Once I find a good song, I tend to listen to it for years and years, and it's such a burden to find "NEW" stuff that doesn't feel fluffy or utterly pretentious. Case in point: I have yet to find a St. Vincent Song that I like enough to convince myself that I'm not listening to her just because she's "indime"* pretty. ("Laughing With a Mouth of Blood" isn't bad). Getting recommendations from friends is usually the best way for me. I don't like wading through websites with either "popular" music, or "indie" music, because typically this includes either young people screaming, or the sound of a toaster slowed down to 1/10th speed underplaying a poem by Dylan Thomas read by a Somali Orphan...with guitars.
Ergo, here's a list of songs in no particular order that I think a lot of people can appreciate for just being entertaining:
1. Grounds for Divorce - Elbow
An old girlfriend introduced me to this band, and I subsequently discovered this song. That was the only good thing that came of our relationship. This song gets my blood boiling, and is probably the most infectious song I've played for friends lately, as I've heard many of them singing it. Yeah...this small victory feels good.
Preview and buy it here.
My brother KC, brought this band's cassette tape home with him from a church dance he was DJ'ing back in the day. He played a few songs for me, and not only did I think the album had some great hooks, but was also kind of funny, and quirky. It wasn't like anything I'd heard before. The album Welcome to the Beautiful South, has some very odd, and entertaining songs on it, highly political I'm sure, but I try not think about that. It was hard for me to pick one, but this is probably my favorite, but most of them are great. This one is based on the Edgar Allen Poe story, The Black Cat. I love the beat of this, and the fuzzy guitars towards the end. Be sure to pump this one.
Sidenote: I can't verify this, but apparently ex-Barenaked Ladies singer Steven Page was said to be highly influenced by TBS singer Paul Heaton.
Preview and buy it here.
3. This Voice - Ane Brun
I found this one as a song that played over the opening credits of a somewhat lame, somewhat entertaining scary movie called "From Within". This song with its' surreal and haunting tone, subsequently made the movie seem much more effective than it actually was.
Sidenote: Be sure to get the right version of this song. There's a less effective version out there.
Preview and buy it here.
4. Last Goodbye - Jeff Buckley
I know there are throngs of people out there who worship Jeff Buckley even though he only made one album, and rightfully so. His vocal stylings are imperfect, dramatic and amazing. Buckley's version of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah is of course the best out there. But Last Goodbye is the song that I have played and howled to in my car at the top of my lungs. Simply love it. Also, if you like Rufus Wainwright who did another stellar version of Hallelujah, check out his song "Under the Memphis Skyline" which is about Buckley's death from drowning. It's a scary beautiful song, when you know the story behind it, kind of like how you wish "In the Air Tonight" was actually about Phil Collins confronting a murderer at one of his concerts. This story is actually true though.
Sidenote: Be sure to get the right version of this song. There's a less effective version out there.
Preview and buy it here.
5. Swan Lake - Thomas Tantrum
I know nothing about Thomas Tantrum. I've never heard another song by them. All I know is I like how peppy this song is.
Sidenote: Be sure to get the right version of this song. There's a less effective version out there. No this isn't a typo, strangely almost all of these songs have mediocre versions of them.
Preview and buy it here.
6. White Daisy Passing - Rocky Votolato
Again...I know nothing about this guy Rocky. Except that this song is great. I know there are a lot of solo male guitar acts out there like this, and he's either one of two things: a really handsome dude who is popular because chicks love to watch him in concert, or he’s got a bunch of great songs. I hope it’s the latter. I realize how cynical that sounds. I'm going to go investigate his other music...right now.
Preview and buy it here.
7. Feeling Good - Muse
This is a cover of a song from a 1960's musical called The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd which is a horrible name for a musical. This song however is not horrible. Quite the opposite actually. This song actually inspired me to write a musical of my own.
Preview and buy it here.
8. How It Should Be (ShaSha) - Ben Kweller
I love this kid. (Ben Kweller will always be a kid to me...Sorry Ben) He's got such simple pop hooks, and yet his music is never boring. He messes around with a cool time signature here too, which I always enjoy when it works. This is from his debut album which is cruelly underrated.
Preview and buy it here.
9. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
Though I get a little tired of their uber-pretentious social commentary at times (especially on this album), I love Arcade Fire. Let's be honest, if I couldn't learn to separate the political statements from the entertainment value of the bands I love, then I wouldn't be able to listen to anything these days. I'm also not a huge fan in general of the retro return to electronic pop of the 80's, but it's here that I make the exception. This song is like the best 80's song never written. It's what songs in the 80's should have been. I also can't help but think of growing up in Almaden in the 80's when I hear this, and being so upset about losing the beautiful field behind my house to ugly stucco mini-mansions.
Preview and buy it here.
10. Effington (University A Capella Version) - Ben Folds
I love the sheer madness of this song. I've never wanted to start an a capella group...
more.
Preview and buy it here.
ALSO RANS:
THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH
I think the Beautiful South deserves special attention here. Like Elbow, this band seems to be one of those bands that was pretty darn popular in the UK, and Europe, but completely unheard of in the US. Probably because they have a pretty dark sense of humor, and are pretty quirky. Apparently they sold 6,500,000 records worldwide. Some of the other songs I love on their first album: Sail This Ship Alone, From Under the Covers, Girlfriend, and of course there are one or two other songs which I would recommend skipping.
*indime (pronounced In-Dee-May) - A specification joining the terms "indie" and "anime" which combines the notions of indie pretty, and anime pretty. Ie....girls that look like anime characters who also abide by a strict indie fashion regime. This is a very specific designation. See Annie Clark of St. Vincent
10. Effington (University A Capella Version) - Ben Folds
I love the sheer madness of this song. I've never wanted to start an a capella group...
more.
Preview and buy it here.
ALSO RANS:
THE BEAUTIFUL SOUTH
I think the Beautiful South deserves special attention here. Like Elbow, this band seems to be one of those bands that was pretty darn popular in the UK, and Europe, but completely unheard of in the US. Probably because they have a pretty dark sense of humor, and are pretty quirky. Apparently they sold 6,500,000 records worldwide. Some of the other songs I love on their first album: Sail This Ship Alone, From Under the Covers, Girlfriend, and of course there are one or two other songs which I would recommend skipping.
*indime (pronounced In-Dee-May) - A specification joining the terms "indie" and "anime" which combines the notions of indie pretty, and anime pretty. Ie....girls that look like anime characters who also abide by a strict indie fashion regime. This is a very specific designation. See Annie Clark of St. Vincent
