Living In Euphony

New Release Of The Week: Liam Finn “Fomo”

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 17:00:00 +0000

This week, son-of-head Crowdie Liam Finn releases a new one, the strangely-titled “Fomo.” Liam sounds amazingly like his father Neil, who is lead singer of Crowded House.

Pick it up at Amazon.com.

He’s a Soul Man

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 06:57:00 +0000

My latest album purchase is Raphael Saadiq’s The Way I See It, his second solo album. It’s not new, but it is a great one. Saadiq was the lead singer of the band Tony! Toni! Toné! and is now a solo artist doing music in the style of 1960s Motown and soul, but with a bit of a modern twist. He’s worth a listen if you’re into that kind of music.

Here’s the video for “Let’s Take A Walk”:

Song Of The Day: “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall In Love)”

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 05:26:00 +0000

Inspired by a movie I saw today called Midnight In Paris:

Song Of The Day: Curve “Horror Head”

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 05:10:00 +0000

Because this band was great and this song is beautiful:

Song Of The Day: Johnny Cash “A Boy Named Sue”

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 06:36:00 +0000

Today’s song is “A Boy Named Sue” performed by Johnny Cash. Why? Because I felt like posting some Johnny Cash.

Top Five On Friday - 6/3/11

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 04:19:00 +0000

From Music Memoirs:

Top Five “Sunny” Songs

1) “Wake Up Boo” by The Boo Radleys.
2) “Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden
3) “In The Sun” by Joseph Arthur
4) “Into The Sunset” by Neil Finn

5) “Steal My Sunshine” by Len

Review: SPC ECO “Big Fat World EP”

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 17:00:00 +0000

While I was away on vacation, SPC ECO was busy releasing their latest
collection of music, the Big Fat World EP. I had no clue they were planning to put out new music, so this was a pleasant surprise. They've already released two other EPs plus a full-length album, and another EP just adds to what they've been doing in the past few years. Overall, it's a very strong EP with some great new additions to their repertoire.

Opening song "Gone" has been heard before via YouTube, and it's a good way to start things off. It's somewhat industrial, darker than many of their other songs. The guitars are a little more threatening, the bass a little deeper, and Rose's vocals a bit more ominous. Next comes "Silo Too High," which brings us back to the spacey, dreamy sound that SPC ECO does so well. As always, Rose Berlin's voice carries us through the song. The beat hammers along slowly, and Rose drenches us in beauty.

Song three is the title track, "Big Fat World," possibly one of their best songs yet. Unlike many other songs, Rose's vocals aren't hidden behind effects and echoes. Her voice is loud and clear, almost too much so. I really enjoy the melody here. The verses set us up for the chorus, when Rose really soars. Also great is the drumming, which is a bit livelier than it usually is for this band.

"Forever Now" isn't the most memorable track on the album, but it does feature some soft, sweet vocals by Rose. By now, you should be realizing that Rose's voice is a key component of the SPC ECO sound. This is a peaceful song, something you can really relax to.

"Here I Am" is another killer track. It's all about the chorus, which is beautiful musically and lyrically. The last song, "Feels Like Flying," is another song that's up there with their best. It's a 7 minute epic with absolutely gorgeous vocals. The bass playing by Dean Garcia is excellent too. The whole EP leads up to this, and it doesn't disappoint. Hearing it will make you feel like flying, too.

It's so nice to get some new songs from a band I've only recently discovered and fallen in love with. This EP is quite excellent, and has some very strong material. I know "Feels Like Flying" is going to be a popular concert favorite. This band makes beautiful music, and I can't wait until the next EP, single or LP.

You can get the Big Fat World EP at SPC ECO's Bandcamp page for the big fat price of free right now. Go download and listen! It's worth your time.

New Release Of The Week: Eddie Vedder “Ukelele Songs”

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 04:59:00 +0000

Eddie Vedder, lead singer of Pearl Jam, the King of grunge vocals, releases an album of songs done entirely on ukelele? How can that NOT be the album of the week?

If you want to pick it up, it’s only $8.99 at Amazon, one dollar less for the mp3 version.

New discovery: Eliza Doolittle

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sat, 28 May 2011 08:03:00 +0000

Sometimes you find the most wonderful music in the most random places. I was browsing a message board last night, and I clicked on a link to a Youtube video someone mentioned. That video happened to be for Eliza Doolittle, an up-and-coming British singer-songwriter:

I really love this girl’s vibe! All of the songs I’ve heard so far are just completely upbeat, happy, and carefree. It’s the kind of music you can use to take away your troubles and remember that the world can be fun.

