Brant's January 2013 Playlist

Happy New Year!!!!  Okay, I'm a bit early - but the first week in January is going to be crazy busy so I wanted to go ahead and get this playlist published.  This month we have TWO Prince songs, some interesting interpretations of classic songs, and other goodies.  To listen on Spotify, click HERE.  Enjoy!

1.  Celebration (Mika) - The year always starts off with a party, and I'm still partying to Mika's latest release.

2.  Candy (Robbie Williams) - He's a huge star worldwide, but has never had much success in the U.S.  I'm not sure this bouncy pop song will change that, but I'm still digging it.

3.  At Home (Crystal Fighters) - FOLKTRONICA.  That's how the band describes their music.  They use a mix of traditional instruments (ever heard of a txalaparta?) along with synthesizers!  Kinda reminds me of "Life in a Northern Town" by The Dream Academy.

4.  Ready or Not (Bridgit Mendler) - The latest Disney kid makes her bid for music stardom.

5.  If I Was Your Girlfriend (TLC) - Gary was listening to this the other day and I forgot how much I liked their version of the Prince album cut.

6.  Love Will Tear Us Apart (June Tabor with Oysterband) - Every now and then I hear a song and I'm like "Oooh, I like this.  Wait, I've heard this before!  Who sang this originally???".  This is one of those songs.  A tender acoustic reworking of the Joy Division tune.

7.  One Way (Tomorrows Bad Seeds) - Fun rock/reggae tune from a California band.

8.  The High Road (Joss Stone) - ANOTHER GREAT REMAKE!  Joss takes the Broken Bells' chill ballad and redoes it R&B style.

9.  Lucky Now (Ryan Adams) - Heard this in the new "This Is 40" movie.  Just found out on Wikipedia he's from my home state (North Carolina) and married to Mandy Moore!

10.  The Secret Life of Us (Joey Negro and the Sunburst Band) - Wow.  This REALLY sounds like 1970's Chic ("I Want Your Love", "Good Times").  Love it!!!

11.  Same Love (Macklemore and Ryan Lewis feat. Mary Lambert) - Holden turned me on to this!  Hip Hop and Gay Rights don't usually go hand-in-hand, but maybe they should!

12.  Hall of Fame (The Script feat. will.I.am) - Power ballad from Irish band and Black Eyed Pea guy.

13.  Put the Gun Down (ZZ Ward) - Sassy grrrrrl pop

14.  Rock and Roll Love Affair (Prince) - His Royal Badness is back, and sounding pretty good!

15.  Sun (Two Door Cinema Club) - More Irish rock!  Maybe I should've saved some of these for March's playlist...

16.  Hometown (Andy Burrows) - Wistful folk song

17.  Hold Us Together (Matt Maher) - Technically this is filed under Christian music, but it sounds like the Devil's classic rock!

18.  Cut It Out (Kitten) - 17 year old lead singer Chloe Chaidez has definitely been listening to her parents' Siouxsie and the Banshees albums!  This is a band I'll be keeping my eye on, fo' shizzle!

19.  Top of the Pops 2012 (AudioManiac) - I always like to start the year off by finding a great mashup of the music from the previous year.  This is my selection for 2012.  Click HERE to get the free download from Soundcloud.

Hope everyone had a great 2012 and has an even better 2013!  See you in the New Year!!!

2012 - The Year in Pics

Wowza!  Another year is almost over.  2012 had its ups and downs, but for the most part I can't complain.  Here's a little composite video of some of the good times.  Thanks to all my awesome friends and family.  Looking forward to 2013!

Brant's December 2012 Playlist

I think this is always the toughest playlist I do all year!  Every other month I try to find some new music that people might not hear otherwise.  It can be challenging, but I'm not really out to create a feeling of nostalgia or tap into any kind of holiday memories.  December's list is holiday themed - so I feel like I need to try to strike a balance between familiar favorites and some new stuff that will (hopefully) keep things from going stale.  Anyway, here goes!  Listen on Spotify by clicking HERE.

