1-Way Bromance. November 18, 2011
Posted by admin in : Songs , add a commentWilliam Fitzsimmons.
Three times in the last three and a half years, I’ve posted about William Fitzsimmons – from the folktronica, to the folk, and back to his using his tronic-making device again.
Last Monday, I had the absolute and utter pleasure of seeing William live here in Dublin, in a tiny venue of a couple of hundred people. Looking like a lumberjack who had taken a wrong turn somewhere, he played a couple of songs, showing himself to be one of those artists sounding better live than even on CD. And then he spoke, and my 1-way bromance began. Alongside Tom McRae, William Fitzsimmons is one of the genuine and funny singers I’ve seen. I’ve been lucky that it’s been a long time since I’ve gone to a gig where the band come, play what they need to play, and with a cursory “Hello” and “Goodbye”, disappear into the night. Obviously saying hello when they come out, and goodbye as they leave. Otherwise that would be a little odd. I digress.
Between the songs, William showed the most endearing self-deprecation and humour, having the audience in stitches – before moving into the music, leaving everyone near tears. With songs about his divorce and mental illness, it was almost too-tough going at times. Almost. And as a final emotional blow, his encore was his unplugging his guitar and stepping into the middle of the crowd to play two songs acoustically, with no microphone, just his backing players/singers (from a band called Slow Runner – soon to be featured here).
After the gig, he came out to meet everyone. I hung on until he was free (the first time I’ve done that in a long, long time), and was the last person left, chatting to him for a few minutes before heading off, and finding him the same as he was on stage – witty, genuine, and a truly wonderful person.
So, from William, I give you “Passion Play”, from his first album, 2005′s “Until When We Are Ghosts” – plucked and slide guitar, and THAT voice. The song meaning is yours to derive (by his own admission, he prefers people to bring their own meaning out of songs)…
But is essentially about wanting to be better. Wanting to be different…
I should not have hid where my heart can’t follow
‘Cause this grace gets so far and too hard to swallow
I’ve been running from Saul, he’s been giving chase
And I look in his eyes, all I see is my faceAre you still on my back after all these years?
Chasing me out of Hell and my nice veneers
I don’t know how you stand when you’ve got no floor
Or how you can breathe with your hands on boardI just want to be not what I am today
I just want to be better than my friends might say
I just want a small part in your passion playDo you hear when I call in the midst of wrong?
Do you hear these here words while I sing you this song?
Are you caught up in me like I heard you say?
Or just some big cashier that I’ll have to payI just want to be not what I am today
I just want to be better than my friends might say
I just want a small part in your passion play
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William Fitzsimmons – Passion Play
www: The Bearded One’s official website, Facebook Page, and MySpace.
Giving Great Chorus. October 16, 2011
Posted by admin in : Songs , add a commentRegular readers of this website know two things – firstly, my posting schedule is enough to drive anyone over the edge (sorry…), and secondly, I love me my Americana – a guy or gal, a guitar or two, some drums, and some plaintive singing about love, loss, and the loss of love.
Whether it’s Frank Turner (who’s not American, and who’s song is not about love), Peter Bradley Adams (American, songs about love and loss) or Griffin House (see Peter Bradley Adams), damn, I do love me some plaintive singing…
So, a couple of weeks back, I went to see the Revival Tour, with Chuck Ragan from hot Water Music, Dan Andriano from Alkaline Trio, Brian Fallon from the Gaslight Anthem, and one Dave Hause, from a band I’d never heard of (the Loved Ones).
And while Dave started as the opening act, his was one of the strongest vocal performances of the night, with him coming back out to play a number of times. And alongside the strong vocal performance was some of the most gorgeous songs of the night. Straight after the gig I bought his album from earlier this year, “Resolutions”. And wow. Just, wow. All I can do is urge you to go and buy it IMMEDIATELY.
