Hey, y'all! It's once again time for a One Day Tumblr Challenge! Today, I'm doing the 20 Day Favorite Band challenge. This is going to be just a little different, because I have two favorite bands. So, what I'm going to do is to do it twice, once for each band. Let's get started!
McFly
1) Band basics
The guys in McFly are (from L-R in the picture): Dougie Poynter, Tom Fletcher, Danny Jones, and Harry Judd. Danny is technically the front man although he and Tom are both considered to be the lead singers of the band. Danny and Tom also share guitar duties. Tom does the majority of the songwriting, although all three of the other guys (especially Danny) also write. Tom also does the piano/keyboards for the band. Dougie is the bassist and occasionally gets lead vocal parts. Harry plays the drums and any other percussion necessary. The band has been together since 2003 and has released 5 studio albums, as well as several compilations and live CDs. Their style has gone through many stages, from a Beach Boys-esque style, to some orchestral songs, to more rock, to more electronic pop.
Well, there are kinda two answers to this question. The first time I heard of them was when they were in the Lindsay Lohan movie, Just My Luck. So technically, the first song I heard by them was Five Colours In Her Hair. However, I didn't put this into my long-term memory at all and didn't even know they were a real band and I completely forgot about them.
Oddly enough, back in middle school, when I was obsessed with The Jonas Brothers, I watched an interview where they were asked what their favorite song was. Nick responded with Transylvania by McFly. Nick was my fave, so I went and checked out the song. At the time, I wasn't a fan. I thought it was a little weird and just didn't really like it. Now, it's one of my all-time favorite McFly songs. Anyway, at that point, I just didn't connect the dots between the two. When I actually started listening to the band (and I can't remember when that was), I finally connected all the dots upon rewatching Just My Luck and the Jonas Brothers interview. It was really interesting.
There are so many. I'll just give you my top 5 so that I don't ramble forever: Lies, Sorry's Not Good Enough, Five Colours In Her Hair, That Girl, and Transylvania.
Radio:ACTIVE, their 2008 CD, is just absolute perfection. I have trouble calling any song on this CD my "least favorite on the CD" because they're all so great.
5) Your favorite band member
Tom Fletcher! Honestly, he's my #1 celebrity crush ever. So many things about him are what I want in a guy. Not only is he an extremely talented musician, but he's also extremely intelligent. He's very mature- he was the first of the guys to settle down and start a family- but he's also basically just a big kid. He collects Disney toys, and has tons of action figures... he even has a Buzz Lightyear action figure on his nightstand. Oh, and he also named his son Buzz Michelangelo... after Buzz Lightyear and Michelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I mean, just look at this picture...
He's basically just a big dork and I really love that. He's just so incredibly great. I love him. I hold so many guys to him as a standard.
Hmmm... Most of their titles are very straightforward, so it's hard to really pick a favorite. Maybe Silence Is A Scary Sound? Just because I definitely agree with that statement.
I really like that they named their greatest hits CD Memory Lane, not just because of the actual meaning of the phrase but because that's the name of one of the songs on their 2005 CD, Wonderland... So the title itself is even a throwback. I just think that was a great naming decision.
I'm not sure I can choose just one single lyric. There are just too many great lyrics to just choose one. So maybe I'll go with "Galaxy Defenders stay forever" from Star Girl. The McFly fanbase started to be called the Galaxy Defenders after that song was released, so it's taken on a meaning past what anyone planned it to be.
Honestly, my favorite picture of the band is usually whatever picture is current where they all look good... which is why I chose the picture of them above all of these questions. So basically that picture is my current favorite of them.
I've always really liked this cover... regardless of the feelings I have about the actual CD. It just looks so dynamic and I think it looks super cool and I love that Tom is the most prominent one rather than Danny. Above The Noise is also one of my favorite McFly album titles.
11) Best song-related memory
I'd probably have to go with a Christmas-time road trip where I first really fell in love with McFly. I'd had their music on my iPod, and they were in my top 10 bands, but on one road trip I listened to some of the songs I'd just skipped over before and really fell in love. After that, they quickly rose to become one of my favorites.
When my Grandpa passed away, I spent the entire 8 hour car ride sitting in the car and just listening to McFly to try to make myself feel better. Usually, I spend road trips reading or watching a DVD, but I couldn't really do anything except for just sit and listen to McFly. It was a really upsetting time for me, but McFly really helped me feel better.
