Pandora

Pandora internet radio is an excellent invention. It is powered by the Music Genome Project, an organizational music structure identifier using 400 attributes to a song. All you have to do to create a new station is type in a song or artist, then Pandora will find similar songs and artists and play it like a personalized radio station. After you request a song or artist, you can "add variety" to your station to expand the variety of songs and bands that will emerge from your station. What I have done is picked a staple band from every genre of music I enjoy, then added other songs and bands from the same genre to the station. My stations are "Asheru"-hip hop- "The Bakerton Group"-jam rock- "The Decemberists"-indie folk rock- "Duke Ellington"-jazz- "Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad"-dub reggae- "Hootie & the Blowfish"-90's alternative- "Kasabian"-electronic indie- "Mad Season"-grunge rock- "Passafire"-reggae/rock- "Pink Floyd"-classic psyc rock- "Smashing Pumpkins"-90's rock- "Taking Back Sunday"-punk- "Umphree's McGee"-alternative jam band. The "Decemberists" station is probably the best, because I have discovered more bands that have found their way into my iTunes library from the related artists that Pandora has picked for that station. Once Pandora has picked up on your musical interests are for a certain station, it becomes one of the best inventions in the universe.

"Video" Saturday

Well, like the title explains, on this Saturday I am posting several videos of songs I have "favorited" on YouTube that I just can't stop listening to. They're songs from all genres, hope you enjoy them.

Ted and Will of Passafire playing a cover of Bon Iver's "Skinny Love"


Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek of Reflection Eternal ft. Mos Def, Jay Electronica and J. Cole - Just Begun


Dave Matthews Band - "Lie in Our Graves" - Live in Chicago (1998) pt.1


pt.2

Arctic Moneys

British indie rock band Arctic Monkeys have been around for almost nine years, but have only just recently been inducted into my iTunes library. The album I was drawn to is titled Favourite Worst Nightmare. I have a Pandora internet radio account, and one of the artists I picked to base Pandora to pick play songs based on is the Decemberists. On that station, Pandora played the song "505" by Arctic Monkeys. Immediately after the song finished I checked all the information Pandora offered about the song and artist-I couldn't do it during the song, because I was too engulfed in the listening. I downloaded(Legally or illegally? you'll never know) the whole album and listened to in in its entirety straight through. There are many different aspects and characteristics of indie rock that are displayed on the album, and "505" is a musical masterpiece. The transitions, tempos, instrumentals and vocals, in the whole record but in "505" especially, create an awesome listening experience and really live up to the indie rock genre brand name. I found myself very, very upset when I realized I missed their set at ACL last year, but hopefully I will get the chance to see them again. Attached is a live version of "505" from Glastonbury 2007. Do yourself a favor and listen to it entirely, especially the climax around 3:20. enjoy!

Austin City Limits 2010

Well 3-day passes for this year's ACL have come and gone, within two hours of release! With the release of the Lollapalooza lineup, I can only assume that ACL 2010 will look very similar. I am a little indifferent about some of the bands that I think will play, but I will probably make the investment and attend ACL for my third year in a row. Better news is that the actual lineup and release of single day tickets are released to the public on my birthday, May 18th. I haven't decided if I'm gonna try and go for a 3-day pass off eBay or craigslist, or buy three individual day passes, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. One huge deciding factor is who will be headlining the festival. Last year, Pearl Jam put on the best live set I have ever seen, and will be hard to beat. It has been rumored that Neil Young will be coming to Austin, and Soundgarden is reuniting at Lollapalooza, so there is a possibility that they will be coming to ACL as well. Either of those acts would definitely seal the deal and push me to fork up the dinero. Until then, all I can do is wait. posted is a video of Kings of Leon performing on Friday night of ACL 2009, with very special guest Eddie Vedder of Peal Jam! enjoy

