Welcome to the final installment of our look at Dark Little Ones, the new album by Canadian singer-songwriter Kieran West. I’m going to tell you what the song means for me, and some of the backstory from my perspective. My son Kieran will have the last word on today’s post. All the songs on thisContinue reading “Grenadier”
Tag Archives: Rock Music
Kid
For the past seven days, we’ve been checking out Dark Little Ones (2023), the new album by my son, Kieran West. Today we’re on to the second-last track, “Kid.” Kieran says this about the song: “This is a song that I wrote about a student of mine a few years back. Reflecting upon it, theContinue reading “Kid”
Start All Over Again
We’re on to the seventh track in our review of Dark Little Ones, the new album by Canadian singer-songwriter and musician Kieran West. We started a week ago with “Staying Home.” Today’s song, “Start All Over Again,” picks up the tempo with a drum-driven melody anchored by a distorted electric guitar. It’s a story ofContinue reading “Start All Over Again”
My Older Brother
Content warning:Today’s post and song deal with issues of mental health. Welcome here. Followers of this blog know that on Sundays, I post a piece of classical music. That feature is pre-empted this week as we’re partway through a deep dive into my son Kieran’s new album. Today I’m featuring the sixth track in ourContinue reading “My Older Brother”
First Skate / Last Skate
Welcome to day five of this series on Song of the Day for Today where we’re looking at Kieran West’s new album, Dark Little Ones. If you’re just joining us now, you can also head back to the first “Staying Home” post and catch up. We’ll sit and wait for you right here at theContinue reading “First Skate / Last Skate”
The Day We Made You Cut Your Hair (for I.L.)
Content warning: This post and song contain references to the Canadian Residential Schools system and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirited. This week we’re delving into Dark Little Ones, the new album released on February 4 by Canadian singer-songwriter and musician Kieran West. Each day, we’re looking at one of the nine songsContinue reading “The Day We Made You Cut Your Hair (for I.L.)”
Lorraine
This week on Song of the Day for Today, we’re looking at Dark Little Ones, the new album released last weekend by Canadian singer-songwriter and musician Kieran West. I’m posting a song from the album daily, along with my thoughts on it. I’m also sharing my son Kieran’s explanations of the song meanings and aContinue reading “Lorraine”
Daisy Bay (featuring Sweet Alibi)
Today’s post is the second in a special series of nine on Song of the Day for Today. Each post will feature a song from Kieran West’s latest album, Dark Little Ones (2023). For some of my son Kieran’s musical history, please visit the first post in the series, “Staying Home.” Today’s track is “DaisyContinue reading “Daisy Bay (featuring Sweet Alibi)”
Staying Home
Starting today, I’m teaming up with my son Kieran in a special series on Song of the Day for Today. For nine days, I’ll feature a song from his latest album, Dark Little Ones (2023). I hope you’ll love the songs as much as I do, and that you will enjoy the words we shareContinue reading “Staying Home”
Precious Things
Well, from yesterday’s post on a 1980s song, let’s move on to the 90s! I’ve been a fan of the classically-trained American singer-songwriter and pianist Tori Amos (b. 1963) since one of our sons introduced me to her music through her 2001 covers album Strange Little Girls (please see my posts on her renditions ofContinue reading “Precious Things”
Warning Signs
Today, Song of the Day for Today is three years old! Thanks for dropping by today to share a little music together. Music is such a powerful force in life. It can influence moods, motivate and move us, create community, and enrich us. Happy, sad or in-between songs, all music can be inspirational and therapeutic.Continue reading “Warning Signs”
Days
As with Sunday’s selection, today’s is a song I only first heard in the last year and, likewise, on Apple Music’s personalized picks. “Days” comes from Reality (2003), the 24th studio album by English singer-songwriter and actor David Bowie (1947-2016). Though I’ve considered myself a fan since first hearing his music in the early 1970sContinue reading “Days”
The Spirit of Radio
