I hope this blog introduces you to new songs, books and movies. If they aren't all already part of the popular culture, they should be. Or hopefully will be!
There will always be a new post of the day drawn from the new as well as old familiars that haven't been seen or heard in a while. The songs will always be personal favorites of mine so apologies in advance!
Australian group Jet was has been around for more than a decade with three albums to their credit. This song is from their first album, Get Born (2003).
I like the song a lot but thought it was a remake of a Beatles song. If you've ever heard Sexy Sadie from the White Album , there's either an incredible coincidence at play or an unintentional homage to the Beatles in this song by Jet. Regardless of the similar lyrics, I still do like the song. The psychedelic album cover even gives off a Beatles vibe!!!
Please see the video below for music and lyrics.
If you like the song, please support the artists and buy their music!!!!
Thought I'd put out a classic song from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. There are so many from which to choose but I like You Got Lucky a lot. Originally released on the group's fifth album Long After Dark (1982), it stands the test of time like most of the group's songs and can still be heard on radio stations today.
I cannot believe that the group released their first album in 1976 and are still very relevant. They continue to tour even today - where do they get the energy???
Please see the video below for music and lyrics.
If you like the song, please support the artists and buy their music!!!
Cool song from Justin TImberlake's latest album, The 20/20 Experience (2013). Like most of his albums, about half the songs are worth buying with the remainder seemingly filler to call it a full album. The really good ones for me were Suit & Tie, Pusher Love Girl, Mirrors and Strawberry Bubblegum.
Very cool spectacles on JT on the album cover. Wonder if the style will catch on?
Please see the video below for music and lyrics.
If you like the song, please support the artist and buy his music!!!
I love this song! I think it's about the burdens of real life that keep a person from being free to pursue his or her dreams. Family of the Year is an American group. I first heard them on the Country Music Television Channel, though I'm not sure I would categorize their music as "country." Folk music is a better description.
In any case, their 2012 Loma Vista is an excellent album and I cannot wait for their next album.
Please see the video below for music and lyrics.
If you like the song, please support the artist and buy their music!!!
Leigh Nash is probably best known for her work as part of Six Pence None the Richer. You might remember the group's most famous hit, Kiss Me. She's had three solo albums as well as a an album with another group called Fauxliage. While some of her work is centered on Christian music, most of it is very good pop music that deserves more airplay than it has received.
Along the Wall is from Leigh's 2006 Blue on Blue. Almost every song on the album is excellent and I would recommend the entire album - don't just buy the song!!
Please see the video below for music and lyrics.
If you like the song, please support the artist and buy her music!!!!
Queens of the Stone Age is an American group that's difficult to categorize. I don't think they can be defined as purely rock or alternative but their songs are always interesting to hear. ...like Clockwork is from their latest album released last month with the same title as the song.
On the interesting band name, some information from Wikipedia:
Kings would be too macho. The Kings of the Stone Age wear armor and have axes and wrestle. The Queens of the Stone Age hang out with the Kings of the Stone Age's girlfriends when they wrestle, and also it was a name given to us by Chris Goss. He gave us the name Queens of the Stone Age. Rock should be heavy enough for the boys and sweet enough for the girls. That way everyone's happy and it's more of a party. Kings of the Stone Age is too lopsided
Not sure if the explanation makes me like the band's name more or not but it is an explanation!
Please see the video below for music and lyrics.
If you like the song, please support the artists and buy their music!!!
Adem Ilhan is part of an English duo named Silver Columns. This is a song from one of three solo albums that he's released in the last ten years.
I won't pretend to have a lot of familarity with Adem's work. I've only heard Love and Other Planets (2006). I'm not sure that I get most of the songs on the album but Something's Going to Come was a song that resonated with me. Though, when you read the lyrics, I'm not sure he's really promising that something good is going to come.
Please see the video below for music and lyrics.
If you like the song, please support the artist and buy his music!!!!
Churchill is a band from Denver. I just found about the group after listening to their extended play titled The Change Within (2012). I'm not familiar with their other two EPs or their full length studio album, Happy Sad (2011). However, based on what I'd heard already, I was looking forward to hearing their other work.
Unfortunately, it seems that the group has just broken up (just days ago), according to Reverb. It's shocking, especially given the fact that they've started opening for Pink on her tour and seem to be getting traction outside of Denver. Crazy!! Sometimes it seems like artists don't want to succeed.
In any case, the video below contains the music and lyrics.
If you like the song, please support the artists and buy their music!!! More important that ever since it may not be available for long in this case.
Katie Herzig is an American singer/songwriter with four studio albums to her credit and one live album. She's not household name, at least in the households with which I'm familiar. Yet, a lot of her music has made it onto various television shows like Smallville, Grey's Anatomy and One Tree Hill.
She definitely has a long list of great songs in her inventory. I recommend having listen to all four albums. They are pleasant, easy on the ears and don't sound like every other song on the radio.
Please see the video below for music and lyrics.
If you like the song, please support the artist and buy her music!!!
This song is from The Band Perry's second album, Pioneer (2013). The group is a family affair with two brothers and a sister, all sharing the Perry name.
