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What are you thankful for? (with songs)

To everyone celebrating this day, happy thanksgiving to you all! We don’t have thanksgiving here in my part of the world but some friends and I recognize it because we all just wanna feel a little extra fuzzy for one more day of the year and well we do go out to dinner for it.

Last year, four of us friends went out to a spanish place called La Tegola, a restaurant in the hills of Cebu with a nice overlooking view of the city. After we had dinner, we didn’t say out loud the things we were thankful for. Instead, we wrote them in tiny pieces of paper and folded each of them into recognizable shapes. The four pieces of folded paper were then put into a shoe-shaped little box and hidden some place for us to come back to later on when we deemed it okay to do so. We figured that day would be today, this year. Whether we open it or not is still up in the air. There are only three of us left here coz the other one migrated to the US to be with his wife and kid. We’ll see later… as for dinner plans, none of that so far. I guess it’d be for the better, as I have lesser things to be thankful for this time around. Its kinda sad that those reasons for me have been dwindling through the years. But at least its not zero hehe.

Well, for on thing I’m thankful you guys still drop by the blog and make comments hahaha! Enjoy thanksgiving dear friends and have a good one! I have some songs for you, too. Check ‘em out, most of these are quite a stark contrast to what I’ve been posting a lot lately hehe. That means that all of these (except for one) are sorta happy-sounding tunes. Enjoy!

Keith Urban – “Sweet Thing” (dL) – I don’t know if this is the first single from his upcoming new album slated for release early next year. But the song’s new hehe. Could just be a heater single though. Still, this is bouncy happy just like most of Keith Urban’s uptempo songs… nothing far out of his comfort zone. I’m still diggin’ it but he should really make strides to come up with something more adventurous next time around if he wants to retain his country superstar status.

India.Arie feat. Musiq Soulchild – “Chocolate High” (dL) – Aaaaah I just died and went to musical heaven! Two of my favorite r&b artists of the current generation in one awesome song. It never fails to make me feel good everytime this song comes on… pure magic i tell you! This is the first single (according to some sources) from India.Arie’s new album Testimony: Vol.2, Love & Politics due out February 2009. I’m so excited I think I just wet my pants!

Nickelback – “This Afternoon” (dL) – I’m not a big fan of Nickelback but I do like some of their singles. So I was casually listening to their new album Dark Horse and its more of the same from them except for a few adventurous trips to the poppier side of things which was evident in the album’s first single “Gotta Be Somebody”. The album’s last track however stood out for me. Its very bouncy and happy, like “Rockstar” but much much better. I love it! You can hear producer Mutt Lange’s signature sound all over the song. I believe this should be a single somewhere down the road, it could even be released to country radio because it has some twang to it. Check this out!

Colbie Caillat with The Wailers – “Brand New Me” (dL) – This is one of the bonus tracks off of the US Deluxe Edition of Colbie Caillat’s Coco. There are now enough bonus tracks from the different versions of the deluxe edition of ‘Coco’ released all over the world to make one new album. On this song, Colbie plays up to her reggae side with the help of who else but The Wailers… another feel-good song! I’m telling you its all feel-good this time around hehe.

Leon Jackson – “Creative” (dL) / “Stargazing” (dL) – The UK’s answer to Michael Buble? Hehe not yet, but Leon’s getting there. He won X-Factor last year and released his debut album Right Now a month ago to somewhat disappointing sales. But don’t fret sir, there are a lot of potential singles from this album to give it another chance at mega-sales status. What I liked about this CD, compared to Michael Buble’s releases (I can’t help it, they’re in the same genre so I have to compare), is the abundance of original material as opposed to a Buble CD which often contains only a couple of originals amidst a sea of cover versions. Leon’s originals takes up around three quarters of the album… i like that. Here are two of my faves among many more from ‘Right Now’… the uptempo second single “Creative” (warning: it sounds very old school and swing-y… but good) and the future smash ballad waiting to happen “Stargazing”.

OneRepublic feat. Sara Bareilles – “Come Home” [New Version] (dL) This is the closing track to OneRepublic’s album Dreaming Out Loud, recently re-recorded into a duet with Sara Bareilles and released as a single. What a perfect pairing… Ryan Tedder and Sara’s vocals match quite perfectly with each other. This is where the happy train stops, as this one’s a call to the world for someone to come home. Dedicated to the thousands out there fighting someone else’s fight in a foreign land and to their loved ones waiting for them back home… beautiful song.

Photo by *Gracie

What’s Been Burnin’ Up My iPod This Week

The Fray is back! The band exploded onto the music scene back when they released their 2005 major-label debut album How To Save A Life and is now poised to do it all over again with the released of their self-titled second full-length album due out in February 3, 2009. This is its first single, “You Found Me”. Awesome lyrics, good song! Was it the right single choice? We’ll find out in the next couple of months how it will do. But as for me, I like it a lot.

