Archive for the 'Songs of the Week' Category

Songs of the Week: 24 April 2006 by candv

Amit:
Bloc Party - “So Here We Are”
“So Here We Are” is the most down-to-Earth Bloc Party song off their debut album Silent Alarm. This track is driven by high pitched vocals and rushed drum licks, but that’s not what makes it unique. It’s the effect it has. You’re immediately hypnotized by the opening delayed guitar riff which is why I find myself listening to it 5 times in a row while staring at the ceiling. Become mesmerized.

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Also check out a remix by Four Tet here.

Dan:
Patty Griffin - “Long Ride Home”
Dan’s been busy at work, so he sent me a broken message of his Song of the Week via carrier pigeon. It reads,

Been listening….to this….album all week…and…this track is my fav.

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Nate:
D’Angelo - “Spanish Joint”
There is something about this song that reminds me of Stevie Wonder. But a worldly Stevie. Like a Stevie on smack. There are horns. A tight guitar riff. A danceable bass run. This song has everything you didn’t know you were missing in life. You will listen to it at all times during the day. Good days, bad days. Sunny or cloudy skies. Monday or evening. And then D’Angelo’s voice. Wow. Man’s gotta’ sing, and gee-golly can he. Basically, he was the coolest man on the planet when Voodoo came out. This song is more than enough reason why.

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posted on 12:01 am 04/24/2006
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Songs of the Week: 17 April 2006 by candv

Dan:
Muddy Waters - “Mannish Boy (Electric Mud Version)”

This is one of my favorite Muddy Waters tracks. Most blues purists hate it. I call it some shake your ass blues that are very near perfection.

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Amit:
Soulive - “Golden Lady”
Soulive, slated to be at Bonnaroo Music Festival, is an upbeat jazz trio with a vibrant sound aside from all that cheese filled modern jazz out there. Take a listen to their rendition of Stevie Wonder’s “Golden Lady“.

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posted on 12:01 am 04/17/2006
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Dakota’s Songs of the Week: 11 April 2006 by candv

Dan:
Rufus Wainwright - “Across the Universe”
From the movie that made Dakota Fanning a household name, I am Sam. Here’s Rufus Wainwright’s cover of the Beatles’ classic, “Across the Universe.” One of my favorites from the soundtrack.

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View the music video…

Amit:
Bethany Dillon & John Debney - “Dreamer (Bethany Dillon) Film Mix”
When I thought Dakota Fanning, I thought horses. Then I thought of Bethany Dillon serenading me with her luscious voice as she sang her chart topping song from the Dreamer soundtrack. Like Bethany and Dakota, I was a dreamer. I dreamt of day when horses were no longer used in Elmer’s glue and sparkling grape Jell-O, but rather as props in what should have been more Dakota movies. Due to the loss of an American icon, that day will never come. So, I listen to this track and continue to dream on.

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View the music video…

posted on 12:03 am 04/11/2006
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Songs of the Week: 9 April 2006 by candv

Dan:
Truman Capote - “In Cold Blood”
So it’s not really a song. It’s a book. But it’s one of the crowning works of American literature, “In Cold Blood.” I just listened to this (14 hour) audio book on my 24 hour long drive to Austin, TX… and it’s absolutely gripping. Buy the book. Buy the audio book. Do whatever it is you do to read this book. It’s flat out incredible.

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Nate:
Against Me! - “Pints of Guiness Make You Strong”
The first song off “Reinventing Axl Rose,” the first major album from Against Me!, is a hell of a kick in the pants. Tom Gabel’s voice sounds like he’s been gargling steel wool for about 5 years. The guitar slices with this phenomenal, Southwest “sit down right there and I’m going to tell you a story.” And the drums kind of say “Welcome to punk, kids. We are unabashed and brazen.” But behind this brash exterior, there is a story of death and love and showing the world that we are to be reckoned with. This is no indifference. This is not asinine fashionable boredom. This is passionate and gripping. Praise the heavens for Against Me!

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posted on 12:01 am 04/09/2006
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Songs of the Week: 3 April 2006 by candv

Dan:
Wilco - “Panthers”
What’s that? You’ve never heard of this song? That’s because this song, originally recorded for “A Ghost is Born,” is only available on a “Tour only” EP… which is now on iTunes.

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Amit:
Gary Jules - “Mad World”
Michael Andrews plays the piano as Gary Jules whispers lyrics that scream out solitude and silence in this track featured in the Donnie Darko film. It’s a good song to pour yourself a drink, melt into a think couch and stare. Then realize, “there’s no 6 foot tall freaky bunny stalking me”, smile, and get another drink.

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Max:
Swell Maps - “Midget Submarines”
Nikki Sudden died this last sunday at only 49, so in tribute to his cracked genius is this pre-past-post-punk classic from his old band, Swell Maps. From the unadorned snare rattling at the beginning to it’s noise rambling end (on which bassist Jowe Head, having discovered the bass part was layed down without him, decided to play the vacuum cleaner, “to add some tension”), this is everything art punk was and would be rolled into four and a half minutes of amateurish grandeur. RIP Nikki.

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Nate:
Talking Heads - “This Must be the Place (Naive Melody)”
David Byrne had a thing for cryptic and paranoid lyrics. This song was an exception. Perhaps his only real love song. Backdropped by the world beat funk that characterized the entire Speaking in Togues album and Byrne doing the solo number on the keyboard, this might be the most sincere “ballad” you will ever hear. My personal favorite version is off the Stop Making Sense live album. Just maybe you will want to get back in the saddle after having your heart broken in 9th grade geometry class. And I guess that’s it. This song is about being love-struck and stargazing. It gives you reason to believe.

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posted on 12:01 am 04/03/2006
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