Ben Rector

So I absolutely love Ben Rector. His voice is so pure and crisp and I can understand all of his lyrics without reading along with them. My cousin and I discovered Ben Rector together years ago and it is one of the few things we have in common! So it is great when he puts out a new album because I will automatically call her and discuss. This happened recently with The Walking in Between. Some of his songs are kind of bluesy and I'm not a huge fan of blues but I adore his bluesy songs. His new album is my favorite so far but I am almost confident that I will change my mind when the next one comes out. I'm trying to pick a favorite and I really can't. His lyrics aren't really very complex or symbolic but they are relatable and especially "Making Money" puts off a tone of Ben Rector's down to earth side. "I just think it's funny, we are so concerned with Making Money." Also he also sings, "I make a living making love songs because I like songs...folks believe my love songs so they pay me" or something along those lines. He's kinda funny. I dig it. During his show, when he plays "Loving You is Easy" he asks the crowd for different topics like chocolate or cheese or something random and he makes up the chorus according to the topic we pick for him. And I think that not only takes a lot of guts but it also takes talent! And I respect him for that. (Check out 3:30 for the verse about hipsters) It's not like brilliant deep on the spot thinking but it's a crowd pleaser and hey, I couldn't do that. I really like this one song on his new album Beautiful but I actually can't pick a favorite. From his old stuff I like The Beat, Autumn, ah just everything.
This is his hipster verse of Loving (Hipsters)You is Easy

This is called Beautiful 

"too busy fixing things on computer screens" (This reminds me of your spiel about our generation)

The future of Rock and Roll

SO came across this video and thought it was a coincidence that we were just talking about this subject in class the other day! About Christian rock kind of? This video is of Bill Corgan who is the lead singer of The Smashing Pumpkins talking about rock and roll. When asked what the future of rock and roll is, he answered God. I think this ties into your idea that rock is rebellious. It's interesting because he describes God as the "third rail" of rock and roll which basically means that is the unspoken subject in rock and roll. And I think that he's saying since God is so unexplored (therefore it is rebellious) when it comes to rock and roll, he thinks that it is the future of rock and roll music. It's a very interesting video and he makes some interesting points..

http://www.faithit.com/he-thinks-god-is-the-future-of-rock-n-roll-heres-why-hes-right/

Weezer

Weezer's music has been in the background for most of my life. It is one of my brother's favorite bands and he went into a Weezer phase last summer and I think he is the reason I love them so much. When we were little, their song "Beverley Hills" we knew by heart and sometimes when we decided to like each other (just kidding we always get along) we put sunglasses on and sing as loud as possible and make our parents watch our little performance.. stupid but it was my first impression of Weezer. I recently rediscovered them after my brother's phase last summer and listened to them constantly, they are a great jam in the car band. (I know you said that you never listen to music in your car but when I'm in the car it is the one time where I am completely alone.) I love the independent feel to their music. It rocks, literally (hehe). My favorite album was their first album released in 1994, which to me feels old but I don't really have any previous knowledge to base that on.. this album features my favorite songs: Buddy Holly, Undone (sweater song), and Say it Aint So. I've kind of noticed that they've modeled themselves after previous rock bands. They have an album called the Blue Album, which may be a reference to the Beatles album?? Also, obviously the song Buddy Holly references Buddy Holly.
Anyway, cool band. Also, their live show is GREAT. Love the lead singer.

PS AVETT BROTHERS HAVE A NEW ALBUM OUT SO YEAH IT'S GOODish.

Rock & Roll

What is rock and roll? I don't think it can be defined. I think rock and roll is a state of mind as well as an opinion. I think people define rock and roll based on experience and everyone's experiences are so completely different. In my theory of knowledge class we are talking about what is art? and in this discussion it has been debated whether things should or should not be classified as art. Art is personal expression. So is rock and roll. I semi agree with you when you say it is rebellion, however I feel like rock was more rebellious before I was born. I think any music can be rebellious, whether it makes you feel rebellious or whether the actual lyrics are "rebellious." But gosh, defining rock and roll is just not something you can write in a blog post. I think rock and roll has to be experienced through live recordings or experiences/moments. Why restrict rock and roll by putting a definition to it? I think that bands have their own ideas of rock and roll and they make music based on their OWN ideas of rock and roll not the publics expectations of rock and roll based on some definition.

