Song of the Day

"Seein' death is a hard pill to swallow..." How about those lyrics right there? Danny Watts. I'm hoping people start hearing this name more often. Danny is about as real as it gets when it comes to hip-hop. I first learned of Danny Watts when I went to a Jonwayne show (I would highly suggest you check out Jonwayne). It was the first and only rap show I've ever been to and it absolutely set the bar high for future shows I (hopefully) attend. Jonwayne was the headliner, and Danny Watts went right before him. But I want to mention an opening act, local to Kansas City, who I will not name. This solo-rapper from KC took to the stage and opened his set with something along the lines of, "...so everyone throw up a middle finger and say with me... Fuck.Life...Fuck.Life...Fuck.Life.” He then proceeded to rap over an alarming amount of people chanting this. This dude’s set, which I didn’t stay long for, ended and some other people came up and did their thing. ...

I'm going to try and make these posts a little bit shorter from here on out. I can get carried away. Have you ever heard a song somewhere and wondered what it was or who it was by? Maybe you were in a store or a watching a movie and a song pops up that you started diggin'. You keep singing it or humming it in your head until you realize, "Damn, I need to know what this is!" But you never found out... This happened to me with one song in particular. I remember back when I was maybe 16 or 17 there was an "indie music" channel on Sirius Radio called "Left of Center". This song popped on and I was really diggin' the guitar riff in it. For whatever reason I didn't look in time to see what song it was. The only thing from the song that I could remember was this dude singing, "Baby C'mon!" I kept listening day-after-day and keeping my ears (and eyes) peeled for this song. But I never heard it played again. I was bummed. I rem...

Sometimes we hear the best music when we least expect it. Do you ever do that? Start searching for "new music" because your sick of all the stuff you've been listening to lately? I still find myself sometimes cruising through websites, videos, top album lists, etc. because I feel like I've worn out all of the music I've been frequenting. And it's funny. Because nine times out of ten...I don't normally come up with anything. At least anything that piques my interest enough to delve further into. About a month-or-two ago I was at Mill's Record Company; this killer record store in the midtown area of Kansas City, MO. I was perusing through the latest used records that had come in and was eventually going to pick up a Comets on Fire record. From the moment I walked in I couldn't help but dig what was being played throughout the store. So I did what any normal millennial with a smart phone would do...act like I was trying to remember certain rec...

There's a lot to unpack with Viet Cong. First off, they are no longer called Viet Cong; they are now called The Preoccupations, coined by long-time collaborator, producer, and solo-artist Chad VanGaalen . The name was changed due to heavy controversy surrounding the band's title, which refers to the group of South Vietnamese guerrilla insurgents who fought against the United States and allies. Shows of theirs began being cancelled and even protested by groups of students, regarding the band's name choice as racist and heartless. So after months of consideration and on going heat they changed it. The band also has a bit of interesting and dismal history. Viet Cong (Preoccupations) front man Matt Flegel used to be the bassist for the disheveled yet relished underground post-punk act, Women . Women broke up after an on-stage fight among the band members in 2010. Two years later the Women guitarist Christopher Reimer passed away in his sleep. Flegel eventually decided to ...

Happy birthday to the most sweetest, compassionate, and sincere woman in my life...my mom! The Mom-Bomb! As I've stated previously in the first post on this blog, my mom has been one of the biggest influences on me when it has come to music. Both her and my pops raised me around good music. They even (from what I'm told) intentionally made my initials C.C.R. as a head nod to Creedence Clearwater Revival.Which is pretty dope. While my parents have many similar interests in music, they also have rather distinct differences. My pops tends to enjoy more southern, country influenced rock. His favorite band is ZZ Top if that helps clear things up. Mombomb has a more psychedelic and free-spirited interest. Think of those hippy, groupie, flower clad girls you see in movies or old concert videos hyped and dancing to their favorite bands. Her absolute favorite band is Fleetwood Mac. Or, pretty much every constituent of Fleetwood Mac. I promised her for her birthday I would throw ...

