Six Pack of the Week - Soundtrack Songs

The soundtrack is quite possibly the most underrated part of a movie. Really though, what truly great movies have not had a similarly brilliant companion soundtrack? It's not just about picking the right music, it's about getting the right feeling to move the story along. Directors that can pair the sites with the sounds deliver a product that is truly moving. This week's six pack focuses on the often-overlooked soundtrack. Kraig goes first this week.

The Dropkick Murphys - I'm Shipping Up to Boston (The Departed)

Sure, that little intro sounds a little mushy and you certainly need a mushy song for a mushy movie. But what about if you've an ass-kicking movie? Well, then you need your self an ass-kicking song.

The Departed was a brilliant film, absolutely fantastic. The film deserved all the critical acclaim it received and more. Truth is, I probably wouldn't find myself re-watching it again and again if it wasn't for this monstrous tune by The Dropkick Murphys. It sets the tone early on for the entire movie. I can't stress how important that "tone" was, especially given the length of the movie. Is this song solely responsible for the success of the film? Hell no. Did it a play a part? Surely did.

[mp3] I'm Shipping Up to Boston

Get the soundtrack: Amazon | iTunes
Buy some Dropkick Murphys: Amazon | iTunes
Visit them online: Official | Myspace

Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova - Falling Slowly (Once)

Now we'll get back to that touchy-feely crap. Once was an ambitious film that was more of a soundtrack turning into a film rather than a set of songs setting up a film. When a film focuses so much on music it's absolutely critical that the music is able to stand up on it's own. The soundtrack for Once is certainly able to do so.

Falling Slowly is the standout track in my mind. The duet version is very sweet and subtle. I've also posted the full band version from Glen's band, The Frames. I prefer the full band version just because it has a little more depth - there's more drama, more of a build...but both are fantastic.

[mp3] Falling Slowly (Glen & Marketa)
[mp3] Falling Slowly (The Frames)

Get the soundtrack: Amazon | iTunes
Buy some Glen Hansard: Amazon | iTunes
Visit him online: Official | Myspace

Stu's
Stereophonics - Maybe Tomorrow (Crash, Wicker Park)

Flexibility is the middle name I have just now given to Stereophonics' wonderful track, "Maybe Tomorrow." Not only does it serve as a great opening credits song (a la Wicker Park) but it also functions as an excellent closeout number (in Crash). How many songs could ever hope to accomplish that? That's right, not many, thus my new nickname: Maybe 'Flexibility' Tomorrow. Think of it like the middle name 'Danger,' it actually makes sense that way. Anyway, it's an all around great track, and if you've never heard it you're probably missing out on 3 great things (2 movies, 1 song). Start with the listening and finish up with the viewing, that's my advice.

[mp3] Maybe Tomorrow

Get the soundtrack: [Crash] Amazon | iTunes [Wicker Park] Amazon | iTunes
Buy some Stereophonics: Amazon | iTunes
Visit them online: Official | Myspace

Maroon 5 - Woman (Spiderman 2)

Not appearing in the film (at least not to my knowledge) but appearing on the soundtrack is this funky number from Maroon 5 entitled "Woman." And it is funky, don't let the appearance of the name "Maroon 5" sway your downloading judgment. Interesting sidenote: I wouldn't listen to Maroon 5 for a long time because I didn't think they were my "thing." I finally jumped on the bandwagon after hearing this number, and was pleasantly surprised with most of their stuff from Songs About Jane. I have since jumped off the bandwagon (as is the tendency with all bandwagons), but this remains my favorite Maroon 5 song.

[mp3] Woman

Get the soundtrack: Amazon | iTunes
Buy some Maroon 5: Amazon | iTunes
Visit them online: Official | Myspace

Brock's
Pete Yorn - Undercover

Another song used on a Spider-man movie, this little ditty appeared on the soundtrack for the first one. The lyric in the chorus is "walk me to a car-park," a weird phrase Pete got from a woman he dated. She was from New Zealand, and refered to parking lots as car-parks. Okay story, great song.

[mp3] Undercover

Buy some Pete Yorn: Amazon | iTunes
Visit him online: Official | Myspace

Dog's Eye View - Umbrella

No, not that "Umbrella."
I have been a fan of Peter Stuart and Dog's Eye View for a long time, in no small part due to this song, and its presence in the silly teen comedy Can't Hardly Wait.

[mp3] Umbrella

The sites: Official | Myspace
The sounds: iTunes | Amazon

Six Pack of the Week - Covers (Vol. II)

Ah, it's covers. I love covers. I'm not sure why I have such a fascination with one band playing another's music, but it always has (and always will) intrigue me. Sometimes they bring something new to the song or emphasize it in a way you never thought of it. Sometimes it's just really, really shitty. We'll try to avoid those ones. To start things off, I (Kraig) will take you out to Africa for my selections.

