Recommendations: "Summer Rocks (Energetic)!"

So, after finishing with the last "Summer Rocks!" I decided that the next one should be something that was completely different from the romantic and mellow nature of the previous one. So, coincidentally (and very strangely as I usually listen to the bands I'm writing about) I was listening to the two bands featured in this post: Metro Station and Fall Out Boy. While listening to them I got a huge surge of energy and though "Well, this should be in the next 'Summer Rocks!'".

Metro Station (I must admit I adore that name) was an American pop rock/synthrock band formed by Trace Cyrus, Mason Musso, Anthony Improgo, and Blake Healy. I must say that the band had an amazing sound and a characteristic energetic feel. In their first (and unfortunately last) self-titled album, Metro Station, the band shows us their versatility and introduces us to their characteristic sound.

The band exhibits the best synthrock sound in their song "Control", which is accompanied with great vocals. In "Kelsey" the band shows a more mellow synthetic sound but yet the vocals imprint energy and force to the song. Now, my absolute favorite songs by Metro Station are "Shake It" and "Seventeen Forever" (especially the latter), in which the vocals literally lift you up in a surge of absolute rock energy.

Second and last in this post is the band Fall Out Boy, which consists of vocalist-rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, bassist Pete Wentz, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band has an unmistakable sound and has become one of the biggest alternative/punk rock bands in the last decade.

With over 5 albums, Fall Out Boy has proven itself and the world its energetic sound and image. This energy is especially transmitted in the songs "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race", "Thnks fr th Mmrs", "Sugar, We're Goin' Down", "The Take Over, the Breaks Over", "Dance, Dance", "I Don't Care", and their Michael Jackson cover, "Beat It.

Hoped you felt the energy in this songs! Expect the last entry from the "Summer Rocks!" recommendations-- I still haven't named it but... expect something big!

*By the way, I have decided that I will officially "sign" my posts at the end of them rather than at the beginning-- I find it more authentic like that. Also, I have noticed that my posts really carry my style and essence in them, while David's posts carry his, so I don't think you really NEED to have the "by: Me" at the beginning of every post. So...


Keep on rocking it!!
-- Carlos 

The Essentials: John Kappas

by: Carlos Figueroa

Well, at this point I'm guessing that many of you are going "WHO THE FUCK IS JOHN KAPPAS?" It´s a question that many have asked me in the past, which I'll answer in a moment. You may probably also be asking "WHY THE FUCK IS HE AN ESSENTIAL AND WHY IS THIS ESSENTIAL NOT A BAND?"... To that question I'm gonna answer a bit more bluntly: He is an essential because he's awesome and because I feel like it!! So yes, that's it for my dramatic intro for this Essential artist. Now, let's get into the music.

John Kappas is a singer/songwriter from Los Angeles, California. Although he may be regarded as a "local artist" by some (as he is mostly a star in LA and he's STILL not an international artist), John acquired public attention as a YouTube Star, mainly as a semi-CoverLover-- in John's case, he took mainstream pop songs and made them total acoustic masterpieces, thus not ruining the originals (in some cases being even better than the originals). Also, he writes his own songs too, and he only released one of his covers in his debut EP, History Repeats Itself.

Now, let's discuss his sound and style. John's style could be described as a kind of acoustic rock meets piano rock in some of his songs, although in some songs he goes more into electro rock or pop rock. Probably what gives his songs that characteristic boldness and feeling is his voice; John exceeds vocally and shows a great deal of versatility (which can be appreciated in his live performances and covers).

For example, in songs like "History Repeats Itself" and "This Is the End" John provides us with entrancing vocals, amazing guitar screeches and pronounced beats. Also, this are the 2 songs in which John displays and edgy, a bit darker mood to his songs. In some other songs, namely "Highschool Sociopath (I Hate You)" and "I Want You", he displays a more pop rock sound, with the vocals being in the spotlight but with the addition of more prominent keyboards/piano.

Where his vocals really shine though is in his covers and acoustic, original live songs. From his covers (which you can check in his YouTube channel) I must say that, in my opinion, the best is Miley Cyrus's "See You Again" or Britney Spears's "Toxic". In his original acoustic songs, John's songwriting is appreciated at its best, with songs like "Come Back to LA", "It Might Take a While", and "Explain Myself".

John Kappas is the epitome of an artist who deserves fame more than some mainstream artists as he is full of raw talent. Also, he shows us that being famous is not related in any way to being talented, and that the business is a punk bitch that is reserved for a few people. Because of his talent and all the reasons above listed, John Kappas is an Essential.

Recommendations: "Summer Rocks (with the Heart)" Part 2

by: Carlos Figueroa

Well, here we have it: Part 2 of the "Summer Rocks (with the Heart)!". So, I must confess that I'm really enjoying writing this recommendations even though at first I was kinda not wanting to write them (that's why it took about a week and a half for me to right the last one); maybe it is because of the bands in them (most are bands that I really love). Part 2 will essentially kinda like Part 1 except it is reversed: this means there will be 2 newcomers to the FGI and a veteran in this post.

