Recently Spinner.com posted a blog about influential music in movies. This made me think about music that I've seen in movies that has influenced my own taste in music.

I'm only going to choose three, but these three (oh man, these three) have made such a lasting impression on me and the music I listen to today.

1. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen:  Wayne's World was my favorite movie when I was a kid. I still can't believe my parents let me and my sister watch it, haha, but we did and we loved it. The first time I watched it I had never heard any Queen song besides "We Will Rock You" and "We are The Champions" (I also watched a lot of Mighty Ducks). When I heard Wayne and Garth rock out to "Bohemian Rhapsody" in the Merth Mobile while driving through the streets of Aurora, Illinois, my life was changed forever. Not only was it hilarious, but that song! Man, I loved that song. My sister and I would rewind it and listen to it over and over until we had all the lyrics memorized and could head bang along. It's the first time in my life (that I can remember anyway) that I felt such a deep connection to a song.

2. New Slang - The Shins: The first part of my freshman year of college I had horrible taste in music. Besides Ryan Adams, Ben Folds, and a new found love for The Postal Service, everything else I listened to was complete crap. That crap consisted of John Mayer, Jack Johnson, Jason Mraz...you can probably see a trend here. Luckily my sister is really cool and gave me lots of new (good) music that cured me of my evil ways pretty quickly.

My sister was always talking about the movie Garden State, and kept telling me I needed to watch it. One night I was bored so I finally broke down and rented it. It was the first independent film I'd ever seen. I thought the movie was good, but what really got me was the soundtrack, especially a band called The Shins. In one scene Natalie Portman puts headphones on Zach Braff and tells him the song will change his life. "New Slang" was the song and I'm not sure exactly how Zach Braff felt about it, but it blew me away.

When the movie was over I downloaded every Shins song I could find on Limewire. I burnt them all to a cd and carried it around with me every where I went. It was probably really annoying because anytime I was in a car with someone I would ask them if I could put it on. I was just so excited and wanted to share this amazing thing that I had found.

I couldn't find the actual scene from the movie, but here's the song.

A few years ago my friend, Aaron McGregor, posted this really a.mazing song on SoundCloud. I'm not sure what his involvement with the song is. He might be singing, he's probably playing guitar, I don't know. All I know is that this song is great and I wish he would help make more songs like it.

It reminds me of early 90's emo music, or for a comparison of a band making music right now, it reminds me of the band Yuck.

If someone put a gun to my head and told me to confess which songwriter was my favorite, I would probably blurt out, "Blake Schwarzenbach."

In high school I had a friend at church named Kelly Clark who politely told me the music I listened to wasn't great (I still don't fully agree with that) and introduced me to some great bands including Jets to Brazil and Jawbreaker. I downloaded JTB's "Sweet Avenue" (maybe using limewire, maybe not) and liked it enough to buy JTB's Orange Rhyming Dictionary. At that point I still had a Sony Walkman (the CD variety) that enabled me to listen to it constantly even at my family's expense. I think what really struck me about the album was Blake's lyrics didn't flow like a song but more like a short story or something. It didn't surprise me when I heard he eventually wound up teaching English at Hunter College in NYC.

Kelly and her older brother eventually viewed me as a musical makeover or something and gave me a bunch of burned CDs including Jawbreaker's 24 Hour Revenge Therapy and Dear You; the other albums making up this dynasty. I remember enjoying both but my brain can only handle so much new music at one time so I'd always return to Orange Rhyming Dictionary.

Post-mission I met one Aaron Patrick McGregor (the same man who paid tribute to Jawbreaker's "The Boat Dreams from the Hill" by dressing up as the U.S.S. Schwarzenbach for Halloween) with whom I'd discuss music all the time and Blake and Jawbreaker eventually came up. He spoke so highly of 24 Hour Revenge Therapy and Dear You I thought I'd better refresh my memory of these two classics. Needless to say, I loved them so much that if you've ever spent much time with Aaron and I together you probably know we randomly burst into the opening lines of "Boxcar" on a consistent basis.

