UNICEF: tap project

the united nations children's fund, otherwise known as UNICEF, is an agency responsible for several programs to aid children's health and education. they enlist several celebrities, like disney's selena gomez, to contribute to the cause. in 2007, UNICEF developed a new program called the tap project, which focuses on providing clean and accessible water for children all around the world.

water is essential to life, but nearly 2.6 billion people worldwide lack access to clean water, with over half of them being children. every day 4,200 children die of water related diseases. water-borne illness is the second highest cause of childhood death in the world, and represents a global water crisis.

[click to enlarge]

the project was initially formed in new york city based on a simple concept: restaurants would ask their patrons to donate $1 for the tap water they usually enjoy for free, and all funds raised would support UNICEF's efforts to bring clean and accessible water to millions of children around the world. just $1 could provide one child with enough water for 40 days or 40 children enough water for one day.

every dollar donated will be used to improve access to safe water and sanitation facilities in schools and communities, and to promote safe hygiene practices.

check the facts:

• $10 can provide 400 children with enough clean drinking water for one day
• $61 can provide a small scale water filter intended to provide safe drinking water to small groups or families
• $150 provides 2,500 packets of oral rehydration salts to help save the lives of children suffering from diarrheal dehydration due to drinking contaminated water.

UNICEF hopes to cut the number of people without access to clean, sanitary water in half by 2015. if there aren't any participating restaurants in your surround area, you can always visit their webpage and donate at any time or even make a donation via text message. help out with the cause and improve the lives of children around the world. if that isn't enough to motivate you, donations also count as tax-deductibles.

for more information, check out the tap project website.

passion pit live

on june 11th, i was fortunate enough to see passion pit perform live at the fillmore in charlotte, nc. while i absolutely love their EP and first album manners, i had my doubts. their front man's voice, michael angelako, is very... unique, for lack of a better word. i worried that i would be disappointed with his voice in concert. maybe it wouldn't be up to par with the recordings. maybe it was all studio tricks.

[photo credit: katie shepard-allred]

thankfully, passion pit delivered. tons. if anything, i knew that it would be a fun show, because it would be one major dance party. but, my god, it was absolutely beautiful and surreal.

we arrived early, surprisingly enough since the music factory is nearly impossible to find for first timers, and were rewarded with a spot maybe three or four rows from the stage. the crowd was a lot younger than i had anticipated. initially, they were all pretty rude and pushy, fighting to get closer to the stage. let us pause here for some concert going etiquette. if you want a good spot, get there early and stay in your place. don't push and nudge people, who probably got there an hour before show time, in order to get a better spot. you're late? deal with it. and what happened to being polite to your elders? i'm pretty sure most of you were still in high school.

i digress. needless to say, the fillmore was packed with a large crowd, which evolved into a massive, sweaty dance party.

let me assure you: michael angelako's voice is just as beautiful in person as on the album, if not more so. okay. i know this has nothing to do with the performance or their music, but... angelako's is far more attractive and adorable in person. i'll be damned if he was the cutest little thing jumping around during each song and awkwardly dancing.


they performed each and every one of their songs and even threw in an amazing cover of the cranberries song dreams.

by the way, the venue was amazing. the fillmore is actually part of the music factory, which includes an amphitheatre and several clubs and restaurants. i usually go to really dingy venues like cat's cradle (which i go to often and happen to love), so the fillmore was surprising. wooden floors, high ceilings, chandeliers and CLEAN bathrooms.

i wish i could put into words how amazing their concert was. a month later and i am still completely blown away.

if you ever get the opportunity to see passion pit live, JUMP ON IT. it will be well worth it. they're actually going on tour with muse as the opening act, but only on the west coast unfortunately.

jónsi

[click on image to enlarge]

if you're a fan of sigur rós, then you would know that the guitarist and lead vocalist, jónsi birgisson, recently left the band. obviously, i was pretty upset. i mean, sigur rós has been putting out amazingly beautiful albums circa 1994. if you haven't heard any of their songs, search "sæglópur" on youtube or itunes. i literally cannot put into words how good their music is nor could i name one artist/band who sounds similar. but i digress.

a couple weeks ago, while driving to ikea with john, i found out (via sirus radio) that jónsi left the band to pursue a solo career. and he does not disappoint.

on april 5, 2010, his debut album, entitled go, was released. although he has departed from sigur rós, his solo music is still very similar in sound. while the songs are significantly shorter, they seem to be more concentrated than the ethereal songs of sigur rós. to put him into any one specific genre would be foolish.

the album features predominantly acoustic music and string arrangements from classical composer nico muhly, who wrote the music for the reader with kate winslet. it was also producted by peter katis, who has worked with interpol and tokyo police club.

this was the first album i've bought on my own in several years. i just had to have it and it was worth every single penny. it includes nine tracks, including his first single go do. my personal favorite has to be either animal arithmetic or around us. the entire album is chock full of beautiful songs. i highly recommend dishing out $10 for the cd. it's been on repeat for the entire past week.

jónsi is currently on a world wide tour(!) to promote his music. sadly, he's only visiting the big cities, so i probably won't be able to see him live, unless i can con someone into going to boston or new york with me.

and just for the hell of it, here are some fun little facts about him! jónsi, born in iceland, is known for his soft falsetto voice and using a cello bow on his guitar. he is blind in his right eye and a vegetarian! he is also openly gay with his boyfriend, alex somers, with whom he collaborated with to make the 2009 album riceboy sleeps.

check out his website, if you're a fan. it lists all the tour dates and includes a really good blog documenting his travels and events.

neon trees

{click image to enlarge}

Neon Trees is a rock band from Provo, UT. (Something good actually came from Utah? Surprising, I know.) The members include Tyler Glenn (lead vocals/keyboards), Chris Allen (guitars), Branden Campbell (bass), and Elaine Bradey (drums/vocals).

