Art is the music we make from the bewildered cry of being alive. ~Maria Popova
14 Apr 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: cars and parties, edith frost
Edith Frost: “Cars and Parties” (2001)
Quoting Wikipedia: Edith Frost is an American singer-songwriter who describes her music as “pensive countrified psychedelia”.
And now, if you listen to “Cars and Parties” you’ll know as much about her as I do. Nice song, though.
12 Apr 2012 1 Comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: never thought i'd see the day, the school
The School: “Never Thought I’d See the Day” (2012)
Farfisa organ plus girl group giddiness plus sweet, breathless young love equals pop bliss! This song makes me think of Brian Wilson’s melancholy “Please Let Me Wonder”–but is anything but melancholy itself. How does a song capture so perfectly the spirit of the Beach Boys without sounding anything like the Beach Boys?
I’ve known this tune for less than ten minutes and I already know I’ll love it for the rest of my life.
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2012/07/02/recommended-albums-20/
12 Apr 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: charlie rich, rollin with the flow
Charlie Rich: “Rollin’ With the Flow” (1977)
Four years after “Behind Closed Doors” and “The Most Beautiful Girl” were monster hits on both country and pop charts, Rich delivered one last modest crossover hit, this philosophical and unapologetic nugget from 1977.
This is how the best country songs did it: with a lyric portraying a tragic character, but not in a maudlin, self-pitying voice. This aging n’er do well isn’t asking for your sympathy; he’ll get by. We all have one alcoholic uncle like him. Let him alone, as long as he’s not hurting anybody. He just wants to burn out rather than fade away.
They don’t write country songs like this anymore. That’s why they keep covering them.
12 Apr 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: great lake swimmers, new wild everywhere
Great Lake Swimmers: “New Wild Everywhere” (2012)
Canadian folk rockers the Great Lake Swimmers plow the same field as Bon Iver or Fleet Foxes but without the critical acclaim. It’s a homespun sound with just enough sheen. Nothing world-changing here, but it’s the kind of song that deserves a place on one of those compilations you kick back to.
12 Apr 2012 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: basement days, mark erelli
Mark Erelli: “Basement Days” (2010)
Mark Erelli name-checks the 70’s and puts a lump in the throat of guys who once had rock god ambitions…and hair.
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2015/08/20/songs-you-may-have-missed-542/
12 Apr 2012 2 Comments
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: fountains of wayne, the girl i can't forget
Fountains of Wayne: “The Girl I Can’t Forget” (2005)
Great power pop story song from the genre’s cleverest lyricists. The intelligence and wit of Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger is unmatched among bands making this type of music.
Pigeonholed by their 2003 hit “Stacy’s Mom”, the band made a lot of fake fans, many of whom flaked away as soon as they realized FOW’s other songs weren’t similarly written for single-celled organisms. “Stacy’s Mom Syndrome” should be the name for that phenomenon of a band having one massive hit that is totally unrepresentative of their catalog. (Sounds better than “Tubthumping Syndrome”, right?)
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/04/04/songs-you-may-have-missed-384/
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/07/07/songs-you-may-have-missed-443/
Every Moment Has A Song 