David Vertesi (Hey Ocean!) released his debut solo album, Cardiography, last week. Although the album is now out in Canada, it won’t be out until early next year in America.
Here’s the tracklisting of the album’s 11 songs:
1. Mountainside
2. Gentlemen Say
3. All Night, All Night, All Night
4. Learn to Run
5. Cardiography
6. Broadcasting
7. Caroline! A Ghost!
8. Rossland
9. Soft Skin
10. Hearts Don’t Break, People Do
11. Epilogue
The best songs are “Caroline! A Ghost!,” “Mountainside,” and “Gentlemen Say.”
Although most of the songs on the album are on the slower side, songs like “Learn to Run” gain momentum and energy as drums build after the half way mark.
The last song of the album, “Epilogue,” cleverly ends with the opening notes of “Gentlemen Say.”
Listen to “Mountainside,” “Gentlemen Say,” and “All Night, All Night, All Night” on David’s MySpace.
For the last installment of How To Discover New Music, we’re going to focus on social media (Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and MySpace).
1. Ask your friends for recommendations and have them make you a CD of songs they like. Or, on Facebook, you can see what bands your friends have listed in their music sections.
Example: I discovered “Can You Tell” by Ra Ra Riot and “Our Deal” by Best Coast via direct suggestions from friends.
2. YouTube: YouTube’s right hand panel shows suggested videos, and these videos are not always other songs by the same artist. Sometimes the videos feature a different artist or band (perhaps one that the first band has toured with in the past).
3. On Twitter, you should be following artists and bands that you like. Many musicians tweet links to songs that they like, which is an easy way to discover new music that you may like.
Example: I discovered the band Land of Talk (and the songs “It’s Okay” and “Some Are Lakes”) when Holly Miranda tweeted a link to the music video for “It’s Okay.”
4. Check out the MySpace page of your favorite bands, and listen to the songs on their “Top 8” friends’ MySpace pages. Bands are friends with other (often similar) bands. Also, supergroups introduce you to new members of bands.
Example: The formation of supergroup Tinted Windows encouraged me to listen to “1979” by The Smashing Pumpkins.
5. iTunes free songs of the week: Every Tuesday on record release day, iTunes offers 3 or 4 songs for free. After listening to the 30 second samples, download whatever you think you might like.
Example: I’ve discovered “Simple As It Should Be” by Tristan Prettyman and “All For Love” by Serena Ryder via iTunes free downloads. (This rule also applies to TV shows like White Collar and FlashForward).
6. If you like going to concerts, you probably have some favorite venues. Look at the calendar on your favorite venue’s website, and see who’s playing. MySpace or google any interesting sounding bands.
Example: I discovered Los Campesinos! by searching for what bands were playing at the Troubadour during a specific week in May.
7. Go to a used record store and browse their clearance section. You should be able to get an album for a dollar, so spend $10 and get 10 CDS (should be 100-120 songs). How do you pick what CDs to buy? You can get CDs from artists you’ve already heard of, bands that have interesting names, or CDs that have attractive album artwork…You’re bound to find some gems.
Example: I discovered Pete Yorn’s song “Strange Condition” by this method at the Princeton Record Exchange.
8. Read After The Show. Follow After The Show on Twitter here. Watch the concert videos on After The Show’s YouTube channel here.
To read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of How To Discover New Music, click here, here, and here.
Here are some of the best TV theme songs, with a heavy emphasis on the “classic Nickelodeon” shows of the 1990s.
Doug:
Starting with drums and a short dog bark, Doug’s theme song doesn’t have any words — just “Doo Doo Doo” until the distorted guitar comes in, and a chorus sings “Na Na Na Na” as bongos end the song.
Rugrats:
A drumroll leads into a marimba/woodwind xylophone instrumental in the Rugrats theme song.
Lizzie McGuire:
The theme song for Lizzie McGuire was always a mystery — Disney didn’t credit anyone with writing or singing the song. People speculated that Hallie Todd, the actress who played the mom on the show, sang the song. Disney finally revealed that one of its studio singers, Angie Jaree, sang the song.
Boy Meets World:
Boy Meets World had different theme songs throughout its runtime, but this one has a late 1980s/early 1990s feel, and it’s a big improvement of the previous instrumental one.
Rocko’s Modern Life:
The B-52s recorded this theme song, which relies heavily on sound effects and repeats the show’s title.
All That:
TLC recorded All That’s theme song, which is notable for its early use of rap and spoken word.
