My Playlists

So remember when I blogged about my new amazing ipod well I had to make new playlists to replace my old ones. I had a whole bunch of different playlists for different things like when I walked to class, worked out, went longboarding, or went to sleep. Well let me start with the walking to class playlist. On this playlist I always start with some mellow chill music to get me going in the beginning of the day. Now I'm not the sort of guy to listen to mellow music, but in the morning I needed some calming relaxing music just to get me in the right mood, because when I wake up I'm the crankiest person you'll meet. Well this playlist included artists like Radiohead, John Mayer, Sublime, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Doors, and you can never go wrong with some Pink Floyd. Now I'm sure some of you are thinking that Red Hot Chili Peppers or maybe The Doors don't have to much of mellow music but listen to "Soul to Squeeze" by RHCP or "The End" by The Doors and it will take you to a calm relaxing place, like you should be in the morning. Now another type of playlist I had was a playlist to workout to. This was one of my favorite playlists that I had because the music would just pump you up for anything. I would walk into the gym and right away have it playing. I had all different types of artists and bands. It was mostly Rage Against the Machine, The Libertines, System of a Down, Avenged Sevenfold, The Raconteurs, and I'd also throw some of The Strokes in there. All of these bands contributed something to my playlist. With their music going to my ears it was like if it was traveling throughout my body and gave me that extra energy to keep me going through a workout or a run. Without there music on my ipod I know I wouldn't have that extra push to keep going. The last type of playlist I'll mention is my playlist to sleep to. A lot of people ask me how I can go to sleep with music blasting in my ears, but without it I have trouble sleeping. I need either some "Karma Police" by Radiohead or some "Over the Hills and Far Away" by Led Zeppelin to get me to crash. Without this music on my playlist and the playlists on my ipod I know for a fact I wouldn't be able to function properly.

Deep Dish CHEESE

Not since the the Grateful Dead has a jam band developed the kind of cult following that The String Cheese Incident had throughout the late eighties, nineties, and up until this past summer. Based out of the hippy capital of the world, Boulder, Colorado, a brilliant group exploded onto the american folk music scene in the late 1980's. What separated Cheese from other bluegrass/folk groups of the time was the use of keyboards, electric guitars, and sound effects. This put The String Cheese Incident into a sort of genre that had a bluegrass feel to it, but definately had that "far out" sort of sound to it. I had the pleasure of witnessing an incident for my first time in 2002, my freshman year in high school. Never had I seen so many dreadlocks, VW buses, and Colorado plates all in one place at one time. There were people selling necklaces, food, clothes, and art just to afford their next ticket. Not to mention the next gas fill so they could make it to the next stop on the tour. This particular show in Chicago was a two day event, and at first I had no intention on attending both nights. After the first song on the first night, I had already made up my mind...the second night could not be missed. So low and behold, my passion for The String Cheese Incident was born. The music is joyful and upbeat. For me, it is very difficult to listen to Cheese without feeling the urge to stand up and dance around. Although the age group that Cheese appeals to is primarily between the ages of 16-30, it is without a doubt music for all ages. I have seen plenty of hippy children sitting on the shoulders of their parents, clapping their hands and singing along to the happy rythms of The String Cheese Incident. The String Cheese Incident is without a doubt my all-time favorite band. Unfortunately this summer, after fourteen years, The String Cheese Incident decided to say farewell and put an end to a hell of a ride that they've been maintaining for so long. Although Cheese is done, all the members are still making music in various side projects, all of which I have seen first hand. If you dig Cheese, make sure to come back next week and I will get some posts up about the side projects.

