Friday, April 26, 2013

Poorly written somewhat incoherent rambling about music from a guy who should go to bed already.

Honestly, this week has been tough for me. Stress gets pretty high around this point in the year. Anyways, I'm looking forward to blowing off some steam this weekend with some friends coming into town for some good times.

And I'm looking forward to this.

Yes I rather enjoy just writing to some people who don't know me. Well, some of you probably know me. It doesn't matter. Lets just get to what you all came here for...

I actually don't know why you're here. But I'm gonna talk about some more music. It's funny to think about how much my tastes have changed lately. I used to almost never listen to indie music. Heck, I remember those high school days of listening to Fall Out Boy and All American Rejects. Listening mostly to popular music. Speaking of FOB, I'm getting a nice hit of nostalgia with their new album. It's rather nice. But I'm going to go ahead and talk about some other songs I like though, like...

1. Camera One by Josh Joplin Group: Want to talk about nostalgia? Scrubs. Scrubs was a fantastic show. It was funny, it was touching, and damn it if it didn't have some good music. I could of made a whole playlist of music from that show. This song probably would of led all those songs. Kudos to Zach Braff for just knowing some good artist. Speaking of Zach Braff...

2. Someday by The Cary Brothers: So I was on reddit one day... or was it twitter? I was on something and I saw that Mr. Braff had started a kickstarter for a new movie he wanted to make. (Sidenote: He's raised about 1.7 million for that movie in 2 days, just from random people on the internet supporting him. Crazy) Anyways, watching his appeal to us peoples of the internet, I heard this song on it and made a note to listen to it. It's good stuff.

I guess I'm in a Zach Braff-y mood. I've even started rewatching some scrubs lately. Weird.

3. Always Where I Need to Be by The Kooks: The Kooks have been one of my favorite indie bands since I hit my indie kick. Them and The Wombats have always pretty much been my top 2. This is just a continuation of that kick. They make me happy. :)

4. Hurry Hurry by Air Traffic Controller: This song kinda reminds me of Be My Monster by Sleeper Agent. (Side Note on that song, I was right last week in that if I had waited a couple more days to post something, it would of been at the top of the list.) Anyways, this song just feels kind of weird. I don't know. I'm really bad at describing these songs. I really do think they're all good. They're all definitely worth a listening to.

5. Angels by The Xx: Ok. I had a lot trouble thinking of a way to describe this band. I looked up some stuff on them trying to figure out the right words for them when I came across the best description I could think of. Atmospheric. Make sense? No. You're probably going to hate these guys then. These guys have very moody and soulful music. If that isn't what you're into, you're aren't going to like them. Which is fine, everyone is entitled to their own style. This is a style I like.

Ok. This post isn't very good. I can acknowledge that. I'm tired. It's 3 am and I should go to bed. Yet I wanted to write. Sometimes, it's very relieving to write some stuff down. Even stuff about music that 95 percent of people don't care about. Sleep is nice too though. I'm going to do that too. But I think whoever you are, person reading this, you should go do something that'll make you happy. Even if it's as simple as lying in the grass and looking up at the clouds. Cause I think I'm going to do that. Not now. It's night. I'm going to sleep like a normal person. But maybe tomorrow. Maybe in two days. I'll take a moment to relax in a nice patch of grass.


Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Some more songs that I like, a willful admission that I don't want snow anymore.

It's the middle of April and it's snowing...

That isn't right.
The sun is supposed to be out. It supposed to be warm. I'm supposed to be playing frisbee with friends. 
And alas, I'm inside. Writing another blog post. I spent the last week or so doing a big giant essay for english class. It wasn't too much fun. However, now that I have submitted it, I feel like writing for fun. I rather do enjoy writing just for me. To not have any restrictions or guidelines. I can mkae tihs sneentce as wong as I wnat and no 1 can say anythang. I can talk about whatever I want to talk about.

Like music. God do I love music. It's amazing how a good song can put a smile on my face even when I'm not feeling super duper awesome sauce. So here is a list of songs that put a big fat dumb smile on my face. Just a quick note, none of the songs on my previous list will be mentioned here. I still love all those songs previously mentioned, but this is just for songs I've recently discovered, like:

1. Synthesizers by Butch Walker and The Black Widows: Now this song is really great except for one part. The opening line. I hate the opening like. "Everybody's writing songs with synthesizers, but I don't have a synthesizer." fkl;jafsdklajflsdj I nearly ragequit this song every time I hear that line. It just feels like bad songwriting when you're rhyming synthesizer with synthesizer.

Random person reading this blog: But Tim, you have admitted to in the past liking such musical acts as Justin Bieber and Kesha who often have lyrics that rhyme baby with baby and other horrible things like that.

