I’m off down the coast for the weekend, with a lot of things to be sorted out before leaving; so this Friday’s post will be a round-up post. Lazy? Perhaps. Awesome tunes? Definitely.
Here’s a round-up of what’s been heating up our speakers this week:
Patrick Park – Here We Are
Rapidly becoming a firm favourite of ours, Patrick Park has once again been treating our ears this week. With this song, “Here We Are“, Patrick Park opens a new door in his songwriting talents; there’s something about this tune that seems more… sophisticated than his past releases. It recalls something akin to the Cary Brothers view of pop aesthetics, and combines that with the warmth of a Matt Costa tune. And something about that opening riff just makes me thing about dusty, country roads. And when that coral chorus comes in? Man…
It’s a cracking tune, and is securing Patrick Park’s position as one of the premier songwriters in contemporary music.
Jason Schwartzman is a constant as one of my favourite artists, and whenever he releases some solo material it’s cause for excitement. Better known as indie actor (Rushmore, Spin et al), and one-time drummer for “Phantom Planet”, Jason seems to be this never-ending fountain of creativity.
His most recent project is “Coconut Music“; the moniker under which he has released a solo-album, entitled “Nighttiming”. As always with Schwartzman, Coconut Music certainly won’t be for everyone. I hope you give this offering, “West Coast“, a try however, and check out his other tunes on the Coconut Music myspace page.
Again, I’m not sure this song will be to everyone’s tastes; The Dodos occupy that uncomfortable ground between acoustic troubadours and freak-folk – much like Animal Collective. That said, this tune, “Fools“, has me interested. The frantic strumming of guitarist and lead singer Meric Long’s guitar, coupled with the steady clicking of drummer Logan Kroeber’s beat makes for a steamroller of a song, unrelenting right up to the very last 30 seconds or so.
Take a listen, and let me know what you think.
Oh; and I happen to think the video is pretty sweet as well, so here it is:
And, in mp3 format…
Listen: The Dodos – Fools
(From the “Visiter” album, due out 18 Mar, 2008)
Those who have read this blog for a while might have noticed subtle hints of my slightobsession with the band, “The Damnwells“. And when lead singer Alex Dezen dropped a new song on their myspace page, it became clear to me that yet another post was needed. But before we get to the new tune (yes, it’s down at the bottom, along with some others), some background.
It’s hard to describe how much the music of The Damnwells excites me. It’s much like the first time I heard Dispatch, or Ryan Adams, or Ben Harper… and that’s no small compliment from me. There’s a strong alt.country vibe to their stuff (not surprising, considering drummer Steven Terry was a member of the oh-so-missed Whiskeytown), but it also hearkens back – for me, at least – to the times of the Gin Blossoms. And there’s just something about Alex Dezen’s voice and lyrics; it’s like he knows where you’re coming from, and meets up with you on the journey.
The Damnwells (2006) Photo by Heather Conley
I’ve previously pointed you towards the “Golden Days” trailer, but I’m including it here again. It’s a documentary that chronicles the band’s rise to the brink of stardom, and then how it was all taken away from them… after all, The Damnwells have played with The Fray many times, but while The Fray have been catapaulted into the public eye, The Damnwells still remain largely unknown (in terms of mainstream acceptance, anyway). As the film release says:
“In 2001, a photo assistant named Alex Dezen asked a couple friends to record a few songs with him. Shortly thereafter they would form the Brooklyn based rock band THE DAMNWELLS. Two years later they had toured the country, opened for rock legends, and had a song featured in a major motion picture. By 2004, they had signed a major record deal with EPIC Records (Sony/BMG).
In March of 2005, THE DAMNWELLS went into the studio to record their first professional album. For six months, THE DAMNWELLS immersed themselves in preproduction, recording, and mixing. But as months passed, their release date was moved further and further away. In January of 2006, lead singer Alex Dezen received a call they never expected. The band was being released from their contract and the fate of the album was unknown. For the moment, it would sit on a shelf at EPIC Records and collect dust.”
Watch the trailer, and tell me it doesn’t excite you.
Word from Chris (Suchorsky, the film’s director), is that the DVD should be made available in the US by Spring. And I’m freaking out. Up until now, I’ve only seen segments of the film, but not the whole thing.
More reason to freak out, is that Alex has written on the band’s blog that they should back in studio to record a follow up to the 2006 release, “Air Stereo“, in February. As he’s said:
“Really, when you consider all the pressure and nonsense—both existential and metaphoric—we always had to deal with every time we went into the studio, this will be the first Damnwells record we will ever be able to just make. ‘No pressure,’ Paul, our A&R guy at Rounder says. ‘Make the record you want to make.’ What a crazy idea! Not like we were ever making anyone else’s records, but there was always compromise.