24 Hour Revenge Therapy is as gloriously angsty as its title implies, making it an all-time classic.

As far as Dear You is concerned, just when you thought the album couldn't get any better (I'd probably have to call it my favorite emo album, period) they use a few lines from Christopher Walken for one of the song intros.

Mr. Schwarzenbach recently released a full-length with his new project, forgetters. Here's hoping it grows on me as much as these others have.

Guys, a new Iron and Wine song came out today! It's called "Grace for Saints and Ramblers" and it is the dance jam of the century. Okay, it isn't really, but it is for real good. His new album, Ghost on Ghost, comes out April 16th. Also, Sam Beam drove by me in a minivan in Golden Gate Park once. We are practically best friends.

Listen to it on Rolling Stone's website.

Statistically speaking, these are my top artists of the week. Also get a last.fm account!

1		Passion Pit			29
2		Grizzly Bear			27
3		The Format			24
4		The Spinto Band			21
4		fun.			21
6		Night Beds			13
7		Japandroids			7
8		Eels			6
8		Bright Eyes			6
8		Murder by Death			6
8		The Black Keys			6
8		Bad Books			6

I wasn't going to blog about this song because it's not the most exciting song I've listened to lately, but I cannot stop listening to it. I wasn't aware of how much I love it until it repeated for the fifth or sixth time. It's very peaceful; I can imagine it playing during a scene in a movie involving snow. If we got snow for more than one hour here, I could test out that theory. If you are in Kansas City or Rexburg or anywhere else that is experiencing hellacious snow, please play this and watch people walk past your window or something.

Also, I didn't watch the video before I wrote out this blog post, but this is kind of what I was imagining. I'm a little disappointed in the lack of snow, though. In all seriousness, it's a beautiful video. Check it out.

In ninth grade, I read Andy Greenwald's Nothing Feels Good: Punk Rock, Teenagers, and Emo so much that it started to fall apart. It documented the beginnings of bands like Thursday and Saves the Day, as well The Promise Ring, Braid, Texas is the Reason, and Sunny Day Real Estate. I lugged this book around with me everywhere and joked that it was like my bible. At the ripe young age of 23, I missed out on many of these bands during their heydays. Nonetheless, I ate it all up. What a book. What music lover doesn't want to learn about the origin of their favorite music?

Sadly, I lent it to a friend back in high school, but I am ordering another copy as we speak (or, to be more accurate, as I type). I recommend it to every person in the universe.

Enjoy this Christina-created playlist in honor of my favorite book.

Grizzly Bear's video for "gun-shy" gets my Weird as Hell Award this week.
This video is weird and borderline creepy, but might be one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

I can't really explain what the video is about because, well I have no idea. Just watch it and trust me that it's good.

Today, my dear friend Ruben sent me a song called "On the Rise" by his band River Shiver. It's a mellow song, but that's not to say it's boring. Sometimes mellow is just what you need. The singer's voice sounds so much like Joshua James it's uncanny.

They just played at Hotel Utah in San Francisco this weekend, and they are playing Cafe Du Nord soon with the one and only Joshua James. (I always wanted to go to a show at Cafe Du Nord in high school, but they were 18 and over.)

Passion Pit put out an incredible album last year (Gossamer). They just made a video for one of my favorite songs from that album, "Carried Away". I know I speak in superlatives a lot, but I think it's one of the best videos I've ever seen.

So I thought I would shift gears a little bit for my next dynasty post and talk about an artist who I'm pretty sure doesn't reside on the same planet as Jimmy Eat World. The man I speak of is Kanye West.

My affinity for 'Ye's (always wanted to do that) music is something that is still strange even to me. I did like MC Hammer when I was very young but never really even dabbled into hip hop music again until 2008. Somehow I heard Kanye's song "Love Lockdown" and would repeatedly go to his myspace page and listen to it ad nauseam. I got an iTunes gift card that xmas and downloaded 808s & Heartbreak which I still think is wildly underrated. I guess you could say I've been a big fan ever since.

