We don’t get too political here at OurStage HQ, but I think we can all be glad that Election 2016 is about over. To celebrate, we combed our catalog for politically inspired songs that you might enjoy. Some of these are funny, some are angry, some have a thoughtful message, and some are…unclassifiable. But they’re all worth checking out.
Click here for the playlist. Below is a tracklisting and user’s guide.
Don’t forget to vote!
- Mr. President by Jimmy B. (hip-hop)
- Scandal by Adam Ezra Group (roots / rock)
- Your President by Joe Bagale (r&b)
- Why by openhiphop (hip-hop)
- One Love America by Sam C (hip-hop)
- Campaign Trail by The Filthy Addiction (indie rock)
- America by mallory (rock)
- Mr. President (feat. Y-Love) by AWKWORD (hip-hop)
- FBI by p*dubb and the special agents (punk)
- The President’s Men by D’Mangelo (hip-hop)
- Declaration of Independence by Clash of Civilizations (alt. hip-hop)
- New Constitution by Benny Moore (retro/indie rock)
- Commander In Chief by Pills Clinton (hip-hop)
- Our Devolution IS Televised by HUMANWINE (indie/roots)
- We Vote For Peace by STOP (classic rock)
More like this:
Post-Election Songs: From Hopeful To Head-Scratching
Musicians And Their Controversial Politicking
Soundcheck: Hip-Hop Gets Political
Since their mid-’90s flirtation with alt-rock radio ascendency, The Figgs have been a perpetually-evolving artistic entity. From their roots as purveyors of guitar pop, the band moved into riff rock while simultaneously mastering songcraft, and ended up as true studio artists, creating collections of short, unassuming songs that still somehow feel deep and epic. Their last few records have been shockingly consistent as they perfected a completely unique sonic signature. Now in their fourth decade as a band, The Figgs have released Other Planes of Here, an eight song LP that provides the perfect balance of melody, groove, natural lyricism, and pure charm. Living up to its title, the album slips in and out of time, touching familiar, classic sounds and forms, still rocking hard, but just as often bouncing into the stratosphere to suddenly achieve pop nirvana. Never has musical complexity been so enjoyable and easy to absorb. Turn off your mind, relax, and float into other planes with The Figgs.
More like this:
The Figgs: Artists Of The Week
The Figgs On WTF Podcast With Marc Maron
Stream Our January Radio Show Now
OurStage winners Twin Berlin‘s latest album may not have been produced by the iconic Travis Barker like their EP There Goes My Virtue was, but that doesn’t keep these New England natives from rocking hard on their brand new debut full-length, Sleazebrain. Starting things off strong with “You’re A Problem,” these self-proclaimed grunge rockers mix the perfect amount of aggression and passion into their music to create that raw and unaffected punk vibe that I love so much, yet find so rarely. And while the band has been teasing fans with clips and teasers of tracks such as the aforementioned opener and “Buzzkill,” I have to admit that my personal favorites lie in the deeper cuts, “Don’t Talk To Me” and “Kill This Low.” Still, the tracks they’ve chosen to lead with are strong, and are a pretty accurate snapshot of the album as a whole.
Grunge as a major influence is not easy to keep fresh two decades after its height, but Twin Berlin pull it off very well. The longer I let the album run the more I appreciated what a grower it is, and the more I wish I was able to immediately head out to one of their live shows. Because if this is the energy I’m getting from a recording, I can’t even imagine what kind of vibe they give off live.
Catch up with Twin Berlin on their Facebook, and be sure to grab a copy of Sleazebrain when it drops Feb. 18. In the meantime, check out a few tracks below to hold you over.
More like this:
Twin Berlin Gear Up To Release ˜Sleazebrain’
SXSW Announces Next Batch Of Artists
Twin Berlin Hits The Studio With Travis Barker
From the vaults – a Halloween classic from 2011.
Halloween falls on a Monday this year, which means that it would almost be a disservice to readers everywhere if this post didn’t honor the day in some way. Because of metal’s dark nature, the possibilities are endless. I’ll save the “Rocktober” and Misfits references (as awesome as the Misfits are), and just deliver you eight great OurStage metal songs that directly or indirectly relate to Halloween. Scary things, ghosts, zombies and/or the undead ” you name it. Why exactly the eve of All Hallows Day (aka All Saints Day) was chosen to be about evil things we’re not so sure, but we’re not going to argue.
Now that you’ve got your tunes, let’s tell you a bit about them:
“Initial State of Death” by They Might Be Zombies – Zombies and Halloween go hand in hand. This band may or may not be solely comprised of zombies (we’re still not totally sure). All we know is that, if they are indeed the walking dead, they’ve still got pretty good finger dexterity.
“Epidemic” by hord – Ah, the zombie apocalypse. 28 Days Later and The Walking Dead showed us the terror an epidemic just might lead to. Here’s the sonic version.
