Great moments in songs
There are a bunch of songs that have moments in them that make the whole thing worthwhile. It's one of those moments where you say, "Doh!" and just flat out enjoy it. This is different than the whole song being great, I'm talking about a moment "making" the song.
The first one I can remember is in "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells (although Joan Jett's version is pretty good too). I think the line "Yeah, I'm not such a sweet thing," is one of the greatest moments in rock and roll. Another is the somewhat more drawn out,
"And that villains always blink their eyes, woo!
And that, yknow, children are the only ones who blush!
And that, life is just to die!"
from Sweet jane.
A less well known moment comes from a group called the Detroit Cobras. BTW, that may be the best name of a rock band of all time... What I've heard of them so far is pretty impressive. There's a soul sound, old school rock, a little riot girrrl attitude, and general kick ass in there. Anyway, in "Bad Girl," we get a two-fer. First, we get this ennui filled stanza:
"But I said no
I must go
I'm not the one you want though I know you think so
'Cause I'm a bad girl,"
That's pretty good, but then Rachel Nagy follows it up with this:
"I'm a bad girl,
But I'm too good for you"
Wow... I have half a mind to put that short bit of the song on a loop and listen to it 17 times or so... Once again, it isn't just the words, it's how they're delivered and how they're presented in the song. Look for their stuff, it's worth listening to.
The first one I can remember is in "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells (although Joan Jett's version is pretty good too). I think the line "Yeah, I'm not such a sweet thing," is one of the greatest moments in rock and roll. Another is the somewhat more drawn out,
"And that villains always blink their eyes, woo!
And that, yknow, children are the only ones who blush!
And that, life is just to die!"
from Sweet jane.
A less well known moment comes from a group called the Detroit Cobras. BTW, that may be the best name of a rock band of all time... What I've heard of them so far is pretty impressive. There's a soul sound, old school rock, a little riot girrrl attitude, and general kick ass in there. Anyway, in "Bad Girl," we get a two-fer. First, we get this ennui filled stanza:
"But I said no
I must go
I'm not the one you want though I know you think so
'Cause I'm a bad girl,"
That's pretty good, but then Rachel Nagy follows it up with this:
"I'm a bad girl,
But I'm too good for you"
Wow... I have half a mind to put that short bit of the song on a loop and listen to it 17 times or so... Once again, it isn't just the words, it's how they're delivered and how they're presented in the song. Look for their stuff, it's worth listening to.
Comments (2)
First Aid Kit
My friend Randy sent me this Youtube video a little while ago. I thought it was "nice," but I also thought they were just a little rough. I've grown more attached to it and now I think it's lovely.
They're a pair of Swedish teens, 15 and 17 I think. "First Aid Kit" is an odd name for a group, but there you go. The song is called "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" and was originally by the Fleet Foxes. It's not an easy song, I wouldn't think someone so young could do it so well. Maybe that works in their favor, if you're young enough you may not know how self-involved that song can be...
Anyway, Klara (the one with the guitar) has a really strong voice. You get the the feeling that she doesn't mind speaking her mind. Her temperament during singing and the quality of her voice reminds me of Sinead O'Connor (I keep meaning to do a blog post on her). I also think that she could do really well in Nashville, at times she flashes a little twang when she sings in English. Her sister, Johanna has a much softer voice. The two really harmonize well, the two voices combine to make a new, complex one. That reminds me of another pair of Swedish ladies that propelled their group to superstar status (ABBA anyone?).
Here's another song by them. This one's an original and I think it's probably one of the best songs I've heard written by teenagers. It's remarkable that they can be this mature and have this complete a vison of an idea at this age. It's called "Our Own Pretty Ways."
This is a different, live version than what is on their EP. The EP, entitled Drunken Trees, is much more polished, but I kind of like the electric organ. I also think they do a really good job harmonizing (despite the bad note at the end) live. Anyway, enjoy and I hope they tour the states! There's every reason to think that they'd sound fantastic...
