There were just too many of them to include in my latest post! I must include the rest of them here. Mostly clean, all amazing! Check them out if you've got the time.
Acceptance
Alkaline Trio
Alpha Rev
Anchor & Braille
Animal Kingdom
Aqueduct
Armor for Sleep
Balance Problems
Beckah Shae
Bedlight for Blue Eyes
The Besnard Lakes
Blackfield
Blacktop Mourning
Borne
Broken Bells
Broken Records
Cavalier
The Cinematics
Citizen Cope
Civil Twilight
Coconut Records
The Coral Sea
Crosstide
The Dangerous Summer
Dear and the Headlights
Dignan
Dirty Projectors
Dragonette
The Early November
Elbow
Elevation
Embrace
Empire of the Sun
Explosions in the Sky
Faber Drive
Faded Paper Figures
Falling Up
Faulter
Fireflight
Flobots
The Fold
Foolproof
Freelance Whales
Freezepop
Funeral for a Friend
Gary Go
Ghostland Observatory
Goldfrapp
Great Northern
He Is We
The Heights
The Helio Sequence
A Hero from a Thousand Paces
Hidden in Plain View
High Flight Society
Holy Ghost!
Hot Chip
In Harbour
Jars of Clay
June
The Junior Varsity
Kate Earl
Kenotia
Kiros
Klaxons
KSM
Kyte
Lamb
Land of Talk
The Last Goodnight
Last Winter
Laura Veirs
Lights
The Local Tourists
Lost Ocean
The Lovemakers
Lush
Lydia
Marina & the Diamonds
The Main Drag
Making April
Maps
The Mars Volta
Massive Attack
The Material
Maximo Park
Metric
The Midway State
Miniature Tigers
Mobile
The Morning Of
The Most Serene Republic
The Mother Hips
Moving Mountains
Mute Math
Neon Trees
New Frontier
New Years Day
Nine Black Alps
Oakenfold
Oceanlab
October Fall
Of Montreal
One Star Story
Pilot Speed
Poema
Porcupine Tree
Priscilla Ahn
Portugal the Man
Puressence
The Promise Hero
Quietdrive
Ra Ra Riot
Radical Face
The Rakes
The Rasmus
Remedy Drive
The Rescues
Rides Again
Rilo Kiley
The Rural Alberta Advantage
Seabird
See The World
Sherwood
The Sleeping
Sleeping at Last
The Sophomore Attempt
Soular
the Sound of Animals Fighting
The Sparrow and the Crow
The Starting Line
The Status
Story Side B
The Submarines
Telescope
Ten Falls Forth
Test Your Reflex
Thirteen Senses
This Beautiful Republic
This Providence
This World Fair
Time and Distance
Tokio Hotel
Trapt
Umbrellas
Unkle Bob
Until June
The Upstairs Divine
Vessels
Vienna Tang
Way Out West
Wolftron
The xx
Zero 7
Zwan
Haha, there's most of my iTunes library. I have no doubt that I'll be touching on many of these bands separately in future posts, but feel free to check them out now.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Songs of the Moment 12/21/09 - Fantastic Musicians You've Never Heard Of
It's been a while, I know. The thing is...do you guys really read this stuff? If you do, let me know some time or leave a comment or something because it's not nearly as fun when I'm just writing for myself. Anyway, I've received a ton of brilliant music within this month of inactivity, including two new albums, and four half-albums/EPs, and some singles. It's all fairly obscure stuff that I think really deserves to get out there. So for this time around, I've got some bands and artists that you would have never heard of if it weren't for me. You're welcome :) Tell me what you think of this amazing talent!
