Year 7, Day 321

Morning! Today's song is If I Be Wrong by Wolf Larsen. 

Wolf Larsen is the pseudonym for Sarah Ramey, a musician and writer. The name is actually her grandfather's name, and that's how it came to be. In 2008 she was a blogger for Obama's presidency, and in 2013 wrote a book (released under her real name) called The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness, a story about her struggling with a serious medical condition that no one seemed to be able to diagnose. Her music started because of that, a bedroom project to deal with her illness and the solitude that came with it. While doing the music video for this song, she was actually away getting treatment, and handed it off to director Pete Lee with two rules: make it simple, and I can't be in it. But he found a way to make it artistic and inspiring rather than simple, and was able to put her in it after flying out to see her for some shots. Because of her health she doesn't perform live, but you don't need to see her in person to get the feelings this songs conveys. So I hope you enjoy it.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 320

Morning! Today's song is Pierre by Ryn Weaver.

Photo by: Ralph Arvesen

Ryn Weaver is the stage name for Erin Michelle Wüthrich, an American musician active since 2013. Her stage name comes from her mother's maiden name, and her preferred spelling of her first name, as Aryn instead of Erin. She had met a music producer when living in New York for school, and he signed her after reconnecting when she moved back to California. She released her debut single in 2014 through SoundCloud, and it immediately got attention from a bunch of artists. Her first EP came out two months later, then her debut album was released the next year, in 2015. She had a promotional single in 2018, and has since been writing songs for other people so she's still around in the industry. She's a new find for me, courtesy of YouTube, which is much appreciated because she's great. This is an acoustic version of the song, but I think it makes me appreciate it more so I hope you like it too.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 319

Morning! Today's song is Finally Free by Julie & The Phantoms.

I've talked about Julie & The Phantoms before, but for anyone who doesn't know it's a TV show on Netflix. And it's technically for kids, so YouTube wont let me put this song in my playlist which is unfortunate, but it's such a good show that everyone of any age can enjoy it. Like seriously, I highly doubt their demographics would show that the bulk of the audience is children, instead it's all us 20-30 year olds who grew up on musical movies and are going through song withdrawal now. As I'm writing this, they still haven't been approved for a second season, which is upsetting for all the fans, but I'm not too surprised about it since we're all still dealing with the world issues right now. But someone better be off in their house writing more music and doing scripts and using this time to make the (hopefully) inevitable next season amazing. And if you haven't watched the show yet, please go do so because you're missing out if you don't.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 318

Morning! Today's song is Tell Me I'm A Wreck by Every Avenue.

Every Avenue is an American band active from 2003 until 2012, although technically they're only on hiatus. Because of that there are technically active members, so the group is made up of David Ryan Strauchman, Joshua Withenshaw, Jimmie Deeghan, Matt Black, and Dennis Wilson, with past members in Cameron Grestiner, Jason Letkiewicz, and Michael Govaere. The group formed and released two EP's, one in 2004 and one in 2006, before getting signed the next year, then releasing an EP with the label. Their first album was released in 2008 followed by a National tour and a performance at Warped tour. They released their second album in 2009, then were featured on a Punk Goes... album in 2010. Their next album came out in 2011, followed by more touring and another appearance at Warped tour. In 2012 the band decided to go on hiatus, but made sure to say that they weren't gone for good, and that the members were on good terms with each other. They've had one reunion so far, playing a couple shows in 2018. I wouldn't be surprised to see them come back again, so keep an eye out for them. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 317

Morning! Today's song is Head Up by The Score. 

I mentioned yesterday that they were one of my favorite finds while doing this blog. This band today is another favorite that I never would have discovered if I didn't go looking for new bands. Anyway, this is an indie pop band active since 2015, and made up of Eddie Anthony and Edan Dover. The breakout for them came from a supermarket campaign looking for a musical presence who were unsigned and unknown. A song was featured, and due to the airtime they got signed. They released their debut EP that same year, and another extended EP in 2016, then followed it up with yet another the following year. During that time a couple different songs of theirs were used for events and pop culture creations. They've kept going since then, with this being one of their newer songs so I hope you like it.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 316

Morning! Today's song is I Want My Life Back Now by The Wrecks.

So these guys are a rock band from California and have been around since 2015. The band currently consists of Nick Anderson, Aaron Kelley, Nick Schmidt and Billy Nally, with previous members including Harrison Nussbaum and Weston Weiss. Their first EP was recorded on a whim when they were barely a band yet and had 3 days of studio time... although later they found out they actually weren't supposed to have studio time, but by then they had an EP ready. As of now they have three EPs, from 2016, 2018, and 2020 respectively, as well as an album from 2020. I have featured them before, and I definitely have other songs from them saved on my list to show you so hopefully you like it, because I still count them as one of my best finds while doing this blog.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 315

Morning! Today's song is Hazy Shade Of Winter by Gerard Way featuring Ray Toro.

Photo by: Michael Spencer

So this is a cover of a Simon and Garfunkel song, but was technically based on the cover done by The Bangles. This version was done for The Umbrella Academy by Gerard Way and Ray Toro, who were both in My Chemical Romance. If you know either the band or the show, then you probably are already aware of Gerard Way, and if not you should be. This song I've been saving, because while there are a lot of amazing song features in the show, I wanted to feature one that I considered to be more of "the score" of it, and I settled on this one. And this song also gives me a way to fan girl a little bit about the fact that My Chemical Romance is coming back! They were supposed to come back in 2020, but the tour has been postponed to 2022 for... obvious reasons. Anyway, enjoy this song, and if you're unsure of it at the beginning, keep listening because the intro is deceiving. Have Fun.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 314

Morning! Today's song is Fighter by Christina Aguilera.

Photo by: Raph_PH

I'm sure I've said this before, but this song is also eternally on the playlist for my father, not that it matters much anymore because he's beyond the veil and wont hear it, but I have a playlist of songs I associate with him because of the way I was raised. And while this song is naturally supposed to be about a romantic relationship, much of the lyrics also applies to any somewhat toxic relationship whether romantic or platonic. Because for me, as much as I resent my dad for my upbringing, it also very much made me the person I am today and the little bit of my personality that could be considered a backbone is something I inherited from him. So mixed feelings: upset with him, and somewhat thankful all the same. I guess that's normal, most relationships are complex. Do any of you hear this song and associate it with someone in particular? Let me know if you do, I'm curious who else is in this boat with me.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 313

Morning! Today's song is Alone by Heart.

Photo by: Michael Jardeen

Heart has been around since 1973 and are made up of Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Ben Smith, Craig Bartock, Chris Joyner, and Dan Rothchild. Originally the band was called The Army, then they switched the name to White Heart (a reference to a book by Arthur C. Clarke) before shortening it to Heart. It wasn't permanent though because the name changed to Hocus Pocus. The band members all on their own ended up moving to Canada, and restarted Heart there. Their debut album came out in 1976, and became a huge success. Unfortunately some of that success was from the studio suggesting the sisters in the group were sexual partners. It pissed Ann off enough that she wrote this song. They left the label, signed with a different one and released an album, then the old one released a half finished album of theirs only to have to recall it so the band could finish it and release it with their new label. They made it big from those, but started to decline in popularity in the early 80's until they switched their sound a bit in 1985 with their new album. In 1995 when one of the sisters left to focus on family, the band technically took a hiatus, with other projects keeping them busy. Heart came back in 2004 with a new album (their first since 1993), and continued on until 2016. The sisters stopped speaking to each other because of an incident involving their families and have been touring with their own bands, but said that Heart was on hiatus not broken up. Apparently now though they are back together with a tour planned, but only time will tell. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 312

Morning! Today's song is Cold Hearted by Paula Abdul.

