I love Vanessa Carlton. She has a new album coming out really soon and I am dying with anticipation. This might be a dangerous thing though... the dying with anticipation part... because last time I did that, I was sorely disappointed. Think Lady Gaga. Born This Way.
I really have hopes for this one only because of Vanessa's track record. Her first album was ok with a few really great tracks that piqued my interest. I got tired of it after awhile, but it lasted me an entire summer, so I can't complain. You all remember A Thousand Miles. It's still a great girl song. Love it. She also does a really great, emotional cover of Paint it Black by the Rolling Stones. I don't know if at this point it is worth it to purchase this album, but there are some good moments. If you are a playlist fiend than it's worth it to sample and buy the one ore two songs that you like for your playlist. This was largely a label album. Vanessa didn't necessarily call the shots on the song picks although she did write the songs and play the piano on the album.
My favorite thing about Vanessa Carlton... her second album Harmonium. It is exquisite. The album tanked, although I really feel that it has more to do with the lack of press from her record label then me being the only person on the planet that stood in awe of it. I'm a musician. I know when something is crap. It is good. Click on the link above and test it out for yourself though. I think a lot of people just didn't know that it was out there. The one single that got released didn't get any attention, and I imagine these bigwigs sitting in boardrooms saying that she's too "girl with the piano" for them to back up financially. Well those of us who appreciate music for it's aesthetic value and not just for the KA-CHING, bought the album seven years ago and still listen to it today. SO THERE!
Seriously, it is probably my twelfth, all time favorite album. And you thought I would really stop at eleven?
Harmonium had beautiful piano riffs and is ripe with hopeful, unique songs. This album is about her falling in love and getting married to Steven Jenkins from Third Eye Blind. My favorite song is Afterglow. Sample the whole album, I really love the entire thing, every song.
Her third album is Heroes and Thieves. It is about her break up and divorce from Steven Jenkins. It is beautiful too although I don't love EVERY song like I do on the Harmonium album. This third effort features Stevie Nicks. Apparently, after the disappointing album sales from Harmonium, the record label took her contract, she had to wrangle a new one and Stevie Nicks stepped in somewhere along the line to mentor her on the "new" album. Stevie did a great job as a mentor and is featured on the song The One, which represents the melancholy, haunting tone of the entire record. Steven Jenkins is still really close to his ex wife and produced this music.
Ok. So. If you are going to delve into Vanessa Carlton, I say start with Harmonium, move on to Heroes and Thieves and then keep your fingers crossed that the new album Rabbits on the Run is lovely and memorable as well. It comes out on 7/26/11 and I am downloading it as soon as it comes out. I guess, keep your fingers crossed for me that my heart does not break yet again over another lackluster record this year.
Here's the new video to check out. I like it.
The last thing that excites me about this artist is her sense of fashion. Oh. She has a great wardrobe. I'm a little obsessed with her clothes.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Hello Summer
So. Finally. It's summer time. We have had an extended winter and spring barely existed in the first place here. All of this summer sun that we're getting makes me feel nostalgic. I am reliving all of the days where I drove to the beach with my favorite album of the moment playing as loudly as possible. Then I thought of all the albums that have been important to me and realized that I wanted to go through my collection and pin down the music that means the most to me.
So. If you are finally having summer sun and want some new/ old music to listen to, here are my top ten favorite albums of all time. My friend Anna gave me a phrase the other day that has totally stuck with me and that I am using a lot: "I am quite promiscuous with my music." Taking time to figure out which are my truly favorite albums out of my entire music collection has made me giggle. I seem to have "quite promiscuous" taste. This could be good though because that way there is something for everyone.
Anyway here goes:
1. Portishead/ Portishead Live from Roseland NYC
Portishead is that magical band for me. All of their music comes from this amazing,creative, blow your mind place and I adore them. This album is sheer genius. They mix big band with orchestra, goth with hip hop.
2. The Beatles/ The White Album
What can I say about the Beatles that hasn't already been said? They practically are their own genre. The White Album changed my life. Simple as that. Whenever I hear While My Guitar Gently Weeps, I am transcended to another place.
3. Tori Amos/ Boys For Pele
If you've read my blog, you know that Tori Amos is my Obi Wan Kenobi. Boys For Pele is art in motion. It is also the album that I identify most with in the entire world.
4. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers/ Greatest Hits
My sister and I. Driving in the car. Hollering Last Dance With Mary Jane at the top of our lungs. Her picking out the guitar riff to Breakdown while I sing the words. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers made this sensational compilation of all their best work and we have paid tribute to it time and time again.
5. Neko Case/ Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
Please see my prior blog. This album is perfect from start to finish. I have never met another like it.
6. Nickel Creek/ Why Should the Fire Die?
Who said that bluegrass can't be sensational, sexy and tear you to bits? Not only are Nickel Creek incredibly talented but Why Should the Fire DIe? is also emotional, provocative and haunting. Such depth from bluegrass is really moving.
