Escalates - Falling Up

Not quite Linkin Park, but oh so close, Falling Up's first album mixes the synth and the sensitive piano with the blaring guitars and the heavy bass. Though Ribordy's lyrics are a bit more outstanding than his vocals, he does not skimp on melody writing. The backing vocals are nice too. Check out their newer albums for experimental rock/electronica.

Life Is Beautiful - Vega4

You've probably heard this on the radio. It was also a free download on iTunes a while ago. However, if you aren't lucky enough to have heard this before, here's your chance now.

Life Is Beautiful is probably out and out the preachiest song I've ever heard. But, something about the backing vocals, something about the electric parts. This song just works. It's practically the definition of crescendo. Starting from a very minimalist guitar riff and moving up into a full blown ballad. This song doesn't have much sing-a-long value but it leaves you with a warm and fuzzy "I'm happy to be alive" feeling. Bring it Monday!

The Attic - Fair

When I first heard this song, I could have sworn it was Death Cab for Cutie. The vocals, lyrics, and instrumentation are almost identical. But it's not Death Cab. And it's always nice to find a new band. The Attic is full of nice, eloquent, SAT vocabulary that somehow work well together. The instrumentation is chill. It's not a song you'd expect to find yourself air guitaring to. However, it is a nice listen when lounging around home all by yourself.

The Saltwater Room - Owl City

The only slow techno I know of, Owl City adds a sensitive side to the usually mechanical genre. Owl City does not hesitate to flaunt loving, almost cheesy lyrics with a heart on sleeve attitude in a memorable melody. Don't be turned off by the nonsensical words, rather enjoy its openness to interpretation. I'm also loving the dual vocalists.

Shape Of My Heart - Noah and the Whale

Noah and the Whale is a bit quirky, if you couldn't tell by the picture or the song. Fortunately, quirky is good. Shape Of My Heart is a fun mariachi band sounding song with surprisingly depressing and longing lyrics. I really enjoy the atypical instruments that this song so prominently showcases. Noah and the Whale is blessed with friendly voices and exceptional melody writing skills. Enjoy.

Is Forever Enough - Hawk Nelson

Ok. Guilty pleasure. I'm actually pretty into pop punk. I know it's repetitive and often incredibly uncreative. But it's hard to resist catchy melodies and awesomeish guitars. Seriously, come on. Who doesn't like pop-punk. Not all at once.

Hawk Nelson is another alternative pop band that's totally worth looking into. Is Forever Enough is a masterpiece that blends pop with rock with a bit of screaming icing. Hawk Nelson doesn't hesitate to lay down the melodies or the minor tonality guitar riffs. The lyrics are exceptional, though a bit cliché. Happy listening!

At The Bottom Of Everything - Bright Eyes

Now, I'm almost positive there's social commentary in this song. I just can't seem to find it.

At The Bottom Of Everything is an upbeat, acoustic driven song with its happy melody starkly contrasting its dark lyrics. It's so strange to hear a country song with such a ridiculous intro bear such a raw and powerful message. Check this song out if you like country and anarchy.

Paperthin Hymn - Anberlin

Possibly the most outstanding part about Anberlin is its vocalist, Stephen Christian. He also proves to be a potent lyricist. Paperthin Hymn is a super-emotional ballad-esque dealing with the harsh topic of death and loss. Christian's breathy yet powerful voice execute this song perfectly. The electric driven instrumentals don't hurt either.

Ruler - Marnie Stern

I don't know the classics and I'm not fluent in guitar talk, so when people say that Marnie Stern has the "nimbleness of Eddie Van Halen, the complexity of Frank Zappa, and the shredding capability of Slayer's Kerry King*" I have to admit that I have no idea what they're talking about. What I do know, however, is that Marnie Stern's music is refreshing in a strangely familiar way. Maybe it's because her math rock-start-stop playing and high pitched fast words remind me of the song "Beg Waves" by Ponytail or of Deerhoof on fast forward. Whatever it may be, it's catchy and I like it.

*The Philadelphia Inquirer

White Lights - Deas Vail

Some people really don't like falsetto. I'm not one of those people. If you're not one of those people too, check this song out. Cause I don't think I've ever heard a male sing higher.

White lights is chock full of whimsical lyrics, group singing, and complex drum beats. Very fun listen.

Under the Gun - Supreme Beings of Leisure

I'm going through an electronica thing right now and even though this is labeled "rock", I think it fits right in there with Massive Attack and Sneaker Pimps (coming soon). Supreme Beings of Leisure mix up a nourishing serving of vibe, flow, and beat that's one part electronica, one part rock, and two parts trip-hop with a hint of jazz, all in an ice cool glass. Listen to the lyrics and you'll understand why this song is perfect for a professional procrastinator such as yours truly.

Hey - Leeland

Now, there's absolutely nothing wrong with feel-good, happy-go-lucky music. I don't know much about Leeland but in one of my random Pandora marathons, I stumbled across this song. It's a healthy blend of piano rock and swing melody with a sugary-sweet, sing-alongable tune. Though lead singer Mooring's voice is not incredibly remarkable, his (and of the rest of the band's) voice is quite friendly. Too often have I caught myself singing along. And too often have my sisters shut me up.

