What does Passion Pit mean?

by indie rock, pop, post rock • Tags: , , ,

Yes, its a band, and a good one at that. Passion Pit the band is a bunch of Berklee School of Music grads who formed circa 2007 to bless the world with indie pop/alt dance/electropop music.  Many of the indie rocker/hipster folk have loved these guys for a while, and deservingly so. There first album hit the world in ’09, and we should see their second studio release July of 2012.  If you dont know them yet, check out this track, “Sleepyhead”.

Now do you know where the name Passion Pit comes from/refers to? Theres two answers, but only one is right.  Guess in the comments

The Naked and Famous

by indie rock, punk • Tags: , , ,

While they are neither naked nor (really) famous, The Naked and Famous is a great post-punk band from New Zealand who really got cranking in 2010 when their debut album hit the market. This track, “Young Blood”, is one of my favorites although there are plenty of gems if you dig this type of music.  If you do like them, peep the track “Punching in a Dream”. Check it out and let me know what you think of this crew!

Extremely catchy track from Maroon 5

by pop, rock • Tags: , ,

This is just a classic, catchy pop-rock song!

Off of Maroon 5′s 2011 album, “Never Gonna Leave This Bed” has all the ingredients of being a 2012 summer hit (aside from maybe being released a little too early in the cycle to claim that title).

Lead singer Adam Levine has definitely used their previous success, coupled with his constant promotion via the show The Voice, to lock down some great songwriters and songs on this album.

Take a listen and prepare to be addicted if you arent already :)

Reasons to Love Meiko…this song!

by indie rock • Tags: , , ,

You gotta respect a young artist who despite being courted by major labels, decides to independently release her first album. Thats what Meiko did in 2007 which produced this great track, “Reasons To Love You”. Even before signing, she toured with acts like Brett Dennan and Mat Kearney, and played the famous Hotel Cafe in LA, played Sundance and even KCRW’s legendary “Morning Becomes Eclectic” show with Nic Harcourt.

Tell me you dont fall in love with this song:

You Gotta Listen to Eva Cassidy If you havent already…

by cover, pop • Tags: , ,

Where do I start…

So Eva Cassidy was from DC. She has an angelic voice and recorded some amazing tracks, more specifically her cover songs of classic pop song were mesmerizing. While she was popular in DC when she released some songs independently in 1992, she sadly was unable to see the true fruits of her talents as she prematurely passed away at 33 years of age from melanoma.

Four years after she died her cover of “Over The Rainbow” was featured on the BBC in the UK which caused such a stir, her album shot to #1 on the UK charts prompting 3 of her single to hit #1 and sell 10 million records.

Truly a great talent. If you like this cover of Cindy Lauper’s “True Colors” you will also love “Over the Rainbow” (which I also included below) and “Fields of Gold”.

Enjoy!

Sabali

by hip hop, rap, reggae • Tags: , , , ,

2010 saw the release of the collaboration album between Damian Marley and Nas that was first teased by the track “Road to Zion” on Marley’s hit album “Welcome to Jamrock”. While their collabo album didnt do a ton for me, this track “Patience” was a true gem. Featuring a sample from the great musical duo from Mali, Amadou & Mariam‘s track “Sabali” (which means Patience), this song really reflects the energy of the overall album which is about ancestry, Africa and poverty issues.

This is a great track as background music while having people over or for driving down the highway to :)

Im the hero of this story, dont need to be saved…

by indie rock • Tags: , , , ,

The mid 2000′s produced some great singer/songwriters and one of the best voices to come out of this period was Regina Spektor.

Her career really took off in my old stomping grounds of the East Village in NYC, and the video below is a deep dive into her archives with a 2004 performance of her song “Hero”, recorded at the famous Knitting Factory.  This song was made more popular in recent years as it was featured in the film (500) Days of Summer, but I like this video because its raw and shows her talent and uniqueness before she really blew up.

The other interesting tidbit about her is that she shares managers with my 2AM Club crew.  Maybe thats not interesting to you, but there it is nonetheless :)