break the seal – STARS

It was the first CD we bought together when FYE was still in existence in almost every mall. You had seen them live by chance the summer before and told me, “they reminded me of you.” From that first purchase I think we were both hooked. Hook line and sinker to be more accurate. Little did we know they would span such great distances throughout our extremely emotional existence. STARS, some of you may know exactly what band this is and have some preconceived notion of them, whether it is good or bad I don’t know and I don’t really care. I am giving you the opportunity to revisit, or visit for the first time, the melodic nostalgic utterly beautiful aura carried away by hauntingly ethereal vocals.

History tells us STARS came out with their first album in 2000, which is a little more than a decade ago. Their best album was the 2006 hit Set Yourself on Fire, which sparked the interest of many music lovers. Any true romantic will tell you their 2001 albumHeart is quite literally a tribute to the heart and is just as breathtaking as Set Yourself on Fire. With the press from that album they launched the 2007 In Our Bedroom After the War, which took their usual play on love’s devastation and nostalgic memories of teenage attachments to a new adult level. Bringing the war to the bedroom was a big move and a move in a new direction. From there, though, they dropped off with the 2010 album The Five Ghosts, which aside from a few songs sounded like a bomb exploding in your head the day after you drank too much liquor. You know you had a good time but you are confused and intrigued and ultimately disappointed with your lack of control. 2012 came like a lightning bolt and let us have faith once again in OUR beloved STARS. Breaching the old sound and adding a new electronic melody helped put them back on the right path with North. Hopefully this album is not their last and they will continue to progress by taking a few steps back, finding the grounding elements in their roots, and being inspired by their older breathtaking songs like, “On Peak Hill, Your Ex-lover is Dead, Calendar Girl” and “Life Effect.” It should be noted that despite the fall off from Five Ghosts, this band has continually produced incredibly strong lyrics. Strong enough to hold up a car to save a life. Strong enough to create movie-like romantic fantasies come to life. Check out their new album on their website; www.youarestars.com and all their older albums on what ever various social music channels your prefer, i.e. spotify, soundcloud and hypemachine to name a few.

It is also genius to how they referenced “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” in this video.

"Just cause your crazy, doesn't mean you're free"

OURS

Here we go. Let’s bring to light the few bands who have left us in critical condition. I am not referring to the talented rack-n-roll phenom that our parents bestowed upon us (even though sometimes The Beatles and Led zeppelin are all you really need). I’m not talking about the feeling you get when Ace of Base comes on. Or how excited you are when some trashy radio jam makes you dance. I am talking about OUR favorite bands: the ones that we had the pleasure of seeing through the years. The ones that have gradually become a part or our life, embedded in our mindset, and completely relatable to those dramatic heart-wrecking moments any young adolescent faces. For US they were STARS, CLOUD CULT,  and BRAND NEW.

we love to make your ears happy

Yes, our title is a little arrogant but it’s all for the love. The love of music of course and not all music lets be very clear.  Everyone is entitled to their own opinions this is America you know but we live by a certain set of standards. If you’re looking for some new age clatter of random household objects alongside an out of tune female voice making cat sounds type of “really trendy you never heard anything like this” stuff…you will not find it. The idea behind this blog is pretty simple. We love love music. The type of love that you always come back to, never stray far from, sometimes fight till the death, scream, cry and want to smother. Also the type of love that lifts you, makes you weightless, completely clarifies, enlightens, gives you tunnel vision (and not the creepy kind, the beautiful, all I know is you and that’s all I ever need to know feeling) and makes you want to love. If you can relate, then you’re in. Don’t get angry if we throw in some really popular radio jams because everyone needs a good laugh. Don’t get upset if we bash a song you really enjoy because we are not god or any other higher being so our word is not the end all be all. It’s just our opinion. And last of all enjoy the music because in reality we just want to share all the music we adore and all the music that inspires us with our friends and family. Welcome home.