Simon & Garfunkel - Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.

Album: Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.
Artist: Simon & Garfunkel
Release: October 19, 1964

Perhaps the greatest gift an artist can give us is the gift of music.  I don't necessarily mean their own music (although, that is a precious gift to be sure), but the music that inspires them.  The music they listen to.  It not only gives us something new (and possibly awesome) to listen to; it also gives us some insight into where they're coming from as musicians. 

So you have to love it when you go to a live show expecting to hear that artist's music and then he gives you 3 other (classic) artists' music too!!  And that's exactly what happened at the last show I went to.  That's how my interest in Simon and Garfunkel was stirred.  They (him and him) did an amazing acoustic version of "The Boxer" that inspired me to go find the original and partake in the awesome.  I was so blown away by it that I've decided to start at the beginning and take the full Simon and Garfunkel trip.  I've been a fan of "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon forever (love, love, love that little bass line in the middle) - but this music is much, MUCH different from that.

Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. was their debut album which, thanks in large part to at little band called The Beatles busting out in the U.S. at about the same time, saw little commercial success.  It took a couple years for people to really come around to appreciating their music (seems like that happens to some of the best albums).  This one is kind of a mix of gospel and folk music.  Personally, I could do without the gospel-feeling songs being as I don't exactly believe in them and therefore am not really inspired by them.  But I have to admit, there is something simply hypnotic about "Benedictus".  It kind of makes me wish that I wanted to go to church. 

This is not one of those albums (and "The Boxer" is not one of those songs...so I think it might be a Simon and Garfunkel thing) that you can listen to in passing and really appreciate it.  You can't let it bounce off of you, you have to let it soak in.  Ear buds and dark rooms were made for this kind of music.  Listening to this record felt like having my head underwater in a hot bathtub.  The music and the vocals come together to just fill up all the spaces.  I'm not sure everyone on earth would love this record, but I should think that everyone could at least appreciate the raw talent and brilliance that was involved in creating this sound 48 years ago.

I thought I would have to approach this album with my mind full of the social climate in 1964 in order to really appreciate it.  But as I laid in bed last night listening to it, I realized that perhaps the world we live in now is not so different from the one these songs were written in.

"He Was My Brother", a song about a soldier lost in war could easily be written today.  And if this song doesn't make you break out in cold chills then you need to check your pulse.  Another timely tune on this record is "The Sound of Silence".  Even if you think you don't know any Simon and Garfunkel, you know this song.  It's the one that starts out, "Hello, Darkness, my old friend, I've come to talk with you again."  It's a beautiful song.  They're all beautiful songs.  Paul Simon's songwriting is genius and Art Garfunkel's voice is enchanting and together, it's just magic.

Scars on 45 - Give Me Something

Album: Give Me Something - EP
Artist: Scars on 45
Release: January, 2011

So I took the advice of "Anonymous" (who, I'm fairly certain is closely related to "They") and bought Scars on 45's first EP Give Me Something.  "Anonymous" said that it was far better than Heart on Fire so for that reason, I should check it out.

I have to respectfully disagree.  I'm not saying it's bad, not by any means.  In fact, it is really growing on me.  I didn't instantly like it as much as I did Heart on Fire, but the more I listen to it, the more I like it.   These are just really good songs sung by people who have genuinely good voices (I've seen them live at a small venue where there is nowhere to hide, so you can belive me when I say that).  There is also an acoustic song ("Don't Say") on this one which is always a good way to get a feel for a band because you can hear what they really sound like.  This one is particularly nice because it features the beautiful harmonies that happen when Danny Bemrose and Aimee Driver sing together. 

Once again, all four songs sound different, which showcases the band's diversity.  Still, they all somehow sound like Scars on 45.  It's a special treat when you find a band that understands that having a "sound" doesn't mean that all of your songs have to sound the same.  For me, the only thing missing on Give Me Something is Aimee.  She is almost like a backup singer on this one, rather than a co-lead singer.  She has a  really beautiful voice, so I'm glad they feature her more on Heart on Fire.

Overall, I'm really liking Give Me Something, but I still don't think it's better than the second release.  I like that though because you can track the development of the band between the two releases, and that's always cool to witness.  After hearing some more from them, I hope they come close soon as I would really like to see them live again.

Train - "Save Me, San Francisco"

Album: Save Me, San Francisco
Artist: Train
Release: October 27, 2009

I would like to preface this post by saying that I love Train.  I love them.  I've seen them twice in concert, I loved Pat Monahan's solo album, I loved their live album.  What I'm saying is, I'm a fan. 

But, and this is a big but, I'm not in love with this album.  In fact, there are parts of it I don't even like. Still, one of my favorite Train songs ever is on "Save Me, San Francisco", so I have to at least rate it as "like it". 

"Save Me, San Francisco" was released almost four years after "For Me, It's You" which has been called a commercial failure.  Personally, I thought it was a much better record, but what do I know?  Apparently they considered breaking up after that one, and Pat did a solo record, but they got back together (thank goodness!) which I thought was a wonderful thing.  Then they released this record.  Bah.

The first single, 'Hey, Soul Sister' does sound like classic Train, I'll give it that.  But the radio stations around here ran that thing into the ground so badly that by the time we saw them perform it live, my sister and I actually looked at each other and rolled our eyes.  We're that sick of it.  It's not a bad song, but it is not one I want to hear over and over and over. 

The next single was, 'If It's Love".  Ugh.  My least favorite Train song ever.  It is hugely popular and goes over great when they perform it live.  But I just don't get that. This one feels to me like they were just phoning it in big time.  I have come to expect so much more from them, lyrically, over the years.  I mean, "Can't be a bee without a bee throne"?  Are you fucking kidding me?  The same guys who brought us lines like "What am I gonna do without you?  What am I gonna do about you?" ('Your Every Color' - "My Private Nation") expect me to take lyrics like "We can travel to Spain where the rain falls mainly on the plain, sounds insane cause it is, we can laugh, we can sing, have 10 kids and give them everything" that fit awkwardly in the music and just be cool with it??  Frankly, I'm kind of insulted.

But, not to be a total downer, this record also contains 'Parachute', which is a really great love song.  And also 'Half Moon Bay' which is one of my favorite Train songs ever.  It is very sweet and upbeat and just fun to listen to and sing along with.  Lines like "This ain't a threat but I think I better warn ya, you're gonna fall in love if you go to California" are clever and well constructed.  It's a good song. 

Overall, if you're not familiar with Train (shame on you!!) don't start here.  I just think they're better than this.  I would recommend starting with "My Private Nation", it is a great record, then go back to "Train" and "Drops of Jupiter" to see where they came from.  Then once you appreciate them at their best, you can give this one a listen and enjoy the high points, and overlook the "meh" points.  Myself, I can forgive them this one because I love them and they have done enough incredible music that I know it is just a fluke.

Scars on 45 - Heart on Fire

Album: Heart on Fire - EP
Artist: Scars on 45
Release: October 24, 2011

I finally got Scars on 45's new release Heart on Fire EP tonight.  Apparently their song was featured on Grey's Anatomy, but I never watched that show so when I saw them open for Matt Nathanson (there's that guy again) a couple weeks ago, that was the first I had heard of them.  Even though I couldn't sing along, their set was fun and I looked forward to getting to know their music better.  So far, I'm on listen number 4 and I'm really enjoying it.  Of course, having already heard them performed live I have an instant affinity for these songs.

It really isn't logical for me to like them since I'm not usually a fan of bands with multiple lead singers and I have very few female singers in my collection.  However, these two both have really good voices and they harmonize beautifully, so I'm just going with it.  Right off, my favorite part is the fact that you can really hear Danny Bemrose's English (or British...which is right?) accent (particularly on "Heart on Fire") when he sings, which is rare.  That's another thing I enjoy, like the breathing thing, I can't explain it, I just like it. 

This Heart on Fire EP is only 4 songs long and I'm not sure that's enough for me to really get to know this band.  That being said, each of the songs is unique, so there is a good sampling here of what they have to offer.  "Heart on Fire" is a big, full love song full of longing and genuine emotion (especially when performed live).  It is followed up by "Tomorrow Won't Die Too Soon" which does a really nice job of featuring both voices. 

I think my favorite of the four is "Two-Way Radio".  A tasty little tune about two people getting through the hard times and getting back to a good place.  With lines like, "They can take what they want, you're my only obsession now," you cannot deny this song.  The final track, "Promises & Empty Words" features the female singer, Aimee Driver's soft melodic voice.  In it, when she sings, "I'll never hear another lie fall out of your mouth...why should I be the one to give this everything?" who can't relate to that?

This collection of songs is driven by an insistent drum beat and well-crafted harmonies that make you want to keep listening and really should appeal to just about everyone.  While the gentle melodies don't inspire me to dance around (although, they did when I heard them live), I definitely look forward to knowing the words so I can sing along!  The only thing stopping me from loving this collection is time, but I'm pretty sure after I've had time to get attached to it, it will fall in the "love it" category.

