Dailey Does it Again

Will Dailey is really working his magic on me. I have had a concert ticket for Chicago and Earth, Wind & Fire burning a hole in my pocket for the past month when suddenly Will Dailey flies into town on the same evening - this Friday - and makes me reevaluate my plans.

Truth be told, Mr. Dailey is opening for Jonah Smith at the Bowery Ballroom and the reason I'm definitely going is because of my lovely friend who got us on the guest list after I dragged us to his show at Mercury Lounge last month and she took some incredible photographs of the band that got some rightful attention. We both became instant fans and of course, who can pass up free tickets to see a great musician with a great companion? It was difficult giving up those Chicago tickets as it has become an annual tradition for my cousin and I to keep the family spirit alive and see them, our favorite band, together but this seemed like more of a one-time opportunity. There is nothing greater I can support than the discovery and appreciation of new artists and Will Dailey tops that list.

As a quick reminder if this is your first time hearing of Dailey, he is an up and coming, extremely determined and rather extremely passionate, young musician from Boston who is not only reinventing a new way of delivering music to the masses with his Torrent collection but playing to audiences nationwide on tours either headlining or supporting other singer/songwriters. If you have yet to hear him, I would describe his sound somewhere between folksy rock and gutsy pop. There's a lot of power in these little tunes.

I have faith I made the right decision in choosing the hip young Dailey over a band I have seen over a dozen times. Perhaps I can catch another date on their tour?

BATTLE STUDIES

This is the kind of moment that I live for:

John Mayer has just announced that his latest album, Battle Studies, will be released November 17th with a single "Who Says" (that we posted about awhile ago) coming even sooner. I'm not sure what this single will do for his "Daughters", "Your Body is a Wonderland", "Say" (aka the worst singles artist ever) stigma but it is sort of about smoking pot and stays true to some of the themes in "Waiting on the World to Change" so it has definite potential.

I don't care who's reading: I am just thrilled! When a new John Mayer album comes out it's better than Christmas, a concert ticket, and a strong margarita combined - it is the greatest day of the year.

To take a look back on some footage fans have received awaiting the epic new album check out the videos below:

Battle Studies Videos 1-3





Half of My Heart - New song that hopefully made it on to the album because it takes my breath away. I could easily listen to this song alone for a month straight.



Latest song leak - "Friends, Lovers, or Nothing" with tambourine courtesy of the immensely talented Steve Jordan. Not as good as "Half of my Heart" for me but I was really impressed with the folksy/soul/'70s vibe I was getting from this song that I rarely feel in Mayer's usual sparse/modern/blues sound.



I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS ALBUM.

Rock Cats in Hats

I have a deep love of hats of all kinds. Hats do so much to make an outfit that much more stylish and unique - and atop the heads of these rock stars, they become iconic. While I think Tom Petty does it best, these other cats deserve many kudos as well as they have become as well known for what's on their heads as what's in their music.

From top to bottom: Jamiroquai, Esteban, Flava Flav, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Slash








Inspiration: ZZ Top with Slash and John Mayer at the House of Blues on Friday night. Plenty of superb head attire.

Jason Mraz: Breaks a Record and Makes a DVD

This is really celebratory news: Mr. Mraz, Mechanicsville, VA native, hippie extraordinare, has made Billboard history with his song "I'm Yours" that first climbed the charts in May 2008 and has managed to stay consistent for the past 70 weeks making it the longest-running single in Billboard's 51 year history. The last single to hold this record, LeAnn Rimes classic "How Do I Live", kept the title for 11 years prior.

"I'm Yours" is also the first song to reach number 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Top 40/Pop Songs, Adult Contemporary, Adult Top 40, and Triple A lists.

While I don't think it's his greatest song, Jason Mraz is the most worthy musician I can think of for this prestegious honor. Unbelievable.

