Hey Rock Lobsters. This week I thought I’d walk you through what has been my life soundtrack lately. What do you listen to when you’re taking six classes too many, spend a significant portion of your week selling drunk food at Wings Over until 3 a.m., and still need to make time for your friends, the occassional hopelessly collegiate moment, and the HBO show you’re currently addicted to? Apparently this:
By now, everyone in ACRN
knows I’m obsessed with all things four-legged and fuzzy. Because of this, I’ve
decided to focus on my addiction for this week’s Exec Recs.
When it comes to
Pomeranians, I’m a big softy. Those fluffy bodies and silly grins always get
me. There are a number of these wholesome critters that have become Internet
famous lately, especially in the mainstream media. It’s safe to say they’re
more popular than human super stars.
1. Boo the Dog
In my opinion, Boo started it all. Known as “The
World’s Cutest Dog,” he has his own book, makes appearances on the Today Show
and has over six million followers on Facebook.
His fame started with a
few home videos uploaded to YouTube. In most of the videos, he just sat
there. He won the hearts of millions with his silly, short haircut. No special
tricks or talents--just a fluffy head and a pajama-like body.
At the age of 7, Boo is
living the high life. He gets flown out on locations and even works with
different charities to help children’s hospitals. He also has a best friend
named Buddy. They do everything together.
His owner was kept secret until an Internet rumor
began that Boo died. The Wall Street Journal investigated the scandal
and discovered Boo’s owner is Irene Ahn, a finance executive at Facebook. Now,
many speculate Boo may have been a ploy by Facebook to get some attention.
Whether this is true or not, Boo continues to warm the hearts of millions and
brighten our days with his silly head.
2. Gigolo a.k.a. Giggy
Giggy
is the most flamboyant Pomeranian in Hollywood. His owner, Lisa
Vanderpump, is one of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. She
also has her own show called Vanderpump
Rules and is currently a dancer on Dancing
with the Stars. Though she is always in the spotlight, Giggy never leaves
her side.
He is always dressed up in
the latest fashions. This dog has more clothes than I will ever hope to
acquire. From suits to PJs, he has it all. I’m not positive about this, but I’m
almost certain everything they put him in is designer.
The most hilarious quirk
about Giggy is that he always looks sedated. Camera crews will be interviewing
Lisa and Giggy will just be lying there, eyes half opened. I’m not sure I’ve
ever even seen him walk on his own. He’s always being carried.
Also, since he’s
constantly being dressed up, his fluffy fur will stick out of his clothing
awkwardly. You can’t feel too bad for him, though--he has more celebrity friends
than any dog could hope for. Now that’s one classy pooch.
3. Toothless Tippy
The past two Pomeranians
I’ve mentioned are loved for their dashing good looks. Tippy, however, is
slightly less-fortunate looking. She has no teeth and her tongue constantly
lolls out of her mouth. It’s okay, though. I like to think of her as charming.
When Tippy was a puppy,
she was abandoned at the Humane Society. Her owner rescued her and she’s been
Instagram famous ever since. If you’re looking for a pick-me-up every once in a
while, follow @toothlesstippy. She’ll definitely put a smile on your face.
I joined the world of Spotify recently, and I have to say I’m thoroughly enjoying it. The relationship was love-hate at first as I found myself with an abundance of free music, as well as 30-second commercials trying to convince me to get the Spotify Mobile App. Well listen here, Spotify, I’ll respect you much more once you stop rubbing it in my face that my phone, in fact, can not host applications, therefore your mobile services are of no use to me, you self-promoting bastards.
Aside from that, Spotify has taken me on a musical vacation of sorts. I found myself in a music rut at the beginning of this year, and as much as I love to listen to Arcade Fire and Beach House on repeat, the times were a-changing.
My ears needed sustenance and Spotify began to spoon-feed them. Thus, I will spoon-feed you my past week’s starred tracks on Spotify with hopes that any rut you may be finding yourself in is eliminated in the same fashion.
When looking further into this band, you’ll find most of its songs are mostly just noise. It’s depressing. It hurts to find a band that can make a song as good as this only to later find out that there is a reason you haven’t heard of them. Regardless, this song is quite wonderful. It has a pop feel that reminds you of a beach in the best way possible. This upbeat track will be sure to eliminate the woes of spring bringing in blizzards.
The beginning of this track reminds me of an epic written by James Murphy. Cut Copy works its way into this track with a minute and a half intro that leads to a song that plays more like an anthem than anything else. Dan Whitford’s voice is comparable to that of Matt Berninger’s (The National), and the band actually sounds like The National joining the world of pop.
