I'm going to Lollapalooza this year! I couldn't really afford the three-day ticket, so I applied to be a volunteer and was accepted to work three days as a box office minion / floater. I work Friday night and Saturday/Sunday until 1pm, and the rest of my time is free to roam, listen, and salivate over the line-up. I'm sooo psyched; I went to Lolla in 2007 and 2009, so this is fitting into my rotation perfectly.
I informed my mother of my good fortune, and she immediately began constructing a schedule of bands for me to see. She might be more excited than I am. And she told me she'd disown me if I don't see her recent musical crush, Maps and Atlases. Thus I need to become familiar with these guys so as not to threaten my inheritance (or, failing that, my mother's unconditional love for me).
These guys formed in Chicago in 2004. They've released an LP and a handful of EPs and have been making the live show/festival circuit for a few years now. Their songs are rhythmically and musically complex -- "math rock" -- but the live performance comes off effortlessly. In other words, my mom has pretty good taste, all things considered.
So who's going to Lolla? What's worth seeing? The schedule is here! The definites on my list, in order of appearance:
I may also have to stop by the kids stage to check out Keller Williams, who is inexplicably not playing an adult-themed set. Any other suggestions for must-see bands at this year's Lolla?
There is a certain fearlessness that is required for scat singing. It's more than technique or ability; it's willingness to cast about, to improvise, to start a line without always being sure exactly where it'll end.
Or maybe not. Maybe musical geniuses like Ella Fitzgerald had some kind of chord progression map in their brains, guiding the assortment of notes toward an inevitable and resolved conclusion.
All I know is that scat singing is really, really difficult. It's especially difficult to do well. And this -- this is scat singing done unbelievably, extraordinarily, inhumanly well.
I apologize for the lack of actual live video. I have no idea when this was recorded -- Ella Fitzgerald was actively performing for more than 60 years, starting in the 1930's -- but I'm sure she looked fabulous. Maybe you can muster the enthusiasm for trains that drove my little brother to learn to use YouTube when he was two years old so he could look up Thomas the Tank Engine videos.
This generation is so weird. Thanks to my grandpa for sending me this video!
My friend Laura is a Pearl Jam fan. In fact, this summer she will be attending her 24th and 25th Pearl Jam concerts. And that is what we here at Daijams* call dedication. Tonight she's seeing Eddie Vedder perform at the Chicago Theater, so in preparation I asked her to give us a taste of why Pearl Jam is so damn brilliant. NB: Laura is a Philly native. In her own words:
I have two videos for you that properly demonstrate, to the best of their ability considering sound and video quality limitations, the Pearl Jam concert experience. Listening to these guys on the radio or your computer is one thing, but until you've seen them live, you have a very limited picture of what the band is all about.
1) "Alive," Wachovia Center, Philadelphia, PA (2005):
The story: Pearl Jam rarely plays in Philadelphia proper. Instead they head to Camden, NJ, an outdoor amphitheater/indoor concert venue, for reasons that probably relate to greater seating capacity and scheduling concerns with our sports teams. Finally, in 2005, they played the Wachovia Center in Philly for one of only four American gigs in between their Canadian and Latin American tours. This song, "Alive," is the band's first single, their anthem. Eddie described how the song's meaning has changed over the years on VH1's Storytellers:
"[The protagonist is] still dealing with love, [he's] still dealing with the death of [his] father. All [he] knows is 'I'm still alive'...that's totally out of burden...So cut to years later, and we're playing to larger and larger audiences, and they're responding to this chorus in a way that you never thought. Folks jumping up and down in the aisles, and using their bodies to express themselves, and belting it out, you know, singing along, you know, 'I'm still alive,' en masse. So every night when I'd look out on this sea of people reacting in their own positive interpretation, it was really incredible. The audience changed the meaning of these words. When they sing 'I'm still alive,' it's like they're celebrating. And here's the thing: when they changed the meaning of those words, they lifted the curse."
This video is a perfect representation of that celebration. I chose it because I was in the audience that night, and a special electricity pulsed through the venue. We knew it was going to be a special night, and it exceeded all expectations. You see a few shots of the crowd during the solo breaks, when every fan raised and pumped an arm in the air, and shouted "Hey!" in time. The connection between band and audience is unparalleled, something I've witnessed only a handful of times, rivaled perhaps by Bruce Springsteen. It is something to behold.
