One of my new favourites, the very talented Matthew Perryman Jones. I downloaded all his album after hearing one song (Stay beside me).
Save you is such a beautiful song. Enjoy, and let me know what you think about the lyrics.
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Tegan and Sara – Get Along
1 MayI’ve been a huge Tegan and Sara fan for a long time but I’ve only recently discovered their Grammy nominated DVD called Get Along. If you live in a country with better record stores than South Africa you can buy the CD and the DVD as a set (if not, check out iTunes or Amazon). As far as I’m aware it’s also available on Netflix in the US.
The DVD contains 3 movies, one about their trip to India, one with some live shows, commentary and Q&As with fans and by far the most awesome, a live acoustic set they did for some die hard fans and their friends and family. If you don’t believe me when I tell you how INCREDIBLY talented these two are, watch it! I loved hearing songs from the last 12 years of their musical career done so differently and with such sensitivity. The Quin twins from Canada will steal your heart on this one.
Tegan and Sara are quite active on social media and you can follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram among others. YouTube ‘Tegan and Sara banter’ and you will see why they are such a popular live act. Not only do you get a musical performance but you get some stand up comedy thrown in for free. I love how they interact with their audience during live shows, a very loyal audience they have built up over many years. It’s refreshing that their music never, ever underestimates the intelligence of their listeners.
Their latest album ‘Heartthrob’ was released earlier this year and is by far their most commercially viable so far. A really nice easy listen with plenty of pop vibes, it will instantly transport you back to highschool, I love that about the album. If you are new to Tegan and Sara I would suggest trying Get Along first followed by Heartthrob and The Con as some of their older stuff may require a bit of getting used to.
Now, if we can only convince them to come play a show in South Africa! Meanwhile, while we wait for that SA show, here’s a clip with one of my favorite songs from the acoustic DVD (the rest of the songs are done inside in front of the audience but I sadly can’t find them on YouTube) Check out their mad guitar skills!
I really cannot recommend this DVD highly enough! Watch it!
Josh Pyke – sew my name
1 MayMany people may not know exactly how much I love Josh Pyke’s music. It’s a LOT! Here’s a first look at his new acoustic sessions. Enjoy and go sign up to his mailing list on his website for more.
Don’t stop lyrics
29 FebLOVE these lyrics by Sarah Bettens! Great song.
Don’t stop trying
there’s always reason to go on living
as long as long as you can breathe
stay clear of extremes
just say what you mean
but try not to be mean
you should say thank you often,
like your hair
wave to strangers everywhere
do what your supposed to do
don’t look at what the others do
think before you buy a car,
don’t marry someone you met at a bar
there’s no such thing as going too far
love who you are
don’t be scared of what’s ahead
but wear a helmet to protect your head
be aware, say you care , don’t say fair…
Stay close to the hand that raised you
watch for signs
never waste expensive wine
spoil your body, spoil youself
never cheat and share your wealth
sing when you’re glad
close the door if you sound bad
don’t believe a man who knows he’s right
don’t skip ahead, enjoy your flight
be nice to your dog,
drive slow in the fog
convince yourself to write a song
change clothes everyday
call ahead when you’re late
be safe when you’re planning to get laid
read what you like
be on your brother’s side
it’s okay to wonder why
but don’t expect to understand your life
don’t expect to understand your life …
Music by John Miles
13 DecOK firstly, please try not to look at the visuals (this is the only version I could find) but listen – with your eyes closed!
This song is exactly as old as I am and I think it’s my new anthem! Listen from start to finish. It’s still brilliant! It makes me happy!
Aside
The best of 2011
8 DecI’ve recently been asked who my 10 favorite musicians of 2011 were. Wow, difficult to come up with a list but I’ve discovered quite a few artists this year that I wasn’t really familiar with – they also turned out to be the ones that reaaaally, completely blew me away. I’ll try and discuss a few of them over the next few weeks in more detail. Meanwhile, go out and buy these albums –each one a masterpiece! Spread the word – most of these guys are just starting out or on indie labels so help them with a shout out!
