New Tunes #2

It has been way too freaking long for this. (Of course, it's been way freaking long yet AGAIN that I've tried to blog. I am just so insanely lazy! :P ) In fact, I have a long, long list of all the songs that I need to do NTs for, but I’m splitting them up in pieces to make things easier for me. :)

And because it’s been so long, it was too much to put all the artists that are going to be featured in this post in the title.

In case you folks forgot, New Tunes is like The Story Siren’s IMM (In My Mailbox), except that instead of it being weekly and instead of it being with books, NT involves music that I recently put on my iPod, and NT has mini reviews of the songs listed. Like IMM, there is also a little Mr Linky at the bottom, if you want to get involved in the music action here. Usually these songs come from iTunes, unless otherwise stated (the ones here are all from iTunes but in some cases, I found them first from other sites such as Project Playlist).

Like so:

"White Liar" by Miranda Lambert from Revolution (2009). Written by Miranda Lambert and Natalie Hemby. I heard so much about this song all over the web, and, being a fan of Miranda Lambert myself, I knew it was a must-buy for me, especially as it is now hailed as one of her best songs and the most aired. I don’t think I even really sampled the song fully on Youtube or Project Playlist—I think I simply listened to a thirty-second sample without thinking about whether I liked it much before buying it—but I quickly bout it, and once I had it loaded up on my iPod, I listened to it immediately. It…wasn’t quite what I expected. I was in the mood at the time for a hard-hitting country rock song, not unlike Lambert’s previous hits, “Gunpowder and Lead” and “Kerosene”, and “White Liar” wasn’t quite that. Considering Lambert’s usual twangy vigor in her songs, “White Liar” was quite calm, though full of the usual cutting girl-power edge popular in many country songs nowadays. For awhile, I didn’t listen to the song much until Twitter and Facebook friends kept talking about it non-stop. So I gave it another go. Songwriting? Clever, catchy. Music? Again, calm for Lambert. Overall? Unique from other country, a slight departure from what is usually expected from this artist, yet very much teeming of Lambert. Score: 9/10

"Big Yellow Taxi" by Counting Crows featuring Vanessa Carlton from Films About Ghosts (2003). Written by Joni Mitchell. I kind of feel like I can’t really review this song, because I’d heard it so much even when I was little and always wanted to know what song it was. I didn’t find out it was a Counting Crows song until back when I was on my Vanessa Carlton high (plus, I thought that would make my online pal, Anilee, happy that I found a Counting Crows song I liked ;) ). There’s so much to like about this song, and although I’m fond of a few Vanessa Carlton songs, the part I least liked about “Big Yellow Taxi” was the fact that Carlton served as background vocals. Perhaps it’s because I usually find background vocals really annoying and cheesy unless it’s done by the lead vocals or unless it is a member of the band performing it, but I wasn’t a fan of her in there. What I did like? Mitchell’s clever, multi-dimensional songwriting full of depth in such a short song (though I haven’t heard the original and can’t judge it, I feel kind of proud to be listening to a song by an artist referenced to in You’ve Got Mail ;) ), Counting Crows’ vocals, and the fact that I found a song I enjoyed listening to on the radio as a little kid. Score: 9/10

"December" by Norah Jones from December - Single (2009). Written by Norah Jones. Norah, Norah, Norah…she is by far one of the best artists of the twenty-first century. As always, graceful music, interesting songwriting, and mature vocals from a young artist who debuted with eight Grammys back in 2002. For some reason, I dislike listening to Christmas music during Christmastime (on my iPod, at least. Things are always different on the radio), but this song was easy to listen to, and I loved listening to it even when December had long past. Perhaps it’s because it’s not just a Christmas song—it’s more a song about the month of December, or it may be an allegory for lost love, as almost all songs are. Definitely recommended. Score: 9/10

"Goodbyes" by Savannah Outen from Goodbyes - Single (2008). Written by Savannah Outen. I found this song completely by accident--I heard it on Vimeo (the MV was used an ad break song). I thought it was okay at first, just really catchy, and after I looked it up, it seemed to become...well, even catchier. After awhile, it kind of...well, it wears off on you. Savannah Outen, fresh out from YouTube fame, certainly has much talent as a singer (especially for her age--watch out, Taylor Swift), though is probably a little lacking on songwriting (apparently she wrote this song, and though apparently she wrote it as a middle schooler, it doesn't seem to have been written with added finesse later). I honestly think this is a fun song, especially for a graduation, and it's fun to perform on the guitar (and if you check out the video, Savannah has a wicked awesome acoustic guitar. I. Want. It. And I do need a new guitar), but it's definitely not a great song. This artist certainly has a lot of potential, provided she doesn't take the well-worn Radio Disney route. Score: 7/10

After you've listened to some, all, or none of those songs above, how about giving your opinion on some songs you found lately, or even the ones above? Sign up on the Mr Linky below, and happy listening!