2) "Rockin' in the Free World," The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA (2009):
The story: The Spectrum was a Philadelphia institution. It housed the Flyers and 76ers, welcomed Barnum and Bailey's, and hosted concerts from the likes of The Grateful Dead, Elvis, Pink Floyd and Bruce Springsteen. In 2008 it was announced that the Spectrum, 41 years old at the time, would be demolished starting November of 2009 to make way for a new retail, entertainment, and dining center. Philadelphians didn't take this well, naturally, as we like to preserve our historical landmarks...and yes, we considered this stadium as such! Rumors started flying about who would host the final shows; Bruce Springsteen was the obvious choice, and indeed he played during the Spectrum's final weeks. Six months or so before the actual dates, Pearl Jam announced that they would play a whopping four-gig run to close the Spectrum, with the final concert falling on Halloween 2009. Philly is a *huge* Pearl Jam town - another story entirely - and fans were in a frenzy. The shows gained even greater significance because both the Phillies (fighting the Yankees for the World Series) and the Flyers were to play Halloween night as well, all in the same sports complex. It was great to be a Philadelphian that week.
This video is from Halloween night, a concert that spanned 3.5 hours and 41 songs. And no, that doesn't include Bad Religion's opening act. 3.5 hours and 41 songs from Pearl Jam. Unprecedented, really. As expected, the night was momentous. They pulled out songs that had never been played live, Ed rocked an accordian, the bass player took lead vocals while Ed used a basketball as percussion, and they all dressed up as Devo and played "Whip It" for the first song of their first encore. Oh, and they occasionally brought out a "ring girl," Katie, to update us on the Phillies-Yankees score. Honestly, it felt like a party...a party of 18,000, that is. "Rockin' in the Free World," a Neil Young song that PJ covers frequently, was the penultimate song for the night, before their traditional closer. Perhaps it was a "you had to be there" moment, but this video adequately captures the band's energy and crowd's enthusiasm. It was the perfect end to a spectacular series of shows.
* To clarify, that includes me and my cat. And my cat's blogging enthusiasm has been waning lately.
This is the kind of stuff I listened to when all my friends were listening to Green Day and R. Kelly and...I don't know, whatever kids were supposed to listen to in the mid-nineties. The Temptations were the original boy band, to judge by the choreography. And there's something very satisfying about five men singing about fighting to hold on to a woman who means a lot to them. Chivalry is not dead!
One of the things I love about music is its ability to capture a mood. Songs remind us of people or places or things (nouns, I suppose, in general), and they stir memory. But all music worth listening to has the ability to slip directly into our bodies and seize us whole. Some people react to dance music and go batshit insane. Others can't study unless they've got Gregorian chant and/or the Garden State soundtrack playing softly in the background (hello, freshman year). Music transports us, sets the tone, gives us attitude.
Led Zeppelin reminds me of spring cleaning and open windows. Blues Traveler reminds me of Iowa. The Decemberists make me think of summer. (Their music just doesn't sound right in the dead of winter.) But I turn to the Arctic Monkeys when I need to feel cool (they're British! how hip!) and hardcore (I almost died in the AM mosh pit at Lolla 2007). Thus the Arctic Monkeys are often my choice during the day at my office job, where I deftly push paper and answer phones and generally feel like a badass. Because if clerical work is anything, it's most certainly badass.
I spent the summer of 2007 completely obsessed with this band. I've kept track of their album releases ever since, including the most recent full-length album, The King is Dead (January 2011). These three songs -- "Down by the Water," "Rox in the Box," and "June Hymn" -- are off that album, though obviously the full band was not present for this performance. (That's Nickel Creek's Sarah Watkins on fiddle.)
This video originally appeared in this NPR story, in which the author references the rather tepid response this album received when released. I agree that it didn't really knock my socks off. It doesn't approach the genius of 2006's Crane Wife or 2009's Hazards of Love. Buta few of the songs are catchy -- they picked three of the best to showcase -- and it's helpful that I'm already a fan and therefore already strangely addicted to Colin Meloy's voice. It's like he's got a bunch of extra space in his mouth when he sings. And there is a twang that is not identifiable to any region. Even the false start on the third song is endearing.
Now more than ever, I want to work for NPR someday.
Words don't really do this video justice. Superhuman musician Bobby McFerrin (of "Don't Worry Be Happy" fame) and world-famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma do children's music. It's incredible -- so happy, so nostalgic, so delicate. No one can stop smiling. If you start every Monday like this, you'll be alright.
