what is it about the word home? it stirs up so much emotion & memory. some good & some bad. i just spent the better part of the last 2 days packing, moving, cleaning & making a new home for myself. but home is more than just the space that's carved out for me in this old house. this playlist is dedicated to all the people & places that have been home to me & all the people i've shared a home with.
Listen to Danny's playlist!!
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1. There's No Home For You Here by The White Stripes - ever lived with someone you just wish would go away? this song is smangin'. smashin' & bangin'.
2. This Is Home by Switchfoot - i think home is about belonging & this song describes it so beautifully.
3. Walking Far From Home by Iron & Wine - this guy has seen some crazy $#%!... but seriously... the first time i heard this song i was so pleased. and each time after.
4. Home by Jack Johnson - this is gonna be one of those playlists where it's more important to remember the artist than the name of the song...
5. Home by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeroes - "home is whenever i'm with you."
6. Home by Mumford & Sons - just stumbled on this one! love me some mumf!
7. Home by LCD Soundsystem
8. After We Have Left Our Homes by MethMouth - inside jokes are the worst. this song is actually by MuteMath. "when can we start over?" such a cool interlude!
9. Honey Come Home by The Head and the Heart
10. Home by Sherwood - when i was a youth pastor for a couple years, i had to listen to a lot of music like this... make myself as relatable as possible. this band actually rubbed off on me.
11. Home by She & Him - "it doesn't get better than home, now does it?"
12. Find My Way Home by William Fitzsimmons - this guy makes some incredibly sweet music. he sings in almost a whisper which packs each song with such strong emotion.
13. I Was Young When I Left Home by Antony with Bryce Dessner - originally a bob dylan tune! dylan covers rule!
14. Is There a Ghost by Band of Horses - this is the only song on the playlist without home in the title, but i believe it's earned a spot. sometimes you just need a few simple lyrics to create an amazing song.
i'm glad to be home again... & when i leave this place, i'll be glad to be home again.
Artists have always been looking for new and creative ways to make music. There is a constant and natural evolution that happens; a building and feeding off of one another. The boundaries in which popular music exist are ever morphing; expanding here, shrinking there, and so on and so on. This week we'll focus on the artists and bands who don't play by everyone else's rules. They sing goofy at times, and use strange instruments. They take their cues from no one, except for maybe each other. Buckle up kids! This is gonna be a fun one!
Listen to Joey's Looney Tunes!!
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1. In the Flowers - Animal Collective, This is one of my favorites! It starts off all dreamy and atmospheric and then BOOM!!! Am I allowed to say "Eargasm" on here?
2. Clipping - MuteMath, That.. show.. was.. AWESOME! This track in particular blends a pulsing electro noise with classical instruments. So nice!
3. Come Alive (War of the Roses) - Janelle Monae, This girl can do, and will do, whatever type of music she feels like, and she'll do it VERY well. Hip Hop, R&B, Jazz, Rock... it's all there.
4. Hljomilind - Sigur Ros, These guys are so over the top creative and imaginative, that Icelandic and English just wouldn't do. They had to go and make up their own damn language called Vonlenska. It's untranslatable and (to quote Wikipedia) "uses the melodic and rhythmic elements of singing without the conceptual content of language" This song is sung entirely in Vonlenska.
5. The High Road - Broken Bells, Dangermouse + Shins lead James Mercer = Musical gold
6. Rental Car - Beck, Beck is another one of those artists that can pretty much do whatever he wants. He tinkers and plays with multiple genres and styles.
7. Mouthful of Diamonds - Phantogram, This Trip Hop duo out of New York describes their sound as "street beat, psych pop". Apparently I'm a massive "street beat, psych pop" fan. Who knew?
8. It's Oh So Quiet - Bjork, There's a thin line between Genius and BS Crazy. I'm pretty sure she toes that line when she's cooking breakfast, let alone making music. I can't tell if she's on to something, or just on something... probably both.
9. Kids With Guns - Gorillaz, A virtual cartoon band from a fictionalized universe cranking out Rap, Rock, and Dance tunes... enough said.
10. Blackout - Muse, Muse is one of the biggest bands on the planet today. While they mostly stick to the rock category, they do tend to bring it in a fresh and creative way every time. Their next album, for example, is described by Matt Bellemy as "christian gangsta rap jazz odyssey, with some ambient rebellious dubstep and face melting metal flamenco cowboy psychedelia". That's obviously not to be taken too serious, but they do mix it up! This track sounds like it should be performed on a Venetian river boat. Enjoy!
11. Too Much - Sufjan Stevens, You can't blame Jess for putting Suf on this playlist, but you can't blame me either. Listen to this! "Too Much" might take the cake when it comes to "weirdo music" but damn if it ain't catchy in between all of the chaos!
12. I Can Change - LCD Soundsystem, Try this for boundary pushing... this Dance-Punk band frequently incorporates Spoken Word into their music. Yep! Unfortunately LCD Soundsystem decided to go out on top and called it quits this past year, but not before putting out 3 fantastic albums.
