Fully Clothed Reviews

Thao with The Get Down Stay Down - Know Better Learn Faster

2011-05-11T18:50:00.000-07:00

I can't stop listening to this CD.

You should buy it.

You won't be able to either.

Here is short article about it.

Sarah Harmer Has a New CD Coming Out Next Week!

2010-06-17T18:08:00.000-07:00

Back in 2000, I went to my local hometown music store at 10 pm and searched the racks until I found a used $7.99 CD that I wanted to try. The CD, "You Were Here," by Sarah Harmer was an upbeat, slightly poppy, with a little acoustic guitar and the occasional slow song. I loved this CD, listened to it for months and then loaned it to my sister who then listened to it for months.

Over the next few years Harmer had two more CDs come out but I didn't really get into them. "All of Our Names," (2004) was a little slow and just didn't get my attention and "I am a Mountain" (2006) was too bluegrass for me.

I was very excited to learn that she has a new CD coming out on June 21, 2010 that is a return to her older sound. I will definitely be picking up "Oh Little Fire."

The Ting-Tings That's Not My Name

2009-03-27T13:08:00.000-07:00

When this song came up on my Pandora station, I really tried hard not to like it because it’s more rowdy than what I usually enjoy, but after I turned it off it was stuck in my head all night. The next morning I listened to it all the through and I decided to go ahead and love it. The Ting-Tings are a UK alternative pop male-female duo. I think they are onto something here. I got on their MySpace page and I have to say I liked their other stuff too. I may be developing a little thing for UK pop.

Buy this song and then try to sit at your desk at work and NOT dance. I dare you.

http://www.myspace.com/thetingtings
http://www.thetingtings.com/us/frontpage

Slackin'

2009-03-13T19:21:00.000-07:00

I know that I have neglected you and I am sorry. I've been trying to save money since Christmas and havn't purchased any CDs. The quench the new music thirst I've been listening to internet radio at http://www.pandora.com/. I've made 4 channels and I'm kinda obsessed with using it to make lists of new artists to research and listen to. I haven't had much time to actually do that research but I do recommend that you check out Jennifer O'Connor on Matador records. She has an indie/rock/pop sound that reminds me of Edie Brickell a little bit on the upbeat tracks, especially "Here With Me," the title track from her third album.

I've listened to some of her stuff on Myspace and I'm really digging this song.

http://www.myspace.com/jenniferoconnor

http://www.amazon.com/Here-Me-Jennifer-OConnor/dp/B001B92EEO

Amy MacDonald Rocks My Socks

2009-01-13T14:45:00.000-08:00

I bought this album as a present for myself while Christmas shopping for everyone else. It turned out to be quite a treat. MacDonald hails from Scotland and while she may be compared to KT Tunstall for that reason, sometimes her voice reminds me of Dido, if Dido sang folk rock. It has a haunting quality to it. The album is made up of ten delicious folk-rock acoustic songs that are mostly upbeat. Even the slower ones are catchy with nice melodies and witty lyrics. More than anything this CD is just fun to listen to, to drive to and to sing along with. My favorites are "Mr. Rock & Roll," "This Is The Life," "Poison Prince," and "L.A."

If you love yourself, go by this album.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=13406488

The Weepies-Hideaway

2008-11-08T17:06:00.001-08:00

The Weepies are the folk duo of Deb Talan and Steve Tannen. They created some lovely music on this CD. Relaxing, catchy little ditties with great harmonies, poetic lyrics and a nice rhythm section. A few of their songs have been featured in movies and on TV shows, so they may sound familiar to you.

I personnally love the track , "How You Survived The War."

Do yourself a favor and buy this CD and while your at it, buy some of their other stuff too.

My New Favorite Song

2008-09-17T16:14:00.000-07:00

My husband recently made me a mix CD. It took me about a week to get past the first song, I love it that much.

"I'm A Lady" by Santogold

Santogold describes her style as New Wave/Dub/Psychobilly and yes, that sounds scary but it's not. I promise. Quite a few of her songs have been in commercials lately. "I'm A Lady" is an upbeat song that I guarantee will put you in a better mood and get stuck in your head.

Check it out.

http://www.myspace.com/santogold

Tristan Prettyman-Hello X

2008-07-17T16:45:00.000-07:00

I command you to buy this CD. I guarantee that you won't be sorry; I'm not and I paid full price for it and I'm a cheap chick.

Prettyman has a smoky alto that you are going to love on this bluesy-folky album. She's backed by an acoustic guitar, an organ and some other sounds. I love every song on it and I keep listening to it over and over.