7. Marilyn Manson/ Mechanical Animals
I love Marilyn Manson. I am a huge fan of Manson and always will be. I wrote about Mechanical Animals briefly last week. I will just say that he is a truly great lyricist with a hardcore sound that is unrivaled by most artists in the same genre as he.
8. Cake/ Fashion Nugget
Fashion Nugget is Cake at their best. Quirky and fun with a very serious message at the core (listen to Going The Distance), this album is timeless. Put it on and it will surprise you just which people in the room start singing along.
9. Lady Gaga/ The Fame Monster
Lady Gaga really came close to perfection with The Fame Monster. Lyrically it is filled with twists, turns and puzzles. Musically it is hyper and pop production at it's best. I know that Lady Gaga annoys people very easily, but don't take for granted that her music will necessarily be the same way.
10. Fiona Apple/ When the Pawn...
I will never tire of Fiona Apple. I will always want more music from her and who knows if she will ever write another album? It might break my heart forever. When The Pawn... was her second album and still moves me to this day. If you want to understand the raw, female psyche. Download this album and listen to it with your mind, body and soul.
11. Counting Crows/ August and Everything After
I snuck a number eleven in there. Sorry. Well, I wish I was sorry. I had to add the Counting Crows album because it has always been monumental in my life. What can I say about Counting Crows? I wish that they hadn't run out of creative ideas. I listened to this album for the first time when I was eighteen years old and never got over it. Moody and vital are the adjectives that come to mind when I try to describe this record.
Check out something new that you don't have yet. Not all of this is summer music. Portishead and Fiona Apple are great autumn/ winter albums... as in they could last you an entire season. So think about these selections very carefully and how they can fit into your life.
I hope this list is complete. I pondered these for a long time, agonizing over every detail. I had to move things around over and over because each record is in a very specific spot. Believe it or not, the top five were the easiest, it was the bottom five that gave me the most trouble.
I will leave you now with something for the road. wink wink.
So. If you are finally having summer sun and want some new/ old music to listen to, here are my top ten favorite albums of all time. My friend Anna gave me a phrase the other day that has totally stuck with me and that I am using a lot: "I am quite promiscuous with my music." Taking time to figure out which are my truly favorite albums out of my entire music collection has made me giggle. I seem to have "quite promiscuous" taste. This could be good though because that way there is something for everyone.
Anyway here goes:
1. Portishead/ Portishead Live from Roseland NYC
Portishead is that magical band for me. All of their music comes from this amazing,creative, blow your mind place and I adore them. This album is sheer genius. They mix big band with orchestra, goth with hip hop.
2. The Beatles/ The White Album
What can I say about the Beatles that hasn't already been said? They practically are their own genre. The White Album changed my life. Simple as that. Whenever I hear While My Guitar Gently Weeps, I am transcended to another place.
3. Tori Amos/ Boys For Pele
If you've read my blog, you know that Tori Amos is my Obi Wan Kenobi. Boys For Pele is art in motion. It is also the album that I identify most with in the entire world.
4. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers/ Greatest Hits
My sister and I. Driving in the car. Hollering Last Dance With Mary Jane at the top of our lungs. Her picking out the guitar riff to Breakdown while I sing the words. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers made this sensational compilation of all their best work and we have paid tribute to it time and time again.
5. Neko Case/ Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
Please see my prior blog. This album is perfect from start to finish. I have never met another like it.
6. Nickel Creek/ Why Should the Fire Die?
Who said that bluegrass can't be sensational, sexy and tear you to bits? Not only are Nickel Creek incredibly talented but Why Should the Fire DIe? is also emotional, provocative and haunting. Such depth from bluegrass is really moving.
7. Marilyn Manson/ Mechanical Animals
I love Marilyn Manson. I am a huge fan of Manson and always will be. I wrote about Mechanical Animals briefly last week. I will just say that he is a truly great lyricist with a hardcore sound that is unrivaled by most artists in the same genre as he.
8. Cake/ Fashion Nugget
Fashion Nugget is Cake at their best. Quirky and fun with a very serious message at the core (listen to Going The Distance), this album is timeless. Put it on and it will surprise you just which people in the room start singing along.
9. Lady Gaga/ The Fame Monster
Lady Gaga really came close to perfection with The Fame Monster. Lyrically it is filled with twists, turns and puzzles. Musically it is hyper and pop production at it's best. I know that Lady Gaga annoys people very easily, but don't take for granted that her music will necessarily be the same way.
10. Fiona Apple/ When the Pawn...
I will never tire of Fiona Apple. I will always want more music from her and who knows if she will ever write another album? It might break my heart forever. When The Pawn... was her second album and still moves me to this day. If you want to understand the raw, female psyche. Download this album and listen to it with your mind, body and soul.
11. Counting Crows/ August and Everything After
I snuck a number eleven in there. Sorry. Well, I wish I was sorry. I had to add the Counting Crows album because it has always been monumental in my life. What can I say about Counting Crows? I wish that they hadn't run out of creative ideas. I listened to this album for the first time when I was eighteen years old and never got over it. Moody and vital are the adjectives that come to mind when I try to describe this record.
