Videos of the Week Novmeber 3rd

Lots and lots of fun live performances in this week's top five. Leading the way in that category was Odesza who put together a stunning rendition of Line of Sight. Having recently seen them live, I appreciate how they adapted their amphitheater sound to a more intimate setting. Keeping with the late night vibe, Maroon 5 and SZA delivered a fun rendition of What Lovers Do on Fallon. I'll admit I haven't seen much of SZA, so to see her sing live gave me a better feel for massive ceiling as a vocalist. Rounding out the late night trio was Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) of Stranger Things spitting a fiery summary of season one. Having now plowed through the first two seasons, it was enlightening to see the more authentic, raw side of young Eleven.

Pivoting off late night slightly with The Roots in a slightly different context than usual on Fallon. If you've ever seen them perform classroom style on Fallon, then you won't be surprised at how well they handled the space constraints on Tiny Desk. And last, but always the best is a second episode from Odesza's A Moment Apart Tour. I've said it many times, but if you're a fan of electronic music and wish there was more authentic instrumentation mixed with the synthesizers, then Odesza is your answer...#AMomentApart

Odesza Performs Line of Sight on Kimmel

Maroon 5 feat SZA - What Lovers Do Performance on Fallon

Millie Bobby Brown Raps Stranger Things Season 1 Recap on Fallon

The Roots Tiny Desk Concert

Odesza - A Moment Apart Tour Episode 2

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week October 13th

This week's top five starts and ends with Eminem's fierce lyrical attack on Donald Trump via his BET Awards Freestyle Cypher. The amount of energy it generated throughout music and politics speaks to the time we're currently living in. As more and more of pop culture, entertainment, and professional athletes draw lines in the sand with their stance on our president, it'll be interesting to see who ends up "winning" the social media war in the end.

Aside from super-caustic freestyles, Odesza and Leon Bridges jumped in to remind us that music is as soulful and pure as ever. There's such a warmth surrounding the vibe of Across the Room and the video did a good job of capturing that feel-goodness. Speaking of feel-goodness, nothing butters my bread like some good ol' instrumental experimentation. Hard to imagine someone being more equipped to do that than Mura Masa and we were lucky enough to have the curtain peeled back a bit to see his creative process. If you're in the need of some hype to finish out the week, look no further than Goldlink's performance of Crew at one of his recent shows. You can always tell if an artist is hype but how the crowd reacts to his music. Watch that performance and tell me he doesn't have a hardcore following. Rounding out the top five is some Country music. Not just any Country music though, it's Kendrick Lamar's hits being flipped into Country. Fyütch took a page out of South Park's book with this one, but it wasn't any less entertaining...#CountryKendrick

Eminem Goes IN on Donald Trump via BET Awards Freestyle

Odesza feat Leon Bridges - Across the Room (Video)

Rhythm Roulette with Mura Masa

Goldlink - Crew (Live)

Fyütchology Ep 12: Country Kendrick Lamar

Photo Credit: BET via YouTube

Don't Sleep on La Cuidad Off Odesza's A Moment Apart

Remember that time I kept posting about Odesza tracks every other day back in 2017? Alright, alright...I promise this is the last post for a while. Let's just say all the treads are gone off the tires I've put so much mileage into A Moment Apart.

You are all keenly aware of the singles from the album at this point, but the more I listen to the album, the more I find myself gravitating to La Cuidad. It's such an adventure of tempos and moods. Off top, the funky, upbeat rhythm sucks you in. Then comes the stutter vocal sample to provide a pitter-patter of contrast with the steady beat. Then the pace slows to quiet whisper before picking up again to mimmick the shotgun start. And in case you hadn't gotten enough of a tempo roller coaster, there's this lullabye, swan-song-esque minute long outro that will put you to sleep if you let it. In case you're still hiding under that rock, come out from underneath it and open your ears to A Moment Apart. And if you want to know even more about them as artists and the creation of the album, check out their Reddit AMA from earlier this week...#LaCuidad



Odesza - La Cuidad

Videos of the Week September 22nd

Out of all weeks, this one probably had the best balance of emotional, creative, and funny. Led by the incredibly nostalgic Good Old Days, Macklemore and Kesha provided a quality lead off effort. There's just something about sitting around a campfire with friends that meshes really well with the "remember the good old days feeling. Speaking of feeling, if you don't get goosebumps hearing Jay Z's Encore verse meshed with the Chester Bennington led Numb live in studio then you clearly slept on early 2000s music. Really going to miss the high end vocal range he brought to Linkin Park that gave the group an added alternative edge.

