Where is My Mind?

If you haven't heard this wacky, groovy, addictive song then allow me to bring it to you. It's by The Pixies and it's called "Where is My Mind?". Right away it starts off wierd with someone humming and someone else saying "Stop". Then the groove comes in starting with an acoustic guitar and then the drums, lead guitar, and funky bassline all join in. And behind it all is that humming that someone told someone to stop doing in the beginning. Wierd, right? Or is it just me?

Well wierd or not this song rocks even if it doesn't blaze and if it's not as tight as "lazy eye" by Silversun. But in fact it's the sloppiness that adds to the charm of the song in my opinion. It sounds like a stoner anthem actually and it probably is somewhere to someone. From the title of the song and with lyrics like "With your feet in the air / and your head on the ground / try this trick and spin it, yeah / your head will collapse / but there's nothing in it / and you'll ask yourself / where is my mind?", I ask you how could this song NOT be a stoner anthem?

The band is originially from Boston but never really found any serious success here in the States like they did in England which is why most mistake them from being from there. The Pixies are homegrown and while their record sales have never broken any records, they've been far more successful touring over the years and "Mind" sounds like it would be incredible to hear live. What do you think?

lazy eye

I felt it was time to flip the script so to speak and change things up. I thought it was high time I introduced some harder music on my blog and introduce you to a very cool band. The harder music comes in the form of a song called "lazy eye" and the band is the indie rock band named Silversun Pickups. I've been a fan of this band from Los Angeles for awhile now and "lazy eye" is one of my favorite songs from them. It's off of their album "Carnavas" and the first thing that caught me was the drums laid down by Christopher Guanlao. The word precision does him no justice.

The second thing that caught me were the vocals by lead vocalist/guitarist Brian Aubert. His voice is so smooth over this track that it's the perfect compliment over the guitar distortion abd syncopation. The distortion smacks of early Nirvana to me but it works with the vibe of the song and of course the vocals. The band also includes vocalist and bassist Nikki Monninger and the guy the band considers their secret weapon keyboardist Joe Lester.

Carvanas is their first full length album and for a first attempt it's damn good and the highlight of the album is "lazy eye". Take a listen and let me know if you agree with me. They might just make you a fan too (and keep your ears open for those drums).

I'm Not The Enemy

When I first I heard this song I thought it was compelling but I didn’t pursue it. I liked the melody and instrumentation but for the most part I brushed it aside. How foolish of me. Thankfully I heard it again this past weekend and I pounced on it and had it on repeat for the majority of the weekend. It’s an amazing song by lina entitled “I’m Not The Enemy” off of her album “Stranger on Earth”. Lina isn’t the strongest vocalists out there, she’s not anywhere in the same category of say a lizz wright or a Laura Izibor but her vocals work for her style and they definitely work for this song. “Enemy” is a well executed song on all fronts. It’s arranged beautifully and it couldn’t have been produced any better. This song has a seriously sexy swagger to it and if downloaded you will put this song on repeat because it’s that good.

The instrumentation has a retro 1920’s feel to it but what stands out to me are the lyrics. The chorus speaks nothing but the truth when lina sings “You can’t love nobody unless you love yourself / Don’t take it out on me baby / I’m not the enemy”. Once I heard those words I played a lot closer attention to the rest of the lyrics because honestly upon first listening I was purely focused on the music. It’s just so damn catchy but the songs lyrics make this song something definitely worth listening to. Lina starts off with “I don’t know you, don’t know those melancholy eyes I see / do you even know me?” and she goes on to talk about how her man is familiar to her but his words aren’t and it speaks to a certain part of me as I’m sure it would most men. There are those moments when we don’t open up, when we don’t speak and we hold in things until we explode and we become unrecognizable to those who love us at that instant but they aren’t the enemy, we are.

Why this song didn’t get more play, earn a Grammy nomination, or put this artist on the map I will never figure out or understand because it should have. This song is worthy of that kind of attention, at least it is in my humble opinion. Take a listen and see if you agree with me.

Just One More Day

I ask you, honestly is there an all around voice in the history of all around voices better than the man that is Otis Redding? You could argue Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Teddy Pendergrass, Smokey Robinson perhaps? You could even add Al Green and Sam Cooke sang better than Otis and it would be hard to win that argument but there is no way anyone could argue on how once you start listening to Otis your soul yearns for more. With a voice that is one part smooth as glass, two parts Southern Baptist preacher, and two parts gravel road Otis’ voice is unmatched by those other magnificent vocalists I mentioned earlier. The man mastered the begging and the pleading on a record before Teddy did it and he rivaled James Brown for the beg and plead crown. And in my opinion Otis was at his beg and plead best on “Just One More Day”.

The song is about a man who would do anything his woman wants him to do if he could just have one more day and as a man I can definitely relate to that sentiment. Hell, regardless of the sex I think we can all relate to that at one time or another. This was a song in his collection that I think was severely overlooked which is understandable when you look through his collection of hits and classics but “Just” should be right up there. The music is beautifully mournful, melodic, and simple. It’s Otis and a guitar at first and then an organ comes in followed by some horns (a staple of his). Then the more instruments come in but it never loses that intimate feel. The song then builds at the end and Otis gets his begging and pleading on but you saw that coming even if I didn’t give you the heads up.

