Dale Baker

This song was offered for free on iTunes. Not bad for a free song.

I saw these guys at a house show a couple of years ago and was blown away at how good they sounded. I wasn’t expecting to hear a band who played that well together at a tiny house show. I’ve never checked out their music, but a buddy of mine posted this video on facebook and I thought it was pretty sweet.

This is a beautiful song.

I’ve posted two other times about this guy. I bought his album a couple of weeks ago for $5 and have loved it. I thought I’d share three songs with you and my favorite lyrics from the songs. I’m sure I’m not alone in this, but I love lyrics that I can relate to and this guy writes/sings exactly what I feel.

First up is Oh My Stars:

cause I know a lot about closing doors
but not enough about what opens up yours

oh my my
oh my stars
everything you see is ours
or it could be if you would try
I wish you would
I wish you might
oh oh
if everything you’ve said to me has been true
then all my stars are leading me to you
ooh ooh ooh ooh

Next is Open Your Eyes. Not the happiest of songs and at first these lyrics seemed a little disturbing to me. But as I listened to them more, I realized how true they are. Hopefully, I can effectively relate what they mean to me in a nutshell :):

open your eyes now
I’ll try to be almost everything you need me to be
she’ll be a star now
I will follow her lead
she’ll be a scar now
I will still let her bleed
all over me

To me, these lyrics paint a picture of what most people go through in trying to find love. You fall for someone who you think is a “star.” You’ll do almost anything and put yourself through anything to be with this person whether it’s right or not just because it feels better to be with this person than being alone.

Then, for whatever reason things don’t work out, you hang on too long. Hence this person becoming a “scar” and allowing him/her to bleed all over you. I’ve definitely hung on too long before and, every once in a while, still think “what if” even though I know a relationship can’t work out or is not good for me.

Finally, Make It Without You. I love the chorus of this song. It’s subtly clever:

friends go out, but I’ve been staying in
I know I should but that’s the way it’s been
I never cared much for the taste of gin
I still don’t now, oh, but it’s been helping

oh I’ll make it without you
in my life
oh I’ll make it without you
and though my bodies laying here
it’s my mouth that must be lying now

I love the last three lines. I believe I’ve got a good head on my shoulders. I knew it wasn’t the end of the world when certain relationships of mine didn’t work out. But in those painful moments, it’s hard to feel confident in that philosophy. You try to convince yourself everything will be OK, but find difficulty in being rational about it and actually believing yourself. It’s a vicious process.

Another song by James Vincent McMorrow. This guy’s music, for me, is not something I would listen to all the time, but only when I’m in a particular mood and now is one of those times. Some of his lyrics are a little bizarre, but I think that adds to the uniqueness of his style.

and there are times I know when I will have to chase you
and the further from my side you go, the longing grows
and I will hate it, but I still want you,
Yes I will hate it, Love, I still want you around

cuz even when the flower dies something’s by it’s side
helping hand or a kiss goodbye, to ease it on it’s way

I have no idea why I don’t have more of this guy’s music. I love his stuff, but I only have a handful of his songs. I’ve been wanting to see him live and he just happens to have a show here on February 1! I’m going!

His new album gets released on January 25. I just listened to clips of all of the songs and it sounds like it’ll be a great album. I just added him to a list I keep of songs/artists I need to checkout or buy. You should do the same.

Here’s a plug for a great friend of mine. Catherine recently released her first EP entitled The Truth. You need to buy it. Check out her blog and purchase a copy. The link to it is just to the left. Or you can buy it on iTunes, but I would suggest getting an actual copy so you can get the beautiful artwork that comes on the jacket.

The songs are all fantastic. They demonstrate how versatile she is as an artist. My personal favorites are Enough, Cry Baby Cry, and Tug of War.

She was recently interviewed by yldsr.com about her EP. It’s a great interview. Catherine is able to explain some of the meaning behind her songs and you can hear clips of the songs. Click HERE! to listen to it and GO BUY THE TRUTH!

I. Love. This. Song. Plain and simple…

My sister-in-law hates Michael Jordan. I wore a Jordan brand jacket with the Jumpman logo on it just for her. When I walked into their house, she said, “Puke…Puke! Puke! Puke!” It was perfect.

So today I started singing the song Be Like Mike to her. And now I just made it her ringtone. I love this song 🙂 Merry Christmas!

This is a free song I found on iTunes. I really like the music, but the lyrics are lacking. For example, below are some lyrics from the song:

Stand there lady
Won’t you just stand still
She’s had a white Mercedes
And I know she will

I really don’t understand the Mercedes line, but I still like the song. Just wonder what that line means to him. Here’s a good live version of his song, minus the shaking camera.