Archive | November, 2009

Court Polls: Christmas

19 Nov

I caved. It is not even Thanksgiving and the need for Holiday cheer (not to mention the perpetual playlist) has led to a disgusting amount of Christmas music played on the radio. It seems as if this holiday begins earlier every year. Eventually, Christmas will end, we will celebrate New Years, and then we will have Christmas preparation for the entire year following. Every year will be Christmas, it will be a year-long event.

People have great memories of the holidays. I celebrate Hanukkah (so Anthony likes to poke fun at me that I will never have the experience of running down and seeing presents under a tree) but it does not matter what holiday you celebrate, there is just something about the time. The weather is cold, you sit bundled up in a warm blanket with hot cocoa and presents, wrapped up and mysterious. You may know what you are going to get, you annoyed your parents enough about that new video game, but there is still this sense of the unknown. There is sincere excitement. It does not matter how old you are. The holiday season is just wonderful.

But, does it need to start so soon. I want to be able to stuff my face with my grandmother’s stuffing before I have to start listening to Christmas cheer. I like getting the gluttony out of my system first. So, in honor of the early Christmas music, the Music Court will start off the holiday right with a poll about Christmas albums…The Worst Christmas Albums Ever!

There are a lot of worthy candidates. Do your research and make a choice. I know it will take me a while to decide. Good Luck!

Song of the Day #68: “First Floor People,” by Barcelona

18 Nov

Folks, I am experiencing a serious unintentional problem. I am apparently obsessed with Seattle, Washington bands and performers. Maybe, just maybe, there is a mass conspiracy and the only state releasing new artists is the northern Pacific, coffee fueled, rainy Washington, but, I must assume that I am just falling into the trap of Seattle music.

Seattle has been consistent in their musicians. They are talented, melodic, and smart. Not all of them, but most certainly most of them. So, today, I bring you Barcelona, a recent piano-based band whose brand of indie rock is both haunting and horrifyingly catchy. I think that is why I listen to so much Seattle music. You see, coffee is addicting. You drink a few cups and you become hooked, needing your daily dose to wake you up and eliminate any withdrawal. Same with music from Seattle. You need your daily dosage. Some people may like Starbucks, Seattle’s Best, heck even Folgers, but my current bean of choice is Barcelona.

“First Floor People,” is one of those songs that people easily skip over on an album. It does not attract much attention to itself as a quiet piece with a strung-out piano and an odd vocal. But, take one listen, and like Seattle coffee you are hooked. The first line that sings the title of the song will immediately stick itself to your mind and you will find yourself singing it over and over again. The song, which appears on their album “Absolutes,” definitely deserves a listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZozapblQAys.

Lyric# 17

17 Nov

Howdy everyone. Let’s see if you can get this one.

“And when I hung up the phone it occurred to me/ he’d grown up just like me/my boy was just like me.”

hint:  covered by a meow; the artist’s wife actually wrote the lyrics as a poem about her ex-husband and his father (she is credited as a co-author); the artist then added the music and chorus

Answer: Cats in the Cradle, by Harry Chapin

Lyric of the Day #67: Top 100 Lyricists #80

17 Nov

Hey guys,

Amanda here, I’m a new blogger for the Music Court. I’m a college sophomore from Far-Rockaway N.Y. and I love writing and music. Booyah!

So this week’s next top lyricist is Tori Amos. You may not have heard of her, but trust me, she’s pretty awesome.

Tori Amos, born Myra Ellen Amos, is not only a gifted songwriter, but an incredible pianist. She was pretty much a child prodigy, playing piano at 2 and composing original pieces at 5. When I was 5, I was lucky if I could spell my own name right.

Tori’s career rose in the early 1990’s, a time dominated by alternative, angry, and dare I say, testosterone-fueled rock. She bravely countered the status quo, authoring songs that challenged gender roles and accepted social norms. Tori’s lyrics are potent and electrifying; unapologetically and unabashedly honest. She gained direct inspiration from her own romantic relationships, as well as from a brutal sexual assault she experienced early in her career. Amos is the cofounder of the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, or RAINN, a national crisis hotline.

