Tag Archives: Music

Saturday Soundtrack – Brought to You by The High Priestess of Soul

11 Feb

In honor of Black History Month, I’ll be featuring African-American artists who have helped shape the way we do music in America. Enjoy!

What can be said about the incomparable Nina Simone that hasn’t been said a million times already? Nina was a singer, songwriter, pianist, and amazing civil rights activist. She loved classical music and wanted to be a classical pianist, but by far her greatest contributions to American music came from her instinctive talent for taking classical influences and injecting them with a heaping dose of jazz and soul. She learned to connect with her audience in a tangible way by playing piano during sermons and at revivals. Nina was a commanding presence on stage, and came to be known as “The High Priestess of Soul.” She incorporated monologues and dialogue with the audience into her performances, and I believe this incorporating style was one of the early influences of spoken word.

Dozens of artists cite her as one of their musical influences, including John Legend, Mos Def, Cat Stevens, Mary J. Blige, Jeff Buckley, and John Lennon. Without a doubt, her musical legacy has shaped what music sounds like today, and I cannot get enough of her silky/growl-ey/soulful voice. ‘Feeling Good’ is not just one of my top Nina Simone songs, it’s one of my favorite songs of all time. It’s been covered time and time again, but no one can get close to the grab-you-by-the-heart-and-dive-right-in feel that the original has. (Although, remember My Brightest Diamond? They did a pretty respectable job.)

For fans of Billie Holiday, Otis Redding, Ray Charles, and Dusty Springfield.

“Feeling Good” by Nina Simone on I Put a Spell on You (1965)

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Saturday Soundtrack – Brought to You by Shape-shifting Psychedelic Pop

4 Feb

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MGMT came on the mainstrem music scene with their first major label debut, Oracular Spectacular, in 2007. They became a big thing in a major way, working with and opening for artists as diverse as Radiohead, Sleater Kinney, M.I.A. and Paul McCartney. I’ve always been a huge 80’s music fan, being a product of the 80’s myself, and for my money MGMT is the modern-day extension of everything good 80’s Electronic Euro-Pop brought to music. Even though their sound is comprable to many bands, both older and current, MGMT’s sound is entirely their own. And it all makes me want to jump in place while spinning in a circle.

“Kids” was the 6th track on their second EP, titled Time to Pretend. It was given a facelift and added to Oracular Spectacular. It quickly became one of their best known singles and is one of my all-time favorite songs. I love having this song on while I run or clean, any time I want to feel productive, really.  Even though it clocks in at a moderate 125 bpm, the driving beat makes me want to kick up my heels and get moving. Despite lyrics that definately lean towards the eerie, their psychedelic stylings always make me feel entirely optimistic and happy about life when this song pops up on my playlist. Even the music video is remincent of the 80’s, playing out like the dream of a cinephile listening to the Eurythmics while on an acid trip. What’s not to love?

For fans of Modest Mouse, The Flaming Lips, Vampire Weekend, The Xx, and The Postal Service.

“Kids” by MGMT, on Oracular Spectacular

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Guitar Lust

26 Jan

I don’t play guitar.

Yet.

But it’s on The List.

My sister happened to leave us her guitar along with most of her furniture to store in our attic when she moved down south, and I quickly co-opted borrowed it to start working on #3. Which leads me to my current pressing question: how do I judge when I can cross “teach myself guitar” off of my list? Is it when I’ve mastered common chord progressions? When I can successfully play a few songs? When I am able to play any song that’s put in front of me off of the tabs? In a discipline where there will always be more to learn, where there will always be someone out there more talented than you, how do I know when I can say “I know how to play the guitar?” I need to know, because I’m almost positive A won’t let me buy this until I do:

black beauty - the ovation celebrity

Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. My sister’s man has one, and as soon as I saw it I fell in love. What else would you expect from a girl who has made a life out of choosing the different and unique? Lest you think I’m entirely superficial, there’s a lot of reasons besides the look that makes me covet this guitar. First off, the sound is great. Whether played acoustically or plugged in there’s a warm richness to the sound that makes me melt. Two, it has a shallower body than a standard guitar. This combined with the feature of a narrower neck – closer to an electric than an acoustic – means this tiny-handed girl will be able to play more comfortably. Plus, look how pretty! Ok, I never said I wasn’t a little bit shallow.

But there’s no way we’re going to plunk down those kind of bucks without me being able to absolutely 100% without-a-doubt guarantee that I will play this instrument. We just had to replace our water heater yesterday for crimeny sakes. (Hello? Did everyone else out there know that water heaters are expensive?!? Holy crap, people! Hot water be pricey!) And so I will learn. Somehow. I have to, it’s on The List after all. And I’ve got this little beauty and all her friends as an incentive.

So tell me, folks: when will I be able to say I can play the guitar?

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Saturday Soundtrack – Brought to You by a Smokey Voiced Siren

14 Jan

I’ve loved Fiest ever since I heard her sultry back up vocals on Teaches of Peaches. (Yes, this good little Christian girl listened to Peaches. Back in my early SF days my gay best friend/roomate was obsessed with her and we’d dance around in our living room doing our best imitation of bad 80’s dance hall moves.) She’s got a new album out – Metals – and I’m the one who’s obsessed.

The whole album is everything I love for a Saturday. It’s got enough of a smooth jazz-like sound to fit a lazy morning lie-in or a Saturday brunch. It’s got enough of a soulful beat to motivate me while I ::shudder:: clean. But more than anything, it takes you on a journey. There’s more of an edge to Metals, less of an obvious cutesy-indie vibe (à la She and Him) than in her last release The Reminder. Feist has grown, and her music is all the better for it.

I love this track, How Come You Never Go There, and will probably have it on repeat on my iPod for the next week. It’s swingy, bluesy, and on the surface a light-hearted listen. But if you pay attention to the lyrics, there’s a jadedness, a sence of disenchantment that belies its smooth cadence. This dichotomy of the silky and the jagged reminds me why Feist has been and will continue to be one of my favorite artists.

“How Come You Never Go There” by Feist, on Metals

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Saturday Soundtrack – Brought to You by the Summer of my Sophmore Year

7 Jan

I don’t know why, but I’ve heard this song, like, six times in the last week. It’s haunting me. Even though it officially came out when I was in eighth grade, it didn’t sweep our high school until the summer of 1998. Even though I was into Bjork, No Doubt (NOT Gwen Stephani, No Doubt) and any local hardcore band I could find, I couldn’t get this song out of my head. I like this song – it’s catchy, it reminds me that living for the moment is sometimes better than worrying about what tomorrow will bring. I didn’t like a single other thing Eagle Eye Cherry put out, but I love his station on Pandora.

So here’s a throwback to 1997, Save Tonight by Eagle Eye Cherry.

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