Getting Gruntled

I found a lot of good female vocalists this past week on AmieStreet. One of these was Karma Lively, who has “a hundred songs of peace and war,” is from “North to the Future” Alaska. Besides having a light, fun acoustic sound, and having something to say with her lyrics, She’s donating all of her music sales for the year on AmieStreet to charity. She has a sound that is somewhere in the neighborhood of The Cranberries, Jewel, and Sia.
It looks like she’s laying down all of the instrument tracks herself, which always gains a lot of points with me.

This week, I’m making a last minute entry because I’ve been listening to this album a couple of times over, trying to decide which song to highlight. Peter Salett has an acoustic sound and the stark, yet comfortable voice that brings the coffeehouse style to mind. The sound is akin to that of Shawn Mullins. This track, “Where We Lay” is about coming to a point in a relationship where everything is natural and unrushed. How appropriate for the first week of true spring weather, right?

This week, everyone is either under the weather, getting away from work, or suffering though the adjustments that come with the time change and the continued cool weather. I’m currently cocooned in throw blankets with the dog snuggled beside me, and I’m having a hot cup of chai. So it seems a good time for an instrumental. Dan Tharp Has been playing the guitar as a hobby for almost thirty years, and says that he thought of playing professionally a lot, but has a horrible case of stage fright. I really like his style of playing. It is very comfortable, and melodic without skimping on the fine details that round out the pieces.
If you like his sound, you should tell him so that maybe he will start playing live shows.

This past weekend, Jeff Healey lost his lifelong battle with retinal cancer. Those of us who were around for the 80’s remember him fondly. The cancer that took his life was very rare, and took his sight at age 1. He taught himself to play the guitar using his own unique form at the age of three, holding the guitar across his lap.
This skill and spectacle, combined with talent, drew large crowds after the platinum album See The Light was released in 1988 as well as the band’s appearance in the Patrick Swayze movie “Roadhouse”. He and his band were nominated for Grammy awards. After starting a family, he went on to play the trumpet and record Jazz albums, but did not tour as much, preferring to stay home, close to his children.

The band was best remembered for the hit single Angel Eyes.

Stop Breakin’ Down

The band had just released their first Rock/Blues album in eight years titled Mess of Blues. Here’s to the continued health and happiness of his family and friends, and a celebration of his life and works.

This week, I’m highlighting Great Divide, who are based in the Ann Arbor, MI area and who have a really groovy sound that takes a lot of influence from early rock and blues. The “Ain’t No Roads” track really reminds me a lot of The Band, and those long road trips to Florida.

This week, I am highlighting Mache Seibel, who writes and plays health-related songs in the spirit of the old Schoolhouse Rock shows. they are educational, funny, and have good information. He has albums set up with songs geared toward different age groups, and an upcoming album about womens’ health. This song, Think STD’s is from the hilarious “Health Rock: Teen Edition” album, is obviously about STD awareness, and has a brilliant refrain that says “Think STD’s when your BVDs get down to your knees”. It goes very well withe the posts I did about The sex talk, MWTSS and self-awareness. Just the way I approach those “life” talks with the kids: truthful, honest, informative, and fun.

Here is a music shuffle mashup meme I saw at My Thermos:

The deal:

1. Prepare the following list of intriguing questions
2. Put your iTunes, Windows Media Player, iPod, WinAmp, Xmms, dbProAmp, etc. on shuffle with your full music collection.
3. For each question, press the “next” button to get your answer.
4. Write that song name down no matter how silly it sounds.
5. Hilarity ensues.

My alter ego is:
Candy Man — Dirty

When I’m in the shower I sing:
Soul Kitchen — The Doors

My day will be like:
Honey and the Moon — Joseph Arthur

When I’m drunk I say:
Cheer Up Boys(Your Makeup is Running) — Foo Fighters

Somewhere in my wedding vows I will include:
Flagpole Sitta — Harvey Danger

My makeout song is:
Bring Me Some Water — Melissa Ethridge

My deepest secret is:
You Want the Candy — The Raveonettes

Next time I’m in front of a crowd I’ll say:
Future Baby Mama — Prince

High school was like:
Rainy Monday — Shiny Toy Guns

At my funeral they will play:
Drive On, Driver — The Magnetic Fields

If I reached the top of Mount Everest I would scream:
Words — Shawn Colvin

My ultimate song for dancing is:
I Dare You — Shinedown

What makes me happy is:
Bye Bye Suzy — Marc Ford

To cheer myself up I:
So Excited — Janet Jackson/Khia

The best thing about me is:
One Thing Leads to Another — The Fixx

I’ll have a good day if I hear:
Sunbird — Red Groove

My last words will be:
Adagio Flebile Con Sentimento — Paganini

My best friend is like:
Like This — Kelly Rowland/Sean Paul

What I did last night was:
Knock ‘em Out — Lily Allen

My theme song is:
Lil’ King Kong — Simple Kid

The story of my life is:
Circus Clown, Ten Feet Tall — Hot Bitch Arsenal

At my wedding they will play:
Save Room — John Legend

My favorite thing to do is:
The Moneymaker — Rilo Kiley

Happiness is:
The Missing Frame — AFI

I often think about:
From Nothing to Nowhere — Pinback

My best friend always says:
Ankle Deep — Tom Petty

This is what I want to be when I grow up:
Partners in Crime — Poets and Pornstars

My biggest fear is:
Down on the Corner — Creedence Clearwater Revival

This is how I feel today:
Milk Cow Blues — Nashville Pussy

Some of them kind of make sense. A larger percentage than the one I saw. Not too bad. I’m surprised that a couple of bands weren’t on the list, given the large number of songs I have of them, but that’s the ol’ randomizer for ya…

I reinstalled the Music Wednesday Plugin and this will be the first post with it.

The Teenagers are a Euro-based alt-pop band who list their base whereabouts as both London and Paris. I’m imagining a boathouse anchored on the channel. The trio’s biggest track to date has been “Starlett Johannson”, which you can sample by hitting the “more by this artist” button right in the player there. If it shows up. :]

I chose the “French Kiss” track because of the way the music helps the lyrics draw you into the suspenseful moments leading up to a first kiss. The nervous energy and odd things you find yourself saying can be comical —when you’re not in the moment anymore. The experince of the very first french kiss is delved into in the lyrics, which is a bit insightful, but how the song captures the nervous moments leading up to it is what really captured my attention. It would have been a good choice for last week, V-D and such. I hope you enjoy it.