[Video] SK6ers "Shady Esperanto and the Young Hearts"

I'm not sure how in the world I missed this, but thank you Twitter for showing it to me.

This is the latest video from Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers for their song "Shady Esperanto and the Young Hearts." It's a great track off their new album, "The Bear," and it was featured on this week's Music Tuesday on YouTube.

The video shows exactly why I love seeing this band live: they like to have fun.

Gotta give props to the UMass marching band for the awesome choreography, too. And the way they run to that last set and spell out "SK6ers" is pretty sweet. Yeah, I'm a marching band nerd.

Tuesday Guilty Pleasure: "TiK ToK"

Happy New Year! My resolution? Blog more.

Speaking of which, here is the first Tuesday Guilty Pleasure of 2010 (pronounced "twenty-ten" according to the Associated Press).

This one is pretty embarrassing, I'm not going to lie.

The first time I heard "TiK ToK" by Ke$ha (yes, with a dollar sign) I thought it was a joke. The second time it got stuck in my head. The third I was dancing.

There's really nothing redeeming about this song other than that it has a fun beat and the girl's voice is pretty goofy.

The lyrics are stupid, it's over-produced, the video is dumb and she sounds like any drunk white girl trying to rap at a college party.

It just goes to show you how little talent that it takes to make it in the music business nowadays.

Either way, every time it comes on the radio I get a little excited inside.

I wonder what brushing my teeth with a bottle of Jack would be like....

Tuesday Guilty Pleasure: iPod Commercials

Apple iPods have always been the "cool" kids on the block. Hell, Apple itself is the epitome of "hey look, I'm a cool, artsy, creative 20-something on the cutting edge." I don't say that in an insulting way: I'm typing this on a MacBook while my iPod plays Van Morrison through my stereo.

Anyway, to keep with their trendy image, they pick not-quite-mainstream songs for their commercials that always get stuck in my head until I'm finally forced to Google "iPod commercial song" to find out what it is.

Some past examples: The Fratellis "Flathead," Feist "1234," The Ting Tings "Shut Up and Let Me Go," and Caesars "Jerk it Out."

The latest commercial song has gotten lodged in my brain tighter than any other. Maybe because the commercial is just so happy with people dancing around and singing. And maybe because it's just a friggin' catchy song. Either way, I finally broke down and looked it up on my cell phone Saturday while having lunch and found out that it is a song called "Bourgeois Shangri-La" (say that three times fast...) by Miss Li. I also found out that my Blackberry can download music, but that's another matter.

Anyway, here for your listening pleasure is the FULL song. Of course, you can always click here if you want to see the happy people dancing in the video.

Audio Advancements

What's up, folks?

Over Thanksgiving break, I got an unexpected early Christmas present.

Let me explain two of my uncles to you. Terry is a music purist. He has stacks of albums he's collected over the years and a decent CD collection. But he essentially hasn't listened to any new music since 1980.

Jeff, on the other hand, buys more new music than I do. At one point he had a room in his house that had a CD shelf unit installed into the wall. So while we were visiting at Jeff's house, Terry asked Jeff where all his CDs were.

"I sold most of them," said Jeff. He has put almost all of his music on his computer and relies on an iPod to play music on his stereo system.

In fact," he said, "I have a 101-CD player just sitting in there if anyone wants it." I jumped on it. It's now sitting in my living room with my brand-new stereo receiver and turntable that I bought right before I moved in.

But what Jeff said made me think. Even though all my music is also on my computer, I couldn't imagine selling all my CDs. Terry is the same way, which is why both our jaws dropped when Jeff said he sold them.

Earlier this week, I read this article about the slow death of CDs.

Maybe it's just me being "old school," but it's really important for me to get something tangible when I buy music. I like the jewel cases, or the vinyl. I like having a CD rack that showcases my collection. It's just not the same to look at an iTunes library.

I have done my share of downloading, but that was only when I was a broke college student (I'm not much better now...) and literally couldn't afford to buy full CDs that I wanted.

