The Mae Shi – Run To Your Grave June 4, 2009
Posted by The Rish-Dizzle in Indie.add a comment
Here’s a song that I discovered on Spotify. Just a quick word about it, if your in the UK (and a few other places in Western Europe) you can enjoy Spotify for free. It’s a great completely legal service that allows you to stream a huge library of music for free as many times as you wish, and due to it’s underlying technology the stream starts instantly with virtually no buffering time at all. The catch is you apparently have to listen to an advert every now and then but I have been using the service on and off for a while now and the only ads I’ve come across are simple banner ones which aren’t intrusive at all. I’m thinking that this program would be perfect for parties where people can do quick search and collaboratively create playlists.
Anywho, enough of that plug. This track is called Run To Your Grave (video above) which I found on Pitchfork’s Best 100 Tracks of 2008 playlist (click the link to open the playlist in Spotify once installed). I don’t know anything about the artist as I haven’t had the chance to check them out further but this track is positively brimming with joy and elation. It has a catchy melody and the shrill vocals sung by several of the band members give an airy, organic sound to the delivery. Be sure to check it out for some summery goodness now that the season is almost upon us.
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The Mae Shi – Run To Your Grave [ From the Album "HLLLYH" ] |
Justin Nozuka – Golden Train May 16, 2009
Posted by The Rish-Dizzle in acoustic, adult alternative, soft rock.Tags: gentle, good natured, happy, joyful, relaxed, settled
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I heard this track on my own recommended station on Last.fm which I recommend highly because if you like the music that you’ve heard on this blog then you’ll definately like the tracks they play there. To this day, no matter how many times I am bored with my own collection of music and decide to pop on that station, I end up finding so much great music that leads me to new artists so I recommend you check it out. As I’ve said, this is a track I heard on that very station and it lead me to seek out the album of this artist which I’ve found to be of similar quality but none were quite as catchy, as seemily organic and as joyus as this song. It starts off with a gentle and honest tone but picks up halfway through with a bouncy acoustic guitar rhythm that hits you where it matters and resonates through your body like every good new track you hear should. Check it out.
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Justin Nozuka – Golden Train [ From the Album "Holly" ] |
Maria Taylor – Clean Getaway April 30, 2009
Posted by The Rish-Dizzle in ambient.Tags: beautiful, comforted, hopeful, relaxed, sad
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Recently I went to a gig to see Joshua Radin, an artist who I discovered on an emmy-winning episode of Scrubs with his song “Winter”. It’s a great song, similar in mood with the song I am going to share now by an artist called Maria Taylor, who was the opening act for this gig. The problem was I turned up late, missing her act which really sucks now that I have got hold of some of her albums and realised how good they are, arguably stronger then that of the main act I paid to see. This track is taken from her second album, and is one that I’ve had on repeat for some time now. It’s one that has a mellow, sombre feel to it and the lyrics are made all the more poignant for me due to the fact that I’ve experienced two deaths in the family recently. While this may give the impression that the track is depressing and miserable,the track takes solace in a kind of beautiful sadness, one that seems comforting and has a positive outlook by the finish.
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Maria Taylor – Clean Getaway [ From the Album "Lynn Teeter Flower" | Buy CD: |
Sublime – Santeria February 7, 2009
Posted by The Rish-Dizzle in Uncategorized.Tags: laid back, light, mellow, relaxed, soothed, summery
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It’s always a strange thing when you discover music that you think is awesome only to find that when you go away to check on what the artist is up to at the moment, you discover their death that happened several years before, as is the case for the lead singer of this band. This track comes from the bands self-titled post-homously released album which is full of feel-good tracks with a funky, sun-drenched sound. This particular track is my favourite from the album and shares similar traits to Griffith Project’s track “First Train Stop” which I posted about here. It has a great reggae, laid-back groove fitting for the sound of a late summer afternoon. Clocking in at just over 3 minutes long, this is something to quickly get you out of the winter blues I’m experiencing in the UK right now. Enjoy.
