Musicians of Note

So I knew I forgot to do something today....

These music posts are not the easiest to write, as I gotta try to figure out why I feel the way I do about something. When I start these off, I get a decent idea of who I could write about, but then ideas change and new bands are chosen. When I opened up this post, I was going to write about Queen. Then I realized I already did Elvis last week, and if I go down this road, it's going to be two weeks and then I have to start figuring out why I like the Beatles. So I'm going to go back to the roots of this, and try to find slightly unknownish bands and see if I can re-introduce them to people.

Huey Lewis The Jam were an English band from the 70s and 80s who largely focused on Mod revival music. Mod revival was a style where past songs were used as a backbeat to new, punk-style lyrics. For example, in the Jam's song "Town Called Malice" you can hear the bassline from "You Can't Hurry Love," and you can hear the bass from the Beatles "Taxman" in the song "Start!"

So it's fast music with 60s sounds included in. What's not to like there? The other interesting thing about The Jam was that as opposed to their punk peers, wearing ripped shirts and scuzzy jeans thanks to Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten, The Jam wore nice suits and looked presentable. With my love of debonair style, you gotta admire that. Plus they were willing to critique other bands and styles they didn't like. Their song "A Bomb In Wardour Street" is about how typical punk music is just about fighting with the rest of the members of the punk scene. And they also were willing to attack those who prey on the weak as well. The song "Down In The Tube Station At Midnight" calls out those who smell of "too many right-wing meetings" who end up beating the narrator of the song to death.

Their song "Strange Town" to me speaks of the loneliness you get when you try to go back to someplace you once knew, but it's been cleaned up and all the heart, character, and dirtiness is gone from it. It's now a tourist trap for people to visit and admire. Combine that with "When You're Young" about how you can take the world on when you're young, but the world comes back and smashes you to bits in the end, and you've got a nice melancholy style going on. But you've also got "Beat Surrender" about how you have to care about living your life and being as happy as you can be. There's also the previously mentioned "Start!" about finding love wherever you can, even if it's only for 2 minutes.

I guess I like them because they give me the beats and sounds I want while still having meaningful lyrics behind them. They can get political, with "That's Entertainment" deriding the use of the poor commoner lifestyle as subject for TV shows, or "Going Underground" about how nukes and fighting aren't the answer.

I like them, feel free to take a listen and check them out.



We'll start with "Start!" because I'm cool like that.



"When You're Young" because I like rebelling against negativity, and the fact that I can be awesome now and all, as I'm young. The world still hasn't beaten me down yet.



"Beat Surrender" doesn't have a music video I can find, as it was one of the last songs they recorded.



And we end with "Going Underground," and as it's still 11:56 here on the east coast, I got this done. Woo, go me. See people tomorrow for the usual Monday zaniness.

Friday Musicians of Note

So I'm sorry I'm late with this, I was busy playing Rock Band with friends yesterday and never got around to writing this. So I'll write it today and everyone will be happy. I'll be happy that I continued my weekly column, Mary will be happy that I'm posting on the weekend, and the rest of you will be happy to have something meaningful to read.

This week I'm going to focus on someone very well-known but not so well-listened to. Considering he died 33 years ago, that's sorta understandable. I am of course, talking about Elvis.

Now you all know him, but have you ever listened to his music? Holy crap does he have some good songs. There are the old standards you all sorta know, "Jailhouse Rock," "Love Me Tender," "Viva Las Vegas," etc. But let's break things down a bit, let's talk about why Elvis is a) so good and b) so inspirational to other musicians.

Nowadays, you kids today with your rap music, with the hipping and the hopping, don't know what the rock used to be all about! That is, musicians today cross over so many platforms and interchange so many styles that we forget that used to never happen. You know who the famous white singers were in the 50s? Sinatra, Bennett, etc. Standards singers who didn't doo-wop but croon. They sang slowly and meaningfully, but kids liked faster music. Elvis incorporated all different types of music into his act; blues, gospel, rockabilly, rythym and blues, he MADE rock and roll. It's because of Elvis that Timberlake was willing to co-operate with Timbaland, why the Beatles were able to play the rock songs they created. And the other nice thing about Elvis was that he wasn't a racist. He not only acknowledged his debt to the singers he took from, but he also was pretty anti-segregation. That's another big part of why white parents hated him, which consequently made kids love him.

But enough about what came about because of him; let's talk about what he created. I'm sure everyone vaguely knows Elvis, but there's so many good songs that it's hard to limit myself to a few paragraphs. If you want some of his faster rock and roll tunes, with driving beats and a great bassline, then I recommend "Don't Be Cruel," "All Shook Up," "Jailhouse Rock," "I Got Stung," or "Bossa Nova Baby." And if you want crooning and caring from someone who understands the sadness or emotions you're feeling, then go for "Love Me Tender," "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You," "In the Ghetto," or "Can't Help Falling in Love." And if you want something hilarious to listen to, try "Teddy Bear," "Surrender," "Little Sister," (which other than the vocals sounds Beatlesish), "Return to Sender," "Little Less Conversation," or "Devil in Disguise."

The good thing about Elvis dying so long ago is that he's mostly lost the label of "big fat joke" that he had at the time of his death. Michael Jackson is currently going through that now, as people remember how kickass Thriller and Bad actually are. 20 years from now, it'll just be another part of his character that people mention in passing and don't care too much about as they focus on the music. Elvis at the time of his death had ballooned out to be huge, but nowadays most people just remember the good parts of Elvis and the great music such as the following songs.



If I Can Dream, a song that showed what side Elvis was on in the civil rights struggle while also being really peaceful.



I wish I could be that cool in jail. I would probably be crying more often than leading a dance number.



Viva Las Vegas, which I did not get to viva when I went to Las Vegas. Don't go when you're 20, you can't gamble. The family part of the vacation was fun though, and I did get a nice hat, so there is that. But no gambling.



Burning Love, one of my favorites. Because it's fun and passionate, and quite right for dancing to and all that. Enjoy the rest of the weekend and all

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.