Riding with the window down…

“My life’s a fantasy, you’re not smart enough to even dream”

– Pink (Alecia Moore)

One of the cool things about doing the PMC Top10 for years was discovering great music. My buddy, Lee Coulter just launched a new video for a song that I seriously love.

The chorus may seem silly at first, but if you listen to all the lyrics, it’s pretty deep stuff.

I got my hands a country promo disk and thought I’d take a second to review the new tracks. Here are the tracks and my gut reaction to them:

Rain Is A Good Thing - Luke Bryan (Good tune, but very simplistic if not downright stupid. Will it do okay? yeah - people like stupid. Will it be on my playlist? Not long.)
Free - Jack Ingram (I do like me some Jack Ingram and I think this one will do okay. It is just deep enough and touches just enough heartstrings to make you like it.)
Wrong Baby Wrong - Martina McBride (Martina has a solid track record and this one fits her style. It has good sentiment, just not enough of a hook to last long term.)
Turning Home - David Nail (I nearly fell asleep listening. He sounds like he could put out a decent song if he had a better song. Has potential - just not there yet.)
This Ain’t Nothin’ - Craig Morgan (Pretty horrible song - a bit too morose for me. His voice is good enough - I’d like to see if he can do ‘happy’.)
That’s God - Jo Dee Messina (Okay, I am not saying I disagree with the song - its just so darn serious. I am sure that I will love this track when in “that” mood. Right now, it just sounds a bit preachy.)
Dirt Road Dancing - Matt Stillwell (From the first couple of notes, you know this is going to be a good song. I mean any track that talks about taking a left by the frog pond is bound to be fun. Good stuff!)
Stay Here Forever - Jewel (Jewel delivers again. What a voice. What a good song!)
Better Than I Used To Be - Sammy Kershaw (This is a good song. I think this one is a keeper. “I ain’t no angel, but I’ve been sitting out a few more dances with the devil.” Nice.)
I Keep On Lovin’ You - Reba McEntire (I admit I’ve never been a big Reba fan - or even a small Reba fan. Her fans will probably like this… just not my style.)
That Ain’t My America - Lynyrd Skynyrd (Weak - a derisive message hidden behind patriotism. MY America is positive and doesn’t put people down who have different opinions.)
Jenny - The Harters (It is okay, just nothing to make you want to hear it again.)
Daddy Phone - Marty Raybon (A bit too dorky for me)
Use Somebody - Margaret Durante (Liked it much better when Kings of Leon did it in 2008)
Kiss Me Now - Katie Armiger (Chicks will dig this one. It sounds like a grown-up version of a Taylor Swift song.)
Troublemaker - Suzi Ragsdale f./Rodney Crowell (Boring, boring, boring. It does have a good enough hook though that if played over and over on the radio, you would sing along.)
Kick Down The Door - Kate Russell (Now there’s a confusing message for boys trying to figure out girls. Kick down the door, but no means no. Treat them with respect, but they want you to push them around too. Oh, and the song is weak.)
White Liar (Acoustic Version) - Miranda Lambert (The acoustic version sounds better but I still don’t like the storyline. He is a cheating liar, oh, but so am I. Real nice. Can’t deny it is a catchy tune though.)

Any month that I like 1/4 of the new stuff is really good for mainstream music. I have April already and plan to review it when I have some time. Let me know what you think about these tracks when you hear them.

Dawn was looking online for some tracks to use on her iPod while running and the track Fischer Store Road by Sarah Jarosz showed up. The title caught her eye because there is a Fischer Store Road not far from the house here in Wimberley.

A little digging later and we discovered that Sarah was indeed from Wimberley and the track was about that very same road. It is an instrumental track that is real upbeat and fun. Her style can best be described as sort of a funky bluegrass - fun stuff.

One of the other interesting tracks is Shankill Butchers. It is a bit of a creepy song about murderers that sounds like something out of a Tim Burton soundtrack. That of course, got us wondering what it was about… once again, a little digging was in order. The song first recorded by the Decemberists in 2006, tells of a group of murderers in the Shankill region of Northern Ireland during the early 1970s.

The Shankill Butchers, as they were dubbed in the media, killed roughly 30 people over the course of a few years in sectarian violence that marked the era of strife between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. There is some great information about the group in the Wikipedia entry.

