This is basically what I wish the namesake track of Phoenix’s Bankrupt! sounded like. “Bankrupt” was just unnecessary and took up space on my hard drive — naturally it was deleted. “Kodiak” however is freaking awesome. But like the rest of Lotus’ album Build, it has its own rightful place on the album and deservingly so.

What I imagine Lotus did after creating this track:

Lotus is Mike Greenfield, Jesse Miller, Luke Miller, Chuck Morris, Mike Rempel.

Connect:
   http://lotusvibes.com
   http://facebook.com/lotusvibes
   http://twitter.com/LotusTweets

“Coast to Coast” is such a fun, breezy, laid back song that it seems destined to be placed purposefully into summer playlists. It’s the perfect blend of pop and rock that reminiscent of the Dirty Projectors. Give it a listen for some good vibes and easy listening.

The Blank Tapes is Matt Adams, Pearl Charles, DA Humphrey.

Connect:
   http://theblanktapes.com/
   http://facebook.com/blanktapes
   http://twitter.com/theblanktapes

There’s a quality to Aunt Martha’s music that reminds me fondly of Jack Kerouac — a long time favorite. Like Kerouac, when Aunt Martha string words together, they are nothing less than vivid. It’s absolutely striking, the way this band is able to portray their visceral ideas of love and internal realizations through song. Combining their purely radiant instrumentals along with their ever telling lyrics, Aunt Martha takes its listeners on a journey — no doubt a journey people are eager to join. The journey these Aunt Martha songs take us on are an exploration into the deep unknown that is love, pursuit, and consciousness of reality.

This trip that we find ourselves on with Aunt Martha, it gets you to think. While these songs may be examination into the inner workings of Tim Noyes’ own mind, the clarity and sentiment in his story telling easily makes listeners question what it is we want in our own lives. As we travel along with Aunt Martha, we take on their own questions and desires. Not to sound like parasites, living off of another’s life force, but this is simply a repercussion when you listen to this band. The conviction so clear in their songs, it’s hard not to take these songs to heart, becoming the soundtrack to our own inner thoughts on life.

To fully understand what I’m trying to convey to you, all it takes is a simple listen from Aunt Martha’s Daytrotter Session that was recently released on May 2nd. It’s captivatingly beautiful in its simplicity, which is the true beauty of Daytrotter in itself. One listen will simply not be enough because I’ve easily been listening to their session for hours now. daytrotter.com/concert/aunt-martha/

“I was halfway across America, at the dividing line between the East of my youth and the West of my future.”
― Jack Kerouac, On the Road

Connect:
   http://auntmarthaband.com
   http://facebook.com/auntmarthaband
   http://twitter.com/auntmarthaband

So I made this GIF at 4:34 am because:

1. 1. I am so short that I almost don’t qualify as a human so when people hold up these posters, I seethe with anger.
2. 2. When TALL people hold up these posters, irrational anger consumes me because I don’t understand why the government let your parents procreate because they obviously did a terrible job in raising you.

HONESTLY. WHERE ARE YOUR MANNERS. YOU’RE BLOCKING EVERYONE’S VIEW. You’re an asshole. And I hope none of my lovely readers are assholes like these guys. Yeah, I’m talking to you black track suit wearing, 6 ft tall brunette at Terminal 5 who is already in the front row. And cheers to your short counterpart in his douche-y pink shorts, you’re an asshole too!

And to quote Girls, “Good luck going through life as yourself!”

However, I applaud those in the audience with enough trajectory talents to throw their empty bottles at these assholes. You’re doing something right with your life. I commend you for your actions towards this insufferable and unbelievable injustice towards an entire audience’s viewing pleasure.

My love for Two Door Cinema Club has been a long winded romance—the origins from which it started, I haven’t the faintest idea. What I do know, is that I’ve been a long time fan and the moments that built the foundation of my love for Two Door are and continue to be the shining moments I think of when I think of Two Door Cinema Club. I couldn’t pin point the exact memory from which this love affair began but among the gems was this tweet, courtesy of lead guitarist Sam Halliday during a November Q & A on Twitter. The question asks what is on his Christmas list and he answers simply, “somewhere to live”.

“I do live out of a suit case, I don’t have a home.” – Sam The bloodline coursing throughout the band’s second album, Beacon, was the theme of wanting a place to call home. Two Door Cinema Club spend on average 300 days a year on the road and when that’s the case, all anyone really wants is their own bed. It’s a heartbreaking reality for the band, and many artists for the matter, but it remains a large factor in how they make their living. It’s a sad reality but a reality they love nonetheless. Their want and need for this idea of “home” is endearing and something we can all relate to. And while Two Door don’t really seem like they’re completely lost in their own success, this want for home humanizes them—that a band as successful as they have been continue to have the same wants and desires as we all do: a safe place to call our own, somewhere tangible, something we know is always waiting for us when we come back.

There are a million more reasons why I love Two Door, but among the top is their quest to find their own home—that and their tweets. They are among the few artists out there who are using social media to their advantage. And for that reason, I’m very proud of them. Below are more pictures of moments in time where my love for Two Door grew as well as part 3 of their 4 part documentary series. (Go to 0:29 in the video to have your heart break into a million pieces.)

Also, my one aspiration is to become the little ‘ol Asian lady in this video: click me to see adorable TDCC fan

Two Door Cinema Club is Alex Trimble, Kevin Baird, Sam Halliday.

Connect:
   http://twodoorcinemaclub.com
   http://facebook.com/twodoorcinemaclub
   http://twitter.com/TDCinemaClub

When we think of our favorite people and the favorite things in our lives, what comes to mind is a myriad of memories and moments that all culminate together to make this one person or thing a familiar friend, one that we can rely on for some positive thinking. What we like about a certain person or a sport or a certain food can come from years of experiences or even from a singular moment, a moment that conceives the beautiful relationship between you and your favorite whatever it may be.

These wonderful moments are the beginning and the foundation of those memories that spring up in your mind when you think of a favorite something. It’s like when I recall fond memories of this dive on Long Island called The Shack when I think of summer. And instantly my mind recalls memories of fried calamari and burgers by the beach with the salty sea breeze blowing all around. We all have these moments, moments that are the catalyst for when we realize that we truly like something. They make a trigger in our minds click. And it’s in those moments that cause us to fall head over heels in love with something and maybe even to the point that call them a favorite.

So this introduces a new Feature category on Hopeless Thunder called, My Favorite. Like the rest of the content on here, they’ll be regular posts but what they will consist of are the moments that caused me to call something or someone my favorite. These posts will contain the magical stretches in time that made me go, “Hey, I like you!” I know having favorites means not liking everything in the world, but these are the moments that made me genuinely smile and started the indomitable, gravitational pull towards the future subjects of My Favorite.

I feel like there’s an underlying theme to all of these songs.