The Rockae

My friend Chris is playing guitar in a rock opera/musical that is part of the New York Musical Theater Festival - The Rockae. Kind of a cheesy title, yes. But it's a rock opera. What do you expect? It's based off of the Greek tragedy, The Bachae by Euripides.

To give you an idea about the play, the star's bio starts out "Michael Cunio is thrilled to be wearing such tight pants." And tight they were. The title doesn't even prepare you though for the amount of cheese they pour on in the musical. From the awesome glam rock costumes and makeup to the homoerotic sexual tension between Dionysus and Pentheus, the whole play is quite entertaining. Because even though it's cheesy, it acknowledges that it's cheesy and it kind of pokes fun at itself.

Michael Cunio outdid himself as the androgynous Dionysus, God of wine, mystery and intoxication. He has a really amazing voice and was quite funny as the cocky God. Although as the play went on he stopped seeming androgynous and started simply seeming feminine, which I didn't really like.

I know it is based off a tragedy, but the whole play is so much fun until the very end that I kind of wish they had stayed on that upbeat, comedic tone instead of switching, rather suddenly, to tragedy. I got kind of bored at the end.

Overall, though, I enjoyed myself a lot. Go see the show. It runs through October 14th I believe. Tata dahlings.

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Dance Party - 9.28.07

It's Friday! Yay! Not that I have much of a weekend to look forward to since we're holding auditions all day Sunday, but I'm excited for that actually. And a friend of mine is coming to visit, so that will be fun. As usual, here are some dance songs to get your weekend started with some energy.

Burning Down My Sanity [mp3] - Moth - "Provisions, Fiction and Gear" (iTunes).

Atlas [mp3] - Battles - "Mirrored" (iTunes unavailable)

Fit But You Know It [mp3] - The Streets - "A Grand Don't Come for Free" (iTunes).

Have a good weekend everyone! Tata dahlings.

Theme Thursday - Modernity

Sorry to be posting so late. I've had a rough day. Today's theme is "Modernity." And as always, feel free to leave comments with ideas for next week's theme.

Modern Art [mp3] - Art Brut - "Bang Bang Rock & Roll" (iTunes). Best text message I've ever gotten from my mom (yes my mom text messages... much to my chagrin) was at the 2006 Siren Music Festival: "Sexy Brits at 3pm on the Stillwell Stage. Art Brut. Get your ass there." So I went, and they were great. Thanks mom.

This Modern Love [mp3] - Bloc Party - "Silent Alarm" (iTunes). More sexy Brits, though I've never seen them in concert.

Evergreen [mp3] - Celebration - "The Modern Tribe" (iTunes unavailable). I had never listened to this song today. I have no idea where it came from or why it is on my computer, but I like it so I thought I would share it with you.

Modern Moonlight [mp3] - The Dresden Dolls - "Yes, Virginia..." (iTunes). Just another great song by The Dresden Dolls. I idolize Amanda Palmer and her mad piano skills (screw Ben Folds). The Dresden Dolls' Companion is the best piano book I've ever bought. Nothing is simplified. Not a note left out.

Seventeen Dirty Magazines [mp3] - Modern Skirts - "Catalogue of Generous Men" (iTunes). Another piano-powered song. Not as good as Amanda Palmer though.

Modern Nature [mp3] - Sondre Lerche - "Faces Down" (iTunes unavailable). A lovely, adorable song from my favorite Norwegian singer. I'm mostly Norwegian so I was really excited when I first heard of Sondre Lerche because not that many singers in Norway make it in the US, but he's doing pretty well.

Modern Timing [mp3] - Roisin Murphy (iTunes unavailable). A sexy dance song to change it up a little.

Wacky Wednesday - 9.26.07

Time for a second installation of "Wacky Wednesday" because sometimes music isn't high art, it isn't asking the deep questions about life. Sometimes it's just entertaining. These are songs that make me smile/laugh because, frankly, they're just kind of silly. I'm going to dedicate this to my twin, Lisa, as she introduced me to most of these songs.

The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun [mp3] - Julie Brown - "Goddess in Progress" (iTunes unvavailable). This is a classic 80s song, down to the fact that she uses the names Buffy and Mitzy. And it's hilarious in that really terrible kind of way. Sadly, I don't think this song would ever get made today what with all the school shootings.

Poisoning Pigeons in the Park [mp3] - Tom Lehrer - "in concert" (iTunes unavailable). I hate pigeons pretty much more than any other animal in the world (if you don't include bugs and snakes), so I love this song. I never used to want to harm any creature, but then this stupid pigeon perched itself outside my window every morning at 6am for about 4 months and made the most wretched noises. If it wasn't doing it every morning I would've thought it was dying. After I while, I wished it was.

I Know an Old Lady [mp3] - ACDA College Men's Choir - "ACDA Festival 2001" (iTunes unavailable). So I used to be a total choir geek... Still would be if I had a choir to be in. This was from a choir festival I attended long ago. It's a classical and hilarious version of the children's song we're probably all familiar with that starts out "I know an old lady who swallowed a fly..."

