Raging Contagion

Music so good it will make you sick!

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Ben Browning – Bullet Island

May 9, 2012 — 1 Comment

This song is rated: 2 Pills – intermediate musicologist level

Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here,

Have you ever experienced that moment of elation when you’re listening to a song and the feelings you experience whisks you away to a delicious childhood memory? That is exactly what this song did/does to me. Ben Browning is the bassist of the delectable band Cut Copy and in March released his own solo album “Lover Motion”, much to my delight. You might hear a heavy influence from Ben in C.C.’s songs after listening to Ben’s solo album, but there is enough of a difference between the two as well to make it a fresh, new experience.

Back to the memories: Bullet Island is a purely synthesized dreamscape instrumental journey. The intro and initial build up take a while, but don’t get impatient, every keyboard note is important. The real drive and magic of the song starts at 1:14, where the keyboard starts breaking it down and picking it up to the pinnacle at 1:23, where you finally crest the precipice and take flight on your very own flying good luck dragon. Yup, Never Ending Story is the memory that keeps flashing back whenever I listen to this song. I strongly suggest that you close your eyes once you get to that point in the song, what memories does it chock up for you?

I hope you enjoy it, and please leave a comment telling me about which childhood moment this song stirs!

Ben Browning – Lover Motion – Amazon

Edvard Grieg – Anitra’s Dance

May 6, 2012 — 1 Comment

This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices

cheerlubber again.

Last night, Dr. Whuzzerface and I, along with some friends, attended the Phoenix Symphony’s performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, with acclaimed piano virtuoso Olga Kern. It was an amazing concert. In the first half, they played a symphony by a Polish composer whose work had been previously lost, due to him having to escape the Nazis and then barely survive through Russia under Stalin’s rule, but has recently been gaining more interest. The conductor told us that this was the North American premiere of this particular work. Pretty cool. I just love going to the symphony.

However, for today’s classical post, I’m going to highlight famous Norwegian composer of the late Romantic period, Edvard Grieg, with Anitra’s Dance from his popular Peer Gynt Suite. This music was originally written as incidental music for the play Peer Gynt but these few pieces collected into the suite have lived on as memorable works. You’re probably more familiar with the Peer Gynt Suite than you ever thought: I’m sure you’ll recognize the sounds of Morning Mood and In the Hall of the Mountain King very well. I’ve been familiar with Grieg for years; I’m pretty sure our Peer Gynt CD was one of my favorites for awhile growing up (alas, I think we have since lost that CD), and I also remember always dancing around when In the Hall of the Mountain King came on (more like running in place as if I’m running from the trolls that the song is about…). Some of my favorite piano pieces I’ve played over the years have been by Grieg. He’s probably the most well-known Norwegian composer and often includes Norwegian folk melodies in his music. Apparently, composing Peer Gynt was one of Grieg’s least favorite tasks, particularly In the Hall of the Mountain King, of which he said: “something that I literally can’t stand to listen to because it absolutely reeks of cow pies, ultra-Norwegian-ness and trollish self-sufficiency.” (NY Times article on Grieg)

Anitra’s Dance is one of my favorites from the Peer Gynt Suite. I managed to find a free copy of the violin sheet music online and I plan on tackling it someday, but I’d also love to get my hands on a piano arrangement. I’m not always good at explaining why I love certain classical pieces, so I’ll just let you listen and see if you can discover it for yourself.

Walter Meego – Forever (and 50 followers dance party!)

May 5, 2012 — 1 Comment

This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices

cheerlubber here.

Just had an impromptu dance party earlier today with Dr. Whuzzerface and our other sister, Cbisquit. We love dance parties. While this jamming song was not one of the ones we danced to today, it will be when we host an awesome dance party after we get

50 FOLLOWERS!

Help us reach this goal and you’ll be invited to get up ‘n jive with us in celebration! If YOU haven’t subscribed yet, be sure to follow us ASAP! Tell your friends, spread the music, post on Twitter or Facebook, whichever social medium you prefer. C’mon, who doesn’t want to dance to this, along with many other great, danceable songs we’ll be sure to play? In addition to a ballin’ dance party, we’re going to be hosting a giveaway here soon soon. Whuzzerface will be giving the deets in due time, so keep a look out for them!

Today we have Forever by Walter Meego, a band that unfortunately recently announced their disbandment. However, they will not be forgotten, and certainly this song will live forever in our hearts. Ah hah. See what I did there? I think you’ll feel the groove to move when the chorus drops, too. :D Enjoy the song below.

Even though they’ve disbanded, you can check them out on their official page here: Walter Meego’s Official Site

Huntingfield – To Sheila (Smashing Pumpkins Cover)

May 3, 2012

This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices

Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here!

