Paul McCartney’s Seven Best Beatle Ballads

On: By: admin

Paul McCartney wasn’t (and isn’t) just a balladeer. He’s written all kinds of different types of songs (“Helter Skelter” for an obvious example) and he’s a brilliant bassist and song arranger. But there’s a reason he’s so well known for his ballads. He was (and still is) an incredibly gifted composer of ballads. These are his seven greatest ballads with The Beatles in alphabetical order.

“And I Love Her” – This song from 1964’s A Hard Day’s Night foreshadowed the rest of the songs on this list.

“Blackbird” – Ah, The White Album. The best album ever. I still remember the first time I ever heard this song. I was listening to The White Album for the first time and when I got to “Blackbird” I actually stopped the album and played this song again. I just had to hear it again, right away. I was that blown away by it. Today I still think it’s just as great.

“Here, There, & Everywhere” – I’ve heard McCartney say this is his favorite of all of the songs he has written. If you haven’t heard this yet then you must buy Revolver right now and check it out. It’s a stunning song.

“Hey Jude” – Possibly my favorite song ever. It’s a beautiful and moving song that still resonates just as much today as it did in 1968.

“I Will” – Another White Album treasure. Beautiful melody. Just a perfect song and it’s not even two minutes long. That’s one of the things I love about The Beatles songs, they didn’t stretch them out to make them artificially “epic.” If a song was best suited to be less than 2 minutes then that’s how they left it.

“Let It Be” – One of The Beatles most enduring songs. Also due credit must go to George Harrison for his great guitar solo.

“Yesterday” – Sure it’s overplayed. But there’s a reason for that. It’s an absolutely timeless song. And many people forget that at the time of it’s release it was actually not as “safe” as it sounds today. This was the first time a rock group used strings in a song in this way. As always The Beatles were innovators.

Content Marketing: 9 Steps to Successfully Market Your Business With Content

On: By: admin

One big barrier to getting sales is not creating enough of the right content on a consistent basis, to help your target audience understand why they should hire you.

Content marketing has been shown to be one of the most effective methods of growing audience engagement, developing your brand presence, and driving sales.

Why is content marketing important?

When you don’t share content regularly, your audience can either forget about you, or not put their trust in you—or both.

According to Hubspot.com…

“Content marketing is important because it answers your audience’s questions. With content marketing, you can build trust with your audience, improve conversions, connect with your customers, and generate leads. Additionally, in today’s age, customers expect high-quality, consistent content from their favorite brands… Consistent, high-quality, and engaging content impacts audience decision-making more than any other technique.“

Content is how you do that and so many coaches lack the focus necessary to create and plan out content strategically.

Content marketing is absolutely vital, but if you don’t have a system for creating it, you’re wasting your time. So, here’s something that may help—nine steps on how to create content for your business.

Step 1- Commit to Regular Content Creation: You need to commit to creating content regularly. That’s because, if you want to be viewed as an expert, you need to be showing up like clockwork. Also because search engines like to see content produced on a regular basis. So, consistently produced content is key.

But, in order to do that, you will first need to decide what kinds and forms of content you want to create—based on the needs of your target market.

Step 2- List Your Promotions: Decide on what you will be launching and/or promoting in the next 6-12 months, and when you will promote them, so you can plan out the big events first. Space them out so it doesn’t look like you’re promoting too often, or back to back. Then add smaller promos such as existing products/programs, other people’s affiliate products, and lead magnets.

Step 3- Market Research: In order to be found through the search engines, your content always needs to use keywords that pertain to your niche. Find out what your target market is searching for by using common sense. What keywords and phrases would you search for to find you? Then create a list of these keywords and phrases to be used in your content. You can also take those keywords and plug them into a keyword or search tool to find other related keywords and phrases that people are using. Google, for instance, does this at the bottom of its search pages, under the heading “People Also Ask… “.

Other market research to find out what content your audience is engaging with, includes looking at: trends in your industry, popular blog posts, videos, podcasts and best-selling, related books, on your niche topics. You can also visit forums and online groups based on your topic to see what people are discussing regarding your topic, and what words they are using.

