VIRB

So....as I said, I'm back for more. Lets talk about some of those songs on my Spring Mix.

First, if you haven't stopped for a moment to check out Son Lux, go now.

Now that you've listened to Son Lux, here are my mini commentaries.

O God Where Are You Now (In Pickerel Lake? Pigeon? Marquette? Mackinaw?)- I love this song, and I love the Sufjan Steven's version. I'm such a big fan of David Crowder Band though, their creativity is monumental. For me this song is painful and hopeful all at once. I love that tension.

Son of Gold- this song was featured in NOOMA 005 Sunday.

Movin' On- If you don't already know, I really like Elliott Yamin. I never enjoyed American Idol until last year's season when I was watching the auditions and caught Elliott's audition. I loved his voice so much that I tuned in every time after that for a chance to hear him sing. His new album is R&B to the core, and that white boy is funky indeed.

Chicago, City of Shoulders and Earth & Venus- I hope I've mentioned Andy Davis enough for you to already know that he's fantastic.

Stall Out- This song is just crazy beautiful. It has a strange Sigur Ros flavor to it, and the lyrics are brilliant. They're so hopeful. So honest.

Box of Sunshine- I admit I downloaded this song after hearing it on the new Altel commercial. Its just a load of fun. Fun to dance around to. When you're by yourself. And holding a hairbrush for a microphone. Just kidding. Kind of.

Neon- The version of Neon that I've been listening to is the underproduced, raw version from John Mayer's Inside Wants Out EP. The Room for Squares version is great...but nothing beats the rawness of the feeling that John Mayer is sitting in your living room, singing that song. Just him and his acoustic--this version is just killer.

Save Room- John Legend is fabulous and this song is so much fun. Its one of those songs that are really fun to drive to with the windows down.

Hold On- After a couple of years, this song still has the ability to bring a tear to my eye. If you aren't familiar with this song, and especially with Magnet in general--well, you have no choice but to download it immediately.

Chaos- Another gem from MuteMath. This song is such a good production. By that I mean that lead singer, Paul Meany, did such a fabulous job singing when this song was recorded. The emotion and believability of his vocal performance on this song is, I would say, extremely difficult to achieve. He did a brilliant job.

Hold You In My Arms- I'm not historically an avid listener of Ray LaMontagne. I'm intentionally listening to him more often because I know he's a total star. His voice is something else. I love it.

Bold As Love- I think it may be a cardinal sin to say that I prefer a cover version of a song than the original that was written by Jimi Hendrix. But I just might.

Needle & Thread- Once again, what can I say? Sleeping at Last has some of the most profound lyrics around. I think you have to literally have no heart to not appreciate this song.

Playground Rocks- This was the first song I heard from Zack Weber and it hooked my attention quickly and easily. I love the jazzy funky fun in this song. Fun and creativity are some of the most important characteristics of music to me, and this song has both.

Down Towards the Healing- I just really like this song. I love the piano especially in this song.

Human- This song is totally impossibly to forget. The Cinematics have a knack for writing music that is hard to forget. I saw and heard them for the first time in March, when they were on tour with MuteMath. After the concert I got their cd, and could found myself recognizing some of the songs, because they really just sick with you. This song is particular is freaking awesome. Its strong, a little angry, just great.

I have to acknowledge the lack of variety in my mix (and my other playlists that I've posted here in general). The genre variety isn't so bad--there's some rock, pop, R&B, and blues....and there's variety in the fact that some artists are bands, some are singer/songwriters....but maybe you've noticed that I don't listen to a whole lot of female artists. I became aware of this only within the last year or so, but its been this way my whole life. I can't really explain this. Its not that there aren't female artists who I like--because there are. There are a lot of female artists who are unbelievably talented and are just straight up divas (Norah Jones, Carey Underwood, Mary J. Blige, Imogen Heap...). I just hardly ever listen to them. Weird especially, considering I'm a girl and all....

Even check out my influences on my main page--I just counted, and there are only three female artists on that list: Chasing Furies (who aren't together anymore), The Benjamin Gate (who are not together anymore), and Eva Cassidy, who tradgically passed away about a decade ago.

I should say that I do listen to Kate Earl, who is a marvelous singer/songwriter and is a great performer as well. I was first introduced to Kate Earl this past fall. She is definitely worth checking out.

Well, here's to a summer mix that can have more variety.