Mr. West's Late Registration, Graduation, 808s & Heartbreak and My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy make up a Chicago dynasty even the Bulls would be proud of.

I always forget how many great songs there are on Late Registration until It's almost over and I'm dreading the end. I love the skits between songs, they crack me up every time.

Graduation kind of feels like the carefree, fun album Kanye needed to put out before what he's given us since. In my opinion it would probably be the best place to dive into his catalog headfirst before listening to his other material.

Many people don't like 808s due to its contrast to the other albums and its auto-tuned vocals. It definitely feels more stripped down and intimate sonically and lyrically. Not that I read US weekly or anything but apparently Kanye had just went through a breakup with his fiancee and his mother died from complications during plastic surgery of some sort. 808s is the result and it's definitely one you need to be in the right mood to enjoy.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is easily in my opinion one of the best albums of the last five years. It's the kind of album that transcends genre and yet will easily become a benchmark in the hip hop world for decades to come (not that I know that much about it, it's just that good). Between Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and MBDTF, I'd say Chicago definitely has it going on. Yes, I did just put Kanye's latest solo album in the same sentence as Wilco's magnum opus. Also, I've watched the short film 'Ye released to coincide with the album release several times and it's definitely worth a half hour of your time.

Posted by Jeff

This morning on Facebook Washed Up Emo Blog posted a link to one of the greatest things I've ever seen: a new donut shop whose donuts are based on band names. But not just any band names, '90s emo band names. Donut Friend is the project of record producer and musician, Mark Trombino. Trombino has been making records since 1991; he produced so many albums I listened in high school by bands like Jimmy Eat World, No Knife, Knapsack/The Jealous Sound, Blink-182, Mineral, and Mock Orange. Check out the awesome menu here. I'll take a Promise Ring and a Fudgegazi, please.

As someones who love '90s emo -- not your little brother's emo, your older brother's emo -- and great food, Mark Trombino is living my dream.

Check out the Washed Up Emo Blog here, and be sure to follow on Facebook and Twitter.

Donut friend can be found on Twitter and Facebook as well.

I love all these love songs in different ways.




Happy Valentines's Day.

Since today is all about love, here is a song all about love.


Happy Valentine's Day.
Love,
Tori

In 2009 NPR's All Songs Considered did a special Valentine's Day show. To this day it is still one of my favorite podcasts they've done. Carrie Brownstein (Slater Kenny, Wild Flag) was a regular guest along with the normal crew of Bob Boilen, Robin Hilton, and Stephen Thompson. Not that all that matters too much, what matters is that she played one of the greatest love songs I've ever heard, "Danny Says" by the Ramones. After the song was played I, along with all the contributors to the show, were floored.

It's not only my favorite love song, but one of my favorite songs. Please listen and enjoy. Happy Valentine's Day.

This is a pretty cool documentary about the famous studio that Nirvana's Nevermind was recorded at among other great albums by Fleetwood Mac, Tom Petty and more. The studio has since gone out of business and closed but Dave Grohl bought the recording equipment and helped make this movie. Check out  the trailer above!

Posted by Ryan

I’ve had a crush on the Joy Formidable since April 2011 I saw them in Phoenix. But it wasn’t frontwoman Ritzy Bryan’s adorable Welsh accent that did for me. You see, I have a thing for three-piece bands. Well, I have a thing for good three-piece bands. In a three-piece there’s no room for a weak link. Every player has to be on and every player has to be an expert at what they do. There’s no fourth instrument -- be it a rhythm guitar, keyboards, or something else -- to cover your mistakes.
And they have to compensate for not having that fourth band member whose presence can sometimes have an exponential effect on the band. It had been a while since I’ve seen a band rock as hard as the Joy Formidable does -- something I sorely miss in so much of today’s music -- and I can’t say I’ve ever seen another three-piece as loud and brash and intense as these three.
TJF released their second full-length last month, Wolf’s Law. Remember in the ‘90s when you would buy a new CD, pop it in your CD player, and after listening to what you thought was the entire album, you find that the band included a bonus, hidden track at the very end of the album? That’s what they did with this album’s title track. It’s a bit of a weird move for the album’s title track but it works because I don’t think the song fits that well with the rest of the album (which is great; check it out).
So here it is, the track I’ve been spinning all week, “Wolf’s Law” by the Joy Formidable:

