Alright, well I just gave you one side of music. The fun, light, party atmosphere that music can create. A mix of everything, fancy-free and upbeat. I love it, because it can really help take your mind off things and just put you in the right mood, whether or not there is any actual substance to it. Just some words and a catchy backbeat. Because all music certainly doesn't have to have a meaning or purpose. But when it does, man, it can hit you, and it can hit you hard. Music is expression, and when a talented artist comes around, strips down to bare bones, and leaves their emotions in plain view for all to see, its one of the most intriguing forms of expression out there. You just seem to connect with that person, and have no clue why or how. But if an artist is so passionate and open with their craft, the connection can happen all too easily. To the point where you could listen to that artist a thousand times an very get tired of them. Matt Anderson of New Brunswick, Canada is one of those artists for me.
As a fellow guitar player, I am just absolutely amazed by this guy. For the longest time I have heard the word virtuoso, but never really knew how to apply it. I mean I guess for guys like Jimi Hendrix and Neil Pert, I've always admired their ungodly talents as musicians. But I always tend to question how much the technology and equipment their instruments helped them along to sounding that way. But Anderson, on the other hand, is stripped down to the bare bone. His voice and his acoustic guitar, and I swear I wouldn't want anything else from him. From the moment he starts playing, it's captivating. It's not even like he's playing the music. It's like by some divine miracle, the music just passes through him like he is the messenger of a greater power. Do you think I like this guy? If you answered yes, you are definitely on the right track. To me Anderson is the essence of soul. The way he performs, thoroughly enjoying himself and feeding off the energy of the crowd, just helps everyone to connect with him on a very personal level. It's just seems that if he were to perform in a bar lounge for the rest of his life, that he would be the happiest guy alive, so long as he got to share his music.
I emailed him and had a little back and forth conversation with him. He's a very friendly guy and truly has a love for music. Just a very genuine and down to earth guy. I've been looking to go to one of his shows for forever, but sadly the closest he's come to around me so far was VT, and I was busy that weekend. So I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for the next available concert. He is just one of those guys I know I just need to have a beer with before I die. I need to learn his secrets! Either way, below are two videos, one of him playing one of my all time favorite songs "Wagon Wheel" and another of him playing "Ain't No Sunshine". They are definitely two different sides of the spectrum and show off how well this guy covers rustic music, from folk to blues. With the immense amount of soul and life that Anderson pours into each one of his songs, I will forever continue to be a fan, and I hope you become one as well. But I'd love to know what you think! So on that note, park yourself on that barstool, order a couple rounds, and enjoy a healthy shot of Canadian soul courtesy of Matt Anderson.
And now for something completely different.
For those of you who know me well, I am a huge mashup fan. And for those who dont, I tried to begin clueing you in a few posts below when I introduced DJ Earworm. They are by far one of my favorite things to listen to, most likely because of my very broad tastes in music. I like nearly everything. And if you find the right mashup artist, they give you everything! A little hip hop, a little rock, a little folk, a little swing. A little bit of just about anything, if you find the right song. And more than anything else, mashups are the perfect medication for anyone with "Musical ADD", or MADD as it will now be referred to as. I prescribe them to anyone who complains that they cannot sit through an entire album without flipping, skipping, or fast forwarding through it. And after completing a quick listening treatment, their lives are forever changed. In today's society we sometimes need music that keeps up with us. Don't get me wrong, if all music were to turn to this, I'd be running for the hills. But this one unique genre is great for curing those impatient tendencies to continuously change songs. It does the work for you! There you go world, one step closer to becoming a completely automated society.
Impending doom of laziness aside, this posts artist is the mix mastermind himself, White Noise. Now, I had found him during the summer of my freshman year when I was Googling mashups on the inter-tube, and pretty much just stumbled across him. It actually brought me to his MySpace Music page, which I was pretty much gonna just skip over because let's me honest, not very much good music is featured on MySpace Music. It just seems to have that vibe that screams, "Hey, this probably sucks but I'm going to post it anyways, so get over it! Korn rulez! Bam Margera fo' lyfe!" But maybe that's just me. Either way, once I took a listen, I was definitely blown away. He has some great talent, and is definitely comparable with the greats such as Girl Talk and Milkman. He first started with two song mashups, but has now moved onto seamless albums that contain hundreds of different songs each. All the songs match up very well, and the number of genres that are represented in his work is very impressive. From todays hits, to 80's synth pop, to 70's soul, to 90's grunge. It's all there. I highly recommend downloading every one of his albums, as each one is great and has it's own vibe and theme. Spoiler Alert, one of his newest albums, mixes dialogue from popular movie plot twists into the music, and his most recent album Disregard Females, Acquire Currency takes song titles and puts a little Olde English twist on them. In the end, it was hard to pick two videos to post, because he has so many good songs, but I figured these two show off his talent and versatility well. So to all those self-diagnosed with a case of MADD, pop this pill, down a glass of water, and let the active ingredients of mashup mastery work their magic.
