Pertinent songs for pertinent times: Grey Room

A random post is what you get for random times. A pertinent song for pertinent situations. A rather somber and gray song for a sunny Colorado day and happy camper.

"Grey Room" by Damien Rice is one of my most coveted songs. The reasoning behind this songwriting, his voice, his temperament and the awaited crescendo building up to his plea of momentous words near the 4-minute mark. That clashing of symbols and Rice's realization at the end, erupt. Most of you that know Damien Rice (probably not personally), know he sings about some pretty damn troubling and disheartening situations and doesn't really have a bottle of sunshine in his catalog. You're most likely right. Well, at least with this song, he tried. Rice explains:
This song is about writing songs that are always down and it was ironic because I found myself in that moment where I was down and I was down about the fact that i was writing songs that are down so I wrote another down song...

Although it's one of my favorites, this song has come to my attention (unwarranted) this week by four different people, for two different reasons and in three different & unrelated outings. Ironic? Am I down? Judge as you are free to do. But to me, the lyrics near the end have an uplifting soaring roar to them and though this is another gray song, I think it has a great silver lining. At least to me...

Damien Rice - Grey Room

D. Rice
Grey Room
well i've been here before
sat on the floor in a grey grey room
where i stay in all day
i don't eat, but i play with this grey grey food
desole, if someone is prayin' then i might break out,
desole, even if i scream i can't scream that loud
i'm all alone again
crawling back home again
stuck by the phone again
well i've been here before
sat on a floor in a grey grey mood
where i stay up all night
and all that i write is a grey grey tune
so pray for me child, just for a while
that i might break out yeah
pray for me child
even a smile would do for now
'cause i'm all alone again
crawling back home again
stuck by the phone again
have i still got you to be my open door?
have i still got you to be my sandy shore?
have i still got you to cross my bridge in this storm?
have i still got you to keep me warm?
if i squeeze my grape, then i drink my wine
coz if i squeeze my grape, then i drink my wine
oh coz nothing is lost, it's just frozen in frost,
and it's opening time, there's no-one in line
but i've still got me to be your open door,
i've still got me to be your sandy shore
i've still got me to cross your bridge in this storm
and i've still got me to keep you warm
warmer than warm, yeah

Rainy Day Songs - Me, Mariah & Sam

You wake up just after sunrise on an open weekend, sleepwalk yourself to your kitchen and grab the steaming cup of coffee or tea and head over to fogged and rain-pelted window to find out it's the quintessential stay-inside day. What song do you want played in the background at that moment?

Me First
For a bit, I was chewing the cud deciding if Damien Rice's "Grey Room" or Bon Iver's "Stacks" would accompany the somber and sighful mood that I would be in. I'm a full-blown optimistic guy and nothing suits me more than sunshine. So why do I gravitate to these angst-filled singer-songwriters basking in gloom? Not sure. But given a day like yesterday and today, days full of low gray clouds where the droplets are not quite sure whether to fall as snow, sleet or rain, all I want are these somber songs to match the beautiful frown outside. For my final answer, I'm choosing the painful hymn of the late Nick Drake. Specifically, his Cello Song.
Nick Drake - Cello Song

On we go to amazing friends that have a trusted knack in musicology...

Mariah Second
Sasha’s remix of Grandnational’s “Talk Amongst Yourselves” (Involver) --- this tune makes we want to get out into the rain and drive up to the mountains (while it plays on repeat in my car). - Mariah K.

Little explanation behind this and shows a completely different attitude when confronted with the elements of mother nature. BTW, I didn't require ANY explanation when asking them for their songs. It's easy to see how Mariah's song does the talking.

Samuel Third
He's been on here before and I'm giving my Samuel Wallstreet Francis Hays Miller even more accolades. His two songs and the brief commentary are a great way to absorb the lull of a frigid Friday.

