Blink-182 at Musink

Musink. The 8th annual music and tattoo festival was hosted by Travis Barker and featured bands like Rancid, Bad Religion and blink-182. It was a three day event lasting from March 20-22. I had the pleasure of seeing my favorite band, blink-182, at the festival for the second time that week (I also saw them at The Roxy which I blogged about in my last post). Not only did I see my favorite band, but I got my first tattoo! It's on my left wrist and it's the album art from blink's self-titled album. I was tattooed by Baba from Vintage Tattoo who did an amazing job. I'm truly in love with how it looks. How many people can say they got a blink tattoo at a festival that blink played at?

Let's make this last forever

The setlist for Musink was very similar to the setlists from the previous shows that week in Hollywood and San Diego. Restrained by a strict hour and fifteen minute stage time, blink played fast without making the night seemed rushed. Mark sported a bass named the "Bassola" which was designed by Greg "Craola" Simkins and is currently being auctioned off here to raise money for cystic fibrosis. Travis played on a tall platform for everyone inside The Hangar to admire. Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio filled in for Tom DeLonge, and while he added his own character to the band that people weren't used to, he helped make the night special to everyone who attended.

That night was Travis Barker's night. He hosted this entire festival which was filled with everything he loved: punk music, tattoos and old cars. Travis began his night by playing a 45 minute set with Yelawolf, a rapper from Alabama and close friend of Travis'. He then continued to play flawlessly for a little over an hour with blink-182. Seeing Travis play in person cannot be compared to anything else. It's easy to get lost in watching his technique and admiring his focus. It's great to see his kids air drum beside him and cheer him on.

The biggest question everyone was asking was how would Matt Skiba do filling in for Tom? He did amazing, and he did amazing for many reasons. One of the most important reasons, that I also mentioned in my review of the show at The Roxy, is that Matt did not try to be or act like he was replacing Tom. His voice was louder than it was at The Roxy and stronger than at both warm up shows. It was great to notice and visibly see him become more comfortable on stage. Since he is already a popular musician in his own band, he has his own way of performing on stage that he brought to blink. His vocal and guitar sound were neat and professional, but it was also obvious that he was having fun. The crowd gave him a warm welcome with a Skiba chant that made me happy, so I can only imagine what it made Matt feel. As I also mentioned before, there were many people sporting the Famous/Matt Skiba collab shirt that said "Who the fuck is Matt Skiba?" across the front. Some performers from the previous night were also wearing it! There was no awkwardness or tension with Matt being on stage because he put on an amazing, memorable show and that is all a fan could ask for.

Blink-182 are definitely at their best when they have big stage. I'm not saying they are bad at a small stage like at The Roxy, but they definitely seem to have more fun since they have more space to run around. Alright, I'm mostly just talking about Mark. He was all over the place that night, but it was great because the amount of fun he was having was could be seen on his face and how he played. Matt moved more than he did at the two previous shows which added even more energy to the stage.

Just as in the warm up shows, they played "Happy Holidays, You Bastard" with the lights off. I was so stunned by just how fast they played. Their strict time limit caused them to play a lot of the songs faster, but like I said, it never felt very rushed. They cut out both "Hearts All Gone" and "M & M's," but they did an impressive total of 22 songs. The songs that really stood out from all the others were "Always," "Dysentery Gary" and "Man Overboard."

I noticed at The Roxy that Matt added his own little touches to "Always," but they were even more noticeable at Musink. This is one of the songs that Matt impressed me the most. Matt also made the guitar at the end of "First Date" sound differently from what I'm used to. I'm not sure if it was how the song was supposed to be played or if it was just how Matt played it. Something that I have seen a lot of people say and I agree with is that one of the best things about Matt's performance is that we were actually able to hear what he was saying compared to when Tom performs live. So maybe that's why the guitar may sound different/clearer, because Matt takes the time to play it has accurately as it is supposed to sound. I know that Tom has the capability of playing like that, but it seems that over the years he doesn't put as much focus into how he performs. Following "First Date," Mark handed the mic to Travis who said hey to Musink. Travis is a man of many words.

In Mark's podcast where he interviewed Matt, Matt said that his favorite song to rehearse was "Dysentery Gary" and I don't think I have to guess why that is. The guitar in that song must be a fun challenge for any guitarist to learn and the song mostly features Tom's vocals. It's also quicker than most blink songs which makes it a great song to keep the audience and band energized.

