If you're not already in love with this band based purely on the portion size of the band member on the right and the fact that the other three members' facial expressions as they eat are priceless, than you obviously need to look at more band-food pictures. It's a thing.
If your musical appetite is as ravenous as Greg Alsop's (our sandwich-enthusiast friend) than you're going to love Tokyo Police Club!!! Raucous, upbeat, and possessed of one of those accents with which every third word sounds epic, they're a riot! Don't 'Wait Up' on this one, or perhaps their hunger will extend all the way to your boots putting you in great danger. If you enjoy dogs having fun in pools watch this!
Want to hear the catchiest, most rocking, hands-down best song you'll ever hear named after a cartoon deer? Here it is.
Pretty much you should listen to everything of theirs...It's worth it. Enjoy!
After one of the most truly epic weekends of all time spent adventuring far and wide (near-about 47 miles of far/wide-ness) these past few days, I have never before felt so blessed to live in such a beautiful place, be possessed of such incomparable friends, and to be able to eat non-backpacking food most of the time! Every day was packed to the brim with boundless excitement, just as boundless views, and memories that will have me rooted and flocking back to Jackson until the day I die. Truly incredible!
Barely scraping the surface of the Gros Ventre's, we realized the sheer scope of untamed wilderness right outside our door and all the epicness just waiting to be explored!
On the subject of epicness: for a large portion of our third day of backpacking, the trail disappeared to be replaced only by cairns spaced out along the mountains. Already feeling completely immersed in a 'Middle-Earth' world, following these oft-times-hidden cairns across a rugged landscape made us feel downright like Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn tracking the Uruk's who took Merry and Pippen. It was unreal! One of the coolest experiences of the summer hands down! We pretty much felt like the 2:53 mark in this:
And of course we were belting out 'The Bridge Of Khazad Dum' every few hundred yards! From 4:58 on this song is the most gorgeous thing in the world.
And each cairn that we found was kind of like another beacon being lit...
Or at least another place to put our 45+ lb. packs down!
All in all an incredible weekend spent with some of the best people in the world, and now to top it all off, Meghan Proulx, my unbelievably amazing girlfriend, is in Jackson for the week to ensure I don't hog all this wondrous splendor for myself! Life just doesn't get any better! Enjoy!
This song and band deserve so much better than what I'm about to give them! Sadly I'm exhausted and need to make this brief.
Far from sadly however, the title 'Into The Wilderness' is more than apt, as I disembark on a four day epic adventure (can we call it a quest? Let's call it a quest from here on out, that sounds more fantastical!) tomo---ah yes, by now it's today! Backpacking with great buddies in some of the most breathtaking wilderness in the world is unbeatable! Anyway, I'm going into the wilderness, which is why the song is going up!
This song though. Wow. I've been saving Burning Hearts for a few weeks now, waiting for just the right moment to unleash the amazingness upon you unsuspecting readers. This isn't how I pictured it, but their songs remain so freaking great that you should be warned I'll be posting about them again! 'Into The Wilderness' highlights Jessika Rapo's amazing voice, and just captures everything marvelous in the world. Just wait until you hear their whole album, it's life-changing!
I really must sleep now, but listen, reallllllllly listen to them! Burning Hearts are hands down my favorite recent discovery, and Jessika's haunting, reminiscent-of-some-powerful-celtic-goddess voice is my current ear addiction. This is soul-stirring, fancy-tickling stuff people, be warned!!!!!! Love you all, catch you on the flip side Monday night. Enjoy the very close-up hipster video!
After a thirteen-and-a-half hour work day, a rodeo, and going out to a moonlit lake, I'm pooped. You could sadly describe my life as similarly 'Sleepless' as Excision's glitchy but relatively calm song. With great lyrics by Savvy, Excision offers a lovely and chill build until 1:06 and a refreshingly mellow drop that adds only more nice sounds instead of ruining the song completely. Great fade out as well! Perhaps not THE song to fall asleep to, but certainly a worthy addition to a relaxed playlist! Enjoy!
Just because summer's flying by doesn't mean it's anywhere near over! Keep your summer vibes and jams going strong with funky/fresh/fantastic/fun/fried-chicken-style goodness packaged into a powerful yet elegant 'Pomslap' to the face!