There’s nothing massively different versus a number of other similar artists, except there just isn’t a bad song, a piece of filler, among the 10 tracks – and alongside this, Dave knows just when to rock out, and just when put in some absolutely killer vocal twists, turns and lyrics…
From the album, I give you three tracks (although, to be honest, it was difficult to choose three – any of them could have made it…)
Firstly, “C’mon Kid” – a song Dave wrote for a drug-addicted friend as they tried to recover. A simple tune, upbeat and hopeful, but never saccharin-sweet, with the perfect chorus – sing-along, head-nodding, and just plain touching.
Secondly, “Prague (Revive Me)” – a song that, on first lesson, I thought was a polka. And it kind of is – up until Dave’s wonderful lyrical turn and another sing-along chorus kicking in at 0:52… A song about taking time out from this world to realise exactly how good we do have it sometimes…
And finally, “Pray For Tucson” – a little less rock-y than “C’mon Kid”, a lot less polka-y than “Prague…”; a song with an underlying sadness, but tempered with a little hope; a song of how it’s so easy to rely on things that just aren’t good for us – drink, drugs, thoughts and addictions – and believe they’re what we need to get through…but to still know that there’s better out there for us; that we can, if we try, break away from the things that might end up destroying us – and find something that can be our salvation instead.
Dave Hause: he gives great chorus.
It seems like you’re doing better these days
Even though things are falling apart
I know it’s brutal working minimum wage
It’s like you’re finished before you start
Things got ugly for a while back there
I know I thought that you wouldn’t pull through
Late at night when the phone would ring
There’s no telling what you would doSometimes we’d yell and act mad as hell
Sometimes we’d act like we didn’t care
Some of our love was just suffocating
It left you turning blue and gasping for airC’mon kid, c’mon, it’s one foot and then the other
Everybody needs a hand sometimes, everybody needs a brother
Well c’mon kid, c’mon, I’m reaching out to you
Get out of bed kid, face the world, and show us what you can doI’m sorry I was always casting stones
Like my glass house couldn’t be smashed
I spent as many nights as wild as a lion
I was lucky that I never crashed
Look, I’ve never really been no angel,
I see a lot of myself in you
This little town can feel a lot like prison and angry young men
Angry young men always have something to prove
Always have something to proveC’mon kid, c’mon, it’s one foot and then the other
Everybody needs a hand sometimes, everybody needs a brother
Well c’mon kid, c’mon, I’m reaching out to you
Get out of bed kid, face the world, and show us what you can doI know you ended up with bills to pay
I know she promised you that she would stay
I know they told you he died for your sins and he’s the only wayI know it caught you by surprise
I got a call that you almost died
Second chances are a crime to waste,
So don’t let time decide
Don’t let time decideC’mon kid, c’mon, it’s one foot and then the other
Everybody needs a hand sometimes, everybody needs a brother
C’mon kid, c’mon, I’m reaching out to you
Get out of bed kid, face the world… show us what you can doC’mon kid, c’mon,
C’mon kid, c’mon,
C’mon kid, c’mon,
C’mon kid, c’mon
And show us what you can do
And show us what you can doC’mon kid, c’mon
Oh, bring me some more water, after that another glass of wine
No pretext for investments, borrowed eyes, borrowed world, borrowed time
I’m feeling jumpy like a salesman, waking up to trusty coffee I.V.
