Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Song of the Day
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel, from Bridge Over Troubled Water
SIMON AND GARFUNKEL - BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER von maniac-pro
Hmm. Let's see if this works. I couldn't get a studio version of this song on YouTube because I'm in Germany. *sigh*
This is such a classic, and I've never heard anyone else do it justice. They turn it into a pale, insipid shadow of itself. It's a powerful song, and the dynamics are an important part of it. I love how it starts out quiet and peaceful, and then gets reeeaally loud. I nearly smacked Carl once when he turned down the volume when the song got loud.
Here's a recent, live version, with both Simon and Garfunkel singing.
Footnote: I'm seriously irritated by simonandgarfunkel.com. It automatically defaults to simonandgarfunkel.com/de (de = Germany), and there's apparently no way to see the original site from here, at least not one that's easily found. More and more websites are doing this lately.
Categories: Music
SIMON AND GARFUNKEL - BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER von maniac-pro
Hmm. Let's see if this works. I couldn't get a studio version of this song on YouTube because I'm in Germany. *sigh*
This is such a classic, and I've never heard anyone else do it justice. They turn it into a pale, insipid shadow of itself. It's a powerful song, and the dynamics are an important part of it. I love how it starts out quiet and peaceful, and then gets reeeaally loud. I nearly smacked Carl once when he turned down the volume when the song got loud.
Here's a recent, live version, with both Simon and Garfunkel singing.
Footnote: I'm seriously irritated by simonandgarfunkel.com. It automatically defaults to simonandgarfunkel.com/de (de = Germany), and there's apparently no way to see the original site from here, at least not one that's easily found. More and more websites are doing this lately.
Categories: Music
Labels: music
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Song of the Day
"Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games" by Of Montreal, from The Sunlandic Twins
This is the first song I ever heard by Of Montreal, and it cracked me up: "Let's pretend we don't exist. Let's pretend we're in Antarctica." It reminded me strongly of 10CC: the whimsy, the harmonies, and just the general style. So I listened to more of their songs, and got hooked.
I read the comments, and a LOT of them referenced Outback Steakhouse. Wha? This is what comes from living in Germany for the past 7 years. Here's the commercial: =>LINK<= So, good for Of Montreal, I hope they made a bunch of money. But the song is still "Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games," not "The Outback Steakhouse Song." *rolling my eyes* Kind of like that Muse song is "Neutron Star Collision," not "The Twilight Song."
Categories: Music
This is the first song I ever heard by Of Montreal, and it cracked me up: "Let's pretend we don't exist. Let's pretend we're in Antarctica." It reminded me strongly of 10CC: the whimsy, the harmonies, and just the general style. So I listened to more of their songs, and got hooked.
I read the comments, and a LOT of them referenced Outback Steakhouse. Wha? This is what comes from living in Germany for the past 7 years. Here's the commercial: =>LINK<= So, good for Of Montreal, I hope they made a bunch of money. But the song is still "Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games," not "The Outback Steakhouse Song." *rolling my eyes* Kind of like that Muse song is "Neutron Star Collision," not "The Twilight Song."
Categories: Music
Labels: music
Monday, June 13, 2011
Song of the Day
"Words I Never Said" (feat. Skylar Grey) by Lupe Fiasco, from Lasers
Regardless of how you feel about rap, listen to the words here. "I think that all the silence is worse than all violence." This is the modern version of the protest songs of the 60s and 70s. Plus, it's great to listen to. If you watch it on YouTube, the lyrics are in the description.
I can't embed the live performance on the Colbert Report, but here's the =>LINK<=.
Categories: Music
Regardless of how you feel about rap, listen to the words here. "I think that all the silence is worse than all violence." This is the modern version of the protest songs of the 60s and 70s. Plus, it's great to listen to. If you watch it on YouTube, the lyrics are in the description.
I can't embed the live performance on the Colbert Report, but here's the =>LINK<=.