Vocal distortion like a boss, wild background pops and piffs like an enchanted forest, and enough vibe to give cats 10 lives, this is a don't-miss! Enjoy and get funky wit yo bad self!
I really have no words for this. It's unfathomable to me that: one, I'm still here writing these posts about music that I thought would last for a few weeks maybe before I got lazy or ran out of quality music, and two: that all of you magical, amazing, inspiring people are still here, somehow muddling through the codswallop and ramblings that compose the bulk of these blog entries.
The amount of support, feedback (honestly there's been meager feedback, you people are terrible communicators, haha), and love I've gotten for the blog has been out of this world! What started with 15 likes on facebook, and maybe 20 views a day has exploded into 163 followers, over 18,000 page views, listeners in Russia, Germany, France, Brazil, South Korea, Latvia, Canada, Mexico, Ukraine, The Philippines, Thailand, Australia, China, and just today, Lebanon and Singapore! I've gotten to share music with people around the world, have been far more motivated to search out music for myself, and have learned bushels and bundles about artists, blogging, my sleep patterns, and about what I want to do in the future.
Artists have contacted me after I post about them, bands have requested write-ups, my dad has even attempted dipping his toe into the wide waters of the internet! I wouldn't trade one of the late night write ups, not one of the writers-blocks (or song-blocks), or any of the posts I was super excited for having zero interest in them. This has been a journey I would take again in a heartbeat, and I fully intend to keep writing, expanding, and listening for another year to come! If nothing else, the blog has served as a kind of diary of my musical migrating, my aural odyssey, my jazzy jaunt, my sumptuous saunter, my alliterative adventure, and my warbling wayfaring over the past year!
I can't thank each and every one of you enough! If you read and listen religiously every day, or if you have stopped by once, it means so much to me that music I love is being dispersed to more and more ears! I can't wait to sally forth into a second year of this, and I hope that you all will bear with me, plug in your headphones, and continue on this crazy venture with me! I love you all and thank you all so much again! Happy July 23rd and may the music stay magical!!!!!!! :)
What?
You're still here?
You expect music from this music blog?
Well, fine you needy parasites!
I'm tempted to dump some Rihanna on you all with 'Please Don't Stop The Music', but I guess I'll keep it a little less mainstream than that with some Regina Spektor. Her voice is way too epic and her lyrics way too wild and fun and goofy!
"But when I do the dishes...I run the water very very very hot!"
"It's the greatest voyage in the history of plastic"
"It tastes like soap, but doesn't really taste like soap."
Those are priceless! Her song 'Music Box' is wacky, rambling, but (I think), pretty awesome after all's said and done: kind of like this blog! Enjoy!
For some Electronic flavor (for those bold or bored enough to still be reading this uncannily long post) here's the fairly aptly named 'The Music's Not Over' by PANTyRAID (terrible band name, we're agreed). There's some cool vocal distortion and glitchy sounds!
I'll let you all go now! What a year, here's to the next one! NEXXXXXXTTTTTT YEARRRRRRR: Two Door Cinema Club!
Tell your friends about the blog, tell your pets, tell your therapist you've been reading too many of these! I'd love to pass 200 followers sometime soonish, and everything really helps! Love you guys!
Why hello again internet! It's been a refreshing four days since last we met! Since then I've seen over 11 bands perform at Music On Main and at the 9th annual Grand Targhee Music Festival! Most bands were new faces I'd never heard of before and was gratefully delighted at their array of sounds, and there were also some old favorites like Sister Sparrow And The Dirty Birds, or Alabama Shakes!
Not only full of great music, but also with great friends and beautiful landscapes, this weekend was legendary!
I won't bore you talking about each and every artist, just the snazzy highlights, eh?! First up: Allen Toussaint was tooo much fun! His fingers flew and his smile was infectious! Look at this cool cat!
Dressed in the classiest all-green suit this side of Kermit The Frog, Allen slowly strutted onto the stage accompanied by a funky-fresh jazz band and he tore the place down! The greatest facial expressions, a Mardi-Gras interlude where he theatrically threw fun things into the audience, and...wait for it...Allen proudly showing us all his Medal of Art awarded to him by President Obama himself!
There sure was a party going on during Allen's whole set. What a guy!
Other great people played, such as: Sarah Jarosz, The Mother Hips, Son Volt, Alejandro Escovedo, Bruce Hornsby And The Noisemakers (they a were super fun finale on Saturday night), David Allen And the Guilty Ones, The Wood Brothers, and JJ Grey And Mofro. All were fantastic!