Mysterious Ways - Angelique Kidjo (originally by U2)

Both of the tracks I'm posting come from the album In the Name of Love, which is more or less a tribute to U2. All of the tracks on the album are U2 songs performed by African bands/artists. As you can imagine, these often take off in directions you wouldn't normally find in your "typical" cover.

I'm not going to pretend to be all knowing when it comes to the music you'll find on the album, but I recommend picking it up if you're into covers and/or if you're into U2. You'll certainly dig it if you listen to a bit of "world" music (whatever that means today).

Anyways, this first track caught my ear and got my interest in the album. You'll recognize it as a cover, but it takes off with some different beats and splits out of English during the verses.

[mp3] Mysterious Ways

Buy her music online: Amazon | iTunes
Visit her online: Official | Myspace

Pride (In the Name of Love) - Soweto Gospel Choir (originally by U2)

...and here we have another take on a U2 classic. Not much in the instrumental department, but it probably delivers the message at the heart of the song better than Bono could with his mates.

[mp3] Pride (In the Name of Love)

Buy some of their music online: Amazon | iTunes
Visit them online: Official | Myspace

Hard Sun - Eddie Vedder (Originally by Indio)

I'm sure you all heard this blaring through sunroofs and fancy cars with tops down last summer/fall. It's still a regular on my playlists. I highly recommend listening to this one in headphones if you haven't yet.

[mp3] Hard Sun

Buy some Pearl Jam online: Amazon | iTunes
Visit PJ/Eddie online: Official | Myspace


Back to the album - I recommend picking it up if for nothing else than to expose yourself to some music you wouldn't normally listen to. Since it's a cover album it's a bit easier to step into the "world" music genre because you'll already know the songs. Check it out here on Amazon, visit the official page (with streams) here.

Stu's:

Africa - Howie Day (Toto cover)(Live)

Speaking of Africa...Howie Day does a pretty awesome cover of Africa. This version is from his 4-21-01 show, and you should probably go pick up the whole show for FREE from archive.org. You can't argue with free!

[mp3] Howie Day - Africa

All Along the Watchtower - Howie Day (Bob Dylan cover)(Live)

Back in the days before Stop All The World Now, it used to be a pretty popular thing to go to Howie Day shows and yell, "FORTY-ONE!!!" at him. I'm not sure why, I've heard his cover of #41 (originally by the Dave Matthews Band) and it never really jumped out at me. At least it didn't jump out at me like this cover of a cover (supposedly Howie covers this like DMB covers it, therefore cover-of-a-cover). Truth be told, this is the first Howie Day song I ever heard. It's an interesting first song to hear, mostly because you aren't expecting the raw emotion and passion (or the excellent screaming). This one's from his 7-20-99 show, which is also free at archive.org.

[mp3] Howie Day - All Along the Watchtower

Buy some Howie Day: Amazon | iTunes
Visit him online: Official | Myspace | theHDTB

Splendid Isolation - Pete Yorn (Warren Zevon cover)

This cover comes straight from Petey's most recent album, Nightcrawler. Originally by Warren Zevon, Pete's take on Splendid Isolation is very well done (I'm a fan of the harmonica work myself). Incidentally, splendid isolation is also a foreign policy pursued by Britain during the late 19th century. So ya, now you know that.

[mp3] Pete Yorn - Splendid Isolation

Buy some Pete Yorn: Amazon | iTunes
Visit him online: Official | Myspace

No picks from Brock this week kiddies, he's internet-less right now (hence the lack of Brockness lately). Hopefully he'll get that resolved soon. We're missing a certain dash of Lurp 'round these parts...

Waz

Sometimes I get a little bothered by the total isolation that life in Utah can bring. The music scene is pretty dull in the town I live in, campus life revolves more around Sunday mornings than Saturday nights and the complete and utter domination of conservative values is a little too much to handle at times.

It's times like these that I'm quite happy that I can at least drive down to Salt Lake every once and again and see a kick ass show and forget about Simpleton, USA for a few hours. While I know that Salt Lake may not be the "real world", it's at least a step up for me.

Back to the point at hand - Stu and I were able to see the Hotel Cafe Tour in Salt Lake a few weeks ago and ever since then I've been a bit depressed about the music scene in my neck 'o the woods. There's not a whole lot of talent to be had here, despite being in a "college town" and most people here seem more interested in knocking everyone else around rather than just playing good music. It's a pity, really - and one that exposed itself in my mind while watching the artists on the Hotel Cafe Tour. All of the artists that played were immensely talented and could have drawn a crowd on their own, but they chose to tour together instead. Ticket prices could have been higher but they seemed to be more concerned about helping each other out and bringing everyone's name to the masses, rather then just their own.