In case you've missed everything I've posted over the past few weeks, Odesza released their new A Moment Apart album last week. Watching them make music is one of the most memorizing things for me personally. It's only a minute and a half, but seeing how they put together Meridian was a fun watch. If you're looking for funny, watching Lil Wayne lip sync the Friends theme song with an NFL twist should fit the bill. The music sample is far from Hip Hop, but there's some entertainment value watching him plead for NFL teams to not go 0-2. Rounding out this week's top five was another stellar creation from Louis Futon. This time he teamed up with GRiZ to put together a paint by numbers, behind the scenes look on how they spliced together their remix of Tyler, The Creator's See You Again. Can't say I was a huge fan of the original, but I'm all about the new fangled flip the dynamic duo was able to put together...#SeeYouAgain

Macklemore & Kesha - Good Old Days (Video)

Jay Z Performs Numb/Encore as a Tribute to Linkin Park's Chester Bennington

How Odesza Made Meridian

Lil Wayne Sings the Friends Theme Song

Louis Futon & GRiZ Flip Tyler, The Creator's See You Again

Photo Credit: YouTube

"Everybody Prays to God by Different Names"

At this point, you're certifiably insane if you haven't given Odesza's new A Moment Apart album a listen. To hammer home that point, I'm posting what seems like the 15th single worth track from the album. Divide strikes a chord with me in so many ways. Kelsey Bulkin's quiet, but composed vocals fit so well over Odesza's chill instrumental style. And you better believe they brought that with a slow burning beat equipped with all the ethereal samples and bird sounding synths you could imagine. It's one big harmonious, dreamy track that finds a way to stand out among a stacked track list. In case you missed it last week, their new album trailer is below, along with the obligatory iTunes and Spotify links...#AMomentApart



Odesza feat Kelsey Bulkin - Divide

"Your Friends are Callin’ You Baby Stay with Me Instead"

As I mentioned yesterday, Odesza dropped their new A Moment Apart album yesterday. Shortly after mentally ripping off the packaging, I flew through snippets of all the tracks I hadn't heard with interesting cameos. On the top of that list was Across the Room with vocals from living soul legend Leon Bridges.

I'm still wrapping my mind around the blend of styles since it's much more gospel or take 'em to church sounding than what you'd normally hear from Odesza, but that's not at all a bad thing. Leon's vocals and the quiet beat create a chill, jazzy vibe. Don't get it twisted though, Odesza found a way to put their stamp on the track with a high-pitched gospel vocal sample adding to the crescendo of energy following Leon's verses. It along with La Cuidad are my new favorites after a few listens to the new album. Add those to the multitude of already awesome singles and there's plenty of potential for 2017 album of the year consideration...#AMomentApart

Odesza feat Leon Bridges - Across the Room

Videos of the Week September 8th

This week's top five was dominated by Odesza, which is no surprise considering their new A Moment Apart album just dropped today. With the album release this week came an album trailer and an unplugged in-studio performance of their music at a local Seattle affiliate KEXP. My goodness...if you don't get goosebumps listening to their unplugged version of Line of Sight around the 27:30 mark, then please stop reading. I haven't even done a full lap around the album and I'm already convinced it's somehow managing to be on par with their last incredible album.

If I were to pretend to forget about Odesza for a minute, I'd encourage you to check out the dope new Adidas and Von Miller co-signed effort from YG and Mike Will. Appropriately titled Heart of a Lion, the mix of studio cuts and weightlifting clips made for an impactful watch. Then there was the obligatory NPR Tiny Desk cameo of the week from Jidenna. Still seared into my memory from Moonlight was the scene of him rollin' in his candy colored lac bumping the screwed and chopped version of the track. The Tiny Desk version isn't quite a hard, but it gave a little more insight into the vocal abilities of Jidenna. And last, but never least, U2 came through with a decidedly anti-Trump rendition of Bullet in the Blue Sky on Fallon. It's not a huge surprise considering how openly political U2 and Bono are, but man they didn't mince words. If you're in need for an invigorating boost of rebellion, definitely give that one a watch...#BulletInTheBlueSky

