Flow

(compiled May 22, 2011)

Spotify playlist (not all tracks show up…see full list below):

*

Lovely Allen– Holy Fuck

Stairway to Heaven– Rodrigo y Gabriela

Flow– Cage the Elephant

Liberation (127 hrs movie soundtrack)- A.R. Rahman

Mr. E’s Beautiful Blues– EELS

Hannah (Ra Ra Riot remix)- Freelance Whales

Meet Me in the Basement– Broken Social Scene

Diablo Rojo– Rodrigo y Gabriela

Big Big Love (Fig. 2)- Foals

All the Wine– The National

The Devil is in the Beats (Hanna movie soundtrack)– Chemical Bros

Apprehension– Manchester Orchestra

Fresh Feeling– EELS

Red Lights– Holy Fuck

Sunlight– tUnE-yArDs

Generator 2nd Floor– Freelance Whales

There’s Nothing in the Water We Can’t Fight– Cloud Control

All of this– Naked and Famous

Crazy Love– Pepper

*All songs available on my shared Dropbox and my Spotify!

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The minute I heard ‘Lovely Allen’ I thought to myself, “Holy f*ck, this is f****** SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!…(Kinda fitting for a band by the name of Holy Fuck). I immediately knew it be the song that I would begin my next playlist with. It’s got this impatient sense of urgency to it, with the eager ‘doo doo doo doo doo doo’ keyboard sounds followed closely by a steady rush of drums and a high-pitched shrieking sound that later creeps in around 1 min and 20 sec in. Every time I listen to this Lovely Allen, I find another hidden instrument, another supporting melody lurking in the background, and another reason why I’m glad I listened again (for the millionth time). I most definitely crave the high energy vibe that this song seems to recharge my battery with.

Holy Fuck (recommended to me by my buddy Andy Bluhm) is an electronic/experimental rock band from Toronto, Ontario, Canada whose members consist of Brian Borcherdt (keyboards, effects), Graham Walsh (keyboards, effects), Matt “Punchy” McQuaid (bass), and Matt Schulz (drums). The band uses live instrumentation and miscellaneous instruments and non-instruments (including a 35 mm film synchronizer, toy keyboards and toy phaser guns) to achieve electronic-sounding effects without the use of laptops or programmed backing tracks. According to Pitchfork Media, “The band was formed with the intent of creating the equivalent of modern electronic music without actually using the techniques—looping, splicing, programming and the like—of that music.”

Since their formation in 2004, Holy Fuck has performed at Coachella (supporting Brooklyn rapper Beans who recruited the band to serve as his backing unit), the CMJ Music Marathon, the Halifax Pop Explosion, POP Montreal, the Montreal Jazz Festival, All Tomorrow’s Parties, Vegoose, Evolve Festival, Lollapalooza, Osheaga Festival, and the SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas in 2006, 2007 and 2008. In the summer of 2007, Holy Fuck performed at the Glastonbury Festival, one of the largest music festivals in the world, where they were named the #3 top new act at the festival by NME magazine. They performed at Lollapalooza in 2008.

‘Red lights’ is the other Holy Fuck song that I was immediately drawn to. The performance of this song at the 2010 SXSW festival (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmrXkq6W3vU) was INCREDIBLE!…Much more experimentation (and much better in my opinion) than the recorded version. By the way, you can totally see Yannis from Foals (one of my fav bands) backstage at 1:22-1:26 in this video. ROCKSTARS supporting ROCKSTARS…LOVE IT!  I really dig the beginning of this song with the turntable ditty followed by some funky base action and then some guitar riff at about 20 seconds in. This song definitely reminds me of something you’d hear in the chase scene of an action movie. Maybe that’s why I love running to it so much.  Red lights is on Holy Fuck third album, Latin, released in May 11, 2010. The song Latin America on this album was featured in Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, which the song Black Sheep (from my “Bizness” playlist”) was also featured. Small world!