“Where Did They Hyde Dr. Jekyll” by Social Jet Lag – The classic tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is always appropriate for Halloween. We’re not sure that the song is actually about that story, but the title is, and the song’s good enough that we’ll let is slide (just this once).
“Night Of The Rising Death” by Black Divinity – We promise we’re not intentionally filling this playlist with zombie-themed songs, but sometimes a song is just too evil to pass up. Black Divinity bring the fire with some truly evil vocals and riffs galore.
“Today You Will Die” by Gargantuan – Zombies are pretty scary “ that’s no secret. You know what else is scary? Serial killers. Something about sensing your own impending doom is just a tad unsettling, and Gargantuan capture the feeling pretty well on this track.
“Arise” by Still Screaming – There’s not really all that much you need to know about this song other than that it’s a crossover thrash/hardcore punk jam with the hook “We arise from the ashes of the dead tide!” If that’s not evil sounding, I don’t really know what is.
“Gift of a Ghost” by Einvera – I’m not sure about anyone else, but giving someone a ghost as a present seems like a really lame gift. I wouldn’t exactly be pumped up about being haunted. Thankfully, however, Einvera’s music is better than their gift ideas.
“Jesus Hates Zombies” by Above The Abyss – Jesus probably hates evil, that much is evident. Zombies are evil, that’s also pretty obvious. I think Above The Abyss might be onto something here. Jesus might also be into irony, since by some definitions, Jesus could be considered a zombie (after all, he was dead, and then alive again).
What metal songs get you in the Halloween spirit? Let us know in the comments.
You know MTV’s Tr3s network. The well-known cable powerhouse is a staple in the Latin American entertainment world, capable of pushing emerging artists into the national spotlight.
If you think that kind of invaluable national exposure might help your career, we have good news for you.
Tr3s and OurStage have teamed up once again in the search for what we call El Headliner. It’s simple “ we put your tracks to the fans, who tell us what they like the most. Then Tr3s and special guest judge Karlos Rosé will personally sort through each of the top tracks to find the one artist worthy of spotlight artist features on Tr3s’ show Top 20, as well as Tr3s.com’s Music My Gûey,Descubre & Download, and Blogamole.
Submit your best track by June 22, 2013 for a chance to win.
Good luck!
Participants must be eighteen (18) years of age or older at time of entry and must reside within the 50 United States or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Only submission materials that are determined, at the sole discretion of the Sponsors, to be classified as Latin, as defined on the OurStage FAQ’s will be deemed valid entries.
Click here to view the competition FAQ’s.
Click here to view the official rules.
Bands crafting original pop music with actual instrumentation is a rare treat in this ever-crowded digital age. The ease of digital production has completed done away with the need for musical talent in many cases, but still some are fighting to bring back what some have called “real pop.” One of those groups, Florida’s Before You Exit, have just released a new EP that makes a great argument for why authentic pop music still matters in 2013.
Fronted by three young men, one of whom isn’t even legally allowed to drive yet, Before You Exit have quickly amassed a following on social networks exceeding 100,000 fans. Their new EP, I Like That, offers reasoning for this breakout success with infectious hooks, angelic harmonies, and song structures copy/pasted from music’s biggest names. “End Of The World,” for instance, opens the album with a series of “Na Na Na” gang vocals that will assuredly pull in any casual genre fan, then sinks the proverbial hook in with a chorus you’ll have memorized on a first listen. It’s music that requires almost zero effort to enjoy, and that is exactly what makes it so great. No deep metaphors about life or EDM inspired one-liners that repeat until you go crazy here, just a couple of hooks and talk about girls that is as old as music itself.
When it comes to bands like Before You Exit, one chance may be all they get. Pop fans are fickle creatures, and if you don’t come out swinging on your debut there is very little chance any future release gains traction on a national level. Lucky for these guys, they have a killer buried amongst I Like That, and it’ll be the upset of 2013 if it doesn’t find its way onto the charts. That song, the title track “I Like That,” is one part boy band and two parts pop rock, with just a dash of studio magic added for that high-gloss sound. It’s the kind of song you cannot help telling your friends a because it becomes instantly engrained in your mind and plays on repeat for hours at a time. Even now, writing this in a room void of music, I can hear their youthful voices telling girls everywhere that their beauty stems from the fact they’re unable to see how great they truly are, and for me there is no truer sign that someone has struck music gold than when that occurs. All the big songs get stuck in your head whether you want them to or not, and “I Like That” is likely to consume your mind for weeks at a time.
In a time where the rise of boy bands has seemingly hit its third stride in as many decades, Before You Exit are hitting the road with a sound that proves there is more a group like this can do with pop music than dance in unison. These guys are the real deal, if you will, and in the months ahead that fact alone will help propel them further and further into the national spotlight. If you love pop music there is no reason in my mind to think you wouldn’t love this release, so hop on the bandwagon before it gets away from you and fall in love with Before You Exit today!
Review written by: James Shotwell