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Let’s do something a little different. Today, I’m bringing you a little “mix tape” of what I’m listening to this week.
John Mayer – Who Says
Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – So Everyone
Q and Not U – Wonderful People
Regina Spektor – That Time
Okkervil River – Black
Au Revoir Simone – The Lucky Ones
The Honorary Title started in 2004, by singer/songwriter, Jarrod Gorbel. Under the name, The Honorary Title, he released two full length discs and a handful of EP’s. All of which were well received and kept him touring for three years. In November of 2009, THT played their “last show” to a sold out crowd. This is when Jarrod Gorbel the brand and entity emerged from behind the shadows of the name.
In 2009, he released his first solo EP, Ten Years Older. Which is essentially the same as previous efforts, but with more passion. He is currently embarking on the first leg of his solo tour and thus far the crowd has not disappointed.
The new record, Devil’s Made A New Friend is set to be released some time in September and Gorbel describes it as being, “more emotional folk with female vocals.”
When asked to, “State your name, position, and something completely random about yourself.” Without hesitation he launched into a story about how much he loved almond paste. He seemed ready for such a question.
On tour, he listens to W-H-Y, (yes, he spelled it out), Feist, Regina Spektor and classic soul music.
With the rise of social media sites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and you know, actual websites, it’s easy for an artist to over saturate the market with redundant news. That, or it’s a tool for over sharing. Gorbel is a combination of the two. He tweets his natural stream of consciousness. His Twitter, at times reads like a new wave stoned haiku in less than 140 letters. “Well, let’s just say, I’m not always sober and well, if you know me, which you should, on a one-on-one basis, that’s just the shit I say”¦this is how I think.”
For as emotional as his music is, Gorbel has a light hearted manner about him. Laughing in all the right places, over explaining simple things, and all he really wants is to reach a wider audience than he originally had with the Honorary Title. His talent is undeniable and in the words of Gorbel the music is, “Uh, um, hm, uhhh melodramatic sappy emotional”¦shit?” How could you not fall in love with that?
David Bazan has been in the industry for years. From the Headphones to Pedro the Lion to his recent solo material, this man is dynamite. His live performances break hearts and his burly smile melts them.
Bazan is currently embarking on yet another set of Living Room Shows. Yes, this man will play in your living room to fifty fans, how many established musicians do this? Not many.
When The Format broke up, I was rather upset, but when Nate Ruess formed Fun. I was elated. Fun. also includes Andrew Dost of Anathallo and Jack Antonoff of Steel Train. They’re the kind of band you listen to on a beautiful day with all the windows down with no particular destination in mind.
The music is simple, but it’s simple and FUN. (I had to.)
Recommended song: “All the Pretty Girls”
I have always disliked the term ‘guilty pleasure’. I never fully grasped the concept. If you like something YOU LIKE SOMETHING. Who cares if it’s something no self-respecting person should listen to? You like it for some reason”¦even if that reason is completely invalid.
The Internet defines guilty pleasure as, “Something that brings pleasure but is considered taboo, unadvisable or lowbrow”. That or an Ashley Tisdale record. (Who?/Exactly.)
When thinking of guilty pleasures, my mind automatically jumps to the soundtrack of my swing set. (I love swing sets because I’m a pre-schooler.) I do not, under any circumstances swing to good music. I pick the worst of the worst. Though I enjoy it just as much if not more than some of my favorite music.
I cannot explain the attraction of the crappy music I listen to and in other circumstances, I would never dream of listening to. Almost daily, I find myself on the swings, listening to Destiny Child’s, Fergie, Panic! At the Disco and Mest.
Yes, I know every single word to Fergie’s The Dutchess and yes, I’m more than a little ashamed to write that sentence. Yet it’s true and hilarious.
Is it really a guilty pleasure if I’m willing to admit it? I’d like to think so. I have tried listening to these artists when not in motion and it’s not the same. In fact, I cannot handle it otherwise.
The strangest part is, I was never into these artists. I always imagined guilty pleasures were developed after someone was too old to listen to a particular genre or artist. This is rarely the case for me, so where does this leave me? I suppose, it simply means I notso secretly have bad taste.
When I listen to the Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys, I can explain that. Those artists remind me of a wonderfully innocent and simple time in my life. For that, I will never stop.
Everyone has a guilty pleasure to some degree. But with me, I’m not entirely ashamed of any of it. It’s a part of me just as much as the “real” music I listen to. It’s time I came clean.
Do you have any guilty pleasures?
Soundtrack in Motion:
Destiny’s Child – Lose My Breath/Say My Name/Jumpin’ Jumpin’
Kelly Clarkson – Since U Been Gone
Justin Timberlake – Cry Me a River
Amy Winehouse – You Know I’m Know Good
Usher – Burn/Yeah!
Spice Girls – Stop/Spice Up Your Life
Backstreet Boys – As Long As You Love Me
Panic! At the Disco – But It’s Better If You Do
Britney Spears – Outrageous/Stronger
“¦I can say no more without losing my dignity.
It’s Tuesday and so, I bring you a recommendation. This weeks’ nominee is a local band from my hometown, Akron, Ohio. The band is Stiletto. Not only do these boys put on killer shows, they have dynamite music to back it up. They’re a little bit pop punk and a little Minus the Bear and I can assure you this is a good thing.
Song to listen to: I’m My Own Worst Eskimo
Artist: Murder By Death
Album: Good Morning, Magpie
Label: Vagrant
Purchase: Website Pre-Order
Release Date: April 6, 2010
Overall: 9.5
Music: 10
Lyrics: 8
Production: N/A
Murder By Death has consistently been in the background of my life. One of those bands that all my friends loved, but one of the bands I never quite fell in love with. I’ve seen them live twice, once on accident and once on purpose. Both times, I was blown away by their stage presence, the dedication of their fans and their ability to transform completely from album to album.
And so, here I am, years later, still not convinced Murder by Death is my cup of tea. But the weather is gloomy, my friends wont stop talking about the genius of Good Morning, Magpie, and so, I decide to give one final plunge into the world of MBD’s music.
I hit play and instantly, I am frozen. The first track “Hentuckey Bourbon” is only 34 seconds long, yet I was hooked. It’s slow, pretty, and one of the best record openers I have heard in years.
My initial idea was to write my thoughts upon my first listen, but I couldn’t. I had to stop to let it all sink in. I listened to this record five times in a row without ever moving. I simply could not.
The stand out track for me is “Piece by Piece”. The opening is almost jolly sounding while the actual tone and lyrics of the song are moody and dark.
For the first time in years, I had finally understood the allure of Murder By Death. The music is complicated, solid, well rounded, and each song is constructed in such a manner that it evokes strong human emotion.
“Foxglove” is another track that caught my attention. The chord progression and strings in the background are reminiscent of older Murder By Death, but also fresh and exciting.
In reality, I can’t say which song is the best because with each listen I change my mind.
Murder By Death is classic American noir in music form and right now, this is precisely the only thing I want and need. I don’t drink or dance, but by the end of this record, I wanted a bottle of whiskey and a pair of dancing shoes.
My musical evolution has grown as much as I have and so has the form of media — from cassette tapes, to CD’s, to mp3’s….to…vinyl? I grew up on music and while most of the music I was force fed as a child, on long car rides and on cleaning days, wasn’t music I particularly enjoyed, it was music. I had always been drawn to the background noise escaping the speakers. I feared silence.
My mother was a country fan, but my father listened to death metal. I was raised on bipolar genres and my preferences today reflect as much. My first cassette was purchased by my father in Mexico. It was Mariah Carey. While I never fell in love with Mariah, I was, however, marveled by the idea of having music at my palms, whenever I wanted. Like most kids growing up in the early 90’s, I received my first Sony Walkman and with it I was given blank cassettes. The radio was my newfound best friend. I made makeshift mix tapes, composed entirely of popular music. From the Goo Goo Dolls to Destiny’s Child to Green Day, I wanted it all. I stopped being social and was rarely spotted without headphones attached to my head. I used and reused those original tapes creating better mixes every day.
And then…middle school happened and so did compact discs. With CD’s came a bigger selection, more of an opinion, and I was finally allowed to watch MTV’s Total Request Live. I wore band tee’s like it was my job. I had lunch boxes, patches, purses, stickers, folders, whatever I could get my hands on. I loved music and everyone had to know. I graduated from cassettes to CD’s, but also from pop radio to rock television.
Middle school came and went as did the allure of CD’s. High school showed up with MP3’s and music pirating. MP3’s were all the rage. You mean I can download music from my computer, where I spend all my time anyway, for free? Which is great because I’m only fourteen and don’t have a job and oh, wait, I can get music before it’s released? WHAT? I was enthralled, hypnotized, captivated, it didn’t get better than this, did it?
