Reflections

Now blogging has been a fun experience and I've enjoyed sharing my taste in music, but the site blogger can really be a pain in the butt. Probably the most challenging part of the blogging experience was trying to get the posts to look like I actually wanted them too and I probably spent most of my time on that alone. But in the end it was worth struggling the design, because I was able to learn more about the great love I have for music and it gave me an excuse to go back through my music library and rediscover artists. I know that starting out I didn't have the strongest posts but I think that my later on post about The Glitch Mob and about Fences. I think those two were my strongest posts because they're probably the best written and I love both groups.

Even though my blogging class is over I think I'll continue blogging and continue blogging about music, because honestly music is my greatest passion and a world without isn't a world worth living in. Now I'm going to try going forward with this blog and rap up the ABC's of music and then go into new and up coming artist as I discover them and possible go back to a couple different letters and add a couple different artists or groups. So just remember that the one thing every culture has in common is a love for music.

G is for the Glitch Mob

Now the glitch mob is a three piece electronic group that form in California and their sound can be summed up in one word... Amazing. They are one of the few artists who can produce  music that can be both background music and the center of attention. They also have a unique sound that is both energizing and relax. Another great thing is that no song is the same as the last and they don't use "cookie cutter" technique when it comes to music like some other electronica "artists" *cough*  *cough* Skrillex *cough* *cough*. You actually see the difference between their songs which is just great. To prove this you should compare the difference between the songs "Fortune days" and "Drive it like you stole it".

In my opinion The Glitch Mob is one of the ultimate anywhere anytime electronic groups. I find them perfect for doing homework, papers, or studying to. But they still keep enough energy where their music makes great hang out music. So if you're looking for a new music artist you should really check out The Glitch Mob.

F is for Fences

Fences is an indie rock singer/writer from the Seattle area. He music tends to on the sad side lyrically, but it's normally mixed with an up beat happy sound. This gives it a nice warm up beat sound while still allowing it to have a deep, meaningful and have complex message. You can really see this through songs like "Girls with Accents"(see video to the right) and "The Same Tattoos". He has also been feature in some really great songs like "Otherside" by Macklemore feat Fences, this a great song about the dangers of overdoses and it also shows that good original rap is still out there if we look hard enough.

Personally I love to listen to Fences when I'm driving or just want to relax and chill. He makes great relaxing music that can used as background music, but it can also be easily brought into the center of attention and it's very rare to find an artist who can produce that kind of sound. So if you would like to know more about fences and hear more of his music you should check out his official website at www.sadcastle.com

E if for Early Adopted

Early Adopted is an underground hip-hop artist that hails from Wareham Massachusetts. He writes and produces all of his own music and unfortunately  hasn't broken out into main stream hip-hop yet. He single-handedly save my faith in rap and hip-hop, by showing that people can still write and rap meaningful and beautiful lyric that people can actually relate to.But even though he has deep and meaningful lyrics he's still able to make some happy music.You can really see how he can really put emotions through his lyrics in the song "The Florist" off of his self titled album Early Adopted. You can also see the up beat side of his music through his song "Thank You" off of the same album  as "The florist". Personally I find the song "Thank you" very refreshing, because unlike most songs saying thank you he actually thanks his parents and he doesn't try to blame the world for his problems.

You can honestly tell just how much Early Adopted cares about the music when you listen to his music. It also show through the fact that he  finances all of his music himself and gives his music away for free on his Myspace and Bandcamp. Even though I really enjoy his fresh take on hip-hop and rap and believe that he deserves to be more well known, I'm afraid that he might become a sell out like most main stream rappers and hip-hop artist do. But for now in my opinion he is definitely worth checking out now.

D is for Die Toten Hosen

Die Toten Hosen is hands down one of my all time favorite German band. While they might be be an older band from 1982 they still have an intense German punk rock style that I love. I was actually first introduced to them back in my freshmen year of high school by my German teach and I instantly fell in love with there sound. Just the fact they're still together and stay true to their roots and that they donate a lot of money to their home town of Düsseldorf is just amazing.