"Wherever you are is my home"
1. Don't get me started on the outstanding music of Seabird. This is a band for everyone, and it makes me sad that other dumb groups and songs can steal the popularity that these guys deserve. They had some excellent Christmas songs released this year, which you should definitely search for, but they also released a new album this week. Having been overwhelmed by tons of good music, I kinda forgot to add their new album to my Christmas list. Still, I was able to recently purchase their single from the cd, Don't You Know You're Beautiful. Seabird is the sort of band that never has a bad song. In fact, they are all fantastic and noteworthy in one way or another. This song is no exception. The message is great, the beat, the instruments...it's all amazing. Don't miss out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig6lbZKcFdQ
"I turn on my radio and every single song I know is so devoid of meaning, inside my head I'm screaming for a star that I can reach to. Brothers, sisters, I beseech you, don't become these songs that numb the soul."
2. ^Best lyrics ever, no joke. Kiros is one of, if not the most inspirational band that I know. With a strong Christian background, I'm convinced that these guys know the meaning of life inside and out, or at least have one of the best ideas of it out there. Heaven showcases this beautifully, with its softness and sincerity. If you don't appreciate this song, you're crazy. I'll leave the first impression up to you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BLJwuhvHsk
"I'll wait for you. I'll become something new. I'll sing for you until this dream comes true."
3. Brightwood is a band that I've been keeping an eye on for a long time now. I finally decided to buy one of their half-albums (six songs) and I'm amazed. The emotion in In Memory is beyond explanation. The piano/vocal duet section is perhaps one of the all-time most beautiful moments of music in existence. Everyone needs to hear music like this every once in a while.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XxofkgZytA
"I'll always love you, no matter how far you run"
4. So I said that Seabird makes every song excellent, but The Midway State takes that to the next level. Every one of their songs is jaw-dropping. It's been tough getting their stuff because they are a Canadian band, but I've been listening to them a ton on the internet. Here's one of my favorite from them, Never Again. Not many people can sing nearly as well as this guy can. He is amazing and he puts all of his heart into his vocals and lyrics. Check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApMQ9M5RIEk
"Every kick, every snare, every line i write, it's cause you are my light."
5. I admit it guys, I can no longer hate on rap...at least not completely. It took forever, but I finally found some true rap that I absolutely love. Manafest is the cause of all this. They call him the Christian Eminem. I never thought it could happen, but he makes every one of his songs inspirational. Rap music and inspiration!?!? I know, I didn't think such a thing existed either, but seriously, this is good music right here. It's got that good beat that hip-hop/rap listeners love, with the amazing, encouraging messages that they rarely find in their music. See what you think of So Beautiful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3lc6elnn6k
"Am I nothing more than a wasted casualty?"
6. Until June is a band with the type of music that fits any situation. It's mellow, yet heavy. Happy, but sad. Their songs always bring about some mixed emotions from me and I don't always know what to think of the songs, but this always leave me craving more. Sound of Defeat is from a half-album of the same title, which I picked up off iTunes a couple of weeks ago. It's a lot different than music from their previous album, but I love it just the same. Here you go.
http://www.last.fm/music/Until+June/_/Sound+Of+Defeat?autostart
"Let's make our getaway, just you and me babe. The rest of the world can wait cause I've been waiting for you."
7. Between the Trees...wow, where to start? So this was one of the the new albums on that gigantic list that I was able to buy now that I have a bit of a job. Let me just tell you...album/band of the year, period. I've listened to this album so much that its ridiculous, and I'm still not the slightest bit sick of any of it. I honestly want to share every song with you, but I'll choose Spain for now. If you're the lovin' type, this song and this album are perfect for you. I look forward to sharing this amazing music with that future special someone of mine. Spain is so beautiful musically and in meaning. Just escaping with the one you love...awesome. This is the one you pay careful attention to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fWOzBY5UmY
"One spark among the embers. One voice against surrender. One dream that's worth defending. One love that's never-ending."
