Dog Is Dead at Fopp

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I proudly present my experience of seeing Dog Is Dead at Fopp, Nottingham in this video!!

'The Good Ones' - The Kills

Rainymood.com

Did you know the most relaxing image a human can think of is rain falling at a 45 degree angle? No, I didn't either. But my brother got it out of a trivia book. But RAIN in itself is SUPER relaxing. Take rainymood.com - their slogan: Rain Makes Everything Better! Sure, in movies, it's used for depression, but the sound of rain itself is so peaceful! Thre are lots of songs I listen to with rainymood in the background - and it gives such feeling to it! Don't worry, you can't love it till you try it!

Songs to listen to with rainymood.com

1) 'Angels' - The xx

2) '1055' - And The Giraffe 

3) 'Old Pine' - Ben Howard

4) 'Only Love' - Ben Howard 

5) 'Hip Hip Hooray' - Margot and The Nuclear So and So's

6) 'The Well' - Dog Is Dead

7) 'Landfill' - Daughter

8) 'Canary Bird' - Idiot Wind

9) 'Cosmic Love' - Florence + The Machine

10) 'Death By Numbers' - Noah & The Whale

And The Giraffe

I’ve often dreamed of what I would do were I to win an obscene amount of money playing the lottery. After paying off any debts my family might be carrying, donating a fair bit to some noble cause yet to be determined, and setting aside enough to allow me to live comfortably off just the interest for quite some time, I always end up deciding that I would use part of the money to organize several epic music festivals.

With today’s idea, I think I’ve struck GOLD: 

Festival Name: “Zoo Do”

Lineup would consist SOLELY of bands that have animals in their names. For example: Noah and the Whale (the headliners, clearly), Modest Mouse,Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses, Arctic Monkeys, Adam Ant, Crazy Horse,The Wombats, Frightened Rabbit, Toad the Wet Sprocket, etc.

And the Giraffe would be a welcome addition to the lineup. It's a 'dream-folk' project of two best friends, Josh Morrie and Nick Roberts, which I think is awfully sweet. They played in a few concerts together while they still lived each other, but Josh moved to Nashville in 2011 and they were forced to collaborate via Dropbox... which is okay, because many ideas were developed over the internet by them (yay for the internet!). But when Josh got back for the summer of 2011, things really got swinging, with the duo planning to embark on a tour this year and to work on even more music! Hooray!

 ☯ And The Giraffe - 'Still'

Just to let you know, you can find my favourite song of them, Find My Name In The Sun, on their website, but it's not on YouTube yet. 

 ☯ And The Giraffe - '1055'     ...I reccomend listening to this with rainymood.com playing in the background... the same goes for The xx's 'Angel'. Seriously. rainymood.com . TRY IT!

Dog Is Dead (FREE Download)

On Wednesday, I went to help at my school's Open Evening, and got into a conversation with one of my teachers and one of my friends about Nottingham band, Dog Is Dead, who went to our school. Were taught by my teachers. Performed at the school concert. Sat in those very classrooms I'm learning in. In fact, my best friends is family friends with one of the boys. Unfortunately, she holds a grudge with him for deleting her NintenDogz when she was little. Seriously, Eve, I think it's time to let it go ;)

♫ 'Two Devils' - Dog Is Dead

Also, I'm off to Dog Is Dead's album signing and live performance in Nottingham tomorrow with my friends! 

♫ 'Talk Through The Night' - Dog Is Dead

Finally, here's a link to Dog Is Dead's website - dogisdead.co.uk where you can sign up for the mailing list in order to get their free EP, which has an acoustic version of 'Talk Through The Night', the song above, and 'Talent Show' - eat the music, it's good for you. ♛♛♛♛ ---HT---

Sum 41

Lena, my German exchange partner, showed me this awesome band, after gasping that I had never heard of the Canadian rockers who have sold over 40 million records worldwide. Formed in 1996, it consists of Deryck Whibley, Tom Thacker, Jason McCaslin and Steve Jocz. We listened to it on the bus back from town on Saturday, and I fell in love immediately...

♫ 'With Me' - Sum 41

...yes, it's got subs because I wanted the official video, but hopefully this one won't block off Apple users :D

♫ 'Dear Father' - Sum 41 <3 a beautiful song about the father Deryck never had...

Travis

Yes, I'm alive!! But I've been so busy, honestly! My German Exchange Partner is round, and she has such a similar taste in music to me :) Red Hot Chili Peppers, Led Zeppelin, Green Day, Snow Patrol... but here's a different, as promised INDIE-ROCK band called Travis. My dad got their CD out for me; he thought I might enjoy it.