Lollapalooza 2010

Another summer music festival lineup has been released. Lollapalooza, held at Grant Park in Chicago, IL, has been exposed with some stellar bands filling the slots. The most notable band playing is Soundgarden, who will be reuniting for the headlining spot. Soundgarden was one of the first bands to enter the grunge scene in the late 80's and early 90's, and to see them would be awesome. Some bands that I have not seen before but would like to are Arcade Fire, The Strokes, The Black Keys, Grizzly Bear, Wolfmother, Deer Tick, Blitzen Trapper, Minus the Bear, Rogue Wave and Mimicking Birds. Bands that I have already seen but would like to see again are Phoenix, Slightly Stoopid, MuteMath, The Dodos and Rebelution. I will definitely be steering clear of Green Day's and Lady Gaga's performance though. Most of the bands I have never heard of, which is not a bad thing because I could do some research and maybe find some music gold. The lineup is decent, but nothing special which is a little scary because a lot of these same bands will probably end up playing at ACL 2010. Still wating until May 18th, which is my birthday, release of single day tickets for ACL and ACL lineup release!

Chilifest 2010

While there may be other aspects of this festival that draw college students to attend, I must say the live music was a big one for me, so my expectations were high. I am happy to say that for the majority, I was very pleased with the performances I saw on Saturday. Cory Morrow started the day off with a very lively and awesome set. He played a lot of his old material, which was very cool because I actually knew most of the songs, which was something I wasn't expecting. I would say Morrow put on the best show of the entire festival. Roger Creager played right after, and also played a great set. I was most surprised that he played a cover of the Beatles' "With A Little Help From My Friends," and did it pretty well; that was one of a few songs I could sing along to that Creager played. Eli Young Band played next, who I really don't care for, so I wasn't in the audience for their set. Aaron Watson played after them, and had a very fun set that everyone was dancing and singing to. Somewhere in either Eli Young or Watson's set was a cover of Billy Joel's "Piano Man," which was really cool but a little out of the element of the festival. Dwight Yoakam was the headliner and played last, but I didn't stay to see his full set or even go in the audience at all during his stage time. Overall I think the Chilifest 2010 Entertainment was very good, and am very eager as to who will play next year.

Baseball is Back!

So this post may be a little off the typical music topic that this blog is centered around, but this is probably my most excited post. The 2010 Major League Baseball Season kicked off Sunday night with a couple of games, one of which was the heated Red Sox/Yankees rivalry. While I enjoyed the game play immensely, I couldn't help but love when Neil Diamond came out after the seventh inning to sing his Fenway-favorite "Sweet Caoline." Another time when the music of the game caught my eye was when Boston's relief pitcher, Jonathan Papelbon, came from the bullpen to close the game. The speakers were blasting "I'm Shipping Up To Boston" by the Dropkick Murphys. Today, the Texas Rangers took on the Toronto Blue Jays, and were victorious 5-4 with some ninth inning heroics. Michael Young is my absolute favorite player, but not just because of his skills and demeanor off the field; the man has great taste in music. Every time he comes up to bat, the sound man plays either "Sure Shot" or "Sabotage," two awesome songs by the Beastie Boys. This baseball season has kicked off to a great start, combining both of my passions; baseball and music.

Blues at Sunrise

I have always loved the way Stevie Ray Vaughan played the electric guitar. The man was often described as the quintessential Texan Guitarist, and is always ranked in the top ten or five, or even first, in terms of greatest players of all time. An even better side to Vaughan's playing days was his ability to clean up his drug use and play shows for over five years sober, with greater passion and skill than before. One of my most favorite albums of Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble is Blues at Sunrise, a combination of both studio and live versions of their slower blues songs. I have put this CD on before I go to sleep almost every night for the past two weeks. Vaughan's songwriting and manipulation of the Blues genre really shines in this collection of ten songs. My favorite tune has to be "Tin Pan Alley," which is a live version almost twelve minutes long that contains gritty lyrics with awesome guitar playing to counter them. Vaughan contributed so much to the Blues genre and had an impeccable playing style that has captivated me since the first time I heard him. The fact that he was a native Texan and was very proud of it makes me like him that much more. It kills me that he died at such a young age, and I always wonder what could have been of his amazing talent. But, I always have the music he did create while he was alive, which is more than I could ask for. Definitely look up Blues at Sunrise in the SRV & DT catalog if you haven't, and his other songs as well.

Gorillaz

The Britain based band Gorillaz recently released their third studio album, Plastic Beach. I have never really gotten into Gorillaz, but have enjoyed their unmistakable style and the inability to label them into a single genre of music. I was very anxious to see what Plastic Beach was all about, since it had some pretty high expectations with a large time gap since their last release. At first listen, I was quite pleased with the majority of the songs. Track number five, "Stylo," was given some radio time and a music video popped up on YouTube. After several rides in my car with the windows down, I have to say my favorite track is "Empire Ants." This song starts out soft, slow, monophonic and very melodic. Around the half way point, the beat and synthesizer kicks in and takes it to a level of an awesome dance tune. I find myself constantly replaying it, along with most of the other songs on the CD. Plastic Beach is quite a success from Gorillaz, just as I had expected. Gorillaz is playing at Coachella Music Festival in California this summer, which I would definitely be attending if the price and location weren't so ridiculous. Check out Plastic Beach, along with more stuff from Gorillaz, especially "Empire Ants!"

Broken Bells

Broken Bells is a new indie rock band composed of artist-producer Brian Burton a.k.a. Danger Mouse and The Shins lead singer and guitarist James Mercer. Since Danger Mouse is a hip-hop producer and artist, one would think that a hip-hop and indie rock fusion is a little out in left field. Producers and internet dwellers have been making remixes and mash-ups with the two genres for years, but this band is on a completely different level. Even with Danger Mouse's hip-hop background, the band undoubtedly has a more indie rock sound and feel with Mercer's singing and guitar playing, but still contains some solid beats and rhythm. The band's most popular song is "The High Road," which was released as a single late last year and received Single of the Week in the iTunes Store. I bought the single and was immediately hooked. As soon as their CD was released earlier this month I purchased it, with several requests for a copy from my friends. It quickly became a permanent fixture in my truck CD case, and stayed in my CD player for a solid week and was listened to nonstop. Broken Bells -self titled CD- is an awesome CD for many different listening occasions, and especially great for driving to. My favorite track is "The Mall & Misery," a very groovy tune that has catchy vocals and nice little guitar riffs. "Mongrol Heart" is definitely my second choice. Broken Bells played at SXSW (South by SouthWest) in Austin this past weekend, which I unfortunately did not get to see due to my Spring Break vacation. Depending on the circumstances at the time I might consider seeing them live if they came to a city nearby, but several chances have already passed by. I expect great things to come from this new collaborative band in the future; look them up!

California Vacation

For my spring break I went to Hermosa Beach, CA. Since I had no idea what to do in terms of nightlife, I checked all the live music venues I know of in the surrounding area. It just so happened that Iration, a Hawaiian reggae band that I have seen before and wrote about in a previous post, was holding a CD release party at the Roxy in Hollywood. Even though I've already seen Iration, I really enjoy their old roots reggae sound and thought their new album release party would be a really cool event. I am EXTREMELY glad I decided to attend this event, because I discovered a new band that I have been listening to a lot recently. Zen Robbi, a Long Beach, CA based rock/blues/funk/jazz/reggae band, was one of the opening acts for Iration, and completely stole the whole night to me. Their fusion of many diverse genres of music is awesome, and quite different than the kind of music that was being played that night, which surprised me that they were on the ticket. To go along with their tunes was their impeccable style, which was very typical of the SoCal scene, and combined with their music created a groovy environment. I enjoyed their performance so much that I went to the Merchandise booth during Iration's set and purchased a CD -Heavy Lies the Crown- and shirt. Zen Robbi has three CDs out right now, all of which can be purchased on iTunes or Amazon. "Heavy Lies the Crown" was the only one available that night, and has been on repeat for a couple of days and will be for a while. While all of the tracks are worth listening to, my favorite has to be track #2, "Dance Of The Matador." I would easily recommend this band to anyone who appreciates up and coming bands with excellent instrumentals and quality songs filled with fun. Attached is a video of Zen Robbi's song "Black Jack Guru" from their CD release party at the Roxy back in February. They played this song at the concert i went to also. Enjoy

