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[jour-music]

Oh Wonder - Lose It (Video)

Anyone who has asked me about who I’m really digging right now knows that Oh Wonder has been near the top of that conversation. The formerly mysteriously named Wonder Wonder duo skyrocketed into stardom last year by releasing a new song each month of the year, no shows on the books, and really minimal known about the. Fast forward to 2016 with a slightly tweaked name, they’re about to launch on their second world wide tour, released an actual album, and seem like two of the most fun people on earth. The album also doesn't have a single bad song on it. I had the chance to see them perform in Brooklyn not too long ago and couldn’t recommend seeing them any more. If you’re into listening to mellow grooves and seeing two people that seem to care so much about what they’re doing and showing appreciation for their fans then this is the band for you.

The video itself is also really awesome. Viral, normal folk based videos are nothing new. But putting 5 people who THINK they're simply auditioning for the video actually becoming the stars is so pure, and simply amazing. The smiles on all the faces as the "backup dancers" emerge is so human and genuine. The world is truly lacking that sort of random acts of joy these days. This video is a small reminder that pure emotion still exists sometimes. Bravo

jourtodd

[jour-music]

SNBRN ft Nate Dogg - Gangsta Walk

I know literally nothing about SNBRN. I don’t know what it stands for, who it is, nothing. My best guess is that it stands for Sunburn.. minus the U's, since in music today vowels are so 2000 and late.. (see tumblr, flickr, DNCE, + a billion others)... What I do know is he, she, or they were able to acquire an “unreleased” (although it sounds like a mash up of typical Nate hooks) acapella of Nate Doggs. As many would likely agree, Nate Dogg is the Morgan Freeman of Hip-Hop. Meaning if he is on a song, he is improving the song no matter what. So while this song isn’t groundbreaking, it is a funky little dance tune with my boy (RIP) Nate D-O double G. Now the question is... wheres the instructional dance video for the Gansta Walk.

jourtodd

[jour-music]

James Corden & Adele - Carpool Karaoke

Listen I don’t know ANYTHING about James Corden’s Late Late Show. I’m old and I go to bed long before he’s on. Similarly though with SNL and other Late Shows I’m typically good at seeing the “good” shit from these shows online the next day or so. With that said, these Corden Carpool Karaoke’s are fucking hilarious. Bieber, Jason Derulo, Iggy, One Direction, Carrie, and others have all appeared in this segment and each of them is well worth the watch. I hope he’s not a one trick pony, but Corden has my attention now, and he crushes it in all these videos with these big name artists. Big Internet high five for keeping me watching videos that are 10+ minutes when I typically have the attention span to last 30 seconds. Virtual high TEN for Adele’s rap skills on Nicki’s Monster verse. High 15 for Cordon’s hype man skills. Adele, stop being so damn likable!

PS. The only way my lady is EVER getting me in a $200+ seat to see Adele live is IF James Cordon is the actual hype man. A to the D to the ELE

-jourtodd

[jour-music]

David Bowie (1947-2016) - Blackstar (Album)

I’d be a fraud if at 30 years old I could sit here and write something that would blow your mind about my perception or time spent with the music of David Bowie. I’m just too young to REALLY know what my Mom knows, or your Ziggy Stardust crazed uncle, or a die hard fan, or anyone who lived Bowie instead of attempting to witness the Bowie legacy second hand. The same could be said about the Beatles or a number of other acts... To have Lived it > Read/Listen to it.

With that said I’d be remiss to not recognize that David Bowie had a significant impact on shaping the music world we live in. This man spent a lifetime breaking down borders and putting out songs that are true to himself. His legacy will always be that of a man who simply DID instead of ever asking how it should be done. He was an artist in the truest sense and never conformed to the asks or sounds that the labels likely begged for. And while I definitely don’t have any true knowledge of his deepest cuts, I can say with absolute certainty that songs like Rebel, Rebel, Let’s Dance, Under Pressure, Fame, Changes, Heroes, and of course Space Oddity were on heavy rotation in my youth and continued well beyond that as I have continually enjoyed the cycle of these tunes on Classic Rock radio throughout my own lifetime. Under Pressure is still my favorite Touch Tunes song to play at any local watering hole.

So what I’d say to you, music fan young and old, is save your #ThoughtsAndPrayers and “Can’t believe he’s gone + youtube link” that are only meant to draw attention to yourself and simply re-listen to the songs that influenced YOU personally or the ones that have helped shaped the music and performances of YOUR favorite acts. Remind yourself what can be done when one stays true to themselves and how that can make you a better person.

No quote could be more relevant in today’s world than to, “turn and face the strange.” We are in a society that needs to embrace that mentality head on. We must realize there was once a world where we as Young Americans found ways to embrace the odd, the weird, and the different. That’s not to say that unique compassion is dead, but it’s certainly a lot harder to find. And I think regardless of political or personal beliefs, we can all stand to do a bit more of that in 2016 and beyond. We CAN be heroes.

