holiday

This Sparrow Found Her Wings

Posted by John on October 27, 2011
Posted in: holiday, new artist, new releases. Tagged: . Leave a comment

Goodbye leaves of fall
So long
Miss you

If you think that Denver is just for the Fray, OneRepublic, 3OH!3, and Dynasty, you’re missing out. Not only does Denver have some big name musicians calling it home, there is also a sizable indie/underground music scene that any minute now someone else may burst out of (Matt Morris, anyone?). Add to that bursting list singer-songwriter Katey Laurel, who this month released “Two Birds” on iTunes and CD Baby.

The premise is simple: two people are separated by distance, and one plans to “drive across the Plains” so they can spend the winter together. However, it’s the mix of this story with the two birds visual that makes the song work, as the listener has no problem picturing those two birds “sitting on a wire” or nestled in a nest, adding more impact than just a simple “I’ll drive to you” premise.

“Two Birds” succeeds not only because of its lyrical clarity, but also because of the simple yet effective production. One listen will transport you to that time between the brightness of autumn and the pure white of winter where you know the snow is coming, and in your mind you are mentally preparing. All it takes is two guitars to propel the song along, and the rest of it just flows. “Two Birds” isn’t a Christmas song per se, but it evokes some of the same emotions that make the more mellow holiday songs a welcome addition to your playlist come November and December.

There’s no plan at the moment for a full-length album, so you will have to go back to her early 2011 CD From Here if you want to hear more, or check out one of her Colorado/New Mexico shows in November or December. Then you can say “I knew Katey Laurel when…”

Random Notes – 02-14-10

Posted by John on February 14, 2010
Posted in: giveaway, holiday, movie, music industry. Tagged: , , , . 5 Comments

– First off, Happy Valentines Day to all of you. You don’t need to have a special someone to enjoy the people around you that you love. And a good romantic ballad is ALWAYS a good thing. Speaking of romantic music, congrats to Trav in Michigan and Amy in Pennsylvania for leaving comments that got them a copy of the Now Love CD compilation. Those CDs will be in the mail soon. Hope y’all enjoy!

– Finally saw Avatar yesterday (on IMAX 3D…wow), and I am still stunned that James Cameron would have thought that “I See You” by Leona Lewis would be a worthy successor to “My Heart Will Go On”. While the melody worked very well in instrumental form for the scenes between Jake and Neytiri, the actual song itself is so limp and lifeless that it is probably a good thing that it is hidden at the end of the movie. No wonder this song has not charted anywhere. Oh wait…looks like it made it to #47 in Ireland. My bad.

– I feel like I need to post a small disclaimer about my We Are the World post. While I may be severely disappointed in the way this song and video came out, it does not change the fact that the people of Haiti need help, and buying “We Are the World” is not the only way to do so. There are multiple organizations out there (including Unicef, which is specifically helping the children in need) that can effectively use your donation to get resources where they are most needed. While I am sure it is great to say you supported the same charity that Susan Boyle or Jeff Bridges sang for, I would rather eliminate all of that middleman stuff and go straight to the source.

– There has been a lot of news about the music business recently, and one of the more interesting bits I have come across is that Warner Brothers is testing out a “Six Pak” format that allows an artist to put out new music faster to their fans. Country singer Blake Shelton will be the first artist to get the six-song treatment for his Hillbilly Bone CD, and it will be released on March 2nd. The single of the same name is currently at #9 and climbing on this week’s Hot Country Songs chart.

Speaking of country artists getting creative with releases, Rascal Flatts released on February 9th a limited-time digital collection called Fourteen Love Songs for the Fourteenth. The package will only be available for two weeks’ time, and contains some of their biggest ballads, including “Bless the Broken Road” and “I Melt”. You can find the collection at online shops like Amazon, but get it before the 23rd.