The first Rodrigo y Gabriela (Rodrigo and Gabriela) song that I put on this playlist was ‘Stairway to Heaven‘, which this Mexican musical duo so cleverly cover is INCREDIBLE. I love how they begin this song with a very gentle touch, weaving in their own lil’ harmonies and building up suspense before aggressively revisiting the melody at 3:15 in. The aggressive culmination of the song at 3 min and 45 sec is pretty UNREAL. I can’t help but whip out my air guitar and pretend I’m as badass at Gabriela in strumming with such insane precision.  It is truly mesmerizing the way Rodrigo Sanchez (lead guitar) and Gabriela Quintero (rhythm guitar) compliment each other so well. Rodrigo is the master being the crazy fast guitar picking, while Gabriela is the master behind the crazy fast strumming and simultaneous handthumping (for base)…Together, their fast, rhythmic acoustic guitar melodies are of something magical.  I was lucky enough to be all UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL with this magic at the San Francisco Oyster festival (http://www.oreillysoysterfestival.com/) a few weeks ago.

My good friend Gina MacBarb (who is actually the amazing talent behind all the incredible photographs featured on this post) and I were able to get right up to the front of the stage, just a few feet away from this hypnotic act! I STILL get chills thinking about how close we were to such raw, natural talent. Looking at Gabriela slapping THE SHIT out of her guitar, I thought to myself, “Nah, that is most definitely NOT something you can teach. That shit’s either in you or it’s not.” I (along with everyone else around me) were caught in a headlock (yes, I do love that Imogen Heap song) just STARRING at her, especially when she would just close her eyes and swiftly attack the strings without warning. Thank God I had the stage railing to hold on to because my head was bopping so fast that I would surely have fallen over without some sort of extra reinforcement.  This was especially necessary when Gabriela would raise her arms up (in true, LOVE PUMP fashion) to try and stir up some energy in the crowd…cause me being the Fireball that I am, took that as the green light to LIGHT MY FIRE and get all sorts of crazy! I guess playing guitar is so second nature to her, that she needs the energy of the crowd to add spark to the songs that she already has at her fingertips (literally). Maybe that’s why Gabriela kept looking at me and Gina with our relentless “hoooowls” and LOVE PUMPS! Yeah, I def got some MAJOR chills when she looked right at us.  She was so adorable and so modest, and just so incredibly inspiring. Usually the guitar world tends to be dominated by men, so to see a pretty, lil’ (YES, only about 5 foot like me!) chick up there dropping jaws with her craft was def one of the most SURREAL experiences of my life!  🙂

Rodrigo and Gabriela met in Mexico City while playing in a thrash metal band (hard to believe, I know) called “Tierra Ácida.” Growing frustrated with the limited scope of the domestic music scene, they moved to Europe, where they met considerable acclaim. They took up residence in Dublin, Ireland, after hearing it was particularly welcoming to traveling musicians. Playing live gigs in various pubs and busking on Grafton Street and Temple Bar allowed them to practice their sound. They received their break when Damien Rice approached them to provide the support for the Irish music festival Oxegen. In 2005, they toured extensively in festivals around the United Kingdom and beyond, gaining a cult following and being known as resourceful musicians who can really play, and are open-hearted, happy entertainers. They regularly dismiss being classified in a particular genre of music, preferring to say they play a fusion of many influences.

The duo has released six albums – Foc, re-Foc, Live in Manchester and Dublin, the self-titled album Rodrigo y Gabriela, Live in Japan, and 11:11. The self-titled album, Rodrigo y Gabriela, entered the Irish Albums Chart at #1 beating Arctic Monkeys and Johnny Cash to the top spot.  It was released internationally on March 13, 2006, having been given an earlier Irish release. Rodrigo y Gabriela, which was produced by John Leckie, includes covers of Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven (on this playlist) and Metallica‘s Orion. The duo list Metallica as being among their key influences, alongside other heavy metal bands such as Megadeth, Slayer, Testament and Overkill. The other tracks are original works inspired by the places they have been and the people they have met.

