Kendrick Lamar: What More Can I Say? Welcome To LA

I've always enjoyed finding up and coming musicians before they get big and feel a sense of pride connected with the artist when they do become more famous. While my musical focus is not usually on hip-hop, my taste has opened up more to hip-hop recently. Everyone knows of the success of the West Coast rap scene, mainly coming from Compton, LA, consisting of the originals NWA with DR. Dre to Tupac and Death row records to Eminem making Dre's label Aftermath a more reputable label. There's a new hot artist coming from the west, and specifically getting a lot of attention from Dre, Kendrick Lamar. While he's only released a couple mixtapes, Lamar has been getting a lot of attention for his upcoming album Good Kid, Mad City due out in the beginning of October. He's already appeared on tracks with Game, Talib Kwali along with other established artists and performed with Dr. Dre at Coachella.

Already having the backing which he has, and his given talent, Kendrick Lamar is a name we'll be hearing for a while.  

-Adam G

Walk The Moon: O, Anna Sun!

I know, it's been quite some time since I've last had a blog post. I finished the class for which I started the blog so I initially thought i would stp, but I've recently decided I want to keep updating the blog. Keep spreading the music.

Being that it's the middle of summer, some good ol' summer jams to listen to when driving around is always a top priority. The band Walk the Moon are perfect for blasting while driving around with the wind blowing through in your face on those hot summer nights. Their hit single " Anna Sun" may be the best summer song I've heard in a while. So catchy and so fun. I may be a little bias being that they're from Cincinnati (whaddup  OHIO!),  but nonetheless they can write a super catchy pop/rock song. Always fun to listen and sing along too. Check 'em out

-Adam G

Machine Gun Kelly: Man I'm So Cleveland It's a God Damn Shame

For some reason, this past year I've really opened up to rap a lot more. One of these rappers that got me started was Machine Gun Kelly. MGK is Cleveland, where I'm from as well. He wears it on his sleeve...literally. He has the I-71 highway's logo tattooed on his shoulder. He knows how to represent his hometown.  

Not only because he's a fellow Clevelander am I into his music, but hes really good as well. With his quick style, and being completely honest and open with his lyrics you get a strongfeel for who MGK is. His songs have been quickly rising and gaining popularity. This past April MGK performed his song "Invincible" for the main event at the WWE pay-per-view Wrestlemania 28.

Having signed with Diddy and Bad Boy records MGK's album Lace Up is set to release sometime this summer. I've read that he says his debut album will be like 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Trying (2003). Just so everyone knows what that means, Get Rich or Die Trying sold 8 million copies in the US, making it the fourth best selling album in the US. Pretty ballsy claim to make, but he just may be that good. 

 - Adam G

Avicii: I Get A Feeling That I Never Had Before

My musical taste has changed a lot over the years, I mean  whose hasnt? I went through my hard rock phase, my punk phase, my pop phase and now I've taken the best of all those genres and continue to have my musical library grow. The one type of music I would never allow myself to like was house/DJ music. It was just a bunch of loud noise with beats, it truthfully did nothing for me. Though things changed. This past week I not only started opening up too this kind of music, but I actually went to see a legit DJ live.....and it was awesome!.

In the past the only club DJ I'd ever be able to recognize by name was Pauly D from The Jersey Shore (guilty pleasure....). Though this past week I heard Avicii was coming to Tel Aviv, a few friends of mine convinced me to go along, saying it would be a wild time, I decided to join, and I'm really happy I did. I was surprised when I found out a few days before the show that I actually knew one of his songs, Levels, which is sampled in the song "Good Feeling" by Flo' Rida.

The concert was wild, never experienced something like that before. Pretty much a rave party. Avicii didn't even come on stage until 2 am, while the opening DJ started at 11. The whole thing was a ton of fun, and I'm somehow starting to enjoy this kind of music. The reason I know this is even now I came across a similar kind of song (Calling) and enjoy it. Avicii... job well done.

-Adam G

Just Surrender/The Loved Ones/Isles and Glaciers

I decided I'd talk about  bands from my youth, showcasing punk/alternative bands that I listened to in high school and a band that fits right in with that same style of music. When I was younger all I'd listen to was punk-type music.
The bands Just Surrender and The Loved Ones were both bands that had super catchy rock songs which Id often rock out too. Both bands have a very similar sound, pure rock....nothing flashy about it.
Just Surrender have dual vocalists who work well off each other, one with the harsher more rugged voice and the other sounding more poppy. The Loved Ones sound a bit more raw with their sound yet still maintain a poppy feel.

The third band is Isles and Glaciers, a newer band I found last year. They are a supergroup consisting of members from Chiodos, Boys Night Out, Emarosa, and The Receiving end of Sirens among other groups. The dual vocal combo of Craig Owens (Chiodos) and Johnny Craig (Emarosa) is excellent. Owens has an extremely unique high-pitched voice while Craig  bluesy/sould vibe mixed with rock sounds excellent.
All three tracks are awesome.

-Adam G

Lindsey Stirling: Crystallize

Continuing with the dubstep theme from two posts ago, here's Lindsey Stirling, a violinist who is known for playing hip-hop styled music. She broke out on Americas Got Talent in 2010, making it to the quarter finals.
This song, "Crystallize",  I find to be a great mesh of the beauty of Lindsey's violin and the roughness of the dubstep sound.
A friend of mind posted this on Facebook and I appreciate him greatly for it.

-Adam G

Chiddy Bang: Pretty Much Amazing

Who doesn't love some fun hip-hop? That's what Philly's own Chiddy Bang are, some good ol' fun hip hop to just have a good time to. Chiddy Bang's members, Chiddy and Xaphoon Jones started making music together while at Drexel University in Pennsylvania. Chiddy Bang's music could labeled as alternative hip-hop, fusing classic hip-hop sounds with alternative samples. While they've released a couple of mixtape's in the past few years, they started gaining significant exposure with their mixtape The Swelly Express. Specifically with their track "Opposite of Adults" which uses a sample of "Kids" by MGMT. Chiddy Bang released their first studio album Breakfast this past February, with it's main singles "Mind Your Manners" and "Ray Charles".

As I've recently started embracing hip hop and rap a lot more in my "musical life", Chiddy Bang has been one of the central groups in doing so. They have a solid sound to just have fun, bob your head to and rap along with.

-Adam G

Alex Clare & Awolnation

Here's another few songs I've come across recently which have been on repeat on my iPod. Both songs have a dubstep feel to them, mixed with some rock. The first song, "Too Close" is by Alex Clare, a British singer/ songwriter who released his first album The Lateness of the Hour this past July. 
The second song, '"Sail" by Awolnation has a much more unique sound to it. It's off of their album Megalithic Symphony which was also released in 2011. "Sail" has been used in many xtreme type videos, including this one here where I found the song.

I'm not usually such a fan of dubstep but songs like these are slowly changing my thoughts.

 - Adam G

Imagine Dragons: Welcome To The New Age

Imagine Dragons, an up and coming band from Las Vegas, Nevada are slowly building a following after releasing their EP "Continued Silence" in April, and playing at the SXSW (South by Southwest) concert in Austin, Texas. Imagine Dragons are a mixture of alternative/indie/pop rock, who have created a sound which can be the utmost commercial while remaining "indie". They are set to release a full length album at some point in 2012.
The little taste of "Continued Silence" has gotten me excited for their full album later this year.

-Adam G

Here's a couple new songs a found recently that I've been really into. One, " Letters in the Sky" by Civil Twilight is coldplay-esque but mixed with a few other similar sounds. The other is "Same Way" by Mod Sun. Granted, they are both really different songs, one is rap and one is rock, they're both really solid and catchy. Give 'em a listen.

- Adam G

Of Monsters And Men: My Head is an Animal

If you're looking for a six piece folk/indie pop band from Iceland with an accordion player, you've come to the right place. Of Monsters and Men who hail from Reykjavik, Iceland released there first album in 2011 and have carried the success they've had in Iceland to the US. Their first single Little Talks gives the listener a great feel of what they're in store for.


I came across Of Monsters a few months ago in some link someone posted on my Facebook about up and coming artists. After giving them a listen I thought, "Hey, they sound pretty cool and a lot like Mumford and Sons, but sadly that was were my exposure to Of Monsters ended. Though a couple weeks later a friend told me he came across a new band, Of Monsters and Men. Once I had this second opportunity with them I figured it was a sign to give them a longer listening, and I did. I still saw the similarities with Mumford but they lead things in a slightly different direction. Not only is it that they have a female singer, but they in fact have two main singers, and of course, the accordion. 


Of Monsters and Men's debut album "My Head Is An Animal" is a very solid listen which I recommend to anyone who's a fan of indie/folk and accordions.

-Adam G

<script type="text/javascript">

  var _gaq = _gaq || [];

  _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-30231455-1']);

  _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);

  (function() {

    var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;

    ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';

    var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);

  })();

</script>  

City And Colour: What Makes A Man

Dallas Green, the man who goes by City and Colour (do you get the band name?) has been in the rock scene for quite some time. Initially breaking in and dominating Canadian rock charts as the melodic voice in the hard rock band Alexisonfire. Green has recently decided to break apart from his band mates and put his full musical attention towards his solo project, City and Colour. 

I came across City and Colour about a year ago, when I would do my very often "random band findings" through Youtube. I first came across the song Comin' Home off the album Sometimes. What initially drew me into City and Colour was Green's sensational singing voice. I really do believe he is one of the best rock singers out there. He has the making to be the classic "singer-songwriter" style but he's so much more. You can really feel the emotions when he sings, from happiness and joy to sadness and pain.

Comin' Home was a great first song to listen to, but once I ventured into his other songs I knew I was onto something special. Soon after, I fell in love with the song Sleeping Sickness, and from here onward City and Colour jumped into my 'pantheon" of musicians, which is no easy task. Many bands have come and gone from my Top 5 list, but let me tell you, City and Colour is here to stay.

Here are a few more of my top songs from City and Colour, give them a listen, you definitely won't regret it!

  

-Adam G

Are You Ready To Rock

Are you like me? Do you love music? Good! For about the past ten years I have LOVED listening to music. I mainly listen to rock music. I looove rock music, while I've always held a place in my heart for rap....and some pop. 

Through all the good times and the bad of my life, music has been there to help get me through what was going on. Whether it was me being excited for something, or me feeling like crap about something, music was there by my side. 

During these times I've found some pretty great musicians. Some were rocking the top of the charts some never broke into the scene, they all are great in my eyes (ears) and have impacted me in some way or another. When I would find these artists, I love sharing them with friends and family. If I would get a friend into some weird obscure band I found, I would feel accomplished.

That is what brings us to the purpose of this blog, sharing those artists, some more well known than others  In each blog post i am going to share a different musician with you. Some of my favorite songs of theirs and some information about the artist. So please,open your mind and your heart,  get a pen, and take note of the talented musicians I will be sharing with you.  

Please enjoy,and remember - More Music Less Problems

Adam G.