Indie Lemonade Mix Playlist on Spotify

 

It's the one thing I love to listen to. New bands and popular bands. Every once in a while, I find something from a completely independent artist and my eyes become aglow, and because these days, artists at all levels now have the ability to create their music and share it with us, even if it can be hard to find, it often times is, and I add what I can find.

Here's my current playlist which I update often. If you like it give it a like and I will make sure to keep finding interesting music to add to it.

You Are Me, I Am You

"There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats." — Albert Schweitzer

There are those who are born into great talent, and who excel and achieve making it to the "big time" with nary an effort. They're just made to be musicians and to share what they do with a world full of eager, listening ears. And through the ages there have been a great many brilliant musical minds who have graced us with their notes and vibes and riffs—beautiful melodies and driving rhythms. The soulful Janis Joplin comes to mind. The genius of Jimi Hendrix is certainly among them. And there are countless others; Michael Jackson, Prince, Elvis Presley, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Chris Cornell, and Kurt Cobain.

There really is not enough room to include everyone.

To that end what I always have said about music in general, whether the music comes from greats or just a guy who decided to start a small band in his garage—to a guy like me who just does it for fun—it does not really matter in the end what the style is. People gravitate to all kinds of sounds, to all kinds of rhythms, to all kinds of melodies.

I do not put myself in any league with any of these greats to be sure. I only illustrate that even among some of the greats there are those who might argue against the talent. No matter.

Musicians, and people in general, do what they do, listen to what they like, and really the brilliance and greatness of the world we live in today is that we get to hear it all. The good, the bad, the great, and the phenomenal.

And we get to share it as well. All of it. The best of it and the worst of it.

Interestingly enough to me is that a site like Bandcamp and Jango tend to be great places for one to share and "try things out." My best received songs have actually been songs I thought would never get any attention at all.

Here is my latest attempt. I hope you like it. It's not great. It's not intended to be. It's just me, the hobby I do, and as I said, I get to share it and let you decide whether it is a thumbs up or a thumbs down.

You Are Me, I Am You by Jim Bauer

YOU ARE ME, I AM YOU
by Jim Bauer
Released May 26, 2017
https://jimbauer.bandcamp.com/track/you-are-me-i-am-you
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CAPO II
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Verse1:
Am                Dm                                                Am
Sittin' on the front porch, and I'm talking to the old man
                            F                                  G                                  Am
He hands me the torch, says walk in my shoes and you'll be all right
                       Dm                                                Am
Said he'd had dark days, and you're gonna have them too
                                 F                              G                                     Am
Take the bull by the horns, says just be a man, do what you gotta do
               Dm                              Am
He was a wise man, I could see was true
                               F                  G                  Am
He said I'm you're dad, you are me, and I am you

Bridge:
F           G          Dm Am   F                        G                    Dm    Am   F
Feeling now that I   re — gret, the days we lost what we might have said

Chorus:
C                G    Dm Am               C    C/B  G
But there's on — ly now, we can make it   up
C                 G    Dm Am                 C     C/B  G
There's still time to fill, to fill this emp — ty   cup
C        G   Dm Am                    C   C/B G
Yesterday is gone, no sense in looking back
C          G    Dm Am              C    C/B  G
Oh, the time is now, to get it back on   track

Verse2:
Am                Dm                                                Am
Sittin' on the front porch, and I'm talking to the old man
                         F                      G                              Am
Says what I've done, no I ain't proud, but it's who I am
                     F                            Am
Said dad it's okay, got me some demons too
                        F                 G                  Am
Said I'm your son, you are me, and I am you
                   F                     G                        Am
You're my dad, I'm you're son, and we are one

BRIDGE AND CHORUSES REPEAT

 

A Little Bit of Wakin On A Pretty Day—Kurt Vile

One of the fun things about music is that it is such a provider of joy and adulation, that to be able to take a song that you love from an artist you admire and somehow make it your own is perhaps one of the most rewarding things about it.