Almost one year ago, I published a blog post on the 1981 single “Limelight” by the Canadian band Rush, and shared a little of the band’s history I had either recalled or read up on. Today, I’m sharing a song they released 43 years ago next month. I still remember the buzz the song createdContinue reading “The Spirit of Radio”
Heading for Nowhere
I first heard the Victoria, British Columbia, Canada band Jets Overhead through their song “Heading for Nowhere,” a song with an appealing, road trip kind of vibe. The song has a very catchy and highly melodic sound, founded on a driving beat featuring the trademark, fuzzy sounds of bassist Jocelyn Greenwood’s instrument setup and otherContinue reading “Heading for Nowhere”
Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)
Today’s selection was English singer-songwriter Kate Bush’s most successful song of the 1980s. It opens her 1985 album Hounds of Love and was also issued as a 12-inch single record. I remember being very excited about the record’s release and buying the single and, later, the album. The single was released as “Running Up ThatContinue reading “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)”
Running to Stand Still
Listening to the Irish rock band U2’s “Running to Stand Still” yesterday, I was struck by the beauty and slowed-down simplicity of the song. As I sought information about the piece, I found a lengthy and fascinating Wikipedia article telling about the background, composition, recording and production of the song from U2’s highly successful 1987Continue reading “Running to Stand Still”
Isn’t It Time
For my 600th blog post on My Song of the Day for Today, I decided to go back to the 1970s. That decade was a time when my lifelong love for music really was blooming and branching out as I discovered more bands, often listening to late-night FM radio; other than concerts, that was theContinue reading “Isn’t It Time”
My Sweet Lord
Yesterday, I stumbled upon a blog entry by Canadian music broadcaster and historian Alan Cross about a new music video set to a 1970 hit by the former Beatles member, George Harrison (1943-2001). The video for “My Sweet Lord” celebrates last year’s 50th anniversary of the song and the triple album All Things Must Pass,Continue reading “My Sweet Lord”
Free to Decide
Sometimes in life, we get to a place of feeling absolute clarity about where we are, where we want to be, and the decisions — sometimes hard ones — that we need to make to get there. I think that’s what Dolores O’Riordan (1971-2018) was writing about with “Free to Decide,” the fourth track fromContinue reading “Free to Decide”
Entangled
In 1975, the English singer, songwriter, producer and activist Peter Gabriel left Genesis, of which he had been a founding member in the 1960s. I was introduced to Genesis and Gabriel’s music by a school mate though, I didn’t follow Gabriel closely until his album Us (1992). (I posted about that friend in “Washing ofContinue reading “Entangled”
Golden Feather
Content warning:This post contains references to the Canadian Residential Schools system. The Canadian-born songwriter, musician, producer, film writer, actor and author Robbie Robertson is likely best known as the former songwriter and lead guitarist of The Band. They were vital in developing the Americana musical style. He has written such classics as “Broken Arrow,” “TheContinue reading “Golden Feather”
Shape of My Heart
The British artist Sting (aka Gordon Sumner) released “Shape of My Heart” as the fifth single from his wildly successful fourth solo album, Ten Summoner’s Tales (1993). Like “Wild Is the Wind,” “Sultans of Swing,” and many other songs, today’s selection sounds perfect for the ending credits of a film. And, in fact, Sting’s songContinue reading “Shape of My Heart”
Friday on My Mind
Yes! Another Friday! This weekend, pandemic restrictions will loosen significantly in my province, Manitoba, Canada. While I’m grateful we are closer to having family gatherings (at least outdoors, like the latest one we had in September 2020), I do feel some of the measures the government will implement are once again too much, too soon,Continue reading “Friday on My Mind”
Gimme Shelter
So, I have a confession to make. I’ve never been a follower of the Rolling Stones. Yeah, really. It’s not a value judgment but, like pretty well no one else I know, I’ve just never been strongly drawn to them, for whatever reason. It’s interesting, though: two years ago in February, I heard a localContinue reading “Gimme Shelter”
Whole Lotta Love
