So smooth!

Lake Street Dive have been on the scene for a while now, although only recently have gained more press and popularity.  The dynamic group have it all- impeccable musicianship, harmonies, lyrics- why haven't they received more press until now?

Who cares.  It's a joy to listen to their covers- that's how I originally got hooked on them- when a friend of mine sent me a link to their cover of Jackson 5's, I Want You Back.  Their chill vibe, easy going look, give more of a chance to focus on what matters- the music.

Here's a song that I think showcases all that is great about Lake Street Dive.  The vocal stylings of lead singer Rachael Price are to die for- some Adele, some Etta, deep alto notes floating to a breezy mezzo soprano.  It's such a joy to hear such control balanced with such power in a voice.  This sexy song, You Go Down Smooth, is an upbeat number that plays beautifully with that temptation of physical attraction that is so hard to resist.  The chorus says it all too well:

And I am afraid to need you so

And I am too sober not to know

That you may be my problem, not my love

'Cause you go down smooth

The rest of the band is so precise with backing their lead vocalist, building after the first verse and letting the energy of the lyrics build the song to an explosion of passion.  Their harmonies make it a fun, upbeat number that would be a blast to sing along driving in your car with the windows down on a beautiful summer day!

You Go Down Smooth is from Lake Street Dive's latest album, Bad Self Portraits, which was released February 2014.

Choral Arrangements and Hipster Dances

Nature, yarn, and beautiful harmonies. What more could you ask for?  An eclectic group of young people have come together for this collaboration that is called Paper Bird.  The large group, reflective of Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros, is based in Denver, Colorado and has hipster-hippiness oozing out of every pore of their existences.  The song, As I Am, showcases the three leading ladies and their magnificent harmonies.  The epic dance party that happens towards the end of the video and culminates with a back and forth between the guys and gals in the band, as each yells "Oh, my love!" in an exclamation of passion and yearning for being accepted just as we are.

As I Am can be found on the album Rooms by Paper Bird, 2013, can be found on Bandcamp: http://paperbirdband.bandcamp.com/album/rooms

Cello Song and fighting the blind side

How do you inspire someone?  Each person has their version of inspiration- for some it's a famous athlete that inspires them to achieve their physical best; for me, it's music.  A song, at a certain moment that just hits me smack in the face and reminds me of how lucky I am to have music in my life, and how much it keeps me sane.

Being a teacher with a ridiculous schedule of teaching and training sessions, listening to music is my peace and calm while in transit from one place to another.  Although I try to include music in my lessons as often as possible, it doesn't always happen and doesn't always allow for finding new music.  This week, it stumbled upon me completely by surprise!  With my 12th graders, who are tired and eager to get out of school, we are struggling to find that last bit of inspiration to keep them coming to class and to give them any last bit of information we can before they head out into the world on their own.  As a part of my last hurrah, we started a project similar to #365Grateful and #100happydays, to connect with ourselves and the world around us, reflecting on our daily lives as they are now- at this moment- to see the good around us.

Along with it, I'm showing the film "The Blind Side."  This film inspires me in many ways, as a teacher, as a person who wants to see good done to others, not evil.  Most of all it gives me hope.  I hope my students will catch even a speckle of hope and inspiration that I feel when I'm in front of them, learning with them. 

 This song, Cello Song, originally by Nick Drake on his 1969 album, Five Leaves Left, is a meditation masterpiece, with a continuous flow of energy.  As the guitar riffs bounce off of the bongo drums in the background, Drake's soothing voice calms the listener and gives this sense of hope I'm looking for.  With beautiful cello interludes it's utterly breathtaking, and a bit sad, as it deeply reflects Drake's struggle with depression.

The last verse slides away into a deep, still pool of water, and you're left wondering if he feels the hope himself or not.

So forget this cruel world

Where I belong

Ill just sit and wait

And sing my song

And if one day

you should see me in the crowd

Lend a hand and lift me

To your place in the cloud

But Drake's version is not in the film The Blind Side, which instead includes a cover of the song by a NYC duo called The Books.  They have since then split up, but they grabbed José González for this cover, which was a part of a charity album for Red Hot, an organization whose biggest cause is the battle against HIV and AIDS.  González's vocals are just as smooth as Drake's, but the flair of electronic undertones give the song a new breath.  It sets certain tone for the movie, which tells the story of a lost teenager looking for someone to "lend a hand and lift him up to the cloud."

TV Love Songs- Hart of Dixie

The awesomest job in the world?  Searching for songs to be played at the perfect moment for TV shows.  I love my share of TV series, from Grey's Anatomy to Nashville, shows these days have an amazing team of people searching for up-and-coming artists and songs that match each love scene, break-up scene, and everything in between.  Hart of Dixie is a corny TV show about a doctor who goes to work in a small town to find her roots and an entertaining crew of friends.  Rachel Bilson does a good job playing the city-slicker gone country girl and her missteps and adventures are cute, at most.  Although I may not watch the show for its gripping storyline or moving actors, the music is spot on in every episode.  That's how I found this group- The Open Sea.

Although not a new band, and they've had their songs played on TV shows before, the two artists Ari Hest and Rosi Golan come together from their individual projects to collaborate on what is a simple, sensitive and sincere track called Keep Me Tonight.  Their easy-going harmonies compliment each other at the most precise moments, a back and forth that begs for these two to become the most intimate of lovers.  Yet, the love story isn't so simple and although the choruses are sung together, the verses are sung by each of them individually, a flirtatious melody line accented by beautiful mandolin solos.

