A Dash of Soul

Alec and I were recently talking about any new bands/genres that we had really been digging lately, and I realized that I'm still stuck on this whole soul thing. Sure, I have been digging some indie stuff, some post-hardcore, some hip-hop, some blues....but I think I have found my personal favorite genre over the past year or so. I think it's really because you can feel the heart in the albums. There is a desire and an idea that 'these words need to be heard' that just isn't found in today's 'pop-singles culture'. Since I haven't posted about soul in a while, I'll give you a three song sampler of some artists that I really like.

The Classic Example - Punish Me
The Classic Example put out a self-titled CD in 1972 that I have had on pretty much constant rotation for the past few weeks. The entire CD is fantastic (especially with the guy/girl vocals), but the song that really stuck out was 'Punish Me'. It begins with an uptempo piano riff and the male voice begging for punishment if he ever does anything to hurt his woman. Harmonies come in during the chorus, and I dare you not to tap your foot through the entire 2:47.

Sam Cooke - A Change Is Gonna Come
Sam Cooke's 'A Change Is Gonna Come' is one of the all-time great soul tunes, and also one of the most influential not only musically, but politically and socially. If you haven't ever heard it...listen...now. It's a compelling song about racism in America written during the 1960's, and how Sam believes that one day things will be better for everyone in the Land of Opportunity.

Rufus - Walkin in the Sun
The last tune is by the band Rufus, which features soul singer Chaka Khan. It's a very uplifting song that has a fairly poignant message, saying that 'even a blind man can tell when he's walking in the sun.' I take it as a song about self-realization and the fact that you should really open your eyes and see how good your life really is. There are some amazing harmonies in the chorus, and the rest of the song just glides pleasantly along your eardrums.

Enjoy!

Whoops

Apparently Lil Wayne's people (and by his people I'm guessing the good folks at blogger.com) weren't too fond of me posting some songs of his. I was going to repost it with the songs removed, but apparently the whole post is gone. The main point of it was that Lil Wayne is a much more talented artist than his hit songs such as "Lollipop" would suggest, and the album is worth a listen for its creativity.

I recommend checking out the songs "Mr. Carter (feat. Jay Z)", "Dr. Carter" and "Tie my Hands (feat. Robin Thicke)"

None of which are on his myspace account of course

Sweet, good talk

- Alec

Ferris

This is a guest post from my brother, Kurt, who currently goes to school at Wisconsin (second best school in the Big Ten). If anyone else wants to guest post, please send Alec or I an e-mail! We love to hear new stuff too.

With the Brewers creeping ever closer to the Playoffs for the first time since 1982, I can’t help from going to game after game at Miller Park. They probably want me to go to every game because as of now I’m 8-1 at Brewer games. Those car rides to the park lend for lots of music listening and this small startup band has caught my eye.

Based out of a suburb of the Twin Cities known as Apple Valley, Ferris has been playing since 2004 and has only grown since then. From recording their songs at one of their houses, they now are featured monthly at the Fine Line in Minnesota. The piano/ukulele/lead singer, Dustin Hatzenbuhler, has been writing and mixing their songs straight onto the Top Played lists of my iPod. The other members of the band: Ben Huhner (guitar/vocals), Kevin Burke (keyboard/vocals), Colin Burke (drums), and Jake Romero (bass), play smooth and easy rhythms and ease you into a nice relaxed mood. If you’re ever looking to play music to study to and then get stuck in your head, Ferris is the way to go.

The three songs that I’m putting up hit every spectrum that Ferris brings to the table. First up is ‘Fly’, which brings some thoughts of a funkier O.A.R. or Dispatch. I’ve grown to know and love the wa-ish guitar effects that keep you bobbing your head and feeling silky smooth at the same time. The second song is one I personally love because of the piano trickling throughout the song, especially during the end. ‘We Are Life’ has great lyrics and a beautiful sound to it. Lastly is ‘Where I’m Going’, which exposes more of Ferris’ talent. With a similar vibe to 'Fly' (less wah, more jangly piano), this will definitely get your foot tapping and wanting more.

And if you just can’t get enough and need more right now, their next concert is August 14^th at 9:00PM at the Fine Line in Minneapolis ($5.00 cover).

Ferris - Fly

Ferris - We Are Life

Ferris - Where I'm Going

-Kurt

Caspian

Kyle's last post about Owen and describing it as a good cd to put on while "cleaning your room" got me thinking about ambient/background music. While not a genre I listen to routinely, there are times where it fits the mood, and one of the cds I like to use on such occasions is "The Four Trees" by Massachusetts based Caspian. Their sound is a an ambient rock style which has heavier parts but tends to stay on the space rock side that is slower and drawn out. Oh and they're an instrumental group as well.

I'm not usually a huge fan of rock "instrumental" groups just as the genre itself doesn't seem to be musically interesting enough by itself to remove the lyrical aspect. Caspian is a nice exception, and I think part of this is that they don't try to overcompensate by becoming too experimental musically that the sound loses focus like other "post rock" groups. To be honest I think they aren't as experimental as they would like you think they are, but perhaps that's why I like their sound in a genre I don't normally listen to.

The music itself is good, and they do a nice job of incorporating different aspects and dynamics to their songs to add depth that isn't there from the lyrics. Because their style is very ambient and flows together nicely, I don't even really know what my favorite songs would be. I just tend to put it on and let it play. So instead of trying to pick any certain ones out and describe them, I'll just post a few random ones and let you decide.

