Hugo Kant - Low Gravity
I used to know this guy who looked a lot like Kai Smythe A.K.A. Hairy Soul Man. He was also very hairy, gifted with musical talent, a red head and kind of an odd guy. There was one time I saw him without a shirt on it was very uncomfortable...like more uncomfortable than talking to him normally. To be fair I was hanging out at his house with his roomates and it was hotter than the devils but crack. However, seeing him shirtless reminded me of those werewolf horror movies where the person is in mid transition for becoming a full on werewolf. Not quite covered in hair, but not human looking either. I feel bad for thinking that because he was a pretty nice guy, strange for sure, but nice. The guy knew music thoug and could play any Van Halen song you threw at him. He also introduced me to my favorite board gave ever, Settlers Of Catan, which he totally cheated at when he was teaching my room mates and I how to play. When I watch this video I sort of get the same vibes I got from that guy. Weird and off beat, perhaps a bit cringy, but also kind of cool in his own way.
Hairy Soul Man - Fuck Everything
Really all you need to know about this super talented woman is that she absolutely kills it when it comes to making music, but since I'd feel bad if that is all I shared about her, I will gush on about one of the most underrated YouTube musicians out there. Kerrin Connolly is a Boston based multi-instrumentalist who not only writes her own songs but absolutely kills it when covering others songs. Her original work is very lighthearted, goofy and fun, which makes listening to her music and watching her videos on YouTube a pure joy. Seriously if you don't at least smile a little bit while watching her videos you just might need to watch another or you might be a dwarf of seven named Ornery or something like that. The music it's self is very catchy, comedic and inviting. It's definitely something I would want to show to my Mom and not feel uneasy about the subject matter. Her voice is beautiful, crisp and she is a master at creating awesome vocal harmonies. The handful of videos she has on her YouTube channel range from original works to cover songs and each video ends with her talking a bit about the song or just chatting about her life, but not in a blah blah blah boring way. It's funny and dare I say, adorkable. Her videos are not only fun to watch but they are really interesting too if you are the least bit into seeing how music is created. The videos are very DIY oriented and show her singing and playing (is there an instrument this woman can't play?) nearly every instrument used in the song. The videos are super addicting and demand multiple viewings. Truth be told I stopped writing this about an hour ago as I got sucked into a Kerrin Connolly YouTube vortex. No Ragrets! I am not sure if she edits the videos herself but, I have dabbled around with video editing myself, and I gotta tell you, what is being done with those videos is no small feat and is done very very well. I beg of you to please go check out her stuff and show her some love. She totally deserves it and I really hope to see her go big. This is one musician that you can tell truly loves what she does and loves her fans. Because I love her work so much I am going to post a cover and a re-worked original with a band. You'll just have to visit her to see the raw version of the original.
Kerrin Connolly - Mr. Know-It-All (Young The Giant Cover)
Kerrin Connolly - The Evil One
Since getting my record stereo system back up and working after not having it for a few years I have been going buck wild with buying music. Like seriously, I am at a point where I need to sort of put myself in check before I just spend all my money on music. I am not saying I am broke, but lets just say that I have become very aware of the amount I am spending on music and it should be less. I am not joking when I say this for the past few months I have gone to at least 2 thrift stores almost every day. Now that doesn't mean I am always buying something every stop, half of the time I come back empty handed, but when I do see something cool I buy it. Because I really can't think of what else to write about I am going to post my "a work in progress" set of rules for music buying.
- Rule #1. New Album Purchases (Record Store): - You may buy a new (not previously used) record on a payday weekend. Limit 1 new album every 2 weeks. I don't know if you have seen the prices of albums these days but they generally run 20-30 bucks for a normal non special edition of an album. If I stick by this rule I will acquire 24 new albums a year. It's a modest amount for a music maniac like me, but I think it's quite fair.
- Rule No.2 Used Albums (Record Store): You may purchase used albums from a record store but the total may not go over $20 for used record store albums. Record store trips should be limited to no more than 3 per month. You may combine the used album rule and the new album rule but you may only get 1 used album and 1 new album, the amount may not exceed $40 and you must omit one day of thrift store shopping. This allows me to purchase something if I really cant pass it up, but still puts a restriction on the amount I spend and also reduces the extra trip to the thrift store during the week.
