Sunday, December 31, 2017

A list of articles written for Music in Motion - Columbus for 2017 (Updated 12/31/17)

 All of our work can be found at the Music in Motion - Columbus website.

 February 2017
Courtney From Work at Victory's Live - 2/24/17
My first official article for the website. I had been super busy through January as Rick began building the first incarnation of the website. A co-worker of mine had been talking up his band for weeks and I figured they would be a perfect opportunity for me to get my feet wet in the music scene again.



 March 2017
Album Review - Conversion Delay - Out Of Sight
A lot of the initial emails we received had EPs that bands wanted us to review. I was tasked with a rather difficult one that got a less than favorable rating from me. I will always stand by my words and my opinions on music, and you will always get an honest review from me.



 April 2017
Out Of Nothing Comes Serious Music for Ex-Nihilo - 4/9/17
I met the bassist from Ex-Nihilo when he brought me tickets to a show his band was opening, and in fact I didn't even end up attending that show. This was my first opportunity to see them, and they did not disappoint. All 3 of the acts that evening were fantastic.

Jocef Michael Won't Take No For An Answer
My first true interview for the site came from the opening act at the Ex-Nihilo show I had just attended. Jocef brought a ton of fans to a mid-evening Sunday night show and I was impressed by his stage presence. As it turns out, he's a pretty cool guy as well.

Go Go Buffalo Stampede Through Spacebar 4/21/17
This one honestly caught me by surprise. I didn't really know anything about GGB before hand, and honestly I almost missed out on the chance to hit this one. I'm glad I didn't. It was a wacky blast.




 May 2017
7 Questions With Death Trance Duo Zero Signal
I was finally at a place in May where I felt like I really needed to step up my contributions to the page. I decided to dig through my old contacts and found the guys from Zero Signal, who I knew from my days doing Jester Promotions. They've got a pretty cool new concept going and I'm excited to follow up with them going forward.

A Tribute to Chaos - The Story of Fleischgewehr
When I heard there was a Rammstein tribute group in Columbus, I knew I had to be there. Not only were Frankie and Stephen fantastic musicians, but great dudes to boot. 

Rocket From The Tombs - Anything But Sonically Reduced at Ace of Cups 5/13/17
This one fell into my lap when my editor hurt his back during the week of the show. I felt bad because RFTT was one of his favorite groups from the past and he had done a fantastic interview with their lead singer as well. It turned out to be a really great article and highlighted some of our photographers best work.

The Cat Club Podcast - Essential Memorial Day Weekend Playlist
Rick and I sat down and did a podcast episode highlighting a baker's dozen of songs including some deeper cuts you might not normally hear on the bigger stations and lists.

Musical Maturation With Morning Theft at Spacebar - 5/27/17
One of the worst weeks of my life ended on a spectacularly high note with this show. Even though we didn't end up getting into the club until well after it was supposed to open, we had a true bonding moment with the peeps from Morning Theft. It really was a lifesaver for me.

The Fresh Live Flow of the Jocef Michael Band at Skully's - 5/30/17
I had been waiting to see a true show from the JMB after catching part of their set in April. As it turns out, Jocef and Co had a surprise in store for everyone. His ever-evolving live show never disappoints.



 June 2017
The Rowdy Rat Motel at Spacebar - 6/2/17
It was another bizarre evening at Spacebar as we were treated to a group of loud 16 year olds and their x-branded fans. It ended up being pretty wild.

Friday Spotlight - The Beauty of Truslow
I got to sit down at WOB with James Truslow, who leads the local pop group Truslow. I had no idea the direction that this interview would go, and I ended up being brought to tears at least once while talking to him about his music.

Artistic Gravity Abounds with So Long, Stargazer at King Avenue 5 - 6/16/17
I finally got the chance to see Chase McCants (My Beloved Tragedy) in his new band So Long, Stargazer. I was not disappointed. I would go as far as saying that this might have been the best concert I have attended this year.

The Night The Jester Joined The Cult Of Cats 
Rick had tasked me with finding a show to cover on Saturday while he was out of town, and because of Pride weekend, the pickings were slim. I ended up finding Dayton's Curse of Cassandra at my old home bar in Reynoldsburg, and I was treated to a fantastic evening of excellence.

Midweek Spotlight - Musical Connections With Nicholas Rowe 
I got to sit down with a guy who got word of us from an unlikely source; my mom. It was an intriguing interview but I got a lot of good talking points out.


 July 2017
FleischgewehR Blitzkreig at King Avenue 5 - 7/1/17
What an amazing night. I knew the guys from F+ would be a treat after interviewing them back in May, and I knew I was in for a great night when Frankie pulled up beside me in the parking lot and rubbed his silver paint all over me. It was a great time.



  August 2017
ALBUM REVIEW - Hello Emerson "Above The Floorboards" 
After taking a mental health break in July (some things are more important than music, you'll understand) I came back to review a tremendous piece of musical craftsmanship from the band Hello Emerson. I'd say it's one of my top 5 favorite local records of the year so far.

An Album Release to Remember with Hello Emerson at Rumba Cafe - 8/25/17
Surprisingly (or perhaps unsurprisingly), the live show ended up being better than the album. I was of the intention of taking photographs, but with a 13 piece band on stage and with Rumba being packed to the point where I was smashed against the stage, I was tragically unable to capture any shots. However, I do believe my words did justice for the performance.

Soup to Nuts with Kristen Ford at Caribbean Jerks - 8/31/17  
My good friend Jules recommended Kristen, a current resident of Nashville, to me a few weeks before this show. I had seen her posters all over Caribbean Jerks (a bar next to my house) and I was thrilled to be able to cover her show. She herself ended up being a phenomenal person along with a tremendous musician.

 September 2017

The Many Hats of Javelina
The first band to actually follow up with me after I started passing out business cards was Javelina, of whom I had seen perform previously at Tree Bar. In a few weeks I'll be actually covering one of their shows, but here is an interview we did in the rain at Harvest. It was pretty cool.

Aural Hotness with Miller and the Hunks at The Tree Bar - 9/23/17
Another short notice show that ended up being pretty stellar. Miller and the boys were pretty cool to hang out with, despite the fact that it was in the 80s/90s the entire night!

REVIEW - Two Fingers in The Barrel with "Room Full of Sky" from Cosmo's Elephant 
Amy from Javelina e-mailed me after their interview went live to tell me about her "other" band, Cosmo's Elephant. The group let me sit in with them to preview their new EP before it dropped, and we had a good time telling stories and cracking up over good/bad band and song titles.



 October 2017

The Cat Club Podcast Is Full of Shenanigans with The Jester - Episode 24 
 Rick and I got together and put forth a sort of recap show on everything we had done so far this year; bands we had seen, people we had worked with, well as a peek at what we have going on in the next few weeks.

A Six-Pack of Aural Solemnity with Javelina at The Shrunken Head - 10/13/17
 It was finally time for Javelina to perform, and boy did they ever. Those two have some deep and dark talents. The music, the imagery, and of course the face painting!!

ALBUM REVIEW - Zero Signal's EP "Divided by Zero" 
 The boys in Zero Signal did not disappoint with their debut EP. I wasn't sure what to expect coming in to it, but it was definitely an excellent output for a first shot at trying something new.

Death Trance Delights with Zero Signal at King Avenue 5 - 10/13/17
 However good the EP might have been, the live show blew it all away. What a fantastic punch in the face that night was. Perhaps the best night of music I've seen all year. Any time you can get 4 or 5 great bands rocking in an evening, you know you've experienced something excellent!

