Tag Archive for: song of the week

Yes We Can-Can

In the spirit of the week where we inaugurate Barack Obama as the President of the United States of America I thought I’d post a song of the week.  It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, but Obama’s campaign slogan reminded me of it.  The song is by a group called The Treacherous Three.  They were a hip hop group that formed in the late 70’s and had a few hits, including Santa’s Rap, and were featured in movies such as Beat Street and Wildstyle.  One of the members, Kool Moe Dee, went on to have a successful solo career.

With the success of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s song The Message, other rappers decided to try their hand at socially conscious music.  The song I present to you today was released long before Barack Obama declared “Yes We Can” but the sentimants are the same.  Let’s work together.  Let’s treat each other as equals.  Let’s rebuild America.  Yes We Can.  Here is song Yes We Can-Can by the Treacherous Three.

[audio:http://pieceofshep.com/audio/34-Yes-We-Can-Can-(Single_LP Version).mp3]

Flogging Molly-Requiem for a Dying Song

I really love the band Flogging Molly. I’ve been a fan of them for years, since I heard their album Drunken Lullabies. Ever since I picked up that album I’ve been following their music career as closely as possible. I’ve purchased all their albums and enjoy them. Their latest album Float is a superb album. Anyone who is a fan of good punk rock, especially Irish-American punk rock, needs to listen to this. From their website:

Flogging Molly’s latest album, Float, recorded in King’s native Ireland, delivers still another iteration of the band’s sonic evolution. More mature yet retaining the immediacy that marks all of their work, Float may find the widest audience acceptance of any Flogging Molly album. Hard charging tunes “Paddy’s Lament” and “You Won’t Make a Fool Out of Me” give way, as listeners have come to expect, to more sober ruminations on tracks like “Float.” The overall effect is a symphonic layering of sound that possesses a unique rhythmic flow from boisterous to bereaved and back again. Long time fans and new discoverers will be equally astounded.

My favorite track from the album right now is “Requiem for a Dying Song.” It’s the first track on the album and sets the pace for what is to come on the rest. Enjoy.

Going to Mexico

speaker I’ve not posted a song of the week for a while now. Mostly because there really hasn’t been anything too new that has caught my ear. I have been listening to CunninLynguists’ Dirty Acres almost nonstop for a week or so now. Recently they added the song “Mexico” ft. Club Dub to their MySpace. Many of you might remember Club Dub on A Piece of Strange album last year. They are a very talented band and they fit so well with CL. It is in honor of that and the November release of their album that I now invite you on a trip to “Mexico.”

[audio:http://pieceofshep.com/audio/cl-mexico.mp3]

Little Boxes on the Hill Side

I can’t tell you how much I love this song. For those of you who don’t know this song, “Little Boxes” is a song written by Malvina Reynolds in 1962 that lampoons the development of suburbia and what many consider its bourgeois conformist values. The song’s best-known performance was that of Pete Seeger in 1962. Some legends state that it was in response to the Levittown developments after World War II. This was when everyone moved from the city to the suburbs. In Levittown, everything looked the same, much like modern suburbs. Having lived in the suburbs all my life, this song really rings true to me. I’ve always wanted to get away from all the monotony and move to the city, but never have. You can see modern American life reflected in a song that was written forty-five years ago. It still holds true today. Just look at these lyrics:

Little boxes on the hill side, little boxes made of ticky tacky.
Little boxes, little boxes, little boxes all the same.
There’s a green one and a pink one and a blue one and a yellow one,
And they’re all made out of ticky tacky, and they all look just the same.

And the people in the houses all went to the university
Where they were put in boxes, little boxes, all the same.
And there’s doctors and there’s lawyers, and there’s business executives
And they’re all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.

And they all play on the golf course and drink their martini dry
And they all have pretty children and the children go to school
And the children go to summer camp and then to the university
Where they all get put in boxes and they all come out the same.

And the boys go into business and marry and raise a family
In boxes, little boxes, little boxes all the same.
There’s a green one and a pink one and a blue one and a yellow one
And they’re all made out of ticky tacky and they all look just the same.

Many of you may have heard this on the TV show Weeds. Starting in its second season the theme song was performed by a different artist each episode, with such artists as The Decemerists, Elvis Costello, Billy Bob Thornton, Randy Newman, and The Shins, among others. Here is the original song by Malvina Reynolds.

Matt’s Dad’s Basement-Tupac

speaker I’m taking all you St. Louis people back with this song. I was in high school when this song came out, probably 6-8 years ago. 105.7 The Point used to play this song all the time. It’s by a St. Louis band named Matt’s Dad’s Basement and is about seeing Tupac at McDonalds. It is a hilarious song. I don’t know whatever happened to this band, but their album Two Think Minimum is a pretty decent album. (The rest of the album is alternative. This was the only acoustic track on the album).