Song of Songs

Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
For, lo, the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land Rise up my love, my fair one, and come away

le mo ghrása mise agus liomsa mo ghrá
i am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine
-Song of Songs

Goethe

A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart.

-Goethe's "Faust"

state radio

gosh I love music. it just has such amazing power to make you feel differently and think differently. lately many band have taken a more political stance to their music. I call it 'when good bands go political' because not many do it well. they just don't have the power and ability that bands did in the 1960s. well I found one that does. More than political, they sing about personal experiences, injustices that they have witnessed, problems in the world, etc. and they actually DO something about it.


if you have heard of dispatch (which I have and LOVE) and were upset when they broke up, it's okay!!! the singer of dispatch, Chad Urmston, started this new band: State Radio. they have a lot of the same style of songs as dispatch. every style. Their songs range from ska and reggae to alternative, from slow to "raise yer pints" drinking songs. and EVERY song is about something they have seen, heard about, or known. the music: chad's voice is great. clear, not whiny, strong and powerful- this is the kind of voice that should be the head of a band. not only does he have a great voice, but he can change his style of singing to fit the style of the song. the other two members, Chuck Fay and Mike Najarian, of the band are talented as well. The band has 4 albums out now, and all can be found on itunes!! All of the links below are to songs that I don't just like but love! If you are more of a pop fan, I suggest listening to "Right Me Up" more than the others because I think YOU will like it the best.

• "Knights of Bostonia"- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OcaK2THE-Q&feature=related
• "Right Me Up"- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jza3P3PBeQ4
• "Gang of Thieves"- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hvm3FqtrmJw&feature=channel
• "Camilo"- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BkvRnUZJys&feature=fvw
  

the message: like I said earlier, most of their songs have some political motivation behind it. DO NOT let that make your opinion. They make wonderful songs; great music, and when it comes down to it.... that's all that really matters anyway. "Right Me Up" is about a friend of theirs with a disability, and "Camilo" is about another friend who served in Iraq.

the activism: this band practices what they preach!! not only do they talk about injustices in their songs and say that they support things, they do them. On their last tour they made it a point to do a service project in every town they stopped in, whether it be serving food at homeless shelters or building a playground! And they always want their fans to do the same. They encourage them to not only hope for and want change, but to BE the change they want to see. for more info: www.stateradio.com/about

bottom line: CHECK THEM OUT!!! it will really be worth your time!

Look well to this day!

Look to the exhortation of the Dawn!
Look to this day!
For it is life,
The very life of life.

In its brief course lie all the verities and realities of your existence.

The bliss of growth,
The glory of action,
The splendor of beauty;
For yesterday is but a dream,
And tomorrow is only a vision;
But today well lived makes
Every yesterday a dream of happiness,
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well therefore to this day!
Such is the salutation of the dawn!

-Kalidasa

a bird needs both its right and left wings to fly

I want to start this post by saying that I am a voice major, so I am particular about the voice of singers in bands and stuff. It doesn't matter how great the songs are, how great they can play the guitar... if a singer has a crappy or whiny voice, I can't listen to the rest of the song.

Last year (or maybe before) my boyfriend introduced me to this singer-songwriter, Grayson Capps. The guy is amazing. He has 4 original CDs out (2 of which I now have) and also has a live album and is on the soundtrack of "Love Song for Bobby Long", where he sings the title track. if you have not heard of him, YOU NEED TO NOW!!!! not kidding.

Capps was born in Alabama but spent a lot of his life in New Orleans, and you can hear that influence in his music. Once again, I find myself liking someone with a bit of a country feel, but he is not really country. Capps's music has more of a Southern feel than country. Many of his songs tell stories and have Southern themes. His music also has a blues feel to it, and a lot of his songs have bluesy guitar accompaniments.

so this Friday night I went to Little Willie's with my boyfriend to listen to Capps. if I hadn't been a fan before, I would be now. Few musical artists sound better live than they do recorded, and Capps is one of those musicians. Not only did he not miss a single note singing or playing guitar, he also told the stories of the ideas for many of his songs. Considering the man makes his living by playing in bars across the country, this kind of a performance is to be expected, but Capps really took this to a new level.

He told stories, made jokes, and still played impeccably. Just a few of the best quotes from the concert:

• "I don't know much about this religion stuff, but I like the idea of heaven." This prefaced a gospel song that Capps played.
• One of my favorites: "I'm not a democrat, I'm not a republican, I'm a g*d d*mned American. A bird needs both its right and left wings to fly."
• "You can run around naked, do all kinds of drugs. Just got one rule: be nice."
  

Now whether these are lyrics, lines, or just stuff that popped into his head, it's phrases like these that add even more to a live performance.

Of course he switched guitars for some of his songs (which many live performers do) but how many performers play a tin biscuit, use a slide, a thumb-pick, a harmonica, and STILL sing?? ......................Exactly. I wish I was half as good at guitar as this guy.

I don't think I can say it enough, but Capps truly has one of the best voices I have heard. His slow songs are the ones you want to fall asleep to every night. Of course by this time you must be thinking 'where are the links to his songs??' Well, here they are!

• "Love Song for Bobby Long": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKiJlEhdKLo
• "Poison" (live sing-along):http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5imNGwc6Uq4&feature=related
  
• "I See You": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wUTXGjx85I
• "Graveyard": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8QVyjGQUjg
  

You can also find him on itunes!! So check him out! You won't be disappointed, and if you don't like the type of music, you gotta admit that the guy has talent not often seen in today's popular music.

just because I'm from the south doesn't mean I'm country

so let me preface this post with this: I DO NOT like country music. never have. that being said, I absolutely LOVE the wreckers. (would I be posting if I didn't?) they are almost too country for me, but not quite. I also do not typically like girl bands. so I wonder, why do I like them?

• being an alto, I am a sucker for harmony, so maybe that is why I like them so much.
• they both have great voices, and don't overdo the country 'twang'
• their songs fit THEIR voices, not a computerized, edited version of them
• I can use some of their songs for lyric analysis in music therapy sessions!!
  
• they are just awesome

• 

The Wreckers is made of Michelle Branch and Jessica Harp. Sadly, they are no longer together. :( but they DO have 2 cds on itunes. One is their live cd, and it is magnificent. They just really do a great job of writing songs and playing them. Some of their harmonies are unexpected too, which makes them even better.

So have you heard of them?? Their most famous song is 'Leave the Pieces' and they won an award for it in 2006 I believe. Where can you check them out? On itunes! Or, here are links to some of my favorite songs of theirs on youtube.

• leave the pieces: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHfSuBglk8E
• my oh my: http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=_cZV-OFv80Q&a=XayZU75RQno&playnext_from=ML
• lay me down: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS3l4Qa9ZzE&feature=related

basically, you should check them out. I'm listening to them while I write this, and I hope you will now, too!

and I owe this whole post to my dear friend Elisa who made me listen to them oh so many years ago!!