Just Ten Songs

http://8tracks.com/kmadert19/instrumentality

(0:00-3:06) Dire, Dire Docks by Koji Kondo
(3:06-6:32) Sonho Dourado by Daniel Lanois
(6:32-11:11) Big Lost by Diplo
(11:11-17:50) Track 01 by Sigur Rós
(17:50-21:59) Let It Be by Laurence Juber
(21:59-27:34) Anthem by emancipator
(27:34-29:29) Shawshank Prison (Stoic Theme) by Thomas Newman
(29:29-35:30) Living Without You by George Winston
(35:30-43:38) Your Hand In Mine by Explosions In The Sky
(43:38-48:09) Termina Field by Koji Kondo

“Lyrics are a crutch in the communication of emotion in musical composition.”
-Abraham Lincoln

Everyone can pick out song lyrics that “perfectly accompany” an emotion, “paint” a relatable scene, or otherwise explain the greater workings of life. Ask someone to do the same with lyric-less pieces, however, and it becomes an entirely different story. Each instrument becomes a voice, adding its own lyrics to the greater composition. You know a song like “Your Hand In Mine” is great when it can so beautifully – and lyrically – describe the feeling of being in love without anyone uttering a single word. And you know songs like “Dire, Dire Docks” and “Termina Field” are great when video game songmaster Koji Kondo can conjure up vivid images of  your childhood within the first few notes.

I’m done talking now, though. I’ll let the music do the rest.

http://8tracks.com/kmadert19/musical-comedy

(0:00-3:11) Vanilla Ice Cream by Stephen Lynch
(3:11-5:56) The Clap by Infant Sorrow
(5:56-9:33) New Math by Bo Burnham
(9:33-13:59) Asshole by Dennis Leary
(13:59-17:04) Schadenfreude from Avenue Q
(17:04-19:59) Space Olympics by The Lonely Island
(19:59-24:01) Mario Twins by Group X
(24:01-29:29) The Saga Begins by “Weird Al” Yankovic
(29:29-34:08) Fuck Shit Stack by Reggie Watts
(34:08-36:36) Creep (Big Band Version) by Richard Cheese

“A guy walks into a bar…” Of course, you’ve heard it before. Comedy as a genre can often become formulaic. Set-up, punchline, laughter. Lather, rinse, repeat ad infinitum. Sure, novel comedians come along (Bill Hicks, George Carlin, Mitch Hedberg to name a few), but for the most part we’re stuck with Dane Cook screaming about Ramen noodles and Tyler Perry pretending like he isn’t setting his entire race back a hundred years.

Enter the best thing to happen to comedy since “Porkys II: The Next Day”:
Musical comedy! Logistically speaking, musical comedy is comedy, set to music. I understand that may be hard to grasp, so I’ll give it a moment to sink in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hmDZz5pDOQ

Setting humor to a beat opens up an entire world of possibilities for the comedian. Not only can the words (in this case, lyrics) be humorous, but the music can be too. Style/song parodies, like Weird Al’s “The Saga Begins” add the element of imitation, with the juxtaposition of the new lyrics with the original song the listener has in their mind causing additional hilarity. Voice inflections can take a somewhat funny line and make it hilarious (see, “I’m a cartoon charcter; you’ll never be able to be like me.”), and songs like “Mario Twins” utilize almost entirely humorous human-generated sound effects to side-splitting results. Richard Cheese takes the cake here though; less-than-subtle play on words aside, the only thing making his songs funny is the ridiculous premise behind them. Everyone loves covers; they let you go “oh my gosh, I know this song, but it’s by another band! AHHHH!” Cheese’s lounge-style rearrangements of popular songs take serious tracks like “Creep” and make them laughable.

And comedy always comes back to those three words:
Make ‘em laugh.

http://8tracks.com/kmadert19/all-about-the-drop

(0:00-2:58) A Brief Introduction on Dubstep Production by Dubba Johnny
(2:58-7:58) Red Step (Ft. Jansten) by Bassnectar
(7:58-10:47) Bassmentality by Zeds Dead
(10:47-15:35) I Know The Truth by Pretty Lights
(15:35-20:43) Cinema (Ft. Gary Go) (Skrillex Remix) by Benny Benassi
(20:43-25:38) Volcano (Zeds Dead Remix) by Dragonette
(25:38-30:03) X-Rated by Excision and Messinian
(30:03-33:42) Tetris by Doctor P
(33:42-37:38) Louder (Ft. Sian Evans) (Flux Pavilion & Doctor P Remix) by DJ Fresh
(37:38-44:11) Bass Head by Bassnectar

Dubstep. Electro-Bass. Tween Wave. Shit. Whatever you want to call it, this often misidentified, rapidly expanding offshoot of 2-step and grime has come a long way from its roots in the South London underground club scene. Hell, Skrillex (oh, Skrillex) is selling out nationwide tours and garnering millions of Youtube video hits, and Lorin Ashton’s efforts as Bassnectar have cemented the term “Bass Head” in the vernacular.