Was anyone else disappointed with the ending? The video is so intense, emotional, and cathartic, bears are fighting, babies are birthing, and then it ends with the earth spinning and fading inside a human eye. Oh well.

Posted by Myke

In honor of Galentine's Day and Valentine's Day, I created a playlist all about loooooove. Some songs express love for a place or a feeling, while others are obviously about romantic love. I kind of hate Valentine's Day on principle, but I do love a good reason for a playlist. Enjoy.

I will no longer justify why I like the band Fun. I like (it's probably beyond like now. I think they're a favorite band) them and there's nothing anyone can say to make me feel embarrassed.

They have a song on the soundtrack for the HBO show Girls. It's really good. I think it's format-esque song writing. Give it a listen on this old fashioned YouTube player below.

Last night I watched the Grammys for the first time in a very long time. In fact I can't remember the last time I  watched them, probably well over ten years. I felt like I had good reason to boycott. All the music sucked. Good reason, right? Who wants to watch Maroon Five and Nickleback do a tribute to Led Zepplin? Okay I don't think that has ever happened, but you get the idea. The collaborations are usually ridiculous  and I don't want to watch Katy Perry's boobs or Taylor Swift rap about baking cookies with Jake Gyllenhall.

Fast forward to Grammys 2013. This year they had me at album of the year. Frank Ocean, Mumford and Sons, Fun., Black Keys, and Jack White. Pretty damn good list if you ask me. Especially compared to what is normally up for the award. Besides Arcade fire a few years ago, it's usually crap. This year, Grammys, you had me at Jack White, you had me at Jack White.

And it didn't stop there. The live performances were good too: the album of the year artists, plus Miguel and Wiz Khalifa, a really good Levon Helm tribute with Elton John, Brittany Howard, Mavis Staples, and Mumford and Sons. Kelly Clarkson did Carol King justice with her tribute, and I even enjoyed Bruno Mars, Sting, Rhianna, and the Marleys' (Ziggy and Damian) tribute to Bob Marley.

The best live performance came from Justin Timberlake. When I say the best I mean it. He sang "Suit and Tie" with Jay-Z while. . . wait for it . . . dressed in suit and tie. He and Jack White were the only performers cool enough to sing two songs.

Was it the best thing I've ever seen? No, but it had some artistic merit and I enjoyed it. Sure everyone was disappointed that Mumford and Sons won album of the year and not Frank Ocean (I personally was rooting for Professor Snape, AKA Jack White), but at least none of those albums sucked. It could have been worse. Taylor Swift could have been nominated and won.

I downloaded a free live EP from the Stars tour. We haven't bought the Stars album yet because we're kind of poor, but that's okay. This isn't what this post is about. The EP includes one song by a band called Milo Greene. The name of the band reminds me of a 7th-grade Disney channel star, but the song is great.

I don't really know what it reminds me of. I guess it kind of reminds me of Stars. I haven't heard any other song from them, but the music in "Don't You Give Up on Me" is also a little reminiscent of Explosions in the Sky. Enjoy.

New Postal Service! I am so excited for this. "Give Up" came out ten whole years ago, but I avoided listening to it for a while because some people I didn't like really liked the album. So dumb, but it was high school, so whatever.

This new song is great. It includes Jenny Lewis and one of my favorite singer/songwriters of all time. It feels like 2003 Postal Service but modern, which makes sense. Computers! Technology!

