Dapper Tunes: Taylor Swift's Shake It Off

Let's get one thing straight here: I am far too old to like this song. Taylor Swift's new album, for which this song is the first single, is called 1989. I was 14-years-old in 1989! So it's completely insane that I like a song that is geared toward 14-year-olds in 2014.

And yet this song is totally infectious. I cannot get enough of it. I've been shaking it off in the car, while washing dishes and just about everywhere in between.

Sometimes you have to just embrace your inner teenager and go with the flow.

Captain Dapper Loves Lucius on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert

I picked up Lucius' album Wildewoman on a lark over the weekend. I had heard one of their songs on satellite radio the week prior and it got my toes a'tappin'. I've given the entire album a few spins since I bought it and I'm kinda digging it. (Of course, it's not an album and it doesn't spin. It's a digital download. So I guess it would be more accurate to say that I've given the download a few streams since I bought it but that just sounds stupid. So I'm going to stick with give it a spin.)

While I'm enjoying the album, I wish it captured more of the joie de vivre present in this NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert. Lead vocalists Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, guitarists Dan Molad and Peter Lalish and drummer Andrew Burri pack a lot of sound into this mini concert. The final song of the set (starting at 14:05) incorporates a can of almonds as an impromptu drum. And even though the song is all about telling some girl named Genevieve to shut her mouth, I defy you to not smile while watching the band crank out the infectious tune.

I only came upon this concert after already listening to the album for a few days. When I searched the band's name on YouTube last night, finally curious about the band's appearance, this Tiny Desk Concert was one of the first things to pop up. If I hadn't already bought Wildewoman, I definitely would have picked it up after watching the video.

Having first heard the band before seeing them, I was actually a little surprised by their charming instrumentation. Perhaps it's because the album comes across as so polished that I expected them to employ a drum machine and a iPad.

At any rate, watch the concert, buy the album and go see Lucius live if they're in your part of the world.

via: NPR

Neko Case's "Calling Cards" Lyric Video is Beautifully Nostalgic

Neko Case's album, "The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You," was one of my favorite releases of 2013. From the very first listen on the day it was released back in September, I identified a number of favorite songs. Among them was this one, "Calling Cards." It's sweet and wistful while also conveying a sense of longing. The Mister and I have been spending some time apart lately so this song really hits home.

Now, the "Calling Cards" has gotten a lyric video that utilizes old home movie footage. The style is a perfect fit for the song. It has the same sense of nostalgia and melancholy as the tune.

You can watch the video over at The New Yorker (embedding not permitted). And if you haven't bought Neko Case's album, "The Worse Things Get, The Harder I Fight, The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You," go do it now! It's only $5.99 over on Amazon.

Image: Still from video, via The New Yorker

10 Tunes to Help You Get Up & Go (Your Own Way) Dapper Tunes: Motivational Songs

Making your own path in life is hard. Whether you're trying to be Captain Dapper or Plain Jane, need a boost of confidence to for a job interview or a pick-me-up post break-up, sometimes you need a little kick in the pants. As far as I'm concerned, the music is the best motivator.

When I need to shut off the doubting Thomas inside my mind, I crank up some music to turn the beat around. I'll spin a few motivating tunes, shake it out, dust myself off and move along.

Give these ten tracks a try the next time you need a boost.

Two Door Cinema Club: Something Good Can Work
Inspiring line: "You've gotta step up your game to make it to the top. So go!"

Fleetwood Mac: Go Your Own Way
Inspiring line: "You can go your own way."

Madonna: Human Nature
Inspiring line: "I'm not your bitch. Don't hang your shit on me."

Lily Allen: Fuck You
Inspiring Line: "Fuck you. Fuck you very, very much."

OK Go: This Too Shall Pass
Inspiring line: Let it go. This too shall pass.

Pink: Blow Me (One Last Kiss)
Inspiring line:

Gloria Gaynor: I Will Survive
Inspiring line: "Oh as long as I know how to live I know I will survive."

