Currently listening to:

Today's tune recommendation: Electric Wire Hustle

October 12, 2011

Let's Get Loose, Hustle and Shake

These days it seems my posts are a little sporadic but trust me, I'm still here with plenty to discuss for those who care to listen.

I've had three new discoveries in the past week which for me is always a thrill.  I love having so many friends with amazing taste in music.  :)

First up is not actually a brand new find since I've actually seen & heard THOSE DARLINS before but I wanted to share their brand new video. It's the title track to their latest LP Screws Get Loose. I don't think you will find many artists like Those Darlins out there today. They are unique & refreshing in the way they perform, write and live. It wasn't at all what I expected when I first heard about them. My friends John Turner & Bonnie Hannah introduced me first to these ladies. They are currently on tour so if you like the video, check them out in a town near you!! (watch the video below & check out tour dates)
Screws Get Loose Video
Those Darlins Tour

Next, I was skyping with my friend - Rebekah - and she was telling me about a music festival she attended in South Korea. (she is currently teaching english there) She loved all the music she heard and told me about the New Zealand band, ELECTRIC WIRE HUSTLE. It was love at first listen! This is a match made in my heaven since I'm in love with New Zealand and this type of music. As one reviewer put it, their music is  "a collision of throwback soul and synthetic funk".  I agree completely. There self-titled album is something to groove to while taking it easy on an overcast day. (much like today)
I've been listening on Spotify so check them out there or click the links below if you don't use Spotify. Including a video for a song not on the album.
EWH Website
EWH Video for Perception

Last but certainly not least, I was able to see some live music last week at The 5 Spot. ALABAMA SHAKES played an amazing set of soulful tunes.  Thanks to Ellery for introducing me to this fine band. There is major buzz going on about them so I would attend a show as soon as possible. Lead singer, Brittany Howard, sounds like she has lived through it all and commands attention on stage. It was a fun show were you can get down & dance if the mood strikes.....
AS Website

It's been a treat to hear more new tunes in the past week or so. I hope it continues so let me know what you've been discovering lately.
Cheers!



September 23, 2011

To each their own -> generation

SO I've been thinking about the different types of music that each generation has come out with and how that music seems to stick w/ whomever was growing up at the time.

It's like, I can enjoy & appreciate many types/generations of music but I relate mostly to the music that was most popular as I was growing up...not that it's better or worse music. It's just what seeped into my brain as I was going through various life experiences (which when you are young, seem like the end all/be all of the world).


This all started when I took a lil road trip to see Elbow in concert and was listening to the radio along the way. I was able to find a station playing 80's & 90's music and remembered to use my shazam app-- Learn more here --to figure out the songs/artists playing. (makes a fun lil road trip game as well) I started to tag songs just to remember what they were playing b/c it was creating a fun playlist that I wanted to re-create later.


It felt like so many tunes from the 80s/90s were just about having fun and playing around with somewhat ridiculous lyrics or sound. Although, this is what makes it such a joy to revisit this music. For me, I find something to appreciate in each decades musical flare. It's interesting to listen to how music was/is progressing & changing over the years.

What really made me laugh was thinking about the fact that my brother & I know almost ALL the words to the song - HIGHER LOVE (video)by Steve Winwood or  STRAIGHT UP (song) by Paula Abdul - only b/c our mom listened to the "eazzzy 93" station  growing up. OR 92.9 these days....especially during car pool for school! I actually appreciate the fact that I know these songs so well even though at the time, I was cringing each time a song came on the radio.  I think Brian (my bro) and I have such an appreciation for music because of our mom. Judy has always said, " All I need is 4 wheels and a radio" which I take to heart!. I've never cared about the car that I drive as long as the radio plays & the speakers are loud.

Well, the road trip proved this fact once again since it left me with an incredible playlist for many generations to come ;) Below are some of the songs that I was able to capture along the way....

