Music and Intelligence Come Together!

I have discovered a great site for free music that is tailored to your own musical tastes. It is called Pandora®, The Music Genome Project®, and you can find it at www.pandora.com.

Basically, this is how it works:

You pick a song, artist or album that you like, and create your own radio station based on that style of music. The site will then start playing songs that are similar in style musically, vocally, rhythmically, and many other variations. Then, you can give the song a thumbs up or thumbs down based on your opinion of it. If you give it a thumbs up, it will continue to deliver songs that their technology has decided you might like. If you give it a thumbs down, the site will change the parameters and perform new calculations to eventually zero in on your musical tastes.

The coolest part about this idea, is that you end up finding a lot of GREAT music that you either never heard of, or never knew you liked! For instance, I started one of my stations with Temple of the Dog, and naturally, I got songs by Audioslave, Pearl Jam, Live, and Soundgarden, but I also got a song from Earshot, a band that I apparently missed the boat on. Presto! I just found a new album that I like! Man, these guys are smart!

And not only do you get to listen to the songs for free, but they have bios about the band, reviews of the albums, cover art, etc.

And you can create different radio stations based on what you feel like listening to at the time. Maybe you want to listen to something that has a vocal that is more clean sounding or music that is more jazz oriented. You can create a Police station, (there's a play on words for you) and maybe discover The Fixx, Yes, Earth Opera, or an obscure David Bowie song that you never heard before. Who knows?

I have no idea how it works, but this is how they explain it.

The Music Genome Project®

On January 6, 2000 a group of musicians and music-loving technologists came together with the idea of creating the most comprehensive analysis of music ever.

Together we set out to capture the essence of music at the most fundamental level. We ended up assembling literally hundreds of musical attributes or "genes" into a very large Music Genome. Taken together these genes capture the unique and magical musical identity of a song - everything from melody, harmony and rhythm, to instrumentation, orchestration, arrangement, lyrics, and of course the rich world of singing and vocal harmony. It's not about what a band looks like, or what genre they supposedly belong to, or about who buys their records - it's about what each individual song sounds like.

Since we started back in 2000, we've carefully listened to the songs of tens of thousands of different artists - ranging from popular to obscure - and analyzed the musical qualities of each song one attribute at a time. This work continues each and every day as we endeavor to include all the great new stuff coming out of studios, clubs and garages around the world.

It has been quite an adventure, you could say a little crazy - but now that we've created this extraordinary collection of music analysis, we think we can help be your guide as you explore your favorite parts of the music universe.

We hope you enjoy the journey.

Tim Westergren
Founder
The Music Genome Project

Jack Johnson - Sleep Through The Static

After listening to the newest Jack Johnson album, “Sleep Through The Static”, all I want to do is listen to it some more. On a personal level, it seems that the Hawaiian born singer, songwriter, surfer, and film-maker is constantly searching for something. This is very evident in the opening song, “All At Once”. He alludes to things not being right in the world, and that we should be strong enough to do something about them. But what do we do instead? We continue on in life, planting seeds and growing roots. “For what?” he asks. Is it a place in the afterlife? To leave a legacy? Or is it, as he says, “at least something we can hold”? I think the most definitive answer is another lyric, “nobody really knows”. Nobody really knows anything. Except, I do know, that this is one great album!

Jack Johnson, the avid environmentalist, has created this album from his solar-powered studio, and added keyboards and electric guitar to his simple acoustic guitar rhythms, but his lyrics are what really make this compilation exceptional. Yeah, if you just listen to the overall “sound” of the CD, you might say to yourself, “It all sounds the same”. But if you get into what he is trying to say, you will find yourself transfixed by his melodic poetry.

The song “Hope” for instance, on the surface, sounds like a fun-loving, reggae-style romp, until you hear the words that are underneath the Marley-style beat. There is an under-lying suffering that hasn’t been disguised in this manner since The Police did “Synchronicity”.

It’s gonna lift you up and let you down
It will defeat you then teach you to get back up
After it takes all that
You learn to love

I have read all of the lyrics a few times now, and I still don’t really know what “it” is. At first, I thought that “it” meant “hope”, but now, I realize, that “it” could be any one of a number of things; pride, love, drugs, emotion, greed, life, take your pick. If you happen to read this article, watch the video below, and leave a comment telling me what you think “it” is.

The title track, “Sleep Through the Static” is a great arrangement of thoughts that are stacked on top of one another and run together from beginning to end, and segmented by the chorus, which scolds us for going “beyond where we should have gone”, an obvious anti-war chant.

The 2 sections of verse, which are actually metered run-on sentences, remind me of the song “Scar Tissue” by Red Hot Chili Peppers. As a matter of fact, Jack’s vocals remind me of Anthony Kiedis, in spots, throughout the whole album.

Bravo to Jack for speaking his mind, and telling us that you don’t have to be labeled a traitor just because you don’t agree with war, and that being opposed to using brute force does not necessarily mean that you are weak.

A nice Strat solo with a marching snare drum takes this song to it’s conclusion stylishly.

I can continue to write down how each song from this album makes me feel, but I don’t want anyone reading this to have a pre-determined mental picture of what it is about. It is better to listen to it yourself, and let the lyrics bring out your own emotions. Be careful, though, your emotions may overwhelm you, as you ride this mental roller coaster. Not only do I recommend this album, but also consider it a MUST for any serious music collection.

Here is the songlist:

1. All At Once
2. Sleep Through The Static
3. Hope
4. Angel
5. Enemy
6. If I Had Eyes
7. Same Girl
8. What You Thought You Need
9. Adrift
10. Go On
11. They Do, They Don’t
12. While We Wait
13. Monsoon
14. Losing Keys

I compare this album to “Graceland” by Paul Simon. You probably won’t hear most of the songs on mainstream radio, but if you buy it and listen to it, you will still love it 20 years later, and the messages will still be relevant.

Also, take a minute to check out the Kokua Hawaii Foundation at www.kokuahawaiifoundation.org, an environmental awareness organization that Jack co-founded.

Sia Furler - Some People Have Real Problems

Sia - Some People Have Real Problems

Well, if you have seen Zero 7 play live before, either on their tours, late night talk show rounds, or from videos that you can find on the internet, the question that might come to mind is, "Just how many people are in this band, anyway?" Well, actually, there are only 2. Yep, even though you have seen them with multiple singers and guest musicians, sometimes crowding the stage with up to 20 people, the Grammy-nominated, downtempo style group is actually the brain-child of 2 London-based sound engineers named Henry Bins and Sam Hardaker.

Most of the musicians that they use, have already been accomplished on their own, but some have become more well-known because of their association with Zero 7. Their popular trio of vocalists, Sia Furler, Sophie Barker, and Tina Dico are no exceptions. Although they each compliment the style of the band, sometimes singing alone or sharing the stage, they also have their own unique styles that set them apart from the others. As I get time, I will try to examine all of their styles, but today I want to talk about Sia Furler, or just Sia, which is what she calls herself, and her newest album "Some People Have Real Problems".

If you are into the downtempo (or "chill-out") style of music, then this album will definitely appeal to you. But be aware, that if you are looking for mainstream pop, this album may not be for you. Sia has a very odd style about her that may grate on some people, with a vibrato which is sometimes overdone, but if you accept her for what she is, which is a very talented performance artist, you will be captivated by her ability. She is definitely NOT Fergie!

The album itself is very well crafted, with no short-cuts taken. If a piece needed a background choir or horn section to complete it, it was provided. Not by over-dubbing or sampling, but by REAL musicians, playing REAL instruments. Imagine that, in this world of technology! Bravo, Sia!



The above video of the triumphant "Day Too Soon" was from the radio show, "Morning Becomes Eclectic", on KCRW, Santa Monica, California, and I think it really shows her ability to just belt out a great performance. I mean, here she is, just hanging out on a chair (terrible posture for singing) at a radio station, and on the spot, effortlessly nails a track that would be a keeper in any professional recording studio. Then she just goes back to being goofy and giggling, like it was nothing. There are plenty more of these cuts, so check out all of her YouTube videos, if you get a chance.

The rest of the album is full of just great music (like I said, if you appreciate the style). Personally, I do. Again, I am amazed at Sia's ability to breathe life into an otherwise simple song, like on the track, "You Have Been Loved". There is nothing fancy about this song. In fact, it's really not my favorite. It is just piano, strings, drums, and vocals. That's it! But Sia sings it so well, that you want to listen to it over and over.

The opening song, "Little Black Sandals" is kind of humorous, with her footwear having the brains enough to walk away from a bad relationship when her real brain isn't sure.

I thought the song "The Girl You Lost To Cocaine" sounded like a Pretenders song, and then I was pleasantly surprised to see a remake of an ACTUAL Pretenders song, "I Go To Sleep". Actually, the song was written by Ray Davies, and covered by quite a few artists, including Marion Maerz, and Rasputina.

The jazzy, apologetic, "Lentil" is a nice addition to the album, with a music style similar to Fiona Apple, and a vocal like Tori Amos. The song swells to a nice orchestral crescendo, and then fades off quietly, like it began. Nicely done.

Other highlights include the fun, interesting "Playground" which I could see getting some airplay on stations other than public radio (I say that like it's a bad thing), along with "Buttons", which kind of has a B-52's style dance beat, a la "Rock Lobster". Another track that accentuates Sia's vocals is "Death By Chocolate", which has a full choir that lays a foundation for her to sing over.

Here is the full song list:

Little Black Sandals
Lentil
Day Too Soon
You Have Been Loved
The Girl You Lost To Cocaine
Academia
I Go To Sleep
Playground
Death By Chocolate
Soon We'll Be Found
Electric Bird
Beautiful Calm Driving
Lullaby
Buttons

So, two thumbs up from me, especially if you like Zero 7, Tori Amos, Fiona Apple, The Pretenders, or if you just want to listen to something that isn't really like most of the music out there.