Wilco - "Impossible Germany (Live)"

I've got a treat for you today. Wilco was one of those bands that people who knew my musical tastes kept mentioning to me. "You should really check them out." I tried a number of different albums at several different points in time, but never really found a good entry point. Their album "Yankee Foxtrot Hotel" was critically acclaimed by virtually every music publication, but I still haven't found much to like on that one. However, my opinion of Wilco changed when I heard their album "Sky Blue Sky"; the album is genius, and I say that without a hint of hyperbole. Take this track for instance...how would you pin it down into a single genre? It turns out that the addition of Nels Cline on guitar augmented their sound quite a bit, and it's not hard to see why from this video...the man creates a world of possibilities.

It was really hard for me to pick a single song from this album, because I really could recommend almost every track. So I'm sure I'll be posting more from this album in the future, but for the time being, enjoy this one!

Matt Nathanson - "Bulletproof Weeks"

A Pandora special today. I'm in the middle of exploring Matt Nathanson's catalogue, and so far so good. I really enjoy this song, so I hope you do as well.

Led Zeppelin - "Over The Hills And Far Away"

I've always loved Led Zeppelin, and this has long been one of my favorite songs of theirs. The guitar intro is so memorable. The track is from their album "Houses of the Holy", which was riddled with hits. It should be a nice way to start your week. Enjoy!

Note: You might have noticed that I didn't manage to post a song yesterday. I'm not running out of ideas (yet), but time on the weekend is certainly at a premium these days. When I first started this blog I had planned on only posting songs for weekdays, taking the weekends off. I think the time has arrived to implement that schedule, so I'll only be posting five songs per week from here on in. Hopefully that won't disappoint my loyal readers...all three of you.

The Police - "Walking On The Moon"

Whenever anyone mentions Stewart Copeland, my mind immediately jumps to this song. I've always loved his minimalist setup, and (of course) his prolific playing within that framework. This is a nice song for the weekend. Enjoy!

Bruce Hornsby and The Range - "The Show Goes On"

I've been holding back Bruce Hornsby until the start of autumn. I can't explain why, but most of his music simply works best in the fall. The album that this track came from - "Songs From The Southside" - is a perfect example of this. The whole album works best played in the car on a crisp autumn afternoon. I've always loved this track. It was too long for the radio, but I'd never want it edited down to radio length, because what would you cut? Nothing, that's what. Enjoy!

Better Than Ezra - "Scared Are You?"

I never really got into Better Than Ezra for long, but the album that this comes from - "Friction Baby" - was fantastic throughout. I remember hearing "Desperately Wanting" and "King of New Orleans" on the radio, but this track seems to have slipped through the cracks. Enjoy!

Tonic - "Soldier's Daughter"

I've always felt that Tonic was an underrated band. Most people remember them from their single "If You Could Only See". Both that song and today's song are from their debut album "Lemon Parade", which was solid throughout. Their follow-up albums "Sugar" and "Head On Straight" were largely in the same vein, but this album always felt a little more organic than its successors. I like the guitar part on this tune, as well as the overall tone of the song. Enjoy!

Burlap to Cashmere - "Eileen's Song"

I wanted to post something by Burlap to Cashmere today, and I had planned on using "Basic Instructions", but couldn't find a satisfactory version on YouTube. So I opted for "Eileen's Song" instead. This tune got quite a bit of radio time when it was released, so you've probably heard it before. I like the little guitar lick that he uses in the later verses so much that I've used it when playing other tunes before. I hope you enjoy it!

Big Wreck - "That Song"

A very 'meta' tune today, because for one summer it became exactly the kind of tune that is referenced by the lyrics. Several people have heard this one before, but never knew who wrote it...likely because they could never ask anyone about the lyrics without getting a headache from the ensuing conversation:

Inquisitor: "Do you know who does 'That Song'?"
Friend: "Which song?"
Inquisitor: "That Song."
Friend: "Um...ok. How does it go? Do you remember any lyrics?"
Inquisitor: "I really love that tune. Man, I love that song."
Friend: "I understand, but do you remember any of the lyrics?"
Inquisitor: "I just told you some of the lyrics."
Friend (while making a mental note to get some smarter friends): "Wow, look at the time!"

Anyway, enjoy!

Jack Johnson - "Flake"

I almost forgot to post a song today, but I decided to use a good one anyway. Jack Johnson's music is perfect for relaxing; it's almost impossible to remain stressed while listening to him. I've always liked this tune, in particular the little jam session at the tail end. I hope you enjoy it as well!