Here are my instructions for properly listening to this CD:

1.) Put on a flowy skirt or dress that is good for twirling.

2.) Put on some jingly bangles.

3.) Light some candles.

4.) Open your windows, get a nice breeze going (or leave the A/C on, I don't want you getting stinky. That will most definitely not improve your listening experience.)

5.) Pour your self a drink. I recommend wine or a big delicious margarita.

6.) Play CD. Dance around your living room, twirling and drinking. Repeat as necessary.

You may also listen to this while driving with the windows down on a sunny day.

Ingrid Michaelson Will Make You Forget You Work in a Cubicle

2008-05-30T15:37:00.000-07:00

This CD makes me happy. It's upbeat quirky pop with fun lyrics and great melodies. You have probably heard the 5th track "The Way I Am," on commercials and bopped your head back and forth. It makes me want to slow dance with my husband outside.

She's also been featured on Grey's Anatomy and One Tree Hill.

Buy this CD, you won't regret it.

On Monday I'm taking it to work so that it can help make the beige cubicle walls disappear and send me sailing right through to 5:00.

http://www.ingridmichaelson.com/

Kathleen Edwards-Asking for Flowers

2008-04-13T06:34:00.000-07:00

Kathleen Edwards is a young singer-songwriter from Canada and her third album proves that she's just getting started. I have her first two albums and I love them both; this one is no different. I've been listening to it regularly for the last fews weeks and I'm not sick of it yet.

Edwards often garners comparison to the great Lucinda Williams because of her husky voice. It's a pretty fair comparison I think but Edwards definitely stands on her own. She is a story teller as evidenced with the fourth track, a haunting song about slain Canadian woman Alicia Ross. Edwards also writes break-up songs with the best of them, shown here with the second track, "Cheapest Key."

She has an acoustic-folk-americana sound that I am sure you're going to love. I recommend all of her albums.

Tift Merritt - Another Country

2008-02-27T14:52:00.000-08:00

I found Tift Merritt’s first two CDs at the local library during one of those bank account dry spells that I am prone to having. The first thing I thought when I listened to them was, “How did I miss this chick?” Since then I have been checking the internet to see when she was going to release something new. She has a beautiful voice and writes all her own songs.

Merritt is from North Carolina and is usually considered alternative country or contemporary folk. Rest assured though, there is no twang here. Another Country is her third album and it’s one of the best things to happen to me all month. She does a nice job of bouncing back and forth from soothing to rocking. So far my personal favorites are “Something To Me,” “Broken,” and “Hopes Too High.”

If you like acoustic guitar kinda-country-but-not-totally, you’ll LOVE her. I would also highly recommend checking out her first two albums, Bramble Rose and Tambourine.

http://www.tiftmerritt.com

Tracey Thorn-Out of the Woods

2008-02-12T05:18:00.000-08:00

You may be familiar with Tracey Thorn’s vocals from the group Everything but the Girl, most notably their hit single, “Missing.” She’s also provided vocals for electronica groups like Massive Attack, (check out the single “Protection.)

She has one of those sultry soothing voices that I could listen to all day if the right mood presents itself. She writes great lyrics. One of the things that I fully appreciate about Thorn is that she does something new with her voice. Instead of pairing it with the normal sounds of an acoustic guitar or a piano, she prefers an electronica backing. Her music, whether with EBTG or on her own, is usually a mix of haunting nostalgic ballads or upbeat clubby tracks. This album is heavy with the slower tempo ballads.

I think this is great music to chill out to, or to listen to when you are working on a project or something. It just moves right along with you. So if you are in the market for a sound that’s not guitar or piano and you kinda dig the electronic stuff sometimes, you can’t get any better than Tracey Thorn.

If you want to check out her work with EBTG, I recommend the album “Walking Wounded.” That’s one of those albums that I always to which I always eventually return.

Kate Nash-Made of Bricks

2008-02-06T15:22:00.000-08:00

I bought this CD at Best Buy without ever listening to anything by her for two reasons. 1.) I was desperate for something new to listen to and 2.) it was $9.99.

Nash is the newest UK import, although don’t compare her to the ladies of last year (Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen). She’s got her own thing going here. She’s more piano and acoustic guitar, upbeat pop. No hip-hop roots.

She wrote her songs with a laptop and guitar and then posted them on myspace. Lily Allen heard them and put Nash in her top 8 and since then, Nash has been riding the wave of success.

