My latest obsession

And yes, Feist's "1234" is that catchy little tune in those iPod commercials, but I still love it regardless. Plus, I'm a big fan of things done in one shot. Others that come to mind are the long war scenes in Children of Men, Semisonic's video for "Closing Time," and just about anything done by Daft Punk. Well, here's the video and man does she look like she's having fun in it:

A crappy review

Well, Rolling Stone just went to the bathroom on Colbie Caillat's debut album, Coco.

Yes, her music is sunny and safe, but at least it's her music. Not some manufactured sludge that's been pampered and prodded into the most radio-friendly, three and a half minutes of snappy pop-slop that everyone and their mother seems to be jiving to nowadays. She's honestly talented and doing her own thing, and for that (for that!) she is slammed. I guess to really be respected and/or make it you need to be able to get in and out of rehab on a weekly basis, be cruder than crude, and not sing well or sing at all.

Gah. Now I'm annoyed.

Remembering Elliot Smith

Elliot Smith would've been 38 today. I'm still not really over his death (which still hasn't really been confirmed as either a suicide or a homicide). In his honor, a free download of "Angel in the Snow," the first track from this year's release New Moon, is available.


And the lyrics from a favorite tune of his, "Miss Misery":

I know you'd rather see me gone
than to see me the way that I am
but I am in the life anyway
next door the TV's flashing
blue frames on the wall
it's a comedy of errors, you see
it's about taking a fall
to vanish into oblivion
is easy to do
and i try to be but you know me
I come back when you want me to
do you miss me miss misery
like you say you do?

Emmy in a Box

In phallic news, Justin Timberlake and that other dude get an Emmy nod for their "Dick in a Box" SNL Digital Short for the Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics category. No wintry holiday is complete without a viewing of the genius that is "make her open the box."

Click the link to see the video again. And then hope for the best. This should totally win. I'm completely serious.

"Bubbly" video

Debuting today, here is the video for Colbie Caillat's "Bubbly":



I'll be seeing her in concert towards the end of July and am sooper excited. She's very chill and soulful and earnest. Don't compare her to Jewel. I will punch you in the neck if you do. Anyways, it's a catchy song and I'm assuming she's only going to get bigger and bigger as time goes on. Listen now and be in the know!

I'm in the business of misery

Lately, I've been listening to Paramore's new album, Riot!, and I'm disappointed. This is the band's follow-up to their wonderfully underappreciated debut All We Know is Falling and, as described by someone else, they now just sound like a female version of Fall Out Boy. Ugh. That's no good. The single "Misery Business" aside, the album's tracks never peak harder than a well-formed pop rock song. Gone are the screams, the dark distortion, and building momentum of such deep hitters like "My Heart" and "Conspiracy." Instead we get songs like clap-tastic "Fences" and overly trite "For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic." Hayley Williams' voice is both raw and captivating, and I only wished it was put to better use on the album. Nothing seems to challenge her. Let's hope their next recording strays away from radio-friendly singles to what they claim to be about: energy, emotions, and fun.

I do, however, enjoy the video for "Misery Business" very much:

Just For Now vid

Imogen Heap is one of my favorite musicians, and one day I will do a very long post on why I love her and think she's absolutely brilliant. For now, I'll share with you my favorite live performance of her song "Just For Now." I watch it at least once a day, and refuse to go to bed without hearing it. Ignore Zach Braff in the audience. Listen, watch, and enjoy.



::loves::