REVIEW - The Dark Horse in Motion Music Festival - 10/21/17
 A few weeks after seeing Curse of Cassandra at the Dark Horse Tavern, the DHIM festival was conceived. It ended up being a fantastic night of music! Every single band brought something different to the night, but every single one of them was tight and rocking. It was exhausting, but it was a ton of fun!

Setting The Trend with Columbus Indie Rock band Fashion Week
 Another band who goes to my church, Fashion Week agreed to an e-mail interview with me and we ended up having a lot of fun with it! Sometimes it can be difficult to really connect with someone through e-mails, but these guys are definitely some fantastic characters.

November 2017

REVIEW - Fashion Week at Rumba Cafe 11/2/17
Finally getting to meet Jason and the boys at Fashion Week was a real treat, and they even had a surprise for me on stage. It was a good night for new tunes and new friends.

ALBUM REVIEW - Curse of Cassandra - Nekonomicon
I was kind of disappointed when my editor rejected my initial headline - "Curse of Cassandra add their own chapter to the Nekonomicon". However, this album is spot-on fantastic, and I'm not just saying that because I love the group. The production level is off the charts compared to their previous efforts, and the band has nowhere to go but up from here!

Shakin’ with The Holy Rattlesnakes at Spacebar – 11/25/17
In spite of Ohio State's victory earlier in the day, I was feeling a little mellow when I headed to the Spacebar for what ended up being my last show in 2017.

 December 2017
coming soon...
...oops... 


Final edit of 2017! What a great year! Some of the best shows I've EVER attended happened while covering for Music in Motion! Unfortunately I was locked into my day job for the month of December, but 2018 brings year 2 of MiM and the promise of bigger and better things!

Stay tuned and always keep your eyes on the page for more fresh content from myself, Rick, Susie, and the rest of our awesome staff!!

J1 Best shows of 2017

I started counting how many shows I went to in 2017, and when the number hit 30 I decided that I might as well just write about my favorites for the year. There aren't really in any order.



VNV Nation with iVardensphere - Agora Theatre, Cleveland

After seeing Assemblage 23 last year, I jumped at the chance to tick off my other favorite electronic artist, VNV Nation. Ronan Harris was recovering from illness and had been told by his doctors to postpone the beginning of the 2nd half of his Automatic Empires tour, but decided that he didn't want to miss any of the shows. Having never seen him live, I couldn't have told you that he was ill. After iVardensphere set the pulsing mood, Ronan spent the entire show moving around the entire stage and interacting with the crowd. He's the definition of a front-man in that regard - even calling me out for being on my phone while he performed. "You can look at Facebook later" he said disapprovingly. I would definitely travel to see him perform again, this time at 100%


Aurelio Voltaire with Bella Morte, The Long Losts - The Shrunken Head, Columbus

I have actually seen Aurelio Voltaire perform live almost every year since 2009. Every time, he brings great bands with him, but never one as big as Bella Morte. They brought some serious energy and The Long Losts were ooky spooky, just a few months shy of Halloween. Voltaire was on top of his game, telling his usual stories and cranking out fun versions of his hits. He didn't do any sci-fi songs this time around, but he did serenade us with a couple off of his newest record, "Heart-Shaped Wound". And while I've heard most of his stories before, he shared one this time around about a day in his adolescence when he was going to end his own life, and how his actions that day changed his mind and keep him going with every passing day. It's always a pleasure to meet up with the man, and Bella Morte is one of Kelly's favorite bands as well, so it was doubly a treat for us.


The Dark Horse in Motion Festival - Dark Horse Tavern, Reynoldsburg

You could say this was also the longest day of the year for me. I woke up early, got food for the troops, and headed out to Reynoldsburg for an entire day of great music. You had the energy of Mobile Homes and Hellsfire Sinners, the thunder of Bridesmaid and Karma to Burn, and the all-around awesomeness of bands like Pale Grey Lore and Shorty Allen. I got to hang out with my old music comrade Brian while he ran sound for the night, and I ate the majority of a 21 pizza. Woof. I wrote about the entire night here, and I was pleasantly surprised at the all-around quality of the evening. It's been my experience with local festivals that there's usually a lot of filler, or just a lot of mishaps during the acts. The first Indy Fest I attended had so many wacky things happen, and I went to another outdoor one in the middle of a field in Blacklick, Ohio where a bunch of great bands played, but after the 3rd or 4th band it started to rain heavily, and there was absolutely nowhere for cover except for a small make-shift tent that was put up at the beginning of the storm. Unfortunately, the Horse is no longer with us and the DHIM partnership fizzled, but this was an evening of music I won't soon forget.


So Long Stargazer with Morning Theft, Wake the Trees - King Avenue 5, Columbus

After seeing Morning Theft on my day of life-termination, I decided I owed it to them to go visit them at a live show again, this time not on assignment. As it happens, they were playing with my old friend Chase and So Long, Stargazer. I had heard some of their music before but I was not prepared for the overwhelming beauty of the evening. I wrote a review of the show here and was blessed to have my dear friend Jess come out and take photographs of the band as they wowed the crowd. Morning Theft put on a hell of a show for themselves, doing a couple of knockout covers and showing the power of Jenelle's voice as she had almost recovered from bronchitis. I only caught part of Wake the Trees set as I was upstairs chatting with Nick about the MT record, but they are another great act that Columbus needs to take note of in the future.

Grandview Fringe Festival - featuring Morning Theft, So Long Stargazer, Javelina, CrocoDies - Tree Bar, Columbus

I was feeling depressed as hell and just wanted to get out of the house and enjoy some music, and I figured if SLS and MT were playing again, I'd go ahead and do it. I threw on a spiked face mask and figured I'd at least try to make it through all 4 bands. It was the first time I had been to the Tree Bar since Andyman had died, and I had forgotten just how much I enjoyed that venue. This was the first time I got to see Javelina, and they were unlike anything I could have expected. Fortunately, I had just gotten my pack of business cards for Music in Motion and I gave one to Amy, and so a beautiful musical and human bond was formed. CrocoDies kicked it hard for themselves, and this was possibly the best show I saw Morning Theft play the entire year. Stargazer was raising money for Chase's Peletonia ride the next day, and they didn't let the late night stop them from showing off their digs. It was one of those nights where all of the bands brought their A game, and I left feeling 1000 times better than when I arrived.

FleischgewehR with Zero Signal,  Blacktooth Grin, The Admiralty - King Avenue 5, Columbus

I knew F+ was going to be a good band when I first interviewed Frankie and Stephen, and sure enough they were as advertised every time I saw them in 2017. They mix up their set for every show, and this was a Halloween show so everyone was in intriguing costumes as well (as if a Rammstein tribute act needs an excuse to dress up). The Admiralty opened with some fantastic metal grooves and Blacktooth Grin did a spot-on tribute to Pantera, with their guitarist doing a fantastic job emulating Dimebag. I got to see my friends in Zero Signal perform their only show (article here) of the year, including a wicked cover of ZZTop. Honestly, everything about this show was great, including watching the Jackets beat up the Rangers with my photographer Sammi.  