I’ve been listening to the album repeatedly in my cubicle (I do skip over track number 1 though) and really enjoying it. It makes the cube-dwelling so much less painful. She does that annoyed girlfriend thing really well. Her lyrics are funny, straight forward and biting. I also really enjoy her accent.

By the end of this year, I’m betting she’s going to be huge.

My three favorite tracks so far are “Foundations” “Dickhead” and “We Get On.”

www.myspace.com/katenashmusic
www.katenash.co.uk

I Love Old Stuff Too!

2008-01-14T18:44:00.000-08:00

When I was growing up, I spent alot of time listening to my Dad's reel-to-reel tapes and 45s. It was great, great music but not a whole lot of female artists. My Dad did however have a few songs by female artists that he really LOVED. One of those songs was "Ring the Living Bell," by Melanie. Melanie was a 60's folk singer/songwriting. She performed at Woodstock and several other important venues. He also had the 45 for another one of her songs, "Brand New Key," which was appropriately (since Heather Graham's character wore skates the entire movie and the song is kinda about skates) featured in the movie "Boogie Nights." The song is addictive and so much fun to sing along to.

Today at work, at co-worker had her greatest hits CD so I borrowed it and listened. It was really good. Melanie (Melanie Safka) is a great songwriter and her stuff is exactly what you would expect a 60's hippie girls music would sound like and her voice is great with a lot of depth.

She has continued to release music since her first album. If you've never listened to her, pick up a greatest hits album and see what you think.

http://www.melaniesmusic.com/

The Only CD I Got for Christmas

2008-01-14T15:13:00.001-08:00

My sister asked me for a list of gift ideas during the holidays and I gave her a list of about five artists that I thought she would be able to find at our trendy downtown record store. I gave my mama-in-law the only CD that would be available everywhere. Needless to say, my mama-in-law was the only one who came through for me.

Can I just say that I think the title of this CD kicks ass? I think those two words have just waiting for someone to wise up and use them together.

Anyway, I love the CD, just as I suspected I would because I love KT Tunstall's whole acousticy folky sound. This is another one that has been reviewed everywhere, so I don't need to go into too much detail, but I do recommend it.

http://www.myspace.com/kttunstall

Song I'm Currently Diggin On

2008-01-14T15:00:00.002-08:00

"Misery Business" by Paramore

Paramore is an alternative pop band. Their music is fun and energetic. They were heavily featured on MTV for a while, so I'm not going to a big ole post on them because you can find that just about everywhere. I can tell you that I'm really into this track from their "Riot" CD. It's lots of fun and I'm going to load it to my MP3 player so that I can listen to it at the gym while trying not to die on the elliptical.

http://www.myspace.com/paramore

Christmas Mix 2007

2007-12-16T16:45:00.000-08:00

In the comments section, Jewel asked for holiday music recommendations, which is funny because I have been on a holiday music mission for the last two weeks. Here are some of my favorites: (Not many of them are by female musicians but most of them are rockin'.)

1.) All I Want For Christmas (Is my two front teeth)-Alvin and the Chipmunks
(I didn't say all of them were rockin', this one takes me back to childhood and makes me totally giddy for Christmas.)

2.) Santa Claus Is Coming to Town-Bruce Springsteen (Live)

3.) Run Run Rudolph-Chuck Berry

4.) Silent Night-Stevie Nicks

5.) Blue Christmas-Elvis (nobody else should be allowed to sing this song, EVER)

6.)Jingle Bell Rock-Brenda Lee

7.)It's Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)-U2

8.) All I Want For Christmas Is You-Mariah Carey (Don't worry, I get the irony here)

9.)I Saw Mama Kissing Santa Claus-John Mellencamp

10.) Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree-Brenda Lee

11.) Merry Christmas Baby-Otis Redding

12.) Little Drummer Boy-Bob Seger

13.) It Doesn't Snow In California-The Osmonds (another childhood favorite)

What do you like to listen to during the holidays?

My New Mix

2007-11-27T20:03:00.000-08:00

Every few months, I sit down at my computer and rip tracks from all the CDs that I've bought recently and make a new mix CD. I title these "Chick Rock ." Yeah, I should probably come up with a way more creative name, especially since people tend not to like the word "chick." We'll see about all that overthinking later.