Photo from: The Heart Truth

Welcome to the new (but also not so new) management in Canada! So as I mentioned earlier, we had an election... a federal election, I still have to do a mayoral election in another month, but yesterday was the actual voting day which means that now the votes have been counted, or most of them have been, and we've reached a consensus. My prediction was either a Conservative or Liberal minority government, and as all the advance votes got counted they were neck in neck, jumping back and forth between who was leading by 1% at any given time. Unsurprisingly, the vote went exactly the same as the last election did, with only about 5 seats changing parties. Here's the breakdown so far, at least until any straggler mail in votes come in, but most likely this will be the final tally.

I had to cut off the top bit of the map to make it fit, but the territories are counted as one seat each anyway, so the colors are the same on the little islands and the big part. Now as I mentioned before, I live pretty much smack dab in all that blue. My family is a good representation of all that blue, and then there is me who is decidedly not. But I wont get into that. That weird aqua color is Quebec because they were talking about being their own country again (which they want to be independent but still receive all the benefits of being a province so fuck that noise) so that's why they have so many votes. And there you have it. An election that proved that no one has actually changed their mind about things since last time, despite how everyone like to complain about how awful X party is. Typical.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 311

Morning! Today's song is Like A Virgin by Madonna.

Photo from: Olavtenbroek

We do so much Madonna because I just have them saved up so I'm not going to talk about her. So I've been watching this girl name Natalie on YouTube as she reacts to things for the first time, and right now she's doing Game of Thrones. Where she's at she's up to the end of season 7 and I'm enjoying it. Game of Thrones is a show that I could never really get into, although I have seen all of it, and I would never want to watch the whole thing again, but the little snippets I get with her reaction is good. Seeing even those pieces again, the switch from book form to TV writers is so jarring. Just the pacing is crazy. Any big Game of Thrones people will have to tell me if he's finished the books since then and changed the ending because I'm curious if the show is now considered wrong or not. While I'm so happy we got to see these actors be so awesome in the show, I do still think it was crazy for HBO to start a series based on novels that weren't actually completed. It just doesn't make sense. If you want to check out her reactions you totally should because I find it very entertaining. I'll link to her first Game of Thrones video so you can start the journey with her in preparation for the finale. Hope you enjoy it.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 310

Morning! Today's song is Baby One More Time by Britney Spears.

Photo by: Drew de F Fawkes

I've talked enough about Britney, and with the news of her conservatorship still a hot topic you guys should already be aware of her, so I'm not going to talk about it today. Long story short screw her family. Anyway, the day I'm writing this (because I'm doing these in advance) the polls opened to advance voting for the Canadian federal election, so I got that done and over with. The day this is actually being posted is literally the day before actual voting happens so it's still relevant. Since most of you who read this aren't Canadian, I'll break it down for you. On a federal level there are typically five major parties, give or take a few. There are five that have been consistent for my entire life, so that's what I look at as the core groups. We got Conservative, Liberal, NDP, Green Party, and Bloc Quebecois. The last two barely get votes, with usually Quebec voting Bloc Quebcois (self explanatory) or sometimes Liberal, and BC typically going Green, NDP, or Conservative. Then Conservative and Liberal usually switch back and forth as the government and the official opposition. NDP is third most popular and tends to end up being the deciding factor when the government in a minority. Now, I live in Alberta. Alberta is basically always Conservative, no matter what level of government is being voted on. The only time we're ever not Conservative is if that party successfully pisses people off so badly that they want anyone but them. For reference, watch for the next Premier election here when Kenney gets ousted. I wont say what I vote, because I'm not here to promote any party, and I don't agree with trying to influence other people's votes. The sad thing is that usually it doesn't matter how the west side of Canada votes, because the election is already won by the East and their voting pool. So short of the entire rest of the country voting together and the east splitting, we pretty much know how it's going to go by the time they're done counting in Ontario. This election is technically not a planned one, the Liberals called it rather than letting their time run out so everyone had to scramble. My prediction is that we'll have a minority government again, most likely with Conservative instead, but you never know... Liberals might come out on top again. I don't know how the East will vote yet. If you're interested in politics check out the election tomorrow when they start the count. I like having the window open and watching the colors change as votes are counted. And if you are Canadian the main point: vote. Even if you think your vote is a wash, still go vote because you never know. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 309

Morning! Today's song is Lovefool by The Cardigans.

