Here to share some good music with good people. Old, new, obscure, popular. Anything goes. I will try to post a song everyday except Sunday. Enjoy & Play Nice. If you want to highlight a band please let me know.
Email: 1song2day@gmail.com
Yo La Tengo is an indie band from Hoboken, NJ that has been around for a bit. They formed in 1984 and are still making music today. Since 1992, Ira Kaplan (vocals/guitars/piano), Georgia Hubley (vocals/drums/piano), and James McNew (vocals/bass) have composed Yo La Tengo. Their latest album, Fade, was released this year. According to Wikipedia, "Yo La Tengo has been called "the quintessential critics' band".
I cannot even begin to describe Yo La Tengo's sound as it is so different. One song can be folksy, the next is filled with distorted guitar riffs then you can have a structured noisy chaos (oxymoron, why, yes it is). There are a lot of songs and I don't love them all but I love enough, also they do a lot of great covers. I seem to be partial to the songs Georgia Hubley sings.
There are actually two version of "Cherry Chapstick". The fast, upbeat version can be found on the album, And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out and the slow, mellow version on the EP, Today Is The Day! Both are Awesome!
Someone else's date in someone else's door
There's a girl with Cherry Chapstick on and nothing more
It's such a lurid pose and she seems this close
But not to me
I would hop around and try out all Yo La Tengo's albums. My favorites include: Fade, I Am Not Afraid Of You & I Will Beat Your Ass and Fakebook.
Here's to the start of a new week. Today I have "Hell's Bells" by Cary Ann Hearst. I heard this song during an episode of True Blood and downloaded it as soon as it ended.
Cary Ann Hearst is a folk/rock singer from South Carolina. "Hell's Bells" can be found on her album Lions and Lambs.
Well hell's bells, what you trying to sell?
Put it on the table before they take us to jail.
What you say, got a bottle to your head,
And you never saw it coming, and you pretty white shirt is red!
The Smiths, another great band that broke up before I even made it out of grammar school. Lucky for me, they were a cult favorite and easily accessible to a teenage me.
This is the first of many Smiths' songs I will be posting but since it is the weekend let's go with the catchy, playful tune "Ask". "Ask" was released as a single in October of 1986 but not on a full length album.
The Smiths were formed in 1982. The members were vocalist Morrissey, guitarist Johnny Marr, bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce. The Smiths are hailed as one of the most important independent alternative bands of England from the 1980's. Morrissey and Marr collaborated on all of The Smiths' songs. The music was a mix of rock with a bit of pop & rockabilly and the end of New Wave music. The duo were never afraid of being controversial in their lyrics. There was awful tension between Morrissey and Marr. This eventually led to the demise of the band in 1987. Morrissey and Marr have stated they will never reunite the band and both are still active in music today. Although these days, Morrissey is known more for his nasty and erratic statements in interviews.
"Ask" reached #14 on the UK Singles Chart.
So, if there's something you'd like to try
If there's something you'd like to try
Ask me, I won't say "No", How Could I?
Coyness is nice, and
Coyness can stop you
From saying all the things in
Life you'd like to
(Ha, Ha nothing ever stopped me!!)
Have a Great Weekend and hopefully it is sunny and warm wherever you are. :)
I remember being very young when I first heard "The Devil Went Down To Georgia". As a matter of fact, it was probably the first song besides children's songs that I remembered the words too. That must have been some sight, a 6 year old spitting out Charlie Daniels lyrics. Besides this one there was "Nobody" by Sylvia and "Harden My Heart" by Quarterflash that rounded out my eclectic tastes. It may have been that I was a Catholic school girl and the devil playing the fiddle was just unbelievable yet fantastic. Just imagine what my young mind visualized. Very conventional childhood, indeed.
In the early 1980's country music made it way into the popular music charts. Artists like Eddie Rabbitt, Juice Newton and Dolly Parton got plenty of air play. The movie that helped this happen- Urban Cowboy, yes another John Travolta movie. City folks were wearing cowboy hats and turquoise jewelry. "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" was one of the songs featured on the Urban Cowboy Soundtrack. This soundtrack is awesome, a lot of good music and artists. This is grown up me speaking not the 6 year old.