Step 4- Create an Idea Bank: From your research, you’ll have a much better sense of which topics will be most interesting and compelling for your audience. You can now collect your ideas into an “idea bank.” This can act as a repository for content ideas that you can pull from well into the future. But, since content creation is ongoing, resupplying your idea bank should also be ongoing. Some of your ideas can come from the topics discussed in forums, questions that people ask, keyword phrases they are using, and excerpts from your own products.

Step 5- Choose a Calendar: Find a calendar that fits your needs (there are many free ones online). Use it to designate which topics you will use for the next 6-12 months. This may seem like the easiest step, but in fact it can be the hardest. That’s because you have to integrate content topics with your projected events, launches, promotions—and, all the while, keeping in mind what will get the best bang for your buck in terms of using your content to build your audience and make sales.

Step 6- Schedule Creation Time: Now that you have your content topics, the next step is to schedule time on your to-do calendar to actually create the content. Designate regular blocks of time to write your content. How often, and how much time per block, will depend on whether you want to do it weekly, monthly, or quarterly.

For example, say you decide to post one piece of content per month, and you want to do the work on it quarterly. You know from experience that it takes about 2 hours to create one piece of (monthly) content. Then every 90 days, you’ll need to schedule out 6 hours of time to create your content for that quarter. You may be the sort that wants to schedule doing it all at once—like a day or weekend—or, maybe, in blocks of two hours, 3 days in a row. Or, you may feel more comfortable spreading it out more. Whatever works for you!

Step 7- Produce Your Content: Use your scheduled time to produce your content for at least the next 30-90 days. By keeping your business goals (and mission) in mind when writing content, you’ll be able to create the content most relevant to your audience and most lucrative to you. Make use of different formats for your content. For example, you may write a blog post for your monthly newsletter, and then turn it into a video or podcast to distribute later in the month.

Step 8- Optimize: Once it’s done, make sure that your content:

· Has the right balance of serving (80%) and selling (20%) – value vs. sales pitch.

· Is optimized with relevant keywords and phrases.

· Balances the various types of content you share, such as, educational, entertaining, inspirational and promotional.

Balance is key to content effectiveness. Perhaps the greatest advantage of your content calendar is that it gives you the big picture. You can see whether you’re following the “80/20 rule” of free versus promotional content, used by most successful marketers. And, because you can see the “what and when” plan for all your content, you can ensure that you have a good balance of various types of content and, thus be able to create a professional impression for visitors to all your online resources.

Optimize each blog post, social media post, and video with pertinent keywords and meta descriptions for blogs.

Step 9- Create a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP): Once you’ve gone through the process of creating your content, now it’s time to write down the steps you went through to do it. Make a separate list of instructions for each content form and platform, even if the steps are largely similar. This list helps you create a coherent look, and it ensures you follow all needed steps every time you post.

And, as your business grows, your SOP will be essential for cutting down the amount of time needed to train a new team member.

So that’s the 9 steps to basic content creation. If these steps are enough, that’s great—go do it! But in case you need more help figuring out how to find the time, come up with the topics, and/ or create a plan for distributing your content, check out “The Ultimate Content Creation Toolkit.”

It’s a comprehensive training package that helps you learn how to plan and create 6-12 months’ worth of core content—such as blog posts, podcasts, videos, and emails—that your audience will find valuable, and that also will increase your search engine rankings.

Just go to: www.ContentCreationToolkit.com

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Stun Guns

On: By: admin

A stun gun is already known to one of the most effective self-defense device that you can use to protect yourself from the people who want to do you harm. It is a small device that uses electricity to operate and to immobilize an individual when necessary. If you are going to use this device, you won’t have to worry about killing someone because it is a non-lethal device. This means that it is not designed to take someone’s life even if he/she is a criminal. Once you are in direct contact with an attacker and you hold the trigger, the device releases high-voltage electricity and this makes an attacker become incapacitated. But if you haven’t made a final decision yet to whether or not get a stun gun, then you might want to read further. The device is associated with its own advantages and disadvantages that would be helpful for our decision-making.

Advantages:

There are many advantages associated to using this particular device. This is a very good alternative to real firearms which are known to be very dangerous. There is no need for you to secure a license to carry the device or license to own one which is what should be done when you are planning to get a real gun. This means that there is no need for you to spend a lot of your time and effort in securing the necessary permits or licenses. And as mentioned earlier, this device does not really cause permanent harm to anyone. When you stun an attacker, he will just become disabled, incapacitated or unconscious for a certain period of time. Once the effect of the device wears off, everything will be back to normal again, just like nothing happened. When it comes to carrying the device, you can just place it inside your bag or purse. Because the device is small, you can easily conceal it. No one would know that you are bringing a self-defense weapon with you.