Black Jack Guru (Live at the Roxy 2/2/10) - Zen Robbi

Texas A&M Jazz Ensemble

On Sunday night the Texas A&M University Jazz Ensembles held a free concert at Christ's United Methodist Church. I have always enjoyed listening to jazz, but never really got into actually looking for and downloading music to listen to in my own time. The only time I really listen to it is when it's on a radio station that I happen to switch to, but I'm usually more focused on other genres. I attended this concert for a music class I am enrolled in, and have to say it was the best concert I have ever been forced to attend and better than some I went to by choice. The ensemble played a variety of jazz pieces from some very respectable artists; artists like Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie and Gordon Goodwin. There was a good amount of solos that really displayed some of the performers' talents. Best of all, it was FREE! Bottom line, I would definitely go see another TAMU Jazz Ensemble concert, even if they charged a small fee.

Wakarusa

The summer of 2010 is slowly but surely approaching, and what better way to celebrate the absence of school than an out-of-state road trip to a music festival? There is none! There are many musical festivals taking place this summer, so it will be a very hard decision to narrow it down to one. The festival that seems has been catching my eye for some time now is Wakarusa. Wakarusa is a four day long camping and music festival that takes place at Mulberry Mountain in Ozark, Arkansas. If the location doesn't sound appealing enough, the artist lineup is ridiculously awesome. It's almost as if the festival coordinators had a list of my favorite bands that I've seen in concert before, plus ones that I have been dying to see live, and invited them all to Wakarusa this year. The bands I'm most excited to see are STS9, Umphree's Mcgee, the Black Keys, State Radio, Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, and Passafire, who I wrote about in a previous post. In addition to that list are a couple of other bands who I've previously seen and wouldn't mind seeing again at all; bands like Slightly Stoopid, Rebelution, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, the Supervillains and Mishka. Even with this massive lineup of awesome artists, the ticket prices are not something that will break the bank, so that is another tally to the plus side in my decision making. As of right now, this music festival seems like the best way to kick off the summer, but the plans are not set in stone, and I will write about other festivals I have on my list of possiblities.

Rogue Wave

Rogue Wave is an indie/alternative band that I have started substantially listening to recently. I first found out about them from the movie Just Friends, which featured their song "Eyes" in one of the softer scenes of the film. Their tunes are very mellow and cheery, perfect for studying, driving or just relaxing. The acoustics are very catchy and the light, yet powerful vocals provide a nice soft rock result. I know that whenever I come home at the end of a rough day at school, Rogue Wave is one of the bands that i can put on to lighten the load a little bit. The reason I'm dedicating a whole post to them is because of their new album that was released today, called "Permalight." From what I have perceived from the thirty second samples on iTunes (not a credible source, I know) and couple of videos that have surfaced on YouTube, this CD is quite different from the older ones that got me really into this band. It is very soon to critique, and I will definitely need some time (and money) to really listen to the album in it's entirety, but I will keep you posted on my thoughts at a later time. If you are interested in Rogue Wave and wondering what song/CD to purchase or listen to, my recommendation is to listen to their popular singles "Eyes" and "Lake Michigan," which provide a pretty good template of the band's sounds. If you wish to further your Rogue Wave catalog, my personal favorite record of theirs is "Out of the Shadow," which has some excellent acoustics, percussions and cover art.

Weekend in Austin

This past weekend i took the short trip to Austin, TX for a couple of live concerts. Friday night i attended a concert featuring two roots reggae bands, Rebelution and SOJA, and a hip-hop group, Zion I at Stubb's Bar-B-Que. I have actually seen Rebelution before, a couple of years ago when they were opening for another band of the same genre of music. While I enjoyed their performance more the first time I saw them, they did not disappoint this time around. They played quite a bit of their old material, which I was very pleased with, and had both opening bands up on stage for the final song of the night, which was an awesome, groovy reggae tune. Saturday night I went to Emo's (again) for the CD release party of a band called the White White Lights. I went mainly for the band that opened for them, The Happen-ins, which a friend of mine had seen previously in downtown Bryan before and spoke highly about. The bands were both pretty decent, but nothing too special. Both have Myspace pages that have some of their songs on them, so check them out if you're into more indie rock kinds of bands. This weekend was filled with live music, so I guess you could say it was a very successful and fun weekend. Attached is a video of the final song of the Rebelution/SOJA/Zion I show at the House of Blues in Anaheim, which I did not attend, but is very similar to the finale that was put on in Austin that I witnessed. enjoy

