Brendan’s Blog

Just thought I’d fill you in on some of my favorite new tracks. Keep in mind that these are personal favorites, and that my musical taste can change very quickly. Simply put, it’s rare for me to have a single favorite song. So, here’s five that have been showing up a lot on my iPod in the past week or so:

Duffy - “Delayed Devotion”
I picked up Duffy’s “Rockferry” CD because I really like the 60s-style sound of her current single, “Mercy”. Little did I know that “Mercy” is only a teaser, and that the real gems on this CD haven’t hit radio yet. “Delayed Devotion” is my absolute favorite song on this CD - it’s got a sound that’s reminiscent of the Funk Brothers’ work for Motown and it grabs your attention right at the opening notes. If you haven’t heard Duffy yet, go pick up “Rockferry” and skip right to cut #8.
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A few weeks before Christmas, I bought myself an XM satellite radio - the Pioneer Inno. I wasn’t too familiar with XM, but I noticed that a few of the venues that I work at had been using it for background music. I was also growing tired of my iPod, because I knew every song that was on it (even with 15,000 songs on shuffle mode, things got predictable). So, I found a great deal on the Inno, and I’ve been hooked on XM ever since. Great programming and DJs, and best of all, no commercials. Incidentally, my stress level has dropped considerably; I think it’s because I haven’t had to listen to a single Bob’s Furniture or Ernie Boch Jr. commercial in the past month or so.

My favorite XM station (and apparently, I’m not alone on this) is 80s on 8. Although I like just about every song that I heard in that decade, some of my most favorites come from 1985: Continue reading »

From time to time, I’ll be filling you in about songs that I’m listening to and talk about the time-tested party hits that seem to magically bring people onto the dancefloor. However, in an attempt to be a little bit festive, I thought I’d start by sharing my five favorite holiday tunes.

1. “2000 Miles” - The Pretenders
This is one of those songs that lots of people know when they hear it, but they don’t know the title. I’m not sure what it is about this song that pulls me in, but I love it and can’t get through a winter season without listening to it at least a few times. Musically, it’s very simple - a three-chord progression that fades in as if the band had been playing it for a few minutes before you tuned in. When you hear it, you know: it must be Christmastime. Continue reading »