I would never opt to buy an MP3 album (like they sell on Amazon or iTunes) over getting the actual thing. I love buying the CD, unwrapping it in the car and throwing it in the stereo as I drive home.

CDs will eventually be replaced, as the article above said. But I just hope that it's not replaced by something like MP3s or little chips that stream albums.

Don't take away my CDs or my vinyl. If you do, I'll be just like Uncle Terry: refusing to listen to any new music and reminiscing about the days when an album really meant something.

Fighting the Man, Pt. 2.

Now that I'm back home, I had a chance to look back through my e-mail to make sure that I was given permission to use the track that I posted on the blog. Here is an excerpt of the e-mail from Vanguard Records:

"I wanted to make sure you got an mp3- “My Old Man”- from the band’s upcoming record (The Bear, out September 8). Feel free to share with your readers as a free download if you’d like"

Which is exactly what I did. She did not say that I had to take it down by a certain time or anything like that. The link is actually dead now, but I must assume that was done by MediaFire because of this claim.

This is probably going to be a really slow process. I have to mail stuff in and all kinds of crap, but I'll let you know how it goes.

Fighting the Man

So apparently this blog has gotten big enough for me to get cracked down on by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) for supposed "copyright infringement for a post I did a couple months ago about Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers.

I did a simple album review and used the photo and MP3 that the record company contact sent me in the post. It's one of the few posts that I did completely by the book.

So they took the post down because it violates the terms of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Bull.

I did nothing but sing the band's praises and posted one song so that my readers could sample the music and I encouraged them to go out and buy the album. And let me reiterate: the record company sent me the MP3 file and said "use this."

So I'm going to fight it. I'll go through the bureaucratic crap. YouTube has already pissed me off enough with how many times they've taken my videos down. I'm tired of record companies getting all high and mighty about copyright infringement that is doing nothing but promoting these bands and records.

I'll let you know how it goes.

[Review] Sarah Jarosz -- "Song Up In Her Head."

I've been meaning to talk about this CD for a while, but it got mixed up in the craziness over the last few months.

The same folks that sent me the Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers album a few months ago included this gem of a bluegrass album by Sarah Jarosz.

I've always had a soft spot for female artists with a bit of a twang (see Alison Krauss...the Taylor Swift thing is something else entirely). But Sarah Jarosz puts together some of the most beautiful bluegrass tracks I've heard in a while in her debut album "Song Up In Her Head" (Sugar Hill).

Jarosz is only 18, but she has a powerful voice that is well beyond her years. Even more impressive is that the Austin-born singer is a multi-instrumentalist. She is credited for playing guitar, mandolin, clawhammer banjo and piano.

She is also a masterful songwriter, writing all the songs on the album except for two covers. Jarosz has a lot of potential and I can't see where she goes from here.

The opening title track is a dark, brooding song that begins "The Virgin Mary/All Dressed in blue/ Sings "My First Lover"/ For an audience of two." The second track, "Edge of a Dream," softens things a little, allowing Jarosz to flaunt her vocal ability in this banjo driven ballad.

The highlight by far for me was the haunting -- and I mean haunting -- version of The Decembrists' "Shankill Butchers." I already loved this song, but Jarosz version is shockingly powerful.

I see big things ahead for this young girl.

Download: Sarah Jarosz - "Edge of a Dream."

Please don't stop the music

I'm really trying to figure out how to get back into finding and writing about new music. It's been way too long since I've felt like I really have my fingers on the pulse of the music world.

I used to spend hours scrolling down local and national music blogs and Web sites, storing away free mp3s like I was going into sonic hibernation.

But lately, with a 40+ hour work week and my mind on sports all the time, I've really fallen off. The most exposure I get to music anymore is the Top 40 station that I switch to whenever sports talk radio goes to commercial in my car.

I set up a rockin' Google Reader with all my sports, music and random blogs with the hopes that it will make me more likely to read through and keep up with them. It's even something I can check when I have some downtime at work (which is very rare).

