Tom Lehrer's song like Killing Pigeons in the Park has also provided some light comic relief.
Sunday, 1 March 2015
Killing Pigeons in the Park in February 2015
Been listening to and playing Terry Reid's To Be Treated Rite, with its haunting A Minor tones sending shivers down my spine.
Saturday, 31 January 2015
January 2015 Making it Your Own
Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
Was glad to see this come through in the post a few weeks ago, its the kind of album you can listen to over and over.
Their music insists that they're not afraid to try out new, daring things; the droning vocals, heavy drums beats, creepy, chromatic chord progressions, they know how to create a soundscape that's both eerie and catchy, and that's what makes Black Sabbath so chillingly unique.
A Good Voice Contestant:
I also a saw an interesting contestant on The Voice this month, but can't remember his name. He sung I would Walk 500 Miles with a guitar, but interpreted it in a different way that was mellow, and slowed down in tempo. I like this idea, taking a popular, annoying song that everyone knows and making it your own.
Was glad to see this come through in the post a few weeks ago, its the kind of album you can listen to over and over.
Their music insists that they're not afraid to try out new, daring things; the droning vocals, heavy drums beats, creepy, chromatic chord progressions, they know how to create a soundscape that's both eerie and catchy, and that's what makes Black Sabbath so chillingly unique.
A Good Voice Contestant:
I also a saw an interesting contestant on The Voice this month, but can't remember his name. He sung I would Walk 500 Miles with a guitar, but interpreted it in a different way that was mellow, and slowed down in tempo. I like this idea, taking a popular, annoying song that everyone knows and making it your own.
Tuesday, 30 December 2014
December 2014 Go Your Own Way
Ever since getting the song Go Your Own Way stuck in my head and wondering who wrote it, I've suddenly become a fan of Fleetwood Mac. It's funny how these obsessions aren't planned. You could almost say they're 'fleeting,' (if you'll excuse the pun). That's why it was a pleasure to receive their Rumours album for christmas. My favourites so far have got to be the hits; Go your own way, Songbird and The Chain are such classics and yet so diverse in their tonal range. Just a change in beat, tempo and instruments can move you through a melancholic song, to an uplifting one, or to a more lighthearted one. But they have one thing in common; they're immediately catchy; You make loving fun may stop you from getting any sleep at night as it spins round your head. It has something to do with the vocal range of the band, and again ties in with their diversity.
I also went to see my sister in my old school's termly Gig Night. This one kid had written a song about Busking in Oxford which stood out for me, the way those lyrics rolled out in a rap rhyming way as he plucked away at his guitar reminded of Dylan's take on Beat poetry. (Poems set to a beat, in short). There was also a guy who was turning into a little Jimmy Hendrix with his electric guitar, he'll go far. And my sister's cover of I Can't make you Love Me was poignant with her accompanying Pianist.
The other albums I've been listening to couldn't be more varied; Ryan Adams' Ryan Adams album, which, though in keeping with his rugged, Neil Young inspired heartfelt Rock and Roll style is about as original as the title suggests. Gimme Something Good is the only catchy one in there.
A John Legend CD my Aunt got me for christmas was half-listened to. Remind me to write a thank you letter, along with suggestions for how I can fake having enjoyed it. Don't get me wrong; I applaud the honesty of his lyrics; "I had plans to do it 'til we have a baby, even if the world is crazy." You're right John, the world is crazy, what with its stark rise in teenage pregnancies. "Pick some names, Boy or Girl, Then we'll change the world" may give the wrong impression they're trying to make a superhero child, or maybe I'm just reading into it too much... To be fair, he has a voice reminiscent of the husky singer-songwriter Seal, but without the poetry - his lyrics are far too direct, like he's scribbled them on the toilet before the recording.
Finally, Ben Howard's new album, I Forget where we Were has a fresh sound. His opening song, Small Things almost creates a minimalist, experimental effect with its echoing droplets and abstract vocal delivery. "Christmas flared among us and we called it evergreen, Built a world without your love and I built it mean" has more of an indirect, abstract resonance to it then "have a baby, even if the world is crazy." If the world's crazy, listen to some Fleetwood Mac. Don't go John's way and put pressure on yourself by raising kids. Ask my parents.