But will it last? Or will it be a flash in the pan on par with Michael Jordan’s baseball career? In this listener’s opinion, it’s here to stay. The fans are devoted, the shows are off the wall, and the music itself, as mentioned, is ever-evolving. So long as the beats don’t get stale (this is assuming you appreciate electronic music as more than “repetitive”; if not, this post probably isn’t for you) and the fans don’t get too stoned and wander off, dubstep is here to stay.

Oh right, the playlist. Dubstep as an artform began with a very rigid set of musical guidelines: 140 BPM, a build, a drop, a breakdown, and repetition. I included a tutorial for those unfamiliar (thank you, Dubba Johnny). Note the use of the word “began”; not all of the songs included herein follow that structure. The only reason they may sound somewhat similar is the reason I chose these particular ten songs, and thus the title of the post. “The drop” is one of the most exciting segments of any dubstep song, and I chose ten tracks I think rattle the inside of the skull when they kick in. This isn’t an exhaustive list, and I left a few out that I would have liked to include for fear of artist repetition (check out almost all of Bassnectar’s Divergent Spectrum album, Zeds Dead’s 1975 and White Satin, and DatsiK’s Firepower, just for starters).

Anywho, I’ve typed too much. Get filthy, bitches.

(and here’s this, just for shits and giggles)

http://8tracks.com/kmadert19/live-and-let-live

(0:00-4:17) My Body by Young The Giant 
(4:17-10:13) Road To Joy by Bright Eyes
(10:13-17:11) Somebody To Love by Queen
(17:11-21:35) Free Fallin’ by John Mayer
(21:35-27:50) Momma Sed (Alive At Club Nokia) by Puscifer
(27:50-31:28) I Want You To Want Me by Cheap Trick
(31:28-36:19) Television Rules the Nation/Crescendolls by Daft Punk
(36:19-50:07) Do You Feel Like We Do? by Peter Frampton
(50:07-54:10) Jasey Rae by All Time Low
(54:10-58:34) Best Of Me by The Starting Line

I attended Virgin Mobile’s Freefest this past weekend at Merriweather Post Pavilion, and let me tell you, it was quite the event. Two hurricanes worth of mud couldn’t stop the fun, and thousands of people turned out to Richard Branson’s third annual “I have so much money I might as well throw a gigantic party for free” concert experience. As I stood in the midst of a crowd lit by glow sticks, flashing lights permeating the haze and pulsing to the bass of Deadmau5’s “Some Chords,” I got to thinking about the unrivaled experience of a live show.

Segues are weird…

So here are ten songs performed live. Nothing can recreate the experience of actually seeing them performed in person, but this is certainly closer than hearing a studio track. Enjoy.

http://8tracks.com/kmadert19/punk-that-pops

(0:00-3:19) Familiar Landscapes by New Found Glory
(3:19-7:22) Hang You Up by Yellowcard
(7:22-11:22) The Girl’s A Straight-Up Hustler by All Time Low
(11:22-15:06) When I’m Gone by Simple Plan
(15:06-19:44) You Be The Anchor That Keeps My Feet on the Ground, I’ll Be the Wings That Keep Your Heart In the Clouds by Mayday Parade
(19:44-23:53) Let The Little Lady Talk by Capital Lights
(23:53-25:14) Love Your Friends, Die Laughing by Man Overboard
(25:14-29:16) Hoodie Weather by The Wonder Years
(29:16-32:12) On And On by Hit The Lights
(32:12-35:34) What’s My Age Again by Blink-182

Pop-punk as a concept has existed since the 1970s, when oddly enough it was used in reference to an album by heartland rocker Tom Petty. But it wasn’t until the mid to late 90s that the genre as we know it today really took hold. Emerging as a niche that satisfied those who found punk too heavy, but pop too light, pop-punk was (and still is) radio-friendly rock with a punk bite. Catchy hooks, sing-a-long choruses, and lyrics about the pains of lost love and the joys of being young permeate most of the genre’s music. The latter has often led some critics to dismiss it as “juvenile” or “immature,” but bands like Green Day and Blink-182 (two of the pioneers of the genre) have managed to find widespread appeal, both commercially and critically. And what better way to bracket a playlist of pop-punk music than with New Found Glory and the aforementioned Blink-182, two of the bands that started it all?

