all you have to do is listen

knockin’ on heaven’s door - bob dylan live

yesterday, may 24th, was bob dylans 70th birthday. this is one of my favorite dylan songs, and this performance is just fucking perfect - the band is extremely tight. something i love about dylan and his music is his delivery. is he the best singer? absolutely not… but does he put his heart and soul into it? fuck yeah! not to mention the brilliant song writing and sweet harmonica bursts. all around a rad guy - so happy birthday bob dylan, please continue rocking out. 

two more awesome dylan music to enjoy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk3mAX5xdxo

like a rolling stone 

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

times they are a changin’ 

all this man needed to be happy was life, a guitar, and a harmonica (of course some whiskey and a pack of cigarettes would never hurt)… a true musician 

cheers

mv

alison by elvis costello

elvis costello is one of my favorite musicians for sure. he was born in 1954, but even as an older guy he is really an inspiration. costello is a singer songwriter and plays guitar, piano, drums, and bass - very similar to myself. he is an extremely talented man. elvis costello’s music is played in pubs around the world, and can be labeled as pub rock, punk rock, and new wave.

elvis costello is performing sunday, monday, and tuesday (may 22, 23, 24) at the beacon theatre in manhattan. hopefully i will get to go, they are going to be some rad fucking shows. 

some more costello:

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

oldschool costello - pump it up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRT8nA665Gs&feature=related

high fidelity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8JkB-OR7H4&feature=related

accidents will happen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjYTgwDizbk&feature=related

i don’t want to go to chelsea

these are only a few songs that i love, but there are so many more. enjoy the music, let it live on forever.

cheers

mv

holidays by the nodz

a new video / track from the band i love, the nodz! for more from the nodz check back to older posts.

the video is brilliant, yet so simple. there are a lot of cool angles and shots with different focusing techniques which i enjoy. the shot of the drummer in between the singer and microphone stand is pretty dope, especially when switching back and forth with focus. overall a sweet video. 

the song itself? even greater than the video. i love the opening fast strumming clean guitar with the pretty melody on top. then everyone else comes in and everything just comes together so nicely and creates this feel-good sound. ‘holiday’ has some great lyrics as well… “drinking with my friends and laying in the sand”…  this is actually how i feel when listening to the song. ‘holidays’ is a catchy tune for sure, i suggest checking it out. 

the nodz have done it again! be sure to check back at earlier posts for more music from the nodz, you won’t be disappointed. 

enjoy

mv

sink / let it sway by someone still loves you boris yeltsin

someone still loves you boris yeltsin is an indie pop / rock band from springfield missouri. the band lineup includes phillip dickey on vocals, drums, guitar, & songwriting, will knauer on lead guitar & songwriting, john robert cardwell on vocals, guitar, drums, bass, & songwriting, and jonathan james on bass, drums, and backing vocals.

this band is full of some talented musicians that are all multi instrumentalists. watching these guys switch between instruments is really entertaining and impressive, it keeps the show interesting. someone still loves you boris yeltsin is performing tomorrow night (tuesday may 3rd) at the rock shop in brooklyn with other performers koo koo kangaroo, and dj andrew morgan 

this song is off of their most recent record titled ‘let it sway’, released back in 2010. i love the lead guitar melodies over the quick strumming, very strokes-esque. also can’t forget all of the lovely harmonies. overall just a happy, upbeat, and catchy song. very fun. 

another sweet song - pangea off of the record ‘broom’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phGCD-Ia3J0&feature=related

awesome video too

enjoy

mv 

trembling hands by explosions in the sky

trembling hands is off of the new record ‘take care take care take care’ by explosions in the sky. explosions in the sky released this record on april 18th, 2011.

i love this song because it is a little different for explosions in the sky’s style. most of their songs are long, with lots of buildups, breakdowns, and beautiful melodies that just take you on a wild journey. trembling hands, is only about 3 and a half minutes long and jumps right into the excitement. to compare, the shortest track on the record besides this one, is over 7 minutes. the heavy drumming, fast tempo, and yelling sound that continues through a lot of the song just gives off this crazy amount of energy. 

listen to them perform it live

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsgslBSG4bU

there is something about music that just gives off so much energy, especially a song like this. it’s really amazing. i can be extremely tired or just feeling down, and all i need to do is turn on some tunes and the next thing i know i am drumming on anything and everything, playing air guitar, singing along, and just having a sweet time (even if i am by myself). but look at these guys play! they are having so much fun, making other people happy. it’s obvious that these guys really love the music they perform. just another reason why this band is fucking awesome.

for more on explosions in the sky, check out my earlier post. 

enjoy

mv

summer’s coming by the nodz

today was a gorgeous day, 80 degrees and sunny. the weather has been pretty bipolar lately, especially in new york. one day it’s in the 60’s, the next in the 40’s, and then back up to the 70’s. it’s supposed to rain, but then it’s sunny all day, or it’s supposed to be sunny, but it rains all day. a day like today reminds me that summer is just around the corner, and summer is my favorite season for obvious reasons.

not only is the song perfect for today, it’s really lovely any time. there are a lot of brilliant things that go on, such as the descending chromaticism about 35 seconds in. pretty guitar rifts filled with broken chords and light mellow vocals with nice harmonies. obviously can’t forget the sweet french accents! this song just makes me happy and i think it will make you happy too.

for more from the french band the nodz, check back at some earlier posts.

enjoy

mv

his is me warming up / jamming to a backing track on youtube from a little while back. backing tracks are really fun to jam around to, there are hundreds of them, and they come in all different styles. this one in particular is a sweet 80’s hard rock backing track. not really my style of music, but brilliant and fucking fun!