Romance & Cigarettes

Yesterday I saw the movie "Romance & Cigarettes," which is playing at the Film Forum - a limited run and the only place in the entire US that you can see it. It has an all-star cast including James Gandolfini, Susan Surandon, Kate Winslet, Christopher Walken, Mandy Moore, Mary-Louise Parker, Steve Buscemi and even brief appearances by Eddie Izzard and Amy Sedaris. With all those names, you would think it would be getting more distribution in the US. Although, after seeing it, I guess I'm not surprised it didn't.

"Romance and Cigarettes" was advertised as a musical, and in the past I might have said that was why it didn't get picked up in theaters. But right now the American Movie Musical is experiencing a bit of a revival, so I don't think that's the problem. I also don't think it was quite a musical. Yes, there was singing and dancing. But it was more like the actors were singing along with the radio because every time a song burst in, the original singer's voice was left on the track and half the time you couldn't even hear the actors' voices singing along because the track was so loud. This actually really irritated me.

There was also a few too many "wtf?" moments - moments that really weren't pertinent to the plot at all and were either a little too outrageous or just completely unmotivated. I love musicals. I can do the whole suspension-of-disbelief-when-people-break-out-into-song thing. But actually most of my "wtf?" moments had nothing to do with when people were breaking out into song (for example the first time Amy Sedaris appears out of nowhere in their backyard drinking a beer and shouting about how much she loves their band).

On the positive side, I thought all the actors - particularly Kate Winslet and Christopher Walken - were amazing. I loved the characters and the way each actor made such distinctive choices in their portrayals. Each character was a character and I felt that the actors went all the way with them. Although I would've liked Eddie Izzard to be used better. He is awesome and he wasn't really given much of a chance to shine.

Despite the plethora of "wtf?" moments, I have to say I did enjoy a lot of the silliness. I laughed a lot and I had fun watching it. Visually, at times, it was quite stunning and entertaining. And certain numbers were definitely done in a very campy classical musical style.

The best part of the movie was that it could be very sweet and heartwarming at times. It ends on a bittersweet note and I will admit I shed a tear. It is - moreso than a musical - a movie about love and dysfunctional families, and I thought that the film was actually quite successful in this sense. I bought their love and their hatred and all the in-betweens.

Overall, I definitely recommend seeing it, even if just because we New Yorkers are the privileged few in the US who can, and that makes it kind of special. Tata dahlings.

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Getting the ball rolling

So a friend of mine and I are shooting a TV pilot. We have been trying to put this together for a while and it's finally getting moving. I'm really excited, but stressed. And I have been so busy the past few days that I actually haven't really had time to listen to much music. So today's post is going to be film related, since that is all I have been doing the past few days. I'm going to post on the subject of casting. Actors, pay attention.

Here are some rules that I thought were very obvious that actors are supposed to follow when they are applying for roles, but apparently I was wrong and some people don't know this stuff:
1. Send your headshot. If you don't, you're stupid. We need your headshot. And the only reason I can see for not sending one is if you know you don't fit the role or if you are dumb. In either case, I don't want to work with you.
2. If you know you don't fit the role, don't even apply. We don't appreciate our time being wasted and you shouldn't want to waste your time either applying for jobs you know you're not right for and you're not going to get. For example, if it says "white/caucasian" then don't apply unless you're white. It's not that we're racist but sometimes (like in my case) we already have some roles cast and my white, blonde actress' fraternal twin brother can't be Indian. Sorry. If it says the character is 26, don't apply if you're 60. Even if you're 30, unless you look younger, don't apply. We're not going to change the age of our character for you. If someone puts that the character is 26 they have something very specific in mind. If they put that the character is 30-50 then clearly the age of the character is more flexible and then maybe you can apply.
3. Send professional, clear headshots. We don't want to see pictures you took in Photo Booth, we don't want to see pictures of you that you photoshoped all sorts of weird effects on, and we want to be able to see what you look like so the picture had better not be grainy or blurry.

Now, hopefully all of you reading this are thinking "duh." Because that's what you should be thinking. But I am really honestly appalled at some of the submissions we've been getting. I would've thought people who wanted to be professional actors would know better. We've especially been having trouble with guys. The girls actually seem to get it for the most part and have only been applying for roles they fit. But we haven't gotten a single guy that fits the description we posted.

I guess it's because we made the mistake of posting to Craigslist. We posted a bunch of other places too - slightly more exclusive casting postings - and Craigslist was kind of "well, we might as well just in case we get one or two gems." But seriously actors, if you use Craigslist that doesn't give you the right to be stupid or lazy or unprofessional.

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A Brief Smile

A Brief Smile came out with a new full-length album not too long ago, "Now We All Have Horns." It might technically count as their first full-length since their last album only had 7 songs on it. While I guess it technically hasn't officially been released yet - if you pre-order it, it will ship October 2nd - you can stream it in its entirity on their website. You can also download three of the songs for free. First, let me start out by saying that I love the album artwork. The vibrant colors are simply gorgeous. I realize that's probably a weird thing to comment on, but I do think it's quite striking and it would definitely stop my in my tracks if I saw it in a store. As for the music, I think they could do something to set themselves apart more from other indie rock bands on the scene right now. However, that being said, I liked the album overall and three tracks really stood out to me.