I went back and forth on this one. I was set on the fact that it would be a Wand song. But so many choices. Wand knows how to get weird. And psychedelic...very psychedelic. Which is something I dig very much. Lead singer Cory Hanson is no stranger to the world of psyche rock. He's played with plenty of other weirdo rockers such as Ty Segall, Mikal Cronin, Meatbodies, and more.  Wand's music feels like you are in the middle of either a medieval dungeons-and-dragons escapade or a some sort of space fantasy trip. It's other worldly. It's an escape. And it's often fun. My first choice was their second track " Self Hypnosis in 3 Days " from their second full-length album "Golem". I was listening to it and thinking about what all I would write about; the loud fuzzy guitars, the strange space-station noises that interrupt each set of versus, and maybe the killer slowed tempo section that paces  along to this gnarly doom metal mountain of an endi...

Up until this point of the blog I have attempted to keep things a bit tame. My goal of this whole thing is to broaden tastes; to explore music that we may not ever have considered listening to. And to be completely honest, its also just a way for me to write and share music; two of my favorite things. So just as a heads up the songs that I choose to share with you will progressively get weirder and perhaps harder to wrap you head around. Music that takes a keen and focused attention to appreciate. I know how this sounds and it's what I am trying desperately not to present myself as; some snobby know-it-all with a "better taste in music than you". I love all sorts of music and have really endeavored to keep my mind open towards music. So I want this to be a journey together. There are individuals out there that have FAR more knowledge of music than I do. And that's what I appreciate. I want to meet these individuals; I want to share and connect with them. I want to...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE! I hope all of you are full of turkey and stuffing and enjoying time with family. I know it goes without saying, and everyday should really be regarded as such, but today is a designated day of thankfulness. We all have different circumstances and things going on in our lives. But we have it pretty good. Especially if  you are reading this very blog on any sort of screen. Sometimes it's easy to get caught up in what we don't have or what we wish we had. But today let's be thankful for what we do have. I can't help but want to listen to happy music on days like this. Music that reminds me of how good life is. As I woke up this morning I immediately began pondering what song I should throw up today. It took me some time. But then it popped in my head. Good ole' Ty Segall. The prolific, psychedelic, weirdo rocker from Laguna Beach, California. Ty can do it all. Face-melters, solo-shredders, acoustic-crooners; the dude covers it all. ...

During these past four months a co-worker and I have had to drive around thirty minutes to Lawrence, KS and back. We meet up at our warehouse (which happens to be in a cave) and head out to Lawrence to install at Kansas University. The co-worker and I have made up a couple of rules. 1st rule - we alternate driving to and from site. 2nd rule - whoever drives gets to play the music. Now, both of us have quite different tastes in music. There are those one-offs that we both like; but for the most part we just don't carry similar tastes. One day as I was playing music just shootin' the shit with him, I asked, "You like Led Zeppelin?" He replied by saying something along the tentative lines, "Ya you know, they're alright. I mean. Show me one song that I haven't heard from Led." Challenge accepted. I started off kind of weak; just to test his knowledge. I started with " Misty Mountain Hop ". He looked at me with of sense of "Come on ...

My favorite song. That's right. My favorite song ever. I knew it was the moment I heard it. "Obstacle 1" by Interpol. The first time I heard it was in a skatevideo called "Yeah Right" by Girl skateboards during Brian Anderson's killer part . I'll never forget how catchy that opening riff was. That lone guitar strumming along until layer after layer of more guitar, drums, and bass comes in at the right time punctuating the layers perfectly. Just jamming along when Paul Banks almost whispers in, " I wish I could eat the salt all of your lost faded lips. "  The song is underscored, without a doubt, with a sorrow-filled reflection of how things were...and if they could be again. This woman who he adores and has had many incredible times with "can read". Well I would hope she can read, right?  What she is reading is the feelings of the main character (maybe Paul or another man) and how this man feels for her.  It's the tried...