La Roux: Bulletproof
Inspiring line: "This time, baby, I'll be bulletproof."

Robyn: Indestructible
Inspiring line: "Hands up in the air like you don't care."

Wilson Phillips: Hold On
Inspiration line: The whole damned song!
(C'mon! You need at least one cheesy song a list like this! Feel free to break it down on the air drums near the end of the song.

Image: Jason Loper. All videos: Linked above.

Dapper Tunes: Brandy Clark's Stripes

It may be my love of the television series Nashville or maybe it's just because you can take the boy out of the country but you can't take the country out of the boy. Whatever the reason, I have a soft spot for country music. If that music hearkens back to the classics by Loretta Lynn or Dolly Parton, all the better.

Brandy Clark's music joins the tradition of strong women in country. Like Ms. Lynn, Clark's songs are little portraits of women struggling to get along in the world. In addition to this track, Stripes, Clark sings about mamas getting stoned and girlfriends getting revenge on her new album 12 Stories. By country standards, the subject matter may seems shocking - until you remember that Loretta Lynn was singing the praises of the birth control pill and Dolly Parton was bouncing around in a whorehouse in Texas!


Although I appreciate country music, I haven't bought a country album in years. I think the last album by a country artist that I purchased was Loretta Lynn's Van Lear Rose, her brilliant collaboration with rocker Jack White. But from the minute I heard snippets of Brand Clark's album in a review on NPR's Fresh Air, I knew I had to have it. While I enjoy each and every song on the album, it's Stripes that tickles me fashionable funny bone with these lines:

"I hate stripes and orange ain't my color.
If I squeeze that trigger tonight I'll be wearing one or the other.
There's no crime of passion worth a crime of fashion..."

Check out the video above and go download Brandy Clark's new album 12 Stories.

Image: Screen capture from Stripes music video

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.: "If You Didn't See Me" Dapper Tunes: Friday Dance Party

Need something to help you get through the rest of the afternoon at the end of a hard week? Or maybe you're looking for a track to get you pumped up to wash your windows! Well this is it, folks. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr's If You Didn't See Me is guaranteed to make you pop up out of your seat and move your booty.

This track kicks off an upbeat playlist that I put together at the beginning of the month. It's the playlist I use when I need to clean the apartment or go for a jog. And I'm happy to see in the clip below of the band's performance on Conan that they have an equally energetic stage presence. I'm planning to see them when they'll be in Chicago in March. The show was be a wonderful spring treat!



If You Didn't See Me is off of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.'s new album, The Speed of Things, released in October of this year.

Now, go on, download or stream the song and bust a move. It'll do you some good.

Dapper Tunes: Mama Cass' Dream a Little Dream of Me

I'm sitting in a coffee shop and Dream a Little Dream of Me, the song that Mama Cass Elliott is famous for singing, played on the stereo. I will forever associate this song, and all of The Mamas and the Papas tunes, with riding in cars.

I've spent a considerable amount of my time in cars. When I was younger and my family was moving around a lot, my mom and I would set out in her Volkswagon Rabbit and find our way around. I think it was her way of killing two birds with one stone: entertaining an energetic and imaginative little boy (me) and getting acquainted with our new town. That old Rabbit was equipped with an AM radio, which, even back in the mid-1980s, had pretty limited stations. We would usually settle on an oldies station, which, back in the 80's, was mostly playing music from the mid-1950's to the late-60's.

By the time I was in fourth grade, I knew the entire catalog of music from that era. I was able to identify the doo-wop bands, especially the ones my dad favored, by ear. I could tell you the name of every Supreme and I knew the entire back story of the The Mamas and the Papas. I knew that Michelle Phillips had been married to John Phillips and I knew that McKenzie Phillips was his daughter. I knew that Mama Cass was the real talent in the band but Michelle Phillips was the face.

