Ear Candy

I love to spread news about new music loves and these are some that I have downloaded recently that I am playing on constant repeat:

1. Alex Clare - "Too Close"

I came across this song through the new commercial that they are running for Internet Explorer - this guy is kind of really awesome. His album isn't available in the US yet (darn it) but this single is, and I hope that the full album comes soon, because the stuff that I have heard is great.

2. Goyte - "Save Me"

It took me a while to dive in and purchase this album, but after seeing someone Tweet about it, I decided to give it a chance. I am so happy I did - this album hits the perfect mix between alternative/lite rock. As one reviewer said on Amazon, "it's a strangely appealing mix of Beck, George Michael, and Seal".  There are definitely some tracks that I love more than others, but it is all in all a really great album. The song above is one of my favorites so far.

3. Taylor Swift ft. The Civil Wars - "Safe and Sound"

It's almost sacrilegious for me to post something positive about Taylor Swift - I usually can't stand her music (and I know I'm in the minority there, but I am just. not. a. fan. at. all.). But this song is hauntingly beautiful (which I credit T Bone Burnett and The Civil Wars for). I'm really excited about "The Hunger Games" movie AND soundtrack - there are some really amazing artists (like The Civil Wars) on it and I'm hoping for more of the same along these lines.

4. Starfield - "Innocence and Other Things Lost"

Starfield is a Christian band that I stumbled upon a couple of years ago and I liked them immediately because they actually had good music - not just lyrically, but musically - something that didn't sound like it belonged in a church on a Sunday. That is, until a couple of albums ago in which the whole album bent toward that direction and I was sad because, while there's nothing wrong with that music, it doesn't grab me. Thankfully on this new album, Starfield seems to have found a little bit of that musicality that I loved about them at first place. This is one of the songs that drew me in.

Let me know what you think or if you've come across anything new lately that I need to know about :)

Music Spotlight: Mumford & Sons

I'm sure that all of my cool friends who are up on their indie bands already know this band, but I just discovered Mumford & Sons the other day when I randomly decided to download their album off of Amazon (which, by the way, if you buy music online, I highly recommend checking out prices on Amazon before you purchase through ITunes - it generally has cheaper music and better deals than the ITunes store - and it will automatically download into your Itunes music library).  Anyway, I was listening to their album and this song came on.  Very rarely does a piece of music really move me emotionally, but I found myself choking up while listening to it.  I hope you enjoy it! (and sorry for the cheesy images - this was the best recording I found on YouTube - there are many other versions up there as well, but this was the best in my opinion.)

Live Thoughts on the VMAs

So I am watching the VMAs tonight and instead of posting lots of random thoughts on Facebook, I'll save them for my blog....

1 - Chelsea Handler - Hilarious. I bet there are a lot of mad celebrities, but oh well.  Thanks for being funny.

2 - Eminem - Welcome back. And hello red-flaming-fake-hair Rihanna.

3 - Justin Bieber - Ohmygosh.  You can actually dance!  And sing at the same time!  Maybe you're not a fad...maybe I am now a Bieber fan?? 

4 - Usher.  Wow. Wowowowowowowowoowow.  Or, Oh My Gosh.

5 - Florence & The Machine - Love your album.  Appreciate your performance - even more so that it came right after Usher's techno-amazing-dance-extravaganza.

6 - Lady Gaga - Of course you are going to win lots of VMAs for "Bad Romance".  So why wear unwearable clothing?

7 - Why do we need stats on Twitter updates for the VMAs?  There is something wrong with that - I can't quite put my finger on why it feels wrong, but it just seems wrong.  Or more like, why should I care?

8 - Random N.E.R.D. & Ciara performance in the middle of commercials? Shameless bad marketing technique.

9 - Taylor-frickin'-Swift - Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Like Kayne West is looking for a pity song from you? Please - why don't you learn how to sing? I'm sorry all you Taylor fans out there - I. Am. Not. A. Fan.

10 - UGH - JUSTIN JT TIMBERLAKE WHY ARE YOU NOT PERFORMING INSTEAD OF PRESENTING!!! PLEASE MAKE ANOTHER ALBUM AGAIN.  And please stop me from continually begging for this!

11 - Drake, Swizz Beatz, and Mary J. Blige - Awesome.  What a hip-hop performance should be with three uber-talented people.

12 - Dumb Jared Leto.  I hate 30 Seconds to Mars and emo-Jared Leto and his eyeliner and his shout-out to the "fans" - excuse me Jared, were these the same fans that you stood up on your tour with MuteMath - a band that actually has talent and innovation?

13 - What must it be like to be a member of the Jersey Shore cast? To get lots of money for doing nothing but sitting in a hot tub together, joking about STDs that you have?

14 - I'm not upset that Justin Bieber just won Best New Artist...ohmygosh, he has won me over! My identity is in crisis!!

