This week's music is going to be music that I'd like to listen to if it were nicer out.
(HINT FREAKING HINT, STATE COLLEGE WEATHER)
So most of it will be folk music, and all of it will be good music. Let's begin!
FIRST SONG:
This song is Hang On by Dr. Dog. Everything about it is so good. They're just a bunch of great musicians getting together and having a good time. Honestly though, I'm a little nervous to say anything more about this song in terms of analysis...
Because the guy in the orange camo and funny hat playing banjo and doing backing vocals is my guitar teacher.
SO. I don't wanna get anything wrong.
NEXT SONG:
Blue Skies by Noah and the Whale. A lot of you might know this song already. It's kinda sad. But the music is really nice and it reminds me of summer. The refrain of Blue skies are coming always conjures up images of the most beautiful of days.
These guys also have such nice harmonies which is always a plus in my book.
NEXT SONG:
This is a song by one of my favorite musicians and also performed by a new discovery (but I like what I'm hearing). The song is Losing You by John Butler feat. Mama Kin. It's such a beautiful song. It's so peaceful and I really wish this particular session and performance was recorded somewhere where there weren't people walking by or wind. There is a studio recording, but it doesn't hold a candle to this performance.
John Butler is incredible. He became famous when a performance of his went viral on youtube. Some of y'all might have already seen it, the song is Ocean, and here is the video:
Fun fact about this song: If you notice, this is a twelve string guitar, yet it has only 11 strings. It's missing the octave up G string. This is because (if you heard him at the start of the video) he used to play songs like this when he was not famous and he ended up breaking the G string. Strings are expensive when you have no money. So he just played without it, and now he just never plays with it. Also, this is just an excellent performance. JB is a killer guitarist (not like he goes around killing people. I meant it colloquially).
So these are some songs that remind me of pretty weather in hopes that it will have some sort of influence over the State College Weather Gods. Clearly they are angry and if this doesn't work, I think we'll have to move on to sacrifice and I don't think anyone wants that.
Maybe this weekend everyone can just listen to their favorite summer songs all the time and then next week we'll have better weather. Yeah.
Oh damn, here's my doodle. Almost forgot. I forget this part frequently.
This is a face. I don't really know what the influence was. But I like it. I suppose it was sort of influenced by the artwork on Sublime album covers.
Last week I forgot to upload the drawing I did. I guess I was so excited about the classical stuff that it must have completely slipped my mind.
I got too eager.
I am sorry.
This week I promise there will be a drawing at the end of the blog. I am really happy with how this one came out. SO. It will be there.
OKAY! First song:
The song is called Broadripple is Burning and it's by a band called Margot and the Nuclear So and So's. I bet you've never heard of them (that's the hipster in me). But seriously, if you've heard of this band before now, that's awesome, but they are pretty obscure.
I personally stumbled upon this song entirely by accident. I was surfing youtube and I clicked on the wrong video and I was struck by the name of the group so I gave the song a listen and, as it turns out, it is now one of my favorite songs. I started playing a cover of it with my buddy's girlfriend all the time and now it's just one of my favorites. It's got such a nice melody and a superb climax on the chorus. I really enjoy playing and listening to this one.
NEXT SONG:
This song is called Dustbowl III. The group is Other Lives and they are a very new discovery for me and are already one of my favorites to listen to.
I happened upon this band through an NPR Tiny Desk Concert (if you don't know what they are, I highly recommend them. There are some great bands you might not have found otherwise. Just search NPR Tiny Desk on youtube).
What I really like about them is everything. For real. The beautiful minor drone and the haunting backing vocals. The outstanding use of folky guitar chord progressions and picking patterns. Also the cello sounds incredible with the rest (not to mention the cellist, Jenny Hsu, is quite good looking). They're just such a solid band all around.
They're not very famous yet, but they will be. And I wish they were so that people would start writing guitar tabs for their songs. They have toured with Bon Iver in the past, but I think after this year they're really going to start making a name for themselves because they are currently on tour opening for Radiohead.
I also really like the song For 12 by Other Lives.
LAST SONG (for this week):
This song is Eli the Barrowboy by the Decemberists. I'm sure I've written about the Decemberists here before, but this song is a rediscovery for me. It popped on pandora the other day and I was like, "Oh man, this song!" I got pretty excited.
Anyway, this song embodies what I like so much about the Decemberists, and that is their story telling lyrics. I love love love love Colin Meloy and his fantastic songwriting prowess. He just knows how to make a great folk song and this one is no exception. The chord progression is also awesome.
AND FINALLY... the sketch:
This is an old man. I really like how it turned out... although the picture of it doesn't look nearly as good as actually seeing the drawing. I don't have much to say about this one. It doesn't mean anything in particular. Actually, I didn't intend to draw this at all when I started, I was just trying out a different way to draw a nose... and then came the mustache, and then the rest.
Welp. I hope that you enjoyed the music and the art. That is all.
