Lucy Rose: Middle of the Bed

I had the pleasure of seeing this gal with City & Colour in Nashville last night! Her voice is stellar (her stage presence paled in comparison with Dallas', but come on, she'll grow into it) and her lyrics are spectacular. Lucy Rose (Parton) is a rising British folk singer with a serious set of pipes. She released her first album in September 2012, and has since toured with Bombay Bicycle Club, Noah and the Whale and City & Colour. I can't wait until more people find out how awesome she really is, with her hauntingly melodic vocals and her telling lyrics!

Jacob Plant (remix of Oh Land ): Sun of a Gun

Jacob Plant, Britain, does an excellent job remixing an already awesome song, taking a track that's somewhat reminiscent of Katy Perry, with a doo-woop feel and throwing in some electronics that just mesh oh so well. They take the accents that already exist, and amplify them, playing the snap concept. 

Passenger: Let Her Go (Acoustic)

Passenger's Let Her Go showcases Mike  Rosenberg's melodically-clean picking, his crisp, clear voice and his amazing choice of subjects, as well as his song-writing abilities.

"Love comes slow,
and it goes so fast."

"Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you've been high when you're feeling low."

AJ Rafael and Tori Kelly (cover of Taylor Swift): Taylor Swift Medley

For the record: I in no way support Taylor Swift. She might throw some decent tunes out and look good doing it, but she's a terrible person. I know one of the fellows that she's dated and he doesn't say nice things about her personality (I'm sure there's a song about him--he's no angel, but he's a good guy) and she's worse to work with in the business.

Now, that aside, I've watched AJ grow over the years and his voice, energy and passion for music couldn't be better. Berkley has taught him great things. This medley is well done, as are his other medleys and covers, capturing the mood and sound of each song. In this instance, Tori and AJ's voice work together quite well, and I'm excited to see what he produces in the future!

Gregory Alan Isakov: Amsterdam

Gregory Alan Isakov is a native of South Africa, who moved to the states and discovered a passion for music. He now resides in Colorado and writes and performs some of the loveliest lyrics. His mellow voice and choice of topics makes for a mellow (if saddening, for those of us who aren't in love) experience. 

Jason Molina: A Sad Hard Change

Autumn Bird Songs was a vinyl I sought and COULD NOT FIND, when it was released. I should have pre-ordered it, but I lacked the information. Frantically, I searched for a brief time after its release to acquire my own copy (it'd not yet been released via CD). Then, one sad March day, I received news that Jason had died. Instantly, I was able to digitally acquire a copy, download it and fall into the rich tenor of his voice and his strings. I was not the same for about a month; I'm fairly sure this whole album was on repeat most of that time.


"I am not the same but you can't follow
I am not the same but you can't follow
I see the sun no more
and I see the sun no more.
'Been a sad hard change
It's been a sad hard change.
Had I known
Had I known."

Walk off the Earth (cover of Malvina Reynolds): Little Boxes

Walk off the Earth is a Canadian indie-rock band with an independent attitude, even though they're now signed onto a record label. Walk off the Earth has a reputation for doing some awesome low-budget videos, such as this cover, which includes an insane amount of boxes.

The song itself is a satire of the dysfunction of suburbia and the lack-luster life it produces, and they cover it in an interesting (if not apropo) fashion. 

Water Liars: Fake Heat

Water Liars is a Misra collaboration between songwriter, vocalist and guitarist Justin Kinkel-Schuster (St. Louis, Missouri) and the multi-talented Andrew Bryant (Oxford, Mississippi), who convened and with one microphone, recorded Phantom Limbs. This album IMMEDIATELY grabbed Misra's attention, who has signed breakthrough acts like Shearwater, Great Lake and Swimmers. The result of the collaboration is nothing short of hauntingly magical tenor. 

Hem: Half Acre

Hem is an American folk group from Brooklyn, New York with heavy roots in Bluegrass, Traditional Shaker, Jazz, American Folk Music, Gospel, and even classical! Hem is really not label-able, as they fit in so many areas of music, making them suitable for several audiences and settings.

Half Acre is really no exception.
"I am holding half an acre
Torn from the map of Michigan
And folded in this scrap of paper,
is a land I grew in."

Katie Melua: Two Bare Feet

For my inaugural posts on Spades' music blog I'm going back to one of my jazz favorites. Belted out by a sweet little Georgian girl raised in Great Britain glorifying the days of the speak easy and prohibition. Nice video to go with just to top it all off.

I was introduced to Madame Melua several years ago by someone I was in a relationship with. The relationship ended but I gained an appreciation for this lady out of it. Melua has an excellent understanding of jazz canon and a certain penchant for re-addressing them. A flare for the dramatic serves well in her videos and the musical constructions on which they're based.

Enjoy,

Moses

One Direction

I'm kidding. Well, sort of. I've posted a lot of songs, without really having a direction. The easiest thing to do, with anything, is criticize it and move on. It's easy to tell what's bad and what's good, but what's much harder is the ability to distinguish these two things and iterate it into a logical and non-belligerent fashion. One Direction, for example, is a band I've never heard, and likely will not (barring me being captured and forced to some new form of torture that requires you to be strapped down and to listen to music you don't want to).

It's bad to attempt to change horses mid-race or boats midstream, but it can be done with some skill and dedication. Nothing, and definitely not this, is impossible.

Goals of this blog:

1. Introduce
2. Educate
3. Touch

In order for this to be effective, WE will introduce a song, or band and then expound on why WE think that they're worth the space/advertising on our blog, with the liberal application of commas and hyphens--we love them here.

The next part falls on you guys. Touching is something that we're doing through this, but you have to spread both the word so WE can touch more, but you have to do some torch-bearing yourself. If you agree with it, pass it on. Nothing's so good that it should be kept all to one's self, but should be shared with friends, enemies, lovers and strangers.

Our audience is you. We don't care who you are. We don't care about your skin color (race is a social construct!), what languages you speak or whether you have a crooked nose. That's not our concern. You're our reader, and you ARE important, and you can make a difference. Introduce, educate, and touch.

With this in mind, future content will follow these criteria and past content will be edited based on them.

PVST

Sigur Rós: Sigur 1

Sigur Ros is easily the most personal band in existence, short of perhaps instrumentals. The Hopelandic lyrics (which is a totally and completely made up language) allow you to individualize the song to your needs. "Let the pain go,let the hurt go,let the guilt go", as the madame in Sucker Punch said. If you want your song to be happy, let it be happy. If you want your song to be about you acting too slowly and losing, let it be. If you want your song to be about how shitty your life is, let it be. If you want your song to be about tomorrow, and about what tomorrow could and will bring, let it be. If you want your song to be the happiest song there is, let it be. All of this can happen simultaneously, and most importantly, individually. Two people can experience the song entirely different, allowing that everything is based on perspective. Let it be, with Sigur 1.

Grouper: Water People

This gal knows what she's doing, even if she doesn't. Grouper is an experimental/ambient child of Liz Harris based out of Portland, Oregon. Her music is known for its delicate guitar, her vocals and Wurlitzer keys. She's about as clean as it comes, and she's got some serious potential for expansion.