YG and Mike Will Made-It Heart of a Lion Video for Von Miller's Adidas Commercial

Odesza Performing Music From a Moment Apart on KEXP

Video Teaser of Odesza's New A Moment Apart Album

Jidenna Performs Classic Man on NPR Tiny Desk

U2 Performs Bullet in the Blue Sky on Fallon

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week July 21st

It's impossible to sugar coat it, this was a sad week due to the loss of Linkin Park lead man Chester Bennington. It's unfortunate that we continue to lose such talented people to depression at a young age. Hopefully one day mental health is taken as serious as physical health.

Regarding videos this week, Linkin Park still let loose new visuals for Talking to Myself the day that Chester passed. The video will serve as a bittersweet bookmark in history, unfortunately. If you're in need of a boost of energy after the previous video's punch to the gut, then RL Grime and Miguel have you covered. Let's just say they brought the energy at EDC in performing Stay For It. In case you haven't gotten enough of the genius that is Kygo, I've got good news. He'll be releasing a documentary soon that will give more of an in-depth look into his life as a rising artist. If a bit of novelty is what you need, then seeing your favorite Game of Thrones characters spliced together singing Smash Mouth's All-Star will provide some much needed humor in a tough week. And last, but most interesting was a behind the scenes look at Odesza's creative process. Let's just say they do a LOT of tinkering to manipulate and bend sound to until they come up with something unique. Such a cool way they go about inventing chords...#Odesza

Linkin Park - Talking to Myself (Video)

RL Grime and Miguel Perform Stay For It at EDC

Kygo's Stole the Show Documentary Teaser

Smash Mouth's All-Star Sung by Game of Thrones Cast

Inside Odesza's Creative Process

Photo Credit: YouTube

Odesza Seeks Higher Ground With New Single

And the onslaught of great new music from Odesza continues. Their new one features vocals from Naomi Wild and fits their ethereal chill style to T. The rolling tempo is enticing, gradually gathering momentum toward the hook. From there's it's a progression of happy synth horns that you can picture being the backdrop on a sunny day frolic through a meadow.

It's another huge step forward leading toward Odesza's upcoming A Moment Apart album that'll be hitting e-shelves on September 8th. If there's one thing you remember from this post it's to reference their upcoming tour stops. I can't stress enough how worthy of an investment it is to go see them live. I just saw them run Red Rocks and I'll be seeing a follow up show when they visit the Bay Area this fall. When it comes to EDM performances and actual "shows" (not just a DJ sitting behind turntables playing records), it doesn't get any better than Odesza...#HigherGround


Odesza feat Naomi Wild - Higher Ground

More New Music Off Odesza's New A Moment Apart Album

A few weeks back I saw Odesza debut Meridian live at Red Rocks. The rhythmic chanting on the track really stuck with me when I first heard it. It possesses the instrumental vibrance that you'd expect from the duo from Seattle. There's a mellow, but energetic vibe that fits well with everything they've put out to date.

To be honest, I gritted my teeth when I first heard they had a new album coming out. I did so because in my mind there was absolutely no way they were going to touch the greatness that In Return reached. After hearing Line of Sight and now Meridian, I'm starting to build up the confidence that they may somehow be in the same conversation. With A Moment Apart just shy of three months away from being released, there's a lot more of the story to be told. Cautiously optimistic with the arrow pointed up is where I'm at right now...#Meridian

Odesza - Meridian

VIdeos of the Week May 27th

Like many weeks, this one was ruled by a slew of new high profile EDM released. My personal favorite of the bunch was Odesza's Late Night video put together by some of their most adventure seeking fans. Whether it's jumping out of planes, dangling feet off of cliffs or scaling mountains, the experience they put together was pretty awesome. Nipping at the heels of #1 was Kygo and Ellie's video for their recent collabo First Time. Plenty of sorrow and memories mixed with fire and ashes, which makes for an emotional video. Rounding out the EDM videos is Martin Garrix and Troye Sivan's new one for There For You. Shot in beautiful San Francisco, they couldn't have picked a better setting for their new track. #ImBiased