Photo by Erik Voake

Blink skipped over the whole "okay this is our last song, just kidding, we have two more songs" trick in order to save time and be able to play their entire set. "Man Overboard" was a tough song to hear just like it was at The Roxy. It applies so well to the drama happening with Tom at the moment. Of course I missed seeing Tom on stage, but I'm not going to lie and say that Matt did a bad job like a lot of people are trying to convince themselves. Matt was without a doubt impressive on stage and he helped Mark and Travis put on an incredible show. All I know for sure is that I don't want blink to stop performing and touring, but I also want everyone to be happy with where they are.

It was obvious that something was wrong with Matt's guitar as they started "Reckless Abandon," and Mark even poked fun at it in the beginning of the song. However, Matt still played without pause even though his guitar was out of tune. He eventually switched out guitars near the end of the song, but I still find it fun to watch how bands handle little difficulties like that.

Blink ended the night with an encore, performing "Violence," "Dammit" and "Family Reunion." The confetti rained down on all the fans and Mark shouted "See you all next time!" Their energy never wavered throughout the entire night and it made me unbelievably happy to see all of them perform with such passion and smiles on their faces. I hope there will be many, many, many blink shows to follow this one.

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I'm still in shock that I was able to see these guys perform twice in less than one week. It's also very possible and most likely that Musink was Matt's final show filling in for Tom. The fans are left with many questions of what's next, but there hasn't been any concrete answers. In an interview at Musink, Travis said that blink wanted to record another album and there is a chance that they will go on tour with A Day To Remember who opened up for them during their warm up shows.

My blink tattoo :)

Matt Skiba will release his album "Kuts" under his band Matt Skiba and The Sekrets. In his interview with Mark, he talked about how Alkaline will be performing every single one of their eight studio albums in concert. They'll be touring starting at the end of April in cities like Cleveland, Boston, San Francisco, Santa Ana and other places then continue to do some shows in the UK during this summer. After seeing Matt live twice, I've been listening to a lot of Alkaline lately and they are a really talented band. I definitely suggest checking them out, especially their latest album "My Shame is True" and the album "From Here To Infirmary."

I'm going to wait for some definite blink news to be released, and then make a post about the recent drama and what may lay ahead.


Until next time,
Nikole

Blink-182 @ The Roxy

Six days ago. It has been six days since I attended the best concert of my entire life. I'm not even sure if I want to get into describing what an incredible show this was because there is no way I will do it justice. I'm going to try my best though...

On the morning of Monday, March 16, blink-182 surprised fans with news of a warm-up show to their warm-up show. Their announcement was that blink with Matt Skiba (better known for being in Alkaline Trio) filling in for guitarist/vocalist Tom Delonge are scheduled to play at West Hollywood's The Roxy. The Roxy is a small nightclub with a max capacity of 500 people. Long story short, I struggled and struggled until I somehow managed to get my hands on two tickets. I already planned to see my favorite band in the entire world at the Musink festival on the following Sunday and I had failed to get tickets for the San Diego show set for Friday. Now, my dad and I both owned two tickets to see the legendary blink-182 at a small nightclub.

My dad and I got to the venue a couple hours before the doors were supposed to open. I was speechless looking at just how small of a venue this was. The fact that I was going to see the world-famous blink-182 at this small place. The only merch was a blink shirt and poster that were drawn by artists specifically for this event. There was also another shirt that was a Famous brand/Matt Skiba collab that said across the front "Who the fuck is Matt Skiba?" It's great that the guys didn't have to be so serious and got to poke some fun at the situation.

A Day To Remember opened for blink-182 and there were quite a few times that I questioned my safety. It's hard to suffer through a very cramped space and people pushing you when you can't even sing along to the music you're hearing. They put on a good show, and the crowd's behavior was just as I expected. I'm sorry I'm going to skip over a review of ADTR's set, but I'm not too familiar with the band.

At around 9 p.m., the curtains were drawn and blink started to set up. There was only one person separating me and the stage (which by the way, was not blocked by any barricades - people were actually allowed to lean against the stage). I was right in front of Mark Hoppus's mic stand, literally less than a foot away from where he would soon be standing. 45 minutes later, the curtains were pulled back and the next two hours will continue to be one of the best experiences of my entire life...

