So one of the pillars of modern music has passed on to the other side today after an 18 month battle with cancer and only a few day's after his 69th birthday and release of his newest album and it's quite crazy to think about when you sit back and realize just how much of an influential and important artist he really was for modern music as a whole across a wide range of genres from glam, alternative, industrial, pop, and everything in between this man dipped his toes into everything and managed to leave an impactful mark on music as a whole that I'm pretty sure will pretty soon be recognized beyond the mans wildest dreams in terms of just how much he really did.
Now with that in mind there's not a whole lot I can really say compared to the variety of touching tributes I've seen all around social media so I think the best thing I really can do is post my personal favorite and the track that got me into this musical chameleon in the form of this timelessly BAD ASS rocker in the form of everyone's favorite fictional rock star.
R.I.P. Bowie The Stars look very different today......
Monday, January 11, 2016
Tuesday, January 5, 2016
Sam's Song of the Day?
So it's the new year and I finally got around to motivating myself to write the first post of the year, and in all honesty it's that word right there that's the central focus to today's post in that I'm not entirely sure just what it is but after almost 6 years of doing this I've seemed to have a more and more difficult time motivating myself to really get into the whole informing the world of a song a day so I've been thinking that it time for now that I retire the Song of the Day format of this little blog of mine and instead put more of a focus on my own musical escapades in the form of more concert, album, and occasional track reviews and opinion pieces.
Now with that in mind expect even less frequent post from me, but hey it's been a year of slowdown and I personally would rather whoever's left reading get something of a decent quality then slopped together 150 word post of a bad ass to decent tune and of course you can always follow my own personal twitter account and like the official Facebook page to stay in the know but as soon as I can get other annoyances out of the way expect something cool but until then have a nice day.
Now with that in mind expect even less frequent post from me, but hey it's been a year of slowdown and I personally would rather whoever's left reading get something of a decent quality then slopped together 150 word post of a bad ass to decent tune and of course you can always follow my own personal twitter account and like the official Facebook page to stay in the know but as soon as I can get other annoyances out of the way expect something cool but until then have a nice day.
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Sam's Top 20 of 2015 #1
#1 Entropy-Grimes Fet. Bleachers
So I'm just going to be really honest here I actually started composing this list at the end of March as more an unorganized Spotify play-list of tracks to kind of keep in mind whenever it came to be time to start writing up this list and in all honesty this was the very first song I saved to that list and since that day it hasn't left Number 1 and in all honesty the first time I heard this song I legitimately knew it was probably going to be the number 1 song of the year and here we are my number 1 pick of 2015 Enthropy by Grimes featuring Bleachers.
At it's core this song is nothing more than a 3 minute pop song lead by a very kind of tribal but steady percussion heavy beat that serves to kind of support Grimes light and airy vocals that are very VERY much the absolute blend of borderline diabetes sweet but also gruffy enough to give it's lyrics a bit of girth if not enhancing their kind of depressing tone of the lyrics and the midly heartbreaking expressions of, “Leave me Lonely,” which is kind of Grimes charm in a lot of ways.
What get's me is that this is actually the second time these acts have collaborated the first being one of Strange Desires more underrated cuts in the form of Take Me Away which Grimes kind of acted as the background note to Jack Antonoff and this song is almost like him deciding to take a back seat to her and instead he just acts as the producer.
There's something about this song for me that's difficult to really put into words because it has the most understated quality to it that you just feel like you're listening to the most special thing ever and ever since that first listen I just can't shake that feeling and no matter how many great songs I've heard this year and how many amazing shows I've seen this song just kind of can't be topped and even now looking back I legitimately can't think of another song I wanted to put at this spot and as such here we are my number 1 pick of 2015.
I hope you enjoyed reading this list as much as I enjoyed throwing it together if there was any songs you think I missed make sure to let me know either at my official Facebook page or even my own Twitter account but stay tuned because I may have an announcement come new years for the future of Sam's Song of the day but until then Happy Holiday's and enjoy the best song of 2015....
Sam's Top 20 of 2015 #2
#2 Hands Down-The Greeting Committee
So I'm just going to say it now this group of Kansas City's finest had the best god damn summer this year that's for damn sure they got to open the Homegrown Buzz Showcase, Buzz Beachball, Joywave, Civil Twilight, Bastile, the Wombats on select dates, managed to score an alternative radio smash here, they got a record deal with Harvest Records, and AAAAAND may have just recorded the great modern love song in the form of my #2 pick of the best song of the year.
Hands Down it's a very adorable little number that upon hearing you really feel like you've heard it somewhere but you can't quite put your finger on where it sounds just like every Teen Romance flick you ever hate watched and very ashamedly enjoyed with it's light hearted singing to sugary sweet lyrics that are just pure puppy dog romance in a tune there's an immediately special feeling you get when you hear this song and even now a year later I still get those warm fuzzy feelings when I hear this song and I'm so glad that I got to see them play it three times and even managed to yell out the 1,2,3,4 part after their, “Man oh man you're my best friend line,” which may have been the most bad ass thing ever, because maybe just maybe these kids will do something big but until then enjoy Kansas City's breakthrough act of the year in this video of the first time I got to see them play it live.....
So I'm just going to say it now this group of Kansas City's finest had the best god damn summer this year that's for damn sure they got to open the Homegrown Buzz Showcase, Buzz Beachball, Joywave, Civil Twilight, Bastile, the Wombats on select dates, managed to score an alternative radio smash here, they got a record deal with Harvest Records, and AAAAAND may have just recorded the great modern love song in the form of my #2 pick of the best song of the year.
