Bands and Songs
Kaiser Chiefs – Coming Home
Posted on Youtube in February but just starting to get play on AltNation. I’m not a huge Kaiser Chiefs fan but this song hits the mark.
Top Alt Music 3/29/14
I try to remind people to follow my AltNation playlist on Spotify because I always keep it updated and it has the newest / best songs available. The songs that have been released in the last few weeks are top notch. Since I know people read the blog but don’t use Spotify, I’ll give a taste through this post.
SomeKindaWonderful – Reverse
With 10,000 views only yesterday, this song is going to pop. I think it’s awesome.
Prides – The Seeds You Sow
Been on the alternativeaddiction countdown as the #1 song for weeks now.
Black Keys – Fever
2 million views in 5 days, yeah I’d say that’s pretty good.
Better Than Ezra – Crazy Lucky
6k views after 5 days, this will rise once people know about it.
Waters – Got To My Head
Only 10,000 views but the song has a laid back feel to it.
Songs With Secured Status
I’m a hyper-station switcher when it comes to listening to music on the radio. It’s not that I have attention deficit disorder, I’ve just been listening to music for a long time so I’ve heard a lot songs. This means that even though a song might be on the Rolling Stone Top 500, I’ve heard it 500 times and can’t stand to listen to it 501. Other songs though, no matter how many times I hear them, I don’t turn off. They are a notch higher TO ME. I don’t get sick of them by over listening to them and there is some meaning in the songs that interests me more than your typical catchy chorus tune. This list will go over a few that pop up in my mind of songs I never switch.
The Songs
Tears For Fears – Everybody Want To Rule The World
I would assume almost everyone has heard this song especially since Lorde did a cover of it for the Hunger Games. Needless to say, covers don’t compare to the original. The opening notes sound like you are entering the world which is probably what TFF was going for with the opening line “welcome to your life.” This song is about the quest for power, and how it can have unfortunate consequences. Says producer Chris Hughes, ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’ was so simple and went down so quickly, it was effortless, really. In fact, as a piece of recording history, it’s bland as hell,”
REM – Nightswimming
The tempo of this song is what gets me. Sources say it’s about a group of friends who go skinny dipping at night, which draws from similar experiences in the band’s early days. However, front-man Michael Stipe has denied that that is the topic of the song; rather, Stipe says the song is about a “kind of an innocence that’s either kind of desperately clung onto or obviously lost.
Nightswimming deserves a quiet night
I’m not sure all these people understand
It’s not like years ago
The fear of getting caught
The recklessness in water
They cannot see me naked
These things they go away
Replaced by every day
The Postal Service – Nothing Better
The back and forth between boy and girl in this song is what sets it apart. Postal service drops an electronic beat which gives the song a cold feeling and that’s exactly what the song is going for. The guy is looking to get the girl back and the girl is saying to fuck off. The guys idea of there could be Nothing Better is not shown through his actions which the girl appropriately points out. I believe this song could be the theme song to many relationships.
Jackson Browne – Running On Empty
A huge song that gained even further popularity after its appearance in Forrest Gump. Its about the journey of life and every single person can relate to it. I will never get tired of this set of lines because it is the sheer definition of empathy.
Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels
I don’t know how to tell you all just how crazy this life feels
I look around for the friends that I used to turn to to pull me through
Looking into their eyes I see them running too
Bruce Hornsby and the Range – Mandolin Rain
A wizard on the piano. The album The Way It Is doesn’t get nearly enough respect. This song is about a guy losing his girl and the sadness he feels. He sings it about it in each verse but I think it’s the piano that makes this song. I rarely change Bruce number 2 when his songs play.
Talking Heads – Road To Nowhere
I was first struck by this song in New Zealand bar. It was playing as a music video and I knew I had heard the song before but couldn’t place it. Once I pinpointed it, it became one of my favorite Talking Heads song. I like the premise of a Road To Nowhere because I think that’s where everyone is headed they just don’t know it. David Byrne seems to think that he knows where he’s going, and it’s a road to nowhere and journey is wonderful.
Boy – Little Numbers
“You’re giving us goosebumps.” I liked the reaction and think the music isn’t half bad either. I’ve listened to some other of their songs through Spotify and approve. The reaction hits at the 1 minute mark.
