Foster the People at The Backyard

Oh Mark Foster, you never disappoint. You are the ultimate hipster and I even love your weird new hairdo that is starting to resemble a rat tail in the back. Here are a few photos of tonights show. I have many more to go through.

Photo by Amanda ©accidental-music.com

Photo by Amanda ©accidental-music.com

Photo by Amanda ©accidental-music.com

Photo by Amanda ©accidental-music.com

Photo by Amanda ©accidental-music.com

Photo by Amanda ©accidental-music.com

When Rats Get In The Way of Music...Also My Sleep

I'd like to tell you the story of a girl who wanted to be the best music blogger she could be, except her wireless went out and then her home was aggressively invaded by rats, and somewhere in the midst of avenging her apartment, cleaning up vermin feces (which are EVERYWHERE) and trying to make the wireless work (which the rats didn't even bother to help with), she forgot to tell you about all the the outstanding music happening right now, the tenth Dave Matthews Band concert she went to, how she can't stop listening to The Lumineers new album, or how she already has a countdown on her wall to ACL because seriously, have ya'll SEEN that lineup??

This is outdated. I have killed 15. Also, this is actually on my cupboard.

I am that girl. I have killed 15 rats (on my own) and was recently offered a job by the exterminator, who has been out to my apartment three times now and we are like family. I didn't take the job, despite his pleading. I would never work with family. Many have asked why I don't just pack up and move. They make a very good case, but I love my apartment and do not believe in surrendering to such vile creatures. I also saw The Avengers recently and what would that movie have been if they were all, "Meh, we'll just go to a new city." NEVER SURRENDER!

It seems like the rats are under control and out of my apartment, I figured out how to make my wireless work, finally slept and I am back to tell you all about everything I am obsessing over in the music world.

For starters, tomorrow night I will be heading to the Foster the People/ The Kooks/ Kimbra show out at The Backyard. Will it probably be me and a bunch of annoying teenagers? No doubt. Do I care? Not in the slightest. My love for Foster the People is well known, Kimbra was absolutely stellar during SXSW and The Kooks are super fun. Maybe I'll even be lucky enough to accidentally stalk FTP like last time, which I swear, was a total accident.

Expect lots of posts this week, tumblr updates, and maybe I'll even throw in a fun playlist as a peace offering for my absence.


Sometimes I write for QRO Magazine. My latest review was for the Tune-Yards show last week at ACL Live.

Tune-Yards Review

I also write another blog that's entirely frivolous and without much purpose or point. I've even been known to write about what I eat for breakfast. Fair warning.

 Accidentaleuphoria.com

Foster The People Houdini Music Video!!

Remember that time that I blogged about how much I wanted the next Foster the People music video to include choreographed dance moves that captured all of Mark Foster's amazing, awkward, shouldery dance moves? I believe my exact words were, "I'd like to see their next video be entirely choreographed Mark Foster dance moves. It would be epically shouldery with Dave Matthews-like fancy foot work. I mean, that's everything to love in life! Let's make it happen. I think this would lend it self perfectly to Houdini" HOLY SHIT Y'ALL! IT HAPPENED!!! I mean, not entirely, but there ARE CHOREOGRAPHED SHOULDERY DANCE MOVES AND FANCY FOOT WORK!!! Did I get a little teary when I watched it because that's what happens to me when I explode from too much joy? Of course not. It would be lame to cry over a music video (except I totally did).

This is the best. day. ever!

Foster The People, A-Trak, & Kimbra "Warrior"

Foster The People have teamed up with A-Trak and Kimbra as part of some "3 artists, 1 song" project. I am admittedly bias towards anything Mark Foster puts out. I find his sound infectious. I'm loving everything about this collaboration, especially the way Kimbra's voice lends itself beautifully. Check out "Warrior".

A love letter to music

When I close my eyes and look back on the images of the music in my childhood, it is a slideshow of the covers of my fathers old vinyls. It is Sgt Pepper and his Lonely (but colorful) Hearts Club Band, Bob Dylan and his white boy hippie fro, Joe Cocker wailing, The Rolling Stones rocking. In middle school I would go through a serious classic rock phase, missing out on the pop trends of the time, including the whole Spice Girls revolution (I didn't miss much). Instead I listened to Simon & Garfunkel, Jefferson Airplane, and fell so deeply and madly in love with the Fab Four that three of my friends and I even took on the identities of each of them. I remember sitting in my father's car on a summer day with the top down and the wind blowing and saying, "You had the best music. I wish I had grown up when you did."

I would eventually shed my Beatles persona (I'll leave you to guess who I was) and while these bands that took up such a large part of my heart have never left my playlist rotation, I would soon discover that I live in a world that is as rich with incredible music as my fathers world was. I can't imagine my life now without Dave Matthews or each of the hundreds of concerts I have gone to that have changed my life in so many ways. For months I have been saturated in bands that will be descending upon Austin is less than a month to showcase their gifts. I have been pouring through bandcamps and facebook pages, carefully tracking each musician, taking notes, building playlists.

We are living in an an incredible time for music. Institutions like The Grammys may celebrate domestic violence and auto tune and it is easy to think we are descending into a scary music time of dubstep and amateurs who want to be famous and think, "Thank God there's an app for that!" But turn the dial past the top 40 and there is a world rich in talented musicians. Hell, even Top 40 is being slowly taken over by musicians like Adele and Foster The People!

We are living in a time when artists like Dawes, Blitzen Trapper, The Head and the Heart, and so many others are just beginning. The Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Foster the People and bands we don't even know that we will one day love, have many more melodies and poems to enrich our lives and I feel overwhelmingly lucky to be here for it.

I'm not sure my future daughter will ever spend a year answering only to Taylor Goldsmith, Mark Foster or Grace Potter, but who knows if one day we will be driving down the road and she will turn to me and say, " You had the best music. I wish I had grown up when you did."

Accidental Playlist: Songs for Love

For all the crap that I will admit to giving Valentine's Day (I'm a single girl, it can't be helped), I can't argue too much with a holiday all about love. So in honor of this day to shower the people you love with love (thank you James Taylor), this week's playlist does just that. It features artists like John Legend, The Decembrists, Florence and the Machine, The Avett Brothers and so many more of my favorites (so obviously also Foster the People). Enjoy and may all of your days be filled with love! Happy listening!

Songs for Love

Favorite Albums of 2011

So much great music came into my life this year, including a number of kick ass albums! They are the albums that I have played on repeat in obsessive ways, or forced upon my loved ones, readers and strangers on the street screaming, “Seriously, you HAVE to be listening to this!”

To be clear, this is not a ‘best of’ list. I am in no way qualified to determine what has been better or worse than others. Bon Iver seriously doesn’t do it for me no matter how many times I have played his pre-pubescent voiced album, but apparently he’s fantastic. No, this is a list of my favorite albums. These are albums that in 2011 I fell deeply, madly, hopelessly in love with. Interestingly, the majority of my favorite albums are freshman albums. They are in no particular order. 

Torches: Foster The People

Torches has been a serious addiction this year. I even met one of the boys while listening to their album on my ipod. Foster The People have a captivating sound, danceable melodies, strange and poetic lyrics, and completely weird music videos. Their stories range from the socially controversial “Pumped Up Kicks” to the sentimental, “Waste.” It is a dynamic, rich, fun, upbeat, kick ass album from start to finish. I am anxiously anticipating their sophomore album and what the boys will come up with next. In the meantime, I’m still waiting for them to choreograph their entire next music video (Warrant, please!) with Mark Foster’s shouldery dance moves. I think it would be brilliant!

21: Adele

Seriously, have you listened to it? The girl is unreal! I have openly wept at least twice while listening to her perform songs off of this heart wrenching album. Adele's crossover into Top 40 has been a breath of fresh air to those stations and a testament to how brilliant she is. She took writing about heartache to a whole new beautiful level and I can't stop belting her out while driving in my car, or just about anywhere. 

In Light: Givers

In Light is a whimsical dance party by Givers. I love the quirky, rich, and percussion-heavy instrumentals. The percussion often adds a tribal celebratory feel, especially in songs like “Saw You First” and “Up Up Up”. Taylor and Tiffany belt out soulful harmonies and it is easy to hear their giddy smiles through my speakers. Aptly named, this album is about light and I dare you not to actually start bouncing with delight when you hear "Up Up Up"! In fact, I will take this opportunity to apologize to my downstairs neighbor as every listen (and there have been oh so many!) has usually erupted in crazed, euphoric dancing. 

Pickin Up The Pieces: Fitz And The Tantrums

Pickin Up The Pieces is a modern, retro, pop album that makes me want to dress up in sequence and heels and go dancing somewhere hip and glamourous. The wail of the organ and the jazzy sound of the saxophone blend with Fitz and Noelle‘s harmonies, creating a rich, soulful groove. Fitz and the Tantrums are all kinds of fun and so is this album.

Nothing is Wrong: Dawes

There really is nothing wrong with this Dawes album, and if push came to shove I would have to choose this as my absolute number one favorite album of the year because it is just so damn good. While so many albums on my list I love for the dance parties that usually erupt while listening to them, Nothing Is Wrong strikes at a much different place. Taylor Goldsmith is a poet and a brilliant songwriter. I get something new out of his lyrics with every listen and his melodies are their perfect complements. (the video is grainy, but it's my favorite song off the album and I had to share)

The Head And The Heart: The Head And The Heart

This self-titled album by The Head And The Heart has a beautiful folk sound, rich in harmonies and undertones of melancholy. Many of the songs start simply and build up in emotional and beautifully instrumental ways. This album is music that fills me up to the very core and songs like, “Down In The Valley” make me homesick for a place I’ve never even been to. This is a band I am eager to see grow and mature.

