MY MUSIC Part I

*Note: When I embedded the links to the songs, I thought it would provide a streaming audio "box" which would allow you to play the tracks while remaining on this page. This, however, is not the case. Therefore, if you want to hear an excerpt of the song, click on the song's name. It will then take you to last.fm where you will then have to click on the little play icon after which you will kindly come pack to my page and keep reading (smile)!

Music, music, music...everyone loves it and it's one of the biggest cliche questions out there. You can just hear the awkward teenager asking, "So, like what's your favorite kind of music?" Of course the right answer is, "Well, I like a little bit of everything...except country."

Ok, so I think I've found a suitable tag for the genre of music you're most likely to find in my favorite playlist on my iPod:

“pseudo-indie contemporary alternative rock”

At least that's what LastFM (last.fm) said about my musical taste. In other words, soft alt-rock that's likely not cool enough for the innest of the in crowds, but that's the thing about me, I don't care about being the hippest anymore and besides I was never that hip in the first place. As a matter of fact, I want to go down in history as coining the phrase, "Being cool means not knowing what 'cool' means," or something along those lines. Perhaps, "Being cool means not caring what 'cool' means" but I don't mean you should go so far against the tide of "cool" that you are going "counter culture" because then you've gotten caught up in the fight against cool which is just as bad as trying too hard to be cool. Did I lose you there?

Of course fancy algorithms are not match for the subjective nature of musical taste and my tastes range far and wide with everything from straight up hard rock to soft jazz. A sophisticated musical palette I do not possess, but at least it's unique.

Anyhow, below I'm going to do my best to present clips of some of the music I have spinnin' in my car (Tech geek alert: remember, just like record players spin, so does the little hard-disk in the iPod, so we can say that again...unless you have a solid state HD like those found in the Nano).

The Postal Service: This Place is a Prison
For me, this song reflects the empty nature of living as a socialite with endless, meaningless parties:
The Postal Service – This Place Is a Prison

Feist: I Feel it All
The song I really love by Feist right now, however, is "Mushaboom."
Feist – I Feel It All

The Barenaked Ladies: Pinch Me
I love the down-to-earth, care free philosophizing in this song. It is both elated and melancholy, one of my favorite combinations:
Barenaked Ladies – Pinch Me (album version)

Band of Horses: The First Song
Go ahead and take a bath in the sound, it's layered on that thick. Lushes, abundant, plentiful sound.
Band of Horses – The First Song

The Police (Sting): Englishman In New York
There's just something undeniably cool about this song. I love the way Sting's older stuff is jazzy pop melt.
Sting – Englishman in New York

Steel Pulse: Chant a Pslam a Day
A reggae song that straight up fills me with a positive spirit:
Steel Pulse – Chant A Psalm (LP Version)

311

The Postal Service: Nothing Better
I hesitate to put another Postal Service track in here, but if you don't know this song and you like alt-rock, this is a must.
The Postal Service – Nothing Better



Other songs in my choice playlist:
Katmandu- Cat Stevens
When I listen to this song I'm next to Walden pond in a dark dreamscape. It's early morning and the sky is gray. The fire at my feet is barely burning and I just returned from a dangerous spiritual journey during which I found extreme resolve in my efforts to walk on the straight and narrow path.
311-Taiyed
This song resides in a special, secret compartment of my heart. It became my own during the tumultuous and often dark years of teenagehood. The lyrics are truly poetic and, I daresay, esoteric and psychedelic.
Matisyahu: King Without a Crown
One again, a positive, upbeat reggae song about spirituality and the fight against the dark side. An orthodox Jewish reggae artist, yep. By the way, the live versions of his songs are generally far superior than the LP versions.

I could go on and on. Of course these songs do not reflect any sort of "all time favorites" because then I would include songs like "Turn on Your Heart Light" by Neil Diamond, Disney songs, etc. and someday perhaps I should make that post and save it for my children to read someday so they can pipe those tunes into my cryogenic chamber.

The night is late and I must retire since I have both "bambinos" tomorrow while Sarah works. She's right, taking care of two kids all day and trying to get much of anything done is a full-time job and one that makes the impending return to work and school seem, well, not so bad.

If you enjoy this post let me know because I'd love to share more music and maybe even do some lyrical analysis of some of your and my favorite songs.

-Danny