I also went to see my sister in my old school's termly Gig Night. This one kid had written a song about Busking in Oxford which stood out for me, the way those lyrics rolled out in a rap rhyming way as he plucked away at his guitar reminded of Dylan's take on Beat poetry. (Poems set to a beat, in short). There was also a guy who was turning into a little Jimmy Hendrix with his electric guitar, he'll go far. And my sister's cover of I Can't make you Love Me was poignant with her accompanying Pianist.
The other albums I've been listening to couldn't be more varied; Ryan Adams' Ryan Adams album, which, though in keeping with his rugged, Neil Young inspired heartfelt Rock and Roll style is about as original as the title suggests. Gimme Something Good is the only catchy one in there.
A John Legend CD my Aunt got me for christmas was half-listened to. Remind me to write a thank you letter, along with suggestions for how I can fake having enjoyed it. Don't get me wrong; I applaud the honesty of his lyrics; "I had plans to do it 'til we have a baby, even if the world is crazy." You're right John, the world is crazy, what with its stark rise in teenage pregnancies. "Pick some names, Boy or Girl, Then we'll change the world" may give the wrong impression they're trying to make a superhero child, or maybe I'm just reading into it too much... To be fair, he has a voice reminiscent of the husky singer-songwriter Seal, but without the poetry - his lyrics are far too direct, like he's scribbled them on the toilet before the recording.
Finally, Ben Howard's new album, I Forget where we Were has a fresh sound. His opening song, Small Things almost creates a minimalist, experimental effect with its echoing droplets and abstract vocal delivery. "Christmas flared among us and we called it evergreen, Built a world without your love and I built it mean" has more of an indirect, abstract resonance to it then "have a baby, even if the world is crazy." If the world's crazy, listen to some Fleetwood Mac. Don't go John's way and put pressure on yourself by raising kids. Ask my parents.
Thursday, 18 December 2014
Musical Inspirations
Townes Van Zandt
Song-writing:
Van Zandt has been referred to as "a songwriter's songwriter."
Reception:
“By all accounts the life of Townes Van Zandt was high southern gothic made real. The briefest of biographies on this musician puts you in mind of the fractured lives imagined by Tennessee Williams. It's a narrative rife with confounded expectations and hounding demons from which, by dint of talent and endurance, astonishing beauty was extracted.”
One of the few musicians in history to treat songs like art. As he mentioned in an interview, comparing songs to birds, he described how they; "fly away," going some way to explaining why he kept assuring people that he never wrote his songs.
From a personal point of view his music has given me a sense of faith in both life and music, that, as long as you want to, anyone can write a song with a guitar in their arms.
His lyrics are the most powerful ever written, even more so than Bob Dylan's:
Day dreams,
Aloft on dark wings,
Soft as the sun streams,
At day's decline
(At My Window)
As much as his music is uplifting, his life story is a sad, poignant one. He was an alcoholic, chronic depressive who fell from a four story apartment balcony to; "see what it would feel like." He had three wives throughout his 50 year life span and was horrible to his family, however forgiving he was to them. But, as he also said; "to live the life of a musician, you have to blow it all off." And it's true, you can't be tied down by anything, constantly on the road, epitomized by Townes' song; Highway Kind; "My days they are the Highway Kind, they only come to leave..."
One of the few musicians in history to treat songs like art. As he mentioned in an interview, comparing songs to birds, he described how they; "fly away," going some way to explaining why he kept assuring people that he never wrote his songs.
From a personal point of view his music has given me a sense of faith in both life and music, that, as long as you want to, anyone can write a song with a guitar in their arms.
