Best of 2012
Here are some of my favourite songs from 2012. While not necessarily released this year, this is when I discovered them. So if you’re looking for some samples of some new tunes. Enjoy.
Lemme know what you think and what you enjoyed! Add your own!
And if you’re too lazy to sit through these videos, you can go to:
http://2012.jamodyssey.com/SilenceAsSound
You’ll get bite sized snippits of some of my favourite songs of 2012.
“Lady Adelaide” – Benjamin Gibbard – Former Lives
“I Am Europe” – Chilly Gonzales – Ivory Tower
The video of this one is pretty weird, but totally worth it.
“Home” – Gabrielle Alpin - Home EP
“Make the Money” – Macklemore - The Heist
“Don’t Move” – Phantogram - Nightlife
“Electric Pow Wow” – A Tribe Called Red - A Tribe Called Red
“Reaction” – Acres of Lions - Collections
“They Are Filled” – Bison - Quill
“Write It All Down For You” – Elliott Brood - Mountain Meadows
“First Breath After A Coma” – Explosions in the Sky - The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place
“Call Me In the Afternoon” – Half Moon Run - Dark Eyes
“Take Me With You When You Go” – Jack White - Blunderbuss
“Seeing the Glass as Half Broken” – Mayor Mayor - If We Don’t Move They Can’t See Us
“Gettysburg” – Ratatat - Classics
#GoListenTo IDGAF
The chorus of this song describes how I feel about having conversations with people sometimes. 4.0GPA? Your resume that’s so cray? Your hot boyfriend?
IDGAF.
In other news, Watsky is a super sweet rapper out of SanFran. You might know him as “Pale Kid Who Raps Fast.” Such sweet flow/rhymes. You can download his music at http://gwatsky.bandcamp.com/ Do yourself a favour and do it.
Midas Touch of Music
Ben Howard – Empty Corridors – YouTube.
I have fallen in love with Ben Howard, love his style, his voice, etc etc. Everything he touches turns into musical gold.
Here’s a song called Empty Corridors. I wish I could play guitar like this.
Try Honesty
Billy Talent – Try Honesty (Video) Radio Edit audio – YouTube.
Top Comment: “Talented band, all with horrible haircuts.” I lol’ed.
This song is still good 10 years later.
What Good Am I?
This Bitter Earth On The Nature Of Daylight – YouTube.
This bitter earth
Well, what fruit it bears
Ooooh, This bitter earth
And if my life is like the dust
oooh that hides the glow of a rose
What good am I
Heaven only knows
Lord, this bitter earth
Yes, can be so cold
Today you’re young
Too soon, you’re old
But while a voice within me cries
I’m sure someone may answer my call
And this bitter earth
Ooooh may not
Oh be so bitter after all
This bitter earth
Lord, This bitter earth
What good is love
Mmmm that no one shares
And if my life is like the dust
Oooh that hides the glow of a rose
What good am I
Heaven only knows
CD Review: West My Friend “Place”
West My Friend “Place”
Grammar Fight Records 2012
http://www.westmyfriend.com
West My Friend is:
Eden Oliver: Vocals, Guitar, Flute
Alex Rempel: Mandolin, Vocals
Jeff Poynter: Accordion, Vocals
Steven Taddei: Bass, Vocals
Place represents a milestone in the relatively short life of West My Friend. Their first full length album, following up on their self-titled EP released in 2011 will be available for wide-spread release on April 5th 2012. I’ve had the pleasure of working with West My Friend before to record backing tracks to BFA: The Musical in the summer of 2011, and I am excited to bring you a sneak peek of what you can expect to hear on Place.
The 4 piece consisting of guitar, bass, accordion, and mandolin bring a unique style. The 13 song album comes in at just under 50 minutes, making each song just shy of an average 4 minutes each. A unique aspect of the creation of this album is that the band used the fast-growing site IndieGoGo.com. It allows for groups such as West My Friend to let their fans donate money to their cause. In this case it was recording this album. Their campaign using YouTube helped them with the funding of Place.
The first track on the album, “Tic-A-Toc,” is a great opener and sets the tone for the rest of the album; a slow build to the first chorus that introduces all the elements of the band. This instrumentation is not one that the average listener will encounter on their everyday music-going experience. The mandolin and the accordion bring a distinct feeling to the band’s vibe and musical structure, the shuffling drums carry the momentum of the track throughout, and syncopated lines between the band members provide a back and forth swaying motion (dare I say pendulum like?). “Tic-A-Toc” closes with a fantastic melodic line – with the male members imitating the ticking, and Eden, the lone female and lead vocalist, leading with “Ding Dongs.”
Throughout the record, Eden’s voice has the ability to rise above the instrumentals and then sits comfortably, meshing with the gents in harmony. The production is generally consistent over the course of the record, with the accordion in your left ear and the mandolin in your right.
One of my favourite tracks on the album is “Shakes and Rattles.” It starts stark with just the mandolin and the lead vocal. The reverb suggests a large empty space, bordering on cavernous. The pseudo-sloppiness of the drums works fantastically with the reverb, and this track marks, albeit briefly, the introduction of the flute for the first time. The climax comes when Eden’s voice returns in the chorus with “Shakes, Rattles, Shakes,” and the track denouements into black with a trailing cymbal.
(“I Refuse” – with Chris Ho)
Although the band is able to maintain a high level of energy on all of their tracks, I feel that the ones with drums backing them tend to be more cohesive and convey the style of the song just a bit more. A track like “I Refuse” would benefit from a solid beat behind it, as well as smooth fills in the syncopated bits where the music drops. A few tracks later, the band shows off their strict music talent doing a version of the “Pin Oak Reel.” Each member takes the lead, with Jeff on guitar and Eden on flute, while Alex provides some rather slick mandolin lines.
“Home By The Sea” provides a change of pace from the previous mainly upbeat tracks. The male vocals, provided by Alex, are a welcome variety, the lyrics describing a dwelling the title refers to. Swelling accordion and vocals combine for a captivating timbre as the percussion rises, causing the track to lean toward a bobbing motion while boomy drums rise, wave-like, which was one of the stand-outs for me on the album.
The album closes with what feels like the music that would be playing during the credits of the West My Friend movie. “Oh Future” is a blues and folk infused track with a crunchy piano that fits into the half-ragtime style of the song. It is definitely the perfect track to end the album.
