Shiny, Happy People

The following three bands have that happy-indie sort of vibe that is sure to lift your spirits wherever, whenever. Of Monsters and Men, Imagine Dragons, Lumineers. They probably sound familiar to most of you but I am posting this to encourage you to listen, listen, listen. While their singles are without a doubt great they have a lot more up their sleeves and it would be a pity to miss out on it.

A friend shared "Little Talks" by Of Monsters and Men with me a long while ago and I made a mistake of stopping there until recently. Now I am hooked and sad I wasted so much time NOT listening to them. Sidenote: Of Monsters and Men Pandora, probably the greatest thing ever.

And I have the honor of seeing two of the three LIVE at Governor's Ball in June. Who's excited for me? Come on no need to be bitter...

Of Monsters and Men // Yellow Light

Imagine Dragons// Demons

Lumineers // Big Parade

British Babies

If you haven't heard of either Birdy of Nina Nesbitt you are in for a serious treat.

Birdy and Nina Nesbitt both come out of Great Britain (Birdy from England and Nina from Scotland) and they are equally amazing. Nesbitt is 18 years old and Birdy is only 16. Sixteen as in born in 1996, okay that is CRAZY. Their music and emotion is wise beyond their years.

I first heard of Birdy for her cover of "Skinny Love" which is absolutely transcending. I am also a big fan of her "District Sleeps Alone" cover in addition to some original material she's released.

Nesbitt caught my attention when she appeared in Ed Sheeran's video for "Drunk" and after noticing her name a few times in the comment thread I saw what all the fuss was about.

Looking forward to seeing what the future holds for these two. 

Birdy // Skinny Love Cover

   

Nina Nesbitt // Hold You

References: Ed Sheeran Drunk Video
                         Birdy District Sleeps Alone Cover

Remember That Time...

 We're all in love, get over it.

Remember that time I met St. Lucia?

Remember that time I met Jason Reeves?

Remember that time I met Matt Corby?

I Can't Help Feelin'

This is fairly old but if it slipped through the cracks for any of you I thought I'd post it anyway. 

Adele + Childish Gambino + Crazy Beats= MIND BLOWN.

Yeah, Adele is great for sobbing over ice cream and that kind of behavior but she actually works really well for upbeat mash-ups too. Who knew? Well now you do...

By the way, while this is mixed pretty well I am particularly obsessed with Childish Gambino's verse which doesn't start until 2:44 so feel free to fast-forward if your patience wears thin, it is too good to miss.

Wow girl that's what you really wanted, a Michael Cera knockoff? Guess I wasn't white enough. 

YEAH TAKE THAT HANNAH HORVATH.

Childish Gambino//Rolling in the Deep Remix

From NY to CA

St. Lucia and The Neighbourhood are two of those bands where it was love at first listen. It felt effortless. I've had to give many songs a few tries until they really grow on me but I was instantly attracted with these ones.

St. Lucia, aka Jean-Philip Grobler, hails from South Africa but he and band-mates have become a household name around Brooklyn, where the frontman now lives and frequents for shows.  I first saw St. Lucia back in September at a free show where until 10 minutes after playing there was no crowd... fast-forward four months and I am standing without a centimeter of spare room at Terminal 5 while he's opening for Ellie Goulding. Needless to say, things are escalating pretty quickly.

The Neighbourhood comes from L.A. and are pretty new to the music scene with their first album still in the works. The band consists of five gentlemen. This song is so damn catchy I just can't stop...

                                           

                                           The Neighbourhood // Sweater Weather

         St. Lucia // Closer Than This

The End

Oh boy...where to begin? I was recently shuffling through my iPod when I came across two songs with the same name, "The End." 

I am an avid Ellie Goulding and Macklemore x Ryan Lewis fan but one thing that I've realized is that their greatest work is grossly underrated and underexposed. While "Thrift Shop" has a whopping 115 million views and "Lights" over 40 million, neither of "The End"s have hit the 3 million mark, even though they were released years ago. 

Macklemore's "The End" tells a very linear story. The great thing about this song is that I've listened to it oh...maybe a thousand times..and I am still picking up on things. Both literally and metaphorically the song is about life as an experience and the struggles and choices we as individuals are faced with. I can only hope that Ben Haggerty is serenading me with this when I enter the gates of heaven (a girl can dream).

Ellie's "The End" is a gut-wrenching account of unrequited love. What it's like to be infatuated, used, and forgotten by someone who really couldn't care less. As far as sad girl music goes this pretty much hits the jackpot...and it's actually good (sorry Ke$ha).

The Greatest Call Me Maybe Cover Ever

In honor of us all getting through Wednesday here's a throwback favorite. I mean there just are no words. 

A Trip to Oz

Why, yes I am using this very attractive picture of Angus Stone to lure you into reading my post.

So I realize that categorizing music geographically is a little odd, but I’m not doing it on purpose it’s sort of just happening. I may be crazy but from my previous posts I’ve sort of realized that there are certain tones that people carry. The Brits (Ben Howard, Daughter, Ed Sheeran) all seem to have acute emotional depth, as in you can really FEEL everything they are saying.

And while the following Aussies certainly don’t lack any sort of depth whatsoever I still think there is a bit of variation in the style.  Anyway, you’re welcome for that useless thought tangent…let’s get to the important stuff.

I LOVE THESE AUSSIES. A few are more recognizable than others but they are equally brilliant so if you haven’t heard of them before, give it a go. G’DAY.

Angus & Julia Stone // Big Jet Plane

       Boy & Bear // Feeding Line

Lakyn Heperi // Better Than That

         Matt Corby // Brother 

Music for Long Walks

Now and again the weight of the world just might get to you. It's only inevitable at certain points in your life that you need some time away from the everyday activities we surround ourselves with. There are times for dancing, there are times for swaying, there are times for feeling sad and there are times for feeling happy. But these songs aren't for those times. These songs are simple and pure. But above all things I love these songs because they don't evoke any specific emotion to the listener, they are open to interpretation  Hope you find what you're looking for!

Sigur Ros//Luppulagio

M83//Wait

 Balmorhea//Lament

Mikky Freaking Ekko

For the love of everything sacred and holy why did no one ever tell me about Mikky Ekko?

So the name may sound familiar to some of you with the release of Rihanna's latest love-stricken ballad "Stay". Even though I've never been a Rihanna enthusiast this track is truly lovely. I first heard it as a cover from Allie McDonald (mentioned in post below) which led me to the actual song.

Tonight is one of those perusing YouTube kind of nights and boy am I ever glad I did because I decided to look into this Mikky Ekko character and I am just about speechless. Part of me wants to shout it to the world, CHECK THIS GUY OUT (which I guess is what I'm doing) and another part of me really wants to keep him for myself.

From the minimal information I've gathered about Mikky Ekko in the last 10 minutes it seems he appeared on the music scene around 2008 and his collaboration with Rihanna has led to his first "big hit."

Ekko tears at the heart strings. His voice is phenomenal, drawing similarities to music mastermind Ryan Tedder. But his music is unique and surprising in and of itself incorporating an r&b sound, strong, emotional vocals and an interesting arrangement of sound. 

I'm on track four as we speak and have yet to be disappointed. While "Stay" is good for a first listen, I was definitely hooked after listening to Ekko's solo track, "Pull Me Down." Basically, listen now.

Semi-Unknown Really, Really Good YouTube Talents: The Mcs

I’m never really sure of what constitutes “unknown” or “underground” when it comes to the music scene. This dialogue arose one time over dinner with a fellow music-loving acquaintance who stated that the only way to REALLY find underground music is to stumble into a hole in the wall bar somewhere.  Whether this claim is accurate or not, I don’t find myself wandering into hole in the wall bars with unusual frequency, so I resort to the World Wide Web: YouTube.

I think it’s fair to say that musicians with several videos under  1 million views can be classified as semi-“unfamous”, so I hope you don’t feel mislead. And yes, maybe I was that girl in high school watching Justin Bieber saying “LOOK AT THIS KID” (credibility established).  Countless evenings I find myself clicking away on YouTube. “I’ll go to bed by 11 tonight,” I say to myself as I aggressively click the side panel of my browser. But most of the time once I’m in it, I am IN IT. So since I’ve already wasted my time weeding through the horrendous, you don’t have to! And now I will share with you the magnificent.

Allie McDonald, Collin McLoughlin, Kate McGill.

OH MY GOSH. These guys are GOOD. Pitch perfect, appropriately emotional, phenomenally tasteful, and all quite lovely. Even better, these guys have already starting releasing original material so it's only a matter of time...ENJOY!

Allie McDonald

Collin McLoughlin

Kate McGill

The Ben Howard Effect

There are a lot of different kinds of shows. There is the kind of show that you have a drink, get dressed up, and get ready to dance. There is the kind of show that you have more than a few drinks, wear something ridiculous, and get ready for wherever the evening takes you. There is the mellow show where you don’t know the artist and simply go to hear something, or to feel something.But if you’re lucky enough you’ve been able to experience my favorite kind of show, one that truly transcends you. A show where the anticipation kills you before the artist hits the stage, where you feel a sense of community among the people around you, and where at some points in the show you feel completely out of your element. I call this…the Ben Howard effect.To say that Ben Howard is immensely talented is an understatement. He is a god among musicians. You can tell that he and his band truly enjoy what they do. You can sense a feeling of happiness and it reflects on the audience in a way that I’ve never seen before. Maybe it’s the folk-like melodies that radiate from the stage. Perhaps it’s the random exchange of exuberant looks between the band members.What is most astonishing about Ben Howard is the genuine sense of modesty, appreciation, and comfort that he exudes. You can tell that he not a product of the music machine, but an artist that truthfully does what he wants while giving the fans what they want. He goes above and beyond. Not a one song encore, but a two song encore. He plays what he knows his fans want to hear, but he also leaves you with a secret—at times, taking the stage alone and playing something hauntingly beautiful that is familiar to no one.I stand there and think: this is the way music should be. Among the 3,000 sweaty bodies plastered against me, the semi-obstructed view, and the stale smell of beer splattered concrete floors, something brilliant is happening.

These Brits Rock

Lately I am out of my mind infatuated with the Brits. If you haven't heard of these three before I HIGHLY recommend checking them out. After a few listens you may be ready to pack up your bags and catch a flight to London.

Ben Howard

Played: Terminal 5, February 11, 2013

Top Pick: The Wolves

Daughter

Played: CMJ Showcase Show October 2012

Top Pick: Youth

Ed Sheeran

Played: Radio City Musical Hall, January 30, 2013

Top Pick: Give Me Love