After the show I spent some time looking into other artists who've found a starting point at the Hotel Cafe. Waz is one of the singer-songwriters that I've found myself listening to most as a result of this little search.

Waz original hit the spotlight quite a while ago as the original guitarist for Pete Yorn's band back in the early 2000's. After a few days of listening to Waz's music I can certainly feel Pete's influence on him. The songwriting is great, though I can't say that the vocal presence is on Pete's level. It's a bit more poppy than most of the songs Pete puts out, and there's more keys (which I dig) but it has the same kind of feel. Waz can write a hell of a bridge too, the two songs at the end of the post both take dramatic (and well done) turns at the end of the song. Bottom line - if you like Pete Yorn, you'll probably like Waz.

It seems that after Waz has started seeing some success of his own. His full length solo album was released in January, he's had a song featured on "The Hills" and he was able to meet up and associate with the Hotel Cafe Tour gang. Not bad for the new kid, all out on his own now.

[mp3] Mine To Remember
[mp3] She's Gone

Buys some WAZ: Amazon | iTunes
Visit WAZ online: Official | Myspace

Six Pack of the Week - Bonus Tracks!

Sometimes 12 songs just isn't enough. Sometimes, you're just listening along to a new cd, and that last song ends, but it doesn't end. Or sometimes it'll just be an extra track thrown your way, as a very special thank you for buying the cd. You'd better buckle up, because you've entered the realm of bonus tracks, baby. I (Brock) will go first this time around.

The Damnwells - Air Stereo

Air Stereo is hands down one of my favorite albums. "Accidental Man," "I've Got You," and "I Am a Leaver," just to name a few incredible tracks. Why they chose the title track as a bonus track is beyond me, but I'm more than willing to accept an odd decision with such a good album.

[mp3] The Damnwells - Air Stereo

Buy some Damnwells: iTunes | Amazon

Visit the site: Official | Myspace

Jack's Mannequin - Into the Airwaves

Everything in Transit is the (so far) only album from the former frontman for Something Corporate, and it's a great record. It "ends" with a song called "M.F.E.O./You Can Breathe" that is a giant run-on sentence of beautiful pop-punk-piano songwriting. Then there's a little spoken thing about the end of the record, and how there won't be another record for a while because of laziness. Then "Into the Airwaves" starts up, right out of nowhere.

[mp3] Jack's Mannequin - Into the Airwaves

Buy some Jack's Mannequin: iTunes | Amazon

Visit the websites: Official | Myspace

Kraig's Picks

Counting Crows - Sunday Morning L.A.

Brock and I recently reviewed Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings, Counting Crows' latest release. While we were slightly disappointed with the album itself, we didn't directly address the bonus tracks that came with an iTunes purchase of the album.

Strangely enough, Counting Crows followed in the footsteps they themselves set in This Desert Life by keeping some of the best work off of the proper album, instead saving it for a bonus track. Similar to "Kid Things" from This Desert Life, "Sunday Morning L.A." is a very strong track - which further boggles my mind as to why it couldn't make the cut over some of the other duds that did.

[mp3] Sunday Morning L.A.

Buy some Counting Crows: Amazon | iTunes
Visit them online: Official | Myspace

Howie Day - So, Goodbye

As I discussed in a previous post, Howie Day's post Australia career has left me wanting a bit more. Stop All The Wold Now was a fair album (on a good day) with a few strong tracks and a lot of songs that were trying too hard to hit top 40 radio. It seemed almost like Howie was trying to distance himself from the sound he created on Australia.

That, in itself, was probably the reason I fell hard for the bonus tracks that popped up in the Special Edition releases and on the Japanese release. These tracks had more passion and depth then the rest of the album - it was Howie, not some cheap TRL clone! Not surprisingly, my favorite cuts from the album ended up being "bonus tracks". Most were included after-the-fact on import or special editions, including this one, "So, Goodbye".

[mp3] So, Goodbye

Buy some Howie Day: Amazon | iTunes
Visit Howie online: Official | Myspace

Stu's Two

First, I just want to say that Brock stole one of my bonus tracks, that dirty sneak! But I will echo his sentiments on The Damnwells - Air Stereo; most days I feel like this is the best song on the album. Usually on those days Kraig calls me an idiot, but I shall continue to stick to my crazy notions and opinions!