Check out something new that you don't have yet. Not all of this is summer music. Portishead and Fiona Apple are great autumn/ winter albums... as in they could last you an entire season. So think about these selections very carefully and how they can fit into your life.
I hope this list is complete. I pondered these for a long time, agonizing over every detail. I had to move things around over and over because each record is in a very specific spot. Believe it or not, the top five were the easiest, it was the bottom five that gave me the most trouble.
I will leave you now with something for the road. wink wink.
This is one of my all time favorite songs. It seemed appropriate to post with the theme of the blog as well as the tie in to my "best of" list...
Now, make your way to the pool and pick up some BBQ while you are at it!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Tournaquet
Rough week. Not gonna lie. The kind of week where you are in agony almost every second. Luckily, I have a good ol' chum in Marilyn Manson.
I am a huge Manson fan... although I will admit that his last album, released in 2010 interested me not one bit so I declined that purchase. Besides that, I have all the rest of his music. One of his albums is actually in my top ten all time fav list: Mechanical Animals. Animals was flawlessly executed with one exception... cheesy background vocals on a couple of the songs. Speed of Pain was the main culprit. Songs like Dope Show, Dis associative and I Don't Like the Drugs more than make up for the little snafu.
The Manson album that got me through this week was not Mechanical Animals though. It was Antichrist Superstar that did it. When you are hurt, angry and depressed all at the same time, listen to the Irresponsible Hate Anthem. Oh man. It really helps. My favorite line from that song is "I wasn't born with enough middle fingers." When ever I hear that lyric I get chills. I take all my negative emotion, gather it up in a big ball in my chest and imagine that I have a million middle fingers to stick out all at once. Then I sing along at the top of my lungs. Then I play the song on repeat a couple more times.
Tourniquet is another song on that album that gets repeated. I'm a girl, what can I say? If I'm really into a song, I can listen to it 6 or 7 times in a row. Amazing. Tourniquet is a song that stays with you. It is perfectly produced and another great song to sing out all of your aggression to. The words to this song are beautiful and eerie. Creepy yet soothing.
"Prosthetic synthesis and butterfly
Sealed up with virgin stitch
If it hurts baby please tell me
Preserve the innocence"
This is definitely some of Manson's best writing ever and many people really believe that this entire album is his best. To me, some of the later songs on this album drag so even though the first half is sublime, the second half takes a little nose dive. Still, great music.
Golden Age of Grotesque is another great, solid, old school Manson. Eat Me, Drink Me... is a recent favorite of mine It is so different from his other work. There is so much electric guitar as a focus, with all the other instruments taking a back seat. It is definitely his tribute to the great music of rock and roll. It is so well written from a lyrical perspective as well, true to his usual style. Sometimes beneath all of the strong music, you forget how great his words are. So next time you listen to Marilyn Manson, take extra care to pay attention to his words or you will miss out.
I am a huge Manson fan... although I will admit that his last album, released in 2010 interested me not one bit so I declined that purchase. Besides that, I have all the rest of his music. One of his albums is actually in my top ten all time fav list: Mechanical Animals. Animals was flawlessly executed with one exception... cheesy background vocals on a couple of the songs. Speed of Pain was the main culprit. Songs like Dope Show, Dis associative and I Don't Like the Drugs more than make up for the little snafu.
The Manson album that got me through this week was not Mechanical Animals though. It was Antichrist Superstar that did it. When you are hurt, angry and depressed all at the same time, listen to the Irresponsible Hate Anthem. Oh man. It really helps. My favorite line from that song is "I wasn't born with enough middle fingers." When ever I hear that lyric I get chills. I take all my negative emotion, gather it up in a big ball in my chest and imagine that I have a million middle fingers to stick out all at once. Then I sing along at the top of my lungs. Then I play the song on repeat a couple more times.
Tourniquet is another song on that album that gets repeated. I'm a girl, what can I say? If I'm really into a song, I can listen to it 6 or 7 times in a row. Amazing. Tourniquet is a song that stays with you. It is perfectly produced and another great song to sing out all of your aggression to. The words to this song are beautiful and eerie. Creepy yet soothing.
"Prosthetic synthesis and butterfly
Sealed up with virgin stitch
If it hurts baby please tell me
Preserve the innocence"
This is definitely some of Manson's best writing ever and many people really believe that this entire album is his best. To me, some of the later songs on this album drag so even though the first half is sublime, the second half takes a little nose dive. Still, great music.
Golden Age of Grotesque is another great, solid, old school Manson. Eat Me, Drink Me... is a recent favorite of mine It is so different from his other work. There is so much electric guitar as a focus, with all the other instruments taking a back seat. It is definitely his tribute to the great music of rock and roll. It is so well written from a lyrical perspective as well, true to his usual style. Sometimes beneath all of the strong music, you forget how great his words are. So next time you listen to Marilyn Manson, take extra care to pay attention to his words or you will miss out.
Here is my favorite one for now... hopefully this helps you throughout your rough times too...
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)