Today I am posting a new song by Timeflies. I introduced you to Timeflies back on March 2, 2014 with their song “All The Way.” They released their new album, After Hours, on April 29, 2014. Today’s song has a different sound than the rest of their new album and is a little different from their typical sound, but it is amazing and hard to get out of my head. Katie Sky has a tremendous voice and really makes this song for me. I just love hearing it every time it comes around on the playlist.
Timeflies is a duo that was formed in 2010 by producer Rob Resnick (Rez) and vocalist Cal Shapiro (Cal). They both attended Tufts University in Boston and formed the musical duo while they were students there. Rez double majored in Music and Philosophy, and Cal majored in Music and Entrepreneurship. They have totally taken advantage of their education and their musical talents in their chosen life path. The two have since returned to their roots in the New York/New Jersey area and are based out of Manhattan now.
Today was the Boston Marathon and I just had to post a song about running today because it inspired me. What an amazing race!
There is no other event quite like the Boston Marathon. Boston is still the only marathon in the world where you have to qualify in order to officially enter the race. In the late 1980s, they started allowing charity runners, but to be an official race entrant you still have to run a qualifying time … and the times are no joke. It is a fast race!
I have run six marathons, qualifying for Boston on three separate occasions, and missing qualifying once by less than 60 seconds. Running and qualifying can become one of those very addictive activities, particularly for those of us with addictive behaviors. haha! I watched my husband run the race in 2003 (when I just missed qualifying) and then I ran it in 2005. It is one of the highlights of my life. What an incredible experience! There just truly is nothing like the Boston!
My parents and my little sister came to support me and watch me run the race, along with my kids who were pretty young at the time. It was so fun to have my family there with me! My kids had their fold up chairs on their backs and their watches on their wrists so that they could track my time. They were expert spectators! I’m not sure either one of my kids are particularly interested in running a marathon right now, but they sure are more educated than most spectators and enjoy the thrill of the whole experience. My daughter is really putting on the pressure for me to qualify and run Boston at least one more time, so that I can run through the “Scream Tunnel” while she is still at Wellesley. After watching the race today, I feel like I just might be sufficiently motivated! 🙂
Did you watch the race today? It was so exciting! The elite runners are just a thing of beauty! It is amazing to see the human body move so incredibly fast and effortlessly. The women were very speedy! In fact, a new course record was set with Rita Jeptoo of Kenya running a 2:18:57. The old course record was set in 2002 by Kenyan, Margaret Okoya, with a finishing time of 2:20:43. Today’s race was so fast that there were actually four women who ran faster than that old course record.
The men were actually amazingly fast as well, but they were still several minutes off the course record time of 2:03:02 set by Geoffrey Mutai of Kenya in 2010. But, the men’s race was by far the most exciting to watch. An American man, Meb Keflezighi from San Diego, California won the race in a time of 2:08:37. He was the first American to win the race since 1983 and he set a PR at the age of 38! He took a lead fairly early in the race and held on to it for a long time, but in the last 2 miles of the race it was TENSE! He was being folllowed by Wilson Chebet of Kenya who was trailing by no more than 6 to 12 seconds for the entire last 2 miles of the race. I was jumping up and down in my kitchen while watching the race being streamed on my computer. It was incredibly exciting and so thrilling to see Meb pick it up at the end and win.
Today’s song is from Youngblood Hawke, an Indie Pop/Rock band from Los Angeles, California. The group was named after the 1961 Herman Wouk novel by the same name. Today’s song is off their full length debut album, Wake Up, released in 2013. The album did very well , landing in the Top 10 on the iTunes Albums chart after it’s release. They are definitely a group to keep your eye on and they just released a new single last month, called “Pressure.”
Posting a fun and catchy song today. Eric Hutchinson is another of the many talented artists who have come out of a Boston college. I have been amazed at the number of young artists who attended university and got their start in Boston. In Eric Hutchinson’s case, he attended Emerson College. I am probably more aware of this interesting fact since my daughter also attends college in the Boston area and so it always catches my eye.
Today’s song is from Eric Hutchinson’s 2012 album, Moving Up Living Down. Hutchinson owes much of his initial success to a mention by Perez Hilton, one of the most famous and followed bloggers in the world, on his blog in the summer of 2007 when he raved about his album. After that mention, his current album at that time (Sounds Like This) shot up to the Top Ten most downloaded albums on iTunes. I find it very cool that musicians can be discovered and promoted by those of us who love the artist and their music. I hope that if you are not familiar with Eric Hutchinson, this little shout out about this song will help you discover him. I love the lyrics of his songs – such a creative songwriter!
