twenty | one | pilots “Hands for Guns” (Official Video) This is a MUST SEE!

I stumbled upon twenty | one | pilots at 4:30 in the morning while watching AMTV because I had a sleepless night where my mind seemed to take over. The good thing that came out of it was seeing the video for “Holding On To You” which is outstanding musically and visually. So I did what every normal person does and hunted the band down on Spotify…where I was surprised to find the debut album Vessel which has only been out since January 8th. As the first song played I was intrigued and continued to listen, before I knew it I had played the entire album and had to stop myself from playing it again. It’s amazing and I recommend it to anyone looking for something new and fresh to listen to. They are going to be the band to watch over the next year!

I posted the more recent video “Guns for Hands” the video really captures their personality and shows what talent they have. It makes me want to see them live!

What’s SXSW and Why should I go?

This year will be my 3rd year to volunteer for SXSW and for the most part I start counting down the days two months out! It has been one of the best things I ever decided to do. South By (what it’s call for those in the know) is an event that brings people from all over the world to connect in three main areas Film, Interactive, and Music. I’ve grown up in Austin and never really knew or understood the impact that South By had on the rest of the country and the world. While people flee the city of Austin during this mega event, a greater number of people descend on this great city ready to “work hard and play hard”. That seems to be the motto for everything that goes on. Through my work volunteering I have gotten the privilege to see what Austin changes into each year. The Interactive Festival the part I volunteer for has been the fastest growing section of the event.

My schedule during SXSW is grueling  I work 5 consecutive 10 hour days where I am constantly challenged while working on the conference level. I deal with everything from helping panelist, setting up rooms and crowd control. Everything moves quickly and you have to be able to think on you feet and take charge. Not everyone is cut out for this job. I have seen people put in a days work and then never come back. It’s hard work but I strive in this type of environment.  As a volunteer that works 50 hours you are given a badge of your choice.  The opportunity to get a music badge ($750)  for simply taking time out to work hard for a few days is absolutely worth it to me.

It’s crazy but when you get to see Jay-Z performing 3 feet in front of you in a smaller setting than he normally plays all the days of hard work kind of just fade away…

So if you are lucky enough to get to SXSW in 2013 I’m sure it will be a great year and if you think that volunteering is for you then sign up, either way it is the best place to be come March.

B.o.B We Still In This Bitch (Official Video)

B.o.B released his Mixtape 2 months ago Fuck Em We Ball has been downloaded over 400,000 times. B.o.B has always had a strong following especially when it comes to his work on mixtapes. Much of what he releases commercially brings both positive and negative reviews. When he releases a mixtape there is always a clear direction and seems to showcase some of his best work. This is the official video for “We Still In This Bitch” and it doesn’t disappoint. Check it out and if you haven’t downloaded the mixtape you should!

Justin Timberlake Suit & Tie (Feat. Jay-Z)

The internet blew up earlier this week when a cryptic Tweet from Justin Timberlake announced that at 9:01 PST he would be making some sort of announcement. After not having released any new music in 6 1/2 years the internet blew up with lots of speculation and the consensus seemed to be that a new song was going to be debuted for all his fans. Thursday came and went and the only release that came was a video clip eluding to the fact that he indeed was working on music and was collaborating with Timberland on an upcoming project. That didn’t really seem like news considering Timbaland had already previously stated that they were planning on working together. So many felt that Justin had “Punked the Internet” because there was no new music to be heard. Fast forward to this evening and now the wait is over…”Suit & Tie” Feat. Jay Z was released a little after 11 CST and is now a trending topic on twitter! So this is what everyone has been waiting for! The new Single is available for Download on itunes NOW! The  20/20 Experience will be the new album from Justin Timberlake!

Future “Fo Real” (feat. Drake) F.B.G. The Movie

This is a New release from Future that will be on his Mixtape Free Band Gang “F.B.G. The Movie that will be released this Sunday. This single  was released earlier today and seems to be getting great feed back from those who have heard it. The song “Fo Real” features Drake and so far has a perfect 5.0 rating on HipHopDX. The thing with future is you either love him or hate him. His Song “Turn On The Lights” was the number one hip-hop/rap song for a few weeks and the reviews were mixed. Some saw it as the downfall of a genre while others loved the song. I couldn’t go anywhere without hearing it. Then it was like the world got enough and it disappeared  Future released Pluto 3D in December a re-release of Pluto. The song “Fo Real” is already creating a buzz ahead of the mixtape. I’m interested to see what the overall feel of the Mixtape will be!

