Earworm of the Week: The National, “I Need My Girl”

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I’ve said it before, and I will say it again.  Sometimes, I can take awhile to “get” a band.  Case in point, The National.  I bought Boxer.  I bought High Violet.  I listened.  I tried to get it.  I didn’t. When Trouble Will Find Me came out, I thought I’d give it one last shot.

I read a piece today talking about Nirvana’s In Utero and Counting Crows August and Everything After, and the author called “All Apologies” “tangentially sad” and “Anna Begins” “realistically sad.”  I love Counting Crows.  I appreciate Nirvana.  Until now, I appreciated The National.  But I didn’t love them.  However, I’ve fallen pretty hard for Trouble Will Find Me.  And maybe, just maybe, it’s because it’s a little more story-tellerish? I don’t know…but I can’t get enough of it right now.  And after seeing them live last week, I’m sold on them completely.  Hook, line, and sinker.  Six years too late.

My favorite track on the record (right now) is “I Need My Girl.”  It is heart-wrenching and brutal and I love it. And because I’ve played it approximately 500 times this week, it’s this week’s Earworm of the Week.

P.S.  Watch the NPR Tiny Desk Concert with them.  I promise you, it’s worth the 18 minutes you’ll give to it.

More The National:  Web | Facebook | Twitter

Flagship’s “Break the Sky” Lyric Video

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The first time I ever heard Flagship, I knew in my gut they were going places.  Drake Margolnick’s voice is intoxicating and what stole my heart initially, but I have fallen in love with the way this band vacillates between starkness and richly layered epics that will keep your head swirling.

Three years, some solo stuff from Drake, a few lineup changes, and a bunch of new songs later, my gut is about to be proven right.  My favorite Charlotte-based band drops their debut, self-titled album on October 8 on Bright Antenna.  The fellas have been previewing a bunch of songs on their YouTube channel, and all I have to day is day-um. Mark my words, folks:  this band is going to blow up in a big way.

Today, American Songwriter premiered their lyric video for “Break the Sky,” the first single that you can get if you pre-order the album on iTunes. It’s an older song that the band’s been doing for awhile, but they stepped it up for the record.  And the video is pretty darn cool.  Check it out.  Then go study up on Flagship before the whole world is talking about them.

More Flagship:  Web | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Blackbush EP on iTunes |Download Are You Calling for free

What’s on Your Workout Playlist, Volume 4

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My love-hate affair with working out is pretty well documented, and right now, I’m in a “hate but must do” phase.  I’ve been trying to get back to it in baby steps. Music is a must for me when trying to work up a sweat, so I spent some time over the weekend cultivating a new workout playlist. I have my old go-tos, of course, but I’m always looking for new music that gets my heart pumping – and from the search results I see on the ol’ web page stats, it seems like a lot of other folks are, too.

So, internet friends, I ask the question once more:  “What’s on your workout playlist?”

Some folks like hard, guitar-driven music while they work out, others like something with a good beat. Rap, rock, pop, dance – I’m a little all-over the place. Here’s what I’ve got so far on my latest workout playlist.

Follow this playlist on Spotify

Let me know what “new” song is a must have muscle-builder – leave a comment, shoot me an email, or hit me up on Twitter.

Earworm of the Week: Night Riots, “Remedy”

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Been a busy week, but I couldn’t leave ya’ll without a new earworm to kick off your weekend.  The lust for guitar-driven rock continues this week…

This week’s Earworm comes from the California-based Night Riots. Stumbled upon them while watching Saints of Valory on AXS TV‘s YouTube channel, and was instantly hooked by their insanely catchy tune “Remedy.”  The Brit-rock influenced vocal tugs at my heart strings, what can I say? Turns out, the lead singer, Travis Hawley, spent some time in the UK growing up… definitely hear that.

If you dig this track, you can get it for free by signing up for their mailing list. However, be sure to grab their EP, Young Lore. It was fan-funded, which speaks volumes to me about the band.  Plus, they’ve got some really great young writing chops – “Masks” is brilliant (“Does holy water leave you pure of heart? Change your ways.” F-me, that’s awesome), “Loyal Blood” is pretty much my new favorite thing right now…

The band was known as PK until earlier this year when they changed their name, so if you really, really dig what you hear…this is a necessity.

Now…what do I need to do to get them to tour on the East Coast?

More Night Riots:  Web | Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud
Buy Young Lore EP:  iTunes | Amazon | Bandcamp

 

Earworm of the Week: Catfish and the Bottlemen, “Homesick”

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A few weeks ago, Daytrotter’s top music muscle, Sean Moeller, sent out a tweet that said, “Catfish and the Bottlemen are going to be huge.  Trust me.”

My immediate response:  WHO ARE CATFISH AND THE BOTTLEMEN?

I’m a Daytrotter subscriber, and get a ton of cool sessions from them, but they do lean a little to the indie hipster side.  So imagine my surprise when I Google this band and hear screaming guitars. I must know more.

I may talk quite a bit about singer-songwriter types, but it’s not much of a secret that I have a “thing” for rock n’ roll bands.  These four young’uns – and I do mean babies – fill my need for “MORE GUITAR!” Plus, bonus, they hail from Wales (Llandudno, to be exact), homeland of my mentor of fun, Mrs. G., and the Stereophonics.  I do love the Welsh!  Aged 18 – 21, these kids are already earning their stripes, playing over 100 shows in the UK in 2012 and currently gigging some pretty major festivals across the pond.

Their song “Homesick” has been stuck in my head for the last two weeks.  And don’t let the sparse opening fool ya…hang on for the chorus and you’ll see what I mean about the rock n’ roll.

 

There’s no full-length album yet, but you can pick up the “Homesick” single, a two-track blistering rock n’ roll feast, for less than two bucks on Amazon or iTunes.  Their new single, “Rango” is due out on Sept. 17 in the U.S., but if you just can’t wait, they debuted the official sperm-filled video this week.

Going to have to agree with Mr. Moeller on this one…this band is going to be huge.  (Grab their Daytrotter session here, by the way.)

More Catfish and the Bottlemen:  Web | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube