Sunday's Seven Songs (Week Three)

Happy Sunday! I have a new update for my upcoming shows which I am super excited about. Tonight, I saw Run 2 Cover open up for Escape the Fate and The Family Ruin. I always love supporting local bands. Today I got tickets to go to Alt AZ's "Festivaltaz" on April 10 which includes performances from Death Cab for Cutie and Panic! At The Disco!! So far I have a concert every month until August. My life basically revolves around concert countdowns, but I'm not complaining.

With that said, here are my seven songs for the week:


1) Some Boys by Death Cab for Cutie

I know some songs by Death Cab for Cutie, but when I decided earlier this week that I will be going to the music festival hosted by Alt AZ, I felt I should get to know the band some more. I am so happy I made that decision. I've had their latest album, "Codes and Keys," on repeat all week. Their music reminds me of the early days of The Black Keys and also someone else who I just can't put my finger on. "Codes and Keys" has a relaxed vibe, but it doesn't put you to sleep. Listening to the album makes me a lot more excited for the music festival!

2) Lakehouse by Of Monsters And Men

My friend recommended this song to me in the beginning of the week and it really stuck in my head. Everyone knows the radio hits from this band like "Little Talks" and "Dirty Paws," and I feel like this song could have been a big hit just like the other two. The chorus is energetic, but not in the typical "gym playlist" energetic way. The album is really good to listen to in the morning to wake you up. I was disappointed to find out that the band only has one album that's been released (and I haven't heard of anything happening in the studio as far as I know).

3) Act My Age by Hoodie Allen

I first heard Hoodie Allen on the radio with his song "All About It" featuring Ed Sheeran. So I decided to give his album a look and it turns out I totally love it. It's not often that I find someone in the rap genre that I like. I'm honestly shocked that Hoodie Allen isn't more well-known than he is now because I can see a lot of his songs becoming big radio hits.

4) Stray Heart by Green Day

Green Day will forever and always be one of my favorite bands. There's never a time where I don't feel like listening to this band and the past few days I decided to put their 103 songs on my phone on repeat. There's a song for every emotion - from soft and thoughtful like the classic "Time of My Life" to the angsty (is that the right word?) and energetic "Know Your Enemy." "Stray Heart" leans more to the soft side, but I can easily say that it is one of my favorite GD songs. I can't wait to find out what the band has in store for 2015.

5) Someday by Run 2 Cover

I'm actually blogging from the concert right now as I write this because my sister, friend and I mostly came for R2C and the other bands aren't really our taste. R2C changed their sound for the show tonight and I totally loved it. They are currently touring with loud ("screamo"- I hate that descriptive but I don't know what else to call it) bands and Christian seemed to have picked up a bit of that technique in vocals. They also did covers of Bowling for Soup's "1985," Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" and Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean."

6) Budapest by George Ezra

The first time I listened to this song, I wasn't much of a fan; however, the more 93.3 played it, the more it grew on me and now I love it. I constantly have it stuck in my head and I'm singing along with Ezra on the radio. I'm curious now to look up what other songs Ezra has released because the vocals and lyrics of "Budapest" are really chill and I don't mind listening to it on the radio everyday on the way home from school now.

7) When Songs Collide - "Fat Lip" and "Feeling This" 

I stumbled upon this mashup by accident on tumblr and I'm completely obsessed with it. It combines the guitar riffs and drums and bass of "Fat Lip" with the vocals from "Feeling This" and it makes a oerfect combination. Tumblr is a great place for finding new music or mashups or anything really.

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It's really weird blogging from a concert - I feel guilty, to be honest. I promise I am almost never on my phone during a concert because it's all about being in the moment, but it's hard to be in the moment when you can't sing along to the songs. Right now people are moshing and I can't really understand what's being sung. Anyways, this post probably has more mistakes than usual because I'm typing from my phone, but there was no way I was going to miss my weekly post. I also realized on my way to the show that I'm missing the Grammy awards tonight! So it looks like I'll have to get caught up on who won in the morning. 

Well, that's all for this Sunday's Seven Songs! I hope you liked my music suggestions. 

