Sparks + GlowsticksSparks + Glowsticks

Moving on…

Switch — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 01:17:14 +0000

Hello everyone!

First of all, let me thank each and every one of you who has come to S+G the past year-and-a-half. Since we launched in May 2011, it’s been an unbelievable process of learning, discovering, sharing, and just enjoying the love of music with other people. I hope that you’ve felt our passion for the music and artists we cover.

That passion, however, is getting strained by the technical details necessary to build and maintain a successful blog. With only two regular writers (that’s me – Switch – and the man of few words – Spark), it’s been a challenge to keep up the consistency and volume of posts that you would want in a music blog. To top it off, the inherent design of a WordPress blog limits my dream of presenting music in a human organization with relational links and genre structures built into the discovery of the music, not an auto-generated never-ending list of posts sorted by chronology.

This is not the end of S+G. It will remain online as long as I can afford to keep it. It is my darling, my baby, and you might even catch me putting up some new music every now and then. But it’s time for me to move on… hopefully so that I can learn enough web design/programming to work on the next big thing. Something that transcends the sameness of most music blogs out there.

Until then, adieu.

Love always

- Switch

Thinking About You (Frank Ocean Cover) – Atlas

Switch — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 02:23:32 +0000

All I have to say is that I think I love this cover more than the original. It’s very close at least.

- Switch

Something Stupid – Frank & Nancy Sinatra

Switch — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 01:47:52 +0000

Download Something Stupid – Frank & Nancy Sinatra
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

I know I stand in line until you think you have the time to spend an evening with me

and if we go someplace to dance I know that there’s a chance you won’t be leaving with me

and afterwards we drop into a quiet little place and have a drink or two,

and then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like I love you.

I can see it in your eyes that you despise the same old lies you heard the night before

And though it’s just a line to you for me it’s true and never seemed so right before

I practice everyday to find some clever lines to say to make the meaning come true

But then I think I’ll wait until the evening gets late and I’m alone with you

The time is right your perfume fills my hair the stars get red and, oh, the night’s so blue

and then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like I love you.

- Switch

One Day / Reckoning Song [Music Video]

Switch — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 21:20:21 +0000

One day baby we’ll be old.

Creepers – Kid Cudi

Switch — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 04:21:54 +0000

Coming off the G.O.O.D. Music Cruel Summer (which was cruelly delayed past the summer), “Creepers” is another reason to get seriously excited about Indicud‘s release. It feels light and carefree, classic Cudi verses supplemented by some sweet uptempo percussion.

iTunes Creepers – Kid Cudi
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

If you haven’t already, listen to the first two singles “Just What I Am” and “King Wizard” from Indicud (Kid Cudi’s upcoming album, set to be released sometime soon hopefully)

- Switch

Lies – Churches

Switch — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 19:48:48 +0000

Ok, so it’s not every day that I post two songs by the same band so close together. But when I posted “The Mother We Share” by Churches, I had their first single “Lies” pegged as a relatively staid indie-pop track. But with more repeated listens, the addition of a proper subwoofer to my speaker set-up, and this video of the band’s first live performance, I started to get how the gritty electro-pop synths and Mayberry’s delightful vocals work really well together.

I really hope this band gets huge. Early signs indicate they won’t disappoint me.

Download via Neon Gold Lies – Churches

- Switch

Here With Me – The Killers

Switch — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 20:20:17 +0000

The stand-out track of an otherwise unremarkable “comeback” album, “Here With Me” is the classic on-the-road tour song. Weary and nostalgic, it has a heart to it that is missing from the rest of Battle Born. Where other songs on the album attempt to reach into the lofty heights of rock classic and miss their target, this track is content to be a melancholy ballad. Simple, sweet, and easy to sing along to – perfect for The Killers’ stadium sound.

Download Here With Me – The Killers
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

- Switch

The Mother We Share – Chvrches

Switch — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 20:20:41 +0000

I’m not sure how to descrive Chvrches. Replacing the ‘u’ with the ‘v’ in their name certainly smacks of indie band smugness, but their music speaks for itself. This track is carried start-to-end by Lauren Mayberry’s delightfully unique vocals – she sings with the bubbly-sweet air of a Disney star, but the lyrics are magnificent, inspiring and poetic.

Let me offer a pithy quote to sum it up:

Churches are a trio from Glasgow who are super new, like 2012 new, onto the scene and are already making waves and other cliches. Check em.

- SGTMT

Download The Mother We Share – Chvrches +
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Chvrches on Facebook | Twitter | SoundCloud

- Switch

All The Eastern Girls (RAC Remix) – Chapel Club

Switch — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 20:20:07 +0000

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of exploring RAC’s huge catalog of indietronica remixes, you’ll know that they are the mark of excellence for an indie band and invariably make any song better. You might also have discovered this little gem of a remix, released two years ago. “All The Eastern Girls” is immediately pretentious, pronouncing “this is a love song” over and over again. But then you can drift back and get all nostalgic as they enchant you with dreams of eastern girls with golden skin. It’s curiously addictive, and for me it has permanently melted into the neural fabric of my brain.

- Switch

Lights (Shook Remix) – Ellie Goulding

Switch — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 04:34:58 +0000

Before you think “oh jeez I’ve already got a million remixes of Lights” – wait, hear me out. I thought the same thing, but happened to come across this one in a playlist and was struck by the totally different feel of the song. Unlike most remixes of Ellie Goulding’s music, this one’s not a straight dancefloor cookie-cutter remix. Shook procures the atmosphere of a lounge band, with Goulding’s vocals the highlight of a glittery assortment of instruments. Try it out and see if it doesn’t become your favorite Ellie remix.

Download Lights (Shook Remix) – Ellie Goulding
[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

- Switch