- Rule #C. Thrifted/Garage Sale Albums: You may choose any 3 days during the week to go to the thrift stores. On these days you may go to as many thrift stores as you like. You may go to as many garage sales as you like on Saturdays. Thrifted/Garage Sale purchases must be below $3 per item and may not exceed a total amount of $15 over the 3 days. This works because quite often I do not find anything at the thrift stores/garage sales. You may alter this rule only if you come across a treasure trove haul. If this is the case you may not exceed over $40 and the next week of purchasing rules are null and void. This will limit my spending at thrift stores/garage sales. Garage sales are usually a bust anyway and by setting a limit on thrift store spending I am not tempted to just buy whatever I see.
- Rule #IV Purchase Designations: Every 3rd purchase at a record store may be from an unknown musician/artist. All other purchases must be from either a well curated list of albums you want, an album that will work toward completing a musician/bands discography already in your collection, or from a well loved band that you do not have in physical media format. This rule does not apply to thrift store/garage sale purchases, but is strongly advised. By doing this I am making sure I am buying albums I am going to listen to and know that I like, while still giving me the freedom to explore new music.
- Rule #Horse The No Repeat Rule: No album is to be bought on another media format if it is already in your collection. This rule may be broken only in very special circumstances (I.E. the media format being purchased is an absolute investment over the already existing format and a can't pass up price.) This allows me to have a wider library of music but also allows me to buy the White Album on vinyl if I ever somehow stumble upon a steal of a deal.
Mick Jagger - Brand New Set Of Rules
Speaking of record buying. One of my must own on vinyl albums came up for sale recently on /r/VinylDeals. If you done know what I just said in the last sentence then good. That means more discounted records for me. Doh! Now that the cats out of the bag I guess I'll explain. It's a forum where people post links to discounted vinyl on sites like Amazon and Wal-Mart almost daily. The sales don't usually last too long so you have to be quick. You can have a bot alert you when specific album titles or bands are posted but you have to check on it quite frequently to get the really good deals on sought after records. I really have a love/hate affair with that subreddit. The music nerd in me loves it and my wallet hats it. Anyway, the album Merriweather Post Pavilion by indie Psych rock legends Animal Collective was on sale this week along with a ton of other really great albums at pretty unbeatable prices on the VinylDeals subreddit. However, there was some strange stuff going on with the deals. The seller on Wal-Mart.com had very strange descriptions for the albums ranging from descriptions of zippers to skateboard pads. I, along with quite a few other record dorks decided to take the shot and see what happens. I put in my order and got a e-mail saying it was going to be shipped by the 4th of July, Seemed normal no issue. Initially I did have a bit of regret in buying this album since I did just purchase a pricey, and very disappointing, album at Barnes and Nobel a few days prior, but I had just got paid and the price was really good so I wasn't too concerned. Yesterday I wake up and I see an e-mail stating that the order was canceled due to the product not being available. The e-mail it's self strangely worded and the subject line had someone else's name in it and a bunch of numbers. I checked me bank account and it looked like it was indeed cancelled and the refund was showing as well. I was bummed but considering the strange circumstances I was okay with it. I made sure to make a heads up post for others who might have ordered as well just in case. a bunch of people responded saying their order was cancelled too and a few were still in process. Well it turns out that the orders that were not cancelled did not receive their desired albums. Instead they received whatever the description was. Luckily for them it seems that Wal-Mart.com is being cool and refunding the purchases, but seriously, what the funk?! Who does that? I am guessing it was some sort of data entry error. I know that after a while in a repetitive job you can just go all auto pilot and zone out sometimes. It still sucks though to get someones hopes up and then not deliver..."And all over the US you could hear the cries of 50 sad record nerds come together in one harmonious cacophony of misery." All in all I am really thankful that I got off easy and didn't have to go through the process of getting my money back. Oh, well. The album goes back on my list and the grind to find continues.
Animal Collective - Daily Routine