Top 5 Alt Bands
The Top 5 Current Alt bands is not a subjective list. Bands can be rated based on the quality of their output and how receptive the people are to their music. Plenty of people will say their indie band is the best but they are not being realistic to standards. These bands rise to the top because of the amount of work and effort that they put into their music. They are essentially the most talented at producing music that people want to listen to. It doesn’t have to sound the same, but these bands produce top notch music.
The Top 5 Alt Bands
5. Bastille
Dan Smith chose the name Bastille because his birthday is the same as Bastille Day. The 4 person group formed in London in 2010. Not much was heard from this band until the release of Pompeii in February 2013. Pompeii promptly became one of the top songs of the year and has currently over 92 million listens on Spotify. To give you an idea of how big this is, Roar by Katy Perry has 90 million. Their first studio album Bad Blood was released in March and it’s safe to say that it was one of the best alternative albums of the year. Bastille isn’t just a one hit wonder. Songs like Things We Lost In The Fire, Bad Blood, These Streets, and Weight of Living are all awesome tracks. With 526,804 Spotify followers, this band has too big of a following to overlook for this list.
4. Awolnation
Aaron Bruno of Awolnation
I truly would like to put Awol at #1 but the lack of catalog keeps me holding them back. Aaron Bruno is intense and the music is even more so. I’ve seen them twice in concert and both times the music lifts the concert to unforeseen levels. The music is so in your face, these songs kick ass, I’m feeling pumped listening to them, I think I may have seizure. It’s a feeling that other bands not only don’t, but can’t generate. Sail, Awol’s most popular song, currently have over 100 million listens on Spotify and the band has 458k followers. Megalithic Symphony was released in 2011 and only a few new tracks have been released since then. The band said that they will release a 2nd studio album “sometime in 2014.” A tidbit on the band’s name, “In an interview with Kristin Houser of the LA Music Blog, he stated that he “would leave without saying goodbye because it was just easier, so that’s where the name Awol [slang from the military acronym for Absent Without Ordered Leave] came from.”
3. Foster the People
Cover art of Foster the People’s new Album Supermodel – Available Mar 18th
A highly anticipated album called Supermodel is being released on March 18th and I’m Pumped (up kicks) for it. The song Coming of Age has already been released as a single and it was a nice tease to what is going to drop. Foster the People has released a total of 11 songs currently. Only 11. Amazingly all 11 are quality songs which is why this album is so heavily anticipated. Foster said in November 2013 that the new album is “more organic and more human”. Foster the People’s following on Spotify has climbed to 865k followers with Pumped Up Kicks getting more than 63 million listens. If the album doesn’t live up to expectations, Mark Foster will be one sad pup.
2. Young the Giant
I should be most ridiculed for this pick on my list. Young is the least well known on this list but I’m so floored by their second album that I have to bump them this high. Anagram is my favorite song of the new year followed by Mind Over Matter. The pace of the songs are so awesome that I find myself nodding along just feeling the song. They lyrics are all understandable and mean something which adds to it. What I’m most excited about is the songs I named aren’t even the most popular on the album. It’s About Time and Crystalized have already been mentioned on bigger a scale. I sometimes don’t even get to the later part of the album which sucks for me. Adding to the their first album which had many hits as well, this band is going to turn into Old the Giant. To be consistent with this post, they have 284k Spotify followers and Cough Syrup has 17 million listens.
1. Imagine Dragons
This is the easiest #1 there is right now and you should all learn the name Dan Reynolds, the lead singer of Imagine Dragons. Night Visions was the 4th best selling album of 2013 and Radioactive was the most listened to song of 2013 with 174 million listens on Spotify. I’m not sure people understand how good Night Visions is. It could become the 4th best selling album on Radioactive and It’s Time alone. People don’t even know about the rest of the album. The deluxe edition of Imagine Dragons has 15 tracks and 15 tracks are wonderful. I still listen to this album. I use Imagine Dragons as my Spotify radio. Did I mention they blew the doors in with this remix of Radioactive with Kendrick Lamar at the Grammy’s? These guys do it all and are the best band out at the moment. They plan to hit the studio this year but no date of a new album is announced. What separates this band is the lyrics to their music. Some of my most memorable lines from their songs are “the path to heaven run through miles of clouded hell” and “don’t wanna let you down, but I am hell bound.”
