The Taking Notes Music Tour

As we have mentioned in the past, we have recently obtained official media credentials.  I have found a way to utilize this in a way that greatly benefits our readers.  From March 2013 through the end of Summer 2013 (Dates TBA) Taking Notes will be working with some of the biggest names in the music industry.  We will be providing you all with exclusive content regarding the biggest tours of 2013.  We have spent the last few months working extremely hard to make this happen.  You may have noticed that we have not been posting as often as we used to.  This will all change very soon, as we have finalized all of the details concerning The Taking Notes Music Tour.  

All of the content that will come out of The Taking Notes Music Tour will be completely one-of-a-kind.     On the internet, it is easy to find information about the details of your favorite artist's tour.  However, it isn't as easy to read about what would be important to you.  Why should you go to this concert?  We will tell you.  We will give specifics about what happens at each of these concerts, while giving you unique information about the music scene in North Carolina.  Our headquarters are based in Charlotte, North Carolina, so The Taking Notes Music Tour will focus on this region.  That doesn't mean there won't be any surprised ;)

Below, you will find a list of all of the performers that have decided to be a part of this exciting event!  We sincerely hope you enjoy this remarkable event.

*DWilliams*

The Taking Notes Music Tour!

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• Taylor Swift (Time Warner Cable Arena) - March 22
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• Passion Pit (Belk Arena) - March 24
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• NEEDTOBREATHE (Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheater) - April 13
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• Bob Seger & The Silver Bullett Band (Time Warner Cable Arena) - April 22
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• Bob Dylan (Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheater) - May 1
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• Imagine Dragons (Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheater) - May 7
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• Crosby, Stills, & Nash (Ovens Auditorium) - May 19
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• Paramore (The Fillmore Charlotte) - May 20
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• Darius Rucker (Greensboro Coliseum) - May 30
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• Earth, Wind, & Fire (Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheater) - June 9
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• The xx (Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheater) - June 15
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• Grizzly Bear (Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheater) - June 15
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• Fleetwood Mac (Time Warner Cable Arena) - June 24 
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• Dave Matthews Band (Verizon Wireless Amphitheater Charlotte) - July 24
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• Bruno Mars (Time Warner Cable Arena) - August 21
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• Jimmy Buffett (TO BE DETERMINED)
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• fun.  - (TO BE DETERMINED)
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More Dates Coming Soon!!

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Breaking News: Beyonce Released Her First New Song From Upcoming Album

This literally just happened.  On her SoundCloud account, Beyonce has just released her first new song in anticipation of her latest album, which is due out sometime this year.  The song is called "Bow Down/I Been On.  I haven't even listened to it more than once, but we wanted to share this with the fans of Taking Notes as soon as possible.  After just one listen, I don't have a good feeling about "Bow Down."  It is very different from the Modern R&B genre that Beyonce usually sings.  Right now, I'm really disappointed.  We might edit this post tomorrow with a full Song of the Day-Style review of this song.  

This is what I know so far:

The artwork for this single was posted on Beyonce's Instagram account.  We also know that it was produced by Hit-Boy.  He is the man behind some of the biggest songs in the mainstream music industry right now.  He has worked with Beyonce's husband, Jay-Z, on his hit song "N****** in Paris" with Kanye West.  The song is definitely more risqué than the public image she has built due to her appearances singing the national anthem and performing at the Super Bowl. 

All we are trying to do right now is share this exciting new music with all of our readers.  We have embedded the SoundCloud track in this article so you can tell us your opinion of new song.  Do you like it?  Does this song make you excited for her upcoming album release?  Let us know everything in the comment section below!!

Click Here to Like Taking Notes Music Reviews on Facebook!

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The 20/20 Experience - Justin Timberlake

In case you didn't know, this album does not release to the general public until March 19th.  However, we at Taking Notes have gotten our hands on a copy before its scheduled release date!  Our review won't go live until sometime around the scheduled release date.  This is because we would like to listen to the official release also.  For all we know, the copy we received may be an early press release that contains some important differences from the version you will all hear.  We are expecting to have an exciting couple of weeks here at TNMR, so stay tuned.  I know that is a lot to ask after our  unannounced periods of inactivity (We will explain all of that nonsense soon).