Here is my new track list:

Grace Potter-Ain't No Time
Kate Earl-Officer
Dixie Chicks-Long Way Round
Sarah Borges-Day We Met
Kendel Carson-Especially for a Girl
Amy Rigby-Beer and Kisses
KT Tunstall-I Don't Want You Now
The Wreckers-Leave the Pieces
Jenny Owen Youngs-Fuck Was I
Missy Higgins-100 Round the Bends
Shawn Colvin-Tuff Kid
Rilo Kiley-Breaking Up
Tift Merritt-Around
Sara Bareilles-Many the Miles

If I can find some CDs worth purchasing, I will do so this weekend. If not, another trip to the library may be in order, even though I still have some from the last visit and I just keep renewing b/c I can't drag my arse over there to return them.

Song I'm Currently In Love With

2007-11-27T19:53:00.000-08:00

"Brighter Discontent," by the Submarines, off their disc Declare a New State

This group describes themselves as Indie/Folk/Electronica and is made up of Blake Hazard and John Dragonetti. I love Hazard's voice and I think I am going to buy her solo album now.

My husband bought the CD and called me down to the basement to listen to this song b/c he knew I'd like it. He was right and I snaked the CD from him. I haven't listen to the whole CD that carefully, mostly because I keep skipping to track 4. Check it out.

http://www.myspace.com/thesubmarinesmusic

CD Extravaganza

2007-11-07T16:03:00.000-08:00

I've been holding these CD's back because they have all been pretty heavily reviewed online and in magazines and I like to highlight under the radar stuff. However, I haven't been able to post here lately because I am being a cheap bitch and not buying any new CDs, so I thought I could provide you with some magical little blurbs in case you haven't heard of them, get out your pen and paper! (It won't load pictures today for some reason.)

1.) Tegan and Sara-The Con
Tegan and Sara are Canadian twin sisters. I love their music, it's kinda indie stuff. The lyrics are catchy, the music makes you tap your foot, good harmonizing. This is a great album, it's a little intense in places and probably not suitable for early morning listening, at least it wasn't for me. If you haven't listen to them, you should be totally ashamed of yourself, then you should buy this CD, as well as their other CDs "So Jealous," and "If It Was You." Then you will know of their awesomeness.

2.) Rilo Kiley-Under the Blacklight
This band is fronted by child actress Jenny Lewis, who you may know from the fine films"Troop Beverly Hills," (don't lie, you loved this movie, especially when they were selling cookies) or "Foxfire," (Angelina Jolie was in this, way before she started stealing husbands and collecting children and saving the world.) The band is indie pop, for the most part upbeat. Lewis writes some intricate storytelling lyrics, highlighted by the song "Fifteen." This album is alot of fun and after you listen to it a few times it totally gets stuck in your head. It has a disco feel to it. The fourth track "Breaking Up" might be the best strong woman break-up song I've heard lately.

3.) Brandi Carlile-The Story
This CD was played endlessly on Grey's Anatomy, as was her first one. (hence me not feeling it necessary to review it here.) That's some lucky promotion right there. This is her second CD and it's just as good, if not better than the first. She's folk rock and has a great voice that has been compared to k.d lang, Bonnie Riatt and Patsy Cline. If you like acoustic folky stuff, she's one of the best new voices out there.

Persephone's Bees Makes Me Want to Move My Ass

2007-10-13T07:27:00.000-07:00

This morning I was sitting on my couch (it's Saturday) trying to decide what I was going to do. I could go to the store and look for those boots that I want since I now have chubby enough knees to pull off the boots with a jean skirt look, I could go visit my nieces and nephews, I could go to the library. All these options but all I was really doing was sitting on my ass in my very unsexy sweats. Then the CD changed and Persephone's Bees CD "Notes from the Underworld" came on. Before I knew I was up off the couch showered and dancing around my house. That's what this CD does, it makes you get up off your ass and DO stuff.

The band is headed by Russian born, San Fransisco residing Angelina Moysov. She writes the lyrics, does vocals and plays the keyboards. The sound is unique, categorized on their myspace page as progressive/glam/rock. I would have described it as electropop. It's a good album. I like her voice and the pep of the album. I highly recommend listening to it when you are trying to get motivated to do something like go to your suckass cubicle job, clean your house or getting ready for som unenjoyable family function. You will totally be moving (and shaking) your behind.

http://myspace.com/persephonesbees

Kendal Carson Likes Trucks

2007-10-11T16:42:00.000-07:00

I love this CD. It's infectious. Carson is a 22-year-old fiddle player. For her debut album, she worked with Chip Taylor (the man behind hits like "Wild Thing" and "Angel of the Morning.) The album is on Taylor's label TrainWreck Records.

The album, mostly penned by Taylor, hit #10 on the Americana Chart. I guess now that I gave you that tidbit you don't need me to tell you the genre. Carson has a soulful voice but also rocks out on some tracks, like "I Like Trucks."

