Empire of the Sun

First of all yummmmmmmmm, soak this in. Get it, sun. AHhhhh



Empire of the Sun is just perfect. They are a combination of MGMT, M83, and Passion Pit and I love it all. I saw them live at ACL in 2011 in they were amazing, which I think is so unfortunately rare these days. It's a kind of soft, techno-fied rock sound, and their songs are all very catchy and smooth.

Here is a slower song called "We are the People" and no, unfortunately it is not tied to the Preamble.




And here is my third favorite, "Standing on the Shore"



Once again, there is a ravenous puppy I have to take care of, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE Empire of the Sun, I had a little re-discovery of them while writing this blog post and I will definitely be listening to them for the rest of the night.

Led Zeppelin

So, here's the skinny: I like Led Zeppelin, but I would not listen to them on my own time. I can acknowledge that they are some talented dudes, but I don't find their music catchy/ fun to sing along too/ or most importantly, I can't relate to their lyrics.

I am a lyrics girl, I think they completely make or break a song. For instance, "Say What You Need To Say" by John Mayer would probably be my jam if he would say something other than those 6 lyrics. Ay Carumba. It's like common, I'm not even that picky, if a song can have at least 4 distinct lyric stanzas and they're semi meaningful, I'm game, I really don't think it's that hard.

So, first of all, can we just acknowledge how hard I used to rock this song on Guitar Hero. Just putting that out there.


Anyways, while I really like their classics like Stairway to Heaven, some of their song's lyrics are just so nooooooo:

Baby, baby, I don't wanna leave you,
I ain't jokin' woman, I got to ramble.
Oh, yeah, baby, baby, I believin',
We really got to ramble.
I can hear it callin' me the way it used to do,
I can hear it callin' me back home!


Okay, so there is a brand new puppy here and I am home alone and he is eating my pants, so this blog post is gonna have to be cut rather short. Sorry but now he is biting my toes and owwwwww.

Woodstock: Not for me

So let me start off by addressing what a huge ACL baby I am. While I continually find myself regretting spending my money on the festival after the eternity-feeling weekend is over, I somehow always find myself buying tickets for the next festival. To set the stage, let me first announce how I have a strong theory that I am an old, cranky man stuck inside an angsty teenager's body. And let me tell ya, while there are several things I LOVE about ACL, there are even more things I could definitely live without.

Things I like:
- The music, duh. However I make a rule of only buying a ticket if there are a minimum of 3 bands I like and know well per day.
- The FOOD. Oh man, mighty cone get in my belly. I could eat those delicious fried geometric taco things day and night.
- The atmosphere (to the extent of being able to trot around outside)

Things I do NAHT like:
- The crowds: I never told the peasants they could touch me! How dare they.
-The prices: As much as I love that mighty cone, it is mighty pricey. Like eight bucks for a taco thing? Boo.
- The sass: I swear, the people at ACL get meaner every year. I get stepped on, shoved, cursed at, you name it. And excuse me for shoving you to the ground and pitching your dollar sunglasses after you performed an open beer-helicopter over my head, then vomited where I was standing.
-The exhaustion: I am not made to stand all day and wander from stage to stage in the heat. I am a religious napper, and I get wiped out.
- The sunburn: I am ginger, hear my dying skin roar.

Anywhoo, Woodstock pretty much seems like ACL on hippy steroids, and I don't think I could last a day. However, I have a really nice appreciation for Woodstock, in regards to the dedication of the millions of hippies, the inspiration it induced as the first of many spectacular music shows, and the revolution it created in the music world. Those fans sat through a wild rain storm, and if I thought ACL wore me out, they didn't even get to go home at night! Woodstock was simply incredible, however, I just simply am not hardcore enough to handle it.

Zola Jesus

I was introduced by none other than my other music geek teacher, Mr. Earhart. She was at ACL this year too, so I got a chance to check her out live, and I honestly thought she was one of the best of the day. Plus she was wearing a weird like Luke Skywalker outfit, which made it even better.

She is like a super-eerie/ spiritual Florence + The Machine, and I diiiiggg it.








My god, isn't her voice incredible? She sounds SO much like Florence Welsh, they could be sisters. Anyways, Zola sings some beautiful/ impressive stuff (although admittedly I can barely understand her,she could be singing about taxidermy or something weird and I would have 0.00 clue) then throws some funky bass in there and some crazy laser noises and stuff and it's perf.

However, she's one of those artists where I really like some of her stuff, and I don't really care for her other songs. But, I think it would be weird if I liked every one of her songs, and anyways it shows that she demonstrates diversity and creativity in her production range. Go Zola.

Bill Withers

Can we all just stop and admire the beauty that is this song and man for a sec?