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Sublime – Santeria [ From the Album "Sublime" | Buy CD: |
Norwegian Recycling – No Taylor, No Scar February 2, 2009
Posted by The Rish-Dizzle in Uncategorized.Tags: bright, carefree, fresh, joyful, summery
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I randomly came across this artist when trawling through a torrent site and was intrigued when I found that this one track featured three artists I’ve already done posts about on this blog (Jack Johnson, Missy Higgins and Wyclef Jean of the Fugees) mashed up into a single, surprisingly cohesive song. The artist, who is a bedroom-producer currently still studying for a career in music production, definitely shows flair and promise in these mash-up tracks he’s created. He’s released 3 albums (this taken from the most recent and brilliantly titled “Appetite for Reconstruction”) and can all be downloaded from his multiply site account here. This particular track I’m sharing is my favourite, featuring the songs “‘Taylor”, “Scar” and “No Woman No Cry” (with Men at Work’s “Down Under” thrown in at the end for good measure). The mix isn’t completely polished but I feel that this only adds to the tracks charm. It carries an upbeat and good natured feeling, particularly of Missy Higgin’s “Scar”, right through to the end.
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Norwegian Recycling – No Taylor, No Scar [ From the Album "Appetite for Reconstruction" | Download Album free and legally here] |
Schiller – You (Feat. Colbie Caillat) January 25, 2009
Posted by The Rish-Dizzle in ambient.Tags: ambient, captivated, dark, dramatic, haunted, relaxed, somber, spacy
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At the moment I still can’t seem to get enough of Colbie Caillat, an artist who I’ve mentioned several times on this blog. I went to see her perform in London a few months back and I’m eagerly waiting for a new release from her to come. What draws me to her music became even more apparent recently when she described in a recent interview that the two biggest influences of her music were John Mayer and Bob Marley (both of which whose music I share a particular passion for).
I went on the hunt for a bunch of tracks that she has been featured in that wasn’t on her endlessly replayable album “Coco” and came across this track. It’s from an album which I know nothing about aside from the fact that Colbie featured on one of the tracks on it, done on the project Schiller by German artist Christopher von Deylen who’s background is in electronia. It’s definitely a departure from her usual sound – much darker with a heavier overtone then anything shes done before, which displays a versatility I hope carries through to her next release. The track has an atmospheric, almost enigmatic feel and draws you in immediately.
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Schiller – You (Feat. Colbie Caillat) |
Feel-good Remixes January 7, 2009
Posted by The Rish-Dizzle in dance, pop, soft rock.Tags: carefree, cheerful, feel-good, happy, uplifted
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Alright, alright. Here’s my update. Sorry about the delay, I’ve started doing a Masters so time isn’t as ample as it was. I’ve decided to add an extra page to my site to let you know about the site status and when to expect new posts etc.
A friend of mine shared me these two feel-good remixes of tracks that were good in the initial form but the remakes definitely add something new and inventive as opposed to 99% of the usual remixes that aren’t worth bothering with. The first is a track I heard in it’s original form on the radio often and had a sort of “meh” response to it although did think it had an insanely catchy chorus – but this remix takes the track to a new height. It gives the song a new funky, electro vibe and it’s just incredibly upbeat. I’ve played this in the presence of others and it definitely has a universal appeal. So that should include you.
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Black Kids – I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You (The Twelves Remix) [ Original from the Album "Partie Traumatic" | Buy CD: |
The second is a remix of a song that was already pretty awesome to begin with, but comes with added production from the Neptunes (who sounds like that they’ve used the same drum machine from the track “Lapdance” to create their funky beat). With the extra touches that don’t overpower the melodic sound of the original, the track packs a new punch that takes it over the edge.
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Ben Harper – Steal My Kisses (The Neptunes Remix) [ Original from the Album "Burn to Shine" | Buy CD: |
Jack Johnson – Mudfootball (Live) September 18, 2008
Posted by The Rish-Dizzle in acoustic, live, soft rock.Tags: at ease, breezy, carefree, fresh, laid back, relaxed, summery, uplifted
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I recently got my hands on some pre-”In Between Dreams” releases from Jack Johnson as I heard the track “Posters” being played on the rather awesome Radio Paradise which I recommend if you fancy some alternative laid-back tunes. The album “In Between Dreams” along with Frank Turner’s first LP “Sleep is For the Week” were the soundtracks that featured heavily on my hungover mornings at uni which I played in constant rotation annoying anyone within the immediate, and non-immediate, vicinity of my room with my incessant… well I was going to call it singing but it sounded more like a drunken lout shouting at the top of his voice in an effort to drown out the pain of a throbbing headache. One track that was missing from my version of “In Between Dreams” that featured as a bonus track on the UK release is this: a live recording of “Mudfootball”, who’s original (as well as “Posters”) featured on his previous album “Brushfire Fairytales”. I came across it in the most random of places – whilst on hold to the company Bizzenergy when having to call them at work. Now being on hold is always frustrating, made even more so by the sorry excuse for music they choose to play to you while you wait, but hats off to Bizzenergy for playing music that I actually wanted to stay on the phone to listen to and for allowing me to discover the missing gem from my version of “In Between Dreams”. It took me a while to track it down but I’ve managed to get my hands on it to share to you, my luscious readers. It’s an upbeat, fun sounding live recording featuring a bouncing harmonica, a great sounding live guitar that hits around the minute-and-a-half mark, and a sense of spontaneous and effortless riffing that’s played at ease – something you can only capture in live sessions.
