#101

Hello there!

This post marks the start of something for me, although even as I say this, I’m trying to understand how anything changes at all.

Nothing changes.

Not on this blog, it won’t.

Well, here’s to making it to post 200 successfully!

Why not start this second set of hundred, loud, noisy, and energetic right?

Here’s Gomez for you with Get Miles.

At this point, I think I should mention that this entire playlist is an accumulation of songs I’ve listened to in the past two weeks and thought to myself “Why not share this?”

Honestly, I was surprised I hadn’t shared anything by Gomez in a while.

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The next song I have for you is a classic I’m sure you’ve heard sometime before. I don’t think there’s a lot of people out there who haven’t heard of Peter Gabriel, Phil Collins, or their super-group Genesis.

And from all the hit Genesis songs that I realize I could’ve instead shared, I decided I’ll give you Tonight, Tonight, Tonight this time.

I’ve always admired Phil Collins for the very talented musician that he is, but his voice in this song stands apart from the rest.

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So my brother and I have always enjoyed listening to music from the good old 70s, be it whatever genre. Elton John is one of those artists we’ve followed since a really long time as well. And very recently, I came across this MTV Unplugged version of his song Benny and the Jets, and I found that I just couldn’t get enough of how good a pianist this man is!

I mean, sure, he’s up there on that list of The Best Rock/ Pop Pianists of All Time, but watching him in this gig had me mesmerized beyond words could describe. Geez, what a performer!

(There might also have been drool.)

(Also, I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else looks so smashing in hot pink before.)

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I  now have none other than The Man Robert Plant with Ship of Fools.

I’ve always enjoyed this song quite casually (not overly fond of it), but the other night, after a long day of work, listening to it felt really really good, and so I decided I should share.

 

I just realized that I’ve had a very British playlist so far.

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Electric Lights Orchestra now with Living Thing.

This song is just so much fun, I can’t think of any other way to describe it.

Right from the lyrical quality, to the musical arrangement, to the vocal parts and arrangements- this song is three and a half minutes of beautifully orchestrated fun.

Also, there’s something about those backing voices isn’t it? Almost like there’s a conversation they’re having.

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Had enough of the Brit scene?

I’ve now got American grunge super-group from the 90s, Mad Season, with Wake Up.

I’ve never been able to decide how I feel about Mad Season, Alice in Chains, and Layne Staley.

The confusion is because Layne plays a central role in all of it, and is also pretty important in my eyes (or ears) while I listen to either of the bands he was in.

Personally, I think I prefer Alice in Chains over Mad Season because, somehow, Staley seemed less lost for cause or damaged.

 

All that aside, his voice in Wake Up is simply… haunting.

The song itself is.

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That’s playlist 101 for you. I’ll see you around.

Happy Listening!

#83

Hey there.

Check out the playlist I’ve put together this week-

I’d like to start off with Alice in Chains. I’ve been listening to them a lot lately. Specifically, the band’s stuff when Layne Staley was front-man. He’s what stands out most for me in their music. I have heard more talented vocalists than I can name, but there’s Layne’s voice that still makes the top 5 on my list of the most powerful, goosebump-inducing voices I’ve ever heard.

This one is called Rain When I Die. I hope you like it.

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The next song is Alanis Morissette with her hit song-Uninvited.

I like Alanis. Her voice, her music, her persona… It’s a lot I relate to.

FYI, Uninvited won the Grammy awards for the best Rock Song and the Best Female Rock Vocal Performance that year.

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Grand Funk Railroad now for you, with a track called Inside Looking Out.

I think I’ve shared another Grand Funk Railroad track in the not so distant past. Good stuff all of it. This track, is currently something I can’t get enough of. Its progressive nature is never tiring.

Trust me on this- The track is shy of 10 minutes long by about 20 seconds, and just keeps getting better as it progresses.

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The Black Keys now with a song called Howlin For You.

I heard this one again, just about three days ago, and I thought it fit into my playlist for this week perfectly. And so here it is.

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I know this playlist has been heavy overall, but that was by design. I’ve just been feeling like it this week, and since most these playlists are a reflection of my state of mind in that period, it shows quite evidently I think.

