Recent music revelations
I acquire quite a bit of music ever so often, and within the last month I have purchased six or so CDs (Yes, I’m old and don’t really like mp3s that much) and a few downloads. Here is my assessment of how music is these days.
- Pop music is getting better. “No Air” by Jordan Sparks and Chris Brown is my favorite radio song right now. I’m not ashamed to like a tween song because it’s also shown on BET J, so that’s alright.
- MySpace is a great place to find music. Just think about it. We got Lily Allen, the Ting Tings, Kate Nash out of it.
- MySpace is a horrible place to find music. I mean, anyone from your next-door neighbor to your friendly postal delivery worker can cut an album, post it and become billionaires.
- I’m beginning to like remixes than the originals these days.
- Santogold is still awesome. Goldfrapp records are hard to find locally.
- More people are jumping onto the Bird and the Bee bandwagon.
- I’m just rambling on music these days because I don’t have anything else of interest to write about.
permalink | Comment | music | 05/28/2008
But why Cambodian pop?
OK, I admit that I am a bit more excited than usual about music. And a few months ago I saw a video for the song “Seeing Hands” by Dengue Fever. I immediately thought that this was the worst music video I had ever scene. It was too hippie and trippy for me to even like the song.
But last night I saw it again, and began to like the song. The rest of their songs are great, but they should stick to live performances. After all, there aren’t enough duos out there were the guy with a long beard plays the guitar like it were a sitar and a singer who is dressed up like a Cambodian beauty pageant.
permalink | Comment | music | 05/21/2008
Listen to this right now!
Since finding photos of this singer while on the Associated Press Exchange two months ago, I’ve been eagerly waiting for her album to come. If you don’t know her by now, get educated to the musical genius that is Santogold:
permalink | Comment | music | 05/06/2008
It's 1994 all over again
Am I the only North American who is overly excited that Portishead will have a new album out next week? I even pre-ordered it, which is something I have never EVER done.
permalink | Comment [1] | music | 04/25/2008
This is your new thing now
I guess I now have a new favorite song.
permalink | Comment [1] | music | 02/26/2008
2007: A year in three parts (part 1 of music)
This is part one of my year-end wrap-up. I’ve taken the last two days compiling a list of 50 songs I liked or discovered this year accompanied by commentary. Here’s the bottom half:
1. “Boyz” M.I.A. — I heard this on a bootleg in March, and kept the Flash object on play until “Kala” was released in August.
2. “In My Bed” Amy Winehouse – Technically, this was released in 2003, but only made available in 2007. Love the pairing of the sample Nas used for “Made You Look” with a full horns section. If it wasn’t for this song, “Some Unholy War” would have been here.
3. “Mistaken for Strangers” The National – I still haven’t downloaded “Boxer” yet, but like “Sound of Silver,” it’s the pep talk to be an adult.
4. “We Got the Soulja Boy (The Go-Gos vs. Soulja Boy)” A plus D – First, it was “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” paired with “The Lion King” on YouTube that got me to tolerate that song. But for some reason, pairing it with “We Got the Beat” made it golden.
5. “Birds and the Bees” The Bird and The Bee – It has a light, bumpy quality to the melody and Inara George’s perfectly gives the song a delicate touch.
6. “Hold On” Holy Ghost – This is very much a dance tunes that would have made its home between Daft Punk’s “One More Time” and Gorillaz’s “Dare.”
7. “Smoke Detector” Rilo Kiley – Jenny Lewis’ matter-of-fact delivery of this song is both memorable and humorous. It’s like anyone can right a song like this based on stupid things seen all over them.
8. “Don’t You Evah” Spoon – I liked “I Turn My Camera On” too much to pay close attention to the rest of “Gimme Fiction.” So the rest of it for me was dull. However, after listening to “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga,” I know that “Camera” was the most misplaced song in the band’s catalog.
9. “Isis” Yeah Yeah Yeahs – The perfect bridge between the last album and to what is on the horizon. I’m glad I paid attention to that college radio station one night.
