The 2011 Oscars

I don't pretend to know anything about the Oscars. I just know that I like movies. Want to know what else I like? Bingo.

So put those two together, baby. Thrillist decided to make a re-shuffle-able (totally a word) board for some Oscar Night Bingo, and it's hillarious.

Where else does everyone win if "Someone's impassioned mostly crazy political speech is cut off by music" or "Someone makes painful joke about their acceptance rambling being the King's Speech."

If any of that sounds appealing then you should print out Bingo cards for your own Oscar party. How can you not when the FREE square is this:
Case closed.

We Got You Covered: "The Fresh Prince of Bell Air"

On one hand it's so silly, but on the other it's so beautiful.
But don't let this one song fool you - Kay Pettigrew has a lot of amazingly wonderful acoustic tunes that she wrote all on her own (though I do like the tune to Three's Company and think she could do it justice).

Go check out Kay Pettigrew's website - esecially her song "Fires." I'm swooning.

If you want to download "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" cover the link is below:
Kay Pettigrew - Fresh Prince of Bell Air

New TV On the Radio

I'm in a pretty good mood right now, and TV On the Radio is definitely one reason why.

The band, which hasn't had a new album since Dear Science back in 2008, will be releasing Nine Types of Light on April 12th. And just when I was starting to worry that their year long hiatus might not be a hiatus after all (not that I didn't enjoy Rain Machine and Maximum Balloon).

SO what are you waiting for? Go listen to and enjoy "Will Do," their first single!

Lord Huron

Sometimes you just need to take a step back, relax, and breathe. And that's exactly what Lord Huron's music does for me.

Lord Huron is the project of Los Angeles (but originally from Michigan) musician Benji Schneider, inspired by his time spent on the shore of Michigan's Lake Huron.

Check out the song "Mighty" below:
Lord Huron - "Mighty"

Even the beginning of the song sounds like rain falling outside or the wind blowing through a forest. Simply put, it's naturally beautiful. Then out of nowhere a lush guitar comes through and it's as if the old American frontier blends with a new sort of modern experimentation.

One of my new favorites for sure.

No More Guitar Hero?

So if you haven't heard the Guitar Hero dynasty has finally ended. The company feels like they haven't been making enough money as they have in previous years, so they're calling it quits.

5 Guitar Hero games I totally would have wanted to play:

Guitar Hero: Covers

Ok, so you all know that I'm a cover whore, right? The possibilities here are absolutely endless. Want to hear Joan as Police Woman cover T.I.'s "Whatever You Like"? You got it. How about Rogue Wave doing the Yeah Yeah Yeah's song "Maps"? No problem. There are so many covers that it would be EPIC.


Guitar Hero: Women who Rock

This might have less of an audience because some guys think women can't properly play/sing/whatever (which is stupid), but I think it would be great to have a bunch of female artists (whether that was vocalist or an entire band) all on one game. There'd be a bunch of different genres included and decades as well - perfect for any music appreciator. Think about it: anything from Heart to The Runaways to Janis Joplin to the Go Gos to Blondie to Sleater-Kinney to Alanis Morissette to No Doubt to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. All on one glorious game.


Guitar Hero: Jack White

Hear me out for a minute. Not only would you be able to play music from the White Stripes, the Raconteurs, an the Dead Weather, all in one, but think about his collaborative/solo work. Those could be tracks that the gamer would have to unlock. That gives you songs like "Here Comes the Fuzz" with Freeway, Nikka Costa and Mark Ronson, "Little Red Shoes" with Loretta Lynn, "Go It Alone" with Beck, "Another Way to Die" with Alicia Keys, "Loving Cup" with The Rolling Stones, "You Know I'm No Good/Shakin' All Over" with Wanda Jackson, and "Big River/Wabash Cannonball" with Secret Sisters, and the five songs he did for Cold Mountain. Or if you really want songs to unlock you could have Jack White as the producer of another band's music, like with the Von Bondies, Loretta Lynn, The Greenhornes, or Wanda Jackson. There are a lot of possibilities, really.


Guitar Hero: Sub Pop
With signed bands like Afghan Whigs, Avi Buffalo, Babes in Toyland, Band of Horses, Beach House, Ben Sollee, Blitzen Trapper, Bright Eyes, Built To Spill, CSS (Cansei de Ser Sexy), Cocorosie, Damien Jurado, Daniel Martin Moore, Death Cab for Cutie, Deerhunter, Dinosaur Jr, Dum Dum Girls, Fleet Foxes, Foals, Fruit Bats, Handsome Furs, Hole, Hot Hot Heat, Iron & Wine, Modest Mouse, Mogwai, Mudhoney, Nirvana, No Age, Pedro the Lion, Pernice Brothers, Red Red Meat, Rogue Wave, Sleater-Kinney, The Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth, Soundgarden, Sunny Day Real Estate, The Album Leaf, The Go! Team, The Postal Service, The Ruby Suns, The Shins, The Thermals, The White Stripes, Tiny Vipers, Ugly Casanova, Vaselines, Velocity Girl, Vetiver,Wolf Parade...I mean I didn't even list everything. Isn't that wonderfully crazy? Plus since they're all on the same label getting the rights to it would be easier.