This next one that I have for you is Black Label Society with a track called Suicide Messiah.

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Okay. So these next two songs are a break from the otherwise heavier-sounding songs I shared on the top of this playlist.

This one is called Catch and Release, and is my current favourite. The song was released by Matt Simons in 2014, and is what made him popular.

The song, is beautiful. That’s in fact all I want to say about it. I want you to experience it.

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I’m choosing to close this playlist off with a Fleetwood Mac song called Hypnotized.

This is another real smooth track, clearly not the band’s best, but one of their unique ones without a doubt.

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So there you have it. my eighty-third playlist. I hope you enjoy all seven track on here. I’ll be back next week with a new list.

Happy Listening!

#69

Hey!

Ready for playlist #69? Here goes-

First off is English rock band from the late 90s, The Libertines with a quirky spirited track called Can’t Stand Me Now. I know this one since those good ol’ WorldSpace satellite radio days.

This is one of those songs I like unwinding to. The beat is energetic and fun, and so is the music and every other aspect to the song! I haven’t really taken the trouble to listen to other songs by the band. Yet…

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And after that playful track, I’m giving you

 

something very different. This one is by Ben Howard and is called Games In The Dark.

The song is Track #1 from Ben Howard’s self-released debut EP.

I know I use the word “haunting” a lot when describing music that I share here. But I can’t help that. Truth is, haunting is exactly how some of these tracks sound. Do you think there’s a word better than “haunting” to describe this particular song in one word? It must be his voice in combination with that unique guitar-playing style he’s got.

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I insist you drop whatever you are doing and pay close attention to this particular song. It’s Sufjan Stevens with the song Should Have Known Better.

My family and I were introduced to Sufjan Stevens when we listened to a Christmas carol composed by him. We instantly loved it. And then, very recently, my brother “acquired” the man’s album ‘Carrie & Lowell’, which is less than a year old.

There is no question, the album is a beauty; a rare thing that cannot be explained in words, so I’m not even going to try. This song however, is what stands out on that album. At least for me. So do pay attention to everything that’s going on in the song. The lyrics are just as remarkable as the music.

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This next song by Radiohead, called Thinking About You, is from the band’s ’93 album ‘Pablo Honey’.

At two minutes and forty six seconds, it’s quite a short song in duration, and is also pretty standard a song, if you consider the typical Radiohead songs you get. But despite that, it’s a nice one. Acoustic, full of emotion, simplicity in music but full of meaning, and could probably be described as hopeful.

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I decided to close this playlist off with a song that has been my current favourite for a while now. I have listened to Alice in Chains for years, but only recently did I find real inclination and be mesmerized by Layne Staley’s voice. This song, Love Hate Love, is testament to that. Just listen to that awesome raw power, raw emotion which he doesn’t even make an attempt to hide, and then that superior control he has over all of it!

His voice isn’t the only reason I like this song. (Although I won’t deny it’s over 80% the reason). I think it’s a really nice sounding track with great musicality as well. A lot of Alice in Chains’ music is like that. Well written and well composed.

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So there you have it- playlist #69. I’ll leave you listening to these track for now. Will be back shortly with 5 more.

Happy Listening!

#58

Hey world.

Here’s the next playlist for you- 

Would you believe I’m listening to Pink Floyd’s Brain Damage on stereo and 10cc’s I’m Not In Love on one ear phone, at the same time? Any guesses which one of the two I’m sharing with you right now?

Since 10cc hasn’t been shared so far, yeah, that’s the one. The song has been featured in several films, so you might have heard it before. Also in GTA: Vice City Stories.

Here’s something interesting I just read about the choral effect on this song-

The ethereal sound was created by laboriously building up multiple overdubs of the voices of Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme singing a single note in unison. This multi-track was then mixed and dubbed down onto 16-track tape. This process was repeated across all 16 tracks to create a lush 256-voice “virtual” choir that could “sing” chromatic chords.

-Wikipedia

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I heard Mad Season’s Long Gone Day just a week back and I simply had to share it on a playlist ASAP. I just couldn’t get enough of the track. Haunting is definitely the word I want to go with here. That’s what Layne Staley’s voice on the track is for me anyway.

