So I'm in the middle of finals week which is why I haven't posted in a while. I'll try and make up for it with a plethora of music. First is a bunch of electro songs. I found this blog looking for a song that I heard when I was in Ireland more than four years ago. The original song is "Lola's Theme" by Shapeshifters. I found a remix of it which is the bomb. So definitely download "Lola's Ghost". There's also a classical music electro remix called "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy". Download that song, "Fuck the Poor", and "Ghosts N Stuff". You can ignore the other songs; they're not so hot.
Here's a link to a blog with some songs by Buraka Som Sistema. One of them is a remix of Lykke Li's "Dance Dance Dance". All three songs are really sick.
A little while ago I posted the song "Paris" by Friendly Fires. Here's another one of their songs which is remixed by Thin White Duke (DJ who did the infamous "What Else Is There"). Check it:
Next are three pretty good songs. One is a remix of "Do You Realize" by the Flaming Lips, who are awesome. There's also another Shapeshifters remix, as well as a song remixed by Don Rimini.
Finally, I'll leave you with some classic rock and Phish. Here's the links to download both sets of Phish's show in New Orleans on May 4, 1994. Being in New Orleans obviously opened the stage up for some jazz. Phish definitely brought it with the help of the Cosmic Country Horns. I don't know what it is, but Phish with some horns to help with the jam is an amazing thing:
And here's a video of a Stevie Ray Vaughn guitar solo. A couple minutes in he throws the guitar behind his back and plays the rest of the mind-crushing solo from back there. Absolutely incredible:
I'll try and be back with some more for you faster than I did with this one. Enjoy
So I just finished an all-nighter writing a paper so I don't feel like writing too much. I haven't really given The Beatles enough credit so far. They influenced all types of music and anyone who says The Stones are a better band is extremely mistaken. I figure I'll introduce some remixes of some classic Beatles' songs.
First, here's a blog with remixes of "Elanor Rigby", "Taxman", and "With A Little Help From My Friends":
This next blog has a remix of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club", as well as a bunch of other songs. I'd recommend "Lush Life (Cee-Lo Remix)" by Nat King Cole, "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys, and "Gimme Shelter" by The Rolling Stones.
Finally, this is a video of Bruce Sprinsteen and the E Street Band playing the song "I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide" at a concert in Boston just over a week ago. The song itself is good but the reason I'm posting it is that the band learned the song on the fly and played it in concert. A fan had a poster, which you see at the beginning of the video, which asked the band to play this song. Even though the band had never played it before, Bruce went through the first verse by himself to figure it out and then the band jumps in. I find it amazing that any band, even Bruce, could figure out a song onstage and go right into it. There's also a pretty good jam starting at 2:30. There's a keyboard solo which transitions into a Clarence Clemmons sax jam.
So I've been lazy with posting and with the end of the semester going on, I'll probably be lazy in the next two weeks but I'll try and keep you up to date with music. Let's get down to business.
I'll start off with some rap as I've recently found some good songs. First, is Sean Kingston's new song. You definitely liked "Love Like This" and if you're a guy and say you didn't, you're lying. Anyway, here's the new song,
And also, I found this video on The Beer Lodge, which is a pretty funny blog if you haven't already seen it. It's The Dead's performance of "Sugar Magnolia" on Letterman. They're touring now and they seem to be on top of their game. Check out Phil Lesh's ridiculously over-the-top bass.
My life is currently in shambles. I feel brain-dead, don't have a voice, and have no idea how I'm going to get any work done. I'm not trying to complain. I just bring it up because it proves the point that music is the best drug known to man. As shitty as I feel now, music can always pick me up. Here's some music from Robert Randolph who can always put a smile on your face. The way he twists and bends his notes and riffs is awe-inspiring. The rest of the band, along with the way Robert attacks the steel pedal guitar, aids in driving the funky soul music. There's a reason why people have compared Randolph to Jimi Hendrix and that he's toured with Eric Clapton. Here's a link to a blog where you can download a 2003 live performance. Definitely check it out; I went to see Randolph a couple years ago at the Roseland Ballroom. To this day, it was one of the best concerts I've ever seen.
