“Spend A Lifetime” by Jamiroquai
On “Spend a Lifetime”, Jamiroquai step away from their usual funky brand of pop for a second, to explore deeper waters.
Dramatic keys and opera-style strings fuse to create a sense of timelessness as Jay comes to the realization that she is “the one”.
Here’s to finding “forever”….
Title: Spend A Lifetime
Artist: Jamiroquai
Album: Traveling Without Moving, 1997
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“Let’s Burn Again” by Gush
If the Beatles and Jamiroquai got together to form a band, it would probably be called Gush, and their first single would probably sound something like “Let’s Burn Again”.
Gush is very much a family affair when you consider that two of the band members are siblings and the other two are cousins.
What really caught my attention with this group was the fact that it is composed of four vocalists with pretty distinct styles who are nonetheless able to mesh to create some amazing melodies. They have abandoned the traditional band format, which has one lead singer being backed by various instrumentalists. Gush has four leaders happy to share the spotlight, and this makes for a very refreshing sound.
Melodies people…..it’s all about the melodies.
Title: Let’s Burn Again
Artist: Gush
Album: Everybody’s God, (album to be released on June 22, 2010)
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Loading ...“Que N’ai Je” by Keren Ann
My relationship with Keren Ann is what the French would refer to as a “Coup de foudre”. Translated literally, it means “lightning strike”, but in this context it stands for “love at first sight” (or maybe at first “sound” in this case). I was introduced to her this morning (seriously… just 3 hours ago) in the most random and sudden of fashions. I’m on MSN chatting with a friend and out of nowhere: “ I got some music for you…check this out”. Of course I checked it out and………..here I am, falling for yet another cute French singer….lol.
“Que n’ai je” begins with a solitary bassline accompanied by a flurry of hi-hats before the lead guitar creeps in and Keren Ann’s vocals the grab the spotlight for good. Her voice is incredible, her melodies warm and her style seems devoid of any superficiality. It’s really no wonder that her whispers have had me entranced all morning….
Frantz…thanks for the pass. You know I don’t miss “one on ones”…lol.
Title: Que n’ai je
Artist: Keren Ann
Album: Nolita, 2004
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Loading ...“Can’t get over” by Dinner at the Thompson’s
There’s few things more difficult than having to let go of the past. Change always takes its toll on us whether we like to admit or not. The process of having to come to terms with someone’s absence from our lives often takes time and in most cases, is a painful one.
The pain is usually self-inflicted, especially when we dwell on the “why”. “Why does anything happen?” I am definitely not from the school of thought that assigns practical reasoning to everything that happens in our personal lives. We have to at least consider the possibility of a little randomness or we’d over analyze every unexpected or undesired event.
“Can’t get over” sees Lucille mourn the absence of her lover while exploring possible reasons as to why the break up happened and why she feels this way: the quintessential exercise in futility.
That being said, this song is awesome. The lyrics exhibit the maturity to accurately depict the situation at hand, but the vocals sound very innocent, adolescent even. I love the drums on this: classic samba brushes mixed with hip hop kicks and snares. The drumming is pretty unorthodox and a bit all over the place. I guess we can take that as a metaphor for the range of emotions she’s going through.
Jazz, electronica, funk..or whatever else you want to call it.
Ionna…thanks for this one. Miami 2007.
Title: Can’t get over
Artist: Dinner at the Thompson’s
Album: Lifetime on planet earth, 2007
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“Homme” by Brazilian Girls
Everything about this band catches you off-guard. We can start with its name, Brazilian Girls, which is misleading to say the least, considering that there is only one girl in the band and in fact no Brazilians at all. Then we can talk about the band’s style which is listed as electronic dance music, but ventures into house, salsa, triphop and even reggae. How about Sabina Sciubba’s (lead singer) fluency in English, French, Spanish and German? (Notice I didn’t mention Portuguese).
‘Homme’ has that “smoky bar” feel. A smooth mix of live drums and triphop grooves infused with very sensual vocals delivered “en francais”.
The song has many different parts and phases and almost sounds a bit disjointed at times due to the sheer complexity of the instrumentation. However, it is this exact aspect of it that keeps it “fresh” and prevents it from sounding repetitive.
Great live music.
Title: Homme
Artist: Brazilian Girls
Album: Brazilian Girls, 2005
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Ssidy is what my friends call me. I was born in Senegal of Malian parents (hence my Mali nationality). I grew up all over the place…Bamako, London, Accra, Cape Town, before I went to college in Miami and finally got a job in Sydney where I’ve been living since August 2008.
When I’m not working on The Timbuktu Project, or as a financial analyst (full-time), you can usually catch me somewhere on a football pitch or involved in anything music related. Music is everything to me. Whatever mood I am in, there is always a song that captures the moment perfectly. Anyone who has spent more than 10 minutes around me will probably attest to this: I listen to all types of stuff.....possibly because no single genre holds enough songs to quench that musical thirst of mine... 