the smoke is rising and we know why

For some reason I feel like finding new music isn't as easy as it used to be. I know that doesn't seem quite right, what with the internetz and all, but I think there is SO MUCH information out there that real gems get lost in the shuffle. They get lost in that recently dropped Pitbull/Flo-Rida/Gym Class Heroes whatever. There is,however, one way to find new music that is my personal favorite: the random Twitter follow. In recent months, I'll check my Twitter connections to find a random band or artist, usually located NOWHERE near small town South Carolina, has started following me. I think "Cool! They must understand my vast musical knowledge and be in awe of my pop culture prowess! The appreciator is appreciated! Time to get that resume to Rolling Stone because I have arrived!" Except I only really ever tweet about being hungry or tired...Anyway, this happens to me every few weeks and I find some low quality music, some spam accounts, and then, a gem.

Carson Henley (or one of his dedicated people or roadies or  his mom or something) started following me on Twitter and in gratitude I gave his stuff the old college try. I think I listened to "Never Coming Home," off of Green Eyed Soul about 1000 times (the catchiness will overcome you, I promise.) I was hooked. If you haven't heard of him (yet), Carson Henley is an independent musician out of Seattle, Washington and I'm pretty late in the game in "discovering" him. I'm not just in love with his rugged good looks or in awe that a man exists with the exact.same.hair.I.have. Really, it's because he's got the chops. He comes from a musical family and it seems like he was born to be that rare musician that writes songs and play instruments and sings. Really sings. Sans auto-tune. I know, my heart stopped too.

His latest release is quite possibly one of the coolest projects I've ever heard of. It definitely made him "stand out in a massive crowd of musicians," to use Henley's words. It's called the 100 Hours Project and here's the concept. Henley wanted to write/record/produce the entirety of his new album in 100 waking hours only. Get locked up in a room, write the songs, record all parts of the songs, get them mixed and the record is born. Those unfamiliar with the recording process (and let's not get crazy, I am no Brian Eno so don't take this for gospel) it takes a long time, with songs that were written over months or years with 100s of hours logged in the studio perfecting the sound. Or editing the ever loving hell out of the sound. Or sweetening the vocals. This record did all that (minus the last two bits,) in 100 hours. It's called 100 Hours. See what he did there? There's a trailer for the project on his YouTube channel if you're further interested in the concept.

This blog is about songs, right? So the first single is called "Fire." I'm not certain that it's my favorite on this record, but that's not because I don't like it. It's because all 7 songs compete for that top spot. Not a bad problem to have, right? It's a classic tale of a damn teasin' woman. She's got the singer all worked up, giving off all this heat in the early part of a relationship only to peace out. He doesn't sound forlorn or whiney at all considering the subject matter. It's more of a  "Listen woman, you get back here and finish this thing." Or in his more eloquent wording The smoke is rising/and we know why/so why how you running/when you're the one that started this fire.  The song starts sexy. It stays sexy throughout. It ends sexy. It's got that bluesy, Memphis thing going for it that was lost in the youth of our parents.Elvis would dig it. The music is good. The music video is cute. The instrumentation is good. You wouldn't know it only took 100 hours to achieve this sound unless I just told you.

However, I think the real star here is Henley's voice. The quality in his voice is excellent and a true rarity in pop music today. Even loves of my life like Katy Perry are at best, mediocre singers with a ton of help from auto-tune and vocal sweetening. And somehow, that's acceptable to us. As a professional appreciator, I want more. I need more than the exact same singer doing the hook on every single hip-hop release. But this guy, has got a fucking voice. I'd compare it to Ray LaMontagne without the sadness and with a little less gravel than a young Joe Cocker. It's smoother than that. What I'd really compare it to is a cup of unaltered coffee. No sugar, no candy flavored creamer, and certainly no Splenda. His voice is robust and full. Flavorful without being watered down or changed to fit weak taste buds. It's hot and satisfying. It really shines on this track and this record. While the 100 Hours project is cool, that voice is what really sets him apart from the massive crowd of musicians out there.

Give 100 Hours a listen. Buy it on iTunes and have it playing in the background when you invite a girl up to your apartment. Blare it in your car. Crank it up when you're cleaning the house. Enjoy that cup of Seattle's best. I'd put my money on Carson Henley being a household name sooner rather than later.

Vienna waits for you

With a little inspiration from a Facebook solicitation, I've chosen the first song for the blog. Today I'm taking a deeper look at "Vienna" by Billy Joel. I've listened to this song roughly 100 times in preparation for this post and I think I've pulled something different out each time. Here goes!

