69 posts tagged “music”

This song is so amazing, I cant decide if I could write about it forever, or stumble upon my own emotions trying to express the jumble of everything inside.

 

 

Its seriously ... Just Perfect.

Its a wonderful thing when a band can achieve their own sound. Even better when they can manage to do so, and revive some musical elements from yesteryear.

I just got done with a blues dance conference. The main attraction was Nathan and Ben, a duo blues band from california. They played the entire weekend, in front of the same crowd of 300 people. And nobody got tired of hearing or dancing to them.

Im not sure what it is about their sound that makes them feel so genuine - perhaps its the raw grittiness of it. Perhaps its their occasional mix of funk and blues, the kind that just gets listeners moving. But who cares?

These guys are SICK.

 

Take this little ditty for example:

Yes. That is a man playing a kazoo. And yes, there is a washboard in there too.

 

 

Here is something a little more downlow and gritty. Check the pulse in this tune!:

 

 

Another slow one. A more straightforward blues for the traditionalist:

 

 

Ever heard a man play a washtub bass? Now you will (and this doesnt touch the surface of what he did live):

 

 

 

And finally. Oh yes, finally. I give you the funk nasty:

 

Tell me that doesnt just make you want to move. You feel your head bobbing and your groove going? Amazing things can happen when a dude plays the JUG well. And it only gets better when you get to see them live, and he busts out a Jug SOLO.

What?!

WHAT!?!

 

 

 

 

 Awww yeah.

 

 

 

Check out this hawt track:

 

 

 

Its a track off of J-Lives (aka Dom Popadapolous. aka DJ Ny Quil. aka MC No Doze) new album : Then What Happened. J-Live has a killer style. There is something hard, and raw about his approach. It resonates.

But ...

I have always loved Chali-2nas voice. This is a damn good pairing, because there is something really good about back and forth MCing that contains disparate voice ranges. Chalis deep resonating flow makes this track slammin and you just couldnt replicate that feeling with a higher register MC.

If you arent familiar with Chali, you can catch some more of him (and DJ NuMark) on any Jurassic 5 album.

And if you arent familiar with Jurassic 5 ... well, we need to talk about some good hip hop. 

(or ... Necio de Los Necios!)

 

Im sure that if you have lived long enough, you have experienced exactly what happens when this song from REM comes on at a social gathering...

75 percent of the people start singing along perfectly, "That's great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes, an aeroplane - Lenny Bruce is not afraid."

And then complete aural chaos happens as everybody starts Mahnahmanahming the rest of the way through the intro. This keeps going for about a minute, as slowly but surely the mumbling gets quiter. People start looking around bashfully at other people and trying to avoid eye contact during these awkward moments.

And then everyone belts out in unison, at the top of their voices:

"Its the End of the World as We Know It! ..."

And after the chorus, the mumbling happens again. Risnse and Repeat.

 

 

Well. I have recently discovered that I personally do something similar with any Salsa song that I really like. Hell, I dont know half of the words (because I dont speak Spanish at all!). But I caught myself trying to sing it anyway, and mahnahming through the lyrics I didnt know. Total REM style. And then belting out the words I did know.

So it kinda goes like...

"Mahnah mah mahnahmah mah nah.... Cantante de Los Cantantes. Hector Lavoe!"

And then I usually get frustrated at my bilingually crippled self and just start trying to mimick the music. Yes. I sing the trumpet section. Yes I sing the piano. Or the mandolin (or whatever it is). 

And yes ... I sing each instrument in different "voices" trying to match their timbre.

 

So yes ... I am a Dork of All Dorks. 

 

As you may remember, from my Caliente! post, I have been searching for some Salsa Music that I really enjoy, and is of a particular feel.

And so I embarked upon a quest. Armed solely with my dumbling wit, keen persistence, and a hint from the lovely Narami, I ventured forth into the internet. Cutting through bush after bush, through the Virtual Jungle of Wrong Turns and Meh.

And today, I finally broke through.