In May 2010, Rodrigo y Gabriela performed in front of U.S. President Barack Obama, who apparently is a big fan. That same year, they headlined the West Holts stage on the Sunday night at Glastonbury 2010 and played the King Tuts Tent at T In The Park on 10 July 2010. They also had a spot on the main stage at Latitude festival that same July, they managed to draw in a huge crowd.  They played the Nice Jazz Festival on 23 July 2010, and the Mcmenemin’s Edgefield outdoor concert in Portland, Oregon on August 14, 2010, as well as the Ravinia Festival on August 28, 2010.

On January 20, 2011, Rodrigo y Gabriela entered the studio with Hans Zimmer to write and record sessions of the score from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.  It was announced on February 22, 2011, that the soundtrack would be released on May 17, 2011, three days before the film’s general release. I wonder if they got to MEET JOHNNY DEPP! (I’m so jealous…)

‘Diablo Rojo’ was the other song by Rodrigo y Gabriela that I put on this playlist because I thought it very much represented the aggressive, high energy guitar style that they are known for. I absolutely love the intense handthumping action that begins about 1 min and 20 sec into the song (almost feel like standing and stomping like a flamenco dancer in the middle of a routine), followed by the rush of chords back in at 1:40 and the unwavering DUENDE (“passion” in Spanish) at ~2:40. OH-LAY!   😉

After hearing ‘Back against the wall‘ and ‘Ain’t no rest for the wicked,’ it’s hard to believe that ‘Flow‘  is by the same band, Cage the Elephant.  While those other songs are somewhat belligerent and edgy, Flow is calm and hopeful.  I find steady guitar intro (doo doo doo doo doo, doo doo doo doo doo doo) interlaced with the first 4 verses (below) to be unusually calming, especially when I’m driving out on an open stretch of road, having all the time in the world to “ponder life”:

“Looking out my window

Wonder how it came to be

Feels just like a tempo

Lifted by a gentle breeze

 Ugly as a suitcase

I can see it stretch for days

 Hanging on a sunset

Softly trampled by the rain.”

The repetitive chorus (below) helps shed some hope on those times when I find myself really missing my close friends and family who are far away and give me confidence to “hold on.”  During these times of nostalgia, I also often find myself trying to “find a hiding place” (2^nd to last verse) for refelction.

“Way too long

Hold on

Hold on

Dead and gone

So long

Hold on”

(I really dig the muffled shouting sound in the background that start up around 1:38. Kind of reminds me of the kids shouting sound in Pink Floyd’s The Wall)

“The last Looking out my window

Trying to find a hiding place

 Climb up to the tree tops

Watch it all just drift away.”

Cage the Elephant is an American rock band from Bowling Green, Kentucky, that formed in mid-2006. Since their formation, the band has gained a large following in the US as well as the UK and Canada for their sound and their high-energy live performance, which I was lucky enough to see at Austin City Limits (ACL) music festival in Oct 2010.

The band signed with Relentless Records after showcasing at the 2007 South by Southwest music festival, and then moved to London, England. They released their eponymous debut album, Cage the Elephant, on 23 June 2008 in the UK and April 21, 2009 in the US/Japan/Australia/Canada. The album obtained mostly favorable reviews.

Cage the Elephant appeared as a support act on tour with The Pigeon Detectives in early 2008 and with Silversun Pickups and Manchester Orchestra (another awesome band) in 2009. In August 2007, Cage the Elephant played for the first time at Lollapalooza in Chicago, and returned to the festival in August 2009, as well as San Francisco’s Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival on August 30, 2009. Prior to their return to Lollapalooza the band also played at the music festival Bonnaroo twice, in June 2007 & 2009, and Coachella in April 2011.

The band’s second album Thank You, Happy Birthday, was released in the US & Canada on January 11, 2011 and received high critical acclaim.  This is the album that ‘Flow’ is on.