Ramble on,
AllTheFancyWicker
For those of you who know me well, I am a huge mashup fan. And for those who dont, I tried to begin clueing you in a few posts below when I introduced DJ Earworm. They are by far one of my favorite things to listen to, most likely because of my very broad tastes in music. I like nearly everything. And if you find the right mashup artist, they give you everything! A little hip hop, a little rock, a little folk, a little swing. A little bit of just about anything, if you find the right song. And more than anything else, mashups are the perfect medication for anyone with "Musical ADD", or MADD as it will now be referred to as. I prescribe them to anyone who complains that they cannot sit through an entire album without flipping, skipping, or fast forwarding through it. And after completing a quick listening treatment, their lives are forever changed. In today's society we sometimes need music that keeps up with us. Don't get me wrong, if all music were to turn to this, I'd be running for the hills. But this one unique genre is great for curing those impatient tendencies to continuously change songs. It does the work for you! There you go world, one step closer to becoming a completely automated society.
Impending doom of laziness aside, this posts artist is the mix mastermind himself, White Noise. Now, I had found him during the summer of my freshman year when I was Googling mashups on the inter-tube, and pretty much just stumbled across him. It actually brought me to his MySpace Music page, which I was pretty much gonna just skip over because let's me honest, not very much good music is featured on MySpace Music. It just seems to have that vibe that screams, "Hey, this probably sucks but I'm going to post it anyways, so get over it! Korn rulez! Bam Margera fo' lyfe!" But maybe that's just me. Either way, once I took a listen, I was definitely blown away. He has some great talent, and is definitely comparable with the greats such as Girl Talk and Milkman. He first started with two song mashups, but has now moved onto seamless albums that contain hundreds of different songs each. All the songs match up very well, and the number of genres that are represented in his work is very impressive. From todays hits, to 80's synth pop, to 70's soul, to 90's grunge. It's all there. I highly recommend downloading every one of his albums, as each one is great and has it's own vibe and theme. Spoiler Alert, one of his newest albums, mixes dialogue from popular movie plot twists into the music, and his most recent album Disregard Females, Acquire Currency takes song titles and puts a little Olde English twist on them. In the end, it was hard to pick two videos to post, because he has so many good songs, but I figured these two show off his talent and versatility well. So to all those self-diagnosed with a case of MADD, pop this pill, down a glass of water, and let the active ingredients of mashup mastery work their magic.
Ramble on,
AllTheFancyWicker
Well good evening fellow music explorers! I hope you're jonsin' for some new updates, because now that I have my beautiful, not-on-life-support, new computer, I'm hoping to keep the posts a'flowin' and introduce you to the latest music that I've came across! Once again, I apologize for the wait time between posts, but you know I can't leave you guys! So momma bird is back and looking to spoon feed her babies some of the finest new music discoveries this side of the Mississip! Which is the East coast. I cant promise it's quality anywhere over there in the West! Also, I'll be adding an RSS feed icon soon so you can keep up to speed with all the updates as well, which will hopefully make it easier for some of you who may use it. For anyone who doesn't know what an RSS feed is, it's alright, just go back to listening to Abbott and Costello on your tube radio. They just don't make em like they used to...do they? Either way, let's kick this off right! It's August and I'm still looking to power through and gather as many new artists and genres as possible before I have to also do that whole "senior year" thing. I hear I have to graduate after that. Yeah, right. Not if I can help it. I'm sure I can squeeze at least another year and a half out of it if I start failing some classes, stat. But that's a topic for another day. Instead I'd like to discuss something of much greater importance, British folk rock!
To preface this post, I want to briefly discuss my heritage. I am Irish. Very Irish actually. Not ghostly pale, flaming red-haired drunk Irish, but very Irish all the same. Maybe drunk Irish, for good measure. However, over the years I have really come to appreciate some of the traditional music that Ireland has to offer (God knows I can't come to appreciate their cuisine, Irish soda bread? Really Ireland? Goddamn!) It just gives me a real back-to-our-roots feel that seems to help connect me a bit more to the historical Irish culture and its people. Now I'm not looking to switch to steady diet of potatoes and take up step dance any time soon, but I could admit to having daydreamed about being an Irish shepherd in the green grassy hills of Céide Fields a time or two... In summary, after researching it a bit, I've definitely realized the wonderfully rich style that UK folk has to offer. It's gritty and real, yet has a very romanticized feel to it. Like living a simple life was not only acceptable, but desirable! However, I've been looking for a modern band to rise up and bring the genre back to life. Mumford & Sons does just that.
