5 Songs You Need to Hear, Vol. 14

I love springtime! Everything smells great. Life is everywhere. Baseball season starts. Feels like happiness just kinda blew into town and set up shop. All this sunshine and good times just puts me in the mood for some great new music. And because I'm a nice guy and brimming with generosity, I will share it with you. Enjoy these 5 Songs that YOU... yes, you... NEED .. desperately... to Hear:

1. Good Times - Dwan Hill. I felt like this would be a great place to start with the good mojo I'm feeling today. I know virtually nothing about this guy except that he is primarily a producer and that he is rally good at what he does. Filled with horns and a tight groove of percussion, this upbeat track will have you dancing right where you are. If you're like me and you have little music videos that play in your head when you listen to a song, I imagine this guy strolling the streets of his neighborhood on a beautiful day, spreading a particularly funky kind of good cheer. I see a party break out everywhere he goes. And I wanna be like that! I want my world to be a happier, more loving, exponentially funkier place because I chose to show up.

Note: If you like this song, you can download it FREE at Dwan's website here.

2. Happy - Three Star Revival. I discovered these guys on Noisetrade.com just yesterday and downloaded two albums worth of great Americana music. These three guys from Knoxville, TN have got serious chops in songwriting, singing, and playing. Though I prefer the studio version of this song (available here for FREE on Noisetrade), I also love this video of them sitting in their living room just singing and laying together live. And I love this tune for my springtime mix...

3. Standing at the End of the World - Have Gun, Will Travel.  Well, you gotta check it out just 'cause the band name is so frikkin' cool, don't ya? While the subject matter may not be the stuff of springtime frolic, the stompin' and clappin' and general hootenanniness is enough to qualify it for this edition of 5 Songs.

4. Lightness of Being - My God, It's Full of Stars.  This song is just cool. I particularly love the haunting piano riff. The band takes their name from a quote from a famous movie. Bonus points to whoever can guess the movie.

5. Suicide Smile - Submarine Lights. Formerly known as The Chemistry Set, this indie band is the (literal) marriage of Stephen and Meredith Duncan. Along with some former bandmates and fellow indie artists, they make some truly delightful and catchy, character-driven alt-rock.

 

5 Songs You Need to Hear, Vol. 13

Ever heard the old saying, "Good things always come in fives"?
Yeah, me neither. But there are a lot of great fives: The Jackson 5, the 5 original Rolling Stones, the Pentateuch, the five Beatles (don't even pretend that Sir George Martin isn't responsible for half the Beatles' greatness)... and now these five songs that you need to hear right now!

1. Land of Gathering - The Ceremonies. This little gem popped up on my Spotify weekly Discover playlist, suggested according to my listening habits. And I am so glad it did! Where have these guys been? This song is already three years old but it is fresher than anything on the radio... or in my fridge, for that matter. The Ceremonies are a band of literal brothers from L.A. that make some clever, fun, and refreshingly great music. I think you will really enjoy this track (or else I wouldn't have put it on the list. Duh.)The video is really good, too, which is very rare these days.

2. Corbett's Place - Koa. It's that time. Time to shove back your chair, get up and start dancing around the office or the coffee shop or wherever you happen to be. I dare you to sit still while Koa plays their unique amalgam of soul, funk, R&B, and dance music. Not half bad for a bunch of white guys from Nashville, TN! Join the Koa-lition!

3. No Direction Home - Cheap Trick. Ok, ok... so this isn't a new band. In fact, some of the guys in CT are freakin' grandfathers already. But I'll bet you wish your grandfather rocked like this! Even though I usually highlight largely unknown or undiscovered bands on this blog, I feel like Cheap Trick is exactly that for the current generation of new music lovers -- unknown and undiscovered. And to quote one of the band's biggest hits, "Ain't that a shame?!" The sad truth is that you will never hear this amazing power-pop gem anywhere else so I'm putting it on the list. Don't like it? Get yer own blog! And you know what? You're welcome!

