The Album: Going back to local tunes, I want to look at is Exile on Mainstream, by Matchbox Twenty. This is a great album, mostly, in my opinion, because it included a lot of their older songs that I used to listen to when I was a younger. I like some some of their new songs, such as How Far We've Come, but I really like being able to listen to 3 A.M. and Push again after many years. What's sad is that before I got this album and listened to it, I didn't realize that all of these older songs were done by the same band. Back when these songs first came out, I didn't pay attention to the bands so I never knew that they were all done by the same one. I know that this is an older album, but I still recommend it to anyone looking for that nostalgic sound.
The Song: For the song, I want to go back to the Beat Crusaders' song Tonight, Tonight, Tonight. I first heard this song used as one of the opening songs to the anime Bleach. This song includes a cool lead guitar part, a steady rhythm, and is just over all cool. The music video is also really cool; the band is performing on stage with giant helium balloons on their heads. While playing the song, a few of the band members float around the stage, attached to the stage by cords. This song is also the first song by the band that I had heard so it's because of this song that I have gone on to pursue more songs by them.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Japan Rocks
I love a lot of Japanese music. Anyone who has gotten a look at my iPod knows that Japanese rock and Pop music makes about 60% of the music that I listen to. I have albums from bands like Asian Kung-Fu Generation, L'Arc~en~Ciel, the Beat Crusaders, and The Pillows, as well as various other songs that were used as openings and closings for different anime. This week I am going to start looking at my favorite Japanese rock songs.
The Band: I think that one of my favorite bands from Japan are the Beat Crusaders. Their music borders on the techno pop, but is heavily influenced by hard rock. Their songs are fast paced, and incorporate synth/keyboard in all of their songs. I think what first caught my attention with them was the first time I saw one of their music videos and they were wearing masks of their own faces printed using a dot-matrix printer. As I later found out, they wear these masks during their shows, and when they take them off, their faces are either blurred out, or they are digitally covered by their masks. The first song that I heard from them was Tonight, Tonight, Tonight which was used as one of the openings to the anime Bleach. Their music also heavily influenced (and was used in full) the music of another anime, Beck Mongolian Chop Squad. Recently I have discovered that they broke up last year.
The Song: This week I have chosen one of my favorite songs to listen to; the Beat Crusaders' Isolations off of their album P.O.A.~Pop On Arrival. I saw a youtube clip of them performing this song live and I couldn't get it out of my head. The concert I saw was the Rock In Japan Festival, 2005. They opened with the song, using the song's strong drum beat to get the crowd going. The concert footage has since been removed from youtube because it is almost impossible to post any music by the Beat Crusaders. The song itself is quite simple, but it's fast paced and there's a lot of energy. The drum beat is strong and fast with a a simple guitar riff being played over it. My favorite part about the song is the short synth/keyboard solo. The song is the second on the album P.O.A. right after a song called ~NAMPLA~ which acts as a soft intro to the album going right into Isolations which pretty much sets the pace for the rest of the album.
The Band: I think that one of my favorite bands from Japan are the Beat Crusaders. Their music borders on the techno pop, but is heavily influenced by hard rock. Their songs are fast paced, and incorporate synth/keyboard in all of their songs. I think what first caught my attention with them was the first time I saw one of their music videos and they were wearing masks of their own faces printed using a dot-matrix printer. As I later found out, they wear these masks during their shows, and when they take them off, their faces are either blurred out, or they are digitally covered by their masks. The first song that I heard from them was Tonight, Tonight, Tonight which was used as one of the openings to the anime Bleach. Their music also heavily influenced (and was used in full) the music of another anime, Beck Mongolian Chop Squad. Recently I have discovered that they broke up last year.
