After losing a pair of Bose headphones to the apparent “inevitable” breaking of the damn things, I have been looking for headphones to listen to my music this morning. I have two pairs of in ear-phones currently (Bose in-ear Triport and the Shure sound isolating 210’s), and while I like them both for different reasons, I like having head band headphones because of my incredibly, weirdly sensitive ear canals. So, if you have any suggestions that would make my listening to music an amazing experience, let me know.
Alright, that’s enough about talking about listening to music… let’s actually listen to some!
La Roux – Bulletproof
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_717_laroux-bulletproof.mp3]
I resisted La Roux for quite a while before she clawed her way into my heart with that shrill-ass voice coupled with a velvety smooth beat. While, as I mentioned, the vocals are something to definitely, um, “get used to”, the music is not. This song is definitely one that begs to be blasted from every car stereo as you drive about in the summer heat, and promises to fill dance floors throughout the land. The uber-catchy quality of this song is what allowed me to give it chance after chance, and eventually get used to the vocals (which it may seem that I am harping on, but cannot stress enough, you will get used to); the music is too fucking good to let it get in the way. This is definitely a “song of the summer” for sure.
Peter Bjorn and John – It Don’t Move Me
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_717_peterbjornandjohn-itdontmoveme.mp3]
Another massive song from Peter Bjorn and John, It Don’t Move Me didn’t “move me” when I initially nabbed their follow up to the wildly successful Writer’s Block. The album is noticeably darker, and the beats are almost angrier; but underneath, the same attention to detail and high quality music is clearly present. This song definitely shares more similarity to the songs from Writer’s Block than much of the rest of Living Thing, but it shows a musical maturity that is not only welcome, but totally refreshing. It has made me pay closer attention to Living Thing, which has turned out to be a good thing; fantastic, well crafted songs like this, are what make listening to music one of my favorite past times.
Imogen Heap – First Train Home
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_717_imogenheap-firsttrainhome.mp3]
HELL FUCKING YES, Imogen Heap is BACK! WAAAAY back in 2005, Imogen released her stellar sophomore album, Speak For Yourself, and while I didn’t hear it until some time later, it completely blew me away with how amazing it is. The most amazing song on the album, Hide and Seek, made me fall deeply in love with Imogen’s unique voice, and the manner in which she creates music that is not only beautiful, but unique and interesting. The rest of the album resonated very well with me, and made me a huge fan of her sound, and had me waiting with baited breath for a follow up. Well, that follow up is just on the horizon; her new album Ellipse will be released the day before my birthday, August 25, 2009. This is the first, and quite fantastic, single from the new album, and it harnesses her trademark sound from Speak for Yourself. If this is an indicator of how fantastic Ellipse will surely be, I expect it to be amongst my top albums of this year.
Toby Madigan – I Need Somebody (I Can Talk To)
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_717_tobymadigan-ineedsomebody.mp3]
This is the little song that threw its lasso around my heart, pulled me in close, and comforted me like a warm blanket on a cold night. The tenderness of Toby’s vocals, coupled with the sweet folk-pop music makes for a beautiful ballad; one that only gets better with the super sweet sentiment of the lyrics. I should also say that there are several words that just make me happy when I hear them, especially in songs (for whatever reason, I don’t know…), and unfurled is one of them, and he uses it in the chorus; which obviously makes me happy. This is a sweet song with great sentiment, and highlights the surprising power in Toby’s vocals. It was a great random find.
Rebekah – Be Your Own
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_717_rebekah-beyourown.mp3]
I am going to go “old school” with you on this one. I discovered this song from an amazing little movie that most people have never even heard of: Kissing a Fool. I instantly loved this song when I heard it playing during a very pivotal scene in the movie, and it really stuck with me, as it really described what was happening on screen. I LOVE when filmmakers make use of music in good ways, and this was definitely one of those times. Well, this discovery was back in the days before disposable CD-Rs, and internet downloading by the masses, so I was unable to get this song for many years. However, a few years ago, my frequent visits to the used bin at Tower Records (oh how I miss the Tower that was here in Atlanta) uncovered Rebekah’s CD for a meager $1. To quote S Club 7, let’s bring it all back… so how did the song end up today’s 5SF? I randomly stumbled onto it again last night when I was uploading the previous four tracks, and I was reminded of just how much I love the lyrics, the sentiment, and pretty much everything about this song. My favorite line from Be Your Own is, “maybe just stop trying to be my man, and just be your own”. This great little song really hasn’t aged a day for me!!
Well, there’s your 5 for this Friday, what did you think? Please let me know, and as always, tell me what you are listening to! I really want to know!! Have a great weekend, and if you have advice on headphones, let me know. I am currently leaning heavily towards Sennheiser’s, if you have any specific model that you want to recommend.