I think that, in a past life, I was somehow involved in the music industry. Music is a huge passion of mine! Concerts, albums, recommended by friends, found by accident, it doesn't matter - let me at it.
If you don't live under a rock, then you are probably aware that the Grammys were on last night. Or, as it was made into, The Whitney Houston Tribute Show. This nice Jewish girl didn't realize that we were going to church last night, but LL Cool J took us all there by leading the crowd in prayer. "Amen...and with that, welcome to the Grammys." What a transition, sir.
I know that everyone and their music-loving mother will be writing about what they thought about the show and who won or didn't win, but I figured, I have a music blog - I think it's only expected that I should write something, right? I'm just going to share some thoughts about some favorite moments; I'm not even going to touch Nicki Minaj and her "performance" - I don't want to catch anything.
Bruno Mars opened up the show with a lot of energy: "Get off your rich asses and start dancing!" He was definitely channelling his inner James Brown.
Foo Fighters - They were on more than once, and I think that I liked their 1st performance the best, even if they weren't in the actual theater. They performed "Walk, which is one of my favorites from the new album. This makes me want to see them live! The performance at the end when they were in the big red thing next to Deadmau5? Cool, but, well, maybe it was that I wasn't pickin' up what Deadmau5 was puttin' down.
Dear Chipotle: You got me. I am in need of a burrito or a taco or something of that variety in my life. Like, hours ago. You can deliver it to my home or place of business, whatever is easiest, thanks. For real though, that commercial with Willie Nelson singing 'The Scientist' by Coldplay? Genius. Who didn't like this commercial? Jerks, that's who. Good work, team.
The Civil Wars - they had a beautiful but quick performance. I keep forgetting that they're NOT a couple. Their Barton Hollow album is really beautiful all the way through.
Adele - What can I say? America (and The Grammy Academy, obviously) loves you. Your performance was definitely worthy of the standing ovation you received. Wasn't a huge surprise that she won what she won! You go girl.
Bon Iver - SO excited that he won for Best New Artist... except that he's not new, really! Either way, I'm cool with it. Great speech, too. He just really loves making music. (Sidebar: THIS blog is hilarious.)
Tim Blane's music is self-proclaimed "catchy singer/songwriter pop that's perfect for the front seat or the back porch."
Tim, I completely agree. Your music is actually perfect.... anywhere.
Tim Blane Band - Tim's 3rd from the Left (photo from Facebook)
His May 2011 album, You Can't Go Back, has been playing on my Spotify account for a few months now, and I have no complaints. "Magnetic", "Lay It All On Me", "Mischief" and "You Can't Go Back" are all favorites and are on my "starred" list. Honest, quality, acoustic, pop. Ain't nothin' wrong with that. The other handsome fellows in the photo above include Matt Owens (trumpet), James Casey (sax/vocals), James Williams (drums), Adam Tressler (guitar), and Reuben Cainer (bass). Handsome fellowsm not included in the photo but are also band members, include Ben Zecker (keys) and Derrick White (trombone).
Ever mess around with the GarageBand program on a Mac? If so, you've seen him as a teacher on it. Also, he was hired to write ringtones for Pepsi. I'm actually in the market for some new ringtones, Tim... anyways, also, according to his website, he's "shared the stage with acts like the Goo Goo Dolls, CAKE, OneRepublic, KT Tunstall, Fabolous and Sister Hazel." That's, um, FA-BO-LO-US.
If you are at all intrigued to check Mr. Blane and his boys out, I highly suggest this little ditty:
Tim Blane - "Magnetic"
If you have any artists you think that I should check out and/or spotlight, please let me know! I'm always on the lookout for new tunes to fill my earbuds with...
If you have Spotify, definitely check out the Radio option. It's like turning the Genius option iTunes, but it doesn't just use the music you already have; your ears will be introduced to a whole bunch of new artists.
U2 - In God's Country (I know that this is an old one, but I've heard it on the radio lately and it makes me think of the movie Three Kings, which I love. David O. Russell is a directoral genius.)
Augustana and Graffiti6 performed at The Paradise Rock Club last night (January 31, 2012). I was in desperate need of hearing good live music, and boy oh boy, did they deliver.
Graffiti6 opened the show, and my friend Randi and I caught their last few songs. They sounded really fantastic live. That's always the big question for me (and I'm sure most concert-goers): "I like this band, but will they sound as good as they do on the album?" I definitely want to check out more of their music.
Graffiti6
Augustana certainly seemed happy to be back in Boston. Of course, they performed their well-known and much-loved song "Boston", and nearly everyone in the room whipped out their smartphones to record the song. Some of my favorites were "Sweet and Low" and "Shot in the Dark".
Augustana
Augustana
The rest of their tour brings them to such places as Philly, D.C., Atlanta and then back this way to Mohegan Sun Casino.
I have to share the video for "Steal Your Heart", mostly because it's a great song, also because it sort of reminds me of something The Killers (at least I think it's The Killers who it's sounding reminiscent of) would do, and partly because, um, the guys aren't hard to look at. #justsayin.
