Tag: TGIF

5SF: february 1

Welcome to this week’s installment of the five song Friday, everyone! Today is going to feature songs you may be familiar with, songs that you may have heard a while ago and forgotten about, a song that you may hate (as I did when I first heard it), and maybe some songs that you are hearing for the first time. So let’s get to it, shall we?

Yael Naim – New Soul
First up today is a song that is as catchy as hell, from those new Mac Air ads by Paris-born/Israeli-raised singer Yael Naim. The main reason I wanted to feature this song, is because there are many of us that have tivos and DVRs out there that never get the chance to watch commercials, and as such, may miss great songs like this one. Personally, this song was recommended by one of you (my wonderful readers!), who told me that I might like it; and you know what, he was right! I do (thanks for the suggestion, see, I told you I want to know what you are listening to!)! Another reason for posting this one, is because the video is just awesome, and I totally love it. Such a catchy song, and a great video, paired with an Apple endorsement? Yael is going places, people! Who’d of thought before Feist, that we would be looking to Apple for new, great music? Well, now we know that they are onto something!

Candie Payne – One More Chance
In this current era of music, the throwback sound seems to be the “next biggest thing”, with artist after artist streaming that sound of old, and making it new. Such is the case with Ms Candie Payne, who uses those old influences, and Mark Ronson beats, to churn out this fabulous song. I have certainly been enjoying this reemergence of the “throwback sound”, and the more artists that jump on this band wagon that are doing it as well as Candie are, the happier I am destined to be. Also, take note that her look is very “That Girl”-ish, adding to the hip, vintage feel… it’s a great song, and great video.

Linda Kiraly – Can’t Let Go
I was trying to decide between this one and another song for this week, and I watched this video again, and it struck me much harder than it ever has before. This song is fantastic. Linda has a beautiful and powerful voice, and the beat makes for a perfect pop song. The beginning is a little slow (perhaps the reason that I wasn’t hit as hard the first time I heard it), but at 40 seconds into the video when she stomps on those drums, you get to see why you came out to the show. This is her first single from an upcoming album, and I cannot wait to see what else she has up her sleeve. My buddy Stu always has these random acts up his sleeve, and I just love it when he let’s me in on the goods; especially when they are as good as this!

Patrick Wolf – Accident and Emergency
Now, for the ultra-queer Patrick Wolf, who I totally flash on the beginnings of Ziggy Stardust, and queer glam rock when I see him. I will admit this openly, I HATED this song when I first heard it. I don’t know what it was about it, but it was just a huge turn off for me. However, it got into my head, and I gave it another go, and after a few listens, I really like it. The other day when I was waiting for jury duty, I ended up listening to his record, and I really liked a lot of it, whereas previously, I was wondering why so many people were into him. Was he to be another Roisin Murphy for me, I thought? Well looking now, I figure, perhaps not… I am glad that I gave it another go, because it is quite the catchy little hit. I highly recommend you give this more that one listen; it took me several to get into it, but now I quite like it.

The Darkness – I Believe In a Thing Called Love
Last, but certainly not least, is my “blast from the past” track for this week. I have to say, that I still remember the first time I heard this song; it was 3 in the morning, and my tivo started randomly taping an MTV video show (shock and awe! They were showing videos!), and the video for this song came on. I sat there, mesmerized, and completely freaked out at the same time. What the fuck? I thought. After it was over, I rewinded it, and ended up watching it 5 times. I was hooked. I haven’t listened to the Darkness in a while (their debut CD is quite fantastic), and this song came on XM the other day, and I ran home and put it back on my ipod (it was lost when iTunes decided to delete all my playlists a while back). Well, I am glad that I was reacquainted with the fabulousity that is the Darkness… their queer glam metal is pure music gold. I am such a closet metal lover, and this shit is just the type of thing that blows my skirt way up over my head. This is metal that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and in fact, makes fun of itself all at the same time. If only it were on one of the Guitar Heroes… perhaps maybe a future installment will include this gem! I certainly hope so, because this song is fantastic.

Well, there she is, this week’s 5SF is on the books. I hope that everyone found something that they could enjoy. As always, let me know what you are into, it may make a future list! Have a great afternoon, kids!

5SF: january 25

Guess what today is, kids!! It’s mothafucking Friday, and time to bring on the jams! What!?! Yeah, I am in a weirdly good mood today, but I have chosen to go with it, so I think that you should too. Let’s get to the music before things get out of hand.

