Month: May 2011

Another Show for the Record Books – Memorial Day Edition

Hello fellow music heads,

Here’s another poddy.. in before Memorial Day. As Napoleon Dynamite says, YESSSSSS.. You know the drill. I decided to throw some 90s nuggets in because it was really my favorite decade for music. I wish I could have included more, but that means the podcast would last foreeevaaah. I’d still be recording as I type. So I tried to include songs I really really love. It’s just a small representation. I loved a lot of 90s songs. I loved how random so many bands were.. just as many as there were that sounded exaaaactly like each other. As always, I played the oldies with some new goodies which I hope you enjoy too. Still trying to get used to this podcast thing, still working out the bugs with adjusting. But all in all, I hope you enjoy. Be patient with me. You know what to do.

Copy the link: http://www.mediafire.com/?h98paqkkmmukp5f

Download away

And here’s a list:

Click on the pic to get a better view…

See anyone you remember..hmmmmmmm?

It was fun strolling down memory lane. As you can see, it was quite the mixture. Hope you enjoy.

Happy Memorial Day weekend. Keep rockin’..

Intro: Moby: James Bond Theme Remixed

1. Friendly Fires – Kiss of Life

2. Soundgarden – Fell on Black Days

3. Against Me! – Borne on the FM Waves of the Heart

4. The New Radicals – You Get What You Give

5. Avril Lavigne – Losing Grip

6. The Decemberists – Eli, The Barrowboy

7. Social Distortion – Story of My Life

8. The Hold Steady – Rock Problems

9. Sir Mix-a-Lot – Posse on Broadway

10. X-Ray Spex – I Live Off You

11. Coolio – Gangsta’s Paradise

12. Clinic – The Vulture

13. Mary J. Blige – You Bring Me Joy

14. The Monkees – She Hangs Out

15. TLC – Creep

16. Hypernova – Viva La Resistance

17. Seal – Crazy

18. Colette – Think You Want It

19. Billie Ray Martin – Your Loving Arms

20. The Black Keys – Next Girl

21. Snow – Inofrmer

22. I Blame Coco – Playwright Fate

23. Snap – I Got the Power

24. Linkin Park – Waiting for the End

That’s a wrap…

You can follow me on twitter… @joelygabs if you are interested in rants, musings, ravings, and observations about life in general.

Laters..

Friendly Fires in DC

About a year ago, I was looking for something different.

Something dancey, something bouncy that didn’t consist of the sound, and pardon me for misspelling this sound effect of “ouncee, ouncee, ouncee, ouncee, which doubles as the bass. I wanted to actually be able to play a band without ever getting tired of it.

And then I found them. Friendly Fires.

They formed in 2006 so I was a little tardy to the party as it were. And their first cd dropped in 2008. But man, is it awesome. It is full of dance dance dance. They are heavy on the percussion, and that is always a win for me and my ears. I dare anyone ANYONE sit still while listening to this band. They’re young and full of energy. Full of lyrics about hope, love, fun, and living life to the fullest. And for an eeyore like myself, I guess that is something I need in my life. They dropped by the District of Corruption, aka DC, for a night at the 9:30 club and they managed to cram so much into a little over an hour. The audience was NOT disappointed. And from the time the band walked on the stage, the hands were in the air, the shouting began and all was well with the world. Ed McFarlane, the lead singer, was jumping and dancing and shaking like there was no tomorrow, drenched in sweat, and not from the lights.. that was all from his OWN dancing energy. He was like a jumping bean making it clear to the audience that we are to have a good time with good vibes and to forget what’s going on in life outside of this club on that night.

I can respect a man for that.

From “Kiss of Life” to “Hurting (my particular favorite)”, to “Jump in the Pool” – their opener, the choruses are big, bold and waiting for be chanted. They are a carefree band. And they like it that way. Their sound? A combo of synths, drums, and falsettos and HORNS. Yes. HORNS. They make all the difference in the world. For one night, all was well with the world in our little club.

If you want something to listen to to build your spirits, check out Friendly Fires’ cds, Friendly Fires, AND their latest one that came out on May 24th – Pala. Good stuff. Very good.

Podcast #5, The Rapture Edition

Alright folks,

Here’s another one for the record books. We survived. Yipee. You know the drill. Highlight, copy, paste, download. Enjoy. Heaven is awesome.. I guess. At least we have music.

http://www.mediafire.com/?n35g397a513kagx

Aaaaand here’s the lineup. Aaand the pitch.


To see a bigger version of the list, click on the pic.

