Two Great Artists: One unknown...One Known.

I have two great musicians that I would like for you to hear about today, one you already know....so let's get to the one you may not know.

Now, you may or may not know who Donald Glover is...

Well...let's see it's more like what isn't he? He's a stand up comedian, actor on the show Community, and now he is a rapper. Now...I'm not usually a rap fan. But Donald Glover---who goes by the name Childish Gambino when rapping is an AMAZING rapper. I, now this is my personal opinion, think if he plays his cards right he could really be the next Drake. I mean, Drake got his start on TV as well?

What started out as mixtapes and basically just "goofing up" soon became an actual passion for him. And while releasing bootlegs to the public it wasn't long before he was signed to Glassnote Records. 


He currently just released his album Camp which of course is available on ITunes and other music sites. It might be a little bit harder to find in stores. The song I'm going to share with you is actually not on his new album but is the song that I heard and made me think, "This guy has potential and this guy has skill."

Check out Freaks and Geeks by Childish Gambino:

Now the next artist. You know...and you either love her or you hate her. But it's.....Rihanna. Let me explain why I decided to talk about her. First, I used to loathe Rihanna. I thought she was whiny and just another "artist" made by Jay-Z. But...I took the time to listen to her newest album entitled Talk That Talk...

And. well...I've been eating my words. This album is absolutely wonderful....and if I'm honest. Here lately all of Rihanna's stuff has been pretty great. Not only did she record a song with Coldplay..(Called Princess of China) which is great! I highly recommend you YouTube it....but I really feel like she has been trying to expand musically. It seems each album she puts out has a diffierent style. Not only do I respect it when artist do that but I love it. It means, that they are not afraid to take a chance, which means...maybe she isn't just Jay-Z's little protege.

The song I'm going to share with you is called Drunk on Love. Which features a sample of The XX's song Intro (I was already obsessed with that song and The XX anyways). So between her sampling The XX and her doing that song with Coldplay. I have to say...I've really turned to love her new stuff. Being completely honest as well...I've listened to the new album and it is great.

Here is the song Drunk on Love...I hope you guys love it as much as I do!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. And if anyone who isn't American is reading this...well then I hope you just had a great week. 

Until next time...

-Ash-

It's Indie Rock and Roll for Me

This blog will be about my favorite (favorite is an understatement) The Killers. Since I'm doing a music blog. It is only fair that I get to share with you fine people my favorite band. I won't ramble on about why I love them and what not...I just want to show you some of my favorite Killers songs and hopefully if you are not a Killers fan. You'll give it a try. (And then later I'm gonna show off my memorabilia hehehe)

Okay....so everyone knows Mr. Brightside it came out in 2005 and When You Were Young which came out in 2006. Those are probably the two hits that The Killers are known for. But they have so many other songs that I love that I'd like to share with.

First is called Shawdowplay.

This is actually a remake of a Joy Division song and The Killers did it for a movie called Control. (About Joy Division and their lead singer--hence the music video).

The next I want to share with you is one song that is a personal favorite mine and it's called Sweet Talk.

This song is off the album Sawdust and is rarely played live but it is honestly one of my favorites.

And the last one I'm going to share with you and this is only because this song has gotten me through so much and to this day; I still listen to this song to help me get through times when I feel like I can't win. And it is called Everything Will Be Alright.

The Killers currently have 4 different CDs out and are working on their 5th.
Hot Fuss (2004)
Sam's Town (2006)
Sawdust (2007)
Day & Age (2008)

And just to kind of persuade you on how awesome The Killers are...Every year they release a Christmas song, you can buy it off ITunes for like .99 cents and ALL profits go to the RED campaign. This is the first one they did and one of my favorites. A Great Big Sled.

So now that I've shown you some of their songs, which I really hope you'll give a chance and listen to. I have to and, I'm sorry, but show you my memorabilia I've collected over the years. Like I said...I'm not gonna go on this huge back story of why I love them or how they helped me and blah blah blah. Because I think the music should speak for itself. BUT I do want to show you guys my dedication to this band

These are flowers that I caught at a secret gig in Athen's, GA. I like to think Brandon threw them to me on purpose. Hehe. Bless them....they're very old and fragile now. 

I got the opportunity of meeting the band at The Fox Theater in Atlanta backstage and they signed my CD. (Yes, I brought that CD-I came prepared)

My poster that I also got signed. 

I've kept my little "Meet and Greet" pass they gave me. 2007!! It seems like yesterday. 

The setlists that I've acquired over the years. 

My signed setlist that someone gave me as a gift. :) 

Okay now that I'm done showing that off. I really do hope that you take a listen to their music. And I sincerely hope that if you are not a Killers fan--that I've persuaded you in someway to give their music that are not their "hits" a try. If not, no biggie, because I know not everyone has the same taste in music. This blog isn't about me trying to get you to "LIKE" my music. It's just me showing you artists that I think are great and artists that I believe have potential. 

