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Post by nopersonality on Dec 13, 2010 5:26:59 GMT -5
Don't take that topic-title too seriously. Sounds scary, doesn't it? What I would like is for us to all get together in what is usually known as a Book Club, only for music. Every week, on Monday, everyone who wants to participate will think of One Song each that they think is provocative or interesting (or just really damn good that they think we should hear. (Yeah, we all post 1 each week). Any song. Post a link to it (YouTube is probably best if you can find one - if it doesn't embed, just give us the address and we'll listen to it on YouTube's site) and a reason why you chose it (this is totally optional). Based on the mutual respect we have for each other, we will all listen to each others' chosen song (even if we don't love the genre particularly), and post a short response of what we think about it (at least one or two good sentences worth- you can write what you think as the song is playing, so long as you can still adequately hear it). You can be completely honest, as long as what you say relates to the song's message or the feeling it's meant to generate. If you can't post the song today... Well, any day this week is fine. Monday, December 13, Song #1Artist: Goldfrapp Song: "Some People" Year Released: 2008 Reason I Chose It: I've always appreciated contrasting themes in art as well as themes of examining the less admirable behaviors of people. This song is both bitter and touching. Melancholy, yet beautiful. Lyrics: Some people kill for less Some people find it hard to get dressed Some people, well Ask how old I am Some people live in a life Some people need more than a slice But when it fades When the glitter's gone You know it You owe it to yourself You won't let it make you mad It's already crazy Old and lonely when the shade is down The brighter lights just smells their empty heads Some people don't get much Some people feel they're in touch With spirit worlds, talking to you now Some people just gotta say Some people just wanna play They get a kick when it's all messed up And what you thought you lost was just mislaid All the poems written in your skin NOTE: You don't have to include the lyrics. I just did it because this artist's singing style is notoriously unintelligble. It's often incredibly hard to tell what she's singing.
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Post by Handsome Devil on Dec 13, 2010 15:33:05 GMT -5
Great idea, No Personality. My entry:
Song #2
Band: Flight of the Conchords Song: "Most Beautiful Girl in the Room"
I chose this song for a few reasons. I feel it's very indicative of the style of Flight of the Conchords. It's a little slower than most of their songs, but it's still very funny.
As for your song NP, it was a little slow and downbeat for my tastes, but that's just me. I still appreciated the building quality of it, and the piano in the back worked really well.
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Post by nopersonality on Dec 13, 2010 21:58:59 GMT -5
Band: Flight of the Conchords Song: "Most Beautiful Girl in the Room" I chose this song for a few reasons. I feel it's very indicative of the style of Flight of the Conchords. It's a little slower than most of their songs, but it's still very funny. I didn't check out the band when you mentioned them in another thread, but this has me very intrigued. An excellent song, I thought. I don't know when it was released but the video threw me off (suddenly I start thinking of all these dumb movies they have now when some "nice nerd" falls in love with a beautiful nice girl). Anyway, back to the point of the thread: I actually liked the song. Loved the line "you could be an air hostess from the 60's." Speaking of Air, a great band by the way, this song really started sounding like them when it hit the dramatic spike at 1:53. As for the guy's vocal performance... Are you guys ready for this(?) - I thought his voice and the style of his scat-type vocal flow reminded me a lot of that song from Labyrinth, "Chilly Down." See for yourself: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BsOeoJ2A5E . Can't wait to see Hawk and Steve's choices.
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Post by StevePulaski on Dec 14, 2010 18:39:30 GMT -5
I liked the Goldfrapp song and The Flight of the Conchords wasn't too bad either. Here is one of my favorite songs. Don't think you guys will give it the nicest treatment, but I like country . Song #3
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Post by Handsome Devil on Dec 14, 2010 18:59:07 GMT -5
The video for the Conchords song is from the HBO show Flight of the Conchords. The show was a musical of sorts. There were about 2 to 3 songs per episode. I'm not usually a fan of musicals, but Flight of the Conchords is one of my favorite shows ever.
As for Steve's song, well this might be a little biased because I hate country music more than any other genre, but I didn't like it. The lyrics were trying so hard to be "edgy," but failed miserably because it's country music. It's impossible to sound like a badass when singing country. I actually thought it was kind of funny.
