SHT Musik

I forgot to include one of my favorite Ani songs in my other post.   The song is Freakshow and it is from the album To The Teeth (1999).    It is all about the world of show business and how the audience only sees the show and not what goes on behind the scenes.    I think for entertainers we common folk seem a bit like muggles to them.   So the song explores this topic and because it came out right around the time I saw Ani live it really reminds me of that great concert and of how she put on such an awesome show for so few people. Life in the circus ain't easy But the folks on the outside don't know The tent goes up and the tent comes down And all that they see is the show And the ladies on the horses look so pretty And the lions are lookin' real mad And some of the clowns are happy And some of the clowns are sad But underneath There's another expression That the makeup isn't making Life under the big top It's about freedom It's about faking T...

I think I ended up getting this album through the old BMI music club.   I had heard the single My Favorite Game and was hoping for more catchy songs like that one.    I was pleasantly surprised to find out that not only were there more catchy songs on the album but also that they were nice and dark, just the way I like them.  The Cardigans are from Sweden and the album came out in 1998.   This album is different than their other stuff  in that it has a much more electronic sound.   One of my favorite songs on the album is a classic anti-love song, Do You Believe.   Here is a short sample of the lyrics.   Do you really think That love is gonna save the world? Well, I don't think so Yup, that´s my kind of song.   DO YOU BELIEVE The next song that I would like to recommend it Erase/Rewind.   I like the fact that it refers to outdated media that I grew up with.   I still say "tape something" when I mean to ...

Air Traffic Controller is an indie pop band from Boston, Massachusetts.    The song that I am recommending is Hurry Hurry which describes pretty accurately how a lot of us feel always hurrying through our lives.  Here is a taste of some of the lyrics:  And on my way to seize the day, I start to think Did I leave something on the counter by the sink? Check my pockets, never mind Hurry, hurry there's no time And on it goes: I hurried when I should've been in the zone I hurried my loved ones off the phone I hurried through sex, I know, I know I hurried my quiet time alone  The song comes from the album NORDO(2012).   You can listen to and buy the song  on Bandcamp.   (Hello fellow Bandcamper.)   HURRY HURRY - AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER  

The first thing you need to know is that Bettie Serveert is not the name of a person but instead the name of the band.  "Bettie Serveert are a Dutch indie rock band. Their name translates to "Bettie Serves", or "Service to Bettie", which is the title of a book written by Dutch tennis player Betty Stöve, who made it to the Wimbledon ladies singles final in 1977" (Wikipedia).    I saw them live here in Valencia about 20 years ago.    It was a good show but they didn´t play my favorite song, Rudder.    This song is about a band achieving popular success which is the supposed goal of most music groups but which many times leads to the band´s undoing. Bow down for the band on the cover They seem to make it all across the USA Bow down, the band's been discovered They even made it on the R.S-tones these days RUDDER   

If you know the Violent Femmes then you almost certainly know their classic self-titled debut album Violent Femmes (1982)  which is just full of great songs.  This album is owned and enjoyed by tons of people but I don´t think a lot of people are as familiar with many of their other songs and albums.    Now  I am a pretty diehard Femmes fan and I even like their country-ish second album quite a bit for its dark songs about throwing children down wells and such.  However, I want to recommend their third album, The Blind Leading the Naked, which was released in 1986. The first track I am going to recommend is Good Friend.  Here´s an excerpt of the lyrics: If only you could know How I'd love you so The way good friends do The way I would be you One thing I noticed when looking for the lyrics is that none of the versions I found included what is said at the very end of the song.   He says, "someone who won´t let me down like I was let down."...

Once again I have to give thanks to my old friend Ed for turning me on to these guys.   I had a TDK cassette with Sparks crazy album Angsts in My Pants on one side and Was (Not Was) Born to Laugh at Tornadoes (1983).   Wikipedia calls Was (Not Was) an "art-funk" band but I never really knew how to categorize them.    I do know that a lot of people are probably more familiar with their song I Feel Better Than James Brown, which I think is a pretty funny and cool song, or Walk the Dinosaur, which I´m not too crazy about.    The album I want to recommend, Born to Laugh at Tornadoes,  comes from years before and IMHO it is their best work.   One thing that makes the album special is that there were guest vocalist for all but one of the songs including Mel Torme and Ozzy Osbourne. Ozzy´s song, Shake Your Head (Let´s Go to Bed)  is probably one of the most "normal" of the bunch although hearing Ozzy sing a song in this st...