We’re crammed in like so much cattle, so little time, so very much to seeOh let it revive me, carry on carrying the fire
Oh let it revive me, finding peace for a little while
For a little whileThe twilight of our youthful gaze
Books and bridges burned and records smashed
I’m fat and drunk and dumb and lazy, digging deep way past the petty cash
But there’s not too many nights like these,
When you know you have it way too good
Naked bodies, twelve foot ceilings, laughing way more than I knew we couldOh let it revive me, carry on carrying the fire
Oh let it revive me, finding peace for a little while
Oh let it revive me, carry on carrying the fire
Oh let it revive me, finding peace for a little while
For a little while
I got peace for a little while
On a sunset I-10 mile lies a body beneath a sheet
The orange sky don’t seem to mind but I’m on the edge of my seat
There’s ten thousand auto lights dead stopped in dirty Tucson heat
We crane our necks to get a glimpse, and ride on by while I nurse defeat
Nurse defeatIt’s that same old sinking feeling, that blows on in from time to time
The only consolation comes tying despair to a rhyme
And knowing some are at home working, raising kids and saying prayers
Unaware of modern science, they may be wrong but I don’t careThey pray for Tucson, they pray for me
They pray these roads lead home and won’t take us too far
Take us too farWell we get these years to play with and I’ve been game to roll the dice
But lately staring in the mirror has been showing me the price
Of all the reckless toxic gambling; having my fate hang from a string
The lonesome nights with pills and powders, the fuel I pretend helps me singSo pray for Tucson, pray for me
Pray these roads lead home and won’t take us too far
Pray for Tucson, pray for me
I hope your faith is what will carry me
If there’s something past those starsCause the spell breaks every time I see those funeral cars
Or when they throw the floodlights on and I’m left stranded at the bar
I spend so many nights tempting fate with this guitar but I’m coming homeSo pray for Tucson, pray for me
Pray these roads lead home and won’t take us too far
Pray for Tucson, pray for me
Pray these roads lead home and won’t take us too far
Pray for Tucson, pray for me
Pray for Tucson
I hope your faith is what will carry me
If there’s something past those stars
Pray for me
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Dave Hause – Prague (Revive Me)
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www: Dave’s official website, Facebook Page, and MySpace.
Scott Speedman. September 24, 2011
Posted by admin in : Songs , add a commentScott Speedman. Scott Speedman is a shit actor whose crowning achievement was making the scenary look like a better actor in Underworld.
Skott Freedman, however is not a shit actor. Skott Freedman is a musician. And a pretty damn good one.
Skott reached out to me through Laura DiStasi, who I try to mention on this blog at least every 30 minutes (Laura DiStasi), and whom I may yet marry. I haven’t decided.
Skott I won’t marry, but almost, given the absolute gorgeousness of his music.
I’ll steal a chunk of Wikipedia to give you Skott’s background:
Freedman was born and raised in New Jersey. His music makes heavy use of the piano, which has led to regular comparisons with chanteuse Tori Amos. Similar to Amos, Freedman was a child piano prodigy and won statewide competitions while growing up. Freedman has said that repeated bouts of depression during his adolescence inspired him to write his first songs.He cites Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens, Paula Cole, and Beethoven as major influences. Freedman’s music blends pop and folk influences with a confessional lyrical style.
From Skott, I give you two piano-led gems. Firstly, “Until That Time”. Starting slowly, with just a piano and Skott’s voice, I dare you to try to stop your foot tapping at 1:02 as the tempo increases, but the subject matter – of breaking up; of helping another through pain; of sacrificing to let another survive – is absolutely heart-wrenching.
And after, “I’d Like To Think I Would”. Starting slowly, with just a piano and Skott’s voice (see the trend here?)… Slower than “Until That Time”, but treading similar roads – of almost breaking up; of not being sure and of breaking and running, with the other not far behind; of the self-realisation that love might not be enough, but that you feel you would miss the other should it all end (but yet… yet… just aren’t sure…).
Songs for a swiftly-approaching Winter; best enjoyed in a darkened room, with a drink in hand, and tears slipping out.
well i know that you’re hurting
and i know that you’re crying
but i also know that you’ve got more strength than you think you doand i know that you’re lonely
and i know you know you’re not the only one
but soon again my friend you’ll find your way back to the sunand until that time i’ll be the hand for you to hold
and until that time feel free to cry on my shoulder
and you’ll be alright
we’ll both be alrightwell i know it’s not easy being the last one to let go
but life’s not always fair that way it doesn’t give a damn what you say cause the world moves onand i know that he was the first
and i know that you know he won’t be the last
it’s all a matter of time time’s in a day in a week in a year
then your pain is pastand until that time i’ll be the hand for you to hold
and until that time feel free to cry on my shoulder
and you’ll be alrightwell i know that it’s 3 am
and i got a good guess that’s you calling
well i don’t need much sleep if it means i’ll keep you some companyand i know it’s never what we think that it will be
when we finally fall in love
but that’s the beauty you can never have enoughso i know that you’re hurting and i know that you’re crying
but i also know that you’ve got more strength than you think you do
i know we’ve never fought like this
i’ve never thought like this about the end
i wish you could be who i always thought you werewell i guess sometimes things don’t work out like we plan
and i know it’s not been easy
but will you be the one to last or become another piece of my pastand if you left tomorrow would i even care?