Get ready for action.

Blink began the night with a song from their self-titled album, "Feeling This." I was surprised at first that they chose this to open with because it is so heavy with Tom's vocals so Matt was put to the test right away. The crowd mostly sung loud and strong during Tom's parts, but I was still able to hear Matt and I was impressed. He wasn't too loud, but I could tell that he felt comfortable on stage which was really important. His voice took on a little bit of Tom's recognizable and unique accent that he has when he sings. Mark had the energy of a teenager (despite being in his early 40s) and Travis banged those drums with so much noticeable focus and passion. I spend a lot of my time watching and rewatching blink performances on YouTube, and I'm telling you, after just hearing and seeing one song, this band had more energy than they have had in years.




After the third song, "The Rock Show," was one of my favorite parts. Mark introduces Matt to the crowd by calling him our "new mom," which Matt replies with "Hi, kids!" It was the first piece of dialogue in the night, even though it was short. I was hesitant about having Matt fill in for Tom, but seeing the energy he shared with Mark and Travis made me like him right away. Mark was already calling him our new mom!? There was very little dialogue in the show compared to every single other blink show, but it was understandable. It's difficult to recreate the kind of potty humor banter than Mark and Tom shared on stage.




Mark was extremely interactive with the crowd. He would lean into the sea of people and occasionally toss out a bass pick. After over 20 years of performing, Hoppus hasn't lost his hops. Mark would skip over to Matt's side of the stage and then hop back over to his, then sometimes he would stand on the raised platform where Travis was rocking out. The first time I saw blink was in 2011 for the Honda Civic Tour, and there is such a huge difference with seeing a musician be himself from a giant screen and seeing him right before your very eyes, barely a foot away from where you're standing. There wasn't a single moment when Mark didn't have this huge cheesy grin on his face. I can see why they didn't perform some of the sad, serious songs like "Adam's Song" and "Stay Together For The Kids" because they were genuinely having too much fun to be serious. With every move that they made, it was obvious that they were so ecstatic to be in front of a crowd and not in the rehearsal room.

The band played one song from Cheshire Cat, one song from Dude Ranch, four songs from Take Off Your Pants And Jacket, seven songs from Enema of the State, seven songs from Self-Titled and two songs from Neighborhoods. That's a total of 24 songs!! For the first time in over a decade, they performed "Wendy Clear" from Enema. It starts off with a great guitar riff and opens with vocals from Mark. Despite not playing the song for such a long time, they made performing the song look effortless, like it was second-nature to all of them. Major kudos to Matt because he admitted that he had to relearn the guitar in order to learn the songs for blink. A few songs before this one, the band played a song in the dark. It's one of the classic blink humor songs that every fan knows the words to. I'm talking about "Happy Holidays, You Bastard." I was surprised because not only did they play the song in the dark, but they played the song fast (despite there being only three chords in the song, it is still impressive).


Two of my favorite drumming songs were also played that night: "Always" and "Heart's All Gone." I absolutely have no clue how Travis does what he does. "He's a bad boy, but he's got a heart of gold," Mark told the crowd right before Travis began "Always." This song is really heavy with Tom vocals, but Matt did not disappoint. It was already noticeable that he was getting more comfortable with being on stage. He started to move around a bit, and the most important detail I loved about his performance was that he was not trying to be Tom. He didn't act like Tom (although his vocals contained some of that unique accent, but how do you sing a blink song without Tom's accent?). Matt even added some original harmonizing towards the end of the song which I thought was a nice touch. "Heart's All Gone" is an even more fantastic song to see what a beast Travis is. I didn't realize how special at the time it was to watch because it turns out that they only played this song for The Roxy. I couldn't take my eyes off him for the entire song. It blows my mind just how incredibly talented he is.


Watching them perform "Man Overboard" created a feeling like none of the other songs did. It's crazy to think about how Mark and Tom originally wrote this song for their first drummer, Scott Raynor, and it's weird to think how accurately it fits for Tom now. I'm going to save my opinion and a recap of the drama for another post, but I thought I would just include this now.