Hands Down it's a very adorable little number that upon hearing you really feel like you've heard it somewhere but you can't quite put your finger on where it sounds just like every Teen Romance flick you ever hate watched and very ashamedly enjoyed with it's light hearted singing to sugary sweet lyrics that are just pure puppy dog romance in a tune there's an immediately special feeling you get when you hear this song and even now a year later I still get those warm fuzzy feelings when I hear this song and I'm so glad that I got to see them play it three times and even managed to yell out the 1,2,3,4 part after their, “Man oh man you're my best friend line,” which may have been the most bad ass thing ever, because maybe just maybe these kids will do something big but until then enjoy Kansas City's breakthrough act of the year in this video of the first time I got to see them play it live.....
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Sam's Top 20 of 2015 #3
#3 Cocoon-Catfish and the Bottlemen
You know for being a band that's only been on the scene for a short period of time they've managed to craft out some of the most strongly written and well performed songs that are a level of quality that give you this impression that they have been from a band that's been spending decades crafting these things but no it's only their second single and it already feels like a classic.
It's one of many songs that I got the joyous pleasure of getting to see live and it's an experience like that which solidified this songs place on my list because it's an amazingly simple song that's both heartbreaking and hopeful in it's expressions of, “Fuck it if they talk, fuck it if they try to get to us,” which is an instantaneously impacting line of lyrical awesomeness that you can't help but apply to a lot of things you've been through.
Really just great great music from a band that has a whole lot ahead of them and I can only be excited at the thought of them keeping such a streak or at the very least giving me plenty of opportunity to continually be blown away by this tune.
Also special shoutout to one Kayla Abell for capturing the footage.
You know for being a band that's only been on the scene for a short period of time they've managed to craft out some of the most strongly written and well performed songs that are a level of quality that give you this impression that they have been from a band that's been spending decades crafting these things but no it's only their second single and it already feels like a classic.
It's one of many songs that I got the joyous pleasure of getting to see live and it's an experience like that which solidified this songs place on my list because it's an amazingly simple song that's both heartbreaking and hopeful in it's expressions of, “Fuck it if they talk, fuck it if they try to get to us,” which is an instantaneously impacting line of lyrical awesomeness that you can't help but apply to a lot of things you've been through.
Really just great great music from a band that has a whole lot ahead of them and I can only be excited at the thought of them keeping such a streak or at the very least giving me plenty of opportunity to continually be blown away by this tune.
Also special shoutout to one Kayla Abell for capturing the footage.
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
Sam's Top 20 of 2015 #4
#4 Pitty Party-Melanie Martinez
This year had a lot of female representation for me and of all the ladies to come out of the blue and just grab the ball and run with it I'd have to give credit to this talented little pixie.
While I'll admit my review of Cry Baby as an album wasn't super spectacular and in retrospect it's proving to be a solid effort it's still not really to the expectations that this song just unexpectedly created and even now this song on it's own is just too damn good to ignore.
An interpretation of the Lesly Gore classic, “It's My Party,” this song has Melanie doing what she does best in singing about how fucked up and miserable her life is and in this song maybe more so then anything else she's recorded it works because of it's kind of droning but steady electronic beats that help make her voice in all of it's pissed off woe is me sounding way's work while she delivers plenty of lines about the feelings of being ditched on your birthday.
This song is in the business of misery and for Melanie business is damn good.
This year had a lot of female representation for me and of all the ladies to come out of the blue and just grab the ball and run with it I'd have to give credit to this talented little pixie.
While I'll admit my review of Cry Baby as an album wasn't super spectacular and in retrospect it's proving to be a solid effort it's still not really to the expectations that this song just unexpectedly created and even now this song on it's own is just too damn good to ignore.
An interpretation of the Lesly Gore classic, “It's My Party,” this song has Melanie doing what she does best in singing about how fucked up and miserable her life is and in this song maybe more so then anything else she's recorded it works because of it's kind of droning but steady electronic beats that help make her voice in all of it's pissed off woe is me sounding way's work while she delivers plenty of lines about the feelings of being ditched on your birthday.
This song is in the business of misery and for Melanie business is damn good.
Monday, December 21, 2015
Sam's Top 20 of 2015 #5
#5 Wolves(You Got Me)-Dreamers
So this for me would be 2015's Demon Dance in that it's an amazingly old school sounding song that's the perfect blend of 90's feedback heavy alternative shoe-gazing rock and roll with some punk rock lyrical poetry that's an awkward series of metaphors for the torturingly crazy experience of falling in love and how it's like being thrown into a den of wolves learning to follow the pact and get use to that crazy feeling and the fucked up things to come.
It's a beautifully simple song that's just everything I love hearing in alternative music that's managed to constantly sound like the best classic song that reminds you of the day's of looking left of the dial and it's only bested by a few truly bad ass tunes that kind of edged it.
So this for me would be 2015's Demon Dance in that it's an amazingly old school sounding song that's the perfect blend of 90's feedback heavy alternative shoe-gazing rock and roll with some punk rock lyrical poetry that's an awkward series of metaphors for the torturingly crazy experience of falling in love and how it's like being thrown into a den of wolves learning to follow the pact and get use to that crazy feeling and the fucked up things to come.
It's a beautifully simple song that's just everything I love hearing in alternative music that's managed to constantly sound like the best classic song that reminds you of the day's of looking left of the dial and it's only bested by a few truly bad ass tunes that kind of edged it.
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