Monday, January 31, 2011

My Breakup Deevuh Playlist

On my ipod, this playlist is "Deevuh"
1. Beyonce - Irreplacable
2. Alanis Morissette - You Oughta Know
3. Mariah Carey - Shake it off
4. Joss Stone - Dirty Man
5. Amy Winehouse - Stronger Than Me
6. Aretha Franklin - Respect
7. U Don’t Have to Call - Usher
8. Destiny’s Child - So Good
9. Keyshia Cole - Let it Go
10. N*SYNC - Bye Bye Bye

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Piano Rock Favorites

Here's a little list:

Something Corporate - Cavanaugh Park
Ben Folds - Emaline
Gary Jules - Mad World


That is all.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Song of the Day

**1/24/11
Tame Impala - Solitude is Bliss
--------------------When finding music, word of mouth can either be a newfound discovery or a ton of hype. When a friend of mine mentioned his long struggle to get Tame Impala on vinyl and played a few tracks from their 2010 album, Innerspeaker, all I wanted to do was hear more.

 Tame Impala are a four-peice psyhcadellic rock band from Perth, Western Australia. My friend described them as Cream meets the Beatles when the Beatles started going off the pop radar in favor of a more experimental direction.They toured with MGMT and got rave reviews for their material, and their popularity is only growing stronger in the U.S. If you like "Solitude is Bliss," check out more from Innerspeaker, particularly "Lucidity" and "The Bold Arrow of Time."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F2e9fmYL7Y&ob=av2nm

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Song of the Day

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**1/23/11
Edward Maya feat. Vika Jigulina - Stereo Love
————————-Working in a consignment shop where there are only 4 employees and one boss (Anna) has a few perks, one of which is creative freedom of music selection. We have a few random CDs (Maddona, Lady Gaga, Avett Brothers and Matt & Kim), but also some mixes I threw together on Anna’s request.
Anna worked in radio for 15 years, so I generally trust her opinion on what’s going to be good tomorrow that few people have heard today. One song she loves is “Stereo Love,” and though it’s already a hit, it’s refreshing among theEnrique and Chris Brown draank songs.
“Stereo Love” has a Euro-club everytime-we-touch vibe. It sounds more like an original club beat before air horns and fist pumping - dare we say its more elegant? Also, its similarity to Dirty Vegas “Days Go By” makes it even better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIyVABf1rtk   —-Dirty Vegas “Days Go By”

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Song of the Day - Daddy Daughter Edition

**1/22/11
Jorge Narvaez feat. Alexa Narvaez - Home
------------------I'm not a fan of musical internet sensations. There was that kid that sang "Paparazzi" at a talent show and got a record deal, there was that other kid that got a record deal for singing some other major hit. It's cool, but other than that it's kind of like, alright, now what?

  With single parent/college student Jorge Narvaez, singing Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zero hit "Home," with his daughter, it impressed me with its simplicity and downright adorable-ness. Narvaez is solid on the guitar and through the mic, but his kid is the poster child for precious child singers who you wanna hug and give a ton of Barbies to. So enjoy my internet sensation exception.

http://perezhilton.com/2011-01-21-jorge-narvaez-daughter-alexa-perform-on-the-ellen-degeneres-show

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Coachella Lineup 2011


A couple of things:
Most of these bands I'm a fan of, and if I'm not jumping up and down over them (Best  Coast), they fit the festival. Chromeo, The National, Mumford & Sons and Jack's Mannequin would be my Top 4 at the moment, but that's subject to change.
 Aside from festival staples like Kanye West and others like Afrojack and Cee Lo Green, this year Coachella looks like an electronic haze and rock festival. Hip-hop and rap are great at festivals, and I wish the genres were represented more. 
As always, if you're going, take me with you. Otherwise I will watch from afar and envy every last one of you spending three days in the valley without me.  

