H is for Hoobastank

Hoobastank is an American rock band that rose to fame in the early 2000s. The band is currently made up of Doug Robb on lead vocals, Dan Estrin on guitar, Chris Hesse on drums and Jesse Charland on bass. They released their self-titled debut album in 2001, which contained the hit singles, Crawling in the Dark and Running Away.

Their second studio album, The Reason, was released in 2003. Its title track would become the biggest hit of their career, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and earning them a Song of the Year nomination at the 48th Grammy Awards. It was also featured in the final episode of the long-running television show, Friends.

The band has released three more studio albums since then, Every Man for Himself (2006), Fornever (2009), and Fight or Flight (2012). They've also released one live album, Live from the Wiltern (2009), and three compilation albums, including 2010's purely acoustic Is This The Day? But I'll be ending today's post with the biggest hit from their 2001 breakthrough album instead, Running Away.

G is for Gorillaz

Gorillaz are a virtual band created by Damon Albarn (frontman of the Britpop band, Blur) and Jamie Hewlett (a comic book artist famous for his work on the Tank Girl comics). The band itself is comprised of four cartoon characters, namely 2D, Murdoc, Noodle and Russel. Their music is a blend of hip-hop, alternative rock, reggae and pop.

The band released their self-titled debut album in 2001. It contained their breakout single, Clint Eastwood, which peaked at #4 on the UK singles chart. The album would go on to sell more than 7 million copies, as well as producing further singles, 19-2000, Rock The House and Tomorrow Comes Today.

Their second studio album, Demon Days, was released in 2005. It received even more critical acclaim, with most of that praise being directed at its first single, Feel Good Inc. The song was given a Record of the Year nomination at the 2006 Grammys, but lost to Green Day's Boulevard of Broken Dreams. It still managed to earn them their first and only Grammy till date, in the Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals category.

Gorillaz is very much a visual project as it is a musically-oriented one, and as such, their videos tend to showcase the sort of production values you'd expect to find in a big-budget animated film. And nowhere else does that fact become apparent than in their video for Clint Eastwood, with visuals that hold up surprisingly well despite its age.

F is for Foo Fighters

Foo Fighters is easily one of the biggest names in rock music today, with a combined sales of more than 11 million spread across eight studio albums. The band was formed in 1994 by former Nirvana drummer, Dave Grohl. Originally envisioned as a one-man band, their current line up includes Pat Smear, Nate Mendel, Taylor Hawkins and Chris Shiflett.

Dave Grohl played and recorded all instruments on their self-titled 1995 debut album, which would earn him a Best Alternative Album nomination at the 1996 Grammy Awards. Coincidentally, he lost the award to his former band, Nirvana, for their album, MTV Unplugged in New York. His first win would come in 2000, when he took home Best Rock Album for There is Nothing Left to Lose.

The band has won 11 Grammys in total, including four Best Rock Album awards, two split between the two Best Music Video categories, one for Best Rock Song, one for Best Rock Performance, and three for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance. That final group of awards includes the one they took home for their 2002 song, All My Life.

E is for Eminem

In my honest opinion, Eminem is arguably the greatest rapper of all time. There, I said it. And not only does he have the sales and accolades to prove it, he also has one of the most instantly recognizable rap styles in the entire rap game. His aggressive flows are matched with lyrics that have been the subject of much controversy over the years.

Born as Marshal Bruce Matters III, the Detroit rapper rose to fame after the release of his 1999 album, The Slim Shady LP. The album featured his rapping alter ego, Slim Shady, an antisocial drug dealer with violent tendencies. It became a commercial success and was met with critical acclaim, eventually going on to win the Grammy for Best Rap Album, his first of several albums to receive that honor.

Over the course of the next fifteen years, his various songs and studio albums would go on to amass a total of 15 Grammy Awards, as well as over 150 million in sales. His crowning achievement came in 2002 though, when he released the song, Lose Yourself, from the 8 Mile movie soundtrack. The song would eventually win the Academy Award for Best Original Song, making it the first ever rap song to do so.

D is for Daft Punk

During the mid-to-late 90s, the French House electronic music subgenre was starting to make waves across Europe. And at the time, Daft Punk were at the center of that movement, a duo made up of French DJs, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter. They released their debut album Homework in 1997, and it featured their breakout singles, Alive, Da Funk and Around the World.

The duo released their second studio album in 2001, which was titled Discovery. The album marked a significant shift from the house roots of their previous record, to a more 70s disco-influenced synthpop sound. This was exemplified by the album's first single, One More Time, which would eventually become one of their signature songs. An animated film titled Interstellar 5555 was subsequently released in 2003, which was set to music from the album.

Their third studio album, Human After All, was released in 2005. It contained well-received singles like Robot Rock and Technologic, but the album as a whole was not favorably received by critics. Its release was followed by that of their second of two live albums, Alive 2007, which incorporated songs from all three studio albums. It helped shed a new light on the songs from their third album, and earned the duo two Grammys.

In 2010, they helped score the movie, Tron: Legacy, a sequel to the 1982 classic science fiction movie, Tron. While the movie itself was met with mixed and average reviews, the soundtrack album proved more successful with the critics. It was praised for its blend of orchestral and electronic music elements, a trend that would be carried on by their fourth studio album, Random Access Memories.

