Today’s a great Monday because Youth Lagoon just released a song from their upcoming album! This band is especially special to me because I’ve got great memories of awkwardly standing alone in a dark room and listening to them jam. Really, it was great!
Happy Monday. Try not to do anything too awkward today. Tell me what you’re listening to!
Who cares if the last Good Music Monday was more than a year ago?! I sure don’t!
It’s Spring! Birds are twittering and floating on air currents, chipmunks are scurrying to hide from my cat in the front yard, and I’m listening to weird/really good music that sounds just like all of that combined! It just happened. There are a lot of howls and weird noises and references to animals in these songs. But it’s all good, so just listen!
Happy Monday! (Please let me know if you have any weird Spring music that I can listen to!)
It’s Monday! Today we’re going to do something different. Today I’m going to make you a mix-tape. Cool, right?
Oh, yeah. Maybe I should have mentioned that I call this “the mix-tape of sadness”. Sorry about that. But we all have those songs that we use to listen to over and over again and we loved them, and now when we listen to those songs it just isn’t the same! Maybe you heard the words too many times, or you thought of a certain person when you listened to a song, or you decided one Thursday that you had to stop listening to so much swing music. Whatever it is, however it happens, it happens. So, here’s my mix-tape of sadness. Tell me yours!
Automechanic – Jenny O.
Maybe – Josiah Leming
Opportunity – Pete Murray
Rewind – Paolo Nutini
Came Out of a Lady – Rubblebucket
Big Jet Plane – Angus and Julia Stone
Ok, whatever, these guys are on “the radio”. I don’t listen to the radio, ok? It’s not my fault. Stop blaming me, sheesh! It’s just been awhile since I’ve heard an album that sounds this good when played as an album instead of individual songs. This is art, man! Or just good music. Which surprises all of us these days, right? Especially good music with good beats and good lyrics! And good accents. Do you know who I’m talking about yet? I’ll give you a hint. No, I’ll just tell you. Calm down!
First of all, I don’t even mess around with bands if they don’t sing well live. Ain’t nobody got time for… well, you know.
I mean really, the words are so good. Are you listening? So Ed Sheeran/Bob Dylan or some other lovely combo.
One more. Check out their whole album if you haven’t heard it yet or if you don’t listen to “the radio”.
Get some music for your ipod here.
Follow Passenger on Twitter. (I wasn’t following them. Oops.)
This Monday, I don’t really have an impressive story to tell about how I found out about today’s featured Good Music Monday band; I didn’t meet them in a basement, I didn’t hear about them from some friend who lives in a cool city somewhere on the west coast — no, instead, I found them through Spotify. These things happen. And it’s ok, because this group has quickly become my new favorite, my ipod already playing the newly purchased songs so many times over and over again on loop it’s like I’m a scarily obsessed person (I might be). It’s only been a few days, and I’ve already sent some of this new music to my dad! They’ve been introduced! Yes, I guess you could say things have been happening pretty quickly in this relationship. But, I can share, I guess. Here, let me introduce you to
Langhorne Slim
You know someone’s a good singer if they can, like, sing. In person. And especially on a porch.
One more… (there’s lots more on… Spotify! ugh. so. uncool.)
Add some Langhorne Slim to your ipod here.
Follow Langhorne Slim on Twitter!
Something that’s sort of interesting about bands that become popular and then stick around for decades is that even though they’re still around, most of the time they’re really only still popular because of their past; because they’ve made some great music in their heyday, and they just happen to still be around and still strumming out tunes. I feel like if Elvis was still around, this would be the case: he’d still be swinging his hips or whatever, and his fans from the 60s would fill up his concerts and buy his new albums even though they might be totally different from “Hound Dog”. The same thing seems to have happened to Bob Dylan. I think his early music is great, and I think most people who are Dylan fans sort of casually ignore/forget that he’s pumping out new songs as well as charmingly reproducing his music from forty years ago. Speaking of reproducing (pun alert), Bob Dylan also made himself a son, who has gone on to make some lovely music of his own. So this Good Music Monday is a shout-out to father and son…
and son…
Add some Bob Dylan to your ipod here.
Add some Jakob Dylan to your ipod here.
It’s Monday, and it’s summer, and it’s really freaking hot. Which reminds me of last summer, and this really cool band I saw that was the opener for another act in Detroit in a tiny, packed basement show. Usually you want openers to get off the stage as soon as possible, to get to the actual reason you’re in a tiny, sweltering, basement in the first place. But, sometimes, rarely, they’re so good you don’t mind their presence that much. That’s what happened when this crazy/cool/weird group took the stage, called
With their music they put all of us in that basement in a weird and wonderful swaying trance-like state. It was pretty magical. For being in a trance, I guess.