"Vienna" is a deep track from Joel's breakout album The Stranger released in 1977. Notable appearances of this song include an episode of Taxi called "Vienna Waits," the Film 13 Going On 30 and a recent rendition performed on American Idol. As a B-side track, this song might not catch your attention while skipping through The Stranger, (mind you, I think skipping through this album would be a crime. It's such a gem,) which is interesting because Joel cites it as one of two of his favorite songs in his catalog. It opens with subtle piano and doesn't really get going for the first 20 seconds, leaving the average listener waiting and waiting. The melody doesn't get all that much more interesting, save for the instrumental break after the second chorus (roughly 2 minutes in.) The story of the song is one of stopping to smell the roses, telling you to slow down, you crazy child. Don't kill yourself trying to live. I would also argue that this song includes some of Joel's more moving vocals.

It's told that on a box set somewhere in Joel's past he tells the story of how "Vienna" came to be. When he was a child, Joel's parents split up and his father moved to Vienna. Joel and his father didn't speak for some time until Joel traveled to Vienna to visit him. On this visit, Joel says, he and his father were eating outside and noticed an elderly woman sweeping garbage in the street. Joel commented that is was disrespectful and wrong for a woman her age to be doing manual labor. His father took the opposing opinion, saying that in America, we often put the elderly out to pasture and treat them as if they are incapable of living a "normal" life. His father says that the woman is happy, because she's working and feels valued and useful. The idea behind "Vienna" is supposed to be that in America we want all of life so quickly, in our youngest of years because we fear old age won't have the same opportunities to live the way we want or to accomplish everything. But what he urges the subject of the song to do is wait, slow down, and realize that all of life doesn't have to be lived in a blur, that Vienna is waiting for them.

I can pull two significant things from this song.

The first is the relate-ability of the lyric. I think everyone has been at some point in their life where they felt rushed and needed a gentle reminder to stop and take life in. Being a member of the "millennial" generation (as much as that term makes me want to hurl,) I feel particularly connected to a message of slow the hell down. There are definite pressures placed on 20 somethings (either internal or external) to accomplish. Go to college and while at college get involved in every possible extracurricular activity and get straight A's, get a master's/law degree/medical degree, get a high paying job with good benefits, pay off student loans quicker than 10 years, advance in that job/company/field quicker than is typically expected, get married, have children, get a PhD,  send those children to the best and most expensive schools, and so on and so forth. I feel my heartstrings pulled particularly tight at lines like "slow down, you're doing fine," "though you can say when you're wrong/you can't always see when you're right" or "slow down you crazy child/and take the phone off the hook and disappear for a while/it's alright you can afford to lose a day or two." I'm not arguing that there's no value in ambition or that a slack life is the key to happiness. I just feel like Joel is right in saying that you can't be everything you want to be before your time. Life is short, but that doesn't mean we need to pack 80 years of living in by 25 years old. Vienna is waiting.

The second thing that I notice is the message Joel is sending. He seems so adamant, urging the subject to just see what he sees and take the advice to pump the brakes. I think he isn't singing to a friend, lover, child or mentee. I really think "Vienna" is a message to himself. The way he's quick to give a compliment but then say slow down, you're not going to accomplish everything now, "where's the fire, what's the hurry about." I think he's trying to convince himself that Vienna is out there waiting, no matter how much his brain is saying "go go go!" He's reassuring himself that he's doing fine and needs to realize he's got a long way to go. That's a message I think is relate-able as well.

I think it's worth a listen (or a re-listen if you haven't heard it in a while.) I know a lot of people that will just sigh when they hear this song because they constantly need the reminder to take life as it comes and enjoy their youth. Burnout is a very real thing in many parts of life and even more so now in such a fast-paced society. There are a lot of songs out there imploring the listener to wait, slow down, hit pause, smell the roses, breathe in the moment, cliche, cliche. I think the difference here is the message isn't "life is short and will end any minute." The message is the golden years of your life, should you make it there, aren't worthless. There is plenty to enjoy after being in your 20s, no matter what is portrayed to you on television. The idea that high school or college are the best years of your life doesn't have to be true. You can have the best years of your life whenever you choose. Life is good, life is sweet, life is enjoyable and has as much purpose as you give it, no matter your age. Work hard, but enjoy your youth, and realize that Vienna waits for you.