The first track that stood out to me is track 5, the melancholy Tairs In the Cloth. This is lovely, simple, beautiful song and I think it is filled with a lot of emotion.

Next came track 6, the much darker 2005. This song seemed different from the rest of their stuff to me. More hard rock and I want to say it has a fuller sound. And I think it's relatable - "when you say you will, do you mean it? ... Why is it so hard to believe it?"

The third track, which I think is my favorite, is track 9, The Sky Will Crack. I love the rhythms and I think this song is quite catchy.

Unfortunately the three tracks that you can download for free on their website are not any of these three, so you will just have to listen to them streaming. But here are the ones you can get from their website:

Never Have the Time [mp3]
Big Sky [mp3]
Vicious [mp3]

Buy the album - Stream the album

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Off Off Off Off Off Broadway

Normally I don't really write reviews about things I don't like. I choose to focus more on the positive and I tend to have the attitude that if I don't like it I don't want to give it any sort of attention (you know that saying "no publicity is bad publicity"?). But I think I need to stop being so freaking nice and trying to please everyone. So here it goes: my first official bad review.

Last night I got free tickets to an "off-broadway" play, "The Lady Swims Today." First off, that's a horrible name for a play. But the description I read made it sound alright: "Welcome to the Carney Hook Marina Motel, where three, desperate men are tempted to join the heist of a lifetime. It's summer, 1984, Eddie has a plan to steal two million dollars off a boat on the Chesapeake Bay, and he needs a crew to pull it off. When these schemers and dreamers come up against three women with plans of their own, the course to a fortune is threatened by more than bad weather. The Lady Swims Today, by Howard Brown, is a drama in the tradition of Key Largo and The Petrified Forest, with film noir shadows and flashes of comedy." And since the tickets were free, I went. I think my friend who saw the play with me said it best: "I felt like I was watching a rough draft."

Obviously heist storylines are never, you know, relatable to me or grounded in my version of reality. But they can still be believable and I can still follow the action and enjoy a good heist story, especially if I can relate to the characters. Throughout this whole play I rarely understood exactly what was going on, and I don't think I ever believed it. Half the acting was very over-the-top (which was the only thing film noir about the play besides maybe some of the terrible dialogue, so it just seemed out of place), although I mostly believe that was the director's fault because the actors seemed talented enough. But none of the characters were believable or relatable and none of their actions seemed to have any kind of logical motivation, which is a fault with both the writing and directing. Also, in terms of casting, if you're going to have a "charming, suave" character that all the ladies go for, he should actually be charming and suave instead of greasy and sleazy. The "used car salesman" cliche comes to mind. Not once did I believe that any of the women in the play would ever be attracted to him. And sadly, very little of the play was funny. Maybe the show could've worked as a kind of screwball comedy of sorts because every time I laughed (or well, the few times I laughed due to funny content rather than because the play was just so ridiculous) I felt a wave of hope that maybe the play would turn itself around. Plus, as a comedy, extreme characters and situations and randomness are much more fitting and the whole suspension of disbelief thing is usually easier with comedy.

One little beam of light shining through this dark cloud of a play was Kelli K. Barnett. She played stripper/girlfriend Alice Bender. She was great as an obliviously naive but somehow at the same time jaded and wise stripper bimbo. I believed her performance most of the time and her character was, for the most part, likable. One thing I did not like was how her character had sex with her boyfriend's 17 year old son (not during the play but as part of her character history that was referenced a few times). I really just did not see how that moved the plot forward in any way, shape or form and it just made her character seem trampy and weak. But again, that's a problem with the writing and not the acting.

So there you have it folks. My first bad review. I will sum it up by saying I'm glad I didn't pay to see this show, though (because I'm not good at being mean) I will add that I don't necessarily feel like I wasted hours of my life or anything that extreme. Tata dahlings.

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Dance Party - 9.21.07

Wednesday night I went and saw The Hard Lessons perform for the second time - this time at Pianos. I'm retarded though and left my apartment in a hurry, fearing I would be late and completely forgetting my camera, so I don't have my usual blurry, crappy photos to share with everyone. I bet you're all very disappointed... Haha. I really need to get a new camera. Oy.

Anyway, the concert was great. But it couldn't really compare to the one over the summer at The Creek and The Cave, for a few reasons. First of all, the audience sucked (it's amazing what an impact the audience has on a show experience for me). Everyone just kind of stood there as if they didn't even really want to be there. They didn't participate as much when The Hard Lessons tried to get us to clap/sing along. Nobody stood within five feet of the stage (although that might've had something to do with the fact that it was ungodly loud). Second of all, The Hard Lessons didn't have the audience's energy to feed off of, so they weren't quite as energetic either, though they still put on a great performance. Third, it was more expensive than at TC&TC and they played a really short set. Fourth, there was no "drinks on the house!" afterwards (although I did happen to get a free drink at a bar we went to later by complete chance that the bartender was out of everything I wanted).

On the plus side, The Hard Lessons debuted a brand new song, which I liked. I couldn't catch the title but Augie introduced it by saying "the number one export in Michigan used to be automobiles, now it's candy canes" (they're from Detroit if you haven't caught that in my other numerous entries about them). My friend Laura thinks it's about The White Stripes and their whole saga with the Detroit music scene, but neither of us could hear the lyrics that well, so I guess it will remain a mystery for a while.

