Entries tagged with music

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music

Blah blah blah, Coachella (plus ZOMGROBYN)

OMG, I met Robyn!

I was waiting around at Coachella to see Cee-Lo (who showed up late and sounded awful, fun fact) when someone mentioned that Robyn was doing a signing.

I was all over that. I love Robyn. She seemed very put off for having to do the signing, which is understandable. I just wanted a picture with her for my collection.

Hours later, we saw her perform live. She sounded great!

I'm having a great time at Coachella.

Current Music: Best of Both Worlds - Van Halen

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music

Today I bought my first Van Halen album ever.

I heard the song "Dreams" on the Howard Stern show the other day. I've never been a big fan of Van Halen, but I though, "Hey, this sounds good!" Based on that thought and

50poundnote's influence, I listened to the 5150 album a few times on Rhapsody. I was sold. $7 on amazon, free 2-day shipping with Amazon Prime.

It's my understanding that 5150 is the first Van Halen album post-David Lee Roth.

I was going to say that I can only handle Van Hagar (the Sammy Hagar era), but I remembered a time a few years ago, when Howard Stern was still on rock radio. On my lunch breaks, after the show would be over for the day, I would listen to the station's afternoon programming. For a time, that station played a lot of old Van Halen. Panama and Running with the Devil. It was fun.

Are any of you Van Halen fans?

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I almost had a bad time. Can you imagine?

Last night, after work, I went to dinner with my buddy Liz and my new love interest JP. It was fun, but I was wiped out after a full week of work. I had a Rock Star Pomegranate in the afternoon and a coffee after dinner; neither of them helped much.

By the time Liz and I got to The Casbah (my favorite place in the world) to see The Dum Dum Girls, at about 11pm, I was officially out of steam. They sounded great, but I was not feeling it.

"Liz, I gotta go outside. I'm hot and falling asleep."

So we went outside in the rain for a sec, I bought their vinyl, then we watched the rest of the show from the back lobby. Second wind. PERFECT. The rest of the show was a real treat. They ended their set with a cover of There is a Light that Never Goes Out by the Smiths. Yay.

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music,
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There's a COACH comin' in!

Last night I had a little post-birthday dinner with the guys. We had Mexican food and margaritas, plus a lot of laughs. It was pretty spectacular.

When I got home, I saw that the Coachella 2011 lineup has been announced! On the surface, the lineup isn't incredible, but if you take a closer look, there's some great stuff.

Scissor Sisters The first time I hung out with

50poundnote and

franken_bear, it was at a Scissor Sisters show. It was one of the most fun and energetic shows I've seen. Can't wait to re-experience all that magic. We'll be in Pooh Corner.
Broken Social Scene These guys came to San Diego around Thanksgiving. Money was a little tight that week and the show was $35, so I missed it and subsequently regretted it. Now I get to see them!
Kele The singer for Bloc Party. Bloc Party actually puts on a crap live show, but maybe he's great solo.
Thao and the Get Down Stay Down I met these people at the Casbah a few months ago. I wear their button on my hoodie all the time.
Bright Eyes Seen him/them like 5 times. Usually a great time.
Jenny and Johnny Jenny Lewis!!! The star of Troop Beverly Hills.
Arcade Fire Their new album is bad, but I've always wanted to see them live.
Chromeo They're fun. Retro and weird stuff.
Duran Duran This would be one of those bands I'd like to see just to say I saw them.
Kanye West AMAZEBALLZ

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music,
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Best music of 2010

A year ago, I listed my top 5 albums of 2009. It's extremely subjective, of course, but it's fun for me to think about what I've found over the year.

That being said, here's my list for 2010.

5 - Matt & Kim Sidewalks

I just realized that last year I mentioned their previous album as one of the best of 2009. I guess I'm a big fan. They just sound so happy, and their music is perfect. This new album seems to be a themed album. Just about every song has some kind of reference to their home, New York. I generally am not a fan of Ney York-themed songs (Example: I Love New York by Madonna), but they make it work.

It's like new york in the late summer time
can breathe again even through this lovely grime

4 - Janelle Monae - ArchAndroid

I picked this one up specifically because I heard Kevin Barnes of the band of Montreal worked on it. Turns out he was only involved in one song.

But that's what makes this album great. The songs are written and produced by several guest artists, but somhow all the songs work together. It's quite an experience.

Side note. I was bored one day, and I looked up YouTube videos from this album. I thought this one was particularly great: Cold War

3 - M.I.A. /\/\/\Y/\

I just think this album is brilliant. It's very much a "noise" album, where the drum loops that hold the songs together are almost insufferable. I can't get enough of it. It reminds me a little of classic, bomb squad-era Public Enemy or even i care because you do-era Aphex Twin. Some songs are a little bit easier to digest, like the reggae-esqe It take a muscle.

I had been talking up this album to my music buddy, Liz, for months, and she kept asking for a copy. I finally played her this song. A few measures in, she said, "who's this?" "It's M.I.A." "Oh, I don't like this!"

2 - of Montreal False Priest

of Montreal's previous album, Skeletal Lamping, was a bit too crazy for most, but with the help of an outside producer, they reeled it in quite a bit for this one. Janelle Monae and Solange Knowles (yeah, Beyonce's sister) but make guest appearances.

My favorite part of the album is Our Riotous Defects, where he talks about being crazy for a girl who turns out to be more crazy than he is.

My God, I should have realized, on our second date
When you dragged me into the bathroom at Tanika's house
And screamed at me for like twenty minutes
'Cause I had contradicted you in front of your friends

I was like "Oh"
and then later that night at my apartment
As punishment you killed my beta fish
Just threw it out the window

1 - Kanye West - My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

I know, Kanye West. "I can't believe what he did on MTV." "He's a jerk."

I wasn't a fan of Kanye West, mostly because I just couldn't get in to his stuff. He made a lot of appearances on Common's albums, and I always disliked those parts.

One day on the Howard Stern Show, Howard was talking about the new "douche bag" song from Kanye. He thought it was hilarious and refers to it often on the show. But I heard something really special in that song, Runaway. He really pours his heart out on it.

Turns out the whole album is brilliant. Even Jay-Z shows up and does his best rapping, maybe ever.

------

Honorable Mention

- Apples in Stereo - Travellers in Space and Time
- The Hold Steady - Heaven is Whenever
- Rihanna - Loud

------

Worst album of the year? Easy.

The Arcade Fire - The Suburbs

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music,
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What little hipster music cred I had is now totally out the window. (plus bed-beard)

I can't stop listening to Rihanna - Loud.
I discovered it on Rhapsody, but found myself listening to it daily, so I bought it.

I feel so dirty and ashamed. :)
But, you know, she's famous for a reason. There are some great songs on it. My favorite? Cheers (Drink to That)

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music,
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Mama Said

I forgot how great this album is.

Back in the 90's, like most music geeks, I built up a substantial portion of my music collection using Columbia House and BMG. Remember that? It was like sign up, get 12 cds for FREE, buy a few for $20 each, cancel, then repeat. I liked the song It Ain't Over Til It's Over so much that I had no problem dropping $20 for it.

If memory serves me correctly, Slash (post-Guns, pre-sell-out, pre-c'mon-just-reform-Guns-already) appears in the first two songs. And then there are wonderful gems like Stand By My Woman and What Goes Around Comes Around. This is back when LK was really on that 60's/70's vibe and just nailing it. Mama Said has a laid-back, effortless vibe that he was never able to reproduce in any of his subsequent albums.

And of course, It Ain't Over Till It's Over is bliss.

Fun Fact:
Lenny Kravitz wrote a song that appears on the new Michael Jackson album. It's a good one.

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fashion!,
music

BBD Fashion Advice, plus my whole life is a lie

I suppose this dates me. When I was in high school, I was really in to a rap/r&b group called Bell Biv Devoe. Often referred to as BBD, they were a spin-off of the boy band New Edition. They had a concert in San Diego at one point, and I wasn't able to go. I actually cried about that. True story. The next day, all the cool kids at school had shirts from the show that said "Do Me Baby" in huge purple letters.

One time, in an interview, the interviewer asked them to describe their outfits. They described their style as "mental". They went on to explain that dressing "mental" involves spontaneously wearing random pieces of clothing, regardless of whether they go together or not. As incredibly stupid as it sounds, for some reason, that concept really stuck with me. Whenever I wear things that are unusual or don't totally match, I semi-sarcastically think, "That's kind of mental."

But, I was thinking about it the other day. I was duped. It was all a big lie. Everything they wore was undoubtedly hand picked by a team of highly paid fashion consultants.

Do you think 90's hip hop fashion like this will ever come back? I'm afraid.

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music,
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Rhapsody? Rhapsody!

So, Rhapsody, right?

My dear friend sluggobear and I were talking about music last night. Specifically, we were talking about the latest stuff. I brought up the new Kanye West album, which I'm obsessed with, and also the new My Chemical Romance album (also great).

He told me he had a whole list of albums he needed to check out. He doesn't have any of them, he listens to them through Rhapsody.

"Rhapsody? You keep bringing that up. Why don't you just use iTunes?"

Here's the deal. $10 a month, all the music you want, on you computer or iPhone. Apparently, they have a huge catalog.

I thought about it for a minute. On Monday, I decided I wanted to hear the new album by Best Coast. $10 on iTunes. I listened to it twice. It's ok. That $10 would have paid for this month's Rhapsody. Last week, in the middle of the night, I spontaniously wanted to listen to a Tortoise album. I own it, but I couldn't find it. $10 on iTunes. That would have paid for last month's Rhapsody.

