The Sock-It-To-Me Factor

There are two reasons I've avoided posting on Musical Revolutionaries.
1.) Larkin and Lynn's posts are so good.
2.) As Lynn previously stated, sharing your music with others is just plain scary.
But now that I have an essay to write, I figured this is as good a time as any to leave my mark.

It's hard for me to pick one genre of music that I love above the rest, but I can't deny my soul. For me, soul music is unlike any other genre of music. I feel a deep connection towards it. You may read that last statement and assume that this connection is based on my being African American. While that certainly may be a factor, I think people respond strongly to soul music regardless ethnicity. Soul artists aren't afraid to expose themselves and embrace imperfections. That's why I love it!

I was browsing through an old imeem playlist that I made awhile back and found some really good songs that had slipped my memory over the past year or so.

Morning Sunrise- Weldon Irvine


I love finding music that hip hop artists have sampled. I think I found this song in the summer of 2006. Listening to it now I can feel the rays of light that beamed through my Oakshade bedroom window. Irvine was such a cool cat. He was Nina Simone's band leader and penned a song that inspired many, "Young, Gifted, and Black." Please enjoy the smooth and earthy melody of this tune.

California Soul- Marlena Shaw


Dude, do you hear this?! "When you hear the beat you've got to pat your feet" Heck yes! I'm pretty sure I discovered this song around the same time as Irvine's. The horns, the strings, and the rhythm all combine to form something melodic and funky. It's been sampled too.

I'll bake cookies (or buy a drink!) for the first person to name the songs/artists that sampled these.

Forgive Me - City And Colour

Thank my housemate Derek for this one.

Music when you're alone vs. with others

It's sort of strange playing the music you really like to other people. You develop this immense attachment to a certain song, and how could that possibly be transferred over in one listen? It's sort of feels like being judged in a competition.

Yes, It's Electronic

I'm not sure exactly what I want to say in this first post, so I will just start out with expressing my excitement for the creation of this blog. I think it is a great way for all of us to stay connected just the way we started out - with music. And me, personally, I love the idea of communal blogs. And, just as Larkin says, I had always thought my musical taste was superior to everyone else's. So I love talking about my music, and sharing my music with people. This blog is a great, non-imposing way to do that. I can post the music I like here, and whoever reads it can decide whether or not they like it, without having to deal with the moment's pressure. Which everyone, included the pressurer, absolutely hates. Because really I don't want to impose my music. I would actually not like you if you expressed extreme excitement and euphoria upon hearing a piece of new music I presented.

I was in a musical slump for over a year. I'm still kind of in it, and it feels like I'm getting stuck in the music I listened to a few years ago, unable to have the same level of love and appreciation for new artists and sounds. I moved all of my old hipster music onto this external hard drive about a year ago, hoping that a long enough period of time would pass before I could fall in love with it again (Bloc Party, The Faint, The Unicorns, Franz Ferdinand, Death Cab, etc.). And I revisited them a few months ago, and my appreciation is still there. I still love their sound. But I still needed more. I wanted an increased music collection. I already knew them well enough: I simply want to get to know more music.

With the shutdown of Oink, it is harder for me to find new music to listen to. Additionally, the art of sitting in front of my computer clicking through Amazon, iTunes music store, or last.fm to find artists I might like is just too time-consuming and not supremely satisfying like it once was. I'm lazy. I depend on my friends. And so, a wonderful thing happened. My friend, Yang, from Boston, came to the bay area for a visit and gave me a whole bunch of lesser-known electronic music. I know, I know, what a buzzkill. But it was a great day for me. And I have discovered a lovely collection of electronic music. So I have been listening to electronic music.

So I will list a few recommendations from my new collection of music. I still don't know them all super super well, so I'll put down iTunes's more popular picks, and add last.fm sample links wherever possible.

Fischerspooner - Emerge
Fischerspooner - Never Win
Kim Hiorthoy - I Thought We Could Eat Friends
Ellen Allien & Apparat - Way Out

And, just to be less electronically focused, if you haven't heard Elliott Smith's posthumously released album, New Moon, it's quite amazing. More amazing than any of his previous albums. That is to say, if you didn't appreciate him before, your best window of opportunity is with this album. Some recommendations to start with: New Monkey, Thirteen

And just for the sake of keeping humor alive in music: Fanny Pack - Cameltoe

-Lynn (b/c I've had a blogger for a little while now)

The Beginning.

I live in a music bubble, convinced that my music is better, my playlists are superior. There are songs that I can listen to over and over, and they still constantly evoke strong emotions and thoughts or memories. At the age of 16, this fact is what convinced me of my musical superiority. But now at 21, which is young but a lot older than 16, I realize that this is how most people feel. At 16 I knew this too, but I wasn't really willing to consider it or accept it.

Recently I was trying to make a playlist for a friend's party and I realized they were all the same songs, but this time they were just background noise. Listening to my old favorites didn't evoke anything. I have been so encased in my musical bubble, that I have bored myself, and created a porridge of music, that used to mean so much, but due to lack of fresh meat has become dry and predictable. I didn't even really listen to the songs anymore, because I knew every note and every line. So I'd shout on my friend's Last.Fms or Facebooks " any new music?" or "what's your new favorite song?" Except for the very rare golden voice or guitar, everyone else seemed to be in the same sort of slump. Even when someone would suggest a record or album, I wouldn't give it full attention. I'd half listen and then re-settle into the comfort of my own personal musical habitat.

Something had to be done.

I figured it would be best to start with the basics, and make myself think back, really think about why my favorite songs are my favorite songs. I have this habit of saying "This is my Favorite Song," about pretty much every song. I wanted to challenge myself, as well as the people closest to me, to actively listen and decide what makes their music their music, and in doing so maybe provide someone else with a new favorite song, in some way making their music our music.

It was hard and emotional to make the list. But I'm glad that I did, and I'm so excited to listen to everyone elses. And since with the introduction of new music the lists may change, I hope that this is an ongoing project.

Another thing that I hope is that we can incorporate more people. I'm glad it started with us, but I would love for it to grow. So invite whoever. And people don't have to make CDs, they can just post their lists, and maybe artist links or something?

Here we go...

"Change is the only Constant, but if Music is always changing... it has to be a Constant too."

larkin.