And now for a little dance music to get your weekend started.

Crazy on You [mp3] - Blitzen Trapper - "Bridging the Distance" (iTunes)

Flathead [mp3] - The Fratellis - "Costello Music" (iTunes)

Oh My [mp3] - Mellowdrone - "Box" (iTunes)

Stop! Stop! Stop! [mp3] - The Hard Lessons - "Gasoline" (iTunes unavailable)

Oh, P.S. I finally broke down and got a myspace. I figured it might be useful for this blog. So, if you read this or if you're just bored, myspace me.

Theme Thursday - Public Transportation

Today's theme is "public transportation" - which I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with, especially since I moved out to Brooklyn.

Public Transportation [mp3] - Anni Rossi - Arts High School Live Performance (iTunes unavailable). This is a good example of Ms. Rossi's piano skills that I was raving about.

My My Metrocard [mp3] - Le Tigre - "Le Tigre" (iTunes). This song, like all of Le Tigre's songs, is a frenzy of dance energy.

Champion [mp3] - Professor Murder - "Professor Murder Rides the Subway" (iTunes). Another dance-able song to get you through your daily commute.

Penny on the Train Track [mp3] - Ben Kweller - "Ben Kweller" (iTunes). This song is actually the perfect train-riding song. It's got a really great groove to it.

C'Mon N' Ride It (The Train) [mp3] - Quad City DJs - "Get On Up And Dance" (iTunes). Classic.

ing

Yesterday I received a lovely email from John Wood, a member of Mad Gregs, who had seen my review of their show at Cake Shop. He emailed to tell me about another project of his: ing, who apparently performed before Mad Gregs but whom I missed because I was busy enjoying some delicious vegan "death by chocolate" cake upstairs.

The LA-based duo, which formed about two years ago, has obviously kept themselves very busy as they released their sixth album - entitled "ing 6" - this summer. You can listen to the album in its entirity on their website. The other member of the duo is Max Markowitz.

While their name (as well as their album and song titles) might lead you to believe they are minimalistic, I don't think their music is really. Some of it is, but some of it is also very full. It is all pretty experimental (some songs more than others). If you are like me and have a hard time listening to things that are super experimental, don't let the first track on the album, sixty-two, discourage you. Most of their songs are not as experimental as that one and are much less minimalistic. Not to say that I didn't like the first track. On the contrary, I did actually. But I would've had a hard time listening to 50 minutes of it, so I'm glad most of their songs were a little less experimental.

Like Mad Gregs, ing is "quietish music designed and written for intimate spaces." It definitely wouldn't seem right seeing them perform in a big stadium or something. The music is very relaxing, but I feel like some of it would actually be really good music for a movie soundtrack. There is a lot of energy behind their music, despite how calm it is. And maybe it's because - based on what I've read on their website - they have quite the visual component to them, as well (Lula Louise referred to them as "part music and part performance art"), their music lends itself to that visual/dramatic sensibility that soundtrack music needs.

And some samples for you from "ing 6" (although, like I said, you can listen to the albums in their entirity on their website, or you can buy them and, "for a limited time only, get a free haiku with every purchase," which sounds pretty freaking awesome).

sixty-three [mp3]
seventy-two [mp3]

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Uuuuuuggghhhhh....

Not to harp on the whole Britney Spears VMA performance thing, especially because everyone else is doing a fine job of it without my help, but I just have to say that I think everyone's overreacting a lot. I was reading AM New York (at least I think that's what it was) over someone's shoulder on the subway yesterday and there was a little blurb about it. I couldn't tell exactly from the small article, but it seemed like Britney Spears was being asked/invited to make a formal apology at the Emmy's. Seriously? A formal apology? For what? Her performance was mediocre at best but it's not like she made racist comments or hurt somebody in some way. Or it's not like she skipped out on the performance. That I could see necessitating a formal apology (although not to the "world" in general, but to the VMAs). I know everyone is referring to her performance as "a disaster," but it could've gone a whole lot worse... And who is she being asked to apologize to and for what exactly? "I'm sorry general public that I didn't blow everyone away at the VMAs. How dare I be so mediocre." That's about how it would go.

Anyway, moving on. I don't know what's wrong with me lately but I can't seem to get out of this music rut, so here are some miscellaneous songs, yet again.

Love Astronaut [mp3] - Murder Mystery - "Are You Read for the Heartache... Because Here It Comes" (iTunes unavailable). This is kind of pleasant silly song.

Grounds for Divorce [mp3] - Wolf Parade - "Apologies to the Queen Mary" (iTunes). I thought I posted this song in my post about Canadian bands, but apparently I didn't, and so I am posting it now.

Don't Stop Believin' (Journey cover) [mp3] - Petra Haden - "Guilt By Association" (iTunes). I'm a big fan of a capella music, so yay for this song.

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The Post-Birthday World

So The Hold Steady are playing a free concert tonight at the World Trade Center Park. 5:30pm. I can't go, but you should. They're fun live.

Since I'm still in a bit of a music rut today (which is strange since I recently hit the point have more music on my computer than will even fit on my iPod...), I am going to do a book review instead.

