Activity Lull (Music Monday added)

To all of you that tune in,

Sorry for the lack of real activity on here out side of the match analyses. It has been a long couple of week as I have started thinking of life after university and applying for jobs while keeping up with classes and activities. It feels good to be busy again though.

Joe Biden was on campus Friday and I saw his speech (as shown in the caption). Being someone interested in science and in education, I was happy with the large focus of the speech being on these topics. It should be worrying that Romney/Ryan rarely talk about plans for future generations to an even remotely productive level. We will see, given an Obama/Biden win, if America can rise above 16th in the world in education as stated by Biden.

As far as Music Monday, I have three pretty chill albums to look at. One is An Awesome Wave by alt-J because it's quite an adventure of an album. The intro (titled "Intro") is a very good and eclectic one. The second album is I Bet On Sky by Dinosaur Jr. The third album is Allah-Las by Allah-Las in what appears to be their first album. Give these three a try because their definitely worth at least a listen if you're into somewhat calm or alternative music.

Daniel

Music Monday: Easy Star's Thrillah by Easy Star All-Stars

Hi readers,

I have missed a couple Music Mondays and today is not Monday but I decided I would do one today. Today's star album was this reggae rendition of Michael Jackson's hit 1982 album Thriller. Covers of renowned artists are always tricky, especially when you change the genre but upon listening to this you can tell that these people know their genre and know Michael Jackson's music. I would not put a star track on this because it is a complete album. Definitely worth a listen.

Honorable Mentions:
A Thing Called Divine Fits by Divine Fits


This is the first album from super group Divine Fits, formed of Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade), Britt Daniel (Spoon), Sam Brown (New Born Turks). You can hear very direct influences from the two frontmen as the styles of Wolf Parade and Spoon are blended into a very comfortable and hip mix. Tracks to give a shot are "Would That Not Be Nice," "For Your Heart," "Shivers."

Circle Around The Sun by Dispatch


Not a lot to say about this one. The great jam band Dispatch is back with an album. They have been out for a while and a lot of people will be familiar with their style. The album opens with the title track "Circles Around The Sun"  which is a lot more produced than usual for a normal Dispatch album but then slowly shifts back into the kind of music that was really meant to played live, "Josaphine" is definitely one of those tracks. By the time you reach "Feels So Good," you know you've just listened to another Dispatch album. Overall, it is not quite a standard Dispatch album but has many of the traits. When a band can reunite like this it shows they have truly mastered their trade and genre.

On A Ride by Wax Poetic


To add to the unusually calm list this week is Wax Poetic's On A Ride. This album is smooth and seductive from the New York based trip-hop outfit. I especially like all the Sissy Clemens and Natalie Walker tracks. My faves have to be the opening track "No Escape," "Tonight," "Warm Night," and "East Side." I suggest just listening to all of it.

That is all for now. All these tracks are available on Spotify as are all the tracks and albums I recommend. Catch you all later,
Daniel

Music Monday: Family by The Cast Of Cheers

Hello readers,

It is Monday and thus time for my new music suggestions for the week. After a few listens of several albums I decided that Family by The Cast Of Cheers would be my recommendations by being the newest. I will not even review Good Morning To The Night by Elton John vs Pnau because that is something that unless you clearly have a problem with Sir Elton you should give a listen. The whole album too. But back to TCOC, this album starts very nicely. I would describe them as up tempo Indie. Many aspects of their style remind me of Foals with the interweaving guitar, direct bass and drums and the sometimes shrieking vocals. The tracks to look for are "Family," "Animals," "Goose," and "Marco Sava." Check it out as an album though.

Honorable Mentions:
Good Morning To The Night by Elton John vs Pnau

 Just listen to it. It's good. It's well played. It's smooth. It's funky.

Gossamer by Passion Pit
I generally do not listen to Passion Pit but I did like this album. They've been out for a while. "Take A Walk" is a great opener with a great message. It is a great listen alone. Most of the songs are up beat but some are slower such as "Constant Conversations" and "Cry Like A Ghost." It really feels like a narrative and that you are getting to know the singer. The beats are very good too but you expect no less from Passion Pit.

MTMTMK by The Very Best

TVB is an electro-Afro-pop consisting of Malawian singer Esau Mwamwaya (who sings vocals in Chichewa, Swahili, Portuguese and English) and british DJ/production duo Radioclit (Johan Karlberg and Etienne Tron). They formed in 2008 but this album is the first I heard of them. The music from MKMKMT is a good for anyone that likes bounce in their music or is just a fan of Afro or Carribean influences in electronic music. The opening track "Adani" gives you a clear indicator of the direction of the album with loads of sound effects over a catchy beat. There are even a few guests such as K'Naan. The tracks "Adani," "Moto," "Come Alive," and "We OK"are good tracks to look at but the whole album is pretty even.

Weight & Glory by KB

Now I'm not a practicing Christian so lyrically it isn't really as relevant to me but this rapper KB is really impressive. If you are Christian or into strong Christian lyrics I highly recommended this album. His story is he basically moved around a lot, was involved in drugs and depressed until he was saved and introduced to Christian Rap. Some of the messages hit pretty hard such as in "Anomaly," "Mr. Pretender," and "Open Letter (Battlefield)." Not my cup of tea like I said but very respectable and why I still mention it.

Enjoy the rest of your Monday,
Daniel

Music Monday: + by Ed Sheeran

Hi readers,

I know I've been getting a crazy amount of traffic from my recent introduction to the larger realm of Chelsea blogs but I still want to figure out how best to appeal to the other readers. So I'm not sure yet how I will schedule it but I want to add more music to this blog. Right now, I may make it music Mondays. Since starting Spotify, I now am a lot more up to date on recent music so I think I will just throw suggestions of albums that I have found worth looking into and why. Hopeful this will be a feature that people come to like.

Today I would like to suggest + by Ed Sheeran. I really enjoyed this album. For one thing, the guy is obviously very talented but what I found more important is how he avoids cliche so well. After a couple listens, you feel like you know him personally. It is a well paced album with good lyrics. The tracks to watch for in my opinion are "Small Bump," "Wake Me Up," "A Team," and if you listen to the deluxe edition "Sunburn." Obviously, no album is for everyone but it is definitely worth a try.

Daniel

P.S. For anyone that is into anything with even a hint of R&B and good lyrics, "channel ORANGE" by Frank Ocean is a must listen.