Sister Sparrow And The Dirty Birds however...they're something else! I must admit that the energy of their live show is crazy-infectious and that I'm not as wild about their stuff on YouTube, but the fact that they manage to still have tons of fun and have a good sound inside a cramped corner of an Irish Pub kitchen in this music video is impressive! Boy oh boy does that 9-piece band rock live though!
And the finale of this blog post and of my weekend: Alabama Shakes. Brittany Howard has some flipping pipes. Soulful and rocking, Targhee was Alabama-Shaking while they played! Great end to an unforgettable weekend!
P.S. Tomorrow will be a year to the day since I started the blog. What a journey my friends. What a journey. Thanks for listening, loving, and living. :)
I'm really not the leading expert on Flagship. Many of my comrades in sound enjoyment have seen the band (some multiple times) and I'm a relative newcomer.
I do know enough about them to know that I like what I'm hearing! Sorry about the quality of this video, but live stuff just has way more heart! Enjoy!
If you'd like to hear the song how the studio intends you to, here's the link to open it in Spotify. Just click here!
Released 6 days ago, Flagship's new lyric video for 'Are You Calling' is absolutely brilliant, and the best lyric video idea I've seen in a long time! If you love classy-lyric-wielding-hipsters running down roads, than this is for you. Heck, if you like music, life, food, or any combination of the aforementioned, than this is for you! Enjoy immensely! Good god! Blogger sucks much of the time. Grrr. It can't find the video so here is the link...please watch it! It's fantastic!
Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins has such a cool voice throughout this! I imagine this is what underwater elf songs sound like! Celtic goddesses and like slowly swirling snow billowing the cloak of a noble warrior come to mind, all captured in majestic camera fly overs!
Massive Attack provides the coolest most relaxing background for Fraser to float upon, and massively attack your ears...with sweet, soft, heart-wrenching sounds! Don't be turned off by the odd video of a baby fetus, this song is mystical and wayyy too cool! Enjoy!
Jason Mraz is 'oh-so-very-middle-school', but this song came on during my late night soft-bliss 8tracks perusing, and I was reminded why I enjoyed him so much back in the day! Softer than my pillow, more answering machine messages than a businessmans office, and greater harmony than a zen master, this song is perfect for a lazy sunset, sitting on a wooden back porch looking intermittently between the middle distance mountain range being illuminated and your rugged yet playful dog laying still in the grass at your feet...
Or you know: most other situations.
3:27 and onward is my favorite part by far. Voices begin to blend together, and then finally the end of the song concludes with another message from the same voice as in the beginning. What started as an angry, desperate message has been transformed by Jason's advice and by the end of the song is a more hopeful sentiment. And the penultimate line is way too classic.
"I feel like you're an island of reality in an ocean of diarea."
I've posted The New Pornographers twice before, but this song was running through my head every step (except for when we heinously got a Wiz Khalifa chorus stuck in our head for a few minutes...ugh, the horror) of my 14ish mile hike in the breathtaking Tetons today and I couldn't resist sharing it!
Even though my adventures through solitude weren't conducted alone today, this song captures a lot of the beauty I find in the outdoors! Lines like, "Circling the edge of the never-ending" conjure up memories of the vastness and untamed wildness of the mountains and the ranges stretching into eternity in all directions that is palpable every time you're really able to get away from everything.
"The best of the vanished marvels have gathered outside your door" is a potent reminder to cherish every second of the miraculous beauty that lies easily within my reach, and that the splendor and majesty of mother earth is literally outside my door and I'd be a fool not to go out and revel in it!
The song also starts slow and almost sadly, but 'finds' itself with lines like, "We thought we lost you... Welcome back!," after which the tempo and energy shifts dramatically for the better. Used in suicide prevention campaigns, this song is just downright powerful!
The call and response style of the song is addicting. I seriously can't get enough of it. It speaks to me at some level that I can't really put into words. Loss, wildness, joy...this song has so many incarnations! You never know what to expect in a New Pornographers song (as my dad is wont to point out, he CANNOT pin down their 'signature' sound) and this song is truly an adventure through more than solitude: it's an adventure through sound! Enjoy as immensely as I do! :)
In stark contrast to their over the top, poppy, and throbbing 'Chelsea Dagger', 'Whistle For The Choir' brings The Fratellis wild energy down a few notches to a level that is less bar-brawl-inducing. Abnegating as sexually charged lyrics as their other efforts, Jon Fratelli weaves a tale of a girl who is "irresistible". There's even whistling at 2:27!!!!!!
