Year 6, Day 106

Good Morning! Today's song is Tired of Talking by LÉON.

LÉON is Lotta Lindgren, a Swedish singer active since 2015. She started out as the singer of a hip hop group, but went solo in 2015 releasing this song as her debut off her EP. She performed at a music festival in the Netherlands in 2016, before releasing her second EP in 2017. Her first album came out this year, so if you like what you hear in this song, then go check that out because I think she's an artist on the rise.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 105

Good Morning! Today's song is I Don't Love You (I'm Just Lonely) by Junge Junge.

Junge Junge is a German duo active since 2013 and made up of Michael Noack and Rochus Grolle. So shout out to Germany today! There is not a lot of information that I can find on these guys other than their discography, but that's really all we need. They've been releasing singles since 2013, and doing remixes of some popular songs, but they finally released their debut EP in 2016. I found this song awhile ago and I've loved it since I found it and I've really wanted to share it with you so I hope you like it.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 104

Good Morning! Today's song is Break My Heart by Hey Violet.

Hey Violet is a pop rock band active since 2008, although originally they were known as Cherri Bomb. Julia Pierce, Miranda Miller, Rena Lovelis, and Nia Lovelis formed the group while they were in middle school, and named their group after a book written by Carrie Borzillo. They got signed in 2011, and released an EP. They opened for a lot of other groups, then released their debut album in 2012, followed by a tour. In 2013 Pierce left the band (she claims they kicked her out) and Casey Moreta joined in her place. They changed the band name in 2015, then released an EP before joining 5 Seconds of Summer on tour before embarking on their own. They brought on Iain Shipp as a touring bassist, but the position became permanent in 2016. They released an album in 2017, then Miller announced she was leaving the group. This year Shipp left as well, due to sexual assault allegations. There has been one single since, and I'm sure there will be more, so keep an eye out.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 103

Good Morning! Today's song is Run Away With Me by Carly Rae Jepsen.

Carly Rae Jepsen is a Canadian singer active since 2007. Most know her because of her song that went so viral that it's now immortalized in the YouTube Rewind for that year, but she's continued making music since then that has been good. As of now she has four albums with the most recent out this year; and has accumulated quite a few acting credits including a lead role in a Cinderella musical on Broadway in 2014. She's still going strong and is worth revisiting on this blog, so you get it today.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 102

Good Morning! Today's song is Light Up The World from Glee.

I just learned that they're making a new Charlie's Angels movie and I am conflicted. Like most things they remake, I think it would be an okay film if not attached to the mantle that it's trying to replicate. I showed it to my sister, and at the time I'm writing this we're currently watching the 2000's Charlie's Angels. It's obviously not an Oscar worthy movie, but it's absolutely hilarious, and even with it being and feeling female empowered, it doesn't actually oversexualize them... with the exception of one side boob featuring scene, but for the most part it's just a group of girls getting shit done and goofing around. I've only seen the trailer for the new one, but it falls flat. It seems like it's trying so hard to be female empowered and pander to what society is now that it comes off incredibly patronizing. Even the music choices feel like the people choosing it are trying to make a statement, not trying to make good music to fit the movie. Maybe I'm just more skeptical of things now, but that's my take on it. You guys let me know how you feel.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 101

Good Morning! Today's song is Born This Way by Lady Gaga.

So I've been hanging out at my grandparents house the last couple days to help them with going through some of their stuff and just being around in general so my grandpa isn't alone while my mom takes my grandma out of town for a memorial. I ended up answering the phone while my grandpa was napping and talked to a slightly confused uncle since I'm elusive and no one in the family ever hears from me. He asked me how my blogging was going, and told me I should start blogging about golfing because he wants free golf stuff... clearly he has no idea what I'm doing on here. I don't get free stuff and I do this more for me than an audience because practically no one reads this and it's mostly an archive of music in case I need to find it again myself. He might be a little clueless, but at least he's supportive which is more than I get from most of my family. I'm curious if anyone else has this, so if you have a family member who is supportive of something you do even though they don't understand it? Let me know.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 100

Good Morning! Today's song is Rumor Has It by Adele.

