The song is a mashup of Incubus’ Warning and Green Day’s Brain Stew and it is pieced together brilliantly.  It helps that they are both songs that I greatly enjoyed even before this fusion.  In addition to a number of artful covers and mashups, you can find a number of original songs of his (both lyrical and instrumental) on YouTube and much of it can also be purchased on iTunes.

So now after two weeks, anytime I’m listening to music, it is either something by Pomplamoose, Nataly Dawn, or Jack Conte (eventually I’ll move on, but what’s the hurry).  Hopefully some of you are also finding their music enjoyable (either through my introduction or your own musical discoveries).

I’m always seeking new music to listen to.  While my wife is also very musically oriented, she has not pursued it as fervently as I tend to recently, so it was a welcome surprise last week when she turned me on to a new artist.  Before last weekend, Pomplamoose was no more than the French word for grapefruit (albeit a somewhat phonetically spelled version of the word).  It started with her playing the video for this quirky cover of Beyoncé’s “All the Single Ladies”.  After only a few iterations of it and hearing a few other covers, I found myself spending some downtime at work the following Monday investigating some more of their music including their originals.  By the next day I had purchased and downloaded every track I could find from the band as well as some of the singer’s solo tracks.  And for the rest of the week I listened to little else.

Pomplamoose’s sound is very indie, with Nataly Dawn’s vocals being very earthy and reminiscent of Beth Orton, and Jack Conte’s arrangements being very eclectic (including elements such as toy xylophones, triangles, and facial percussion).  But there is also a solid sense of a polished product – while the videos present a sense that all of their songs are recorded in an apartment, the sound is well produced and complete (even in the seemingly purposefully included snafus and antics).

Their covers include some original instrumental interpretations that make the songs their own and their originals are solid arrangements on their own.  I love the coy message in “If You Think You Need Some Lovin“, the subtle metaphors in “Expiration Date” (I especially like the line “when did you start complimenting in past and future tense”).  And while it could be argued that their video style seems single-threaded, Nataly’s near constant half-smile and Jack’s unique instrumentation and video antics make them all very watchable.

That being said, I encourage you to watch them all.  If you like what you hear, I also encourage you to patronize them as well.  While I don’t necessarily support the nature of the RIAA machine, I do fully believe in supporting real musicians that are trying to make a living.  I hope you at least enjoy a listen – currently it seems that their cover of Lady Gaga’s “Telephone” is at the top of the YouTube playlist, which I enjoy listening to more than anything actually by Lady Gaga herself.

After browsing the selection and playing a round of each of the games they have on their demo systems, my son and I turn to see his sister having put a Rock Band guitar strap over her head getting ready to play it (mind you, she has never actually played any such games – she is only 5).  She gets her hands in position and shouts to the audience of the store “I’m bringin’ the THUNDER!”

Being her 3-year-old little brother, Grasshopper had to follow suit by getting his own guitar and repeating the phrase as best he could remember it.  In hindsight, I’m glad we had gone to the stores in the order that we did, because that was a better finale to the evening than the typical ‘don’t touch that’-fest that any trip the the pet store always becomes.  This event easily washed all of that away.

To get to the point, one song that is on one of the CDs they listen to often in the family car, which also happens to be one of my ringtones on my phone (I like the introductory guitar sequence) is “Psycho” by Puddle of Mudd.  Often when it comes on in the car, my 2-year-old son will joke that I should answer my phone.  The other day, though, he had my wife in tears as he is singing it to himself without the song on to back him up as his interpretation of the chorus is “baby I’m a wow” (with significant twang on the word ‘wow’) – for those unfamiliar, the actual line goes “maybe I’m the one”.

Here is a video for the song (unfortunately I don’t have video of my son belting out his version):  Psycho – Puddle of Mudd

In honor of the late King of Pop, here are five songs that I can appreciate of his (in no particular order):

1. Billy Jean – Back in the day, this is the song that stood out among his popular hits. I enjoyed Beat It and P.Y.T. as well, but this one (though I didn’t really get it at the age of moved me more than any of his other works at the time.
2. Thriller – this was a classic. While most artists were trying to come up with videos to showcase their music, Michael wrote this song with the video in mind from the beginning. I’m not even sure what the message of the song is or if there really is one, but the visuals it stirs are vivid and clear (and obviously a bit spooky).
3. Smooth Criminal – I have to admit, I never really knew or appreciated this song until Alien Ant Farm remade it recently. But having heard their version, I have a better appreciation for this song in general.
4. The Way You Make Me Feel – ok, this one is a little hokey. But being 12 at the time, it had a feel-good sound I could appreciate.
5. ABC – a Jackson 5 throwback (apparently actually before my time), this song just has pep and a fun sound to it. It stands up well, as far as pop songs are concerned.