BRIGHTS BLOG

WSOU Pirate Radio – 89.5 FM

Before MySpace, before the internet in general, there was only one place for me to find new awesome metal music…and that was via Seton Hall’s Radio station, 89.5 WSOU.  Every so often I still put this station on and still come across new bands.  \m/

Website: http://www.wsou.net/

Metallica’s “Bleeding Me”

I’m a huge Metallica fan. HUGE. True story, as an angst-filled teen, I had an entire wall dedicated to all things Metallica.  And yes, I even accept St. Anger as one of their albums.  Now, I’m sure many if not all of you have heard of these guys and may have heard their “hits” i.e Enter Sandman, One, Unforgiven, etc. but there are so many of their songs that resonate with me so much more than the radio hits.  This song, Bleeding Me, is one of them.  It’s a shame it was never treated as a bona-fide single.

YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftV_XepIwpo

Brian Regan

I love to laugh. A lot. If there’s a guy that can make me laugh, it’s Brian Regan.  If I could, I’d include all the other comics that I enjoy but then you’d be bombarded with a ton of links…so, honorable mentions to George Carlin, Patrice Oneal, Bill Burr and Louis C.K.  Meanwhile, here’s a classic Regan bit:
YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0LdJihN2xw&feature=related

This Is England

I saw This Is England in the movies, twice, in one week.  It was fall.  A perfect fall day, fact.  And I went to see this movie, on a whim, filled with hope…that’d it would actually be good.  Turns out it was great. This movie just looks beautiful.  The characters are memorable, funny, intense and the acting is wonderful.  The soundtrack is incredible.  If you want a lesson in old school reggae and the ska/reggae sounds of the 1980’s punk, pseudo-skin head scene, then just watch this movie.  In short, if you liked American History X, you’ll love This Is England.  I’m not sure what else to say.  Just go watch it.

Netflix Link: http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/This_Is_England/70061577?trkid=2361637

Tegan and Sara

Where do I start with them?  Their fourth LP, So Jealous, was released in 2004 and during their So Jealous tour I saw them exactly 1 million times from 2004-2005.  My good friend JoeKelly (our secret a/v b&tb guy) won tickets to see them in Boston by submitting a photo of him being “eaten” by his Toyota MR2.  I called out of work that day and we drove to Boston and back to NJ all in one day just to see the concert.  It was at my very first Tegan and Sara concert that I discovered how much I love to jump and dance to music I love.  They led me down a dark path into discovering great Canadian bands and ultimately figuring out where I should go in terms of my own songwriting.  Long story short, I hope people dance to my music like I danced to theirs.

Website Link: http://www.teganandsara.com

St. Vincent: “Surgeon”

We posted a link to the official video for “Cruel” not too long ago and I think that’s my favorite song off this album, but “Surgeon” has a brilliant ending and I feel like calling that one out.  If you don’t know about St. Vincent and the fact that she plays a mean guitar, then chances are you have this empty feeling in your soul and haven’t found how to fill it.  Her new album is cool, strange, weird, and smart.  It’s called Strange Mercy.  Here’s St. Vincent and her band performing it live, so you can understand things about life a little better…

YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0V1iVzaqhD0

Lightspeed Champion – “Marlene”

I first heard this song on my drive to work, thanks to the brilliant folks over at The Alternate Side.  Dev Hynes is the man that is Lightspeed Champion.  He’s worked with tons of people including writing/arranging/producing credits for the likes of the Chemical Brothers and Florence and the Machine.  I haven’t figured out what he’s written for FATM, but after listening to his song “Marlene” it makes me wonder if he had anything to do with “The Dog Days Are Over”…Or not.  Who knows?  Hah.

YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCo-U6war6c

The Alternate Side 91.5FM WFUV

After the demise of 101.9RXP (may she RIP) I found myself silent on my morning drives to work.  I don’t particularly care for radio, only because it typically has zero reflection of what good music is out there.  If I want to hear something I love I have to dig for it, pay for magazines, read them, read blogs, listen to samples, then drive over to Hoboken and hopefully get a copy of the album from Tunes.  I finally came across the Alternate Side which airs weekday mornings 6am-noon (or 24/7 online.)  They play a ton of great indie music, and no, I don’t mean the new Foo Fighters song 400 times in a day and then One Headlight for whatever reason.  I’m talking about St. Vincent, Feist, M83, Real Estate, Mister Heavenly, The Veils, Sleeper Agent, Ratatat…I could go on and on.  Just go listen to them.  You’ll be wasting your time not listening…

Website Link: http://www.thealternateside.org/

Veils – “Jesus for the Jugular”

I forget how I stumbled across The Veils.  I don’t remember if it was back when I would read every single new review in the back of Under the Radar to find new music or if it was the XTC connection, but Jesus for the Jugular was the first song I heard–it haunted me for days after only listening to it once and the only way to make this song stop playing in my head over and over again was to buy the album.  So I did.  And now I own every single release they have.  Finn Andrews is a brilliant songwriter and disturbingly overlooked.  Last year I saw him front row at the Mercury Lounge.

YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6G5H6vcKZaY

All month long we’ll each spend a week sharing some of the things we love most with all of you.  We each spent time thinking about music, movies, radio, etc. that hold warm places in our hearts.  These things are personal, and mean a lot to each of us in different ways.  We hope you enjoy bits of them as well…