Now, The Fratellis real go-to song is all crazy, fun, bravado! From the pounding opening drums to the awesome guitar intros to the "do duh doo do duh doo" chant, this song is like a Red Bull to the ears. Jon Frattlli's facial expressions throughout the video are also fantastic! Enjoy some 'Chelsea Dagger!'
We've all heard 'Where Is My Mind' and really enjoyed it. Or at least you've seen Fight Club, right? If you're lacking in both departments then this should bring you up to speed:
NOTE: Don't watch the whole song if you haven't seen Fight Club, there are major spoilers!
This tender piano cover by Maxence Cyrin is so soft, slow, and lilting, that I think The Pixies may have found their solution. With music like this in the background, minds are easy to find! Enjoy this lovely, tranquil cover!
Lorde has come out of nowhere and stolen everyones ears and hearts! Way too catchy and different, Lorde is lording over my iTunes at the moment! An unreal and very simple original is stunningly gorgeous, and enhanced even more with its equally simple but perfect music video. This girl has a wonderful relaxing voice accompanied by such a fantastic beat!
Shoe Scene Symphony continues the minimalistic trend and adds just little enough to not disturb a near perfect track, but lends a fresh and even more listenable flavor to the song! Tooooo great!
If you're loving what you're hearing so far, join the 'Love Club' with this epic L D R U remix! I Lorde kills it once again! Snag a free download below! Everything will glow for you, I promise!
Some nice tranquil summer chill-out vibes from Mimosa! The first dose of dopeness is delivered fresh at 0:45, but you really lose yourself at 1:31! The little background 'perhaps-something-akin-to-a-flute' is way too sick, and floats you through the rest of the track! Lazy summer days: here 'Psychedelic Stereo' comes!
It's been quite some since I've posted some good ol'-fashioned EDM...because we all know these crazy bloops and bleeps have been around forever, right?!
Steve Aoki is one of the wildest people ever, just watch one of his live shows to see how hard this guy goes. Tiesto is, meh. He is probably one of the biggest producers in the world, so he certainly gets some credit. Polina is who gets the real props here, however! Her vocals are absolutely what make the track, and what has me putting this one on repeat! I barely even notice that there is some glitchy dubstep sounds at points, the rest is so good! Oh yah, and Kill The Noise are here too...
Get sucked up into the swirling vortex of ferocity that is 'Tornado'!
After a day of hitting 4 different lakes in the mountains, Cold War Kids song title choice could not be more appropriate! It's time to be careless in your summer clothes, splash in muck and mire, and witness a wild, murder-filled music video posing as a movie trailer! One of their own 'reviews' in the 'trailer' states:
"The soundtrack is a ruckus like a family reunion brawl".
Fairly accurate I'd say! Enjoy this second cali-based-band in a row!
Test Your Reflex are wayyyy too catchy! A mixture of The Killers and Arctic Monkeys, these Cali-based rockers sound like they're right on the verge of one of those guilty pleasure bands that you don't want to admit you like. They're unknown and talented enough to maintain hipster-cred though! The opening seconds are like the event horizon of a black hole, and by the 24 second mark, even light can't escape the inexorable pull of 'Thinking Of You'!
If you enjoy what you're hearing, check out 'I Know You're Lonely' which is slower and more tender, yet equally catchy! Some great fades and builds in this one! Click here for great fun!
Young Australian wunderkinds Cut Copy have masterfully mixed songs and super polished vocals hovering amidst unique electronics. Moulinex's remix of 'Lights And Music' truly elevates this track to the next level however! The first minute builds some wild anticipation, and once vocals smoothly glide in, the song only keeps getting better! Cut, copy, and paste 'Cut Copy' into iTunes and snag some more of their music! Enjoy!
Austin, Texas based Indie rockers Voxtrot may have stopped playing as a band, but this song will not stop playing in my head! "If I die clutching your photograph, it's just cause I like you"... Great lyrics! Something about the lead singers voice and his delivery over a rising and falling accompaniment is just perfect! Whenever anything sounds like Brit-Indie-Rock-Neo-Punk I fall in love with it though...Hope Voxtrot makes you foxtrot! Enjoy!
