Tag Archives: the fratellis

June 10, 2008 · 6:03 PM

Building My Music Library One Free Song at a Time

Song Lyric of the Day:

I love no one / And no one loves me

The Breeders / “Bang On”

I’m always on the lookout for new music to beef up my iTunes library. If a song and/or artist is new to me and free, all the better. After all, I’ve gotten quite a few really great songs for free from iTunes’ weekly freebies: “Espacio Sideral” by Jesse & Joy, “All That Matters” by Addison Road, “Seven Days of Lonely” by I Nine, and, more recently, “Great DJ” by The Ting Tings and “Hometown Glory” by Adele. Speaking of The Ting Tings, how much did I love their U.S. TV debut last weekend on Jimmy Kimmel Live!? The spouse agrees with me that singer Katie White was totally channeling Deborah Harry in Blondie’s heyday.

Being a daily reader of the New York Post online (primarily for Page Six but also the local news — have to keep up with my hometown goings-on), I was happy to recently discover their MPFrees weekly feature. Every Tuesday, the Post offers a few songs free for downloading; they also include links to purchase the artists’ albums. I’m still kicking myself over forgetting to download the new single by The Submarines, but today I did download Adele’s cover of The Strokes song “Last Nite,” “Bang On” by The Breeders, and “I’m Amazed” by My Morning Jacket. (All this talk of Adele recently; I’ll have to check out her album.) And I do plan on picking up the new album by The Fratellis, Here We Stand, this week (it dropped today); the best prices I’ve found so far are $7.99 at Best Buy and $8.99 at Buy.com.

The New York Post‘s weekly MPFrees are available for download every Tuesday through Friday.

And if you’re looking for new country music, be sure to check out my friend Wendy Newcomer’s writeup on AOL’s new country music section, The Boot (scroll down — she’s in the right margin under Discover New Country). And don’t forget to swing by her MySpace page — Wendy’s quite the talented singer/songwriter.

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June 3, 2008 · 7:26 PM

Brit Music Rocks

Song Lyric of the Day:

I ain’t freakin’ / I ain’t fakin’ this / Shut up and let me go / Hey! / Shut up and let me go / This hurts, but I can’t show / For the last time you had me in bits / Now shut up and let me go!

The Ting Tings / “Shut Up and Let Me Go”

As my friend Caren pointed out a while back, I’ve become something of a music Anglophile. I still enjoy music by American bands and artists, of course, but lately my favorite bands and artists have all just happened to be British. True to form, tonight I bought The Ting Tings‘ debut album, We Started Nothing, on iTunes. I love the song “Shut Up and Let Me Go,”* featured in the new iPod commercial (I can totally dance like that when no one’s looking), but the clincher was seeing the video for “Great DJ” on VH1 the other day. As expected, the album is as fun and catchy as the first two songs hinted.

I also recently picked up Duffy‘s album, Rockferry. Duffy has a great, retro, ’60’s girl-band sound. She’s like the light to Amy Winehouse’s dark. And she’s sober, to boot. Her single, “Mercy,” is all over the place; it’s been used in half this season’s TV promos and was featured in the Grey’s Anatomy season finale.

I’ve also heard a couple of singles by Adele, who has the most amazing voice I’ve heard in a while; I look forward to hearing more from her. The video for her single, “Chasing Pavements,” fascinates me, revolving around the concept of sidewalk dancing.

Of course, I can’t wait for next week and the week after that, when the new albums from The Fratellis and Coldplay drop, respectively. As much as I love the first single, “Violet Hill,” I would’ve bought Viva La Vida just based on the song featured in Coldplay’s iTunes commercial.

Who am I kidding? It’s the new album from Coldplay — I would’ve bought it sound unheard.

*The puppy and I are working on a dance routine to this song. He’s an awesome, albeit reluctant, little dancer.

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April 1, 2008 · 5:13 AM

In Need of Tunes for a Tuesday

Song Lyric of the Day:

I don’t know what this is / But you got me good / Just like you knew you would / I don’t know what you do / But you do it well / I’m under your spell

Duffy / “Mercy“

8:15AM.
I want new music and I have iTunes gift cards burning a hole in my virtual pocket. My problem is that I don’t know what I should buy. Anyone got any recommendations?

To give you an idea of what I’m into these days, my current favorite album is Writer’s Block by Peter Bjorn and John (oh, how I love “Amsterdam”). My wish list of artists I want to play in Knoxville includes Franz Ferdinand, Flogging Molly, The VLA, Snow Patrol, Paul Oakenfold, The Von Bondies, and The Fratellis — and those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. Of course, this being Knoxville, it’ll be a miracle if any of those groups ever makes a pit stop here. (Note to Flogging Molly: We have Irish pubs here! I swear we do!) Since not everyone who lives here likes country music (ahem).

I’ve also been listening to Moby‘s 18 and The Killers‘ Sam’s Town albums a lot lately. Not as eclectic as my tastes usually run, although I’m also listening to disco and ’80s music (best. music. ever.) as part of my workout playlist (I highly recommend MP3-compatible treadmills).

In the spirit of new music, I’ll leave you with Duffy‘s video for today’s Song Lyric of the Day, “Mercy.” Be sure to check out her site — she’s got other equally kickass songs available for listening.

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September 6, 2007 · 8:26 AM

Time to Blow This Popsicle Stand

Song Lyric of the Day:

Vacation / All I ever wanted / Vacation / Had to get away / Vacation / Meant to be spent alone

Go-Go’s / “Vacation“

10:26AM.
It’s finally time for mio vacanza, and not a second too soon. My brain is on overload and needs a break.

Caren and I will be leaving work no later than noon to hit the road to Atlanta. We’ll be staying in the Buckhead area, which looks pretty nice based on what I’ve seen online. It’ll be nice to finally explore the city a bit, since the only other times I’ve been there have been to go either to Six Flags (which is closed this weekend — wankers) or to IKEA. Come Saturday, we’ll head to Chattanooga. I’ve explored Chattanooga more than I have Atlanta, but we’ll be hitting some new areas this time around, so I’m looking forward to that.

Last night I went through my pre-travel ritual of freaking out over how much clothes to pack (extra underwear — always); whether to bring my MacBook or not (decided on not); packing all the camera accessories (including extra batteries); making sure bills are paid up; quadruple-checking that I didn’t forget anything; etc. At least I restrained myself — mostly, anyway — from lecturing Rich on how to keep the kids alive (if Buster stares at you in the kitchen in the morning, he wants treats; remember that Caleb poops after he eats his breakfast). Yes, I’m one of those people.

I also synced (see, honey, I used the right word!) my iPod to make sure every bit of music I have in my iTunes library will be accompanying me on the road. Caren is also bringing her iPod, so between the two of those and our car audio adapter, we’re all set for music. As it is, the other day she essentially called me a music Anglophile since five out of the six discs in my CD changer are by Brits or British in nature. I’ve got the Layer Cake soundtrack (yes, again), Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen, Paul Oakenfold, and The Fratellis in heavy rotation at the moment. And I just discovered a cool site I can use to discover more Anglophile bands. What can I say? I’m enjoying the music they’re putting out these days more so than my stateside counterparts. Although they are accompanied by California’s Linkin Park at the moment, a disc that is likely to be replaced by either Franz Ferdinand (Scottish) or Snow Patrol (Irish) at the drop of a hat.

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