Music of the Month :: Sufjan Stevens

I'm sure many of you are familiar with the enigmatic Sufjan Stevens. 

I would say he is one of my top-10-favorite musicians of all time. I'm highlighting him now because his brand new album, The Age of Adz, was just released on Tuesday. I've been listing to it non-stop for the past two weeks, courtesy of NPR. I heartily recommend it.

Stevens is mostly known for a folksy style - he plays the banjo a lot (do you see a trend with my musical preference?). But on this new album, he explores a more technical sound, to great success.

Although I can't stop listening to this new album, I think my favorite is still Illinois. I used to listen to it while biking around Chicago - perfection.

Music of the Month :: Mitch Mead

I skipped the Music of the Month last month due to vacation, but I'm back this month with an artist who is very close to me. Like, he lives in Chicago. Ok, and he's my friend. 

Mitch Mead is a dream boat of a singer/songwriter, and although you've probably never heard him, once you start, you're a little doomed. His smooth voice and complex lyrics draw you in, and he is equally rockin' whether his guitar is acoustic or electric.

This month Mitch has challenged himself to the "September Song Project" - I love personal challenges like this. He will write one new song a day for the month of September, and document it in video form. Here's his offering for today:

Keep your eye on his YouTube channel and his Facebook for the rest of September to watch his progress.

At his last show, Mitch played an exceptional cover of Supergrass' "Alright," and it completely blew my mind. Remember my love of Clueless? Mitch knows where it's at.

Music of the Month :: Mumford & Sons

Ok, I'm a bit late to the party with this one. Mumford & Sons released their debut album, Sigh No More, last October on their own record label, Gentlemen of the Road. However, I did not purchase it until about two weeks ago, after I heard them on NPR, and I have not stopped listening to it since.

They are a "folk rock" band from London, although when I downloaded Sigh No More from iTunes, it told me the genre was simply "rock." Mumford & Sons has everything I love about folk music - hearty lyrics, driving banjo riffs, a great beat by talented musicians. And burly men with nice beards who wear suspenders and vests - dreamy.

Try it, I think you'll like it!

Music of the Month - Janelle Monae

I've decided to start a little blog feature where I discuss my current favorite music!

This month, it's Janelle Monae.

If you don't know about her yet, she is totally amazing. She recently debuted her second album, The Archandroid, a dancy, sci-fi-filled disc that I cannot stop listening to.

That's the album's single, Tightrope. It caught me instantly, but doesn't truly do the album justice. Along with Monae's first album, Metropolis, The ArchAndroid is inspired by the film Metropolis, and sci-fi nerdiness in general. As Monae says, she "dreams in science fiction." Some of the tracks sound like old silent film music, which I love, and then some of them are slower and more pensive. Overall, she perfectly blends different styles to make a cohesive and interesting album.

She has a few guests on the album, including of Montreal, one of my favorite bands of all time. She was interviewed at NPR, here, and made some interesting points about fame and achieving it. Also - nerd points for the many references to scifi books and movies in the album.

Plus, she has awesome hair.