Take a Listen and let me know what you think!

CLICK HERE for Download Link

Flux Pavillion “OneTwoThree” (Make Your Body Wanna) Listen Here!

Flux Pavillion will be releasing his Blow The Roof Off EP on January the 28th. This is the an NEW Single “OneTwoThree” just released a few hours ago on SoundCloud.  I have to say I am loving this track and I’m looking forward to the release of the EP at the end of the month.

The song is also available as a Free Download

 

OneRepublic “Native” will be out March 26th

I’ve seen enough concerts to last a lifetime so when people ask me which ones are your favorite I have an automatic list that I go through. The ones that have stuck out in my memory tend to have special circumstances maybe I wasn’t supposed to get in or be there, or I came across it completely by accident, or it was because of the people I was with that made it memorable. OneRepublic is on my list because it was a last minute decision that even years later I’m so happy I did it. I saw them in 2008 at La Zona Rosa in Austin. TX. It was one of those life moments where you feel and know that for whatever reason you are in the right place at the right time. I had been obsessed with Dreaming Out Loud from the moment it came out.  The reason that this concert has always been so high on my list is because I was completely and utterly blown away. The musicianship of everyone in the band was nothing like I had ever experienced before.  Each member is so incredibly talented that they brought the performance to another level. They are each so skilled on so many different instruments that each song came to life in a way that I never expected. It truly was the most remarkable show I’ve seen.

Having said that I’m sure you can easily see why it is I’m so excited about the announcement of their upcoming album Native. I will be counting down the days until the new album drops! The cover art work is done and the first single has been chosen. It was a pretty unanimous decision that the first single would be “If I Lose Myself” which was performed on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. I look forward to them getting back on tour because if the opportunity presents itself I will be there again for sure!

Here’s the First Single off Native I hope you enjoy it!

Skrillex: Summit feat. Ellie Goulding OFFICIAL VIDEO

Skrillex released the Official Video for Summit a song that appears on the Bangarang today. The Album was originally released in December 2012. Bangarang is nominated for Best Dance/ Electronica Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards! The album features Ellie Goulding who was dating Skrillex until October when they called it quits because the long distance relationship was no longer working. Ellie Goulding released her album Halcyon in October 2012.

Skrillex: The Leaving EP (Free Download)

If you are in need new music from Skrillex today is your lucky day! He released a new 3 song EP called The Leaving. The songs included are:

1. The Reason

2. Scary Bolly Dub

3. The Leaving

The Leaving EP Download

The release is from  OWSLA as part of The Nest campaign. The Nest is an insider group that for $12 a month you get access to special releases before anyone else from all the artist on the label. As a member you also receive news updates on what is going on with your favorite artist. This EP dropped earlier this morning and I have already listened to it a few time.  I like the way in which Skrillex is evolving. You can clearly hear the trademark sounds that made him famous but you also hear something new. The last release from Skrillex was back in may so its good to have something new to listen to. He’s been nominated for 3 Grammy Awards this year which will be interesting to see what he goes home with. He won 3 of the 4 Grammy Awards he was nominated for in 2012

 

Timbaland Thursdays

Finally home from vacation and trying to get back into the swing of things! Hope everyone had a great New Year! While I was gone I had trouble keeping up with my twitter feed but I did notice quite a bit of noise coming from Timbaland and his Timbaland Thursdays  This isn’t a new initiative he’s been releasing new music ever Thursday for some time now. The marketing model is taken from Kanye West and his G.O.O.D. Fridays where every week he released a new song leading up to the release of Watch the Throne. Timbaland took the advice of his brother and decided to the same and Timbaland Thursday was born in January 2011. Initially the concept was for it to lead up to the release of Shock Value III which as of today January 2, 2013 doesn’t have an official release date.

Why did I go into the history of it? well mostly because it kind of surprised me that it had been going on for so long. I thought maybe at the most it had been around since the beginning of December. It’s been all over twitter for the last few days and there is now a SoundCloud page that goes along with it. I’m hoping that this last push means that the release of Shock Value III is in the near future but like with most things in the industry you can’t ever really tell.

Despite there clearly being something holding up the release the songs released on Twitter this past week sound amazing. I have always been a Timbaland Fan and find his work as a producer incredible. You can always recognize a Timbaland beat and that’s always cool to me. I love his signature sound and the way he can easily mix so many genres onto one album.

These are a few songs to check out: