Happy New Year!

New albums coming out in 2009:
January
Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion (January 13th)
M83 – Saturdays = Youth (January 13th)
Andrew Bird – Noble Beast (January 20th)
Bon Iver – Blood Bank EP (January 20th)
Titus Andronicus – Airing of Grievances (January 20th)
The Bird and the Bee – Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future (January 27th)
Franz Ferdinand – Tonight: Franz Ferdinand (January 27th)

February
Chris Cornell – Scream (February 3rd)
The Fray – The Fray (February 3rd)
Von Bondies – Love, Hate, and The There’s You (Febraury 3rd)
Ben Lee - The Rebirth of Venus (Febraury 10th)
The Feeling – Join With Us (Febraury 18th)
Jay-Z – The Blueprint 3 (sometime in February)

March
Starsailor – All the Plans (March 2nd)
The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love (March 24th)
PJ Harvey and John Parish – A Woman a Man Walked By (March 30th)

April
Dave Matthews Band – (Title TBA)
Doves – (Title TBA)

Sometime in 2009
The Wrens – (Title TBA) Fall 2009

Wilco – (Title TBA) Spring 2009

(+44) – (Title TBA)
Basement Jaxx – (Title TBA)
Blur – (Title TBA)
The Gossip – (Title TBA)
Metric - (Title TBA)
The National – (Title TBA)
New Pornographers – (Title TBA)
OK Go - (Title TBA)
Pearl Jam – (Title TBA)
The Postal Service – (Title TBA)
Sonic Youth – (Title TBA)
Stars – (Title TBA)
The Strokes – (Title TBA)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – (Title TBA)

Muse – (Title TBA) late 2009 or early 2010
Tegan and Sara – (Title TBA) late 2009 or early 2010

So enjoy tonight, have fun, and get ready for great year in music!

Breaking Artist: Dead Man's Bones

I came across this video a couple of days ago, but had been too lazy to post it (what with skiing and merriment and all). It's a video of Dead Man's Bones, a group fronted by Ryan Gosling.

This is a video of their song "In the Room Where You Sleep."


I haven't quite made up my mind whether or not I like it. It sounds like it is pretty good, I mean I like the piano and the melody, plus there are the cute kids singing in the background, and Ryan Golsing's dreamy and all, but there's something about the song. Maybe it's the recording quality (or maybe that's just Gosling's voice in general) but something sounds off about it. Either way, it's Ryan Gosling, so they'll get plenty of publicity.

I would love to hear it actually recorded.....

Playlist: Great Albums of 2008

Since it's the end of the year, most places are starting their Top (insert number here) songs/albums/music videos/whatever of the year. Now personally I don't feel that I can do that, I mean I certainly haven't listened to enough music to feel that my rankings could justify all of the great music that has come out this year. But I must say, I trust Rolling Stone enough, and they came out with the Top 50 Albums of 2008 list last week. Give it a read to learn more about each album.

I highly recommend all of the albums, but below are some of my favorites from this year with one of my favorite songs from each album. (The numbers are their rankings from Rolling Stone).

1 | TV On the Radio: Dear Science
TV On the Radio - Halfway Home removed by zshare

6 | Santogold: Santogold
Santogold - Les Artistes removed by zshare

8 | Beck: Modern Guilt
Beck - Gamma Ray removed by zshare

10 | Vampire Weekend: Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend - Walcott

11 | Fleet Foxes: Fleet Foxes
Fleet Foxes - He Doesn't Know Why

15 | The Black Keys: Attack & Release
The Black Keys - Strange Times

20 | Kings of Leon: Only by the Night
Kings of Leon - Use Somebody removed by zshare

29 | Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago
Bon Iver - Re: Stacks

38 | Ra Ra Riot: The Rhumb Line
Ra Ra Riot - Can You Tell

49 | Hot Chip: Made in the Dark
Hot Chip - Ready for the Floor

Breaking Artist: Whitley

Whitley is an Australian born folk musician. His album, The Submarine, is just starting to break through to a larger audience. Whitley has the sound that will mellow in your subconscious. He seamlessly blends acoustic sounds with electronic overtones creating songs with hushed, whimsical tales of love and loss. It is an album that will follow you around even when you are not listening to it. Whitley’s vocal range and style is at most understated, and The Submarine is a feel good album that I have come to love.