It was an interesting rabbit hole through which we took a diversion that all started with the Fischer Store Road track. My take-away from all this is a good album by Sarah Jarosz, a good education about a time that has always been a bit gray to me, and of course - an interesting story.

Back in 2005, I railed against Ashlee Simpson as the perfect example of what is wrong with the music industry.  It has been my contention that the big record labels had long ago lost touch with good music in favor of cute teeny boppers that could become a brand for movies, tv shows, perfume, lunchboxes etc. (I’m talking to you, Miley.)  That was part of the reason that podcasting exploded in popularity - people were fed up with being spoon fed no-talent hacks that looked good in their headshots.

Look at all the crossover that happened in the music scene thanks to talented artists jumping on the podcasting wave - Ingrid Michaelson, Death Cab for Cutie, and on and on.   Just when I was starting to think that labels were finally “getting it,” out pops Taylor Swift.

Sure, her music sounded great on the radio.  It was full of catchy lyrics, seemed very contemporary, and her voice was one that you didn’t mind hearing every twenty minutes across the Clear Channel stations.  I can’t say I was ever a fan, but even I almost fell for the marketing.

First the fact that she was so overplayed annoyed me nearly as much as the lyrics that sounded like they came from the latest tweener vampire romance.  The repetition did its job and I found myself singing along to songs I detested.  Next came what was Ashlee Simpson’s big downfall - Saturday Night Live.  For Taylor, it played out much better.  She came across as a happy, fun-loving jokester that really got into the “other side” of her marketing machine.  I almost got sucked in off the SNL appearance alone.

In the end, the true test of any singer is…. well, uh - singing.  Can you say “EPIC FAIL?”

Swift’s live performances on the Country Music Awards, quickly followed by live performances at the Grammys were horrendous!  I cannot stress enough how badly she sucked.  To say she couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket is an insult to that old saying.  I have heard tomcats having makeup sex that was easier to listen to.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”  I have to trust that is true, but I can’t for the life of me figure out what purpose Taylor Swift’s music has - unless it is to encourage people once again to turn off their radios, stop ‘drinking the kool aid,’ and discover the great music probably right under their nose at local gigs.

A couple of people asked what music we played at our wedding and I have to say that it was a pretty good playlist. Dawn and I both chose the selections and then weeded through some 100 tracks to find the ones that seemed to fit best. (It’s amazing how many songs you think you know by the chorus, only to find out that the lyrics say something quite different if you pay attention.)

Here are the songs we played at our reception (in no particular order.)

I Believe - Peter Searcy
Silly Love Songs - Paul McCartney
Smile - Uncle Kracker
Lucky - Jason Mraz (featuring Colbie Caillat)
I’m Your’s - Jason Mraz
I’ve Got a Great Idea - Harry Connick Jr.
Recipe for Love - Harry Connick Jr.
We Are in Love - Harry Connick Jr.
Love is the Answer - England Dan & John Ford Coley
Kiss - Dean Martin
You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Love You - Dean Martin
Ain’t That a Kick in the Head - Dean Martin
Then - Brad Paisley
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) - Beyonce
Stand by Me - Ben E. King
Yummy Yummy Yummy - Ohio Express
I Melt - Rascal Flatts
I Cross My Heart - George Strait
Your Everything - Keith Urban
If You Ain’t Lovin’ (You Ain’t Livin’) - George Strait
Can’t Stop this Thing We Started - Bryan Adams
(Everything I Do) I Do it For You - Bryan Adams
I Swear - John Michael Montgomery
This Kiss - Faith Hill
True Companion - Marc Cohn
My Best Friend - Tim McGraw
Buzz Buzz Buzz - Huey Lewis & the News
Too Marvelous for Words - Frank Sinatra
Something Like That - Tim McGraw
Love and Marriage - Frank Sinatra
Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Queen
You’re My Better Half - Keith Urban
I Can Love You Like That - John Michael Montgomery
How Sweet it Is (To Be Loved by You) - James Taylor
Head Over Feet - Alanis Morrisette
Heaven - Bryan Adams
Truly Madly Deeply - Savage Garden
Realize - Colbie Caillat
I’ll Have to Say I Love You in a Song - Jim Croce
You’re My Best Friend - Queen
Making Memories of Us - Keith Urban
You’ve Got a Friend - James Taylor
It’s Your Love - Tim McGraw
1,2,3,4 - Plain White T’s
The Way I Am - Ingrid Michaelson
Just to See You Smile - Tim McGraw
I Love the Way You Love Me - John Michael Montgomery
I Get a Kick Out of You - Frank Sinatra
Falling For You - Colbie Caillat
I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) - The Proclaimers
I’ve Got You Under My Skin - Frank Sinatra
You’re Smiling Face - James Taylor
Another Love Song - Uncle Kracker
Your Song - Elton John
Ribbon in the Sky - Stevie Wonder
Forever and Ever, Amen - Randy Travis
That’s Amore - Dean Martin
You Are the Sunshine of My Life - Stevie Wonder
How Forever Feels - Kenny Chesney
She’s Got it All - Kenny Chesney
All I Need to Know - Kenny Chesney

