So I'm listening to a lot. So what?
The Old 97's are a great band, despite common reservations concerning country music. They're considered alt. country, but really, they're a huge combination of things, and Satellite Rides was quite poppy. Poppy and wonderful, and the lyrics are often funny and always clever, though admittedly bizarre. Rhett Miller is the lead singer. Drag It Up was just released July 27th.
What I'm listening to: Drag It Up, Satellite Rides, Fight Songs, Wreck Your Life
Graham Colton Band's first major record label release is Drive. They're a young band, just starting out, but their songs really are wonderful. I'm really bad at explaining why I like things. "And I want you to know/That I took everything/For granted/And if you wanna know the truth/It was an accident of youth/The last thing that I'm takin' is the blame..." That was an attempt to make you realize their glory.
What I'm listening to: Drive, Graham Colton (their self-titled, independent release)
Maroon 5, simply because they are opening for John Mayer. It's to stave off boredom at the concert. But they're not bad, just bizarre.
Their Album: Songs About Jane
Guster is a little bit strange, and Lost and Gone Forever, though wonderful, has fairly repetitive songs. Their harmonies are lovely, I really do like them.
What I'm listening to: Keep It Together, Lost and Gone Forever
Rhett Miller is a must. Not that the Old 97's and Graham Colton aren't. His solo album is so beautiful...it really shows what a talented songwriter he is. I never, ever tired of the song "Come Around". Never. And "Your Nervous Heart"--"I know the world's a bitch don't get me wrong/You gotta give the world the finger/You gotta sing a happy song/And makin' love's by far the better part..." And "Hover" and "The El" and I love it all.
His album: The Instigator
I'm still listening to whichever Fountains of Wayne comes my way on random on my computer. Mostly from Utopia Parkway and Welcome Interstate Managers.
Damien Rice is Irish and weird and his songs are so charged with emotion that you can be completely drawn in. Though I can't help but laugh at "Eskimo," he is very great.
What I'm listening to: O
The Soundtrack we made for the Story is something that I also listen to. It's very exciting to hear the songs and know which part they go with.
Artists incuded on it: John Mayer, Fountains of Wayne, Old 97's, Guster
I wanted to prove to myself that I could wait until now. Leave him to last, showing that this list was in no particular order. I wish that I could describe why I like things.
JOHN MAYER is a must, an always, a forever. He is such a talented guitar player, songwriter, singer. His voice is so wonderful, breathy but not too much. His songs feel so true and his words fit together so well...I can't explain it why I love his music so much. His concerts become my whole world for their duration; after a weekend of being totally messed up, listening to "Clarity" suddenly made it all right. Sometimes I feel like I could exist simply listening to his songs forever, headphones on, oblivious to the goings-on of the world.
What I'm listening to: Heavier Things, Room For Squares, Inside Wants Out, Any Given Thursday, "Tracing," (the "Bigger Than My Body" single), the bonus disc released with Heavier Things in April, and various downloaded live songs.
But really, I spend a lot of time at the computer, and so I listen to more than just this, b/c iTunes is on random most of the time.
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