Released in 2013, Random Access Memories can be considered the current pinnacle of Daft Punk's musical career. It produced their biggest hit single till date, Get Lucky, a song that no doubt helped introduce their music to a sizable amount of new fans. The album was not only met with critical acclaim, but also went on to win Album of the Year at the 56th Grammy Awards.

It is almost impossible for me to settle upon a single song to showcase the brilliance of Daft Punk. This isn't helped by the evolving nature of their music, with earlier tracks from the Homework era sounding almost nothing like their recent material. So I have decided to highlight one of their lesser known (but nonetheless quintessential) songs instead, Make Love, from their 2005 album, Human After All.

C is for Calvin Harris

As a kid, I'd dreamt of growing up to become everything from an astronaut to a ruthless mercenary. But if I were given a choice between professions today, I'd probably choose to become a DJ. More specifically, I'd choose to make the same kind of music as Calvin Harris, and maybe somehow manage to exhibit the same level of coolness.

Born in Scotland as Adam Richard Wiles, Calvin Harris has come a long way from making music in his bedroom, to being the highest-paid DJ in the world for 2 years running. Perhaps what sets him apart from his peers is the fact that he is not afraid to get behind a microphone, his voice lending his songs a quality that makes him shine in an otherwise crowded EDM scene.

While he is perhaps best known for his production work on Rihanna's chart-topping hit, We Found Love, I wouldn't count that song as one of his best or personal favorites of mine. So I have chosen to highlight the song that made me a fan instead, his 2009 single and first solo #1 hit in the UK, I'm Not Alone.

B is for The Beatles

I know it is a statement you've heard a million times before, but without a doubt, The Beatles are the most influential rock band of all time. Formed in 1960, the band was made up of Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They found fame and success following the 1962 release of their debut single, Love Me Do.

At the center of their success was the Lennon/McCartney songwriting partnership. Together, both members would go on to pen most of their entire catalogue of songs. As a band, their career spanned an entire decade, during which they released a number of critically-acclaimed albums, as well as scoring more number one singles than any other musical act in US and UK chart history.

Choosing a favorite Beatles song is a lot like picking a favorite strand of hair on your own head; you are immediately faced with the sheer number of songs to choose from. But for me, the one Beatles song that comes to mind every time I think of the band is the timeless piano ballad, Hey Jude.

A is for ABBA

Sweden has produced a steady stream of pop music stars in recent years, with the likes of Robyn, Tove Lo, Icona Pop and the supergroup Swedish House Mafia all managing to attain international recognition. But their success would pale in comparison to that of ABBA, who are regarded as one of the best-selling music groups of all time.

The group is comprised of Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad, each member lending the first letter of their first name to form the acronym, ABBA. They rose to prominence in the 1970s, after winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest for their song, Waterloo. They would go on to sell more than 380 million singles and albums worldwide.

In 1999, their music was adapted into a Broadway musical called Mamma Mia!, which was in turn adapted into a 2008 film of the same name starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and others. Both adaptations featured their hit single, Dancing Queen, which is often considered their signature song.

A to Z Challenge Theme Reveal

The 2015 Blogging from A to Z Challenge is right around the corner. So if you haven't signed up yet, you'd better hop to it. Right now though, it's time for the challenge's associated theme reveal blogfest, where participants get to reveal and elaborate upon their chosen themes for the year. You can click here for a full list of participants.

This would mark my fourth straight year participating in the challenge. For the 2012 Challenge, I decided to go with a movies theme, during which I wrote reviews to some of my favorite movies. In 2013, I went with a books theme, highlighting some of my favorite speculative fiction books. In 2014, I had a video games theme, and I got to wax lyrical about 26 of my favorite video game franchises. Which brings us to this year.

For the 2015 Challenge, I have settled upon (cue the drum rolls) a music theme. Surprise, surprise, considering the fact that I have already stated I was leaning towards one. To elaborate, for each letter of the alphabet, I'll be picking one of my favorite musical acts, whose significance/achievements I would then proceed to discuss, before highlighting their music at the end of the post with a YouTube video of one of their songs.

And there you have it, the general layout of my posts. I've been working towards getting everything scheduled by the end of the month, to free up time to visit other blogs come next month, since I have also taken up minion duties. I am presently halfway through my posts, so hopefully I'll have the remaining half scheduled before the Challenge begins.

So here's hoping you visit during the Challenge, and stick around long enough to see whether I feature some of your favorite acts or songs.

IWSG: A to Z Minion

It's the first Wednesday of the month, and time for members of the Insecure Writer's Support Group to share their writerly insecurities. The group was started by Alex J. Cavanaugh, and those interested in joining in can visit www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com for more information.

My insecurity for the month centers around next month's Blogging from A to Z Challenge. I know I touched upon that last month, but that was before I decided to make a deeper commitment to the challenge by enlisting to become one of the A to Z minions. That's right, I would be helping out the A to Z co-hosts, or more precisely, the lovely S. L. Hennessy, who was coincidentally a minion for last year's challenge.

What this entails is that I would be assigned a small portion of the list of participants, and I would be required to check on them from time to time, to make sure they are still taking part in the challenge. It sounds simple enough, until you take into account the fact that I am yet to schedule any of my challenge posts. I have traditionally chosen to do so a day or two before each day's assigned letter, but I would ideally love to have everything scheduled before next month.

On the plus side, I have at least taken the time to outline my posts, so that I have at least a vague idea of what I'll be highlighting for each day of the challenge. And just like last year, I find myself torn between choices for each letter of the alphabet. But more on that during the Theme Reveal blogfest later this month.