well... March 21 was yesterday, so it's officially spring 2007 now! as the weather gets warmer and everyone gets to go outside to enjoy life more, I'm posting this collection of tracks: new songs I have been digging on lately and a few classics that always remind me of spring. I strongly recommend you load them on your iPod for whatever outdoor activities you do, I guarantee you'll enjoy them.* --ES
1: Blue Merle "Lucky to Know You"
this short-lived Texas group's music was featured prominently in the 2005 indie film One Last Thing... and "Lucky To Know You" was played in its entirety in the beginning credits. I love the driving beat of this song and the use of the fiddle at about the 2:30 mark.
2: Matt Nathanson "Pretty the World"
Matt is a great one-man act, and his acoustic guitar and smooth unpretentious lyrics will snag anyone's ear. one od the deep tracks from his Beneath These Fireworks album, "Pretty the World" smacks of studio overdubbing, but the words are no less meaningful.
3: OAR "Revisited"
what can you say about these guys? basically OAR is what you get when you throw the Dave Matthews Band, Ziggy Marley and Ben Harper into a blender. this track from their breakout Between Now and Then starts off in a good jamband groove then segues into some pretty sexy reggae.
4: Honor By August "Waking Up"
I found this DC-based quartet's music thanks to their MySpace page, and once I heard this song I knew that these guys were something special. (their ties with PMB didn't hurt their case either.)
5: The Hold Steady "Your Little Hoodrat Friend"
former Lifter Puller frontman Craig Finn's new band may be based on the right coast, but his soul is still Twin Cities oriented. check out the shoutouts to Osseo and Stillwater, and lose yourself in Finn's quasi-melodic narrative.
6: Virginia Coalition "Last Goodbye"
this NoVa mainstay may be missing their original songwriter but you wouldn't know it from this signature track on OK to Go. a solid guitar keeps this song going strong and makes it extremely hard to not tap your foot.
7: Filter "Take a Picture"
God, I love this song. I'm not even sure when it came out, but I do know that whenever I hear it I feel like I need to be pounding pavement or at the beach. all the electrics and the solid drums make this a song for moving.
8: Graham Colton "Don't Give Up On Me"
I like this band a lot. their breakout single, "Cigarette," was all over FM radio back in the summer of 2005, and the rest of the album Drive resebled the single: fast-paced heavy electric in sortof a Collective Soul vein. the song I posted here
9: Pat McGee Band "Girl from Athens"
in March of 2006 PMB filmed a concert for DVD at the renowned WorkPlay Theater. the resulting Vintage Stages Live is an unforgettable performance, featuring the then-current 6-man PMB lineup as well as former members Todd Wright and John Small, and Michael Ghegan on sax. this track exemplifies the incredible sound the PMB had that night.
10: Herbie Hancock and John Mayer "Stitched Up"
Hancock can put together an undeniable groove, and the collaboration album Possibilities certainly shows that. this single from that record pairs Hancock's piano work with Mayer's old-soul blues voice. the only way this would've been better is if Mayer had worked in some axe work...
11: Mat Kearney "Undeniable"
I'm a big fan of half-sung narratives not performed by Linkin Park, and this one from Mat Kearney is one of the better ones.
12: Ben Lee "Catch My Disease"
Ben Lee is one of those dudes who makes it pretty impossible to not enjoy his music. I got this version of "Catch My Disease" from one of the Cities 97 samplers and it's a pretty good example his album work: loose and with a bunch of oddball rhythm instruments behind him. the added benefit of the shoutout to First Avenue make this a perennial fave for me.
13: Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers "Guitar and Tambourine"
Boston-based Kellogg does a pretty excellent job melding a typical college jamband sound with his voice's slight country twang. though he has toned it down in his later work with the Sixers, this early track from Lucky Eleven includes a lot of slide guitar and makes for a melodramatic song that's still somehow really upbeat.
14: Nate Allman "Famous"
sporting a laid-back Jack Johnson-esque vibe, perfect for road trips or doing just about anything outdoors, Nate Allman hands in an outstanding single that can make the most overcast day seem clear and sunny. light, whimsical lyrics add to the atmosphere and make this a great sing-along.
15: Josh Kelley "Small Town Boy"
ending on a slower note, this song from the remarkable For the Ride Home is pretty capable of putting anyone in a chill mood. I especially love the bridge in this song, especially the use of the Hammond organ that alludes to drinking on an outdoor patio in the twilight.
* not a guarantee. SUCKERS! and yes, I stole the background from the AE webpage. but I dare you to find a nicer looking sky.jpg
