Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll

Top Concerts of 2011

2011-12-30T13:55:00.000-08:00

These are my top five concerts of 2011:

1. Arcade Fire withThe National – April 28 at Pepsi Coliseum

Regine Chassagne with streamers (photo by my sister, see her flickr here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/foxrf88)

This was not only the best concert I went to in 2011, it isthe best concert I’ve ever been to. I can’t even begin to describe how magicalit was. I’m a big fan of The National and Arcade Fire, so it was great to seethem together. The National put on an awesome opening set, and Win Butler sangwith Matt Berninger on Start A War, which was really cool. Then Arcade Firecame on, and they were amazing! They played a good mix of songs off all threealbums, and it was just so much fun. After they played “Rebellion (Lies)” thecrowd kept singing the ‘ooh ooh’ part even after the band left the stage, untilthey came back out for the encore, which was awesome. It was just overall areally, really great performance and I highly recommend you go see either bandif you get the chance.

2. Florence & TheMachine with Hanni El Katib – July 4 at The Lawn at White River

Florence Welch (photo by my sister)

This was an amazing concert. Best 4^th of Julyever! I posted about it back in July, so please read that entry if you’reinterested.

3. Arctic Monkeyswith Smith Westerns – Oct 3 at The Murat Theatre

Alex Turner (photo by me)

WhenI saw an ad in the newspaper that Arctic Monkeys were coming for a concert, Iwas super excited! When I got there, there weren’t many people in line, and Imanaged to get on the barricade, which is always awesome! Smith Westerns werepretty good, though I was only familiar with one of their songs, which was thelast song they played and I was really happy they did. Arctic Monkeys werefantastic! They played all my favorite songs, and it was really fun. On a sidenote, I’d never really seen a picture of the lead singer, Alex Turner, before,and I must say he is very attractive.

4. Blind Pilot withGregory Alan Isakov– Nov 12 at The Earth House Collective

I'dnever really listened to them before, but they are fantastic! They put on agreat fun show, and I got to meet them afterwards. For the very last song theyplayed, everybody sat down, and they came down onto the floor and did abeautiful acoustic song. Everyone was super quiet and it was really magical.The opening act, Gregory Alan Isakov, was great too!

5. Hotfox withSlothpop and Bonesetters – July 29 at The Earth House Collective

Hotfox, Slothpop, and Bonesetters are three localIndianapolis-based bands, and Hotfox was having a release show for their newalbum You, Me, and The Monster, which is very good. I hadn’t heard of thembefore the concert announcement was made, but I thought they had a cool name soI listened to some of their music and really liked it. All three bands wereawesome, and what made the show even more fun was when we got in there, thefloor was covered in orange and white balloons, which everybody tossed aroundduring the show.

Thanks for reading! What was your favorite concert you went to this year? Comment please! :)

Thanks for reading! What good concerts did you see this year? Comment please! :)

Top Albums Of 2011

2011-12-29T16:45:00.000-08:00

These are my top 10 albums of 2011:

1. The Kills – BloodPressures

This fourth album from The Kills is simply spectacular. Withpounding drumbeats and excellent guitar playing, as well as interesting lyricsand powerful vocals from both Alison Mosshart and Jamie Hince, every song isgrand. It is nearly impossible not to listen to the whole thing all the waythrough. It isn’t all loud though – there is the soft, lilting “The LastGoodbye”, a sad song about a failed romance that sounds like it is being playedon an old record player, and the quiet, simple, almost John Lennon-esque soundof “Wild Charms”, which is muchtoo short at only 1:15. It is aperfect collection of songs, with plenty of variety, yet not a single trackfeels out of place. Blood Pressures is without a doubt my favorite album of theyear.

Favorite Tracks: Future Starts Slow, DNA, Baby Says, TheLast Goodbye, Satellite

2. Florence & The Machine - Ceremonials

One word to describe Florence’s second album: magical. Thisis truly a beautiful record. Florence Welch’s voice is as lovely as ever, andthe songs resonate with a power that is hard to describe. The lyrics areamazing, and filled with poetry and meaning. Her backing band – the machine –provides excellent instrumentation for each track. Like Blood Pressures, thecollection is unified, and difficult to listen to individually, but rather afull listening experience. I found this album even better than her debut,Lungs, which although is a great album, can never top the pure magnificence ofCeremonials.