Some of the tracks sound like they were recorded at a live show, with the audience singing along. So far some of my favorites are "I Like Trucks," "In the Middle of a Think About You," and "Especially for a Girl."

There are a few slower tracks and they are sung beautifully. "Take Me Down to the River" has a gospel feel to it.

I guarantee that you will sing along with this album. I'm curious to see what she does next and if she will eventually write her own lyrics.

http://www.kendalcarson.com

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals "This Is Somewhere"

2007-09-25T18:10:00.000-07:00

I bought this CD during a frustrating visit to Best Buy. The CD that I had intended to get was way too expensive for having only 11 tracks on it; I couldn't justify the purchase. I came across Grace Potter and the Nocturnals which was very reasonably priced. I bought it even though I had never heard any of their stuff. I used to do that all the time when I lived with my Dad and had no bills and it didn't matter if I wasted money.

I'm glad that I did because this CD is rockin'. It's good old fashioned rock and roll. She's got a great voice, the lyrics are good, the band is good. There's quite a few foot tappers and some nice slower ones as well. Right now I'm kind of in love with track 4, "Ain't No Time." It makes me want to drive fast down a long dirt road with the radio up way too loud.

Check out this CD. Check out this band. You won't be sorry.

http://www.gracepotter.com/

http://www.myspace.com/gracepotterandthenocturnals

You Totally Want to Hear This Song

2007-09-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

"Fuck Was I" by Jenny Owens Young

This song was featured on beginning of Weeds Season 2 premier when Nancy is leaving Peter's house right after she finds out he's DEA. It's a great song. Acousticy, catchy and funny.

Check it out.

The Library Is My Friend

2007-09-20T19:04:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to be responsible and not spend ALL of my paycheck before the next one gets here. A result of that newfound grown-upness (is that how I should spell that?) is that I'm not buying as many clothesand necklaces OR Cds as I would like. I knew I needed to post but I had nothing, so I dragged my lazy ass to the library in the little rich suburb that's close to my house. They have a surprisingly good selection. In fact, they are the ones that exposed me to Rachel Yamagata and Missy Higgins. Plus I had some late photography books to return.

This is what I got there:

Shawn Colvin-These Four Walls
Patty Griffin-A Kiss In Time
Patty Griffin-Impossible Dream
Kate Rusby-Underneath The Stars
Isobel Campbell-Milkwhite Sheets
Amy Rigby-Diary of a Mod Housewife
Mindy Smith-Long Island Shores
Mindy Smith-One Moment More
Joan Osbourne-Breakfast In Bed

When I got home I put in Kate Rusby and Isobel Campbell first. (Campbell's CD title sounds a little pervy to me.) Campbell's stuff is English and Scottish folk songs, which you would think that I would love, with my being English and Scottish and all. I've got that lion tattooed on my leg, (my Dad, sister and cousin have it as well.) However, I couldn't connect. It was a little too Riverdance for me. BUT it was pretty so if you are into that sort of thing, give it a shot. Rusby basically got the same reaction as Campbell, as she is Irish folk.

Shawn Colvin, as always, rocks.

Patty Griffin is an artist that I just started listening to in the past 9 months. I love her voice and I listened to these two CDs all day at work in the cube today. Some of her stuff is slow but some of it gets a little more peppy and guitar driven. I love her.

Mindy Smith is an artist that was always recommended to me by Amazon but I never got around to sampling it. I am glad that the library had these because I'm really digging them. She's folk-pop. Her voice is breathy and easy to listen to.

Joan Osbourne. I have listened to all of her albums. This is her second set of covers and she does it in such a soulful, pleasant way. I'm probably not going to go out and buy this one but I did like it.

Amy Rigby is freaking awesome. She writes such weird but enjoyable songs. I have been wanting to get a hold of her hits collection but haven't just yet. This one will hold me over until I get around to it. Beer and Kisses is a great little song.

SO there is my break down of library finds. Keep in mind that I have only listened to each of these briefly but I can usually tell right away what I'm going to like.

Has anyone out there taken a look at Ani DiFranco's retrospective Canon? Any thoughts on the song list? How is "Light of Some Kind" not on there? I freaking love that song!

Artist to Checkout

2007-08-28T19:17:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to get my hands on any new CDs. I'm broke, what can I say? Although I may not be able to bring you CD reviews, I can give you a recommendation. Check out Emily Strand. She's a hometown girl and she's got some pipes. I've seen her live a couple of times and she's been great both times.

www.emilystrand.com

Give it a look. Talk to you soon, whenever I have any extra cash to purchase some of the CDs off my wishlist.

