Damien Rice

I have wondered for a while what to do with this blog to get it started and get me back to writing. So remembering the old artist of the week slot from many moons ago I thought I would start with a music post, from a artist I first heard while driving up north on the A1 and listening to Radio 1 late on a Sunday evening, many moons ago.

 

The song I heard that day was 9 Crimes by Damien Rice and the song just haunted me for weeks. Since that day I have grown more and more found of his music and the Irish music scene in general, you just have to look though the blog to notice that. The song I have picked for the post is called "Blowers Daughter" and I heard it just after discovering Damien Rice, in fact it was the second of his songs I heard. It has many interpretations and moves people in different ways and I will let you workout your own meaning for the song. I know what mine is.

I started the wrong way round listening to his albums starting with the last album he released and I have just managed to pick up his first album while I was browsing though some cheap CD’s while shopping at the supermarket. Now I own that CD and I’m sure will have many hours of pleasure listening too it. It is the sort of music you can listen to in the evening and lose yourself in the music and the lyrics, and that is just what I plan to do with it, in those moments I find myself alone.

 

Damien Rice has only realsed two studio albums to date, and I hope that one day soon we might get another one, but for now the two albums I now own will do just fine.

The Music Slot

I have had a few people contact me recently and ask me what happened to the artist of the week spot on the blog and when is it going to start again. For those that are new it was a sort regular feature, for lack of better word, posted on a Monday's that stopped a few months back.

The answer is simple as to why it stopped, I'm not driving as much when I use to listen to the artistists I featured. It is something I miss because I love the music I listen too, but it a situation that will continue for a while. Not by choice I might add. It is a shame really because it was a post I always looked forward to writhing each week.

Artist of the Week

There won't be an Artist of the Week for a while. I'm not going to stop doing the blog posts I just feel I need a break from doing them, and to be honest I'm not in the mood to do them. On the positive side it will give me a chance to come up with some new and old artists for future posts. May be I will start the Artist of the week spot again some time late next month or in the following month.

Artist of the Week - Paolo Nutini

This weeks artist of the week is a Scottish singer with a not so scottish name who I rediscovered when looking through my iTunes for something to play recently, it is Paolo Nutini.

I came across Paolo Nutini shortly after the release of his first album back in 2006. In particular the song the song "Last Request" sticks with me from that time when I heard it again. It is just one of those songs that starys with you and that is the mark of a good singer and songwriter, better still if they can repeat the process and Paolo Nutini has done that. His first album was a big hit with me, but somehow I missed the second album although I do know some of the songs for it.

Paolo Nutini is a singer, songwriter and musician from Paisley in Scotland. He was encouraged to sing by his music-loving grandfather, a teacher, who recognised his talent and rather than going into the family fish and chip shop this is the route he took. Starting out in the music business as a roadie and a studio hand gave him the chance to study music and the business. In 2003 he got his big break in his home town when a local radio station organised a concert and one of the acts failed to turn up and he took their place. Impressed by the crowds reaction to this unknown singer a record manager at the concert signed him and Nutini  moved to London. Nutini's debut album was called These Streets and it was released by Atlantic Records back in July 2006 and it was in the charts for a record breaking 196 Weeks. Three years later in May 2009 Nutini released his second album, Sunny Side Up, which debuted at number one in the UK and it went on later to win the award for "Best International Album" at the 2010 Meteor Awards. Currently he is recording a new album.

Well I hope you like and enjoy listening to Paolo Nutini if you join me and listen to some of his work. If you really like him then can always go and listen to him live, he is currently on tour and details of the dates are on his website. I think it is always nice to listen to music from the past and it sometimes can just surprise you like next weeks Artist.

Artist off the Week - Damien Rice

This Weeks artist of the Week sees the return to the more melodic sound that is great for late night listening. The Artist off the Week this week is Damien Rice. Not just as a singer but a writer of fine music too.

I came across Damien Rice while driving late one night when I heard him on the radio. I don't even remember what station I was listening to, but what I do remember is the song. It was called "9 Crimes" and it hunted me. Even now I find this song extremely powerful and moving. As soon as I got home I looked him up on the internet and listened to the song again and again. From there I discovered other songs and my appreciation grew for this fine artist.