Favorite Tracks: No Light, No Light, Only If For A Night,What The Water Gave Me, Leave My Body, Shake It Out

3. Arctic Monkeys - Suck It And See

Though the album cover may be plain and boring, the songsare not at all. This fourth album from British band Arctic Monkeys ismagnificent. As always, Alex Turner’s voice is as handsome as he is. Theguitars and drums are excellent and powerful. The whole album has a balancebetween soft and loud that is difficult to describe. I had the opportunity tosee them live in October, and they were just as amazing on stage as they are ontheir records (I’ll be seeing them again in March, opening for The Black Keys,which should be a great show!). (SideNote: Alex Turner’s solo EP, Submarine, which also came out this year, and Ijust discovered and listened to a minute ago, is also really good.)

Favorite Tracks: Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved YourChair, Reckless Serenade, Black Treacle, Suck It And See, Love Is A Laserquest

4. Sleeper Agent - Celabrasion

This debut album by new band Sleeper Agent, from Kentucky, isawesome. The harmony between Alex Kandel and Tony Smith’s voices is amazing,and makes the songs all the more powerful. It is mostly loud and will have yourocking out the whole time. This is yet another album that is very whole andshould be listened to straight through. I also recommend you go to theirwebsite and watch their acoustic performances at the Tennessee State Prison,which shows that they can play just as well quiet as loud. I didn’t startlistening to this record until almost the last month of the year, but after Iheard it once I couldn’t stop listening.

Favorite Tracks: Get It Daddy, Love Blood, Be My Monster,Get Burned, That’s My Baby, Far And Wide

5. The Submarines - Love Notes/Letter Bombs

This third album from couple Blake Hazard and JohnDragonetti is a real treat. The simple, sweet songs about love are absolutelydelightful, and it’s hard not to smile while listening to it. Both member’svocals are beautiful, and the instrumentation is lovely, but the singing iswhat really stands out. Every track is excellent, from beginning to end.

Favorite Tracks: A Satellite, Stars, And An Ocean Behind You,Tigers, Birds, Shoelaces, The Sun Shines At Night

6. The Black Keys - El Camino

Although I’ve been rocking out to first single “Lonely Boy”since it came out, and heard a couple other tracks on the radio, I didn’t get achance to listen to El Camino in full until today. But it is still making mylist, because it is truly amazing. The duo’s blues-rock style is evident, andthe uptempo beats and catchy tunes will make you want to dance. Dan Auerbach’svoice is rich and vibrant, and the lyrics are brilliant.

Favorite Tracks: Lonely Boy, Little Black Submarines, GoldOn The Ceiling, Run Right Back, Sister, Nova Baby

7. Dawes - Nothing Is Wrong

The first time my sister tried to introduce me to Dawes,with their song “When My Time Comes” from their first release, North Hills, Irejected it, saying it was “too country”. Later she convinced me to listen toNothing Is Wrong, and I enjoyed it very much. Since then, I’ve re-listened to“When My Time Comes” and I don’t know what I was thinking that first time, asit is a great song. But back to Nothing Is Wrong, a lovely album, full ofpoetry and emotion. Taylor Goldsmith’s voice is beautiful and every track is wonderful.(Side Note: Though this version of “Million Dollar Bill” is great, I recommend theMiddle Brother version even more, Taylor’s side project which also includesJohn McCauley of Deer Tick and Matt Vasquez of Delta Spirit.)

Favorite Tracks: A Little Bit of Everything, Fire Away, If IWanted Someone, So Well

8. Death Cab For Cutie - Codes And Keys

This is yet another impressive album from Seattle-based bandDeath Cab For Cutie. Every song is gorgeous and the lyrics, which talk of lifeand love, are very profound and poetic. The instrumentation is fabulous andbacks Ben Gibbard’s splendid and soulful voice perfectly. This album is simplygrand.

Favorite Tracks: Stay Young, Go Dancing, Codes And Keys,Underneath The Sycamore, Some Boys, Home Is A Fire

9. Feist - Metals

Leslie Feist’s latest release is as impressive as her lasttwo albums. Her voice is lovely as always and the lyrics are pure poetry. Thesongs are full of emotion. Most of the tracks are quiet and simple, though itgets slightly louder on some songs, like “A Commotion” and “The UndiscoveredFirst”. All the songs have a light, clear feeling to them, like a peacefulspring day. This is truly a beautiful record.