(dL: The Fray – You Found Me)

Coldplay’s Prospekts March EP and the Viva La Vida Prospekts March Edition comes out next week and lookie here… it’s Viva La Vida’s awesome opening track. Previously just an instrumental song, the band has given it a second life on ‘Prospekts’ with the addition of lyrics and opens the new set as well. Great song in my opinion. This is “Life in Technicolor II”. The EP has a couple more noteworthy new tracks (Glass of Water, Prospekts March/Poppyfields) in addition to this and the previously-leaked spruced up version of “Lost” with rapper Jay-Z, so you guys should definitely check it out.

(dL: Coldplay – Life in Technicolor II)

Let me just take this time to tell you guys that Dido’s new album Safe Trip Home is solid. You know her style, breathy seemingly-lifeless vocals over subtle instrumentations that lean on light electronica or rock/alt/acoustic. Oh, and great lyrics… but generally, just awesome songs – that is if you manage to stay awake listening to them haha! I don’t mean that in a bad way, it is true that her music does put some people to sleep so its not everyone’s cup of tea. Yet still, if you’re into this (like I am) then its definitely worth checking out. Her new album has abandoned the electronic aspect of her trademark sound which was very evident on her debut release No Angel. Its could disappoint if you think about it, but if you listen to the result it actually works for Dido in that this is the most well-rounded release she has put out so far. Great job, Ms. Armstrong! This is my fave from the new CD, its called “Quiet Times”.

(dL: Dido – Quiet Times)

Twilight the movie opens this weekend in theaters, and I believe I don’t need to tell you about what it is because the books and the movie is everywhere these days… its like an invasion. I took a listen to the movie’s soundtrack some weeks ago and I was unimpressed. There were standouts in the form of Iron & Wine’s “Flightless Bird, American Mouth” and a couple other tunes on there but overall nothing exciting. There is one glaring highlight though, this one track that stood out like a sore thumb. Surprisingly, that track comes from the movie’s lead actor Rob Pattinson. The song is “Never Think”, and wow it is a beaut. If you like your music quiet, lullaby-ish yet intense in a mesmerizing kind of way this will send chills somewhere lol. This was a very nice surprise, the guy’s gifted. The song sounds like something that would fit right in on a Ray LaMontagne or Damien Rice record. Big pimpin’ from me right there! I accept checks too Mr. Pattinson, thank you very much! haha.

(dL: Rob Pattinson – Never Think)

This next one on the list is not new but I wanna put it up for those like me who didn’t know it existed. Saw this ad for Axe on youtube the other day, it was from around 2006. The commercial had a very interesting concept, and the song in it was ace! I did some digging and eventually found it… Peter Lawlor’s “Falling” (some people call it “Getting Dressed”, I don’t know what the real title is). This one’s really pretty, kind of a right-in-the-moment kind of lovey-dovey soundtrack song. If you don’t get what I mean then listen to it and maybe you will hehe.

{dL: Peter Lawlor – Falling (Getting Dressed)}

Another old song right here. I discovered Josh Pyke a couple months ago and have been listening to his stuff lately. Josh’s songs don’t really catch your attention melodically in the first few instances cause they’re very low-key in that department but his lyrics are poetry! That’s what drove me to give him more attention. He’s kinda popular in Australia, his homeland. Josh Pyke now has two albums under his sleeve. His latest one, Chimneys Afire, was just released last month. But the song I’m putting here is from his brilliant first album, Memories and Dust. This is my fave from everything he has done so far, its called “Sew My Name”… and it wasn’t even a single. Cool then coz in that case only a few thousand of us know about it. It’ll be our little secret, our own little treasure haha.

(dL: Josh Pyke – Sew My Name)

Kanye West is in the building! His new album, 808s & Heartbreak, is awesome! He sings throughout the entire album with the aid of auto-tune which I normally abhor but in this case I am willing to make an exception because the results are amazing. The production throughout the whole record is kept to a minimum, leaving only necessary components… resulting in an organic texture that downplays the use of (sometimes barely noticeable) auto-tune in Kanye’s vocals. This rapper has soared onto new territory, the guy’s undoubtedly an artist. My pick from the album for this particular mix is one that fits right in because it actually sounds like an alternative song instead of Kanye’s usual brand of hip-hop and r&b… the song is called “Street Lights”.

(dL: Kanye West – Street Lights)

David Cook is poised to sell more or less about 300,000 units of his first album for RCA Records this week, which will place him either in 2nd, 3rd or 4th place for next week’s album chart (depending on how much Taylor Swift and Nickelback will sell). Not bad! The album is kind of formulaic but it does hold a lot of promise for Cook who co-wrote all but two of the album’s 12 tracks (excluding the bonus track a.k.a. magic rainbow lol). In my opinion, it follows the same formula as Carrie Underwood’s Some Hearts… pop-leaning yet rocked out (in Carrie’s case, pop-leaning but countrified) with soaring choruses and power chords galore with just the right amount of minors sprinkled here and there. Lyrically I find it better than Daughtry’s debut effort (yes, I couldn’t help but compare them… who could?). The best song on there for me is the one David co-wrote with Our Lady Peace’s Raine Maida and his wife Chantal Kreviazuk. The song is an album standout and is called “Permanent”.