Today I am trying to relax. I've spent the last two weeks working pretty much nonstop helping my mom with redoing all the coursework for four years of a diploma program. I've been drawing very convoluted diagrams from scratch, attempting to read things that have been photocopied a million times since the 80's, and none of it are things that I understand because I did a business degree... which is very far from this stuff. My perfectionist nature has helped and I think everything looks good (and fits the brand with actual logos on everything now) so I feel accomplished. Now to get the instructors to check everything out and make sure there are no mistakes so it can get printed. It doesn't sound very hard but one diagram averages about 400 individual lines to make it up. I also found a new book series which I haven't had time to read that has been taunting me as I work. Plus Bryan and Amelia are now starting a playthrough of my absolute favorite video game. That gets to be my reward for actually getting this done since I haven't been able to finish any of my pwn projects in the last couple months. If you have any of your own I hope you find the motivation (or the ire) to get it done. This could be the month!

Peace.

Year 6, Day 99

Good Morning! Today's song is I'm Still Standing by Elton John.

So Elton John started life as Reginald Dwight and started his musical career when he was 17. He played piano since he was younger, able to pick out songs by ear which is pretty tough to do. He started formal piano lessons at 7, and won a junior scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music at 11. He did well at the academy, but he was so naturally talented that he pretty much didn't need to practice and somewhat resented being there. His mother and stepfather helped him get a gig playing piano at a pub when he was 15. In 1962 he and his friends made a band called Bluesology, so he split his time between performing alone and with the group. The band successfully became a touring band for a bunch of groups and by 1966 became the supporting band for Long John Baldry. In 1967, he answered an ad for a record label, and went in to add music to lyrics written by Bernie Taupin, and they signed together as songwriters to a label. The same year he took the stage name Elton John, which is an homage to Long John Baldry, and the saxophonist in Bluesology Elton Dean. He ended up legally changing his name to that in 1972. His debut album came out in 1969, followed by five more albums by 1971. He kept making albums, then started his own label in 1974. In 1975 he released an autobiographical album, which became the first album ever to debut at number 1. I've barely cracked his discography and this is already getting pretty long, so I'm going to cut it off here and continue next time I feature another of his songs. The gist is that the man has not stopped writing and performing ever, and soon a biopic on him will be coming out, which will feature Taron Egerton, whom was chosen because he sang this song for the movie Sing. I thought it was a pretty cool fact, hope you do too.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 98

Good Morning! Today's song is Don't Stop Believing by Journey.

I chose this song awhile ago and was going to do a whole write up on it, but then I forgot about it until today. It's funny though because I just started rewatching a show today that heavily features this song to the point that they've become ingrained together in my mind now. That would be Glee which is apparently now on Netflix. I know everyone shits on Glee and I can attest that it is somewhat cringey, but the music is good. I still have fond memories of watching it on the bus with choir on the way to a festival. So I'll write about Journey later, but I will use today to make one last plea to give Glee a try... if not the show, then the music. Think about it.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 97

Good Morning! Today's song is I Think I Love You by The Partridge Family.

So The Partridge Family was actually a musical sitcom, and this song was done by the "family band" of the show, although the only actual cast members were David Cassidy and Shirley Jones. As for the instrumental elements we can thank studio musicians Mike Melvoin, Hal Blaine, Larry Knechtel, Joe Osborne, Louie Shelton, Tommy Tedesco, and musicians from the Wrecking Crew with backing vocals by Ron Hicklin, John Bahler, Tom Bahler, and Jackie Ward. This song got released in 1970, a month before the sitcom debuted. It rose in popularity throughout the shows run, even earning a NARM award for best-selling single that year. The sitcom ran for four seasons and got nominated for lots of awards (although most long after it ended). This song has been covered a couple times since it's release, once by Perry Como the same year, and then by Voice of the Beehive in 1991 which hit top 25 on the UK singles chart. I know the song from Braindead which was hilarious and uncomfortable when they featured it, and now I kind of love the song. If you haven't you should check out that show, and then you'll know what I mean.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 96

Good Morning! Today's song is You Can't Stop The Beat from Hairspray.

