Year 7, Day 168

Good Morning! Today's song is Open Book by Jacob Whitesides.

So Jacob Whitesides is a singer active since 2008 when he started on YouTube and playing shows around Knoxville, Tennessee. Then in 2012 he auditioned for X Factor when he was just 14. He made one round, but that was it. He released an EP with some covers on it in 2014, which ended up on the Billboard and Independent Albums charts. In 2015 he released another EP, followed by a partnership with BMG to make his own label called Double U Records. He released another EP in 2015, starting to gain more popularity before releasing his debut album in 2016. He followed that up with a tour in 2017 and another album in 2019 so he's still going strong. Check him out.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 167

Good Morning! Today's song is Down by Andrew Belle.

Photo by: Abby Gillardi

Andrew Belle is an American musician active since 2008 after graduating from college and playing in clubs. He released his debut EP in 2008 and debut album in 2010, which had songs used in some major pop culture things. He spent some time touring with Ten Out of Tenn then released his next EP in 2012. His next album was released in 2013, followed by a 2014 EP of stripped down versions of those songs. This song, along with another I have saved to feature, technically came out in 2016, but was released on his 2017 album. He did another stripped version of that the next year before joining Matt Kearney on his tour. He hasn't really been heard from since, but I assume he's doing fine and will pop back up when the world resumes. So for now, enjoy.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 166

Good Morning! Today's song is Cruel World by Active Child.

Photo by: goatling

Active Child is Patrick Grossi, an American singer whose been active since 2010. He did release some stuff earlier (including a cassette), but his first official EP came out in 2010. In 2011 he started appearing on other people's songs and compilation albums. He released and EP in 2013, then his second album in 2015. There hasn't been much since that is listed, although he is still active because he had a new album this year, so I guess we'll go check that out next.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 165

Morning. Today's song is In Case You Don't Live Forever by Ben Platt.

Photo from: The Tony Awards YouTube

Okay, so the stuff with my family. You guys know that I struggled last year to put this list out because my grandpa was in the hospital for six weeks, and that a couple months ago he was diagnosed with Dementia. Well, it was Dementia. He had a CT Scan and it came back with a tumor, a cancerous one that was spreading rapidly throughout his entire brain. The doctor likened it to spaghetti. So rather than deal with the cancer, they elected to take my grandpa off dialysis and was given two weeks to live. He lasted four days. I had some days saved up, so at the point that you're reading this it will have been about two weeks. We couldn't do a funeral, or well, elected not to pick and choose between all the family members who would get to come to a health order restricted funeral, and so didn't have one. But even without that planning it's been hard. My grandma couldn't handle telling everyone, so it was me over a video call with my family who told them that he was going to die. I luckily wasn't there when it happened, but it was only about an hour after I left the hospice. I don't really know what to say still. I can't think about it. I have dealt with death a lot, my uncle, my second cousin, three great grandparents, and my father; but this one hits the worst. I'd been living with my grandparents to take care of him so now it's just my grandma and me, and I'm struggling with how to help her since the last couple years her entire life has been him and his schedule. We're both kind of floating in the void right now, and just trying to get some purchase to pull ourselves up again. But I needed to vent, and you guys deserve an explanation for why the rest of the year for this might suck, or might disappear altogether. I don't know yet, I guess we'll see. Anyway this is a song I found awhile ago, one I've always associated with my grandpa. I hope you enjoy it. And if you want more, want to delve into my sad, we made a playlist of songs my grandpa liked or ones my family associated with him here.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 164

Good Morning! Today's song is New York State of Mind by Billy Joel.