A few weeks ago I finished reading "The Post-Birthday World" by Lionel Shriver. I really enjoyed it, though I can't say it gave me the most optimistic feeling about marriage or love. The thing that was interesting about the book was that it was two stories in one. The first few chapters go normally, but then the character makes a decision - to cheat or not to cheat - and the book goes in two separate directions and explores the results of both decisions. The even chapters are one choice and the odd chapters are the other choice. What makes it even more interesting is that even though the two lives the main character leads in each story are very different, there are always little parallels that tie the two chapters of her different decisions together. And at times it was like the one life was aware of the parallel life in the other chapter.

There were also a few very astute observations in the book that I thought were put in a lovely way. One of them, for example, was that you can't say something is against your nature if you are doing it and, in fact, it simply means that you have a higher opinion of yourself than you should. I think people use that as an excuse for doing things they know they shouldn't or they know are wrong. They say it's "against their nature" and they go on pretending they are still good people. Well, the main character liked to think of cheating on her husband as against her nature, but then she realized that she was doing it and therefore it couldn't really be against her nature - she simply wanted to think she was a better person than she really was. Of course, Shriver put this much more nicely/eloquently/poetically than I am, and that is why she is the one writing novels and I am the one reading them. And yes, Lionel Shriver is a woman - born Margaret Ann Shriver.

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Music Rut...

I am having a very pleasant lazy Sunday, but I appear to be in a music rut right now because I don't really have any songs that I'm dying to post right now. Therefore it's going to be super random today:

Metric Lips [mp3] - New Grass Revival - "Best of New Grass Revival" (iTunes). So it's bluegrass. Thought I'd throw something very different from what I usually post. I stumbled on this completely by accident too, but I actually kind of love it. It's weird because I never think of bluegrass as a genre that I like unless I'm listening to it at the time.

The Pelican [mp3] - Menomena - "Friend and Foe" (iTunes). I am a fan of the dissonance.

Spoon Me [mp3] - Ohm - "Star Fall" (iTunes unavailable). I seem to like songs with girls yelling "ha!" in the background (another example of a song I've posted is Laura Veirs' Black Gold Blues). This actually is a song I've been meaning to post for a while but I just kept forgetting.

Julius C @ Crash Mansion

On Wednsday, walking the streets of New York with some friends, we encountered your typical flyer-passer-outer. My friends ignored him and kept walking but I caught the words "free concert, open bar" so I took the flyer. I assumed I probably still wouldn't go, but I wanted to see what it was.

I literally yelled "yes!" out loud when I saw who was playing though. It was Julius C, who I've written about once before here, and I'd been wanting to see them perform for quite a while now but had never managed to make it to one of their shows. I may never ignore another flyer person on the street again...

The show was at Crash Mansion. Crash Mansion is actually a really nice space. It's intimate but not cramped and there are nice couches to sit on and stuff. Julius C went on second and, in all honesty, I think that might be the most fun I have had at a concert all year. I know I tend to say positive things about most of the concerts that I've been to and rave about how awesome they were in various ways. But I usually have bad things to say too and I don't think I have any bad things to say about this show.

The whole band just had so much energy. They all looked like they were having the time of their lives up on stage. And they made the audience have a good time too. There was a lot of audience participation - they even had two halves of the audience singing different things while they sang a third part on stage. It was so much fun. I danced my little heart out and took ridiculous amounts of pictures with my piece of shit camera. Jay Stolar, the lead singer, even came out into the audience at one point and was standing literally 6 inches directly in front of me. I got some decent pictures at that point (see below).

The other thing that made it great was that the audience had energy, but they weren't rowdy. I would think that with the open vodka bar right before Julius C went on, the crowd would've been more unruly, but they all danced and had a good time and participated but didn't get shovey. I had my nice little square foot of space and wasn't being elbowed in the face. It was perfect. So many potentially great concerts have been ruined for me by the stupid rowdy audience, or by a really lame audience who lacked energy. And it was full, but not overly crowded. It seems like all the shows I go to are either packed or too empty.

If I had any complaints it would be the following: where was the brass section that makes their sound so full on the album? I really would've liked to see them perform too. And of the three songs that I knew before the concert, they only played one. In fact, that may have been the only song from their 6-song EP "Julius C Says" - which I am now the proud owner of - that they played. They definitely played less than half the EP. But it didn't really matter because they owned every song they played and it was a relatively long set.

As for their 6-song EP, well, I knew half the songs on it already, but I like all of the other three too. As I know I've said before, it's rare that I like 100% of songs by any band, even on EPs with only a few songs. I can't wait for them to come out with some new stuff. And maybe I can go to another concert of their's sometime soon.

A few songs from their EP:

No Way [mp3]
Tell Me How You Want It [mp3]

And a few more pictures (I finally broke down and got a flickr account because I took so many pictures at this concert, so if you want to see even more, go here):

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Dance Party - 9.14.07

I unintentionally almost had a "blood" theme going for the dance party mix this week... Maybe I will do blood as a Theme Thursday sometime.

Blood On My Hands [mp3] - The Start - "Ciao, Baby" (iTunes). This one's downright 80s sounding.

