Something Old...

Hello again, friends. I am here to tell you some very important news. This blog is going to die. Yes, it is very sad, but it is for the best. It is time for this blog to die...and to move to a new location!!!! Yes, Mellow Dice will no longer be found on Blogger, but rather on Tumblr!!! Check out the new, and improved Melodious Euphoria!!!!! http://mellowdice.tumblr.com/

Good Evening

There's probably not only a song for every time of day but also one for every occasion imaginable. Since I'm a huge Led Zeppelin fan every time the word evening enters my brain I think of this song. Good thing I love this song or otherwise I may not like evening's. This Led Zeppelin song was released in 1979 on In Through the Out Door. The song starts of with a synthesizer that gives the song a creepy feel. However, when the song starts it becomes more upbeat and heavy. This was one of the only Led Zeppelin songs where Jimmy Page uses a Stratocaster solely for the use of the whammy bar. Even though the song sounds rather heavy and almost creepy at times the song is actually somewhat of a love song, or more like advice about love. Anyway hope you enjoy this heavy Zeppelin tune. http://youtu.be/Vg6MIuXrFf8

Car Commercial Discoveries

Have you ever seen a commercial on TV and wondered, "what is that song in the background?" That's kinda what happened to me while watching this commercial for the new KIA Cadenza. When I first saw it I thought I was hearing things. Next time I thought it was too good to be true. The third time I saw it I accepted what it had to be. It was a remix of David Bowie's "Let's Dance." The original song was released March 17, 1983 and reached #1 on the Canadian Singles, Dutch Singles, Irish SIngles, New Zealand SIngles, Norwegian Singles, Swedish Singles, Swiss Singles, UK Singles, US Billboard Hot 100, and the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play charts. Not too shabby, right? It was only a matter of time before someone remixed it. InFiction got a hold of it, and did it right. They took it and gave it an entirely new, modern feel. Check it out: Until next time, roll the Mellow Dice and hope for Midnight.

I Leave You With This...

Gonna blast to the past tonight with the band Chicago. The song is called Color My World. It was released as a b-side to the single Make Me Smile in 1970, and the single Beginnings in 1971. The piano seems to been inspired in some way by Moonlight Sonata. The major seventh chord that begins the song has been called, "the most famous major seventh in the history of music." Check out the song here:
Until next time, roll the Mellow Dice and hope fr Midnight.

A Coined Title

It was only a Matter of Time until I did a Killers song. Yes, I did just make a Killers pun. What better song to do, than the one that has gradually become my favorite Killers song: Spaceman. The lead singer, Brandon Flowers, said in an interview that he wanted a mixture of Space Oddity by David Bowie and Rocket Man by Elton John in this song. Ironically, if you put those two song titles together you get Spaceman. Or Oddity Rocket, but that's another song entirely. It's hit #2 on the U.S Billboard Hot Dance Club Play charts, and #6 on the Israeli Singles chart. Check it out here:

Until next time, roll the Mellow Dice and hope for Midnight.

The Ocean of Sand

Paintings inspire in many ways. They use beauty of colors to inspire us to be more and do more. Sometimes they inspire us to...write music? That's what happened with America. Not the continent, the band. While the band was in the studio they saw a painting by Salvador Dali of a desert. They decided to capture the look of heat in the painting by writing the song A Horse With No Name. Some have speculated that the song is actually about drugs, but that theory was shot down by the band. It reached #1 on the Canada and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts, and #3 on the UK and the U.S. Billboard Easy Listening charts. Check it out here: Until next time, roll the Mellow Dice and hope for Midnight.

Take the High Ground

A song about giving someone a second chance, and then actually giving someone a second chance in real life. That what happened with Stevie Wonder and his song Higher Ground. The song is about being given a second chance and making the most of it. Three months later a log truck lost control and slammed into a car that Wonder was riding in, causing him to go into a coma. The song was played in Wonder's ear while in the coma and he started to tap his fingers to the beat. When he finally woke up, he accepted the truck driver's apology and acted like it's something that happens everyday. Talk about giving someone a second chance. This song hit #1 on the U.S. Billboard R&B Singles, and #4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Check it out here: Until next time, roll the Mellow Dice and hope for Midnight.

I Leave You With This...

