Predictably Me

Sometimes you don’t know what you want to listen to because you’re not experiencing any particular emotion… and sometimes you don’t know what you want to listen to because you’re feeling all of them at once. Build A Rocket Boys! is the sort of album that fits the later situation perfectly. It seems that each track starts out in enough of an ambiguous manner thus can meet you wherever you are, and even though it doesn’t go anywhere fast you soon find yourself following along.

I’ve found recently that there are a lot of bands I’ve been getting really into lately that do this very same thing… they like to take their time but they’ll eventually get you to a place that you didn’t even know you wanted to go. Maybe this is the new ambient? It really doesn’t sound ambient but emotionally it does the same thing for me. I would say it’s all in the art of the emotional build. I know this is a fairly emotional way to describe the album, but to me this album is emotional. I tend to favor the softer tracks like “Jesus Is A Rochdale Girl” and “The Night Will Always Win” but I would highly recommend the whole album. My favorite song from the album is “Lippy Kids” and actually contains the lyrics that make up the album, which is a little more creative than just having a title track.

This is the fifth full length album from this British posse all of which have made it into at least the top twenty on the UK charts. Unfortunately they haven’t experienced the same popularity here in the states but the increasing recognition of this latest musical endeavor of theirs gives me hopes for American musical tastes! The fact that Elbow has been playing together for over twenty years is apparent in the way they walk that fine line between achieving the emotion of a more ambient style and the common mistake of being boring or repetitive.

I recommended this album for fans of The National, Youth Lagoon, and M83!

“I miss your stupid face,
I miss your bad advice.”

I haven’t had any time to post lately but I wanted to check in and let you all know that I’m alive!

Today I’m jamming Ritual Union by yet another amazing Swedish electronic band: Little Dragon.

If you haven’t heard of them yet then consider this your homework assignment. Report back to me as soon as you’ve fallen in love with it.

Recommended for those who love The Yeah, Yeah, Yeah’s, The Sounds, or Kent.

That is all. Over and out.

I would have all of you know that while I’ve been horribly lax in blogging about music, I certainly haven’t been lax in my enjoyment of it. My schedule for the past two weeks or so has been bursting at the seams with some of the best live shows to be found these days. I endeavored not to spend much time at all taking pictures/videos on my phone during the shows, so I could really focus on soaking up just being in the moment. But I did manage to get a pic of most of the bands for the sake of documentation. I’ll post them below with a recap of the show but let’s not pretend it’s anything close to being there…

view from backstage at Cynthia Woods Mitchel Pavilion after Mutemath's set.

Mutemath (at Houston’s Buzz Fest)

If you’ve never seen these fellas in concert then you’re certainly missing out. I’ve seen them a myriad of times, starting from the early age of 16 when they happened to pick up a show with David Crowder Band wayyyyy back in the day (as a reference for all you Houstonians, the show was at the Maridian… yuck, can you believe DCB played there?). But in regards to the show last week they were as amazing as ever but it’s not the same seeing them in the middle of the day among thousands of people who are all just waiting to see Evanescence and Korn, no matter how beautiful the day is. We were all asked several times variations of “Are you lost?” and “You don’t look like you fit in here…”. I was offended at first but after a quick look around I realized it was actually a compliment. I enjoyed the show and spending time with the family though!

Sucre upstairs at Fitzgeralds

Sucre

This was the first ever Texas show of Sucre’s and they KILLED IT. I couldn’t decide if I felt like I was at an indie rock show or watching a symphonic performance… I believe it was a little of both. Between the three members plus one french horn player they played every song from their new album and ending with my favorite, “Say Something”. Also, now that their little tour is over Stacy and Darren have announced that they are expecting! We’ve already decided that it will call me aunt so now it’s just time to decide what I’m going to go with… Aunt Madison? Aunt Maddy? Auntie M? Read the announcement HERE

The Arctic Monkeys

They were opening for The Black Keys, but I can’t say I’ve ever been a big fan. However, I think their show may have won me over. Lots of energy/vibes for their show… and we all know I can’t resist a band who can put on a good show! The weather was also PERFECT for this show… so that and the St. Arnolds Lawnmower I had may have increased my overall enjoyment.

The Black Keys at Cynthia Woods Mitchel Pavilion.