Photo from: 13bobby

The Cardigans are a Swedish bad, active from 1992 until 2006, then again since 2012. The band is made up of Lars-Olof Johansson, Bengt Lagerberg, Nina Persson, Magnus Sveningsson, and Peter Svensson. The group was formed by Peter and Magnus who brought in the others. They recorded a demo which led to them getting signed, with the debut album coming out, first in Japan and Sweden in 1994, and internationally in 1997. They released their second album in 1995 internationally, followed by their third in 1996. They took a bit of a hiatus in 1998 while the members did solo projects, and their songs were used in pop culture and a compilation album was released. They came back together is 2002 to do a new album, releasing it in 2003, featuring a new sound. They released an iTunes album and another regular album in 2005. In 2006 they went back on hiatus, an extended one which is why I split it at the beginning, and they group went back to doing their solo projects. They got an offer to come back in 2012, and though Peter didn't want to participate, he gave the others his blessing to do it without him, so they invited Oskar Humlebo to take Peter's spot. Since then they've spent most of that time touring so they're still around, and who knows what we'll see later on.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 308

Morning! Today's song is Crush by Jennifer Paige.

 

Jennifer Paige Scoggins is an American singer active since 1995. The beginning of her career is hard to pinpoint because she's been singing and performing for basically her whole life. At 17, she toured with a cover band called Vivid Image before moving to LA. In 1996, she went home to Atlanta to perform for the Olympics, and also teamed up with producer Andy Goldmark and made a dance cover of an Aretha Franklin song, earning her a record deal. Her debut album came out in 1998, which is where this song is from. She did a bunch of touring before releasing her second album in 2001. She parted with her label, leading them to release a Greatest Hits in 2003, while Paige went on to write songs, one of which ended up in a movie. She signed with a new label in 2007, releasing her next album in 2008, and re-released in 2009 with some extra music. In 2010 she formed a band called The Fury, releasing some Christmas singles before changing to name to Paige & Palermo in 2012. She released a solo Christmas album the same year, then two EP's with the band in 2013. In 2015 she released a single on YouTube, and started crowdfunding on kickstarter for her next album, released in 2017. I imagine if she does another album it'll probably be done the same way so you can look at her social media and official sites for if that comes down the pike. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 307

Morning! Today's song is Poison by Taylor Grey.

Taylor Grey is a new-to-me artist thanks to YouTube, and looks relatively new in the industry too. He debut EP came out in 2016, but she first started to get recognition in 2017 with two singles she released prior to her debut album later that year. She's done some touring with Jacob Whitesides, The Summer Set, and The Vamps. All the groups I've also featured or are on a list to be featured which explains why she popped up in my recommendations. She released another EP in 2019, then toured with The Vamps and New Hope Club. Her career kind of had to stall like the rest of us with the pandemic, but I expect we'll hear more about her soon enough so keep an eye out. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 306

Morning! Today's song is Sing To Me by MISSIO.

I've been kind of selfishly holding onto this song since Death Stranding came out because it hit me harder than a lot of other songs did. The first time I heard it I was house sitting for my sister when a bunch of shit was happening, and I ended up just lying on the spare bed in the dark all night repeating it over and over again. Probably not the healthiest thing, but I've never claimed to be healthy mentally anyway. It is what it is. So MISSIO is an electronic duo active since 2014 and made up of Matthew Brue and David Butler. As a group they technically came about in 2015 when Brue hired Butler for the EP, releasing it in 2016, and then debuting at the SXSW festival later that year. Brue had used the name before, but Butler officially joined in 2016, then they were signed in 2017, releasing their debut album the same year. Their second album was released in 2019, and spent 2020 releasing some singles for the third album out later that year. They've also released the EP's in 2017, 2018, and 2021 and part of a series, so there's lost of stuff for you to look into if you like what you hear. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 305

Morning! Today's song is Hollow by Icon For Fire.

