New Themed-Blog Day: Foto Friday! Hopefully I can keep this up, cause I love photos as much (but differently) as I love Music!
So I live on a street called "Cherry Lane" but there seems to only be one cherry tree on the whole street. Luckily it belongs to our next door neighbor. So I had my own mini-Cherry Blossom Festival, taking pictures on Sunday & Monday (post-spring-snowstorm). This is one of the first years in awhile that I've been home to take pictures of it, but you may remember this post where I had a mini cherry blossom fest on the University of Richmond campus. Unfortunately, for some reason I only posted one of the pictures I took there (although I used another for my "blog button"), so this time I'm including all of them.
March 24, 2013
March 24, 2013
March 24, 2013
March 24, 2013
March 24, 2013
March 24, 2013
March 24, 2013
March 24, 2013
March 25, 2013 (edited w/ Instagram)
I took all the photos with my iPhone 4S, and edited all but the last one using the Camera+ app. Seriously, it's great. I've found it's definitely easier to navigate than Snapseed, especially for basic fixes like backlight or dark pictures (however, there is less creativity in selectively editing portions of the photo, which Snapseed allows). I think for the amateur photographer, the Camera+ app is the way to go, it's one of the few apps I've ever paid for & it was totally worth the dollar.
Sorry for the brief hiatus. I had some posts planned but every now & then I just feel compelled to get off the interwebs, that combined with a bout of perfectionism meant posting just didn't happen the last 2 weeks. Well now that I'm back, here's my Spring 2013 Preview of Songs and artists I'm excited about.
f y f e: Solace
f y f e is the newest project of Paul Dixon, who used to perform under the name David's Lyre. I've highlighted some of his tracks before which you can find here. Solace is the first song he debuted (that looks funny for some reason but spell check is saying it's OK), under his new moniker and while it's definitely distinct stylistically from his previous work (with a heavier sound, more distinct beat and use of an electric instead of acoustic guitar), it still keeps the same introspective lyrics
He also just dropped a new single this week: f y f e: Lies
While David's Lyre was a little lighter sounding with more introspective lyrics, these new songs show f y f e is evolving into a more-radio friendly artist, with some heavier hooks, some electro-pop experimentation, and in the case of lies a free download if you "like" it on Facebook. Hopefully this translates into success across the pond for him here in America. I'd love to hear more and am looking forward to the EP release.
Fall Out Boy: My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark
The teenager in me is superexcited for the FOB reunion (Chicago Is So Two Years Ago takes me back to early high school everytime I hear it) plus fire is just awesome to watch in slo-mo, so the video satisfies my inner-pyromaniac. This song is definitely a bit harder & heavier and darker sounding, more reminiscent of Infinity on High than Under the Cork Tree (which along with Foile A Deaux are my favorite albums of theirs)
Vampire Weekend: Step
This song had its debut at the recent SXSW festival in Austin & all the music bloggers basically exploded with how awesome Vampire Weekend is and how much their all anticipating the next album. After hearing the track, I too am pretty excited for the next sounds from this lyrically-confusing, creative, hipster-before-hipsters-were-a-thing band.
San Cisco: Fred Astaire
I saw this young Australian band in concert last weekend at the Rock & Roll Hotel. They were a really fun band to hear live, they have a great 60s-beach-pop vibe and you could see they were having fun which always makes a show better. My friend described them as a "poor man's Bombay Bicycle Club, who is in turn a poor man's Vampire Weekend." While I definitely see similarity in the sounds of the lead singer's voices & some of the songs, I really don't think that comparison is quite appropriate, it's probably more like San Cisco is a high-schooler's Vampire Weekend (seriously I was a good 10 years older than about 80% of the audience & the lead singer even helped a boy ask a girl to prom,which was adorbs but highlighted the fact that I might've been too old to be there & maybe too old to use the word adorbs) with a sassy lady-drummer named Scarlett (if that's not a perfect Rock&Roll name, I don't know what is).