Disadvantages:

So much of the good things about the device, let’s talk about some disadvantages in this part. If you get a stun gun and you are not that knowledgeable on how to use it, then it can be a dangerous weapon for you. You should know how to properly use the device to prevent any accidents when using the device. And perhaps the major disadvantage in using the device is the fact that it can’t be used when you are not in direct contact with the attacker. The device can be used on any parts of the body provided that you are in direct contact with the attacker otherwise, the device is as good as useless.

Basically, for you to come up the most appropriate decision, you have to carefully weigh all the advantages and disadvantages in using the device. If you think that the advantages weigh more than the disadvantages, then perhaps it is just right for you to get one. But of course, you also need to take your needs and preferences into consideration before actually purchasing the device.

The History of Bundy Clarinets and George Bundy

On: By: admin

Bundy clarinets are, along with Selmer (its ancestor company in France) clarinets, among the most popular student clarinets of all time. The Bundy Resonite 1400 came out in 1948, and by 1978, one million of them had been sold. They’re still being sold today, 60 years after their debut. It was patterned after the French Selmer’s BT clarinet, but made from a different material – one that revolutionized clarinet production.

The name Bundy is from a Selmer employee named George Bundy who helped the Selmer brand in the U.S. grow into the major supplier of high quality band instruments that it has been for over half a century. Bundy clarinets are very popular in school band rental programs. They have good responsiveness, and the student who practices faithfully is rapidly rewarded with a great clarinet sound.

There are today a number of brands of less expensive student clarinets, but often these are not recommended by music teachers and band directors. While some of these models may be inexpensive, getting service for them can be problematic. Music store woodwind experts know their way around Bundy clarinets and know how to find replacement parts for them easily.

But that need doesn’t come up too often because Bundy clarinets are tough. A clarinet designed for a student in the middle grades has to be tough, and Bundy has been getting the job done well for a long time. A used Bundy clarinet in good condition should only cost about $200. The Bundy clarinet that belongs to an aunt or cousin but isn’t played anymore can be a great starting instrument for a band student. A tune-up and any repairs can be done by most music stores that sell woodwinds, and getting an old Bundy into ship-shape for the beginning band student has been done thousands of times.

How to Host a Successful VIP Shopping Event at Your Retail Store

On: By: admin

Whether your retail business is large or small, in a shopping mall or on the high street, selling fashion or food, a VIP event can drive excellent business.

A VIP event can also be a good way to say thank you to customers, support suppliers, raise funds for the community or just have a good time.

A good VIP event takes planning and precision execution for it to be successful for the business and for the customers. Here steps which will guide you to a successful VIP event.

Understand why. Your VIP event must have a reason why. This could be to raise funds for a local charity, to thank shoppers, to launch a new line or to give special customers first look at a sale. Once you know why you are hosting the VIP event many other plans will fall into place.

Dress code. Decide on a dress code for the occasion. If the event is for VIPs and is special for its goals then consider having a dress code which matches this.

Stock up. Make sure that you have all the stock necessary to ensure that the event is successful.

Be legal. If you are serving alcohol and or food, ensure that you will not breach any ordinances. A good VIP even uses alcohol and food well to create a very special atmosphere in the shop.

Promote widely. Give yourself plenty of time to promote the event to gain maximum attendance. Use your customer database, consider a window display to promote the event. Also offer a story to the local newspaper to gain promotional coverage for the event.

Dress the store. Make the store look special so that it truly does feel like a VIP event. Consider hiring some red carpet and security to make the entrance look that extra special.

Play music. Use music to also enhance the atmosphere of the store. It is vitally important that regulars have a very different shopping experience.

Have a moment at the event. Gather everyone together for a brief speech about the event and its purpose. If it is to raise funds for a charity, invite the head of the charity to speak. If it is to launch a new supplier, have the supplier speak. If it is to let your VIP customers in on a sale, then promote the items and have a couple of super hot deals to announce.