Rest easy David, and enjoy your ride to Mars.

Here is Bowie’s now seemingly ominous new release, Blackstar, which was released just a few days ago as a farewell to his friends, family, and fans.

“Something happened on the day he died Spirit rose a metre and stepped aside Somebody else took his place, and bravely cried”

-jourtodd

[jour-music]

Kanye West - REAL FRIENDS & NO MORE PARTIES(preview)

Real Talk, Real Friends. I love my real friends and love that GOOD Fridays are back. Yeezy goes back to his roots a bit with a soft track about the people closest to him (if that even exists). All I can say is as much as I sometimes hate real Kanye, music Kanye always has my ear...always.

PS How FIRE is the No More Parties beat snippet.... Fire Flames is the correct answer......

PPS.. whats up Kendrick?

jourtodd

[jour-music]

Kendrick Lamar - Untitled 2

KDot took to Fallon last night and debuted a new song. Dude is doing things others are not, that is for sure. Smooth would be the understatement of the century.

-jourtodd

[jour-music]

SIA - Reaper

New pop hit collab with Yeezy to start your 2016 playlist off right

-Jourtodd

[jour-music]

The Tallest Man on Earth - Dark Bird is Home

The Tallest Man on Earth, who really should be named The Man of the Most Average Height on Earth, just released his new album Dark Bird Is Home. As one of my favorite artists over the last 6 or so years I've always seen TTMOE as sort of a mystery. Here's this guy from Sweden who sings acoustic songs mostly, all in English, his second language. His smokey vocals are so distinct and he has seemingly been able to make incredible music in a way that sounds likes he's playing for you in a living room. And each of his releases seems to come out a few years after the last, with no annoucement, no pre-order BS, accompanying tour, or anything. Just new tunes.

With all that said, Dark Bird is Home is a far removal from the Tallest Man of Old. This album is full of backup vocals, strings, and other studio heavy, supporting band sounds. And while change can often be a great thing, most of this album for me seems strangely not Tallest Man. It sounds a lot like a soundtrack to a slightly darker kids movie. Like Where The Wild Things Are Pt 2. or something.

It is almost like Kristian fell in love with a new girl(a Yoko) or something and this is his new enlightened sound. With the exception of Singers and Beginnners,There is almost no songs with that distinct and impressive finger pick skill that made me such a huge fan over the years. Each track is a slightly more radio friendly, 4 chord progression than the one before it.

Having said that, there are a couple good tracks, but my overall feeling is slightly underwhelmed and an attempt to try something new. And while again, I'm all for an artist giving a fresh go at something different, I just don't feel connected to this album like I did the previous ones. For an artist surrounded in mystery, who tours so infrequently and has released music almost entirely marketing free for the last decade, Dark Bird feels like a removal from that allure for me. What do you think?

Best songs: Fields of Our Home, Singers, Little Nowhere Towns, Sagres, Beginners(minus that weird sound), Dark Bird is Home

-jourtodd

[jour-music]

I Discovered Radiohead Today.

In a world where you can really only listen to music digitally or on vinyl I realized recently that when I discover music it’s truly either stumbled upon in the digital blogosphere or via suggestion. And that’s just fine by me.

I think it’s pretty clear that when it comes to convenient listening, my loyalty lies with Spotify. Of course I listen to plenty of one offs other places(soundcloud, audiomack, etc), but when it comes to driving, commuting, and time spent as a cube monkey, I use Spotify. I’m an avid vinyl collector and certainly listen to them at home when I’m in “music mode” or while cooking dinner, however that is time less spent than the other 20+ available hours of the day

As many people may have seen a few months back, it wasn’t only Taylor Swift that decided to pull the cord out on her music being available via paid stream, Thom Yorke and Radiohead threw a much bigger hissy fit that left a somewhat sour taste in my mouth.

Look, I get it. Artists aren’t paid NEARLY enough for the music they make. I agree wholeheartedly with his point, but we live in a different world now and while I personally wish it was different, I would say that digital discovery counts for something. And that some money > no money. And that the music you love and find today is almost 100% found via a free digital source. But mostly, you’re a globally loved, arena selling, plenty of dinero band. You’re as qualified as Jay-Z to “represent the integrity of the musician”. While I appreciate you standing up for the industry, I think, as Jon Taffer says, “ I embrace solutions, not excuses”

It was weeks, maybe months since i had spun a Radiohead record. Not for lack of desire, but because, like I said, I use Spotify mostly. But this morning, with my newly updated Spotify app(see that new shit here) and it told me about the new features (video, running, etc), but also defaulted me to a “morning commute” playlist. And the first song on my auto play. Radiohead’s AirBag . I was like “wait. Radiohead is on here now? Had it been all along? When? How’d I miss this?”