The Libertines

Recently I've started listening to some music that I haven't listend to in awhile. One band that I've been listening to a lot are The Libertines and I decided to share with you their music so maybe you can experience the great tunes that comes from this band. The Libertines are an indie garage rock band from Great Britain. They started around 2000 and consist of some of the most artistic, talented, don't care about anything attittude guys that I've ever seen. The band has 4 band members who are Pete Doherty(guitar and vocals), Carl Barat(guitar vocals), Gary Powell(percussion), and John Hassall(bass). The band was founded by the two frontmen Pete and Carl and right from the start you can tell that these two would be perfect frontmen for each other. The band started playing in small venues in Europe but don't get the idea that just because they're small they don't have the energy of huge concerts. The band would get on stage and right away the fans knew what to expect. The crowd would start preparing because right when one of the frontmen would play they're dirty heavy guitar chord, (a perfect example of their heavy dirty guitar progressions would be their song "Horrowshow") the crowd would just go wild and thats when the crowd surfing would begin. After the band started making a name for themselves and created a big fanbase they started touring all over the world, places like Japan and USA. They started getting their music out all over the world and by the time of the release of their first album "Up the Bracket" they had a big enough fanbase to make the album a hit. They even ended up playing a on the David Letterman show to get their music out to the world. Once the fanbase of the band grew and grew they started playing bigger shows. Now even though these shows were a lot bigger than the venues they had the exact same energy. What I love about this band is they played their heart out everytime, it didn't matter if they were in front of a million people or in front of 10 people they always played for the fans, and thats what they cared about. They're concern wasn't money or popularity, it was playing their music for their fans and that was the bottom line. The band later released their second album titled "The Libertines". The band recieved band of the year in England, and even though things were looking great the band ended up separating. This was mostly because of a drug addiction of Pete Doherty one of the frontmen for the band. The song "Can't Stand Me Now" from their second album tells the story of the troubles between Pete and the band. The band was only able to release two albums but they were two the most incredible albums that I've heard. There's one quote that I think summarizes the band in one phrase, and thats from their song "I Get Along" it goes "people tell me I'm wrong fuck em"

I do believe I've lost my mind!

This summer I had a Fourth of July weekend that will never be forgotten. On this weekend, I left the planet Earth and took up residence at the Rothbury Festival of Art and Music. This is a place where freedom of expression is not only encouraged, but a necessity to have fun. At most events a person would want to fit in with the rest of the concert goers, and in order to do this at Rothbury one would have to do everything, that in the real world, would keep you from fitting in. The majority of people that took place in this gathering of forty thousand at the JJ Ranch in Michigan either dressed in outrageous outfits, wore elaborate costumes, wore nothing but body paint, or in just a few cases (thank goodness just a few) roamed completely naked. "Let you mind go free, and your ass will follow" was an overwhelming theme at this festival. We arrived Thursday morning, set up camp, and prepared for the next five days of camping, art, and music that awaited us. What drew us to this festival was the overwhelming amount of artists that had been scheduled to play. There was somewhere in the ballpark of ninety bands playing this festival, Dave Mathews Band, Widespread Panic, 311 & Snoop Dogg, Gov't Mule, Keller Williams, and Sound Tribe Sector Nine just to name a few. The styles of music ranged from rap to techno to rock to bluegrass, and I witnessed the most diverse crowd of people that I'd ever experienced. There were even appearances from three out of the four members of Phish, something monumental for any Phish fan. The music began every day at noon, and rocked well into the wee hours of the morning. Typically, the music ended between three and four in the morning every night. A performance on Saturday evening from one of my favorite jamtronica groups, Sound Tribe Sector Nine, is what stands out in my mind as the best show of the weekend. The music was out of this world, it was a cool Fourth of July evening, and the energy from the crowd was absolutely stunning. After the show the sky erupted with fireworks, and I do not think anyone could have asked for anything more. The party raged on through the night, and continued on through the next afternoon and evening. As all good things must come to an end, Rothbury went out with a bang. Late Sunday evening hurricane winds, torrential downpours, and terrifying electrical storms ravaged the campgrounds of forty thousand helpless people. We were forced to abandon camp and take refuge in the vehicles for our own safety. It was truly a mess the following morning, but everyone was in good spirits as we attempted to pack the cars with rain soaked tents, clothes, and belongings. Overall, this was one of the best five days of my life. I could not have asked for more, and I can't wait until next Fourth of July!!!

