And Here's to Christmas Cheer!

My top three favorite Christmas songs:

1. The Christmas Song
Quite possibly the best description of Christmas spirit. Always best if sung by Nat King Cole.


2. It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
One of the songs playing at every department store during the Christmas season.


3. Baby It's Cold Outside
Though the lyrics are a bit (okay, mega) creepy, it's a great duet. And it always reminds me of Elf.

Brothers McCann

Brothers McCann released their first album on iTunes. The album is soulful with groove and pop undertones. Simply stated: It makes you want to get up and dance.

Brothers McCann is a five person band, of which two are brothers (Pat and Mike). I've stayed updated on their musical journey through Facebook and, since I've been away at college and away in Thailand, I can't wait to get home and catch a live show. Check out a track for yourself through...

1. Their website: http://www.brothersmccann.com/
2. iTunes
3. YouTube

Or just listen to the track I selected below.

Word up to Franklin, Mass!



And if you're a Ray LaMontagne fan at all, here's a nice cover of "Shelter"...

The Song and The Album

Music: The gift that keeps on giving...

Okay, that saying can be true for so many things. But today we're going to assume it was made for music.

I've felt so out of the loop on music for the last several months- that is, until my Dad came to visit and gave me all of the new music he's purchased since I've been in Thailand. Magical, I tell you.

Of many album options, I gave my first listen to my oldest and most loved band: Wilco. As Wilco has matured in their musical creativity, they've moved away from the gritty, southern-pop (Being There, A.M.) and towards refined, well-produced studio albums (A Ghost Is Born, Sky Blue Sky). Growing old with a band is enjoyable, being able to hear all the directions their music has gone. But sometimes, I just love the "original material." And that is exactly why I love the track Wilco (The Song) from Wilco (The Album). It's comical, up-beat and, if the name doesn't say it all, Wilco.

Enjoy the camel!

Trains, Trains, Trains

"Night Train"
Amos Lee


"Southbound Train"
Jon Foreman


"Train in Vain" (Stand by Me)
The Clash

Jeff Tweedy... Via Bangkok

I've had several encounters with Wilco this past week.

There are two major English papers in Bangkok: The Nation and The Bangkok Post, which I try to read when I have breaks from teaching. Although there is a some international news, much of the news centers around Asia. Imagine how surprised I was to read an article about Wilco's lead singer, Jeff Tweedy.

And then, the very next day, imagine how surprised I was to receive this gift, purchased on the streets of Bangkok, from my boyfriend...

Not only is the shirt Wilco, but the venue which they advertise is a long-standing favorite venue of mine in Boston.

Brand New Heavies in Bangkok

After a couple months of a live music dry spell, I'm finally going to my first show, if you will, in Bangkok. I've already seen Grand Master Flash, but that's a little different considering his genre of music.

And I'm going thanks to the advertisements on the BTS, the sky train through Bangkok. August 11th!!!!!!!

Random Music Moment

Sufjan Stevens and David Crowder
My boyfriend and I were sharing his iPhone listening to music on the way home from Koh Samet. A song by Sufjan Stevens came on, and I was curious to see the song title because it was really compelling. Did I have it on my computer or was this my first time hearing it? I would have asked to see it then, but he was in possession of the iPhone and was completely conked out- I didn't want to wake him. When I came home I entered "Sufjan Stevens" in my iTunes search bar to find the two Sufjan albums I have (I have more on vinyl than on mp3) and strangely a David Crowder song- "O God Where Are You Now (In Pickerel Lake? Pigeon? Marquette? Mackinaw?)." This was very confusing to me. I re-entered it. Still, it was there. What's this all about, I thought. Google- here I come! Findings? Sufjan Stevens wrote this song for Crowder's album A Collision or (3+4=7).

The Language of All

Two things that are universal:
Math & Music (ok, and McDonald's.)

Math: The only thing I understand (other than English) on the white boards at my Thai school.
Music: I totally got into this Korean rock band the other night... and all the sweet guitar solos. For all I know they could have been singing about sushi, although that would be pretty entertaining.

There is also a mega-band here called "Big Ass." Seriously, there are advertisements everywhere. And every time I see it I secretly giggle to myself.

Celeb Couples

...Ones that are shocking/cool

Ben Gibbard and Zoey Deschanel


Ryan Adams and Mandy Moore

To Feist or Not to Feist

Fiest: One of the most beautiful voices in indie rock.
Wilco: My favorite band.

Some people have been gravely upset about their collaboration on Wilco's new album due out this summer. Tweety's sober judgement was good. I think it'll be a gem. In a not-so-sober state they could have ended up collaborating with Miley Cyrus. JUST KIDDING.

Kweller

Ever forget about an artist and completely rediscover them? I first listened to Ben Kweller my senior year of high school (Sha Sha) and bought his second solo album my freshman year of college (On My Way). I went to see him co-headline with Gomez my junior year at Baylor, but I was underwhelmed with his new material, which was why I saw him neither year he played ACL (haha, or mostly because I wanted to see other sets).

