LISTEN NOW- You Sound Like You're From London!

Sure-Fire ways to get a chick:

In a Band- check
Have an accent- check
Dress slightly trendy, but don't look like an anorexic American Apparel addict- check, check
Climb the charts and sell out first US tour- like white on rice. 

aka- you're part of Mumford & Sons. 

Mumford & Sons- the sweet, sweet medicine that we've all been waiting on. It's like the grape Dimatapp that you'd fake being sick just to get a dose. These Brits are like the Avett Brothers with an accent (and not I'm not talking about a Southern drawl either). AMAZING, I know. They harmonize like Local Natives & Fleet Foxes, with the vocals of Glen Hansard (of The Frames & The Swell Season). There are plenty of other references to throw out, but take a listen for yourself.

Busy Day Playlist... a few days late.

Good Morning Saturday April 24th! Much to do today! Among some personal errands, there is a bike race to get to, a baseball game to cheer at, a concert to attend and Flash Light Dance Birthday Party (ahem- HECK YES!). Needless to say, this is going to be a busy one. I think I'll need a playlist to get through the motions of the day. 


Wake Up Call- "Swim Until You Can't See Land"- Frightened Rabbit
Getting Prepped for the Day- "If You Don't, Don't"- Jimmy Eat World, "Easy Lover"- Phil Collins, "Little Bit- CSS Remix"- Lykke Li, "Islands on the Coast"- Band of Horses, "Home"- Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeroes
Driving Around (I like to dance & sing really loudly with the windows down, hence the following choices)- "Somebody Else"- Jeff Bridges, "Zero"- Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "World News"- Local Natives, "Fader"- The Temper Trap, " "Love Song For A Savior"- Jars of Clay, "Hard Livin'" Justin Townes Earle, "I Feel It All"- Feist, "Semi-Charmed Life" Third-Eye Blind, "Standing on the Shore"- Empire of the Sun
Baseball Game- "Rockin' In the USA"- John Mellencamp, "Benny & The Jets" - Sir Elton, "Diplomat's Son" & "Cousins"- Vampire Weekend, "Underdog"- Spoon, "Sugarfoot"- Black Joe Lewis, "In Step"- Girl Talk, "Heavy Cross"- The Gossip, "Move"- CSS
Going out- "Cozza Frenzy"- Bassnectar, "Tik Tok"- Ke$ha, "Vibrate"- Ghostland Observatory, "Mommy Complex"- Peaches, "Ghosts N Stuff"- Deadmau5, "Saturday Night"- Sir Elton, "Like This"- Girl Talk, "Sexy Back" Justin Timberlake
Bed Time- "Wolves"- Phosphorescent, "Blood Bank" & "Wisconsin"- BonIver, "10 Mile Stereo"- Beach House, "Such Great Heights"-Iron & Wine, "Glosoli"- Sigur Ros, "The Party"- St. Vincent, "Act of Man"- Midlake, "Kaufman's Ballad"- Megafaun, "A Meaningful Moment Through a Meaning(less) Process"- Stars of the Lid




Yeah,  I know that this is only 4 days late, but clearly my Saturday was JAM PACKED! (So packed that I quickly stopped linking every band/song that I listed.) Things haven't really slowed down since, but hey, you people (Loser #1, I'm talking to you) are demanding posts. More entries on the way as soon as I have time to transfer from post-it notes to the internets, so don't tax my gig so hard-core cruster!

Things We Like

Given that this is a cave/community created by our mutual appreciation for music, we thought it would be appropriate to let you know what some of that music IS! 
We compiled a brief list of some artists that we like that are current/relevant/we are listening to at the moment. This list came together, mind you, after the consumption of 2 bottle of wine- that's one a piece people! Suffice it to say, the list is what we could think of at the time, and was written quite sloppily. The latter is erroneous to the content, but funny to think about. 
Enough chatter; lets get down to what we like (in no particular order):
Vampire Weekend
Santigold
CSS
Yeasayer
Phoenix
GirlTalk
The Cribs
Bon Iver
Ting Tings
MGMT
The Gossip
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
Lykke Li
The Temper Trap
Band of Horses


These are more of the indie/up-and-coming artists that you may not be all that familiar with.  I do recommend giving them all a little listen when you have the time. 


More "Things We Like" to come... buuuuuuuuddddddddy.

Shameless (work) promotion

Since I work in the music industry, and for a company that has a small roster of management clients, every now an then I am likely to post about them. Here is the first installment of such personal agenda. 