Check out “Pack Up,” which has an awesome jazzy, retro sound:

I’m definitely going to check out more from this girl and keep an eye on her promising career.

Edwyn Collins - Home Again

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Thu, 26 May 2011 05:19:00 +0000

I’m sure most of you remember Edwyn Collins from his big 1990s retro hit “A Girl Like You.” What a fantastic song and fantastic sound.

Last night and today, I’ve been watching a documentary about Edwyn and his amazing comeback after two strokes. A few years after this documentary was produced, it seems his comeback is still going strong. What an amazing guy. You can see he is really determined to let nothing slow him down. Here’s the first part, and the other three parts are also on Youtube:

New Release Of The Week - Joseph Arthur "Graduation Ceremony"

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Wed, 25 May 2011 06:51:00 +0000

This week’s best new release is from Joseph Arthur. His new one is entitled Graduation Ceremony. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been impressed with what Joseph Arthur does.

Buy the album on Amazon.

Top Five On Friday–5/20/11

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sun, 22 May 2011 03:28:00 +0000

Ok, actually posted on a Saturday. I didn’t get around to it yesterday.

From Music Memoirs.

Top 5 albums you wish you'd never have bought

Some I still have, some I’ve sold:

1) Billy Corgan – thefutureembrace. It starts out just OK, and gets worse from there. Clearly not as good as his stuff with the Pumpkins.

2) Goo Goo Dolls – Gutterflower. This was the beginning of the end for this band.

3) Club Cutz. This one has The Macarena. What was I thinking?

4) Los Lonely Boys – Sacred. Their first album had such promise. What happened? There are a few good songs, but not nearly enough.

5) Knut Buen – Hardanger Fiddle Music Of Norway. Sure, it’s neat having an album of Hardanger Fiddle music. But does it have to be so boring? And 23 songs long?!

Adieu, for now

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Tue, 03 May 2011 04:04:00 +0000

I’m taking a little vacation, so my posting here will be pretty much nonexistent for the next two weeks. Salana, however, has promised to do some posts in my absence. So enjoy whatever goodies she brings you until I get back!

Song Of The Day: Echo & The Bunnymen “Nothing Lasts Forever”

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Here’s another Echo song. This is very well done, I think. Quality stuff indeed.

Book Review: Keith Richards “Life”

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 06:30:00 +0000

Yesterday I finished reading Life, the simple-titled autobiography of Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards. Why not? It sounded like an interesting read, and if there’s one guy whose memoirs you want to read, it’s Keith.

I really enjoyed it! You get a lot of insights into Keith’s personality. Basically, he’s just a bloke from Dartford who loves music and loves making music. He’s funny, he’s smart, he’s more sensitive than you’d think. He’s not such a bad guy, really. There are many other musicians who had the same or worse misadventures as Keith, so why is Keith the bad boy? Maybe it’s image.

While reading this book, it becomes clear that Keith is really a student of music and guitar playing in particular. He is a musical sponge, always soaking up other sounds and playing and recording with whoever wants to join in. He spends hours and hours in the studio perfecting his sound. What struck me is not only how much fun Keith has creating music, but how much work he really puts into it. The early days of the Stones were spent holed up in a flat listening to every detail of old blues records. Keith and friends would eat, sleep and drink the blues during those formative years. Touring, too, takes a lot out of Keith. That's the job part of the job, even though he enjoys it. He's a road warrior, that's for sure.

Of course, one thing everyone reading this book wants to know about is what Mick Jagger is like. Keith definitely has mixed emotions about his band mate. They are buddies and collaborators, but there is also a deeper pain that separates them from time to time. You get the sense that Keith misses the old days when Mick was just Mick and not a superstar with a superstar ego. Above all, you get the sense that Keith is real heart, soul, guts and brain of the Rolling Stones. Without Keith, there is no Rolling Stones.

One thing I particularly liked about this book is how Keith invited people he knew to contribute to it. As a result, it seems like a party, a gathering, rather than one man's recollections. It's a different approach, and I would expect nothing less from Keith Richards. The writing is superb. Don't forget, this is a man who wrote or co-wrote some of rock's greatest songs. His writing style is playful, engaging and passionate. Keith wants to enlighten and entertain you just as he does on a Stones album.

