Earworm

Earworm: Imagine Dragons – Radioactive

One of the newer bands that has come out recently that I actually like.  They have a nice beat, and doesn’t sound like the rest of them.  Anyway, their video for Radioactive is pretty weird.  It has Lou Diamond Phillips as the ring leader for some underground stuffed animal/puppet fighting ring.  Anyway, watch for yourself if you haven’t already.

 

Earworm? The Strokes?? You Bet Your Ass!

To bolster Cheesecake‘s post “AM” I wanted to just hit you guys with some tunes by The Strokes. I inadvertently found their album by shear chance. This Is It, was a sitting in the office of my then boss in one of my internships during college. I popped the disc into my computer station, listened to the first track, and it was like I had an epiphany. I was instantly hooked. I listened to this album over and over forEVER. It brings back some fond memories of places I’ve been and some interesting people I’ve met, even this one chick I hooked up with for a time. Fond.

Enjoy, Princess Carolina.

Earworm: Eminem – Berzerk (Explicit)

Eiminem’s new single from his upcoming Marshall Mathers LP2 album came out recently.  It’s always refreshing to hear him bring something new out, even if it’s a small part in someone else’s song.  I think Em is back to form in this single.  He samples Billy Squire’s The Stroke.  It works perfectly.  I just heard it a few times the past few day’s and it’s quickly become one of my favorite songs of this year.

Earworm: Michael Franti & Spearhead – I’m Alive (Life Sounds Like)

I don’t hear this song much, but when I do, it lifts up my mood.  It’s just a catchy song, and it gets me whistling through out the day.  I hope it lifts up your mood to as it does me.

Earworm: “Flaws” by Bastille

You all know my weak heart for indie rock.

And we all know how much I love the UK. And having recently rediscovered Bastille through YouTube of all places, I figured I’d share this with you all.

I’ve had Bastille’s debut album Bad Blood sitting in my music folder for the longest time, my friends had recommended them to me and I downloaded their album without even thinking about if I would like their music or not. This is one of the greatest leaps of faith ever, because lo and behold, I love their music. They’re a high quality four man group, and Dan Smith’s vocals definitely throw it over the edge.

And his hair? DAMN HIS HAIR IS AWESOME. (This lil bit about hair is a little joke at The Big Cheese and my other cousins who mock me and my “One Direction” hair. By the way, my gravitar is inaccurate to my face, now. I should change that.)

Anyway.

Bastille is great, listen to the entire album Bad Blood. Look up their acoustic sessions on YouTube. Find their Abbey Road sessions, too. It’s incredible. The violins and the vocals it’s just heavenly.

Regular:

Acoustic Live in Paris:

Abbey Road:

DXHR OST (Awesomely Wormy)

[In the spirit of Cheesecake‘s awesome Earworm posts I’d also like to offer something in the same vein that runs parallel to those cool tunes while simultaneously driving video games and other media. I’m talking about Original Sound Tracks.]

Today I’d like to offer you boys and girls a shiny penny in the world of Deus Ex (DX). In this case it’s the Deus Ex: Human Revolution (DXHR) OST. The clip above is actually the complete DXHR soundtrack. The entire OST sounds epic and immerses me in the DXHR world. If any of you are like me you get pulled into a game or movie (and show) with a great story And equally great music.

This just somehow fills my ears with feelings of a dystopian near future society froth with hidden conspiracies under the bright lights and desolate video game city which the DXHR locales are based on. It’s a perfect fit. Even if you haven’t played DXHR you’ll be enticed to perhaps pop the disc into your console or run the game in your preferred device just to see where the music fits in.

My personal favorite is the 1st track: Icarus. It’s the main theme of the game and prepares you for the rest of the OST that evokes the suggested themes and emotional tones of the game: cyberpunk conspiracy, human morality, dealing with whether or not to augment one’s self with cybernetic parts to somehow enhance one’s life, and whether individuals really have a choice at all in the matter. As we all know, choices come with their own consequences and its those those consequences and how characters deal with them that make for a good game and movie. Enjoy!!

Earworm: Foolish Games – Jewel

I recently listened to Jewel’s greatest hits album, and it sort of brought back memories of when she was really big back in the 90’s.  Yes, it’s not the typical music I listen to these day’s, but back then, I was still sort of discovering anything outside of the top pop hits that were being played on the radio.  I didn’t get a say to what music was being played in the car, and I didn’t really care much for music outside of the car back then.  Anyway, Jewel was probably one of my first musical crushes.  She’s just so beautiful, and such a powerful voice.  Anyway, here’s one of my all time favorite songs of hers.

 

Here’s also a nice  version that is found on the greatest hits album, it’s a duet with Kelly Clarkson.  I really enjoyed this one as well.

 

 

 

 

Earworm: “Ocean’s Deep” by Born Ruffians

Judge my indie music taste. I dare you.

[Disclaimer: hipster music has gotten to me.]

Born Ruffians is a band incredibly popular on SoundCloud, and I realize why. Their sound is infectious. “Exuberant pop,” I heard, was one of their taglines on SoundCloud. And it reigns true to its word, this description.

Lead singer Luke Lalonde has one of those whiny voices girls swoon over, but I’m glad zero of my friends know of this band, for they’d ruin it for me.

My largest fear for indie bands (and yes, this is so ‘hipster’ for me to say) is to see them become a radio/production company puppet. One where their music no longer comes from the heart but from trying to make pop hits. Acts lose their integrity from fame, it’s the sad truth. Sure, some bands handle it properly, such as Fall Out Boy and Paramore and Panic! at the Disco (all coincidentally signed to Fueled by Ramen records). But many bands just go to shit.

Born Ruffians is unheard of, and they’re unspeakably good.

Have a listen to this acoustic jam.

And here’s the regular edition.

Let me know which one you prefer!