songs of late

some of the music that's been finding its way into my ears as of late...

I took my son to see Coldplay in concert last week for his birthday. Four lawn seats for a (soon-to-be) 13-year-old and his friends is a much better present than whatever else i could spend that $100 on. It was a much better concert than i expected. I've really loved many, many Coldplay songs for years but wouldn't have gone to the trouble to see them live if it weren't for my son. He loves them, off and on when he's not memorizing Eminem lyrics. The two best parts of the concert were when they went out into the audience and played, perched atop smaller stages in the middle of the crowd. The first time they did one of these little excursions from the main stage, it ended with Chris Martin playing the Hardest Part all by himself at the piano. I didn't even know i'd heard the song before (it's on X&Y, but that version is forgettable).

At the end of the concert they handed out a CD of live tracks to everyone. All of the songs are similar versions to the ones they played in the concert. The Hardest Part is close, but the one we heard was a bit better.

And I tried to sing
But I couldn't think of anything
And that was the hardest part

Listen: the Hardest Part - live, Chris Martin solo

You can download the rest of the live album for free on Coldplay's site: http://lrlrl.coldplay.com/

The other best part of the concert was when they went up on a little stage on the lawn, letting those of us in the cheap seats get up-close-and-personal for a bit, and then played a stripped down version of Billie Jean. You can watch a version of that on YouTube:

---

I saw a couple of rockin' country bands play in a bar here locally recently and loved it much more than i thought i would (a continuing theme i guess). For whatever reason I'm finding myself attracted to songs about whiskey, and have even taken to drinking whiskey at times. It's got a kick, and so do the songs. The second band on the bill, the Cheatin' Hearts, mentioned whiskey in almost all of their songs and did shots with the audience between songs. In a twist forced on me by this odd universe, the bass player was someone i knew, the webmaster i took over for at Videomaker more than 10 years ago. He looked the same, but with a cowboy hat.

You can listen to some of their songs on Last.fm, including Stumblin' Drunk

The headliner for that show was Joe Buck Yourself, a loud asshole that put on a great show pounding on his guitar and kicking his bass drum. Most of his stuff was loud and made me want to hoot, holler, and ram into someone. Just a crazy good time. And then he finished with a really beautiful song. It made me buy his CD just so i could listen to it over and over. Support your local musician i guess...

Listen: Joe Buck - Bitter is the Day

---

And then... Fiona Apple came out with a new cover, and since it's an old jazz classic, it fits her perfectly.

You know i'll love you
Till the moon's upside down
Don't you remember
I was always your clown
Why try to change me now

Listen: Fiona Apple - Why Try to Change Me Now (mediafire)

---

And in other news, MCA has cancer, which made me surprisingly sad, worried, and anxious for my own mortality.