chatting it up with cody: episode #2.
September 7th, 2010 § 1 Comment
i’m sure i’ll regret posting this video. whatever.
music monday – february 15, 2010.
February 15th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
Happy Day After Valentine’s Day!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine’s Day and that all of your gifts were fantastic. I also hope that all your planning and hard work to make the day/evening special, was all worth it and that it was the best V-Day any of you ever had, because mine was. So clearly, I’m in a pretty good mood today.
On to the music.
I spent a little bit of time looking for some new hardcore bands to listen to and these are the ones I found. There might be a regular/non-hardcore band in here…maybe.
We Came As Romans – iTunes suggested that I listen to We Came As Romans and I was like, “Whatever iTunes, you don’t know what you’re talking about. You’re just a computer program and don’t know what I want to listen to”, but little did I know, iTunes knows me very well.
We Came As Romans is a hardcore band from Troy, Michigan [because being surrounded by lakes and having lots of snow makes you so metal]. They’ve released one full length album, To Plant A Seed [2009], and two EPs, Demonstrations and Dreams. I haven’t gotten a chance to listen to their EPs yet, but their album is really well recorded. They aren’t just an angry hardcore band, they actually have a relatively positive message [their lyrics aren't about death, is essentially what I'm getting at].
I think you’ll enjoy them if you enjoy music.
Motionless In White – I found Motionless In White as a suggestion from my girlfriend’s iPod [and from my iTunes...odd]. I wasn’t really sure what to think when I first heard them because I didn’t really think I liked them. I gave them a few minutes and a few songs and realized that I’m totally okay with what they as a band produce.
Motionless In White is a Screamo/Hardcore band from the Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania area [much like Vice President Joe Biden, and no one gets out of there alive, except Joe Biden]. They have released an EP, The Whorror, and a full length album, When Love Met Destruction [2009].
Before Their Eyes – Once again, I found Before Their Eyes thanks to iTunes [their is a pattern here]. I listened to a bunch of 30-second snippets of their songs and then decided “Hey! I’ll go ahead and download one [or all] of their albums”…so I did. I really love their music. I really like the way that their singing vocals mesh so well with the screaming vocals. The melodic singing doesn’t sound out of place, it sounds like it belongs where it is.
Before Their Eyes is a hardcore band from Findlay, Ohio. They have released two full length albums, Before Their Eyes [2007] and The Dawn of My Death [2009]. They have another album due for release on March 9th titled Untouchable.
August Burns Red – I might have to say that August Burns Red might be my favorite of this list [other than We Came As Romans...but it is definitely between ABR and WCAR]. August Burns Red has something about their music that really makes me want to keep listening. Even their name has an awesome story behind it [their old singer's crazy ex-girlfriend, named August, set his dog, Redd, on fire]. I downloaded their albums and pretty much listened to them all day.
August Burns Red is a hardcore band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They have released two EPs, August Burns Red EP and Looks Fragile After All EP, and three full length albums: Thrill Seeker [2005], Messengers [2007], and Constellations [2009].
I highly recommend August Burns Red to anyone who enjoys a good hardcore band, or just a good band in general.
I hope you enjoy my choices for the week.
Cody.
my dinosaur life.
January 16th, 2010 § Leave a Comment
Once more in to the fray.
So I recently got my grubby little paws on a copy of My Dinosaur Life, the new album by Motion City Soundtrack. Let me just say, this album is perfect. And not perfect in the sense that a sunset is perfect and beautiful and magical and awe inspiring , but in the sense that mere mortals could create something so magnificent and splendid that it literally brought me to tears.
So I’m going to review this masterpiece to the best of my ability and let you all in on my thoughts on this piece of beautiful music.
Justin Pierre is my hero.
Ever since I met Motion City Soundtrack a few years back, I’ve enjoyed their music and the way they can say incredibly poigniant, moving things during incredibly serious songs like in “Last Night” off of their third album Even If It Kills Me, however, my favorite album by them is by far, hands down, without a shadow of a doubt, Commit This To Memory [I think that is because of the song "Hold Me Down" though].