Until next time. Have a wonderful day/evening/night. Whatever it is while you've been reading this. :) 

My First Official Blog

First Off. I want to apologize for being so tardy on my posting about The Sounds, The Limousines, and Natalia Kills.

I will start off telling you that be careful with Ticketmaster and Livenation. When I arrived to the venue, I come to find out that Natalia Kills isn't even on the tour anymore. I thought it was very unprofessional of Ticketmaster not to send out some sort of notification- regardless- the concert was amazing. But more on that later.

Of course I had to ask around and find out what happened to Natalia Kills. Rumor is that she felt that the "scene" was to hipster and the crowd wasn't accepting her music. I find this completely ridiculous! And supposedly she jumped on tour with LMFAO. So I was not able to see Natalia Kills, which who I was most excited about, which is why I warn you to always double check with Ticketmaster. I can't believe they didn't send out a notification about it. Either way, I still like Natalia Kills and maybe that's the true story--maybe it isn't. But that's what I was told along with some other things about her "attitude". But I'm not going to be the one to spread rumors.

Even though I did not get to see her- I still highly recommend you guys check out her album Perfectionist. Her songs are straight up pop with a definite Lady Gaga and Madonna flair. I like to think of her as an upcoming British Lady Gaga. So if you are a fan of Lady Gaga you will either love her or you'll hate her and think she's a rip off. But honestly, I've listened to her album over and over, I think it's a great pop album.

Now let's talk about the CONCERT. To replace Natalia Kills was a DJ by the name Kids at the Bar.

I had never heard of Kids at the Bar, but let me just say, he is amazing. He's up and coming and his DJing was great. Remixing Foster the People to Rihanna. The entire crowd was dancing. So it was a nice surprise. I have to also say that his prescence during his performance was really cool. What I mean by this is that he seemed so into his DJing.

Check out his Facebook page. I've actually commented and he wrote back. So go check him out and comment; I bet he'll write back and listen to his remixes. They're awesome.

The Limousines were next to perform. And I have to honestly say they were my favorite performance. The lead singer Eric Victorino knew how to work the crowd. He's definitely a good front man. I respect any performer who is willing to get off the stage and come hug the crowd members. (And just FYI kiss them...which happened to be me hehehe) But seriously their music was mixed with electronic, rock, and indie vibes. Afterwards I definitely had to buy their album and they're so cool the merch guy was kind enough to run and get the album signed for me.

I really think they have great potential to be the next big thing. Their songs are not only catchy but their lyrics (if you can stop dancing long enough are deep). So youtube, spotify, however you find your music and check out their album Get Sharp.

The Sounds were the headliners. I've always liked The Sounds; I've mostly liked the lead singer: Maja Ivarsson. Not only is she sexy but she's very intimidating (in a good way). And the crowd LOVED her. She smoked, drank her beer, and owned the place. The Sounds are Swedish but they are internationally known and rather popular and at one point Maja stated she liked doing intimate venues such as the one we were at. I respect that. All I can say after seeing them live is The Sounds are badass.

So all in all. The show was great. The evening wasn't what I expected but it was an amazing night. Just to prove to you here is a picture of my sister and I.

                                                     Me on the left. Two very happy girls.

I left this concert with little voice and aching the next day from all the dancing.

So if you love dancey music that is catchy but, yes, also happens to have actual good lyrics. I hope you check out the above bands.

My next blog soon will be about...my personal favorite band......The Killers. Until then...I hope you like the music.

The Sounds, The Limousines, and Natalia Kills

Tonight I will be seeing The Sounds, The Limousines, and Natalie Kills. All three which are amazing artists. I'm going to leave you with some of their more popular hits. Keep in mind most of these particular artists have already peaked in the UK and are just now becoming known in the US.

Check out the videos below. All of these artists have a great vibe and if you're like me will make you want to dance your ass off.

I will be writing a blog about the concert experience and I will go into more detail about the artists. 

For now have a listen:

The Sounds- Painted by Numbers

The Limousines- Internet Killed the Radio Star

Natalia Kills feat Will.I.Am- Free

If you like any of the above; be sure and check out some of their other tracks!

Videos Courtesy of YouTube

 

Welcome!!!

Welcome to my blog! For The Record.  


I am writing this blog so that I can share some of my favorite music with the world. I like to call myself a "music hunter" and I love to share new music with friends and family. And while it may not always be necessarily be new to the reader...it's new to me. I'll share it and then give my thoughts. I also plan on, when I go, doing concert reviews. I love concerts.

Monday I will be attending The Sounds, The Limousines, and Natalia Kills concert. So my first real blog post will probably be about those three artists and then I plan on writing a review of the concert.

Even though I love music---Don't be surprised if I throw in some TV recommendations as well. :) I can't help it.

Feel free to always contact me, leave comments, and whatever else. This is a place for music lovers. If you are here to just leave hate on the artists I like--you're wasting your time because I really won't care.

Well be expecting some post soon. I'm looking forward to it!!

-Ash