'Summer,' by Memphis band Magic Kids, is soft and delicate; lush and ornate.
Fertile with rich vocals, nuanced layers of strings and percussion, as well as a vibrant dose of understated passion, 'Summer' strives to be the low-key foil to the usual peppy and breezy tunes that often dominate the "songs of summer" category. (SeeKaty Perry).
Spouting one of the best opening lyrics of all time, Semi Precious Weapons makes a glamtastic debut with its vanity-titled track of the same name. The video maintains the song's ostentatious theme, handily featuring imagery reminiscent of Plato's Retreat and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
A Manzarek organ riff drives the entire beat and melody of this soulful serenade. Equal parts funk, equal parts indie rock, 'Felicia' is a stylish romp in the land of alt-rock.
Our personal music discoveries are very non-linear. One day we might be listening to a leaked single from an upcoming release, and the next, might stumble across a great album that's been covered in dust for half a century. The latter is true for me in this particular story.
While working a few weeks back, I met a man around my parents' age - an avid vinyl collector of many years. We discussed music for probably half an hour. He told me of an interesting record he'd pleasantly uncovered at a garage sale or flee market by some band called Ancient Grease.
The cover was a vibrant splash of psychedelia, and the wordplay of the moniker was enough for him to shell out a few dollars to give it a chance.
A little research of my own led me to the band's lone album, Women and Children First, dating back to 1970.As a name like Ancient Grease would imply, the record is sludgy and raw; full of gritty blues-rock, but also some wonderfully proggy pop ballads.
The opening track, "Freedom Train", sounds like it could have been a Howlin' Wolf-meets-Grand Funk Railroad collaboration. It even branches into riffing McCartney's squeals from "Hey Jude."
Other tracks like "Mother Grease the Cat" and "Eagle Song" are bluesy prog rockers in the vein of Zeppelin, while "Where the Snow Lies Forever" is a slow-burning keyboard beauty. "Mystic Mountain" could have almost been a hit for CSNY.
The songwriting is solid throughout, with some of the tightest moments found in the middle of the LP. The talent was definitely there, yet Ancient Grease never really caught on.
Further reading suggested the band's actual name was Strawberry Dust and got their start in South Wales as an engaging live cover band.
Another Welsh band, Eyes of Blue, had found success and helped Strawberry Dust write and record the album.When the record was picked up by Mercury Records in 1970, the band was apparently quite surprised to see it credited to the name Ancient Grease rather than Strawberry Dust.
Not only did the record company quietly change the band's name, it never really put any promotion behind the album -- instead choosing to focus all of its energy on Rod Stewart's debut, An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down.
Without support for the album, Strawberry Dust/Ancient Grease returned to playing local shows in Wales until disbanding.
The members went on to play in other groups for several years until singer Graham "Morty" Mortimer and lead guitarist Graham Williams reformed as Racing Cars. Racing Cars went on to become most well-known for its 1977 hit single, "They Shoot Horses Don't They?"
So there I found myself, listening to Ancient Grease's Women and Children First for the very first time, forty years after it was recorded... and really enjoying it.
I'm fascinated by the reasons some artists become famous while others toil in obscurity, so I found this group's history particularly engrossing.
(For an even further breakdown of the band's lengthy story, click here)
You can preview one of the album's highlights below:
Squelching guitar provides an atmospheric backdrop. And clever use of tone and cadence provide the otherwise jaunty lyrics with a stratum of sophistication well beyond that of other Gibbard soundalike--Owl City.
Stream 'I Can Talk' below**:
**This audio stream will expire 30 days from publication.
A Silent Film is a UK band that's just beginning to gain traction in the USA. According to the group's Myspace page, their single 'You Will Leave a Mark' will be featured on popular TV shows 'The Hills' and 'House' in 2010.
Stream the fantastic 'You Will Leave a Mark' below:
Digging deep into the bag of song tricks that made Pixies and Weezer famous, Brisbane's Violent Soho presents a sludgy, grungy, shoe-gaze of a tale with their single, 'Jesus Stole My Girlfriend.'
Glint is a progressive electro-rock quintet hailing from New York City. The band's heavily layered, futuristic sonics have drawn comparisons to Muse, as both share a knack for bombastic rhythms and ethereal melodies.
I was first introduced to Glint last year when the song "Damaged Goods" was featured as an iTunes Free Discovery Download.
The group's new, self-titled EP features the single, "Freak." The track continues to follow the band's trademark for arena-sized synth anthems. You can preview the track below and download it for free.
