Overheard on my Headphones, #3

Or, rather, overheard on my cell phone. After 6 months with a terribly obnoxious digital ringtone, I’ve recently upgraded to an almost as obnoxious real song ringtone! Yippee! I really can’t get enough of “Valerie” by Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse. I had heard it a couple of times at different bars or clubs I’d gone to, and it always ALWAYS got me going. As is most of Winehouse’s music, it’s kind of a throwback. Hand claps, a nice little shuffle beat, backing horns, you know the drill. The ringtone enters in “why don’t you come on over Valerie”, the horns bouncing in vintage-style as Amy sings, “Valeriiiiieeee”.

I’ve never really been a fan of using real songs as ringtones, but I just couldn’t resist with this one. And as my phone rang at work this morning (thanks, Mom), my first instinct was to cringe. I mean, it is a bit inappropriate in the workplace for an interjection such as that. But then, what the hell, it’s a nice change of pace, right? A welcomed break/disctraction in an otherwise humdrum day.

You’re welcome, co-workers.

 

Overheard on my Headphones, #2

Ew. What. a. gross. day. After a beautiful weekend spent in the burbs (it is awfully nice to see lots of trees), I come back to this shit? That combined with the mass exodus to the west that most of my office took, lasting the next few days, it’s a very very sleepy Monday. What to do? Blast the tunes, of course.

So here’s my Rainy Day Monday Sucks So Let’s Make it Better playlist. Tuning out the clicks and beeps, cocooning myself in good music, I just might get through this gross day yet.

“Deception” by Blackalicious: There’s just something about that recurring “La-di-da-da-da-di-da…” that makes me so happy. The delivery is laid-back, the harmony is a bit sloppy, and it just works so well. And I’m always a fan of piano in hip-hop.

“New Soul” by Yael Naim: Yes, the song from the MacBook Air commercial. I’m sorry for being dreadfully cliche, but this is a really really lovely song. After you hear it, that melody just won’t let you go. Which would be a problem if it weren’t such a delightful one.

“Going On” by Gnarls Barkley: This might be the best cut off their new album. Doesn’t really have the same cache as “Crazy”, but the chorus of this song just kills me. When the song hits that dark ending part at around the 2-minute mark, it’s almost like the record has cracked open and you’re peering into the vastness of their warped minds. That happens much more, and with much bigger affect, on other parts of the album, but I just can’t get enough of this one.

“thickfreakness”, by the Black Keys: This is an old standby. If the song were nothing but 3 minutes of that opening hook, I think I might even be satisfied with it. Dan Auerbach’s vocals seem to me to come out of another time. Can’t understand a damn word he’s saying most of the time, but that didn’t stop Eddie Vedder from being a great frontman, and the same applies here.

“Pulling Mussels (From A Shell)” by Squeeze: Ok, this is the 80’s dork in me talking. I can’t even begin to describe how much I dig this song. It’s so bright and shiny. (Listen to those guitars chirp!) I can’t tell whether to consider it dated or vintage, but the fact that it is so firmly stuck in the past does not bother me at all. Sure the guitar and piano solos leave a tiny bit to be desired, but it’s the FEEL of this song that makes it great. And that anticipatory guitar strum right before the verses gets me every time.

“Sunrise” by Yeasayer: This band uses some pretty crazy sounds. The drums make it sound kind of tribal. And the vocals are difficult to pin down. On one hand, his voice is really raw, but with the effects they use, you wouldn’t be surprised to hear it on a dance track. Which I guess this kind of is. A really cool one. And when the chorus hits with “I wanna get in the sunrise”, I can’t help but think, “yea. i wanna too!”

“We Can Work It Out” by Stevie Wonder: Covering a song is tricky business. Even trickier is covering a Beatles song. But if anyone can take a great song and make it their own, it’s Stevie. Sure, the “hey”s in the verses are a little on the cheesy side, but that part of the song (the Paul part) was a little cheesy to begin with. And Stevie kills it when he hits the John part (“Life is very short…”). And a well-placed tambourine can do a lot.

“Elevator Music” by Beck: I don’t listen to enough Beck. The atmosphere he creates with his music is incredible. Understated grooves all around. And he does skinny-white-boy pseudo-rap better than anyone. If I were ever to make a movie, I think it would be the kind of movie that would have a lot of Beck in the soundtrack.

