It seems like more and more I'm finding myself in love/hate relationships with bands that either I used to hate and now love or used to love and now hate. Luckily for Grizzly Bear, I now love them (like they really care). But it did take a lot to get me to this point.
I had seen Grizzly Bear open for the one and only THE NATIONAL at Hammerstein Ballroom way back in the year 2008 and not only disliked their set, wished they never existed as humans and wanted to kill myself with their microphone stand. I hated them in a way I have hated few bands before. It made my toes curl - in a bad way - to see them getting so much critical praise in reputable press like New York Magazine (the ones hosting the show) and The New York Times which ranked their album, Yellow House, as one of the best of 2006. I thought the lead singer looked like a demented version of Humphrey Bogart and totally dismissed all of their songs as sounding the same and blending into one another without notice.
Now, I'm not taking all of those comments back just yet because I like one song. I still never gave that particular album a full run through so it really could be as awful as I imagine and perhaps the band has just now started making better music.
This song, "Two Weeks" off their new album, Veckatimest, is excellent from start to finish. I am obsessed, in love, and can't get enough. It sounds like autumn in New York and love and candy and concerts. It sounds like going to see a concert in the fall in Manhattan while sucking on a sweet lollipop. Haha - I don't know.
The sound is so fresh and original that I will fully give it my seal of approval. This is one of those songs I think they made especially for my ears. While the lyrics are surprisingly powerful and even slightly sensual, it's the actual MUSIC of the song that is so above par. I am extremely impressed, more than I have been in a long time by a single song. Even the artwork on the album cover is decent so I could actually buy this freaking thing. I really might! And this is a band I don't even like.
That is the power of music.
Enjoy the music video. It's really weird.
Song originally found on 101.9 RXP: the greatest station in the world. Go to their website.
Two Weeks
Save up all the days A routine malaise Just like yesterday I told you I would stay
Would you always Maybe sometimes Make it easy Take your time
Think of all the ways Momentary phase Just like yesterday I told you I would stay
Every time you try Quarter half the mile Just like yesterday I told you I would stay
Would you always Maybe sometimes Make it easy Take your time
Just a quick rundown of some songs I've been wanting to download off iTunes but have yet to get a chance because of school, lack of internet access unless at school library, and the anticipation of the new 5th generation iPod that should be in my hands by the beginning of next week. Currently my old one is sitting in my bag, completely uncharged, missing headphones, and rather ragged looking. I feel sorry for it. I remember when I first got it almost two years ago and treated it like the most important piece of gold in the world. Now it's become a homeless person taking shelter in a random pocket next to a couple TD Bank pens. That's not very nice of me to treat an old friend like that but that new, shiny iPod is making dream clouds appear in my mind. I don't know what color I want yet (possibly dark blue? Forest green?.. I've always wanted a red one..) but I can't wait for the FM radio option and the pre-made Genius mixes. Those are the kind of nerdy things I live for. I hope to fall in love.
So here's a little, incomplete list meant primarily for me because who knows if anyone else will understand it.
**Cat Stevens - If You Want to Sing Out (from that T-Mobile commercial I love with my best friend, Whoopi Goldberg) **Wale ft. Lady Gaga - Chillin (I'm obsessed with the video and Gaga's absolutely addicting chorus) **Kanye West - Paranoid (I know I mentioned it before but I have yet to purchase it and hey, I still love him - and Taylor Swift is okay too) **Mayer Hawthorne (no song in particular but I've heard so much about him and think I'd like his style... maybe) **New Vampire Weekend? **Monsters of Folk **Electric Light Orchestra - Evil Woman **Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks (at least I think that's what it's called - found on 101.9) **Pete Yorn - Last Summer (I can't place this song but 101.9's recently played list mentions it a lot so I must hear it) **Joe Jackson - Look Sharp! **The Violent Femmes **James Morrison - Hurt Like You **Snow Patrol - Hands Open
... I feel like there was more throughout this past week but that's all I can think of. I don't mind that "Paparazzi" song of Lady Gaga's either but I wouldn't download it. I'm also LOVING everything about Kid Cudi whose debut album comes out today I think? I still need "Make Her Say" - consider that part of the list and any other new songs I love of his off the album.