Here's a little article I found on rollingstone.com where Mraz talks about the record breaking news, upcoming live DVD, and future albums:

Jason Mraz set a Billboard Hot 100 record this week with his hit single “I’m Yours” (which he calls his “happy little hippie song”), but confesses he can’t explain the song’s success: “I don’t know what’s behind it — if I knew, I would write more of it!”

Adds Mraz, “The song is about generosity — giving yourself or your time to someone else. What moves me about seeing the world take to ‘I’m Yours’ makes me think the world wants to give its time to other people. I’m really inspired thinking that this is the kind of song people want to hear.”

He tells RS he drew inspiration from elsewhere for the sensual “Butterfly,” also off last year’s We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. (Watch a special acoustic performance of the song, above.) “When I took a break to make this record, I joined my roommate Bushwalla’s band — I was the guitarist and background vocalist,” Mraz explains. “There was a young woman in the band who would also do a burlesque show and invited us to go see her. And I was watching this burlesque show thinking, ‘Man, I wonder if my music is played in any exotic clubs anywhere in the world? I sincerely doubt it.’ That challenged me: I went home, and I thought, ‘I’m going to see if I can’t write a song that a young woman would want to model her shoes to.’ I don’t know if the girl ever found out, but it’s definitely one of the more fun songs in the live show.”

“Butterfly” and the rest of Mraz’s current live set were captured for an upcoming DVD last week in Chicago and Colbie Caillat showed up to duet with Mraz on “Lucky.” Mraz says he wanted to write a classic duet, and had had the melody in his head before reaching out to Caillat via MySpace and working with her to craft the tune (which he calls “the sister song” to “I’m Yours”) via e-mail.

The DVD is being directed by Darren Doane, who helmed Mraz’s recent music videos and has an arsenal of extra footage to include. Unfortunately, the So You Think You Can Dance routine set to Mraz’s “Even If It Kills Me” didn’t make the Chicago show (Mraz told us he wanted it to happen), but he promises,”if you’re a fan of this record, or saw one show in the last two years, I think this will be a film that will be a memory of where we are now in our lives.”

After finishing his Café Gratitude tour at the Hollywood Bowl in October, Mraz continues his live dates in South America and has hopes to begin work on his next album after that. “I want to write optimistic material, and upbeat stuff — but I don’t want to leave out the beauty this time around,” Mraz says. “I want it to be lush, but it’s early in the process. Who knows? I could come out with some robotic hip-hop record.”

Song to Love: Covered in Rain

Appropriately, it is a rainy Saturday afternoon, I'm at work alone in a little box and was just asked by a customer if the building is haunted. I need my favorite song more than ever right now.

And this is it.

I don't know if I've mentioned it before - and it takes a lot for me to say this with complete assurance - but my favorite song is "Covered in Rain" by John Mayer. I guess if I was forced to give the full picture, this would be in a tight race with Chicago's "Beginnings" but that song doesn't do what this one does. "Covered in Rain" is literally everything a song should be - while breaking every rule I have when listening to songs.

Let me explain: When I turn on my iPod, I'm generally looking for a 2 to 3 minute song - upbeat, quick, catchy chorus, nothing too serious. With "Covered in Rain" there's a five minute guitar solo (depending on the version you're listening to, it has never been officially recorded for release), it's a ten minute song total, and it is slower than many of Mayer's other songs. It's not for the musical faint of heart. It is a commitment which might be why it leaves such an impression. I shouldn't even be discussing it for fear that it will make me sound like a larger geek than I already am but seeing Mayer play this live is like pure musical heaven. It transports the audience to a different level - the guitar solo is incendiary. It is a masterpiece. Before I understood anything about musicianship, I knew this was unlike any other basic singer/songwriter shtick. The song tells a story of a failing relationship on the most human level possible, reminiscing about the simple things that are always the hardest to forget.