The Song: This week I have chosen one of my favorite songs to listen to; the Beat Crusaders' Isolations off of their album P.O.A.~Pop On Arrival. I saw a youtube clip of them performing this song live and I couldn't get it out of my head. The concert I saw was the Rock In Japan Festival, 2005. They opened with the song, using the song's strong drum beat to get the crowd going. The concert footage has since been removed from youtube because it is almost impossible to post any music by the Beat Crusaders. The song itself is quite simple, but it's fast paced and there's a lot of energy. The drum beat is strong and fast with a a simple guitar riff being played over it. My favorite part about the song is the short synth/keyboard solo. The song is the second on the album P.O.A. right after a song called ~NAMPLA~ which acts as a soft intro to the album going right into Isolations which pretty much sets the pace for the rest of the album.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Doing Things a Little Differently
So I realize that I haven't posted anything for the past couple of weeks, mainly in part because I have been listening to a wide array of music, rather than a single album. Because of this I have decided that for now I'm just going to post my favorite song(s) of the week.
The Song: My pick of the week is Kimi to iu Hana by Asian Kung-Fu Generation. AKFG is one of my favorite bands out of Japan and this song is my favorite. Kimi to iu Hana is off AKFG's album Kimi Tsunagi Five M which was their first full studio album released back in 2003. I first discovered this song when I was looking up AKFG's music on youtube and I found the video for Kimi to iu Hana (which does not make a lot of sense because for the most part it follows a little person dressed like an elf dancing around a pier, later joined by the band). The song starts out with a strong drum beat for a few measures then it is joined by guitars playing a relaxing (yet quite energetic rhythm). Though this song, like almost all of their songs, is sung in Japanese, it is still very fun to listen to, and I find it impossible to listen to this song without moving around in some way. For anyone who enjoys listening to music from any point in the world, I really suggest Kimi to iu Hana, or any other Asian Kung-Fu Generation song for you to check out.
Special Mention: My special mention of this week is The Bells of Notre Dame from the Disney movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This song is proof that Disney movies of the 90s are more epic than those movies produced by Disney today. There is a lot of chanting and bell ringing, and though it sounds very operatic, it has a lot of power and emotion that really captivates people. I rediscovered this song when my girlfriend mentioned it to me (and I had no idea what she was talking about), and played it for me. I became hooked on the song. This song was used as the opening number to the movie, and from listening to it, it makes the viewer wanting more. After a lot of inner debate, I decided that this song had to go on my iPod. Like I said before, this song has a lot of power behind it, due to it's crescendos and epic ability to introduce the story to little kids; and because of this, I make this song my special mention of the week.
The Song: My pick of the week is Kimi to iu Hana by Asian Kung-Fu Generation. AKFG is one of my favorite bands out of Japan and this song is my favorite. Kimi to iu Hana is off AKFG's album Kimi Tsunagi Five M which was their first full studio album released back in 2003. I first discovered this song when I was looking up AKFG's music on youtube and I found the video for Kimi to iu Hana (which does not make a lot of sense because for the most part it follows a little person dressed like an elf dancing around a pier, later joined by the band). The song starts out with a strong drum beat for a few measures then it is joined by guitars playing a relaxing (yet quite energetic rhythm). Though this song, like almost all of their songs, is sung in Japanese, it is still very fun to listen to, and I find it impossible to listen to this song without moving around in some way. For anyone who enjoys listening to music from any point in the world, I really suggest Kimi to iu Hana, or any other Asian Kung-Fu Generation song for you to check out.
Special Mention: My special mention of this week is The Bells of Notre Dame from the Disney movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame. This song is proof that Disney movies of the 90s are more epic than those movies produced by Disney today. There is a lot of chanting and bell ringing, and though it sounds very operatic, it has a lot of power and emotion that really captivates people. I rediscovered this song when my girlfriend mentioned it to me (and I had no idea what she was talking about), and played it for me. I became hooked on the song. This song was used as the opening number to the movie, and from listening to it, it makes the viewer wanting more. After a lot of inner debate, I decided that this song had to go on my iPod. Like I said before, this song has a lot of power behind it, due to it's crescendos and epic ability to introduce the story to little kids; and because of this, I make this song my special mention of the week.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Some smooth Jazz
As I said earlier, I bought a lot few Tom Waits CDs with my birthday money this year. Rather than going on to talk about all of them, I think I'm just gonna pick the one that has really been playing a lot on my iPod. The being said, i shall begin with...
