Thursday, February 19, 2015

Bands/Artists I Don't Like

Hi Hello

Slap the back of my hand and give me a time out, I'm sorry I didn't post Sunday or yesterday...but you know, life. I'm a busy person, I know I say that all the time that I'm late with posting but I am. I got two jobs and school its a lot in a day. Anyways...I'm still posting this week so get over it.

I realized that I talk about music or bands that I love all the time, but I never tell you about the artists or bands that I don't like....until today.

Lets jump in... (note: these are my opinions, they are not fact so don't go all nuclear on me..)

First off, Nirvana. I have never liked Nirvana. I tried to get into them, I would listen to their music constantly to try and find a song that I would like just so I would 'fit in' but honestly...I hated all of their songs. One of the main reasons would be that I never really got into the whole "grunge" scene and I hate Kurt Cobain's voice. There I said it. I hate Kurt Cobain's voice and I wasn't a fan of his lyrics either. Honestly, in my opinion the only good thing to come from Nirvana was Dave Grohl. I love that guy, but its not enough to make me like Nirvana.

Kanye West. Everything about this guy is revolting to me. I hate his music, I hate his attitude, I just don't like him or his work. Trust me, I did try and give him a chance because I am a firm believer in giving artists and bands a chance but, again, I never got into his music. Then I started to see how he presents himself in public and at events and I started to dislike his personality as well. I just think he is a rotten person.

Third band I don't like...Coldplay. *gasps* Its true. I never got on that Coldplay bandwagon. Their music just didn't do anything for me. I am one of those people that need to feel something when I listen to music, I need to have some type of reaction. If I have a positive reaction to a song or group of songs then I'm hooked on the artist and my appreciation for them will grow. When I first heard Coldplay there was nothing. I felt nothing, I had no reaction, I just sat there and started to drift off in my mind. I didn't even pay attention to the song that was playing. So I tried again and again and again and the same thing happened. They just don't do it for me. Not a fan.

Justin Bieber. Surprise, many people don't like him, but in superficial ways. I don't like his music and the way that presents himself in public and at events. Just like Kanye, I don't like Justin for the same reason. There were a few songs by Justin when he first came out that I didn't mind and would tap a foot too but as his fame grew and his music grew with him and his personality started to become more cocky and arrogant I started to lose interest in him as a person and as an artist.

Finally, Taylor Swift. *shots fired* I said it. I don't like Taylor Swift. I never had. I'm not a big country music fan and when she was a country artist I didn't like the repetitiveness of her music. Not the whole "she only writes about relationships" because lets face it, everyone writes about relationships..its one of the easiest things to write about. I didn't like her music because they all sounded the same..all her songs just sounded like the last. Then when she started becoming increasingly popular I noticed her at more events and talk shows and I just was put off by her personality. She just annoyed me a bit. Then I saw her perform at award ceremonies and honestly, I thought that her performances were fake...not genuine. That is just what I thought. And her song "Shake It Off" honestly annoys me like no other. Now, with all her trademarking crap, I'm starting to think she's becoming a diva. I don't like divas. And the fact that she calls everyone her best friend gets on my nerves as well...I'm sorry honey, but not everyone is your best friend.

Well...I got a bit more annoyed writing this post than I thought, but those are just some artists and bands that I cannot get into and just don't like. I tried listening to their music on multiple accounts and nothing works for me.

Everyone has artists or bands that they don't like and probably will never like, you just have to accept their opinions and it doesn't make them less of a person or "less knowledgeable" of music than the next. Like I previously said in an earlier post, music taste is relative, its different for each person. Its an opinion.

Until next time my misfits,
Stefanie

Sunday, February 8, 2015

February Recommendations

Hi Hello

Happy Sunday, today I got some artists that I've discovered (new to me) and I feel like I just need to share them with the readers of this blog because I feel like they are ones to watch. Consider this my recommended music for February!

To start I'm going to tell you about one of my favorite finds this year so far. I didn't actually discover him on my own, my close friend Brittany told me about him. Brittany and I share similar music tastes and she was like "Stefanie! You NEED to listen to this guy he's amazing!" and I eventually did and I was blown away. The artist is James Bay. He is from England and I must say, he has one of my favorite male voices. If you know me, you know that Sam Smith is like my favorite voice...like I would marry his voice if I could, and James Bay is right up there with Sam for me.

His voice has that harsky, powerful, soulful sound to it and mix that with the singer/songwriter souly-folk music that he plays you got yourself an amazing talent! When I first listened to him his voice reminded me of a laid back Allen Stone (whom I also highly recommend you give a listen to) but with a more folk edge to him. Now, I know that it can be a bit overwhelming trying to get into a new artist. What do I listen to? How many songs should I listen to in order to give them a fair chance? My answer to that is to just listen to the song that pops up first in the search on YouTube. This is generally their most popular song and a great place to start. As far as how many songs you should listen to...as many as you need to form an opinion. I listened to one song by James Bay and I was hooked, other artists I had to listen to 5 or 10 in order to like them...and some I hated and eventually they grew on me.

For James Bay I would say that a great start would be his song 'Scars'. Its a beautifuly heartbreaking love song and its a great start to exploring his talents. My favorite song by him so far is 'Hold Back The River' its a great upbeat soulful song that gets you moving. I love those types of songs, but another great one by James would be 'Let It Go', I personally love this song and its probably my second favorite by him.