Curse of Cassandra with Damn The Witch Siren, Village Druids, Playfully Yours - Blind Bob's, Dayton 

Curse of Cassandra toured extensively over the States in 2017, and I was blessed to see them 5 different times. Each time was a special experience, with setting off the smoke detectors at the Dark Horse, with my introduction to Blind Bobs over the summer, with the hazy show at the Summit and the LOUD show at Ace of Cups, and finally at their album release show back in Dayton. Playfully Yours was a tremendously fun electro set, while Village Druids gave us a great dose of weird. My Columbus friends Damn The Witch Siren spiced up the evening and shredded our eardrums before Curse took the stage and sent us all to awesomeness school. What made this night better than the electronic awesomeness that took place at the Summit or the night I met the dynamic duo? It had to be Jake stepping out from behind the keyboard and dancing with us all. Or perhaps the spanking I got from Nicole... I don't know. Maybe all the great weirdos that I chatted with throughout the evening. Maybe sitting by myself out in the cold rain on the patio. Who knows.


Ok, it was definitely Jake dancing. Lol. I don't think any band I saw multiple times in 2017 was as consistently good as CoC, and I can't wait to see what they dial up for the next year. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Hello Emerson CD release show, which featured a full dozen members of a band sharing the tiny stage at Rumba Cafe, as well as a poetry reading and a man playing solo with a melodica, and my man Jocef Michael, who has humongous things coming in his future if he wants to chase them. Dude is the most energetic performer of any of the ones I've seen all year and I'm excited to follow him around in 2018!


I can't wait to discover even more magical acts of musical wizardry! If you have the chance, go out and support your local scene!

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

It's a Jester One Christmas!

Among anyone who knows me, it's no secret that Christmas isn't exactly my favorite time of year. As I've worked my way into adulthood I've become somewhat grinchly and in the last few years I've found that anxiety has worked its way into my enjoyment of any passing holiday. HOWEVER, Christmas music (and of course the J1 Top 20 Countdown!) bring joy into the final month of the year for me, and so I'm sharing another fun batch of Christmas music for 2017!






Up first we have the impeccable Trans-Siberian Orchestra with First Snow, a wonderful instrumental track that they always play in their live set. It's a fun, upbeat and catchy tune which is followed by Flurries from August Burns Red. ABR released their phenomenal Christmas album Sleddin' Hill a few years back and it's packed with excellent metal renditions of old timey Christmas classics as well as a few of their own.

MxPx's Punk Rock Christmas doesn't feature any classic tunes (outside of Auld Lang Syne, which isn't really even a Christmas song), but it does have a lot of fast punk tunes, including The Late Great Snowball Fight of 2006, a tune about throwin' balls. Following the punk rock theme, it's The Kinks with Father Christmas, an old tale about a man's misadventure with a group of punks while playing Santa Claus. New Found Glory's Ex-Miss touches on one of my old favorite subjects - leaving your old significant other (who you hate now) in the past, but commiserating the times around Christmas.

My all-time favorite Christmas album is a compilation titled Christmas in Heaven, from Flying Tart records. Flying Tart was a subdivision of R.E.X. Records, a Christian label focusing on heavy metal, industrial and darker music. Backwoods was a group invented specifically to record for this compilation, and I believe it was just Buka and Level from Argyle Park. Christmas Wishes talks about hating the commercial side of the season and hating Christmas altogether. Supersuckers follow that up with another anti-commercialism hit, Call it Christmas.

To cheer things back up we have Hawk Nelson singing the popular yet rarely covered carol The Wassail Song. We then have local wonders Javelina with their aptly-titled gem Hard To Be Good and Withers bizarre parody of David Bowie with Christmas Oddity, with Santa playing the pseudo-role of Major Tom.

I don't even remember how I found it, but Savior Machine's Jesus Christ was one of my favorite songs to play this December, even if it doesn't have much of a mention towards Christmas. It seems to be a song dealing with the misrepresentation of Jesus, but it appears with other wintery tales on the compilation album The XMas Massacre, so we'll let it pass. Demon Hunter then deals with Seasonal Affective Disorder in The Wind, while Erasure gives us a tale of a botched holiday homecoming in She Won't Be Home. 

I never even knew Pet Shop Boys had Christmas music until It Doesn't Often Snow On Christmas popped up in our modern Christmas muzak channel at work, but it's another upbeat catchy tune about how Christmas will still be good even though things aren't what you'd hoped it would be. Weird Al graces my playlist this year with his tale about The Night Santa Went Crazy, which needs no explanation. "And he smiled as he said, with a twinkle in his eye, "Merry Christmas to all, now you're all gonna die!".

Lastly, we have a few traditional numbers as Bing Crosby gives us the medley of What Child Is This/The Holly and the Ivy.  I was disappointed to not find many other covers of The Holly and the Ivy because I do very much love Bing's version of it. In fact, most of the versions I found were lovely instrumentals, and I (again) love to dance to the song, but I'd love to hear other people singing it. Lastly, we have another punk number from I'm Ok You're Ok with one of my all-time favorite carols Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.

All in all, it's just over an hours worth of Christmas tunes that embody my spirit this season. Although Christmas Wishes is grayed out, it's a worthwhile industrial banger that you can find here on YouTube. The rest is yours for the enjoying! Merry Christmas!


Thursday, December 21, 2017

Jester One Local Love 2017!

It was pretty cool that Morning Theft ended up being at #1 this year. I spent a lot of time listened to a lot of great local artists this year, and I wanted to share the ones I listened to the most in 2017.



Morning Theft - Skeleton Twins



I mean, obviously we'll start here. I can't wait to hear their new music, and I really enjoy all 4 songs off of "...these terraformed ends", especially Decry and Skeleton Twins.



So Long, Stargazer - Fall Behind



The local song that I actually listened to the most in 2017 was Fall Behind by So Long, Stargazer.  The band is a beautiful phoenix, risen from the ashes of My Beloved Tragedy, one of my favorites from the Jester Promotions era. The addition of Kristin Green on vocals and piano makes the band soar above the clouds, hence the name "So Long, Stargazer". They only played a few shows in 2017, but I was there and I'm glad I had a chance to rekindle old friendships over great new music. Other great tracks from this record include Rewind and Ready/Up.


Ex-Nihilo - Enemy



Another band from the 2017 countdown. I found them trying to get tickets to see Graceful Closure this spring, a show that I never ended up attending. But I found something much better in Ex-Nihilo! I can't wait for their new music to drop.


Lydia Loveless - To Love Somebody



Now, this song obviously isn't new. But I just keep listened to it over and over again. It's the perfect sad song for those feeling down-trodden and rejected. Lydia might not hang around Columbus much these days, but she's still a phenomenal artist who I still greatly enjoy.


Jocef Michael Band - My Door



I met Jocef at a Ex-Nihilo show I was covering, and my goodness is he a great performer. I love his music, I love his energy, I love his drive. I love everything about the guy. Other great songs off of this record include The Code, Standing, and Flow Like Water.


Curse of Cassandra - Falling



I would honestly bet money that a song from CoC's new album "Nekonomicon" is going to end up on the 2018 Countdown. It's a great album and I can't wait to spend a year with it like I did with "Cult of Cats" this year. There's actually several CoC songs in my Top 100 on Spotify this year. Carpe Noctem and Dragon on a Leash were in heavy rotation for me this previous year.

Cosmos Elephant - The End of the Ocean



Listen, if you've never heard Amy Kies sing, you're missing out on something wonderful in life. Cosmos Elephant were one of the more interesting bands I met this year, and they were kind enough to let me preview their new record in studio with all the band members in a Q&A listening session. My other favorite song from this record is El Diablo Positivo.


Truslow - Doctor



I never understood this song until I had the chance to interview James Truslow and talk about life. It was an eye opening evening, and although this song isn't very new either, it's one that bounced around my head a lot after hearing what it's actually about. Great tune.