Damien Rice is a Irish singer-songwriter and musician who was born on the 7th December 1973. He was raised in Celbridge, County Kildare, Ireland and began his musical career as a member of the 1990s rock group Juniper. In the end he left the group, and by 2001 he was working as a farmer and as a busker. A year later recorded his first solo album which made the top ten on the UK album chart. His second album was released four years later. He was received well by the music press but he has yet to find the acclaim he deserves. Personally I feel time will correct this oversight and one day he will receive the recognition he deserves. 

I hope have enjoyed videos and if you haven't please make sure you listen to the second video. It was the second Damien Rice track I came across before I was lucky enough to be given one of his CD's. It is really moving. Finally someone talking about the last video on YouTube said:

"Damien Rice somehow creates songs so melancholic, so tragic - but so uplifting all at once. I don't know why, but I find solace in the tears his songs create. I feel less alone hearing his voice echo my own feelings. I suppose it's like someone reaching into your heart and offering a hand, saying "i feel it too"."

I know what they mean about his music and I'm so looking forward to listening to him again over the next week. I just hope you join me.

Artist of the Week - Tracy Chapman

Completely inspired by Michael Collings perfomance of "Fast Car" on the final of Britain's Got Talent this week Artist of the Week is the one and only Tracy Chapman. Given the sentiments behind many of her songs I can compeletly understand why he sings her songs.

I was introduced to Tracy Chapman by a dear friend a few years ago and I almost instantly fell in love with the sound of her voice and her music. She really is one of those singers that stick in your head and I'm so grateful for that introduction. She is one of those artists you pull out of your collection now and again and simply sink in to the sound of their music. What she does is truly magical.

Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter who is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio and raised by her mother who recognized Tracy's love of music at an early age and encouraged her talent. By the age of eight she was playing the guitar and writing her own songs. This love of music never left her and while she was at college she began performing on the streets and one of her fellow students hearing her play encouraged her to sign her first record contract that resulted in the release of her first album. The first album won critical acclaim and from there her career just took off. Eight albums in she is still an amazing artist and one of the real greats. Her last album was released in 2008, and although no rumors have been circulated, we should be due a new one soon.

If you join me in listening to Tracy Chapman then I hope you enjoy her lovely soulful voice and melodic music just as much as I do. If you are like me you will find songs that touch your heart and have meaning in your life. She is that sort of artist that has the power to understand the deeper meaning of life. So until next week, enjoy this weeks artist of the week.

Artist of the Week - Pulp

I was just messing about looking at things on the web and I came across the first video of the three presented here. It was seeing them play live again that finalised my choice of artist of the week, who this week are the band Pulp.

Pulp are just one of those bands you come across in your life because they are in charts. I first heard them on the radio and loved them. It wasn't long after hearing them that I brought my first Pulp CD, back in the days when that was the main way of listening to music. Shortly after I got a second CD. The band at the time made a big impression on me.

Pulp are an English band who formed back in 1978 as a alternative rock group. Struggling to find success though the 1980's they eventually made it big in the mid 1990's with the release of the album "His n' Hers" and the follow up album "Different Class". The band went on to be major players in the Britpop movement and won an number of awards. Their last album was called "We Love Life" and it was released 2001. Nothing has come from the band since. It was announced last year that the band will return to live playing this year but no tour dates have been announced yet.

I'm really looking forward to listening to them again after all this time. It been a while. There something nice listening to old music again and all the memories that it can bring back from the past. Pulp is one of those bands that has happy memories associated with it. I hope if you listened to the music when it first came out it brings the same happy memories for you and if it is your first time you have heard them just enjoy.

Artist of the Week - Muse

Sometimes I feel I have an amazing power for the things I feel passionate about, I know what I love and I that love is part of my soul. This version of "Feeling Good" connects me with that raw power that makes me who I am and drives me. It makes me want to achieve the impossible just because the impossible can be had if you reach out and grab it. It the same feeling I get about things like acting which I'm still so passionate about. It is that which makes the Muse the perfect choice of "Artist of the Week" and it is what connected me with this band. The song is amazing in it's raw energy. I love it.