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Post by StevePulaski on Dec 14, 2010 19:08:58 GMT -5
The video for the Conchords song is from the HBO show Flight of the Conchords. The show was a musical of sorts. There were about 2 to 3 songs per episode. I'm not usually a fan of musicals, but Flight of the Conchords is one of my favorite shows ever. As for Steve's song, well this might be a little biased because I hate country music more than any other genre, but I didn't like it. The lyrics were trying so hard to be "edgy," but failed miserably because it's country music. It's impossible to sound like a badass when singing country. I actually thought it was kind of funny. How/Why are we friends again? Country music is my favorite genre. That's the shit I grew up with, but no matter. We disagree on a lot. This isn't a biggie that should ruin a friendship, but oh look, there's the "ban member" button. Maybe I'll give it a press . Try this one then. I'm chock full of 'em! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sykzo1QpSlE
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Post by Handsome Devil on Dec 14, 2010 19:12:55 GMT -5
The video for the Conchords song is from the HBO show Flight of the Conchords. The show was a musical of sorts. There were about 2 to 3 songs per episode. I'm not usually a fan of musicals, but Flight of the Conchords is one of my favorite shows ever. As for Steve's song, well this might be a little biased because I hate country music more than any other genre, but I didn't like it. The lyrics were trying so hard to be "edgy," but failed miserably because it's country music. It's impossible to sound like a badass when singing country. I actually thought it was kind of funny. How/Why are we friends again? Country music is my favorite genre. That's the shit I grew up with, but no matter. We disagree on a lot. This isn't a biggie that should ruin a friendship, but oh look, there's the "ban member" button. Maybe I'll give it a press . Try this one then. I'm chock full of 'em! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sykzo1QpSlETry to keep it to one a week. We don't want this thread to get cluttered with YT vids so early do we? As for the song, it was okay, but I felt I had heard it before, even though I hadn't. It was a little generic. I'll post some Kanye West or something next week so you can get a chance to chew me out
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Post by nopersonality on Dec 15, 2010 7:19:17 GMT -5
Try to keep it to one a week. We don't want this thread to get cluttered with YT vids so early do we? Next week, all the embeds from this week will be de-embedded and I'll just leave the addresses up so we can click to listen on YouTube's site. Steve, you're free to choose any song you want. As long as you feel you've put some real thought into it. Or that's it's a special song somehow. For next week, etc., maybe you could post what you thought of the songs, too. As in- how did it sound, what did the lyrics make you feel. Just 1 or 2 good sentences worth. That's how we sort of know you listened to the song. The reason I did this was so that we might take the artists' seriously for a change. Think about what makes them tick a little. You can still judge how good you think they are as singers and how good the song's performance is (sound, playing). But I'm also interested in meaning of the song itself. Also, you don't have to say you liked or disliked it unless you think you should. You can just say what you thought about the song, what it was trying to do, etc. Preview Notes: It seems YouTube disables embedding on this vid. Oh well. This will be my first time checking out this version of Hank Williams. I'm back. While the song was playing, I checked out some online reviews. He actually commands some major critical respect, far as I can tell. Critics seem to find him rather intelligent and provocative. If there's a problem with the song, it's that you can't relate to his experiences unless you've lived them. Like many rap songs, you have to go "I know what that's like" to really appreciate it. And I like rap, but I don't like the "hardship" songs typically. As for country, I don't listen to almost any of it. So, I'm all for some country being added to the thread. Performance-wise, country is a genre where only the pros can tell if the song really is good. And as for Hank's specific experiences, he seems to be approaching them with humor. The most interesting thing about the song is it sounds like 2 songs put together. I've heard the easy dancing country songs before many times in my past and I've heard the romp-and-stompers. This seems like it's trying to be both. Hopefully- Patface, Jib, and Hawk will want to come 'round and check this out.
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Post by Handsome Devil on Dec 21, 2010 19:49:40 GMT -5
Don't worry No Personality, I didn't forget about this. I'm just trying to find a good song to pick.
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Post by Handsome Devil on Jan 6, 2011 22:25:38 GMT -5
Okay, I'm back. Hope to revive this topic.
Song #4
Song: Only Wanna Be With You Band: Hootie and the Blowfish Reason: This song has an interesting feel. It's fast, but mellow at the same time. It's a very sing-able song (even though it's hard to hear what Darius is saying.) It's a song I need to sing whenever I hear it. Very few song elicit such a reaction.
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Post by nopersonality on Jan 7, 2011 14:33:47 GMT -5
Friday, January 7, Song #5
Artist: Salt-n-Pepa Song: "None of Your Business" Year Released: 1993
Reason I Chose It: For pretty obvious reasons, I gravitate toward songs / tracks with messages like these. It would seem on the surface it's just a punch back to people for talking gossip when rumors fly after someone sees a girl hooking up with anyone. As though the point were- "I don't like hearing it." But the video shows there's a lot more here and the song's message easily extends to a much bigger issue - the reason why people do this. Besides being as progressive as it is, it also has a very appropriate "fuck you" attitude and therefore, doesn't come off as preachy. (Not that that's possible- since it's about other people being preachy.)