A VIP event done well can refresh how local shoppers view a business. It can also refresh the business in the eyes of the employees, suppliers and the owner.

The key is to go all out, it is a VIP event after all and this means it is for the best of the best. The more energy you invest the more likely it will reach the goals you have set.

The Effects of Impulse in Sports

On: By: admin

Impulse is a very subtle and little known aspect of our daily lives. Impulse can be seen in a variety of things such as cars to projectiles to rockets to sports and so on. In sports, American Football, Volleyball, Basketball, and about every other sport, impulse is implemented. For instance, one can observe impulse in his/her shoes: the cushion between the floor and one’s foot reduces the amount of force done on the foot from a reactionary force. The same data can be observed in padded sleeves: knee pads in Volleyball, compression wear in Football, jockstraps, and so on.

Impulse is a vector quantity defined as the product of the force acting on a body and the time interval during which the force is exerted. Impulse is part of Newton’s Second Law and goes hand in hand with momentum. The S.I. unit for Impulse is the Newton-Second.

A force causes acceleration and a change in the velocity for as long as it acts. Therefore, a resultant force that is applied over a longer period of time will produce a bigger change in linear momentum than the same force applied briefly: the change in momentum is equal to the product of the average force and duration. The same effect works vice-versa: a small force applied for a long time produces the same change in momentum (or the same change in impulse) as a larger force applied briefly. For example, in American Football, a linebacker will charge and tackle the quarterback. The force from the impact can potentially cause concussions or even break bones if the quarterback isn’t covered in paddings and protective gear. However, a force can be great enough to cause the previously stated injuries. Assume there is a 150 kilogram (kg) linebacker charging at a quarterback at 5 meters per second (m/s), the linebacker would apply a force of 750 newtons (N): Force = Mass x Acceleration. Now, compare this force to a 12-gauge shotgun, whose shrapnel would apply a force of approximately 500 m/s. As one can see, the amount of force that the linebacker applies is tremendous. However, the linebacker doesn’t apply that true amount of force. With a series of paddings and/or cushionings, the force is reduced to a minimal. The longer it takes for the force to go through the padding and connect to the body, the less force a person will receive. For example, if it takes 3 seconds for the force to connect, the force will be reduced to 250 N.

To conclude, Impulse is a fundamental that allows most aspects of our daily lives.

The Role of The Music Producer

On: By: admin

Up until recently, the sole job of the music producer was to over see the recording process of a song or an entire album. His or her main duty would be to schedule the studio time, keep all of the band members on time, and provide a second ear for a particular sound. The music produce was basically the leader: The person who would bring everything together. They would act as a bridge between the record lable and the artist. They would make sure that the artist was completely satisfied and all of their musical needs were met. While today’s music producer may still do these things, the overall job has become more interactive.

Today’s music producers are expected to over see the entire song process. They are involved in everything from pre production, post production to mastering. The producer must be an expert in every aspect of the music creation process. He must be a solid musician, or have superior knowledge of musical theory. He must also understand the engineering aspect of the recording process. A sound knowledge of the music business is also necessary. The producer will be communicating back and forth between the artists/musicians, the recording engineer, and the record company so it is extremely important that he/she speaks the language of all three.

In most cases, the music producer is expected to be the song writer and engineer on a particular song, and even for entire projects. This is found most commonly in hip hop, r&b and other brands of popular music. In these genres the producer is expected to pre-compose the instrumental, and even at times write and record the hook. Some producers will collaborate with other songwriters and composers to design entire packaged songs to sell for huge profits and royalty cuts. The salary of a typical music producer can vary. In the past, landing a job as a music producer for a record company would yield you a very healthy income.

The role of the music producer has definitely changed from what it was some sixty years ago. Through-out all of these changes one thing remains true, acquiring a good producer is a necessary step in the success of a musical act. Not only does this bring the music experience to a song that an artist may be lacking, but when artists attach themselves to well known producers it has been known to yield great success. If an artist with little or no buzz gets production from a big name such as Dr. Dre, or Timbaland, this could potentially sky rocket them to the top of the charts. After all, this is why they get paid so much… right?

A Caique Parrot Owner’s Shopping List

On: By: admin

Bringing home baby, and wondering what accessories are essential for your new fids well being? Well, we have got the perfect list to compliment your shopping spree. Straight from the recommendations of caique owners are some tried-and-trues, accessories and must-haves. We’ve got your back (and your fids, too).