Caspian - Crawlspace

Caspian - ASA

Caspian - Book Nine


- Alec

Owen

I hope that everyone had an amazing 4th of July. I got a chance to catch a few Brewer wins over the Pirates which was a beautiful thing. Then CC Sabathia got signed, the Cubs realized they had no chance, so they retaliated by signing a guy who goes on the DL 4 times per year. Nice.

Today I wanted to profile the artist Mike Kinsella's latest project, Owen. Kinsella has been in a ton of projects during his life from the rough-ish, emo 'Cap'n Jazz' to the chiller, more technical 'American Football' (my personal fav) to a few others, and now Owen.

First things first. If you are a person who watches American Idol religiously for people who can actually sing, Owen is probably not for you. Kinsella almost always sounds just a hair off key, which I think adds to his emo-ish feel of just a normal guy who sat down and wrote this song for a girl. In fact, 'Who Found Who's Hair...', the first song I posted from his CD, I Do Perceive, is probably exactly that. The lyrics are prototypical emo with the trashing of some girl based on the rumors he's heard, but if you can get past that, listen to how he puts his pieces together. At about 2:40 into the song he combines some electric noodling, distinct acoustic stumming, and a fade-in electronic beat with incredible results.

The second tune I put up has a little more get-up, but that's really about as far as Owen ever goes. If you are waiting for it to explode, you are waiting in vain. He brings back the semi off-key singing, but I really like the moods that this song takes you through. It goes from a bouncy instrumental to a very subdued verse and then it feels like a weight is lifted off his chest when the song goes back into an airy guitar line.

Let me know if you dig it. Play Owen's I Do Perceive it in the background when you are reading or doing some work around your room. It's outstanding.

Owen - Who Found Who's Hair in Who's Bed

Owen - That Tattoo isn't Funny Anymore

The Remix

I need to confess another guilty pleasure of mine lately. I know the remix fad has been around for a long time but I've been drawn back to it recently with the concept of remixing hip hop and R&B songs (read: club songs) into techno and electronic songs (read: Euro club songs). I don't really know why, but for some reason I've been drawn to this mini genre of remixes lately and therefore have spent my time recently looking for remixes (and there are plenty of bad ones out there let me tell you) rather than good new bands.

Maybe it was the techno/club music from South America a couple months ago or something, but I find it really interesting how DJs are able to take songs that are popular in North America and able to rework them to sound like hit songs from other places (i.e. Europe). So my post today features some of the better reworks of songs I've found recently. The first one "American Boy" is the one that started it all off. I've been obsessed with this remix; the upbeat techno beat combined with the sped up Kanye West verses just becomes addicting. Furthermore, if you're not familiar with the song be sure to check out Estelle who is lighting it up across the pond with her release Shine featuring tracks by a who's who of top American hip hop producers (there that's a legit rec for you).

Estelle (feat. Kanye West) - American Boy (DJ Benzi remix)

The other ones are a couple of my other favorites, and I'm sure you'll recognize the originals. I think its pretty interesting how the various DJs have taken the songs and broken them down and put them back together along with their own elements to make them fit another genre of music. The One Republic remix might be a little over the top, but I think its unique in a way to hear all the stereotypical techno/electronica tricks and effects applied to such an American sounding song.

Rihanna - Umbrella (Seamus Haji and Paul Emmanuel remix)

One Republic (feat. Timbaland) - Apologize (Peter Rauhofer Remix)

Usher - Love in this Club (MSTRKRFT remix)

And finally, I can't do a post on remixes without mentioning the fact that the king of remixes, Girl Talk, has released his new album which is available here for whatever price you feel like paying (I chose zero dollars. Actually to be honest I still downloaded illegally from a 3rd party...beam me down Satan. Hey with his success he was able to quit his engineering job, I shed no tears for him).

Ok enough of this euro trash, time to celebrate the 4th of July. America! Fuck Yeah!

- Alec

Living in the South

I've been in Atlanta for about a week and a half now, and you know what....it's already starting to really grow on me. There are so many fantastic places to eat (especially southern soul food and bbq), there are people constantly outside, and pretty much everybody says hello to you on the street. Granted, the pace is definitely a little bit different down here, but sometimes it can be quite refreshing. You all should come visit at one point...

Speaking of Georgia, I put together three songs about the South/Georgia for you to listen to. The first is a Neil Young classic called Southern Man. Young busts out his electric guitar, harmonizes with his bandmates in the choruses, and just belt out the verses with his nasal voice. The interplay between the piano and his guitar throughout the song is quite cool. When I think Neil Young, this is one of the first tunes I really think of.

The second tune is the Ray Charles classic 'Georgia on my Mind'. If you haven't ever heard this, you need to. Opening with some nice strings, the song gracefully falls down into Ray's soothing voice crooning about his mind always wandering back to Georgia. Take this one out when the moon is shining over a Georgia plain and slow dance until the sun rises.

The last tune is the 'bastardization' of the Ray Charles tune with Ludacris's version called 'Georgia'. My roommates said that this had to be my new theme song, so I guess it is for a while. They sample the old Ray Charles tune and add a lot of verses about how badass Georgia is. It's actually not a very good tune, haha....but it's kind of fun to bump on the way to a Braves game.

Enjoy!

Neil Young - Southern Man

Ray Charles - Georgia on My Mind

Ludacris - Georgia