This kinda sounds the same as it always does…
No it doesn’t. Sure, My Dinosaur Life has the same lovable synthesizers and the same catchy guitar riffs that we loved in I Am The Movie and Commit This To Memory, and sure, it has wonderful vocals that span the spectrum of human capabilities just like the other albums, but what it has that those don’t is the endless replayability [now one word, because I say so] that the other two were lacking. I mean, yeah, I could listen to songs off of those albums for hours, but only if they were mixed with other songs from other albums from other bands. I’ve listened to nothing else but this album [and the radio] for over 24 hours now.
This is my favorite album of possibly all time [sorry Transatlanticism by Death Cab for Cutie] and such a great way to start of 2010 and a whole new decade at that.
Final thought?
I’m going to give this album a 10 out of 10 because I love every single song off of it. There isn’t a song on here that I skip passed because “it sucks” or “I hate it”, I listen to every piece of wonderful joy.
So ladies and gentlemen, buy this album the moment it hits digital shelves on January 19, 2010 for the low low price of $10.99 on iTunes. And, if you buy the album off of iTunes you get sweet bonus stuff like some alternative versions of songs, bonus songs, and a music video.
Thanks for tuning in, I’m glad to be back.
Cody.
My next post…
Either a review of the new Alesana album The Emptiness or a list of what I’m listening to now. Keep listening.
87th generation iPod nano.
September 18th, 2009 § 2 Comments
(yes, the title is a joke)
The new generation of iPods is coming out soon [this fall] and you should all be pretty excited…or as excited as you can be for the same exact product with one or maybe two new features. [I feel like each generation of iPod is like each new year/version of Madden].
Anyway, the new generation of iPod Nanos looks to actually be the best one since their debut. This one seems to have everything that an iPod [not Touch or Phone] should have always had. I’ll outline its features and let you decide whether or not its worth the $149 [8gb] and $179 [16gb] price tags.
- A bigger screen – The screen is now 2.2 inches instead of 1.7. That’s a whole half an inch bigger [and ladies, you know that size matters].
- FM Radio – Finally my iPod can let me listen to the radio [although if you have to rely on the radio...you probably need to have a less crappy iTunes library]. Also has a “Live Pause” option that lets you pause the radio.
- Voice Over – Your iPod will now tell you what song/artist you’re listening to without you having to look at it. [Not knowing what is on your iPod, ftw]
- A pedometer - Now you can track how far you walk/run while you exercise and rock out [forgive me for the 80's coming out in me]
- A voice recorder – Now you can be like Capt. Kirk or James Bond; record your thoughts or blackmail your friends. The possibilities are endless…so watch what you say.
Now, last but certainly not the least of the new features, is a video camera. I know what you’re thinking…how did Apple fit a video camera in something the length of my index finger. It [supposedly] takes clean audio, captures crisp video, and probably makes you more attractive to everyone around you.
So what is my verdict? I’m going to buy it. As soon as it comes out, this is going in my pocket.
Cody.
upcoming albums.
August 28th, 2009 § 1 Comment
2009 is finally winding down and the next few months look promising as far as albums go. I’m going to tell you a few that I’m excited about and hopefully you’ll get excited about them too.
#1. Mayday Parade – There aren’t really words to describe how excited I am about this album. As most of you know, Mayday Parade is probably my favorite band [followed closely by Death Cab for Cutie and Mae]. The album is titled Anywhere But Here and is going to be released on October 6th. Two songs: “The Silence” and “Anywhere But Here” are available to stream on Mayday’s MySpace and “The Silence” is available for purchase through iTunes.
#2. Say Anything – Say Anything is a fun band, with songs like “Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too” and “Every Man Has A Molly”, you can’t help but like these guys. Well, get prepared to like them even more [again?]. Their new album, titled Say Anything is due for release on October 16th. According to the band’s MySpace, the album will have 13 tracks, including: “Mara and Me”, “Death for My Birthday”, “Do Better”, “Crush’d”, and “Hate Everyone” [which was released for purchase on iTunes or streaming on MySpace]. Get pumped because I have a good feeling about this record.
