Stop the presses. Whatever bands were mentioned in my previous post are going to have to enjoy simmering on the back burner for the moment because The Suburbs from Arcade Fire just happened. I read a little quip on how haunting the song "Suburban War" was and on a whim, bought it. Sure enough, as the song wound to a close I found myself almost a-trembling. After sampling one more song, "Ready to Start", I was sold. I bought the whole album. This is the first time I've ever bought a whole album on iTunes. I can tell you this now. Songs sound a little better when you have to drop actual hard earned dollars on them. Anyway, Arcade Fire, The Suburbs, and Cale H Newhouse will be taking a Sunday drive together today. I'm already looking forward to it. Check back later for a full review.

It's been a minute since I've written but don't think for a minute I've stopped my quest of tunes exploration. On the contrary, I clocked 39 hours listening to Pandora Internet Radio last week. 39 hours! That's a full time job! How do I do this? How do I put so much time into listening? By listening to it non-stop at my full time job of course. I'm a manager-trainee at Citi and don't think I slack at my job while listening. However contrary it may sound banking rivals my love for music. To the point. I have discovered new songs and rediscovered bands I once loved. 2 in particular stand out. I want to revisit The Black Keys, and then...rap. That's right. Mr. Lif. A political rapper that I've been digging lately. Reviews of one or the other to follow...see if you can beat 39 hours.

I haven't written for a while but in my defense I was homeless. Not as a social experiment this time, I couldn't find a house in St. George, but now I live in a sweet apartment and I get back to what's important... finding new tunes.

And find I did. Bon Iver friends. I know nothing about the band/man itself as of yet, but I will.

I went through a period in college where I devoted an entire 150 song MP3 CD to "The Chillest Mix of All Times". It included the most chill relaxing songs I knew of at the time. Had I known about Bon Iver he'd have been included.

When I was driving around LA a couple weeks ago I heard a couple amazing song by a then nameless artist including my favorite SKINNY LOVE. I had to do serious investigation to discover the artist (read: Shazaam on my iPhone.) and I've been periodically downloading and loving songs from them/him ever since. I even did my Sunday drive to Bon Iver and I say it was a raging success. More info on this artist to come. But until then sample Skinny Love right here on The Tunes and enjoy...

Bon Iver

I was supposed to go to a Mates Of State concert in LA, but I left my iPhone home to avoid BMD and proved to myself that I'm useless without it. Got lost for 2 hours. Anyway now I'm in my home town in Bonners Ferry, and it's funny, my not-so-extreme style of dress and footwear puts me way out of place. The cool kids here are wearing some flat billed DC hats or something and a lot of sports jerseys, but this isn't a fashion blog it's a music one and I'm sure my tastes wouldn't be well received in many circles here. Beyond that...my little sister is a Beatles Rock Band champion. 5 stars on like every expert level. It's crazy. But the thought I had is...I've heard that if you listen hard enough you can hear The Beatles in just about every song written since 1970. And I was contemplating a Beatles-Only music diet for a week. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt.

Guitar!

I have pretty much eschewed guitar learning in my life. Probably because I've seen way too many guys who've learned a jack Johnson song or two and then use (read: attempt to use) their newfound skills to impress (read: attempt to impress) girls. It seems so fake to me. BUT! I was driving around on my vacation in California yesterday listening to a mix of acoustic music collaborated by my friend Olivia and I was thinking that I really wanted to learn. There IS one girl that I want to impress with a little guitar prowess. Especially since I think she'll love it even if I suck. I woke up this morning and still wanted to. That's how I know it's not a passing fancy. I think it will be a great compliment to my quest in music discovery and God knows the world needs one more amateur guitar player. More music discoveries to come after my vacation!