West My Friend provides a great outing on their first full length album, Place, drawing inspiration from many different styles and showing off their ability to play create lush indie, emotional folk, with a bit of roots-twang here and there. The upbeat and downbeat tracks provide a fantastic contrast in sounds that the classically trained band is able to produce. If you wish Mumford and Sons had an accordion and a female lead singer, West My Friend is the band for you. You can pick up Placeon April 5th, 2012 from their website http://www.westmyfriend.com/apps/webstore/ or at their CD release show (featuring the Kovich String Quartet) at Hermann’s Jazz Club.
Amy Wood: Not-Love Songs
“IN A SEA OF LOVE, ONE SINGER SONGWRITER TRACKS MEANING BEYOND ‘YOU’”
I’ve been meaning to write about Amy’s album Cinnamon Heart for a long time now, (which you can get for free at http://www.amywood.ca) but never found the time to do so. So I’d like to show off and talk about her latest work. Amy helped us out for Music Track Day and her song “Symphony” is finished and being mixed by Jesse Bell, so stay tuned for that!
Amy’s current project is called “Not-Love Songs,” where she creates and records covers of songs that aren’t focused on love. Surprisingly, there are fewer out there than one would expect.
Each week previous had been someone else’s material, but for her latest release, Amy showed off an original track, “Universe.” Teaming up with Julia Gummo of Gumo Productions, Amy set out to create her first music video.
Now with “Not-Love Songs,” there are three things that we need to take into consideration:
- The Video
- The Song
- The Project
I think it would be better to look at all these parts individually, as opposed to clumping it together into one whole.
Starting with the song, Amy provides us with her signature style – her lone voice accompanied by her piano. Having heard Amy’s album, I feel that “Universe” is a pristine example of how Amy composes, writes and sings.
With quick arpeggios and bouncing bass notes making up the verses, the dynamic range of the vocal is captivating. Some lines are sung at a half-whisper, while some are sung quickly, the variation appealing to the ear. Amy’s voice rises above the piano and draws the listener in, especially after the second chorus into the bridge. A held note falls and then climbs pulling you into the ending of the song.
Amy’s style can draw comparisons to many of the female artists who base their music around a piano. Sara Bareilles immediately comes to mind for me, as the vocal liking and the piano both sound similar.
Next, let’s take a closer look at the video. There are a few things that immediately catch my attention, and not necessarily in a positive way. In a music video, it is very obvious when a musician is lip syncing with a song as opposed to having the audio being included in the video recording during the shooting process. I understand this is usually not possible and that lip syncing is the only feasable manner in which to record videos, but that’s the focal part for the viewer and it needs to be done spotlessly. In “Universe” there are a few moments where the song and the video don’t line up, and it makes the video seem unnatural.
The message of the video is spelt out for us, quite literally in fact, as we see the words “Follow your path” and “and let them talk” written out on scraps of paper. I like the stop motion effect during these parts as the papers travel. It adds congruency to the other stop motion style parts – particularly the bench scene. The synchronization between the piano line and the cutting frames also works at this point.
My favourite scene occurs at 1:45 when Amy is silhouetted on the blue sky backdrop. I think this scene works because of Gummo’s composition as well as the natural elements that create the natural universe Amy is singing about. The birds that fly through could not have been timed any better, and the visual element matches well with the sonic, creating a lovely scene.
The video as a whole seems to be built of a few parts – that don’t necessarily relate to each other.
- Amy singing on a mountain
- The words on paper
- The bench scene
- Some slow motion parts
I think it would have been nice if there was a unifying tie to these visual elements. Perhaps the words could have found Amy on the mountain – and she would have followed them down to the bench, where they get caught in the tire and she rides off into the distance. The video is just missing the glue in which holds together all the composite parts.
Lastly, the project as a whole is a unique experience, inspiring us to look into the music we listen to every day, and examine how much of that involves love. Songs in which a lover’s heart was broken, or a ballad preaching one’s undying love to whomever fill a majority of our musical libraries.
Amy defines a “Not Love Song” to be:
“[A] Song that doesn’t deal with ‘before you’ ‘you’ and ‘after you’ in a romantic way. I don’t think I’m gonna write-off songs about human connection…. The point is to level the subject matter playing field out there in the [musical] world.”
I am kind of embarressed to admit – but I’ve just looked up the entire track listing of Justin Bieber’s My World 2.0, and there is not one “Not-Love Song” on the entire album. This album is certified double platinum in Canada. I think Amy’s onto something here with this idea.
Already, Amy has covered “Big Yellow Taxi,” “Steer,” and, “Life is a Bowl of Cheeries.” Accompanying each song is another music video. So far, all videos have been live – using the sound from the actual performance, with “Universe” being the first to use a pre-recorded track. Amy’s fallen off her once-a-week upload schedule (and understandably so) to finish her music performance degree, but that doesn’t mean she’s given up. Hopefully we will get to see at least 40+ Not-Love Songs over the course of this year.
You can head over to her Facebook page and offer up your own suggestions for Not-Love Songs for Amy to cover! My pick was City and Colour’s “Happiness by the Kilowatt”.
It’ll be interesting to look back once this project is done and see how the videos have evolved and if Amy ever runs out of Not-Love Songs to play! I’ve started to look into my iTunes at all the music I have based on love, and this is just one more thing to add when listening critically.
Amy Wood has set out on an ambitious journey to show the world you can sing about more than love, and her song “Universe” is a perfect example of that. If you’re looking for a fresh take on popular, check out what Amy is doing with her “Not-Love Songs” project. See the other Not-Love Songs here!
http://notlovesongs.tumblr.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Amy-Wood-SingerSongwriter/
http://www.youtube.com/user/Amywoodsings
(Update: Here’s Amy’s latest Not-Love Song, with West My Friend! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agsJlmTsBAg)
Eerie Nirvana Cover
This cover has just fascinated me lately. So spacey and lovely all at the same time. I love it when artists do this.
Actually LISTEN to your Music
People buy more records than they can listen to. They stockpile what they want to find the time to hear. Use- time and exchange-time destroy one another. [...M]usic is no longer heard in silence. It is integrated into a whole. But as background noise to a way of life music can no longer endow with meaning. - Jacques Attali
This quote is taken from an article “Looking at Records” by Philip Auslander (link), where he quotes Attali’s paper “Noise: The Political Economy of Music”. Auslander’s paper speaks about the commodification of music, and how the simple act of viewing a record, or looking at it is what the consumer derives pleasure from. I see this all the time in people of my generation, especially with vinyl records coming back into popularity. As no one has the time to listen to all the music they own, we begin to stockpile. And continue stockpiling for the sheer enjoyment of the view of our stockpile. I know countless times I have compared the size of my iTunes library with a peer, and felt that satisfaction when my number was much larger than theirs.