i’d like to think i wouldi know we were doing fine maybe spending too much time
as new lovers do
you moved in and i moved out couldn’t stand the crowd
and so i ranbut you went and chased me deep down into the woods
but that didn’t do any good i ran faster
what you never realized was it’s what i needed the whole timeand if i never felt your kiss again would i even care?
i’d like to think i wouldeveryone told me i wasn’t ready but i listened to myself
and now where did that get me
i know i love you but i don’t know if that’s enoughand if i had more chance to make this work would i take it?
i’d like to think i wouldi know we’ve never fought like this
i’ve never thought like this about the end
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Skott Freedman – Until That Time
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Skott Freedman – I’d Like To Think I Would
www: Skott’s official website, Facebook Page, and MySpace.
No Trace. September 17, 2011
Posted by admin in : Songs , 3commentsThere I was, watching a pretty shit spoof film. I may have chuckled once or twice, but I can’t remember, as it would have been lost in the veil of my losing the will to live.
And then, and then… A single scene, some background music, some slighly heard words, and I found myself searching for another perfect match for this website. With the least information I’ve found for a band in a long, long time.
I got my hands on the soundtrack, and the song – “I Miss You”, by Arlaner. And the lyrics, albeit slightly wrong. And nothing else – no band information, no band website, no Facebook Page, nothing.
And so, I give you “I Miss You”. No idea who the band is or what else they’ve written. No idea if any of their other music sounds anything like this song. No idea of anything really. Except one very, very pretty song – all Measure / Laura DiStasi undertones; piano, echoey female vocals, a little organ towards the end.
And a wonderful song of yearning, hurt and sadness. Perfect for a Friday night.
When the wind is howling
And the rain is pouring down
And the tears are falling
But they never make a sound
My heart breaks in silence
’cause there’s no one else around
And I am lost in heartache
And I don’t wanna be foundNo
Please tell me why you had to go
And leave me out here all aloneI miss you
I miss you
I miss you
I miss you
I miss you
I miss you
I miss you
I miss you
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Unhorrible. September 10, 2011
Posted by admin in : Songs , add a commentAlmost three years ago, I posted about the Gaslight Anthem. At the time, I didn’t expand much on the band (it just wasn’t that type of website back then, y’know?), but it’s time to change that. Well, with the addition of a single line to set up this entry.
An American rock band from New Jersey, it’s interesting to hear lead singer Brian Fallon talk about his side project the Horrible Crowes (see? See how I did that?):
“As much as I have this fantasy in the Gaslight Anthem of being Bruce Springsteen , I also have this fantasy of being Tom Waits or Greg Dulli . These songs are very dark; they’re like hymns for lonely people, it’s really a trip through a breakdown and that dissent into madness and hopefully redemption.”
From the Horrible Crowe’s debut album, Elsie, I give you two stunning tracks – the more rock-oriented “Behold The Hurricane” and the acoustic “Black Betty & The Moon”.
The former, starting with a chorus of “Oh-oh-oh”s, a driving drum and guitar beat, but with a set of lyrics that are truly emotive (“I age by years at the mention of your name/You remember me my lover/I don’t recognise myself/I’m not the man you love/Behold the hurricane”) – a song of change and of loss, of longing, and, at 3:45, almost lost under a wall of noise, a song about realising that you’re not the person you once were, and through that, realising you’ve lost another (“At the door the leaves had fallen/Suddenly I realised that you were gone/Suddenly I realised that you were gone/Behold the hurricane”).