I'm live tweeting the Grammy Awards. You can follow me @ZchGbsn

My new favorite music thing is Brain Pickings' literary jukebox. Maria Popova posts a daily poem or literary quotation coupled with a song containing similar themes. I love it because it's a combination of my two favorite things. Enjoy.

I found this guy through NPR's music blog. NPR is just the greatest. Can you guys believe this guy is only 19? I will never be able to play or sing this well no matter how old I get. What a bummer.

He has a song called "The Moon and the Stars" up for download on his bandcamp website.

I'd like to think I don't have music guilty pleasures. When people would ask me I would say Diana Ross, which really wasn't a guilty pleasure at all. I don't care who knows that I like Diana Ross. I've never been one to be ashamed of the music I listen to. . . until now.

Every Saturday I look forward to SNL. A few weeks ago a rerun was on with Bruno Mars hosting and as the musical guest. He was funny. I think it was one of the best episodes of SNL from last season. Even though I liked his skits I wasn't looking forward to him playing music. I've hated every song of his I've heard. The grenade song is awful. It has some of the worst lyrics to any song I've ever heard.

I normally would have just changed the channel, but I kept it on. I was probably getting a pop out of the fridge or something. I can't think of any other logical explanation of why I would have watched him besides an ice cold DP was calling my name and I was in too big of a hurry to crack it open and feel that ice cold burn in my throat.

Long story short, I watched Bruno Mars perform "Locked Out of Heaven" and I really liked it. Am I embarrassed that I like it. . . yeah I am a little. But it's catchy as hell and it's really not that bad of a song.

Posted By Zach 

I went and saw Adam Green and Binki Shapiro last night. For those not familiar, he's the guy from The Moldy Peaches and has also done quite a bit of solo stuff and she's the girl from Little Joy. They just came out with a new album and it's really good. Listen!

I found out about the show last minute and was pretty excited about it, A. because it was going to be in a smaller venue and those shows always seem to be better, more intimate and B. because I've seen some of his sweet dance moves in his music videos (I was going to post one but I couldn't find the one I was thinking of).
Needless to say, Adam Green and his performance was everything I hoped. Binki was lovely and brought a really nice dynamic to the set. I love her voice. Girl sings real good and she doesn't get enough credit for that in Little Joy. But Adam was clearly the star of the show here. They started off welcoming the crowd to Seattle and playing a few songs from their new album with Adam cracking all sorts of dry jokes between songs. He's actually really hilarious. It was great and entertaining and everyone in the crowd was falling in love with their charm but it really got going when Adam set down the guitar, Binki picked hers up and they played some of Adams older, solo work. He just sang and danced and rocked. He has these really fantastic dance moved that are a little awkward but he does them with such confidence, no one questions it.
I have to say, I was a little surprised they played such a small venue. Apparently Adam Green isn't as popular as I thought but I'm glad I got to see them so up close and personal. I love his music. I hope you guys look him up and spread the word because he totally deserves more popularity.

Posted by Tori

Jim James played on Jimmy Fallon Monday and it was totally bad ass.

I finally had a chance to sit down on my plan period (I'm a teacher) and listen to the new Eels album, Wonderful, Glorious, from start to finish this morning. Before I write how I felt about it, let me preface by saying I'm a huge Eels fan. They've been one of my favorite bands for a really long time now and I, for the most part, like everything they put out. This cold be a very biased review.

Hey, everyone! Wavves put out a new song, and I am pretty excited about it. I heard another track from their unreleased album a few weeks ago, and I was really into it.
My song of the day, "Demon to Lean On", is a great song to listen to when you feel like being transported to a beach in Southern California. You don't even need any Floo powder. You can thank me later.

Night Beds are a band from Tennessee and ever since their release of the songs "Ramona" and "Even If We Try" I've been really excited for their full length album (which came out today).

Best I've ever seen!

Posted by Zach