But just because you have all this music stockpiled – does not mean it gets listened to. Maybe you put it on, and go make dinner, just to have something on. And this is when the music loses all meaning.
I am guilty of doing this all the time. I just put on my music, get busy doing something else, and forget it’s even on. I want to begin trying to actually listen to my music more now. Focus on what about it makes me happy and what I enjoy about the piece.
One thing I’m going to try to do is consider all musical entities a “piece”, instead of a song. Even the shift in a title changes your perspective on the art form. It takes it out of the realm of casual, passive listening and into that of active, critical listening. I think popular music in general has turned into more of a hobby/craft for some people and has lost it’s creditability.
From studying at a music school, I’ve begun to gain a new respect for the process of composing and creating a piece of music. And it’s a “piece” – not a “song”. A part of a whole that may be an album or a symphony or an opera. Moving farther in my career, dreaming of being a recording engineer, I am hoping this change in mindset from “song” to “piece” will help me gain a further understanding of my art.
I urge you to do the same. Give your music the listening it deserves. Don’t just place your music on in the background, to consciously listen and be actively involved in your own musical indulgences. I’m interested to see what others will find when they start to critically listen as well.
Here’s a Matthew Good track that I’ve been listening to a lot lately to get you started.
Non-Populus
Black Tornados | Danny Michel
Black Tornados
Meanwhile in LA traffic
The crowd looks drastic
There’s hell to pay
Car tires crushing plastic
And all those things we throw away
Above the engines stalling
The sky is falling on everything
I heard the waves are breaking
The earth is quaking
So I spread my wings
I’m coming home
I’m coming home
And I’m coming home
Back to your sweet potatoes
And black tornados
Tourists are picture taking
This town is faking
But it don’t fool me
The waitress is sick of waiting
So she sells gun shells by the sea
I turned the car back over
The engine smoldered
The sky was charred
It was somewhere in Flora Vista
I really missed ya, and it hit me hard
So I’m coming home
And I’m coming home
I’m coming home
Back to your sweet potatoes
And black tornados
I can hear – your boots on hardwood floors
I can hear – your heart and I want more
I can hear – your voice ignite the chorus
I can hear it, I can hear it
Meanwhile in LA traffic
My hands look plastic
It’s time to flee
So I’m coming home
I’m coming home
I’m coming home
Back to your sweet potatoes
And black tornados
I’m coming home
I’m coming home
I’m coming home
Back to your sweet potatoes
And black tornados
Tweets from Track Day
- Not sure what
#MusicTrackDay was? Here’s an overview:jstasiuk.wordpress.com/music-track-da… - 0024: 18 hours later.
@djfractal and I are done. And done. Drinks have been consumed. Time to sleep for sleepy sleep.#MusicTrackDay success - 2001: 14 hours in. We have to stop.
@uvicmusic is having a tuba concert. That’s a wrap on#MusicTrackDay #2012 “It sounds like a warm hug!” - 12 hours at
#MusicTrackDay, and almost done. Big ups to Duncan for 6 straight hours of mixing. - 1936: Final stage of overdubbing with Amy Wood. Almost done! It’s been a hugely successful
#MusicTrackDay - thanks all!pic.twitter.com/zxpgVBFp - 1554: Tracking with Amy Wood and our in house session drummer
@phillipsrob - Ben parker is overdubbing, Bucan Bucan mixing.#MusicTrackDay - 1338: 5 hours into
#MusicTrackDay - One band in tracking, one in overdubs and one in mixing. One energy drink consumed.#thisisthelife #MusicTrackDay Quotes: Brett Reid “Reverb is like the mayonaise of recording. A little bit is okay – but too much just ruins it.”- Jazz and
@paddyjoeboyle are done and onto mixing. Bucan Bucan onto overdubs and Ben Parker is in!#musictrackdaypic.twitter.com/DRwTPsng #MusicTrackDay Quotes:@djfractal ”We’re recording ALL the takes!!”- 1058: Bucan Bucan is tracking vox, Jazz is groovin,
@theeclectrix is liking@paddyjoeboyle#musictrackday@uvicmusicpic.twitter.com/QPtAVU4j - 0950: One hour in. Both bands are here and all mics are set up. Sound check is done on Jazz Band. Checking Bucan Bucan now.
#MusicTrackDay - 0820: Two problems: Snake doesn’t reach – daisy chained two together. And coffee maker is locked away. What do we do?!
#MusicTrackDay @SilenceAsSound Strictly speaking, here goes everything.#MusicTrackDay- And so it begins. Here goes nothing “
@djfractal: Up at 0600 for#Uvic#MusicTrackDay - recording four bands in 12 hours.” - Up at 0600 for
#Uvic#MusicTrackDay - recording four bands in 12 hours. - Emails just went out for the
@uvicmusic#MusicTrackDay for this Saturday. Only 3 more days til it kicks off.@djfractal@theEclectrix - Holy shit
#UVic#MusicTrackDay is actually coming together. It’s starting to get a little bit exciting. And nerve wracking.
The First Ever Music Track Day
Ben Parker recording in the PTY Hall
Music Track Day was yesterday. It was one of the most ambitious things I have ever done. It was also one of the most successful things I’ve ever done.
The concept is crazy and I am still in awe about how we pulled it off. Inspired by “Hack Days”, which is where people get together and spend the entire day hacking a project and then they show it off at the end. You’re in a room with lots of people and you spend the entire day – usually 10am – 10pm just having fun and interacting. Our Computer Music Course Union (http://uvicmucs.wordpress.com/) had done a “Music Hack Day” at the beginning of the previous semester, and I had wanted to do something similar with recording.
I wanted to get in as many bands as possible, spend all day recording them, and have one or two songs done to show off to everyone when we were done. The concept is the same, but we quickly learned that the logistics of a Track Day vs a Hack Day are very very different.
In the works since October of 2011, Thor and I have been planning out just about every thing we can think about. We contacted at least 10 different bands to gauge interest in our idea. I wanted to get a range of sonic groups, so we settled on Bucan Bucan, Ben Parker, the UVic Jazz Combo, and Amy Wood.