Yoav: “A Foolproof Escape Plan”
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Gotye (pronounced Gor-te-yeah): “Making Mirrors”
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Fay Wolf: “Spiders”
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Josh Pyke: “Only Sparrows”
This song is not available on youtube yet but it’s my favorite track on the album – listen to it here http://www.hello.dj/song/13087242
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Florence and the Machine: “Ceremonials”
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Hooray for earth: “True loves”
———-
Joshua Radin: “The rock and the tide”
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Nada Surf: “The stars are indifferent to astronomy” (the rest of the album will only be released in Jan but I love this song and their older stuff)
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Kimbra: “Vows”
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Bon Iver: “Bon Iver”
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Honorable mentions: M83, Civil Twilight, St Vincent
I made you a Spotify playlist with some of their stuff.
Enjoy!
If you live in a country without access to Spotify you can get on by using Tunnelbear.com
Fay Wolf “Spiders” – review
11 Nov
A couple of months ago some interesting people I follow on Twitter tweeted that their friend Fay is trying to get her album funded through a Kickstarter campaign. What is Kickstarter you may ask. This answer from their website: “Kickstarter is the world’s largest funding platform for creative projects. Every week, tens of thousands of amazing people pledge millions of dollars to projects from the worlds of music, film, art, technology, design, food, publishing and other creative fields. Project creators keep 100% ownership and control over their work. Instead, they offer products and experiences that are unique to each project. On Kickstarter, a project must reach its funding goal before time runs out or no money changes hands.”
I had no idea who Fay Wolf is but I’m always on the lookout for new music and I respect these Tweeters’ musical opinions greatly so I downloaded Fay’s first EP “blankets” out of curiosity. It was love at first listen! One of my greatest finds this year! Since then I’ve learnt that in addition to being a singer, songwriter and pianist, Fay is also a classically-trained actress who has appeared in a number of television shows. Her music has been featured in hit TV shows such as Grey’s Anatomy (my go-to show for good music), One Tree Hill, Covert Affairs and Pretty Little Liars.
With the help of social media, Fay’s Kickstarter campaign was a success. I backed her because I knew that I would buy her full length album when it was released and that without fans committing to that, in advance, said album would never be made. I had nothing to lose, if the campaign didn’t reach it’s goal I would not need to pay. However, if it did, I would get a fantastic album, get it two weeks earlier than the masses, get updates as we got closer to release date and most important of all, get an album made exactly the way the artist envisioned making it – free of record labels, greedy music execs, managers and all the other pressures that make so many of today’s truly talented musos sell out. A work of art that has the heart and soul of the artist in it, and therein lies the difference between an artist and a singer. I believe that this approach is the future of music.
This campaign illustrated the power of social media and consumer but more importantly it illustrated the importance of building a fan base and earning loyalty, bit by bit. Valuing fans as well as potential fans and giving the listener his/her own voice by re-tweeting or replying to comments, saying thank you and communicating constantly – is something that Fay does very well.
And so “Spiders” was born. I’m a sucker for a piano and a sad song with great lyrics. Fay’s musical chops are indisputable but it’s her lyrical genius that impressed me on this album. Writing mostly about love, -lost and –found, Fay by her own admission likes to make you cry, but she makes you smile just as much. Lyrics like “I am a brand-new f..ing shiny ball of wow” and “the is of the was of the is of the was of the not of the maybe” make me smile every time. Fay takes risks with her writing and they pay off. “Black people” in particular struck a chord with me as a South African (the use of the trumpet in that song is brilliant).
Though reminiscent of Tori Amos, Ani diFranco and even a bit of Norah Jones, Wolf very much has her own unique sound and energy. Soft and beautiful as a cloudy and cool Sunday morning. This album will definitely appeal to the main stream but it’s unique enough to grab the attention of the discerning music lover. The sexy airiness of “the thread of the thing” and “was”, the poppy fun vibes of “the passing”, the melancholy of “mine” the simplicity and honesty of “backstage girl” and “easy” makes this an immensely enjoyable album – well worth the $9.99 download price. Pour yourself a glass of pinotage (preferably a glass of Cafe Culture, if hard to come by a nice smooth merlot will do), mix in some Wolf and enjoy! I believe that we’ll be hearing a lot more about this immensely talented lady in years to come.
You can follow Fay Wolf on Twitter – @FayWolf
Buy the Spiders album on iTunes – http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-passing/id466845254?i=466845479&ign-mpt=uo%3D4
Check out her website – http://www.faywolf.com
You can also stream the Album on Spotify
My rating: (*****)
Don’t bother (*)
Download it (**)
Pay for your download (***)
Buy the CD (****)
Buy the CD and every other album and bit of merch you can find (*****)
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