I did not purchase an mp3 player until graduation, but I bought blank discs by the 100’s. I made everyone I knew mixes full of music I knew they’d hate, but hey, IT WAS FREE MUSIC. I never once thought downloading music was wrong and so, when I heard that it was illegal, I simply downloaded more. Record labels and prosecutors be damned. Once I had an iPod, I gave up CD’s and had 20 gigs of music with me at all times. I thought, how in the world, can this get any better?
College came and I made it through the first year being entirely content and happy with my rapidly growing digital collection, but with digital I had nothing tangible. Just something filling the empty space of my hard drive. No longer did I count the days until release dates, rushing to the mailbox every day until I received that brown bubble wrapped package. I no longer had to struggle with the sticker on the top of a CD. Digital was easier and free, but I missed all of the anticipation, the actions, the smells, the shine.
This is how I fell in love with vinyl. Vinyl filled the void that mp3’s never could. I felt as if I had finally found the perfect balance in the musical world. But solace in something so old and so dated? I was skeptical. I felt as if I was moving backwards instead of forward, but unbeknownst to me, records were just as popular, if not more popular. I began collecting records before I received a record player. Because, hey, we all have to start somewhere.
Luckily, the city I live in has an independent record shop and the bands I listen to are the bands that put out records. One of the many things I enjoyed about vinyl was that a lot of records came with a link to a legally downloadable file. My world was simultaneously revolutionized and de-revolutionized. Once again I was reunited with the packaging, the anticipation, the entire process of having tangible music at my finger tips.
Vinyl looks good, smells wonderful, sounds better than any mp3 ever could, and there’s just something about listening to vinyl that puts a smile on my face and eases the tension of my busy life. And hey, there’s nothing wrong with supporting the music you love.
Who know’s where we’ll be in ten more years and I may be traveling backwards in time, but as long as there’s music in any form in the background, I can’t say I mind.
Hello all, I’m Jessica, a new staff member. I’ve decided to resurrect this forgotten about section. Bringing you, the lovely readers, weekly recommendations on whatever I’m spinning. Typically I’m not listening to brand new music, but I promise, it’s all worth hearing — even if you end up hating it.
This week’s pick – Boards of Canada. I’ve never been a huge instrumental fan. Mostly because I know nothing about the mechanics of music, but also because it makes me nervous. I always wait and wait, anticipating vocals that never come. But with BOC, it was never like this. It’s happy, depressing, beautiful and nostalgic all at once.
I was instructed to lay down in the dark and listen to them with my eyes closed. I abided and I’d instruct you to do the same.
Happy listening.
As I write this, I’m trying to be objective, but it’s hard. Because let’s face it, The Avett Brothers are easily one of my favorite bands. The sold out House of Blues show included an impressive 90 minute set and after it finished, I still wanted more.
The opening act, the Low Anthem, might have been good. But the crowd, however, was louder than their music. Which is unfortunate because the brief moments I could hear — sounded pretty good.
The Avetts’ opened with “Salina”, a song from 2007’s, Emotionalism, Singing, “Cleveland, I ain’t never felt nothing so strong. Been believing the words to my songs. Ohio I’m leaving, Ohio I’m go.” What better way to get the Cleveland crowd jazzed?
Right from the start the crowd was animated, loud, and moving in all sorts of directions. The song selections ranged from brand new, “Slight Figure of Speech”, old, “Shame”, to older ,”Traveling Song”. With the old songs, the avid fans stood out as they sang along with their Avett pride plastered on their faces.
The Avetts’ music is throughly dynamic. It’s a bit bluegrass, a bit old school country, with a hint of modern day pop elements. Their new record I and Love and You incorporates more instruments into the mix, creating a grown-up rock sound. But the true beauty of the Avetts’ lies within their song writing. These boys write songs like they’ll never write another again, as if their lives depended upon it. And maybe they do.
I’m almost preaching here, I realize, but here’s the truth “” whether you’re like me, a loyal fan, who is destined to love everything these boys create, or whether you’re just into excellent songwriting with a dash of technical brilliance, or if you’re looking for a lively stage show, or that rare human experience “” the kind that can only happen when squeezed together in a sweaty venue, the Avett Brothers authenticity in all of these regards is undeniable.
The Avetts’ are no amateurs. This is simply what they were made to do and it’s true “” there is no harmony like brotherly harmony. The Avett Brothers will be making music until the day they die die die.