I think that technically speaking, their best song is She Falls Asleep (Both Parts 1 &2). It's so beautiful with the orchestra and Tom's vocals. I think it's just so beautiful.
14) Worst song
I don't think I could really name a "worst" song, because even the ones I don't like as much are still good songs. But the one I would say is probably my least favorite McFly song is Hypnotised from their debut (2004) CD, Room On The 3rd Floor. I just don't really listen to it or like it as much as some of their other songs.
15) Best album
Honestly, I think that Radio:ACTIVE is not only my favorite CD, but their best CD. It's really cohesive, but also has variety that keeps it interesting. It's just a great CD.
16) Worst album
Yep, their most recent studio album (how sad is it that 2010 is their newest?!) is the one that I think is their worst. It's just too overproduced. Even they said they weren't happy with the way the album was produced. I just hope that they rebound from this CD when they release their 6th album... whenever we finally get it.
17) Most-played song
On my iTunes, the most played McFly song is Lies. However, on my old iTunes, I think it was second to Five Colours In Her Hair. But either way, Lies is the most played song on my iTunes currently.
18) Least-played song
I went with just the ones on the studio albums, and of those, the least played is Party Girl from Above The Noise. I think on my old iTunes, the least played was The Ballad of Paul K from Wonderland, but I definitely like that song better than Party Girl.
19) Most popular song overall
I'm taking this as the most commercially popular song by McFly, which is definitely Five Colours In Her Hair. It was the song that launched their career, and it's definitely a fan favorite. Also, it turns 10 this year, which is just mind-boggling.
20) Why is this your favorite band?
I don't even know where to start with this. Obviously, I love their music, but I also really love all four of the guys (especially Tom). I feel like they're all great guys, but they're also extremely talented musicians. I love that they're all so incredibly committed to the band. They've stated that they'd never replace a member who left the band, and they each have stated that they wouldn't leave. I feel like they're one of those bands who will continue on for years and years and years. I just love them so, SO much. They hold such a special place in my heart.
All Time Low
1) Band basics
The All Time Low guys (from L-R in the picture) are: Rian Dawson, Alex Gaskarth, Jack Barakat, and Zack Merrick. Alex is the lead singer and guitarist, Jack is lead guitarist, Zack is the bassist, and Rian is the drummer. Their parts in the band are much more defined than in McFly. Alex is the only one who ever sings (except when they have a guest vocalist). Alex does the vast majority of the lyrics writing, and often writes the entire song, but the rest of the guys also write the music as well. The band came together in 2003, when they were all still in high school. To date, they've released five studio albums, as well as an EP and an extended version of one of their CDs. Although they have released five CDs, their first CD, The Party Scene, is often overlooked as part of their discography. It's not even on iTunes. I tend to not even include it when talking about All Time Low's CDs, and often call So Wrong It's Right their first CD.
There are a few songs that come to mind when I think about what my first All Time Low song was. I'm not sure what the exact song was, but I'm sure that Coffee Shop Soundtrack, Six Feet Under The Stars, and Dear Maria Count Me In were the first few. I'm sure that Poppin' Champagne was also up there in the first few that I listened to.
It's really hard for me to choose a favorite, and unlike McFly, I haven't ever actually sat down and ranked all of All Time Low's songs from favorite to least favorite. (I know, I'm weird). I've always said that Weightless is my favorite song, not just from All Time Low, but out of all songs. However, I'm not sure that's necessarily true anymore. But I do really love Weightless. I love Shameless, Poppin' Champagne, So Long Soldier, and Lost In Stereo. I'm not sure if those five are necessarily my top 5, but they're all definitely up there.
I've already done a CDs On My Shelf post about this CD, which you can see by clicking HERE. This got the first 10/10 that I've ever given to a CD. For the longest time, So Wrong It's Right was my favorite All Time Low CD, but then in 2012, they released this CD and I fell head over heels in love. It was so much better than I could've ever hoped for, especially after how disappointed I was with their 2011 release. Much like with my favorite McFly CD, it's hard to say that any song on the CD is worse than any other. They're just all extremely great.
5) Your favorite band member
Alex Gaskarth! He seems like such a nice guy and is extremely hilarious and a really talented musician. He has some of the best, most epic tweets ever. Plus, to make things even better, he's a huge Harry Potter nerd, which is always a great trait! I don't have the same intense love for Alex that I have for Tom, but he definitely has a special place in my heart. I also really love Jack. He makes me laugh endlessly.