“Bell Bottom Blues” by Derek and the Dominos: I don’t have one, but if i had a list of my top 10 tracks of all time, I think this might be on it. No matter how many times I listen to it, it never ever gets old. That graffiti artist may have been right. Clapton might be god. A tortured god, but a god nonetheless.

 

Smoooooooth Jazz

The YES network’s rain delay music is hiLARious and incredibly fitting. check it out.

 

Overheard on my Headphones, Part 1

I, like many of my fellow worker bees, am pretty much constantly listening to music. Whether it’s on my iPod or pandora.com, I am essentially ALWAYS plugged in. On the subway, at work, at lunch, and even when I get home. I suppose I’m something of a music junkie. And I’m certainly not alone. It’s amazing the number of people riding the subway every morning and evening that I see with headphones in. Sometimes, when I’m not actually plugged in, I can hear someone’s music blaring. Sometimes, I hear multiple people’s music blaring, creating either a nice blending of sound or unpleasant cacophony of noise. (Yup, I said cacophony.) And so I wonder: can people hear MY music ever? I guess I listen pretty loud sometimes, so I suppose it’s possible.

And at work, not only do I wonder whether or not co-workers can hear my music through my headphones, but I also have this habit that I wonder if anyone has picked up on yet. See, I make a lot of Excel spreadsheets in my job. Most of them involve typing numbers and formulas into cells, creating nice little (or biiiig) financial spreadsheets. Music is just about the only thing that gets me through the boredom and monotony of these tasks. And when just listening isn’t enough, well, sometimes I type to the rhythm of the music. Not just straight beats. I’m talking different drum beats, bass lines, guitar riffs. I find it hard and counterproductive to do this when I’m typing words, but it is actually pretty entertaining when typing numbers. On top of that, I’m a pretty loud typer. Must be all those years of piano lessons. Strong fingers. Or something. Anyway, so yea, I do wonder sometimes if anyone at work notices that I do this. And if so, what do they think of it? Do they find it annoying? Funny? Weird? Not that I really care, but it IS something that I wonder.

It is with these two preponderances as a backdrop that I introduce a new series to the blog I will call: Overheard on my Headphones. The title is an homage to the highly entertaining website/blog: overheardinnewyork.com . If you’ve never been, I very much recommend it. In the same vein as Overheard in New York, Overheard on my Headphones will highlight those clashes between public and private. Musical moments I wish I could share with strangers, other moments that I pray no one can hear (yea, I listen to embarassing music sometimes. Just like the rest of you), and other such choice moments I might be inclined to share with the, like, 2 people that read this blog. (self-deprication is still cool, right?)

So, aaaaaanyway…..

“Stir it Up” by Bob Marley and the Wailers came on my iPod shuffle towards the end of my work day, which was really lovely, cause I was getting pretty pretty antsy around 4:45. There’s nothing like a good Marley jam to put you in a good mood, that’s for sure. But there was one problem. It really REALLY made me want to dance around. That reggae beat is kind of irresistible to me, and I found myself bouncing in my seat. For sure, if any of my co-workers took a glance at me, they’d be jealous. “It’s a Tuesday! at 4:45! And she’s DANCING!”

What can I say, I’ve got a joie de vivre. At least when Marley’s playing. Then again, who doesn’t?

 

Brave New World (in the best way.)

Saturday night was one of those epic shitshows that really really belong in sophomore year of college. A joint birthday party, 40 20-somethings crammed into a room fit for twenty with probably 10+ liters of booze and a really sweet karaoke machine and projection screen. And 10 liters of booze, $60 worth of Domino’s, a few games of Slap the Bag, a bunch of hoarse voices, a big hole in the wall, a cinged chunk of hair (yours truly, actually…), one kicked out partygoer with a groping problem, and 4 hours later, the party was winding down and everyone searched for their next location.

Judging from the description above, you might guess that the next location for most would be straight home. And you would be right. You might also guess that some casualties would be found as well. Not just dignity, but tangible things lost. You would be right again. A dear friend of mine lost her wallet. Making it all the way home without cash, credit card, or ID, said friend was seemingly unaware (or had forgotten) about this missing wallet until the next morning when she found a peculiar (and awesome!) facebook message from a complete stranger, basically saying that she had found my friend’s wallet on the street, next to a garbage can, and in a “drunken stupor” decided to pick it up, noting just how horrible it is to lose things like that. She lived in the LES, she said, and would my friend like to come pick it up tomorrow?