This music is just haunting and wonderful. Other Lives is host to instrumentation comparable to Arcade Fire and is nothing but relaxing to listen to. Just sit back and let the strings carry you through this track from start to finish.
What can I say about this band? I’m genuinely excited that Pepper Rabbit has joined my life this week. “Lake House” has been on repeat in my noggin and when looking into the rest of this album (Red Velvet Snowball), it’s clear that the album may be on repeat for most of my week. Check these guys out!
Here is something that has been a struggle for me to come to terms with. I used to despise Surfer Blood’s debut album. Initially, it was clear they knew how to write music, but the album didn’t necessarily display that they were capable of playing music. This is the opening track from Astro Coast and it is quite literally fantastic.
Still not the biggest fan of the rest of their album, but I definitely have June 11th marked on my calendar as I wait for their next release.
By: Ben Haager, General Manager When I was in high school, I went to a
lot of concerts. Then I came to college and became poor, and thus stopped going
to as many concerts. Lately however, I have been on a roll finding budget
concerts. Here are a few bands you can see for a bargain in Athens/Columbus in
the coming months (you might see me there as well).
1. Alt-J - 3/30/13 - The LC Pavilion in
Columbus - $5 ($8.50 including those dumb Ticketmaster fees)
The "first dose" of CD 102.5 Day brings British band Alt-J as a headliner. The tickets sold out within two
hours, but I was lucky to snatch up a couple tickets for myself. If you haven't
heard this band yet, click this link and watch immediately. Anytime I attempt to describe them to someone, I
completely blank, as they prescribe to no genre. My best explanation is
alternative folk rock with some sort of an electronic mix. You'd be much better
off just clicking that link.
I've already seen Murder by Death a
couple times, and let me tell you, they put on one hell of a show. I like to
describe them as whiskey-infused, dark folk.
Their cellist is absolutely breathtaking live. If you'd like to buy me a
whiskey sour when you see me there, I would be quite thankful.
The opener is what really attracts me to this show. Shovels and Rope is the sweetest duo out there. Call it blues, call it country, call it good ole rock n' roll--they just play darn good music. I don't know too much about Dawes, but I do know their songwriter Taylor Goldsmith from the indie supergroup Middle Brother, whose debut album was one of my favorite albums two years ago. It's safe to say this show will be a rip roarin' good time.
A band I discovered through KEXP,
the Cave Singers have quickly become one of my favorite bands. Simple and
bluesy, yet utterly intriguing, their new album Naomi is absolutely phenomenal.
It's uncanny how much great and diverse music comes out of Seattle.
5. ACRN Lobsterfest - 4/25-27/13 - @ The Smiling
Skull, The Union, and Central Venue in Athens - FREE
Shameless self-promotion? The
headliners will be the Cloud Nothings.
If that isn't enough to get you excited, the Turbo Fruits have also been
announced as part of the three-day festival bill, with many more bands to come.
Plus, IT'S FREE!
I’m just going to admit it: 2012 was kind of a “meh” year for music. Don’t get me wrong, there were some damn good albums that came out last year. But it’s undeniable that there were some months where I felt as if there was a lull in interesting music.
Thus far, 2013 has been an entirely different story. Only a few months in and I have already listened to quite a few albums that are contenders for my year-end list, with many more on the way. With that in mind, let’s talk about some of my favorite songs that have come out in what could perhaps be one of the best music years in recent memory.
This band came out of nowhere for me. With the release of its sophomore album, We Are the 21st Century Ambassadors of Peace & Magic (which was released just six months after the band's debut), Foxygen captured my ears with a sound that was familiar, yet new. "Shuggie" is a perfect demonstration of the '60s acid-inspired sound you'll get from this San Francisco group. Just wait until the funky middle eight, and you'll jump right on this bandwagon, too.
If you want the old Strokes, turn away. While we can all agree that Angles was a poor effort on nearly all accounts, the band's fifth album, Comedown Machine, is filled with gems such as "Slow Animals," which makes no apologies for the new '80s direction of the band. Minimalism is gone. This song sparkles in all the right ways, using guitars sparingly until the chorus kicks in. But the real treat is the song's bridge, which is catchier than the chorus. What you're getting here is a completely different band, but it's still one hell of a track.
Everyone's favorite Ivy Leaguers are back! Vampire Weekend's sophomore effort was hit and miss at best, causing me to think that maybe they were a one-album wonder. "Diane Young" gives us all some hope that this isn't the case. The song has that same Vampire Weekend playfulness we've all come to love, but it's much more intense. With jaw-dropping drumming and the vocal distortions of Ezra Koenig, this one's already a lock for one of my top songs of the year.