Pete Yorn - Go With It

Back when Pete released Nightcrawler either his label, his management or the man himself decided that, in order to better promote the record, they should throw out a bunch 'o bonus tracks that were "exclusive" to different stores. This meant that you got different bonus tracks if you bought Nightcrawler from Circuit City rather than from Best Buy or iTunes, and vice versa. (Pete talks about it in an old interview with BrooklynVegan)

On one hand, it was nice that all these new Pete Yorn tracks were being released. On the other, it made the couple days after the album was released quite hectic while we were trying to round up all the bonus tracks. (Check out these old posts from Heather and Bryce for most of 'em). Go With It is the most rockin' of the bonus tracks, and probably should've been put in the meaty part of the CD instead of being an iTunes-only song.

[mp3] Pete Yorn - Go With It

Buy some Pete Yorn: Amazon | iTunes
Visit him online: Official | Myspace

Sense Field - The Horse Is Alive

So I think the story goes that one day Kraig was browsing around in our local independent music store (which, sadly, no longer exists), and randomly found Sense Field's Living Outside and picked it up on a whim. I managed to get a hold of it ('cause that's what happens when you live with a dude), and it didn't leave my grasp for quite a while.

It makes me sad that these guys broke up, Living Outside was downright awesome. Powerful vocals, great keys, nice drummin' and strummin'; it's very good stuff! And The Horse Is Alive is one of the best types of bonus tracks: the hidden ones. I hate when they call a song a "bonus track" when it's got its own track break. That's too easy! Your bonus should come after much hard work and due diligence (like fast forwarding for like a minute 'til you're at the exact right moment where the bonus track starts). Yeah, that's what it should be. Anyway, I figure most of you don't want to fast forward through a bunch of silence, so I cut the bonus track out of the nearly 11 minute final track. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as I.

[mp3] Sense Field - The Horse Is Alive

Buy some Sense Field: Amazon | iTunes
Visit them online: Myspace (tribute page)

Bonus Tracks: Now what would a six-pack about bonus tracks be without some bonus tracks? Unless you pre-ordered the deluxe version of Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings, you probably didn't get these songs. I don't think that's terribly fair, so here are two bonus bonus tracks (along with my apologies for the delayed post [Brock's fault]):

[mp3] Counting Crows - There Goes Everything

[mp3] Counting Crows - Come Around (Acoustic)

Pete Yorn & Kinky - Use Me

I really, really love it when good music pops up in my inbox. There's days where I don't mind searching high and low for new music but sometimes I just want to log into my gmail account and have the work done for me.

Such was the case for this new track from Pete Yorn & Kinky called Use Me. It comes from an album called Altered States by Robin Danar. It seems Robin is a long-time record producer/engineer. This album is his stab at a "soundtrack for a movie that hasn't yet been written". More info here - there's lots of other great contributors.

This track is certainly different than anything you'd normally expect from Pete. The most electronic I've heard him go on a proper recording is probably on Georgie Boy from Nightcrawler, but this delves far more into the electro arena. I like it, just not something that fits in on musicforthemorningafter. I suppose that's what happens when you're collaborating with Kinky. Figures.

[mp3] Use Me

Buy some Pete Yorn: Amazon | iTunes

Visit him on the web: Official | Myspace

Six Pack of the Week - Trouble Sleeping

Well, ya'll finally get to hear from the up-to-now invisible third member of this, err, trio. See? That's why I don't get to type stuff!

Anyway, this week's Six Pack deals with a personal problem of mine: I'm having trouble sleeping! To be more specific, I'm having trouble both falling asleep and sleeping soundly. So, to try to solve my problem, I inevitably turned to music. Maybe some song I've previously overlooked can tell me why I'm not sleeping. Let's see what we got:

[mp3] The Perishers - Trouble Sleeping

I really dig this song, but it doesn't explain why I can't sleep. It does have some really good lines reminding me of times I couldn't sleep in the past though: "You're jumping in my bed/twisting in my head/leave me" and "it's you/now and always you/but never me." However, romantical problems are not the reason why I'm not sleeping.

Buy some The Perishers: Amazon | iTunes
Visit them on the web: Official | Myspace

[mp3] Pete Yorn - Sleep Better

This is what I desire, to sleep better! But all Petey tells me is that "she won't sleep better alone/and he won't sleep better alone/no they won't feel better alone" which doesn't really help me all that much. I love the song Pete, but you aren't helping me here!

Buy some Pete Yorn: Amazon | iTunes

Visit him on the web: Official | Myspace

[mp3] Eels - I Need Some Sleep

This is a very pretty song about "getting over" something. And yes, there are a lot of things to get over, so don't look at me like that. Anyway, this isn't it either. If it was, that 'something' would always be on my mind, and there's been nothing constantly on my mind. Definitely a good song to hear though.

