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Four (feat.) for Friday

I’m sort of a sucker for the “feat.” in a song title that means one musical artist has agreed to work with another. Here are a few that I’ve come across recently. I realize that for some the definition of “artist” is being stretched beyond credibility here. So be it.

Greg Laswell – Come Back Down (feat. Sara Bareilles) // Nice collaboration here.

Skrillex – Summit (feat. Ellie Goulding) // It is what it is.

The Beatards – Get Lite (feat. CSWS) // I’m sort of slow, but is there a chance that these young men are talking about using mood enhancing substances?

Ane Brun – Worship (feat. Jose Gonzalez) // I enjoy most all of the music that Mr. Gonzalez makes. This song is no exception. Video is sort of interesting.

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Four for (a Youthful) Friday

We live in a culture obsessed with youthfulness. This is neither a novel idea nor is it really open for discussion. It is a fact.

I don’t want to get all philosophical and morbid about it, but I’m pretty sure that all our attempts to hold on to youth stem from our fear of dying. It is amazing how much money we spend on postponing death or erasing the signs that indicate we are aging (i.e. getting closer to dying), as if somehow it could be avoided.

With that cheerful thought, I bring you four songs that underscore the point I’ve just made. They are all “young” songs, and I don’t mean Neil.

fun. – We Are Young (feat. Janelle Monae) // Currently, numero uno on iTunes singles chart. Maybe you’ve heard it.

Punch Brothers – Who’s Feeling Young Now? // Sound sort of familiar? Punch Brothers’ frontman, Chris Thile, used to be with Nickel Creek.

Death Cab for Cutie – Stay Young, Go Dancing // Strange juxtaposition of “death” and “young.”

The Band Perry – If I Die Young // I think you know how much it kills me to put a pop “country” group on here, but the “death” and “young” thing again was too much to resist.

Join me next week when I’ll encourage all of us to reflect on the decimation of the ozone layer.

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Four for Friday

Sorry, missed a week or two of Four for Friday. I know you’re life has been empty and hollow as a result. If you need to blame someone, blame Suzanne Collins. You’ve probably never heard of her, but she has written a relatively obscure trilogy that you might find interesting.

Ok, on to the music….

Lana Del Rey – National Anthem // I’m not familiar enough with Ms. Del Rey to know if this is meant to genuinely reflect her own beliefs or if it is a cultural critique. Surely it is the latter.

The Lumineers – Ho Hey (Fuel Session) // Hard not to like this song. Looking forward to their album release sometime in March.

Buxton – Boy of Nine // This is like lots of music I listen to (The Head and The Heart, Seryn, Typhoon) which is why I like it.

White Denim – Street Joy // From their wiki page… White Denim is a four-piece rock band from Austin, Texas. Their music draws influence from dub, psychedelic rock, blues, punk rock, progressive rock, soul, jazz, experimental rock with home-based recording, jamming approach, intense looping work and unusual song structures. Not sure what any of that means.

Later.

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Four for Friday… is back

It has been several weeks since I’ve done one of these. There was music overload (as if that’s possible) there at the end of December, so I’m guessing you’ve appreciated the break. But now, back to business.

Teen Daze – Let’s Groove // This is a re-working of a classic from Earth, Wind & Fire.

Sleigh Bells – Comeback Kid // Sleigh Bells is back and I believe they have an album coming out sometime soon.

Boy & Bear – Part-Time Believer // “I hope you know how lucky you are.”

Taylor Swift & The Civil Wars – Safe and Sound // Love me some Civil Wars. Taylor Swift I can tolerate. This song is somehow connected to The Hunger Games movie coming out soon.

Bouus…

The Barr Brothers – Beggar in the Morning // That these folks got left off my end of year wrap-up is inexcusable. There is such a flurry of activity in putting those collections together that I’m often not in my right mind. This is better than most of the stuff that managed to find its way on there. Here they are bringing it on Letterman.

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Four (Christmas Songs) for Friday

I say four, but since Christmas is about giving, I’m choosing to [give more] than the usual amount. Needless to say, this is Christmas music in the key of Chino.

Sleeping at Last – Christmas Is All Around // Do you remember the movie Love Actually? Of course you do.

Seryn – Go Tell It On The Mountain (feat. Mark Apel) // Some Seryn nearly made it on my “Best Of’s.” Love what they have done here.

Beta Radio – The Song the Season Brings // “Ring your bell now / Hear the swell now / The Christ is come a child our king!”

Andrew Belle – Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas // I’m not really a huge fan of this song in its original form, but somehow Belle makes is sound so good.

The Civil Wars – O Come, O Come, Emmanuel // One of my favorite Christmas songs sung by one of my current favorites.

