Monthly Mix: The Playlist, October 2011

   The landscape in the fall is often one of great beauty. Although underneath we all know change is not far in the future. As the weather and tone shift toward the dark days, the music tends to follow suit. This year was no exception as an erie array of echoes and synth mash-ups came to the forefront. Ranging from experimental duo Gauntlet Hair dropping their first studio album, to appearances by Radiohead on SNL and The Colbert Report, the alternative music world was not forgotten.


October 2011 Playlist


1.  Gauntlet Hair - Keep Time

2.  Mutemath - Blood Pressure

3.  Phantogram - Don't Move

4.  M83 - Midnight City

5.  Ricky Eat Acid - Only Girl

6.  Chevelle - Face To The Floor

7.  Radiohead - Staircase

8.  Feist - How Come You Never Go There

9.  The Ting Tings - Hang It Up

10.  Outfit - Two Islands

11.  Toro Y Moi - I Can Get Love

12.  Portugal. The Man - Everything You See (Kids Count Hallelujahs)

Check in every month for fresh music tracks.


Follow Steve Ferris on twitter @s_ferris

Monthly Mix: September Music Picks

     The last days of summer blending in with the first colorful days of autumn produced a quality amount of cuts spanning from different realms of the music world. As the days grew colder, some darker themes emerged and made for a healthy mix alongside the friendly dance grooves. Although the September Playlist may not stand up against the rest of the year, there are still enough choice tracks that shouldn't get overlooked.


September 2011 Playlist


1. Purity Ring - Belispeak
2. Absofacto - Feathers (Don't Change Me)
3. Miami Horror - Holidays

4. Toro Y Moi - All Alone
5. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Monarchy of Roses
6. City and Colour - Fragile Bird

7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. - We Almost Lost Detroit

8. Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Yellow Missing Signs
9. DOM - Things Change

10. Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Ffunny Ffrends
11. The Antlers - Parentheses
12. Air France - It Feels Good To Be Around You

Check in for fresh new tunes every month.


Follow Steve Ferris on twitter @s_ferris

New Music: The Playlist, August 2011

     The fresh music keeps rolling along. Like in years past, August provided us with a healthy amount of indie-rock to satisfy all of our needs. Light synthy numbers, as well as some mainstream radio favorites, found their way onto the latest edition of the Playlist.

1. The Airborne Toxic Event - Changing

2. The Joy Formidable - Whirring

3. Carousels - Here To Me

4. Future Islands - Balance

5. Vetiver - Wonder Why

6. Deerhoof - Super Duper Rescue Heads

7. Mother Mother - Baby Don't Dance

8. Scattered Trees - Four Days Straight

9. Twin Sister - Gene Ciampi

10. Kites With Lights - Cosmonauts

11. Woodsman - In Circles

12. The Horrors - Moving Further Away

Look for fresh new songs every month.

Follow Steve Ferris on twitter @s_ferris 

Hot Tracks: Summer Playlist, Part 2

     The second leg of the summer features a sizzling array of synth-pop, alt-rock, as well as some pop gems to keep the beats going all night long.  Here are a couple more tunes to round out this year's Summer Playlist.


1. Boy + Kite - Think in Stereo:  Go Fly, out 7/26


2. Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie:  I'm With You, out 8/30


3. Portugal. The Man - All Your Light (Times Like These):  In the Mountain, In the Cloud, out 7/19

Portugal. the Man has been invited to Hangout, Lollapalooza , and Langerado this summer. 

4. Rubblebucket - Worker:  Omega La La, out 6/7 

5. Neon Indian - Polish Girl:  Era Extana, out 9/13

6. Katy Perry - E.T. (feat. Kanye West):  Teenage Dream, out 8/24/10

7. Bush - The Sound of Winter:  The Sea of Memories, out 9/13

8. Jane's Addiction - Irresistible Force:  The Great Escape Artist, out 9/27

9. Gauntlet Hair - Top Bunk:  Gauntlet Hair, out 10/18

Denver indie rockers Gauntlet Hair drop their self/titled album of dance-pop in October.

10. Bjork - Crystalline:  Biophilia, out 9/27

11. LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem:  Sorry for Party Rocking, out 6/21

12. Bombay Bicycle Club - Shuffle:  A Different Kind of Fix, out 8/29

13. Wooden Shjips - Lazy Bones:  West, out 8/15

14. Sun Airway - Wild Palms:  Wild Palms 7", out 7/19

15. Jay-Z & Kanye West - Otis:  Watch the Throne, out 8/8

The Autumn Playlist will be out in a couple weeks with fresh songs as always...

Follow Steve Ferris on twitter @s_ferris

Fresh Meat: NFL's Impact Rookies

     With the lockout finally over, it's nice to be able to start looking towards the start of the 2011-2012 NFL Football season. As always, there already has been a plethora of cuts and trades. Sometimes adding just the right pieces can vault a team from a midlevel competitor to a title contender. Aside from adding free-agents and making trades, teams can also elevate their status by looking to their newly drafted rookies to come in and make an immediate impact. The NFL draft was once again loaded with talent this year, here are some of the players that will step right in and start contributing right away on Sundays.


