What Summer means to my iPod

I know I don't always listen to the most 'uplifting' music (lol) or the most upbeat..but there are days like this when the sun is shining through my window and Summer, or the British equivalent, is making itself known.

Currently I have Outkast's Prototype stuck in my head and it epitomises the perfect summer song. This is what would be playing if I ever bothered to take a blanket to the park and lie in the grass.

And to think I only heard this song a few days ago..

"I wanna say stank you smelly much" Ha! I love Outkast. This takes me back..

"Hey John, are we recording our adlibs?"



I thought i'd share some others.

#2 Curtis Mayfield- Move On Up
Do I need to explain why? This song never fails to get me moving "Just move on up!". I don't even know where I heard this..Oh that's right. Science Camp circa '09. My friend Bainton played it on her laptop and it was love. I'm sure i'd heard it before but thats where it started. Kinda.

#3 Buddy Rich- The beat goes on
I know the whole horn solo to this. And I dont mean on a horn. One summers night I was on my way home from a gig and still a bit (naturally) high. Me and the guys were standing at the bus stop, I'm listening to this.. then I start to hum, dooo da and la the whole song, complete with dance moves. In the middle of the street. And the guys are just staring at me completely used to my lunatic behaviour. I knew that I was the only one that could hear the music, and to the rest of the world I looked..only God knows. But that's how happy this song makes me, lol.

#4 Common- Come Close ft Mary J Blige
I know every word to this song. This is my tunnneeeeee. "I wanna build a tribe with you".
I saw this video years ago and then somehow the memory of it got mixed with an india arie vid and then in the back on my mind It became Common ft India. A few years ago I randomly thought about the song and then watched the video again and the song has stuck with me since. "I know this world is crazy, but whats it without you". For me, this strikes the perfect balance between groove and lyric.

And finally, a more recent one.
#5 Fish Go Deep- The Cure and the Cause
One summer this song was all my sister O played. And it caught on. In the car, as soon as this song came on we'd all shout out TUNEEEE, then sing along. Its been years and we still make up 70% of the words lol, but it doesnt matter. This is summer!!!

Rella x

Music: Thrice.. I kid.. The Basement.

For some reason I found myself on youtube watching live performances of Damien Rice. This lead to me watching his Live from the Basement set. I didn't even know he did one. But its like why should I? The only band I know that's done one is Radiohead. I don't really follow these things. And by these things I mean anything. Confused?

Anyway, when I saw that he did a LFTB do I felt compelled to watch it, i'm a sucker for intimate gigs.

I LOVE the live version of Rootless Tree. I've heard this song before, years ago, the album version, and it just didn't have the impact on me that this version does. 

I'm not even a fan of swearing. In fact I hate swearing..well hate is a strong word, but i'm sure you know what I mean. But even the fact that he's swearing doesn't diminish my love for this song.
Probably because my love for it has nothing to do with what he's saying but how he's saying it.

The emotion... it's tangible. And we all know what masculine displays of emotion do to me. 

I found this yesterday and it's been on repeat. You know...I don't know why these sorts of things affect me so much. I guess it's because as a songwriter I know what kinda pain you must be feeling to write something like this. But on the flip side, I wonder how it would feel to know that something like this was written about you? I wonder if the people i've written about know that certain songs are about them.. Do they care?

One day I want to write something like this, I want to sing something like this and feel it..really feel it. But at the same time, I don't want to be in pain..I mean how much paracetamol would he have to take to numb that? 

I'm not asking anybody to experiment and find out though, I think it might be a tad bit dangerous. 

Rella x

Music: Twice

This is a perfect example of when I only like one song from a band. 

I LOVE this song. I first heard it when a friend posted the video on my fb page.

Eventhough I was confused by the vid, the song was beautiful, but it didn't go any further than that until a few months later. 

I played it again and then it was all I listened to for like a week. Finally the buttercream icing on the cake? It appeared on my beloved Grey's Anatomy.

I bought it from iTunes and it's had its permanent home in Isai every since. It has made several appearances on any playlist I make.. 6 months(ish) in and our love is still strong. 

