ONCE: 2008

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Brian Wilson - Black Cab Sessions

Black Cab Sessions has a real treat this week. A Brian Wilson visit! Check out the classic at 2:15

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

ONCE July 2008 Mixtape

For the first time in two months I am getting this mix out during the actual month I am representing and not the last day of. Summer’s are crazy here at Trinity University. We host all kinds of events that basically turns our beautiful higher education university into a glorified hotel. This adds an entirely new dynamic to the job. But no matter what I have going on, I always have my trusty headphones on making sure I am picking the right tracks for the next months mix. So this month we have some fun stuff. This is an energized listen with very few slow songs. New stuff from Jack White’s Raconteurs, Coldplay delivers another epic album, Emmure with some real heavy dirty stuff, Brooklyn’s own Santogold and Lita Ford. That’s right, the Lita that wondered what would happen if she closed her eyes forever.

Make no mistake this mix is fun, fast and exciting. A great album to throw on for working out, cooking in the kitchen or just drinking a glass of wine on the back porch. Enjoy!

I'm sitting on the roof of my house
With a shotgun and a six pack of beer
The newscaster say's "the enemy is among us!"
As bombs explode on the 30 bus
Kill that middle class indecision
Now is not the time for liberal thought

-Bloc Party (Hunting For Witches)

COMPLETE ALBUM LISTING http://treyminator.com/albumindex.htm

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Track #1
Mates of State
Re-Arrange Us
“Get Better”

This group is a husband\wife team from Kansas. They were in different bands until an three month long email exchange brought them together as a marriage and a band. They now have two daughters and four albums. There newest album continues their brand of music that includes interesting instruments and whimsical male\female harmonies. If you enjoy a good duet, this album is full of them.

Featured Lyrics : “Forget your politics for a while, Let the color schemes arrive.”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kdoYK9jOltQ – A official video for the song

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Track #2
The Raconteurs
Consolers of the Lonely
“Salute Your Solution”

Holy crap when did the Raconteurs get so good? I mean granted they do have Jack White in their fold. But their first album had a couple of good songs and the rest seemed like filler. The White Stripes put out another solid album and somewhere between that release and this album they got some fire on their pants. Suddenly each song on this new album is a firecracker of crunchy guitars and quirky lyrics. Whatever the change was, it worked and I am liking it. So if you did pick up their first album (with the single “Steady As She Goes” and didn’t have a good feeling about it then maybe try this one. It is quite different and you might be surprised.

Featured Lyrics : “I find myself just looking worthy of my best intentions, Ignoring any kinda pause I might receive at all, And all the others seem to find myself a satisfaction, I find a ridicule that isn't cool for me at all.”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=7lL1CW140FQ – Official video for the song

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Track #3
The Teenagers
Reality Check
“Streets of Paris”

This French band is a fun little band. They made their name off a song that was all about Scarlett Johansson. The band comes off as a dirty grimy band with clever lyrics about Facebook and dating. But underneath it all is a very slick and smart outfit that crafts beautiful songs with sweeping choruses. In this song you are instantly transported to the Streets of Paris where you can run around all night hanging out in coffee shops and harassing street vendors. The band takes an interesting approach to the lyrics where one front man almost narrates the songs while other singers belt out the choruses.

Featured Lyrics : “We have no shame 'cause we're alone, We're teenagers, we don't care, No one's around, so it seems, No one's around no so it seems.”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=JshkoBVFy3Y&feature=related – Official video for the song “Scarlett Johansson”

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Track #4
Elton John
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
“Roy Rogers”

Elton John invokes the wrong images for most people. The casual dropping of his name invokes images of the Lion King, pianos and Princess Diana as a Candle In the Wind. But in actuality he was pretty influential in the 1970’s when it came to rock that was original and rebellious. Take the album “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” for instance. A double album of some of his greatest hits is a classic album in every sense of the word. Flowing string arrangements, Elton’s classic piano work and the eloquent lyrics of Bernie Taupin. There isn’t a bad song on here. On this track we have him lamenting the days of his youth spent carefree watching Roy Roger save the day.

Featured Lyrics – “Oh the great sequin cowboy who sings of the plains, Of roundups and rustlers and home on the range, Turn on the t.v., shut out the lights, Roy Rogers is riding tonight.”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ObVwcVcYpqM&feature=related – Live video for the song from March, 2008

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Track #5
N.E.R.D.
Seeing Sounds
“You Know What”

I have always been a fan of this band. They combine live instrumentation with hip\hop (much like the Roots). Then you add Pharrell Williams falsetto and you got a great band. Of course the band is the child of The Neptunes. That alone should cause you to pick up their albums. With this new album they decided to create a type of sonic landscape that is visible if you close your eyes. While that may be a neat idea, for me it does seem lacking in that department. But that is only because they have slightly changed their formula from their original mission with the first two albums. With this album the live elements of the music take more of a backseat and the more electronic elements seem to take over. Which doesn’t make for a bad album, it just forces you to readjust the way you look at the band. Which can be good or bad depending on how you look at it. With this song they combine their catchy harmonies with a excellent guitar crafted beat.

Featured Lyrics : “And so the tension slowly build, you got them slanted eye, ya kills, all systems go, then you kiss my cheek, my knees get weak, my heart just skipped a beat, so I just froze.”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=arZMBKbqs4k – Official video for the song “Everyone Nose (All The Girls Standing In The Line For The Bathroom)”.

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Track #6
Coldplay
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
“Lost”

Coldplay is one of those bands that seem to just turn every song they touch into gold. That says a lot coming from me because I am not a die-hard fan. But I can recognize when what they are trying to do is actually working. They create epic tracks full of lush melodies that seem to creep up on you, take you on a trip and then drop you back off again at the end of the song. For the fourth album they have recreated the look and feel of the French Revolution. Songs about triumphing over evil, romantic interludes and finding a cause carry this album from start to finish. There are lots of stand-out tracks including the ITunes commissioned “Viva la Vida”. But this track really gets me because of the gothic organ and hand claps. It kind of moves the song into a stompable number that creates a sense of hope.

Featured Lyrics : “You might be a big fish, In a little pond, Doesn't mean you've won, 'Cause along may come, A bigger one, And you'll be lost.”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=IakDItZ7f7Q&feature=related – Official video for the lead single off the album “Violet Hill”

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Track #7
Foals
Antidotes
“Big Big Love (Fig. 2)”

This band is out of Oxford, England. Their debut album came out last month. Originally it was produced by TV On the Radio’s, Dave Sitek. But after they didn’t like the final mix they did it themselves. The result is a 11 track album that mixes the sounds of Vampire Weekend with Radiohead for a sound that is quite its own. They are getting quite a following at European Festivals this summer. This particular track has a flow to it that is quite nice. Starting out with a typical guitar work and slowly evolving into a one sentence chant that really gets you jumping.

Featured Lyrics : “see how the skulls we build, see how these towers we fill, crash down fury red, the cracks in our hearts and heads”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=PGrZkUQ6_r8 – Official video for lead single off the album “Balloons”. I love the raven!