In Part 1 we started of with the veterans, right? So, I think (if this post is to be a reversed version of Part 1) newcomers should come first this time, isn't it? Well to start out we have The Fray one of the first bands I started to follow (*Pop Culture Invasion: probably this was so because of me hearing the song "How to Save a Life" in Grey's Anatomy*). This band probably fits the love and heartbreak themes because of its piano-based sound-- it is extremely mellow and peaceful, which helps giving a longing feel to most of their songs. To start it out, none of this band's songs is a happy love song, so there's no lovey-dovey here. The songs I like the most from The Fray probably are "Over My Head (Cable Car)", "All At Once", the two songs that SCREAM "I love you": "Look After You" and "How to Save a Life", and the a bit more uplifting songs"You Found Me", "Happiness", "Syndicate" and "Never Say Never".

Now the newcomers! One of my latest discoveries (and by that I mean I heard a song of theirs for the first time... like... two months ago maybe?) in bands (and guess what? They're signed to Fueled by Ramen... haha remember what I said in the first post of the "Summer Rocks!" posts?), A Rocket to the Moon (ARTTM). They are totally a pop rock/punk band, with love and the like being the theme in their songs generally. Songs like "If Only They Knew" and "Just Another One" are more of the regretful love songs, but other songs such as "I'll Be Your Sunset", "Baby We're Invincible", and "Like We Used To" depart from the band's usual sound and fall more into synthpop and are EXTREMELY CORNY (not that I don't like them.... but, I mean, dude... just read the titles!). The songs "Annabelle" and "Fear of Flying" are more like a mix of the previous songs.

Now, The Kooks, a band that (as any good FGI reader would know) I love and has made it to the blog since the very beginning of the FGI being the first Indiespensables. For starters, I have noticed that their sound usually reflects the feelings in the lyrics; for example, in song's like "Seaside", "Gap", and "Sway", in which the songs deal with longing, the sound leans more towards acoustic rock/pop. In songs like "Naïve" and "You Don't Love Me" the songs are completely indie rock to match their bitter or frustrated tones; in songs which talk about happier sides of love, such as "She Moves in Her Own Way", "Always Where I Need to Be", and "Shine On", the songs beats and lyrics lean towards the more britpop sounds (including catchy choruses and bridges).


Hope you enjoyed it!! Get ready for "Summer Rocks (Energetic)!".

Recommendations: "Summer Rocks (with the Heart)" Part 1

by: Carlos Figueroa


Well, as I have noticed lately (Facebook's been full of romantic quotes and sayings...), romance and love are a (big) part of summer (it is so "big" lately that I'll have to make 2 parts of the same topic). In this part I'll talk about 3 bands that I absolutely love, two of which have already been featured in the FGI and a newcomer to the FGI. I'll start with the veterans; I'll try to be brief and focus rather on this bands' songs than their style (which have already been discussed thoroughly).

Our first veteran band is The Academy Is..., one of my favorites because of their lyrics and sound. Most of TAI's songs deal with romance, but what i like is the fact that they don't get stuck in the mellow and gooey realms of pre-teens and pop stars; of course, they've had their moments, but they know how to get over it. For all of you who have fallen into depression or are in a stage of total denial, the song "About a Girl" is a spot-on stab to your heart. Now, if you are going for a less "loving" song you can have songs like "Summer Hair=Forever Young" or "The Test"; if you have bittersweet memories, then you should listen to "Rumored Nights" and "After the Last Midtown Show". Last but not least, if you really want to go into an over-the-top dedicatory to your boy/girlfriend you should totally listen "I'm Yours Tonight" (and no-- it's not about THAT, dirty heads! Sorry, I could keep myself from joking with the title.).

As our second veteran we have Paramore, coincidentally another one of my beloved bands (and, along with TAI, member of Fueled by Ramen) which talks about love in some of their songs. To make it simple I'll divide the songs by themes into 2 categories and a sub-category: (a) Lovey-dovey songs and (b) Regret songs, which I'll divide into (i)Broken-hearted songs and (ii) Fuck You songs (I think it makes it more clear this way). In the lovey-dovey set we have "My Heart" (which could also kinda fit in the next category, too) and "The Only Exception". For the Broken-hearted ones we have "When It Rains", "Stuck on You", "Never Let This Go", "Playing God", "For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic", "We are Broken", "Decode", and "That's What You Get". Last, for the Fuck You songs we have "Ignorance", "Misery Business", and "Brick by Boring Brick".

Last but not least, another of my great favorites and FGI newcomer, the Irish band The Script. This band really is the crème de la crème in terms of love songs. The two songs which really take love to the next level are "Breakeven" (lyrically and vocally the song really makes you believe the line "I'm falling to pieces") and "The Man Who Can't be Moved". Other songs by this band that also fit in this recommendations are "Talk you Down", "We Cry", "Before the Worst", "Fall for Anything", and "Live Like We're Dying".


Get ready for Part 2. Keep on rocking!

Rock 101: FGI Nation Language

by: Carlos Figueroa

As you may have noticed if you have read the FGI's posts (mostly my posts), we (which means I) like to use portmanteaus (in simple words, mixing different words together into a single word). And no, this is not by any means a real life vocab lesson, but, as I am taking charge of the FGI for a while (while David reappears on the Earth's surface), I would like to explain the meaning of the terms and portmanteaus I will use and have used in the past (also some of them will always be color coded in my posts, so the color will appear with the meaning).