The Album: The Heart of Saturday Night by Tom Waits. This album is an incredible display of Waits' voice before the later 70s when his vocals became raspy. Like the music off of his first album, Closing Time, this music is smooth jazz. Imagine being in a smoke filled jazz club back in the early 70s. The songs, such as New Coat Of Paint and (Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night, are reminiscent of the old jazz standards of the 50s. The moment you put this album on, get ready to chill. Anyone who has heard later songs by Waits, they wouldn't even recognize this clean voice, smooth jazz, and lack of experimenting with various strange instruments. But, like almost all of his music (and the reason I say almost is because there are some songs that he has done that don't have lyrics), his ability to write great displayed in every single song, especially in (Looking For) The Heart of Saturday Night;
"Makes it kind of quiver down in the core
'Cause you're dreamin' of them Saturdays that came before
And now you're stumblin'
You're stumblin' onto the heart of Saturday night."
I find it impossible to listen through this album, looking for a song that is better than another. For anyone looking for some good chill music, this album is perfect and I would recommend to anyone.
The Song: My pick for song of the week is the title track for this album, (Looking For) The Heart of Saturday Night. This song is slow, and kinda sad sounding, and amazing. When I listen to it, I become immersed in the story, and that's something that I look for in music. This song doesn't have too much in terms of instrumental accompaniment, just Tom Waits, his guitar, and some background sound effects. This is the perfect song to play if you've had a rough day and just need to kick back and relax.
Special Mention: I won't be doing this very often, but a song popped up on my iPod and I thought I should give it a special mention; that song is the Final Fantasy VII Advent Children version of the song One Winged Angel. I love this song; it starts off with this high energy orchestra (which sounds awesome), then when the song starts to take off, add in some rockin' drums and electric guitar solos. Not epic enough? Then add some type of chant in the background. This song rocks something awesome; thank you Nobuo Uematsu for this masterpiece.
The Album: The Heart of Saturday Night by Tom Waits. This album is an incredible display of Waits' voice before the later 70s when his vocals became raspy. Like the music off of his first album, Closing Time, this music is smooth jazz. Imagine being in a smoke filled jazz club back in the early 70s. The songs, such as New Coat Of Paint and (Looking for) The Heart of Saturday Night, are reminiscent of the old jazz standards of the 50s. The moment you put this album on, get ready to chill. Anyone who has heard later songs by Waits, they wouldn't even recognize this clean voice, smooth jazz, and lack of experimenting with various strange instruments. But, like almost all of his music (and the reason I say almost is because there are some songs that he has done that don't have lyrics), his ability to write great displayed in every single song, especially in (Looking For) The Heart of Saturday Night;
"Makes it kind of quiver down in the core
'Cause you're dreamin' of them Saturdays that came before
And now you're stumblin'
You're stumblin' onto the heart of Saturday night."
I find it impossible to listen through this album, looking for a song that is better than another. For anyone looking for some good chill music, this album is perfect and I would recommend to anyone.
The Song: My pick for song of the week is the title track for this album, (Looking For) The Heart of Saturday Night. This song is slow, and kinda sad sounding, and amazing. When I listen to it, I become immersed in the story, and that's something that I look for in music. This song doesn't have too much in terms of instrumental accompaniment, just Tom Waits, his guitar, and some background sound effects. This is the perfect song to play if you've had a rough day and just need to kick back and relax.
