BitchyVeganSoundtrack

Late, late post… but better than never… right?! I started job #2 today and sadly even though I am back in radio, my desk lacked speakers so I couldn’t do justice to posting at work (like I normally do, subjecting my students to loud, awesome musics). Today was ridiculously good, I met new people who told me I am a ball of fun and got free tickets to the game tomorrow, all in all I am a very happy girl.

Also, started working on some loose plans to move to LA at the end of the summer… not saying it’s a definite thing, but why not check out what the rest of these great states have to offer before deciding to bail on the country as a whole again… who knows. Right now, I am just going to loosen the reins on life a little and let whatever happens, happen. It feels pretty fucking righteous.

Today’s bands are both equally as righteous in their own right. Fredrik is a swedish folk band that make music that is complicated, at times it borders on being overworked but it never crosses that line so it instead comes across as pure genius and love of their craft. They are delightful. You are sure to agree.

We end with my new favorite dancefloor jam… brought to you by the only good thing to come out of Milwaukee Wisconsin… since… well… ever. Who knew people living in a frozen tundra surrounded by cheese could be so fucking fun?! I will never doubt them again, but their airport sucks, that I know for SURE. Now go strip down to your panties and dance the shit out of this.

YAY FOR FRIDAY!!!!

If you were that student in school who scoffed at your teacher and gave them nothing but misery every time they spoke, call that teacher RIGHT NOW and fucking apologize. I swear I interact with students that I can’t even begin to fathom where they get the audacity to treat adults, let alone teachers, the way they do. It’s so enraging. I just had a student storm out of the room because I gave him a quiz, then explained it, then gave him his notes to use, then the book. All the while knowing the student has the ability to learn, but simply chose not to give a shit that day. UGH!

On to better things, musica.

For today a little electronica followed by some singer-songwriter tunes from our good friend in the Hold Steady (I am obligated to love them because of my years spent in Ybor City and the song they dedicate to that place).

Foxes in Fiction is an early beginner, he started at 15 and has since started a gossip chain quite long in what people hope he can produce in the future. He’s ambient and for me to fall prey to that, is surprising. It’s yums.

Franz Nicolay is crazytown. That is all. This song is crazy good.

Three again today… this time not so much out of guilt but because this letter of the alphabet gets better and better each day. I have fun fun plans in the works to run away to the Keys for a weekend so my spirits are way up. I get these strong urges to get away… if I don’t indulge them, I end up wanting to move far, far away. Hopefully that will kick the habit for a quick minute.

For A Minor Reflection are an Icelandic instrumental group. This statement alone would usually have me shying away simply because I have never been the type of person to enjoy much other than classical if it lacks lyrics. This band is a bit different, though I do find myself YEARNING to know what they would say if they had chosen to incorporate the medium, I am still entranced and entertained by what each of their instruments have to expound on.

Forest City Lovers… The name is perfect for them. It’s adorable and somehow still edgy with it’s storytelling. It breaches subjects with melodies and instruments so sweet that you hardly notice that they have snuck in. Sweet, sweet sugary indie goodness. Loves it.

AH! Foster the People… fucking, fuck I love them so much. I posted about them before in the non-SxSW project days. I am waiting for May 24th with baited breath. The singles have made me in love with a band in their embryonic stage of life. If the album is anything less than a super fabulous mind fuck, I will be super sad. That might be a bit too much of anticipation… but if you knew how often I listened to those singles, you would understand.

YUMS!

Blegh… I missed another post. I had yesterday off and managed to not be home for even one minute of it… which was GREAT, just not great for that whole blogging daily goal. Oops.

So as per usual I will attempt to say sorry with three awesome bands today instead of two.

We begin with The Fling. A band that nabbed their name from their dad who had a band with the same name that reached a quick end back in the day. Now they bring the name, along with the old school nostalgic feel, right back as it had never ceased to exist. It picks up right where I like to pretend a project that old might have left off… in awesomeville.

