Rolling Stone

“BEAUTIFUL” by Carole King

March 5, 2015

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It’s Throwback Thursday! Today’s #tbt song is from one of my all time favorite albums of all time – Tapestry by Carole King, released in 1971. 

I grew up on Carole King. I was only a very young child when Tapestry was released in 1971, but in my early youth it became one of my favorite albums and it has stayed on that list. I love every song off the album and I can sing the words to all of them.

I did not know until years later that Tapestry was one of the most highly celebrated albums of all time. The album won four Grammy Awards, including the biggest awards of the year – Album of the Year and Song of the Year. Carole King also won Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Female and Record of the Year. In addition, the album is ranked #36 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. It definitely has staying power and is probably loved by even more people today than it was back then. Carole King is a music legend!

The album has been getting a lot of play time at our home after we went to see the musical, “Beautiful – The Carole King Musical” on Broadway a couple of weeks ago. Wow! What an incredible show. I was not the only one who was singing along as the show progressed through Carole King’s repertoire of fabulous music. If you get a chance to see the show, I would definitely recommend it. I loved it!

This is such an incredible song and I love the powerful message. I hope that it might spark you to crank those old Carole King tunes again too.

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SONG OF THE DAY – “SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO” by The Clash

June 5, 2014

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It’s Throwback Thursday! Today we are going back to the 80s for the #tbt song. 

Over the last few weeks, I have seen many photos of old high school friends with their children graduating from high school. Seeing all of these photos has really brought back many memories of my high school years and so I decided to post one of the most memorable songs from my high school days.

In 1982, I was just starting my sophomore year in high school and The Clash were getting tremendously popular in the US after their most successful US album, Combat Rock, had just been released in May. By that summer (and certainly by the time school started that fall), the album was huge. I can still picture the cover of the album sitting on the shelf near my turntable in my bedroom.

When I hear this song, it is just a flood of memories. I have been listening to the album today and it has been fun to remember that whole punk rock period. The 80s was an incredible time for music – so many genres during those years. I can vividly recall the way that kids danced to this song. First, there was normal (well 80s style) dancing and then … when the tempo increased … the “slamming“ ensued. I always felt like slam dancing was just a way for guys to get their aggression out, as it just looked like they were all out there beating each other up. I am certain there were girls who slam danced, but I never dared get anywhere near that pile of flailing bodies.

The Clash imploded shortly after the release of this album and their big US breakthrough, but they had already defined themselves as the “definitive British punk rockers” and became widely referred to as “The Only Band That Matters.” They were idealistic and rebellious (listen to “Know Your Rights“) and not only wrote about it, but were involved in many causes as well. They were also incredibly talented and musically adventurous. It was funny to read their story and to hear that several of their first albums and songs, which were very well received in the UK, were not released by the record company in the US because they were considered “too vulgar” for the US market. The Clash were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 and Rolling Stone ranked them #28 on the list of Top 100 Greatest Artists in 2004.

My favorite songs by The Clash are probably “London Calling” and “Train in Vain” (both from London Calling, 1979), but today’s song is probably the most memorable and “Rock the Casbah” (both from Combat Rock, 1982) was certainly the most successful.

Enjoy the #tbt walk down memory lane. 🙂 Anyone else have memories sparked by this song?

 

SONG OF THE DAY – “FEELS LIKE COMING HOME” by Jetta

May 19, 2014

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I just returned from a very quick trip “home.” Home to the place where I spent the first 24 years of my life and where both my family and my husband’s family still live. We have not been home for a visit in almost two years and it just felt incredibly nice to be there. The thing that I loved the most about being there was the time I was able to spend reconnecting with family.

There is so much that I love about being “home” and yet, at the same time, so much about it that feels foreign and disconnected from me. Having grown up there, I notice many things that never change, but at the same time, I realize that so much has changed … that I have changed.

While I was there I kept thinking about this song. Obviously it talks about home and so that seems like a natural reason for the selection, but that is not what drew me to this song. There is just something about the feeling and tone of this song that speaks to me. The song gives a sense of peace about coming home and that feeling of “it feels like I’ve come home,” but there is also something about the song that feels melancholy. To me, that is what it feels like to “come home.”

This is an amazingly beautiful song by Jetta, a young UK singer-songwriter who was born in Liverpool and is currently based in London. She grew up with two musical parents and has been involved with music most of her life. While only a teenager, Jetta spent two years as a backup vocalist for Paloma Faith and, after that, she went on to sing backup for CeeLo Green before breaking out on her own. During all that time, she was busily writing her own music and in 2012 Jetta released an amazing independent video of her song, “Start a Riot” which led her to a record deal. In March of this year, she was listed as one of the “10 New Artists You Need to Know” by Rolling Stone magazine. Even if you don’t think you know her as an artist, you probably have heard this song before as it was the featured song for Google Zeitgist’s “Here’s to 2013“ ad campaign (a must watch video, with over 30 million views). Her debut album is expected out this year – keep your eye out for it.

SONG OF THE DAY – “I WANNA GET BETTER” by Bleachers

March 11, 2014

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“I Wanna Get Better!” Don’t we all?

I am really liking this new song by Bleachers, a solo project by fun. guitarist, Jack Antonoff. This is the first single by Bleachers, just released last month with an album scheduled for release in the spring. You can certainly hear some of the sounds of fun. in the music, but it is definitely a little edgier and heavier on the guitar. It makes for a great sound! I also think the songwriting is fantastic – very honest and open. I find it extremely motivating.

This song is catchy and upbeat, but Antonoff describes the song in an article by Rolling Stone on February 19 as follows:

Antonoff sees “I Wanna Get Better” as “the story of my existence so far and a lot of the things I struggled with … A lot of things on the album, including this song, are about loss,” Antonoff says. “It feels joyous, but for me it’s very desperate.”

Bleachers is performing in Austin this week at SXSW and is also scheduled to perform at the Governor’s Ball in NYC in June, along with several other tour dates and festivals scheduled. It seems that Antonoff kept himself busy during fun.‘s downtime and he has come out with something that is worth listening to, and a side project that is absolutely worth watching. As for us fun. fans … not to worry, there are plans for them to begin working again in the near future and I am looking forward to what will come next from them. In the meantime, enjoy this song by Bleachers.

Read more:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/fun-s-jack-antonoff-talks-solo-project-bleachers-20140219#ixzz2vf8evJ9I

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1722499/jack-antonoff-fun-bleachers-band.jhtml

SONG OF THE DAY – “I’M SHAKIN” by Jack White

December 7, 2013

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Last night we stayed up to watch the Grammy Nomination show. I always try to guess who I think is going to be nominated for certain categories and then I am always excited to explore some of the new music that I discover during the nominations.

I wanted to share one of the songs that has been nominated as best music video. Although I knew the song before, I had never watched the video and it is really cool. Also, it is a totally unique song which I just find sweet. Reminds me of a lot of different genres combined together and makes for some great dancing. A little soul, a little blues, a little rock, just a great combo.

If you are not familiar with Jack White as a solo artist, you may be familiar with the large number of groups in which he has been involved. He formed (along with his first wife) the group The White Stripes, then became a founding member of the rock group The Raconteurs, and then became a founding member of the group The Dead Weather. Along the way, he also collaborated with a host of other great musicians, produced some albums, and did a little acting. He is on Rolling Stone’s list of “100 Greatest Guitarists,” he sings, and he is a drummer. Needless to say, it would be hard to say that he is wasting time … or his talents.

Make sure to watch the video for this one – great dancing, a little Robert Palmer feel, and just plain cool (can’t even think of a better word). Would love to hear what you think about this one.