My Musical Valentine

Posted by John on February 7, 2010
Posted in: giveaway, holiday, personal, videos, youtube. Tagged: , , , . 10 Comments

I have a fluctuating interest in Valentine’s Day, and that may come from conflicting feelings about it from my youth. For those of you who do not normally celebrate it, Valentine’s Day starts out as a reason to sugar kids up and give out Disney Princesses or Transformer valentines to all of your classmates, but evolves into that one-on-one declaration of love that many adults struggle over. For me, Valentine’s Day always manifests itself musically, either as a celebration of the love I am currently experiencing, or as a balm for those times when being single and Cupid collide. Based on selections from this year’s Country-leaning playlist, I think you will be able to tell where my heart is at currently.

– Brad Paisley “Then” – Paisley normally has the critics in the palm of his hand, but when “Then” was released in advance of American Saturday Night, it was derided by many as a bit bland and not as clever as he normally is. However, for myself and a lot of other music fans, “Then” is a sweet and real tale about how the love between two people grows farther and further than you can ever imagine. Picture being in the early weeks and months of a relationship, and having someone play this song for you and telling you that these lyrics remind them of you:

I remember, trying not to stare the night that I first met you.
You had me mesmerized.
And three weeks later in the front porch light, taking forty five minutes to kiss goodnight.
I hadn’t told you yet, but I thought I loved you then


– Ty Herndon “Loved Too Much” – There were two types of country hits in the 90s…those “New Traditional” songs that harkened back to the Golden Age of Country Music, and those that could be played on Top 40 radio stations almost as easily as they could be on Country radio. Ty Herndon’s music definitely leaned toward the pop side of country, although he only barely hit the Top 40 on the Hot 100 chart one time (“It Must Be Love” at #38). A perfect example of Ty’s pop-country sound can be found on “Loved Too Much”, which tells the story of a man who isn’t able to casually be in a relationship.

I need to be loved too much I need to be held too tight
I need to hear someone say at the end of day
I’ll make everything right.


– Dixie Chicks “Never Say Die” – Way back on their major label debut, the Chicks already had some of the best writers in Nashville offering up their wares to be Dixiefied. George Ducas and Radney Foster capture the minutiae of a relationship that has seen some pretty big moments, because sometimes you don’t realize what you have until life slows to a crawl for a moment. Martie Maguire can milk some amazing emotion out of a few violin strings, and this song is a perfect example of that. “Die” is one of multiple highlights on Wide Open Spaces, and occasionally it will drift up to the surface for no apparent reason.

We’ve both had our share of doubts
Waited out those ole storm clouds
Boy it’s nights like this that I know why
Lovers like you and me will never say die


– Norah Jones “Come Away With Me” – So the mix closes with a request to run away to anywhere but here. Has a 3-minute song ever sounded as lush as this song does? Within those three minutes, you are transported to a cabin in the woods, a mountaintop, a field on the plains, and a bus heading for points unknown. The amazing thing to me is how much of a classic this song sounded like upon its release, and it was from Norah’s debut album. I have enjoyed music from each of her successive records, but I fear that lightning may not strike twice for Norah. Then again, wouldn’t most artists beg, borrow or steal to have one record like Come Away With Me?

And I want to walk with you
On a cloudy day
In fields where the yellow grass grows knee-high
So won’t you try to come?

So speaking of “Come Away With Me”, it appears on the new Now That’s What I Call Love collection that came out last week. The cool thing about this collection is that it has a variety of sounds, including rock, country, pop, and R&B. Coolest inclusion? Howie Day’s “Collide”, which remains one of my favorite songs from the late 90s. There’s even one for the potential adulterer in your life, courtesy of Hinder’s “Lips of an Angel”.

Is your interest piqued? Well, thanks to the folks at EMI, I have 2 copies of this 20-song collection to give away. If you leave a comment between now and Tuesday afternoon, you will be entered to win a copy of the CD. Comment away!

