Florence and the Machine Spectrum

Happy Monday! Let’s get this weekend started. Music. Java. I think I’m ready….

Weekly Tune: Band of Horses The Funeral

Weekly Tune: Florence and the Machine Only for a Night

Classical Music

I’ve always wanted to learn more about classical music but never find the time to on a regular basis. I figure my blog is the perfect place for me to house my learning of classical music since these days its where I keep in touch with all my artistic interests.

I often listen to classical music or jazz when I’m writing. It’s sometimes easy to let lyrics infiltrate your writing so I solve that problem by listening to music without them!

Weekly Tune: Lykke Li I Follow Rivers Magicians Remix

Weekly Tune: Florence and the Machine What the Water Gave Me

Weekly Tune: J Cole Work Out

Alright day….let’s do this….

Weekly Tune: Goyte Somebody That I Used To Know

Goyte featuring Kimbra.

Amy Winehouse Lioness: Hidden Treasures

Universal Republic recently released Lioness: Hidden Treasures,  a compilation of never released Amy Winehouse tracks.  The album isn’t as peppy as Back to Black, but it still holds its own even if I’d describe it as coffee shop mellow music. In fact, I think that would be my perfect setting to listen to this album. Drinking java, working on my laptop, all whilst taking small brakes to take the music in. It’s in those small brakes you take that you learn something new about a song and hear a little more soul than the time before.

The 12 track album features some mellow yet peppier tracks like “Our Day Will Come”, “Valerie”, and “Best Friends, Right?”. Then there’s a slew of soulful slower jams like “Tears Dry”, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow”, “Wake Up Alone”, and “Body And Soul” featuring Tony Bennett. My personal favourites are the funky “Like Smoke” featuring Nas,  the spunky feel-good “Valerie”, “The Girl From Ipanema” which makes me want to be cool and grab a piña colada, and the closing track  “A Song For You” which will probably break your heart a little bit (“…and when my life is over,remember when we were together, we were alone and I was singing this song for you….” – think they made this one the final track on purpose?).

Although the album feels more like a modge podge of tracks that I wouldn’t really call treasures, they’re treasures in the sense that they’re the only thing we have left to remember the talented Winehouse.

Rating: 7/10
Label: Universal Republic
Favourites: Like Smoke, Valerie, The Girl From Ipanema

Album Review: Robin Thicke Love After War

Robin Thicke’s latest album, Love After War, was released December 6th. I’ve been struggling since then to write this review. It’s not a bad album but it’s boring and I’ve been trying to find a more eloquent and respectable way to describe my sentiments. Alas, I haven’t found a way to do that so, without further adieu, please excuse my poor word choice, but this album is boring. Boring like a cupcake without icing. I guess you could still argue that at least it’s still a cupcake?

My first issue with the album is that I don’t understand his jump from his last effort to this one. The former,  Sex Therapy, was urban soul and featured a bunch of collabs (Jay-Z, Game, Jazmine Sullivan, Kid Cudi, Snoop Dogg, Nicki Minaj, Estelle). Love After War features a lot of forgettable slow soul jams you might hear as background music at a coffee shop or in a store. On that note however, the sound to this album is more in line and true to the sound he had on his first few albums.

I actually really enjoy Thicke’s voice. I think he’s got a lot of soul and I do indeed like a lot of his music; this album just isn’t cutting it for me. That being said, there are a few standout tracks worth mentioning. The openers “An Angel on Each Arm” and “I’m An Animal” are upbeat and catchy and probably my favourite tracks on the album. Slower standouts are “All Tied Up” which is the perfect tempo for Saturday mornings when you’re half asleep waiting for coffee to do it’s thing, “Cloud 9″ with it’s whimsical beat, and “What Would I Be?” which in my opinion is the best ballad with it’s strong vocals and soulful key solos.

Like I mentioned earlier, not a bad album, just really, really lackluster. Hey, I just found a better word for boring!

Rating: 3/10
Label: Geffen Records
Favourites: An Angel On Each Arm, I’m An Animal, What Would I Be?