This was pretty sweet.

Hello Everyone! I would like to take this moment to thank all who have read my blog. This was pretty sweet. I enjoy what I do and respect all the comments that I receive. Through my blogging, I was given a vehicle to drive my interests, which is a combination of music and writing.

During this experience, I made connections with other fellow bloggers from various communities. I have been inspired-creatively by all of you. The individuality of blogging is unique to each. I saw everyone’s personalities shine through their interests.  

Next year, I hope to see some familiar names remaining active with their blogs. I will continue to share concerts I attend, and fun times along the way using the same blog.
                                       
                                  I bid all farewell, and a Healthy, Happy New Year!!

All I want for Christmas is MUSIC!

Since the holidays are lurking around the corner. I decided to leave you all with some gift GIVING suggestions. I exaggerate on the GIVING because I know me and during the holidays, I always manage to shop for myself more than others. SO, I came up with a few (affordable) ways to surprise your musical friends this holiday.

First, the portable vinyl carrier is perfect for your friends or family who has records but no record player. So, this holiday is perfect for the Vinyl Killer. Vinyl Killer is a portable record player made in Japan. You no longer have to spin the record, nor do you even need a turntable.

This is a portable way to bring your favorite vinyl tunes everywhere! Although they do not project the best sound and might kill a vinyl if often used, they are still a fun gag gift. Most vinyl killers come in the form of cars: VW buses, Beatles, etc. They are perfect for the hippie at heart.

 

Second, if you have a little to spend, you can purchase an MP3 player  at various afforable prices. Then, after you score an amazing deal, you can download a personalized playlist that is specific to the one you are gifting. Maybe include a few new songs they wouldnt normally listen to. 

Burning CD's is also a good way to share music. It's cheap and you can find fun ways to package

the homemade inspiration discs. Just check out Pinterest for new ways to use materials you have at home to design pre-made quality.

 

 

Back to the vinyls. If you know someone who has a record collection that is being used only to collect dust, take the ones that are still visibly entact, and put them into frames. The vintage appeal of vinyl art will make a unique wall decoration. ( Below is a sweet example).

This is not my wall but I am hoping to get a few frames for my vinyls to do the same thing!

Whatever you choose for your musical friends, it's the thought that counts.



Fa, la,la,la,laaa

It seems to always sneak up on you. We all know the sound of Christmas when we hear “Silver Bells” harrassing you in the grocery store as you pick out your Thanksgiving Day turkey! The tree, shopping for presents, and spending time with your family all feels like the holidays, but the music resonating from the gas stations and your car radio sets the mood. Most of the time, I listen to a song to reflect my current mood and it’s the holidays so what the heck, lets "Jingle All the Way" into the New Year.

I bought a tree last night and it was the first in two years. The smell of that Fraser Pine was all the Christmas songs, hot chocolate and wrapping paper infused into the scent of this tree. I smelled Christmas, and since we know the classic songs sung by Perry Como and NatKing Cole (Grocery store Christmas tunes), I found some Christmas Ballads with as fresh of a sound as the tree.

We don’t have to let the oldies (but goodies) define the sound of Christmas. I got really excited when I found The Knife’s – “ChristmasReindeer”.  I started listening to The Knife a few years ago when I heard this electro-pop brother and sister from Sweden. They have a dark, ambient sound that is exaggerated from their accents.

The next frost bitten indie artist who decided to inspire the needy is Passion Pit with the song, “All These Trees”.  They have a really great song (unrelated to Christmas) titled, “Sleepyhead” that I have on my shuffle list. This American indie rock band incorporates synthesized beats for their electro-dance style music. The five members were schooled in rock while they all attended college for music allowing them to create greatness with a learned structure.

The band, LCD Soundsystem    produced the song “Christmas Blue”. The band broke up but not before they created this electronic Christmas song for the world to get jolly.

Whether you are having a holiday gathering or picking up friends and family from the airport, give their ears a break from the tired, old Yuletide Carols and throw in a new tune.

Happy Holidays!
 

 

Atoms for Peace.

Sparks of lyrical madness create an aura around Thom York of Radiohead. I could write forever about the many ways he inspires me, but my focus today is to share his ongoing project, Atoms for Peace. The 2009 Experimental rock –electronic super group consists of some well-known names that many of us have experienced on their own.

“Put Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Nigel Godrich, drummer Joey Waronker, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea and percussionist Mauro Refosco( who has also recorded with the Chili Peppers)  into a studio for three days, and you know the sound coming out of that session is going to be otherworldly .” (CNN)

The nine-track album “AMOK” is set to be released in early 2013, according to the magazine, and has been in the works for a few years. (Rolling Stone Magazine)

I didn’t even know that the few songs I have "Eraser" and "Cymbal Rush" are from the first Atoms for Peace album. As I researched more from this band, I got a little history lesson. I discovered, "Atoms for Peace" was the title of a speech delivered by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower to the UN General Assembly in New York City on December 8, 1953.