Special Mention: I won't be doing this very often, but a song popped up on my iPod and I thought I should give it a special mention; that song is the Final Fantasy VII Advent Children version of the song One Winged Angel. I love this song; it starts off with this high energy orchestra (which sounds awesome), then when the song starts to take off, add in some rockin' drums and electric guitar solos. Not epic enough? Then add some type of chant in the background. This song rocks something awesome; thank you Nobuo Uematsu for this masterpiece.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
New Stuff by the Decemberists
The Album: The King is Dead by The Decemberists. I have been waiting for this album to come out since I first found out that it was going to be released. The King is Dead is very different from what fans would be expecting from having listened to The Decemberists earlier works such as Castaways and Cutouts and Picaresque. Unlike The Decemberists last album, the English Folk inspired Rock opera The Hazards of Love, The King is Dead, I feel, goes back to the band's (or at least Colin Meloy's) roots. This album features tracks inspired by American folk rock, deterring away from their usual English folk. From what I have heard of it, this album is very reminiscent of Tarkio, the band formed by Decemberists lead singer Colin Meloy before the formation of The Decemberists. The "sound" of this album may cause a few Decemberists fans to feel let down as there is more of a "country feel"; less ship captains, more communing with nature. I, however, am pleased with this album; tracks such as January Hymn and July Hymn are easy to relax to, but for someone looking for the old, harder Decemberists sound, songs like This Is Why We Fight, Down By The Water, and Dear Avery capture the esence of the "old" Decemberists. It is also hard to miss the obvious R.E.M. influences on tracks such as This Is Why We Fight, and Down By The Water (I've been told that it sounds very similar to the song The One I Love by R.E.M.). Finally, this album also introduces Decemberists fans to a new use of the harmonica, which, if I am not mistaken, has never been used before in any of their songs. I think that the harmonica is a good addition to the wide variety of instruments that the Decemberists use. I recommend The King Is Dead to not only fans of The Decemberists, but to any fans of folk music.
One last thing, I bought the "kinda special edition" which came with a bonus DVD with a 30 minute documentary into the making of this album. I think that this is really cool because they show that the album was actually recorded on an old farm that had been converted into a recording studio. Also, many of the tracks were recorded live (at least two band members recorded together on a few tracks). How cool is that?
The Song: My song of the week is Don't Carry It All off of The King Is Dead. This song is the opening track of the album and works as a very powerful introduction to the Decemberists new sound. Unlike most of their other tracks, Don't Carry It All has a more rustic sound. Though not the strongest song on the album, their is no doubt that this song will leave the listener (or at least most listeners) wanting more.
The Play: As I said before, every now and then I would post a song that I was playing a lot on the guitar. This week I find myself playing a song by, you guessed it, The Decemberists, from the Album (here's a hint, read the first part of this post), that's right, The King Is Dead. The song? Down By The Water. Simply put, this song is strong, acoustic, and easy to play. There is nothing too difficult about this song, it is easy to get the rhythm once you've heard the song a few times, and the chords are easy too. I like playing this song when I'm relaxing, it really puts me in a good mood.
There you have it, another installment of What's on my iPod.
See ya next week.
One last thing, I bought the "kinda special edition" which came with a bonus DVD with a 30 minute documentary into the making of this album. I think that this is really cool because they show that the album was actually recorded on an old farm that had been converted into a recording studio. Also, many of the tracks were recorded live (at least two band members recorded together on a few tracks). How cool is that?
The Song: My song of the week is Don't Carry It All off of The King Is Dead. This song is the opening track of the album and works as a very powerful introduction to the Decemberists new sound. Unlike most of their other tracks, Don't Carry It All has a more rustic sound. Though not the strongest song on the album, their is no doubt that this song will leave the listener (or at least most listeners) wanting more.
The Play: As I said before, every now and then I would post a song that I was playing a lot on the guitar. This week I find myself playing a song by, you guessed it, The Decemberists, from the Album (here's a hint, read the first part of this post), that's right, The King Is Dead. The song? Down By The Water. Simply put, this song is strong, acoustic, and easy to play. There is nothing too difficult about this song, it is easy to get the rhythm once you've heard the song a few times, and the chords are easy too. I like playing this song when I'm relaxing, it really puts me in a good mood.
There you have it, another installment of What's on my iPod.
See ya next week.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Getting Things Started
Ok everybody, I think I'm going to do things this way; I listen to a lot of music each week, usually whole albums. I think that it would be easiest if while doing this, I posted an Album that I am currently listening to with a description and my personal review of the album, and my favorite song either from that album, or another album that I might have been listening to that week. Also, every now and then I will post a song that I have recently learned how to play on the guitar, or find myself playing a lot. Now that that is out of the way, lets begin.