A couple other notes:
--Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers are releasing a new live collection called "The Live Anthology" that does not have a set date yet but will include something like 48 songs, bonus footage, and all kinds of other stuff at a reasonable price. There's also some kind of digital "Superhighway" tour mentioned on their website but I don't fully understand it yet. Their new website is AWESOME though - the best I've ever seen.
--If you haven't checked out 101.9 RXP and live in the tri-state area, you are completely out of your mind. This is not only the greatest radio station to ever grace the airwaves, they are transforming my life into a better one. I don't hear them as much I'd like but my freaking new iPod better get great reception and tagging options on this station because I plan on listening to them a lot more as soon as I can. They play such rarities - both old and new - that I can't get over it. I keep finding these precious gems on their playlists, even if I listen for just a few minutes in the car. I want to give all the disc jockeys hugs and gift baskets. They are the greatest.
During Labor Day weekend I wrote a post about 101.9 RXP's 1,019 greatest rock songs of all time countdown but failed to ever post my own top 20 list that I managed to send in right before the deadline. I forget exactly how many of my songs wound up on the list but I do know it was a good amount - maybe 10? Maybe even more. I'm proud of that and also proud of all the other songs on my list. Not even all of Matt Pinfield's songs made the list (I don't think).
Believe it or not Pete Yorn, Ray LaMontagne, AND MY NATIONAL SONG(!) got on the list and really that's all I could ever ask for. I was thrilled.
So without further adieu, here is my Top 20 List of my favorite great rock songs.
Enjoy!
Cream - Sunshine of Your Love Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - I Need to Know* The Band - Up On Cripple Creek Led Zeppelin - D'yer Mak'er* The Hollies - Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress Todd Rundgren - I Saw The Light The Who - The Seeker Jefferson Airplane - High Flying Bird The National - Mistaken For Strangers* Bruce Springsteen - It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City* Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under the Bridge* David Bowie - Queen Bitch Creedence Clearwater Revival - Have You Ever Seen the Rain? Jimi Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower* Dramarama - Anything, Anything* Chicago - Beginnings Fleetwood Mac - Dreams Foo Fighters - Everlong* The Smiths - This Charming Man* Stone Temple Pilots - Interstate Love Song*
(*)=songs I know were chosen for the countdown, there may have been more.
And my "legacy picks" (these were categories with a predetermined artist that required you to choose their best song. For The Beatles it was pre-Rubber Soul and for the Stones it was pre-Sticky Fingers):
Buddy Holly - It Doesn't Matter Anymore Bob Dylan - I Threw it All Away Elvis Presley - Heartbreak Hotel The Beatles - You Can't Do That The Rolling Stones - Paint it, Black (although it would've been "Miss You" if it was out of their entire catalog)
This is the question the radio station I cannot get enough of - 101.9 RXP - is posing to its listeners and staff this Labor Day weekend. In order to be a part of their 1,019 greatest rock songs of all time you must fill out the ballot located on their site by tomorrow, August 31st, with your top 20 choices and refrain from repeating any favorite artist more than once. Along with your definitive list, the station is asking for your choice of an ultimate song by their crew of "pioneer rockers" including Chuck Berry, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles (pre-Rubber Soul). Results will air Friday morning, September 4 to Monday evening, September 7th.
