One of my favorite Christmas albums (or, rather, the only Christmas album I listen to) is A Very She & Him Christmas by the pair She & Him. She & Him are named after exactly what they are. "She" is Zooey Deschanel, a very famous actress and quirky TV star. "He" is M. Ward, a talented solo-musician and leader of the group Monsters of Folk. Together, they make a modern music duo that hits home to the indie crowd with a unique and raw sound.
Deschanel and Ward met on the set of a movie called The Go-Getter where Deschanel was starring. They were asked to sing a duet for the credits. They bonded over their favorite music producers like Phil Spector and George Martin. Ward had seen Zooey in her movie Elf, where she sings in the shower. He then learned she sometimes wrote songs, but had never done anything with them in the music world. Their duet was a cover of "When I Get to the Border" by Richard and Linda Thompson. Deschanel said "[when] I met Matt, then everything seemed to fall into place." She had made many home-demos, which she then sent to Ward. In March 18, 2008, the couple was officially formed in music with the release of the album Volume One. They took only three sessions to actually make Volume One, the was done by collaboration through email. In 2010, after a break for their own respective careers, they released Volume Two.
After another break, they finally made the Christmas album. It was much awaited and was one of the top-three best-selling mp3 Christmas albums on Amazon.com. Earlier this year, Volume 3 was released. The title of Volume 3 does not contain a spelled-out numerical, marking a change in their music. It will be interesting to see what comes next from She & Him and their growing popularity.
Sources:
Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/She_%26_Him
<12/06/13, wikipedia.org>
Picture:
http://www.metrolyrics.com/she-and-him-albums-list.html
<12/06/13, metrolyrics.com>
Monday, December 9, 2013
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
Kangaroo Court
Indie Pop is the only genre that could apply to Capital Cities. This group is taking the radio waves by storm with their popular song "Safe and Sound." Based out of Los Angeles, they are a fairly new band; they emerged in the summer of 2011. The debut self-titled EP led them to being signed by a record label. Together they have made two pop hits that show they will soon be a sensation.
This all began when Sebu Simonian posted a craigslist.com ad offering his production skills. Ryan Merchant responded and a musical match was made. For the first three years they wrote jingles, which were altogether successful. Due to this, they decided to form a band called Capital Cities (a name they chose to represent the worldly sophistication they hoped to give electronic music). They have gained popularity through their videos for two singles which have gone viral. "Safe and Sound"'s video features them doing an intricate dance number that details the last 100 years of dance styles. "Kangaroo Court" is their second single, the video of which has a cameo by Glee star Darren Criss. It tells the story of a parahuman world and a Zebra who tries to sneak into a club. Some of the characters are played by Simonian and Merchant themselves. I highly recommend watching it.
Though on stage they are aided by session musicians, Merchant and Simonian record for their album as a duo. They have been touring Europe since April, which is their second European tour. You can check out their debut album A Tidal Wave of Mystery on iTunes.com. They are also continuing to write music while on tour for another album. However, right now, they are enjoying the success of their singles and exploring the world.
Sources:
Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_Cities_(band)
<wikipedia.org, 12/01/13>

http://kroq.cbslocal.com/video/8597535-capital-cities-interview/
<kroq.cbslocal.com, 12/01/13>
http://www.campuscircle.com/review.cfm?r=17451
<campuscircle.com, 12/01/13>
Pictures:
http://uk.omg.yahoo.com/gossip/110--pop/capital-cities-and-claire---berlin--yahoo--on-the-road-065853189.html
<yahoo.com, 12/01/13>
http://cityneversleeps.com/2013/11/24/spotlight-capital-cities/
<cityneversleeps.com 12/01/13>
This all began when Sebu Simonian posted a craigslist.com ad offering his production skills. Ryan Merchant responded and a musical match was made. For the first three years they wrote jingles, which were altogether successful. Due to this, they decided to form a band called Capital Cities (a name they chose to represent the worldly sophistication they hoped to give electronic music). They have gained popularity through their videos for two singles which have gone viral. "Safe and Sound"'s video features them doing an intricate dance number that details the last 100 years of dance styles. "Kangaroo Court" is their second single, the video of which has a cameo by Glee star Darren Criss. It tells the story of a parahuman world and a Zebra who tries to sneak into a club. Some of the characters are played by Simonian and Merchant themselves. I highly recommend watching it.
Though on stage they are aided by session musicians, Merchant and Simonian record for their album as a duo. They have been touring Europe since April, which is their second European tour. You can check out their debut album A Tidal Wave of Mystery on iTunes.com. They are also continuing to write music while on tour for another album. However, right now, they are enjoying the success of their singles and exploring the world.
Sources:
Information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_Cities_(band)
<wikipedia.org, 12/01/13>

http://kroq.cbslocal.com/video/8597535-capital-cities-interview/
<kroq.cbslocal.com, 12/01/13>
http://www.campuscircle.com/review.cfm?r=17451
<campuscircle.com, 12/01/13>
Pictures:
http://uk.omg.yahoo.com/gossip/110--pop/capital-cities-and-claire---berlin--yahoo--on-the-road-065853189.html
<yahoo.com, 12/01/13>
http://cityneversleeps.com/2013/11/24/spotlight-capital-cities/
<cityneversleeps.com 12/01/13>
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