Charlie Daniels was born in North Carolina and has been active in music since the 1950's. In March of 2013 he had to have a pacemaker implanted to regulate his heart rate. He is 76 years old. Devil was a #1 country hit for him and made it to #3 on the Top 100. I confess, I know nothing else by the man. But this song brings back good memories so why not. It's Friday! Have a Great One!
(If you every thought, "what did he just say?" well here are some lyrics.)
Glad I chose this entry by Dave Stroble, Colin Hay was on Jeff Probst Show last night. What a nice guy! Hope you enjoy his song as much as I did!
Escúcheme por favor. ESCÚCHEME! I'm back amigos y amigas with another piece of my iPod puzzle. I am sure that you have all heard the early 80's classics "Who Can It Be Now?" or "Down Under" by Australian rock band Men At Work. The band who had a very hot couple of years back then was led by singer/songwriter Colin Hay. They found success in America in 1982 when those two singles became huge radio hits and eventually winning the band a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1983. However, they couldn't duplicate that success on their follow-up release Two Hearts which helped contribute to their break up in 1986.
After Men At Work's break-up the Scottish-born Hay who moved to Australia as a teenager embarked on a solo career that has seen him release 11 albums between 1987 and 2011. The song that I am talking about today, "Maggie", can be found on the Going Somewhere record which came out in 2001.
"Maggie" is actually a true story told by Hay about a girl that he met when he was a young boy. They grow up together and their relationship evolves from them being little kids with crushes on each other to them being in love culminating with him losing his virginity to her. His family then moves away to Australia and he becomes part of one of the biggest bands of that time. She subsequently gets wrapped up with drugs, her life on a downward spiral. He expresses his regret at not seeing the signs that she was headed for trouble throughout the song. His plaintive cries of "I miss you" lie between each chorus as well. Eventually, after not hearing from Maggie for a few years he receives a call from her mother who through her tears tells him that Maggie has died. However, before her death she wrote him a note. in the letter she tells him that she is better off now and that she is forever his and she misses him.
The song ends on a semi-positive note with Hay singing that he thinks that she visited him the other night and while it might have been just a dream he would still go to places that he's never been with her.
Inside my pocket burns with these words you wrote Hey darling boy, don't you cry for me I am forever yours now that I am free We'll be together, throw stones into the sea There'll be no others there, just you and me I miss you
There are three songs written by Colin Hay that either refer to Maggie or contain parts of her suicide note to him. The first one obviously is the one I discussed above, Maggie. The title of the song Waiting For My Real Life To Begin is a line from her suicide note and the song I Just Don't Think I'll Ever Get Over You is the last one.
Bright Eyes is an indie band that hails from Nebraska and have been around since 1995. They did not find commercial success until 2002. Lifted or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground, is the album that brought national attention to Bright Eyes. Critics hailed singer/songwriter/guitarist and band founder Conor Oberst a celebrated new artist. Now remember I was busy in 2002, starting that mommy stuff so I did not pay much attention until a few years later.
In 2004, Bright Eyes played the Vote for Change tour with Bruce Springsteen pushing them deeper into the spotlight. Two albums were released in January of 2005, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning and Digital Ash In A Digital Urn. The first being a folk album and the later having a more electronic sound. In my opinion these albums are their best work.By the end of January, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning was #10 on the Billboard chart and Digital Ash In A Digital Urn was #15.
There was another album in 2007 and from 2008 to 2009 Oberst recorded and toured with his other bands, Monsters of Folk and Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band. In 2011, the album The People's Keys was released and left any folk roots behind. In 2009, Oberst interviewed with Rolling Stone, and said he would be making one final album with Bright Eyes. Was The People's Keys their final album???? Not Likely. See- http://www.nme.com/news/bright-eyes--2/57901
My favorite song is "First Day Of My Life" from the album I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning and you can watch it below.
Hüsker Dü was one of those bands that I totally missed. They were already broken up before I even graduated grammar school. By suggestion from one of the 90's grunge gods (perhaps, Nirvana, not sure) I decided to check them out.