Honestly, the guitar work in this song is better than anything I've heard so far this year. Just listen to that riff. It's so mellow, and yet it still floors me every time I hear it.
Mount Moriah's second album kicks off with "Younger Days," a song that highlights the gorgeous, Americana vocals of singer Heather McEntire. "August is over, / So when are coming back?" she sings at the chorus. On this song, McEntire is giving Neko Case a run for her money. Watch out for this band in the next couple of years.
I listen to the same songs and same artists on a weekly basis. So here’s this week’s list of songs that I constantly play on repeat to annoy my girlfriend.
If you’ve read any of my previous entries, then you already know about my love for Cold Cave. I first started listening to them when Cherish the Light Years came out, but recently started checking out Love Comes Close. The titular track is a nice trot through gothic synth pop and the melodramatic vocal delivery and relaxed rhythm is what keeps this one in the top rotation of my iPod.
I recently started getting into the '90s emo scene, and whenever I was searching for bands and songs on YouTube, this song happened to turn up. I haven’t been able to stop listening to it ever since. The great buildup and constantly chugging pace is textbook emo, and with the recent release of their compilation Do You Know Who You Are?, I was finally able to download and play this song whenever I wanted.
For reasons I can’t explain, I love the sound of Spanish guitars and really slow-paced songs. This song encompasses both of those aspects, so obviously I play it all the time.
This was the first song I ever heard from Cloud Nothings, and its fast and fiery delivery only got me deeper into their discography. With the recent announcement of them as Lobsterfest’s headliners, this song will be heavily played for the next couple of months.
Every once in a while, a song comes around that really describes an aspect of your life. This song pretty much described my nine-to-five summer schedule and the desire to just mellow out and do something new. That’s why I’ll keep listening to it until my girlfriend decides to destroy my speakers.
I’ve always taken issue with the
phrase “guilty pleasure.” If I like something, why should I be ashamed? I
shouldn’t be. However, since I tend to identify myself within the indie rock
genre, there are outliers that I really enjoy and that may surprise people. So,
it’s time to let my embarrassing flag fly and make a list of the stuff I love
that may not be deemed “cool” by the indie kids.
I love this chick, straight up. I
find Katy Perry’s music to be genuinely fun pop, and there’s nothing better to
rock out to when I want to pep up my mood. Her movie, Katy Perry: Part of Me, was
the only feature film I saw last summer, and the blend of live performances,
documentary footage and colors made for a fun-filled experience. And the song
“Wide Awake” was a heartfelt effort that perfectly summed up the breakup
experience for not only Perry, but for millions of fans worldwide. And check
out the video, it’s a real piece of art.
I saw 30STM my sophomore year of
college, half as a joke to see Jordan Catalano sing and half as an excuse to
see a good friend of mine at Kent State. What started off as something to get
kicks turned into a genuine love for me. 30 Seconds to Mars and their music has
really helped me through some tough times in my personal life in the last few
years, and everyone needs a band that can help them feel from time to time. So,
while they may not be conventionally cool, I’m proud to consider myself a fan.
UHH! I definitely recognize this song
is bad--it’s bratty, it’s got an annoying little vocal and it’s got that weird
helicopter thing at the end. However, I think this song is catchy as all get
out, and I’m a sucker for a killer hook (which this song definitely has). While
many may lament the immature reaction the scorned Lloyd feels in this song,
I think every old girlfriend has felt this. “Want U Back” is relatable, whether
or not you want to admit it. Plus, this song really annoys my significant
other, and I think that’s just funny.
Hate on this little dude all you
want, but I think the Biebz is a genuine talent. He fulfills that void in
teenage girls’ hearts that Aaron Carter left all those years ago. As he’s
gotten older, he’s molded himself into a more mature pop star, and has been
quite successful at it. Swaggy.
5. My Little Pony songs
This one may be the most
conventionally embarrassing. However, every Saturday morning in the winter, Lord knows I looked forward to watching MLP and seeing what new songs Daniel
Ingram had in store. There’s nothing else to say… these songs are catchy,
innocent and cute. Just listen to “Winter Wrap Up” and tell me it’s not stuck
in your head. This season’s “Babs Seed” was another musical highlight. Plus,
look how cute these little fillies are! Adorbz.
And there goes my indie cred, if I ever even had any to
begin with.
Exec Recs is a blog to which all 13 members of the ACRN Executive Board collaboratively contribute.
Here, you can find each of the ACRN Execs’ music-related recommendations at the moment.
Sometimes it’s silly, sometimes serious, sometimes throwback, sometimes brand spankin’ new. Exec Recs is all about musical musings and miscellany we currently dig – and think you should check out, too!