His lyrics are the most powerful ever written, even more so than Bob Dylan's:
Day dreams,
Aloft on dark wings,
Soft as the sun streams,
At day's decline
(At My Window)
As much as his music is uplifting, his life story is a sad, poignant one. He was an alcoholic, chronic depressive who fell from a four story apartment balcony to; "see what it would feel like." He had three wives throughout his 50 year life span and was horrible to his family, however forgiving he was to them. But, as he also said; "to live the life of a musician, you have to blow it all off." And it's true, you can't be tied down by anything, constantly on the road, epitomized by Townes' song; Highway Kind; "My days they are the Highway Kind, they only come to leave..."
Song examples:
To Lives to Fly
Style:
Melody begins on a G7th chord instead of the tonic D, ending on this chord after a slow lumbering with the A and G chords. This unexpected opening chord imbues the song with a sense of hope and awakening.
Soft vocal delivery
Themes:
Chorus - “To Live’s to Fly, awe low and high” – A metaphor for life
Flight – All it’s connotations of freedom, continuation no matter what the weather, how low or high. “Some dive into the sea, some toil upon the stone” like birds, humans as winged creatures: “Shake the dust off of your wings and the tears out of your eyes.”
1st Verse – Love: “Won’t say I love you babe, won’t say I need you babe, but I’m going to get you babe and I will not do you wrong.” However ambiguous love is, I’m still going to get you no matter what.
2nd Verse – Valuing Life: “Don’t turn none away” “all you keep is the getting there”
3rd Verse – Living in the Moment, not the past: “It don’t pay to think too much on things you leave behind.”
4th Verse – Responsibility never disappears: “We all got holes to fill and those holes are all that’s real, and some fall on you like a storm, sometimes you dig your own.” Hope in the challenges and adversity we have to face in life.
Mr Mudd and Mr Gold
Style: Texan, complex bass-picking melody, fast in vocal delivery as well as overall tempo. Gives the illusion of excitement and anticipation in a game of Five-Card Stud Poker
Themes:
Story: The unexpected underdog wins the game of poker of the evil tyrant. “Now here’s what this story told if you feel like Mudd you’ll end up gold, if you feel like lost you’ll end up found so amigo lay them raises down.”
Poker/ Gambling references: You an explanation to understand the poetic metaphors around the different card/techniques in the game, where the Jacks, Queens and Kings are characters in this story too, coming to life to create a dazzling, gambling tale. It’s no wonder Townes would’ve performed in Texan bars where gambling was commonplace and probably happening as he played this song. Here’s an explanation:
The song is about a game of five card stud. In five card stud, each player is dealt one card face down, and then four cards face up. The early part of the song describes how Gold won many hands ("Flushes fell on Gold like water.."), but no one has been dealt the jack of diamonds. The song personifies Mudd's feeling of losing when the diamond queen prays to her "long lost son" (the diamond jack). In the next hand, Mudd is first dealt an ace of diamonds (angel = ace) and Gold is dealt the king of clubs face down. Gold is then dealt three kings face up ("on the streets" means three of the four cards visible to the other player, though the fourth card has not been dealt yet), giving him four kings, and Mudd is dealt three aces (fireballs = aces). "The outlaw in the heavenly hall" refers to the last card for Mudd, the jack of diamonds, he's an outlaw, being a jack, in the heavenly hall because every other card in Mudd's hand is an ace, or angel.
Thus, the last hand is, Gold = 4 kings + queen of clubs, Mudd = 4 aces + jack of diamonds.
Luck/Fortune: Intertwines a story about poker with a deeper moral message about the nature of luck, how “If you feel like Mudd you’ll end up Gold.” And in sense gives the listener a sense of hope.
Lungs
Style: Texan, deep, complex bass-picking minor melody
Themes:
Approaching Death “Bitterly breath up the time that’s passing”
Loneliness “Stand amongst the ones that live in lonely indecision”
Ephemeral Breath/Hopelessness “We’ll tell the world that we tried”
Nothin, At My Window, Tecumseh Valley, For the Sake of the Song, Our Mother the Mountain, Flying Shoes, No Place to fall, Pancho and Lefty, Two Girls, If I Needed You, She came and she touched Me, Kathleen, Who do you Love, Tower Song, Waiting Around to Die, Collorado Girl
Why She’s Acting This way
Lyrics: References to nature and her emotions: “Mockingbirds can’t make her cry.”