The band was formed in 1979 in Minnesota. The members were guitarist Bob Mould, Bassist Greg Norton and drummer Grant Hart. Mould and Hart would share in the singing and songwriting duties. This however did not make for an easy partnership and caused personal and creative difficulties. Hüsker Dü began as a hardcore punk band. After four albums with independent labels, the band signed with Warner Brothers Records. Candy Apple Grey was released in 1986. It was the first album to make the Top 200 on Billboard (the highest being #140) and receive airplay on MTV. Basically making College Rock almost commercial. With Candy Apple Grey, we seen more melodies and somewhat calmer music. Hüsker Dü helped establish the alternative sound that many early 90's artists would try to emulate. It however peeved some of their hardcore fans. Truth, I prefer the later stuff.
After the tour of Warehouse: Songs & Stories in 1987 they disbanded. Their manager David Savoy had committed suicide and Hart's drug habit caused tension and concern. Mould stated the breakup was due to "three people going their separate ways". Mould & Hart would continue with solo careers and Norton became a restaurateur.
"Sorry Somehow" is my favorite Hüsker Dü. I believe it is about a messy divorce/breakup. He is not sorry for the relationship ending but I think sorry that the relationship even happened at all. At least that's what I get. Being older now I definitely appreciate Hüsker Dü lyrics and music a lot more.
I don't have to think about you, think about the past
Those days stand out in my mind and those days were the last
I know the time is coming and I'm waiting for the day
I'd give you everything in the world just to get it out of the way
Just a little useless fact, during a rehearsal, the band could not remember the french lyrics in Psycho Killer so they started shouted anything they knew in a foreign language. Someone shouted Husker Du, which was a memory board game and means "do you remember?" in Danish. Hüsker Dü was created with the help of those umlauts (röck döts). :)
Some song suggestions, pretty much anything from Candy Apple Grey, "Never Talking To You Again, It's Not Peculiar, Could You Be The One, Makes No Sense At All, Hate Paper Doll, Don't Want To Know If You Are Lonely, Broken Home, Broken Heart, I Don't Know What Your Talking About, Turn It Around, Up In The Air".
I love a feisty woman. The first time I listened to Bessie Smith, Empress of the Blues, I thought this is a gal I could hang with. Bessie Smith is considered one of the greatest singers of her era (20's-30's). She was also the highest paid black entertainer at this time.
Smith was born in Tennessee and started her career as a dancer and working chorus lines. In 1923, Columbia Records signed her and she began her hit making career. Later that year, she married a security guard by the name of Jack Gee. They had a tumultuous marriage. It was said she was not afraid to use her fists or any weapon readily available (a frying pan just came to mind). Bessie liked to drink, party and brawl. She also had many affairs with both men and women. Some accounts have her standing at 6 feet tall (others a bit shorter) and 200 lbs. She was a presence onstage with a lot of personality and always wearing the latest fashions. After she caught Gee financing a younger singer's (Gertrude Saunders) show with her money she left him but they never divorced.
Bessie continued her career and she never changed from the down home girl she was. She loved her moonshine and southern cooking. She took up with an old friend, Richard Morgan. He became her manager and they remained together until her death in 1937. Morgan and Smith were out driving when Morgan mistook the speed of a truck in front of him and crashed. Morgan was not injured. Bessie's arm was almost completely severed, the right side of her body crushed. She went into shock waiting at least a half hour for an ambulance. She died in the morning without regaining consciousness on September 26, 1937 at 43 years old. Her funeral was attended by about 7,000 people. Gee, her husband used the money raised for a tombstone more than once. She went without a headstone until 1970 when Janis Joplin (another great singer) and Juanita Green (did housework for Bessie as a girl) purchased one.
Bessie Smith has many classic hits and I considered using "Empty Bed Blues" one of her most popular tunes but I had to go with "Need A Little Sugar In My Bowl". This song is quite scandalous for 1931 and I love a good scandal. She's not speaking about sugar or a bowl. And if I have to explain any further you are probably not old enough to be reading this.
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. Today I dedicate a very special song to you all, "You and Me Against The World" by Helen Reddy. It was recorded in 1974 andwritten by Kenny Ascher and Paul Williams. The song was suppose to be a love ballad but Reddy believe it to be more of a song from a mother to their child. Her daughter, Traci is speaking at the beginning and end of the song.