Must Haves

The cage- this is the most important aspect of your birds environment and one that needs to the most consideration. Powdercoating or stainless steel finish depends on your budget, but no matter the finish, when looking at a cage consider the various aspects. Cage size is recommended at 24 by 36, with less then one inch bar spacing. Cages that open at the top are not recommended, and look for cages that have parallel bars so your bird can easily navigate. The author of this article prefers flat top cages, but it all boils down to personal preference. Food and water dishes that are extended outside of the cage (giving more room within the inside of the cage) are recommended.

Perches- a minimum of 5 is recommended. Choose different textures, shapes, and sizes, to give your bird a variety of to perch upon. Caiques like to chew and shred, so natural branches that have bark attached are recommended so the bird can take joy in stripping the perch of its bark. Cholla perches, that are made of a natural cactus material, area also enjoyed. Slick perches like manzanita and dragonwood are not encouraged. Rope perches are a favorite among caiques, as they can bounce and play, chew and rub on the soft cotton material.

Food Dishes- stainless steel or ceramic are encouraged. Purchase an extra set so that you can throw the dirty ones in the dishwasher and still have a clean set on hand. Stainless steel dishes are often sold as ‘coop cups’ and can be purchased to fit your already existing food dish holder, or come with their own attachment so the cups can be placed strategically within the cage. Caiques have a tendency to enjoy tipping over their food dish, so consider a dish such as the Quick Loc Crock, which literally locks in place.

Toys- Caiques love playing with toys- that’s a fact. The brighter, the bolder, the nosier- the better. Quick hint- check out the baby section of your local discount store. Hard plastic keys, teething rings, and rattles are bird safe and caique fun. Tried and true bird toys include the shreddable Parrot Pinatas, the mind bending Crazy Leather Box, or the chewable Brainiac block. All of these toys challenge your birds skills and increase activity while elevating boredom. The recommended number of toys is no less then 5 at one time in the birds cage. With a caique, the more, the better, so don’t be stingy when it comes to play items.

Emergency Medical Kit – If your bird breaks a blood feather, bangs a toenail, or injuries himself in any way, you want to be prepared. Accidents to happen, and caiques seem to be especially accident prone. A good basic medical kit will include self adhering gauze (vetwrap is a popular choice), clean gauze, tweezers, hemostats, a pair of sharp scissors, antibacterial cream, and a heat pack. Many different types of medical kits are included, and the more comprehensive ones contain everything from emergency handfeeding formula to forms that include your vets contact information.

Accessories

The Water Bottle- Caiques are bird chef want to-be’s. Their specialty? Parrot stew. Whatever can go in the pot- er, in this cage, water dish- will. It can make providing a clean source of water frustrating at times. Especially when you go to change the water and you wonder why how on earth it turned a bright blue color, and what the heck are those floatie things? Trust me, you don’t want to ask questions. Some caiques, intelligent as they may be, don’t seem to realize that dunking that big chunk of brightly colored wood in the water doesn’t make the wood any easier to chew. There is a solution- water bottles. A water bottle can be hung, providing your pet with a constant source of fresh water, even if he has turned the once clean bowl of water into something less then delightful. When purchasing a water bottle, the recommended ones are made of glass (shy away from think plastic ones) and have stainless steel spouts and outfittings. Lixit brand are highly recommended.

The Snuggle Buddy- while this is the name of an actual product, in this article we refer to snuggle buddy as anything that your bird likes to sleep next/in at night. Most caiques enjoy having a ‘happy hut’ type of tent to sleep in at night. There are a variety of tents and huts available for purchase. Looks for one made of long last material such as fleece, with the hanging attachments made of something similar to plastic chain link. Otherwise the attachments that hold the hut to the cage can be easily chewed through by a bored bird. Other snuggle materials can include fleece swings, large cotton rope toy for the bird to snuggle, and other like materials.

Foraging system- Foraging is an important part of your birds wild, natural behavior. While we highly encourage a foraging model feeding system, because this theory and research is still relatively new and mainstream, we are categorizing a foraging system as an ‘accessory’ rather then an immediately required part of your birds environment. Creative Foraging Systems is a new company that has a fantastic line of feeders and toys that are perfect for caiques. Allowing your bird to work for their food lets them re-create natural behavior that can potentially curb future behavioral issues. You have many options and choices when it comes to foraging, but we most highly recommend a foraging system as a main feeder, and an accessory like the ever popular Crazy Maze as a supplemental item.

