Posts tagged singer songwriter
Matt Nathanson remains one of my favorite “strummers” of all time. Don’t get me wrong, I love watching Mayer or Clapton tear through the fretboard as much as the next guitarist but for when it comes to crushing it on the rhythm, I will take Nathanson any day of the week. From 2:39 on, Nathanson’s right hand is out of control. With strumming that hard, no wonder his guitars tend to look like this.
This video was brought to my attention along with the knowledge that some of John Mayer’s biggest hits—Neon, Why Georgia, Comfortable, No Such Thing, Man on the Side—were actually co-written by John’s former Berklee classmate Clay Cook. Cook, a solo artist in his own right, has also been an active member of country-cross over favorites The Zac Brown Band since 2009.
I think I like Cook’s version of “Comfortable” better, and not just because he throws in “your mouth was fuckin’ dirty.” Overall the song seems to have more feeling behind it and after listening to Cook’s versions of some other songs they’ve cowritten that seems to be par for the course. I like Mayer and the guy can certainly wail on a guitar like no one else from his generation but I can’t help but wonder if he’d have been as big without Cook’s influence.
Ingrid Michaelson’s latest album Human Again hit shelves and the net Jan 24th before proceeding to hit #1 Overall on iTunes. Not shabby for a quirky indie pop singer-songwriter. Suck on that dubstep. Anyway, here’s “Fire” the albums lead-off track.
Uh, the thing that gets the most media coverage is essentially the equivalent of a bar fight, right? It’s, uh, Kim Kardashian’s ass or Charlie Sheen’s crazy, or you know, name the celebrity…Demi Moore now is having trouble and the world becomes fixated on these people because, um, America thinks that being rich is actually the way to go, and they think that being famous is actually the way to go. That’s what we’re told and that’s what television does, and that’s what movies do. And it’s the idea that like, the self is not important—what’s important is trying to be someone that you’re not. And I think that it’s the exact opposite that’s important in life.
And you know everybody knows this too but its cloudy, fucking cloudy. Looking at magazines and seeing people be rich, and famous, and successful and thinking “I wanna be that person,” but I think what’s really important is the fucked up unique people that we are as individuals. And I think that society keeps telling us that that’s not it, that if you fix your nose or you lose weight or you do whatever the fuck, it’s better and that you need to be somebody that you’re not, when really I think that we all need to teach our kids and teach ourselves that actually being the person you are is actually the most important thing you can do. I don’t want my kid growing up thinking, fucking, that he or she is not the coolest person in the world, you know what I’m saying? That they’re not like—who they are in their weird, wacky—if they have a fucked up nose, or if they’re…like…not good at math, but they’re, you know—if they’re—that kind of unique shit. Playing music you see it more and more, right? I play music and every time I write a song I think, “I’m trying so hard to clear away the shit,” and it’s so hard to write what’s just actually in you.
So I’m not preaching in any way, I’m just saying like as people every day we have to get up and we have to try really hard to be our unique selves. And if people tell us that that’s not cool, then those are the people we don’t fucking hang out with. Seriously, cleaning up the plate a little bit. You don’t need that many friends. So I wrote this song in the hopes that—I wrote it for myself, for those days where you feel like being you is not enough and that’s actually not true at all.
Zach Williams is most definitely the next big singer-songwriter. Hailing from Georgia, Williams has been making a name for himself since 2004 with his soulful, penetrating vocals and honest lyrics. Here’s “Fears” off his album Story Time. You’re welcome for this one.
Gabe Dixon, who the hell are you? How have I never heard you before tonight? Okay, technically your song, “Find My Way,” was the opening song in that Sandra Bullock/Ryan Reynolds movie, but whatever, I didn’t know that was you, so it doesn’t count.
I came across this song, “All Will Be Well” off 2005’s All Will Be Well, during a bacteriology study break while catching up on the latest episode of Parks and Rec. It seems like every prime-time show these days is using indie music or songs by “buzz bands” for their backing tracks but rarely do they work this well with the scene. Kudos to the music director for that one. I am totally going to pick up Gabe Dixon - Live at World Cafe Live.
If you haven’t listened to Scottish indie rockers Frightened Rabbit, you should. Led by talented singer-songwriter Scott Hutchinson, Frightened Rabbit is a band that casual fans of indie music will certainly enjoy but for whom fans of lyrics will wear down the “play” button on their keyboard. Emotive, heartfelt, and raw, Hutchinson is the kind of songwriter who makes you feel like he wrote every song about your life.
You can pick up their 2010 album The Winter of Mixed Drinks or check out their free 2011 EP which you can pick up just for signing up for their mailing list—features three tracks including, “Fuck This Place.”
Fuck you and your goddamn scene
it never meant that much to me
it never was that interesting at all
Well on his way to a full set of sleeves with the face tattoos to match, Chris Mansfield wouldn’t look out of place on stage in some dingy bar as the lead singer of some post-grunge era hardcore band…at least until he starts to play. The Berklee-trained Mansfield blends indie rock, folk, and deeply personal lyrics in his latest project Fences. Check out the eponymous debut LP produced by none other than Tegan Quinn of Tegan & Sara.
It’s also worth checking out an acoustic version.
I’ve been listening to a lot of the old, live acoustic shows that I got off archive.org back in the day lately: Matt Nathanson, Howie Day, Matt Wertz, Jack Johnson. It’s pretty awesome stuff. Here’s Matt Wertz with “Day Forever Died” from a show back in 2008.
I don’t mind the wait it’s fine
As long as you know
It’s the wait that could be the something
These streets are haunted with ghosts who wait on luck to come. They sleep with hornets and they wonder why they wake up stung…
Singer-songwriter, self proclaimed music nerd, and potential “hair metal pimp-daddy” Matt Nathanson (see below) took a minute to sit down with AOL Music at last month’s SXSW to discuss his upcoming album Modern Love which hits shelves this June. Now if you’ve been to 34th & Now before, you know that Nathanson is one of my favorite artists of all time—his guitar playing is phenomenal, his voice is great, and his brutally honest lyrics tend to rattle around in my head for days—so needless to say I’m looking forward to the album.
According to Matt the inspiration for the album came from the failed relationships of friends and examining modern sexuality in the age of Facebook and texting against the backdrop of a more “traditional” viewpoint. The title track, “Modern Love” definitely hits that nail on the head and you can watch live versions here (acoustic) and here (SXSW.)
Oh and the “hair metal pimp-daddy” moniker came about on Facebook after Matt originally posted this link.
Matt Nathanson: folk rock heartthrob? i’ll take that…
Me: Hair Metal Pimp-Daddy must have been taken.
The Damnwells will release their latest studio album, No One Listens to the Band Anymore on March 15th. If the first single, “The Great Unknown,” is any indication, it might be lead singer/songwriter Alex Dezen’s best work to date. I really, really dig this song.
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This blog lies at the intersection of location and state of mind: 34th and Now.
Student at the Ross University School of Medicine addicted to music and caffeine.
