong blues direction and he's doing it amazingly well (for a white guy ;) ). I had noticed some collaboration pieces with guitarists I listen to (John Scofield, Buddy Guy). Now, looking at the allmusic page about the Try album, he seems to have also done stuff with other great artists such as Clapton, Herbie Hancock and B.B.King. You don't get to play with these guys if you're a hack...

I think I listened to Vultures close to 10 times the other day. I just love it when a song grabs me that way :) I'm still fascinated by the guitar sound, the lyrics, the beat, the guitar solos... the word that always comes to my head is "tight." I've used it here before. Everything just seems to fit together so perfectly it's amazing.

I'm glad the allmusic review of the album is so positive. I was worried that I was just going thought a phase where anything could have impressed me. But it seems that at least one other person agrees with me :)

Good song, good album - check it out if any of the below apply to you:
- you like blues
- you like john mayer's albums
- you like the dave matthew's band's live recordings

Jack Johnson - On and On

I thought I was getting tired of Jack Johnson after listening to "Brushfire Fairytales" many times and noticing that his new album "In Between Dreams" didn't excite me much because it appeared to be just more of the same. Then my friend Jonathan gave me the On and On disc for Christmas and... it's sooo gooood...

I'm not sure if this disc is simply more original than "In Between Dreams" or whether I was just not in the right mood when I checked out the latter. But I just love playing these songs and jamming along on my electric guitar. Even though the chords and structure of the songs are really straightforward, there is something genuinely creative in these songs. I couldn't say exactly what it is. For one, I love the percussion on almost all the tracks. It's probably a main reason why I like Jack Johnson's stuff in general - I've always enjoyed good interesting rythms.

My current favourites off the disc are Taylor, Gone, Cookie Jar, and Rodeo Clowns. Examples of songs where I think the percussion is at it's best are Rodeo Clowns and The Horizon has been Defeated... sooo grooovy...

n e who - I doubt anyone reading this hasn't already listened to Jack Johnson, so recommending to check him out would be a waste of my typing (wait a second... how many words did I just type to say that?) - n e who... ;) I guess to put some true *value* into this post, I recommend completely disregarding the 3/5 star rating on allmusic.com. In my opinion this is a 4.5/5 star disc!

Lindy Videos

I really think Lindy needs to be promoted more (saw him opening for Tegan and Sara a while ago - see my old "Lindy" post). So that's what I'm doing here.

I just noticed today that he had some live performance videos posted on MSN Entertainment. They just confirmed my former beliefs that this guy is really underappreciated. I would expect to hear his songs on the radio and I don't understand why I haven't yet. I'd really appreciate some feedback on this.

So - can you do me a favour? Please check out the music at the following sites:

http://entertainment1.sympatico.msn.ca/Music/Orange/Lindy
http://lindymusic.com

and tell me what you think (click on "Comments" below)!

Even if you don't like it - I'd like to know why.

Thanks!

Lyrics Programs

I just found this little program a few minutes ago and I already love it! It automatically displays the lyrics for songs you're playing in your music player. The days of misheard lyrics are over!

http://www.evillabs.sk/evillyrics/

There are supposedly also other good lyics programs that I haven't checked out yet:

http://www.viewlyrics.com/
http://www.leoslyrics.com/winamp.php

Fiona Apple - Extraordinary Machine

Thanks Todd for reminding me to comment on this album! There is a lot to say about it. I've read a number of articles online about what all happened behind the scenes and I recommend anyone with interest in the music industry to do a little research on this album.

My favourite articles are the following:
- Allmusic.com's album review
- Rolling Stone interview with Fiona
- FreeFiona.com

It turns out there are two different versions of the album - the first was produced by Jon Brion (who also did When the Pawn) and the second by Mike Elizondo (who's known for his work with Eminem, 50 and many more). The CD you'll find in a music store is produced by Elizondo. But with a little effort you might be able to tickle the Brion version out of Mr. Interweb.

I downloaded the Brion version early this year and wasn't too excited at first. I liked the concept (lots of classical instruments and a fair share of dissonant tones) but it didn't strike me as something refreshingly new. Now recently when I heard the album was actually being released I started to listen to it again. And proving my inability to judge the quality of someone's work, I began to realize it was the some of the best music I've ever heard. People tell me they like beer because of the taste. I don't enjoy beer because I can't get over the taste which I interpret as bitter. But I agree that if I drank more beer I would probably learn to love it. It's not really "bitter" it just has a very strong unique character. It appears bitter to those unfamiliar with it. I think I've ranted about this before on this blog (oh right - Joanna Newsom!), but there's a lot to be said about things that give huge payoffs after investing some time in understanding them. Be it Joanna Newsom's voice, Jazz, beer, or Brion's version of Extraordinary Machine.

