Top Artists that Made an Impact on Me in 2009
Jan 4, 2010 Artists
So you’ve probably noticed I haven’t written a post in a while. I’ve been a bad girl. I could give you a hundred excuses as to why, but really I just got lazy. So in going along with New Year’s resolutions, I vow to be “not so lazy” with my blog this year. 
Another New Year’s custom I’ve noticed is the task of labeling things the “Top of ____ in 2009.” But instead of saying what I think are the top artists of 2009, I want to list the top artists that made an impact on me in 2009. Whether they had an album released this past year or not, if somehow I discovered them this past year and they were meaningful to me, they are listed below…
1. Rosi Golan (of course) – Not only did her music make the biggest impact on me this year, but so did her stop at my house for a concert. It was one of my favorite experiences this past year. Besides getting engaged of course. 
2. The Weepies – I cannot tell you how much I love these 2 amazing people. My appreciation for music has grown so much just by listening to the beautiful sounds they make.
3. Taylor Swift – Ok, so every website has named her the #1 artist of the year and she was very close to mine as well. I admire her so much. Her talent is way beyond her years. I am afraid that she might be one of those super imaginative people who will still be writing teenage love songs when she’s 30. But let’s be honest, I’ll still be listening.
4. Lollapalooza- Ok this obviously is an event not an artist, but I’m including it anyways. Because it was hands down amazing as were the artists I got to see (White Lies, Manchester Orchestra, Ben Folds, Depeche Mode, Kings of Leon and #5 on this list) and I will be back for many years to come.
5. Bon Iver – Seriously? Could he be or sound any prettier? I think not.
6. Ingrid Michaelson – How have I missed her these past years? Not a fan of her radio hits, but love EVERYTHING else. Especially her new ablum that was released this year.
7. Katy Perry – What would last year have been with out her? I went to Vegas last year on a wedding and all they played out there was her song Waking up in Vegas. I am still not sick of it. That’s pretty impressive!
8. William Fitzsimmons – I like that although William is very much so an artist that thrives on his bad experiences, his beats have a twinge of hope in them. So I don’t listen to him only when I’m depressed.
9. Cobra Starship – I love the power this band has to make you get up and dance. Sometimes, there is nothing more important.
10. Grace Potter and the Nocturnals – I started my new year last year with the discovery of this band. The excitement of finding a smaller unheard of band and sharing it with my friends is what lead me to start this blog.
Here’s to 2010 and being better at blogging!
Tags: Bon Iver, Cobra Starship, Grace Potter and The Nocturnals, Ingrid Michaelson, Katy Perry, Lollapalooza 2009, Rosi Golan, Taylor Swift, The Weepies, William Fitzsimmons
Unsigned Bands at Leeds Music Festival
So Leeds Music Festival is going on as we speak in the UK. I am so jealous. White Lies, a UK band I saw at Lollapalooza who rocked it, along with a bunch of other well known and unsigned bands are going to be playing there this weekend. I haven’t gotten to listen too much to the bands playing at Leeds since I just found out about this maybe an hour ago, but what I’ve heard so far I like. Take a listen!
Leeds Music Festival
Enjoy the afternoon! If you want to go to a music festival in Indy this Saturday full of unsigned and local artists check out Knollfest. And thank you to http://www.theunsignedguide.com/ for introducing me to these bands!
Good Winter
Aug 18, 2009 Artists
A mean hacker deleted my site last week so I am back with a new look! No one can stop Mr. Domino (Playstation reference)! Anyways, you may see some minor site changes within the next couple days, but I hope this will be the last of changes for a while. Soooo back to Lollapalozza bands. Today, we salute Bon Iver. It was funny observing the crowd for Bon Iver versus the other bands at Lollapalooza. Everyone just shut up and focused when they got on stage. People were getting pissed at others for obstructing their views with umbrellas and talking too loud. All the overly dramatic people were annoying, don’t get me wrong, but I found it amazing that everyone wanted to experience Bon Iver in peace and quiet. It was a nice break from all the rock bands we heard that day. The lead, Justin Vernon, has a nice high range and soft voice and the beautiful harmonies between him and his band members pull at your heart. He gives emotion in all the right places of every song and he makes me want to find the good in life. There was one point during his performance where everyone just starting singing along with him. It really is a beautiful thing hearing thousands of people join together at the same time for the same purpose: loving music. Please download his cd. Bon Iver deserves all the praise in the world. Much love to my good friend Aaron for introducing me to his music.
