Regina Spektor, Patrick Park and Decibully
The latest and greatest, folks. I haven't been doing much music homework lately, but these three are strong forerunners for the most addicting music I've got. Traditionally I've written of my favorite bands in a specific genre (country, folk, 80's etc) and so this strays from that tend a bit as I'm going to focus on three bands. All three are singer/songwriters though- which I happen to find more genuine anyways. So with no further ado , here's the shiznit…
Regina Spektor
I've got three Regina Spektor songs- Samson, Fidelity and the more popular On the Radio. My favorite above and beyond is "Samson" Regina Spektor is from the Bronx by way of Moscow- and I think I can attribute her amazing vocal inflections to that cross cultural aspect.
I find her voice almost haunting in purity. It's powerful, on key, has some passionate growl to it, but most of all its solid- but not too overpowering. In Samson she sing serenely to a piano with string accompaniment. Nothing fancy; just pure. I'm also a bit fan of the lyric "You are my sweetest downfall. I loved you first"
"Fidelity" has a deeper musical dynamic- a little more upbeat and fun. Take notice of her voice in the way she sings "heart" and floats around on it. Try giving that to anyone else and it'd just be annoying. Somehow she makes it fit.
"On The Radio" is an all around well constructed song. To the point that I'm sure it's the one that put her in the mainstream. Despite the fact that its unbelievable freakin cold outside right now, this song still makes think of summer. I like the lyrics a lot:
"this is how it works; you're young until you're not, you love until you don't, you try until you can't, you laugh until you cry, you cry until you laugh, and everyone must breathe until their dying breathe… etc" I've always been a fan of optimistic realism in music- and life for that matter I guess. This song touches that a bit.
Patrick Park
It's been a long time since a song has influenced me like Patrick Park's "Something Pretty" has. Maybe I'll be completely sick of it by next week, but I'll be a horse's ass if I don't listen to this song 20 times a day. It's unreal. (both the phenomenon and song itself)
It's taken me a while to come up with a reference to his sound, and the best I can do is liken him to a "hipster" version of Bob Dylan, but with better vocals. I know that's a tall order, but take a look at the cover of the album "Lonliness Knows My Name"- Black and white, New York street, smoking what can only be expected a hand rolled cig. He kind of fits the roll. (basically, I want to be him- ha) He sings with passion too- which if you've followed this blog at all, you'll see is a trend in my tastes. It's fairly easy to tell that park writes and then sings from his gut without worries of making it too polished.
"Bullets By the Door" is a little more upbeat song with a country/roots kind of twang to the acoustic slide guitar, mixed in with a solid electric guitar riff on the chorus. I like the way that slide guitar bends into the downbeat.
"Suns of Guns" is the third song of Patrick Park's that I really think you should purchase. This song sounds like the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's song- Ain't No Easy Way Out to me, only with a softer chorus.
Buy these songs… BUY these SONGS!
Decibully
I put all the songs from this blog into a playlist and Decibully's "Megan & Magill" came right after "Suns of Guns" and the blend, while accidental, is absolutely perfect.
Seriously though, throw in a little banjo pickin, a little foot stompin and a clapping crowd… let it simmer for 30 seconds then stir in a strong guitar and vocal intro… and if you're really good, blend in some harmony and a snare drum beat to drive it right into your soul. Ladies and gentlemen, you've got a damn good song. And THAT is Decibully's "Megan &Magill" If you can't FEEL this song then I'd venture to say you listen to Ricky Martin religiously, or you're deaf.
"I'm gonna tell you" is a strong follow up. Like "Megan &Magill" it starts out with a banjo base riff and a simple drum cadence, but its still definitely a rock song. Vocals on this one tend to float a bit. And by that I mean that they sing the same lyrics several times over and float around within the realm of the song- letting it build and fall and at the very end, not afraid to let it change completely, ending with a chanting clap sequence. Talent. Also a level of comfort within the song to let it develop.
"Temptation" is the third song I've chosen from Decibully. The opening always catches me. An acoustic 4 part vocal opening. To be honest, sometimes it feels like it's a bit off tune, but the main singer nails it. Almost a gospel spiritual. One of my favs.
Decibully is from Milwaukee but I haven't seen them yet. I think they play at the Pabst in March. If you read my last blog, I wrote about Made of Oak, which is the solo project of Decibully's Nicholas Sanborn. The guy's got skillz yo.
Oh, I almost forgot. You might recognize some of Decibully's music from the indie flick "The Puffy Chair" which recently got a lot of Sundance attention. The film's writer and main character, Mark Duplass, used to play for a band "Volcano, I'm Still Excited" which was signed to Decibully's label, Polyvinyl.
