Posts Tagged: Amy Winehouse
7
Jul 09
Florence and The Machine – Girl With One Eye
I’ve spent the better part of the last 12 hours listening to Florence and the Machine’s full-length debut album, Lungs. The album is a tour de force that matches the releases of her soulful British peers Amy, Adele, and Duffy.
With the Ting Tings’ “That’s Not My Name” climbing American radio charts week after week, and Florence and the Machine’s cool indie vibe, and commercial appeal on the rise, don’t expect the Female British Invasion to stop anytime soon.
“Girl With One Eye” is an unapologetically big pop number packed with silky, raw, soulful blues without losing an ounce of charm. Listen to “Girl With One Eye” here Continue reading →
27
Jun 09
pmaCAST #15: Funk In Your Trunk
pmaCAST #15 The “Funk In Your Trunk” Episode Tracklist
Continue reading →
27
Mar 09
Frankmusik – Rehab (Amy Winehouse Cover)
[rating:61/100]
I’m not sure if I can take this guy seriously. His tunes are definitely catchy, but spelling music with a “k” might be a little too altphonic for me. But I can’t deny the reality that surrounds Frankmusik. Not since Lady GaGa has an underground pop act made so much noise throughout the blogosphere. F
Frankmusik’s tour de force has been headlined by captivating first single “3 Little Words,” and there have been no signs of slowing down yet. If anything, the buzz will only snowball from here. Everyone knows that riding the popularity of another artist via cover and/or remix is the best way to stay relevant in this fast-paced music blog world, and that is exactly what Frankmusik did.
Frankmusik’s cover of Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” transforms the modern classic into a campy, ravey anthem. Is it different? It definitely is. Tons of kudos for that alone. Is it good? Not necessarily. Continue reading →
30
Jan 09
Q&A Friday: Coachella. Giving Away Merriweather Post Pavilion on Vinyl.
Saw this at about 4am this morning. Was too tired to post it up then, so here you have it!
That is a fantastic lineup! I think I like it better than last year. Saturday is going to be AMAZING — Killers, Amy Winehouse, TV On The Radio, Fleet Foxes, MSTRKRFT! If I had to choose only one, that would be the day.
Do you guys have your tickets? I don’t. Wish me luck on nabbing 3-day passes before they sell out. What are your thoughts on the lineup? Everyone seems to be raving about it so far.
Anyway, so this week’s question is another easy one: Who are you most excited to see at Coachella (in person, or via AT&T’s Blue Room magic)? And if you’re feeling dirty: Do you not like the lineup? Who’s missing?
And this is the first time we don’t have a sponsor for a Q&A Friday. Big bummer [sad face]. Ok let me plug this real quick, so this doesn’t happen again:
Are you interested in promoting your new product or event in a way that engages thousands of young, savvy, music fans? Email me for more info!
Yeah, that’s how it works, guys. Oh but just because we don’t have a sponsor this time doesn’t mean I’m not giving anything away! I’m expecting a new vinyl order to come in today (it’s my new years resolution to collect as much vinyl as I can), and I’m going to have an extra copy of Merriweather Post Pavilion gathering dust, so I’m going to give it away here.
2
Jan 09
pmaCAST #2: The “F*ck Me, I’m Really Saying This…” Episode
I know I said I was feeling good about this whole podcasting thing before, but after seeing everyone’s reaction, I am really feeling good about it now. Big shout out to everyone who downloaded and subscribed to the podcast. I really want to make it a constant feature. Continue reading →
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 wasn’t too bad either… 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 shouldn’t count under music legends but I adored him). I must say I’m really looking forward to next year’s selections (Animal Collective, Andrew Bird, Chris Cornell, Lily Allen, The Decemberists… and that’s just what’s coming out Jan – March). I’ll also be studying in London from mid-January to mid-May (& *fingers crossed* L.A. mid-August to late-December), and I can’t wait to discover hundreds of more bands across the pond!
So without further ado, here’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 didn’t want to repeat myself, even though after re-reading this paragraph I’m not sure if I made myself any clearer. Anyway, I loved most of this year’s music, and here’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 ado…
Least Favorite Songs (Or Songs That Made Me Hate Music)
10 – Flo Rida ft Will.I.Am – In The Ayer
9 – Rihanna – Take a Bow
8 – Kid Rock – All Summer Long
7- Miley Cyrus – See You Again
6 – Britney Spears – Womanizer
5 – Katy Perry – Ur So Gay
4 – Katy Perry – Hot N Cold
3 – Lil’ Wayne – Hot Revolver
2 – Soulja Boy – Yahh
1 – Katy Perry – I Kissed a Girl
Somehow #1 and #8 on my Most-Hated list made it to #18 and #20 on Rolling Stone’s BEST Of list, which makes me more than a little sick. But I digress. Moving on…
Favorite Songs (Just in Alphabetical Order and Probably Missing Some)
16
Dec 08
Buzz in 2009: Janelle Monae
While Janelle Monae has been making music for years, 2009 will be the year for her. Earlier in 2008, Janelle Monae inked a deal with P. Diddy and his Bad Boy Records and re-released Metropolis: The Chase Suite (Speciel Edition). Originally, Monae planned to release four “suites” ever so often, tagged with the Metropolis moniker, opposed to releasing a full length debut. But somewhere along the line, her plans changed, presumably after signing herself off to Bad Boy.