(dL: David Cook – Permanent)

Soulmates even in passing…

I received some sad news earlier tonight. An old friend of mine from back in high school got killed today in a road accident in Butuan together with his wife. What breaks my heart even more is that they were newlyweds, they just got married last month on the 18th of October. I’ve never spoken to this friend since high school, but still my heart sank after I was told about this tragedy.

The past couple of weeks I’ve been caught up in depression for partly selfish reasons and just a whole lot of shit happening around me… this news has put all that into a standstill. Once again I am reminded that life is indeed short, the moments fleeting… time only but a fragment upon sands eternally blown into whirlwinds inside an uncertain hourglass of chance. We need to make the most out of it, and I intend to.

For Edison and Charade, may God bless you both with even more love up there in heaven… your story may have took an unexpected turn into that of grief for the people who care for the both of you, but do know that you have left us all with an inspiring sliver of light… that even in a cruel world, love still shines like a beacon amidst an endless darkness of uncertainty and search for meaning. Even for those who may seem to have lost hope and those who have started to question its existence, you both proved that love still exists in this world and that there really is such a thing as beautiful as Soulmates in this life. I pray that your family and friends may find comfort in each other during this time of grief, and in knowing that God now has two new gifted architects up there helping out in life’s grand design.

Quiet Tremors

The gloomy weather’s not the only dark cloud hanging over my head lately…

Heather Nova – “Out On A Limb” [dL] (from the album The Jasmine Flower)

Red sky at night, you tell me there’s good yet to come / I think I might find a little more, a taste of happiness / I’ve built these walls around myself, I can’t see over / And all these lines I tell myself, so I don’t have to try / ‘Cause what if I fall? What if I fail? What if I find I’m out on a limb? / And what if I fly? What if I sail? What if I find that it’s better than ever before?

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Josh Pyke – “The Lighthouse Song” [dL] (from the album Chimney’s Afire)

I’ll annul these little walls of attrition and these invocations / That’s seen me holding my camera at arms length / To self-document these new locations / When I should be leaning against you / Deciding on things to get done / And you should be leaning on fountains / And filling my space up and breathing the air from my lungs / So we are moving to a lighthouse, you and I / While seas drown sailors, we’ll be locked up safe and dry / And we are moving to a lighthouse, you and I / Our beams will burn the clouds to beacons in the sky / And though our doors may knock and rattle in the wind / The wind… / I’ll just hold you tight and we’ll not let those f*ckers in

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Missy Higgins – “Where I Stood” [dL] (from the album On A Clear Night)

There were sounds in my head / Little voices whispering / That I should go and this should end / oh and I found myself listening / Coz’ I don’t know who I am, who I am without you / All I know is that I should / And I don’t know if I could stand another hand upon you / All I know is that I should / ‘Cause she will love you more than I could / She who dares to stand where I stood.

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Bon Iver – “Blindsided” [dL] (from the album For Emma, Forever Ago)

I cup the window / I’m crippled and slow / For the agony / I’d rather know / I’d rather know / ‘Cause blinded I am blindsided / Would you really rush out for me now? /// Taught line… down to the shoreline / The end of a blood line… the moon is a cold light / There’s a pull to the flow / My feet melt the snow / For the irony, I’d rather know / ‘Cause blinded, I was blindsided.

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Rachael Yamagata – “Elephants” [dL] (from the album Elephants… Teeth Sinking Into Heart)

If the elephants have past lives / Yet are destined to always remember / It’s no wonder they scream / Like you and I, they must have some temper / And I am dreaming of them on the plains, dirtying up their beds / watching for some kind of rain to cool their hot heads / And how dare that you send me that card when I’m doing all that I can do / You are forcing me to remember / When all I want is to just forget you.

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Matthew Ryan – “Some Streets Lead Nowhere” [dL] (from the single release Some Streets Lead Nowhere)

From that old street / To that new house / To those beautiful hills inside your blouse / To the rain that kept falling / And those years off the rails / When we smiled like two sailors with holes in our sails / When I turned to a coma with a black hole in my chest / When a kiss was the cure and I’d save my breath / When you’d walk to the bedroom and I’d fall on the couch / If I wasted your beauty I’ll ignite it somehow / ‘Cause a dream can be cruel / When it haunts you like this / With your eyes like a deer / And the words from your lips / What I’m trying to say is / I was afraid that you’d leave / So I slept with my failures and I started to grieve / I started to grieve / I started to grieve.

so go ahead… listen, and break your heart.