A ray of hope:

 

What is this, I say?!?! Turntablism, with some distinctly latin feeling to it - aka ... Salsable? [TIFG!] Yes, yes, YES! This is what I need to hear. This is what I need to dance to! This is the kind of stuff that needs to be injected into the dance parties, so that we can elevate it to the next level. Oh my. :)

 

And from that little clearing, I pushed forward with vigilance. I could feel that something good was in the cards for my expidition today. Do you feel it too, Short Round?

You should! Cause just at the next clearing, we have:

 

 

Holy awesome! A Dubby feel to the groove, with distinctly Latin roots. Plus a female with an amazing voice. I gobbled up the rest of this album like no other. All the tracks have a similar feeling of Sweet Island romance to them. And are good enough to fill my slow Salsaesque cravings. Its just bonus that each of them have musical roots that are not so salsa, but that I naturally enjoy.

But as I was listening to some of the tracks, a nagging feeling came over me. That woman sounds familiar. Really familiar. Could it be?!?!

A quick search of other albums shows: Yes! This is the *exact* group I was looking for. The song I had spent about two months questing after, is none other than Esta Noche, from the album Granhotelbuenosaires. It turns out that Narami was correct - Argentina it is! (See yall, beautiful and smart to boot!).

But then I noticed something. The track had another artist referenced in it. The female in it is Natalia Clavier.

Now, I know I had no business asking to find more. I already had more than my happy fill of good new music. And I had already found what I was looking for. But I could not help to press my luck ... And I found that Natalia Clavier has her own Album!!!

I grabbed it, and listened to it. And honestly. Seriously.

This is the most pure overwhelmingly beautiful album I have ever heard.

Its like what would happen if the Gods of Music got together one glorious day, and decided to mash up everything great about Portishead, beautiful voices, and latin music. Spice it up with the feeling of pure romance. And love. Then just pour it all into one delicious album.

I have no idea what she is saying. But it doesnt even matter. I can feel it nonetheless. Although I desperately wish there were a way to translate it, so I could fully understand the song. Match the meaning to the images in my head.

I am going to include it in its entirety in this post. Listen to it.

Then look me straight in the eye and tell me you dont agree. And I will call you a liar. And ask for your counteralbum as proof that you arent bluffing.

Take the challenge:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Goddamn. Thats so beautiful. I desperately want to dance to it all. I can envision the style in my head too - a nice mix of slow Salsa patterns with some blues fundamentals. Throw in a dash of tango, and ... sigh.

Natalia Clavier: I <3 You.

 

 

 

Argentina: I <3 You too.

In my little tribute to Cinco De Mayo, Im gonna post about my most recent weird Salsa experience.

 

Im out at my favorite shoe store. I needed to buy some wide leg dance pants, for the upcoming performance (plus I think they will really go well with my Red Pumas!). And I wanted to get some Jazz shoes to wear for Blues Dancing. So I grab both, and head up to the counter.

That is when All Weird Broke Loose ...

Owner: "Youre not going with the white shoes?!"

Me: "No. Im not a white guy. It gets dirty too easily. Hell, my black shoes get dirty easily!"

Owner: "But you have *arrived* when you wear white shoes. Thats where its at."

Me: "Okay. But its just not my style."

Owner: looks at a cute girl in the store. "Im trying to get him into some white shoes. To upgrade."

The girl smiles.

Owner: looks back at me. "Okay. Well, let me see. Show me your moves."

Me: "Excuse me? Show you my moves?!"

Owner: "Yes. I want to see what you got." He offers a hand to the girl. "Would you mind dancing with him?"

Girl: "Sure. That would be fun."

At this point, my mind is going, "WTF?" And getting a little panicky. Its a friggin shoe store, in the middle of the day (I am bad dancing in the light). And I can already feel the heat of the imaginary "spotlight" on me, with 5 people staring at me.

I take the girls hands, keeping her in open position. I do a basic. Then I turn her. She feels really good. And I am freaking out. So I stopped.

Owner: "Good. But, can I see something more advanced?"

Me: "More advanced?"

Owner: "Yep. Like ..."