The Black Keys

As I said, it was a perfect night for an outdoor show. I arrived there with a belly full of Torchy’s Tacos and good friends, and what’s more is that we had RESERVED SEATS. I’m a long time lawn-sitter and a die hard cheap when it comes to a lot of performances, but I’m not going to lie to you guys and say that paying a little extra somethin’ for an actual seat isn’t worth every penny it costs. The show was as amazing as I expected it to be and I think they managed to put together a very comprehensive set of both old and new material. One thing that really astounded me though was how full they could make everything sound with just Dan and Patrick playing… I don’t know that there is another band I would be willing to pay that much to see if I knew that they were going to play over half of the show with just guitar and drums. But I hardly noticed when the hired musicians left the stage for long periods of time… those two old timers are just THAT GOOD. If you ever have a chance to go see them I recommend it 110%.

Timbre Timber

They opened for Fiest… not a huge fan.

Feist's sold out show at Stubb's in ATX.

Feist

Once again, the weather was sooooo perfect for an outdoor show. It was an evening filled with the moments where everything seems slightly surreal, and you know that you’ll never be able to describe it, but you’ll also never forget it. Fiest traveled with a very full band so naturally it was phenominal. She had The Mountain Goats singing back up vocals, even though she didn’t use them as an opening band. She also had the members of Timbre Timber playing with her. I loved her set list, even though I was very sad that I didn’t get to hear her play “The Park” which is one of my all time favorite songs, but I don’t know that there was a good time in the set to pull that one out so I’ll give her a free pass this time. Besides, it gives me an excuse to go see her live again! Also, she remixed a lot of her old songs like Mushaboom in completely new and eerie ways. My initial reaction was that I wanted the original version, but in the post-concert afterglow I could only think about how frustrating it is that I don’t have the versions that she played!

Tallhart

I’ve been championing these guys for quite a while now, not just because they’re amazing people, but because they’re an amazing band both on album and live. Rarely does an unknown opening band get a response like Tallhart has consistently gotten on their recent tours, and I think this is a huge testament to their talent! Remember when I said about a month ago that their ep Bloodlines wasn’t likely to leave my CD player for quite a while? Well I wasn’t lying… I believe it’s taken up permanent residence there.

Kevin Devine & The Goddamn Band

I only caught about half of their set since I was off socializing with friends and family but what I did see blew my socks off… figuratively of course, but that’s only because I wasn’t actually wearing socks.

Say Anything

I’m always amazed at two things at a Say Anything show…

1) The diversity you’ll see there in the different age groups.

2) The insane amount of energy that is practically oozing off of the crowd.

This show was certainly no exception to that! Several of my younger brothers pushed their way to the front and had their first crowd surfing experience… it’s not something I’ve ever wanted to do but hey, they had a hell of a good time!

The Stepkids

They opened for Mayer Hawthorne so I checked out their album and wasn’t impressed… it was a bit “noisy” for my tastes. But their show was pretty impressive! I would put them in the same genre as MGMT… check out their album if you like, but just know that they’re much better live!

Mayer Hawthorne & The County

This show made a run for my top favorite shows… I expected to enjoy it but not as much as I did! I had seen them open for Chromeo last year and I was amazed at their flawless motown vibes. As much as I love Mayer Hawthorne and his born ability to entertain I will say that he would be nothing if it wasn’t for The County. This is a seriously impressive group of musicians and you aren’t likely to catch a show like this nowadays! Don’t miss out next time they’re in your city… and go buy their album How Do You Do NOW.

Florence + The Machine (TONIGHT!!!)

I’m going to see my gurl Flo tonight! Thank the Lord of all goodness that Audrey happened to look at her calendar yesterday because I would’ve completely forgotten! With the insane flurry of shows in the last week I had thought hers was further out! I’m thinking this will be a supurb ending to a long stretch of fantastic shows… dear spring time, I love what you do to my ears.

P.S. If you want to look at pictures of me and my life and constantly be wishing you were me, then you can follow me on instagram at @oncherrystreet

I know some people aren’t into cover albums… and you may be one of the “some people” that I speak of. But I would beseech you, in interest of your own capacity for living life, to give this album a chance. I totally get where “some people” are coming from because doing covers at your live show or on albums can seem like a cop out, or perhaps just filler songs due to a lack of your own material. I get it… really I do… I just happen to like covers anyway.