FreeSol is the only Hip-hop client that we currently have on our roster. If you like hip-hop, check THIS out. Any feedback/ constructive criticisms are welcome. I don't manage the dude! Won't hurt my feelings one bit.

*As a side note- I promise not to do this too much, but hey, this is a blog about music, and I just want to expand your knowledge. 

Listen Now

SXSW offers a slew of up-and-coming bands to look out for, and 2010 was no different. I managed to catch several bands of said "up-and-coming" stature, but there was one that stood above the rest: Local Natives. I received a copy of their most recent album at work several weeks before the festival and managed to listen with enough frequency, that I had learned the majority of the lyrics by the time I caught their live performance on that cold, dreary Saturday. What like to be a dismal and wet day was changed by this band- I was warmed from the inside out and couldn't help but smile as I rocked out next to the door/security man that afternoon.

Side note: "World News" is my personal favorite.

Listen Now

LCD Soundsystem has a new record coming out, This Is Happening. For those that like upbeat, fast tempo, get down and boogie music, LCD is for Y.O.U!

Listen to their free audio stream of the new album here and make sure you turn up the volume.

You Know You're Obsessed Too

Currently, it seems that many people (myself included) have all jumped on the pop-culture train into one particular box car, creating a resurgence in the sci-fi/fantasy world of VAMPIRES. Books, TV series, movies, video games, board game, you name it, Vampires are out to tap that market and suck all the blood from it.

Personally, I've drawn my limits at Twilight (all 4 books and the unpublished, unfinished manuscript of the illusive 5th book) and HBO's series, TrueBlood. Both are engaging and simple. Romance- Check. Action- Check. Drama- Check. Adventure- Check. Good Man with Bad Boy qualities- Check. Fantasy- Check. Sex- Check. In short, perfect.

What does this have to do with music you may wonder? Well, Ms. Stephanie Meyer, author of the famous book series was inspired by music as she wrote. Her playlists are pretty great. Artists such as Radiohead, Death Cab for Cutie, Muse, Leonard Cohen have all helped mold the scenes from her imagination onto paper (and now into feature films). Even better, she delivers HER playlist to us on her website per book. (Click here for Twilight's list) And, because what would Hollywood (or the rest of the world be) if it didn't try to make a few extra bucks by creating an almost entirely different playlist for the movie's soundtrack? Both lists of songs and artists cover an array of decades and genres while managing to match the drama and emotion evoked from the reader with each turning page. From lyrical whispers to epic guitar and drum crescendos- the music covers the gamut.

Based in Bon Temps, LA, TrueBlood has an entirely different sort of sound. Playing on its southern bayou locale, rockabilly and soul, the music to this show makes my Southern Girl heart thump to a livelier beat. Zac Brown Band, Allan Toussaint, Lucinda Williams and Ryan Adams are all names that no one scoffs at these days (in the name of talent). The title track of the show "Bad Things" by Jace Everett is just about as seductive as the show itself.

While you may have your doubts, hesitations and apprehensions about being "glamoured" into the Vampire fixation, don't knock the music that inspires and drives these shows. If I can commend Gossip Girl for the majority of the music it unveils to the masses, you can give this stuff a shot.

This is NO Candy Mountain

Now here's the thing- Candy Mountain sounds GREAT in theory (coming from a female that pushed through much of her life off of the sweet taste of sugar), but if you must know and remember ONE thing in this life, it is that you should never, NEVER EVER go to Candy Mountain. Especially if a unicorn tells you to follow him/her there. (Here is Charlie's story if you don't believe me, but i digress.)

Like I was saying, this is no Candy Mountain. This is a highly sought after cave. A music cave. Currently only accessible by 2 people. However, we are here to open up our arms, welcoming in those who care to join.

Let me also explain why we've named our cave after Pauly Shore: He is awesome. Seriously, his movies may be of no value to saving the environment or stopping human trafficking, but heck! They have made every person I know laugh! That is something that could help the world- laughter. Finding enjoyment in simplicity. The simplicity of Pauly Shore's stoner-humor. Encino Man, In the Army Now, Son-In-Law, Bio-Dome- hey buuuuuddy. Quit crunchin' on my grubbage, Cruster!

This blog will be an on going list of music, old & new, that is appreciated by my partner in crime and myself. Some days only one song or band may be added, other days, whole playlists for the mood that we are in or by things that inspire us (like Kittens & Fro-Yo).

While I do think I have a fairly extensive knowledge of current music, not one person (or two people in this case) can know it all. Just holler if you've got something worth a listen... and we promise to give credit where credit is due.

Peace, Love, and Pauly Shore buuuuuudddy!