Don’t ask me why I obsessively look to rock ’n’ roll bands for some kind of model for a better society. I guess it’s just that I glimpsed something beautiful in a flashbulb moment once, and perhaps mistaking it for prophecy have been seeking its fulfillment ever since.
- Lester Bangs
Showing posts with label Grant Lee Phillips. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grant Lee Phillips. Show all posts
Grant Lee Phillips...i just can't seem to quit you! OK...I have never really tried to quit per se, but it just seems like we go through peaks and valleys. The new record though - 'Little Moon' is pure peak.
Especially this tune...suits that dramatic voice of his oh so well.
This is one of my all time favorite 'moving on' songs...I think I have put it on every mix for friends who are skipping town. I was making just such a mix today, and thought I'd post it here as well...enjoy.
"NO WAY! 'So Central Rain' is your favorite REM song too??"
And with these words a crush was born...a crush which eventually led to the first of many not so rewarding relationships. but the crush part is always flawless isn't it? At least in hindsight it is. I still think of her every time I hear this song. Every memory I have, at least the great ones and painful ones, all have a song attached to them. Music really is an amazing thing. I think I will post the Grant Lee Phillips version of the song, in the spirit of making old things new again.
I can't believe I never saw Grant Lee Buffalo live. I FINALLY saw Grant Lee Phillips for the first time on Dec 1 at the Aimee Mann holiday show...he still sounds incredible(and who knew he was SO funny)...so I have been listening to GL Buffalo's second record, 'Mighty Joe Moon' nonstop since. This record takes me RIGHT back to my first couple years spent out of high school...this was practically the soundtrack for for those years. Originally released in 1994, 'MJM' is the perfect showcase for the amazing voice of Phillips. It soars in the more up beat songs like 'Lone Star Song' and it will break your heart on tunes like 'Mockingbirds' and 'Honey Don't Think.' An unbelievably poignant collection of songs, and an essential LP to have in the collection.
And with those ironically appropriate words, Aimee Mann welcomed the crowd and the show was off and running. I have to say, this was one of the most unique and most enjoyable shows I have ever been lucky enough to see.
It was a freewheeling affair that kept rolling at a super quick pace and never, even for a second, got anything close to dull. The format of the show was like that of an old time radio variety hour...think a holiday themed, much hipper 'Prairie Home companion.' Aimee was on stage and playing most off the night, mostly Christmas tunes...a mix of old classics and her original stuff from her Xmas album released last year.
Guests including Amos Lee, Nellie McKay, Jackson Browne, and Grant Lee Phillips each came out for a couple of songs each. The highlights for me where the incredibly charming Nellie McKay singing 'Feminists Have No Sense Of Humor' and Jackson Browne's amazing version of Steve Earle's 'Jerusalem'...but noting topped Amos Lee singing a heartbreaking rendition of John Prine's 'Christmas In Jail.'
Who knew live Christmas music could be SO much fun!
...or my email is anyway! Hey, it's me Blair...the Certain Songs staff of one. I just do this for the love of the music and am in no way trying to rip anybody off, so if you are an artist or a record label and you are not happy that I am promoting your music, or you want me to take a song down, just shoot me an email and I will most definitely oblige.
And please support the artists I post here in whatever way you can if you do download a song...go to a show, buy some merch, buy an album...these songs are the soundtrack to my life and I just love to share them. But I can only do that if the insanely talented artist responsible for said songs are able to eat.
I also love hearing new stuff...so any submissions can also be sent to my email, I will try my bestest to listen to everything and get back to you all...peace,love,rock n' roll.
csmusicblog@gmail.com
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Mission Statement
I guess you're old enough to know. Kids out on the east coast. Roughly twenty years old. Got coaxed out by a certain perfect ratio. Of warm beer to the summer smoke. And the meat loaf to the billy joel. Certain songs they get so scratched into our souls.
She goes low on the seats when she gets high in her car. She looks shallow but shes neck deep in the steamy dreams of the guys along the harbor bars. She's pulling out her shirttails and jacking up her socks. Stern and stoned and confident, coming up towards the jukebox. Born into the only songs that everybody finally sings along. B-1 is for the good girls. It's only the good die young. C-9 is for the making eyes. It's paradise by the dashboard light. D4 is for the lovers. B12 is for the speeders. And the hard drugs are for the bartenders and the kitchen workers and the bartender's friends. And they're playing it again. Ellen Foley gives us hope. Certain songs they get scratched into our souls.
I guess you're old enough to know. Kids out on the west coast are taking off their clothes. Screwing in the surf and going out to shows. They get high and ride around in gtos. I guess you're old enough to know. CERTAIN SONGS THEY GET SCRATCHED INTO OUR SOULS. - The Hold Steady