Hairspray was actually a movie first from 1988 and the idea of making it a musical came 10 years later when Margo Lion saw the film. She reached out the John Waters (who wrote and directed the movie) who gave her his blessing to do the project. She got the rights, then got ahold of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman who signed on and made a demo of some songs for the project. Those two did music & lyrics, while Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan wrote the book. Originally Rob Marshall was attached to the project to direct, but he left when his prior commitment got in the way, so they brought in Jack O'Brien to direct and Jerry Mitchell for choreography. They had an actress in mind right from the start for Tracy, and chose to keep the tradition alive from the film by casting a man as her mother. A tradition that has been kept alive in more recent adaptions. As the play was coming together there was some hesitancy in including the song I Know Where I've Been, giving the 11th hour song to someone other than the lead, but they didn't want to talk about civil rights while having their black characters be background pieces, instead using the song to showcase a family amidst the struggle. The move was embraced by audiences, and adds something special to the play. It opened on Broadway in 2002, and received 13 Tony nominations, winning 8 of them. It ran for six years. Meanwhile it opened on the West End in 2007, earning 11 Olivier nomination and closed after two and a half years. Since then it's been revived many times all over the world, most recently being shown in Tel Aviv in 2017. There has of course been a movie musical adaption made with John Travolta which is how most people in my generation and younger know of it, although there have also been a live version on NBC in 2016, something that has been happening with a couple musicals lately. So if you haven't seen this musical, look up one of those if you're curious.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 95

Good Morning! Today's song is Don't Rain On My Parade from Funny Girl.

I only know about Funny Girl because of the sheer amount it's mentioned in Glee, but any way that you're exposed to a musical that makes you want to check it out is a good one. Funny girl is semi-biographical, based on the life of comedian and actress Fanny Brice. It was created in 1963 with the book by Isobel Lennart, music by Jule Styne, and lyrics by Bob Merrill; it was produced by Ray Stark, who was married to Brice's daughter. It was brought to Broadway in 1964 starring Barbara Streisand, and follows Fanny Brice as one of the Follies showing flashbacks of her life with her husband Nicky Arnstein. So Brice's son in law tried lots of avenues for her life story, but didn't find one that he liked until Lennart submitted this (originally titled My Man). It had been just a screenplay, but actress and singer Mary Martin suggested it should be a musical. Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim were brought on, but Sondheim rejected it because the actress was not Jewish, and therefore not right for the part, which caused the actress to back out of the project. They continued to struggle to find someone for the part getting feedback from others they approached that they should get a Jewish girl for the role. They were running out of time when they brought in Streisand, and although she didn't make a good impression to Brice's daughter, she got the part. Directors kept quitting which put the show in limbo for months, but eventually they found someone, although he and Streisand did not agree about what should be done with the show. Eventually they managed to get the show opened. They had to keep editing it, with it being way too long, postponing opening in New York five times to keep perfecting the book. It took them 17 previews, but they managed to open on Broadway from 1964 to 1967, and had other runs since then. The original cast recording with Streisand has since been put in the Grammy Hall of Fame, and despite not winning, the show was nominated for 8 Tony Awards. It took a lot to get the show where it ended up which sucked, but we got a musical out of it, and even a book loosely based on the hardships leading up to opening night from this in a novel called Smash by Garson Kanin (who was the eventual director who Streisand had a problem with). So there's that. I don't know much about Funny Girl or Fanny Brice as a person, but maybe it's time to find out about her.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 94

Good Morning! Today's song is Broadway Baby from Follies.

Follies is a musical that was first developed in 1967 as The Girl Upstairs, but plans kept falling through and it passed through a couple different hands before landing with Harold Prince, who made a deal with Stephen Sondheim to do it and Company. Prince changed the name to Follies; and Sondheim brought in James Goldman to do the book while he did music and lyrics. It started on Broadway in 1971 and has many runs since, most recently playing in London in 2017. It's about two ex-showgirls and their relationships as they descend on their old theatre which is scheduled to be torn down. I can't really explain it better than a quote from Martin Gattfried published in the New York Times stating: "The concept behind Follies is theater nostalgia, representing the rose-colored glasses through which we face the fact of age ... the show is conceived in ghostliness. At its very start, ghosts of Follies showgirls stalk the stage, mythic giants in winged, feathered, black and white opulence. Similarly, ghosts of the Twenties shows slip through the evening as the characters try desperately to regain their youth through re-creations of their performances and inane theater sentiments of their past." So Follies is loosely inspired by Ziegfield Follies, which I hadn't heard of before writing this, so I asked my grandma about them. It was a revue where dancers would act out songs played, it's kind of hard to visualize without seeing it, but in my head it's kind of like a cross between (as my grandma put it) can-can girls, improv, synchonised swimming, and Fantasia but with people... which is a lot. The Ziegfield Follies started on Broadway in 1907, and eventually ended up as a radio show in 1932 and 1936. It was named after the man who conceptualized and brought the show together, and after he died his widow authorized his name to Jake Shubert for the Broadway show. The Ziegfield Follies seem really interesting to me and I'm still learning about them so I don't want to write too much, but seriously look them up if you're curious.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 93

Good Morning! Today's song is Memory from Cats.

Cats is based on a book of poems by T.S. Eliot called Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats from 1939. The music from the musical is done by Andrew Lloyd Webber, but most of the songs are actually the poems Eliot wrote, just put to music. Then rather than having the musical follow a traditional narrative like other stories, it's set up kind of like a revue (which I'll talk about a famous one tomorrow) where each number is different contenders being introduced by characters. The contenders are for which cat will ascend to Heaven from their tribe, which is the main focus of the musical. I used to think Cats was kid friendly, and maybe on the surface it still is, but thinking too hard about this it's literally a play about death. Originally there was no desire to make it a play, it was just a pet project for Webber in 1977 to see if he could write music for predetermined lyrics and chose this book of poems because it was a favorite of his as a kid. He got the idea to put it together thematically after doing a song cycle (songs that tell a story together) and approached Cameron Mackintosh about it. In 1980 it started as a song cycle called Practical Cats at Sydmonton Festival. That festival was attended by T.S. Eliot's widow, who brought along some unpublished poems that were deemed too sad for children and weren't put in the book. One of those is what spawned the idea for a full musical. They brought on Trevor Nunn who was the artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company to direct, in hopes the his high-brow reputation would add pedigree to the project and earn the approval of Eliot's widow. He's the one who said they needed a cohesive story flowing through the poems and was in charge of figuring it out. To get that they needed to add in a lot, including some songs not from the poems and they struggled to actually finish the plan well into previews. Which... it's kind of hard to do previews for a show that isn't even finished. Between that, and their lead actress getting hurt, Webber putting himself in possible financial ruin if the play failed, and having to postpone the opening, it's a miracle that Cats even opened. It did though. It opened in the West End in 1981 and had 8,949 performances, holding the record for the longest running musical until 2006. Since then it's come back many times and there is currently a musical film for it in the works to come out at the end of the year. So if you haven't seen it and want to, prepare for that and maybe read the poems.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 92

Good Morning! Today's song is I Dreamed A Dream from Les Misérables.

Les Misérables, or Les Mis, has become a bit of a staple when thinking of musicals in the last decade because of the recent movie version with an all star cast, but it actually got it's start as a book in 1862 by Victor Hugo. It's a historical fiction novel which is set from 1815 into the June Rebellion in Paris in 1832; and the book is considered to be one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. That then was turned into a concept album, which became a musical first presented at Palais des Sports in Paris in 1980. In 1983, Peter Farago sent the concept album to Cameron Mackintosh, who had recently brought Cats to the stage, to do an English version for the stage. Mackintosh eventually agreed and teamed up with the Royal Shakespeare Company and made it happen. It opened on West End in 1985, and the success there brought it to Broadway. It was on Broadway from 1987 until 2003, with 6,680 performances before closing, making it the fifth longest running Broadway show to date. It also got nominated for 12 Tony Awards, winning 8 of them. Since then it has been performed worldwide multiple times, and has a movie adaption without singing (which was the first I heard of it), a musical movie adaption from 2012 that I mentioned earlier with Hugh Jackman, and most recently an adaption on BBC last year. Although going by the musical the only true adaption is the 2012 movie while all others could be considered more adaptions of the novel than the play. The good news is if you haven't seen the musical, you can get a pretty good experience from the movie if you're interested in that.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 91

Good Morning! Today's song is Defying Gravity from Wicked.

So Wicked is based on a book by Gregory Maguire called Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Stephen Schwartz, a composer and lyricist, found the book on vacation and wanted to turn it into a musical, but the rights already belonged to Universal who wanted to make it into a movie. He petitioned the company to let him do a stage production and succeeded. To figure out the best way to condense the book, Schwartz brought on writer Winnie Holzman. It took them a year and they ended up with something far from the book and more accurately a retelling of the 1939 film adaptation of Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but from the villain perspective, focusing more on the relationship between the witches than addressing the differences between good intentions with bad results and bad intentions with bad results which is what the book focuses on. Now I haven't read the book, and I haven't seen the play (but I really want to) so I can only go off the info I can find and hope it's accurate. Let me know if it isn't. I got introduced to Wicked when I was in high school when we sang Defying Gravity in choir, and I instantly fell in love. There haven't been as many runs of this show as others I've showcased since this only began in 2003, but it is one of the bigger ones that most people think of when they think theatre. So if you get the chance to see it: take it.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 90

Good Morning! Today's song is Hopelessly Devoted To You from Grease.

Hey guys, guess what? It's musical week! I've done it before and talked about my love of musicals a lot so it will continue. I've written the backstories of these shows before, but I'm just going to put those in again because it bears bringing it back. So Grease: the musical was written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, and if any of you know The Outsiders, you know why it's called Grease. It was written to subvert 50's tropes and it actually does a pretty good job while also dealing with some serious issues. It was first performed in 1971 in a nightclub and eventually moved on to theatres and then to Broadway, having the longest Broadway run by 1980. The movie saw some changes to plot and adding songs written by John Farrer, changes that have in some cases been added to revivals of the musical. This song is the one that's sang by Olivia Newton John, which wasn't written until halfway through the movie, and was actually filmed after the rest of it had wrapped. They weren't sure about approving its use, but it's good that they did since it became an Oscar-nominated hit. We don't talk about Grease 2 because like Jim Jacobs, I do not approve of it, so let's all pretend it doesn't exist. I've actually seen a production of Grease when I went to California in school and it was awesome. I highly recommend it to anyone whose interested.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 89

Good Morning! Today's song is I Won't Give Up by Jason Mraz.

Jason Mraz has been active since 1999 when he started performing at a coffee house while working as a roadie for Elgin Park. He played weekly in Java Joe's for three years, gaining a solid following before releasing a live acoustic album in 2001. He got signed and moved to LA, then opened for Jewel before releasing his debut album in 2002. He toured in 2004, and released a live album at the same time, then released his second studio album in 2005. He won a Grammy for it, then opened for Alanis Morissette and the Rolling Stones. In 2006 he did small performances internationally, and opened for Rob Thomas. His next album came out in 2008, which became huge, and he won two more Grammy Awards. He did a world tour, then released another live album in 2009 before releasing his fourth studio album in 2012. He released another album in 2014, which he made with the band Raining Jane. He made his Broadway debut in Waitress in 2017, staying in the show into 2018, then released another album. So far this year he's been featured on an album by Alan Parsons, but I'm sure we'll see more from him.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 88

Good Morning! Today's song is All of Me by John Legend.

John Legend is John Stephens who has been active since 2000. He got a gig as the backing pianist on a song for Lauryn Hill's album, while playing a bunch of shows in New York, Boston, and around that area. He released two independent albums in 2000 and 2001 before graduating and working on a demo for labels. He was hired to sing on parts of Kanye West's songs, then signed to his label and dubbed John Legend by a poet named J. Ivy. His debut album came out in 2004 leading to a Grammy in 2006. He collaborated with a bunch of artists then released another album in 2006. In 2008 he had a supporting role in a movie, and released another album. He released a collaborative album with the Roots in 2010, followed by a ton of awards. He dealt with a lawsuit in 2011, then was a judge on a show called Duets in 2012. His next album came out in 2013, then he spent the next couple years collaborating on songs and performing at the Grammy's. He released another album in 2016, then was cast in a short animation featured at several film festivals. In 2017 he got cast in a broadcast of Jesus Christ Superstar. This year he was a coach on The Voice, and actually won with one of his singers. I guess we'll see what comes next.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 87

Good Morning! Today's song is Take Me To Church by Hozier.

