​Before I start, let me briefly explain what the whole "first impressions" is all about. So before I decided to start the blog for my senior project, we all (students) needed some kind of mentor to guide us. After I found my mentor (Dr. P), he hopped on board with my project and we decided to do a writing exchange. This whole idea is where he would share a song I've never heard about, write about it, and then give him a song back in exchange so he can write about it. Rules are we can't do any kind of background research before we listen to the song.

​The first time I had the pleasure of discovering David Bowie was in the 7th grade. I was in computer classes (which was more like a open subject kind of class) talking to my teacher Mr. Smith, who was more like a mentor during that period of my life. I vaguely remember us talking about music, since for the first time I was getting into music. From what I remember we talked about producers, different musicians, and songs overall. I do remember how happy I was to have a teacher like Mr. Smith, since we was very open to a lot of new things, especially music. I don't remember how excavate we got to the subject of David Bowie, but I remember him pulling up the music video for Bowie's 'Space Oddity.'

I like imagine myself in the 3rd person while this "discovering" happen. I was a 7th grader for the first time listening to David Bowie, there was bound for some sort of confusion. Thanks to Mr. Smith, he tried to explain the lyrics to me as we followed along with the song. I think it was also the first time that I really found some sort of appreciation for lyrics and the meaning behind them. To Mr. Smith, the song was about the feeling drugs brings and how after a while we loose connection to the things we love. It was a bittersweet moment for me. It was was the first time I took the first step into Bowie's world.

​It quite surprising that even after his death I keep learning more and more about David Bowie. Everyday I log on into my computer and surf NME, I'm bound to see some sort of article about David Bowie's collaborations that never were or some sort of memorable. Even when I feel the Bowie rush is about to end, something new pops up and I'm hooked again (thanks Dr.P, I may never be cured of Bowie fever). I know Bowie was a very innovated musician, but I was very surprised to see how he wasn't afraid to do a cover song. I've been a small time listener of The Velvet Underground, but I a cover of 'I'm Waiting For The Man' by Bowie was unexpected to me.

Bowie doesn't fail to deliver a good cover of a song, which I'm not surprised (especially live at the Nassau Coliseum). It starts off with a very cheesy guitar riff, giving off a very 50's vibe. The little piano licks and guitars riff here and there bring a nice little swing and energy to the song. For a 6 minute song, this song doesn't get tired at all either. I spent the whole week listening to the song, without once ending it early. Just when the song seems to stay the stay, Bowie throws in a shredding guitar riff that leaves you in full awe. The song is pretty much a rocker's paradise.

Knowing how famous and loved Bowie was, I'm sure he had a lot of friends. I love that he doesn't hesitate to show his appreciation for his role models, inspirations, and friends. 'I'm Waiting For The Man' is a great cover that truly shows his graduate for the music The Velvet Underground has brought to the music scene. These days, it's honestly quite a surprise I haven't heard this track before. For all those die hard fans, I can now understand why they have so much respect for Bowie. Tracks and covers like these are a manifest to the legacy David Bowie has manage to leave behind for all us. If you haven't had the chance to listen to this cover, please do so.

Website: http://www.davidbowie.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidBowieReal?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidbowie/

My track for this week was The Smiths - 'The Headmaster Ritual'. Ever since I discovered The Smiths back in the 9th grade, I'm been a huge fan. Their lyrics, harmonies, and riffs are some of the few things I love about them. When I first got their "Meat Is Murder" album, I spend a whole month addict to it. Out of all the songs, 'The Headmaster Ritual' was the track that stood out to me the most. Due to the song being about Morrissey's bad time at school, it was something I could relate to at times. The addicting guitar riffs and licks by Johnny Marr also help in greatly improving my respect for the song as well. At this age of 17, I still continue to be a huge fan of The Smiths and really look forward to a reunion one day.

My next track: Marvin Gaye - 'What's Going On?'

​We all know Iggy Pop (American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor), best known for his work with The Stooges, has done the music fans a favor by releasing two new tracks off his new album "Post Pop Depression." The two songs consist of "Break Into Your Heart" and "Gardenia."

Reports came in that Iggy Pop's new album was made in collaboration with Josh Homme (Queens of Stone Age Frontman), and Matt Helders of the Arctic Monkeys on drums. The album, which is scheduled for release on March 18, was recorded in secret last year in two studios: two weeks in Joshua Tree, and a further seven days at Pink Duck in Los Angeles.