I’ve probably mentioned this before, but I’ll say it again. It’s hard to ignore that element of Alice In Chains in Mad Season’s music, if you’ve heard Alice In Chains ie. And of course there’s Layne Staley’s very impressive voice.

The song in general, takes a Bossa Nova route, and is very well executed I would say, but I would like to draw your attention to duration 2:30 of the track. That transition there is the highlight on this song for me. Even though it lasts just about 18 seconds.

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The Black Crowes now with a song called Bad Luck Blue Eyes Goodbye.

I have a terribly hard time remembering that song title. To me it seems like five random words with the most probability of tongue twisting when put together, were put together. But all of that put aside, it is a really beautiful song. Chris Robinson has a very unique voice and singing style, and after a while  of listening to different Black Crowes music, I can finally identify said band’s music in the first few seconds.

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A friend recently asked me if I had listened to Jimmy Eat World’s version of the song Crimson and Clover and that’s when I was reminded of Joan Jett’s version of it. I still haven’t gotten around to checking out Jimmy Eat World’s cover, but I’ll be doing that sometime soon.

So anyway, right now, for you, it’s Joan Jett and the Blackhearts with their rendition of Crimson and Clover.

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Last song on today’s playlist might not be everybody’s cup of tea. But even if that’s the case, this isn’t the first time I’ve given you something extreme right?

It’s the 80s American hip-hop band Beastie Boy with So What’cha Want.

I’m not a big fan of hip-hop at all, but I do believe hip-hop, in it’s pure original form, was an expressive art. So on those grounds, I enjoy SOME of Beastie Boys’ music. It’s catchy and upbeat. And such a good driving beat at that.

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And thus closes another playlist for this term-break week of mine. Will probably do at least three more since I can afford the time.

Happy Listening!

#31

Hey!

I’m back again this week with 7 more songs to share with you. Take a look at what I picked- 

Kicking things off on playlist #31 is The Marc Atkinson Quartet with Russian Rag.

The Russian Rag is based on Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C# minor and composed by George Linus Cobb.

Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C# minor is one of his most famous pieces. I’m listening to it right now as I type along and I realize I should share this piece separately on one of my playlists. It’s brilliant!

Listening now to Cobb’s Russian Rag to sort of get some background on the cover I’m sharing with you. Cobb composed several pieces of music in the styles of ragtimes, marches and waltzes; ragtimes being the most popular. This one is simply beautiful by itself!

To describe Marc Atkinson’s cover of the Russian Rag in one word- I’d choose to say “lively”. There’s very evident traces of fun, energy, amusement and sheer musical talent throughout the 7 odd minutes that the track lasts. The way these guys play around with time signs and medleys of popular tunes is quite entertaining actually. See if you find any tune in there that you recognize. 🙂

I would love to watch them perform live!

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Alice In Chains now for you with Black Gives Way To Blue. This track is quite contrasting to Alice In Chains as you know them.

Black Gives Way To Blue is the fourth studio album by the band, released in 2009, their first record without lead singer Layne Staley who died in 2002. The album features new vocalist and rhythm guitarist William Duvall. Title track Black Gives Way To Blue is the last track on the album.

There’s quite a few tracks on this album I’m quite fond of. I decided to share this one for the sole reason it stood out. A song written as a tribute to Layne Staley, and a sort of mellow finale to an otherwise loud album.

Oh, and I just read about this- the pianist on the track is Elton John.

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The last time I shared Van Morrison with you, it was on my brother’s suggestion. This week, I would like you to listen to Moondance.

Moondance, from the album with the same name, was released in 1977 as a single. Seven and a half years after the album’s release. The album blends musical styles like R&B, folk rock, country rock and jazz (quite evident on the title track Moondance).

I’m not sure what it is about this track that makes me like it. It’s catchy sure but I’m pretty sure it appeals to me for more profound reasons.

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Some French for you now by Oregon based Pink Martini. It’s their popular track Sympathique.

