Monday Music Mix

Morning folks. Why don't you hop on board the music train with me and we will get this week started.

It's Still Rock n Roll To Me- Billy Joel

This is a nice toe tapper to get things going this morning. I think the song is probably pretty dated but overall I do enjoy it.

Step Into My Office, Baby - Belle and Sebastian

Oh my Glob. I love this song. It reminds me of Mad Men which is a show that I love. But that isn't the only thing. It is a just a great song. So far I am feeling pretty good about the musical mix and how it is starting the day off. Good stuff.

I did my Hindu squats and my deep breathing this morning and it is actually kind of amazing to me how quickly I feel a benefit from doing that. I can feel a fundamental difference in my physical well being. I do not know if it is just me being aware of my breathing and breathing deep and slow and getting all that oxygen into my body while I do my movements but it works. At least for me.

Stranger In Town - TOTO

Classic mid 80's song. Honestly how can you not like Toto? I suppose that you can but I think you might be a musical snob if you do. It is okay to be a musical snob. I used to be one and I still am in some ways. But if you are just own it. Don't deny it. Throw it in the haters face and force them to deal with it. Back to the song. I also find the lyrics pretty interesting and it has a catchy chorus.

Work, work, work. I would love to find a way to have some sort of gainful employment. At this point depending on what happens with week with the feds and unemployment I may need to see if I can find a job flipping burgers or cleaning toilets at the local burger emporium. Lord spare me. We shall see what happens.

There She Goes Again - R. E. M.

This is a cover of a Velvet Underground song and I like what R.E.M. has done with it. When a band does something clever with a cover it is usually something that is very nice to listen too. I think that is the case here. Good stuff.

Lonely Boy - The Black Keys

This is one of my favorite songs of 2011 and one of my favorite bands. Solid rockers and they put out a nice volume and depth of noise for a duo. This song has a nice beat and is easy to dance to.

Hey You - Pink Floyd

This is nice. Slowing it down as we wrap things up for the day. As far as I am concerned, Pink Floyd is always welcome at the musical party.

Keep it real and stay warm out there today folks. Be honest with and love each other.

Friday....

The Who - The Real Me

I know that I have posted this song before. I know that because it is from one of my all time favorite bands on my all time favorite album of theirs. I believe that the album "Quadrophenia" is the best rock opera of all time and I would also say that it is one of the best just plain albums of all time. But as I was listening to it today I also realized that this song does say an awful lot about me and who I am. This question..."Can you see the real me?" I think is a very real one and one that we all struggle with from time to time. The search to find the answer can lead us to some pretty dark places but also to some pretty good places as well.

Black Sabbath - Psycho Man

I have begun to realize that in the last month as I have been trying to process my feelings and experiences in dealing with the death and the loss of my friend and brother Eric that I have probably been far more honest about my feelings and emotions then I ever have before. At least to such a potentially wide audience. I realize that this also may or may not have made some of you uncomfortable as well. I am sorry about that. But that being said, I do not strive to make people uncomfortable, but I do strive for honesty and I do strive to stretch others in a good way that I hope. I also hope that my writing can be a help to others in some form or another. I know that for me, I believe, that it is helping me to do what I do and to process my feelings in such a public manner.

The Black Keys - Thickfreakness

This is my reality. This is my experience dealing with the pain of this, warts and all. This isn't even so much about me but it is about me experiencing this and me trying to experience this in the most honest way possible. I realize that I can't ask him but I honestly feel that this is what Eric would want me do. He would want me to live this without faking and without pretending that I have it all together and that everything is fine. Because honestly everything is not fine and to fake it would be doing a disservice to Eric's memory as far as I am concerned.

Toto - Straight From The Heart

Don't get me wrong. I am not telling anyone else how they need to be dealing with this. I am talking strictly in terms of myself and how I feel I need to process this in a healthy way. Because and for me this is the key that I need to keep reminding myself of. I must ensure that Eric's death is not not my death. On that point I have to be clear and hold myself to it. Because when I am at my lowest and I look at my life it is easy for me to spiral into this idea that why am I still here, because I have less going for me then Eric had going for him. I am not saying this to beg for sympathy and on the contrary I am probably the furthest away from suicide then I have ever been. But that thought is a real thought that dips in and out of my mind. That I have experienced that is the truth and to hide from that or to pretend that I have never had those thoughts would be totally wrong.

Fun - Some Nights

I do not know what the future holds for me. None of us do. Oh sure we want to think that we have a handle on it and we have it all figured out. But lets be honest. How many of us really do? We might think we do. We might have some vague idea of what tomorrow may bring. But that is just what it is a vague idea. Life is chaos and there is some real joy and beauty in that chaos. I say embrace the chaos. I say embrace the unknowing. I say embrace that experience and wrap it around you. I say live in the eye of the storm and thrive on it. 

