Echosmith: Young, Talented, and Famous

Echosmith is a perfect example of how music has influenced the lives of youth and how if you put your mind to something and just be who you are, you can accomplish anything. The reason I say this is because all of the band's members are under the age of 21. And their youngest member is the drummer, Graham, who is fifteen years old. Sydney is the lead singer of the band at the age of just seventeen. Noah is eighteen and plays bass and sings backup vocals for the group. The oldest member Jamie is twenty one and sings and plays guitar.

I mean, just think about this for a minute. Their hit single Cool Kids reached number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 at one point, and reached spot number 1 on itunes. Again this was all done by practically children and young adults. Just think about if the whole youth of the world just put their minds to what they are really passionate about, they can accomplish anything. I mean fifteen years old!!?? I just recently turned seventeen, and I don't have a quarter of the talent this Graham kid does! But now, I think back on my life so far and if I had just kept on with guitar, or piano, or show choir, and just practiced and really pursued what my dreams were when I was eleven or twelve years old of becoming a rockstar, or baseball player, or even an artist.

Echosmith is a indie rock/pop band that formed in February 2009 in Los Angeles. The band, which I haven't even told you the best part yet, is actually composed of the four members which are brothers and sister. They signed a record deal with Warner Bros. in 2012, keep in mind that would been that little Graham would have to be thirteen at that time, wow.

These four siblings have played several instruments throughout their childhoods. The band has said that a range of musical rock artists like Coldplay, The Smiths, U2, Joy Division, and Fleetwood Mac influenced them while growing up to make a band together. I strongly recommend listen to this group and follow their example and the lesson they have taught everyone.

The Foo Fighters: Old School Alternative Rock

Now I know I have been writing a lot about Alternative and Indie Rock music lately, but this will be a little different because this band has been around for a lot longer than the newer Alternative Rock groups have been. The Foo Fighters are a very famous band that is actually a kind of a hybrid between classic rock music and Alternative music which is why I like them so much. Classic Rock and Alternative Rock are my top two favorite genres of music, so this band naturally became one of my favorite bands within this category.

The Foo Fighters is an American rock band that was formed in Seattle in 1994. It was actually founded by the former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl as a one-man project following the death of Kurt Cobain who was the lead singer of Nirvana. Funny tid-bit, Nirvana was actually another extremely famous band that was an old school hybrid of Classic Rock and Alternative Rock.

This band is another one of those bands that I could just sit back and listen to them for hours. Their lead singer has a very recognizable voice and just digs down into your heart when you hear it. It almost forces you into really listening to what he is saying instead of just listening to the song because its “popular”. One of my all-time favorite songs by them has to be “Best of you”. Here is a part of the song that really stands out to me-

“Has someone taken your faith?
Its real, the pain you feel
The life, the love
You die to heal
The hope that starts
The broken hearts”

I think this part of the song is just saying that you're not imagining things, that pain, those let downs, those situations where you've felt used and taken advantage of, where you put in more than you were supposed to get back, they're real, and the narrator of the song recognizes that you would die to heal those wounds, and be done with those pains. Here is another part that I really makes this song_

“Were you born to resist or be abused?
I swear I'll never give in
I refuse”
This part of the song is like that rebellious point. "Were you born to resist, or be abused?" is rhetorical. You have a choice; to give in to being let down, it's that "are you a man or a mouse" kind of thing. You can man up, or lay down, and one is easier than the other, but only one of them is an acceptable choice to make if you want anything good to happen. I think its saying instead of letting it hurt you, see it through. If it is going to get the best of you, then you should fight to get the best of it, too.

As you can clearly see, I really have a strong feeling towards this band, so I really hope you readers out there will take interest and check these guys out.

The Arctic Monkeys: Alternative/Indie Rock

As I have said several times in the past few blogs and my about me and this blog page, one of my favorite genres of music is by far Alternative Rock. One of my all-time favorite Alternative Rock bands now a days is the Arctic Monkeys. The Arctic Monkeys are an English Indie Rock band formed in 2002 in High Green, which is a suburb of Sheffield. The band consists of Alex Turner the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, Jamie Cook playing lead guitar and singing backing vocals, Nick O'Malley who plays bass and also sings backing vocals, and finally Matt Helders on drums and singing backing vocals. The band’s former member Andy Nicholson, who played bass guitar and sang backing vocals, left the band in 2006 shortly after its debut album was released.

The Arctic Monkeys was given to be one of the first bands to come to public attention via the Internet, which means they pretty much became famous through fan-based sites instead of from the band, with commentators suggesting they showed the possibility of a change in the way in which new up and coming bands are promoted and marketed. I actually went to their concert in Illinois in the middle of July this past summer for their AM Tour. It was probably one of the most memorable concerts of my entire lifetime. Their music just flows through you and really relates to you as a person.

My all-time favorite song of theirs has to be “Do I Wanna Know” from their newest album. I think he wrote this song because it relates to a lot of people and this experience that he sings about happens to almost all of us. It's basically about pure infatuation with a person, almost obsession. You know when you get those crushes on people and you just cannot get them out your head and you feel like they've taken over your life? it's a song about that...and I agree with what someone posted previously...that he doesn’t know whether he'd rather act on his feelings so he can move on or pursue it or just not know the answer and continue with the infatuation, thus torturing himself about it essentially.

Whenever I just want to get away from my problems in my life or just drift away, I pull out all of my Arctic Monkeys music and push shuffle because it doesn’t matter what song plays, I can always get lost in the music.

Rap/Hip-Hop Music: I'm Not Hatin'

So far in my last few blogs, I have talked about classic rock, indie rock, alternative, and a many other things. And I have noticed, looking back on a few of them, it may look like I don't care for or have a taste for new music or rap music. So I just want to let all my readers out there know that I don' have a hate for rap/hip-hop.

In my last blog, I talked about The Beatle's and how when I hang out my the crew, I will put on some good ol' Beatle's music on or Journey, or ACDC or something.  But that actually doesn't happen as often as you might have thought. The usual car ride or hangout consists of the mostly the same music you guys listen to when you hang out. Rap, hip-hop, and electronic music is the norm for when we are cruzing  down the avenue or chillin' at a friend's house.

Of course, there are some limitations to the kind of rap songs we listen to. The rap song has to either have a story behind it, or it has to be really funny. For example, "Same Love" by Macklemore ft. Mary Lambert. That is probably one of my all time favorite rap songs that has a story behind it because it talks about life in general and how bad the world stereotypes people and everything around it. Another good rap song would be "Mirror" by Lil Wayne ft. Bruno Mars. It talks about how not to let your looks and you past define who you are and that life is a big adventure that you can control, but it has its rises and falls.

Another big rule in my group of friends that we all established when it comes to listening to rap and hip-hop, is that we never EVER listen Chris Brown. I apologize to all you Chris Brown fans in advance, but we just don't listen to wife/woman abusers. Regardless of how good "Look at Me Now" by Chris Brown ft. Busta Rhymes, the entire squad has deleted every trace of Chris Brown from their music collection.

If you want to find out some good rap/hip-hop artists to listen to, I have a quick list of some that you might enjoy. Right now, my favorite artist probably has to be Logic. They have good music that has a story behind most of them, and they know how to throw down a good  beat. Some others would be, Childish Gambino, Drake, Lil Wayne, Schoolboy Q, Fort Minor, Lupe Fiasco, and Juicy J.

Amazing Uknown Artists: Sons of Serendip- (America's Got Talent)

This blog is another one of those times where I will tell you about an extremely talented musical group that isn't very well known or acknowledged as much as they should. They have actually become much more popular since they premiered on the most popular shown TV show America's Got Talent (AGT) on NBC, and got fourth place in the entire competition. The group or "quartet" in this situation I am talking about is of course the "Sons of Serendip". America's Got  Talent is a national Talent Show that travels around the United States to major cities like New York City, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, and many more to find America's greatest talent. The winner of the competition wins one million dollars and a headline show in Las Vegas.

Now, in my personal opinion, Sons of Serendip should have completely swept the competition and won the entire thing. They had such raw musical talent and passion for what they were doing. One of my favorite things about them is how modest and humble they are.

The Sons of Serendip is a musical quartet of four friends that came together in graduate school at Boston University though a series of "serendipitous" events. Consisting of a cello player named Kendall Ramseur, a pianist; Cordaro Rodriguez, a harp player; Mason Morton, and of course the amazingly gifted lead singer named Micah Christian. They have each been playing their instruments since childhood, but recently, they came together to begin what they hope will be a long beautiful journey of creating music that touches people’s hearts. They hope that their music will resonate deeply with listeners and that, in some way, it will make their lives a little better – even if just for a moment. 

I honestly have no idea what genre of music that this group of talented young men fit into. The honest to God, only words I would have to describe how they perform and sound is Angelic and Heavenly. The lead vocalist Micah is in my opinion, probably one of THE most musically talented and gifted singer I have ever heard in my entire life. When they performed their cover of "Hallelujah" on stage in Radio City Music Hall, I literally, and I'm not even exaggerating, got goose bumps all over my arms and legs.

I could honestly listen to these guys for hours on end, and never get tired of their music. So I strongly encourage you to look these guys up, because I can almost guarantee that you will be seeing them all over the top charts very soon.