musical monday: commercials

One thing about indie music is that it's cheap. That means that lots of companies are willing to pay the cheaper prices to use indie music in their commercials. And -- though I hate to admit it -- I kind of enjoy hearing great new music that way. So today's post is about some of the great music I've gotten to know from commercials in the last year or so.

Ingrid Michaelson: The Way I Am This is being used currently in an Old Navy commercial ("If you are chilly, here, take my sweater"). I love Michaelson's vocals, with the light but commanding tone of her voice. Can't get enough of it.

• visit Ingrid Michaelson's website, where you can watch a YouTube video of her performing "The Way I Am" on Carson Daly's show and read the lyrics to the song

Feist: 1234 This is the song being featured in the Apple commercial for the new iPod nano with video (and, according to Wikipedia, in many other commercials). Though I don't love this song (I would rate it 4 out of 5 stars), it always reminds me of Feist's most familiar song, "Mushaboom," which I do love (5 of 5). Feist -- who also performs with Broken Social Scene -- has an ethereal, almost dream-like sound, and her lyrics always evoke for me early 20th-century domestic scenes. Maybe that's just me. "Mushaboom" was apparently quite a hit in the indie world, though, and several other artists have covered it (inlcuding the Postal Service).

• visit Feist's website, featuring the music video of "1234"


• watch the music video of "Mushaboom" on YouTube

Shiny Toy Guns: Le Disko I had already downloaded and fallen in love with this song (offered for free on iTunes) when I heard it used in some commercials for the TV show So You Think You Can Dance? and then, later, for Motorola's fancy-shmancy Razr2 V8 cell phone.

• visit Shiny Toy Guns website -- scroll down a little to view the video of the Razr2 commercial

Iron & Wine: Such Great Heights I discovered this song when it was used in an M&Ms commercial, about a year ago. It stuck in my head, even though I didn't know it, and I loved the lyrics (the little of them I could hear in the commercial). So I had to Google it and find out what it was. As it turns out, Iron & Wine's version was a cover of a Postal Service song, and I prefer the original these days. Mostly, though, I love the lyrics in this song: "I'm thinking it's a sign that the freckles in our eyes are mirror images and when we kiss they're perfectly aligned; and I have to speculate that God himself did make us into corresponding shapes like puzzle pieces from the clay." They're great!

• visit Iron & Wine's website -- which frankly doesn't have anything that great; well, OK, you can launch a music player, but it only has three songs (none of which are "Such Great Heights")


• visit The Postal Service's website, where you can download "Such Great Heights" (go to Downloads in the menu) and check out the Such Great Heights EP, which inlcudes Iron & Wine's cover (Discography in the menu)

Of Montreal: Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games I haven't actually heard this song in a commercial itself, but when I first listened to it as an IndieFeed podcast, I found that I couldn't give it a fair chance because the tune is used in Outback Steakhouse commercials these days -- and annoys the crap out of me. I also don't much care for the rest of Of Montreal's music and mostly just find them weird.

• visit Of Montreal's website


• watch the video for "Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games" on YouTube

musical monday: the used

I promise that I will post a real update soon and tell you all what's going on in my life. The trouble, you see, is that there's not much going on right now. But as soon as there's something to tell, you can be sure I will do so.

This week's Musical Monday is about The Used. I love their song "The Bird and the Worm," even though I've only heard it a few times. It's one of those rare (for me) songs that grabbed me the first time I ever heard it. The lyrics are fascinating -- I especially love the first line: "He wears his heart safety-pinned to his backpack" -- and the layers and varieties of sounds on the track create a real depth.

Enjoy the YouTube version I've embedded below -- and please don't forget to comment and let me know what you think, whether you hate it, love it, or don't think it's worth either of those extremes.


read the lyrics

musical monday: eve 6

One of the great things about the free exchange of digital music is that I'm constantly re-discovering music I'm familiar with but didn't know especially well. During one recent exchange, I got a song from NM that I've always liked, but until the exchange took place I didn't know what the song was called, or who it was by. I now know that it's "Inside Out" by Eve 6, and since I can now listen to it any time I want, I'm more familiar with the lyrics. I've always loved the line, "Wanna put my tender heart in a blender, watch it spin round to a beautiful oblivion." How utterly expressive! And who would think to rhyme 'tender' with 'blender'?