As I opened YouTube today, I saw it offered up a few suggestions of videos by American record producer and educator Rick Beato, whose “What Makes This Song Great?” series I quote in several posts on this blog. I watched episode 43, which profiles and breaks down today’s selection, “Whole Lotta Love” by Led Zeppelin.Continue reading “Whole Lotta Love”
Ballrooms of Mars
I’ve been admiring my old vinyl records for a while and really should play them more. One of these is the 1972 album The Slider by the English rock band, T. Rex. The band, initially called Tyrannosaurus Rex, was formed in 1969 by band leader, lead singer and sole songwriter Marc Bolan (1947-1977). After makingContinue reading “Ballrooms of Mars”
No Milk, No Sugar
How do you take your weekend morning coffee? Yesterday, I tried something different while doing a workout on the bike trainer: instead of listening to music, I listened to a couple of episodes of the The Ongoing History of New Music podcast, hosted by Canadian broadcaster Alan Cross. I listened to the first of aContinue reading “No Milk, No Sugar”
Poor Poor Pitiful Me
This afternoon I was in the car on errands and listening to SiriusXM’s The Bridge (soft rock stream) when a song came on that somehow reminded me of the (now-retired) American singer Linda Ronstadt. My thoughts then went to Ronstadt’s top-40 hit rendition of a song by American musician Warren Zevon (1947-2003), “Poor Poor PitifulContinue reading “Poor Poor Pitiful Me”
Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want
Today I was catching up on past episodes of Guy Garvey’s Finest Hour, a two-hour collection of songs, interviews and various segments and features that appears weekly on BBC 6 Music. I finished the show from January 13 (guest host “Nadine Shah Sits In” -and by the way, check out my post from last yearContinue reading “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want”
Your Silent Face
“Rise and fall of shameA search that shall remainWe asked you what you’d seenYou said you didn’t care” (from “Your Silent Face,” by Bernard Sumner, Gillian Gilbert, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris) The album Power, Corruption & Lies (1983) was the second release by New Order, an English rock band formed in 1980. The group wasContinue reading “Your Silent Face”
By This River
Today’s selection is the classical reimagining of a piece from Before and After Science, the fifth studio album by Brian Eno, released in 1977. The album was Eno’s final foray into rock music before pioneering and diving headlong into the ambient music genre, a place where he still lives and works. However, he has returnedContinue reading “By This River”
Limelight
Formed in 1968, Rush has to be one of Canada’s most extraordinary rock acts. And clearly, institutions agree. In 1996, band members Geddy Lee (vocals, bass, keyboards, composer), Alex Lifeson (guitars, composer) and Neil Peart (1952-2020; drums, percussion, lyricist), were named as Officers of the Order of Canada, the Canadian government’s highest distinction for aContinue reading “Limelight”
Oh, the Boss Is Coming!
Today, I was doing a moderately strenuous ride on my bike trainer; close to an hour of almost steady climbing during a ride that lasted 90 minutes in total (including cool down), with 687 metres (2,254 feet) elevation gain over 32.3 kilometres (20 miles) travelled. I rode a bit beyond the 30 km structured workout,Continue reading “Oh, the Boss Is Coming!”
Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot
Today, I had the gift of an online visit with some deeply soulful men who are close to me and essential in my life. It felt good to spend time together and share our life experiences, words of sorrow, hope, joy; many feelings, and much compassion. The gathering brought me near to these men inContinue reading “Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot”
Growing Up
Today, I decided to haul my bike out to Birds Hill Provincial Park, north of Winnipeg, Canada. It’s a vast parkland, so I felt it would be easy to keep physical distance from people. When I arrived, I was surprised at how many cars and people there were in the park; more than we sawContinue reading “Growing Up”
Wish You Were Here
Pink Floyd is a band that had a formative influence in my early life. I believe that their blending of rock with experimental music was part of what made me seek out more obscure types of rock music, a taste I’ve retained through my life. When one of my brothers was still living in theContinue reading “Wish You Were Here”
Song of the Day for Today 