Going, going, gone!

Hello, you've reached the former blog of Matt's Music Monday. I'm not here right now but if you leave a comment on a post, I'm probably not going to get it because, I'VE MOVED! Yaaaayyy!!! 

Here's the new site: http://mattsmusicmonday.tumblr.com/

I've tried to get it to look nice & what not just for YOU! I think it turned out alright! Come on over! You're always welcome! 

Here's a picture!

So long, Blogspot! And now? time for this blog to retire... and become a duck ;)

We need to talk...

When has that EVER been good, right? Well, no fear, my friends, for today is that day. We're not breaking up. Rather, we're advancing. Growing, if you will. To put it plainly, we're moving. You & me. Well, I am and I hope you will come with me! This is a good thing!

Here's some music about Moving

After a somewhat lengthy relationship with Blogger, I've decided to end it. I'm moving to Tumblr. I know how this sounds, it's nothing you did wrong. It's just that I can't take it here on Blogger anymore so I'm leaving. I'm not asking you to choose sides. You can stay here. But I AM asking you to visit me on Tumblr. ;) Maybe on the weekends? Just kidding. Divorce is no joking matter. That's just what it sounded like to me so I ran with it. Sorry.

At any rate, will you please come see me once it's up & running? Please? I'm still working on getting my page there to look warm & welcoming/ cool & casual... Alliteration is awesome. But I thought I should explain why I haven't posted anything here for a while. I wrote a very lengthy post on Facebook about my current attempts to get an "About Me" page written which I will post below. But for the most part, if you've been following along and wondering why I haven't posted for a while, I'm done here. I debated continuing to post here while simultaneously getting the other site up & running but I finally decided that would waste some good posts on a website that almost no one reads and is extremely frustrating & cumbersome to use. I might finish off my listening list but probably not. We'll see. At any rate, I'll keep you posted on when I'm done postponing the debut of my post-blogger posts on Tumblr post haste! Tee hee....

Facebook post:

Friends! Romans! Lend me your eyes!... get it? to read this?... never mind. Okay, since just about everything I post on here nowadays has to do with my music blog, I was under the impression that everyone knew about it and had seen, read & similarly disregarded it. HOWEVER, I have had several recent encounters where I'll make some passing comment about it and the reaction will be "You have a blog?" To that and all future comments, I say:

I have a blog!! YAY!! I like it. It's not the best thing you've ever read...yet. But it's really fun to write (when I do) and I nurture the (irrational) dream of it actually going somewhere someday. Maybe a podcast? Mayhaps an internet radio station? But first, I must BLOG!

A little about the blog: It's a blog what offers up awesome music, because frankly, although there's plenty of it in the world, there is SO MUCH GARBAGE on the radio & in other media and "Life is too short to listen to bad music." I post tunes old & new, upbeat & slow, conventional & ocassionally experimental for your enjoyment. It's basically me trying to find great music in all its forms and sharing it with YOU! aaawww, don't you just feel so special?;) 

Here's where YOU come in, I'm in the process of moving it from Blogger to Tumblr (LONG & boring story) and am re-doing quite a bit to make it cooler and I was thinking it'd be a fun/ unique-ish idea if the "about me" section was written by YOU! In actuality, although I excelled at academic writing, I'm really pretty sub-par when it comes to engaging, entertaining, fun material. Add that together with my massive self esteem issues/ inability to "brag" & a dash of procrastination and as it turns out, a succinct, polished, crafted "about me" blurb has proven to be my downfall.

The idea is simple: Just a paragraph or so (or even just a line or two) about your impression of me & my obsession with music and maybe (if you've read it) a little about the blog? Not necessarily looking for "reviews" per se. That's great for later on when you repost or share with your friends. But for now it's more of a short "biographical recommendation"? Nothing formal/ serious like for a resume. Keep it cool & casual. Quirky & fun. The funner (that's right, "funner"), the better. ex: Matt is a weird little guy I met down a dark alley one night trying to score some fresh tunes and my life has never been normal/ sane since. He listens to more music than any one man should and if you're not careful he'll show you something extremely catchy. He might even find your new favorite band... These don't even have to have to be true. THERE! I just gave you the ultimate green light. Have fun! (I might or might not use it  )

Phwew!! Thanks for sticking with me this far (if you HAVE that is), I'm sure we lost some good people along the way... at any rate, any and all help would be MORE than appreciated. This is just supposed to be something fun so don't feel "forced" or "obliged" to send me anything. You can comment here or message/ text me. Be warned, though, if no one takes me up on this, I might have to resort to more drastic measures of tagging you here & publicly calling you out  Thanks in advance! You guys are 

Under the Sun Tour

Soooo, remember a few years ago, that whole 90's decade thing that happened? Yeaaaaah, it kinda came back tuesday night. And HOW.

Story time: I use the wonderful, fabulous app Songkick (which is even more fabulous app if you scrobble from Last.fm, which... I do) and it had been tracking several bands from my ipod playlists. One of which, was Fastball. So I get a notification one day, guess who's coming in concert? Yup. Fastball. I follow the link to see how much tickets were just out of curiosity and see the rest of the line-up for what turns out to be a "has-been's of the 90's" tour AKA the "Under the Sun Tour" (which proved to be ironically named because we got RAINed out!). I ask my lovely wife if she wants to go, just as a joke, the next thing I know we're at the show... It all happened so fast, I'm still not sure exactly how that worked...

Here's a PLAYLIST of the setlist so you, too, can relive high school (in my case) for a night in case the tour doesn't stop near you (or if you're one of the many who just went home from the show I saw).

Fastball-- These guys actually stole the show, I think. They sounded great and were the most fun I think. If you get the chance, definitely go see them.

You're an Ocean
Love Comes in Waves (this is a new song so it's not on Grooveshark yet but here's a link to their myspace page)
Fire Escape
Sooner or Later
Out of My Head
The Way


Vertical Horizon-- They sounded awesome for the one song they played. I might see them if they came again.
You're a God
**Here's where the rain got too heavy to continue. We're talking politely-instructed-to-return-to-your-car-because-of-lightning-and-flash-floods-warning RAIN. Fear not, though! The show did, indeed, go on after it had let up a little. But V.H. (no, not Van Halen) didn't finish their set :(


Gin Blossoms-- These guys did alright. Hey Jealousy & Follow you down were the best. The rest of the time it was a little too slow to be at a "rock" show, in my opinion (but that's the nature of their music, I guess).

2 songs I didn't know and (from the looks on the crowd's faces) no one cared about
Allison Road
Found Out About You
Hey Jealousy
Hear it from You
Follow You Down

Sugar Ray

Sugar Ray-- This is the one I looked forward to the least. Mark McGrath is SO cocky & a little too in love with himself for a guy who can't write songs (he rhymes "over" with "over" 3 TIMES!! However, I must admit Every Morning was really fun and their cover of Blister in the Sun was an absolute BLAST.
Summertime's Comin'- new song in which he rhymes "la la" with "na na"... :S
Someday
When it's Over
Every Morning
Blister in the Sun
Fly

Smash Mouth-- Not gonna lie, these guys were really, pretty bad. Their setlist was pretty poorly planned (ie- ridiculously anti-climactic opening), ZERO stage presence/ interaction with the audience and the lead singer was not on key for ANY of the songs. The only good thing was that his mic was down super low (and we were about 5th row back) so you couldn't hear him really. The BAND sounded good. They were spot on but the singer was SO bad we walked out before he sang Allstar because we didn't want it tarnished in our memories. We heard it going on from the parking lot and it was pretty lame.
Can't Get Enough of You
Then the Morning Comes
C'mon C'mon
Diggin' Your Scene
Walkin' on the Sun
I'm a Believer
Allstar

There you go. Hope you like it. It was actually a really fun night despite the storm. Go see this show (just skip Smash Mouth & you'll be okay).

NEW KT TUNSTALL!!!

So, I wrote this over 3 weeks ago but that doesn't really matter because this is still new. In FACT, (patting myself on the back), this album hasn't even hit the states yet. It hits stores August 6th. So, technically you heard it hear first. How's THAT for new? :D On to the post!

Okay, I'm not gonna lie-- and KT, if by some miraculous turn of events you ever read this, I'm sorry-- but I didn't actually like her last album all that much. There were only 2 or 3 songs on there that I could really get behind. She still put on an amazing show but I was hoping for more of her previous albums' stuff. I'm okay with artists expanding their sound/ style and growing into other directions as long as their core/ essence stays relatively close to what made them unique & attractive as a musician in the first place and they don't make a complete departure from who they are/ why I liked them to start with. In that light, Tiger Suit was a little too "out there" for me. HOWEVER, that being said, THIS ALBUM IS AMAZING!!!

Here's the PLAYLIST - My favs from her album.

So, I'm not going to attempt a well-composed, overly flowery and verbose review here. I most definitely could but I'm too lazy to write something like unless I absolutely have to (I really think it detracts from the music/ the artists' offering when people dissect and deconstruct it to death)... Much better, in my opinion, if you offer some general observations and let the audience decide for themselves. At any rate, suffice it to say, BUY IT! It's fanTASTic. It's laid back and chill without being sleep-inducing, boring background music. Her slower songs on her previous albums (while I love them also) tended more towards that, I think. DIG her sound but not every song was a hit and some of them, although awesome, were sort of more background-ish. But this album, even though they're slower, they really STICK. Very well composed, and crafted. As always. Have a listen. They're great. The whole album can be found HERE.

Album Reviews #1

Okay, here's the first chunk. It might look like a lot but it'll go quickly, I promise. As you will see, I've actually already written about some/ most of them. I might throw the links on there to the respective posts but this is mainly a quick review. 

Here's a Playlist of my favorites from these albums to listen to whilst you scroll.

Remember: Skip it= maybe one song but altogether not really worth the time. Track it= a few songs (2-5 ish) are worth listening to/ buying but not the entire album. Buy it= well, buy it... kinda... self explanatory. Typically, if I like/ want to own over half the tracks, I'll buy it just because it's cheaper as an album than buying the individual tracks on that curs-ed iTunes... 


Sondre Lerche- Duper Sessions-- Buy It; Love Sondre. Love smooth jazz. Sondre+Jazz= Epic.

Sondre Lerche- Two Way Monologue-- Skip it; Sadly not his greatest. Title track's alright.  

Regina Spektor- What We Saw from the Cheapseats--BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT!!! Buy 50 COPIES!!! Not necessarily because it's that good. I still like "Far" better but she's so friggin' incredible. But definitely a Buy It.

Jukebox the Ghost- Live & Let Ghost--Track It; Love them but there's some swearing on this. Better yet, Buy It but then edit it. Then it's perfect.

Jukebox the Ghost- Everything Under the Sun--BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT!!! Buy 50 COPIES!!! (This might become a pattern...)

Jukebox the Ghost- Safe Travels--BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT!!! Buy 50 COPIES!!! (yup, it's a thing now)

Switchfoot- Oh! Gravity--Track it; Title track, American Dream, Awakening, maybe Head over heels?

Switchfoot- Beautiful Letdown-- Track it. Meant to Live, Dare you to Move, Gone?, Adding to the Noise. Ammunition is good but a little screamy toward the end...

Sara Bareilles- Little Voice-- Track It. Vegas, Bottle It Up (edited), Love Song and maybe Morningside?

Gaslight Anthem- Handwritten-- Skip it. For as amazing as "45" is, the rest of the album is pretty boring.

Sondre Lerche- Faces Down-- Skip It. It's got Modern Nature on it but you can get that on the Dan in Real Life soundtrack too.

Regina Spektor- Far-- Buy 50 MILLION copies!!!! (See? This one's different!...) SUCH an amazing album. BUY. IT. Period.

Presidents of the United States of America- Presidents of the United States of America-- If you can, edit Kitty and Kick Out the Jams then it's a definite Buy It. Otherwise, Track It because there's some language...

Presidents of the United States of America- II-- Track It; Ladies & Gentlemen, Volcano, Mach 5 & Toob Amplifier are my favorites. There are others that are fun but don't stick (or that have language).

Switchfoot- Legend of Chin-- Track It; Chem 6a, You, Underwater

Amos Lee- Amos Lee-- Buy It! Not a bad song on the whole album. Smooth. Just plain smooth.



Amos Lee- Supply & Demand-- Buy It; Not as awesome as his first but still awesome.

Sara Bareilles- Kaleidoscope Heart-- Track It; Uncharted, King of Anything, Gonna Get Over You, Let the Rain?

Switchfoot- Learning to Breathe-- Unfortunately, this is a Skip It for me. You Already Take Me There is great but that's pretty much it on this one. 

And that's it! We'll do this again but not right away. Don't know if you got anything out of this but it was a fun recap for me. Enjoy! 

Rival Sons

*Note* I wrote this on Monday but this one required some additional tweaking. Although I like some ROCK every once in a while, I also believe in not getting heavy and some songs were a little too heavy and I had to think twice about what I pass on to y'all. So, hopefully we're good to go now...

So here's the PLAYLIST

So, after my initial encounter with the Rival Sons, I decided I might need to give them a more in-depth listening. I listened to their newest album, Head Down, their EP, Rival Sons and their first album, Before the Fire. Here's my take on them: Awesome-ish.

The general, overall feel of their music is awesome but after the song is over, you can't really remember why. The solos aren't very crafted/composed/memorable, the lyrics aren't terribly meaningful or even cool (sometimes even a little silly). It comes off as impressive but upon further inspection there's not really much there that makes them amazing or better than the others. It's kinda easy to get side-tracked during some of their songs and you forget you're listening... Don't get me wrong, they're good. I'd even say very good (bold statement, I know ;) I'd listen to them over Miley or T-Swizzle but I don't know if I'd actively seek them out and listen to them by myself.

Perhaps better explained through an analogy? They're kinda like that summer blockbuster that's trying to mimic or reboot a more famous series and does an adequate job of capturing the essence of the original but has some flaws upon closer inspection. Sort of like what the Phantom Menace was to the original Star Wars or MIB 3 to MIB. Had homages and nods to the original, even some original stuff of its own. It wasn't the original but you were still excited in the theater and came out saying, WOW, that was fun! (At least I did) but when you really look at it, the acting was less than stellar, too much reliance on CG, not a strong plot and lots of elements that contradict/ go against the original. Okay, maybe that was too nerdy. Led Zeppelin! How 'bout that? It's been said they're like Zeppelin. That sums it up... they're like Zeppelin. Similar grooves and feel but nothing really STICKS is all. I'd classify them as 1/2 Awesome. Maybe even 3/4? I guess that makes them "aweso." Yes, they are Aweso.

That being said, there are elements that are full blown awesome! The BASS is frikkin' inCREDible!!! Mind blowing at times. Some ridiculously fun licks & runs that make me giggle like a little girl... and the vocals are nothing to sneeze at. He's kind of a mix between Jack White & Robert Plant. Not nearly as iconic as Plant but a bit more polished than White/ less weird, with a bit more range (although I don't think Jack is exactly going for polished...). But pretty awesome. Give 'em a listen.

Run from Revelation is pretty nitty-gritty, down & dirty, raw rock-on power. Keep on Swingin', of course is incredible. All the Way is kinda silly but it kind of reminded me of George Thorogood's One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer but not about drinking so it's better? Face of light is a little slower and more melodically focused and the rest are just plain fun. Enjoy!

Listening List!

So, I've mentioned several times before that I have been doing music-ey things even if the posts have been scarce. Therefore, here today, for all those of you who may have doubted the validity of said claims, is PROOF! It's not like I ain't been doin' nothin'. And as we all know, "a double negative is proof positive!" (Sorry if you don't get that. Watch the movie Clue. Couldn't find a clip of it.)

Here's some recent favs. PLAYLIST

So last night I went through last.fm and wrote down all the albums I have listened to in the past year or so, bringing the (rough) grand total to 129 Albums! I say rough because this is just according to last.fm which tracks anything I listened to on our laptop at home but not on any other computer. I've since rectified this and have Grooveshark & Spotify "scrobbling" everything I listen to. However, this is just a list of Albums, not all the random, individual tracks and it also doesn't represent how many times I've listened to some of them. I have had to go back a re-listen to quite a few because I forgot to take notes and mark which ones I'd already listened to and which songs I liked or simply because I REALLY like some of them.

I think what I'll do in the next few posts is go over the list in sections and write my rating of the album next to it (along with some tunes, have no fear of that). But that's definitely too long a list to go through at once. But for now, take a look. Feast your eyes, O ye disbelievers (and all ye believers too, because it's a long list and took a while to make so that'd be cool if at least someone looked at it...)

June 2013

Catherine Feeny- People in the Hole

Catherine Feeny- Hurricane Glass

Frank Turner- Tape Deck Heart

Tally Hall- Good & Evil

Tally Hall- Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum

Sherwood- QU

Rival Sons- Rival Sons EP

Rival Sons- Head Down

Rival Sons- Before the Fire

Lenka- Shadows

May 2013—15

The Kooks- Junk of the Heart

The Script- Science & Faith

Coldplay- Mylo Xyloto

Corinne Bailey Rae- The Sea

OK Go- Of the Blue Colour of the Sky

Chris Thile- Jam Sessions

Ingrid Michaelson- Everbody

Ingrid Michaelson- Human Again

Various- The Reel Thing

Chris Thile & Mike Marshall- Into the Cauldron

Fictionist- Invisible hand

Motion City Soundtrack- Go

Cartel- Ransom EP

Relient K- Is for Karaoke 1

Relient K- Is for Karaoke 2

April 2013—8

Presidents of the United States of America- Pure Frosting

Matisyahu- Light

Motion City Soundtrack- My Dinosaur Life

Chris Rice- What a Heart is Beating For

Corinne Bailey Rae- The Love EP

Dispatch- Circles Around the Sun

Jeremy Fisher- Mint Juleps

Jack White- Blunderbuss

March 2013—1

The Kooks- Inside In Inside Out

February 2013—5

James Morrison- The Awakening

Matisyahu- Spark Seeker

Fountains of Wayne- Welcome Interstate Managers

Guster- Easy Wonderful

Ingrid Michaelson- Girls & Boys

January 2013—26

Spoon- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

Sixpence None the Richer- Dawn of Grace

Intercept- Symphony For Somebody Else

Jack Penate- Matinee

Neon Trees- Habits

Jeremy Fisher- Goodbye Blue Monday

Sean Watkins- 26 Miles

Chris Rice- Amusing

Christina Perri- Lovestrong

BNL- Barenaked for the Holidays

Damien Rice- O

Jimmy Eat World- Bleed American

Gaslight Anthem- Handwritten

Zee Avi- Zee Avi

Matisyahu- Youth

Matt Costa- Mobile Chateau

April Smith & the Great Picture Show- Songs for a Sinking Ship

Neon Trees- Picture Show

OK Go- OK Go

OK Go- Oh No

mae- (a)fternoon

Jeremy Fisher- Flood

Andy Grammer- Andy Grammer

The Daylights- The Daylights

The Fratellis- Costello Music

The Script-The Script

December 2012—28

BNL- Maroon

Imagine Dragons- Night Visions

Jonsi- We Bought a Zoo Soundtrack

BNL- Maybe You Should Drive

Holly Brook- Like Blood Like Honey

The Aquabats- Hi-Five Soup

Amos Lee- Mission Bell

Blues Traveler- Bridge

Jamie Cullum- Pointless Nostalgic

Young the Giant- Young the Giant

Matchbox Twenty- Mad Season

Matchbox Twenty- North

Mae- Destination: Beautiful

Keane- Under the Iron Sea

Kelly Sweet- We Are One

Owl City- Ocean Eyes

KT Tunstall- Drastic Fantastic

Avril Lavigne- Best Dang Thing

Ben Harper- Both Sides of the Gun

Ben Harper- Burn to Shine

Catch 22- Permanent Revolution

BNL- Snacktime!

Ian Axel- This is the New Year

The Idea of North- Feels Like Spring

Ingrid Michaelson- Be Ok

Intercept- Magnolia Road

Keane- Hopes & Fears

KT Tunstall- Have Yourself a very KT Christmas

November 2012—14

Punch Brothers- Punch

Punch Brothers- Antifogmatic

Punch Brothers- Who’s Feeling Young Now?

Natasha Bedingfield- Unwritten

Natasha Bedingfield- Pocketful of Sunshine

Barefoot Truth- Threads

Natasha Bedingfield- Strip Me

The Kooks- Konk

Blues Traveler- Blues Traveler

BNL- Gordon

Sondre Lerche- Sondre Lerche

Amos Lee- Last Days at the Lodge

James Morrison- Discovered

Fiction Family- Holiday EP

October 2012—3

Sondre Lerche- Phantom Punch

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds- Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds

John Mayer- Born & Raised

September 2012—1

Sondre Lerche- Duper Sessions

August 2012—2

Sondre Lerche- Two Way Monologue

Regina Spektor- What We Saw from the Cheapseats

July 2012—8

Jukebox the Ghost- Live & Let Ghost

Jukebox the Ghost- Everything Under the Sun

Jukebox the Ghost- Safe Travels

Switchfoot- Oh! Gravity

Switchfoot- Beautiful Letdown

Sara Bareilles- Little Voice

Gaslight Anthem- Handwritten

Sondre Lerche- Faces Down

December 2011—1

Regina Spektor- Far

November 2011—5

Presidents of the United States of America- Presidents of the United States of America

Presidents of the United States of America- II

Switchfoot- Legend of Chin

Amos Lee- Amos Lee

Amos Lee- Supply & Demand

September 2011—2

Sara Bareilles- Kaleidoscope Heart

Switchfoot- Learning to Breathe

Random Song

Hey all! Sorry for going "radio silent" as my dad would say. I have been doing music-ey things. Just haven't been writing about them. More on that later. Just a quick post to share this song I just heard on the Billbaord top 200 playlist on Spotify. It's not even alternative rock which proves that that's not all I listen to an post about. I'm at least semi-diverse. At any rate. It's great. Here's the link. It's also on the Songs from the blog list.

Nothing's Real but Love- Rebecca Ferguson

Corinne Bailey Rae

Well played, Matt, that was hilarious...

So, I know what you're thinking, "How are you so awesome, Matt?" Okay, maybe you weren't thinking that exactly. It was probably something more along the lines of "Matt, these aren't exactly 'new' artists/ albums you're reviewing." Well, that's true and it's not. Also, that's kinda mean but I'll look past that. I forgive you. Listen to this playlist and we'll talk about it once you've had a chance to cool down and think a bit...

This PLAYLIST includes favs from both her albums and a few rarities.

As I was saying, it's true that Corinne's latest studio album came out 2010 so it's been a while BUT she's great. I feel like everyone forgot about her after 2007. Of course, everyone know's Put Your Records On. So I listened to the whole album (bummed a copy from my aunt) and it was great. Very laid back. Very chill. Don't know if I'd classify it as Awesome... but it was pretty darn good. But then she dropped off the radar. Gone. 4 years later she comes back but I never heard anything about her new album. No radio play. No shows. So I'm playing catch up. That's all.

Also, as a side note, it's hard to find good new music. I've been listening to stuff. I promise. But I try to only put good stuff on here. I don't want to review an album or artist if I don't like them because I think there's too much negativity out there already. If this was a job and people were paying me to review music, I'd have to but it's not, so I don't. But sometimes there's a pretty big gap between good albums or artists. A shortage, a dearth, you might say. Maybe next time I'll post a list of everything I've listened to to prove it...

But, back to Corinne. Her new album, The Sea, was good. Not awesome but really good. I'd give it a Track It. There wasn't any one song, really, that stuck out to me as being as good as Put Your Records On but the thing that DID stick out to me was the instrumentation/ general musicality of the album (ie- not the words, her vocal ability or the melodies). Don't know if that's her playing her own stuff or if it's a backing band but the music itself was AMAZING. It hits HARD and powerful like a punch in the face but one that you actually enjoy? Like, if you were to get punched by your favorite celebrity maybe? Don't get me wrong, she writes great songs and knows her way around a hooky melody. But, to me, the music was the thing that caught my ear on this album. Have a listen. Some good stuff.

There are also two songs on there that aren't from her albums. Another Rainy Day is just relaxing and chill and Corinne's version of Que Sera is the only version to date that I actively enjoy. I absolutely despise that song but she not only pulls it off but absolutely knocks it out of the park! A little long so I stuck it at the end. You don't have to listen to all of it. Or just stick it on in the background while you clean the kitchen and sing into the mop handle like a mic stand. You know you totally do that. Who do you think you're foolin'? But it's okay. No judgement.

With a Little Help From My Friends

Well, from my cousins is more like it. They're really cool so I figured they listen to cool music. Right? Because we all know it's music that makes people cool... At any rate, I got some suggestions, gave a cursory listen and found some stuff worth sharing. 

Playlist- WHATEVER YOU DO, PLEASE PLEASE LISTEN TO THE RIVAL SONS SONG!!!

Cough Syrup- Young the Giant
Miracle Mile- Cold War Kids
Tight Rope- Walk the Moon
Keep On Swingin'- Rival Sons 

This post has been brought to you by Caleb, Holly & the letter Jerry.

The Sara Show

As promised, here's the set list from her 2011 show. Click the link below, close your eyes and it'll be (maybe) just like you're there!

Sara SHOW

Also, I think I may have mis-represented my feelings for her music in yesterday's post. In case you thought I don't, I really DO like her music. I LOVE it in fact. That's why we went to see her live (even though she only played an 8 song show... bummer). See?! I wanted to see more! It's just that a few of her songs sound too "polished" or overproduced and some are just a little off because of the language. But that's only some. By and large, LOVE it. I'd see her in concert again in a heartbeat.

So, to clear up any confusion, here's the Ta-DAA *brand new rating scale* to the rescue!! (Those are supposed to be flashy sparkles.) As far as her individual albums go, Little Voice is a Track It for the above reasons. Careful Confessions is basically Little Voice before she got big so it's also a Track It. Kaleidoscope Heart is almost a buy it but not quite. Still a Track It.

But Sara as an Artist is DEFINITELY a "Love 'Em," which, if you remember the definition, means you have to become obsessed with her and see her LIVE yourself. Give her a listen. Decide for yourself.

Also, here's a video of her new single off her new album coming out soon! Enjoy!

Sara Bareilles and the Pizza Party

So, after Monday's semi-disappointing post, figured I'd post about someone I actually knew I liked: Sara Bareilles (which, kinda looks like someone left the 'G' out of Bear Grylls...). In one word, TALENTED (notice I used a word other than "awesome"). In two words, Incredibly Talented.... In three words, I'd say "She's incredibly talented"... just 'cause pronouns are important ;)

Here's the PLAYLIST

So, I actually started this back in 2011 after we kinda saw her in concert. I say "kinda" because she was actually the warm-up act for a group I'd never heard of, "Sugarland." Spare me the gasps (What!? You've never heard of them?!), they're country and I don't do country. And they weren't even all that sugary... Also, as a side note, I've asked people who "know" Sugarland what they sing and they don't even really remember! (Guess they're more like a sugar-coma... he he... yeah, never mind)...

At any rate, she's great. You've undoubtedly heard "Love Song" and "King of Anything." If you live in UT like me, which has nothing but top 40's radio stations, then you may have actually heard them too much. If you're unlike me (I don't have TV) you've probably seen her judge on the Sing Off.  But if you're like the average music listener, you probably haven't sat down to listen to the rest of her stuff. That's where I come in!

After listening to all of her albums (3 for now but another out in a month or so?) here's my take: She's great. I don't know if I'd actually rate her as awesome, though. Her songs are really interesting and I don't mean the kind of "interesting" when you can't find a nice word to describe your friends attempts at "cooking," I mean the kind where there is a ton of stuff going on musically in her songs and some elements work and some don't.

Kinda like this. Sockapella... just doesn't fit.

For instance, her general sound is on the lighter, softer, poppy side of things; she sings about romance and relationships, feelings of vulnerability and a range of other emotions; basically what might otherwise be labelled as "chick music." THEN, in the middle of a bubble-gum song or a nice, little ballad, when you least expect it, she'll drops some seriously surprising language; almost as an appeal or plea to be taken seriously; proof that she's a grown up and more mature than your average T. Swizzle song... just doesn't really fit. 

Then there are other elements I'm still on the fence about; her vocals being the main thing. The music and arrangements behind her are fabulously layered and mixed and catchy as all get out. And like I said before, she is also no slouch. She's amazingly talented. She can play and CRAP she can sing. On record and live. But I think what rubs me wrong on her albums is her vocal arrangements. She's her own backing vocals and her college ACapella roots really show. It's almost like accompanied A Capella. The two weren't really meant to be together. And it's not on all her songs. Just some. And that probably wouldn't be a problem for some but myself not really liking A Capella (at all)... I just can't unhear it, ya know?

She really knows how to BELT

The way I thought to explain it is it's kind of like when you go to a party and they've got pizza but you got there a little late so there's not enough plain pepperoni left and no one wants to be the jerk to take the last piece. There are other pizzas there but it's a weird one where half is sausage, pepperoni and anchovies and the other half is some vegan monstrosity that shouldn't actually qualify as pizza... There are parts that would be full on AWESOME without the A Capella anchovies (some people like 'em but let's face it, they're weird) and there are other parts that are just weird combinations that should just never...be...

But don't let me spoil it for you. One man's anchovies are another man's deep dish. (But like I said, they're weird). Give the rest of her stuff a listen. Because although I wouldn't rate her as awesome, she IS amazing. If you do listen to all of "Little Voice" be advised there's swearing in Come Round (several words) & Bottle It Up (one). Minimal or none on Kalidescope Heart. I put my favorites on the playlist; though I'm still on the fence about Morning Side. Also, I think the version of Gravity from Careful Confessions is better than the newer one on Little Voice. The backing band really helps the song build. Tomorrow I'll post a re-creation of her show if I can find the set list I wrote on the back of one of my wife's Real Simple Magazines.

Comment! Pass it on! Feel free to tell me how much you love A Capella and let me know how much I'm missing out on a good thing. Share your favorite song. Tell ya what, I'll even throw this out there, if you can show me an A Capella group that has consistently amazing songs (we're talking Pitch Perfect closing numbers) not just one or two, I'll eat an anchovy and post the video on here. Enjoy!!

PS- A Capella Anchovy would make an awesome band name.

New(?) Songs & a Rating Scale

This is a picture. 

Okay, I know they might not be "new" per se but they're new to me. Heard these and found out who sang them on Sounhound. I put them on the random songs list.

PLAYLIST or just click the individual songs below. They're awesome. As usual. Which leads me to the next item of business.

I've been trying to develop a rating system for things. Just so there's a bench mark for y'all to sorta "standardize" my ramblings. I know I already call most everything awesome. I mean, I try to only post awesome songs in the first place but there are varying degrees of awesome-ness. The only thing is, I haven't quite figured out a "solid" scale yet. In previous posts I've mentioned a scale of "Not to Awesome" but somethings are awesomer than awesome... like THIS, or THIS.

I've also thought about a scale for recommendations. Something like if you should buy just the tracks you like, get the whole album or skip it all together. Sort of like, "Track it," "Buy it," or "Skip it." This could go for Artists as well. "Skip 'em," Like 'em" & "Love 'em." Skip 'em would be like, only a few tracks are worth it. "Like 'em," would mean you should listen to most, if not all, their stuff & "Love 'em" would mean you should become obsessed with them and see them in concert if you can. I'll keep thinkin' about it and we can polish it as we go... I'm open to suggestions though!

Tonight- Seether (Never thought I'd like a Seether song but this wasn't too screamy and actually felt happy)
1- Joy Zipper
Whirring- The Joy Formidable
Harlem- New Politics
Hoppipola- Sigur Ros (this one's on a lot of soundtracks it seems...)