A Long Time Ago In A Galaxy Far Far Away. June 23, 2011
Posted by admin in : Songs , add a commentIn 2001 I first started watching Scrubs, and fell in love. I lasted a few series before the shine waned, and the latest series really makes me think that about four years ago, they should have taken the series round the back of the studio and shot it. However, those first couple of years were not only great comedy, but were also the first time I truly paid attention to music in series.
From there, I’ve followed a number of series which I might not even watch, but whom I know have great music – Scrubs, Grey’s Anatomy, and pretty much any hour-long drama series from the U.S. with a cast of pretty 20/30/40-somethings. While it is a bit depressing at times that these series are now seen by musicians as the ultimate springboard to success, you can’t argue with some of the music’s quality.
And in 2001 Scrubs introduced me to Josh Joplin / Josh Joplin Group.
Wikipedia can, as ever, explain this man more than I. Here’s a whistle-stop tour. And what the Hell is a whistle-stop anyway?
His interest in guitar and music, especially folk music, outgrew his initial need for a passing grade. Though he made it through to the eighth grade, Joplin dropped out altogether after the ninth grade and began his career as a folk singer.
He spent the next couple of years traveling around the country, busking on the streets, taking odd jobs, and working in restaurants. It was while he was living in Denver for a short stint that he was given his first opportunity to perform in front of an attentive audience, opening for singer-songwriter Bill Staines at the Swallow Hill Folk Music Center.
Still heavily influenced by his heroes Phil Ochs, Bob Dylan, and Woody Guthrie, Josh landed a regular gig at Sylivia’s Atomic Café.
In 1996, wanting to play with other people, Joplin was introduced to Geoff Melkonian, who played bass and viola, and Jason Beucker, who played drums. After playing a few shows together as Josh’s backing band, the three decided to continue to play together simply under the name Josh Joplin Band.
Camera One went on to become the first No. 1 hit on adult album alternative radio by an independent record label ever.
Josh Joplin Group disbanded in December 2003.
In 2008, Joplin started a new group with Nashville-based singer/songwriter Garrison Starr called Among The Oak & Ash.
Among The Oak & Ash is an ever-changing collection of musicians led by American songwriter Josh Joplin. The songs are born out of the musical tradition of the Appalachian Mountains and are either adapted from their folk conventions or are entirely original and are written to sound like old time songs.
Now, I haven’t listened to Among The… as of yet, but from Josh Joplin/Josh Joplin Group’s 2001 album “Useful Music”, I give you two utterly amazing tracks – the aforementioned “Camera One”, and “Gravity”.
Both tracks are two of the more rock-oriented tracks from the album, but both are truly the definition of melancholy – whether it’s “Gravity”, a guitar-led, drum-driven number about the disappointments of life, and the ways we deal with these, whether through alcohol or mistaken belief, and the eventual realisation that everybody does indeed fall; or “Camera One”, a, uhm guitar-led, drum-driven number about, uhm, the disappointments of life, and the ways we deal with these, whether through suicide, sad contemplation or simply the conscious decision not to care, and to realise you’re the only one who can star in your own life, and how much you star is up to you…
A decade on, both the album and especially “Camera One” have played a huge part in my life – and I know that in 10, 20 and 30 years time, they will still do so.
