Steel Train "You and I Undercover"

Happy Friday, everyone!

This song feels Christmas-y to me for some reason. I briefly listened to it...so if I'm wrong, well whatever.

Hope you all have a great holiday season!

The Damned Things - Ironiclast

Here is a band called The Damned Things. This mutt of a band collected members of Fall Out Boy, Anthrax, and Every Time I Die.

It's certainly not going to be everyone's cup of proverbial tea, but I like it and I run things around here. It's been this type of week.

I really love when musicians leave their comfort zone and decide to play with other people to create a new sound. This is really what it means to play music in my opinion...stay hungry, stay curious, stay dangerous. Create something new.

Carbon Leaf - Mary Mac

Happy Friday, everyone! Super pumped that it's closing in the weekend already. It's strangely snowing here in Baltimore, which I am fully unprepared for. I feel like it was Halloween just yesterday, but this year is moving faster than others it appears.

I'm having a super busy day at work so I've been neglecting the blog here, but I'll do my best to change that next week.

As far as music this week, I think it's time for some locals on this page.

Here is Carbon Leaf and a song called "Mary Mac."

Enjoy!

Bonus: Friday Music!

2 Friday Music segments you say? I say yes!

This is a supergroup of sorts, but this time, it's pretty good. The band is Mister Heavenly and they're playing a show here in Portland.

See if you recognize the genlteman on bass.




Mister Heavenly is:
Honus Honus (Man Man)
Nick Thorburn (Unicorns / Islands)
Joe Plummer (Modest Mouse)
+ Michael Cera on Bass

We Were Promised Jetpacks - Quiet Little Voices

Happy Friday, everyone. I can't believe that it's December already. Where did this year go?

Sorry I have been slacking on updating this, but this is the busiest time of the year for my job. Unfortunately.

I came across this band while listening to Pandora. Initially intrigued by their awesome name, I listened more intently. This was a good decision.

Here is We Were Promised Jetpacks and their song, "Quiet Little Voices."

Enjoy and have a great weekend!

I Be On That / Fuck It All

This Friday's music comes from the mind of my new personal hero, Donald Glover. I'm sure you are more familiar with him by what he's done than who you think he is.

Donald Glover is an actor, writer, comedian, and (lastly) a musician. He's probably best known for his role on Community, which if you're not watching...well, then you are missing out. He has also written for 30 Rock. He started writing for the massively successful show at the ripe age of twenty-five. Excuse me while I look at what I've done with my life up until twenty-five.

Obviously I'm not putting Donald up for Friday's music because he is a great writer, actor, or comedian. He also raps under the name Childish Gambino. At first you may find this amusing, but he wanted a different name so that people wouldn't immediately think he is just joking around and so that he would be taken seriously. How did he arrive at this name? Well, by using the Wu-Tang Clan Name Generator, of course! Go ahead and Wu yourself.

His music is honest, straight-forward...and simply, disgustingly good. I am honestly surprised he is not more popular for his music than he is, but then again...it's not like this is the only thing he is doing.

Here are my two favorite songs that he has on his album Culdesac, which you can download for free from his blog. Note: that's only the Childish Gambino blog. Here is Donald Glover's, which is fantastic.

This first song, "I Be On That," really shows his word play and how underrated of a rapper he is. I can't stop listening to this.



This second song, "Fuck It All," is one of the most honest songs that I have ever heard. I share many of the same concerns that he discusses.



The best thing? He just gives all of his music away for free because he loves doing it.

Wiz Khalifa and John Butler Trio

Happy Friday, everyone!  This week has dragged some, but then suddenly it's Friday, so I'm not entirely sure what that means. 

Anyway.  I'm heading up to New York to hang out with Marques this weekend and I couldn't be more excited.  I love going to NYC and always have a great time.  I'm going up to see a show and then back on Sunday to see another one here in Baltimore.  Then Redskins on Monday Night Football, so it's going to be an action packed three days. 

