Raging Contagion
Music so good it will make you sick!
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Phantom Planet – Something Is Wrong
June 26, 2012
— 3 Comments
This song is rated: 1 broken heart – anyone with any feeling at all can relate
Hello there, Dr. Whuzzerface here.
Usually our posts are bright, clever, and fun to be around. Today, however, I write this with a very tender heart and misty eyes. Losing things are never easy, especially people in our lives. At about 8PM last night I received news that a friend of mine passed away. I won’t delve into the details. I know how much this friend loved music. One of his guilty pleasure songs was “Walking In Memphis” by Mark Cohen. But the only band that I could think of that would sufficiently suit my feelings right now was Phantom Planet. Oh, the years of understanding we’ve had with each other. Simple songs sometimes say it the best.
There’s really nothing more to this song than guitar, the singer, and a little haunting glass harmonica in the background. The part in this song that gets me crying is when he gets to the halfway mark and says “Now I fear that I may taste these tears rolling down my face.” Tears are salty, bitter, and never a joy to taste, much like the crying that precedes them. Gosh, I cannot even put into words my feelings write now. I apologize if this was much more lugubrious than you anticipated. I will make it up to you next week. If you can’t handle it, here’s their slightly more optimistic “One Ray Of Sunlight”
Arvo Pärt – Fratres for Cello and Piano
June 24, 2012
This song is rated: 2 Pills – intermediate musicologist level
cheerlubber again!
Posting three days in a row! Sick of me yet? I want to get back on track with our Sunday Classical posts again, even though I’m probably the only one who cares about it. Today I feature Arvo Pärt with his piece titled Fratres for Cello and Piano. This will be the first classical song I mark as a two pill! :0 Yes, even some instrumental music can be for certain ears only. I did this because Fratres is a more modern composition; from about the turn of the century on, composers became more and more experimental and these works also became more accepted, because of course each new generation tries to do something different from the last. Arvo Pärt is actually an Estonian composer. Now I know Estonia Week is officially over, but I found this when I was looking for a classical post last week and liked it so much that I knew I wanted to share it. I listened to some of Arvo Pärt’s other works and I’ll be honest, they didn’t tickle my fancy all too much. He is known for being a minimalist composer, and while some of his works had their little magical moments, most of them didn’t really hold my attention all too well. Fratres is a lot of variation on the same few notes, but I think it’s very melancholy and beautiful. I like the exchanges between the piano and the cello, and when the cello plays the high notes (known as “harmonics”), I think it creates a very ethereal, otherworldly feel. In fact–bet you didn’t know–the cello has the largest range out of all string instruments. It can hit low notes and sound like a bass or it can hit high notes and sound like a violin. Whuzzerface says: “The cello is like the all-star of string instruments, and I’m not just saying that because I used to be a cellist.” Oh reeeally…
You know what this song reminds me of? The music in The Village (composed by James Newton Howard). It’s got the frantic feel at the beginning, then soothes out, glides along, and hits those high harmonics. This is also the longest song I’ve posted thus far, but don’t let the 10 minutes in length scare you. Press play and let it go in the background as you do your thing. I think you’ll find it’ll give a great atmosphere to whatever you’re doing. Enjoy below!
Animal Drama – Spordipäev
June 23, 2012
This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices
cheerlubber again, here to finish off ESTONIA WEEK!
I think it’s gone pretty well, haven’t you? To be honest, when we first planned this we only had 3 artists in mind. After much searching, I came across other groups and we didn’t have to have two songs by the same artist! I’m pretty sure I’ve come across every artist Estonia has to offer by now, though, considering they only have a population of about 1.3 million. There’s still some songs I’d like to share with you guys, but it’ll have to be later on because we’re gonna wrap it up here.
Perfect for a relaxing Saturday, I present you with the band Animal Drama and their song Spordipäev, meaning “Sports Day” (what we’d call “field day” here). Spordipäev is a very whimsical, upbeat song, a bit like something OK Go might do. The indie pop-rock band from Tartu (the college town in Estonia) has been around since 2007, had some line-up changes in 2009, and then released Spordipäev as their latest single in November of last year. The main singer, Fredy Schmidt, is actually active in another band as well: Laika Virgin. I liked what I heard from them as well so it was tough to decide which of Fredy’s bands to highlight. Maybe I’ll throw in a song by them later on down the road. That’s about all I could find of Animal Drama, really. I can’t even find where to buy their music, which is a shame because I would.
Animal Drama Official Facebook (you can download three of their songs for free here, including Spordipäev; click on “BandPage,” then hover over the listed songs and there should be a Download button [realized the Spordipäev download is in .wav format for some inexplicable reason. Converted it to .mp3 for you here])
Animal Drama Official MySpace (I know, I know–MySpace. But hey, a lot of artists still host their music on here. You can’t download songs, but you can listen to some of their other music they don’t have posted elsewhere. Do eet!)
OYT – Shut Up Fool feat. Jukka Eskola
June 22, 2012
This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices
Doctah cheerlubbah in da house.