Maybe they might just do the same for you…
I will not be here forever
So I will not waste any time
Just pick my head up from off the bar dear
Buy the next round I’ll be fine
Spoken like a poet
Who’s just too drunk to know thatEverybody falls in small degrees
Everybody falls in small degrees
It’s gravity
It’s gravityHere within lies the king of Graceland
Which makes the point all too clear
We stand in long lines praying our peace
And we go home with a souvenir
And only fools rush in
To save a desperate manEverybody falls in small degrees
Everybody falls in small degrees
It’s gravity
It’s gravityPull me down, don’t pull me down
Pull me down, don’t pull me down
When I was little I used to dream that
I had a cape and I could fly
I rescued my friends from burning buildings
And no one would ever die
But costumes fade fast
And super powers passEverybody falls in small degrees
Everybody falls in small degrees
It’s gravity
It’s gravity
The sandy haired son of Hollywood
Lost his faith in all that’s good
Closed the curtain, unplugged the clock
Hung his clothes on the shower rod
But he never got undressed
And no, he never made a messIt’s funny how life turns out
The odds of faith in the face of doubt
Camera one closes in
The soundtrack starts
The scene beginsYou’re playing you now
You’re playing you now
You’re playing you now
You’re playing you now
You’re playing you now
Take a bow
Take a bowThe trophy wife from Palisades
Whose yearbook beauty never fades
Sits and watches the sea fold in
And wonders what might have been
If she could ever have the chance
Would she do it all again?It’s funny how life turns out
The odds of faith in the face of doubt
Camera one closes in
The soundtrack starts
The scene beginsYou’re playing you now
You’re playing you now
You’re playing you now
You’re playing you now
You’re playing you now
Take a bow
Take a bowOn the corner
By his streets
He sits in his lawnchair
In the heat
Sightseers see
What they want
They’re selling star-maps
To the sunThe sunny-haired son of hollywood
Lost his faith in all that’s good
Closed the curtain, unplugged the clock
Hung his clothes on the shower rod
But he didn’t get undressed
And no, he didn’t seem depressedIt’s funny how life turns out
The odds of faith in the face of doubt
Camera one closes in
The soundtrack starts
The scene beginsYou’re playing you now
You’re playing you now
You’re playing you now
You’re playing you now
You’re playing you now
You’re playing you now
You’re playing you now
Take a bow
Take a bow
Take a bow
Take a bow
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Josh Joplin Group – Camera One
www: Josh Joplin’s MySpace, and Among The Oak & Ash’s Facebook Page and MySpace.
The Tronic Is Back. May 30, 2011
Posted by admin in : Songs , 2commentsNearly two and a half years ago, I posted about my first foray into folktronica through the amazing William Fitzsimmons. A few months later, I featured him again – but this time, minus the -tronica.
Happily, William has lost his hair, kept his beard, and found his tronic-making-device for his new album, “Gold in the Shadow”.
And from that album, I give you the tronically stunning “Psychastenia” (yes, that is not mispelt), with backing vocals by none other than Laura DiStasi. Whom I featured here. And her band here. BOOM! See how I did that?
I digress.
“Psychasthenia” is the definition of melancholy – the desperate seeking of wanting to feel; the pleading and praying for same – whether that feeling is something positive, or simply pain.
Quiet. Yearning. Resigned.
All set to an electric guitar, a simple drum loop, and nothing else.
Could you map this globe
With a torment slowly rose
To a fear resigned
Quiet room I hope I findCut me open please
Cut me open pleaseWith an alter robe
I have stumbled knife to lobe
In compulsion drown
Counting every phantom foundCut me open please
Cut me open please
Cut me open please
Cut me open pleaseWith a bridge I’ve killed
I will serotonin fill
To a fear resigned
Quiet room I hope I findCut me open please
Cut me open please
Cut me open please
Cut me open please
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
William Fitzsimmons – Psychasthenia
www: The Bearded One’s official website, Facebook Page, and MySpace.
70%. May 16, 2011
Posted by admin in : Songs , add a comment10 months ago, I posted about the utterly amazing Amy Heffernan. Her marketing/PR company, who I praised highly in the post, continued to keep me updated in some pretty cool and personal ways, and kept my interest.
However, none of the other artists they sent my way clicked as Amy did, until, finally, both Amy and her company realised I wanted a new album release by Amy, and subsequently obliged.
Okay, I admit I may not have had anything to do with Amy’s producing a new album.
Although…new is a strong word, as 3 of the songs appeared on her last long-player, “Being Awesome”. Interestingly, at the time of my last post, I said there were any number of other songs on that album which I could have posted about – and it’s the only song of the 3 appearing on both that I didn’t post about last time around which is the standout this time.
