shared music

The second installment of my music related posts.

Music is something that we share with those around us, we tell people of new music we have discovered, they share with us some of their favourites and if all goes well we find new music we like. Today I am sharing a tiny slice of the music that people have shared with me through my life. I don’t think I have a friend who has not introduced me to at least one new artist. Music makes the world go round 🙂

Karl

My older brother has probably shared the most music with me, growing up we listened to what he listened to, we looked up to him. I could be here all day sharing music that Karl has shared. A couple that stand out are.

The Velvet Underground – In particular Sweet Jane, just a few months ago when we were in Iceland, Matthew and I stayed with Karl and Anika (one of our sister’s), we spent a fair bit of time rocking out in the kitchen/dining/living area to the strains of Velvet Underground.

The BreedersSafari was the first song we saw from the Breeders on a tape of Rage, that Karl had recorded one night, I remember sitting there enthralled with the video clip, seeing Josephine Wiggs with her bass and pink hair rocking out. We didn’t have the internet back in those days like we do now, I remember standing in Rocking Horse Records with Karl looking at the Breeders albums, and he walked out with Last Splash. The Breeders are a band that I have always fallen back on, fantastic lyrics, enchanting vocals, all just perfect listening.

World Music and Electronica/dance etc, I know two very different genres but Karl introduced me to the Gypsy Kings, Buena Vista Social Club, B(i)ftek, Hamsa Lila and heaps of other stuff, nothing like chilling to some laid back beats/tunes. Relax.

Pabbi
My dad has influenced my music tastes in so many ways; I mean he is the Papa! Growing up in our household you were assured of listening to some sort of music every night when the washing up was happening. I remember dancing round the living room with Pabbi to Hava Nagila, the days of innocence! There was of course all the standards; ABBA, The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkle, The Seekers, The Drifters, Johnny Cash, Peter Paul and Mary, James Last etc etc as well as some others

Harry Belafonte – Again more memories of belting out songs like Kingston Town in the living room.

Mahalia Jackson – Every Christmas Eve, Pabbi puts one of her records and that is the only household music we get, nothing wrong with as she does have an amazing voice. Have you heard her singing Silent Night? Mahalia had the voice.

Ladi Geisler’s album Guitar ala Carte is without a doubt the most played record in our house, almost impossible to find a copy of and we haven’t yet found a copy of volume II of Guitar ala Carte. If you ever hear some of his recordings you will not be disappointed, this man creates magic with his guitar.

Mum
Anyone who knows her will know that she refers to music as noise, however she does have a few musical interests, namely the soundtrack from Paint Your Wagon. Probably one of my early introductions into soundtracks, have you heard Clint Eastwood sing? The Gospel Of No Name City, I Talk To The Trees etc etc

Matthew
My little brother who lives in mainly black shirts with some punk band on the front, without him I would not know of many of his bands

Marilyn Healy
A very sweet pea and incredible artist, her signature line used be a couple of lines of a Howard Jone‘s song called Life In One Day, total 80’s central with Howard, ever since that moment when I looked those lyrics up, well I have been bopping along with HJ

Kathryn Nichols
One of the girls I went to primary school with, we caught the same bus home, I gave her a tape with a Toni Braxton song on, she gave me a tape of Alanis Morissette‘s Jagged Little Pill and well the rest is history, I don’t think I need to explain the Alanis factor, the voice, the lyrics, everything

Wübke Peters
Wübke, is the girl I stayed with in Germany and is actually at our house at the moment, her Christmas present to me, was a ticket to a Die Happy concert, have not met anyone since Germany who has ever heard of Die Happy but they are a band that gets high rotation on my play lists. Song of note is Cry For More

Sean
He showed me a lot of new music and opened my eyes to bands that I had ignored. Two more obscure bands that I found through Sean are Mest and Taking Back Sunday, two bands that I whole heartedly recommend that you go listen to.

Year 12 Tech Tute Teacher
Tech Tute, was essentially a free class which often resulted in class discussions with our teacher, one day some of the boys asked the teacher what music she liked and she answered Elliott Smith, I of course went home and found what music I could of his and have been hooked ever since, just love the music, the melodies and of course his voice.

This is only the smallest sampling of music that people have shared with me and only a sample of what I listen to, from folk songs to punk to 80’s pop, I like my music all over the place.

one album

The first in a series of music related posts.

If the music police came to your house and told you that for the rest of your life, you could only listen to one album for the rest of time, what would you choose? My choice always surprises me. I don’t think I could pick a single artist so it has to be a compilation or a soundtrack and I have so many to pick from but the winner?

Icelandic Pop Favourites – you can listen to previews from this link.

Toti, Anna and the kids sent this home with Pabbi after his 2000 trip to Iceland if I recall correctly, Matthew was sent one of the companion CD’s – Icelandic Rock Favourites. Without a doubt, this CD is the one that I have played the most, it was one for the first I ripped to MP3 format and again one of the first to be uploaded to my MP3 player.

The thing is though, I remember opening up the wrapping paper, seeing the CD and thought uggh Pop, why couldn’t I have got rock or something like Matthew, how wrong was I. Icelandic pop and music in general is so different to anything else I have heard. I am not a big pop fan but nothing could replace this CD in my collection.