The Seatbelt Sign is On

Hey guys. We are experiencing some major technical difficulties (if you couldn't already tell), and we're working on them. We'll try to be back up as soon as we can.

We're currently looking for services to replace seeqpod and/or imeem. I've you'd like to give any suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated.

Heartbeats - Jose Gonzalez

This song is a dreamy acoustic cover of electro-pop duo The Knife's song "Heartbeats." Jose Gonzalez (born in Sweden, of Argentinian descent and inspired by British and Brazilian folk-pop) knows how to make a song his own. He stripped "Heartbeats" down to just a finger picked guitar tune and added his gentle vocals making it incomparable to the original. The tenderness in his voice expresses what sounds like very personal lyrics, even though he didn't write them himself. The warmth he naturally exudes makes this a bittersweet melody that sounds like it would be background music for a goodbye scene in a movie.

You Never Can Tell - Chuck Berry

http://www.seeqpod.com/search/?plid=c18472b740 

I've had this song stuck in my head all week thanks to my French class. It's a good song but please, make it go away.

The Story - Brandi Carlile

Besides cheesy acoustic songs, I also love it when singers are courageous enough to let their voice be imperfect in a studio recording of a song. I don't know what bugs me about perfectly tuned, über friendly vocals. But when a singer doesn't care that her voice isn't for the radio, her emotions are given free reign in her music. This song is the perfect example.

Carlile is obviously a quite talented songwriter, lyricist, and singer. However, her vocal nuances, not her talent, make this song incredibly memorable. I also really like the lyrics. Listen to the song here. =]

Kinderszenen, Op. 15: No. 7. Träumerei - Robert A. Schumann (performed by Ilana Vered)

I consider myself an audacious person - one so audacious that I would go as far as to put classical music on the Baron Boombox. Heresy, you say? Nonsense, says I. Give this a chance and tell me after your done that you didn't enjoy it just a little bit. Classical music is for anyone and everyone. In my opinion, you you're not allowed to say that you enjoy music unless you can enjoy this.

So if you find yourself among the masses that consider this boring, lame, or an old and dying (or dead) form of musical entertainment, then don't worry. Regular programming will resume shortly.

Enjoy.

Edit 3/16, 2:56PM: I've just realized that many of the imeem embeds that have been put up only feature 30 second samples, while others include the full song. We're currently working on a solution for this. 

Place to Be - Nick Drake

"Place to Be" is the second track on Nick Drake's most self-reflective album Pink Moon. A guitar and his voice are the only things used to convey his melancholy emotions and do so effectively. Though stark and unadorned, Drake's inner turmoil is shown primarily through his intricate self-taught finger picking. Throughout his life, Drake sought recognition and appreciation but never found it. This, unfortunately, led to his untimely death when in 1974 at the age of 26, he ironically overdosed on anti-depressants. Posthumously, Drake found fame after Volkswagon used the title track "Pink Moon" in a commercial. His delicate music is finally getting the attention it has deserved all along.

Sadie Hawkins Dance - Relient K

See you at the dance Barons!

Oh, Oh, Oh!

The Bat's Mouth - Bat for Lashes

Natasha Khan's ethereal voice and her ghostly back ups sound like they are soothing tough times. The sparse piano and soft vocals in this song evoke happy-in-a-slightly-sad-way feelings and invite the imagination to wander through caves and forests. Her imagery is vivid, but it's the emotions felt in her voice that really make Bat for Lashes' music great.

Title and Registration - Death Cab For Cutie

It's been a while since I listened to Death Cab For Cutie.  I've missed their signature minimalism, octave harmonies, and peculiar lyrics.  Welcome back!

Title and Registration features well instrumented, well spread out, well controlled guitars, keys, and percussion.  And I'm not even going to try to understand these lyrics.  Death Cab knows how to make something out of nothing.  In fact, it's something interesting out of nothing.  Making something interesting is something most bands can't do with three electric guitars, a blaring bass, two drum sets, a choir, and a symphonic orchestra.

Props, Death Cab.

Rain - Priscilla Ahn

Goodness.  Where has the rain gone?

Rain is a musically mature take on a simple children's rhyme.  Priscilla Ahn masterfully weaves nostalgic lyrics with a homey melody and an enchanting voice.  This is the type of song you'd flip to when no one else is home and you're staring out the window as playful drops drip down your window pane.  Let's pray for this drought to end.

Trade Winds, White Heat - Tim Hecker

Now, this isn't quite the conventional Baron Boombox post, so I'll warn you ahead of time.

I'm a big fan of WNYC's RadioLab, a show kind of like This American Life (if you've heard of it), hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich that, within each season, focuses on topics of philosophical and scientific nature for an hour through stories, interviews, and thought experiments. The show approachs big, broad topics such as "time", "mortality", and "choice" in an easily accessible, light-hearted manner. Wait a second, though. If that sounds terribly boring, then give me a chance to sell it to you. It's a radio show, not some class lecture.