‘Liberation’ is the song during the key scene in 127 hrs (the movie) where James Franco (playing mountain climber Aron Ralston) cuts off his arm that is stuck in between two boulders. Trapped in this canyon with minimal water and food, he experiences intense hallucinations: flashbacks of happy moments that fuel his drive to live, interlaced with premonitions of the future and visions of that happiness he imagines his future to hold.

The balance of ambient sound, silence and driving guitar rhythms scattered throughout this song reflect the dual notions of this movie: an introspective mood fraught with anxiety (starting ~25 sec in) at and the same high-energy lust (starting ~1 min 20 sec in) for experience that fired the engine of “Slumdog Millionaire” (Yes, A.R. Rahman also composed the music for this movie…so good.) At about 2 min and 20 sec into ‘Liberation’, you can’t help but to get chills down your spine in anticipation of the gruesome at act when he starts to cut into his skin. You can feel his frustration, anxiety, and powerfully uplifting drive to defy all odds and survive a physically and emotionally terrifying nightmare. I can’t help by not feel my arm (to double check that it’s still there!) after listening to this song.

The EELs are a band that I originally discovered about 8 years ago from my childhood friend Kaitlin Campitelli, but I only recently started to revisit, realizing how much I used to love it.  They are an American rock band formed by singer/songwriter Mark Oliver Everett, better known as E (funny cause people call ME that, too!). Other members rotate frequently, both in the studio and on stage, contributing to a total of about 7 albums.

‘Mr. E’s Beautiful Blues‘ is one of my favorite songs simply because of how carefree and happy it is. I love the beginning with the sound of the beeper at 0:20 and the dud-dud sound in the background that matches the ‘Uh-huh’s following the “God damn right, it’s a beautiful day” melody. This is such a fitting sound to rock out to a road-trip when the sun is shining and well, when “God damn right, it’s a beautiful day.” Not too hard to come by in sunny California… 😉

‘Fresh feeling’ is another oldie but goodie song that I put on this playlist. I really like the element of the string instruments, which I find to be quite soothing, as well as the opening line: “You don’t have a clue, what it is like, to be next to you…I’m here to tell you, that it is good, that it is true.” Awe, very sweet.

‘Hannah (Ra Ra Riot remix)‘ was a collaborative effort between Ra Ra Riot and Freelance Whales to raise money for disaster victims in Japan. Although I really enjoy the original Hannah song by Freelances Whales, I actually think I like this version better because of the added string elements and more electrobop emphasis.  For example, I love the fruity lil’ electrobop beats that come in at 0:33, and the synthesizer elements that follow right behind, as well as the culmination of sounds at 2:50. My favorite lines in the song are:

“Please don’t play the match maker

Please don’t be a player hater

If you dig her recent work                 (makes me curious as to what her “work” really is!)

You should go congratulate her….

And if you’re partial to the night sky

If you’re vaguely attracted to rooftops…”  (there’s just something so sexy about this…)

‘Meet me in the Basement’ is one of my FAVORITE songs by Broken Social Scene.  I absolutely love how the song starts with an aggressive drumbeat (that kinda sounds like stomping/marching), layered in with some cool keyboard sound at 20 sec in, and the “Here we go!” shout at 0:30, from which the song just EXPLODES into AWESOMENESS. I also love the siren-sounding guitar element that first appears aound 1:08 and reappears later at 2:10. The culmination of sounds that finish off the song are nothing short of electrifying and I can’t help but wanna do a lil’ jig after listening to this!

‘Big Big Love (Fig. 2)’ is one of my favorite Foals songs. I love the beginning with the drumstick tapping and the guitar entrance at 0:27 in…The undulating rhythm of the guitar just makes me feel as if I’m on water or in the air, waiting to take flight.  I get so entranced when listening to this that I can’t help but join in on shouting “oh, electric shocks, no…oh, electric shocks” at 3:18 in.  The blowing up sort of sound that comes in around 4:18 is also a really cool touch. Also, the line, “Your smile sticks a kiss,” is clever and sexy.

