HOORAY FOR EARTH – Surrounded By Your Friends
I’m loving this song…but watch out, this video is for sure to bring some nightmares.
Filed under: Check 'em Out!, video | Tagged: Hooray For Earth, music, Surrounded by your Friends, video | Leave a Comment »
Enter to win this once in a lifetime opportunity aimed to help break aspiring artists’ careers in the music industry though direct exposure and personal mentoring from some of the most influential and connected industry leaders of the new music business. The winner will also receive a special prize musical package including free musical equipment, video promotion, publicity services, legal work, CD pressing and much more.
Entries are open to all unsigned artists in the Urban, Rock or Pop genres, and will be accepted until December 22nd, 2009 at http://bit.ly/TheVerge
Ten Finalists – A Judge Panel consisting of music industry leaders will select ten finalists from the top 20 ranked artists from each of the “Artists on the Verge” OurStage Channels. These ten finalists will have their A&R promotional packages and EPKs delivered to 20 top record labels in North America for consideration.
Top Three Finalists – The top three finalists will be awarded travel funds and passes to Los Angeles to attend the New Music Seminar on February 2nd, 2010 following the Grammy Awards. The three finalists will each receive a live mentoring and critique session by industry experts (led by superstar artists, producers, radio programmers, and bloggers) in front of the NMS audience.
Grand Prize Winner -The One Grand Prize Winner will be chosen at NMS to perform at the NMS After Party and will receive a comprehensive music consultation package that will include special music prizes, services and offerings from some of the smartest and most connected leaders of the new music business.
For more details on the entry rules and contest please go to: http://www.ourstage.com/go/artistsontheverge
Filed under: Events, Random, Whoa! | Tagged: aspiring musicians, connections, contests, music, networking, New Music Seminar (NMS), OurStage.com, talent | Leave a Comment »
The Uncomfortable Truth
With two albums out since 2007, Nneka is already an established singer, songwriter and rapper…in the UK. But, this powerful woman with roots in Nigeria and Germany is ready for the States to hear her roar.
Nneka has been compared to Erykah Badu, Mos Def, and Lauryn Hill. She’s played with The Roots, and toured with Lenny Kravitz. Her US album debut, Concrete Jungle, is set for release February 2, 2010. The album is full of soulful, meaningful and catchy songs that can’t be ignored. Her voice is “located between a place of yearning and rage.” Nneka addresses important issues through her music, and still manages to keep her audience entertained. To me, she’s the breakthrough voice we need for the new generation.
Her first released single from Concrete Jungle is “The Uncomfortable Truth.” Have a listen, you might hear something you didn’t expect and have a new favorite female vocalist.
Filed under: Check 'em Out!, new albums, video | Tagged: video, UK, Nneka, The Uncomfortable Truth, Concrete Jungle, 2010 album releases, upcoming, Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Lenny Kravitz, The Roots, Nigeria, Germany, soul, powerful, meaningful, female vocalists | Leave a Comment »
February 25, 2010: Eric Clapton and Roger Daltrey (of The Who) at Mellon Arena. You can buy tickets starting Saturday through Ticketmaster.
Clapton hasn’t been here since 1998!!!
March 4, 2010: Black Eyed Peas with LMFAO at Mellon Arena.
Filed under: Events, Shows | Tagged: 2010, Black Eyed Peas, Eric Clapton, LMFAO, Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, Roger Daltrey, The Who, Ticketmaster, upcoming concerts | Leave a Comment »
So Many Dynamos latest album, The Loud Wars, was released in June through Vagrant Records. This indie rock palindrome band has been around for awhile, though. One of their tours back in 2006 included a couple of shows with John Vanderslice. They’ve also shared the stage with many others worth mentioning, including Ra Ra Riot and Harvey Danger.
The first song, “Artifacts of Sound” was originally named “Out of this Party” but was changed after realizing that would be their third song with “party” in its title. There are a few parts of the song, as well as the album, where their sound brought the Lost Prophets to mind, particularly their song “Rooftops”. But, what I immediately found interesting on my first listen of the album is that all of the songs seem to have two parts to them. There were a few occasions where the sound changed so drastically that I had to look and see if I was still listening to the same track.