Two Reviews for the Price of One

2007-08-18T12:53:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, I bought three CDs. When I opened the one that I was the most excited about it was broken. It actually had a very large hole in it and when I took it back to the store they were out of it. Money in my hand, but no music. Bummer. Here are the reviews for the other two. Look at me stepping up my game.

Jonatha Brooke-Careful What You Wish For

I should have been more careful buying this CD! I have two of Jonatha Brooke’s previous CDs, the 1999 live album and 2001’s “Steady Pull,” and I really liked them both. I really enjoyed the folk/pop sound and her voice is usually smooth.

However, on this album it sounds like she is trying to go for a harder sound and I do not really love it, to be honest. I listened to the album a few times and had to skip around because it just wasn’t working for me. I looked on Amazon to see what other people thought and there were 8 reviews. Only one of them was negative, the rest apparently loved it, so maybe its me…

Despite my not liking this particular album, I do like this artist and if you have never heard of her I think you should still give her a listen. I’d try “Steady Pull,” maybe one of her live albums and then give this a listen and tell me what you think.

Kate Earl -Fate is the Hunter

I love the title of this album even though I have no idea what it means. That’s actually the reason that I read about the album and then decided to go ahead and buy it. It’s a good slow tempo album, lots of piano and a pretty voice. You know that I don’t like slow stuff but I can’t deny when it’s well done and it’s well done here.

Like I’ve said before, if a young female plays the piano people are going to say she’s like Fiona Apple or Norah Jones. In this case, the comparison makes sense. The first track “Someone to Love,” does actually sound Apple-ish, as do a few others. The two songs that I like are “When You’re Older,” and “Officer.” These, of course, are the faster songs on the album. I can guarantee you that if “Officer” is ever in a TV show or a movie, it’s going to be a hit, just like Leona Naess’ “Charm Attack.”

If you like slower tempo piano based music, I’d say you should give this one a listen.

Sara Bareilles-Little Voice

2007-08-06T18:27:00.000-07:00

This CD was an unexpected surprise. I read about it online, saw that it didn't cost more than my monthly grocery bill, and decided to give it a shot. This time that impulse paid off, usually if I buy a CD without actually sampling it first I end up with some sort cult-like hippie chanting. Sara Bareilles broke that losing streak.

It would be really easy to compare her to Fiona Apple, that seems to be the easiest comparison whenever a young girl with a good voice knows how to play the piano, but I don't think that is an accurate comparison. I don't think that she actually sounds like Fiona Apple, except for the piano. Her songs don't have that pensive anger. She definitely has sass and she writes good lyrics but her sound is her own. Its piano rock pop, some up beat, some slow with a bluesy feel. Ms. Bareilles wrote all of the songs and plays instruments on 9 out of 12 tracks.

I'm happy with this purchase and it will be in my CD rotation for a while.

Colbie Caillat's Coco

2007-08-04T20:06:00.000-07:00

Colbie Caillat has a very interesting name and on the cover of her CD, she kind of reminds me of Jennifer Aniston. I found her name while drifting through artists on Amazon. I do that alot at work, then I make a list of a few to check out when I am at home and allowed to listen to music samples. My day job is totally screwing with my blogging and my music searches.

Anyway, an interesting thing about this artist is that she became really popular through her myspace page. I think she was one of their most musicians for a while. All of that helped her get this record, "Coco," made.

The record is what I would categorize as sunshine guitar pop. It's a good summer CD, I listened to it for the first time while driving down the highway on a sunny afternoon and it was great music for that. She's got a smooth voice. She cowrote 11 of the tracks and wrote the twelfth one on her own. She doesn't play any instruments on the album.

The good news is that its cheap. I picked it up at Best Buy for $9.99. Online you can get it for $7.99 but once you adding shipping you may as well have just gone and picked it up. At least there you have immediate gratification.

All in all, I was pretty happy with this one.

I'm Pretty Sure You Want to Buy This One

2007-07-28T19:13:00.000-07:00

I read about this CD on USA Today's PopCandy blog, which I used to read everyday at work until the blocking. The writer of that blog, Whitney, said that she loved this CD. I had never heard of this lady before so I plotted to buy this CD when I had enough money after sampling it online. Last weekend I came home to finding sitting on top of the entertainment center.

My husband loves me. He really does. He's going to heaven.