Anyway, I guess the whole idea of this post was to ask you guys where you get your music knowledge. If you have any good blogs that I should read or artists/bands/records that I need to check out immediately, please let me know. I'm trying to dive back in, but I need someone to show me where the pool is.

I do have one album that I have yet to review because I feel like I haven't given it a good enough listen, but it seems pretty good. I'll give you a little teaser: it's a pop-opera (popera?) about college life. Sound stupid? I thought so, too. I've been pleasantly surprised.

I still care about this blog and I'll keep it rocking, don't you worry. Just trying to figure out how to fit it in to my life right now. I know I keep saying that. You should be concerned when I stop saying that.

Tuesday Guilty Pleasure: Ukuleles

I don't even really know how I can explain this one. But I can tell you where my obsession with ukuleles came from. One song. Israel Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World." It was love at first listen.



Such a beautiful voice.... Anyway, that ukulele sound stuck with me. It sounds so simple and so sweet and fits with that chilled out, relaxed style of music that I've always loved. I fell for this instrument so hard that I finally got someone to buy one for me.

I instantly started trying to play it, but couldn't ever even get it in tune. So it's sat on the top of my bookcase for two years. Shameful.

You know what? I'm going to take it down and really get to work on it. Get it nice and tuned up and start learning some chords. Next thing you know, I'll be the next Kamakawiwoʻole.

Tuesday Guilty Pleasure: "Say Hey (I Love You)"

Every summer there's that one song that perfectly embodies the free spirited-ness and happy-go-luckiness that the warmer weather, cookouts and days spent at the pool brings. It may have taken me until September to find it, but I have mine for this year.

"Say Hey (I Love You)" by Michael Franti & Spearhead is the perfect summer song. Hands down, game over, thanks for playing. I heard this song at random different times all through the end of the summer, but never could figure out who it was by or what it was called (radio DJs really need to get their act together about that stuff....).

Finally, my wonderful girlfriend saved me even more hours of Googling random lyrics and sent me the YouTube video.



This song is bouncy, fun and happy. It's a love song, or, more specifically, just "a song about a boy and a girl." There's really nothing else to say about it. You just have to listen.

I don't know who Michael Franti is, but I hope he keeps making good music. But maybe he should wait until next summer.

Tuesday Guilty Pleasure: One-Hit-Wonders

Ever heard of Soft Cell? How about Pure Prairie League? a-ha? How about the Manfred Mann Earth Band? Certainly you know Right Said Fred and Sir Mix-a-Lot.

No? Well, I sure do.



They were the masterminds behind, respectively, "Tainted Love," "Aime," "Take On Me," "Blinded by the Light," "I'm Too Sexy," and "Baby Got Back."

That's right, I know those artists off the top of my head. Why? I have no freakin' clue. But somehow in my 22 years of existence, so many one-hit-wonders have gotten stuck in my head it's not even funny, many of which hat their 15 minutes before I was even born.

I have to lay a piece of the blame on my step-father, who is an encyclopedia of one-hit-wonders. His knowledge dwarfs mine, but he's had a few more years to file away meaningless bands who wrote meaningless songs, one of which got inordinately popular.

I get some sick pleasure out of sneering at my nearest friend/person-I-kinda-know and asking "Who does this?" when "Breakfast at Tiffany's" comes on. And when they can't answer, I chuckle condescendingly and say "Deep Blue Something," which inevitably leads to the conversation, "Deep Blue what?" "Deep Blue Something." "Yeah, but what's the last word?" "Something." And on and on....

There's no way anyone should know that. But I do. And it makes me feel as superior as a NYU hipster smirking and leaning against the back wall at a Morrissey concert.

It's mean, I know, but somehow slightly gratifying. Try it for yourself. Next time "Somebody's Watching Me," comes on the radio (or on that obnoxious Geico commercial), spin around to your closest buddy and yell "Who does it??" When they inevitably give you a blank stare or guess "Michael Jackson" (who, interestingly, did sing the chorus and back-up vocals), laugh in their face and say with the pride that only comes from being filled to the brim with entirely useless information: "Rockwell."