I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I know I

I like the original version better than the live version, however only because it is lacking the super awesome orchestra accompaniment, not because Bill Withers isn't jammin:



Anyways, Bill Withers will always have a super big place in my heart, his voice is so smooth and melodic, the beats are so catchy, and he has me hooked. I find myself leaning on him when I'm not strong ;) Anyways, Bill Withers, in my opinion, truly is a classic example of the talent that seems to have disappeared from today's popular music culture. Bill Withers' smooth R&B will forever ease my soul.

Here are some more favorites:

Just the Two of Us:




Lovely Daaaaaaay:

The Band

I really like "The Band" however, I have such a hard time defining their genre. Sometimes I'm dead set that they're country, then it gets kind of blues-y, then more rock and it just makes my head hurt. However, while I can't quite categorize them, that's pretty unique that they contain this awesome versatility factor, which can allow them to appeal to a broader range of audiences. A musical chameleon, if you will.

My favorite besides the "Dixie down" song, is "Ophelia", this one is more swing- jazzy to me.



I really like "Up on Cripple Creek" I think this one is mainly coutry



If I had to compare The Band to a modern day band, I could be way off base, but they kind of remind me of "Cake". "Cake" is also famously known for using a real broad variety of unique instruments and some brass instruments like the trumpet, which I noticed in "The Band". Just a thought.

The Virgins

The first time I heard The Virgins was at ACL 2009 while I was actually waiting to hear a different band play, and I actually found myself really enjoying their set.

I am so embarrassed to even be linking this to my blog, I hate these weird fan lyric videos, anyways only listen don't watch. Anyways, this one is "Teen Lovers" and is a favorite.



This is their most popular song, "Rich Girls".



I think it has a real funky beat, and the main guy's voice sounds a lot Mr. Franz Ferdinand in this song to me, I think's the subtle auto-tone put on their voice that makes it sound kind of radio-y. You know what I mean? Anyways the lyrics are kinda funny too, he's being a little bit of a d-bag, right on.

And finally "One Week of Danger"


I hope the Virgins were satisfying. Get it? Too far? Just enough.

Cream

Soooo, first of all, I actually know some of Cream's songs, which is very exciting! I've also heard the guitar legend Eric Clapton's name a million times, specifically by Hyde on "That '70s Show".

I'm also pretty sure I've played this bad boy many a time on the Guitar Hero:



This video is pretty cool to watch, or I feel like it's a very personal/ rare vantage point to see a band perform.

So, I'm about 1000% postitive I feel this way only because I'm a totally ignorant to the technial aspects of music and such, but I can barely tell the difference between one cream song and the next. They all have some semi- screamy lyrics, slow guitar riff, and some heavy drums. However, as similar as their music sounds to me, I can recognize the talent in these guys, specifically Clapton.

My favorite is "I Feel Free"



The intro is totally different from their other stuff, and I find it fun and refreshing. There is also some mega tamborine, and mama loves her some tamborine.

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

What's this? Some diversity? I'm posting about rap? A WHITE RAPPER duo?
That's right. I'm a versatile biotch.

So Macklemore does the rapping and Ryan Lewis does the producing and such.

Here is their most popular/ my favorite song "Thrift Shop"




First of all, this is some catchy ish, how can you not like this song? With that sexy sax riff too? Love. Second of all, these guys are brilliantly hilarious.

lyrics:

John Wayne ain’t got nothing on my fringe game, hell no
I could take some Pro Wings, make them cool, sell those
The sneaker heads would be like “Aw, he got the Velcros”

Perfection.

Then guess what? They have some political statements to make too! This song is talking about gay/ racial rights and prejudice in general.




I remember doing the math like, “yea I’m good at little league”
A preconceived idea of what it all meant
For those that liked the same sex
Had the characteristics
The right wing conservatives think it’s a decision
And you can be cured with some treatment and religion
Man made rewiring of a predisposition
Playing god, aw nah here we go
America the brave still fears what we don’t know
And god loves all his children, is somehow forgotten
But we paraphrase a book written thirty-five-hundred years ago

Claire approves.

Imagine Dragons

I am currently OBSESSED with Imagine Dragons. Obsessed. You may already know them from their really big hit "It's Time" which was being played about 5 times every hour on the radio a month ago. Anyways, while I liked that single a lot, I finally took the time to listen to their full album, and ohhhh mahhh gahhhhh. It's like Coldplay met Mumford and Sons, and they had a pop/ dubstep baby. Oh I love it.

Here are some of my favorite songs:

"Radioactive" starts off pretty folky, more toward the Mumford and Sons vibe, then the bass drops and it bloows my mind.



This is "Demons" and it's one of their slower songs. This one is the one in particular that reminds me of Coldplay, the lead singer's voice actaully sounds SUPER similar to Chris Martin's, it's a lil too coincidental.