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Track #8
The Futureheads
This Is Not the World
“The Beginning of the Twist”

I have been a fan of The Futureheads since their first album. With the third album from the English band has them following the same tried and true mission of providing quick dittys full of catchy lyrics and choppy guitars. This track has a great sing-a-long quality to it. The song is fast and you will be singing to yourself for hours afterwards, “I can feel it!” They are a little bit punk, tiny bit pop and a whole lot Futureheads!

Featured Lyrics : “If memory serves, Then why am I still waiting for it to return?, My head feels like it’s just about to slip, This morning is just a blur, Today lingers on like a bad year”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7eOGf0mnYg – The official video for the song

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Track #9
Lita Ford
Lita
“Kiss Me Deadly”

Welcome back to 1988 when Lita ruled the radio. This was the year she had 4 billboard hits and made sure everyone knew she was for real. Starting out as the guitarist for The Runaways, with fellow “chick” rockers Joan Jett (The Blackhearts) and Micki Steele (The Bangles) among others, she quickly made a name for herself. In this track she laments on how life can deal you some pretty crappy cards. But as long as you have someone you love to dance with, that is all you need. This song has been covered numerous times. Most know her more for her hit single with Ozzy Osbourne, “Close My Eyes Forever” (a song she doesn’t particularly like anymore). But this song seems to connect on so many levels that you can’t help but want to….. well, Dance!

Featured Lyrics : “But I know what I like, I know I like dancin' with you, And I know what you like, I know you like dancin' with me.”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6sa-4A7RrP8 – Official video for the song

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Track #10
Emmure
The Respect Issue
“Chicago’s Finest”

Ok this is going to scare some people. If you follow my ONCE mixes on a regular basis you know that I am sucker for hard stuff. I am able to sneak it in every once in a while. Well this is one of those times. This band hails from Connecticut. Not the place you would expect an outfit of this type to come from. This band is harsh! The music they create is beautiful but at the same time incredibly intense. This song is an excellent example. Such beautiful mournful lyrics that show a real remorse for decisions made and the music illustrates the pain felt by those decisions. But at the same time they are moving on and recognizing that mistakes give way to opportunity.

Featured Lyrics : “There's a million things that I could say, If you're down for listening, I never thought I'd feel so alone, I never thought I'd want to come back home, But I chose my path 9 years ago”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=KRmJJe7p-k0 – Great live video for the song

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Track #11
Santogold
Santogold
“I’m a Lady (ft. Trouble Andrew)”

This singer out of Brooklyn is quite a catch musically. Her album includes dance, electronic, rock and trance. Every song on the track is like a new artist all together. Her album is perfect for those A.D.D. souls out there who don’t want 12 tracks of the same type of music. Deep down she is a songwriter at heart having written for people like Lily Allen. While she might remind you of M.I.A. (who I featured back in February), she quickly jumps out of the trance\electronic boat to establish her own wake. This is one of those great summer albums. This track includes a really cool verse from Trouble Andrew. It perfectly augments the song to establish the feel that the song is going for.

Featured Lyrics – “Now won't you run and tell your boyfriend, Tell him don't hold his breath for me, I've got some money I was saving, Got some hearts that I'll be breaking.”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Y9JI0GXkARQ - The official video for the first single off the album, “L.E.S. Artistes”

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Track #12
Patti Smith
Horses
“Free Money”

Patti Smith is one of those artists that everyone should have a little of in their collection. Her music is so personal and beautiful. A child of New Jersey she began her career during the great Jersey years of Springsteen and The Misfits. While commercial success of the album was modest, it peaked at #47 on the Billboard 200 in 1975, its impact has been far greater. Horses frequently appears on lists of the greatest rock albums. This song was all about what is was to be raised without money and what you could do for yourself and others if you could have it.

Featured Lyrics : “Every night before I rest my head, See those dollar bills go swirling round my bed. I know they’re stolen, but I don’t feel bad. I take that money, buy you things you never had.”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=iPVMYDrbrCo – Awesome live version of the song from 1976

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Track #13
Everclear
Song from an American Movie, Vol. 1 : Learning How To Smile
“Unemployed Boyfriend”

Everclear and I go way back. All the way to my first apartment. All the way back to that small club with 50 people in it. All the way back to the pinball machines that they played and we laughed at. All the way back to those two cans of food that it cost me to see and talk to one of my favorite bands. The year was 1995 and this little band from Portland had a song on the radio, Heroine Girl. The music was painful and personal and emoted angst for the lonely and misunderstood. For a few years it was all about looking forward to their next album. This song dropped in 2000 and was a shiny stand-out on an already great album. The song starts with a classic voicemail from a girl who is excited about a guy she had just met at the unemployment office. Enter lead singer Art Alexakis to explain how his unique approach might have won him the girl of his dreams. For feel good music that makes you think things are always going to get better, you can’t beat Everclear.

Featured Lyrics : “"I'm not a woman, I'm not a man/I am something that you'll never understand, I'm not human, I am a dove/I'm your conscience, I am love"

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qAh5esiyQ8I – Official video for their first video “Heroin Girl”

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Track #14
Lil’ Mama
VYP (Voice of the Young People)
“L.I.F.E.”

This female MC from Brooklyn is taking over big time. She had a huge hit this year with “Lip Gloss”. She has been featured on several different remixes for various artists. But until she dropped her album in April no one was sure if she get put together a solid album. Turns out she can! The biggest song for me is her autobiographical look at her mother and the relationship that they had. It has a kicking sample that keeps the track moving along. The video features her playing a foster child, a teenage mother and an abusive teenage boyfriend. She has been praised for showing intelligent diversity. If you have been looking for another Lauryn Hill or Jean Grae look no further!

Featured Lyrics : “L - is for the liars that have surrounded me, I - insecurities my head down in these streets, F - my future there isn't 1, E - Eternal hope
This is my life.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r23cm7bL9E – Official video for the song “Shut Up and Let Me Go”

“To me, making a tape is like writing a letter — there's a lot of erasing and rethinking and starting again. A good compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do. You've got to kick off with a corker, to hold the attention (I started with "Got to Get You Off My Mind", but then realized that she might not get any further than track one, side one if I delivered what she wanted straightaway, so I buried it in the middle of side two), and then you've got to up it a notch, or cool it a notch, and you can't have white music and black music together, unless the white music sounds like black music, and you can't have two tracks by the same artist side by side, unless you've done the whole thing in pairs and...oh, there are loads of rules.”
-Nick Hornsby

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Snoop Does Country

Whitey Ford (Everlast) on guitar, and Snoop wearing a cowboy hat! Doesnt get any better than this. How many cameos can you spot? I think I saw Brad Paisley?

Monday, June 02, 2008

RIP Bo Diddley (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008)

Friday, May 30, 2008

ONCE May 2008 Mixtape

Almost didn’t make this month! I had good reasons for the delay though. My daughter turned one year old. This required family to fly in from all over the country for the big party. Which meant turning our house from a personal dwelling into a public meeting space. It was worth it but took most of the month to get ready for. So it is May 30, but it is still May! Think of it this way, in two weeks or so you will have June’s mix so the wait won’t be as long! Better late than never.

May is an interesting month. The weather starts to heat up giving us an indication if we are in for a hot or mild summer. Here in Texas it is clear that it will be a scorcher. Which is ironic since this month’s mix is a real hot one as well! We got classic Bowie from 1971, a sweet serenade from Alison Krauss, modern blues from The Black Keys and much more! See you next month!