(I'm going to go ahead and use this time to inform those that don't already know about the real lyric in "Blinded by the Light." He's not saying "Wrapped up like a douche another motor in the night" or any version of that. The actual lyric is: "Revved up like a Duece, another runner in the night," referring to a car. One more fun fact: this song was actually originally written by Bruce Springsteen. See, useless information....)

[Video] The Gourds play "Gin and Juice"

Austin-based country group The Gourds have done something that only people from Austin would be willing to try: recording a twangy cover of Snoop Dogg. The Gourds' version of "Gin and Juice" is the best where-the-hell-did-that-come-from rap cover I've heard since Ben Folds beautiful rendition of Dr. Dre's "Bitches Ain't Shit."

This is simply amazing. I wonder how Snoop feels about it....



I just noticed that The Gourds are signed to Chapel Hill's own Yep Roc Records. Makes me proud of my second hometown.

[Live] Coldplay at Walnut Creek

For my birthday, my wonderful girlfriend got me tickets to the Coldplay concert in Raleigh two nights ago. I've always been a fan of their music, but just assumed that their live show would be ho-hum. Let's face it, a lot of their music isn't very exciting.

Man, was I proven wrong.

Chris Martin is a much better front man than I expected him to be and Coldplay can put on one hell of a rock show. Not only was the music almost perfect, but the light show was dazzling and Martin connected with a crowd as well as anyone I've ever seen, especially at a spread out amphitheater.

The set was very heavy on tunes from the new album, "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends," but the staples were still there, like "Fix You," "Clocks," and "Yellow." "Violet Hill" started off the show and "Viva La Vida" was the hands-down favorite, even though it came a lot earlier in the show than I expected.

What impressed me most was when the band did something that I have never seen at Walnut Creek: play on a stage in the lawn seating. It's nice to see the band give some love to the fans sitting in the back, who usually have to rely on the massive video screens to watch the show.

My favorite parts were when the yellow inflatable balls bounced around during "Yellow," when Martin instructed the crowd to do a "cell phone wave," and the shaky-yet-awesome cover of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean."

Oh, and they gave out a free live CD, "LeftRightLeftRightLeft," after the show. Can't beat that.

Coldplay impressed me and with each album they seem to be getting stronger. These guys are the real thing.

Also check out David Menconi's review of the show over at The News & Observer.

Photo by Travis Long at The News & Observer. My poor camera wasn't up to the challenge.

The Game samples Imogen Heap

That's a title I never thought I would see on this blog. But it's true. Rapper The Game, with the help of Jay-Z, samples one of my favorite songs ever, "Hide and Seek," for their new song "What You Say."



At first, this appalled me. But the more I listen to it, the more I like it. It has a pretty solid groove and they use the sample well. Still, doesn't even come close to comparing to the original.

I do find it funny that Jay-Z, the guy who wrote a song called "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" was willing to put his name on a song that samples something that sounds very similar to AutoTune (even though Imogen Heap actually used a vocoder).

Tuesday Guilty Pleasure: Taylor Swift

This Tuesday is special for two reasons. First, this is the first two-person Tuesday Guilty Pleasure in the history of the series. Second, this might be my guiltiest of guilty pleasures: something that I would only admit to my closest friends.

I was going to have Courtney write this post, as it was mostly her idea, but she's too busy sunning herself on the beach, so I will speak for both of us.

For the longest time I tried not to like this artist. Even when I admitted enjoying one of the songs, I still contended that it was terrible music that no one should ever listen to. But I couldn't get away from this musician. She was everywhere: on the radio, TV and internet. I felt like it went against everything I knew as a musician and music lover to like this singer. I even used to make fun of Courtney for singing along to this person.

But despite my best efforts, I fell in love with this girl's music.



But, of course, being the proud person that I am, I started trying to find ways to justify my attraction to Taylor Swift's music. Luckily, it wasn't hard. Most importantly, she writes her own music and started out in Nashville as a songwriter. She is even trying to make Miley Cyrus legitimate by writing her new song.