Categories: Music
Labels: music
Friday, June 10, 2011
Song of the Day
"Stray Cat Strut" by Stray Cats, from Built for Speed
Here's an older video, =>HERE<= but the embedding is disabled, so you'll have to go to YouTube for it. I either saw this particular performance, or another one at the same time, because I bought the album in 1982.
The shuffle gods handed me "Stray Cat Strut" this morning, the Stray Cats' signature song, and one guaranteed to lift the spirits--they obviously knew I really needed that today (read http://is.gd/MRzx1i and http://is.gd/H1a5ZY to see why).
Such a classic. I never get tired of it, and it's hard not to sing along.
When we move back home (and maybe before then, if I can figure out the logistics), the stereo is not going to be in the loft with the TV. Which is really the stupidest place ever for it, and why we almost never use it. I've got decent speakers for the computer, so I listen to iTunes, but when I was checking to make sure I still had Built for Speed, I really wished I could listen to it. And I could, but I'd either have to have it on loud enough to hear all the way on the other side of the house (I'm sure the neighbors would enjoy it, right?), or just sit in the living room and do nothing else while I listen. Hmmm. I'm going to be thinking about this for a while. I'm sure I can come up with a solution.
Categories: Music
Here's an older video, =>HERE<= but the embedding is disabled, so you'll have to go to YouTube for it. I either saw this particular performance, or another one at the same time, because I bought the album in 1982.
The shuffle gods handed me "Stray Cat Strut" this morning, the Stray Cats' signature song, and one guaranteed to lift the spirits--they obviously knew I really needed that today (read http://is.gd/MRzx1i and http://is.gd/H1a5ZY to see why).
Such a classic. I never get tired of it, and it's hard not to sing along.
When we move back home (and maybe before then, if I can figure out the logistics), the stereo is not going to be in the loft with the TV. Which is really the stupidest place ever for it, and why we almost never use it. I've got decent speakers for the computer, so I listen to iTunes, but when I was checking to make sure I still had Built for Speed, I really wished I could listen to it. And I could, but I'd either have to have it on loud enough to hear all the way on the other side of the house (I'm sure the neighbors would enjoy it, right?), or just sit in the living room and do nothing else while I listen. Hmmm. I'm going to be thinking about this for a while. I'm sure I can come up with a solution.
Categories: Music
Labels: music
Thursday, June 09, 2011
Song of the Day
"Crying Lightning" by Arctic Monkeys, from Humbug
Wow. Two rock songs in a row. I'm on a roll! See what I did there?
Again, I like this whole album, but this was the first one that came up in the shuffle, so it's the one I'm posting.
Categories: Music
Wow. Two rock songs in a row. I'm on a roll! See what I did there?
Again, I like this whole album, but this was the first one that came up in the shuffle, so it's the one I'm posting.
Categories: Music
Labels: music
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Song of the Day
"Screaming Bloody Murder" by Sum 41, from Screaming Bloody Murder
This band is completely new to me, but boy, do I like this song. This is a pretty good video, too. I almost went with the slightly-more-professional-looking video from Jimmy Kimmel Live, but in that performance, the whole song was harder rock without the lyrical bookends (not to mention the annoyingly obvious Bud Light sponsorship). And after a little more searching, I think this performance has more energy than the one on Lopez Tonight.
I'll definitely be checking out more from this band.
Categories: Music
This band is completely new to me, but boy, do I like this song. This is a pretty good video, too. I almost went with the slightly-more-professional-looking video from Jimmy Kimmel Live, but in that performance, the whole song was harder rock without the lyrical bookends (not to mention the annoyingly obvious Bud Light sponsorship). And after a little more searching, I think this performance has more energy than the one on Lopez Tonight.
I'll definitely be checking out more from this band.
Categories: Music
Labels: music
Tuesday, June 07, 2011
Song of the Day
"In the Glass" by OK Go, from Of the Blue Colour of the Sky
I like this whole album, but today, this song edges out the others as my favorite. It has a nice blend of styles. "What have I done, what have I done?"