After performing "Reckless Abandon," the trio left for a short time while the crowd chanted "encore, encore, encore!" The came back to play two more songs, "Carousel" and "Dammit." By then the crowd was going absolutely crazy and people were crowd surfing left and right (and sometimes right above me). Their actual final song was "Family Reunion" which is another classic blink humor song that was responsible for teaching me every swear word and how to sing them (it's a detail that I know would make blink proud)! Confetti rained down over the crowd and the band and then they wished us a good night and left the stage. In a blink (ha-ha) of an eye, the show was over and it was time to go home. All I can say now is that I am truly honored to have been a part of that very small crowd that night and witness blink-182 featuring the wonderful Matt Skiba performing in a club.


In a small recap, I couldn't have imagined a better show. Blink performed songs that they haven't performed in years and they performed with such passionate energy that reminded me of why I love this band so much. I know that Tom wasn't there and now the fans are all asking "What's going to happen next??" but for the time being, it was great to see Matt take on the role and help his friends out. There might not have been a show without him. So thank you, Mark, Travis, and Matt for making the night of March 18 one of the best concerts ever.



Well, I guess this is growing up. 


Side note, I got to wave hello to the boys from 5 Seconds of Summer and meet Josh Dunn from twenty one pilots that night. It was no surprise that the club was crawling with famous musicians and celebrities. Basically, I was in a room that also held so many of my favorite people on this earth and I couldn't be happier.

I felt like that recap was all over the place, but I could honestly talk for hours and hours about that show so I wasn't sure where to start and where to end. If you didn't already know, I also attended the Musink festival and saw blink perform there on Sunday night. I'll be writing a post about that probably tomorrow. I also want to write an updated post about all the blink drama that has happened since January 26 so stay tuned for that as well.

Blink-182 is my favorite band in the entire world so I hope you enjoyed my wordy (and unorganized?) review. After this show, I actually slipped into a bit of a Tom depression. I've always been a huge huge fan of his and to not see him on stage that night was crushing. However, Matt was terrific and he grew on me pretty quickly.

Check out my instagram and twitter for more pictures of the show.


Until next time,
Nikole


P.S. I changed the url for my blog. It was previously givemeonegoodtune, but now it is himynameisnikole. I hope that isn't too confusing. :)

Pot of Gold Festival: Bleachers, Awolnation, Bastille, Fall Out Boy

This weekend I had the great pleasure of attending two of the days of the Pot of Gold Music Festival. The major acts I saw included Bleachers, Awolnation, Bastille, and Fall Out Boy. I also got to see Girl Talk, Chromeo and Milky Chance on the side stage. Festivals are one of my all time favorite events. Despite the fact that the artists are limited to a short set, the vibe and energy of a music festival is so unique.



BLEACHERS
I was so psyched to see this band. I grew up as a huge fan of fun., and considering that the lead singer/songwriter of Bleachers is also the lead guitarist of fun. made me instantly interested in the band. They're most well known for their songs "I Wanna Get Better" and "Rollercoaster" which are often played on the radio. One of my favorite things about loving a band is that you can almost guarantee that they will be even better live! (So if you ever get the chance to see one of your favorite bands live, never pass up the opportunity.)

The show started off kind of slow, but it only kept getting better and better. The band's stage set up really stands out compared to other bands. They have two drummers, two keyboardists, saxophone player, a bassist, guitarist, and lead singer; yet, there are only five members of the band. Jack Antonoff, lead singer/songwriter/guitarist, has an incredible amount of energy on stage. Even with some of the technical difficulties that occurred, his energy never wavered. I find that one of the best ways to find what the chemistry of a band is like is by watching how they introduce themselves, if they do it at all (I can talk for a long time about this, but I won't get into now). Jack introduced every member which was followed by them doing a wicked solo. The band spends a lot of time of just instrumental stuff, which I'm usually not a huge fan of, but they totally pulled it off.

Closer to the end of the show was possibly the best part of the whole night. During "You're Still A Mystery," the saxophone made an appearance and wow'ed the crowd. The saxophonist was beyond talented - he strutted around the stage and had everyone's eyes on him with some help from Jack shouting "The louder you yell, the harder he blows!" The saxophone solo was followed by a guitar vs. saxophone show down. The guitar would play something, then the saxophone would repeat it exactly and it was absolutely amazing!

