alternative
Alternative music from the underground, straight to your listening device.
Ed Cusati takes Pause while Moving his Musical Career Forward on Spotify
Ed Cusati’s introduction to music began with his mother. A singer who studied at Westminster Choir College, she started Ed with piano lessons and her large Rock n Roll record collection moved him onto the worship of Joe Satriani. Taking on the guitar, Cusati formed a band in middle school that was, “ahead of its time,” according to the Katonah, NY resident, and was pretty easily explained. “Well, I was in the band,” he joked. But the lighthearted look back is no way emblematic of how seriously he approaches his art, and putting himself out there as a performer, goes well beyond the words.
By Rich Monetti6 years ago in Beat
The lights go out and I can't be saved.
I’ve been playing piano since I was 6 years old. I started while I was living in South Surrey, along with my two older sisters. My teacher, Leslie, was a dream. She actually came to our house to teach, and she knew the right balance of pushing me and laughing at my kid jokes. She let me choose the pieces I wanted to play, and wouldn’t let me back out easily when I wanted to give up on them. She was kind and organized, and created the perfect environment for my passion garden to grow. My interest in piano had always been there. But she was my watering can. I’d watch my sisters play before I was old enough to take lessons, and mimic their hands on my jeans, watching them from the stairs. When I was finally old enough to start, once I’d mastered even just a couple bars of Mexican Jumping Beans or Row, Row, Row Your Boat, that was all the house would hear for days. Piano became my sole way of pleasure and escape. When my mom said no to another serving of Honey Nut Cheerios at breakfast, I was hammering away at the piano. Or my sister said I couldn’t hang out with her and her other 9 year old friends, the piano was going to hear about it. It was a way of moving through my emotions, even though I didn’t quite understand that yet.
By Gillian Hinton7 years ago in Beat
VARIOUS STORMS & SAINTS
A life willfully lived began taking its toll on me before I was ready for realization or reckoning. Because of good luck and a winsome naivety I once thought myself invincible, free. I could do whatever I wanted and get whatever I wanted and go wherever I wanted; obstacles were a nonfactor.
By Lauren Harsma7 years ago in Beat
Are you (Un)Lost?
(Un)Lost In my opinion, The Maine have easily been the source of the biggest influence towards positive growth throughout my young adult life. But, even before songwriting had become an outlet for my thoughts, their lyrics had been storming my ears. Their constant messages of vibrancy and an acute attention to mental health really struck a chord. As a child, when times were low and survival seemed impossible, one particular song stood out – ‘(Un)Lost’ from The Maine's 2015 album ‘American Candy’. (Un)Lost is substantial enough to have earned its place permanently on my skin - not once, but twice, in the form of tattoos on my wrist and hips. A constant reminder of who I was, am and will be. Growing up I was dealt with circumstances that I wouldn’t wish on anyone else. Separated parents, suffering from Depression and Borderline Personality Disorder, and discovering I was gay in a strict Christian household… These are just a small piece of those difficult circumstances. I was confused and lost. Eventually I gave up on finding a purpose … a sense of gravity. I dabbled in many different career aspects - cooking (which I still love), gaming, graphic design, fitness and personal training, media and even psychology, but nothing stuck until more recently, when I gathered the tools and confidence to fold absolutely into music and creative writing. In those early years it was easier to follow the tide of mediocrity – “Get a job” and “Finish school” was what I was told. So I kept my head low and somehow survived. Hence when I heard the lyrics:
By Brody Graham7 years ago in Beat
Escaping Insanity
When I listen to music, it's usually as a means to escape. I yearn to be transported to a different reality than the one I currently reside in. Most of the time that means listening to upbeat pop music, if it's in another language then it's bonus points because I can only focus on the melody. But as I'm writing this, I realize that for the first time I have a song that has rooted me in the center of my reality. CG5 is a YouTuber and the creator behind the popular song Absolutely Anything and the genius behind the song Sepiatoned that keeps me trapped.
