Hey,
Can you believe it's almost November? Yeesh. Where is the year going? Not that I'm complaining; it's my senior year and I am so ready for it to be over with and start moving towards college. Oh, well, at least I have some great music to get me through these next few months.
This week's track of the week is "Hollywood" by RAC ft. Penguin Prison. I have to, one again, thank iTunes radio. Their alternative station has shown me some amazing artists, this one included. I really thought that app was going to be terrible, but it's been a musical blessing instead.
I am absolutely in love with this song because it has a chilled, laid-back vibe with smooth, complementing guitar lines and the lead singer's crooning vocals. The layered vocals give way to the other electronic influences in the chorus. It moves slowly, yet briskly, giving it an indecisive feeling. It could represent the confusion that the singer feels towards his friend who he compares to Hollywood, saying he does not know who she is anymore. Super relatable.
Seriously, keep your eyes on RC. I think they might accomplish some great things.
Until next week,
Bella
Showing posts with label track of the week. Show all posts
Showing posts with label track of the week. Show all posts
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Track of the Week: "Nicotine" by Panic! At the Disco
Hey,
Panic! At the Disco's newest album just came out and it is incredible! I love that they are doing what they do best: switching up genres. AFYCSO--their first album--was kind of eclectic, Pretty. Odd was Beatles-influenced, Vices & Virtues was anthemic, a brief return to some of the elements from AFYCSO with the strings section from Pretty. Odd, and Too Rare to Live, To Rare to Die has bits of AFYCSO with hints of the Killers and Neon Trees sprinkled in it. All of the tracks are great, but the one that really stands out to me is "Nicotine," this week's track of the week.
It starts out with twinkling piano line, then the guitar/bass comes in, followed by the thudding drums. then, it returns to the keyboard with Brendon's vocals layered on top. The instrumentals switch in and out until they come all in for the chorus, which is bold, loud, and perfectly arranged. Dallon's bass lines are ridiculous; this is their first album where you can really hear the role the bass plays. In the past, the bass has been kind of hidden in the corner, overshadowed by guitars, drums, and the string sections. The fact that the strings are buried in the song is a wise choice, opting instead for the slightly more electric feeling; having the strings in the forefront would have been out of place and awkward.
The lyrics detail a relationship that the speaker knows is bad, but cannot stop returning to. He knows it is unhealthy, "worse than nicotine." Yet he finds himself unable to "get rid of" the other person. The topic is relatable, but Brendon's delivery is what makes them fit so perfectly with the track. He is hushed and vulnerable in the verses, while the chorus is his declaration to the world that he is in a bad place. Very well done.
So, check out that track and the rest of the album. You won't regret it.
Until next week,
Bella
Panic! At the Disco's newest album just came out and it is incredible! I love that they are doing what they do best: switching up genres. AFYCSO--their first album--was kind of eclectic, Pretty. Odd was Beatles-influenced, Vices & Virtues was anthemic, a brief return to some of the elements from AFYCSO with the strings section from Pretty. Odd, and Too Rare to Live, To Rare to Die has bits of AFYCSO with hints of the Killers and Neon Trees sprinkled in it. All of the tracks are great, but the one that really stands out to me is "Nicotine," this week's track of the week.
It starts out with twinkling piano line, then the guitar/bass comes in, followed by the thudding drums. then, it returns to the keyboard with Brendon's vocals layered on top. The instrumentals switch in and out until they come all in for the chorus, which is bold, loud, and perfectly arranged. Dallon's bass lines are ridiculous; this is their first album where you can really hear the role the bass plays. In the past, the bass has been kind of hidden in the corner, overshadowed by guitars, drums, and the string sections. The fact that the strings are buried in the song is a wise choice, opting instead for the slightly more electric feeling; having the strings in the forefront would have been out of place and awkward.
The lyrics detail a relationship that the speaker knows is bad, but cannot stop returning to. He knows it is unhealthy, "worse than nicotine." Yet he finds himself unable to "get rid of" the other person. The topic is relatable, but Brendon's delivery is what makes them fit so perfectly with the track. He is hushed and vulnerable in the verses, while the chorus is his declaration to the world that he is in a bad place. Very well done.