Definitely The Irony of Choking on a Lifesaver. It's really funny, and I really want to know how they chose that name, because although it evokes the theme of the song, it's never mentioned in the song.
It's not necessarily the title itself, but I really loved what they did with the advertising for Nothing Personal. They'd put funny insults on a poster and then put "Nothing Personal" below it. I thought it was really cool.
I really love all of the lyrics in Weightless, especially these two: "Turn a page, I'm a book, half unread" and "maybe it's not my weekend, but it's gonna be my year, and I'm so sick of watching while the minutes pass as I go nowhere."
Once again, the photo I used at the beginning of this section of the post is the one that's probably my favorite picture of the band.
I really love the red/black combo, which is why I have this as the album art on my iTunes even though I have the deluxe CD (which has a blue background rather than red). I just realized that this is a recurring theme- my favorite covers are the CDs I'm not as big of a fan of!
11) Best song-related memory
Honestly, just driving around and blasting Don't Panic. I love it.
It's not necessarily bad, but it was pretty embarrassing and is a really funny story now. So, the day before Dirty Work was released (June 8, 2011), I got my first car. So going to get Dirty Work on the morning of the 8th was my first drive by myself in my car. I was being over-careful and following the drivers ed rules more than I'd ever followed them before, so when I got back into my car, I locked the car behind me (one of the first things drivers ed says to do when getting in the car) but I did it with my key remote. I wasn't aware that doing that would cause the car alarm to start blaring the second I tried putting my key in the ignition. I frantically pushed every button I could find, and finally realized I just had to unlock the car. So embarrassing. But at least I got to listen to the CD!
I'd say that their technically best song is Remembering Sunday. It's so raw and acoustic, and really great.
14) Worst song
Worst... Hmm. I don't think I have a single worst, but I'm not a huge fan of No Idea, Return The Favor, or Too Much
15) Best album
Once again, I honestly think that Don't Panic is their best CD. I think it really demonstrates how much they've grown over the years.
16) Worst album
My least favorite album is actually different than what I consider to be their worst CD. I definitely think that Dirty Work was their worst CD. It was really basic and poppy. However, that also makes it really easy to listen to and to enjoy, even though I think it's technically their worst CD. However, Put Up Or Shut Up, their 2006 EP is definitely the one I listen to the least. I don't think the songs on it are bad at all, but I just don't tend to want to listen to them as much.
17) Most-played song
So Long Soldier and The Irony of Choking On A Lifesaver both have the same number of plays. However, on my old iTunes, before I got my laptop, Weightless had more than 100 plays. If it wasn't the most played song on my iTunes, it was at least in the top 5. But on the current iTunes, the entire Don't Panic CD has more plays than any other songs do.
18) Least-played song
Of the studio albums, the song with the least plays is Holly (Would You Turn Me On?). That one is one of my least favorite songs by All Time Low, so it definitely makes sense that it has so few plays.
19) Most popular song overall
Commercially, I think that Dear Maria, Count Me In and Weightless are the two most popular songs. I have friends who aren't really All Time Low fans or even pop punk fans who enjoy Dear Maria.
20) Why is this your favorite band?
A lot of the same reasons that McFly is... again, obviously I love their music. The guys all seem like really great guys, and they're really funny and talented. They're all really devoted to the band, and once again, the fact that they've been a band for almost eleven years without a single lineup change really shows how committed they all are to the band. They're all best friends, and I think that if one member left the band, they would decide to call it quits rather than continuing on without an important part of their lineup.
So, there you go, my 20 Day Favorite Band Challenge! I hope you enjoyed learning about both of these bands, and if you haven't heard of them, I think you should definitely give them a listen, because they make some great music.
There are a lot of exciting things happening in the next couple weeks on From Kristen's Brain...! Tuesday, I'll be posting my series of the month post. Thursday, I'll be making an announcement about the project I'm doing this summer. I think that my April wrap-up that I discussed doing will be posted on May 8th, but I have both a Secret Lightning Scar chapter and a CDs On My Shelf post between now and then. If you want to keep up with my posts, I'd love it if you'd subscribe/follow, since it keeps you up-to-date and lets me know that you enjoy what I'm doing!
Thanks for reading! Hope to see you back here soon!
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