I haven’t written in quite some time and with this review, I break my silence.
The past two months have been a huge whirlwind of changes. I’m sure many can relate to the sentiment of change – whether it’s something as natural as the changing of seasons and growing ages, or something that you work so hard for and finally achieve. Either way, the past two months have been filled with change, the nice positive kind. And with such changes, I tend to reflect back from time to time.
The first concert I ever went to was in Charlotte, North Carolina. I went to see Usher. Who opened for him? Oh you know – John Legend, Christina Milian, and Kanye West. Why am I mentioning this? Wednesday night, I ventured out to DC’s U Street Music Hall to see Youngblood Hawke. Through most of the show, I kept comparing the Usher to show to what I was witnessing in front of me. Sounds like a strange comparison but it wasn’t to me. I looked around the room a few times, and each time I realized that the people around me were having so much more fun than the people that were around me at that Usher concert in 2005.
In case you’re unaware, Youngblood Hawke is a six-piece indie pop outfit from Los Angeles. Their debut single We Come Running has been featured on countless television shows and commercials. I promise if you hear the introduction to the song, 95% of you will be saying “oh yeah, I’ve heard this song before.”
Youngblood Hawke’s music has this energetically contagious feel to it. So much so that I have yet to find a person that doesn’t like their music.
This morning I received a text message from my friend who accompanied me to the show. The message read “I’ve got a Youngblood Hawke song stuck in my head. I think I am a fan.” Said friend had never heard of or listened to Youngblood Hawke prior to Wednesday night.
The set started with an energetic drum sequence where the whole crowd went crazy in anticipation of what was yet to come. From there it was a lively and spirited experience of Youngblood Hawke’s music from their new studio album Wake Up, as well as their thrilling 2012 self-titled EP. I could go on and on about how great the band’s music is – but for that you can go out and buy their music and judge it yourself (see what I did there?). Instead, I’ll tell you that it was a show of many spectacular moments. Some of said moments include Omar hanging onto the ceiling speakers while getting the crowd pumped, and Alice jumping down onto the floor and singing with some kids that were at the front and center of the crowd (I use the term “kids” in the literal meaning – these two girls couldn’t have been older than twelve). This was probably the only show I’ve ever been to where the audience was pumped up even during the slower tempo songs. Can you really say you’ve seen that happen many times before? I certainly cannot.
So basically what I’m trying to say is this: Youngblood Hawke makes the perfect music for this sunshine season. They’re kicking off their West Coast tour in a few days and if you’ve got the chance – be sure to go see them play.
Happy Monday! Or at least it’s about to be after you take a listen to Wall by April Was a Passenger.
I was hooked during the first twenty seconds of listening to this song. The slow build in the first 30 seconds had me so intrigued for what was about to happen with the rest of the song. I felt like I was watching a super intense thriller, but in song form. I don’t even like thrillers but if they were ever this great, thriller movie-makers might have a new fan coming their way.
April Was a Passenger hails from Paris consisting of Minouche Briot, Jérôme Baudouin, and Anthony Caruana. This trio has been making music since September, 2011, and clearly been kicking butt and taking names.
This electropop song has different twists throughout that will remind you of some of your greater dancing memories that were made while listening to the likes of M83, Youngblood Hawke, Justice, and Passion Pit – just to name a few. If you like what you hear, the band just released their EP on Friday. You can check it out on Soundcloud.
Where I work, we get interns from Holland who live and work in America for a five to six month time span. During that time, I have undoubtedly had these interns listen to music that they’ve never listened to before, music that is featured on 1146 Miles and some that is not.
Yesterday was my sixth intern’s last day of working with me. Of all the times I could have listened to Dutch music, I never did until this chick showed up. I asked her to just play me something, anything, and she introduced me to the musical stylings of Gers Pardoel. This track, Bagagedrager (featuring Sef), is entirely in Dutch with a few words in English (i.e. sexy and Bacardi). Despite the fact that I don’t understand a single thing that is being said in this song, I couldn’t help myself but share this song.