2007: Robert Earl Keen- saving our spot for Wilco
2006: Galactic

About a month ago I couldn't get his music out of my head. I was literally walking around, working, driving all to the tune of Ben Kweller. To feed my sudden obsession, I checked out his MySpace and absolutely fell in love with the four songs posted. I bought the vinyl (which came with a CD!) that day. And now instead of singing "Commerce, TX" or "I Need You Back," I'm singing "Sawdust Man" and "Homeward Bound."

Random fact: Kweller sings lead vocals on Guster's "I Hope Tomorrow Is Like Today." (Thank you, oh marvelous Wikipedia!)

Brendan Benson

Whenever I come home, my favorite thing to do is play music catch-up with those who have similar music taste.

Alex: Do you like Brendan Benson?
Jordan: Yes! I love his song "Cold Hands, Warm Heart."
Alex: Yeah he's talented, but I guess that's a given when you're in the Raconteurs.
Jordan: Wait, he's in the Raconteurs?!

I've known his solo music, even enough to put him in my "iLike" two years ago. But I never knew he was part of a band that's popular enough to headline major music festivals? Crazy.

Really Random (Live) Music

In the past 6 months, I've been to some pretty random shows. I think the most random would have to be the show when Chris Barron opened up for Edwin McCain.*

Sometimes it's the people, and not the music, that make a show incredible. I really enjoyed the concert, but the real show was happening at the table beside us. The show was at Foxboro's new venue: Showcase Live. It's a beautiful place, serving dinner, desert and drinks, with tables which seat about 10 people. My parents, boyfriend and I were at the end of our table and there was a middle-aged couple sitting to our left. The woman spoke to my mom and said that they were there for an anniversary (and that I'll Be" is their song). As the night progressed, the man got sloppier and sloppier, shouting "Baylorrrr" and then giving my boyfriend "pounds" and "high-fives." It was terribly awkward, because no matter how much he avoided these gestures, he would somehow get trapped into them. But here's the thing: after 10 double Jack&Cokes and about 200 high-fives, the man suddenly turned to mush, grabbed his wife's hands (who he had ignored the ENTIRE show), gazed into her eyes, and sung the entire "I'll Be" song to her while Edwin played it. Then immediately after the song ended he looked away from his wife, turning to by boyfriend, and gave him yet another pound... shouting "BAYLOR- HOW'D YOU LIKE THAT ONE?!?!" We were all stunned. It's like the guy completely transformed. Twice. Safe to say, now when I hear "I'll Be" on the radio, I no longer think of middle school dances.

*Chris Barron=lead singer of Spin Doctors="Two Princes (Just Go Ahead Now)"
Edwin McCain="I'll Be" and "I Could Not Ask for More"

Ever Just Feel Like Dying?

Right now, that's me. I just got a text that Dr. Dog is playing ON BAYLOR CAMPUS April 22nd. I am flying home on the 21st.

The Vengeance

For the second morning in a row, I woke up far too early. After making some coffee and reading the morning news, I had nothing else to do, as normal people were still not awake.

So I checked facebook. Nothing had changed since the night before, so I went about my normal "stalking" activities. I mean this in the least creepy manner possible- reading the news feed, responding to wall posts, etc. But then I stumbled onto my mom's facebook (yes, she's had facebook for a couple months) and looked at her info. Under "favorite movies" she had a movie: The Revenge of Cinderella. I just died laughing. It was a terribly funny comedy/horror student film (or at least I think/hope) where my mom played the part of the evil step-mother, who is eventually killed by Cinderella.

After awhile of searching for this movie with no luck, I stumbled on a link that told me the actual movie title: The Vengeance of Cinderella. Praying that I'd find a trailer on the internet, I searched everywhere possible to find one. Again, no luck. But I did find a website of an artist, Nyree, who named this movie as one of her career highlights...



This made me laugh.

Only 30?

When I'm in the mood for an artist but don't have the album, I typically go to MySpace and listen to the four posted songs. One of my biggest music pet-peeves is finding out that there are only 30 second snip-its of the songs.

That's what just happened to me. I was craving Taylor Swift. I just love her.

What's the point of having only 30 seconds of a song? Recognition? I could understand if it was the norm, but most bands post full songs.

iTunes. They have 30 second snip-its. I would expect that there.

Anyways, I went to hype and listened to Taylor Swift songs, many that I've never heard before (not that I've heard many, haha) to my heart's desire.

Thank you, hype.

Jamie Cullum

Oh, how I would love to see this guy live. Anyone going to be in Rotterdam in July? He's playing at the North Sea Jazz Festival.



Other people playing the festival (just to make myself more jealous of attendees):
B.B. King
Herbie Hancock & Lang Lang
James Taylor

Soundtracks (count me in!)

