Song of the Day

Posts Tagged ‘Piano’

1) Houses is an anonymous lo-fi electronic duo out of Chicago, Illinois. They are signed to Lefse Records.

That’s all Last.fm has to say about this band. But you can find out a lot about them on official Houses website, like that they recorded a lot of the original material for the album while living in a tiny tree cabin in a remote part of the jungle near Hilo Hawaii without any running water or electricity. That they moved back to Chicago when they ran out of money and now have the album out and were blessed to have a great director duo for their music video Nik Harper, Lamar High, and Nicholas Owen aka Lamar+Nik. The male and female pair that makes up the indie music group Houses is apparently anonymous as they blurred out the face of the girl in the video. I would venture so say this means that the two value their own privacy, and also understand quite well the dangers of fame in the world of entertainment. So I’ll further conclude that the couple is also very intelligent as they are not doing something that is common among music artists, which is to reject the idea of self branding of your own music, although this can be argued. But at the bottom line they at least didn’t jump into the “look at me, I’m cool” wagon that a lot of music artists choose to take as a way to promote their own music through “I want to be like that cool person” associative thought which fans tend to have (idolatry). So good for them! I hope they make more music.

You can buy their CD or LP, Houses “All Night” which is for sale on Lefse Records.

RAC Portfolio by RAC

I present to you a beautiful collection of indie music that’s been remixed and remastered by RAC (The Remix Artist Collective) bringing you great music with an indie techno new wave twist that makes you start to wonder which version you like better. SCROLL DOWN INSIDE THE PLAYER to view more tracks. There are 109 songs in this list! That’s right THERE ARE ONE HUNDRED AND NINE SONGS IN THIS PLAYLIST!!!! Scroll down in the player and check them all out!

Which remix song is your favorite?

Starting with their EP in June of 2009 the classical ambient pop sounds of I’m Not A Pilot made their full length debut last November with “Need Money For Rocket Fuel” making waves on the Milwaukee music scene. With half the band working full-time throughout recording process the group has been building a grassroots following with the loyal support of friends and family along with their growing local fan base. Touring locally they earned the title of “Band Of The Year” by Radio Milwaukee and I believe has a bright future ahead of them.

Sample all of their latest tracks on the I’m Not A Pilot official website and get a free song download when you “Like” their Facebook page.

Also, check out the music video for their song No Heart off their EP.

Crashing into the folk music scene out of Milwaukee Winsconsin The Vitrolum Republic instantly comes across with the depth and tone of a group well worn with the experience of decades of music making. Perhaps the two and half years they took to produce the album allowed them to polish their sound, but even then the tracks stand on their own as timeless additions to folk music tradition.

For Highbrow Sideshows and Rowboat Serenades is their first full length album and well worth the wait (in case you already knew about them and were waiting). You can listen to the entire album and learn more about the band at the Vitrolum Republic official website.

I believe I have my friend Tyler at Tyler Management in LA to thank for bringing this genuine sounding and good natured band to my ears. Boy and Bear make good contemporary and mainstream use of the banjo giving the instrument a respect outside of its folk porch roots. It reminds me of the Grapes of Wrath and songs of the old south, but with modern hooks and lyrics.

Disclaimer: I only used this video because it has the full version of the song that I wanted.
Another version of this song is available here, without any Twilight clips. hehehehe
Colorblind Video

And I guess if you’re a Grey’s Anatomy fan then you should take a look at this video for the song. I didn’t use this one because it has words dubbed over the track in some spots.
Grey’s Anatomy version of Colorblind by Natalie Walker

Natalie Walker has outdone Counting Crows in this version of Colorblind in my humble opinion. The rest of the album “Urban Angel” is beautiful, but this song stands out above the rest for me. It was really hard to find a music video with this version of the indie song, so please forgive the Twilight clips if they turn you off. If you’re not a Twilight fan, just ignore the video and listen to the song.

