[Sarabeth here, back with some more jams to add to your iTunes library! Every Wednesday, I'm bringing you music suggestions - could be something new, old, hugely popular or fairly unknown -  to awesome-ify your  collection.]

To be honest, I’ve always been a little torn about Valentine’s Day. For me it’s kind of like communism; while great in theory, it almost never works in the execution. Considering last year I got two Snickers bars from my now-ex (gee, I wonder why), I don’t have high hopes for Valentine’s Day, but I’m not a complete Cupid-hater either. I’m still a sucker for love.

So for those who are like me, or for those of you who have plans with a significant other, this week’s album is for you: Belle and Sebastian Write About Love.

About the Band:
Belle and Sebastian is an indie pop band from Scotland who got their name from a French children’s book. While a lot of people think they’re a duet, it’s actually a seven member band consisting of Stuart Murdoch, Stevie Jackson, Chris Geddes, Richard Colburn, Sarah Martin, Mick Cooke, and Bobby Kildea. Read More »

Livin la Vida Loca? Nobody Wants to Be Lonely?

Remember these hits? They just might have been your favorite songs once upon a time. Remember who sang them? Well, you might just be singing his songs again.

Yes ladies, it’s true. Ricky Martin is officially making his comeback and it starts today with the release of his new album, MAS (Musica Alma Sexo), which he calls his “creative catharsis.” Martin has had one crazy year since he came out of the closet last March. Since then, his whole life has been changing, and for him this album is the culmination of all of that. It’s an album, he explains, not just for the audience but also for the musicians as well.

Martin released the first single for his new album, “The Best Thing About Me is You,” earlier in January, but the full album (deluxe edition available only at Target) is being released today. I don’t know how I feel about his new music just yet, but I’m woman enough to admit that once upon a time, way back in my pre-college, pre-high school days, I loved me some bon bon shaking Ricky Martin. And I know you did too. So come on, before trying out his new hits lets relive some of Ricky’s glory days. For old time’s sake?

Read More »

[There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, Facebook…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there (like Sparked, Spreezio and Teach Parents Tech) and more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.]

I think I have some sort of music ADD. When I first discover a new band or singer I like or get a new album, I’ll listen to it nonstop until I eventually get burned out by it. That’s why I’m always looking for new music, either through what I hear on the radio, recommendations from friends, or of course, the Internet. Most people I know, myself included, use Pandora on a regular basis to listen to and discover new music, but it has its downfalls (one being the inability to play specific songs). We Are Hunted is an alternative music-discovery site that introduces you to new and emerging artists.

Simply put, We Are Hunted is an online chart that ranks the top 99 most popular emerging songs. However, rather than ranking them by album sales or digital purchases (which we all know doesn’t account for all the music downloaded, listened to, or otherwise shared on a daily basis), We Are Hunted researches blogs, message boards and forums, Twitter and social networks like Facebook and Myspace to compile their list of the most talked-about songs and artists. Read More »

2010 is officially coming to a close and what a year it’s been in music! This year presented us with an awesome array of new artists, re-introduced us to some ones we may have forgotten about, and of course, left some songs in our heads we wish we would never have to hear again.

So let’s take a look back and rock out to the 20 biggest songs of 2010. (It’s like my own little Grammy’s!!)

Some of the biggest names to enter the pop scene in 2010 include B.o.B, Bruno Mars, Mike Posner and Taio Cruz. All of them were hot able to make big names for themselves by earning multiple slots on the Billboard charts with huge hits like “Cooler Than Me.” It was a nice, refreshing change to the usual women of music (Ke$ha, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Katy Perry) who seemed to constantly and incessantly rule the airwaves (and YouTube – I’m lookin’ at you, Bad Romance!). And while everyone was going goo goo for Gaga, I’d say Katy Perry was the real queen of pop this year, immediately releasing three megahits off her new album, Teenage Dream.

The music scene was also shaken up by the comebacks of huge artists like Eminem, Usher, and Train who all reminded the world that they’re still alive of who they are and what their music is all about in a big, overplayed way. In addition, we got to hear all different assortments of collaborations from the relatively-unknown-artists-at-the-time, B.o.B and Bruno Mars with “Nothin’ On You,” to the massively famous, all-star duo of Eminem and Rihanna on “Love The Way You Lie.” What probably startled the pop scene the most this year, however, was Lady Antebellum’s, “Need You Now.” I’m not sure I can think of any other recent country song (other than all of Taylor Swift’s, of course) that’s received that much airtime on pop radio stations. Read More »

[Hey everybody! Sarabeth here with a new feature that, quite frankly, I'm stoked about. Each week I'll be bringing you an album that I feel is particularly awesome in the hopes of building iTunes libraries everywhere! It could be something new, old, hugely popular or fairly unknown, so keep checking back for our suggestions to awesome-ify your music collection.]

