Even though I've moved on to bigger and better musical interests, there's really a void left in me by the absence of bands like these in today's contemporary music landscape.
Sure some of them are still making music. But it sucks (not to mention some of the lead singers got fat).
But, I think that Twin Atlantic to some degree fills this void in a similar way that they did, while still appealing to our more "mature", or "educated" or "hipster" sides.
Twin Atlantic has a similar rock-out, rhythm guitar type style. The Scottish origin/accent is, musically speaking, a turn on.
They're a pretty talented bunch. Even stripped down to acoustics they sound good (not fantastic though IMHO).
But if you too miss the day when FOB, MCR, and Paramore were culturally significant check these dudes out. And also my previous post about "Dreamember".
I've had this song in my iTunes for a while. But I've been neglecting it.
Purity Ring is awesome. This electronic duo does this shit soooo well.
This song is from the future. A future with robots, flying cars and awesomeness for all (kind of like Samurai Jack except not evil)
These guys were in town for SXSW and I unfortunately missed them (sad face). But just close your eyes and pretend. See yourself at the concert like I have been. Or in an alternate future world where music is generated by thought and this song is a newly released hit.
The original is probably one of Kid Cudi's best songs ever. This rendition is awesome. Totally different feel to it. The main feeling of the song is still maintained while giving it a total makeover instrumentally. And that it's live makes it that much more awesome.
I know Minutes to Midnight was a terrible departure from what made Linkin Park cool.
I know it's super uncool for me to say this but here goes.
I'M STILL A LINKIN PARK FAN.
Now that that's off my chest...
Linkin Park's most recent album A Thousand Suns was for me, a particularly unexpected sound. Yet, after a few listens, I found this album awesome. The reason? Because much like in Hybrid Theory (by far their best album) they're making cool music that is (conceptually speaking) new... At least in the mainstream...
Think about it. Hybrid Theory was an amazing, top-selling album because of it's new sound. In the context of music back then, music sounded super boring and overly pop-y. At least as far as mainstream music on the radio goes. Then came along Linkin Park, mixing rock, rap, hip-hop DJing, into one, oddly coherent sound. And it stuck. That simple.
They didn't make it big because they were the first ones to have this style of music. They made it big because they were able to make it work well and have it be consumed by the masses.
The influence they had on changing the way people thought of music. That's what's important.
Similarly with their newest album, Linkin Park does a great job of mixing a more contemporary style of music. Much more synth heavy, with undertones of rock and hip-hop. Today they're just as much a rock band as Lil' Wayne is a rock musician... (okay maybe a little more than Lil' Wayne)
"Waiting for the End" starts off with what sounds like a guitar riff, and as the song progresses it feels as though there is more and more progressively layered on to it. Harmonies, bass lines, melodies.
It's definitely my favorite song on the album. It has a great mixture of both synth and instrumentals that I love. Kind of like "Breaking the Habit" but not so sad. (By the way watch that music video if you haven't. Who else recorded a live music video of themselves performing, shipped it to Japanese artists and released a music video in anime style? Linkin Park that's who.)
Being an aesthetically oriented person (I'm a photographer for those of you that don't know) I find that the video editing and processing does a fantastic job at complementing their music. I almost feel as though it's a visual manifestation of their audible style.
Again, I know these guys aren't pioneers. I just find their music cool. I'm sorry for liking Linkin Park, but no matter how much you may hate, or tell me how unoriginal they are, I'll almost always like their stuff...
....Unless it's Minutes to Midnight...Fuck that album...
I just found out about her through an interview from Seattle based advertising photographer, Chase Jarvis.
On her website bio Zoe Keating's described as a "one woman orchestra. She uses a cello and a foot-controlled laptop to record layer upon layer of cello, creating intricate, haunting and compelling music."
She's a classically trained cellist that makes great music using not only her cello but also her computer.
Using her computer in conjunction with her cello is really cool because it shows that she has a level of digital proficiency that some musicians in the classical realm don't really possess.
For some reason she's sometimes called an "avant cellist", I assume because of her avant-garde style.
Being able to loop what she plays creates a really deep, orchestral feel to what she plays. She's really good at this style of playing and I particularly enjoy it a lot.
I think I like her music a lot because she brings together great classical music with technology in a cool way, making it her own.
My parents are both from Cuba, and my family came to this country in 1969 after the communists, led by Castro, had stripped them of everything that they had worked so hard for just before that.
My parents came when they were super young and assimilated into American culture but still held on to their Cuban identities, imparting some of that on me.
Thinking about this I wanted to do a post on Celia Cruz, who many of you may know as a salsa singer who wore really bizarre outfits like this one or this one and especially this one. But throughout my life she was a lot more than that.
She was nominated for, and won 5 grammies (yes, I know, she's a beast) and Celia Cruz was at the forefront of not only Cuban music, but Latin music as a whole for years before the Cuban Revolution. When she was exiled, she only became even more famous. She caught on in the Unites States not only because of pockets of Cuban exiles like my parents living in Miami, New York, and L.A., but because people throughout Latin America grew to love her and her music.
I grew up with this music throughout my childhood so there's an element of nostalgia in it for me, but for anyone else interested in different kinds of music you should definitely give Celia a listen. Try making a Celia Cruz Pandora station, so far I love my results with it and have studied, danced, and even worked out to that station.
She's made God-knows-how-many songs over the years and it's hard for me to pick just one to feature right now, but I decided on this song because it's an awesome adaptation of an American classic, Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive"...and most of you are familiar with that song.
Rather than singing about moving on from a past relationship, Celia sings about how, even after her death, she will live on through the music that she's made over the years.
"En el alma de mi gente, en el cuero del tambor, en las manos del conguero, en los pies del bailador yo viviré, ahi estaré"
"In the soul of my people, in the skin of the drum, in the hands of the drummer, in the feet of the dancer I will live on, I'll be right there"
(That's the best translation I can give)
She goes on to sing about leaving Cuba and how painful it was, and again how she'll live on through her music, it's an amazing song. Give it a listen:
If you haven't seen this video yet, prepare for sheer awesomeness.
As if this album alone didn't kill the rest of the hip-hop industry this video is like the icing on the insanely delicious cake (which was probably made by Louis Vuitton or Hermés, covered with Hublot and Rolex watches for kicks)
This album (and this song) has redefined the hip-hop "baller" and changed it, from the pimp fashion faux pas such as Pimp C with large fur coats and canes that look ridiculous, to literal high-fashion of Europe achieving the fashion heights of Marc Jacobs among others.
Kanye definitely led this reshaping over the span of his career much more than Jay-Z. For example, in his song "Champion" from the album Graduation, West says "I don't see why I need a stylist when I shop so much I can speak Italian," (probably the best line in all of Graduation) arguably promoting European fashion even back then and before.
All that aside Kanye and Jay-Z's re-definition of "baller" can be seen here in this video in which they make the sickest frankenstein-car ever, while completely destroying a beautiful $350,000 Maybach.