"I Like It" - Rebelution/SOJA/Zion I (Finale)

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers

Big news from the Florida native rock band! It has been announced that Tom and his band will be touring the U.S. this summer, with stops in Dallas and Houston in May (no one ever goes to San Antonio anymore). I am still undecided if I will attend this concert, mostly because of the price and distance from home, which will only increase expenses. Tom and his band also have some great opening acts on this tour like Crosby, Stills and Nash and ZZ Top. I have always like Tom Petty, mostly because the Heartbreakers was one of the first bands my ears ever had the pleasure of coming in contact with, thanks to my father. Listening to Tom brings me back to childhood, and conjures up images of my youth that only certain music can. Another big announcement is that Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers have a new album coming out this spring called "Mojo," which will be the band's twelfth studio album. To top that all off, anyone who purchases a ticket to any of the shows for this summer tour gets a digital version of Mojo via email, for free! That isn't a deal-maker for me, but does sound very cool and a nice gesture in honor of Tom's fans. Sounds like I have a pretty big decision to make pretty soon...

DMB Summer 2010 Tour

The Dave Matthews Band is one of the most talented jam bands around today and puts on a very eclectic show, which I have experienced a couple times as a teenager. My first DMB concert experience was Sept 2nd, 2005, which was the last time the band has come to my hometown of San Antonio, TX. Since then I have been to three other shows, one in Dallas (the last show i saw featuring DMB's saxophonist Leroi Moore who passed away in Aug 2008), one in the Woodlands, and the most recent one at Austin City Limits Music Festival. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every one, and plan on attending many more in the future; that brings me to the title of this post, Dave's summer 2010 tour. DMB started off the year with a European tour, and the American tour dates recently released on the band's website. DMB will be making a coupe stops in Texas in early September, and will be in the Woodlands at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on the 10th. I will most likely be attending this show with some friends, a repeat of last summer's tour. The opening act is a band called Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, which i also saw at Austin City Limits this past October. They put on a really fun show and have a James Brown sort of funk and soul feel. I am really looking forward to seeing the Dave Matthews Band again, and recommend you see at least one live DMB show too. I'll leave you with a video of Dave's closing song at the concert i went to last summer, a song called Rapunzel, a fairly old song in the DMB catalog. This ending jam shows the band's energy from from the start of a concert to the finish, which is one of the reasons why i love their concerts so much.

Rapunzel - Dave Matthews Band

First Post!

Hey everyone my name's Colton and this is my music blog. Here I'll be writing all about music, from new CD's of my favorite bands to concerts I've been to or plan on attending. My favortite genres of music are alternative, classic rock, and reggae/rock. I have too many favorite bands to name, so just check out my profile if you're interested in that. For my first post, I'm writing about a concert I attended last night at Emo's in Austin, featuring several of my favorite reggae/rock bands. The name of the tour is the Ladera Winter Blackout 2010 Tour. Headlining was a band called the Expendables, who rocked pretty hard. Another band was Iration, who is mainly roots reggae with a little pop feel, and also put on a great show. The band I'm most excited to write is one of my most recently favorited bands named Passafire. They're from Savannah, GA and produce one of the best combinations of rock and reggae I have ever heard. They recently released a new album in the past couple of months to go along with their first two and a live one on iTunes. They're pretty up and coming, so if you have not heard of them, just give them a listen and you will definitely want to support them and buy a few songs. Along with those three bands was two more called Pour Habit and Roots Down Below, which I sadly did not arrive in time to see perform. The concert was excellent overall, despite the numerous mosh pits and fist fight that broke out mid-concert. Posted is a video of the song Kilo, one of the best songs by Passafire, enjoy. EDIT: change of posted video to some of the actual show that have popped up the past couple of days.

Lay Awake - Passafire


Down Down Down - The Expendables (Opening song)