8. Assemblage 23 is way different than the rest of these artists, but I'm tempted to say that it's my favorite out of all of them. I got this new album too, the last of the three I told you I was headed for first, and it matches the amazingness of the other two. Tom Shear is the man behind this techno project, and he has quickly become one of my heroes. This song, Spark, is one of the most empowering songs I've ever heard. It's got that drive to it that makes me feel invincible, which is always an awesome feeling. Caution: you might be overtaken by an overwhelming urge to dance like a robot, the effects of which may be extremely hazardous to your well being. I warned you :) (PS: scroll down on this site to find Spark, but feel welcome to check out some of the other amazing stuff from Assemglage 23)
http://www.myspace.com/officialassemblage23
"Be careful what you wish for."
9. I have a strong emotional attachment to The Myriad. Their drummer developed bone cancer about a year ago and things aren't looking good for him, but the entire band devoted everything to raising money for him. Having strong Christian beliefs, they asked all of the fans to pray for their drummer and he is now to the point where he can actually play drums with them again. Through this whole experience I've acquired a ton of respect for these guys. Even though I haven't heard anything new from them, I want to share some of their stuff with you. Throwing Punches is one of my top ten most played songs on my iTunes (out of 2500, I might add). So yeah, I basically love this song and it's pretty dang special to me. I'll leave the description of it up to you this time. Oh, and I found these guys through Rock Band, heck yes! (At the link here click on the "The Randy Miller..." thing on the right to see a cool video they made for their drummer, and then click on the one next to that for a live version of the song)
http://www.themyriad.net/videos/videos.php
"Will we ever take a chance on peace?"
10. Girls, this one is for you. Paramore is pretty dang awesome, and so is Evanescence, but I think The Material (found these guys through Rock Band too!) has them both beat in the world of female-vocal rock. I got a half-album from them a couple of weeks ago and I love it!Every song has so much going on, and they are all like marathons of amazing music that you just can't get enough of. I've never heard anything much like With One Voice. If the word got out about this band, people would go crazy for it. Here I am, hoping to start such a craze. Help me out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMVZlKnKWhE
"Wherever you are is my home"
1. Don't get me started on the outstanding music of Seabird. This is a band for everyone, and it makes me sad that other dumb groups and songs can steal the popularity that these guys deserve. They had some excellent Christmas songs released this year, which you should definitely search for, but they also released a new album this week. Having been overwhelmed by tons of good music, I kinda forgot to add their new album to my Christmas list. Still, I was able to recently purchase their single from the cd, Don't You Know You're Beautiful. Seabird is the sort of band that never has a bad song. In fact, they are all fantastic and noteworthy in one way or another. This song is no exception. The message is great, the beat, the instruments...it's all amazing. Don't miss out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig6lbZKcFdQ
"I turn on my radio and every single song I know is so devoid of meaning, inside my head I'm screaming for a star that I can reach to. Brothers, sisters, I beseech you, don't become these songs that numb the soul."
2. ^Best lyrics ever, no joke. Kiros is one of, if not the most inspirational band that I know. With a strong Christian background, I'm convinced that these guys know the meaning of life inside and out, or at least have one of the best ideas of it out there. Heaven showcases this beautifully, with its softness and sincerity. If you don't appreciate this song, you're crazy. I'll leave the first impression up to you.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BLJwuhvHsk
"I'll wait for you. I'll become something new. I'll sing for you until this dream comes true."
3. Brightwood is a band that I've been keeping an eye on for a long time now. I finally decided to buy one of their half-albums (six songs) and I'm amazed. The emotion in In Memory is beyond explanation. The piano/vocal duet section is perhaps one of the all-time most beautiful moments of music in existence. Everyone needs to hear music like this every once in a while.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XxofkgZytA
"I'll always love you, no matter how far you run"
4. So I said that Seabird makes every song excellent, but The Midway State takes that to the next level. Every one of their songs is jaw-dropping. It's been tough getting their stuff because they are a Canadian band, but I've been listening to them a ton on the internet. Here's one of my favorite from them, Never Again. Not many people can sing nearly as well as this guy can. He is amazing and he puts all of his heart into his vocals and lyrics. Check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApMQ9M5RIEk
"Every kick, every snare, every line i write, it's cause you are my light."