(The) FGI (Nation): the Feel Good Inc. blog.
The Essentials: artists/bands that (in our opinion) you should have at all costs in your Pod.
Pod: iPod without the i (that's how I call mine).
Indiespensables: portmanteau of indie and indispensable; used to describe indie music/artists/bands full of awesomeness.                
Awesomeness: completely awesome.
*Pop Culture Invasion:*: tid-bits of pop music info on the FGI.
tid-bit: small pieces.
uncool: something boring; not cool.
YouTube Star: band/artist who rose to fame via YouTube or some other video-sharing community.
CoverLover: artist prone to cover (or sample) other artist songs (usually ruining the original).

Recomendations: "Summer Rocks (with Pop)!"

by: Carlos Figueroa

Well, as if the title didn't make it obvious, I would like to recommend some bands which in my opinion embody all what summer should be about: fun, sun, friends, and adventure. By saying this I make rather obvious that this bands will all be leaning more to the poppy side of rock and will likely be a bit more mainstream, but that doesn't take the awesomeness out of them does it? To start off, I will tell you something weird I noticed while selecting this bands: most are signed into Fueled by Ramen and most are in the pop/punk rock scene. Very coincidental, huh?

For starters we have Disco Curtis, a band who's image SCREAMS pop (to a point that is reminiscent of the 90's boy bands as the Backstreet Boys or N'Sync-- talk about bubblegum pop), but deliver a solid pop rock/punk pop performance. Apparently they are some kind of frustrated pop stars: their lyrics are quite... pop and they have a cover of Lady GaGa's hit debut single, "Just Dance" (which sounds very good in fact). Their debut album, titled Play with Fire Get Burned, has quite good songs (although for those who search for Shakespearean masterpieces in the lyrics... you won't find them here) such as "Ashley", "Surprise Me", and "Alone and Loving It".

Now, one of my favorites in this set, the Frenchie band, Phoenix. Now this band has had about three albums published before their latest (and for all the ignorants-- debut) album, Wolfang Amadeus Phoenix, which is probably the band's worldwide breakthrough album (*Pop Culture Invasion: this is just the case as Owl City's success with their chart-topping "Fireflies"*), probably because this album is influenced more by pop than their previous albums. Out of the album, the two tracks that are best are "Lisztomania"  and "1901", which are amazing tracks, with heavy keyboards, blatant choruses, addictive vocals, and pure chords and beats. Other tracks such as "Girlfriend" and "Lasso" are amazing too.

Be prepared for the next entry of the Summer Rocks recommendations, "Summer Rocks (with the Heart)!" Hoped you liked it; keep on rocking summer out!

I´MA BACK (AGAIN)!!

HOLY SHIT!! I can´t believe how much time has gone by!! I feel terrible!!! I haven't written anything in ages!! But the good news is I'm here to stay... I mean it's vacations after all... I have to have time to write (and btw I have TONS and LOADS of things to write about!) 


So... I hope you like the little revamp I gave to the blog. I think it makes it look... more... pop (hmm... that was not the intention but well..)? Well, David hasn't seen it yet, so I still have to get his approval...


Now talking about what we care about (that's MUSIC... ROCK music to be specific!!) I have many artists and bands to talk about, so expect some new articles coming!


Keep on rocking
-- Carlos

Artist of the Week: Brandon Flowers

by: Carlos Figueroa
Brandon Richard Flowers (born June 21, 1981) is the American frontman, vocalist, and keyboardist of the Las Vegas-based rock band The Killers.

Brandon Flowers, after dropping out of college, was a bellhop for a short while at the Gold Coast Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. In 2001 he was abandoned by the first band that he was in, a synth pop band known as Blush Response, after he declined to move with the rest of them toLos Angeles, California. Shortly thereafter, Flowers attended an Oasis concert, and realizing that he wanted to make the transition from a keyboard band to a true rock band, began searching for a guitarist. He responded to an ad that Dave Keuning had placed in the paper that listed, among other bands, The Cure and Oasis as influences. Keuning later stated that his first impression of Flowers was that he was wearing the same shoes Oasis had. After several short-lived bassists and drummers, Flowers and Keuning were joined by bassist Mark Stoermer and drummer Ronnie Vannucci and became the Killers in August 2002. Vannucci later said that, even with songs like "little dwarf versions of what we have now, Brandon wasn't afraid to just get up there and just do it. You need that when you're trying to get something off the ground. As far as the drive goes, Brandon was never half-assed." According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, his parents have always supported his decision to become a rock singer, and were often the only people in the audience at The Killers' early performances.

Flowers has been in a number of controversies based on comments he has made to the media. In particular, he made statements that sparked feuds with the bands Fall Out Boy, The Bravery and Panic At the Disco. However, he has since recanted, and told Spin magazine, "I'd like to take it all back. These people are just doing what they want to do, just like I am. I'm actually a nice person and I love people. I just am opinionated. It's not something I'm proud of." Flowers criticized Green Day for performing the song "American Idiot" in the United Kingdom. The concert, featured in Green Day's live DVD Bullet in a Bible, shows thousands of Europeans singing along to "American Idiot". Flowers said, "I just thought it was really cheap. To go to a place like England or Germany and sing that song—those kids aren't taking it the same way that he meant it." His assertion that Sam's Town would be one of the best albums to come out in the preceding 20 years drew ridicule from critics. Flowers has expressed his desire to be less provocative. He told The Advocate magazine, "With people that I've put down, I understand now that they have their own ability and a gift for doing whatever they're doing."