Outside of EDM, it was cool to see an updated trailer for Marvel's next money pot, Spiderman: Homecoming. It's going to be hard to continue the roll the franchise, but they've got an optimized formula for making movies that has everyone eating out of the palms of their hand. And round out the top five was a hell of duet from John Legend and Gallant. If you weren't already considering seeing John in concert, you should reconsider that decision because Gallant will be joining him as the opener. Their rendition of In the Room was well worth the price of admission...#DarknessAndLight

Odesza Fan Created Video for Late Night

Kygo feat Ellie Goulding - First Time (Video)

Martin Garrix & Troye Sivan - There For you (Video)

Spiderman: Homecoming (Trailer)

John Legend & Gallant Perform Overload In the Room

Photo Credit: YouTube

Odesza Drops Second New Single of the Week

You may remember back on Tuesday night when I gushed about Odesza's first new single since 2014, Line of Sight. Well, they weren't done releasing new music because less than 24 hours later, they let loose Late Night. I'm not going to mince words regarding a favorite between the two because if you read my post earlier this week, Late Night came in a distant second.

BUT...that doesn't take anything away from their smooth, ethereal new one below. It has a high pitched, chant-like vocal sample, vibrant synths, and a steady pace led by a somber guitar chord progression. All of it adds up to what you'd expect from the Seattle duo and make you appreciate that their years long hiatus is finally coming to an end. Remember when I mentioned going to Red Rocks to watch them perform all this new music in about a month? Well, I've listened to their new music so much over the past 48 hours that I decided to pull the trigger on tickets. See y'all in Morrison over Memorial Day weekend...#LateNight

Odesza - Late Night

Odesza's New Music Put a Pause on My Day Today

Christmas came early this year folks! After weeks of creating empty playlists, dropping snippets, and debuting music at shows, Odesza finally dropped two full length singles today.

Saying it was all worth the wait doesn't do justice to how excited I was to hear the full version of Line of Sight. Nothing against Late Night, but Line of Sight has already catapulted itself to near the top of my favorite all time Odesza tracks. It comes equipped with vibrant chords, soothing vocals, and a vocal sample that will beg you to chant along. Credit WYNNE and Mansionair for helping raise the instrumental goodness to heights it wouldn't have been able to reach alone. I just finished my fifth lap around the track and I'm going to do a couple more for good measure. Needless to say this is making my attendance at Red Rocks in about a month a damn near lock at this point...#LineOfSight



Odesza feat WYNNE & Mansionair - Line of Sight

Videos of the Week July 15th

With late night TV continuing to be on a bit of a summer break, music again dominated the top 5 videos this week. First off, if you didn't catch the ESPYs, it turned out to be a heavy show overall. Lots of cultural messages and heartfelt stories throughout. Among those stories was a new song by Chance the Rapper's new song he made as tribute to Mohammed Ali. What a great performance to properly commemorate a true legend.

In the land of music videos, DJ Snake, BANKS and Tiesto came through with new videos. In DJ Snake's case, conflict led to a fiery ending. In Tiesto and John Legend's case, there was some cost saving holograms and dirty dancing in the streets. Then there was the BANKS video. Not sure I have words for what that was all about. Lots of creepy images, caressing of manakins, and an overall sultry vibe, which she's become known for. She's the queen of dirty, seductive lyrics and she delivered just that with her new video. Last, but not least, there was the ODESZA after movie at Red Rocks. Having now been to Red Rocks and seen a show, I can now sort of imagine how awesome it would have been to see them perform a set there. Such a great performance at a legendary venue...#RedRocks
Chance the Rapper Peforms New Song as Muhammed Ali Tribute on the ESPYs

DJ Snake feat George Maple - Talk (Video)

BANKS - F*ck With Myself (Video)

Tiesto feat John Legend - Summer Nights (Video)

ODESZA Aftermovie from Red Rocks Performance

Photo Credit: YouTube

Videos of the Week January 22nd

For some reason, the majority of this week's collection of videos all have a serious undertone. From the rallying cry of Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's promotional album video to the touching story of a mixed race kid growing up in the South in Parson James's video for a Sinner Like You to Odesza's haunting medieval visuals on It's Only video, there was plenty of emotional depth and serious messages delivered. Sometimes depth is contrived, but all three videos were really well executed and were successful is driving home their message.