Many of us will find ourselves with a song stuck in our head. We may hum the tune, whistle it while we work, sing along as we drive along the road to wherever we may be headed, and perhaps in the back of our mind the song is ours. We are the rock star.

Of course, I dabble in a little bit of my own original stuff. Certainly my album Pink Flamingoes is an example of that. Just me doing my own thing musically, not caring if there is any real structure to it, and certainly not trying to get rich or famous from it.

Not that that would be a possibility mind you. But there are enough people who enjoy what I do that it makes it all worth it in the end.

But back to songs we love from artists we admire. I have talked much on here about one artist in particular who strikes my fancy, and is always a pleasure to make new discoveries with. That artist would be Kurt Vile, and if you've never had a chance to listen to what he does, you are surely missing out.

One song in particular that I like from him is Pretty Pimpin, and it happens to be...well, pretty pimping.

But there's another song that also made quite an impression on me, enough so that I wanted to try to do that song my own justice. Did I accomplish it? Probably not. But that's not the point. The point is that his song Wakin on a Pretty Day just happened to strike a chord with me, and so I wanted to do a little something with it.

It's fun to sing and it's fun to strum, and so I just had to put my own touch onto it.

Again, did I do it any justice? Probably not. I'm no Kurt Vile, and to an extent I am no musician either. But even more fun is that we live in a time when we can share with the masses whatever we want, and again as well...

There are actually some folks out there who appreciate that. Especially the fans. Often times my own handful of fans will ask me to share some or another cover, and this just happens to be one of them.

Acoustic Version of Baio's Sister of Pearl

I have stated many times in the past that it is the rawness of a lot of music which makes it good. Certainly it is part of the reason I have always preferred acoustic versions of songs—most of the time I find them to be better than the original.

You can absolutely say that about the acoustic version of Imagine Dragon's Radioactive, or even Foster the People's Pumped Up Kicks. These are versions that show the real layers of the song that make them great before the studio effects and syth instruments and other things that make them more pop versions fit for the mainstream are tossed in.

There is another special treat in seeing these acoustic variations, and that is that it also offers the fan—not just of the bands, but of the music itself—an insight into the chemistry of the song writers, and of the song writing and playing process above all else. There is a distinct personal nature to the performances, and one thing I have also said many times in the past is that because music is such a personal thing for many listeners in and of itself, even for the studio versions, acoustic versions of great songs make the entire experience much more personalized. When a song is special to you personally, the song really becomes yours in a way. Certainly any musician can appreciate such a personal connection with what to them is truly personally connected to them.

In the past I wrote about Baio who happens to be the bassist for the alternative rock band Vampire Weekend, and one of his songs which captured my attention. Sister of Pearl. I do like the song, and of course that's why I wrote about it. But every time I have heard it I have always felt something was amiss about it. Perhaps I don't like the extra synthy feel of it, thinking there could have been much more done with it. After all, listening to the studio version of Sister of Pearl you can definitely find a simple song that is also letting you know right off the bat there is more to it than what you hear.

I know that sounds like a silly thing to say when I am about to tell you that the acoustic version is a much better version since it is essentially, while multi-layered, stripped down to its true raw form. But in this version, to my mind, ironically there is quite a bit more depth to the entire song. And for me, this version took a song I like, that I found very pleasant to listen to, and turned it into an amazing song. All of the synthesized parts taken out and replaced by pure acoustic fill gives a glimpse into the real music behind the song that even gave the studio version a chance to be good.

I really wish that the acoustic version of this song was the one that Baio put out first. But then, just like sometimes reading a book makes a great movie even better, spinning an acoustic version of a great song makes it stellar. And in my opinion this is exactly what Baio achieved with this version of Sister of Pearl.