It’s a catchy and upbeat Dutch hip hop track that will have you listening to it on repeat, even if you don’t understand Dutch (much like myself). Take a listen, I hope you like it.
Jingle jangle: a sound that I normally partner up with the month of December. However, today’s case of the jingle jangles is in the form of a jangly pop song from the noise pop outfit The Airplanes. The song caught my attention in the first ten seconds with the lo-fi jangles, and I’ve been listening to it on repeat ever since.
The Airplanes hail from Fayetteville, Arkansas. You can find them on Facebook here.
This track, A Summer Daydream Part I, is sure to tickle your fancy if you’re into funky lo-fi tunes. If you like what you hear, The Airplanes have released a 6-track EP that can be found on Soundcloud, so be sure to check out.
2012: The year that the world was supposed to end, or so the Mayans said. 2012 has been a whirlwind of a year. However, when I look back at it, it wasn’t that much of a whirlwind. It seems like a big blur, the longest stretch of a year. Granted, we did get an extra day with it being leap year and all. In 2012, I visited friends and family in some cities that I’ve never been to before, I went to a fair amount of awesome shows, and I spent quality time with loved ones–though not enough quality time.
Probably the coolest thing was visiting my grandparents in India, after having not seen them for five years. I rode on a camel’s back on the same beach to which Gandhi led the Salt March in 1930, went to my first ever cricket match (so much more fun than I ever realized it would be), and never gave up on convincing my grandpa to come visit us again in America–his response: “…when you get married. Meera, I’m getting old…find a guy soon.” Relax though, the kind ol’ man’s got a sense of humor and was kidding when he said it…I think.
So with all the greatness, the year still seems like a blur. One thing is for sure, though, there were some catchy tracks out this year. All of the artists have been featured on 1146 miles before so I’ll spare your time of reading why I chose each track but you can click on the band/artist name if you want to read what we’ve written before. Artists featured on my favorites of the year are Antonio Paul, Ghost Beach, Hoodie Allen, Jhameel, The Lumineers, Maps & Atlases, Passion Pit, Tegan and Sara, Yellow Ostrich, and Youngblood Hawke.
I’ve loved Tegan and Sara since I was 19 years old and heard their song Nineteen. It’s a great song and I think I listened to it every day during that cold and harsh winter at Penn State.
Since the release of their album The Con, I’ve always been excited to find that I enjoy everything Tegan and Sara release. Their new track, Closer, is no different. Lyrically, it’s a bit of a change for the Canadian twin sisters, but in the form of a well thought out surprise. Musically, it’s a pump me up if I’ve ever heard one.
Closer has been out for a few months now and can be purchased on iTunes. Their new album will be out January 29, 2013 – and I am super stoked!
Now here is where I need your help! I’m heading to India next week (stoked for that too) but the plane ride is a crazy long one. If you’ve got any suggestions at all for albums I should listen to during those 20 hours of flying each way, please please please tweet them my way (@meerafosho). Thank you, thank you, thank you in advance!
There I was, inside of H&M looking for a sweater. A quirky song caught my attention and I literally stood there just listening to the song – not looking for a sweater anymore – just listening to the song.
After I came to the conclusion that I loved the song, I had to scurry along to figure out what it was so it wouldn’t be the last time I ever heard it. Thank goodness for modern technology. I found out the song was Miracle by Ghost Beach.
Ghost Beach, consisting of Josh Ocean and Eric “Doc” Mendelsohn, is an 80’s influenced pop band hailing from New York City. Their lyrics intertwined with their killer sound can make any ol’ grump smile (I hope so at least, otherwise I’d be considered a liar). I can’t stop listening to it. The chorus reminds me of a happier retro Passion Pit. I mean that in a good way.
Ghost Beach recently released their EP Modern Tongues on iTunes. If you like what you hear in Miracle, be sure to check out the EP for more greatness and like their Facebook page.