Later, when I got my own car, it had a tape player. I celebrated by raiding the 99 cent bin at Walmart for cassettes to stock in the car. One of the first ones I picked up was a collection of The Mamas and the Papas' greatest hits. I must have listened to that tape a million times. It's funny now to think of listening to one set of songs over and over. I mean, I'm sitting here next to a phone that holds most of my music catalog. Back then, back in the cassette days, my car tunes were limited to whatever mix tapes and other cassettes were stuffed in the glove box.

I no longer have any cassette tapes. In fact, I don't even have a cassette player. I finally donated all my old tapes, include that Mamas and Papas collection, when we sold our old Volvo, the one with the cassette player, about five years ago. I've never re-purchased The Mamas and the Papas on CD nor as digital copies. Frankly, I don't know if I ever need to own them again. After listening to the songs on an endless loop for 10+ years, I'm fine with only hearing the songs in elevators and coffee shops.

10 of the Most Stylish Music Videos of the 1990's

I think all of these Throwback Thursday posts are making  me feel a bit nostalgic. Or maybe it's because I've been seeing a return to nineties fashions that I've been thinking back to that decade. As much as I think of the nineties as a grunge infused decade topped off with bad hair and fears of the new millennium, it was actually a very stylish time. These ten music music videos are a testament to nineties style -  even if a few of them borrow from earlier decades to do it.

Watch all of the videos after the jump...

Dapper Tunes: Lana Del Rey's Born to Die A Remembrance for Friends We've Loved and Lost

I woke this morning to the news of a friend's unexpected death. We weren't close friends but, thanks to Facebook and other modern technology, I felt like I knew him quite well. His Facebook posts often made me laugh — whether he was posting photo mashups of Miley twerking with the Golden Girls, clever insights into pop culture or sharing snapshots of his life with his partner and their adorable dog. I suppose that's one of the great things about modern social media: we can become deeply connected to people we may not see often but who we share many experiences with.

My thoughts go out to this man's family. Deaths are always devastating for loved ones. It doesn't matter whether the person is 30 or 90, knowing that you'll never see them again is heartbreaking. But of course when the person is younger their death feels even more cruel. It makes you want to rush out and tell every single person in your life that you love them. It makes you want to quit your job and give up everyday stresses so that you can enjoy every waking minute with the people you love. It makes you want to spin some sort of cocoon that will protect your loved ones from harm so you can keep them in your life forever.

As always, being touched by a death is a huge reminder to enjoy life. It's so easy to think about doing things in the future, pushing them off and thinking there will always be another day. It's easy to think that we'll all live forever but, sadly, we were all born to die.

Dapper Tunes: Portugal. The Man's Purple Yellow Red & Blue

This song seems to describe an entire generation.

"When I grow up I wanna be
A movie star or on TV.
'Cause workin' just don't work for me."

Don't we all feel that way?

"All I want to do is
Live in ecstasy.
I know what's best for me."

Yep, I hear ya, man.

This track is off Portland-based Portugal. The Man's new album, Evil Friends, which was produced by Danger Mouse. This Passion Pit remix has become my new favorite jam:

Dapper Tunes: Bjork's It's Oh So Quiet

Captain Dapper has been stuck in the mid-90's lately.

After yesterday's Throwback Thursday post, I've found myself revisiting the 1990's this morning. On my morning bike ride today, I queued up Bjork's 1995 Post album for my soundtrack. This album was my jam back in the day. I kept the Post CD on repeat for months on end back in the mid-90's. I copied the CD onto tape so that I could listen to it in my car and included tracks from it on various mix tapes for the next year or so. While the entire disc is solid, and still sounds fresh and new almost twenty years later, this track has always been my favorite.



Of course, the song is fun in itself but the Spike Jonze directed video, well, that just pushes it into genius territory. It has that old-fashioned movie musical vibe, with folks breaking out in dance in a tire store and a mailbox coming to life to get into the groove with Bjork.

If you're only familiar with Bjork's cover of the song, be sure to check out Betty Hutton's 1951 version of It's Oh So Quiet.



