Howdy. I discovered Pearl and the Beard earlier this week and it didn’t take long before I was in love. Their amazing debut album was released in July of 2009 and added to Spotify four months later. Enjoy!
Pearl and the Beard – God Bless Your Weary Soul, Amanda Richardson
I decided that I would start something called B-side Friday. So every friday I’ll post up to 7 lesser known songs. The songs could be by known artists but they will be lesser known songs by that artist. I don’t think I have to explain the term b-side. So check out the songs.
Hideaway – Fuel
When the Sun Rose Again – Alice in Chains
Play Crack the Sky – Brand New
Black – Pearl Jam
Set Phasers to Stun – Taking Back Sunday
The Resistance – Anberlin
Lithium – Nirvana
dancing on the subway
these tunes, when i’m on the subway, when i’m walking, stalking, running- it’s very hard for me to not dance around. oh yeah, i’m that crazy girl. the one that dances. hanging off the ceiling. and you know what, you will too. so what have we got here? some are all out club type pop songs. others- cheryl cole’s parachute fastforwarded. the stunners, you’re going to see more of them in the future, i’m sure. myah marie, she sounds like britney spears. so does this tune a little bit. that’s because well, she’s britney’s “backup” vocal. 
new christina, new paradiso girls, and some other divas that are ridiculously catchy. yeah, listen to it. you know you want to. don’t hate. samples & more – check my blog.
rar file
01 Cheryl Cole- “Parachute”
02 Kristine Elezaj- “Let You Know”
03 Shontelle- “Licky”
04 Che’Nelle- “Follow Me”
05 Ke$ha- “Backstabber”
06 Esmee Denters- “007 On You”
07 Chenelle Ray- “Starstruck”
08 Alex Young- “Music”
09 Jessica Jarrell- “Armageddon”
10 Kelis- “Scream & Shout”
11 Christina Aguilera- “Spotlight”.
12 Jade Ewan- “Had Him First”
13 Myah Marie- “Feet On The Ground”
14 Livvi Franc- “Automatik”
15 Eva Simons- “Silly Boy”
16 Kaci Battaglia- “Crazy Possessive”
17 Girlicious- “Sexy Bitch” (Cover)
18 Sugababes- “She’s A Mess”
19 The Stunners- “Dancin’ Around The Truth”
20 Paradiso Girls- “Boys Go Crazy”
21 Tami Chynn- “Hypnotico (Silly Heartbreakers)”
You shall never underestimate the power of a great Pop-song!
This wonderful new ditty by – Jack Penate – certainly ranks high in my ears right now. So much so I must have played it 5 times in a straight row by now.
Tweaked and twisted by Penguin Prison – “So Near” – turns to be a funk-fuelled, slap-bass Electro-kitten, which just penetrates you upon first listen.
Essentially it’s the perfect combination: Great songwriting, great singer, great remix – Pop meets underground in a very cool way!
What more can you ask for ?
Mp3: Jack Penate – So Near (Penguin Prison Remix)
Got introduced to a pretty good Mash DJ today called The Metamorphosis. I have been going since 645 am today and just got in so havnt had time to fully go through all thier songs, but the one that was left in my mailbox is good enough of me. Mashing up two of todays most popular songs, Ke$sha – Tik Tok and Jason DeRulo – In My Head a very energetic song is created. If you look through the full library of songs you will notice, like this one, the DJ takes two of the most popular songs at hte time, and blends them together, but hey… nothing wrong with that. Shouts to W.Laabs.
In My Head / Tik Tok [Jason Derulo / Ke$ha]
Casablanca Records was a record label founded in 1973 by Neil Bogart. The label was the home to such acts as Kiss [not included on this collection], Donna Summer, The Village People and Parliament among others. The label flourished during the Disco Era, but was eventually swallowed up into Mercury Records and later the Universal Music Group. Casablanca Records was primarily responsible for many of the dance hits of the 70’s and early 80’s.
Disc 1:
Love To Love You Baby [Donna Summer]—-Perhaps the signature song of Summer, this release helped to establish her career and also helped to introduce the concept of the 12″ single. Putting Summer’s sexuality of full display, the song feature minutes of moans and ecstatic sounds that leaves the listener only imagining what was going on. I have heard many mixes of this track…one lasted a full 22 minutes. This is a classic introduction to the Disco scene. Marvelous. This mix last for an incredible 16 minutes!!!
Funkytown [Lipps, Inc.]—-Riding high on the charts for weeks and weeks, this was by my understanding, released on the revamped Casablanca label before it completely disappeared from sight. This is a nice synth driven single that took over the world for a brief time. You can never forget where you were when you first discovered this track…the cowbell…the synth line, the contagious key snip and the auto-tune vocal transfixed me for months. This is fun, uncomplicated and full of energy…everything required in 1979 for a huge worldwide smash.