I'm not going to reveal too much here, but we are planning on working some of the biggest names in the music industry in the next few months.  This list of artists include Taylor Swift, Passion Pit, and Eric Clapton.  The full list, with dates, will be announced this week.  

Stay tuned for a great review of the most anticipated album of the year! This is the place where you will find the full length review, as soon as it is published.

Click Here to Like Taking Notes Music Reviews on Facebook!

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Artist of the Month

We are going to be starting something new at Taking Notes.  Artist of the Month will be a way for us to introduce you to rising stars in the music industry and a way to support local music.  Our headquarters are based in Charlotte, NC, so we will start by introducing you to our favorite musicians in the Charlotte area.   We will also be utilizing the music player you find on our home page, with the artists from this segment.  If you or someone you know wants to be a part of Artist of the Month, let us know in the comment section and we will guide you in the right direction.  For the month of March, our featured artist is Daniel Quisol.

Daniel is a talented musician from the Charlotte Area.  We first heard Daniel while performing with his band, Güder.  But we were pleasantly surprised when we came across his solo material on SoundCloud.com.  However, before his role in Guder, he focused on his position in the band, Golden Boy.  They played many shows throughout the Charlotte area in 2012, including the live benefit concert, BARNSTOCK.  Golden Boy consisted of three high school classmates: Colin Thomas, Bo McMillan, and Daniel Quisol.

Daniel plays multiple instruments and is a very talented songwriter as well.  We absolutely love Güder, but we are focusing on Daniel due to his solo work, that can be found on SoundCloud.  His songs have been listened to nearly 2000 times!  We will let his music illustrate the rest of the details, so we have included many ways to experience it below.  You will find various SoundCloud widgets, photos, YouTube videos, and whatever else we can find below.  Please let us know what you think of Daniel's music!

Be sure to keep up with all of Daniel's endeavors on his personal Facebook page:  DQ's Studio Productions

Click HERE to Like Golden Boy on Facebook!
Click HERE to Like Güder on Facebook!
Click HERE to Like DQ's Studio Productions!
Click HERE to view Daniel's SoundCloud page!

Golden Boy

Daniel's cover of the Ed Sheeran song, The A Team

One of the First Güder Performances Ever....VERY Good.

(Güder From Left to Right) - Sharad Wertheimer, Joseph Quisol, Walker Smith, Jameil Moore, Daniel Quisol

Check Out Golden Boy's Montage Music Video!

UPDATE: It is the first time that we will be using our custom music player, and we are experiencing some complications.  We will have it fully functioning soon!

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Two For Tuesday Playlist

Independent Music (often referred to as "Indie Music") has seen tremendous growth over the past few years.  Indie artists are those who independently record and produce music instead of using a large commercial record label.  Somehow, over the years this has developed into a genre of music.  All indie artists do not have the same sound.  When people refer to a song as being "indie" they are most likely talking about a kind of alternative rock music.  Today's genre is "indie pop".  We have had the pleasure of working personally with one of the biggest names in this genre.  We can't be any more specific than that at this point, but tomorrow we will share it all with you.  Indie Pop originated in the 1980s in the United Kingdom, with the help of The Smiths.  Indie Pop differs from its Indie Rock counterpart by being more melodic and less corrosive.  I hope you enjoy todays Two For Tuesday Playlist.

[If you do not use Spotify, the track list for the Playlist will be posted tomorrow evening for your viewing]

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Grammy Predictions

This post shouldn't need much of an explanation. We chose some of the most important awards at the Grammys and chose who we think will be the winners.  I also wanted to thank all of you who participated in the first poll.  Below, you will see a list of the nominees for the categories we chose to predict.  The nominee that we think will win, will be highlighted and in bold.  While you watch the show on Sunday, you can follow along with our predictions so you can see if we were correct!  I hope you enjoy my list of predictions for the 2013 Grammy Awards.