It was hard to pick a favorite, but try this....
Whitley - More Than Life

Playlist: Study Break!

So despite all of the snow attacking the Northeast I actually got home :D

And what do I realize? Why that I never actually put the mp3s up for the past week. So here is a gift to all of you. Enjoy!

M.O.P. - Ante Up

Stars - Bitches in Tokyo

Otis Redding - Try a Little Tenderness

Softlightes - Heart Made of Sound

Thursday's Study Break

Softlightes - "Heart Made of Sound"


Don't worry, come tomorrow when all of my finals are done and I'm home there will be real posts once again!

Wednesday's Study Break

This is a very good tune - my mother used to sing this - this is Otis. I love Otis!

CD Review: Adele and Boogie

Here we go again! 1988 is the new album from Mick Boogie (one of the guys who did ¡Viva la Hova!, the amazing mix of Coldplay's music with Jay-Z's lyrics.

The album was just made available for download today, and I've got to say, you need to go download this off of Mick Boogie's site. It's a nice mix of Adele's vocals and beats that Boogie describes as "the hip-hop sensibilities of the late 1980s, considered by many as hip-hop's golden age."

Mick Boogie was the Executive Producer of 1988, but he did have help from his "co-starring" producers 6th Sense, The Kickdrums, Garbs Infinite, Remot, and nVMe, as well as guest vocalists Big Pooh of Little Brother and Naledge of Kidz In The Hall.

The albums pretty good, but what bugs me is that:
1) They didn't use Adele's "Hometown Glory!" That's one of my favorite songs on the entire CD and they didn't use it! Out of the 12 tracks on 19, they only used 9 of the songs to make 1988
2) The opening song of the CD is a mix of Adele's "Chasing Pavements" and an explanation of how Boogie thought of/went about creating 1988. "Chasing Pavements" is probably another one of my favorite tracks off of Adele's album, but because of her amazing voice, which they completely overlook on the track.

All right, ignore my complaining. They did really nice remixes of "Tired," "First Love," and "Melt My Heart to Stone." Go download it now!

Tuesday's Study Break

It's a long video, but the story that goes through the video makes it totally worth it. Plus it's a good break from studying...

Stars - Bitches in Tokyo

P.S. - I'm moving to Berlin

Monday's Study Break

Take a break from the craziness and just laugh and smile!

"Ante Up" - Bert and Ernie M.O.P. (aka Mash Out Posse)

The next time you're at a hip hop show and the MC tells you to "Bounce! Bounce!" think about how much better Bert and Ernie are at it.

Playlist: And all that jazz....

So as I assumed, I'm up to my eyeballs studying for finals. Luckily for all of you (and me, for that matter), one of those is my history of jazz final...

So here you go, a sampling of some songs that keep getting stuck in my head.
Miles Davis - Blue in Green
Benny Goodman - Sing Sing Sing (With a Swing)
Charlie Parker - Salt Peanuts

I Love "Team Love!"

Team Love is a New York City-based independent record label founded by Conor Oberst and Nate Krenkel in 2003. On December 8th, the label opened The Team Love Library - just by opening an account (all you need is your email) you can download things for free. There's a different (but good) selection every month.

"The library will be open to the public 24/7, and as we have an endless abundance of MP3s, anything you take from the library is yours to keep," The Team Love team announced via their website.

So what are you still doing here? Go to their website!

British and Trendy!

"Meantime" isn't a new song by any means (it's from their self titled debut album which came out in 2004), but hey, I love The Futureheads. That and this song's been stuck in my head for a while, and I'd never seen the music video before.


