ASMR 10.25.13

Pick of the Week:
Rough Water by Travie McCoy feat Jason Mraz (released 09.09.13)

Might Interest You Pick(s): -- gotta few here...
Future Days by Pearl Jam (released 10.15.13)
Dark Horse by Katy Perry feat Juicy J (released 10.22.13)
When You Were Young [Calvin Harris Remix] by The Killers (not yet released)

Retro Pick:
Burning Flame by Vitamin Z (released 1985)

The witty Travie McCoy (who always seems to know whom to collaborate with for a hit -- Billionaire?? Bruno Mars??) now has Jason Mraz by his side for a catchy pop song called Rough Water. I don't think it's Billboard #1 material (coz a month after it's release would've been enough to know that) but it's still a jam song I would love to hear on my iPod (yes iPod, it still lives!) Besides, the line "I'll be the Leonardo DiCaprio to your Kate Winslet" just did it for me LOL!

After watching Late Night with Jimmy Fallon last night and once again seeing Eddie Vedder busting the chords, chills immediately went down thru my spine and I felt transported back in the not-so distant past when Matt Dillon sported the long 'do and Doc Martens were the kicks that mattered. Although the carrier single Sirens is awesome itself, there is nothing more Pearl Jam (Vedderesque) than Future Days. I was instantly reminded of how Pearl Jam tapped the inner rock and alternative animal in me and now I have to add watching them live to my bucket list...

Aaah! Katy Perry! Her songs are lively and she will rake in music award after music award until they find the next teen sensation in The Voice. And though I'm not really a big fan of her music (except The One That Got Away) I love Katy because of her big round.. ehem.. eyes! The woman is drop dead gorgeous. She has the curves, the big blue saucer-wide eyes and yeah, she can sing. I chose Dark Horse instead of Roar as my pick because the latter still reminds me of how Katy stole that song from Sara Bareilles' single Brave, at least in my opinion.

Just a real quick remark regarding Calvin Harris's take on the single When You Were Young. It's alright. I'm not a big fan of most if not all the remixes The Killers allowed DJs to work on their hits. Don't get me wrong, I like Calvin Harris, David Guetta and all those EDM jocks who turns already poppy songs even poppier :)  It's just that I don't like it mixed with my favorite alternative or rock music. Nevertheless, I still recommend you check it out on YouTube since the release of my most favorite band's Direct Hits album is not until November 11.

And as I adieu this write-up, yet again a classic hip single from one hit-wonder band Vitamin Z. Admit it, we all loved it back then. We even heard stories of fans buying the record in drugstores (Vitamin Z, duh?) instead of music shops. It was the jam and who could ever forget the synthesizer guitar intro of the song! "And all along on my trip to nowhere. You annoyed me with your foolish games..." Now sing along...

ASMR 10.18.13

If you don't know what ASMR stands for, then check my last post :-)

Pick of the Week:

Rap God by Eminem (released 10.15.13)

Might Interest You Pick(s): 

Broken Over You by Vertical Horizon (released 10.08.13) 

Cheating by John Newman (released 10.15.13) 

Retro Pick: 

Reasons by Earth, Wind and Fire (released 1975)

My goodness where has Eminem been??? Rap God is freakishly awesome and I may say puts Eminem back atop the hip-hop heavens. One thing I like about the dude is that he always reinvents himself after a long hiatus. Seems like Eminem is set for a great year if the album is as good as the single. I have no doubt this would hit the charts faster than you saying "Guess who's back?" Marshall Mathers STILL rules!!!

Next, Vertical Horizon's Broken Over You from their album Echoes From The Underground. Even with the totally revamped squad (except for frontman Matt Scannel), this brings to us the VH sound that we were accustomed to, in fact even better, since Matt has really stepped up his ante music-wise throughout the years. Despite some hardcore VH fans slow regression of support because of the band member changes, there is no denying Matt's voice and the music that VH has to offer.

On the pop side, at first I thought it was James Morrison singing (really the close vocal resemblance) which made me wonder if James just changed his artist name into John Newman (seriously, both are English). The single Cheating is lively which would make you wanna get into that jam mood instantly. Now if you delve into the lyrics a lot closer, then you know this is a guy accusing her woman of the actual title (if not already obvious). Still a great catchy tune that you may want to pick up and add to your Not-So-Sure-Why-I-Bought-It music folder.

And though I love my alternative and pop music altogether, at the end of the day, my ears still leads me back into the classics. There is no way you cannot like Reasons from EWF simply because it is that good. I always see myself in the living room at night, lights dimmed, glass of wine or a bottle of beer depending on the mood, and the cranked up voice of Philip Bailey on the dock. What can be more relaxing than that?? Trust me, it never fails...