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Jack Johnson – Mudfootball (Live) [ From the Album "In Between Dreams" (UK Bonus Track) | |
Missy Higgins August 6, 2008
Posted by The Rish-Dizzle in pop, soft rock.Tags: bright, calm, carefree, emancipated, fresh, haunted, joyful, somber, summery
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Apologies for the lack of posts recently. The main reason is that I have not been struck by any new music that I felt compelled to share lately and it is only when I am genuinely excited about a song or artist that gives me the urge to post music on this blog. So instead of waiting for something to hit me, I thought I’d share some tracks from an artist that struck me some time ago when listening to Hitz Radio during my uni years. 
Whilst I probably wouldn’t recommend you listen to the station now unless you want to hear some unadulterated commercial pop, rock and rap tunes from the U.S., I did funnily enough discover both this artist as well as John Mayer who are popular in many other territories across the globe but are almost unheard of here in the UK.
Missy Higgins is an Australian artist whose song “Ten Days” I discovered on Hitz Radio and found was good enough for me to further research into her then newly released album “The Sound Of White”. The tracks on this LP are mainly somber piano ballads which I’ve found to be skillfully and maturely written for such a young artist (the first track “All For Believing” won a competition in her High School when she was just 16).
The first track I’m going to share was the first ever single released and one that is in a complete opposite disposition to the rest of the album. It’s an incredibly fresh, upbeat sounding summery tune that evokes a carefree and emancipated feeling.
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Missy Higgins – Scar [ From the Album "The Sound Of White" | Buy CD: |
This second track is taken from her second album “On a Clear Night”. This LP sees Missy Higgins be more varied in her sound with tracks that are built around guitars and various other instrumentation as opposed to just the piano. The overall feel is less heavy then the first album and this track I’m sharing now definitely has the similar feeling of joy and ease that can be heard in “Scar”.
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Missy Higgins – Steer [ From the Album "On A Clear Night" | Buy CD: |
This final song taken from her first album is on that I’ve decided to share last because it’s something quite special. In this track Missy paints the picture of a ten year-old seeking refuge from experiencing abuse at home. The track is haunted by the lyrics “somebody’s bed will never be warm again/the river will keep this friend” and it is lulled over a calm and carefree strumming guitar that provides relief from the somber atmosphere created by the bleek lyrics.
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Missy Higgins – The River [ From the Album "The Sound Of White" | Buy CD: |
Dario G – Voices (Acoustic Version) July 4, 2008
Posted by The Rish-Dizzle in acoustic, live, pop.Tags: breezy, cathartic, happy, inspired, soothed, summery, tropical
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I was first acquainted to this song after hearing it at the close of the film “The Beach”. At the time I didn’t pursue the track as I didn’t know who the track was by, or realise how awesome it was, which is why it took me a while to research and rediscover it. After hearing the tune of the softly played guitar at a restaurant diner in Prague (don’t I sound incredibly cultured right now…) and struggling to figure out where that soothing, tropical sound was from, I did my research and found it to be by the same people who brought out the hits “Sunchyme” (which hit number two in the UK charts back in that magical time when Top of the Pops was still being shown on a Thursday night) and “Carnival de Paris” (which featured as a theme song to the Football World Cup in 1998). Anyway, once again it’s a really chilled out cathartic sounding tune, one that fit the closing to the motion picture “The Beach” perfectly.
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Dario G – Voices (Acoustic Version) [ From the Album "Sunmachine" | Buy CD: |
I decided to share the previous song after hearing a live set performed by Coldplay last month (sorry for the excess Coldplay posts) when they did their new live rendition of their hit “Yellow”. I’ve managed to get my hands on a recording of it, and you can hear the definite similarities between the two tracks, both managing to convey the same feelings of inspiring, hopeful and happiness in their sound. And both definitely worth checking out.
| Coldplay – Yellow [Live at Brixton Academy - 16-06-08] [ Mirrors | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 ] [ From a live recording on BBC Radio One ] |