When Iggy spoke to the New York Times, he said the album's theme is enlightened by his advancing years and asks, "What happens after your years of service? And where is the honor?" He continued "In American life, because it's so hyper competitive, what happens when you're finally useless to everyone except hopefully not yourself? What happens then? And can you continue to be of use to yourself? I had a kind of character in mind. It was sort of a cross between myself and a military veteran."
​
In full honestly, I really look forward to this new album. I'm a big fan of all 3 musicans and their contribution to rock music. It will be very interesting to hear their work and collaboration through their music and they have to offer. Iggy Pop has been a big inspiration in the punk scene and rock scene, so I look forward to hearing great things from the album.

The track list for "Post Pop Depression" is as follows:

"Break Into Your Heart"
"Gardenia"
"American Valhalla"
"In The Lobby"
"Sunday"
"Vulture"
"German Days"
"Chocolate Drops"
"Paraguay"

​Every road trip needs the right music to make the journey the best it can be, right? Just imagine yourself on that scenic drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco on the Pacific Coast Highway during twilight hours. Everything is perfect and all you need is the perfect track to make it memorable in your mind. Well... worry not because Feed Me Jack provides (in my opinion) the best track for this kind of situation. 

I believe everyone has that inner "relax" mood that we all yearn for once in a while. Beautiful synths and warm vocals are exactly what's needed in times when we are searching for that inner "relax" mood. Feed Me Jack, a band from Santa Cruz (now based in Oakland), really deliver that vibe and mood I was mentioning earlier. Their track "New Kid" sets us up for that twilight hour road trip into a journey of beautiful relaxed music.

The track doesn't hesitate to start with a catchy a drum pattern that adds to the same rhythm as the punchy bass part. It's not long before a very wavy synth pad comes along to set the mood and tone of the whole track. A very odd, but soothing guitar lick comes into the track adding what almost seems a soothing energy to really uplift things in the song. As the vocals kick in, they glue everything together and bring beautiful guitar licks, as well as soothing synths harmonies. This continues for a bit until the pre-chorus and chorus kicks in. The song totally transformers into a beautiful dreamy catchy riff that builds up to a up-beat riff that ends the song.

Feed Me Jack goes a long way in providing us soothing music for the soul. To me it's really surprising that they give off similar vibes and sounds like Coldplay. Sometimes I can almost hear Chris Martin singing during some parts of the song. Nevertheless, Feed Me Jack doesn't disappoint if you are looking for that dreamy soothing music. What I especially like is how they manage to combine all instruments together to form beautiful riffs and harmonies that still remain unique. They really know how to achieve that musical sound and deliver it well.

To me, the only thing that kind of bothers me is how odd the guitar riffs and licks can sound at times. They manage to do very well in combine the synths in the song, but the guitar kind of ruins the rhythms at times. Honestly it's not a huge deal because all the instruments combine still manage to deliver that soothing energy, but it would be a nice "plus" to the song if they added the right sounding guitar riffs and licks like the synth. There are still parts where I enjoy the guitar very much like the pre-chorus, which I think is a great example of a the guitar sound they should have went for. Nevertheless, the "New Kid" gets the job done.

As I said before, this track is perfect for the inner "relax" mood in all of us. Feed Me Jack's track "New Kid" is not a disappointment in terms of really achieving a unique soothing sound. Compare to their older tracks, they have surely been improving and overall perfecting their sound. I honestly really look forward to seeing what else these guys have to show us in the future. As for now, "New Kid" is surely enough.

You can check out Feed Me Jack's "New Kid" part of their "Ultra Ego" EP on Youtube.

Bandcamp: ​http://feedmejack.com/music
Facebook: ​http://www.facebook.com/pages/Feed-Me-Jack/132050433569116
Twitter: ​https://twitter.com/FMJBand
Instagram: http://instagram.com/feedmejack
Tumblr: http://feedmejackband.tumblr.com/
Youtube: ​https://www.youtube.com/user/FeedMeJackBand?feature=watch

I'm pretty late to this tragedy, but as we all know the beloved David Bowie has died from his battle with cancer on January 10, 2016. He had been battling an 18-month battle with cancer, but managed to keep the scale of things secret from all, but a handful of people close to him.

​Now I don't want to start off negative, but I've never been a huge fan of David Bowie. As much as other die hard fans, I still kept a earn of respect for the man. His album "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars", was probably one of best rock albums I've heard in my life. Nevertheless, there is no lie that Bowie managed to contribute a great amount to what music is today.

His death honestly came to surprise to me and probably a lot of other people. I was barely checking out his album "Blackstar" for when the news struck me about his death. I was a bit shock and kind of sadden to hear such a famous icon die, but death comes upon us all. His death does stand out to me a lot, for I believe he faced it with true bravery.