The bands had been locked down, and now the logistics of how everyone would flow came next. We were able to book three different rooms for the entire day of Saturday the 14th, so this gave us some options. We decided to do bed-tracking in our Phillip T. Young Recital Hall, doing piano, drums, guitars, and the entire jazz band there. The second room was used for overdubbing and the third for mixing. The biggest challenge was planning how each group would rotate from room to room.
We slotted 3 hour sessions in each room, and surprisingly each group was finished before their allotted time was up. By keeping the drums set up in the hall, with the mics adjustable for each group, we were able to quickly switch from group to group – this turned out to be very helpful in keeping the day flowing.
The schedule went as follows:
Hall (Tracking)
9 – 12 – Jazz
12 – 3 - Ben Parker
3 – 6 - Amy Wood
B037 (Overdubbing)
9 – 12 - Bucan Bucan
12 – 3 – Bucan Bucan
3 – 6 – Ben Parker
6 -9 – Amy Wood
B008 (Mixing)
9 – 12
12 – 3 – Jazz
3 – 6 – Bucan Bucan
6 -9 – Ben Parker
9 – 12 - Amy Wood
The bands and the plan was in place. We had 4 lead engineers, 12 people who were interested in being involved. Each lead engineer was assigned 2-3 assistants to help with their session. Once the sessions got going, people were able to flow and see what was going on in the other sessions happening simultaneously. I was there at 7:45 to set up our 100 foot snake from our mixing studio to B037 where we did overdubs. Unfortunately the session I was running wasn’t until 3pm, so I was a little tired when that came around.
Overdubbing a stomp clap
Bucan Bucan did a rambunctious track with loud horns and shout choruses, whilst the Jazz Band laid down some great tunes. Ben Parker brought in soulful blues song and Amy Wood played a lovely ballad for us. So much great music and great musicians in one place.
I got to work closely with the fantastic Amy Wood as she recorded a beautiful piece. I’ve listened to Amy’s music before and will hopefully be providing a review of her CD “Cinnamon Heart” (which you can get for free – here) shortly!
I can not imagine how an event like this could have gone better, all the people I worked with made things so easy. The bands were great, and were incredibly patient with us as we moved mics and tried out new things. The biggest problem we had was that the coffee I had brought wasn’t ground fine enough, and we had the wrong filters. Other than that, the entire day was great. Our mixing engineer spent 6 straight hours mixing 2 different bands and did a great job with all of that.
For a crazy and outlandish idea, I was so amazed at how well it went over. I will add some of the mixes of the bands as they get posted.
Thanks to everyone who was involved, the bands, the techs, the assistants, Kirk McNally, Shawn Trail and a host of others who had their hands in on this. You can see all the tweets from the day with #MusicTrackDay
Bands:
Organizers:
Tracks:
You mean to tell me?
I really hope this becomes a new meme. I lol’d. Also – song I like. I feel like I may have posted it here before… or written a blog by this title. Oh wells. Old post-emo stuff will always have a special place in my heart. Maybe I’ll look up what Circa Survive is up to these days.
My Top 11 Artists of 2011
This post is going to outline 11 great artists I found in 2011. This does not mean that they had their first hit in 2011 or even their album was released in 2011 – I just discovered them this year. There’s no order – no music is better than the other – it’s just 11 bands I hope you might like!
- Childish Gambino: “EP” – AKA the amazingly talented Donald Glover, I discovered Gambino after watching Community. His raps are clever and well delivered. Lots of puns and good lines (“An elephant never forgets, so my dick remembers everything.”) I loved his music so much I did a cover or Freaks and Geeks and did my best to recreate Gambino’s style and flow.
Favourite Songs: Freaks and Geeks, My Shine
- Dan Mangan: “Oh Fortune” – Shown to me by a friend, Dan Mangan’s style is the folk/acoustic stuff that I really enjoy. His voice can be calming and haunting all at the same time and his songs incorporate a lot of different musical elements. Definitely worth checking out.
Favourite Songs: Oh Fortune, Post-War Blues
- Dance Gavin Dance: “Downtown Battle Mountain” – I found Dance Gavin Dance after searching Alexisonfire on Jango radio (similar to Pandora), the lead singer is part of a new band called Emarosa which I really enjoy. This is a lot heavier than the previous three entrees – but if you like melodic screamo with technical instrumentals, then you will like Dance Gavin Dance. They’ve got a large discography but are no longer a band (I think) so you’ll have lots of music to go through.
Favourite Songs: The Importance of Cocaine, And I Told Them I Invented Times New Roman
- Jamie T. : “Sticks and Stones EP” – I picked up this CD at a random book and CD sale at school for $1. It’s definitely a stellar find. Jamie is a British artist whose music is light and go lucky. A mix between acoustic and rap, it’s an interesting blend between the genres.
Favourite Songs: St. Christopher
- Kimbra: “Vows” – By now, everyone has heard Kimbra in Goyte’s Someone I Used To Know, and after listening to both of their albums, Kimbra was the one that I enjoyed most. Her music is layered and thick, and her voice rises above all the production giving you something to grasp onto all the time. There’s a mix of pop, soul, and RnB on “Vows” – so a little bit of everything for everyone!
Favourite Songs: Cameo Lover, Two Way Street
- Klaypex: “Loose Dirt” – I don’t usually listen to dubstep/techno/electronic music. But this free album definitely caught my ears. I dunno really how to review it or whatever. But I enjoyed it!
Favourite Songs: Chinter’s Will, Rain
Macklemore: “The Language of My World” – One of the strengths of Macklemore’s music is his story telling ability. Most of his songs have a linear progression and try to send a message by the end. His flow is impeccable and the songs have you going along with him as he gets angry, sad or in love. He’s embraced his story and is working it.
Favourite Songs: Otherside, White Privilege
- Nicole Byblow: “Nicole Byblow Plays All The White Keys” – Hopefully you saw my review earlier of this CD, if not –>link<– . Nicole’s a great musician, singer and pianist, her songs are witty and she’s not afraid to drop an F-bomb or two here and there. She’s definitely worth checking out.
Favourite Songs: Things I Learned When I Worked At The Hospital, About A Lover
Reason: “Fools” – A band I’ve never heard of and randomly bought their CD in HMV, they turned out to be a hidden gem. Straight forward rock and roll
that leaves you with a good feeling when you turn it off. Don’t have to say much more than that.