Big things are afoot for tomorrow and my mind can hardly wrap around the upcoming events so I find myself needing to simmer down a bit and I recall a song I came across years ago on MySpace (I know, I try to forget about the site too). Back then, I had read that there was this Smashing Pumpkins tribute album being compiled by some big indie/alternative acts (as of a few years ago) and I was pretty jazzed because c’mon, the Pumpkins had some rather rad songs in their heyday. Somehow I downloaded this song from a band’s page claiming that it was a preview of what was to come on the album but lo and behold, nothing even close to this sound is on there. MYSTERY! Was it just some band claiming that to get more publicity? Possibly. Could it be that the song was made and not then didn’t make the final cut to represent on the album? Perhaps. Is it a crying shame that no one knows this song? Definitely!

To Sheila is so soft, so entreating, that you find yourself swept away before you even notice that a clock-like ticking beat and gentle snare drum has you hypnotized. The piano starts off small, almost music-box like and the unexpected progression of the second set of arpeggios is slightly unusual but quite delightful. Granted, the singer is no Pavarotti but his sincerity makes up in spades for the finesse in his timbre. This is the kind of song you’d see on a heart-wrenching interpretation of SYTYCD, it’ll pierce your heart that much. This is probably one of the most quality covers of really any song you will ever find. Enjoy it below!

Family Force 5 – Dance Or Die

May 1, 2012

This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices

Hi everyone, Dr. Whuzzerface here!

Bet you thought I’d fallen off of the face of the Earth, huh? Not a chance, suckas! Birthday celebrations last week were a little hectic (and extended well beyond the bday, hehe) but I’m back and rearing to go.

Raging Contagion has been up now for 30 days so I feel that, like my birthday, it’s time to celebrate with something extra special. I think we’re all comfortable enough with each other now to share some of our more treasured tunes. As such, I have the greatest pleasure in introducing to you Family Force 5’s “Dance Or Die”. The video below is, as I like to describe it, the love child of the movies Tron and Captain EO (if you don’t know Captain EO, it’s a vital piece of Michael Jackson history – you MUST watch it in order for your life to be complete). Yeeeeeaaaaahhhhh, chew on that for a bit.

A little about FF5: They are 5 fellas from down south Atlanta, Georgia, only 3 of them are actually family/bros (1 set of twins & brother Solomon, a.k.a SoulGlowActivator). They describe their music as “Christian Crunk Rock”, and it’s the truth too. 95% of all of their songs are extremely danceable which is why I think “Dance Or Die” is a good start to your soon-to-be FF5 fascination. CAUTION: Do not watch the following video unless you have a certified sense of humor. FF5 loves to do a lot of silly moves, jokes, and just generally have good fun together and they make sure to put a huge dose of that into every one of their songs and videos. I’ve seen them perform live and it is always a good time! That being said, you have to ask yourself, when it comes to this song, are you gonna dance…..or DIE????

Family Force 5 wikipedia

Official Family Force 5 site

Amazon MP3’s: Family Force 5

Robert Schumann – Prophet Bird

April 29, 2012

This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices

Dr. cheerlubber again.

I know there was a bit of a problem with the classical piece I posted last week…I investigated and it turns out the file was 14 MB! So I reduced the file size, re-uploaded, and now you should be able to listen to it~

Today’s Sunday post is a lovely, short piece by Robert Schumann, a famous and influential German composer from the Romantic era, called Prophet Bird. I first heard this when we bought an Itzhak Perlman CD after a concert of his that we went to years ago and it quickly became one of my favorites. Perlman, a world-renowned violin virtuoso, plays the piece beautifully; while I have no idea what the song title means, the piece is light and mysterious and somehow the title Prophet Bird fits.

Years later I’m flipping through some old piano books I’d never been through, and I find we have an entire Schumann compilation book. I couldn’t be happier because Schumann is a great composer, and I also discovered in that very same book was the sheet music for one of my favorite piano concertos that I had dreamed of learning for a long time (I’ll have to highlight that piece later). As I was going through the rest of the giant volume to see what other Schumann works it had, I come across one that looks nice and decide to start sight-reading it, when the melody started sounding rather familiar. Rather joyously, I realized it was Prophet Bird in its original form written for piano. I was so excited. I was actually practicing it earlier today so it inspired me to do it for today’s classical post. Enjoy!

Cut Copy – Far Away

April 27, 2012 — 2 Comments

This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices

Well howdy do, Dr. cheerlubber here.

Seems Dr. Whuzzerface didn’t have a post planned for today so I’ll throw one together real quick. PS, Dr. Whuzzerface’s birthday was back on Wednesday, April 25th. She’s a grown woman now! :D

Today we highlight the amazing Australian electronic band Cut Copy. Dr. Whuzzerface and I are big fans. Dr. Whuzzerface even went to a concert of their’s a few months back :0 They’ve got a lot of great tracks and no doubt you’ll see more of them here in the future, but here’s one of their songs that came up while I was on shuffle. You wanna know the funny thing? The song that played just before was Teddyloid’s Fly Away that I posted about just last week. Fly Away, Far Away? Ah hah. Get it? I mean, the length of the name didn’t even change! Only two letters changed! Just. How about that for coincidence, huh? Well anyway, it got me excited…

Far Away is from their In Ghost Colours album and it’s got a great 80s vibe to it that’s just too hard not to bob your head to. Hang around for the chorus and you’ll soon find your whole body moving. The backup chorus and the echo-y vocals just scream 80s. Enjoy Far Away by Cut Copy below!