Look at us go–we’re managing to post everyday! Today I bring a little funk to ESTONIA WEEK with this electro-jazz-r&b jam by OYT, Shut Up Fool feat. Jukka Eskola. OYT is a project group comprised of three producers, MC Busta, Sander Mölder, and DJ S.I.N. The three all have pretty different styles but come together and make something great. They label this collaboration as “electronic soul.” I really dig the reverberating wha-wha-wha, the minimal bass that gives the song just enough structure without being overbearing, the smooth vocals by Sander Mölder, and then the suave trumpet you hear singing out, courtesy Finnish solo trumpeter Jukka Eskola. It’s a very chill and groovy song, wouldn’t you agree? Well you will when you take a listen below!
Ewert & The Two Dragons – (In The End) There’s Only Love
June 21, 2012
— 1 Comment
This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices
Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here!
ESTONIA WEEK is starting to come to a close so what do we do now? We’re pulling out some of our ringers! Todays selection is Ewert & The Two Dragons (pronounced “Ev-ert anne-d th-uh t-oo drag-ons”. Tee-hee!) These four fellas are making a name for themselves in the Baltic region with their indie-folk sound. I would liken their music to be a mix of Fleet Foxes, Sondre Lerche, & The Shins. Their debut album “Good Man Down” is rather impressive for an initial public offering (take note Facebook) and shows a maturity and range that usually don’t become evident in a bands sound until a 3rd or 4th album.
Let’s get back to this particular song though. I love many of the simple elements of this piece, it’s not a complicated song, but probably my favorite it the toy glockenspiel which adds a whimsical, lightheartedness to the almost fast-paced song. The hand drum is a lot of fun in the mix as well. Another point of appreciation is that they incorporate a cascading splinter 3-part harmony that makes this song a fast favorite to sing along to with friends in the car. Have fun with this song, and with your life, because as this reminds us again “(In The End) There’s Only Love”!
Amazon MP3s – Ewert & The Two Dragons
Wikipedia – Ewert & The Two Dragons
Mimicry – The Destination
June 20, 2012
This song is rated: 2 Pills – intermediate musicologist level
cheerlubber here.
Today for ESTONIA WEEK, we present you with the track The Destination by synthpop duo Mimicry. This is yet another song with a huge 80s vibe. Can you tell we love 80s music? The keyboard, the echo-y vocals…I’m really not good at describing parts of a song and breaking it down into why it’s so 80s without being repetitive and redundant (Whuzzerface is far better at that sort of thing), it just IS and it’s great. This group was formed in 2004 and certainly has some funky, psychedelic stuff. This is probably their tamest song that I’ve heard so far. I know I say this a lot too, but I can guarantee your head will start bobbing to the music, à la Night at the Roxbury. BONUS: found a free download of this song from their website! w00tw00t! Free download here
Kerli – Zero Gravity
June 19, 2012
— 2 Comments
This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices
Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here!
What do you think of ESTONIA WEEK thus far eh? I’m sure you’re surprised at how awesome and different their sound is all at the same time! Then you’ll be even more surprised to find out that we actually first heard of the country of Estonia when we caught wind of a force of nature in a deceptively delicate-looking creature named Kerli back in 2009. After the first chorus of her song “Walking On Air”, we were hooked. So it’s rather funny that C-Bisiquit ended up living there for a while. First thing we thought of when we found out was “KERLI IS FROM THERE!”
Kerli (for Americans, the way to pronounce her name is closer to Keh-rrlie, but Care-lee works too) has been dubbed as Queen of Bubble Goth music and lives up to in her costumes on stage and in videos. We like to think of her sort of as Iiris’s older sister in song! Her rise to fame is actually a Cinderella story. She knew at a very young age she wanted to be a singer, despite all the classical training she had received in dancing and piano. At age 14, she signed up for the Baltic equivalent of American Idol back in 2002. She lied and said she was the minimum age of 15 but what do you know, she blew away the competition and won the show anyway, winning a recording deal over there and eventually getting a contract signed on the spot after singing for Island Def Jam Records execs in the US shortly after.
We’ve been almost foaming at the mouth to share this song with you and are so glad the moment is finally here! Today’s nugget of bliss comes in the form a a club-worthy number called “Zero Gravity”. You can’t NOT dance to this (to simplify that double-negative for you, you MUST dance to this). It’s such a choice beat, positive message, and space opera-centric video theme. There are even a few moments where she breaks it all down dubstep style while rocking out as what I imagine Pop Princess Rainbow Brite would look like. Can I also add these next words without making you too wary of the video: Alien space butterfly glam football. That will make sense toward the end of the video but it is really a rather rad combination of words I bet you’ve never seen before, much like you’ve never seen anything quite like Kerli before. I hope you enjoy it and keep it on repeat!
IIRIS – Weirdo
June 18, 2012
— 1 Comment
This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices
cheerlubber again!
