Happy 4th of July to every one in the USA!! It is a little late but what can you expect when a holiday happens in the middle of the week. The house is coming along nicely, if any body cares.
Anyway, on with the show...
This is the fifth album from Moby. It was released in 1989.
This was his first major success with an album. The past albums were good but
because of the electronic dominance did not become mass public success. There
are nine singles released from this album that helped keep the alum in the
public eye for over two years. The album is known for combining gospel and folk
music samples with modern house electronica/techno.
Honey was the first single released from Play. The track was
also was featured in the 2003 film Holes. The song heavily samples
"Sometimes", a recording by gospel singer Bessie Jones. The song has
a rolling beat that pushes through the piano more than the drums making it a
fun unique song to listen to.
The second single is called Run On. The vocal content of the
song comes from a 1943 recording of "Run On" by Bill Landford and the
Landfordaires, and features a mix of house music and instrumental music. It was
this track that caught my interest in the music from this album. I had never
heard the vocal samples or anything like them in the past. I really liked it
but did not know what style it was or what to even look for to find the
original music. I guess that I was satisfied with what was on the record
though. The combination of old folk/gospel music and electronica was really
cool. There were two different CD singles released for this album each with
three different tracks. The lead track was still Run On but the second disc had
an extended version.
The third single from the album is called Body Rock. The
song features a sample of the song "Love Rap" by Spoonie Gee,
featuring the Treacherous Three, and additional vocals from Def Jam recording
artist Nikki D. If the previous single did not hook me in to buy the album then
this one sure did. Cool distorted guitar, a fast beat and rhythmic vocals.
The fourth single from the album is called Why Does My Heart
Feel So Bad? The song slows it down a little bit but also feels very emotional.
This is partially for the sample used and partially for the musicality with the
use of strings and piano along with The Shining Light Gospel Choir. It is a
beautiful song that makes one think about ones own existence.
The fifth single is called Natural Blues. It samples
"Trouble So Hard" by American folk singer Vera Hall. The use of all
of these simple folk samples and mixing it with a full rich musical sound makes
the samples stand up as if they would have been this way had they been given
the ability to use the technology of today. I think that Moby may have wanted
to make that happen for these original folk and gospel songs.
The sixth single from the album is called Porcelain. The
song was first featured in the 1998 film Playing by Heart. It also
appeared on the soundtrack to the 2000 film The Beach. This song is near
perfect ambiance song. It is absolutely beautiful to my ear. I actually based a
mix CD on the track after hearing it a couple times on the radio and then
seeing the video on MTV. This was back when MTV played music and burning your
own CD was still cool. This song will always have a special place in my heart.
It does not bring me to tears but is still emotional none the less.
The seventh single was actually just to bring back Why Does
My Heart Feel So Bad? and Honey. Honey was remixed for this reissue and
featured Kelis.
The eighth single is called South Side. This is one of the
most successful singles that has been released by Moby. Moby has said that the
song was inspired by his visits to Chicago
and his love for its house music scene. The success was driven from the fact
that Gwen Stefani was featured on a version of the song as well as taking part
in the video for the song. MTV put this song on in heavy rotation adding to the
success of the song. The video is quite funny as it parodies the then current
Hip Hop videos. I recently picked up the two track version of this single on my
trip to Pawn America.
The version that I found was a two track version. The first track was the
version featuring Gwen Stefani and the second track is the standard album
version.
This is Sean Lennons’ first solo album. It was released in
1998. There was only one single released from the album. There are some other
really good tracks on the album too though. I had been interested in the album
since its release. I can’t get everything that I want though and sometimes
things will come up later, in this case fourteen years later. I found a promo
copy of this album during my rummage at Pawn America. I was so excited, not only
did I find a copy of an album that I had wanted for the past fourteen years for
a dollar it was also a promo copy! The great thing about the album is that it
doesn’t really fit into one genre. The tracks flow from grunge to jazz. It is a
great album to listen to if you want to hear a little bit of everything. The
only thing that is really constant is the sound of his voice. He sounds on the
high side of a male vocal style making the album very easy to listen to.
There was officially one single released from the album
called Home. That track is the grunge sounding track from the album. It is not
really my favorite from the album but it did get my attention when it was
released enough for me to remember that I wanted to have the album fourteen
years later when I found it digging through a mass of used CDs.
I think that my favorite track from the album is the first
track called Mystery Juice. It really reminds me of an artist that has been
putting out music before Sean had but sounds similar in some ways. Cornelius is
the artists name and the song that I am thinking of is called Music. The two
songs have similar parts I think.
The other song that I think is really cool is called
Photosynthesis. It is a non-vocal jazz piece with a very cool bass line. This
one reminds me of something that Dave Brubeck may have done. It is a catchy
track that veers off every now and then to keep you interested. I think that is
unneeded because the bass line is so cool.
This album is not for every one but it sure is cool because
of the inability to categorize it properly.
This is the groups’ first album. It was released in 2005. This
was the first album that I got form my wife before we had even started dating.
I had just started listening to 89.3 The Current and the group was featured prominently
on the ratio station because of their Minnesota
roots. I had told my wife that I wanted the album from The Postal Service. She
went all crazy and not only bought the album but all the singles that went with
it. I thought it was a little extreme but was still thankful for the gift. The
band was frequently compared to the Pixies and Pavement by critics. There were officially
two singles released from the album and a third song was used in
advertisements.
The first single released from the album is called Insistor.
The song comes of with a surf back ground reminiscent of Dick Dale. The foreground
is what has become standard indie music. It has a fast beat that makes you want
to get up and do something, dance maybe? It is definitely a song that I don’t listen
to the words to. The music is interesting and moving enough that I don’t really
care about the words. I guess that the vocals become their own instrument
adding to the music itself.
The second song that was released as a single is called
Cowbell. The rhythm of this track reminds me of some of the children’s 45 RPM
records that I had as a kid. They were fun and rockin’. It is another fast
paced song but the funny part is that there is no cowbell in the song. It doesn’t
really matter it is just a funny point about the song.
The last song on the record, Jakov's Suite, was used frequently
in the University
of Oregon's basketball
advertisements during the games along with a television commercial for Nissan.
This song has a cool guitar riff that works so well. It could have very easily
been a single supporting the album.
This is the first album from the band Ours. It was released
in 2001. The album produced one single in the song Sometimes. This is the
reason that I bought the album. There was a video put out for the song that got
some moderate airplay on MTV. I don’t remember ever seeing the video though. Album
is charged with sounds from Jeff Buckley and early Radiohead. This is the reason
that I got the album. Jeff had just passed on and I was not ready to let go of
that beautiful voice. I searched hard to find a replacement and this was the
closest that I had gotten to that replacement. The band has only put out three
albums though and the third is nothing like the first two. This album has the
falsetto male vocals that I so desperately wanted more of. It filled the hole
that Buckley left behind enough so that I could heal. I still miss Jeff Buckley
and have only had one or two new tracks come out since his death but this will
always sit on the shelf next to him vocally. If you loved Jeff Buckley as much
as I do then this album may interest you. The whole album is emotionally charged
and very depressing but it is still a favorite of mine.
That is all I have for now...
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