Singles and stuff
jamie on July 27th, 2005
I realize that, discounting yesterday’s posts, I had neglected my little blog here for over ten days- mostly because I was really busy, but also because there’s been so little good stuff for me to blog about. But now, I think things are starting to get better- and I’ve found a few singles/EPs/albums/nuggets to talk about. These are all tracks that have earned the coveted “Driving CD” spot on my list - the songs that get burned to a CD for listening in my car, as I’ve grown tired of trying to hook up the iPod every time I get in the car for a short errand, or commute to work. These CD’s are usually the only thing I listen to in the car, and last me about a month…in other words, my current favorites.
Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek
While her entry in the Music From The O.C. Mix 4 kinda flew under my radar, her second entry in the evening soap-opera soundtrack did not. Who didn’t notice the heavily-harmonized vocal track that backed the funeral procession at the end of last season’s final episode? Okay, so probably a lot of people, especially Americans. But UK native Imogen Heap’s second solo album Speak For Yourself is out in the UK, and the first single is the haunting acapella track from that episode of The O.C.- Hide And Seek. The track starts out with Heap’s single voice, heavily affected by an auto-harmonizer (a digital effect that attempts to add harmonic duplicates of the original sound- in this case sounding like two or three people singing in harmony). At first listen, this effect is distracting, but it doesn’t take long to let the purity of the underlying voice get to you. As the track progresses, additional over-dubs of Heap singing are mixed in, and the harmonizer effect is mixed out- the transitions are nearly transparent. Somewhere in between the purity of the vocal-only song, and the emotion displayed in Heap’s performance(s), I get lost in the song, and have become quite addicted to it really. Now, I’m definitely looking forward to the US release of this album!
James Blunt - You’re Beautiful
Another track that took me a while to warm up to- but now it’s on the Driving CD. Blunt’s voice threw me off at first- it’s high, on the cusp between falsetto and full-voice, which was distracting at first. It’s a simple song, lyrically- another reason I didn’t immediately like it. But within those simple lyrics are the hints of an interesting introspective tale about a connection across a crowded room that will never bloom into anything other than the memory of a beautiful face. I’m hopeless, I know.
The next two, I’ve already hit on before, but they’re worth repeating:
Missy Higgins - Scar
Co-written by Better Than Ezra’s Keving Griffin, and a huge hit for Higgins in her native Australia, this song will definitely go down as one of my absolute favorites of 2005. Higgins has a beautiful, clear, emotive voice that carries her songs perfectly. I’m partial to the original version, but the US mix lifts the tempo a bit, making it more US radio-friendly. The whole album is terrific- a must-hear.
Daniel Powter - Bad Day
For a song called Bad Day, I always seem just a bit happier- a tiny dash more content with my day- whenever I hear it. After being pushed aside for nearly two decades by guitar-slinging, big-haired, cheese-rockers the piano has made it’s comeback in rock, and that’s one of the key ingredients to this song. Again, a song that takes a bit of warming up to- maybe I’m jus tgoing through a phase of “different” music, (but trust me, I’ll NOT be recommending Antony & The Johnsons….EVER) but the rest of Powter’s album is just as likeable, and worth checking out.
Miri Ben-Ari - Sunshine To The Rain
I love the application of “traditional” instruments in Rock/Pop/Hip-hop/etc., and Ben-Ari is one of the best examples of violin in this regard. Yeah, yeah, Boyd’s the godfather of violin in modern pop- but Ben-Ari uses her fiddlin’ fingers in Hip-Hop music, and does it effectively (as opposed to the ineffectual use of violin-i.e. Yellowcard). The benefit f collaborating with the likes of Kanye West and Jay-Z is that the production on her solo album is top-notch, and her violin riffs blend seamlessly with the beats and guests dropping in to spit over the mix. The diversity shown on Ben-Ari’s album is also impressive- from upbeat and lifting to dark and heavy, Ben-Ari reaches both highs and lows with the same adept blending of traditional violin skills and modern hip-hop production techniques.
Damn, I hate computers….The next set of tracks aren’t favorites - yet - they are just some little nuggets of newness that I’ve come across this week, an dso far have taken a shining to. Forgive me if I’m brief, but this will be the second time I’ve written all this…computers suck.
David Gray - The One I Love
New stuff from David Gray is always good- this trakc is more organic than White Ladder but more produced than , a solid song- more solid than the crap-ass programming of Microsoft developers…this is becoming a rant.
Tristan Prettyman - Love, Love, Love
A friend gave me a heads-up on this singer/songwriter last night, and form my first listen, I immediately dug it (the same friend is probably my only reader, so the purpose of my writing this is more just to say “thanks for pointing that one out, Melissa” than anything). Checked out her website, and she’s got msuic, pics (she’s cute), and all kinds of goodies, with minimal Flash-y crap (the way a great artist site should be)- go there, check out the “Trizzy P. Connection”.
Beduoin Soundclash - When The Night Feels My Song
Zane Lowe comes through again with great new music- this time an acoustic track from a UK trio that blend rock, reggae, and punk sounds seamlessly. He’s been playing the track all week, and I’ve only now had the opportunity to go to their site (another well-done affair), and download the track - FREE. Beduoin Soundclash Do it now, you’ll thank me later.
I’m totally torn about this next one:
Big Dume - Inside My Head
I listened to the first single from their debut ablum Mexico a few weeks ago. Then, I made the mistake of watching an episode of Fox’s The Princes Of Malibu. Then, I read that one of the “princes” is the core of Big Dume. Now, my impression of the guy on the show (which I’ve not watchted since that pilot episode) and the music are blurring together, and thus, getting much, much lower. It doens’t help that the ‘Dume can’t seem to settle on a single style- from jazzy latin to moody metal ala Creed- this album flip-flops all over the place. While there are definite higlights on the album (Meixco for sure), there are also very low points (the title track sounds like a bad Creed copy). Anyone can put together and album, given plenty of free time (the show would have us believe that Jenner has LOTS of that), and a professional studio in your own home, er compound- whether that qualifies someone to actually release that album is another matter altogether…I’m still torn on this album.
crap, I need to get some work done…guess I’m done for now.
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