15 - Really Cher, really? I don't know whether my eyes are offended and appalled or if I admire your chutzpah to wear that at your age, which is....???

16 - Thank YOU Aziz Ansari, for putting the Kayne/Taylor thing in perspective - It WAS hilarious!!

17 - Welcome back Kayne.  I've missed you.

Apologies for taking so long to put up another post.  I didn't realize it had been almost a month since my last post - I will promise to try to not do that again!

Two Thoughts for a Wednesday (Ok, maybe Three)

Sorry, if you're looking for deep, soul-illuminating thoughts, you're out of luck with me tonight.  Just a few quick thoughts and observations that I've had that I feel like putting out there for the world.

1 - Looking for something to watch on TV now that Lost and The Bachelorette are over?  Try the Bachelor Pad for a Elimindate meets Real World meets The Bachelor/ette.  Thank goodness it hasn't crossed the lines into "Flavor of Love" or "Rock of Love" territory yet (two scummy VH1 reality shows).  The operative word there is "Yet".  The redeeming element of the show is Our Host Chris Harrison.  Chris Harrison is just always awesome.  We're bffs in my head - we've had a long relationship - we even finish each other's sentences from time to time! Total Bff status.

Or check out any of the great, fun shows on USA - White Collar, Covert Affairs, Burn Notice (Michael Westin, I love you), Psych (one of the funniest shows on TV, seriously), and Royal Pains.  All have good storylines, fun characters, and are great clever shows.

2 - When I'm housesitting one of the things that I find myself doing is watching music videos on MTV's Comcast music video channel (MTV Hits).  Right now they are showing all the videos that have something to do with the VMAs - either as prior winners or are nominated in some category at this year's upcoming VMAs.  Watching them is like a recent history lesson.  Did you know that Aerosmith won the VMA Video of the Year in 1998?? I know. You feel old don't you?  Did you also know that Steven Tyler (rumored to be one of the new judges on American Idol) is quite the androgynous-looking fellow?  Did you know that Limp Bizkit won the VMA Video of the Year in 2000 AND 2001? I know. Can you believe that Limp Bizkit used to be considered worthy of getting a VMA? Let alone two of them?? No wonder Emimen had such a feud with Fred Durst.  After watching those videos I couldn't believe they actually were that popular!

You know what I also wish? That we could fast forward Justin Bieber 7 years, to when he is 20 years old and has gone through his hook-up with a former Disney channel starlet, and decides to collaborate with The Neptunes to put out his first CD as a solo artist, and then a few years later decides to work with Timbaland and puts out another really awesome album....OH, WHOOPS.  I just realized I was talking about Justin "JT" Timberlake.  Where are you Justin "JT"?? Can you please put out another album and quick so that I don't have to be assaulted by the crap that Justin Bieber is putting out there?  There are only so many "Baby, Oh Baby"s I can take.

Although, as an avid ABDC (as in America's Best Dance Crew) fan, I couldn't help but notice that my girls Beat Freaks and the Season 5 champs Poreotix are in the music video "Somebody to Love"! Go gals and guys - live the dream (even if it means dancing in a Justin Bieber video, ugh - at least Usher is also in it).

I'm looking forward to the VMAs this year - one can only hope that another Kayne-Taylor moment will occur! (You know that's what the execs at MTV are hoping for.)

3 - While this has been a great year in many, many ways, it also has been hard.  My best friend said the other day that 2010 will go down as the year of hard - not bad, just hard.  And I completely agree.  Which is why I'm looking forward to getting away for a week in a little bit.  It'll be a good time to rest, recuperate, read, think, pray, and write.

Annnd with 2 minutes to go, I'm done! Happy Thursday (only 2 more business days then it's the weekend!)!

Some Love for Jamie Cullum

I love Jamie Cullum - he has a unique sound and style and has the ability to turn popular songs into his own.  I wanted to share this song, his remake of Rihanna's "Dont' Stop the Music" - I'm in love with it.  It is so sexy, subtle, and jazz.  Enjoy!  And check out some of Jamie's other music if you get a chance!

More MuteMath Love...

I love these guys...I know keep talking about them, but MuteMath really is such a cool band.  This just gives you a little taste of what their live show was like. If you ever have a chance to see them in concert, don't think twice, just go!

Pretty Awesome Music Video

Check out this pretty amazing music video by Coldplay for their song "Strawberry Swing" off of the Viva la Vida album...and then let me know how long you think it took them to make it?

Strawberry Swing Music Video

Good Music Video

I like to watch music videos from time to time, and saw N.E.R.D.'s new video for their song, Sooner or Later and thought they did a good job of commenting on current events while making a good video for a good song.

N.E.R.D. - New Music - More Music Videos

I also want to give a shout out for their album, Seeing Sounds, which came out last year. I find it to be really original stuff, with beats and arrangements that stimulated my eardrums.