I'm happy to report (happier than you know) that this disk did not disappoint. It has a sort of alt country twang to it, which is a sound I am growing to increasingly love. She sort of mixes it up though, while some of the songs do have that sound, some of them are a bit bluesy as well. The first track "The Day We Met," is really catchy and kinda rockin'. There are a few slow ones on there too. On "Slower" she sounds a little bit like Sheryl Crowe sounded on the album with "Winding Road," except Ms. Borges has much better range.

I suggest you get this one. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Tilly and the Wall Kinda Scare Me

2007-07-15T19:39:00.000-07:00

This band was recommended to me by a friend and my husband found it at the library and brought it home for me to listen to. I didn't know anything about the band when I popped it into my CD player. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be what one reviewer very correctly referred to as "tap-pop." Yep there is some crazy tap dancing thing going on here. Now that doesn't mean that this was a bad album, some of it was quite catchy and if you are into a sort of unusual eclectic sound, I recommend you give this sophomore album a listen. There some good male/female harmonizing and it has a 60's pop feel to it. It's pretty upbeat. I listened to it a couple of times at my desk but knew it wasn't for me when the female singer started kinda chanting "I'm solid matter" in the middle of one of the songs...yeah, it kinda gave me a wiggins.

(Side Note: I use the term "wiggins" alot. I stole it from Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 2, the episode when Angel goes bad and comes to the school to off all of Buffy's friends and shows up in the hall where Xander and Willow are having it out about Xander smooching up on Cordelia. Anyway the power goes out and Xander goes, "Now I'm having a wiggins." Basically meaning, he's creeped out.)

Off Topic: Today's Offenses

2007-07-10T14:04:00.000-07:00

I know I am supposed to be writing about music here but today I am going off topic because the nonsense surrounding me is too annoying not to share. It may make you feel better about your day.

I have a cold. A cold that requires me to hack up my internal organs throughout the day and night. In order to sleep so that I can go sit in my beige cubicle all day, I have to take night time medicine which I have no tolerance for, its effect on me is basically the equivalent of putting me "down" much like you would an old blind dog. So this morning the only reason I was conscious was because I had slept off the part of the medicine that alleviates the cough but not totally the part that knocks me on my ASS! When I woke up, my lungs were practically coming out of my mouth. I got out of bed at 7 am and showered and got dressed and left for work before 8 (a miracle, which of course my boss wasn't there to see) I even stopped on the way for a bagel and a decaf coffee smoothie (I'm forbade by my doctor to consume caffeinated beverages).

I was on my way to work when I realized that I was still half asleep and that my eyelids really wanted to close. (Not that they were, I wouldn't drive if it was dangerous). When I got to that oh so stimulating work environment, I had to type an email to friends to try an entertain myself, b/c right now isn't a busy work time for me. I actually typed that email with my eyes closed for part of the time.

Then I decided to surf the web and guess what??? My work committed what may big their biggest offense, besides never clearing the parking lot when it snows and only serving 5 day leftovers in the "cafe," they blocked all blogs!!!!!!!! Oh yes, they took away my method of entertainment during downtime. I don't want a lecture on how I am getting paid to work so I should work because quite frankly you don't understand the environment I work in and the ebb and flow of the work. Part of the reason that I started this site was because I gave me something productive to do during said downtime but this site and anything on it is blocked! Pink is the New Blog, Dooce, PopCandy, Flickr all BLOCKED!!!!!!!!!!!

Then I got online to pay a bill and realized that in my spending account I have a whopping $21.17. There is no new music in my future!

On my way home from the beige cube it started freaking pouring down rain! And guess what? It wasn't supposed to rain so we left our Husky and Shepard outside! My house now smells like wet dog. One of them is snoozing on my bed right now.

And this was my Tuesday. How was yours?

A Music Drought

2007-06-26T12:52:00.000-07:00

After the DeMeyer incident I haven't been able to get my hands on any new music, mostly because I am broke. My sister is getting married and I have helped with a good deal of the expenses which has sucked the life right out of the spending money. Bummer! I have resorted to listening to old CDs, hoping I missed a song or two on them.

On Sunday night I found a music magazine in my husband's things. "UnCut" I believe was the name. This magazine was good for a few reasons; first and foremost was that there was no half naked former member of the Mickey Mouse Club on the cover, just an old picture of Sir Paul McCartney. The second thing I liked about this magazine was that unlike other magazines, this one reviewed quite a few female artists, most of which I hadn't heard of which made me happy. The third thing was that there were ads for releases from lesser known record labels, these also provided some artists that I plan to check out.