When Those Blue Snowflakes Start Falling

Posted by John on December 12, 2009
Posted in: free download, holiday, singles. Tagged: , , , . 4 Comments

This week has been stress with a capital S, and when you throw in a little bug for good measure, it’s a perfect recipe for the holiday blues. There has been a feeling of homesickness creeping up on me the past week, but not feeling well just opened the floodgates. So it really was perfect timing when Will-W. posted his version of “Blue Christmas” last night. No gospel choir singers or bombastic arrangements are necessary when you have a quality singer singing a quality song, right? And to sweeten the pot, the song is available for free on his website. That fits PERFECTLY into my gift-giving budget this year!

While we are talking about free Christmas songs, make sure you check out Amazon’s 25 Days of Free promotion, where they are giving away a free Christmas song every day through the 25th. Among those already available for download are selections by Tori Amos, Lady GaGa, Jars of Clay, and Todd Agnew. It’s a bit hit or miss on the quality (really, did the world need GaGa’s take on “Deck the Halls”?), but with the selection they are offering, there’s probably something there for everyone’s taste. My favorite so far has been Richie McDonald’s take on “O Holy Night”. You might remember Richie as the former lead singer of Lonestar, whose hit “Amazed” crossed over to the pop charts in a big way in 1999 and 2000, both in the US and the UK.

I Dream of Christmas

Posted by John on December 7, 2009
Posted in: holiday, songs, videos, youtube. Tagged: . 8 Comments

I am a bit obsessed with George Michael’s “December Song (I Dreamed of Christmas)” at the moment, and it has caught me a bit off guard. As I posted last Christmas (pun abused, reused, and still intended), this song was George’s Christmas present to the world. However, for those of you who didn’t wake up on Christmas day and run straight for your laptop or desktop, you can now pay for the privilege of owning this track, along with a few other treats if you’re very good and want to pay out a few extra coins.

Enough of the logistics, though…let’s get to the song in question. When I first heard the opening strains of something straight out of It’s a Wonderful Life, I thought someone was playing a joke on me. But the piano and sleigh bells kicked in, and I instantly knew the source. If you pay attention to the structure of the intro (and the chorus), you can hear a slowed-down version of “Last Christmas”, but once you hit the first verse, it’s George circa Older.

The video, which on the surface is an escape for a child facing a potentially disappointing Christmas, actually holds very true to one of George’s predominant themes: coping with a situation that doesn’t feel right or true. It doesn’t take long for the child in the video to lose himself in the fanciful world he has walked into, but soon enough he comes crashing back into the real world. Fortunately, this story looks to have a happy ending, with his mom at his bedside.

No matter what form his December Song took, it saved him from despair and sadness. Don’t we all have a song around the holidays that, no matter what is going on in our lives, lifts us up and puts us right back in the mood for the holiday? For me, that song has always been “Last Christmas”. There is something about Christmas that brings out feelings of melancholy, and I have a deep appreciation for that when it comes around. Even though things feel like they are working against me, I recognize that my life is pretty amazing, and the blessings in my life could fill a whole book. Those moments are cathartic, and I come out of them on the other side with a better appreciation of the moment. I tend to embrace the season much more after that.

George’s website mentions that he is working on a new album. Here’s hoping that he continues to share songs that can inspire as deep a feeling as “December Song” does.

Super Monday

Posted by John on November 25, 2009
Posted in: holiday, music industry, new releases. Tagged: , , , , , . 10 Comments

Ah, the creative American music business. Move up the release date by a day due to Thanksgiving, push out a bunch of buzz-worthy CDs, and call it SUPER TUESDAYMONDAY!

*crickets*

I shouldn’t mock, because I have been waiting for a few of these releases, but it is kind of a joke. Last year’s Super TuesdayMonday was a big ol’ bust. In a week where Kanye West and Guns N Roses were both expected to sell in excess of 500,000 units each, Kanye hit the mid-400K range, while GNR didn’t even break 300,000. Only the top 11 releases hit six figures, where past years would have seen between 15 and 20 titles exceed 100,000 units.

[Side note: how crushing of a blow is the #13 bow of Leona Lewis with Echo?]

