Song of the day (April 11)

Jimmy Eat World "Sweetness". I hummed this song all day yesterday for no reason.

What you should be listening to...

Automatic LoveLetter is a band that you should be listening to. If you're not, your musical taste needs to upgraded immediately.

Song of the day (April 10th)

This is the song of day...I know it's early but I'm going out of town for the day so here it is.

Rilo Kiley "The Moneymaker"

Song of the day (April 9th)

The song of the day is "Nicest thing" by Kate Nash. This will be a everyday thing, I promise!

A long over-due concert review...

On. November 20th 2009 I went to the All-American Rejects with Taking Back Sunday and Anberlin concert  at the House of Blues. I forgot that I wrote something up for it, until now. 

Contrary to belief not everyone was watching the New Moon  movie Nov. 20; about 1,800 people piled into the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach to witness three amazing bands perform.

The All American Rejects, Taking Back Sunday and Anberlin drew in a mixed of crowd of teenagers, young adults, adults, and even some elderly.

Opening Act

Anberlin opened up the show with songs such as “A day late” and a cover of the 80’s song “True Faith” by New Order. They also performed, “Godspeed”, “Paperthin Hymn”, “A Whisper and a Clamor”, “Disappear”, and “The Unwinding cable car”.

 The band hails from Winter Haven, Fla., and formed in 2002. They finished up their set with, “Feel good drag” the first single off of their first major studio album, “New Surrender”. Only a handful of audience sang along, but by the end of their set it was evident that they had gained more fans.

Co-headliners

Taking Back Sunday conquered the stage next and exceeded all expectations, having seen them live at Projekt Revolution in 2007.

Taking Back Sunday’s new guitarist and back-up vocalist Matt Fazzi was the best surprise of the night by performing with a medical walking boot on his left foot the whole night.  He fractured his foot during a tour in Dublin, Ireland.

They opened up their set with songs such as “Cute without the ‘E’” and “A decade under the influence”.

Lead singer, Adam Lazzara took time to mention that he used to live in High Point, N.C.  Every time he said North Carolina he got cheers from some N.C. natives in the audience.

“I’m just gonna say that all night long,” Lazzara said.

At one point, Lazzara stood at the tip of the stage and announced that a girl only a mere few feet away had been on a cell phone for two songs.

“Honey, how can you hear anything, it’s so loud in here,” he said as he banged the microphone on the stage.  He also pointed out two girls in the front row who were texting during a song. 

The band performed songs from their latest album, “New Again”. The whole audience sung along to the single, “Sink into me”. A mosh pit was formed when they performed “Lonely, Lonely”

Lazzara, Fazzi and bass player Matt Rubano shared quirky comments with fans. Rubano insisted that “If you can’t swim, you fail at life.”

Headliners

The headliners of the tour, All American Rejects, rushed the stage with lights beaming in every direction and young girls screaming for life.

The All American rejects kicked-off with their most known song in the world, “Move along”.

Lead singer, Tyson Ritter seemed to be the pop idol of every 16 year olds dream with his attire of white jeans, wet hair and gold and blue with a hint of glitter body paint on his bare chest.

Their performance of “Dirty Little secret” even caused a commotion, when a young girl in the front row tried gripping a hold of Ritter as he sung his lungs out.

The left hand side of the audience was treated to guitar picks being thrown at them. Some tug of wars happened to catch one lone pick.

 The audience was elated when Ritter stood on the barricade for the acoustic version of the song, “Mona Lisa”

Songs to remember 2006...

These are five songs from 2006 that made my senior year of High School something to remember:

5.) "Staplegunned" by The Spill Canvas




4.)"Best of You" by Foo Fighter



3.)"Always" by Blink 182




2.) "Makedamnsure" by Taking Back Sunday




1.) " My Heart" by Paramore

10 Songs that should be on your Ipod this week:

Here are ten songs that I highly recommend you listen to. Downloading them would benefit your horrible health.

1.) "True Believer" by Dragonette

2.) "Nicest thing" by Kate Nash

3.) "I Want to Know Your Plans" by Say Anything

4.) "Its Safe to Say You Dig the Backseat" by Dance Gavin Dance

5.)"Baby I'm Gonna Leave You" by Led Zepplin

6.) "Let's Get Fucked Up and Die" by Motion City Soundtrack

7.) "Growing Old" by Parade the Day

8.) "Hearing Damage" by Thom Yorke

9.) " Rusholme Ruffians" by The Smiths

10.) " Taxi Cab" by Vampire Weekend

Hayley Williams proves why she's amazing...

Hayley Williams put her own twist on the annoyingly good song "Bad Romance" by Lady Gaga.

5 must-see summer concerts

With summertime inching closer, summer music concerts are being announced. Concerts have become a definite high of mine and I plan on doing it as much as possible. With the disadvantage of not living next to huge venue, a lot of artist by pass North Carolina. However, there are four concerts coming to the area that I would most likely sell things in my house just to pay for the tickets.