 Fashion Week - Scars



I had a fun time hanging out with these guys and they're another that I can't wait to hear drop a new record next year. If their last show was any indication, the future is bright for these fellas.


Mary Lynn - Space



Watching the diminutive Mary Lynn sing, you have no idea where this amazing voice comes from. This song is so fantastically lo-fi and indie and CATCHY that you can't help but love it.







I am so seriously happy to have local music back in my life after a long hiatus. I'm looking forward to more great music and musicians to meet in 2018!



Wednesday, December 20, 2017

The 2017 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #1

#1 - Morning Theft - Skeleton Twins



A countdown wouldn't be complete without a really great story to go with one of the higher ranking songs. Actually this tale picks up where the #3 song left off - with the suicide of Chris Cornell. Cornell was found dead on May 18th of this year and it kicked me back into a bad spiral of depression. I had already been struggling with a new and abusive boss as work, plus the shocking realization that I had been married for an entire year without actually knocking it was causing me to lose my marbles each and every night. I couldn't sleep for 3 or 4 days after the suicide, and I felt my mental abilities declining very quickly with each passing day. There were multiple nights where I would drive home by the river and tell myself that it would be so easy just to swerve over and call it a life. Things came to an impasse on May 27th when my boss, in no uncertain terms, told me that I wasn't worth training for the job and thought it to be a waste of her time to have to deal with me.

Rough stuff, I know. I remember going to Arby's to grab some food before the concert I knew I was going to have to cover, and I was crying in my car and wiping away the tears when I got there. I felt bad for the poor clerk because he kept coming to check on me, hoping that it wasn't something that the restaurant had done to upset me. I sat there for a good 2 hours just talking myself into meeting with my photographer, going to the show, writing my article and then ending my life.  I was ready. May 28th was going to be my last day on Earth. And then.... Morning Theft happened. The article I wrote for that night can be found here, but the crux of it is that I stayed at that bar until almost 4am talking to Nick and Jenelle (guitarist and singer) from Morning Theft about life, death, depression, suicide, and especially music. Those two literally convinced me to stay alive that night, and for that I will always be grateful.

That story is important in writing about this song, as well. It deals with mental illness, depression and suicidal thoughts. Jenelle Rowland's voice pierces through the atmospheric wail of Nick McKenzie's guitar hitting high and deep notes at a rate that would make even the most accomplished vocalist blush. The backbeat of Cody Reynolds' drum and J.D. Johnston's bass drives the song forward at a slow and mournful pace and Rowland tells her story, as if pieced together from an asylum journal. It's a tremendous song, and for good reason it has more than twice the amount of plays on Spotify as any other song off of their most recent EP, "...these terraformed ends". The EP title comes from a poem McKenzie wrote and features 4 solid tracks led by the single Decry. The sound is experimental and artistic, as if all 4 are trying to paint an exquisitely tortured portrait. I've also heard them perform several of their new songs live and I have to say - this is a band that is only getting better as they continue writing.

Despite working for a publication covering local music in 2017, I certainly did not anticipate a local song capturing the #1 spot in this countdown. Regardless of the above story, there were still other great songs encompassing 2017 that could have made it to the top of the mountain, but no song spent more time in my ears and on my mind than this one. It just goes to show the amazing impact that music has on our lives, and how a single event can alter a life in such a critical and fantastic way. Thank you, 2017 for helping me find my way.













Title: Skeleton Twins
Artist: Morning Theft
Album: ...these terraformed ends.



Previous #1s

2016: DMA's - Lay Down
2015: Purity Ring - Heartsigh
2014: Cadets - A Drop In The Ocean
2013: Surfer Blood - Demon Dance
2012: Fun. - Some Nights
2011: Young The Giant - My Body
2010: Hockey - Song Away
2009: Morrissey - I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

The 2017 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #2

#2 - Future Islands - Ran


Future Islands find themselves back in the countdown and close to the top once more after landing at #3 with Seasons in 2014. That article can be found here and the recurring theme between both songs is once again how in the hell did this song not end up at #1?! Seasons was a massive hit right off of the bat and propelled the band to unknown stardom literally overnight after an appearance on the David Letterman Show. The band followed up with 2017's "The Far Field", which is a decent album, although I wouldn't say it's better or worse than the previous effort of 2014's "Singles". It definitely follows the same synth and bass combo that has worked for the band for several years, while all of the songs are obviously build around Samuel T Herring's soaring voice. The album reached #52 on the Billboard 200 and managed to appear on charts in 13 other countries as well.

As the story goes, I was driving to work and when I heard the opening keys and bassline of Ran. Herring's familiar voice took over the airwaves as he sang other the ethereal blend of keys, and I found myself entranced. Could this be happening again? Was this to be another supermassive hit for the year of 2017? I couldn't help but look up the song in my car after it had finished playing on the radio. It again features an absolutely massive chorus with Herring literally willing himself to finish the final line "...ran 'round the wailing world". The song tells a heartbroken tale - "what's a song without you, when every song I write's about you?" - and is once again too short and too sweet a season. It demands to be replayed over and over again, and did end up being the most played song for me in 2017. On Spotify it racked up an impressive 13M streams despite failing to chart on Billboard.

The question later became "how does this song stack up to Seasons?". Was it at all possible that any song could reach that sort of level, much less from the same band? That song, despite landing at #3, will always be considered an all-time classic. I tried to listen to the two of them back-to-back several times this year, trying to distinguish which song was better. In the end, it seemed that there might have been better songs in 2014, but Ran stacks up just as good as Seasons any day of the week, and in any other year either song could have risen to the ranks of #1.  I am also grateful that the band decided to make an actual video for the song, featuring the always emotive Herring running through the woods and highways of his home state of Maryland while the band plays in a practice space. Also, I found you a really good video of the boys performing live, showcasing what makes Herring so amazing as a frontman.




(live)



Title: Ran
Artist: Future Islands
Album: The Far Field


Previous #2s
2016: Broods - Free
2015: Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness - Cecilia and the Satellite
2014: Morning Parade - Alienation
2013: Aeon Zen - Warning
2012: Meshuggah - Do Not Look Down
2011: Owl City - Galaxies
2010: Periphery - Icarus Lives!
2009: August Burns Red - Rationalist

Monday, December 18, 2017

The 2017 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #3

#3 - The Naked and Famous - Higher


The Naked and Famous are an international force to be reckoned with, and it's about time they landed on the Top 20. I'd say #3 is a pretty great place to debut yourself on a countdown like this as well. The band is the brain-child of guitarist Thom Powers and singer Alisa Xayalith and garnered massive alternative hits in 2010 with Young Blood and Punching in a Dream. Their previous album "In Rolling Waves" featured the song Hearts Like Ours, which just missed out on our 2013 version of the countdown. I felt that that album was not as strong as their debut work "Passive You, Aggressive Me", but I still found myself listening to their newest effort "Simple Forms" while decorating last year for Christmas and falling in love with the band all over again. It was the first song to be considered for the 2017 Countdown and never left the top 3.

The band has always been synth and chorus-heavy and relied on the high-pitched shrieks of Xayalith, similar to contemporaries like Chvrches and Passion Pit. Powers provides fantastic harmonies and also sings lead on a few songs per album, shining on My Energy this time around. The only downside I have with the album is that it seems like every song seems to shoot for the stars when the chorus comes around, and sometimes there just isn't enough power behind them to make an impact. I also enjoyed the harmonious Falling and the stripped versions they released of Last Forever and Higher. "Simple Forms" debuted at 110 on the Billboard 200 and made it up to #10 on the US Alternative and #9 on the US Independent charts.