Bleachers closed their set with "I Wanna Get Better" which is a song that I could never stop loving, despite how many times it is played on the radio. It was a great way to end the show, and they really seem to pour their heart and soul into the song.


AWOLNATION
I thought that Awolnation was a completely different band before I saw them live. I knew their song "Sail" (who doesn't?) and I guess I made this assumption in my head of what kind of band they are, but, wow, was I wrong. They are a lot BETTER than I had assumed. Actually, I have been listening to this band on repeat all weekend because they sound so good. Most of their songs are filled with really dark themes, but the vocals and beat draws you in to listen to more. It took me by surprise on Friday night when Aaron Bruno, the lead singer, screams the lyrics to almost every one of his songs. Don't get me wrong, it isn't all screaming. But when he did break out like that, to see him casually lean into the mic, hands in pockets, I has amazed that that sound was coming from him, a 36-year-old quiet kind of guy. Add that to his awesome dancing moves and it was an interesting combo, but a combo that keeps your eyes glued to the stage.


While their sound was completely on point and blew me away, I'm disappointed when bands don't make that much conversation with the crowd (even though it's usually the same kind of stuff). However, Aaron did say a really nice speech about music, pointing out that everyone in the crowd were there for the same reason - to enjoy the music and have a good time. That is possibly may favorite thing about going to shows and is probably the reason why I feel the most comfortable at concerts. Every single person is there to listen to the band on stage and enjoy themselves. The speech was followed by a song where Aaron requested everyone to put their arms around the person next the them, and before you know it, the whole crowd was swaying (I believe it was to the song "Jump on My Shoulders").


Awolnation performed some songs from their new album, "Run," that is set to be released tomorrow, March 17. If the album is anything like the songs they played, then I'll be very happy. I suggest checking out the songs "Hollow Moon" and "Kill Your Heroes" if you have never heard this band before (besides "Sail").


BASTILLE
If you haven't heard of these guys before, you are probably at least familiar with their song "Pompeii." Well, these four English guys put on a hell of a good show. Equipped with humor, seriousness, interaction with the crowd, and great music, Bastille has everything you could ask for. Between almost every song, Dan Smith thanks the crowd and is extremely polite and humble, especially considering that the band has been nominated for two American Music Awards, a Billboard Award, and two Grammy Awards. Dan Smith is mostly a vocalist, but he does have two little drums set on each side of the stage that he goes to from time to time. Being a front man is usually a hit or miss. For Dan, it is definitely a hit. He was born to do this and the audience can tell this by how comfortable he was on stage and his entertaining dancing.

Performing most of the songs from "Bad Blood" album, they also included the song "The Driver" from BBC1's rescoring of the movie Drive and a cover of TLC's "No Scrubs." One of the best moments of their set was when they played the song "Overjoyed" which was a cue for everyone to hold up triangle paper cut outs. The act was designed by some fans and the triangles were passed out to people before Bastille walked on stage. You could tell that they were all taken for surprise, Dan whispered "wow" into the mic and they all had to take pics of the crowd after the song. I love when the crowd can do something that amazes the artist.

During "Flaws" another special thing happened where Dan jumped off stage and then continued to walk through and around the perimeter of the crowd. I expected him to stay behind the barrier that separated the stage and fans, but that wasn't enough for Dan. As he walked over to my side of the crowd, I actually got to shake his hand! This was such a great way to interact with the crowd.


FALL OUT BOY
Fall Out Boy performed on Sunday night while the previous bands I talked about played on Friday. I signed up to volunteer on Sunday, and that was how I got a free ticket for Friday. I signed up to work at a station where I knew I could have a clear view of the stage, but that didn't happened. I ended up having to work in parking where I couldn't see the band whatsoever and the sound was okay. While that was a huge bummer, I'm still happy that I got to hear most of their set. Then, I was released early from my shift and got to catch the last 30ish minutes of Fall Out Boy's set and that made the night 10000x better.

I got to witness a lot of great songs, including quite a few songs from their latest album "American Beauty / American Psycho." Hearing those songs live made me love the album even more. I wish I got to see the crowd react to them playing "Uma Thurman" since that song is such a hit, but I did get to see other fan favorites. "Young Volcanoes" was made more interactive by having the crowd help Patrick sing the beginning of the song. They ended night with "Saturday" which never fails to impress me when Pete ditches his bass to scream into the mic instead.