13. Love Me Girl - Yeasayer, Did I hear a Loon....? Yep. That was a Loon.
14. Fight Test - The Flaming Lips, Track 6 off of their 1999 album "The Soft Bulletin" is entitled " "What Is the Light? (An Untested Hypothesis Suggesting That the Chemical [In Our Brains] by Which We Are Able to Experience the Sensation of Being in Love Is the Same Chemical That Caused the "Big Bang" That Was the Birth of the Accelerating Universe)"..... I don't really know what else to add here.
15. The National Anthem - Radiohead, How about we just let these modern day pioneers take us home.
There are SO MANY other artists and bands we could've included on this list. There's S.O.S. regulars like Poliça with their ambient vocals and double drums, or Bon Iver with their auto tuned folk music. Other bands too like Cults, Foster The People, and MGMT are always mixing it up to ensure things don't go stale on us. Enjoy!
I've got mixed feelings about love/romance and all things related - and so does this playlist.
Listen here! -------------------
1. I Walked by Fol Chen
I might as well start out with the Sufjan cover. Because you guys know I don't make a playlist without batting my eyes in his direction atleast once.
How about this for a break-up lyric - "When you went away, I went crazy, I was wild with the breast of a dog."
Brutal and totally attractive, right?
2. Don't gotta work it out by Fitz and the Tantrums
Rolling Stone labeled these guys Band to Watch and I think this song seals the deal for me.
It's some nice indie-soul pop that gives me all kinds of attitude.
3. You make me wanna by Usher
4. Weak by SWV
Summer of '93, baybee.
This one's for you, Katie and Bethany.
5. Two Lovers by Rural Alberta Advantage
"I hope your heart's good and strong, if you find yourself in my arms."
Also, "I'll hold you tight enough to crush your veins."I'm tucking this one away for the remote possibility that I'll ever feel gooey for someone again.
6. The Walk by Mayer Hawthorne
But until then, BAM. Mayer, from Detroit, has got me covered.
7. Glycerine by Bush
8. Cherry by Ratatat
Mid-playlist makeout sesh.
9. Mona Lisa by Wyclef Jean
This album (The Carnival) absolutely blew up the charts in '97. Guantanamera, Trying to Stay Alive, Gone til November, Sang Fezi - so many great songs!
Also, if Aaron Neville doesn't make you feel like kissing just a little bit, I don't know what will.
10. Love Interruption by Jack White
Don't get too comfortable all you valentines out there.
11. End of the Road by Boyz II Men
Slow daaance. How dramatic did junior high suddenly get with this song floating around?
12. I have Nothing by Whitney Houston
Dang it, Whitney.
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I know V-day is super commercialized, overly cheesy, and can seem like a consumeristic waste of time - but I'm telling you, even when romantic love is further from me than the moon, I will always love this day. Give me an excuse to tell you I love you and I'll take it. Give me permission to be a sap, and I'll pour it right out.
Let yourself have a beautiful, romantic, hopeful, lovie sappy annoyingly cheesy valentines WEEK. Life's too short for anything less.
that's right. it's super bowl sunday. the day where men all around the world huddle around their televisions, drink beer, eat pizza & watch football. so i thought it'd be fitting to dedicate this playlist to all the women out there. in alphabetical order... my top 15 artists or bands that have a female lead. this one's for you ladies (in a non-creepy voice).
1. Bad Things by Cults - did i mention i was upset that these folks didn't end up opening for foster the people when i went to see them?
2. A Commotion by Feist - this whole album (metals) is incredible! get it if you haven't.
3. The Lion's Roar by First Aid Kit - might be going to see them in the near future... if you're interested in going you might want to give some money to matt axelson... just sayin'...
4. Earth by Imogen Heap - even though this is an instrumental version, the instruments are all her voice. this chick is SO talented & creative.
5. Dance or Die by Janelle Monae - she can rap and sing. obviously the next lauryn hill. (don't hate me for saying that)
6. Settle Down by Kimbra - just now starting to get into her music, but she accompanies gotye on "somebody that i used to know"... and it just so happens that she'll be joining gotye in concert when he comes to mn!!!!
7. Pursuit of Happiness by Lissie - ***WARNING! EXPLICIT LYRICS!!!*** dang. this chick does some amazing covers.
8. Rich Kids Blues by Likke Li
9. Pull Up The People by M.I.A. - pull up the people, pull up the poor.
10. Don't Move by Phantogram - probably my favorite song right now. REALLY fun to dance to!
11. Dark Star by POLICA - couldn't get through this playlist without some POLICA... which actually happens to be the band that ended up opening for foster the people... so all in all it was a pretty damn good concert.
12. In The Sun by She & Him - she can act, she can sing, she's funny & she's a fox. done.
13. Cruel by St. Vincent - this chick's music is really strange and wonderful.
14. Bizness by tUnE-yArDs - !!!!!!!!!!
15. Down Boy by Yeah Yeah Yeahs - i've been such a huge fan of the yeah yeah yeahs for quite some time now. karen o is a complete nutcase and i love her for it. listen to "tick" from the "fever to tell" album & you'll know what i mean.
there you have it folks. happy super bowl sunday!