And the latter? One of the most haunting songs I’ve heard this year – a beautiful acoustic guitar-driven track, with little else than Brian’s voice, a couple of guitars and some background vocals, about watching someone you love, someone you’ve tried to help, ignore it all, and that feeling of helplessness as you watch, but can’t help (“You did the very thing, baby, that I asked you not to do/Now you got yourself caught in the silk spiderweb/I hope the money fills the holes, can see the roof is caving in”), with one of the most wonderful changes in song direction I’ve heard in some time at 1:40 – subtle, but so very powerful, adding another layer to the song – of being betrayed (“And better than described and deeper the descent/I never thought we’d have to learn to doubt our friends/And better than described, so much deeper the descent/I never thought we’d have to learn to doubt our friends”).
Don’t give up the day job? As much as I love the Gaslight Anthem, maybe Mister Fallon really should…
The Horrible Crowes are THAT good.
I remember everything we had
Every breath of this house creaking
I’m familiar with the cold and the windows and the doors
And the sound of my heart beating
Beating in and out of timeAnd it’s such a shame.
I heard the wind say this morning.
Be still my heart
I age by years at the mention of your name
What a pity this season
You remember me, my lover
I don’t recognise myself
I’m not the man you love
Behold the hurricane
Behold the hurricaneI walk around these empty rooms
We once moved like the morning.
Silhouettes they haunt this house like a memory haunts me now as if it were a dream
As if it were a dreamIt’s such a shame
I heard the wind say this morning
Be still my heart
I age by years at the mention of your name
What a pity this season
You remember me, my lover
I don’t recognise myself
I’m not the man you love
Behold the hurricane
Behold the hurricaneI heard the moon has visions of her nightly
I heard the mighty rivers cry out her name
And I saw the heavens and the earth
Yes I saw the heavens and the earth cry over youIt’s such a shame
I heard the wind say this morning
Be still my heart
I age by years at the mention of your name
What a pity this season
You remember me, my lover
I don’t recognise myself
I’m not the man you love
Behold the hurricane
Behold the hurricaneAt the door the leaves had fallen
Suddenly I realised that you were gone
Suddenly I realised that you were gone
Behold the hurricane
My love, my love, you’re the sting of the scorpion
Consider, now, the angels, a little lower than you
And they twist and they turn, and they hold their breath ’til it’s blue
And they can’t turn away like I can, when you’re lookin’ like you doLooky Black Betty, what they’re tying to you
You did the very thing, baby, that I asked you not to do
And now you got yourself caught in the silk spiderweb
I hope the money fills the holes, can see the roof is caving inMy heart, my heart, you’re the moon and her shining light
Darkness and void of form, like you were keeping me alive
And I’ve been dreaming of poisonings from the venom of my enemies
Clever as the viper, dear, but gentle as a stampede of stonesLooky Black Betty, what they’re tying to you
You did the very thing, baby, that I asked you not to do
Now you got yourself caught in the silk spiderweb
I hope the money fills the holes, can see the roof is caving inAnd they want you to doubt every trust that you’ve known
And they wanna find the holes in the armor exposed
And they come on whispering,
If you just do this for me…
And turn and show their teeth just before they’re sinking in
And better than described and deeper the descent
I never thought we’d have to learn to doubt our friends
And better than described, so much deeper the descent
I never thought we’d have to learn to doubt our friendsLooky Black Betty, what they’re tying to you
You did the very thing, baby, that I asked you not to do
Now you got yourself caught in the silk spiderweb
I hope the money fills the holes, can see the roof is caving inLooky Black Betty, what they’re tying to you
You did the very thing, baby, that I asked you not to do
Now you got yourself caught in the silk spiderweb
I hope the money fills the holes in the place I used to stand
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The Horrible Crowes – Behold The Hurricane
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The Horrible Crowes – Black Betty & The Moon
www: The Horrible Crowes’ official website, Facebook Page, and MySpace.
