The Cozy Rocket blog was my creative (non-business) outlet, but with the recent creation of this Off-Topic page, it is no longer needed. And although it was fun building and creating a second blog, it was still a bit of work trying to keep 2 blogs updated regularly. So, I’ve decided to move the more popular music posts from my Cozy Rocket blog over to this blog, and in the process I’ll be removing the original posts and closing off comments since they’ve been a magnet for spam.

Anyway, here are the songs that made the biggest splash! FYI: You can also scroll down the page to find the original posts and random trivia that accompanied the tracks.

VAST – Lady of Dreams
[audio:1cozy.mp3]

Force Theory – Favela Rising Mix
[audio:2cozy.mp3]

Adiemus – Adiemus
[audio:4cozy.mp3]

Rjd2 – 1976
[audio:1coffee.mp3]

Thievery Corporation – Lebanese Blonde
[audio:2coffee.mp3]

Manu Chao – Me Gustas Tu
[audio:3coffee.mp3]

And here are the original posts that accompanied the songs…

VAST – Lady of Dreams
Originally posted – April 11, 2006 @ 02:10

I first came across this song while browsing Lee Brimelow’s gotoAndLearn Flash tutorial site. The original video has since moved; you can now find it by going to Lee’s personal site leebrimelow.com and then look for the ‘Flash Inspiration Video’ link in his portfolio. I (along with hundreds of other curious individuals) emailed Mr. Brimelow about the song back in August of 2005, and he was cool enough to email me back with the track information. Lady of Dreams is a unique piece by VAST (Visual Audio Sensory Theater); I say unique because most of their music is not similar to this song at all.

Force Theory – Favela Rising Mix
Originally posted – April 12, 2006 @ 01:23

I came across the Favela Rising website after seeing the movie mentioned at a local theatre (unfortunately, I have yet to watch the film). The music playing on the website immediately caught my attention and after looking through the site, I came across the Force Theory website which contains MP3’s of the Favela Rising Soundtrack. I grabbed two of my favorite tracks off the site and “pasted” them together in Audacity to create the “Favela Rising Mix”.

Adiemus – Adiemus
Originally posted – April 14, 2006 @ 16:17

I was exposed to Adiemus while visiting Kartchner Caverns State Park. The park is located just outside of Benson, Arizona and is one of the most pristinely preserved caves in the US. They were accidentally discovered in 1974 by Randy Tufts and Gary Tenen and remained closed to the public until 1999.
There are several ‘rooms’ you can tour, and the Throne Room tour includes a music and light show where a 58 foot tall column (a connected stalactite and stalagmite) known as Kubla Kahn takes center stage. I really enjoyed the music that was used for the show, and I later came to find out that the name of the song is Adiemus by Adiemus.
The interesting thing about Adiemus is that there are no actual lyrics; instead, the human voice is used as an instrument and is not bound by words or language. For more information, check out the story of Adiemus by founder Karl Jenkins.

Rjd2 – 1976
Originally posted – June 06, 2006 @ 02:45

I originally came across Rjd2’s 1976 music video on iTunes; this was back when you could watch entire music videos for free. Well, long gone are such days, and long gone is the 1976 video on iTunes. Fortunately, a quick search for Rjd2 on Google video will yield the unique music video; I suggest you check out it when you get a chance.

Thievery Corporation – Lebanese Blonde
Originally posted – June 07, 2006 @ 03:15

Seeing that my last attempt at picking a Coffee Shop tune ended up a bit on the up-tempo side, I had to dig deep to pick a tune out that would truly belong in a coffee shop amongst coffee sipping patrons. With that said, Thievery Corporation’s Lebanese Blonde has the sophisticated beat that’s sure to be a match for the Coffee Shop environment.
I had known of Thievery Corporation from the late 90’s, but lost touch with the group until I found out that this track was being featured in the Garden State movie (thus the ‘Movie Soundtrack’ tag). Which reminds me, I probably could’ve put any song off the Garden State soundtrack on here and it would make a great coffee sipping tune, which is why I have decided to not put any other song off the Garden State soundtrack – I’ve filled my Garden State quota for the day.
Admittedly, I’m not too familiar with the history of the duo so I will point you to their official biography for more info on Thievery Corporation. Although I will mention that as I searched around for some Lebanese Blonde trivia, I came across some sad news about the singer featured on this song. The vocals are provided by Pam Bricker, a contemporary jazz vocalist who passed away in early 2005 after her struggle with clinical depression lead up to the taking of her own life. I’m definitely thankful that she was able to leave such an enduring performance on this awesome track; peace be upon her and her family.

Manu Chao – Me Gustas Tu
Originally posted – June 08, 2006 @ 03:17

I thought I would add an International flavor to Coffee Shop Week by adding Manu Chao’s Me Gustas Tu to the fray. And yes, it’s a little up beat – yet I thought that it might help you get ready for the day after a nice coffee break.
Now for my Chris Farley tribute of the day; for those of you who don’t habla Espanol, Me Gustas Tu is Spanish for: I Like You. The song itself goes through several iterations of I like (insert noun); I like you. For example, one lyric states I like the guitar; I like you. Now, I’m only assuming that the “I like you” part is referring to a female as he also asks in the song “What time is it my Love?”
Anyways, it’s a catchy tune that I’ve enjoyed every time I listen to it. Manu Chao is also as International as his musical composition. His family moved from Spain to France when he was born, and he grew up listening to everything from the Clash to Chuck Berry. Early in his musical career, he formed a multi-racial band and gained notoriety in the French Rock scene. He later returned to his Latin and French roots and has achieved much success throughout Europe, Latin America, and the US.

Well, that pretty much wraps it up. If you enjoyed the songs or have some musical recommendations to share, feel free to leave a comment!

Sincerely,
The Closet Entrepreneur

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