Their songs are generally in story form so make sure you can hear them wherever you are, or wait until you can pay attention. Or just listen anyway! That’s cool too. If you like what you hear, you may want to read this interesting article about them: Diselpunks – Interview with Ed Saperia & Patrick Gleeson of Clockwork Quartet

This is their page on t61, where you can download these songs: t61: Clockwork Quartet

Justice doesn’t fall exactly into that grouping, but they have a sound that (as evidenced by their live album, A Cross The Universe) goes very well in a concert setting, the backbone of a good rock career. I initially heard their music in the Assassin’s Creed II trailer “Visions of Venice” and loved it. Thanks to the awesome iPhone app Shazam, I learned that particular song was Justice – Genesis, from the album A Cross The Universe, apparently released in late 2008.

Now, Genesis isn’t the only amazing song on the album. I’d heard several remixes of Phantom on thesixtyone.com, some of which are RAC – Phantom Part III (The Pragmatic Remix), Mr. Westmore – Phantom Strikes Back, and Jones Harth – Phantom pt. I and II (Jones Harth Mix). Similarly, I’m almost certain that I’d heard D.A.N.C.E. [youtube.com] before in one mix or another. That said, in my opinion, the live versions of these songs are all noticeably more exciting than the (still excellent) other versions/remixes available.

So go find this album online (iTunes link) or pick up a physical copy and give it a listen. Thanks

I’ve tried to categorize it a little bit instead of having fifty embeds in a row. If you particularly enjoy a track, or find this post especially informative, I’d like to know!

Pop/rock/alt

Apparently, these guys have been on Letterman?

This song is in a rather clever Bacardi commercial, I believe.

Electronic/dance/instrumental

This one’s amazingly catchy, IMO.

Folk/Filk/Nerdcore

This is the song that really got me interested in t61.

Included for the lulz.

Remix remix remix

Different versions of the same song:

First and foremost, this is a music website, not unlike mp3.com in days of yore. Playing music on it “just works” and their interface is very slick. The site integrates several clever social dynamics to keep you engaged and the site interesting. Artists on the site are generally independent musicians or groups, although there are certainly some recognizable names such as Daft Punk, Ratatat, Arcade Fire, CSS, etc.

Popularity

The heart of the site is a voting system where users promote music by, yes, hearting it. That was a horrible pun. The most popular music is featured on the front page in the “top songs” and “hot right now” sections. That in itself is not that unusual; it’s only logical that a digg/reddit-style voting will be applied to pretty much every concept ever.

Special sauce

The real charm of TheSixtyOne, though, is its game-based design. As a user, you have a certain amount of “rep” (think experience) that determines your level. As you level up, you unlock site features, a clever way of introducing the various features. In addition, each level confers additional hearts per daily login. Rep is gained primarily by hearting music that is subsequently hearted by other users; this rewards users for picking “good” music, under the assumption that if it’s good, then other people will like it as well.

Rep and hearts are also gained by completing a wide variety of quests, which generally prompt a user to listen to songs in a certain part of a site or perform a certain action (ex: heart a song, subscribe to another user, etc). The combination of these two systems make for a particularly addicting site. Additional hearts and rep can be gained by listening to “the rack,” music that has “gone under the radar” (sometimes for good reason; sometimes, it’s worth your ear).

Bread and butter

That said, good web design is nothing without content. Given the focus on independent artists, you may be concerned that there isn’t anything to draw you in. On the contrary; the site has a significant music library, encompassing a wide variety of genres. I am most interested in electronic, rock, and pop, although I have dabbled in some of their other offerings and found them acceptable. That said, everyone has different music tastes and I can’t guarantee that you’ll find what you’re looking for here.

Try it yourself

Go forth and give it a try yourself; my userpage is thesixtyone.com/disavian and you can subscribe to me or listen to music I’ve hearted (”listen to radio” next to my picture). I’ve found it worth my time in a way that traditional radio could never be.

