April 6th - Letter "E" = Explosions in the Sky

This is the first musical artist I have blogged about in the challenge that I have not seen live.  I know I will have more in my list that I haven't seen, but this thought makes me realize how many more artists I want to see perform live. This was also not my first choice for the Letter "E".  Originally, I was going to blog about The English Beat (a band I have seen live), but something in the back of my head kept screaming "EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY" instead. So  I was listening to their new album, "Take Care, Take Care, Take Care,"  today and realized, yes, it'll be Explosions in the Sky for the Letter "E".

To be honest, I know nothing about the band so a Wikipedia'ing I will go.  Wiki says, Explosions in the Sky is an American instrumental post-rock band from Texas. The band has garnered popularity beyond the post-rock scene for their cinematic, elaborately developed guitar work, narratively styled instrumentals, what they refer to as "cathartic mini-symphonies," and their enthusiastic and emotional live shows.

Ohhhhh-Kayyyyy.  Well, here's what I know about the band.  Some time ago, I became obsessed with this YouTube video called "relationship." that showcased two well know dancers in the LA industry.  The music used for the piece/video was "Gathering Storm" by Godspeed You! Black Emperor. 


I bought the album with the song on it and really loved it.  It was mostly instrumental with some spoken word pieces and loops included.  One day I was on Pandora and I made a Godspeed You! Black Emperor channel because I wanted a chill, instrumental, yet moving background sound.  During that session, I first became acquainted with Explosions in the Sky; I believe the song was "Your Hand in Mine".  I bought the album with that song, and have fallen in love with the way their music makes me feel. 

Here's a perfect explanation for how their music transcends to beyond just music.  It was a comment on a YouTube video for one of their songs:

There are so many kinds of music but when I listen to Explosions in the Sky, I feel like I'm listening to just music. I can't bear it unless I'm in a position to where I can stop everything and just listen. I don't even want to put a name to it. It's music; it is what words cannot say and therefore any word we could use would be such a terrible understatement. The only way I could think to describe it is with a similar feeling and the title is just that.

Yes, that puts it perfectly.  Their music evokes feelings and puts you in a place where only you can explain where you are.  Without needing words, their instrumentals tell stories that I like getting lost in.