ASMR (A Sorta Music Review) 10.09.13

I couldn't come up with a better title to the post but eventually it would evolve. So for now ASMR would suffice (please don't shake your head). So I'm doing my first music review (sorta right) for this year and I got some interesting ones to share. This should be a trend from hereon since my passion for music is extremely strong and my appreciation is wide. You probably know already since most of my posts would have a mention or two of artists or certain hits. So I hope I can keep this up...

This week's pick is Temple by Kings of Leon from their 6th album entitled Mechanical Bull which was released just last month. Although a lot of KOL fans might disagree, I think this album is a lot better than the previous blockbuster Only By The Night (which included great hits like Sex On Fire and Use Somebody). Temple may not be the carrier single for the month-old Mechanical Bull but it certainly provides that alternative-ish sound with the KOL signature on it. The album is a great buy altogether and singles like Beautiful War and Supersoaker are worth listening to.

I also came across the new Stone Temple Pilots album High Rise with new vocalist and Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington. It's weird to hear Chester singing on a STP album but there's a slight chance you may NOT recognize it from the carrier single Out Of Time. But it becomes a dead give away who the vocals are once you hear the song Tomorrow. Still I find the fusion of Chester's voice and STP instruments to be a delight and I am diggin' this collaboration. I wonder how Mike Shinoda and the rest of LP are thinking now that they are coming out with a new album of their own. It would definitely be interesting.

Lastly in what I find to be the best album for 2013 yet (mostly rap, some reggae and some electronic) comes a collection of up and rising artists. I swear I almost like all of the songs in this album named Basement Chronicles Chapter 1, which was just released a few days ago. State I'm In by Jared Evan for sure tops the list while Live Love Laugh by Mod Sun and Never Let You Down by Yonas comes a close second at least to my taste. All the songs in the album are fresh and for sure will gonna make your head nod once or twice and get you bouncing a little bit. Coz what album that has Jason Bourne as a single would not make you, right??

Until next... Back to listening Curtis Mayfield for now...

The Hunt For Red Octo-"Beer"

Aah October!!! The only month of the year were you can catch an MLB, NHL, NFL and NBA game all in one day (okay, it maybe pre-season NBA but still you get to see Derrick Rose finally play). This is the month of Halloween where people get creative and actually gets the opportunity to be who they are (at least dress like it) without looking like an idiot and not getting arrested for it (well, you can still look like an idiot but nobody really cares). And every now and then you would already hear a Christmas tune on the radio from jocks who are trying to escape playing overly-requested songs.

There is too much going on in October. For most companies, this is the month to push last quarter sales in and get their products shipped before the Holidays. Openings for temp jobs rise significantly high at this time because of the need to fill out the “scarers” for Halloween theme parks as well as the staff for Best Buy’s Black Friday extravaganza. Recruitment for Santa’s little elves and reindeers also commence this month and except for the OCDs who plan the year before, it is also the month when your Mom starts designating what food your relatives need to bring for Thanksgiving. But the most important thing for this month (at least to me and to all the boozers around the world) is the celebration of Oktoberfest.

Oktoberfest is the world’s largest fair held annually in Bavaria, Germany. What makes this 16-day festival attractive to the likes of me is the idea of consuming large quantities of beer for more than 2 weeks.  I have not been to Munich nor am I German either, although rumor has it that we have German roots because our last name Robel was allegedly derived from Wrobleski.  It probably would’ve explained my natural desire for alcohol except that I am inclined to believe that I got it from my mother side (what with all the boozer cousins I have from that end) and not the supposedly German side of the family. Okay, it’s probably bogus altogether but I love my beer nevertheless. Now growing up Filipino, I am actually clueless of what Oktoberfest was until I saw a banner outside a bar that says it and heard a drunk dude saying “Its Oktoberfest man! Time to get wasted!” It actually summed up pretty much what I needed to know about such event in such short context.

October usually jumpstarts what would become the rest of my year. And in the good ole days (man am I getting old or what?), it would be the baddest, craziest, most unpredictable and highly intoxicating 90-day period for me. Nowadays, you can call Monday Night Football with an ice cold Bud Light Crown as an awesome night. The hunt for parties to crash or bars to conquer has tamed, way tamed. But whether your watching the Dodgers make their run towards the World Series, or witnessing restive Freddy Krueger-masked freaks (or worst smelling drunk Santa roaming around already), October signals the start of a lot of festivities. People are hustling and slacking is at its lowest during this time of the year. And though I know my first post for the month is already a little into the 2^nd week (slacking haha), it wouldn’t surprise me if everybody else have started making their Holiday list or somewhat business-wrapping up the year productively and strong. Time to smell the drop of temperature in the air and would someone please wake up Green Day already??