‘All the Wine’ was one of the first songs that really sold me to the National. There is just something so soothing and peaceful about it, and I can definitely see it as one of my life-long theme songs. The guitar intro immediately puts me at ease, and the deep somber voice that quickly follows it up just continues to melt all my trouble away. I absolutely fell in love with the first verse, especially with the 3^rd line (for which I thought to myself “Did he REALLY just say that?”):

“I’m put together beautifully (which I first thought was “unbeautifully”)

Big wet bottle in my fist, big wet rose in my teeth

I’m perfect piece of ass

Like every Californian  (YES!)

So tall I take over the street, with highbeams shining on my back

A wingspan unbelievable

I’m a festival, I’m a parade”  (LOVE LOVE LOVE this line…Make me laugh EVERY TIME)

I picture him tucked up in a public park somewhere with a bottle of wine (obviously with all the wine being JUST FOR HIM), enjoying some prime-time people-watching and just spitting any thoughts that come to mind.  For instance, with the next line, “I’m a birthday candle in a circle of black girls…God is on my side,” I picture him sitting by a picnic with a group of black girls celebrating someone’s birthday. Who knows…This song is a bunch of random comments and observations that together, somehow all seem to make sense. I love it. And the end is just icing on the cake:

“I’m in a state, I’m in a state

Nothing can touch us my love

I’m in a state, I’m in a state

Nothing can touch us my love.” 

The National (recommended to me by my friend Andy (Field) Aiken) is an indie rock band originally formed in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1999 but now currently based out of Brooklyn, New York. The band’s lyrics are written and sung by Matt Berninger, while the rest of the band is composed of two pairs of brothers: Aaron and Bryce Dessner and Scott and Bryan Devendorf. Also, Padma Newsome, from sister band Clogs, often contributes strings, keyboards, and other arrangements and instrumental flourishes.

Their first album The National was eventually released in 2001 on Brassland Records, a label founded by band members Aaron and Bryce Dessner, along with their friend Alec Hanley Bemis. When reviewing the album, Jason MacNeil of No Depression (magazine) wrote, “…The National has created nearly a dozen picture-perfect Americana bar-soaked gems with its debut album. From the opening notes of “Beautiful Head”, the delicate line between polished roots-oriented pop and alt-country has rarely been walked so deliberately with the payoff so favorable.”

The National’s sophomore album Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers, released in 2003, was the band’s first collaboration with record producers, Paul Heck and Peter Katis,who would later also produce the band’s critically acclaimed albums, Alligator and Boxer. In 2004, they released the Cherry Tree EP which included live favorite “About Today,” as well as “All the Wine,” which would appear on their next record, Alligator, released in 2005. The album was met with much critical acclaim and featured highly in “Album of the Year” charts in the Los Angeles Times, Insound, Uncut, and many other publications.

Their fourth album, Boxer, was released on May 22, 2007, and also received widespread critical praise. Boxer made numerous “album of the decade” lists. In the summer of 2008, they opened up with Modest Mouse for R.E.M., and also played many festivals in North America and Europe: Coachella, Roskilde, Sasquatch, Glastonbury, Haldern Pop, Rock Werchter, Optimus Alive!, Oxegen, Benicàssim, Lowlands, O2 Wireless, T in the Park, All Points West, and Lollapalooza. They were at Austin City Limits this past year (October 2010) when I was there, but I didn’t know how amazing they were (at the time) and unfortunately I never got to see them play! Major bummer.

Their newest album High Violet was released in May 2010 in the US, and received widespread critical acclaim. The album debuted with first week sales topping charts across the world, ranking #3 in the US, #2 in Canada, #5 in the United Kingdom, and #3 in Portugal, among others. The album has sold over 500,000 copies worldwide. High Violet is now a Gold Album in UK, Ireland, Denmark and Belgium.