Tear The Roof Off The Sucker [Parliament]—-Bringing more funk than legally allowed to the dance floor, Parliament was a ‘family’ and the chorus of voices only solidifies the idea. The beat still sounds like gritty urban life and smells of block parties and non-stop jams. A wonderful piece of history.
Take Me Home [Cher]—-Still a classic and still featured in her live appearances, this kind of started the whole thing for Cher. We in the ‘community’ embraced Cher for her flamboyance and outlandish costumes. Whenever I hear this single, I think of Will & Grace….funny how minds work. This is a nice disco infused joint that still sounds fresh and accessible to me.
I Feel Love [Donna Summer]—-Proving that she was far more than a one hit wonder, Summer teamed with Georgio Moroder could do little wrong in the mid to late 70’s. This is a huge dance floor single that literally made Summer a star and Casablanca a boatload of Cocaine money!!! If you seek the definition of Disco, this is at the forefront of the explanation. Running at almost 9 minutes, this allows the signature synth line [often repeated in many, many Dance songs] to wander, explore and find its way back home again. Summer delivers a dreamy and relaxed vocal that just urges you to sway and worship the lights and swirling balls catching them. Magnificent….and a great mix of the track.
Romeo And Juliet [Alec R. Constandidos]—-A French session player and musician, Alec hit big in the mid-70’s with his Euro-Disco ode to love. The track is high energy, has some nice ‘disco strings’ on it and a beat that is undeniable. The session singers sound generic, but manage to create a huge dance floor filler that reeks of excess and drugs….fantastic!!!
Ain’t Nuthin’ Gonna Keep Me From You [Teri DeSario]—-Best known for her duet with K.C. & The Sunshine Band [Yes, I'm Ready], this track…written by Barry Gibb is a high energy and fun song that includes all the cliché’s of Disco…the thump-thump-thump, the swirling strings…the lyrics of love and the search for it. how could you go…this is great, although i doubt many people heard it outside os the bars. The Gibb sound is all over this track.
In The Navy [The Village People]—-If there was ever a band ‘made’ for the Gay Community this would be it. Dressed in flamboyant and stereotypical costumes, the group lasted for two records of hits and then managed to eeek out a living in one form of the other for the next nearly 4o years. This track is so embarrassingly gay that it is hard for me to even listen to…this is everything i try not to be…but I embrace the history…as Stonewall and the NY scene was opening up the closet even more, this helped some but ultimately only gave the straight community more fodder to fight us with.
My Baby’s Baby [Liquid Gold]—-An in-studio creation of above DJ Constandidios, this seemed a pretty common practice back in the days when groups really did not tour. when this practiced resurfaced in the early 90’s it caused problems….i.e. Milli Vanilli. This is another generic track that manages to be huge and expected in the swirl of 12″ singles that were being pressed at the time. This has a great bass and synth line…strings that remind of early Barry White and a vocal that is unremarkable, but acceptable. Most of the song has a strong Urban beat but it is a sure dance floor filler…this is grand upon the chorus and full of energy.
Find My Baby [Cameo]—-With a galloping Disco Beat and a descending bass line, the song is a classic group effort that reeks of early day urban dance music. This is wonderfully under-produced and the result is raw and pure…you can not help but fall in love with the musical simplicity and the marvelous blend of vocal harmonies. This is nice!!!
I Found Love [Now That I Found You] [Love And Kisses]—-Probably better known as a sample used by Heavy D. in the 90’s, you can detect the basic elements in this original and you have to wonder at the same time of the genius of producers and writes to pick out tiny samples from such a huge song and build a new one around it. This is another studio created dance record that is a generic flood of vocals all coming together to create a fun record that you can dance to. Nice, but nothing special.
***1/2 out of 5
I like parodies when they are well executed—I love them when they’ve been spiced up (with a bit of instrumental flair) and paired with a funny video. But the thing that makes the video I’m about to show you so great is that it managed to be intelligent while being humorous.
Do not be deterred by the gun in the still-frame. xD
Without further ado, I present to you (but take no credit for): Too Late to Apologize: A Declaration [a clever remix of the One Republic single].
Even more difficult of reviewing a band I am a fan, is reviewing one I have never managed to get.
If in the first case, it’s easy to be transported by the emotions on overemphasizing each single note, in the second I am conditioned by prejudices to devaluate that.
This is why it is a week I can’t make head or tail of this Vampire Weekend review.
Vampire Weekend, despite what I have been reading over the parabolas of music journalists and bloggers over the last 3 years that saw them moving from model students at Columbia University to worldwide new independent rockstars, are not revolutionizing rock music from the musical point of view.