Tanya Donelly is probably best known as the co-founder of Throwing Muses or for her work with The Breeders or Belly but I am more interested in a couple of songs that appear on her 1997 solo album Love Songs for Underdogs.  The album starts off with one of my two favorite songs, Pretty Deep.  She sings: Do i look like a liar Do i look like a liar to you Fighting crime in this time brings a girl down Makes a body sink so low…  PRETTY DEEP  The second song from the album that I still listen to on  a regular basis is the song Mysteries of the Unexplained.  I always thought that it was called Sometimes It Rains Fish because that is the main hook but I was wrong.    Anyway,   this songs seems to reference the reports of strange creatures raining down on the earth like the story from the Bible in Exodus where it rains frogs.    Here are the lyrics leading into the chorus: All your heroes are whores ...

OK, I am bumming around YouTube and I stumble across this chick playing some badass bass.      I don´t usually enjoy watching musicians perform that much.    Sometimes guitar face can get to be downright painful to watch but this woman is burning it up and just watching her makes you want to dance or at least move in your seat a bit, bob your head, feel the music.   So my hat is off to Marta.    I am sure that she will be very successful in the world of music even if she never becomes a household name.    You can really tell when someone is doing what they love. Here she is playing a Jamiroquai song.  It isn´t really a cover in my opinion.   It´s more like karaoke with her playing over the bass part.   Anyway, it is as fun to watch as it is funky. Jamiroquai - Time Won't Wait [Bass Cover]

OK, I recently saw the video for this song Over Everything from the upcoming album Lotta Sea Lice which Courtney Barnett is putting out with Kurt Vile.   (October 2017)     Over Everything -  Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile I have only heard the song Over Everything and that is enough to convince me that the album is going to be something special. I seldom get excited waiting for albums to be released but this is going to have to be an exception.    I had never heard of Kurt Vile before but just this one song has made me look forward to hearing more.  And just from this one song I know that the album will be one of my favorites of the year.   I am willing to bet on this one. Here is my first and probably still my favorite Courtney Barnett song, Dead Fox.    It is wry and catchy and fun.    I wish I could write songs like that.  It´s from the album Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I...

Sparks have their own sound and I´m sure it´s not for everybody.   Personally I find them hilarious and several of their songs form a part of the soundtrack of my life.    I will start with my all-time favorite Sparks´ song, Eaten by the Monster of Love.     It appears in one of my favorite 80´s movies Valley Girl and is a classic anti-love song.   It also appears on the 1982 album Angst in My Pants EATEN BY THE MONSTER OF LOVE Here is another track from the album to check out.    When I think of my nicotine addiction I think of this song, Nicotina.     We had to break up due to irreconciliable differences.   NICOTINA The final track from the album that I will recommend is the title track, Angst in My Pants.     As a teen, full of angst (in my pants), I could relate.  ANGST IN MY PANTS     Sparks´  18th album was released in 2000 and contains an...

I remember the headline when Michael J. Fox did a movie as a musician with Joan Jett (Light of Day) :  "Singer can act but actor can´t sing."    This is NOT the case with Ms. Johansson and I really enjoyed several of the songs off her collaborative album with Pete Yorn, Break Up.   It´s bitter and sweet in all the right places and I wish she would do more musical projects but I´m sure it´s hard to find the time with the number of movie offers she likely receives. I just discovered that I Am the Cosmos is a cover.  LOL the things I learn while writing this blog.   Anyway, this is one of my favorites. I AM THE COSMOS OK this one has an official video and is very catchy.    SHAMPOO The last personal favorite on the album is Relator.   Pete and Scarlett appear in this video and it´s pretty cute. RELATOR BONUS SONG!!! I found this song on YouTube a while back and it says that it is a cover of Th...

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