Guitar Hero: Woodstock 1969

I know that a lot of these artists are already featured on Guitar Hero games, but imagine if you could do the same sets as the original Woodstock - same bands and song list order, same outfits, same guitars. I think there are some pretty intense music fans that would love that. Plus the music would be the likes of Joan Baez, Santana, Grateful Dead, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Janis Joplin with The Kozmic Blues Band, Sly & the Family Stone, The Who, Jefferson Airplane, The Band, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and Jimi Hendrix. I'd buy it.

I think I have a very fun and creative mind if I do say so myself. Guitar Hero's out, but Rock Band can totally hire me.

Some Really Unimportant Grammy Thoughts

Hey there Little Monsters -

I'm kidding! I'm kidding! Keep reading!

So what did you think of the Grammys? I won't lie, I had to miss a lot of it, but it was definitely interesting from what I saw. An egg? Really? If she wasn't famous I think it's safe to say that Lady Gaga would be institutionalized.

I'm not a great guesser with Grammy Awards. All in all, I guessed the corrrect winner 5 out of the 26 categories from the last post (yikes!), and who I actually wanted to win won 10 out of 26 times. It's a good thing I wasn't betting.

I'm not going to go through every category, but I just wanted take a moment to mention Album of the Year. One word. SHOCKED. No, no. Let's try AMAZED. I wanted Arcade Fire's The Suburbs to win, but I never thought it would in a million years. I was sure it would be Lady Gaga, but I am pleasantly surprised. Faith in music restored. (That and the Bieber didn't win Best New Artist. With so may amazing nominees in that category I would have been upset if he had won.)

Actually, you want to know what really upset me: Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals. I hate Train. I hate Soul Sister. Over the summer I worked at a Top 40 Radio Station and it was played EVERY HOUR. I didn't really care who won this one, but I should have figured Train would come back to haunt me.

Whatever, I'm going to bed.

For all of the Grammy nominees (and winners) check out Grammy.com.

It's Grammy Time!

Grammys are Sunday at 8pm so don't miss 'em! While you might be reading a bunch of blogs in the upcoming (and preceding) days that lead up to the Grammys about Valentine's Day and love songs, let's just focus on some great music, shall we?

Who I want to win and who I think will win are two very different levels...And let's face it, I could write a page on each nomination with who I want to win and why and who I think will win and why. But who really wants to read all that?

Highlighted in Yellow means who I want to win

Highlighted in Green means who I think will win.

If there's no Yellow I just don't care, and if there's no Green I have no effin' clue.

And Cyan (haha yes, cyan) means who I want to win might actually win.


Record Of The Year

B.o.B Featuring Bruno Mars - Nothin' On You

Eminem Featuring Rihanna - Love The Way You Lie

Cee Lo Green - F*** You

Jay-Z & Alicia Keys - Empire State Of Mind

Lady Antebellum - Need You Now

Album Of The Year

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

Eminem - Recovery

Lady Antebellum - Need You Now

Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster

Katy Perry - Teenage Dream

Song Of The Year

Ray LaMontagne And The Pariah Dogs - Beg Steal Or Borrow

Cee Lo Green - F*** You

Miranda Lambert - The House That Built Me

Eminem Featuring Rihanna - Love The Way You Lie

Lady Antebellum - Need You Now

Best New Artist

Justin Bieber

Drake

Florence & The Machine

Mumford & Sons

Esperanza Spalding

SO MANY CONFLICTING THOUGHTS! I love how I said I wouldn't write anything. I won't lie, Mumford & Sons, Florence & The Machine, and Drake have all won my heart. I'm even starting to get into Esperanza Spalding. It's really a shame that out of those four, Justin Bieber probably has the biggest chance of winning. He's caused Beatle(Bieber)mania all over again. Can you really fight that?