Record Of The Year

Lonely Boy - The Black Keys

Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Kelly Clarkson

We Are Young - Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe

Somebody That I Used to Know - Gotye Featuring Kimbra

Thinkin Bout You - Frank Ocean

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together - Taylor Swift

Album Of The Year

El Camino - The Black Keys

Some Nights - Fun.

Babel - Mumford & Sons

Channel Orange - Frank Ocean

Blunderbuss - Jack White

Song Of The Year

The A Team - Ed Sheeran, songwriter (Ed Sheeran)

Adorn - Miguel Pimentel, songwriter (Miguel)

Call Me Maybe - Tavish Crowe, Carly Rae Jepsen & Josh Ramsay, songwriters (Carly Rae Jepsen)

Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Jörgen Elofsson, David Gamson, Greg Kurstin & Ali Tamposi, songwriters (Kelly Clarkson)

We Are Young - Jack Antonoff, Jeff Bhasker, Andrew Dost & Nate Ruess, songwriters (Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe)

Best New Artist

Alabama Shakes

Fun.

Hunter Hayes - (Winner of the Reader Vote)

The Lumineers

Frank Ocean

Best Rock Album

El Camino - The Black Keys

Mylo Xyloto - Coldplay

The 2nd Law - Muse

Wrecking Ball - Bruce Springsteen

Blunderbuss - Jack White

Best Rap Performance

HYFR (Hell Ya F***** Right) - Drake Featuring Lil' Wayne

N****s In Paris - Jay-z & Kanye West

Daughters - Nas

Mercy - Kanye West featuring Big Sean, Pusha T & 2 Chainz

I Do - Young Jeezy featuring Jay-z & André 3000

Best Country Song

Blown Away - Josh Kear & Chris Tompkins, songwriters (Carrie Underwood)

Cost Of Livin' - Phillip Coleman & Ronnie Dunn, songwriters (Ronnie Dunn)

Even If It Breaks Your Heart - Will Hoge & Eric Paslay, songwriters (Eli Young Band)

So You Don't Have To Love Me Anymore - Jay Knowles & Adam Wright, songwriters (Alan Jackson)

Springsteen - Eric Church, Jeff Hyde & Ryan Tyndell, songwriters (Eric Church)

Best Country Album

Uncaged - Zac Brown Band

Hunter Hayes - Hunter Hayes

Living For A Song: A Tribute To Hank Cochran - Jamey Johnson

Four The Record - Miranda Lambert

The Time Jumpers - The Time Jumpers

Best Pop Solo Performance

Set Fire To The Rain [live] - Adele

Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) - Kelly Clarkson

Call Me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen

Wide Awake - Katy Perry

Where Have You Been - Rihanna

Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

Shake It Out - Florence & the Machine

We Are Young - Fun. featuring Janelle Monáe

Somebody That I Used To Know - Gotye Featuring Kimbra

Sexy And I Know It - LMFAO

Payphone - Maroon 5 & Wiz Khalifa

Best Rap Album

Take Care - Drake

Food & Liquor II: The Great American Rap Album, Pt. 1 - Lupe Fiasco

Life Is Good - Nas

Undun - The Roots

God Forgives, I Don't - Rick Ross

Based On A T.r.u. Story - 2 Chainz

Best Dance Recording

Levels - Avicii

Let's Go - Calvin Harris Featuring Ne-yo

Bangarang - Skrillex Featuring Sirah

Don't You Worry Child - Swedish House Mafia Featuring John Martin

I Can't Live Without You - Al Walser

Best Dance/Electronica Album

Wonderland - Steve Aoki

Don't Think - The Chemical Brothers

>Album Title Goes Here< - Deadmau5

Fire & Ice - Kaskade

Bangarang - Skrillex

Best Rock Song

Freedom At 21 - Jack White, songwriter (Jack White)

I Will Wait - Ted Dwane, Ben Lovett, Winston Marshall & Marcus Mumford, songwriters (mumford & Sons)

