Vampire Weekend’s “Contra” is brighter, weirder
Jan 19th
Vampire Weekend’s second album Contra has been receiving a lot of praise since its release last week – everyone is loving how this second album is tighter, brighter and weirder compared to their 2008 debut album, Vampire Weekend, which sounds more monotone and restrained in comparison (in a good way). Beyond just showcasing their group’s cleverness and zeal through smart lyrics and sound, Vampire Weekend proves with Contra that they’ve got soul too.
Vampire Weekend’s group of Ivy League guys have kept their smart wit in writing lyrics as well as combined a multicultural mix of genres (Afro-pop, reggae, ska, and electro accents) with bigger drums and faster guitars. As always, the band’s songs are all about exploring contradictions, emotions and superficialities… and in particular casting a probing eye towards individual struggles with social status. Perhaps this theme is in part why Vampire Weekend can boast such widespread appeal, because in a sense, social status is something that everyone must struggle with at some point. It’s not surprising then that Vampire Weekend is such a cross-cultural and cross-generational new indie band.
The following songs are on the Contra album:
- Horchata
- White Sky
- Holiday
- California English
- Taxi Cab
- Run
- Cousins
- Giving Up The Gun
- Diplomat’s Son
- I Think Ur A Contra
Check out Vampire Weekend’s performance on the Letterman show on January 5, 2010. They played their song, “Cousins.”
Lady Gaga’s “The Fame Monster” is bizarre and addicting
Dec 14th
Lady Gaga’s new album release “The Fame Monster” will not disappoint her adoring fans. Though originally it was supposed to be a repackaged “deluxe” version of her first multi-million selling album “The Fame” debut, the eight new songs are so fantastic and completely off the wall that they need to be released in their own spotlight. So lucky us – we get the opportunity to welcome “The Fame Monster” into our homes this holiday season. So the question now is, are these new songs worth your holiday spending cash?
Absolutely.
No doubt everyone has heard the album’s single, “Bad Romance”, at least 20 times now playing on the radio, in clubs and probably in grocery stores. It’s heavy on the electropop beats that have become synonymous with Lady Gaga’s name. The music video for this song takes it to a new level of fun – particularly because you have no idea what’s going on. This video is the most bizarre visual work I’ve seen from Lady Gaga to date. Realistically, I could get nightmares from it. Sometimes you have to wonder how Lady Gaga comes up with the uber-artistic themes she finds for her videos that have only a glimmer of connection to the song. I’m pretty confident she doesn’t care at all and she just does what she likes. No wonder she’s worshiped as a diva.
If you like morbid-kooky fun, check out the “Bad Romance” video:
What are some other songs that are potential singles? “Monster” which is full of loud choruses and a has a Euro-trance pop style. There’s a deep male voice in the background that keeps repeating Lady Gaga is “hot as hell” which is always good to hear. The favorite imagery that comes up from this song is at the end where things get bloody. Lady Gaga says: “He tore my clothes right off/ He ate my heart and then he ate my brain.” And here we thought the song was just about a typical heart breaker. Lady Gaga never ceases to surprise.
Listen to the “Monster” song below:
Everyone is also raving about “Telephone” which is the big duet with Beyoncé. What’s Lady Gaga singing about? Her boyfriend keeps calling, but she can’t talk right now because she’s too busy drinking and dancing to her favorite song in the club. Are they deep lyrics? No. Do we care? Not really.
With her new album’s release Lady Gaga proves that she’s no one-hit wonder. Behind the over-the-top pop persona and outrageous fashion sense, Lady Gaga has a strong recognizable voice and experimental attitude. She’s an artist that will prove influential for years ahead, and her masses of adoring fans are sure to follow.
Purchase THE FAME MONSTER and hear what people are talking about and why fans worship Lady Gaga. On sale now for $7.99 .
Susan Boyle’s “Dream” come true
Nov 4th
We met her when she made her debut on Britain’s Got Talent early April this year. Remember how surprised everyone was? The look on Simon Cowell’s face was priceless.
Susan Boyle on Britain’s Got Talent
Despite not winning the show that season, the Susan Boyle hype has not died down. Quite the opposite in fact. Her popularity has only picked up steam serving to inspire her fans around the world. Though Boyle has had a tough time with the media limelight (her nervous breakdown after not winning the show, as well as a couple hysterical lapses due to over-stress), she has still matured magnificently in front of all of us. Her demeanor, looks, attitude, everything… we’re all stunned at how she has developed professionally and achieved her goal of being a professional singer.
Pre-orders for her album, titled “I Dreamed a Dream”, have sky-rocketed and topped the charts. Simon Cowell says, “She’s going to surprise a lot of people with this record.” It’s going to go beyond typical souvenir albums of show tunes. Some of the songs included are: “Wild Horses” by Rolling Stones, “Daydream Believer” by the Monkees , “Amazing Grace” and of course the title track from Les Miserables.
Look how fabulous Susan Boyle is now!
Share in Boyle’s dream and get your copy from Amazon. It’s currently on sale for $9.99. The album makes its debut on November 23, 2009.