Janelle Monae is now set to release a full length album in 2009’s first quarter. Aren’t excited yet? Take a listen to some of her stuff. 2008’s Metropolis is an amazing seven-song-set and an ubran masterpiece. The Chase Suite is an adventurous robo-Soap Opera that centers around the forbidden love of an android named Cindi who falls in love with a human named Anthony.
Metropolis features Janelle Monae’s beautiful singing and funky beats on stellar tracks like “Many Moons” and “Sincerely, Jane.” It’s hard to categorize this album because it’s hard to categorize Monae herself. The best way to describe Janelle Monae might just be to think of a female Andre 3000 who sings as well as he can rap.
With a set like this and Bad Boy’s money to back her next album, one can only dream of the possibilities: will Andre 3000 and Janelle Monae share the mic (once again?), will Mark Ronson do some work with her? What about Amy Winehouse? That has one has been a fantasy of mine for quite a while now, actually.
Here’s why she will be big in 2009:
15
Aug 08
THE OWNAGE IS BREAKING MY PLACENTA!!
I heard someone say that today \\ I thought it was insanely HIGHlarious, but if you think about it, it’s kind of gross — BUT it does accurately sum up what this post is all about though. Remember when I used to make these longass posts back in the day? I always thought it was fun chronicling the world of pretty much amazing music in one (not so)quick, pain-free post.
I get tons of emails from people telling me they read PMA at least twice a day — one personal actually said he would refresh the page ever-so-often to make sure he caught every update. SRSLY (yay an HRO word) guyz, that’s really and all, but totally unnecessary. For one, you can just subscribe to the daily email sent @ like 5am or whatever random time I set it send. Alternately, I can make this 18-in-One* posts (*I highly doubt it’s really going to be 18-in-One, that was just a sales pitch). BUT I do have a lot of remixes and semi-newly leaked stuff I’d like to share. As I write this, I am contemplating zipping every MP3 I will post today (I think it’s going to be a lot of MP3s), but that might take too much effort. If you want to download a large .zip file instead of “Right Click, Save As…”-ing every track you might want to listen to/download, leave me a comment and express your need for zipped technology.
Alright enough intro stuff, lets get down to it. I wanted to talk about M.I.A first. Continue reading →
7
Jul 08
Here’s to hoping I won’t have to do THAT again!
Hello everybody!
I think (keyword: think) Pretty Much Amazing is ready to open for business. I have the theme figured out and everything in place. There are a few details that kind of suck (big time). For example, due to technical difficulties — really stupid ones — all posts from April to late June are lost. This is extremely depressing, but it hasn’t brought us down yet.
I do want to make it clear, just in case I already haven’t, that this blog has been temporary shut down, twice now, due to the massive server load we carry out every day. At one point in May and June, the server couldn’t take it anymore and my host had to give me the boot. All these fancy words like server and hosts confuse me just as much as it does you, so it took me quite a while to figure out what my b-plan was. Hopefully I have chosen a stable host that won’t implode with PMA’s traffic load. 
But enough of the unpleasantnesses, lets move on to the music. I won’t even attempt to catch everyone up on what has been happening in the music world over the last few weeks. I trust that you guys have been scattering around the internet educating yourself… at least a little?
I’ll compromise, I’ll cover what’s been going on over the last few days.
Nothing has been more excited or buzztastic as that new Michael Jackson / Akon collaboration, unsettlingly called “Hold My Hand.”
I really don’t know if this is a Michael Jackson song or an Akon song… I’ve seen it both ways. Clarification? The song isn’t that great, but it’s good enough to deserve the attention it has been getting.
I hope I don’t get into too much trouble:
Michael Jackson & Akon – Hold My Hand
This is probably equally as “shocking” and way more bad ass than MJ and Akon: Jay-Z covering Oasis’ supermegaultra-famous “Wonderwall” live at Glastonbury.
What a great way to wrap up the semi (ridic) beef.
He also covered Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab”, catch the mp3s down there.
Jay-Z – Wonderwall (Oasis Cover)/99 Problems – Live @ Glatsonbury
Jay-Z – Rehab (Amy Winehouse cover) – Live @ Glatsonbury
And more recently, Bloc Party unleashes new single and video, “Mercury” to disgruntled fans, or at least one.
After a little pre-release hype, Bloc Party let another electro-inspired single on Zane Lowe’s radio show. “Mercury,” much like “Flux” hints to a massive electronic shift in the band’s upcoming, third album. I think Mr. Frank is spot on when he wrote:
Techno has made quite a resurgence in popularity over the last couple years with the likes of Justice and SMD gaining considerable notoriety from the press and fans alike. It’s kind of a turn off though when a talented British rock band like Bloc Party begins to eschew the natural direction of their music in order to cater to the everchanging trends of the music industry. A move which is usually followed by departure of their core audience, the ones that loved them for their first couple albums, which I thought were both excellent (Silent Alarm more so than Weekend In The City).
Maybe this song leaves more than one fan feeling a bit “disgruntled.” Download the song below, along with some key info about ‘Mercury’’s Aug. 11 release.
Heavyweight Mercury 12â€:
A. Mercury (12†Version)
B. Mercury (12†Intrumental)
Mercury CD Maxi:
1. Mercury
2. Mercury (Hervé is in disarray Remix)
3. Mercury (CSS Remix)
4. Mercury (Flosstrodamus Remix)
Mercury Heavyweight 7â€:
A. Mercury
B. Idea For A Story
And a couple of cool covers thanks to British radio.
The Last Shadow Puppets – S.O.S (Rihanna Cover)
The Kooks – Violet Hill (Coldplay Cover)
