#2

I got paid to do this.


1. "Roads" - Portishead

I'm assuming everyone was paying attention last year when Portishead announced that they would be releasing their third album cleverly titled Third. I understand that it was a big to do since they were coming back to the music scene after quite a few years away, eleven to be exact. The new album received praise and appeared everywhere- magazines, websites, that year-end mix that someone gave you that's now collecting dust at the bottom of a drawer because it had "Viva La Vida" from Coldplay on it.

My point is everyone loved it, except for me of course. When I first heard that Portishead was coming out with a new album I was on the bandwagon with everyone else. My elation could not be contained. This band was a part of my music loving history. How could I not be excited? What I failed to remember was that music had shifted directions since the release of their first album Dummy from which the song "Roads" comes from. Today's scene didn't include the ground-breaking trip-hop that Portishead first made famous. Personally though, I think Massive Attack had a bigger influence on trip-hop, but I'm not here to split hairs. I digress.

I was disappointed with Third. I got what I didn't expect, but that's my fault for not having an open mind about it. It doesn't bother me, I still love the band and I still agree with the consensus that even though Portishead was out of the music scene for so long they delivered an album that's edgy and current. But seriously, no matter how many more albums Portishead releases, they won't compare to the love I have for Dummy, and for this song "Roads." It's the line, "I got nobody on my side, and surely that ain't right," that really sums up the way I want Portishead to be forever. Dark and gloomy with a chance of heavy rain. I know, I ask too much, but I promise to give their next release a better listen to. Ten more years to go.


2. "Security" - Otis Redding

Otis' voice is like a bucket of ice water dumped on you when you've been sulking in your own self-pity for too long. It wakes you up, slaps you in the face and says, "Hey! Let me carry all your burdens for you through my songs." That's pretty much how I feel when I listen to Otis Redding. I don't have to be sad because he's already sad for me. The sign of a true soul singer.

He left us too soon, but his legacy lives on. "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay", his first and only number one hit, didn't top the charts until a year after his death. In 1989 he was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. In '99 he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement award. And so on. And so on. And so on.

You know how some people want to believe that Elvis or Tupac or Biggie aren't really dead? Well, Otis is my Elvis, Tupac, and Biggie. Even though we all know these artists are dead and gone their music keeps us alive. It keeps our spirits up. When I listen to "Cigarettes and Coffee" it really is a quarter to three in the morning and I'm sitting with my baby doing nothing but smoking, drinking coffee, and enjoying my time with her even though in reality I'm by myself in a Starbucks and irritable because everyone around me is smoking and I have quit. Maybe I should try a little tenderness? BA-ZING!

3. "Edmund Street" - The Rosebuds

Forgive my ipod for picking yet another Rosebuds song for a 5SIAR post. And it's not even a good one either. I love The Rosebuds, but I dislike this song. Not one of their best in my opinion.

So I guess I've found the kryptonite to this blog. Repeating bands and/or repeating songs. I want this blog to be entertaining for the reader, but I can't do that when I get the same band twice in a row. I don't want to cheat and skip a song, but I don't want to be repetitious either. Any suggestions you the reader might have will be greatly appreciated because right now I'm at a bit of a loss.

4. "Blood Roses" - Tori Amos

This is the beginning. Where my love for music took root and started growing. It was the album Boys For Pele from Tori Amos. I'm not kidding when I say it is one of the most influential albums on my life. People give me funny looks when I tell them this, but it's to be expected. Tori doesn't exactly have a very large male fan base. Looking back I don't know what turned me onto that album so much. Even though I rocked out to all the grunge that was coming out I couldn't connect with any of it. It was the piano, and not the guitar, that made an impact on me.

Boys For Pele allowed me to branch out into other genres and styles I didn't even know existed. In fact, now that I think about it the same girl in high school who told me to listen to Tori also told me to listen to The Pixies and Pavement, two bands that are arguably the most influential on modern indie rock today.

Funny story. While in the piano class I'm currently taking (shared mostly with teenage high school students) my instructor was talking about the differences between the harpsichord and the piano. She asked, "Who here has heard a harpsichord being played?" I was the only one who raised a hand because I immediately and almost instinctively thought of the song "Blood Roses" which is played entirely on the harpsichord. She then asked where and when I heard to harpsichord. This is the part where my heart started racing and I was sweating like Meatloaf on stage while singing "Bat Out Of Hell". All eyes were on me and if I said what I wanted to say I most likely would've been laughed at by these children. Even though I'm older than anyone in that class I was sucked back in time to when I was in high school and being a closet Tori listener. So of course I lied and just said that I heard some dude play the harpsichord at the Tampa Bay Performance Arts Center a few years ago when in all actuality I saw Tori play it back in '97 during the Boys For Pele tour. For the rest of my life that night will be one of the best nights ever. To be honest, Tori plays into a lot of my best nights, and some of the worst.

5. "Behold The Wolf" - Summerbirds In The Cellar

I'm from Central Florida, so are the trio Summerbirds In The Cellar. I'm also a bit picky when it comes to local music. There's not too much of it that I like. I've gone to local shows in Tampa, Lakeland, and Orlando and there are times I've walked out of the bar because I didn't like what I heard. Even though I've seen Summerbirds play quite a number of times I have never, or will ever, walk out on their show. They are the one and only band from this area that I sincerely enjoy listening to and seeing live. There are others that are close to memorable such as Band Marino and The Dark Romantics. They aren't bad bands by any means, but the pay off isn't quite the same.

It's catchy in a good kind of way. The kind you can dance to, or at least moderately shake your body to while they are pounding out the heavy and not-to-overly dramatic synth rock they are known for. That's why I feel that you have to see them live to fully grasp the music they are making. On that same note it makes me feel bad saying that. I like this band, really I do. They should be signed to a label already. And I think that if they can harness that live sound and put it in disc and vinyl form, then I don't think they will have any problem getting the props they are deserved.

Seriously, when you open for bands like The Faint and R.E.M. and are scheduled to do shows with Deerhunter it's hard to keep saying no. There's a reason why Summerbirds In The Cellar has caught the attention of these big name acts. Listen to their albums With The Hands of the Hunter It All Becomes Dead and the follow-up Druids then go see them live. You'll see what I mean. And if you don't, I don't want to see you hopping on the bandwagon when they make it big. We will kick you off.

Thanks again for reading. Lunch time!