Thursday, May 26, 2011

Talkin' Death Letter Blues

YouTube is the gift that keeps on giving. Spend 20 minutes on there just clicking on random videos and you're bound to find gems like this. This is an old blues singer called Son House performing "Death Letter Blues" in 1967. The White Stripes redid this song almost 40 years later but I never knew that their version was a cover until now. Though I love the White Stripes, there's just no beating a performance like this. I love how he just stands up there by himself and sings with so much soul and honesty like a prophet of old coming to tell us all to quit our wicked ways. I've always loved how blues and soul speak so openly and honestly about real pain as a way of taking away it's power. It's like the old story about how if you put a name to something then it's not so scary. Except with the blues, it's almost an exorcism, where you sing about it so you can almost relive the pain so you can know for sure that it can't hurt you anymore. Anyway, I'll stop waxing philosophically about the blues and just let you enjoy the video.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Soon

I opened my email the other day to see that I had an email from one of my favorite bands, the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I opened it eagerly to see the following:
That was it. That was the entire email. I guess this is their way of letting people know that their first album in 5 years is soon to come out. But...I already knew that. So, thanks for the email guys but next time send me some new music instead.

Monday, May 16, 2011

High School Is Such A Serious Thing - These Problems Matter

I listen to the Edge every morning and they often have teenagers who call in and want to talk about how hard their lives are. The common complaints are, "My boyfriend is..." or "My girlfriend is..." The guys on the morning show almost always play the song that is at the end of this clip. It cracks me up everytime. Now, you all can sing it to the teenagers in your lives!

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

The Revival of Folk Music- Fleet Foxes and Monsters of Folk

There is a current trend in music that's been happening over the last 5 years where a lot of bands have started to shift towards folk rock. Two such bands that encompass this are Fleet Foxes and Monsters of Folk. Instead of boring you with my insights, take a listen for yourself (skip the ads at the beginning). The first is a band called Fleet Foxes that have such beautiful harmonies as evidenced by the first song they play (or sing-there's no instruments). The second band is a band called Monsters of Folk that is a super group of sorts made up with four guys that became famous by playing in other bands but shared a common love for folk music. They, too, have beautiful harmonies. Hope you enjoy.