Bittersweet: “Take your worthless denials, they’re all you got left to lose.”
“He’ll come break your fall with a bed full of nails.”
Self-depreciating: “There ain’t nothing to see, except this drunken old man and my lover and me”
“I can make it alone, I got no place to be and I ain’t far from home.” I’ve got my own, individual life, even though I don’t know why you’re acting this way.
Harmonises the painful mystery behind women.
Music: Simple melody, elusive mixture of finger-picking and slight strumming up and down the bass-line
John Martyn
Song-Writing
He has been described by The Times as "an electrifying guitarist and singer whose music blurred the boundaries between folk, jazz, rock and blues".
With his lyrics that, as he sang them, slipped and sled into one another, Johnny gave a wholeness to songs that couldn’t be seen in any other English folk music.
Reception
One World
Lyrics:
Contentment for the everyman, social class aside:
“Some of us live like princes, some of us live like queens, some of us live just like me and don’t know what it means.
“One World, like it or not”
Pain: “There’s no use crying, it’s just the way the wind blows”
Becoming, fitting in: “To take our place in one world”
Style and Music: Relaxing, soft piano, major, slow tempo, thick, melting texture. Long vocal delivery on “wooorrrllld…..” which fades out
Don’t Want to Know
Style: Smooth, catchy repetition of spine-tingling chord transition.
Themes:
Love vs. Evil: “I don’t want to know about evil, only want to know about love.”
Weather: “The cold… making sure it keeps us down to size”
Small Hours
Style: Slow, soft, some electrical instrument creates a landscape that grates against you and sense a tingle down your spine, so you imagine you are somewhere else, at this desolate, moonlit lake.
Vocally, one lyric slips and slides into the other, gives the song wholeness.
Lyrics: Short, simple.
Hope, perserverance – “Gonna get on up for another day, get on out for another day and a new day’s dawn, gonna carry on”
Endless nature of Love – “Keep on loving ‘till your love is gone, keep on loving till your love is strong, All the way”
Relentless, careless, reckless nature of love – “You’re very very lovely gonna take you home, say you’ll be my ruin but I just don’t care, ‘cos I love you so”
Solid Air
Style: Jazz, Minor bluesy melody and bridge. Jazz, catchy, smooth beat, fades out.
Lyrics and themes:
Depression – “You’ve been taking your time you’ve been living on solid air…” “I don’t know what’s going on inside but I can tell you that it’s hard to hide when your living on solid air”
Insomnia – “You’ve been missing your sleep you’ve been living through solid air”
Care- “I don’t know… but I can tell you…” A tribute to the singer-songwriter Nick Drake, a close friend and label-mate, who died in 1974 from an overdose of antidepressants.
Stormbringer
Over the Hill
Style: Fast tempo, loud, confident vocal delivery: “Over the hill, hey,hey, hey over the hill!”
Themes:
Moving On – “Going away to leave ya, going to leave ya in disgrace”
Go Down Easy
Style: Jazzy, smooth chord transitions
Guitar interlude switching between chords and strumming
Themes:
Surrendering to Love: “We can go down easy, oh my lover we can go down easy”
Couldn’t Love you More
Style: Begins each phrase with rugged vocal delivery “If yaaaaa love me” Repetition of “Just couldn’t love you more” to emphasise point.
Themes:
Desperation in love: “Couldn’t love you more” “If you gave me all the things I never asked of you, If you showed me all the ways you have to cry, If you lay all night in the rain for me” – Love doesn’t ask for these great lengths, great gestures aren’t needed, only simple ones.
Head and Heart
A song of contentment: “I won’t be fancy but I will free”Neil Young
Young's work is characterized by his distinctive guitar work, deeply personal lyrics and signature alto or high tenor singing voice. Although he accompanies himself on several different instruments, including piano and harmonica, his idiosyncratic electric and clawhammer acoustic guitar playing are the defining characteristics of a varyingly ragged and melodic sound.