This past weekend I celebrated my 21 birthday, a glorious milestone. With the birthday money (and an iTunes card) I bought a little more than five new albums; Gogol Bordello's Gypsy Punk: Underdog World Strike, The King is dead, the newest album by The Decemberists, and three albums by Tom Waits: Frank's Wild Years, The Black Rider, and Blood Money. Where I am currently getting into all of these albums, I think it would be easier for me to start with Gogol Bordello's Gypsy Punk: Underdog World Strike.
The Album: I recently bought this album because I had recently heard Gogol Bordello's Through the Roof n' Underground used in the movie, Wristcutters: A Love Story. Though Gypsy Punk does not have this song on it, the album is still awesome. The band members all came from countries throughout Europe and have joined together to integrate a traditional Gypsy style of music, combined with American punk. The lead singer, Eugene Hütz, who was originally born in Ukraine is a very powerful vocalist. Although not the best singer I have heard, the high levels of energy and enthusiasm that he brings to each track on this album make up for this. Songs on the album, such as Immigrant Punk, and Start Wearing Purple, display the use of acoustic guitar, fiddle, and accordion playing hard punk music that one could really rock out to.
The Song: My choice goes to Through the Roof n' Underground by Gogol Bordello off the album Multi Kontra Culti Vs. Irony. Though it was not on my album of the Week, I had to get this song. I first heard it on the movie, Wristcutters: A Love Story. In the movie, the song is supposed to be a recording that one of the main characters did when he was in a band (the character's name is Eugene, the same as the lead singer for Gogol Bordello). The Funny thing is that the tape that the song is on is the only one that the characters have to listen to while on a road trip, so the song is played throughout the movie From the first line ("When there is trap, set up for you") I knew that this was something that I could really get into. It isn't as fast paced as some of their other songs, but the use of punk guitar and accordion, with Eugene Hütz's vocals are a great, yet a little rough, combination which makes this song my pick of the week.
This past weekend I celebrated my 21 birthday, a glorious milestone. With the birthday money (and an iTunes card) I bought a little more than five new albums; Gogol Bordello's Gypsy Punk: Underdog World Strike, The King is dead, the newest album by The Decemberists, and three albums by Tom Waits: Frank's Wild Years, The Black Rider, and Blood Money. Where I am currently getting into all of these albums, I think it would be easier for me to start with Gogol Bordello's Gypsy Punk: Underdog World Strike.
The Album: I recently bought this album because I had recently heard Gogol Bordello's Through the Roof n' Underground used in the movie, Wristcutters: A Love Story. Though Gypsy Punk does not have this song on it, the album is still awesome. The band members all came from countries throughout Europe and have joined together to integrate a traditional Gypsy style of music, combined with American punk. The lead singer, Eugene Hütz, who was originally born in Ukraine is a very powerful vocalist. Although not the best singer I have heard, the high levels of energy and enthusiasm that he brings to each track on this album make up for this. Songs on the album, such as Immigrant Punk, and Start Wearing Purple, display the use of acoustic guitar, fiddle, and accordion playing hard punk music that one could really rock out to.
The Song: My choice goes to Through the Roof n' Underground by Gogol Bordello off the album Multi Kontra Culti Vs. Irony. Though it was not on my album of the Week, I had to get this song. I first heard it on the movie, Wristcutters: A Love Story. In the movie, the song is supposed to be a recording that one of the main characters did when he was in a band (the character's name is Eugene, the same as the lead singer for Gogol Bordello). The Funny thing is that the tape that the song is on is the only one that the characters have to listen to while on a road trip, so the song is played throughout the movie From the first line ("When there is trap, set up for you") I knew that this was something that I could really get into. It isn't as fast paced as some of their other songs, but the use of punk guitar and accordion, with Eugene Hütz's vocals are a great, yet a little rough, combination which makes this song my pick of the week.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Songs in My Head
I've started this blog with the hopes of sharing with people the music that I listen to, or am currently playing a lot on my guitar. My musical taste changes weekly (I find myself listening to a single album for a whole week, but then I'll switch over to something else for the next week) so I plan on posting reviews and song/album descriptions of what I am listening to. I also like to play the guitar as well, so every now and then I will add the songs that I find myself playing. Anyone interested in the music that I post about, please feel free to look up other songs and albums by these artists.
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