Month: March 2021

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MY FAVORITE ALBUMS: EPISODE 1

The album cover for Muse's Origin of Symmetry
Muse - Origin of Symmetry: Photo Credit: Mushroom Records

Hey party people! I thought I’d take a detour from my normal blog posts here and take a second to talk about some of my personal favorite records of all time. I love listening to a diverse set of artists, so I’ll take about tons of different genres that I think everyone should take a chance on.

Muse – Origin of Symmetry

One of the first bands I ever got into as a kid was Muse. I absolutely adored the theatricality present in the music, and nothing could beat Matt Bellamy’s brooding and soaring vocals. I was a hardcore Muse-r. I seriously have enjoyed most of their albums, but one stuck out to me as their best. There aren’t many down moments on the album. I remember finding Muse as a kid and being almost scared of my obsession because I had never had a favorite band before. I got so obsessed I almost stopped listening to them because I was getting in too deep, but little did I realize I was part of a much larger Muse fan community.

The first song I heard off this record was definitely the hit single Plug In Baby. I remember this song had a lot of YouTube views for the music video, and when I watched it – I just loved the catchy rock guitar riffs combined with the mellow verses and loud choruses.

Shortly after listening to this song, I started clicking around on other YouTube videos to get a feel for the band and came across another track called Bliss. This song is insane. It might be one of my favorite songs of all time. Crazy prog rock sounds with such controlled belt from Matthew Bellamy. I remember saving up my $1.29 to give my mom to buy this song on Itunes because I just had to download it.

After being enticed by the first two tracks, I had to take a listen to the rest of the album! There are so many other good songs on here. The opening song Newborn has beautiful and mysterious piano followed by distorted guitar that’s on Guitar Hero favorites everywhere. There’s also classical inspired tunes like Space Dementia that are nearly impossible for piano players to get down due to Matt Bellamy’s erratic playing style.

Some of the darker tracks of the album are some of my favorite deep cuts. The long song Citizen Erased is very interesting, played on a seven-string guitar for more depth. Dark Shines is a dark horse in my opinion and should be one of Muse’s best songs ever created. So many themes and genres are mixed on this album and it’s crazy.

One of the more creative moments on Origin of Symmetry is the cover of the classic song Feeling Good. Bellamy lures you in with his voice and just commands you to stay.

There are a few down moments on this album. I never really cared much for the tracks Megalomania or Screenager, and Micro Cuts is a bit dark for me.

This record is definitely highly acclaimed by many though, especially anyone who enjoys theatrical progressive rock. This record definitely started the infamous comparison of Muse to Radiohead. I think these comparisons are unnecessary. Sure, these bands sound similar, but so do a ton of other bands that had the same influences. Both Muse and Radiohead are talented groups, and I don’t think fans need to fight over who is better. Both have had their up and down moments, but this album was during that infamous time of comparison.

I ultimately will always love this record. It’s dark, moody, theatrical, and full of musical talent. If you like strange vocals, insane guitar and piano work, and catchy rock songs, you should definitely take a listen to Muse’s Origin of Symmetry.

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The Grammy’s: Big Winners and Sore Losers

The Grammy's Award Show
Photo Credit -> Flickr @galleria.paris

Sunday night, once again, brought the infamous and widely watched Grammy’s awards show. Some people hate the show, some love it, but either way – it’s always a spectacle for music lovers, fashion fanatics, and celebrity mega-fans alike. And, as usual, it was filled with soaring highs and awkward lows – so here is a list for anyone might’ve missed the socially distanced spectacular.  

Performances  

Obviously, one of the best parts of the night is always watching the performances. There’s always surprise collaborations and debut songs throughout the night.   

The first few minutes of the night were action-packed. The show started off with the one and only Harry Styles. The handsomely beautiful performer sang the hit single Watermelon Sugar. The song was good, but there are so many better songs off the album that a different one like Adore You or Golden. The no-frills performance was a great way to start off the night. Directly after Harry Styles was the one and only teen pop sensation Billie Eilish who was up for many awards for Everything I Wanted. The song was performed almost exactly the same as the album tone, which was awesome. Eilish and her brother Finneas had a super awesome set which looked like a car half-submersed in water and fog which gave off a solemn and seriously moody vibe. The third set in a row to open the show was from the HAIM sisters. They are definitely less known than Eilish or Styles, but they’ve collaborated with a ton of famous artists. The had a great rocking tune and showed off their talent by switching off on vocals, guitar, and drums. I wouldn’t be surprised if they gained a bunch more fans from this performance. 

One of the surprisingly worst moments of the night for me was DaBaby’s rendition of Rockstar. The song was easily one of the best from the summer of 2020. Instead of just using his eerily-similar live vocals, he decided to do a strange rendition of the song which included a bunch of old people swaying and singing gospel in the background. DaBaby who was dressed in sparkling white gloves and a CC suit just came off as cheesy, and not great. Probably the worst performance of the night.  