There's no doubt as to what this song is about. It's a lonely singing a love song. What is it? All I Want by Kodaline. Kodaline made it's public debut when their song Give Me a Minute hit the Irish Singles Chart. Back then they were called 21 Demands and didn't change their name until 2011. All I Want has been selected on BBC Radio 1 as the Record of the Week, appeared Grey's Anatomy, and was the background music for Google's 2012: Year in Review video. Check out the song here:  Until next time, roll the Mellow Dice and hope for Midnight.

The Inevitable Return

Where did they go? Why did they leave? Did they ever actually break up? These are questions you may have heard about Fall Out Boy back in 2010 when the members started their solo careers. It had seemed like they were gone forever.  Not a chance. Fall Out Boy has recently come out of the shadows with their new song My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark. It was released back in February of this year as a digital download, and eventually as a part of the album Save Rock and Roll. This marked the return of Fall Out Boy. The song lyrics is a compilation of random lyrics from a 2007 jam session, so they don't really have any meaning. That doesn't matter because this song is insanely catchy. Check it out: Until next time, roll the Mellow Dice and hope for Midnight.

Drugs or No Drugs?

It's time for a battle of opinions. The subject: Smokin' by Boston. This song was a b-side to the song More Than a Feeling in 1976 and is covered by the band Anthrax. So where's the controversy? It's all about what the song is about. The first opinion is that they're talking about playing music and having a good time. This argument is supported with lyrics like, "Everybody jumpin, dancin to the boogie tonight. Clap your hands, move your feet, if you dont you know it wont seem right" The other side, takes the title more seriously. They think its about smokin'...marijuana. This side is supported by the line, "Smokin', smokin'. Were cookin tonight, just keep on tokin'. Smokin', smokin'. I feel alright, mamma I'm not jokin', yeah." So which is it? Maybe both? You decide: Until next time, roll the Mellow Dice and hope for Midnight.

Happiest Song Ever?

I don't know about you, but whenever I hear What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong, I can't help but crack a smile. If you don't, then try this: fake a smile and do your best Louis Armstrong impression while singing the song. You may find that your smile is authentic. This is something that Larry Newton should have tried. Larry Newton was the head to ABC records, and he didn't like the song at all. That's why when it was originally released, it sold less than 1,000 copies. Over in the UK, they had a different perspective. They loved the song so much that it made #1 on the UK Singles Chart in 1967. As of today, this song has been sold millions of times and has been used in various movies and TV shows. Check it out, and have a nice day. Until next time, roll the Mellow Dice and hope for Midnight.

I Leave You With This...

We've had one central theme today: drums. This last post is no exception. The song is called 21st Century Schizoid Man by King Crimson. Yes, it's 7 minutes long but believe me it's worth it. Just listen to the drums...don't they ever stop? What's the song about? It's literally a bunch of disjointed phrases that create various images and scenes. There are a few references to the Vietnam War, but that's about it. Check it out if you've got the time: Until next time, roll the Mellow Dice and hope for Midnight.

Fun All Around

Neil Peart, Geddy Lee, and Alex Lifeson walk into an airport. No, this isn't a joke, it's an origin story. It's how Rush got the name, and the rhythm for the song YYZ. YYZ is the airport identification code for Toronto Pearson National Airport in Mississauga, Canada. Neil Peart said that, "It's always a happy day when YYZ appears on our luggage tags." Also, the beginning of the song is morse code for the letter YYZ. Besides the fun origin story, what's so special about the song? It is so much fun to play. The guitar is legendary, the bass is too much fun, and the drums...are hypnotizing. Just listen to those short, but amazing drum solos he's dishing out in there. Check it out and enjoy:

Until next time, roll the Mellow Dice and hope for Midnight.

The Never Ending Drums!!

This next song's deceiving. It starts off with a very catchy guitar riff, and has several mini guitar solos throughout, but this is not known for its guitar. It's the drum solo that really catches your attention Moby Dick by Led Zeppelin has one of the greatest drum solos of all time. It was created after the guitarist, Jimmy Page, caught the drummer, John Bonham, jamming out on his own. Page would record it, and eventually he pieced it all together into one awesome drum solo. There's one thing about this solo, though. It's really short. Let me explain: The solo on the album is approximately 3 minutes long. That's the shortened version. The full solo is about 6-30 minutes long. The rest of the band would often play the opening riff, and then walk off stage and take a break while Bonham played the solo. Bonham would often break his drumsticks, throw them into the audience, and continue playing the solo with his hands. Sometimes he would play so hard his hand actually started bleeding. You can check it the awesome song, and especially the solo, here: Until next time, roll the Mellow Dice and hope for Midnight.