Mumford & Sons, straight from London, is fairly new to the music scene, having formed in 2007. However, their chemistry as a group and talent as musicians could easily lead you to believe that they have been playing with each other for decades. Their instruments range from brass to small string, creating an amazingly rich sound that truly tells a tale. It's like trying to read 5 books at once. There is so much going on that its hard to just key in on one detail. Each song is very dense and hearty, but can definitely leave you with a hungry with a sense of adventure. That's probably because of the mandolin. It just gives off such a great folksy shanty type of tone that makes you want to run around in a corn field with no direction. Well, that's just me I suppose. These guys certainly seem to speak to my more hidden rebellious nature, so I'm curious to see what happens if I listen to them too much. Havoc may ensue. Husbands, lock up you children and wives. Overall, it is undeniable the talent that these guys have. Their harmonies are amazingly tight, and they are true virtuosos of their craft. From what I can see, they dont seem to be hitting the states anytime soon, so unless you plan on travelling to Sweden or Germany anytime soon, you may not be seeing them live for a while. But oh well, c'est la vie. I guess until then I'll have to settle for YouTube videos. So take a seat, buckle up, and set on down the rough and tumbling road of British folk in the good hands of Mumford & Sons.
Ramble on,
AllTheFancyWicker
To preface this post, I want to briefly discuss my heritage. I am Irish. Very Irish actually. Not ghostly pale, flaming red-haired drunk Irish, but very Irish all the same. Maybe drunk Irish, for good measure. However, over the years I have really come to appreciate some of the traditional music that Ireland has to offer (God knows I can't come to appreciate their cuisine, Irish soda bread? Really Ireland? Goddamn!) It just gives me a real back-to-our-roots feel that seems to help connect me a bit more to the historical Irish culture and its people. Now I'm not looking to switch to steady diet of potatoes and take up step dance any time soon, but I could admit to having daydreamed about being an Irish shepherd in the green grassy hills of Céide Fields a time or two... In summary, after researching it a bit, I've definitely realized the wonderfully rich style that UK folk has to offer. It's gritty and real, yet has a very romanticized feel to it. Like living a simple life was not only acceptable, but desirable! However, I've been looking for a modern band to rise up and bring the genre back to life. Mumford & Sons does just that.
Mumford & Sons, straight from London, is fairly new to the music scene, having formed in 2007. However, their chemistry as a group and talent as musicians could easily lead you to believe that they have been playing with each other for decades. Their instruments range from brass to small string, creating an amazingly rich sound that truly tells a tale. It's like trying to read 5 books at once. There is so much going on that its hard to just key in on one detail. Each song is very dense and hearty, but can definitely leave you with a hungry with a sense of adventure. That's probably because of the mandolin. It just gives off such a great folksy shanty type of tone that makes you want to run around in a corn field with no direction. Well, that's just me I suppose. These guys certainly seem to speak to my more hidden rebellious nature, so I'm curious to see what happens if I listen to them too much. Havoc may ensue. Husbands, lock up you children and wives. Overall, it is undeniable the talent that these guys have. Their harmonies are amazingly tight, and they are true virtuosos of their craft. From what I can see, they dont seem to be hitting the states anytime soon, so unless you plan on travelling to Sweden or Germany anytime soon, you may not be seeing them live for a while. But oh well, c'est la vie. I guess until then I'll have to settle for YouTube videos. So take a seat, buckle up, and set on down the rough and tumbling road of British folk in the good hands of Mumford & Sons.
