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The Hold Steady Tours, Covers Springsteen, Makes Documentary

The Hold Steady Tours, Covers Springsteen, Makes Documentary covers

The Hold Steady, one of the greatest and most consistent rock bands of this generation, is releasing a live documentary called A Positive Rage, which, considering their live reputation, should be phenomenal. The DVD comes out on April 7th, along with an extra live album.

Make sure to check out the band’s fantastic cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City” (for the latest charity covers album, War Child: Heroes), right here. The cover adds horns to brilliant effect, and since Finn already sounds a lot like Springsteen, it works really well overall. Listen to the cover:

And click on for the documentary trailer and the band’s many upcoming tour dates, courtesy of Brooklyn Vegan. Continue reading →

TV Shows / Videos / YouTube / YouTube Tidbits — 10 Comments
25
Feb 09

Tonight’s LOST Will Be Unbelievably Amazing

Tonights LOST Will Be Unbelievably Amazing tv shows

OK, maybe we shouldn’t set expectations too high (like we did last week). But we probably should. Tonight’s episode, entitled “The Life And Death of Jeremy Bentham,” will finally reveal what the hell happened to Locke from when he pushed the donkey wheel to when he met his apparent death. It should be a contained, epic saga, and a Locke tour-de-force (perhaps another Terry O’Quinn Emmy nom will be in order). Mythological characters we love are all going to pop up. Questions will be answered. And the episode will be extended 6 minutes long, making it even more epic. The producers have said that this episode kind of serves as the finale to the first act of Season Five, and we Lost fans know how well this show ends its “acts.” Click on for some spoilery video clips, and an incredible fan-made video scored to The Killers’ “All These Things That I’ve Done.” Continue reading →

Listen / Live Music / Live Performances / Music / News / TV Shows / Videos / YouTube / YouTube Tidbits — 4 Comments
21
Feb 09

Did You Catch Conan’s Final (Fantastic) “Late Night”?

Did You Catch Conans Final (Fantastic) Late Night? listen

If you missed it, the highlights are all worth a watch- Will Ferrel’s appearance, Andy Richter’s triumphant return, classic “Late Show” moments, O’Brien’s heartfelt thank yous and The White Stripes’ strange, debated performance.

I say the performance was strange because Jack and Meg played a stripped-down, changed-up version of “We’reÂ Going To Be Friends,” and I thought it sounded awful. Now I’m a huge Stripes fan, and I understand that part of their charm is Meg’s lacking musical ability and Jack’s unpredictability. But that’s no excuse for the song sounding lousy. At times it was haunting in a good way, yes, mostly due to Jack’s obvious emotion and the connection he has with O’Brien. But for the most part, it was haunting in the bad sense of the word.

I figured the world would agree about this, but apparently not: Stripes fans are defending Jack and Meg on Stereogum’s message board, calling it a great performance. Watch and judge for yourself, letting the world know what YOU think in the comments. Then click here for more highlights from last night’s show. I recommend Ferrel’s hysterical cameo.

Music / News / Random / Videos / YouTube / YouTube Tidbits — No Comments
20
Feb 09

Franz Ferdinand Have Fun With An iPod

Franz Ferdinand Have Fun With An iPod music

Dance-rockers Franz Ferdinand have their catchy tune, “No You Girls,” stuck in a lot of heads right now, which is the case with any iPod touch commercial. Being advertised is the “funnest” iPod ever, which is kind of offensive to my very fun 30 gig iPod video, but I digress…

The Franz song is pretty darn good, and the commercial is too (like just about everything Apple puts out). Check it out:

Props to Stereogum for the story, and rocketgrande.com for the sweet pic.

Best of 2008 / Covers / MP3 / Music / New Releases / Remixes / Reviews / TV Shows / Videos / You Oughtta Know / YouTube — 19 Comments
30
Dec 08

Randi’s Best (and Worst) of 2008

This year has been pretty great. I started it off in Costa Rica for 10 days, and I finished it with 5 in Florida. The music wasnâ€™t too bad eitherâ€¦ we were introduced to great new bands, but lost legends like Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Bo Diddly, Isaac Hayes, Richard Wright, Odetta, Eartha Kitt, and George Carlin (who I know shouldnâ€™t count under music legends but I adored him). I must say Iâ€™m really looking forward to next yearâ€™s selections (Animal Collective, Andrew Bird, Chris Cornell, Lily Allen, The Decemberistsâ€¦ and thatâ€™s just whatâ€™s coming out Jan â€“ March). Iâ€™ll also be studying in London from mid-January to mid-May (& *fingers crossed* L.A. mid-August to late-December), and I canâ€™t wait to discover hundreds of more bands across the pond!

So without further ado, hereâ€™s my favorites and least favorites of this year – songs, covers, remixes, albums, TV shows, videos & movies [in that order]. Quick sidenote: when you look at my favorite songs, make sure to factor in the songs that I put as my favorite songs of the album in my favorite albums section. I just didnâ€™t want to repeat myself, even though after re-reading this paragraph Iâ€™m not sure if I made myself any clearer. Anyway, I loved most of this yearâ€™s music, and hereâ€™s what I loved (and hated) the most.

