Music Monday #5 ~ Throwbacks

Musical throwbacks.

What are they really?

The easiest way for me to explain it is that moment when you hear a song and you are instantly catapulted backwards through time and feel like you are listening to your parent's radio (or your own radio if you're old...haha).

I love me some throwbacks...and the better music these days (in MY opinion) has been taking task with reminding today's generation of the history of the stuff they call music now.

Rewinding memory to a day when rock and roll was groundbreaking and inspiring...that is an amazing feeling.

Today I will introduce you to some of my favorite throwbacks as of late.

And I assure you that all of these songs are from recent years and are NOT from the era that they sound...THAT is the coolest part of this music!

King Khan and the Shrines

I've been diggin' this group for a couple of years now.

I was amazed and intrigued by the fact that a current band could recreate this sound so well.

I'll let the music speak for itself now...
(and feel free to get up and dance if you like:)

Band of Skulls
A pretty recent addition to my collection.
As soon as I heard them I thought of my husband.
He is the throwback king.
He loves old garage rock, rockabilly, punk, etc.
He doesn't always dig my personal choices in artists, but he actually came home with this CD the day after I had him listen to it.
This is a great new band.
The have kind of a White Stripes sound.
But this song in particular made me think of another band from recent years called Wolfmother.
If you haven't heard of them and like this song, definitely check them out on youtube.
They have an old Led Zeppelin, late 60's/early 70's feel.
Love it.

She & Him
Before rock music went crazy in the mid 60's, it was sweet, polite and pleasant.
(if you don't believe me, check out the Beatles discography and see at what point all heck broke loose on their music)
This duo is so reminiscent of that innocent era, it's ridiculous.
And before you go racking your brain to figure out where you've seen that singer, I'll give you a hint:
Almost Famous...the kid's stewardess big sis?
Bridge to Terabithia...the music teacher?
Okay, so if no bells are going off, her name is Zooey Deschanel and yes, she is also an actress.
And who knew she had such a cool voice too?




Oh, and just so you don't get away from here without hearing an actual oldie, here is She & Him's version of "You Really Got a Hold on Me" (originally by The Miracles circa 1962).
(my apologies that the song cuts off at the end, but it was the best clip I could find)




Well, my friends, thanks for experiencing this flashback with me.
I do hope you'll join me on my next trip...no matter which direction in time or sound it takes us!

Music Monday #4 ~ Musicals

Nothing...and I mean nothing...gets me like a good musical.

I'm a sing-a-long type of person AND I love movies.

(need I also say that I am a huge Gleek?)

So yeah, musicals are right up my alley.

I probably have musicals on the brain this week because my mom (the one who raised me on musicals) was generous enough to take Cecilia and I to see Wicked this past weekend.

I didn't know much about the storyline and hadn't heard any of the songs, aside from "Defying Gravity", beforehand.

Gotta say, it was impressive as a whole...though I don't think I'll be obsessing over the soundtrack of this one.

But I do have my particular musical obsessions.

There are those certain movies/musicals that I will sing along with until the day I die.

Today I will highlight a few.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Man how I love this one. This is probably the top of the heap for me.

Just this morning I was in the car on the way home from the grocery store belting this one out.

Glad my kids are used to listening to my loud singing.

Wonder how long it will be before the pre-teenager starts getting embarassed of me (or for me)...haha.

My favorite one to sing along to from this show:

Dancer in the Dark
I confess, I am a huge Bjork fan, ugly swan dress or not.
But what, pray tell, can get better than Bjork...singing...in a movie?
If you haven't seen this one, check it out.
I bawled my eyes out for the last half hour.
I felt like I had lost my best friend by the time it was over.
Quite embarassing doing this at the theater...but I honestly had no power over my emotions.
This clip is my absolute favorite part of the entire movie and was also the point at which I lost all control.
(a little backstory so that you'll understand the clip just a bit...in the movie, she is nearly blind and depends on sound to get through life (though no one else knows how blind she is). she is also obsessed with musicals and tends to hear music in everything.....SEE THIS MOVIE!)





Moulin Rouge
Beautifully done movie.
Great use of "modern day" songs/music in an old setting.
Awesome love story.
Best song of the whole show:




Jesus Christ Superstar
This was probably one of my first experiences with a real musical.
My mom and I listened to the album when I was small and we even were able to see it on stage at one point.
I understand that some find this musical sacreligious.
It is scripturally incorrect in many areas.
But what it doesn't miss and even sheds some much needed light upon is the fact that the followers of Jesus were just mortal men...same as you and I.
Most of the disciples went on to spread the Gospel of Jesus until their deaths and I can appreciate the value of that...but they were not perfect by any means and I am certain that they all had their weaknesses and doubts about their ministries at one point or another.