Also, I found this other song today. It's by Major Lazer and Santigold sings a little in it. It's real upbeat and a little weird. As you may know from my choice of music, a little quirkiness in music never deterred me. Here you go:
With such a beautiful weekend that has already started up in Hamilton, NY, along with the madness that is sure to ensue in the next 48 hours, I figured I'd write on the subject of enjoying life. As a philosophy major, I have studied some of the most prolific thinkers of all of human history. While a lot of what they talk about is mundane, and what people look to when they say they don't like philosophy, most of the philosophers are all preoccupied with the same theme. They all want to find out if God exists and what is our purpose in life. Without getting too in-depth with it, most of them conclude that there is evidence for a god. Because of that, they say that everything has a purpose and from there, they look to what the purpose, or meaning, of life is. What a lot of them say is that our "telos (philosophical term for purpose)" is to find happiness. As everyone is freaking out about finding a job and the stock market, a lot of people forget that what really matters is enjoying life for all of its endless pleasures. Time and time again, we all forget to slow down and enjoy life. As you might have suspected, I'll take this theme and relate it to Phish. While they have many quirky lyrics, and songs that don't seem to mean anything, and many that actually don't, some of their songs are full of life experiences and life lessons. Their song "Roggae" states, "If life were easy, and not so fast, I wouldn't think about the past." Another song with significant life advice is "Scents and Subtle Sounds", off of their last album Undermind. Here's a link to a live version of the song:
While still incorporating their complex and psychadelic music, Phish tries to give us a meaningful life lesson with this song. The main point is simply to stop and smell the roses. I'll leave you with the lyrics to the whole song. I tried to cut it down but leaving any of the lyrics out doesn't seem to do justice to the brilliance of them. Remember, enjoy the weather, enjoy your friends, and enjoy life in all its glory.
"If you would only start to live, one moment at a time. You would, I think, be startled by, the things that you would find.
Like scents you never noticed, and many subtle sounds. Like colors in the landscape, and textures of the town.
Then the winds would lift you up, into the sky above. And you'd be treated to a view, of everything you love. And if the moment passes, you should try it once again. For if you do it right, the moment never ends"
I'll spare you my words today and try to stick to the music. I was looking around for some Allman Brothers and found this awesome blog with tracks that Duane Allman was a session guitarist for. I really have to say, the Allman Brothers are one of the greatest rock bands of all time. That sounds like a bold claim but look at their credentials. They started back in 1969 and in 2009, they recently held their 40th Anniversary run of shows at the Beacon Theater. Forty years of rocking and they are still going strong. They've had some of the greatest musicians in their band and have overcome the deaths and departures of band members. I saw them last summer and after the show I heard from many die-hard Allman fans that they had just played one of their best shows of their career. This was coming from guys that went to shows back when they started. I can't think of many bands to have been touring and ripping it up for that long. The only ones I can are all legends: The Rolling Stones, The Who, Bruce Springsteen. That's quite a league of musicians the Allman Brothers are in. So anyway, here's the blog with Duane Allman's collaborations. Definitely make sure to listen to "Hey Jude" and "The Weight"(Duane Allman's sweet blues and Aretha Franklin's powerful voice together is straight "buttaaa"). Right click and save link as: Duane Allman
Here's a couple songs from a guy I recently found. His name is Edwin Van Cleef and he's the bomb.
This last link has a bunch of dope songs on it. You guys might already have a couple of them. One's that are dope that I would guess you do not have are "Beatiful Day Without You", "1901", "Dance Dance Dance", "Far Away", and "Daniel".
As many of you already know, I am bipolar. Some of you may wonder why I would put this out there for the public to see. The reason is to get rid of stigmas. I stumbled upon an article in the Science section of the New York Times yesterday. It talked about this British reality TV show where 5 people with mental illnesses were put in a house with 5 mentally healthy people. They were all put in situations that were meant to bring out symptoms of mental illnesses. At the end of the show, all 10 people were put in front of a group of psychiatrists who had observed them and only 2 of the 5 people with a mental illnesses were correctly diagnosed. The psychiatrists misdiagnosed 3 healthy people as having some sort of mental disorder. While this shows how tricky diagnosis can be, it also shows that people who are treated for mental disorders are usually able to control their disorders and function in society. I tried to post the link to the article but you must be a member of nytimes.com. Nonetheless, it's called "To Fight Stigmas, Start With Treatment".
