the playlist track 24: Fever by The Black Keys

Soooo I have been a HUGE fan of The Black Keys since their most recent album came out in 2010, and I even got to see them live last summer (best damn live performance I've seen in a while too!). It's been four-ish years since their last album "Brothers" so I've been pining for some new jams from them.

Well, they dropped a single from their upcoming album Turn Blue (which is out May 13th) a few days ago AND IT IS JUST PERFECT.

I was a little worried that they would sound different since it's been a while, but the song "Fever" has that classic Black Keys sound with a fabulous rocking guitar rhythm and an energetic drum beat (as per usual with these god-like musicians). I will for sure be getting their new album ASAP!

Stay tuned for more!

~Jess

the playlist track 04: This Is Gospel by Panic! At The Disco

WOW. Ok so yeah, they sound completely different compared to their older songs like The Ballad of Mona Lisa and whatnot, yet they still sound fantastic. The heartbeat-like drumming in the beginning with the techno-ish harmonies makes a perfect lead in into the explosive lyric "If you love me, let me go" and the lyrics are just straight up genius as usual. And the video itself is just incredibly intense, with this tension of fluidity versus rigid in the choreography. P!ATD never ceases to amaze me and I will forever be a fan and avid listener.

the playlist track 03: O' Be Joyful by Shovels and Rope

Alrighty, so the first time I heard a recording of this group was through a late night study cram with Pandora and coffee. I didn't really know their music well until just recently when I saw them perform live. The energy and talent they put out on stage is amazing and if they roll into town near you, I highly recommend getting a ticket! This song I love specifically because of the lyrics and the rocking guitar throughout. The vocals are amazing as well, and this also happens to be my favourite song that they performed live.

Stay tuned for more!

the playlist track 02: Youth by Daughter

So this song I first heard when I went to the college modern dance recital at the end of the spring semester. The dance that went with this song was choreographed by students and the song was chosen by them.

I love the simple guitar melody at the opening of the song and how it carries on throughout the entire track. The song does the typical building up and then calming down, adding more instrumentation and creating louder vocals.

This song really inspires me when I have writer's block or artist's block.

Stay tuned!

a little intro

This is just a little introduction of me to whoever actually reads this, and THANK YOU to you for reading this! It's nice to know that my words get out there to somebody's eyes and ears.

I'm a college student, majoring in Education with a little Art History minor on the side and a bunch of random history and literature courses that don't really add up to anything. I don't really know what I'm gonna do with all that but the basic plan is to become some kind of teacher...eventually. I have many-a hobby, but to save time we'll just leave it at arts appreciation and horses. If you stick around and read some more of my little blurbs, you'll learn more about what arts in specific. I've traveled to seven countries in Europe, but I have only been to a few of the fifty states here in the good old USA. The dream is to visit every state and every continent before this body gives out on me. So far, I'm not doing so great at that but hey it's a start.

So why am I blogging? Well, I have tried blogging before but I could never figure out how to keep it up and I always lost my inspiration for it. The basic reasons are to 1) get me to write more 2) give me a project to keep me motivated and 3) why the heck not? The overarching goal here is to simply force me to write and write often. I really do love to write, I just never give my self ample amount of time to do it. ALSO, a little background to the title of this blog. The phrase "barefoot on a summer night" comes from one of my absolute favorite songs by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. The song (if you don't know it already) is called Home and not only is it adorable it's super catchy and has fantastic lyrics.

So there it is, a little bit of info about me and why this blog exists. Stay tuned for more!