Hey Marseilles: Heart Beats
Another KEXP find, so I'm linking the video to the live performance recorded through KEXP . I can't even count how many songs I like are named Heartbeat or Heartbeats or something similar but add this to the list. Basically, gimme some existential/introspective thought on hearts beating, add an epic beat and in this case a violin/cello melody line and I'm all about it. I think this band is poised for a breakthrough, I've been hearing their name more and more lately and I can't wait to see what they do next.
Haim: Falling
I cannot say enough about how much I dig Haim's music. I also am calling them out as the next big thing in US music (although, as I said before, I'm not the first to say this: they received the BBC's Sound of 2013 award) Also, while I never officially made this claim for other artists, I recognized the same sort of of potential in the songs from Mumford & Sons, Gotye, Of Monsters & Men, the Lumineers, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis after discovering them from Triple J, KEXP, You Me & Charlie) in some cases almost a year before they became popular in mainstream media. Although for every Mumford, there's a Laura Marling (an amazingly talented musician who the critics all agree is great, but who just hasn't found a much success or radio play in the US). Anyway, this is in no way to toot my own horn, just to say: START LISTENING TO THIS AWESOME BAND and maybe you can be cool like me ;)
Did you know March is Women's History Month?
Neither did I, until I needed a theme for my first Musical Monday in March.
I actually though of this post after Tina Fey and Amy Poehler ROCKED hosting the Golden Globes (I mean seriously, I rarely bother with award shows except for the Red Carpet looks but was so thoroughly entertained by the hostesses that I watched the whole thing), thinking the celebration of women in film & television deserves a celebration of women in music, it has now worked out perfectly as the first post for March. In honor of Women's History Month, we're gonna get some great tunes from Women who Rock!
Metric: Breathing Underwater
Metric has always been wonderful, and their latest single is no exception. Singer Emily Haines is all that is cool in rock and roll, like an indie-new wave Gwen Stefani minus the Harajuku obsession. This was the one song that I somehow forgot when compiling my Best of 2012 post, so I had to find a way to get it into a post this year. I just wish the US radiowaves would finally give this band their due. I would love to hear them on the air A LOT more (DC101 is one of the first stations in the mid-atlantic to realize how awesome Metric is, so they get a shout out).
HAIM: Don't Save Me
I introduce to you (if you're not cool enough to know them already) the next generation of women rockers/ The winner of the BBC Sound of 2013 award, HAIM is poised to take over the charts worldwide. The trio of sisters from LA bring's back some 90s R&B sounds in a very millennial way. I got the chance to see them at the Gentlemen of the Road Stopover in Bristol, TN/VA and have been hooked on their sound since. I also like them cause I am one of three sisters and I can pretend they are our LA alter-egos
M.I.A.: Bad Girls
Basically one of the baddest music videos of 2012. Back in 2008 M.I.A.'s album Kala was a fixture in the locker room pre-game pump-up mix for my college soccer team and so I was so glad to hear her making more quality music in 2012. I'm also glad to hear the full length album she's been working on will get released sometime this year.
Dum Dum Girls: Bedroom Eyes
Again, not a brand new song, but I figured I'd mix it up with some 60's-sounding pop/rock. I like to think of them as the real life Josie and the Pussycats, only much cooler.
Spice Girls: Spice up your Life
You can't celebrate Girl Power without some Spice Girls. Sorry not sorry.
Shania Twain: Man I Feel Like a Woman
Shania owns my middle-school and early high-school days. She still can do no wrong.
Which female musicians rock your world? Tell me about it in the comments below!
Someone close to me has a birthday coming up (TOMORROW) and so this post is in honor of her 27th year and the dance party we'll have!
I'm switching it up a bit and including some more mainstream songs in this post. I sometimes have to counteract my hipster instinct and convince myself that just because a lot of other people like the song, it is no less worthy of my own ability to like said song. Also, I'm highlighting a genre I have not typically posted about in the past: electro-pop, techno, house, dance-tastic music!
Swedish House Mafia: Don't You Worry Child
Probably one of the most upbeat songs out there right now, I can't hear it without wanting to just bust out into a dance party, which is why I can't normally play it during work hours. It just puts a smile on my face and sometimes that's all I need a song to do.
One of my current favorite songs to dance to, although it usually just devolves into either a lot of jumping or lip synching. I just want to be Flo!
