A Quick Hello...

Thankfully, I don't have this guy's seat. I'm excited for tonight (obvious) and the good people at Blogger gave me some fancy new layouts to try on for size. This is a minor test for now, and if the feedback is positive I shall keep it!

Expect some photos from the show tomorrow!

Song of the Day

**6/10/10

Diana Vickers - The Boy Who Murdered Love

-----------Once my ears were treated to a dance party from Brit-sensation Diana Vickers, I sprinted (literally, I left in front of the TV...lazyass, that I am) to this post page.

Nineteen year-old Diana Vickers was a finalist on British TV-show The X Factor, and even though she didn't win (the f*ck?) she did snag a #1 on the UK Billboard charts. No big deal.

If you've ever wondered what Daft Punk's massive hit "One More Time" sounded like with lyrics, here it is. Whoever decided to mash this song with her vocals is genius. Though I'm biased to almost all Daft Punk, I think you'll agree that miss Vickers does the techno-track plenty of dancefloor justice.

http://perezhilton.com/category/diana-vickers/

Song of the Day

**6/9/10

Suckers - A Mind I Knew

------------The weekend of June 11 and 12 will blow my ears away, with Passion Pit added to the concert ensemble. In lieu of the festivities, I want to say safe travels and great times to those of you attending Bonnaroo this weekend in Manchester! Though my weekend will be fun, the festival experience is one of a kind. Just don't be like these bros over here --------->

In other news, Suckers are streaming their new album on Myspace, and oodles of fans are ready to hear it. The song "A Mind I Knew" floats on like Modest Mouse and gets down with organic noise effects like Yeasayer. The Brooklyn quartet will make it's summer tour and work into fall promoting Wild Smile.

http://www.myspace.com/suckers

Song of the Day

**6/8/10

Styrofoam - Ticket Out of Town

--------------Just ordered my tickets and fed the beast that is LiveNation to see Phoenix this weekend. Very excited! Unnecessary exclamation point because it's Phoenix!!

In a brief prediction, it will kick major tush. To celebrate the suprisingly complicated process of acquiring this delightful voucher, I chose Styrofoam's "Ticket Out of Town." If I had to pick two words to describe the song it would be 'space' and 'exploration.' "Ticket" follows the ever-popular digital symphony format, though it's not obnoxiously different and pretentious, like certain hipsters*. Get it from Nothing's Lost.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rK8JR4kkK0E

*All hipsters.

Song of the Day

**6/6/10

The Space Pimps - The Guide to Ruining Your Life

-------------Shallow admission: I am posting about The Space Pimps simply due to their name. I find it wonderfully immature yet endearing, and you've probably guessed correctly that their style of music belongs on Absolutepunk.net or the latest issue of AP. "The Guide..." points to the ones waiting around for love to come around, and the annoyance of singlehood in it's entirety. In a troubled teen-angst barrage of Day to Remember-like riffs, The Space Pimps are hoeing up the pop-punk galaxy in their new album, Stuck Here Forever.

http://www.purevolume.com/thespacepimps

Song of the Day

**6/5/10

The Young Veins - Change

-------------Flipping back and forth between a movie about a smartmouth pregnant teen in stripes and a superhero family in spandex. And with munchies and fighting a tremonsterous headache from last night, there's nothing much better on a Saturday night.

Getting my schleppy rear-end in gear for this post was made easier when I had to look no further than The Young Veins. Formulated by ex-Panic at the Disco members Ryan Ross and Jon Walker, punchy folk-tinged tunes are the forefront of this project. Their debut album Take a Vacation! arrives in three days.

"Change" belongs to anyone with a love of The Hold Steady or Avett Brothers, with each verse sounding more and more like a weekend at Bonnaroo. It sounds like the missing track from Rubber Soul, posessing a pissed-off Paul and John quality to the lyrics and jarring guitars. But if your music reminds me of the Fab Four, you're in good shape.

http://www.myspace.com/theyoungveins

Song of the Day

**6/4/10

Mayday Parade - Kids in Love

-------------If anyone wants to explain to me why the All-American Rejects are headlining the 2010 Warped Tour, please let me know because I am utterly clueless. Tour founder Kevin Lyman must have struck some kind of throwback to 2003 deal with the reject's label. But I'm not gonna yawn myself back to bed overthinking the details.

There are plenty of fresh faces and old friends on Warped Tour, as tradition to bring the next generation of tour tots and welcome back the veterans. Mayday Parade have made the Warped circuit starting in 2007 and will make another appearance this year to promote their new album, Anywhere But Here.

On Anywhere, "Kids in Love" athems its way through a video montage of two members and their girlfriends going on crazy roadtrip adventures that most kids dream about taking. The classic Florida-punk-rock instrumentals are all the guitars without the synthesized complexities of hardcore bands. Mayday will attract the old school pop-punk diehards and the new faces in the Warped crowd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiVTOBHaQ0w

Song of the Day

**6/3/10
Magic Man - Daughter
----------Though you may think that I am the sole creator of my love of music, I can actually admit that I was not the reason behind my passion. A dear friend of mine saved my soul from Scorpion and Guns n' Roses in favor of The Starting Line and Ratatat.
Upon meeting with her today, she showed me Magic Man, a duo of Tufts students who created their album Real Life Color by emailing and forwarding samples and pieces back and forth across the country. Sound a little Thievery Corporation? Funny you should think that - if you're a connoisseur of all things electro-indie or Ben Gibbard, Magic Man is perfect for you.

And no, there's no cover of "Such Great Heights," which seems like the obligatory cover for anyone with a Mac Air, Electribe and Twitter page. With vocals reminiscent of Bon Iver and beats like Thievery, Magic Man is a duo of wonder.

Song of the Day

**6/2/10

Lil' Flip feat. Lea - Sunshine

-------------Anyone in the Charlotte area knows there are two stations that play the same eight songs on the radio: Kiss 95.1 and 96.1 The Beat. Driving to work on a rainy day, I heard a song that's not on the Billboard Top Ten, and hasn't been since 2004. It was Wesley Weston, a.k.a. Lil' Flip's hit single, "Sunshine," and I immediately bumped that beat in my Pilot like the cool kid that I am. The soft-funk guitar single is Lil' Flip's most successful to date, but the rapper hasn't quit. He'll be releasing a new album, Ahead of My Time, this month.

...and as a side note, I'm not feeling the cover of U Gotta Feel Me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYTBI5RNzKQ

Song of the Day

**6/1/10

Kelis - Milkshake

------------New month, new music - usually. I was perusing Perez and I found a *gasp!* new Kelis track! I was thrilled to see what the Boss was going to bring to the yard. Gimme some raunchy diva hip hop magic!

Alas, when I expected grungy hotness recalling the epic 2003 hit, it was not the case. Her new single "22nd Century" from her upcoming release Fleshtone has a case of Gagavitis. And while I love her royal Monsterness, I like some variety.

In retaliation, I'm serving some "Milkshake" for today's song. After watching the video, you can clearly understand how the classic diner dessert became music's sweetest sin.

Completely gratuitous: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGL2rytTraA