Music Musings Category

Every great and iconic album has a story. When Lady Gaga met Tony Bennett backstage at the Robin Hood Foundation gala in New York City, she impressed him with her rendition of Orange Colored Sky by Nat King Cole. This led to Bennett asking Gaga to sing a song on his Duets II album, the two becoming close friends, and eventually releasing Cheek to Cheek together, one of the best studio albums from 2014. And everywhere in the history of music, there are interesting tales hiding behind every album. WhenRead More

Colorado’s biggest dance music event of the summer gets a change of scenery to celebrate its 15th anniversary – Global Dance Festival (GDF) moves from Red Rocks Amphitheater to Sports Authority Field this year. GDF ’17 will take place July 21-22 and will transform the Broncos’ stadium into every raver’s dream. Going for an Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC)-like vibe, Global is changing things up by adding art installations, a silent disco, a shaded arcade (encouraging people to take breaks from the intense Colorado sun), multiple food trucks and various carnivalRead More

You’ve probably seen them on treadmills. Maybe you haven’t, but you’ve seen them dancing in a backyard. It’s probably the treadmills, though, since that’s what the Chicago-based band, OK Go, is known for– their catchy music and incredible videos and stunts that accompany them in a long, single take– starting with their backyard dance to their song A Million Ways, the video that catapulted them from sophomore artists to the band with the most downloaded music video ever, and continuing with their viral video for Here It Goes Again. ThatRead More

Fans of British jangle pop rejoice! The 1975 will return later this afternoon with their new single “Love Me,” which drops at approximately 4PM/PST. How can we be so sure, you ask? Two weeks ago, the notoriously cryptic band posted a countdown on the splash page of their website teasing only that something big was on the horizon. Well, the short wait and speculation are both over. // L O V E M E – H O T T E S T R E C O R D – TRead More

Pre-Concert You’re excited, but it hasn’t really sunk in yet. Are you sure you have legitimate tickets? What if somehow you got sold a double and when you get there, they won’t let you in? Oh God, are you sure you’re even ready to go? Mostly you’re just nervous about having everything. Your cell phone? Charger? Wallet with merch money? All the Could-Go-Wrongs and Might-Happens are in full force, and the nerves are overriding the crazy waves of euphoria you should be feeling right now. It means so much toRead More

The Nashville music scene seems to favor a certain type of up and coming artist. But if you don’t wear a cowboy hat and boots and sing about tractors, is it still possible for you to find an audience? In the case of Tennessee natives COIN, that answer is a resounding “yes!” Though they may bear little resemblance to Alan Jackson or Lady Antebellum, they still owe their rise to the same renowned music scene, which nowadays churns out bands in nearly every genre imaginable. Chase Lawrence (lead vocals), JoeRead More

Though their third studio effort Pop Psychology may be just over a year in the past, alt-pop band Neon Trees aren’t ready to take a break just yet. This June, the Provo, Utah quartet will embark on their aptly-titled “An Intimate Night with Neon Trees” tour, during which they will be playing a series of small venues across the US. And since their latest hit single “Sleeping with a Friend” has long since faded from the airwaves, Tyler Glenn and company have decided the best way to mark the occasion isRead More

Recently I was approached by a teenager who had seen me editing my music in the library. This is how our interaction went down: Kid: “Whoa, are you a DJ?!” Me: “No, I’m a guitarist.” Kid: “Oh…” (walks away). My oh my how times are a changin’. Dylan is still right. That’s why this past weekend was refreshing. Between the Grammy’s and MusiCares awards, we saw a renewed appreciation for actual musicians.   MusiCares An annual event honoring the lifetime achievement of the greatest musicians in history wouldn’t be completeRead More

Can it really be December already? It seems like just yesterday that I got that prophetic ping in my Facebook inbox from a former college buddy asking me to write for his new website. Twelve months, 1,000+ posts and a failed company trip to Vegas later and Writtalin is still chugging along on the internet hype machine. I don’t know what I expected from this first year, but the fact that we haven’t thrown in the towel yet is reason to celebrate, right? And what a year to call our first. ThroughRead More

MTV might have taken the music out of television, but an accompanying visual to a song can enhance and express the artist’s vision. Here are ten music videos to watch this week:   1. Budapest – George Ezra Listen to the song before watching the video, and see if the real George Ezra looks like the George Ezra of your imagination.       2. I’m Not The Only One – Sam Smith Glee’s Dianna Agron and The Mindy Project’s Chris Messina star in this heartbreaking video from the balladeer.Read More

Andre 3000 for President. Ahem, ahem! Listen up! It’s been awhile since anyone shed some light on some of the celebrities leading the culture. Whether good or bad, the celebrities are the ones showing most of the population how to dress and how to dance and how to talk. They have the loudest voices and while many of them use it to compete in the “Who can be more outlandish for views?” competition; some of them actually use it to inspire deeper thinking or activate action. The list of celebritiesRead More

Everyone knows that the music industry has changed in the internet age. From the way artists are discovered by labels through YouTube or Vine to the way little known music explodes over Spotify, music and the internet go together hand in hand. One of my favorite new developments, one that doesn’t get as much discussion as Spotify, is SoundCloud. SoundCloud has become the best place on the internet to share, discover and listen to remixes, covers and collaborations that don’t fall under one convenient artist. Think about it, how annoyingRead More

For those who only listen to  heavy metal/rap/hardcore stuff, I don’t know how much of this article you’ll want to read. For those who are versatile, keep reading. Ray LaMontagne, a 41 year-old folk singer/songwriter from New Hampshire has stolen my heart with just one song. I was in the car listening to Sirius Radio a few months ago when a soft, Iron & Wine type of voice came pouring through my speakers. The song is called “Shelter” and came off of his studio album “Trouble,” one of five heRead More

More than just YOLO, or fuck bitches, get money, here are some rap lines that I’m currently using as my personal mantras, and why you should too.   1. These hoes ain’t loyal (Chris Brown & Lil Wayne, “These Hoes Ain’t Loyal”)– Life isn’t fair, and a lot of the time people won’t treat you the way you treat them. That’s cause these hoes ain’t loyal. Please note, the term ho is not gender specific and both men and women (and non-binary people) can all have ho-ish tendencies. That’s why the sooner youRead More

1. A$AP Ferg, Lac Lac: “A$AP, the vision’s so clear / I can see you haters from here / Can’t knock me outta my chair / My flow you won’t come near” Really I could have stopped at A$AP the vision’s so clear, because like wtf that sounds like a bad line from a fight song. “Harris Hall, the vision’s so clear.” And the rest doesn’t really warrant an analysis because it’s just lame. Straight-up lame.   2. Big K.R.I.T., “What You Know About It”: Suicide doors, Cobaine on ’em.Read More