Chris Merritt Likes Good Music Too!
Posted by The Gimcracker in Music on 14. Dec, 2011 | 2 Comments
Hey everyone, welcome to the all-new Gimcrack Miscellany! Just kidding it’s still the all-old Gimcrack Miscellany. That means I need to write more posts. So, there’s a guy named Chris Merritt that I really love for three main reasons: 1) he writes good music, 2) he is what I call a free-thinker, and 3) he listens to good music. A while back I wrote a brilliant and award-winning post about why Nickelback is an objectively bad band and why Radiohead is an objectively good band. I completely shredded Nickelback’s latest (at the time of writing) single called If Today Was Your Last Day. I just re-read the post after a long time and it’s amazing how much free time I used to have. I literally systematically ripped apart their song lyrics line by line. I’m such a meanie!
Songs From Mumford & Sons’ Upcoming Album
Posted by The Gimcracker in Music on 12. Oct, 2011 | 1 Comment
Are you like me? Have you listened to Sigh No More a hundred times straight through without skipping a song? Are you literally sitting and waiting for Mumford & Sons’ new album to come out? Well I’ve got some good news for you, you can hear some songs off of their new album before it [...]
Mumford & Sons Covers The National
Posted by The Gimcracker in Music on 30. Jun, 2011 | 2 Comments
Something amazing just happened. An unstoppable force just collided with an immovable object. Mumford & Sons just covered the best song off of The National’s newest album High Violet. The song is England. It’s such a beautiful song. Here are some other pairings that would be almost as amazing as this:
Refreshing Band “Mumford & Sons”; Good Music, Great Lyrics
Posted by The Gimcracker in Music on 15. Feb, 2011 | 3 Comments
I can’t believe I discovered this band at the Grammys. The Grammys is a 3.5 hour block of egos, actor slash “musicians”, and occasional mainstream country performances. Amiright? Yes, I am right and correct. But something happened two nights ago at the 53rd annual Grammy awards show that knocked me off my condescending elitist horse. I saw a band I’d never heard of before perform a song with such fervor that I was instantly drawn to them. And the song was very, very good. Too good. I thought there was a catch or something. But after two days of pondering, buying their album, and watching Youtube videos of their performances, I’m convinced they’re the real deal.
I oft face a conundrum with music in general, and that is: why do most of the “best” bands have dark & depressing, overly-political, or blatantly atheistic lyrics? There are of course exceptions to this rule, but they are too few and far between. I’m happy to report that Mumford & Sons have narrowed that gap just a little. Here is their refreshing Grammy performance of The Cave to start you off:
People Always Get These Two Songs Confused
Posted by The Gimcracker in Music on 03. Nov, 2010 | No Comments
I guarantee you have heard one of these songs and thought it was the other one, and vice versa. Speaking of vice versa, did you know it’s actually pronounced “vice-UH versa”? I didn’t. That’s stupid. It should be vice versa. Dumb Latin. Why is the word “Latino” so close to “Latin”? Why does ancient Greece or whatever come to mind when I think of Latin, but modern day Mexico come to mind when I think of Latino? That little “o” at the end makes all the difference, man. I am ignorant. Duh. Listen to both of these songs and you will realize you thought they were the same song:
Nickelback vs. Radiohead (Seriously?!)
Posted by The Gimcracker in Music, Seriously?! on 26. Feb, 2010 | 11 Comments
I have been asked a few times why I hate Nickelback so much. Well, hopefully after writing this blog post I can answer that question in the future by giving the person the URL to this article. Thanks, past self. You’re welcome, future self.
I was in the car today and forgot my iPod, so I had to listen to the radio. I came upon a gem of a song. And by “gem” I mean “turd” and by “song” I mean “homeless man”. It’s called “If Today Was Your Last Day” by Nickelback, and it is one of the worst songs I have ever heard. In fact, the only worse songs I’ve heard have been other Nickelback songs, like the one where he says something about looking at a photograph and he’s asking what the hell was on his friend Jimmy’s head or something like that. I hope you never have to hear it.
NFL Theme Songs
Posted by The Gimcracker in Music, Sports on 05. Aug, 2009 | 8 Comments
Thursday, September 10th, at 8:30PM the Titans and Steelers will open the 2009 NFL season. I have embedded a convenient countdown timer for your benefit. Except I couldn’t put in a time so it’s counting down to midnight of September 9th. Close enough.
Around this time every year I usually do a blog post to get us hyped up for football season. For the 2007 season I posted an awesome Nike commercial that gets you hyped up no matter what. For the 2008 season I posted a funny Jim Mora commercial that will make you laugh as well as get you hyped up no matter what. Sometimes I even do it mid-year, like in December 2007 when I hit you with a post with awesome NFL photos which is guaranteed to make you wish you played in the NFL and also get you hyped up no matter what.
This year I have been inspired by the sound of music. I have obtained samples of all the various NFL themes. You will be surprised at how many of these you know, and how you didn’t realize they were actually different songs. Even if you’re a girl, or are not a football fan, or both, I guarantee you will recognize 90% of these themes. You won’t know how, but you’ll recognize them, I promise.
Seriously, People Are Dying?!
Posted by The Gimcracker in Music, Reference Burst Theory, Seriously?! on 09. Jul, 2009 | No Comments
Isn’t it crazy how many people have died recently? I’m talking about famous people, who are worth at least 10 regular people. The recent events remind me of not one but two separate topics I have previously written about in this blog. The first is obviously Reference Burst Theory where celebrities die in threes, because within two days Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Micheal Jackson died (some would say there was a second wave with Billy Mays, Karl Maldon, and Steve McNair). But the second topic is what I would call your attention to now, and that’s the idea of people becoming proverbial saints upon death, which I touched on in my award-winning blog post entitled “Alive One Minute, Saint The Next” written in November 2007. Seriously, Everyone On Earth?! This Micheal Jackson stuff is getting ridiculous. That’s the end of this article so there’s no reason to click the title, sorry.
Chewbacca Chord On Guitar
Posted by The Gimcracker in Amazing, Music on 02. Apr, 2009 | No Comments
You know how it seems like there’s nothing left to discover?
Soundtrack To Get You Going At Work
Posted by The Gimcracker in Movies, Music on 05. Jan, 2009 | 8 Comments
I need to be inspired to be productive. There is no intrinsic desire within me to work, trust me. There are lots of things that can inspire me to work, most of them having to do with music. We all have playlists of our favorite songs to get us motivated to work, hype us up for sports, or prepare us to party on a Friday night.
There are a lot of good songs out there to listen to for any number of reasons. But there is nothing like a good film score to motivate you. I’ve got plenty of soundtracks queued up in iTunes for just such occasions, and I tap my film score playlist up to 2-3 times per week.
