It was a really good summer for me. I spent time with my amazing friends, taught myself some basic coding, and had a great internship. But most importantly, it was fueled by some amazing music. Amidst the usual Springsteen, Minus the Bear, and Porcupine Tree albums that I am almost constantly spinning, I spent a lot of time listening to five awesome artists that were pretty new to me.
This post is a bit ranty (especially at the end), so be warned about that. I wasn’t sure exactly what exactly I wanted to say about each artist, and this more turned out to be mini-reviews of sorts. But at the end of the day, I wanted to narcissistically share the music that I had been listening to this summer, in case anybody out there really cares. So, without further ado, here is Jared Sokoloff’s Summer 2014 Playlist:
-Twenty One Pilots
It’s been a long journey with this duo. I really disliked them when my friend first showed me them. Fortunately, I was able to see them play at my school and was incredibly impressed by their live show. After finally buying their acclaimed, breakthrough album Vessel, I fell in love. Combining insanely catchy electronic riffs, artful piano (and occasionally ukulele), and deep meaningful lyrics, Twenty One Pilots is there for me whenever I’m looking for simple, fun tunes, or complex musical ponderings.
-Pink Floyd
It only took me two decades, but I finally got into Pink Floyd. There’s really not much to say here, seeing as most of what can be said about them has already been said over and over again. I’ve been listening to the gorgeous 2011 re-masters, and my favorite albums are the classic three pack of 1973’s Dark Side of the Moon, 1975’s Wish You Were Here, and 1977’s Animals. I guess all those “Greatest-Albums” lists were kinda right after all.
-Slipknot
I’ve been on a major Slipknot kick since about mid-May, and boy has it been awesome. I’ve listened to them occasionally for a few years now, but this was the first time that I really got into them. Disturbing and heavy, yet still catchy, the band never fails to offer up high-energy performances (I primarily listen to their live albums). After losing founding bassist Paul Gray in 2009, and the departure of founding drummer Joey Jordison earlier this year, the group just released their first new single in six years. Harkening back to their early sound, it has me very excited for their forthcoming new album.
-Bill Laurance
Flint is the debut solo album of British keyboardist Bill Laurance, who is also a keyboardist in Snarky Puppy (see rant below). The album features ten original compositions that beautifully fuse classical and jazz influences together. As amazing as Bill’s piano playing is, the music is truly bought to life by the backing band, which just happens to be….
-Snarky Puppy
Combining nearly every genre of music known to man within an accessible jazz-fusion format, each track explodes with world-class musicianship. Bandleader/bassist/songwriter Michael League and his collective of over thirty musicians are always careful not to let the music drown in overly technical performances; each member delicately chooses his notes. The bands best performances lie within its last three studio albums, which were all recorded live and without overdubs. Each with beautifully complex and varying arrangements, the emotions ebb and flow as powerful crescendos slowly build up to the most satisfying of climaxes.
I’ll admit a bit of personal bias in writing this, as in my own mind, Snarky Puppy is one of the greatest and most important musical groups ever formed. Ever since discovering them back in November, I have been listening to them to what is probably an unhealthy amount. I beg of all music lovers (or anybody) to please give this band a fair, unbiased listen.
(Note: I left Slipknot out of the playist so as to keep it safe for work)
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Hailing from central New Jersey, Jared Sokoloff is a current Radio/TV/Film Communications major at The College of New Jersey. As part of the school’s Lion’s Television, he produces their flagship entertainment program, Kendall Live. He can typically be found hanging out with friends, playing the guitar, running, listening to music, or naming all of his social media sites after himself. He is also this site’s resident expert on Bruce Springsteen.