Happy Friday! Here's hoping your weekend is oh so quiet!

Dapper Tunes: Jimmy Fallon & Robin Thicke Do "Blurred Lines"

Back in late June I declared Blurred Lines the song of summer. Oh boy - did I call it! This song is everywhere. It seems like every time I'm spinning the dial on the car radio, I come across Blurred Lines once or twice. (And if not Blurred Lines, then Daft Punk's Get Lucky.)

If you've already found yourself tiring of the song, this version of it will redeem it. Jimmy Fallon, Robin Thicke and The Roots performing an acoustic Blurred Lines using simple toy instruments is just about the best thing that's ever happened to Friday mornings.

Speaking of Robin Thicke, does anybody remember him as a long haired, bike riding New Yorker?

Saturday Night Fever fans may recognize the track behind Robin Thicke's vocals on his 2007 release When I Get You Alone. It's A 5th of Beethoven by Walter Murphy. I've always enjoyed the Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack and Thicke's lyric and vocals are a perfect way to update this rather silly disco version of Beethoven's 5th. Plus, as he demonstrates in the music video, it's a perfect song to listen to while biking.

Happy Friday, everybody. Go forth and boogie on!

Dapper Tunes: Cold War Kids' Loner Phase

Captain Dapper may be going through his Loner Phase - courtesy of Cold War Kids.

Earlier this summer Cold War Kids released their new album Dear Miss Lonelyhearts. I've been a longtime Cold War Kids fan so when I heard that they were releasing a new album I was already interested. Then, when I read that their new disc was based on the Miss Lonelyhearts, a novel by Nathanael West, I was sold!

This track, Loner Phase, is one of my favorites off the new album. Because, really, don't we all feel like we're stuck in a loner phase every now and then?



But the really big advantage of this album is that I picked up a used copy of West's novella last week. It's definitely a depressing read - it's all about an advice columnist who's dealing with his own depression along with the problems of the world - but I'm enjoying it nonetheless.

Dapper Tunes: CHVRCHES' Lies

Captain Dapper is a sucker for a strong female vocalist.

I think it's very important to break into dance. Dancing keeps your soul young. Dancing is innate. You hear and bass line and you're compelled to tap your toe or cock your hip back and forth. Give in. Do it. Crank up this Lies by CHVRCHES and dance your way into the weekend. This track is off CHVCHES' forthcoming debut full-length, The Bones of What You Believe.



The new album hits the States in September. Meanwhile you can enjoy their Recover - EP. The Scottish band will also be hitting in the States for a tour in September, including a stop at the Metro in Chicago.

Dapper Tunes: Lorde's Royals

Captain Dapper will never be confused with royalty.

While Robin Thicke's song has been my booty shakin' tune of the summer, this track — Royals — has been the song that is most like my own life.

Much like Lorde is singing in the song, my life lacks the gold teeth and Grey Goose of popular music. And as a resident of Rogers Park, I'm certainly not proud of my address and I'm more than a little guilt of post code envy. But you know what? That's just fine. I'll continue to live the fantasy while nodding my head to cool tracks like this. Plus, I have a very healthy imagination so it shouldn't be a stretch to pretend my Prius is a Maybach. My life may lack real glamour but I'll keep my chin up and make the best of it.

Dapper Tunes: Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines

Captain Dapper likes to boogie.

Every summer needs a defining song. You know, one of those tunes that you queue up on your iPhone on a hot and sunny day that gets your rump shakin' as you dance around the apartment packing your bag for afternoon beach excursions. The kind of tune that you hear blaring from your car stereos on steamy city streets. That song that, when you hear it years from now, will forever remind you of that summer.

For the summer of 2013, that song is Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines [feat. T.I., Pharrell]. I dare you to hear this track without tapping your toes and wiggling your booty. Some critics are claiming that the lyrics are a little on the "rapey" side but I say relax, turn it up and dance it out!