 

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Song of the Day

**1/18/11
Blonde Redhead - Heroine
--------------Interesting hair combo, right? Great name for a band, though. Today's song "Heroine" is the kind of girly Sonic Youth sound that flows well with those moments where you need to swim in creative concentration. The fluidity of the song is something relaxing and completely nonchalant, which lately is what we've all needed. Take a listen to "Heroine" and "Publisher" from the Blonde Redhead album, 23. 


http://www.myspace.com/blonderedhead/music

Monday, January 17, 2011

Song of the Day

**1/17/11
The Travelling Band - Only Waiting
-------------------My roommate was just watching Skins - no, I actually don't watch it but I thought the music was above the average TV drama band-placement soundtrack. So I looked up the U.K. original series and took a listen to their latest season. Travelling Band, particularly "Only Waiting"  has a pop-folk sound that sounds mellowed out and road trip worthy. I'm really glad that it doesn't sound like the a-typical electronica stoner music - change is pretty nice sometimes

 Get "Only Waiting"  from The Travelling Band album, Under the Pavement. 


http://www.thetravellingband.com/tb/?cat=5



Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Song of the Day

**1/12/11
Mazzy Star - Fade Into You
-----------------I. Love. Mazzy Star. Yeah, it's on THAT level. If you're impartial or don't like it, it's okay, but I would recommend listening again and again until you love them.
  Why am I pulling a romantic comedy on a band with a weird name like Mazzy Star? The music sounds like the pack the piece and pass it montage. Mazzy Star make wandering, dream-state music the perfect compliment to any activity - studying, making dinner, driving at night, and so on. Plus, the dusty lavender color of their album So Tonight That I Might See, is gorgeous.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImKY6TZEyrI&ob=av2nl

Monday, January 10, 2011

Song of the Day

**1/10/11
Kanye West feat. Bon Iver - Lost in the World
--------------------Ketchup and mustard, indie guys and beards - some combinations are so harmonious, they are accepted and even celebrated (No Shave November). We like our collaborations in music, too. Beyonce and Jay-Z, She & Him and Conan O'Brien, and Aerosmith and Run DMC are key examples of perfect music collaborations.

  Then Mr. West releases his Pitchfork Perfect 10 album with the oddest partner to collaborate with him yet. Bon Iver offered his hushed and mournfully magical rock chops to My Beautiful, Dark, Twisted Fantasy, and you have to wonder what this will sound like, right?

  Lyrically, it definitely rings of a song written by Iver. But everything else is very Kanye, with the copious amounts of autotune, soaring choir and hip-hop beats throughout. It's an inneresting collaboration to say the least, and whether I love it or meh it, I can't say. But have a listen and see what you think.

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyQpQhrQ5Zs

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Song of the Day

**1/9/11
DJ Nate - Back Up Kid
----------------In terms of rap and hip-hop, a lot of people ask "west coast or east?" I have very good reasons for liking both: my dad's from Los Angeles and I was born in Oakland, but my mom is from New York. So isn't that sort of like choosing between mom and dad?

  While I won't give away my actual favorite, Chicago is home of many of rap and hip-hop's leaders, particularly Common and Kanye West. Now there's a new kid emerging from the windy city: DJ Nate. His song "Back Up Kid" combines traditional hip hop tracks with a little dubstep in the chorus. It's catchy and promising, and his LP Da Trak Genious was released in October, 2010.

So if you're worried about pledging your allegiance to either coast, maybe the middle with DJ Nate is the perfect place.

http://www.planet.mu/discography/ZIQ280

Friday, January 7, 2011

Song of the Day

*1/7/11
Mumford & Sons - Winter Winds
-----------------I'm not a meteorologist, but Mumford & Sons named their song after one of the worst types of weather. Good thing the song is great - the best way to hear this song is if you're taking a heroic drive into unknown lands or chasing your band mates out of the woods and throwing things at them. "Winter Winds" is that kind of full-bodied, dramatic folk song.

  Mumford & Sons, despite a unique sound and heavy bluegrass-driven songs, have garnered a huge following in the U.S. Probably thanks to bands like the Avett Brothers and My Morning Jacket, Wilco and others. Add Mumford & Sons to your list of old is new favorites.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KCg_QEHtkY

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Song of the Day

**1/6/11
Donna Summer - Hot Stuff
-------------This song says to me, a fake sitcom-friendly striptease from Will Smith and also, a great ego boost when no one, and I mean no one, is in your room. At all. Or near it.

Why? Because Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff" is, if anything, something to laugh over after you've pretended to be a stallion/faux-sexy dancer who just did the disco dance in a mirror.

Somehow this song is classified as a rock song, mainly because a Doobie Brother and Steely Dan member decided to collaborate with Summer. Whatever, it still sounds like something from the days of bell bottoms and John Travolta. Dance the night away, my friends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27-TM3q5-Cc