Adele – Chasing Pavements
You may be thinking, Adele? Again? and you know what, you would be right. Adele is infectious. She is amazing. She is true talent, and her CD comes out this Tuesday in the UK, so I felt compelled to bring her to the forefront again. I have been enjoying my time listening to Adele this month, and I have to say, with each listen, I love her more. Fuck the haters that are bashing her (seriously, people are giving her shit for only debuting at number 2 on the singles chart… give me a break), this girl has a voice that is stunning, and weaves these amazing songs that capture your attention and leave you wanting more. This song, Chasing Pavements, is one of those songs that I just cannot let go of, and after a listen, it just stays with me all day. This is truly a wonderful song, and a reminder to pay attention to Adele; I have a feeling we are going to be hearing a lot more from her once the CD hits shelves on Tuesday. Also, this video is quite weird, but I like the quirkiness of it.

Bush – Swallowed

After posting two of my high school favorites (Elastica and Blur) last week, I got to thinking that it might be fun to feature at least one song every now and then, that I randomly heard recently, and was reminded of how much I loved it in the past. This week, Swallowed came on the radio, and I was all “holy shit I love this effing song, and I can’t believe I haven’t heard it in forever!”, and so, here it is. Whatever happened to Bush? Their first and second CDs were dynamite albums, and then I pretty much stopped paying attention. Oh well, at least we have the memories, right?

Kate Miller-Heidke – Mama

[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_125_katemillerheidke-mama.mp3]
I heard about Kate on one of those many, many “ones to watch out for” lists that I randomly found on the internets, and after checking her out, I can see why she made that list; this girl is great! She reminds me a little of Regina Specktor, but with more spunk and panache to her sound (also, without that unnecessary double scoop of goody-two-shoes bubblegum flavoring). I chose this song, not because it is the catchiest from her record, but because it totally captivates me every time I hear it. I am drawn in by her desire to please her mother, which totally translates beautifully in this song, by the brash guitars and the shrill vocals. Love this song, and love her!

Georgie James – Cake Parade

[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_125_georgiejames-cakeparade.mp3]
So, I heard about Georgie James from a flickr friend, who recommended it in the Monday music suggestion group, and I must admit, that I was instantly enamored with this song. It is so playful and enjoyable, that it really reminds me of the fun I have listening to artists like MIKA and Fountains of Wayne. Also, the guy in the group totally sounds like the guy from Fountains of Wayne, so that probably has something to do with it reminding me of them. Either way, definitely a fun group with a great “throw back” almost vaudeville-ish sound, that I am totally into. A great suggestion from my friend, that I am pleased to pass on to you!

Number One Gun – The Best of You and Me
[audio:http://www.duanemoody.com/audio/fsf_125_numberonegun-thebestofyouandme.mp3]
This is one of those songs that I heard of randomly, and was instantly all about. I saw Number One Gun mentioned somewhere, and I liked the cover of the album, so I went to their myspace, and The Best Of You and Me was the song that started playing. I instantly downloaded the album, and have been really grooving to this electro-rock piece. It has a mellow feel, but powerful male vocals really make it a great pop song.

Well, there we have another five song Friday in the books, and some good songs to listen to this afternoon. I hope that everyone is having a kick ass day, and I hope that your weekend is even better. As always, let me know what you are jamming to, and we can make this music suggestion thing a two way street, cool?

5SF: january 18

TGIF is an understatement, and I am very pleased that this is a three day weekend for sure. With that said, let’s get to some music to brighten our afternoon, shall we?

Goldfrapp – A&E
First up, is the new song A&E by Goldfrapp; a decidedly different song from their previous effort. Going back to their more acoustic roots, Goldfrapp has managed to captivate me with this airy and beautiful song. While I have been spinning the whole album this week, this song definitely stands out to me, and makes me want to listen more intently to the rest of the record. I will personally admit that I like this new stuff better than their previous experiments in the more electro-pop stuff. I think that they got tired of everyone copying their sound, and went back to their roots; and the result is something beautiful for sure. Take note that this video is completely ridiculous.

Elastica – Connection
Earlier this week, I was listening to the lovely XM radio in the car (something I have been doing more frequently these days), and I was hit square in the jaw by a fantastic blast from the past. Coming through my speakers was the delightful, yet forgotten Elastica, a group that I so instantly fell in love with in high school. As soon as I got home, I downloaded their self titled debut, and relived a music moment that I hadn’t experienced in well over a decade. The best part, was that their songs are still as good to me as they were then. Needless to say, this blast from the past was more than welcome, and as you will see a bit further down, it inspired more glimpses into my music history. Note: I was going to post the actual video, but the audio is shit, so if you want to go and see it (it’s quite good), you can go and see it here; after all, this is five song Friday, not five video Friday, right?.

