Year of the Bugg

Jake Bugg, that is.

Jake Bugg is probably my favorite new artist of the past year or so.

Most people probably have heard him, if they haven't heard of him.  His song "Lightning Bolt" was the backdrop for this Gatorade commercial that ran constantly last spring and summer.

Jake Bugg's first Album, Jake Bugg, was released to quite a bit of critical acclaim in late 2012.  I remember laying in bed, and reading the review for the album...and it basically said he was a young, British, Bob Dylan.

So I was a bit intrigued.  So I listened to a couple of his songs on YouTube, and thought his album was worth a download.  Let's just say this... it's amazing.  To think that a 19 year old created an album with that much depth and talent is jaw dropping.

I'd like to share a few of his songs here, and since most people have heard "Lightning Bolt", how about a few of them you probably haven't heard?

My two youngest boys (ages 10 and 11) Love Jake Bugg, and this song "Taste It" is one of their favorites:

My personal favorite off the first album is "I've Seen It All".

And just so you don't think all his songs are basically uptempo acoustic... here's the example of a ballad.

So, you know...the kid is pretty talented.  I was impressed, and I recommended him to anyone who would give him a listen.

And then, this past September...he tweets out that his "second album is finished" and he released Shangri La in November of last year.

Named Shangri La after the name of the studio he recorded it in.

Needless, to say... I was hopeful...but I was also a bit worried.  I mean, he's still just a kid (20) now, and how could he have enough...what... experience? moxie? something... to pull off another album that came off as mature as his debut album.

Except it was.  It was just as good.  Maybe better.

A few of my favorites would include:  "There's a Beast and we All Feed It"

There's also the extremely catchy "Slumville Sunrise"

and also: A Song about Love

Do yourself a favor...check him out.  You don't have to buy the albums, if you don't want.  Go to his youtube channel...sample some songs... order a few of them, I doubt you'll regret it.

Whenever I'm working in my office, listening to songs...I usually have my Google play library open, and I just random play through all the music on there.  Whenever Jake Bugg comes on...it always makes me smile.  He's talented, he's enjoyable, and he has a unique sound to himself.

I'm hoping 2014 will be the "Year of the Bugg"

Also...just announced a few days ago...he's releasing a new four song ep, coming out soon...He's the title track from that... called "Messed Up Kids".

I can't do this all on my own...Scrubs thoughts

So the other day, I was driving along and listening to the oldies station on the radio, and Boston's More Than a Feeling came on.  For most of my adult life, the first thing I would have thought of was Matt Thurston blasting this song on his radio repeatedly in the dorms (first floor Waneta Hall fall of 1989).  However, what immediately did spring to mind, was the "Air Band" from Scrubs, formed by Ted and the Janitor.

I miss scrubs.  Sure, there were better comedies out there, Seinfeld for sure, M*A*S*H definitely.  But for whatever reason, I don't miss them as much.  Scrubs left an indelible impression on me.  I find myself thinking of it often (like in the car), using lines from it often (to which most people just look at me like I'm a nutcase), and often I just break out in laughter because I remembered something from scrubs that reminds of something going on at the time (at which people look at me like I'm a nutcase).

Comedy Central used to show "repeats" of scrubs twice a day every day, for it seems like 5 years.  We watched it all the time at my house.  I distinctly remember my 3 year old son (at the time) when I was singing the scrubs theme song "I can't do this all on my own..."  finishing my song as he walked by "I'm no Superman".  He was 3.  He didn't even look at me.  It was burned into his brain.  (And yes, I realize that my 3 year old recognizing and singing a television theme song does not qualify me as a "Father of the Year" candidate.

I miss these guys.

It was hilarious and ridiculous, yet real and relatable.  At one moment an irreverent, zany, comedy about doctors.  In the next moment, moving you to tears over something that real people deal with all the time. 

Jim Valvano made his epic speech at the ESPY awards in which he said "You laugh, you cry, you think... that's a full day.  That's a great day."  That was scrubs, it made laugh, it made you cry, it made you think.

I'd like to post or link to some great "scrubs moments" here, but there are honestly too many... however, there are some great "compilations" on youtube, including:

• All the Girls Names that Dr. Cox called JD.
• The Best of The Janitor
• The Top 5 Dr. Cox Rants
• Turk and JD's Bromance
• Highlights from Ted's Band
• The Dance Montage from the "clip show"
• And, some of the best moments

Lastly, I'd also like to mention that scrubs also had one of the greatest final episodes of all time, ending with a video of JD imagining his future set to Peter Gabriel's "Book of Love".

You can still follow Zach Braff and Donald Faison on Twitter.  They banter back and forth just like Turk and JD did.  But I still miss the show.  I still watch it when I can, and I always laugh.  I miss you guys!

Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

So a few weeks ago, I was just sitting around and I noticed that the coachella music festival had a YouTube channel.  As I was working on a paper for Grad School that weekend, I spent a great deal of time with coachella playing in the background.  (BTW, how cool is it that you can watch free streams from music festivals now?  If they would have had things like this when I was in college, I'd have never graduated... I'd have gotten expelled after watching too many Lollapalooza's).

They had 3 stations or channels or streams or whatever you want to call them.  Usually with a different band performing on each one.  As evening rolled around I had just been really impressed with "We Were Promised Jetpacks", and was looking for who I was going to watch/listen to next.

And then I heard HER.  Check out this clip from that performance, it's short, and you'll see what I mean.

That voice was amazing.  Her band was locked in.  They had an old school kind of groove going on, and the crowd was eating it up.  I must have told my son about 15 times "these guys are amazing!"

And, on top of that... she's quite... how do I put this as not to offend... well OK, I'll just say it, she's gorgeous.  I kept thinking to myself as I watched the performance... "How is this woman not a Huge Star?"

So that night I downloaded their album "Grace Potter and the Nocturnals".  I have to say, it's pretty darn good.  The catchy single "Paris (Ooh, La, La)" is the most commercially successful track.

It just makes me wonder, how or why people become stars?  How do we end up listening to the crap we hear over the airwaves, and not hear people with actual talent?  

They have a new album coming out in June called "The Lion The Beast The Beat" and you can bet I'll be downloading that one as well.

One other thing I noticed in watching YouTube clips, is so many people mention how great a live band they are, and that they are a much better live band than they are on their albums.  And you can see this online... just go look on YouTube... you won't have any trouble seeing amazing performances.

I'll leave you with another clip from that coachella performance I watched that night.  Tell me that band isn't just having a great time?  You Go Grace!  (and your Nocturnals!)

Florence and the Machine

Rock my face off.

That's all.

But, you should really look at buying some of their music.

Click here for their page on amazon.com

or

Check out the band's official page.

or

Visit their Youtube channel.

I know Adele won a ton of Grammy's and congratulations to her.  But  Florence Welch is my favorite female singer from the UK.