Music Transcends All

This isn't about any particular band or song. I just felt the need for some expression.

To further preface this post I'll just say that this last week has been a really weird one. I know I said I would be gone for 2 years on a religious service mission, but illness cut that wonderful experience short. I think I'll be fine so no worries there. It has just been an emotional whirlwind given that a big part of my plan in life now has to be altered. Like any great change there are certain worries and struggles adapting and adjusting. What better force to qualm the troubles and worries than the power of music?



Music has played a huge role in my life and I cannot aptly express all of the ways it has helped me. I firmly believe that music is something far greater than just notes and words on a page. Music is an art that transcends cultural, economic, social, ethnic, and any other type of boundary you can think of. Music transcends all.

I would say that music holds me into reality. I can listen to a song and have a rush of nostalgia and remember an event that took place years before in which I was listening to that very song. Music gives me those essential reminders that I exist.

Oftentimes I find music molding and shaping my perspective on the world. I find it bringing about a sort of borrowed nostalgia for a moment I never experienced or for a life I never lived. I don't know if you have ever had a similar experience but it has definitely helped me broaden my horizons and expand my consciousness. It's a hard feeling to explain but I find myself trying to see the world from an artists point of view as I listen to their track. Sometimes I'll even try to put myself in the shoes of an imagined listener who would react to the feeling of a song in a way that's entirely different from my own.

That's the best way I can think to describe my listening experience. I know it seems strange, having so much going through my mind all because of a few simple notes on a page, or the poetic writing that goes along with it, but it's the way my mind naturally processes the information.

Because of this I have a hard time grasping the hollow lyrics and pre-produced music that has become the top 40 list. For the same reason I really don't care whether a song or an artist is critically acclaimed. When I am listening to music all I look for is the way it makes me feel. That's all that's important to me. I want to catch that glimpse of what the world looks like from someone else's perspective. That's all.

Cheers,
    Michael

P.S. If you enjoyed this post share it with your friends, and there are more to come. Have a lovely summer!

Young Adult Friction

Happy Valentines Day, everyone!

It's been too long since I've published anything on this. I really want to get something written, so I apologize for the abruptness and messiness of this article. I'll post something of better quality next week.

As the title hints, this post is about The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, specifically their self-titled album released in 2009. My favorite track by them is titled Young Adult Friction, and that hails from that album. I've not only been a fan of their music since I was in middle school, I have also kept an active following over the years.

I was reminded of them again at the end of last year when Days of Abandon was released. For this new album specifically, I really like the track Art Smock. The new album has much more of a dream pop sound, combining wispy guitar melodies and light dreamy vocal layers. This comes in sharp contrast to their earlier albums, which often packed a harder punch with a more punk-rock vibe.

Although the membership of the band has shifted since the original group in 2007, the sound they established and lyrics longing nature still remain. I highly recommend any of their work.

Here is a list of a few of my favorites from over the years:
1.Young Adult Friction
2. Art Smock
3.Gentle Sons
4.Ramona
5. The Tenure Inch

xoxo
C

30 Minute Boyfriend.. Casablancas Style.

Hello, it's been a while since I've posted, but I hope this post makes up for lost time.
I recently have been getting more and more into older more alternative music, and Julian Casablancas is becoming one my my favorites. Most well known for his role as the lead singer of The Strokes, he has branched off and has been releasing some of his solo work. Fear not, the retro-punk sound is still there more than ever! Casablancas released an album in 2009, and has been touring on and off since. He is actually coming to Seattle on November 13, and I'm excited to announce that I will be attending! Also, Mac Demarco is opening, so how could I resist?

The album titled Phrazes For The Young contains a mix of psychedelic funk bass guitar, driving jazz-like drums, and his strongly worded lyrics, coming all together for a catchy, feel good album. My favorite tracks on this album include 30 Minute Boyfriend, a love song with heavy use of synthesizer, which almost reminds me of bad boy in an ice cream shop singing to the innocent blonde at the counter 80's style. I guess I like that the lyrics in this song are very straight forward.
The beginning lyrics are as follows:

I think you're pretty
I think you know it
You got a boyfriend
You just forgot him that's all
For five minutes that's all
You're my best friend that's all

Overall, this song is just really catchy (as is the rest of the album) and guarantees easy listening.
Admittedly Casablancas doesn't have the best voice out there, but the combination of post-punk era punk and edgy lyrics, along with a new more "electronic" sound come together beautifully.

Namaste,

Carly


(Also I must apologize for the sloppiness of this post, I wrote it quickly but I just wanted to post something!)

