This morning in the CC/COED office, we had an awesome summer jam playlist on. It’s rainy and gloomy here in NYC, so we were pretending that it was summer time. Or maybe spring break. Flo Rida’s new song “Wild Ones” came on, and we all realized something. It’s a great song, except for the parts where you can hear Flo Rida. We love Sia’s singing, and we wish we didn’t have to hear it along with Flo Rida’s rapping.

After thinking about it for a little while, we realized that Flo Rida ruins most of the songs he’s featured on. Don’t believe us? Here’s our list of songs that Flo Rida has ruined.

initiating the gallery...

COED mag editor Ned just wanted to chime in to say that Flo Rida really blows. For the record.

[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.]

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww sh*t! Musical talent doesn’t always have to come in the form of amazing voices. Sometimes great and hilarious lyrics (and an outlet on one of the country’s most well known shows) is all you need. Hearing “I’m On A Boat” this weekend at the bars just reminded me how awesome The Lonely Island is. And because I simply can’t wait for their 2011 album, I’m giving you Incredibad.

About the Band:
The Lonely Island is more of a comedy troupe rather than a band, consisting of Andy Samburg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffer. While most people know them from SNL, these three have been making people laugh for way longer – since junior high school.

Top 3 Tracks:

I’m On A Boat

Dick In A Box

Natalie’s Rap

Why You Should Listen To It:
If you’re having a bad day, put this album on. You can’t NOT smile while listening to it. These songs are great additions to any party playlist (if used sparingly). There’s nothing funnier than a group of 20 drunk girls belting out the words to Dick in a Box around 3 in the morning. These guys are comedic geniuses, and if I Just Had Sex is any indication of the awesomeness of their next album, consider me stoked.

Want more awesome iPod suggestions?

How many times a week a day do you Google yourself? An embarrassing amount, right? Almost as embarrassing as the amount of time I spend diagnosing myself with fatal diseases on WebMD. But when we’re not googling our own name and Facebook stalking our frenemies, we’re googling (and ogling) guys. Like, a lot. So we wanted to do a totally scientific study (please note that we did this research while also doing research on the effects of Four Loko on a professional work day) on the most googled guys on the internet. And we were SHOCKED by the results. Like apparently no one else is as into Barry Manilow as I am. But a lot of people are really into Ne-Yo. Who knew?! Now you do!

And last night was no disappointment. Well, maybe the whole Chris Brown/Rihanna sitch – lord knows I would have loved to see her performing. Coldplay and Jay-Z? Katy Perry? Al Green and Justin Timberlake? Our homegirl, Jennifer Hudson?

I was dancin’ in my living room. Yes, cookie dough in hand.

And the red carpet wasn’t too shabby, either. It definitely kept me on my toes. I don’t know what it is about this particular award show, but people really like to think outside the box with their fashion choices. I saw way too many origami-inspired dresses, not to mention the weird thing that Paris Hilton decided to sport. And the guys weren’t much better. I mean, I know Coldplay was performing but did they have to wear those costumes all night? You didn’t see Katy Perry rocking the sparkley Chiquita Banana outfit on the Red Carpet…

Below are some of the more….er….interesting fashion statements from the Grammys. I mean, who really thinks a giant bow should be placed directly over your lady parts?

I don’t know, friends; I just don’t know. At least it made for some exciting TV, though. (Click on the picture to get a glance at the whole weird-lookin’ ensemble.)

Britney Spears- Circus:

“There’s only two types of people in the world. The ones that entertain, and the ones that observe.”

So opens the title track on Britney Spears’ latest CD, Circus. Britney is clearly in the first category. And this is the album we’ve all been waiting for. The one that marks the start of her comeback. Wait, wasn’t her last album supposed to be her comeback? Well, forget about that because this time it’s for real. If you happened to take an hour out of your life to watch to her MTV documentary on Sunday night, you’d probably say she appears to be back on track. Then again, we’ve seen that before. But if Circus is any indication of Britney’s well-being, it’s safe to say the girl is back on her game.

Songs like “Circus” and “Kill the Lights” chronicle the tough times Britney’s had being in the public eye, but they’re not downers in the least bit. She even squeezes in a song about motherhood (wait, remember she’s a mom?) right at the end called “My Baby.” Let’s just hope she actually remembers that she has two babies. Circus is also loaded with songs I can see myself getting down to in the basement of my favorite bar. Clearly I’ve already done so with “Womanizer,” but “Leather and Lace” and “Mmm Papi” also have highly danceable beats.

Mr. Photographer? I think Britney’s finally ready for her close-up.

Akon- Freedom:

How can you not like Akon’s distinct, synthesized voice? His newest album, Freedom, features the hit single “Right Now (Na Na Na),” which I was just dancing to on Friday night. And while I’m always up for jamming to some Akon, it’s the special guests on the album that really make Freedom what it is. With collaborators like Wyclef Jean, T-pain, Lil’ Wayne, and Young Jeezy, there’s no way this album could be bad. You know everyone is going to memorize “Holla Holla” singing, “That’s why I’m tryna’ holla holla…let me holla at you girl”

Besides all the holla’ing, the album’s actually quite nice when you sit down and listen to the lyrics. Who knew Akon was such a sensitive soul? I have to say I kind of miss Wyclef Jean when he’s not around, so I was pretty thrilled to hear him on Akon’s “Sunny Day,” a song about leaving the ghetto life behind for a happier life. And then there’s a whole song about a girl being “so damn beautiful,” appropriately titled, “Beautiful.”

I’m not saying Akon’s got staying power, but I am saying I’d dance to his music any day.