Flowers appeared as an interviewee on the Pet Shop Boys: A Life in Pop DVD, and subsequently also presented the artists with an Outstanding Contribution to Music award at the 2009 BRIT Awards. He and Lady Gaga then performed with Pet Shop Boys as part of a medley of their hits.

While Flowers is usually confined to singing, or even playing keyboard on most of the Killers' songs, Flowers plays bass in the song For Reasons Unknown, the 4th single from the Sam's Town album.

*By the way, the poll for who will be Artist of the Month for March  is already up and will be closed until March 5 (to give people some time to vote... although I doubt we'll get as much votes this time, because of the holidays). Tomorrow we will have the rest of the Artist of the Month sections for March and Wednesday will be for the Indiespensables and Essentials to catch up. 
     P.S. I still wonder where David is...

GOSH!! FINALLY!!

I really missed our beloved Feel Good Inc., and I must really issue my greatest apologies for not updating in the last week. It's not that I forgot the FGI, but we have just finished our quarter exams, so I have to start thinking about whom am I gonna have to write all the stuff I haven't written. Luckily, I've got a whole week of vacations (which means FGI 24/7). Thank the Lord!!

By the way, I wonder where David is? Haven't seen him around lately in the Nation...

Keep on rocking,
-- Carlos

Indiespensables: Silversun Pickups

by: Carlos Figueroa

Silversun Pickups is an indie rock band from Los Angeles, California, comprising Brian Aubert (lead vocals, guitar), Nikki Monninger (bass, vocals), Christopher Guanlao (drums) and Joe Lester (keyboards).

The band released their debut EP, Pikul, in July 2005, and their debut full-length album, Carnavas, on July 26, 2006. Their second full length album, Swoon, was released on April 14, 2009. The band's sound, often encompassing multiple overdubs of distorted guitars, is frequently compared to that of The Smashing Pumpkins, while the band members have said they are heavily influenced by artists such as My Bloody Valentine, the Velvet Underground, Elliott Smith, Sonic Youth, Sweet, Modest Mouse, and Secret Machines as well as numerous other artists with lesser publicity.

The band's debut album, Carnavas, is a solid performance and introduces us to the Pickups's characteristic style: distorted guitars, marked drumbeats, and Aubert's unmistakable vocals. The album has quite a bunch of good songs, with songs like "Lazy Eye", "Little Lover's So Polite", Future Foe Scenarios", and "Well Thought Out Twinkles" being in the spotlight. Most of this songs are similar in that they deliver distorted guitars and peculiar vocals, but out of this songs "Lazy Eye" would be the strongest one for me, as it has an amazing and addicting beat and a great guitar riff throught most of the song. The song "Well Thought Out Twinkles" stands out a bit as it delivers a purer guitar sound and loud drum beats, while "Little Lover's So Polite" shines through because of its eerie sound (mainly because of the distorted guitars).

The band's second album, Swoon, contains great songs such as "Panic Switch", "Substitution", and their latest single, "The Royal We". "Panic Switch" is probably the album's highlight with amazing vocals and the usual guitar and drums sound that characterizes the band. "Substitution" is a bit more of an upbeat song, with a somewhat lighter, happier sound, mixed with the usual vocals that make the band so peculiar.

Silversun Pickups is a band that shines in the dark because of its characteristic sound and vocals, and apparently the band is growing fast and adapting fast to the industry, without becoming a fame monster; because of this, Silversun Pickups are indiespensable.

By the way, I would like to apologize with y'all because I haven't been posting lately, and really, there's no excuse; it is my duty (with David obviously) to keep the FGI Nation rocking, so I'll try to keep it a bit more updated. Also I would like to announce that for this week the Artists of the Week (3 actually, as this is the 3rd week of March already) and The Essentials (Oasis's to be specific) will finally be posted. My apologies again and don't forget to keep on rocking!

Recommendations: March 7

By David Urtecho

This past week Carlos and I have had a lot work, so we didn’t have the time to dedicate for our beloved FGI Nation. But we will compensate it this week. So for this week’s recommendations we bring a whole new level of bands, since all the Feel Good Inc.’s recommendation are from great 90’s bands that mark a generation, more known as the Generation X. So for this 90’s recommendations we have bands as Stone Temple Pilots, Sound Garden, Radiohead, Pearl Jam and Nirvana.

Starting with Scott Weiland and company, Stone Temple Pilots offer us massive tracks on their 1^st album Core. Coming out of it “Creep” falls out as the 3^rd single, often confuse and diminish by Radiohead’s Creep.

From Sound Garden’s 4^th studio album Superunknown, the song “Black Hole Sun” that took Chris Cornell 15 minutes to write it, became their most popular song to date.

Radiohead has manage to become one of the greatest bands ever, with albums as OK Computer, The Bends, Pablo’s Honey, Kid A, well actually every Radiohead album has a different sound and each one experiments new stuff. So one song really catch my attention when I first listen to The Bends was “High and Dry”.

Well one Eddie Vedder was reading an article on a newspaper about a boy named Jeremy Wade Delle who shot himself in front of his English class on January 8, 1991. As a reaction this was a motive for Eddie to write “Jeremy” for Pearl Jam’s album Ten.

Nirvana brings the anthem for apathetic kids of the Generation X. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” actually talks by itself. You be the judge.

Well these are just some of the bands that rocked the 90’s. We hoped you liked them as we do. As usual feel free to comment. And always remember to Feel Good Inc.

