Over a year ago a video went viral on YouTube with Pharrell sitting in on a masterclass with students at the NYU Clive Davis Institute. In the video Pharrell listens to the music of three young musicians and provides feedback on individual tracks played in the class. After the first two, Maggie Rogers is called to sit next to him and nervously explains her history and musical heritage. In later interviews she admits she had no idea he was going to be there or that she would be one of the students selected to present a song. As her song…
I’ve only recently discovered Lord Huron but it appears he’s been killing it for a while now. There are a number of songs of his I could have shared, but I like this one because when I hear it I see him playing this at The Roadhouse bar in Twin Peaks.
Calum Scott was on Britain's Got Talent a few years ago and while he didn't win, he had a very memorable audition. His sister performed just before he did but it didn't go well for her. The judges dismissed her and Calum had to follow up with his sister in tears back stage. Surprise, surprise, he ended up knocking it out of the park. He did a slowed down version of Robyn's "Dancing on my Own" which won over the audience and Simon Cowell who gave him the golden buzzer. After the competition Calum spent a couple years touring and…
"Sedona" by Houndmouth always puts me in a good mood. I discovered the band a little over a year ago with their album "Little Neon Limelight". Two other gems from that album include "Gasoline" and "Honey Slider". They just released a new album, "Golden Age", that's a bit more experimental than their previous work, but I really like "Modern Love" which does the best job of combining the old sound with the new.
Some years ago I was talking to a friend of mine about how I critique someone's work. I explained that I like to start off with a positive before providing the negative and she said, "oh, a Celebration Sandwich!" I asked her what that was and she said it's a compliment, followed by a criticism, followed by a compliment... like a sandwich with the criticism between two compliments. I loved it and adopted the additional compliment at the end to make sure any conversation of this nature ended on a high note.
One of the most difficult things to do is give…
Last week I got a comment from a connection on LinkedIn about the music he uses to get into "flow" mode and thought I'd share my go-to track for the same thing. This is an extended version of "La Femme D'Argent" from a band called Air. It's from their album, "Moon Safari" released in 1998. It's 20 years old now, but this song and this album really get me into "flow" mode. It's especially useful when I'm writing as I can't listen to music with lyrics when I write - messes me all up. Enjoy!
Ok - I thought I might write something actually useful rather than just posting music links and photos. While I was walking my dog the other day and she was taking time to sniff a particularly interesting spot of grass, I started thinking about really good videos I've seen online by decent sized businesses that have a sad number of views. They went to all this trouble to make an amazing video, but hardly anyone saw it... Why? I think the reason is what I'll call the "If you build it, they will come" mentality. People tend to think that…
Two songs from one band for today's #NewMusicMonday. I only learned of this band a few months ago and they have quickly become a favorite. Both songs are from their new album, "I'll Be Your Girl" and both are a little more electronic than is usual for the band. They performed "Severed" on the Jimmy Fallon show in April and I thought for sure the song would explode and I'm kind of surprised it hasn't.
According to Wikipedia, they are from Portland Oregon, where I once lived and released their debut album in 2001, the year I left... Makes me want…