I wrote this on a best you're not listening to blog back in early 2009...
Yes Please is composed of a singersongwriter that considers herself a duel citizen of both Olympia and San Francisco. Sadly, she is no longer recording under this name, but the album "For Now, for Then, for Them" is very special. An artist that was born to be featured on Gray’s Anatomy.
...but sadly, I didn't share any of her music at the time. That was before I created my own YouTube Channel, and before I realized how quick and easy it was to make and upload songs that lacked an internet voice. So, today, while listening with my eyes closed, this first track came on, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. So, I thought I'd upload it and share, I did the second one for good measure. Like I said, quick and easy.
So the other day, my co-blogger Stevie, posted the song "Family" by Noah Gundersen, and it pissed me the hell off. I fell in LOVE with the song, and I had never heard of Noah Gundersen, and that doesn't happen to me. I am the one that finds bands that Stevie doesn't know, and she gets my goat when it's the other way around. But, the song was soooooo good, that I jumped on the bandwagon, and dove into Noah Gundersen. Turns out before he was a solo act, he was a part of a band called The Courage, and they released this beautiful album in Sept. 2010. I would say it's sad that The Courage broke up, but have you heard his new EP? It is fanfuckingtastic. So, if The Courage had to die, to get Family, so be it.
But, I really recommend you pick up The Courage, as it is a gem of a record.
This song, hits me hard. But not for the romantic connotations. It reminds me of the mistakes I have made, but that makes the song all the more beautiful for me. Enjoy.
Dawes is a band that snuck right up on me. I was going to a concert for Brett Dennen, and for Brett Dennen only, but, being the audiophile I am, I opted, as I always opt, to make sure I was early enough to catch the opening act. This band that my friend who sold me her tickets to the show, was very excited to see. A band that I had never heard of. This little band called Dawes. A little band the blew me away. A little band, who's album I purchased based on that set alone, is now dead set to end up in the top 5 records of 2011.
Now, I may have been behind on the times when it comes to Dawes, but I'm making up for it with my enthusiasm for them now.
So, with that, I present you, the Band of the Week:
Dawes
Below, you will find 5 fantastic songs, three of them I would like to thank the fantastic people over at Sleepover Shows for producing and making available. The other's and just a couple songs I could not fathom to leave off this showcase.
"If I Wanted Someone" (Sleepover Show)
"A Little Bit Of Everything"
"How Far We've Come" (Sleepover Show)
"That Western Skyline" (Sleepover Show)
"Million Dollar Bill" (my personal favorite, and one that I uploaded myself)
Brett Dennen is the Man. Now, I say that in general, but in particular, he is the Man when it comes to final tracks. And you all know how I feel about final tracks. How I believe, maybe naively, that the last track of an album means something special, something personal, something more to the artist then any other track. That they fought for that song to be on that album and all that jazz.
So, below, you will find two prime-ass examples of how Brett Dennen is the Man.
"Ain't Gonna Lose You" by Brett Dennen (of the Hope For The Hopeless album)
"Alone Again" by Brett Dennen (of the Loveboy album (amazon.com exclusive track))
I think when I saw Ivan & Alyosha at The Moore theater this last year, they must have had an off night, because, if they sounded 1/10th as amazing as in this clip, I would have sung their praises all over this little blog. Nonetheless, I have discovered, so I share, as is my way.
There are some songs that get into you like a splinter. But the good kind of splinter.
I don't know what it is about this song. It is clearly not for everyone, but it is for me. I think that when I write, like really write. not for this blog, (not that this is not real writing,) but writing for me, not for anything else, I write like this. I love these words.
So, previously we've brought you, The Edible Music list, The Best Bands With #'s in Their Names list, and my personal favorite, The Bands That Lie list. And now, to join that elite group of awesome lists, we bring you The Best Roar Bands; bands that embrace their inner animal. That's just a fancy way to say, best bands with animals in their names.
Now, this was a fun list to write, but I had the opposite problem with this one, then I did with the others listed above. When I was writing those, I had so much trouble filling out the lists of 13 with credible bands, but this list, I started out with 50+ bands that I could make a case for, and ended up narrowing down to these 30.