They are probably most well-known for their cross-over hit, If I Die Young from their first self-titled album released in 2010. I like this album better - no two songs sound the same and the stories seem even more compelling this time around. I complain so often about artists piecing together unrelated music with filler material - this is a pleasant throwback to the album-oriented rock music (albeit in a country setting) of the 70's and 80's.
Please see the video below for music and lyrics.
If you like the song, please support the artists and buy their music!!!!
I cannot get this song out of my head. The music is just amazing and stays with you long afterwards. I am a little disappointed with the lyrics though! I thought there would be something momentous and earthshaking in the words, unintelligible as they are.
M83 is a French band that plays a lot of electronic music and is named after the galaxy, Messier 83. Far better than naming it The Milky Way, I guess. I'm not very familiar with their work but Hurry Up, We're Dreaming (2011) contained some good songs, though the quality of music throughout the album seemed inconsistent. Midnight City is unquestionably the best song on it.
Please see the video below for music and lyrics.
If you like the song, please support the artists and buy their music!!!
Frida Amundsen is an artist from Norway. September Blue (2012) is her first and only album to date. Closer is my favorite song from the album though there are definitely other songs worthy of a listen. It's a good album with lot's of poppy and cheerful songs. I'm hoping her next album gets wider distribution globally and does even better!
Please see the video below for music and lyrics.
If you like the song, please support the artist and buy her music!!!
The National is a US-based band. According to Wikipedia, they chose the name because "it didn't mean anything and was benign and meaningless. A better name would have been Lachrymose since I cannot recall a happy song in any of their six studio albums to date. However, based on my tastes, that's not kept me from being a big fan. I think my favorite song by the group is A Terrible Love from High Violet (2010). I Should Live in Salt is from their latest album, Trouble Will Find Me (2013). It's about an older brother leaving his younger sibling behind, dealing with the guilt of it as well as coming to terms with the adult relationship that exists today. You can listen to the explanation and hear more about the band in an NPR interview: The National: 'We've Earned Our Stripes'.
The song and the album are representative of The National's music and, if you like it, you will like their earlier work. I recommend all of their albums.
Please see the video below for music and lyrics.
If you like the song, please support the artists and buy their music!!!
Great song by The Young Romans!! They released their first full length studio album, Tiger Child, in 2012 and it is an excellent first effort. This is one of many great songs on the album, though it is my favorite since I always have wondered why we say "Goodbye" when it's usually anything but a good thing to bid farewell to someone. Visit the Young Romans' website when you have a chance - they have some videos there so you can get a better feel for their music.
Please see the video below for the music and lyrics.
If you like the song, please support the artists and buy their music!!!!
Kodaline is an interesting Irish band with three extended plays and one full length studio album. I like their music a lot - haunting music and lyrics that stick with you long after you've heard the song. All I Want is their most popular song but I think I like Pray even more.
The group was originally named 21 Demands when they formed in 2005 but changed their name in 2011 to Kodaline. Not sure what either name references but I am eagerly awaiting their next album! Here's a link to an interview I found with group on the Internet: Gimme Your Answers: An Interview w/ Kodaline.
Please see the video below for music and lyrics.
If you like the song, please support the artists and buy their music!!!!
Love this song by Brooke Fraser. A very simple song that talks about patience and timing - something we hardly understand in our rush for instant gratification today. What a great feeling to have someone waiting for you!!
Brooke Fraser is a singer/songwriter originally from New Zealand with three albums to her credit. I'd recommend all three albums, none of which seem to have filler material that is so common in albums today. Some songs are much better than others but they've all been given painstaking attention and obviously mean something to the artist.
Please see the video below for music and lyrics.
If you like the song, please support the artist and buy her music!!!
Where I Stood is probably one of Missy Higgins' most well-known songs and I think it's one of her best. It's from her second album, On a Clear Night (2007). An Australian artist, she is not prolific and has only had three albums to her credit in the ten years or so since she was first signed to a music label.
I always have a hard time recognizing Missy Higgins in images and television. I find that she looks like a completely different person every time she resurfaces. But the voice is always unmistakable!
Please see the video below for music and lyrics.
If you like the song, please support the artist and buy her music!!!
Alt-J is an English band that started in 2007 but released an Extended play in 2011 and their first full length studio album, An Awesome Wave in 2012. I guess they wanted to practice a lot to make it all very perfect!
According to Wikipedia, the group's name references "the Greek uppercase letter delta (∆) which can be typed on Apple Mac OS X by the key sequence alt + J. Dissolve Me is an interesting song and representative of Alt-J's music. It sounds nice and calming but I wonder what it means.
Please see the video below for music and lyrics.
If you like the song, please support the artists and buy their music!!!
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I cannot get this song out of my head. The music is just amazing and stays with you long afterwards. I am a little disappointed with the lyrics though! I thought there would be something momentous and earthshaking in the words, unintelligible as they are. 
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Alt-J is an English band that started in 2007 but released an Extended play in 2011 and their first full length studio album, An Awesome Wave in 2012. I guess they wanted to practice a lot to make it all very perfect! 