It's Getting Boring By The Sea [mp3] - Blood Red Shoes (iTunes unavailable). Another great girl-powered rock song.

Jealousy [mp3] - Keoki - "Jealousy" (iTunes). I can never really enjoy techno for an extended period of time but I love this song in all its creepy glory, and my friend Sarah introduced me to Keoki back in middle school, so it's a little nostalgic too.

Magoo [mp3] - The Blakes - "Streets" (iTunes). Another dance rock song. I don't really like the singer's voice, but the song is fun.

Ok, hope everyone has a good weekend. I know mine is going to be a little chaotic. I am going to see Julius C tonight (finally!), so expect a concert review in the near future. Tata dahlings.

Theme Thursday - Sunshine

It's a beautiful sunny day here in NYC, so the theme for today is Sunshine.

Sunshine [mp3] - Atmosphere - "Sad Clown Bad Summer - Number 9" (iTunes). I love this song and how it reminds us to enjoy the simple things in life and focus on the positive. This is from Atmosphere's newest album that just came out in the end of August. And, as I always have to add, Atmosphere is from Minneapolis. It's really relaxing, which is awesome because I don't usually think of rap as a particularly relaxing medium.

Asleep on a Sunbeam [mp3] - Belle & Sebastian - "Dear Catastrophe Waitress" (iTunes). Belle & Sebastian have a lot of songs about sunshine/sunniness, but I like this one and it is another perfect relaxing song.

Burned by the Sun [mp3] - Beulah - "The Coast is Never Clear" (iTunes). Very groove-able. A great song for driving with your windows too.

Sunset Soon Forgotten [mp3] - Iron & Wine - "Our Endless Numbered Days" (iTunes)

Sunburn [mp3] - Muse - "Showbiz" (iTunes unavailable). This one is less relaxing (or well, it becomes less relaxings part way through the song) but I think the piano part is really pretty.

Sunshine [mp3] - Simian - "We Are Your Friends" (iTunes unavailable). This one is more upbeat, almost dance-able.

Don't Take My Sunshine Away [mp3] - Sparklehorse - "Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain" (iTunes). I like this one until about 40 seconds before the end when all of a sudden it becomes really hard rock and for like 15 seconds out of nowhere and I don't think that fits in with the rest of the song. But the beginning reminds me of my old favorite band, Remy Zero.

Island In The Sun [mp3] - Weezer - "The Green Album" (iTunes). This song is one of the best chilling on a sunny day songs ever so I had to post it.

Hope you all have a chance to get out and enjoy the lovely weather while it lasts. Tata dahlings.

Pour some "Gasoline" on the fire

I finally got a hold of a copy of The Hard Lessons' 2005 full-length CD "Gasoline." For the longest time, their website said it was sold out and I had no idea where to get it from seeing as they are not really sold in stores.

Those of you who are new to this blog may not have read my previous rave about them and how awesome they are. Long story short: The Hard Lessons are a trio from Detroit, Michigan. I went to their show in Queens earlier this summer having never heard of them before and they blew me away. They are very talented and very independent. And expect to hear more about them again soon, as they are playing at Pianos a week from today (September 19th) and I fully intend on going. You should go too. They put on an awesome show.

“Gasoline” starts out with Feel Alright, a track that is very indicative of their style. It’s a really great, upbeat rock song with a lot of little in sync licks and phrases. The next track, Milk and Sugar, is one of my favorites of all of their songs and definitely my favorite on this album. I love the harmonies and how it manages to still be a pretty song even though it is also a relatively hard rock song. Track 3, That Other Girl is another one I really like, but it is distinctly more country-sounding than I remember it being when they performed it. In fact, a lot of their songs (particularly most of the songs starting from track 5 on) have a bit of a country twang feel to them. This came as quite a surprise to me because I don't remember them sounding at all country when I saw them perform and none of the songs on their EP "Wise Up!" or myspace have that slight twang either.

Not that I don't like the album. I definitely still really enjoy the album. I was just a little surprised. However, seeing as it is their older album, I would guess they have departed from this country sound a bit and I think I'm glad they did. But regardless, the album still rocks, they still rock, and I still want to be Korin "KoKo" Cox (I think that's the girl's name anyway...). She has such a great voice, and even though I don't think these recordings really do it justice, you can kind of get a taste for it in tracks 9 (How It Is With Me) and 11 (Love Gone Cold). Interestingly, my friend Laura is going to re-record some of the songs on this album for/with them and try to fix them so that you can actually tell how amazing they are. There is definitely such a thing as underproduced, and though I know some people like that kind of sound, I would rather be able to hear what an awesome singer KoKo is.

I am also kind of annoyed that my two favorite songs of their's (See and Be Scene, and Don't Shake My Tree) have yet to actually be released on anything but their myspace. I am really in love with those two song and the fact that I can't get them anywhere makes me sad. What's with that guys? Your fans want to be able to listen to your music in other formats besides via myspace!

