Rock Bands

I love promoting and introducing new bands and new sounds to my friends and family, and obviously, to all of you! There's something great about always hearing something new and learning new lyrics and new riffs, it's fun and exciting. It's a way, at least for me, to release some stress and to feel a little more connected to a world that I come nowhere near touching in my daily life. It's a higher power in and of itself when you go to a concert and you aren't the only one that knows every lyric, or the only one that gets excited over that one song that is barely ever played off of an album.  You feel part of a larger community of crazy music people, and that can be awesome. 

I love the new stuff, as I said, but I'd be remiss to exclude some of the bands that I consider staples to my musical education and collection.  I've been inspired to share a list of the bands that I have a real appreciation for and that I think have shaped the way that I listen to music.

U2 - Don't give me crap for liking U2. I can remember being a kid in a car with my aunt and singing every word to One.  It was powerful to me then and it's powerful to me now. I've also acquired a pretty heavy love for the entire Joshua Tree album.

The Cranberries - My older cousin Emily gave me To The Faithful Departed for my 8th birthday. It was my second CD  ever, so I was pretty pumped and listened to it on repeat.  I did not understand the political significance of anything when I was 8, but I did get that Bosnia and War Child were really sad songs and that Salvation was awesome.  

Meatloaf - As stated in my previous post about "Dad" music, Meatloaf in our household was "Mom" music.  When you know all of the words to Bat Out Of Hell and Paradise By The Dashboard Light when you're a little kid, people sort of respect you/fear you. 

The Beatles - Enough said.

Led Zeppelin - Again...enough said.

Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run wasn't an album that I started listening to until I got into high school, and I really only started listening to it because it was "cool" to listen to classic rock. Beyond being "cool" it was the music that I liked listening to, mainly because I couldn't really get into a lot of the Pop that was going on in the early 2000's.  Eventually I'd come into my own with music taste and would realize that I loved alternative rock more than anything, but Bruce would always be there for me to listen to on long car rides home with my windows down.

Foo Fighters - Late 2006, sort of end of high school early college beginnings, I started listening to FF because one of my good friends Ryan was listening to them.  I knew that I had heard a few songs before, but when their Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace album hit in 2007 I was all about The Pretender. Who wasn't? I just remember listening to it while I was making some important decisions and thinking, "I wish that I could be this cool."

The Black Keys - I found the Black Keys about the same time I started really listening to Foo Fighters.  They weren't grunge, they were garage band. I felt a real connection to their music, especially the entire album Rubber Factory.  It was like my friends and I jamming out in someone's basement had a chance to make music that people would like listening to because the Black Keys could do it.  Not because I thought they were bad, it was the opposite of that. It was because you could tell that they were just playing to have fun and so were we.  

There are a few more bands that I have a real musical appreciation for, but these are sort of my go to's when I feel like I need some solid sound.

Father's Day and Dad Music

Growing up, I used to think that there were only two types of music in the world; Mom music and Dad Music.  Mom music usually involved a Broadway soundtrack and perhaps Meatloaf.  She also really loved a specific Joey McIntyre cd and for the most part, anything that was played on the Top 40.  Dad music was a little more rock and roll, as in, it was rock and roll. My Dad listened to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and The Clash, just to name a few.  As I got older, and my music tastes changed, I realized that these two categories could never continue to exist.  There was too much that my parents loved to listen to that overlapped and also that was completely different.  It turns out that my mom also loved mostly rock and roll music and that my Dad had much more of an alternative edge to him!  In honor of Father's Day (yesterday) I've compiled a list of bands that I probably wouldn't really know about had they not been introduced to me by my Dad.

The Clash

The Beatles

The Rolling Stones

Gem

Marina and the Diamonds

Coldplay

The Allman Brothers

CCR

Lynyrd Skynyrd

Led Zeppelin

Ben Harper

Jack Johnson

Queen (though, in all honesty, it was my Mom who would play "We Are the Champions" every time we lost a Cheerleading competition to make us feel better)

The list could really go on and on, his taste in music always surprises me. I specifically love that he introduced me to Marina and the Diamonds! He was the one that heard "I Am Not a Robot" first and made my sister and I listen to it, obviously forming an eternal love for her and her music. I credit a lot to my Dad, not least of all his caring and compassionate personality. He's a family man, and he loves my sister, my brother and I dearly. I love him and I'm so happy that I got to spend my day yesterday with him! 

