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Lhasa – Con Toda Palabra (2003)

This next song might be one of my favorite of all the songs I have ever recommended; not just because it’s a great but because of how I found it…or how it found me I should say. I’m embarrassed to say I had never heard of the Mexican-American singer Lhasa De Sela but last week I stumbled upon a CD of hers totally by chance. I was actually on my way to shoot last week’s Matt Tracks and I heard a song playing that stopped me cold, I had to know who it was. When I asked, I learned that our camera guy Dave had just found the CD in a random pile and thought the CD art was interesting so he put it in for the drive…..as we mused over it for a little bit and I did some liner-note investigating I noticed a Canadian connection and made a mental note to get back to my desk and find out more about this music. I discovered that was Lhasa was living and writing in Montreal and had sold millions of albums, but sadly, lost her battle with breast cancer 2 years ago on New Years Day, she was only 37 years old. This is truly some of the most beautiful music I have ever heard.

Feist – How Come You Never Go There (2011)

Anybody who falls into music and makes it their life, at some point, has the daydream of scoring a hit song and having people all over the world sing it back to them. It would be amazing right? Well sometimes it’s a case of be careful what you wish for. When Leslie Feist hit the stratosphere with the song “1,2,3,4” that dream (if she wanted it or not) became a reality for her but, if you listen to any of her interviews since that time, the success that followed took over her life in a way she never could have imagined. Maybe that’s why her new album is a collection of beautiful anti-pop hits?

Electric Six – Danger! High Voltage (2003)

Unlike most bands in the history of music, Electric Six have a name that almost perfectly describes them: there are 6 people in the band, and the sound is rooted in electronic music- Electric Six (brilliant). There is more to the sound however, add a little rock and roll, new wave and punk rock…I guess that would have made for a much longer band name. From Detroit, they have remained very much an underground phenomenon with most of their success on the UK dance charts, and are perhaps best known for their insane music videos which is how I first stumbled upon them. Listen close for Jack White’s vocals in this track.

Damien Rice – Volcano (2003)

(hopefully) Music comes from a very real place. Like any art, at first, music is just about creating- but then in order to make it a career there are certain business sacrifices that have to be made that can sometimes mask music’s true intentions. If you are lucky, you can balance both worlds and remain happy in an “art as a product” environment, like Damien Rice has managed to so. When his first band, Juniper, faced industry issues he left the music business completely, he actually took off to Italy and became a farmer. Eventually however, he came back to give it another shot and has remained hugely successful, but most importantly with his integrity intact using his music and name to support causes that range from woman’s rights in the Congo to The Freedom Campaign in support of Burmese human rights.

The Who – Baba O’Riley (1971)

I recently watched some old footage of Pearl Jam performing The Who song “Baba O’Riely” from early in their career at Lollapalooza 92’ and it’s amazing to see a completely different audience connect with a song that was 20 years old at the time… and then still connect with it today, it’s a timeless tune. It’s also interesting to see how songs take on new meanings for new generations. For example the lyric “Were all wasted” was written just as it sounds, Pete Townsand was simply talking about getting wasted, but over time it has grown into a much bigger idea that people connect with in terms of life, society, politics and this idea of wasted opportunity.

enjoy,
=m