Overall, its a really good mix of fun and upbeat love songs.

Click to play, right-click for direct MP3 download

(Time: 23:09)

Hap Mansfield joins Chris for an update on all the chaos that has been the life of the CDogg lately. From cross-country trekking to moving into a new house, it has been a hectic couple of weeks. The Dark Diver chimes in with another great mashup as well:

Poker Face (Just What I Needed) - Party Ben

And a real way to find out who your Facebook stalkers are!

Call in and leave a voicemail for the show! 713-568-6361

Subscribe in iTunes
RSS Feed

Subscribe at PodcastReady

I got some music from Blake the other day and while we are seldom in complete agreement on the styles we like, there are enough similarities that I welcome the chance to learn of new music from him. (heck, from anyone) I grabbed the Silversun Pickups album Carnavas and I kinda like it at first listen. I will give it a few more spins before I decide if its for me or not.

While listening to the tracks for the first time, my last.fm plugin was busy reporting the music I play and I surfed my “now playing” list to read about Silversun Pickups. It was there that I was struck by a term used to define the band - “shoegaze.” I assumed it meant a band that isn’t real active on stage and spends a lot of time “feeling” the song while staring at their own shoes. A quick trip to Wikipedia confirmed my guess.

The history is pretty interesting and as I am one that lives to learn, it was a good read.

Still not sure how I feel completely about the Pickups, but I have to thank them for adding to my vocabulary and I can say, I like the track “Little Lovers So Polite.”

It is Saturday night and I have just returned from the final concert of the season for the Victoria Symphony Orchestra’s 35th season. I had heard several good things about the Symphony and Music Director/Conductor Darryl One - it is all true.

This was one of their Master Series featuring guest artists. Yuqing Meng, the 2007 Davidson Fellow, was born in Shanghai China and begun his musical studies at age 4. By the age of 12, Meng made his orchestral debut with the New York Philharmonic. He was the featured performer for Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto #1 in B-flat minor op.23 and his skill was amazing.

There was also a organ symphony that really just dragged on and wasn’t all that interesting. Overall though, the night was a lot of fun and even included reconnecting with an old professor of mine from the Victoria College days. Professor Michael Hummel taught History and Western Civilization, and was one of the most entertaining lecturers I remember from that period.

Prior to the symphony, I went to “The World Goes ‘Round” presented by Texas State University with my mother and Hap. The show featured classics from the famous musicals “Chicago,” “Cabaret,” “New York, New York” and many more. This was the highlight of the weekend as the talent of all the student performers was brilliant. The music was great, the story was great, the voices were great - the evening was superb.

“I’ve seen you smiling in the summer sun
I’ve seen your long hair flying when you run
I’ve made my mind up that it’s meant to be
Someday lady you’ll accomp’ny me
Someday lady you’ll accomp’ny me
Out where the rivers meet the sounding sea
You’re high above me now
You’re wild and free ah, but
Someday lady you’ll accomp’ny me
Someday lady you’ll accomp’ny me

Some people say that love’s a losing game
You start with fire
But you lose the flame
The ashes smolder
But the warmth’s soon gone
You end up cold and lonely on your own
I’ll take my chances babe
I’ll risk it all
I’ll win your love
Or I’ll take the fall
I’ve made my mind up girl
It’s meant to be
Someday lady you’ll accomp’ny me
Someday lady you’ll accomp’ny me “

You have to love the subtlety with which Seger tosses out some serious emotion. The hopeless romantics of the world also have to like the confidence of the sentiment. Even though the relationship seems like a lost cause, he is sure that she will, in fact, “accomp’ny” him.