WOW. as much as we might be disgusted by facebook, and our use of it, sometimes, look at what it can do!! The address on my friend’s ID was from her parents’ house, no phone number, no way of getting a hold of her at all. Except for facebook! Amazing! My mind is blown! (yours too? yup.)

So my friend made the trek from the UWS to the LES (oh yes, the abbrevs make me sound like a real New Yorker, you know) for her wallet. And despite the post-karaoke fiesta being nearly unbearable, (as it was for pretty much all of us, I believe) I would imagine that this simple little mantra got her through the journey, “thank you, Mark Zuckerberg. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

 Only disappointment of the night: they didn’t have “Heart of the City” by Jay-Z in the karaoke book. With the birthday boy on the verses and me on the hook, oh dear, it would have been the highlight of EVERYONE’S night, that’s for sure. Damn. Maybe we’ll ask them to get it for next time. If we’re ever allowed back.

 

Sunday. Ew.

If there’s something inside that you’re wanting to say
Say it out loud it’ll be ok
I will be alright
I will be alright
I will be alright
I will be alright

Sunday nights as a real person are pretty terrible. The Beta Band helps.

 

The Queen is in the Building

As I noted before, I saw ARETHA FRANKLIN at Radio City Music Hall on Saturday night. The second of two sold-out shows at Radio City, Aretha took the stage just as she should have: as a Diva (with a BIG D, for sure.) So many rhinestones. So much tulle. A BIG orchestra. My mom and I were in the 16th row, so seeing Aretha up that close, even aside from the music, was a breathtaking experience.

Highlights:

-”My Funny Valentine”: just beautiful

-”Respect”: Duh.

-A few duets (including a gospel tune) with a former Temptation. The gospel song really knocked me on my ass. I now know what people are talking about when they say seeing Aretha is akin to a religious experience. Her conviction is staggering.

-”Chain of Fools”: I think I like this song better than Respect. Killer song.

-Cissy Houston (Whitney’s mother) was one of the back-up singers. Oh wow, they look alike. That was wild.

-The way she exited the stage: She did it a few times, and each time got more and more adorable. The way she danced, her facial expressions…it was in those moments that you could REALLY see how much she was enjoying herself. She was just so…exuberant. And at over 60, exuberance is pretty impressive.

Lowlights:

-About halfway through the set, one of Aretha’s sons came on stage. Doing “Christian Hip-Hop”, this kid, who was probably in his mid-20’s, rapped non-sensical lyrics (sometimes off the beat) to mundane beats, and even worse than mundane hooks. If that weren’t bad enough, I’m pretty sure the last song he performed was called “One Mic”, a total NaS rip-off. The song was a combination between that and that Eminem song from 8 Mile. You know, the one where he talks about how he vomitted up his mom’s spaghetti. Exactly. I guess it’s kind of unfortunate for him that his mother is Aretha. So much expectation. But one of those expectations is that, as the son of the Queen of Soul, he might have some…uhhh…connections with top musicians? Maybe?

-”Chain of Fools”: Yes, also in the highlights, but Aretha didn’t do it like she used to. It was, I’m very sad to say, a little weak. She has less control. Less belting power. She actually used her HEAD VOICE. (Not just in this song, through the whole show.) Which was nice, and different, but I guess either she wants to tone it down or her voice can’t do what it used to. Either way, despite how amazingly kick ass this song is, it just wasn’t the same.

I hate to knock Aretha. But I’m just being critical. Overall, this show was incredible, for the whole experience of it, and also the jealous amazement I see when I tell my friends about it. HA.

For a much more benign and, admittedly, probably better written review, see the NYTimes review: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/24/arts/music/24aret.html

 

Delightful. (on a Monday?)

On a slow Monday, the mid-afternoon coffee is kind of essential. And as the coffee from the coffee machine in my office actually tastes like cardboard, a trip to the deli across the street was in order. As I waited for the cashier to make my iced coffee juuuust the way I like it, I heard the other cashier lightly humming, then starting to sing under her breath. “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…” I couldn’t help but smile. I hadn’t thought of or heard that song probably since my days at summer camp, when songs like that were ubiquitous, almost mandatory, and kum-ba-yah-like sing-a-longs were scheduled as often as arts & craft sessions to make little animals out of sparkly pipe cleaners.