“Knowing” is a anthem, but one with a keen edge – an anthem about two people who promised the world to the other, but, just as importantly, promised to tell the other if that world changed, if things just weren’t quite the same. And only one kept that promise.
A song of knowing you’ll be okay, but not understanding. Of feeling betrayed. Of broken promises.
Guitars. Drums. And fifteen seconds, from 1:45 to 2:00, worthy of a clenched fist held aloft in a sold-out 200,000 person venue.
Listen to this one at full volume, and let everything go in a cathartic singalong.
Remember when we both swore we never drag this down
We’d keep our heads about us and our feet upon the ground
Remember how we talked about the precious and the pure
We’d know if it was over we promised to be sureHow could you let this go so far knowing
You lost your faith
And I’ve already been replaced
Some how, some way
I think I’ll be ok
But how could you let me go so far knowingWe’ve both been through the drama we both played all the games
Now that we have eachother we won’t make the same mistakes
And all those tragic endings let’s just leave them in the past
Hoping we discovered something that’ll lastHow could you let this go so far knowing
You lost your faith
And I’ve already been replaced
Some how, some way
I think I’ll be ok
But how could you let me go so farKnowing you’re moving on Knowing you’re so far gone
Knowing I’m not your last Knowing you’re never coming back
Couldn’t you tell me, couldn’t you tell me Couldn’t you tell me, couldn’t you tell me
Just tell meYou lost your faith
Some how, some way I think I’ll be okYou lost your faith
And I’ve already been replaced
Some how, some way
I think I’ll be ok
But how could you let me go so far knowing
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
www: Amy’s official website, Facebook Page, MySpace, and PR company’s microsite.
The Difference Two Years Make. April 6, 2011
Posted by admin in : Songs , 7commentsIreland’s greatest band, Bell X1, have just released their new album “Bloodless Coup”, and after listening to just two songs so far, and despite having a number of songs by other artists to post over the coming weeks, I just felt compelled to post “Nightwatchmen”.
But in doing so, I’m left pondering what a difference a year makes in a life – or two in my case.
Two years ago, I featured Bell X1 here, and posted about my life at the time – some very rough times personally; my feeling a little bit broken; about how I had to just keep on keeping on.
And now, two years later – well, I went through tougher times after that post; the peaks and troughs rose and fell; and even to this day, there are good days and bad days. But right now, right here, so many more good than bad.
Long it may continue – through experience, I know it’ll change, that every day, week, month or year brings challenges and opportunities in equal (and sometimes not-so-equal) measure.
But all we can really ever do is go on how things are now – and tonight, life is good.
Scratch that – life is great.
So, two years later, I give you Bell X1 (again) – a band who are proving to be a true soundtrack to my life. The best band in Ireland (and yes, far better than that other one), “Nightwatchmen” is a personification of epic – Paul Noonan’s falsetto; an absolute lyrical journey; the building of a wall of guitar, piano and drum…
I dare you not to get chills at the change from 2:16 onwards, and feel your chest constrict as you feel the pure, unadulterated, unconditional yearning…
To the girl among nightwatchmen
My other, my joy
With your oil-drum fire
You were my gentle unfolding
The wool and the dye
The needle and eye
These songs you sing
As you waltz her up the stairs
And the boy smiles at
The wheels of the chair
We are loved for these
Things that pass us by
All we’re good for
As the sand flows into the hourglass
You hold every grain
That it might remain
Part of me wants to see you crumble
Like those toys on a plinth
Pool of alabaster limbs
Into my arms, so that
I might have my place
Although the crutch may just
Serve to dull the only blade
That you brought to this fight
Let’s go another round
To the girl among nightwatchmen
The long fingers of morning
Will take you by the hand
Precious stones,
They’re all spoken for
You’ve chosen the tunes,
Everything is just so
And now birdsong,
Ice clinking in the sun
Dripfeed of gentle talk
And pleasantries
And I wait for a gap in the traffic
To tell her I’ll always
hold you close
It’s all I’m good for
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
www: Bell X1 official site, MySpace, and Facebook Page.
