One OK Rock - Ambitions / Album Review

I have to admit, I was pretty skeptical of this band. I have heard one or two of their songs before, and just wasn't impressed. It sounded so much of the same, and I seemed to have forgotten them with due time. In fact, I even saw them opened for All Time Low on the Back to the Future Hearts Tour.

But the other day, they popped up in my suggestions playlist courtesy of Spotify. And I fell in love with their new album. In fact, I have played it on repeat since Friday.

This is the eighth full length album for the band, and the first one since they signed with Fueled By Ramen.This album reminds me so much of the early All Time Low circa Weightless. These vibes hit right at home for me. Ironically, I have a small vocabulary for having a blog. But seriously, check it out.

Some of my favorite tracks on the album are Bombs Away, Jaded, Hard To Love, American Girls, I Was King, and Take What You Want.

I love the lyrics, I love the melodies, I love the finish package. So much of the 2006 me/scene era is revived in this album.

I feel like I could talk forever on this album, but I highly suggest it and I would recommend it to a friend.

My grades for the album:

Lyrics: A-
Melodies: A
Cover Art: B
Vocals: B+
Featuring Artists: A
Overall: A-

My Favorites

My new extension of my blog is My Favorites. Every Saturday, I hope to post my favorite song, my favorite album, and my favorite artist of the week. Some may be new releases, some may be throw backs. But I hope it shows more dimension than compared to my usual Thursday Playlists.

This week my favorites are:

Favorite Song: Castle on the Hill by Ed Sheeran. As it comes to shock to no one, I have been playing this song on constant repeat since its release almost 2 weeks ago. I love the message of this song, especially as I, myself, am moving out of my dad's house. While Ed has been on the road for a while, and took a break and is excited to return to his boring old hometown, I hope to have the same nostalgia as I return to my Castle, even if I am moving 8 miles down the road. I also, recently, learned that this song's music videos features kids from his high school, which makes me appreciate him more as a person and as an artist as it brings a realness to his music.

 

Favorite Album: As I often get teased about, my current favorite album is The Warblers from the Glee soundtrack. I know, it is crazy to me that I wrote that and I am willing to admit that on my blog. But I love this album. I love the arrangement of these covers, I love that it comes from an array of genres, which seems like it is all over the place, but the album is still cohesive. I enjoy listening to this while I am driving. I feel like Darren Criss' voice also brings a lot to this album. He power vocals and personalty add a lot to this album.

Favorite Artist: I recently had gotten back into Katy Perry. I heard an acoustic version of her song "The One That Got Away" and it just made me appreciate her lyrics. She has a powerful gift of song writing and the catchiness of this song in particular, and especially the stripped down version, just resinates with me. While, I understand that some of her music can be overplayed, her ability to song-write is something that should be appreciated and recognized.

Another Thursday, another playlist.  Hopefully this country music will put you, mentally, in warmer weather.

1. Nothin' Like You - Dan & Shay
2. Young & Crazy - Frankie Ballard
3. Small Town USA - Justin Moore
4. Riser- Dierks Bentley 
5. As She is Walking Away - Zac Brown Band 
6. Drink in my Hand - Eric Church 
7. Little Toy Guns - Carrie Underwood 
8. Take Your Time - Sam Hunt 
9. Fly - Maddie & Tae
10. White Lightning - Cadillac Three 
11. Hell on my Heart - A Thousand Horses 
12. City Boy Stuck - Granger Smith
13. Ain't Starting Tonight - LOCASH
14. Comin' To Your City - Big & Rich 
15. Dirt Road Anthem - Jason Aldean 
16. Confession - Florida Georgia Line 
17. Stay A Little Longer - Brothers Osbourne 
18. Bad For You - Waterloo Revival 
19. Crushin' it - Brad Paisley 

This week has been especially hard on me, as I begin a new chapter in my life. Some of these songs I have posted before. But mainly, the point of this week is simple muted pop. Sometimes you need to take a step back and take a deep breath. As I am often told, "you'll be okay"

1. Dirty Old Town - Craig Cardiff
2. This Town - Niall Horan
3. Make Me Cry - Noah Cyrus 
4. Castle on the Hill - Ed Sheeran 
5. Can I be Him? - James Arthur 
6. Don't Leave - Snakeship & MO
7. It's Gotta Be You - Isaiah 
8. Please Don't Go - Joel Adams 
9. Worth Fighting For - Taylor Henderson 
10. Start Again - Conrad Sewell 
11. When You Love Someone - James TW 
12. Don't You Cry For Me - Cobi
13. All Is Well - Austin Basham
14. She is Love - Parachute 
15. Be as You Are - Mike Posner 
16. Rise Up - Ben Lee 
17. Over & Over Again - Nathan Sykes 
18. Believe -Mumford & Sons 
19. Mess is Mine - Vance Joy

1. Ooh Love - Ria Mae
2. Home - Max Jury 
3. Hell of A Girl - Grace
4. I Wish - Tom Misch 
5. Rise Up - Andra Day 
6. Here I am - Tom Odell 
7. Drag - Day Wave
8. Shine - Mondo Cozmo
9. I Heard it Through the Grapevine - Colouring 
10. Ain't Got Far To Go - Jess Glyne 
11. Take Me Dancing - The Maine 
12. Shine - Years & Years 
13. Elevate - St. Lucia
14. Fire Escape - Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
15. Electric Love - Borns 
16. In My Home - Young the Giant
17. Harlem - New Politics 
18. Sleepwalking - The Chain Gang
19. Come With Me Now - KONGOS 

A little pop-punk to start your weekend, along with some throwbacks. Let's just say middle school me would be stoked!

1. A Change of Heart - The 1975
2. Caroline - All Time Low
3. Oh Well, Oh Well - Mayday Parade
4. Scotty Doesn't Know - Lustra
5. America's Sweetheart - Elle King 
6. Manners - We Are The In Crowd
7. Drive - Halsey 
8. Don't Mind - Hoodie Allen feat MAX
9. Sugar, We're Goin Down - Fall Out Boy
10. Misery Business - Paramore
11. I'm Not Okay ( I Promise) - My Chemical Romance 
12. In Too Deep- Sum 41
13. Ocean Avenue - Yellowcard
14. The Rock Show - blink 182
15. Addicted - Simple Plan 
16. Swing, Swing - All American Rejects
17. Miss Murder - AFI
18. Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous - Good Charlotte 
19. Stacy's Mom - Fountains of Wayne 

8 Apartment Hunting Tips

It is crazy to me that I am now in a position in life that I have to apartment hunt. That I am at the point in my life where I can venture on my own and have my own life. But I never expected all the ins-and-outs that come with apartment hunting.

Here are a list of rules to keep in mind when you are apartment hunting:

1. Test the faucets - you don't want to sign a lease and have poor water pressure.

2. Always go apartment hunting when it is rainy- this allows you to see if the roof leaks or if the driveway floods.

3. Have a list of questions prepared- i.e. "If you move in on the 15th do you get pro-rated rent?" "Are pets allowed?" "What is the typical [insert any utility bill here] payment?"

4. Visit properties you are serious about at night, you get a better feel for it when all the other tenants are home, i.e. open parking spots, noisy neighbors.

5. Keep in mind apartment hunting is a lot like buying a car, you want to shop around before you settle on one you like.

6. Rank your choices. Knowing which properties are your top 3 and why they are your top 3 will help you know what you are looking for and narrow your searches

7. Keep your selections to a neighborhood or two, limiting your choices is helpful when you are going through open houses

8. Check more than one search engine or place. It is good to check apartments.com, but also check craiglists, and the newspaper classifieds as well. Not all landlords are tech savvy.

Detroit