"Bleeding Out" is another one of their slower songs, but there's something eerily catchy about this song. It picks up a bit into the song, even though I'm pretty sure the lyrics, as hinted by the title, are rather dark.



The chorus:

Cause I'm bleeding out
So if the last thing that I do
Is bring you down
I'll bleed out for you
So I bare my skin
And I count my sins
And I close my eyes and I take it in
I'm bleeding out
I'm bleeding out for you
For you

Kind of a debbie downer, yikes

Anyways, I love love love Imagine Dragons, if you have the time, listen to their full album, "Night Visions".

Beatles n' Drugs

As we learned from "Rubber Soul" and basically every other album after that, the Beatles are no strangers to drugs. I personally like Paul's songs a little bit better than John's, but it's very likely that that is because I have a crush on teenage Paul, so there is some heavy bias. However, because of this, The magical mystery tour is not my favorite Beatles album. Since the introduction of drugs to their music, I either find their stuff really amazing, or obnoxiously weird and overly psychedelic.

Here is a cool remix of "I am the Walrus" with some Daft Punk beats thrown in, because why not.



A compilation of druggy songs, hmmmm



A somewhat recent discussion with Paul, George, and Ringo reflecting on their drug usage and how drugs have become a more pressing issue today.

Jimi Hendrix

I'm gonna be real, again. I'm pretty uninspired to write this wall post considering, as we discussed in class, my extent of knowledge regarding Jimi Hendrix is that he's black, plays some impressive guitar, and has an even more impressive afro. I tried to watch a little bit of a documentary on him to learn more, but I'm sorry to report I quit after about 5 minutes.

Anywhoo, from my shallow research, I found some songs I like:

"All Along the Watchtower" is my favorite so far. You mentioned earlier that Red Hot Chili Peppers do some covers of Hendrix, which is funny because the entire time I was listening to this song, I kept thinking how much it reminded of RHCP.


Allllsoooo heyyy, look what I found:



First of all, let me note the conversation in the beginning "She's thirsty, get her some acid"....Looool.

Second of all, this is pretty cool, to see him kind of in his natural habitat, if you will. This is a super interesting cover of Elvis' song, and I don't mean this to sound largely stereotypical, but this one seems more soulful, or rather, it was more meaning/ less cheesy-ness behind it.

Broken Bells

RIYL: The Shins, Phoenix

First of all, sorry I'm not writing punny titles anymore. It began to become a chore, and I want puns to be a treat, not a pain.

Anyways, I'm surprised I haven't written about Broken Bells yet, I'd easily place them in my top 5 favorite bands of all time.

My favorite song is "The Ghost Inside"



The continuous is beat in the background is pretty repetitive, but they keep it fresh with funky keyboard. The main vocals are sung in a really high pitch, which I think is an interesting/ different direction from a lot of modern music. However, there's lots of harmonization and another real dreamy voice that comes in later too.

This is probably their most popular song, "The High Road"



This one features the dreamy guy's vocals instead of the higher voice. The song starts off with almost a Pac-Man like sounding keyboard intro, I like it. The lyrics are really dark, with potential drug themes? It's a bit ambiguous:

Come on and get the minimum
Before you open up your eyes
This army has so many hands
To analyze
Come on and get your overdose
Collected at the borderline
They want it up in your hair

[Chorus]
Cause they know, and so do I
The high road is hard to find
A detour in your new life
Tell all of your friends goodbye

And finally, a last favorite of mine is "Sailing to Nowhere"




This one is a bit softer than the others...I like it.

Over all, Broken Bells are a ringing success...I tried.

STRFKR

RIYL: daft punk, other techno-y upbeat jazz

STRFKR, as I will appropriately abbreviate it here is a electronic/ pop band that I could see very easily at ACL. They are kind of techno-y with more substance added with the addition of other band members playing typical instruments.

Here is my favorite song, "Quality Time"



This one is called "Bury Us Alive". This is their most popular song, it starts off with some pretty eerie singing, then picks up. It's not my favorite song by any means, but hey, what can you do?




And finally, here is "Julius". There is some crazy techno-fied at the beginning, I did it. The fun keyboard in this song is very similar to that of "Matt & Kim", and this is a very happy song.

Simon and Garfunkel

My favorite band that we listened to this week was Simon and Garfunkel. I really am into folky-music, and a lot of their songs really hit that note. However, I did notice a lot of variety in their music, while I found some songs much heavier and rock and roll like than others.

The Sound of Silence is the best:



The sounds is so soothing and relaxing. They sound a lot like one of my other favorite bands, Iron and Wine, in this song. I love the soft acoustic and harmonization.