I had the amazing opportunity to see FOB live last August so I had an idea of what to expect and in no way do they disappoint. Pete is really chatty with the crowd, and the fans love it when he gets shy Patrick to chat with them. Their guitarist, Joe Trohman, didn't play that night due to recovering from surgery. That inconvenience didn't stop the rest of the band from putting on an amazing and unforgettable show. However, I have to mention how different it is seeing a band during their tour and at a festival. That extra hour that they don't get to play at a festival makes a difference.


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The crowd at Pot Of Gold on
Friday night during Chromeo's
show.

Pot of Gold was a huge success. Tempe Beach Park came the closest it has ever been to selling out on Saturday night with Kendrick Lamar as the headline. This weekend was a great way to begin Spring Break. Tomorrow morning I leave for California for the next week! And today something very incredible and magical and amazing happened - I GOT TICKETS TO SEE BLINK 182 ON WEDNESDAY AT THE ROXY IN HOLLYWOOD. I have never in my life been so excited to see a show. I've been buzzing all day long. To be honest, I'm surprised I sat still long enough to write this post. The Roxy is a nightclub that holds 500 people. And blink are playing there. And I will see them. I can't believe this is real. I will also see blink on Sunday night at the Musink festival that Travis Barker is hosting. These next few days are going to be - I don't have a word strong enough to describe how awesome it is going to be. (*When I say blink-182, I mean blink-182 ft. Matt Skiba)


On a side note, because I was at the festival last night, I didn't do my weekly Sunday's Seven Songs. I also won't be able to do it next Sunday because I will be at the blink show. Not like that many people follow my blog, but I thought I would just mention that I haven't forgotten about it!

Looks like the next time I will blog will be after I see blink. Wow. What a thought.


Until then,
Nikole

Sunday's Seven Songs (March 8)

Welcome to another week of Sunday's Seven Songs! Tonight concludes my last weekend before a series of very busy, but very fun weeks and weekends ahead. Next week is the Pot of Gold Festival! On Friday there will be bands like Bleachers, Awolnation and Bastille. Saturday will be hosted by bands like Hoodie Allen, Kongos and Kendrick Lamar. Sunday will feature New Politics, Echosmith, and one of my (many) favorite bands, Fall Out Boy!! Tuesday will wrap up the festival with bands like Korn and Godsmack. I am planning on volunteering on Saturday and Sunday, and I am crossing my fingers that I will also be there on Friday. On Monday, I leave for California during Spring Break. The day I have been looking forward most to is just two weeks away from tonight. Blink 182 featuring Matt Skiba will take the stage at Musink Festival and I am one of the incredibly lucky and fortunate people who get to see them. Then in April I will be attending the American Candy Tour (The Maine, Real Friends, Knuckle Puck, The Technicolors), FestivALTAZ (Panic! at the Disco, Death Cab for Cutie), the Chipotle Festival (twenty one pilots), and Matt & Kim's show. So unbelievable. I love having this much to look forward to.

We have more than just concerts coming up in the next few weeks. Tom Delonge will release his first song from his new album tomorrow. All Time Low are releasing the second single from their new album tomorrow. The Maine are releasing their second single from their new album on Tuesday. Sleeping with Sirens are releasing a new song from their new album everyday until their album is released on March 17. The Technicolors announced they have a new single coming out this month. Can you believe all that new music headed our way??? I can't express how excited I am.

On a side note, Travis Barker did an interview with Alternative Nation where he talked about music, the Musink festival and performing with Matt Skiba, and a comment on Tom Delonge. While what I took out of the interview was that this concert at Musink is going to be absolutely incredible, every headline that I have read makes it look like Travis is talking trash about Tom which is not true. I know it's a catchy headline, but a headline like "Travis Barker Announces That This Is The Best Blink Has Ever Sounded" would have equally caught my attention.

Alright, I'll get started with the seven songs now:

1) All of the Stars by Ed Sheeran
This song is taken from the soundtrack from The Fault in Our Stars. Ed Sheeran has such an unique voice that could not be compared to anything else. I love how this song is just the piano and his voice, for the most part. The other instruments and soft and don't overshadow the vocals and piano. The soundtrack for this movie is so wonderfully put together. Everything from loving to sad to Swedish rap.