"You and Me Against The World" in a way, has become an anthem for single mothers. It has always held a sentimental significance for me.
I hope you enjoy and please excuse me that I picked the animal video, my son loves all animals.
Happy Mother's Day
You and me against the world
Sometimes it seems like you and me against the world
When all the others turn their backs and walked away
I try not to get weepy often but I am about too. Tomorrow, May 11th, there will be a Great Strides walk to benefit those with Cystic Fibrosis. Cystic Fibrosis is a disease which basically destroys your lungs. All CFers want is to be able to just breathe. My son is one of those people.
"Just Breathe" by Pearl Jam had a very significant meaning to me from the first time I heard it. I am not getting into who Pearl Jam is because if you don't know by now you are truly missing out. I can tell you that this song is from the 2009 album Backspacer.
What others may take for granted like a deep, clear breath, I pray for every night for my child. I dedicate this song to my son, Logan and for all those who suffer from Cystic Fibrosis. Just Breathe.
Thank you for reading and if you would like more information about Cystic Fibrosis please go to http://www.cff.org/.
I thought it was time to write about Social Distortion. Where do I start, well, first, how do I pick one song? It was so difficult, I just love so many. Then I thought, well pick the one that made you perk up your ears and listen. So here you have "Ball and Chain" from the album Social Distortion. This was actually Social Distortion's third album release but it was the one that really seen their star rise.
Social Distortion was first formed in 1978 in Southern California. They are classified as punk but I think their music is so much more. They are a mix of blues, rockabilly and punk with a dash of country. Like many bands, members came and went but Mike Ness, lead singer and lead guitarist is the only one constant. He had some drug and law troubles in the mid 80's and did a few stints in rehab/jail. In 1990, Social D signed with Epic Records, and Social Distortion was released.
Social Distortion brings back great memories for me. It was one of the first bands I found independently and no one I knew was listening to them. Where I lived free style music (gag) was blasting from cars. Social D's music was a breath of fresh air for me! My sister hated most of my music but hated the guys I liked even more. When she seen Mike Ness on the cover of Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell, all she could say was "he's cute". I may have even got her to listen to a few songs. I recently reminded her about that day and her reply "oh yeah, he was NICE"! :)
There is a realness to Social D's songs. Mike Ness is a modern troubadour of hard luck stories and a lot of people can relate. Social Distortion is currently on tour and their last album released was in 2010, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes. Ness said they will begin work on a new album this year.
Well I'll pass the bar on the way
To my dingy hotel room
I spent all my money
I've been drinkin' since half past noon
Well I'll wake there in the mornin'
Or maybe in the county jail
Times are hard getting harder
I'm born to lose and destined to fail
Definitely check out some more Social D if you are not already a fan. My suggestions - Sick Boys, Prison Bound, Drug Train, Story of My Life, So Far Away, 99 to Life, Bad Luck, Born to Lose, Through These Eyes, I Was Wrong, Machine Gun Blues, Writing on the Wall and an awesome cover of Ring of Fire. I could go on & on.........
Pavement is an indie band from Stockton, CA. The band formed in 1989 and disbanded in 1999 (they did tour in 2010 but no new music was written or recorded). During the 10 years there were 5 studio albums released. They were always signed with independent labels never going with a major label. There was a brush with the mainstream in 1994 with the song "Cut Your Hair" from the album Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain, which became their best selling song.
Pavement developed a large cut following and is regarded as one of the most influential bands from the 90's underground. In 2007, NME magazine ranked "Cut Your Hair" at #28 of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever. Stephen Malkmus also made Spin magazine's list of the 100 best guitarist in 2012 coming in at #38.
I remember a war of words between singer/guitarist Stephen Malkmus and Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan. Malkmus wrote about The Smashing Pumpkins and Stone Temple Pilots in the song "Range Life". Well, Billy did not take kindly to this. Billy Corgan has traded jabs with (Radiohead, Soundgarden, John Mayer, Courtney Love, Eddie Vedder etc.). Malkmus said it was not meant to be vicious but.....see previous sentence.