With Christmas being just a few days away, I figured I’d go through my parents’ CDs to get into the holiday spirit. I’d already listened to my own Christmas music collection (Mariah, Glee, NSYNC) and needed something different. Mannheim Steamroller’s Christmas was a major find. This album is pretty much the definition of the holiday season. My parents have played it just about every Christmas Eve since before I was born and anytime I hear this, I nostalgia my pants off.

About the Band:

Mannheim Steamroller is a new age musical group founded by Chip Davis and Jackson Berkley that’s been around since 1974. It was originally a pseudonym for Chip Davis’s musical projects, but grew into a 9 member group. Read More »

Yup, building snowmen....still fun.

HAPPY OFFICIAL FIRST DAY OF WINTER!

It’s hard to remember when you’re spending half of your day bundling up in the thickest, warmest, heaviest things you own just to walk outside to get the mail, but it’s is the most wonderful time of the yearrrrrrrr! Yes, really. Andy Williams was not lying when he gleefully belted out the season’s staple song back in the 1960s, and his holiday tune still rings true today. Even if it takes my hands a full 7 minutes to warm up after being outside.

Winter is one of the best seasons for a multitude of reasons that I just don’t have enough time (or Redbull) to list. But, because I need to share the gloriousness of this beloved season, I compiled the top 10 reasons why winter beats summer, spring, and fall’s seasonal asses every year. Read More »

Just about everyone out there seems to have dating horror stories. Seriously, ask anybody; chances are they’ll tell you that they have a relationship that they wish had just never happened. I myself went through a pretty nasty break up earlier this year. Not only was I with the guy for over 3 years, we lived together and were planning a wedding when I realized that what we were doing was a mistake and called everything off.

I’ve spent the past 7 months trying to put my life back together and pretty much hating my ex for how nasty he got post-breakup.

Recently, however, a friend and I were talking about living without regrets. She said, “I don’t regret anything. Sure I’ve made mistakes and have had rough times, but all of that made me who I am today. And I love what I see in the mirror, so why bother with regrets?” I love my friend for her incredible amount of self confidence, and she really made me think. I realized that instead of hating my ex and wishing that I’d never met him, not EVERYTHING about our time together was bad.

From every relationship I’ve been in, I’ve taken something away and learned from them all: Read More »

[There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, TFLN…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there (like Ebates, Keep Me Out, and Hot List) and more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.]

Music is a huge part of life for most of us college students–it makes walking to class more interesting, provides background noise for sexy timefor study sessions, sets the mood for hook-ups, and pumps us up for a night of partying.  But keeping your music collection up-to-date can get kind of expensive–at 99 cents or $1.29 per song, those download fees can definitely add up!

But what if I told you there was a way to listen to the full-length version or practically any song, whenever you wanted, for absolutely free (without illegally downloading it)?  Pretty much everyone already knows and loves Pandora Radio for free music listening that’s catered to your tastes.  However, it does have a few pitfalls: you can’t hear a particular song exactly when you want to, you can’t replay or rewind songs you want to hear again, you can’t hear specific songs or artists or make playlists.  But there is a site that makes it possible to do all those things: Grooveshark.

Grooveshark lets you search for and stream music online for free, without having to pay any sort of subscription or pay-per-download fees.  Basically, users can upload their own music libraries, and other users can search and listen to them.  You can even mark songs as favorites so you don’t have to search for them again and create and save playlists. Read More »

Forget the iPad, iPhone, iPod, and any other device that starts with a lowercase i, because today is all about celebrating the CD player. For those that may have forgotten, it was the bulky device we shoved in our JanSports as we rode the bus to elementary school. The one that came with a 10-pound binder, filled with discs (most of which only contained 2 or 3 songs we actually wanted to listen to).

In honor of nostalgia and the beloved CD player, the device that not too long ago provided us with much needed musical entertainment (and frustrated us with scratches and skips), it’s time to look back at the greatest CDs to ever spin violently inside. Well more like the CDs that made me force my mom to forget the carpool kids and go straight to the store. Because if I wasn’t playing all the chart topping hits from TRL, I was sitting alone at lunch. Read More »

After countless barbecues and Bud Light Limes (or being stuck inside at your unpaid internship all day), summer is sadly coming to an end. Waaaaah (Snooki voice). But seeing your tan fade doesn’t mean there’s no more time for fun in the sun.

I’ve got three words: Labor Day weekend.

The last hurrah of summertime, so to speak. And to honor the goodness that was the past three months, we’ve created the perfect end-of-summer playlist to give this season the proper send-off.

Get your freak on right here.