Favorite Tracks: How Come You Never Go There, The Bad InEach Other, A Commotion, Undiscovered First, Comfort Me

10. Only Son - Searchlight

I discovered this album from Regina Spektor’s post about iton Facebook, as she sings with Jack Dishel on the track “Call Them Brothers”. Ilistened to that song and loved it, so I listened to the whole thing and boughtit later. It is very good and Jack Dishel has a lovely voice. Most of the songsare quiet and soft, except for the loud, energetic “Stamp Your Name OnIt”. The quieter songs are almostlike stories, and are beautiful and poetic.

Favorite Tracks: Call Them Brothers (Feat. Regina Spektor),Stamp Your Name On It, It’s a Boy, Solo Mission

Thanks for reading! Tell me your favorite albums in the comments below. Top five concerts coming tomorrow. :)

Top Songs Of 2011

2011-12-29T16:20:00.000-08:00

Since 2011 is coming to an end, I decided to make a couple posts about my favorite music of the year. So to start off, here's my top 30 songs of 2011 (somewhat in order):

1. Lonely Boy – The Black Keys

2. Future Starts Slow – The Kills

3. The Adventures Of Rain Dance Maggie – Red Hot ChiliPeppers

4. No Light, No Light – Florence & The Machine

5. Colours – Grouplove

6. Drive All Night – NeedToBreathe

7. So American – Portugal. The Man

8. Young Blood – The Naked And The Famous

9. Changing – The Airborne Toxic Event

10. Go Outside – Cults

11. Call Them Brothers – Only Son Feat. Regina Spektor

12. A Little Bit Of Everything – Dawes

13. Second Chance – Peter Bjorn & John

14. Video Games – Lana Del Rey

15. Don’t Sit Down ‘Cause I’ve Moved Your Chair – ArcticMonkeys

16. Lost In My Mind – The Head And The Heart

17. A Satellite, Stars, And An Ocean Behind You – TheSubmarines

18. Million Dollar Bill – Middle Brother

19. Holocene – Bon Iver

20. Love Is Blindness (U2 cover) – Jack White

21. Get Burned – Sleeper Agent

22. I Follow Rivers – Lykke Li

23. Sun Of A Gun – Oh Land

24. Love The Way You Walk Away – Blitzen Trapper

25. Stay Young, Go Dancing – Death Cab For Cutie

26. Ships In The Night – Mat Kearney

27. How Come You Never Go There – Feist

28. Louder Than Ever – Cold War Kids

29. Two Against One – Danger Mouse & Danielle LuppiFeat. Jack White

30. Stormbringer (John Martyn cover) – Beck

Thanks for reading! What do you think? What are your favorite tracks from this year? Let me know in the comments, and look forward to my top ten albums and top five concerts, coming soon. :)

Merry Xmas!

2011-12-23T18:15:00.000-08:00

The old traditional Christmas carols can get pretty boring. But when fresh new artists put their own spin on those songs, or write their own, it makes Christmas music much more enjoyable. Since it is very very close to Christmas I thought I'd post some of my favorite Christmas songs.

The Killers - Don't Shoot Me Santa

Lenka - All My Bells Are Ringing

Julian Casablancas - I Wish It Was Christmas Today

Bishop Allen - You'll Never Find My Christmas

The White Stripes - Candy Cane Children

Jack's Mannequin - The Lights And The Buzz

Death Cab For Cutie - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

The Raveonettes - The Christmas Song

Enjoy!! :)

My Current Song Obsessions

2011-08-21T19:31:00.000-07:00

These songs are all very different, some are brand new, some are a little old, but they all have one thing in common: I'm obsessed with them at the moment! So here they are, my favorite songs right now. I hope you like them as much as I do:

Mika - Relax (Take It Easy) I just love the simplicity of this song. It's really nice. The sound perfectly reflects the title message.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Adventures Of Rain Dance Maggie This song totally rocks! It's just awesome.

Beck/Bat For Lashes - Let's Get Lost This song is really beautiful, and such a great combination of musicians, both with lovely voices. I find it funny how Twilight is an extremely mainstream phenomenon, yet they have all these indie rock acts doing the soundtrack!