The next three tracks, “Glaciers”, “The Novelty of Haunting”, and “New Bones” have an unusual twist to their melodies. All three of these songs contain melodies from past So Many Dynamos songs performed backwards! What a creative dynamic, Dynamos! Not to mention, the songs are like stories, where the listener is able to pinpoint their climaxes and resolutions. “Oh, the Devastation!” and “The Formula” use group vocals to thankfully break up the monotony a little bit.
“Friendarmy” is a little bit calmer and quieter of a song, but not the lyrics. “You think we’re kidding, we’re not. We’re only playing but we’re playing God.” “It’s Gonna Rain” brings back the loudness but in the middle of the song they throw in some small video game sounding bits. Listen to the song in its entirety, and you’ll especially see here what I mean about the two songs in one. All of a sudden towards the end, the song sounds much happier, even though the band is yelling “I don’t want to make amends; I want to make a mess.”
Though I admit I have a tough time picking them out, the album does have some similarities to other bands. But, they definitely have their own spin to their music. Sometimes the confusion of not knowing where the song is going, makes the song excitedly better. With that said, I have been enjoying The Loud Wars all week, which is more than I thought I would.
Filed under: Reviews | Tagged: 2009, album review, Harvey Danger, John Vanderslice, palindromes, Ra Ra Riot, So Many Dynamos, The Loud Wars, Vagrant Records | Leave a Comment »
I'm no photographer, but I tried!
As soon as I found out punk-ska group Mad Caddies were coming to town, I was pulling out the datebook and marking it down. I’ve been a fan for years, and had no idea that they were even touring.
The band formed in 1995 in California, and they’ve got 6 albums to date. (They’ve also got 6 band members…what if they added on a bandmate for every new album? Hmmm…)
Anyways, I told some friends about the show and convinced them to come. A couple of them didn’t know their music, and asked what kind they play. That’s actually a tougher question that you’d originally think. I mean, they are ska. They are punk. But, they’re also many others in between such as swing, reggae, and jazz. Put it all together in a blender and you’ve got a MAD freakin’ time!
I prepared for the show for about a week by digging out my old Caddies albums and dancing around my apartment. I was really pumped. The night of the show I had sushi and cocktails beforehand and got to the venue right in time. The band had just started their first song of the set.
The crowd was perfect. What made it even more awesome was that a lot of them knew the words to the songs! Hooray! The band did a great job of being lively on stage, especially Ed Hernandez on his trombone. He stood out on the edge poking that thing out into the crowd, lovingly. There were at total of 3 songs that I was praying to hear: “Wet Dog”, “Backyard”, and “Drinking for 11″. They DID play the latter (which I figured there was a good chance of hearing that one because it may very well be their most popular song), and I DID love dancing and singing the words. I tried to yell out to them “WET DOG! WET DOG!” but they couldn’t hear me.
Regardless of not hearing the other 2 songs, they did play a brand new song and they still put on a great show. They made a couple new fans in my friends out of it, too. AND if I heard correctly, they’re planning to come out with a new album next year!
Filed under: Shows | Tagged: 2009, Diesel, jazz, Mad Caddies, Pittsburgh, punk, reggae, rock, ska, swing, tour | Leave a Comment »
New (as of just yesterday) is an EP from Alex Metric. It Starts is composed of 4 tracks, the last being the title track remix by Evil Nine. You can buy the mp3’s at Amazon or Amie Street. (If you’re a member at Amie Street, then obviously you’ll wanna buy it there because it’s cheaper!!! Right now it’s under a dollar, but that probably won’t last too long!)
I am not sure why it’s been classified as house, though. Clearly, it’s electronica and I have a hard time hearing any house in the songs. Regardless, it’s some good stuff; I especially am likin’ the title track.
Filed under: Check 'em Out! | Tagged: Alex Metric, amazon, Amie Street, dance, electronica, It Starts, mp3, new | Leave a Comment »
This is from Dragonette’s latest album (released last month) Fixin’ to Thrill and it is my new favorite song!!!!…At least for today.
But probably tomorrow and the next day, too.
Have a spectacular holiday!