Travie McCoy "Lazarus"

Album: Lazarus
Artist: Travie McCoy
Release: June 8, 2010

On the eve of Gym Class Heroes' new release "Papercut Chronicles II", I thought I would bring you the lead singer Travie McCoy's solo offering, "Lazarus".  You may not think you know who Travie McCoy is, but believe me, you do.  Unless you live under a rock, you were exposed to his massively popular duet with Bruno Mars, 'Billionaire' this summer. (Wow, that sentence tried to sound dirty...) That song was freaking everywhere, and rightfully so, it is catchy as hell.  Co-written by Travie, presumably back when he was broke, it was the lead single off "Lazarus".  I was addicted to this song over the summer, so I grabbed this album when it was still hot off the presses. 

"Lazarus" (which, incidentally, is Travie McCoy's middle name) features enough collaborations and features that it doesn't really feel like a solo album.  It really feels more like someone recorded a jam session among a bunch of friends, which is cool.  'Need You', the second single, is one of the few times that it feels like we're really hearing him, and not just another party anthem.  In it, he asks for time to repair the damage done by some other heartless wench so he can be the man this new girl wants him to be.  It is really a love song, but from the perspective of a broken person who really wants to have another go at it.

Another genuine moment is 'The Manual' which features T. Pain & Young Cash.  With lines like, "My faith got misplaced, between who I was before and the dude you think you know" you understand that he's trying to figure out how to marry the real person and the stage persona. To some extent, we can all relate to this song - how to we co-mingle the people we are inside with the people our friends, family and bosses need and expect us to be?  Somehow, this song seems heartfelt even though the chorus is lost is auto-tune hell.

The rest of the album is pretty much just a collection of songs that make you want to roll the windows down, turn the radio up and drive way too fast.  My favorite of these is by far 'Dr. Feel Good' which features Cee Lo Green (of 'Fuck You' and Gnarls Barkley fame). And no, it is not a remake of the Motley Crue song as I originally feared/hoped when I saw the title of it.  'Superbad' is also an awesome tune.

My only problems with the record are 'Akidagain' and 'Don't Pretend'.  The first, well, I just don't like it.  The verses are alright, but the chorus just grates on my very last nerve. It is little kids singing it (or is made to sound like little kids...whatever), either way, it doesn't make sense.  They ARE kids, why would they be singing about being a kid again?  And furthermore, the sound of children singing is just unpleasant.  Yuck.  And as for 'Don't Pretend', somehow it just reminds me way too much of Biz Markie's 'Just a Friend' for me to really get into it. 

Overall, I like this record, I really do.  There are a couple songs that I skip, but there are also a few that I repeat...again and again.  I like it enough that I'm looking forward to seeing what Travie and Gym Class Heroes are going to give us tomorrow.

Alanis Morissette "Jagged Little Pill"

Album: Jagged Little Pill
Artist: Alanis Morissette
Release: June 13, 1995

I bought this record when it was pretty new in the summer of 1995 when I was 17 and every bit as angry and dysfunctional as Alanis must have been when she wrote these songs.  That winter, I wore this album out in my car to the point that I still feel cold when I listen to it.  I have a couple more of hers, after she chilled out a bit, but I have to say that I really prefer the angry-Alanis of the mid-90's.  What I like best is that she was able to articulate every bit of bad blood and her vocals did not let her down in expressing how she felt. 

It starts with a harmonica followed by a riff on 'All I Really Want'.  The first line being, "Do I stress you out? My sweater is on backwards and inside out and you say, how appropriate."  I knew right then that I was going to love this record.  This song is heavy with harmonica which is unusual, to say the least.  But somehow it works - don't ask me, I can't explain it.  Everyone has heard 'You Oughta Know' - they've played the shit out of it on the radio for the last 16 years.  It's a good song.  I like a song with a story and this one definitely has one.  I also like a song that is wrought with raw emotion and this one hits the mark there too (also, it was a chance to sing "when you fuck her" at the top of my lungs and those chances were rare among my CD collection in 1995.)  A woman of any age is going to appreciate a song that laments the way a man seems to be able to move on from a relationship without looking back while the woman is left holding all the emotional baggage.  (To be clear, not all men, not all the time, but this is how a heartbroken woman sees it.)

Next is the quiet, heartbreaking 'Perfect'.  This song explores the experience of kids who are made to feel that nothing they do is ever quite good enough.  To the point that maybe even perfection wouldn't be enough.  This one struck a chord in me that makes it tough to hear to this very day.  'Hand in My Pocket' is a song you can relate to and its catchy.  With lines like, "and what it all comes down to, is that it everything's gonna be quite alright", it makes us think that under all that anger, maybe Alanis has hope.  Maybe.  Then she turns around and stabs misogynistic society in the gut with 'Right Through You'.  Surely every woman knows what it feels like to be overlooked or underestimated simply because she is female.  This song is flat out pissed off about that.  While I am absolutely not a feminist, I still enjoy the sentiment of this song.

