2012 has been a good year for music. Great albums, great songs. Here is my pick of favorites. And no I'm not going to elaborate why on each one. I've wrote a lot on each one of these artists over the year so use the little search function at the top of the page and search for them if you want to hear everything.
And yes these are in order from number 5 to 1.
(Also these opinions are mine... not everyone has to agree)
I can not even believe that I wasted my time watching this show. What a disaster.
Anyways, last night the X-Factor finally crowned his winner and well no surprise here but the typical country crooner took home the 5 million dollar prize. I believe my 13 year old phenom Carly Rose was completely robbed and deserved the crown due to her incredibly consistent voice and her technique. Impeccable.
Things that went through my mind during last nights finale:
Well it looks like the world did not end last night and that we are all still in fact alive and well. All that hype for nothing... I was expecting more out of you Mayans!
Sorry for the lack of posts yesterday, was extremely busy and didn't get the chance to get on there. Hopefully I will make up with it today. Did I mention its the last day before a nice long vacation? Yeeeah. I'm pretty stoked.
It also seems appropriate to start with this song today.
I often use this blog to talk about my favorite late night guests. I love when celebrities don't take themselves too seriously, go on these shows and make a fool out of themselves. It makes them seem normal. Matt Wilstein over at HP put together the list of the Top 15 Late Night Guests of the Year. And I really couldn't make a better list if I tried. Bravo. (Not in any particular order)
Amy Poeler - She let loose smoking and drinking on Leno.
Aziz Ansari - He filled in for Michael Buble in Chicago and serenaded an audience member with Conan O'Brien.
Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation is well represented on this list) - One of my favorites told Letterman that she was "extremely stoned right now" and recapped her epic Young Hollywood Award acceptance speech for Conan.
Steve Martin - No surprise here. He is always a delight late at night. (Extra credit for rhyming?)
Rebel Wilson (my breakout star of the year) - She was a hit on Leno when she recreated her "Pitch Perfect" audition and sang 'Edge of Glory' to the delight of the crowd.
Nick Offerman - One of the best things that happened all year was when he would work in his wood shop while reading tweets from young female celebs on Conan.
Tom Hanks - Again no surprise here. Always a surprisingly fun guest this year included him performing a slam poem about Full House on Fallon, reenacting his own version of Lincoln on Letterman and orchestrating a Saving Private Ryan reunion for Halloween on Colbert.
Louis CK - This list says he was the best SNL host of the year (eeeh), but that was due to his classic Lincoln sketch.
Letterman - The late night host was a gem when he appeared on rival Kimmel's show. Everyone hates Leno. Ha!
Tracy Morgan - My favorite moment was when he called Romney "Mitt Romney Escobar" this year.
Rashida Jones - Love her! Fallon's Roots -backed songs are some of the best segments on late night tv and his holiday medley with Rashida Jones was the best thing since he did the History of Rap with Timberlake.
Ricky Gervais - The night before the election he went on late night TV to try and get people to focus back on Romney being a mormon. That and you never really know what will come out of his mouth next.
Chris Christie - Lots of attention payed to this man this year. I personally don't like him or the way he does his politics, but his handling of Hurricane Sandy shined a new light to this Springsteen lover. Seriously the man is obsessed with Bruce.
Bill Murray - Murray + Letterman = Comedy Gold
Martin Short - He capped of his year by comparing Sarah Palin to Honey Boo Boo on Kimmel and did an epic Christmas medley on SNL. And by epic I mean aaaaammmaaazzzinnng!!!!
I found the video from Saturday nights show where Lady Gaga came out with the Rolling Stones to sing "Gimme Shelter". I'll let you all judge for yourselves.
Yesterday was Ms. Christina Aguilera's birthday and I missed it. Sorry girl. And I'm sorry but you can say what you like about how this chick acts or dresses in public.... but at the end of the day she is still my pick for best singer in the game right now. And I'll defend that forever.
