Tag Archives: John Mayer

REVISITED: My thoughts on the 2015 GRAMMY performances

9 Feb

Each year the day after the GRAMMY Awards I try to post my thoughts on each performance here on the blog. To be honest compared to past years I thought there were a bunch of underwhelming performances this year and instead of poking holes in the lackluster, I want to mention the moments of awesomeness.

  • My favorite performance was Jeff Lynn of ELO and Ed Sheeran, that was as awesome as it got last night.
  • John Mayer is mounting his comeback to the mainstream audience. Last week he was guest hosting the Late Late Show and last night joining Ed Sheeran (along with Questlove and Herbie Hancock) was brilliant. I’d love to see what those two could do together on an album.
  • “FourFiveSeconds” is clearly Rihanna’s song and Kayne was just Kanye and Sir Paul, man I love him but it didn’t even appear that he was really part of that performance. Regardless, loved hearing that song live. Lots of GRAMMY wins collectively on that stage.
  • Perhaps it’s just that I have been a huge fan of Beck for years but I really enjoyed his performance of “Heart Is A Drum” with Coldplay’s Chris Martin.
  • A tip of the cap to the GRAMMY’s for recognizing the rise in country music. Eric Church delivered a great performance, Miranda Lambert equally the same and Brandy Clark with Dwight Yoakam was great.
  • Having one of the biggest Latin superstar musicians, Juanes, perform was a great achievement to draw in a different audience and showcase a different genre to millions
  • Simple and just perfect Beyonce and Katy Perry. Both traditionally have elaborate set designs and moving parts but last night it was just enough and worked extremely well.
  • Thank you Annie Lennox
  • I said it after seeing them on NYE, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga it works and I for one am happy to see Gaga in this role, I believe she was meant to play this part and I hope they are able to continue performing together for a long time to come.
  • Sam Smith and Mary J Blige, bravo
  • Wasn’t crazy about Pharrell’s performance but I understand the artistry and what a HUGE coup having Lang Lang and Hans Zimmer perform alongside.  Rad and so Pharrell to pull off something like that.
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VIDEO: The Late Late Show – Bob Weir and John Mayer Perform “Althea” and “Truckin'”

6 Feb

You can read more about the interview from Relix HERE but click play below to see The Late Late Show guest host John Mayer jam “Althea” and “Truckin'” with the one and only Bob Weir. I for one am counting down to 4th of July weekend in Chicago for Fare Thee Well 50th anniversary shows! And fan or not, John Mayer is a wicked guitar player, always has been and hopefully always will be.

 

DoYouHearTheMusic.com – Top Tracks of 2013 (well a good amount of them)

2 Dec

Thanksgiving gave me a minute to sit back and have a little fun putting together a Top Tracks of 2013 playlist.  This clearly doesn’t include all of the great music that has filtered our ears this year but it is a collection of music that has been on rotation for me in 2013.   I tried not to duplicate artists (I could have gone on for days with whole albums from the likes of Vampire Weekend, Cayucas, White Denim, Bastille, etc.) so I hope you like this playlist which should keep you going for hours and perfect for some holiday road trips.

 

Cheers!

 

 

DoYouHearTheMusic.com August 2013 Playlist

1 Aug

It’s that time again! New month, new playlist. 23 tracks to kick your summer up a notch. New music from well known artists, Kings of Leon, Janelle Monae, John Mayer and more.  And music for some bands you need to discover if you haven’t already like Jagwar Ma, Panama Wedding and Man Man.  Hope you enjoy!

My initial thoughts on the 2013 GRAMMY Awards

11 Feb

Another year of GRAMMY Awards have come and gone.  So much great music highlighted from the past year and of course a ton of great performances.  I’m also a fan of LL Cool J as the host, hopefully they bring him back for a third year.  So how about some ramblings from the show.

  • If you’ve ever seen Bruno Mars live you know what to expect from him and his band but their performance was just sick.  Sting singing a verse to “Locked Out of Heaven,” finally a tip of the hat to the Police influenced track and Rihanna joining the party with Ziggy and Damian Marley for a great tribute to Bob Marley. My favorite performance of the night.
  • Wow, what a great way to pay tribute to the late, great Levon Helm.  Elton John, Mumford & Sons, Mavis Staples, Zac Brown, Alabama Shakes singer Brittany Howard and T Bone Burnett, wonderful performance.
  • Justin Timberlake with the band and orchestra, a tip of the hat and that I have to say overshadowed Jay-Z guesting for me.
  • How cool was the rain during the fun. performance? So stoked to see those guys jump to stardom but every time I see Nate Ruess I am reminded of The Format, man do I miss that band.
  • Mumford & Sons, well at least the escalated from that rickety little stage from a couple years ago.
  • The Lumineers I sure hope they are the Mumford of two years ago and just reach new heights after the GRAMMY Awards. Let’s see how many units they move in the next week.
  • The Black Keys with Dr. John and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band was just simply rocking. Seen Dan Auerbach and Dr. John together but that collection of musicians, whoa.
  • Ed Sheeran getting to share the stage with Elton John, well done young man.
  • Jack White, a tip of the hat to you!
  • Frank Ocean, wish they would have had him perform earlier in the show.
  • LL Cool J, Chuck D, Z-Trip and Travis Barker – I’d love to see an entire concert with these four.
  • Was there an over/under on how many times they would show Taylor Swift?  And is there one song she didn’t sing along to?
  • Is it odd that I thought of The Hunger Games when they showed Carrie Underwood’s dress?  All it needed to do was catch fire!
  • Anyone else think John Mayer in the purple tux belonged in Alice in Wonderland and could have fit in the Taylor Swift performance?
  • I guess people know who Miguel is now.  A tip of the hat to @TonyDasco who’s been all about Miguel for two plus years.
  • Prince, he’s got to be up to something if he made an appearance.  I just wonder what.  I remember when he had his residency in Vegas, he would show up to one of the nightclubs I worked with an then have the curtains closed around him.  Odd then, odd now but still one of the greatest musicians/performers ever.
  • Did Kimbra and her ‘I’m not sure what she was wearing’ rival Bjork and her swan dress?
  • The other performances, meh. Or did I miss a great one?