“I feel impelled to speak today in a language that in a sense is new – one which I, who have spent so much of my life in the military profession, would have preferred never to use. That new language is the language of atomic warfare.”—Eisenhower

  (Left: "Lotus Flower")

The first line to this speech spoke to me, “I feel impelled to speak today in a language that in a sense is new.” I thought for a moment, that Thom York whisked up this name to his side project after paying homage to this titled speech. Sometimes, when I listen to Radiohead I feel like I am hearing the unexpected time signatures for the first time. Like, I have never heard "Lotus Flower" or "Gagging Order"? That would be a sad, sad world for me.  So, I’ve drawn a connection to our late President, and the great Thom York, innovator of speaking to his audience in a digital language that commands your nerves attention.

 

Although there are a lot of Radiohead songs that I am obsessed with, I wanted to share these two,because they are both different tones but can equally move you. Enjoy everyone!!!!!!!!!

 

Left: ("Gagging Order")

 

 

Sorry .

 I'm sorry I lost all your Cd's when I was younger. I still hear you say, " I wonder what happened to all my Pink Floyd CD's?"I loved listening to The Wall on your Cd player, and twirling around the living room. I'm sorry that I found your Nirvana Nevermind album and brought it to Amy's house...then left it in her boombox.


I'm sorry for feeling like the car was sometimes turned into a purgatory. I remember you would sing out loud in the car, and I would be pressing my face against the window. At that time, I thought it was embarrassing. At eleven years old, I loved Duran,Duran and R.E.M. , the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd.

     All of these musicians have had an impact on  my selective ears.   Finally, I am sorry mom. Sorry that you had what I think is exceptional taste in music, and indirectly giving me access to epic tunes.

Matt & Kim: Balloons anyone?

     The balloons were quickly inflated with excitement after Kim (from Matt&Kim) invited herself into the crowd handing out limp rubber and instructed them to be blown up and alive for the next song.

     Matt&Kim are the notorious, high energy couple that has continued to lure their fans on the most recent album, "Lightening". Although I was working, I was able to see why this band is a such a vision. I'm not a dancer, I "sway". My sway is more like my head grooving around with a sound that I am totally in touch with. I was MOVING. Feet off the ground, hands in the air, pulsating with every synthesized beat from Matts keyboard and kicking with every bounce off Kims drums.

     
     The backdrop that normally would illustrate  an image of the album cover, was transformed into a digital billboard that was projecting a close up of their faces. I could see the beads of sweat dripping down Kims face, as she maliciously beat her drums while demanding the attention from the endeared audience. At one point, Matt was standing on his keyboard, nailing each key with his hammering finger tips.

This melodic, experimental pop-duo has an infectious sound and personality that is sure to have a song that will find its way to your ears.

Matt & Kim tonight- "Lets go!"

I remember hearing Matt & Kims video for "Daylight" playing in a store I used to work at a few years ago. I really had no clue who they were, but the song was catchy enough for me to remember the artists. Tonight, the boy and girl Indie duo will take the stage at The Ritz in Ybor city along with the opening act, Oberhofer to continue with the Lightening tour. Hope some of you can make it!

"Lessons Learned" Music Video (Left)

"Lets Go" Music Video (left)

48 minutes of pleasure

I was infatuated with what I heard, and I can't stop listening.When you find something you really enjoy listening to, it's pretty much on repeat. I get pretty obsessed with music, so when Grizzly Bear released their fourth studio album Shields, I was curious how it would compare to the others.

The American Indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York known as Grizzly Bear, consist of four members including songwriter/vocalist Ed Droste, who composed the first album in his apartment as a solo home project.The additional contributors of this modest home project later formed as the band Grizzly Bear, and released the developed project in 2004, Horn of Plenty. I really like "Alligator" and "This Song" from Horn Of Plenty. The sound of this band is suttle and sweet. The simple harmony of these guys will send you into a dreamy sweep, emphasizing on their haunting voices.

The following two albums Yellow House (2006) and Veckatimest (2009) proved to their audience that they can be diverse and inspiring with their folk-indie sounds complimenting the experimental ingenuity between "Easier" and "Two Weeks" to keep us interested in the whole album. These tracks offer a bevy of instrumental influence thanks to multi-instrumentalist Chris Taylor, while the band expels sounds of Baroque pop and psychedelic mood swings that allows the tuned ear to grasp the potential influences for Grizzly Bear, such as The Beach Boys, The Smiths, and Radiohead.

