KIDZ BOP 16, LOL!

Thre are a couple of songs labeled LOL… one of them is featured on the latest Kidz Bop. What the…

The first one is by Trey Songz featuring Gucci Mane and Soulja Boy. The major problem with this song? “LOL Smiley Face” is repeated throughout the song. What does that even mean?! You make me laugh and smile a lot but instead, I’m just going to pretend this is an IM and post “lol lol ” a lot? Even that looks ridiculous! I guess this was their attempt at making a song that many pre-teens could relate to? Except for the part when it mentions a sex tape…

Then there is a song called LOL by Sinai Rose, who is apparently an upcoming artist? LOL is the only song not sung by the kids but rather a specific person herself. This is an attempt to sound modern from someone who could probably be closer to the pre-teens age. In fact, I think this attempt is better than the one made by Trey Songz. It is still ridiculous (the girl spells out way too many acronyms that are internet/text specific, like OMGD… wait, what is that?!) but the music is pretty catchy.

The scary thing is, I recognized the music from the chorus way too well. The part where Rose goes “L.O. L.O. L.O. L.O.L.O.L” reminds me of “L.O.V.E.” by Ashlee Simpson. That is right, I remembered a song by Ashlee… but honestly, that chorus really makes me think of that song. I think I would have liked the song if it was not for all the weird acronyms. The weirdest line is “TFBNSYI BTWILYLA wish you could BRT SWK XOXO GTG laters.” This better be a joke because otherwise I feel like out of place.

Edit: Apparently there is another LOL song by Tina Ann? This is even more like pop music and can be understood better than the other two songs. The acronym use goes insane near the end of the song but it is not as bad as Sinai’s song. Otherwise, the chorus is pretty simple and the third verse just uses “JK.” This was definitely not “SWK”

WikipediaWictionaryChambers (UK)Google imagesGoogle defineThe Free DictionaryJoin exampleWordNetGoogleUrban DictionaryAnswers.comrhymezone.comMerriam-Webster<>0

wvcidfjoguarm

WikipediaWictionaryChambers (UK)Google imagesGoogle defineThe Free DictionaryJoin exampleWordNetGoogleUrban DictionaryAnswers.comrhymezone.comMerriam-Webster<>0

wvcidfjoguarm

WikipediaWictionaryChambers (UK)Google imagesGoogle defineThe Free DictionaryJoin exampleWordNetGoogleUrban DictionaryAnswers.comrhymezone.comMerriam-Webster<>0

wvcidfjoguarm

Limelight/ God Help the Girl

Calling all Belle & Sebastian fans! Stuart Murdoch has written a side project! God Help The Girl is a musical set to be filmed next year and boy, does it sound a lot like Belle & Sebastian, but with a twist. Turns out, Murdoch heard the tunes in his head years ago but instead of imagining the band, he imagined female vocals and strings. Crazy thing is that both are my favorite parts when it comes to music. I also like bass, but i’ll let that slide.

They did a search for the said female vocals and landed on Catherine Ireton, a girl who was apparently previously in an Irish band called Elephant. Good choice! She actually sort of goes with the music when you see the video for their debut single, Come Monday Night. Either way, if you love the melodies and lyrics from Belle & Sebastian, I suggest trying this project out!

Video: God Help the Girl – Come Monday Night

Stuart even re-did two of Belle & Sebastian songs, Funny Little Frog and Act of the Apostle II. Since Funny Little Frog was what originally got me interested in Belle and Sebastian, I sort of adore the female vocal addition even more! The music and rhythm is a bit altered from the original but the song is as cute as ever, if not more!

Video: God Help the Girl – Funny Little Frog

WikipediaWictionaryChambers (UK)Google imagesGoogle defineThe Free DictionaryJoin exampleWordNetGoogleUrban DictionaryAnswers.comrhymezone.comMerriam-Webster<>0

wvcidfjoguarm

News Splash/ Arctic Monkeys, Beastie Boys, and Paramore

As the rumor had it, Paramore did in fact perform two new songs on their tour. One of them, Ignorance, has been determined as the new single for their new album, Brand New Eyes. While I still find it insane that some fans only know them from the RIOT! album or from their song in Twilight, I am certainly looking forward to the new album!

Speaking of new album, I forgot Arctic Monkeys were working on a new album called Humbug. So, when I found that new single Crying Lightning was just released today, I was pretty excited. For some reason it makes me think of an older song from some eerie movie. While keeping the goodness of Arctic Monkeys, they managed to have a different sound.

Finally, Beastie Boys! Somehow it was recently mentioned that the new single Lee Majors Come Again was made available for select Check Your Head quadruple reissue boxsets. Through Stereogum, which sourced Mic to Mic, it was discovered that this had to be a new song and later it was revealed as the single for the new album. This allowed some people to get access to the new single from Hot Sauce Committee as the new title was just being announced! That’s awesome! While I enjoyed The Mix-Up, their instrumental album, I am glad to anticipate an album with vocals again.