Student Essential

Everyone knows that students need certain things to survive when they attend college. Things like books, laptop, backpack, and probably food. But one thing I think is being left out and every student should own is an ipod or any mp3 player. I myself have had one for some years but right before I came here to Purdue I dropped it in orange juice(long story). So here I am ipod-less and I'm about to enter college. To me it would of been like if I would have dropped my laptop in orange juice because that was how much I used it. My favorite playlists with my favorite bands were wiped away. So once school starts, here I am walking to class early in the morning without any music flowing through my head and I start to realize that this really sucks. I dont know about you guys but I need music in the morning to wake me up and brighten my day up. So I decided I couldn't go to school like this, so I hit the checking account and got myself a new ipod and you all know that college students aren't rich but to me this was an important buy. So I bought the one that one of my fellow bloggers mentioned in one of his blogs, the new ipod nano. Not only is this ipod such an improvement from my last one but now that I have it school has gotten so much better. When I'm walking to class, doing homework, sitten in my room, or working out my ipod is pretty much always with me. I got all my favorite music and and all the new music I've heard since I've been down here. I created playlists, like in the morning a good way to start my day is to hear "What I got" by Sublime, or when I'm working out some Rage Against the Machine is always good to get you going. The investment into an ipod or any other mp3 player I think is a smart choice. So take some advice from me if you yourself don't own an ipod or a mp3 player go out and get yourself one, trust me its worth it.

Finally Indiana Gets Some!

Although I am not sure if the days will ever come where I do not have to travel to Chicago once a month for live music, things are certainly looking up! Jam band (that's improv. for those who missed out on the last blog) powerhouse Umphrey's McGee is coming to Indiana on October the third. Unfortunately it is going to be at Ball State (ack!), but nonetheless I know that I will be making the trip up, down, east, west, or whatever direction Ball State is in. Umphrey's McGee, believe it or not, actually changed my life. It began in 2001 when I was just in eighth grade that I saw Umphrey's Mcgee for the first time. They changed my whole perspective on music, and pointed me in the direction that helped me to develop the musical tastes that I have today. Since the first time in 2001 that I witnessed the fitness of Umphrey's Mcgee, I have seen the group upwards of forty-something times (I tried to keep track but lost count after thirty in 2007). Umphrey's is a progressive rock group with both beautiful melodic rock n' roll tunes, and heavy, borderline metal jams. What separates Umphrey's from the rest is the guitarists, Jake Cinninger and Brendan Bayliss. It has been said they produce guitar riffs so fast, they will literally "melt your face off". Not only can the guitarists shred, but the usage of two drummers keeps a tempo and beat that would make most drummers cry tears of joy. Of course I can not forget to mention the keyboard stylings of Joel Cummings, and the bass of Ryan Stasik. Both of these gentlemen are fine musicians, deserving of your and my attention. This is a group which is based out of Chicago. In the past five years, the band's popularity absolutely exploded in the Chicago rock scene. If you are from Chicago, chances are you have heard of Umph, or you have a friend that is an Umphreak. Not only does Umphrey's Mcgee make outstanding music, but the whole mood and scene is amazing. One of the great things about the audience is that everyone is willing to go out of their way to make the concert more enjoyable for the people around them. When everyone acts like this, it makes for a warm community where the entire crowd has a blast. I hope you are interested, so I'll save you the trouble of looking up the information. The show is at the Emens Auditorium in Muncie, Indiana. The address is 1800 West Riverside Avenue, and this is an all ages concert. Doors open at 6:30, the show begins at 7:30. Tickets are $24.50, well worth the three hours on cloud nine. So I hope to see you guys there, and if you have room in your car...LET ME KNOW!!!