Next up, a band I knew I would love right away simply because they were mentioned alongside Band Of Horses (who I happen to think can do NO wrong) and their hometown of Black Mountain NC. You want folk-indie-rock-whatever-you-want-to-call-it…. you need to go to the sticks. Black Mountain sounds like the perfect place for a band this good.

Ending on a weird/radical note, we turn to the electronic gods who have given us FM Belfast. Unlike the name would insinuate, they hail from Iceland. A place that I can’t even imagine due to my Florida raised brain unable to contemplate places where you can’t consistently rock flip-flops and no pants. The fact that music comes out of places I picture to be too cold to move, is impressive. The fact that this music also makes me want to shimmy is even MORE than impressive. Go Iceland.

Woke up with a tinge of optimism. I used to wake up with that every day but lately the weariness of life has been waking me up followed by beating me with a stick and then sending me to work crying. Yep. Today it’s a bit different, it might be because I have the day off and plan to spend it in the sun listening to all kinds of yummy music while turning my natural Sicilian summer shade of brown or it might just be because I am hopelessly hopeful. Yep.

Either way the mood might be the reason why I fell for two artists today that are A)right on top of each other on the SxSW list and B) sound so different it almost hurts. I could easily picture both these bands in a high school setting, they would beat the shit out of each other. For today, they had nothing but kind words for each other in my brain box.

Fergus & Geronimo have so much potential. Not to say they are amazing right now, just that when you hear a young band and you go, “wow… I like this, I like this a LOT” it’s hard not to theorize the, “what could be’s”. They follow in the recent trend that is becoming popular with bands like the Smith Westerns. Throw-back bands that try not to over-think… and amazingly, not thinking, seems to be just the ticket.

Fernando Milagros is the second artist that I have stumbled on during this project that doesn’t happen to speak English but that I fall in love with despite it. I would imagine my brain has an automatic disdain for music that I can’t even understand but for the second time this year, it didn’t matter. The vocal quality, the use of chords, instruments etc… I couldn’t just blow it off, it’s delicious. It’s so good that it makes me wish I could remember the high school/college years of Spanish. I have a feeling that if this were in English, I would be gushing about my new favorite band. For now, he will just have to be one among a few of new loves.

I needed a good day of music more than I needed air in my lungs. Yes, I am being THAT emo. I cried at my desk and a student caught me and it was just all kinds of bad all over town today. Still no word of ever being paid and next week all will go to severe shit. For now, just a quiet and constant panic.

The Felice Brothers offer up the touch of folk that comforts and soothes. It makes you instantly long for a porch and a shitty swing and a glass containing enough alcohol to put a person to sleep for days. The fact that they haven’t taken off along with the Avett Bros and Mumford and Sons is a little disappointing, they would fit in just fine. Sadly, they might just be a little too authentic for the world of pop-folk, I am ok with that.

To bring you back from the mellow land of folk, I give you Fences, a guy who has indie-pop down to a precise science. I say this for any pop artist that has me instantly wanting to dance (the only true gauge of whether pop is good or not). Nothing like a good kick drum and lyrics about wanting to man up and kiss a girl to make me want to get sweaty in a nice dress on a sticky dancefloor. I like him. I like him lots. You will too.

WE MADE IT TO FFFFF!!!! That was quick. What can I say? I was clearly not in love with E, he was kind of a dick, didn’t have a lot of interesting things to say. Certainly never whispered any sweet nothings into my ear. Let’s hope that F offers up some good, good lovin’.

I start with 3 today, mainly because I still feel like I am catching up from last week and the guilt of slacking (albeit for a damn good reason) and ignoring my sexy beast of a blog.

To kick it off right, Fake Problems. For some reason I immediately got a whiff of, “Let My Love Open The Door”… I couldn’t tell you why other than the old school pep that the song offers. I liked where it took me. Another “like” that is too personal to even describe it properly, I like it because it makes me happy for some old treasured memory that I can’t even remember. Fuck, brains are weird. Either way, like them too, they will like you back… probably.