Anyways, today I'll focus on the creative side of bipolar disorder. As some of you may not know, there is a strong correlation between creative people and those with bipolar disorder. Some famous people known as bipolar include Kurt Cobain, Kurt Vonnegut, Vincent van Gogh, Mark Twain, Ben Stiller, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Beethoven, Billy Joel, Jimi Hendrix, and Robin Williams. Without bipolar disorder, many of the artistic work created by these people may have never been created. Personally, whenever I swing to either a high or low, I become much more creative. I write poetry, short stories, play music, and in general think more creatively. Some famous people you would never think of being bipolar are Winston Churchill, Ted Turner, and Teddy Roosevelt. I'll move onto some songs that talk about being bipolar.
I mentioned that Kurt Cobain was bipolar. One of Nirvana's most famous songs, "Lithium", deals with his struggle with the mood swings. One of the hardest parts of being bipolar is the difference between the manic and depressed states. Being depressed is one of the worst things a human being can endure. You are worthless, can't get out of bed, and even the most routine of tasks is a gigantic effort. On the other hand, being manic is the best feeling in the world. No drug, no matter how good it makes you feel, can even compare. You feel larger than life, think you can accomplish anything, and are completely carefree. Cobain captures the ups and downs in this song, "I'm so happy 'cause today I found my friends." This part talks of the highs. He goes on to say "they're in my head." This is most likely a reference to the hallucinations that can come with an extreme manic state. Next, he jumps straight to depression, "I'm so ugly," characterizing the feelings of worthlessness and total lack of self-confidence that come with the lows. As you know, Cobain eventually committed suicide but left us with some timeless music before he left. Here's the link to the song:
Next, I'll move on to Jimi Hendrix. While he was never diagnosed as bipolar, many people assume, based on his moods and behaviors, that he most likely was. This, of course, could be attributed to his heavy use of drugs. Nonetheless, he wrote one song called "Manic Depression" so I'm going to say that he was probably bipolar. The ends of the verses state, "Manic depression is catchin' my soul" and then "Manic depression is a frustrating mess". Here's a link to the song. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, right click the link, and hit save link as:
The final song that I'll post that deals with Bipolar Disorder is "I Go To Extremes" by Billy Joel. Joel has openly admitted that this song is about his struggles with the highs and lows of bipolar disorder. The chorus states, "Darling, I go to extremes. Too high or too low, there ain't no in-betweens. And if I stand or if I fall, it's all or nothing at all." Here's the link:
Sorry to be talking about such a serious subject but I find it fascinating and love talking about it and my own experiences with it. The more I talk to people about it, the more I realize how many people deal with different types of mental disorders, mostly Bipolar and Depression. As the Times article pointed out, the more people with mental disorders that are open about it and function normally in society, the more the stigmas associated with these diseases will fall away.
Alright so I'll throw up some upbeat music to lighten up the mood. I'll start with one of the best songs I've heard in a while. It's the Fred Falke Remix of the song "New In Town" by Little Boots. This song just makes you feel happy. Scroll down the page and then right click the link, and hit save link as:
From the same page, check out "Solid Gold (Russ Chimes Remix)" - Circlesquare.
I'm also into these three songs (you might recognize Blacklight Flashlight from their song "We're In Space" which you should definitely check out if you don't already have it):
Here's another jam from Blacklight Flashlight called "A Light Year in the Dark". Really uptempo with a bunch of real cool sounds going on. Right click and save link as for this one:
To close out, I'll leave with a video of this band called The Bridge that my friend Dan showed me. This video is of them playing the song "Drop the Beat". The song starts out with this guy beatboxing and eventually commanding "drop the beat". The bass then comes in with some silky smooth grooves. The guitar eventually comes in adding some rhythm. Just when you think it couldn't get any better, the sax player jumps in and tops off a brilliant song. I really can't thank Dan enough for showing me these guys. I had never heard of them and they're very legit. Here's the YouTube clip of them playing "Drop the Beat":