1. Moby – James Bond Theme Remixed

2. The Kills – Heart is a Beating Drum

3. Janet Jackson – Black Cat

4. Jane Child – Don’t Wanna Fall in Love (Teddy Riley Remix)

5. Michelle Malone – Travelin’ and Unravelin’

6. Lisa Bianco – Charmed

7. Erykah Badu – On & On

8. Bee vs. Moth – Salisbury Steakhouse

9. Adele – Cold Shoulder (Remix)

10. Journey – Wheels in the Sky

11. 20-22’s – Talk to Me

12. Eric B. and Rakim – I Ain’t No Joke

13. Yim Yames – My Sweet Lord

14. XTC – Day in Day Out

15. Hudson Mohawke – Rising 5

16. Judas Priest – Hell Bent for Leather

17. Excuse 17 – Designated Shutgun

18. Joss Stone – You Had Me

19. Fleetwood Mac – Gold Dust Woman

20. Jawbox – Breathe

21. Polyamorous Affair – Bright One

22. Telekenesis- I Got You

23. Howard Jones – No One Is to Blame

24. Cracker – Low

Rollin’ In DC – Adele Live at 9:30 Club

I remember the first time I saw Adele.

It was on VH1..back when THEY used to show videos instead of MTV. It was for a video called “Chasing Pavements.” I thought it was such a throwback song, the sweeping orchestra, her melodies…it was such a beautiful song from beginning to end. I wondered who was this adorable woman with the voice from God. I was captivated by that voice. It reminded me of something Doris Day would sing. Or Dionne Warwick. The video was cute, but that voice was long lasting. I instantly became hooked. Fast forward some time later and she won a Grammy for “Best New Artist.” There’s usually a curse behind this you know. It seems like whoever wins this award fades into oblivion lol. Well not everyone, but in recent years. You wonder what happened to them. So you will understand my worry when Adele won. A voice like hers shouldn’t fade into oblivion. It’s just too damn good.

Fast forward a loooong time later and she returned for her long awaited album, 21, named after her age at the time she wrote the songs. Now at 22 she is conquering the world. One place she graciously conquered was Washington, DC, at our well known 9:30 club. A sold out show, it was expected to be..dare I say..EPIC. And I really don’t like to use that word. But it’s the one word that described tonight. Dressed in her famed black ensemble, she charmed the crowd from the first note, to the last. Adele was there to command attention, and she had us. She had us from the very start. She sang the first minute from off stage as her band played along. To hear her voice was just unbelievable. To be in the SAME building as she was..well..that was truly a dream come true.

Once entering the stage, the crowd erupted. It was unreal. So many screams of love and affection, to which she was very overwhelmed. She joked with the audience about her ex boyfriend, the topic of 21, and how he affected her. It was great to see her act silly and tell jokes and give a little insight as to what she was going through at the time of writing the second LP. I couldn’t get enough.. From “Chasing Pavements” to her version of “To Make You Feel My Love” there were resounding cheers of joy and and jeers towards her ex boyfriend. Her voice was absolutely phenomenal. The range she carries gives me the chills.. The crowd really participated, singing along on just about every song. One standout, and there were many was “Set Fire to the Rain.” And I wasn’t the only one in love with that song. Again, the audience’s participation was just as fierce sounding as Adele. And she ate it up and grinned from ear to ear at the love and adoration from all of us.

She is just that good.

The finale, “Rolling in the Deep” the first single from the second album, pretty much brought the house down, built it up, and brought it up again. People were shouting singing, so loudly that at one point the crowd drowned HER out. She held the microphone out so that the audience could sing the background vocal “you’re gonna wish you…never had met me…tears are gonna fall…rolling in the deep.” And if I do say so myself, we all could have totally been her back up singers. She laughed. We laughed. We cried at the emotional too. “Someone Like You” was an emotional song about finding out her ex found another woman. She was devastated. You can hear it all over the song, yet she sounded optimistic in wishing him all the best. As I looked around, couples huddled, and a few teared. A good time was had by all.

So thank you Adele for blessing us with your presence. A fantastic show, by an even more fantastic woman. Thank you.

And. Not to toot my own horn. But I love that she started her tour – her first night – in Washington, DC. Beat THAT NYC.

Song of the Day: Promised Land by Findlay Brown

I love discovering new music. And this may or may not be new. But if it’s the first I’ve heard of it, then it’s new to me. His name is Findlay Brown. This song, Promised Land, is a laid back track filled with what sounds to me like xylophones and lots of dings. And if you can incorporate those dings with xylophones and make it sound amazing, then I’m allll for it. The world would be a much better place with xylophones. And syrup. But mainly xylophones. It’s a short song. Very to the point, which I enjoy sometimes. I particularly dig the bongos as well against the drums. Very nicely done. It’s a quiet song. Not a shouting I MUST MAKE MY POINT KNOWN NOW NOW NOW track. I look forward to his album if it’s more like this. Check him out when you get a chance…

Favorite line:

Brothers, sisters one day we will be free

From the fighting, violence. We could cry an endless stream.

It’s just perfect. Heartfelt meanings are always welcome.. Kudos Findlay. Kudos.