Higher is the opening track from the New Zealanders and it immediately drops bouncy synths and Xayalith's ability to capture ears with her range. There's beeping keys and a clapping bassline that pushes you forward. The absolute line of 2017 comes from the songs refrain - "better believe the sea of changes, and put these battered bones to rest. Nothing invisible or nameless - leave no reason to confess". The song doesn't let up until the final note drops and is well worth the almost 18M streams it garnered on Spotify. The song made it to #39 on the US Alternative list while rocketing up to #2 on the New Zealand Heatseeker chart.








Title: Higher
Artist: The Naked and Famous
Album:  Simple Forms



Previous #3s
2016: POP ETC - What Am I Becoming?
2015: Slipknot - (A) Skeptic; (B) The Devil in I
2014: Future Islands - Seasons (Waiting On You)
2013: The Airborne Toxic Event - Timeless
2012: Walk the Moon - Anna Sun
2011: Matt and Kim - Good for Great
2010: Fear Factory - Final Exit
2009: Owl City - Fireflies

Sunday, December 17, 2017

The 2017 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #4

#4 - The Birthday Massacre - All of Nothing



If you've ever listened to The Birthday Massacre before, you know that they have three trademark sounds that you will hear in every single one of their songs. There's heavy doses of synthesizers, there's overly programmed guitar work, and of course there's Chibi's sultry voice. There's a lot of programming that goes into making the band sound like they do, and I've always enjoyed how heavy they are able to make their music through the use of electronics.  But the be-all for the Toronto-based group revolves around the fact that Chibi has a beautifully haunting voice that turns her songs into personal stories which inevitably pull you in closer to their music. The band has been an underground hit among the EBM and Dark-wave communities since 1999, dropping 7 records and spawning hits like In The Dark, Red Stars and Violet.

Their newest album is titled "Under Your Spell" and it's an exceptionally personal and powerful record that digs even deeper to the talented singer's soul. The band has had the same 3 core songwriters (Chibi and guitarists Rainbow and Michael Falcore) since their inception and they always write incredibly tight riffs and tend to puncture the darkness with their glimmering synths and sparkles. There's catchy hits like Without You and One, thumping jams like Hex and Counterpane, and of course the deepest and most emotional song of all, All of Nothing.

The song opens with an airy dose of atmosphere before the synths bite in and the guitars drop low. The opening line of "once upon a waste of time, all I had was never mine" doesn't even begin to prepare you for the chorus of "you were like a dream, cuz you never came true". It's nothing short of massive and mournful, to the point where you might actually believe that it is your heart that is being ripped out from within you. I can honestly say throughout 2017 that I listened to this chorus over and over again, just letting the music dig through and shred my heart. It's so beautiful and full of pained soul. And although none of the songs on the record scored over 400k streams on Spotify, I would definitely say that it was another successful crowd fund for the Canadian sextet.








Title: All of Nothing
Artist: The Birthday Massacre

Album: Under Your Spell

Previous #4s
2016: Graceful Closure - Choices
2015: Jason Derulo - Want To Want Me
2014: Eye of the Enemy - The Shift
2013: New Politics - a) Harlem; b) Goodbye Copenhagen
2012: Garbage - Beloved Freak
2011: Matt Nathanson - Kiss Quick
2010: The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio
2009: Alice in Chains - Check My Brain

Saturday, December 16, 2017

The 2017 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #5

#5 - Chris Cornell - The Promise


It's hard to believe that there are 5 songs bigger from 2017 than #6, but you better believe that it's nothing but serious whammies from here on down. However, this is going to be a difficult one to write.

When musicians and actors die, we often tend to romanticize the last thing that they contributed to society. Would "The Dark Night" be as big of a hit as it was without Heath Ledger dying before it was released? Would the new Linkin Park album be on anyone's year end charts if not for Chester Bennington's passing? I don't think so on either case, and the passing of Chris Cornell doesn't make his last album any better or worse than it already is. (it's pretty damn good, btw). But you simply cannot avoid the impact that these celebrities have on our lives.

Cornell is no different for me. His work with Soundgarden is legendary, but I honestly didn't love him until I really listened to Audioslave. His solo work truly digs into the tortured genius, and that genius is no bigger on display than on The Promise. The song was written for the ill-fated movie which shares its name, and is really the only bright spot from that bomb. It is lyrically brilliant, and its music is constantly digging into you as Cornell screams "no matter the price, a promise to survive, persevere and fly". Did he know he was writing his final song? Was it his final cry for help? Even the soft orchestral parts of the song cause the soaring chorus to be even more powerful.

I remember the day he died. I ended up having to call off of work because I was so overwhelmed with shock and grief; something I told myself would never happen with the death of a celebrity I had never met. But like Tom Shear, Cornell was someone who I could always relate to through his music, and someone who helped carry me through the darkest times of my life. His constant use of metaphorical language often stirred new thoughts within me, and I know I'm not the only one who still mourns his passing. Dead or alive, The Promise is still a phenomenal song and well worth cracking the top 5. Its video features Cornell playing his acoustic while heart-breaking Syrian refugee videos play in the fore and background. Cornell announced that all proceeds from the song would go to support the refugees and their children.






Title: The Promise
Artist: Chris Cornell
Album: The Promise


Previous #5s
2016: blink-182 - Built This Pool
2015: August Burns Red - Identity
2014: Chvrches - The Mother We Share
2013: Born of Osiris - M∆chine
2012: The Shins - Simple Song
2011: Cold - The Break
2010: Matt and Kim - Cameras
2009: Michael Bublé - Just Haven't Met You Yet

Friday, December 15, 2017

The 2017 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #6

#6 - Assemblage 23 - Bravery


With how much time I have spent listening to this band in the past 7-8 years, it's hard to believe there was a time when I didn't love Tom Shear and Assemblage 23. His song topics generally touch on depression, suffering and occasionally on a bad relationship with his father. But before I met my future wife in 2009, I was much less in to electronic music, and I have her to thank for the introduction. In 2010 the band missed out with Smoke while completely (and surprisingly) failing to register any songs off of his 2012 album "Bruise".  Late last year Shear took his traveling band on the road to promote his newest album "Endure", which I honestly did not spend a lot of time with in the first two months after its release.

Suddenly I found out that the Washington native was taking show on the road with his touring bandmates, and that they were coming to a venue just 3 hours away from me. My wife and I hit the road and found ourselves at an old church in Newport KY, called Southgate House Revival. We were treated to some heavy industrial noise, some beautiful gothic music, and finally to Assemblage 23. They played almost all of my favorite A23 hits, and some of the better songs off of the new album, including Afterglow, Salt the Earth, and December. The immediate song that jumped out to me was the tale of our #6 song, Bravery.

The album title of Endure is almost antithetical to the message of hopelessness that Shear often waves into his songs, but Bravery is the perfect example of just what it means to endure. It opens with a bouncy high-pitched synth that intersperses itself into the driving drum backbeat and is layered perfectly with a number of joining electrical noises. The song tells the tale of the strength it takes to make it through each passing day:

"a fount of strength is flowing like blood from open veins
a cache of courage to brace against the blinding pain
each one of us fights battles no one else can see
some days just waking up is an act of bravery"

If nothing else, a lot of times Shear sings about fighting through the suicidal voices inside of his head. It's quite terrifying to see how many of his songs touch on the same personal struggles that I go through, but I was definitely grateful that I had a chance to meet him and thank him for his music last winter.  I honestly thought this song would crack the top 3 for most of the year, but it still made an indelible mark on 2017 for me and deservedly lands at #6.