Shaking ingredients is a trick used since rock was born, more than a new cocktail it can bring a new freshness. It can surprise but does not change.
Vampire Weekend music follows on the path of optimistic pop-rock. Bright students writing cheerful songs for the summer parties. The use of rhythmic influences from outside Anglophone countries spices up the songs. With obvious differences the formula has been used by Talking Heads, by Police, by Peter Gabriel. It originates from the work of seminal artists as Fela Kuti and several more. Arrived to Columbia University probably because of an album borrowed by their parents’ vinyls collection: Paul Simon – Graceland.
In addition to give indie-rock scene something to dance with, instead of the depressing tunes of heartbroken lovers, Vampire Weekend mix gave music journalism all the appropriate adjectives which are in desperate need to write about a new band.
Afro-Beat is back in fashion, clever titled songs as Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa explain the mix and the classification become easy. But Vampire Weekend’s Africa is filtered through the all-white taste of upper class New York students who don’t live in Congo but dance Congolese Kwassa Kwassa in some University bars.
Their music is clean, aseptic, perfect. There is not a speck of dust in the drums, not a pinch of soul in its veins. Guitars are shiny and sparkling as the melodies they play. There is not a hint of grease, of dirt, of distortion. The shirts are ironed with no creases for a bit of groove to creep into.
It’s the youth that grew up with Mandela out of jail and doesn’t want to know what as happened to him before they were born. They don’t question the aim of those tribute concerts. Why he has been left rotting there for decades. “You can turn your back on the bitter world” they sing in Cousins and I start from this verse to deepen into Vampire Weekend world from their lyrics.
A difficult and incomplete job for someone not American, not even English. Texts are mostly obscure, they are not explicit but quite often hide some dubious words that I wonder if have any intentionality.
There is something ambiguous in the choice of language that goes together with their image. In the end this combination is the most interesting aspect they bring to the rock scene.
Reading through the lines is one of my forbidden pleasures, so it could be very easy for me to misinterpret Vampire Weekend. If theirs is a clever irony I am one of those going to fall into the trap. Fact is Vampire Weekend are the biggest contradiction rock’n'roll has seen since Bryan Ferry black tie closed the seventies in “haute couture”.
While they are about to enter the Cambridge Corn Exchange, tenths of girls who left the several Cambridge colleges, take the risk of messing up their perfect make up to squeeze to the front. If there is a natural place for Vampire Weekend to set a gig, that place is Cambridge, UK.
Three chandeliers hang from the ceiling, they recall the cover of their debut album. They also remind me of those movies set in a colonial environments when “whites” inhabit luxurious villas in the middle of the savannah, with lions at the gates and “blacks” serving tea in white ceramic.
The four guys arrive. They are immaculate as the fans were before the wait in the crowd. Cool western colourful clothes recall the sun of the Africa they love.
This is the Vampire Weekend’s revolution. Not the music, but the image they bring into rock’n'roll clichés. They are not four rebel teenagers of the upper middle class who refused the parental status-quo assaulting their guitar in the basement. They are four excellent undergraduates that likely meets to rehears in a proper studio after the traditional afternoon tea and biscuits with their grandmothers.
Vampire Weekend image turn the concept of American college rock upside down.
A genre that blossomed from the opposition of the mainstream culture, the enemy, to espouse the “underground” culture. Theoretically, philosophically, actively, politically, in fashion and body care.
All of that is reverted. Vampire Weekend reread that mainstream culture learnt at school and use it to their advantage. It becomes a reference, not an enemy; probably not a friend either but definitely something to make a good use of. They sing it and the colour it with joyful melodies and steady rhythm.
Richard Serra is cited on White Sky the track opening tonight.
Cope Cod Kwassa Kwassa follow and beyond the clever title presents to the world the debut of Louis Vitton in a rock song. Rhyming it with Benetton and citing Peter Gabriel doesn’t cancel the oddity, actually it makes it into one of their most efficacious songs.
Vampire Weekend at a first glance sound innocuous. They are welcomed in admiration by those students that until today identify themselves more with a Louis Vitton bag than with an indie-rock band.
M79 is the name of a grenade launcher used by Marines in Vietnam, this until the song arrives to the first line and you discover it is also a bus crossing Central Park.
California English brings its load of ambiguity citing “Contra”, the word that also titles their latest album. In the hand of Vampire Weekend it is a remote tourist resort in California, for the rest of the world a guerrilla fighter sponsored by CIA to combat Sandinista in Nicaragua.
Cousins is the song that suggests “You can turn your back on the bitter world”, where bitter in fact is the sentence that invites to ignore the world. Everything is well hidden in another gem of a pop song which is the constant formula that keeps fans dancing, apparently unaware.
