Today’s song of the day is simply beautiful. I have been loving this song ever since I discovered it; it was playing in the background on the Vampire Diaries a few episodes ago. Boy, that show has some really great music!
What a great ballad, huh? Also, I guess this makes this a 1SF? Eh, who knows… either way, it’s something to whet your appetite til I can get back to another 5SF; maybe I’ll be able to do one early next week… stay tuned. Til then, enjoy the weekend!
Holy fuck! Two weeks in a row?! You bet your ass! Welcome to another, apparently fully revived, edition of the five song Friday, kids!! I have some slow stuff, some boy band stuff, and some dance stuff for you today, so we are going a bit all over the place today, if you’re up for it. I am glad that I was able to find a way to share the music again, because I love talking about music that I believe is worth praising; especially when most people wouldn’t hear about it otherwise. Here’s hoping you enjoy this week’s selection! Now, on to the fun…
Greg Laswell – Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
I love a great cover, and this one is fantastic. We saw Greg Laswell (finally!) live last week when he opened up for Sara Bareilles, and he played this little gem; which I had never heard, but apparently, has been on like 5 soundtracks. He performed this song amazingly live, and I immediately downloaded it when I got home from the show. I love how playful, and endearing it is; especially when you consider the Cyndi Lauper original, which I would have thought was almost impossible to improve upon. Well, Greg, you’ve done more than improved upon it, you’ve turned it into something delightful, and completely beautiful all on its own. I’m glad he played it at the show; otherwise, I might not have known it even existed. Listen to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun here.
Jeremy Messersmith – A Girl, a Boy, and a Graveyard
I have to say, I am a sucker for shows that use songs like this during some pivotal scene. I think this one came from the Vampire Diaries (totally guilty pleasure show), and I love that I could find it using that Shazam app on my phone. This song is beautiful, and whoever the music director is for that show, you are a genius (I’ve found so many great ones from you!). This song complimented the touching scene it was used in, AND got me to run out and buy this track soon after the episode aired. The song reminds me a lot of acoustic artists like Joshua Radin, but the vocal has an oldness to it, almost like a Simon and Garfunkel feel. Definitely a beautiful song, and one I’m glad to have been able to find! Listen to A Girl, a Boy, and a Graveyard here.
The Wanted – All Time Low
For as long as I can remember, I have been a sucker for boy bands. From New Kids on the Block back in the day, up through the Backstreet Boys, N*SYNC, and my overarching, undying love and devotion for Westlife, it’s no surprise that I keep my eye out for new boy-band driven pop. A lot of the time, the stuff that comes out is, well, less than stellar, but occasionally, a pure pop gem comes around; and that is what we have here folks. Will these guys be more than their predecessors? That is pretty doubtful, seeing as boy bands are still pretty much a thing of the past these days, but if they can give us some fun pop songs to enjoy along the way, I will be more than happy. This song is perfect for the radio… that is, UK/European radio; this will never be on US airways, which sucks (but at least we get to hear about it thanks to the internet, right?). Overall, I have been playing this song on repeat for a few weeks now after discovering it on the top 20 UK tracks, and I have been loving it ever since. I noticed that they have a full-length debut coming up very soon, and I can only hope that there are more great pop songs like this one on it. I’ve heard another promising single (Heart Vacancy), so fingers crossed that the rest of the album is great as well! Listen to All Time Low here.
Jes – Closer
I had no idea at the time, but the first time I heard of Jes, was when I heard the amazing collaboration between her and Gabriel and Dresden called Motorcycle, back in 2003, with one of the best songs of that entire year, As The Rush Comes. After that, Jes popped back on my radar in early 2008, with the 5SF-featured, Around You (JukiBe Remix). Most recently, Jes is back on my radar screen with this fantastic little dance-pop number, which I saw the video for, and immediately wanted to hear more and more. I love the edge that it has, and her throaty and raspy vocal delivery is a great compliment to something so hard hitting. Overall, this is a great song for her, and I hope she gets some dance-radio airplay; it’s a great down-tempo dance song! Listen to Closer here.
Rihanna – Only Girl (In the World)
I will be the first to admit that I am abnormally hard on Rihanna. I have been a major critic of her work, and honestly feel she is studio produced for the most part (not that it’s a bad thing, but don’t try to sing live if you can’t pull it off completely; do the right thing and lip sync for your life!), and tends to copy trends set forth by artists that were more indie or more creative, and did it quite a bit before her (and then rockets it to the radio without throwing them a bone). That being said, I have to give credit where credit is due; this song is brilliant. It has infectious beats, club-filling synth licks, and a great amalgamation of some of her best hits (S.O.S and Please Don’t Stop The Music, most notably) all rolled into one. It is a song that I heard once and was thought I wouldn’t like it, because again, I’m hard on this chick, but I ended up loving it, and have been playing it more and more since it was released. It may not be anything terribly new, but it’s Rihanna, and it’s a fun track. She may have some flaws, but clearly, she has some good points as well. Listen to Only Girl (In The World) here.
