The Lumineers ‘Junior Sparks’ is rough, in a good way

by mabrew05

The Lumineers’ second chapter of new album ‘III’ is rougher and tougher than Chapter One.

‘Junior Sparks’ as Chapter Two is titled starts with heavy guitar in the first song ‘It Wasn’t Easy to Be Happy for You. This song is a relatable one as it speaks on how hard it is to be happy for someone when they’ve shut you out.

The mostly soft voice of Wesley Shultz is much more raspy and harsh in this song.

The second song of three ‘Leader of the Landslide’ has a much softer tune. This song takes you through Junior Sparks’ emotions of wanting a mother that didn’t make him worry about her wellbeing for most of his life.

Part of the way through the song we get a stronger guitar and then Junior Sparks’ talks directly to his mother.

It’s emotional and touchy, especially the lyric “Drank the whole bottle and forget my name. All I ever wanted was a mother for the first time.” Then a couple lines later he says “And maybe when she’s dead and gone, I’ll get some sleep.”

The last song on ‘Junior Sparks’ ‘Left for Denver’ is the slowest of the three songs. It’s more of a chill song that calms down to end the Chapter.

The song talks about Junior Sparks’ mother leaving and passing away and takes us through what it was like for everyone around her.

The second chapter of three for ‘III’ is just as emotional as the first. The rough guitar and lyrics in this chapter explains things through the eyes of a teenage boy perfectly.

The Lumineers’ ‘Gloria Sparks’ dives deep into addiction

by mabrew05

The Lumineers are releasing their third album, ‘III’ as it’s titled and they are releasing it in three chapters. The first chapter, titled ‘Gloria Sparks,’ dives deep into the character Gloria.

Gloria is an addict who has a daughter, ‘Donna,’ which is the title of the first song on the album. ‘Donna’ starts with nothing but a piano and gives off a spooky vibe from lead pianoist in the band Jeremiah Fraites.

The song then turns to Wesley Schultz singing as Donna speaks to her mother. The lyrics go through what it’s like to grow up with an addict mother.

The next two songs on ‘Gloria Sparks’ are ‘Life in the City’ and ‘Gloria.’

‘Life in the City’ starts with a more stern piano, but the song is more upbeat than the first. This is a song you could listen to when you’re in the mood for an upbeat, but chill song.

‘Life in the City’ has lyrics from The Lumineers older songs that seem out of place, but if you’ve been a fan of the band since the start, you’ll find it amazing and right in place.

‘Gloria’ is the last song on ‘Gloria Sparks’ and is also upbeat. This song really introduces us to the issues of addiction and life in that.

The song comes from Gloria’s daughter’s prespective at first and then turns to Gloria giving an explaination for her ways.

The first chapter is touching and finds ways to talk about addiction while also being upbeat. You can listen to it and just enjoy the music or listen to it and let the lyrics tell you a story of hardships.

Introduce Yourself (Example Post)

by mabrew05

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

  • Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
  • Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

  • Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
  • What topics do you think you’ll write about?
  • Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
  • If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.