Raging Contagion
Music so good it will make you sick!
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Camille Saint-Saëns – Danse Macabre
October 14, 2012
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Thought we’d have some fun, being that it is October, and present some darker, “spooky” classical music to fit with the season. I’ve introduced Camille Saint-Saens before with “Aquarium” (pronounced like sayn-saww; he’s French) and he’s been one of my favorite composers for a while, and this is one of my favorite pieces of his. It’s just a great piece that’s loads of fun to listen to even when it’s not October.
This particular piece is classified as a “tone poem,” a single, continuous movement that illustrates or evokes a story, a poem, or even a painting or a landscape. Danse Macabre is based on an old French legend that says Death comes out at midnight every year on Halloween and calls forth the dead from their graves to dance while he plays the fiddle. To start the piece, you hear the harp play a single note twelve times, signifying the twelve strokes of midnight. Then Death’s fiddle chimes in (the violin) with dissonant chords; this particular chord is called a tritone, which is also commonly referred to as the “Devil’s internal.” The violin’s E string has also purposefully been tuned down to an E-flat to achieve this. Saint-Saëns uses the xylophone to imitate the sound of rattling bones as the skeletons dance until the rooster crows at dawn (played by the oboe), at which point they have to return to their graves.
It’s all quite clever, really. If you listen to the piece with these things in mind, it really brings it so much more to life, for a song about the dead. Maybe it’ll even get you up and dancing with your creaky bones too.
– cheerlubber
JJAMZ – Heartbeat
October 11, 2012
— 1 Comment
Sounds similar to: The Strokes, Phantom Planet, Rilo Kiley
Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here,
It’s homecoming season all across the states. And what goes great with High School dances? Bad thriller movies! This song you’re about to hear is made possible in part by the breaking up of several bands, allowing the real creative geniuses of those groups to come together to form a music mastermind collective. JJAMZ (the first letter of ever members name, unimaginative but it actually works out alright) is an amalgamation of members from The Like, Phantom Planet, Maroon 5, and Rilo Kiley/Bright Eyes (same guy, two bands). Seriously, just rereading that list for the 4th time, I’m so stoked for you to hear all of the best of the best from those group make sounds that are better than what they’ve done before.
Z’s voice is lovely and breathy but not unintelligible and overdone. I’ve seen recordings of her singing live and this girl can certainly hold her own. Warning: The creeper/stalker guy in the video is SCARY and can and probably will induce nightmares!! The song however, can and will make you want to listen to it again. It’s the reluctant confession to someone that make her heart beat rapidly, and then asking him to “please don’t stand so close to me”. Maybe he’s no good for her, or vice versa, but that’s kind of a messed up statement to make. Sure does make for a good song though!
Enjoy!! And please remember to stay in well-lit areas, and carry change and your address book in case you need to use a payphone to call a friend. Stay Safe!
Alexander – Truth
October 10, 2012
— 1 Comment
Ahh, the heartbreaks, thrills, and joys of being a hippie hobo~
Trying to keep the fire burning here, so I present you with Alexander’s song Truth. While this comes from his self-titled solo debut album released in 2011, Alexander has been around for some time now. Under the name of Alex Ebert he was previously the lead singer and songwriter in the band Ima Robot, and is still active in Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros (they actually just released a new album earlier this year).
Truth, with its easy guitar, drowsy vocals, and the whistling (I’m a sucker for whistling), makes for a great chill piece reminiscent of the carefree hippie pop/rock of the 60s. After listening through, it really does make you feel relaxed and a little lethargic. I think we all need a bit of good ol’ nostalgic sound every now and then.
– cheerlubber
Friendly Fires – Skeleton Boy
October 5, 2012
— 1 Comment
Similar to: Passion Pit, Miike Snow, Cut Copy, Strange Talk
Last week, Dr. Cheerlubber presented a lovely song by Strange Talk called “Eskimo Boy”, which is why I thought a good response to that was to bring about the even peppy, catchier, and entrancingly fun “Skeleton Boy” (that and also Halloween is RIGHT around the corner!). Friendly Fires, direct from the UK, love to make danceable songs. In this video, you’ll seem them jam out while their skeletons start to fill in. I think it’s rather a simple and yet creative play on the song title. Favorite part of the video: 1:43, the singer has the most hip dance moves I’ve ever seen on a white guy.
With that, hope this tune gets you moving and beware of dancing skeletons, they’re not always as cute as these blokes. Enjoy!!
Deluka – Cascade
October 3, 2012
cheerlubber is taking over the blog, muahahaha!
Today I bring you British indie rock band with new wave tendencies, Deluka, who are actually now based in New York. I have no idea what their band name means but I like their sound. I discovered Deluka at a bowling alley, of all places. Their music video was playing on the TVs and I don’t think anyone was really paying attention, but the song certainly grabbed my attention; it was so different from the typical gangster rap and Top 40 songs they usually play. Not only was I lucky enough to hear this song at that time, but lucky enough that my eyes decided to work well enough that day for me to see the small white words on the screen telling me what the song was, and lucky enough that my brain decided it would remember it for me until I got home hours later.
I managed to snag the Deluka EP (from 2009) but they have since released their full first album in 2010 that also features Cascade, titled You Are The Night. However, there are 3 songs on the EP that are not available on the album release, and I quite like them. The EP, unfortunately, is not easily available anywhere online anymore, from what I could tell. Deluka is due out for another new album in the next few months so I wonder if maybe those songs will appear on the new album, which I look forward to. Until then, you can just enjoy Cascade and You Are The Night!