So, there you have it, three new songs of the moment.

WikipediaWictionaryChambers (UK)Google imagesGoogle defineThe Free DictionaryJoin exampleWordNetGoogleUrban DictionaryAnswers.comrhymezone.comMerriam-Webster<>0

wvcidfjoguarm

Summer Reunion Tour[s] 2009

It seems like every 90’s band and their mothers are getting together recently. Who actually seems most appealing though? As one of my friends said, the perfect reunion tour would have been Blink-182 and No Doubt. I would not mind Jane’s Addiction in that line-up but they seem to be working pretty well with Nine Inch Nails. (Off-Topic: Street Sweepr was a great idea for an opener for NINJA 2009!) If you can go see Nine Inch Nails in concert, despite the rising price in tickets and merchandise, I highly recommend it!

Now how amazing would this be live?!

Since Blink-182 and No Doubt could not tour together, I guess you have to live with their separate tours. In that case, it ends up with No Doubt’s tour being a little stronger. The Sounds are the opening act and Paramore open up for No Doubt. While I am not big on The Sounds, there is not a single artist on this list that I feel average about. In fact, I actually like The Sounds! As much as I hate the Twilight franchise, even Paramore is a great addition, because they actually do more than that Decode song. They have certainly grown over the last five years and it is nice to see them be able to tour No Doubt. Plus, Haley was made to perform live with that energy!

Now, No Doubt is one of the best bands of my generation, so knowing that they actually stick with their singles and old hits from Tragic Kingdom is pretty amazing for a reunion tour. (Off-topic: Ska bands are awesome to see live, so highly recommended!) Not only do they have a great line-up (with awesome live presence), but as the ladies at HitFix mentioned, they made sure to make their tour worth the money. If not affordable lawn seats, there is the music discography download available for those that are willing to pay a lot more.  Also, for the few shows Paramore can’t perform, No Doubt has other worth-while artists.

Video: No Doubt – I’m Just a Girl

Two of the artists that replace Paramore are Katy Perry and Panic at the Disco. Katy Perry opens up for No Doubt on August 4th in Irvine, CA with the Sounds as the opening act. The reason why this concert stands out, other than the only show with Katy Perry replacing Paramore, is that the pre-sale password was “orange.” How cool is that?! It must be the A Clockwork Orange theme? Panic At The Disco, on the other hand, replaces Paramore for two shows before they begin their tour with Blink-182.

I think the best Blink-182 line-up occurs between late August and early September, basically when they tour with Weezer. It is odd, however, to see Weezer open for Blink-182, when it should probably be the other way around. Other than Weezer, the other acts don’t seem that exciting. All-American Rejects, Fall Out Boy, and Asher Roth. Sadly, the show in Virginia gets Asher Roth and Panic, so not even the better artists of the non-Weezer bunch. I guess we will see the shows go, as there is still time for more reviews for the tour. What shows have you been to or are looking forward to?

One of Weezer’s best performances from the Weenie Roast “2008, I mean 2009!”

Limelight/ Fol Chen

I’ve had Cable TV by Fol Chen for about half a year now, but I would always forget to check her out further. I mean, this is a a somewhat romantic song that not only fantasizes about spending time with someone but doing so while watching, you guessed it, cable TV. It is a novel concept and I came to admire it, especially because at the end she mentions how she “thought that [she] knew what love was… then [she] saw [him] dancing in [his] underwear to What I Think Of You.” Now, I have never been that big on Janet Jackson, if that is even the reference, but I guess there’s something to relate to and endearing when your partner not only enjoys the same shows as you but also dances to something like that. Can I just say this is the definition of dorky that I love? For all I know this song could just be a complete joke, lyrically, but I still love it. Won’t you come away with me? The carpet is filthy but the ice is free. I just got paid so we could order PPV if nothing good is on TV.

Video: Fol Chen – Cable TV

“No Wedding Cake” is just a very calming and somewhat chilling song. I think the latter occurs when you also watch the video, which not only seems sad but sort of symbolic where one could never break someone elses heart, again. Someone on Youtube mentioned how each character sort of symbolizes the Astrological signs, like Leo and Gemini twins. In reality though, I think there’s more to the video than the song but the song is still pretty amazing. I saw it as how some things just cannot be controlled, no matter what the intent is. However, I recommend judging for yourself.

Video: Fol Chen – No Wedding Cake

Both songs can be downloaded (free) from her Last.FM! Ready, Aim… FIRE!
The album, Part 1: John Shade, Your Fortune’s Made, came out Feb. 09

I thought that I knew what love was.. then I saw you dancing in your underwear to When I Think Of You

041509: Ratatat at The National

Now that the semester is finally over, I would like to share my amazing experience at the Ratatat concert. Mind you, I heard about Ratatat a few years ago but I never got around to playing them until sometime this academic year when a few of my friends would play the songs and I would find out, repeatedly, that it was just another song by Ratatat. After getting their discography and enjoying my winter break with calming electronic music, I was quite excited to see that Ratatat were coming to town!