2) Wait by M83
This song also comes out of The Fault in Our Stars. I've kind of been obsessing over this song today. I love when a song is so calming that you don't really need to pay attention to appreciate it. It's fulfilling whether you listen to every word or if you just keep it on as background music. The vocals are easy to listen to and they also have a powerful effect that I can't exactly find the words to describe. It's that song that you want to play when you're out on a late night drive, trying not to think of anything.

3) Chocolate by The 1975
This is the song everyone knows by this group. It's popular for a reason. It's catchy and simple so why wouldn't everyone love it. I can still picture the band performing this song last November. The way the lights bounced off the smoke in the arena. Such an easy and creative effective, but I've never heard of anyone doing it quite like them.

4) This is Gospel (Piano version) by Panic! at the Disco
This is easily one of my favorite P!ATD songs. The piano version blows away anything I have heard by them. Brendon Urie's voice is one of the most talented and smooth and beautiful voices ever. Just click on the link in the song title and tell me I'm wrong. He's a natural performer. The music video took something that was simple and elegant and made it fun and messy which I totally enjoyed. I can't wait to see this band next month!

5) Asleep by The Smiths
This song comes from The Perks of Being a Wallflower - both the book and the movie. The song took on a new meaning for me after I read the book that's a little hard to explain. As the title suggests, it's the perfect song to fall asleep to. Morrissey will always and forever be a legend in the music world.

6) Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol
This song is probably in a lot of films, but none come to mind at the moment. I was listening to a really well put together playlist on 8tracks and this song was on it. I feel like this is one of those songs where you know all the words, but you aren't really sure where you learned it from. It goes along with the theme of the rest of the songs though - really mellow, soft, something to relax to.

7) LA Girl by The Janoskians
This song does not whatsoever fit with the themes of the other songs. If you've never heard of them, The Janoskians are a group of five Australian guys who are best known for their dumb pranks they film and upload to YouTube. They've ventured a little bit into the music industry and their sound is nothing really serious, but almost solely to make someone laugh. I picked this song because I love the vocals the best in this one. All five guys take turns singing, however I promise they are nothing like One Direction if that's what you started to think. Anyways, they had an EP come out on March 2 and it's pretty good. I just thought that I would bring it up.

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That concluded this week's list of seven songs. I'm really looking forward to concerts and new music so I have something different to blog about (not that I don't love this weekly blog).


Until next time,
Nikole xx

Sunday's Seven Songs (March 1)

Today's weather is absolutely perfect, despite the clouds taunting me with no rain. The day's not over yet so I'm still crossing my fingers for a storm.

Changing subjects, Tom Delonge announced more information on his new album - "Demos, Odds and Ends." The album is set to be released on April 21. I was disappointed because he kept talking about March 1 so I thought the album was going to be released today. There are a few snippets in the video introducing the album and the sound seems really promising. I don't know how I couldn't love it though. The only thing that makes it less great is that it is neither Blink 182 nor Angels & Airwaves (however, it is AvA's label). Tom kind of led people on to believe that the album would be streamed so he got a spew of negative comments from people saying that they refuse to "give him anymore money" and stuff like that. I never considered him streaming the album since he is so adamantly against the idea of streaming. The first song from the album is supposed to be available on March 9, followed by a second song on March 23, a third song on April 6, then the full album on April 21. For more information on the album, go to tomdelonge.me .

After weeks of Netflix binging, I was able to catch up to the finale of Parks and Recreation. I can definitely say that it is one of the best shows I have seen. There was never a lull in the plot and it makes you laugh at the dumbest things at times. I can't imagine a better finale for the show - every loose end was tied up and you were left not needing any more. I will miss Pawnee and the awesome people in the Parks department. Since finishing the show, I've decided to try to cut back on Netflix (gasp). Instead, I decided to start reading again. AP Lit has caused me to sort of resent reading because I am not fond of the selections, so I decided I'm just going to make some time to read what I want to. I finally finished The Maze Runner and, while it had it's slow parts, it was a great story with an ending that made you wanting more (thankfully, there is a sequel). Next, I decided to start reading the Divergent series. I got hooked the second I started reading. I finished the first book, all 500ish pages, in three or four days. Now I'm on the second installment of the series, Insurgent, which is supposed to come out in theaters this month.