I dunno guys, I just really like this band.

A picture of Brandon at the release concert for
the "&" EP

I don't even know where to start, this post is gonna be a tough one. The Moth & The Flame is one of my favorite bands ever, and I've been following them for so long, I think I'll just start at the beginning.

I started listening to TM&TF about two and a half years ago, I was introduced to their music through the radio station that's owned and operated by the high school I attended. I quickly took a liking to their music and made plans to get to one of their concerts as soon as I could. I was 16 when I first saw them live and last weekend I saw them for the tenth time, this was the last time I would be able to see them before I leave for 2 years to New England doing service for my church.

The first time I saw them I was only able to stay for the first two to three songs of their set (I wouldn't want to be late for curfew), the one that hit me the most is titled Maker. I bought their CD and I remember driving home listening to their album and just sobbing, the music coming through the speakers in my car really meant something, and it was this experience that started the revolution in my musical taste. Before TM&TF all I listened to was cheesy pop music and dubstep (as much as I hate to admit that).

Me and some friends with Brandon after the release of the & EP

All I wanted to listen to for the next month was that self titled album I had bought at their concert, and I made sure to listen to it on my CD walkman to  keep with the idealism that they had about that first album. They only released that album as a physical copy because they considered the artwork to be a first track of sorts, I had never heard of anyone doing anything like that before. I really liked the thought of that and it's what inspired me to start my collection of CD's and vinyl rather than just buying digital copies of everything online. I still have the same copy I bought years ago and I still listen to it often.

During my Junior year of high school they released their "&" EP, and the singer, Brandon Robbins, wanted to do a radio interview on my high school station. My friend Jake and I were the lucky DJ's who got to speak with Brandon for about an hour and we got to exclusively preview the track Winsome about a week before the EP was released. I remember that interview so vividly and I remember how much time Jake and I put into coming up with the questions we were going to ask when we had the chance. The interview went well and when the EP was finally released it was all I listened to for what seems like weeks. I still love the EP, I'm actually listening to it as I write this.

Brandon and I after speaking with him after Saturday's concert

Most recently, the band signed onto Elektra records and they're hard at work on a new album. I've heard some of the songs that are going to be on the new album and they're fantastic! When I spoke to Brandon after their show on Saturday, he told me that the band is constantly looking for a balance between a catchier sound that will appeal to a greater audience, and sticking to the integrity of their older music that really means something, and in my humble opinion they've done a great job finding the balance. I love their new music and can't wait to see them go places.

I feel really connected to this band, reason being I've been following their progress so closely for so long. There will always be a special place in my heart for their music and many times when I'm listening to that first self titled album I react the same way I did when I first listened to it. I end up sobbing in the lamplight in the corner of my room. The first time I saw the TM&TF live was the first time I really felt what I was listening to.

The music this band makes has really grown to become a part of me and has helped me through a lot of hard times. I dare say that if it wasn't for TM&TF I would still be listening to sub par pop music and dubstep. I owe a lot to this band and I hope one day to be able to repay them for all their music has done for me. Do yourselves a favor and give them a listen. I'm not sure if their self title is still available, but if it is, GO BUY A COPY ASAP, it'll change your life. If not, listen to the EP, it'll change your life too.


Cheers,
    Michael

Just a quick rant

No matter how smart you think you are, you don't know exactly what someone is thinking when they write a song. No matter what you read about on the internet, you don't know exactly what the lyrics meant to the artist. I've seen a lot of people on different forums and such online claiming to know exactly what the artist meant in their lyrics, and that just isn't possible.

I think the reason that this bugs me so much is the fact that thousands of people can listen to the same song, and everyone can get something different out of it. That, to me at least, is what makes music incredible. I love the fact that different people interpret songs differently because we all have different situations.

I'm using the word different way too much but that's the point. Everyone interprets music DIFFERENTLY. This being said, WHY THE HECK ARE PEOPLE CLAIMING TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE SONG MEANS NO MATTER WHAT. I'm sorry, I just hate it when people do this. I think Dave Grohl says it perfectly "That's one of the great things about music, you can sing a song to 85,000 people and they'll sing it back for 85,000 different reasons."

Everyone has a different story, and everyone has a different perception of the world, so who are you to say what they should think of a song.

I try to avoid doing this in my blog, in fact, I try to encourage all of you guys to listen to songs for yourselves and decide what you think.

So if you're one of those people on the forums who tell everyone what to think, throw your computer out the window because you don't deserve to have it.

Sorry about the rant but it really needed to be said.

Cheers,
    Michael