With all of that being said I’m particular about which cover songs I would recommend, so know that it is with some seriousness that I would recommend for all of you to spend your valuable time and potentially your money as well, on Birdy’s cover album. I find it odd that she decided to make this album her self titled album since it’s not actually her original work, but that’s neither here nor there because who cares about album names anyway?

There is a wide variety of songs covered on this album that speaks very well of her musical taste. Some of my absolute favorites are 1901 (by Phoenix), Fire & Rain (James Taylor), Comforting Sounds (Mew), and Young Blood by The Naked And Famous. There are many more songs worth mentioning from artists such as Bon Iver, Cherry Ghost, Smashing Pumpkins, Francis And The Lights, The Postal Service, Fleet Foxes, The National, and The XX. The only track on this album that is a Birdy original is Without A Sound. Without A Sound is a very low key song but it’s beautifully depressing in a way that makes me wish she did more of her own work on the album. I would also say that the song she did for the Hunger Games Soundtrack is a credit to her as well.

Enjoy!

Today is a wonderful day full of wonderful music! Wondrous wondering wonder!

I’m sorry for cramming two in one but I simply couldn’t decide which album to blog about. And first off I want to say that if you’re cramped for time then don’t bother reading anything else I say… JUST GO BUY BOTH OF THESE ALBUMS! I don’t care if you’re short on money, take out a loan if you must, it’s worth it.

I’ve told you about both of these bands before but I know life is busy and it would be a shame for you to miss these albums!

Tallhart (formerly Marksmen) have released their first EP under Equal Vision Records today and I don’t think anyone can deny that these guys are gonna be huge. So jump on the bandwagon now so you can be one of those people who can brag about knowing about Tallhart before they were even called Tallhart. I don’t think you can even put a price on what it means to own music this good… but according to iTunes the price is $5.94. For any who are already fans don’t be dismayed that there is a new recording of Sister Of Mine as the opening track, the new version is amazing and the rest of the songs are brand spankin’ new. Blood Of My Blood and Drunk Kids are my new faves

And I’m so excited for all of you to finally hear A Minor Bird by Sucre! This band is composed of Stacy King of Eisley, Darren King of Mutemath, and the very talented singer/songwriter/composer Jeremy Larson, with that being said who could have any shred of doubt that this album is amazing? While it’s true that I’ve been so blessed to have it for a while now, it has been KILLING ME not to be able to let anyone have it. Listen to the album from start to finish for sure… but let me just warn you that “Say Something” is going to BLOW. YOUR. MIND. I’m also very proud to say that this album is sitting at a very comfy #15 on iTunes’s alternative album charts.

I can’t stress the importance of you hearing these albums enough. Please, buy them, listen to them, love them, and then tell me all about it!

I walked out to my car this morning, basking in the knowledge that it’s Friday, and suddenly found myself basking in a 68 degree bright sunny morning. It’s what I like to call “the non-temperature”. It’s the temperature that is so perfect that your body literally cannot distinguish if it’s hot or cold, because the temperature you as a human being were made for. Houston may have some of the hottest summers around but we reserve the right to brag about our weather from January to April.

I posted part one (click HERE to view) to this list a little over two years ago (I can’t believe Predictably Me is that old!) I’ve decided to make a second list today because these songs have been favorites on many a sunny “non-temperature” day. So without further ado, here are some songs that every Houstonian should be listening to today.

1. Have A Nice Day – Stereophonics
2. Dancin’ In The Moonlight – Toploader
3. City With No Children – Arcade Fire
4. Tie Your Monster Down – Quiet Company
5. This is Holburn – The Eastern Sea
6. Annie Waits – Ben Folds
7. Repo Man – Ray LaMontagne
8. Shake It Out – Florence + The Machine
9. Punching In A Dream – The Naked And Famous
10. Friday I’m In Love – The Cure
11. So Good – Say Anything
12. Open Your Heart – Lavender Diamond
13. Old Pine – Ben Howard
14. When We Were Young – Sucré
15. Whirring – The Joy Formidable
16. Modern Mystery – Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
17. Sweet Disposition – The Temper Trap
18. The Walk – Mayer Hawthorne
19. Half Moon – Blind Pilot
20. 4 Songs & A Fight – The Sounds

I hope everyone is having a good Good Friday, and I hope you get a chance to enjoy the sunshine on your skin and this playlist in your ears.