Now. Now. Now. August 21, 2011
Posted by admin in : Songs , 2commentsToday’s message is a simple one. Go to Laura DiStasi’s CDBaby page right now and buy her new EP. Now. Now. Now. I’ll wait while you do. Seriously – $4 or about €3 for one of the most affecting things you will ever, ever purchase
Okay. Now, you’re back, and you should have the EP downloading or downloaded. Or the CD en route, if you’re that way inclined. If not, seriously, go and buy the fucking EP.
Yes, I swore. And I did it for a reason – because the impact of a swear word unexpected is the same as the impact of Laura’s voice.
6 years after “Winters Never Quit”, from which I featured “No City Life” here at the end of last year, Laura has returned with her self-titled EP, containing 4 of the most beautiful songs you’ll hear this year, next year, or any other year, being honest.
About “Winters Never Quit”, I had said “the rest of the album, while quite good, is a little too jazz-oriented for me”. I can’t level the same accusation at her EP: piano-led beauty, all underpinning one of the most evocative voices I’ve ever heard.
From the EP, I give you “Colors And Shapes” – not only a stunning song in it’s own right, but almost a companion piece to “No City Life”.
While “No City Life” is, to me, a…
…sad, sorrowful song of longing, of missing, of being an outcast, of not knowing your place in this world, of failing…
“Colors And Shapes”, to me, can be read in two ways – depending on my mood… Either not being able to leave what you know, allowing yourself to be distracted and making excuses to not take the step you could; or making a decision which leads you along one road, a road which you learn to love, until you forget the original reasons you took it – following a lover to a destination, and finding the destination (and falling for it) but losing the lover… And my apologies to Laura if I’m completely misreading her song.
From the description of the EP:
There is beauty and truth in our lightest and darkest moments – feeling the affects of city life, and the changing of seasons
Something supported by “No City Life”, and now “Colors And Shapes”.
EDIT: Laura just provided me with the correct lyrics – so close… So very close…
I am not your girl
If you are like this town
That doesn’t hold you close
Just keeping you aroundWith it’s flashing lights
All the colors and shapes
There’s so much here wanting
I keep forgetting why I cameTo this town
I can move real fast
I can cover ground
The clank of subway tracks
A million shades of black and brownWe’re growing out of concrete
Out of tunnels to shade
Of something towering over
All the reasons that you cameTo this town
I would move real fast
But I can’t put you down
As if my arms attached
To the side it fits aroundI know the flashing lights
I know the colors and shapes
Of the things worth wanting
And the things that fade away
I know the flashing lights
I know the colors and sounds
Of the things worth wanting
There’s so much here wantingThere’s so much here wanting
I keep forgetting why I cameTo this town
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Laura DiStasi – Colors And Shapes
www: Laura’s official website, Facebook Page, and MySpace.
Out To Get Me. August 7, 2011
Posted by admin in : Songs , 3commentsSome songs are just destined to find me. A few months back, a friend of mine sent me a song through Spotify – which I hadn’t logged into in months. There it sat, alone and sad, shivering in the cold, where it wondered why it wasn’t being listened to. Well, I assume that’s how the InterWebz works for songs.
Then, while away with work, I watched a film with a wonderful song in the background – jangly, happy, female and male vocals combining. Lyrics you could barely make out, but a tune which got your feet moving. Using SoundHound, I figured out it was “Young Bood” by The Naked And Famous, who, according to Wikipedia, are:
a New Zealand indie rock band from Auckland. Their single “Young Blood” debuted on the New Zealand chart at number one in 2010—the first New Zealand artist in three years to do so.
However, due to my phone deciding to have a mid-life crisis, I had to reset everything, including losing the artist and song name. Usually, and much to the behest of everyone I know, I carry around a small notepad, and when I hear an artist, a song, or even some lyrics that capture my attention, I scrawl it down in my handwriting (which, on another note, hasn’t changed in the last 15 to 20 years of my life, since school. Anyway…), to be checked at a future date. This time, I hadn’t…
So I returned, and thanks to the jigs and reels of life, forgot all but the melody of the song and little else, and even that faded. And then. And then. I finally logged into Spotify, and found Niall had sent me “Young Blood” by The Naked And Famous, as he figured I’d like it.