Where art and commerce meet, there has to be. Your mixed-medium, six foot canvas doesn’t fit in the six by three inch display case at Wal-Mart, and no amount of dieting or exercise is ever gonna fit your square peg in that round hole. Compromise is a part of life—at least the kind that includes a roof over your head and food on the table. So now that we’re supposed to make this record, the one we want to make, without the pressure and nonsense, I think I may be feeling a little Stockholm syndrome coming on. How the hell am I supposed to do that?
Guess we’ll find out.”
The guy just has this amazing way with words, and if there was one person I could sit down and have a beer with, Alex Dezen would definitely be one of my frontrunners.
Anyway, on to the tunes below.
Alex Dezen before forming The Damnwells (2000) Photo by Heather Conley
The first track is the new release on their myspace page, entitled “Down With The Ship“. Dezen has this talent of crafting these incredibly powerful songs, accompanied simply by his acoustic guitar and pure heart (as anyone who has heard his “Live Performance at the Hotel Cafe 10/14/07” can attest to. It’s floating around the net, so take a look for it. If you’re really struggling, drop me a line, as I have the whole show in a zip file).
This song is no different. The guy’s voice absolutely wrecks me.
The Damnwells on tour (2006) Photo by Heather Conley
I’ve included some of their other singles below, simply because you should be listening to this. The first is a cracker of a tune (and the first of theirs I heard actually), from their 2003 release, “Bastards of the Beat“, called “Kiss Catastrophe“. It’s undeniably catchy. Try not to get into it. I dare ya.
The next track is their tune, “I Am A Leaver“. This is off their last album, “Air Stereo”, and is probably the song that has garnered The Damnwells the most mainstream attention. Again… if you don’t find yourself singing along with the chorus, I don’t know what’s wrong with you.
The final track is the theme song for the “Golden Days” trailer, Golden Days. It’s a comforting tune, with wonderful backing vocals and lyrics like: “I can’t hear much but the melody coming from you / Baby please don’t rush, keep the tempo slow and blue, let me hear the words you say / Let’s go and get tangled in chains of golden days.”
(Aside: 3 posts in 1 day? I know, it’s a regular explosion over here!)
Ah. Scott Adams. The dude is simply amazing.
For those out of the loop, Scott Adams is the creator of the famous “Dilbert” cartoon strips. But unless you subscribe to his blog, you probably aren’t aware of just how damn hip this cat is. Subscribe now, seriously. Politics, sex, humour… anything is fair game there.
And it was with interest that I read this post recently, where Scott invited his readers to make up a song by all contributing lyrics. As he said:
Recently I discovered I am a talented lyricist. This came as a big surprise to me. It all came together when I realized most songs I enjoy are gibberish. I can TOTALLY write gibberish!
For decades I believed my favorite songs revolved around deep thoughts artistically embedded in metaphors and allusions. It turns out they were gibberish.
My first hint came after reading an interview with Paul McCartney. He admitted that most, if not all, Beatles songs were random words and thoughts strung together. I refused to believe it. So I checked online and read some of the Beatles songs. Holy crap! Gibberish!
The rules were simple.
1. Write no more than two lines.
2. Your lines should be grammatically correct.
3. It should sound like it might have deep meaning to someone else.
4. Avoid klunky sounding words. Velvet is good. Cholesterol is bad.
5. Specify whether your lines are a hook or just part of the regular lyrics.
6. It should seem to be part of a story about life or love but not too specific, so they can all be strung together later.
Knowing the Dilbert blog readers, I knew this would be something special. So, it was with no surprise that when I read the follow up post, “The Hit Song You Wrote” – with the strung together lyrics – it turned out that the exercise had worked. The lyrics were nonsensical to the max, but if you thought hard enough about it, you could convince yourself that there was some hidden, deeper meaning behind them.
And then German band Rivo Drei came along. They have two things going for them. 1) They read the Scott Adams blog. 2) They are obviously very sharp marketers, because they were the first to record the song and submit it to Scott for publicizing on his blog.
Rivo Drei – She Amazed Me (The Dilbert Sessions)
It may be a nonsense song, but it’s ridiculously catchy. And I think that this song is going to expose Rivo Drei to an amazingly large audience. Nice one guys.
I’ve taken a look around their site, and there’s some seriously cool stuff there. Unfortunately all their lyrics are in German, so it’s a bit hard to understand, but there are still some kickass tunes. And these guys have some seriously cool music videos too. I’m quite a fan of this one below.
This may spawn a week of quasi-hip-hop cover posts; I’m not too sure yet. But ever since I heard this cover by Obadiah Parker of Outkast’s “Hey Ya” last month, it’s been playing on a pretty much non-stop repeat.
The cover has become something of a Youtube phenomenon, with lead singer Matt Weddle’s free voice opening the song up to interpretations that may have been overshadowed by Andre 3000’s bombastic performance. It was through this song that I stumbled upon their myspace page; most of the tunes on their page are live recordings, but the soul they play with is clearly audible. With hints of DMB, Counting Crows and even Bill Withers, it’s clear to me that Obadiah Parker are a band that are sure to hit things big soon.