1.  Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season (Andy Williams) - We lost him last September, but classic songs like this one will assure he is never forgotten.  "Whoop de do, and hickory dock - and don't forget to hang up your sock!"  Good stuff.

2.  Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays (*NSYNC) - Justin, Lance and the gang serve up some 90's holiday spirit.  Chris Kirkpatrick would go on to guest star on the "Simpsons" TV show!  Not sure what happened to any of the other members...

3.  The Cowboys' Christmas Ball (the Killers) - Great holiday song from the Las Vegas band, and the proceeds go to the Product Red campaign, to fight AIDS in Africa!

4.  Up on the Housetop (Reba McEntire) - Reba gives the holiday standard a bluesy, barnstorming edge.

5.  I Think It Was December (Wendy & Lisa) - Prince sidekicks did this on their 1989 album, "Fruit at the Bottom".  It was never a hit, but always takes me back to Christmas and the college days.

6.  Baby It's Cold Outside (Colbie Caillat & Gavin DeGraw) - For some reason I figured I'd hate this CD (Christmas in the Sand), but have to admit it's really fun.  This is her duet with Gavin DeGraw.  She also does a great version of "Merry Christmas Baby" with Brad Paisley.

7.  Donde Esta Santa Claus (Augie Rios) - I first became aware of this song via the Guster version, but when I found out it was a cover, I tracked down the original - which is from 1958.  Cute in a not-so-politically-correct way!

8.  Light of the Stable (Emmylous Harris) - This lady's voice sounds like an angel!  Every time I hear her I'm blown away.  No wonder she's won 12 Grammys.

9.  You Raise Me Up (Secret Garden) - Josh Groban made it a hit, but I kinda dig the original version.

10.  Christmas Vacation (Mavis Staples) - A little gem from the movie soundtrack.  This needs to be more widely available!!!

11.  Miracle (Matisyahu) - We don't want to forget our Jewish friends during the holidays.  Not sure if this is a Hanukkah song, per se, but I like it.

12.  Little Saint Nick (the Beach Boys) - Another classic single that I never get tired of.

13.  All I Want for Christmas Is You (Vince Vance and the Valiants) - Fun facts from Wikipedia:  This is the most-played Christmas song on Country Radio!  The vocals are NOT by Vince, but by Lisa Layne!  I was SO glad to read that.  I wasn't sure, but suspected Vince might be a eunuch. 

14.  Pretty Paper (Glen Campbell) - I just love classic country.  This is from Glen's 1968 holiday album "That Christmas Feeling". Clearly paper cuts were not as painful back then as they are now.

15.  The Gift (Jim Brickman featuring Collin Raye and Susan Ashton) - DON'T HATE.  This is a guilty pleasure.

16.  Angel (Madonna) - Not a Christmas song, but not entirely out of left field.  I miss Madge's bubblegummy sound.  She would never sing about starry-eyed infatuation these days.

17.  Mele Kalikimaka (Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters) - I'm guessing the Andrews Sisters weren't fans of cold weather.  Like their hit "Christmas Island", this is a song about the holidays in a tropical paradise.

18.  Christmas Blues (G. Love) - Just to give my holiday playlist some Rock credibility!

19.  Kissin' by the Mistletoe (Aretha Franklin) - Somehow I missed this one the first time around.  Luckily Sirius radio has been playing it.  From Aretha's 1962 album "The Electrifying Aretha Franklin" which was not a holiday collection but a mix of jazz standards.

20.  Christmas Won't Be the Same Without You (Plain White T's) - Tee hee!  This is from a Target collection, but still a fun song.

21.  Same Old Lang Syne (Dan Fogelberg) -   I wasn't a fan of this for a long time, but as I've grown into middle-age and can relate to the story it tells, the song is becoming more and more poignant to me.  I guess Fogelberg is an acquired taste.

22.  The Christmas Waltz (Nancy Wilson) - Nancy closes us out with this cool-as-ice rendition of the holiday classic.

Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season!  Stay warm and I'll see you in 2013!!!