Photo from: David Shankbone

Billy Joel was born to Jewish parents, and his family has a lot of music in their blood. His parents ended up splitting up, and he would take jobs playing piano at bars while going to school to help his mom make ends meet. When he failed to graduate (because of the playing) he decided to just skip it and foray into his music career. He started with a band called the Echoes, but changed the name to the Emeralds, then to the Lost Souls. He left after two years and joined a band called the Hassles who ultimately failed and then split from there to form a duo with the drummer. That group also failed when he had an affair with the drummer's wife (soon to become his first wife). He signed as a solo artist in 1970, but because of a studio fuck up his music didn't do well at first. It wasn't until people heard live versions that he started to get noticed. By 1973, he signed with (and could actually make music on) a new label, and Piano Man was born. For the next decade he popped out hits left and right, songs that are still classics today. At that point he was starting to get branded as a soft rocker which he took offense to, so he spent a couple years playing with his sound and being more adventurous in his topics. In 1983 he went back to lighter music with a tribute to the doo wop era, which is where this song comes from. The 90's saw an upheaval of the people he kept around him with most being pushed out of the picture and a couple different lawsuits for fraud being filed. By this time he was on to wife number two. By 1994 he was divorced again, and playing concerts with Elton John. Which is perfect because my brain always pairs them up. He continued touring in the 2000's and by 2007 was recording music again (which he hadn't done for 14 years at that point). He's continued on this way and still does today, so I don't know if retirement will ever be a thing for him, but he sure has had a lasting career and has shattered records. It's kind of amazing. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 163

Good Morning! Today's song is A Hard Day's Night by The Beatles.

Photo from: Poppe de Boer

So I had planned to write this whole big story today about a moment with my grandpa since I've already written about the Beatles, but there's been some stuff going on with my family so I don't feel right putting it in, and I also don't feel up to talking about what's going on right now, but maybe in a few days when things settle down I will. For now, just be happy that I'm even getting songs out because I seriously lack the motivation to work on anything right now.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 162

Good Morning! Today's song is Hello, I Love You by The Doors.

Photo from: vinylmeister

So I've been watching Youtubers playing Gartic phone and it looks hilarious. I'm told that it's basically telestrations, although I have no idea what that is, but if you're like me and that means nothing to you it's basically pictionary meets telephone. It seems hilarious so my family is gonna try it one game night. We'll see what happens. Anyway I don't have much to say today because I don't have a lot of time, but I have another song from this group to show later so I'll do their write up then. So for now, enjoy the song.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 161

Good Morning! Today's song is Simple Song by The Shins.

Photo by: Mike Mantin

These guys are an American rock band active since 1996 and are currently made up of James Mercer, Yuuki Matthews, Mark Watrous, Casey Foubert, Jon Sortland and, Patti King. They have a long list of previous members including Neal Langford, Jessica Dobson, Jesse Sandoval, Dave Hernandez, Eric D. Johnson, Ron Lewis, Martin Crandall, Joe Plummer, and Richard Swift. This group started as a side project by Mercer while he was with the band Flake Music before they disbanded in 1999. The first EP came out in 1998, then a single was released as part of a single of the month series in 2001. Their debut album came out the same year, which solidified both the band and their label's place in the industry. Their second album came out in 2003. When their song was used in the movie Garden State, it shot them to mainstream success. Their third album came out in 2007, earning a Grammy nomination. The group broke up after with Mercer moving to working on a new project called The Broken Bells before reviving The Shins. He released a fourth album, and toured with an all new backing band. The band released a couple singles through the years before releasing another album in 2017, and a re-imagined version from 2018. So there's some different decades of sound for you to look into.

Peace.

 

Year 7, Day 160

Good Morning! Today's song is One Of Us by New Politics.

Photo by: Marjorie Ryan

So the New Politics are a Danish band active since 2009 and made up of David Boyd, Søren Hansen, and Louis Vecchio with one previous member named Poul Amaliel. Boyd and Hansen had been writing songs together for years, aimed at doing their own solo albums until they formed a duo in 2009. They entered some songs into the Danish National Radio P3's Karriere Kanonen competition, being one of 43 selected to play live. So they hired Amaliel on drums, and was one of 4 winners to perform for a music festival. They were signed shortly after, doing a UK and US tour before releasing their first album in 2010, before Amaliel left the group. They did some more touring before their next album came out in 2013. They continued to tour with other notable bands like Fall Out Boy and the Pretty Reckless while continuing to release albums in 2015, 2017, and 2019. They've also released an EP in 2020 so there's that if you want more of their stuff. Enjoy!