Title: Bravery
Artist: Assemblage 23
Album: Endure


Previous #6s
2016: Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown - Loaded Dice and Buried Money
2015: Lamb of God - 512
2014: Lo-Fang - When We're Fire
2013: Tegan and Sara - Closer
2012: Lamb of God - King Me
2011: Nine Lashes - Anthem of the Lonely
2010: Them Crooked Vultures - Mind Eraser, No Chaser
2009: Kelly Clarkson - Already Gone

Thursday, December 14, 2017

The 2017 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #7

#7 - Cold War Kids - Can We Hang On ?



Cold War Kids make their debut appearance on the countdown after just missing out in 2014 with their massive hit First. They're a band who usually has 1 song per album that just knocks me off my feet, but are often a little too artsy for my tastes. Their music is always solid and well produced, and they do a great job melding driving guitars and drums with piano strokes. The main knock I have on their music is that sometimes lead singer Nathan Willett almost puts too much of himself into the music, making it overpowering and somewhat off-putting. All the same, the band sells a lot of records being a trend-setter in alternative music, and "LA Divine" climbed up to #69 on the Billboard 200 while breaking into the Top 10 once again in US Alternative and US Rock.

 I really only found two songs that I enjoyed on this record, which was somewhat of a disappointment because I could their previous release "Hold My Home" to be their best to date. As it stands, they released another hit single in Love is Mystical before dropping our #7 hit Can We Hang On ?, which immediately hooks you in with its screaming guitar and piano combination in the first few seconds. Willett proves himself as a songwriter with every line in the song, reaching a paramount with "would you be mine forever, just in case it exists?". It's a song about a broken home and relationship, and the struggle to make things persevere. The song didn't chart but it still chalked up 4.5M streams on Spotify, and has a video with a man dancing by himself with the music along El Porto Beach in LA.

Lost amongst the wave of upbeat and heavier hits from this year is the fact that I spent a major portion of the year fighting severe depression. In knowing myself it is difficult to imagine a year where new songs didn't help to guide my moods, and so of course there is usually a song that is darker or more dramatic than others ranking fairly high. Can We Hang On ? is a perfect song for those moods, and it was one of those songs that could have easily risen higher than #7 on any given year. It's only slammers from here on out!









Title: Can We Hang On ?
Artist: Cold War Kids
Album: LA Divine


Previous #7s
2016: Justin Timberlake - Can't Stop The Feeling!
2015: Matty Mullins - More of You
2014: Impending Doom - Hellhole
2013: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. - If You Didn't See Me (Then You Weren't On The Dancefloor)
2012: One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful
2011: The Airborne Toxic Event - All I Ever Wanted
2010: Iyaz - Replay
2009: This Ending - Machinery

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

The 2017 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #8

#8 - Circle of Dust - Machines of our Disgrace



I spent so many years talking about how Circle of Dust was one of those bands that I would absolutely love to see revived. I never assumed it would actually happen, or that it would be this good. Last year we got a peek into the mind of Klayton and what he had been doing in reviving his original project. Contagion dropped at #11 on our countdown (read here) and I predicted that there would probably be a song off of the full-length release come 2017. The album is chock-full of crunching guitars and electric synths that pound and pulverize you into following whatever path it may lead you down. Outside In reminds you of the more ballad-esque hits on "Disengage" while k_OS and Hive Mind blend the industrial and electronica sides of Klayton's brain to perfection.

The two most crushing tracks on the record (after Contagion) are Humanarchy and the title track. Machines opens and is dotted with old-school sci-fi excerpts and builds itself up with blistering guitars before utterly crushing you on the verses. Perhaps my favorite line of the year comes on the 2nd verse -  

"Metastasizing in such a willing host - the real disease has been mis-diagnosed. 
Dehumanizing and difficult to face - we build our own destruction; the machines of our disgrace". 


Yikes.  The song itself is a warning about the power of technology overtaking us all, and the video features Klayton playing all of the instruments while two people are walking through life completely entranced by their phones. The sonic battery doesn't cease until the song is over, and if you're like me you'll probably find yourself immediately scrambling to replay the song, just in case you missed any of the madness. Machines chalked up 160k streams on Spotify, and the man behind the madness has already started making plans to release another album, perhaps as soon as next year!

You know I'll be there!








Title: Machines of our Disgrace
Artist: Circle of Dust
Album: Machines of our Disgrace





Previous #8s
2016: Jess Lamb and The Factory - End of the Line
2015: Ellie Goulding - Love Me Like You Do
2014: Sleeper Agent - Waves
2013: Paper Route - Letting You Let Go
2012: Demon Hunter - Dead Flowers
2011: Emmure - Children of Cybertron
2010: 30 Seconds to Mars - Kings and Queens
2009: Jordin Sparks - Battlefield

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

The 2017 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #9

#9 - Bebe Rexha - The Way I Are (Dance With Somebody)



Here lies Jesse Jester - lover of two separate pop songs in the same year.

Look, I'm not gonna beat around the bush here. Am I a fan of pop-stars like Bebe Rexha? No, absolutely not. A quick look at the "related artists" tab next to her name shows a graveyard of formulated popstars who all use the same hooks, same beats, and "sing" about essentially the same thing. Heck, some of them are almost as goofy looking as the flag-bearer, Iggy Azalea. You can blame Rihanna, you can blame Fergie, but the blame falls squarely on record label execs who have taken the "stuff that sells to teenage girls" genre and blown it horrifically out of proportion. A true sign of the end came when Danielle Bregoli, aka the "cassh me outside girl" from Dr Phil, was signed to a major record deal under the name "Bhad Bhabie".

It was essentially announcing the end. Labels have stopped signing acts for their ability to make music - more for their ability to quickly make money and be easily pushed away. More and more, the popular music charts are littered with collaborations between multiple artists who honestly aren't strong enough to make their own good music. As an avid discoverer of new music, I spent many days and nights this year scouring the charts to try and find some hope amongst the popular music avenues, only to find it overstuffed with bad mumbly rap, awful autotune and overly-breathy pop starlettes. And Ed Sheeran. He's alright.

All the same, here's #9. Literally all of Bebe Rexha's hits feature some sort of goofy rap collaboration, as her own voice is all too annoying to make an entirely good song. Don't worry, I'm almost off my soapbox. As it stands, The Way I Are is actually catchy and, when avoid the addition of Lil Wayne's dopey pitch-shifting 2nd verse, you actually find a song worth a dance. Fortunately, Rexha released the non-Wayne version as it's own single, cutting out the "lighting up a blunt" sound effect at the beginning as well. UNFORTUNATELY in trying to find a video version without the rapping, I once again found another of my biggest pet peeves - people who put the wrong lyrics into "lyric" videos.

Don't let them bury me too close to the ground - I don't want zombie Jester to have to hear any of this garbage.