Until next time,

Nikole xx

Sunday's 7 Songs (Week 1)

I'm going to try something new for my little blog that will hopefully get me to write more. Each Sunday, I'll list the top 7 songs that I've been listening to for the past week. (Hopefully, I'll think of a better name for this weekly thing later.) It will probably be a mixture of songs I've had on repeat and new songs I discovered this week. I might change this idea or edit it as I go, but I really wanted to have something that encourages me to regularly update (kind of how youtubers are known to post a new video a certain day of the week). Anyways, here are the 7 songs.


1) Something's Gotta Give by All Time Low

All Time Low released their first single for their new album "Future Hearts" about two weeks ago and I have had it on repeat ever since. It's absolutely amazing. Everything from the lyrics (which are a mixture of motivated and sadness) to the energy produced from the instruments. It's one of those songs that you play in your car or in the shower and you can't help but scream the lyrics. If this is any indicator to how the rest of the album will sound, then I know I won't be disappointed. Their music video has an interesting plot twist, but besides that, it is just as great.

2) Favorite Record by Fall Out Boy

Last Tuesday, Fall Out Boy released their new album "American Beauty/American Psycho." I considered dedicating a post completely to that album, but for some reason I've put it off. I'll admit that I understand why they used the songs they did to promote the album because they were honestly the better half of the album. That doesn't mean the other half was bad. I've had the album on repeat all week, so I can promise the album isn't bad. Out of the new songs released on Tuesday, I've listened to the "Favorite Record" the most. As soon as you press play, the intro beat has your attention. I don't think you can get any sweeter than by comparing someone you love to the song that's been stuck in your head, to every song you've ever loved.

3) Go Go Go by Sleeping With Sirens

A few days ago, Sleeping With Sirens announced the release date of their new album "Madness" and the pre-order came with their single "Kick Me" as well as a new song, "Go Go Go." This song reminds me of early SWS which makes me really happy. The vocals are clear and it's just a fun, upbeat song. Even the music video is filled with the same humor that could be seen in their other videos. The band doesn't sound like they are trying to be something they aren't. I wasn't as thrilled with "Kick Me" as I am with this song. This song has gotten me even more excited for the rest of the album (which comes out on March 17).

4) Up 2 U by Walk the Moon

It's the vocals in this song that really catch my attention. The way Nicholas Petricca (the vocalist) starts the chorus with a little scream It's up to you! has me pumped. I've been happy with the entire "Talking is Hard" album. This song and "Sidekick" really stand out to me, though. There isn't any song on this album (and previous albums that I know of) that sounds anything like this song. I love when artist's throw songs like that in an album. It can either end up being a good or bad thing because sometimes listeners don't want change but it really comes down to what the artist wants to produce and I'm extremely glad Walk the Moon decided to include that song.

5) Shirtsleeves by Ed Sheeran

I listened to a lot of Ed Sheeran today because I was in the study zone and I had a good amount of homework to get done. I'm not sure if there is a particular reason why I play this song (and "Photograph") more than others, but I do. This song, like a lot of his other songs, is really mellow and relaxing. It's a really sweet song, as well.

6) I Write Sins Not Tragedies by Panic! at the Disco

I blame my sister for this one. I'm not too sure why she's had this song on repeat, but since she has, it's been stuck in my head all week. It's one of those songs where I think everyone knows despite whether they realize who the band is or what the song is called. This song is only a sneak peek to how talented this band really is. In my last post I mentioned that P!ATD have an album in the works and they haven't released any information on it yet, but I'm still hopeful.

7) So Much Better by Eminem

I can't even explain why I've had this on repeat. Over winter break, Kaitz and I played Eminem on repeat for hours and I haven't listened to him as much these past couple of weeks, but there are still some songs I can listen to over and over. Listening to it makes me really miss winter break though.

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I realized that this list is really good to show all the different kinds of music I listen to. I laughed just looking at how I can skip from Fall Out Boy to Ed Sheeran to Eminem. The more I wrote this post, the more I liked the idea about Sunday's 7 Songs. The reason I started writing tonight was because 1) I haven't blogged in two week and I miss it a lot and 2) I was trying to finish up my story for the next issue of the magazine and I cannot word it the way I want to. I thought it was kind of like a writer's block thing, but I seemed to write this pretty easily even if it took awhile for me to come up with an idea on what to write. I'll give another shot at the story tomorrow. I'm really close to finishing it, but for some reason I can't find the right words or phrasing.

Anyways, if anyone has any songs they would like to suggest for me to listen to, I would be more than happy to check them out. I love finding new music or rediscovering old music.

Until next time,

Nikole xx