Songs for Your Listening Pleasure

So. It occurred to me that I have been hardcore failing at the whole 'songs of the week' business. Luckily for you, there is a whole slew of songs that I've been digging lately, so here's a nice barrage of songs that you should check out.

And just because I feel so badly about not giving you song suggestions, I'm even going to make this super easy for you and include links for you to listen to the songs. You're welcome!

Enjoy!


Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros: Home (Love, love, LOVE this song! SO cute!)

Christina Perri: Jar of Hearts (Thank you 'So You Think You Can Dance' for introducing me to this one!)

Jesca Hoop: Four Dreams (Heard this song on The Current--aka the best radio station ever--and I was hooked instantly.)

The Undeserving: Something to Hope For (If you like OneRepublic, I think this will strike your fancy. Similar sound, in my opinion.)

Ryan Calhoun: Who We Are (Really pretty song, but a bit on the sad side. I tend to be drawn to that type of song. Sorry about that. Maybe that's why my best friend calls me emo?)

Barenaked Ladies: The Big Bang Theory Theme Song (I am absolutely obsessed with the show 'The Big Bang Theory.' Seriously. If you have not watched it, go do so. RIGHT. NOW!)

Joshua Radin: Sundrenched World (Another lovely but heavy one.)

Katzenjammer: A Bar in Amsterdam (Not sure which I like more...the song itself, or the music video for it. Both are faaaantastic!)


Florence & The Machine: Drumming Song (I love female singers whose voices are just naturally stellar. Eff autotune!)


Adam Lambert: If I Had You (Gotta admit...I think Adam Lambert is a fox. Seriously. And he can legit sing, too! Even better!)

Janelle Monae: Tightrope (I get to see her live next month! Yay! I've seen her perform on TV appearances and she is soooo talented.)

The Avett Brothers: Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise (Saw them live about a month ago. So. Freaking. Good. If you ever get a chance to go to one of their shows, I'd highly recommend doing so.)

Metric: Waves (One of my all-time favorite bands. First discovered them back in 2004 when they had an appearance in the movie 'Clean.' Insta-love. I've also been told I look like their singer, Emily Haines. So that's cool too.)

Sia: Soon We'll Be Found (Her hair makes me giggle, but DANG is this song gorgeous, and the video is one of the most unique I've ever seen.)

Devotchka: How It Ends (Sound familiar? If you've seen 'Little Miss Sunshine,' it's in there. Was also the song that two of my loves (Neil and Kent) from 'So You Think You Can Dance' danced to.)

Mumford and Sons: The Cave (Not even going to start about how I'm missing seeing them yet AGAIN. It's a tragic tale. Anywho, they're wonderful, so have a listen.)

The Antlers: Bear (The beginning of this song makes me smile. Reminds me of a lullaby.)

Wild Beasts: We Still Got the Taste Dancin' On Our Tongues (This song just rocks. Entrancing is a good word for it.)

Brandon Flowers: Crossfire (I've seen The Killers three times. The last time, Mr. Flowers was kind of a douche. I'm hoping he redeems himself solo. Because I really like this song.)

Tramgirl Karaoke Club ft. Maskopet: If Your Time Runs Out (Sorry I couldn't find a better video. Still a great song, though!)

Spiral Beach: Voodoo (This song is in one of my favorite movies, 'Charlie Bartlett.' EVERY time I've watched I've thought, "Wow, I like this song, wonder who sings it?" but never looked it up. Yesterday I finally did. Woot!)

H'ok. 21 songs for your listening enjoyment. I think that makes up for the 9 weeks I missed, don't you?

Hunters & Runners: Of Classic Renown

There are some albums that are good without knocking your socks off. There isn’t anything wrong with them; they’re just missing that extra oomph that would push them from a good album to a great album.

 

This is the case with Of Classic Renown, the spring release from New York City band Hunters & Runners.

 

From the outset, Of Classic Renown has what I would call a ‘comfortable’ feel. The music is played well, the vocals are good, and, overall, it’s pleasant to listen to. However, it doesn’t quite catch the listener in such a way that they’re actually invested in the listening experience.