It turns out there's some debate over a few of the words (e.g., 'rhines' versus 'rinds' in the second line). Regardless of this debate, though, I very much enjoy the rhymes in the song, as well as the subtle plays on words: 'doubt' played against 'faith,' 'spin' against 'rendezvous,' the connection of 'time,' 'stale,' 'tick-tock,' and 'clock,' and the opposition of 'sane and logical' with 'tear it off the wall' -- and that's only the first verse!

Compare lyrics: LyricsFreak ~ Seek Lyrics ~ Lyrics Depot

Check out Eve 6: Official Site ~ Google Music ~ Wikipedia ~ AllMusicGuide

musical monday: muse

In anticipation of my first ever Muse concert (have I mentioned how excited I am?), today's Musical Monday is a list of my top ten favorite lines from Muse songs, with occasional comments.

Back in May I created a post about things I love about Muse. That post was mostly about their attitude -- not totally out-of-bounds, but more than willing to toe the line and even take a few steps over it. I want to just add that one of my favorite things about Muse is their lyrics. While I realize that they don't quite rank with the likes of Kit Marlowe, George Herbert, or T. S. Eliot, I do think Matt Bellamy has a real genius for lyrics. They are sometimes surprisingly profound, sometimes goofy, and sometimes just so durned ambiguous -- it makes for great interpretation possibilities.

10. It's happening soon, it's happening soon -- its scent has been blowing in my directioon. ("Fillip" from Showbiz)

This makes the bottom of the list, because I don't care that much about the actual line -- mostly I just love how Matt alters the final vowel in "direction" so that it quasi-rhymes with "soon." Makes me smile every time.

9. You needed it when I was away, and no matter what I say, you'll never forget when I wasn't there -- so why should I care? ("Overdue" from Absolution)
8. I'm not breaking down, I'm breaking out. ("Hysteria" from Absolution)
7. You would do anything and you would say anything to escape your meaningless and your insignificance. ... Why can't you just love her? Why be such a monster? ("Escape" from Showbiz)

I love the use of "meaningless" as a noun in #7.

6. For one moment I wish you'd hold your stage with no feelings at all. ("Citizen Erased" from Origin of Symmetry)

I have no idea what this is supposed to mean, but I still think it's great.

5. I don't want you to adore me, don't want you to ignore me when it pleases you. ... I have played in every toilet, but you just want to spoil it to prove I've made a big mistake. ("Muscle Museum" from Showbiz)

I've felt this way so many times, and I always love finding my own feelings expressed in someone else's words -- makes me feel not so alone, I suppose.

4. Paradise comes at a price that I am not prepared to pay. ("Megalomania" from Showbiz)
3. Everything about you resonates happiness, now I won't settle for less. ("Bliss" from Origin of Symmetry)
2. This is the last time I'll abandon you, and this is the last time I'll forget you -- I wish I could. ("Stockholm Syndrome" from Absolution)
1. I've had recurring nightmares that I was loved for who I am and missed the opportunity to be a better man. ("Hoodoo" from Black Holes and Revelations)

I've honestly never cared much for the song "Hoodoo," so I didn't pay much attention to the words until I was getting this list ready. When I found this line, it immediately gained first place in my list of favorite Muse lines.

updated, plus my top twenty favorite lyrics (part two)

I have to explain what's been going first. My parents recently purchased and installed a new VoIP phone system, but once we got the phones working, then the internet wouldn't work. We've been trying for the last week to get the problem fixed so that both the phones and the internet work, which is partially obstructed by the fact that my mom can't seem to decide whether she wants to just cancel the service or not. In the meantime, I've been mostly living offline ... except for really big tasks (such as applying for jobs), for which I go over to my brother's house.

But for the evening, I have the phone line knocked out and the internet hooked up again while Mom and Dad are at the temple, so I'm taking advantage of the time to update my blog and write some emails.

I've decided I want to start doing a weekly music moment, where I can share my favorite lyrics, musicians, and songs. I plan to normally do this on Mondays (musical Mondays -- gotta love the alliteration!), but this week I'm pretty behind-hand, owing to the above-mentioned internet problems.