I love that my kids have a passion for music like I do. A few weeks ago my son came home and said, “Mom, I have a great song for you.” He told me it was from a band called Timeflies and I said, “I know them! I think I have them written down on one of my lists.” (I keep jotted notes and lists of songs and bands that I like and want to share, that has collected into quite a jumbled stack of papers!) We pulled out my papers and, sure enough, I had “Timeflies” written down, but with the name of a different song than my son was suggesting.
We spent some time listening to their music together. It was a fun moment. I am actually posting his choice of song today. It is a catchy tune and perfect for a workout or just a little pick-me-up.
Timeflies is an incredibly talented duo that consists of Rob Resnick (aka Rez, producer) and Cal Shapiro (vocals). The pair met while they were both undergrads at Tufts University in Boston and playing in a band called The Ride; they formed Timeflies in October 2010 (their senior year) and released their first album in 2011. They are now based out of New York City. The duo does not like to limit itself to one particular musical genre because they like to incorporate all the different music that they like; therefore, they use elements of pop, hip-hop, electro, dub step, and rock to create a very interesting blend of music that is great for a listen.
FYI, the song I had written down is called “Turn It Up” and is also worth checking out. 🙂
Music is amazing. There is nothing that stirs emotion like a song. This is totally one of those songs for me – I love the music and totally feel the lyrics.
I absolutely love Augustana! They are not a new band and, in fact, were formed in 2002 at Greenville College in Illinois. Hopefully, if you are not familiar with them, I am introducing you to something wonderful and, if you are already familiar with Augustana, here is another song you should add to your playlist.
I have been wanting to post a song from Augustana to this blog for some time, but just had not gotten to it yet. Today an announcement came out on Facebook that indicated to me it was the perfect day to share. Augustana just signed to Washington Square Music for a multi-album deal with a new album to be released in April. Along with this announcement, new tour dates beginning in April were also announced. Hooray!
I saw Augustana live just last year in January 2013 at the House of Blues in Dallas, Texas. It was a unique show because it was just Dan Layus and his guitar. The “band” itself broke up in 2011, but Layus continued playing music and carried the band name forward; Dan Layus essentially became “Augustana.” On the night I saw him, he just came out onto the stage with his guitar, didn’t say much of anything to the crowd, and then proceeded to play music straight for the next 2 hours! He was incredible and the audience was not only mesmerized, but sang along to every song. I could not say that he was an “entertaining” live performer in the sense of chatting it up with the audience, but he did not disappoint on the musical front. I enjoyed every minute of that intimate performance and look forward to seeing him again.
Dan Layus is the lead singer and songwriter of Augustana and the original founder of the band. There have been many changes and challenges over the years, but the one thing that has stood the test of time is the amazing music that Augustana produces. The music is incredibly heartfelt with a rootsy-rock feel, and it just bleeds emotion. Seeing him live, I would have to say that he is probably the picture of the “tortured artist.” He is incredibly passionate and just seemed to feel every note and word of every song.
If you find that you love this song, you may realize that you know other music by Augustana. I took a friend with me to the concert and when I originally asked her to accompany me, she said that she did not know the band. I asked her if she knew the song “Boston” and had her look it up on Spotify. She said, “Oh … I know that song. Wasn’t that on Scrubs?” 🙂 She was able to attend the concert knowing one song, but she left a fan. “Boston” is my very favorite song by Augustana, but there are so many to love, including “Twenty Years.” Another day of great music!
I just recently saw these guys at a live acoustic show in NYC at the Beacon Theatre. They were incredible live and I highly recommend you see them if you get the opportunity. I heard an interesting story about them. They were all students at the Berklee College of Music in Boston – a very prestigious (and selective!) music school. They met at school and soon afterwards all dropped out to form a band. Yikes! I wonder what their parents thought. haha! If the lyrics to this song are about real life (which it sounds like they are), I am guessing it might have something to do with that. I found the lyrics to this song quite powerful for me and, needless to say, the song has been on repeat at my home the last few weeks. 🙂 Have a great day!