The lead singer of Alabama Shakes (probably my break out band of the year) was robbed at gun point in Nashville over the weekend by some teenage thugs. Thankfully no one was injured and the creeps got away only with her cell phone and wallet.
This band is too awesome to be dealing with this type of crap.
Dave Grohl has had a pretty busy schedule these last few months. First he drummed on the next Queens of the Stone Age album, then he reunited Nirvana so they could be Paul McCartney's backing band, he has been all around town talking about his documentary called "Sound City" and right now as I type this he is directing the new Soundgarden music video for "Crooked Steps".
Look out America... you have yet another reality show winner on your hand. Last night NBC's "The Voice" crowned a girl named Cassadee Pope as this season's winner. I watched this show for a few weeks and saw nothing special about this girl. I mean yes she can sing, but so can a lot of other people.
I did find it a little sad that she only won $150,000 in comparison to the $5 million the X Factor winner will get.
Either way congrats Cassadee. Hopefully you will make people still remember your name a year from now.
I like Bruno Mars. I've written about him a few times on this blog, but he is one of the pop stars that I do have a lot of respect for. He is very musically talented, writes and makes most of his own music, and has a distinct vision for his music. Yesterday he visited the Ellen show and sang "Count on Me" and it was just fantastic. Enjoy.
I don't know much about this band or the next song but its catchy and I like it. Meet San Cisco, an Australian four-piece indie pop band which formed in 2009. The label describes the band's sound as "rough, low-fi garage pop" mixed with "bright catchy hooks".
Its going to be a short day here for me today but hopefully I'll get a few posts in before I completely throw in the towel. I technically have three days left until a small vacation. The hours can not move fast enough.
Anyways, I warned you yesterday that I'm in Christmas music mode so this next post shouldn't be too surprising. She & Him put out an animated video to the song "Baby It's Cold Outside" and its adorable.
Yesterday I talked about Jennifer Lawrence today I will talk about Amanda Seyfried. Last week she made her mark on not one but two talk shows. First she admitted to David Letterman that she gets tanked before any interview that starts after noon. Then proceeded to drink bourbon with him. Next, a few days later she went on the Ellen show where she literally rapped "California Love", and was amazing.
This one made me smile. Any child who was forced to do one of these pagents knows that nothing ever goes right. (I'm looking at you Scott who blew out my candle during "This Little Light of Mine"). These kids have no idea what they are doing... and it is amazing.
Meet Allen Stone. I just got an email telling me to check him out and the first sentence I read about him I was already in love....
"Although people describe him to be a Soul and R&B singer, he sees himself as a hippie with soul." Ha. I'm sold.
Born in a small town in Washington his career started singing in his fathers church. He has been singing in the church since the age of 3; at the age of 14 he was leading worship and playing the guitar. He says he fell in love with music because it allowed him to express himself to a crowd of people.
Allen did not discover soul music until he was a teenager. Once he discovered it though it was all over. He started collecting classic albums from the 1960s and 70s. He was 15 when he head Stevie Wonders "Innervisions" and it had a profound impact.
At the age of 18 he had a falling out with his church and decided to risk it all and moved to Seattle to follow his music dreams.
Since then he has been hitting the stages hard, and to a great reception. His music touches on a lot of social and political issues and has many times been compared to Marvin Gaye or Donnie Hathaway.
This next tune "Unaware" is just amazing. The more and more I read about this dude the more and more I like him. Great find PC.
I am here to confess something. I have a small obsession with Josh Groban. I mostly blame my mother and Oprah but this obsession has lead me to secretly listening to his albums when I'm alone in my car. Or playing his christmas album through my headphones here at work. I don't know what it is but when that man opens his mouth I can't help but be impressed.
So here it is... for the world to know. I love Josh Groban.
This is his new song "Brave". (and don't lie... you wish you could sing like this)
It's official. I have fallen victim to Grimes (also known as Claire Boucher). I've been trying not to for the past year but she has finally wore me down and now I'm writing a post about her.
