Chromeo - Jealous(I Ain't With it)

  In a week's time, my favorite electro-disco-funk band is releasing its newest album entitled, White Women. I am excited as its sure to be a fantastic excuse to dance and get down. Especially if the singles they've released so far off the album are any indication.

 Jealous(I ain't With it) is classic Chromeo with big bass, synths and crooning and a ridiculous video to go with it. I hope you enjoy P-Thugg and Dave 1's latest; its an epic of funky envy.

Chromeo
Jealous(I ain't with it)



ps this is my 400th post, so that's pretty neat!

Summer Songs 2013

  It seems to be that part of the summer once again. The part where the heat and humidity become just about unbearable and the only solution is to seek refuge with shade, air conditioning, a swim in a pool or pond, and a refreshing drink. While you wait for nightfall when it will be slightly cooled off outside, here are some summer songs to reignite your love of the season.

Capital Cities - Safe and Sound

   Indelibly catchy with a great music video featuring a dance off between black and white swing dancers and modern day break dancers, what more can you ask for?

Born Ruffians - Needle 

   This song evokes the plight of the noble water-melon, blissfully rolling down a hill. It starts slow then picks up with the Ruffians' trade mark jangle.

Frank Turner - Recovery

   The English singer Frank Turner, famous for his heartfelt raucous songs, pens a relatable stomper of an anthem about trying to get over the past and relying on the kindness of others when you need to. Its a long road, but it just might all be okay in the end.

Alt-J -Dissolve Me

 This song taps out its rhythm like dripping sweat. Like a sun beaten road trip, it bounces along.

Youth Lagoon - Montana

  

  A sunrise from a hilltop in the morning, this song is beautiful and delicate. 

Vampire Weekend - Diane Young

  Last, but not least is Vampire Weekend with Diane Young. A song with dizzying wordplay full of homonyms, bad luck, mortality, and seizing the day. The video is an indie last supper/party with P-Thugg and Dave1 from Chromeo, Santigold, Sky Ferreira,  members of The Walkmen, as well as a few more notables to catch. 

Where I find My Music

    The other day I was hanging out with a friend. She had a pandora station playing. I think the song "Two Atoms in a Molecule" came on which led to me remarking, "I really like Noah and the Whale." My friend asked me then, "Eric, where do you find your music?". To which I glibly replied, "The internet." and we both laughed. And my answer was half true - as vague and as much of a cop-out as it was - I do find a good portion of the music that I listen to on a regular basis from the internet. But the thing to remember is that the internet is huge! Its like an ocean; you and I may have both been to the Atlantic or Pacific in our lives, but that might be the only part about seeing the ocean for both of us that was a shared experience. We were both at the ocean, though perhaps you saw a shark and I got salt water in my eyes. That's similar to how we're both on the internet right now, but after that our experiences are probably differing in some way.

Noah and the Whale
2 Atoms in a Molecule
 
   
     Whoa, okay, I think I"m straying a little bit from where I want to go with this. I'll try to reel it back in. Let's start off with a different question: where did my love of music come from? The answer to that question would probably be my family. I remember from an early age that there was usually some sort of cool and strange sounds coming out of either the stereo or the car speaker's on road trips. My parents introduced me and my brother to Bruce Springsteen, The Who, Van Morrison, Supertramp, Bing Crosby, The Cars, The Clash, The Talking Heads and a bunch more. Later on I learned a little about punk and ska from my brother with bands like Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake, Lucky Boys Confusion, The Ergs as well as other stuff like REM, The Hold Steady, Ben Folds Five and Modest Mouse.

The Talking Heads
This Must Be the Place

 
 
    From there I began to decide which bands I, myself enjoyed. Like They Might Be Giants, years before my brother and I used to rock out to Dr. Worm, but it wasn't until around junior high when I heard their song "Prevenge" on the radio that I realized that a) I loved this strange and wacky band and b) that they were the same ones who sang Dr. Worm and also that they did the theme song for Malcolm in the Middle. Or The Decemberists, who I first heard when the local college radio station played their song "16 Military Wives". For one reason for another that song has become one of my all time favorites, along with a large portion of their discography. In the past six or eight years my family and I have seen The Decemberists play live four times. They put on a hell of a good show.