Black Sabbath - After Forever

Wow...um I am not sure what just happened but there it is and I make it a practice to not edit my thoughts. So let me put my soap box away and bid you all a good weekend. 

Random Music Tuesday

Well it looks like you guys are able to see the videos at least, so lets keep it going.

Complainted'vn Matelot Mourant - The Avett Bro - What a lovely somber song and I believe that the english translation is "Lament of a Dying Sailor" I highly recommend listening to this with some headphones on to fully enjoy the experience.

Just a Little Heat - Black Keys - Feel the grungy blues it makes me think of the film 'Crossroads' with Ralph Macchio and Jaime Gertz. I enjoy everything that the Black Keys do. I also always find it impressive that it is just a duo and they put out such a great wall of sound.

To Be Myself Completely - Belle and Sebastian - This song is speaking to me right now in a way that I really do not want to think about. I do not want to dive into that introspective spiral. It is enough for me to tell you that I love this song and the lyrics say a lot.

Mambo (Dreaming of 4000) - ELO - Oh ELO! I love you and your disco-prog rock sound. You have brought me so much musical joy over the years.

Dan's Silverleaf - The Middle East - I like these. I only have this one album but every time I hear it I enjoy it. I feel like there is a real depth to it and it always bears repeated listening with headphones on to be able to fully get the sound.

Random Music Tuesday

And away we go......

The Way Life's Meant To Be - ELO - I am generally speaking not a big fan of disco but there is something that ELO brings to the table that I really like. I like their music. All of it. Sure there are songs that were bigger hits then other songs. But as a whole I just plain enjoy their sound.

Big Guns - Skid Row - Ahhh classic 80's metal. I am not totally sure but I think he is talking about more then just actual guns in this song. It does brings back some fond memories that is for sure.

240 Years Before Your Time - The Black Keys - This is interesting and not a song I have listened to much of. But I like it because the Black Keys are totally unafraid to experiment with their sound.

You And Me (But Mostly Me) - The Book of Mormon Musical - This was an interesting musical. There are better ones but this one has some pretty good songs in it. I do not think that this is the best work done by Matt Stone and Trey Parker but it is pretty cool.

Rescue Me - Madonna - Classic Madonna but not one of my favorites that is for sure.

Today's random list was not one of my favorites. But this experiment isn't always one that I enjoy though I always find it interesting. 

Friday Random Music

Friday is here and I don't know about you guys but I am excited to keep this little musical experience going.

1: The Go Getter - The Black Keys: Yet another sweet tune from the Black Keys. There is a crunchiness to the guitar and bass in this one that just is awesome. This is a song that I can just close my eyes and bob my head to. It's got a sweet beat and you can really groove to it.

2: No Quarter - Led Zeppelin: This one is an interesting song for me. There is just an almost ambient nature to it, which I love. It just isn't what I think of when I think of Led Zeppelin and often when I choose to listen to them this isn't a song that I usually pick. But the cool thing is that it also kind of fits with the previous song. Which makes the randomness of it even better.

3: Muleskinner Blues : Old & In The Way - This was a side project of Jerry Garcie and is pretty much just toe tappin blugrass. I love this kind of music so much. It never fails to bring a smile to my face.

4: Innocent Bones - Iron & Wine: There are songs that I just enjoy and songs that are so lovely that they just almost make you hurt because you know that you can never play or create something that beautiful. This is one of those songs for me. I love the guitar in it. So much.

5: Beyond the Fire - Dark Moor - Oh ya, finishing the randomness up strong with some epic metal from Spain. If you like epic, majestic metal then do yourself a favor and check these guys out. They are awesome.

One of the things that I really like about this process for me is that it really reminds me of how diverse my music collection is. I like that. Because I really do like almost all kinds of music. 

Monday Music Experiment

Well here goes nothing, I mentioned in my Friday post that I was going to try something new. So here we go. I am going to start up my google music library and hit random and then you lucky folks are going to get to read my thoughts on each song and if you tube cooperates then you will also get to hear those songs. Now this process is going to be totally random and while I may enjoy some songs. I may not enjoy others and my hope is to listen with an open mind and to give you guys a new look at both some old and new songs. So here we go...

1: Dancing Queen by Abba- Well that is interesting, I fired things up and hit random and this is the first song that popped up. I really do love this song and it never fails to put a smile on my face. I like dancing and I like music that makes me feel like dancing and this song is one of those. I think this is just a great song. I realize that Abba may not be for everyone but if you are ever wanting to lift your spirits I highly recommend giving them a listen.