On a less dramatic note, it was interesting to hear Obama give his take on Drake versus Kendrick Lamar. Fast forward to the 17:20 mark where the commander in chief explains why he'd give the nod to Kendrick over Drake if push came to shove. Can't disagree with the man, it's hard to go against K dot as a lyricist. Bringing up the rear both literally and metaphorically is Fallon's vocal impersonation of all the classic artists. Everyone from McCartney to Springsteen to MJ to Mick Jagger got some love and respect from the late night show star. By far, his best impersonation is McCartney, hands down...#Ham4Ham
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - This Unruly Mess I've Made (Promo Video)

Odesza feat Zyra - It's Only (Video)

Parson James - A Sinner Like You (Video)

YouTube Interview Where President Obama Says Kendrick > Drake

Jimmy Fallon Sings Hamilton Impersonating Bowie, McCartney, Springsteen, Mick Jagger, MJ, etc

Photo Credit: YouTube

ODESZA Takes on Porter Robinson's Divinity

It seems like I'm posting a new ODESZA track every other day of late but I blame that on my inability to give them proper love over the past year. Their newest creation is a remixed version of Porter Robinson's Divinity. Check the original for reference...

Where the original track is much more up and down, taking the listener on a full six minute journey of synths, the remix is a bit more even keeled. There's less roller coaster tempo changes, but as a result, the vibe on the remix seems a bit more chill. If you're a fan of both artists, you'll appreciate the subtle differences between two. I'd be remiss if I didn't shout out Amy Millan for her vocal contribution on both versions. In case you missed it from all the other recent posts, ODESZA's deluxe version of In Return was released last week. I'm really liking the live versions of tracks they added to the original LP, which has given even more reason to keep their new release on steady repeat...#Divinity

Porter Robinson feat Amy Millan - Divinity (ODESZA Remix)

Listen to Odesza Bloom in Front of Your Eyes

I love it when artists release live versions of tracks and they take on a life of their own. For example, when Odesza takes an already awesome single (Bloom) and chops it up right in front of thousands of people. In case Light wasn't enough reason to purchase the deluxe version of their recent album In Return, here's another. In case you missed it, the re-release will be available digitally on September 18th and you can jump on the pre-order bandwagon here. Better yet, grab a ticket or two to see them live like I did before they sell out. I honestly had no idea they were so in-demand that they warranted opening up multiple shows at some of their bigger shows. If you'll be attending the SF shows, holler atcha boy GWDJ...#InReturn

Odesza - Bloom (Live)

ODESZA Returns to In Return with Light

I'll be the first to tell you, I did not give ODESZA's sophomore album near the amount of time it deserved. In Return was one of the most heavily remixed albums of the past year and for good reason. The EDM duo from U dub seem to have a knack for crafting a wide range of diverse and melodic instrumental anthems. I can't blame them one bit from re-releasing their recent album as a deluxe edition because of how stacked it was front to back.

The best part about a re-release? We get a few new tracks added to the original tracklist. One of those tracks is Light featuring the mellow vocals of Little Dragon who does an excellent job of delivering mellow vocals over the slow beat that seems to tell a story with each beat clap. If you're wondering whether ODESZA makes only upbeat dance music, pump the brakes and listen to this chill dose of goodness. While you're getting excited for their tour this fall, don't sleep on that re-release that will be dropping in about a month...#InReturn

ODESZA feat Little Dragon - Light

Mondays After Long Weekends Require Chill House

Getting back into the swing of work after a long holiday weekend is always a challenge. No matter how hard you try to be alert in the morning, it's always an uphill battle until the afternoon. There are enough challenges to getting back on the horse that I always find myself zoning out to some Chill House music to get me back into a work rhythm. The most recent addition to my growing list of go-to zone out tracks is ODESZA's remix of Emancipator's Eve II. It's pure instrumentation that mixes bright piano chords with dashes of quirky percussion that spans across a variety of tempos. The track is versatile, but incredibly easy to palate. Feel free and head on over to Bandcamp to donate whatever amount you see fit for the right to own the track...#Emancipator

Emancipator - Eve II (ODESZA Remix)