New Tunes #1: Feist and Vanessa Carlton

Hope you folks had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I’m hoping to post every two or three days when I’m free, but once the week is over (*cry*) I will be doing scheduled posts (I hope) so that this blog isn’t totally dead. Woohoo! Also, be sure to check out my contests page later today! :D

Anywho, I’m sure you noticed the new font. Like it? I’m simply loving it!

Another new thing! I’m adding a new feature. I think below it says it’s called something like “Unconscious Mutterings” or whatever, but just ignore it. For now, I’m calling it “New Tunes”. Basically, I list the songs that I recently downloaded (for me, it’s iTunes. For others, it may be Napster, Limewire, Amazon, whatever; it must be DOWNLOADED, not hardcopy albums you bought from Target or Wal-Mart or Costco), and I give mini reviews for them. If you’d like to participate in this meme, just make a post called “New Tunes” (with or without a schnazzy title; I’m just always going to put the artists’ names unless I encounter a stroke of genius for the title), write about your new songs (or podcasts, apps, iTunes games, whatever), post, and come back over here and go to Mr Linky below (after saying “hello” to him, of course. I think he’s going to be my new online BFF, seriously. It’s so AWESOME!!). Be sure that you link back to my blog in your post!! If you don’t, I will bother you about that for the rest of your life!!! (Kidding, kidding…sort of. No, but really. Do it.) Now, my turn!

“1234″ by Feist from The Reminder (2007). Written by Sally Seltmann and Leslie Feist. I first heard about this song thanks to my dear friends Summermoon and Jess (love you gals!) on Twitter. At first, when I listened to it on Project Playlist, I thought it was a little too odd and quirky for my taste. But for some random reason, months later, I wanted to listen to it again and decide what I thought of it again. I guess I started liking odd and quirky, because I loved it the second time around. I simply couldn’t get it out of my head for days on end, and finally decided to buy it. SO glad I did. Loved the songwriting–pure genius. And I simply adore the jazzy-twangy sound it has to it. It’s like KT Tunstall, Norah Jones, and Alison Krauss mixed in to one song. (P.S. I have yet to watch the video that the title links to.) Score: 10/10

“Nolita Fairytale” by Vanessa Carlton from Heroes and Thieves (2007). Written by Vanessa Carlton and Stephan Jenkins. I randomly found this song on Project Playlist when I was trying to look for more Vanessa Carlton songs. The name struck me as interesting (and you all know my penchant for fairytales), and I loved it from the start! If there is an award for “Best Use of Instruments”, this should win it. I love how the piano mixes in with the funky percussion beat of the drums. The piano totally reminds me of some Internet game I used to play…I forget what’s it called, but anyway, I love everything about this song! The uneven rhythm, the poetic lyrics (Vanessa is fab at this), you name it. Go! Listen to it! Score: 10/10

“White Houses” by Vanessa Carlton from White Houses – Single (2004). Written by Vanessa Carlton and Stephan Jenkins. I found this at the same time as “Nolita Fairytale”, and I was quite eager to listen to this one, as I think it was either Anilee or Erin who had this as their tweet or their gchat status update once. From the start, I loved it. I never knew Vanessa had such a wide range with her voice, and the lyrics pretty much sell, although if you find out what it’s about it’s not very clean. I love songs that I can relate to, and this one I definitely couldn’t until the very last verse, so I actually rewrote it so that it’s cleaner–and relatable! Anyway, I thought this song really exemplified what GOOD music is about, and the kind of talent that a REAL singer should show. If there is only one song Vanessa shines in, it’s this one. Score: 10/10

“Heroes and Thieves” by Vanessa Carlton from Heroes and Thieves (2007). Written by Vanessa Carlton. Okay, one last Vanessa song! I heard this also on Project Playlist at the same time as the other two, and thought, “Wait a sec–doesn’t this sound like ‘Ordinary Day’?” And it does. But it’s…different. It’s quite set apart from “Ordinary Day”. Sure, the melody is strangely similar, but it’s such a lovely waltz-y song that it’s easy to tell the two apart and still tell that it’s a Vanessa song. I’m still trying to figure out the meaning of this song–whether it’s a pure love song, or more like a diss-the-ex-lover song–but either way, it reminds me of Robin Hood in that the speaker is having trouble distinguishing heroes and thieves. I dunno about you, but this sounds like story material to me! Score: 10/10