And the lyrics:

In these days with the world gettin colder
She spends more time sleeping over
Than I’d planned
Tonight we're gonna order in
Drinkin' wine and watchin' CNN
It’s dark, I know
But then again, it's the brightest thing I've got

When I'm covered in rain, rain
When I'm covered in rain, rain, rain, rain

From fireworks to fireplaces
Summer stole what fall replaces
And now we're people watching
All the people, people watching us right back
Standing by the missing signs
At the CVS, by the checkout line
She puts her quiet hands in mine,
Cause she's the brightest thing I've got

When I’m covered in rain, rain
When I’m covered in rain, rain, rain, rain
Oh, I’m covered in rain
Oh, I’m covered in rain
Oh, I’m covered in rain

And come December, Lydia left.
She mentioned something ‘bout it being for the best,
And I can't say I disagree, and its killing me.
And now I’m standing facing west
Tracing my fingers round a silhouette
I haven’t gotten used to yet,
But it’s the brightest thing I’ve got

When I’m covered in rain

This is just one of those songs that can't be discussed in greater length - it must be heard. My favorite version can be found on the live dvd/cd Any Given Thursday but another great rendition is on As/Is available on iTunes and in some stores.

Enjoy.



And some extra credit: "Hummingbird" - my second favorite Mayer song with the same eerie, bittersweet feeling that makes "Covered in Rain" so phenomenal. The John Mayer in this video is a completely different one than you're used to these days. It's nice to remember.

I Need to Run My Fingers Through His Hair:

I don't know when John Mayer started looking like this but it's making me angry. I used to honestly be able to say that I didn't think he was attractive and now he's starting to look like an ideal outline of a guy I would draw on a placemat at the diner while waiting for food. He is gorgeous. This needs to stop immediately.

A Rush of Blood to the Head

I haven't written a general entry in awhile and I have so much flowing through my mind right now that I just want to feel my fingers typing thoughts.

I'm at work and should really be doing mindless reports but I'm thinking of Queen Latifah's version of "Hello Stranger" (future post about that to come), great writing (thanks to a 600 word short story), and my fear of a brain tumor (courtesy of the top of my head feeling like it's dripping blood and aching so badly).

I am absolutely in love with writing. I want to write every second.

I feel incredibly stagnant and that's when my head starts to hurt the most. If I sit still for longer than a half hour I start to get this weird tingling sensation at the top and it filters down until it reaches my heart and I feel palpitations. It might be a disease or it might be my immense, immense, IMMENSE desire to do something more than I am now. I have so much crazy passion and energy inside me that I don't know what to do with. I sometimes feel like I could do a thousand things at once with all the built up excitement underneath my exterior.

This could be why I am addicted to concerts: they completely involve every aspect of my being at the same time. They allow me to concentrate on something I'm genuinely interested in, move my body to the music, think about the lyrics, analyze the performance, and take in the crowd through all my senses. They excite me in the way a new love makes someone feel or a winning lottery ticket. I feel emotions in a major way and they allow me to put that emotion towards something productive, positive, and exhilarating. I am shaking right now just thinking about it (or maybe that's another tumor symptom).

I want a drink.

Song to Love: It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City

I was listening to the greatest radio station in New Jersey, 101.9 RXP, the other day when this song came on that for some crazy reason I had never heard before. It was obviously Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band but it had this really strong Tom Petty flavor that I fell in love with instantly. I still don't have the internet at my new apartment yet which means I haven't been able to download this song so far but I am already obsessed with it. I immediately wrote down the name of it on an old receipt that day (a practice I love) and have listened to it on the work computer almost everyday I've been here since then.

This song, off Springsteen's debut album, Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J., was the first to impress the guy, Mike Appel, that was to become his manager even though he wasn't yet with a label. From my reliable source (Wikipedia, naturally), it was also the first song Springsteen performed at his audition for CBS Records who eventually ended up signing him. The original demo of this song can be found on Tracks, a four disc box set released in 1998.


While I've always appreciated Springsteen's music and even had minor love affairs with some of his others songs, none have stuck in my head like this one. It is one of 'those' songs for me. The second I get around to downloading it, it's going to be on nonstop replay I'm sure.

...and I don't know if it's just me but Bruce Springsteen doesn't get enough credit for being rather attractive, right? He's my type at least.