Buy some Eels: Amazon | iTunes
Visit them on the web: Official | Myspace

[mp3] Counting Crows - I'm Not Sleeping

I've always liked this song so I had to include it, even though it sheds little light on my sleeping troubles. I just love how it keeps changing back and forth from a soft, gentle song to a rocking orchestral song. Crazy talk, I know, but it's good stuff.

Buy some Counting Crows: Amazon | iTunes
Visit them on the web: Official | Myspace

[mp3] Trashcan Sinatras - Trouble Sleeping

I almost never listen to Trashcan Sinatras, but this song jumped out to me at first due to its dreamy tone. And then I started to listen to the lyrics. I won't spoil it for you, go ahead give it a listen yourself. Oh, and it's not the reason why I'm having trouble sleeping!

Buy some Trashcan Sinatras: Amazon | iTunes
Visit them on the web: Official | Myspace

[mp3] Radiohead - Go To Sleep

I like this song too much not to include it, though it also does not explain my trouble sleeping. It's just another good Radiohead song; I don't know the musical term for it, but I want to call it good driving guitar. It seems to take the song exactly where it needs to go.

Buy some Radiohead: Amazon | iTunes
Visit them on the web: Official | Myspace

Hmmm, well, at least I got good music to listen to while I'm not sleeping!

Six Pack of the Week - Covers

Back on my old blog I ran a weekly feature called the Six Pack of the Week. I've decided to bring that feature over to this blog - congrats to you! I think it's a fantastic way to make everyone aware of some great tracks that are out there.

This week I'm focusing on covers. I've always loved a good cover, I've included a few I've been listening to lately. Enjoy!

[mp3] Foo Fighters - Band on the Run (Paul McCartney & Wings)

This one's been floating around the blogo-sphere for the past few months. I highly recommend checking it out if you haven't already. Quite true to the original, though they certainly bring the rock harder than Wings ever did.

This can be found on the album Radio 1 Established 1967.

Buy some Foo Fighters: Amazon | iTunes

Visit them on the web: Official | Myspace

[mp3] Zac Maloy - Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison)

I found this one on Zac's myspace. It's quite an interesting take on the classic, totally different tempo and feel to it all. In case you're not familiar, Zac was the lead singer of The Nixons.

Buy some Zac Maloy: Amazon | iTunes

Visit him on the web: Myspace

[mp3] Pete Yorn - I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend (The Ramones)

This is one of the stand out tracks from the Ramone's tribute album that came out a few years ago. It also includes a few tracks by Eddie Vedder, Red Hot Chili Peppers etc. If you come across it I highly recommend picking it up.

This can be found on the album We're a Happy Family - A Tribute to the Ramones

Buy some Pete Yorn: Amazon | iTunes

Visit him on the web: Official | Myspace

[mp3] Black Lab - Transformers (Theme Song)

Bet you didn't expect this one, eh? This really should have been in the movie. The bass drum is straight-up sweet in the mix.

This can be found on the album Technologie.

Buy some Black Lab: Amazon | iTunes

Visit them on the web: Official | Myspace

[mp3] Pearl Jam - Love Reign O'er Me (The Who)

Another one that's made it's rounds across the blogo-sphere. Kinda funny that PJ seems to be the most successful (single wise) when they record and release a cover. Eddie's growl is at it's best here.

Buy some Pearl Jam: Amazon | iTunes

Visit them on the web: Official | Myspace

[mp3] Jets Overhead - Mr. Soul (Neil Young)

Here's a band you may not know about. They hail from the Great White North and they know their way around an effects pedal. I'm really diggin' on this version of one of my favorite Neil Young tunes - it's WAY more trippy. I highly recommend this one as well.

This can be found on the album Borrowed Tunes, a Tribute to Neil Young.

Buy some Jets Overhead: Amazon | iTunes

Visit them on the web: Official | Myspace

Hopefully those will sate your appetite for covers for now, I'm sure we'll have another six-pack of covers soon though so be ready!

Pete Yorn - Shampoo

Mr. Yorn has had an unreleased song called "Shampoo" posted on his MySpace page for a few months now.  If you haven't heard it yet, it's worth a listen.

Rumor has it that the song was inspired by an old movie of the same name.  Not a whole lot else is known about the song, but I certainly enjoy it.  Take a listen, I'm sure you will as well.

Pete Yorn - Shampoo (MP3)

Buy some Yorn at Amazon

Or iTunes

His Page