Oh and the awards.  Here you go.

DoYouHearTheMusic.com Summer Playlist Vol.I

25 Jun

The first full week of summer is here and to help celebrate I give you the DoYouHearTheMusic.com Summer Playlist Vol.I.  To make this playlist available via Spotify I had had to kick out a few tracks (for now) but I hope you enjoy this little soundtrack to begin summer with.

Click HERE to access the playlist.

Baywood –  “I Can Breathe Again”

Jukebox The Ghost –  “Somebody”

White Arrows – “I Can Go”

Theme Park – “Wax”

San Cisco – “Awkward”

Electric Guest – “This Head I Hold”

Jump Jump Dance Dance – “Do It For Love”

Passion Pit – “Take A Walk

Between Borders – “Free”

Satchel Grande – “Put Up A Fuss”

Gentlemen Hall – “All Our Love”

Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds – “Untie My Shoelaces”

King Charles ft. Mumford & Sons – “The Brightest Lights

Vintage Trouble – “You Better Believe It”

John Mayer – “Queen of California”

The Lumineers – “Big Parade”

Dawes – “If I Wanted Someone”

Bag of Toys – “Eternal Optimist”

The Dirty Heads – “Spread To Thin

Donavon Frankenreiter – “Shine”

 

 

 

My Thoughts On Some Of The GRAMMY Performances

14 Feb

The Grammy’s were well the Grammy’s, filled as usual with a ton of fantastic performances but I have to say that Mumford & Sons v. The Avett Brothers v. Bob Dylan was the highlight of the night for me.  Not only did M&S rock out on that tiny little rectangle of a stage that somehow didn’t break to perform “The Cave,” they cemented themselves as the next great band from the UK.  If 2010 was a huge step for the folk rock foursome in terms of crossing the pond and selling out small concert venues, 2011 is going to be one hell of a wild ride.  The Avett Brothers continue to amaze me and I dug their performance which gained steam midway through and probably netted them a ton more fans following.  And no matter how old Bob Dylan gets and how mumbled he may sound, I can never get enough of the musician who made me love music.

Also did Mick Jagger rock the Grammy’s or what?  His cover of Solomon Burke’s “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love” with Raphael Saadiq was sensational.  What a tribute it was, filled with energy and spunk that no doubt must have had Burke smiling down from up above.

Eminem, Rihanna, Dre I’d say was as you’d expect, a great, energetic performance but the real winner seems to be Skylar Grey who practically stole the show with her vocals on “I Need A Doctor.”  And you know what, I’m sure the Eminem, Dre and Alex da Kid are grinning from ear-to-ear knowing they just hit the jackpot yet again.

B.o.B, Bruno Mars and Janelle Monae – three of todays most talented definitely didn’t disappoint and 2011 should continue to be huge for all three.

Arcade Fire, wow!  The Suburbs propelled them to another level in 2010 and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the Canadians after their performances brought rock back to the Grammy’s.  My only question is did they know they were going to win that they were set to play a second song?  I hope not but just curious….

Cee Lo dressed as a ginormous parrot was a bit scary.  Was he trying to be Koko B. Ware?  The Gwyneth Paltrow part, did I miss something?  And The Muppets, loved them!

Drake and Rihanna was just ok.  Anyone else think it wasn’t that great?  I just wonder if Chris Brown was watching and what he must have been thinking about RiRi’s outfit.

Some other notes:

Trombone Shorty!  Let’s hope he gets his due eventually

The Aretha Franklin tribute was a nice touch

Props to Esperanza Spalding and her big win!

John Mayer, Norah Jones and Keith Urban paying tribute to Dolly Parton was pretty cool

How many times do we have to see Lady GaGa and Katy Perry perform at awards shows?  Talented they may be but again?

Barbra Streisand, would have been cool if Duck Sauce was a special guest during the performance.  Hey we can all dream, right?

Do J. Lo and Marc Anthony tell award producers we’ll only present if we appear together?

Can Lady Antebellum officially be considered not country since their crossover to mainstream is now cemented?

And one more note because I just can’t leave it out, what the heck was up with Puffy and his gold teef?