I have been on a hiatus of posting anything on this blog!! Why? I don’t know!! Finally finished my top 5 picks of artists that I think should be listened to more often (well, more than they already are). If you don’t listen to these amazing peeps then there’s no hope for you. Just…. stop. Kidding (-ish)! These are in NO PARTICULAR ORDER!!!
You turn on the TV and the God of War: Ascension trailer is on. But your attention isn’t on the pulverizing little girl being held by Kratos. No, it’s on that epic chorus of the song playing. Who is that?! She sounds familiar, but I don’t remember her name! The song is performed by English singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding. You may remember her for her hit song “Lights,” which peaked at number two in the Billboard Hot 100 over a year later after its release. Her recent album Halcyon is filled with songs you won’t stop listening to, like Anything Could Happen, Figure 8, and Hanging On (the song used in the God of War trailer). With her angelic voice and electro-pop tracks, what more can you ask for?
American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey might not be as successful in the states, but she is clearly one of the best singers today. Her two albums Born To Die and the reloaded Born To Die: Paradise Edition don’t have a single track that you won’t want to listen to. Funny story, I stumbled upon her when IGN posted her music video (which went viral) Video Games on their Facebook, which attracted a lot of haters (eh, trolls). Come on guys, be mature. Just because the song is called Video Games, it doesn’t mean that she’s dissing them! Thanks to the post and all the hate, I watched the video and fell in love with Rey. It’s hard to choose favorites from both albums, but the ones I listen to the most are Off to the Races, National Anthem, Blue Jeans, Gods & Monsters, Body Electric, Summertime Sadness, Dark Paradise and Carmen. Honestly, I listen to all of them.
This indie folk/pop band rose to glory when their hit single Little Talks entered the top 10 in the U.S. and their album My Head Is An Animal peaked at number six (U.S.). Their latest single King and Lionheart is just as great, if not better, than Talks. But don’t listen to just their singles. The whole album is packed with soothing folksy tracks performed by lead Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir and Ragnar “Raggi” Þórhallsson, whose voices are amazing! Also, their music videos are beautifully crafted art!
Yes, you know this man, who is behind many Billboard Hot 100 hits. Although already on his third studio album, Calvin Harris was shoved into the music spotlight with the help of Rihanna, in the track “We Found Love.” His current album 18 Months features tracks like “Sweet Nothing (feat. Florence Welch)”, “Iron,” “Awooga,” “I Need Your Love (feat. Ellie Goulding)”, “Feel So Close” , and my favorite, “We’ll Be Coming Back (feat. Example).” But don’t ignore his previous two albums I Created Disco and Ready for the Weekend. Among their best songs are, “Ready for the Weekend”, “I’m Not Alone”, “Acceptable in the 80s”, “Worst Day”, “You Used To Hold Me”, “Flashback”, and well, all of them! I’ll admit that I prefer his previous work because he actually sang in them, as opposed to his recent one where he sings in a mere two songs (“Feel So Close” and “Iron”). Regardless of his lack of singing in 18 Months, this artist will continue to break into every radio station, club and the Billboard Hot 100.
You might remember Dia Frampton as the runner-up of The Voice’s first season. Her rendition of Kanye West’s “Heartless” is probably the most memorable performance of the show’s 3 seasons. Before that though, she was in a band (Meg & Dia) with her sister Meg Frampton and friends. Remember your emo phase in high school where all you listened to was MCR, Flyleaf, etc? Well, one favorite was Meg & Dia’s “Monster,” which even got a dubstep remix by DotEXE, and is one of the best dubstep remixes you will ever hear. Make sure to check out the band’s albums, which include songs that will make you furious at the thought that their label dropped them and Dia had to resort to The Voice. But hey, it wasn’t all a loss. She gained new fans, as did the band. They released albums Our Home is Gone, Something Real, Here, Here and Here, It’s Always Stormy in Tillamook, and Be Careful, I Love You, Stay In Touch before they officially disbanded last year. Meg Frampton is still doing music with Nick Price under the name The Khaki Scouts, while Dia Frampton is under contract with Universal Records and her ex-band members still help her out; what a great family, eh? Besides their track “Monster,” every song on every single one of their albums should be heard. Of course they write their own music and are amazing at it (*hint hint mainstream music artists). Dia Frampton’s solo album Red (no, not Taylor Swift’s. Dia released hers first!!!) has some of my favorite songs, including “Billy the Kid,” “Walk Away,” “Love Can Come From Anywhere,” “Hearts Out To Dry,” “Good Boy,” and every other track (I say that a lot). I am dead serious, you need to listen to this group of people!!! You can also support Meg’s jewelry collection. She makes amazing little unique robot necklaces, earrings and key chains. Here’s the page: Chandler The Robot.