Iconic Drum Solo

You're sitting around minding your own business, In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins comes on, and you can't help but jam out when the drums do that amazing drum solo. You don't know why, but there's something about that solo that makes you want to act it out and look like a complete maniac. This was Phil Collins' first single as a solo artist, and he really outdid himself here. This song was literally built off of the drum track. Collins said in an interview that, "'In the Air Tonight' was just a drum machine pattern that I took off that CR78 drum machine. You could eliminate certain sounds and program bass drums and snare drums, so I programmed a bass drum part into it, but basically the rest of it was already on there." Check it out and jam out: Until next time, roll the Mellow Dice and hope for Midnight.

Hurt soooooo Good

You can imagine what song I'm gonna give you a link to in just a few minutes. So before that let's just talk about this amazing song. What is so intriguing about this song. Maybe cause the artist's middle name is Cougar. Well that's definitely a major contributor to it. It also is very catchy like most Mellencamp songs. It is a love song but it's not like most love songs. We all know the phrase "love hurts" and "All you need is love." If this was all you knew about love then you might come to the conclusion that all you need is pain. Well both statements are true but who says all hurt is bad. There is a kinda hurt that feels good. That true love hurt. This song was stuck in my head all day and lucky for me it played on the radio today and I heard it. I blared my speakers so loud my ears started to ache, but it's ok because it hurt so good. Check out the song here and try not to sing along. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTdxMXKT4So

I Hate Waiting

Jared why do you like only bands that are dead and gone? Well that's not entirely true. The answer to that question though is that I'm incredibly impatient. If a band has already stopped making music I don't have to wait on new albums to be released; I can listen to all of their music now. Well I'm a huge Jack Johnson fan and it feels like ten years since he released his last album. Well he finally releases his album in the next few months and I'm having a hard time just waiting. I'm not used to waiting cause I prefer old time Rock N Roll. Anyhow Jack Johnson has already released a song off his new album. The song is a classic Johnson tune. Acoustic and relaxing vocals. Maybe this new album will be a lot like his most famous album In Between Dreams. Either way I'm excited for the album and I'm glad he made the waiting process easier by releasing this single "I Got You"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBWFUVq85gs

A Story With No Words

Some songs have a message or a story that impacts the world with its lyrics. They can inspire a generation to be something greater than they are. Sometimes the lyrics teach us about life and death. Sometimes the lyrics...are nonexistent. That's the way it is with Pink Floyd's Great Gig in the Sky. The song begins with a recording of Gerry O'Driscoll: "And I am not frightened of dying, any time will do, I don't mind. Why should I be frightened of dying? There's no reason for it, you've gotta go sometime." This short quote gives the meaning to the song: Death. After this quote Clare Torry begins singing, but there are no words. There are no lyrics in the entire song. Why is that? According to keyboard player Rick Wright, this song is about life descending into death. The reason there are no lyrics is because it's not so much a message that's being conveyed, but an emotion. The first half is more rough and angry sounding because of a person's unwillingness to give up on life. The second half is tender and easy symbolizing the person's acceptance and release into that sleep known as death. This also happens to be the end of CD 1 of the Dark Side of the Moon which further gives a feeling of death at the end of the song. Check it out:

Until next time, roll the Mellow Dice and hope for Midnight.

Enjoy the Moment

When you think of Pearl Jam, what comes to mind? Love songs isn't usually the first response to that question. They aren't known for their love songs but that doesn't mean they don't have any. Take Just Breathe for example. Lead singer Eddie Vedder once said in an interview that it was, "as close to a love song as we've ever gotten." I really love the message behind it. I know, the message is love, but there's something deeper than that. It's saying to just relax, breathe, and love each other. This song hit #1 on the U.S. Billboard Triple A Songs and the Polish Singles charts. Check it out:

Until next time, roll the Mellow Dice and hope for Midnight.

I Leave You With This...

It's summer time, it's hot, and everyone's going to the plage. If you don't speak French, "plage" is the french word for beach. It's also a song by the Crystal Fighters. It was released in August of 2011 as the eighth single off of their album Star of Love. It's reached #4 on the 3FM Mega Top 50 Charts, and #9 on the Dutch Download Top 50 and the single top 100. Check it out:

Until next time, roll the Mellow Dice and hope for Midnight.