In With The New

One of my favorite things is finding a new band, song, singer, or album and just totally consuming myself in them. Listening to them and only them; getting so pumped about putting my headphones on in the morning; and of course, telling as many people as I can about how what I am listening to will change their lives (whether they believe me or not is another story).

I was introduced this weekend, by one of my readers, to Awolnation. Now, I had seen this name on alternative rock lists. I had seen this song" Sail" all over the place on music websites but never really gave it a chance or though twice about checking them out.

This time, I gave it a chance. I listened to the whole single. Well, that's a lie. I did not listen to the whole single right away. It did not take the whole 4 minutes and 19 seconds of "Sail" for me to realize this was something; something worth exploring beyond this single accepted by the masses. I would say in the first 34 seconds, I knew this was a great band doing something different with music. That is what makes a great band--a great artist. Someone taking what we think we know--the genres of music, the top tens, the typical instruments and chords and flipping them on their heads.

I downloaded the whole album, Megalithic Symphony, which is apparently the bands' second album. They are only a little over a year old but this album has balls, like they have been doing this forever and are cocky enough to try something new.

This album has everything; it has soul, techno, hip hop, rock, blues, pop, anything you could want. There are aspects that shadow The Beatles, MIKA, Skrillex, Chubby Checker. There is something for everyone. This album is the Coldstone Creamery of albums.

All the songs are great, but I am only going to touch on a few "Jump On My Shoulders" sounds very poppy and uplifting. It reminds me very much of MIKA. It is just so delightfully sunny and cheery and bubbly a "puppies and rainbows" type song if I ever heard one. The basic lyrics of love and togetherness are something out of the 70s.

"Burn it Down" is if Little Richie or Chubby Checker did a song with Marilyn Manson Michael Jackson and Kanye West. It is so different the only way you can react is to get up and do the twist.

"Wake Up" is another cheery song. There are so many elements to it. There is pop and heavy rock. It is crazy. It keeps switching on you, it's almost like you are trying to peg it and the song won't let you.

The two best songs on the album are "Sail" and "Not Your Fault." "Sail" was the first single off of this album and it is clear as to why. It is amazingly sexy-electronic-rhythm and blues. The whole time I listened to this song all the way through for the first time, I just kept thinking, "wow this is hardcore good." Then a few seconds would go by and I would be astonished--"wow, this song is still awesome." I got goosebumps. This song rattles you like real rawness in music should.

"Not Your Fault" is so much fun and so bad-ass at the same time. It is rare I want to jump around to a song that I am also so distracted to how good the vocals are. The lead singer is just wailing and it fucking rocks!!

This band is really one of the bands that can combine rock and electronica and pop and make something exceptional. There is a whole movement now which is inspiring; to think, there is a whole other way to remake sound that bands are taking for a spin on their records. Innovation is a beautiful thing.

On that note, one of my most recent purchases has also been shamelessly inspired by a Victoria Secret commercial. You know, the one out now where the models are walking along the streets of Prague with wings and there is this weird shouting or screeching in the song? First time I heard/saw this commercial, I was irritated. What is this? Is this a song, a sound effect, a technical error? Is it buffering?

But each time I saw the commercial, my irritation turned more into curiosity and desire to figure out what I was listening to. I googled it and there were many sites discussing the subject (why should I have been surprised, put Victoria Secret models in anything and all of a sudden we want to discuss the artistic integrity of the editing and composition of a commercial). Oh yah, and the tits look good too.

Anyway, the song is from the most recent album, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, from M83. The song is called "Midnight City" and I can't help but admit it is awesome I am moved to find some fake wings and strut my stuff down Amsterdam Avenue.

But, in the meantime, I will just enjoy my new finds for the week: Awolnation and M83.