Real

I will be the first to admit that I was never and probably never will be a Macy Gray fan. She is without a doubt an acquired taste and a taste I have yet to acquire. All that being said, this song by her is amazing. If you didn't see the film "Domino" then you never got the chance to hear it because it's only on that movie's soundtrack and that's a shame because it's damn good. Her voice, which at times reminded me of nails on a blackboard is pitch perfect on this tune and the backing music is the perfect bed for her vocals to lay in. And in my opinion the real beauty of this song is it's brevity, it runs for less than three minutes but those are quality minutes.

After some sweet guitar and keys bring in the song, Macy comes in with her voice which usually gets on my nerves. On this track though it's perfectly matched and when she sings "My cards are on the table / I need / real love, not some fabrication / real love, not just indication" over the beat this song becomes really hard to stop listening to. Couple that with the guitar playing that brings this song to a close and you begin to wish it was longer.

Macy was the perfect choice to sing this song. Her voice has some real longing in it and if you try to think of who could have sung this song instead of her, you'd be hardpressed to come up with someone better. Sure there are better singers out there in the world but for this particular tune she was the perfect choice. I'm sure you will agree with me :-) Enjoy.

Farewell to Dobby

Alexandre Desplat has moved me yet again and is thoroughly making up his misstep for the score he put to the last Twilight film. This piece is an amazing moving and bittersweet piece put to the scene were Dobby dies. It’s an emotional scene as Dobby dies in Harry’s arms and this piece of music captures that anguish and sorrow perfectly.

The Potter movies have had a handful of composers putting their own touches and flourishes to the films as they did their best to raise the bar John Williams set in the first three movies. Some were in over their heads but for the most part the music has been serviceable. Apparently though the producers wanted a heavy hitter to score Potter’s final film and in my opinion Alexandre did not fail and I’m looking forward to part two of The Deathly Hallows to hear what he has coming next.

The Angel

I haven’t and don’t usually post about movie music but when I heard “The Angel” by Alexander Desplat from the motion picture “lust, caution” I was hypnotized. It’s one of the most beautiful pieces of music I have ever heard and I have heard some beautiful pieces in my day. I did not see the movie this music was created for and instead saw it in a trailer for another movie and was blown away by it. I have other movie music by Alexander and I enjoy most of his work but “The Angel” is hauntingly beautiful and better than anything I have heard from him. That includes his beautiful scores to “The Painted Veil”, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, and the bombastic subtlety of the music to the Nicole Kidman vanity project “Birth”. The music is lush and piano driven but nothing of those scores comes close to this piece in my opinion.

I feared for movie music the day the maestro John Williams lays his baton down and walks away. After hearing this piece I am a little less fearful. Enjoy!

Never Gonna Reach Me

Throwing a house party or any other kind of party anytime soon? Want to get people up and dancing at said party? Putting a playlist together for said party? Then allow me to introduce you to “Never Gonna Reach Me” by Crazy P. This tune is all rhythm and groove with a nice mid tempo pace so if you’re partying with the young or the old, everyone will be able to shake what their mothers gave them. I was hooked the moment I heard this track (introduced to me by a fellow music lover) and it made the rotation with ease. Mainly for the funky groove and great vocals.

The track is over 9 minutes long but it doesn’t feel that way. It feels a lot shorter than something that plays for almost ten minutes but that’s because it’s arranged nicely. It builds and diminishes at the perfect times making it the perfect dance track and if this doesn’t at least get your party goers clapping or bopping their heads then you might want to rethink the guest list for the next party. Enjoy!

Rubber Ring

I love this song and everything it stands for. It’s by the great English 80’s band The Smiths and it’s called “Rubber Ring”. The marriage of Morrisey’s off color lyrics and Johnny Marrs amazing guitar playing gave this band it’s own little niche in recorded music history and gave it it’s own fervent cult following. Andy Rourke on bass and the amazing Mike Joyce on the drums rounded out this incredibly talented foursome. The collection of songs this band has under it’s belt is massive and all quality but my favorite song is “Rubber Ring”. The kids that followed this particular band were kids that felt like they were the misfits and the outcasts and really had nothing to live for. Those were the kids The Smiths were Gods to and Rubber Ring spoke directly to those very kids.

