Weezer album Hurley

Weezer quietly released a solid album late last year named Hurley (amazon) (itunes) which is allegedly named after their favorite character on LOST.  It’s filled with classic Weezer sounds; walls of surf rock guitars, insanely catchy riffs, Beach Boy style harmonies, and loads of lyrics about lovers lost and lovers pined over.  This is arguably their best work since The Green Album in 2001 and it fits much more in line with classic Weezer sounds.

mp3 : Weezer – Memories
mp3 : Weezer – Ruling Me

These are first two tracks, in that order, on the album.  It’s apparent from the first chord of the track Memories (especially in conjunction with the lyrics of the track) that this is a Weezer intent on returning to their roots.  And returning to their roots is a great thing.  On Hurley the four surf pop boys largely abandon their grown up, melancholic, attitude they had adopted over the past few albums and instead focus on simple, lighter, more sunshine filled fare; singing about Smart Girls, Where’s My Sex, or friends who are all insects (on the deluxe version).  At times it leans a bit far into the nonsensical side of pop music, but at the end of the day this is the best Weezer has done in a full decade.  Finally.

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Wedding Music vol 03 : Ceremony

And so the Wedding Music posts continue (with plenty more to come).  After this volume the rest of the music is pretty much a mix tape filled with awesome.  During the ceremony we linked together songs that all had a similar tone and vibe and built upon the theme of a traditional yet contemporary ceremony.  Hence the use of Vitamin String Quartet and other modern acts.

In this final Ceremony volume there are four tracks that were played while the guests were being dismissed from the church.  We probably could have added another track into this time, but it didn’t seem necessary and it was background music anyway.

If you’d like to see all of my Wedding Music click here to see this entire series.

mp3 : The Ooks of Hazzard – Kids (MGMT Cover)
mp3 : Sea Wolf – Middle Distance Runner
mp3 : Vitamin String Quartet – Across the Sea (Weezer Cover)
mp3 : Vitamin String Quartet – All I Want Is You (U2 Cover)

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Weezer covers MGMT and Lady Gaga

The other day my brother passed along a link to a youtube video in which Weezer plays a live cover song of both Kids by MGMT and Pokerface by Lady Gaga.  I’m not entirely sure how the two songs fit together {both ideologically and musically}, but in some way Weezer makes it work.  And through some clever use of the internet {thanks google} I ripped the video, extracted the audio, and now you’re presented with a delicious mp3 for your consumption.

mp3 : Weezer – Kids and Pokerface (MGMT and Lady Gaga Cover)

Enjoy the track and have a good week.

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Wakey!Wakey!

If you haven’t heard the sound of Wakey!Wakey! yet I suggest you get out of the cave you live in and read a few blogs now and then. I even dropped some WW knowledge awhile back when I posted the Cross Pollination Mixtape.

For those of you dear readers who are knew to the Wakey!Wakey! scene the band is made up of Mr. Mike Grubbs and his catchy sound is quickly gaining the devout ears of many music snobs. There seems to be an innate kinsmanship between boys who play the keys and it would be easy to list Grubbs alongside fellow troubadours Ben Folds and Jon McLaughlin. Although to leave off with this description of him at that point would lead many to believe that he sounds just like those two musicians. Which he doesn’t. He definitely has his own unique style; his own panache if you will. It’s hard to accurately describe the style of music that Grubbs plays without using words like authentic, passionate, and genuine. There’s a certain quality to his songs that transcends mere music and lyrics and makes listening to him sing more of a holistic experience.

Now if I could only get him to play shows with another of New Yorks burgeoning male vocalist scene, Zach Williams, I think between the two of them they could sell out shows from Xi’an to Lhasa. Or at least all across the Western World. So here’s the official call out to both of you. Wakey!Wakey! and Zach Williams would make an excellent live show or split EP. Contact me and I’ll get you in touch {just as long as I get mentioned in the liner notes of course. haha.}

mp3 : Wakey!Wakey! – Get Away (Here We Go Again)
mp3 : Wakey!Wakey! – Say It Ain’t So (Weezer Cover)

This is hands down the best cover of any Weezer song I have ever heard. Trust me, your day is not complete if you haven’t heard this song. If you like what you hear make sure to catch Wakey!Wakey! live at the Rockwood Music Hall in NYC this upcoming December 5th. For free at 8pm.

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Everything Reminds Me of Her

I might have the coolest younger brother on the face of the earth. He has great taste in music and occasionally he makes a mix for some various or sundry reason and ships it out via the internet to me. Granted, he is a younger brother, so some of his musical choices are a little sketch, but for the most part he puts together solid music. This mix of his is a little skewed because he made it for his girlfriend and every song in this selection apparently reminds him of her in some way. I figure the kid must be in love because I cannot fathom any other reason he would be listening to Fergie.

Enjoy the mix my brother made. I’ll have some more tunes up in a couple of days. As per usual the mix is available as a single download as well as individual songs.

download : Everything Reminds Me of Her

01 : Doveman – Dancing
02 : Architecture in Helsinki – What’s In Store
03 : Elliot Smith – In the Lost and Found (honky bach)
04 : Sufjan Stevens – To Be Alone With You
05 : Daft Punk – Something About Us
06 : Fergie – Fergalicious
07 : The Postal Service – Nothing Better
08 : Billy Talent – Pins and Needles
09 : Weezer – My Best Friend
10 : Phantom Planet – On My Mind
11 : Ben Folds – The Luckiest

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