I had to share this with you all. I was checking for Facebook updates, when one of my bestest friends in the whole wide world posted a video that she found via her cousin. It’s a parody of a song by Jay-Z, and it’s about the Granite State. See, I love this because I was born in New Hampshire, spent the first six years of my life there, then even though I spent most of my childhood in Massachusetts, we lived just a couple of miles from the New Hampshire border. From ages 16-26, I spent my time moving back and forth between my dad’s house in MA and various locations (mostly my mom’s house) in NH. When I bought my condo, it was mere yards from the NH state line. That’s why, when you ask me where I’m from, I include both Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
So check out Granite State of Mind by The Super Secret Project. (If you can’t see the embedded video, click here.)
Remember how I used to participate in CD mix exchanges all the time? How I used to do Music on Mondays posts? How I used to have a whole page on my blog dedicated to music but but took it down because it never got updated? The point is, I like music. I take it personally much in the same way that John Cusack’s character does in High Fidelity, though I don’t have quite the collection that he does. I’d even go so far as to say that listening to music is a hobby of mine.
I listen to my iPod at work most of the time to avoid the deafening silence of paper being shuffled for 8 hours a day. I always keep CDs in my car because commercial radio more or less sucks. But it’s been a long time since I’ve gone out and explored new music. If the birthday fairy brings me some iTunes gift cards so I have $ to spend at the store there, I can quench my appetite for that. (My birthday is this coming Friday, btw.) I brought my iPod home this weekend to update it, which hasn’t been done for months, and I bought some headphones this weekend so that my process of picking music for my iPod doesn’t drive Mister crazy, and I can listen to my music without interfering with Mister’s music.
Did you know that amazon.com has free music in their MP3 store? So does last.fm. I’m listening to Pandora right now, which could be an option for work, except that I find it a bit too interactive for when I’m supposed to be working.
Since I have the new headphones, another project I’ve been working on is uploading all the CDs that I got from mix exchanges. I’ve gotten so behind on that, and I really need to get it all in because I’ve found so much great music from those exchanges. If I had time, I’d participate in more exchanges, but I barely have time to blog anymore, so spending hours obsessing over my collection for that perfect mix just isn’t in my schedule. But I do miss them. I was rereading the “liner notes” I created for those mixes the other night. I usually include the reasons I chose the songs with the song list, which is something I always like getting when I receive mixes.
So, armed with my new headphones, I’m going to spend some time today revamping my listen-at-work mix for the iPod and uploading some CDs. Besides the mixes, I only have maybe 1/4 of my personal collection uploaded. Here’s to music!
Have you ever heard a theremin? Have you even heard of a theremin? I hadn’t, until the other night when Mister and I were discussing music and different instruments. Mister thinks the theremin is one of the coolest instruments ever. I’d never heard of it, so we looked online for some samples. We ended up on YouTube and watched a couple of videos of a theremin being played.
The sound is melodic and haunting and really quite eerie. But what I noticed the most about it was how much it bothered me. I don’t usually pay much attention to new-age philosophies, but the main thing was how it messed with my energy. I don’t know if it was because I could see it being played, which is by manipulating the air, basically, but it continued to bother me even after I closed my eyes. I felt this major scrambling sensation about a foot in front of the center of my chest, and it actually bothered me to the point of tears. I don’t know why that was, but I definitely knew that it was a major, crushing sensation. Is there anyone out there who is more into the new age thing who could explain it?
Oh, and I made sure my computer was on mute before I looked up the links for you, but I still felt a very mild stress about it. It’s just too weird.
One of the mix exchanges I participated in, the very first one, the one that started it all, was all about chick music. We titled it the V@g1N@ Catalogs, which is a play on the stage show the V@g1N@ Monologues. I chose the less spamable V-Cat 2.07 for the title of my disc (the 2.07 is for Feb 2007, the month in which I was due to send my mix out the the group). V-Cat and all the other mixes I received in this exchange are all really wonderful discs, and fit in with my favorite musical genre of angsty chick music. Since this mix holds a special place in my heart, I wanted to share with you all the songs I received over the course of this exchange.
