Saturday, January 31, 2009

Songs/Artists I've been thinking about lately..and loving.

I love to reccomend music and I've been thinking through a few songs and artists that I really think should be given some trys.

Anything Jack's Mannequin. Andrew's story is one of amazement and is a piano based rock group, soon to be "legend" that you would definetly love. A few songs of his that are amazing, as if all of them aren't, "Swim", "Caves", "Miss California" and "Hammers and Strings ( A Lullaby)" are my favorites. Also, if you go way way back with Andrew McMahon, you would know he used to be part of a band, well still part of the band Something Corporate and they are classic. One of my favorite groups of all time. Some of theirs that are perfect include "(Hurricane) The Formal Weather Pattern", "Down" which was a big favorite when we were growing up, "Punk Rock Princess", which is for sure a personal favorite and finally, but not last at all "I kissed a drunk girl". 
What's cool about Andrew McMahon or something to look out for is the new documentary "Dear Jack" which is a self taped video log/documentary when Andrew was in the hospital with leukemia, during which he was trying to put out "Everything in Transit" an album that is completely written about the girl who is now his wife, Katie. The album is amazingly beautiful and something that just makes your heart break. The album is already out since 2006 but the documentary comes out in February and they are announcing a new tour of dates on February 6th on their websites, JACKSMANNEQUIN.com. Check it out, it will be worth the effort, promise!

Now on to Treaty of Paris. An amazing band that I am hopefully working with very soon in a interview soon. Some of the craziest guys I've ever met and totally sweet at the same time. They are hilarious, put out some amazing video logs of their tours which could be found on their youtube channel, treatyofparisvideos plain and simple, hammers and strings four has a show that I was at in Montreal during Casper's birthday which is cool. Some of their top songs in my opinion include "Hello Nurse", "Waking Up the Dead" and "Quits", all which are worthy of some attention.

And last but not at all least for now, are The Ease Down and 16th Avenue. Both canadian bands which can discourage some people unfortunately but very worthy of some listening to their sweet sweet sounds. "Tentavita Favorita" and "First Fall" are huge, you will most likely see "Tentavita Favorita" on MTV in the US very soon as their first video comes out on the 19th of Februrary! As for the Ease Down, they are a buffet scramble of violins, piano, guitar and drums and "Shapeshifter" is an amazing work by them that I am still freaking out about. I worked merch for them during our school's orientation when they performed and Ben, the lead singer is one of the nicest, most down to earth people I have ever met!

So, those are some new music or old to you that I thought I would try to put out there a bit more. 
Look for more blogging action soon, I just felt that I was a bit inadequate at it right now in the rush of school and job hunting, but wanted to put a little something up! 
Song of the week soon, by a little group called Augustana and Chuck Wicks "Stealing Cinderalla"

talk to you soon, subscribe, comment, follow, love 

xo

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Song Of the Week Jack's Mannequin


"Hammers and Strings (A Lullaby)" 
Jack's Mannequin 


Each week, until I hopefully start the interviews with some unsigned, minor lable indie bands and artists, and hopefully every week afterwards, I'll be writing about a song I'm liking that week. Always up to suggestions also about different artists you think I should try, artists you want me to talk about, anything of the sort. 

This week as may seem obvious by the title I have chosen one of the songs off of recently released 'The Glass Passenger' by Jack's Mannequin. A little background though most of you are probably already aware of this very talented band.  The person in the picture, the founder of the band, was previously in a band called Something Corporate, an amazing duo band that was around for years, some of their larger hits being "Down" and "Hurricane", with many many others. Something changed all that though when Mr. McMahon recieved the news that he had been diagnosed with leukemia. He beat the cancer a few years later but at the news did have to leave something corporate. From his own words at a Montreal concert I recently attended  on his previous headlining tour, "The Hammers and Strings Tour", he discussed what made him want to try another band again.  He had spent the summer after he beat leukemia smoking alot and just sitting back and relaxing but a man like Andrew cannot just sit around when the world moves around him. He called up some old friends and now we have Jack's Mannequin a few years in with hits you may recognize like "Bruised", "Dark Blue" and "The Mixed Tape", the latter two featured on One Tree Hill back in the third season when on the show they performed in a concert alongside another main stay of mine Fall Out Boy.  Hilarie Burton, who plays Peyton on the show actually was the girl in the video for "The Mixed Tape".  

Now to the song of the week, one of my absolute favorites off the new album, though I have a soft spot for them all, the namesake of the tour "Hammers and Strings ( A Lullaby)". Like most of the songs Jack's Mannequin puts out lately, it is once again piano based as the main instrument but this rarely changes. The introductions to their songs are always tinged with a romantic mood (examples being Caves and many others...check them all out!) for the start out as alike this song. Being a repeat of the most classic songs by Jack's Mannequin is this one and it is not a bad thing, ever.  From what I get from this song and I am one of those people who try and dig into every lyric they here, this is what I got from this song itself.  What I see is that the song is a story of Andrew McMahon being a refreshing return to performing, doing shows in a million places all over the world, not just the big happening cities that we see some artists doing. How many people stop off in Nebraska for a show?  This song seems to be filled with imagery of haunting old memories of Something Corporate and the passion that he seems to put in all his shows for "the people" and lately, it's not a dream it's reality. 

This was a pretty in depth "song of the week". Not sure if this is how they'll always be, but sometimes there are just those songs that have just a huge affect on you and sometimes, like this and maybe my two bit brownies and coffee all day but I hope to do more of it, no matter how I got there. 

Any artists you want to see? Any songs you want reviewed? Any people you think are crucial for me to know? I'd love it all (: This has been a dream of mine all my life to be a music blogger, ever since AP Alternative Press magazine so let me know how you feel about it, any constructive criticism is not only crucial but well-appreciated! :)

xo
Colleen.