While Young has experimented with differing music styles, including swing and electronic music throughout a varied career, his best known work usually falls into two primary styles: acoustic (folk and country rock) and electric (amplified hard rock, very often in collaboration with the band Crazy Horse). Young has also adopted elements from newer styles such as alternative rock and grunge. His influence on the latter caused some to dub him the "Godfather of Grunge".
Paolo Nutini
Terry Reid
Gabriel Yared
Black Sabbath
Led Zeppelin
Tom Waits
Warren Zevon
Jackson Browne
Bettye LaVette
Angus and Julia Stone
Young the Giant
Scott Matthews
Rodriguez
Bob Dylan
Oasis
Scoundrels
The Duke and the King
The Stone Roses
Israel Nash Gripka
The War on Drugs
Santana
Los Lobos
Kings of Leon
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Jake Bugg
Elliot Smith
Keane
Natalie Duncan
Carole King
Oscar Peterson
David Bowie
Paolo Nutini
Terry Reid
Gabriel Yared
Black Sabbath
Led Zeppelin
Tom Waits
Warren Zevon
Jackson Browne
Bettye LaVette
Angus and Julia Stone
Young the Giant
Scott Matthews
Rodriguez
Bob Dylan
Oasis
Scoundrels
The Duke and the King
The Stone Roses
Israel Nash Gripka
The War on Drugs
Santana
Los Lobos
Kings of Leon
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Jake Bugg
Elliot Smith
Keane
Natalie Duncan
Carole King
Oscar Peterson
David Bowie
Fleetwood Mac
Dreams:
"In the stillness of remembering what you had and what you lost" -This lyric repeats itself in a mesmerising way, that it spins the song round your head, like a catchy dance record.
The F7 chord gives it that lovely blues touch which allows you to get lost in this song, and you want to, since it is in itself a dream.
Young the Giant
Songs: My Body, Cough Syrup, Islands
Led Zeppelin
Songs: Stairway to Heaven, Going to California, When the Levee Breaks
Reception:
Bob Dylan
Songs:
Song to Woody
Style: Simple melody, youthful voice
with youthful sense of hope
Lyrics:
Youthful wonderment and discovery –
“Paupers and peasants and princes and kings”
Travelling – “I’m out here a thousand
miles from my home, walking a road other men have gone down”
Uncertainty – “I’m leaving tomorrow
but I could leave today, somewhere down the road some day”
Idolisation – “The very last thing
that I’d want to do, is to say that I’ve been hitting some hard travelling too”
One More Cup of Coffee
Style: Hispanic instrumental
introduction, weeping violin, exotic vocal style (Dylan’s tendency to change
his style constantly)
Lyrics:
All-consuming Fantasy wins over
love: “I don’t sense affection,
gratitude or love, your loyalty is not to me but to the stars above”
The mystery of Love: “Your voice is
like a meadow-lark, but your heart is like an ocean, mysterious and dark”
The will-power to walk away and move
on: “One more cup of coffee before I go down in the valley below.”
Brownsville Girl
Style: Musical, woman chorus with
their comic reactions and gasps to the story Dylan’s telling. Build up of
instruments and texture, eventually with Sax solo.
Lyrics:
Storytelling, comic conversation: “I
see this stuff and it just keeps rolling in” “Back to that movie though…”
“Peck’s got a new movie out, I don’t even know what it’s about.”
Memory: “The memory of you keeps
coming to me like a rolling train”
Painful lost Love: “I ain’t in the
mood any more to remember the times when I was your man” “I feel pretty good
but that ain’t saying much, I could feel a whole lot better, if you were right
here by my side to show me how”
Foreshadowing lost love: “How far you
goin? Ruby asked with a sigh” “Ruby just smiled and said you know you never
learn”
Wonder, discovery and mystery in love:
“Brownsville girl, show me all around the world” “There’s was always something
about you that was too good for this world, like you said there was something
about me that I left in the French quarter.”