‘The Devil is in the Beats’ was composed by the Chemical Brothers for the movie, “Hanna.” It comes on during the scene when Marissa is in the strip club with the German guy, and I think they mix it up with ‘The devil is in the details,’ another Chemical Bros song written for this movie.  Not only do I really like the quote in the beginning- “MUSIC, the combination of sounds with a view to beauty of form and expression of emotion”- but I love how it’s immediately followed by this dynamic buzzing of the wobble base. SO SICK. The lil’ whistle ditty in the background is also kinda cool (and also kind of familiar, not sure why). Aside from this song, my other favorite song from this soundtrack is “Hanna’s theme,” which I may just put on my next playlist.

The Chemical Brothers are a British electronica duo (Big beat, alternative dance, progressive house, breakbeat, trip hop) consisting of Thomas Owen Mostyn ‘Tom’ Rowlands and Edmund John ‘Ed’ Simons (occasionally referred to as Chemical Tom and Chemical Ed). Known for their live sets, they are pioneers of the big beat electronic dance genre which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s.

The Chemical Brothers are credited as being one of the few truly arena-sized electronic acts. Their live acts comprise large screens displaying psychedelic images, strobe lights and lasers that project over the crowd. The Brothers have also played at many major festivals, from Glastonbury to the Reading, the HFStival, and Leeds festival.

I started listening to Manchester Orchestra after my buddy Andy Bluhm recommended them to me. They are an American indie rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 2005. The group is currently composed of rhythm guitarist-singer-songwriter Andy Hull, lead guitarist Robert McDowell, keyboardist and percussionist Chris Freeman, bassist Jonathan Corley, drummer Tim Very and lyricist Zachary Kerker. Former drummer Jeremiah Edmond parted ways with the band in January 2010 to focus on his family as well as running the band’s record label, Favorite Gentlemen. To date they have released several extended plays and three studio albums: I’m Like a Virgin Losing a Child (2006), Mean Everything to Nothing (2009) and Simple Math (2011). They are currently signed to independent record label Favorite Gentlemen Recordings, which is distributed through Sony Music Entertainment.

‘Apprehension’ was the first song on Simple Math that I really to a liking to the first time around. There is no denying the blanket of Apprehension that this song is wrapped up in, and it’s hard to not wanna empathize with the singer.  The lyrics are absolutely amazing, and can’t help but not wear his wounds:

“And I could tell that when you felt the future never planned on getting easier

But God has never been afraid to fill our cups with more than he could hold

Until we know when we’re full

And we drown once and for all”…

“How could I misconceive, I was a something radically radiant  (OMG I totally get chills here)

The doctor came through, asked if you’d like to give it a name”…

 My apprehension got me nowhere

My apprehension got me nowhere.”

“Better now than when I found I used to have the gift of amusement  (love this line)

And it’s funny how without a doubt your family’s far more calmer than me”

 “My apprehension got the best of me

I’m walking down, my heart was moldering

My apprehension got the best of me”

‘Sunlight’ was another one of the tUnE-yArDs songs that I was immediately drawn to the first time I heard it.  I cannot help not want to belt out “I can be the sunlight in your eyes, couldn’t I?” at ~50 seconds in (esp since she’s right in my voice range). I also love the steady rhythm of the drums intertwined with the ukulele and the “woh woh woh” echoing sound that creeps in at ~1:50 (following the chorus). Sounds so cool. Also, I’ve started to notice how the tUnE-yArDs songs typically end with an attempt at a subliminal message or something. For example, if you listen very closely at the end of this songs, you’ll hear what sounds like a little girl saying: “Heee Heee…I always knew it would come to this.”