1. Tomorrow - Silverchair
2. Fade Into You - Mazzy Star
2. To Be With You - Mr. Big
3. Everybody, Everybody - Black Box
4. Dance With Me - Orleans
5. The Tide Is High - Blondie
6. Here I Go Again - Whitesnake
7. Linger - The Cranberries
8. Higher Love - Steve Winwood
9. High Enough - Damn Yankees
10. Second Chance - 38 Special
11. Alive & Kicking - Simple Minds










August 31, 2011

G, It's been a while

I'm sure most of you have forgotten about my ipod challenge since it's been a while since I posted about a LETTER!  Well, I'm here to post about letter G - I finally got around to finishing.  Honestly, I had to go back and listen to some of it again since I had forgotten where I left off - whoops. **I realize I am skipping over F but had technical difficulty so will cover that next time


Before I get to the stats on G, I wanna give a quick shout out to my girl - ANGEL SNOW! I was fortunate enough to see her perform at The Ryman this past weekend, opening for Alison Krauss.  It was such a beautiful show for both artists. I can't imagine what it felt like for Angel to stand on The Ryman stage in front of a sold out crowd to perform her songs. I was nervous for her (you know how ya get when you watch someone you know do something like that) but she was flawless. I'm so proud to know her and excited that her music is reaching so many people. I think this is just the beginning and someday she will be back on that stage as the headliner!

Ok, now to the letter G:

Total songs = 158

It got pretty scary with 11 songs about GHOSTS:
Ghost by Indigo Girls
Ghost by Jes
Ghost by Live
Ghost Bitch by Sonic Youth
The Ghost In You by The Psychedelic Furs
The Ghost Inside by Broken Bells
The Ghost Of You Lingers by Spoon
Ghost Symbol by Zero 7
Ghost Town by The Specials
Ghost Train by Marc Cohn
Ghost Writing by Neko Case

To balance it out, there were also 11 songs about things that were GOOD. The word with the most songs was GIRL/GIRLFRIEND which doesn't surprise me since we are all about some love songs ;)
I also had 5 songs with GREEN and 4 with GREY to add a little color to the mix.

A couple of favorites that came up were -
Girlfriend In A Coma by The Smiths and Guns In The Sky by INXS

The winning word in which I loved all the songs were GREAT! (how fitting, eh?!)
The Great Curve by Talking Heads
Great Expectations by Elbow
The Great Gig In The Sky by Pink Floyd
Great Rejoicing by Thad Cockrell
The Great Salt Lake by Band of Horses
The Greatest by Cat Power

So there ya have it - my songs of G  - I think you should listen to whatever songs you have that begin with G to find out how GREAT they are ;) ha!

August 24, 2011

Ch ch cha changes....

Ok, I know that the one guarantee in life is change. (at least that's what I think) Change can be good, bad, ugly, exciting - you name it. It's just that sometimes, I'm glad to look back at the changes that have happened in life even when they are small, non-purposeful changes.

One thing that I've noticed lately, in terms of music, that has changed is visiting/living with my brother. I have so many memories of the first time I would hear an artist/song/band that all of a sudden my brother was blaring from his room/condo/home. I would end up loving the music and buying it for myself.

Just to name a few:

Peter Gabriel Live w/ Paula Cole - his bedroom at the house we grew up in
Guns & Roses - running around in the den, dancing to Welcome to the Jungle
Thome Yorke - driving around Sandestin, FL
Air - Condo on N Street in Washington, DC
DJ Shadow
Massive Attack
Royksopp
Groove Armada
Zero 7
LIVE - my highschool friends will never let me live this one down. they definitely know that I heard this band because of my brother. ;)

All of this to say, things have changed a little since my brother had a lil girl almost 1yr ago. When I visit now it's more about kid songs and staying quiet at nap time. I know he still has gems of aritists out there to introduce me to so I'm just waiting for the day when Sloan (my niece) starts to enjoy the music as well so we can turn the volume up again! Conversations about music have become something that I look forward to discussing with my brother whenever we get a chance. I'm not saying that we like all the same artists/songs - far from it but it's nice to be able to exchange some similar taste in music between each other.

My question for you is - where did your biggest music influence come from?? Family, friend, radio, concert, online, etc?

Sometimes I'm amazed at the music various people have introduced me to and thankful that most of those people are still in my life to keep up the good tunes. Honestly, I think my brother was born to be a DJ or something. He is good with music. YES, he can be controlling or dominating when it comes to what is played but typically you are happy with the end result. He can set a mood, create a party or just be silly. It will always make you smile. :)

Thanks broseph, for all the lovely music you made me aware of along the way! I look forward to what's ahead.....