I'm going to give it a shot!

UPDATE: My friend animbear is totes adorbz.

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music,
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Afternoon Delight

Earlier today, as a joke, somebody posted a link to this song.

Afternoon Delight - Starlight Vocal Band

Now, I had heard this song title before, exclusively as a punchline, but this was the first time I listened to the song.
Ok, yes, it's easy listening and is therefore inherently awful. But I can't help but feel like we've sort of lost this innocence and free-spirit feeling over the years. Maybe this is something we need to bring back.

The singers look so happy, and there's no trace of cynicism at all in their faces or their voices. They're just happily making noise together. I like it.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, I also like having sex in the afternoon. :)

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music

New Guilty Pleasures for Good ol' Mike

Mostly for the sake of getting out of the office, I walked over to Sam Goody yesterday to look at CDs. It's a little overpriced there, but hey, music store! I was hoping to pick up the new Michael Jackson album, but apparently it isn't out yet.

Instead, I walked out with some cool stuff. Well, I'm not sure if cool is the right word. Both bands are what I would consider guilty pleasures.

My Chemical Romance - "Danger Days"
This one, the follow-up to their masterpiece The Black Parade, isn't nearly as good as its predecessor, but I'm pretty happy with it. Their sort of Queen-influenced sound from before is now replaced with a pop-punk sound. But the singer really has an interesting voice and some of the guitar work is pretty fun.

Black Eyed Peas - "The Beginning"
I absolutely loved their last album. I listened to this one late last night. I'm not so sure about it...

On top of all that, when I got home, there was also a package from Amazon.com. It was the new Kanye West album. It's perfect! I was never a fan of Kanye West before, but recently I heard Runaway and I was a believer!

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music

Now don't be sad (Don't be sad), 'Cause two out of three ain't bad

A while back, I was invited by

50poundnote to see him DJ at the Bearracuda show in LA the day after Thanksgiving. It would have been awesome. Then, I found out that Mark and I already had plans to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra here in San Diego that same day. Then as fate would have it, my old friend Brian, from back in the day, was in town the same night, with his band Birds & Batteries.

The Trans-Siberian show started off amazingly. Yowzers!

But, it went really long; almost 3 hours with no breaks. A lot of the songs in the middle of the show were slow and had a narrator telling a nonsense story about two guys at a bar talking about Christmas. I was like, "Wrap it up! I have another show to get to!"

The show won me over again at the end when they brought out the big guns. Full on lightning-licks guitar playing, fire, lasers, indoor fireworks, people suspended in the air above us and running around in the audience.

The show ended at about 11. I texted my friend Michelle that I would be heading to Brian's show shortly. Then I thought about it and opted to go to sleep instead. Moments later, I got a text back from her, "They're about to go on."

Luckily the bar they played at is about 3 blocks away from my house, so I was there within minutes. (That's Brian on the drums.)

Birds & Batteries put on a great, and mercifully short, set. After the show, I got to catch up with my friends Michelle and Brian... and some random drunk guy who, as we were leaving, was arrested for public intoxication. Nice.

So, I'm bummed about missing Jeb's show, but I still had quite a night!

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music,
via ljapp

Say "Wham!" Say "Thank you, ma'am!"

I was incredibly tired last night, and it was too cold to hang out in the backyard, so while Mark made me dinner, I put this badboy on the turntable.

The whole album is great, but the best part is the song Wham! Rap. Yay, so cheesy!

I stayed up way too late again last night, so who knows? I may be spinning Wham! again this afternoon.

Just got back from a run. Good mornin!

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music,
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Friday Music Party

One thing I really like about Fridays is that the Howard Stern Show is a rerun, so I generally listen to lots of podcasts and/or music instead. Right now, I'm on episode 59 of BTalk, but after that, I plan on rocking out. Here's what I've got on the one and two.

Lovesexy - Prince

Earlier this week, I totally had this part of "Yes" in my head:

Cuz Lovesexy is the one, till my day is done.
Hundalasiliah!

I tried to research what Hundalasiliah means, to no avail. I hardly ever listen to this cd, mostly because it's one long 45 minute track. I'm totally going to break it up in to tracks. Or better yet, I wish brunorepublic and 50poundnote would do their magic on it. :)

There are some real gems on this album. Of course, Alphabet St is a winner. But, like, When 2 R in Love and I Wish U Heaven: also really great. I remember buying this one at The Wherehouse back in the day. I was so embarrased. I think I said something to the cashier along the lines of "It's not for me."

Runaway - Kanye West

I can't believe I'm getting in to a Kanye West song. I've always thought he is the most overrated hack ever. But man, Runaway is such a great song. I caught myself singing it this morning. Here's the youtube of the song, in case you haven't ~~had it forced down your throat~~ heard it yet.

Me!

JP and I both have lots of songwriting and recording experience from our pasts. We keep talking about playing our recordings for each other. I ripped a bunch of my stuff on to my iPhone so that I can compile the ultimate Mike's originals playlist.

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The Apples in Stereo - Tonight!

I'm going to see The Apples in Stereo tonight at The Casbah, and I am excited.

Apples in Stereo is a 19-year-old band lead by Robert Schneider, who is part of the Elephant 6 collective, a group that spawned several amazing indie acts including Of Montreal and Neutral Milk Hotel. Schneider is a musical wunderkind that produced and arranged Neutral Milk Hotel's In The Airplane Over the Sea. The horn arrangements on that album are nothing short of genius.

AIS's albums are hit-and-miss, but everything from Velocity of Sound on is brilliant.

I'm such a nerd; I actually brought my entire Apples in Stereo cd collection to work today.

We saw them a few years ago and I almost got to talk to Robert, but some douche kept cutting me off to ask about size XXXL t-shirts. True story.

Here's one of their latest videos. Notice his giant, woofy beard. Yet another reason to be a fan:

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OMG, I love it all!

A long time ago, my friends and I were really in to a band called The Sea and Cake. My friend Michelle and I even hung out with Archer Prewitt (the guitar player) once, outside of The Casbah, and talked about guitar playing.

And then there's a new band called Broken Social Scene that I'm really getting in to. Turns out they did a 7" together and it's just perfect. It just came in the mail the other day. In a non-record-friendy package, I should add.

Then, I was doing a little research on a couple projects I'm working on, and I stumbled on to this music video:

They Don't Care About Us (Prison Version)

Apparently, Michael Jackson did two videos for this one song. The original version has MJ dancing around the streets of a village with a bunch of children. This version features him in prison. This was around the time of one of the child molestation trials, so I presume the motivation behind this second video was either to distance him from little boys or to show him as a martyr.

The video is surprisingly well directed, and it looks fairly modern. It was a fun surprise for an uber-MJ-fan like me.

Oh, I'm just happy. That's all.

Current Location: US, California, San Diego, San Diego, 9th Ave, 1274

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The clouds are really pretty today, plus yayyyyy.

I love fall. Can't wait for winter!

Yesterday, I saw something in my mailbox...

It was the Pixies live recording from Las Vegas.
Yay, thanks, Mr rckdjbear!

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Current Location: US, California, San Diego, San Diego, 9th Ave, 1346

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A Tale of Two Concerts

Yesterday afternoon, I spontaneously decided to pop this bad boy in to the DVD player. (Note the $2.99 price tag. Thanks, Amoeba!)

Beastie Boys: Awesome I shot that! is a very creative concert film in which the director handed out something like 50 cameras and asked people to film whatever they felt like filming (One guy filmed himself peeing...). After the show, all of the footage was masterfully edited together.

It came out a few years ago, and I wasn't dying to see it. Mostly because I had read a bad review of it.

Turns out, it's great! Not only was it extremely creative, it was also very immersive. I really felt like I was experiencing a Beastie Boys show. The Doug E Fresh appearance alone, about half way through, is worth its weight in gold!

Speaking of concerts, that night I saw the Pixies in real life. Yay!

They put on a great show. This tour is a celebration of the 20th anniversary of Doolittle, so they played the entire album in the album's original sequence. They also played quite a few rarities and a handful of hits.

I love Frank Black (the singer) so much...

kingfuraday was there, too. In the picture above, he's super tall and in yellow. We talked after the show, and I got to meet his cute friend Dan. :)

No more concerts for me for a while! (Psst...this Friday, Matt and Kim at House of Blues)

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Current Mood: awake
Current Location: US, California, San Diego, San Diego, Ohio St, 4318
Current Music: Love Lies Bleeding

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music,
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Good morning, Mike. Watcha listening to?

Funny you asked! I'm listening to Elton John.

...and lots of it.

Current Mood: excited
Current Music: Knight of Cydonia - Muse

Entry tags:

lizzie!,
music

Muse. Rad or not rad?

I'm going to see this band tonight.

I go to concerts all the time, but usually I see bands that I love. Muse is one of those bands that a lot of my friends like and I don't hate. I'm mostly going to hang out with my friend and concert buddy Liz. She bought 2 tickets a long time ago, and our agreement was if she couldn't find a cute, indie-rock boyfriend by now, I would be her cute, indie-rock boyfriend for the night. Fine with me, I like concerts.

Plus, hopefully, I'll see

sluggobear and

kingfuraday there.

I've been listening to their latest album and I like it. Maybe they'll fully win me over me tonight. I hope so!