Kings.

Kings of Leon is a band that I discovered about the same time as MGMT. They have a very interesting sound that keeps my attention, and I of course looooooove Anthony Caleb Followill's voice. He actually sounds much like the lead singer of Needtobreathe, a band I mentioned in an earlier post. I like both, but I tend to favor Kings because they have that non-generic, weird sound that you all know I like.
I believe the first song I heard from them was "Sex On Fire", like everyone else. I liked this song, but I liked "Use Somebody" a lot better. In fact I got this song, and started looking for others that I might like. I soon discovered "Closer", which immediately became my favorite. I then discovered "Cold Desert". As soon as the song fades out and then comes back in I was done. You had me at fade in, Kings.

frankie.

So you've seen my metal side, my girly side and my weird side. Well meet my classy side. I love Frank Sinatra. Ol' Blue Eyes has been in my favorite music list for quite a few years now. The first song I heard of his that I immediately loved was "It Had To Be You". It has that great old-timey feel to it and of course his voice is amazing. It sort of makes me think of 'simpler times' (as cliche as that is).

Another one I love is "Deep In a Dream". This one is cool because it has all the elements of a good song- Story telling, imagery, Frank and musicality. LOVE. Of course it also feeds my girly side since all his songs have a bit of romance in them. A few others I love are "Cheek to Cheek", "I Get a Kick Out of You" and "Witchcraft".

Please see the MGMT.

I like weird music. It's kinda my thing. I get bored with "regular" music so I usually look for things with several layers- interesting riffs, lyrics, etc. MGMT is right on the money with the weirdness. The first song I heard from them was "Kids", and I immediately liked it. The chorus melody was intoxicating and I wanted to hear it over and over. One of my good friends found them about the same time as I did, and she introduced me to "The Handshake". This one is interesting because about halfway through the song, it changes and sounds like a completely different song. Two songs in one!

I really can't pick a favorite one from MGMT, but one more upbeat song is "Electric Feel". It's a fun song that induces head bobbing. Another good one is "Weekend Wars". The way that this one just goes right into it at the beginning is my favorite part. No messing around here.

Flavor of the Week.

So it's fairly obvious that I love music. Well I also, pretty much always have a song in my head. Most of the time I don't mind, but sometimes a song wears out its welcome. Once, it was so bad I woke up for a solid week to that one song in my head. I happened to know a dance to it as well, so I would dream the dance and the song. Just one part, too. Not okay. Anyway, this week I actually have two songs that I'm obsessing over. The first one is "Something Beautiful" by Needtobreathe. This is a 'feel good' song. When I listen to it, corny as it sounds, it makes me want to dance. Not only is it a beautiful song with meaningful lyrics, it has movement and depth to its melody. Love it.

My other obsession this week is Paramore's "The Only Exception". I've been singing it like crazy and my roommates can attest to that. This one is one of Paramore's 'calmer' songs, and is truly touching. At first I was annoyed at how much she says the line, "you are the only exception", (I usually believe that saying something more than twice is annoying, which is why I have issues with AC/DC), but it has really grown on me.

Regina, my love

Regina Spektor is a singer from Russia. Her unique sound is not the piano she plays, but instead, her unique voice and, well let's just say, one-of-a-kind lyrics. Regina sings about love, relationships and experiences, but she talks of them in the strangest ways. In "Summer in the City" Regina is singing about missing someone. Ok, so a fairly normal thing to sing about, right? Well, she likes to add some of her surroundings in there. Things like cleavage. I mean, I understand. It's summer in the city so it's warm...interesting.

Another song that I like is "The Call". It was featured on the 2nd Chronicles of Narnia film. The song has not only the piano in it, but strings as well, which I love. It's a rather encouraging song about how things may change, but they've been like that before, and that there's no reason to say goodbye. We all need a little encouragement sometimes, right?

In the end, if you're looking for quirky and touching all in one package, Regina is where you'll find it.

Not your average orchestra.

So when I say 'orchestra' you automatically think strings, and winds, and the crazy conductor that is waving like mad in front of all the musicians. Well, Manchester Orchestra is nothing like that. Like Death Cab, Manchester has interesting lyrics that blend perfectly with their intriguing sound. Unlike Death Cab, Manchester is a little bit more rock. They have more intricate riffs and a rougher sound. Like this one. Even though they have a rougher sound, lead singer, Andy Hull still has a voice like butter that matches their sound perfectly.

But wait! They also have their softer side. "The River", off of the newest album, "Everything to Nothing", shows the passion that this band has for music and true emotion. Something that I believe is vital to make good music. In short, it's a rockin' song. And this is yet another rockin' band.

O, Dad...

So my father and I are "cut from the same cloth" according to my mother. After reading my last post, the parents decided that I wasn't truly showing just how diverse my taste in music is. In elementary school, my sister and I would sit with my dad in his truck at the bus stop in the winter mornings...so we wouldn't freeze to death. Ok, so not to death, but it was cold...and I was seven. Anyway, the times in the truck were ones that we still talk about today. From the 'skits' my sister would do to entertain herself, to the songs my sister and I made up about the numbers on the stick shift, to the music my dad played in his tape player.