88 Ways - Mia Doi Todd
A Dog’s Life - Nina Nastasia
A Matter Of Minutes - Shawn Colvin
A Sorta Fairytale - Tori Amos
A Tisket, A Tasket - Ella Fitzgerald
After Hours - The Velvet Underground
Air - The Owls
Almost - Sarah Harmer
Angel from Montgomery - Susan Tedeschi
Anniversary Song - Cowboy Junkies
Anything Anywhere - Melissa Ferrick
Appalachia Waltz - Various Artists
At Last - Neko Case
Augusta - Pamela Means
Bag Lady - Erykah Badu
Barges - Ingrid Graudins
Bitch With A Bad Attitude - Saffire
Blue Light - Mazzy Star
Blue Skies - Ella Fitzgerald
Breathe Me - Sia
Bridge Over Troubled Water - Aretha Franklin
Burying Song - Hem
Business As Usual - Juliet Turner
Calling the Moon - Dar Williams
Can I Walk With You - India.Arie
Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You - Lauryn Hill
Car Weels on a Gravel Road - Lucinda Williams
Catnip Dream - Shonen Knife
Central Reservation (The Then Again Version) - Beth Orton
Chelsea Morning - Joni Mitchell
Con Te Partiro - Sarah Brightman & Andrea Bocelli
Conceived - Beth Orton
Cornflake Girl - Tori Amos
Cradle and All - Ani DiFranco
Crow Waltz - The Be Good Tanyas
Damaged - Plumb
Dance Me to the End of Love - Madeline Peyroux
Dancing In The Street - Martha Reeves & The Vandellas
Danny’s All-Star Joint - Rickie Lee Jones
Digging - Jonatha Brooke
Dirty Man - Joss Stone
Does He Love You? - Rilo Kiley
Doing the Wrong Thing - Kaki King
Don’t Let it Bring You Down - Annie Lennox
Don’t Speak - Leela James
Don’t Wait Too Long - Madeleine Peyroux
Down By The Water - PJ Harvey
Empire - Dar Williams
Endsville - Coyote Project
Everything Is Fine - Gillian Welch
Extraordinary Machine - Fiona Apple
Fast Car - Tracy Chapman
Feet of Clay - Vashti Bunyan
Fidelity - Regina Spektor
Fighting For It All - Mindy Smith
Fille De Quatorze Ans - Julien Hoffpauir
Fingertips - Poe
Galileo - Indigo Girls
Get Me Through December - Alison Krauss
Ghost Waltz - Jolie Holland
Glory Box - Portishead
Going Home - Sophie Zelmani
Golden - Jill Scott
Good Day - Jewel
Good Life - Lily Wilson
Goodbye Earl - Dixie Chicks
Goodnight and Go - Imogen Heap
Gotta Get Up From Here - Ellie Lawson
Gracias a la Vida (live) - Mercedes Sosa
Hallelujah - Brandi Carlile
Hammer And A Nail - Indigo Girls
Hand in My Pocket (Acoustic) - Alanis Morrisette
Happy Phantom - Tori Amos
He Said - Edie Brickell & New Bohemians
Horsey - Hem
Human Thing - The Be Good Tanyas
I Am Changing - Jennifer Hudson
I Hate/I Love - Toshi Reagon
I Just Want To Make Love To You - Etta James
I Love You - Sarah McLachlan
I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair) - Sandi Thom
Ice Cream - Sarah McLachlan
If She Knew What She Wants - The Bangles
Ignatia Amara - Ida
In My Own Eyes - Brandi Carlile
In These Shoes - Kirsty MacColl
It’s Not - Aimee Mann
It’s Only Life - Danielia Cotton
I’ve Committed Murder - Macy Gray
I’ve Got to See You Again - Norah Jones
Jah Kas Cool Boy - Django and Lojo
Joyful Girl - Ani DiFranco
Jumpers - Sleater-Kinney
Just Like U Said It Would B - Sinead O’Connor
Karen By Night - Jill Sobule
La Tortuga - Jaramar
Least Complicated - Indigo Girls
Leaving on a Jet Plane - Chantal Kreviazuk
Let Go - Frou Frou
Little Plastic Castle - Ani DiFranco
Lois Lane - Uncle Bonsai
Lonely Lola Cherry Cola Girl - Bic Runga
Love Will Keep Us Together - The Vassar College Night Owls
Mama Will Provide - Kecia Lewis-Evans & Cast
Marlene on the Wall - Suzanne Vega
Melt Your Heart (live) - Jenny Lewis
Mercedes Benz - Janis Joplin
Mess You Up - Beth Boucher
Mix Tape - Avenue Q Soundtrack
Moment of Forgiveness - Indigo Girls
More Than A Woman - Angie Stone
Mr. Sellack - The Roches
Mr. T - Gramophone
My Number - Tegan & Sara
Naked If I Want To - Cat Power
Night Time Is The Right Time - Aretha Franklin
No Names - Kate Rusby
Nobody’s Diary - Yaz
Nobody’s Listenin’ - Moe Z
Non, je ne regrette rien - Edith Piaf
Ol’ 55 - Sarah McLachlan
Once I Was A Serene Teenaged Child - Frida Hyvonen
Paper Bag - Fiona Apple
Party’s Just Begun - Nelly Furtado
Peace - Fruit
Pies Descalzos, Suenos Blancos - Shakira
Pink Emerson Radio - Kathleen Edwards
Polyester Bride - Liz Phair
Poor Girl - Po’ Girl
Poor Man’s House - Patty Griffin
Popsicle Toes - Diana Krall
Possession - Sarah McLachlan
Pour Some Sugar On Me - Emm Gryner
Put Your Records On - Corinne Bailey Ray
Que N’ai-je - Keren Ann
Rain - Patty Griffin
Respect - Aretha Franklin
River Waltz - Cowboy Junkies
Rubber Soul - Ane Brun featuring Teitur
Sail Across The Water - Jane Siberry
Serve the Ego - Jewel
Ship Out On The Sea - The Be Good Tanyas
Slow Down - Morcheeba
So Far Away - Carole King
So Much Mine - The Story
So Quero Ver - Beth Carvalho
So You Are To Me - Eastmountainsouth
Somebody Loved - The Weepies
Someone Else’s Prayer - Mary Chapin Carpenter
Something In The Way - Jazzyfatnastees
Something More - Outloud Dreamer
Sonata in G:III. Scherzo & Trio - Yoshiko Iwai
Stewart’s Coat - Rickie Lee Jones
Summer Dress - Shawn Colvin
Sweet Hands - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Swing Malindy - T. Love
Take Me Anywhere - Tegan & Sara
Ted’s So Wasted - Oh Susanna
Tennessee Waltz - Patsy Cline
Thank You - Dido
The Ballad of Lucy Jordan - Marianne Faithfull
The First Time - Rose Polenzani
The Great Valerio - Linda Thompson
The Long Way Around - Dixie Chicks
The Rainbow Connection - Sarah McLachlan
These Boots Are Made For Walkin’ - Nancy Sinatra
They - Jem
This Girl is Taking Bets - Thea Gilmore
This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody) - Shawn Colvin
aka Lilith Fair edition. Has anyone been to Lilith Fair? I have - twice, actually. Not bad considering that the tour only lasted 3 years. I didn’t go to the first concert, but I don’t recall why. I do remember the hype surrounding it, though, and a lot of singers I like were headlining. By the second year, I was listening to more and more music that was or could have been featured at Lilith Fair, so I looked into tickets. Not being an avid concert-goer, I had no idea how much tickets would cost, but I was surprised to find out that they were general admission tickets. For only $35, I could get tickets to see up to a dozen different singers. That sounded like a bargain to me, so I bought a ticket for me and my mom.
It was far, on the southern end of the state, and as anyone who’s ever been to a concert knows, parking was a mofo. But this concert exceeded my expectations as soon as I got through the gate. Free sampler CDs were being handed out to the first thousand people to walk in, so I snagged one of those, which quickly became, and still remains, one of my favorite compilation albums. I checked out the map and set up my plan. It wasn’t going to be possible to see everyone that was playing that day, since with three different stages there was bound to be some overlap. If I could do it over again, I’d have spent more time at the tiny village stage, where the least known artists were performing. Bic Runga was there, and I didn’t become a fan until I had an A-HA! moment listening to the free handout CD, which included her song Sway. Some of the artists I did see, however, were:
Chantal Kreviazuk - I’ve written about her before, as she’s one of my favorites. When I attended Lilith Fair, I had a CD of hers, but didn’t really pay much attention to it until I saw her perform. She puts on an amazing concert.
Abra Moore - I like her music, but her performance left a lot to be desired, especially since she followed Chantal. Stick to her albums, since she’s much better in the studio.
letters to cleo - I love their music - so much fun! I was already a fan since they’re a Boston Band. I saw Kay Hanley hanging out between sets and managed to get her autograph. (Note to self: catch up on Kay Hanley’s solo stuff!)
Aimee Mann - I’ve liked her since Til Tuesday, and I like her solo stuff even better. A great songwriter who perseveres despite Big Record Company pressures.
Kendall Payne - I haven’t kept up with her more recent stuff, but wow, what a strong voice this woman has. She’s better known in Christian music circles, but if you’re not into that, her stuff is still worth checking out since it’s not preachy at all.
Then of course there’s all the ones you are familiar with: Sarah McLachlan, Jewel, Natalie Merchant, Sheryl Crow, etc. Most of the music I heard at Lilith Fair, both the new stuff and the stuff that got me there in the first place, is music that I still listen to today. I wish Lilith Fair or something similar was still touring today, because it was such a great musical event. Oh, and I’m sure you’re wondering - What’s with the Angsty Chick Music label? Well, that’s what Boyfriend calls it. It’s fitting, don’t ya think?
One of my favorite kinds of music album to buy is the movie soundtrack. I mean, think about it. If you buy a CD that features just one artist, you have to like the artist quite a bit to justify buying the whole album, because even with your favorite singer in the whole wide world, you probably won’t love every song on the album.
Generic compilation albums tend to have the same songs over and over again, so again, these can be hit or miss, unless you know exactly what you are looking for. In that case, the 100-CD complete set of 80s songs is what you want. But for a decent mix of music you pretty much know you are going to like? That’s when I turn to the movie soundtrack.
Movies and music go hand in hand - it’s rare that there’s a movie out there that doesn’t contain at least a single note. The music featured in a movie, whether it’s by various artists, a single artist, or original score (that’s the no-singing background music composed just for the movie, in case you were wondering), music in the movies is carefully chosen to enhance a particular scene and/or the mood of the movie in general. When Harry Met Sally is a great example - not only did it capture NYC the way I like to think about it, the music chosen had the added benefit of making the movie timeless. Here it is, 20 years later, and it seems that the movie has hardly aged at all.
Garden State is an awesome album unto itself. Even if you’ve never seen the movie, it’s a great listen. I could go on about how it won a Grammy, or how Zach Braff picked the songs for the movie, but you’ve probably heard it all before. It’s just a great, mellow album without being sleep inducing.
Sometimes it seems there is a case of the music coming before the movie. Cameron Crowe sometimes seems that way, but the soundtracks to his movies are just as well known as the movies themselves. Say Anything is a perfect example. What person who grew up in the 80s doesn’t think that “In Your Eyes” is one of the most romantic songs ever? If that song had not been featured in that movie the way it was, it would have been just another Peter Gabriel Song. The movie catapulted the song into the stratosphere.
Next time you’re watching a movie, take note of the music. Most movies these days will issue a soundtrack to go along with it, so if you like the movie, think about picking up the soundtrack. For me, movie soundtracks are some of the best “mix tapes” I own.
I have to admit, I usually write these posts in bulk and in advance, but here it is Sunday night and I’m still not quite ready. But I promised you a new music related post every Monday, so I’ll try to whip out something for you.
I’m sitting here watching VH-1 Classic, and Bon Jovi Unplugged is on. Bon Jovi hit it big when I was in 7th grade, and Slippery When Wet was the album to get. Everyone had it, and in a rare showing of letting us be like the popular kids, my stepmother actually got us that record for Christmas. My sister and I played it incessantly, even though we were probably a bit too young to understand a lot of it. Even my cool bus driver was in on it. She had a tape player and played Bon Jovi (among other stuff) on the bus in the afternoons. That was probably the only time I could tolerate riding the bus. I still have a bit of a soft spot for their stuff - they’re still making good music.
Madonna hit the scene when I was in 5th grade. That was the year that everyone had lace gloves, fingerless and with fingers, and armfuls of the plastic bangles, preferably black but we had the fluorescent colors too. Being in grade school still, we didn’t have the rest of her look down, but we were able to get away with the accessories. Like a Virgin was in heavy rotation on our record player, and this one was even more inappropriate for a 10 year old than the above mentioned album was for a 12 year old. But we loved it, and sang it all the time. Same thing for when True Blue came out. After that her stuff was a bit of hit or miss, so I’ll evaluate each song on an individual basis.
Hearing the earlier stuff from both these artists brings me back to a time when I didn’t have as many worries, laughed in the face of danger, and had fun no matter what, so even though this music is older, it still brings a smile to my face.
I’m sure there are a lot of use who like cover music. Some of us find special joy in cover songs sung with an original twist.
Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine is a band that sings songs - not necessarily cover songs - songs that were originally written and sung by other artists. I say they aren’t cover songs because there’s such a humourous twist in these lounge style renditions, that it’s quite obvious that these songs are not being sung for the sake of being sung. This also isn’t a group that takes the songs and puts a whole new meaning to them, with new lyrics to beat, a la Weird Al. I hope you can all follow me. Richard Cheese and Lounge Against the Machine sings these songs in the lounge music style.
You really have to have a sense of humor to appreciate Richard Cheese. Otherwise, you’re just not gonna get why Baby Got Back is so funny when it’s “swankified” (this is the term the band uses to describe what they do to the hits). Also, you really can’t be a prude. Part of the fun of a Richard Cheese concert is the way he “reaches out” to his audience - particularly the female members of the audience. It’s quite funny, actually. Here’s someone singing songs in the style of a washed up lounge lizard, who by definition is supposed to be a repulsive character but doesn’t quite get that. Richard Cheese takes the angle that he has a huge, female-centric fan club. At the concert that Boyfriend and I attended back in November, there was a CD sales table with two sign-sheets: Join Richard’s Mailing List, and one that said Women Who Want to Sleep With Dick.” What a kidder!
Now that I’ve inadequately described the genius that is Richard Cheese, check out this video:
Yet another CD mix exchange! It’s my last one for awhile, at least as far as swapping real CDs goes. I’ll probably do mix related posts on here, though so don’t worry about the Music on Mondays feature.
This mix is a traveling theme - music for the long ride home. I love road trip music, as this post will tell you. Here’s my contribution:
Drive - Bic Runga
1000 Miles Away - Jewel
California - Semisonic
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road - Lucinda Williams
Watching the Wheels - John Lennon
Cars and Guitars - Tori Amos
Closer to You - Brandi Carlile
Crossroads - Cream
Diamond Road - Sheryl Crow
Don’t Leave Home - Dido
Driving With the Brakes On - Del Amitri
Driving Sideways - Aimee Mann
The Long Road - Eddie Vedder and Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn
200 More Miles - Cowboy Junkies
Runaway - Pink
Vegas - Sara Bareilles
Long Ride Home - Patty Griffin
This mix was thrown together a bit more hastily than my previous mixes since I needed to get it done ASAP, but overall I’m satisfied with it. These are all songs that sound good when you’re on the open road, which is one of my favorite places to be.
I’m moving up some of my mix exchanges. I wasn’t due until March for this one and May for next week’s, but I need to get them done right now or I won’t be able to honor the commitments I made to the groups. So you’ll be getting 2 mix exchanges in a row.
This week’s is another theme mix. This is the second theme I did, with the last one being the Road Trip USA mix. This time I opted for Rain. A few people have already done similar mixes, one with Water, one was Rain or Shine, and another was about Weather in general. I feared flooding some people out, but honestly, when the whole theme thing came up, Rain was the first thing I thought of because I pretty much already had this mix made, at least in my head. It came about not on a rainy day weatherwise, but a rainy day for me, emotionally. I’m feeling like that again as I continue through this growth period (I’ll write more about that later). Here’s the mix:
I Think It’s Going to Rain Today - Bette Midler
Feels Like Rain - John Hiatt
A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall - Edie Brickell & New Bohemians
Rain - Patty Griffin (the song that started this whole mix!)
Raindrops - Regina Spektor
Rain Come Down - Eastmountainsouth
Downpour - Brandi Carlile
Let Her Feel the Rain - Tara MacLean
London Rain (Nothing Heals Me Like You Do) - Heather Nova
Only Happy When It Rains - Garbage
Come Rain or Come Shine - Etta James
Purple Rain - Prince
November Rain - Guns N Roses
It Can’t Rain All the Time - Jane Siberry
Last Rain - Tanya Donnelly
Bursting Through - Bic Runga
For me, it’s a perfect rainy day mix, no matter if it’s rainy outside or I’ve just turned on the waterworks. Enjoy!
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in their MP3 store? So does last.fm. I’m listening to Pandora right now, which could be an option for work, except that I find it a bit too interactive for when I’m supposed to be working.
was there, and I didn’t become a fan until I had an A-HA! moment listening to the free handout CD, which included her song Sway. Some of the artists I did see, however, were:
