Wednesday, July 30, 2014

ASMR 07.30.14

The best music reviews come at the least opportune time. Just a spurt of randomness triggers your inner music demon and so after a long hiatus, ASMR is back once again.

Pick of the Week:
Love Someone by Jason Mraz (released 07.11.14)

Might Interest You Pick(s):
Hardliners by Holcombe Waller (released 05.24.11)
Closer by Mike Stud (released 07.07.14)

Retro Pick:
More, More, More by Andrea True Connection (released 1976)

Special Mention:
Mandatory Fun (Album) by Weird Al Yankovic (released 07.15.14)


Jason Mraz the crooner, the balladeer, the always composed musician shares his polarizing voice once again with his recently launched album YES! The carrier single Love Someone is truly inspirational and would put a lot of lovebirds back into a frenzy. The distinct acoustic guitar melody, as always present, reminds us how mellow and sincere his tracks are. His rendition of Boyz II Men's It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday just took me back to why I love that song and Best Friend can easily be a genre favorite. The entire album is a composition of tracks that is suited more for couples that are already in love rather than those discovering it. This is truly worth the buy and is a perfect listening piece for any "chill-axing" moment.

There is something familiar about the sound of Holcombe Waller that reminds me of Foster The People and their hit single Pumped Up Kicks. I guess its the young vibrant sound that I always look for in an alternative pick. I always hear the song Hardliners on my playlist and has always been amazed by it. However, I never really paid much attention to the title or the artist until one boring night at a nearby Starbucks which finally put my innocence to rest.  I really am surprised that the song did not create that much noise considering it is really a great tune. Check it out!

Rapping is impressive, but rapping and singing soul is off the charts! And Mike Stud truly made an impression with his single Closer, where he showcased his rap skills but also bolted out some R&B flavor into his song. This is a different take singing and rapping by one artist when usually it is a collaboration between two artists, say Robin Thicke and Kendrick Lamar or John Legend and Rick Ross. If you're impressed by versatility, then this song is for you.

I always have the thing for the retro and More, More, More is just one of the truly relaxing hits back in the 70s where music was at its purest. I feel like lying down and reminisce every time I hear this song (which I rarely do) so the moment it played in the iPod dock you know I had to crank it up. Andrea Marie Truden, the front woman for one-hit wonder Andrea True Connection (or at least I was not old enough then to know they had more hits), was not only an artist of music but she actually went into pornography, which makes her a truly free bird of the 70s.

Lastly, I had to do a special mention to Weird Al Yankovic's newest album Mandatory Fun. The guy is time-tested and has always delivered on his songs albeit parodies yet still very amusing. Lorde's Royals did not escape Yank's choices in Foil, Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines in Word Crimes and the now famous Tacky from Pharrell Williams' Happy. Yank had always made me laugh with his work and now it takes me back to the time when I cracked up so hard listening to You Don't Love Me Anymore.

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