No matter who you are or what you think of the Stones, you'll have a new respect for Keith Richards after reading his Life, along with an amazement at all he has survived. He's survived because he's one tough son of a gun.

Song Of The Day: Smashing Pumpkins “Siva” (plus some news)

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 05:15:00 +0000

I’ve been a bad music blogger! How could I forget to mention the huge news that the Smashing Pumpkins are reissuing all of their earlier work?

I’m a big fan of the Pumpkins, at least the incarnation of the band before the breakup in 2000, so this is a big deal to me. Will I buy these reissued albums? I think I’ll probably shell out for at least the first three. After that, I’m not sure. I definitely want to get The Aeroplane Flies High, as it’s one of the few Pumpkins items I don’t own. I think Gish and Siamese Dream definitely deserve some remastering love.

In honor of this awesome news, here’s today’s song of the day – Siva:

Ska and Reggae Spotlight: The Slackers “Have The Time”

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 17:00:00 +0000

The Slackers are a New York, NY-based reggae/rocksteady/ska band that started in the 1990s and have been going strong ever since. “Have The Time” is the first song of theirs I’d heard, and I immediately fell in love. I love the catchy rhythm and the rough, raw vocals. I also love the fact that this band is brave enough to make a classic ska sound when classic ska has all but been forgotten by those who aren’t fans of it. I could easily see this song being performed back in the heyday of Jamaican ska. In fact, I’m wondering if it’s a cover, that’s how good it is.

I would like to do an ‘Overdue’ installment on The Slackers someday, because I’ve been a slacker myself in discovering this band. Should have happened a long time ago. Until then, here’s “Have The Time”:

New Release Of The Week: Bootsy Collins “The Funk Capitol Of The World”

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 04:00:00 +0000

This week’s release of the week is Bootsy, baby! How can you go wrong with the funk? His new album The Funk Capitol Of The World drops on Tuesday, as the kids say.

Buy it at Amazon.

Other new releases this week include Emmylou Harris and Roy Orbison.

Song Of The Day: Jimi Hendrix “Midnight”

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 03:56:00 +0000

I have a new Jimi Hendrix album, and this song is on it. It’s a good one, instrumental. It has some very killer guitar, as you’d expect with Jimi. It’s nice to have something I haven’t already heard a thousand times.

Grooving to Garner

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 04:40:00 +0000

Yesterday, I opened and listened to one of my new birthday CDs, Concert By The Sea by jazz pianist Erroll Garner. Erroll is one of my favorites, and I knew I needed to have this classic album.

And yes, it deserves to be a classic. Everything that’s great about Garner’s playing can be found here. What really gets me is how he uses both hands and the things he does with them. Sometimes he uses the left hand to embellish what he’s doing with the main melody. It creates this echoing effect behind the individual notes. Sometimes he will play two completely different things at the same time – even at different tempos and rhythms! There is one part in the song “Mambo Carmel” where he plays the same notes on either hand, but in different keys. The cumulative effect of all this is that Garner was really a one-man band. I usually don’t pay much attention to what the bassist and drummer are doing when listening to Garner because there’s so much music coming out of that piano.

A few of these songs I have already heard, just different versions. It’s interesting to hear the same song and notice how Garner makes it different each time. A different approach, a heavier rhythm, more notes, fewer notes, faster, slower – he could play the same tune many different ways.

I found a very interesting Wall Street Journal article about the history of the recording of Concert By The Sea, which you can read here.

Mini Review: Pete Yorn "Nightcrawler"

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 06:28:00 +0000

Posted to my main blog on August 19, 2007

Artist: Pete Yorn
Album Title: Nightcrawler
Genre: Rock
2006
Columbia Records

When did I buy it?: I bought it in February of 2007. I found it in the used bin, which was awesome because I was going to buy it for full price.

Why did I buy it?: I had heard some of the songs on it and I thought they were good. When I found out “Ice Age” was on it, that kind of sealed the decision. I wasn’t disappointed, unlike my listen to Pete’s second album Day I Forgot.

What are the best songs?: Most of the songs on this album are good, in my opinion. It’s so hard to choose the best. “Vampyre” starts things off darkly and intensely, with some great echoed vocals. “For Us” and “Undercover” are two great single-worthy songs. “For Us,” in particular, sounds like nothing else in the Pete Yorn catalog. “Undercover” has a killer riff that will get stuck in your head for hours, and Pete’s vocals are just gorgeous.