Then in this song, Mrs. Robinson, they remind me so much of the Beatles, singing about a lady, and their singing style also mimics that of the Beatles.




Another of my favorite softer songs is The Boxer



There is one instrument in this song that haunts me at night because I cannot identify it. I think it is a flute? It does a little diddy every now and then.

Anyways, I really like Simon and Garfunkel and I appreciate their diversity.

Sunny Feelings Toward the Beach Boys

OH NO FML FML I just discovered this only got saved this as a draft instead of being published, so I suppose it is late now. Boo. Anyways, here is my post on the Beach Boys

I'm SO glad we are transitioning into the Beach Boys, they are one of my favorite oldie bands. Like you mentioned in class, I am also a sucker for the teen heartbreak lyrics, and can't help but to apply them to my own life and connect emotionally to the songs. I also LOVE the Jersey Boys, and I feel like their voices/ music is incredibly similar. I'm feeling Beach Boys musical....let's make it happen.

I LOVE "Wouldn't it Be Nice"



I'm so sappy, but I'm okay with it. I love the sensitive guy perspective portrayed in the lyrics. I also love their harmonies, I think they rival that of the Beatles, actually, they're a little better.

Here is a techno-fied version of the song,




And now it's time to D-D-DROP THE BASS



I think it's so interesting how once song can be altered and interpreted in so many different ways, and I know these aren't the best mixes out there, but for embedding purposes I am restricted to youtube. Sorry.

Anyways, BIG THUMBS UP for Beach Boys, they are easily my favorite band we've covered thus far.

You're going to need a breather after this post

RIYL: Kings of Leon, Mumford and Sons, Lifehouse

So, I mentioned NEEDTOBREATHE in class this week, as I discovered them at ACL this weekend and fell in love. At ACL, they were very folk-y and relaced, much in the typical ACL theme, but now that I have come home and looked up some of there stuff, they have some songs that are much more heavier rock than those I heard at ACL, and I'm really into this variety.


Here is some of their slower stuff, to show their mellow side:

This one is called "Something Beautiful" and is probably their most popular song, and in my top 3 favorites




This is "The Outsiders". Oh yes, it's banjo time



"White Fences", also a favorite.



So, they're kind of seeming like a soft country/ rock band, right?

Check out this transition..

This is called "Oohs and Ahhs"




Slow at first, but then it gets real passionate and heavier. The music has transitioned from a more acoustic-y type to more of the electric-guitar side, and I am digging it.

"Maybe They're Onto Us"




This one isn't as heavy music, but its definitely not as upbeat and folkly as the others. They kind of remind me of a less angsty Fall Out Boy in these two songs.

Anyways, I fell in love with NEEDTOBREATHE this weekend, and will be jamming to htem for a while.

Bob Dylan Re-amped

I hope you don't mind, but I really like the remix-beatles themed post I did last week, and I think that theme is going to become a regular thing on my blogs for when I'm sick of a band, or in this case, just could not care less for them.

For starters, while I do like the music and substance in Bob Dylan's lyrics, I just cannot get over his voice. I know he's not supposed to be a pro or anything, but I really can't handle it, it's too painful.

Here is a subtly different mix of his song "Subterranean Homesick Blues". It feature some bass/ and background beats from a band I'm really fond of, The Ting Tings




Check out this chick, covering Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A Changing"



I'm going to be honest, I'm not even really that into this cover, but I like just about anyone's voice better than Bob Dylan's. Whoops, did I just type that? YEAH I did. Anyways, even though this girl is in a weird fluffy coat, she can sing.

HEY LOOK IT'S JOHN MAYER



Even though I hate John Mayer (personality wise), I love to hate him, and this cover is beautiful. His guitar gets almost banjo sounding sometimes, I really like it.

In conclusion, not a Bob Dylan fan. That is all.

Dieing for Die Antwoord

RIYL: MIA, Aqua, Passion Pit

It's finally ACL Time!!!

In honor of the sacred weekend, I thought I would give a tribute to one of my favorite (and scariest) bands, Die Antwoord

Here is there most popular song. There is plenty o' profanity in here, but hey, what can you do?:



So, these guys are a techno/ pop duo from South Africa, and are both super weird. The petite girl does most of the vocals and rocks all black contacts, and a bleached/ half shaved hair do, and then is joined in the unexpected duo with a kind of white trash/ grunge-y rapper. The girl has a very foreign vibe, and regularly sings in a Hebrew-ish sounding language.

My favorite thing about their music is the tribal themed music they feature in most of their music, I assume this comes from their African roots.


In this song, there is a regular, prominent drum beat, that reminds me of an African tribal dance.



This song reminds me SO MUCH of Aqua (the artist behind the famous Barbie Girl) especially with the eerie intro.