Title: The Way I Are (Dance With Somebody)
Artist: Bebe Rexha
Album: The Way I Are (Dance With Somebody) Single 





Previous #9s

2016: Bleached - Wednesday Night Melody
2015: TV On The Radio - Careful You
2014: Aurelio Voltaire - Captains All
2013: Deadlock - The Arsonist
2012: Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks
2011: The Limousines - Internet Killed The Video Star
2010: Dan Black - Symphonies
2009: The Killer and the Star - Living With Musicians

Monday, December 11, 2017

The 2017 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #10

#10 - The National - Carin at the Liquor Store



The National first showed up on the 2010 J1 countdown at #4 with Bloodbuzz Ohio, from the record "High Violet". It was absolutely and unquestionably the record of the year for me, beating out heavyweights like Demon Hunter, Them Crooked Vultures and Rammstein, but it unfortunately set the stage for an impossible follow-up. 2013's "Trouble Will Find Me" is a really good record by itself, but nothing could reach the level of "High Violet" for me, although the song "Don't Swallow The Cap" almost made it into the 2013 Countdown. Despite the lack of glamour surrounding their last record, you had better believe that I was stoked to hear about a new National album coming, and this album blew away any expectations I could have possibly had. "Sleep Well Beast" got to #2 on the Billboard Top 200 while hitting #1 in 5 different countries while topping the US Top Alternative and Top Rock charts. You could go top to bottom on this one - "Day I Die", "The System Only Sleeps in Total Darkness", "Born to Beg", "Dark Side of the Gym", etc.


Carin at the Liquor Store is almost a perfect part 2 to Exile Vilify, a song form the Portal 2 soundtrack in 2011. Matt Berninger's distinctive baritone shines as he pushed the song forward along with a mournful piano. It's a simple song that pushes through all the BS of bad relationships and reaches the inevitable end in painful sorrow. "it's gonna be different after tonight, you're gonna see me in a different light - it's a foregone conclusion" seems to resonate the deepest with me, but in reality it's the entire song. Bryan Devendorf dials back his usual pounding drums and the rest of the instruments almost lay silent until a surprisingly screachy guitar solo penetrates the haze near the end.  The video for the song has the band playing the song in negative color and the song picked up 5.5m Spotify streams. I don't know how The National do it, but they seem to be able to champion every musical effort they set to their mind. Right now, I honestly cannot imagine how they'll top this album, but I will as always be ready to be drawn in once the time arrives.







Title: Carin at the Liquor Store
Artist: The National
Album: Sleep Well Beast

 







Previous #10s

2016: Miike Snow - Genghis Khan
2015: The Wombats - Give Me A Try
2014: Cut Copy - We Are Explorers
2013: The 1975 - The City
2012: Animal Kingdom - Strange Attractor
2011: FM Static - F.M.S.T.A.T.I.C
2010: Muse - Resistance
2009: Five Finger Death Punch - Bad Company

Sunday, December 10, 2017

The 2017 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #11

#11 - Haim - Want You Back


Making their debut after skittering around the 2013 Countdown, quirky sister trio Haim continue to make waves in popular music with their second offering "Something To Tell You". The sisters have all grown up a little and have offered a much deeper and more complex record without losing their individual traits that blend together and make their music so easily accessible and enjoyable. The album marched right up to #7 on the Billboard Top 200 while again landing at #2 on the Alternative Rock and Top Rock charts. In an age where popstars and chart-toppers are pumping out garbage records every other year, it almost seems unthinkable that a band would take 4 years between releases, but Haim found a way to significantly improve upon their craft and polish things up for a catchy and creative new sound. Whether is it the string arrangement on Found in Silence, the layered guitars on You Never Know, or the fun pulsing beat of Nothing's Wrong, the band show again that they seemingly have limitless possibilities together.

The immediate thing that has made this band stand out for me is the trio's ability to harmonize, which is best showcased in their lead single Want You Back. The song builds slow with an opening piano and incorporates more hand-claps and percussive beats that seem to meld together in a winning combination. Whatever it is that resonates in my ears when the three of them sing together; I knew I had a Top 20 hit the moment I heard this song. The bass skips around, the acoustic guitar on the verses does just enough to fill the air, and the chorus is an easy sing-a-long - "just know that I want you back" is a line that resonates with just about anyone. The video for the song has the girls walking down Ventura Blvd and dancing/playing air instruments to the song. It's really a fun one to go with a surprisingly energetic song. The song registered just short of 25M streams on Spotify while "Something To Tell You" sold a healthy 26k records in its opening week.








Title: Want You Back
Artist: Haim
Album: Something To Tell You






Previous #11s
2016: Circle of Dust - Contagion
2015: Catfish and the Bottlemen: Cocoon
2014: Meg Myers - Desire
2013: Vampire Weekend - Diane Young
2012: Swimming With Dolphins - Sleep To Dream
2011: Power Quest - Glorious
2010: Taio Cruz - Dynamite
2009: Kings of Leon - Use Somebody

Saturday, December 9, 2017

The 2017 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #12

#12 - Incubus - No Fun


What is to be said of Incubus? They've sold 20+ million records worldwide, including major smashes with 1999's "Make Yourself" and 2001's "Morning View".  Unless you were living under a rock, you almost certainly know their smash hit Drive, but it had been 7 years between studio albums for the band, and I personally had wondered whether they were still in the music business before they dropped their "Trust Fall" EP two years back. That EP actually featured an almost-hit in Absolution Calling, which had me thirsting for a new record. It seems like every time they drop a record, it's just quirky and deep enough to spawn a few hit singles and songs that I thoroughly enjoy. And they've largely kept the same lineup since their first album dropped 22 years ago.

"8" is probably one of my favorite albums of the year. I heard the first single Nimble Bastard and knew I had to check it out. Immediately upon popping in the disc you are treated to the driving guitar and slamming drums on No Fun. The drums absolutely explode on this song as Brandon Boyd sings about a string of constantly failing relationships. "Hey, you're no fun, you're a song I never want to hear again!" is a fantastic line of separation on one of the most crisp songs produced in 2017. The band released a fun little lyric video to accompany the song, and it racked up almost 3 million streams on Spotify. As for "8", I also loved the songs Loneliest, Glitterbomb, and Love An A Time Of Surveillance.









Title: No Fun
Artist: Incubus
Album: 8






Previous 12s

2016: 3 Doors Down - The Broken
2015: Fear Factory - Expiration Date
2014: Walk the Moon - Shut Up And Dance
2013: Shining - I Won't Forget
2012: (tie) Florence and the Machine - What the Water Gave Me; Shake It Out
2011: Fitz and the Tantrums - Don't Gotta Work it Out
2010: Mumford and Sons - Little Lion Man
2009: Breathe Carolina - Show Me Yours

Friday, December 8, 2017

The 2017 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #13

#13 - Greeley Estates - Calling All The Hopeless



Greeley Estates is a long-established metalcore act out of Phoenix who were recently on hiatus until coming back together to release their EP "Calling All The Hopeless". They announced plans to make a new record back in 2015 and finally dropped the lead single back in the spring of 2017. It immediately feels like a mix between metalcore contemporaries A Plea For Purging, Haste the Day and perhaps Wrench In The Works, with chugging riffs and crunchy choruses. Although the band pondered breaking up before putting this record together, it would be a shame if this was their final offering. The only knock I have for it is that you can absolutely tell that there is only one guitarist handling lead and rhythm on the record, but there are other bands that are able to get away with that; E.G. Veil of Maya, 36 Crazyfists.

The title track finds its way onto our countdown at #13, which is one that has had a huge dose of metal on it in the past as well (2014, '12, '11 and '10). There's no beating around the bush - this song is a straight up bruiser. It's a song about getting through depression and overcoming your past. "The life you used to lead is not the person you are now - live life and learn from your pain" is a lyric that absolutely resonates within the depths of my depressed soul. If you're not head-banging to this one, you probably don't have a neck.









