Someone Great

Someone great, an amazing song that gets me every time. From the lyrics to the overall feel of the song, it is a masterpiece.

In my opinion, the mood that is set beneath the lyrics is more important than the lyrics themselves. The feeling behind the instrumentation, the way the artist uses the sound of the song to convey emotion is what makes or breaks the song for me. LCD soundsystem sets the mood perfectly. Just the overall feel of the song sets the mood so well for the lyrics, and carries that feel throughout the rest of the song. The band somehow creates a bright yet melancholy feel, the brightness of the chimes, but the slow, dragging of the synthesized bass.

I'm not gonna pretend that I know what James Murphy was thinking when he wrote the lyrics to this song, but I will say that whatever he meant, he really meant it. Nothing about this song is shallow. You can feel the emotion flowing through Murphy as he sings. That is my favorite thing about music, someone can write a song and have it be very close to their heart, and then a listener can have it just as close to their heart for entirely different reasons. Music is the one thing that everyone can love and relate to, and that's what makes me love it so much.

To tie in that last bit, I dare you to listen to this song
REALLY listen
and not feel something.

Music transcends all. If there's anything that I know with a surety, that last statement would be it. I love music and I love this song. I hope you can listen, feel, and enjoy it just as much as I do.

Cheers,
    Michael

Here, Have a post!

I'm the worst kind of person... I know I've promised so many things and not followed through. It tends to be a pattern if you look back at my blog. I think I'll just quit making promises, I'll post when I feel the need to write my feelings about music down. It was never my intention to turn this blog into a chore so I'm not going to. I have a hard time writing when I feel like I have to instead of wanting to. So I'm not making any more promises, I'm just going to post when I feel the need.

Also... a HUGE thank you to everyone who has read my blog, I have over 1250 hits and that's way more than I ever expected to get. I really appreciate all of the support I've gotten. I hope you enjoy my posts, I do my best to just speak from the heart. I love you all!

Cheers,
    Michael

I'm a terrible person

    I promised to post everyday and I'm at a party and have no time so just go listen to music that makes you happy. Have a wonderful evening.

Cheers,
    Michael

A/B Machines

    So the last few posts have been about song that have a message, I think it's time to say forget the meaning and have some fun.

    A/B Machines is a song by Sleigh Bells, a noise pop duo that's all about partying. Their song A/B Machines has no meaning whatsoever but it's a super fun listen.

    Noise pop is a fun genre because it goes something like this: hey would that sound go good with this song? WHO CARES LETS THROW IT IN ANYWAY. And that's why I love noise pop. It has loads of distortion, catchy melodies, heavily processed vocals, and it's just fun. So next time you throw a party, give Sleigh Bells a try.

Cheers,
    Michael

P.S. If the bass in this song sounds like it's blowing your speakers, don't worry to much, odds are it's not, it's just designed to sound like that.

Real

    Just a quick disclaimer, this song is a rap song and it does have some cuss words, so if that's going to offend you just go ahead and skip listening to this one but it would definitely be cool if you still read my post.

    Real is a song by Kendrick Lamar featuring Anna Wise. I like rap a lot, especially when a rapper's songs or albums tell a story. I've seen a lot of people instantly blow off any rap anyone recommends, and that makes me sad. To be honest I used to do this too but listening to rap has actually really helped me identify with lots of people and learn a lot of valuable lessons. Like I said, I like rap.

    So... Back to the song Real, this song, to me at least, is about Kendrick having the realization that his crazy life isn't that fulfilling. It seems like he wants to love himself more, he wants something to keep himself grounded. The crazy lifestyle he illustrates throughout the album good kid, m.A.A.d city seems like the only option when living life in the projects, and it's fun at first, but becomes less and less fun as time goes on.

    I think the point that I relate to most in this song is this: how can you expect to live a fulfilling life that you can enjoy, if you don't love yourself? I've had my fair share of self esteem issues throughout my life, and I've always found my life to be more enjoyable when I find ways to love myself and the person I've become, through the good times and the not so good times. If you love yourself life becomes much better, remember that.

Cheers,
    Michael

Holocene

    Oof... This is gonna be a tough one. Holocene by Bon Iver, one of the songs that just hits me right in the feels. This song has been so influential in my life it's hard to find a place to start. Bon Iver is an incredible band founded by Justin Vernon, an amazing man that you should really read up on. Vernon plays just about every instrument imaginable and has an incredible voice.

