Tuneage ~ You Bred Raptors?

You Bred Raptors? pump up the Poe-jam.

Folks, for this "Tuneage" blog post, I'm not asking y'all a question, but telling you about these terrific New York City instrumentalists whose name is already appropriately phrased to pose the question to a Jeopardy answer. (OK, you'd have to preface it with, "Who are..." but the upspeak inflection's already there, which was generous of them to provide.)

You Bred Raptors? are a trio of modern-day minstrels and dinosaur aficionados, with a long-standing tradition of playing in NYC's finest subway stations. Jamming on drums, cello, and an electric 8-string bass (woof! ), these guys compel large groups of cynical and tired New Yorkers to slow down on their treks from one train to the next so they can bathe in YBR's funky goodness. (Um...you know what I mean.) More impressively, they manage to charm us out of our hard-earned coin, which is no mean feat when it comes to all us jaded straphangers.

I told the story of how I "discovered" You Bred Raptors? on my friend Ja's online radio show back in April - you can listen to that broadcast for free and snicker at my dorky voice by clicking here and selecting the play button, comme ça:

I felt a bit awkward during my portion of the interview because I was having some phone issues that night and missed bits and pieces of what was said (and wound up repeating some of Mr. Andlu's words, at one point). BUT, on the bright side, I did manage to coherently give props to the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, in which I was engaged at the time, so YAY, ME! Again, click here to listen to the interview with Epileptic Peat (founder of the band and ass-kicking bass player) and my own fine self, but be advised the interview happened on 4/20, a huge day for fans of the MaryJane (or so I'm told). Pot references, as well as other adult themes and language, abound. (Some of the naughtiness escaped from my own lips, but 'twas elegantly uttered, if I do say so myself.)

If the above isn't your bag, here's a summary of how I "met" YBR?: last November, I went to see a charitable production by The Bedlam Ensemble. They staged and choreographed dances to some stories and poems by one of my favorite authors, Edgar A. Poe. You Bred Raptors? were the band for the show (I took that pic up top on my craptastic cellphone-camera that night). With their masks (which they regularly use when they play), they perfectly accompanied the enactment of The Cask of Amontillado (during which the actors made us audience members get up and dance, so as to be part of the Carnival feel). It was a fantastic show and, thanks to the talented ensemble and music by YBR, a gorgeous night.

So if you're yearning for some new tunes to boogie, think, or just bob your head to, do check out the You Bred Raptors? Web site - it's totally worth the click! (Plus, I think you save a baby Velociraptor if you do. Won't someone please think of the baby Velociraptors???.)

Explicit language/themes in video, below. Just sayin'.

The Dark Romance of S...

Red text below = linked text. Click to check stuff out!

Ohmigosh, y'all - "S" was a difficult letter! Not because of a dearth of love/sex/dark songs starting with it, but because there were TOO MANY and I had a devil of a time narrowing it down to three! But the three below are the ones that felt right, so here you go:

Sex (I'm A...)* ~ Berlin

(*Suggestive lyrics and video, may not be safe for work)

I was going to say this song's about role-playing games between two lovers but realized that, though the chick goes through various personas (she's a hooker, she's a geisha, she's a goddess, yadda yadda), the dude's only ever a *man* (which is nice and all, but seems a bit lazy, on his part). But whatevs - it's a sensual celebration of sexual exploration, so rock on.

Smack Me Around* ~ Trike

(*Explicit lyrics, video is not safe for work)

This video enters a deeper, somewhat darker realm than the Berlin tune did; namely, that of BDSM (the preceding link contains images some may find disturbing). But, but, BUT(T)! - don't freak out, as it's a whimsical (sorta) take on the lifestyle. The song itself is a lot of fun, with lyrics that seem to be headed in one particular direction but then cleverly veer off into unexpected realms. Also, it's catchy as hell - first time I heard it I couldn't get it out of my head and went around singing "Smack me around!" constantly (which earned me some funny looks on line at the grocery store).***

Shut Your Eyes ~ Snow Patrol

Breathe easy, Dear Readers - there's neither a jot nor a tittle of kink in this song. What you get is a sweet, romantic, soothing alt rock ballad-type tune you can turn to "...when the worrying starts to hurt..."  ::sighs::

***I learned about the Trike song on one of my friend Ja's online radio shows (there's JaAndLu Underground and JaAndLu Super Show, which both air on Fridays, though one significantly later than the other. They are also both LIVE radio with lotsa talk, quite a bit of which is profane, so don't tune in if you don't cotton to cussing).