“DJ Hero”: Where DJs become Rock stars
Oct 28th
DJ Hero, the newest addition to the family of peripheral-based video games, makes its debut on Oct.27, 2009. If it looks like Guitar Hero but with turntables – that’s because it essentially is. DJ Hero is a single-player mixology simulator which in itself already sounds very, very cool. While Guitar Hero is focused on performing music, DJ Hero allows players to perfect their mash-ups.
The usual guitar is substituted by the plastic likeness of a turntable – the necessary tool of any DJ. Created by RedOctane, this is not some cheap plastic box – it’s solid, functional and even pretty to look at. The turntable platter has three buttons and spins freely, which allows the player to scratch and rewind tracks just like pro DJs. It spins and clicks where it’s supposed to and includes a mixer on the side that houses the fader switch and euphoria button among other features.
Whereas Guitar Hero focuses on rock songs, the heart of DJ Hero is the mash-up. These are songs that have been mixed and mashed to an almost indistinguishable track, but that’s part of its allure as a very challenging peripheral-based rhythm game.
The game’s original soundtrack is definitely one of the highlights. You get to play and listen to the work of skilled DJs like Grandmaster Flash, DJ Shadow, Daft Punk, and the late DJ AM. The tracks they will be mixing up are numerous and from artists like Gwen Stefani, Beastie Boys and Public Enemies just to name a few. The game gives the player access to more than 100 licensed songs in 93 tracks. Players get to really experience the creative mind behind the world’s top DJs. (And on a more sentimental note, DJ Hero has made their game a tribute to DJ AM’s passing since his visionary work is a good chunk of the mash-ups.)
Michael Jackson’s “This Is It” offers memories
Oct 13th
Passionate King of Pop fans can get excited for MJ’s “This Is It” album release arriving in stores internationally on Oct.26 and in the U.S. on Oct. 27. The album is available for fans to purchase just a day before the worldwide release of the documentary/concert film of the same name. The “This Is It” film hitting theaters on Oct. 28 will chronicle MJ’s rehearsals and preparations for his London concert series which sadly never happened due to his untimely death. Columbia Pictures acquired rights to the footage of the “This Is It” concert series’ rehearsals and created the film tribute to give MJ fans something to hold on to, as well as creating a historic pop culture milestone.
This posthumous full 2-disc deluxe album release from MJ is meant to be a companion piece to the film and features music that inspired the film, meaning it’s primarily a compilation of Jackson’s greatest hits in their original mastered versions. New material includes previously unreleased demo recordings of classic hit tracks, a never-before-heard spoken word poem titled “Planet Earth” read by MJ and 2 versions of the previously unreleased song, “This Is It.” The album arranges the songs in the same order as they appear in the film.
The title track, “This Is It,” first emerged in 1983 when it was co-written by Michael Jackson and former teen star from the 50’s and 60’s, Paul Anka. The song was recorded by Jackson backed only by a piano accompaniment right around the time that “Thriller” was a billboard smash. The recording was found in an old box of Michael Jackson’s tapes. Studios added strings to the recording as well as back-up vocals from Jackson’s brothers. For added flavor, fans can catch finger-click percussions performed by MJ himself that were borrowed from his recording of “The Girl Is Mine.”
Go beyond Groupie with The Beatles: Rock Band
Sep 9th
The Beatles: Rock Band is your Fab Four experience in the digital form. Riding off the popularity of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, this music video game was developed by Harmonix Music Systems to be the ultimate tribute to music legends, The Beatles. The game is almost identical to its predecessor Rock Band 2 and is compatible with PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 platforms.
First thing to note, it’s really necessary for gamers to like The Beatles in order to enjoy this video game. There are 45 songs and they are ALL Beatles. Unlike Guitar Hero: Metallica, there are no other bands to choose from and no other tunes besides The Beatles. Having noted that, we can say that these are the 45 best songs from The Beatles’ career. Many of them are under 3 minutes long, but the song choices are solid representations of why they’re so highly regarded in the music community during their career and even now.
Gamers can hop right into Quickplay (online or offline) and start exploring the full track list. Unlike other versions of Rock Band, there are no characters to create or costumes to unlock. You’re playing as The Beatles and depending on your song choice the characters’ wardrobes, hairstyles and sound are going to match the real environment of the song when it was first played. Some people may miss the lack of customization for their Rock Band characters, but at the end of the day seeing the evolution of The Beatles through the song progressions really helps the gamer connect and understand the group’s story so much more. Harmonix made a good decision on removing the customization options to stay true to the essence of John, Paul, Ringo and George.
The Story mode will probably be the focus of many people’s game time. Players will follow the progression of The Beatles’ career – from the early days playing at the Cavern Club as the fresh-faced boy band, to the Ed Sullivan show appearance, to their final performance on Apple Corps’ rooftop. As opposed to the typical Rock Band formula of recycling songs to extend playtime, gamers only play each song once in the Story mode progression. This characteristic of the game gives you a better perspective of the changes that occurred over the course of The Beatles’ musical career. Additionally, the Story mode allows the gamer to unlock photographs and short videos chronicling The Beatles’ history.