    In the song Holocene, Bon Iver masterfully paints a scene of brothers getting in a car crash. During the crash one of them realizes that his life wasn't that inspiring, and not that eventful. I know that's kind of a sad topic, but something about this idea inspires me to do my best to make a difference in the world. It makes me want to do things that are worthwhile. It makes me want to bring out these same ideals in others. I love this song.

   

    So I guess if there's one thing you should take from this post it's this: get off the couch and do something worthwhile (I'm typing this while sitting on the couch so I need to work on this as well). But when it all comes down to it, I want to be the difference that I wish to see in the world. So Imma get off the couch and do something.

Cheers,
    Michael

Just a quick post because I promised

    I promised to post everyday but I've been really busy today so here's a few songs for you to look up and listen to. Sorry this is all I had time for.

It's Never Over (Hey Orpheus) // Arcade Fire

I Need My Girl // The National

Datascroller - Blue Foundation Remix // Apparatjik

Hopefully that'll be enough to hold you over for now. I'll write a better post for tomorrow!

Cheers,
    Michael

Far Away

    Far Away is the title of a song by Washed Out, Washed Out aka Ernest Greene is another basement producer that I actually really like. A lot of people consider Greene's music to be a part of the chillwave movement (chillwave being a subgenre somewhere within the electro/electronic genre). I really enjoy Washed Out as well as many other chillwave producers. Something about the soothing synths and almost minimalist structure of the songs makes listening to chillwave give me a chance to relax and think.

    In my post about Bowery by Local Natives, which you can read by clicking here, I talked about how music helps me to feel and move through emotions in a healthy way. The song Far Away by Washed Out is no exception. I think of this song as Greene reminiscing about a missed opportunity, someone being close physically but far away emotionally, he wished he would've bridged that emotional gap to become closer to the said person. I think most anyone has had a situation like this at some point or another. I enjoy the mood Greene sets with the mildly distorted synth chimes and the drawn out violinish tones, it fits well with the message of lost opportunities and sets a somewhat melancholy tone. I find the mood and message of this song easy to relate to, we want to get to know people, but passed up the opportunity when we had it and now it's long gone, and that isn't too good a feeling. Failing to reach out and live through the what ifs is never easy, but there's always next time I guess.

I'm also going to start trying to post daily so I want you all to hold me to that. Remember to comment with suggestions of music for me to talk about, and if it doesn't let you comment just tag me in a tweet! (twitter info is in the sidebar that way ------>)

Cheers,
    Michael

P.S. I think my self diagnosed ADD and sloppy thought processes are poorly effecting my writing style, so bear with me as I learn how to properly put my thoughts down on paper. And if you would like to coach me on writing feel free to comment or tag me in a tweet, I'm very open to constructive criticism!

Cheers again?... yeah I guess so, It makes sense to me so yeah...
    Michael

Bowery

    Bowery is a song by Local Natives, a band that is full of feelings. I don't think I've ever managed to listen to one of their albums all the way through without tearing up at least a little bit. Every once in a while when I listen to their album Hummingbird I end up sobbing uncontrollably.

    I think to properly understand that last statement I need to give a little bit of background. Music is what keeps me together emotionally, and in order to be emotionally stable you need to be able to feel emotions, all of them. Music helps me identify and feel my way through certain emotions so I'm able to move on to the next. Hummingbird is an album that's packed full of emotion and you can almost feel the songs rather than hear them. Last night I was listening to this very album and the song Bowery stuck out to me much more than the others for some reason.

    Bowery is an incredible song and I'm not even sure what the lyrics are supposed to mean, but it just has so much feeling and emotion packed into it that I can't help but love the song. There's something about the way the somber piano chords mix with the dynamic vocal harmonies and the lyrics that are left open for interpretation, I LOVE this song. I was planning on trying to give you my take on what the lyrics meant, but I decided to let all of you listen to it and just feel your way through it.

    This post didn't go at all as planned, but I like the way it turned out. I know I've said this like a million times but I'm going to pick the blog thing back up and post somewhat consistently. If you want me to listen to a song or album and give me your take on it feel free to either comment or tag me in a tweet and mention the fact that it's for my blog (you can see my twitter in the sidebar). I really enjoyed writing this post, it feels good to share my thoughts on a song that's close to my heart. You'll be seeing much more of me in the near future :)

Cheers!
    Michael