Blue Bedroom Sessions MGMT Electric Feel Acoustic Cover

In following along with my theme here, sometimes when it comes to finding great music and great artists—and let's face it, great cover music—you simply have to turn off the radio. Today is the age of the Internet, self publishing, and the opportunity to share with such a larger number of people what you've got.

Let's take the song, Electric Feel. On its own, this is a great song by the brilliant masterminds of music who call themselves MGMT. The song itself sort of sounds like a combination of an old disco sound coupled with a poppy undertone and something from the 1980's, but with a bit more pizzazz and gusto.

It really is a cool song with a great vibe, great melody, and of course as one would expect, lead singer Andrew VanWyngarden delivers the lyrics masterfully. His voice always seems to manage to take you to another place, which in many ways is what music should do for any listener when the music is good.

But there is another version of this song out there, and if you ask me it is just as good, and dare I say, perhaps even better than the original. Maybe it is because I just like the stripped down versions of music—in other words, turn off all the synths, and break down all the sound effects in the backdrop, and just yank out wood and strings and just play.

Take a song like Foster The People's Pumped Up Kicks acoustic version and you immediately get what I mean. I love the song, but when I listen to it these days, it's the acoustic version I go after most often. It's just better stripped down.

And that's exactly what you get when you go over to Katie van Amerom's YouTube page and find a "Blue Bedroom Session" performance of MGMT's Electric Feel. And it is an amazing performance to say the least. Like I said, in some ways it may actually be better than the original version of this song.

Besides the song being done marvelously, you have to admit that Katie's kind of cute as well, and so even if there is not much going on in the video other than her and her cohorts jamming together in a blue walled bedroom sitting on a rather large bed, it is still a fun video to keep an eye—or both—trained on.

And by the way, Katie's voice is as crystal clear, melodic, and take you to another place as is VanWyngarden's. It's just a marvelous performance through and through.

Since hearing this version of the song I have not had a chance to take a look at some of the other "Blue Bedroom Sessions" or Katie van Amerom for that matter (by the way, it is just a coincidence that both her and VanWyngarden have "van" in their names?), but you can bet it is on my radar and I certainly will eventually.

This video deserves a watch, and certainly Katie and the rest of the crew who accompanied her on this song deserve a huge pat on the back for a job well done, and for masterfully making what is already a great song their own without changing much of the basic structure of the song to get it done.

This is art, folks, plain and simple.

While you're at it, why not check out Jim Bauer's cover video of Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer," which is also an acoustic version. Not nearly as masterful in any way as the Blue Bedroom Sessions or Katie van Amerom for that matter, but a fun listen in any event—according to a very small group of people. But growing? Who knows. All I can say, and all I know, is that regardless of any "accomplishment" on the song, I had fun doing it. Although I was sitting in a chair rather than lying on my bed.

Kurt Vile: Performer or Artist?

Of course, I have written about Kurt Vile's song, Pretty Pimpin' before. I did so because I like the vibe of it, and of course there's that very catchy finger picking pattern which embodies the entire song.

And it is difficult to play. Or it can be.

From time to time I do a cover here and there outside of playing around with my own music. And this song has given me a bit of trouble—although I haven't spent a lot of time trying to practice it. In any event, most of the time when I do a cover I try to put my own slant on it anyway. I think that's the creative side of me. Or at least that's what I like to try to tell myself.

Perhaps it's just a guise for the fact that I am not all that great of a guitar player. Or if I like to tease myself I can always just simply say I'm like Jimi Hendrix who was known as an improvisational guitar player. That is, Jimi Hendrix never played his own music the same way twice. When he performed one of his songs he improvised. Of course he was still in keeping with the basic structure and nature of whatever song he was playing. But if you listened to three performances of say, All Along The Watchtower back to back against the studio recording, to the trained ear (and perhaps even to the untrained ear) you'd notice very subtle but notable differences in how each of the signature riffs and basis melodies are played.

