Rueben's Ramblings

Keane are an English alternative rock band that was formed in 1997. The group currently consists of members Tim Rice-Oxley (piano and backing vocals), Tom Chaplin (lead vocals and guitar) and Richard Hughes (drums and percussion). Jesse Quin (bass and percussion) is an unofficial fourth member of the band and primarily performs when the band is on tour. Founding member and guitarist Dominic Scott left the band in 2001.

It was three years later when Keane achieved mainstream success with the release of their debut album called “Hopes and Fears”. On that album was the single “Somewhere Only We Know” – today’s Song of the Day – which reached number three on the UK singles charts. The song, written by all three members, was featured in episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, Cold Case, American Idol and Life. It was also featured in promotions for the short-lived series Journeyman and advertising for Victoria’s Secret as well as the trailer for the film The Lake House and He’s Not That Into You.

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Gomez are an English indie rock band, consisting of members Ian Ball (vocals and guitar), Paul Blackburn (bass), Tom Gray (vocals, guitars and keyboards), Ben Ottewell (vocals and guitars) and Olly Peacock (drums and synthesizers). Ball and Peacock had been friends since childhood, playing in a 3-piece band during their teens; and then were joined by Blackburn, gray and Ottewell during their time in college.

They played their first gig together in 1996 without actually having a name for the band. At this time the band started recording four-track demos that were eventually handed to Steve Fellows, who distributed them to several record labels. A year later they were signed by Hut Records (a division of Virgin Records).

Their debut album “Bring It On” was released in April of 1998 and featured the UK singles “78 Stone Wobble,” “Get Myself Arrested” and “Whippin’ Piccadilly”. This album earned the ban a Mercury Music Prize, an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the UK and Ireland in September of that year.

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Corinne Bailey Rae is a British singer-songwriter and guitarist whose self-titled debut album came out in February of 2006. The album debuted at number one in the United Kingdom and entered the top ten on the United States Billboard 200 chart, peaking at number four. This album ended up spending 71 weeks on the charts from 2006 to 2008.

The lead single from this album called “Like a Star” – which is today’s Song of the Day – became a hit in both the UK and the States. The song, written entirely by Rae, was featured in episodes of the TV shows Grey’s Anatomy, Men in Trees, Medium and CSI: NY. It was also heard in the films Nancy Drew and 27 Dresses. Other singles from the album included “Put Your Records On” – which ended up being her biggest hit to date – “Trouble Sleeping” and “I’d Like To”.

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Uh Huh Her is an indie-new wave-electropop band that was formed in January of 2007. The band consisted of members Camilla Grey (vocals, bass, guitar, synthesizer and keyboards), a former member of the rock band Mellowdrone, actress-singer Leisha Hailey (vocals, bass and keyboards), a former member of The Murmurs and Gush and former regular on the Showtime series The L Word, and Alicia Warrington, who is now part of the band Gore Gore Girls.

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The alternative rock band VAST, which stands for Visual Audio Sensory Theater, based in Austin Texas, is the creation of singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jon Crosby whose early musical endeavors started at the age of 13 when he was noted in Guitar Player Magazine as a promising guitarist of the future. He began his own band while still in high school; and while he is the only member, he does have a touring band.

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Zero 7 is a musical duo, comprised of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker, from the United Kingdom who began their music career in the 1990s after studying sound engineering. They were engineers for musicians including the Pet Shop Boys and Robert Plant. They then began doing remixes, working with artists such as Lenny Kravitz and Sneaker Pimps.

In 1999, they released an EP of original material called “EP1” and then in 2001 their debut album “Simple Things” came out and eventually earned the duo the “Best Newcomer” award at the Muzik Awards and featured the single “Destiny,” which is today’s Song of the Day. The single featured the vocals of Sia Furler and Sophie Barker and has appeared on the soundtracks for the movies Blue Crush and Raising Helen as well as in episodes of Smallville and Roswell. The song’s lyrics deal with two lonely hearts whose paths in life will eventually tread into one.

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 Coldplay are an English alternative rock band that was formed in 1997 in London by Chris Martin (lead vocalist, keyboards and rhythm guitar) and Jonny Buckland (lead guitarist). They were later joined by Guy Berryman (bassist) and Will Champion (drums and percussion).

In 1998, the band released the EP called “Safety”, which they gave out primarily to record companies and friends, leading to their being signed in December of that year to independent label Fierce Panda. The first release with that label was a three-track EP called “Brothers and Sisters” which came out in February of 1999.

The band achieved worldwide fame with their first single “Yellow” in 2000, which was followed by the release of their debut album called “Parachutes”. Another single from this album is today’s Song of the Day – “Trouble” – written by all 4 members of the band became their second Top 10 single.

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 Bif Naked (born Beth Torbert) is a Juno Award-winning, multi-platinum record selling, Canadian rock singer (as well as writer, cartoonist, poet, motivational speaker and actress), who was born in New Delhi and subsequently adopted by American missionaries. While she spent her childhood in Kentucky, she spent most of her life in Canada between Manitoba and Winnipeg.

Before going solo, Bif Naked played with punk bands like Gorilla Gorilla and Chrome Dog. She has toured Europe, the United States and Canada, performing alongside Billy Idol, Dido, Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow and The Foo Fighters (among others).

Her studio albums include her self-titled debut album released in 1995, which included singles “Tell On You” and “My Whole Life” and a spoken word album in 1997 entitled “Okenspay Ordway: Things I Forgot To Tell Mommy”.

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Actress and Singer Emmy Rossum was born in New York City. When she 7 years of age, she joined the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus based on her ability to sing “Happy Birthday” in 12 different keys. Over the course of 5 years, she sang onstage with the chorus and performed with opera greats like Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. Over that time she sang in six different languages, in 20 different operas, including La bohème, Turandot, a Carnegie Hall presentation of La damnation de Faust and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She also worked under the direction of Franco Zeffirelli in Carmen.

By the age of 12, her increasing interest in acting led her to take classes with The New Actors Workshop in New York City, which in turn led her to eventually appear in television shows such as Law & Order, Snoops, As the World Turns and The Practice. She appeared in the made-for-TV movies A Will of Her Own, The Audrey Hepburn Story, and Nola as well as the motion pictures Mystic River, The Day After Tomorrow, The Phantom of the Opera, Poseidon, Dragonball: Evolution and Dare.

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eastmountainsouth (yes, in all lowercase letters) was an American folk-pop duo formed in 2001 by singers-songwriters Kat Maslich Bode and Peter Bradley Adams. Within a year they were signed by DreamWorks Record and released their self-titled debut album in 2003. The duo then toured for a year and half exclusively with recording artists such as Lucinda Williams, Tracy Chapman, Joan Baez and Nelly Furtado.

The duo’s album produced a number of popular songs including “You Dance,” which became a radio hit as well as “Hard Times,” “Show Me The River” and today’s Song of the Day – “So Are You To Me”. This song was written by Adams and while it is the shortest song on the album, its melodic sound is memorizing.

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