Foster The People – Coming of Age (Mural Time – Lapse)
This video is how Foster the People creates buzz about their upcoming album, Supermodel, that is going to be released on March 18th. Not only is the music video awesome, the song hooks you without even listening to it. I know this is a weird way to put it but it’s such a chill beat and the chorus isn’t overwhelming. This is exactly why I liked the first album so much, you could have it on and there was nothing in the music that made me say, “I don’t like this.” If you were having people over for a party, Foster the People would be the perfect mood setter. This song takes over the formula of what made the first album so popular.
Torches was a mere 10 songs which is why people are going to go apeshit over this 12 track release. The best songs on Torches were passed over in my opinion. Waste and Warrant never even hit the radio. Coming of Age seems like it’s going to be hitting the radio in a big, big way with 80,000 Youtube views in the first day, it’ll hit a million by the end of the week. I’m even a little annoyed at myself because I’m going to play it out shortly and get sick of it. The lyrics are concise but catchy. I hate to even try to find meaning in them (because I’m probably wrong) but they’re about a guy who has people in his life that he has to leave behind in order to fulfill his personal goals which cause destruction. The Coming of Age is understanding this. The lyrics can be found here.
Mark Foster
A quick dissection of the coolest part of the song, the music video. The build process of the mural is so unique and shows how long it really takes when compared to the world is neat to watch. I enjoyed the lady working at 2:45 because seeing someone in a day to day fast forward is eye catching. The traffic at 3:00 and how slowly the hoist moves when compared to the world nails it completely. The end result seemed to be a woman in high heels, standing on gold and puking out lyrics that look to be a river in the city. A few of the lyrics read:
Aphids sucking the red off a rose
But for beauty I will gladly feed my life
Into the mouths of rainbows
Their technicolor teeth cutting prisms and smiling benevolently
On the pallid hue of the
Working class hero (a tribute to John Lennon perhaps?)
Also because I’m on top of the alternative music game, the video uses annotations to point out the following music videos:
Augustines – Nothing To Lose But Your Head
Body Language – The First
Wild Beasts – Wanderlust
Jake Bugg – A Song About Love
Who Has The Most Spotify Followers of 2013?
An interesting measure of how popular an artist is can be looked at by Spotify followers. Spotify is replacing Pandora as the streaming music king and is a more relevant indicator. Here is a snapshot of the top 20 Spotify accounts as of 12/23/13. I’ve added the Twitter followers as well to see how the two numbers compare.
20. One Direction – 16.8 Million Twitter followers – Teen heartthrobs who should do very well in popularity with regards to Spotify and social media as they hit the “who uses it the most” target on the bulls eye.
1.6 million followers as of 12/23/13
19. Usher – 8.8 Million Twitter followers – Hasn’t had a CD since 12′ and maintains a strong presence with his 17 years of producing quality jams.
1.7 million followers as of 12/23/13
18. Justin Bieber – 47.8 Million Twitter followers – Not surprising to see the Biebs have a much stronger following on Twitter where it’s not all about the music.
1.8 million followers as of 12/23/13
17. Kanye West – 10.1 Million Twitter followers – For being the best (in his own mind), you’d think he’d have more followers.
1.8 million followers as of 12/23/13
16. Pitbull – 15.2 Million Twitter followers – His successful collaborations just don’t seem to end and he knocks them out of the park in the pop world.
1.8 million followers as of 12/23/13
15. Gotye – 410k Twitter followers – Probably hasn’t added a fan since 2012. Somebody That I Used To Know has 141 million plays currently
1.8 Million followers on Spotify as of 2/18/14
14. Mumford and Sons – 500k Twitter followers – Odd when your Twitter followers are less than your Spotify followers but I think that should speak to the fact that these guys are all about the music
1.9 million followers as of 12/23/13
13. Lana Del Rey – 13.1 Million Twitter followers – Shocker that Lana is this high. She must be hitting a market I’m unaware of like teen girls.
1.9 million followers as of 12/23/13
12. Adele – 18.9 Million Twitter followers – No CD since 2011 and I can’t imagine she’s been adding tons of fans which speaks volumes to how big she was when 21 was released.