I'll admit it - I'm a sucker for the fun colors. And I want those phones (not to mention those guitars)!

Playlist: \ˌka-lə-ˈfor-nyə\ #2

So I clearly forgot some essentials. My last post was a quick shot before heading off to the airport. I went into my iTunes and typed "California" into the search box, clearly forgetting things like...

HollywoodJosh Rouse - Hollywood
And the infamous 101 right by Pacific Coast Highway
Albert Hammond, Jr. - Back to the 101
And (although my example isn't exactly a happy song) the Golden Gate bridge
Cold War Kids - Golden Gate Jumpers
So I guess as the week goes on (and my finals get closer) you'll have to listen to something more related to that. Toodles!

Playlist: \ˌka-lə-ˈfor-nyə\

I'll be in California till late Monday night, so no posting till Tuesday at some point. But instead of leaving you hanging, I'll leave you all with some of my favorite California influenced songs.

Jack's Mannequin - Miss California
Semisonic - California
Augustana - California's Burning

And yes, I intentionally (even though I listen to them) left out the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Phantom Planet (aka Californication and the OC theme song)...

Breaking Artist: Boo and Boo Too

Boo and Boo Too are a band from Kansas, but their album music makes me feel like I’m already in a small NYC club – it’s better seeing a band live because that’s when everyone is full of the energy and the rawness that comes from the experience – and that’s what Boo and Boo Too somehow captures on their recordings . With powerful drumming mixed with the perfect fuzz filled rift, it’s hard to not get into their music.

Here's my favorite track off their album No Tempo. Enjoy!
Boo and Boo Too - I Know Nothing's All Right

Tokyo Police Club Announces New Tour Dates

Tokyo Police Club have announced a U.S. tour for early next year. The band will receive alternating support from Harlem Shakes, Born Ruffians, and Ra Ra Riot.

02/24/09 - Providence, RI - Lupo's - Support: Harlem Shakes
02/25/09 - New York, NY - Webster Hall - Support: Born Ruffians
02/26/09 - Washington, DC - Black Cat - Support: Born Ruffians
02/28/09 - Pittsburgh, PA / TBD - Mr. Smalls - Support: Harlem Shakes
03/01/09 - Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop - Support: Harlem Shakes
03/02/09 - Columbus, OH - The Basement - Support: Harlem Shakes
03/03/09 - Cincinnati, OH - Mad Hatter - Support: Harlem Shakes
03/05/09 - Atlanta, GA - The Earl - Support: Harlem Shakes
03/06/09 - Tallahassee, FL - Club Downunder - Support: Harlem Shakes
03/07/09 - Orlando, FL - The Social - Support: Harlem Shakes
03/10/09 - New Orleans, LA - The Parish @ House of Blues - Support: Ra Ra Riot
03/11/09 - Houston, TX - Walters on Washington - Support: Ra Ra Riot
03/12/09 - McAllen, TX - Cine El Ray - Support: Ra Ra Riot
03/13/09 - San Antonio, TX - White Rabbit - Support: Ra Ra Riot
03/14/09 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theatre - Support: Ra Ra Riot
03/16/09 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown - Support: Ra Ra Riot
03/18/09 - Chicago, IL - The Metro - Support: Born Ruffians
03/19/09 - Pontiac, MI - Crofoot - Support: Born Ruffians

Tokyo Police Club - Nature of the Experiment
Harlem Shakes - Sickos
Born Ruffians - Hummingbird
Ra Ra Riot - Dying is Fine

I wish they were coming closer to where I am....

Redo

I wish I found this for my Thanksgiving post...



So...uh...Happy Thanksgiving...again...

"No, I can't dance..."

I like the Honorary Title - they've been around for a couple years now, and they have some pretty good music. Plus at the end of the day Jarrod Gorbel's vocals just get stuck and echo in my head.

Check out their newest music video for "Stay Away" off of their album, Scream & Light Up the Sky. The music video's still growing on me (I'm not a huge fan), but I love the song.

"I was left to my demise..."