I don’t want to imply all rock music has to be socially and politically concerned, I appreciate the need of leisure but I find difficult to understand the need of inserting odd words and dubious statements if it is all about having fun.
Taxi Cab goes “Like a real aristocrat…” and Run opens with “Every dollar counts…” to bring capitalism into rock’n'roll and the concert into their biggest hit.
A-Punk causes the educated euphoria that Trinity College students can let themselves go for a favourite song. As Christ was crucifixed at 33, the noble word punk is crucifixed here, 33 years since it was invented. Deprived of any meaning it had since. Punk doesn’t go beyond the title, not into the lyrics and, it goes without saying, far from the music.
The chorus-with-hiccup “Look outside at the raincoats coming, say ‘oh’” is catchy as much as it is annoying “‘Ey, ‘ey, ‘ey, ‘ey!”
One (Blake’s Got a New Face) and The Kids Don’t Stand a Chance keep the audience happy. It doesn’t come everyday that an independent album tops Billboard top 200 album chart. The image of the girls from Contra cover is hanging, huge, from the back of the stage pointing her lit eyes to the crowd. They change colour giving the clean face a ghastly look.
Contra is not very different from Vampire Weekend debut. They keep walking the road from New York to Soweto and Diplomat’s Son (!?) doesn’t move their musical proposal an inch further.
Ezra Koenig finds some seconds to adapt a rare B-Side, Boston (Ladies of Cambridge), written for the Harvard’s girls of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to dedicate it to the British girls of the old, sweet, original Cambridge, UK. Birthday present for a city that just turned 800 years.
The finale sees Giving Up the Guns introducing Campus, a rant against a professor. It works as a perfect assist and medley with Oxford Comma which is another tirade, about the uselessness of a grammar rule. If Franck Black was wondering “where is my mind?” when Vampire Weekend were babies, twenty years on it seems proper education gave them very clear answers. To the point of deserving two songs.
With two albums published is easy to guess what’s next. Horchada is their first single from Contra, another landmark Vampire Weekend song with a couple of mysterious verses “In December, drinking horchata, I’d look psychotic in a balaclava” which become even more mysterious in Mansarda Roof “The Argentines collapse in defeat, The admiralty surveys the remnants of the fleet”.
While Walcott, their first ever song closes the show and people head to the merchandise stall, I sit in the press area asking myself where these guys are bringing rock’n'roll.
15 years since Oasis brought the working class to top the chart and Blair to 10, Downing Street, Vampire Weekend bring New York Bourgoise to a decade destined to have a Tory government in a couple of months. I don’t believe in coincidences, history mirrors the society.
Dancing to the happy, vaguely exotic rhythms that invite to turn the shoulder to the bitter world, Vampire Weekend bring ambiguity into the dance floor.
A band which music sounds pleasant and innocuous, by four guys which appearance challenges anything your parents have been telling you about rockstars. Their daughters stand on the first row keen on being noticed, hoping to enter the after show party. Instead of causing their mums worries they must generate envy in their forbidden thoughts.
Meet Vampire Weekend on their [website] [myspace] [facebook] [spotify]
It suits Vampire Weekend in a strange way, but it does. I post here an answer I was asked several times about holding gear during the three songs photo set.
Obviously if you shoot with one camera and a zoom the problem does not exist and you can dress as you please.
When you have 2 cameras and few lenses and you need to change them and be quick, the question arises.
Any camera bag is not a solution for concert photography. They are bulky and press pit (when existent) are usually very narrow, so you are not operational with it and most important disrupt the efficiency of your colleagues. Leave it just under the barrier.
While shooting I keep all my stuff in one of those multi-pockets jacket, I find it very useful.
It does not look cool, at the gig a girl told me I looked like an explorer ready for a safari, (I answered I heard I was going to listen to Africa beat), but if you are not going to photograph a gig to look cool (I can tell you many photographers in the pit do) but to take cool pictures, that is my favourite option.
It holds many lenses, you can even hide a flash (you never know), everything is at your hands and relatively protected from shocks, dust and flying pints.
If you have a better solution, or want to share your way, let me know in the comment box below.
Another big winner at last year’s ARIA awards was Ladyhawke, who won Breakthrough Artist Album and Single. So I should probably be familiar with My Delirium:
Hey, Ladyhawke might like my post! Because she’s waiting by the phone, and nobody waits by a phone anymore! Seriously, what year is it? I guess all that talk of her ’80s retro-ness isn’t just publicity guff.
I quite like this song, I really do. I like that the melody isn’t the same as the guitar riff – instead the two work against one another, and that takes a songwriter’s touch. I like that the chorus goes up a notch from the verses. I like that the verses aren’t melodically dull, in order to give the chorus a helping hand.
The lyrics, especially in the verses, are a little bland. No real concrete images in “room”, “watch”, “world”, “eat” and ”sleep”. And it really needs a bridge: the breakdown before the riff comes back into the final choruses is fun, but a truly butt-kicking bridge could have made the thing special.
OK, this exercise requires a scoring scale, and I will invent one. It’s called the Vanda-Young Scale, and it goes like this:
10 A spectacular song, on a universal subject, that will still hit you on all fronts in fifty years. Everything works together, and the whole is mystically greater than the sum of the parts. A really, really good song. Friday On My Mind good.
7-9 An inspired effort, ambitious and unusual, solid professionalism spiced with a pinch of genius. Not flawless, but a memorable experience. An Evie experience.
5-7 It sticks with you, no argument. Maybe you’ll love it, if it’s playing at just the right time. Everything’s well-crafted and in capable hands. Love Is In the Air, and you’re Yesterday’s Hero.
3-5 A song by someone who knows what they’re doing, but not on their best day. Quality album filler, or an OK single. Around the Show No Mercy or My Little Angel mark.
1-2 Glimmers of talent, but a misfire.
0 Three minutes that would have been better spent in silence.
Based on this system, I’m scoring my two contenders thus far:
Walking On a Dream – 1.5
My Delirium – 4
COMING SOON: The Morning Benders won over Bay Area fans and more with two self-released EPs and their 2008 album, Talking Through Tin Cans. Now the band is back with Big Echo, slated for release March 9 through Rough Trade Records. For those in the Midwest, set your dates, as the band makes its rounds for The Vaudeville Mews, in Des Moines, Iowa (one of my favorite venues) on April 9; The Maintenance Shop in Ames, Iowa on the 10th; and at Huckleberry’s in downtown Rock Island, Illinois, on the 11th as guests of Daytrotter. The band is offering a free song, “Promises”, at their website. If you want to see and hear The Morning Benders go old-school, like being transported back to 1950s America with a collection of their best San Francisco buddies, then click here.
The Morning Benders “Promises”
Today I did a promo shoot with the band, A Colour for the Occasion, up in Calabasas. The place that we did the shoot at had the most gorgeous view over Southern California; it was breathtaking.
It’s shoots like today that make me realize how fortunate I am to have a battery pack and being able to shoot on location with strobes.
Definitely make sure to be on the lookout for these fun, talented guys; they are headed to the studio soon and should have an EP out by May.
Sharing free music on this so commercial morning… I love u !!
Compartiendo musica gratis en esta mañana tan comercial… Os quiero !!
Disco Curtis, is a Pop Rock/ Acoustic band of best friends from Texas. They started about a 1 1/2 ago, with Garrett, AJ and Tanner. Brendan was a live member then and didn’t officially join yet. Now the boys are recently signed to Interscope/MySpace Records and you may have heard their song or seen their Music Video “Ashley” on MTVU Freshman!!! The boys are now in California getting their album together for release. While they are here we were able to check them out at the Glendale Galleria Hot Topic and at Chipotle after. We then did an amusing interview below, So be sure to check it out and tell us what you think!!
Ash <3
The new music video by Rihanna is HOT! Love that she finally went back to (“her roots”) using dancehall elements in her music video – dance moves, costumes, and attitude. Fun fun fun! Enjoy 
Click here for more of my Rihanna blog posts.
Genre: Indie, Electronica, Pop
Year: 2010
Location: Saratoga Springs, NY
Label: Barzuk
Myspace
01. Mouthful Of Diamond 4:13
02. When I’m Small
03. Turn It Off
04. Running From The Cops
05. All Dried Up
06. As Far As I Can See
07. You Are The Ocean
08. Bloody Palms
09. Futuristic Casket
10. Let Me Go
11. 10,000 Claps
Barzuk Records has a great tendency to release some nice diverse debuts, and Phantogram keeps to that. Phantogram has been turning peoples heads for a while now, with their new and fresh sound. Most of Eyelid Movies revolves around trippy electro-hop beats below simplistic guitars and ecstatically-pleasing girl/boy vocals. The tracks never seem to get old, as “Mouthful of Diamonds” has been rolling around in my head for the past two weeks. Check their Myspace for a small Midwest/East Coast/Canana tour, gonna be hitting up Columbus on February 16th.
Last year I saw both Girls Can’t Catch and Mini Viva perform and thought it was time to see how they were both getting on. I was especially excited about seeing Mini Viva after their near electric set at Hoxton Bar & Kitchen last September (my how time flies).
So first up…
Fo
Girls Can’t CatchSince summer GCC have acquired a few fans; the girl in front of me had even travelled all the way from France for what turned out to be a very short and very underwhelming set.
You gotta give GCC some credit thought because they certainly looked the part though; glamorous and funky, kinda like a mini Girls Aloud.
However, musically they have become more a poor mans Girls Aloud, with a lot less verve or swagger. Last time they were saved by a few acoustic songs mid-set… this time there was not such reprieve just caricature dance routines reminiscent of an 80s kids TV show.
Keep Your Head Up is still passable (just) however the rest of the songs that cry out for creativity, differentiation, a tambourine. Something. Anything!
Back in July I had a lot of hope for GCC, they had a spark of something. Right now, I think that spark might have caught swine flu and it needed some serious Lemsip (Max) on Tuesday night.
Formatting
next…
Mini VivaLet’s be fair, Britt & Frankee had a monumental task if they were going to even get close to my 1st live Mini Viva experience. Then, they had just landed 7th spot in charts and were like kids in candy store on an unrivalled high. Supported by a very competent band they were just two little bundles of joy.
For the Jazz Cafe though there was no band and no Top 10 chart entry to celebrate…
The girls still do have a cheeky charisma about them which makes them lovable and the tunes are great (with the exception of the electronic Stilton Do You Want Candy?); It’s a real shame I Wish struggled in the charts, and I’m Hooked was catchy and cute little number. Not having the band made the songs sound a bit hollow in comparison to my memories of Hoxton.
The girls did hold their own though and made the blink and you’d miss it set enjoyable.
Speaking to some fans (who had driven down from Manchester for a five song set and no encore) informed me Mini Viva playing with a band is more the exception than the rule (apparently you are more likely to see them DJ than rock out). This is a real shame because they were seriously good at Hoxton Bar & Kitchen. Without a band they just fall back into the pack becoming just two likeable lasses from “up t’north” with nice pop tunes.
I have by no means given up on Mini Viva, Hoxton Bar & Kitchen was too darn good, however I really do hope Britt & Frankee find their band again so more people can experience the special live performances I’ve witnessed in them.
Soulside Funk
For
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Music on television this week. I’ll try to make a point of posting this every week, and adding to it. Personal picks are in bold.
Monday February 8
The Bravery on Jimmy Kimmel (not live)
Paolo Nutini on Last Call with Carson Daly
Tuesday February 9
Sade on The Late Show with David Letterman
Regina Spektor on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Matisyahu on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien
The XX on Last Call with Carson Daly
Wednesday February 10
Allison Moorer on The Late Show with David Letterman
The Editors on Jimmy Kimmel
Anya Marina on Last Call with Carson Daly
Michael Buble on Ellen
Thursday February 11
Kenna and Franz Ferdinand on Last Call with Carson Daly
Friday February 12
Dashboard Confessional on Jimmy Kimmel
Selena Gomez on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Saturday February 13
Them Crooked Vultures on Austin City Limits
Ok so this is probably a bit of a surprising blog but let’s face it, Lady Gaga is awesome. A friend of mine once said that he wished he was related to Lady Gaga. So why is she so cool and what makes her so good for the music industry?
Well first thing’s first, she’s different. I remember watching her being interviewed on Friday night with Jonathan Ross and thinking ‘who is this freak girl?’. Now I know that was a little unfair but she is a little strange one. The fact that she’s different is great for young fans showing you don’t have to fit in to be cool – it’s ok to be a little GaGa. In fact that’s what Stephanie has taught me. Dress the way you want, be the way you want and let those who want to be your friend, like you for the way you are. Ok mushy stuff over…
Lady Gaga has worked hard to be where she is. She wasn’t part of a talent show, she wasn’t part of heavy record company promotions like acts such as Pixie Lott, Gaga worked hard to feel the effects of fame. Gaga worked in tiny clubs in NYC to gain any little bit of publicity she could even playing strip and burlesque clubs.
She can actually sing, pretty damn well. Just look at the live versions of ‘Bad Romance’ and listen to those powerful vocals – who can really sing like that these days really? And to top this off, she can actually play an instrument, a trait that most singers don’t have these days. Can Joe McEldery play an instrument? I thought not!
Lastly, she’s fun. From watching her performance of ‘Bad Romance’ on the X Factor you can tell she loves the stage and thinks about the visuals of every performance. Lady Gaga actually decides on what props are used on stage – just look at the disco stick, how weird but fun is that?! It’s even kept in it’s own box!
So, Lady Gaga is good for the music industry because she’s a breath of fresh air. She’s an old time musician who likes to put on a good show and represent all of those who like to be a little different or just be themselves. It’s clear people love her, with several UK number Ones under her belt and two fabulously selling albums. Lady GaGa we love you! 