On a side note, I've also been listening to Jack and Alex's (of All Time Low) podcast, "Full Frontal." I am not a big podcast listener because it usually can't keep my attention. Jack and Alex are hilarious though. My favorite parts of their episodes are when they talk about what they are doing on tour and their music segment. It's great to listen to how much music means to them and their takes on different artists.

Okay, I know this is a longer intro than usual, but I felt like talking about what's been going on. Instead of listing seven songs that I have listened to this week, I am putting my music library on shuffle and listing the first seven songs that appear.



1) Enthused by Blink 182
This song comes from Blink's "Dude Ranch" album that debuted in 1997. Eighteen years old. This album captures so much of what early Blink was - three kids just out of high school, playing music and having fun. It shows the stupid humor that surrounded the band. At this time, Scott Raynor (not Travis Barker) was on drums. Most of the songs, like Enthused, are pretty short and emphasized with loud guitar riffs and Tom's unique vocals. The most well known songs to come out of this album are Pathetic, Dammit, and Josie (one of my favorite songs).

2) Listener (Acoustic) by The Technicolors
Only about a month left until I see these guys open for The Maine! The acoustic version of this song, which is also the title of the album, makes me crave rain even more. It's the kind of music that makes me want to go to a coffee shop, watch the rain, and read or something else that's pretty laid back. The vocals are simple and quiet for the most part, giving the song almost a lullaby quality.

3) Drunk (Cover) by 5 Seconds of Summer
Even though they are a huge band now (currently performing to giant crowds all the way in Japan), I have every one of their covers still on my phone. It's a nice reminder that they went from doing small covers of their favorite artists to selling out arenas (and also getting recognized by those same artists years later). This particular cover is by Calum Hood, and I almost forgot how much his voice has improved (even though it was still great then) and how much confidence he has gained since recording this.

4) American Idiot (Live Cover) by 5 Seconds of Summer
I am not even surprised that 5SOS came up twice. This is without a doubt my favorite cover from them. It captures the real sound that they are meant for (and hopefully the sound that they are leaning towards in their next album). Even though their covers of What I Like About You and Teenage Dream were great songs for a live performance, their cover of American Idiot just seems to fit so much better. Maybe that's because Green Day were the ones to really invent pop punk. They sound like they are having the time of their lives during this live cover. I still can't believe I got to see them perform it live back in November.

5) That Girl by All Time Low
It seems like people either love or hate "Dirty Work." I have seen comments leaning both ways, but never in the middle. I am definitely one of the people who loves it. I love that I can still hear the same energy in All Time Low's music since their first EP to their latest single. This is a song that is definitely meant for turning up the volume as high as it can go and shouting the lyrics. The sound and rhythm and beat of the songs is so catchy, you can't help singing along.

6) Ready to Run by One Direction
I used to refer to One Direction as a guilty pleasure, but I don't know why I have to be guilty for liking them. Their music is upbeat and carries a lot of energy in it. This song is from their latest album, "Four," which the group actually had a hand in the songwriting (which I was relieved to find out). I love that the song is relatively fast, yet it still has a very recognizable acoustic guitar in the chorus.

7) Berzerk by Eminem
Well, this is very different from the other songs. Hearing this song instantly makes me think of road tripping to California with my best friend and turning up the music and acting a lot cooler than we really are. How could you not get into this song? The chorus is easy enough to learn quickly and before you know it, you know all the words.


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I almost forgot that today is the first day of a new month. February felt like a brutally long 28 days despite being the shortest month. Here are a few things are coming up in March:

March 13, 14, 15 - Pot of Gold Festival (including Fall Out Boy!!)
March 17 - Sleeping with Sirens new album, "Madness"
March 22 - MUSINK FESTIVAL WITH BLINK 182 FT MATT SKIBA

March 31 - The Maine's new album, "American Candy"

You could probably tell which I am most excited for. It has been three and a half years since I last saw Blink 182 during the Honda Civic Tour. Only three weeks from today and I will be seeing them. I still can't really believe it's going to happen.

Anyways, that is all for Sunday's Seven Songs (and a kind of long update on other things).


Until next time,
Nikole xx