I'm not much of a soundtrack buff- especially when it comes to film scores. There Will Be Blood is the last time I even noticed a film score, and it was due mostly to the credits, where I found out Johnny Greenwood of Radiohead was the composer.

And then there was Revolutionary Road. (Yes, this is old news considering the last time I saw this movie was over a month ago.) When I first saw the trailer, I was so drawn into the film. Why, you ask? The music. So compelling. And then I saw it. Twice. The music kept me coming back for more. It's not the I didn't enjoy the movie... or the acting... or the plot... I just really, really loved the score.



So, who is this mystery composer? His name: Thomas Newman.

Other movies he's composed scores for:
-Cinderella Man
-Road to Perdition
-Shawshank Redemption
-American Beauty

Yeah, he's awesome.

The Fur is Loose.

"It's hard to change something supernatural"
This video, for some reason, reminds me of the original iTunes visualizer.

Adams, Ryan

I am reminded every time RA plays on shuffle that this musical mastermind is quitting. I mean, if I had his hard life... coupled with hearing loss... I might quit too. But man, this news still kills me.

Just months ago, my boyfriend and I were sitting in the Nokia Theater in Grand Prairie listening to Ryan Adams and the Cardinals play. Little did we know it would be the last Adams tour in the great state of Texas.

3 of the first 5 songs were: Come Pick Me Up, Everybody Knows and Wonderwall. I remember thinking, "How could this get better?"

And it did.

From the crowd: Freebird!!!! Freebird!!!!!
Adams: Grandpa? Did someone say grandpa? Grandpa, if you're here, you should come play the Whirly.

From the crowd: RYAN ADAMSSSSS!!!!!
Adams: Hey guys, stop yelling my name. I'm in a band right now. The Cardinals.
From the crowd: CARDINALS!!!!!

Obviously it was a fantastic show (with a huge gong on stage, by the way), but I would have gone solely to hear the commentary.

Even you have to spend inordinate amounts of money to see Ryan Adams and the Cardinals before the end of their tour next month, DO IT.

Oldies not so old anymore

There are only three stations I listen to in the car.
(This is an exaggerated claim.)

I've given up on most modern pop music, so I stick with classic rock and oldies.

Yesterday, Bruce Springsteen came on the radio. I did a double take. I would expect him on the classic rock station, but he was playing on the oldies station. I suddenly felt ancient. If this keeps up, next thing you know, Salt-N-Pepa will playing.

She is Love

At Jon McLaughlin Show:
The second opener for Jon McLaughlin sets up and immediately starts into "She Is Love." The girl behind me (average age at the concert was about 18 or 19) squeals, "I can't believe they're starting with this song. I thought they'd save it for last." I recognized the song. It was the Nivea commercial song!

Side Note:
I don't watch very much television, and most of the television I watch is on the internet (limited/ internet specific ads). While I was home I watched an excessive amount of television, thus an excessive amount of commercials. Every commercial break I'd say to myself, "Please let that Nivea commercial come on..."

Continuing...
The band was fantastic. Singer had a great voice, drummer was in the zone, sax player was energetic (especially during the Billy Joel cover), the bassist was grooving and the guitarist had some great solos. I haven't seen an opening band with this much potential since I saw the Fray open for Ben Folds several years ago. And these guys are much more talented than The Fray. Look out, because they're going somewhere quickly.

Their single releases this Tuesday on iTunes. Check it out...

Spogga.

I was home for a month, and after having my wisdom teeth out... drooling for a full week and spending way too much time on the couch... I was ready to see some form of human life. My friend was going to Providence to meet up with her sister at RI RA to hear a guy- Spogga. The name immediately intrigued me. I'd like to say that I went without a second thought. But, being me, I checked out his myspace in addition to looking up about 5 youtube videos. To tell you the truth, I was less than impressed. But couch or friends... Ok, I'll go.

I walk into the pub and see Spogga, a good-looking older guy. And then. The head turns. He has a nearly shaved head and a small ponytail section formed into one massive dreadlock. Nothing like anything I had seen before. Then his music began. Nothing like anything I had ever heard live (or anything remotely like the youtube videos). He played an acoustic, and along with other sounds (including a conk shell), looped his sounds to make mixed songs like "99 Problems" by Jay-Z with "Whole Lotta Love" by Led Zeppelin. It reminded me a lot of the Grey Album. But live. And by one guy. Pretty awesome. Good thing I didn't choose the couch.

Second Time Around

I have seen two complete Kings of Leon shows.

1. Bonnaroo - June 2004

2. Austin Music Hall - Oct 2008

Huge time lapse. New records. New haircuts.

These Southern boys can still rock out. The intensity of the band hasn't changed too much (they've always been adrenaline fiends). But as their popularity has increased, the fans have matched the ferocity of the band. The only apt description of the fans is that of a crowd during the NBA finals... game 7.