15. Christian Ponder, QB - MIN: Even though Leslie Frazier brought in Donovan McNabb to be the starter, Ponder is waiting in the wings and has a proven history of working his way into a starting role.


14. Aldon Smith, LB - SF: The 49ers grabbed a pass-rushing specialist who will pair quite nicely with Patrick Willis. Smith should be with the first team right away and looks to stock-pile stats all year.


13. Mikel Leshoure, RB - DET: A solid draft this year for the Lions, this pick upgrades their running back depth. Leshoure has great pass catching abilities and should be a factor in Detroit's screen game.


12. Cam Newton, QB - CAR: Drafting a quarterback at #1 is always a gamble. More often than not they haven't lived up to expectations. Newton will get thrown into the fire early, we'll see if his college game can transfer to the pros.


11. Jimmy Smith, CB - BAL: Smith is a true shutdown corner and will fit nicely into John Harbaugh's scheme. Interceptions and tackles are commonplace for Smith, who will start from day one.

Jimmy Smith will be in the hunt for defensive rookie of the year.

10. Leonard Hankerson, WR - WAS: By default, Hankerson will be the 'Skins #1 or #2 receiver heading into the season. A good combination of speed and good hands will make it easy for him to fit right in.


9. Greg Little, WR - CLE: Colt McCoy now has a great all-around weapon in Little.  Expected to start right away, he has great hands and his run-after-catch abilities are the best of this year's WR draft bunch.


8. Ryan Williams, RB - AZ: Williams could be the best back of the draft class. Huge upside and figures to challenge for the starting role from day one.  He will get a ton of carries for Ken Whisenhunt this season.


7. Patrick Peterson, CB - AZ: Another Cardinal who will be having an impact off the bat.  Peterson has excellent size and speed and figures to be a major threat on kick returns as well.


6. A.J. Green, WR - CIN: Out with the old, in with the new in Cincinnati. Green will give the Bengals a top-notch redzone target and field stretcher all in one. The best WR in the draft, look for him to put up big numbers.

A.J. Green will be scaring defenses all season long for Cincinnati.

5. Daniel Thomas, RB - MIA: Had this come out last week, Thomas would have been higher on this list. The addition of Reggie Bush will take down some of his carries, but Thomas is a workhorse back and will share the load for Miami this year.


4. Von Miller, LB - DEN: A speedy pass-rusher who will be terrorizing QB's all year in the AFC West. He will have no problem fitting into the Broncos 4-3. Miller is a tackling machine and will be counted on to jumpstart Denver's defense.


3. Julio Jones, WR - ATL: Jones already has all the pro tools. He will be reaping the benefits of Roddy White's double-teams and Matt Ryan's accurate arm all season long. A perfect fit for Atlanta, Jones will have no problems adjusting to the pro game. 


2. Nick Fairley, DT - DET: Pairing him up with Suh is almost unfair to opposing offenses. Fariley will step in right away for Jim Schwartz and will be a premier pass-rusher from day one. Look for him to rack up tackles and sacks all season long.


1. Mark Ingram, RB - NO: The Saints have a thing for drafting Heisman running backs. Ingram, who runs a lot like Emmitt Smith, will now be the feature back in New Orleans and has the size and durability to put up numbers all year. With the addition of Ingram, the Saints may have the piece they need to get back to the Super Bowl.

Mark Ingram plans to run amuck on the NFC South this year.

Next week, Feerock's Preseason Power Rankings will be unveiled...


Follow Steve Ferris on twitter @s_ferris

Hot Tracks: Feerock's Summer Playlist, Part 1

     So far the summer has given us a wave of radio-friendly rock as well as a barrage of indie tunes to keep our ipods busy on all these hot nights. After sifting through many quality cuts, only 20 were selected for the first installment. Without further ado, here are some of the summer's hottest songs:


1. Black Keys - Howlin' For You
2. Foster the People - Pumped Up Kicks
3. 1, 2, 3 - Riding Coach
4. Gomez - Options

5. The Naked & Famous - Young Blood
6. 311 - Sunset in July
7. Social Distortion - Diamond in the Rough
8. My Morning Jacket - Holding on to Black Metal
9. Young the Giant - My Body
10. Arctic Monkeys - Don't Sit Down 'Cause I've Moved Your Chair
11. Incubus - Surface to Air
12. Blueprint - So Alive
13. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jr. - An Ugly Person On a Movie Screen
14. Toro Y Moi - Saturday Love
15. Washed Out - Eyes Be Closed

16. YACHT - Dystopia
17. Butcher The Bar - Bobby
18. Pepper Rabbit - Murder Room
19. Bibio - All Their Sisters
20. Cassettes Won't Listen - Night Shines


Stay tuned for Part 2, featuring new cuts from Red Hot Chili Peppers, Portugal. The Man, and more...


Follow Steve Ferris on twitter @s_ferris

My First Blog: Sweet Blahg, Brah.

so yeah, i finally caved-in and started up a blog. not sure which direction this place is going to go, but i'm thinking mostly music reviews, music playlists, sports takes, and maybe some pop-culture references. i know, sweet blahg, right?  -fee.