Delightful, yes. Until I remembered the lyrics to the second part, all about how the person was dreaming of their “sunshine”, but when they woke up, that person was gone. Which is, while a bit childlike, heartbreaking. Heartbreakingly childlike, if you will. And that’s exactly how the cashier sounded.

Still, the song took me back and made me smile, which is one of the entirely too many (or just enough?) reasons I love music. At the tail end of a day wasted in corporate boredom, it’s moments like that that really keep me going. Delightful.

 

Find a Better Band Name, Please…Or…Pop-rock ballads RULE!

THANK YOU, American Idol. Not only have you simultaneously exposed, embraced, and reinforced the star machine, you’ve given us the most gag-worthy band to hit the music scene since Chad Kroeger of Nickelback (shudder) rrrrrr-ed his way through “U Remind Me”. That’s right. I’m talking about Daughtry. The latest in a string of admittedly deliciously poppy rock ballads, I have heard “Feels Like Tonight” more times than I ever could have possibly dreamed (stomach rumbles, gag reflex engages). Here are the lyrics, for your enjoyment.

You, you got me
Thinking it’ll be alright.
You, you told me,
“Come and take a look inside.”
You believed me,
In every single lie.
But I, I failed you this time.

And it feels like tonight.
I can’t believe I’m broken inside.
Can’t you see that there’s nothing that I wanna do,
But try to make it up to you?
And it feels like tonight,
Tonight.

I was waiting
For the day you’d come around.
I was chasing,
And nothing was all I found.
From the moment you came into my life,
You showed me what’s right.

And it feels like tonight.
I can’t believe I’m broken inside.
Can’t you see that there’s nothing that I wanna do,
But try to make it up to you?
And it feels like tonight.

I never felt like this before.
Just when I leave, I’m back for more.
Nothing else here seems to matter.
In these ever-changing days,
You’re the one thing that remains.
I could stay like this forever.

And it feels like tonight.
I can’t believe I’m broken inside.
Can’t you see that there’s nothing that I wanna do,
But try to make it up to you?
And it feels like tonight.
Tonight.
Tonight.
‘Cause there’s nothing that I wanna do,
But try to make it up to you.
And it feels like tonight.
Tonight.

Chris Daughtry, I am holding you personally responsible for the heightened expectations, and resultant dashed dreams, of all the young girls who eat up the words to this song. Why are you writing this song? Cause you want your girl back? You think you’ve changed? Or you’re just writing this to melt her heart and it won’t MATTER how shitty you treat her…again…Now, I believe you mean well. It does sound awfully earnest. But I’m just not convinced that people can change that easily. Like wake up one morning and say “Shit. I’m different now! I’m better!” Tell me how that happened and maybe I might believe you.

And as for “There’s nothin that I wanna do/but try to make it up to you”, well, what the FUCK does that mean?

You might say I’m a little bitter. Nah, not really. It’s just that it’s songs like this that give girls delusions about love and relationships: “DAUGHTRY was a TOTAL badboy! So’s MY boyfriend! Maybe he’ll CHANGE!” Now I suppose these girls are partly to blame for buying into this garbage. All I’m saying is that the whole cycle gives me the creeps.

 

1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3.

A song that popped up on my shuffle today. For your consideration.

Velvet Waltz, by Built to Spill

if there’s a word for you
it doesn’t mean anything
I’ve got some words for you
they don’t offer anything
you cold called everybody
but you haven’t sold a thing
a bad idea gone funny
a pinch felt in a dream
you thought of everything but some things can’t be thought
you thought of everything but one thing you forgot is you’re wrong

and you better not be angry
and you better not be sad
you better just enjoy the luxury of sympathy
if that’s a luxury you have
and you know no private bad
you know that that’s the meaning of you’re done
in a world that’s not so bad
in a world time was killing in the sun
in a world that’s not so bad
in a world time was killing in the sun
in the sun
in the sun
you took all that moment
and you left it in the sun
now it’s gone because you left it in the sun
was a brave idea
didn’t mean no harm
now it’s burnt because you left it in the sun
was a great mistake
but how could you have known
the temperature, the distance of the sun

This song has broken my heart and built me back up, jumbled my head then made me incredibly calm more times than I can count. It’s kind of…epic or something. The lyrics alone don’t paint the full picture. Listen to the song. On a great sound system or on headphones. Very loud. And you will understand what I mean. Intense, yes. Some of the best music is. And the fact that it’s actually in a waltz is pretty cool too.