This song called "Oblivion" is topping many people's best of 2012 lists and well its been growing on me for quite a while. It was first released in October of 2011. I wasn't really quite sure what to make of the song when I first heard it. Its not my usual type of music but hey I tried to open myself up for it. The more and more I would hear it the more and more it would bloom into something I was enjoying.
Then she started showing up on late night TVshows. Crafting "Oblivion" into a song for the masses. The live version seemed tighter and the crowds at these shows started to increase as well. They all started to identify with the meaning of this song. The dark nights, threats of violence, difficulty finding love and companionship when you can't stay still. People left and right starting to post it everywhere.
The official video that followed found her cheerfully dancing and singing around a set of cartoonish masculinity. "Art gives me an outlet where I can be aggressive in a world where I usually can't be" she told Pitchfork last year.
Don't be surprised when you start reading these end of the year lists and Grimes is all over it.
I haven't talked about James Blunt in a while. I know, most people hate him and his "Your Beautiful" song. I get it. I hate that song too... but if you gave this mans albums a chance you will find out that his story goes way beyond that one song.
For example this next song "I'll Take Everything" is pretty much everything that a song should be. Great lyrics, great melody, sang with emotion. Love it all.
Here is an amazing version from his Abby Road Studio Session.
You know how some people have a way with words and it just amazes you. I used to write all the time. Short stories. Poems. Letters. But lately life has gotten in the way and I have not had the time to do it. This is why I love my friend Amy so much. She always makes time for her writing. And well, the world should be thankful because what she can do with words is unbelievable. Amy is one of the greatest souls to grace our planet. I am lucky to be able to call her my friend and I am lucky to have her words in my life.
Here is what she posted on her blog yesterday about her son Buddy, it was so good that I felt the need to repost it here. On a music blog.
"When Buddy was born I held him in my arms
and prayed to God to let him live forever.
But if he could not, then let him live long enough to laugh
Moving tribute by the people on the show "The Voice" last night choosing to sing Hallelujah in tribute to the Sandy Hook victims as their opening rather than having Christina and Cee Lo dance around in ridiculous outfits. I didn't see it live but I just watched it and thought it was very well done.
Its time to get back to what I used to on this blog. Introducing you all to new artists that may have not crossed your paths yet. I promise you in 2013 I will focus back on new artists and try and get everyone ahead of the curve.
Here is a good place to start. Meet Haim.
Haim is an amazing band. It is made up of three sisters who come from L.A. and make music that sounds like a good cross between Fleetwood Mac and Destiny's Child. From what I have read they have an amazing live set and with some great tunes coming off their debut album they are poised for stardom.
Earlier in 2012 they released the album "Forever" with the lead single being "Don't Save Me". They made the rounds playing SXSW and the Great Escape and thats where I first started to hear the buzz. They spent the year headlining their own small tour around the UK and are now ready to hit the road with Florence and the Machine for her arena tour.
Here is a name for you all to watch out for in 2013. Solange Knowles. I know it already may be familiar to you... she is Beyonce's sister and had a breakout hit a few years ago. Yet now with the release of her new album "EP" and an amazing hit single 'Losing You', it seems as if she is ready to make her name her own.
I would actually recommend purchasing the entire album. Its really a great one. Also I'll post the official video below but you should really go on youtube and check out her performance from Jimmy Fallon last week. Amazing!!
You will be treated to a lot of posting today....and for that you can thank my NY Jets. My football team was absolutely dismal last night so it left me a lot of time to do some researching for this blog. Hopefully it will be all stuff having to do with music, but you know me and my ADD no topic is really off limits.
For now I will start everyone off with some of my favorite holiday tunes. Yep its officially a week away from Christmas and I allow the holiday tunes to infest my life.
I don't know how many times I have to talk about this actress before people start listening to me. Jennifer Lawrence is a name that I will not mind seeing in Hollywood for a very long time. Saw "Silver Lining Playbook" over the weekend and she was amazing. Amazing!!
I will watch this girl do just about anything. Check out her hilarious interview with Chelsea Handler.