for anyone who is curious - it’s just improvisation on the a minor pentatonic / blues scale & relative major pentatonic scale around the neck. 

enjoy =] 

mv

full record / movie of nine types of light by tv on the radio

unfortunately, gerard smith, the bassist of tv on the radio passed away yesterday (april 20th) of lung cancer. rest in piece gerard. tv on the radio has cancelled their next five shows, and their next show will be april 29th. this tour was a promotion tour for their new record that came out last week titled nine types of light. jaleel bunton, multi-instrumentalist, has been filling in for bass and playing keyboard. 

if you don’t want to listen to the whole record, here are some songs i definitely suggest checking out. these are my two favorite tracks. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp5y3GioGTU

caffeinated consciousness - i love the passionate vocals. i also really enjoy the contrasting verse and chorus. the versus have a heavy strung out type of feel, and then the chorus’ take it down a notch while still keeping the energy high. beautifully done. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dl5spgli1CU

will do - a relaxing song with pretty a melody and light harmonies. can be listened to while laying in bed falling asleep, or on full blast raging. the vocals are really catchy, i find myself humming the melody once in a while. really a lovely track. 

gerard… you will definitely be missed.

for more tv on the radio check earlier posts.

enjoy

mv

blueside by rooney 

rooney is an indie rock / power pop / alternative band from los angeles california. the bands lineup consists of robert schwartzman (vocals & guitar), taylor locke (guitar & vocals), ned brower (drums & vocals), louie stephens (keys & synth & vocals), and brandon schwartzel (bass). rooney will be performing tonight, april 19th, at the gramercy theatre… will be an awesome show. 

rooney is exactly what i needed to listen to while laying in my bed unable to sleep tonight. being unable to sleep at night is a pretty usual routine for me, i’m not a big sleeper. i can be totally exhausted but my body just wont go to sleep, it gets very frustrating at times. something that always helps me in these or any situation is music. rooney came on shuffle and it was just lovely music that was making me feel good after a long day of partying and performing. i couldn’t seem to turn them off. blueside, one of my favorite tunes by rooney, has catchy melodies with perfect vocals to go along with them. brilliant guitar licks over attention grabbing progressions that are combined with light beats and smooth keys… fucking sweet. couldn’t ask for anything more at this moment. 

a lot of people call rooney a ‘modern day beatles’ and in some ways i agree. the harmonies, melodies, and overall feel of some of the songs are very beatles-esque… not to mention the bands look. speaking of look, in the beginning of the video does anyone think the lead singer looks identical to ‘pink’ from dazed and confused?! i do… pretty awesome. although i really do love rooney, no one will ever really compete with the beatles. sorry guys. 

here are a few more great rooney songs to check out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZLkw9io9C0

when did your heart go missing?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LhZ6k5VxLw&feature=relmfu

i’m shakin’ 

enjoy

mv

this is me! jamming to ‘the only one’ by manchester orchestra, a song i posted about recently. although my main instrument is the guitar, i love the drums, piano, and everything else. sorry about all of the screw-ups, just fucking around on a friday afternoon!

enjoy

mv

home again by the disco biscuits

one of my favorite songs by the disco biscuits. lend your ears and open your mind. 

the disco biscuits will be performing tonight april 14th at the best buy theatre in manhattan.

the disco biscuits are an indie electronic jam band from philly. they always put on crazy performances with brilliant light shows. the band consists of jon gutwillig on guitar, marc brownstein on drums, allen aucoin on drums, and aron magner on keyboard. these 4 guys are wicked musicians.  

the disco biscuits are really unique because of the fusion of music they create. they play all different types of electronic music so some people call them trance fusion. while being very electronic these guys also have aspects of traditional jam rock such as phish. they started playing together in 1995 and are still playing together today. 

definitely a band worth checking out if you don’t listen to them. some really cool and interesting music.

enjoy

mv

young liars by tv on the radio

tv on the radio is an awesome experimental and indie rock band from brooklyn. tv on the radio’s lineup has changed quite often, with many contributing artists such as david bowie and nick zinner. the lineup as of right now (2008 to now): tunde adebimpe (vocals), kyp malone (vocals, guitar, bass, synth, strings), david andrew sitek (programmer, guitar, synth, sampler, bass, horns), gerard smith (bass, organ, synth, rhodes, sampler), and jaleel bunton (drums, guitar, rhodes, organ, synth, bass, programmer, strings). 

tv on the radio is performing tonight (april 12) at music hall of williamsburg in brooklyn. should be an awesome show. 

tv on the radio also just released a new record yesterday (april 11) titled ‘nine types of light’. i will be reviewing this record soon. 

tv on the radio is really a brilliant band. they are extremely diverse and it is easy to hear the many different styles of music that influence them. young liars is one of (one of many) my favorite tv on the radio songs. i love the vocals both backing and main. the “ooh ooh”s are fucking sweet and go hand in hand with the laid back feel of the tune. it’s hard to explain why this song is so great, so listen for yourself.

some other great tracks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N31oFeinFY

dlz

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R_6aC6m9Xg&feature=related

wolf like me

check back for a review on ‘nine types of light’ 

enjoy

mv

think you can wait by the national 

this is the new theme song to the movie ‘win win’. this song went public on march 15th 2011. not my favorite the national song, but still an awesome song. the strings and piano are really lovely. for more information and more from ‘the national’ check out my earlier post on them. 

enjoy

mv