"The sky keeps staring at me..."  are the lyrics from "Gun-Shy" that prompted me to quickly purchase the entire 48 minutes of the Shields album. When I listened to this song for hundredth time, I drew influences from  Sultans of Swing (this song is pretty sweet) by the Dire Straits. Most of the time, you can hear dominant influences within a certain bands albums/songs. I think its fun to pick them out, and to get other peoples opinion, because everyone is going to hear a song differently.

I have literally been listening to this album the past three days since I got it, and I haven't bought a whole album ( besides my precious vinyls) since Radiohead came out with King Of Limbs (along with many other of their albums I've collected).

**Grizzly Bear has some unique music videos like this one for Ready, Able off of Veckatimest.

Unfortunately, this is one band I have yet to have the opportunity to see live. Keep your fingers crossed for a Florida date!

Are you going?

Do you have your tickets to the concert? I hate finding out about a concert after they've came and gone. The Tampa Bay area has a lot of talent that comes through the area and they must not be missed! I am fortumate enough to work at an amazing establishment that books a lot of great bands, so I always know when they are playing at The Ritz Ybor.

The Fall/Winter season brings a lot of great shows for all ears. I have a little obsession with going to concerts and I want all of you to know when they are coming! Below you will find a list of links that I use to stay updated on future shows.


The Ritz Ybor Tampa,Florida.

Statemedia dot com.

http://www.daddykool.com/Home

http://www.statetheatreconcerts.com/



I encourage everyone to see a concert this semester and to post your experiences on this blog. I would love to hear about them, and see some pictures of bands and venues. I always like to ask people what they listen to, its how I learn a little about them. So, I would like to learn a little about who my reader are, so take a look at the links, and go see some shows!

Metric was electric !

"I'm just as fucked up as they say", front woman Emily Haines of Metric opens up the show with their new song "Artificial  Nocturne". The show was epic with the eerie stage set-up as they came out into a smoky haze, with silhouettes outlined by gleaming blue lights.  In addition to the laser light show that was scanning the crowd, while highlighting all the reaching hands. The sound was impeccable thanks to their amazing talent accompanied by a great sound team.

Since Fall has arrived, so has a new crop of concert dates, like  Metric last Saturday night at The Ritz Ybor in Tampa, Florida. I have never seen this Indie Rock band from Toronto, but I have collected many songs from their various albums like: Fantasies, Grow up and blow away, Live it out, and Old World Underground, where are you now? . Metric  just came out with their new self-released album Synthetica making it their fifth studio album.

I would also like to mention the opening act, Half Moon Run who captured the audience as if they were the main event. When they walked onto stage, I had no idea who this three man band from Montreal was, but I quickly started writing songs down to download them later. This night was an amazing experience and I look forward to sharing my next concert!.

Waves of Vinyl

Friday morning a friend and I decided to go to Daytona Beach for a night to catch some waves in the morning. As soon as we got there we checked in our hotel and walked out to the beach. The water felt cooler but still warm enough to jump right in. While we were out there, I couldn't help but to think about the lurking sharks. I know they are out there, I have seen them swimming off in the distance, but I still go in.

Sometimes when I'm floating on my board, I can almost feel something..lurking..

The reason why I am sharing today, is not for surfing (or my fear of sharks). Instead, I thought it would be cool to show some pictures of a funky record store I stopped at on my way home Saturday afternoon. I wasn't expecting to see the Atlantic Sounds record store, nestled in between other shops but as soon as I did , I knew I had to stop. When I walked in the appearance of the quaint shop seemed to have kept its 1980's vibe, although the first room had CD's and DVDs everywhere that were alphabetically categorized for easy skimming.

As I roamed the store and all of its glory, I ventured into a room dedicated to vinyls. If you have ever visited a record store before, it can be a little overwhelming because most of the time there are a lot of records and you want to look through ALL OF THEM. I just bought my record player last year; I have developed a mini-hobby of finding records and new places to shop for them. So when I saw this place, I got really excited!.

I probably spent a solid thirty minutes in the vintage store , flipping and sneezing before I found these hidden treasures: The Hollies, Bob Seger, Fleetwood Mac and Billy Joel. I was getting nervous because none of them had prices, so I was afraid to ask but I was pleasantly surprised when I was told, "all vinyls are priced between $1-$4.00." I bought all four for six dollars!. I was able to speak with the owner Michael Toole, and I asked him where he gets all his records from? The owner of the popular music store replies," people bring them in on sell or trade."

I thought that was cool, in addition to him telling me he looks through about, "2,000 records a week" for the store. I gave him cash since they offer a discount for not using plastic.