Reality of love: “Funny how people
who suffer together are stronger than people who are most content”
Everything is Broken, Like a Rolling
Stone, Knockin’ on Heaven Door, All along the Watchtower, Mr Tambourine Man,
Positively 4th Street, Watching the River Flow, The Mighty Quinn, Precious
Angel, Tangled Up in Blue, Gotta Serve Somebody, Hurricane, Silvio, Blind
Willie McTell, Jokerman, Pressing On, Most of the Time, Every Grain of Sand,
Sweetheart like You, Workingmans Blue no.2, Highlands
Other Inspirations...
Tom Waits- Rain Dogs
Tango Til they're sore, Hang Down Your Head, Blind Love
Tango Til they're sore, Hang Down Your Head, Blind Love
Bettye Lavette- I’ve Got my Own Hell
to Raise
Gabriel
Yared
Amy Whinehouse
Angus and Julia Stone
Ben Howard
Beth Hart and Jo Bonamassa
blur
Bob Marley
Bobby Womack
Bruce Springsteen
David Gray
Dax Riggs
The Duke and the King
Happy Mondays
Ian Dury
Israel Nash Gripka
Jackson Browne
Jake bugg
James Vincent Mcmorrow
Jeff Buckley
Jimi Hendrix
John fullbright
Johnny Cash
Kings of Leon
Lenny Kravitz
Mark Lanegan
Marvin Gaye
Natalie Duncan
Nick Cave
Oasis
Paolo Nutini
Plan B
Rodriguez
Ryan Adams
Santana
Scoundrels
Seal
The Stone Roses
Terry Reid
Third Eye Blind
The Verve
The War on Drugs
Warren Zevon
16 Horsepower
Ben Howard
Beth Hart and Jo Bonamassa
blur
Bob Marley
Bobby Womack
Bruce Springsteen
David Gray
Dax Riggs
The Duke and the King
Happy Mondays
Ian Dury
Israel Nash Gripka
Jackson Browne
Jake bugg
James Vincent Mcmorrow
Jeff Buckley
Jimi Hendrix
John fullbright
Johnny Cash
Kings of Leon
Lenny Kravitz
Mark Lanegan
Marvin Gaye
Natalie Duncan
Nick Cave
Oasis
Paolo Nutini
Plan B
Rodriguez
Ryan Adams
Santana
Scoundrels
Seal
The Stone Roses
Terry Reid
Third Eye Blind
The Verve
The War on Drugs
Warren Zevon
16 Horsepower
Songs that Hit Me
Try listening to these. Just make sure you keep your balance...
Rodriguez: Sandrevan Lullaby, Can’t get Away from it
John Martyn: One World, Solid Air
Jake Bugg: Slide, Pine Trees
Santana: El Fuego
Gabriel Yared: C’est le Vent Betty
Led Zeppelin: Stairway to Heaven
Angus and Julia Stone: Yellow Brick Road
Scott Mathews: Ballerina Lake, (New Album)
Townes Van Zandt: At my Window
Johnny Cash: Country Boy, Port of lonely Hearts
Jackson Browne: Sky Blue and Black
Terry Reid: Brave Awakening
James Vincent McMorrow: We don’t eat
Scoundrels: Bon Temps Rouler
Jake Bugg: Simple As This
Tom Waits: Hang down your Head
Marvin Gaye: Stop Look Listen
Adele: Don’t you Remember
Young the Giant: Cough Syrup, Islands
Townes Van Zandt: Pancho and Lefty
16 Horsepower: Wayfering Stranger
Bob Dylan: Song to Woody
Townes Van Zandt- To Live’s to Fly
Scoundrels- Sexy Weekend
Neil Young-Cortez the Killer
Israel Nash Gripka-Woman at the Well
Sigur Ross-Hoppipolla
Wednesday, 12 March 2014
Rodriguez- An Ordinary legend at the BIC
09/03/14
The opening act Chloe Charles was better than what I'd heard of her on Youtube. With her colourfully-costumed music videos it seemed like she was just a more pretentious version of Lianne La Havas but whilst performing she turned out to be pretty inventive in her style: A variety of dynamics, texture, tempo and a very powerful voice.