Judas...the traitorous one.
He was the epitome of the "manhood" of the disciples.
Human nature is sinful and selfish and Judas had a hard time letting that go as a disciple of Jesus was called to do.
This song opens the musical with a taste of that humanity.
I do not agree with the things he states, but I do understand that as a sinful man he had these concerns and doubts about where Jesus was leading them.
Judas' life (and end) should be an example of what sin can do to us.
We must have faith, dear friends, that God's path is the most secure one.

(oh, and Carl Anderson, as Judas, has a magnificent voice!)




Thanks again for lending an ear to my musical opinions.
If there is a musical subject or genre you would like me to cover at some point, please let me know.
Have a wonderful week!

The Photo Shoot

We were able to participate in our first official non-studio photo shoot this past weekend.
(It was hot, humid, and the mosquitos were aplenty. 7 bites on Jude, 14 on Cecilia...none on me. How does that happen? Anyway, my fault for not bringing the OFF.)

The photographer, Brandi Hendrix, is

so sweet

so patient

so cooperative

and

so talented.

She's still working on editing them all, but has given me access to the ones that she has completed.

Some of my favs...

And I thought this one was funny because it's such a normal scene around here...Jude running away while Cecilia looks frustrated.

Here's the link to the rest of them:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/brandihernandez/sets/72157624477972896/

She will be adding more as she gets them edited...so check back if you like!

Music Monday #3 ~ My iTunes Top 5

We don't have cable or satellite TV at our house (yep...bunny ears and a converter box for us), but from what I recall from experience at my mom's house, you can have hundreds of channels at your disposal and still can find NOTHING to watch.

This is how things are with my iPod sometimes.

I have 1350+ songs in this tiny, handheld device and there are times when I will flip through songs for 5 minutes straight until I find something I feel like listening to.

I have whittled down my collection too...meaning that I have eliminated all those songs from each album that I either don't like or am ambivalent towards.

But like on TV when you always end up watching reruns of your favorite shows when all else fails, I always end up listening to the same songs over and over.

These are the songs that I will almost never skip past.

The iTunes library lets you sort out your songs however you choose and this is my top 5 according to "play count".

Now some may find it odd that some of my long time "favorite" artists aren't even in this list...come to think of it, I find it odd as well. But it is what it is...and my favorites are slowly evolving I guess.

So here goes...

My iTunes Top 5

#5

Way to Blue ~ Nick Drake

This isn't the original album version, but is from the collection released by his sister a few years ago of his personal home recordings. I do absolutely love this version much more than the original.

(i was unable to embed the video here, so you will have to use the link to watch)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S40DdlD9JxI

#4

Lonelily ~ Damien Rice

I was privileged enough to see Damien Rice in concert in a small setting and it was the most amazing show I have ever seen (this can only be said when you are actually moved to tears during a concert).
Then to top it all off, Terry and I stalked Damien down in the freezing cold in the parking lot afterwards while he talked on the phone. When his call ended, Terry got out of our car and got him to autograph my CD. He even drew a little picture of a person flying a kite. So cool...

#3
Famous Last Words ~ My Chemical Romance
An epic song to end an epic album. Don't know why this album appeals to me so much, but I love it from beginning to end...and it may be the only album I can say that about.




#2
We Are Going To Be Friends ~ The White Stripes
Such a sweet little song...and the only song I have ever attempted to play on a guitar.
(not that I ever really figured it out...not knowing how to play the guitar and all)




#1
First Day of My Life ~ Bright Eyes
Okay, so this was the first time that I actually watched this video and by the end I was in tears.
Guess I was just feelin' the love, so to speak.
Love the concept of this video especially since this is one of mine and Terry's songs.
Amazing song.
Enjoy.

Music Monday #2 ~ July 4th Edition

I don't have a lot of time to write today since my husband is home for the holiday and we will be enjoying the last day of his extended weekend together.

I did though want to share this awesome video that I saw a while back (last year maybe?) and hope it will inspire you to grow closer with the history, people and nature that make up this great country of ours.

Remember...being a citizen of the United States of America gives you responsibility to uphold the ideals upon which the country was built.

God Bless America!

(Video courtesy http://www.bornagainamerican.org/ )