Bon Iver
Bon Iver – For Emma (A Cappella)
Tags: Amanda loves, Bon Iver, Folk, Indie, Lollapalooza 2009
The Hazards of Love
Words can’t express how much fun Lollapalooza was this past weekend. The weather was rainy and gross on Friday and still great fun was had by all. If you have the chance to go next year you should make it a top priority. As soon as I arrived on Friday, Manchester Orchestra started their set. They were the sound of perfection and probably the best performance I saw. But enough about them because I’ve already talked about them recently. My second favorite performance was by none other than The Decemberists. I had listened to them just a smidge before I went to Lollapalooza. Only enough to know that I didn’t want to miss them while I was there.
The Decemberists were utterly captivating to say the least. Their newest cd The Hazards of Love tells a story about a woman named Margaret, her shape-shifting lover William, his forest queen mother and a cold-blooded rake (also known as a douche bag). All the songs on their cd flow together as if it is one musical piece. There really are no words to describe this band or this cd. Their larger than life story-telling lyrics combined with real folk instruments, like the amazing accordian, leave you intrigued to the very last song. They are really only a 5 person band, but they brought in other extremely talented musicians to play/sing the characters in their story. Shara Worden who plays the forest queen and Becky Stark who plays Margaret were so fun to watch because their voices portrayed their characters perfectly, one innocent and one ominous. It really was more like watching a rock opera than a concert and that is way more than I asked or hoped for. I immediately fell in love with not just the band, but an epic story. I will forever be thankful to them for making such picturesque music.
The Decemberists play at the University of Kentucky in October.
To watch a snippet of their Lollapalooza performance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw2jg7r5VtU
Tags: Lollapalooza 2009, Manchester Orchestra, Rock, Rock Opera, The Decemberists
Somebody’s got a case of the blog vomits
So tomorrow I head north. I’m Chicago bound in seek of great music and a great time. Hopefully no shananigans will be involved, but I can’t make any promises. Maybe I just don’t want to. Next week I should have much more music for you to listen to after going to Lollapalooza. For months I’ve been listening to the bagillion bands that are going to be there this weekend and I can’t tell you how excited I am. If you can make it to Chicago this weekend, you most definitely should. In the mean time, there are a couple of artists that haven’t made it to the top of my “blog priority list” lately so I lay them before you now. This is a bit of what I like to call blog-vommiting-of-the-mouth so I apologize. And I apologize to them for not getting my full devoted attention, but by no means does it mean they aren’t fantastic.
Lights – My brother actually introduced me to her music. She is a Canadian chic who makes “intergalactic-electro music.” It’s pretty cool unique stuff. Not for everyone though. http://www.iamlights.com/
Alexi Murdoch – Most of the music from the movie Away We Go is from Alexi. Very Iron and Wine. Chill music and oh so delightful. http://www.aleximurdoch.com/index_site.html
Musikanto – I found him through Joe Pug on Myspace and was seriously impressed. His stuff is darn good, like the song Flowers and Stinging Bees. But he doesn’t seem to be marketed very well. Someone needs to get a hold of him. http://www.musikantomusic.com/
Betsy Roo- I found her through Kate York on Twitter. She writes music for a lot of people, including Mindy Smith whom I love and adore. http://www.myspace.com/betsyroomusic
Ok, enough blog vomiting. I promise next week to write full blown blogs about the amazing bands I am about to partake in. They are just a night’s sleep away.
Tags: Alexi Murdoch, Betsy Roo, Indie, Joe Pug, Lights, Lollapalooza 2009, Mindy Smith, Musikanto, Pop, Rock