"A little Madness in the Spring
Is wholesome even for the King."
- Emily Dickinson

COMPLETE ALBUM LISTING http://treyminator.com/albumindex.htm

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Track #1
David Bowie
Hunky Dory
“Life On Mars?”

You could put this song on the radio today and it would be a hit all over again. The album Hunky Dory from David Bowie has this timeless quality that holds up to today’s standards just as well as it did when it was released in 1971. The album was the third album Bowie would release before his alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, would take over the world sending him into the upper echelons of fame and legend. Life On Mars has its origins from an occurrence when Bowie was asked to write English lyrics to a French song ("Comme d'habitude"), the song he came up with was titled "Even a Fool Learns to Love". The Canadian songwriter Paul Anka bought the rights to the original French version, and rewrote it into an English song called "My Way," later made famous by Frank Sinatra. Bowie's version was never released. "Life on Mars?” was Bowie waxing about losing out on a fortune; it has a similar chord progression to "My Way," and as Bowie explained in an interview with the BBC, it is a "modernistic take" on the Anka/Sinatra song.

Featured Lyrics : “Snorting Sailors, Fighting in the dance hall. Oh man! Look at those cavemen go. It's the freakiest show. Take a look at the lawman, Beating up the wrong guy. Oh man! Wonder if he'll ever know
He's in the best selling show. Is there life on Mars?”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ueUOTImKp0k – A official video for the song

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Track #2
Amplive
Rainydayz Remixes
“Video Tapez (ft. Del the Funky Homosapien”

When Radiohead released “In Rainbows” last year it inspired lots of artists to do something new and original. Some released their albums for free. Amplive, one half of the hip hop duo Zion I, decided to remix the album and bring in some of his rapper friends to add some personal touches to it. The result was RainyDayz Remixes. It was released for free to anyone who forwarded him a receipt verifying that you had purchased the original Radiohead album. The released was delayed about a month when Radiohead found out and called him to the table for negotiations. They went well apparently because a month later he released the album with the full blessing of the band. It really reinvents the tracks in a unique refreshing way with some great guest rappers like Too $hort, MC Zumbi and Charli2na. On this track he pulled in a legend of his own, Del the Funky Homosapien. Del had already proved himself many times over with his many unusual collaborations including Dan the Automator’s futuristic outing with Deltron 3030. This song, which is arguably the saddest song on the In Rainbows, is transformed from a sad song to a more upbeat number with a sense of hope fleeting in and out.

Featured Lyrics : “When I'm at the pearly gates, This'll be on my videotape, my videotape”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BlKdf31T298 – Fan made video for Nude (Amplive remix) featuring Too $hort and MC Zumbi

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Track #3
All That Remains
The Fall of Ideals
“Not Alone”

I will freely admit that I have a very soft spot for hard metal\rock. I have certain bands that bring out that rocker in me. And Massachusetts metal band All That Remains is one of those. The music is blistering with hardcore elements of the best metal has to offer but at the same time reigning it on every once in a while to show you their talent. This includes amazing guitar solos and soaring choruses. Great driving music, great cleaning music, great jogging music. It picks you up by your ears and slams you to the ground. In this song we have the band lamenting about their inspirations. The solo at 1:38 is the best reason the stick through this song! They have a new album dropping this year with a great producer that promises to take everything good about this album and make it even better!

Featured Lyrics : “I'm not alone, With the touch of your hand, I am whole again”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mnDEFyV88Qs – Official video for the song

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Track #4
We the Kings
We the Kings
“Check Yes Juliet”

A couple of months ago I was watching MTV and these guys came on. The video is a clever take on 80’s movies with the hip rocker who the parents hate trying to find time to hang with his favorite girl. The chorus is also a great hook that won’t let you go. The kids in high school are surely eating this one up. I may be getting older but I can still enjoy pop rock in all its sappy goodness. Plus the lead singers hair do is one for the records!

Featured Lyrics – “Check yes Juliet, I'll be waiting, Wishing, wanting, Yours for the taking, Just sneak out, And don't tell a soul goodbye, Check yes Juliet, Here's the countdown 3... 2... 1... you'll fall in my arms now,
They can't change the locks, Don't let them change your mind

http://youtube.com/watch?v=s1R_txIuuio – Official video for the song

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Track #5
Goldie Lookin’ Chain
Guns Don’t Kill People, Rappers Do
“Greatest Hits”

This rap collective out of South Wales had some early success with this song back in 2004. It is a satirical look at rappers in the Unites States. The group has made a name for themselves composing songs that are often humorous, controversial and explicit. Kind of like the silly British version of the Wu-Tang Clan. In 2004 they released their first official release on a major label simply titles “Greatest Hits”. This song took them all the way to #4 in Britain. This year is going to be a big year for them if they stick to their self imposed plans of releasing three albums this year.

Featured Lyrics : “Guns don’t kill people rappers do, From Bristol Zoo to B&Q,, I wanna rap, I wanna rhyme, Heard it in a song now I’m into gun crime, It’s a sign of the times like Prince changin his name.”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xv-2XYOtgCg – Official video for the song

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Track #6
Ill Nino
The Undercover Sessions
“Red Rain”

This Latino tinged Metal band from LA have always walked the fine line between fame and obscurity. They take cues from metal bands such as Sepultura and Suicidal Tendencies’ by forging the Latin sounds of South America with the crunching guitars of Metal’s elite. The result is like a fresh rain, or maybe a Red Rain? In this case the “Red Rain” is the remake of the classic Peter Gabriel track. This comes from the 5 song EP, The Undercover Sessions that was released last year. A new album just dropped this year from them, but I am stuck on this great song. Listen for the great congos pounding the beat this song.

Featured Lyrics : “Well I’ve seen them buried in a sheltered place in this town, They tell you that this rain can sting, and look down, There is no blood around see no sign of pain, Hay ay ay no pain, Seeing no red at all, see no rain.”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mmlqmnuPDqg – Ill Nino’s official video for the newest single “The Alibi of Tyrants”
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ynr8R9G2e9w&feature=related – Peter Gabriel performing the song live on Letterman in 1994.

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Track #7
Ca$his
The County Hound EP
“Just Like Me”

This rapper hails from Orange County in California. His rap group sent Shady Records (Eminem’s record label) a demo. They didn’t get signed but Ca$his did. He is working on a full length debut due this summer. But in the meantime he cut a track on Eminem’s The Re-Up and put out a six track EP. This song details the relationship he has with his seven kids.

Featured Lyrics : “You hear the stories 'bout your daddy floatin 'round town? But you call me up like, ‘Daddy I been findin out, that you caught Rico slippin, beat him up and stomped him out’, So when you go to school, you wanna do it too? You just like me, how can I be mad at you?”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=iGcKiVZrFdc – Official video for “You Don’t Know” featuring Eminem, 50 Cent, Lloyd Banks and Ca$his.

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Track #8
Puscifer
V Is For V**ina
“Momma Sed”

Everyone knows I love Tool. Therefore anything that Maynard does, I must have. Following his success with Perfect Circle, he continues his lucrative sound projects with this perceived solo project. He is the only permanent member to the band. The album was mixed by the legendary Alan Moulder. The album features the work of members of NIN. Rage Against the Machine, Slipknot, Black Light Burns and others. This song is a creepy ode from a mother to her son where she teaches him about the harsh realities of the life he is facing.