Portraits: Wheeler Brothers

Representing Austin on this list, Wheeler Brothers are definitely a favorite this year. Portraits is a well rounded folk-rock album with Texas rock inspirations. Like so many of the albums I have loved this year, this is their first LP, but with an incredibly mature and cohesive sound. You may not have heard of them yet, but you will. 

What were your favorite albums this year?

Foster The People Don't Stop (Color on the Walls) New Music Video

What a bunch of weirdos! I love everything about Foster The People's crazy videos, and Don't Stop is no exception. Still, Despite the awesomness of this one featuring Miss Gabourey Sidibe, I'd like to see their next video be entirely choreographed Mark Foster dance moves. It would be epically shouldery with Dave Matthews-like fancy foot work. I mean, that's everything to love in life! Let's make it happen. I think this would lend it self perfectly to Houdini, or my favorite, Warrant. #shoulderyfostervideos! (I need a better hash tag). Let the campaign begin!

Get More: Foster the People, Don't Stop (Color On The Walls), Music, More Music Videos

Foster the People Call It What They Want

Here's a little behind the scenes footage of Mark Foster and the rest of boys of Foster The People at their wacky Call It What You Want music video shoot. If' I'd had questions about their music video, perhaps this would have given me answers, but I think sometimes things are just too weird to question. Also, I'm totally glad I didn't have the crazy nightmares this director seemed to have...yikes!

New Foster The People Video: Call It What You Want

Foster the People

What a bunch of weirdos. I love them so much!

@fosterthepeople and @officialkennyg were my favorite thing about SNL since @taylorswift

If you're anything like me, you obviously scheduled your Saturday night around watching SNL (which you haven't done since Taylor Swift hosted). You probably muted the tv during the actual sketches (I did) while you waited for Foster The People to play, and then flipped out with shock and joy when Kenny G came out to play with them on Houdini.

Confused? First, you need to start following the ramblings of @fosterthepeople on twitter. Mark and the boys have had a long standing love for the great Kenny G, and have often professed as much in their tweets.

For a band as hipster and random as Foster the People, it seems fitting that they would have a music crush on this sax man. I won't admit to how many times I have watched their performance on repeat (it's definitely more than 2) and giggled in delight every time Kenny comes out to join them. I love the rich quality the saxophone brings to the pop sound of FTP. It's the stuff dreams are made of, and (a girl can hope) foreshadowing of their next album. 

Mood music and how @fosterthepeople cured my morning

There are bands for all kinds of occasions and moods, the music we gravitate to that will fit the soundtrack to our lives. There's the Coldplay's when we want to weep and wallow in our weeping, or Carrie Underwood when we want to hate on men and key the sides of their cars. When I'm glamming up for a night on the town, I'm probably blasting Lady Gaga's Just Dance on repeat. To be real, I'm probably playing that song on repeat while I make my morning oatmeal, but especially when I'm applying glittery eye shadow.

There are artists that help us figure out love, (or at least make us think we can one day be the body in John Mayer's wonderland), life, or remind us that everything will be ok (my dad recently quoted "I can see clearly now the rain is gone..." in a letter and despite its corniness, it made all the difference).

It is Monday, a day that has warranted many songs in its own right. Today is a Monday after a long weekend of battling mice and rats in my apartment (SO many mice!), tears , lacking sleep, and starting a new job that I am feeling highly unprepared for. I knew that some kind of music would make me feel better, but I was too lost in my stress cloud to know what it was. I stared blankly at my itunes, scrolling through the usual suspects until I remembered.

Duh.

Foster the People: Warrant.

That instrumental progression at the beginning, the syncopated drum beat, the build up to the full chords on keys...It's a song that means business and doesn't mess around, and today it was the mood music I needed to forget mice and get psyched up to face this week. Happy Monday!

ACL Day 1: How Sara Bareilles Saved the Day

So I'm going to level with you, I was not blown away by the first day of ACL. I'm still waiting for my apology from The Smith Westerns for their performance in the afternoon. Was it maybe the worst thing I've ever heard? Probably.

And what was with all of the mellow bands that have no business at an outdoor festival? James Blake? Really?? Not that I don't love Blake and his adorable accent, but he mostly just made for good background noise for the nap I took on that amazing Zilker Park grass. Not exactly what my ACL wristband and I had in mind for the day.

I was hoping that Mark Foster could remedy the less than stellar music experience I was having. If it weren't for the 1 million people that all had the same thought, he probably could have. It doesn't even matter that their shows are a shuffled version of Torches. I love everything about them down to Mark Fosters youthful new haircut.  Still, there were 1 million people and they didn't even play Warrant!

But Sara Bareilles was who I was secretly most excited to see. I knew that She would fix everything. My brother commented this morning, "If I had the day off I'm pretty sure I would spend it learning every Sara Bareilles song on the keyboard."  Girl has a set of lungs and she kills it in concert! We danced as the sun set and the stars came out. We sang loudly to all the men we aren't going to write love songs for and she was every reason I love concerts!

I still don't understand Kanye...