Bill Withers

Can we all just stop and admire the beauty that is this song and man for a sec?



I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I

I like the original version better than the live version, however only because it is lacking the super awesome orchestra accompaniment, not because Bill Withers isn't jammin:



Anyways, Bill Withers will always have a super big place in my heart, his voice is so smooth and melodic, the beats are so catchy, and he has me hooked. I find myself leaning on him when I'm not strong ;) Anyways, Bill Withers, in my opinion, truly is a classic example of the talent that seems to have disappeared from today's popular music culture. Bill Withers' smooth R&B will forever ease my soul.

Here are some more favorites:

Just the Two of Us:




Lovely Daaaaaaay:

The Band

I really like "The Band" however, I have such a hard time defining their genre. Sometimes I'm dead set that they're country, then it gets kind of blues-y, then more rock and it just makes my head hurt. However, while I can't quite categorize them, that's pretty unique that they contain this awesome versatility factor, which can allow them to appeal to a broader range of audiences. A musical chameleon, if you will.

My favorite besides the "Dixie down" song, is "Ophelia", this one is more swing- jazzy to me.



I really like "Up on Cripple Creek" I think this one is mainly coutry



If I had to compare The Band to a modern day band, I could be way off base, but they kind of remind me of "Cake". "Cake" is also famously known for using a real broad variety of unique instruments and some brass instruments like the trumpet, which I noticed in "The Band". Just a thought.

The Virgins

The first time I heard The Virgins was at ACL 2009 while I was actually waiting to hear a different band play, and I actually found myself really enjoying their set.

I am so embarrassed to even be linking this to my blog, I hate these weird fan lyric videos, anyways only listen don't watch. Anyways, this one is "Teen Lovers" and is a favorite.



This is their most popular song, "Rich Girls".



I think it has a real funky beat, and the main guy's voice sounds a lot Mr. Franz Ferdinand in this song to me, I think's the subtle auto-tone put on their voice that makes it sound kind of radio-y. You know what I mean? Anyways the lyrics are kinda funny too, he's being a little bit of a d-bag, right on.

And finally "One Week of Danger"


I hope the Virgins were satisfying. Get it? Too far? Just enough.

Cream

Soooo, first of all, I actually know some of Cream's songs, which is very exciting! I've also heard the guitar legend Eric Clapton's name a million times, specifically by Hyde on "That '70s Show".

I'm also pretty sure I've played this bad boy many a time on the Guitar Hero:



This video is pretty cool to watch, or I feel like it's a very personal/ rare vantage point to see a band perform.

So, I'm about 1000% postitive I feel this way only because I'm a totally ignorant to the technial aspects of music and such, but I can barely tell the difference between one cream song and the next. They all have some semi- screamy lyrics, slow guitar riff, and some heavy drums. However, as similar as their music sounds to me, I can recognize the talent in these guys, specifically Clapton.

My favorite is "I Feel Free"



The intro is totally different from their other stuff, and I find it fun and refreshing. There is also some mega tamborine, and mama loves her some tamborine.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

What's this? Some diversity? I'm posting about rap? A WHITE RAPPER duo?
That's right. I'm a versatile biotch.

So Macklemore does the rapping and Ryan Lewis does the producing and such.

Here is their most popular/ my favorite song "Thrift Shop"




First of all, this is some catchy ish, how can you not like this song? With that sexy sax riff too? Love. Second of all, these guys are brilliantly hilarious.

lyrics:

John Wayne ain’t got nothing on my fringe game, hell no
I could take some Pro Wings, make them cool, sell those
The sneaker heads would be like “Aw, he got the Velcros”

Perfection.

Then guess what? They have some political statements to make too! This song is talking about gay/ racial rights and prejudice in general.




I remember doing the math like, “yea I’m good at little league”
A preconceived idea of what it all meant
For those that liked the same sex
Had the characteristics
The right wing conservatives think it’s a decision
And you can be cured with some treatment and religion
Man made rewiring of a predisposition
Playing god, aw nah here we go
America the brave still fears what we don’t know
And god loves all his children, is somehow forgotten
But we paraphrase a book written thirty-five-hundred years ago

Claire approves.