The Decemberists
16 Military Wives

 
    I think a big factor in where I or anyone finds music is whether you are an active or passive music listener. A passive music listener might be someone who listens to the radio every day and enjoys that experience, but for the most part takes it no farther than that. An active listener on the other hand might hear half a song played as the outro for a hotel commercial and immediately head to the internet to investigate just who might be the author or composer of said song. I realize these are gross over-simplifications and generalizations of how people feel about music and for that I apologize. That being said, I think I fall under the definition that I just gave of an active music listener. For example in High School my family and I took a weekend trip to the Detroit Auto Show. First of all, it is a really cool auto show that is definitely worth checking out, this is from someone who doesn't know that much about cars(one might say I'm a passive car driver...). The booth for Volkswagen was playing some very dancey music. More than that, it was dancey music that I had never heard before. I wrote some of the lyrics down and looked the song up when we got home. I found out the band was called Chromeo and the song I had heard was called Needy Girl. And with that I became a fan. I would still really like to see Chromeo live; I bet they'd be fun to see. 

Chromeo
Needy Girl

 
    Now back to the internet. At the end of high school I started frequenting a variety of blogs which hosted reviews and samples of singles from upcoming albums. How did I find these blogs? I'm not quite sure anymore. But one would always link to others, so discovery then led to discovery. Most of the ones I used to go to are now defunct, such is the shelf-life of most things on the internet. For awhile though I learned of bands way ahead of their actual release or rise in popularity. Such cases include Vampire Weekend and Bon Iver.

    I am also almost always on Youtube. Either to DJ songs a few at a time for myself while I'm working, or to find awesome music videos to share, or sometimes one song links to another that is just as awesome and I make a note. Back when I worked at the radio station we had to do rotation hours to go along with our specialty shows. This was a little like having to come in for a shift at a job, except for the most part this was actually fun. You got to find out what new bands had gotten added to the rotation, and which ones had left to be added to the stacks. I tried to play one artist from the stacks that I was unfamiliar with each time I came in. Which is how I found out I liked Georgie James and Hot Chip and The Fruit Bats. And if I played a song I didn't really like all too much, well, no big deal it was only one song and besides there was an average of only 1-2 people listening during rotation. Oh! The other major way I have found bands that I enjoy has been through friends making wonderful mixtrapes/CD's. If there's one thing I believe in, it is the power of a good mix. It's like a letter written in sound, full of inside jokes, winks, memories, and love.

Georgie James
Cake Parade

 
Those are the ways that I find music. Although I'm always looking for more music, anywhere I can.

Don't Turn the Lights On

Some of the best advice I think I've heard is from Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer. The clay animation one, from the 60's, you've probably seen it a hundred times. Do you remember when the prospector says "make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold!" or something to that effect? Very true, and it can be hard at times, it can. There's only so many hours in each day, never enough to be as productive as we'd all like to be, not enough to see as many people as we'd like to see, not enough to sleep as much as we'd all like. So we all do our best and I hope that is enough.

My birthday was last week, good day, entirely enjoyable. Got to swing dance with some great friends on my birthday, and later had cake and ice cream what more can a guy ask for?

Earlier today I was surfing the internet and found a new music video/song from one of my favourite bands, and it turned out to be slightly Halloween themed. Which I think is pretty awesome timing.

Chromeo
Don't Turn the Lights On


Hope you all liked that, hope it wasn't too weird. Oh and one last thing I wanted to tell you guys. I found this website that showcases pictures of kids dressed up as superheroes. I think the concept is pretty great and shows a lotta heart. Check it out here

And here's to hoping I make it out of this week alive and to Halloween~! Hiyah!