So, with apologies for its late-ness, here is the second half of my favorite lyrics list:

10. Do you have the time to listen to me whine about nothing and everything all at once? I am one of those melodramatic fools, neurotic to the bone, no doubt about it. (Green Day, "Basket Case")
9. Delilah, I can promise you that by the time that we get through, the world will never, ever be the same, and you're to blame. (Plain White T's, "Hey There Delilah")
8. Feels like lightning running through my veins, every time I look at you. (David Gray, "Please Forgive Me")
7. Couldn't take the blame, sick with shame; must be exhausting to lose your own game. Selfishly hated, no wonder you're jaded; you can't play the victim this time. (Evanescence, "Call Me When You're Sober")
6. I won't be seeing you for a long while, I hope it's not as long as these country miles. (Camera Obscura, "Country Mile")
5. Don't believe that the weather is perfect the day that you die. (Armor for Sleep, "The Truth About Heaven")
4. I should, I wish I could, maybe if you were I would -- a list of standard-issue regrets. (Ok Go, "A Million Ways")
3. I need your grace to remind me to find my own. (Snow Patrol, "Chasing Cars")
2. The beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair. (Relient k, "Be My Escape")
1. I am a writer, writer of fictions. I am the heart that you call home. And I've written pages upon pages trying to rid you from my bones. (The Decemberists, "Engine Driver")

So there you have it -- my favorite lyrics. As mentioned, this list is by no means complete, and you can be certain you'll be getting lots more of this in future weeks. And thanks, NM, for sharing some of yours!

my top twenty favorite lyrics ... part one

Driving through Wyoming and Idaho, believe it or not, does have its plus side: it's a perfect time for listening to all kinds of music. It was during one such drive that I "discovered" Camera Obscura and Arcade Fire (thanks, Erin and NM!).

This time as I drove, I got thinking about how much I love certain lyrics. And I thought to myself, "Self, why not share those lyrics with your handful of faithful readers? Maybe some of them will discover some new music that they love as well."

This list is not entirely complete. For one thing, I'm not putting any Muse lyrics in here -- there are just too many of them that I love too much, so I've decided to make a separate post for them later on. For another, I'm focusing right now on the alternative and indie music I've grown to love during the last year or so (thanks again, Erin and NM ... and Stephenie Meyer), so there are no lyrics from Gershwin or Berlin or ... whoever wrote all those Bing Crosby/Frank Sinatra/Rosemary Clooney lyrics. Another time, perhaps.

For another thing, I have left out several of my very favoritest lyrics, having decided that the lyrics for these whole songs were too good to be able to just pick one or two lines. So, I will post another list sometime (probably quite soon) with these.

The list is also rather flexible -- a lot depends on my particular mood, and I know I'm missing some that I have thought about in the last week as favorite lyrics. I was originally planning, in fact, to make this a top ten list, but I couldn't narrow it down quite that far. But, at the same time, twenty things is a lot to take at once. So I'm giving you the first (or last) ten today, and the rest I will save for another day.

Anyway, with no further ado (since we've had ado a-plenty at this point), here is part one of my top twenty favorite lyrics.

20. Face down in the dirt, she said, "This doesn't hurt." (Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, "Face Down")
19. I am not afraid to keep on living, I am not afraid to walk this world alone. (My Chemical Romance, "Famous Last Words")
18. If I threw my guitar out the window, so far down, would I start to regret it, or would I smile and watch it slowly fall? (Cake, "Guitar")
17. She left me roses by the stairs -- surprises let me know she cares. (blink-182, "All the Small Things")
16. And as for now, I'm gonna hear the saddest songs and sit alone and wonder how you're making out. And as for me, I wish that I was anywhere, with anyone, making out. (Dashboard Confessional, "Screaming Infidelities")
15. With a name I'd never chosen, I can make my first steps as a child of twenty-five. ... Just because I'm sorry doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it at the time. (Snow Patrol, "Chocolate")
14. So never look behind you, spooky people make you cry. The world is ending, there's a party by the bay. (Blue October, "Sound of Pulling Heaven Down")
13. In a car, underwater, with time to kill. Thinking back, I forgot to tell you this: I didn't care that you left and abandoned me; what hurts more is, I would still die for you. (Armor for Sleep, "Car Underwater")
12. My heart is playing like a violin. (The Clientele, "Here Comes the Phantom")
11. But that's how it's gotta be, it's coming down to nothing more than apathy -- I'd rather run the other way than stay and see the smoke and who's still standing when it clears. ... I wish you were a stranger, I could disengage. ... I'm losing you and it's effortless. (The Fray, "Over My Head (Cable Car)")

So, now it's your turn -- tell me about some of your favorite lyrics. Are any of them the same as mine (so far)? Do you love some songs or artists that I don't know yet?