Friday Musicians of Note

So the other post I wanted to get out here was about music. As I realize far too many of you don't care about sports and baseball (which I don't understand how that can be, but whatever) I also want to throw up a post about some bands I like. And yes, I went with the cheap pun, musician, note, etc. har har har, i'm just like fozzie bear.

In any case, this will be a weekly thing where I talk about a band I like, why I like them, and then throw some youtubes of their songs up here. Maybe you'll find a band you like, maybe in a few weeks this turns into me detailing the greatness of Huey Lewis and the News because I've run out of bands. (Man, I hope I don't end up having to write a long opus about why "Back in Time" speaks to our generation)

But anyway, we'll start this off with a band that's still playing (that's right, I actually know some musicians that are still recording and alive!) The band is called Motion City Soundtrack, and I've liked their stuff for a while. I want to say I got into them through Tim and Chris (which I'm willing to bet are the reason I got into a fair amount of my modern music).

Now, I'm not a music critic. I could throw big words like zeitgeist or pop-punk fusion or garbage like that here. You would read it and say "Holy crap John is a full bag of douche." But I know what I like. I like fiery passion. That's what it always boils down to with all my music. I can get behind you if you want to sing about how you love some girl or feel some feeling, but dammit, emote the hell out of it while you do! Don't get me wrong, there are some slower songs I like, but as a general rule, quicker = better. (and yet I don't listen to speed metal. Huh.) So I like my music quick and passionate. If it's too fast, it runs the risk of losing the meaning for me and I end up not liking it as much. And yet I also like songs about love and girls and such, because I am clearly a hopeless romantic idiot.

Motion City Soundtrack (hereafter MCS) combines all of what I like. They have fast songs, they have songs about girls, and as a fun bonus they have pop culture references. Their song "Calling All Cops" starts out with the line "Calling all cops and autobots" before transformers was cool again. The song "Antonia" namedrops Indiana Jones and Annie Hall. They mention "Ocarina of Time" in a song from the new CD. They even named a track "Pulp Fiction" on their most recent CD, which they then proceed to rip in the song!

But it's not just name dropping. They also know how to make the songs catchy and fun to listen to. Try listening to "Broken Heart" or "Stand Too Close" or "Point of Extinction" or "Capital H" or "@!#?@!" and try not to bob your head in time with the music. It's catchy without being aggravating, which is what makes it fun.

And as I said, hopeless romantic idiot. So the songs about girls are actually some of my favorite music about love and girls and such. Give "When 'You're' Around" or "It Had To Be You" or "Broken Heart" or "Her Words Destroyed My Planet" a try and you'll see what I mean.

But enough about me fellating the band for you. I (if I figured this out right) have thrown a few youtube videos of the songs I really liked below, and if you like them, feel free to ask me for some more songs by them, or even a CD or something. The more people I can introduce to some bands I like, the off chance I'll stumble into something they think I like, and thus more music for me. Enjoy!

The Future Freaks Me Out, a song constantly in my grad-school addled brain.



This is the song "@!#?@!" which is catchy and has cursing, so enjoy it kids!



Even If It Kills Me, a song that has given me some hope for a while.



and we close with Antonia, a song about a girl.