TOMS + trovata

third weekly installment of freebie friday: TOMS + trovata family reunion event

i know that flier is teenytiny (but you can click on it for a bigger version), so here are the deets:

when: next thursday, Sept. 10, 6-11pm
where: TOMS Headquarters
3025 Olympic Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90404

cover: FREE

Bring your friends and come dressed as an iconic family to have your family photo taken in our classic portrait booths.
The best family portrait will receive a $1,000 shopping spree from TOMS + Trovata.

you can RSVP at on the facebook event page. they'll have the TOMS & Trovata fall/winter 2009 collection available for purchase as well!

with mics in hand, we'll stand against the test of time

[n.a.s.a. - gifted, feat. kanye west, santogold, & lykke li]

didn't realize this video was out in early '08. a little creepy astronaut...

mew mew

happy friday y'all! in keeping with the new tradition of freebie friday (dang, i hope i can keep this up), just wanted to mention something cool going on from aug. 29th (sat) to sept. 3rd (thurs).

(before we launch into our regularly scheduled programming, i would like to mention that today is the last day to enter my crash kings giveaway. email me yr name & address w/ subject line "crash kings" to emokidsbff(at)gmail(dot)com for your chance to win!)

mewseum: a six-day installation & special performance on august 31 by danish rock band mew (garnering recent buzz and fame as the opening act for nine inch nails). you can stream their album no more stories... (which was released earlier this tuesday) on myspace.

click here for the flier that has all the deets for the events. for a chance to attend the aug. 31st show, email mewseum@sonymusic.com. the show will be super tiny and they'll premiere a video trilogy for their first three album singles, including the world premiere of their videos for “repeaterbeater” and “beach.”

mewseum hours (free admission!):
August
29 Saturday from 12pm -10pm
30 Sunday from 12pm - 6pm
31 Monday from 4pm - 10pm; special performance from 7pm - 10pm
September
1 Tuesday from 4pm - 10pm
2 Wednesday from 4pm - 10pm
3 Thursday from 4pm - 10pm

located @: Zune L.A. Space on 8275 Beverly Blvd. (at Sweetzer) Los Angeles, CA

i'll see you there!

psst... moar shows:
September
1 Los Angeles, CA - Troubadour
2 Los Angeles, CA - Palladium (w/NIN)
3 Los Angeles, CA - Henry Fonda (w/NIN)
4 San Francisco, CA - Independent

where the wild things are - all is love

Where the Wild Things Are Trailer


holy cow, i think i just squeed a little. the film looks sooo beautiful. i can hardly stand it!

(as a disclaimer: i don't recall WTWTA being one of my favorite books as a child-- probably i think i skipped straight from goodnight moon to something like the boxcar children, babysitters club, or sweet valley high. but i think a film like this-- with a trailer impeccably matched to arcade fire's wake up-- is exactly what our generation needs right now. it's a time to remember what it was like to be a kid and dream of otherworldly things...)

earlier today, myspace music premiered the first single off of the movie's soundtrack. karen o (of the yeah yeah yeahs) and the kids (a collaboration with an untrained children's choir) sing all is love over on the WTWTA myspace page. grab the single, which is available tomorrow, tues/aug. 25 & the soundtrack, which will be unleashed tues/sept. 29.

ps. enter my crash kings giveaway (a few posts down). you have nothing to lose!

life, or something like it

... and just like that, and just like that, it's done.

well, this week was busier than expected. i'm now partially employed x 2 jobs (though still looking for f/t job, plz and ty) + working on the light the night (LTN) team jack's mannequin stuff. if you missed out, incentives for fundraising for LTN were announced last week & we've got a guide to signing up posted here.

tomorrow, i've got work in the A.M., will step foot into bay cities for the first time w/ kitkat and baby g, then bday dinner for an old friend. i know, i know, my life is ~so~ difficult. got my katy perry tix to her show @ the palladium on saturday, the 29th. very excited. she's one of my inspirations for whatever i decide to dress as for halloween... her and lady gaga. don't ask.

xo, tgi-almost-friday.

win stuff! crash kings giveaway

freebie friday! yep, whose inner recessionista is not screaming for awesome free stuff? hmm?
crash kings is an la rock band ::gasp:: without a lead guitarist. the result is something pretty eclectic and totally rich. you can stream some more their songs over on le myspace. earlier this year, they toured with chris cornell. stamp of approval, you has it. and you all know how i feel about piano rock... really loving raincoat and my love right now.

one winner gets:
1 copy of Crash Kings' self-titled debut
1 Crash Kings USB Bracelet
1 Crash Kings Puzzle
1 band poster

email me at emokidsbff(at)gmail(dot)com with the subject line "crash kings." i'll pick ONE winner at random (US residents, only) from all the entries. please include your full name and address in the body of the email. contest ends two weeks from today-- friday, aug. 28th. good luck!

[crash kings - mountain man]

he looks like he was made at ikea

he's really swedish!