I'm not sure where or when I first came across the Muse. They sort of appeared from nowhere and they just became part of my play list. Once on the play list they have always remained firmly on my iPod. There is just something about them that makes you not get fed up with music and you can play it again and again. Like I said the power behind their music is amazing.

The Muse are an English rock band. Formed in 1994 the band is made up from a group of school friends. They are well know for their energetic live performance which encompass a varied music genres from progressive rock to classical music. They recorded their first album Showbiz in 1999, which despite being published on the recording studios own labile managed to go Gold in the UK. The real success however started with there second album, Origin of Symmetry, which went Platinum in both the UK and Australia. A feat repeated for all the other three albums that have followed it, all of which have been number one in the album charts. They are not without critical success either having won a number of awards over the years, all of which have been well deserved.

Well I hope you enjoy listening to the Muse and you check out their live music as well as they album tracks. They are really worth listening to and I know I am  looking forward hearing them when as I drive to work this week. I hope you do to however and whenever you have time to sink yourself into music.

Finally looking at these clips wants me want to return to Glastobury again. Just to be part of that experience again. I love live music and especially good live music. I was there once and I will be there again. I just hope when I get there I get to see someone as good as the Muse live.

Artist of the Week - Finley Quaye

Carrying on the reggae theme started by last week by the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Bob Marley this week we have a reggae artist as Artist of the Week. The artist in question is Finley Quaye.

I'm not sure where I came across Finley Quaye, but I know listened to him years ago. While doing some research for an artist of the week with a reggae background I remembered the song "Sunday Shinning" and I took it from there. Listening to his music again I decided I had found my man. Unfortunately SME has decided to stop the embedding of his YouTube content. Hence the single video that doesn't show him at his best. Shame really when this blog entry might have introduced people to his music. It just goes with the luck I'm having I guess. The video's I picked worked when I started the entry. Please listen to the link at the bottom of the post. It is a must it is a beautiful song.

Finley Quaye is an award winning Scotish musician. He won the Mobo Award for best reggae act in 1997, and the 1998 BRIT Award for Best British Male Solo Artist. He is the son of the jazz musician Cab Kaye and was he was born in Edinburgh. He went school in both Scotland in England. Leaving school with no qualifications he went straight into work doing what ever he could before finally he started making records after signing with Polydor Records. Although this first contract didn't work out he was soon signed by Epic/Sony with whom he started releasing his work and he soon started winning awards. He has recorded various recordings some just singles, others EP's and a number of albums, and he is currently working on a new album that is a must for anyone who likes this kind of music.

Make sure you listen to the song "Dice". I couldn't include it as a video clip because copyright problems with YouTube and SME but it is a lovely track. Listen for yourself and you hear what I mean. I wish YouTube and SME would sort themselves out. At least if you watch on YouTube then SME get some money, I guess, which is better than people downloading music illegally. Any way if you can find his music listen to it. It is wonderful. A good start is the "The Best Of The Epic Years" album. If you can't find it look for these tracks:

• Sunday Shining
• Your Love Gets Sweeter Everyday
• Dice
• This How I Feel
• When I Burn Off Into The Distance

I hope you look forward to listening to Finley Quaye despite only having one video to watch this week. I'm so sorry but I did try and find some replacements on YouTube but it just didn't happened thanks to SME.

Artist of the Week - Red Hot Chill Peppers

This weeks the "Artist of the Week" is one of the greatest bands for many an year. Another artist that are as good live as they are in a recording studio. The "Artist of the Week" the week is the one and only Red Hot Chill Peppers.

I really came across the band five or six years ago when I was introduced properly to their music.  Of course I had heard of them before, it was just that I never took notice who they were, rather than lack on interest in their music. They sound fantastic and have to be one of the greatest bands to come of the USA, and like all great bands have dabbled in things they shouldn't have. I will always be grateful that I knew someone that spread their love of the band to me.