Apparently the band was well known in Provo. However, it wasn't until late 2008 when Neon Trees was chosen as the opening act to The Killers that they gained nationwide exposure. Shortly afterwards, the band signed with Mercury Records in early 2009.

On March 16, 2010 they released their latest album Habits, which includes eight tracks. It's a really good, up-beat collection of songs, but I do wish that there were more than eight. I've kept this CD on repeat for the past couple days. It really is just so good! Very catchy. Way to go Utah!

The first track released was Animal.



"Music is a sacred act of communion for me, offering hope and love,” says Tyler. “That’s the heart of this band. Just like in life, though, you need to have fun, too, you have to laugh and dance and sing. The songs that last and get people to feel something are the ones they can sing along to and really identify with.”

“There’s so much breath to what we do,” adds Elaine. “Every song represents a different aspect of our sound. We don’t stick to a single formula. And we have the goods to back it up live.”

“Our favorite thing is playing live shows, traveling, seeing new places, meeting new people,” adds Chris. “We just want to share that feeling we got from the bands that inspired us, and then We want to pass the torch.”

The band is currently on tour with Mute Math (yay!) and 30 Seconds to Mars (ew). Check out their myspace for the tour dates. Click here to download their song 1983 for free.

I'll be going to their April 25th show in Charlotte with my husband! So excited!!

the xx

{click image to enlarge}

The xx are a trio formed in 2005 at London, England. The band members consist of Romy Madley Croft (vocals, lead guitar), Oliver Sim (vocals, bass guitar), and Jamie Smith (beats, MPC sampler). Rounding out the group was Baria Qureshi (keyboards), who left the group because of the pressures of an intensive touring schedule.

On August 17, 2009 the group released their debut album xx, which was recorded in a small garage and produced by the band. The CD includes eleven tracks. It has actually ranked #9 on Rolling Stone's "best of the year" list.



The band's most popular song is probably crystalised, but my personal favorite is night time. I don't know how else to describe their sound besides very mellow melodies with soft, soothing vocals. Click here for a free download of their track night time.

If you're interested, check out their website or myspace for tour dates. They're currently touring the states and are even listed under performing artists for Bonnaroo 2010 this summer!

Kudos to John for hearing them on sirus radio and pointing the band out to me!

passion pit

{click image to enlarge}

passion pit is an american electronic band from cambridge, massachusetts. formed in 2007, the group consists of michael angelakos (lead vocals/keyboards), ian hultquist (keyboards/guitar), ayad al adhamy (synth/samples), jeff apruzzese (bass/synth bass) and nate donmoyer (drums).

here's a cute fact with an appropriately valentine's day theme: passion pit was originally formed as a solo project by michael angelakos in 2007 in his college dorm room. the songs, which later became the chunk of change ep, were written as a valentine's day gift to his girlfriend at the time.

in september 2008 passion pit's debut ep chunk of change was released. it includes seven tracks. my personal favorite will always be sleepyhead, but little secrets and the reeling are up there as well!

in an interview, michael angelakos reveals that the track sleepyhead is about an ex-girlfriend who was tired of him and their relationship. he states that his favorite line in the song is "they crowd your bedroom like some thoughts wearing thin against the walls, against your rules, against your skin." angelakos states, "our entire relationship was me coming up with these great big plans and having them shut down by her - because she knew what was normal, acceptable. she was my reality. she saved me over and again." check out the actual interview. it includes a pdf file, in which he explains each line of the song. it's really beautiful.

in may 2009 their first full length cd manners was released and met with positive acclaim. clash magazine award manners a 9 out of 10 score writing, "at its most adventurous, manners sounds like little else - a pop record that exists in a world of its own, carving a sub-genre niche which only fits their expansive, tonally decadent material." rolling stone magazine praised the lead singer michael angelakos' ability to build on the success of the chunk of change ep. john mayer also praised passion pit, but... who really cares? no one likes him. am i right or am i right?

the band's name is derived from slang referring to drive-in theatres, because of their privacy and romantic allure for teenagers.

if you want a sample of their music for your own library, just click here to download their song little secrets off of their new album. it's free! scout's honor.

miike snow

{click image to enlarge}

miike snow is a swedish electropop band formed in 2007, consisting of andrew wyatt, the producing team of christian karlsson and pontus winnberg.

members christian karlsson and pontus winnberg were childhood friends who spent time playing in bands and working on various projects. in 2004, while working on a pop album for someone else, they met andrew wyatt, an american songwriter.

karlsson and winnberg collaborated under the moniker "bloodshy & avant," and won a significant amount of success as producers and songewriters. previously, they worked with artists like madonna and kelis, and won a grammy for best dance recording for britney spears' "toxic."

in 2009 miike snow released their debut album miike snow, consisting of eleven tracks. their second song "silvia" was released on january 25, 2010. it's a beautiful song and probably my favorite track on the cd.

in a recent interview, lead singer andrew wyatt revealed their unexpected popularity, "i don't think our project was that thought out when we started. we just wanted to make music together. three people just messing about. i don't think we anticipated the level of attention that it's getting right now. we didn't even think about touring when we started the album."

miike snow has actually remixed songs by several bands like passionpit, peter bjorn and john, and vampire weekend. most of the remixed songs can be found and downloaded for free on rcrdlbl.com. personally, i think the vampire weekend remix is the best, but the passionpit is a close second.

just fyi: miike snow is currently on tour in the states. if you're interested in the dates and venues, just check out their myspace! unfortunately, they're not touring with lykke li again, which was probably amazing for anyone who was lucky enough to attend.