Wednesday, April 4, 2007

The Musical Se7en Tag

Well I must say, now I feel like I'm an official member of blogland. I’ve just received my first tag ever from my friend Houseband :)

I haven’t really gotten into the whole meme thing… I feel like my whole life revolves around schedules, and I just can’t bring myself to participate in the Monday this or the Thursday that. But a meme about music? Now you’re talking about something near and dear to my heart.

I grew up on my parents’ extensive collection of vinyl, which covered just about everything in Motown and classic rock from the 60’s and 70’s. But my musical tastes are quite diverse, as I’ve always been very musically open-minded. I will listen to anything, from alternative rock to classical, old standards to techno, R&B, jazz, new age… you name it. I even went through a major reggae spell after our recent trip to Jamaica.

The rules of The Musical Se7en Tag are to cite seven songs or CD’s that you’ve listened to recently, write something about them, and then tag seven others to do the same. I think I'm going to leave the tagging part open-ended... please feel free to participate!

I was going to tell you about a CD I made recently for myself, with some of my favorite songs of all time. But you’ve probably heard them all before. Well, maybe not. Maybe I’ll save them for another post.

For the meme, I’m going to share some songs that are new to me. I love love love to hear new music. My favorite songs are like old friends, always there for me, always capable of bringing out some joy, a memory, a smile, or maybe just some head nodding to the beat. But new music, well, those are my new friends, and new friends are fun to meet and get acquainted with!

I’m addicted to my satellite radio. I still haven’t gone through all the stations yet, but I will eventually, I’m sure, during my hour and 15 minutes of driving each way to the office and back. This little radio is the only thing keeping me sane right now with all this commuting.

And here are seven songs that made my ears perk up this past week:


From Channel 20 – Octane (Pure Hard Rock)
Sweet Sacrifice by Evanescence

Sweet Sacrifice

Amy Lee’s voice is startlingly, hauntingly beautiful. I just had to stop and listen.


From Channel 21 – Alt Nation (Alternative Rock)
Dig by Incubus

Dig

Incubus is one of my favorite bands ever. Their lyrics are usually more intelligent than the average band, and they approach even well-explored topics like love from a fresh perspective. The words to this song really speak to me. And I enjoyed the multiple meanings of the word Dig: "we all have something that digs at us; at least we dig each other" and "dig me up from under what is covering the better part of me."


I Think I’m in Love by Beck

I Think I'm In Love

This song has such a groovy feel. And I just love the vulnerability of the main line: “I think I’m in love, but it makes me kind of nervous to say so.”


Flathead by Fratellis

Flathead

This one is very up-tempo and completely wakes me in the morning! Well, as much as I can be awake before my first cup of tea or coffee that is. I didn’t like it at first, but it definitely becomes infectious!

From Channel 28 – Faction (Punk, Hip-Hop, Hard Rock Mix)
The Brooklyn Way by The Lordz

The Brooklyn Way

This song has such a cool vibe – “Spread love ‘cause it’s the Brooklyn Way.” It definitely got my head nodding...


From Channel 33 – Area 33 (Trance & Progressive House)
Reflect by Maor Levi

Reflect

I love Area 33… most of the songs have little or no vocals. I feel like they’re my movie soundtrack, the background music to my long, long drive up the highway. I could probably name 5 more tracks that have captured my interest recently from this station.

But this particular song is particularly hypnotic – ideal for getting lost in my thoughts, escorting me calmly through the traffic jams, or as the perfect accompaniment to those on-the-way-home daydreams.


From Channel 34 – Boombox (Breakbeats, Electronic Rock & Mash-Ups)
Work It Out by Jurassic 5 featuring Dave Matthews

Work It Out
I’m a big Dave Matthews fan, so I very interested to hear his collaboration with Jurassic 5! This song is very chill, and I appreciate songs that have a calm, groovy feeling while I’m dealing with the chaos of the commute.



So there they are – that’s my seven. I’ll hope you’ll give one or two a listen. Maybe you’ll even make a new friend.

14 comments:

Tammie Jean said...

With all the filters we have here on our network, I'm not sure if the links to the music are being filtered out or if they aren't functioning. From here on my work computer, it doesn't look like the codes I put are working. Can anyone listen to the music I posted? Just curious...

Nikki Neurotic said...

No music. I love Beck though, I love how all his albums are so different. Incubus is okay, I love their Make Yourself album that I never get tired of.

Tammie Jean said...

Hi Silverneurotic! No music huh? Darn codes! I wish I knew what I was doing with this stuff.
I love Make Yourself too! It just doesn't get old :)

houseband00 said...

Your list has got to be the coolest list among the other cool ones so far

Thanks for playing, Tammie! =)

Tammie Jean said...

Hi Houseband! And thanks! I'm immensely disappointed, though, that the links aren't working. Maybe I can figure it out tonight at home and repair my post!

Lizza said...

I wish I could listen to the music, too. Looks like a very interesting list!

velvet said...

Looks like some great stuff here! No links, though, which is too bad because I'm always looking for new music. I'll have to check these out some other way. :)

robkroese said...

I've never been a big fan of DM, but I do like that song. I also think Amy Lee has an amazing voice. She does some really interesting stuff with it too.

Tammie Jean, it's caption contest time again!

Nikki Neurotic said...

Happy Easter!

katie eggeman said...

Hello,
I am out reading all my favorites this morning and I am sad to say not familiar with any of your music, too bad the links didn't work. I love all kind of music, except hip hop and rap. They give me an actual headache, I let folks bring music to listen to while they train and they have widened my perspective on modern music. I have to admit to being a fan of 60's music, classical, and Elvis Costello.

Dan said...

You've got some eclectic tastes here! I can't say Incubus is my favorite band ever, but the fact that its yours tells me you're very unique. And that's great! I love music that most of my friends never heard.

Travis Cody said...

That's really cool. All of those songs are totally new to me. I'll have to check some of them out.

I'm not always open to new music, but I'm getting better. My Soul Patrol brothers and sisters have shown me that it doesn't have to come from before 1984 to be good music.

I had my doubts, but they haven't steered me wrong yet.

katie eggeman said...

Yes Yes!
Flathead, I Think I'm In Love, Dig,
Sweet Sacrifice, Reflect. Good music. Thanks for Imeem, I am going to check it out now that I have signed on.

Tammie Jean said...

Sorry for the delay in getting back here... every once in a while, real life takes over...


Hi Lizza! Yes, unfortunately I'm not as blog-savvy as you are! One of these days I'll figure out how to put the links in nicely.

Hi Velvet Girl! Sorry about those links... I'm not very good at this. I'll have to read up a bit and take another crack at this sometime...

Hi Diesel! Hmm... something tells me I've probably missed the latest caption contest. I do love how you always have something interesting going on over in your little corner of the blogosphere. I'll be stopping by to see what you're up to :)


Hi Silverneurotic! And thank you! I hope you enjoyed the holiday too :)


Hi Dan! I can't say that I have a favorite band... my tastes are far too wide and my musical moods ever-changing. But some bands I consistently enjoy, and Incubus is one of them. And yes, I probably am unique ;)


Hi Travis! I'm extremely open to all kinds of music. But 1984, well, songs from that era have the unfair advantage of having memories of my youth associated with them, so they will always be good! But new music is good too... new music and new memories :)


Hi Bankerchick! Wow, I'm glad you were able to check some of them out! And even more glad you found some that you like! Imeem is fun to click around... songs that I haven't been able to find in other sites I have found there.