These guys have been around since 2007 and are currently made up of Ariel Bloomer and Shawn Jump with previous members being Joshua Davis and Adam Kronshagen. They spent their first two years touring, releasing an EP in 2008, and another in 2009. They were signed in 2010, when contacted by a label on MySpace. Their debut album came out in 2011. They spent some time focusing on touring before releasing their second album in 2013. They left their label in 2015, and had a kickstarter going for their next album in to be released in pieces throughout 2016. They did some acoustic stuff released on their YouTube in 2018, so they're still going strong. This song was put on YouTube in 2019 so this is one of the more recent songs, and I really enjoy it. I'll keep listening to and showcasing this band so hopefully you guys aren't getting tired of it because their songs, this one especially today, speaks to me. The line about who is supposed to fix it if we're all crazy...damn. Seriously listen to this one.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 304

Morning! Today's song is Rebel Girl by Bikini Kill.

Photo by: Raph_PH

Bikini Kill is a punk rock band active from 1990 until 1997, then briefly came back in 2017, then officially came back for touring in 2019. Currently members include Kathleen Hanna, Kathi Wilcox, Tobi Vail, and Erica Dawn Lyle, with a past member of Billy Karren. They're an important piece of music history as one of the pioneers of what has become known as the Riot grrrl movement. It was a feminist movement within the punk genre, which kickstarted third wave feminism aka the 90's feminist movement. Hanna would put out fanzines on their tours, and the style of having "zines" for the whole movement because the norm. A quote from one of the zines from a Bikini Kill tour said a riot grrrl is... "BECAUSE in every form of media I see us/myself slapped, decapitated, laughed at, objectified, raped, trivialized, pushed, ignored, stereotyped, kicked, scorned, molested, silenced, invalidated, knifed, shot, choked, and killed. ... BECAUSE a safe space needs to be created for girls where we can open our eyes and reach out to each other without being threatened by this sexist society and our day to day bullshit. ... BECAUSE we girls want to create mediums that speak to US. We are tired of boy band after boy band, boy zine after boy zine, boy punk after boy punk after boy. BECAUSE I am tired of these things happening to me; I'm not a fuck toy. I'm not a punching bag. I'm not a joke." Nothing can explain it better than that quote, so I'm not going to try. Seriously look into the movement, it's pretty badass, and they put up with a lot of shit to get the message across. During their prime, they put out five albums from 1991 to 1998. Then when the group broke up, the members all did their own thing, with all kinds of other bands and side projects. Right now the group technically is back, but they've said there are no plans to make any new music, so now it's just touring, but hopefully this will be a better and safer experience touring for them now than it used to be. In any case I wish them well, and I really hope you guys look up the history of the riot grrrl movement. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 303

Morning! Today's song is And So It Went by The Pretty Reckless.

Photo by: Samuel J. Rodrigues

The Pretty Reckless is a rock band active since 2009 and made up of Taylor Momsen, Jamie Perkins, Ben Phillips, and Mark Damon. Past members also include Nick Carbone, Matt Chiarelli, and John Secolo. They have four albums so far, from 2010, 2014, 2016, and 2021. This is one of their newest songs, released this year and is influenced by the social atmosphere of civil unrest that's been evident ... well kind of everywhere, but in a very extreme manner in the states lately. This is a band I've featured before, and I really like it. I've gotten used to Momsen being the lead and it doesn't freak me out quite so much anymore knowing her as the wholesome child of Christmas. I appreciate that she was able to go out and make the music that speaks to her, and not get stuck in the poppy trap that a lot of other actor turned musician people get stuck in. So props to her for that. Check it out and I really hope you guys enjoy. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 302

Morning! Today's song is Agoraphobic by CORPSE.

