Stephen Lynch...deserves to be heard

If you're looking for a good laugh with some melodic tunes to accompany your laugh, Stephen Lynch is just what you're looking for.  He is a comedic musician who definitely deserves some attention.  Some of you may know of him already, but I still feel the need to talk about him.

I first heard of Lynch when I was in the car with my cousin and she put on a song entitled "Vanilla Ice Cream."  This song is absolutely hilarious.  The song is essentially a claim that the singer is not racist, he simply prefers girls of races other than white.  He basically says that he is not racists against his own race.  I would definitely recommend taking a listen because some of the lines in the song are priceless.

Another song by Lynch that is always funny is "Little Tiny Mustache."  This song starts by describing the relationship between the singer and his girlfriend.  He describes various things relating to Nazis and the Holocaust.  Then the chorus breaks out in which he repeatedly says "I think you're a Nazi baby."  Two very funny lines in the song go like this:

You showed up late to our very first date
I said "How are you?", you said "White Power"

One other song entitled "Beelz" by Lynch is about Satan.  The song starts off very dark, but then he starts singing in a very flamboyant voice in order to portray Satan in a very different light than usual.  Again, the lyrics are hilarious.  You should really take a look at some of Lynch's songs because they are all pretty comical.  Also, if you just love to listen to music all the time and you also love comedy like me, you can get both of those very things from the same person which is awesome.

Javier Diaz...deserves to be heard

Javier Diaz was a contestant on the show "Mi nombre es" which means "My name is."  This is a show where people come on and try to imitate famous artists.  In his first appearance on the show, Diaz walks out on the stage and says "Mi nombre es Eddie Vedder" (My name is Eddie Vedder).  For those of you who don't know, Eddie Vedder is the frontman of the band Pearl Jam and his voice has an extremely distinct sound to it.  I personally love Pearl Jam and if you are a fan as well, I would definitely recommend checking Javier out.

Diaz sings "Yellow Ledbetter" in his first appearance and he absolutely kills it.  His voice sounds as close to Eddie Vedder's as anyone's voice can.  I have posted the video of this performance above which is just one of his many performances on the show.  The lyrics of "Yellow Ledbetter" have a lot of disagreement over them because of Vedder's distinct yet hard to make out voice.  Nonetheless, Diaz manages to sound exactly like him.  He also sings "Even Flow", "Alive", and other popular Pearl Jam songs.  In each of these songs I find myself feeling astonished that the person singing is not Eddie Vedder.  Without seeing the video, I am sure I could fool most people with thinking that Eddie Vedder was the one performing.

A friend of mine showed me the video of Diaz's Yellow Ledbetter performance a while ago, but I recently stumbled across the video again and I decided he was a good candidate for a blog post.  If you are a fan of Pearl Jam, you'll definitely enjoy and more than likely be amazed by Diaz's voice.  If you just know what Vedder's voice sounds like, take a listen and hear the resemblance for yourself.  I promise you won't be disappointed.

Rodrigo y Gabriela...deserve to be heard

Rodrigo y Gabriela are unlike any band that I have discussed in previous weeks.  They have a very unique style of playing and their music is all instrumental.  I don't even know what to call their genre of music other than acoustic.  Their original songs also have a very "Spanishy" feel to them, but I still don't know if there is a genre that can accurately describe their music.  They play very fast paced and use their guitars to keep time much like drums would in a normal band.  What I mean by that is they use their guitars as percussion instruments as well as playing the guitar as it is normally played.  They hit the body of their acoustic guitars and the guitar acts like a drum since it is hollow.  This is technique is used by many artists, but there is truly something special about Rodrigo y Gabriela.  Gabriela mainly keeps the rhythm and Rodrigo plays the lead guitar.

Just a little side note, I am currently listening to them while writing this post and I honestly forgot how impressive and talented they are.  I don't know how else to describe them other than unbelievable.

Mountain Weekly News

Anyway, I would highly encourage you to take a listen to them.  One of their more popular songs is entitled "Tamacun" which is extremely good.  I posted a video of that song above.  The riffs played throughout the song are extremely catchy and fast paced and I can't imagine anyone disliking it.  At the very least, you have to at least listen to them to appreciate their talent.  I haven't heard a song by them that I didn't like, but if you're looking for something you can relate to a little more, they do a cover of "Stairway to Heaven" which is very good.  That is always a good song to listen to in my opinion.

