[MONTHLY] Mercurial Minds Motif: The Sights and Sounds Best Of May 2013

When people shut down their hearts, others always talk about opening them up as the end all be all. It’s like: “Hooray! Your heart is open again! Now deal with it, asshole!” Mash this process together with an intense, mercurial mind and attempt to mesh emotions and intellect as if they’ve always been the best [...]

[INDIE/R&B] Bastille ft. O.N.E. – “Thinkin Bout You” (Frank Ocean Cover)

British singer/songwriter Bastille is making my Sunday a little more relaxed with his chilled out cover of Frank Ocean‘s hit single “Thinkin Bout You.” Mixing things up with some xylophone sounds and mellow synth harmonies, Bastille’s voice sits front and center against the stripped down backdrop. The cover is taken from his upcoming Laura Palmer [...]

[SYNTH/POP] Capital Cities – “Stayin’ Alive” (Bee Gees’ Cover)

Spring seems to be in full fling in Chicago as the temperatures have steadily risen from the deep freeze just weeks ago. As my old band director used to say, “It’s a great day to be alive.” LA based Capital Cities seems to feel the same way as they have reworked the classic Bee Gees‘ [...]

[A CAPELLA] Lindsey Stirling & Pentatonix – “Radioactive” (Imagine Dragons Cover)

I love when artists think outside the box when it comes to covering other groups, and the a capella group Pentatonix plus violinist Lindsey Stirling have absolutely smashed their cover of Imagine Dragons‘ single “Radioactive.” Taking a steam punk-esque approach to the visuals, the group sings an impressive rendition of “Radioactive,” complimented by the sultry [...]

[MONTHLY] Remember Thy Motherf*cking Self: Sights and Sounds Best of 03.2013

A bit belated on the write-up (smack me on the face! please, you know I like it), but this edition of the Sights and Sounds’ Best of 03.2013 finds us wrestling with that eternal dynamic of fleeing affection for self-survival and meeting the end of relationships head on with a grim smile. Don’t worry, none [...]

[Feature] Spotlights 8: Best New Indie Music

This edition of Spotlights finds us dipping our toes into the dark pools of human affection before realizing that requires a little more light than we currently have stored up. Thematically, this week’s list coalesced around the idea of a waning emotional openness to the people around you, while still whetting your physical appetite. People [...]

[MONTHLY] Um, F*ck Fear. I Have None: The Sights and Sounds’ Best of Feb. 2013

We haven’t done this in awhile and it’s totally Kavit’s fault (you’re a pillar of success, Kavit) so here’s a larger set of our Sunday Spotlights compiling our best of the best for the month—at least according to what that wily Kavit thinks (and, you know, he’s a bit of a pusher about featuring his [...]

[INDIE/TRIPHOP] Blue Stahli – “Ghost of Love” (David Lynch cover)

It’s a slow Sunday. Days of the last week and a half are blurred together in a haze of music, alcohol, and general haphazardness. As such, it’s a slow Sunday. It’s the type of Sunday where you wake up wondering what happened over the course of the last 24 hours and Blue Stahli‘s cover of [...]

[REGGAE/POP] Of Monsters and Men – “Little Talks” (Cris Cab Cover)

Although there is nearly 5 inches of snow blanketing the Windy City, Cris Cab‘s new cover of “Little Talks” has us feeling like it’s the middle of summer. Of Monsters and Men‘s single is a great piece of indie/folk that has gotten them quite a bit of attention with it’s carefree, horn infused choruses and [...]

[FUTURE GARAGE] A Dark Valentine’s (2013): J’ai Oublié Mon Coeur

  If you’re like Kris and I over here at The Sights and Sounds, Valentine’s Day can ride itself on a rusty dowel. Well, that is, if you’re looking at the holiday in a traditional sense of the word: psychotic displays of PDA, cheap forays into the bedroom, and other such nonsense. But if you [...]