Featured Lyrics : “momma said like the rain, (this too shall pass), like a kidney stone, (this too shall pass), it's just a broken heart, son, this pain will pass away”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8Pcr05C5ppM – A great fan made video mixing scenes from the movie “The Fountain” with the song.

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Track #9
Alison Krauss and Union Station
Live
“Ghost In the House”

The first time I heard this song I thought to myself, this has to be the saddest song ever written. At first listen it seems to be a women living by herself, her lover gone long ago. Everything reminds her of a past that is no longer. But the song is really about a couple that has grown apart. The lover still lives in the house, the ghost is the lover who she doesn’t recognize anymore. The fact that they let the relationship linger even when the fire is gone is what makes it even sadder than the typical “lover who left her” story. Alison Krauss has a great solo career but also performs vocal duties for the Bluegrass band, Union Station. This is the live version of the song. I picked this over the studio version because it shows you just how great her vocals are and the exceptional camaraderie that she has with her band. The song was originally written and made a hit by the country house band, Shenandoah. But their version is just way too country for me while Alison’s version is more like a sad movie.

Featured Lyrics : “I'm just a ghost in this house, I'm just a shadow upon these walls, As quietly as a mouse I haunt these halls, I'm just a whisper of smoke, I'm all that's left of two hearts on fire, That once burned out of control, You took my body and soul, I'm just a ghost in this house.”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nqyWgGgIe8w&feature=related – Official video for her remake of the John Waite classic, “Missing You”

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Track #10
Neon Neon
Stainless Style
“I Told Her On Alderaan”

1985 is back! Producer Boom Bip got together with Gruff Rhys the singer for Super Furry Animals and formed a band called Delorean in 2006. It was later changed to Neon Neon. And this year they released their debut effort full of all the 80’s flashbacks you can take. The album is a concept of sorts attempting to tell the story of John Delorean the guy who invented the car famous for being the time machine traveler in Back to the Future. The album follows him through his rise and eventual fall due to smuggling cocaine in the cars he created. It is full of fun synth pop beats that want to make you pull out your old VHS copy of Sweet Sixteen.

Featured Lyrics : “I told her on Alderaan, That there was nothing going on.”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=z4lZqDmCO9c&feature=related – Official video for “I Lust U” featuring Cate La Bon

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Track #11
The Black Keys
Attack and Release
“All You Ever Wanted”

This blues rock duo want you to know they mean business on the third album. The last two albums were spent living in the exciting, yet sometimes monotonous, world of pain and heartache of the old South. But this Ohio band has decided on the third album to show those who doubt that they have the ability to be innovative. It all started with Ike Turner two years ago. The producer behind Jay-Z’s Grey Album, Gorillaz and Gnarls Barkley, Danger Mouse, contacted Ike about making an album with him using The Black Keys as his backing band. Both sides agreed to the venture and it was on track until Ike died suddenly last year. So with no legend to produce he turned his eye to producing a new album by The Black Keys. The fruit of the collaboration is this album. A blues album smartly mixed with dance nuances that suddenly make them come alive like they haven’t been able to do previously. The lead track on the album is “All You Ever Wanted”. It is a slow ramble of a song until the 30 seconds when you get the church blast of the organ. Just a super way to start the album. If you love blues but also like more contemporary music, this album might be just for you.

Featured Lyrics – “I'll be your black bird darlin', Hanging on your telephone wire, Flap my wings, oh yeah, And set your heart to fly .”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tRKeCNqycE8 - The official video for “Strange Times” the first single off the album

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Track #12
Portishead
Third
“Machine Gun”

Ten years after putting out their last album that changed trip hop as we know it and then dropping off the face of the earth we have the return of Portishead! Not that they ever broke up, they just were dormant. Each doing their side projects, they finally reunited for the third album simply entitled Third. This is a album that promises to be a breath of fresh air this year. Beth Gibbons the singer won’t do interviews and the other two make for confusing interviews. So the mystery of Portishead continues on this haunting album. The electronic stuttering of “Machine Gun” shows just how far they have come from where they were ten years ago. It is a dark and raw song full of emotion. It is a great way to reintroduce you to their sound.

Featured Lyrics : “but now I realize, that I'm only for me, if only I could see, return myself to me, and recognize the poison in my heart, there is no other place, no one else I face.”

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BKm-OkHj-VM – Official video for the song

“To me, making a tape is like writing a letter — there's a lot of erasing and rethinking and starting again. A good compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do. You've got to kick off with a corker, to hold the attention (I started with "Got to Get You Off My Mind", but then realized that she might not get any further than track one, side one if I delivered what she wanted straightaway, so I buried it in the middle of side two), and then you've got to up it a notch, or cool it a notch, and you can't have white music and black music together, unless the white music sounds like black music, and you can't have two tracks by the same artist side by side, unless you've done the whole thing in pairs and...oh, there are loads of rules.”
-Nick Hornsby

NOTE
**All mp3's contained in this mix are posted for a short time and are for promotional purposes only. This is music I love and think you will too, so if you hear something you like, please support the artists. Buy their albums and go see them in concert. If you represent an artist featured on this mix and would like your songs removed, please contact me via email.**

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Everlast - Letters Home From the Garden of Stone

From the new album due out in September!

Monday, May 05, 2008

Gutter Twins - God's Children

Thursday, April 24, 2008

The Daily ONCE (April 24, 2008)

Track #1

John Mayer
Room For Squares
"My Stupid Mouth"

Good song to start out with. The best part of the song is how he sings about not knowing when to shut his mouth. Then when you think the song is over he comes right back in and puts his foot in his mouth. Good sense of humor in the song with Mayer's pop sensibility crafting the perfect song.

Track #2

Def Leppard
Yeah!
"Little Bit O' Love"

Song from Def's album of covers. Not very inspiring and seems to drip with cheese. Everyone knows I am a big fan of Leppard but this album was ill conceived and was not solid at all. But it is a catchy sunny song that is easy to listen to so I have no real complaints.

Track #3

The Game
The Documentary
"Love It Or Leave It (ft. 50 Cent)"

I am no fan of The Game. But with Dr. Dre helming the production boards his first album was pretty good. With this track he hit the height of his popularity with this Kayne West crafted beat. Got that great hook that you want to repeat with gusto everytime.

Track #4

Bloc Party
Hunting For Witches EP
"Hunting For Witches (Crystal Castles Remix)

Alright! Now we are talking. Bloc Party releases Hunting For Witches as an EP complete with uber trendy sound makers mixing the song for them. Takes the dark track and adds a dance feel to it.

Track #5

Minnie Riperton
Come To My Garden
"Rainy Day In Centreville"

Great way to end the ride. This soul singer known for her five octane vocals had a great career in the early 70's before breast cancer took her life in 1979. She is best known for the song "Lovin' You" that contained the now legendary lyrics, "lovin' you is easy cause your beautiful". She had a daughter who now resides in the cast of Saturday Night Live, the talented Maya Rudolph.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

The Daily ONCE (April 17, 2007)

I am going to try something new here. I listen to my IPOD on shuffle in the morning on the way to work. So I am going to report back to you the results of the first five tracks I listen to each morning. Enjoy!!