Hozier is Andrew Hozier-Byrne, and Irish singer whose been around since 2008. He was part of a choral ensemble called Anúna starting in 2009, and he toured with them internationally. He released his debut EP in 2013 and it became huge. He released his second EP in 2014, followed quickly by his debut album. He did some performances in 2015, but then kind of disappeared from the music scene until his next EP in 2018. His second album came out earlier this year, and now he's touring for it so if his dates take him near you, you should go see him.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 86

Good Morning! Today's song is Run Boy Run by Woodkid.

Woodkid is the stage name for Yoann Lemoine, a french musician, who has been active since 2006. He actually went to school for animation and illustration and received a lot of awards and acclamation for his film work. It's rumored that he got into music because a musician gave him a ukulele while working together on set. Woodkid is his first musical project, and its supposed to be about the transition from childhood to adulthood, about a kid who starts organic and becomes marble. His first EP came out in 2011, and songs have since been featured in popular TV shows, films and video games. In 2012 he announced his first album, which was released in 2013. One of the songs from it has received awards for the video which he himself directed and has been used in virtually everything, most recently the Umbrella Academy. In 2014, he received what is essentially a French Grammy, and worked as a creative director for some big names, as well as performed at Coachella. He's performed at a multitude of festivals, with all kinds of artists and orchestras, and he's still going strong. I have a couple songs from him to show you, so I hope you'll like them.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 85

Good Morning! Today's song is Not Afraid To Die by Written By Wolves.

I'm almost positive that I've shown these guys to you before, and most likely written about them, but since I can't say 100% that that is the case we're going to do it again. These guys are a rock band from New Zealand (give it up to the kiwis!) and include Davie Wong, Bahador Borhani, Karl Woodhams, Oli Lyons and Michael Murphy. According to their website, the guys are working on their debut album, but while that's being done they do have quite a few songs on their YouTube and have supported numerous bands on tours. I like their stuff, and I hope you do to.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 84

Good Morning! Today's song is Yours Again by Red.

Red is a Christian rock band active since 2002, and currently made up of Michael Barnes, Anthony Armstrong, Randy Armstrong, and Dan Johnson. Before this band, they were in Ascension, and then Audio Adrenaline before the first lineup of Red got together in 2004. They were signed, then released their debut album in 2006 and went on tour with End of Silence. They started their next album in 2008, but put it on hold to do a tour before releasing it in 2009. They toured for the album into 2010, all the while working on music for their next album, released in 2011. Since then they've released three more albums, and as of this year are no longer with a label and have a GoFundMe for the next album they have in the works. So if you like the song and want more, maybe find their donation page.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 83

Good Morning! Today's song is You're So Creepy by Ghost Town.

Ghost Town has been active since 2012 and was made up of Kevin McCullough, Even Pearce, Alix Koochaki, and Manny Dominick. Now it's just McCullough and Pearce. A friend of theirs is an artist and when the guys sent him some of their songs, he said he wanted to be a part of it. So he did a sped up video of his art to one of their songs, and the video went viral. They started releasing a song every week, which eventually would be put on their debut album, released on YouTube in 2012 and iTunes in 2013. Later that year they were signed to a label, their album was re-released, and they went on tour with Marianas Trench. The next album came out in 2014, with another out the next year. In 2016 they released singles online while they did Warped Tour and opened for Simple Plan. They've continued with performances and singles as the line up dwindled down, but time will tell what happens next. I'm looking forward to it, but for now, enjoy.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 82

Good Morning! Today's song is Kill Or Be Killed by New Years Day.

New Years Day has been around since 2005 and is currently made up of Ash Costello, Nikki Misery, Frankie Sil, Austin Ingerman, and Dio Britto. The name was chosen as a way to mark their new beginning. They started on MySpace, and gained lots of fans there before signing and releasing their debut EP in 2006. The next year they released their debut album which they worked on while touring with lots of other bands. They joined Warped Tour in 2010, then released an EP in 2011. In 2013 they had another album out and joined Warped tour again, and then kept touring well into 2014. They've released more music since then, and gone on Warped again so they are still going strong. The most recent album actually came out this year so if you like this, look that up.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 81

Good Morning! Today's song is My Demons by Starset.