There was another video with the album cover and the lyrics in the description, but whoever wrote down the lyrics didn't listen to the song very carefully: "I tried to come back to and melt the glass and perfect"??? (the lyric is actually "I tried to call out to him but the glass was perfect") *sigh*
Several live amateur videos are also on YouTube, of which this one had the best sound, though the picture is a little dark:
New live album out, which I'm tempted to get despite my rule against buying live albums, since physical orders come with confetti. Oh! I'm officially hooked, after seeing this picture: ==>link to picture<== Please, go look. You'll understand when you see it. Well, assuming you recognize who's in the picture. Okay, I'm shallow and easily influenced. But it always gives me a little zing when someone whose music/writing/acting/whatever I like also likes something I like. Makes me think a little more highly of them.
Categories: Music
I like this whole album, but today, this song edges out the others as my favorite. It has a nice blend of styles. "What have I done, what have I done?"
There was another video with the album cover and the lyrics in the description, but whoever wrote down the lyrics didn't listen to the song very carefully: "I tried to come back to and melt the glass and perfect"??? (the lyric is actually "I tried to call out to him but the glass was perfect") *sigh*
Several live amateur videos are also on YouTube, of which this one had the best sound, though the picture is a little dark:
New live album out, which I'm tempted to get despite my rule against buying live albums, since physical orders come with confetti. Oh! I'm officially hooked, after seeing this picture: ==>link to picture<== Please, go look. You'll understand when you see it. Well, assuming you recognize who's in the picture. Okay, I'm shallow and easily influenced. But it always gives me a little zing when someone whose music/writing/acting/whatever I like also likes something I like. Makes me think a little more highly of them.
Categories: Music
Labels: music
Friday, June 03, 2011
Song of the Day
"Sweet Home Chicago" by The Blues Brothers, from The Blues Brothers Soundtrack
Sorry it's not the clip from the movie. I searched for one for a while, and tried every keyword I could think of: movie, original, genuine, etc. It's either unavailable or buried so deeply in a pile of amateur bands playing this song or people singing along to karaoke in their basements recording themselves on their iPhones. It wasn't pretty.
But never mind the video--the song is the point. Turn up the volume; get up and dance. It's Friday!
Categories: Music
Sorry it's not the clip from the movie. I searched for one for a while, and tried every keyword I could think of: movie, original, genuine, etc. It's either unavailable or buried so deeply in a pile of amateur bands playing this song or people singing along to karaoke in their basements recording themselves on their iPhones. It wasn't pretty.
But never mind the video--the song is the point. Turn up the volume; get up and dance. It's Friday!
Categories: Music
Labels: music
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Song of the Day
"Always" by Panic! at the Disco, from Vices & Virtues.
This is such a pretty song for a rainy Monday morning. "When the world gets too heavy, put it on my back." Very romantic.
Unfortunately, the video is just the album cover, but if you go to YouTube, the description has the lyrics. Note to whoever wrote out the lyrics: it's "levee," as in something that protects you from floods, not "levy," as in the imposition of a tax, which makes no sense.
Here's a live video of a portion of the song:
I had a hard time finding one that wasn't obscured by the audience singing along. Question: why would you go to a concert and then sing along to the songs so you can't hear the band??? Anyway, this one was in Hamburg, so I guess we're just lucky the song wasn't obscured by the audience rhythmically clapping along.
Categories: Music
This is such a pretty song for a rainy Monday morning. "When the world gets too heavy, put it on my back." Very romantic.
Unfortunately, the video is just the album cover, but if you go to YouTube, the description has the lyrics. Note to whoever wrote out the lyrics: it's "levee," as in something that protects you from floods, not "levy," as in the imposition of a tax, which makes no sense.
Here's a live video of a portion of the song:
I had a hard time finding one that wasn't obscured by the audience singing along. Question: why would you go to a concert and then sing along to the songs so you can't hear the band??? Anyway, this one was in Hamburg, so I guess we're just lucky the song wasn't obscured by the audience rhythmically clapping along.
Categories: Music
Labels: music
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Song of the Day
"Starlight" by Muse, from Black Holes and Revelations
and here's the live video. Because you know you want to hear it again.