Peace.

Year 7, Day 159

Good Morning! Today's song is I'm Not A Saint by Billy Raffoul.

Billy Raffoul might be the newest on the music scene that I've featured this week. He's a Canadian musician from Ontario, but is based out of Nashville, country capitol of the world… which is interesting since he's not classified as a country singer, but if so many music industry people are there, it's as good a place to be as any. His father is also a musician, named Jody Raffoul. Billy got his first guitar at ten, learning how to play and then ended up with jobs singing on demos for artists. He was doing one for Kid Rock when the guys asked about any original stuff, and filmed him playing one to send to his future manager. His debut single came out in 2017, but he's best known for his collaborations with Avicii and Kygo. His first EP was released in 2018, followed by two more in 2019, and one in 2020. His first album came out last year, and I'm sure we'll see more down the line. So I hope you enjoy the song. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 158

Good Morning! Today's song is Stuck In The Middle With You by the Jeff Healey Band.

Low Res Fair Use Cover Art

The Jeff Healey Band was made of Jeff Healey, Joe Rockman, and Tom Stephen that got signed in 1988. They released five albums together starting in 1988 with the most recent in 2000. They were nominated for a Grammy for a single in 1989. They were also featured in the Swayze movie Road House as the house band and Healey had a talking role as well. The band won a Juno award in 1990 for Canadian Entertainer of the Year. Though there isn't too much to write about for the group, Jeff Healey did also have a music career on his own if you want to check that out as well. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 157

Good Morning! Today's song is Saturday Night by Bay City Rollers. 

Photo by: Rob Bogaerts

 The Bay City Rollers is a Scottish group active starting in 1964, and is one of those groups that has come in and out of the industry a couple of different times, and because of that and how long the run was there is a ton of people listed as members. They started out as a family trio called the Ambassadors made up of Alan Longmuir, Derek Longmuir, and Neil Porteous that played at a family wedding. Then Derek invited his friend Gordon Clark to join, with the group changing the name to the Saxons and some members switching instruments. Porteous left the next year replaced by Dave Pettigrew. Gregory Ellison and Mike Ellison joined the group, then they started getting local gigs before switching their name to the Rollers, but needed an American name in front of it, so they threw a dart at a map. It landed on Arkansas, which they vetoed, and threw again landing on Bay City, Michigan. They had a couple short term members after that before signing to a label releasing some singles including this song. So they became very popular, and had lots of member changes, and even changed the name of the group more, but I’m not going to get into it. They’re credited with fifteen albums over their career, the first from 1974 and the most recent from 2015, so if you’re interested in the whole history go look them up. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 156

Good Morning! Today's song is Should I Stay Or Should I Go by The Clash.

Photo by: Masao Nakagami, Andwhatsnext, Rama, and Warrenit

The Clash was an English rock band active from 1976 until 1986, with members over that time period including Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Terry Chimes, Keith Levene, Rob Harper, Topper Headon, Pete Howard, Nick Sheppard, and Vince White. All the original members were in the music scene, floating in and around each other before finally forming this group. The name comes from Simonon when he kept seeing the word recurring in the newspaper, and so The Clash was born. They debuted in 1976, in support of the Sex Pistols. They went on early, trying to beat the debut of another band, and followed the performance by getting into a scuffle with other punk bands at the time, which is pretty par for the course in that specific music scene. They tightened up their sound before getting back onstage five weeks later. They held a private show, before opening for the Sex Pistols again before losing a couple members. In 1977 punk music exploded on the scene, becoming a major media phenomenon, which the Clash banked on earning a record deal. Of course then they had to defend themselves as people decided signing the deal meant they were sell outs, and their deal was later used as an example of what not to sign, because they had to pay for their own tours, recordings, remixes, artwork, expenses, etc. Over their career, the band released six albums, starting in 1977 and ending in 1985. Their musical career is huge and since I don't want this to be a huge post I’m going to cut it off here, but seriously is you have any interest in the punk sound, The Clash is one of the bands that you need to do a history on because they were a big part of what made that scene a thing. So hopefully you look into them more. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 155

Good Morning! Today's song is Absolutely Story Of A Girl by Nine Days.