Last week saw the top 7 titles exceed 100K, with John Mayer leading the way, and this week should be more, but by how much? Susan Boyle is expected to exceed 500,000, but the next highest title prediction is Adam Lambert’s debut For Your Entertainment with 225,000 units. It is early in the week, and things could still change radically, but it is just not going to be as big a week as the industry is hoping it will be.

Leanin’ Up Against the Record Machine

Posted by John on September 3, 2009
Posted in: american idol, holiday, new releases, singles, upcoming, videos, youtube. Tagged: , , . 7 Comments

If it’s close to fall, then the heavyweights of the industry must be jockeying for position on the shelves of CDs for Christmas purchases. From a country standpoint, two of the more high profile releases in the next few months are Tim McGraw and Carrie Underwood. Carrie’s release Play On (due November 3rd) just got a nice PR bump due to a leak on the Internet, originally from a radio recording, but followed shortly after by a clean version. “Cowboy Casanova” has some similarities to “Before He Cheats”, but this recipe is 1/3 “Cheats”, spiced up with 1/3 “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” remixed, and blended in a 1/3 Shania Twain sassiness. At first listen, I was taken aback, but damn, if that’s not a catchy tune, I don’t know what is. Watch for this one on the Pop charts in the near future, as there’s got to be a non-country mix of this. (h/t Bill’s Top 40/Pop Blog)

Tim, on the other hand, is doing what he does best, with a clever set of lyrics talking about how much “pain” his relationship inflicts on him. The full-length disc out on October 20th is called Southern Voice, and it’s already up to preview on iTunes. You might recall the drama a year ago surrounding the release of this CD getting pushed back by Curb to make way for a miserably-selling Greatest Hits 3. We’ll have to wait and see what Tim’s next move is, now that his contract is fulfilled with Curb, but I can’t imagine he’s going to hang around. Originally I thought there might be a Live Nation deal in Tim’s future. Wouldn’t it be interesting if they set up a deal with Tim AND his wife, Faith Hill? Just food for thought.

Here’s the first single from Southern Voice entitled “It’s a Business Doing Pleasure With You”.

Above the Fray

Posted by John on January 10, 2009
Posted in: holiday, reviews, videos, youtube. Tagged: . 5 Comments

gothic-marqueeSo back to Beyonce, Boston Terriers and the Fray. Tuesday’s Fray show opened up a more intimate theater tour to promote the release of their self-titled second CD, coming out February 2nd (tour dates here). Getting into the show, however, wasn’t as easy as you would imagine. Several Denver venues, including the Gothic, are general admission, and you have to wait in line until an hour before the show. Seeing how the Fray are hometown boys, and the show was sold out instantly when tickets went on sale (due to pre-sales), the line was long, and the weather was cold. I was a bit chilled by the time I got in the door, but being surrounded by die-hard fans took some of the edge off the cold. Either that, or I was experiencing early stages of hypothermia.

Seriously, though, it’s pretty cool to feel the hometown pride for this band. It reminds me a bit of how Syracuse feels about Benny Mardones, even though he’s not even from Syracuse. There was this sense of “they’re one of us” in the crowd waiting to get in, and people were recounting shows they’ve seen in the past, how much they paid scalpers for tickets (I heard up to $300 for $28 tickets), and of course favorite songs. Personally, I’m really jaded right now, because “You Found Me” has eclipsed any favorites I had on How To Save A Life. In fact, to give you an idea of what the venue looked like, here’s a clip of them doing that very song. Sorry about the cut off at the end, but check out the lamps all over the stage. The video just doesn’t do them justice for the impact they had.

So the show itself was wonderful. As you will find at every concert these days, there were a few tools doing their best to ruin the show for everyone around them, but at a certain point, I tuned out the jerks, and just got immersed in the music. They performed all of the songs that you would expect: “How To Save A Life”, “Over My Head”, “She Is”, “Look After You”, and of course “You Found Me”. The band doesn’t deviate too far from their formula, and some of their biggest hits are ripe for sing-along. There was a LOT of singing along.