Deluka – You Are The Night on Amazon MP3
Emiliana Torrini – Jungle Drum
October 1, 2012
cheerlubber here to start off the month of October. :0 Can you believe it–I’m doing 3 posts in a row. Just trying to keep things moving, that’s all. And I guess I’m feeling a bit spontaneous, so these songs are being picked rather arbitrarily (ps, that word always makes me think of the Arbiter from Halo 2, who is just too cool).
You might think Emiliana Torrini comes from Italy given her name, but in fact she is from Iceland (though her father is Italian). We’ve had this song for a while and I can’t remember how we came across it, but it certainly is a light and lively little ditty (alliteration!). It never loses its fast pace, the guitar gives it a classic ol’ rock’n’roll feel, and her “Roka-donka-donka-donk-donk”s are too adorable. Basically, it’s a fun song that is nigh impossible to dislike. Also, betchyou didn’t know, but Emiliana Torrini is the very same singer who performed the haunting Gollum’s Song at the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers movie (on a related note, who’s excited for The Hobbit?!). There’s a clever bit of trivia for you. ;D Anyway, listen to this song because it makes me happy and I’m sure it’ll make you happy too~
Emiliana Torrini Official Website
Natalie Walker – Quicksand (Stuhr Remix)
September 28, 2012
cheerlubber again, bringing you something real quick for the weekend. We’ve had this song since 2009 and it’s always a been a good one to go back to. I don’t particularly know much about Natalie Walker, nor do I particularly care to find out more because the original of this song is just plain slow and boring (should you care, though, I’m sure you can find her on Wikipedia). Thank goodness for remixers who make the music world a better place many a time. This particular remix adds a very soft, jazzy feeling to the song; its subtle but just enough to keep you interested. I know you might be looking for something dance-able for the weekend but sometimes something easy and relaxing for the end of the week is just as refreshing.
Buy Quicksand (Stuhr Remix) on Amazon MP3
Strange Talk – Eskimo Boy
September 26, 2012
— 2 Comments
Similar to: Yeasayer, Passion Pit, Phoenix, Cut Copy
**UPDATE: The demo version has been removed for “some” reason. For this we apologize**
cheerlubber here, bringing you Eskimo Boy from Strange Talk, an electropop band originating from Melbourne, Australia. This particular version is actually the pre-EP-release version that Whuzzerface nabbed when they first appeared on her radar a few years ago. They released their EP last year and changed some of their songs a bit, I think because they added more actual band members to the group. On the EP they re-recorded it…I’m not sure exactly of what all they did differently, but honestly, I prefer the pre-EP version of Eskimo Boy. And when I say “prefer” I mean “love.” There was a time when I was absolutely obsessed with this song. It’s just so great. Before I reset my media player’s settings a few months back, Eskimo Boy was one of my top most-played songs. I especially love the instrumental part at around 3:08. It’s present in the rest of the song too but for some reason it sounds especially epic when the vocals cut out for a time, like it’s gearing you up again. I couldn’t tell you what the song means by “Eskimo Boy,” but one doesn’t need to understand the lyrics or its title to feel the awesomeness of the song. I don’t think this version is available anywhere online anymore (but you know someone who has it -nudgenudge-) but you can still check out the rest of their official EP below:
Calvin Harris – Certified
September 25, 2012
Similar to: Kaskade, Deadmau5, War
Let me take you back to a time when I actually had a lot of friends and knew of at least 3 things going on every night. During those glorious days of yesteryear, we would regularly take my friends ’66 Roadrunner convertible to Mill Ave. and go cruisin’ blasting whatever song was in the Top 40 because yes, we were just THAT COOL. C’mon, I know you’ve been there too. Some songs are just so ghetto-groove-tastic that head bobbing in the car to the beat is as vital as breathing.
Breathe easily my Ragers, “Certified” by Calvin Harris is certifiably one of those treasured songs. Is it certified because the initial vibes at the beginning keep rotating from left to right until you feel as if you’re enveloped by them? No. Is it due to the fact that at the 1:50 mark, a sick electric-bubble-buzz sound develops that goes straight to your head and takes over your brain? Maybe. Is it the result of a sick bass, which is almost a slap bass acoustic timbre, vibrates through your being until your spine turns into Jell-O? Possibly. For moi, it’s all of these and more reasons as to why I firmly believe that “Certified” MUST become your new beat-bumpin’ tune. Cheerlubber herself attested to me yesterday that she may be developing an unhealthy addiction to it, we’ll see if we can get her some help with that.
With the coming of fall, this song is requisite for any and all road trips, especially with the windows rolled all the way down!! Peace out foo.
Calvin Harris “Certified” – Amazon MP3
Antonio Bazzini – La Ronde des lutins
September 23, 2012
— 2 Comments
cheerlubber here and yes, I’m posting on a Sunday! I know I haven’t done a Sunday classical post in a long time–I always want to, but sometimes taking a Sunday nap sounds nicer than writing a Sunday post. Today, though, it shall be done!
This rendition of this lively number composed by 19th-century Italian Antonio Bazzini is by none other than master virtuoso, Itzhak Perlman. After we went to his concert years ago, we bought a 2-disk CD of a lot of short, violin/piano arrangements and I love listening to every single track, multiple times. This song is track number 1 on the second CD and is a great way to start the CD off. It’s fast, exciting, and the little, quick pizzicato notes (plucking of the string), which Perlman seamlessly plays in-between bow strokes, add a little spice to the song. Just something light and whimsical for an enjoyable Sunday afternoon. Hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I do!
Raging Contagion 