I know I know, I'm sure everyone already knows Corpse now, but I'm doing this anyway. So Corpse is an American singer, but he started out as a YouTuber in 2015 who would narrate horror stories on his channel. Recently he's started doing gaming streams of Among Us, which is how I found him because he plays with Jacksepticeye. He started in the music scene in 2016 after being featured on a song by The Living Tombstone & Crusher P, then in 2020 started releasing his own music. His voice is so low because of health issues that have messed up his esophagus and thoracic nerves which has got to be horribly painful and I really wish there was a way to help him. He also never shows his face, and instead is known by his avatar. I've mentioned it before so you guys know how I feel about people who don't want to show their face, i.e. they have their reasons so leave them the hell alone and respect their wishes. Corpse's music is really intense, and usually isn't something that I would listen to. At certain times I can rock to it, but usually I listen to upbeat stuff to try and snap out of my funk. I still wanted to feature him though, he just seems really awesome. So when I saw that he had a song called agoraphobic I knew it was going to be that one I showcased, because I seriously can relate. See I am agoraphobic, have been told that by a therapist, so I am in sync with the never going out, and the paranoia when you do. It's ridiculously hard to exist and be calm when you have agoraphobia. Imagine it like a soldier whose head is constantly on a swivel looking for danger, but with agoraphobia on every swivel your anxiety also kicks up another notch until you're on the verge of a full blown attack. Not fun. My family of course always thought I was insane and could never understand why I would suddenly snap at them like I was on edge, or just walk out to go wait in the car with my headphones blasting. Everyone has their own version of a coping mechanism and mine was my music... probably why I'm still writing this blog after so long. Anyway if you are one of the few that haven't checked out Corpse I really recommend you do. Whether it's the music, the gaming, or the stories, I'm sure you'll find something that you'll love. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 301

Morning! Today's song is Youth of The Nation by P.O.D.

P.O.D. stands for Payable on Death, a Christian band active since 1992 and currently made up of Wuv Bernardo, Sonny Sandoval, Traa Daniels, and Marcos Curiel. Past members also include Jason Truby and Gabe Portillo. They started with the name Eschatos, playing Metallica and Slayer covers at parties. Eventually they changed the name and was signed to Rescue Records, which was created by Bernardo's father. They released three albums with that label, but the father knew they were destined for greater and started to shop for a bigger label. They signed with Atlantic and released an EP as a transition album during the change. Over their career, they've released eleven albums total, with the most recent from 2018. I could go into detail of their career, but I want to focus on the song and its message right now. It's so important, and I think anyone living in North America feels this on a very personal level, but it's true for everywhere. The first time I ever heard this song was when I was in school, and it hit me just as hard then as it does when I hear it now. The inspiration for the song comes from the band being delayed on the way to the studio by what turned out to be a shooting at Santana High School in 2001. Unfortunately that was not in any way the last shooting that happened. I'm grateful I never had to experience that when I was in school, but we did have some of our own scary close calls which made me glad for all the drills we did. There's not much I can say that is better than the song so just sit and actively listen to this one. It's worth it. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 300

Morning! Today's song is Sad Story by Merk & Kremont.

Photo by: Tadeáš Bednarz

So this is an Italian DJ duo active since 2011 and made up of Federico Mercuri and Giordano Cremona. They put out their first successful track in 2013 and have been consistently releasing singles since then. They started appearing on the DJ Mag lists in 2014, consistently each year making their top 150 lists and have toured in support of some pretty big names in the genre. There's not a lot of information about them, and they are still not very well known in comparison to some other DJ's, but they do have the talent to have mainstream popularity so I hope you give them a chance.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 299

Morning! Today's song is Carried Away by Passion Pit.

Photo by: Nan Palmero

This is a song the I really truly wished I had shown you before now because the people the video reminded me of have now kind of ruined it forever for me. That's the problem with associating certain music with people that end up disappointing you...then that music disappoints you too. But hopefully you guys will still enjoy it. So Passion Pit has been around since 2007, and was made up of Michael Angelakos, Ian Hultquist, Ayad Al Adhamy, Thom Plasse, and Adam Levinsky. Currently though only Michael is still listed as a band member. I'm just going to  refer to the band as a whole because I think the others count as live musicians and I don't know when and how their classified specifically so...yeah Passion Pit in general. So the band has released four albums with the most recent released in 2017, although there has been at least one single since then and a tour so I'm sure we'll see more. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 298

Morning! Today's song is Sing by Ed Sheeran. 