And for this week bonus we have Placebo with its song “Nancy Boys”.

Top 10: Metallica

By David Urtecho
The greatest band of metal in history, Metallica, is coming to Central America this week to Costa Rica (March 7) and Guatemala (March 5), and as usual they are not coming to our beloved country, Honduras. So we know that here in the Feel Good Inc. Blog you guys are big Metallica fans as we are, so we are bringing you the FGI Top 10 Metallica for this occasion.
1. Enter Sandman
2. Cyanide
3. Master of Puppets
4. Sad But True
5. One
6. Whenever I may Roam
7. No Leaf Clover
8. The Unforgiven
9. The Day That Never Comes
10. The Unforgiven III

Well as usual hope you like it and feel free to comment and gives us your Metallicas Top 10 or favorite songs. Any recommendations you would like to see on the Top 10 soon.
Well subscribe to the blog.
“She loves me not, she loves me still, but she'll never love again”
Metallica, The Unforgiven II

The Essentials: The Killers

by: Carlos Figueroa

The Killers are an alternative rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2002. The band consists of Brandon Flowers (vocals, keyboards), Dave Keuning (guitar, vocals), Mark Stoermer (bass guitar, vocals) and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (drums, percussion). They have released 3 studio albums: Hot Fuss (2004), Sam's Town (2006), and Day & Age (2008).

The Killers is one of my favorite bands, maybe because of the quality of their songs, or the overall stage captivation Brandon gives me, but, without discussion, The Killers are one of the greatest bands out there at the moment.

Now, let me be clear, I'll focus on the MOST ESSENTIAL out of The Killers (if not I will probably fill the whole blog with a single post). So, let's begin with the beginning, Hot Fuss, the band's first album, contains my favorite song from The Killers; it is probably most people's favorite. I'm obviously talking about "Mr. Brightside". The song is unmistakable and is probably the most iconic song for this band; with its superb keyboard riff and its amazing vocoder vocals throughout most of the song, the song is perfection.

This doesn't mean that it is the only good song in the album, on the contrary, the album is packed with amazing songs, like "Smile like you mean it", "Somebody Told Me", "All These Things that I've Done", and "Jenny was a Friend of Mine".

Now, the second album, Sam's Town, I must say is a good album, but I personally don't find as great as the first and last albums. Now, don't take me wrong when I say it is not as great, that simply means the other 2 albums are a 10 each and these one is a 9... Now, my favorite song from this album is "When You Where Young", which I find extremely appealing (mainly because of the guitar riffs and the vocals). Other songs from the album that deserve to be spotlighted are "Read my Mind", "Bones", and "For Reasons Unknown".

Last, and definitively not least, my favorite of the band's albums, Day & Age. Now, I will focus on the best songs in this album: "Human", "Spaceman", "A Dustland Fairytale", and "The World That We Live In". To start of, "Human", is one of the most solid performances from the band, as it is the whole package (rhythm, guitar riffs, and vocals/lyrics). "Spaceman", I personally believe excels vocally, but lacks a little bit in the other departments. "A Dustland Fairytale" is, for me, a perfect ballad, being expressive and emotional, yet not compromising musical performance for on-stage performance. "The World That We Live In" is one of the albums most strong songs, being very unique, with its vocoder vocals (which are reminiscent of "Mr. Brightside"), marked beats, and beautiful guitar riffs.

The Killers will always be an awesome band and will always provide us with amazing music, because of their amazing career and songs, The Killers are an essential.

Artist of the Month: Liam Gallagher

by: Carlos Figueroa

William John Paul "Liam" Gallagher (born 21 September 1972 in Burnage, Manchester) is an English musician and songwriter best known as the lead singer, and occasional instrumentalist, of English rock band Oasis. One of the figureheads of the 1990s Britpop movement, Gallagher's erratic behavior, distinctive singing style, and abrasive attitude have been the subject of commentary in the press. He remains one of the most recognisable figures in modern British music. Although his elder brother Noel Gallagher wrote the majority of Oasis's songs, Liam has penned the singles "Songbird" and "I'm Outta Time", along with a number of album tracks and B-sides.

Since Noel Gallagher's departure from Oasis in August 2009, Liam has said he will continue making music with ex-Oasis members Gem Archer, Andy Bell, drummer Chris Sharrock and keyboard player Jay Darlington.

Gallagher was born in Burnage, Manchester, and is the third and final child of Irish parents Thomas and Peggy Gallagher. Thomas was often violently abusive to his family. Although his older brothers Noel and Paul took the most abuse, Liam has said that the abuse affected him deeply and inspired him to become an artist - his true inspiration in life coming from his love of Manchester City Football Club. When Liam was 10, Peggy took the boys and moved away from Tommy. Although Liam maintained sporadic contact with his father throughout his teens, he says that today their issues remain unresolved.

Paul and Noel often contend that even from a young age, Liam went out of his way to antagonise people, especially Noel, with whom he shared a room. The Gallagher brothers were troubled children, especially in their teens. Liam was expelled from school at age 15 for fighting, and would often steal bicycles from local shops.

Noel Gallagher has said that Liam showed little interest in music until his late teens. Liam became confident in his abilities to sing and began listening to bands like The Stone Roses, The Who, The Kinks, The Jam, T.Rex and The Beatles. In the process he forged a life-long obsession with John Lennon; Liam would later claim to be Lennon re-incarnated. When school friend Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan, invited Gallagher to join his band, The Rain, as a vocalist, he agreed.

