Raging Contagion
Music so good it will make you sick!
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Late Night Alumni – Eros
December 6, 2012
Here’s something a little different. Late Night Alumni is a house group from Salt Lake City formed in 2004, and is composed of 4 members; perhaps one of the most well-known is Ryan Raddon, aka big-time DJ and producer Kaskade. Eros is from their first album “Empty Streets” released in 2005. The soft vocals give the song a very ethereal feel, which suits the title Eros. I think the lyrics are interesting. For those who don’t know, Eros was the Greek god of love, especially lust. You might recognize him by his name in Roman mythology: Cupid. He would make people fall in love with either of his two arrows (for two different types of love). Once you understand that, you may be able to determine the meaning of the rest of the lyrics on your own. I think it’s basically talking about a fading love, one that was built on the “idol Eros,” i.e. a superficial love. Now that Eros is gone (the initial attraction), the love is falling apart because they didn’t build it on anything that really matters. Some food for thought. Anyway, enough of talk about lyrics! Listen and enjoy!
– cheerlubber
Late Night Alumni Official Website
(you can buy from their website; I don’t think Amazon has a downloadable MP3 of Eros)
Yarbrough & Peoples – Don’t Stop The Music
December 3, 2012
Hi there, Whuzzerface here.
Yes, I intentionally left out the preceding ‘artists this song sounds similar to’ because anyone who has created music similar to this in the past 30 years has this band to thank! ‘Das right, I’m taking you on a time warp. Buckle up tight!
Yarbrough & Peoples. Sounds like some aristocratic hoity toity London-based law firm doesn’t it? They were obviously quite the opposite though. Calvin & Alisa met very young while they were taking piano lessons from the same teacher. Calvin was actually one of the original members of The Gap Band! Well, they kept in contact over the years and decided to start making music in the early 80’s and found great success in the charts. It gets better though, because they actually ended falling in love with each other and are still married and performing today. *insert collective “AWWW”*
When I heard this on the radio last week, I had to do a double take. “I thought I had this on the oldies station…” I thought to myself as I walked over to the radio, which was tuned to the frequency I thought. “This sounds way to ‘now’ to be an oldie”. My search for this song began, and obviously I found it! The boogie deliciousness that is this hidden jewel from the past comes from the jiving bass line and hopping synth sounds. Many an artist today would kill for those synthesizers in the video, they were timeless and matchless machines. Alisa’s voice is incredible not to mention her style! She makes the whole song seem so effortless. I wish she would have been more popular & widely appreciate because I can hear intense influence in later singers like Whitney Houston. I hope you enjoy it (and the puppets too!).
Yarbrough & Peoples – Official Site
Buy “Best of Yarbrough & Peoples” – Amazon MP3
Oh that hair…
Jupiter One – Simple Stones
November 30, 2012
Today I present you with a mellow, head-bobbing tune with some echo-y vocals. Jupiter One is an indie-rock band from Brooklyn formed in 2007, and they also toured with Regina Spektor once. This song was released on their second album “Sunshower” released in 2009, and is my favorite from the album. I think the greatest part about this song is the descending bass line (of course accompanied by claps–can’t go wrong with claps). Dat bass line, man. I love it. So you should too. Take a listen!!
– cheerlubber
Black Light Dinner Party – Gold Chain
November 27, 2012
— 1 Comment
Sounds similar to: Ghost Beach, Superhumanoids, AnR
Hi there, Whuzzerface here.
“Smooth dream pop for smooth listening.” Mmmm, sounds like something tasty. And since we just are just getting back in the groove from Thanksgiving, this is a delicious tune that isn’t going to leave you overly full, unlike the 5 helpings of food we all had last week. Let us feast on “Gold Chain”!
Indie-tronica wonders Black Light Dinner Party have been hibernating and laying low while they collect some serious ammunition in the form of epic tunes. Well this power-packed tune is a poppy lament, sorry to break the news, but it’s said with such sweet feeling that it doesn’t feel like a loss. In fact, the singer himself says:
“But now I find
It hard to leave her
She has this power over me
I’ll stay inside my dreams
Where you still love me tight”
Living in a daydream to keep love lost alive. This man is not the first nor the last. My most FAVORITE part of the song happens at 1:09 where the synth and simple guitar lick kick of right before the epic onslaught of heavenly ascending keyboard sequences. It hits me right in the kisser every time and I almost lose my breath from the magnitude of that buildup. I know you’ll be able to appreciate it too. Enjoy! (by the way, how FUN would it be to have a dinner party in black light…)
Black Light Dinner Party Official Site
Black Light Dinner Party – Amazon MP3
Maximum Balloon – Groove Me feat. Theophilus London
November 21, 2012
Maximum Balloon is the solo project for producer Dave Sitek, who is a member of the band TV on the Radio and has also worked with bands such as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. His debut album of the same name features guest artists on every song, and we’re lucky enough to get Theophilus London on this one. Groove Me is a–dare I say–groovy song with a laid back, sometimes old-school feel. Theophilus London fits the song perfectly with his smooth vocals and rap. If you’re the type that needs extra convincing to like songs like this, just know we’re not alone in totally digging this song; Rolling Stone placed the Maximum Balloon album 24th out of their 30 best albums of 2010. Listen to this song. Dig it. Groove to it. It’s a simple as that. Also, I totally want to have a green screen party now. Who’s in?