‘Generator 2^nd floor‘ is by far one of my favorite Freelance Whales songs (behind Generator 1^st Floor and Starring). I adore the bango melody in the beginning, and find that it makes me feel as if I’m being elevated (but not in an elevator, more like a hot air balloon or something)…got such an awesome sense of levity to it.  The entrance of the glockenspiel (percussion instrument similar to a keyboard, but with higher pitch) at 1:20 is so refreshing, and there’s just such a sense of tranquility that I get from the chorus:

“Don’t fix my smile, life is long enough

We will put this flesh into the ground again.”

Makes me think of those melancholy days where you just want to be left alone and don’t want people trying to force you to smile. Not sure if that’s the message, but that’s the gist I get.

I started to listen to Cloud Control after my awesome German friend Lisa Pfisterer (who I met when backing through Spain in March) recommended them to me.  They are an indie rock band originating from the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia. The band is currently signed to the Australian label Ivy League Records, in which they released their debut album Bliss Release, and to Infectious Records in the UK/Europe. They have supported a host of local and international acts, including Vampire Weekend, Supergrass, The Magic Numbers, Yves Klein Blue, The Temper Trap, Last Dinosaurs and Local Natives.

Most recently, the band was nominated for the Australian Music Prize, which they subsequently won on 3 March 2011.  After a string of festival appearances and tours with a variety of Australian bands, the band finally released their debut album, Bliss Release, in 2010. The album has seen the release of two singles – “Gold Canary” and “There’s Nothing in the Water We Can’t Fight,” the latter of which came in at number 18 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2010. ‘There’s Nothing in the Water We Can’t Fight’ was coincidentally the first of their songs that really stuck when I listened to their albums. I love the mix of sounds at ~40 sec and ~ 1 min 30 sec into the song. For some reason, the voice of the lead singer reminds me of the Temper Trap (who knows).

‘All of This was one’ of my other favorite songs by The Naked and Famous. I absolutely love the beginning and the vibe of concern and confusion (“i can’t begin to explain, how we disassemble the parts and frame…. it’s the same fucking habits, I guess we don’t know”) that slowly builds up and turns into aggressive realization (“All of this is tearing us apart, I don’t know where else all this start…all of this is tearing us apart, I don’t know where else all this start.”)

I also really like the lyrics in this next verse…I think they be applied towards any sort of relationship (i.e friendship, family, etc.) and would still make so much sense:

“If there’s anyone near when we collide

we throw them in the middle

they can pick sides

as the plans turn into compromise

the promises all turn to lies

the spite builds up and it can’t get through

passive me aggressive you.”                          (LOVE THIS LINE! so good)

Such a good song, and by 3 mins in my head is already starting to hurt from bopping it so much. HAHA.

Although I saw Pepper in concert the summer of 2007, it took me seeing them again at the San Francisco Oyster Festival (yes, the one with Rodrigo y Gabriela) to realize just how awesome they really are. I totally forgot how unique their sound (reggae fused with dub and rock) was, and just how SEXY the lead singer’s voice (AND body, face, EVERTYHING) is! OMG. The pictures shown (below) just don’t do justice.  😛

I put ‘Crazy Love’ on this playlist not only because it’s one of my favorites, but also because they closed with this song at the Oyster Fest. I was SO SIIIICK on so many levels. Listening to a sexy voice sing these sexy lyrics…(oh boy!):

“She loves the party, I can see

Her dress is worn perfectly

A speaker shuffle her dancing feet

My tongue trips me up when I speak

Now she’s the type of girl that could only be trouble

Looking the part, from the start she hands me a green bottle

She asks me for the time, I reply no thanks I’m fine                    (still laugh at this line)

Then she laughs and asks what I was thinking of

I want a part of your crazy love, it’s really all I am ever thinking of

I need a part of your crazy love, it’s a crazy love, it’s a crazy love…

Really don’t pay attention to the breakfast she’s burning            (also pretty funny)

The food is on my plate, I lie and say it’s great

Then she smiles and asks what I was dreaming of

I want a part of your crazy love, it’s really all I am ever thinking of

I need a part of your crazy love, it’s a crazy love, it’s your crazy love.”