Listening to a record is an experience within itself. The crackle and pops of an old record signifies the journey it made to get into my hands. A record is tangible, you can hold it, smell it (ha ha), and you are pretty much forced to listen to the whole thing because there isn't exactly a "skip" button.Whether you are listening to music through these Fuzzy Wobbles or your iPod, enjoy the experience you get while indulging in the tunes.

Going to a Show

Tonight I got invited to see The Ataris play at Crowbar in Tampa for the  Paper+Plastik tour. My good friend Jennifer and her boyfriend invited me to come along. This band from the Midwest is better known for the tunes : "In this Diary," "The Saddest Song", and the remake of the Eagles hit , "The Boys Of Summer." I will be sure to take some pictures and hopefully some video clips so I can share tonight with all of you!

Watching the Ataris

I can't think of anything I enjoy more than going to see a band perform live. This past Thursday night, I had the opportunity to watch The Ataris play at The Crowbar in Ybor City. I've seen a few shows perform at the intimate establishment located in Tampas historic district ranging from Bonobo to "Dave Bazaan". Most memories that I have of listening to The Ataris are from highschool, driving around in my friends moms car on the beach ( probably skipping class), blasting our teenage angst out the window to "In this Diary" or the remake of the  original  Eagles hit , "The Boys Of Summer." 

Its kind of like when you are in a specific spot and you pick up a scent that immediately reminds you of someplace you've been before and you get a reminiscent feeling,  thats what it was like to see this band perform Thursday night. I was invited by one of my close friends  to see the four-piece alternative punk band from Indiana play at the venue with her her  boyfriend who is childhood buddies with the drummer Rob Felicetti.While the band was playing,  I couldnt help but observe Guitarist Thomas Holst and his retro short-shorts that everyone couldnt seem to ignore . After the show, I was able to briefly talk with Thomas Holst ( guitar). Thom told  me about another band he plays in named The Embry Record and gave me there second album "Darca."

Left: Thomas and I after the show. I was pointing to his awesomeness for giving me the album Darca!.



Right: Rob Felicetti (drums), centre: Thomas Holst (guitar) and me.

In response to Pop Life by Rob Sheffield

In response to Rob Sheffield's blog  " MTV to Music: We Are Never Ever Ever Ever Getting Back Together" ,  He talks about Katy Perry and her eye-rolling, throat clearing responses to the awards given to her obvious disregarded interest  of young-Pop  "One Direction", amongst other interesting artists behavior of the evening. I am going to avoid burning the hopes and dreams of Tweens all over who voted for this group, I would say I respect what they are doing. But my question is, " Does MTV appeal to  a broad listening group or just twelve year old and sounds that are meant to Brainwash people to social conformity? I remember when MTV was cool, and I could turn to the channel to SEE music which is almost as essential to the listening part. To show music videos other than "One Direction" or "Justin Bieber" would be to digress to a more diverse audience and share more music that isn't necessarily blaring through the radio stations. I understand this was a POP column so I set myself up to disagree with what in my opinion is worthy tunes, that the VMA's celebrates as "best new video" and, " best Share-worthy Video." I guess if I was a teenager maybe these bands would have more of an impact on my listening/viewing experience, but I doubt it.

Hello Friends

Do you ever get bored with your tunes? I do too, although sometimes I will listen to the same songs  repeatedly because I just get obsessed with a specific sound. These obssesions with music have fueled my interests of seeking out bands I've never heard of or, just looking for more to inspire me.
When I was a kid, I could remember riding around in the car with my mom as she belted out verses by Pink Floyd and The Rolling Stones, or coming home from school to her cleaning the house with Duran Duran and Nirvana flowing out of the speakers like ropes lassoing me in.

As a result, I would confiscate her CD's and play them in my boombox, or give myself the stage in the livingroom while no one was home. I never wanted to become a singer but I knew I loved music and I drew a connection to it with happiness. I joined the choir in Elementary school and continued through to my senior year in High school. This experience taught me to listen, giving me the ear I have today for music. What I choose to listen to are my personal interests; I hear specific details that makes a song great to me.

I listen to various styles of music and I find talent in all genres, which has broaden my library of tunes and allowed me to learn a little more about specific styles. One way that I like to learn about a person I just met is to ask them, "who there favorite bands are," or "what they are listening to right now."  I have discovered a lot of new music this way. I am a huge concert junkie and I constantly search my favorite sites to all things  music in my area. In addition, I have a job at an entertainment venue that gives me a front row view of the bands while I'm working which has given me different perspective on sounds becasue I see the process of setting up the stage  from tuning the instruments.

Note.Worthy.Tunes. will be my outlet to the world. The Concerts and Photos that I will share, I hope will inspire someone to listen to something they have never heard, or through my links, see a band they never seen before. This will be a journey for all of us, "Rock on."