Music Blur

I’ve been waiting for at least a year to write a post on Lorenzo’s Music.  They are a great band but it seems that nobody wants to create a YouTube video for them.  So I gave up and went straight to the source.  This is better for all of us really, because you can just click that little “Download” button up there and keep this tune forever.  It’s free.  Crazy right?  Now, you could choose to donate however much you want for this service but that’s on you.  Every song put out by Lorenzo’s Music so far has been under the Creative Commons license, so you can head over to their site and check out the rest of their collection.

This song will get stuck in my head for days on end, but that’s not such a bad thing in this case.  I’m Doing Fine is off the album Solamente Tres Palabras which translates to Only Three Words.  You can thank my 7th grade Spanish teacher Senora McCoy for that bit of trivia.  Oddly enough, every song on the album has only three words in the title.  It kind of reminds me of Trashman’s Shoes by Shoulders, but just a tad less drunken carnival like.  It’s definitely my favorite tune on the album, but you should check them all out anyway.  I mean, it’s free.

P.S.  The band doesn’t seem to have any relation to Lorenzo Music, the voice of Garfield (1982-1994) and other characters.

The Republic Tigers – Buildings & Mountains

the Republic Tigers | MySpace Music Videos

I heard a portion of this song in between sections of a podcast three or four months ago and then forgot all about it.  I remember thinking it would be perfect for a Music Blur post.  Well here it is, finally…

The band is The Republic Tigers and their debut album Keep Color was released in May 2008.  I hadn’t heard of them before despite the fact they have been featured on several TV shows.  I guess that’s what happens when you don’t watch Grey’s Anatomy or Gossip Girl.  Sick.

The Republic Tigers and their album Keep Color are great and I recommend them highly.  Buildings and Mountains is certainly my favorite right now, but you know how that goes.  I’m not too sure how to classify it.  You might want to help me out with that.  It’s kind of a mix of folk, electronic, and new wave while still staying pretty chill.  I love the falsetto AhhhAhhhh’s throughout the song.  They have a very calming feel to them.

Sarah made an observation when I played Buildings and Mountains for her and I just had to share it here.  She said, “I think a big part of a song’s strength comes from it’s “montageability”.  You know, how well you could make a montage out of it.  This would be a great montage song.”  I guess that’s kind of true, but I know I’ve heard some crap montage songs too.  I’m looking at you Walking on Sunshine.

I told you I wasn’t done with the BJM, and I won’t be done after this post either.  They have so much amazing, untouched material.  I had many Brian Jonestown Massacre songs that I wanted to share, but Who? really stands out.  It just sounds like it should be mainstream.  I mean, why didn’t this get huge in 1996 when they released their album Take It From The Man?  Shouldn’t The Brian Jonestown Massacre be a common household name by now?  No, why?  I know the answer, but I’m not telling.

I’m not telling because I still want you to watch the documentary DiG!.  It pretty much lays out why the BJM isn’t as popular as they deserve to be.  If you are interested in a short look into the mind of Anton Newcombe (BJM leader) then you could take a look at this, or if you are particularly daring, this.  Yes, he is more than a little bit crazy.

I could only find a live video for this one, but I think it works pretty well.  The Brian Jonestown Massacre sound is very much a 60s/70s vibe and the video looks like it was made in that time frame as well.  It was actually made in 2008.  Weird, huh.