Pnuma Pnuma Pnuma

What exactly is a Pnuma? Is it the sound of a hungry cookie monster? This is a mystery even to the fan base of the jam band super group "The Pnuma Trio". Firstly, a jam band is an improvisation based band whose music is almost impossible to replicate. All fans go to concerts not knowing exactly what to expect, but the odd thing about jam bands is that the musicians go to their own concerts with the same feeling. This is what makes the jam band so phenomenal. They have the confidence to get on stage, play music off the top of their heads, and just go with the flow. The Pnuma Trio are in a section of the jam band scene that has been dubbed "jamtronica" because it is live improvisational electronic music. The group blends classical, funk, hip-hop, jazz, and electronic music into one swirling soup of musical experimentation. They are a group of three young men from Memphis who use their classical and jazz training to bust out powerful, mind-bending tunes. Normally, in the jamtronica scene it would take groups anywhere from five years to a decade to even get any recognition. The "golden boys of jamtronica" (The Pnuma Trio), however, rose to the top of the scene with incredible speed, and hold their place in popularity with relative ease. The group consists of a drummer, bassist, and keyboardist. On top of the three basic instruments, every member of the group is surrounded with laptops and DJ equipment. The group uses a technique called digital looping. This is made possible by a machine that records a short riff from the musician, and replays the recording repetitively without any assistance from the musician. This allows for the group to sound like an orchestra, but remain a trio. I recently had the pleasure of experiencing The Pnuma Trio live at Rothbury Music Festival. For a little taste of the live trio, check this out (my apologies for the sound quality). Ever since, I find myself browsing through the live music archive, downloading hours of live sets from the trio. I even bought their new compilation, "Character". I highly recommend this cd to anyone who reads and feels that they even remotely like the style of music that I have been bringing to the table. It is a very gentle, relaxing cd that brings innovative, sometimes even weird sounds to this ever-evolving music scene. Trust me when I say ever-evolving too. One of the things that makes this scene so fun is that is is not the same thing we have been hearing on the radio for years, its fresh, funky, party music that I think everyone can appreciate. The Pnuma Trio is an up and coming band. I would be surprised if anyone has ever even heard of them, but do not let this discourage you! This is something I, myself, am learning through my music blogging. Since my knowledge of music is not infinite, I am forced to explore the vastness of the musical world, and to try out new styles. Take my advice, experiment with new music!

Campus Music

Well we all have been at the Purdue campus for a bout 3 weeks now and Im sure all of you have been hearing certain songs around campus. Maybe in your dorms, while your walking to campus, or at a party. Some songs might start to get annoying but some you might hear and wanna know the name so you can download yourself. Well I'm gonna start mentioning some songs and certain artists I've been hearing a lot around campus. The first artist I'm talking about is Lil Wayne. Seems everywhere I go there's a Lil Wayne song being played. The first one that I heard when I arrived on campus was A Milli. I've heard the song before but when I got on the campus it seemed to be everywhere. I heard it in my dorm, being played outta cars and almost at every party. The song is good, catchy, and does grow on you but after being played so much it tends to get old. Now I thought maybe that would be all the Lil Wayne I'd be hearing but I was wrong. I was hearing more songs like 3Peat, Mr. Carter, and Lollipop. Again these songs were being played everywhere I went. These are all good songs like A Milli, but I myself think that I would wanna take a break from Lil Wayne just for a little while. Now the next song I'm gonna mention I'm sure you all have heard and that is "Whatever You Like" by T.I. This song I heard back home but when I got here it was like the song blew up. I was hearing the song 24/7 everywhere I went. Its not a bad thing because I really like the song and it seems like the rest of the campus does too. It has a really good verse and everytime I hear the song I want to get out and have fun. Now I know the next song I'm going to mention I'm sure all of you have heard a million times and this song is "Paper Planes" by MIA. This is song I never heard before I got here. I remember the first time I heard it I was at a frat and right away the song caught on. The next day I went and downloaded the song thinking that no1 really knew about it but then I hear it being played down the hall and pretty much every where else. I started to realize that the whole campus knew about this song besides me. But I was really glad I was able to hear the song because I've been listening to it ever since. Like the other songs I've talked about it had a catchy verse and chorous. But besides these songs I've been hearing a lot of oldies being played. One of my favorites that I've heard quite a bit is "Santeria" by Sublime. When I first heard the song it brought me back to the good old days in high school. It was like a flash back and it was amazing hearing it down here because I myself haven't really hear it in quite awhile. Well next time your walking to class, hanging out with friends, or at a party try to listen to the music that is being played around you, it starts to grow on you and if you find some good music let me know because I am always up to listening to new things.