Christina Aguilera – Save Me From Myself

A lot of people really loved Back to Basics, but for me, it was just hard to get into, and as such, it was largely ignored. I liked the singles, especially Ain’t No Other Man, but that’s about as far as I went. Then, the other day, I was reading my blog-feeds, and Rich over at fourfour posted this amazing video. I didn’t even know it was on B2B, and I feel like I have been missing out of something really beautiful. This song is so touching, heartfelt, emotional, and beautiful. Christina has made a very mature and wonderful song with Save Me From Myself, and I am just happy that Rich showed me the light. This song only gets better with each subsequent listen. Bravo, Xtina. Bravo. Also, is it me, or is she more stunning than ever?

Blur – Parklife
After snagging Elastica’s debut, I was instantly craving a little more brit-rock from my past, and what better way to get that going, than to pull out my old Blur records and give them a go? While I have always loved Blur, and even consider them amongst my favorite groups, over the years, I have drifted away from listening to Parklife; which ironically, was the record that got me interested in them in the first place. With my nostalgic cap firmly on, I sat back and hit play, and was instantly reminded just how brilliant of a record Parklife truly is; and I was reminded of why I fell in love with Blur in the first place. While the title track isn’t my absolute favorite song from the record, it is the first Blur song I ever heard, and I felt it fitting to highlight it in my collection of songs this week. It has been really nice reminiscing about music, and tuning into stuff that I haven’t listened to in ages. Who knows what else will creep its way back onto my radar; I can’t wait to see what it will be!

Roisin Murphy – Let Me Know
There are heaps of Roisin lovers out there, and I have never really gotten it; her whole kit and caboodle it’s a little too much for me. That being said, after I saw her record making a lot of people’s best of 2007 lists, I pulled it back out, dusted it off, and gave it another go. I wasn’t really that into it this time either (sorry, it just isn’t my bag, y’all), but this song definitely stood out to me this time. It just makes me want to dance all night long. I think the reason that I really love this song, is that it sounds a little more like a Sophie Ellis-Bextor track, and gets away from the things that turn me off about Roisin. That being said, here you go, fans of Roisin, this is the song by her that I can definitely say that I actually really, really like. Some think that she can do no wrong, but so far, this is the only thing that she has done right for me.

Well, that does it kids, another five song Friday on the record and in the bag. I hope everyone has an amazing weekend, and does lots of great and exciting things. I also hope that you enjoyed the music on this very welcomed Friday, and as always, let me know what you are spinning. I have gotten some great suggestions lately, and I always want more, more, more! Till we meet again!

I’ve got a little crush…

YAY! We made it to Friday! I am super happy about this weekend, because I know that next week has a holiday right smack dab in the middle of the week; which always make the weekend seem that much better! Plus, everyone in my office is out on vacation, so that makes things super relaxed around here as well. Very, very nice.

Not too much going on today in duane-land, but I have to confess that I have more than a little crush (I know, misleading, aren’t I?) on Simon Pegg (who is being pulled in the picture by the also very handsome Nick Frost; which came from this great photography site). Not only is Shaun of the Dead one of my all time favorite movies, I have to say, that every time I see him, I just can’t get over how strikingly cute he is. Perhaps it is the nerd lover in me? Either way, we watched the movie Big Nothing last night, and it was quite hilarious. Simon Pegg is in it, hence today’s post… It is definitely one we will be adding to the DVD library. Dark comedies can be so fun, can’t they!? If you enjoy dark comedy, I suggest you check this one out, I liked it.

Other than that, I found out that I have $25 in reward zone cash from Best Buy. How sweet! Money for spending lots of money! I am going to swing by there and pick up something this afternoon… a treat!

Finally, does anyone have advice for selling things on eBay? I have thought about it in the past, and never followed through, but I was looking in my closet this morning at all the clothes that I no longer wear, and thought, hey, I should totally sell those on eBay! Just wanted to see what other people’s experiences were with selling on eBay, before I go barreling forward with my “new business”. HA! I always knew there would be a day those designer jeans would have a new home… perhaps that day will come sooner than expected; and in return, I can get a few extra dollars to boot!

Hope everyone has a great afternoon, and a superb weekend. Rock it!