When I think of Kurt Vile, who is an amazing songwriter by the way, I am always reminded of the pure essence of what makes indie music so great. It is always about the trueness of the music, and the raw, low-fi nature of it all. If you want perfection, which is really just computer generated perfection these days by the way, all you have to do is turn on your radio and you'll find plenty of that to go around. Indie music strives for something else, and quite frankly what the result of that is may not be perfection as it is commonly defined. But it is perfection nonetheless in and of itself.

The reason I bring this up is because of that very song which so captured my attention and made me a fan of the music of Kurt Vile, and a YouTube video of a live performance of this song which did not seem to go all too well for him. I've seen other "live" videos of performances of this song, but few of which appear to be, well, let's just go ahead and say it.

Live.

There is one that stands out for me which he did for a KEXP Live Event which is clearly played live with his backing band. Perhaps by the time he did this performance he had been more practiced on the song. It's a great performance by the way, and of this song probably one of the best live performances of it that I have seen.

Flawless?

Nope. There are noticeable misses and pauses when it comes to Kurt's parts. But as I said before, perfection is something achieved in the studio. It's not necessarily the heart of indie music, and when it comes to performances I much prefer to hear subtle differences in the live version of a song than total perfection. It makes that performance unique and special in its own right. And it also does something else for me and for the avid listener of indie music.

It makes the performer real.

Kurt Vile has said in interviews that he wants his music to sound like a guy who is sitting at home on his couch just playing around on his guitar. And when you think of great performances that is exactly what you get from it.

Remember that amazing performance by Aaron Lewis doing the Pearl Jam song, Black? It's as raw as can be, certainly perfection, but not perfect. What Aaron Lewis did with this song was to make it his own, and seems most of the time I hear this song played on the radio it happens to be his version which gets played the most.

There's a reason for this.

So, the Kurt Vile performance of Pretty Pimpin' on YouTube he did for 909 Studio is tough for some to swallow if you read through some of the comments. The timing is off, the singing is off, and of course he more than misses a couple of changes throughout the song. The word struggling certainly comes to mind of this performance.

But, does that matter when all is said and done? I don't think so because of exactly what I said earlier about perfection, and when you consider that Kurt Vile is an artist before he is a performer, and when it comes to indie music I think that's all you really need to worry about being.

Let's be real in talking about music in general, shall we? You can think back to great songwriters like Neil Young or Bob Dylan for example. Neil could barely sing if I am being real here, but he wrote great songs that not only were easy to listen to even if Young was often times singing off key, but that one could identify with on a level entirely separate from what was heard on the radio.

You felt like Neil was sitting right in your own living room, perhaps on your couch, just doing his thing, playing his music...

For you. Just for you.

A live performance by Neil Young to this day captures scores of fans to rush to buy tickets, and he can still fill an auditorium despite his lack of perfection in a performance. Because when you go to see Neil Young perform what you get from it is the distinct feeling that no one else is around you in the concert hall. It's just you, perhaps a couple of friends, and Neil Young. You feel like the performance is a personal one, tailor made just for you. And that's what music should be. That's what performing live should be. Raw. Imperfect. But yet, perfect.

And when it comes to anything creative, it is easy to be a critic. It is easy to find fault in whatever you can find. And people do. People often do. I don't take away the same thoughts on any performance, and I spend a lot of time listening to other indie bands, and as well, some of the very real and raw talent that exists in the underground music world that largely exists these days on places like YouTube.

There are covers galore, and most of them while not perfect, are absolutely amazing things to listen to despite any lack of perfection in the performance.

Regarding the performance of Kurt Vile's Pretty Pimpin' I also wonder when he did this performance, how many times had be actually played it live before?

I said before that I also write my own music. But I have never played any of them live. And even after I write them and record them, I almost never play them again with some exception. I have played Pink Flamingoes many times. I have played 102 Idle Stones a few times, but not necessarily ever in their entirety. Could I play any of my songs live? Sure. If I practiced them for the intent to play live I could.