Imagine Dragons

I am currently OBSESSED with Imagine Dragons. Obsessed. You may already know them from their really big hit "It's Time" which was being played about 5 times every hour on the radio a month ago. Anyways, while I liked that single a lot, I finally took the time to listen to their full album, and ohhhh mahhh gahhhhh. It's like Coldplay met Mumford and Sons, and they had a pop/ dubstep baby. Oh I love it.

Here are some of my favorite songs:

"Radioactive" starts off pretty folky, more toward the Mumford and Sons vibe, then the bass drops and it bloows my mind.



This is "Demons" and it's one of their slower songs. This one is the one in particular that reminds me of Coldplay, the lead singer's voice actaully sounds SUPER similar to Chris Martin's, it's a lil too coincidental.



"Bleeding Out" is another one of their slower songs, but there's something eerily catchy about this song. It picks up a bit into the song, even though I'm pretty sure the lyrics, as hinted by the title, are rather dark.



The chorus:

Cause I'm bleeding out
So if the last thing that I do
Is bring you down
I'll bleed out for you
So I bare my skin
And I count my sins
And I close my eyes and I take it in
I'm bleeding out
I'm bleeding out for you
For you

Kind of a debbie downer, yikes

Anyways, I love love love Imagine Dragons, if you have the time, listen to their full album, "Night Visions".

Beatles n' Drugs

As we learned from "Rubber Soul" and basically every other album after that, the Beatles are no strangers to drugs. I personally like Paul's songs a little bit better than John's, but it's very likely that that is because I have a crush on teenage Paul, so there is some heavy bias. However, because of this, The magical mystery tour is not my favorite Beatles album. Since the introduction of drugs to their music, I either find their stuff really amazing, or obnoxiously weird and overly psychedelic.

Here is a cool remix of "I am the Walrus" with some Daft Punk beats thrown in, because why not.



A compilation of druggy songs, hmmmm



A somewhat recent discussion with Paul, George, and Ringo reflecting on their drug usage and how drugs have become a more pressing issue today.

Jimi Hendrix

I'm gonna be real, again. I'm pretty uninspired to write this wall post considering, as we discussed in class, my extent of knowledge regarding Jimi Hendrix is that he's black, plays some impressive guitar, and has an even more impressive afro. I tried to watch a little bit of a documentary on him to learn more, but I'm sorry to report I quit after about 5 minutes.

Anywhoo, from my shallow research, I found some songs I like:

"All Along the Watchtower" is my favorite so far. You mentioned earlier that Red Hot Chili Peppers do some covers of Hendrix, which is funny because the entire time I was listening to this song, I kept thinking how much it reminded of RHCP.


Allllsoooo heyyy, look what I found:



First of all, let me note the conversation in the beginning "She's thirsty, get her some acid"....Looool.

Second of all, this is pretty cool, to see him kind of in his natural habitat, if you will. This is a super interesting cover of Elvis' song, and I don't mean this to sound largely stereotypical, but this one seems more soulful, or rather, it was more meaning/ less cheesy-ness behind it.

Broken Bells

RIYL: The Shins, Phoenix

First of all, sorry I'm not writing punny titles anymore. It began to become a chore, and I want puns to be a treat, not a pain.

Anyways, I'm surprised I haven't written about Broken Bells yet, I'd easily place them in my top 5 favorite bands of all time.

My favorite song is "The Ghost Inside"



The continuous is beat in the background is pretty repetitive, but they keep it fresh with funky keyboard. The main vocals are sung in a really high pitch, which I think is an interesting/ different direction from a lot of modern music. However, there's lots of harmonization and another real dreamy voice that comes in later too.

This is probably their most popular song, "The High Road"



This one features the dreamy guy's vocals instead of the higher voice. The song starts off with almost a Pac-Man like sounding keyboard intro, I like it. The lyrics are really dark, with potential drug themes? It's a bit ambiguous:

Come on and get the minimum
Before you open up your eyes
This army has so many hands
To analyze
Come on and get your overdose
Collected at the borderline
They want it up in your hair

[Chorus]
Cause they know, and so do I
The high road is hard to find
A detour in your new life
Tell all of your friends goodbye

And finally, a last favorite of mine is "Sailing to Nowhere"




This one is a bit softer than the others...I like it.

Over all, Broken Bells are a ringing success...I tried.