Song 1
Miles Davis - So What - Kind of Blue

Kind Of Blue: to me, Kind Of Blue is more the birth of cool, than "the birth of cool" was. Miles grew up in east Saint Louis. Having lived in Saint Louis, I hear the fucking clouds that wont leave for 6 months over winter. I hear the industry dying in the decaying pavement downtown. I see the riverboats and their glacial movement down the Mississippi. In yet, when that first horn snaps in around the minute and half mark...damn. Like death makes way for life.

Quincy Jones: "That will always be my music, man. I play Kind of Blue every day - it's my orange juice. It still sounds like it was made yesterday."

Song 2
Radiohead - Planet Telex - The Bends
Thom Yorke complained that he felt he sounds like a refrigerator humming. written in London, the album sounds like it was conceived under water. Either rain drops or within waves. The guitar affects tremolo around your head in a manner any audiophile can appreciate. In fact, check your equalizer - is it optimized to appreciate the way Radiohead is taking its wet arms, its wet peacoat and wrapping it around your body. This song is a girl walking away, it's a job loss, it's a windshield wiper, it's goddamn trash washing out of the alleys, down he streets, out of you... - S. Miller

Yum.

The Fab Channel

I can't keep a hidden gem from you for too long, it wouldn't be fair. Now let's keep in mind that I don't condone pushing traffic away from my blog. Rather, let's just say you keep checking in every day and when you're busy at work and you need some music in your background besides Pandora or iTunes, I'm giving you another option.

The Fab Channel is an online concert archive featuring over 900 live concerts from artists of all sizes and from genres across the board. With a team of 25+ producers, directors, camera people (only PC here at The Mountain Tempo), interns, editors and (I'm assuming) a great legal/licensing brain, Fab Channel have been allowed to capture full-length shows from the famous venues, Paradiso and Melkweg Amsterdam.

Among showcasing rising hip hop stars, punk, R&B, electronic, and indie rock from around the world, they have been given permission to film some of my favorites, including Damien Rice, Iron & Wine, Bright Eyes and Josh Ritter. Not only can a viewer pick and choose which song to watch from the setlist, Fab Channel, like Pandora, recommends similar artists, provides a brief bio on each artist and allows you to build a playlist of songs from multiple artists/concerts.

So, take a listen/look at Fab Channel or watch my favorite two shows Iron & Wine || Josh Ritter.

Damien Rice Part 2:Cameos and a new album?

As I mentioned before, it is odd (or isn't it?) how artists collaborate with other artists in the same genre regardless of personality, schedule, origin, etc. Maybe it's because they wanted to impress me...or most likely because each share that one common root: phenomenally outstanding songwriting and singing. I won't do a full history lesson of a song like I did for Ritter or trace roots and vast webs of friends in great detail. I'll just catch you up a bit on Damien Rice in Part 2:

As mentioned in Part 1, Damien has spent time busking on the streets after leaving his previous band, Jupiter, who went on to form Bell X1. Through his musical connections in Ireland, Rice is also part of a band that is a collection of various musicians. Ready for this? The Cake Sale features Lisa Hannigan (remember her voice on "9 Crimes?"), Paul Noonan (Bell X1), Gary Lightbody (Snow Patrol), Nick Seymour and Graham Hopkins (Crowded House), Nina Persson (The Cardigans) and two more little guys in the industry - Josh Ritter and Glen Hansard (Once, The Frames, The Swell Season, helped start both Ritter and Rice...).

Rice has also collaborated and performed with the heirarchy of my creme de la creme list. Thanks to a head's up last year by my musical detective over at I Am Fuel, You Are Friends, I was elated to find out that Damien Rice had performed with Ray Lamontagne in France to cover a Bee Gee's classic.

Damien Rice & Ray Lamontagne - To Love Somebody (live)

In 2007, Rice joined the stage with David Gray for Live Earth's leg at Wembley Stadium, London, to cover the 1956 pop song, Que Sera, Sera.