So I've kind of already featured this song as part of a mashup, but I felt like showing it on its own so enjoy it. And instead I'm going to talk about some life stuff today. I've been starting to get concerned about my computer because it's a few years old and I am on it pretty much all day everyday doing all kinds of things. So I thought I would upgrade, ordering the exact some version but a newer model so there wasn't too much transition to be done. Big mistake. I've always bought from the same computer company since I started using computers and the quality and service has continued to go downhill to the point that I actually sent the new computer back because it was performing worse than my old one. That shouldn't happen with a brand spanking new device. It got so hot in less than 5 minutes that I actually thought it would catch fire and that was only one of the issues. So for the first time I think I'm actually going to have to go to a different company than Dell. If anyone has any advice or recommendations shoot them my way. For now I'm going to see if I can update my old computer to keep it alive a little longer.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 154

Good Morning! Today's song is Now Or Never by Sunset Curve.

This band is actually not real and is from a TV show, but I figured I'd put them by the band name for fun. So Sunset Curve was a band in the 90's in the show Julie & The Phantoms, which is amazing and you should definitely go watch it on Netflix right now. The members are Luke, Reggie, Alex, and Bobby, but the actors names are Charlie Gillespie, Jeremy Shada, Owen Patrick Joyner, and Taylor Kare respectively. They're all super talented but the only one that I know for sure has a musical career besides the acting is Jeremy, whose music I have saved to showcase at a later date. I've always had a soft spot for 90's garage bands and that style of music so I knew I wanted to feature this song at some point. Hell, I want to feature all the songs from this show, but I will try to limit it to only a couple for sanity's sake. This seemed like a good start since it's literally how the show begins, and damn do they have stage presence. Hope you like it.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 153

Good Morning! Today's song is Adrenaline by Simple Creatures.

Simple Creatures has been around since 2019 and may seem like they are new babies, but the group is made up of Mark Hoppus and Alex Gaskarth of Blink 182 and All Time Low fame respectively. They've known each other for a long time and always talked about working together. After Hoppus finished a tour and suffered a bout of depression, he went back to the studio with the intent to work with people he always wanted to which led to this project. They released an two EP's in 2019 and apparently already have an album ready and waiting so I can't wait for that. Enjoy. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 152

Good Morning! Today's song is Shakin' Off The Rust by The Blue Stones.

So these guys are a Canadian band from Ontario, active since 2011 and currently made up of Tarek Jafar and Justin Tessier. There isn't a lot of information to be found about them prior to when they got signed in 2018, but they did have two EP's out before then, one in 2011 and one in 2012. They released their first album in 2015, then re-released it once they were signed in 2018, followed by another album in 2021. They released singles in between all of those, one of which is this song which came out in 2019. They're really good so I hope you guys like it. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 151

Good Morning! Today's song is My Name Is Human by Highly Suspect.

Highly Suspect is an American band active since 2009 and made up of Johnny Stevens, Rich Meyer, Ryan Meyer, and Matt Kofos. They released one EP in 2009, another in 2010, then one in both 2012 and 2013. They released a compilation album in 2011, but their first official album came out in 2015. It earned them a spot on iTunes' New Artist Spotlight. Their second album was released in 2016, along with a single that was nominated for a Grammy Award. The third album was released in 2019, and there has been more since, so check that out if you like it.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 150

Good Morning! Today's song is Until Eternity by Blackbriar.

Blackbriar is a band from the Netherlands active since 2012 and made up of Zora Cock, René Boxem, Bart Winters, Frank Akkerman, Robin Koezen, and Ruben Wijga. There's not too much about them as they've remained unsigned this whole time, but they have released a couple of singles, as well as three EP's in 2017, 2018, and 2019. The band is only now starting to hit its stride, joining Epica on their tour and playing at the after-shows for Halestorm and In The Moment. So they are on the rise and we'll see where they go from here. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 149

Good Morning! Today's song is Little Girl Blue and The Battle Envy by Skating Polly.