HD, I'll get to your song REALLY SOON, I promise.
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Post by nopersonality on Jan 10, 2011 13:38:51 GMT -5
Thursday, January 6, Song #4Song: Only Wanna Be With You Band: Hootie and the Blowfish Reason: This song has an interesting feel. It's fast, but mellow at the same time. It's a very sing-able song (even though it's hard to hear what Darius is saying.) It's a song I need to sing whenever I hear it. Very few song elicit such a reaction. I'm a real singer type person myself- I try to listen to music but I usually end up singing everything. (Everything post-70's at least.) I've obviously heard this song before - me being the child of the 90's and all. I've never cared about the song but it's probably the one I think the band deserves to be known for. It's honest and uplifting. I think it's very well done. Certainly if there's any way to spin this into it being a song about monogamy, all the better. I didn't catch a lot of love details but it could be viewed as a great relationship song. New Feature: Ratings. Just a simple 1-5. Song #2: Flight of the Conchords - "Most Beautiful Girl in the Room" 4/5 Song #3Hank Williams III - "Crazed Country Rebel" 3/5 Song #4Hootie and the Blowfish - "Only Wanna Be With You" 4/5 What the Ratings Mean: 1 - Not good, plain and simple 2 - Average, ordinary, nothing special 3 - Above average if not spectacular, a credit to its' genre 4 - Excellent for various reasons 5 - Beyond simply excellent, a masterpiece; maybe haunting or socially conscious, one of the best songs of its' genre Monday, January 10, Song #6Artist: Imani Coppola Song: "My Day at the Ocean / The Waves" Year Released: 1997 Reason I Chose It: Highly sinister, inexplicable, and a creepy fantasy - mood is very important to me. If you were to buy Imani Coppola's Chupacabra album, you would be rather shocked to hear this song pop up as #12 after 11 wonderfully quirky, funky pop / hip-hop tracks. That's why Imani and her record company stuck this little horror track after almost 10 minutes of silence following #11, the heart-breakingly sad "La Da Da." No, it's no "Thriller," but it's able to extract heebie-jeebies from a strumming guitar, deeply pretty operatic wailing, weird bass rips, distorted sound effects, tortured dialogue and backup voices, and a freaky piano right out of Creepshow. What the hell is the song about? Does it matter- if you get into it, you will NEVER forget it!!
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Post by Handsome Devil on Jan 13, 2011 20:52:41 GMT -5
I don't think I'll be able to assign scores to the songs. You can extrapolate scores from what I say about the song I guess.
No Personality Song #2 Salt-n-Pepa "None of Your Business"
I didn't read to much into the songs lyrics and just enjoyed it as the fantastic piece of 90's hip hop it is.
No Personality Song #3 Imani Coppola "My Day at the Ocean / The Waves"
What a strange song. Very creepy, but also somewhat beautiful. I liked it, until the piano started getting all crazy and the voices were coming in and everything was all nuts. And then it went back to normal. It was like I was running from something, and finally was able to hide and cool down. I'd certainly say it's effective, but not very pleasant to listen to.
Song #7 Handsome Devil Song #3 Kanye West "Dark Fantasy"
I picked a rather risky song this week. Kanye West's Dark Fantasy, the first track on his album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, is a masterpiece of modern hip-hop. Say what you will about Kanye as a person, as an artist he's pretty damn talented. The lyrics flow better than anything of the last few years, and the song strikes a perfect balance between the ominous and the uplifting.
I'm honestly interested to see how this one goes over with the rest of the board.
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Post by nopersonality on Jan 14, 2011 7:23:06 GMT -5
I didn't read to much into the songs lyrics That's actually one of the reasons I started this thread.
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Post by StevePulaski on Jan 28, 2011 19:09:06 GMT -5
I've been avoiding this thread for a while because I've been creating a Word doc. for songs I'd like to put on here. As for Kanye West's song, I wasn't too fond of it. I don't like him, I think he's an asshole, and that song wasn't great. I'll say 2/4 stars.
Here's mine for the weekend. I've liked this since I was sick from school one day. It's addicting. Especially the chorus.
Song #8
Artist: K'naan Song: Wavin' Flag
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