I hope everyone had a stupendous, patriotic, and raucous 4th of July! The best part of my 'Merica-Day festivities was seeing Old Crow Medicine Show put on an amazing two-hour show of stomping, exuberant fold rock and bluegrass! What a fun show! The energy was electrifying, and their performance had all of Jackson dancing. Literally.
'Wagon Wheel' is a very special song, and quite emotional for much of the Jackson Community. Old Crow Medicine Show gave it their all, and did the song justice. You know you'll be singing this for days to come! Enjoy!
4th of July. What a spectacle! 237 years after the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independce and here we are living the American dream spending over $302 million on fabricated flags, $231 million in fireworks, and over one billion dollars on beer as a nation. 'Merica, am I right!?
While all the songs with the word 'America' in my iTunes library aren't exactly the most positive, there are countless blessings that come with living in the United States. Whatever your opinion on the U.S., everyone likes some good tunes, a good warm day, and colorful explosions in the sky! Go celebrate our nations birthday!
First up: Lupe Fiasco is so politically conscious and socially charged! Substance instead of bragging about cars, money, and girls is something I can get behind. Armed with impressive lyricism and a message, Lupe kills it. Enjoy!
'American Terrorist III' is an epic song and especially relevant with recent NSA revelations and America's perception of terrorism.
Hip-hop really seems to capture America the best. Edgy and rebellious enough to speak its mind, and complex enough to convey real issues, Hip-hop bleeds America. I posted 'Goodnight America' last September here, but it has the word 'America', and you can't argue with that Langston Hughes sample and lyrics from Adele!
Macklemore takes a lighter, more fun-loving take on America, with an epic "Merica!!!!" song. Hilarious in it's ridiculousness (and it's infinite grains of truth) 'American' is the quintessential 4th of July song. If you're not clapping your hands to this song you're a terrorist. So great! Let Aberdeen Washington flippin preach his ignant' hilarity! Absurdly great video too!
And just to maintain my indie cred: Portugal. The Man's 'So American' is an awesome song. This 'La Blogotheque' Take Away Show is truly great! They use a guitar, and ALL the other instrumentation is stuff they found in a coffee shop!!!!! Epic!
Happy 4th of July everyone! Make it one to remember! Here's a wild video of EXTREMELY unsafe fireworks in Thailand to make you feel better about America!
I've got a mad amount of music coming your way in the next few weeks! Listening to Pandora Radio 11 hours a day at work and going on maniacal music hunts each night will really scare up some awesome stuff! With over 50 new songs by different artists gracing my Recently Added on iTunes, I'm ready to jam!
And how do all jams start? Slow and steady! 'Neon Sky Rain' is a great chillout song, and a nice easing-in to the the musical cornucopia laid before you. With a sick backbeat and echoing whispers appearing and receding in the periphery, this song is dreamy and slick. At the one minute mark the track really comes into its own, and is perfect to lay back to and contemplate life, the universe, and everything. Enjoy and let this get you primed for some major musical discoveries in the coming weeks!
You'll certainly recognize this fantastic song from the first Ice Age movie, and if you don't, #1: listen to it, and #2: go watch Ice Age!
A really fun song with some awesome vocals that go all over the place, Rusted Root kills it! The music video is also one of the most unintentionally funny i've seen in a while, at the same time as being deep and touching! One thing I know for sure: I would go dance with Rusted Root in the desert in a heartbeat! Enjoy!
Also the frontman looks like Rob Stark from Game of Thrones...
I apologize for my brief hiatus, I was camping Friday night and tired as a pack donkey last night. I hope great music found its way into your day without my help.
As most of you hopefully know, the 9th and final season of Dexter just started this Sunday, and though I haven't watched it yet, I'm sure it's as dark, creepy, disturbing, brilliant, and downright impossible to stop watching as every other season! Dexter--everyones favorite serial killer--is hands down one of the best shows I've ever watched, and as sad as I am to see it go, it's had a fantastic run! And also has a great theme song! The original is light enough to seem innocent, yet has that dark element just under the surface, just like Dexter Morgan. Cazzette, one of the craziest electronic artists I've heard recently, turns the 'Blood Theme' into something as wild as the show itself. Enjoy!