“The Man” is a country-tinged song with some fine singing by Pete and special guest Natalie Maines of Dixie Chicks. Their harmonies really make the song special, and the melody is fine as can be. “Maybe I’m Right” features a very satisfying chorus, made more powerful by some awesome drumming. The choruses on this album are some of Pete’s best yet. “Alive” is one of Pete’s most pop-oriented songs. It’s a piece of sunshine and goes down smooth as water.

“Ice Age” is the most beautiful thing Pete Yorn has ever created. It’s a gentle, tender, soft, romantic rock ballad. Pete’s voice on this song is gorgeous and delicious, allowing him to show his softer side on an album full of rock. I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets played at many proms in the next few years.

Any bad stuff?: Most of the songs on this album are at the very least decent, but I can mention a few low points. “Same Thing” has some good Yorn singing, but not much more than that. It’s slow and fairly un-melodic. “Georgie Boy” is a weird electronic experiment, not a typical Pete song at all. It is capable of being liked, but it just doesn’t seem to fit with the other songs.

“Bandstand In The Sky” is a very poor way to end the album. It’s not a very memorable song. On any other album, it might be considered good, but not compared to stuff like “Undercover” and “Maybe I’m Right.”

Overall thoughts: After Day I Forgot, I was a bit cautious about Pete Yorn’s output. I was very happy to discover that my caution about the third album was unnecessary. In fact, I may go so far as to say this is the best of his albums to date. It’s a lot more balanced than Musicforthemorningafter and keeps that album’s mix of folky sounds and hard rock. The melodies are stronger than ever, and the hooks are actually there.

The best thing about this album is that it’s so hard to decide the best song on it. There are so many highlights that nearly half of the songs are candidates for The Best Song. A good handful of these songs should be on Pete Yorn’s greatest hits, whenever that comes about.

After hearing this album, I’m very excited to hear what Pete Yorn will do next. He’s finished with the “day in music” concept batch of albums, so now he’ll be free to do whatever he feels like doing. If he keeps cranking out albums like Nightcrawler, he could become one of this generation’s best musicians.

Song Of The Day: The Beatles “This Boy”

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 04:46:00 +0000

This is a song from my new Beatles album, Past Masters. It is actually the very last album I needed to complete my “all the original British albums” Beatles collection.

What do I like about this song? The harmonies and the simple beauty of the vocals. The Beatles were as much a vocal group as they were a rock and roll group.

Good Times at Record Store Day

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 03:35:00 +0000

I headed over to my local record store today to take part in Record Store Day. My birthday is next week, so I had a good reason to go. I got quite a nice haul:

The Beatles Past Masters, remastered edition
Erroll Garner Concert By The Sea. There was also a two-disc Complete Savoy Master Takes available used, but I thought that might be a little too much Garner right now.
Willie Nelson Greatest Hits (and some that will be), bought in honor of Willie’s upcoming birthday, and so I can finally add some Willie to my music collection.
Something for Salana. Something really good and exclusive. I’m sure she’ll be gushing about it when she gets it. I bought it for her birthday next month.

Buying all that filled up my bonus card, enabling me to also get

Jimi Hendrix South Saturn Delta, which has just been reissued.

Not a bad day at the record store!

Salana is on vacation, so she might not be writing much, if at all, this week.

New Release Of The Week: Azam Ali “”From Night To The Edge Of Day”

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 05:08:00 +0000

There are more popular releases out this week, but my choice this week is the new album by Azam Ali.

’Who’s that?,’ you ask. She’s an Iranian singer who combines traditional Persian and Indian styles with her own modern twist. She is frontwoman of the bands Vas and Niyaz. You have probably heard her voice at some point in time, as she is quite popular for guest spots and soundtracks.

Here’s a track from her new album From Night To The Edge Of Day:

Buy it at Amazon.

Other new albums out this week from Foo Fighters, Colin Hay, Jimi Hendrix, k.d. lang, Alison Krauss + Union Station, and Paul Simon.

Song Of The Day, and a link

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 05:59:00 +0000

First, the link. The 120 Minutes Archive. Song listings from almost every single episode of the much-loved MTV series 120 minutes, with video links too!

Today’s Song Of The Day is “Lowdown” by Boz Scaggs. Before hearing this, all I knew about Boz Scaggs was his name. I thought he was a country artist, for some reason, but this is surprisingly funky and soulful.