Will.I.Am and the Biebs

I'm only into this song when the chorus with Justin kicks in.

Will say that the video is beautifully done and the styling/art direction is perfection. Can we also agree that 'harem pants' ONLY work on dudes? I like the faux-skirt look on men as with Will.i.Am and various Kanye productions.

Death From Above 1979 - Governors Ball After Party

After parties for Governors Ball this year were just released and the one not to miss is Death From Above at Irving Plaza on Friday, June 7th, with Fucked Up.

Was so great to hear being I'm unable to make it out for the entire fest. Never got to see these guys back in the day and have been waiting for a chance to see one of the random shows they've been doing. Wasn't it at SXSW that a huge riot broke out? Silly hipsters.

Greeley Estates - Devil Son

Wow. OK, if you've slept on Greeley Estates before, wake up! Their new EP Devil Son is incredible. It's mature Greeley Estates and is more moody and intricate than what I've heard from them before. Plus, it's heavy at times, but lets more clean vocals from Ryan Zimmerman come through.

Really impressed by this effort from the band that never dies.

You can give it a listen here on their Band Camp

Tracklist:
1. Devil Son
2. Marionette
3. Turn The Night Away
4. The World You Used To Know
5. The Killing Fields
6. Porcelain
7. Cut Me Out

Death Spells

Goes to support my theory of solo and side projects from the boys of MCR...Frank Iero and James Dewees bring you Death Spells and so fittingly are on the east coast dates of MSI's current tour. They'll be in NYC at Irving Plaza on April 16th.

This past week they were previewing demo clips online, all leading up to a special treat today. What was it? Why a video for "Where Are My Fucking Pills."

Give it a listen. I'm on the fence, it's a bit messy for me. My reaction - Crystal Castles drinking whiskey with Horse the Band at a show by The Prodigy. My thoughts - are they trying to put Sonny Moore in his place by bringing back 90's electronica? And why am I now listening to Whitehouse and Merzbow?

Tokio Hotel - Mini 30STM

Above is Bill (left) and Tom (right) Kaulitz from the band Tokio Hotel. Remember them?

In pimpin' themselves out for MTV's 'Musical March Madness,' I did a double take. What's with Bill and Tom looking like carbon copies of Jared and Shannon Leto? Ironically, both bands are in the final four of the MTV thing and it's just adorable.

The Jo Bros

Did you know that 'Married to Jonas' is getting ready to start up a new season soon? Maybe we'll get a chance to see where this video sprung from.

They sound great with new music after three years of being all married, on Broadway and stuff. Lyrics though...I expected more from them. But hey, got fans all in a tizzy and talking, so mission accomplished to making a comeback with 1D ruling things and Bieber being all hot and legal.

98 Degr...Huh?

And they're denying this has any other meaning than using a literal microphone. Yeah.

I'm more insulted that 98 Degrees would come back singing a song that sounds as though it was written by a 13-year old boy during study hall. And I mean that both lyrically and musically.

Honestly, you're on tour with Boyz II Men and your music had been in the vein of R&B, so where the hell did this come from?

Miley Cyrus & Snoop Lion. Yeah.

Turns out the Major Lazer produced track "Ashtrays and Heartbreaks" is an easy and enjoyable listen and really fun for the summer season. It feels very well planned out - my guess is go safe when Snoop Lion teams up with Miley Cyrus of all singers. But hey, they did it right.

Authority Zero and Ballyhoo!

Out this week is Authority Zero's new album, The Tipping Point. It's next up on my rotation of new albums I've recently purchased.

Even more exciting is their co-headlining tour with Ballyhoo! this summer. Authority Zero puts on one hell of a live show and it's been awhile since they've hit the east coast.

June 27th at Gramercy Theater in NYC
June 28th at Hard Rock in Philly
June 30th at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park

For the complete tour dates head over to Authority Zero

Sexy Time for Hip Hop

I feel like these three songs hit all at once on the radio and yes, they sound different, but there's this similar vibe going through all of them that I get these mixed up. Or at least I can't remember who sings/raps what.

My confession for the week - I have these three on repeat like whoa.

Great GoogaMooga!

Besides saying this festival's name a million times because it's fun - how awesome does this sound?

Food, drinks and great bands? And if you haven't done so, you only have a few hours to register for the chance of getting free tickets for either Saturday or Sunday.