Ramble on,
AllTheFancyWicker
So, keeping with the theme that accounts for one half of this project's name, the mainstream, I decided to feature a guy I found back in 2008 by the name of DJ Earworm. He's a mash-up king in today's music scene, and has caught on quite a good deal in the club scene. For the past 3 years, he's made it a project to compile all the top hits over the past 12 months, and roll it up into a tightly packed single that is actually very well crafted. Now, there will be plenty of other mash-up artists featured here, because they are actually some of my favorites and I feel that any artist that can take an stale song, brush it off, and give it a whole new vibe is definitely one to be checked out. And to be completely honest, it's becoming quite the craze lately. People don't just want Katy Perry anymore, they want it mixed with Jay-Z. They don't just want Kid Cudi, but they want him to the backtrack of Journey. As I said, I'll be touching on this more with other mash-up artists as we go along. It's certainly not for everyone, but it's undeniably on the uprise. Tastes aside, the two songs below basically encapsulate the past 18 months of pop and R&B music hits. It's a time capsule that we basically forgot to bury and instead got immediately too nostalgic to let go. They certainly keep you guessing, and you'd be surprised how well these all fit together! Without further delay, I give you the time-travel, turn-table stylings of "United States of Pop ('09-'10)"
Alright! I'm back once again after picking up the antibiotic sword and slaying the serpent that was a serious sinus infection (fun, I know). Last time I EVER want to deal with something like that. Either way, hope you guys have been enjoying the music so far! The one thing I know I DO need to do is post more frequently, which I'm sorry for, I'm going to definitely try and stick to a twice a week schedule, and then see where it goes from there! Also, if you have any suggestions, please send them along! Whether or not I know you, don't know you, kind of know you, or any mix in between, it's just fine! I want other peoples' input to become a driving force of this blog, so send me anything you've got and I'll be sure to post it up at some point! Which in fact brings me to my next post.
This song was brought up to me by my good friend Justin. He sent it to be about a month ago, but seeing how I fell a little under the weather, I postponed it for a bit. Either way, Justin has always been one of my go-to's for up and coming hip-hop, R&B, and dance music. He has a great ear for knowing what people like to hear at parties, and I can't tell you how many times I've heard Justin play a song on his iPod for me, and then 3 months later, have it become a smash hit. He just has a knack for mainstream party music! Now I received a few messages about getting some more hip-hop and upbeat dance music, and I'm all for it! So I figured nothing better than to start it off with a song that's sure to be a summer hit very soon! It's one of the new singles by Flo Rida - "Club Can't Handle Me". Now people seem to be hit or miss with him, but I gotta say, anything he puts out just makes me tap my foot. I have yet to decide if I truly like him as an artist yet, because as most mainstream icons right now, he doesn't show a lot of versatility in his sound. But hey, who can blame him from not wanting to stray from what's working for him? All I know is, plain and simple, he get's people out on the dance floor, and you really can't go wrong with that. So raise your arms and rock the fist pump, because there's a few new club jams that are sure to emerge on The Mainstream Underground.
This song was brought up to me by my good friend Justin. He sent it to be about a month ago, but seeing how I fell a little under the weather, I postponed it for a bit. Either way, Justin has always been one of my go-to's for up and coming hip-hop, R&B, and dance music. He has a great ear for knowing what people like to hear at parties, and I can't tell you how many times I've heard Justin play a song on his iPod for me, and then 3 months later, have it become a smash hit. He just has a knack for mainstream party music! Now I received a few messages about getting some more hip-hop and upbeat dance music, and I'm all for it! So I figured nothing better than to start it off with a song that's sure to be a summer hit very soon! It's one of the new singles by Flo Rida - "Club Can't Handle Me". Now people seem to be hit or miss with him, but I gotta say, anything he puts out just makes me tap my foot. I have yet to decide if I truly like him as an artist yet, because as most mainstream icons right now, he doesn't show a lot of versatility in his sound. But hey, who can blame him from not wanting to stray from what's working for him? All I know is, plain and simple, he get's people out on the dance floor, and you really can't go wrong with that. So raise your arms and rock the fist pump, because there's a few new club jams that are sure to emerge on The Mainstream Underground.
I am going to keep this one short and sweet, no preservatives added, so better eat up quick! Long story short, this guy is awesome. He is the one and only Devendra Banhart. First of all, he's bat-shit crazy. He was raised in Venezuela for the first part of his life, and he brings some amazingly abstract flair to the table. and makes very smooth music that just kinda glides around in your brain for the rest of the day. It tells the story of folk using the soulful rhythms of funk, folk-funk, if you will. Pepper on some Spanish lyrics and and you have yourself a Devendra goulash that is best served piping hot. Mexico hot. Or maybe for the purposes of today's post, Venezuela hot? Either way. This video contains everything I would ever want, revenge, Jafar's magic cobra scepter (from Aladdin, duh), and last but certainly not least, Natalie Portman. Yes, Natalie Portman, ahhhh. If you don't like this song, that's fine, but you better like Natalie Portman. Because apparently if you don't treat her right, you will be attacked by snakes and your head will eat itself...at least according to Devendra Banhart. Don your Spanish dictionary, roll the car windows down, and enjoy the heated tunes of "Carmensita" by Mr. Devendra Banhart.