Click HERE to watch a video of the band performing "Freak" live in concert.
Glint is currently on tour in the United States. For more information on the band and to learn where you can buy their music, visit http://www.glintonline.com/
As the writer Oscar Wilde once said, "Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life."
The French-American band Hold Your Horses! takes that expression to heart in the video for their new song, "70 Million."
In the video, the bandmates playfully reenact scenes from some of history's most famous works of art; often to hilarious results.
From Michelangelo's The Creation of Adam to Andy Warhol's portraits of Marilyn Monroe, Hold Your Horses! offers a brief art history refresher that is far more entertaining than informative, but definitely creative. This is one of the best music videos I've seen yet this year.
See how many pieces you can recognize. There will be a quiz at the end of the semester.
Can't name all of the artists? No worries, jump on over to Flavorwire to see some of the scenes from the video matched up with their original paintings!
Over the weekend, I was flipping through some of my mother's old college year books. She attended the University of Iowa in the late '60s and early '70s.
The pages are filled with some great photos of student life - not merely the organizations, Greek life and athletics, but the anti-war protests and vigils, as well. One such image captures a group of students holding a moment of silence for the Kent State massacre. On another page, there's an article about student experimentation with drugs.
And then, of course, there was the music. Perhaps no other era is as famous for shaping modern music as the late '60s.
Featured below are several of my favorite music photos from these yearbooks, accompanied by some of my favorite captions.
Neil Diamond (1970) "At one point during his set, Diamond had all the lights in the Fieldhouse turned off. He then commanded the audience to set off the flashbulbs that were attached to their cameras. They obeyed. It was psychedelic."
Grand Funk Railroad (1970) "Grand Funk gets a lot of insults from rock critics who contend that their music is tuneless and dependent on feedback and volume. Perhaps the criticism is valid. Even so, the near capacity audience which witnessed the concert gave Grand Funk enthusiastic response."
"...played a sellout concert at Madison Square Garden the night before they played in Iowa City, so they were excusably wasted during most of the evening; nevertheless, they eventually got it on, as the saying goes."
Richie Havens (1970) "He spent nearly as much time talking politics as singing, but the latter was worth waiting for. His best moment came with the singing of "Freedom" and "Motherless Child," songs that he sang in the film, Woodstock."
John Denver (1969) "The same night (as comedian Mort Sahl performed), folksinger John Denver was performing in the Union Wheel Room. He drew a larger crowd than Sahl."
Led Zeppelin (1968-69) Although there is no writeup about this show, it is mentioned that nine members of the CPC executive board resigned shortly thereafter to protest what they called, "centralization of activities and budget restrictions."
These images appear without credit in the original yearbooks. Outside of university archives, most of these photographs are likely lost in your parents' attics somewhere. As such, I have taken the liberty of scanning them myself to preserve and share these moments in music history.
The Burning Hotels is an indie rock quartet with a knack for coupling post-punk riffs and melodic choruses.
Hailing out of Fort Worth, the band has been steadily building a name for themselves ever since their first EP in 2007. The Fort Worth Weekly described the group as, "One of the town's coolest bands, period."
The Burning Hotels' debut album, Novels, is set for release on April 27th, 2010.
On Novels, the band embraces an aesthetic for jagged guitar rhythms and heady, driving beats. Tracks like "Boy or a Girl" and lead single, "Austin's Birthday" sound ready for teen rebellions and college parties, while the lush, introspective reverb of "The River" echoes to a coming of age.
Novels shows a band with a lot of promise. Sometimes we're left searching for answers and occasionally we find them. If that sounds a lot like life to you, they might be on to something.
Novels may not be revelatory, but it is certainly a lot of fun to take for a spin.
Cassette Kids combine the artistic sensibilities of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs with the dramatic flair of No Doubt. As their Myspace page states, the band "make[s] the tamest dance floors gleam with sweat." True story!
Although the quartet is from Australia, they seem to be picking up steam here in the states. They are docketed to play SXSW in Austin, Texas this spring. Undoubtedly, a 2009 plug from the one and only Lily Allen has increased their exposure.
Check out Cassette Kids' video for 'Lying Around' above.
FreeAllMusic.com (FAM) recently launched its beta music download site to a limited number of invitees.
The site's concept is simple. Users are given five credits each Tuesday. To redeem a credit for a free song download, the user must watch a brief advertisement from the site's sponsors. The user can choose which commercial out of a selection of 15 or so to watch. After viewing, the download automatically begins. The mp3s have no DRM restrictions, and they are typically available in 256 kpbs or 320 kpbs quality.
