Recently Unearthed: Rufus Wainwright

We're going to observe the "Recently Unearthed" theme loosely on this post. I've known about Rufus Wainwright for quite some time, but never really paid attention. I think we've all heard his version of Hallelujah and his name is always here and there, but I never really noticed him that much.

Today I was watching a movie -- The Baxter -- it's a decent movie, nothing great, but I don't hate myself for watching it. Well, toward the end a song grabbed my attention. As I usually find myself doing when I watch movies, I watch through the whole credits to see the song credits. This time, I was surprised that the song, Beautiful Child was Rufus Wainwright. This made me think... "maybe I should actually listen to Rufus Wainwright on purpose instead of just when Pandora throws it at me." I know part of why I avoid him is his name, Rufus. I shouldn't hold his name against him, I suppose.

So, today I did a bit of exploring and have found that so far I really like his music. I just used up all my download credits yesterday, so it'll be awhile before I officially add him to my .mp3 hoard, but there's always YouTube. This is a fun video:

Recently Unearthed: Matt McCloskey

I just got The Hard Rains from NoiseTrade recently and really like it. Matt McCloskey's music recipe fits my taste pretty well and I know this album is going to get a lot of play from me.

Recently Extinct: Jen Foster

You get some hits on NoiseTrade, but you also have a tendency to get some misses. This one is off the charts in the wrong direction. Wow, wow, wow, this is "shake my head" bad. Her draggy, flat lyrics kill me immediately. I've given the The Valentine's Day Collection several tries and each time I have to pull the plug. I've had a quiet week when I actually had time to give songs multiple tries, this EP has failed the test and the retest so now is being deleted permanently from my life.

Sorry, Jen Foster, you're not for me.

Valentine's Day Mix Tape

Happy Valentine's Day! OK, I said that without puking in my mouth... good for me.

I'm not going to talk a lot today. I just wanted to share a few love-ish songs with you that you might enjoy.

Tiffany - I Think We're Alone Now
Adele - Make You Feel My Love
Brandi Carlile - The Story
Delta Spirit - Vivian
Hellogoodbye - When We First Met
John Garrison - Never Far from Me
Kim Taylor - Days Like This
Ray LaMontagne - You are the Best Thing
Tesla - Love Song
White Lion - Radar Love
Cass McCombs - Dreams Come True Girl
Jeff Pianki - The Way I Love You
Julian Velard - Love Again for the First Time

Baby D's Shuffle: Week 2

Well, I'm back looking for some inspiration so thought I'd try another shuffle. The rules are 10 songs minimum or until I have to pee. Here we go:

1. Vivian Girls - Light in Your Eyes
Whoa, my heart really wants to me start over, this sounds like death. No, death would sound better. This sounds like annoyance.

2. Cheap Girls - No One to Blame
I promise, I don't have a hidden "girls" theme today or a hidden "this sucks" theme; it just happened that way. This song is a slight improvement over the first.

3. Soundgarden - Live to Rise
I have never been much of a Soundgarden fan. Yes, I am old enough to have been well aware of the beginning of Soundgarden. If I have to listen to Chris Cornell, I prefer Audioslave or Temple of the Dog. I'm moving on; no sense beating what should be a dead horse.

4. Bodies of Water - Even in a Cave
Oh dear, I'm afraid this might be one of those days when iPod shuffling is out to get me. Seriously, this song leaves me with one question: WHY, dear Lord, WHY?

5. The Missing - Penniless
This came from an Amazon sampler. It's not really the best thing in the world, but if my playlist consisted only of the 5 songs I've listed so far, this would be my favorite.



6. Kathryn Calder - New Frame of Mind
Close, but not quite. I'll go back and listen to some of her other stuff later, this might just not be a very good song. It happens. (Update: I have 3 of her songs; I don't like them.)

7. From a Fountain - Milky Mile
Seriously? What do you think I will think about this song? This is one reason I've decided not to renew my Daytrotter subscription this year. I don't like it that much. I don't hate it that much, but I don't like it.