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance

Sara Bareilles - King Of Anything

Beyoncé - Halo (Live)

Norah Jones - Chasing Pirates

Lady Gaga - Bad Romance

Katy Perry - Teenage Dream

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance

Michael Bublé - Haven't Met You Yet

Michael Jackson - This Is It

Adam Lambert - Whataya Want From Me

Bruno Mars - Just The Way You Are

John Mayer - Half Of My Heart

Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals

Glee Cast - Don't Stop Believin' (Regionals Version)

Maroon 5 - Misery

Paramore - The Only Exception

Sade - Babyfather

Train - Hey, Soul Sister (Live)

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals

B.o.B, Eminem & Hayley Williams - Airplanes, Part II

Herbie Hancock, Pink, India.Arie, Seal, Konono No 1, Jeff Beck & Oumou Sangare - Imagine

Elton John & Leon Russell - If It Wasn't For Bad

Lady Gaga & Beyoncé - Telephone

Katy Perry & Snoop Dogg - California Gurls

Best Pop Vocal Album

Justin Bieber - My World 2.0

Susan Boyle - I Dreamed A Dream

Lady Gaga - The Fame Monster

John Mayer - Battle Studies

Katy Perry - Teenage Dream

Best Dance Recording

Goldfrapp - Rocket

La Roux - In For The Kill

Lady Gaga - Dance In The Dark

Rihanna - Only Girl (In The World)

Robyn - Dancing On My Own

Some of these aren't even dance music...

Best Electronic/Dance Album

BT - These Hopeful Machines

The Chemical Brothers - Further

Goldfrapp - Head First

Groove Armada - Black Light

La Roux - La Roux

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance

Eric Clapton - Run Back To Your Side

John Mayer - Crossroads

Paul McCartney - Helter Skelter

Robert Plant - Silver Rider

Neil Young - Angry World

Just so much love...

Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals

Arcade Fire - Ready To Start

Jeff Beck & Joss Stone - I Put A Spell On You

The Black Keys - Tighten Up

Kings Of Leon - Radioactive

Muse - Resistance

Best Rock Instrumental Performance

Jeff Beck - Hammerhead

The Black Keys - Black Mud

Los Lobos - Do The Murray

Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds - Kundalini Bonfire

Dweezil Zappa - The Deathless Horsie

Best Rock Song

Neil Young - Angry World

Mumford & Sons - Little Lion Man

Kings Of Leon - Radioactive

Muse - Resistance

The Black Keys - Tighten Up

Best Rock Album

Jeff Beck - Emotion & Commotion

Muse - The Resistance

Pearl Jam - Backspacer

Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Mojo

Neil Young - Le Noise

Best Alternative Music Album

Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

Band Of Horses - Infinite Arms

The Black Keys - Brothers

Broken Bells - Broken Bells

Vampire Weekend - Contra

Best Urban/Alternative Performance

Bilal - Little One

Cee Lo Green - F*** You

Carolyn Malachi - Orion

Janelle Monáe & Big Boi - Tightrope

Eric Roberson - Still

Best Contemporary R&B Album

Chris Brown - Graffiti

R. Kelly - Untitled

Ryan Leslie - Transition

Janelle Monáe - The ArchAndroid

Usher - Raymond V Raymond

Best Rap Solo Performance

Drake – Over

Eminem - Not Afraid

Ludacris - How Low

T.I. - I'm Back

Kanye West - Power

Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group

Big Boi, Bosko, Cutty & Mouche - Shutterbugg

Drake, T.I. & Swizz Beatz - Fancy

Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz - On To The Next One

Ludacris & Nicki Minaj - My Chick Bad

Young Jeezy & Plies - Lose My Mind

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration

B.o.B & Bruno Mars - Nothin' On You

Chris Brown, Tyga & Kevin McCall - Deuces

Eminem & Rihanna - Love The Way You Lie

Jay-Z & Alicia Keys - Empire State Of Mind

John Legend, The Roots, Melanie Fiona & Common - Wake Up Everybody

Best Rap Song

Jay-Z & Alicia Keys - Empire State Of Mind

Eminem & Rihanna - Love The Way You Lie

Eminem - Not Afraid

B.o.B & Bruno Mars - Nothin' On You

Jay-Z & Swizz Beatz - On To The Next One

Best Rap Album

B.o.B - The Adventures Of Bobby Ray

Drake - Thank Me Later

Eminem - Recovery

Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3

The Roots - How I Got Over

Best Americana Album

Rosanne Cash - The List

Los Lobos - Tin Can Trust

Willie Nelson - Country Music

Robert Plant - Band Of Joy

Mavis Staples - You Are Not Alone

      

Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical

Rob Cavallo

Brand New Eyes (Paramore) (A)

Hang Cool Teddy Bear (Meat Loaf) (A)

Happy Hour (Uncle Kracker) (A)

Music Again (Adam Lambert) (T)

Soaked (Adam Lambert) (T)

Sure Fire Winners (Adam Lambert) (T)

Time For Miracles (Adam Lambert) (T)

            When It's Time (Green Day) (T)

Danger Mouse

                  Broken Bells (Broken Bells) (A)

                  Dark Night Of The Soul (Danger Mouse And Sparklehorse) (A)

                  Tighten Up (The Black Keys) (T)

Dr. Luke

                  California Gurls (Katy Perry Featuring Snoop Dogg) (T)

                  For Your Entertainment (Adam Lambert) (T)

                  Hungover (Kesha) (T)