My Life

My mom called me today with some news. It was disturbing news, but still good news. I'll warn you now this is probably the darkest blog you will see out of me this year. Back to business though. My mom called me today to tell me that one of my classmates from gradeschool/high school's murderers were arrested. Let me break it down for you. My friend Gina (RIP) was found in her car dead behind a library in Chicago. Officially, she died of a heroin overdose, but she was raped and beaten before she died. This is the kind of crowd I grew up around before college. This is My Life. This might seem out of place for a music blog, but the song "My Life" by Game featuring Lil Wayne makes me remember the town that I have put behind me. The song discusses the lives of criminals, and they ask the question, "Dear Lord you have taken so many of my people, I'm just wonderin why you haven't taken my life". That line is what really hits me in the heart. Gina's dead, my best friend Jay is in prison for the next 3-5, Matt got 15 years, Adam is waitin on court, but it is not looking good, Andy is getting time for selling Gina the heroine that killed her, Amanda is either going to rehab or a grave, and Josh just got out and does not know what to do with himself. That's just what I could think of off the top of my head, but the important thing is I got out alive. This is the overlying theme in this tune. Basically, they talk about the mystery. Is it just luck that we escaped the life? Were we smarter than those who were taken down? If I had stayed one more week in that town would I have been just like Gina? Who knows. The thing I love about this song is that they talk about getting over the past and making a better future for yourself. That is exactly what I decided to do. I'm not "grindin with my eyes wide", I'm not living "the life of the knife", I'm just studying hard and doing my life how it should be. I hope that anyone reading cannot relate to what I'm talking about. It is not fun to see the people you grew up with dead or in jail. Sorry to be a downer but I needed to get that off my chest.

LOLLA pt 2

Alright everyone I'm back to blog some more. Lets see where did I leave off, oh yeah that's right I was telling you guys about my amazing experience at Lollapalooza. Ok so here we are standing outside this huge music festival just amazed my everything. So we hurry up and get in line which is the longest line I have ever seen in my life, it completely wrapped around the park. Once we get in its like an other scenario I haven't ever seen before. There's stages everywhere, girls all over the place, and the music is just traveling through out the whole park. We look at our schedule and the first band that we wanna see are the Black Lips. But before we get there we have ourselves some beverages (beverages that might get me an trouble) and hit up the stage. The band is already playing and we can see them on the huge screens next to the stage. We try to get as close as possible and we end up getting pretty much next to the stage. They play for about an hour and it was amazing set. After that we go see some other bands playing on the side stages, these bands were bands I've never heard of but there music was great. The next band we wanted to see were The Black Keys. This is a two man band but they're music is incredible. They play a lot of blues but with a twist. After The Black Keys finish they're set The Raconteurs are up, and for those of you that don't know who they are, they are one of the best bands to see live. If you ever get the chance to see them live take it. So we get even closer to see them because its been a band I've been wanting to see for a long time. They start of by playing "Consoler of the Lonely" a great song to start of there set. They played a lot of my favorites like "Salute Your Solution, "Five on Five", and "Steady as She Goes". After watching there amazing set we run to the other side of the park because on completely the other side of the park Radiohead was about to perform. We're running through the crowds pushing through so we know we can get a good spot. We finally get to the stage and the place is packed. Everyone from the whole festival is waiting to see them because they're the finishing act. We don't get such a good spot but its alright. It was well worth it though when they came out. They had one of the most amazing light shows. They played amazing songs like "15 Steps", "Paranoid Android", and "Everything in the Right Place". Trying to describe the feeling and atmosphere that was going while they were playing can't be done. It was one of the best experiences watching them live and I'll never forget it. They even ended with my favorite song "Idioteque" and then fireworks. After the show was over I felt like it was a dream, the festival was just amazing. I gotta end by telling you guys if you ever get a chance to go to Lollapalooza or any other music festival you won't regret it.