Liam was the band's co-song writer, along with guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs. Noel Gallagher has since openly mocked this writing partnership, describing them as being "just awful"; even Liam admits that "We were shit". The band only rehearsed one day a week and didn't get many gigs. It was after one of their rare shows in 1992, that Noel, having recently returned from touring America as a roadie with Inspiral Carpets, saw them perform. Although Noel disliked the band, Liam asked him to join and Noel agreed on the condition that he be the sole songwriter, ending Liam and Bonehead's songwriting partnership. Noel later went on to say "If you think some of my early stuff is bad, you should have heard the stuff that those two were coming out with." It was around this time that Liam pushed for the band name to change to Oasis.

Liam's voice has been compared to a blend of John Lennon and John Lydon while Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine dubbed him "the best singer in rock". In 2006, Q magazine voted Gallagher the 11th best singer of all time, citing songs such as "Live Forever", "Lyla", "Don't Go Away" and "Champagne Supernova" as examples of his best work.

Since the early days of Oasis, Liam Gallagher's stage presence has become iconic in its own right. His "singing pose" is instantly recognisable, and entails him standing with a bent knee, body bent towards one side, hands either clasped behind his back, down by his side or in rarer occasions in his front pockets, with his neck craning up towards a mic that is set high and angled downwards. Gallagher also ensures that the microphone comes in the closest contact with him between his upper lip and nose, rather than directly in front of the mouth as is the case with most singers. On the Definitely Maybe DVD, Gallagher revealed that the reason he sings with his arms behind his back is because it allows him to project more power through his voice. In very early Oasis shows until about 1994, Gallagher can be seen touching the microphone with one hand, but still employing his usual singing posture with the rest of his body.

*On a side note, I decided to simply change the name of the post this time simply because of time reasons. It WILL NOT become a trend! For future Artists of the Month, they will get a small little post honoring them as the Artist of the Month and a slideshow for them too.

Top 10: Soda Stereo

By David Urtecho
After making the Top 10 of the greatest band ever, The Beatles it was very hard to choose a band that could be epic as well. So for this week’s Top 10 we have the Argentinean Rock N’ Roll Trio Soda Stereo, Gustavo Cerati (vocals and guitar), Zeta Bosio (bassist) and Charly Alberti (drums) that surely is one of the greatest bands in the world. So making this list was very difficult, so The FGI had to ask help from its friend’s Dani Carias from Madrid Total and Eric Hoffmaister.
Starting with:
1) Entre Caníbales
2) La Ciudad de La Furia
3) De Música Ligera
4) Ella Uso mi Cabeza como un Revolver
5) Disco Eterno
6) Prófugos
7) Nada Personal
8) Signos
9) Ángel Eléctrico
10) Te para Tres

So be sure to comment if you like it or not this week’s Top 10, and give us your Soda Stereo’s Top Ten.

Recommendations: Feb. 27

By David Urtecho
For this week’s recommendations The FGI brings you highly selected songs that don’t have the recognition they deserve. Including songs from Counting Crows (they being the most known), Empire of the Sun, The Arcade Fire, and Orson.

Counting Crows is an American band that in their debut album (August and Everything After)

 in 1994 released “Mr. Jones” as their first single and most famous song to date.  

Empire of the Sun is an Australian duo formed in 2006. Their first album Walking on a Dream, who was release on October 2008, which include as a second single “We are the People”.

The Canadian indie rock band The Arcade Fire gives us one their masterpiece album, Funeral, that released 5 singles out of which “Rebellion (Lies)” became their most successful song.

And finally the band Orson with their song “No Tomorrow”, from their 2006 album Bright Idea.

Bonus:

Here in the FGI we know that you deserve more so we decided that we’ll leave this awesome song by our 4 animated musicians, Gorillaz, with their brand new single from their new album Plastic Beach. This is “Stylo”, Electric is the Love.

And remember not to be afraid to get in, The Feel Inc.

Please feel free to add a comment.

On a side note...

For those who like rock music, the Feel Good Inc. is the right place to be. But let's be real, most people are not limited to liking just one good thing; if you are awesome enough to like rock music as we do, it is very likely that you like other awesome things in the world too.

A great example of an awesome thing to like is soccer, but, most people have a favorite soccer team, don't they? And, keeping with the trend of liking awesome things, what team can be more awesome than Real Madrid? Luckily, our friends Dani C. and EJ Melgar have chosen to write about Real Madrid, much for the acclaim of us Madridistas. So, what are you waiting for! Visit Madrid Total now!

Keep on rocking!
--Carlos

Artist of the Week: Hayley Williams

by: Carlos Figueroa

Well, you'll ask why do we have 2 artists of the week in one week. Well, simple: because there was no artist of the week last week! Hayley Nichole Williams (born December 27, 1988) is an American rock singer and songwriter. She is the lead vocalist and keyboardist of the rock band Paramore.

In 2002, at the age of 13, Williams moved from her hometown Meridian, Mississippi, to Franklin, Tennessee, where she met fellow band members Josh Farro and Zac Farro in school. Shortly after arriving, she began taking vocal lessons with Brett Manning. While still in school, she tried out for a local funk cover band called The Factory where she met Jeremy Davis. In 2005, John Janick, founder of record label Fueled by Ramen, signed a contract with them.

Williams is a guest singer on "Fallen" by Death In the Park (which she has occasionally performed live with the band), "Then Came to Kill" by The Chariot, "Keep Dreaming Upside Down" by October Fall, "Tangled Up" by New Found Glory, and "The Church Channel" and "Plea" by Say Anything, and "The Few That Remain" by Set Your Goals, and appeared in the music video for "Kiss Me" by New Found Glory.

In the 2007, Kerrang! Readers' Poll she finished second to Evanescence's Amy Lee in the "Sexiest Female" category, going on to win the first place spot for "Sexiest Female" a year later in the 2008 poll, and again in the 2009 poll. She also appears as a playable character in the video game Guitar Hero World Tour. On October 2, brand new eyes tour, it was announced that a few tour dates were postponed due to Hayley Williams becoming infected with laryngitis.

Williams also stated that her favorite bands include Saves the Day, mewithoutYou, Slick Shoes, The Chariot, Now Now Every Children, No Doubt, Fireworks, Set Your Goals, Tegan and Sara, New Found Glory, H2O, Lemuria, The Swellers.

Paramore was created in Franklin, Tennessee in 2004, with Hayley Williams (lead vocals/keyboards) alongside Josh Farro (lead guitar/backing vocals), Jeremy Davis (bass guitar) and Zac Farro (drums). Prior to forming Paramore, the other members of what was soon to be Paramore had been "edgy about the whole female thing" of having Williams as singer, but as they were good friends she began writing with them and eventually became a member. The band has released three studio albums, All We Know Is Falling, Riot!, and Brand New Eyes as well as two live albums and one EP. In June 2009, the band welcomed Taylor York (rhythm guitar) as an official member, although he had already been playing as a touring member with the band since 2007.

By the way, for your information, the next artist of the week will be Liam Gallagher, lead singer of the British rock band Oasis (also Oasis will be featured as one of the next 'Essentials'). Also, as a general rule in the FGI Nation, we'll try to post the artists of the week on SATURDAYS. Nevertheless, the poll for February's Artist of the Month will be put up starting today (to give y'all time to vote), so start voting!

Artist of the Week: Jared Leto

by: Carlos Figueroa

Jared Leto (born December 26, 1971) is an American actor and musician. He has appeared in films such as Fight Club, Girl, Interrupted, Panic Room, American Psycho, Requiem for a Dream, Lord of War, and Chapter 27, but really, that's not the reason he's the artist of the week! He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and main-songwriter for the American rock band 30 Seconds to Mars.

Well, before I start talking about Jared, I guess I'll explain why I decided making this Artist of the Week Section. First of All, 30 Seconds to Mars's latest album, This is War, has been my most listened album in the week, especially because of the song "Kings and Queens". The second reason is because I (and David) would like to have a little bit of feedback from the readers (and of course our followers). Our proposal is nominating an artist of the week every week (that sounds a little redundant) and then, at the end of the month, have our readers vote for the artist of the month.

Now, back on Jared, I will start with a little bit of his biography. Leto was born in Bossier City, Louisiana. During his childhood, Leto and his family—his mother, Constance, and his older brother Shannon Leto—moved frequently, living in Louisiana, Wyoming, Colorado, Virginia, and even Haiti.

After dropping out briefly in the 10th grade, Jared decided to return and focus on his education at Flint Hill School in Oakton, Virginia. He graduated from the prep school Emerson Preparatory School, in Washington, DC in 1989. When he finished school, Leto enrolled at Philadelphia's University of the Arts to pursue his interests in painting. However, he then transferred to the private-held, School of Visual Arts in New York City after developing an interest in acting.

Now, I will not get into Jared's acting career (which I consider magnificent by the way) because in the FGI Nation we want to focus on music, so, I will skip directly into his career as a member of 30 Seconds to Mars.

Jared Leto is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and sole songwriter of the band 30 Seconds to Mars. He started the band in 1998 with his brother, Shannon Leto, who is the band's drummer. The band has released three full-length albums: the eponymous debut 30 Seconds to Mars, 2005's A Beautiful Lie and 2009's This Is War. They began opening for other bands and started their first headlining tour, Forever Night Never Day, in March 2006. In May 2007, the band started touring Europe.

In August 2008, Virgin Records filed a $30 million lawsuit against Jared and 30 Seconds to Mars, claiming the band refused to deliver three albums as required by its contract. According to the lawsuit, the band "repudiated" a 1999 contract in July. In late April 2009 the lawsuit with EMI was annulled and 30 Seconds To Mars decided to re-sign with Virgin Records. Their third album This Is War was released on December 8, 2009, while the first single, "Kings and Queens" premiered Tuesday, October 6, 2009. "This is War" is the second single of the album.

Leto directed the videos for the songs "The Kill", "From Yesterday" and "Kings and Queens" under the alias of Bartholomew Cubbins, and "A Beautiful Lie" under the alias of Angakok Panipaq.

For most shows, Leto uses either one of two custom-made Steve McSwain guitars, a white one called "Pythagoras" or a black one called "Artemis". The guitars: one a baritone and the other with a 25 1/2" scale length, have the image of a gryphon which he drew for McSwain. Occasionally he plays a white Gibson SG 61' Reissue as seen in the video for "A Beautiful Lie". Jared also plays a Gibson Maestro acoustic guitar for acoustic performances. Jared uses Mesa/Boogie amps, more specifically the Triple Rectifier model and matches them with Mesa/Boogie speaker cabinets as well.