1.9 million followers as of 2/18/14
11. Drake – 13.6 Million Twitter followers – Nothing Was The Same was released in September of this year and Drake’s fan base is continuing to grow as he’s solidified himself as one of the game’s best.
2 million followers as of 12/23/13
10. Nicki Minaj – 17.2 Million Twitter followers – Since American Idol she doesn’t seem as current and her new music isn’t hitting my radio airwaves. She always seems to chirp back up though. Loving the Spotify logo.
2.0 million followers as of 12/23/13
9. Eminem – 16.5 Million Twitter followers – The new album The Marshall Mathers LP2 has revived Eminem and I would think he will continue to gain (even more) popularity the more people listen to it.
2 million followers as of 12/23/13
8. Katy Perry – 48.7 Million Twitter followers – Another singer who is way better known on Twitter than on Spotify which shows how huge her fan base is. She doesn’t even care if her logo is done professionally which honestly boggles my mind. *Edit – I added her new logo once I saw it was finally changed.
2.2 Million Spotify followers as of 2/18/14
8. Aviici – 1.1 Million Twitter followers – Huge following on Spotify and the best Spotify intro picture I’ve seen. I’d expect him to continue to climb the ranks as EDM continues to grow on Spotify.
2.2 million Spotify followers as of 12/23/13
7. Fun. – 647k Twitter followers – No new record and not many new songs since “Some Nights”. I have a feeling that they have something in the pipeline that will propel them higher. Not done with Fun. yet
2.4 million Spotify followers as of 12/23/13
6. Coldplay – 11.6 Million Twitter followers – This is a major surprise to me because Coldplay hasn’t come out with an album in 2 years and they feel old. They have an incredibly successful catalog though and that’s why they generate so much interest and a following.
2.5 million Spotify followers as of 12/23/13
5. Skrillex – 3.2 Million Twitter followers – I’m not a huge EDM guy but Spotify is listened to all over the world and this fan base is bigger than the US. These figures will continue to soar.
2.5 million Spotify followers as of 12/23/13
4. Flo Rida – 5 Million Twitter followers – The king of a catchy beat and chorus. Shocking he could be this high as I put him in the Pitbull category of pop songs.
3.4 Million followers as of 12/23/13
3. Maroon 5 – 7.3 Million Twitter followers – Adam Levine is named Sexiest Man of 2013 and he’s doing good things on the Voice. A class example of how to promote yourself and band.
3.7 million followers as of 12/23/13
2. Rihanna – 33.3 Million Twitter followers – Huge following on Twitter and Spotify and it’s well deserved. She has a wonderful voice and performs with the top draws in the world. She is current music.
3.9 million followers as of 12/23/13
1. David Guetta – 13.6 Million Twitter followers – This following, a huge 1 million leg up on #2, should speak to what people on Spotify are gravitating too. It’s music where the beat builds and then drops. Drugs and teenagers play a huge role in this spike but it’s here to stay.
4.9 million followers as of 12/23/13
What About?
Lady Gaga – With 40.9 million Twitter followers this is an embarrassment. Get a goddamn logo Gaga. Your Monsters will be dying before you know it.
900k Followers as of 2/18/14
Taylor Swift – Feels bigger than she is.
1.4 million followers as of 12/23/13
Imagine Dragons – Awesome logo and I hope they continue to crush the alt world.
800k followers as of 12/23/13
Kanye and Sway – You Ain’t Got The Answers!
This Kanye West interview with Sway is easily one of the most fascinating interviews of the year. Kanye is on another level of thought which can be misconstrued as nuts. It’s hard to tell if he’s always on point because to people watching him he comes off as incredibly egotistical and thinks of himself as someone who is rising above. The title of his latest album is Yeezus. He’s not naming himself after Jesus which is a common misconception and would probably make people think he’s a bit full of himself. When broken down, Yeezus is Yee-is-us. I’m not sure if us is black people or a human being but he’s saying that he stands for the people. Knowing that Kanye thinks that everything Kanye does is higher level, I wanted to breakdown some of his answers with Sway and try to get into the mind of someone of this caliber.
