September 25 2023
A little history of this Song.... The Way I Feel by Keane
Keane is an English Alternative Rock band formed in Sussex in 1995. They achieved mainstream international success with the release of their debut album Hopes and Fears in 2004 which won Brit Award for Best British Album in 2005. Keane usually harbors an ample, reverberated, melodic, slow- to mid-tempo fully orchestrated sound, somehow reminiscent of Elton John. After a series of successful albums, the band decided to go on an extended hiatus in 2013, which lasted until 2019 when the band released their "Cause and Effect" LP. "Cause and Effect" is a breakup record based on principal songwriter Tim Rice-Oxley's marriage split. The album released in 2019 is a collection of philosophical musings that reflect on his feelings of depression as a result of life taking an unexpected left turn on him. He added: "When you're 40 years old, a breakup is a big change in direction in your life." Today's Song of the Day 'The Way I Feel' is about how people deal with depression. Oxley explained to Apple that the song "is very sympathetic" and trying to say that you are not alone; everybody has bad things going on in their lives and loves." A thought provoking song from an interesting band.
Enjoy!!
September 27 2023
A little history of this Song.... Prelude: Nothin' To Hide by Spirit
One of my favorite groups from the 1970's was Spirit featuring Randy California. Spirit is somewhat forgotten today, but they were a remarkably talented collection of musicians with a unique style (or mixture of styles) back circa 1970. If you had to choose one adjective to characterize their music, you might pick "psychedelic" – but their music has elements of pop, jazz, art rock, and quite a few other genres. And in my opinion Randy California is American music’s greatest unsung hero of 1970's. One listen to the "Twelve Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus" (a concept album about the fragility of life and the complexity of the human experience) just affirms that idea, which is where Today's Song of the Day 'Prelude: Nothin' to Hide' comes from. 'Nothin' to Hide" is a social commentary on the state of society during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The opening lines of the song talk about how humans have the power to make positive changes to the world, but have instead caused harm to the environment (the rain and the sun). The lyrics ask the listeners to "wake up!!" and become aware of the consequences of their actions. And, in recording the album, California produced an album that took advantage of "quad stereo" which was new at the time. So, listen to this one with headphones on... loud and proud and revel in the way the sound bounces off each headphone starting at the 1:50 mark. It's amazing!!
Enjoy!!
September 29 2023
A little history of this Song.... Alligator by Of Monsters & Men
Of Monsters & Men is a folk/rock band from... believe it to not...Iceland. The band was formed in Iceland in 2011 and to date have released 4 albums. Of Monsters and Men are best known for a lighter folk-pop sound, but Today's Song of the Day 'Alligator' finds the Icelandic band utilizing a heavier kick than usual. The driving, percussion-heavy track was penned by co-vocalist Nanna Bryndis Hilmarsdóttir. She recalled to NME that it came very deep into the writing process for the Fever Dream album. Usually she'd write on an acoustic guitar and guitarist Raggi Þórhallsson would "flesh it out in a very singer-songwriter kind of way." However she'd become tired of this method of writing and was looking for ways to challenge herself. For 'Alligator', she did a lot more writing on the computer and explored sounds there. Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir explained to Billboard how the titular reptile fits in with the song's lyrical concept of being vulnerable but also strong. "You need to be very strong to be vulnerable, it's so easy to put on a shell. The song is like an alligator: it's rugged and charging at you, but it's definitely not like the soft lyrics. It comes from having that 'I'm going to fake it 'til I make it' mentality." Definitely a different type of song than is usually on the blog. Give it a few spins and see what you think.
Enjoy!!
October 1 2023
A little history of this Song.... Queen of Hearts by Gregg Allman
Gregg Allman was probably far better known for his one-of-a-kind voice than he was as a songwriter; no less a legend than Charlie Daniels once said, “Gregg Allman is the finest white blues singer I’ve ever heard.” A founding member of the Allman Brothers Band with his brother Duane Allman in 1969, Gregg didn't produce a solo album until 1973's Laid Back LP, which is where his ballad 'Queen of Hearts' comes. 'Queen of Hearts' took Allman into territory he hadn’t before covered, writing a love song when so much of his work with the Allman Bros. had been blues-based or third person. He wrote this for Janice Blair, who was the second of his six wives. The song showed a vulnerability we hadn’t seen in Allman’s writing with lines like:
And after all that we’ve been through I find that when I think of you A warm soft wind runs Through and through And in my heart There’s only you
The whole thing took me about a year and a half to write,” he says. “We were rehearsing for the Brothers and Sisters album in 1973, and I had this pile of confetti around the piano where I’d tear it (the song) up in a rage at the piano and then go back to it. I finally played it for the band and said, ‘Why don’t we just try it?’ And one of them, I won’t say who, said, ‘Well, it just ain’t sayin’ nothin’.’ I was livid. So I got on the first thing smokin’ to Miami and recorded the Laid Back album.” This is one of my favorites, a song that I never get tired of listening to.
Enjoy!!
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