August 10, 2011

Cheers to a "Good Winter"

Yep, I love BON IVER and i don't care how you pronounce it - he is a brilliant man. I didn't think I could have an obession until I saw Justin Vernon live. The lights, the sound, the presence  of it all was simply brilliant.

Seriously, I'm in love. This man has created a beautiful album from beginning to end. I can't get enough and that says a lot. I usually over expose whatever my new artist or album may be at the moment. I also get over the artist usually after I've seen him/her live in concert - until now. I've listened to Bon Iver's new album at least 20 times since I bought it a month ago and really want all that I know to enjoy it as much as i do.....I know that's not possible, I just dream when it comes to this music. WOW. SERIOUSLY. LISTEN. IT's that good.

I did not have any expectations when it came to seeing Bon Iver in concert. I just knew that I enjoyed what I heard....now, it's an entire new dimension. Ok, I know it helps that he performed at The Ryman but it is possible to have a mediocre show in the historic venue.

This is one of the first concerts (in a long time)where I really FELT the music. I loved the lighting, the multiple people in the band including two drummers, Justin's unique voice - it was all so magnificent from start to finish. It made life that much better - just knowing this kind of music exists. I know it's totally cheesy but my life is rewarded by knowing this is out there to enjoy. I want to have this feeling on a daily basis. I hope you do as well.......

Bon Iver Live in DC - Listen to the entire show on NPR (I know I have)

OR

Watch Bon Iver perform "Beth/Rest" - One of my favorite songs




July 27, 2011

Cover me

This past weekend I spent both Friday & Saturday evening at Mercy Lounge. It was all about cover bands and classic tunes. 

On Friday, YATCH ROCK REVIEW performed. I have to say that this is one of my favorite cover bands. It's absolutely a blast to sing & dance along with the smooth rock of the 70s and 80s. This was my second time to see them in the past couple of months and I will be ready to rock whenever they return. The only problem this time was that apparently these guys have been discovered because it was a much bigger crowd this time around. Their fan base has grown quickly!

Check out the website HERE to get a little taste of some Yatch Rock and maybe even book them for your next event ;) There is a back story to this cover band which includes a 12 episode video series about the lives & careers of American soft rock stars.  I find it highly entertaining and suggest you watch them in order to appreciate Yatch Rock even more.
Here is one of my favorite episodes of the series, just to give you a taste - Yatch Rock, Episode 11  (warning - this does have some foul language)

Next up, I enjoyed The Who's Live at Leeds performed by THE ORIGINAL SHAZAM on Saturday night. This was another rockin' show that took me by surprise. I understand that it would be hard to cover such a legendary band as The Who but I felt they did a great job. It gave me a glimpse of what it might have been like to experience The Who back in the day. 

This is what I love about cover bands-- you can hear some of your favorite songs live that you might not have had the opportunity to experience otherwise. Cover bands may not get all the glory of an original band but they are much appreciated by a fan like me. 

Are there any particular cover bands that you love? What's the last show of covers that you went to?

July 20, 2011

Here, there & everywhere

I'm Back! I was on a little vaca last week so I wasn't able to post. I'm sure ya missed me, right?!

I've been discovering a lot of new tunes lately from various places. Typically, I learn about new music from friends or family. Even while on vacation last week, I was excited to hear some new artists/bands on some friends playlists.  It can be overwhelming with all the ways you can find music these days sometimes I don't feel like I can keep up!

Just yesterday a friend introduced me to TURNTABLEFind here - and I can already tell it's going to be my new favorite. You get to interact with other members while taking turns being the dj. You have an avatar that let's you rate the songs played, dj, create your own room or chat. I've always thought it would be fun to be a dj and now I get try it out online.  The only issue is that you have to have a friend on facebook that is already a member in order to join. I recommend checking it out immediately!

Some other places I enjoy discovering music:
EMUSIC - website
GROOVESHARK - website
MOG - website
PANDORA - website
AMAZON MP3 STORE APP (free song of the day) - info
SHAZAM - website
Music Blogs
Paste Magazine - website
Spin Magazine - website
Grimey's Newsletter
and many more....




Where do you find your music? Are you stumbling upon any new ways to find it?