In Conclusion

This is just a sampling of items that can be purchased for your bird, and come highly recommended by owners. Look for other articles that include in-depth product reviews, food recommendations, playgym accommodations, and much more.

Hunting With Suppressors in Mississippi

On: By: admin

Sound suppressors for firearms, commonly but incorrectly referred to as silencers, have been around for more than a hundred years. Long victimized by Hollywood as being something only an assassin, spy, or commando would use, it’s not a commonly known fact that thousands of these legal devices are owned by common everyday sportsmen who use them in dozens of states to game. One of these states is Mississippi.

Why

There are many valid reasons that some Mississippi hunters look to suppressors for taking both game and nuisance animals. Suppressors most obviously save hearing and allow the sportsman to hunt without the aid of in-ear or over-ear hearing protection. Since the ears are free, this increases situational awareness and makes the hunter both safer and more alert.

Since suppressors can eliminate up to 30% of the felt recoil of a firearm, they improve accuracy and make follow up shots easier if needed. Finally, the suppression of gunshots is kinder to the local community and helps preserve the tranquility of the outdoors.

A typical suppressor will drop about 20dB of sound from the muzzle blast and, when coupled with subsonic ammunition is extremely effective. Even if subsonic rounds are not available, the sound suppression of the device alone is still dramatic.

What’s Out There?

Suppressors come in two basic types: detachable ‘cans’ that screw onto threaded muzzle crowns at the end of the barrel, and integral built-in varieties that are designed around the gun. Either of these types is made for most caliber rifles and handguns. While almost any caliber can be suppressed, the most popular and inexpensive are those for .22LRs. The nearly indestructible TAC-65 made by Tactical Innovation costs about $250 and can be used on either pistols or rifles chambered for .22LR, producing air gun levels of sound. These make absolutely wicked squirrel and rabbit takers. Liberty Leonidas makes an integrally suppressed .300 Blackout upper that is ideal for quietly taking wild hogs, coyotes, and even whitetail at range. Gemtech, AWC, YHM, and Shark are other well-known manufacturers that make both types of suppressors in everything from .22 to .300 Win Mag.

Is it legal?

In a word, yes*. Factory-made suppressors were readily available and widely used in this country from the late 19th century through the 1930s. They could be bought over the counter and via mail order until declared regulated by the National Firearms Act of 1934. This is where the asterisk (*) comes in at.

About a dozen states (CA, MA, Ill, et al) prohibit their residents from owning otherwise legal and federally registered/regulated suppressors. About a dozen more allow ownership but have laws in effect that prohibit use in hunting. Mississippi, gratefully, is one of the 20+ states that allows both possession of NFA-compliant suppressors and grants their use in hunting of all legal game in season. MS Sportsman verified this through communication with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks.

Incidentally, if you are curious about neighboring states: Alabama, Tennessee, and Louisiana all allow possession of registered suppressors. Louisiana allows the taking only of “nuisance non-game” animals while Alabama prohibits all hunting with a suppressor. Tennessee’s laws are much like Mississippi’s, where all game animals are legal.

Suppressor use is on the rise nationwide. In 2010 alone some 22,265 legal suppressors were sold, 348 of those in Mississippi.

How do you get one?

Legal suppressors are neat but you have to jump through a couple hoops to get them. First off, don’t rush out and make your own or buy one from a guy who knows a guy. Do it the right way. Find a nearby Class III FFL holder. There are several of them located across the state from Oxford to Ocean Springs. They are licensed to buy and sell NFA-regulated firearms and suppressors. Once you do, they can handle the purchase and transfer to you of a legal suppressor. They can walk you through completing your BATFE Form 4, which is a multi-page application that includes a set of fingerprints, a passport photo, and a signature from your local chief law enforcement officer (who are normally quite understanding). Then send this all in with a check for a $200 tax stamp from Uncle Sam and in about two months you can come and pick up your new critter getter.

Once it’s yours, it’s a keeper that even under current legislation is grandfathered to you forever.