So what with this being a music blog of some sort I'm you know, sharing some music.
But seriously, what is up with that video? After like a hundred viewings I've grown to accept it, but understanding it? That's a whole different slice of pie and I don't eat pie. True stories.

Rella x

Music: Once

Yes I love movies, I think that much is obvious. Sure I love the stories, but even more than that; I love how many great songs I discover through them and how music is used to set the scene, emphasise an emotion and just take what you're seeing to a whole new level..

Recently I watched a film called Once. I'd been avoiding it because..I can't actually remember why.. I'm sure I had a good reason (we both know I didn't).
Either way a while ago I bit the bullet and watched it. I really liked it. It was all so ordinary, as in the characters, setting etc. It wasn't a glitzy Hollywood film and it wasn't about beautiful people.. I liked the interaction between the two leads: none of that 'I feel like I've known you forever' business, just lets make some music.

Another thing that touched home with me was wherever they went music happened. They go to some dude's house for a big dinner, and then at the end of it each person at the table sings a song or plays an instrument or..i dunno.. Why'd that touch home? I remember one day I was in my room lying in my bed, and my little sister, who was hanging out with me, asks me why I'm singing. I say I wasn't singing. She says yes you were, you do it all the time. True stories. lol.
A part of me feels like I'm trying to connect a flamingo to a mime. But another part of me feels like the viewer got a sense of how music totally takes over a musician. Not in a 'becoming the Mask' way, but more like it's fully a part of you. I sing all the time (apparently) because i'm a singer (as well as a butcher, baker and candlestick maker)..It's what I do. And when I say all the time I don't mean in the middle of a 2 minute silence, or at other inappropriate times or places, I mean when i'm by myself, or relaxing, or cooking or walking down the road. *shrugs*
How did I get here? Right, Once.

So what with this being kind of a music blog I'm going to share one of my favourite songs from Once.

 

The recording scene? When the engineer is like "Yeah i'm here with a bunch of nobodies" and then he hears the song? And then that little 'Im hearing something special' smile- I love that part! 

What's with my current obsession with two-part guy-girl harmony? Sufjan, this guy, Damien rice..Oh well, it works.

Oh, 30 day challenge? Yeah that never happened. The questions bored me. I didn't want to talk about how i've changed over the past two years. That's boring. This has nothing to do with my inability to commit to regular posting and everything to do with unimaginative questions :)

Rella x

Music: Harmoniessss

Its up there on the list of the things that I love. Next to bagels (plain, heated for 30 seconds, or till soft to touch), potatoes and a good bowl of cereal. A really good harmony will literally send a shiver down my spine, distort my face and curl my toes. They are a force to be reckoned with. 

Here are some of my favourite examples..

For the best experience, listen with headphones..

Take 6- This is Another Day

I first heard this a few months ago, I was talking music and harmonies with another musician and he was like: "If you like harmonies check out Take 6" so I did. I was struck dumb by this, face distorted- did they really just?, did you hear that?, oh my gosh and then around 1:45 I stopped trying to comprehend it all and was like "ok, you win, you win!" 

I especially love this because there is something about acapella harmony that just does it for me. 

The Rescues- My Heart With You

 I first heard this on Grey's Anatomy. I've found some great music because of that show and still can't get over how amazing season 6 (and the incredible finale) was. Another acapella harmony, on the complete opposite side of the spectrum to This is Another Day. But gosh, this song was on repeat for daysss. I listened to nothing else, while playing Angry Birds, washing up, or just passing time. I love this song. 

These songs are both fully packed out with harms. My last example is abit different. So we all know I love Sufjan Stevens and this song describes perfectly what I mean when I say one harmony completely changes my opinion of a song.

Sufjan Stevens- John Wayne Gacy Jr

 I first heard this in the midst of my Stevens obsession   circa December '10. Pressed play, it was nice, and then "Oh my God" happens. Which changed everything. And then "On the mouth".. When I listen to it now, I'm not as affected but then, when I first heard it..I loved how simple it was. It didn't result in a face distortion but there were definite chills going on. *sigh* I love Sufjan Stevens. Not so much his Age of Adz though..

But that's how music works right? Think of it like a buffet, you take what you like. That's how it is, what I like of his- I love! The rest is for people with different taste buds.

Rella x