Skating Polly is a rock band active since 2009 and is made up of Kelli Mayo, Peyton Bighorse, and Kurtis Mayo. It's a family band, as they are all siblings. The girls first started the group, playing improv at a family Halloween party in 2009. They learned how to play more instruments, started writing and got signed. They started working on their first album before meeting Exene Cervenka of punk band X who raved about them and offered to produce their next album. Their first album was released in 2010, and they made lots of connections and had some help with their next album released in 2013. There was another in 2014 before they did a bunch of touring before releasing another album in 2016. In 2017 their brother joined the band before releasing an EP, then another album in 2018. Since then their popularity has been growing while they've toured with some very influential bands so I'd bet we'll hear more from than soon. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 148

Good Morning! Today's song is The Woods by Hollow Coves.

Photo by: Drew de F Fawkes

So Hollow Coves is an Australian duo made up of Ryan Henderson and Matt Carins. They met in 2013 and began to write music together, with no real plan. They spent the next five years traveling, which made an impact on their sound before releasing their first EP in 2017, which is where this song is from. Their debut album came out in 2019, so they are still brand new to the industry, but have great potential which I hope you'll see in this song. So look for these guys in the future, because I can't wait for more. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 147

Good Morning! Today's song is Featherstone by The Paper Kites.

Photo from: thepaperkites

The Paper Kites is an Australian band active since 2010 and made up of Sam Bentley, Christina Lacy, Dave Powys, Sam Rasmussen, and Josh Bentley. They were all friends before they were a band, and made a homemade EP in 2010 that they could sell at their live shows. They made their debut single the same year, releasing it online and increasing their popularity. They made their first official EP in 2011, releasing this song in advance. They got signed to an entertainment agency before touring with some other groups, and doing their first headline tour in 2012. They started getting requests for TV spots with their songs with this one being featured in Grey's Anatomy. They released another EP in 2012, doing a small tour afterward, then began recording the debut album, released in 2013. Their second album came out in 2015, and is a concept album featuring only songs written between midnight and 4 am. They released two more albums in 2018 before embarking on a tour of multiple countries that went on into 2019. They have plans to do more double albums, basically two in one, so I'm looking forward to seeing some of those eventually. Keep an eye out. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 146

Good Morning! Today's song is Change It All by No Resolve.

No Resolve is an American band active since 2009 and made up of Oscar Pegorraro, Jason Hatmaker, Matty Shea, and Dennis Patterson. Their first EP was released in 2012. They did a bunch of touring before making their debut album in 2014, releasing it the next year. It got them on the Billboard Heatseeker chart, and they've ranked high in Next 2 Rock and even won the Linkin Park/Stagelight monthly music contest. They've released three albums overall, the most recent released in 2019. Hope you like it.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 145

Good Morning! Today's song is Body On Fire by Slaves.

Slaves is an American band active since 2014 and currently made up of Colin Vieira, Weston Richmond, Felipe Sanchez, Zachary Baker, and Matt McAndrew. Past members include Tai Wright, Jason Mays, Christopher Kim, Alex Lyman, and Jonny Craig. The name was chosen by Tai Wright, and chosen because "every man is a slave to what we love – whether it be women, drugs, music or sports. Through art we are all equals." Throughout their career they've released tons of singles, an EP in 2019, and three albums, with another planned to be released sometime in 2020. So look into that one.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 144

Good Morning! Today's song is Honey Whiskey by Nothing But Thieves. 

Photo from: Memelord38

This is an English band active since 2012 and made up of Conor Mason, Joe Langridge-Brown, Dominic Craik, Philip Blake, and James Price. They started to gain popularity when a single of theirs appeared on Radio 1 playlist, followed quickly by Octane and Sirius XM. After that they started getting gigs for festivals and to support other bands on their tours including Gerard Way, Arcade Fire, and Twenty One Pilots to name a few. They got signed in 2014 before releasing their debut album in 2015 and touring for it. In 2016 they toured again, as well as supported Muse on their tour, before releasing their second album in 2017. They followed it up with an EP in 2018 and another album in 2020. They're still going strong, so if you like this check out more of their stuff. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 143

Good Morning! Today's song is I Wanna Get Lost With You by the Stereophonics. 