Describing itself as a “little orchestra,” Pink Martini’s music crosses genres such as classical, latin, jazz and classic pop. The co-lead vocalists for Pink Martini are China Forbes and Storm Large. The woman you hear on Sympathique is China Forbes.

I’m watching this video right now of the group performing the song at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle in 2012. It’s beautiful!

If you’re Indian and have no idea why this song is familiar, let me help with that. You probably heard this song featured on a POND’S advertisement a few years back.

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This next song I have for you was suggested by a friend. It’s the song All I Want by Irish band Kodaline. I hadn’t heard this song before today and I have no idea why. It’s a lovely ballad-like track, rousing and pleasant. Spanning at about 5 minutes, the track is rather simple and has some beautiful lyrics.

All I Want is track #2 from the band’s 2013 album In A Perfect World.

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Some ragtime again for you now with the king of the genre. It’s Scott Joplin with The Cascades. You probably know the man for his popular compositions such as The Entertainer and Maple Leaf Rag.

During his brief career, he wrote 44 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas. One of his first pieces, the Maple Leaf Rag, became ragtime’s first and most influential hit, and has been recognized as the archetypal rag.

-Wikipedia

I’m now coming to realize that maybe there are one too many ragtime tracks on this playlist, but oh well. I’m not going to change the way things are now. I hope you enjoy them both just as much as I did.

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I thought this would be just the right track to close this playlist off with. I’m leaving you with Rusted Root and their very popular song Send Me On My Way.

I just read up that the track has been used in several motion pictures as soundtrack, but the one I remember it from is Ice Age. You probably might as well. Honestly, every time I listen to the track I find myself wanting to watch Ice Age.

Rusted Root is known for their unique fusion of acoustic, rock, world and other styles of music, with a strong percussion section that draws from African, Latin American and Native American influences. Their lyrical content varies but often talks about Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

And vocalist Michael Glabicki has some pipes!

Here’s something interesting about this super fun song-

One of the most joyful songs ever recorded, “Send Me On My Way” was never a huge hit, but roughly a decade after it was released, it found its way to various media uses to convey a pleasant journey. It was featured in the movies Matilda and Ice Age, on the TV shows Chuck and New Girl, and in ubiquitous commercials for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, which built an ad campaign around the song.

-Songfacts.com

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I hope you enjoy the tracks I’ve shared with you this week. I look forward to feedback, suggestions or correspondence or any sort. It’s always fun to talk about music!

Until next week then.

Happy Listening!

#23

Hey people!

It’s good to be back. The last I wrote a post was over three weeks back, and yes, I wasn’t really devoting a lot of my time into it then either. That having been said, I’m glad I let my friends cover for me while I wasn’t able to write myself. Added more variety and perspective to the blog. I hope you’ve enjoyed their playlists just as much as I did.

It’s good to be back.

The playlist I have for you today isn’t my own. The seven songs you’ll hear today are what my brother put together. If you’ve been following the blog for a while you’ll know my brother and I don’t really have varying taste in music. So you shouldn’t see much of a difference.

Here you go- 

Song one for today is from a band my brother enjoys more than I do. It’s Artificial Red by Mad Season.

Mad Season was an American super band formed in 1994 by members of the bands Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam and Screaming Trees. In case you’re interested, the band’s super members are Barrett Martin, drummer from Screaming Trees; Mike McCready, the lead guitarist of Pearl Jam and Layne Staley, the lead vocalist of Alice In Chains. The band stayed alive for very few years, after which attempts to reunite didn’t exactly go well.

It’s hard to actually tell the difference between Alice In Chains and Mad Season. Both draw heavily on post grunge sounds, and there’s Staley’s eerie droning voice that sort of completes the genre.

The song Artificial Red is primarily very blues-sounding, Staley’s voice lingering in between grunge and metal.

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Now for some Van Morrison. The band ‘Them’ actually. It’s the 1964-65 song Gloria.

Van Morrison is a Northern-Irish singer-songwriter and musician from the 40s. The man is popular for the wide variety of genres that he works with, and the number of instruments he plays. The song Gloria was written by Morrison while with the band Them, and released as the B-side of “Baby, Please Don’t Go”.