Music From Degrassi: The Next Generation:

Maybe you don’t watch Degrassi. I won’t judge you if you don’t, but I will say you’re missing out (we’ll save that chat for another time). But even if you’ve never seen the show in your life, you’ll probably still fall in love with the show’s soundtrack. The only problem? The best of the music is so cool, you might already own most of it. From Paramore’s “Misery Business” to “Neighbors” from The Academy Is, most of these tracks are pure treadmill music, which is always a plus in my opinion.

But I’m sure there are some tracks you don’t own and may never have heard of. Much like the show, the music on the Degrassi soundtrack is predominantly directed toward teenagers. But who doesn’t enjoy teen music? All Too Much sings about liking someone as “More Than a Friend” and All Time Low croons emo-ish songs about first breakdowns and bad DJs. No matter who you are, the Degrassi soundtrack will help you remember a simpler time when high school really was the end of the world.

I’d take a break from watching Degrassi to listen to the Degrassi soundtrack. But only until I start feeling like I’m going to slit my wrists. Then it’s back to watching the show.

As usual, last night’s Video Music Awards blew.  The geniuses at MTV have succeded in turning what was once a borderline semi-entertaining awards show into a series of tedious advertisements between more advertisements.  Great Job!

But despite all the foolishness, the red carpet was chock full o’ eye-catching looks… some hot, some way not.  So, rather than making you search thru all those grocery-store-checkout-line-webzines for your VMA fashion fix, we have compiled the best of the best and the best of the worst for your viewing pleasure.

BTW Pink- You saying “Lemme Check My Flow” in a song has a way different connotation than when Eminem says it… and the thought makes me throw up in my mouth a little bit.

(click thumbnail to view full image)

So I’m one of those people who doesn’t feel guilty when I don’t give homeless people change. I can walk around with quarters jingling in every pocket, and they can follow me around salivating like Pavlov’s dog, and I’ll keep on talking or singing or counting squirrels without a second look. Now I’m not insensitive, I’ve just become de-sensitized. Even the girl with the bag pipes in the Public Garden and the guy with the banjo at Park Street have become nothing more than background music to whatever I happen to be thinking at the time.

Enter Status Quo.

Over the years I’ve learned I can’t dance. I can drink until I wake up in a toilet bowl, but I can’t even find rhythm there. When I first saw the ads for Randy Jackson Presents America’s Best Dance Crew on MTV, I put some T-Pain on iTunes, marked my calendar and waited to experience something as foreign as mud puddle mattress surfing.

And then I saw them. Status Quo. During the live casting episode, as Mario Lopez introduced the East Coast representatives, shots of Beacon Hill and Boston Common flashed across the screen. Six kids jumping and flipping off benches, and I knew those benches, and wait–I knew those kids.

I know these kids, I know this crew. I know their stunts. And I never gave them money. Status Quo, from Dorchester, Lynn, Roxbury and Mattapan; from those other stops on the T map where tourists don’t go. Dancing and battling on the State House steps.

And sh&t did I feel guilty. They survived the auditions, and the following Thursday, I texted in my vote. And I realized that maybe if I had only dropped a dollar in the hat, maybe if we had all only dropped a dollar in the hat, maybe they wouldn’t need votes. Maybe they’d already be America’s Best Dance Crew.

I know Status Quo, and sadly they know me. One of the many faces that stopped and watched, but never really saw them.

In a dark, moderately dirtball Irish pub with adorable bartenders straight from Ireland, I am approached by a liquor promoter. He’s pretty good-looking, obviously a flirt because who else takes a job as a promoter, and so begins his attempt as he hands me a keychain:”Who do you get? Who do people always say you look like?”

I reply the truth, no one, because no one even thinks I look like myself after changing the hair. But the promoter has an opinion,

“Okay, so, you definitely don’t have some features she has, which is a good thing, but—”

Is he serious? I am intrigued by the obvious trap he is setting for himself. Why is it that dumb must always accompany pretty?

“—did you watch Blossom? I swear, you’re a post nose-job Blossom…. No, it’s a good thing!”

Was it really? I spent the rest of the evening staring at my nose in the mirror behind the bar and glaring at the promoter, who at the end of the evening thought he had a shot at seeing me at his ‘gig’ next weekend.

Not to pat myself on the back or anything, but I’ve gotten better celebrities than Blossom. Even “You’re tall,” is a better line than likening me to a questionable celeb, and that’s just stating the obvious! (Some of my guy friends have reviewed and considered the tall bit a “genius” conversation starter. Case and point, how lines like this get started and circulate.)

It seems like T-Pain’s “Buy U A Drank” has been the inspiration for the “greatness” of pickup lines lately. And by “greatness” I mean wow, it looks as though people have given up completely.

Remember the days of “I lost my number, can I have yours?” and “Are you tired? ‘Cause you’ve been running through my mind all night.”? Yes, the lines were terrible and cheesy and limited to usage by 15-year-olds, but now at least they were sort of sweet and not flat-out insulting. Now it’s just kind of obvious. “Hey… can I buy you a drink? Maybe hook up? No? Cool. Thanks.”

This sort of flirtation has got to get expensive. If you’re ever out at night and wondering why your potential hook-ups aren’t a-flockin’, maybe they literally can’t afford to be turned down again.

Shows like The Pickup Artist, and it’s horrendous host Mystery, have inspired far too many men nationwide. The I-O-I’s (indicators-of-interest, for those who aren’t savvy), the dating advice from a man who I cannot imagine ever getting laid in his life…. It’s all bringing our single scene to ruin. It also inspired my roommate’s Halloween costume.

Where have the witty, chatty single people gone? Are they all really in relationships, or have they just devoted their lives to bigger things, like alcohol promotion?

Heard any good lines lately, or wonderfully bad ones? Trust that we feel your pain… and at least we can all laugh about it together. Share some of your stories with us!