So in my Strokes update, I failed to mention bassist Nikolai Fraiture, but it wa honestly because I had no idea that he had anything going on. Apparently Fraiture has a solo project under the name Nickel Eye. His debut album, The Time of the Assassins drops January 27th, and it also features Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner on most songs and some piano work from Regina Spektor on the track "Where the Cold Wind Blows."

Give Nickel Eye a listen...
Nickel Eye - Back from Exile

Happy Thanksgiving?

Just look at the right side....

And today was a day just like any other...

So I saw Jack's Mannequin in concert last night. What an amazing live band! Andrew McMahon knows just how to get a crowd going. The band's debut CD came out in 2005, but during the mastering for the album, McMahon was diagnosed with leukemia. After a long wait (though under understandable circumstances), the band released their second album The Glass Passenger in late September.

Here's the first single off the album, "The Resolution."



And here's "The Mixed Tape," the single off of their first album, Everything in Transit.


I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I am completely obsessed...

Breaking Artist: Awesome Color

Awesome Color is a rockin trio orignailly from Michigan. This band is full of pounding drums, angry, whiplashed guitars, and snarled, over-amped vocals. Derek Stanton is both an amazing singer and a fiery guitarist with a knack for bludgeoning riffs and raw, exciting solos. They play with so much energy and fire that they easily live up to their name.

Plus check out those shades!

Here's "Already Down" a catchy tune off of their album Electric Aborigines.

No Doubt

Apparently they're going to be touring together again. Hopefully this will cause Gwen to stop with this whole solo bussiness....

I really ain't no holla back girl. I'm really "just a girl"





that wasn't funny. sorry.

Fo Shizzle?

Snoop Dogg appeared on Martha Stewart on Tuesday....They made mashed potatoes. Snoop made his with cognac.



I think Snoop had to smoke up before hand just to get through it. Did you notice how there's only white pepper? Racist bastards....

That really does go without saying...

A simple yet beautiful music video for a simple yet beautiful song. "Call it Off" is one of my favorite song's off of Tegan and Sara's most recent albums, The Con.

I'm a Busy Bee!

You know that I'm lacking on free time when I just keep posting music videos to songs I like.

Here's a fun tune from Okkervil River. They're an indie rock band from Texas, and they just came out with their new album The Stand Ins in September. This song, "Lost Coastlines," is the single off the album. Enjoy!

Wake Up!

Electronic music has been the only thing keeping me going lately, which is funny because I've never really been a huge fan before. But right now I'm far too tired to listen to anything else, so this is one of the songs that has been on repeat for a couple of days now.

"Music is Happiness" by The Octopus Project

>
The video is clearly on crack....but don't you just love the music?

CD Review: The King Left

New York Nothingiis an amazing EP, but I'm really sad that there are only 4 songs on the EP? After a brief 16 minutes, all I can think is that I want more and when is a full length CD coming out. New York Nothing is full of high energy and big hook melodies. The band has this Brit-pop sound (even though they hail from Brooklyn), and the infectious beat and clever lyrics make you want to get up, dance, and clap along. The irregular tempo changes along with the singer’s vocals make for a great listen.

Here's "The Storm in a Teacup." Don't let the title let you think of Red Hot Chili Peppers, they're nothing alike...

Covers Make Me Happy

So I stumbled upon Jack's Mannequin (one of my favorite bands) covering MGMT's "Kids." It's a pretty good cover, but I'll admit that I have a bit of a bias towards both bands. Take a listen below!


You'll be hearing more about MGMT and Jack's Mannequin in he future, especially since I'm seeing Jack's Mannequin next weekend :D

I (Don't) Want You Back

Apparently there was talk of a Jackson 5 reunion tour and record for next year!?!?!?! Awesome! - if Michael hadn't stopped by a cute 12 year old boy and turned into a creepy white man.

Apparently Michael's response was "My brothers and sisters have my full love and support, and we've certainly shared many great experiences, but at this time I have no plans to record or tour with them." I am now in the studio developing new and exciting projects that I look forward to sharing with my fans in concert soon."

Yep - a new album produced by will.i.am (of the Black Eyed Peas) and a potential concert...it's going to be so awful - watch out. Sometime in 2009 you'll have to see it EVERYWHERE.

Kick, push

Lupe Fiasco announced to his fans during a concert in Chicago (his hometown) that he will retire after he releases his third studio album next year. "I just don't really feel like rapping anymore," he told Rap-Up.com.

Lupe also revealed that his final album will be entitled 'LupE.N.D.' will be a three-disc set divided among the letters E, N, and D. The "E" in 'LupE.N.D.' stands for Everywhere, the "N" for Nowhere, and the "D" for Down Here. The album is scheduled for release next year.

A rapper whose music I actually like calls it quits? Damn. He has a lot of talent too. Can't wait for the new album though...

CD Review: ¡Viva la Hova!

When DJ Danger Mouse came out with the Grey Album, fans went wild. The CD was an amazing blend of the music from the Beatles' White Album with the lyrics of Jay-Z's the Black Album. Now Mick Boogie and Terry Urban have teamed up with the likes of 9th Wonder, The Kickdrums, Cookin’ Soul, 6th Sense, Hasan Insane and many more to come out with ¡Viva la Hova!, a wonderful mix of Coldplay's music with Jay-Z's lyrics. And I've got to say, you need to go download this off of their website. It's crazy good, and for literally every and any fan.

There are two problems that I have with the album: 1) in some of the songs the producers decided to change the pitch of Chris Martin's beautiful voice so it sounds all funky and computerized. I wish they had just left it. 2) at the beginning of most songs that Urban produced there's this annoying women's voice who comes on that goes "Terry Urbaaaaaan" (we get it....you did the song) but if you can put up with that you're golden.

Here's one of my favorites from the bunch, "Miss Trouble." It's a mix of Coldplay's "Trouble" from their Parachutes album and Jay-Z's "Excuse Me Miss" from Blueprint 2 - The Gift and the Curse.

"Word Gets Around"

The Stereophonics release a new album today! Go out and buy Decade in the Sun: Best of the Stereophonics!

Whether you think you've heard of the Welsh band or not, you probably actually have. Secretly. Their music has been featured in movies such as Crash, I am Sam, and Wicker Park and on shows such as Rescue Me, Bones, Everwood, Smallville, and Friday Night Lights. Sadly that's what I need to prove to American audiences that the UK chart topping band is good, but I'll resort to it.

Here's one of their most famous songs:

I can see the lightbulb going off in your head right now....You DO know them! (It's in the Crash Soundtrack, if you're trying to place it).

And here's my favorite of their songs:

Yeah they like videos in black and white...what can I say? Stereophnics are edgy like that.

The Strokes!

The Strokes are finally finally finally going to get back together in February 2009, finally finally finally ending a hiatus that began after touring to promote 2006's "First Impressions of Earth."

During hiatus the members all seemed to go off and do their own side projects: guitarist Albert Hammond, Jr. with his solo project (and 2 amazing CDs), Julian Casablancas in a notable Converse ad (and song) with Pharrell and Santogold, and drummer Fabrizio Moretti with his new band Little Joy (who just released their debut album).

Hopefully touring and a new album will be on the way! We'll keep our fingers crossed...

Helter Skelter!

The Beatles agreed to do a videogame deal? Look what MTV ruined now....

The Beatles' Apple Corps Ltd. company has finally sealed a development deal with MTV Networks and Harmonix, the team behind Rock Band. The game, which will be released sometime in the "4th quarter" of 2009, will be "an 'experiential journey' through the Beatles' career music and vision," (according to Billboard.com). The soundtrack will be master recordings of UK releases, as supervised by Giles Martin, the co-producer of LOVE and son of original Beatles producer George Martin.

