Mundane Mondays: Sibling Rivalry

Mondays are tough. Sibling relationships can be even tougher! Here is solid mix chock full of songs about brothers and sisters. Enjoy!

1. "Brothers and Sisters" Brother Ali
2. "Sisters" Pomegranates
3. "Brother" Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
4. "Sister" The Black Keys
5. "Sisters are Doin' it for Themselves" Eurythmics
6. "Unknown Brother" The Black Keys
7. "The People I Know" Eric Hutchinson
8. "Sisters" Rosemary Clooney and Betty Clooney
9. "Sisters and Brothers" Sisters & Brothers 
10." We Are Family" Sister Sledge

Mundane Mondays: Sibling Rivalry from MaryMargaret8 on 8tracks Radio.

Mundane Mondays: Homecoming

Mondays are rough. The holiday season is now upon us, and we must begin the pilgrimage home. Home takes many shapes. It can change or remain exactly the way it always has  been. Home is where your family is. It is where you forgive each other and sit down together. Home is where everyone wants to be, until they actually get there. Here is a mix dedicated to the complicated idea of going home.

1. "Celebrate Me Home" Kenny Loggins
2. "Home" Michael Buble
3. "Honey Come Home" The Head and the Heart
4. "We Lived Alone" Connie Converse
5. "Tear Down the House" The Avett Brothers
6. "English House" Fleet Foxes
7. "Home" Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
8. "The Once and Future Carpenter" The Avett Brothers
9. "Homeward Bound" Simon & Garfunkel
10. "Small Town Moon" Regina Spektor
11. "You Ain't Alone" Alabama Shakes
12. "(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays" Perry Como

Mundane Mondays: Homecoming from MaryMargaret8 on 8tracks Radio.

Mundane Mondays: You, my Darling, are a Pioneer

Mondays are hard. Remember that you are a pioneer. You are wild and young and capable. Go be it. 

Pioneer
1. "Wake Up" Arcade Fire
2. "Swim Club" The Cave Singers
3. "Grown Ocean" Fleet Foxes
4. "Can't Go Home" Good Old War
5. "Down in the Valley" The Head and the Heart
6. "Peter Pan" Jinja Safari
7. "Bloom" The Paper Kites
8. "Icarus" The Staves
9. "Emmylou" First Aid Kit
10. "Mistaken Hands" Jude Moses
11. "Janglin" Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
12. "Flowers in your Hair" The Lumineers
13. "Blue Ridge Mountains" Fleet Foxes

 

Mundane Monday: You, my Darling, are a Pioneer from MaryMargaret8 on 8tracks Radio.

Mundane Mondays: Girl Power

Mondays are rough. You, my lovely lady, are going to need some power anthems to help you through the week. 

Girl Power
1. "Mansion Song" Kate Nash
2. "Spectrum" Florence + the Machine
3. "Love on Top" Beyonce
4. "Japanese Eyes" Kitten
5. "Generals" The Mynabirds
6. "Most Wantes" Cults
7. "You Know I'm No Good" Amy Winehouse
8. "Schoolin' Life" Beyonce
9. "I Am Not a Robot" Marina and the Diamonds
10. "Pot Kettle Black" Tilly and the Wall
11. "None of Your Business" Salt-n-Pepa
12. "Heart of Glass" Blondie
13. "He's Not a Boy" The Like
14. "If You Can Afford Me" Katy Perry
15. "You Don't Own Me" Lesley Gore
16. "I'm Every Woman" Whitney Houston

Mundane Monday: Girl Power from MaryMargaret8 on 8tracks Radio.

An apology..

This is a sincere apology for my extended absence. These past months have seen some great musical discoveries (Least of which being the release of The Carpenter, by the Avett Brothers). I have discovered new jazz artists as well as some great pop. As I became enveloped in school and college applications (Bleh.), these discoveries helped me along the way. I'm back, my darlings. And I'll do my best to stick around.

For Kelly

School is picking up, and since we've been busy from the start around here, it is imperative that we keep our wits about us. After all, this is week four of a major school year full of double the musicals and double the stress (Need I mention college searches?). All of this being said, it is times like these when I put Katy Perry on pause and pull out some mellow tracks. So, here's to the Friday in. (I think we need it after all of that screaming last week. Texas forever.)