2: Money Maker by The Black Keys - There is just something about this band. They put out almost a dense wall of sound. There is a depth to it that I love and I love the grungness (if that is a word) of this song. The guitar in this song also reminds me of Hendrix which I am always a fan of. The more that I let it wash over me, the more that I notice the sixties aspect of it. I am digging this one a lot.

3: The Paul, The Dan: Drapht Feat Trails - I do not know what to say, I am not even sure where this song came from or why do I even own it. The song itself isn't horrible but it is a song that I would have to be in a certain mood to listen too. It is a little aggressive for me, but the lyrics are pretty solid and the vocalists can certainly spit the rhymes but I honestly know nothing about this band. (NSFW) Wear headphones if you are going to listen to this one at work.

4:Metel Militia: Metellica - Ahhhhhhh now this brings back some memories. This was a time when Metellica was just starting out and they were so good. This song just hits so hard and the driving guitar is them at their finest that is for sure. This is metel as it is meant to be and it saddens me to think of them now. So in listening to this one I am a little torn. I have good feelings about it but at the same time, the state of the band today just angers me so much. You let me down boys. You let all of us down.

5: Girl Can't Help It: Journey - Wow, this song coming right on the heels of the last one is kind of a mental shock. It feels like getting my face splashed with lukewarm water. I am not enjoying the experience at all. It isn't that I dislike Journey, I think they are a fine band and I actually enjoy Steve Perry's voice and the guitar and drums in this song. But, it is hard to really get into after coming down from the rush of Metellica. It is a nice song though.

Well there you go folks. I do not know about you. But as far as I am concerned, I can already tell that I am going to enjoy this process and I am looking forward to my next edition of it on Wednesday. Have a good day.

More Music (The Black Keys)

This band...I just am unable to recommend highly enough. The Black Keys. They are an American band and are really a blues based rock and roll duo. The singers named Dan Auerbach and the drummer is Patrick Carney and their first album came out in 2001 in total right now they have 6 studio releases and several Extended Plays (EP) and a couple of live albums as well. There is a seventh album in the works but that has not been released yet.

In the spirit of true honesty. I must admit that while I have all their albums I came a little late to the party and it pains me to admit that I have not been following them since their inception. That only really pains me because it makes the hipster inside me sad. I am surprised that I didn't discover them earlier because I love this kind of music. It is because I love this kind of music I am going to try to find a something from every album so hold onto your hats folks today is going to be a long post.

The comes off their first album The Big Come up (2002) some of these are covers and this album was recorded in one of their basements on a 8 track tape recorder that was from the early eighties . But it still sounds awesome, This song is called "I'll Be Your Man"



The second album had some reals gems. But my favorite is a cover of the classic 1959 song by Richard Berry called "Have Love, Will Travel". This song has been covered by lots of artists but I prefer the Black Keys version the best.



Their third album called Rubber Factory is another solid outing. This song "Act Nice and Be Gentle" sounds like it could a lost Zepplin song at the beginning but it is actually a cover of a Kinks song.



This song off of their fourth album Dig is one that I also like muchly. The video is kind of fun as well. The song is called "Your Touch.



Their fifth album is called Chulahoma and really you might be better off calling this an EP. It has 7 tracks on it and the 7th is a hidden one. This is a tribute album and is a collection of covers of bluesman Junior Kimbrough. But much like the first four I find it very listenable when I am in the mood for this kind of kick ass rock and roll. Though in the interest of brevity I am going to jump past this one to the final two albums that I have.

In 2008 we saw the Black Keys signing with a new label and releasing Attack and Release. I think my favorite of off this album is "I Got Mine" which was listed as number 23 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 best songs of 2008. But there are quite a few good songs on this album and I am torn between playing you that one or digging a little deeper into the album. hmmmm ahhh screw it. Here is the last song on the album "Things Ain't Like They Used to Be"



The Black Key's latest album "Brothers" came out in 2010 and you can really here a change in their sound. It is still the same duo and you can tell that they really work well together. I like this album a lot. I know that isn't a big surprise but I really do like all of their music. I think some songs may be weaker then others but overall everything is very listenable to me. There are 15 songs on this album and I can think of three off of the top of my head that I feel are post worthy and I am sure that there will be more as I keep listening. I am going to go with "Howlin' for You" I really like this number.



As I listened to the Black Keys today while I was putting together this post. I realized that this is an interesting band. I think that there are times where their music all kind of sounds the same. But at least as far as I am concerned the sound is so good that it doesn't matter to me and when they really catch a good one that particular song is amazing. I am really looking forward to their next album.