The song became a garage rock staple and a part of many rock bands’ repertoires. It is particularly memorable for its “G–L–O–R–I–A” chorus.

-Wikipedia

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This song is one I surprisingly don’t remember having heard before. Surprising because my brother and I live in the same household. It’s kinda hard to not hear each other’s music. Anyway, the song is Blood On My Hands by Keren Ann.

Keren Ann Zeidel  is a singer, songwriter, composer, producer and engineer based largely in Paris, Tel Aviv, and New York City. She has released six solo albums. Many of her songs were performed by internationally acclaimed artists. Her music has been featured in many films and TV series, including: “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Six Feet Under”, “Big Love”, and “Deux Jours à Tuer”.

The song Blood On My Hands is actually really lively for one that talks about blood on hands. Rather typical and predictable a song in terms of structure, but catchy. It’s my third time listening to it on loop while writing this post, and I’m starting to like this one. You have to appreciate the balance of sounds and instruments on the song.

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Civil War by the really popular band from the 80s, Guns N’ Roses, is my brother’s next song on this playlist.

I’m hoping you haven’t heard this one. It’s one of the lesser popular songs by the band, but the more I’ve heard it the more I realize I like it better than I like a lot of other popular Guns N’Roses songs. You can always tell when a song is a Guns N’Roses song. There’s a certain structure that their songs take. Civil War is no different.

It is a protest song on war, referring to all war as “civil war” and stating that war only “feeds the rich while it buries the poor”. In the song, singer Axl Rose asks, “What’s so civil about war, anyway?”

-Wikipedia

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I don’t think I know a person who knows of Fleetwood Mac and does not enjoy their music. One of those bands for all seasons this one. The song on the playlist today is Sara.

“Sara” is a song written by singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks and released in an edited version, cut at 4:37 minutes long, by British-American pop/rock band Fleetwod Mac as a single from the 1979 Tusk double LP. The album version of the song runs at 6:22 minutes. The song peaked at #7 on the U.S. charts for three weeks, #37 in the UK for two weeks, #11 in Australia and #2 in Canada.

-Wikipedia

The song has been described as a commentary on the tangled relationships and love affairs in which the band members were participating in 1977-1978, but the final recorded version omitted most of this.

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Song 6 on today’s playlist is Radiohead with My Iron Lung. I think I’ve said this before, but bands like Radiohead grow on you- if you’re into their genre of music i.e. This song My Iron Lung is track #1 from the band’s 1995 album The Bends. The album features five charting singles, and also marked the beginning of a shift in aesthetics and themes for the band, with greater use of keyboards, and more abrasive guitar tracks balancing subtler ones.

The song’s caustic,self-reflexive lyrics used the iron lung as a metaphor for the way “Creep” had both sustained the band’s life and constrained them (“this is our new song / just like the last one / a total waste of time / my iron lung”).

-Wikipedia

What I love about this song, apart from the general beauty of it’s sound and tone, is how well executed it is. The song is an excellent balance between the soft and the heavy side of Radiohead.

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Pigs (Three Different Ones) to close off this week’s playlist.

I dunno if you’ve heard this one before. It’s from Floyd’s 1977 album Animals.

In the album’s three parts, “Dogs”, “Pigs” and “Sheep”, pigs represent the people whom Roger Waters considers to be at the top of the social ladder, the ones with wealth and power; they also manipulate the rest of society and encourage them to be viciously competitive and cutthroat, so the pigs can remain powerful.

-Wikipedia

In my opinion, this song is 11 minutes 26 seconds of sheer brilliance. It’s catchy first off. It’s got a really unusual and appealing riff. What my brother and I really dig about this track is the cowbell- it’s hypnotic. I don’t know what it is about Roger Waters’ voice and manner of singing on this track, but it’s extremely expressive and I believe nobody could have sung it better.

Go on and enjoy the track.

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That’s the close of playlist #23. I know I’ve been quoting a lot from Wikipedia. I can’t help when I get lazy. 😀 I’d already postponed this post quite a bit.

I’ll talk to you again in a week, or less.

Happy Listening!