Also need to give a little shoutout to Jim and Andy who play for Decibully.
Word to ya motha's. Another day, another day.
-timm-
Regina Spektor
I've got three Regina Spektor songs- Samson, Fidelity and the more popular On the Radio. My favorite above and beyond is "Samson" Regina Spektor is from the Bronx by way of Moscow- and I think I can attribute her amazing vocal inflections to that cross cultural aspect.
I find her voice almost haunting in purity. It's powerful, on key, has some passionate growl to it, but most of all its solid- but not too overpowering. In Samson she sing serenely to a piano with string accompaniment. Nothing fancy; just pure. I'm also a bit fan of the lyric "You are my sweetest downfall. I loved you first"
"Fidelity" has a deeper musical dynamic- a little more upbeat and fun. Take notice of her voice in the way she sings "heart" and floats around on it. Try giving that to anyone else and it'd just be annoying. Somehow she makes it fit.
"On The Radio" is an all around well constructed song. To the point that I'm sure it's the one that put her in the mainstream. Despite the fact that its unbelievable freakin cold outside right now, this song still makes think of summer. I like the lyrics a lot:
"this is how it works; you're young until you're not, you love until you don't, you try until you can't, you laugh until you cry, you cry until you laugh, and everyone must breathe until their dying breathe… etc" I've always been a fan of optimistic realism in music- and life for that matter I guess. This song touches that a bit.
Patrick Park
It's been a long time since a song has influenced me like Patrick Park's "Something Pretty" has. Maybe I'll be completely sick of it by next week, but I'll be a horse's ass if I don't listen to this song 20 times a day. It's unreal. (both the phenomenon and song itself)
It's taken me a while to come up with a reference to his sound, and the best I can do is liken him to a "hipster" version of Bob Dylan, but with better vocals. I know that's a tall order, but take a look at the cover of the album "Lonliness Knows My Name"- Black and white, New York street, smoking what can only be expected a hand rolled cig. He kind of fits the roll. (basically, I want to be him- ha) He sings with passion too- which if you've followed this blog at all, you'll see is a trend in my tastes. It's fairly easy to tell that park writes and then sings from his gut without worries of making it too polished.
"Bullets By the Door" is a little more upbeat song with a country/roots kind of twang to the acoustic slide guitar, mixed in with a solid electric guitar riff on the chorus. I like the way that slide guitar bends into the downbeat.
"Suns of Guns" is the third song of Patrick Park's that I really think you should purchase. This song sounds like the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's song- Ain't No Easy Way Out to me, only with a softer chorus.
Buy these songs… BUY these SONGS!
Decibully
I put all the songs from this blog into a playlist and Decibully's "Megan & Magill" came right after "Suns of Guns" and the blend, while accidental, is absolutely perfect.
Seriously though, throw in a little banjo pickin, a little foot stompin and a clapping crowd… let it simmer for 30 seconds then stir in a strong guitar and vocal intro… and if you're really good, blend in some harmony and a snare drum beat to drive it right into your soul. Ladies and gentlemen, you've got a damn good song. And THAT is Decibully's "Megan &Magill" If you can't FEEL this song then I'd venture to say you listen to Ricky Martin religiously, or you're deaf.
"I'm gonna tell you" is a strong follow up. Like "Megan &Magill" it starts out with a banjo base riff and a simple drum cadence, but its still definitely a rock song. Vocals on this one tend to float a bit. And by that I mean that they sing the same lyrics several times over and float around within the realm of the song- letting it build and fall and at the very end, not afraid to let it change completely, ending with a chanting clap sequence. Talent. Also a level of comfort within the song to let it develop.
"Temptation" is the third song I've chosen from Decibully. The opening always catches me. An acoustic 4 part vocal opening. To be honest, sometimes it feels like it's a bit off tune, but the main singer nails it. Almost a gospel spiritual. One of my favs.
Decibully is from Milwaukee but I haven't seen them yet. I think they play at the Pabst in March. If you read my last blog, I wrote about Made of Oak, which is the solo project of Decibully's Nicholas Sanborn. The guy's got skillz yo.
Oh, I almost forgot. You might recognize some of Decibully's music from the indie flick "The Puffy Chair" which recently got a lot of Sundance attention. The film's writer and main character, Mark Duplass, used to play for a band "Volcano, I'm Still Excited" which was signed to Decibully's label, Polyvinyl.
Also need to give a little shoutout to Jim and Andy who play for Decibully.
Word to ya motha's. Another day, another day.
-timm-
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