Morrisey’s silky smooth voice effortlessly croons out lyrics like “the most impassionate songs / to a lonely soul / is so easily outgrown / but don’t forget the songs / that made you smile / and the songs that made you cry / when you lay in awe on your bedroom floor / and say “go on smother me mother”. Couple that with “the passing of time / leaves empty lives / waiting to be filled / I’m here with a cause / I’m holding the torch / in the corner of your room / can you hear me? / and when you’re dancing and laughing / and finally living / hear my voice in your head / and think of me kindly”. Basically telling those kids who have had their hearts broken or who are just depressed and thinking what’s it all for, if a song by The Smiths have helped you out from under that dark cloud, don’t forget what they did for you.

Add that sentiment to some outstanding music and you have an amazing song. Let me know if you agree with me. Enjoy!

Whatever Happens

You knew it was coming right? I’m sure you were counting the posts just wondering when you are going to finally say “A-HA”! Well here it is, the Michael Jackson post on my blog for the song that I feel got very little play. Granted it was on Invincible which was his last album and one on of his worse selling albums due to Sony’s reluctance to push it due to contract disputes. I however think this song is absolutely beautiful and that song is “Whatever Happens”. With Carlos Santana on guitar, this is Michael at his best or at least in his comfort zone. While like most artists, Michael has written the obligatory love song that talks about nothing and about how he could love some woman better than the next man where Mike really excels is in his story writing. His best songs are story songs. Listen to Billie Jean, Beat It, Thriller just to name a few to see what I’m talking about. While “Whatever Happens” is nowhere in any of those songs class it is in my opinion one of the few lone bright spots on Invincible.

With a definite western feel (played up in the video for the song) the musicianship is of course on point and Michael wouldn’t have had it any other way. I’m not a big Santana fan but I do admire his playing on this track and the strings are a nice dramatic touch. The song has a real sultry feel to it and it has that kind of sound that would make you think it would be great to drive to. The melody is catchy and Michael sings the hell out of the lyrics that don’t really make any sense but it’s not about the verses, this is one of those chorus songs. It’s the kind of song where you never find yourself singing the lyrics but you can’t keep that “whatever happens/don’t let go of my hand” from coming out of your mouth. Towards the end of the song it has that “Lethal Weapon”, Michael Kamen feel to it which is impressive when you realize it’s a Teddy Riley production.

It’s a beautiful song and well mapped out (hard not to love those strings in the background). A lot of time and energy was put into a song that was overlooked because of the other crappy songs it was surrounded by on the album but no ones perfect, not even Michael. Enjoy.

Nothing Else Matters

Okay, this is where I admit to my being a HUGE fan of Metallica. Many can’t see it in me and many have no idea why I am but to me good music is good music and in my opinion Metallica makes good music. I think that point is made emphatically with their beautiful opus entitled “Nothing Else Matters” off of their largest selling album “The Black Album”. Going platinum 15 times this album was the shot heard around the world and it catapulted the band into the stratosphere and everyone knew who they were. James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich, and Jason Newsted were no longer a local garage band playing in dive bars, this album had them playing arenas all over the planet. It was my favorite album replacing their earlier masterpiece “Master of Puppets” as my previous favorite and my favorite song on The Black Album was of course “Nothing Else Matters”.

Lilting guitars playing a beautiful melody is how the song opens and it’s damn near hypnotic. Backed by strings conducted by the late Michael Kamen lead singer James Hetfield sings the lyrics for the disenfranchised and the outcasts of the world. The song is an anthem for those who don’t fit into what society deems as acceptable but the lyrics are all about empowerment. Just be you no matter who you be and if you live that way everyday then nothing else matters. The song swells and builds and the song actually has a Pink Floyd feel to it at one point thanks to the strings until the crunching guitars come storming in changing the entire complexion of the song turning it into the rocker it was destined to be all along. The guitar solo played by Kirk Hammett is scalding and the orchestral strings pull this song together brilliantly.

This is the kind of song you don’t expect from a metal band and it’s that kind of song that you let someone hear when they say “I don’t like metal”. It falls into that category of songs that can change how someone feels about a particular genre of music and even if you don’t like metal, you can’t help but like this masterpiece. Wouldn’t you agree?

When You Were Young

One of the most underrated bands since their inception in my opinion is The Killers. They hit the scene hard with their first hit “Mr. Brightside” but since then they’ve really not had the follow up success you would have expected but that doesn’t mean they haven’t released any good music and this song showcases that brilliantly. “When You Were Young” is an energetic romp from beginning to end and the music is fun and melodic.

Off of their second album Sam’s Town, “WYWY” is my favorite song and I think it’s due to the lyrics first and the music second (a really close second mind you). Much like Coldplay I was a fan of this band from the beginning but unlike Coldplay some of The Killers stuff has disappointed me over the years but I’ll always love this song.