#1

Album : Tropicalia – A Brazilian Revolution in Sound
Artist : Caetano Veloso
Song : Tropicalia

This song is pretty darn cool. Has a cool flow, with some lyrics that I do not understand because it is in Brazillian. Any song off of that album is great. This song is a perfect way to start the drive to work with the sun peaking over the horizon.

#2

Album : Forget About It
Artist : Alison Krauss
Song : Maybe

I always enjoy Alison Krauss. She has a voice that can put you to sleep with it's gentle ebb and flow. Here we have a great track. This song finds her keeping her bluegrass spirit down and concentrating more on making a pop track. About 60 seconds into the song we get some beautiful steel guitar with ambient keyboard work. This is her without Union Station backing her. The drive to work is just getting better.

#3

Album : We Are The Fox & The Pony EP
Artist : Lian Ray
Song : We Are The Fox & The Pony (Original Demo)

This dude really can carry a melody. A sad song about love that ended. Simple as it can get with the plucking guitar and his remorseful lyrics make this song the third track in a row that is helping the sun rise with gentle ease.

#4

Album : Reflection Eternal - Train of Thought
Artist : Talib Kweli and Hi Tek
Song : Good Mourning

Feeling down? Let Talib and Hi Tek tell you why you have reasons to look up. "Embrace the light, your only scared to die when you aren't living right". It is a good morning!

#5

Album : Louden Up Now
Artist : !!!
Song : Shitscheissemerde (Part 2)

One of those great songs that builds slowly from a thumping bass to a hyped up version of itself. These guys know how to work the dance rock scene. Touches of jazz influences with funk drip from this track. About to pull up at work, and this is the perfect song to end the ride with.

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Feist - Sealions

Great live performance!

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Justice - DNVO

Love the funky!

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Kanye West - Homecoming

Nothing like coming home to Chi-Town! Especially when you got Chris Martin from Coldplay providing the personal theme song!

Los Campisenos - My Year In Lists

This is a cool new band out of Wales.

ONCE March 2008 Mixtape

It is March already!! I hope you enjoyed the “ONCE There Was a Record Mixtape” that I put out earlier last week. Some thought that by putting that out, you weren’t going to get an official ONCE mixtape this month. Not true! I couldn’t possibly keep all this good music to myself. This was a weird month because lots of great albums came out this month and I had to do a lot of listening to catch up. But it was worth it. Among the goodies is a track by Jeff Healey who passed away this month. As well as new tracks by 90’s rock legends Silverchair, The Black Crowes and The Counting Crows (two crows [crowes]… that wasn’t intentional). Also don’t miss Kenny Rogers as a hippy! We also have the self-described satanic Everley Brothers (The Gutter Twins), an ivy league band and a dance group in hiding. There was so much music this month I had trouble deciding what to put on this one. So you can be sure I have already started working on April’s mix. Beware the Ides of ONCE!

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Track #1
Cadence Weapon
Afterparty Babies
“In Search of the Youth Crew”

This Canadian rapper is back with his third album. The album is dedicated to all the “Afterparty Babies”. Those babies who were conceived after a heavy night of partying and debauchery. Being conceived that way apparently touched him because he spends the entire album trying to explain this unique demographic of youth. It is a disco beat with a rolling lyric line that keeps you dancing. It ends with a great story told by his grandmother.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=zL3Qeot5KvE – A live video of him performing the song

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Track #2
Silverchair
Young Modern
“Straight Lines”

The 90’s are back. They gave you the song “Tomorrow” in 1995 when they were just 15 years old and now they are back with a new album. The album was a few years in coming because of the singer Daniel John’s arthritis. But things are a little better for him now and the band sounds as cohesive as ever. Now approaching 30 the band shows the years of maturity on their backs. The songs are huge flowing arrangements that often involve orchestras. This song seems to equate a serious illness with love and the need to walk the straight line.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=jCjtcrAO5ws& – Official video for the song

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Track #3
Atlas Sound
Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See but Cannot Feel
“River Card”

Deerhunter frontman Bradford James Cox strikes out on his own with this beautiful ambient album with many different themes. The entire album was created using a software program and all the lyrics were recorded as they were on the first take. Makes for a very interesting album that seems to float as if it were a leaf on a stream of water. The song is based on a Puerto Rican short story called “There’s a Little Coloured Boy at the Bottom of the River”. The story describes a boy who falls in love with his reflection in a river, though he believes it is another boy. In the conclusion of the story, the boy jumps into the water and drowns.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=k64NZiZaruU – Official video for the song

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Track #4
The Gutter Twins
Saturnalia
“God’s Children”

And now we have the newest in Greg Dulli projects. The Gutter Twins are comprised of Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs, Twilight Singers) and Mark Lanegan (The Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age). With a dark delivery and boding lyrics they slither through each song on the album with intensity. This song starts out with a slow burn then develops into a five alarm fire with the help of staccato drums. They don’t put out videos and if you see them in concert it is almost completely dark.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpU1oA0NVak& - Performing On My Way To Canaan’s Land

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Track #5
The Black Crowes
Warpaint
“Movin’ On Down the River”

The Crowes are back with very much what you would have expected. A very southern tinged rocker with twangy guitars and wailing vocals. If you like them, then you will like this album. This particular track is a stand out on the album for me. I would love to see it performed live. Got a very bluesy vibe to it. Everything is going be all right brothers and sisters!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGRKkxoh_Q0 – Video for their first single off the new album, “Goodbye Daughters of the Revolution”

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Track #6
MGMT
Oracular Spectacular
“Time To Pretend”

This group is so cool! They have been called a dorm room experiment gone right. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew Van Wyngarden are from Brooklyn and make up the whole of the band. The album is like a wonderful soundscape of hums and pops with beautiful harmonies woven in between it all. This song touches on the feeling we all have when we get to a certain age and wish to go back and start anew and experience all the things that made our childhoods so much fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVnRzEjpUmE – Official video for the song (Think Lord of the Flies mixed with Peyote)

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Track #7
Kenny Rogers and the First Edition
The First Edition
“Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)”

The year is 1967. Kenny Rogers has yet to sail for the islands in a stream or take up gambling. But he is a hippie in a psychedelic rock band. The First Edition had such hits as “Ruby (Don’t Take Your Love To Town)”. They had multiple hits but ended up breaking up in 1974 after Kenny Rogers career kicked into high gear and the “First Edition” was no longer necessary. This song has a very spry Rogers singing smoother than his usual raspy self. It is every bit as good as any of the hits by the rock and roll legends of that time. And the video of him performing on the Smothers Brothers show is one of the more trippy things I have seen in a while.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ8k6fVe25k – The famed performance of the song on the Smother Brothers show in 1969. (the bed of tie dye!)