After immediately listening to Ok Computer in its entirety on my way to work, I felt compelled to not only listen, but write about this experience. I realized that despite the whining, I missed this band. And also, just maybe the time off was a blessing in disguise. Because I remembered how much I fucking love this bands catalog. While I admittedly don't love King Of Limbs and it kills me that my favorite album of theirs, In Rainbows, is NOT on Spotify, I miss these records. Most importantly though, I felt this morning like I "stumbled" onto AirBag. It felt like this whole digital music world of random discovery came full circle. I stumbled upon one of the first records I ever loved and it felt new again. And I really hope it happens again sometime, because it felt damn good.

So what’s the take away here? I’d say to you, Mr. or Mrs. Music Fan. Maybe today you try to Discover your band or song again. Don’t confuse that with nostalgia. I don’t mean that you should go listen to No Diggity, or This is How You Do It, or spin Dookie front to back because that’s what you and your friends used to sing all the lyrics to all summer in 2001. I mean to think about a band that really resonated with you, 2, 5, 10, 15, maybe 20 years ago and listen to that 3rd album you didn’t like at the time. Just because it’s not new to the world, doesn’t mean it’s not new to you. Maybe you’ll “discover” your “new” favorite and wonder how you missed it all along.

-jourtodd

[jour-music]

Tame Impala - Eventually

Psychedelic rockers Tame Impala have slowly been releasing their newest tracks in preparation for a follow up to their hit record Lonerism. And while I have not been overly struck by many of the releases yet, they eventually got me with their latest release, Eventually. Give this track a spin and I'll know that you'll be happier....

[jour-music]

Ryan Adams - I Do Not Feel Like Being Good

Ryan Adams continues his return to acoustic/rock domination with a 3 song EP featuring title song I Do Not Feel Like Being Good. I often feel the same way Ryan. I always wanted to be the bad kid because being bad is just so damn cool. Being good is for nerds

-jourtodd

[jour-music]

Oh Wonder - Midnight Moon (and more)

So it’s kind of hard to do a blog on this group, because they have technically been around for about 6 months now, so I can call this an introduction, but it isn’t. They are unique in the way they not only create music, but in their release methods.

Unlike how most artists are currently dropping a few tracks to wet the pallet for an album release, Oh Wonder (Formerly Wonder Wonder) doesn’t give a shit about that. They are releasing 1 song a month, every month, for 12 months. For Free.

But who is Oh Wonder? Well many people are wondering the same thing. They’ve done a handful of small interviews. The best being with our friends over at Pigeons and Planes and a worthwhile read. They’re just a guy and a girl from London, who have written music before and now enjoy writing music together. Their ambient, synchronized vocals are some of my favorite tracks over the last 6 months and the type that get beneath your skin. It’s incredibly hard to describe honestly. Because when I listen to each song, I feel like they sound very similar, but very different all the same. To me it sounds like a hybrid mix of James Blake and Banks, but even that might not be a fair assessment.

What I do know for sure is I am surely enjoying each of their tunes and they almost all each have over a Million listens on soundcloud. Maybe at the end they’ll reveal themselves and put out an actual album. But until then I’ll enjoy my monthly track.

My favorites - Body Gold, The Rain, Technicolor Beat, All We Do

Check out the rest of their tunes - https://soundcloud.com/ohwondermusic or over at Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/5cIc3SBFuBLVxJz58W2tU9

-jourtodd

[jour-music]

Grace - You Don’t Own Me ft. G-Eazy

Let me be clear here.. I‘m posting this because G-Eazy is on the track. I mean, who is Grace? I don’t know Grace. I don’t have grace. A little grace maybe, but I was told a long long time ago you can’t have a little grace, and you can’t acquire grace.

I will say grace however, and Grace comes through with a really cool track here and I’m gracefully waiting to find more about you. I'm always a bit skeptical of an artist with 1 track and a heavy feature, but with a mix of classic vocals reminiscent of Ronnie Spector that also meets a modern Lana Del Rey/Xtina type sound, this is a hit record. While the jury is still out for sure, my ears are perked up to see what Grace is all about. Add in the always hot flow from G-Eazy though and you’ve got yourself a blog worthy chart topper. Give it a spin and lets hope this isn't a one hot song drop followed by fall from grace..(i'll see myself out..)

check her out on FB and throw her a like:

https://www.facebook.com/iamgrace

EDIT: So as it turns out, I don't know much about anything. Grace is actually covering Lesley Gore's song, You Don't Own Me. This is a major ball drop on my behalf, so, apologies Lesley and thanks @Lisa H for keeping me honest. Makes me like the song a little less though. Good cover, but lost points for this really just being a G-Eazy remix with Grace cover vocals on it.

jourtodd>

[jour-music]

Earl Sweatshirt & Action Bronson - Warlord Leather + New Album Reviews

Earl and Action, two of the hottest rappers in the non-pop rap game combine forces to release a track over an Alchemist beat to celebrate both their latest full length releases.