 

4. Farther Along - Josh Garrels. I love me some Josh Garrels! If you are among those wondering, "Who the heck is Josh Garrels?" then click the video below and give a good listen. "Farther Along" is a great place to start your newfound appreciation for a true artist and his craft. Garrels has one of the most distinct and instantly recognizable voices in modern music. Every new CD is like a package of Skittles: bright and sweet and highly addictive. You can't stop until you polish off the whole bag. And once again... you are most welcome.

5. Love Changes Everything - Red Rocks Worship. Because I didn't get a chance to post this before Easter, let me go ahead and give you this. Better than a thousand chocolate bunnies is this gem from Red Rocks Worship. I have not been able to get this song out of my head or out of my heart; it's that good. And it's the perfect way to close out this edition of 5 Songs.

OK, that's it. Now it's up to you. Go out and purchase the music and support the artists so that all hope for the future of great new music doesn't just dry up and blow away because you did nothing to help it grow. Maybe there will be good music for your grandchildren to discover. Maybe not. It's up to you.

5 Songs You Need to Hear, Vol. 12

Hey kids! We're back!

After an extended hiatus, 5 Songs returns with a vengeance in 2016. What follows will be five (count 'em, five) examples of largely undiscovered musical brilliance to bring a ray of sunshine into your otherwise bleak and miserable lives of bland, formula radio-ready pap music you've been brainwashed into thinking you actually like. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to give each song a listen, soaking in every nuance, and once you have acknowledged that their is still hope left for decent new music in this godforsaken wasteland, you go out and purchase any or all of the songs and support the artists who are putting everything on the line for you... shedding blood, sweat, and tears for the sake of your abused and neglected ears.

OK, ok, that's enough talk. Let's get down to it. Here they are, in no particular order... 5 Songs YOU NEED to Hear...


1. Giants - Matt Nathanson. This song is so good it's ridiculous. The world don’t speak for us / They lack the confidence / Yeah, we’re only hearts and bones and blood / But we are giants, giants! I love me some stick-it-to-the-man anthems! If you have the sneaking suspicion that life is more than what you have been led to believe, and that you were meant to be more than you are and you have settled for less than real life because somebody somewhere lied to you... You might be a Giant!

2. White Knuckles - Boh Doran. "White knuckling" is when we hold onto something too tight for our own good. Relationships are fragile things that require just the right touch, as Boh Doran sings plaintively in this poignant story of a couple enduring the peaks and valleys of life together. It's a very sad and touching song but also as catchy and toe-tapping as anything you could ever hope to hear in the car with the top down on a summer's day. I really like this song a lot!

3. Cold Hard Truth - Elenowen. Wow. You wanna make lose it and start bawling like a baby all over my computer keyboard? Play me a forlorn, haunting song like this one about a lifetime of love weathering the toughest of times, enduring right up to the end. Just mesmerizing in its beauty and perfectly executed by the former Voice contestant with all the tenderness and raw honesty the lyrics demand. If you only buy one of these songs this time, get this one. Incredible.
For whatever reason, I couldn't embed the video from YouTube but here is the link.


 4. I Don't Recall - Lavender Diamond. I know what you're thinking: "Is it Chick Week on 5 Songs?! What the heck, Jerry?!?" Hey... relax. Just enjoy the music and don't over analyze. I love the smooth, sleepy groove of this tune. The finger snaps give it a bizarre, almost Twin Peaks dream-like quality.

5. Soldier, Poet, King - The Oh Hellos.  I confess I've saved my personal favorite for the last. This song gets my Celtic blood a-boiling. And because the Soldier, Poet, and King they sing about is none other than the Christ Himself, it stirs a wonderful sense of Narnian wonder and worship in my heart. There are few things in life that would actually cause me to jig... literally. But this is one of them. When He comes to "tear your city down," you may actually jig, too!