Saturday, December 31, 2016

Vinyl Unboxing: Air For Free (MSSS Series, Part 1)

Now that all the little added extras to the blog are finally up and don't need my full attention, I can dedicate my time to writing more about the guys, their music, and their merch. Today's post is all about Air For Free on vinyl, and it's the start of a little four part series I'm going to call the "Merch Store Shopping Spree" series.

This is something I've wanted to write about for a long time, and now that I have a record player I can finally do it!

I ordered this vinyl along with some other goodies on December 26th and received my package on December 30. I don't think I've ever been so inpatient in my life.

The 2LP 180 gram white vinyl come packaged in a gatefold jacket along with an insert that features photos of the guys and the Air For Free primary color dots, and a digital download card.

Front and Back

Inside

180 gram 2LP vinyl

Inside Notes

Front and Back of the Insert


The track listing is different than the CD, and is as follows:

Side A:
Local Construction
Bummin'
Marigold
Runnin'

Side B:
Mrs. Hippopotamuses
Cat
Elephant Parade
Man

Side C:
Air For Free
God
Prodigal
Empty House

Side D:
Mountaintop
Sleepin'
Flower
Heartache

Matt Hoopes said a lot of time was spent sequencing the vinyl album. Songs on each side are specifically grouped to give the album a nice flow and allow for quick listening sessions. Personally, this is one of my favorite features of the album. It almost reminds me of how Forget and Not Slow Down goes from one track to another with connecting intros/outros. It all just clicks and works.

As for the tracks that really stood out upon the initial listening, all I really want to talk about Empty House.

Empty House was one of the tracks that really hit me. Hearing any song or album on vinyl is an experience in an of itself, but with a song like Empty House? For me it was like no other. I've heard the song numerous times, and it's one of my favorites, but the first time hearing it on vinyl reduced me to tears. The simple piano track paired with the autotuned vocals just convey this feeling that's like no other. It's a truly moving song, even though I still don't have a clue as to what's sung in half of the first verse.

In the end I just want to say this is an amazing album. Each song is of the highest quality and they all sound spectacular on vinyl. If you haven't listened to it yet, please do! And for those of you who haven't bought the vinyl but want to hear it in the same sequencing as the vinyl, check out Relient K's Spotify playlist here.

Hope you guys have a great New Year's. See you then!

Don't blink,
Sahara

PS: I'm uploading the entries to the Creative Corner tab tomorrow, don't forget to check it out and submit your own edits/art!

Monday, December 26, 2016

New Theme, New Tabs, New Twibbons

Hey guys! Not much is happening right now as far as RK news, but I've finally finished tweaking and updating the blog and it's just how I want it to look. Firstly, I'd like to bring attention to the "local construction". I've made a new theme, along with some snazzy pixel speech bubble page headers!

Now if you look up there below the header you'll see some new tabs. The 12 Days After Christmas tab, the Tour Photos tab, and the Twibbon tab. I got the idea for a Relient K themed 12 days of Christmas this past Wednesday morning, so (starting today) for the next 11 days there will be a new gift under the tab and also on Instagram!

The Tour Photos tab is where you'll see photos from both legs of the Looking For America tour.

If you want to submit a photo to be featured, email me (thefreshestblogintheworld@gmail.com) or DM the photo(s) to me on Twitter along with your name, the city and state the show was in, and the date. It'll look a little like this when I post it in the gallery:


Finally, I want to talk about Twibbons. Not the Air For Free Twibbon, though. What I want to talk about is the "I Found America" Twibbon. 

The intro to the Switchfoot set inspired me to do this. I occasionally think about the phrase and, for some reason, it stuck with me. It has made an impact on me.

"Tonight we are looking for America, and here you are."

And thus, this Twibbon was born

It comes in two background colors: Black with the white Switchfoot logo and white with the black Switchfoot logo. They both feature the words "I found America" in the Air For Free primary colors. To add the black background one (the most popular) to your Twitter or Facebook icon, click the Twibbon tab. 