Since I'm going to see two shows, I figured I would put a video up of each act that I'm going to see.  And, they couldn't be two different kinds of shows.

Up first is Wiz Khalifa.  Coming off the success of his mixtape, Kush and Orange Juice, Wiz has been gaining steady buzz and just had his latest song, "Black and Yellow," debut on the Billboard 100.  It is a track that finds Wiz rapping about his hometown Pittsburgh, one of my favorite cities in the country.

Here is his song, "In the Cut."



Up next is a band that I have enjoyed since my sophomore year in college. The John Butler Trio hails from Australia and have been described as an eclectic roots and jam band.  I always hate trying to label an act, especially one as diverse as this, but there ya go.  Once I first heard their song, "Zebra," I was hooked.  I've always wanted to see them play live and I couldn't be more excited than to see them with a lovely girlfriend and two other great friends.

Here is their song, "Ocean," which represents an amazing picture of how talented a band they are.

Matt and Kim: "Lessons Learned"

Happy err...Monday? Yeah, I was off of work towards the end of last week so I missed updating the music for Friday, for those that check this out.

In any case, Matt and Kim are absolutely my favorite band right now and their new album (Sidewalks) is the best that I have heard from them yet.

Here is their song, Lessons Learned. It is from their last album (Grand), but I love the video and this is probably my favorite song on the album.

Enjoy! And, yes...it is Safe for Work.

(Sorry for being late!)

Halloween and Music

Finally, Halloween is here! Well, the weekend, but I'm not going to be sitting in front of a computer to update this thing. I plan on having a great time and...I'm really not sure people still even read this. But, I digress.

I've put some more aggressive music than normal, but it's Halloween time! It should be creepy, unsettling, etc.

I hope you have a great Halloween, enjoy, have a great time. And, be safe...as you can.


Avenged Sevenfold - "Nightmare"


Dr Dre. feat. Hitman & Ms. Roq - "Murder


Marilyn Manson - This Is Halloween

Rob Zombie - Dragula



*BONUS
This is pretty funny

People in Planes - Evil With You

Happy Friday, all. I'm pretty pumped for tonight to get a move on and get here already. Geeze.

Going to see Louis C.K. tonight, which I'm pretty pumped about.

Have you ever had one of those CD's that you have either downloaded or purchased and just not given it its fair shot? Maybe you liked only a song or two and never listened to the rest of the album...ya know, as the artist intended. Well, that's exactly what happened to me with the Welsh band, People in Planes, and their latest disc, Beyond the Horizon.

One of the (few) perks of my job is my ability to listen to anything I want to, pretty much all day. I only have so many songs on my iPhone, so at some point or another, I tend to get to everything on there. I've had People in Planes on here forever b/c I love their songs "Last Man Standing" and "If You Talk Too Much (My Head Will Explode)," which is an older one, but still fantastic (Click the hyper links to listen). So, eventually, as I tend to click random songs, I came across their song "Evil With You" and was immediately pulled in. Possibly transfixed, even.

This song doesn't have an official video like the other two that I linked above. But, in my opinion, that's how I tend to distinguish a very solid album, as opposed to a bunch of songs thrown on a disc. The whole Beyond the Horizon disc is fantastic and very easy to listen to, but that's not to say that it isn't complex and wonderful. If you like their sound, please do some exploring and listen some more.

Have a great weekend.



*Bonus Trivia: The current name is derived from the band's obsession with travelling (flying in particular - this is also present in song titles and lyrics of their début album as Tetra Splendour)

Person L - The Pleasure is All Mine

Every morning, it becomes more noticeable that the Fall is slowly creeping towards the present. And, I consider it a present. I cannot wait until the leaves become a wonderful pallet covered in firey oranges, reds, and yellows. It also reminds me that one of my favorite holidays is right around the corner: Halloween.

