Day 68: Talk Amongst Yourselves by Grand National from Kicking the National Habit (2004)

Grand National was a group I found during my research for the blog. Last.fm says they "manage to mix eighties pop, nineties dance, indie, electro and ska into fresh, experimental pop songs." Spotify had a review of this album that noted that this song in particular was successful in combining the indie-guitar with dance-inspired electronica. I think that's about right. I like the result, and I think I'll be looking for more tracks from Grand National.

Here it is.

Day 67: A Dedication by Washed Out from Within and Without (2011)

Both emusic and Amazon kept trying to sell me this album with its provocative cover art. Initially, I refused to be tempted into listening, but Pandora played this track for me, and so I finally caved. I especially liked this song. I can't really make out the lyrics, but it sounds like half benediction and half remembrance. Hope you like it.

Here it is.

P.S. At the time I wrote this, Amazon had the album for $5.

Day 66: You Make My Dreams by Hall & Oates from Voices (1980)

This track was on the 500 Days of Summer soundtrack, and I thought it was pretty fun. Like a lot of the music from this period, it reminds me of rollerskating when I was a kid!

So here it is for you.



P.S. Check out the Magnum P.I. moustache and the pink pants!

Day 65: Little Secrets by Passion Pit from Manners (2010)

According to last.fm, "passion pit" is "a slang word for a drive-in movie theatre where kids used to go to make out." Interesting.

Last.fm decribes Passion Pit as an electronic group, but I think the track delivers something more evolved than that label evokes. Maybe it's post-electronic electronic? See what you think.

Here it is.

Day 64: Somewhere in the Dark by Punchline from Just Say Yes (2008)

Today's track was another track I found via Pandora. It's a punk group that I'd never heard before. I listened to some of the group's other tracks, and I liked them, but I liked the one that Pandora played for me the best.

Here it is.

Day 63: Last Night by Good Charlotte from Cardiology

As I've been doing my research for the blog, I ended up hearing several songs from Good Charlotte's album Cardiology. It's really a great album with several tracks I really like, including today's track celebrating an awesome night barely remembered.

Last night. Can't remember what happened. Where'd we go?
I woke up this morning. Where's my car, where's my keys, where's my clothes?

Here it is.

Day 62: My Body's A Zombie For You by Dead Man's Bones

Sometimes, instead of spending my days sorting through the bad music to get to the good, I cheat and search for music other people are already saying good things about. Hence, today's track, "My Body's A Zombie For You," which comes to you from the music website Aurgasm. They have the song available as a free MP3 download for you to evaluate. The track features the Silverlake Conservatory of Music Children's Choir. I've always said that nothing enhances zombie-referential music like a children's choir. See if you agree.

Here it is.

Day 61: Peripheral Visionaries by Young Galaxy from Shapeshifting (2011)

I discovered today's track during my extensive and exhausting research for new music. Finding gems like this track makes the grueling effort of listening to boring and awful music worthwhile. Okay, maybe it's not grueling, but still.

Here it is.

Day 60: The Beat Goes On by Pomeroy From A New Reflection

The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Pandora who suggested today's song.

I can't really tell you what this song is like. It's swing meets pop meets rap meets pop again. But I like it.

I'm toying with more Pomeroy for tomorrow...

Here's today's track.

Day 59: I Am the Doctor by Murray Gold

As long as I'm on the topic of Doctor Who, I thought I'd post this song that has been part of the soundtrack to the newer Doctor Who episodes. They've definitely put a lot of effort into scoring these newer episodes, and the incidental music does a great job of accompanying the story. I was thinking back to the old Doctor Who episodes, and I can't honestly remember if they even had incidental music.

Anyway, here it is.

Day 58: Doctor Who by Orbital from The Altogether

I've always enjoyed the Doctor Who theme song, although in fairness, as a Star Trek fan, I still prefer the Star Trek theme on principle! Even so, I love this version of the Doctor Who theme. I also love the versions they've been doing on the new seasons of the show, this version does a good job of both showcasing some of the processed-sound feel of the earlier seasons and going a little further with the theme.

Here it is.

Day 57: Your Love by The Outfield

I love this old 80s gem, and I heard on Pandora the other day. I reminded myself to share it with you. It's The Outfield's most popular song (by far) according to the statistics at last.fm. Songs like this remind me of classic rollerskating. Apparently, the group continues to make music. I'll give it a listen and let you know if I like it. It's just part of the service that I provide.

Here it is.

Day 56: Magic by Ben Folds performed by the University Of Chicago's Voices In Your Head from Ben Folds Presents: University A Capella!

I found today's track while I was exploring the "Freegal" service that the Denver Public Library provides for its members. It's a cool service. You can download (up to) three tracks per week (the library has a cap on the number of downloads its members can have each month). The tracks come down in a high-quality MP3 format. I was impressed, and a little surprised that I'd not heard about this service before.

Anyway, I love the Voices In Your Head version of this song. I like the Ben Folds original, but I think this vocal performance gives the song an even more expansive and enveloping sound, which is appropriate given the subject matter. I hope you love it.

Here it is.

Day 55: Feel It All Around by Washed Out from Life of Leisure

What a journey to finding today's track. NPR included a track from Washed Out on their recent July Sampler. I liked that track ("Eyes Be Closed") but that led me to look up the group on last.fm, to see what the most popular tracks from this artist were. Last.fm says that this track is the most popular track. I liked it a lot.

According to last.fm, this artist "makes bedroom synthpop that sounds blurred and woozily evocative, like someone smeared Vaseline all over an early OMD demo tape, then stayed up all night trying to recreate what they heard." I don't know what an early OMD demo tape is. Actually, I'm not even sure what bedroom synthpop is either. I do know what Vaseline is, although I've never thought about how the application of Vaseline might alter the sound of music. Thank goodness last.fm has.

So listen to the track now.

Day 54: Rain by Madonna from Something to Remember

Today's song reminds me so much of the Madonna I used to love to listen to! And the golden age of Madonna. Ah, good times.

Here it is.

Day 53: We Are The Champions by Queen

I don't think today's song really needs an introduction. I just hadn't heard it in a while, and since it cheers me up, I hope it will cheer you up too!

Here it is!

Day 52: DuckTales Theme Song by Cluster

I remember the DuckTales cartoon show from when my sisters and I were growing up. So today's post is for my sisters. Listen for the nostaligia, but listen again for the virtuosity!

For those that don't know about DuckTales, Wikipedia explains, "the show features the adventures of Scrooge McDuck and his great-nephews. The nephews, who were originally living with their uncle Donald, are left in Scrooge's care when the former joins the Navy."

Here it is.

Day 51: My Attorney Bernie by Dave Frishberg from Dave Frishberg Classics

If I recall correctly, I think I heard an interview with Dave Frishberg on NPR, and ended up finding this fun and amusing song about a man and his lawyer. Big bonus points to Frishberg for working in the word "debentures" into a song!

Have any of you ever heard Frishberg's music before? If so, care to recommend any of his other songs?

Here it is.