James Blake & Bon Iver - Fall Creek Boys Choir

Instead of my normal music highlights of the day post I'm just going to talk about the new song featuring James Blake and Bon Iver that was released today.  Last week James Blake released a post on Twitter saying that he and Bon Iver had an announcement to make on 8-24.  When I saw this I got really excited.  So far I've absolutely loved everything Justin Vernon of Bon Iver has done so far and the more I listen to James Blake, the more I enjoy him.

Early this morning I was sitting at work and remembered that today was supposed to be the big announcement.  I had expected it to be announced early this morning and was slightly disappointed when I didn't read any news of it.  I am have even sent a post to James Blake and Justin Vernon on Twitter about it, but just maybe.  Within 30 minutes of sending the message, news started coming out that the song Fall Creek Boys Choir would be played live on BBC Radio.  When I saw this I got a little excited, okay really excited.

If you are a fan of Bon Iver's latest album or of James Blake album you will probably really enjoy Fall Creek Boys Choir.  It is pure auto-tune magic.  Understanding the lyrics is a tad difficult but the song still has this incredible beauty to it.  I really hope that this collaboration can turn into a full album.  That would be absolutely amazing!!!

For those of you that haven't listened to it, here is Fall Creek Boys Choir by James Blake & Bon Iver

Music Highlights of the Day 8-23-11

Go Outside by Cults:  The Cults are a band out of Manhattan that have an extremely fun sound to them.  When I listen to them I just think of a 60's beach party.  The first single released from their debut album was Go Outside.  To me Go Outside is one of those songs you would expect to hear in a commercial, especially an Apple or some car commercial.  Here is the official video for the song:

Holocene by Bon Iver:  Last week the video for Holocene was released and it is beautiful.  It was filmed in Iceland and shows how amazing the landscape is there.  I absolutely love Bon Iver and any chance to listen to a Bon Iver song is a treat.  Hope you enjoy the video as much as I did.

Music Highlights of the Day 8-22-11

Conversation 16 by The National: The National have slowly become one of my favorite bands. In fact I would be them in my Top 3 favorite bands and about to become number 1. Seeing them last summer in concert is the reason for this. They put on such an incredible show. Their live performance alone is why people should check this band out. Today I listened to their last album High Violet. One of my favorite songs off the album has got to be Conversation 16. It's a very dark and bleak song. The lyric "I was afraid, I'd eat your brains" is proof enough how dark it is.

Wake and Be Fine by Okkervil River: Okkervil River is another one of my favorite bands. I actually got to see them last summer in concert opening for The National. I don't know what it is about Okkervil River but I absolutely love them. Their songs end to be dark but always seem to tell a great story. Below is a video from their latest album. Hope you enjoy it.

Music Highlights of the Day 8-18-11 & 8-19-11

Work has been kind of slow the last few days so I haven't really been able to focus on music as much. Because of this I've decided to combine the last two days.

Change of Time by Josh Ritter: If you've watched any of the preseason NFL games this season you have probably heard this song. When I saw the commercial I was completely shocked. I couldn't believe I was hearing Josh Ritter on a nationally televised commercial. I've seen Josh Ritter I'm concert and he is one of the happiest people I've ever seen on stage. If you have the chance to see Josh in concert, do it!

First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes: I first started listening to Bright Eyes my senior year of college. With the release of I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, Bright Eyes released a collection of beautiful songs, but to me the best song was First Day of My Life. When you listen to the lyrics you can't help but feel great and possibly get the chills.

The Party & The After Party by The Weeknd: The Weeknd is an R&B singer out of Toronto that has released two mixtapes for free online. His first mix tape, House of Balloons, Has received a lot of praise from various critics. I feel that it is a solid album that is enjoyable to listen to from beginning to end. My favorite song on the album has got to be The Party & The After Party

Music Highlights of the Day 8-17-11

Limit to Your Love by James Blake:  So I've listened to James Blake full length album twice now and every time this song comes on I wonder where I've heard it before.  The reason why this song sounds so familiar is because it's actually a song originally performed by Feist.  Feist is an artist who I haven't listened to a lot of but I some how remember she did this song.  I kind of prefer the James Blake version but I can let you decide which one you like more, so here are videos for both.

Sun Hands by The Local Natives:  The Local Natives are a band that I fell in love with the second I heard them.  I just really enjoy their harmonies and the tempo of their songs.  I actually got to see them in concert a little over the year ago at what once was the Empyrean in Spokane.  It was a nice intimate venue and I was able to pretty much be right in the bands face, it was incredible.  Sun Hands is probably one of my favorite Local Natives songs and watched a video of them performing it at this years Lollapalooza.  I hope you enjoy the song as much as I do.

Music Highlights of the Day 8-16-2011

Set Fire to the Rain by Adele: Set Fire to the Rain is probably my favorite song off Adele's latest album. It is just one of those songs that gets into your head and you can't stop singing it all day long. Every time I hear it I wonder what it would look like to set fire to the rain. It's one of those things I can visualize happening in some apocalyptic movie. Yes I know that sounds strange but that's what I think when I hear it.

Howlin' for You by The Black Keys: The Black Keys are a band I wish I would have found out about earlier. I had heard of them but never listened to them until after their latest album, Brothers, was released. Howlin' for You is a song that you can't help but enjoy. For me, it's a song that pumps me up and gets me excited. It's one of those songs that everyone should listen to. The video for Howlin' for You is pretty crazy, tons of celebrities.

Music Highlights of the Day 8-15-2011

Spanish Sahara by The Foals:  A friend had told me to check out Spanish Sahara by The Foals, so I did.  At the beginning of the song I was a little hesitant because it was slower than I expected.  Not really sure why I expected it to be more uptempo but I did.  While listening to it, I kept saying to myself, "This has got to pick up at some point."  And sure enough it did and I love it.  Below is the music video for the song.

Black Leaf by The Cave Singers:  The Cave Singers are a band that I had heard of before but never listened to their music.  Recently I had read on Twitter that they were opening for the Fleet Foxes, a band I love, and that Robin Pecknold, the lead singer of Fleet Foxes, was blown away by their performances.  Because of that I had to give The Cave Singers a listen.  I listened to the album while working one day, nothing really stood out.  I decided to give the album another listen and when I heard Black Leaf something just hit me.  Not sure what it was but I loved it.  I really like the way the lead singer sounds and enjoy the tempo of the song.  Here is the video below.

Orange Sky by Alexi Murdoch:  The other night I was watching the movie Away We Go and one of the first things I noticed about it was the music.  I immediately did a search to see who it was that was featured in the movie.  It happened to be Alexi Murdoch, a singer who I've had on my iPod for years but haven't really listened to him.  First thing Monday morning I decided that I must listen to his album.  I really enjoyed what I heard but what stood out to me the most on the album was the last song, Orange Sky.  The part I enjoyed the most had to be the lyric "In your love, my salvation lies".  This lyric is repeated multiple times throughout the song and something about it just gave me chills.