When I heard the first couple of tracks of "Blackstar", I didn't really like it. It was way to experimental for me and the music videos were very odd and confusing. I was stuck in this mindset until his death, in which I took the time to revisit his tracks and realized what others were saying, "He was telling us about his death." As I kept listening to the lyrics more and more, I came upon to truly see that.

In total consideration of finding out what his album "Blackstar" was all about, now I see it as one of the bravest ways a man handles his own death. It's kind of hard to see how mainstream his death has gone, even when many of us did not know much about his other albums. Nevertheless I'm glad we were all in some way unite and took the time to recognize how important David Bowie was to some of us.

In the end death is a sad thing that compels us all. Even though I was not a huge fan of Bowie or I didn't even know him in person, I was compel to know that we lost a very important icon and artist that day. For whatever reason were all so upset, his work provided an inspiration to all of us and ultimately gave us his final gift to the world of what music is suppose to be all about.

Thanks for everything Bowie.

​Before I start, let me briefly explain what the whole "first impressions" is all about. So before I decided to start the blog for my senior project, we all (students) needed some kind of mentor to guide us. After I found my mentor (Dr. P), he hopped on board with my project and we decided to do a writing exchange. This whole idea is where he would share a song I've never heard about, write about it, and then give him a song back in exchange so he can write about it. Rules are we can't do any kind of background research before we listen to the song.

If you don't know who Stevie Wonder is by now, then you are really missing out a good chunk of important influential music. We have all heard his famous tracks once in while like "Superstition" and "Sir Duke", but we sometimes forget about some of his other beautiful work. For a man who has sold 100 million records worldwide, you must dive in into some of his amazing work.

Stevie Wonder's "Village Ghetto Land" starts off with a beautiful violin orchestra riff that sets up the tone and sound for the whole song. Shortly Stevie Wonder comes in with what I almost recall a perfect introduction line, "Would you like to go with me?" His voice basically a package of bliss, no need for any corrections or 21st century autotune. The song continues with him telling us the story on the village ghetto land and the horrors of it. What surprises me is how beautiful the song is, full of well orchestrated violins and Stevie's beautiful voice, but the lyrics giving off a horrible scene. Lines like, "Families buying dog food now" and "Starvation roams the street" give the listener almost a knot in the gut by just thinking about it.

​I've never heard Stevie Wonder's "Village Ghetto Land", but there is no hesitation on how it holds a complex beauty to it. The song really reminds me of The Beatles "Because", holding the same beautiful instruments and voice together. Knowing a little background information on Stevie Wonder, this song truly adds a extra punch as the activist he still is. The lyrics he sings bring us a unfortunate scene of many cities, towns, and neighborhoods full of violence and despair that are still relevant today. It almost bothers me how much I really like this song and how beautiful I think it is. It's surely one of those tracks I think that gives off an important message, especially in the current time were in.

After doing a little bit of research on Stevie Wonder, it really shocks me how much detail the man manages to sing knowing the fact that he's blind. It's no wonder why he's listed in the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artist to celebrate in the United States. Apart from that it's amazing how great of a musician he has manage to be and also an activist, noted for his campaign for making Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday a national holiday. It's another remainder that Stevie Wonder manages to leave his musical legacy no matter how old he keeps getting.

You can listen to Stevie Wonder's "Village Ghetto Land" part of Stevie Wonder's "Songs in the Key of Life" album on Youtube.

Website: ​http://www.steviewonder.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StevieWonder/

​My track exchange for this week was New Order's "Age Of Consent." This song I honestly pay a tribute for my little bother and how he's manage to take the right path in music. I did the honors of introducing him to Joy Division and all the great songs they manage to create in a short period of time. My little brother was very skeptical about how good they were, but was hooked on their sounds after a couple of weeks. Now he listens to them non-stop and has follow the timeline of the remaining musicians of Joy Division after the death of Ian Curtis. He showed this song by New Order one morning as we were getting ready to go to school and became hook on the song. I did my very best to find the track and manage to find it with almost no hassle. To me "Age Of Consent" is what set the tone for almost every indie band there is currently. It's to me, such an amazing track!

My next track: The Smiths - The Headmaster Ritual

​Chillin' on a semi cloudy day along the beach in the great state of California on a Friday night sounds amazing doesn't it? The night couldn't get any better, but there's something missing. We need that one track to get us in the ultimate "chill" mode so we can make the best of that Friday night right? Well... do I have the perfect track for you.

For those who love spacey twangy guitar sounds, indie music, and catchy riffs you don't have what to look very far to find yourself listening to Comforter. Hunter, Ryan, BJ, and Russell from Comforter bring a sort of surfy indie California vibe to our daily life. Their track "What You Run" does not fail in getting us into an exciting chillin' mood and overall sets the style of music they make.