Feel Alright [mp3]
Milk and Sugar [mp3]
That Other Girl [mp3]

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New York TV Festival

I spent a large portion of my time this weekend at the New York TV Festival. There were some really great ideas, and some pilots that were really well done technically, but it seemed like most of them either had one or the other and very few actually had both. Overall though, I'm really glad I went. I did get to see one that my professor directed and two of my friends were in - "The Band." I felt cool sitting with the cast. And theirs was actually pretty good. Not a show I would watch on TV (because of the content... a little too ABC Family for my tastes) but it was well made and well acted. And one of my favorite pilots - "Here On Earth" - had two friends of mine in it too, which I didn't know until right beforehand. This one was very much like The Office, but on the set of a public access documentary show. It was pretty great. Very dry humor. I also really liked "The Agency," though I have to admit I didn't totally understand a few things about it and I'm not sure I would watch it due to its content either. The acting was good though and it looked great, and it's an interesting idea - an agency of guardian angels.

Anyway, today is going to be a crazy day for me as the boss comes back from being in France today and UPS screwed us over so we have no furniture in our office, so I'm going to keep this brief and just post a few songs I like at the moment.

Ingots [mp3] - Kaki King - "Legs to Make Us Longer" (iTunes)

G.P.T. [mp3] - Martha Wainwright - "Martha Wainwright" (iTunes)

The Get Go [mp3] - New Young Pony Club - "Fantastic Playroom" (iTunes)

Have a good hump day! Tata dahlings.

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"It's Britney, Bitch"

Despite my blog title "Guilt Free Pleasures" and the fact that I try really hard to not feel guilty or bad about liking things that other people might look down on me for (I try to just be who I am and like what I like), I have always had a little trouble admitting my love for Britney Spears out loud.

But here it is. I love Britney Spears. Her music is catchy and danceable, and she puts on a great performance. She's a mess, but I honestly don't think that's entirely her fault. I am pretty sure I would be a mess if I grew up the way that she did - in the public spotlight under the constant scrutiny of the paparazzi with all sorts of people pushing her to be a certain way or using her for her money and fame. As George Clooney said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, I would be shooting coke under my eyeballs if I had to deal with that stuff too, especially at such a young age.

I really want Britney to come back. I want her to succeed - to rise above all this crap she has to deal with and to say "I'm back and I'm better than ever. Screw you all for the way you've treated me." I just don't know if Britney wants to come back... In fact, I'm not so sure she ever wanted any of this in the first place and I sometimes wonder if maybe her super duper stage mom didn't push her into a career she wasn't ready for or really wanted. I mean, every little kid "wants to be famous" because they don't know about the bad things that come with fame, and so it's easy to get caught up in that if your parents are pushing you to be a star at a young age and you're actually successful. And I'm sure she enjoyed/enjoys performing. But I wonder if that was ever really her dream, or if she just assumed it was because that's the life she lived and she never knew anything different.

I know the internet has been buzzing with her new tracks. Unfortunately, it seems like everyone just loves to hate on the poor girl right now. While I will agree Cold As Fire [mp3] is pretty bad and I hate the affected baby voice she sings in for that song (she sounds younger than in "...Baby One More Time"), I actually really like Gimme More [mp3]. It's no Toxic, but it's a solid, sexy dance song. People are saying "it's not original" and things like that. But hello? It's Britney Spears. We don't listen to her because she's breaking new musical ground. We listen to her because you can dance to her music, it's catchy, and you have a good time. It's not like she's the one even writing most of the stuff anyway. And I think it's definitely a good start to a comeback.

Last night Britney opened the VMA's. Beforehand, the way people were talking, it seemed like how she did was going to determine the entire rest of her career and this whole comeback business. Like, if she failed last night, she would've been written off for good. I myself do not have cable so I was unable to actually watch the performance live. But thanks to the miracle of the internet, I got to see it about one hour later. I think she looked good. Her performance was definitely not one of her most impressive and everyone's loving to hate on that too. The dancing was mediocre at best (which is really her strength...). And I have to admit she looked a little nervous. But, especially for someone who had two kids, a nervous breakdown of sorts and shaved her head, she looked good in her little sparkly bikini costume, blonde wig (it actually looked pretty real to me and it didn't fall off, which is key) and high-heeled stiletto boots (which I'm pretty sure weren't easy to walk in, much less dance in). And I'm sure she felt the pressure for this performance to go over well, so I can understand her being a nervous. And the most important thing: there were no major disasters. She didn't throw up or pass out or fall down. Her wig didn't fall off. She didn't attack anyone with an umbrella. She showed up and on time as far as I know. So maybe this is a new - though cautious - beginning for Ms. Spears. I just wish she would stop partying so hard and hanging out with the likes of Paris Hilton. But maybe she can get on the right track yet.

Here's to you Britney. May your comeback be splendid and may you rise above all the crap in your life to find happiness. Tata dahlings.

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Girl Power!