UPDATE:
I was reading their myspace page and I got a kick out their influences, check it out:
Gary Numan
...and the rest:
Bright Eyes, Joanna Newsom, Vashti Bunyan, Cat Power, Fleet Foxes, Devendra Banhart, Karen Dalton, Judee Sill, The Carter Family, Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Nick Drake, The Beach Boys, Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins, Neko Case, The Beatles, Elliott Smith, Laura Marling, The Delamore Brothers, Leonard Cohen, Antony and The Johnsons, T.Rex, Alela Diane, Gram Parsons, Neil Young, Simon Joyner, The Flying Burrito Brothers, America, Fever Ray, The Louvin Brothers, David Dondero, Ryan Adams, Cursive, Vetiver, The Vevlet Underground, Jon Brion, Yann Tiersen, Pixies, Lefty Fritzell, Billie Holliday, Bill Monroe & The Blugrass Boys, etc.
Gotta say, I don't hear too much Gary Nueman in there, but God love them for thinking of him :-)
They're a pair of Swedish teens, 15 and 17 I think. "First Aid Kit" is an odd name for a group, but there you go. The song is called "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" and was originally by the Fleet Foxes. It's not an easy song, I wouldn't think someone so young could do it so well. Maybe that works in their favor, if you're young enough you may not know how self-involved that song can be...
Anyway, Klara (the one with the guitar) has a really strong voice. You get the the feeling that she doesn't mind speaking her mind. Her temperament during singing and the quality of her voice reminds me of Sinead O'Connor (I keep meaning to do a blog post on her). I also think that she could do really well in Nashville, at times she flashes a little twang when she sings in English. Her sister, Johanna has a much softer voice. The two really harmonize well, the two voices combine to make a new, complex one. That reminds me of another pair of Swedish ladies that propelled their group to superstar status (ABBA anyone?).
Here's another song by them. This one's an original and I think it's probably one of the best songs I've heard written by teenagers. It's remarkable that they can be this mature and have this complete a vison of an idea at this age. It's called "Our Own Pretty Ways."
This is a different, live version than what is on their EP. The EP, entitled Drunken Trees, is much more polished, but I kind of like the electric organ. I also think they do a really good job harmonizing (despite the bad note at the end) live. Anyway, enjoy and I hope they tour the states! There's every reason to think that they'd sound fantastic...
UPDATE:
I was reading their myspace page and I got a kick out their influences, check it out:
Gary Numan
...and the rest:
Bright Eyes, Joanna Newsom, Vashti Bunyan, Cat Power, Fleet Foxes, Devendra Banhart, Karen Dalton, Judee Sill, The Carter Family, Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Nick Drake, The Beach Boys, Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins, Neko Case, The Beatles, Elliott Smith, Laura Marling, The Delamore Brothers, Leonard Cohen, Antony and The Johnsons, T.Rex, Alela Diane, Gram Parsons, Neil Young, Simon Joyner, The Flying Burrito Brothers, America, Fever Ray, The Louvin Brothers, David Dondero, Ryan Adams, Cursive, Vetiver, The Vevlet Underground, Jon Brion, Yann Tiersen, Pixies, Lefty Fritzell, Billie Holliday, Bill Monroe & The Blugrass Boys, etc.
Gotta say, I don't hear too much Gary Nueman in there, but God love them for thinking of him :-)
College radio station!
I was surfing the radio "dial" (remember those?) the other day and came across a gen-ewe-wine college radio station. You can tell by not only the type of music they play, but by the incompetence of the DJs and their seeming lack of excitement. In any case, it was nice to come across a station that wasn't playing the top 40 dreck but still playing some new stuff. Much to my amazement, it was a lot of guitars, and a lot of noise. I have yet to hear any hip-hop anything on there. I thought rock was dead? Some of that lack may be due to the fact that this is a station out of William and Mary. It has a little more racial diversity than my alma mater Ithaca College (what college doesn't), but not much.
Anyway, I like listening to it when I can. It's pretty low power, so I never know when it'll be clear. It just adds to the thrill of the hunt... :-)
Anyway, I like listening to it when I can. It's pretty low power, so I never know when it'll be clear. It just adds to the thrill of the hunt... :-)