The Search For A Voice

My Summer (and Fall) Soundtracks

The past few months I’ve been a little overwhelmed by all the new music coming out. It seems like these things come in waves, I’ll go through long periods without anything new and then bang, all of a sudden I’ve got new stuff coming from every direction. Here are a few of the albums I’ve been exploring. (Note that I used the word albums. There are some great singles that have been popping up here and there too, but for me the excitement rarely lasts. If a band wants to earn a long-term spot on my iPod, I need more than a single. I’m just all about enjoying an album as a whole.)

So things started picking up for me in June, that’s when I downloaded Mumford & Sons Sigh No More. This album had been out for a little while, but it was new to me, and it was the first album I had been excited about in months. This band has a wonderfully unique sound, it’s kind of a modern take on an Americana/Folk sound. In my opinion that genre of music suffers from feeling terribly old and disconnected from our world today. A lot of Americana music features top notch musicianship, but it leaves you with visions of the last century not the current one. It has it’s place, but isn’t a frequent listen for me. I can’t put my finger on what is different, but Sigh No More is a collection of songs that pull strongly from Americana and Folk but have an energy more similar to rock and roll. Maybe it’s because they’re British, I don’t know why, but The Beatles were British so it seems plausible enough. It’s just a fun listen, you can check it out here or at their website www.mumfordandsons.com. (Disclaimer: the track “Little Lion Man” has some unfortunate, profane, language on it. It’s definitely not a track to listen to with kids in the car.)

Shortly after I got into enjoying this album Mumford & Sons played at the Bonnarroo music festival hear in TN, and it felt like they were all I could hear about for the next couple weeks. It’s been interesting to see how a viral “buzz” has been taking hold more and more of how I discover new music. This next band is no surprise to a lot of people since a week ago they were still the most common trend in my twitter feed, but a couple weeks back I bought Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs. Talk about going viral, I haven’t heard anything about this album through traditional channels (radio, tv, even major websites...) but when this album released it was all anyone could talk about on twitter, so I finally decided I would buy into the hype and give it a shot. It’s good. That’s all I’ve really got at the moment, I’m still getting a good feel for it, but I’ve given it several listens and it’s still a favorite on my iPod, so that puts it in a good place for now. There aren’t any “singles” that really jump out at you and get stuck in your head all day, but it’s an hour of music you can easily get lost in. It’s indie rock at it’s best, influences from the psychedelic classic rock of the 70’s and a dose of modern pop. I’ll see if I’m still digging it in a month before I make a final verdict. If you haven’t heard it you can sample it here or at their website www.arcadefire.com.

All that brings me to my current #1. This album did not “go viral” like the first two I mentioned, but it is the current release from a guy who has proven an ability to keep turning out good music with seemingly no end. For those who know me, it’s obvious that I’m talking about Andrew Peterson’s Counting Stars. Now, as a fair disclaimer, I’ve been a fan of AP’s for years now, and I don’t use the term “fan” lightly. I like a lot of music, but I’m a true fan of very few artists, maybe 3 at best, so I am somewhat predisposed to like his music. BUT, that doesn’t change the fact that Counting Stars is simply the best thing to hit my iPod this year.

The strength of his music is his writing, his lyrics have the ability to cut straight to my core like nothing else. When I listen, my appreciation is totally different from when I listen to Mumford & Sons or Arcade Fire, with them it’s about loving the artwork of the instruments and voices together. With AP, his words and melodies can move me to tears. He sings about simple things, like his undying love for his wife of more than 15 years, the joys and pains of marriage, and the prayer that his kids will grow up to know his God like he does. The songs move past art to become an encouraging friend by your side, there to lift you up when you are weak and walk with you down the road. If you listen to only one song after reading this post, let it be “Many Roads” from Counting Stars, right now you can stream the whole song for free at his website www.andrew-peterson.com or buy it here.

That’s what I’ve got for now. If you have any of these albums or listen to them after reading this leave me a comment and let me know what you think! I love to hear how different people experience music, and it’s ok if you disagree, I won’t be mad =)

Great “I Will Follow You Into the Dark” Cover

I've been following this local artist named Gavin Mikhail for maybe a year now, he's got some really incredible songs. He recently released this video of him covering the Death Cab for Cutie song "I Will Follow You Into the Dark," and it's definitely worth listening to. There's a pretty cool story behind it as well, from what I understand Gavin won some kind of competition that took him to Peter Gabriel's personal studios where he was able to record several original and cover songs (including this video). If you like the song I believe at can be purchased on iTunes or his website.

Record Labels: What’s Your Take?

Quick question, what is your general opinion regarding record labels? Do you think they are pure evil, necessary/unnecesary? Maybe you see the majors differently than indies. Do artists need labels? If an artist does sign on to a label, is it then fair game for the label to help shape the album creatively or should they be completely hands off? Is the label always obligated to release an album an artist creates, even if they think it is inappropriate for their market (which could mean a lot of different things, not just profanity)? Please explain how & why you support any particular opinion.

I'm sure many of you are aware of the "Derek Webb Controversy" for lack of a better term. In my opinion the most astounding thing about the whole issue is the all the internet (twitter, etc...) chatter about it. The abundance of broad assumptions on the part of fans and other commenters on the basis of a very limited amount of legit info (basically two very cryptic e-mails and some twitter posts) has been the most shocking to me. How about you?

Anyway, I'm just curious about your take on this issue and the idea of record labels in general. Feel free to post comments on this page or @dtmmedia on Twitter.

Music worth listening to, and apples…

I read this article today and thought it was worth sharing. I hope that sometime in my lifetime we will see a "revival" of sorts in our appreciation for music that is meant to challenge and provoke, not just provide mindless entertainment.

Check out the entire article by Jason Gray here.

If you enjoy it please post your comments here or in the rabbitroom.