It seems a majority of my favorite musical artists right now are girls, or at least groups with female vocalists. Maybe it's because I'm a girl...? I dunno. Just something I noticed recently, so I thought I'd post some of the awesome girl-powered songs I've been listening to lately (at least, the ones I haven't already posted about):

Stromata [mp3] - Charlotte Martin - "Stromata" (iTunes)

Dirty Mind [mp3] - The Pipettes - "We Are The Pipettes" (iTunes unavailable)

Playgirl [mp3] - Ladytron - "Commodore Rock - EP" (iTunes)

And I Found This Boy [mp3] - Maia Hirasawa - "Though, I'm Just Me" (iTunes unavailable)

Fall Back [mp3] - Ollabelle - "Riverside Battle Songs" (iTunes)

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The "Metric" System

I first discovered Metric from a Paste Magazine music sampler. Even though they're most recent album came out in back in 2005, I am writing about them because they are going on tour, kicking off tomorrow in Toronto. They'll be in NYC on September 21st (at Webster Hall) and Minneapolis on September 26th (at First Ave). Check out the other tour dates on their site or their myspace.

Well I wouldn't call them a dance-rock band, a lot of their music is relatively upbeat. I like their sound. It's fun. Emily Haines' voice is interesting. A good rock and roll voice. For some reason their music is ever so slightly reminiscent of the 90s for me (maybe The Cardigans?), which was, in my opinion, a great rock decade. Maybe that's just my nostalgia kicking in again though...

And, as is everyone who's anyone right now in indie music, they are Canadian. In fact, a few of the members - vocalist Emily Haines and guitarist James Shaw - are also part of Broken Social Scene.

I have to say I'm a little disappointed they haven't come out with an album this year, since their three albums were released in 2001, 2003 and 2005. The next in the pattern should be 2007 right? But they all have a lot of side projects, so they're all really busy. Although, there's still a few months in 2007... Maybe (even though they're on tour...) they'll come out with something yet.

So anyway, go see them on tour! Here are some samples to get you interested:

Poster of a Boy [mp3] - Metric - "Live It Out" (iTunes)
Monster Hospital [mp3] - Metric - "Live It Out" (iTunes)
Combat Baby [mp3] - Metric - "Old World Underground, Where Are You Now?" (iTunes)
The Twist [mp3] - Metric - "Grow Up and Blow Away" (iTunes)

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Dance Party - 9.7.07

Sorry to be updating so late today. It was the "first day of the rest of my life" as they say (first day of my new job). Also, I apologize for not doing a Theme Thursday yesterday. When I go on vacation, I lose track of time, so I totally didn't realize yesterday was Thursday and thus I did not do a Theme Thursday. Oops. Oh well. Considering that's the one thing I did do while I was on vacation, I don't feel that bad. Leave me theme ideas for next week though!

And now it's dance music time.

First, a song I've been meaning to post for a while now but haven't for one reason or another: Don't Give Up [mp3] - Noisettes - "What's the Time Mr. Wolf?" (iTunes). I'm still kicking myself that I missed them performing at Siren...

Second, in honor of the salsa dancing I did in MN (and would like to continue doing in NY but probably won't because I don't know anyone who will go with me) and one of my best friends who loves this movie a lot: Come Baby Come [mp3] - Elvis Crespo and Gizelle D'Cole - "Center Stage Soundtrack" (iTunes)

Third, in honor of my mom who - even though I've been back in NY less than 48 hours - won't stop calling/emailing me to tell me how much she already misses me. She is one of the biggest indie music snobs I know (and she thinks she's a punk rocker. It's really adorable), and she inadvertently introduced me to this song: Shim Sham [mp3] - Imperial Teen - "The Hair the TV the Baby and the Band" (iTunes)

And finally, because I played this song at a party last night and got a lot of positive reactions: Six Barrel Shotgun [mp3] - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - "Take Them On, On Your Own" (iTunes). This song is a six barrel shotgun's worth of energy, that's for sure. I know I've posted a few other songs by them, but I am just loving me some BRMC, and the more I listen to it the more I like it.

Happy Friday everyone! Tata dahlings.

Streets On Fire

I'm back in NY. Vacation over. I start my new job tomorrow. And so my "adult life" has, I guess, officially begun. Joy. Anyway, music...

LA-based Streets On Fire formed in late June of this year (according to their myspace), so I was quite impressed when my friend Diana recently informed me they'd finished their first 4-song EP - just three short months later.

My first thought upon listening to them was that they sound like a less-polished version of Stars (that's not an insult because they're still such a young band and will, I'm sure, only get better and more cohesive as a group). Their music is very mellow, like much of Stars' music. Plus, the male-female singing combo reminds me of Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan - and their vocal quality is, in my opinion, kind of similar too. Although, no offense to Maria Martin of SoF, but Amy Millan has a really unique, beautiful and unmatchable voice, so it's kind of hard for me to compare anyone to her. I think what's similar about the vocal quality of all the singers, in both Stars and SoF, is the kind of lightness with which they sing - they all sound so at ease, which is nice to listen to.

My second thought was that I actually really like all four of their songs, which is a rare occurrence - especially when they're as calm as these four songs are (as you may have noticed, I tend to prefer upbeat music, or at least a nice mixture of upbeat and mellow). But this is really great music to just chill out to.

So, in conclusion, check them out. They're brand spankin' new, the epitome of indie for all you indie music snobs out their (they are not yet signed to any label and they paid for all of the recording out of their own pockets), and I think they show a lot of promise. I will post some songs, even though all four songs from their EP are available for download free on their myspace.

The War [mp3] - Streets on Fire
We're Not From This Town [mp3] - Streets on Fire

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