Favourite songs: Where Do We Go From Here, Run, The Longest Highway Home
Tim Hecker: “Ravedeath, 1972″ – Another electronic CD, but more based on the ambient and slow developing side. It’s more a transformation of sounds than typical music. Hecker was nominated for the Polaris prize for his efforts and many in the contemporary music community also enjoy his work. He’s one of the only artists I’ve listened to first, and then found out that the contemporary music world likes him too.
Favourite Songs: In The Fog I, In The Fog II
Watsky: “A New Kind of Sexy Mixtape” – Along the lines of Childish Gambino, Watsky is a rapper with clever rhymes and songs with little to no message. Best known as the “Pale Kid Who Raps Fast” on YouTube, where his video has over 16 million views. He doesn’t rap that fast on the album, but you can definitely see he has the potential to do it. It’s fun music with wit.
Favourite Songs: Kidnap Your Boyfriend, Ten Fingers
Honourable Mentions:
The Rural Alberta Advantage
Why?
A Tribe Called Quest
Stars of the Lid
Of Monsters and Men
Somebody That I Used To Know
Video of Good Music == Good.
Now and then I think of when we were together
Like when you said you felt so happy you could die
Told myself that you were right for me
But felt so lonely in your company
But that was love and it’s an ache I still remember
You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness
Like resignation to the end, always the end
So when we found that we could not make sense
Well you said that we would still be friends
But I’ll admit that I was glad that it was over
But you didn’t have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing
And I don’t even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough
No you didn’t have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number
I guess that I don’t need that though
Now you’re just somebody that I used to know
Now you’re just somebody that I used to know
Now you’re just somebody that I used to know
[Kimbra:]
Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over
But had me believing it was always something that I’d done
And I don’t wanna live that way
Reading into every word you say
You said that you could let it go
And I wouldn’t catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know
[Gotye:]
But you didn’t have to cut me off
Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing
And I don’t even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough
And you didn’t have to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number
I guess that I don’t need that though
Now you’re just somebody that I used to know
Somebody
(I used to know)
Somebody
(Now you’re just somebody that I used to know)
AND – a live version: just for kicks. If tall scrawny dark haired guys like him can make it in music and make it look this good – there’s hope for me somewhere.
CD Review: Mylo Xyloto – Coldplay
Mylo Xyloto by Coldplay – 2011 – EMI
With their fifth album, and latest since Viva La Vida… in 2008, Coldplay picks up where they left off in their experimentation from Viva. For people who enjoyed Coldplay of olde, with songs like “Yellow”, “The Scientist” and “Sparks”, I would advise you to immediately stop reading this review and go listen to A Rush Of Blood to the Head. You will not like Mylo Xyloto. The album blends styles of funk, dubstep, pop and almost everything in between for an interesting en-devour from this supergroup.
To start, the title Mylo Xyloto has come under quite a bit of scrutiny in the press even before its release. Martin, a man who has named his kids Apple and Moses, is quoted as saying
“It is pronounced My-low Zy-letoe… and even the lads admit the title doesn’t mean anything. Chris says: “At the moment it seems a bit ridiculous and I accept that. “Something about it feels quite fresh. The title doesn’t have any other meaning. I think we’re a band with a lot of history now so it’s nice to come up with something that doesn’t have any history at all. We’ve had that title for about two years on a board and any other potential titles had to be written next to it. Other ones made more sense but we just liked this one, that’s all we can defend it with.”
It seems to be pretention bordering on idiocy, which some might say is a decent way to describe the band as a whole, but one cannot dismiss the fact that they have created some powerful music for quite some time now.
The title aside, the album unfolds in a continuous manner, with songs blending into each other as is the style with CD’s for some time. What is unusual about the Coldplay CD is that they have a few shorter tracks that sort of divide the CD into three almost equal parts. These short tracks play as “soundscapes”, and show direct influence from producer Brian Eno. Eno is famous in the music world for his work with legendary bands such as U2 and David Bowie, as well as being the composer for the Windows 95 introduction sound. Eno’s background in electronic and ambient music has a large impact on the band’s overall sound and these smaller soundscapes.
Specifically speaking, a few tracks stand out against the rest, but there is nothing that feels like a stand-out hit. The first single “Paradise” quite nicely reflects the direction that Coldplay is heading. Lushly filled with strings and synths, the half-time tempo of this track just begs for a dub-step remix (Oh wait – they already exist! See the end of the video). This emphasizes the departure from the bare bones of what Coldplay became known for when they first emerged. With Eno’s production, it sometimes becomes hard to find the skeleton of the band beneath all the foliage of sound.
The track “Charlie Brown” stood out to me as a song that many who liked Viva La Vida will latch onto and enjoy. The similar four on the floor beat throughout makes for a driving song with a return to the guitar based tracks. The track ends with a nice little piano homage to the yellow striped character for which the track is named. If you listen closely, you can almost begin to hear the beginning of the “Christmas Time” song in Chris Martin’s final piano lines.
A track that feels like it’s off in a whole new direction is “Major Minus”. Once it broke into the meat of the song, I immediately felt like this should be a Red Hot Chili Peppers hit from the 90′s. The chunky guitars and the “Ooh ooh’s” just scream “Higher Ground” off of Mother’s Milk. “Major Minus” doesn’t have the same energy as the early Peppers did, but the song doesn’t suffer either.
Another foray into the synth driven pop world, and bound to be their next single, ”Princess of China” feat. Rihanna is the last stand out from the album. Mostly due to the combination of Martin’s and Rihanna’s vocals, which at times can seem over produced, this track catches the listeners ear. The bridge kind of lags on, but the energy is quickly brought back with a drop leading to the final chorus and hook.
Lastly, it pains me so much to listen to the song “Up In Flames”. The simple piano and vocal track is ruined by a digitized drum set. Martin’s reverberant vocals and harmonies would be so much better suited to a real drum set. When the strings, back-ups and guitar solo comes in, the drums move out of focus and the track finally sits in a really nice place. This track could have been a hidden gem without that drum sound. I think with a few more listens, it might grow on me and become my favourite number on the album.
To conclude, Mylo Xyloto is more so removed from the Parachutes, Coldplay’s first album, and much more similar to Viva La Vida. Hopefully this distinction helps people decide whether or not to pick up the album. It’s definitely worth a listen for its production and thick sounds and interesting experimentation on the band’s part. For those who want Chris Martin to just record himself at a piano singing, avoid this one.