Country music. What's your response? Love it? Hate it? Not sure? We've all heard the similar response... "pretty much anything but country music". And those responses are usually followed by the same justifications: all they sing about is trucks, beer, dogs, and dirt roads, or it all sounds the same.  These conclusions are interesting in a couple of ways. In one aspect, we know this is not entirely true. Of course not every instance of country music is centered around trucks and beer. However, it is intriguing that this seems to be a consistent complaint by many people, including myself! I have made the exact same remarks in the past, even though I had almost never listened to any country music other than what was on radio station and music videos I had come across here or there. So there is without a doubt some certainty to these accusations. Perhaps this is just a formula to appeal to the masses. But this complaint isn't isolated to just country music....

Chills, man. It's all about those chills. You know what I'm talking about? No? Those chills. Those moments when you are so engulfed by the composition you are listening to that your emotions get the better of you. Those chills set in and you can't help but feel overwhelmed. You can't exactly explain why. Maybe it's the grandiose sound, the layers of instruments, or maybe it's the lyrics. Or perhaps it's just where you happen to be; driving home during a killer sunset or driving through the mountains on a road trip. Whatever it is it just hits you and you feel taken by the music. This is what makes music. This is my favorite thing about music. Throughout this blog I will reference these "chills". There are tons of songs and moments that make me fill this way. Sometimes they don't. It all depends on how I am feeling or where I'm at. Today I was driving home throwing on some old tunes that I remember listening to around this time...

Today's song is "Supernaut" by Black Sabbath. Sabbath was always a band that I threw on the back-burner for some reason. Of course I had heard "War Pigs", "Paranoid", and possibly by least favorite song by the group, "Iron Man". It wasn't until an interaction with a co-worker, who was geared up to see a show of the recently re-united group in Kansas City, for one of their last tours, that I really decided to give them a shot and delve into their music. Sabbath had one of the most important influences in metal and hard-rock than people (or at least I) realized. After a conversation that took place with this co-worker I decided to dig a little deeper into the renowned Black Sabbath. I happened to just pick a random album, "Vol. 4", and click the first song that appealed to me. The song was "Supernaut", now my absolute favorite Sabb ath song. Upon my first listen I asked my self, "Where the hell have I been?...

Do you have music that recalls memories? A song or album, that reminds you of exactly what you were doing, going through, and feeling when you first heard it or played it over and over? I certainly do. There are some songs and albums that I can't even listen to now due to the nature those tunes conjure up. Music I once loved is now purposely avoided as to avoid bringing up unpleasant memories. This is perhaps one of the most fascinating elements of music. The ability to associate feelings and experiences in a visceral attachment. Music certainly isn't the only medium by which feelings and memories are established; the same associations can be made through all of the human senses. But there exists a level of authenticity in music. Maybe it's the melodies, the beat, or just the overall atmosphere of a song that makes you feel a certain way. When you pair that sense of feeling with what is going on in your life or how you are feeling you partner that song with an experienc...

For the first song of this blog I chose one of the first songs I can remember hearing..."Uncle Albert" by Paul and Linda McCartney. My mom would be cleaning the house listening to Paul McCartney and singing and dancing along. While my mother went about the household chores I would hop from couch cushion to couch cushion so as to not touch the "lava" and bop around to this song. I'll never forget my  young, naive feelings towards this particular tune..."this song is weird". The song always felt like an odd play to me. Like I was at a performance of sort at a highschool. The song changes about three or four times and gets progressively catchier. One minute you're singing along to "hands across the water; hands across the sky", and then you find yourself bopping your head and smiling singing "live a little, be a gypsy, get around...". The song, from what I have read, is a single song made up of snippets of unfinished songs P...

Hello there. I will do my best to make this brief. My name is Calvin Ramsey and I would like to share one song with you every day of the week. The songs are chosen at random and will range from all kinds of genres. I hope you enjoy