I Am Lefthanded. March 31, 2011
Posted by admin in : Songs , 1 comment so farI actually am left-handed, just like approximately 11% of the world’s population.
However, some people who are not left-handed are I Am Not Lefthanded – a band I am head-over-heels in love with (evidenced by my previous post on them). Well, surely it’s heels-over-head, since head-over-heels is pretty much how all of us humans are built.
Anyhoo, I digress. IANL have decided to release a completely free EP ahead of their upcoming new album release, and, as ever, have managed to absolutely and utterly and completely and [INSERT SYNONYM HERE] leave me a wreck with yet more heartbreaking, heartrending music…
From the EP, I give you the acoustic version of Lifelines (which also appears on their EP “Time to Leave”). And if ever an EP name was a perfect reflection of a song…
A song about breaking up; about making the decision to leave someone, and the repercussions on both; about regret, about yearning.
Piano; a male and female vocal; guitar; goosebumps.
I know that this might calm down,
And I know I could sink and not drown
But treading all night’s getting old
And sunrise these days leaves me cold
I know, I can’t turn this aroundCause when I cut your lifeline
I started falling – so far
I couldn’t look backWhen I cut your lifeline
You were calling – so hard
I couldn’t shout backSo no more of the long walks through town
And no more talks of who let who down
Though now I’ve said all my goodbyes,
My mind is filled with kind replies
I know, I know.Cause when I cut your lifeline
I started falling – so far
I couldn’t look backWhen I cut your lifeline
You were calling – so hard
I couldn’t shout backLet it all settle down, let it all settle down
And yet I think I’ll miss you if I fall…
Cause when I cut your lifeline
I started falling – so far
I couldn’t look backWhen I cut your lifeline
You were calling – so hard
I couldn’t shout back
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
I Am Not Lefthanded – Lifelines (Acoustic)
www: I am not lefthanded official site, MySpace, Facebook Page and Bandcamp. Go and download the free EP now! And when it comes out, buy the new album. Oh, just go and buy everything they’ve released.
Random. March 4, 2011
Posted by admin in : Songs , 1 comment so farI sat through Virtuosity yesterday. An odd, odd, odd science fiction film, I still don’t know if it was ahead of it’s time, or crap. I’m erring towards crap. A bored Denzel Washington, a young Russell Crowe, and a plot and script that someone seemed to have written on the back of a napkin, but when told the film would be made, used everything on that napkin, and no more.
But as the film ended, and I realised I wasn’t getting that time back, the end credits rolled, and I was amazed to hear a very, very familiar voice…
As regular readers of this blog will know, (1) I’m shit at updating it, sorry, and (2) I love Peter Gabriel. Proper, all-out, man love, as evidenced here and here. And the song playing was absolutely gorgeous.
It didn’t even vaguely fit with the film, and felt as out-of-place as Russell Crowe in a place where people should be treated nicely.
“Party Man” is in fact by “The World Beaters with Peter Gabriel”, but I couldn’t find ANYTHING on who these World Beaters are, and if, in fact, they are even world beaters, or simply people doing okay.
It’s pretty Peter Gabriel – piano, that voice, infectious drum beats, and overall, a general world music feel.
The lyrics are simple, but nice – the same 10 lines repeated three times, broken up by a slowed-down, yet building, beat…
So then, up upon this high wall
Looking at the street lights
All spread out like a banquet
Why is this room so silent?
Only when I’m moving
No direction chosen
Rolling over emotion
Guess I’m your party man
P p party man, p p partyman
I’m your party man
The song doesn’t appear anywhere else apart from the Virtuosity soundtrack, so maybe it could have been one of those “doing it for the paycheck” type of things.
But knowing PG the way I do (and I do), I doubt it.
Play it loud and let it sweep you away. And try to avoid Virtuosity.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
The World Beaters and Peter Gabriel – Party Man
www: With a Peter Gabriel post comes great responsibility. So, here’s everything he is: his Facebook Page, the Womad website, the Real World website, the WITNESS website, the Elders website, and finally, his own website…
Crying Wolf. January 13, 2011
Posted by admin in : Songs , add a commentWhen the information on an artists Facebook Page says
Making you cry or your money back.
