Sometimes You Need Anthems

Straight to the music...

My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark by Fall Out Boy

Battle Flag (Lo Fidelity Allstars remix) by Pigeonhed

Explicit lyric warning...

 

 

This Girl is On Fire (Inferno version) by Alicia Keys w/ Nicki Minaj

MM: Fun, People in the Basement, and the Apocolypse

I have a nice little mix of music to deliver to you this Monday. My iPhone has been playing out three songs this past week. All male artists, all unique -- one unreleased single, an Irish indie rock song, and a song about the Apocolypse that is getting a bit of radio play.

All Alone by Fun.

Fun. had a great night at the Grammys this year, nominated for six and winning two major awards. They walked away with gold gramophones for the Best New Artist and Song of the Year (We Are Young). (source)  The three songs that have been released have gained them much traction: We Are Young, Some Nights and Carry On.

If all three songs being played off the album are downloadable, my question was--should I buy the whole album? That is up to you. But in my exploration, I found that only one more song off the album was worth the $1.29 price tag. Like all of their music, it is a unique song, great lyrics, and unusual musical qualities. The music box instrumentals match the story the song tells.  It has quickly become my favorite song on their album.

Undercover Martyn by Two Door Cinema Club

 Two Door Cinema Club is an Irish indie rock band that formed in 2007. They toured the US this past year and are starting to gain a bit of forward momentum. The song, Undercover Martyn, was released in the United States in 2010, but never really touched the charts. It topped out in the UK at 79 and in Ireland at 49. The US did appreciate another song off the album titled What You Know (peaked on the Billboard Alternative Charts at 22) -- though I feel we missed the mark. (source)

Undercover Martyn was the third song the band wrote together. According to an interview with Baeble Music, the song is a made up story describing a guy who is scared to do something, but he knows he has to, and it pays off in the end. a metaphor for the starting of their band. I love the layers in the song, the story, and the catchy lyrical loops. It was a 'one listen, must download' experience for me.

Radioactive by Imagine Dragons

I love me some Imagine Dragons. They can do no wrong by me, and this song is no exception. It started radio play is some cities as early as April of 2012, but was just recently released for download on February 6th of this year. It is already getting much love. So far it has hit #2 on the Billboard Alternative charts, #8 on the Rock charts, and #33 on the Hot 100 charts. (source)

The song is musically complex and lyrically simple, though still deep and profound. The most common interpretation of the song is accepting change and the beauty there is to behold. They talk of surviving the apocalypse, dusting off, and welcoming the new age.



So, feedback.  What do you think of this week's musical choices?  What about you? What songs did you download this week? What have you had on repeat on your iPod?

Introducing Musical Mondays

http://www.layoutsparks.com/pictures/music-notes-6

I've written about music many times on my blog. It is an important part of my life, my writing, heck, even my sanity. And I've often said that sharing music is a way for me to share love, like a baker wants to share their cookies.

Introducing Musical Mondays. Every Monday, I will share my music of the week. Sometimes it will be brand new music, sometimes hidden tunes that I've uncovered, and other times just an old song that re-appeared begging for a replay. There will be times I will have commentary and other times, I will just give you the music. My music appreciation is far reaching and covers many genres. So, not a fan of this week's pics, stop by next week. :-)

But let's go a step farther. On Musical Mondays, you can also share. What song have you been wearing out that week? What new tune have you uncovered or rediscovered? You can post the link in the comment section, or just the song title and band name, or maybe it is a playlist on Pandora, Songza, or Spotify. Also, please provide feedback, if you'd like. Do you like the songs that I've suggested, hated them, downloaded them? Let me know.

***

For this week, I will give you three female voices that you may not have heard.

Come Along by Vicci Martinez (featuring Cee Lo Green)

The first comes from a contestant on The Voice. This is starting to get radio play, so you may have heard it. The song itself was originally released in 2001 by Titiyo, a Swedish pop singer. (source) The recent released version is beyond similar, so I hope she is receiving a pretty dime for it. :-) The version below is performed by Vicci Martinez and Cee Lo Green. Vicci came in third on The Voice in 2011.

Sunlight by Helena

I found and fell for Helena, an India-born songwriter, who is a strong storyteller. How her talents
were found and nurtured are quite interesting to me. Here in her words from her website is a bit of insight into her childhood. “My parents were very open-minded, but they were also pretty strict,” she says. “We weren’t raised with any popular music at all. The only CD I ever wanted was Christina Aguilera’s, but my parents thought that music was frivolous, so I grew up listening to Indian and Western classical music, Byzantine chanting, and religious Buddhist chanting. We had a television, but we were only allowed to watch movies once a week. We had three: The Secret Garden, The Little Princess, and Gulliver's Travels. I would tell my parents, ‘I'm bored.’ And they'd be like, ‘No, you're just boring.’ So I created my own little worlds. I’d go into the forest and create a fairy habitat instead of watching television on Sunday.”

She has other songs available that you should explore, but this was the song that brought me to her.

All the Way by Leslie Hunt

Leslie Hunt was in the top 10 girls on American Idol during Season 6.  She was voted off before the top 10 finalists, and well before she truly found her voice. That was not the end for her though. She has been performing in Chicago (her hometown) ever since, both as a solo act and in a band titled District 97. She released two albums, one in May of 2012 titled "Wait For It" and the second back in 2009 titled "Your Hair is on Fire."  (source)  I stumbled across this song while listening to a playlist on thesixtyone.com and shortly after, added it to my collection.


Let me know what you think of these songs. And as mentioned, please share your favorite songs that you've been listening to this week.