I was just catching up on the coverage from VH1 Diva's over the weekend (Kelly Clarkson obviously stole the show). But what disappointed me the most was them allowing Miley Cyrus to sing Billy Idol's classic "Rebel Yell".
Miley. I get you are trying to break out of your "good girl shell", and I kind of don't mind your new haircut but this entire performance is just too much.
Well this was bound to happen at some point. In the most ridiculous celebrity news I've heard in a while.. Deadmau5 (overhyped DJ) proposed to tattoo artist Kat Von D over twitter. And she accepted.
Just read this story and had to repost here. Had to. Everyone in the world should know this woman's name. Victoria Soto.
Her life dream was to become a teacher. Her last moments were spent rushing her students into a closet when gunshots started to go off. When the gunman entered her classroom at Sandy Hook Middle School she told the madman that her kids were in the gym. The man then murdered her but left her classroom, literally laying her life on the line for her students.
"It brings peace to know that Vicki was doing what she loved, protecting the children and in our eyes, she is a hero. She lost her life doing what she loved. I don't think she would have it any other way. She loved kids. Her goal in life was to be a teacher and to mold young minds, and that is what she achieved, and unfortunately lost her life protecting those children". Said her cousin.
Fleetwood Mac's amazing album Rumours turns 35 next year. To celebrate that, the band is not only reuniting for their first tour since 2009 (can I go?) but they will also re-release the classic album as a three-disc set. On January 29th, the re-issue will be packed with unreleased takes from the recording sessions and live recordings from the 1977 world tour.
Head over to RollingStone.com right now to get a free preview.
Yup, its that time of year again. Time for all the end of the year lists and opinion polls. This one can't really be argued with just because its a list of the "Top Grossing Tours" of the year. Lets see if there are any surprises....
Despite causing a scene wherever she went this year Madonna's MDNA tour was the top grossing tour pulling a total of $228.4 million dollars.
Bruce Springsteen came in second earning $199.37 million.
Roger Waters of Pink Floyd was next making $186.46 million recreating The Wall.
Cirque De Soleil's Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour followed with $147.3 million.
Rounding out the fifth position was Coldplay with $147.1 million dollars in 67 shows.
I'm not sure if anyone was as crazy as I was and stayed up to watch 98% of the 12.12.12 concert last week. But those of you who did were treated to what can only be called a "NJ Overload". I couldn't believe my eyes when Bruce Springsteen called another NJ native Jon Bon Jovi on stage to sing his classic "Born To Run". Not only did Bruce open the show in the only way that Bruce knows how... by tearing the roof off. But these two managed to do a pretty great duet while everyone from NJ was beaming with Jersey pride.
Other notable performances was Eric Clapton performing "Nobody Knows You".
When Eddie Vedder hits the bridge of Pink Floyds classic "Comfortably Numb" I about fell off my chair.
Adam Sandler singing "Sandy Screw Ya" to the tune of "Hallelujah" was the best bit of the night.
And finally Chris Martin and Michael Stipe did a beautiful version of "Losing My Religion"
Like everyone else in America I have been absolutely traumatized by what happened in Newtown, CT last Friday. All I can imagine is that in my middle school I had 32 kids in my entire grade. Entire grade. And to think about some of my classmates now and the impact they have had on this world, and the lives that they have lead has my heart breaking for the victims who will not live out their destiny.
This is not the time to talk about guns, or to point the fingers and blame each other. This is a time to remember the victims, to take a look at ourselves and our culture and figure out exactly what we can do to stop this. Because I don't know about you but I'm sick of this shit.
I know I know I have a lot of ground to cover but lets just start with the big things. The Rolling Stones capped off their run of 50th anniversary shows on Saturday night with a all-star blow out show in Newark, NJ. And with no shows scheduled for 2013 many are left wondering... could this really be it???
Everyone from Lady Gaga to Bruce Springsteen showed up to share the stage with the legendary rockers. I wish that I ordered it on pay per view because from this set-list and from the reviews its looking like it was quite the show. Check this out.