And their genre is
indie pop/sad piano songs
Well, how can they not expect to end up on a website called Get Your Melancholy On?
I give you Fay Wolf,
an L.A.-based singer-songwriter who refers to her live performances as “sadsongfunnyjokemusictimes.” Fay Wolf is more than just a singer, songwriter, pianist, and de facto stand-up comic. She is a classically-trained actress too, with a BFA from Boston University. Her recent acting accomplishments include work in theatre, film, and guest appearances on Miami Medical, Numb3rs, Bones, Ghost Whisperer and NCIS: Los Angeles.
Sickeningly talented.
Sickeningly talented. With a piano. A voice. And one of the saddest songs I’ve heard in a long time. Heart-breaking, “God Knows” is simply about walking away. About giving up. About realising that it just can’t go on, and that you need to walk away.
But then, with the last few lines, the realisation that you’re doing it for you, and while you have no idea, no idea at all, what it might bring…
You’re doing it for you.
You’ll soon know what it will bring.
And you’ll deal with whatever comes.
God knows what I’m gonna do
God knows what I’m gonna say
Then I walked through the door
And gave it all awayGod knows if I’ll make you cry
God knows if we’ll be alright
Then I walked out the door
I’m giving up the fightGod only knows what happens now
God only knows the how
God only knows what happens now
God only knows the howGod knows
Now I’ll know
Now I’ll know too
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
www: Fay’s official website, Facebook Page, and MySpace.
Breaking Your Heart And Building You A New One. December 12, 2010
Posted by admin in : Songs , 2commentsI’m afraid I lied to you all.
In my last post, I quoted, about the band Measure, that:
The music does what every songwriter wishes their music could do: it hollows you out, then fills you back in. It breaks your heart and builds you a new one. It moves you.
A lie. A mistruth. A deception. A dishonesty.
That quote was in fact about one half of the band Measure; an absolutely stunning singer named Laura DiStasi.
And from Laura’s 2005 album “Winters Never Quit”, I give you the absolutely heart-rending “No City Life”.
To be honest, the rest of the album, while quite good, is a little too jazz-oriented for me. But “No City Life” is just stunning – a slowed-down, female-led Postal Service, it’s a truly haunting piece. I’m not sure I can say it much better than Laura’s own website:
A singer/songwriter by way of New Jersey, Boston, and now Brooklyn, NY, Laura DiStasi’s music captures both the vibrancy and isolation of city life. Her lyrics hit close to the bone and are heavy with imagery. She plucks moments from the everyday, holding up promise in one hand and heartbreak in the other. The music feels its way though impressionistic landscapes, exploring the complex depth of relationships and change… nostalgic, yet hopeful… that anything worth lamenting is, once was, or could be beautiful.
But I can try…
One of my favourite discoveries this year, “No City Life” has something of the epic about it. Starting slowly, sparsely, it builds to a wonderful crescendo over the course of 4 minutes and 7 seconds. A sad, sorrowful song of longing, of missing, of being an outcast, of not knowing your place in this world, of failing…
But has failing ever sounded this beautiful?
What have you built
Out of all that potential
More walls, different kinds
Colours, sizes and modelsSilence
No city life
Can reach my apartment
I lose track of sound
It’s on the street
Five floors belowI take it
And take it all
As I cautiously
Just fake it
I feel so small
Never where I wanna be
Never who I wanna beFrom the inside out
I should be so disfigured
Entered upside down
Feet grounded to nothing
I swallow my voice
It burns in my stomach
Pinballs around my brain
And I lie awake all nightAnd take it
I take it all
As I cautiously
Just fake it
I feel so small
Never where I wanna beYou take it
You take it all
And I selfishly
Just fake it
I feel so smallNever where I wanna be
Never who I wanna beNah nah nah nah
Nah nah nah nah
Nah nah nah nah
Nah nah nah nah
Nah nah nah nah
Nah nah nah nah
Nah nah nah nah
Nah nah nah nah
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
www: Laura’s official website, Facebook Page, and MySpace.