But on to the 'Ordinary Legend' as the just turned 72-year old man said he wanted to be known as that night. The performance was above and beyond my expectations. A frail man, he had to be helped on and off stage, but when the music started he was the youthful, socially rebellious champion everyone knows him for, whose sweet, bluesy music simply defies genre. The Latino, Bob Dylanesque Sugarman and his fantastic strumming technique will forever resonate me.
An honour to climb up on the music of such a sensitive, observant acoustic singer-songwriter at the debut of his European Tour.
The opening act Chloe Charles was better than what I'd heard of her on Youtube. With her colourfully-costumed music videos it seemed like she was just a more pretentious version of Lianne La Havas but whilst performing she turned out to be pretty inventive in her style: A variety of dynamics, texture, tempo and a very powerful voice.
But on to the 'Ordinary Legend' as the just turned 72-year old man said he wanted to be known as that night. The performance was above and beyond my expectations. A frail man, he had to be helped on and off stage, but when the music started he was the youthful, socially rebellious champion everyone knows him for, whose sweet, bluesy music simply defies genre. The Latino, Bob Dylanesque Sugarman and his fantastic strumming technique will forever resonate me.
An honour to climb up on the music of such a sensitive, observant acoustic singer-songwriter at the debut of his European Tour.
Sunday, 3 November 2013
Musicians Needing Notice
On the train back from my family home in Oxfordshire to Bournemouth Uni I had my headphones on the whole way as I was so hooked by the music. The problem though, I thought as the cramped train carriage trundled along, was that these songs creating a concert inside my head weren't nearly as popular as some of the trite at the top of the charts. So, as an act of, (if not to a very small extent), repairing some of the damage commercialism has inflicted on the music industry, I've listed the top ten modern acts that need recognition, counting down:
10. Howard Elliott Payne
An English Singer-Songwriter from Liverpool, Howard's lyrics and guitar picking are almost enough to call this artist a contemporary Bob Dylan. One to look out for if you're into tunes which are emotionally and spiritually uplifting.
9. The Duke and The King
This band's style is rooted strongly in American Folk. The lead singer's piercing bluesy lyrics and distinct vocal style are what distinguish this group for me.
8. Young the Giant
Their singles 'My Body' and 'Cough Syrup' are like none other in contemporary music, carrying like all their other songs a uniquely artistic value. Despite having a comparatively decent level of recognition, I'm sure more would make give them the incentive to produce their second album quicker than they are now...
7. John Fullbright
John takes the spiritual and lyrical nature of Tennessee folk music and makes it his own, with each song in his album From the Ground Up seeming to evoke unique reflections of personal human experience. For example, whilst his song 'I Only Pray at Night' is wistful and poignant, 'Fat Man' seems to portray a message about greed.
6. Valerie June
A mixture of folk, bluegrass and soul, Valerie's voice also resonates with a strong Tennessee sound. You can't help but tap to the beat in her single; 'Pushin' Against a Stone.'
5. Dolomite Minor
These are an unsigned duo from Southampton who I saw at Reading. They describe their style as 'Fuzz Blues' possibly due to the effect of the electric guitar and gritty vocal style. Either way, this ensemble deserve to be signed at some point.
4. James Vincent McMorrow
The inspiration for all James' songs on his album Early in the Morning were inspired by living in a small isolated house away from the hustle and bustle of civilization. This solitude allowed him to produce songs of incomparable artistic quality which he has recently toured around the country to modest crowds such the O2 academy Oxford where I saw him play. I fear though that without more recognition he could fade away from the industry altogether.
3. Natalie Duncan
An English soul/blues singer from Nottingham, Natalie's EP released in 2009 is far from having reached the credit it deserved. Throughout the album, she manages to compose a haunting almost Jeff Buckleyesque mixture of musical styles; fusing classical piano with an expressionistic, chromatic soul, blues and rock, 'The Sky is Falling' being a particularly iconic masterpiece of this style. Yet, it's been depressingly long since I've heard anything new from this artist.