I went back to Homecoming at my college this past weekend and it was fantastic. I went to school right outside of Pittsburgh and the Fall is always an awesome time up there. The Starting Line was one of my favorite bands back during that time and the lead singer, Kenny Vasoli, is part of a relatively new band called Person L. See how I connected all of my musings with Friday Music? Impressive, I know.

Here is a Person L song ("The Pleasure is All Mine") that I think mixes poppy funk and some rock really well together. Happy Friday!

HIKAKIN Beatbox: Super Mario Bros

I can't believe I haven't heard of this guy before.

Amazing!

Up All Night

Happy Friday!

This album is sick, def check it out if you haven't yet.


Drake ft. Nicki Minaj "Up All Night"

Neon Trees - Animal

Happy Friday, everyone. I know I have been slacking pretty heavily on the blog, only posting videos and whatnot. But, I'm not even sure if anyone is reading anyway and I get lazy with it at times.

Here is a good song that has been out for a while, but it's catchy, this day has been busy, and I can't wait to get out of here and enjoy my weekend.


Hope you have a nice weekend as well!

Gaslight Anthem in Baltimore (Ram's Head Live)

This was, hand's down, one of the best shows that I have been to in a solid while. Somehow, someone was able to record of bunch of their songs (I was too busy in the front) and put them on youtube. Here they are, while they last.

The Gaslight Anthem "High Lonesome" 9/28/10 Baltimore, Md. Ram's Head Live


The Gaslight Anthem "Cassanova, Baby!" 9/28/10 Baltimore, Md. Ram's Head Live


The Gaslight Anthem "The Queen of Lower Chelsea" Baltimore, Md. 9/28/10 Ram's Head Live


The Gaslight Anthem "Even Cowgirls Get the Blues" 9/28/10 Baltimore, Md. Ram's Head Live


The Gaslight Anthem "The Diamond Church Street Choir" 9/28/10 Baltimore, Md. Ram's Head Live


The Gaslight Anthem "American Slang" 9/28/10 Baltimore, Md. Ram's Head Live


Brian Fallon (lead singer) and myself. Such a great guy and a fantastic band.

FUCK YOU

Happy Friday, everyone!  I am struggggggggggggggggling today since one of my best friends came into town and we decided to play rally/quafflepong (you start with a bounce, like quarters into a cup, then run to the middle and flip cup, and then beer pong and then rotate) late last night for a wedding tomorrow night.

In any case, here's a song for all of the haters!

More OK GO! (White Knuckles)

OK GO!'s music is decent enough for me to listen to, but I wouldn't go out of my way to purchase. That being said, their videos are always innovative and enjoyable to watch. That is especially true when they incorporate dogs and do it all in one take. Very impressive.



Well done, OK GO!. Well done.

Wandering Eye

Happy Friday everyone! I'm back from vacation and bringing back some new good tunes for ya!

This is a new band that I have recently been introduced to. Fat Freddy's Drop is a group of seven that hails from Wellington, New Zealand. Improvisation, live and in the studio, has been the basis for Fat Freddy’s Drop's music since the beginning of their career. The band's Wikipedia page is actually a very good read, if you're interested, about their history and discography.

On to the music!

Catch Me If You Can

Happy upcoming long weekend, everyone. I'm really looking forward to having extra time to plan out something spontaneous. There will be alcohol involved and hopefully some sand and waves. I think I'm also going to try and squeeze in some tubing, but we'll see. I don't want to overexert myself.

However, this holiday does, for all intents and purposes, mark the end of the summer. I feel as if this summer sprinted passed all of us like it owed someone money. I am truly looking forward to Fall with the crisp weather, changing colors, and football. But, let's take a moment and remember the Summer b/c once the first snow fall comes, I certainly will miss it.

Here is a song that feels summery to me. Outasight, "Catch Me If You Can."

Red: I Should Tell Ya Momma On You

This artist's name is Red. He is a homeless man that lives (lived?) behind an Art Gallery in LA. Thanks, Marques.