Damien Rice and David Gray - Que Sera, Sera (live)

And don't worry, according to Damien's site, he'll be coming out with another recording soon. He just finished a 10-day road trip where, he and friends drove (in a mini, mind you) from Ireland to Barcelona armed with a portable recording studio. His goal was to stop along the way in random places where he aimed to write and record a new song in each of the ten days and then compile each recording on a new album, Nuevo. We'll see...

Damien Rice Part 1:A little bit of your song in my ear

I'm singling out Damien Rice in a two-part post that will ramble a bit and offer you some highlights as to why he's among my favorite of favorites (is that possible?). I'll admit it, my mom introduced me to Damien Rice back in college and I immediately sat down with "Cannonball" over and over and learned the picking and lyrics on guitar. Now I'm not embarrassed that my mom introduced me to a favorite artist - she surrounded me with Simon and Garfunkel and Bob Dylan while growing up. The thing is, after the access to music I constantly had in college and up until now, I should be the one introducing music to her...especially someone in the singer-songwriter vein such as Rice. Anywhoo...

Damien Rice grew up in Dublin, Ireland and founded his first band Juniper, who later regrouped as the now famous Bell XI. After splitting from the group, Rice headed to Italy and across Europe to busk on the streets while writing and acquiring band mates that, apart from ex-gal Lisa Hannigan and percussionist Tom Osander, still record and tour with him today.

Rice's first claim to fame came with his hit "Cannonball," that never reached huge success in the U.S., though it has been featured on several shows and earned significant plays on radio stations of all levels from its U.S. release in 2004 up until today. Hell, it only reached #32 on the UK charts when it was originally released in 2002 featuring a mix of drums that you'll rarely hear these days. Aside from the stats surrounding it or the numerous B-sides and rarity albums it has appeared on, "Cannonball" has a part in my life for several reasons that I won't dive in here. I will say that the arrangement and honesty in his lyrics, coupled with the passionately pleading voice Damien belts and his purposeful guitar picking, allows me to call him a troubadour and favorite among favorites. In addition, Rice produced, mixed and wrote "Cannonball," which is available off of O from Vector Recordings.

Damien Rice - Cannonball (album version)

After seeing hundreds of shows each year, there are few that truly stand out. But, seeing Damien Rice abandon the mic while I was perched 10 feet away in the front row while he offered up a naked version of "Cannonball" is a concert moment that sits at the very top. Here is the moment as captured by a great friend

I will say that my favorite song by Damien Rice is "Grey Room." Those who are fans of Rice know that most songs are honest and beautiful, but surrounded in a fog of depression. As he explained, it is "a song about writing songs that are always down...It was ironic because I was just down about the fact that I was writing songs that are down so I wrote a down song." No introduction other than the one he provided. I'll let you take from it what you will with the lyrics posted below. Should you want this song in higher quality, you can find it on his 2006 album 9 from Warner Bros. Records.

Damien Rice - Grey Room

Damien Rice
Grey Room

Well I've been here before
Sat on the floor in a grey grey room
Where I stay in all day
I don't eat, but I play with this grey grey food

Desolate, if someone is prayin' then I might break out,
Desolate, even if I scream I can't scream that loud

I'm all alone again
Crawling back home again
Stuck by the phone again

Well I've been here before
Sat on a floor in a grey grey mood
Where I stay up all night
And all that I write is a grey grey tune

So pray for me child, just for a while
That I might break out yeah
Pray for me child
Even a smile would do for now

'Cause I'm all alone again
Crawling back home again
Stuck by the phone again

Have I still got you to be my open door
Have I still got you to be my sandy shore
Have I still got you to cross my bridge in this storm
Have I still got you to keep me warm

If I squeeze my grape and I drink my wine
Coz if I squeeze my grape and I drink my wine
Oh coz nothing is lost, it's just frozen in frost,
And it's opening time, there's no-one in line

But I've still got me to be your open door,
I've still got me to be your sandy shore
I've still got me to cross your bridge in this storm
And I've still got me to keep you warm

Warmer than warm, yeah...