Your DailyCrack

Sliimy - Magic Game

Perhaps the greatest thing to happen to French electro-pop since…French electro-pro (???), Sliimy (rhymes with Jimmy) has blown up in France and the UK since the release of his debut album Paint Your Face. I didn’t know anything about him until last night when I read an article in an issue of The Advocate that had been sitting on my coffee table for a few months. They made several references to him and Prince (early Prince sound…awesome Prince-like hair…avant garde-ish) which meant I had to check him out.

So far…I’ve liked what I’ve heard but my two favorites as of today are this song and his cover of Womanizer. His CD was released stateside in September so you can pick it up here if you are so interested.

La la la la la la la. Enjoy!

-CaliDre

Sliimy - Magic Game

you said i’m gay, but i’m cool 
maybe anorexic, but look at you 
you should taste my cupcake, it’s for you 
cause mr Sliimy can kill you with some food 
do you like to hurt me, yeah that’s cool 
but when i’m crying, it’s not you 
say thanks to the bottles for the tears cause maybe without drink you would never have tears 
congratulations cause now i have a big inspiration guys 

what kind of Magic Game can i play with you lalalala 
i whisper ‘abracadabra’ 
listening time now 
what kind of Magic Game can i play with you lalalala 

shut up ‘abracadabra’ 
hang up and listen 

they said you’re gay you’re harmful 
i know you’re so rejected but look at you 
you’re the only real smile that lights up this game 
game, play the game and cast a spell 
take a bit of kindness, but not too soon 
add a bit of anger and shake up 
you can mix and let’s see if they move 
maybe with this drink you will just find peace 
congratulations cause now i have a big inspiration guys

PPP (formerly the Platinum Pied Pipers) f/ Karma Stewart - On A Cloud

Oh my goodness this shit is so funky! It is that hot fire. I gotta gotta gotta thank my show So You Think You Can Dance cuz the choreographers always use some great music. I mean…that show is where I discovered Adele and Duffy and I can’t even tell you how many other songs. But this…this right here…..WOOOO. This is about to be on constant rotation in my crib.

With the amazing horns pushing this song forward and Karma Stewart’s AMAZING vocals, this song is an electro-funk-soul junkie’s dream. PPP - where have ya’ll been all my life? I’m sorry if I’m late on the scene, but ya’ll better believe I’m hitting up Amazon RIGHT now to grab some albums.

Oh - by the way - Karma Stewart is a new artist so if ya’ll like what you hear, pick up her EP here. Enjoy!

-Calidre

Sam Sparro - Black and Gold

I am always so late with these things, but better late then never I always say! I guess it also doesn’t help that I don’t listen to the radio or any other sources of new music. What can I say…my method for finding music I like hasn’t failed me yet so I won’t be changing anytime soon.

At any rate, I’m really enjoying this track right now. The Australian born singer has this Gnarls Barkley-esque thing going on that I’m really feeling. It’s a great song that can’t be pigeon-holed into any particular genre.

Whatever genre everyone decides to stick it into, I’ll be sitting over here enjoying it. You do the same!

-Calidre

ps - really love the lyrics! clever clever clever!

Sam Sparro - Black and Gold

If the fish swam out of the ocean
and grew legs and they started walking
and the apes climbed down from the trees
and grew tall and they started talking

and the stars fell out of the sky
and my tears rolled into the ocean
now i’m looking for a reason why
you even set my world into motion

‘cause if you’re not really here
then the stars don’t even matter
now i’m filled to the top with fear
but it’s all just a bunch of matter
‘cause if you’re not really here
then i don’t want to be either
i wanna be next to you
black and gold
black and gold
black and gold

i looked up into the night sky
and see a thousand eyes staring back
and all around these golden beacons
i see nothing but black

i feel a way of something beyond them
i don’t see what i can feel
if vision is the only validation
then most of my life isn’t real

‘cause if you’re not really here
then the stars don’t even matter
now i’m filled to the top with fear
but it’s all just a bunch of matter
‘cause if you’re not really here
then i don’t want to be either
i wanna be next to you
black and gold
black and gold
black and gold

Ahn Trio & Susie Suh - All I Want

Have you ever had someone that you just couldn’t get from under your skin? No matter how hard you try…no matter how bad for you they are…you can’t for the life of you get them out of your system. It be that way sometimes.