I've not been posting songs--or anything else--lately, because I've been so busy, but after I listened to this three times in a row this morning, I decided I needed to share it. Love this song.
Categories: Music
and here's the live video. Because you know you want to hear it again.
I've not been posting songs--or anything else--lately, because I've been so busy, but after I listened to this three times in a row this morning, I decided I needed to share it. Love this song.
Categories: Music
Labels: music
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Song of the Day
"Ambling Alp" by Yeasayer, from Odd Blood
"Stick up for yourself, son. Never mind what anybody else done." Good advice. Cool song. Catchy.
I routinely put Camden's iTunes on shuffle to find new things to listen to. This is one of those bands where I heard one song, loved it enough to check out another song, and ended up putting the whole CD on my playlist.
By the way, iTunes, it's pronounced "yay-sayer," not "yee-sayer." Surprised me that there was even a question about it: "yea" is pronounced "yay." Doesn't anybody read the King James version of the Bible anymore? Sheesh.
Categories: Music
"Stick up for yourself, son. Never mind what anybody else done." Good advice. Cool song. Catchy.
I routinely put Camden's iTunes on shuffle to find new things to listen to. This is one of those bands where I heard one song, loved it enough to check out another song, and ended up putting the whole CD on my playlist.
By the way, iTunes, it's pronounced "yay-sayer," not "yee-sayer." Surprised me that there was even a question about it: "yea" is pronounced "yay." Doesn't anybody read the King James version of the Bible anymore? Sheesh.
Categories: Music
Labels: music
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Song of the Day
"Broken Sorrow" by Nuttin' But Stringz, from Struggle from the Subway to the Charts.
I had a difficult time choosing one song from this album. Today this one's my favorite. So emotional, it gives me goosebumps.
Here's the video from their performance of "Broken Sorrow" on America's Got Talent. They were robbed, by the way. I was shocked that they didn't win.
One nice thing about posting songs of the day: I check out the artists' websites. On Nuttin' But Stringz's website, I discovered they have a new song. It's not on iTunes, and as far as I can tell, you can only download it from their website. Here it is on YouTube, though the title is "Winner!" not "Winners." *sigh*
Categories: Music
I had a difficult time choosing one song from this album. Today this one's my favorite. So emotional, it gives me goosebumps.
Here's the video from their performance of "Broken Sorrow" on America's Got Talent. They were robbed, by the way. I was shocked that they didn't win.
One nice thing about posting songs of the day: I check out the artists' websites. On Nuttin' But Stringz's website, I discovered they have a new song. It's not on iTunes, and as far as I can tell, you can only download it from their website. Here it is on YouTube, though the title is "Winner!" not "Winners." *sigh*
Categories: Music
Labels: music
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Song of the Day
"Dancing Lasha Tumbai" by Verka Serduchka, from Eurovision Song Contest 2007. There's also a CD of nothing but remixes of the song.
This is the first song on my gym playlist--it's a great motivator, and always puts me in a cheerful mood.
Eurovision 2007 was the first Eurovision we'd ever watched, and arguably (at least from our perspective) the best. You can see the rest of the entries =>here<=. It was very interesting watching the voting, by the way. For example, Russia gave its next-to-top score to Georgia (subtext: sorry for the invasion, but, hey, we voted for you!), while Georgia didn't give Russia any points.
The most recent Eurovision, last year, was much more serious. My theory: because of the worldwide economic situation. Last year's winner: Lena, from Germany. Another theory: everybody was sucking up to Germany because of the European economic situation. It clearly couldn't have been because the song was the best. Or maybe that's because, living here in Germany, you heard it ALL THE FREAKING TIME. Then there was the World Cup, and a version of the song for that: "Schland O Schland" (I'm guessing "Schland" is short for "Deutschland"). At least it's not sung by Lena.
Regardless, I'm looking forward to this year's Eurovision, May 14.
Anyway. "Dancing Lasha Tumbai." Well, you can see by the video why we liked it. Apparently "Lasha Tumbai" means "whipped cream" in Mongolian, only it doesn't. And after you've listened to the song multiple times, you can clearly hear "Russia goodbye" instead of "lasha tumbai" in a couple of places. Wikipedia has the scoop, sort of.