They recently released a new album entitled "Area 52."  I have not had a chance to listen to it yet, but I'm sure it is just as amazing as all of their other music.  If you enjoy "Tamacun" or anything else of theirs, you should take a look at their new album as well.

ah horse hockey...deserves to be heard

Bandcamp

I know what you're thinking.  What kind of a name is "ah horse hockey."  That's pretty much the same first thought that I had upon finding this band, but I've come to disregard the oddness of the name as I have listened to their music more and more.  ah horse hockey is in my mind, an indie rock band out of Philadelphia.  The reason that I say in my mind is because according to the Facebook page their genre is friendshipcore which is something I have never heard of before to be honest.  They have a very interesting sound to their music.  The only songs that I have heard by them are the five songs on their EP entitled "The Friendship EP."  They have actually reported recently that they are working on a full length album which they hope to release before June so I will able to listen to some more of their music in the near future.

"The Friendship EP" is a very good EP.  It is available for download for free on their website so there is no need to be concerned when you realize that their music is nowhere to be found on YouTube.  This album is unlike most music that I have heard before.  It is kind of hard to describe their sound, but I enjoy it nonetheless.  They start most songs with just an instrumental for about a minute or so before they really get into the song and start singing.  However, this really does not bother me.  At first, I thought that I would not enjoy the songs on the album if they were all like that, but that was not the case.  The first track on the album is entitled "You Turned Off Blink 182 For This Shit?"  I would say the oddness of the track title falls in line with the oddness of their band's name so it makes sense.  Anyway, the lead singer does not come in until a little less than a minute into the song.  This song may be my favorite on the EP.  I really like how they change the strum patterns multiple times throughout the song.  It just makes the song catchy.

All in all, I think ah horse hockey deserves some recognition.  They are not very well known at the moment, but maybe the new album in coming out soon will help with that.  I'll be sure to check that out when it comes out and I hope you do the same.

Baseball...deserves to be heard

Wikimedia

This week I'm doing this blog in a slightly different way.  I decided to do it on an album entitled "Baseball:  An Album by Sayanything".  This album is by the band Say Anything which many of you may know.  However, I would guess that you have not heard of Baseball.  This is because Baseball is a very old album of theirs.  It was released in 2001 at a time when the band went by the name of Sayanything rather than Say Anything.  Most people know Say Anything by their album "...Is a Real Boy."  This album contained hits like "Alive with the Glory of Love" and "Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too."  Both of these songs helped to gain popularity for Say Anything.

Back to the real reason I'm talking about Say Anything.  While I do enjoy Say Anything's more current releases and I am looking forward to their upcoming album "Anarchy, My Dear", I find myself going back to Baseball every time I want to hear some Say Anything.  The reason for this is that, in my mind, Baseball is by far their best album.  However, Baseball is not recognized nearly as much as it should be.  The band did not play any songs off of Baseball for years because .  In 2009, the front man of Say Anything, Max Bemis, released a video of him playing "Colorblind" which is the first track on Baseball.  This was the first time he played a song from Baseball in seven years.  Since then, Say Anything started to play "Colorblind" at live shows.

In 2011, Say Anything signed to Equal Vision Records who regained control over all of Say Anything's releases including Baseball.  Bemis has mentioned a possible reissue of Baseball which I am really hoping for.  If this happens, all of the fans that Say Anything gained following the release of their more recent albums like "...Is a Real Boy."  Once this happens, I will be able to share my love for Baseball with many other fans.

The overall reason that I love Baseball is for the same reason that I love most music.  Passion.  I'd be surprised if I don't mention passion in just one of these blog posts.  It is just the most important thing when it comes to music or performing of any kind for that matter.  Bemis' raw vocals sound amazing.  The album details some of the struggles one may go through at a young age.  Bemis wrote the songs when he was still in high school.  The pure talent of this band is emphasized through this album in that they didn't need maturity in writing lyrics or playing music.  Their current music obviously sounds much more produced and clean.  Nevertheless, Baseball has been and always will be favorite of their records.