I actually did want to do a post about both albums, but this track creates a perfect segway. Earl Sweatshirt is probably the best artist in Odd Future not named Frank Ocean. And while Tyler the Creator obviously gets some major credits and praise there, Earl’s flow over such unique to OFWGKTA beats are just on point. His latest album, I Don’t Like Shit, I Don’t Go Outside: An Album by Earl Sweatshirt is definitive Earl and Odd Future.

Slow beats and hard rhymes that are ideal for city walking and self reflection, there is something about this album that just vibes with me in the right setting and well worth a spin.

Hottest Tracks: Huey, Faucet, Grown Ups, AM // Radio, and DNA

Everyone's favorite red headed, heavy bearded, fat and hungry rapper, Action Bronson on the other hand just released his newest effort, Mr. Wonderful. Having historically delivered random tracks, ep’s, and mixtapes, this is BamBam’s first push to break through. This album is highlighted by the single, Baby Blue ft Chance the Rapper, but I really love a handful of this tracks. Bronson has always been a hit or miss rapper for me. He simply releases so much material that at times it feels forced rather than hand selected cuts but this actual album does a good job of “trimming the fat”, music wise, not from his body with just about every track having an awesome awesome beat, regardless of verse quality. Only In America for example has an awesome rock and roll beat to it, but the verses are somewhat lacking and don’t sync with beat that great. Similarly, the Easy Rider has an absolute fire beat, but the verses are actually really dope

Every track is over a quality, raw beat but from my end, there are a few choice tracks and I love the street verse included called THUG LOVE STORY 2017 THE MUSICAL, which sounds like a recorded track he convinced some homeless or street dude to sing for him on the spot, must listen about drugs.. or a woman, could be either..but leads into my favorite track on the record, City Boy Blues even without a hard Bronson verse on it then moves perfectly into A Light In the Addict, which are 3 perfectly assembled back to back tracks.

Hottest Tracks: Terry, Actin Crazy, City Boy Blues. A Light in The Addict, Baby Blue, Easy Rider

And now the whole point of this long blog:

-jourtodd

[jour-music]

Death Cab For Cutie - Kintsugi (Album Preview)

Death Cab For Cutie is a band I’ve felt connected to for many years. Through varying degrees of commercial success this band has a following. And a strong one.

I’ve loved at minimal of 5 songs on each of her last 5 albums. Their style varies, but they always come back with great sounding records.

Their forthcoming album Kintsugi seems to be no exception to the rule. They’ve gone the new path and rolled out a few songs in preparation for their March 31st release. I’m a huge fan of Black Sun. Just a patented awesome Death Cab riff that always make me eager to listen to a Death Cab record. No Room For a Frame is another very “typical” Death Cab sounding track, but good nonetheless. The recent release, The Ghost of Beverly Drive has a bit of a new swing for the verses, but brings it back to classic Death Cab for the chorus.

Ghosts has a awesome line in that track though, “You want to teach but not be taught. I want to sell but not be bought.” The most recent release, Little Wanderer is another real good, but ultimately not a whoa, "top 5", track that will be on this album.

Bottom line is Ben Gibbard and co. still brings it. Overall though, they’ve given us four rad tracks and I look forward to the album. Check them out below:

-jourrtodd

[jour-music]

Wale - The Matrimony (ft. Usher & Jerry Seinfeld

Wale is one of the most real rappers out there in my opinion. Even the songs I don’t really like are smart and methodical. Wale spends time on his craft and his way of speaking and telling a story are some of the best in the hiphop/r&b scene.

Now... that’s great and all.. but that’s probably not even the reason I like him most. Why do I think this dude is the fucking best? Because he has somehow garnered the attention and friendship of one of the funniest and most respected men on the planet..... Mr. Jerry Seinfeld.

Not only does Wale name his mixtapes such names as The Mixtape About Nothing and More About Nothing. But his upcoming album FEATURES Seinfeld, and is called The Album About Nothing. I mean come on.  Dream combo. And if you haven’t read the amazing interview’s and seen the videos from Complex’s cover story of Jerry and Wale, it’s a must read: http://www.complex.com/covers/wale-seinfeld-interview-2014-cover-story/

Check out the first single off the forthcoming Album About Nothing here:

-jourtodd

[jour-music]

Ellie Goulding - Take Me To Church (Hozier Cover)

If you’ve followed this blog for more than the last week, you know how I feel about Ellie Goulding. I don’t publish too many covers, but when one of my favorite ladies covers one of the biggest songs of the year, from one of my favorite new artists... I’ll post that shit on everything... much like that old lady with Franks Red Hot...

-jourtodd