[pullquote align=”right” background=”on”]I am Warhol! I am #1 most impactful artist of our generation. I am Shakespeare in the flesh. Walt Disney. Nike. Google – Kanye[/pullquote]
Kanye is one of the easiest people to interview because he has so much going through his head and can talk for minutes at a time uninterrupted. The first thing I noticed is that he has been playing ball with the bigger corporations in fashion and is finding the industry difficult to deal with. He’s upset with Nike and the way they are handling his sneaker the Red October’s. Nike has “marginalized” him and this bothers him. This poor relationship being described by Kanye and the corporations pushed Sway to ask why Kanye doesn’t do these types of deals himself? He calmly answered “you need proper production to bring something that has a certain value.” I thought this was a brilliant answer because you need Nike because they have the set up. Sure he could do it himself but it would take his time to make it happen the correct way and he’s always balancing time and money. When he’s working on his fashion, he isn’t working on his rapping. He then gives some wonderful business advice when he says when he’s not rapping, he’s losing relevance and relevance is power. He’s juggling so many balls that he can’t do everything himself.
This thought of him concentrating on his fashion and not rapping lead into a comment on how he is #7 behind Big Sean on the 2012 MTV’s Hottest MC list. You can tell he took this personally by his look in the interview. He made it a point to address this when he asked Sway “what do you think now” which was after Yeesus came out this year? Sway slyly says, your #1. It was even amazing when he asked who was hotter right now Kanye or Drake, Kanye answered Drake which I thought was incredible. Even behind his egotism, he still lives in some reality which is quite extraordinary.
Kim and Kanye getting cuddly.
The climax of the interview is at 17:23 where Kanye loses it. Sway again asks why don’t you do it yourself and Kanye started spazzing out that Sway doesn’t have the answers. He took it like Sway was telling him what to do and he started with the phrase, “You Ain’t Got The Answers!” He lost his cool which was quite amusing and entertaining. He even took a pot shot at Sway when he said, “What’s the name of your clothing line. We don’t know.” This came at about the same time where he paraded that he’s 13 million dollars in debt to his clothing line. The way he looks at money was strange too because he was saying how there are about 20 hot celebrities a year who have power but that it won’t last forever. Yet if you were a billionaire you could make the celebrity status last forever. The oddest part was when he said there are “1,470 billionaires in the world.” Who the fuck knows that specific of a number of how many billionaires there are unless you are someone who aspires to be one. Which there is nothing wrong with but it’s quite apparent money is on his mind.
To conclude the interview, Sway asks Kanye to rap a little bit for the audience. It starts here and it’s classic. Watching his face when the beat starts immediately makes me wonder what is going through his mind. Is he thinking of something to say? Is he getting into the groove? Then he starts rapping by not rhyming which is hilarious if you ask me. He’s using the higher level thought process that I read in a Steve Martin book that says that he would tell jokes without a punchline. I think the rapping at the end is someone who thinks incredibly hard at what their image is and what they are trying to produce. I have a lot of respect for Kanye even though he’s definitely bonkers. Don’t forget, he married and has a child with Kim Kardashian.
Led Zeppelin on Spotify!!!!!!!!!
Led Zeppelin finally hits Spotify!
I couldn’t use enough exclamation points in this title to express how excited this makes me. Having the Led Zeppelin library at my fingertips is feeling like a lightning bolt just touched the tip of my penis. Rolling Stone broke the story to me through email but it looks as if they were aware at 11am today. 28,000 followers already, I expect this number to grow past 200,000 in the first month.
The rollout starts today and will continue through December 15th, starting with Led Zeppelin and Led Zeppelin II. Tomorrow, Led Zeppelin III and Untitled fourth album arrive. Friday brings Houses of the Holy and Physical Graffiti and Saturday will feature Presence and In Through the Out Door. Sunday, December 15th will be devoted to six albums: The Song Remains the Same, Coda, BBC Sessions, How the West Was Won, Mothership and Celebration Day.
I will be getting the lead out nonstop once everything is out and creating my own personal Led playlist. I’m excited for tomorrow because III and IV were my favorites. Their final 5 albums never wowed me as much but there are still great tracks on Houses of the Holy and Physical Graffiti. Music just got better.
