Category Nerdvana

Nerdvana: In a Lifetime by Clannad (duet with Bono)

goldstar Leave a comment

Since it’s Saint Patrick’s Day, I thought that I would present one of my favorite songs of all time, which was performed by one of my favorite Irish bands, Clannad. Damon can attest to this because I’ve listened to this song  A LOT! In fact, this is the song that introduced me to the band.

My first ever exposure to Clannad was when I saw this video on Night Tracks, a six hour long block of music videos which ran on Friday and Saturday nights on TBS (basically, it was TBS’ answer to MTV. This was the 1980s, you have to remember).This number also features guest vocals by another Irish born artist, Bono of U2, which is undoubtedly the reason why TBS aired the video, since Clannad is mostly a new age/alternative band that isn’t known for performing mainstream pop music. After seeing this video, I immediately sought out to learn more about Clannad, which soon afterwards led to my purchasing an audio cassette (again, this was the 80s) of their album Machella, and I’ve been a Clannad fan ever since. Clannad also performed the background music for the British series The Adventures of Robin Hood (most notably, the shows’ opening theme “Robin, The Hooded Man”, which is on the band’s compilation album Past Present, which I also own. This song is delightfully, hauntingly melancholy, yet outstandingly epic at the same time. Enjoy “In a Lifetime”:

Nerdvana: Closer to Your Heart by Clannad

silverstar Leave a comment

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, let’s have a Nerdvana featuring one of our favorite Irish bands, Clannad. Interestingly, the video for this ditty is nothing like what I imagine when I hear this song. I envision Wynken, Blynken and Nod sailing the stars in the night sky on a flying boat, but that’s just me. Enjoy “Closer to Your Heart”.

Nerdvana: Strawberry Street by Lili Haydn

goldstar Leave a comment

Here in Maryland, we’ve just had about 8 inches of snow dumped on us yesterday, and this has left me with a serious case of “F-U, Winter!”

“WINTEEEEEEEERRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!”

Dude, I feel your pain.

Frankly, after this crappy season that I’ve had, it’s time to inject some positivity and to feel good again. Therefore, I offer one of my favorite “feel good” songs, courtesy of Lili Haydn, an artist who was once described as “The Jimi Hendrix of violinists”. This is a song that I just happened to stumble upon one night while channel surfing, and it’s since become one of my jams. Enjoy “Strawberry Street”.

Nerdvana: Southbound Pachyderm by Primus

silverstar Leave a comment

This is hands down my all-time favorite song from the band Primus. Like Radiohead’s “Street Spirit” the music is very beautiful with a whimsical, almost dream-like quality to it, not to mention some truly kick-ass guitar riffs. The video for it is…interesting, but not what I personally picture. When I hear this song, the mental imagery I picture doesn’t in any way involve airplanes or clay-animated hunters in mini-tanks; the video I envision for this song is like a cross between a children’s book and a Raul Del Rio painting, think Rudyard Kipling meets Maurice Sendak meets Dr. Suess. Also, my imagery for this video takes place entirely at night, with lots of stars in the sky. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Enjoy “Southbound Pachyderm”.

Nerdvana: I Love You All by The Soronprfbs

silverstar Leave a comment

Today’s Nerdvana is a odd little ditty from The Soronprfbs (don’t ask me what that is), the fictional band from the indie film Frank, led by Michael Fassbender, performing from inside a giant paper mache pinata head. The song is both strange, sarcastic and sincere all at once (I find myself singing it to myself quite a bit), and just savor the irony of Magneto from the X-Men prequel movies is crooning with a giant cartoon head on. Here’s “I Love You All”.