                  Kiss N Tell (Kesha) (T)

                  Magic (B.o.B. Featuring Rivers Cuomo) (T)

                  Take It Off (Kesha) (T)

                  Teenage Dream (Katy Perry) (T)

                  Your Love Is My Drug (Kesha) (T)

RedOne

                  Alejandro (Lady Gaga) (S)

                  Bad Romance (Lady Gaga) (S)

                  The Fame Monster (Lady Gaga) (A)

                  I Like It (Enrique Iglesias Featuring Pitbull) (S)

                  More (Usher) (T)

                  We Are The World 25 For Haiti (Artists For Haiti) (S)

                  Whole Lotta Love (Mary J. Blige) (S)

The Smeezingtons (Bruno Mars, Philip Lawrence, Ari Levine

                  Billionaire (Travie McCoy Featuring Bruno Mars) (T)

                  Bow Chicka Wow Wow (Mike Posner) (T)

                  F*** You (Cee Lo Green) (S)

                  Island Queen (Sean Kingston) (T)

                  Just The Way You Are (Bruno Mars) (S)

                  Nothin' On You (B.o.B Featuring Bruno Mars) (T)

There are a lot of other great categories (folk, blues, etc.) that I overlooked. For all of the Grammy nominees check out Grammy.com.

New Strokes Single!

That's right, you read the title correctly: The Strokes are finally back with their new single, "Under Cover of Darkness."

I think it's safe to say that I've been waiting for this moment for far too long. In fact, almost five years. "Under Cover of Darkness" was released earlier today, and you can check it out below:

The Strokes - Under Cover Of Darkness
It will be available as a free download from the band's website for 48 hours. So what are you waiting for? Go download it! (The site's been a bit wonky since they made it available - thus the reason you can listen to it on Soundcloud if the server's still too busy).

And you know what this means - the band's new album, Angles, has a release date set for March 22nd (and that also mean more tour dates. Yes!)

Hello February!

Sayumheywheredidjanuaryjustgo? But seriously....isn't February supposed to be the shortest month of the year? Why did January just feel so quick? And why are there so many releases this February? And Adele, girl, let's be real - that album should have been in stores before Valentine's day cause of your sultry, sultry voice.

Note: Unless noted, the release all dates are for the U.S.

February 1st
David Lowery - The Palace Guards
Demdike Stare – Tryptych
John Culture – Summer Friends
Kotchy - Two
Matisyahu - Live At Stubb's Vol. II
MEN – Talk About Body
Red - Until We Have Faces
Ricky Martin - Musica + Alma + Sexo
The Civil Wars - Barton Hollow
The Dirtbombs – Party Store
The Go! Team – Rolling Blackouts
Todd Snider – The Storyteller
Tommy Guerrero - Lifeboats And Follies
Twitch The Ripper - Bodiless
Various Artists - Pop Ambient 2011
Various Artists - Werkschau

February 8th
And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead… - Tao of the Dead
Cut Copy – Zonoscope
Dave Hause [The Loved Ones] - Resolutions
Emily Arin - Patch Of Land
Esben & the Witch – Violet Cries
Lionize - Destruction Manual
Motorhead - The World Is Yours
Nicole Atkins - Mondo Amore
Teddy Thompson - Bella
The Babies- The Babies
Thompson Square - Thompson Square
Yanni – Truth of Touch

February 15th
Beans – End It All
Bright Eyes – The People’s Key
Brown Recluse Evening Tapestry
Cowboy Junkies - Demons
Deicide - To Hell With God
Devotchka – 100 Lovers
Drive-By Truckers – Go-Go Boots
Ginuwine - Elgin
Harald Grosskopf - Synthesist (reissue)
La Sera – La Sera
MillionYoung – Replicants
Mogwai – Hardcore Will Never Die, But You Will
Nelson - Lightening Strikes Twice
P.J. Harvey – Let England Shake
Rev Theory - Justice
Saigon - Greatest Story Never Told
Sonic Youth - Simon Werner a Disparu
Stryper - The Covering
Telekinesis – 12 Desperate Straight Lines
Ten - Stormwarning
The Dears – Degeneration Street
Twilight Singers - Dynamite Steps
Yuck – Yuck

February 22nd
Adele – 21
Banjo Or Freakout - Banjo Or Freakout
Civet Love & War
Danielson – Best of Gloucester County
Julianna Barwick – The Magic Place
Jonny Burke – Distance and Fortune
Lauren Pritchard – Wasted in Jackson
Marsha Ambrosius [Floetry] – Late Nights, Early Mornings
Porcelain Raft – Gone Blind EP
Quarterfly - Do You Believe
Sean Rowe - Magic
Tahiti 80 – The Past, the Present & the Possible
The Caribbean – Discontinued Perfume
The Low Anthem – Smart Flesh
Toro Y Moi – Underneath the Pine