I learned a lot of valuable lessons during my high school years. Not so much from going to class or doing homework (because I didn’t really do that), but from being a horny teenager who lived at home and had thin walls.

You see, my bedroom was directly beside (sharing a wall) with my mom’s room, and that wall that we shared, the one right by my bed, had a vent that happened to be connected to her room as well. You couldn’t see through it, but we learned pretty quickly that this vent in our adjoining wall wasn’t quite soundproof.

Having acquired my very first “real” boyfriend (one that lasted more that a week…) and having a lot of fun experimenting with sex for the first time ever, this vent in the wall became something of a challenge. For a good few months there was a pillow wedged up against it, acting as some weird sound-proof barrier, but when the winter months rolled around and I started freezing at night, I realized that blocking the main source of heat that filtered into my room probably wasn’t a good idea.

But then we figured out the perfect way to drown our sexy noises while keeping my room at a comfortable 20 or so degrees – music. Sure, it’s not silence, and it still traveled through the walls, but I guarantee my mother appreciated the sound of slow bass late at night a lot more than hearing anything else coming through our walls. Read More »

Got something awesome everyone needs to know about? A really great local band? An awesome website? A product that truly changed your life? CHOCOLATE? Email your “The Know” ideas to Jill@collegecandy.com and I’ll pass them along to everyone right here, every week. Make your kindergarten teacher proud and share!

By now everyone with a radio knows about Jason Derulo. Not only do those DJs play his songs more often than Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” (Read: Every. Other. Minute.), but homeboy really loves to sing his own name. Like, a lot.

But this is one artist whose songs I actually want to hear every ten minutes. And “Whatcha Say” and “In My Head” are just the start. Derulo’s self-titled album, which came out last week, is a Must-Know-About. It is so good I can’t even express how good it is in words. I listened to the album THREE times in a row on a recent flight to Los Angeles (helloooooo SPRING BREAK) and I’m pretty sure the woman sitting next to me was not enjoying my 5-hour dance sesh in my window seat. Read More »

Does music ever just make you so inexplicably happy? Maybe you can’t even describe why you’re feeling so cheery when you hear a certain band or song, but you just feel like you’re floating on air. Only you didn’t have to inhale/snort anything to get there.

All the artists this week make me happy. Even when the songs are sad, I’m happy. And I think that’s a sign of a truly great artist; they can sing about the saddest things in love and still put a smile on my face. And sometimes you just need music to comfort you and make you feel good. Like during midterms after spending 6 straight hours at the library and you’re only a third of the way through your reading.

Yeah, that’s what this week is all about. Read More »

I feel like I’m having a major flashback this week. Like Wayne and Garth are running by me in my bedroom waving their hands in the air screaming “Do do do do. Do do do do.” And then everything gets all jumbled and I’m ten years younger and wearing something completely ridiculous.

Only they didn’t and I’m not. Instead, two of my all-time favorite musicians from about 10 years ago are back with some new stuff and I’m obviously over-joyed. I mean, when was the last time you heard about Vertical Horizon or David Gray? It’s been a long time; thankfully I wasn’t holding my breath. Now we just need to see if ten years was enough. I know I changed for the better in that time – what about them? Read More »

You know that really annoying friend of yours who feels the incessant need to point out that they were the first to know about a now really popular band? Every. single. time. it comes on the radio?

As annoying as they are, there is something exciting about the knowing of a new band, new clothing brand, great sale, awesome book or recipe, and sharing it with the ones you love. And by ones you love, I mean the ones you go back and forth with right here on the CollegeCandy message boards.

So here’s the deal: every week, we will feature 3 things that YOU think other CollegeCandy readers just have to know about. Anything at all. Nothing is off limits.

This week we’ve got a hot band (that you can officially tell your friends you’ve “been listening to since blah, blah, BLAH”), a great service that’s all about you, and another awesome site that will change your life. Get ready to brag to your friends, ladies, because you are in. the. know.

The Jakes.
I think we all need to send a big “Thanks, Alex!” for writing in to The Know and bringing these 5 pieces of double whammy eye/ear candy into our lives. One listen of their song Cough Syrup and I was hooked. And that says a lot from the girl who usually has to listen to a song 3 or 4 times to really like it. (And those songs are usually by bands like BSB and Destiny’s Child.) And with the first beat of  their jam, Texas Tea, I was already walking with more swagger in my step, more shasay in my bootay, as I walked down the street. True story. Read More »

My sister is getting married and I’ve had weddings on the brain, so this week I’m dedicating this review to her and doin’ the something old, something new, and something blue routine. It doesn’t just apply to brides, you know. I didn’t borrow any of my music this week (I’m not good at giving back), so I had to leave that one out.

Anyways, obviously Whitney Houston is the something old. I’m not saying the woman is old (hell, she looks good for her age!), but she has been around the block a few times. These United States are my something new, and I couldn’t be more excited about that. And the Drive-By Truckers are my something blue, since I love them to death, but listening to their album made me feel a little bit blue.

And I guess all of that means I’ll one day be marrying music.
Considering the guys I’ve dated in the past, that is fine by me: Read More »

You know, boys aren’t the only ones who get to rock every week. In fact, this week no boys rocked at all; it was all about the ladies. I was excited to see three very special lady musicians coming out with new albums this week. They are all women I really like and respect and am genuinely excited to hear what they’ve got.

It’s funny because I’m generally more apt to listen to male singers (they look hotter with the guitars…), but I’ve always had a special kinda thing for Ingrid Michaelson and her music. And I’ve always thought Colbie Caillat was super cute. And Imogen Heap has always been like that mysterious, kind of strange but totally intriguing girl you always want to talk to.

Yup, I’ve got some huge girl crushes this week. And these girls rock. Read More »

And this week I learn how easy it is to write about music I’m crazy obsessed with. I was so beyond-words excited about the new releases this week that I basically wanted to tell you about every song, transcribe all the lyrics, and somehow hum the tunes onto the computer screen so that you’d get the full effect. But I tried to restrain myself a little bit.

And It wasn’t easy.

I really wanted to personally ship every one of you each of these albums because I’m pretty sure you can’t live without them. But unfortunately, I’m not rich enough for that. So maybe you could just take my word for it and have a listen yourself? I’m not saying they’ll change your life, but….well, they might change your life. Read More »