The track starts off with a catchy chorus guitar riff companion with a very indie reverb vocals. With no hesitation they provide a powerful verse where all the instruments come along together a couple seconds before things calm down a bit. The chorus brings a wave of beautiful guitar sounds with simple bass and drums that add the power needed to get the listener in a moment of bliss. Things slow down a bit and the energy is focused in the vocals and the catchy guitar riff we hear in the beginning of the song. Near the end, another wave of beautiful instruments make their last impact along with soothing background vocals that end that the track blissfully with a beautiful guitar chord.

​With no hesitation, I believe this is the best track Comforter has made so far. They do such a great job in maintaining that unique sound without the song getting boring at all. They remain unique and they make sure to keep things interesting throughout the track. My favorite thing about the track is how amazing and beautiful they make their guitars sound. Their uniqueness really relies on that guitar sound and they manage to use it well. They also do a great job in the way the song is structure and performed to the listeners. They know the best parts to really pump the energy up and when to slow down things. Overall I didn't have any complaints about the song.

I was very surprise to see how Comforter are from Austin, Texas. It's a nice reminder to see how indie and alternative rock still remains alive in unexpected places you never thought about. After hearing a couple tracks apart from "What You Run", I really do believe the band has a big possible chance in making it "big time". It would be great to see them play big festivals and really get their songs out to the larger audience. I think as long as they use their unique sound in a interesting way, they are bound to create some very amazing music.

Overall I would recommended checking out Comforter and their track "What You Run." It's a good track to really introduce you to their style and sound and provide that Friday night song for a lot of us. Apart from that, they are a solid band and I think there is a lot of interesting things to come from them.

You can grab a copy of Comforter's "What You Run" part of "To-Go" album or "What You Run/Angela" EP on Bandcamp or check it out on Youtube.

Website: http://comforter.band/​
Bandcamp: ​http://comforterband.bandcamp.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/comforterband

​Before I start, let me briefly explain what the whole "first impressions" is all about. So before I decided to start the blog for my senior project, we all (students) needed some kind of mentor to guide us. After I found my mentor (Dr. P), he hopped on board with my project and we decided to do a writing exchange. This whole idea is where he would share a song I've never heard about, write about it, and then give him a song back in exchange so he can write about it. Rules are we can't do any kind of background research before we listen to the song.

You can check Dr. P's blog post here

​If you love that old school 60's ballad summer jam, then Love does a great job in providing us that ultimate sound of what the late 60's and early 70's were all about. It provides it's own sense of nostalgia, even for those who weren't around that time period.

It starts off with a muffle acoustic and bass guitar duo that provides the catchy rhythm for almost the whole song. It's not long before were greeted with the classic warm vocals for the song that really does the trick in greeting us to the sounds of the 60's. Along with the vocals, a jazzy drum beat is heard, as trumpets bring the energy and power to the song to a whole new level. A powerful Spanish acoustic solo is later provided in the song which overall highlights the highest peak of energy the song delivers.

Overall my first reaction to the song was very positive. I'm a big lover of the 60's and all the music that era provided for the future generation. Love really provided me with a nice little ballad, almost reminding me of a couple Beatles songs like "The Continuing Story Of Bungalow Bill." The song also almost gave a classic Spanish vibe to it as well, which gave me a pleasant surprise. 

I don't know much about Love, but it's surely a band I'm now bound to check out and maybe end up buying a couple records by them.

​After doing research behind Love, I was really surprise how they have managed to combine a lot of rock elements such as garage rock, psychedelia, and folk to make their own unique sound. I was also really surprise that they're from the great city of L.A.! Considering that, their album "Forever Changes" is held in high regard and appears on the list of best rock albums of all time. This overall information has gotten me much more excited in diving straight into their music.

You can listen to Love's "Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale" part of Love's "Forever Changes" album on Youtube

Website: ​http://www.lovearthurlee.com/

​My track exchanged for this week was "The Drugs Don't Work" by The Verve. To me this track overall summed up the hardships of life that we all feel and the passing of love ones. Ever since I listened my first track by The Verve, I was a hooked on the their music, but "The Drugs Don't Work" really earned my major respect for the band and Richard Ashcroft. It's a shame the band never went really far, but I think all their tracks they did manage to create, is enough to keep future generations in touch with what good music is all about. Overall this track might make you cry, depress, or even nostalgic, but it's one of those tracks your glad you listened to in the end.

My next track: New Order - Age Of Consent