While it won't be directly tied to any Rock Band titles, the Beatles game will have a similar interface and may or may not be compatible with Rock Band's controllers....so yeah it's basically another rock band version, but with the Beatles (take that, Guitar Hero)

CD Review: Women

How ironic...a band made up of four guys calls their group Women. And they just came out with a self-titled album, Women...

After the first listen you don't really know what to think. Do I like it or not? The guitars are fun: twangy and clanky, and the music itself is a beautiful layered and textured mess. It sounds like it was recorded in your best friends garage, but that also adds to the charm of the album. The CD truly has something for everyone. At times it feels psychedelic, other time the songs sounded like old rock songs or folk music.

Here's one of my favorite tracks off the album, "Black Rice." Enjoy!

Now I have "Video Killed the Radio Star" stuck in my head...

MTV has finally remembered that the “M” stands for music! Apparently the channel recently launched MTVMusic.com, a new website that streams basically any music video you can think of. Just on the first page alone there is...

"Take on Me" by a-ha (which was my favorite music video when I was little probably because 1) I thought it was really cool how the drawings came alive and 2) I thought Morten Harket was dreamy)

"Weapon of Choice" by Fatboy Slim (Who doesn't love Christopher Walken? I mean COME ON! Dude can bust a move....)

and "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles (The first music video to EVER air on MTV on August 1, 1981. You gotta give them credit...especially since that's all they're really known for.)

There hasn't been a better time-waster since Facebook :D

TRL Canceled?

Maybe I live in a hole....it's quite possible (I don't have a TV in my dorm room), but I just found out that TRL will be airing it's last show on November 16 at 8pm.

It's not like I even watch TRL anymore (and haven't since Carson Daly still hosted it/was still cool), but considering how MTV was originally created to be a place for music and to air music videos, it seems quite silly to me that the network is getting rid of the last show that they had that wasn't just trashy reality TV. I know they technically have FMTV still, but it plays about 2 minutes of a music video and then I have to listen to that guy from Fall Out Boy....again. What ever happened to the music in music television?

So RIP TRL

1998-2008

EDIT: Apparently I do in fact live in a hole, seeing as how this was announced back in September.....

HELL YES

It's official! OBAMA IS THE NEW PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! Our country finally did something right!

I'm glad McCain stopped those jerks from booing when he congratulated Obama. His speech gets my respect.

GO VOTE!

It's officially November 4th!

The video's long, but it's worth it to see these kids. They even do a cute little dance at the end :D

If you don't get it, just listen to T.I.'s song "Whatever You Like"

CD Review: Innerpartysystem

Interpartysystem’s self titled album has a lot of potential. I get really into the music, but at times the songs have this huge build up, and instead of breaking the pressure and going all out, the music doesn’t live up to what it could be. Everything else is there for it to be a great electronic/dance album: big beats, high hats, piano licks, and catchy lyrics, but sometimes I would find myself waiting for some sort of musical release that never came.

But at the same time the album has been on repeat for a couple of days now and it has really been growing on me. Give "Don't Stop" a listen. It really gets stuck in your head!

CD Review: Bloc Party

Intimacy is an album that comes at you with a full blast of energy that feels more electronic than the groups first two albums. But Intimacy is full of electronic beats, pulsing rhythms, and raw lyrics. The band's lead singer, Kele Okereke has an emotive voice that goes wonderfully with the music (and doesn't just get lost in it). 

Give "Mercury" a listen.

 

It's probably one of the most intense and "in your face" songs on the album. I actually didn't like Mercury on first listen, but it quickly became one of the songs that got stuck in my head.

The First Post!

Hello all! (or no one, which is probably more likely the case)

This is a new blog I'm starting. I've recently gone off to college and joined my school's radio station. It's awesome for me because I get to review a lot of CDs. It's everything from rock to electronica to pop. From bands/artists that I had never heard of before to new releases from my favorite groups. 

And the best part? Now I get to share all this wonderfully newfound music with all of you!

So enjoy, leave comments, and hopefully you'll like what you hear. I'll be adding music soon.