#3. Jay-Z – Jay-Z Is my favorite rapper of all time [I feel like I've said this before] and it just so happens that he isn’t in retirement anymore [although I feel like he never really went in to retirement]. It was announced recently that he will be leaving Def Jam and has signed with Live Nation [I worked for them!] to release his new album The Blueprint 3. The album has a sort of…odd release date: September 11, 2009. I’m really stoked for this album. ["Run This Town" has a pretty sweet music video, watch it on Jay-Z's website].
#4. Boys Like Girls – Since releasing their debut album in 2006 [which has had pretty decent success], I haven’t heard much from/about Boys Like Girls. Then I heard their new single “Love Drunk” on the radio this morning and was like “Holy ____ this is good!” So I did a bit o’ research when I got home and discovered their new album, Love Drunk, is going to be released in a little over a week [September 8th]. The album features Taylor Swift [for better or worse] in case any of you are in that sort of thing. Hear some tracks from the new album on their MySpace or buy some singles on iTunes.
#5. Brand New – Brand New is one of the only bands that has an album that I can listen to from start to finish. I’m really hoping their new album, titled Daisy, has the same gripping quality that hasn’t been seen from them in years. The album will be released on Sept. 22nd [my dad's birthday!]. If you’d like a taste of things to come, go stream the first single “At the Bottom” on their MySpace or buy it off iTunes.
Well that’s all I am really excited for, but that is only within the next two months. Listen. Enjoy.
Cody.
My next post…
I want my next post to be a suggestion from one of you. Please-Please-Please email me suggestions.
yoklookie@gmail.com
cjkloock@vwc.edu
artists i’d recommend – july 9, 2009.
July 9th, 2009 § Leave a Comment
I felt that it was a good idea to do one of these today [don't ask me why, it's just what I was feeling]. So I have two artists that I highly recommend to anyone I meet [not exactly true, but I should start doing this].
So…enjoy?
#1. Death Cab For Cutie – There is so much that I could say about Death Cab For Cutie…but I don’t know where to start. DCFC is a Seattle, Wa based indie-rock band of the epic nature. [OH MY GOD DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE IS ON TV WHILE I'M WRITING THIS!] Founded in 1997, they’ve been cashing checks and breaking necks in the musical community ever since. They have six full length albums, five EPs, and one demo. They are basically the epitome of indie-rock success. [if you haven't figured it out yet, I sort of have a thing for Death Cab]. I highly recommend them to you, yes you, right now. Go listen. Please.
Albums-
Something About Airplanes (1998)
We Have The Facts And We’re Voting Yes (2000)
The Photo Album (2001)
Transatlanticism (2003) <— This is my favorite album by them
Plans (2005) <— This is when I really discovered them. I heard “Soul Meets Body” on the radio and thought it was The Postal Service (due to Ben Gibbard’s voice)
Narrow Stairs (2008)
Miscellaneous links-
Website!
iTunes Store!
“Transatlanticism” <— This is my favorite song by them I think.
#2. Mae- Mae is an alternative band from Norfolk, Va [So basically they are my hometown heroes, if you will] founded in 2001. I’ve met 2/3 of the band [their drummer for an interview I did for my college newspaper and their bass player at the concert a few months ago] and they are really nice, really cool people to have a conversation with. Their music on the other hand, is also phenomenal. Their music is…hard to describe. Each album [of the three] has felt different in the way the music is delivered. The Everglow, for example, feels kind of like a story [it has a prologue and an epilogue] while Singularity isn’t really story-driven, but the songs seem more romantically directed. I highly recommend Mae for anyone who likes music.
The two guys on the right, are no longer in the band.
Mae is doing a special charity project where they release a song every month for the entirety of 2009. So far they’ve released six songs and raised over $47,000. You should support them and what they are doing.
Albums-
Destination: Beautiful (2003)
The Everglow (2005) <— I want this album cover tattooed on my arm.
Singularity (2007)
Miscellaneous Links-
Website!
iTunes Store!
“Just Let Go” <— By far my favorite song they’ve ever produced, ever.
There you go. Listen and enjoy.
Cody.