Anberlin - "(*Fin)"

And now for something a bit harder. Anberlin is a fantastic band, and their music stands out in my mind for their excellent songwriting and solid guitar work. This track closes out their album "Cities" which is great throughout. The lyrics are tough; they comprise stories of the lead singer's struggles with faith at different points in his life, often amplified rather than quelled by those within the church ("patron saint, are we all lost like you?"). The children's choir in the middle of the tune is haunting, and I love that touch. I expect to post more Anberlin tunes here in the future, but for the time being, enjoy this one!

Kings of Convenience - "Riot On An Empty Street"

I'm pretty excited to get to share Kings of Convenience with you. The hardest thing for me was picking just one song. This tune is from their album "Declaration of Dependence" which is simply fantastic throughout. The band is clearly Norway's answer to Simon and Garfunkel, and that suits me just fine. I haven't had a chance to dig into any of their earlier albums yet, but I most certainly will. Enjoy!

Elton John - "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word"

I've got a classic for you today. The video is a bit creepy, with the foggy lens, Elton's receding hairline, etc. However, I've always loved this song, particularly the double-tracked vocal responses in the chorus. Enjoy!

Mainstay - "October Came Late"

As I alluded to yesterday, I've got another example of a subtle shift in the beat having a major impact on a chorus. With today's example, however, it's the band that shifts the beat rather than the vocals changing their phrasing within the same temporal construct. I like Mainstay's music, and this tune in particular, because the vocals are so solid and the band seems to have a really good sense of melody. I would have eventually posted this song on its own merits, but it really jumped to my mind as I was writing yesterday's post about shifting beats...it's one of the things that makes this song memorable for me, because it creates a rather unique feel. I'm sure I'll post some other Mainstay songs in the future. For now, I hope you enjoy this one!

Acceptance - "So Contagious"

This band is no more, and it turns out that they only produced one studio album. The album itself isn't that great, but this song has always stood out to me. The music is vaguely reminiscent of any number of bands that popped up the late 90's and early 2000's...but Hoobastank is the one that jumps to my mind.

Anyway, I have a hard time determining what I find catchy about this song, but I think it comes down to two things: 1) the nifty little two-string guitar part that opens the song and runs throughout and 2) the offbeat phrasing of the second "could this be out of line" in the choruses...it's a small thing, to be sure, but it significantly changes the feel. I may post another example tomorrow of a song using a subtle shift in the beat to change the feel, because I find it amusing. Enjoy!

Glen Phillips - "Train Wreck"

I have a sad one for you today, from the lead singer of Toad the Wet Sprocket. This track was from his first solo album "Abulum", which is a great album, but takes several listens to appreciate. Also, it's mostly depressing...like palpably so. This track is certainly representative of that tone, but I love the sparse instrumentation as well as the tasteful guitar lick starting at the 4:02 mark.

This is my first post that contains embedding from a source other than Youtube. There simply aren't enough Glen Phillips fans out there willing to infringe on his copyrights. Today's source is from his bandcamp site...pretty awesome of them to allow a fairly high-quality streaming of a full track. I hope you enjoy it!

Simon and Garfunkel - "The Boxer"

I've got a classic for you today, without a thing to say about it. Enjoy!

Damien Rice - "The Blower's Daughter"

I like the tone of most of Damien Rice's music, but there are only a few songs of his that I really enjoy. This happens to be one of them. The video is a bit weird, and the sound quality leaves plenty to be desired, but the official video had clips from the movie "Closer", which I want nothing to do with, even with the better sound quality. Hopefully, you can still find the beauty in this song. Enjoy!

Dispatch - "The General"

We've got a Pandora special today. A very talented three-man 'jam band', Dispatch's music typically has a nice groove to it. The lyrics to this song are pretty incredible, and the song has a fantastic hook that's managed to bore its way deep into my skull. After listening to the studio version posted below, I highly recommend checking out their performance at Madison Square Garden at a benefit concert they arranged, called "Dispatch: Zimbabwe". That's a pretty awesome way to close out a show. Enjoy!