8. Great Lake Swimmers - Easy Come Easy Go (Acoustic)
I kind of like Great Lake Swimmers, so this one lives for another day, yet doesn't excite me in any special way. This song's a little dull. The (Radio Edit) version is a slight improvement.

9. Tony Lucca - Vienna
Tony Lucca is kind of one of those musicians I keep in my collection but I don't tell others about -- now you know. Apparently he was second runner up on The Voice... I watch The Voice and don't remember him....sorry. If you went to a piano bar and he was performing you would be happy about it, but I'm not sure you'd join his fan club. I didn't mean for this to sound insulting when I started, so I'm going to stop. I think maybe I just don't really like this song because I find myself liking his other songs pretty often.

10. OK Go - Dynamite (Damian, 1995)
Hitting OK Go is almost like cheating because you know I really, really, really have a deep admiration for OK Go. This was one of their free downloads they offered over Christmas; I don't like it very much. I can't believe I just said that.

11. Dawes - Time Spent in Los Angeles
I have loved Dawes for a long time (long before the truck commercials!). Their new album is on pre-order and I'm looking forward to it. This is a great song; I like some of their songs more, but it's still great. Dawes is one of those bands that I will own multiple versions of the same song just because each version has its own special quality. I love their Daytrotter sessions. I love Dawes. I love Dawes. I LOVE Dawes. Actually, I find myself loving their label: ATO Records too.



12. Cate Le Bon - Puts Me to Work
Has a French sound to me. It's tolerable, but not something I dig.

Well, I made it to 12. I don't need to pee, but I have some stuff to do. Thanks for tuning in.

Recently Unearthed: Lisa Mitchell

I find myself with a problem at times. I tend to prefer British things: British TV, movies, tea, and, in this case music. Even with internet these days, fresh content is often blocked for those of us whose ancestors left us stuck over here on this continent.

I understand Lisa Mitchell also identifies as Australian; my issue is still the same. Sometimes I want better access to things from other countries and have trouble getting it.

I'm not even sure how I heard of Lisa Mitchell...it's actually been a few years. I think it was a clip from when she was on Australian Idol. Since that time, I keep hoping for her music to be more available in the US and my wish still has not come true. For now, there are about 4 or 5 songs on iTunes, 1 song on eMusic and from then on, if I need a fix, I have to go to SoundCloud or YouTube.

She has a new album out (Bless this Mess, 2012), but I'm still quite a fan of many songs from Wonder (2009). I also love her quirky videos, her sweet voice, just tons of stuff about her. I guess I'm going to have to buy actual CDs someday.

Now, the hard part, which of her videos do I post? I like so many! Maybe I'll post 2 this time:

Recently Unearthed: Natalie Hart

Sometimes you just have to try something unexpected; you might be surprised what you find. I know... that sounds like something you'd read in a fortune cookie, but it's the truth.

In any case, recently when I was doing my normal NoiseTrade harvesting, I downloaded Natalie Hart's EP. As a music hoarder, in the last year I've set myself some boundaries for downloading because I just have too much music. Having too much music sounds impossible, but it's not. I have so many songs and duplicates and randomness that it sometimes keeps me from being able to enjoy my iPod. I spend all day skipping over songs that aren't for me to find ones that are. Because of this, I'd told myself that when downloading I needed to take more time to preview music or at least read about the artist before blindly downloading.

On NoiseTrade, the artists usually have a small "sounds like" section, which is probably what got me to download this EP because the description of jazz/blues/pop would have gotten me to turn my head immediately. But, download I did and let me just say, I have listened to these 3 songs over and over and over.

Natalie's style is totally not my style of music, but I can't stop listening. She has a really great voice. You should check her out.