At 46 and with a prolific, two-decade long career, Tori has made a permanent mark in the music world. One of my favorite songs is “Cornflake Girl”, from her fourth album Under the Pink:

Never was a cornflake girl
Thought that was a good solution
Hanging with the raisin girls
She’s gone to the other side

Yeah you might think a song written about cereal is a little obscure, and you’re probably right. But “Cornflake Girl” resonates with generations of woman. The song is about the internal resentment and tension between individual groups of women. To Amos, the “cornflake girls” are simple, narrow-minded and complacent (think of your Paris Hiltons and Tara Reids). On the other hand, the “raison girls” are creative and unconventional (think of your Alanis Morissettes and Regina Spektors). Just like the ratio of cornflakes to raisons in your cereal box, the raison girls are outnumbered by the cornflake girls. “Cornflake Girl” is a social commentary, but not on the pressure that women receive from men or the media, but from other women. Tori is a self- proclaimed “raison girl”, far too bold to conform to an accepted standard of female behavior.

My other top Amos song is “A Sorta Fairytale”. It was Tori’s most commercially successful song, and also, has a very bizarre cameo of Adrien Brody in the music video.

And I’m so sad
like a good book
I can’t put this
Day Back
a sorta fairytale
with you
a sorta fairytale
with you

The song’s about the ups and downs of love; a relationship that evolves from an idealistic, fairy-tale vision to something real and imperfect.

Tori Amos is an amazing musical artist, and if you haven’t already, I suggest you check her out.

 

Court Links: Weird Al and Tuesday CD Releases

16 Nov
Weird Al Yankovic

This embodies Weird Al Yankovic

Everyone has had the experience of listening to a Weird Al Yankovic parody song and thinking it was the original. Heck, I would even go out on a limb and say that Weird Al has introduced more people to Rock and Rap than the radio. Come on, tell me you have not listened to “Amish Paradise,” “Eat it,” or any of Weird Al’s neverending catalogue of comical songs. Cracked.com, a humor and video site, asked Weird Al to write them an article about his favorite parody songs and to make a list of stories behind songs he wanted to parody but couldn’t. And, in normal Weird Al fashion, he went well above and beyond the call of duty.

Check it out:  http://www.cracked.com/article/203_the-9-most-underrated-funny-songs-according-to-weird-al/

Music CD

Now boys and girls, this archaic bagel shaped disc was called a CD-Rom. People used to listen to music that was stored on this.

Notable November 17th CD Releases

John Mayer: “Battle Studies”

– Mayer’s fourth studio album mixes blues and stories and track 7 is his own version of “Crossroads” based on The Creams version. If that is not enough to buy this album I do not know what is.

The Chairs: “Nine Ways”

– “The Chairs released its first full-length last spring, and has since pro­duced two EPs, and now a sec­ond album. Due out on the 17th, Nine Ways is sim­ply an incred­i­ble album, some­thing not even the out­stand­ingly high quan­tity of work The Chairs pro­duced this year could sti­fle. The album show­cases nine rather unique ways to die, or more accu­rately, to be killed, not only in each of its tracks (dur­ing which a total of eigh­teen peo­ple pass away) but on the var­i­ous album cov­ers (yes, there are mul­ti­ple cov­ers), each cor­re­spond­ing to a track and method of death. But Nine Ways is not just more mor­bid than the band’s last album: it is also more exper­i­men­tal, more detailed, and more intel­li­gent. Nine Ways is noth­ing short of an amaz­ing album.” Review from Plumbiferous: http://plumbiferous.com/1312/nine-ways-the-chairs

Them Crooked Vultures: “Them Crooked Vultures”

– The much anticipated debut album from the supergroup that includes vocalist and guitarist Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss), bassist and keyboardist John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) and drummer Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana). An interesting combination of hard rock that is certainly worth checking out

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →