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.