But, on top of that, check out her other accomplishments: she was the first artist in the history of the Nielson SoundScan to have two different albums in the top 10 at the end of the year, she wrote a 350-page unpublished novel during one summer and she recorded this:



I'm sorry, but any country girl that can rap like that with T-Pain is good in my book. Her music may be cheesy country at times, but this girl has talent. And, more importantly, she seems grounded, down to Earth, and not just another teen star that will fizzle in a few years. Give the girl a chance.

Conservatives say the damndest things: "Just Tax"

After two weeks I bet you didn't think I was going to bring this little gem of a series back, did ya? Well I am. I just had to do a little more digging this time to find something that was post-worthy.

This second installment is something I found on Meghan McCain's column on The Daily Beast. I usually stop by her site just to keep up with what the "young and hip" journalists are doing these days. To be perfectly honest, the stuff she has to say is usually pretty moderate and I don't disagree with all of it.

But this video she posted of some dorky guy changing the lyrics of Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" was too much.



Not only do I respectfully disagree with this guys position, but this song is pretty terrible. Apparently even Auto-Tune can't fix everyone's voice. I'll agree with Ms. McCain that the Republican party needs a lot more stuff like this to reach out to the younger folks, but this is definitely not "cute" or "catchy."

Get back to work, GOPers.

ADDENDUM: I completely forgot about this little gem that Bill Kristol said on The Daily Show earlier this week. Jon Stewart backed him into a corner that he was helpless to get out of and it's beautiful.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Bill Kristol Extended Interview
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Joke of the Day

Stewart didn't have to do anything but repeat exactly what Kristol said: the military deserves better health care, which it gets from the government. Oops!

Rapping about Twitter?

On the way back home from my interview with the Charlotte Observer (that I hope went well), I heard quite possibly the worst rap song that I've heard in a long time. There's no other way to describe it. 

But what really sets it apart from the rest is the prominent role that social media and new technology plays in the song. This song is all about text messaging, Twitter and Twitpics. I'm not kidding. The chorus even uses an emoticon. 

Ladies and gentlemen, "LOL (Smiley Face)" by Trey Songz:

Just in case you didn't catch those lyrics, here they are in their entirety. 

Shorty just text me, say she wanna sex me
LOL smiley face, LOL smiley face
Shorty sent a twit pic saying come and get this,
LOL smiley face, LOL smiley face

Shorty called my phone, I was busy (i was busy)
Cruisin in that benz round the city (round the city)
Then I felt my phone buzz, I know that she like thugs,
And I’m a bad boy like diddy, (Take that)
Then she sent a text (text), that read (read), baby im at home,
Then she sent another one that says she’s all alone
So I text her a smiley face and said lets do the grown,
She said lol, boy you crazy, come on
Then she said actually, you aint gotta ask me
Sent the lil face with the tongue cos im nasty
Im on my way, girl I can’t wait, twitter me a picture
Let me see that ok,

[Chorus]
Shorty just text me, say she want to sex me
LOL smiley face, LOL smiley face
Shorty sent a twitpic saying come and get this,
LOL smiley face, LOL smiley face

Go to my page and follow, if you got a body like a Coke bottle.
Shorty sending twit pics sayin come and get this
LOL smiley face, LOL smiley face

(Gucci Mane)
Email me shorty, text bay,
Gucci Mane x-rated we could make a sex tape (GUCCI!).
Pics on my iphone, gucci on her ipod,
When she turn around, ass make ya say oh god,.
Mommy real beautiful,
Manicured cuticles,
Office job, student girl, holding down her cubicle,
And she got my number to her, man that’s like a miracle,
She say she like my swag,and my 6’s on my vehicle,
GA to VA, Cali girls love me,
Brooklyn girls hug me,
Miami girls sexy, (I think I love her!)
Pull up in a stretchy…
Jump out flexing
First date sexing,
Next night sexing. (Well Damn!)

