"Grey" Songs

Here we have a lovely collection of songs about the color "Grey" (or "Gray," depending on whom you ask). Why, you might ask? Aside from the fact that it's one of my most favorite colors, there also happen to be quite a few good songs with that color in their titles. And I wanted them all in one place for safekeeping. Good enough reason? Great! Now enjoy 'em already!  ~  JH

1)  Damien Rice & Lisa Hannigan  ~  "Grey Room"

2)  Katzenjammer  ~  "Lady Grey"

3)  Marion Raven  ~  "Colors Turn To Grey"

4)  Nickel Creek  ~  "Green And Grey"

5)  Ani DiFranco  ~  "Grey"

6)  Bee Gees  ~  "The Battle Of The Blue And The Grey"  (I didn't know these guys started performing when they were still kids! Neither did I know that footage of their earliest history still existed.)

7)  Dave Matthews Band  ~  "Grey Street"

8)  Gary Moore  ~  "Long Grey Mare"

9)  Suzanne Vega  ~  "Song In Red And Grey"

10)  Elton John  ~  "Grey Seal"

11)  Delilah  ~  "Shades Of Grey"

12)  AFI  ~  "Girl's Not Grey"

13)  Jesca Hoop  ~  "Storms Make Grey The Sea"

14)  EXES  ~  "Grey"

15)  Jewel  ~  "Grey Matter"

16)  Southern Culture On The Skids  ~  "Grey Skies"

17)  Joni Mitchell  ~  "Two Grey Rooms"

18)  Oingo Boingo  ~  "Grey Matter"

19)  Live  ~  "The Beauty Of Gray"

20)  Rufus Wainwright  ~  "Grey Gardens"

21)  Grateful Dead  ~  "Touch Of Grey"

22)  Justin Nozuka  ~  "Gray"

23)  Billy Joel  ~  "Shades Of Grey"

24)  Bruce Hornsby  ~  "Fields Of Gray"

25)  BarlowGirl  ~  "Grey"

20 Different Versions Of “Carol Of The Bells”

It's that time of year again...when I drag out a classic Christmas song we all know and love and find a number of different versions of it and gather them all in one place. (Hint: Right here.) And the key word is "different." Herein you'll find the song rendered by human voices alone, you'll hear full orchestra, mass choir, hip-hop, dubstep, metal core, boys' choir, and alternative versions, just to name a few. I dare ya to listen! Oh, and enjoy!  ~  JH

1)  Pentatonix  (Gorgeously intricate rendition by the current kings [and queen] of a cappella.)

2)  Trans-Siberian Orchestra  (Actual title: “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24”)  (Classic orchestral/heavy metal medley of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and this particular carol.)

3)  Family Force 5  (I don’t even know how to describe this one. Weird? Terrible? Inventive? Slightly off? Perhaps it’s all of the above.)

4)  BarlowGirl  (One of my favorite “girl groups” sings one of my favorite carols in a medley with “Sing We Now Of Christmas.” Breathtakingly beautiful!)

5)  DeStorm Power   (There just *had to* be a hip-hop version of this song out there somewhere, right? Yup. And this is it.)

6)  Capital Kings  (And a dubstep version, apparently.)

7)  August Burns Red  (Then there’s the metalcore rendition that you’ve all been waiting for. No? Well, maybe you should listen anyway. It’s rather awesome!)

8)  Celtic Woman  (It almost seems like the song was written for them to sing. Great stuff!)

9)  Sesame Street Cast ft. Jennifer Hudson  (A Dreamgirl and Muppets. What else is there to say?)

10)  David Hicken  (Never heard of this guy before, but he tickles the ivories quite adeptly.)

11)  Straight No Chaser  (Because we needed a more traditional a cappella version of the song, I suppose.)

12)  Mormon Tabernacle Choir  (And a mass choir with handbells version, of course.)

13)  Libera  (Something about a choir of boys dressed like wingless angels just screams Christmas! And weird. It most definitely also screams weird.)

14)  The Piano Guys  (Like the TSO song above, this is a medley of “Carol” and “God Rest Ye.” I dunno why he calls himself “The Piano Guys,” but he sure can play a mean cello!)

15)  Jessica Simpson  (This is what happens when a singer of generally vapid pop songs bothers to actually record “real” music. She should do so more often.)

16)  Fallulah  (Slower, darker, and vaguely menacing. Definitely different. In other words, I like it.)

17)  Kenny G  (Medley of “Carol” and “We Three Kings.” Leave it to a saxophonist to provide a breath of fresh air to an oft-recorded tune. Pun fully  intended. And fully awful.)

18)  Josh Wilson  (I’ve seen this guy work his magic in concert. This may sound like the work of a full band, but I’ll bet you he played nearly every note and instrument you hear all by himself.)

19)  The Calling  (To all these other renditions, I add this post-grunge/alternative rock offering. You’re welcome?)

20)  Richard Carpenter  (The only thing this one’s missing is Richard’s sister Karen’s velvety vocals. One thing it could do without is all the cheesiness. But I guess it was the '70s...so there ya go!)

“Ending” Songs, Vol. 2

Now we've finally reached the "Ending." This has been a fun six-part series for me. Hope you have enjoyed it, too!  ~  JH

1)  MIKA  ~  “Happy Ending”

2)  BarlowGirl  ~  “Beautiful Ending”

3)  Ben Lee  ~  “Love Me Like The World Is Ending”

4)  Death Cab For Cutie  ~  “A Movie Script Ending”

5)  Avril Lavigne  ~  “My Happy Ending”

6)  Admiral Radley  ~  “Ending Of Me”

7)  The Eternal  ~  “Means For An Ending”

8)  Joe Jackson & Elaine Caswell  ~  “Happy Ending”

9)  Matt and Kim  ~  “World Is Ending”

10)  Sevenview  ~  “Storybook Ending”

11)  Marksman Lloyd  ~  “Rewrite The Ending”

12)  CHVRCHES  ~  “Never Ending Circles”

13)  Too Close To Touch  ~  “Nerve Endings”

14)  David Wilcox  ~  “Start With The Ending”

15)  Silversun Pickups  ~  “Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings)”

Same Name, Different Song: Vol. 4

I warned you a couple of weeks ago that there may be more of these posts, which feature completely different songs sharing the same song titles. And here they are! As before, I encourage your input as to which of the two songs (or three, in a couple of cases here) you prefer. If you like these kinds of posts, you're in luck – I'm already working on Vol. 5! If you hate these kinds of posts, well, you'll probably hate the ones to come as well. Enjoy?  ~  JH

1)  "Blue Skies"

Jamiroquai

vs.

Bing Crosby

2)  "Never Alone"

BarlowGirl

vs.

Jim Brickman ft. Lady Antebellum

3)  "Bye Bye Love"

The Cars

vs.

The Everly Brothers

4)  "Chain Reaction"

Diana Ross ft. Bee Gees

vs.

Journey

5)  "Cherish"

The Association

vs.

Kool & The Gang

vs.

Madonna

6)  "Clumsy"

Fergie

vs.

Our Lady Peace

7)  "Closer"

Corinne Bailey Rae

vs.

Kings Of Leon

8)  "Creep"

Radiohead

vs.

TLC

vs.

Stone Temple Pilots

9)  "Crush"

Jennifer Paige

vs.

Dave Matthews Band

10)  "Heaven"

Bryan Adams

vs.

Los Lonely Boys