Brand New Day

Today, I was listening to Pandora at work. Enjoying my James Morrison radio station. A song by one of my favorite artists, Joshua Radin, came on. The song is called "Brand New Day."

This song really spoke to me on this particular day. It is the beginning of my final quarter of college and I'm just getting back into the swing of classes. At this exact moment I'm slightly overwhelmed. (I know every other senior out there can feel my pain.) Classes, job searching, apartment hunting, deciding where to live, not wanting to grow up, etc. It can seem daunting.

This song came on and completely calmed me down. From Radin's newest album Simple Times, "Brand New Day" is the soothing melodic type of tune that I have come to love from Radin. His lyrically driven music truly speaks to me, especially at this point in my life. The simplicity of his songwriting is what I truly love about his work. This song highlights that simplicity and his effortless delivery.

Enjoy!



For more on Joshua Radin you can check out his Artist Spotlight from January 23. You can also visit his website www.joshuaradin.com.

Thursday's Top 5

Thursdays will give you something to look forward to (more than one more day left in the work week.) Thursday's Top 5 will highlight the top five songs that have been keeping me entertained over the past week. These are the songs that I have been listening to non-stop. I hope you enjoy!

This week's picks:

1. James Morrison- Broken Strings (check out his Artist Spotlight)

2. Eric Hutchinson- Oh! (check out his Artist Spotlight)

3. Gabriella Cilmi- Sweet About Me

4. The Script- The Man Who Can't Be Moved

5. Plain White T's- 1,2,3,4

St. Patrick's Day Music

Today, is the day that everyone pretends they're Irish. It does not matter where in the world your family originally came from, today everyone hails from the picturesque country where green reigns supreme.

I have created a playlist to enjoy on this wonderful day of joy and drunkenness.

Enjoy.

1. Dropkick Murphys- Gonna be a Blackout Tonight
2. Jason Myles Goss- Irish Eyes
3. Flogging Molly- Drunken Lullabies
4. Young Dubliners- Rocky Road to Dublin
5. Great Big Sea- The Night that Patty Murphy Died
6. The High Kings- The Parting Glass
7. The Pogues- If I Should Fall from Grace with God
8. Gaelic Storm- What's the Rumpus?
9. The Tossers- Whiskey Makes Me Crazy
10. George Thorogood- One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer
11. The Real McKenzies- King of Fife
12. Street Dogs- Rebel Song
13. The Corrs- Toss the Feathers

Let me know what you're listening to to prepare for this evenings festivities.

Everyone have a safe and happy St. Patrick's Day that you will remember tomorrow (or not)!

Artist Spotlight: James Morrison

2006 brought the debut album, Undiscovered, from folk-soul artist James Morrison. This album yield no fewer than five singles and got Morrison the 2007 Brit Award for Best Male. Undiscovered reached No. 1 in Britain and Top 20 in America, Morrison was only 21.

Morrison's raw, soulful, bluesy sound caught listeners attention. There was no cliches, no bull, just pure talent and people like talent. His audience can relate to the genuine emotional content of his music.

In August 2007, after relentless touring, Morrison finally stopped to write and record a follow-up to the smash debut album. Under all that pressure, Morrison struggled. "As soon as I’d get something good I’d think about it and screw it up." He said. And then the light bulb went off: “Just go for what you’re feeling at the time. That’s how I worked on the first album, and in a way I think that’s some of the reason why people liked it. It wasn’t trying too hard.”

Songs for You, Truths for Me, the second album from the Cornwall native, is once again a showcase of Morrison's unique style. This album is filled with more raw, distinctive soul of a young boy growing into a wise man. Songs for You, Truths for Me illuminates Morrison's large, hopelessly romantic heart and genuine spirit.

"It’s less playful, more to the point,” Morrison says. “But I haven’t consciously gone for a different sound. With me, it always comes down to the lyric, the melody, and the rest flows from that. But I’ve definitely tapped into my feelings about life more on this album, rather than writing about characters on the bus (Wonderful World), or whatever. I was just letting stuff flow through me.”

Morrison's music has been featured in Apple commericals and was spotlighted in the holiday iPod Nano campaign.

Morrison partners with singer Nelly Furtado on the first single from Songs for You, Truths for Me, Broken Strings. I hope you enjoy this glimpse into the world of James Morrison. Enjoy!




For more information on Morrison, visit www.jamesmorrisonmusic.com or find him on iTunes.

New Shuffle Design

Apple unveils newly redesigned iPod Shuffle. The new mp3 player (pictured to the left) now only comes in black and silver and is half the size of its predecessor.

The taller and even smaller design completely omits any surface buttons except for a three-way toggle switch. This switch toggles between song, shuffling and power. Volume and track control are now handled through an in-line remote on the earbuds, similar to those of iPhone, Nano and Touch.

VoiceOver is the most significant new feature. This feature reads out artist and track information at the press of a button. It can also be used to read out playlist names, enabling users to switch between playlists, this is a first for Shuffle.