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Track #8
The Counting Crows
Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings
“Cowboys”

This album is really cranking up to be one of their better ones that San Francisco natives The Counting Crows have released in a while. It drops at the end of this month. But we have this preview of the album which features the Crows rocking harder than they have in a while. It is reminiscent of “Angels of the Silences” off of Recovering the Satellites. All the familiar characters that frequently pop up in their songs like the satellites, circuses and cowboys make their appearance yet again. Their myspace (http://www.myspace.com/countingcrows ) has several songs up from the new album just in case you’re curious.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlqzpIUQyVs – Studio video of them recording the new song 1492

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Track #9
Jeff Healey
See the Light
“Angel Eyes”

This blind guitar virtuoso was at the top of his game in 1988 when this song hit the radios and stayed all year. Many a proms were built around this single that year. He also appeared that year in the Patrick Swayze hit, “Roadhouse” as the blind bar musician. This month he passed away from the same cancer that took his eyesight at the age of 2. He will be remembered as a gentle soul who battled his entire life to live the way he wanted to. RIP Norman Jeffrey Healey (March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYz_LHKrgDY – Official video for the song (check out the mullet!)

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Track #10
Wilco
Sky Blue Sky
“Hate It Here”

Chicago natives Wilco are back with their sixth album. This song illustrates the diversity of Jeff Tweedy. It has a almost upbeat and optimistic feel to it. But at the core of the song is a man that is mourning the mistakes he made and the special someone he ran away. Everything he does keeps him occupied just so he can await her return.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYLaWXjUr8A – Fan made video for the song

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Track #11
Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend
“Oxford Comma”

This New York band teased us last year with an short track EP. This year saw the first proper release of their career. The album easily so far ranks up with the best of 2008. The year is just beginning but it is going to be hard to beat this album. The entire album is great. They embrace what people are calling afro-pop. It describes the combining of African music with western classical music. Brings to mind the great Paul Simon album “Graceland” which employed a backing choir of African tribesman. You will not be disappointed with the album if you like this song at all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq5D5_tRSog& - The song performed live in LA at the Echo.

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Track #12
Goldfrapp
Seventh Tree
“A&E”

The band that gave us the great dance song of “Ooh La La” in 2006 are back with album that is determined to be a stripped down effort with less disco pop as they had before. This album has acoustic instruments and lovely souring vocals. This song compliments the video for it better than any other video this year so far. It is a very sad song about witnessing an overdose and possible death because of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VPyso87fZU – Official video for the song (watch out for the living bushes!)

Bjork - Wanderlust

Wow. Beautiful video. Cant wait for the 3d version coming soon.

Monday, March 31, 2008

Alt-Country

These are some great alt-country acts.

Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins

Rilo Kiley

Neko Case

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Rivers Cuomo - Lovers In the Snow

New video from Rivers new album. And it is inspirational! And a true story! Who knew Weezer was born on the heels of a inspirational sports story!

Lover In The Snow

The Gutter Twins @ Letterman - Idle Hands

This is off the great new album Saturnalia.

Billy Preston is.... Agent Double O'Soul!

Now that guy can dance!

New Portishead!! Machine Gun

oh my goodness.... I cant talk.... breathless.....somehow must add commentary for this awesome event....

Ok sorry. Better now. It has been a looooooonnngggg time since Portishead blessed us with their unique brand of eletronica. Well the new album is finished and coming out soon. Here we have the video for the new single off of the third album, called "Third. It is out April 28th, 2008. It has been a long 11 years!!!!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Lian Ray

Here is a great French singer based out of Berlin. He has some great vocals and really lets the emotion bleed through. He puts out sporadic EP's every couple of months with his own artwork and packaging. The latest is the We Are the Fox and the Pony EP that is available on ITUNES or for a very reasonable price at his website http://www.myspace.com/lianray. Look for a song off of his new album to be previewed on April's ONCE mixtape.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Modest Mouse - Fly Trapped In a Jar

Friday, March 14, 2008

Holy F*ck - Lovely Allen

Where did Heavy Metal come from?

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Prince - Purple Rain

ONCE February 2008 Mixtape

The month of February almost got by me! I have been asked repeatedly in the last few days, “Has there been a February mix yet?”. Well better late than sorry. This mix may be late but it certainly doesn’t show. Some great new tracks here. We got an Oscar winner, an actress who hasn’t won an Oscar yet, and singers from India, England, Canada, Ireland, Denmark, Brooklyn and Australia. This collection is diverse and delicious! Enjoy!

Track #1
She and Him
Volume One
“Why Do You Let Me Stay Here”

Zooey Deschanel, the actress from such movies as Mumford, Elf, Hitchhikers Guide To the Galaxy, Bridge To Terabethia and Failure To Launch, branches out into singing with this debut from her project called She and Him. M. Ward is the “him” in the title providing vocals as well as instrumentation. The song is a bouncy little number that seems to be perfectly suited for her. The album comes out this month.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=i15bOlgffn0 – Bad quality live video of them singing the classic “Lonesome Town”

Track #2
Glen Hasard (ft. Marketa Irglova)
ONCE
“Falling Slowly”

If I had been able to get this out earlier this month, it might have been good enough to get you to go see the movie “Once”. But now I waited too long and it won an Oscar this year for best original song in a movie. So hopefully this isn’t old news and you will still want to check out the song. And if you have seen the movie yet, your life is sadly deprived! Real life couple Glen and Marketa sing about working your way back into a relationship and turning that sinking ship around.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=XzQRuTwaFI8 – Clip from the movie Once where this song is composed and sung

Track #3
Buck 65
Situation
“1957”

The song starts like a Michael Myers soundtrack with it’s awesome piano loop. Then comes Buck 65 a Canadian hip hop artist. This album returns him to his more hip-hop roots after briefly visiting the dark side with his country tinged album. What I like about this album is the infectious loops and beats. His delivery is smooth and keeps you bobbing your head. After this song you will walk around for hours singing to yourself, “No joke, hit the low note, we all go to heaven in a little rowboat”.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=9wyyVh3uc5Y – Video for “Wicked and Weird”

Track #4
The Whigs
Mission Control
“Right Hand On My Heart”

This band is straight out of Athens, Georgia. Their new album Mission Control is quickly become the darling of the music critics. With the catchy hooks and dirty guitars the album is a great listen. Here we have a great track off the album that really shows off their own southern version of garage rock.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=mcZgh9l6PO0 –“Right Hand On My Heart” performed live on Conan O’Brien

Track #5
The Raveonettes
Lust, Lust, Lust
“Dead Sound”

Feeling moody? Maybe a little disconnected? The Raveonettes may be your answer to those feelings. This Danish duo take the Nancy Sinatra type girl pop from the 60’s then update it in all their gloomy glory. Comes out like a Nancy Sinatra song twisted with The Cure. Awesome feedback and overblown amps make this song the most feel good song of the year.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=7SMPjXsnD8k – Video for “Dead Sound”

Track #6
Dillinger Escape Plan
Ire Works
“Black Bubblegum”

Math metal returns with DEP at the helm. This time around they decide to play nice and reign in their hectic sound. The result is one of the coolest albums of the year. With their third album they are slowly beginning to carve a place for themselves in the music world. Maturity is really what stands out and “Black Bubblegum” is a perfect example of this. But don’t purchase the album and expect every song to side this structured. They still have the madness that their fans have come to love.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-B0sPZ_QqeA – “Black Bubblegum” performed live on Conan O’Brien

Track #7
Wu-Tang Clan
8 Diagrams
“The Heart Gently Weeps (ft. Erykah Badu, Dhani Harrison and John Frusciante)”