In case of confusion, they've been kind enough to clog my mind by including on their site the ballots of their DJ's and a few scattered music industry types as examples. I am now obsessed. I need to hear each and every one of these songs immediately. If someone, a disc jockey no less, thinks a song belongs on a TOP 20 LIST OF ALL TIME then I need to know why before my head explodes. I wish I could say it more eloquently but this is the kind of list I create each night before I go to sleep, the kind I write rough drafts of during particularly boring days in science class. I'm at work right now - in the center of the storm some call a Hatebreed concert - and therefore my time is limited but I wanted to complete this post in order to maybe give someone a chance to enter the contest. My list probably won't be finished until tomorrow at which time I'll regret all my choices but still post it here for all to see. Until then, enjoy a sampling of the best list I've read yet - Mr. Matt Pinfield's, the originator of this plan.
The Ramones - I Just Wanna Have Something to Do The Who - Substitute Neil Young - Old Man Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen in Love The Jam - Going Underground The Kinks - Sunny Afternoon Led Zeppelin - Hey Hey What Can I Do David Bowie - Rock N Roll Suicide The Clash - Death or Glory Bruce Springsteen - Candy's Room Elvis Costello - Accidents Will Happen Soundgarden - Outshined The Cure - In Between Days Jimi Hendrix - Castles Made of Sand The Smiths - How Soon is Now Oasis - Live Forever U2 - Where the Streets Have No Name Dramarama - Anything Anything Pearl Jam - Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town Nine Inch Nails - Hurt
I am sick to my stomach today. As much as I feigned excitement about the coming semester, I am not in the mood to go back to the lifestyle it requires: waking up at 7am, walking to and from distant campuses, faking a smile for strangers, awkward encounters, etc. I almost feel like I'm too old for it. Most of my age-appropriate friends have either graduated or decided not to attend college. I am an old lady walking around with Ugg wearing youngsters trying to act like I'm into Miley Cyrus or something.
But I am.
I have a secret that I would only share with the people crazy enough to read this very music blog: I have watched Hannah Montana, I have enjoyed Miley Cyrus's creeptastic rants about her father, Billy Ray, and I have a really strange reason for loving for her latest single, "Party in the U.S.A.". I know! Stop reading now. It might only get worse! This is ridiculous. I'm stuck in the movie Big or something. I'm going backwards in time. While it sounds juvenile to appreciate Cyrus, I promise if you stick it out until my point is finished, you just may find there's quasi-sophisticated reasoning behind my madness.
Okay, to prove my point, here are the lyrics:
I hopped off the plane at LAX with a dream and my cardigan welcome to the land of fame excess, am I gonna fit in?
Jumped in the cab, Here I am for the first time Look to the right and I see the Hollywood sign This is all so crazy Everybody seems so famous
My tummys turnin and I'm feelin kinda home sick Too much pressure and I'm nervous, That's when the taxi man turned on the radio and a Jay Z song was on and the Jay Z song was on and the Jay Z song was on
CHORUS: So I put my hands up They’re playing my song, And the butterflies fly away Noddin’ my head like yea Movin my hips like yea I got my hands up, They’re playin my song I know im gonna be ok Yea, It's a party in the USA
Get to the club in my taxi cab Everybody's lookin at me now Like “whos that chick, thats rockin’ kicks? She gotta be from out of town”
So hard with my girls all around me Its definitely not a Nashville party Cause’ all I see are stilettos I guess I never got the memo
My tummys turnin and I'm feelin kinda home sick Too much pressure and I'm nervous That's when the D.J. dropped my favorite tune and a Britney song was on and the Britney song was on and the Britney song was on
CHORUS: So I put my hands up They’re playing my song, And the butterflies fly away Noddin’ my head like yea Movin my hips like yea I got my hands up, They’re playin my song I know im gonna be ok Yea, It's a party in the USA
Feel like hoppin' on a flight (on a flight) Back to my hometown tonight (town tonight) Something stops me every time (every time) The DJ plays my song and I feel alright
CHORUS: So I put my hands up They’re playing my song, And the butterflies fly away Noddin’ my head like yea Movin my hips like yea I got my hands up, They’re playin my song I know im gonna be ok Yea, It's a party in the USA
Okay: when I first heard this song being made fun of on The Soup where Miss Cyrus was kind enough to entertain us all with a pole routine and crazy gyrations on top of a makeshift ice cream truck during her Teen Choice Awards performance, I found myself bopping my head along. I didn't want to but it happened. Then, as I'm proned to do, I watched the same episode of The Soup again. And again. Joel McHale is one of my all time favorite people so I can never get enough. Anyway, with each viewing I found myself creeping more and more out of my seat to the point that I wasn't just laughing, I was enjoying it. Something about the lyrics made that crazy bell inside of me ring.