Red Hot Chili Peppers formed in 1983 in Los Angeles and first performed in the legendary Rhythm Lounge where than sung "Out In L.A." which has consistently been their opening song ever since. The band soon developed a strong following in Los Angeles within a few months. Soon they were signed by EMI and with a slightly altered line up they released their album. The bands real first commercial success was the album Blood Sugar Sex Magik which was released in 1991 which was the bands fifth album to date. From that album the band went from one hit album to another and the rest is history.

As you can hear and see in the video's I have picked are all live tracks. They are a live band and one I wish I could see on the stage one day. Just look at the introduction to the last live video and you can just see what they do to a audience with their great music.

I hope you enjoy this weeks "Artist of the Week". If you don't have any of their work have a listen to them on YouTube and if you like them seek out their greatest hits album. They are well worth your time and I know I'm going to have fun listening to them again.

Artist of the Week - David Gilmour

Well this is where I show my age, but when you are talking about a guitar legend then I have no problem with that. This weeks artist of the week is David Gilmour the lead guitarist of Pink Floyd. One of the greatest guitarist of our times that has produced so many greats.

Well as you can imagine I first heard him playing with Pink Floyd. It was the music my elder peers would listen to as I was growing up. I just thought at the time it was old hat at the time, but as I got towards their age I realised there was something more than magical about the band. Latter as my ear became more refined I started to understand and appreciate what a great guitarist was. He has everything and his skill is amazing.

I'm not sure what you can say about David Gilmour that people don't already know, but let's give it a go. David Gilmour is an English rock musician who was born back in 1946. He is known best as being the lead guitarist of the band Pink Floyd. And the the rest is history which can read on Wikipedia. If you read it you will realise what an amazing artist he is and nice guy to boot.

I just hope that the tasters I have given you here shows this mans skill. I think they do. I have a lot of passion in my soul and music brings it to life for me. It is why music is so important to me. I love music and I love what this man is able do with a guitar. I hope you do too even if his music isn't to your taste. Great music is great music and if it makes you feel alive it is worth listening too, and if it makes you feel passionate what more could you want.

Finnally have you noticed all the clips I have picked are live. That is for a reason. Any performer that is as good live as they are on record are the ones worth listening too. I could have posted so may great clips of this man all of them live.

Artist if the Week - Jessie J

I listen to a lot of Capital Radio in the car these days when I'm not listening to CD's especially on shorter journeys. There is one artist that you can't get away from and she is my artist of the week. She is Jessie J who has really hit the big time in the UK.

It is hard not hear Jessie J at the moment. She is getting massive air play on all the popular radio stations. Even little Lucy can sing along with her songs and knows the words to the choruses. I just love the raw energy of songs and performances and there is something refreshing about her I like.

Jessie J was originally from Redbridge, London and attended the Colins Performing Arts and at the age of eleven appeared in the West End production of Whistle Down the Wind. At the age of 16 she began studying at the BRIT School and a year later joined the girl group "Soul Deep". Eventually she signed her first record deal in 2005, but unfortunately the label went bust before any of the tracks were released. Not put off, she continued to write songs for other singers and started supporting some of them on tour. Eventually she finished the album she had started 6 years earlier and last year released her first single, "Do It Like a Dude", which was well received by the music press and charted at number two. The was followed by her second single, "Price Tag", that shot to number one. Her latest single "Nobody's Perfect" was released just 5 days ago and is on it's way up the charts. Meanwhile Jessie J has been in the States trying to get noticed by ever means possible including buskin.

I hope you like this weeks Artist of the Week even if she is a bit different from the normal artists I pick. There is a great variety of music out there to listen too and none of them can be ignored. Without the variety of music we hear music would be bland and boring and it takes artists like Jessie to mix things up a bit. Happy listening until next week.

Artist of the Week

Sorry there is no Artist of the week but we have been mainly listening to Emily's music CD's in the car as we have been traveling around this week and so their is no single person or band we have really targeted. One of the tracks I partially like is this one.