This song should be studied as an archetype of perfect form. Simple lick, sincere and soulful lyrics, and plenty of room for embellishment and creativity. And Sara's got the chops to really make something of it without over-Beyonce-ing it. I love how she and the guitarist don't make a big deal out of the chorus; it's not more connected or louder, but it balances the verses. With such a stripped-down sound, there's no need to overemphasize.
I was introduced to this song yesterday. I have listened to it approximately 14.5 times since then. It's beautifully simple, and I dare you not to get the hymn-like chorus stuck in your head.
The band must have realized this too, because this was their first single off their self-titled debut album in 2008. They released a second album last month. I haven't heard it but everyone from Rolling Stone to The A.V. Club to Spin says it's pretty good, so maybe we should check it out.
Hang on, I need to listen to this one a few more times first...
It's Tuesday, but I'm dreaming of Sunday. Best day of the week.
I adore Maroon 5. They're the exact right balance of pop and rock, and Adam Levine's voice is unique and pitch-perfect. He's pretty much the reason I started watching The Voice (the newest American Idol knock-off) and now I'm sort of obsessed. Don't be surprised to see some performances from that show making their way to this blog; the array of characters they've got is both astonishing and refreshing.
This song is a classic, off Songs About Jane (2002), which in my opinion is one of the best albums released in the last decade. It's solid all the way through, and the live performance is just as soothing and musically entertaining as the studio version. Adam's got more than a little soul in him. And he can rock the skinny tie.
I haven't had much time lately to find new music. It's a part-time job, searching out and finding suitable artists to obsess over. My three-month Weezer love affair was relatively short-lived, but man was it intense. Last week my friend sent me a link to download the bootleg of the live show that initiated my passion in January. So I've been revisiting a lot of what I already listen to.
The exception is Bonnie Raitt, who I'd heard of but I had no concept of what kind of music she made or her role in the industry. Turns out she's a pretty epic blues singer-songwriter and activist, with nine Grammys to her name. And now that I've looked her up, I do recognize one of her big songs, "Something to Talk About," which is just as sassy in live performance as on a recording.
Moral of the story: I need to find me some more Bonnie Raitt.
It's Thursday. It's summer. According to an astrology site on the Internet, it's the year of radical empowerment. Live without regrets.
And yes, this is the song from Inception. It's so much more than that though; Piaf's striking vibrato is so satisfying. Plus the song has a history with the French Foreign Legion (insert joke about the anemic French military). Also Marion Cotillard, who played Leonardo DiCaprio's wife in Inception, won an Academy Award in 2010 for her portrayal of Édith Piaf in a different movie. It would be a coincidence if it weren't so intentional.
SERIOUS BLOGGING FAIL. This is supposed to be Daily Jams, not Weekly Jams. Blaming finals week is so cliche, so instead I'll blame my social calendar. They were equal culprits this time.
I still have a longer post percolating (hint: it's MJ!), but today we're going with my man Bill Withers. I'd never heard this song before my friend Laura sent it to me a month ago, but it's gotten under my skin in the worst way. That is, in a good way. That is, I like it a lot. What?
The band (which I don't know anything about) develop this awesome slow groove from the start; Bill's voice nestles in and lays back. There will be no rushing today, Bill says. And the lyrics -- so full of soul and...is that mirth? He's positively MIRTHFUL about being used by this woman. The chorus sums it up nicely: "I wanna spread the news that if it feels this good getting used, you just keep on using me until you use me up." Everyone wins.
I direct you to the top-rated YouTube comment on the video for further elaboration. My brain is fried. I think I'll just play this song a few times on loop and sway for awhile. Yeah, that sounds nice.
"Creep" was released in 1992 as Radiohead's debut single. It was re-released the following year onPablo Honey, and people noticed the song and started a continuous freak-out over its awesomeness that has yet to subside. "Creep" so defined the band in the 90's that they stopped playing it live for a few years at the end of the decade. They were just sick of it, apparently. (I think Fountains of Wayne feels the same way about "Stacy's Mom.") So because it's so rare to hear, especially in the last 10 years, the crowd's enthusiastic reaction to the opening chords are an understatement of how flipping epic this must have been in person.
I love how guitarist Jonny Greenwood just completely rips the percussive notes that set off the chorus.
Thanks, YouTube, for making every day feel like Christmas.
P.S. Apologies for the lack of post yesterday. I'm working on a long one for later this week that will hopefully make up for it.
