By Allison & Natalie Fitts

During each edition of Natalie and Allison’s Favorite Things, we will have one joint favorite thing and then both of us will have an individual favorite thing. There will be a theme to each edition, and this one is music. Our favorite band at the moment is The Kooks.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pvHZ4ddR-4&ob=av2n

Believe it or not, our mom introduced us to the Kooks. She is pretty musically aware, and claims that the interns at her work call her a “cool mom” because she has MGMT’s “Kids” as her ringtone for when Natalie and I call her. Anyway, the Kooks are an alternative indie rock band from England. They have three studio albums and their most recent, Junk of the Heart, came out earlier this month.

I only recently started taking notice to them, when their latest single “Junk of the Heart,” started playing in our car often. When my parents listened to their previous album, Konk, in the car, I automatically hated it because most music they listen to is not the greatest. But when I finally gave them a chance, it turned out they are pretty darn awesome.

Agreed. Some of their songs I would definitely recommend are “Down to the Market”, “Shine On” and “Naive”. We are also crossing our fingers that our “cool mom” decides to go to their concert in Chicago over Thanksgiving Break and take us with her.

Now I will talk about my favorite band, NEEDTOBREATHE. I like to describe them as an alternative/rock/country/Christian/contemporary band. Needless to say, they are awesome. They are currently opening up for Taylor Swift on her Speak Now Tour.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yq1H3l7kyYU&ob=av2e

First of all,  the name NEEDTOBREATHE sounds like someone shouting instructions at a choking person. Second of all, despite their less-than-great name, NEEDTOBREATHE is a pretty good band. Their sound is a little bit like Mumford & Sons and the lead singer’s voice sound exactly like Kings of Leon. That’s a nice mix if you ask me.

Some personal faves are “Valley of Tomorrow” and “Something Beautiful.” But all their songs are great. Obviously. I accept nothing less.

Now on to bigger and better things: my favorite band, Foster the People. You probably know them for their hit song “Pumped Up Kicks”, but there is so much more to this awesome band. They are an indie pop band from L.A. that formed about two years ago. High-energy live performances at music festivals like Coachella, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits (seen below) have also put the band on the map.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZmP4xsWKt4

I admit they are a pretty good band. However, when Allison plays the same song 5,000,000,000,000,000 times in a row (which she does with every single song she likes), it becomes a bit annoying, to say the least. Sometimes the lead singer’s voice creeps me a little, but despite my multiple complaints, “I Would Do Anything for You” is my favorite song of theirs. Maybe because Allison has only played it about 100,000 times. They are also pretty easy on the eyes, which is always a plus.

They are all definitely attractive, but lead singer Mark Foster takes the cake. Back to the point, though. Another reason I love Foster the People so much is that they are active philanthropists. For their current fall tour, the band has enlisted the help of a charity called the Do Good Bus. The bus will follow them from city to city and, at each location, take a group of volunteers to a surprise local charity to do community service. Foster the People sees their charity work as a way they can truly “foster the people”.

What a clever little pun.

Going back to Foster the People’s music, I would recommend buying their CD Torches in its entirety. However, if you’re just looking to listen to a few songs to get a feel for their music I would suggest “Houdini”, “I Would Do Anything For You”, “Warrant” and “Miss You”.

We are currently working on transferring more of our home videos to DVDs so that you all can enjoy more shots of our childhood. Until next time, see ya sistas!