The Beatles, AC/DC, Tool, Garth Brooks, Bob Seger and a handful of others remain unavailable on Spotify. When the Beatles are released on Spotify, all hell will break loose. I can’t tell if Spotify is good or bad for the bands but I can’t imagine more people being able to listen to your music as a completely bad thing. I can see how established bands who already have a fan base don’t want users listening to their music for free because these are their core buyers. For up and comers and legends, what’s the problem? Up and comers need people to listen to them and legends usually are not at their peak any more. Artists need to learn to adapt and Spotify is the wave of the music future.
UnSung Musical Groups
Here is a list of musical groups that are certainly well known but not necessarily well appreciated. They’ve produced many hits and are overlooked as the cream of the crop. Essentially these are groups that I would play far more often than the radio plays their songs.
The Kinks
Pete Quaife, Dave Davies, Ray Davies, Mick Avory.
Let’s be clear and understand that the Kinks were started in 1964 which was essentially the same time the Beatles and the Stones were in their hey day. I don’t think many people would argue that the Kinks were more significant than either of these groups because they weren’t. Their music gets lost in this time period due to being overshadowed. They are like Dominique Wilkens. Back in college I would listen to the Kinks for hours and just enjoy myself and the music. They have received plenty of notoriety and are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but aside from Lola, All Day and All Night, and You Really Got me, it’s safe to say you probably haven’t heard much of their music. A few personal faves are David Watts, Living on a Thin Line, Come Dancing, Catch Me Now I’m Falling, Waterloo Sunset (my all-time fave), and Sunny Afternoon. I could easily name another 10 that are worth listening to. This group deserves more mention than they get.
Boston
1976 Version of Boston
Boston fascinates me because you don’t hear any of their songs from any album but the first one and there’s one single from the second. Boston’s first album Boston, ranks as the best-selling debut album in U.S. history with over 17 million copies sold. It has 8 songs and every song (maybe not Something About You) gets radio play today. The next album, Don’t Look Back, really only had Don’t Look Back as a single, and I’ve heard A Man I’ll Never Be a couple of times through radio play. Boston premiered in 1976, Don’t Look Back in 1978, and then Third Stage was 1986 and nothing came of it except Amanda. The band battled with legal troubles throughout and never reached the peak of their debut album. It’s unreal to think that a group could produce one of the best albums of all time and then never get back to that point. Rock critics strictly hold longevity against them considering they weren’t able to continue making first class music throughout, which I understand. Somehow, someway, they were able to come together at one time and be a staple of radio for the next 30+ years. I always liked Hitch a Ride.
Dire Straits
Mark Knopfler, David Knopfler , John Illsley, and Pick Withers (drums and percussion).
Dire Straits were formed in 1977 and Mark Knopfler is essentially the group which he proved with his successful solo career. Their most popular album, Brothers in Arms, has sold over 30 million copies which is tremendous. I can’t think of a song they’ve made that I’ve gotten tired of hearing. Every time Money for Nothing comes on I know the little faggot is a millionaire. In Sultans of Swing I know guitar George knows all the chords and Harry’s got a daytime job and is doing alright. Romeo and Juliet is perhaps my favorite love song and I don’t like love songs. Still today I hear Dire Strait songs that I listen to for the first time and find myself wanting to the know the titles so I can listen to them again. Skateaway, So Far Away, and Lady Writer all are songs I won’t switch away from. The group disbanded in 1987 and Knopfler went on to do solo projects and film soundtracks which ended Dire Straits. In 2007, Knopfler said he did not miss the global fame that came his way at the height of the band’s success, explaining that “It just got too big”. It’s a shame because he had an awesome, distinguished voice and could rock the guitar.
The Cure
Simon Gallup, Jason Cooper, Reeves Gabrels, Robert Smith, Roger O’Donnell
Everyone starts with Just Like Heaven and Friday I’m In Love. These songs will catch and people will delve deeper into Pictures of You, Love Song, Boys Don’t Cry, and Close to Me. If you are still getting into the Cure at this point, you’ll start hitting some wonderful songs that don’t make the airwaves as often as those infamous jams. A few personal faves are Lullaby, Fascination Street, The Caterpillar, and Why Can’t I Be You. This band isn’t a few hit wonder considering it’s estimated they have sold 27 million albums as of 2004. They are a staple of New Wave music and made classic music throughout the late 70’s and into the 80’s. I find myself listening to more of the Cure now than I ever have and won’t stop until I get sick of them. Robert Smith, the lead singer, seems a bit kooky.