This new Shuffle will only be available in a 4GB version, which is a step up from the previous 1 and 2GB options. The price for the newly redesigned shuffle is a cool $79.

For more information or to purchase the new iPod, visit http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/

iPod Playlists

I enjoy discovering new music and sharing it with my family and friends. I wanted to use this blog to accomplish that.

Some people have asked me what I am listening to right now. So, I thought I would share that with all of you.

Here are some of the playlists that are currently on my iPod.

Upcoming Columbus Concerts

I've already talked about the great venues for small concerts here in Columbus. Here is an update on the upcoming shows in March at some of my favorite places.

The Basement:

03.09.2009 The Whigs

03.10.2009 The Hard Lessons

03.12.2009 Senses Fail

03.13.2009 The Heartland CD Release Show w/ Terrafirma

03.14.2009 Kathleen Edwards

03.19.2009 Howie Day

03.20.2009 Project 19 Promotions Presents Chemical Valley

03.27.2009 The Von Bondies

03.29.2009 Loganpalooza IV Selection Showcase

03.31.2009 The Movement


Newport Music Hall:

03.13.2009 The Recession Tour Starring Young Jeezy

03.14.2009 Ekoostik Hookah

03.15.2009 Kottonmouth Kings

03.17.2009 Badfish, a Tribute to Sublime with Special Guests: Scotty Don't

03.18.2009 Rachael Yamagata

03.19.2009 Mindless Self Indulgence

03.20.2009 Strikken / Fluwid

03.21.2009 The Great American Beast w/ Burning Graceland

03.27.2009 The Aesthetics / Sturbridge

03.28.2009 8 Days Dead / Answer 42

03.30.2009 CD101 Low Dough Show featuring The Gaslight Anthem

03.31.2009 The Sub City Take Action Tour featuring Cute Is What We Aim For w/ Breathe Carolina/ Meg & Dia, Every Avenue & Anarbor


For more information or to find more dates and venues visit http://www.promowestlive.com/. Happy concert-going!

The Streets Have a Name...and it's All Because of You, U2!

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is honoring the legendary Irish rock band U2. A ceremony was held Tuesday afternoon to rename a portion of West 53rd Street in Manhattan U2 Way.

In one of the greatest PR stunts of the year, the temporary name change coincides with the release of U2's latest album No Line on the Horizon. This honor is also a way to celebrate the band's unprecedented week long stint on "The Late Show with David Letterman."

"Somewhere south of Duke Ellington Way and north of Joey Ramone Place we find ourselves," said lead singer Bono. "And we're the band where the streets have no name."

U2 is trying to find ways to encourage sales of their new album after their own label (Universal Music Group) unintentionally leaked it late last month.

Forbes reported, "UMG's Australian branch is being blamed for accidentally leaking the album, offering high quality downloads for purchase from their digital music site Getmusic.au. The downloads, which were being sold roughly two weeks before the album's February 27th Irish release date, were available for about two hours before the error was noticed."

U2 will be performing on David Letterman all this week to promote No Line on the Horizon. Also, to reward the fans that weren't tempted by the illegal leak, you can listen to the album in its entirety on the band's MySpace page, http://www.myspace.com/u2. They will also perform LIVE this Friday on ABC's Good Morning America.

For a little taste, here is a video for the first single "Get On Your Boots." Enjoy!

Artist Spotlight: Eric Hutchinson

Soulful, honest and approachable are the best ways to describe Eric Hutchinson's music and personna. His music is truly passionate and soulful. He is brutely honest in his lyrics. He seems like your friends big brother, who just happens to play guitar and keyboard.

Influenced by the song-styling of greats Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel and Paul Simon, Hutchinson mixes genres to create a truly unique sound. Sounds Like This, travels from the thoughtful to soulful to jazzy illustrating Hutchinson true breadth as an artist. It is clear to see that Hutchinson is a well-studied student of pop music.

2007 found the release of Hutchinson's debut album, Sounds Like This. He released the album independently after the collapse of Maverick Records. Hutchinson hit the road to get exposure and experience. Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton recommended Hutchinson on his site and the rest was history. Hutchinson's album became the highest-charting album by an unsigned act in iTunes history.

The history making artist soon found himself in high demand. Features appeared in Billboard and the Washington Post. His song "Rock & Roll" appeared in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, introducing him a new audience.

Hutchinson is out touring to promote his album, which began getting airplay on VH1 in mid-August. If you get a chance to see Hutchinson live, I would truly recommend it. He does not disappoint. Splitting his time between keyboard and guitar, Hutchinson entertains through the entire concert. He jokes around with his audience and plays amazing medleys of popular top-40 hits and classic soul.

For more information on Eric Hutchinson please visit his website http://www.erichutchinson.com/ or find his music on iTunes.

I found this video of him playing live....Enjoy!