And Again you can really she their growth as artist from there debut album Opel-Gang which only took 10 days to record to their latest album In Aller Stille which was released November 14th 2008. As you listen to Die Toten Hosen album you can really see the change and growth in music style. Die Toten Hosen originally started out doing slightly more comical songs and album, but they have been slowly switching over to more serious and melodic music. Just check out the difference between the song "Schwarzer Mann" from their debut album and "Wir Bleiben Stumm" from their latest album.

C is for Cheek

Now Cheek  is a well known rapper over in Finland. But it wasn't until college that he first started to get in to  rap. After college he joined the rap 5th Element were he quickly because one of most prominent members. When he originally started rapping most of his song were in English, but later on he switch over to just rapping in Finnish.

One of the thing that really drew me to Cheek was how original his sound was and how unique his voice was. He combines meaningful lyrics with an almost club techno beat while still  adding to the song. I also like how much he's grown as rapper over the years. You can really see the differences from songs like "John Doe" from his first album Human & Beast and songs like "Jos Mä Oisin Sä" (translates to "If I were you") from one of his later album Jare Henrik Tiihonen. Personally if I just feel like going for a drive to relax I prefer his newer stuff, but if I feel like think his older stuff is more meaningful to me. So in my opinion the rapper Cheek is definitely worth checking out.

B is for Blue Öyster Cult

The band  Blue Öyster Cult  has been around since the late sixties, but it wasn't until there self title debut album in seventy-two that the band really took off. The band is actually still together to this day and over the four decades of its' popularity they have managed over twenty-four million albums world wide and around seven million in the United States alone.

Blue Öyster Cult is know as psychedelic rock. This means that their music tried to reflect the culture and the mid altering affects of many drugs of the time period. They would often do this through intense guitar rifts, subtle use of synthesizer,  and very melodic and complex lyrics. The lyric were normally meant to take you on journey through the sound of the music and your very own sub-conscious. 

Even though the era of psychedelic movements and music is over Blue Öyster Cult is still relevant and their music is still featured in many movie today. Their music also continues to shape some of the youth today.

And finally before I go here's a sample of the greatness that is Blue Öyster Cult. Their best known song is probably Don't Fear the Reaper, but personally I also really enjoy the song is Burnin' For You. But I'll leave it up to you to decide which is better.

A is for Atmosphere

Now Atmosphere is a good artist to have for any good collection of rap and or hip-hop. Atmosphere is actually a rap duo composed of Slug and Ant. Some of the past members include Idea, Spawn, Stress, Beyond. They combine classic hip-hop sounds with meaningful and realistic lyrics. They are also from the twin cities area and to this day if you walk around the area you can find locations that the rap about.Now  Atmosphere has a good combination of deep meaningful songs and happy upbeat songs. A great example two examples of great meaningful songs are Your glass house and Always coming home to you. Now is a example of one of Atmospheres songs that are happy and upbeat is the song Sunshine.

Atmosphere helped revolutionize the music industry in Minnesota and they are another reason that most college students in Minnesota are so proud of Minnesota music. They are a huge influence for the under ground hip-hop scene and have been for almost twenty years now. Atmosphere is also well  known for their collaboration that do to help bring the annual Twin Cities Celebration of Hip-Hop together every year.

Blog over view

Now as an assignment from a teacher I'm going to create an A-Z of my music library and well doing that I hope to inform you about the music I talk about the implications now and then.

A little about me

I’m a junior currently attending D.C.A.L.S. high school. Now as student my life revolves around music and I can honestly say that my life revolves around music and that it has been the best mentor I have ever had. From a young age I was listening to music and I ever been working on my music library since I was a little kid. Lately I’ve been averaging a new gigabyte ever month and currently I’m sitting at a little over fifty gigs of just straight music. Now my music library is an extensive collection of artist and genres that span centuries and cultures. I like to listen to music with the motto of “Have a song for ever occasion” and so far I’ve managed to keep that motto raining true.

The library

The is a blog exploring one students music library that spans centuries of music and culture. We will be taking a journey through culture and time using music as our time machines and translators. The reason be hind this is that the one that all time periods and cultures have in common is music and a love for it.