Something Corporate - "Me and the Moon"

I love me some piano bands, and Something Corporate is a good one. Andrew McMahon, the lead singer, went on to form another band called Jack's Mannequin, which is also pretty good, but not quite as good as Something Corporate, in my opinion. This song appeared on their album "North", which has a fairly sad tone throughout, but is quite good (I also love me some good sad music). The piano and strings carry this song for me, because the lyrics are fairly devastating. Sorry about the video ("Lyrics are in the Description" in case you didn't notice)...it was either this, or a something that looked like a slideshow put together by a girl in middle school, which was still on the table for me, but the sound quality was better on this one. Enjoy!

The Dream Academy - "Life in a Northern Town"

Back to the 80's today. I loved this song long before I knew what it was about. Someone once wrote of The White Stripes' song "Seven Nation Army" that it didn't seem like Jack White had written the main riff so much as he had uncovered one that had existed since the dawn of time, because it was so primal and so immediately recognizable. I feel that way about the chorus of this song; musically speaking, the verses seem to exist only to bring things down so they can build back up to that chorus. And the chorus is primarily gibberish, but it's immediately recognizable...even if you didn't know the name of the song, you'd probably recognize that chorus anywhere.

Well, it turns out that the song was written as a tribute to Nick Drake, who happens to be one of my favorite artists. His story is quite sad, ending with his death in 1974 at the age of 26 via an overdose of amitriptyline, an antidepressant. His music is hauntingly beautiful, though, and as soon as I can find a youtube clip of his work with some decent audio, you can be sure I'll be posting some of his songs on this blog. For the time being, here's a song dedicated to him (which, by the way, doesn't resemble his music in any fashion). This video (not the official video) is a bit distracting, but try to enjoy the music!

Chevelle - "Saferwaters"

Time for something a bit harder today. I've always liked Chevelle because their drummer is pretty incredible, and also because they craft a rather melodic form of metal, which I appreciate. This song (which comes from the album "Vena Sera") serves as a good example of both...check out the vocal harmony in the choruses and the tight drum fills (particularly on the intro and coming out of the break). Their lyrics have always been a bit cryptic to me, but then, I'm not a lyrics person so that doesn't bother me. I hope you enjoy today's change of pace!

Chicago - "Hard to Say I'm Sorry / Get Away"

Today it's an oldie, but a goodie. This track was originally on Chicago 16, and both that album and Chicago 17 were in serious rotation in my household when I was younger. I always loved the keys in this song, but perhaps more importantly, I could never figure out why radio stations would always fade out at the end of "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" as if there were nothing more to hear...didn't they know that they were cutting out the best part?! The brass is stellar on "Get Away", and it's a fun little tune. I'm sure you've all heard the track before, but enjoy it anyway!

Antoine Dufour - "Reality"

I discovered Antoine back when I was trying to find out all I could about Andy McKee. It turns out that CandyRat Records has a whole stable of unbelievably talented string musicians...I guess it's their niche. Apparently, Antoine was born in 1979, making him a year younger than me. His wikipedia page says that he started playing when he was 15. I started when I was 12. So I've got a good 4 years on him, and yet almost all of his catalogue remains untouchable for me. Go figure. Maybe he spends more time practicing? Regardless, enjoy...unless you're a guitarist, in which case you should grab some tissues to prepare for the inevitable weeping.

Sting - "We Work The Black Seam"

How about some Sting for your Saturday? This has long been one of my favorite songs of his. It comes from the album "The Dream of the Blue Turtles", the title track of which my friend Sandor uses as his ringtone...so you know it has to be a good album (right Craig?). The tone of this track is pretty dark and sad, but the music is beautiful, and I love Sting's voice on the chorus. Enjoy!

Van Morrison - "Caravan"

How about some Van Morrison to get your weekend started? What more can I say about Van Morrison? He's nicknamed "Van the Man" for a reason. I've always loved this song. Sit back and enjoy!

MUTEMATH - "Reset (Live)" and "Armistice"

This is one of my few music discovery experiences that I can recreate perfectly for you on this blog. Watch the performance of a song called "Reset" by a band named MUTEMATH.


That exact Youtube video was my first taste of MUTEMATH. Yes, the drummer has his over-the-ear headphones literally strapped to his head. Yes, he's awesome enough to pull that off. I would go on to discover that the band was strongly influenced by The Police (and if you don't believe me, then check out "Noticed"), that their singer actually has a great voice, that the crazy theremin-like instrument the singer's playing at the end is called an Atari, and that they can write really good songs. So why did I choose "Armistice" to go along with "Reset" today? Largely because of the awesome beat and the brass, and because you need to know what this band is capable of. Enjoy!