– cheerlubber
POP ETC – Everything Is Gone – FREE DOWNLOAD
November 20, 2012
Sounds similar to: Atlas Genius, Vacationer, St. Lucia
Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here,
Formerly known as The Morning Benders, this band literally lives up to their new moniker by continually dishing out superb pop beats and hooks. Their album cover has these words on the front: rock, hip-hop, soul, funk, reggae, blues, techno, new age, punk, disco, folk, country, jazz, house, psych, R&B, POP ETC. I think that is a creative summation of their influences for sure.
“Everything Is Gone” is a prime example too of their musical diversity. While it may seem like a typical dance or “head-bob” tune on the surface, there are breaks at the end of every verse where the singer poses afterthoughts to the audience about the phenomena of “you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone” moments. However, the initial feeling or description that I want to give this song is the following: anthemic bar song that is idyllic for roadtrips, specifically wide open spaces. That’s just the initial description I would give it. “Anthemic” because the keyboard melody gets stuck in your head and there’s an echoey feel to the over sound. “Bar Song” because this somehow reminds me greatly of Semisonics “Closing Time” with the piano and pop beat (maybe a little Ben Folds too). And what better to do while roadtripping through wide open spaces than sing anthemic bar songs!
I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving and you should be especially grateful that this is a FREE DOWNLOAD from their Soundcloud account and add them to your mp3 rotation.
Double Dose of Sweet part 2 “Chocolate”: Miguel – Adorn
November 14, 2012
— 2 Comments
Sounds similar to: Frank Ocean, Usher, Trey Songz
Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here,
Here is part 2 of todays “Vanilla & Chocolate” double feature! Is anyone else getting hungry at the mere mention of those words??
Miguel is a sweet-faced crooner who is destined to break hearts with is smooth mellifluous voice. And yet I get the feeling that all the while he is one of those guys who you know is actually trying to be genuine and show the girl of his fancy how much he adores her. “Adorn” is the kind of song the gets your heart racing to the beat of the bass. Speaking of the bass, it’s insane in this! It’s such a low pitch in parts that it’s hard to discern what note it is until it ascends a few tones then DROPS back down. Some of the ambient instrumental are reminiscent of 90’s Madonna songs or “100% Pure Love” house-ish tracks.
Props to C-Bisquit for being persistent in making sure that I heard this song because I luvz it!
Double Dose of Sweet “Vanilla”: Daley – Remember Me (Feat. Jessie J)
November 14, 2012
Sounds similar to: Robin Thicke, Tweet, Ryan Leslie
Hi there, Dr. Whuzzerface here,
Today is gonna be a double feature! I figure it’s Wednesday and we could all use a double dose of R&B-ish-ness today. Both artists have similar ranges, yet drastically different styles and the obvious fact that one guy is a British Ginger and the other is not. That’s why we’ll be calling them Vanilla & Chocolate!
Besides Justin Timberlake & Robin Thicke, can you recall any other tenor-range R&B/pop men who have made it HUGE in the industry in the past decade? I certainly cannot. That’s why when I heard the one-of-a-kind Daley’s voice, I was thrown for a loop. His soft almost androgynous tone is unmatched and I couldn’t be more pleased that he is getting paired up with tons of great talent these days. My first brush with him was when Gorillaz released their quirky song “Doncamatic”, which featured Daley. Now in this song, he’s paired up with the steaming Jessie J?! Aw yeah!
Daley is really his last name, but this scrawny ginger from the UK is no lightweight. The beats in this song are reminiscent of many a 90’s tune, and perhaps that’s why I was drawn to it originally. It’ll get stuck in your head so be careful!
Daley – Alone Together EP – Amazon MP3
Lana Del Rey – Blue Jeans (RAC Mix)
November 8, 2012
— 2 Comments
Lana Del Ray, the sultry songstress that seemingly popped 0ut of nowhere and captured many male hearts (especially with her song Video Games, which is the one that got her famous) with her crooning cabaret voice as she exudes 60s sex kitten. Although she could still use some work on her live performances, I actually quite like her songs and her style. The slow, melancholy Blue Jeans is probably one of my favorites of hers, but I also especially like when it’s remixed by RAC, whom we’ve introduced to you before with Hollywood ft. Penguin Prison. RAC always knows what he’s doing. He adds some drums, vibraphone, speeds it up, and…well I’m in a hurry so I don’t have time to keep telling you what’s so good about it, so you should just listen to it anyway because it’s great.
– cheerlubber
Chris Malinchak – Fuego
November 7, 2012
Sounds similar to: Ace of Base, Corona, Haddaway
It’s a 90’s flashback song! ‘Das right, if you loved the similar artists above and still dream of Milli Vanilli eye candy posters, you’re gonna just eat this song up. Chris Malinchak has been spinning out retro-rific tunes for a while now and when I heard this originally, I thought “I don’t remember this song from the 90’s”.
Chris Malinchak – Amazon MP3’s
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