Starset is a band that's been around since 2013 and is made up of Dustin Bates, Ron DeChant, Brock Richards, and Adam Gilbert. So Bates, who formed the band, is a big fat space nerd (which is putting it so mildly considering his resume) and created a whole backstory for the band that constitutes the audio and visual of the group. So they were created by The Starset Society as a public outreach program to spread the message received from a mysterious signal from space. Their debut album came out in 2014 which is where this song comes from, and the album actually has a book that goes with it which details the backstory about the Starset Society. The second album came out in 2017, along with a graphic novel released through Marvel Comics. If you want to look it up it's called The Prox Transmissions. They toured for most of 2017 and 2018, and Bates said that they'd probably take a break after so he can work on music for another project. Since then a deluxe version of their second album has come out, and the band does have plans for a third sometime this year. Here's hoping that that one also comes with some more fantastical backstory because that is very unique and exciting.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 80

Good Morning! Today's song is Watch Me by The Phantoms.

The Phantoms have been around since 2011. They've released two albums and 3 EPs according to their website, and were supposed to have another EP out last year. I can't find out a lot of information because I keep running into other bands around the world with the same name, so in favor of not finding the wrong information, I'm just not going to put anything. The only thing that matters is the link to the music is working (as of when I'm posting this) so you can enjoy the song and look up more if you're interested.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 79

Good Morning! Today's song is Heartland by Tom Walker.

Tom Walker has been around since 2015. He's been releasing singles since 2016 and put out his debut EP in 2017. His first album came out in 2019, and he won the Best Breakthrough Act at the Brit Awards. He's done some work with other artists, co-writing songs and supporting them at shows, but his career is just starting to gain traction. So if you like this song then check out his album.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 78

Good Morning! Today's song is Broken Crown by Mumford & Sons.

Mumford & Sons is a British band active since 2007 and made up of Marcus Mumford, Winston Marshall, Ben Lovett, and Ted Dwane. Their first EP came out in 2008 after they gained a following doing touring with other artists. They released their debut album in 2009, then toured again before releasing another EP in 2010. They toured in 2011, then released their next album in 2012 and went on a world tour. They had another album in 2015, and one in 2018, and toured for each of those. Mumford & Sons has never been one of my favorites, but I like a couple of their songs and appreciate their craft so it's worth showing off today.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 77

Good Morning! Today's song is Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart by Chris Cornell.

Chris Cornell was active from 1984 to 2017, and went by his mother's maiden name. He started off in a cover band called The Shemps, which is where he met the future members of Soundgarden which they formed in 1984 and Cornell continued to be involved in intermittently until 2017. Cornell had done some solo work in the late 90's before joining Audioslave in 2001 (at the time Soundgardem weren't together) . They released a couple albums before Cornell left the group in 2007, then it was officially disbanded as everyone had their other music projects to work on. As a solo artist he released five albums through his career and toured with all kinds of big names. He had an incredible career and showed so much heart to fans and people in need; but he never overcame his own issues. He had substance abuse problems since he was a kid and had a serious depression problem. His career ends in 2017 because that's when (I assume) the depression won out, and he committed suicide. As I've said before when I've featured people who have taken their life, I want to use this opportunity to remind everyone out there struggling that you are not alone, reaching out for help is not a burden, and that help lines exist for the exact feeling you have now. So if you are struggling, please reach out to someone before doing something rash. It makes all the difference.

Peace.

Year 6, Day 76

Good Morning! Today's song is Rumble and Sway by Jamie N Commons.

Jamie N Commons is an English singer active since 2011. If you're wondering like I have been, the N stands for Nick. I haven't found a lot of information about his first EP, other than it was released in 2011, then his second EP came out in 2013 which is where this song is from. Since then he's gotten featured on songs with other notable artists, including Eminem and the X Ambassadors. His songs have been featured all over the place including for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Last year he started a project called Fever Dreams, which is him releasing a bunch of singles, increasing the hype for his debut album which is supposed to be released some time this year. So if you like the song keep an eye out for that album.

Peace.