Heart Shaped Box

It's been several months since I've even taken a look at this thing, but I was in the mood to record something today so learned some Nirvana. The song "Heart Shaped Box" comes off of the album 'In Utero', an album that really needs to be a part of anyones and everyones music collection (especially yours).

Kurt Cobain had a way of writing songs that really pulled you into his head and let you feel what he had felt when he wrote them. 'Heart Shaped Box' is no exception, and every time I hear it I get kind of a sense of depressing, angry-empowerment. So put on your favorite flannel shirt and hate your parents for 4 or 5 minutes, you angsty, misunderstood-teenager, you.

Lake Michigan, Rogue Wave

This post is a direct result of poor planning on my part. I brought up a guitar stand about a month ago, so my guitar now sits directly next to where I do most of my studying... I realized it's actually a lot harder to study with a guitar sitting right next to you than I thought. Though, not studying for finals isn't always necessarily a bad thing-

This entry is a video of me playing another old (not quite as old as "For Your Love", but not exactly cutting edge) favorite song of mine; "Lake Michigan" by Rogue Wave. Rogue Wave is an indie-rock band based out of Oakland, California and started in 2002. This band seems to be just beginning to pick up steam, and has a new album scheduled to come out in 2010.

If you've never heard the song, there's a really good live version from their set on The Craig Ferguson show, which you can find here.

You should also check out some of their other music, they've got some really good stuff.

...For real. Check em out.

For Your Love, The Yardbirds

This week I decided to go to a little bit retro when I stumbled upon a really, really old song. "For Your Love" by The Yardbirds was a hit in both the UK in America- in 1965. This band has more or less fallen through the cracks today, however I think they played a pretty huge role in the development of "rock n' roll". This band gave a start to both Jimmy Page (of Led Zeppelin) and Eric Clapton (if you don't know who he is you probably don't care about this post), who both played in bands that shaped the sound of modern Rock.

Even though this song was old when my mom was growing up, its' incredibly catchy melody draws me in every time I hear it. There's a live version that you can find on YouTube, and I love how well the video shows the era that this song is from.

I tried to make this recording sound a little bit older by using different methods of compression, and different filters but ultimately I just ended up using the original recording. Luckily my computer mic isn't very good, so it sounds kind of retro to begin with.

Let me know what you think!

John Butler Trio: New Album Drops Dec. 4th

So naturally with the first snowfall of the year this week, I'm sick once again....

I'm going to have to postpone the recording of this week's song until next week, but I promise next week I'll have it up. So instead of recording a song this week, I'm going to tell you guys about one of my favorite acoustic bands that you should definitely check out.

The John Butler Trio is an acoustic trio from Australia, with an upbeat acoustic-rock feel. As lame as that sounds, trust me it's not. John has to be one of the most impressive acoustic guitarists that I've ever heard or seen, and I have yet to hear anyone with a style similar to his. He uses the guitar in a completely different way than I could ever think to- from his unique plucking styles to using his guitar as a drum.

Yesterday their latest album April Uprising was released, as well as it's first single "One Way Road". It sounds like classic John Butler Trio, and I highly suggest taking a minute to listen to it; if you go to the bands website it's featured on their home page.

Upon first listen this album sounds like it will be just as good if not better than their older albums, which is pretty hard to match. I suggest that everyone listens through the album at least once just to get a feel for this hard-hitting acoustic trio.

Unfortunately there are currently no American tour-dates, so just keep an eye out so you can see 'em when they come around!

P.S. You should also check out their last album, Grand National- it was more or less the soundtrack to my summer and I'd be willing to bet that you'll love it.

Soul To Squeeze, Red Hot Chili Peppers

This week we've got another Chili Peppers' song, one of their bigger hits, "Soul to Squeeze". It was written during the creation of the album Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik though was released separately. It had some serious commercial success, and reached 22 on Billboard's top 100.

The song can be found here, courtesy of YouTube.

Keep a look out, next week's song is going to be a request from a reader- you never know, it could be yours!

Let me know what you think

I'll Make a Man Out of You

This week's song was an idea that David Daniels came up with, and I think you're all going to like the final product. The song "I'll Make a Man Out of You" is the memorable track from the 1998 Disney film Mulan, a movie about a Chinese girl who poses as a man in order to go fight for the sake of her village.The song comes on during a montage where villagers were being trained for battle, which you can hear in the lyrics. The song was composed by Matthew Wilder, and the voice is none other than Donny Osmond.

The original version of this song can be found here.

Let's be honest, everyone saw this movie as a kid and loves/still remembers most of the lyrics to this song even today. Anyone who says anything otherwise is lying to themselves and needs to seriously rethink their life choices; sorry, but it's true. For as long as I can remember I've been singing along to this song, and I hope you guys end up singing along to this weeks post.

I have to give it up for David, as he did most of the work for this weeks post. Without your vocals this song wouldn't be half as great as it is, thanks again!

Sit back, hit play and remember how you used to jam out to this song when you were 8.

Evil, Interpol

This weeks featured song is from another New York Indie band, Interpol. Their song "Evil" comes off of their 2004 album Antics reaching 24 on the U.S. charts and 18 in the U.K. Their distinctive sound has earned them a special place in the world of Indie Rock, and their 2005 album Our Love to Admire has enforced with certainty that they're a musical force to be reckoned with.

If you haven't heard it, one my personal favorite versions is played live on the show "Later with Jools Holland" and can be found here.

This weeks recording does not feature any guest musicians, though next week David Daniels will be making a re-appearance for a cover he thought of doing. I assure you it will be excellent. And may actually make you "lol", "LYAO" and or "ROFL"... No promises though.

Some of the lyrics were improvised, so die-hard Interpol fanatics be warned; my memory isn't the greatest. I think you guys will like this song though, I was surprised with how my vocals sounded compared to that of Paul Banks (Interpol's vocalist).

So without further ado, "Evil" by Interpol.