Continuing with ESTONIA WEEK, I present to you today with great pleasure the singer Iiris Vesik. Only 20 years old, she’s been active as a singer for a few years now, doing only a little bit here and there, until she signed on with EMI in 2011 and released her first full album, The Magic Gift Box, in March of this year. I don’t often buy physical CDs much anymore, but I snatched this one up as soon as I could find an international shipper. When it finally arrived, I had never been so excited and happy to hold a physical CD in my hands before. I love her funky, weird, alt-pop style and she’s just so adorable. If you ever watch an interview of her in English, she has the cutest little voice and accent.
In Weirdo, we see IIRIS in what seems to be a madhouse. You may not quite understand what’s going on but it doesn’t matter because it’s a madhouse. It’s a bit quirky but whimsical, and the dancing old men are too cute. Check out Weirdo below and stay tuned for more Estonia goodness later in the week!
Buy IIRIS – The Magic Gift Box CD or digitally on Amazon
ESTONIA WEEK!! Rudolf Tobias – Otsekui hirv kisendab
June 17, 2012
This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices
Howdy ho, cheerlubber here~
Like when we had Kimbra Week a few weeks back (or…half-week rather, but the intended concept is the same), we’ll be doing themed weeks now and then. The very special theme for this week is music from ESTONIA. “Estonia?” you say with a raise of your brow. “I have not heard of such a place.” There’s no need to fret–thanks to the wonders of modern technology and the internet, there is a magical place of all knowledge called Wikipedia. Now that you’ve clicked on that handy-dandy link I so graciously gave you and have glanced a bit at what Estonia is all about (and in case you didn’t read too far in, here’s an interesting fact I know you didn’t know just two seconds ago: Skype was created in and is largely still operated out of Estonia. The same developers were also behind Kazaa, if you’re enough of a veteran to know what that was), you may be wondering, “Whyyy Estonia?” with another raised brow.
One of mine and Whuzzerface’s sisters lived in Estonia for about a year and a half. She left for Estonia two years and two days ago exactly, so we thought we’d commemorate–if you will–the occasion with a week dedicated to music from Estonia. Don’t worry, it’s gonna be good. Estonia may be a teeny country but its artists’ have talent that is anything but. Let’s see if we can do this themed week properly this time! To start off, I’ll be highlighting the Estonian composer Rudolf Tobias. I only just learned about Tobias this week. I have not had the fortune of ever listening to any Estonian composers before because there simply aren’t that many of them. I have found many new interesting composers to look further into while preparing for this post, but unfortunately I will only have to share one with you for now. Estonia has a strong tradition of choral music (read a bit about their Singing Revolution against the Soviet Union) so I thought I’d share a choral piece. Usually I’m more of a fan of purely instrumental classical music, but this piece–translated (according to our sister) as Like the Deer Cries Out–is haunting and beautiful, a gorgeous requiem. Estonia has also had a history of being repressed, so I also kinda imagine that this song is them crying out like a deer, mourning what they’ve lost and yet still maintaining some hope for the future. Rudolf Tobias emerged as a composer during a time known as the Estonian national awakening, so this makes sense. Enjoy the moving piece below and keep a look out for other Estonian songs this week!
RAC – Hollywood Feat. Penguin Prison (free download)
June 15, 2012
— 2 Comments
This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices
Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here!
Collaborations of several artists on a music project can be a double-edged sword. Santana for instance, incredible guitars but there was a phase in the last 90’s/early 2000’s where he seemed to think that he could take any top 40’s artist as the vocalist for a song and it would be an instant hit. Yeah, there were some definite trainwrecks with that formula. HOWEVER, when you get someone as disco-ly clever as Penguin Prison and master of crafty remixes like RAC, magic happens! As you may recall, Penguin Prison was briefly mentioned for his dance remix of Kimbra’s song “Settle Down“, which we posted a few weeks back. Not only does he remix like a mad man, he sings also. LUCKY US! Penguin Prison (or by his real name of Chris Glover) has a very unique timbre of voice. I can’t figure out exactly how to describe it to you but when you hear it, you’ll remember it. RAC (which stands for Remix Artist Collective) is a mastermind and rising star in seeing the potential of original songs and then making them better. Truly, I think I have about 30+ remixes of his in my possession and each one is a gem to listen to.
“Hollywood” is about losing touch with friends. Not just friends that move and drift apart because of physical distance, but friends who drift apart because of “ego distance”. You know, they get a promotion, befriend someone by the name of Rumor, and then buy a pair of French imported high heeled shoes and all of the sudden, they’re a changed person, and not in a good way either. They get too full of themselves and create an intangible barrier between themselves and the perceived hoi polloi, which apparently you’re part of too now that you can’t keep up with them. Their ego is so big that they’ve made themselves unavailable as a friend. Which is why Facebook invented the “unfriend” and why this songs like this are made. The best ‘ouch’ moment is right at the beginning when he says “I’m not telling you again that what you need is just a slap around!” It’s a danceable number that I know you’ll fall in love with by the chorus.
On the plus side, it’s all free! Free things make Fridays even more amazing.
I hope you like it and please remember to follow or leave a comment. We love hearing from our Ragers!
Click here for the free download, courtesy of Green Label Sound!
Check out the new video for this too.
Raging Contagion 