Until next time, I wish you the best.
Sahara


Sunday, December 25, 2016

Christmas Wishes + A Surprise

Since nothing much is happening right now, I decided I'd just pop in to wish you all a Merry Christmas! I'm excited to see what the new year brings for me, this blog, and music! I hope each of you had a great year and I hope 2017 treats you well.

Speaking of 2017...

Starting January 1st I'm going to start featuring photography, edits, and art on the blog! I'm starting submissions now, so if you want to enter, DM it to my Twitter or Instagram, or email the it to thefreshestblogintheworld@gmail.com along with your name. The only requirement is that it has to be Relient K themed, of course. I look forward to seeing if I recieve any enteries!

All the best,
Sahara

PS: You might see some new tabs up there... I'll be explaining soon...

PPS: Crosby the reindeer wishes you a Merry Christmas.

Friday, December 9, 2016

Merch Review: Relient K Ohio Sweatshirt

Hey guys! So by now you're probably wondering why I wrote a blog post on a sweatshirt. Let me explain. I'm hesitant to buy things - namely clothing - online, so I figured there had to be others like me and I wanted to help them out. As for the reason I'm hesitant? Quality. One of the absolute worst things is being so excited to get a package in the mail, only to find the quality isn't what you expected. So alas! If you've never bought a piece of Relient K merch before and wanted to know a little bit more before you buy, then this is the blog post for you.

I placed my order for the Relient K Ohio grey sweatshirt (size large) on December 4th, and it arrived four days later, on December 8th. After looking it over I found no stitching or design flaws at all. The shirt is made of 100% preshrunk cotton and the inside is SO soft. Here's a cool pic of me wearing it:



As far as sizing goes, buy the size you normally wear unless you're looking for something that's a bit bigger on you. I normally wear mediums, but I purchased a large and it's very big on me. (At my stop on the tour, I purchased the red Ohio shirt, and it's the same way as far as sizing goes, so I'm guessing that's how all of the sizing runs.)

The guys still have some leftover tour merch on the site, so if you're interested in picking up one of those swaggy shirts, head over to relientk.com. There's also two new beanies and some limited edition Air For Free vinyl bundles that are oh-so-cute!

Until next time,
Sahara

Friday, December 2, 2016

Goodbye Dubai

Hey guys! So I was only planning to make one more post before the new year, but I was just sitting around thinking and I suddenly remembered how Matt Thiessen mentioned in an interview that Goodbye Dubai was in the works. I figured I'd type up a quick post with information about it in case some of you didn't know about it or wanted to know more! Happy reading!

In July, Matt and Matt sat down with chorus.fm for a lengthy interview. A little more than midway through, Thiessen vaguely mentioned working on a project with Owl City called Goodbye Dubai. Here's what he said:



If you have no idea what an "Owl City" is, let me explain. Owl City is an electronic music project created in 2007 by Adam Young. Goodbye Dubai has been in the works since 2009 and the release of Owl City's first studio album Ocean Eyes.

Ocean Eyes, released July 14th, 2009, Universal Republic Records



Matt worked with Young extensively on the album, lending back up vocals to four songs, including the hit Fireflies, and co-writing and featuring on Tidal Wave. The same year, Young programmed and produced Terminals from Relient K's Forget and Not Slow Down. The pair has worked together quite a bit since then, mainly on Owl City, except in 2013 when Young (as Owl City) lent his vocals to That's My Jam from Collapsible Lung.

So, let's get down to the facts.

Recently, Adam Young announced his return to Owl City in 2017. For the whole of 2016 he's taken a break from the project and dedicated his time to an instrumental score project (which has just ended), releasing a whole album each month based around a historical event of his choosing. Now, if he's been working on Goodbye Dubai during all this (which I think he has, due to the fact Thiessen said in the interview that he was flying to Minnesota later that week to work on it) I want to say an album or EP under the Goodbye Dubai moniker will be released sometime late 2017 to early 2018.

I'm not entirely sure, for all I know it could come way sooner - which I wouldn't mind - or way, way, WAY later, considering the project has been in the works since 2009. It really all depends on the guys' schedules, when they're able to work on it, and how close they are to actually being done with it. That being said, as fans of both artists I'm super excited to see and hear what they have created! I'll keep you updated!

All the best,
Sahara