In the order that I think is best, comment if you quibble, here are the best Animal bands. And no, I did not overlook Def Leppard. A Leppard is not an animal, a Leopard is. Do you see the discrepancy? Hope you enjoy.
You can Cover a song. You can Sample a song, You can Rearrange a song. You can make it all your own. Or, if you're Frank Ocean, you can do it all in one song.
I would never ever be ballsy enough, to take such an iconic song and flip it on its head, knowing it'd certainly fail. But, I am glad I am not Frank Ocean, because where I would fail to even try, he succeeds beyond measure. Listen to it once to get the feel for what he is able to pull off, and then listen a second time to hear and feel the lyrics. It is just a great song on its own, made better by the backing track.
If you have not heard of Frank Ocean, undoubtedly, your life is missing out. He released a free Mixtape "Nostalgia, Ultra" earlier this year, that came out of nowhere and became the best R&B album of '11. If you like R&B, hell, if you like music, this record needs to be in your collection. You can download it here.
I try to make it a habit not the repeat bands when I do my song of the day thing. But the word "try" indicates the possibility of failure, and today I fail in grand fashion. You're welcome.
The BGP, is one of those bands that could forever stay a local heavy hitter, or with the right break, and a great song or two, could really make some well deserved noise. And I think this song is one helluva step in the right direction. It might even be the best hook of the year.
Now, from what I understand, this song was written in the aftermath of being cut for America's Got Talent, and as sad as that experience must have been for the fella's, I hope they get cut from more and more competitions, if the end results are songs like this one.
That hook! My God. That hook. So choice.
Now, for the fun and games. I am honored that the band has allowed to share this song with you. I implore you to click the link below, and get this song for yourselves. It's free, as long as you share the link on your Facebook or Twitter. Support Local Music! Get "Heartbreak Heartbreak" here!
Allen Stone is something to behold. He is a honest to goodness oxymoron. I mean, look at the picture below, and then listen to the songs. If soul music was dead, Allen Stone would be the revivalist. His album is so choice, (yes, I used choice like its 1988) that it feels unreal, and makes me feel bad for other soul singers out there, because there is just no competing.
I get excited about music, we all know this, its the curse of being a passionate person/blogger. But this record is far and away the best Soul record I have picked up since 2001's "The Way I Feel" by Remy Shand.
Oh, and to top off the madness, he is a NW product. From Chewelah to be exact. For those who don't know, and I can't understand why you wouldn't, that's north of Spokane, the way to the lovely town of Republic. How he found this sound in Chewelah is anyone's guess. I'd kill to look through his record collection.
So, its not that we forgot or abandoned the idea of the Alphabet List, it's just that "I" is a sonofabitch.
So, with that, we skip it, at least for now, and bring you the lovely letter "J"
I cannot believe how relieved I am to be working on a real list again, nor can I believe how long it took me to realize that I could actually skip a letter and it would not be the end of the world. Now, again, if you forgot the rules, this is going to be a list of bands/artists starting with the letter "J." The names cannot be given, and must be chosen. So, although, I love me some John Mayer. and Jason Mraz and whatnot, you will not find them below on this list. However, I have broken that rule slightly, you'll see.
Jay-Z
I am not one who is going to wax philosophically about who is the best rapper of all time. It't not that I don't have my opinions on the matter, but I just do not feel qualified. I love me some rap music, but, as a fan, not a historian. However, I cannot deny that he is just the man.