Keep Me Tonight is from The Open Sea's EP Little Apple, released in 2010.

Inspirations, chants and a cover

It helps to have friends who share their musical musings with others, even better when they hear something and do the right thing by suggesting it to you!  And yet again our web of artists and songs has expanded and brings us to an even more appreciative listening place.

The first moment you hear The Lone Bellow, you will either be blown away by their immediate and intense three-part harmonies (like in the song "You Don't Love Me Like You Used To"), or sucked into a delicate and mesmerizing melody line (like in "Tree to Grow").  Either way, you're not going to stop listening any time soon.  Although at times, the album as a whole might seem a bit inconsistent, the group's ridiculous (-ly good) harmonies are such a joy to a vocalist who understands the work and sync-ness that is vital to succeed in this kind of singing.  As you listen to their songs build to bridges of almost-screams, Zach Williams, the band's timid, but powerful lead, soars with his vocals, as his two other band members, Kanene Donehey Pipkin and Brian Elmquist, work as the harmonic foundation for his forceful and reflective lyrics.

So, how to choose which song to share?  Wanting to give a full perspective of what this band can truly do, two songs beg to be posted.  The first, an homage to the band's home, Brooklyn, a video beautifully representing the rough edges of a city burrow near and dear.  The song's memorable riff "ba ba da ba ba da..." has everyone singing along by the end, even all of the people appearing in the video!  Williams' vocals are highlighted, but The Lone Bellow harmonic core still plays a big part in creating this song into an anthem of power and unity, especially as the harmonies and "ba ba da's" echo out in the outro.

The other song is a well known Buffalo Springfield song, For What It's Worth.  Sung acoustically on the top of a mountain with snow capped scenes behind them, the trio are oozing with subtle and controlled emotion.  It is a nice change to see Williams take a break at first, allowing his other bandmates to sing the opening lines, holding back for the imminent build the song will take towards the end.  It does and it's beautiful and the song is resurrected from its place in history, being given a modern channel for freedom and protest.

Bleeding Out is from The Lone Bellow's self-titled album, which came out in January 2013.

Inspiration overload and a new breath to begin (again)

As I spent the last weekend jamming out with a great bunch of friends, making some amazing music together, music has taken the foreground of my thoughts.  It's what fuels me, what soothes me, keeps me going when the going gets rough.  After such moments of intense and inspiring music-making, one goes through an equally emotional drop, struggling to adapt back to the every day grind of life.  It ain't easy, and so it's time to roll with it.

One of my most dangerous hobbies is surfing music on the Internet.  Dangerous? Well, the time-sucking machine is quite dangerous for a micro-managed, no-time-to-spare person like me.  Cruising the music blogs, with the major help of The Hype Machine, is an exploration of the senses and split decisions of "yes, this sounds great" and "nope, on to the next one."  One of the blogs I've recently tried to keep more of an eye on is Twangville, where the team does an amazing job compiling playlists of up and coming artists in the country, americana, bluegrass, folk scene.  And that's where I found this little gem by a band called Twin Forks!  Coming from the stylings of Dashboard Confessional's leading man Chris Carrabba, Kiss Me Darlin' and the other songs on the album add a country spin to his already talented song writing.

The lyrics seemed to speak directly to me, a mandolin player, who's last gig was playing in some dive bar in between Luxembourg and France (literally, BETWEEN the two countries):

It's been a long time since

I saw you in the village playin' mandolin

Somethin' in your singin' made my burdens lift

Hangin' onto every word to cross your lips

Feels like a long way gone

But I can still remember how you sang that song

Smilin' like nobody'd ever done you wrong

Strummin' like you knew you had me all along

The easy-going melody of the chorus is so catchy that you can't help singing along and wanting to grab whoever is closest to you and serenade them with this heartfelt love song.  Carrabba's scratchy vocals resonate with truth and the heartache of missing the one you love.  The beat is reminiscent of an upbeat Jason Mraz song, with just a pinch of reggae swag that keeps you dancing around in circles.  Exactly what you need to start your weekend off right!  Enjoy!

Kiss Me Darlin' is from Twin Fork's first album, Twin Forks, released February 2014.

Top 10 Home Songs

As the new year has come around and the holiday season has finally come to a close, I can catch up with the music!  But I'd like to take some time to go through a little project I set for myself as I was counting down the days, returning to the U.S.A.  Although "home" is a relative thing nowadays and I've become a true believer of "home is where the heart is," the home where I grew up still has a very special place, especially around the holidays.  So this "home" countdown was a way for me to process my emotions of returning the place where I grew up, where my parents still live, and also explore some tunes I hadn't listened to in a while and find some new songs along the way!  Ten songs was pretty hard to whittle down out of so many, but my main goal was to have the word "home" somewhere in the the title of the song.  Here's what I found, plus a few extras that came post-countdown!

1. Amy MacDonald- The Road to Home

2. Brandi Carlile- Hard Way Home

3. Simon & Garfunkel- Homeward Bound

4. She & Him- I'll Be Home For Christmas

5. O.A.R.- I Feel Home

6. Dolly Parton- Tennessee Homesick Blues

7. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros- Home

8. Donavon Frankenreiter & Jack Johnson- Heading Home

9. Marc Broussard- Home

10. Eliza Doolittle- Go Home

Plus some extras!

Phillip Phillips- Home

Gwenyth Paltrow- Coming Home