Playlist for a rainy night
1. "Icarus" The Staves
2. "St. Joseph's" The Avett Brothers
3. "The Light" Swear and Shake
4. "For Emma" Bon Iver
5. "These Days" Jackson Browne (Try to find an acoustic version. Just him and his guitar.)
6. "Innocent Son" Fleet Foxes
7. "Wash Away" Joe Purdy
8. "Clean Slate" M. Ward
9. "Bloom" The Paper Kites
10. "Swim Club" The Cave Singers
11. "Death of Communication (Acoustic)" Company of Thieves
12. "All Wash Out" Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
13. "Can't Go Home" Good Old War
14. "Flapper Girl" The Lumineers
15. "One More Down" Mandolin Orange
16. "Swell Window" Zee Avi
17. "Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down" Noah and the Whale
18. "Jessica" Regina Spektor
19. "A Day at a Time" Ellie Goulding

I hope this puts you in a good place, Kelly.

Summer Haze

Let’s talk concerts. For whatever reason, I have been blessed enough to be attending a bunch this summer, the first of which took place Saturday the 30. The Head and the Heart headlined the 2012 Party in the Park in Broad Ripple. The site was Opti-Park over a large baseball diamond. While it wasn’t quite a mini-Bonnaroo as Brad Holtz tried to hail it, it was an excellent venue for an evening of folk. Despite heat that could melt skin, someone wearing the same dress as me and a guy with a shirt that said, “Give me head til I’m dead,” it was an amazing show.

10 Party in the Park 2012

Openers were the Nashville band Night Beds, and Minnesota’s Trampled by Turtles. With the height of the heat during Night Beds performance, the low-key indie band had a tough time rousing the audience from the sleepy feeling that accompanies scorching weather. The performance was admirable though, and the subtle influences of their native Nashville made them stand out.

After a smoothie break and a little incident involving a wasp, I was ready to give Trampled by Turtles a go. Seeing their name on the flyer a week prior to the show, I had listened to their latest album, Stars and Satellites. Their raw, folksy, bluegrass sound was definitely appealing in recorded form, but that did not prepare me for their live performance. With five instruments (guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, fiddle), this group of mountain men shook the park awake. They played with so much ferocity and sincerity, the crowd was able to forget about the heat and instead focus on the band’s astonishing mandolin/fiddle solos.  I have never seen an instrument played so quickly. I found myself dancing along. Standouts were “Alone” and “Walt Whitman.” These guys will be headlining shows of their own in no time. The crowd loved their energy, and even I had to pay way too much to get a t-shirt out of adoration.

I was worried that Trampled by Turtles might upstage The Head and the Heart.  I had built it up so much in my head; I was scared that they wouldn’t be all I had hoped for. They took the stage and the entire park stood up. They opened with “Cats and Dogs,” and Charity meowed in place of the recorded version’s animal noises. That woman. The audience loved her. During “Winter Song,” the crowd cheered her on every phrase of her solo. At the end she remarked, “You guys are ridiculous!” This being the band’s largest headlining show thus far, their modesty and reaction to the adoring crowd was so refreshing.  They played a couple new songs with much the same sound as the previous album, but the real treat was the obvious closing number, “Rivers and Roads.” That song, at once so personal and so all-encompassing, had the whole park singing along and gave me goose bumps, as if it was the first time I was hearing it. The lights finally 

dimmed and the band filed off stage.

After a solid two minutes of cheering and hollering, Charity and Jonathan came back on stage to dedicate a song to the audience called, “Ever Since I First Laid Eyes on Indianapolis.” The duet was stellar and adorable. The rest of the band joined them on stage to play “Down in the Valley.” The concert was officially over. The sun was gone and the audience started to disperse, but for about an hour, we were all together entranced by these people who made songs that, over the past year, have made us cry and dance and sing along. It was a brilliant way to spend a summer night.  If you can find a show near you with any of these three artists, it will be well worth the price of a ticket.

A Summer Playlist

It is finally summer. In celebration, I have cooked up a playlist to blast at cookouts, picnics, boating trips, beaches, in the car. Anywhere. Leaving out too many cliches, here are 20 great songs to evoke the feel of sandy toes and clear night skies. 

1. “That’s What’s Up” Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

2. “Anna Sun” Walk the Moon

3. “Don’t Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas)” Regina Spektor

4. “Stubborn Love” The Lumineers

5. “Silly Things” Wild Child

6. “Tongue Tied” Grouplove

7. “Cameo Lover” Kimbra

8. “Generals” The Mynabirds

9. “Ho Hey” The Lumineers

10. “I Don’t Wanna Pray” Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

11. “Huddle Formation” The Go! Team

12. “Nancy From Now On” Father John Misty

13. “Nova Baby” The Black Keys

14. “Dance With Me Tonight” Olly Murs

15. “I Get Ideas” M. Ward

16. “Primadonna” Marina and the Diamonds

17. “Walk You Home” Passenger

18. “Can’t Go Home” Good Old War

19. “Ceiling of Plankton” GIVERS

20. “Lost In My Mind” The Head and the Heart

Review 2

Radio pop is wrecking society. That’s not entirely true, but the radio takes the expansive music industry and gives the general public a narrow scope of what is truly an endless array of music. This is why artists like Regina Spektor, who has been making music her entire life, are still relatively unknown. The radio has never given Spektor the credit she deserves. She has an accessible sound and a wide spectrum of styles, from pop to forlorn ballads to electronic beats—the woman has something for everyone. With the release of her sixth studio album, What We Saw from the Cheap Seats, Spektor delivers a uniquely breathtaking batch of songs yet again.