Photo by: Harald Krichel

I featured enough Ed Sheeran that you should know him by now, so I'm not writing about him today. Instead I'm going to explain if I suddenly disappear. My computer is started into the final stages of dying now, which means it's started to spontaneously crash and soon it's just not gonna turn back on. And I don't have another computer so I'm trying to write out and finish this year's posts before that happens, but if I don't you guys might just be out of luck. I'm also trying to decide what to do about my computer situation. I've always had a dell, but dell has this issue where they think you're computer isn't too hot unless it's physically unable to turn on from the heat, so I think I'm done with the fire hazard that is dell computers. So I was thinking of finally getting a desktop (because I've always been a laptop person) and building my own. Well trying to build a computer right now is basically impossible. The parts were out of stick for so long and the prices are still way inflated so I think I need to wait for that to level out...in like a year and a half. I don't think my computer will last that long. So I was thinking of a tablet for now, so I can still do stuff and still be mobile, then build a desktop later for my more strenuous use. That's where I've landed thus far today... but we'll see. I hate buying tech because I'm really picky about it so it'll take me awhile to get the set up I like. But anyway, hopefully I can finish the year out, then take a longer break than I did last time so I can sort my stuff out. Wish me luck.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 297

Morning! Today's song is Enough Is Enough by April Wine.

Photo from: Tabercil

I figured I'd clean out my 80's section on my paper. My very disorganized genre sheet that has thing that could be in a bunch of the categories, but oddly enough it has helped my brain and made me get posted some of the songs I would have forgotten about. Including this one which I grew up listening to and yet it disappears from my brain if I'm not actively listening to it. So April wine is a Nova Scotian band active from 1969 until 1986, and then again since 1992. Currently the members include Myles Goodwyn, Brian Greenway, Richard Lanthier, and Roy Nichol. There are also a bunch of past members that I'm not going to include here because the list is pretty long. The group started with the Henman brothers David and Ritchie, their cousin Jim Henman, and Goodwyn. They sent a demo out, but mistook the rejection letter for an invitation, but it led to them getting signed anyway so it worked out. They released eleven albums before the band kind of fizzled out, but they were still contractually bound to have another one, so Goodwyn and Greenway got together to release their twelfth album in 1986. After that they both did solo work, and the band was technically on hiatus. The group reunited in 1992, releasing their first new album in 1993, and has released three more since then. If you've never heard of the group you should go check them out. I know I will.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 296

Morning! Today's song is Grease by Frankie Valli.

Photo from: SolarScott

This one I wasn't sure which section to put it in, because while it's not technically a song from a musical, it was put into the movie musical for Grease as the opening number. Ultimately I didn't include it in my musical section, because it's sung by someone not in the musical cast. So Frankie Valli is Francesco Stephen Castelluccio, a singer active since 1953. So he started out in the Variety Trio, then joined a house band after they disbanded before forming a group called The Variatones. They auditioned for a record exec before changing the name to the Four Seasons and releasing their first single under the name in 1956. In the 60's, Valli started to record solo stuff as well, alongside the band, with his first solo album coming out in 1967. This song came out in 1978 and was written by Barry Gibb of the BeeGees. Valli has released a lot of music, and even had some acting credits. And to top of the Broadway musical dilemma for today for me, the musical Jersey Boys is actually based on the band Four Seasons... which is also why I didn't write much about the band, in case you wanted to check it out. So have fun with that!

Peace.

Year 7, Day 295

Morning! Today's song is I'm Walkin' by Fats Domino.