Fresh from her catchy debut single, comes her second single “Your Love’s A Drug” which is another finely crafted pop tune. This time the Gossips Girl got somebody to love her and is saying his love is infectious and addictive. Chuck Bass perhaps? With light synth sounds and catchy chorus, this song will not leave your head the minute you hear it. It’s a feel-good pick me up and since actual drugs are expensive nowadays, this song is a cheaper and safer alternative. Leighton is slowly making her presence felt in the pop scene and could be a sweet alternative to pop’s current female singer trend of crazy fashion and outrageous behaviour (thank you Lady GaGa) where she just oozes sex and sweetness. Please note we are not obssessed with her.
I find it quite awkward that I’m starting to like Korean Pop. Ever since the Wondergirls became a big hit in my home country, I’ve found myself listening to others a lot too. Here is the song that they became successful in the Philippines for:
It’s quite ‘cringe-worthy’ in my opinion but I have to admit that it is catchy. However, the other artists that have caught my attention are Taeyang (aka Dong Young-bae or Sol) thanks to a friend and his obsession, BoA (aka Boa Kwon), 2NE1, Girls’ Generation and there is probably more that I haven’t discovered yet. I like some of them for the cheesiness but I also like others because it makes me want to dance (especially Taeyang’s songs).
It’s strange, normally I would think this genre is just too cheesy for me and I would avoid it but I like it for some reason and I think it may be because it can only just make you smile and laugh sometimes (depending on the song) and it distracts you from your troubles. I don’t know, maybe I’m just weird and I have a weird taste but I don’t care. People aren’t supposed to be judged on any grounds so if I like some genres of songs, it shouldn’t be an excuse to make fun of or judge.
*ahem*
Oops, got a bit defensive there haha! But I just thought I’d share some of the music that I like from these artists. Hope you might like too!
Taeyang – Where U At
Taeyang – Wedding Dress
BoA – ~White Wishes~ (Translation: Mamoritai ~White Wishes~)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3aXj_5keW0
BoA – Eat You Up
Girls’ Generation – Gee
Girls’ Generation – Gee (Dance Version)
Until next post…
This post originally appeared on my now defunct blog Gunsgobangbang.
I feel like I don’t know the country where my origins are from at all.
Iran – thousands of miles away, an ocean between us.
Born and raised in Canada, my exposure to Iranian culture has been solely through
my family and their tight knit 
group of friends.
I hardly have any Iranian friends, most are Canadian.
For the longest time I wished I didn’t have Iranian heritage, that I was simply Canadian like the rest. As I grew older I realized that being an individual is better than being the same.
But it’s difficult trying to connect to a country I know only a minimum of. Yes, yes, I follow the politics broadcasted on international news – but is that even accurately representing a culture?
Last year, I wrote a profile on Abjeez for McClung’smagazine. Abjeez is an Iranian sister-duo based in Sweden. They play reggae-flamenco-Persian inspired music and a lot of their lyrics are oriented around what it’s like being young in Iran. They sing about the youth-drug problem and how old archaic traditions can be limiting and suffocating. After writing the article, I wanted to know more about the culture but didn’t know where to turn.
The political situation in Iran sucks, I think we all know that, but what about the people? What about the youth? What are they like? Besides young men rocking rooster-hair cuts (thanks Vicemagazine for filling me in) what’s the culture like there?
I think it’s important to learn about your heritage, so I’m going to start.
In the meanwhile, here’s some amazing Iranian-operatic-gypsy-jazz-ska-pop 127 Band.
Price: $155 NZD
Arrival Date: 06/10
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Please check the “Information” post for shipping costs and payment methods.——————————————
Disclaimer: I only published this post because I was tired of trying to write it in a way that made sense. Do with it as you please. I have thick skin. You could also tell me something that I did right or mostly berate me. Whatever.
I don’t watch a lot of TV (or a lot of TV with a purpose). I watch some comedic programs1 and certain sporting events2, but I really don’t have a regular TV schedule I follow, except for Lost. I just watch Lost.
Last night was season premier night for my (only) favorite show. I’ve waited since the end of season five3 for the final season to commence. Why? I dunno. It could be the viral marketing4 or complex characters or multi-layered narratives or…it’s just a good show. Lost broke out of the box5 of the typical TV show by transcending time and space6, reality and science fiction7, and basic bad guy/good guy dichotomies8 like no other show has ever done before.
I was thinking about Lost’s trajectory over the past five seasons and it sort of reminded me of the Flaming Lips’ last six albums9. The first season of Lost, much like 1993’s Transmissions from the Satellite Heart10, starts off fresh, big, and different. Both the album and show explore fledgling love triangles, abductions, and questions of faith. It’s really the beginning for both the TV show and the band11.
