Face the Day Like You Did Before

I generally try to keep my personal life out of this blog, because it just hasn't seemed appropriate whatwith the LJ and Facebook. But this past week has been one of those weeks where everything gets affected, especially the music. In light of all that's gone (wr)on(g), I offer you a sampling of what I've been listening to these past few days. Downloads to come later for some tracks.

Oasis - Live Forever
Oasis - Stop Crying Your Heart Out
Daniel Powter - Bad Day
Secondhand Serenade - Vulnerable
Snow Patrol - Make This Go On Forever
The Fray - How To Save A Life
Jack's Mannequin - Into The Airwaves
Hinder - Better Than Me
Dashboard Confessional - Standard Lines
Daughtry - Used To
Something Corporate - Forget December
Ronnie Day - Coming Home Soon

There's probably some more, but that covers the bulk of it. One more thing; music brings out a lot of emotions in me, but very few pieces of music can bring me to tears (the ones that can...we don't talk about). Ronnie Day's debut album, aptly titled The Album, came damned close to being one of those. If you can get your hands on The Album, buy it. Till then, check out his myspace, it gives you just as good a glimpse. He's playing Penn's Landing on the 29th with Dashboard and a bunch of others as part of MTVU's concert series...looking into trying to go to this one...

That's all.

==TJ==

It's Really Good To Hear Your Voice...

I was in a car earlier this week and while the radio was on I heard that song by Hinder, "Lips of An Angel". Normally this is where I rant about the fact that this song became a radio hit a year after the album's release and 10 months before Matt Nolan and I predicted its success. But no, there's a bigger issue here. The version of the song I heard was not done by Hinder, but rather it was a country cover done by Jack Ingram.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying there shouldn't be a cover of this song and I'm not necessarily saying a country artist shouldn't be doing the cover. My issue is in the fact that Ingram didn't even take the time to let the song drop off the Billboard Charts before trying to capitalize off its success (Hinder's version is currently #26 on Billboard's Hot 100). The song has been a hit for only 4 months and the likelihood of future success for Hinder is pretty high. Jack Ingram's success over the past few years has been marginal at best. For the record, Ingram's version isn't outright bad; its basically the same song without the electric guitar and Blower's raw, scratchy voice. Not a terrible cover, but lacking the originality I expect in a good cover (See: The Used and MCR's rendition of "Under Pressure"). My biggest problem here is the fact that a mostly established country artist is piggybacking on the success of an up-and-coming rock band that deserves a fair chance.

Anyway, the Grammys are this weekend, and quite frankly, I don't care. They've become predictable of late. While I'm happy to see the streak of posthumous recordings getting gratuitous praise, does anyone think that someone NOT named John Mayer, Jack White, or Corinne Bailey Rae has a chance? And where the hell are the noms for Pearl Jam's album? That thing was genius, and a hell of a lot better than The Raconteurs. It's official; I should be running the Grammy Association from now on. Someone get me the papers, please?

==TJ==