What did you think? As always, leave me some comments to let me know what you thought, and suggest some stuff that you are in love with as well!
I’ll be honest, I didn’t post the 5SF last week because I was wrapped up in the Eagle raid. That being said, I am still in awe that it happened, and as more information comes out about it, I am more and more surprised at how it looks to be blatant homophobia. It’s extremely disappointing all around.
I am not skipping this week, though. This week’s picks are all strong, and most of them are major finds. I hope that you enjoy them, and I hope it gives you at least a few minutes to take your mind off of the whole debacle mentioned above. Let’s get started!
Priscilla Renea – Dollhouse
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_918_priscillarenea-dollhouse.mp3]
I discovered this song when I stumbled on the cutesy video on youtube one day last week. I instantly loved the production and arrangement of the song, and I was sure that it was another gem from production genius Max Martin. Interestingly enough, it isn’t him, but Benny Blanco, who’s worked with a lot of the same artists (which is probably why it sounded like similar production to me). I love the energy of the song (which has a lot of the spunk that major hits like My Life Would Suck Without You carry), and I especially like Priscilla’s voice; which sounds like it has some major power underneath it. This is such a cute little song, and one that I would expect to hear on the radio 1000 times.
A Fine Frenzy – Bird of the Summer
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_918_afinefrenzy-birdofthesummer.mp3]
A Fine Frenzy’s new album, Bomb in a Birdcage came out last week, and I have found myself falling deeper and deeper in love with it with each listen. There are some incredibly beautiful tracks on it (this one being one of the best), and while many people fell for A Fine Frenzy with her debut, for whatever reason, I wasn’t pulled in. However, that is no longer the case, A Fine Frenzy has delivered one of the best albums of 2009 with Bomb In a Birdcage, and this song is one of my favorites from the album. It is light, airy, and beautiful all over. I am glad that she snagged my attention this (the second) time around.
Noah and the Whale – Blue Skies
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_918_noahandthewhale-blueskies.mp3]
I posted about Noah and the Whale last year around this time, when I fell for their song, 5 Years Time; after it was featured in a Saturn commercial. Unfortunately, I didn’t fall any further for Noah and the Whale, and my interest never materialized past that one song. However, they recently released a new album, and I figured I would at least give it a listen to see if there were more gems like 5 Years Time on it, and what I found was surprising, and wonderful. This song stood out to me, because I absolutely love the arrangement. The vocals remind me of Peter Bjorn and John, and the music is something that should be played at a pivotal scene in a beautiful movie. After hearing snippets of this album, I am back on board with Noah and the Whale. It’s just like A Fine Frenzy, sometimes, it takes time… or another album.
Weezer – (If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_918_weezer-iwantyouto.mp3]
I will start by saying that I consider myself to be a fairly die-hard fan of Weezer. The Blue Album was one of my first CDs that I remember buying, and loving each song on it. Additionally, it is an album that really shaped the beginnings of my love for music. Each subsequent album showed that Weezer is a pop-rock band that is of a consistently high quality, and I have been a fan ever since. Amidst rumors of a break up after Make Believe (one of their best albums to date), Weezer quelled the fears of fans that didn’t want a break up to happen by releasing the Red Album, which unfortunately, I never really got into. There were some great songs on it, and it was definitely a good Weezer record, but for me, it was somewhat of a letdown. Well, a couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine on twitter said Weezer had a new fantastic song out, and after listening for like 5 seconds, I was in love with it. This song has all of the energy and cheesy sweet lyrics of the Weezer that I love. Rivers Cuomo is back in FULL FORCE, and this song should be a massive hit. I am hoping that their next album thrills me as much as this song does.
White Lies – Death
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_918_whitelies-death.mp3]
Sometimes hearing a song in context makes you realize how amazing it is; and that is exactly what happened to me with this song. I first heard this song back in March, when I posted about White Lies’ amazing track, Farewell to the Fairground. I really liked the song then, and really enjoyed much of their album, To Lose My Life. However, it wasn’t until I heard the song played in the background on The Vampire Diaries, that I realized just how incredible it was. It wasn’t even an important scene, but the way that it complimented the show, it really helped me to fully enjoy the song, and see intricacies and nuances I hadn’t heard in it before. I love when shows pay extra attention to the music that they play, because it is really appreciated by viewers like me; sometimes, that attention to detail will keep me coming back to the show time and time again. In this case, the show may be a bit hokey (think Dawson’s Creek… with vampires), but the writing is actually pretty good, and the music so far has been fantastic. It really sets the mood, and has done wonders for the show in my eyes. I can’t wait to see what gems they have for me peppered throughout each episode to come.
Well, there’s your Friday five. What do you think of this week’s selection? Please let me know!! Also, let me know what you are listening to, because I really, really want to know. Seriously, I love suggestions from people, and I always at least give them a go, so be sure to share them with me; you never know, I might feature one of your selections in the future.
