Weezer

       Weezer is an American rock band that was formed in 1992 in Los Angeles. Current members are Rivers Cuomo, Patrick Wilson, Brian Bell, and Scott Shriner. Past members include Matt Sharp, Jason Cooper, and Miley Welsh.
        Weezer has had many albums produced, them being, "The Blue Album," "Pinkerton," "Hiatus," "The Green Album," "Maladroit," "Make Believe," "The Red Album," "Raditude," "Hurley, Death to False Metal," and most recently, "Everything Will Be Alright in the End." I  have found that Weezer has some really good songs and then, some really not so good songs. Some of these not so good songs are over whelming and the music is not coordinated with itself. As for the really good songs, they will always be some of your favorites on your playlist. Weezer has a variety of topics for songs and my favorites seem to have a comical aspect to them, such as "Pork and Beans," which I find myself quoting at necessary  times. I think I love this song because of the weird lyrics that some how make sense.
      "Say it Ain't So" is another song I have come to love. You find yourself screaming along to the chorus because it is a sudden change in the music that is not only dramatic but catchy. I love songs like this because it is a change from the normal.
      The song "Buddy Holly" can be heavily compared to "Pork and Beans" in my opinion but that doesn't keep me from liking them both. I just made the mistake of watching the music video which I absolutely hate. I feel like it was boring and could have gone in any other direction and been ten times better then what it was. Of the few music videos of theirs that I have seen, I haven't liked any of them sadly. Most of them are boring and just not put together very well.
      Although I hate Weezer's music videos, I have come to absolutely adore their music and I would encourage you to check out some of their music, newer and older.

http://q101.com/2014/07/new-weezer-q101s-alternatives-channel/

 

http://www.layoutsparks.com/pictures/weezer-0

 

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weezer

Cage the Elephant

        Cage the elephant is an American Rock/ Indie Pop band. The band was formed in 2006 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The members include Matt Shultz who is main vocals, Brad Shultz on guitar, Daniel Tichenor who plays bass, Jared Champion with drums, Nick Bockrath who plays guitar and Mattan Minster who also plays guitar as well as keyboard. Lincoln Parish was once a guitarist for the band who left in 2013.
       The debut album of Cage the Elephant was released in late June of 2008. "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" was the first song I had heard from Cage the Elephant. At first I will admit I thought that this song was a country song but I pleasantly surprised at what followed the first four measures. The country guitar sound accompanied with the voice of Matt Shultz made for an odd but nice combination.  The lyrics were also well written and catchy which I find to be true for most of their songs. Another song from this album that I like is "Lotus" because I like how they change up the music every so often and it isn't jarring like some songs that try to do this. I feel a few songs on this album sound the same but none sound bad.
      Cage the Elephant released their second album, "Thank You Happy Birthday." This album sounds more Indie Rock more than American Rock. The music seems to get wilder and crazier on this album but it doesn't sound trashy and over done.  I like the song, "Flow" because even though it isn't as wild as the rest of the album, I think it has a different feel than any other songs by Cage the Elephant. I like this song because I like the percussion that they used and the smooth "Flow" of the music. "Aberdeen" is one of the crazier songs but I really like it. The guitar and drums are the same volume as the vocals but it makes sense with the lyrics. I think this is a fairly good album that anybody could find a few songs that they liked.

Note: if you like Cage the Elephant, then you might like Foals.

http://musicmerchant.com/recordstoreday.htm

 

http://awmusic.ca/2011/01/31/song-of-the-day-cage-the-elephant-around-my-head/

 

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cage_the_Elephant

Young the Giant

       Young the Giant is an indie rock band from Irvine, California, formed in 2004. Members of the band include Sameer Gadhia on lead vocals, Jacob Tilley who plays guitar, Eric Cannata who also plays the guitar, Payam Doostzadeh with bass guitar, and Francois Commons plays the drums. The band's debut album was released in late October of 2010. The album contains only 3 singles, "My Body," "Apartment" and my favorite song, "Cough Syrup." I love this song for many reasons but mainly because of the way Gadhia is able to sing with the fast tempo but still exaggerate each and every note. Another song I really love is "Guns Out." Like most of Young the Giant's songs, it has a great drum beat. The vocals are a little bit slower in this song even with the fast drum tempo but works because you really have to think about the drums to notice it. Another song to check out from this album would be "Every Little Thing." This is a good song for the same reason as all the others but this song has a little more guitar and the chorus is really upbeat and catchy. I have actually just recently found Young the Giant but I bought this album within days of hearing them for the first time.
        Young the Giant's second album was released in January of 2014. This album is just as great as the first if not better. I really like their song, "Daydreamer" because of the rhythm, guitar, and Gadhia sounds as amazing as ever. I also like their song "Eros." This song has more of a technical sound to it than most of their other songs but it is not over done like many make the mistake of doing. The whole album has a little more technical work and guitar in it other compared to the first album and I feel they did very well with these changes and I would encourage anyone to check out this album.

http://www.youngthegiant.com/

 

http://music.allaccess.com/young-the-giant-bring-heart-to-the-iheart-theater/

 

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_the_Giant

 

Music to Look Forward to this Year

      2014 has come and gone but has given us a few new artists and albums to love and look forward to. Imagine Dragons is working on a new album, "Smoke + Mirrors" which is expected to come out on the 17th of February. Two singles have already been released. "I Bet My Life," was the first to be released and "Gold" was released soon after. I really like "I Bet My Life." I the complexity of the music; there are so many different sounds and things going on but they some how fit together. As for "Gold" I didn't like it as much I felt like there was too much going on and at times it felt jarring. I hope the rest of the album is just a little less busy; even though I thought Imagine Dragons did great on "I Bet My Life," I just hope the rest of the album isn't as disconcerting as "Gold."
       In other news, Bastille released their new album "VS. (Other People's Heartache Pt. III)." Most of the album was to "Pop" for my liking but I could see many others falling in love with this album.
      A band to keep an eye out for this year would be Oh Honey. They opened a concert for The Fray which I got a chance to attend. I think they sound pretty good live, in fact almost as good as they sound on the radio. It didn't take long for me to get their EP, "With Love." My favorite song of this EP would have to be "Be Okay." I think this song has a great beat and guitar. I also like "Get It Right," because of the chimes and tambourine, I think these instruments together made it sound like a cute little love song which I normally don't like. Truly, I like all of Oh Honey's songs and I would recommend them all. They recently released their new EP "Sincerely Yours." Which is just as good if not a little better than their first EP.
     
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_%2B_Mirrors_(Imagine_Dragons_album)#mediaviewer/File:Smoke_and_Mirrors_album_cover.jpeg


http://pitchfork.com/news/57702-stream-bastilles-mixtape-vs-other-peoples-heartache-pt-iii-featuring-haim-angel-haze-more/

Credits: iTunes ( release dates)