Filed under: video | Tagged: dance, Dragonette, Fixin' to Thrill, Liar, October release, video | 1 Comment »
When you look up any information about Jump Clubb, you’ll find the same press release posted everywhere. Why no other pertinent details? Because Jump Clubb, based in Beverly Hills, wants to remain anonymous. Amazingly, they (whoever ‘they’ are) don’t want to become famous, despite coming from the Hills. Their twitter bio reads: “We make music. That is all you will know.”
So, given that’s all we’ll know, all that’s left to talk about is their music. Their new album The Love of No Dance dropped last month. Comprised of 7 tracks, right now the only place to get it is iTunes. BUT, JC has made a mixtape for us and this mixtape has 5 out of the 7 tracks from the album on it. For the Love of…Mixtape is available through their website for free. It’s about 14 different snippets of tracks and full length Jump Clubb songs all put together in a mix, all coming in a teensy bit shy of a half hour. It’s fantastic.
At first listen, the beginning of the mix failed to intrigue me. The intro and Beat Happening’s “Indian Summer” portion didn’t seem to mesh very well. But, once we got into the Friendly Fires remix, I got into it and stayed into it…almost to the end. Twenty minutes in when the mix hits “Sunlight” by Eric’s Trip, I wondered ‘what the hell’ it was doing in there. Whoever Jump Clubb is must really like that song and wanted to throw it in the mix somewhere. That’s my only conclusion. In between there’s a lot of good stuff, though. I particularly enjoy Peter Bjorn and John’s “It Don’t Move Me” remix by one of the latest phenomenon’s Miike Snow. As far as Jump Clubb’s tracks themselves, I like them all. At least there seems to be something for everyone somewhere in the mix. Here’s a complete listing to For the Love of…Mixtape.
1. Intro
2. Flo Rida – Jump ft. Nelly Furtado (Designer Drugs remix)
3. Beat Happening – Indian Summer
4. Friendly Fires - Jump In The Pool (Thin White Duke remix)
5. Jump Clubb – I’d Rather Be Played
6. Peter Bjorn and John – It Don’t Move Me (Miike Snow remix)
7. Jump Clubb – The Love of No Dance
8. Passion Pit – Sleepyhead (Wake Up! Remix)
9. Jump Clubb – Green Light
10. Major Lazer – Hold The Line (The Unik & Tambour Battant Remix)
11. Jump Clubb – Lets Crush This Party
12. Eric’s Trip – Sunlight
13. Wolfmother – New Moon Rising (Yacht Remix)
14. Jump Clubb – A Frozen Hug
Oh wait, you wanted to read that press release everyone’s put out there for the world to see? Okay, here it is:
“Meet Jump Clubb. A band from Beverly Hills whose music combines dance, disco, and electronic styles with indie mentalities and vocals straight from the height of the lo-fi era. Think LCD Soundsystem meets Beat Happening. Or Hot Chip meets Eric’s Trip. The juxtaposition melds an interesting style of music that Jump Clubb has coined “No Dance”. On one hand you have the upbeat soul and funk influence that aims at getting anyone and everyone up and dancing. This mixed with lo-fi and low energy vocals which describe tales of heartbreak and Jump Clubb’s own view of their insecure and superficial hometown creates a wonderful style that urges you to rethink your next trip to the dance floor. “No Dance” is a musical statement that transcends their city’s physical and mental boundaries and questions the current state of the music listener from LA celebrity to Brooklyn hipster.”
Filed under: Check 'em Out! | Tagged: bands on twitter, Beverly Hills, dance, For the Love of...mixtape, free mp3 download, indie, Jump Clubb, lo-fi, new on the scene, The Love of No Dance | Leave a Comment »
HAR MAR SUPERSTAR – “Tall Boy” video
Har Mar Superstar’s (aka Sean Tillman) video for “Tall Boy” off his new album Dark Touches (released 10/13 through Dilettante Recordings). Kind of sounds like Justin Timberlake…actually it really sounds like JT. But it’s intergalactically cooler.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Dark Touches, Dilettante Recordings, Har Mar Superstar, Justin Timberlake, Sean Tillman, Tall Boy, video | Leave a Comment »