The idea is that sponsors, through their video advertisements, end up subsidizing music purchases for the end user. So while the song may seem free to the end user, in actuality the sponsor has compensated the artist and label for the end user's download. In exchange for the user's time watching video advertisements, the user gets a free mp3. And in exchange for footing the bill for the mp3, the sponsor gets thirty seconds of direct marketing with the user.
In the three or so weeks I've had beta access to FAM, I've been very pleased. The song and artist selection is comprehensive. Top 40 hits from Lady Gaga and Black Eyed Peas are available, as are more obscure alternative spins from Crash Kings and The Features.
The site does have some limitations. You are given only five download credits per week, and the credits do not roll over into subsequent weeks. In other words, you must "use or lose" your credits within a seven day period. Additionally, not every music label is on board yet, so there are still a number of artists missing from the database. Finally, the interface is lacking. Notwithstanding a "Top 100 Songs of the Week" showcase, songs and artists are not presented to the user in the way that the Amazon or iTunes stores tend to promote up and coming or artistically significant tunes. Instead, the user must enter a basic search query into FAM's in-house search engine and sift through songs that may or may not be relevant.
Despite its setbacks, FAM is a huge winner in my book. The site is still in beta, so it's interface and offerings are bound to improve substantially. Most importantly, where else can one download twenty free mp3s per month while ensuring artist compensation? Nowhere, that's where. Due to this fact alone, FAM is one of my favorite new music sites of 2010.
If you are interested in signing up for a beta membership, head on over to http://www.freeallmusic.com. My invite took about a month to arrive after registration, so be prepared to be patient. The pay-off is well worth the wait.
Nneka is an Afro-German singer/songwriter whose soulful music has found a solid place in my rotation this year.
At 19, Nneka made the dramatic, cross-cultural leap from her native Nigeria to Hamburg, Germany to further her education and eventually pursue her music.
Since that time, Nneka's music has resonated with fans across the globe, including Lauryn Hill and Lenny Kravitz.
Nneka's music finds its roots in Afrobeat - her vocals ranging from freestyle raps to elegant neo-soul. It is music that is socially aware of its past and optimistic about its future. Nneka gives voice to the harsh realities of her African homeland - the poverty and militant government - but also the strength of her people.
She offers personal insight, not answers, and lends a fresh breath of hope to the struggles faced around the world. Nneka sings from her heart about the life that she knows, and you can feel it in her vocals.
Concrete Jungle, Nneka's first American album, was released earlier this month. Visit Nneka's Official Website and learn more about this great artist and her music.
Watch the video to her single, "Heartbeat" below:
You can catch her powerful television debut of the song from last week's Late Show with David Letterman right HERE (via YouTube)
And check out the official video to her also-fantastic song, "The Uncomforable Truth" (via YouTube VEVO)
Imogen Heap is a British singer/songwriter whose solo work gained increased mainstream success after her duo, Frou Frou, was included in the breakthrough Garden State soundtrack. The film's soundtrack created a large buzz for the single, "Let Go."
A year later, Heap released her lush 2005 solo album, Speak for Yourself.
Amongst the songs featured on the LP was "Hide and Seek" - an a cappela single that utilized a harmonizer to create a synthetic quality to Heap's vocals.Stream the video below:
"Hide and Seek" was showcased prominently in the tense ending moments of The O.C.'s season 2 finale. Watch the clip HERE (via YouTube). In the scene, a scuffle leads to a murder when a shot is fired in slow motion and abruptly met with the song's signature refrain, "Mmm, what you saaaay."
Saturday Night Live's Andy Samberg then parodied the overly dramatic scene in the 2007 Digital Short, The Shooting, where the song is overused to the point of hilarity. Watch the skit HERE (via IDKWTF.com).
Under the casual title, "Dear Sister", the short quickly became an internet phenomenon, with legions of fans reenacting their own parodies using the song sample.
If you've turned on Top 40 radio anytime in the last 6 months, chances are you've heard Jason DeRulo's megahit R&B single, "Whatcha Say." DeRulo's 2009 sensation heavily samples the now-famous refrain for it's chorus.Stream the video below:
Even more recently, New Orleans hip hop duo, The Knux released the song, "Watchu Say," which also spins predominantly off of Heap's lyrics.Have a listen to it below:
The Knux - "Watchu Say"
Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek" is yet another great example of a song that has continued to grow in popularity over a period of several years due to widespread pop culture and internet references.