My absolute favorite song on this record is 'Not the Doctor'.  It's kind of quirky and strange sounding, but when I first heard it, it was a perfect fit.  I was in that stage of life when the lists in your head are all of the things you will not do for people and who you do not want to be, rather than what you are or what you can offer.  Because at 17, who knows what they are?  So a song listing all the things that this woman is not and does not want to be for a man was a perfect.  She follows it up with 'Wake Up', which is another good one. 

Overall, after listening to this record a couple times, I've realized that I don't love it nearly like I did when I was 17.  It takes me back to that time, it brings back a lot of memories and dredges up a lot of emotion - which is cool.  But my life is pretty far removed from what it was when I was 17 and I just don't relate to a lot of it the way I used to.  But I still blow the dust off this one occasionally and take it for a stroll down memory lane.

Foo Fighters "Wasting Light"

Album: Wasting Light
Artist: Foo Fighters
Release: April 12, 2011

I finally got around to listening to this album all the way through.  My first impression was, "this is awesome".  By now, everyone knows that "Wasting Light" was recorded in Dave Grohl's garage (which, something tells me isn't exactly the same as my garage), but what's really amazing about it is that it lives up to the hype.  It really sounds like actual humans playing actual instruments and like a real guy singing.  It doesn't feel like there is a lot of trickery going on when you listen to this one.  You really believe that if you saw them perform it live, it would sound just like this (and I hope that's true). 

This record gives you that feeling you had when you were 17, sprawled on a worn out couch with broken springs listening to that guy you like rehearse with his band (is that just me?).  Only, this time the guy you like is Dave Grohl and he and his friends are genuinely (and unbelievably) talented and the music fucking rocks.

I think this record sounds like it was fun for them to make, and that's important.  It doesn't feel forced or contrived, just natural and flowing.  It is full of familiar Foo Fighters sounds, but somehow they have been made better.  The warm growl of Dave's voice shines on the slower tracks and the fierce screamers. They brought in some outside talent on this one including Krist Novoselic (you know, that tall guy that was in that other band with Dave Grohl) who lends his mad bass (and apparently accordion) skills to 'I Should Have Known'.

You don't have to be a die hard Foo Fighters fan to appreciate this album.  It's basically just 48 minutes of good old rock (or, Rock & Grohl, if you like) played by amazing musicians.  I look forward to it blending into my play lists and making it's home there.

Live - "Throwing Copper"

Album: "Throwing Copper"
Artist: Live
Release: April, 1994

Another sweet album from my youth.  I was 16 when this one came out and I'm sure I bought it because of 'Lightening Crashes' which was all over the radio at the time.  Oddly enough, it is that very song that keeps me from loving this record now.  Ever since a recent loss of great magnitude that my family suffered, I can't listen to that song without bursting into tears.  However, while the song is kind of off limits to me right now, I think that speaks to how powerful it is to me.  It is a haunting song, but I'm kind of surprised it is so popular on the radio.  I mean, there are not that many songs in the top 40 with "placenta" in them, but hey, whatever works.  Overall, the song is about the shift of energy when one person passes away and another person is born. 

This is another one of those albums that none of my friends liked, but I played the shit out of it.  If they came to my house or rode it my car, they were going to listen to it.  Apparently it was a major player in the soundtrack of my 16th year.  So much so that, when I listen to it now, it feels heavy.  It makes me kind of nostalgic and introspective, but I still love it. 

To my 16 year old heart, 'All Over You' sounded like a perfect little love song, and it still kind of does.  (That statement probably says a lot about me)  It is up tempo for a love song, but with lyrics like, "Our love is, like water, pinned down and abused for being strange", you cannot deny this song.  My favorite song on this record is 'Horse' (hidden track).  "It'd the middle of the night and you're here, playing dominoes and drinkin' beer.  I try to think of somethin deep to say, but my well is dippin' dry today." How can you not love that??

I hesitate to say that this record should be in everyone's collection.  With songs like 'Shit Town' and 'Waitress', its possible that it won't be up everyone's alley, but I'm pretty fond of it.  It has been in my collection (on tape, CD and mp3) for many years and I've never gotten tired of it.  There are fast, upbeat songs that make you want to turn it up ('I Alone'), songs you can sing along with ('Top'), and songs you just want to close your eyes and let them flow over you ('T.B.D.').  But somehow, Ed Kowalcyzk pulls it all together with his vocals.  He has the kind of delivery that just seeps into your brain and takes up residence.