         1. Angels & Airwaves w/ Say Anything
             May 12th 2010 The Fillmore Charlotte, NC
It’s very rare when I end up liking the full lineup for a concert, this is one of them. I’m a new fan to AVA because of being a die-hard Blink 182 fan I was skeptical to see what Tom can do without Travis and Mark by his side. But, I heard that Tom brings more energy to the stage with this band. The major plus for this concert is Say Anything. Max Bemis is probably the only person who can make his bipolar ridden lyrics make sense. And for that I love this band.

          2. Kings of Leon
             September 13th 2010 Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion Raleigh, NC
Disclaimer: I loved KOL’s before “Use Somebody”…so palm to face to those who made me almost hate them.
With that out the way, I’ve been dying to see KOL live since I heard “Charmer” a year or two ago. I’m secretly excited to see them live especially since their latest album is one of my top faves. Hopefully I won’t see any drunken bimbo’s dancing around with medical boots or crutches. I have no idea if there’s an opening act for the concert. However, that doesn’t really faze me because the tickets are a good price that I better get an ear popping amazing show.

          3. Paramore w/ Tegan & Sara
              July 23rd 2010 Raleigh Boutique Amphitheatre Raleigh, NC
If anyone knows me, they know I’m a huge Paramore fan. I’ve been listening to them since they entered the scene in 2006 with their debut album All We Know Is Falling. I saw them last summer with No Doubt and The Sounds, but I wasn’t in love with their performance. I think the second time around I’ll love it because Brave New Eyes was an incredible album. Hayley Williams’ stage presence is insanely good. Tegan & Sara are in slightly decent added bonus, although they randomly freak me out with their weirdness.

            4. Arctic Monkeys
                April 6th 2010 Cat’s Cradle Carrboro, NC
I’ve been in lust with this band since I heard “I bet you look good on the dance floor” a few years ago. I psyched to see if they can live up to the hype that others have created about them. Alex Turner has a nerdy (not River Cuomo nerdy) thing going for him. I was shocked to see that they were performing in North Carolina. I still haven’t given their latest album Humbug a fair listen and I really don’t plan on it. None of their album can surpass Whatever People Say I am, That’s What I’m not.

Lykke Li's new video...

I love it when an artist stays unique with their sound. Lykke Li is hands down the most creative lyricist today. She has the ability to make you feel the actual raw emotion in any song. "Possibility" is one of my favorite songs by her. And the video is beautiful, which is rare for me to say because usually video ruin the song for me.


Check out these other songs: “Until we bleed” & “ Little bit”

5 Songs that should be on your Ipod this week:

Here are five songs that I've been hooked on lately. Downloading them would benefit your music taste.


1. "Runaway" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
   
2. "Hallucinations" by Angels and Airwaves

3. "The Loneliness" by Frightened Rabbit

4. "Your head is on fire" by Broken Bells

5. "Every Moment" by Rouge Wave
    

Vampire Weekend stick to their creative sound

The indie rock band Vampire Weekend is hands down the most uniquely creative band to come out in the past three years. Their ability to infuse African influenced music into an unforgettable indie sound is astonishing.


Their self-titled first album put them on the map with other New York based bands such as MGMT, White Rabbits and Matt & Kim.

The band hails from Brooklyn, N.Y. and formed in 2006. That same year they signed with XL Recordings, which is home to musicians such as Radiohead, M.I.A. and Adele. The band garnered a lot of attention when bloggers caught wind of their unusual sound.

They’ve been compared to the equally artistic band The Shins. They’ve made comments describing their sound as “Upper West Side Soweto”

Lead singer Ezra Koenig and drummer Chris Tomson were members of a comedy rap band called “L’ Homme Run”. Rounding out the quartet is Chris Baio as bass guitar and backing vocals and Romtam Batmanglij playing keyboard, guitar and additional backing vocals. All the members of the band meet while attending Columbia State University.

Their debut album was released Jan. 2008. The first single off of the album, “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” was released in 2007.

The widely known single “A-Punk” was the second single off the album. It helped the record skyrocket to gold in the following months.

The album was later proclaimed as one of the best of 2008, and there’s arguing with that statement.

Koenig has a mind of his own that seems as though he’s channeling his inner hipster.

No other band can even come close to the sounds that Vampire Weekend creates.

Their new album, Contra, is a very powerful follow-up to the previous album. Instead of staying neutral with their sound, they branched out to more intriguing rhythms. Contra is the band’s first number one on the Billboard 200.

Even though some people believe auto tune is ruining the music industry, track four “California English” features the obstruct sound. Vampire Weekend embraces the intolerable technique and makes it decent.

Koenig experiments with his voice by singing in several different voices.

The first single off the album, “Cousins”, sounds fast paced and lively almost like “A-punk”.

There’s a lot of energy is most of the songs on the Contra album.

They achieved something that most remarkable new bands are unable to achieve, developing an astounding follow-up album.

“Giving up the gun,” the second single from Contra, is exceeding the same exceptions as their previous singles. The song embodies clever guitar riffs.

“Taxi Cab” slows down the fast paced album with its simplicity and smooth vocals. The instant the song plays, a lucid feeling approaches. The song could be mistaken for the work of The Killers, with its humble but artistic lyrics.

Another song on the album, “I think Ur a Contra,” has the sense of simplicity and Koenig’s vocals immediately attract attention.

The first album was enjoyable and displayed their refreshingly new sound. The following album is close to musical bliss. Vampire Weekend now and will forever have a special place in the Indie Playlist of greatness.

Vampire Weekend will be performing in Asheville, N.C. April 6 at the Orange Peel.

Shiny Toy Guns was better with Carah

Shiny toy guns has had only one major hit..."Le Disko" and that was under the vocal talents of Carah Charnow. Well, she left the band and they brought in a replacement who sounds like a screeching cat on stage. I don't want to nag about the new lead singer, but Carah gave the band a unqiue sound that was different from others. She had an edge with her voice that gave the lyrics true potential. Compared to a screaming cat, that says alot.

Here's video of Carah performing "Le Disko"...


I actually took the time to find the video of the current lead singer singing the same song, but my patience ran low. So just take my word for it the band was 20 times better when they first started out with Carah, and now they fail. Just like 66% of bands now that just seem to lose their touch when it comes to follow up albums.

Say Anything immerse albums with sarcasm

The wisecracking artists of Say Anything have had their share of immaturity. However, it seems to be the winning formula when it comes to recording a hit record.
The Indie rock band hails from Los Angeles and formed in 2000. Lead singer Max Bemis uses his witty banter and the gerbil turning wheel in his head to mastermind most of the bands lyrics.
The band released two EPs in 2001 and 2002; the band never counts those album efforts as “official records”.
When the band signed with Doghouse records, their first studio album entitled …Is a Real Boy was released in 2004.
The album garnered positive reviews from many music magazines. Their fan base grew as they began touring to support the album release.
With the pressure to promote the album, Bemis’ health problems surfaced, including his struggle with bipolar disorder.
With the lead singer out of commission, the band took a break and five members of the band left. Bemis’ health problems continued thru out 2005, with an outburst of public breakdowns. In one incident he harassed children and spent an hour pouring a bowl of soup on the floor, one spoonful at a time. He was also involved in a street fight, which led to him being admitted into a mental hospital.
…Is a Real Boy was later re-released with the single “Alive with the Glory of love” becoming a sensation.
Bemis recovered in 2005 and the line-up of the band continued to change until currently. Coby Linder (drums), Alex Kent (bass guitar), Jake Turner (guitar, vocals), Jeff Turner (guitar, vocals) and Parker Case (keyboard, vocals).
Upon Bemis’ return the band began work on their second studio album. With the motivation to make the band international, they embarked on a tour with fellow indie band Dashboard Confessional in 2006. That same year the band completed their first headlining tour.
The band returned to the studio to record, their third album In the Defense of the Genre in 2007.
The album led to much needed success for the band. The first single, ‘Baby, Girl I’m a Blur,” gained radio play and got them more attention from other bands.
The bands true talent of mixing their sarcastic lyrics into some sentimental songs. The lyrics to “The Church Channel” spew out like a journal reference of Bemis’ while he was in rehab.
The album featured appearances by, Adam Lazzara (Taking Back Sunday), Chad Gilbert (New Found Glory), Anthony Raneri (Bayside) and Hayley Williams (Paramore).
The popularity of the album gained the band more air time and more television appearances.
With success from the album, the band started touring overseas and in the U.S. They also released their second single, “Shiksa (Girlfriend)” in April 2008.
That summer they appeared on all the Warped Tour dates, for the first time since the start of their career.
The fourth album has less of the quirkiness of the band, but it shows another side of them.
The self-entitled album was released on Oct. 2009 by RCA records. The first single “Hate Everyone” is close to the equivalent of the bands first single, “Alive with the glory of love.” They both display the bands ability to make fun of Bemis’ health problems, but yet keep it tasteful. Yet, the album cannot match up to ..Is a Real Boy.
Recently the second single from the album was announced to be “Do better”.
Nonetheless, Say Anything has managed to become the most rambunctious band to ever grace ITunes.

Paramore releases a new video that makes sense...

Paramore has just released their video for "The Only Exception" the third single off of their latest studio album, Brand New Eyes. This also happens to be one of my favorite songs off of the album. I have to admit the band has finally matured with their music and it's transitioned over into their videos as well. Usuallythey feature numerous of band performances in the videos. But this video features more of the story behind the lyrics. Lyricist wise Hayley Williams has grown, and to me it's for the good.