Toro y Moi

My friend introduced me to this guy right before the ACL lineup came out and I fell in love with him instantly. He is like an Indie-Pop electronic singer and they kick ass. He sings so awesome, but not because he is an amazingly gifted singer. He's a good singer but its more about how his voice sounds so good with the music. His voice and the music he makes behind it go together like snare and a beat. He just sounds so good and I really suggest people hop on his bandwagon before the media does and ruins it. I predict that he will soon be on the top 40 in a year or two. He makes really good music and unlike most indie-pop bands, his lyrics are extremely good. Most of those high pitched sounding bands have lyrics that don't really mean anything but if listen past the gorgeous sound you hear some pretty good lyricism. My favorite of his so far is "So Many Details". I will definitely be looking more into his music from now on.

ACL 2013 Lineup

Everyone thinks the lineup sucks and it's no good and ACL messed up this year but I disagree. I like how Austin didn't fall into the EDM trap that other festivals have such as Coachella and Lollapalooza and Bonaroo. This lineup is Austin saying, "Ya we a bunch of fucking hipsters and we're gonna have some not big name bands but we're focusing on bands that throw a good show." And ACL threw in a rapper to give the over privalleged white kids who know nothing about music something to have fun with in Kendrick Lamar. I will say this though, they should have gotten a much bigger name than Depeche Mode. I know they saw great success in the 80's and sold many albums but they shouldn't be the big name at the top of the list. I was hoping for a Bruce Springsteen or a David Bowie. But the middle part of the lineup is stacked as shit. That's what ACL did right. All the way from Depeche Mode to Foxygen the lineup is stacked. And that's something the youth of today won't recognize. You don't need heavy bass and big lights and a mosh pit to have fun at a concert. Focus on how good they sound and how they interact with the audience. Now let's talk about who's playing:

Depeche Mode: Probably will be a fun show. Definitely awesome for the old people to dance in the back of the crowd and the same goes for Lionel Richie. But I don't think they should end off the festival. Will have an awesome light show so if you like that you should check them out. A lot of people say they don't know who they are but if I played a song of their you'll know it.

The Cure: They will throw the sickest performance at ACL because Robert Smith has taken such good care of his voice over the years he still sounds like he's 20. And also the smoke on the stage as the bassist keeps on thumping and the synthesizer and it's just gonna be tight as hell.

Muse and Kings of Leon: They just went to the festival and Kings of Leon fucking sucks. Muse was good but they are just going to play their new album which is alright. I will not be attending that.

Atoms For Peace: It's gonna be freaking weird. But I bet it'll be a hell of an experince seeing Thom Yorke and his weird voodoo style on stage with the thumping of the bass god known as Flea. If your into weird stuff, go to it.

For The Young People: I would advise you definitely see Phoenix. That is the show all high school aged and college aged peole need to see cause they are notorious for throwing a bad ass show. I know people will want to see Vampire Weekend but I'm catious about it cause their new album is very interesting. Their really changing their sound and I don't know if I like it. Passion Pit will throw a good show. Wilco will be the unsung hero of ACL because they will throw one of the best shows. Queens of Stoneage will throw a fun show if your into rock and I won't be suprised if Dave Grohl stops by to play drums. Arctic Monkeys will throw a very fun show partly because they make such fun music. Fun. will be another must see for young people. And lastly Kendrick Lamar is already gonna have a huge crowd considering he is the only rapper there.

Unknown Bands: Apparently Portugal. The Man throws a very fun show even if you don't like their music. Also The Joy Formidable will be kind of cool but you will definitley see me front row at Toro y Moi. They have such a good sound and is probably my favorite Indie Pop band right now.

Overall ACL did a good job. Definitely could of been better but it'll be a fun year for sure. Going back to what ACL was about, finding new music.

A Tribe Called Quest: The Low End Theory

I'm really growing to have the conclusion that Quest is my favorite hip hop group of all time. The balance of Q-Tip and Phife Dog are perfect. Q-Tip is all low and a little quiet and punctual with his lyrics while Phife is all over the place and high and his energy is awesome. My favorite goes to Phife but I can safely say that I think that neither could succeed without each other. Ya Q-Tip had some success in a solo way but when they were in the Tribe is when they were best. Also Ali Shaheed Muhammad made some classic lines on their albums. I would say Jarobi White was good but he never really stood out and was only there for a short time. He goes along with De La Soul and Busta Rhymes who were all greatly associated with the Tribe. But its safe to say Tip and Phife stood out among them all.

Now with The Low End Theory, I like this album a lot but I don't think it's their best. Their best is either Midnight Marauders or Beats, Rhymes, and Life. Hopefully we will be able to listen to those before the end of the school year. But happy we got to Tribe

Justin Timberlake

He's pop and all he sings about is love. And he's also one of the only people that I can tolerate doing it. He's freaking amazing with this new album. I almost forgot that he has possibly one of the best falcetto voices I've ever heard. He makes it sound so easy. He did it in *NSYNC and he did it in his earlier solo albums. And 20/20 Experience is my favorite album by him. Cause he has the old school jazz singer in a club type feel. That's what he was going for and he acheived incorporating that with the new sounds of modern day producing.

I wouldn't be suprised if he snags a couple of grammys off of this album. And his full project isn't even done yet. He's supposed to be almost done with his next album. So right as the public tires out of this current one, he'll be right back in their ear again. I forgot how JT got famous, and he deserves to be where he is. He really is very talented. Another thing I like about him is that he makes sure his live shows are as good as his record. He knows how to move on stage and keep the crowd entertained while singing lyrics like "my heroine, my nicotine, take you home and put you in my blood stream". My favorite 2 songs on the album are "Pusher Love Girl" and "Spaceship Coupe". Also good job to Timbaland for producing the shit out of this album.

Passion Pit

Lately I've been getting into a lot of Synth Pop, and for me, in modern day Synth Pop Passion Pit tops the board. They've made two successful albums in a row and the group has a good fan base. Everyone in a high school knows who Passion Pit is. The futuristic sounds and falcetto singing of Michael Angelakos is a trademark and when someone hears those samples and singing they know exactly who it is. Also, Passion Pit are melody masters. They find a way to make anything catchy or find a way to always make a good hook. Consider me a big fan of their latest album Gossamer. It's a perfect album if you want to find out who Passion Pit is. The hit on the album is weird, (it isn't really the Passion Pit style.) "Take A Walk" is an alright song, it's just I'm more of a fan of "Carried Away" and "Constant Conversations". Those songs to me describe Passion Pit perfectly.

Take a listen. "Carried Away"

"Constant Conversations"

Nine Inch Nails

Listening to that sucked so much I'm not even gonna spend a long time on this. It was really weird music (which I like weird different stuff most of the time) but that just sounded like poppy bull crap. It sounded really heavy pop bass and the drums were kind of good I guess. The singers voice wasn't really impressive at all. Then I heard Nine Inch Nails on the radio later and again I wanted to barf. 1 out of 10 for me.

Paul's boutique Beastie Boys

Beastie Boys is a group I haven't really gotten into yet. But Paul's Boutique was pretty badass. Some of te samples used are so advanced and it sounds like an album way ahead of its time. The bass is so much more powerful than that of NWA and Public Enemy, also the fact that they play real instruments is more impressive. Ill need to listen to it again so I can catch the lyrics more clearly.