After the wedding I will order some CDs and get back to business.

Brigitte DeMeyer-Something After All

2007-06-19T12:58:00.000-07:00

I was waiting for this CD to arrive for ten days. I was anxious and annoyed at how long it took because I have been listening to same CDs for so long, I desperately needed to add something new to the rotation. When it finally arrived I was a bit shocked, I thought I had ordered another CD. I'm actually pretty sure that I intended to but mistakenly chose this one while reading several reviews online. But I decided not to return it since Brigitte DeMeyer was on my list of artists to check out and while it may not have been the one I was wanted, it was still new music.

I have to admit that I was a little disappointed by this CD, which does not mean that it was not extremely well done. The lyrics are good and DeMeyer has a very nice voice (sometimes sounds like Sheryl Crowe), she falls into the country/folk genre and adds a bit of a southern groove to her songs. The problem for me was that 6 out of 11 tracks were slow and as I have explained before, that's not my preference. Tracks 3 and 5 were the only ones that really caught my attention. I don't see myself pulling this one off the shelf and listening to it on a whim.

I can say this though, the tempo may not be my taste but if you like that slower soulful bluesy sound, you will really like this album because it is crafted well. She has several guest musicians on the album, like Steve Earle. I will probably give her another listen in the future to see where she is.

Tracks to Check Out

2007-06-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

I'm waiting for a couple of CDs to arrive so that I can listen and review them, so until then I thought I could recommend two tracks for you that I found on myspace.

The artist's name is Lucia Nazzaro. She has four songs posted on her page and I really liked the first two, Into the Wind and These Tears. Both songs are what I would call light rock songs and they are immediately catchy with good choruses. I like the drums in both songs.

I nod my head along every time hear "These Tears" it would be a good song to listen to if your significant other has totally pissed you off.

These tears/the you see me crying/they are not because of you/these tears/for the first time/they are not because of you/I am free from you.

"Into the Wind" has a slow build and then the drums come in. I love it. Another post-breakup head nodder.

I thought you said you loved me once/was it ever true/love shouldn't hurt this much/so i throw myself into the wind/say goodbye to you

The other two songs on the page I didn't download because they didn't appeal to me as much, but I love the first two so I'm hoping to hear more from her.

Best Album I've Purchased in a While

2007-06-14T12:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, technically I didn't purchase it, it was a gift, but Amy Millan's Honey from the Tombs is an excellent album. Usually for me finding a whole album that I like is pretty impossible, I usually get less than a handful of songs and quite a few I have to skip over. That's not the case here.

Amy Millan hails from Canada and is the also the singer for the band Stars and also lent her talents to Broken Social scene.

Her solo album is decidely different from other music projects with which she has been involved. Honey from the Tombs sounds like a folk album, a great one at that. Her voice here is so smooth it makes me feel tipsy even when I'm sober. Its a solid listen from beginning to end, lots of broken heart songs but none that are too slow or cliched.

The two songs that immediately grabbed my attention were Baby I and All the Miles. Each time I listen to this album, I like it even more. Check this one out.

My Purpose

2007-06-13T10:21:00.000-07:00

I love music. I grew up in a house where my Dad was constantly playing his carefully crafted mixed tapes and reel to reels. My house was always filled with the sounds of classic rock. When I got older I continued my love of that music but when selecting new music I gravitate towards female musicians. I listen to mostly folk/rock/pop. I very rarely listen to the radio. I spend a good deal of time surfing the web to find new artists and sampling their stuff.

You should know that when I say "female musicians" I am referring to artists who write their own songs and can actually play their own instruments. I’m not trying to be a musical snob here, I have some CDs that some people would laugh at, I do enjoy the occasional radio tune. That kind of music is just not my preference. I enjoy the sounds of acoustic guitars and pianos especially when combined with the right voice.

As far as tempo goes, I must admit I am not a fan of slow ballads. If a song is slow, it may well be the most beautiful song ever written but odds are I’m not going to listen to it. I like something I can tap my foot to, it doesn’t have to roaring fast, but I don’t want to fall asleep while driving either.

I decided to start this site because I figure that other people probably wish they could get some recommendations for artists that aren’t likely to appear half naked on the cover of a popular music magazine to get some publicity (Cough, Avril, Cough!). These same people are probably looking for artists other than the handful or two that are guaranteed to be featured in those same magazines (Ani Difranco, Lucinda Williams, Tori Amos.)

Lastly I was hoping that some readers could point me to some artists I have heard of yet.