More happy, happy jams (don’t judge me, I need them like whoa). If anything makes me happier than repeated oooo’s or ahhhh’s, it’s clapping. I fucking love claps. I can’t say that the vocals are my favorite in the whole world, it’s kind of contrived feeling, but it might just be one of those bands that takes a minute before they get more comfortable not being a gimmick. For now, I like the clapping enough to get passed the song & dance. Literally.

The minute I got iTunes their song, “Blow It Out” was offered as a free download. I loved it. The rest of their album, Exhibit A, failed to impress. Like the band I mentioned before, I hoped that they too would grow with time. They did. On their newest release the pop/punk/indie rock outfit got it all figured out and I am in love with them all over again. The 6 years since I last gave them a chance have been nothing but good to them. Listen to, “Lions” and try not to fall in love too.

Lots and lots (or ok, maybe like 3) delicious bands for you today. My spirits are inching their way back up after a week that I thought was surely out to kill me. I am going on week 6 of not being paid, but I am becoming comfortably numb to all of it. Should I lose it all, I guess I will find my way again, I always do.

The Summer looks promising and both jobs that I have lined up will leave a decent chunk of time for music listening and writing (which is good as I have an interview to do more of this writing stuff next week ). I don’t really have a plan for after that, but I assume I will just take it one step at a time. Can’t go having another hospital stay-level panic attack… the lack of health insurance AND pay would certainly not help any of that.

On to the more important stuff… the tunage.

First up, Erland and the Carnival, a group of talented boys in London who all have had their hand in great musical projects before (Simon Tong of Verve fame) and Gawain Erland Cooper (The Cult). They have no choice but to play music that invites you in. It’s warm enough to have depth and rock enough to be cold when necessary. I heart them.

On to Errors… a band… not pointing out the various mistakes I have/will make in this post I have to admit, I am not really one for latching on to Electronic… unless I feel like I want to dance the moment it starts, I waiver. I am mainly posting this band/video because of the 75% plaid factor. It can not be denied it’s awesomeness.

Eternal Summers might not even be that good. I am not sure. I can’t tell if the relentless pushing of this band has forced me to now consider them more than I might have had they not been thrown in my lap along with a coercing, “You HAVE to hear this!” Whenever I have someone that I trust, tell me about a band, I get automatically nervous that I might be pushing an image on them before I even hear it. That idea of “hype” that ruins a LOT of things in life… might just be the case here. You tell me. Are they good, or are they just weird enough to be “hype good”.

Ok… Soooo I missed Thursday and promised lots of good things for Friday… then didn’t post on Friday. I am the suck.

My life has been a big clusterfuck and the fact that I have even managed to forget about my music is a big testament to how mentally prison-style raped I have been by life lately. I have been working for the last 5 weeks now, without pay… I am reaching a new level of insanity that I am not sure anyone should ever have to become familiar with.

When I am trying NOT to think about the worry that goes along with such a thing, I end up not thinking at all. Literally, it becomes scary staring off, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Next” type shit.

Not. Great.

I have actually been continuing the SxSW listening, just haven’t been able to form words or sentences about why I like them… it seems like it will come out in the form of verbal diarrhea that will no doubt be incoherrent and sad. So I will tell you the bands I simply WOULD have written about if I had the ability to express myself without having a panic attack (which is how I spent my Thurs-Fri) death.

Electra- Coming to Get You

Eliza Doolittle- Rollerblades

Ellie Goulding- Starry Eyed

I will try again tomorrow… If I can find the reset button on this shithole of a brainbox I have lately.

After 48 hours with a large pack of high school seniors. I am crawling into bed at 9pm like a sad old lady. I will be back tomorrow with a mega-post. Promise

-a-