Set List:
"Get Off Of My Cloud"
"The Last Time"
"It's Only Rock & Roll (But I Like It)"
"Paint It Black"
"Gimme Shelter" (with Lady Gaga)
"Wild Horses"
"Going Down" (with John Mayer & Gary Clark Jr.)
"Dead Flowers"
"Who Do You Love" (with the Black Keys)
"Doom and Gloom"
"One More Shot"
"Miss You"
"Honky Tonk Women"
"Before They Make Me Run"
"Happy"
"Midnight Rambler" (with Mick Taylor)
"Tumbling Dice" (with Bruce Springsteen)
"Start Me Up"
"Brown Sugar"
"Sympathy for the Devil"
Encore:
"You Can't Always Get What You Want" (with the Trinity Wall Street Choir)
I am sorry for my absence as of late. I promise you I am alive and I am coming back to this blog this afternoon. The last few weeks have been insane but luckily coming to an end as we speak.
Normal life resumes!!
....and yes I know I have missed a lot in the music world. Including Paul McCartney sitting in as the new Nirvana frontman not once but twice in the last few days. The music world has turned a strange corner. Stay tuned.
This is easily one of my favorite new albums of 2012. If you haven't given Gary Clark Jr.'s "Bright Lights" EP a spin, I highly recommend you do so today. He is being toted as the future of Texas blues. His resume includes sharing the stage with various legends of rock and roll and he says he is "influenced by blues, jazz, soul, country as well as hip hop".
Well Rush fans... you finally got your day. It came about 20 years too late but still congratulations. Rush will be joining Public Enemy, Heart, Randy Newman, Donna Summer and Albert King in being inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Public Enemy is only the 4th hip hop band to make the cut, following the Beastie Boys just last year. Also this was the first year they allowed fans to vote on the nominees.
Sad news for the music world this morning with the announcement of the passing of Ravi Shankar. He was the sitar virtuoso who became a musical icon in the 1960 after collaborating with the Beatles and introduced traditional Indian music to Western audiences. He was also the estranged father to Norah Jones. He was 92 years old.
RIP Ravi.
I know you and George are having quite the session today.
Saw Grace Potter perform at the 9:30 club this weekend and had an amazing time. When I have a chance I'll give a full show review but for now I'm still trying to figure out how she keeps her energy so high for a two hour non stop performance. It was truly a sight to be seen. Great show, great venue, great crowd.
At least after a long day of work today I will have this to look forward to. My friend Candace just posted that her brothers show at MSG will be aired live on Fuse.Tv. Oh in case you didn't know who her brother was its Jason Mraz. (I know pretty nuts). You know where I will be tonight starting at 8:30.
Here is an interview with him about tonights show.
Ahhhhhh!! That is the sound of my brain racing this morning with all the things I have on my plate. Literally work is so crazy that I have sat down in this seat for all of about 15 minutes since my 8am arrival time. Its that time of year again when work controls my life and I have literally no say over it. From the looks of it I will work straight through Saturday this week. Guess I should be happy I have a job right? But really it isn't all that bad except for me completely neglecting my loved ones then being too tired on my days off to be a normal human being. I promise once January 1st comes I return to my normal work schedule and normal life and emotions. Until then, please hold on... the next two weeks will be long.
And yes this is also why this blog has been neglected. I promise I have seen some music and have a lot to report on. I will do it later this afternoon when I get some food and can breathe again.
For now I leave you with the song that is playing on repeat in my head.
If I could pick one job in the world it would probably be Jimmy Fallon's. Where else are you able to pull Keira Knightly, Dave Matthews and Michael Buble to play the 'musical instrument game'. Hilarious!!!
Have I mentioned how excited I am for the Grace Potter concert Friday night at the 9:30 club? I have. Well you only have to deal with me for one more day because this time tomorrow I will be out of work and getting myself ready to get up to DC. And after this week of work I feel like I deserve to cut loose and have some fun.
