Jason Mraz - Selected Recordings

Artist: Jason Mraz
Album: Various Albums
Genre: Acoustic, Pop
Myspace: www.myspace.com/jasonmraz

Jason Mraz is a singer/songwriter who plays acoustic, funk/rock-influenced pop. He's got a great voice and is almost always accompanied by his friend, backup singer, and djembe player, Noel 'Toca' Rivera. I've given you some of his live albums that feature just Jason Mraz and Toca without the rest of his band. I feel that these show the true nature of his live performance due to the intimate setting and unplugged atmosphere. I've also upped a bootleg that I just downloaded, and it sounds incredible, as good as any commercial recording.


Download:
Live at Schuba's Tavern bootleg 01/15/2003
Live at Java Joe's
Sold Out [In Stereo]
Selections for Friends - Live From: Schuba's Tavern, Chicago and Montalvo Winery, Saratoga

Sylvie Vartan and Frances Gall

This post should do as a quick introduction to Yé-yé music, and hopefully get you guys interested. Basically, it's French vocal-led pop music, heavy on the female vocals and catchy. You should probably recognise at least a few songs from these albums. The Vartan is a bit more Rock & Roll feeling, whereas Frances Gall is poppier, with hints of Serge Gainsbourg's later songwriting mixed in.

DOWNLOAD FRANCES GALL- LES SUCETTES

DOWNLOAD SYLVIE VARTAN- TWISTE ET CHANTE

Beardtapes - Covers

Made up of my favourite covers. Enjoy!

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The Beatles - Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club

Although revisionist journalism has seen the Beatles stance in musical history slightly reduced, one cannot deny the influence of Sgt. Pepper, even if it doesn't retain its hallowed place as the album that started music. Forget the hype though; this is just a half-decent album. Like all of the Beatles' records, there are some real stinkers, but there are some wonderful songs here as well. I, for one, believe that the Beatles never made a consistent record, but this is probably as close as they came. Worth a listen, if only for the educational factor.

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The Residents - The Commercial Album

The likelihood of you guys enjoying this is probably unlikely, but this is probably the Residents' best and most cohesive album. The Residents are one of the greatest musical groups of all time, having released albums since 1974 (having started recording long before that even) the group has nonetheless maintained total anonymity to this day. Their Dadaist approach to music has created some of the most mentally unhinged sounding music ever created, and it is worth listening to the band, even if it is just once.
This album takes the ideas of their previous records to their logical conclusion, with their pastiche/worship of pop music coming to the fore in a way unseen even on their brilliant Third Reich 'n' Roll album (consisting of Nazi speeches and imagery interwoven with barely recognisable covers of pop mainstays bu artists such as the Beatles and Elvis). The basic concept of The Commercial Album is that, due to the verse/chorus structure of pop music, there is only around one minute of original, unrepeated music in each song. Thusly, the Residents created 40 avant-garde pop tracks, without repeating any music, each around one minute in length. This CD reissue version has a few bonus tracks to labour the point, covers of various pop songs that perfectly match the Residents' pastiche of verse/chorus format.
This is essential listening for any fan of music, because it creates a sort of meta-musical commentary while remaining a brilliant pop album. Check it out if you like the Beatles, any noise, avant-garde or left-field pop.

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The Cranberries - No Need to Argue & To the Faithful Departed

The Cranberries were an Irish band formed in Limerick who incorporated Alternative Rock and Pop influences in their music. After the success of their first album, Everyone Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?, they entered the charts once again with No Need to Argue, which included their most enduringly popular single, Zombie, a protest song about the I.R.A. bombing of Warrington in England.
The next album, To the Faithful Departed, suffered somewhat due to deaths in the band's friends and family (which the album is dedicated to, and the title is a reference to), although it still managed to chart relatively highly. The album was somewhat less loved by critics, but despite lacking tracks as strong as its predeccessor, it's definately worth a listen.

DOWNLOADS:

No Need to Argue

To the Faithful Departed

The Shins - Oh, Inverted World

This is one of the best modern pop albums I have heard in months. I first heard the track New Slang in Zach Braff's brilliant directoral debut Garden State, and checked out this, The Shins' debut album on that recommendation. I was not disappointed. Mixing the 'sunshine pop' sound with alternative rock, this sound like the Beach Boys covering Sgt. Pepper in the early '90s. One of the best CDs I have ever heard, I don't think there is a weak track on it.

==Track listing==

1. Caring Is Creepy – 3:20
2. One by One All Day – 4:09
3. Weird Divide – 1:58
4. Know Your Onion! – 2:29
5. Girl Inform Me – 2:21
6. New Slang – 3:51
7. The Celibate Life – 1:51
8. Girl on the Wing – 2:50
9. Your Algebra – 2:23
10. Pressed in a Book – 2:55
11. The Past and Pending – 5:22

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