Photo by: Hugo van Gelderen

Fats Domino is Antoine Dominique Domino Jr, an American musician active from 1942 until 2017. He was born in New Orleans, and actually learned to play piano from a brother-in-law, and started playing in bars at 14. In 1947 Billy Diamond came to hear him play, and asked him to join his band. Diamond is also the one to nickname him Fats because his playing reminded him of Fats Waller and Fats Pichon. He got signed in 1949, releasing a song called The Fat Man which sold a million copies by 1951, considered the first rock and roll song to hit that milestone. He continued releasing music and touring while signed with Imperial Records, transitioning into pop and making a big name for himself. In 1963 he left the label, moving to Paramount Records, but in 1964 with the British Invasion the taste of the masses changed and his popularity started to wane. He continued recording steadily until the 70's then slowed down a bit, focusing on other things. He made some TV appearances, did more touring, and had a film cameo. In the 80's he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and received a Lifetime Achievement Award. He released his last album in 1993, going on his last tour in 1995, retiring home to New Orleans. Since then he received many more awards and achievements from all kinds of groups and organizations before passing away in 2017. I didn't go into a lot of detail on his career, but he had a good one and left us a lot of great music so I hope you check more out. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 294

Morning! Today's song is Battle Of New Orleans by Johnny Horton. 

Johnny Horton is an American singer active from 1950 until 1960. He did a couple different things before finding his calling in music when he started writing songs when he was in Alaska looking for gold. When he came back to Texas he entered a talent show and won, then decided to move to California to pursue a music career. He did some guest spots of TV and even had his own show as The Singing Fisherman, which earned him a record deal. He recorded 10 singles in the two years before that label folded. He got married, moved to Louisiana and started appearing on a country music show called Louisiana Hayride while recording for another label. He and his backup band started touring as The Singing Fisherman and the Rowley Trio, eventually changing to Johnny Horton and The Roadrunners. He ended up divorced, then got remarried in 1953 and parted ways with his backup group. His record deal ran out so he was on hiatus for a year until he got another one, switching to a more rockabilly style. In 1956 he recorded a song called Honky-Tonk Man which marks when his career started to become big with many of his hits coming in the later years including the one I'm featuring today. His career came to an abrupt end when he died in a car crash in 1960, but he is still remembered by his fans today. My knowing of him is courtesy of my grandma, he's one of her favorites, so this one is for her.

Peace.

Year 7, Day 293

Morning! Today's song is Picture Book by The Kinks.

Photo by: W. Veenman

The Kinks were an English rock band active from 1963 until 1996 with members including Ray Davies, Dave Davies, Mick Avory, Pete Quaife, John Dalton, John Gosling, Andy Pyle, Gordon Edwards, Jim Rodford, Ian Gibbons, Bob Henrit, and Mark Haley. Originally beginning as the Ray Davies Quartet with the Davies brothers, Quaife, and John Start. They started at a school dance, then moved onto playing clubs. Eventually the group changed to the name the Ramrods, although they also performed under a number of different monikers. They became the Ravens and successfully auditioned for some labels, earning a contract in 1964. They changed the name to The Kinks, and though no one agrees with how the name came about, it's the one that stayed. Over their career they released 28 albums, including their live albums. We might see more now though because it's been rumored over the lat couple of years that there could be a reunion of sorts. So I guess we'll wait and see. 

Peace.

Year 7, Day 292

Morning! Today's song is A Little Less Conversation by Elvis Presley. 

Photo from: Rossano

Since yesterday's song was a mixed track with a sample, I figured today we'd do a remixed song in completion. So while this is an Elvis Presley song from 1968, this is a remix version created in 2002 by Junkie XL, or Thomas Holkenborg, a Dutch DJ. Junkie XL has been active since 1988 and still going, with his remixes being used in commercials and pop culture. So far he's released six albums with the most recent from 2012, but lately he's been making film and video games scores for things that are still to be released. As for Elvis Presley's career, he was active from 1946 until 1977 when he passed away. Over the course of his career, he released 24 albums and was on 16 soundtrack albums. I wont go into detail about him because I think most everyone has heard of him so that's it for today.

Peace.