Rainy Day

TGIF! Now, if only it weren't raining... We can't always have sunny days in New England, but we can enjoy the gloom with a few key songs and the perfect plans for dinner!  After a nice little home cooked meal (post brutal work out with personal trainer), I can't wait to have a great night hanging out with people that make me feel like the work week is just what I do, not who I am!

For a Friday night that is bound to be a little wet before hitting the bars, getting pumped up and into the right frame of mind is key! I recommend Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke (Ft. Pharrell and T.I) for just such an occasion. It's new, it's a great pop song, and it makes me want to move around a lot! A favorite line from this song, "What rhymes with hug me?" I love it when you can hear Thicke laugh a little while he is singing this specific line, it makes me like the song even more because I know that it isn't taking itself too seriously.  

Another great listen, obviously, is I Love It by Icona Pop.  My sister, brother in law, and I were all at the Marina and the Diamonds concert when we first heard Icona Pop. They were opening for Marina and we got there just in time for them to start rocking out hard core to their best known song.  Since we saw that concert way back in December, the world has gone crazy for this Swedish duo and I Love It has become a sort of anthem.  It is slightly overplayed on our Top Hits Station in the Boston area, but I still love it so much! Tough week at work? Who cares?! I don't care, I Love It basically becomes the trending hashtag of the the weekend.

Finally, as I make my way into the rain tonight to go down to our favorite pub, I know that Daft Punk ft. Pharrell Get Lucky will be played at least once!  The perfect send off for a night full of carefree fun and flirting!  

And on that note....thank God it's Friday night....

HAIM

I've been reintroduced to a band that at first listen I couldn't get into, but now I can't get enough of.  Their band is also their namesake, HAIM.  I wish that my sibs and I could rock out like these sisters! The cool mix of musical influences are draped throughout each song that they delicately weave together for an altogther chill sound.  This is not your typical "chill" band, this is the band that you listen to when you want to wear loud clothing and maybe go out of your house with teased hair.  By "chill" I mean that they seem like they could care less, and that's awesome.  Again, I wish that my sibs and I were this kind of cool. 

There are some pretty core differences between my siblings and the HAIM sisters, though, let me list them:

1. Though my siblings and I all play (or attempt to play) various instruments, none of us are forming bands anytime soon...except maybe our brother. Anyone need a kick ass trombone player???

2. My siblings and I weren't handed drumsticks and guitars as babies.  We watched Disney movies and sang along to their soundtracks whilst playing our hippopotamus castanets and frog maracas.  

3. My siblings and I would rather harmonize to the likes of Peter, Paul and Mary than create our own amazing sound that can only be described as a cross between Annie Lenox, Fleetwood Mac, Solange, Destiny's Child, and perhaps Miami Sound Machine. None of those things seem like they would fit together, but believe me, they absolutely do.

Again, I love my sister and brother dearly, but our severe lack of balanced musical ability sort of snubs our chances of ever forming a really cool band.  I won't deny the fact that my sister and I pull off a killer harmony every now and again (ahem, can we say N*Sync cover of their acapella O Holy Night?), but nothing compared to this smooth set of vocals that remind me of a place that I have never been.  

Listen to HAIM and tell me what you think!

(listen to this whole song, but at about 2:42 see if you can spot which Destiny's Child music video they are pulling their dance from! I knew immediately, and then had to listen to some awesome throw back DC!)

The Shouting Matches

I try not to be overly biased towards one specific genre of music, but that doesn't always happen. We all have our favorite songs and our favorite artists, and some people just don't care! As long as there is music playing somewhere, then they are happy. I try to be that type of person. As long as there is some sort of melody being played and I can hear it, I enjoy the music of the moment.  However, when listening to music on my own, I do tend to stick to the more Americana/Folk end of the spectrum. There are a lot of artists out there that aren't getting a ton of recognition in this genre, I usually feel like it's my job to help them out.  This post isn't going to be about that though, this post is going to be about one rock band that I can't stop listening to.

This whole introduction leads me to the first of, I'm sure, many posts about The Shouting Matches.  Many of you who read this will appreciate the fact that I love Justin Vernon (Bon Iver). There are few men in this world that I feel are true musical chameleons, Justin Vernon is one of them. The Shouting Matches is his latest venture with some buddies of his from Wisconsin (Phil Cook-Megafaun and Brian Moen- Peter Wolf Crier) who are taking on some serious garage band music. I. Love. Garage bands.  The pure rock and roll that comes from riffing and jamming can be a beautiful thing, and when you're already an accomplished recording artist, usually your harmonies tend to be pretty killer too.  The Shouting Matches play to Justin Vernon's lower vocal stylings, and the results are pretty great.  Heaven Knows is my personal favorite on this album, I love a true slow and steady beat. It brings out a feeling inside of me that I can only describe as longing.  I long for that beat to be part of my everyday sound track, as in, I wish that this song could play as I walk down the street and my hair blows in the wind and therefore I looks awesome...Anyway...The album is Grownass Man and they are The Shouting Matches.

Yes, I still make mix tapes. So?

My friend Steph has always told me she loves it when I make mix cd's, and I've grown to believe her. Bless her little heart, I'm sure she just humors me, but I love making mix cd's. It's fun, time consuming, and lets me be a music snob. I clearly love being the person to introduce new music to people, so this form of sharing is one that I hold near and dear. 

I'm trying to get better at posting a lot, so bare with me while I find my weekly flow again!

Summer Tracks

The start to my summer of 2013 playlist.  I love Groove Shark, I thought I'd share the start to my summer playlist that I intend on growing throughout the next few months. Let me know what should be on there and I'll keep updating it! Some of these aren't so new to anyone, but they are still summer staples that make the summer perfect.

Hope everyone is enjoying their day!

-A

"No postcode envy..."

It's been too long, I'm aware.  Here are some updates!

First of all there's way too much music out there for me to pinpoint one band that I think will be the next up and coming this summer, but I will say that I am pretty proud of my past predictions with Alabama Shakes and The Lumineers! Even the Milk Carton Kids are coming into their own! Glad I got to go to that concert last summer for under $30, that will never happen again.

Here I go again with my predictions for the 2013 year for next bands to be listening and looking out for:

Lucius.  I have a 6 degrees of separation with this band, so I'm partial to them no matter what, but it really doesn't detract from the fact that they are awesome.  Killer harmonies and this amazing way of sounding like they are crying, but they aren't, I can't explain it.  They have been playing everywhere that they can and are working hard to get their names out there. Listen to "Turn It Around" and "Go Home" for great first listens. If you're too lazy to find them on your own, here is their Tiny Desk Concert from NPR!!

Bearstronaut.  Another 6 degrees of separation, but still an amazing band.  They will actually be playing with Lucius at the next Boston Calling concert in September, and I cannot wait to see them! Electronica isn't always my jam, but these guys make me want to dance...a lot. They really let their creativity shine through in their song Paradice with a ton of different musical influences. Think 80's pop combined with some bass drops a la dubstep.  Again, not always my go to, but it gets you going and really pumps you up!

The Lone Bellow.  Again, THANK YOU NPR, for showing me The Lone Bellow.  I have just recently started hearing them being played on the radio and I am so happy for them.  They are a truly unique band mixing country, folk, and rock and roll music to create their own form of melody.  They remind me of the Civil Wars at times, but still completely different.  My favorite song is Two Sides of Lonely, it's beautiful and melodic, sad and happy all at the same time.  I can't tear myself away when I listen, especially when it comes to the bridge.  Listen here to their Tiny Desk Concert and hear what they sound like live.


Last but not least, my latest love Lorde.  A 16 year old from New Zealand who makes me feel like I haven't accomplished anything in my life because of how talented she already is.  I see her going places and possibly having the break out hit of the summer with Royals.  Listen to it below, I couldn't resist posting the actual video.  I heard her for the first time last night on our local alternative radio station 92.5 The River and have not been able to stop listening to her. There is something about this song that is infectious, and, as I just told my friend K, I would like everyone to love it as much as I do.


Enjoy and share with me any new finds you may come across!