Categories: Music
This is the first song on my gym playlist--it's a great motivator, and always puts me in a cheerful mood.
Eurovision 2007 was the first Eurovision we'd ever watched, and arguably (at least from our perspective) the best. You can see the rest of the entries =>here<=. It was very interesting watching the voting, by the way. For example, Russia gave its next-to-top score to Georgia (subtext: sorry for the invasion, but, hey, we voted for you!), while Georgia didn't give Russia any points.
The most recent Eurovision, last year, was much more serious. My theory: because of the worldwide economic situation. Last year's winner: Lena, from Germany. Another theory: everybody was sucking up to Germany because of the European economic situation. It clearly couldn't have been because the song was the best. Or maybe that's because, living here in Germany, you heard it ALL THE FREAKING TIME. Then there was the World Cup, and a version of the song for that: "Schland O Schland" (I'm guessing "Schland" is short for "Deutschland"). At least it's not sung by Lena.
Regardless, I'm looking forward to this year's Eurovision, May 14.
Anyway. "Dancing Lasha Tumbai." Well, you can see by the video why we liked it. Apparently "Lasha Tumbai" means "whipped cream" in Mongolian, only it doesn't. And after you've listened to the song multiple times, you can clearly hear "Russia goodbye" instead of "lasha tumbai" in a couple of places. Wikipedia has the scoop, sort of.
Categories: Music
Labels: music
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Song of the Day
"Gronlandic Edit" by Of Montreal, from Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
Just the album cover on this video. YouTube has amateur live videos and a homemade music video for it, but I figure the song stands on its own.
Of Montreal reminds me quite a bit of a 2000s version of 10CC: the tight harmonies, the quirky lyrics, and just the general style. I suspect I'll be buying all their albums.
Speaking of the lyrics, the description to this video has the lyrics. "Physics makes us all its bitches." Indeed.
Categories: Music
Just the album cover on this video. YouTube has amateur live videos and a homemade music video for it, but I figure the song stands on its own.
Of Montreal reminds me quite a bit of a 2000s version of 10CC: the tight harmonies, the quirky lyrics, and just the general style. I suspect I'll be buying all their albums.
Speaking of the lyrics, the description to this video has the lyrics. "Physics makes us all its bitches." Indeed.
Categories: Music
Labels: music
Friday, April 22, 2011
Song of the Day
"I'm Awesome" by Spose, from The Audacity! *
Warning: this video has a lot of cursing in it.
No matter how many times I hear this song, it continues to crack me up. "I'm only 'bout as sexy as John McCain." I looked for a "clean" version for those offended by the cursing, but all the ones I found were really amateurish. Here's a link, if you want--the description has the uncensored lyrics in it, which I find pretty funny.
* at least, according to the Wikipedia article. It's also supposed to be on an album called We Smoked it All, but I couldn't find even a weak link for that one.
Categories: Music
Warning: this video has a lot of cursing in it.
No matter how many times I hear this song, it continues to crack me up. "I'm only 'bout as sexy as John McCain." I looked for a "clean" version for those offended by the cursing, but all the ones I found were really amateurish. Here's a link, if you want--the description has the uncensored lyrics in it, which I find pretty funny.
* at least, according to the Wikipedia article. It's also supposed to be on an album called We Smoked it All, but I couldn't find even a weak link for that one.
Categories: Music
Labels: music
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Song of the Day
"When the Day Met the Night" by Panic! at the Disco from Pretty. Odd.
It sure seems like summer here--sunny, high 70s. I wore shorts and a tank top when I walked to the gym yesterday. And when the calendar says it's summer, it'll probably be cool and rainy. So to celebrate the gorgeous weather, and to give a little pick-me-up to those of you living where winter's still hanging on, I decided to post a summer song.
Plus, this song is just so infectious. It's fun in the live version, but the orchestra in the studio really puts it over the top.