LOLLA

Well now that summer is coming to an end I wanted to share with everyone a great experience I was able to have in summer 2008. The experience wasn't going to Cancun or going to Europe(even though they would have been amazing too) but attending the music festival in Chicago called Lollapalooza. I'm sure everyone has heard of or seen videos of Lollapalooza but in case you haven't I'll give you some background information on it. Lollapalooza is a 3 day music festival that was started by Perry Farrell the singer for Jane's Addiction. Like I said before it is held in Chicago in Grant Park. It features music from alternative, indie, metal, to hip hop and rap. Well now that you guys and gals have some info on the festival I'll begin to share with you my great experience. This year was the first year I have ever atteneded Lollapalooza and it was a great one to start with. It quickly grabbed my attention when I heard the setlist of bands for the festival. It included great bands like Rage Against the Machine, The Black Lips, The Raconteurs, The Black Keys, Kayne West, and who can forget the great Radiohead. Its ok if you guys don't know some of these bands because I will mostly likely talk about them in later blogs. Well here I am pumped for this festival so I check the price on the 3 day pass and find out that is close to $230. Wow! I said to myself being that I was a college student and I'm sure eveyone knows that once you enter college you hold on to every penny you can. So I decided to attend only the first day of the festival which was August 1 and the ticket for that was $80. The day included most of the bands which I wanted to see but I was not able to see Rage Against the Machine which was a huge dissapointment. So here comes August 1 and I seriously could not sleep the night before because of all the excitement. The day finally comes and I am ready. My friends and I take the train to Chicago and when we finally get to Grant Park we are absolutely astonished at all the people that were stading in and around this festival. I have never seen so many people at once. It was something I have never seen before and the music playing added so much to this scenario. I'm gonna have to end this blog here but on the next one I'll share with you all the great music, food, girls, and beer that came along with the festival.

RJD Who?

I've had this conversation on so many different occasions I am starting to feel that I do not even have to ask the question, "Oh, have you heard of RJD2?" anymore. The answer is the same every time. "Who?" So, today I've decided to grace you all with the name and information of a DJ (disc jockey if you are new to music, hah) who is incredibly creative both in his music and videos. Some of you have probably seen the stunning new video, "Work it Out", on MTV as RJD2 recently broke into the limelight, appearing frequently on MTV2 and MTVU. My first encounter with RJD2 was completely by chance. The year was 2002, and I was just a young lad going to see the progressive rock phenomenon Umphrey's Mcgee in one of the most beautiful cities in the world...my town...Chi-town. I was not thrilled to find out a DJ was to open for Umphrey's Mcgee, but about half an hour later I was forced to open my mouth and insert my foot. He took the stage with an ambient, slow beat. In the background gentle streams of blue, green, and orange light swept across the stage. A break dancer emerged from backstage and began to put on an amazing performance of gymnastics style moves. Just when I began to wonder when the musician would take the stage, the dancer back flipped in front of the DJ podium and began to spin. His insanity ensued throughout the show making it, at the time, the most off-the-wall concert of my youth. RJD2 records, performs, arranges, and produces his full length studio albums entirely by himself in his basement studio (XL Recordings is his original record label). He works with an MPC2000XL Sampler/Sequencer (used to make beats/percussion), synthesizers, keyboards, guitars, and his own voice to create entirely original compositions. Although his website does have mp3's from his latest 2007 release, "?The Third Hand?", in my opinion these are not his best tunes. For his finest work, I can not stress enough that "Work it Out" is one of the coolest music videos out there right now. His style is difficult to embody in words. It lays somewhere in a void between hip-hop and electronica. Just take a listen, it is no wonder that with his genre bending music he has been dubbed the "Instrumental Wizard".