Quiet Company – O Holy Night // I should mention that several of these songs come from Fuel/Friends’ 2011 Midnight Clear December Mix that my good friend Bryan made me aware of.

Red Mountain Church – What Child Is This? // Goodness.

Sufjan Stevens – Silent Night (with Bryce and Aaron Dessner of The National and Richard Parry of Arcade Fire) // No Christmas is complete without Sufjan. Add some The National and Arcade Fire and it is enough to make your head explode.

Should you desire all the songs in a handy .zip file, HERE it is.

Merry Christmas!

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Four for Friday (fast forward)

And just like that a month goes by.

It has been a full one. They are all full ones. So by way of update, I thought I’d throw together four random things.

1) A couple of weeks ago, I went to a Blind Pilot show at Sticky Fingerz. As I expected, it was great. But real treat was that the opener, Dan Mangan, who was unknown to me ended up being a pleasant surprise. Here’s one of several songs I’ve enjoyed off his latest album, Oh Fortune.

Dan Mangan – How Darwinian

2) A while back, I shared the trailer for a book and video called Bloodlines. I had the chance to watch the full-length video with the rest of the church staff this week. It is worth seventeen minutes of your time.

3) Tomorrow evening, I’ll be going to my first Waterdeep show. It is right here in town. In fact, it is at my church. If you came, then we would both be there.

4) And finally, I crossed a milestone birthday last month. Yep. I’m old. Anyway, to celebrate the occasion, my family (minus one… or two?) slipped away to Banff. This little town in the heart of the Canadian Rockies is an outdoor lover’s paradise. We hiked every day. Over the course of the week, we probably covered somewhere close to 40 miles. Even little Si was up for some of the longer treks. Alison has a few posts and several photos on her blog. We loved every minute!

Dan Mangan – Leaves, Trees, Forests

Later.

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Four for Friday

Okay, here is some music to get your weekend started right.

Florence + The Machine – Shake It Out // “I am done with my graceless heart, so tonight I’m gonna cut it out and then restart.”

Coldplay – Paradise // Very Coldplay-ish, which is therefore very awesome-ish.

Wilco – Art of Almost // I like Wilco, but they are mostly on the fringe of my musical taste. With their latest album, they have moved a little closer to home for me. This song even had some Radiohead-like moments going on. That’s a good thing.

Ryan McAllister – Music for a Rainy Town // Rainy town indeed.

Later.

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Four for (Labor) Friday

Well, it is a holiday weekend and currently I’m a bit cooped up (in case you couldn’t tell). I obviously have no idea what your Labor Day weekend plans hold for you, but here’s some music to pass the time.

M83 – Midnight City

The Civil Wars – I Want You Back

Brooke Waggoner – So-So // This one comes courtesy of my friend, Jessica.

Josh Garrels – Farther Along

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Four (to see/hear) for Friday

Little Rock’s live music scene is just about right for me. Certainly, most of the bands and musicians I enjoy don’t find their way to Central Arkansas, but that is probably a good thing. I really don’t have the time or money to go see some live music once or twice a week. As it stands, I probably end up seeing about half a dozen or so shows a year.

That being said, this fall, Little Rock will be graced with the musical talent of no less than four artists that receive my stamp of approval. It is rare that everything works out for me to actually make it to these shows, but if any of you are interested, I might make a special effort.

Blind Pilot – Keep You Right / October 8th – Stickyz / Saw these folks a couple years ago in Chicago. Really great. Brand new song off an album being released soon. This is a can’t miss show.

Mutemath – Odd Soul / October 11th – Rev Room / These guys are some pretty creative dudes. Need proof? Head over HERE and see how they have put the wonderful world of the internets to use.

Generationals – Ten-Twenty-Ten / October 30th – Rev Room / They are appearing with Mates of State, which ain’t so bad either.

AA Bondy – The Heart Is Willing / November 11th – Stickyz / A perennial favorite is back again. This new track is a bit darker than some of his previous work. But no matter, I’m still looking forward to going.

BONUS…

Ben Rector – Autumn / October 26th – Juanita’s / All my college friends are nuts about this guy. I like him too. He has a new album out that you can DOWNLOAD for whatever amount you would like to donate… even free.

Happy Friday!

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Four (More Daytrotters) for Friday

A while ago, I mentioned this great music site. If I only had one source for music greatness, this would be it for all kinds of reasons.

But instead going into all that, I’ll just share four artists I really like who have done sessions with Daytrotter recently.

Andrew Belle – The Ladder (Daytrotter Session)

Seyrn – River Song (Daytrotter Session)

The Head and The Heart – Sounds Like Hallelujah (Daytrotter Session)

James Vincent McMorrow – Follow You Down to the Red Oak Tree (Daytrotter Session)

Later.