Categories: Music
It sure seems like summer here--sunny, high 70s. I wore shorts and a tank top when I walked to the gym yesterday. And when the calendar says it's summer, it'll probably be cool and rainy. So to celebrate the gorgeous weather, and to give a little pick-me-up to those of you living where winter's still hanging on, I decided to post a summer song.
Plus, this song is just so infectious. It's fun in the live version, but the orchestra in the studio really puts it over the top.
Categories: Music
Labels: music
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Song of the Day
"Hysteria" by Muse from Absolution.
I had trouble choosing which Muse song to post today--I haven't yet heard one I don't love. I was going to post "Neutron Star Collision" and describe it as a geeky love song... until I looked up the videos and discovered it's the one on Twilight. This one's a little harder rocking, though, and the energy is perfect for getting me motivated on a hump day morning.
If you're like me and prefer your music videos to actually show the band playing the song, here's a live version:
Categories: Music
I had trouble choosing which Muse song to post today--I haven't yet heard one I don't love. I was going to post "Neutron Star Collision" and describe it as a geeky love song... until I looked up the videos and discovered it's the one on Twilight. This one's a little harder rocking, though, and the energy is perfect for getting me motivated on a hump day morning.
If you're like me and prefer your music videos to actually show the band playing the song, here's a live version:
Categories: Music
Labels: music
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Song of the Day
"The Beat Goes On" by Beady Eye from Different Gear, Still Speeding.
This is one of those times I'm annoyed with living in Germany. There's an official video for this song from EMI, but I'm not allowed to see it since I live in Germany. Argh. Here's the =>link<= for those of you who can see it.
Still, it's a gorgeous song. I can't stop listening to it. "Are you singing along?" Yes. Yes, I am.
Categories: Music
This is one of those times I'm annoyed with living in Germany. There's an official video for this song from EMI, but I'm not allowed to see it since I live in Germany. Argh. Here's the =>link<= for those of you who can see it.
Still, it's a gorgeous song. I can't stop listening to it. "Are you singing along?" Yes. Yes, I am.
Categories: Music
Labels: music
Monday, April 18, 2011
Song of the Day
"Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen, from A Night at the Opera, 5 live albums, 3 greatest hits albums, and who knows how many "rock classics" or "best of the 70s" albums.
This is the song against which all others are judged and fall short.
I remember seeing this video on late night TV way back when, but I don't remember what program. MTV didn't start until a few years later.
My love affair with Queen started with this song. I bought the 45--trying to choose between "Bohemian Rhapsody" and another song, possibly "All By Myself". I chose "Bohemian Rhapsody" because, being longer, it seemed like a better deal.
Check out the Wikipedia page--it's fascinating.
Categories: Music
This is the song against which all others are judged and fall short.
I remember seeing this video on late night TV way back when, but I don't remember what program. MTV didn't start until a few years later.
My love affair with Queen started with this song. I bought the 45--trying to choose between "Bohemian Rhapsody" and another song, possibly "All By Myself". I chose "Bohemian Rhapsody" because, being longer, it seemed like a better deal.
Check out the Wikipedia page--it's fascinating.
Categories: Music
Labels: music
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Song of the Day
"Wall Street Shuffle" by 10CC from Sheet Music, which I have on vinyl. It's also on The Very Best of 10CC, which I have on CD.
I picked this song because it fits with one of the books I read last week: Midnight Resolutions by Kathleen O'Reilly. The hero was an investment banker until he was laid off.
Little bit of trivia: "Wall Street Shuffle" hit #10 on the UK charts back in 1974. I tried to get a video from the 70s, none of them allowed embedding. Here's a link to one: 10CC Wall Street Shuffle. It hasn't changed all that much.
Categories: Music
I picked this song because it fits with one of the books I read last week: Midnight Resolutions by Kathleen O'Reilly. The hero was an investment banker until he was laid off.
Little bit of trivia: "Wall Street Shuffle" hit #10 on the UK charts back in 1974. I tried to get a video from the 70s, none of them allowed embedding. Here's a link to one: 10CC Wall Street Shuffle. It hasn't changed all that much.
Categories: Music
Labels: music