By Anecia Lewis7 years ago in Beat
How Paramore's "Last Hope" Helped Me Heal
TRIGGER WARNING: sexual assault. I have loved Paramore for every moment of their existence. I grew up listening to lots of female pop stars, but it was largely unheard of for a woman to front a band - let alone a band that played Warped Tour. Hayley Williams became an instant inspiration for me, someone who has always secretly wanted to be in a band and play music for a living. Her personality, wisdom, genuineness, and style were all things I admired from the very beginning. I feel as though I've grown up through and with Paramore; each of their albums came out at a time in my life where I needed guidance from a woman who wasn't my mom. I spent so many days dancing around my room and singing into a hairbrush along with All We Know is Falling and Riot!. I used to pretend to put on concerts, and I'd serenade all of the posters covering my walls. In those moments, I channeled teenaged Hayley. I envisioned myself with brightly dyed hair and dramatic makeup, jumping around on a stage. Brand New Eyes was released my senior year, and it was a time when I needed direction. I was very much a misguided ghost, like the song with the same name.
By Portgas D. Sara (they/them)7 years ago in Beat
THE SILENCE OF MUSIC
A bass line. Vocals that make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end. The guitar solo that will stick with you to the grave, and beyond. Music can reach the range of emotions we didn't think we had. Unravel thoughts and faces from the dusty tomes of memory. Experiences stuck in the amber of the mind, ready to be revisited by the rolling drums of a familiar song.
By Dom Watson 7 years ago in Beat
The song that asks "Did You?"
It’s the end of another seemingly endless day that’s basically identical to so many that came before it that the only tangible difference seems to be who I did the favor for, rescued or listened to when all I wanted to do was grieve for who I thought I would be by now.
By Lisa Suhay7 years ago in Beat
Behind the Song "Bambi"
Music can speak louder than words. We all know it is true. There are many genres of music out there for everyone from classical to rap from country to heavy metal. I do not think there is anyone in the world who has said: "I don't like music". There are many amazing artists out there that I have looked up to including Beyonce, Ed Sheeran, and Coldplay. However, at one point in my life I could no longer stand pop music, it was starting to get very repetitive and artists were taking original songs such as "Numa Numa" and then turning it into "Live your Life" by Rihanna and T.I. I was getting sick of the lack of creativity in artists. This was when I was still in high school. So, I was I think sixteen or fifteen around the time. I wanted something to fill the void of new songs. My oldest sister had started dating this guy and his music taste was as she at the time claimed as "kinda weird". Then, one Christmas her now-husband (at the time boyfriend) gave her a large box and my sister kept unwrapping it, he put a box within a box within a box and within a box, I think there were more boxes, but anyway and she came to the gift which was an iPod nano I can't remember what generation it was, but it was all touch screen and tiny. He had put all of his favorite songs on it, so she could listen to it. One day, after my sister came back from hanging out with him, she introduced me to a song titled "Bambi" by a band, which I had never heard of at the time that was and is to this day called Tokyo Police Club. As soon as she started playing it on the iPod speakers something amazing happened. I heard odd noises starting out, which then started to grow into a rhythm and the drum kit entered the scene of the music. The lyrics were unique and original "I want to tell you there's a really good reason why I came home wasted in the middle of the night, a tiny kingdom at the bottom of the trees where I was always a winner and usually right" were the first lyrics that came to my ears. I have never heard of any lyrics like it and then the chorus was uplifting. Ever since hearing those lyrics and that raw sound I could not stop listening to the song. I played in circles for days at a time, I then downloaded it onto my own iPod and I would blast my eardrums as I walked down the halls of my high school. Then, I took a risk and started listening to Tokyo Police Club's other songs such as "Your English is Good" and I found the song fun and upbeat, which then led me to find more of their other songs and I was liking every single one, by the end of high school I knew all their lyrics by heart. I started discovering more artists of the same genre and discovered that indie rock was my favorite genre of all time. nearly ten years later and I am still listening to Tokyo Police Club and I still note it as one of my favorite bands. I do not know what it is but I can't seem to get sick of them. This song "Bambi" by Tokyo Police Club has changed my life, it did not give me any life-altering decision or anything to make a light from heaven to pour down on me with angles singing, but it changed the way I listen to music. Since then I have discovered many other bands such as Ottawa the band, Arcade Fire, Passion Pit, and Foster the People. I have expanded my horizons in music thanks to that one song that changed my perspective. I now know that I do not have to be tied down to one genre, I have learned to love punk rock bands such as Sum 41 or My Chemical Romance. I'm glad that my oldest sister had introduced me to the song and I am glad that I found other songs thanks to her. Take a listen to it below:
By Adrianna M. Braun7 years ago in Beat