5. I admit it guys, I can no longer hate on rap...at least not completely. It took forever, but I finally found some true rap that I absolutely love. Manafest is the cause of all this. They call him the Christian Eminem. I never thought it could happen, but he makes every one of his songs inspirational. Rap music and inspiration!?!? I know, I didn't think such a thing existed either, but seriously, this is good music right here. It's got that good beat that hip-hop/rap listeners love, with the amazing, encouraging messages that they rarely find in their music. See what you think of So Beautiful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3lc6elnn6k
"Am I nothing more than a wasted casualty?"
6. Until June is a band with the type of music that fits any situation. It's mellow, yet heavy. Happy, but sad. Their songs always bring about some mixed emotions from me and I don't always know what to think of the songs, but this always leave me craving more. Sound of Defeat is from a half-album of the same title, which I picked up off iTunes a couple of weeks ago. It's a lot different than music from their previous album, but I love it just the same. Here you go.
http://www.last.fm/music/Until+June/_/Sound+Of+Defeat?autostart
"Let's make our getaway, just you and me babe. The rest of the world can wait cause I've been waiting for you."
7. Between the Trees...wow, where to start? So this was one of the the new albums on that gigantic list that I was able to buy now that I have a bit of a job. Let me just tell you...album/band of the year, period. I've listened to this album so much that its ridiculous, and I'm still not the slightest bit sick of any of it. I honestly want to share every song with you, but I'll choose Spain for now. If you're the lovin' type, this song and this album are perfect for you. I look forward to sharing this amazing music with that future special someone of mine. Spain is so beautiful musically and in meaning. Just escaping with the one you love...awesome. This is the one you pay careful attention to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fWOzBY5UmY
"One spark among the embers. One voice against surrender. One dream that's worth defending. One love that's never-ending."
8. Assemblage 23 is way different than the rest of these artists, but I'm tempted to say that it's my favorite out of all of them. I got this new album too, the last of the three I told you I was headed for first, and it matches the amazingness of the other two. Tom Shear is the man behind this techno project, and he has quickly become one of my heroes. This song, Spark, is one of the most empowering songs I've ever heard. It's got that drive to it that makes me feel invincible, which is always an awesome feeling. Caution: you might be overtaken by an overwhelming urge to dance like a robot, the effects of which may be extremely hazardous to your well being. I warned you :) (PS: scroll down on this site to find Spark, but feel welcome to check out some of the other amazing stuff from Assemglage 23)
http://www.myspace.com/officialassemblage23
"Be careful what you wish for."
9. I have a strong emotional attachment to The Myriad. Their drummer developed bone cancer about a year ago and things aren't looking good for him, but the entire band devoted everything to raising money for him. Having strong Christian beliefs, they asked all of the fans to pray for their drummer and he is now to the point where he can actually play drums with them again. Through this whole experience I've acquired a ton of respect for these guys. Even though I haven't heard anything new from them, I want to share some of their stuff with you. Throwing Punches is one of my top ten most played songs on my iTunes (out of 2500, I might add). So yeah, I basically love this song and it's pretty dang special to me. I'll leave the description of it up to you this time. Oh, and I found these guys through Rock Band, heck yes! (At the link here click on the "The Randy Miller..." thing on the right to see a cool video they made for their drummer, and then click on the one next to that for a live version of the song)
http://www.themyriad.net/videos/videos.php
"Will we ever take a chance on peace?"
10. Girls, this one is for you. Paramore is pretty dang awesome, and so is Evanescence, but I think The Material (found these guys through Rock Band too!) has them both beat in the world of female-vocal rock. I got a half-album from them a couple of weeks ago and I love it!Every song has so much going on, and they are all like marathons of amazing music that you just can't get enough of. I've never heard anything much like With One Voice. If the word got out about this band, people would go crazy for it. Here I am, hoping to start such a craze. Help me out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMVZlKnKWhE
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