This song is from his new Duet album with Kanye West "Watch The Throne" which is fantastic. "Otis" by Jay Z and Kanye West
The Jackson 5
This is my cheat. It's a name, but it's also a band. So, I'm letting it slide. Now, I had a real hard time deciding who to put after Jay Z. It was either Jackson 5 or Journey. And, I guess, I cannot deny that The Jackson 5 made a bigger impact on the world, and myself. "I'll Be There" by The Jackson Five
Journey
Guilty pleasure does not even begin to describe this band. I don't even think I need to say more then that. "Open Arms" by Journey
The Joy Formidable
This three piece band from North Wales makes a very big noise, and are one of my current favorites. This video especially shows the raw, sexy power of Ritzy, the femme fatale of a lead singer. Just watch and tell me you do not want to be in this room with her manning the mic. "Austere" by The Joy Formidable
Jane's Addiction
I just to think that Dave Navarro was the coolest dude alive. Played in two bad ass bands, had a smoking hot lady, and could pull off nail polish. He was simply awesome. It didn't suck that is was in this legendary band. Below, my favorite track. "Been Caught Stealing" by Janes Addiction
Jars of Clay
I feel like its the supidest idea ever to follow Jane's Addiction with Jars of Clay, but that's how I sees it. And, I almost had it the other way around Imagine that. There is probably not a cassette tape I played more in 95/96 than this self-titled debut. And, honestly, at the time, I was not even that aware of the religious undertones, I just loved the mellow, post grunge whiny alt rock. "Flood" by Jars of Clay
Jet
This is one of those bands that sneaks into your earmind and before you realize it, you are singing at the top of your lungs. When I need a good road trip mix, or if I am driving late and night and the cold air of the open windows are no longer keeping me awake, I turn to Jet, and live loud. "Cold Hard Bitch" by Jet
Japandroids
Come on admit it, you all knew I would find a way to sneak in a NW(Vancouver, BC) band when all was said and done with, but that is not the only reason I have opted to include this fantastic Canadian duo. They are the first band that I have found in years that truly epitomized the sound and the feel of one of the all time greats, The Sonics. Like, if The Sonics, were Canadian, and formed in the 00's, they would sound like this. "Wet Hair" by Japandroids
Jimmy Eat World
A lot of people will look at Jimmy Eat World as a one hit wonder, but those people need to be junk punched. If you listened to the actually album their "hit" comes off of, you would know what I am talking about. It is a fantastic record from beginning to end, and needs to be celebrated and included on this list. Also, they have one of the best grammatically incorrect names ever. "The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World
Ja Rule
Ja Rule is kind of a joke these days, but back in the day, you know 2001, he was the man. I think he had something like 20 top 100 singles in 4 year, including like 3 number 1 albums. With all the crap he gets now, it's hard to remember that he really did rule the hip-hop/R&B world. And he was one of the first, if not the first, to really make that Rap R&B duet thing so damn successful and popular. It's so commonplace now, people don't realize it was fairly uncommon back before the early 2000's. "Always On Time" by Ja Rule and Ashanti
Jodeci
To me, when I think of Jodeci, I think mostly of K-Ci and JoJo, and I know that is not fair, because they were only half of the band, but it's how I learned of them. I kinda discovered them backwards, back when I was all into R&B, I started to listen to a bunch of K-CI & JoJo, thanks mostly to the Save The Last Dance soundtrack, and I decided to see where they came from, that is how I found me some Jodeci. "Forever My Lady" by Jodeci
I posted this song and video way back in May, and even though I wrote a pretty glowing review....
I know nothing about this band. Hell, I don't even know if its a full on band or just some genius singular guy. It was one of my Moshi Moshi Records yearly subscription finds. But I know that I love this song. And that, soon, probably within 27 mins, I will know everything I can about Clock Opera. I love how it builds and climbs and just becomes a beautiful beautiful full on tumble of music.
.... I drastically undervalued it. This has grown and grown and grown on me to such an extent that it is far and away my favorite track of the year. I think. I'm pretty sure. Yes.
It's funny how some local/northwest musicians don't necessarily fly under the radar, but are just on a different radar plain all together. That is the only way I can explain on missing out on Tess Henley. It's got soul that I have been missing in music lately. She reminds me of Remy Shand's "The Way I Feel" with her fantastic groove and sexy melodies. Now, I realize referencing a Canadian soul singer from the early 2000's who completely fell of the face of the earth after one release, is not going to be an easy connection for most to make, so I refer you back to a post from may of last year for assistance.