Hey music junkies! Sorry about the lag in posts, been settling down the past few days at my new job, so I've been racing around shaking hands and signing papers. But that's definitely enough about work, let's talk jams. Alright, so we've touched upon a good amount of musical styles already throughout this blog, which is exactly what I was looking to accomplish. However, I wanted to keep pressing the envelope a bit for this project and continue to unveil some musical styles that people may not have known were out there. This is certainly one of them. There are certain artists that are so off the charts that their music seems almost impossible to categorize. Too "this" to be "that", not enough "here" or not enough "there". It gets to a point where it's best just to give up and appreciate it for what it is, and see if other music comes close to it in the future. This is how I feel about today's mystery musicians -Beirut.
To start off, the most obvious theme to his music is definitely his love for Eastern European sounds and instruments. Can't really say you hear much Balkan folk music on the radio now. Hell, has the radio ever played Balkan folk music? Last I heard, accordion music wasn't named "most likely to make a comeback" anytime in the next century. But one man saw hope in this style, and his name is Zachary Francis Condon. Condon is truly a jack of all trades when it comes to music, which is what makes him so hard to pinpoint when it comes to genre or style. His influences are just too high in numbers to try and settle on one specific name or title. He's been called indie, he's been called western pop, he's been called folk. But isn't he all of these? One thing is for sure - he is American. Many Europeans are actually calling Beirut (now a collection of Condon and a few other artists) "too good to be American". Really Europe? That's creative. I love you, but come on. This is America, we put our own spin on things! Take pizza. Italian pizza is how do you say...awful? We came along and tweaked it a bit, and now it's everyone's favorite. Americans are improvisers! So, unless you have anything nice to say, Europe, keep it to yourself before we improvise our boot up the foreign part of your affairs...if you catch my drift.
Either way, this guy is pretty genius. Completely free-formed, and loves what he does. Extremely talented, yet highly overlooked. I hope to see more of him in the future, just because he's definitely pushing the boundaries of today's music. Whether you think he's pushing them in the right direction or not is completely up to you. Regardless of his influences, I just love the story this music tells. It's passionate and lively and hits you at your roots. Beirut shows that chaotic behavior is sometimes the best medicine for a chaotically cluttered mind. Some songs can remind you that everyone is a little crazy sometimes, and other songs can make you feel like the only one. But together the combination of Condon's hypnotizing and gentle voice with the blaring background brass instruments sends you on a twisted ride that always seems to let you down smooth. So without further adieu, I welcome you to enjoy the carnival calamity that is Beirut. The items on the menu tonight are "Elephant Gun" and "Postcards from Italy"
P.S. Condon has a trumpet cameo on The New Pornographers newest album "Together". What a coincidence!
Ramble on,
AllTheFancyWicker
To start off, the most obvious theme to his music is definitely his love for Eastern European sounds and instruments. Can't really say you hear much Balkan folk music on the radio now. Hell, has the radio ever played Balkan folk music? Last I heard, accordion music wasn't named "most likely to make a comeback" anytime in the next century. But one man saw hope in this style, and his name is Zachary Francis Condon. Condon is truly a jack of all trades when it comes to music, which is what makes him so hard to pinpoint when it comes to genre or style. His influences are just too high in numbers to try and settle on one specific name or title. He's been called indie, he's been called western pop, he's been called folk. But isn't he all of these? One thing is for sure - he is American. Many Europeans are actually calling Beirut (now a collection of Condon and a few other artists) "too good to be American". Really Europe? That's creative. I love you, but come on. This is America, we put our own spin on things! Take pizza. Italian pizza is how do you say...awful? We came along and tweaked it a bit, and now it's everyone's favorite. Americans are improvisers! So, unless you have anything nice to say, Europe, keep it to yourself before we improvise our boot up the foreign part of your affairs...if you catch my drift.
Either way, this guy is pretty genius. Completely free-formed, and loves what he does. Extremely talented, yet highly overlooked. I hope to see more of him in the future, just because he's definitely pushing the boundaries of today's music. Whether you think he's pushing them in the right direction or not is completely up to you. Regardless of his influences, I just love the story this music tells. It's passionate and lively and hits you at your roots. Beirut shows that chaotic behavior is sometimes the best medicine for a chaotically cluttered mind. Some songs can remind you that everyone is a little crazy sometimes, and other songs can make you feel like the only one. But together the combination of Condon's hypnotizing and gentle voice with the blaring background brass instruments sends you on a twisted ride that always seems to let you down smooth. So without further adieu, I welcome you to enjoy the carnival calamity that is Beirut. The items on the menu tonight are "Elephant Gun" and "Postcards from Italy"
P.S. Condon has a trumpet cameo on The New Pornographers newest album "Together". What a coincidence!
Ramble on,
AllTheFancyWicker
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