This music video is actually a scene from the off-beat musical-comedy cult film Hedwig and the Angry Inch. It’s a very interesting film that I saw at a small art-house theatre in Salem Oregon back in 2002. The soundtrack is pretty good and the film is definitely worth seeing. Although this song in particular stands out to me as a classic. The film came out almost 8 years ago, but my guess is that 99% of the people you know have never heard this song before.

I have to admit I’ve got a soft spot for any song with a piano accompaniment, but this song is truly amazing and can become somewhat addictive, I recommend buying the song and adding it to your slow-song playlist. If for some reason you’re personally turned off or offended by transexual lead singers, or an all female Philippino band, well then you’re a bigot and I feel sorry for you. Otherwise I’m almost certain you will enjoy this song.

If you have any bands or songs that you think are under appreciated or some great bands that are not well known, please let comment here and let me know. Song of the Day is a project not for everyone, not just you or me.

S. Carey, (Sean Carey), is a just a guy who studied classical percussion music, drummed for the Bon Iver band and now has produced a debut album with a delicate but controlled sound with more contemporary floral patterns. The album All We Grow was just released and appears to be making some waves. Slant Magazine wrote this interesting article about Mr. S. Carey giving him 4 out of 5 stars.

Another song of Carey’s that I recommend hearing is his song In the Stream. According to the titles of the songs and the album title and cover it appears that the album is a beautiful examination of youth spent in the great outdoors jumping into lakes, floating down streams, and playing in the dirt with your hands without any cares in the world. It’s a nice place to be.

I’m a big fan of anyone who plays piano in contemporary music. His voice also reminds me of Jose Gonzalez a little bit, who is another musician that I also admire. I wish there was a greater use of classical piano in pop music today. I know there are already many artists using it, but I think there needs to be more. Vanessa Carlton has the right idea, and I remember Guns and Roses’ November Rain song so well. I can also thank Coldplay and The Fray. But I’m still waiting for a piano track by Kanye West, Kid Cudi, or B.O.B. But what would REALLY be awesome would be for some hard core rap-hiphop groups and heavy country singers to start using piano. I think then I’d be really happy, because I think right now there’s some kind of stigma about the piano, like it’s an instrument that can’t be used synonymous with the word hardcore or heavy.

Thank you S. Carey, I love your piano sounds, please, let the music continue.

More links on S.Carey, on his Official Website, MySpace, Last.fm, Slant, Indie Music Filter, and StereoGum.

Buy Song: Little Things at iTunes

I found Pomplamoose on YouTube last year sometime, I don’t remember when. Their videographic spark and fun approach to presenting all of their music through creatively edited music videos on YouTube caught my attention. One thing I couldn’t help notice was that Nataly Dawn, the female in this two person home-grown group, doesn’t blink very much when she sings, and the looks she gives the camera come across as oddly hypnotic with a pinch of seductiveness. When I listened to several of their songs and trying to decide which one to post I found myself having to look away so that my ears could communicate with my brain without my eyes interrupting. Snapping out of it isn’t easy because as the songs continue, the video cuts and changes every time a new sound or instrument is used and I find myself drawn into the video the same way a young child would be of a rambunctious street performer with their eyes affixed to the performer, not out of entertainment necessarily but out of a constant inability to draw their attention elsewhere. And so the experience of watching their songs being performed is made even better by the fact that their songs are original, quirky, entertaining, catchy, and well produced.

If you like them I highly recommend that you also watch the following videos.
Beat the Horse
Twice as Nice

Check out more of Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn at the Pomplamoose website.

Buy Song: Almost Everything at iTunes
Buy Album: Almost Everything I Wish I’d Said The Last Time I Saw You… at iTunes

From a very young age Mike Grubbs, the frontman for Wakey!Wakey!, began playing the piano for fun. His mother, a piano teacher made him read music early, and instead of playing video games like most of us in our teenage years, he played the piano. Mix in some years of experimenting and releasing some songs and you get Wakey!Wakey!’s first full length album. After listening to a couple songs from Youtube and his website I was impressed and had to share the love. I’m a sucker for good piano and strings, what can I say.

Visit Wakey!Wakey! at WakeyWakeyMusic.com, MySpace, and Twitter.