And now for a dubstep remix of “Paradise” – as promised!
CD Review: Nicole Byblow Plays All the White Keys by Nicole Byblow
Nicole Byblow Plays All the White Keys by Nicole Byblow (Shiny Nickle Music 2011)
Manitoba born, British Columbia educated, and now calling Ontario home, Nicole Byblow brings a sound that all of Canada can love. The young singer/songwriter who is finding her footing in the national music scene has embarked on a tour to promote her latest CD, entitled “Nicole Byblow Plays All the White Keys.” She made a stop in Victoria where I saw her play and met with her to discuss music, school, life and even a little fashion. Nicole and her piano are packed and ready to go back east with a few more stops in the prairies before heading home.
Over the years, we have seen enough examples of “boys playing guitar”, and Nicole falls into the female opposition of “girls playing pianos” which seems to be a common theme in recent musical trends. Starting with Alicia Keys and Vanessa Carlton, this movement led the way for the likes of Sara Bareilles, Sarah Slean and more.
Slean is one of Byblow’s biggest influences for the career path she chose. The Canadian Juno-Nominated singer was one of the reasons Nicole started playing piano and writing songs when she was just 16. Luckily, Nicole was able to meet her other idol at the 2011 Juno Awards Dinner and Gala in Toronto in March of this year. The spontaneous introduction initiated by her sister and singer Matt Dusk left Byblow both wide-eyed and starstruck. It’s nice to know that even people who make CD’s and tour get a little speechless every once in a while.
When listening to Nicole’s music, you can immediately hear the impact of her influences in her vocal and piano stylings. Citing Ben Folds as one of her biggest inspirations, Nicole told me of how she spent many hours trying to learn his songs. When things weren’t going well, she would write to Ben via email. She assumed that her angry rants about the difficult of Folds’ songs went unheard, until she received a reply from an artist who has sold over 3 million records in his career spanning almost 2 decades. The two pianists continued emailing and eventually Nicole was invited to meet Ben at his show in Seattle. Fully expecting to be turned away at the door, Nicole was shocked when two tickets had been left under her name. The evening concluded with a conversation at the hotel bar where Folds was staying.
Now, I think this is enough background for you, what you’re really here for is to know what her CD is like and whether or not Nicole Byblow is worth a listen. But before I give you that answer, I’ll do my best to break it down for you.
Nicole Byblow Plays All the White Keys actually comes with one of the “Parental Advisory” stickers commonly found on albums from Eminem, NWA and 50 Cent. This is rather unexpected from the girl on the cover with a white background and staring at a red balloon. Nicole’s been described as “hyper-feminine” and “delicate” and for me; this is one of the first things that grabbed me about this music: Nicole’s unabashed attitude towards profanity is rather striking. When hearing her drop an “F Bomb” for the first time in a small coffee house on a rainy night in Victoria, I instantly looked up from whatever it was I was doing and started paying attention. Not many singer/pianists of this genre have the guts to swear on their records. You’ll never hear Sara Bareilles say “I don’t give a shit” about her former job in a hospital, but Nicole is unafraid to tell it as it is. She speaks the way in her songs the way she does in her normal life and that translates to her songs. She’s not trying to beat around the bush or use a clever metaphor to say she doesn’t care; she just doesn’t give a shit.
(Things That I Learned When I Worked in the Hospital)
My favourite track from the album is “Things I Learned When I Worked in the Hospital.” Starting with the toy piano, and the rolling drums chugging along, Nicole’s witty lyrics bring you a real insight to the life of a hospital. Lyrics like, “Patient confidentiality is of the utmost importance, but you’d be surprised how accessible that information is when you have to sweep the room it’s in”, are the kind of sarcastic backhanded lines that riddle this song. The chorus reminds us “who cares what we do in the mean time, it builds character doing the things we hate all our lives,” which, in out of context is rather quite depressing. But in the nature of the song, it’s understood that this is a sarcastic inflection of the songwriter and just an excuse for her to get through her shitty job. The bridge of this song builds follows the typical pattern of most pop songs, with one slight deviation. We have all come to expect the key change going into the last chorus of songs (think “You Raise Me Up”, “My Heart Will Go On”, etc.), and thankfully, Byblow doesn’t go this route with this song.
Once you get past the occasional expletive, the music itself is simplistic in its nature. All the songs only feature piano, drums and bass guitar, with the occasional splashes of violin and the toy piano from the CD cover. It’s Nicole’s song writing and melodies that stand out musically. Some of her lyrics are complex and compact, not unlike the rap counterparts who share her “Parental Advisory” sticker, which is juxtaposed by simple melodies and hooks that make the CD a treat to listen to. The track “February” has a particularly catchy “Ooh ah” section, that later features the range of Nicole’s vocal in the bridge.
Aside from the first single “They Didn’t Think So”, which Nicole describes as a song about what would happen if Jesus came and let every person on earth ask him a question about life, the lyrical content of the album is mostly what you would expect from the genre of girls playing piano. “A Song About A Lover” and “If I’m Lucky” may not have different thematic content, but are striking and beautiful in their own right. The production quality of the entire CD is superb. Ben Nixon, who was the bass player, recording engineer and co-producer of the album, did a fantastic job in a “garage turned studio” to produce The White Keys. I can only hear one minor slight throughout the whole album, but overall I have been impressed throughout.
You will be happy to know that Nicole does play in keys other than C major and A minor, utilizing more of the piano than the album title implies. I hate to use the buzz-word “up-and-coming” to describe Nicole and this album, as I think it gets thrown around too liberally these days, but I feel that you hipsters out there need to latch onto this girl so you can say that you liked her “before she was mainstream.” Byblow’s album is a melting pot of the fairy tale wonder of Cinderella, the epic storytelling of the Princess Bride, with just a sprinkle of Tarantino-esque profanity. If you love “girls with pianos” but are missing something with a little bit of an edge, Nicole Byblow Plays All the White Keys will be able to fill that void for you. No matter what kind of music you enjoy listening to, I would highly recommend this album for anyone (even if there is a Parental Advisory on it).
This is what Canadian music is all about and I look forward to everything else Nicole Byblow has to offer.
You can find Nicole at:
Back to My Roots
So this is the continuation of the previous post, but more what I really wanted to talk about and less about everything that’s been going on in my life.