10. “Bird Flu” M.I.A – When I heard this song in January, I thought that I would not like the new M.I.A. Album because I couldn’t understand the concept behind it. It’s sort of like curry: you don’t like the ingredients separately but when it’s cooked and done, it’s delicious.
11. “No I in Threesome” Interpol – But there’s a me and a thee! The title gives away how dirty this song is, but darn how Carlos D makes everything seem OK and depressing at the same time.
12. “Can You Believe” Robin Thicke – “Lost Without U” is irritating. This song is better quiet storm material than that one. Yeah, I just used quiet storm in a sentence.
13. “The Con” Tegan and Sara – The only song I liked from the sisters was “I Know I Know I Know.” This was a step into that early-Blur/Killers rip-off song that makes it more tolerable.
14. “Supervillian” Nicole Scherzinger – By far, this song is not deep or should be taken seriously. However, there is always room for one.
15. “Nobody’s Baby” Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings – This is music that is safe to listen to with the parents and grandparents. This is real soul music.
16. “What’s a Girl to Do?” Bat for Leashes – It was really the video that did it for me, and it’s that bit of late-night video watching that helped me discover it.
17. “Sound of Silver” LCD Soundsystem – Sure, there are only three lines to this 8-minute song, but they carry so much wait and familiarity that you feel good about being a grown-up.
18. “Conquest” The White Stripes – “Icky Thump” was all over the place as far as genres and direction. This was a clever surprise.
19. “Posse Bonus” Tori Amos – As time passes, Tori’s albums get weaker. This 90-second song for me was the strongest from “American Doll Posse.”
20. “Close to Konichiwa Bitches (Robyn vs. The Cure)” A plus D – How fitting that a diss song would follow another. I didn’t know until this year that Robyn was still making music and that she was from Sweden.
21. “The Way I Am” Ingrid Michaelson – Darn you, Old Navy! At least it’s not Apple shoving this down my throat.
22. “I Don’t Like It Like This” Radio Dept. – I didn’t discover this song until I rented “Marie Antoinette” in the spring and bought the soundtrack a few weeks later. It was released even earlier than that, but I wish I would have heard it sooner.
23. “Reckoner” Radiohead – I’m probably one of three people on Earth who didn’t like “In Rainbows.” To me this was the only tolerable song on it.
24. “Give It To Me” Timbaland feat. Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado – Usually, I don’t care for diss songs, but this one is pretty good and not so violent. After all, they ain’t here to hurt nobody.
25. “Lazy Girls” Jill Cunniff – There is no secret that I am a huge Luscious Jackson fan. It’s a decent song by Cunniff. Unfortunately, she’s still stuck in 1994.
permalink | Comment | music | 12/30/2007
Might as well do this
NaBloPoMo is almost over, and I am trying to find ways to survive the final days. If you look at my archives, some of the dates are wrong. I don’t know why Textpattern insists that I wrote two posts on Nov. 15 and 12, but they were on separate days. Anyway, I’ve copied this from Denise who copied this from someone else from my own iTunes. Granted, I’m rebuilding my collection from scratch:
How many songs do you have? 2,702. [7.5 days, 11.97 GB]
Sort by artist:
first artist: Aaliyah
last artist: 702
Sort by song title:
first song: “ABC” — Jackson 5
last song: “!!!!!!!” — The Roots
Sort by time:
shortest song: “Flip Strings” — Sound Effects (from Kill Bill, Vol. 1) [0:05]
longest song: “Eskimo” — Damian Rice [16:07]
Sort by album:
first album: “Aaliyah” — Aaliyah
last album: “3121” — Prince
Sort by “last played”:
most recently played: “Politik” — Coldplay
Top 10 most played songs:
[Note: This is from within the last two month, not of all time]
1. “Extraordinary Machine” — Fiona Apple
2. “The Heinrich Maneuver” — Interpol
3. “Ring The Alarm” — Beyoncé
4. “Tear Your Love Apart” — Gomez
5. “D.A.N.C.E. (Extended)” — Justice
6. “Heard ‘Em Say” — Kanye West Feat. Adam Levine
7. “Get Innocuous!” — LCD Soundsystem
8. “Bucky Done Gun” — M.I.A.
