This week was a good, if not totally random, week for music. I mean, who groups Daughtry, Jack White’s the Dead Weather, and the soundtrack to 500 Days of Summer in one category? I do. And I love them all.

Though, in totally different ways.

Chris Daughtry I love in a good-boy rocker kind of way. Jack White I love in a creepy weirdo fascination kind of way. And the 500 Days of Summer I love in a Zooey Deschanel kind of way. I love music in lots of different ways and this week is a prime example of how much my love can vary. Read More »

This week was all about utilizing what I learned in Girl Scouts all those years ago. No, not building a fire or navigating my way out of a forest, but that whole “make new friends but keep the old” adage. And by “friends” I mean, “musicians who I consider to be my friends because I spend so much time with them and turn to them when I need to cry, sing really loud, or dance around in my undies.”

There were some great new releases this week from some of my favorite musical talents ever, in addition to some from bands I never knew. And while I may have fallen for some of the new stuff, I’ll always hold onto the old faves. Read More »

Dear (See Below) Bands,

I love your music. Love, love, love. But can you maybe try to be a little less annoying? It makes it so hard to defend you when I tell my friends about my favorite artists. Actually, it makes it hard to admit to anyone that you happen to be one of them.  And I want to make them like you, really, I do. But like that friend who has a minor character flaw that now pisses you off enough that you really can’t see the good in her anymore,  I’m finding it difficult to enjoy your music knowing how annoying you are.

Here are some heart-to-heart tips from your loving (secret) admirer to be a little less annoying and a little more rock and roll.

Fall Out Boy

You always have a spot in my 6-CD player in my car. Sugar, you’ll never go down on the playlist for me if you continue to make some of the sweetest pop punk music out there. But please, Pete Wentz, I’m begging you – cut your hair, lay off the eyeliner and put on a damn shirt when you are on a magazine cover. You need to settle down – you play bass. And, um, you have a kid?

Also, Patrick, can you please enunciate your song lyrics so I can actually sing along and not just randomly open my mouth while humming the tune to look like I know what I’m singing? And what’s up with the weird syntax and bizzare punctuation in the song titles? Thnks Fr Th Confusn. I mean, e.e. Cummings was a legit poet, while you’re just… an antithesis of all semblance of reason. And grammar. My English teacher highly disapproves. Read More »

This week we’re going to do some traveling. Whether it’s back in time, to another country, or just down South; this week’s new music releases are taking us away. And I don’t know about you, but I love traveling. So grab your bags and don’t bother making a mix tape for the ride, because all the music you need is right here. Read More »

Another week, another new pile of CDs to sift through. I don’t know what it is about 2009, but this week’s new releases were great. Again. It didn’t matter if the artist was new, old, or really old (sorry, Billy!), they all put together some great sound that everyone should pick up and take home. Read More »

I am a Cosmo devotee. Have been since I started stealing my mom’s when I was twelve. I am amazed monthly by the hair, the witty captions, and their never ending innovation of synonyms for the word penis. Many of my friends, acquaintances, relatives and sisters swear by Cosmo as their Bible (and for the most part I do too). But there are some times (well…many times) when Cosmo’s take on real world situations is – in a word – whack.

I will still accept their declarations of lip gloss superiority like they were handed down from the divine, but when it comes to their interpretation of all things men (or at least all things greatly generalized and stereotyped), I think I’ll be reading with a grain of salt handy.

And I’ll pass that grain onto you. With every passing month and, in turn, every new “Secret Sex Fantasy Guys Won’t Tell You!” revealed, I will be here to break it all down for you. I will find the truth buried deep between the unsafe sex positions and “things he secretly loves you for,” so you don’t end up with a stiff neck, an angry boyfriend or some seriously embarrassing sexcapades.]

This month, Cosmo did a damn good job at publishing articles that were, for the most part, interesting, non-redundant, and (my fave) THEMED! I mean, yeah it’s expected, but Feb’s issue had more V-day tips, lingerie ideas and suggestions than you could shake a stick at…and I still logged onto their website to check out all the extra stuff they promised. I couldn’t have asked for anything more (except for a coupon for 1 free Victoria’s Secret ensemble for the 14^th). Read More »

Maroon 5- Call and Response (The Remix Album)

While we anxiously await the release of some new music from Maroon 5 (why on Earth does it take them so long?), we can temporarily get our Adam Levine fix from Call and Response, an album of Maroon 5 remixes. The album makes me happy because it remixes the songs enough that some of them actually sound like new tracks. But it also makes me wonder if Maroon 5 desperately wants to get some play time in the clubs. Whatever the case, this whole album may be worth it just to hear the Mark Ronson “Wake Up Call” mix featuring Mary J. Blige. Not to mention, the album includes remixes with Of Montreal, Cut Copy, and Deerhoof.

If you tell me the hotness that is Adam Levine is involved, I’ll buy it, but I’m eager for something new from the boys of Maroon 5. Read More »

Oh, she’s just being Miley…via Brett Ratner

This whole “presidential election” thing has got more drama than any MTV reality show

Fess up on those summer plans

My marriage offer still stands, Jonas Brothers

Oscars vs. VMAs

I, too, would rock a “J” tattoo for John Mayer

Once a Samantha, always a Samantha

For those who once tried to rock, we still salute you

You want nothing more than to slap your boss. And then to quit your job. You want to spit in your professor’s face. You want to tell your parents you’re joining the circus to make money for crack…JUST TO PISS THEM OFF. Today is the day you tell your best friend that those jeans DO make her ass look big because HER ASS IS BIG. You want to list off all of your exes to your guy who have been better in bed. That’s right. This is what I refer to as a “SCREW EVERYONE” day.

And they should never be spent without a soundtrack. So me and my Ipod went and made a playlist for these days.

“Spent on Rainy Days” BRIGHT EYES (Indie)

“Blueprint” FUGAZI (Punk)

“Gravity” DRESDEN DOLLS (Rock)

“Today is the day” MOROS EROS (Indie/Experimental)

“The Egg” SHINER (Indie/Alternative)

“The Other” ISIS (Experimental/Metal)

“The Never Aftermath” THE END (Metal/Ambient)

“In The Belly Of A Shark” GALLOWS (Punk/Rock)

“Complete and utter confusion” FEAR BEFORE THE MARCH OF FLAMES (Experimental/Rock)

“Set fire to the face on fire” THE BLOOD BROTHERS (Other/Punk)

So instead of taking your Screw Everyone day out on the people around you…why not just put on these songs and let out your angst the old fashioned way? You know…like a 14-year-old who just slammed her bedroom door in her mom’s face. And then locked the door. And then wrote “Screw EVERYONE” in her blog.

Everyone knows someone in a band. Those guys that play in the basement. That band that played at every frat party. Your guy friends who are obsessed with Rock Band. You go to their shows, you rock out to the covers they play and you put them in your list of favorites on Facebook. Sure, you like them, but they’re really nothing more than a group of guys playing some instruments in between bong hits.

I knew a group like that. Or, at least I used to. Now that band has blown up, gotten a record deal and are touring the country. Their name is Tally Hall and they are some of most talented musicians I have ever heard.

And I am not just saying that.

Their first video – done completely by themselves – was a feature on YouTube last month. Their songs have been on the Real World and The O.C. (back when that show actually meant something) and their first album, Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum, has received quite a bit of well-deserved praise. Read More »