Monday Morning Music: Sia

It's been awhile since I've put up a Monday Morning Music post.  But this infrequent series is back today with a good entry!

Sia Furler, known mononymously as Sia, is an Australian jazz-pop singer and songwriter.  As you'll see shortly, she's quirky as hell, full of joy, and out-of-this-world talented.



Now, I'm not going to pretend like I've known about and loved Sia for years.  In reality, I only found out about her a few months ago thanks to a Flo Rida song on the radio.

Flo who?

(He's a mainstream rapper whose recent dance single "Wild Ones" was written in part by Sia and features her vocals.)

Now, I could take or leave Flo Rida's rapping.  (Sorry, Flo.) But Sia's voice completely enchanted me.  I went home and made a beeline for Google after hearing "Wild Ones" to find out just whose beautiful throaty, soulful voice I was hearing against the dance beat and vacuous lyrics.

Well, long story short, I have a new musical obsession that I'm going to gently force on you. 

Sia's been recording for more than a decade, but she's recently hit the mainstream for her writing and vocal contributions to dance songs.   (Word is that she's working on songs for Rihanna's next album.)

However, in the last 10 years, she's put out several albums of her own that feature none of the beat-heavy dance tunes that are raising her profile at the moment.  Her best works--in my opinon--are her jazz-influenced, downtempo, and more indie-style songs.

Rather than me ramble on more, let's let Sia do her thing and convince you of her utter amazingness.

"Day Too Soon" from Some People Have REAL Problems (2008)




"Breathe Me" from Colour the Small Ones (2006)




"Soon We'll Be Found" from Some People Have REAL Problems (2008)




"I'm in Here" from We Are Born (2010)




The haunting "My Love" from The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Soundtrack (2010)



And finally, after extolling all the virtues of her non-uber-commercialized work, I have to admit, I do really like her latest collaboration with French DJ/producer extraordinare David Guetta.   Get ready to get your club on!  :)

"She Wolf (Falling to Pieces)" from Nothing But the Beat 2.0 (David Guetta)

Monday Morning Music: The Decemberists

Another installment of Monday Morning Music to kick off the week and this time I'd like to introduce The Decemberists, a folk indie rock group from Portland, Oregon.

Now, they've been around for a decade and have quite a following, so they're hardly a new or obscure group. However, they're relatively new to me as my mom gave me their 2011 album, "The King Is Dead," for my birthday over the summer.

I immediately loved the album as the instrumentation in the songs is just lovely with its old-fashioned sound. And lead singer Colin Meloy's voice, with its hints of plaintiveness, is unique, and pairs perfectly with the stories told in The Decemberists's songs.

So, without further ado, here are The Decemberists:

January Hymn


This Is Why We Fight - Live


Don't Carry It All



And this song is just pure sunshine and makes look forward to summer.

June Hymn - Live


-Erin

Monday Morning Music: Mumford and Sons

An aptly named song for this cold, overcast, and windy day:

Winter Winds by Mumford & Sons


If you enjoyed that song, here are a few more of my favorites from this British folk rock group:

The Cave


Dustbowl Dance


The Banjolin Song


After the Storm


-Erin

Monday Morning Music: Florence + The Machine

It's always nice to start the week with some good music...and I have to say I believe the British group Florence + The Machine more than qualifies.

For consumers of pop culture, F+TM has performed at the MTV Music Awards, on Letterman (not to mention at the Nobel Prize Concert), and has had songs featured on such franchises as Glee and Twilight.  The group is Grammy-nominated and is getting ready to release a new album next month. 

But all this lead-up does absolutely no justice to Florence's voice and the instrumentalists behind her.  The proof is in the pudding. Here, have a listen...




The group's new album, Ceremonials, drops in the U.S. on November 1st and considering how good the debut album, Lungs, was, I can't wait to hear it.  Here's the first single from Ceremonials:



I'm completely infatuated with Florence's voice--the strength, power and rawness of it. Pair that with the expansive, emotional music and...wow...can't get enough of it!

And, c'mon, how cool is it that the band uses a standing harp?



Enjoy!
Erin