Music for Monday

Published 11:41 am Monday, August 31, 2009

Sometimes all it takes to get your week off to a good start is the right song. So let’s put this blog on “shuffle” and see what comes up:

• Find something new with the TuneGlue audiomap. Just type in the name of a band, then click on the dot that appears. If you choose “Expand,” more dots will appear, each with the name of a band similar in sound or style to the original. For instance, if you type in “Coldplay,” it will add dots for Snow Patrol, Travis, Oasis, Kean, The Killers and The Fray. You can look at each band’s releases and hit “Expand” again to branch out even farther. You can even grab the dots and drag them all over the screen, or lock them in place. I could continue to attempt to describe this, but it will be far less fun for you than just playing with it yourself.
• Another way to find something new: Hop over to The Oregonian’s music blog and check out the Song of the Day feature, which is written by a friend of mine. Today’s pick is “My Boys,” a cover by Taken by Trees. Previous choices include songs by Geoff Byrd, Belle and Sebastian, The Decemberists, and The Flaming Lips.
• For kicks, check out Ear Farm’s list of Music’s 10 Greatest Harrys. You can listen to a song by each one; you may, like me, also learn that Bing Crosby’s real name was Harry.
• Finally, for a little pick-me-up, you should watch the video for OK Go’s “Here It Goes Again,” one of my favorite music videos. It doesn’t matter if you don’t listen to OK Go or don’t even know who they are. All that matters is that the entire video takes place with the band performing a variety of antics on treadmills.

One more thing: Got a favorite song to get you through a Monday? We’d love to hear about it in the comments.