2. Scoundrels
This blues/rock band from London produced they're best, catchiest and downright sexiest songs in their latest album Sexy Weekend. With their deeply human and comic undertones formed formed in unison with their jazzy, doo-woop style, this band should be well on their way to fame in the UK and beyond. A shame they're not as famous as they should be.
1. Scott Matthews
And finally, at the top list is this humble musical genius from Wolverhampton. Having had the pleasure of seeing him in concert twice, it's difficult to even describe this artist because of how unique his style is, but I'll try; the haunting, mystical tone of his songs is a feature I most enjoy, but the distinct picking techniques of each keep me hooked as well. Beyond this, his voice, which is incredibly powerful manages, along with his guitar or piano to evoke his personality, and not in any way be swayed by the crowd as so many artists have fallen victim to in this industry. The closest he's come to fame is Lianne La Havas performing a cover of his song Elusive, but that's not enough. Spread the Word.
10. Howard Elliott Payne
An English Singer-Songwriter from Liverpool, Howard's lyrics and guitar picking are almost enough to call this artist a contemporary Bob Dylan. One to look out for if you're into tunes which are emotionally and spiritually uplifting.
9. The Duke and The King
This band's style is rooted strongly in American Folk. The lead singer's piercing bluesy lyrics and distinct vocal style are what distinguish this group for me.
8. Young the Giant
Their singles 'My Body' and 'Cough Syrup' are like none other in contemporary music, carrying like all their other songs a uniquely artistic value. Despite having a comparatively decent level of recognition, I'm sure more would make give them the incentive to produce their second album quicker than they are now...
7. John Fullbright
John takes the spiritual and lyrical nature of Tennessee folk music and makes it his own, with each song in his album From the Ground Up seeming to evoke unique reflections of personal human experience. For example, whilst his song 'I Only Pray at Night' is wistful and poignant, 'Fat Man' seems to portray a message about greed.
6. Valerie June
A mixture of folk, bluegrass and soul, Valerie's voice also resonates with a strong Tennessee sound. You can't help but tap to the beat in her single; 'Pushin' Against a Stone.'
5. Dolomite Minor
These are an unsigned duo from Southampton who I saw at Reading. They describe their style as 'Fuzz Blues' possibly due to the effect of the electric guitar and gritty vocal style. Either way, this ensemble deserve to be signed at some point.
4. James Vincent McMorrow
The inspiration for all James' songs on his album Early in the Morning were inspired by living in a small isolated house away from the hustle and bustle of civilization. This solitude allowed him to produce songs of incomparable artistic quality which he has recently toured around the country to modest crowds such the O2 academy Oxford where I saw him play. I fear though that without more recognition he could fade away from the industry altogether.
3. Natalie Duncan
An English soul/blues singer from Nottingham, Natalie's EP released in 2009 is far from having reached the credit it deserved. Throughout the album, she manages to compose a haunting almost Jeff Buckleyesque mixture of musical styles; fusing classical piano with an expressionistic, chromatic soul, blues and rock, 'The Sky is Falling' being a particularly iconic masterpiece of this style. Yet, it's been depressingly long since I've heard anything new from this artist.
2. Scoundrels
This blues/rock band from London produced they're best, catchiest and downright sexiest songs in their latest album Sexy Weekend. With their deeply human and comic undertones formed formed in unison with their jazzy, doo-woop style, this band should be well on their way to fame in the UK and beyond. A shame they're not as famous as they should be.
1. Scott Matthews
And finally, at the top list is this humble musical genius from Wolverhampton. Having had the pleasure of seeing him in concert twice, it's difficult to even describe this artist because of how unique his style is, but I'll try; the haunting, mystical tone of his songs is a feature I most enjoy, but the distinct picking techniques of each keep me hooked as well. Beyond this, his voice, which is incredibly powerful manages, along with his guitar or piano to evoke his personality, and not in any way be swayed by the crowd as so many artists have fallen victim to in this industry. The closest he's come to fame is Lianne La Havas performing a cover of his song Elusive, but that's not enough. Spread the Word.
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