Follow Youth Lagoon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/youthlagoon
Check out their weird music for yourself and put some on your ipod here.
Oh, did I mention the lead singer has a dylan-fro? Yeah.
As a writer-y sort of person, sometimes I find myself watching spoken word poetry on Youtube. There’s some really great stuff out there – some fantastically talented poets out there. Cruising the Youtube, however, is not how I found out about today’s Good Music Monday artist. No, I came across this talented human being on the Facebook. Yes, my friends tend to be those sorts of people – the Facebook DJs. But, I think that’s okay. Music – especially good music – is to be shared.
Ok, enough about social media websites! Sheesh. Let’s talk about…
George Watsky, aka Watsky, is a spoken word poet/rapper from L.A. His stuff is really different from everything else that I listen to/have heard. He’s more of a rapper than a poet/more poet than rapper. Get it? His music has meaning, and it’s fun it listen to.
Here’s the first Watsky video I ever saw (the one my friend posted!).
This is George’s super-popular video on the ‘Tube. He raps fast, y’all.
Here’s something a bit different – one of my favorite Watsky songs.
Ok, one more. If you want more Watsky – He’s on Youtube. Of course!
George Watsky (Watsky!) is a great example of a kid who took his dream and made it his reality. I really look up to him!
Watsky is going on tour! I saw his show in Detroit, MI last summer – definitely not a waste of time. Check out his soon-to-be-released album and his tour dates on his website: http://georgewatsky.com/cardboard-castles/
Follow Watsky on Twitter (another social networking site! Sheesh.): https://twitter.com/gwatsky
???
I’ve found that the deeper you get into the music scene, the more talented people you’re able to discover. It’s like they’re hiding from me…
Anyway, this summer I got to hang out with some amazing musicians, and in doing so both met and heard about a lot of other really amazing musicians… It was a good time.
This one guy I found out about, however, you’ve probably heard of. In fact, I really hope you’ve heard of him, otherwise, well, you must be out of it.
He’s on the radio quite a bit, and his popularity is really booming over here in the U.S. I hear he’s going on tour with Taylor Swift… I won’t say how I feel about that, but anyway…
Who am I talking about? Oh, come on…
I’ll admit straight away that the biggest reason I have for posting this today is so I can put this music video up. I’ve listened to it/watched probably 40 times in the past two days. Have you ever had a song that you liked so much that you couldn’t bear to listen to any other song that wasn’t it? Yeah.
This song I liked so much when I first heard it, I went and bought it from itunes. I know. That shit cost me $1.29 – Not .99 like every other song. Who does Ed think he is?!
Maybe I’ll get drunk again. With his cat. I mean, really. Just great music, people.
Ed Sheeran in the wild
Happy Monday!
Get some of Ed’s (over-priced! just kidding.) music here.
Are you on Twitter? Of course you are! So’s Ed.
Can I call you Ed?
Another monday has found it’s way into our lives. Fear not – I’ve got some good music for you!
What is good music? Have you heard the junk they play on the radio these days? Aren’t there any talented musicians around?!
Of course! But they can be hard to find…
Wait! What about all that music that was made not-so-recently? As in, in the past? What happened to that music? People liked music way back then, right? Where did it go? There’s got to be tons of good music, just waiting for us (modern music archeologists, if you will) to dig it back up out of the dust!
I’ve found the first musician for you. (You’re welcome!) I was watching Martin Scorsese’s No Direction Home (watch it on Hulu! Fo’ Free!) when who should appear on the screen but
What?! What a voice! (I’m a falsetto lover) I didn’t even know this guy existed! How many more fantastic artists have we forgotten? Let’s dig ’em up! (Not literally.)
Here’s another, if you’re into high-pitched male voices.
Yeeesss, please!
This stuff is from the 1930s. Can you believe it? People made music back then! Yes, shocking, I know.
Here’s a tip to remember: When the music on the radio is really bad, remember that there is tons of good music floating around waiting to be discovered! You may be surprised by what you find. I sure am! Ok, now, off to listen to more of Mr. Niles!
(Also, can we talk about how cool a name he had? John Jacob Niles, everybody!)
Add some J.J.N. to your ipod! No more crappy radio music for you!
Go ‘Way From My Radio.
Hey Infinity 