Posts

Showing posts with the label R.E.M.

“Take It All Back” (String Quartet Op. 9 in C Major) by Judah & the Lion, Saturday, March 23, 2024 (Repost)

Image
In the '70s Alternative Rock was a distinguishing term to separate mainstream classic rockers from experimental, independent rock bands. Sometimes called College Rock in the '80s and the '90s, it can be difficult to distinguish between mainstream rock and alternative rock of the '90s and '80s. More recently, the genre has been split between Alternative Rock and Alternative. At the heart of Alternative music, however, it is classified as genre-blending.   Judah & the Lion   had been cultivating a folk rock hip-hop sound from their inception, blending bluegrass instruments with modern sounds. However, the band's sophomore album defined the style of music they were making:   Folk Hop N' Roll .  HEY, MY LIFE IS REAL GREAT.  Founded by lead singer and guitarist  Judah Akers  when he met an eclectic group of musicians at  Belmont University  in Nashville, Tennessee, Judah & the Lion started out as a Christian Rock act though started to distance themselves

“You Get What You Give” by New Radicals, Monday, September 11, 2023

Image
Years ago, I was singing karaoke and my friend started giggling. I was singing “ Lost Stars ” by Adam Levine and the line “Yesterday I saw a lion kiss a deer” got this friend rolling on the dirty 노래방 floor. Admittedly, it’s a funny line for a pop song. And besides colorful Taylor Swift revenge lyrics, pop music has been mostly scrubbed of quirkiness by the late ‘10s. Back in the ‘90s and even into the ‘00s, the pop charts were littered with head-scratching lines. However, that eye-rolling line in Begin Again wasn’t written by Levine or co-star Keira Knightly . That line came from the lead singer of a one-hit wonder in the ‘90s, Gregg Alexander or New Radicals .  FOUR A.M., WE RAN A MIRACLE MILE. New Radicals broke up the year after releasing their debut record, Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too . The album contained two singles, “ You Get What You Give ” and “ Someday We’ll Know .” Musically, the two hits sound like typical ‘90s pop rock. Listeners can mistake the band for The

“Heat Waves” by Glass Animals, Monday, July 17, 2023

Image
There are numerous examples of Indie bands getting big and the fan crisis of how to label the formerly “indie” band. R.E.M. , Modest Mouse , Mumford & Sons and today’s band, Glass Animals , have had major hits that propelled a niche sound intended for smaller audiences to festivals, arenas, and pop radio. While the English band Glass Animals had enjoyed some success from even their first record Zaba , it wasn’t until their 2020 sleeper hit “ Heat Waves ” became a TikTok hit that took the band to the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for five weeks two years later in 2022.  SOMETIMES ALL I THINK ABOUT IS YOU.   Dave Bayley , lead singer of Glass Animals, both wrote and produced "Heat Waves." The melancholy tune has been interpreted in a number of ways in its path to reigning as the number 1 song of the year in 2022, according to Billboard. Was it a break up song or a song about a death? Was it a song about missing the old days? Was it a song about missing a pre-Covid worl

“Christmastime Is Here” by Rosie Thomas, Thursday, December 29, 2022

Image
  It's not too late to listen to Christmas music, especially as I wrote the other day that my Christmas feels unfinished. American light rock radio stations start playing Christmas music before Halloween, so by December 26, we're ready to stuff the tree back into the closet. Of course those same light rock stations keep playing Christmas music until early January. Liturgically, we're still in the Christmas season. You should be receiving five golden rings on from your true love today.  HAPPINESS AND CHEER. I certainly won't be blogging much more about Christmas music, even though my family has delayed Christmas for my homecoming a month after the holiday. However, I thought that an inclusion of Rosie Thomas 's " Christmastime Is Here " is a worthy entry to my playlist. Like many households, Vince Guaraldi Trio 's A Charlie Brown Christmas was one of our holiday standards when I was growing up. It is the only Christmas album my dad likes, and " C

"Much Farther to Go" by Rosie Thomas, Tuesday, December 21, 2021

Image
In 2006, Pitchfork announced that Sufjan Stevens and Rosie Thomas were having a baby together. This announcement was later retracted and clarified as an April Fool's prank. While Stevens and Thomas may not have human children together, the two musicians worked together throughout their careers and even shared a Brooklyn apartment with fellow musician Denison Witmer . Stevens and Thomas recorded Rosie's 2006 record These Friends of Mine over two years in that apartment. The album contained ten tracks, three of them covers, roommate Denison Witmer's "Paper Doll," Fleetwood Mac 's "Song Bird" and R.E.M. 's "The One I Love." The songs reflect the singer on a journey to make it in the big city. The romantic notion of not having much money but living in one of the greatest cities on earth creating art is the vibe this short album gives. HOW I WISH I COULD GO BACK IN TIME. Rosie Thomas comes from Michigan, but attended college at Calvary Chape