Anyone at Tech can recognize its fight song, the “Ramblin’ Wreck from Georgia Tech.” Its catchy tune, brazen lyrics and rich history make it as much a part of Tech life and tradition as Buzz and stealing the T. But where does the song come from?

Its history starts with the old drinking song “Son of a Gambolier,” a lament to one’s own poverty. The song was popular long before Tech opened; the earliest college to adopt it was Dickson College in the 1850s, which modified it to reference their college bell with the lines

I wish I had a barrel of rum
and sugar three hundred pounds,
The college bell to mix it in,
The clapper to stir it round.”

The Colorado School of Mines adapted it in the late 1870s, naming it “The Mining Engineer” and singing

“Like every honest fellow,
I take my whisky clear,
I’m a rambling wreck from Golden Tech,
a helluva engineer.”

Many other colleges adopted it as well, but no version is as close to the “Ramblin’ Wreck” as “The Mining Engineer.” Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute wrote “Son of Old R.P.I” in 1895, singing

“Like every honest fellow,
I drink my whiskey clear,
I’m a moral wreck from the Polytech
And a hell of an engineer.”

Also in 1895, Charles Ives, the first uniquely American composer, wrote a melody for the song. Ives was the first uniquely American composer, and the tune was as somber as the song itself.

Then came Tech, which opened its doors to students in 1888. According to Howard D. Cutter, a member of the class of 1892, Tech’s version of the song was first sung by a student to cheer on the Engineers to victory against UGA’s baseball team in an 1890 game. The song became the school’s official fight song in 1905 and the lyrics were published in Tech’s first-ever yearbook in 1908.

Michael A. Greenblatt, Tech’s first bandmaster, heard the band playing the fight song to Charles Ives’ tune and wrote the first arrangement and score of the song around 1912. Greenblatt’s successor, Frank Roman, wrote and copyrighted a new adaptation for the song that included trumpet flourishes. Roman’s version, or something close to it, is the song that Tech students know and love.

The new song then enjoyed great popularity and a meteoric rise to fame. In 1920, then-student Arthur Murray organized the world’s first radio dance, which featured the “Ramblin’ Wreck.” In 1925, the Columbia Gramophone Company began selling a recording of Tech songs which included “Ramblin’ Wreck.” The song became “immensely popular” according to sources; it gained incredible fame when Tech’s Glee Club sung it on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1953.

As impressive as that was, it was even more amazing when it was sung by vice president Richard Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev to ease tension at their 1959 meeting in Moscow. Nixon didn’t know any Russian songs, but Khrushchev knew “Ramblin’ Wreck” from the Ed Sullivan Show. The song has also appeared in other places: Tim Holt sang it in His Kind of Woman (1951); John Wayne whistled it in The High and the Mighty (1954); Gregory Peck sang it in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956). It was also the first school fight song to be played in space.

In 1998, a 19-member Diversity Task Force chaired by Stephanie Ray, associate dean of students and director of Diversity Programs, proposed that changes should be made to the fight song because it discriminated against women. Faced with vocal opposition from students and alumni, however, the task force abandoned the effort.

The most recent development has been the student body’s adoption of the cheer “Fight! Win! Drink! Get naked!” at the end of the song. Relatively few Tech students know the storied history behind the fight song. The next time you pump your fist in the air while cheering for Tech sports, you’ll know more about what you’re singing.

This article is reposted from an article I wrote for The Technique (official site, Wikipedia article), published on April 20, 2007. (html, pdf) This album is available online: Amazon.com: She’s Your Sister – OneTwoThreeFour. As of this writing, it was going for $0.01 + shipping used.

Every week, the ‘Nique receives a few CDs, some of which are reviewed. Some are admittedly best suited for the trash; however, there are occasionally gems such as She’s Your Sister’s second release, onetwothreefour.

The four-member group was formed in Chicago in 2004, and their first album, In Between, was released in July 2005. Since then, they have moved to and toured extensively in California. In case you were wondering, the band’s name is a reference to a line in the 2001 film The Royal Tenenbaums; when I read the name, I thought EuroTrip. Either way, the funny name reflects the band’s generally light tone.

The album’s sound is very much within pop/rock, almost what I would call “generic” if it weren’t for that word’s negative connotation; indeed, almost all of the songs on their CD are worth listening to, a rare feat in today’s music business. It helps that each of their songs comes in at about three minutes each.

Another bonus is that the words in the songs are actually audible and intelligible; when you can’t hear what they’re trying to convey, they might as well be writing techno, and bad hard rock does not make good techno. Thus, screaming into a microphone doesn’t make good rock, and She’s Your Sister’s vocalist seems to know this. Vocals aren’t the only good thing about this album, though; the music is generally catchy, while carefully avoiding the sound associated with today’s overplayed pop groups. Make no mistake; this is definitely a rock group.

The album starts off strongly with “Pixie Led,” a very catchy song that uses backup vocals and a guitar solo to excellent effect. Unfortunately, the chorus (”Take me home / Won’t you be my somewhere”) gets drilled into your head.

The next few tracks show a smooth transition through their album, and aren’t quite as strong as their lead. “Doll” and “Sweet Sorrow” both display good work on the guitar and drums, and both songs occasionally use silence to good effect, a mark of a more mature band.

The worst song on the disk is without a doubt “Greener,” which is mercifully the second-shortest track. It has relatively poor vocals, and is mixed entirely too loud. While mixing songs to be “loud” is an industry trend, smaller bands shouldn’t need to fall into that trap. It is with regret that I report She’s Your Sister has tracks that are just as loud as any these days, something that is especially audible in “Greener” and to a lesser extent in “Take.” As any good audiophile will tell you, “loud” tracks such as this one are difficult to listen to for extended periods of time, and have a lower dynamic range.

As if to apologize for that monstrosity, the next song (”Mirror Mirror”) has a very good volume, and a more somber tone. “Of Hate and Stormy Weather” also follows that path with an interesting touch. Other particularly worthwhile tracks include “Bleached,” “One” and “Kick You Out.” After “Greener,” the band’s songs all have a very similar sound, although the tracks do vary somewhat in the balance of pop and rock.

She’s Your Sister still has some work to do, but their CD is generally strong, especially since the majority of the tracks are enjoyable. It’s definitely worth a listen, and probably worth the buy. The album will be released in June and will coincide with the group’s first nationwide tour. An Atlanta performance is planned but not confirmed.

This article is reposted from an article I wrote for The Technique (official site, Wikipedia article), published on November 18, 2005. (html, pdf) This album is available online: Amazon.com: Stephen Lynch – Craig Machine. As of this writing, it was going for $12.48 (+ shipping) used.

Ever since seeing the movie This is Spinal Tap, Stephen Lynch chose the vulgar comic route to music instead of the poetic one. His work isn’t just humor; he’s an excellent vocalist, a clever writer and has excellent control over his instrument.

As the son of a former priest and a former nun, he fell far from the tree. He’s now on his third original CD, The Craig Machine, recorded live at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia at Symphony Space in New York City. He is currently touring with his new material and made a stop in Atlanta on Nov. 5.

As with any CD, some songs on The Craig Machine are better than others. Unlike most normal CDs, I actually enjoyed more than two songs on it. By making fun of (for example) lecherous professors, Jesus, Satan and French people, he creates humor that is bound to offend somebody, somewhere and definitely bound to make you laugh. For example, his typical song begins innocently and goes straight to Insensitive Land. On this particular CD, the song “Mixer at Delta Chi” goes from innocent party to naughty professor quick, fast and in a hurry.

He puts his humor to popular-style music and creatively uses timing and his audiences’ dirty minds against them. As opposed to Weird Al, he doesn’t do parodies; he writes it all himself.

His title song is about Jesus’ brother Craig, a party machine scorned by his parents who has the power to turn water not into wine, but into “cold Coors Light.” I’ve actually been a Stephen Lynch fan for about a year; such masterpieces as “Superhero,” “Grandfather” and “Almighty Malachi the Bowling God” caught my ear.

Fans of irreverent humor should check out Lynch’s works.