One tape that my dad played quite often was Roger Miller. This is probably the 'twangiest' thing you will ever read about me liking. The tape my dad had was full of Miller's songs from the 1960's. When I was little, "You Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd" was my favorite. It speaks of ridiculous situations that 'caint' happen. Things like roller skating in a buffalo herd. Like I said, I was seven and it was funny.

Nowadays, I'm more likely to appreciate songs like "King of the Road" and "England Swings". Classic.

blues

So everyone has had those days where you feel like nothing is going right and you would just love to lay in bed and listen to some music that you can relate to. Well, look no further than Death Cab for Cutie. The band, from Washington, has amazing lyrics. They say things that a lot of other songs say, but they use more interesting words, captivating analogies and creative rhymes.

One of my favorite songs from them is "Cath...". The story telling in it is simply brilliant, along with lead singer, Benjamin Gibbard's compelling voice. An example of the great analogies that Death Cab uses is "The Ice is Getting Thinner". The entire song speaks of this couple standing on ice and as their relationship gets weaker, so does the ice... "And when the spring arrived, we were taken by surprise...". Benjamin Gibbard was also the singer for The Postal Service. Here's my favorite song from them. You should probably love them too.

old love.

Another one of my favorite bands is one that I often forget about. That sounds bad, but every time I hear Muse I remember how much I love them. They are so cool...seriously.

A good friend of mine introduced me to the band before it was cool to like them. She and I tend to like different music and Muse was right up our alley. I don't know of any band that sounds quite like them. Many of the bands songs sound very electronic and they seem to almost mix several kinds of music. For example, "Knights of Cydonia" has a guitar in it that sounds a little like the guitars out of the old beach movie music...Like Wipeout.

I tend to have musical ADD at times, so if I can find a band that has several different types of songs, especially ones that are different to begin with, it's a good thing. Muse has songs like "Unintended" that are slow and suit my 'girly' side, and then they have the rougher, more edgy side that suits my...well lets just call it my other side.

All in all, Muse is a very different band that has, not only kept my interest for years, but have continued to impress me more and more with each album they put out...not an easy task.

girly.

Ok, so I know what you're thinking..."Man, this girl has weird musical taste. Metal? Really, small 5'2" girl?" I know it's crazy, but I do have my girly side.

One of my favorite "girly" artists is A Fine Frenzy. Alison Sudol, a 25 year old from Seattle, Washington, released her first album "One Cell in the Sea" in 2007. It features singer/songwriter/pianist in a variety of songs about life and love.

I probably love A Fine Frenzy because of my life-long love of dance, particularly lyrical dance. Lyrical is a mixture of jazz and ballet, but it's really about dancing out the emotion in the song. The songs in this album have movement in the melodies, and they really make you relate to what she's singing, which especially help in dance.

Here's a pretty one. And here's a different pretty one.

Trivium

Okay, so if you know me at all, I do not look like I would be into metal music...and yet, I am. Thrash metal tends to be my favorite of the metal genres and Trivium is my favorite metal band. I saw them in concert, and, oh man, were they good!

Again, the ex introduced me to this band as well. What won me over was Trivium's album, The Crusade. In this album, they got away from the screaming they had done in The Ascendancy and did "singing" instead. Now, I put singing in quotes because while it was technically singing, it was still metal singing. So it was harsh, rough and of course rockin'. With the new singing style and the band's always impressive musicality and intricate riffs, The Crusade was sure to be a success.

Their most recent album, Shogun, did not impress me as much as The Crusade at first. It took me a bit to get used to the new style. They had brought back some of the screaming, improved screaming, and mixed it with the harsh vocals from The Crusade. Now, I'm not one who's big on the scream-o type of metal, but after seeing Trivium in concert and hearing their songs from Shogun live, I could not help but fall in love.

Here's a sample of my fav. metal band.

The Sounds

For my own sanity, I have to start by talking about my favorite band.

The Sounds.

Oh, yes. They get their own line. That's how awesome they are. I even got my URL (hope you're happy now) from one of their songs. An ex-boyfriend introduced me to the band. He may have been a jerk, but he had some good taste in music. The Sounds, a New Wave band from Sweden have a unique sound that combines guitar, bass, drums and a synthesizer. I know it sounds lame, but the band found a way to create songs that are appealing in the way they sound, but also in their lyrics. I can also say for a fact that The Sounds are awesome entertainers as well. I went to one of their concerts, and let's just say they were rockin'.

So where have you heard them before? One of the band's songs, "Hurt You" was featured in a Geico commercial. If you know Bam Margera, former Jackass member, chances are you know The Sounds. The band's songs have been featured in countless episodes of Jackass and other shows that Bam appeared in. The Sounds performed at Margera's wedding in Bam's Unholy Union, a reality show on MTV in 2007.

My personal favorite Sounds song is hard to choose. But I do love this one, and I encourage you to look up more songs!

The beginning...

I have always believed that blogging is for whiners. I still do, in some cases, but a close friend convinced me to explore a new kind of blog. Blogs where there's sharing, not of horror stories and misfortune, but of neat gadgets and intriguing thoughts. As I journey into the world of blog, I will share some of my thoughts and my favorite music. Not only will this fulfill a class requirement, but perhaps fill some Internet space that would otherwise be filled with smut. Ambitious.