Lonely Boy - Dan Auerbach, Brian Burton & Patrick Carney, songwriters (the Black Keys)

Madness - Matthew Bellamy, songwriter (Muse)

We Take Care Of Our Own - Bruce Springsteen, songwriter (Bruce Springsteen)

Short Form Music Video

Houdini - Foster The People | Daniels, Video Directors; Gaetano Crupi, Video Producer

No Church In The Wild - Jay-Z & Kanye West Featuring Frank Ocean & The-Dream | Romain Gervais, Video Director; Mourad Belkeddan, Video Producer

Bad Girls - M.I.A | Romain Gavras, Video Director; Romain Gavras, Video Producer

We Found Love - Rihanna Featuring Calvin Harris | Melina Matsoukas, Video Director; Juliette Larthe & Ben Sullivan, Video Producers

Run Boy Run - Woodkid | Yoann Lemoine, Video Director; Roman Pichon, Video Producer

Our Grammy Prediction Playlist:

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Mumford & Sons - Babel

Yesterday we reviewed Frank Ocean's debut album, Channel Orange.  With that review, we decided to  format in in a different way.  We received mixed reviews from our audience.  Therefore, we are going to try again today, with some minor changes.  After today, let us know what you would prefer to read in the future.  We really appreciate all of your feedback and we hope you enjoy todays review.

Babel is the second album released by Mumford & Sons.  This album was released in September of last year to incredible reception.  Their debut album, Sigh No More, was the third most downloaded album of 2011, even though it was released in 2008.  Sign No More has sold over 2.5 million copies.  After their incredible breakthrough album, there was a lot of anticipation and pressure for the release of their follow up album.  Sigh No More may be one of the best albums of the decade, so it would be very difficult to outdo themselves on their sophomore record.  

Even with all of the ridiculous expectations that were set for them, Babel was a huge success.  It debuted at number one in both the UK and the US and sold of 750,000 copies in its first week!  That made it the fastest selling album of 2012 in the United Kingdom.  The album is nominated for four Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year.  

The album starts off with the title track, "Babel".  This song represents the changes the band has made over the time in between their two records.  This album is far more powerful and smoother than its predecessor.  This song is so crisp, it flies past the quality of Sigh No More's sound.  I'm not saying that Sigh No More was of poor sound quality, but their latest album is exceptionally well done.  The second song, "Whispers in the Dark", shows off the other new side of Mumford & Sons.  This song exhibits Marcus Mumford's abilities as a songwriter.  It's a new flavor of the band that we hadn't seen on their previous album.

Other stand out songs include "Reminder" and "Broken Crown".  "Reminder" is a slower song that comes in at only 2 minutes.  It is a song of disappearing love that is simple, but one of the most moving on the album.  "Broken Crown" is one of the album's best songs.  It starts off slow and suspenseful and builds up to an incredibly powerful final two minutes.  From Mumford's intense vocals to the banjo that is consistent in most Mumford & Sons' songs, this was a fantastic song.  Additionally, this is the requisite single that features a vehement F-bomb.  On Sigh No More, the song "Little Lion Man" earned this honor.  

Mumford & Sons' British indie rock style is one that before their debut, was unheard of.  After their success, many bands have attempted to mock their unique style. *cough-Phillip Phillips-cough*  However, none have been able to achieve the amount of triumph Mumford & Sons have earned.  There is not another band that can compete with Mumford in the genre of Modern Folk music.  This is easily one of the best albums of 2012 and my favorite to win the category of Album of the Year.

Top 5 Songs From Babel

1. Babel

2. I Will Wait

3. Babel

4. Lover of the Light

5. Ghosts That We Knew

5. The Boxer (feat. Jerry Douglas & Paul Simon) [Bonus Track]

Listen to Babel on Spotify:

Buy Babel on iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/babel-deluxe-edition/id548698631

Do you have any suggestions that you want to share with us?  Which style of reviews do you prefer? Let us know in the comments section below!!

CLICK HERE TO LIKE US ON FACEBOOK!!!!!!

