Greetings!!
Photo by J. Krawczyk
Welcome to Ears Like A Hawke - my personal little venting and indulgence posting place on my obsession that is music.
Quick introductions: My name's Janelle Hawkes (get the title now? Hawke. Ha.). I'm 27 and currently living in New York City, surviving as a music licensing agent (career of dreams, woot!). I have a BBA in music business from Belmont University in Nashville, TN, and my MBA in business administration - all with a focus on the music industry as much as they allowed.
I literally get uncomfortable in silence. For that reason, I have music playing of some sort about 95%+ of my waking hours.
I started this because, like every other twenty-something out there today, I like to voice my opinions. Plus, honestly, it gives me a reason to listen to full albums and analyze them, which I've been doing in my own head for many years now. So why not be a part of my generation and put them out into the universe?
What I hope you get out of this is, at the very least, some new things to listen to. I'll also reach here and say that I hope you start listening to some things in a different way, and find and appreciation in songs you didn't consider before.
Some general notes:
- I'll post once a day. Hold me to it and harass as needed.
- I'll write about one complete album at a time. I may also do tangent posts on industry happenings and special events, but there will always be an album a day.
- You'll be able to see videos - as many good ones as I can find - to compliment the listening experience. I always include released music videos, as well as good live footage if I can find it. I do this specifically through YouTube videos.
- At the start of each post will also be a link to the Spotify streaming page you can find the album on. Spotify is a free service, for the time being, that allows you to stream music, with some commercials, right to your computer. You can also pay a monthly fee to nix the commercials or get access to the library via your phone (and no, they didn't pay me to write that).
- I like categories. The following are ones I'm working through right now: New Music Tuesdays, Grammy Nominations, Bonnaroo, Requests.
- Speaking of which - I WANT REQUESTS!!! I don't care if I've heard it a million times or have issues finding it because it's so rare - I want to analyze it. I want to absorb it. Bring it on! I'll write about anything y'all suggest!
On that note, below is a contact form. Start giving me ideas. :)
Finally, let's make this clear - I'm not an expert and will never claim to me. I am, however, a lifelong learner, and music plays the most major role in that for me. I also believe in this quote: "Music can change people because music can change the world." - Bono. All of it - every note. For better or worse.
Ready for this musical ride? Let's rock 'n' roll y'all!!!