This song is all about the struggle of being addicted to a person. Beautifully performed by the Ahn Trio with Susie Suh on vocals it is just a breathtaking song. The Ahn Trio is made of sisters Angella, Lucia and Maria in a classical piano trio while Susie Suh is a contemporary folk/adult/rock singer. All three gorgeous women are Korean American (just in case you were curious) and the Ahn sisters have actually been featured in several ad campaigns and People Magazine’s 2003 “50 Most Beautiful People” issue. Both have new CDs out right now so check em out if you like what you hear.

Enjoy!

-Calidre

Ahn Trio & Susie Suh - All I Want

Too many times, I have wondered
What all the tryin’ is for.
You come around, I feel so down
I’m gonna drown
‘Cause I know that you’ve fallen short

But do you know?
It doesn’t change
The way I feel ‘bout you, at the end of the day
‘cause I know, that I all I want is what you got.
All I want, is what you got.

Too many times, I have wanted
To turn around and walk away
Knowing deep inside, you can’t provide
What I need from you, anyway

Do you know?
It doesn’t change
The way I feel ‘bout you, at the end of the day
‘Cause I know
That all I want is what you got
All I want is what you got

Tell you that I wanna go
But I wanna stay
I Tell you that I wanna go
But I wanna stay
I Tell you that I wanna go
But I wanna stay
I wanna stay
I wanna stay
I wanna stay

But I know I’m gonna lose myself this way

I wanna stay
I wanna stay
I wanna stay

But I know I’m gonna lose myself this way

Do you know?
It doesn’t change
The way I feel ‘bout you, at the end of the day
‘Cause I know
All I want is, what you got
All I want is what you got

But this
moment
is all
I’ve got
its all I’ve got

Blue October - 18th Floor Balcony (Live Recording)

One of the reasons that I love So You Think You Can Dance so much because it introduces me to some great music I might not otherwise hear. Dancers have an amazing ear for music because it is so closely tied into their craft.

Blue October is one such band I have been introduced to because of the show. Hailing for the Lone Star State, Blue October has been active since 1998. Their fan base has mostly been limited to the Mid-West so its no surprise that a few of us are late getting up on this goodness. I chose this song because I love the unexpected turns that it takes. It goes from soft fast lyrics to a sort of wailing and over to this fantastically urgent declaration that he’s all hers for the taking. This is off of their 4th album I believe. I can’t wait to discover the rest of their discography.

Enjoy!

-Calidre 

Blue October - 18th Floor Balcony

I close my eyes and I smile
Knowing that everything is alright
To the core
So close that door
Is this happening?

My breath is on your hair
I’m unaware
That you opened the blinds and let the city in
God, you held my hand
And we stand
Just taking in everything.

And I knew it from the start
So my arms are open wide
Your head is on my stomach
And we’re trying so hard not to fall asleep
Here we are
On this 18th floor balcony.
We’re both flying away.

So we talked about mom’s and dad’s
About family pasts
Just getting to know where we came from
Our hearts were on display
For all to see
I can’t believe this is happening to me

And I raised my hand as if to show you that I was yours
That I was so yours for the taking
I’m so yours for the taking
That’s when I felt the wind pick up
I grabbed the rail while choking up
These words to say and then you kissed me…

I knew it from the start
So my arms are open wide
Your head is on my stomach
And we’re trying so hard not to fall asleep
Here we are
On this 18th floor balcony…
We’re both flying away.