Captain We're Sinking...deserves to be heard

Captain We're Sinking is a punk rock band out of Scranton, Pennsylvania.  As the biography says on their Facebook page, they are "four strapping young men who write songs about the dangers of getting too close to wild animals."  Obviously, this is not what they do, but I found that biography funny so I figured it was worth mentioning.  Anyway, they do consist of four members being Bob Barnett, Leo Vergnetti, Zack Charette, and Bill Orender. I am 99% sure that Bob, the lead singer, is Greg Barnett's brother.  Greg is one of the lead singers of The Menzingers which is a band that I discussed in an earlier post.

Bob Barnett has an amazing voice and one that is very distinct.  The song that I first heard by this band is "Crushed by Milwaukee's Best".  It is still one of my favorites by them and I think it portrays Barnett's voice very well.  You can hear the passion in his voice throughout the song.  Like his brother Greg, he uses slight screams in their songs to add even more emotion.  I am not personally a fan of when artists scream, but both the Barnett brothers have perfected a subtlety in their screaming that makes it enjoyable.  As I mentioned, I find that it simply adds to the emotion of the song.

"Crushed by Milwaukee's Best" has very powerful lyrics as well.  Though, I may be wrong, it seems to be about a boy who has been bullied and after a while contemplates suicide.  The first three lines go as follows:

This is forced and I am drowning now,
I'm buried underneath the ground
and I've learned that my face, it molds into my hands.

These lines show that boy is struggling and feels like he's suffocating from the pressure he's under.  I think the line "I've learned that my face, it molds into my hands" is very powerful in that it is a very visual depiction of someone that is upset.  People rest their face on the palms of their hands all the time when upset and in despair.  The fact that his face molds into his hands shows his face is constantly in that position and he is constantly feeling upset.  The song then goes to talk about how after ten years, he can not deal with it anymore and decides to commit suicide.  The song also depicts the strong relationship that the boy had with his mother very well.  While I do really like this song, it is just one song.  I would definitely recommend checking out others as they are all pretty good.  The band actually just came out with a new EP a couple months ago as well.

The Sidekicks...deserve to be heard

Altpress

The Sidekicks are a band that I have recently started to listen to.  They are a pop punk band consisting of four members.  They are from Cleveland, Ohio and they are starting to gain more recognition.  I find the band to be very talented and they have a very calm tone to their music.  Its just good music to listen to when you want to chill and relax.  The lead singer's voice is very clean which is something that I find adds to the music.  His voice helps create that calm tone throughout their songs.

The lead singer also has emotion in his voice, specifically in their live performances, which is something that I have referenced continually in this blog as being important.  The main reason for that is...well its just very important.  At least to me anyway.  I think emotion and passion in a band can make or break you.  Lacking emotion makes it seem as though you don't care or believe what you're saying which can really take away from the song.  Luckily, The Sidekicks have this emotion and it is for that reason that I particularly enjoy listening to them.

Before finding this band, Jack Johnson has always been my "go to" when doing homework.  I listen to plenty of other bands while doing homework as well, but the calmness and chillness of Jack Johnson's music makes it very easy to listen to when I'm trying to do work.  I can easily see this band becoming a popular band of choice when I want to listen to some music while I get my work done.  If you are someone who likes to listen to some chill music when you're doing work, then I would recommend checking this band out.  If not, I would still recommend checking them out.  They actually just came out with a new album entitled "Awkward Breeds" which is very good, at least from what I've listened to so far.

Songs like "A Healthy Time" and "Day Staring" are perfect examples of the very clean, yet punk sound of this band and they're worth taking a listen to.  These are also the first couple of songs that I listened to by The Sidekicks.  This is mainly because there are not many of their songs on YouTube which is usually the first place I check to find music.  Nonetheless, they're great songs and they're a great place to start in getting into a great band who is deserving of some attention.

Glen Hansard...deserves to be heard

Glen Hansard is in a couple of bands and also does some solo work.  His genre of music would be indie and folk rock.  The two bands that Hansard is in are The Frames and The Swell Season.  The Swell Season consists of only Hansard and Markéta Irglová.  Hansard has done a movie with Irglová entitled "Once".  This is the movie that introduced me to Hansard and one which will I never forget.  It it truly an amazing movie and I would highly recommend seeing if you have not had the opportunity to do so already.  The reason that I personally love listening to Hansard's music is because of his immense vocal ability.  The amount of passion instilled within this man is truly unimaginable.  His voice is just so genuine and believable to the point that you feel his lyrics and his music.


