So I decided... Paramore.

I can’t help but to keep going back to the Hype Machine’s Top 50 albums of 2009 for inspiration. Aside from albums I already had in my library on the list, I’ve probably added another 25 that I discovered. Some of them were bands I had never heard of - I love discovering something completely new (i.e. Mumford & Sons, see my post from last week). However, some of them were bands that I knew of, and had heard some of their music, but just never paid much attention to.

So, emo isn’t my thing. I’ll listen to it (and maybe enjoy it) if someone else is playing it, but 99 times out of 100, I’m not going to pick it on my own. That being said, though, I respect it and appreciate it for what it is. That’s why I really surprised myself when I really enjoyed exploring Paramore’s new album, Brand New Eyes.

Now, I realize I’m jumping on board a bit late here. I know they’ve been around since 2005 and that this is their 3rd album and that Riot! went platinum and all that, blah blah blah. I’m not going to say that I gave all of their albums that much attention, BUT from what I do know and what I’ve read from credible sources, this is their best album yet. The band co-produced the album with Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance, etc) and brilliantly proved themselves, despite being so young. Favorite Tracks: “All I Wanted” and “Turn It Off”. Hayley Williams’s voice in “All I Wanted” is, simply put, chilling and breathtaking.

I don’t have any hatred (in fact, the opposite) for the other members of Paramore, but what I want to know is: when will Hayley Williams go solo? She’s only 21 and she’s extraordinary. I just can’t help but wonder what she’d be like solo (the song “Teenagers” from the soundtrack for Jennifer’s Body DOESN’T count). Is that so wrong?

For those who read this and were tired of listening to banjos – this was for you. Well, it was for me, too. I’m always trying to expand my horizons. Dear emo music, I’m sorry for all the times I said I didn’t like you. Love, J.

(You can still listen to most of Brand New Eyes using Hype Machine's link above. Otherwise, try their last.fm page. If you like Paramore, and especially like a strong lead female vocal, try Metric's new album Fantasies - also one of the best from 2009.)

Happy listening!

So I decided...Mumford & Sons

First thing’s first – I’ll credit A with introducing me to The Hype Machine, a great music blog for discovering new and eclectic material. Over the past two weeks, I’ve curbed my Pandora usage to exploit the availability of full album listening for 2009’s Top 50 on the blog. You mean I can just click here and listen a whole album? All of it? For free? Don’t mind if I do… 

While most of the artists I ran into on the list were at least somewhat familiar, I definitely ran into some gems that flew under my radar this year. Of course, the Top 10 were the heavy hitters: Animal Collective, Grizzly Bear, Phoenix, Dirty Projectors, The XX, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Passion Pit, Antlers, Fever Ray and Girls. This week, though, my material is coming from the guys in the number 50 spot: Mumford & Sons. Dead last. Hadn’t heard of them. Love at first listen. 

The guys have been together only since late 2007, released some of their first singles in mid-2008 and, finally, released their debut in October of 2009. They were lucky enough to produce Sigh No More with Markus Dravs, who has worked with the likes of Coldplay, The Arcade Fire and Bjork.

Favorite tracks: “Sigh No More” and “The Cave”. Although, I’ve listened to the whole album without skipping tracks about a bajillion times now. That says a lot, for me, about both the cohesiveness of the album and the quality of individual songs. I really enjoy the clever reference to Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing in “Sign No More” and it offers a remarkably soulful opening. I can’t put my finger on why I like “The Cave” so much, but I do. So there. For something dark, try “Dustbowl Dance” – one line says “You will pray to the God you always denied/And I’ll go out back and I’ll get my gun…” Enough said. 

If you check these guys out and like them, I also suggest Fleet Foxes. I don’t know who is actually reading this, but I’m sure you all are tired of me picking music with banjos (judge if you want, but I like it). So, for next week I’ve got something different in mind to waste my breath about…

So I decided... Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros

As a genre, I don’t think indie folk really does Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros justice. A World Café article on NPR dubbed them a psychedelic folk troupe and I think that’s more like it. Their debut album came out in July and ever since, they’ve been all over the radar as an avant-garde band for 2009.

My first exposure to ESMZ (that’s what I’m going to call it, okay?) was “Home” as a part of NPR’s 2009 recap. You can’t help but to fall in love with that song, even if you don’t appreciate any of their other music. The lyrics are just unabashedly amorous and whimsical, enough to melt the coldest of hearts. The buck doesn’t stop there though, “Carries On”, “40 Day Dream”, “Simplest Love” and “Om Nashi Me” are equally as affectionate. Watch the 10 piece group fronted by Alex Ebert and Jade Castrinos and the feeling only grows. I can’t help but think about John & Yoko when they perform together, singing lines like “She got jumper cable lips/ She got sunset on her breath now/ I inhaled just a little bit / Now I got no fear of death…” or “Holy Moly, Me oh My, you’re the apple of my eye/ Girl ain’t never loved one like you…”

I’m a little bit in awe of what they are and what they do and I still don’t quite understand it. It’s like a bunch of random hippies got together (probably with at least a little pot) and just started playing and writing together. When I suggested one friend listen to it he says, “man, they just don’t make music like this anymore!” to which I responded, “it came out this year! don’t you feel like it’s from the 60s or something?!” I’m interested to see if there’s a large movement for this kind of revival of folk music that is reminiscent of the 60s and 70s, but I don’t expect it to trump Lady Gaga in the charts or anything (I also love her, no hate here).

Hope you enjoy listening, and if you don’t, well…oh well. Among those currently on my radar for future posts are: Mumford & Sons, Muse and Fanfarlo… be on the lookout!