Months and months ago.
Niall – good work out of you.
Jangly. Happy. Foot-tapping. But with a wonderfully bittersweet set of lyrics about falling in, and out of, love. About hanging on. About letting go. About compromising. About forgiving.
We’re only young and naive still
We require certain skills
The mood it changes like the wind
Hard to control when it beginsThe bittersweet between my teeth
Trying to find the in-betweens
Fall back in love eventually
Yeah yeah yeah yeahCan’t help myself but count the flaws
Claw my way out through these walls
One temporary escape
Feel it start to permeateWe lie beneath the stars at night
Our hands gripping each other tight
You keep my secrets hope to die
Promises, swear them to the skyThe bittersweet between my teeth
Trying to find the in-betweens
Fall back in love eventually
Yeah yeah yeah yeahAs it withers
Brittle it shakes
Can you whisper
As it crumbles and breaks
As you shiver
Count up all your mistakes
Pair of forgivers
Let go before it’s too late
Can you whisper
Can you whisper
Can you whisper
Can you whisperThe bittersweet between my teeth
Trying to find the in-betweens
Fall back in love eventually
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
The bittersweet between my teeth
Trying to find the in-betweens
Fall back in love eventually
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
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The Naked And Famous – Young Blood
www: The Naked And Famous’ official website, Facebook Page, and MySpace.
Opening Up. July 27, 2011
Posted by admin in : Songs , 2commentsLife. It’s a son of a bitch at times.
Despite some friends protestations to the contrary, I don’t think I’ll ever post exactly how I feel, or how my life is going on this blog. But I will happily hint at it, which you might have noticed from the last couple of posts.
And today, a friend of mine exposed me to Bon Iver’s cover of Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me”, combined with a little of her “Nick Of Time” – the entirety of the first song, a few lines of the second – which broke me.
“I Can’t Make You Love Me” has always been one of the most affecting songs I’ve ever heard – a testament to melancholy if ever one existed. And combined with Justin Vernon’s voice? “Overwhelming” just can’t do the impact justice.
For now, replace “because you don’t/won’t” with “you do, but…”, and replace “you” with “me”, and “me” with “you”. And ignore the last few lines of the song.
Life. I found out this week that the curse “May you live in interesting times” isn’t in fact Chinese. But I found out the last few months that it still rings true.
Turn down the lights
Turn down the bed
Turn down these voices
Inside my head
Lay down with me
Tell me no lies
Just hold me close
Don’t patronise
Don’t patronise meI can’t make you love me if you don’t
You can’t make your heart feel
Something it wont
Here in the dark, in these final hours
I will lay down my heart
And I feel the power if you don’t
No you don’t
Cause I can’t make you love me
If you don’tI’ll close my eyes
Then I wont see
The love you don’t feel
When your holding me
Morning will come
And I’ll do whats right
Just give me till then
To give up this fight
And I will give up this fightI can’t make you love me if you don’t
You can’t make your heart feel
Something it wont
Here in the dark,in these final hours
I will lay down my heart
And feel the power if you won’t
No you won’t
Cause I can’t make you love me
If you don’tIf you don’t
No you, no you won’tI found love, darling
I found love, darling
I found love, darling
I found love, darling, yeah
I found love, darling, darling
Love in the nick of timeI found love, darling, yeah
Love in the nick of time
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Bon Iver – I Can’t Make You Love Me / Love In The Nick Of Time
www: Bon Iver’s official website, Facebook Page, and MySpace.
Is A Little Melancholy Too Much To Ask? July 25, 2011
Posted by admin in : Songs , add a commentApparently it is, when it comes to Jónsi. I’ve posted about his unfailingly happy music before, and he’s only gone and done it again.
Nearly every single Jónsi song embeds itself in my head – the pounding, swelling, heart-wrenching, utter sheer joyousness of the thing growing, unfolding, and shining a torch into every darker, melancholic corner of my mind – and “Sticks & Stones” is pure Jónsi.
