Tag Archives: iTunes

Group Therapy

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Last weekend I was shopping at Borders to use up my remaining balance in gift cards before their stores close down completely. I really didn’t know what to get. I’m not a huge book person — and usually when I am shopping for a book I know which exact one I want and I always shop around for the best price. I was just wrapping up my meander around the store when I saw it sitting abandoned on a CD rack — Group Therapy by Above & Beyond. I instantly knew this was my purchase. I checked iTunes and also calculated the final Borders price after the liquidation discount. I would be paying about $1 more at Borders to have this physical CD. I was sold.

I have been a pretty loyal listener of Above & Beyond’s music. I know the artist voices and know immediately when I hear just a fraction of a song playing. It has been a while, however, since I have invested in more of Above & Beyond’s discography, so I figured I would give Group Therapy a go. The last purchase I made from them was, in fact, my all-time favorite album — Sirens of the Sea by spin-off artist OceanLab. I knew Above & Beyond had released Group Therapy as I have received the updates on Facebook, but for some reason I never really pursued the album.

I am so glad I made this purchase. Not only does it feel fantastic to have a physical CD and tri-fold case, but I really love these new tracks. It’s been a little less than a week and I’ve only had a couple days to listen to the songs but they are already implanted in my mind. I have great favorites — but in general it is a solid vocal trance album worth purchasing.

My Musical Origins

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Music.

Where did I start, and where am I now? I used to be ashamed of the music I enjoy. If it wasn’t the social normal then it generally was not acceptable. I have an interesting musical history.

It all started with Cher — yes, I admit it. She was my first favorite artist. Disco is old, and even at the young age when I began to enjoy it, this genre was relying on long-time fans to keep it alive. Cher has a negative stigma too — homosexuals, middle-aged to old junkies, and druggies. It is not considered a college student’s type of music. But I don’t care. Music is like a language that speaks more than just words. It speaks rhythm, tone, and beat and is able to penetrate our tough outer shells and alter our emotions and mindset. Suppressing our taste of music due to social expectations is denying who we are.

Every once in a while I dig up Cher from my iTunes library — I actually have quite a collection of her work. To me, her music never grows old unlike today’s new hip-hop, electronic, or pop music. Seriously, can you stand hearing “Whatcha Say” or “TiK ToK” on the radio anymore? Even then, are you going to pick out that song in your library just to listen to it? It got old fast, and personally, if I hear any of those songs pop up on shuffle I will skip them in a second.

But now I step back and analyze my music collection as a whole. What I realize is that today’s electronic and pop genres assume many cues from the past… Like from disco. I hear a lot similarities between Cher and new artists. I feel like if Cher was to release a single using iTunes Single of the Week or Starbucks Pick of the Week under a different artist name, it would be a hit. Does iTunes even have a disco genre in the store anymore? Isn’t it mostly categorized as dance music? The dance genre is among the newest of music types, yet it’s as age-old as disco.

Cher has done a lot for me. Her music, that is, has pulled me through a lot of times. For years, as I have battled my emotional issues with obesity, I turned to Cher many times for support. And when I was finally amidst making changes in my life and losing the weight and rebuilding it how I wanted, I accidentally played a Cher song. I almost changed the track… But I stopped and let the song run through. I think I’m hooked all over again.

I challenge you to listen to some of Cher’s music. Put aside stigmas and her image. Just let your ears do the work. I hope you recognize her music as I do… Pure, empowering, invigorating and perfect for your ups and downs. It’ll be our own little secret.

Published from my iPad.

Music Spotlight: The Olive Grove

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Browsing the tweets from my tweeps, I became informed of a new artist called The Olive Grove thanks to KATU’er Anita Kissée. I took some time to browse over The Olive Grove’s music offerings on their August-release album Here’s a Letter. I must say I have not purchased the $9.99 album yet, but feel very inclined to indulge. The Olive Grove’s music is relatively similar to that of Norah Jones, yet with a more colorful, not-so-classical taste with a snap of electronic synthetic variety.

The only factor holding me back from adding the album to my cart is not the composition of the artist or the album, but rather my simple taste of genres. I am more of an electronic, alternative, pop sort of guy with a few exceptions for pieces by Lights, Adele, Norah Jones, or Sarah McLachlan. However, I will definitely go back over to that iTunes Store and re-preview the tracks again and maybe hand-select one, two, or more. Of the thirty-second snippet previews, my favorites are Simple, Landslide, and The Other Summerwind.

I can really see The Olive Grove making it to the featured front of iTunes – and I hope such an artist finds the success its music proves deserving.

The Olive Grove > Here’s a Letter


Music Spotlight: Swimming With Dolphins

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Today I was browsing iTunes looking for some new music. In the Genius Just For You section of the store, I happened to come across an artist called Swimming With Dolphins. Their only album out is an EP called Ambient Blue. The last music spotlight I blogged about featured Owl City – Ocean Eyes. I’ve listened that that album so much I’m now starting to get burnt out of it. Swimming With Dolphins is strikingly similar to Owl City – it has the same sort of vocals and effects. However, of the five tracks relased back in September of 2008, I considering only purchasing two of them – and those being Sunset, 1989 and Everything’s a Miracle. I’ll probably listen to the preview a couple more times, YouTube it to catch the whole thing, and then make my mind up. I just thought I would share another upcoming great artist with you…

Out.

Music Spotlight: Owl City

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Owl City - Ocean Eyes

Owl City - "Ocean Eyes"

Browsing the iTunes fan page on Facebook, I discovered iTunes’ free single of the week called “Fireflies”. The artist is Owl City, and the album is “Ocean Eyes” – and I really like what I hear. Their album artwork also accentuates my desire to purchase the entire album (cue this post). I’m torn between pre-ordering Imogen Heap’s new album set to release in August or getting instant satisfaction with this purchase. Check it out and let me know what you think…

Owl City – “Ocean Eyes”

Shwayze!

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Whoa, what a night! Ok so let me start by saying that I have never heard any music by Shwayze – even the name barely sounded familiar. Anyway, my neighbor said that Shwayze was performing in the Memorial Union Quad here at OSU. I had no clue how popular this artist was, or even what kind of music he played. Apparently, Shwayze is a newer character to the Hip-Hop/Rap scene – but he’s on iTunes, so that’s one sign. So we go to the Quad, and after Shwayze hits the stage, we find ourselves perhaps a little past half way in the entire crowd of about 4,000 people. Let’s just say this crowd caused us to feel a little out of place.

Consider it… Shwayze, hip-hop/rap music about sex, drugs, and weed, it’s dark out, and there are 4,000 college students all in one place. I mean, it could have been worse at a more rowdy, party-oriented school, but likewise, it was the craziest I have ever seen. A couple people could be seen drunken and dazed, while there were others who were puffing their cig or joint. In short time, there was flying debris arcing across the crowd – opened bottles of water, tortilla rounds, beach balls, a pillow, and even a lit cigarette. Intense. Although it was not my ideal crowd, one thing I did pull from the night is Shwayze’s music. Live, it didn’t sound so great – of course, it was commented many times how the audio was screwed up. Returning back to the dorms, I found Shwayze on iTunes and really liked what I heard. Hmm… New music!

Something I find interesting is the evolution of my interest in new music genres. I can safely say that I like everything but country. Ok… back to the music! Only twelve days remaining until move-out – looking forward to it and next school year now that I registered last night. I got all the classes I wanted… that’s a first!