It takes off from the start with crunching guitars and a relentless beat that grabs you off the bat and then and as it settles in you hear some interesting lyrics that lead into the chorus that I love. “He doesn’t look a thing like Jesus/But he talks like a gentleman/Like you remembered when you/Were young”. Musically at that point the song is layered with keys, guitars, and vocals and it gets better. Musically it’s a feel good song while lyrically it’s more melancholy as it talks about some woman waiting on some man that would make her feel like she felt when she was younger.

I think the video rocks out as well and fits the song perfectlyon a visual level. Enjoy!

Yellow

It’s very rare to be there in the beginning of a persons or a bands career and enjoy their music and then be able to follow that band straight through to superstardom and like everything they’ve ever done. There are a few occasions where that happens for me anyway and I’ve always found that once a artist or a band gets to that superstar level their music falls off some. I won’t give any examples of that fact, I’m sure there’s an artist or two or a band or two that you can think of that falls into that category but to me this isn’t one of those bands. I fell in love with “Yellow” by Coldplay the second I heard it. And as I listen to this song today I doubt that Chris Martin, that scrawny kid running on the beach in the video knew he would one day be married to Gweneth Paltrow and would have worked with both Jay-Z and Kanye West in his career.

I have everything by Coldplay and when I heard this song I knew it would be a hit so I feel like I’ve been there from the beginning and they haven’t let me down artistically in any way. I chose to post about their first hit because it’s rarely heard and I think mostly forgotten about because the band has surpassed this song in everyway lyrically and musically. I love it though due to its simplicity and honesty. A straight up unapologetic love song that starts off with just an acoustic guitar and then the band comes in walking that fine line of grunge. Chris then comes in explaining how this persons love makes everything in his world yellow. “Look at the stars/Look how they shine for you/and everything you do/And they were all yellow…I came along/I wrote a song for you/And all the things you do/And it was called yellow” which leads into the cool chorus “Your skin oh yeah your skin and bones/turned into something beautiful/you know you know I love you so/you know I love you so”. Some people I know consider this a stalking song because the lyrics seem to get more desperate and dark like how the chorus resorts to Chris willing to bleed himself dry and while I can see where they’re coming from, to me it doesn’t distract from the earnestness of this song and it’s beauty.

I think the video worked perfectly for the song except for not showing the band. I still love this song and it’s definitely made “the playlist”, is it on yours?

Varuna

Right off the bat I have to tell you that when I first heard this song I was like “yeah okay, not impressed” but with most music out there I have to give myself a chance to warm up to it. I don’t just drop songs on my playlist if I’m not impressed by it, it doesn’t need to bowl me over but it has to make an impression. That being said, the more I gave myself a chance to warm up to this piece by E.S. Posthumus entitled “Varuna” the more I loved it (and of course it made the playlist). I was already a fan of previous works by them like “Cuzco” and “Nara” which is theme to the CBS show “Cold Case” off of their album Unearthed. So when I heard they were working on something knew I couldn’t wait to hear it.

E. S. Posthumus was comprised of two brothers, Helmut and Franz Vonlichten until Franz passed away earlier this year but along with his brother they’ve left behind some amazing music. Their sound is taking classical influences and fusing it with modern day percussion and a perfect example of that was their remix of Jay-Z’s “Run This Town” feat Rihanna. I purchased Makara unheard based on their earlier works and I wasn’t disappointed. The previous works could almost be described as gentle. Lush movements and beautiful melodies was what would come to expect from E. S. but Makara was a complete shift in sound from that. It was an album full of powerful and aggressive tracks and in my opinion the one that exemplifies that the most is Varuna.

Makara had other tracks that stood out to me like "Unstoppable" which was used in the Sherlock Holmes movie trailer and "Arise" which was used by CBS Sports as the intro to the AFC Championship game earlier this year. And like I said earlier it took a few listens for me to come around but the more I listened the more I grew to love this track above all the others. Varuna is fire from the start and it plows on unforgiving. It doesn’t open gently at all, the beat and the orchestra both come in all at once and it stays that way straight through the song. The music builds, rises, and falls and all the while never giving the listener a real chance to catch a breath. And just when you think it’s going to sound the same for the entire 4:17 the voices comes in and adds an extra dramatic effect. This is a great song to work out to, walk to, run to, and even clean to and with this song propelling you, you’ll be done before you know it.