straight no chaser

looking for some new xmas music this year? look no further than the group straight no chaser

"Straight No Chaser are neither strait-laced nor straight-faced, but neither are they vaudeville-style kitsch. As original member Randy Stine comments, “We take the music very seriously; we just don’t take ourselves too seriously.” In the process, they are reinventing the idea of a cappella on the modern pop landscape. Originally formed a dozen years ago while students together at Indiana University, the group has reassembled and reemerged as a phenomenon – with a huge fanbase, millions of viewers on YouTube… and a contract with Atlantic Records. In an era when so much pop music is the product of digital processing and vocal pro-tooling, Straight No Chaser is the real deal – the captivating sound of ten unadulterated human voices coming together to make extraordinary music that is moving people in a fundamental sense… and with a sense of humor."

Beyonce does it again!

This is my new favorite song! Beyonce killed it at the American Music Awards last night with her new song "Single Ladies" -- tell me this doesn't get stuck in your head!

I still can't figure out how to embed a video (Shift, help a girl out), so here's the link - worth clicking on!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmJ9dccBv-Y

ray lamontagne

my new music favorite...ray lamontagne.

"Some singer/songwriters (think Paul Westerberg and Elliott Smith) develop their world-weariness through the unforgiving trials of passing years and the heart-breaking grind of the music business. Others (Van Morrison, Neil Young) seem to have sprung from out of nowhere with the fully formed soul of a life well-lived. Ray LaMontagne belongs with the latter...

LaMontagne has crafted a handful of quietly devastating meditations on life and love--and delivered them with a raspy vocal all his own. The simple, mournful lyrics of "Burn," "Shelter" and the title track recall a Hank Williams ballad, and the reserved production by alt-country/americana genius Ethan Johns (the Jayhawks, Ryan Adams, Kings of Leon) make this a great disc for smoky Saturday nights, and rainy Sunday mornings." (amazon review)

for the televisions lovers...

while i was home over the weekend, my dad introduced me to hulu, an internet site where you can watch television and movies for free. it takes all the tv you love (the office, greys, family guy, the daily show) and organizes them by genre, recent posts, favorites, etc.

it's way easier than surfing the internet and much better quality than youtube...

love!

priscilla ahn

i'm currently obsessing over priscilla ahn...

"Singer-songwriter Priscilla Ahn embarked upon a career the old-fashioned way: she packed her belongings in a car - “two guitars, clothes, and some other junk I really didn't need to bring” - and left her Pennsylvania home for L.A. That she found steady gigs - a supportive circle of fellow artists and a record deal in a relatively short period of time, give or take several months of bad waitressing jobs - will come as no surprise after a single listen to “Dream,” the lilting opening track of A Good Day, her full-length debut on Blue Note Records. Ahn artfully balances youthful whimsy and grown-up sophistication, playing guitar and singing in a warm, welcoming, and stunningly self-assured voice"

citizen cope

“When I was a kid, I was a listener,” says Clarence Greenwood, a.k.a. Citizen Cope. “Music was something coming out of a radio or off a record, something that made me feel these things I couldn’t explain. It was magical to me, and I thought it was something you had to be ordained with.”

What’s clear when you listen to Cope’s own music now, years after he sat transfixed in front of his stereo speakers, is that he *is* ordained. Or touched. Or blessed. Or however you want to say it: The man has the gift.

fashion rocks.

Fashion week ended a few weeks ago, but everyone is still talking about the fashion, the beauty, the gossip, and the music. There's always a few small bands plucked from obscurity because their music has a great beat and lends itself well to models stomping down the runway. This year one of the bands/groups was Santogold, a NYC-based group named after Santi White, the lead singer. Their music is sort of rock-rap-electronica mashup, and I'm loving their songs Creator and L.E.S. Artists. Good stuff!

join the party.

My sister and I sometimes like the same music, but I knew when I told her the band I was going to see play yesterday, she's have no idea who they were. I believe "the who what?" was her exact response. The band? Bloc Party, a sort of high-energy rock-punky-alternative British band. They played at Webster Hall, a great small music venue here in NYC. The lead singer said to the audience, in his cute British accent, "So everyone here is talking about this football player who's coming to town - Brett Fahv-ruh. Is that how you say his name? Fahv-ruh?" Everyone went nuts. It was great. And so was the music. Go download some - it's great for playlists to get you going in the morning or for working out/running.

awkward moments at work

One of my greatest discoveries of the summer was Pandora, a website/program that allows you to sort of make your own radio station that plays exactly the kind of music you like. You enter songs and/or artists you like, and it plays songs by those artists and other similar artists. Most of the time, it's genius. I enter Coldplay and U2, and it plays Jack Johnson and The Killers. But it's not perfect. I also entered Justin Timberlake (I know, I know), and somehow it decides Notorious B.I.G. should be next on my playlist. Of course Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's "Crossroads" (circa junior year in high school) comes on just as my boss comes to my office to go over some paperwork. WTF is that all about? Sorry Justin, I might just have to remove you from my list.

adele

this is me telling you that if you like etta james, amy winehouse or even diana krall...adele is someone you want to hear. she's not classic, or cracked out or even experienced...she's 19 with a voice that stuns.

the ny times said "Late last year the mainstream British press hailed Adele as “the new Amy Winehouse,” a facile yet complicated bit of praise. Onstage Adele mentioned Ms. Winehouse only in passing, but right before the song that most evoked her: “Right as Rain,” a pensive and indignant breakup ditty with a shamelessly retro-soul sound"

i'm no music critic but her album 19 (which to be fair is all about love @ 19 and at times, the immaturity shows) is definitely worth checking out.