The best part of the night was likely from Megan Thee Stallion. She has had an incredible year, and gave an incredible medley performance and truly showed why she is just so badass. Megan, honey, you won this thing. Another standout of the night was Dua Lipa, who looked just as amazing as she sounded. Bringing back a retro disco vibe with a medley from Future Nostalgia, she owned the night with her looks and vocals. Another one of the best nights, musically, was the debut performance from Silk Sonic, AKA the collaborative duo of Bruno Mars and Anderson Paak. The two sang their hearts out with a 70’s slow jam R&B inspired song that was cheesy goodness. These artists no doubt had the best performances of the night.  

History Being Made 

The Grammy’s are known for being a controversial awards show. This year though, they did a much better job of including people of color and women. Beyonce broke a ton of records for the amount of Grammy’s won by a singer/artist, which was amazing to see! We also saw countless other women of color receiving tons of awards like Megan Thee Stallion who won countless records for her amazing year in 2020. I Can’t Breathe won song of the year. Fiona Apple won a Grammy but boycotted the show in a big statement as well. We also saw a night dominated by women. Compared to the CMA’s, who barely nominated any women at all, the Grammy’s were dominated by women –especially in the country category. There were also a lot of international performers like BTS and Bad Bunny. 

One a bit of a more sad note – the section of the show that honors musicians who have passed away was much more devastating for this year than normal due to covid-19. This had to have been the most deaths ever recorded for the shows tribute segment.  

The artists for lifetime achievement awards this year though were very prolific artists. Including the brainy new wave sounds of the Talking Heads, Hip-Hop from Grandmaster Flash, and artists like Selena, Lionel Hampton, and Salt-N-Pepa.  

Summary 

All in all this years show was so much more intimate than pervious years due to the precautions that had to have been taken due to covid. Hopefully next year will try to blend the in-depth features on artists and small venues, but be able to have more of an audience in 2022. I might be biased, but Megan Thee Stallion definitely won the night.  

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New Music Roundup: March

Manchester Orchestra
Manchester Orchestra

Hello and welcome back everyone! I’m starting a new blog segment today called the new music roundup! Every month I’ll be going through a couple of my favorite and least-favorite tracks or new releases! Feel free to leave suggestions or comments on music that I should review for the next month! 

Manchester Orchestra 

I always seem to forget that the band Manchester Orchestra exists. But, I love when I’m able to rediscover them every time they post that they have new music coming out. The band is known for their intense but calm-at-times indie music that can fierce and mellow moments. They sort of sound like folk mixed with rock, to describe it simply. They have recently announced their new album though, entitled ‘The Million Masks of God’. The first single just released is a song called ‘Bed Head’. This track does a perfect job encapsulating the band’s signature frantic and edgy style, a sound that is similar to the eye of a storm. One thing that was surprising was the opening to the track which has a much different feel to their older music. This track though honestly is a change for good in my opinion. The song is catchy, and the chorus has amazing vocals that are clear and will stick in your head all day. The intensity shown on this track could make the new album electric if present throughout the rest of the project. I am very excited for this new album, and you should be too! Take a listen to the song and watch the music video for it here.  

 

‘68 

The Atlanta based project from Josh Scogin (formerly of The Chariot), ‘68, has been quiet for a while. They’ve had two records released in 2014 and 2017, but haven’t done much since. Now, more than ever, the world is very ready for a comeback from this noise-y garage and punk influenced duo. Two new tracks have been released called ‘Bad Bite’ and ‘The Knife, The Knife, the Knife’. The first track of the two has a very Every Time I Die inspired feel. It’s loud and filled with rocking riffs, but there’s calmer parts with clapping that will draw listeners in and show that the band knows how to do things softly too. The second of the tracks has amazingly heavy guitar/bass riffs with a fairly Cage The Elephant-esque vocal tone. The production on these tracks is also amazing, clean drums and dirty riffs make for a perfect combo. This album is gonna have tons of bangers on it – the full length ‘Give One Take One’ comes out March 26th.  

 

Valley Maker  

Now for some calmer tunes, singer-songwriter and PhD student Austin Crane has just released his third full-length record. Crane came onto my radar originally when his second full length ‘Rhododendron’ was released. It was full of beautiful songs with calming instrumentals and a very wandering feel. It almost was like the perfect music to listen to while you’re traveling somewhere new. This new record ‘When The Day Leaves‘ has Crane’s signature folk-sy vocals with noodling acoustic guitars, clear and clean female harmonies, and an expansive instrumental production. The universe created by Valley Maker’s sound is special. The sounds they put on their records feel enormous, it feels like you’re listening to the music in a large room, or in an outdoor venue like Red Rocks. I praise Austin Crane for his creativity and his ability to create calm and beautiful songs in a time when everything is chaotic.  

 

Julien Baker 

Julien Baker has been on an upwards trajectory for a long time now. On a similar track to artists like Phoebe Bridgers. Baker creates delicate but brutally honest tracks that has drawn in fans from all different genres. Let me just say, if you ever want a good cry, the new record ‘Little Oblivions’ is probably perfect. With the motto of ‘There’s no glory in love, only the gore of our hearts’, you know that there are going to be some scars that are discussed on this new album. I’ve heard plenty of amazing reviews so far of this album, and while I haven’t taken a full listen yet, I have loved tracks like Heatwave. The guitar production is stellar, and the combination of instruments comes full circle on this album and gives Baker the full-band sound that she lacked in earlier records. Take a listen to this, because this is likely going to be a standout for many in the year of 2021.