These guys are playing at around 4 or 5 on Sunday, so if you don't have a particular band in mind to see then, I would highly recommend checking these guys out. I hear they have absolutely...insane live performances. I am bringing my very sheltered/ innocent boyfriend to this concert, and absolutely I cannot wait to corrupt/ terrify him there.

The Beatles: Remixed

I feel like I have already done countless Beatles blogs, and to be real, I'm kind of super tired of them. So, to keep this blog post from boring even myself, I'm going to put an interesting spin on this post. I'm going to share some unique remixes of Beatles songs, and compare them to the originials. Feel free to entirely hate them, no hard feelings, I feel like people are really touchy about the Beatles, so watch out.

Here is a slowed down, remix of "You Never Give Me Your Money"



Johnny Cash also kind of made a little cameo in the end, but whatever. I LOVE this mix,it is entirely different from the original. I love the soft vocals in the original, and the original kind of has a more country vibe, while is is more jazzy. This a way more low-key mash-up than most remixes are, and I really like its unique factor.


This a remix of "And I Love Her"



It gets a bit too techno-y for me at times, but for the most part, I'm digging it. This is probably my favorite Beatles remix out there. They left a lot of the original song in, and just added some extra beats and computer sounds. I just did a post on Justice, and this reminds of me something they would produce.

And just incase Rubber Sole wasn't trippy enough, here is a dubby- trippy version of "Tomorrow Never Knows"



So, while these modernized Beatles mixes will never live up to the legacy of the originals, I still think they're pretty cool and I like to see how music has progressed since then, and how it meshes with music from the past.

Serving Music Justice

RIYL: Daft Punk, LCD Soundsystem, Deadmau5

Justice,is an electronic/DJ duo made up of two Parisian guys,Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay. They started out as a huge internet sensation, as they are famous for remixing popular songs like MGMT's "Electric Feel" (my favorite justice song, I attached the video below)and the work of Britney Spears, Daft Punk, and Fatboy Slim. Then, as their covers gained popularity, they started making their own stuff and eventually got a record deal. I LOVE their album, Cross, I will attach links to it below.

Surprsigly, their most popular song,"D.A.N.C.E.", is not my favorite. For some reason, I really hate when little kids sing in songs. It's just a music pet peeve. It's just like...get out, I came here to listen to the band, not you juvenile amateurs. Anyways, here is a link to the song. I do really like the music in the song and the funky radio noises/ disco sounds.




Here are my favorite songs awww yeahhhh:


The beginning of this song is so ominous, like an evil dictator's theme song or something, I love it. Then the beat kicks in and things get lovely.This song starts off their Album, Cross, and I think it is the perfect intro into the album.



Here is my favorite remix I mentioned earlier, the cover of MGMT's "Electric Feel"




I actually like this version a lot better than the original, which is rare for me. The pitches of the voices have been altered a little, and I feel like the music has more substance in this version, like it's smoother and more interesting to listen too. There is a lot of fading in and out with the vocals, which I think is super cool.

WHO dat

So, I'm gonna go ahead and say it, not a fan (of them as a band) in their early stages. I personally think that these guys are a flock of rebels with 0.00 cause, and they strike me as a bit psychotic sometimes. While their loony antics do sometimes amuse me, overall, I find them to be weird, Austin-Powers-dressing spazzes. However, as they got older and kinda settled down, I found them much more tolerable.

Onto their music. Like their image, I'm not a huge fan of them in their early stages, but they definitely grow on me as they progress through their albums. They always kind of have a funky/ techno sound in the background of their music, and I find it super catchy and addictive. I actually mentioned this in my other post, but these guys kind of give me a Queen vibe sometimes too.


I love the song Who are You? a whole bunch, I actually sing to it while driving rather frequently. I love the harmonized singing and of course, and I love how calm they are in this video compared to their old days.



Also, I know this one is super cliche to be my favorite, but I LOVE Baba O'riley. A weird music illusion I have for that song? A robot running a marathon. I don't know, it's so techno-y and it gets faster and faster toward a build up and intro into the rest of the song, it's not that weird. Anyways, I love the funky keyboard in this song, and the prominent role of the drums.




Here is a great clip of a Keith Moon drum solo, the sound quality is way off, but the footage is great

Muse-ic to my Ears

RIYL: The Killers, Franz Ferdinand, The Bravery

One of my all time favorite bands, Muse, recently released their 6th album, The 2nd Law yesterday, 9/25.

In case you don't know Muse well already, their sound is usually super "rise against the man" with rebellious lyrics and heavy guitar, keyboard, and drums. However, this album, in my opinion, is quite a step in a softer/ instrumental direction, and Ima be real, I am digging it.

