The Rules: I reset the play counters for all the songs currently on my iTunes. Then at the end of every week, I check to see what the top five most played songs are. Whatever happens to be in this top five are then presented in order here from most played to least. If I have posted a particular song in the past, then I will bypass that song and post the next in line. If one artist dominates the list, then I will write about that artist in lieu of a Top Five list.
It’s been a long week here at TheFrontloader.com. As you can tell, I’m getting back into the swing of things… I’m starting to listen to more music again (woohoo!) and finally finding the time to write. It feels good to rediscover some old music, and it feels even better to come across some new material that will undoubtedly end up on the frequently played list.
What I do miss here is my partner-in-crime. You know who you are… you all-wise and all-knowing bear… I hope you miss it too and I hope you come back. Although I’m glad I don’t get the daily kick in the balls, I must admit that things just aren’t the same around here without you.
But we must always keep moving forward. At least that’s the way I see it. Just like Rocky said… “Life isn’t about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can GET hit and keep moving forward.” So I’ll take my punches… I’ll take all the punches out there and in the end, hopefully I’ll be there, not alone, but at home, drawing pictures of mountain tops… with me on top, lemon-yellow sun… arms raised in a “V…”
Anyhow, here’s This Week’s Top 5 Most Played Songs From Swap’s iTunes.
Blanchard – Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions
Hope Sandoval is probably best known for her work in Mazzy Star. Her voice brought out the sultry, bluesy quality of the music in a way that I could not have imagined. Her voice is so incredibly soft… and it doesn’t immediately hit you as a “blues” voice… but it works like Crown & Coke. This shows you that the blues is, and always will be, a state of mind, not so much a sound.
Mazzy Star isn’t officially disbanded… during this time, Sandoval has formed her own group, Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions. The sound is very reminiscent to Mazzy Star, which is fine with me. I still totally dig the atmospheric, ethereal quality of her style, and as long as she continues to write and record, I’ll continue to listen and spread the word.
Sandoval and the Warm Inventions plan to put out their second album, Through the Devil Softly (GREAT album name), in September. Based on this first offering from the record, I can safely say that I’m going to pick it up like I pick up a cup of water everyday.
“Blanchard” is a wonderfully subtle listen… I highly recommend headphones with this track.
I headphoned this song 13 times this week.
Your Dig-It Download:
Download: Blanchard
Highwater – Don Chambers and Goat
I have no recollection of where I got this song from, but it’s been a most welcome addition to my library. “Highwater” is a track off of Don Chambers and Goat‘s 2008 album, Zebulon. It’s got all the sounds and textures that I’ve come to love from what could be considered “Americana” music nowadays. Honestly, that genre is so blurred that it’s kind of hard to tell who is and who isn’t included. I have a feeling Don Chambers and Goat belong, though, because well, I said so.
This is not to say that whatever I say so is so, but it does show you that I really think highly of myself, even when I’m talking out of my arse.
For those that are completely brought in by his gritty sound, you can catch him solo in Athens, GA. at a place called Farm 255. He’ll be there every Thursday night in August. If I lived in Athens, I’d totally be there to check it out.
Be sure to familiarize yourself with his material at his MySpace page. The track “GOAT” is bad-ASS.
I spun “Highwater” 12 times this week. One shy of the top spot.
Your Dig-It Download:
Download: Highwater
Oh Well (Black Light Odyssey Remix) – Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode‘s latest album, Sounds of the Universe, was a most welcome release this year. I’m always amazed on how they keep coming up with new ways to present their material. Gahan sounded great, and the first single, “Wrong”, was so unbelievably cool that it’s got to be one of my favorite singles of the year so far.
One song I totally discovered this week was the B-Side to the “Wrong” single. “Oh Well” has got a pulse that reminded ME that I’ve got a pulse, and it has most all the things I look for in a DMode track: the thump, the juxtaposition of various motifs, a deep Gahan vocal, and a feeling that makes me feel… well, dirty and dark. That ain’t a bad thing, people.
The bad thing is that I now want to hear the NON-Black Light Odyssey Remix to see what the original mix is like. This is not to say the Black Light Odyssey Remix is bad, it’s saying that the song is so cool that I need the original vision from the band.
And, like I’ve said a gazillion times over before, that’s the beauty of remixes.
I played “Oh Well” nine times this week. All at high volume. I scared off some kids, but they were only trying to sell me candy so they could “stay out of gangs.” Yeah, right.
Man, how cynical am I???
Your Dig-It Download:
Download: Oh Well (Black Light Odyssey Remix)
Monster Ballads (live acoustic) – Josh Ritter
I played an acoustic gig here in Upland last night with my friend Mike Chao. We did about an hour and change set… one of the songs we tackled was Josh Ritter‘s “Girl in the War.” I tell ya – I had no idea how difficult it was to sing the line “Now talking to God is Laurel begging Hardy for a gun.” I kept wanting to throw in the word “like” for some reason… “Now talking to God is LIKE Laurel begging Hardy for a gun.” That doesn’t work and it throws the entire vocal rhythm off.
Luckily enough, I didn’t do it last night.
Oh yeah, another tongue-twister line was “Pretend the dove from above is a dragon and your feet are on fire.” Looks simple, but man alive, I got worried when I came to it. I don’t think I messed that line up, but maybe I fudged it well enough for nobody to notice.
Anyhow, my point is this: my favorite song from the album from where “Girl in the War” comes from, The Animal Years, is NOT “Girl in the War,” it’s “Idaho.”
You’re probably wondering right now, “Swap? What do those songs have anything to do with the song featured here, ‘Monster Ballads?’”
The answer is I have no frikkin’ idea. But I did play this awesome live version of “Monster Ballads” seven times this week.
Your Dig-It Download:
Download: Monster Ballads (live acoustic)
Beauty in a Fade – John Trudell
I don’t know much about John Trudell except that I have this incredible recording of his called “Beauty in a Fade.”
The opening of this track grabbed me immediately… the slide, the voice, the rhythm… all very hypnotizing and made me feel like I was lost, wandering around in the desert. When Trudell’s speaking voice comes in (I can only assume it’s him speaking), his words carried the same weight.
Lines like:
“She was a beautiful woman / But he did a lot of ugly things to turn her world around.”
That last line hit me like a ton of bricks. Man, I know exactly what that feels like. You feel like that woman is your last chance at happiness… your last chance at finding the ONE that you can grow old with, that you can find peace with… the one that understands you, that brings out the best in you… the one that you trust the most in life… the one you have a sincere passion for, emotionally and physically…
… only to find out she’s gone… partly because of what you did, and partly because of what you failed to do… and you can never have her.
That final realization is like that said ton of bricks on the head, followed by a grand piano, a safe, and then the whole damn building crashing down. It’s immobilizing, but you know you’re not going to let go because she IS your “last stand.”
From what I can tell, this song is off his AKA Grafitti Man album… I can’t wait to pick it up.
This song wasn’t even on this list 24 hours ago… I listened to it six times in a row and was pleased to see that it made it.
Your Dig-It Download:
Download: Beauty in a Fade
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“Highwater” is fab.
So is John Trudell. You gotta look up this guy’s background. Mind-blowing.
I did and yeah, it’s quite fascinating. I’m very curious about his records now.. a great find!