(Dear people with writing skills: I'm trying hard to impress you, but writing is not one of my talents. I hope I'm not appearing like an elephant in a tutu to you. If so, let me know and I'll take off the tutu and just write as the elephant that I am)

Elizondo's version of Extraordinary Machine is quite different. He uses less exotic instruments and comparably straightforward percussion, making the album more "accessible" to listeners - and quite frankly I think it sucks in comparison to Brion's version. At least for now. As I've learned, my opinion of albums changes over time. So I'm giving Elizondo's mix a second and probably even a third chance. Being the elitist snob that I am I doubt his work will satisfy my fine tastes. Mu ha ha ha...

Lyrics: I like them. She's good at writing stuff. I like listening to stuff that is well written. It is good. She's also funny.

...I don't understand about
Diamonds and why men buy them
What's so impressive about a diamond
Except the mining...

Or how about

I opened my eyes
While you were kissing me once more than once
And you looked as sincere as a dog
Just as sincere as a dog does,
When it's the food on your lips with which it's in love...

Hehehe... The remaining 90% is probably completely lost on me as an illiterate engineer/computer geek. Some of the words have more than 7 letters! What does she expect of me?

Final verdict: Go out and buy this album if you enjoyed her last two. If I can get myself to enjoy the Elizondo version (the one sold in stores) I might even do so myself.

Also - go to fiona-apple.com - click on Video - and check out all the clips available. I especially like the NYC Virgin Megastore live performances.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered!

Man - this track is going straight to my personal top 10 of this year. I'm talking about a remix of Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" by DJ Smash off of "Motown Remixed." Find this song, crank up your stereo and rock out! It's got more soul than a dump truck full of shoes, hehehe...

I've always liked Stevie Wonder's stuff though some of it can be quite cheesy. There's little cheese to be found on this track though. It's just tight funk with a disco groove. I want to see this song played after a wedding cermony as the newly weds leave the chapel! Somebody help me out!

Feist Concert

I started this entry a while ago and left it as a draft - now it's time to wrap it up and push it out. It's not as complete as I wanted, but better than nothing...

Excellent excellent concert. I would pay more than $20 to see the same concert again.

First opener: New Buffalo - thought she was great after hearing the first two songs then after a few more I realized I didn't like her too much after all. She acts quite strange on stage, doing a sortof pouty-face upset 10-year-old thing. The thing that disturbed me the most was the lack of variety in the songs. I bet it's hard when you're the only one on stage, but I'm not sure if you can use that as an excuse...

Second opener: James Collett
http://www.arts-crafts.ca/jasoncollett
One of the best opening acts I've heard (probably better than Lindy even). Never heard of him/them before, but was thoroughly impressed. Dan and I did the "sounds like..." and came up with the Wallflowers, Blue Rodeo, Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones. They definetly act like the Stones on stage - same kind of strutting around, wide mouths, and possibly other stuff.

I highly recommend checking these guys out if you appreciate solid rocking Folk/Rock bands.

Feist:
Too talented to be true. Her first appearance on stage was drumming for James Collett. She didn't do anything extraordinary as a drummer, but she drummed. Then, starting her set, she sang (obviously) and played guitar. Again, the guitar playing wasn't anything extravagent, but it was 100% solid. Her voice on the other hand was more than solid - better than the recordings I've heard. Lots of vocal tricks, truely creative variations on melodies (likely improvised) and all that with that little something that makes her voice so unique.

She used vocal loops for a few songs where she layered over five different harmonies on top of each other (recorded live one after the other). They all fit together like puzzel pieces. It was to the point where I thought what she's doing up there with the melodies is beyond what I can follow. I'd have to listen to it a number of times to be able to follow everything that was going on.

Most of the songs sounded nothing like the versions on CD. Completely different arrangements and different rythms. It was good for almost all of them except for a few where I thought they should have been left in their original arragement. But others would probably disagree with me on this.

Altogether, I'll just repeat what I wrote earlier. I would pay more than $20 to see the same concert again. I would probably feel comfortable at $30 and say no above $40. As a reference point, I don't like paying more than $1.50 for a cup of tea ;)

Jamie Cullum - Twentysomething

This isn't a new discovery, but it would be wrong to not mention this disc here. I've been listening to it for a few months now and still think it's great. I first heard about him on the radio when they played "I could have danced all night." It's still one of my favourites. But every song on this album is just plain solid. And he's still young so I'm guessing there's more to come.

This is not everyone's music. It's jazzy pop. If you don't like Harry Connick, Jr. or Norah Jones - don't waste your time on it. But if you can handle all that jazz, take this disc for a spin.

Over and out.