Over the past week, I’ve been able to meet and talk with to some great people about this whole music thing in general. Last Wednesday I went to a coffee house show put on by a girl from my music classes. I have her CD and really enjoy her music (http://www.amywood.ca) and decided to go – especially since it was two blocks from my house and I was not going to be getting anything done that night. As you might have seen – I’m that guy who goes to concerts and music events by himself and so I brought my computer and sat at the back and tried to enjoy myself without seeming too awkward. Amy and I are friends on Facebook but not super close – mostly because us CombinedMusic/ComputerScienceKids are a weird breed that rarely permeate into the social culture of the Music kids (but this is another story for another time).
After Amy came Nicole Byblow (http://www.nicolebyblow.com/) and after the initial flub of the first song and the jitters were gone – she played a really good show and I thought her music was really quite good. Being the nerdy-awkward guy I am, I was tweeting at her while she was playing her show (it’s a good thing she’s a good musician and probably turned her phone off before hand). When she was done, I bought a CD and told her that she’ll see a bunch of tweets from me later. We ended up talking more and met for coffee later in the week. It was fun to talk with someone who has already established herself in the industry (a foot in the door is still a foot in the door).
Nicole mentioned reading this blog and she actually called it a “Music blog”, which I found kind of funny, since I haven’t really done anything super musical on this here for a long time. I’ve been in touch with a guy on Twitter who works for CTV, and he’s apparently sending me some CD’s to write reviews of – so hopefully that comes and I can start writing again. There were two main reasons I had for starting this blog almost two years ago, one was just writing a chronicle of my life – in case my memory fades quicker than I hope and I can always come back to see what I did, where I was, and who I was back then. The other reason was to write CD reviews for my university paper. I’ll probably start off with writing a review of Nicole’s album “Plays All the White Keys”, so look for that soon.
And if you’re one of these new people whose just found my blog – leave me a comment? Let me know what you think! This whole blog thing is a lot more fun when you guys interact.
I later spent the evening again with Amy and Nicole and their friends listening to them playing. Again, the awkward-music-computer-science-nerd effect kicked in for me. I recognized some of the people there, had classes with them, even worked on projects with them – and yet, I still didn’t feel like I fit in. Maybe that’s just me being paranoid, maybe that’s just me being awkward, but it’s a weird cliché-y situation. Nicole referred to it as being a “party” and I joked saying that “it better not be a bunch of people sitting around politely listening to people play the piano.” It was.
It wasn’t til the next day that I realized how special that is though. And how much I want to go to more of these kind of things. I was poking fun at one of our professors who does the same thing with his classical music friends – saying we were just like him. And we were, because it’s a collection of great people in a great place sharing their talents. And that’s something really cool and I’m glad I was apart of it – even if I was the socially awkward concert guy.
You should have already heard my favourite track from her CD; “Things I Learned When I Worked In The Hospital”, so here’s a video from Amy Wood!
They Didn’t Think So
Le sigh.
I guess it’s that time again that I write something here. Because apparently I have a few more people now who actually read this blog. And believe it’s a “music” blog. It’s mostly just a collection of me and what I find interesting, which just so happens to be mostly music.
To quickly catch up. I quit my job at the Gap, today was my last day. After school started up I was not enjoying that job in the least. It became the part of my week that I least looked forward to and that I couldn’t stand while I was there. Most of the people I enjoyed working with there either quit or dropped their availability such that we never worked together. To me, that job was always bearable at best, but it was when you worked with good people that made it enjoyable. And the exact opposite happened when you worked with bad people. I think that I only liked a handful of those who worked there. And I despised most of the rest. For example today – one of the people I dislike, spent a good 45 minutes, wiping down a stand of clothes with a paper towel. Why? I have no idea. It seemed like such an illogical waste of time when he could be doing something that was actually worthwhile. This is the same guy who has been working there for at least 2 years, and still will not put away processed women’s clothes because he doesn’t know where they go.
I will stop before I start ranting about all my ex-coworkers. And will just conclude by quoting Bilbo Baggins:
“I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”
Continuing on – I am the proud owner of Victoria Royals seasons tickets! Which has been really quite awesome. I’ve only been to two games so far. But still very very awesome. Excited for the rest of the year.
Moving on, the first month of school has blown by and I’m still trying to find the time to catch up with my homework. Spending a lot of time at the Gap didn’t help as it usually wrote off Saturday’s as a day to get anything done. I have taken on a greater role as a recording tech at the School, and now I manage the other 3 techs who I work with. It’s seems like a lot more work than it actually is – as you spend generally 15 minutes out of every hour doing something work related. So it feels like it never stops. This also means I’ve spent less time doing recordings that I enjoy – which kind of sucks, but I guess it’s okay. I’ve been making more connections and contacts – especially via Twitter – and building up quite a good reputation with the professors.
As of this weekend, I am fighting off a cold. Doing my best to stay healthy as the year goes on. I find I’m eating a lot at school and never have the energy to make a meal when I get home. I’m trying though! Shots of cold medicine have been my friend this week.
Also – Girlfriend has left me for Arizona. She went there to talk at the RMMLA conference on something or other. So I am home alone for the week with no one to love me. 
I miss being with her and coming home to her here. And it means I won’t have anyone to share Thanksgiving with. I’m all alone.
And the day she left, I was on the radio! Wowie. The station here does an hour long segment called My Turn. People get to come in and play whatever music it is that they want and talk about whatever. It went really well and I made a few contacts in the business. I think I could see myself hosting a radio show. I’m not sure if it’s the end all be all of what I want to do, but I could see myself enjoying that for a few years. Below is all the bantering bits from my hour on air.
I guess that’s all that needs to be said in this catching up bit. Maybe I’ll leave it at that and write another post tomorrow…
Terrifiying Experiences for the Shy Guy
Story of My Life – I always want to go and chat up the sound guy. But then the Shy Guy Socially Awkwardness kicks in.
#3. Going to Concerts
Even awkward people like music. They’re just, you know… bad at it. You like live music and your favorite band is in town, but you’re not sure if you want to go the concert, because you don’t know how to dance and you’re afraid of being in a big group of strangers because the family crest of the Awkward Clan is a scrawny lion that doesn’t know what to do with its hands.