Me: Fair point random person reading this blog, but I'm not listening to those artists because they are create great lyrics. They make addicting beats. And damn it all if I don't love a good beat.

Random person: You like Bieber?

Me: I mean, he's an incredible douche, but "Top 40 hits are top 40 for a reason, they're catchy." -Dipper Pines

That all said, this song does have some good lyrics after that. And hey, damn it all if I don't love a good beat. And I think this song has a pretty good beat.

2. Death of Communication by Company of Theives: This isn't exactly one of those songs I skip to. It's catchy. It has good lyrics. Yet this song is more for when you're angry or upset and you just want to scream. I guess that's why all those angsty teenagers are listening to screamo-heavy-metal-making-your-ear-bleed music. Of course I still need those lyrics and beat to listen to it. Sorry Insane Clown Possy. I still won't listen to you.

3. Honey, Let Me Sing You a Song by Matt Hires: Is Matt Hires even really indie? He seems incredibly similar to Gavin Degraw. Not that Gavin Degraw is bad. Well, I didn't much care for his last single, that not over you song. But I loved those in love with a girl and i don't want to be songs. Even though those two songs were practically the same beat. It was a good beat. Anyways, back to Matt Hires. He's good. This song is good. Listen to it.

4. Be My Monster by Sleeper Agent: This song I just found two nights ago. I haven't listened to it a lot, however if I had waited two more days to write this, this song probably would of been higher on the list if I had gotten a few more listens in. I don't really know what to compare it to. So far, I've been subconsciously comparing each of these songs to some other random band. Well I guess this song is kinda all over the place. It doesn't have just one beat. It keeps changing. Kinda like me. I guess I like that.

5. Blue Eyes by Middle Brother: This song kinda covers my twangy country that I'm slowly getting into. Don't get me wrong, I still refuse to like most country. But this song does good. I feel kinda weird that a lot of these songs I like are about a guy trying to win a girl's heart. I guess I enjoy winning hearts.

Well that's it for now. It's easier if I don't wait multiple months to include songs in my top 5 cause then I don't have to do honorable mentions every time. Maybe I'll do more of this. Well have a good day internet. I'm gonna go walk home.

*looks outside at snow*

Yay.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

A Baker's Dozen of Songs I Like and More: A Small Insight Into My Mind

It's pretty late on a Saturday night and I don't know why, but I came back and looked at some blog stuff. I feel kinda stupid looking at the stuff I posted 2 years ago. The stuff I posted last year too. I almost feel like a senile old man yelling at kids who look ridiculous in those baggy clothes. Except the kids are me in the past and the clothes are my old blog posts. Wait, this comparison is starting to feel equally ridiculous. Guess I can't really escape from who I am.

But the thing is, I have changed. I mean, everyone does. Someone once told me that when I left college, I wouldn't even recognize who I was my freshman year. Well I'm a junior now and I feel so different from who I was. I guess we all have changed a lot since 3 years ago. And yet, I know more changes are coming. Do we ever stop changing? I hope not. It's hard to explain, but I don't like things being so predictable. I don't want people to always know what I'm going to do next.

So can you guess what I'm gonna do next?

A list of my favorite songs right now.

Why?

God, do I love lists. I love statistical rankings saying this thing is better than that thing. The great thing about my tastes in music is that they are always changing. So the list always changes. Whereas two months ago I was listening to a whole bunch of Two Door Cinema Club, now I'm listening to...

1. Restless Heart by Matt Hires: If you were to be in a band, and the band's goal was, "Make a song that Tim will fall in love with" (It's an unusual goal, but I'm not one to tell you what your band should do), then let me give you one piece of advice. Make a song I can skip to. A song that I will dance to on the sidewalk to class in the morning and not care who sees me. I know this song is about a pretty girl who breaks the heart of our hero Matt, who in turn, decides that he wouldn't let her break his heart anymore. (There's a 75 percent chance I'm wrong about at least some of that) Yet this song has such an addicting beat that I listen to it over and over again. Everywhere I go, I listen to this. And I love it.

2. San Francisco by The Mowgli's: A lot of what was said in the above song (addicting beat, skipping, blah blah blah) can apply to this song. However, the other great thing about this song is the lyrics. I'm in love with love. God damn is that true for me. Say what you will, but I love love. The idea of something binding us together. If any of you know me decently well, you'll know that I want pretty much everyone to love me. Maybe not love. That's a little much, but I want everyone to like me. Lyke, if you were to see me and lyke, not know anything about me, your first impression would be, if I got to know that person, I would probably like him. I'm getting weird again aren't I? Really though, this song is about the fact that love is what makes us special. The people who love us, and the people we love.