 

Rather, listening to Of Classic Renown is an easy listen. The listener doesn’t have to pay too close attention to get the vibe of the music, nor is it music that the listener can just tune out. It’s simply enjoyable...MORE

Nnenna Freelon: Homefree

When you think back to some of the “greats” in jazz history, several of the superstars are women. Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Etta Jones—these women were, and still are, considered among the elite of the jazz world.

 

With her latest album, Homefree, Nnenna Freelon makes it clear that she’s well on her way to being regarded as in the same league as those old-school jazz queens.

 

Taken just at surface-level, Freelon has an aesthetically pleasing voice—it’s as smooth as silk, and it has a gorgeous warm tone to it. Listening deeper, one hears in Freelon the qualities that set her jazz predecessors in stone as stars.

 

When Freelon sings, she oozes the same class, confidence, and undeniable “cool factor” that characterized the leading ladies of jazz. At the same time, however, it never feels as though Freelon is trying to imitate those artists or be a throwback to an age gone by. Instead, it’s more as though she channeled the artists, and then used their inspiration to take a standard and make it her own...MORE

The Primary: Days Among Giants

When it comes to musical development, there’s a stage in the game where mixing up one’s style is a worthwhile risk, and stage where it’s not. If you are an established artist/band with a steady fan following, then a bit of change can be refreshing. If you’re just starting out, though? It’s probably best to avoid meshing styles until you’ve made it known exactly what you’re going for.

 

On their new album, Days Among Giants, Texas-based alternative band The Primary made the poor decision to try several different styles, and the result is an album that gives the impression that the band really hadn’t thought out what they wanted their sound to be.

 

Literally every song has a different style to it, from the Incubus-sounding “Get Out,” to the mellow yet heavy “Until Then,” to the psychedelic “The Trial of the Knave of Hear,” just to name a few...MORE

Brandy Lynn Confer: In the Dust

When an artist creates an album, there’s an important goal he or she has to achieve right off the bat: grabbing the listener’s attention. 

With her album In the Dust, Brandy Lynn Confer accomplishes this, but not really through any effort of her own. What catches the listener most is the striking similarity between Confer’s voice and Sheryl Crow’s. 

Confer’s voice has the same raspy, throaty quality as Crow’s, and even Confer’s tone and inflection very closely match the superstar’s. This is so evident on the first track, “Heartbreaker,” that it keeps you listening to find out if Confer’s voice really sounds that much like Crow’s, or if it just happens to be on that song....MORE

Sonya Kahn: New Beginning

It’s not often that I find myself at a loss for words, but when it comes to defining Sonya Kahn’s album New Beginning that seems to be the case.

 

There is plenty to be said about New Beginning, but as far as easily categorizing it? Almost impossible.

 

This album consists of songs that bring together 80’s-style pop-rock, classic Euro-pop, power ballads, and a sound that is suggestive of what ABBA would have sounded like were the group formed today. Despite these aspects being able to be picked out, though, none of them quite accurately describe Kahn’s music.

 

There are hints of all these styles, yet Kahn melds them into one style that is distinctly her own, and rather indefinable. To simply lump her into the genre of pop or pop-rock would be to do a grave injustice to Kahn.

 

There is a power and edge to Kahn’s music that isn’t often found with pop music, especially with female pop singers. There isn’t the slightest presence of auto-tune, just a voice that comes through the airwaves with a pure, inherent strength...MORE

Sun Domingo: Live in Montreal, Marillion Weekend 09

When it comes to live albums, artists need to be very, very careful in the execution of both the concert being recorded for the album, and the final product of the album itself.

 

From the sound quality being off—too loud, too soft, too harsh-- to the artist not realizing that the amount of talking usually done in a concert might not work well on a record, to just losing the overall vibe of the performance, there’s a lot that can go awry on live albums.

 

Luckily, Atlanta-based rock band Sun Domingo does a pretty good job of avoiding these issues on the recently released Live in Montreal, Marillion Weekend 09.

 

The trio, made up of Jason Pomar, Edgel Groves, Jr., and Nathan Lathouse, give a performance that is totally in sync the entire way through. This is easy enough to accomplish when recording in a studio, but to be consistently spot-on with each other throughout a live concert? Impressive...MORE