[Chorus]

(Soulja Boy)
Lol smiley face, lol smiley face,
Soulja boy tellem bay,
Lol smiley face,
Baby girl sent da picture to my blackberry,
She fine and she thick just like Hallie berry,
Kiss me through the phone, LOL smiley face
We can go and kick it bay
Later on at my place,
She message me on myspace told me she loved me,
She texting my phone 4:30 in da morning,
Baby i’m horny, I wanna kiss you,
I can put it on you, thats not an issue,
She scratching my back, screaming out im hers,
She text my phone say I need your love,
I met her monday last week in da club,
One week later now she telling me that she in love

I can't make that up. I don't even know what else to say about it. How about you guys just tell me how you feel down in the comments. 

Tuesday Guilty Pleasure

Welcome, one and all, to yet another spectacular installment of Tuesday Guilty Pleasure, where I bravely go where no man has gone before and tell you about something I love that I really, really shouldn't.

This week we're going to take it back to the '90s with some angry chick music (I mean no offense to any ladies in the audience when I use the word "chick"). My mom had this CD when I was growing up and I could sing along to every word, even if I didn't quite understand what it all meant. Now that I get it, I still sing along to every song, just only when I'm alone. 

Alanis Morissette |MTV Music

That's right, I know almost every word to Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morisette. I have to admit that I definitely like angry Alanis much more than I like the happy-go-lucky version, even though her version of "My Humps" is classic. There's just so much passion in the lyrics of this song I can't help but belt it out whenever it comes on. 

Fun fact: I heard on the radio this morning that this song ("You Oughta Know") was rumored to be written about her failed relationship with Dave Coulier from the show "Full House." Not sure how true the rumor is, but it will definitely make you look at the song differently, especially since he is almost 15 years older than her.  

SK6ers: "The Bear"

If you haven't already heard of them, take this chance to hear the magic that is Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers. They're a great acoustic rock trio from Massachusetts that I stumbled upon at a concert four years ago and I've been a die-hard fan ever since. 

Their new album, "The Bear," is available for pre-order on CD and vinyl. I've only heard one track off it so far, but it sounded great and I'm sure the rest of the album is even more SK6ers deliciousness. Also, if you're in the Chapel Hill area, Stephen Kellogg is playing a solo set at the ArtsCenter in Carrboro with Dar Williams on August 14. The whole band will be back around on October 6 at the Cat's Cradle co-headlining with Carbon Leaf (who, coincidently, is who they opened for when I first saw them at the Cradle).

Hands down, they have the best live show that I have ever seen, with Ben Folds being the only show that even comes close. I could go into more detail, but it might be easier just to link over to some of the other posts that I've written about them to give you an idea. 

Don't miss this band when they come around. I promise that the show will be magical. I'll probably be dancing like a maniac in the first row. 

The other Blind Pilot

Anyone who knew me in high school will remember (maybe) that I was part of a "promising" alternative rock trio called Blind Pilot with my buddies Patrick and Andy. We had some good times, played a few shows and recorded a few songs on home equipment, but it never amounted to much. I'm still convinced that given more practice time and a better lead singer (someone other than me...) we could have made it. But maybe that's just me. 

Well you can imagine my surprise last summer when during my road trip across the country I looked down at the XM radio screen and saw a song by Blind Pilot playing. My first thought was "Did Andy release one of our songs from Myspace?" I quickly realized I was wrong when the music started: it was actually good. 

With a little more research, I found that this more talented Blind Pilot is a sextet that hails from Portland. The more I learned about them, the more I liked. The two founding members, Israel Nebeker and Ryan Dobrowski, have done two bike tours down the West Coast. Literally, they rode their bikes from tour stop to tour stop. How awesome is that?

Besides being cool guys, they play really good indie/acoustic/pop music that's catchy and fun. What reminded me of this is that they recently recorded a session over at Daytrotter that's worth checking out. Who's gonna say no to free music?

Now excuse me while I whip out my guitar and rock some of my classic Blind Pilot tunes....