Song For The Moment

“Fall Hard” by Shout Out Louds

Matty tipped me off to the new album by everyone’s favorite Swedish indie rockers earlier this week.  I procured it from a well placed source, and have now been enjoying it for the past 24 hours.  These boyos write some sweet-ass pop tunes that never fail to put a smile on my face.

Can’t really ask more of a band than that.

Song For The Moment

“Drowning Men” by Fanfarlo

I dropped my little sis off at the airport yesterday, as she left on her big London adventure.  Therefore, this song is for her — one of the (many) bands from Londinium that I’m sure she’ll be checking out very soon.  My pal Kyle gave me the album a few weeks ago, and I’ve been enjoying it greatly since then — it’s a nice combination of Arcade Fire and Sufjan Stevens (epic and folky at the same time.)

Do yerself a favor and check it out.  And Al, I’ll get you the CD soon…

Song For The Moment

“Fannin Street” (Live) by Tom Waits

In honor of our boy Erik, I’m popping up a track from the forthcoming Tom album, being released next week.  Glitter And Doom: Live comes out on the 24th, a 2-disc set collecting tunes from his most recent tour (with the second disc containing just Tom Tales!).  If you’re interested in hearing the first few tracks, Tom’s offering them for free, and you can download them here.

Get behind the mule, friends.

Song For The Moment

“Dig A Pony” by The Beatles

Since the release of Beatles: Rock Band, this has become one of my favorite Fab Four tunes.  It’s been stuck in my head for weeks, and every time I sing it — or play the fake guitar on it — I love it even more (especially last night, when I got to play it on a huge projection screen).  You can see a video of this tune from the Beatles last performance here.

Song For The Moment

“Any Time At All” by The Beatles

It’s been all Beatles, all the time for me over the past few weeks.  I got my hands on a copy of the new remastered box set for their albums (improving the sound quality of my Beatles library immensely).  I picked up Beatles: Rock Band after months of wait.  Just last night, the wife and I, along with Diesel and Matty tore through the story mode, following the Fab Four from their beginnings in the Cavern Club to the last performance atop Apple Records.  It was a fantastic time, giving you a better appreciation and perspective on the band — while still being a joy to play and sing (three part harmony!) for a few hours.

I’ve also been listening to each of the albums in their entirety, something I haven’t done in years.  I’ve found songs I previously missed and now love — like this track, off A Hard Day’s Night.  It’s also made me wonder what my favorite album is — used to be that I would’ve said Sgt. Pepper’s, hands down, but now I’m not so sure.

What’s your favorite Beatles album?  Let me know in the comments.

Song for the Moment

“Summertime In Maine” by The Royals

Going through all the photos and videos we took over vacation.  Instantly wishing I was back up on the coast, sipping some ice-cold Blue Paw.  Ah well, I’ll just have to listen to this tune on repeat for a while — an original by The Royals (featuring my father-in-law…).

Song For The Moment

“The Birth And Death Of The Day” by Explosions In The Sky

Heading to Central Park this evening to see EITS.  Hoping that the rain will hold off, as much as it can.  Then again, I can think of worse things in the world than standing in a summer shower and having this song wash over me, along with the raindops.

Thunderous.

(Congrats to EITS on their third appearance in “Song For The Moment”…)

Song For The Moment

“Fresh Blood” by Eels

I was pleasantly surprised to read about a new Eels album this week, and immediatly made a mental note to pick it up.  So, it was with great joy that I discovered my wife was way ahead of me — she brought the album home from work.  Entitled Hombre Lobo: 12 Songs of Desire, I’ve been enjoying it for the past two days.

It’s the spiritual successor to Souljacker (another great Eels album), and is yet another fantastic disc filled with tunes both growling, rough-and-tumble tracks/lovely, lush and sweet-yet-simple.

This particular tune made me feel like some sort of bad-ass vampire as I walked (strutted?) to work this morning.  So, I decided to share it with you.

Song For The Moment

“Meanwhile, Rick James” by Cake

Some mornings, things will drag you down.  A case of the Mondays with gloomy skies.  Then, some sun will shine down, the smell of freshly cut grass will waft through the air, and this song will come on your headphones.

And your day will be brightened immeasurably.

Song For The Moment

“The Great Salt Lake” by Band of Horses

Just got home from seeing them perform an acoustic-ish show at Carnegie Hall with Matty.  Then, watched the Sox come back and sweep the Bombers.  Not a bad evening.  Not a bad evening at all.

Song For The Moment

“Greet Death” by Explosions In The Sky

This morning, as I reached (what would seem to be) the climax of Wizard & Glass (The Dark Tower: Book Four), this song played through my ears.  ‘Explosions…’ are, by the nature of their music, a very “emotional” band (those of us who watch ‘Friday Night Lights’ can attest to this with clear eyes and full hearts).  But, still, this specific tune managed to take me by surprise — encapsulating all the emotions I was feeling as I read and magnifying them exponentially.

It’s the first time I’ve ever felt a song sync up and actually enhance a reading experience.  It was something quite remarkable.  As the Reaping was upon us, and our dear Roland, Alain, Cuthbert, Susan and Sheemie managed to XXXXX from the XXXXX (don’t want to spoil anything)… this song scored every moment, every emotion.

It was pretty special.

(Also, upon reflection, the title is quite apropos.)

Song of the Moment

“Wilco (The Song)” by Wilco

On a day where I decidedly needed a pick-me-up, this new track provided (in spades).  Wilco will love you.

Song For The Moment

“I’ve Got Friends” by Manchester Orchestra

I’ve been loving Manchester Orchestra’s new album all week — Mean Everything To Nothing — and this is one of the tracks on the album that’s been really sticking with me.  So, I’ve decided to share it here with you.

Enjoy.