I see the CD as having two styles in it, the first the tracks with a dance anthem theme; repetitive lyrics, lots of beats, the second style are the tracks with a focus on the vocals, less beats more guitar and piano but still very upbeat, these are songs that you can clean to. Some songs are in English, some are in Icelandic, sure I only understand some words in the Icelandic songs but I still love them.

Track Listing
Selma Björnsdóttir – All out of luck
Ég elska alla – Stjórnin
Síðan hittumst við aftur – SSSól
Gus Gus – Ladyshave
Móa – Joy and Pain
Sálin hans Jóns míns – Okkar nótt
Todmobile – Stúlkan
Maryland – Dreaming
Bubbi – Sumar konur
Sóldögg – Friður
Nýdönsk – Horfðu til himins
Stuðmenn – Komdu með
URL – Song in A
Tweety – Gott mál
Greifarnir – Skiptir engu máli
Ã? móti sól – Ã? þig

My favourite track on the CD is without a doubt Stuðmenn’s Komdu með, I can’t really tell you why, other than the fact that each time I find myself singing away. My name on MSN and ICQ many, many times in my younger days was Komdu með or Helen – Komdu með.

So thanks to Toti and family for putting an irreplaceable album in my collection and opening my ears to a whole new world of music.

You can buy single songs from Tonlist for USD$0.99, bargain! Go explore Icelandic music 🙂 and if you could only have one album from your collection, what would it be?

Be Safe, Play Hard

We had a blast last night if you disregard the masses of middle-aged teens who insist on wearing thongs and handbags in a mosh pit or thinking it is a really good idea to surge the pit. Although in the end we were laughing about it because they were just a sight to see.

, well every song sounded like the previous one, I had really expected more after listening to stuff on their website.

were pretty cool, loved rocking out to My Paper Heart, One More Sad Song etc. Though the lead singer was a bit weird he kept on going on about how hot all the chicks were in the audience. And in the words of Sam, “Most of them are under 16 and in Australia that is called paedophilia”. Yep I am telling you, we saw kids who couldn’t have been more than nine there.

And well what could we expect from ? After a great show in March? Well they only got better, since this was their first tour with them as headliners it was much better, they had control, they did what they liked, they rocked:) A couple of things really stood out, when Chuck the drummer was let to run wild in the crowd and then had the stage to himself for a while. The two songs they covered – Happy Together by The Turtles and I Believe in a Thing Called Love by The Darkness – rocked the house, have to say the Darkness cover was really good. Now I am sure that all bands say how much they love a particular city each time they do a show there, well this time they took it one step further and did a freestyle rap ode to Brisbane, taking off H to the IZZO by Jay-Z but it was B to the the Brissay. Sam and I stood there cracking our sides in laughter.

Mobile phones are *so* the lighter of the 21st century 🙂 Ok, so I stole the idea from The OC, kudos to anyone who can tell me which episode but it was so fun seeing the sea of mobile phone lights for the slow songs.

I took some videos of the concert as well as the photos that are here but need to figure out how to edit and compress the files down.

last day of the teens

Tomorrow marks the day that I get bumped up into the 20something age bracket, no longer will I be a teenager.

In my own celebration in a couple of hours I am heading off the The Zoo to see The Mountain Goats and The Zebra’s. Going to be an interesting night out, going to a concert by myself, I have been to more classical concerts in concert halls by myself before but not a dark, night concert. That is what growing up is all about 🙂

Not much planned for tomorrow, got a lot of readings to be done but we are having chocolate mousse for dessert and going out for tea on Monday night.

New Music Find: Ian Broudie

I was watching some OC Season 3 previews and as always I was intrigued by the music in the background, very much reminded me of a male Missy Higgins, or an older Ben Lee or The Mountain Goats with less twang. So I sat at my computer googling and googling some the lyrics trying to find out who was singing this utterly beautiful song, eventually I hit on the right keywords and found out that the song playing was “Song for No One” by Ian Broudie

From night skies dressed in clouds
Morning came, your taste in my mouth
I like the way that your hair falls down in your eyes
And you blush when you smile
When sleep combs your side then far away flies

I love the way that you stare when the sleep fills your eyes
So yesterday has gone
Who knows, tomorrow may bring all we’ll desire
Tomorrow brings the sun

Kiss the world with fingers crossed
I’ve kissed the world with fingers crossed
I’ve been praised
I’ve been cursed
I’ve been blamed
And I’ve won
And I’ve lost

On waves that fill your heart
The future glides
I hope the serpents in the tide
Are all gone
What’s done is done

A song for no one’s in my hand
A song they’ll never understand
Til I have gone
And tomorrow brings the sun

It is just such a pure song, he has a superb voice 🙂 Go out and try to find some Ian Broudie, you could not be dissapointed.

simple plan

yee-he-he, Sam and I are going to see , and in style well musical style might be a better word, because tonight I won us tickets for the front general admission section on ebay 🙂

It is going to be one hellish good night 🙂

and in other news there is not much apart from an essay that is un-cooperative with me.