Photo by: Kekslover

These guys are a Welsh rock band active since 1992 and made up of Kelly Jones, Richard Jones, Adam Zindani, and Jamie Morrison. There are two past members named Stuart Cable and Javier Weyler. Originally the band started with Kelly Jones and Stuart Cable as Zephyr, recording a demo in 1986, but a disagreement broke the group up. A few years later they decided to give it another go, adding Richard Jones to the group. They were playing under the name Tragic Love Company and made a demo. Wayne Coleman liked it and set up performances for them, but hated the name, so they changed to the current name on a suggestion from Cable. They got signed in 1996, releasing their first album in 1997, earning a BRIT Award the following year. Since then they've released ten more albums, the most recent of which came out in 2019. Enjoy!

Peace.

Year 7, Day 142

Good Morning! Today's song is Use Me by the Goo Goo Dolls.

Photo by: Fr. Jeff Lorig

The Goo Goo Dolls are a rock band that have been around since 1986. The members have included Johnny Rzeznik, Robby Takac, George Tutuska, and Mike Malinin; although currently only the former two are in the band still. The name of the band actually comes from a True Detective ad for a toy. The guys have said that it was the best they could come up with for the gig they had that night, and since then it stuck. Their first album came out in 1987 with another out in 1989. They played the underground music scene around the States, then released another album in 1990. They finally hit mainstream success with their album in 1993. They recorded another album, kicked Tutuska out and hired Malinin, then went on tour. Their 1995 album has been heralded as one of the most successful alt rock album of the 90's. Unfortunately it was followed by a legal dispute with their label for royalties. Once it got settled they had another album out in 1998 with a different label which went for a more straight rock sound. They're still going strong with a live album out in 2018 and lots of other stuff earlier than that which I skipped over because it's as steady a progression as earlier in their career. You can look it up if you're curious, but for now enjoy the song. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 141

Good Morning! Today's song is I Don't Wanna Dance by COIN.

Photo by: Andrewa852

COIN is an indie pop band active since 2012 and made up of Chase Lawrence, Ryan Winnen, and Joe Memmel, with a previous member in Zach Dyke. They all went to the same school and started making music together, and recorded some tracks in order to get gigs. Once they started playing live, they got pretty popular. They released an EP later that year, and another in 2013. They rereleased an old single in 2014, then a new single in 2015 which got a lot of radio attention, and acted as a prelude to the release of their debut album. They went on tour and dropped singles along the way until releasing their second album in 2017. Their next album was released in 2020, but the tour is currently postponed. But they should be back eventually so if you like thing song go check that album out. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 140

Good Morning! Today's song is Girls Like Me by Will Joseph Cook. 

Will Joseph Cook is a British singer whose been active since at least 2011 but is still pretty early into his career. He's got two EP's and and two albums, one from 2017 and another from 2020, plus a bunch of other songs on his YouTube. He doesn't have an official bio so I'm just playing it by ear here, but he's a really good artist. So if you like this song you should check out his other stuff and keep an eye out for him in the future. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 139

Good Morning! Today's song is Honey Sweet by Blossoms.

Blossoms is an English group active since 2013 and made up of Tom Ogden, Charlie Salt, Josh Dewhurst, Joe Donovan, and Myles Kellock. Fun Fact: while they didn't know each other at the time, all the members were actually born in the same hospital and grew up within two miles of each other. Their first single came out in 2014 and they did a mini-tour to promote their EP. They quit their jobs to pursue music full time, doing their own tour before joining The Charlatans and The Courteeners on another tour in 2015. They released another EP, then another one in 2015. Their debut album was released in 2016 followed by a tour. Then in 2017 they participated in the We Are Manchester event. Their second album came out in 2018 which they toured for before their third album was released in 2020. Anyway, I hope you like it.

Peace.