The big question going into this show was the new material, since I’ve put myself on radio silence towards that stuff. In order to get tickets for the show, I had to pre-order the Deluxe Edition of the physical CD. That pre-order got me a pre-sale code, and that’s how I only ended up paying face value for the tickets. In addition, I will also get the opportunity to download a live digital release of songs from the tour. See, if you’re going to create a value-added promotion for die-hard fans, THAT’S the way to do it.

As a result, I decided I wanted to experience them live first, and then on the CD when it shows up. Overall, I’m pleased. While the baseline Fray sound remains intact, there are some extremes now. The mellow songs got more mellow, and there is at least one grunge-ish song called “We Build Then We Break”. Highlights for me were “Syndicate”, which is potentially the second single, and “Happiness”, which Isaac dedicated to his “pops” during the encore. Here’s “Syndicate” for your perusal:

Okay, so where do the Boston Terriers and Beyonce fit into this? Well, Isaac had some interesting banter between songs. By his own admission, the Fray is good at many things, but “talking” is not one of them. I think he did fine, though. He talked about his new Terrier puppy, about the holidays, and the family. And while we’re talking about the boys in the band, let’s contemplate just why Mr Fizzy isn’t completely infatuated with Joe King, who SO looks like his type. But the big surprise of the night was the only cover song that I could pick out, and it was a doozy. Check out the video below…

It was great to see that these guys have a sense of humor, as well as the ability to translate what they do in the studio to a live setting. There’s no doubt in my mind that The Fray will debut at #1 the week it’s released, especially if the performance of “You Found Me” is any indication. It’s only competition will be the likes of Melissa Doolittle and Liza Minnelli. What I’m looking for is the longevity. While How To Save A Life went double-platinum, it never got above #14. There’s only one direction to go when you debut at the top. From what I heard, it shouldn’t be a problem for them to get a good run out of the new record as well.

Merry Christmas, Darling

Posted by John on December 24, 2008
Posted in: holiday, personal, videos, year-end, youtube. Tagged: , . 1 Comment

hancock-syr-signGreetings from the Salt City, aka Syracuse, New York. The sign up above is the first visual many folks have of Syracuse as they arrive at Hancock International Airport, and for a native like myself, it’s a welcome sight. Despite my love of travel and Colorado, I always enjoy returning home to see my folks and reconnect. Funny how we can romanticize such mundane things as grocery stores and neon signs, isn’t it?

Over the next few days, I will be posting my year-end lists. While I have already been told that there won’t be much of an audience for this type of thing between Christmas and New Years, year-end lists are kind of hallowed ground to me, and I like to remain as pure as possible when it comes to these. You’ll get a couple of singles-oriented lists, with the big album list on New Years Eve.

I would tell you that I am here to wish you Happy Holidays from the staff and management of Pop Music Notes, but, alas, they all walked out on me on day one, so please allow me to speak for the “company”. When I think of this time of year, I think of all the warm and fizzy fuzzy things like family, giving, hope and renewal. However, it’s been a rough year for so many folks. While I have felt like I got the short end of the stick on so many things over the past 12 months, there are so many people out there who would envy my “troubles” and trade for them in a heartbeat with their own. In this season of giving, please remember those who don’t have the luxury of taking things like a job, food, shelter, and warm clothing for granted. My charity of choice this year has been the Ali Forney Center (with a huge h/t to Joe.My.God), and if you need a suggestion, I think this one would be a wonderful choice. However, no matter where your gift of time or money goes, I’m sure it will be appreciated.

So here’s my Christmas wish to you…may you be surrounded by the family and friends of your choosing who love and care for you, may your mind and soul be at peace, and may you carry an appropriate tune with you as your journey continues on. Because life without music…well, let’s not go there. Be well, my friends.

And now, to answer a question posted a few weeks ago, here’s my favorite Christmas song. It’s as relevant now as it was when it was first recorded.