'Flowers In The Window' - Travis

'Sing' - Travis

'All I Want To Do Is Rock' - Travis

Taken by Trees and Idiot Wind - Sounds From Sweden IV

With First Aid Kit, I found Idiot Wind. How? I looked up their tour. Obviously. Unfortunately they're not coming anywhere near me, but the concerts they DO play in the UK are accompanied by an artist called Idiot Wind. So, me being me, I looked into it.

Amanda (Idiot Wind) and
Khristian Matsson (Tallest Man)

Amanda Bergman, the piano singer-songwriter from Sweden who is Idiot Wind, has also been previously known as Jaw Lesson and Hajen. She has worked on a soundtrack for a feature film with The Tallest Man On Earth, another Swedish artist who I'm not going to do as we have to move on from Sweden, or I'll be blogging about them forever! The two of them live a quiet life together in the countryside, and support each other in the music industry.


'Canary Bird' - Idiot Wind

I love this song - it's beautiful. Slow, meaningful and shiver-inducing. Here's one from her past work as Jaw Lesson: 'Scapegoat':

I really like Idiot Wind actually... despite her slightly obscure name...
As said before, I won't be doing The Tallest Man On Earth, though-I'd-love-to-and-might-do-later-but-not-now, because I need to move on to some indie-rock as we haven't had that in ages! But before we do, let's take a look at Taken By Trees, our final Swedish artist.

Taken By Trees is artist Victoria Bergsman's latest project, after leaving as singer of The Concretes in 2006. I first came across them when a friend showed me their cover of Guns 'n' Roses 'Sweet Child O' Mine'. The simplistic piano accompaniment gives the song a whole new feel. Have a listen:

'Sweet Child O' Mine' - Taken By Trees (Guns 'n' Roses)

Next is another one of her songs, in her sad, soft style, but this time with guitar replacing the role of the piano in Sweet Child O' Mine. It's quite short, but beautiful.

'Only Yesterday' - Taken By Trees

...and that wraps up Sounds From Sweden. Enjoyed it? Maybe I'll do Iceland next... ---HT---

Frida Hyvönen and The Tiny - Sounds From Sweden III

Sorry I've been offline for a while - school started again, and I think that gives me all the excuses in the world!

As promised, here is the third installment' in Sounds From Sweden: Frida Hyvönen and The Tiny. Let's start with Frida...

Born in 1977, Swedish singer-songwriter Frida Hyvönen has been touring the US, Scandinavia and Europe with her piano since 2004. Here's the first one I heard by her, and probably my favourite. It's a cute, quirky little song.

'Birds' - Frida Hyvönen

I really love the next video, where she builds a piano in a forest - how can you not find that awesome? 

'The Modern' - Frida Hyvönen

Frida is someone I like to listen to when I'm in a cheerful springy mood :D I think her personality of music sounds a little bit like a small bird hopping around!

Next up we have The Tiny. The trio star pianist and vocalist Ellekari Larsson, cellist Leo Svensson, and upright bassist Johan Berthling. Their music is influenced by all kinds of music, ranging from classical to jazz, to goth to pop, and their music is reminiscent of Björk and Kate Bush. I can definitely hear some Kate Bush in this one:

'Last Weekend' - The Tiny

I love that song. I'm not even going to post another song, because I think that is enough to encourage those who enjoyed it to look into The Tinys (The Tinies?). Because that's what this blog is about: it's not just showing you a few new songs, it's trying to encourage you to look into new bands and I'm just starting you off and suggesting places for you to look. So please do :D ---HT---

Taxi Taxi! - Sounds From Sweden II

This came up on my Grooveshark radio, and I love it. I'm in a Swedish part of Grooveshark, with it throwing First Aid Kit, Frida Hyvönen, The Tiny, Idiot Wind Taxi Taxi! and Taken By Trees, all of which I'm doing a post for. Pack you bags: we're heading to beautiful Sweden... Taxi Taxi! Will you take us there?

(Okay, sorry for the rubbish pun. This is not a pantomime. I shall now make it up to you by proceeding with brilliant music.)

So who are Taxi Taxi!? (Everything I write with their name in it ending the sentance sounds really optimistic - like Twitter notification emails! Sorry - not a panto.)  To answer that, twin sisters Miriam Eriksson Berhan and Johanna Eriksson Berhan who make up the indie duo became known on the basis of just two demos, made puclic via the internet. And they're awesome.

'More Childish Than In A Long Time' - Taxi Taxi!