Needless to say, it was like one obscure crazy dance party. It all started with Black Pus, Brian Chippendale’s one-man project that had amazing bass but was still a bit odd for my taste. While I admire the skill, I couldn’t help but think that this was on the fine line between noise and music, and at times it would feel like I was just enjoying noise. Still, the skills do matter, since it turns out Brian did drums on Bjork’s Volta album! How cool is that?! I highly recommend checking out something by Chippendale at some point.

After that came Tussle. Unlike Black Pus, this was a four-piece band, with electronics and bass, so no wonder they had the cutest mellow sound ever! I think I like to view Ratatat more like Tussle than I do as Black Pus, but then again, Black Pus and Ratatat both can have mad beats. Either way, all the acts seem to work together.

Finally, Ratatat came on stage. While I realize I paid money to basically see visuals and take part in a massive dance party, I was glad I did because now I know that if I ever have a get together, I can totally play Ratatat to liven, and even mellow out, the mood. It was sort of cool to see Evan Mast of Ratatat (I was on the side where he played the most) sometimes smile and notice the energy. They did not play One, which is probably my favorite song, but the excitement for Seventeen Years, their first single, sort of made up for it. Some of the other songs included Lex, Loud Pipes, Mumtaz Khan,  and Bird Priest. Wildcat, another favorite of mine, was also performed and that was also quite awesome! I do think they could have talked a bit more but overall, I think it was definitely worth it.

Garth Marenghi – “I’m A One Track Lover”

Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace is a show from the UK that ran in early 2004. It apparently parodied the 1980’s television drama style, and this random part/song was recently shown to me. I just had to share how hilarious this is!

Good luck on your finals and/or surviving these horrid allergies!

Nine Inch Nails – Strobelight

@trent_reznor I’ve been busy. Brand new FULL LENGTH NIN record available now. http://bit.ly/QtDzR

Nine Inch Nails - Strobelight Album Cover

To download NIN’s new full-length album Strobe Light, PRODUCED BY TIMBALAND, enter a valid email address in the fields below. A download link will be sent to you immediately. Your credit card will be charged $18.98 plus a $10 digital delivery convenience fee. Your files will arrive as windows media files playable on quite a few players with your name embedded all over them just in case you lose them. You will also receive an exclusive photo and a free email account with our partner Google’s Gmail service.

Your email will be kept confidential and will not be used for spam, unless we can make some money selling it.

track list:

1. intro skit
2. everybody’s doing it (featuring chris martin, jay-z AND bono)
3. black t-shirt
4. pussygrinder (featuring sheryl crow)
5. coffin on the dancefloor
6. this rhythm is infected
7. slide to the dark side
8. even closer (featuring justin timberlake and maynard james keenan)
9. on the list (she’s not)
10. clap trap crack slap
11. laid, paid and played (featuring fergie of the black eyed peas and al jourgensen)
12. feel like being dead again
13. still hurts (featuring alicia keys)
14. outro skit

Bat For Lashes – Daniel

Here is Bat For Lashes’ new video for her first single “Daniel”, off her sophomore album Two Suns. Both the song and video are apparently paying tribute to the movie “Karate Kid”. I don’t get the idea behind the tribute, but I love the boldly artistic and eerie sequences in the video, which compliment the song very nicely.

022509: Lights at The Camel

Steven (?) had thrown a unicorn with a message on stage and she seemed to really adore it. ©Dash

I have absolutely no idea how Lights was so low on my top 18 newly discovered artists of 2008 list (seeing I had gone nuts trying to find her after hearing her on Old Navy commercials early in 2008) but I am incredibly glad I went to go see her last night. I sort of wish I was better prepared, since I forgot to take my camera, but the memories will definitely always be there. I ended up stealing a ticket stub at the end of the night to have some concret way of remembering the night (plus, the internet is quite useful). The Camel was a little more occupied this time, compared to the concert with Hotel Lights and We Know Plato! but it was crazy to see the amount of people present. Conshafter was a great opener, while B1end was certainly entertaining, but everyone stood up from the restaurant-style environment and headed to the front for Lights.

It was more amazing how she performed and interacted, seeing just after the first song she had informed us that she was feeling sort of sick and did not want to cancel another show (aw!). She might have started off with Drive My Soul but it was not until her second song, February Air, that I sort of just started enjoying the concert and stopped being so short. I wish I had remembered more of the new songs she had done but the one that definitely stood out was 10 Seconds. Most of the new songs sounded sort of similar to Ice but overall they had more of a space-y feeling to them. I Owe You One used to be my favorite song from the Lights EP but after seeing her perform Ice, my favorite song definitely changed.

The best part of her setlist? She randomly threw in a cover of Backstreet Boys – I Want It That Way to get her crowd more into the music. I think that just added to the cuteness/awesomeness that her music represents and honestly, she is definitely worth checking out! She even stuck around after for about 30 minutes to converse with the fans. It’d be awesome if I could see her again.

Steaming: Lights – Ice