Bad Moods or Sad Moods

Automatic response to bad moods is watch tv, shower, eat, sleep and repeat/avoid doing anything productive at all costs. For me, I watch episodes on episodes of Friends. Watching Friends always makes me laugh and lets me focus on Rachel and Ross's problems rather than my own. I watch Friends when I am sad/not feeling well/super tired. When I am angry at myself/my friends/my family I need to get out of the house. Watching TV will just make me more angry for some reason. So I take my car, windows down, music WAY up and drive up and down Mt. Bonnell road. Typically I do this right before it gets dark during the sunset because this road is a very scenic, quickly accessible road for me. Country music is my go to comfort music. Each song I listen to on the trip reminds me of a certain happier memory of maybe this summer, last weekend, and sometimes even a year ago. That drive, while so short (because I do not want to waste my gas) never fails to cheer me up temporarily.

The Mowgli's

Love LoVe lOvE the Mowgli's. They are my new favorite band by far. After we listened to the full first album of the Beatles I went home and listened to their Waiting for the Dawn album the whole way through, no distractions. The Mowgli's are an EIGHT person band and they believe that every person should have a voice, so all eight people sing on the album. This album has one broad message basically and each song closes in on this message of love, not only for your significant other but also sharing the love with your friends, family, God, and also random people on the street (San Francisco music video). Their tour is called "Random Acts of Kindness" and I love that. The random acts of kindness people do really are the most fulfilling ones. I saw them at ACL and one thing I loved about them was their energy and love for their crowd (shown through their interactions with us). They were BAREFOOT and there was some crazy hair on that stage. It was obvious from their show that they were really playing because they love to sing, not for the money. My favorite songs of theirs include Time, Carry Your Will and the Great Divide. Their most popular/most played song on the radio is San Francisco, which is also a great song and has a cheery music video! PS they are touring with Walk the Moon so that's pretty cool. 

Yet another ACL post

Honestly I do not know what I would do if I didn't go to ACL and truly, the people who have never been are missing out on a HUGE part of Austin culture. Also, I don't understand people who will pay 200 dollars and just hit the mainstream radio featured bands. Yes, they are great artists but ACL is the time to explore different areas of music (doing research like you always say). So many people are saying the line up isn't any good this year but there is a lot of talent in the lineup! I have to say I am not impressed with the headliners. It seems like they got a weird combination of bands for the headliners.. I am not into Depeche Mode. I'll see Lionel Ritchie just because it's Lionel Ritchie and it's the last night but I am not impressed with it. I am impressed with C3's choice of small bands though! Like Noah and the Whale, Walk the Moon, the Mowglis, Dawes, Paper Diamond etc.

D. Veloped/Avicii

So last class you were talking about how you did not think it is worth it to see a person standing in front of a computer so I thought I would talk about an artist that stands in front of a computer! D. Veloped! I really don't qualify dubstep as good quality music or anything but I think it is really a fun genre. D. Veloped isn't really dubstep in that there's no dropping of the bass! They remix a bunch of songs together with a baseline beat. I like them because they incorporate a lot of genres and a lot of generations worth of songs into their remixes and I think that's kinda cool. I saw Skrillex at ACL two years ago, and since it was during the day it really sucked because there was no light show to look forward to and it was just plain uninteresting. HOWEVER, last year I was front row for Avicii and that was awesome. Instead of standing up there on his computer he was mounted on this huge head that changed colors and changed gradients and patterns etc. The light show (which is a necessity for a dubstep concert) was up to my expectations! Avicii's new album is my favorite so far including my favorite track "Wake Me Up"