Title: Calling All The Hopeless
Artist: Greeley Estates
Album: Calling All The Hopeless





Previous 13s
2016: Mad Anthony - Sad Songs (ft Steve Wethington)
2015: Passion Pit - Lifted Up (1985)
2014: Beartooth - Beaten In Lips
2013: The Mowgli's - San Francisco
2012: Veil of Maya - Punisher
2011: Red - Feed the Machine
2010: Haste the Day - White as Snow
2009: Gorilla Zoe - Echo

Thursday, December 7, 2017

The 2017 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #14

#14 - DREAMCAR - Kill for Candy



There are some interesting rock supergroups out there, and a lot of them don't make sense. Grunge superstar Chris Cornell singing with the guys from Rage Against The Machine? Absurd. Scott Weiland with GnR? No way. But I do believe I was most caught off guard when I heard that emo-rocker Davey Havok of AFI would be teaming up with the poor, forgotten members of No Doubt not named Gwen to make a record. Especially considering AFI had just released a new record at the beginning of 2017, I was unsure whether this unholy union would be successful. But you know what? It actually has an intriguing new-wave/80s sound to it that could slide along with Duran Duran or Simple Minds. It's a fun record with standout tracks like After I Confessed and All of the Dead Girls.

The album may have only bubbled up to 115 on the Top 200, but Kill for Candy was an immediate smash, jumping up to 28 on the US Alternative chart and racking up 1.2M plays on Spotify. I wouldn't call it a "great" record, but the lead single is definitely a head-bobber. You can immediately feel Havok's influential vocals on the track as well as the bouncy echoing guitars from Tony Kanal. The opening riff explodes out of the gate and compels you to get up and enjoy yourself while listening. And although I'm not entirely sure, the song might just be about a sweets addiction . The video is shot from the point of view of each of the different band members as they get ready to rehearse and play the song.  It's nice to see the guys from No Doubt actually playing instruments again as opposed to just taking a back-seat to their ever-popular frontwoman. Also... look at Havok's mustache.... whew. Hahahahaa...








Title: Kill for Candy
Artist: DREAMCAR
Album: DREAMCAR





Previous 14s
2016: Chvrches - Leave a Trace
2015: Spoon - New York Kiss
2014: Weird Al Yankovic - A) Foil; B) Handy
2013: Atlas Genius - If So
2012: Metric - Clone
2011: Crystal Castles - Not In Love (ft Robert Smith)
2010: Nevermore - Moonrise (Through Mirrors of Death)
2009: Red - Out From Under

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

The 2017 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #15

#15 - Ex-Nihilo - Enemy


Ex-Nihilo was one of the first bands I covered for Music in Motion - Columbus (see article here). I was immediately impressed by their self-titled EP as well as their on-stage energy and musical abilities. They're a relatively young band who are currently working on making new music and playing the occasional gig around town when they can to promote themselves. The EP has two other tracks that I loved this year - Industry and Zoning Out. All together it's a great bit of music and hard to discern that it was produced and recorded locally. And trust me - this isn't just a homer pick. These guys are legitimately fantastic.

Enemy is the obvious standout track, with more than twice as many streams on Spotify than any other song on the record. It opens with a poppy chanting chorus line before guitarist Joel Sheppard launches a screaming opening chord that is featured through the entire song.  It's one of those songs that made me happy every time I heard it this year, and deserves more recognition than it is given around town. The band put together a video of them performing at a show from earlier this year for the song. It highlights singer Austin Hafner's on-stage charisma that makes the songs pop live even more than they might sound like on the record. I'm hoping that the group sticks together for more than a few years and drops several more red-hot singles like this one!







Title: Enemy
Artist: Ex-Nihilo
Album: Ex-Nihilo



Previous 15s
2016: Brian Fallon - A Wonderful Life
2015: Foo Fighters - Something from Nothing
2014: Five Iron Frenzy - I Am Jack's Smirking Revenge
2013: The Features - This Disorder
2012: A Plea for Purging - Heart of a Child
2011: Texas in July - Magnolia
2010: Day of Fire - Lately
2009: Silversun Pickups - It's Nice To Know You Work Alone

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

The 2017 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #16

#16 - Demon Hunter - Raining Down

This marks the 5th consecutive year that a metal song has rang in at #16. Demon Hunter is no stranger to the countdown, coming in at #8 in 2012 (Dead Flowers) and #19 in 2010 (Collapsing). I can honestly say that, with the exception of 2014's "Extremist" (which I eventually learned to love), every album they have ever released ended up being one of the most played for me in that given year. In fact, it would have been quite difficult to pick just one (or two, or three) songs on 2007's "Storm the Gates of Hell", but I digress. They've been one of my favorite bands for a long time, and even though their sound has evolved with each album they've still been able to churn out hits and ride up the charts. They reached #2 on the Hard Rock Charts for the third time in their careers, and also landed at #25 on the Billboard Top 200, while impressively debuting at #1 on the US Indie list.

Raining Down is one of many songs that I enjoyed off of "Outlive", including singles Cold Winter Sun, Died in My Sleep, as well as Jesus Wept and One Less. Raining Down opens with keys and a thumping drum number. It's a suprisingly melodic number on a heavier disc, but it follows the typical Demon Hunter formula for their more ballad-esque rock pieces. It's a song about perseverance and strength in the face of adversity. Solid State released a lyric video for the song featuring a single light shining into a dark room. It's hard to believe that the band is 8 albums deep into their career right now, but I'm excited to see that they're still able to punch home a meaningful and powerful record.





Title: Raining Down
Artist: Demon Hunter
Album: Outlive




Previous 16s
2016: van Canto - Time and Time Again
2015: Ghost Ship Octavius - Silence
2014: Winds of Plague - Say Hello To The Undertaker
2013: Colossus - Beacons
2012: Imagine Dragons - It's Time
2011: Amaranthe - Hunger
2010: Gorillaz - Superfast Jellyfish
2009: Chris Isaak - We Let Her Down

Monday, December 4, 2017

The 2017 Jester One Music Top 20 Countdown - #17

#17 - Tinashe - Flame

I don't have a whole lot to say about our #17 artist, Tinashe. Unlike previous R&B acts on the countdown, she's not an artist I care terribly much more. Her most recent album features a lot of unnecessary swearing and bizarre dark song topics, and her most recent single is amusingly titled Me So Bad. The album Joyride is now two years in the making and still has only spawned two singles, so I can't really touch on that either. As it stands, I was scrolling through the music channels on TV and landed on this song on VH1.

Flame was released back in the spring of '17 and failed to chart in the US. It features a genre-shift for the singer, who usually sticks to rap and R&B on her songs. Her singing voice reminds me of a less annoying, more intelligent Keri Hilson. The song is about a relationship that has seen better days, and Tinashe's attempt to re-ignite the passion.  The video features her singing to her disenchanted lover in varying degrees of sultry lingerie. She ends up setting her apartment on fire in the end, making you wonder if she's just a psycho ex who wants to torment her lover, no matter how much he gives to her. Despite the lack of promotion, the song did register 15.6M streams on Spotify this year.








Title: Flame

Artist: Tinashe
Album: Joyride

Previous #17s
2016: Trivium - Until The World Goes Cold

2015: Big Data - The Business of Emotion (ft White Sea)
2014: Foster The People - Coming of Age
2013: Sevendust - Decay
2012: Morning Parade - Headlights
2011: Lonely Island - Jack Sparrow (Ft Michael Bolton)
2010: Slash - Baby Can't Drive (ft Alice Cooper + Nicole Scherzinger)  

2009: DevilDriver - Another Night In London