Both the second season and the Lips’s Clouds Taste Metallic take much darker turns than their predecessors. Evils are revealed alongside sad realities. Ships are set sail, destroyed, and abandoned. One could even make a case that both follow-ups closely resemble the tenor and tone of Empire Strikes Back, but that would be too nerdy. In the end, the black guy is sent away and all hope is lost12.
The series of Lip’s albums and Lost take strange turns but go a long way in preparing their fans for what’s to come. Scientists race for cures and try to solve the unknowns of their surroundings. Waiting for heroes and unveiling the mysteries of science thematically carry these works. The Soft Bulletin13 and Lost’s third season were breaking points for each. The Lip’s album topped many year-end lists and is generally considered their breakthrough effort. The castaways of Lost were finally within reach of the outside world as their narrative was about to take a rather severe turn in the seasons to come.
Much is expanded upon in both the Lips’ and Lost’s narratives. Their follow-ups to their breakthroughs extended themes and aesthetic. Season five was as much a disappointment as At War with the Mystics. And the jury is still out on Embryonic and the still-fresh season six of Lost14.
Throughout the Lips’ discography they’ve covered topics ranging from the existential to the downright comical, mirroring Lost as if existing in a parallel universe15…
Anyway, we watched the season premier of Lost and like every time I buy a new Flaming Lips’ record, I feel…well…a little lost. But that kind of lost a is a happy lost. A lost in which reality is suspended. A flash of light blinds for a moment and I’m transported somewhere else. The best music and even the best of TV do that for the consumer. It’s better than any drug. That’s why we keep going back. That’s why I can’t wait for Tuesdays and for nine months to pass between seasons of my favorite TV show.
1The Office, Thirty Rock, and Stewart/Cobert are the only comedic shows worth watching. End of discussion…unless of course you want to debate my point in the comments, but I don’t think you will.
2I primarily watch Ohio State football and basketball. I know it doesn’t fit with the blog, but that’s who I am.
3That was like nine months ago. I like that each season is 15-17 straight weeks of new episodes, but the trade-off is to wait those nine months between a season-ending cliffhanger and the big reveal at the start of the next season.
4Of course, besides some videos and chat boards, I’m talking about all the spoilers out there. When a season was moving a bit too slowly, I just checked some spoilers to wet my appetite.
5The idiot box, so to speak.
6Usually this element of a show loses me, but because it was slipped in subtly, after they already had audience buy-in, I’m rolling with it. Now, if I could just figure out what to do with the alternate reality/side-backs.
7Although a science fiction is the genre, Lost is more than that as it dances in and around reality.
8I have always loved that the characters are never good or bad. They just are. There’s a ton of layers to every character, giving the drama more depth than any other show on TV.
9 I realize these are not the Lips’ first six albums. This is just where my awareness of the Lips began. Also, I did not include Zaireeka because I don’t have that much time, patience, or CD players to make it work.
10Again, this is where my Lips fandom began.
11The Flaming Lips as we know them today.
12Pun intended and it is strange that Eko (among other characters of color) and the Lips’ Ronald Jones are no longer in the picture.
13Easily one of my favorite albums of all-time and certainly my favorite Lips’ effort.
14OK. I’m just getting lazy here.
15Way too late spoiler alert. Although, I think I already mentioned the parallel universe thing. Oh well. This post is slowly falling apart.
Memories are fragments. Seldom do we remember an event in its entirety, even the most vivid ones. Those missing pieces, however, make us want to remember them more. They make us yearn to come back, to relive them as complete as possible. Here is where music comes in. It helps us remember. We hear a simple tune and it magically drowns us into nostalgia. We return to that place and time. This song was playing during prom night. This song was in the airwaves during graduation. They played this song in a friend’s funeral. Sometimes we associate a song with an event even when there’s no reasonable connection, just because it happens to be there, at exactly that point in time.
Lighthouse Family make that kind of music. Maybe because their music is so accessible, so familiar, that it easily connects with the moment. This is what sets the duo apart from the other jazz/easy listening groups. Ocean Drive, the duo’s first studio album, introduces us to their version of easy listening. There’s something about Tunde Baiyewu’s baritone that lingers in the mind. There’s something spiritual about Paul Tucker’s songwriting.
Its first single, “Lifted”, soars in positivity and hope, a trait supported by the other singles (“Ocean Drive”, “Goodbye Heartbreak”). While some songs have a slower and mellower air (“What Could Be Better”, “Beautiful Night”), they never stray from the overall positive theme. Lighthouse Family itself may be a memory now, but they already laid the groundwork to anchor many others.
- Glenn Ituriaga