Let the change from 2:01 to 2:08, from 2:50 onwards, and the drums at 3:11 propel you out of your seat, bouncing around your room in a whirling dervish of joy and happiness.
Normal melancholy will be resumed shortly. For now, go dance.
Eyes open wide, blinded by the sun now
Orange and white, dark red, green and yellow
Rainbow colors! Do not hide, see the view!
Step aside, go through!Against the light, too strong, blow a fuse now
Everything bright, new songs, burning shoes
The look in your eyes! Break our bones into half!
Scream and shout and do laugh!Let yourself… go (Oh Oh Oh)
Let yourself… go (Oh Oh Oh)Stay close to me
Count one, two and three
Up in through your sleeves
Bursting through the seams
Open your eyes and see – You seeInn um ermar, upp hryggjarsúluna
Yfir skóg, flæðir niður brekkuna
Allt upp í loft! Ég mun aldrei gleyma!
Því ég mun aldrei!Hleypur um, rífur, leysir flækjurnar
(Upp með rótum) með blik í augum!
Stórmerki, undur, brjótum bein í sundur!Let yourself… go (Oh Oh Oh)
Let yourself… go (Oh Oh Oh)Stay close to me
Count one, two and three
Up in through your sleeves
Bursting through the seams
Open your eyes and seeStay close to me
Count one, two and three
Up in through your sleeves
Right beyond the trees
Show you how you’ll beStay close to me
Count one, two and three
Up in through your sleeves
Bursting through the seams
Open your eyes and see – You seeStay close to me : Count one, two, three
Up in your sleeves : You’re right beyond trees
Stay close to me : Count one, two, three
Up in your sleeves : Burst through the seamsOpen your eyes and see
You see – You see
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www: Jonsi’s official website, Facebook Page, and MySpace.
I Was Born With A Broken Heart. June 30, 2011
Posted by admin in : Songs , 1 comment so farTough times in life again. More curveballs. And, as ever, my outlet is music, is this website.
Just over a year ago, I posted about counterpoints, using Ryan Adams, and I talked about the need to let someone or something go, despite the pain, and you need to trust things to work out… But what happens when you don’t let go, but realise that something needs to change?
I posted about Cary Brothers almost three years ago – an artist whose first EP, “All The Rage” I loved, but who’s first album, “Who You Are”, while nice, in my eyes failed to keep that momentum.
I got my hands on his second full-length, “Under Control”, released last year, but to be honest, never really took the time to listen to it. I skipped through it, and kept it for completeness sake. As ever, when I do that, I missed out.
From that album, I give you the utterly beautiful and absolutely heartbreaking “Belong”; initially sparse, piano-driven , but a song that builds and builds, introducing guitars and drums and more vocals over its 4 minutes, moving from something so utterly sad to a statement of honesty and the… strength?… that comes from that.
Let the catharsis from from 1:36 onwards utterly sweep over you…
This is one lover’s statement to another: I don’t belong to you; my dreams are my own and not yours; but I love you, I will be there for you, always. But I can’t lie to myself, or to you, about this.
Wake up lonely with you by my side
One more night it doesn’t feel
There are movies playing in your eyes
You dream of our fortunesBut you’re wrong
I don’t belong to youThe moon is the only friend I have outside
One more drink and I’ll be healed
I told you the words and then knew it was a lie
I wish I could offer an appealYou’re wrong
I don’t belong
You’re wrong
I don’t belong to youWhat I’d give for that first night when you were mine, you were mine
Tried with all that I have to keep you alive, aliveI wasn’t taught this way
With a thousand things to say
I was born with a broken heart
What I’d give for that first night when you were mine
Thought you were mineSo I’ll put this cigarette to bed
Pull some sheets from off your side
I put my arm around you safe in the night
Still dreaming of fortune
But you’re wrong
I don’t belong
You’re wrong
I don’t belong
I don’t belong
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www: Cary’s official website, Facebook Page, and MySpace.
