Eric's Song of the Day

We've been so busy practicing lately that our blogging has been pretty much nonexistent... but I finally have another song of the day! A song that's been stuck in my head lately is Mr. Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan. So I was never a big Dylan fan, but the more I listened to his music and learned about him, the more I respected his work. I don't think you can listen to Dylan songs with normal song expectations. His songs are more like poems with music and his vocals are, well, unique. This song has the usual simplistic acoustic guitar and harmonica found on many Dylan recordings but a very catchy melody. The simplicity of the instrumentation with the complexity of the lyrics and a very good melody make this one of my favorite songs of his.

Besides this being a great song, it was a big part of the beginning of folk rock. Before Bob even put this song on an album, The Byrds did a cover converting it to more of a rock song. It included vocal harmonies and a 12-string electric guitar, setting it apart from the Dylan version. This song was much shorter than the original, and it got immediate radio play and pretty much created the genre of folk rock. I guess I have this song to thank for the genre of many of my favorite songs.

Eric's Song of the Day

I've let Pat do most of the blogging lately, but I thought I'd jump in with a song of the day. "Phantom Limb" off of The Shins' album, Wincing the Night Away, has been played a few times on The River (for those of you who don't know, 93.9 The River is the radio station I'm pretty much always listening to) and I can't get enough of it. The first song of the Shins that I heard was "New Slang", which is also a great song. That song was recommended to me by Mr. Langley. (noticing a trend?) As Natalie Portman said, The Shins will change your life, so you should probably check them out.





















In other news, our EP will be called "Bending the Truth EP" and it will hopefully be released later this week. We hope you're looking forward to this release as much as we are, as a lot of work has been put into it and we're very happy with the way its sounding.

-Eric

Eric's Song of the Day

So its been a while since the first song of the day... The song stuck in my head lately is "Photobooth" by Death Cab for Cutie. If you've never listened to Death Cab before, you should really check them out. I've been a fan since I first heard "Soul Meets Body," which was recommended to me by Mr. Langley, for those of you that know him.

I never explored their older music until recently, and I've been missing out all this time. None of this music will get you pumped up or even excited, but there is something about it that I love. Maybe its the intricate guitar riffs or subtle piano and synths, or maybe its the complex and catchy lyrics. The lyrics Ben Gibbard writes are some of the most complex I've heard, and this is especially surprising because he was an engineering student, not an english major or something like that. We all know that engineers are not usually the best with words. Maybe there is some hope for me...

I was very excited when their new album came out, but I was slightly disappointed with their first single, "I Will Posses Your Heart." I didn't listen to any other songs on the album but that was a big mistake. I was missing some great songs. One of my favorites is "Grapevine Fires." So in case you didn't get the jist of this whole post, check out Death Cab for Cutie, you might find some music that you like.

In other news, I had a pretty big week. I made it to two concerts. My favorite band, Counting Crows with Augustana, on Wednesday night, and my friend Robin Horlock on Thursday night. The Counting Crows are always fun to watch, but this concert was especially good. Both bands played together for almost half the concert, so there were 12 people on stage singing and playing different instruments, and Adam Duritz was doing his usual antics running around and jumping off of things. They played all the songs I wanted to hear most in the first 5 songs, and even threw in some that I hadn't seen them play live before.

I've known Robin Horlock for about 3 years now. He's from Northville and our families are pretty good friends. I first met him playing at one of our neighbor's parties. I never made it to one of his official gigs until this one, so it was pretty exciting. He came out with a new album in January, which was excellent. If you only listen to one song on it, check out "Sink". Actually, check out "Music" too. They're both really good. You can listen to his music at www.robinhorlock.com.

-Eric

We have a blog!

Welcome to The Soloists' blog. This is where we'll keep you updated on what we're doing, talk about whats inspiring us, or maybe just post complete nonsense. It should be exciting. Feel free to comment and give us your input.

Eric's Song of the Day:
Yes, I'm starting a tradition right now. I always have a song stuck in my head, so here's what was stuck in my head today. "Gimme Sympathy" by Metric. Check it out. Its got some cool synths, good vocals, and catchy lyrics. Maybe I just like the Beatles reference. I first heard of Metric about a month ago when they released the first single, "Help, I'm Alive" from their new album, "Fantasies". I thought it was pretty good, despite how different it was from most of the music I listen to. It's been opening my mind to more indie music that I never gave a chance before. Well, thats all I have for today. Hope you enjoyed it.