Indiespensables: Death Cab for Cutie

by: Carlos Figueroa

Death Cab for Cutie is an indie rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1997. The band consists of Benjamin Gibbard (vocals, guitar), Chris Walla (guitar, production), Nick Harmer (bass) and Jason McGerr (drums). The band has released 7 studio albums, but for this indiespensable I will focus on the band's last 3 albums only (although you should still have the band's first albums as indiespensables): Transatlanticism (2003), Plans (2005), and Narrow Stairs (2008).

From Transatlanticism I would point out songs such as "The New Year", "Title and Registration", and "A Lack of Color". Now, from the Plans, I would like to put some songs in the spotlight. First of all, the song "Soul Meets Body" is a song I really enjoy, as I find it very relaxing with its chilly vocals and guitar strumming. There are other songs I also find very relaxing, for example, "Summer Skin", with all its drumbeats and "I Will Follow You into the Dark", which I simply praise for its simple, smooth vocals. Now, "Crooked Teeth" is one of my favorites from this album-- its simple guitar riffs and drumbeats make it one of the most enjoyable songs in the album.

Narrow Stairs, is in my opinion the best of Death Cab's albums. With songs like "I Will Posses your Heart", characterized by its instrumental part (its basically the whole song), yet it is a very good beat and melody. "Cath...", one of my favorites in the album, can be best described as a piano tune song, going very slowly and pacing up just a tad near the middle and end of the song. "Long Division" and "Grapevine Fires" are probably the best in the album, and are a total indiespensable in anyones music library.

Now, a song that really deserves to be spotlighted in my opinion is "Meet Me on the Equinox", even though it is not from one of the band's albums. Just like the song "Decode" from Paramore, this song is in the Twilight Saga: New Moon Soundtrack. The song has a melody that portrays a very eerie mood and has a sort of hypnotizing feel, with lyrics that definitively go along with this feel.

Death Cab for Cutie is a really enjoyable band and is a real basic for anyone who knows the least about indie rock. In the realm of indie, Death Cab for Cutie ranks up as one of the most indiespensable of indie.

The Essentials: Paramore

By: Carlos Figueroa

I must start by saying that this is one of my favorite essentials up to now, as Paramore is one of my favorite bands. As we all know, Paramore is an alternative rock band formed in 2004 in Franklin, Tennessee with its members being lead vocalist and keyboardist Hayley Williams, lead guitarist Josh Farro, bassist Jeremy Davis, drummer Zac Farro, and rhythm guitarist Taylor York. The band currently has released 3 albums: All We Know is Falling(2005), Riot! (2007), and their latest album Brand New Eyes(2009).

A big part of the band’s characteristic sound is Hayley Williams’s voice (which in my opinion is one of the best female voices at the moment) but also her songwriting and especially her image, whether it is as the spunky red-head or the innocent-looking blonde, Hayley makes the band unmistakable. Also, the other band members keep up to Hayley exceptionally, providing some of the most amazing with amazing riffs, solos, and beats.

As a result of the mixture of glorious vocals and amazing lyrics with perfect sound, Paramore delivers excellent songs in each of their albums. From their debut album, All We Know is Falling we have songs such as “Never Let This Go” and “My Heart”, which are one of the album’s slower tunes, with marked beats and a wide range of vocals. Songs such as “Emergency” are the epitome of Hayley’s vocal capacity, as throughout the song she progressively passes from low, deep vocals to high, emotion-filled vocals, while songs like “Pressure” are characterized by amazing guitar riffs and a solid beat.

In the band’s second studio album, Riot!, the band simply gives us an avalanche of amazing songs, with songs like “Misery Business”, “Crushcrushcrush”, “That’s What You Get”, “Hallelujah”, “For a Pessimist I’m Pretty Optimistic”, and “When It Rains” being in the spotlight for their amazing lyrics (especially “Misery Business” and “When It Rains”), music and rhythm (as in “That’s What You Get”) , and vocals.

A song that deserves to be spotlighted is “Decode”, song that was released as part of the Twilight movie soundtrack. The song has an amazing riff, powerful drumbeats, and amazing vocals by Hayley, ranging from mellow vocals to high power vocals. Also, on a side note, the song’s lyrics and overall feel adapt very well to the movie’s plot, as it can be seen clearly in the song’s chorus.

Last but definitively not least, Brand New Eyes, the band's latest album, has some of the band's most solid songs and my favorite Paramore song: "Brick by Boring Brick". Now, this song is simply my favorite because it integrates melody, voice, and lyrics perfectly; it has awesome guitar riffs and solos, Hayley's power singing through most of the song, and lyrics I would kill for, especially because of simple hook (you know, "Ba da ba ba da da ba da") and chorus ("Well, go get your shovel and we'll dig a deep hole, to bury the castle, bury the castle"). This doesn't mean this is the only good song from the album, songs like "Ignorance", "Stuck on You", "Misguided Ghosts", "Playing God", and "The Only Exception" are also excellent.

Paramore is a band that performs solidly in all the aspects that make up a good band, while being very original and unmistakable, characteristics that make it deserve the place as an Essential.