Tag: hanson (Page 3 of 3)

VH1 Save the Music: Family Day NYC

Today — Saturday, October 22, 2011 — was VH1’s Save the Music Foundation “Family Day.” This free interactive musical expo featured performances, food trucks, and activities for children at The Anderson School on New York’s upper west side.

Check out this interview that Parenting Magazine did with Taylor Hanson to promote Save the Music’s Family Day in New York.

Photos and 3 videos from Hanson’s performance at Save the Music Family Day by After The Show:


 


4 Popular Songs You Probably Didn’t Realize Were Creepy

We usually think of popular songs as being upbeat/happy, danceable, melancholy, or emotionally evocative. What about songs that are thematically or sonically creepy? Although the meanings of these 4 songs may be clear, some are also more esoteric and open to interpretation. In these cases, listeners continue to debate what the songwriter meant.

1. “Sunny Came Home” by Shawn Colvin:

This song, which won Song of the Year and Record of the Year at the 1998 Grammys, is about arson. Sunny is a woman who decides to set fire to her house, possibly with her husband still in it. To her credit, though, she does take her children out of the house before it burns to the ground.

Selected lyrics: “Sunny came home with a mission…Sunny came home with a vengeance…Strike a match, Go on and do it.”

2. “Jenny Was A Friend of Mine” by The Killers: 

This song is the first track of The Killers’ debut album, nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Album in 2005. The narrator murders Jenny (this song is the third part of a trilogy of murder songs), and it relates the experience of the cops interrogating the narrator for his crime. He denies any wrongdoing, and the song ends before we find out what happens to him.

Selected lyrics: “She couldn’t scream while I held her close…There ain’t no motive for this crime, Jenny was a friend of mine.”

3. “Every Breath You Take” by The Police/Sting:

This song was #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for 8 weeks in 1983. Although a perfunctory listen makes the song sound like a love song, the narrator is actually a stalker. Sting himself explained the song as one about obsession, jealousy, and surveillance.

Selected lyrics: “Every breath you take, every move you make…every step you take, I’ll be watching you.”

4. “Yearbook” by Hanson:

This track from Middle of Nowhere, the band’s debut album that sold 10 million copies worldwide, is a bit mysterious. The song details the reactions of Johnny’s classmates a year after his disappearance. Johnny, perhaps the victim of a kidnapping, is missing from the school’s yearbook. To the anger of the narrator, adults aren’t telling anyone what happened to Johnny.

Selected lyrics: “There’s a name without a picture, but I can’t forget his face…It makes me mad to know somebody knows, There’s a lying in your silence, Tell me, where did Johnny go?…None of us will ever be the same…the rumors of Johnny’s mystery.”

Alliterative Songs

Here is a collection of good songs with alliterative titles:

“Silvery Sleds” by Army Navy:

“Coughing Colors” by Tilly and the Wall:

“Bratty B” by Best Coast:

“Little Lungs” by An Horse:

“Demon Daughters” by Phantom Planet:

Honorable Mentions:

“Sunny Sunday” by Leona Naess

“Daisy Duke” by Rooney

“Why Worry” by All American Rejects

“Get Gotten” by Ben Lee

“Runaway Run” by Hanson

“Big Brat” by Phantom Planet

How To Discover New Music (Part 2)

Part 1 of “How to Discover New Music” (read it here) was all about good music podcasts.

Part 2 is about attending concerts.

Make sure to get there early to catch the opening acts of bands that you already like. Sometimes, the opening bands are chosen by a band’s record label rather than by the band itself, but seeing opening bands nevertheless exposes you to music you probably haven’t heard before.

I’ve stood through my share of awful and/or boring opening acts, but I’ve discovered some of my favorite artists just because they were the opening band for another band I already liked.

Real life examples: Ben Lee opened for Phantom Planet, Eisley opened for New Found Glory, Brandi Carlile opened for Hanson, and The Bridges opened for Rooney.

On the flip side, say a band you like is opening for a different (bigger) band that you haven’t heard of before. Don’t just leave right after the band you came to see played — stick around for the headlining act, and you just might discover a new favorite band.

Real life example: The Like opened for The Sounds.

Rooney Tour Dates Announced

Rooney has announced their summer tour – 70 shows in two and a half months.

Rooney are touring with the Young Veins and Hanson! For a full list of dates, click here.

Also, look out for an exclusive After The Show interview with Rooney’s Robert Schwartzman coming up in the next few days.

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