Getting off track here, the song I chose by Pavement is "Here". This song is from their debut album Slanted and Enchanted and one of my favorites. We can sit and debate what the song is about but what I think, everyone will take away from it what they want. "We guess, a guess is the best I'll do".
I guess she spent her last quarter randomly
We guess, a guess is the best I'll do, I'll do
Last time, last time is the best time
Pavement has a lot of great songs including "Stereo, Spit on a Stranger, Grounded, Cut Your Hair, Range Life, Loretta's Scars, Summer Babe (Winter Version), Unfair, You are a Light, Frontwards and Blackout".
Oi! Before I start I would like to warn anyone that is offended by foul language- this is probably not the band for you.
Anti-Nowhere League is a hardcore punk band from England. It has seen a revolving door of musicians but the one constant was lead singer Nick "Animal" Culmer. Their first album We Are The League was released in 1982. "Woman" is a track from this album. The album reached #24 on UK charts. The first single was a cover of the song "Streets of London". However, it was the B-side that became the band's anthem. The song "So What" (remember what I said about cursing) was a hit and the single was actually confiscated by the Metropolitan Police's Obscene Publication Squad.
Metallica covered "So What" on their Garage Inc. album. I do not what kind of following The Anti-Nowhere League had in the states prior to this but this definitely helped them win American fans. Metallica invited Animal to appear at Wembley Stadium in 1992, when they sang "So What". On his website Animal wrote something along the lines "As I waited on the edge of the stage waiting to go on it suddenly dawned on me I was just about to stand in front of 10,000 punters who didn’t know me from Adam and sing a song that I couldn’t fucking remember; all that kept running through my head was run you silly old fucker!"
Anti-Nowhere League is still touring but unfortunately all I see are UK shows.
I've got my deed, I've married you
What did I do to deserve you?
Woman, Why me
Other song suggestions, glad you asked, "So What, I Hate People, Queen and Country, Streets of London, For You, Dead Heroes, Snowman, Out on the Wasteland and a kick ass cover of Paint It Black".
I was talking to a friend last night about how awkward it is when someone tells you they love you way too quickly. How do you "love" someone after just a few weeks? Sorry if that sounds cynical but "Love at First Sight", not buying it. When I was younger I would reply "I Love You Too", seems like the decent thing to do, yes, no??? Do you really want to hurt the person you are in a relationship with? As I got older, I realized that was not the right thing to do. So the last man that said "I Love You" received the reply "Thank You". What else could I say? So I starting thinking about the lyrics to this song. Straightforward and the truth.
"It's a Sin to Tell a Lie" was written by Billy Mayhew and first released by Fats Weller in 1935. It has been covered by countless artists including The Inkspots, John Denver, Bobby Vinton & Patti Page. I chose Billie Holiday's version. I do not think I need to explain why, I mean it's Billie Holiday.
I love you, yes, I do, I love you
If you break my heart I'll die
So be sure that it's true when you say, 'I love you'
It's a sin to tell a lie
And there you have a very valuable life lesson in a lively song by the great Lady Day!
Today it has been one year since MCA- Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys has passed away from cancer at the age of 47. My heart is saddened to think we will never hear new Beastie Boys music again (not with the three of them anyway). I grew up with the Beasties and the first 45 I ever bought on my own was "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)".
Most know they were three boys from NYC who became one of the longest running hip-hop acts in history. They originally started as a punk band. Not only are they Grammy winners but well respected by peers and influential to many new bands. They were inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 14, 2012, weeks before Yauch died. He was too ill to attend. The Beastie Boys are only the third rap group to be inducted. The other two acts were Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five and Run DMC.
Here is one of their best known songs "Paul Revere", from Licensed to Ill. Feel free to sing along, me & my sister did. RIP MCA- Adam Yauch.
Now my name is MCA, I got a license to kill
I think you know what time it is, it's time to get ill
Now what do we have here? An outlaw and his beer?
