Lissie: “Further Away (Romance Police)” (2013)
I’ve yet to hear anyone better evoke Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac circa 1987.
Songs You May Have Missed #506
04 Dec 2013 1 Comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: further away (romance police), lissie
Songs You May Have Missed #505
28 Nov 2013 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: lily allen, somewhere only we know
Lily Allen: “Somewhere Only We Know” (2013)
In other news you may have missed if you aren’t a pop Anglophile…
Lily Allen just scored a number 1 single on the British charts with a cover of Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know”, actually besting the band’s original, which peaked at number 3 there (#50 U.S.) in 2004.
After a three-year break from music, Allen has returned in a big way with two songs currently in the British top ten.
“Somewhere Only We Know” was featured in a Christmas advert by leading British retailer John Lewis, and the ad has been a runaway success there. Sales of a Hare and Bear alarm clock featured in the ad have exhausted supplies and the clocks are now selling on eBay for nearly three times the retail price.
The ad has surpassed 9 million views on YouTube….so of course, it was removed.
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2019/07/04/songs-you-may-have-missed-641/
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2012/08/17/songs-you-may-have-missed-167/
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2026/03/15/recommended-albums-111/
Songs You May Have Missed #504
18 Nov 2013 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: kris delmhorst, wasted word
Kris Delmhorst: “Wasted Word” (2003)
Boston singer-songwriter Kris Delmhorst covers a range of styles over the course of a typical release, evoking at turns Sara Bareilles, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Lucinda Williams, even Norah Jones.
See also: Songs You May Have Missed #686 | Every Moment Has A Song (edcyphers.com)
Songs You May Have Missed #503
17 Nov 2013 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: david ramirez, the forgiven
David Ramirez: “The Forgiven” (2013)
Gifted lyricist David Ramirez wonderfully articulates the dilemma of the songwriter whose audience wants hard-hitting truths…just not the inconvenient, overly-truthful ones.
They love me for being honest
They love me for being myself
But the minute I mention Jesus
They want me to go to Hell
It’s hard to find the balance
When I don’t believe in one
When you mix art with business
You’re just shooting an empty gun
You’re just a songwriter, you ain’t a preacher
We came to mourn you, not to look in the mirror
Sing about those hard times, sing about those women
We love the broken, not the forgiven
These songs will only take me
As far as the people will go
If I can’t make them happy
Well then they won’t come to my shows
Maybe that’s what killed
All the great voices in the world
Always bleeding for every line
But no one was bleeding in return
You’re just a songwriter, you ain’t a preacher
We came to mourn you, not to look in the mirror
Sing about those hard times, sing about those women
We love the broken, not the forgiven
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/09/17/songs-you-may-have-missed-474/
Songs You May Have Missed #502
13 Nov 2013 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: arlo guthrie, i've just seen a face
Arlo Guthrie: “I’ve Just Seen a Face” (1978)
One measure of the quality of the Beatles’ catalogue is the way in which the material lends itself to reworking in myriad styles. Case in point: McCartney’s “I’ve Just Seen a Face”, which makes a fine bluegrass romp in the hands of Arlo Guthrie.
Arlo has always mined the catalogues of his contemporaries (Dylan in particular) for songs that would benefit from the old time country treatment in which his band Shenandoah specialized. He shows great instincts here.
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2015/10/25/recommended-albums-64/
Songs You May Have Missed #501
10 Nov 2013 Leave a comment
in Songs You May Have Missed Tags: david wilcox, language of the heart
David Wilcox: “Language of the Heart” (1989)
Sometime in 1989, during a four-or-five-year phase of following popular country music (which wasn’t nearly as hackneyed or stuck in cliché as the current brand) I happened to have The Nashville Network on TV at work when this very performance aired:
I was instantly mesmerized by gifted songwriter David Wilcox. The song’s lyric pulled me in, as did the musicianship–he made eye contact with the audience while playing complex guitar lines throughout the song. This wasn’t your standard TNN fare.
So I went looking for his album (on cassette, my format of choice for most of the 80′s, sorry to say). However, by the time I made it to the shop, I’d forgotten his name.
Undaunted, I began the needle-in-a-haystack exercise of browsing through the cassette selection at Jerry’s Records in Pittsburgh, thinking I just might get lucky and recognize the guy’s name if his cassette happened to be there. Of course, looking alphabetically, it took a while to get to Wilcox, but I did indeed recognize his name. And the album’s title, How Did You Find Me Here, was startlingly appropriate.
When I finally got a chance to see him live his talent as a musician blew me away. I’d never seen a guitarist change tunings every song or two, or use multiple capos. (Wilcox shaved down parts of his capos so they only touched certain strings. On a given song he’d use as many as three of them.)
David Wilcox is worth a listen–or better yet the price of a live show–if you prefer substance to gimmick; if you like a well-turned metaphor or a life lesson in a lyric. You may not find yourself dancing in the aisles–but it’s a worthwhile tradeoff for the journey into your own head he’ll lead you on.
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2013/02/13/songs-you-may-have-missed-330/
See also: https://edcyphers.com/2015/03/27/songs-you-may-have-missed-527/
Every Moment Has A Song 