So, for whatever reason, Itunes has decided to torture me and the rest of the Muse loving world, and has not made the album for sale yet. Not that I was planning on buying them on iTunes anyways, that would be conforming to the system, and the man doesn't own me (I've been listening to Muse while writing this post, I don't know if you can tell). Anyways, I've been listening on sketchy websites, here is an okay-quality link to the entire album from the YouTube.



The album starts off strong with Supremacy, but slowly transitions into a much softer sound, Madness and Isolated System being two slower highlights. Here is a link to Madness, it is the only single that has been officially released on the interwebs.



It's very pop-esque as far as the "ma-ma-ma-madness" background vocals goes, but the lead singing is significantly softer and calmer than Muse's usual tracks. The soft singing continues through out the song, with no apparent build-up, or passionate chorus of sorts. There are some parts of harmonization in the song that even sound a bit like Queen, their sound is totally different. However, while some fans may be disappointed to see this more subdued version of Muse's sound, I personally find it refreshing and a smart change.

However, while I do really like this album, my favorite Muse album will always be Black Holes and Revelations. Here are some of my favorites from this album. The music here is way more upbeat and angsty in my opinion, and I enjoy it more.

The Rolling Stones are still rolling..and rolling...and rolling

So, I'm gonna go ahead and start off by saying that I'm team Beatles. Sorry, but not really, these guys are just not my "cup of tea". (Get it, because they're British..Hahahah)

However, they're not all bad, and there are several things I admire about them.

- I will admit that I respect them (as a band) more than the Beatles, because of the insane amount of work they have produced (22 albums..dayyyum) and the fact that they are still together 50 years later.

Those are some leathery, gifted old guys.

- I do love the blue-sy sound to their music, as I have previously mentioned, I loves me that harmonica. One thing I found out when researching these guys is that all of them can play an obscene amount of instruments. Mick Jagger and Ron Wood can collectively play like 50 instruments, it's absolutely absurd and I am super impressed.

-They have some brilliant lyrics.

In the song, perhaps no so creatively titled, Bitch, one of my favorite lines is "Yeah when you call my name, I salivate like a Pavlov dog" Maybe it's just because I've taken psychology and I'm excited to catch a reference I understand, but I appreciate that little simile.

Here are the Lyrics to Sister Morphine. The song actually kind of freaks me out, the singing is really quiet at first, and the only instrument is the acoustic guitar for the majority of the time...it's kind of eerie and depressing.



Here I lie in my hospital bed
Tell me, Sister Morphine, when are you coming round again? Oh, I don't
think I can wait that long
Oh you see that I'm not that strong

The scream of the ambulance is sounding in my ears
Tell me, Sister Morphine, how long have I been lying here? What am I
doing in this place?
Why does the doctor have no face?

Oh, I can't crawl across the floor
Ah, Can't you see, Sister Morphine, I'm trying to score.

Well it just goes to show things are not what they seem Please, Sister
Morphine, turn my nightmares into dreams. Oh can't you see I'm fading
fast?
And that this shot will be my last.

Sweet cousin cocaine, lay your cool cool hands on my head Ah come on,
Sister Morphine, you better make up my bed 'Cause you know and I know
in the morning I'll be dead
You can sit around and you can watch all the clean white sheets
stained red.

..what a bummer.

Anyways, as cliche as it is, my favorite song is Sympathy for the Devil. The lyrics here are also kind of freaky-deaky and twisted, but you know what, I kind of like it. I feel like the Beatles songs were very safe for the most part, and I like that some of the Stones' stuff is darker.

Grizzly Bear: A Good Listen, Fur Sure

RIYL: The XX, The Shins, Broken Bells

So, Grizzly Bear just released their 4th album, Shields, a few days ago, so I thought that now would be an appropriate time to honor their beauty. For those of you who are unfamiliar with them, here is there most popular song, Two Weeks, which I'm pretty sure is in a Car commercial of some sort, I'm not sure. Who watches actual TV anymore instead of netflix?



Grizzly Bear is a sort of folk pop group I suppose, if I had to put a genre on their music. I love love love their heavy use of piano and their background vocals. The main vocals are very soothing and soft, and easy to listen to for a full album's worth. There is also a lot of acoustic guitar in their work, which accompanies the sassy tambourine very nicely.

My favorite song by them is Ready, Able, partially because I love the lyrics, and probably because it has the most trippy music video I have ever seen in my life. I don't have any experience with psychedelic drugs, believe it or not, but I have a feeling that this video is not far off base.

Check this out.


Here are some highlights from their new album, Shields.





This song sounds just like the XX to me, especially in the beginning. I love the vocals, and I love the background sharp-clapping noises. This is my favorite song of their new album.

Beatlemania

We recently viewed a documentary in class featuring the Beatles' experience while they played in America for the first time. To sum it up in two words, I would say it was utter chaos. These are 4, relatively average looking guys (except my main man, Ringo) who have a talent so extraordinary that they are rocking the worlds of basically every single girl (and some tasteful dudes)in America, along with a decent amount of other countries.

The thing that I found the most surprising was what major d-bags these guys were. I mean, when you're that wealthy and famous, I suppose you're allowed to throw courtesy to the wind, but still, I found it rather off-putting. Particularly, when the guys were blatantly making fun of their poor manager, I felt just awful for the pitiful sad sack. However, even though they are jerks, the guys are still super funny and have enormous personalities, which I think is important to maintain in the celebrity-world.

Another thing I found interesting was the magnitude of the girls'/crowd reaction to the Beatles. I knew that the Beatles were huge, but not "lose your mind/clothes" over them obsession worthy. When the camera crews would pan out to the girls in the crowd during the guys' performances, girls were literally pulling their hair and flailing about wildly. Man, music is powerful, yo.

We never listened to this song in class, but it's one of my favorites. It reminds me of the Parent Trap and my younger days, and gets me nostalgic.



The Beatles were truly a revolution in the music world, and I don't know if any band will ever be able to top their success.

Falling for Fleet Foxes

RIYL: Iron & Wine, Mumford and Sons, Bon Iver
Fleet Foxes are a recent obsession of mine, these guys are just so folk-y and smooth, and I am a sucker for their indie-ness. The vocals are absolutely beautiful, the lead singer, Robin Pecknold, harmonizes flawlessly with guitarist and keyboardist, and ahhh, I can't even stand it, it's like liquid folksy gold is being poured into my ears, and I love it. There music is usually very acoustic and a bit slow, but there is enough passion and talent to keep the music riveting and memorizing. These guys have played at SXSW, and they give me a very ACL/ independent vibe.

Here is one of their most popular songs, Mykonos. I love the prominent role of the drum/ tambourine in this song, as I find in most bands they are usually more of background instruments.



This song is called Blue Ridge Mountain. The beginning of the song is entirely vocal, no instruments, and it almost has an eerie/ nostalgic vibe, it's rather hauntingly lovely. And what's this?! A Beatles reference to their crosswalk album cover?! EGAD



And this is one of my favorites, White Winter Hymnal. The video has claymation, and who doesn't love some good dancing play-doh figurines? This song does not have a lot of lyrics, as it is very repetitive, but I like it that way as I can sing along easier.

Here Comes the Blog, Doo do doo do

It's time to discuss America's favorite band, The Beatles. As surprising as it may sound, I have really never gotten all that into this band, they're way too mainstream. No, I'm completely kidding, but I really do know shockingly little about this band other than what we have learned in class. I did, however, perform a dance to "A Hard Day's Night" in kindergarten, so there's something.

One thing I really dig about the Beatles' music, particularly their early work, is their heavy use of harmonica. I. LOVE. Harmonica. I don't really know why, maybe it's that wild west vibe, but I have not found a song with harmonica in it that I don't love. I also love everyone of their voices, they are all such talented guys, and their harmonization is absolutely flawless and beautiful. Also, I was supremely impressed to learn that they made their first album in only one day. I honestly didn't even know that the Beatles sang Twist and Shout until I saw the track on their album, because his voice is so drastically different. And you know what, I actually like John Lennon's voice ten times better when it's super scratchy and raspy like that. It gives them an edge that I think is rather desperately needed, as I often find them a bit cookie-cutter. I also noticed, especially in Twist in Shout, that the Beatles have a bit of Little Richard influence in their work, specifically when they do the high "woo" between Lenon's verses,

While I do think this band is, deservingly so, one of the most talented of all time, their music is not something I honestly would listen to on a regular basis.

Here are some of my favorites that we haven't discussed in class yet:


Here, of course, is Hey Jude, which I recently found out was actually written for Lennon's son, to cheer him up through out his parents divorce, very sad. However, this song, is also a great spirit-lifter.


But of course, the Beatles will never be able to top the cuteness factor of this little guy.


And finally, my all time favorite Beatles' song will forever be Obladi Oblada. I used to jam out to this song when I was a tot, it is so happy so and catchy. I love the sharp/ old timey piano, it gives it a retro/ nostalgic vibe.

Who's that Rat-tat-tating at my door?

RIYL: Justice, Deadmau5

Here's another dynamic rock/electronic group from NY called Ratatat, featuring the lovely stylings of Evan Mast and Mike Stroud. Mike rocks out on the electric guitar while Evan jams out on the keyboard and composes the beats for the tracks on his computer. Evan and his brother actually own their own record label, Audio Dreggs, and he also has his own sort of one-man DJ group galled E*vax, so music basically consumes this dude's entire life. These guys have jammed as warm up bands for some super successful bands, such as Daft Punk, Bjork, The Killers, and Ben Kweller (everyone's favorite sensitive indierock redhead).