Ladyhawke - Paris Is Burning This is just an awesome, fun song!

Wilco - Heavy Metal Drummer I'm so excited to go see Wilco in concert next month! This is my favorite track by them I've heard so far. It's so light and fun!

The Kills - Future Starts Slow And pretty much all their songs! I just recently discovered this band, and they rock! This is a live video, because they are awesome on stage. I wish I could see them live!

Thanks for listening! I hope you liked it. :)

Florence And The Machine

2011-07-06T16:47:00.000-07:00

Happy (slightly belated) Fourth Of July! On Independence Day, I went to see Florence and the Machine live in concert! It was amazing!!! The opening act was Hanni El Khatib, who was okay, but Florence was great! The show was beautiful and wonderful. She played two new songs, which were awesome. This is a photo my sister took:

(see more of her photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/foxrf88/sets/72157626995908249/)

Also, I got to meet her harpist after and I gave him this picture I drew to take to Florence:

So, it was a pretty fantastic night!!!

Cover Story

2011-07-04T11:17:00.000-07:00

Covers are pretty awesome. I especially like when a musician I like covers a song by another musician I like. Sometimes I like the cover more than the original, and sometimes the other way around. It all depends on which artist I like more and which version I heard first. So, here's some of my favorite covers:

The Killers - Shadowplay (Joy Division) I actually didn't even know this was a cover until recently! Very awesome song.

Lenka - Gravity Rides Everything (Modest Mouse) and Deep Blue (Arcade Fire) I was super excited about both these songs when she released them, because I love Lenka, and I love those two bands also! The originals are better, but I still think she did a pretty good job.

Rogue Wave - Maps (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) I like the original version more, but this one's very pretty.

Regina Spektor - No Surprises (Radiohead) I like both versions pretty much the same, but I love Regina's voice, so the cover is probably my favorite.

Florence And The Machine - Halo (Beyonce) I love Florence's version of this song! It's just beautiful.

Addicted To Love (Robert Palmer) Definitely like Florence's version better! I don't like the original at all.

Hospital Beds (Cold War Kids) I like the original more, but I think Florence did a pretty good job.

She and Nathan of Cold War Kids sang it live together at Coachella. I was not there unfortunately, but here's a video someone put up of it. It's awesome!

Jack White - Love Is Blindness (U2) The original is pretty good, but like everything Jack White does, his version is brilliant and amazing!

Thanks for reading/listening! I hope you enjoyed it. What are your favorite covers?

Music And Art

2011-07-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

So, besides music, I also love art. I especially like to draw, and one of my favorite things to draw is pictures of my favorite musicians (based on photographs). Here's some of my best work:

Regina Spektor

Regine Chassagne and Win Butler of Arcade Fire

Matt Berninger of The National

And, while I'm on the subject of art, these are a few of my favorite album covers.

Thanks for reading! Any other album covers with art you love? Let me know in the comments below:

Introduction

2011-06-30T19:55:00.000-07:00

Hi! On my blog I will post about my favorite music, primarily indie/alternative rock (some may not totally fit that genre, but I promise I won’t be posting about Katy Perry or Lil Wayne). I’ll share about my favorite artists, songs, albums, and concerts I’ve seen. To start off, here’s a list of my top 20 favorite artists:

1. Regina Spektor
Favorite Song: “Loveology” (it's unreleased unfortunately), and her duet with The Strokes – “Modern Girls And Old Fashioned Men”

2. Modest Mouse
Favorite Song: “The View” and “Spitting Venom”
3. The Kills

Favorite Song: "Love Is A Deserter"

4. Beck
Favorite Song: "Think I'm In Love"
5. Arcade Fire
    Favorite Song: “Windowsill”
6. The White Stripes
    Favorite Song: "My Doorbell" and "Icky Thump"
7. The Killers
    Favorite Song: “Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine” and “Sweet Talk”

8. Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Favorite Song: “Way Out”
9. Franz Ferdinand
Favorite Song: "Can't Stop Feeling" and "The Fallen"
10. MGMT

Favorite Song: “Kids”

8. Florence And The Machine
Favorite Song: "No Light, No Light"
9. Imogen Heap
Favorite Song: “Swoon”