Sometimes the easiest way to make a playlist is the most obvious one. Making a genre playlist is essentially taking a category that’s already been created and narrowing it down to garner a sampling that’s digestible in one sitting. Playlists of this nature are by no means all-encompassing, nor are they the definitive “best-of” for the subject genre. They’re just to give you a flavor for the music, to see if you’d be interested in hearing more.

http://8tracks.com/kmadert19/mell-oh-electr-oh

(0:00-1:37) The Grid by Daft Punk
(1:37-5:00) Shakedown Street by Boombox
(5:00-8:04) Coffee Break by Zed’s Dead
(8:04-12:42) Finally Moving by Pretty Lights
(12:42-16:42) After Thought by Bassnectar
(16:42-20:59) We Own The Sky by M83, remixed by Datsik
(20:59-26:17) Ghostwriter by RJD2
(26:17-30:30) Brain Blow (Ft. Sunmonx) by Opiuo
(30:30-38:15) Never Ever Land by Infected Mushroom
(38:15-44:18) Gone by M83

Electronic music. Loud artificial sounds, heavy backbeats, WHOMP WHOMP WHOMP, parents hate it. Right?
Well, we’re throwing away musical stereotypes for this list of ten. One of the main ways we as homo sapiens, with our ears and our brains and our smug sense of musical self-righteousness, categorize music is simply by the way it sounds. If it’s all loud, it goes together. If it’s all acoustic, it goes together. Or in this case, if it’s all chilled out electronica, it goes together. This is an easy way to organize what we hear; no philosophical debates over lyrical meaning, no research on the artist, no asking “What was he thinking?” Just based on what our ears hear and our brains comprehend.

Dubstep is pretty prominent here (although I prefer Datsik’s term “Mellow-Step.” You won’t hear any heavy drops here), but the real interesting songs to me are the ones that use the electronic element not as a way to make the most interesting bleeps and blorps, but that create a sweeping sonic landscape, painting a picture of sorts within your mind (See “Gone”, “Finally Moving”, “Never Ever Land.”).

http://8tracks.com/kmadert19/everyday-i-m-shuffling

(0:00-4:16) - Don’t Let Me Go by The Summer Set
(4:16-7:43) - Puff The Magic Dragon by Peter, Paul & Mary
(7:43-12:26) - Brick by Ben Folds Five
(12:26-16:16) - My Last Semester by The Wonder Years
(16:16-21:41) - The Kids From Yesterday by My Chemical Romance
(21:41-26:32) - The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song (With All Your Power) by The Flaming Lips
(26:32-31:04) - White Satin (Zed’s Dead Remix) by The Moody Blues
(31:04-36:02) - In The Meantime by Spacehog
(36:02-40:39) - Wonderful by Everclear
(40:39-49:09) - Won’t Get Fooled Again by The Who

I decided the best course of action for the inauguration of J10S was to allow the complex machinations of iTunes to shuffle me up a playlist. That way I could get things off the ground by determining what doesn’t constitute a playlist, and therefore give myself a better idea of what a playlist is. (For the record, if you’re opposed to the repetition of words, this blog will be the bane of your existence. Playlist.)

On the surface, the ten randomly chosen songs are…well, pretty random. They’re spread out across the past fifty years, they span genres from classic rock to dubstep (but are mostly pop of the punk variety), they’re no shorter than three and a half minutes but peak at eight and a half minutes, and there are no repeated artists. And that’s just for starters. Hopefully as I compile playlists, the qualifiers of what a playlist is will become much clearer. For now, I leave you with this set of ten random - but excellent - songs.

Hello, Internet.
I dunno what else to say, so let’s dive right in.

I’ll take an hour or so out of each day (hopefully) and use every ounce of musical knowledge at my disposal, my preferences, and the various definitions I have for the word “playlist” to compile a set of ten songs.
Not 11 songs.
Not nine songs.
Ten songs exactly.
And I’ll do my best to write about what I discover.

Music has unbelievable power.
This is a blog about that power.

Thus begins the (never-ending) hunt for the perfect playlist.
Welcome to Just Ten Songs.