"Smoke + Mirrors"

       Smoke + Mirrors is Imagine Dragon's newest album which was released February 17th. This album has 13 songs with a wide range of sounds and moods. There are around four songs that I don't really like and the rest of the songs are from a 6 to a 8.5 out of 10 with 10 being the best.
      My favorite song on this album would have to "I Bet My Life," which I believe I mentioned in an early post. I have heard this song on many advertisements for both radio and television. I think that the song is becoming more popular because it has a nice beat and is catchy. Bastille, my favorite band, did a remix for this song. I really like the remix except for the last 50 seconds when there was this weird high pitched sound that popped out of no where a couple times. I didn't really like the way they said "life," it sounded like Dan Smith was making it into two syllables which made it feel awkward.
      My close second favorite song on this album would have to "Friction." This song in includes some rhythms and sounds you would only think to find in the middle east. The song is fast paced and jumpy. Since the sound is so different then what you might normally hear, I expect this song to do well.
       I also really like the song "Dream," because the piano shows the sad mood but we still have a clear beat with the drums. I really love the chorus in this song because it explodes with all these instruments with out changing the mood of the song.  
  "Shots" is the third single of "Smoke + Mirrors." This song has already reached number 7 on the Billboard's Hot Rock 100. The song's music is very happy and jumpy even the lyric are somewhat dark and depressing. I like this song because out how catchy the song is and I like the beat and percussion.


    
      

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoke_%2B_Mirrors_(Imagine_Dragons_album)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTuQmv-UpZs

 

Sources; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Bet_My_Life 

 

Foo Fighters

      The Foo Fighters is an American rock band that was formed in 1994. Members of the band include Pat Smear, Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Taylor Hawkins, Chris Shifleft, and at one point, William Goldsmith and Franz Stahl.
      The Foo Fighters have released 16 albums and are working on a 17th. Albums include, "Sonic Highways," "Wasted Light," "The Color and the Shape," "Echo, Silence, Patience & Grace," "There is Nothing Left to Lose," "In Your Honor," "Skin and Bones," "Medium Rare," "One by One," "The Missing Pieces," "Everywhere but Home," "Quiet Before the Storm," "Unplugged," "Brain Damage," their debut album, "Foo Fighters" and for you that want an album with no terrible songs, their "Greatest Hits" album.
      I would like to first confess that I first heard this band while playing "Guitar Hero" (I kill it on the drums.) The first song I heard was "Everlong," which I came to love and still do today. I love both the original version and the acoustic version, which is weird because normally I hate the acoustic versions of popular songs. "Everlong"'s acoustic version shows just how important the guitar is in the original version and I promise you, after hearing the acoustic version, you will never hear the original the same way. Also the acoustic version lets some of the quieter parts from the original, be recognized and appreciated more.
       I also like the song "Times Like These," because I like the guitar and how it has a nice smooth sound but then to break things up, it will become rough for a measure or two. I also like the smooth vocals that are about the same volume as the music.
      For those who have never heard of the Foo Fighters, I would recommend either buying or at least checking out their "Greatest Hits" album because you get a hood variety of songs from all of their albums.

 

http://www.ksdk.com/story/life/2014/11/18/foo-fighters-tickets-on-sale-next-month/19241707/

 

http://wall.alphacoders.com/by_sub_category.php?id=173470

 

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

Modest Mouse

       Modest Mouse is an indie rock band from Issaquah, Washington and was formed in 1993. The members include Isaac Brock, Jeremiah Green, Tom Pelosi, Russell Higbee, Jim Fairchild, Lisa Molinaro, and Davey Brozowski. Past members include Eric Judy, Robin Peringer, John Wickhart, Dan Gallucci, Benjamin Weikel, Johnny Marr, and Joe Plummer.
       Modest Mouse's lead singer, Isaac Brock, has a mad tone when he sings but the mostly happy, full music gives it a balance.
       Modest Mouse released their first studio album, "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank," in 2007. One of my favorite songs from this album would have to be "Florida" because the song has nice backing vocals unlike many of the other songs on this album. This song has a couple parts to it, some of it is happy while other parts are complete chaos.  It is a song that you wouldn't really dance to but nod your head or tap your foot to. I also like the song "Parting of the Sensory" because the beginning of the song is a little more dialed down compared to the rest of the album, but it builds up to sound more mad than sad. I also like how they used violin in this song with the lighter sound of the guitar. I like most of this album because each and every song has many different "scenes" to it.
      The album "Good News for the People Who Love Bad News" was released by Modest Mouse in the year 2004. My favorite by Modest Mouse, "Float On" is on this album. I love the guitar in this song and it is nice that the music is the same volume as Brock's singing. This song was band's first number one which was on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and it débuted on the Billboard's Hot 100 chart at number 70. It may sound weird, but the first time I had heard this song was when I was probably 9 or 10 years old playing "Guitar Hero" and the song instantly became one of my favorites and it still is.
        Modest Mouse has many more great album like "This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About," "The Lonesome Crowded West," "The Moon & Antarctica," and "Strangers to Ourselves" is scheduled to be released on March 17th, 2015.


http://computerwallpapers.org/modest-mouse-wallpaper-3.html

 

http://www.muzikdizcovery.com/2012/05/artist-of-day-modest-mouse.html

 

Sources; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Float_On_(Modest_Mouse_song) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modest_Mouse 

The Lumineers

      The Lumineers is a folk rock band from Denver Colorado. The band was formed in 2005. The members include Wesley Keith Schults  on lead vocals, Jeremiah Caleb Frailes with percussion/drums, piano, and backing vocals, Neyla Pekarek plays cello, bass, percussion, and backing vocals, Stelth Ulvang seems to be prodigy with piano, guitar, banjo, clarinet, glockenspiel (whatever that is), double bass, trombone, trumpet, flute, drums, and backing vocals. Ben Wahamaki plays bass guitar and guitar. Past members include Jay Van Dyke who was on drums, backing vocals and keyboard, and Maxwell Hughes who played guitar. This group is a group of musical prodigies and so it is no wonder their music is so well put together.
      The Lumineers released their debut album on April 3rd 2012 but before that they released their single "Ho Hey" in December of 2011. This single gained much popularity which was latter transferred to the band's debut album. The album hit its tightest mark at number two on the Billboard 200 Album Chart. I liked the song "Submarines" mostly for the piano. I think the piano with percussion was a nice change from the usual and it sounded really upbeat. I also like the song "Big Parade" because I liked how the guitar and the bass came together to sound like a jumpy dance. All in all I liked this album but I feel like a lot of songs sound the same with only a slight variation of each song. If you have not heard the song "Ho Hey" (which is extremely unlikely considering how over played it was a year ago) then you should look it up because it is the biggest variation in the whole album and it is a good song if you don't wear it out.
      Wesley Schults and Jeremiah Fraites helped compose the music for the song "The Hanging Tree" written by Suzanne Collins in her book "Mocking Jay." The song was preformed by Jennifer Lawrence and James Newton Howard in the movie "Mocking Jay; Part One."

      note: if you like The Lumineers, then you should check of the band Of Monsters and Men. (next week)

 

 http://us.designforhumanity.com/music/attachment/home-banner-music3/

 

 

 

 

http://www.examiner.com/article/the-lumineers-at-marquee-theater-tempe-Arizona

 

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