This song isn't part of her EP, but I like to try to include a video:

Dinomite Track: Chiisana Koi No Uta MONGOL800

Sometimes I have a bit of an Asian thing. I'm not sure exactly when it started. I went to school with an Okinawan kid (small school, very little diversity), he was kind of a bitch. He wasn't terrible, but not someone I'd crave spending time with. He did give me my first sushi experience and other than that, well I guess that was about it.

One day in college, it was the first day of class in a big auditorium like you see on the movies (you know what? not all college classes take place in those big auditoriums.) Anyway, I was kind of in the middle back, where I like to be. Waiting for class to start, I didn't know anyone. This was one of those elective courses where you aren't in with the other folks in your major you usually see in class.

In walks this Asian guy and sits down in the front row. I'm not sure what happened; it was kind of like when you snap a glow stick. Everything is normal, then a couple of shakes and everything is all lit up fluorescent-like. Totally unlike anything I've ever done in my life, I picked up my stuff and walked down to the front row and sat next to him. Well, needless to say, I spent the rest of the semester letting him copy off my notes and walk me home.... If he did offer something else, I wouldn't have understood it anyway. LOL! Last I saw him he was getting ready to move back to Korea to be a pilot.

Anyway, after that I was out of control. Brandon Lee, then he died. Jackie Chan, then I snapped out of that.

Well, you don't want the whole long story...but along the way I discovered this song. I love it. It's a little crazy and I've made up my own English words to parts of it so I can sing along. 100% guilty pleasure here...

MONGOL800 - Chiisana Koi No Uta

Rambling Around Town: Vegans, Vegetarians, & Spraypaint

I've never been one to take kindly to having someone else's beliefs shoved down my throat. I'm not here to be a hater, but all of you carnivores have known a vegan or vegetarian that you've wanted to feed a knuckle sandwich because they have a tiny temple built of soy beef jerky that they make you bow down to every time you go to visit them. They gasp at the sight of meat. Come on, you've heard it.

I'm a meat eater. I don't obsess about it, but I eat it. Vegheads obsess. Completely. Just relax a little. I know all that fiber probably makes your butthole crampy, but just leave me out of it. You do your thing and I'll do mine. It's fine for you to let me know that you are vegan/vegetarian so I don't buy you Omaha Steaks for Christmas, but after that, just give me a break.

So, why Vegans, Vegetarians, & Spraypaint? Well, I put taggers in about the same level on my annoyance scale as the first two. First of all, if you do have talent, good for you, don't ruin someone else's property to show it. Second, if you really, really feel like you can't live another moment without ruining someone's property, could you please, please, please make sure that those of us forced to peer upon your crafty creations will "get" your message?

Recently, I was driving down a back street in Kansas City, Missouri and was stunned to find this:

I nearly drove off the road when I saw this. Is there a rogue vegan trying to spread the word through spraypaint? I really must know.

Rambling Around Town: The Stolen Winnebagos

I've been to see The Stolen Winnebagos perform a few times now. First, at the Plaza. I hate the Plaza. Second, in Lenexa. Lenexa is okay. Third, at Sol Cantina in KCMO. Um, I will probably never go back to Sol Cantina in KCMO.

In any case, I just wanted to say for the record that I like The Stolen Winnebagos. If you are looking for something to do, their shows are usually about $5 cover. They have shows all around the KC area.

They are a three-man cover band. I know, everyone shrieks when they think of cover bands, but these guys are cool. They do a really wide range of covers that are suitable for a lot of different age ranges. There are some kind of guilty pleasure songs that you normally wouldn't let people know you listen to and then, some more current offerings. Think: Paul Simon straight through to Rage Against the Machine. Last night they did Muse, followed by Johnny Cash, but it works. Each of the three guys takes turns singing.

Last nights show was a little lack luster. The crowd was small and the venue was staffed by a barrel full of douchebags. The small crowd seemed to make the band a little less enthusiastic. (That does not mean they weren't good, but they've been more entertaining in the past.)

Follow them on Facebook if you want to know where they'll be next. I definitely recommend that you check them out. If you want to get really crazy, go to MySpace.