But again when it comes to any indie music, when it comes to any indie artist, let's keep that word in mind as we listen and enjoy the art. Artist. Great songs are created not out of entirely their performance, but in their creation. And when it comes to music in general, there is also that thought that making music and songs is simply good fun. In the case of indie music in general, the music is for the artist who wants to create and share, but it's not necessarily for the love of fame or money. It's not pop music which is frankly generic and churned out to act like an ATM machine for the writers, singers, and music executives that put it out. Taylor Swift is nice. So is Maroon 5. But when you listen to songs from these artists it's not as special or as unique as what you get from indie artists like Kurt Vile. Like Belle and Sebastian. Like MGMT. It's not the same kind of vibe in any live performance as you got when you went to a Neil Young concert, or went to sit down and listen to Aaron Lewis play Black. And it's not the same vibe as those who sat down to listen to Kurt Vile struggle through his own song Pretty Pimpin' during the 909 Studio event.

Did he have fun? I think he did. Is Kurt Vile having fun in his career as a musician? I think he is. Just like I had fun putting together my own Pink Flamingoes album or releasing my current single, All You Are. Or the fun I had recording my own version of a Peter Gabriel song Sledgehammer which I also did a little video for.

Personally I am happy that we have anything from Kurt Vile out there for us to enjoy. And again, while I have never performed live, nor have I ever jammed with a backing band, if I could do it, Kurt Vile would be an interesting guy to sit down with and talk music, and maybe even do a collaboration with.

At the end of the day I don't care whether or not Kurt Vile is a perfect performer. He's as real as anyone can be. He's true to himself and his music. He's got the guts to go out there and play it, and I frankly don't think he cares if it is perfect. It's his. It's genuine. It's not spoon fed computer generated garbage. It's raw. It is, without getting overly redundant here, the real deal pure and simple. It's music the way it was intended to be.

Kurt Vile may not be a perfect performer. But there is no denying he is an artist.

Lyrics of All You Are by Jim Bauer

All You Are

Words and music by: Jim Bauer

Recorded: August 2016

Released: August 2016

Album: Released as a single

Lyrics:

           All that you are

           All that you fear inside

           Lurks in a place you can't hide

           All that you bare

           Burdens of sorrow you yield

           There's nothing to touch that is real

           Hold onto your life

           And there'll be tears to fall

           Like you've lost an old friend

           Wait for the pain to fade away

           If you fall, this won't be the end

           All you are is what you are

           There is nothing I'm to fear

           If I don't run, if I stand

           I won't fade away

           All that you are

           All that you wanted to be

           Lurks in a place you can't see

           All that you are

           The burdens of sorrow you yield

           Nothing to touch that is real

           Hold onto your life

           And there'll be tears to fall

           Like you've lost an old friend

           Wait for the pain to fade away

           If you fall, this won't be the end

           All you are is what you are

           There is nothing I'm to fear

           If I don't run, if I stand

           I won't fade away (x2 to fade out)

Jim Bauer on Jango Music

Buy "All You Are" on iTunes

Stream "All You Are" on Apple iTunes Music

Buy the album "Pink Flamingoes" by Jim Bauer (iTunes)

Stream the album "Pink Flamingoes" by Jim Bauer (Apple iTunes Music)

Official Music Video, "All You Are" on YouTube:

Jim Bauer does a cover of the 1980's hit song by Peter Gabriel, "Sledgehammer." Recorded August 2016.

"All You Are" by Jim Bauer available at the following music outlets: iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Play, Deezer, Groove, Rhapsody, eMusic, Simfy Africa, iHeartRadio, MediaNet, VerveLife, Tidal, Gracenote, Shazam, 7Digital, Juke, Slacker, Guvera, KKBox, Akazoo, Anghami, Spinlet, Neurotic Media, Yandex, Target Music, ClaroMusica, Zvooq, Saavn, 8tracks, NMusic, Q.Sic, Cur, Musicload, and Kuack