Memory Tapes: Sheila
(ignore the model face, & just listen)
The lead track off the new album Grace/Confusion, coming in at just over 8 1/2 minutes, this song is enough to kick-start any party. Somehow this electro-pop manages to stay interesting, keeping the same chord progression, but creating different variations on the motif. It knows when to build and when to ebb and how to get your feet a'tapping.
Florence + The Machine: Spectrum (Say My Name) Calvin Harris Remix
Did I mention that Flo is awesome? I know we just heard this combo but right now they cant go wrong, especially when it comes to getting me dancing!
So today is Valentine's Day. Which means a Special Musical Monday (I didn't want to spoil the surprise early)
To be ironic and all hipster I figured instead of a bunch of love songs I'd post Anti-ValenTunes. And this has nothing to do with that fact I've been single every Valentine's Day ever (*wink*), it's just that I prefer the sentiments of love, peace, one-worldness, and happiness of Christmastime over the manufactured "here's-the-day-you're-supposed-to-express-romantic-love-to-last-the-whole-year" sentiment of this holiday.
So here are the most Anti-Valentunes I could think of:
Linkin Park: Valentine's Day
Don't let the title fool you, this one's all about being depressed after a breakup and being alone on Valentine's day. It's definitely dark, but lyrically quite beautiful in its metaphors. Unfortunately, one year I was consoling a sister after a break-up (in early February) and I still kick myself that I didn't immediately change the song when it came up on the CD, thinking it would just be background noise, and we were using Linkin Park to channel angry feelings. Needless to say, it was one of the more heart-wrenching moments when she suddenly realized what song it was and the lyrics were saying.
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis: Thin Line (feat. Buffalo Madonna) (lyrics NSFW; rated-R for expletives)
The musicians of the moment definitely deserve all their success, and I hope people actually listen to the full The Heist album cause seriously each song is awesome. I can't imagine this song was written about his current relationship, cause homeboy Ben Haggerty just proposed and his lady said yes!! (Although, I am basing all this off a pic of the ring on Instagram so keep that in mind).
This song about a failed relationship really stands out to me lyrically, some of my favorite lines are below:
"The greatest trick that the devil ever pulled was convincing women that they look better in their make-up"
"Bought a one night stand just to bootleg, a duplication of something authentic"
"My mouth is a sawed off shotgun ready to pop off, how's the truth taste? My job comes with a complimentary toothpaste"
Damien Rice: Rootless Tree(lyrics NSFW; rated-R for one particular & repetitive expletive)
The ULTIMATE post-relationship/wallowing/angry song. Quite cathartic to sing/play when dealing with leftover emotions post-breakup. Also, in the mist of all the "eff-yous" there's one "I love you" that is heartbreaking each time you hear it because honestly, if you have to play this song it's because it isn't over for you yet...(no I'm not speaking from past experience *wink* again)
Gotye: learnalilgivinanlovin
Because this can't be a completely downer post, let's remind ourselves that unlike the commercialized message behind Valentine's Day, we can take it another way and decide that we don't have to reserve all our love for just one person on one day but we should take our joy, happiness and brotherly love and goodness and "share it round" to make the world and ourselves a lil better for it.
And then just because we're on the topic of Gotye and unromantic songs, and homeboy won a few Grammys the other day, for STIYTK in particular (*ahem* *cough* RECORD OF THE YEAR!), here it is, the breakup heard round the world: Gotye: Somebody That I Used To Know (feat. Kimbra)
Sometimes you want music to speak to you, sometimes you want it to jar you out of an mood, or assist your descent as you wallow in one. Sometimes you want to lyrics to surgically reveal your outlook, cutting deeply where you think you've hidden something too far within yourself. Sometimes you want it to lift you, propelling you higher than the clouds. But sometimes you want music to just carry you away, to be there almost insubstantially in the background, slowly drawing you in until you realize you have lost yourself in it, until you yourself are adrift in the atmospheric sounds, floating aimlessly. That's the music this week is dedicated to.