9. “Bamboo Banga” — M.I.A.
10. “Oh My God” — Mark Ronson featuring Lily Allen
What are the first five songs that come up on shuffle?
1. “Politik” — Coldplay
2. “Run to the Sun” — N.E.R.D.
3. “It’s You” — Michelle Branch
4. “Iieee” — Tori Amos
5. “That Girl” — Stevie Wonder
Search for:
“sex” — how many songs come up?: 6
“love” — how many songs come up?: 163
“you” — how many songs come up?: 351
“death” — how many songs come up?: 2
“hate” — how many songs come up?: 5
“wish” — how many songs come up?: 11
permalink | Comment | music | 11/26/2007
The days of movies and music
As I was checking out the AP entertainment wire at work when I came across this article about the downfall of movie themes. I really didn’t notice it until the article pointed out how Celine Dion can’t get a No. 1 single for a movie soundtrack song these days.
Then, I analyzed my own soundtrack collection and realized that the last two soundtracks I purchased were “Kill Bill: Vol. 1” and “Lost in Translation.” Before 2003, I purchased an average of three soundtracks per year. The first CD I ever purchased was a soundtrack (it was for “Sliver,” best known for UB40 doing an Elvis cover and introducing Americans to Massive Attack and the Verve).
I think that the soundtrack has mostly evolved. Quentin Tarantino’s movies don’t have original music; it’s more of a collection of old and obscure favorites that fit perfectly in a movie. Nowadays, even TV shows don’t have a theme tailored to them.
There is some hope. Shakira has three songs for Love in the Time of Cholera which the AP applauds for the soundtrack (not the movie). Even the critic wished that she was in it. And some of the original songs from “Dreamgirls” were great.
permalink | Comment | music | 11/14/2007
Because Natalie Portman told me to
I planned to save my NaBloPoMo music posts for another day, when I have them more developed and more hipster than I actually am, but yesterday’s post needed a better follow-up.
I never really cared about how people thought about my taste in music. I didn’t take offense when thieves robbed my house when I was a teenager, thumbed through my music collection and didn’t take a single thing. However, thanks to the modern age of technology, Garden State and fellow bloggers, I figure that I should step my music game up and venture off into what is “good.”
Last year’s discovery of TV on the Radio and M.I.A. allowed me to enjoy sounds that were outside the FM spectrum. This year, I relied on Metacritic’s Best Albums of 2007 to broaden my mind, and I’ll share what I’ve learned:
Kala — M.I.A: True, I would have purchased this anyway, but it deserved the praise bestowed on it. By far, the most repeated CD I’ve purchased this year.
Neon Bible — Arcade Fire: I don’t know why people like them. This is awful, and I’m glad to not have purchased this (heard it on Rhapsody).
Sound of Silver — LCD Soundsystem: The fact that I even bothered with this release is a miracle on itself, especially since they are touring with Arcade Fire. But this was one of the best surprises I’ve had all year. “Sound of Silver” and “Get Innocuous” are played at lease once a day in some form.
In Rainbows — Radiohead: Downloaded it, haven’t listened yet. Will take the time to do so.
Boxer — The National This is one I know that I will get from eMusic eventually. I haven’t gotten to that point.
permalink | Comment | music | 11/10/2007
iPod Anonymous
I try my best not to listen to the local radio stations. There’s not much of a variety here, especially when the college stations have “Hip Hop Thursdays” for three hours on that day. On my way to return home from work, I listened to a commercial on one of the stations that was on the lines of “Hi, my name is Susan and I haven’t listened to my iPod in three days.” It went on for 90 seconds with various people saying mostly the same thing. After the commercial, the DJ played Feist’s “1234,” a song popularized by an iPod commercial.