Cut Copy’s Official Website

Cut Copy’s Facebook

Cut Copy’s SoundCloud

Santigold – Disparate Youth

April 24, 2012 — 1 Comment

This song is rated: 2 Pills – intermediate musicologist level

Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here,

There’s a distinct possibility that you may have never heard of Santigold. If that is the case the fastest way to describe her is as America’s version of M.I.A. (if you don’t know who that is, let me know, you might need to come in for some one-on-one clinical help). Santigolds’ new album hits shelves on May 1st and this song is a delicious taste of what’s in store. “Disparate Youth” has a rock-reggae feel to it with a accents of super-fast guitar hits that are reminiscent of a U2 song. My favorite lyric line is “Oh we said our dreams will carry us, and if they don’t fly we will run”.

The video below channels “Lord Of the Flies” in the Bahamas/Caribbean (sorry, I can’t tell the difference) with the chorus of boys joining in add the end of the song. I think this chill song is a good omen of an awesome album to come. Enjoy!

Gustav Holst – Mercury, The Winged Messenger

April 22, 2012 — 1 Comment

This song is rated: 1 Pill – entry-level for music novices

Dr. cheerlubber again.

Back again with another classical Sunday post. Today we feature Mercury, The Winged Messenger by Gustav Holst, movement number three of his The Planets suite, undoubtedly his most well-known work. While his most famous composition of his career is probably Mars, Bringer of War from the same suite (which was no doubt the inspiration for every early, epic space opera movie score), I enjoy the light-hearted Mercury just as much. Still easing you guys into classical with another short song, but this time featuring a full orchestra, whereas the past two Sunday classical posts featured small ensembles. Don’t worry, I’ll get around to introducing you to full symphonic movements shortly enough (get excited!). c:

Mercury, The Winged Messenger is quick and light and you can perfectly imagine the messenger god flitting frantically to and fro (hooray for alliteration!). He flies in and out through just about every section of the symphony, always keeping things moving. I have to say my absolute favorite part of this piece comes when the full orchestra starts building into a crescendo starting around 1:26, and when the cellos come in at 1:36 with a racing line. It’s quite subtle in the scheme of things but in my opinion, it’s the cellos that launch the orchestra into the song’s climax. I actually only really picked up on the line about a year ago, surprisingly enough, (after having been somewhat familiar with the piece for quite some time). The melodic theme that the violins and the trumpets belt out is great too, but there’s something about that cello line that gets me excited. You may have to listen for it a couple times before you recognize it, but I think you’ll see what I mean by it’s the cellos that are responsible for that climax. Orrr you’ll see that I’m just a bit odd and that line is of no consequence to you at all. Things quiet down quickly again after that, although don’t slow down, and the rest of the song simply follows Mercury around as he finishes delivering the last of his messages, just like any other typical workday.

This may be more analysis than you ever wanted to hear on a short classical piece (not like you’re really listening to this anyway), but oh well. This blog is as much for me to get my ideas and thoughts out as it is for you to consider them.

Crystal Fighters – Earth Island

April 20, 2012 — 1 Comment

This song is rated: 2 Pills – intermediate musicologist level

Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here!

I’ve been on a sort of folk kick recently in my personal music perusals (could be due to the fact that I went and saw Andrew Bird in concert) so when I came across a band with a style described as folktronic, I knew I had met the genre of my dreams. Folk AND electronic can exist in the same song? H yeah, and the Crystal Fighters are just the band to slay any reservations you may have about trying it out. The more I read about Crystal Fighters, the more I wish I could join their band. You see, although their name sounds sci-fi-aristic, it was actually a name inspired by one of the members reclusive grandfathers, who had written a partial opera in a secluded part of Basque toward the end of his life. When going through his belonging after passing away, she found this incomplete work and enlisted the help of her friends, and future band-mates, to finish it. Undertaking this endeavor, they also discovered folk instruments of the Basque region that they have since incorporated into their electronic brilliance.

If I were to quickly describe this song, I would say it sounds like a mix between Prince and Asteroid Galaxy Tour. Yeah, I just said that. Really though, it starts off with pizzicato strings, followed by the most riotin’ pitch-bended organ I’ve ever heard. I’ve probably listened to this song about 30 times today alone and the thing that stood out most to me in the lyrics is that, in a matter of speaking, this isolated planted we live on is an island, so yes, I do live an island-lifestyle. Boo ya.

Last ~~thing~~…. last TWO things I will say. There is a specific instrument called the txalaparta I want to you listen for around 1:36 (it’s literally wooden planks on a sawhorse, but it’s another Basque folk instrument they utilize a lot). The second thing is to make sure your neck is loosened up because this song is a headbanger! There, have fun!!