The next band that I discovered this year is The Dirty Nil. They are different. A flashback to late 90s, early 2000s punk is how I would describe this band. I heard their song 'Cinnamon' and there was something about them that brought me back to when I was first discovering rock and punk music. I like their vibe and I have a feeling that this band is going to be going places with that sound. I think we can expect to see more of them in the punk scene.

If you are into Indie bands then Night Riots is one band that you should look into. If you haven't already. Honestly, I don't know why I haven't listened to them before or even heard of them before now. They are a solid Indie Rock/Alternative band. Best I would describe their music would be Arctic Monkeys meets The 1975 but with a "pop" edge. But when I use the word "pop" I use it loosely...very loosely. Its not as raw as Arctic Monkeys but its also not as electronic as The 1975, its a nice mixture but with a pop edge. Its still very indie rock/alternative but their songs are extremely catchy. I would say that a good song to listen to would be 'Back To Your Love' I love the sound of this song (and band) and the music video is interesting as well. Another great song to listen to by Night Riots would be 'Contagious'  its just a solid song and I've been listening to it in the car recently and its a great driving song.

Night Riots and The Dirty Nil are going to be playing the Vans Warped Tour this summer and I am definitely putting them on the list of bands to see live while I'm there.

And finally the last band that I just recently discovered, and feel stupid that I'm just finding out about them now, would be Scouting For Girls. Like this band has been around for a few years and I am just now hearing about them. It was one of those things where you just discover them and then BOOM you see their name everywhere. Today I was reading the 5 Seconds of Summer Autobiography and they mentioned writing with Scouting for Girls for this debut album. I was like WHOA I JUST FOUND OUT ABOUT THESE GUYS NOW. Sometimes I wanna say that I'm on top of new band discoveries but for the most part I'm not...oh well. But for real, these guys are a solid pop/punk/alternative band and I love their song (and music video) for 'Love How It Hurts' its a cute video as well as a cute and catchy song. A must listen!

Well that is all I got for this month. I highly recommend these artists and I stand by their music. If you are into soul, indie, folk, punk, alternative music these bands are right up your alley.

I have received a request to do a "band review" or a "first listen reaction" post. So if you have some bands that you think I've never heard of before and would like me to post about my thoughts on them then just leave a comment and I'll be doing that as soon as I get enough bands/artists!

Until next time my misfits,
Stefanie

Sunday, February 1, 2015

January Playlist

Hi Hello

Whoa....a playlist on the main page? Whaaaaa??? Well I've decided to start posting them on the main page and then just putting the link to them on the playlist page for people to go back to them easily. So, just like the past few months, lets just get into the top songs I've been listening to in the month of January.

I've been listening to the radio a lot this month and one station that I've been addicted to is 102.1 fm which plays more rock, alternative, and all the other subcategories of rock and alternative music in the world. There have been 5 songs that I've really enjoyed listening to and got me singing along to in the car.

The first being Dangerous by Big Data. This song features Joywave and the moment I heard this song I was hooked. I heard it on the radio and I had to Shazam it because I needed to know who sang it and what it called. I then later went home and watched the music video like 10 times. Its a great song with a electro/alternative type sound to it. Theres not much that I can say about this song because its one of those that you just need to listen to in order to get the true vibe of the song.

Budapest by George Ezra is a song that I've always liked since I first heard it but this month I got really into it. I heard it on the radio a few times on my drive to work and I was like "oh I like this song..lalala" and then after the third day of hearing it I started says "oh I LOVE this song..LALALA" Its such a fun song to sing when you're driving. The melody is catchy and you'll definitely be singing it in your head for a while afterwards. I find it to be a great lazy day drive type of song as well as a nice laundry song. I was doing laundry today and I was singing this song while sorting. Very lovely. Also, side note, I had never seen what George Ezra looked like until a few days ago when I looked up the music video to this song and I was like whoa...he looked nothing like I imagined. With his deep voice I expected him to be a big guy with like a beard and man bun..but nope.

This next song is one that my friend Shawn introduced me to. Its Top of the World by Greek Fire. This is a song that is very much my "personal style" of music. It falls under one of my favorite genres, indie pop, and its one of those songs that just gets you in the mood. Not a sexual mood...they're not Marvin Gaye, but the "I am going to make the best of this day" type of mood. I love it and I really like to listen to it while I get ready in the morning because its one of those motivator songs. I love it and there really is no other explanation.

Fourth on my list is Long Way Down by Robert DeLong. This song was what I like to call a "grower". Meaning I hated this song when I first heard it. Honestly, I would turn it off whenever it came on the radio and then one day it was the only song playing on the radio because all the other stations were in sync and playing commercials at that time. So I said...well, to the hell of it, I'll just listen to it. Turns out....I ended up loving this song and I bought it right away so I could listen to it at work on my iPod.

The last song that I got for you today is Cigarette Daydreams by Cage the Elephant. I used to be really into Cage the Elephant a few years ago but then I just stopped listening to them for a long while. But when I heard this song on the radio and liked it I Shazamed it to see who it was by and was pleasantly surprised when I saw that it was Cage the Elephant. Because of this song I've gotten back into the band and I also really enjoy their song Come A Little Closer but I haven't been listening to that one as much as the other songs listed here.

Well folks, that is it. Those are my 5 top songs of January and, like always, they are all featured on my Spotify Playlist along with all the other songs from past month's playlists. I hope that you enjoyed this set and will listen to the songs.

If you like any of them, or liked them prior to me posting this, leave a comment below. If you have any songs that you want me to listen to for the month of February please let me know in the comments as well!

Have a nice weekend. Smile. :)

Until next time my misfits,
Stefanie