He grabs the girl, and puts her through a sequence. Roughly: basic, backbreak to hammerlock, pullthough to hip spins. Not too advanced for me, but I mentally missed one move in the 8 move sequence. 

Owner: "You want to give her a spin?"

Me: "Heh. Why you gotta put me on the spot like that?"

Owner: "Come on. You are a dancer. Its not being on the spot. Its just dancing. I want to see you do more advanced moves."

Me: "I make it a rule never to perform advanced moves until I know the feel of my follow."

Girl: "Nice excuse."

Um. Is she totally egging me on, or what? Now I am all aflutter, so I politely move the conversation elsewhere. Internally Im freaking out, because it makes me *really* nervous when I feel like people are studying, and judging me ... and me alone.

Finally I got the guy to ring me up.

Owner: "Next time you come in, we will resume lessons. Dont you love coming here?"

Me: Smiles. "You know I love coming here. Ive bought like 3 or 4 pairs of shoes here. And plan on buying more."

Owner: "Oh thats right." He says and starts fishing through a stack of something. "Have you ever heard of Hector Lavoe?"

Me: "No."

Owner: "Well here." He hands me a CD. "Thats a tribute to Hector Lavoe." He grabs it back and opens it. "Now you can listen to it in your car right away." He pauses. "Consider it a gift for playing along today."

Me: "Thank you."

Girl: "You will love it."

Me: "We will see. Hey ... thanks for the dance."

 

As soon as I walked out of the store, I calmed down. This is when my brain started shouting:

"Idiot! Why are you so panicked? Here is how it should have went down. You should have gotten the owner to agree to a challenge: if you can impress him, he will give the girl a discount on her purchase. And at the very least, you should have danced more with that girl. Or invited her out for a real dance. She felt so good."

"You are much better than you showed."

So I just laughed at myself. Man, another tick on the Weird Week Wall.

 

Later, I popped in the CD on the way to dancing. There are two tracks that I absolutely LOVE.

 

 

 

Im not quite sure why I like this one. It might be the interaction of the piano and the trumpets. The energy just feels right, and it seems like a fun song.

 

 

This is now one of my favorite Salsa songs. I have listened to it about 15 times already. I love the energy in the song. The horns are also very intriguing. And there is something about the way his voice sounds that makes it even more exciting to my ear.

I also like how it seems to break down in the song. It feels very *raw*. Like it could be a live recording of a party.

Hope you enjoy!

I am compiling a selection of music that I especially feeling. These are song I really want to dance to. For many different reasons.

 

For West Coast:

• The Breaks - The Black Keys
• Non Non Non - Melaaz
• State of Clarity - Guru ft. Common
• Thin Line - Jurassic 5 ft Nell Furtado
• Put Your Hands on Me - Joss Stone
• Good Time - Leela James
• Rock the House - Gorillaz
• Sexy Can I - Ray J
• Gold Digger (edited) - Kanye West
• Keep Me - The Black Keys
• Fine and Free - Guru ft Vivan Green
• Sugar So Sweet - Tyrone Wells
• Id Like To - Corinne Bailey Rae
• Lolli Lolli (Pop That Body) - Three 6 Mafia
• Those Gurlz - Snoop Dogg
• Nice Girl, Wrong Place - Gang Starr
• Day Dreaming - Lupe Fiasco
• Follow My Lead - One Be Lo
• Your Touch - The Black Keys
• Get Down - Rhymefest
• Just Playin (Dreams) - Notorious B.I.G.
• Soul Food - Leela James
• Purple Bounce - DJ Lobsterdust
• Lady Dont Tek No - Latyrx
• Makin It Blend - QTip and Wordsworth
• I Like the Way She Do It - G-Unit
• Culture of Complaint - The Grassy Knoll
• Aint No Other Man - Christina Aguilera
• Gotta Get Thru This - Daniel Beddingfield
• Sugar (Gimme Some) - Trick Daddy

 

 

For Blues:

• Secret - Maroon 5
• Sideways - Citizen Cope
• Baby Dont You Change - Tyrone Wells
• Til It Happens to You - Corinne Bailey Rae
• Basin Street Blues - Kid Koala
• Roads - Portishead
• Ball and Biscuit - White Stripes
• Chloroform - Blue Sky Black Death
• Portrait of Tracy - Jaco Pastorius
• Holdin On - Citizen Cope
• It Could Be Sweet - Portishead
• Got To See You Again - Nora Jones
• The Sea and The Rhythm - Iron & Wine
• My Joy - Leela James
• I Go To Sleep - Sia
• Shoh-Ka - DJ Krush
• Only You - Portishead
• The Arms of A Woman - Amos Lee
• Undress Me Now - Morcheeba
• She Just Wants To Dance - Keb Mo
• The Nearness of You - Norah Jones
• Pretty Baby - San Ilya
• You Have Been Loved - Sia
• Ex-Factor - Lauryn Hill
• Sun Is Shining - DJ Krush
• March Eighteenth - The Grassy Knoll
• When You Love Somebody - Leela James
• They Died for Beauty - San Ilya
• Cold Turkey - Anthony David
• The Church of Whats Happening Now - Sia

 

 

And because this is a music post, I am going to share the top songs from above that best describe my emotions right now:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tonight is my Valentine's Day Dance.

Im pretty excited. Because its formal attire. So I get to get dressed up. Which I love, Love, LOVE! I tried to go out and find a killer vest to sneak in under my suit - but its not in the cards. Vests are hard to come by nowadays.

I did manage to pick up a nice fabric square to go in my pocket. I am folding it in a 4 Mountains pattern, which kinda makes it look like a flower :)

 

But I did score some cool cufflinks. I am sooooo excited to wear them tonight!

 

Peep the bad boys:

 

 

Tonight, they will be one of my Whazzats.

 

Yay! :)

 

Oh, and here is the mood music I am listening to, courtesy of San Ilya:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of my favorite things about the Zune is actually the ZunePass. Because for 15 bucks a month, I virtually have 75% of all music at my disposal.

And now that they have included an "Influenced By" and "Related Artists" field for each band, a search for something can turn into a veritable stroll through music at an ambling pace of discovery.

Which can lead to cool things.

 

Today, via a search for Rise Against, I stumbled upon the following:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then another song, by a band called Strike Anywhere. Im not so fond of the delivery, but I really enjoy the lyrics:

 

Do you still believe the chance of a life and a peace exists for us beyond these walls
Burning all illusion buried by illusion
Our cities bleed their secrets rebel lives still sing when the last step falls
Burning all illusion buried by illusion
The local time falling from fire we abandoned past the past the past
Unwind our dirty reflections in the water
Rocks of white teeth at the fall line
Spinning tales tonight histories the days unsung but brightly shining
These songs are songs are for the dead that the system forgets
These words add to the voices and we’re not beaten yet
These truths another way to guard the light in your eyes
These word building potential
We get back up to rise
Building potential up to rise
I’m so sick of feeling hollow and empty when the tv’s on
Buried my illusion burning my illusion
Clutching cold to the still air and the faded dreams of Tomorrows gone
Burning all illusion buried all illusion
This virus in our compassion has no known cure
We’re distracted then bought out clean and pure
We are all dreaming
Dreaming for our eyes race under the lids
Hear the voice from the past to the unbroken kids
These songs are for the dead that the system forgets
These words add to the voices say we’re not beaten yet
These truths another way to guard the light in your eyes
These days building potential
We get back up to rise up to rise your voices sound from underground
Your dreams endure ‘til days shall be no more 

 

Maybe one day I will try and cover that song, with a twist. I am recently *really* interested in taking Punk songs, and unPunking the style without losing the rebellious and political nature. Without losing the spirit. But taking it to a different place, so that others can hear the point too.

Just picked up 2 tix to Sia @ The Showbox!!! (Feb 21st)

I really hope that she plays these two songs:

And if she manages to throw in these Zero 7 Songs:

I think I will just die. With a smile on my face. :)

Sia brings so much passion to the stage. So much positivity. And energy. She truly is just a marvel to watch and listen to. Experiencing her makes me smile.

I <3 That woman. I am so excited!