This song is all about music in a really interesting perspective. Other songs may have done this before but I didn't catch it. Blatantly the lyrics are saying music will save us from everything. This young girl arrives in LA full of frustrations and anguish about what lies ahead of her then she joyously hears her favorite Jay-Z song (sometimes replaced by "Michael" - as in Jackson - during live performances) and everything is okay. She's suddenly moving her head "like yea" and shaking her hips "like yea". I'm not sure what that means but I approve. And I know what she's saying.
Who among us hasn't had a god awful day when suddenly our favorite song comes on the radio and we instinctively raise the volume knob and starting singing along? This freaking song has tapped into the truth behind the love of music. I might still be slightly intoxicated but I sincerely believe this.
I'll give you an example:
When I thought I would be a driver, I took a meaningless computerized permit test at the DMV. I was about a 100 years old at the time, nowhere near 16 or whatever the normal age is, and I absolutely didn't want to be a part of this scene. I don't know if you're aware of what happens at a DMV in New Jersey but there are hairy, old men with open shirts and large protruding stomachs, scary, young women with so much hairspray on their heads they look like bad wax statues, and angry people of all shapes and sizes behind the counter - a situation that can only be described as the creepy leading the creepier. It was one of the most miserable days of my life. I am not a person that gets excited about studying for a test that will only lead to bankruptcy and car crashes. Suddenly, in the middle of maybe question 22 on the test, John Mayer pipes out of the speakers. "Waiting on the World to Change".
My head popped up, I regained a sense of the outside world, and passed the test. I scheduled a driving test date that I never attended and marched out the door. It was a victory - mostly due in part to them "playing my song, and the butterflies fly away, moving my head like yea..." You get the idea.
This is not the first time a song came on the radio that miraculously changed my thought process - not by a mile. John Mayer always comes on at exactly the right time and just the other day I was feeling like a sack of broken old bones (this is not a strange feeling for me) in the car when Snow Patrol's "Hands Open" started playing on my favorite, favorite radio station, 101.9 RXP, and I had to turn it up. I was barely even conscious and I just had to hear that song louder. It is simply involuntary. That same day there was also this James Morrison song on the same station that I managed to write down in my phone as not to forget it when I could consciously look it up. Some things just sound so good (hence the title of this blog, baby).
In relation, I realized yesterday how much music can take the shape of a human being. My dear friend in from Ithaca for the weekend was playing a great deal of music in her car on the way to a concert. While we have similar musical appreciation, I couldn't help but notice that her music sounded very much like her - not her voice but the style of who she is. It fit her just right, like a snug jacket. When someone is open and honest about the kind of music they love and know themselves the way they should like she does, this wonderful cloud of music surrounds them in just the right way. I can't see if my music does this as it must be an aura thing that only others can see but when it's there, it's beautiful. I hope you understand what I'm trying to say. It's almost too poetic to express properly.
So here's a video of Miss Miley doing her thing and getting me all messed up and introspective for no reason. I sort of hope you enjoy. She rocks it out better than real rock stars. I hate that I like this stupid/non-stupid girl.
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.
The sound is so fresh and original that I will fully give it my seal of approval. This is one of those songs I think they made especially for my ears. While the lyrics are surprisingly powerful and even slightly sensual, it's the actual MUSIC of the song that is so above par. I am extremely impressed, more than I have been in a long time by a single song. Even the artwork on the album cover is decent so I could actually buy this freaking thing. I really might! And this is a band I don't even like. 
