My Own Little World

After my experience with The Office , I was looking for something different to watch. I needed a break and was feeling like something quirky. On my friends' recommendations, I decided to give Netflix's original sitcom Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt  a try. I knew that Ellie Kemper, who plays Erin in The Office , was in it, and I liked her character a lot, so this seemed like an idea that might fly. I was not prepared for what ended up coming my way.  Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt  is, without a doubt in my mind, one of the most unique things I've seen on "TV" ever. It's also one of my personal favorites now.  What makes Kimmy  such a good show is Kimmy herself. Ellie Kemper is delightful in her portrayal of this Indiana woman who was held captive for 15 years by the leader of a doomsday cult in an underground bunker. The character reminds me of Leslie Knope because of her optimism and, well, unbreakable spirit. She's deliberate, determined, and alway...

It's always interesting to hear a band dramatically change their sound after years of doing pretty much the same thing. U2 did it with great success in the early 1990s with Achtung Baby  and Radiohead did while garnering massive acclaim with Kid A , as did (to a lesser extent) Hillsong UNITED a few years ago with Zion . It's a risky business transforming a style, however, because fans can react with great dismay after having fond memories of a band's past work and sound and seeing that go by the wayside for something "trendier." With that in mind, I took a listen to Needtobreathe's new album H A R D L O V E . The band is a Carolina-based Southern rock outfit much in the vein of Kings of Leon with more roots, but this new record scraps a lot of that for something much more produced and sonically polished. After having two albums in a row be very, very introspective and heavy ( The Reckoning  and Rivers in the Wasteland ), the band is ready to have a little ...

I think it can be safely said that Switchfoot is a band that has thoroughly stood the test of time. They have now released ten studio albums while maintaining a relentless touring schedule over the last nineteen years and show no signs of stopping anytime soon. The questions most bands begin to encounter at this point in their career are those of legacy and relevance. At the same time as maintaining the reputation and fanbase they've built over through their music, they typically also want to remain musically relevant and not just make new music for the sake of new music. The problem with doing the latter is it can tend to alienate the longtime fans because changes to a band's fundamental sound are jarring, especially when people have grown up with a very particular sonic image in their minds. This describes my experiences with Switchfoot perfectly. I grew up with albums like The Beautiful Letdown  and Nothing Is Sound  dominating my listening time to a ridiculous extent...

It's been a little while since I've updated you on my binge-watching, so yesterday when I finished my most recent show, I decided to write a little bit about it. I didn't think I'd have a whole lot of good to say about this show, especially because of what my opinion of it was early on in its run. I don't think I've ever had a show where I've hated the central character so much. Well, what's the show and main character I'm talking about here? The American version of The Office  starring Steve Carell as Michael Scott. (And if it weren't for me having to put a title on each post, this would have been a great reveal. Oh well.) I went through an intense love/hate relationship with Michael for the first four seasons of The Office , mostly because he is a character that has no boundaries, or even an awareness that he should have any in the first place. He is offensive, idiotic, and downright stupid. Yes, I do understand that that's the entire...

House of Heroes always has a knack for making albums that are very listenable. I began listening to the band several years ago and instantly was caught up in their album Suburba  and its catchy post-grunge rock. There was a little more pop than I preferred, but for that record it really worked. I didn't really move on from Suburba  and haven't listened to them much since then, but I do have some fond memories of driving home from work on country roads and just blaring that record. Fast forward to today, and House of Heroes is releasing their latest effort and first "official" concept album, Colors . A completely fan-funded record (that I got the privilege to support a couple of years ago), this is a new chapter for the band's evolution, both musically and lyrically. That being said, musically this effort is not always far off from the classic "House of Heroes sound" that fans have come to know and love. Lead single "Colors Run" as well as...