And I’ll try to sleep
To keep you in my dreams
‘til I can bring you home with me
I’ll try to sleep
And when I do I’ll keep you in my… dreams

I knew it from the start
So my arms are open wide
Your head is on my stomach
And we’re trying so hard not to fall asleep
So here we are
On this 18th floor balcony, yeah

I knew it from the start
My arms are open wide
Your head is on my stomach
No, we’re not going to sleep

Here we are
On this 18th floor balcony… we’re both..
Flying away

Eric Hutchinson - Breakdown More

One thing that I love about So You Think You Can Dance is the wonderful music that you can find on there. Because dancing is so dependent on music that conveys a certain mood, I’m always finding that there is a synergistic effect for me on the show. When a powerful song is paired with a great performance…well…its just the bees knees.

This song, Breakdown More by Eric Hutchinson, is the song that Natalie Reid auditioned to in Seattle, WA on this week’s episode. Great song, great performance. Good luck Nat in Vegas! I hope you make it to the Top 20!!! 

Enjoy!

-Calidre

Eric Hutchinson - Breakdown More

I can’t write my words
When I don’t have you
I can’t sing my song
When my strings won’t tune
You won’t believe me
You won’t believe me crying
I can’t walk my path 
When I can’t stay motivated
I can’t play my notes
When it gets too complicated
You won’t believe me
You won’t believe me
So you’ll never see me

[Chorus]
Give me a reason and I won't breakdown
Give me a reason and I won't breakdown
And if that’s all that you’ve got
You’d better not get caught
I’ve got more in store

I can’t keep my beat
When I don’t have you
I can’t shake my sins
When you don’t come through
How could you leave me
Just when you see me crying
And I can’t feel low down
When I don’t have legs to stand on
I can’t feel low down
When I there ain’t no ground to land on
How could you leave me
How could you leave me
Now you’ll never see me

[Chorus]

Don’t look at me and act like you’re just blind
Let’s work it out before you change your mind

[Chorus (2x)]

Darrin Kohavi - Please Believe Me

Still being relatively new to blogging, it is amazing to me that people are ASKING us here at DailyCrack.net to check out their music. Our dedicated inbox has had a few submissions since we’ve gotten the site running but Darrin is the first artist (to my knowledge) being reviewed. Maybe the second. Not that we are against reviewing new artists - I for one am simply just limited on free time. And when I hear something new, I like dedicating some time to it before I start spewing at the mouth.

The part that peaked my interest when glancing through emails was that he is a pianist. “Why is that interesting?” you ask. Well, because, I like love it when people are musicians as opposed to just vocalists. I like the fact that someone is involved in all aspects of the process as opposed to simply using their natural instrument. Prince is my favorite artist for exactly this reason (piano, guitar, composer, vocals, producer…I could go on for days). For me, there’s just a little more UMPH to it when the performer has more invested.

Please Believe Me is Darrin Kohavi’s first single and can be found on the 5 song EP (which you can check out here - launch the music player at the top) that he released this past year. The Beatles-esque vocals give it a slightly vintage feel that I enjoy. One of the other tracks, Operator, is a slower song that I could easily add to my FAVORITE iTunes playlist (Unwiiiiind) indefinitely. I’m interested to see where Mr. Kohavi’s music takes him.

A special thank you to David at Chromatic Star for bringing this fresh face to our attention.I hope you enjoy!

-Calidre

Darrin Kohavi - Please Believe Me

Don’t forget the fact that you made it so hard for me
Every time I saw your face, it made just want to leave
Please Believe Me, When I Tell Ya

Time and time again I get a feeling I just want to cry
You left me all alone, by myself, and I just don’t know why
Please Believe Me, When I Tell Ya

So the story goes on
Point your eyes where you want
But it’s been so long

And I’ve been good to you
And I know it now
Oh, yes, I will show it now
Oh, oh

I give you all I got to give if you just give it back to me
Though you say you need me, you know you just want to be free
Please Believe Me, When I Tell Ya

Every now and then I look back and I wonder why
You left me all alone, by myself, and I just don’t know why
Please Believe Me, When I Tell Ya

So the story goes on
Point your eyes where you want
But it’s been so long

And I’ve been good to you
And I know it now
Oh, yes, I will show it now
Oh, oh

Janelle Monáe-Sincerely, Jane

When some people think about soul artists, they usually picture Bohemian sisters and chilled out brothers, sly production and songs of love and life. So when artist such as Janelle Monáe comes along, the genre is shaken up. So shaken up, they put her into her own sub-genre of alternative soul, to which I say, hell no. She’s a soul artist with an innovative sound. Ever since the up coming artist signed to Purple Ribbon, she’s released her EP, Metropolis:The Chase Suite, she has now moved to Bad Boy Records (Please don’t ruin her Diddy) and rocked shows with her off the wall energy and show antics. Any chick that jumps in a pool and climbs up a tree for a live performance gets automatic respect from me.

