Song of the Day

"Orange Sky" by Alexi Murdoch

I woke up this morning and this song was playing in my head.  Almost like I had a dream I was listening to "Orange Sky" and it just kind of stuck.  Some of you know this song from the film Garden State, though it was not featured on the soundtrack.  Others may remember this song from a little show called The O.C.  "Orange Sky" was featured on the shows 1st soundtrack, Music from The O.C.: Mix 1.  "Orange Sky" was also heard on: Ugly Betty, Prison Break, Brothers & Sisters, and House.


Take a listen. I promise you won't regret it.

Song/Video of the day!

"White Knuckles" by OK Go from their album that was released early this year Of the Blue Colour of the Sky
How do they keep coming up with stuff like this?
OK Go will be performing at the House of Blues on October 10th. 









OK Go Official Site

Upcoming Live Shows!!!!

Live shows expose the raw (or lacking) talent of musicians. So I've always got an eye out for what's coming up next, even when I know I can't make it or simply can't afford it. So here is a list of shows in Chicago I would love to see (October looks pretty amazing....just saying)

September 

25th- Of Montreal with special guest Janelle Monaé at the Riviera Theatre

28th and 29th- M.I.A with special guest Rye Rye at the Vic Theatre

October 

2nd- Mike Posner at the House of Blues

8th and 9th- Citizen Cope

10th- Ok Go at the House of Blues

11th- Miike Snow

14th- The New Pornographers at the Riviera Theatre

15th- Massive Attack

20th- Ingrid Michaelson at the Vic Theatre

22nd- Deadmau5 and N.E.R.D. at the Congress Theatre

23rd- The Script at the Riviera Theatre

25th- LCD Soundsystem and Hot Chip at the Aragon Ballroom

November

3rd- Sara Bareilles with Cary Brothers and Holly Conlan at the House of Blues

5th- Ben Folds at the Tiviera Theatre

9th- Kate Nash at the Vic Theatre

18th- Donavon Frankenreiter and Ximena Sariana at Double Door

21st- KT Tunstall at the Vic Theatre

24th- Joshua Radin at the Vic Theatre

December

1st- Wicked (that's right, the musical) at the Cadaillac Palace *returning to Chicago until January 23rd*

4th- The Roots at the House of Blues

17th- John Legend at the Horseshoe Casino

31st- The Black Keys with special guest The Greenhornes at the Aragon Ballroom

February

28th- Lady Gaga with special guest Scissor Sisters at the United Center

Riviera Theatre

Congress Theatre

Vic Theatre

Aragon Ballroom

House of Blues

Double Door

Broadway in Chicago

ticketmaster

F**K You...

...is the new single from Cee Lo Green. This former member of Goodie Mob and the more recent Gnarls Barkley, is releasing his 3rd solo album.  The album, The Lady Killer, is due out December 7th. 


In 2006, Cee Lo Green had the biggest song of the year with the debut single "Crazy" from Gnarls Barkley's album St. Elsewhere. From then, Cee Lo has always kept busy by releasing another Gnarls Barkley album with band member Brian Burton, aka Danger Mouse and also collaborating with various other musicians including: Common, Diddy, Outkast, The Black Eyed Peas, Amerie, T-Pain, Estelle, T.I., Asher Roth and Bruno Mars. (The linked ones are my favorites)

When asked if there would be another Gnarls Barkley album in a recent Rolling Stone interview, Cee Lo was quoted saying: "We’ll definitely do one more. And that’s so crazy, because we were only supposed to do one. I feel so young. I feel like I can do anything right now. I feel like people are hearing me for the first time and I’ve been around for seventeen years, for god’s sake!"


So for all you Gnarls Barkley fans, (myself included) don't worry there hopefully will be one more album. Even terrible movies get trilogies, why shouldn't a brilliant collaboration like Cee Lo and Danger Mouse get one too?


Cee Lo even has a song featured on the Twilight: Eclipse soundtrack. The song "What Part of Forever" is an appropriate addition to the film's soundtrack. 


Thanks to my dear friend Cassie(crease!) I found out about this song and video, so I'm passing it along so we can all belt out this song in the shower/car/at work/in class/in church/whatever


Check out the video for Cee Lo Green's new single "Fuck You"





Cee Lo Green's Official Website:
http://www.ceelogreen.com/
Rolling Stone interview:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/17386/198422

My Song of the Day

Yup. It's 3:30am and I've already got a song for my day. It's "Vaporize" by Broken Bells. I can't sleep so I'm shuffling through music and this one came up. I've listened to this song several times since I bought the cd back in July, but I think this may be the first time I really paid close attention to the lyrics.

Stay tuned for a more detailed post on Broken Bells.

Florence + the Machine

So a couple of months ago I was up late checking out random videos and I stumbled across something unlike anything I had seen in a very long time.  It was like modern day kabuki theatre (white makeup included) mashed up with tribal style costumes and little bit of a 60’s beehive backup singer feel (except the ladies were blue).

The video was for "Dog Days Are Over" by Florence + the Machine.  Instantly, I was smitten.  Florence + the Machine are based out of the UK and it’s difficult to pin this band into just one genre.  The lead singer, Florence Welch, has so much power behind her voice and in the debut album Lungs, she utilizes it on every single track.  Combined with the bands mass of instruments, Lungs is an album that I usually listen to cranked as loud as possible so I can hear every single detail in the songs.  Great songs for that include: "Dog Days Are Over", "Howl", "Drumming Song", "Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up)", and "Cosmic Love".  Another stand out track is "Kiss With a Fist".  It’s got a gritty, garage rock feel and has actually been the cause of some controversy due to the lyrical content.

“You hit me once, I hit you back. You gave a kick, I gave a slap. You smashed a plate over my head, then I set fire to our bed…”

With lyrics like that it is understandable how some people think the song is about domestic violence.  Florence says on the blog page of her myspace:

“Kiss with a fist is NOT a song about domestic violence.

it is about two people pushing each other to phsycological extremes because they love each other.  the song is not about one person being attacked, or any actual physical violence, there are no victims in this song. sometimes the love two people have for each other is a destructive force. but they cant have it any other way, because its what holds them together, they enjoy the drama and pushing each others buttons.  the only way to express these extreme emotions is with extreme imagery, all of which is fantasism and nothing in the song is based on reality.

leona lewis's bleeding love isn't actually about her bleeding. this isnt really about punching someone in the face. thank you and goodnight. x”

Florence + the Machine has been active in the UK since Lungs was released in July of 2009 and has recently gained momentum here in the US because some of the songs have been featured in the media.  "Dog Days Are Over" can be heard on the trailer of the film, Eat Pray Love.  Kiss With a Fist can be heard on the Jennifer’s Body soundtrack (I can’t name anyone who actually saw/enjoyed that movie).  "I’m Not Calling You A Liar" can be heard on the commercial for a new fall show on Fox, called Lone Star.  "Cosmic Love", the most recent single (and one of my standout favorites on the album), was heard on several shows like the 6th season of Grey’s Anatomy, the 7th season of one of my guilty pleasures, So You Think You Can Dance, and on the 1st season of the hit show V.  There’s even a song on the Twilight: Eclipse soundtrack, called "Heavy in Your Arms", which is not featured on the album Lungs.

Florence + the Machine has been announced as one the performing acts for one the biggest nights for music of the year, the MTV Video Music Awards next Sunday, September 12th.  Be sure to tune in for what I expect to be a stunning performance. 

Check out Florence + the Machine official site