The way I see it though, I'm praying to get free tickets for Saturday and buy ones for Friday (which also gets you one weekend day free) so I can see the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and be drunk and a fatty all weekend!

Great GoogaMooga!

Eve and Gabe Saporta

Two of my favorite people and alas...I am let down.

I have always been a huge Eve fan and totally crushing on Gabe from Midtown after a surprise set from his old band almost killed me in the crowd at Starland Ballroom. So how could this be bad?

The new video and song for "Make It Out This Town" is set up to be inspirational and all that jazz and confirms the truth that high school sucks for anyone different, talented and/or struggling with issues. So please add this to the long list of music videos that aims to inspire those going through difficult times.

But for me? This could have been stronger and should have been more memorable.

Miguel - Candles in the Sun

Miguel I've had respect for awhile, yet I wasn't filling my iPod with his music. "All I Want is You" sounded too much like Sade for my taste and then "Adorn You" happened while I was dealing with a 'sorta relationship but not really' situation, so love songs needed to disappear in my book.

But here with the video for "Candles in the Sun," what caught my eye were the images of the Jersey Shore after hurricane Sandy. Watching the video as a whole and reading the lyrics...finally I have a Miguel song I want to hear over and over.

Check it out.

Who's Who?

If you're old like me or it just took way too long for you to take notice of "Thrift Store" by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, then this is for you.

Even someone like myself, who frequents Salvation Armies whether to find interesting t-shirts for 50 cents or for costumes, needed time to accept this song wasn't leaving the radio playlist rotation. Also now being played is "Can't Hold Me Now," which we all heard a year ago on Microsoft commercials. Thanks radio for being so behind on the times.

But my biggest question and a topic of conversation en route to Atlantic City last weekend was who the hell is Macklemore, Ryan Lewis and that old school fly black dude? Here's what five seconds on Google has taught me.

Above photo.
Ryan Lewis: music producer, on the left
Macklemore: kinda hot ginger rapper on the right
The other vocalist in "Thrift Store": Wanz, long time R&B/soul singer

Hope this helps.

ADTR - Right Back at it Again Tour

Tuesday, March 26, 2013 at Best Buy Theater in NYC

A Day to Remember are still selling out venues and before you could blink, their NYC date at Best Buy Theater was sold out. Thank you online ticket brokers, otherwise I would have failed in getting my sister tickets for her birthday.

Support for the night were Chunk!, No Captain Chunk! and Of Mice and Men. Chunk! earned my love being they are from France. Do I need more? Honestly, they were a great opener and fit the vibe of the crowd. Their music is maybe two years behind on the American pop-punk/post-hardcore scene, but a great effort is made and presented. Good fun and yes, I danced a little when they did their cover of Ke$ha's "We R Who We R." I mean, when else will you hear a Frenchman emo scream 'glitter?'

Of Mice and Men sounded just fine, but my sister and I took a break and sat right outside the venue's doors while sipping on Jack & Cokes. Their current release The Flood I had listened to a few times when it came out and wish I had revisited it as I hadn't heard it live yet. Singer Austin Carlie's screams would have kept me around if I was more familiar with the tunes.

Watching people in the space outside the doors was fun enough. From band whore-wannabes, teenage 'bro' dudes and then the older industry friends there for just the one band where all around. I must also note, on purchase of my second Jack & Coke a young gentleman of probably no more than 15 told me my drink looked delicious. I informed him he has to wait for college and he agreed while making his purchase of water. Does that count as being hit on no matter how creepy?

ADTR needs to remember - you save the confetti for the end! Second song in and the confetti guns were blasted, officially starting the party. Their set was solid and they sounded great. It was song after song, giving fans what they wanted between their more catchy tunes, a couple slower ones and also some on the heavier side for ADTR. A guy dressed as an Angry Bird came out to shoot tshirts into the crowd and I thought that was cool and bigger balloons were tossed into the crowd for fun.

A little bit on the cheesey side, but when you have a huge venue to deck out, how can you not do silly things like this? They did an acoustic song or two before heading into the encore, which singer Jeremy McKinnon even questioned who started it. "Downfall of Us All" ended the night to no surprise, but to my surprise were two fights that broke out one between two dudes and the other between two chicks. Why? Silly kids - you had this great set presented for you, enjoy it. I know I did.