His voice blends beautifully with Irglová's on their numerous harmonies on the songs they perform together on.  One song by The Swell Season that you may know, as it is probably their most popular song, would be "Falling Slowly".  This is a very beautiful song that had appeared in "Once" and it actually won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 80th Academy Awards.  The song was also covered by Lee DeWyze and Crystal Bowersox on season 9 of American Idol which I think helped gain some popularity.  A song by The Frames entitled "Seven Day Mile" was featured on an episode of House which helped gain popularity as well.  This is an amazing song as well.  The lyrics to the song are very powerful and while I think most people can probably apply the lyrics to themselves, the song is apparently about the drummer of The Frames contemplating whether or not he should stay in the band.

If I had to choose, I would probably say that my favorite song by Glen Hansard is "Say It to Me Now".  The passion in this song is truly amazing.  I can't get over the emotion in Hansard's voice.  Everything about his performances show emotion.  Even his guitar.  He has been using the same Takamine acoustic since the early '90s when he bought it.  The wear on the guitar could not be much more visible, yet it is the only guitar he uses in his performances.  There is a huge hole in the guitar under the strings where a pick guard would be placed.  Nevertheless, he always uses that guitar and it just adds to his performance.  Some other songs I would recommend listening to are "Leave", "Lies", and pretty much any other song that Hansard, The Frames, or The Swell Season have performed.

Nate Ruess...deserves to be heard

Nate Ruess is the lead singer of the band "Fun".  This may cause you to wonder why I didn't say that "Fun...deserves to be heard" and the reason is that Ruess was the lead singer of a band named "The Format" which broke up in early 2008.  It was at this point that Fun started to form.  However, I think if you like Fun, you would probably like The Format as well considering the fact that Ruess is the focal point of both bands.  Both The Format and Fun have an indie pop rock style to them.  The Format was not an extremely popular band, but their fans were very devoted to them and to Ruess and they did have some hit songs.

I am going to focus on Fun for the rest of this entry considering that they are the band which is still together, but I simply wanted to mention The Format so you can take a listen to them if you find that you like Fun.  Fun has recently been gaining a lot more publicity through TV.  Their single off their new album "We Are Young" has appeared on Glee, Chuck, and it was featured in the Chevrolet commercial during the Super Bowl which showed the Chevrolet Sonic doing tricks.  All of these made the song very popular and rightfully so.  The song really displays a lot of passion and the reason Ruess is the focal point of both of these bands is because of the sheer uniqueness and talent that can be heard in his voice.  He has a very soft voice which is calming yet powerful.  They performed an acoustic version of "We Are Young" that they posted on their website which is just a great performance.  I have posted this video above if you would like to give them a listen.  On a side note, the women featured in the song, Janelle Monae, has incredibly white teeth.  Just figured I'd mention that.

If you are into indie pop styles of music or if you're not really sure what that is, but you like soft pop rock type of music, this is probably a band you would want to check out.  Maybe you're someone like me who just loves listening to random bands, no matter what their style, and seeing if you feel that connection with their music.  Either way, Fun is truly a very talented band and the soft vocal ability of Ruess is not something that should go unnoticed.  Also, if you do like Fun and want to check out The Format, a couple of songs that I enjoy by them are "Faith in Fast Cars" and "Snails".

John Butler Trio...deserves to be heard

John Butler Trio is a very talented band from Australia.  While they are a pretty popular band over there and there YouTube videos have a ton of views, I still feel like most people I know have not heard of them.  I would classify there style as a mix of alternative rock and folk rock.  Their music is very chill and easy to listen to. Also, for the most part, the songs have meaning behind them.  The song "Peaches and Cream" is about Butler's wife and daughter.  He basically sings about how they have completed his life.  One line which is repeated throughout the song is "she filled my half empty cup."  This is in reference to his daughter and it emphasizes the fact that he was only living half of his life and fulfilling half of his purpose before she came along.

One of the reasons that I really like John Butler Trio is the fact they are a jam band.  I love watching live performances where a four or five minute song turns into ten or fifteen.  They just play and have fun and feel the music.  That is something that I really appreciate in a band.  It just makes them more enjoyable because when a band is jamming, there passion for music come to light.  