I like to get the worst out of the way first, like ripping off a band-aid. So without further adoâ€¦

Least Favorite Songs (Or Songs That Made Me Hate Music)

10 – Flo Rida ft Will.I.Am â€“ In The Ayer

9 â€“ Rihanna – Take a Bow

8 – Kid Rock â€“ All Summer Long

7- Miley Cyrus â€“ See You Again

6 â€“ Britney Spears – Womanizer

5 – Katy Perry – Ur So Gay

4 – Katy Perry â€“ Hot N Cold

3 – Lilâ€™ Wayne â€“ Hot Revolver

2 – Soulja Boy â€“ Yahh

1 â€“ Katy Perry – I Kissed a Girl

Somehow #1 and #8 on my Most-Hated list made it to #18 and #20 on Rolling Stoneâ€™s BEST Of list, which makes me more than a little sick. But I digress. Moving onâ€¦

Favorite Songs (Just in Alphabetical Order and Probably Missing Some)

Continue reading →

Listen / MP3 / Music / YouTube — 2 Comments
9
Dec 08

New-Old Lupe Fiasco – Hustlers & Customers

New Old Lupe Fiasco Hustlers & Customers listen One thing that I like about Lupe Fiasco — other than his his classic rapping powers — is that there is always some unreleased track or demo of his to share with everyone. This time the new-oldie is called “Hustlers & Customers.” Although I have always liked Lupe Fiasco’s music, pre-Food & Liquor and post-Food & Liquor, “Hustlers & Customers” depicts the Lupe Fiasco I want to hear on LupEND next year.

This is real good stuff. A+

Download “Hustlers & Customers” after the jump! Continue reading →

Album Reviews / Live Performances / MP3 / Music / New Releases / Reviews / Videos / YouTube — 27 Comments
24
Nov 08

Kanye West- 808s and Heartbreak Album Review

Kanye West 808s and Heartbreak Album Review album reviews reviews 2

This is how I was introduced to Kanye West. At the time, the rising star wowed America with this chill-inducing rendition of â€œJesus Walks.â€ Kanye showed off his extreme passion, massive ambition, and theatrical flair. He was a fresh face in his genre, and he was something special.

Fast-forward three and a half years. West is the number one name in music. He is hailed as one of the best, if not the best rapper in the world. But when he premieres his new song, â€œLove Lockdown,â€ at the MTV Music Video awards, something strange happens about two minutes in. Thatâ€™s when people realize that the self-proclaimed â€œvoice of the generationâ€ isnâ€™t rapping, but singing. The entire song.

All artists shift styles at some point in their life. Itâ€™s part of the creative process! But as gutsy as Kanyeâ€™s move was, it still had many people wondering: â€œWhere are you, Yeezy?â€

As more of 808s and Heartbreak leaked, however, people began to see what the legendary rapper/producer was doing- making original, catchy, and ultimately great music. While it still pains me that Kanye isnâ€™t quite as good of a singer as he sounds on the tracks (due to the wonders of Auto-Tune), Iâ€™ve gotten over it and have come to respect his incredible ear for beats, hooks, and production value. Continue reading →

Aside / YouTube / YouTube Tidbits — 3 Comments
17
Nov 08

Beyonce / Justin Timberlake / Paul Rudd – Perfection

This has to be the most I’ve laughed whilst watching SNL all season. SURE their Election Coverage was giggle-worthy, and yes, Tina Fey and Sarah Palin are twins — but this was hilarious.Â

I’ve always loved Paul Rudd (seriously, what’s not to love?!) and I’ve always liked Beyonce. Justin Timberlake’s campy performance was just icing on an already delicious cake.Â

http://www.dailymotion.com/videox7f5d8

Aside / Random / Videos / YouTube — 14 Comments
14
Nov 08

We All Love Kanye. So Why is he such a CRYBABY?!

Kanye West’ music is fantastic, I think we all agree on that — but I really don’t want to meet this guy. At least not when he’s unhappy.Â

PS: A site tricked me — this is from last years VMAs. I’m so behind! But still… he’s being completely immature.

I knew Kanye West had issues with having a large ego and being a sore loser… but wtf is this? Is he crying? I don’t really approve of people having bitch-fits.Â

Seriously Kanye, you have 10 damn GRAMMYs at home, who cares about the VMA’s? And stop hating on Britney, seriously. She only has 1 GRAMMY and she’s not crying about it.Â

This is quite the foil to the cool, smooth Kanye music we’ve been enjoying the last couple of days.Â

I wonder how many bitch-fits cameras don’t catch? It must really suck to be in his entourage when Ye loses. I thought he was slapping someone at one point.

Listen / MP3 / Music / Music Videos / Videos / YouTube — 4 Comments
11
Jul 08

New Bloc Party, N.E.R.D. (+Santogold, ~The Strokes), Beck, and Death Cab Videos

Bloc Party have certainly proven that whenever they decide to drop a random single, the world listens (see:Flux, Mercury). Their latest hype-endeavor and second nudge at a new album, “Mercury” has successfully made its way into the front page of most of the music blogs out there (the ones I read anyway) — and don’t think it’s gonna stop, I have a feeling the band will announce a new album pretty soon. The video for “Mercury” was synonymously released with the single (I just waited to post it until I had enough videos that caught my attention to post about).

With all the hype surrounding this song, the inevitable has happened: plagiarism accusations. Hypeful has pointed out that This Just Happened pointed out (gotta love trackbacks) that “Mercury” bared “a striking resemblance” to “Shock The Monkeyâ€, by Peter Gabriel. Was Bloc Party inspired by a Monkey?

Bloc Party – Mercury
Peter Gabriel – Shock The Monkey

About a month or so ago Pharrell Williams, Santogold, and Julian Casablancas (of Strokes fame) recorded “My Drive Thru” for Converse’ 100 Year Chuck Taylor celebration. Now the music video dropped, and its friggin fantastic. Watch. ’nuff said.

N.E.R.D. – My Drive Thru ft. Santogold & Julian Casablancas

I am thoroughly enjoying Beck’s Danger Mouse produced Modern Guilt, I have failed to post anything about it because of specific server issues, but I have already shared my love for “Orphans”, and now first single “Gamma Ray” has a video for all to watch. The video itself is stellar and fits the song like a glove.