Taken from us far too soon who knows what Otis was working on and would have given us before his untimely demise. Thankfully though the man was a workhorse and left us so many songs to enjoy and remember him by. “Just One More Day” is definitely one of those for me.

It Could Happen To You

This is an old favorite of mine and I smile whenever it plays in my headphones so I thought I would share it. It’s a well known jazz standard and when I bought the album “Heavy Nova” by Robert Palmer all those years ago I certainly didn’t expect to hear it. What was even more surprising was that it was done so exquisitely well. On the same album as his mega hit “Simply Irresistible” and the Gap Bands great remake “Early In The Morning”, “It Could Happen To You” was snuggled away and vastly overshadowed but when I heard the vocals and those strings I was floored. I was never a really big Robert Palmer fan before this album but after this album I was because this album definitely showed his range. This album also contains his version of The Jackson’s “Tell Me I’m Not Dreaming”, the easy, breezy “She Makes My Day” and the mellow “Between Us” and it’s those songs plus “It Could” that clearly demonstrated his ability and willingness to step out of the box and go against peoples perception of who they thought he was.

Robert had been recording music pretty much all of his life but it wasn’t until his stint as point man in Power Station with a few members of Duran Duran (when that group took a hiatus from each other, remember Arcadia?). The success of Power Station along with his album previous album “Riptide” propelled “Heavy Nova” to number one here in the States. You remember the video for “Simply Irresistible” right? Does the all girl look alike band with the short skirts “playing” the instruments ring a bell? That wasn’t the reason why I bought the album but it wasn’t not the reason either (if you know what I mean). To be honest I forgot what the reason was that I bought “Heavy Nova” but I’m glad I did.

“It Could Happen To You” is a classic jazz standard that’s been recorded by such luminaries like Dinah Washington and Chet Baker. It was even done by the late Heath Ledger in the movie “A Knight’s Tale (who gets an A for effort). It’s a great song with a great message of be careful because this love thing could happen to you like it happened to me. With lyrics like “Guard your dreams at night / lock your heart up tight / it could happen to you” and “All I did was wonder / how your arms would be / and it happened to me” makes this the perfect cautionary tale about love done in such a lush way that you can’t believe it’s Robert Palmer doing it but it was him doing it and he did it well.

Ali in the Jungle

I’ve got another morning song to put some pep in your step. It’s called “Ali in the Jungle” by the band The Hours. Now if you think you’ve heard this song before you’re probably right. It was used ingeniously in a Nike campaign. It’s where I first heard it and fell in love with it. It asks that age old question about after you get knocked down, how quick are you going to get back up. As you may have also already figured (thanks to the title of the song) Muhammad Ali is mentioned numerous times in the song but so are other prominent historical people who’ve dealt with difficult circumstances only to overcome them and succeed.

Now while the lyrics are uplifting and encouraging, they would almost be insignificant if it weren’t for the backing track. The music grabs you and propels you forward. It starts of some double time percussion which is joined by a guitar lick and piano. Then comes one of the greatest opening lines to any song, ever “It’s not how you start, its how you finish” and after that the song is off and running. And to top it off, at the end of the song you get the radio broadcast that was aired when Ali beat George Forman in Kinshasa, Zaire which was the perfect finishing touch. This song will definitely recharge your battery and if it doesn’t you might want to look into getting a new battery, asap!

Land of Promise

Okay, I can’t hide the fact that I am in love with this song "Land of Promise" off the album “Distant Relatives”. A joint effort with Nasir Jones and Damian Marley “Distant” is a collection of some of the catchiest melodies, hooks, and singing I’ve heard in awhile. All of that is so clearly on display on the song “Land of Promise.” The first thing that catches you about this song is the menacing bassline. It works in such a way that you can’t help but nod your head in time with it and Damien Marley’s vocals float on top of the track so perfectly that he almost reminds you of his father Bob. Then Nas comes in and rocks the mic like he hasn’t done in years. His recent projects haven’t come close to the lyrics he drops on “Distant Relatives”. His own albums don’t contain such uplifting, political, empowering, and searing verses delivered with the power like he offers on this album and if you listen to his rap on this track it’s a good representation of his work on the other tracks.

How these two got artists got together I don’t know but I hope they get together again and do another project soon. “Land of Promise” is a hot track but there are other tracks on this album in my opinion are simply amazing. That doesn’t mean there aren’t tracks that should have been reworked or completely forgotten about but for the most part if you are a fan of these two men then you will love this album. Songs like “As We Enter”, “Friends” and the poignant “Africa Must Wake Up” are just three of the highlights on this album and on “Strong Will Continue” Nas even raps about his recent marital strife and being divorced from the mother of his newborn son.

If you’re not a fan of hip hop or reggae then maybe you won’t like this album but if you’re of an open mind then maybe, just maybe you’ll listen to this song and enjoy it as much as I do (well, maybe not as much but I’m confident you’ll like it).