Song(s) of the week

This week’s picks:

“Lose You” and “Velcro Shoes” by Pete Yorn

Where I found Pete Yorn: The first time I “discovered” Mr. Yorn was on an episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. He came out and just rocked it with “Velcro Shoes.” Of course I later discovered that I’d listened to Pete Yorn many times before that, I’d just never been able to put a face to the music. When Kutner died on House a couple years back I remember how much I loved the funeral, in no small part to the unknown song scoring the sequence. Well the author of that song was of course Pete Yorn, knocking my socks off before I even knew who Pete Yorn was.

What I like: He’s got a pretty unique voice which means whatever he does is going to sound interesting, but I think maybe the best part about him is that he seems to be able to work in a variety of different styles. From the few songs I’ve heard from the guy it doesn’t seem like he likes to repeat himself all too often.

Lose You - Pete Yorn


Velcro Shoes - Pete Yorn

Song(s) of the week

This week’s picks:

“Sixteen Military Wives”, “Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect”, and “Valerie Plame” by The Decemberists

Where I found The Decemberists: I honestly can’t remember where I originally found these guys, but I was reminded of them last night when I watched the movie Fair Game. After the movie I went on my typical Wikipedia fact finding mission (take that for what it’s worth) and I stumbled across a song they’d written about the film’s main character Valerie Plame (who is a real person very much worth reading about). I figured now was as good a time as any to run down some of my favourites of theirs.

What I like: I’m just a huge fan of Colin Meloy (lead singer of the band) as a songwriter. He writes great lyrics (see “Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect”) and he certainly knows his way around a melody. And that’s not meant to take any credit away from the rest of the band either, who do a spectacular job of filling out the songs with some terrifically layered arrangements.

Sixteen Military Wives - The Decemberists


Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect - The Decemberists


Valerie Plame - The Decemberists

Song(s) of the week

This week’s pick:

“West Coast” by Jason Schwartzman

Where I found Jason Schwartzman: Here’s a fun fact – Jason Schwartzman got his start as the drummer of Phantom Planet. Yes, the Phantom Planet, the band that gave us “California” and some of the most iconic title music in the history of television (or at least mid-2000s television). Eventually he left Phantom Planet and started a solo career, which is where “West Coast” comes in. Oh, and apparently he does a little acting on the side...

 “West Coast” came out a few years ago when The OC was in its heyday, but I just recently rediscovered it and since it’s been replaying in my head all day I decided to share it with all of you.

What I like: I’m a really big fan of Jason Schwartzman’s voice. You wouldn’t expect it but he’s got a pretty unique sound, and whether it’s his producers or just his songwriting the arrangement is really well done. I particularly love the ending, when the choir of “ahhhs” starts up and Schwartzman riffs overtop. Good luck getting this one out of your head.

West Coast - Jason Schwartzman

Song(s) of the week

This week’s pick:

“Losers” by The Belle Brigade

Where I found The Belle Brigade: Conan... they were on Conan.

What I like:  Well first off, you can’t talk about this band without mentioning harmonies. So... consider them mentioned. I’ve also got to say I particularly love the lyrics of this song. I’m way too competitive to ever really give up on winning (I’m trying to win at blogging right now) but that doesn’t make “Losers” any less relatable, nor does it diminish its message.

Losers - The Belle Brigade

100th Post Extravaganza

Okay, so this isn’t so much an extravaganza as it is a pretty typical song of the week, but I figured I’d do something a little special for such a monumental occasion as our 100^th post. Yes, it was just 8 short months ago I started haphazardly spewing my opinions out onto the internet. Luckily the ranting got a little more coherent with time...

So I want to thank everyone for reading – from the friends I forced into reading this, to the family I threatened, to the people who accidently stumbled across this page while they were looking for porn – I appreciate each and every one of you for taking a few minutes out of your day to read such hard-hitting editorials as The Afterthought Post and Afterthought 2: Electric Boogaloo.

And of course I can’t forget to thank Ryan. Whether it was name dropping Summer Glau (virtually igniting our search queries overnight to an unprecedented level of slightly above zero) or his passionate defence of the ill-fated The Cape, he was huge part of these last hundred posts and he deserves a ton of credit for all the work he’s done. Hopefully next season’s schedule will bring him a new comic book themed show that lasts a little longer than 9 episodes.

Anyway, to mark the occasion, instead of scouring the airwaves for a new up and coming band with a fresh sound, I’m just going to give you one of my absolute favourite songs instead.

Ladies and Gentleman, without further adieu, one of the all time classics:

 “Dammit” by Blink-182

Here’s to a hundred more!

Song(s) of the week

This week’s pick:

“Home” and “Janglin” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Where I found Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: I’m a little late to this party, I know, but over the past week it feels like this band has been hitting me over the head. First, I saw them on Conan’s concert series and then completely unrelated one of my friends introduced them to me again. Basically I went from having never heard of them to hearing them pretty much everywhere I went in under a week. It’s like I’ve been wearing blinders for the last two years. So I do apologise if this band is old news for you, but the only way I’m going to get over how much I love them at the moment is to tell somebody about them.

What I like: It’s just a refreshingly different sound. I love the big group mentality – the wide assortment of instruments, the huge group vocals – and yet they still manage to keep the songs feeling relatively down to Earth. They feel classic and modern all at the same time.

Home - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros


Janglin - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Song(s) of the week

I decided to try something different with this week’s song of the week. I’m going all the way back to the early 2000s. Oh what a magical time it was...

This week’s pick:

“Move On” by Jet

Where I found Jet: Dumb question. Better question – where did you find “Move On” and why is it worthy of a song of the week 8 years after its release? The answer: blatant nostalgia and the prime time teen soap behemoth that was The OC.

Now let me explain – I was an OC fanatic in high school. This isn’t something I’m ashamed of... actually I kind of embrace it. Those were just the times... in my high school the show was pretty much required viewing, and every Thursday after the episodes aired we’d gather round the cafeteria and discuss what happened the night before, lamenting about how we just couldn’t believe this show wasn’t winning Emmy’s.

It was around this time, in the height of my OC obsession, that I went out and bought the soundtrack to the show’s first season.  It was an impulse purchase at best and I’d be lying if I said I fell in love with it right away, but I kept it around and listened to it enough that eventually it started to grow on me.

It’s literally impossible for me to think back on those days now without associating those songs. I can still remember driving around in my parents van listening to the soundtrack over and over again, dreaming about moving to California one day... yeah, I really misinterpreted the main message of that show.

But I always find myself coming back to “Move On.” It may not be the most joyful song in the world, but I’ve always found some comfort in it whenever I’ve had to turn a corner. One thing’s for sure – whenever it comes up on my iPod it’s always a welcome listen.

What I like: It’s a well-sung, well-written song.

Move On - Jet