What also sets her apart is that her music is all a concept. Her debut EP is the story about a cyborg named Cindy Mayweather who falls in love with a human and must now be destroyed. While the rest of the EP is upbeat and odd, this track is the darkest and most socially poignant track. Set in the fictional city of Metropolis, which is now a place of anarchy, Janelle paints a story of hopelessness for Metropolis. While the city is fictional, she is relating the same events of Metropolis to what is going on in the country today. With stamping horns and hard percussion,while delivering uncut lyrics with a raw delivery.

Janelle is not an “alternative” soul artist. She’s a soul artist with the potential to flip it upside down.

Lyrics

Left the city, my momma she said don’t come back home
These kids round killin each other, they lost they minds, they gone
They quittin’ school, making babies and can barely read
Some gone off to their fall, Lord have mercy on them
One, two, three, four, your cousins is round’ here sellin’ dope
While their daddies, your uncle is walking round strung out
Babies with babies, and their tears keep burning, while their dreams go down the drain now

Are we really living or just walking dead now?
Or dreaming of a hope riding the wings of angels
The way we live
The way we die
What a tragedy, I’m so terrified
Day dreamers please wake up, we can’t sleep no more

Love don’t make no sense, ask your neighbor
The winds have changed; it seems they have abandoned us
The truth hurts, and so does yesterday
What good is love if it burns bright, and explodes in flames
(I thought every little thing had love but uhh)

Are we really living or just walking dead now?
Or dreaming of a hope riding the wings of angels
The way we live
The way we die
What a tragedy, I’m so terrified
Day dreamers please wake up, we can’t sleep no more

I’ve seen them shootin’ up funerals in they Sunday clothes
Spending money on spinners but won’t pay college loans
And all you gangers and bangers rollin’ dice and taking lives, in a smokey dark
Lord have mercy on you
Teacher, teacher please reach those girls in them videos
The little girls just broken Queen, confusing bling for soul
Danger, there’s danger when you take off your clothes, all your dreams go down the drain girl

Are we really living or just walking dead now?
Or dreaming of a hope riding the wings of angels
The way we live
The way we die
What a tragedy, I’m so terrified
Day dreamers please wake up, we can’t sleep no more

We live and then we die, and we never know the why
So now, now we go, down underground
We think that we can fly, but we never touch the sky
So down, now we go, down underground

Five, seven, eight, two, one
It is now time, for you to come home my dear
You’ve been gone long enough
You must come, you must go

-michi

Leigh Jones - Words You Never Say

For a short while, I had an unpaid job writing album reviews for a website (the website isn’t worth mentioning because I got ditched, I suspect, because I was being too harsh). Despite my short time there, I enjoyed critiquing music and being exposed to music artists I never heard of. Perhaps the best music artist I got introduce to is Leigh Jones.

Leigh Jones is an independent R&B artist hailing from Los Angeles, California. Other than that, there really isn’t much information out there on her. Her music is sometimes put into the category of “blue-eyed soul,” but personally, I’m against that kind of label. As Schwing had pointed out, it’s an unnecessary name for “people of lighter skin” who has a soulful voice. If you can sing, you can sing, who cares what color is your skin or the color of your eyes? Anyway, one of my favorite songs from her debut album, Music In My Soul, is Words You Never Say. It’s a smooth R&B/jazz song that has Leigh singing about her lover’s preference for actions over words. “Shakespeare didn’t know this, much preferring to use the English language, well he can learn a thing or two from you,” she says at one point in the track. Enjoy. Sorry, lyrics are unavailable.

-moises