One specific performance of one specific song is really what got me into John Butler Trio and I still consider the best performance without any lyrics that I have ever heard.  There is not one word in the song, yet it mesmerizes me each and every time I listen to it.  The song is "Ocean" and it was performed at Federation Square which is in Australia.  There are obviously many other performances which are all amazing, but I just have a love for this specific performance.  I highly recommend you listen as I have posted the video to the right.  

Another interesting note is that John Butler actually puts fake nails on his fingers to help with finger picking which he is very good at.  You can actually see the fake nails in his live performances so take a look at them in the Federation Square video if you choose to watch it.  To end this entry as it should be ended, John Butler Trio AND the song "Ocean", deserve to be heard.

Whole Wheat Bread...deserves to be heard

Word Press

Earlier this week, a friend of mine sent me a link to a YouTube video on Facebook chat.  I opened it up and a was a song by a band called "Whole Wheat Bread".  It was pretty good and I decided to listen to some more songs by them and they are a  pretty talented group of musicians.  They are also a punk rock band like the band that I talked about last week.  I do listen to many other styles of music, but this is a band that happened to come into my life this week so I thought it would be appropriate to talk about them.

Whole Wheat Bread consists of three band members and they have a very interesting sound.  Some of their songs remind me of Blink 182 in that the guitar licks sound similar.  Apparently others feel the same way because a user on YouTube actually uploaded a song named "Feel Like Shit" by Whole Wheat Bread but the title and description of the video say that the song is by Blink 182.  Coincidentally, this is actually one of the songs that does remind of Blink 182 a bit and I would definitely recommend listening for yourself.  Many of their songs are about relatively simple subjects.  However, the reason that can be a good thing is because simple subjects are usually things people can either relate to or at least understand.  For example, "No Future" is about the desire to remain young and living rebelliously.  "Staying True" is about just that.  You have to stay true to yourself for your friends.  Basically, be yourself around them and only then can you truly be their for each other.  Whole Wheat Bread also records some rap songs as well, but for the most part they stick to their punk rock sound.

I think the simple messages in their songs can be very important in life.  Simple messages can go a long way.  I'm curious if you know any bands that also have simple messages in their songs which have a lot of meaning behind them?

The Menzingers...deserve to be heard

Hear Nebraska

A great punk rock band that I have recently gotten into is "The Menzingers".  They have a great sound and though aren't that well known, they are going up in the ranks.  Recently, they were signed to Epitaph Records whose popular current artists include Alkaline Trio, Bad Religion, and Weezer.  With names like that already signed on Epitaph and former artists from Epitaph like The Offspring, I have a good feeling that The Menzingers are going to get pretty big.

Shortly after coming across The Menzingers I went on to the Bryce Jordan Center website to see if any concerts had been added.  Surely enough, Rise Against is playing on January 29 with A Day to Remember and none other than The Menzingers as the opening acts.  Then, shorly after this, I saw my cousin post something on Facebook regarding The Menzingers and I thought it was interesting he knew them so I went on his page.  Then, I saw pictures of him with the band and found out he personally knows them and is good friends with them.  All of this was awesome at the time, but let's get back to why they're a great band.

The Menzingers have a diverse sound on their records.  While every song sticks to who they are, some songs are more driven while others are much more calm.  However, one thing I notice in each and every song is passion.  In my mind, that is what makes a band great.  One of my favorite songs, "Time Tables", on their album "Chamberlain Waits" demonstrates this passion.  The music has a relatively basic structure with various chord patterns corresponding to the verses, the chorus, etc. and their guitar licks sound catchy throughout each song forcing them to get stuck in your head.  The lead singer, Greg Barnett, has a powerful voice, sometimes almost yelling.  Though that sounds like it may not work that well, it just makes the lyrics seem that much more meaningful.  Their lead guitarist and backup vocalist, Tom May, complements Barnett very well and even takes the lead on some songs like "Who's Your Partner".  This is a song about innocent teenagers living in the moment.  Then, they get to a point in their lives where they have to realize that they have to mature, grow up, and live life.  When all is said and done, The Menzingers deserve to be heard.