Thursday, December 25, 2008

The Christmas Song - The Raveonettes





In 2003, Danish indie rock duo The Raveonettes released an original holiday single titled a sweetly simple 'The Christmas Song'. Five years later 'The Christmas Song' still remains largely untapped by the masses. Underplayed and underestimated, this Raveonettes masterpiece is one of the holidays' best kept secrets.

Merry Christmas!

hahaha.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Baby Please Come Home - Anberlin


If you think you've heard every version of this song you'd want to hear, think again.  You may or may not have heard of Anberlin.  Regardless, you probably haven't heard their version of Baby Please Come Home.  Radio-friendly and electric guitar-happy, there isn't much to not like about this song.  Stephen Christian's surprisingly strong voice matches perfectly with the major-but-almost-minor tonality.  Though not extremely different from U2's version, alternative rock fans from this new generation will find Anberlin's cover quite enjoyable.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Coconut Records


Usually the whole actor turned musician thing ends up being a disaster but Jason Schwartzman actually does it right. Although he is known mostly for his acting career (The Darjeeling Limited, Rushmore, I Heart Huckabees), Schwartzman has been rocking the music industry for quite a while. He was the drummer and founder of the band Phantom Planet, whose hit single, “California” (The O.C. theme song), he composed. Recently however, he has gained attention for his solo project, Coconut Records.

His first album, Nighttiming, is the perfect potpourri of folksy tracks, rock and roll, a little bit of disco, and a whole lot of indie pop. Although he probably doesn’t like the comparison, his album sounds like it should be the soundtrack to a Wes Anderson movie. Better yet, it should be the soundtrack to my life (and yours for that matter).

Individually, each song is genius but if you’re a stickler for cohesiveness, this album might not be the best. He goes from the sweet melancholy hit single West Coast to a Weezer inspired Back to You to a lo-fi folk song duet with actress Kirsten Dunst in Summer Day. And if that’s not enough, he pulls out the disco number Nighttiming following right behind. Just as one gets used to a certain style of music, it changes unexpectedly.

Lyrically, his songs are straightforward and tend to be just the right kind of catchy. There’s a tinge of nostalgia and the summer season in every song on this album. Although the album is short (just a little over 30 minutes), several genres are present and this mixing of styles is executed well. At times though, it feels as if Schwartzman is just trying to prove that he can play every style of music out there. And luckily, he can.

Final Score: 8/10

Download worthy tracks (these are just the stand out ones, but really almost every song on the album is good):

  1. West Coast
  2. Nighttiming
  3. Summer Day
  4. It’s Not You It’s Me

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Carol Of The Bells - The Bird And The Bee




If this song looks familiar, you probably already have it.  It was a free Holiday iTunes download last year.  If you're not into iTunes, or aren't familiar with this peculiar piece, keep reading.

Edging away from typical Christmas renditions, The Bird And The Bee give already fantastical song Carol Of The Bells an even quirkier feel.  Lead singer Inara George's uses her artistic liberty to rewrite some of the melody.  Although it may be a turn off at first, her eerie, breathy voice makes this unique song work.  The way her voice is plastered on top of itself, in some places four at a time, gives this song another level of weirdness.  Listen for the complexish bass riff too.  

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Silver Bells - Relient K


Who's excited for the holidays? I know pop-punk band Relient K is. After releasing Christmas album Let It Snow Baby... Let It Reindeer at the beginning of Fall last year, they recorded three more covers of classics and rereleased it mid-November. One of those classics happened to be sing-along friendly Silver Bells.

Adding their own touch, and their own verse, Relient K's rendition is very catchy and sure to put you in the spirit of the season. I love the piano base in the verse with the subtle palm muting electric. Especially stunning is the vocal layering during the chorus.