Ok! Wu-Tang Clan have finally put aside their differences and put out a new album. No one does East Coast rap like the Clan. On this album the boys all return without ODB who died two years ago. RZA produces the album with fantastic results allowing all the boys to let their talents shine. So how can you make a Wu-Tang Clan song even better? Well use a interpolation of a Harrison penned Beatles song, have Erykah Badu sing the hook, ask George Harrison’s son to play the guitar on it, and then just to go the extra mile, get Red Hot Chili Peppers guitar virtuoso to perform the guitar solo! The song tells the story of a day that included shopping and murdering. Ahhh good to have the Clan back!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=GDfToFcJ2J4 – Classic Wu-Tang video for “C.R.E.A.M”

Track #8
The Twang
Love It When I Feel Like This
“Wide Awake”

This band out of England made my mix back in June before their album ever dropped. It was a remix done by my favorites The Streets. But since that was essentially a Streets song with Twang lyrics I thought it would be good to visit the stripped down band. The album is a great mix of spoken and sung lyrics with incredible hooks. This song is all about what makes us who we are. And once you know that that then you are truly wide awake!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=QjnsWeQnz0A – Official video for “Wide Awake”

Track #9
Gym Class Heroes
As Cruel As School Children
“Clothes Off!”

Gym Class Heroes second album really hits the mark. It is everything the first album should have been. Here we have great collaboration with Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy. Their next project is taking this album and their first one and remixing it all with Hall & Oates songs. Wow that could be cool.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6NUxMgzHdic – Official video for “Clothes Off!”

Track #10
Hot Chip
Made In the Dark
“Ready For the Floor”

Hot Chip, the British electropop band, is hard to pin down. At one point they are disco kings, then lounge crooners and the next pop singers. The new album is diverse collection of beats and dance floor classics. They are highly respected for their remixes of different artists music. But with their new album they show that they can shine all by themselves. Case in point is the dance floor ready song, “Ready For the Dance Floor”.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AW94AEmzFhQ – Official video for “Ready For the Floor”

Track #11
M.I.A.
Kala
“Paper Planes”

This Indian\British singer is back with her sophomore album “Kala”. The first single “Bird Flu” was a big hit internationally. Each song on the album is crafted using the strangest beats. The chorus of “Paper Planes” includes a super cool double action sidearm with a cash register ring.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=7sei-eEjy4g – Official video for “Paper Planes”

Track #12
The Weepies
Say I Am Yours
“World Spins Madly On”

This great indie band out of Massachusetts gave us a great album full of syrupy lyrics and beautiful harmonies. It is a solid album all the way through. The video is awesome! What happens when monsters fall in love?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=L4sa2HoXpsE – Official video “World Spins Madly On”

Track #13
Sia
Some People Have Real Problems
“Buttons”

This quirky song comes off the seventh album from Australian singer. It has simple feel to it that makes you feel like you know it the first time you hear it. They crafted a perfectly quirky video as well. The chorus will stick with you for a long time, “Get away from your lover!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=71-p7HlqpfY – Official video for “Buttons”

Track #14
Yeasayer
All Hour Cymbals
“2080”

This song has almost a Paul Simon feel with the modern influences of someone like !!! (Chk Chk Chk). Maybe even a little bit of 90’s folk outfit “Rusted Root”. When they performed this song on Conan he declared it his new favorite song of the year. The band, which hails from Brooklyn, describe their music as “Middle Eastern-psych-snap-gospel”. Now if that doesn’t make you want to go check out this band then nothing will!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=dhW8dH7txeU – Band performing “2080” live in their living room

Killswitch Engage - "Holy Diver"

The Last of the Shadow Puppets - "The Age Of Understatement"

ONCE There Was a Record

ONCE there was a record. And that record specifically marked a time in your life that will not be forgotten. We all have records (I use the term loosely since I don’t technically own any records) that are very close to us. They are the records that invoke specific memories. Not just one song defined the moment. It is one of those records that when we hear one song, we know which song is coming next. Like chapters of a life’s book, each record turns the page in your mind’s eye. I have lots of records like that. Sometimes when you look back at those records, you find the collection can at times be confusing and other times downright embarrassing. But they are still the records that made moments in your life enjoyable. The album you listened to over and over in your car when you first got your driver’s license or the summer working your first job. I could go track by track through my selections, but they are my memories and not yours. So just laugh and listen and think of young Trey. Maybe create your own mix based on the records that changed your life. Because ONCE There Was a Record…. And this is the mixtape to document that.

#1
Counting Crows (August and Everything After) – Round Here

#2
Everlast (Whitey Ford) – Money

#3
Firehouse (Firehouse) – All She Wrote

#4
Joe Satriani (The Extremist) – War

#5
Seven Mary Three (Rockcrown) – Times Like These

#6
Weezer (Blue Album) – Only In Dreams

#7
Tori Amos (Boys For Pele) – Putting the Damage On

#8
Savatage (Streets – A Rock Opera)

#9
Radiohead (The Bends) – Black Star

#10
Paul Simon (Graceland) – Under African Skies

#11
Dr. Dre (2001) – The Next Episode

#12
Bon Jovi (New Jersey) – Blood On Blood

#13
Spacehog (Resident Alien) – Ship Wrecked

#14
Afghan Whigs (Black Love) – Honkey’s Ladder

#15
Nelson (After the Rain) – After the Rain

#16
Smashing Pumpkins (Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness) – Love

#17
Limp Bizkit (Three Dollar Bill, Ya’ll) – Sour

#18
Def Leppard (Hysteria) – Run Riot

#19
Rage Against the Machine (Rage Against the Machine) – Know Your Enemy

#20
Third Eye Blind (Third Eye Blind) – God of Wine

#21
Dream Theater (Images and Words) – Take the Time

#22
Pink Floyd (The Wall) – Nobody Home

#23
U2 (Achtung, Baby) – So Cruel

#24
Kid Rock (Devil Without A Cause) – Wasting Time

#25
Everclear (So Much For the Afterglow) – White Men In Black Suits

#26
Winger (Pull) – Blind Revolution Mad

#27
Pearl Jam (VS) – Blood

#28
Queensryche (Operation Mindcrime) – Suite Sister Mary

#29
Kanye West (The College Dropout) – We Don’t Care

#30
Warrant (Cherry Pie) – I Saw Red

Friday, February 15, 2008

Justice - Phantom II

Dance like you have never danced before!

Thursday, January 17, 2008

ONCE January 2008 Mixtape

2008!
The future becomes more and more tangible as we make our way into the new millennium. Hope everyone enjoyed last year’s monthly ONCE series. I had so much fun with this little experiment that I am going to continue it. So we start out a new year with some new songs, some old songs and strange spooky foreign songs about killing. If that last sentence doesn’t make you check out this month’s mix then nothing will! As always I love feedback so let me what you didn’t like or did.