I run this land, you understand? I made myself clear
Beirut definitely plays to the beat of a different sort of drum, unique by normal standards. You have folk music mixed with a gypsy, eastern European, sometimes Spanish flare/influence. One song can sound like a march, the next a waltz or polka then a mariachi band. The ringleader is a young man by the name of Zach Condon. Besides being the singer/songwriter, Zach knows how to play the ukulele, accordion, trumpet, mandolin and keyboards. I do not believe I hear a guitar in any of the music but lots of cool instruments like the flugelhorn, tuba, and my favorite the glockenspiel can be.
Beirut has been on the Billboard charts for independent albums making it to #37 with their last album The Rip Tide. The first album, Gulag Orkestar was released in 2006 and "Postcards from Italy" is a track from that effort. Gulag is a Russian labor camp and Orkestar is the Slavic word for orchestra.
I hope you enjoy, it may be unusual but fun. You can also try "Santa Fe, Vagabond, Scenic World, Elephant Gun, Nantes, East Harlem, In the Mausoluem, Prenzlauerberg, After the Curtain and My Night with the Prostitute from Marselle" (yes, that is the title and actually quite good).
What's up cats and kittens? It's Dave again and I'm back with another selection from my iPod. This time we're traveling to the Pacific Northwest for a song from the greatest American band to ever exist: Pearl Jam. Yes, you read that correctly, I think that the Eddie Vedder-led quintet (or sextet if you count organist Boom Gaspar) that rose from the ashes of Mother Love Bone is the greatest band to ever emerge from these 50 states. But since either you a) already know their history or b) aren't interested in their history I'm going to get right to the point. Most people are aware of the mega-successful 3 album stretch that started off their career; Ten, Vs., and Vitalogy. However, most of the record buying public shifted their attention to boy bands, Limp Bizkit, and white rappers from the Detroit area sometime during the late 1990's and stopped paying attention to whatever Pearl Jam was still doing. It is my opinion though that you are really short changing yourselves if you're a fan of great music and you've skipped any of their later releases. I'm not going to talk about any of their most recent albums, that's coming. My magic 8-ball has confirmed that a week of non-90's Pearl Jam songs are coming to this blog some time in the future but this is not a part of that. I do promise that you will get some notice so your schedules can be planned accordingly.
2003 saw the release of a 2 cd set called Lost Dogs which was comprised of previously unreleased songs recorded over the first 12 years of their career. There are many, many great songs to choose from among these 30 but my personal favorite is a track called "Sad". It touches on one of the hallmarks of a great Pearl Jam song, the loss of a loved one.
The song was recorded during the sessions for 1999's Binaural. I do not know why it wasn't added to the album as it certainly would've been a hit, which actually might explain it perfectly.
Notable Lyrics:
All the photographs are peeling and colors turn to gray.
He stayed in his room with memories for days.
He faced an undertow of future’s laid to waste.
Embraced by the loss of one he could not replace
Eleven nights he laid in bed. Hoping his dreams would bring her back, it's sad...
I do not know where to begin with "About Today" by The National. It is a song that gets me choked up if I am in that kind of mood. Matt Berninger, the singer and songwriter, just has one of those voices, emotional and powerful. He is definitely in my top ten favorite male voices, possibly top five. The funny thing, I never heard any music by The National until I watched the movie Warrior in 2011. Thanks to my Tom Hardy crush, I found a new favorite band.
Their first album was released in 2001 and I was pregnant at the time. During my early mommy years you can only imagined that music took a backseat in my life. Now that I finally have time again I am really playing catch up and very happy to be doing it with The National. "About Today" is on the Cherry Tree EP. A slightly different, longer version of it was used in Warrior. I prefer the original. "Start A War" from the album Boxer was also used in the film.
High Violet was the band's fifth album and released in 2010. It made it to #3 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums. I recommend the songs "Terrible Love, Sorrow, Bloodbuzz Ohio, Lemonworld and Conversation 16".
I am anxiously awaiting their new album, Trouble Will Find Me, due out on May 21, 2013.
I would also check out the songs "Apartment Story, Slow Show, Thirsty, Patterns of Fairytales, Beautiful Head, Son, The Perfect Song, Cherry Tree, All The Wine, Reasonable Man (I Don't Mind) & Think You Can Wait". If you haven't seen Warrior do yourself a solid (as my son would say) and watch it.
