Song of the Day

Song of the Day: Michael Kiwanuka – Home Again

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Ricky in Song of the Day | Leave a comment

Not just content with dominating the female singers category in the music world (see: Florence and Adele), the music factory that is Great Britain has decided to start taking aim at the vaunted American male singer-songwriter industry (see: Jack Johnson, John Mayer). First up to the plate is singer Michael Kiwanuka.

Already named the winner of the BBC’s Sound of 2012, the British singer songwriter isn’t quite like his contemporary American counterparts (who are surely produced in a factory somewhere that is co-owned by Starbucks and American Eagle). Rather, Kiwanuka brings forth a more earnest almost retro soul (cue: hype word) sound to his music. He recently released a new EP, entitled Home Again and this is the lead track off of it.

With his gentle voice and simple sound, this seems like a great track to put on while sitting near a fireplace, sipping spiked hot chocolate and reading a big book. Check it out.

Song of the Day: Rodrigo Y Gabriela – Juan Loco

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Mark in Song of the Day | Leave a comment

It’s no secret among the Panic Manual circle that I’m a huge fan of the broadly defined term “world music”. Whether it’s Nigerian afro-beat, Cuban Son, or Brazilian Bossa Nova; chances are I dig it. So when one my favourite “world music” bands decides to pair with one of my favourite types of “world music”, I definitely stand up and take notice.

Rodrigo Y Gabriela are a Mexican-born guitar duo that moved to Ireland to blend flamenco and latin style playing with a bit of the rock and roll. They cover tunes like Stairway to Heaven and acoustic versions of metal songs. Each track on their last album, 11:11, was dedicated to one of their guitar heroes: from Dimebag Darrel (Pantera) to Jimi Hendrix. While a fun & gritty album, it lacked the cohesiveness of their self-titled 2nd effort.

Area 52 is their next project, and this time Rodrigo Sanchez and Gabriela Quintero are partnering with a 13-piece Cuban Orchestra collectively known as C.U.B.A. I couldn’t be happier with the direction they are headed. Partnering with a Cuban band will make for some fun new sounds, padded with sweet Cuban goodness. The last time Rod & Gab came to town, I went directly to Rotate This and slapped down a wad of cash to buy 10 tickets. I then proceeded to bully & extort many of my friends into joining me; that’s how awesome their live shows are. This latest project is so exciting that if they decided to return to Toronto, I’ll buy 20.*

*OK, maybe not. But I’ll probably buy 10 again, which is saying something!

Cover of the Day: Holmes – You Dropped A Bomb On Me (Gap Band Cover)

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Ricky in Covers, Song of the Day | Leave a comment

It’s not often a classic 80s disco track gets covered, so LA via NYC singer-songwriter Holmes took it upon himself to cover this Gap Band hit.

Originally a funk track, Holmes puts his own spin on it, trading in the funk sound for a more introspective, slower paced track. The spin on the original song almost makes the track sound entirely new. Holmes has an album of covers called… Covers. Check that out if you like this track.

Obligatory Holiday Song Post: Emmy The Great & Tim Wheeler – Home For The Holidays

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Ricky in Song of the Day | Leave a comment

It often seems that celebrity couples always release Christmas tracks around Christmas time. Maybe it’s a cash grab or maybe it’s an easy way to get your product on the radio. I don’t know. Some recent examples would be Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman and Zoey Deschanel and M.Ward (c’mon, they probably fooled around). This particular track comes from two artists I adore and respect. Unbeknownst to me, Emmy The Great has been dating Tim Wheeler (of Ash) for quite sometime now and so it would only make sense for them to commemorate their favorite time of year with a duet album. The album, called “This is Christmas” is quite good for a Christmas album and this is one of the tracks off of it, so grab an egg-nog, put on some dorky sweaters and give this track a ole spin around.

« Previous   1 2 ... 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 ... 187 188   Next »