Track #1
The Hives
The Black and White Album
“Tick, Tick, Boom”

My goodness this song is cool. Just like the song title suggests. It is like a bomb going off in your face. Although in this case the carnage is wonderfully awesome with no casualties! The Hives are out of Sweden but have never let that stop them from sounding undeniably punk. This song was made for dancing!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=rwhU99_66R8 – Super awesome video for the Tick, Tick, Boom where the band of giant rockers blow up a museum

Track #2
Final Fantasy
He Poos Clouds
“He Poos Clouds”

This band is like listening to a symphony whose members regularly abuse drugs. The crazy high and lows of this song create a very distorted backdrop of harmonies and storytelling. Plus any band that is able to put the word poo in the title of the song and album simply rock! So sit back and grab your tiny binoculars and enjoy indie music sans the guitar.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5pQl7kye_d8 – Video for “He Poos Clouds”

Track #3
Example
What We Made
“Birthday Card”

A few months back I included a track from Example that used the Rolling Stone song “Paint It Black”. At that point in his career all he had was a unofficial mix that included that song. Well now months late he has a full length album out and it is super! Includes some pretty humorous songs with some great beats. Since Mike Skinner’s record company are producing him it is no surprise. Well this track from the British rapper is a great one. Dedicated to anyone who ever got into hot water with their significant other for forgetting a birthday. With a great soul record sampled for the beat, it makes for some delicious enjoyment.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cvCd1Xq0Au4 – Video for “You Can’t Rap” from the same album

Track #4
Adele
19
“Hometown Glory”

Not much is known about Adele yet except that the two singles she has released pretty much kick butt. She is like a sober Amy Winehouse with a little Charlotte Church thrown in. She has a great voice and this particular track is a dark lovely look at the city she loves. But we won’t know if she can produce an entire album of great songs like this until later this month when she releases her first full length album entitled simply 19.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nL49yZNE4yk –Video for “Hometown Glory” filmed live on BBC2.

Track #5
Wolfmother
Wolfmother
“Joker & the Thief”

I have been resisting these guys for a while now. There sound is no retro that I can’t help but be transported back to 1971 when they ask for a listen. And since I have no memories of said year, there hold has not been that great on me. But this song of theirs just keeps coming back to haunt me. This song has a great organ solo at the 3:40 mark that alone would make a great song.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NiRnAO0QJ0E – Live Video for “The Joker & the Thief”

Track #6
Evidence
The Weatherman
“Perfect Storm”

Evidence is a member of Dilated Peoples. Peoples is a rap collective in the vein of Jurassic 5 and Crown City Rockers. But as a solo artist with his first album outside of Peoples he has shown his has strength to make it on his own. He has a great sound. On this song he brings in Madchild, Iriscience and DJ Babu to predict the ending of all things. The album is pretty solid and should be picked up and given a chance.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NmD4DZWX2xo – Video for “Mr. Slow Flow” off the same album.

Track #7
Aerosmith
Toys In the Attic
“You See Me Crying”

Back in 1973 a little band called Aerosmith with just one hit to their name broke the one hit wonder streak and became instant celebrities with the song “Sweet Emotion”. That song climbed all the way to #36. With that they released their second single off their third album and had an even bigger hit with “Walk This Way” in 1975. Boosted with confidence they released this track. This track didn’t even break the surface of the top 100 but it didn’t matter at that point. The legendary band had made it. The song was one of their first forays into the symphonic pop they would become known for later in the years. This little known track pops up from time for me and has always been one of my favorites of theirs. I first heard this song on a cross country trip to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame in upstate New York. Sitting in the hotel staring at the window the song instantly became one of those songs that tend to make you who you are.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=_hge_il6COU – Awesome live video of “Train Kept a Rollin” filmed for the Midnight Special from 1977.

Track #8
Soko
Soko, Not Sokute
“I’ll Kill Her”

So she might be a hit or might not be. Hard to tell at this point of her career. She is a French singer who has been relatively amateur up until this point. But it looks like she is ramping it up to take her career into high career. Here we have a lovely song about killing someone who took your lover from you. Has some great spoken words as well as singing about a lover that left her for another and the search for the one that stole her future. The song is gold just because you get to hear her say “I’ll Keell Her” in her French accent.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=25AsfkriHQc – Official video for “I’ll Kill Her”

Track #9
John Mayer
Say
“Say”

John Mayer is a simple love of mine. He has a great sense of humor. Plays some great guitar. And pens some great blues. With the new movie “The Bucket List” coming out, the producers asked him to write a song for the movie. So he sat and wrote this beauty. Starts like a Hawaiian luau and ends with some pan flutes and heartfelt lyrics about saying what you need to say and not holding anything back. The most catchiest song he has ever done. Hurry and listen to it before radio picks it up and destroys it for you!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=aTpy_L1dALA – Official video for “Say”

Track #10
Deodato
Deadato 2
“Super Strut”

Eumir Deodato has been making great music since 1972. Born and raised in Brazil he quickly rose in the ranks for Latin Jazz. He helped produce and write some of the best songs to come out of Brazil during this time. If you think I am kidding go check out the album “Tropicalia: A Brazilian Revolution In Sound”! In last decade or two he has lent his producing talents to many artists in other countries such as Frank Sinatra, Kool in the Gang, Bjork, Nellee Hooper, Tricky and even Howie B. He has a song he produced in rapper Lupe Fiasco’s new album entitled The Cool. This particular track takes us back to 1973 on his fourth album. A great eight minute ride into the Latin soul of LA in the 70’s. Complete with organ, bass, drums and guitar solos, it is perfect for a ride in the car. You will be bouncing along in no time when you play this track.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Er_WxiAaE5s& – Great performance of the song done live

Track #11
Devin the Dude
Waiting to Inhale
“What a Job (ft. Snoop Doog and Andre 3000)”

Devin has never disappointed me as a producer and rapper. And on this song off his great new album he waxes poetic about what it is like to be a producer not making enough money off your craft but loving every moment. Snoop Doog and Andre 3000 from Outkast contribute their bitter verses about people downloading the song for free.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=KCjheCusIso – D.A.N.C.E. performed live on Jimmy Kimmel with special guests Prince, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Rick James and Barry Manilow

Track #12
Shakespears Sister
Hormonally Yours
“Stay”

Here we have a very cool song that has almost been lost to time until you hear it. Then memories of the early 90’s will come back and by the end of the song you will be hitting replay. A great song by one hit wonders about love and death. The song drips with sadness interjected with the evil doings of death. This song was a hit in 1991 by climbing the charts all the way to #4. It is one of those random tracks that keep coming back to haunt you as time goes by.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5pC3VJA_CB8 – Official video for the song

Track #13
Glossary
The Better Angels of Our Nature
“Little Caney”

This cool band from Memphis has put out their 5th album. And they have offered it for free. Once again folks, you can’t beat free music so take advantage. It doesn’t cost you anything to check out their music. It is available at their website, http://www.glossary.us/. They have a great sound that reminds me of Seven Mary Three. This track details the adventures of two lovers in a cemetery.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kxer6YJR-6M – Band performing “Blood On the Knobs” live at 88.3 WMTS

Track #14
Ghostland Observatory
Paparazzi Lighting
“Sad Sad City”

Austin has lots of unique talent. Bands and songwriters have been emerging from its social underbelly for years now. One band has been lately making lots of headlines in and out of the city. It is Austin’s own Ghostland Observatory. They have a great sound that is hard to define. Lots of rock, some soul and a dash of electronica. It makes for some very hypnotic tracks . Their latest album, Paparazzi Lightning, is a great album. This song features an organ and keyboard and a drum track that moves it along. The singer has a great grasp of the dance rock scene taking us on a trip with each line.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=CtFVRo1ovIk – Band performing “Sad Sad City” live on Austin City Limits