Help Yourself

Hello! How you guys been? I hope y’all are having a blast this Christmas season. Hopefully I’ll be able to come back here and actually post some nice holiday songs for you guys before Christmas day. For now though, here are some tunes that have recently come to me that I think and hope you all will like or love. As usual, I picked the best of the lot so you won’t have to skip anything… the best of the lot, just my opinion, for my tastes. Not being defensive, I’m just sayin’ haha.

Corinne Bailey Rae – “Id Do It All Again“ (new album: The Sea, due out February 2, 2010)

I’m happy she’s finally back. Loved her self-titled debut album and I’m excited for more new songs from her next year with the album coming out in February. This first single is truly truly beautiful and heartbreaking, considering what she has gone through a couple of years ago with the unexpected death of her husband, as well as how this song came about two months before it happened. She said this about the song during a recent interview with The Guardian: “It was written literally just after me and Jason (Rae) had this massive disagreement, a big argument, a bad one,” she says now, faltering. “Almost as he was leaving the room, I just sat down and wrote it. It’s just about how I felt about him at that time. Even right in the middle of the worst times, I remember thinking that I would choose this exact life again, that I would do it all again. It was me saying, I’m not wishing myself out of this situation. I’m 100% committed to this person. I don’t have any regrets about this relationship even though there are all these difficult times.”

Sad Brad Smith – “Help Yourself“ (OST – Up In The Air)

I wanna watch the movie where this song is from. I’ve heard lots of good things about it. And I am intrigued at what George Clooney does in the film. Does a job like it really exist? I wanna be one! I wanna fire people for a living. Not that I like it, but it pays good. Desperate times! And oh, this song is poignant and pretty at the same time. It reminds me of Jose Gonzalez’s “Heartbeats” from a few years back. I wanna hear more from this Brad Smith guy, bring on the sad songs!

Newton Faulkner – “If This Is It“ (new album: Rebuilt By Humans, out now)

This guy should be heard more! Previous album Hand Built By Robots was good. This new one, Rebuilt By Humans, consistently follows the same path with a few surprises sprinkled here and there. See the connection between the album titles? Anyway, this was this album’s first single… I am very late with this but hey he isn’t that popular in the world now, is he? I’m just glad he still puts out music. I still can’t get over my enjoyment of his song “Gone In The Morning” from the previous album. You guys should check that one out as well.

Stereophonics – “Could You Be The One“ (new album: Keep Calm & Carry On, out now)

I’m happy that Stereophonics still continue to churn out nice little ditties like this one. Their albums always have at least one song I like. Have not really found the time to listen to the whole of their new one but this song stood out like a sore thumb when I skimmed through the songs. I now have it on repeat and have been listening to it everyday for the past couple of months. Nice!

Stars of Track And Field – “End of All Time“ (album: A Time for Lions, out now)

This song was played on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy last month. It was recommended by regular blog visitor and friend of the blog, Kimmyk, and I love it! I am impressed at how she now knows the kind of music I like after dropping by here for the past couple of years hehe. If anyone else wants to share their picks and the tunes they love, just leave a comment anywhere on the blog or send me an e-mail. I’d love to hear from you. This was played on an episode of Grey’s Anatomy last month.

Jonsi – “Boy Lilikoi“ (new album: Go, due out March 22, 2010)

This is my most favorite song of the whole bunch. I’ve been a Sigur Ros fan for some time now so this was a no-brainer. Jonsi Birgisson’s solo project comes out in March… 2010 is shaping up to be a good year musically, no? Other people are having qualms about Jonsi  singing in English as they prefer Vonlenska/Hopelandic. Lol they’d rather not understand what he’s singing. I don’t get it. Its not that big of a deal here anyway, because even if the lyrics are in English they’re not exactly that distinguishable. People should stop pickin’ on tiny details and learn to enjoy the music. I do!

The Civil Wars – “Poison & Wine“ (album: Poison & Wine EP, out now)

Another song that got played on Grey’s Anatomy last month and recommended by Kimmyk. Kimmy, you rule for these picks! The songs are awesome! This one I like a looot!

Allison Iraheta – “Scars“ (new album: Just Like You, out now)

I have come to a decision… that out of the three idol albums that have come out so far from this year’s AI finalists, the best of the lot is Allison’s. Woohoo! Kris Allen’s album is okay, its a grower. Adam’s album is very disappointing. But Allison’s is very very good and quite cohesive. “Friday I’ll Be Over U”– the first single, also the album’s opening track, is very misleading. I’m not a fan of that song and I believe that it is the worst one on an otherwise superb album. Though I could see why the label picked it, it targets their key demographic. But the rest of the songs, especially track 4 through to the end, are good! Here is one of the album standouts for me, a nice low-key ballad called “Scars” performed to perfection. I can’t believe she’s still a teenager when her ability to interpret a song sounds this awesome. I believe Pink’s throne is in jeopardy now, but I hope they learn how to share. The album deserves a lot more attention than what its getting now. Lots of potential hits on there. Buy it!

Frightened Rabbit – “Head Rolls Off“ (album: The Midnight Organ Fight, out now)

The song is by a band I discovered earlier this year after they toured with Death Cab for Cutie, another band I lurve. The album is from 2008 but that is just a technicality. I want more people to hear about Frightened Rabbit and how awesome they are, hence their appearance on this list. I’ve been listening heavily to this tune of theirs in particular these past three months. I’m not sure why. But its one hell of a great song. You guys should get their awesome album!

The Raveonettes – “Last Dance“ (new album: In And Out of Control, out now)

Someone else was supposed to put this up *hint hint*. But anyway, here it is. Its a nice 80’s-ish sounding song from a cool new band… new to me, that is. If you like this then you’ll most probably like the album where this came from. The music on there is very consistent throughout. Give it a try.

Chantal Kreviazuk – “Halfway Around The World“ (new album: Plain Jane, out now)

Canadian music chanteuse Chantal Kreviazuk will always be dear to me. She was one of the very first female singer-songwriters ever that I became a fan of. She hasn’t lost her touch over the years in my opinion. Too bad not too many people know her outside of her native country. Here’s a beautiful track from her current album which came out two months ago. Its a stronger effort than her previous release, in my opinion.

Lady Antebellum – “American Honey“ (new album: Need You Now, due out January 26, 2010)

I’ve been a huge supporter of these guys ever since they came out. Was kind of bummed after they stopped releasing more singles from their debut and stopped at single #3 (”I Run To You”) which became their first #1 song on the country charts. But at least we are getting a new album from them in January, so I’m very excited. The first single from Need You Now the album was the hugely successful “Need You Now” the song. I still listen to it until now, very slow burn out rate that one has. It was a very well-deserved second #1 single for them. This second single from the upcoming album comes out in early January and showcases Hillary singing lead. It has a very morning feel to it which I just like. Hope they see more success with the new album. It’s official… Rascal Flatts’ reign is over haha.

How many times did I say “I” on this post? I am so full of myself tsk tsk tsk.