The Measure Of Success. November 19, 2010
Posted by admin in : Songs , 2commentsAfter posting about Measure’s “Begin Again” in my last post (below, and here), I then proceeded to listen to the rest of the album, and immediately realised I HAD to produce a second post, for “Closer”.
I think “Closer” is described perfectly from a quote about the band:
The music does what every songwriter wishes their music could do: it hollows you out, then fills you back in. It breaks your heart and builds you a new one. It moves you.
“Closer” does all of the above. Like “Begin Again”, it’s a stunning piece of work – heartfelt, touching, affecting. An oddly disconcerting song matter, to me seemingly about obsession over another, but so utterly beautifully done…
Go and buy Measure’s album RIGHT NOW – it’ll be the best $7 you’ll spend this year.
Unless you can buy a car or house for $7. That would then be the best $7 you’ll spend. And if you do, please let me know.
Turn the light low
I wanna go
Notice
Or if you see
Come follow me
OutsideI’m ready ready ready
When you are
And stalling, stalling , stalling
By my carShe’s not picking, picking, picking
Up her phone
I am waiting, waiting, waiting
Outside aloneI want you more
I want you more
That’s what I came for
I want to be closerWe’re older now
So give off
Half-good reasonsAnd enough sense
Not to make
A messSo I keep checking, checking, checking
Our distance
And weighing, weighing, weighing resistance
It feels like safety, safety, safety
To shut down
And stop chasing, chasing, chasing
You aroundBut I want you more
I want you more
That’s what I came for
I want to be closerI want you more
I want you more
That’s what I came for
I want to be closerI can’t wait
Oh for it
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
www: BUY THE ALBUM NOW!.
Beginning Again. November 13, 2010
Posted by admin in : Songs , 4commentsI know, I know…Another long break between posts. I do apologise – life has gotten itself quite busy as of late, and so I haven’t had the time to either post, nor track down new music. However, as I’ve often promised before, this will change. And, as ever, you’ll all accept this. Until my next long break.
And, as ever, I offer a stunning song as a peace offering. This time, a band called Measure, with “Begin Again”.
Stealing directly from their MySpace…
Measure was born out of a long distance collaboration between singer/songwriter Laura Distasi and guitarist/producer/programmer David Little. Before ever having met face to face the two had already produced the songs that would act as the foundation for the sweeping, cinematic sound that has become Measure.
One year after each relocating to Brooklyn, NY the Laura and David produced an EP entitled “Begin Again”. This 5 song debut is immediately accessible, vulnerable, and honest; the melodies and beats are infectious; the arrangements intricate and dynamic. The songs feel their way though impressionistic landscapes, exploring the complex depth of relationships and change.. nostalgic, yet hopeful, that anything worth lamenting is, once was, or could be beautiful.
There’s not a huge amount I can add, apart from hypnotic. Singsong. Haunting. Vaguely unsettling – a slightly off-rhythm drum signature that only adds to the overall beauty of the song.
Stunning.
Wake up
To sun
‘Cause morning
Does come
If all you can rely on is the feel of your feet on the wood floor
And all you can depend on is a movement gives you some direction
Then begin again.
You’re no calendar
You’re no concrete plan
Begin again
Don’t waste your time waiting for someone to tell you WhenWake up
To sun
‘Cause morning
Still comes
So move around your furniture,
Or put it all out on the curb,
And drive away to something new
Watch the skyline sink behind you
And begin again
You’re no calendar
You’re no concrete plan
Begin again
Don’t waste your time waiting for someone to tell you when
Begin again
‘Cause walking out doors only works if you shut them
Begin again
And quit looking backwards, you know where you have beenBegin again.
You’re no calendar
You’re no concrete plan
Begin again.
Don’t waste your time
‘Cause no one’s gonna tell you whenWake up
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
www: Measure’s offical website, MySpace, and Facebook Page.