Oh, and for you that don't like this sort of music, but prefer rock, don't worry, I shall be posting some fine rock after my Sounds From Sweden posts. But for now, please try and enjoy it, because I love these songs.

Next up: 'All I Think Of' - Taxi Taxi!

I find that song slightly freaky... very touching though. If you enjoyed Taxi Taxi! you can check out another song by them, 'Old Big Trees', which is a bit happier, here. Next I'll be doing Frida Hyvönen and The Tiny as a 2-in-1 post. ---HT---

How to find music?

In this time, listening to Capital FM will not find you anything new or original. Even some of their fans complain that they're playing the same thing over and over again. So unless you know of a good indie station or something (and if you do, PLEASE give me a yell!), that rules out the radio.

YouTube? It's hard to go anywhere on YouTube in this 'Day And Age' (like my Killers album quote?) without the frankly scary face of Niki Minaj jumping out in the sidebar... but there is what many people (although yes, I'm sorry to admit mainly hipsters) call the 'good side of YouTube'. I call it this because it's where you can go and look at the sidebar, and there will be songs you have never heard of. You will want to click on every song and EXPLORE! (Note: some hipsters call it the 'good side of YouTube' because it hasn't got many views; some people count the quality of music by the popularity, which is utter rubbish in my opinion. Yes, it's nice to know a band nobody else does, but there are some amazing well-known bands!) However it's quite hard to get there (it took me a good half an hour of clicking the first time) but it's a great journey through music, and well worth it when you get there. I would reccomend bookmarking a link from there so you can zip straight to the obscure and the brilliant. So YouTube: yes.

I favour using streaming sites, especially Grooveshark. Yes, I know about Spotify, and yes, I reccomend using it as you can discover lots of new artists there, but I enjoy Grooveshark more. I love lining up the songs on the bottom to play in Grooveshark, so it's really clear to see what the radio feature will throw at you. Of course, both Spotify and Grooveshark have radio features. Like a real radio station, you never know what tracks they will line up next — but unlike real radio stations, you can skip tracks as many times as you wish if they aren’t to your fancy (and there aren’t any annoying DJs interrupting the flow). On Grooveshark, you can either cleat your waiting list and select a channel, or simply switch the radio tab on, and when you get to the end of your chosen songs, it will play songs similar to your taste, but just different enough so you can explore. I found some great artists that way. 

Finally, I use last.fm to check out any new artists I find. As well as a bio from Wikipedia, they have the top listens, photos, and a similar artists feature. You can type in your favourite artist and see what comes out - you may just find something amazing! 

Enjoy exploring ---HT---

First Aid Kit - Sounds From Sweden

Swedish sisters Johana and Klara Söderberg make up Swedish folk duo First Aid Kit, whom I discovered recently. Taking influence from the one and only Fleet Foxes, who will also appear here, they begun composing in 2007, and their 2008 YouTube cover of Fleet Foxes' 'Tiger Mountain Peasant Song', which you can view here, both original and their cover, spread across the internet. Their life turned around when Fleet Foxes performed the song with them at a concert in The Netherlands! 

This is 'The Lion's Roar' - First Aid Kit
The amazingly haunting music video is here, and unofficial is below.

'Wolf' - First Aid Kit (fan video)

Quite a neat fan video. I especially love the (current) top comment:
So glad bands (people), Like First Aid Kit stick to an era when music was meant to feel things you cant discribe and think about things that have nothing to do with whats going on in the world. Music to me is a place inside, a sanctuary only music can reach. A mind set were no one can get to me. And they reached it
-CancerChristChest

So there's First Aid Kit, soaring straight up to be one of my favourite folk bands... their music reminds me a little of medieval times - as presented in their music video, which looks a little like Lord Of The Rings! Coming up soon is Idiot Wind, Daughter, Taxi Taxi! and Fleet Foxes! If you're interested or have a similar music taste to me, or may just enjoy reading this blog, you can subscribe by email and get notifications every time I post, or if you have a Blogger account, go to your home and add this blog to your following list. Thank you world, peace out! ---HT---

Birdy: Rise in public - featuring Mumford & Sons

Who is Birdy? I hear some of you ask. Well, Birdy is one of my favourite artists, and only 16 years old. I studied her as my Arts Heroine for my Bronze Arts Award, and aspire to be as musically talented.

Although many have not heard of Birdy, she is appearing in many public places. For instance, the sell-out film 'The Hunger Games' featured Birdy's song, 'Just A Game', which she wrote after being inspired by the books. You can listen to it here.

Another film, 'Brave', features Birdy and indie-folkers Mumford & Sons collaborating to form 'Learn Me Right'. Watch it below, and read the description: ownership goes to Mickey Mouse, Birdy, or possibly Mumford OR ONE OF HIS SONS... :)

Now let me explain something: I love Mumford & Sons' music... I just don't like Marcus Mumford for cheating on lovely, whole-hearted singer Laura Marling. Got that cleared up? Thank you, Zoe and Ellie.

Finally, who watched the Paralympic Opening Ceremony? I can guess most of you did. Did you see the amazing acrobatics, accompanied by Birdy's beautiful cover of Antony and The Johnsons' 'Bird Gerhl' (original here). Apologies for the bad quality, but if you want better, go to this video and skip to 3:11:42.

This caused her to appear in 'i'. Well done Birdy :), and thank you for Mumford & Sons for recognizing her talent and blessing Brave with your own talent. More posts containing Mumford & Sons to come soon, as well as a breakdown of music used in the Olympic Closing Ceremony! ---HT---

My dad bought me 'i' just because he saw Birdy in it.

            

'Twice' - Little Dragon

Electronic group 'Little Dragon' from Sweden don't really cater for my taste, but I persisted in exploring almost all of their songs and this is the one I love:

'Twice' - Little Dragon

Beach Listening

Hello to all from the sunny beach!!  I'm going to preach my Top 5 Beach Listens:

1. Anything by Florence + The Machine. Flo, as you may have noticed, is quite taken with water. Especially in her second album, 'Ceremonials', where you can hear 'What The Water Gave Me' and 'Never Let Me Go', where she tries to recreate a feeling she had when she was little that she could breathe underwater. Also listen to 'Swimming', which is not in the album.

2. 'Alas I Cannot Swim' - Laura Marling's first album, as produced by her ex, Charlie Fink. Perhaps not the best title for you less confident swimmers, but with tracks such as 'Alas I Cannot Swim', 'Crawled Out Of The Sea', 'Tap At My Window', which starts with rain, and 'The Captain And The Hourglass', it's one of the main things I've been listening to.

3. 'Seaside' - The Kooks. Self-explanatory. See previous post for more details.

4. Noah & The Whale's second album, 'The First Days Of Spring'. I know you're thinking I've got the wrong timezone, but Charlie Fink's breakup album for Laura Marling, the girl whose first album he actually produced, is very water based, with water running acting as a continuer for all the tracks. To see the film for the whole album, click here.

5. Cliff Richards' 'We're All Going On A, Summer Holiday...!!!!!' (so maybe that is not the official title but I call it that - with 5 '!!!!!') Just listen to it. 

'Forget' - Lianne La Havas

Here's an artist I found just today, after reading one of Birdy's interviews in which she stated some of her favourite artists. (I looked up Birdy again because she was performing at the Paralympic Opening Ceremony last night - she was amazing with her cover of 'Bird Gerhl' by Antony + The Johnsons)

'Forget' - Lianne La Havas

Sorry if official means you can't watch it, iUsers, but I love the video! Here's a video of the same song in a Best Fit session - softer and still beautiful.

'Seaside' - The Kooks

Going on holiday tomorrow, so I won't be posting for a while. To get me in the mood, here's a little acoustic guitar song by The Kooks - making a change from their usual songs infused with electric guitars and drums. Quite short, very sweet.

'Seaside' - The Kooks

Pianolicious

http://pianolicious.blogspot.co.uk/ is my favourite website to get free piano sheet music. It provides links to other websites where you can print it straight off for free. Music is arranged alphabetically by artist name, and you can request for more sheet music links in the comments section. No hidden tricks, costs or scams - absolutely free!!

'Wilderness' - Bat For Lashes

Last post for today, and it's devoted to this amazing song by Bat For Lashes. Slightly spooky, shiver-inducing, lyrically amazing and just absolutely overwhelmingly beautiful.

'Wilderness' - Bat For Lashes

Broadripple Is Burning - Elle Cover

For those who may be interested, Elle (our band) is working on a cover of Margot and the Nuclear So and So's song 'Broadripple Is Burning', which you can see in an earlier post - just scroll down a bit. Anyway piano has been finished, which I covered from original guitar chords. I'm showing it to E & E, my bandgirls, and they'll decide if they want to sing it. I do hope they want to: it's a lot of work!! I'm sure they will though, so if you want to keep updated on our progress as a little band, check back here, I will be posting news and maybe making an Elle page. Also coming soon is a Free Piano Sheet Music page on my blog where I'll provide links to free sheet music. Peace out!! ----HT xxx ----