One thing that really distinguishes Ratatat's sound from other bands is that their music is only instrumental (except for the occasional jungle cat growls). However, even without lyrics, I find their music to be completely fulfilling, as the music is upbeat and complex enough to overcompensate for the lack of singing. One thing they do that I think is really interesting is that Evan makes the tracks first, and then Stroud adds the guitar after. That must take some mega music creativity, I give my kudos. Their music usually has some sweet bass to it, which is always a plus for me.

Here's their most popular song, Wildcat. It's honestly rather repetitive, but there is some variety thrown in about every 45 seconds that keeps things interesting. As you may have noticed on my last blog, music makes my imagination become rather active, and I often find myself creating an imaginary scenario for myself every time I listen to a song. This song makes me feel swanky, like I am big shot rolling high in a casino.



Ope, you know what, I lied, this next song, 17 Years, actually does have a bit of vocals in the very beginning, but it's not them speaking, so it doesn't count. This is my favorite song by them, Mike is doing WORK with his guitar in this song, and I really dig it.

Jerry Lee Lewis is still Shakin'

The most interesting man, in my opinion, that we learned about this week was Mr. Great Balls of Fire, Jerry Lee Lewis. When I came home to research him, I was very pleasantly surprised to learn that he is still alive and well. Here is a current picture of him, isn't he precious?

In all honesty, after watching some of his music videos, specifically A Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On he left me quite terrified. His energy is absolutely absurd, and I love it. However, the speed of the music of the music is a bit too fast for me, and gives me a rushed/ anxious feeling. Also, when all of the instruments play at once, specifically in the beginning, the noises begin to mesh in a less than harmonious way, and it sounds like a harsh ruckus for a solid 10 seconds.



Although Lewis' style may not exactly fit my taste, I do really appreciate this man's extraordinary talent. The piano is one of my favorite instruments, as I feel like its music can fit well into basically every genre of music, and he gave the piano such a strong, front stage presence in his work. I really like Boogie Woogie, and I think it is so cool that he was basically one of the founding fathers of the genre. Not once did Jerry Lee Lewis look down at his keyboard while playing, and not only that, he got up and danced and bounced around. He is also extremely vocally gifted, and I love his random outbursts of "WOO!". He also has the most amusing facials when he gets into his music, I can't help but smile at them.

Here is a video clip I found of him from 1983, performing in London. He has visibly aged quite a bit, and a lot of his sparkle and energy are gone, but his talent is still fully in tact.





I also found this cool website about his life, and there is a History Tab you can click on and check out his life story, very cool.
http://www.jerryleelewis.com/

I think it's very unfortunate that his life had to take such a drastic turn when he got so much bad press from the media. It's truly sad to see such talent go to waste, and I wish he had had a more graceful end to his career.

Discover "Discovery"

Discovery is an all time favorite band of mine, featuring an electronic/ pop sound. Basically, if Passion Pit, Daft Punk, and Foster the People somehow all had a baby together, Discovery would be their child.The band actually consists of only 2 guys, Rostam Batmanglij, from Vampire Weekend, and Wes Miles, from Ra Ra Riot. Rostam does the funky keyboard work while Wes does the dreamy singing. The sound is super upbeat and very fantastical and futuristic. Feel free to ridicule me for saying this, but the music just makes me happy and excited,and I imagine myself floating about in space or perhaps swimming and frolicking with some hip dolphins when I listen to them. One thing this band does that I usually don't really care for is that they use a lot of heavy auto-tuning on the vocals. However, I actually enjoy the altered sounds on this album, because the auto-tuning is not done in a painfully obnoxious way, and I know that Wes actually possesses the talent to sing without it (unlike my home girl, the notorious Ke$ha).


I will honestly admit that after listening to about 4 tracks of these guys, I do find myself more than ready to listen to something that doesn't sound quite so much like a Robot Disco, but when I am in the mood for this band, they really hit the spot. Here are some links to some of my favorite tracks by them:


Osaka Loop Line:



Carby (This one is particularly awesome, because Rostam brought in Ezra Koenig, his other fellow band member from Vampire Weekend,to do the vocals on this track) :



Also, another cool thing the band has done is made a remix/ cover of Jackson 5's "I Want You Back". Here are the links to both videos, see which one you like best. I obviously like Jackson 5's better, but that's because it's such a classic that's nearly impossible to beat.





V.S.


(this one takes like 19 seconds to start for whatever reason)





Hope you enjoyed "discovering" Discovery!

Sources: http://pitchfork.com/news/35381-discovery-vampire-weekendra-ra-riot-side-project-album-details-revealed/

Youtube.com