3. Dear Life by Ross Copperman: Now feel free to correct me on this song if you wanna, but I'm 78 percent sure that this song is about a guy who is giving up on life. His life is in shambles and at the very end of the song, he's saying he'll get through (Dear Life, I know I'll find my way). Now I know that this song was not at all difficult to dissect, but I really like that meaning. You'd be surprised how the happy go lucky guy (Me) isn't actually as happy as his shell shows. So when life does suck, I know I'll find my way. I know things will be better. And I will love those better days.

4. Jump into the Fog by The Wombats: About a week ago, this song was at number 1 on my list. This song is really fantastic lyrically. And for all intents and purposes, The Wombats are my favorite band right now.  So this song can be interpreted a lot of different ways I think. It could be about a 1 night stand with a prostitute (What a great achievement it was to get a hotel room this late... You don't look that hygienic anyways) It could be about getting into a relationship with someone that you've already failed with and hoping you don't get hurt as much this time (So jump into the fog, I just hope it's your bones that shatter, not mine). It could be about fog (fog). Well, it's probably the second one. At least I think so. And as someone who never seems to date someone just once, it's comforting to hope that the second (or third... or sixth) time won't hurt as much if it ends.

5. Kill the Director by The Wombats: Welp. This was a tough one. There is honestly like 10 songs that could of made this spot. In fact, I've just decided that I'll add a honorable mention area for those songs that could of made it here. So why did this song beat all those others. Well, catchy beat (see 1) and lyrics that I love. (I've met someone who makes me feel seasick. Oh what a skill to have, oh what a skill to have so many skills that make her distinctive). And a song that calls itself out as sounding like an angst-y teenage band, sounds pretty alright to me. Again, this is another song that would of been on top of this list about a month ago.

Honorable mention:
What You Know - Two Door Cinema Club
Undercover Martyn - Two Door Cinema Club
Anna Sun - Walk the Moon (side note: A band named walk the moon with a song about a sun. There's a joke in there but I don't got it.)
Naive - The Kooks
Take a Walk - Passion Pit
Heart Skipped a Beat - The Xx
How'd You Like That - The Kooks
Techno Fan - The Wombats
The King and All of his Men - Wolf Gang
Jilted Lovers and Broken Hearts - Brandon Flowers
Whirring - The Joy Formidable (But only the first 3 minutes of this song. This isn't a live version. You don't need a 4 minute outro.)
Waiting for my Chance to Come - Noah and The Whales (I just may go back and put this song in my top 5 cause this is such a good song IMO (in my opinion))
Sometime Around Midnight - The Airbourne Toxic Event
Itchin on a Photograph - Grouplove (These guys get bonus points for having my favorite album title: Never Trust a Happy Song)
Changing - The Airbourne Toxic Event
Shake Me Down - Cage the Elephant
Up in the Clouds - Darwin Deez (Damn it, maybe I should of made this a top ten list.)
Turn on Me - The Shins
Two Doors Down - Mystery Jets
End of a Spark - Tokyo Police Club (That's it. I'm definitely making some revisions to this list.)
Zoo - Dog is Dead
Reptilla - The Strokes
Girls Like You - The Naked and Famous
See the Sun - The Kooks
Bambi -Tokyo Police Club (I think I have a thing for Clubs. I don't know why)
Books from Boxes - Maximo Park
The Swimming Song - Vetiver
Forever - Matt Hires

Ummm.. ok. That's it. I think. I mean. That's all I know right now. All these songs are very good. I chose these songs because these songs would of been in my top 5 at some point in the last few months. I thought there would only be ten-ish when I started. Boy was I wrong. Anyways, let me revise the list to include the more accurate list of songs I like right now.
1. Restless Heart - Matt Hires
2. San Francisco - The Mowgli's
3. Dear Life - Ross Copperman
4. Jump into the Fog - The Wombats
5. Kill the Director - The Wombats
6. Waiting for My Chance to Come - Noah and The Whales
7. Up in the Clouds - Darwin Deez
8. End of a Spark - Tokyo Police Club
9. What You Know - Two Door Cinema Club
10. Take a Walk - Passion Pit

Ok. I think that's ok...

11. Changing - The Airbourne Toxic Event.

I should stop now.

12. Itchin on a Photograph - Grouplove

Ok. Twelve is a good number to stop on. A dozen.

13. Anna Sun - Walk the Moon

OK. I'M STOPPING RIGHT NOW. WE CAN CALL THIRTEEN A BAKERS DOZEN AND THAT'LL WORK. I'M PUTTING IT IN THE TITLE NOW.

Oh, and if you haven't noticed, rather than putting this in a nice neat orderly fashion that's much easier for you to understand, what you are seeing is the thought process I went through as I wrote this. It's a little bit more disorientating for you, the reader, but welcome to my mind nowadays. It's kind of all over the place. Anyways, Imma go to bed now. If you've read this far, you've earned a treat. Go cook yourself a brownie. You've earned it.