Alex from Rome recently uploaded a rare song on YouTube of Phantom Planet doing a lulling cover of “Tonight You Belong To Me” in 2004.
It’s so nice to discover old songs that resurface online many years later.
Tag: Phantom Planet (Page 2 of 4)
“Using Music to Learn Vocabulary” (read part 1 here) is back with a second installment.
1. Jackalope: “We’re All Stuck Out In the Desert” by Johnathan Rice
A jackalope is a mythical animal of North American folklore described as a jackrabbit with antelope horns or deer antlers and sometimes a pheasant’s tail (and often hind legs).
2. Polystyrene: “Something Borrowed, Something Blue” by Ben Lee
Polystyrene is a rigid clear thermoplastic polymer that can be molded into objects or made into a foam that is used to insulate refrigerators.
3. Carpetbagger: “Carpetbaggers” by Jenny Lewis
A carpetbagger refers to a northerner who went to the South after the Civil War to profit from the Reconstruction & refers to a political candidate who seeks election in an area where they have no local connections.
4. Aztlán: “New Yorker Cartoon” by Jenny and Johnny
Aztlán refers to the mythical ancestral home of the Nahuas, one of the main populations in Mesoamerica.
5. Tucker Telephone: “I Don’t Mind” by Phantom Planet
Tucker Telephone refers to a torture device used at Arkansas’ Tucker State Prison Farm in the 1960s. The device, designed using parts from an old-fashioned crank telephone and batteries, administered electric shocks.
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
Sometimes it’s fun to listen to songs you like in new ways. In addition to listening to live versions of songs you already like, you can also use YouTube to find slowed down or sped up (chipmunk) songs, reversed songs, 8-bit songs, remixes, changed pitch songs, and demos. For example…
8-bit song – “Recently Distressed” by Phantom Planet:
Slowed down song – “Nobody’s Home” by Avril Lavigne:
Sped up (chipmunk) song – “Self Machine” by I Blame Coco:
Reversed song – “Make Some Noise” by Hannah Montana:
Remix song – “Bed Intruder Song”:
Changed pitch song – “Love Song” by Sara Bareilles:
Demo – “Sweetness” by Jimmy Eat World:
A set list is a sheet of paper, usually taped to the floor of the stage, that lists the order of songs that a band intends to play during a particular concert.
Band members use set lists so that they can briefly glance down and determine what song to play next.
As we’ll see below, set lists can look quite different from one another — some are handwritten, some are scribbled messily, some have misspellings, and some are typed.
In addition to ticket stubs, set lists can be great souvenirs of a concert, and people at the front often snatch the set list when a show ends.
Some set lists include pre-determined songs for the encore, indicated below by the dotted line and the diagonal line:
Figure A:
Figure B:
As we see in the above set lists (Rooney and Ben Kweller, respectively), it’s interesting to see how an artist will abbreviate certain song titles. For instance, “ISHBAY” in Figure A is shortened for the song “I Should Have Been After You.” Similarly, “Tree” and “Sun” in Figure B are short for the songs “Family Tree” and “Sundress.”
Another interesting abbreviation is the portmanteau in the second song, called “Badd Business,” in Phantom Planet’s set list below. The question marks also leave flexibility to cater to either the performer’s whim or suggestions from the audience.
If you’re lucky enough to be at the front of the crowd (and are able to read upside down), you can know what song the band is going to play next before anyone else in the crowd. Even more useful, you can determine if you should hold out hope for an encore (or encores), as the Nada Surf set list below indicates:
One band can have variety in its set lists from show to show. How rushed a band is before the show can mean that song titles are further shortened, as they are in the first set list below.
Set lists can also be typed and display the band logo, requiring the use of a printer which may not always be available at the venue. A good example of a professional-looking set list from Eisley:
Finally, the most intricate set list I’ve ever seen belongs to Kaki King. In addition to listing the songs, it has alternate guitar tunings next to each song as well as the different instruments (ovation guitar, banjo, 7 string guitar) needed for each song:
Below is a collection of good “Sleep Songs.”
To qualify, the word “sleep” must be in the song’s title. Evoking feelings of somnolence and relaxation = optional.
“Sleepy Head” by Eisley:
“Sleep on Fire” by Holly Miranda:
“Sleep Machine” by Phantom Planet:
“We’ll Never Sleep (God Knows We’ll Try)” by Rilo Kiley:
“In Sleep” by Lissie:
“Sing Me To Sleep” by Fran Healy:
“Sleep Better” by Pete Yorn:
Honorable Mentions:
“Sleep” by Nada Surf
“Sleepwalking” by Ben Lee
“Sleep Song” by Rooney
“Sleep” by Azure Ray
“Sleep All Summer” by Crooked Fingers
“Get Your Sleep” by Ben Lee
“Everytime I Go To Sleep” by Holly Miranda