It gives a completely new meaning to the term deer whisperer.

The Best Damien Rice Songs of All Time – And Why

On: By: admin

There is no questioning Damien Rice is one of the best and most interesting Singer Songwriters of all time. His music has influenced countless musicians both indie and mainstream including pop sensation Ed Sheeran and breakout 2014 artist Hozier. Damien Rice has been a massive influence on my life and music and his sudden return to the music scene this year has inspired me to go back and listen to his catalog to find “The Best Damien Rice Songs Of All Time”

This was not easy and you may not agree but here it goes.

5. Song: Trusty and True (Album: My Favourite Faded Fantasy)

Trusty and True was the track that stood out most to me on Damien’s most recent release as something different, it has a very traditional sound to it and it’s message of coming together with your worst of enemies is a noble one. Watching Damien perform this live at his Chicago show was an amazing experience. Damien explained the premise of the song prior to the start and kicked it off with this statement “It’s a song about the Irish and the English, it’s a song about man and women, it’s a song about the person inside of you that you like and the person inside of you that you hate.”

He then ended by laying his guitar on the stage while backing off into the fog while the crowd sang the lyric “Come let yourself be wrong Come, it’s already begun” that stuck with me and is part of the reason I’ve added it to this list. Call me an optimist but the idea of people coming together regardless of differences is always a lovely concept.

4. Song: The Professor (Album: B-Sides)

It seems odd that one of an artist’s best songs would be a b-side, then again for an artist like Damien Rice it may not be so bizarre. The lyrics to this song are some of the most beautiful words I’ve ever heard. Relationships as a topic have to be one of the most overused in music, which though makes perfect sense can seem a bit boring. Every artist has songs about a breakup, or a hookup or… well you get the picture but this one is different. This song is more often than not saying the things we all think about the topic of relationships but don’t actually say out loud. My favorite line in this track is “Loving is fine if you have plenty of time, for walking on stilts at the edge of your mind” that line alone can just sum up about half of the adult relationships I’ve had. The lyrics and the very charming inclusion of the French sung “La Fille Danse” (translation “Dancing Girl”) at the end are part of what makes this number four on my Best Damien Rice Songs of All Time list.

3. Song: The Box (Album: My Favourite Faded Fantasy)

Speaking of songs that sum up about half of the adult relationships I’ve had enter another track from Damien’s latest release “The Box”. This track is the perfect example of Damien’s writing style and his ability to build a song throughout leading to a point of explosion. The lyrics to this track are again just perfect so it’s hard to pick a favorite line but mine would have to be “So don’t give me love with an old book of rules. That kind of love’s just for fools, and I’m over it” that is just perfect.

The strings in this track also just make for the perfect setting they evoke visions of an old black & white scene from countless films, just brilliant.

2. Song: Volcano (Album: O)

Volcano was one of the first songs I heard from Damien and is still one of my favorites. The alternating vocal parts, the perfectly placed cello line and Lisa Hannigan’s haunting backing vocals make this song just perfect. This was one of Damien’s most popular songs and often rings a bell to people who have no clue who Damien Rice even is. Favorite lyric “Don’t throw yourself like that, in front of me. I kissed your mouth and back, is that all you need?”

1. Song: The Blowers Daughter (Album: O)

Well we’ve come to number one on The Best Damien Rice Songs Of All Time list and if you’re still reading this I thank you.

The Blower’s Daughter, I first heard this song when I came across the video. I had no clue what it was I just saw Natalie Portman with pink hair swinging around a stripper pole so I stopped and took a look. Quickly the sight of Portman prancing around in lingerie quickly became secondary as the sound of this painful, repetitive line was being spoke “I can’t take my eyes off of you, I can’t take my mind off of you”.

There was so much love, obsession and pain in those lines that I was instantly drawn to it. This song led me to Damien and to countless hours of listening to O over and over wondering how someone could write music like this. My favorite line of this track is actually the final words that are said at the end, the statement that changed what I felt the song was about. “Until I find somebody new” After the lyrics “I can’t take my mind off of you” are sung over and over that phrase comes out and just completely changes how I feel about the song.

Well whether you agree with my choices of the Best Damien Rice songs of all time or not there is no denying Damien’s songwriting and his unique ability to pull listeners into his world making them feel a part of it.