Eric’s music sounds like summertime. Not those annoying bugs bragging with their “look at me, I’m mating like crazy” sounds. I’m referring to the cool summer breeze sounds. As many of us here on this blue marble edge closer to the joys of summer, I felt it was only appropriate to share music that will certainly set the summertime mood.
Eric Hutchinson is a cool cat. I stumbled into his talent back in 2005 when he came to me as the opening act for an event I was promoting. Eric blew away the audience that night with his incredible musical chops and his nerdy charm. A few months back, I ran into him again and got a chance to see how far he has come in such a short amount of time. Eric is setting the industry on fire with songs appearing in movie soundtracks, a heavy touring schedule with big names and his recent crowning as the “VH1 You Oughta Know” artist for 2008.
It has been a year since Warner Bros. Records started sharing Sounds Like This with the entire world. Eric’s dedicated fan base of “Hutchead’s” have surely enjoyed watching his career take off as more and more ears discover the good vibes his music brings. A career that was stop and go is now one that is off and running with no signs of slowing down. Eric’s quirky sense of humor and power-pop style will have you hooked. Hooked in a good way. Not hooked in a methamphetamines way. Well…his music could be described as euphoric. So yes, technically, he is a dealer that deals musical goodness. Not drugs. Drugs = Bad. Eric Hutchinson’s music = Good.
Sounds Like This is an album that can be listened to from start to finish with no need to skip tracks. “Rock & Roll” is the track that catapulted him into the limelight. I would also personally recommend “Ok, It’s Alright With Me”, “You Don’t Have To Believe Me”, and “Oh!” Expect a big summer as more people continue to discover Eric Hutchinson’s drug-free music. Say no to drugs. Say yes to Eric Hutchinson.
Check out his new wordy video for “Ok, It’s Alright With Me”. Word.
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Are you digging Eric Hutchinson? Check out Dave Barnes!
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Based out of Chicago ourselves, we love to find homegrown talent. There is something to be said about a talented artist from our very own Chicago and now, Daphne Willis will join the ranks of such artists as Cheap Trick, Kanye West, Buddy Guy, Herbie Hancock, Lupe Fiasco, Liz Phair and Koko Taylor. Not a bad list. Especially the Cheap Trick part.
Her soulful voice is so powerful it will literally blow your socks off (do people say that anymore?) Her voice is very similar to up-and-comer Angel Taylor in the sense that her pitch is impeccable and her control is completely acrobatic. Her old school sound adds in horns and bluesy guitar riffs for a vintage feel generally only achieved by seasoned veterans. But Daphne Willis has the “it” factor now, so why wait to be seasoned? Exactly.
Her latest release What To Say promises to deliver everything you imagine and more. Assuming you aren’t imagining the album comes with $100 bills stuffed in the case. If that is what you are imagining than no, it won’t deliver. If you are looking for a solid album from a solid up-and-comer, than What To Say definitely promises to deliver.
Since she’s from Chicago, you better believe we’ll be at one of her upcoming shows, but if you want to check her tour schedule for some other dates, make sure you go to her website for all of the details or “deets” as we call it on the streets.
Check out the video for “Everybody Else”. It has what appears to be Cookie Monster in it. Although I’m sure for copyright reasons I can’t confirm that:
Buy What To Say:
Thanks Special K!
We featured Mika a little while ago in our world-famous Weekly Jukebox. If we knew then what we know now, we would have given him his own post. Truthfully, we did know then what we know now, but had I known now what I could have known then before now, he would have gotten his own post. So now he does. Make sense?
Mika is a British singer-songwriter who is, shall we say, quirky. His style is catchy, likable and light but also very, shall we say, unique. His vocals are very Queen-ish (the rock band, not the old monarch from England) due to his vocal range which is, quite frankly, all over the place. I will warn that it’s very poppy. But sometimes you need that pizzaaz to help you get through the day. Songs like the featured “Blame It On The Girls”, “We Are Golden” and “Good Gone Girl” will have you clapping for no good reason at all. Seriously. It happened to me at work. It was super awkward.
Make sure you check out his latest album The Boy Who Knew Too Much for the freshest beats this side of the Mississippi. You won’t be disappointed. And if you are disappointed you have no one to blame but yourself. You’re just not listening hard enough.
Watch Blame It On The Girls:
Buy The Boy Who Knew Too Much:
With the 2010 Pitchfork Music Festival finally over after a weekend of heat (both in intensity and, you know, temperature) we feel it necessary to feature some of the notable acts to make for certain they have made it on to your iPod. LCD Soundsystem is one of those artists.
You may have heard the single “Drunk Girls” recently on the radio and for good reason: it’s crazy catchy. LCD Soundsystem has a knack for creating retro-synth beats that mix in a plethora (yes plethora) of different genres including electronic, disco and rock. This is none more prevalent than on the latest album release This Is Happening.
In my opinion, the album is best experienced with a set of headphones, but don’t let that stop you should you be the only one on earth that doesn’t own headphones. I personally like my music spoon-fed directly to my ears when it has so much character and pizazz. You can actually feel the bass shaking your brain. It’s awesome.
Check out the latest release This Is Happening for an eclectic mix of techno-awesomeness. Each song is quirky (in a good way) including “Pow Pow”, “One Touch” and the opening track “Dance Yrself Clean”. In fact, the opening track is so awesome, it didn’t even need all of the letters in the name. Take that other tracks.
If you’re feeling saucy check out his other albums for an overdose of LCD. Don’t worry, LCD isn’t a drug it’s a type of TV display. You can only metaphorically overdose on it. But you should still take it in moderation.
Check out the video for “Drunk Girls”:
Buy This Is Happening:
With the World Cup finally at a close and Spain with a victory in-hand, I find it only fitting to draw your attention to one of my new favorite bands: Barcelona. Ok, maybe the mere fact that the name of the band coincides with a city in Spain isn’t enough to relate it to the World Cup, but I’m the one writing the post and I do what I want.
Barcelona is actually from Seattle, WA and has nothing to do with Spain. But don’t fret, this band is just as 1st rate as the Spanish World Cup team. Again, not related but trust me they are worth it. I first came across these guys after hearing the song “Come Back When You Can” in a video I was watching online. In the end, I was more concerned about the song than I was the video (sorry guy that made the video), and it brought me right to their debut big label release: Absolutes.
My personal favorites lean heavily towards their slower songs: “Get Up”, “Please Don’t Go” and “First Floor People.” These guys definitely have a knack for creating simple, emotionally-driven songs that you can’t help but listen to over and over again. Like “Baby Beluga” for a 3-year-old. Kids just can’t get enough Raffi. It’s like a well-known fact.
Unfortunately, I didn’t see a lot of tour dates out there for these guys, so if you fall in love with them (which you will) you’ll just have to wait a little while to see the real thing. It’s ok though because it’ll just build up the anticipation while you listen to Absolutes over and over again. I’ve listened to it almost 40 times in three days (actually about 3 times, but that’s pretty close to 40) and the anticipation is killing me (softly of course.)
Buy Absolutes:
