Oasis

Hey friends.  Today's song comes from a Vermont-based band headed by soulful Grace Potter.  Grace Potter and the Nocturnals have been around for more than a decade, but have gotten quite a bit of attention in the last few years since signing with Hollywood Records in 2007.

I own their 2010 self-titled album and really like it's blend of soul and rock.  Grace Potter's vocals and passion as an artist are evident on each track of this album.  It really rocks.

So the song stuck in my head is the second track on the self-titled album, it's called "Oasis"

Here's a studio recording of the song that is more clear than the live version:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FASKSeJhojQ


The song itself is about a person who's lost, perhaps stuck in a relationship, bad job, or just a lousy place, "lost in the desert" if you will.  The Oasis represents hope of finding solace in a desert.  It feels like a cliche, but works for this song.  Personally, I love it, especially the way the band breaks down for about the last minute of the song.

Not much else to say here.  I hope you like the song.

Hugs,
Brady

Baby Be Mine

I'm on a huge Michael Jackson kick.  I just finished an 800 page biography about his life and I've scoured YouTube and various web pages over the last few months as I've tried to understand this man's life.  Sadly, I've never really delved much into his catalog of music- something I'm sure I'll remedy in the near future.

While reading about his life, I teetered between feeling that his life is a great tragedy and that his life was astonishing and triumphant.  What entertainer has had worldwide renown like Michael Jackson?
So- obviously the song stuck in my head this morning was from The King of Pop himself.  "Baby Be Mine" is the 2nd track on Jackson's 1982 album "Thriller" which still, so many years later (31 years!) is the best selling album of all time.  And with what's happened to the music industry, I doubt it will ever be surpassed by another album.  Time will tell, but I'll bet I'm right.

Oddly, today's song is one of the few tracks on this album that wasn't released as a single.  And it's a great song!   If I have my memory right, I think this is the 4th song from "Thriller" that I've blogged about here, which to me is saying a lot since I've not really ever been an active listener to Jackson's music (until now!)

OK, here's "Baby Be Mine" listen and enjoy.

I feel like I have so much more to say about Michael Jackson in this post, but I just don't have time. I hope I don't sound trite, but I will say simply this:

Here's to you MJ, a talented kid from working-class Gary, Indiana who has left behind a legacy that will never be forgotten.

Lenders in the Temple

I'm blogging on a Monday only because yesterday I had a song stuck in my head of which I had previously written about.

This will be brief.  Today's song comes from Conor Oberst.  If you're smart, then you know that he's from the band Bright Eyes.  This is from his solo album.  The song is called "Lenders in the Temple."

It's from Oberst's 2008 self-titled album.








http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO8GzpUvMsw

Clap your hands if you like this song.  Stomp your feet if you don't.

I'll be clapping my hands.