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I just love the way the two styles of music work together. It really is such a good contrast of styles. Anyway, Artist of the week will return next week with more modern music.

Artist of the Week - Panic! at the Disco

After a weeks break Artist of the Week is back in it's Monday slot. This weeks artist of the week is the American Duo Panic! at the Disco.

They are a completely surprise find. I had never heard of them until Saturday morning when I turned on the radio to hear the track "The Ballad of Mona Lisa" playing on BBC Radio 1. I liked the song from the start and then when I heard it again if just grew on me. I knew I had to hear more of their music and went on a hunt on YouTube and the more I heard of their Music the more I liked them, until after a few days they have become the artist of the week.

Panic! at the Disco formed in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2004. The band has a number of genres which include pop punk, alternative rock, and baroque pop. Starting at high school they started doing demos and shortly after their graduation they released their first album "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out" which went double platinum after a slow start. As time went on they started to find critical success too. Getting nominated for a number of awards for their video work in particular. Their next two albums have enjoyed relatively good sales although not matching the success of their first album to date. This could be due to the fact that they have never settled down to a particular genera but time is on there side and as their music develops the should find their own place in the music industry and find the success they deserve for the creative talents.

I hope you enjoy Panic at the Disco, there is something for everyone in their music so I'm sure you find something to your taste. So until next week, have fun and enjoy the music.

Artist of the Week

Sorry there is no Artist of the Week of the week spot this week. I'm just not in the mood for music. I just need to think. Maybe in a few days things will be different and I will post this weeks Artist, but never fear I should imagine I will have someone for next week. Enjoy the thinking time. We all need it. 

Artist of the Week - Kings of Leon

I'm not sure how I managed to miss out this band in this spot. I proud to say that the "Artist of the Week" spot this week is the one and only Kings of Leon.

I really noticed Kings of Leon about two years ago and their music has grown on me since. I love the lead singers slightly rough voice which when combined with their music gives the band a unique sounds that makes them stand out.As soon as you hear their voice you know who you are listening to straight away. They are that sort of band.

The band were formed back in Tennessee in 1999 by four members of the same family. Starting off singing and playing a blend of Southern rock and blues they have expanded their musical base to include an alternative rock sound which they have made their own. The Kings of Leon first found success in the UK with nine top forty singles and two BRIT awards in 2008 with all three of the bands albums charting in the top five. This success was followed towards the end of the same year with an equal level of success in USA. By the end of the year the band had made it both side of the Atlantic and in the years that have followed their fan base has just grown and grown until they are now a truly international band except in Reading. 

I know most of you will have heard Kings of Leon and if you have their albums and haven't listened to them for a while why not dust them off and stick them in the car and have a listen over the coming week.

Artist of the Week - Noah and the Whale

This week artist of the week is band that has a new album for 2011. The band in question is Noah and the Whale. If you watched this weeks semi finals of "Dancing on Ice" you would have heard 'L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.' from there new album.

This is not the only place you would have come across this band. A few years ago the song '5 Years time'. It was used in a advert for LloydsTSB bank and it where I really first came across the band and started me listening to them.

Noah and the Whale are an English independent folk band from London who are now into their fifth year, having been formed in 2006. In those five years they have released three albums all of which have made the top twenty in the UK album charts. They are currently starting a world tour which starts this Thursday in Toronto in Canada before moving to the UK and then into Europe before returning once again to the UK. From the live video I have seen they are well worth seeing live.

It going to nice to listen to there old music again and the new album on the way to work. I hope you get sometime to listen to their songs that you like on YouTube or elsewhere on the web.

Artist of the Week - Rihanna

This weeks artist of the week is a world wide superstar that is currently releasing hit after hit. The one and only Rihanna.

You can't listen to the radio at the moment without hearing a Rihanna song at some point. It is simply impossible not to hear one, unless of course you are listening to Classic FM. All the popular music stations have at least one of her songs on every hour. It wasn't the Radio where I came across her first, that was through the album "Good Girl, Gone Bad" which I first heard a couple of years ago, although I knew of her previously through the hit song "Umbrella" that is the first track on the album. That particular song was a massive hit with girls and they still love it and sing along today when ever it is played on the radio. I know her current album is a hit with the girls.