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Frank Ocean - Channel Orange

This will be our first album review since early January, and we are going to try something a little different.  A few of our viewers have requested that we change our format for album reviews.  Our album reviews are our best feature in the eyes of many readers.  The complaint we were getting was that when we review longer albums, the reviews become so long, it becomes boring.  In contrast, more people read our album reviews than any other type of article.  We thought that just for today, we would try a new format for reviewing this album.  Please let us know which format you prefer!

Channel Orange is the debut album from American singer/songwriter, Frank Ocean.  Frank has been nominated for a few Grammys this year, including Best New Artist, Record of the Year, and Album of the Year.  This is a great achievement for an artist who has only been on the scene since 2011.  He is my favorite to win the Best New Artist category, but you'll have to wait until Friday for the rest of the list!

This album has a distinctive style that contains influences from hip-hop, R&B, soul, and psychedelic music.  In my opinion, Frank Ocean is one of the most talented modern artists.  His songwriting abilities are reminiscent of some of the best in history, especially in the way he can tell a story.  His music is as relative to modern youth as Buddy Holly was in the 1950s!  This creates an overwhelming sensation of desire.  When I first heard this album in July, 2012, I was genuinely astonished by the quality of this record.  It was definitely not the experience I was planning on having.  Listening to this album put me in a trance that I just didn't want to depart from.

This is a beautiful album that requires patience and attention to completely understand.  This is the kind of album that you have to listen to more than once.  The lead single off of the album, "Thinking Bout You", is one of the best on the album.  It evokes feelings of regret and sorrow, somehow in a subtle manner.  It shows off Ocean's incredible falsetto ability, as well as his incredible songwriting abilities.  The song peaked at number 32 on the Billboard Hot 100, which came as a surprise to me only because of the unconventional genre of the song.

I think this was one of the best albums of 2012 and it has the chance to win Album of the Year on Sunday.  I actually told my father that I thought Frank Ocean would win Best New Artist way back in 2011 when he released the mix tape, Nostalgia, Ultra.  He is one of my favorite artists of the year and I  am rooting for him this Grammy season!  

Top 5 Songs From Channel Orange

1. Thinking Bout You (9/10)

2. Pyramids (10/10)

3. Super Rich Kids (8/10)

4. Lost (8/10)

5. Sweet Life (7/10)

Listen to Channel Orange on Spotify:

Buy Channel Orange on iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/channel-orange/id541953504

Hopefully you all enjoyed our experimental format for album reviews.  Let us know if you want to see more of these kinds of reviews, or more track-by-track reviews!

CLICK HERE TO LIKE US ON FACEBOOK!

Stay tuned for more Grammy coverage all week!!

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Daily Polls

Just a quick note about a new feature for Grammy Week!  On the right hand side of your screen, you will now find a section for polls.  Each day leading up to the Grammys there will be a new poll that asks about a different category.  Today's category is Best New Artist.  We will announce all of your predictions on the Monday after the Grammy Awards.  I hope you enjoy this fun new addition to Taking Notes Music Reviews!

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Celebrate the Grammy's With Taking Notes!!

This coming Sunday is the 55th Grammy Awards.  This is one of the most exciting days in music.  And we will be spending this week getting ready for this weekend's ceremony.  Unfortunately, we will not be at the show, even with our official Press Credentials.  Make sure you check Taking Notes for some exclusive material, regarding this year's Grammy Awards.  Here is our schedule for this week, leading up to the Grammys on Sunday.

Wednesday and Thursday

--Each day we will do a full review of an album that is up for the award of Album Of The Year.

Friday

--We will release our highly anticipated list of predictions for all of the most important categories.

Saturday

--We will review two songs that are nominated for the award of Song and Record of the Year.

Sunday (!!!!!)

--When the big day finally arrives, we will be ready.  We will be posting throughout the day about all of the news that comes out the day of the show. 

--As soon as the coverage on CBS begins, we will be live-blogging the ENTIRE EVENT!

We Have A Very Exciting Week Ahead of Us, so Stick With TAKING NOTES!!!

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