Explosions in the Sky: Postcard from 1952
You can't talk about atmospheric post-modern rock without talking about Explosions in the Sky. This track is off of Take Care, Take Care, Take Care, released in 2011. The band did something new with this album and gave filmmaking friends small bits of money to create music videos (something Sigur Ros is also doing now, which you should check out as well... maybe that'll be another theme), which the band hadn't created for any songs before.
The almost achingly slow movement throughout this video it exactly what their music inspires in my own inner eye, moments turned infinite through musical expression.
If they sound familiar it's because they did the soundtrack for Friday Night Lights (the movie the show was based on), and their echoey guitars have seeped into other areas of pop culture as well.
Nosaj Thing: Eclipse/Blue feat. Kazu Makino
I initially found this video on a music blog called Dead Horse March (you can see their post here). It is a Creators Project backed piece with enchantingly complex light show (think about a conceptual art piece that inspired the Beyonce mega/mirror/floor/wall thing) and slow steady vocals.
It is directed by Daito Manabe, takcom, Satoru Higa, and MIKIKO, and you can see more about the creative process on the Creators Project YouTube channel.
Oliver Tank: Last Night I Heard Everything In Slow Motion
I found this through KEXP's Music That Matter's Podcast. Oliver tank is a music producer out of Sydneym Australia (big surprise, I like more Australian music). The electronic clicking percussion propels the violins through their melody and the minimal vocals create a chill vibe to escape into...
until it ends too soon.
Hammock: (Leaving) The House Where We Grew Up
Another KEXP find. I really depend on them for a lot of my new music mostly because I find that I like a lot of the stuff I find there.
From the album Departure Songs, released in October 2012. The two-man band out of Nashville, TN definitely has an Explosions in the Sky vibe and I don't flatter myself into thinking that's a groundbreaking assessment at all. I think their ambient, post rock sound is best experienced when driving long distances as the musical montage/soundtrack to your life, try it sometime.
Jonsi & Alex: Atlas Song
I used the album Riceboy Sleeps in my yoga class numerous times. It was wonderful, and you should definitely try stretching to the music, even if you aren't a yoga person. It definitely puts you in a place where you can relax and calmly enjoy whatever the task at hand is, although a few people did fall asleep during Shavasana so maybe it worked too well.
If there's one thing the Jonsi, the lead singer of Sigur Ros, and his partner Alex get, its gentle atmospheric melodies, created with conventional instruments and unconventional sounds, with swelling orchestras and choir voices, leaving the listener with a paradoxical feeling of contented longing.
Triple J Hottest 100 Countdown!
(and also Australia Day, Happy Belated Australia Day!)
It's one of the world's largest public music polls started in 1989, hosted by an Australian radio station. On Australia Day, they spend the whole day counting down the top 100 songs as voted by the people (check out my votes here). Usually, a lot of the top 10 songs on the poll subsequently become huge in the US the next year. This year was actually a strong year for US artists (or maybe just more US voters), and the top artist came outta the good ol' US of A (& I actually first posted about him back in May[my second Musical Monday post EVER]), so if you've been listening to the right radio stations, you've probably heard it already. But I won't do the big reveal here... you gotta scroll all the way down through all the awesome music to find out! So without further Ado,
#9 Tame Impala - 'Feels Like We Only Go Backwards'
#8 Frank Ocean - 'Lost'
#7 Tame Impala - 'Elephant'
#6 Major Lazer - 'Get Free' {ft. Amber Coffman}
#5 Mumford & Sons - 'I Will Wait'
#4 Flume - 'Holdin On'
#3 alt-J - 'Breezeblocks'
#2 Of Monsters And Men - 'Little Talks'
And the Big #1... (I actually voted a different song by this artist but knew this one would make top 10):
#1 Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - 'Thrift Shop' {ft. Wanz}
Wow, I'm exhausted. I listened to part of this countdown live and have spent the better part of the last 2 days streaming it via Triple J's official website (not to mention trying to format all these pics in blogger, not the easiest thing to do).
***BREAKING NEWS***
Triple J announced:
"For the 1st time ever this weekend we're having the 2ND HOTTEST 100! You'll hear what songs came in at 200-101!!!" So get online & start streaming (for us non-Aussies) late Friday night (For us ESTimers) to hear all the fabulous songs that just didn't quite make the cut!