So, check out that track and the rest of the album. You won't regret it.
Until next week,
Bella
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Track of the Week: "Mason Jars" by Smallpools
Hey,
I wasn't totally sold on iTunes Radio at first, thinking it was just going to be a stupid Pandora Radio knockoff. Surprisingly, it's grown on me. The first few tracks it gave me on my Alternative Radio station were mainstream tunes disguised as alternative ones, but after I told it stop playing those, I received some beautiful surprises.
That is where this week's Track of the Week comes from. It is "Mason Jars" by Smallpools, a relatively new four-piece American band. Chances are, you've heard their song "Dreaming" on AltNation, but even if, like me, you weren't a fan of that one. You've got to try this one.
It has a Foster the People meets Lorde meets Youngblood Hawke vibe to it, if you can imagine that. The bass line is the underlying force propelling the song and the guitars flesh out the overall sound. The soft country twanging in the background make it a bit of a genre bouncing, while the slightly distorted vocals keep it in the alternative realm. I love how, right before the chorus, the lead singer pushes his vocals ever-so slightly above his range while managing to stay in complete control of them.
I promise you'll have this song on repeat for the next week, at least. Enjoy, my friends. :)
Until then,
Bella
I wasn't totally sold on iTunes Radio at first, thinking it was just going to be a stupid Pandora Radio knockoff. Surprisingly, it's grown on me. The first few tracks it gave me on my Alternative Radio station were mainstream tunes disguised as alternative ones, but after I told it stop playing those, I received some beautiful surprises.
That is where this week's Track of the Week comes from. It is "Mason Jars" by Smallpools, a relatively new four-piece American band. Chances are, you've heard their song "Dreaming" on AltNation, but even if, like me, you weren't a fan of that one. You've got to try this one.
It has a Foster the People meets Lorde meets Youngblood Hawke vibe to it, if you can imagine that. The bass line is the underlying force propelling the song and the guitars flesh out the overall sound. The soft country twanging in the background make it a bit of a genre bouncing, while the slightly distorted vocals keep it in the alternative realm. I love how, right before the chorus, the lead singer pushes his vocals ever-so slightly above his range while managing to stay in complete control of them.
I promise you'll have this song on repeat for the next week, at least. Enjoy, my friends. :)
Until then,
Bella
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Track of the Week: "Biting Down" by Lorde
Hey,
For this week's installment of song of the week, I have picked "Biting Down" by Lorde. Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard her song "Royals," and "Biting Down" is off the same album. Instrumentally, it is psychedelic, full of layered synth lines and repetitious vocals. Allegedly, the song is about doing drugs. Biting down is a term used to describe tripping on a psychedllic drug of some kind--matching the instrumental component. She says that she breathed "so deep" she thought she'd drown, meaning she took a deep breath and got high very quickly. she then enters a blissful high, cueing the repeticious lyrics, as she can no longer think in a linear fashion. Overall, Lorde's husky, trance-like vocals--she reminds me so much of a 17 year old version of Lana Del Rey--and the swirling synthesizers make the listener almost feel as if they are tripping on something as well. Masterfully done. I expect even more amazing things from her in the coming years.
Until next week,
Bella
For this week's installment of song of the week, I have picked "Biting Down" by Lorde. Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard her song "Royals," and "Biting Down" is off the same album. Instrumentally, it is psychedelic, full of layered synth lines and repetitious vocals. Allegedly, the song is about doing drugs. Biting down is a term used to describe tripping on a psychedllic drug of some kind--matching the instrumental component. She says that she breathed "so deep" she thought she'd drown, meaning she took a deep breath and got high very quickly. she then enters a blissful high, cueing the repeticious lyrics, as she can no longer think in a linear fashion. Overall, Lorde's husky, trance-like vocals--she reminds me so much of a 17 year old version of Lana Del Rey--and the swirling synthesizers make the listener almost feel as if they are tripping on something as well. Masterfully done. I expect even more amazing things from her in the coming years.
Until next week,
Bella
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