Rhianna is a Barbadian R&B recording artist and songwriter who was Born in Saint Michael, Barbados in 1988. At the age of sixteen moved America to start a recording career and made her first studio album "Music of the Sun" in 2005 which peaked in the top ten of the Billboard 200. No mean feat for a first album. Since then there has been no looking back and all her albums have made it into the top 5 of the Billboard 200 in the USA. She has sold over 25 million albums and 45 million singles world wide. Even more incredible than that is that she has amassed of one billion views on YouTube. As for awards there are two many to mention over the years. She really is a international superstar.

This week I'm just going to focus on the album "Loud" that she released last year rather than all her works so far. There no particular reason for this other than it saves me having to change CD while I'm driving. I hope you enjoy listening to my artist of the week, then again but I guess can't avoid her. She is all over the radio dial at the moment.

Artist of the Week - Bruno Mars

This weeks featured Artists of the Week is Bruno Mars. Not only has he had a massive hit with his first album, as well hit singles, he has already been covered on the X-factor (see earlier post)

I have mainly come to like through number of sources the first was from the original song that was covered by Matt Cardle, then through through Capital Radio. The more I have heard his music the more I have come to like it. There is just something about it that makes it stand out especially the track "Just the way you are".

Peter Gene Hernandez, better known as Bruno Mars, was born in 1985 and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. Being part of a musical family at an early age he began making music and performing in various musical venues in his hometown. This led him to embark on a musical career and in order to follow his dreams he moved to Los Angeles. Things didn't start off to well for the young Bruno and and he had to find his feet in the business and it was until he signed for Atlantic Records when he was 24 that he finally found his place in the industry. And what a place that was he was nominated for seven Grammys, winning Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Just the Way You Are". What a start to a career and after just one album you can here his music everywhere at the moment.

The CD is in the car and ready to go. I hope you like the selection of songs I have picked for the blog post and you will join in with me and listen to him this week. It is a lovely CD that shows off his talent for various styles of music. Just what you need as you are find your own way in the music business. 

Artist of the Week - James Horner

Something a bit more unusual than the normal Artist of the Week when I pick a Band or an solo Artist and someone that I admire for there talent as a composer of film music. This weeks Artist of the week is the composer James Horner.

I came across his music really because of the film Breaveheart although I must have heard his music in other films many times over. Many might know of him from the films Titanic, A Beautiful Mind or even from Star Trek. The number of scores he has written for films is countless. In the days before mp3 people would put on the internet midi files of his music which people could download and play through the computer or playback through keyboards. Midi files were the data light versions of the mp3's of today. All the same there is something hunting and memorable about the music he composes and I have picked three tracks here that I feel reflect that, but these are just three of many.

James Horner was born in America in 1953 and he is a composer, orchestrator and conductor of orchestral and film music. He is noted for the integration of choral and electronic elements as you will here from the examples of his music in this post. He has now been working for over three decades and has scored over 100 films, with his score for 1997 film Titanic being the best selling orchestral film soundtrack of all time. He has received two Academy awards, and a total of 10 Oscar nominations and in addition to this he has won numerous other awards, including the Golden Globe Award and the Grammy Award. He started playing piano at the age of five and early years were spent in London, where he attended the Royal College of Music, before moving back to the America to continue his studies. Eventually he broke in to the film music business with the score of the 1979 film, The Lady in Red and within three years he was starting to compose music for major Hollywood releases. He has never faltered in the last 30 years producing one impressive score after another. He has to be one of the great film music composers of modern times.

This is not the sort of music I might listen to in a car, especially during the day but I do have many varied musical tastes and about the only music I don't like is opera and some songs from the past that get over played on the radio occasionally, mainly on stations like BBC Radio Two. Although I won't have it playing on the CD on the way to work, I do have a lot of work to do this week and I can see myself dipping into some of his music as I do all the preparation for the course I will be doing this half term. I hope you enjoy the change and it's back to normal next week.