8 What We Saw from the Cheap Seats- Regina Spektor

The album begins with Spektor’s signature piano on “Small Town Moon.” This song is reminiscent of the songs on Far, with its uppity melody and slightly repetitious lyrics, but it is a little gem nonetheless. Her song “Don’t Leave Me (Ne Me Quitte Pas)” appeared on her earlier album, Songs. This time, the song has been revamped with a fuller sound complete with synthesized beats which add a playful, light feel. It is a testament to Spektor’s musical growth since then. The album has the same sort of insight and witty musings as her previous work, but it’s how she is saying it that has evolved.

Each song on the album has a message, and Spektor delivers it with her quirky and delightful vocals. It mixes more of a personal tone into the songs. “How” is the perfect lovelorn, bluesy piece to which almost all listeners can connect. “How can I try to love someone new; someone who isn’t you?” This track could give Adele a run for her money in the breakup-song business. Always edging on political, Spektor delivers “Ballad of a Politician” with a tongue-in-cheek tone. This piece is an obvious highlight of the album, whereas the songs “The Party” and “Jessica” are two that nobody is going to notice. However, these quiet little ditties tie up the album wonderfully. In the last song, “Jessica,” Spektor opts for a quieter, acoustic sound. “It’s February again; we must get older now,” are the perfect sendoff lyrics.

It might not be as catchy as Begin to Hope or as deep as Far, but when comparing this album to her previous works, What We Saw from the Cheap Seats is (as cliché as this sounds) beautiful in its own way. It’s uplifting and intelligent, sweet and sad, chirpy and bright. Spektor sings to remind us of our inevitable mortality and of our stunning youth. “You taste like birthday, you look like New Year.” For these reasons, this album is a success. Maybe Spektor will never get the attention she deserves from radio stations, but she is still worth a listen. The songs play off of each other, and they leave a refreshing sound in the ears of anyone who has been listening to Carly Rae Jepsen too long.

Review 1

With the semi-recent accessibility of bands like The Avett Brothers and Mumford & Sons, the folk/roots genre has gotten some much-deserved attention. What was once reserved for hippies and country people has become commonly heard on the radio. Some hipster-types might mourn the loss of their favorite band’s anonymity (I personally cannot stand the word sellout. Really, these musicians have to eat!), but this new popularity is great news for bands coming out of the rebirth of folk. Bands such as The Head and the Heart, Wild Child and The Lumineers have found a niche in which they can explore musical styles and not have to compete with pop music.

7.5 The Lumineers – The Lumineers

The Lumineers self-titled album, which was released April 3, is a work full of passionate, foot-stomping songs, akin to The Head and the Heart, but less harmonically complex. The band is a mash-up of East coasters and a Colorado native. Wesley Schultz, Jeremiah Fraites and Neyla Pekarek make up the band, but their songs often sound like a whole room is singing along, which is some of the magic of their raw-folk sound. 

The songs are intricately woven together and the album is very cohesive, but each song has its own sound, so listening to it all together doesn’t get monotonous.  The obvious choice for album favorite is “Ho Hey.” This song is a crowd-pleasing love song that most people can identify with. “I belong with you, you belong with me; you’re my sweetheart.”  This song is a mix of emotions that leads the listener into singing, shouting and stomping along—a perfect summer anthem. The song is a high point in the album and the track to get the most radio time but is arguably not the strongest song of the bunch.  My picks for best song are “Dead Sea,” “Big Parade” and “Stubborn Love.”

The album is good. Really, really good. This bunch of songs pulls heartstrings, gets people dancing and is a breath of fresh air for the music scene. Their folk sound is full of passion, and that is plain to hear. However, there is some deeper, emotional level that has yet to manifest itself into the music. The songs are lovely and catchy, even moving at times, but they just fall short of powerful. Perhaps on their second album, The Lumineers will come into their own and mature into a tour de force that connects with listeners on a more personal level than tales of love and loss can accomplish alone.  This album is one of my favorites as we dive into summer, and I’m looking forward to seeing what comes next from the trio.