Post-A-Day Week: It’s not often over a weekend that I’ll be sent enough songs to make up a week of posts. So, this week, I’ve decided to put up a post a day, as opposed to lumping them all into one confusing mess, as I am wontto do.
If you prefer the big mass posts, then let me know; but I think this might be easier to digest. Today’s aural treat is:
***
Patrick Sweaney – Hotel Women
You know, it’s not often that I would find myself comparing anyone to Van Morrison. But Patrick Sweany could be the person to change that.
There’s something about this guy. He delivers his vocals with a quiet power, that sinks under your skin with intimacy and intensity. And he makes you believe.
This track, “Hotel Women“, is taken from his latest album, “Every Hour Is A Dollar Gone“, and it’s perhaps the track that reminds me of classic Van Morrison the most. It’s a song with warm, welcoming vocals, that are somehow drenched in remorse and nostalgia. It’s a ridiculously good track, and one that I hope you give a chance.
Post-A-Day Week: It’s not often over a weekend that I’ll be sent enough songs to make up a week of posts. So, this week, I’ve decided to put up a post a day, as opposed to lumping them all into one confusing mess, as I am wontto do.
If you prefer the big mass posts, then let me know; but I think this might be easier to digest. Today’s aural treat is:
***
Samamidon – Saro
Sam Amidon, aka Samamidon, is a product of the quintessential folk-band family, the Amidons. And on this track, “Saro”, Sam proves that he certainly deserves a place in the First Family of Folk.
Saro, like the majority of the songs on Samamidon’s upcoming new album, “All Is Well”, is actually a retelling of a traditional folk song, “Pretty Saro”. There are countless covers of this song, performed by such great names and Judy Collins, Bert Jansch, and Doc Watson, among others; Samamidon’s version is the most haunting and beautiful I have heard.
Although the song has been set with different melodies, and different characters, and even in different times – some songs start off in 1749, others in 1849 – the central story remains the same: An immigrant, alone and flailing in a strange country, misses his true love back home.
This version by Sam is sung in a resigned, yet achingly beautiful voice, and is accompanied by composer-friend, Nico Mulhy’s amazing string and wood instrument arrangements.
There truly is nothing else to say, except that Samamidon is on the cusp of greatness. Without question, his will be the definitive version of this song.
Below I’ve included both the music video for the single, “Saro”, and, of course, the song itself.
Post-A-Day Week: It’s not often over a weekend that I’ll be sent enough songs to make up a week of posts. So, this week, I’ve decided to put up a post a day, as opposed to lumping them all into one confusing mess, as I am wontto do.
If you prefer the big mass posts, then let me know; but I think this might be easier to digest. Today’s aural treat is:
***
Need To Breathe – More Time (With a side helping of Washed by the Water)
Need to Breathe first appeared on my radar with their 2006 release, “Daylight”. While it was certainly an enjoyable album, portions of it seemed too… well, predictable. After all, these boys played mainstream rock, and they were happy to fit the mould. With their latest release, “The Heat”, however, they seem to be stepping back from the preconceived notion of “mainstream rock” and following their own tune.
Don’t get me wrong; Need to Breathe still unabashedly fits into the mainstream rock genre. But that needn’t be an automatic death knell. It seems that songwriter-brothers, Bo and Bear Rinehart have learnt to appreciate the art of restraint more here, and their music is all the better for it.
Nowhere is this shown better than in the breakdown section of the first track below, “More Time”. It’s a great song, and undeniably catchy.
The second track, “Washed by the Water”, shows the band’s Christian roots. Unashamedly a worship song, don’t let that deter you; it’s a rollicking tune that anyone can groove to.
Post-A-Day Week: It’s not often over a weekend that I’ll be sent enough songs to make up a week of posts. So, this week, I’ve decided to put up a post a day, as opposed to lumping them all into one confusing mess, as I am wontto do.
If you prefer the big mass posts, then let me know; but I think this might be easier to digest. Today’s aural treat is:
***
Faker – This Heart Attack
Showing some love for the Aussie bands, “This Heart Attack“ by Faker is a ridiculously catchy single from their latest album, “Be The Twilight” (2007). Similar to the Liverpool boys, “The Wombats”, Faker are bringing back that New Order sound and mashing it with a pop-sensibility that should ensure it’s accessibility to the masses. And the fact that’s catchy as all hell certainly won’t hurt with that.
There’s something intense in lead singer Nathan Hudson’s delivery here, yet at the same time apathetic. It’s an intriguing combination, and if you haven’t heard this track yet, click the damn play button below already!
”, is actually a retelling of a traditional folk song, “Pretty Saro”. There are countless covers of this song, performed by such great names and Judy Collins, Bert Jansch, and Doc Watson, among others; Samamidon’s version is the most haunting and beautiful I have heard.
