digitalcitrus.com

Israel Kamakawiwoole
“Somewhere Over the rainbow & What a wonderful world”

This week is all about cover songs that I’ve liked over the years. We start out on one of my favorites. “Somewhere Over The Rainbow / What A Wonderful World” by Israel “Bruddah Iz” Kamakawiwo’ole. He was called “The gentle Giant” by his friends in Hawa’i. I first heard this song in the movie Raising Arizona. That was a long time ago.

Here is a youtube video of the performance.

Carly Comando
“Everyday”

Listening to this, one would find it hard to believe that the artist sucked at sightreading. Carly admits cheating her way through piano lessons because she has perfect pitch. She says she writes off the top of her head.

If you’re an avid youtuber, you’re probably asking yourself “Where have I heard this from? It’s familiar!”.
That’s because its from This youtube video made by Noah.

The video encompasses photos from
January 11, 2000 - July 31, 2006. 2,356 Days. A work in progress.

Gary Jules
“Falling Awake”

I first heard Gary’s music while watching Donnie Darko. I keep coming back to this song every couple of weeks — It was time to finally post it. Check out Gary Jules’ website. On second thought, don’t go to his website. He doesn’t really update it.

Josh Fix
“Pretty Things (Always break your heart)”

I love the composition and the melody in this song. Josh is coming out with another CD this year. Be sure to check him out.

Jackson Browne
“The Pretender”

Browne’s first wife, Phyllis, committed suicide in the spring of 1976. During that time, he wrote the album “The Pretender”. The record climbed into the Top 10 upon its fall 1976 release, going platinum in the spring of 1977.

This song is about a man who gives up his dreams and lives a life of routine monotony in order to accumulate money. He is the pretender.

This recording is from a live performance Jackson gave in 2005. It’s simply stunning.

Colbie Caillat
“Bubbly”

This song makes me happy. Today is Monday. It’s spring.

I don’t know too much about Colbie, but I do know I like this song. I’m not sure if she has a CD, but she needs one.
Check her out on her myspace page. She’s apparently pretty popular around here.

Update: She’s so popular, I got a DMCA notice and an email from the RIAA. For this reason, I am removing the track, until the copyright holder grants me explicit right to post this song:

Dear Mr. Gulledge:

I am contacting you on behalf of the Recording Industry Association of America, Inc. (RIAA). The RIAA is a trade association whose member companies create, manufacture and distribute approximately ninety (90) percent of all legitimate sound recordings sold in the United States.

It has come to our attention that your website, http://www.digitalcitrus.com/, is offering a sound recording by the artist known as Colbie Caillat, which has not yet been commercially released. This recording is owned by one of our member companies and has not been authorized for this kind of use. We request that you immediately stop offering this unlicensed sound recording.

You should understand that this letter constitutes notice to you that you may be liable for the infringement of our member’s recordings. This letter does not constitute a waiver of any right to recover damages incurred by virtue of any such unauthorized activities, and such rights as well as claims for other relief are expressly retained.

We await your immediate confirmation that you have removed the infringing sound recording from your site. We may be contacted at RIAA, 1025 F Street N.W., 10th Floor, Washington, D.C., 20004, Tel. (202) 775-0101, or e-mail antipiracy@riaa.com.

Sincerely,

Traci Crippen

Online Anti-Piracy

RIAA

Fear not, You can still hear this song on her myspace (linked above) or download it from here (at a higher bitrate, even): http://www.purevolume.com/colbiecaillat.

I believe she posted it herself, so I don’t think this song will be going anywhere =)
Download it while you can!!

UPDATE!: 08/08/2007 Colbie’s online marketing agency sent me mp3s and CD’s and other promotional material and said I could post this online again!

Colin Hay
“Waiting for my Real Life to Begin”

I was a fan when I first heard Men at Work when I was a kid. Knowing that Colin hasn’t stopped writing makes my heart feel warm.
His music has been featured all over the place. Most recently on scrubs, the T.V. show.

If you like this, listen to his “Beautiful World”, “I Just Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You” and “Water Song”.
It’ll make your day, I promise.

Justin King
“Your Black Hair”

I’m not sure what this song’s title really is. I can’t seem to find any mention of it in any form. If you know, please do tell me. I’m told from a very reliable source that the name of this song is “Your Black Hair”.

What I do know is that Justin King is an amazing guitarist. If you don’t believe me, check out this video. (tip: skip ahead to the 45 second mark)

His skills on the guitar are undeniable.

A friend of mine (Casey) asked me about a song I had once sent her — this song — just as I was looking for a song to post today. It was reason enough to stop looking for a song. Serendipity was working overtime.

Enjoy!

The Red West
“Twenty-One”

I saw The Red West perform a few years ago. They were the opening band, but didn’t sound like an opener. Their performance was amazing. This song, “Twenty-One” is a pretty good single. If you like this song, you should listen to “Starting Over”. Good luck finding it though. I’ve got a rare (I guess) recording of it. Let me know if you’re really interested in finding it.

These guys hail from Southern California. They’ve opened for Dave Matthews Band, among others. I like the vocals. What more can I say. Give them a shot.

A.J. Croce
“All About You”

Today I feature A.J. (Adrian James) Croce. Yes, A.J. is Jim Croce’s son.

When I was a kid I idolized everything about my dad — especially his music. I wouldn’t know who Jim Croce is without his influence on my musical tastes. That’s why when I saw AJ was making music, I needed to check it out. Some of AJ’s music reminds me of Tom Waits. He has a way-older-than-his-years voice that I really like. It’s not terribly evident in this song, but check out “Trouble in Mind”. You’ll really get a taste of his Waits-like scratchiness. Most of his songs include either a guitar or a piano.