You are the only one at the concert who doesn’t know how to move right. The band you’re seeing doesn’t play dance music, but still some people are dancing. Should you do that? Obviously not, because you look terrible when you do. And everyone else seems to know exactly what to yell, (“Woo”), and exactly when to yell it, (when the moment is right). All of these tricks are lost on you, because you’re only really good at listening to music quietly in your headphones as a way of avoiding conversations with people. Some people can scream “Woo!” with total conviction, but not you; when you shout “Woo,” it’s clear to everyone that your subtext is “Did I do that right?” Even though it’s three letters, one syllable, and even though it’s barely a word, screaming “Woo!” at a concert is all about confidence, which you absolutely don’t have.
Being a quiet, shy person at a concert is tough. You’re worried that not everyone around you realizes that your silence and blank expression is how you look when you’re enjoying yourself. You don’t want to look like a dick, you want to fit in, but you don’t know how move and no one taught you how to scream. You could sing along, but the people around you don’t want to hear you sing. You wish you could just stand calmly and nod in contentment, but this is a concert and there are new rules. You need to somehow communicate that you appreciate what the band is doing, so you wait for a break in the action and shout “I appreciate what you are doing.”
And that is absolutely the wrong answer.
via 5 Situations That Are Secretly Terrifying for Awkward People | Cracked.com.
You only get one shot at life, no ad-libs or punch ins
Kick One Off the Bucketlist
So – I found out in one of my classes today that for one of our assignments we make a song and it gets played on the radio! This is one of the things on my bucketlist. So yay. Granted it’s not the track I’d WANT to be played on the radio, but it technically counts.
In other news, school is back in session and I’m having troubles settling in. I got a promotion with my recording job, and this means quite a few more responsibilities and most of the profs come to me and depend on me to get things done for them. This being said – I’m pretty sure I’m gonna be dropping a class, and work at my retail job just so that I can stay sane this semester. If I’m this stressed and exhausted not even two weeks in – I will not be a happy camper come November.
That’s all for now. I’ve been up since 5 am – so 17 hours now, and I was at school for 14 today
The End (of Summer) is Here!
So I guess it’s about time I stopped whining about writing this and actually got down to writing this.
It’s here. In the last waking hours of the last day of my summer, here I am, on my computer writing this blog in between games of Modern Warfare 2 on PS3, which is something I bought this summer. After playing it lots in my second year, and then finally getting a PS3 for Christmas last year, I’ve actually been able to play again! Still working on my first nuke on my own. I’ve only done it once before and come close multiple times, but no dice as of yet. For those of you who don’t know what MW2 or nukes are, don’t worry this whole blog won’t be about that.
Aside from that, I’ve stayed in Victoria most of the summer, with one short jaunt to Calgary for my Dad’s birthday. I surprised my Mom at her doorstep, and then my Dad downtown for lunch later. My mom cried twice that one day. Thanks to all my friends who made that one happen.
I also applied and didn’t get on a TV show this summer. It was called “Operation Unplugged” and it was basically taking techno-addicted people away from their addiction and seeing how they fared in the wilderness. I had the most viewed video on YouTube (for the audition videos) for a rap I wrote but didn’t get on the show. In the process of trying to show that I was techno-addicted, I started using Twitter a lot more. I went from about 30 followers of mostly friends and random spams to 90+ as of right now. I’m slowly learning how useful it is for networking, especially in my industry. Most producers and a lot of studios are on Twitter. I’ve met one guy who would be willing to give me an internship when I finish my degree and everything. So that’s really cool.
Operation Unplugged Video
I spent all the summer working. With my side job at the Gap and then doing all the recordings that came in through the school. I was basically the go-to guy for recordings this summer. Which led to my promotion as the Interim Audio Manager at the school right now, replacing my current boss for the semester as he takes his parental leave. This summer I worked on; ESL audio tapes, the soundtrack for a play, a guitar quartet, my own covers, and this audition tape. I also did live sound for 2 separate Indian concerts and recorded piano and sax, a piano feature and dual pianos. All in all it was a great summer for me and furthering my experience as a recording engineer.
With that being said, I designed and established http://jstasiuk.wordpress.com which is my website featuring all my work and my portfolio. It links directly with http://jstasiuk.bandcamp.com which is strictly my music portfolio. Both sites are currently under construction as I work to improve them and make it one seamless site – hopefully.
So I’m working hard to get my “brand” out there and promote myself. I’ve contacted a few other recording people and through volunteering at festivals like Rifflandia this fall, I hope to network myself more into this industry.
As most of all of you know, Harry Potter came out this summer! As most of you who actually read my blog probably know, I don’t actually like Harry Potter. I never got into the books and thus I was not interested in the movies. Well Girlfriend enjoyed the series and thus we commenced the HP movie marathon of the ages. We eventually watched all of them in preparation for the final installment. I think I enjoyed maybe 2 or 3 of them out of the entire 8. To me, it’ll never match up to Star Wars in terms of an epic saga. I guess it’s up there, but it’s definitely behind LOTR and Star Wars for me. HP7.2 was a satisfactory end to the series and I didn’t care enough to complain or dislike it.
Also in this summer, I bought myself a new computer! It had kind of been a long time coming as my laptop was slowly but surely living out it’s last legs. I bought myself a new 21.5″ iMac and now have quite the Apple collection. I still use my laptop for mobile recordings and Photoshop, but other than that, I’m officially a desktop guy. I think the set-up is pretty sweet. It definitely makes editing a lot easier with my two screens. 
Girlfriend went away for the entire month of May, so I didn’t do a whole lot except bum around and work. I actually just went through my facebook page to see if there was anything else worth mentioning.
Some highlights:
- Shotgunning a beer on the 16th hole of a private golf course
- The Oak Bay Tea Party with Girlfriend and Kath
- The Hunger Hush show in Calgary
- Naniamo with Jordo and Girlfriend
- Freaks and Geeks Cover –
I think that’s all for now. Not much else that really comes to mind. School starts tomorrow. First day of fourth year. I have the potential to finish this year, it’ll take me 11 classes. 5 first semester, and then 6 the second. And I’ll be taking a Ukrainian elective which will be pretty cool. Got rep’ for my heritage.
Hope you enjoyed this quick wrap up of the summer! Looking forward to much of the same in the fall!
If this gets 3 likes on any social media platforms I will write a post by the end of this week of my top 5 albums/songs/artists of the summer and what I’m looking forward to in the fall in terms of music!
- J
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