It's art.

Check out their first go at making film clips. I liked the song in the background so much that I went and bought it after watching this. It's a wonderfully ambient audio mix by Tim Hecker that I personally could either totally relax or fall asleep to (or both, if that suits you).

Sky - Joshua Radin ft. Ingrid Michaelson

Once again, I'm a sucker for cute acoustic songs.

Think "Lucky" meets folk genre.  I recently fell in love with all the "ohh ohh"s.  May be stuck in my head for the next week.

Gobbledigook - Sigur Ros

Gobbledigook is the first track off of the Icelandic band Sigur Ros' most recent album Med sud i eyrum vid spilum endalaust, which means "With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly". This upbeat song has received a lot of criticism for straying from the band's overall somber tone, for being too poppy and for not being musically intricate when compared to previous works. However, plenty of people have recognized and embraced the band's new friendly spring-time sound.
Personally, I like hearing how their music has changed over the years and has gone from being ambient with slight shoegaze fuzziness to sounding really icy and cold to sounding like the warm months.

Wake Up Early - Starflyer 59

To be honest, I don't know much about Starflyer 59. So I'm not gonna bore you with where they come from or what label they were signed to in 1998 (Tooth & Nail by the way). Let's just get to the song.

Wake Up Early is a super-chill, guitar-focused song. Starflyer 59 is obviously well versed in the arts of pedals and amps. With guitar riff layered on top of guitar riff, a jazzy bass foundation, and breathy vocals, Wake Up Early never fails to get my feet tapping and my air drums clanging.

Yellow Ledbetter - Pearl Jam

I heard this song on the radio the other day and fell in love with it pretty fast. Can't really understand the lyrics? Yeah, me neither. I like to think of it like this: Eddie Vedder, lead vocalist of Pearl Jam, uses his voice as a more of a musical instrument and the lyrics come secondary. Of course, I am a sucker for acoustic stuff. I listen to STAR 98.7 FM, by the way.

My Generation - Starfield

I don't know what it is about Canadian bands that is so awesometastic.  But they really are awesometastic.  Starfield is a Canadian band.  'Nuff said.

My Generation is a haunting rock ballad with cryptic yet epic lyrics.  Fitted with strong falsetto and stronger guitars, Starfield doesn't hesitate to bang away on the cymbals or yell out their anthem.  What stood out most to me was the incredible bass part.  It's slightly subtle during the chorus and verse, but when it comes out during the instrumental break it's hard to pick your jaw up from the ground.  The piano part is nice and freaky too.  Me gusta mucho.

Smooth - Santana (feat.) Rob Thomas

There are many different kinds of rock. For example, there's quick pop rock, dark heavy rock, screaming metal rock, folk countryish rock, smooth acoustic rock, and so on. This is a very special kind of rock. This is the no-kidding kinda rock. Be careful, because you might not be used to it, and it may sting a little. It's Santana. He writes the kinda rock that eats deep into you. The kind that puts you in a world all your own, where your only want and your only need is to play that invisible guitar that's magically materialized in front of you. Deep, soulful, and so seriously rockin', his guitaric brilliance meshes with Rob Thomas's intense emotive vocal rhythms with a rare intimacy. Yeah, it's not the loud, hard, and fast kinda rhythm that you're used to, but this stuff is deep, and it's got soul. Don't say I didn't warn you.

This Airplane Is A Ribbon - Sherwood

You know those songs that just make you want to get in your car and drive down PCH until you run out of gas?  This is one of them.  And unfortunately, gas prices are going up.

With obvious Beach Boy influences, Sherwood is progressive alternative's and old-fashioned rock's beloved child who decided to get a career in dance pop.  This Airplane Is A Ribbon features memorable harmonies, friendly acoustic basis, subtle keys, catchy bass lines, and poetic lyrics.  What's not to like?

Waiting for a War - The Morning Benders

Although they released their first full length album in May 2008, The Morning Benders have already performed with such notable acts as Death Cab for Cutie, The Kooks and MGMT. This Berkeley-based indie quartet crafts summery songs that keep tough topics light and gives them a sense of optimism. The Morning Benders are noticeably influenced by The Beach Boys and early Beatles, but they have a sound that is their own. Playful piano, tamborines, jangly guitar and Chris Chu's vocals make their 60s-influenced pop songs catchy, but not devoid of deeper meaning.

Check Yes, Juliet - We the Kings

Together since Martha B. King Middle School (that's where they get their name), We the Kings grew out of internet fame, hanging on to the music industry by their teeth. Of course, this is to be expected of a brand spankin' new indie band from Bradenton, Florida. Proof that school bands don't have to sound like school bands, We the Kings gives a surprising performance with smooth vocals, clean guitar, and a perfectly fitting drum beat. With only one album out as of yet, they're still on their way to making it big. Still, that's not stopping them from sounding awesome.