Last night at midnight Washington State legalized the personal use of marijuana in their state (something I think will be come national in a few short years once they realize the millions of tax dollars that can be raised). Anyways here is an actual quote from Seattle Police Department Spokesperson Jonah Spangethal-Lee in reference to the law that decriminalizes the substance for adults 21 and over:
"The police department believes, that under state law, you may responsibly get baked, order some pizza's and enjoy a 'Lord of the Rings' marathon in the privacy of your own home, if you want to." HAHA.
Its pretty laughable that John Travolta and Olivia Newton John are trying to make a comeback... together. Here is their newly released music video. I'm not sure if they are even being serious but this thing is terrible!!
I know I just posted a pop tune that was stuck in my head but this next video is just plane scary. The month is December so you know what that means, its year in review mash up time! If you get a few minutes today take a look at this video that mashes up the biggest pop tunes of the year and see if you notice anything. THEY ALL SOUND THE SAME. Seriously. Its like they all got into a room and used the same beats, the same words and the same production on every single. Scary that this is what the majority of Americans are listening to.
Well I held out posting the new Will.I.Am and Britney spears duet for long enough. The headphone commercials did their job and sneakily got this son stuck in my head. Damn you catchy pop tunes!!
Yes this is a music blog so no matter how dumb they are I have to talk about the Grammy Awards. Last night was the nomination special and I tuned in long enough to see two good things. First one of my favorite bands over the last year "Alabama Shakes" were nominated for Best New Artist and Justin Bieber was completely shut out. I read this morning that his manager went on a twitter rant about him being snubbed which makes it even that much funnier. Anyways congrats to the Alabama Shakes and Mumford and Sons for their nominations. That was about all the highlights.
In typical Grammy fashion the rest was a crock. For example, Goyote really deserves song of the year over Springsteen? Also his album "The Wrecking Ball" got no nod for album of the year either. Cough Cough Bullshit.
Jack seems not to be happy that the media took some of his quotes out of context about Lady Gaga. Here is the statement he just released. My bad dude, I was just reporting what I read.
I’d like to address the recent tabloidesque drama baiting by the press in regards to Lady Gaga. I never said anything about her music, or questioned the authenticity of her songs in any way. I was in a conversation about the drawbacks of image for the sake of image, and that it is popular nowadays to not question an image in front of you, but only to label it as “cool” or “weird” quickly and dispose of it. I don’t like my comments about lady gaga’s presentation being changed into some sort of negative critique of her music. If you’re going to try to cause drama, at least get the quotes right. I think journalists should also be held accountable for what they say. Especially publications like the NME who put whatever words they feel like between two quotation marks and play it off as a quote. Maybe somebody with more lawyers can take them to task, but i’ll just use the Internet and Twitter instead. I also think that kind of tabloid drama encourages artists to not express their opinions in the press, and instead give polite soundbites that don’t stimulate thought about creativity and the consumption of art in its many guises.
Peace to Lady Gaga and I fully congratulate and compliment her on her championing of gay rights issues and the momentum it’s given to help create change.
If you have an extra 20 minutes today this is worth the watch. Its a small documentary featuring Jay Z and the lead up to his performance at the Barclay Center. Worth it.
In an interview with Esquire UK Jack White made his feelings about Lady Gaga perfectly clear.
"I don't think she lives it because its all artifice. It's all image with no meaning behind it. You can't sink your teeth into it. It's a sound bite. Its very of this age, because I think that's what people want. They want a Twitter line, a jpeg, a MP3." He continued to talk about her music as insubstantial, empty music.
Hello Friends. Sorry for the absence this week, between work, having my car towed out of my own spot and well work I have been unable to visit here. Hopefully I will have a little bit of a chance today to at least post some things I've seen this week. Starting with another hilarious Jimmy Fallon video. I blame this man for my complete lack of sleep each night.
Here he is with Mariah Carey, The Roots and the use of instruments you would find in a preschool singing the holiday classic. All I Want For Christmas (Is You). My favorite part... the pop up children.
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