[the sounds - mtv encore]

MTV Shows

here's the source/article: Encore: The Sounds Greet Fans, Share Tattoos, Conquer Los Angeles

when i first heard the newest album crossing the rubicon, i was having some trouble getting into it b/c it was less dance-y than the past two albums. but after i saw them @ the key club on july 30, it all just clicked-- the songs have a lot more depth and the lyrics are honest without being too heavy. i do recommend seeing them live, because while they sound great recorded, they are about 500000x more amazing live. there's nothing quite like a sounds show with all the hipsters, indies, and emo warped tour kids (am i missing anyone?) uniting on one dance floor. amazing.

they recently put a bunch of stuff up on their merch site. really love the white "no one sleeps when i'm awake" shirt, if y'all are in a giving mood and want to take a hint... i kid.

fall (worldwide) tour dates are up on myspace-- they're hitting the greek theatre on oct. 21. the long and short of it is that they're on tour literally for the rest of the year... total troopers!

muse - uprising - widget

thinking it's a universally accepted fact that muse cannot fail. ever.

monsters of folk

if you, like me, were mourning the end of bright eyes last month... fill yer void here. ok, so it's not just conor but w/e, deal. monsters of folk is a collaboration by (deep breath) bright eyes' conor obert & mike mogis, my morning jacket's jim james AAANDDD she & him's m. ward. ps. that last part looks so awkward, but in the name of parallelism, i'm going to keep it that way.

basically, a folkstar supergroup. and WTFBBQ only 818 myspace friends? their self-titled debut album monsters of folk is out sept. 22, 2009.

Monsters of Folk Tracklist
Dear God (sincerely M.O.F.)
Say Please
Whole Lotta Losin'
Temazcal
The Right Place
Baby Boomer
Man Named Truth
Goodway
Ahead of the Curve
Slow Down Jo
Losin Yo Head
Magic Marker
Map Of The World
The Sandman, the Brakeman and Me
His Master’s Voice

the band recently announced fall tour dates. cool fact: M.O.F. is partnering with air traffic control, a resource for musicians' philanthropic and social change work, to donate monies raised from ticket sales. the band will be donating $1 from every ticket sold on the tour to local non-profits.

October
13 Vancouver, BC- Orpheum
14 Portland, OR- Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
15 Seattle, WA- Paramount Theatre
17 Oakland, CA- Fox Theater
18 Los Angeles, CA- The Greek Theater
20 San Diego, CA- Spreckels Theatre
21 Phoenix, AZ- Orpheum Theater
22 Santa Barbara, CA- Santa Barbara Bowl
28 Omaha, NE- Holland Center
29 Minneapolis, MN- Orpheum Theatre
30 Chicago, IL- Auditorium Theatre
31 Louisville, KY- Louisville Palace Theatre

November
02 Toronto, ON- Massey Hall
03 Boston, MA- The Orpheum
06 New York, NY- United Palace
08 New York, NY- Beacon Theater
09 Philadelphia, PA- Academy of Music

gimme sympathy

announcement: is back. and blogging.

i have listened to nothing but fall out boy, metric, and regina spektor for the past two months. i know, sorry if that gives you a little stomachache thinking about the combo (mostly fall out boy though, y/n? scuse my emo). needless to say, no idea what's going on in that there music world, but i will catch up soon. super behind on those emails too, so patience, plz.

a few projects i plan to undertake during my (hopefully) short stint in funemploymentland:

- writing letters. i never quite launched project snail mail '09, sorry for any letdowns.
- cleaning. room = barely habitable.
- eating good food. bay cities and a few other places with the momzers.
- planning light the night walks '09 for team jack's mannequin. things will get rolling quickly. if you haven't already signed up to walk with us, please do so here! (make sure you hit the "join team" option. we're working on getting the twitter up & running as well, you can find that here)
- traveling. japan = thundercats are go. europe = ::fingerscrossed::
- show-going. any rec's on concerts coming up?
- dvd-watching. twilight, the hills s1, gossip girl, buffy, etc.etc.
- reading. HP 1-6 can finally be unpacked, as can the sookie stackhouse/true blood novels 1-9.

basically, it's going to be a busy season. so excited!

[metric - gimme sympathy music vid]

one of my favorite songs off their album fantasies. emily haines = fierce. if you're curious as to how this whole thing was shot in one take, behind the scene of gimme sympathy is pretty cool.

no one laughs at god in a hospital

while i'm bemoaning my existence in between snerffles, please take some time to check out this important message via jax @ rockinsider:

Pablo [son of Dangerbird Records co-founder, Jeff] was diagnosed with bilateral wilms tumor- a very rare form of pediatric cancer. This led to the founding of The Pablove Foundation which donates money to the Childrens Hospital LA. Sadly this past Saturday June 27th, 2009 Pablo passed away. He was 6 years old.

the benefit show is at the echo tomorrow, july 1st. doors @ 8pm. performances by: eulogies, bad veins, avi buffalo, a decent animal. more info & relevant links here. pablo's story has been chronicled by his family here. please take some time to check out his story & donate to the pablove foundation.
for lighter fare...

[regina spektor - laughing with (music vid)]

the song is definitely one of my top picks for the album far. the beginning of the video is sort of escher-esque, is it not?

[cobra starship - good girls go bad (feat. leighton meester]

Cobra Starship |MTV Music

blair >>> serena. i love leighton!

cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in

went to see third eye blind with julian @ the hollywood palladium last night. it was seriously like being back in 1999; clearly i'd missed out on being cool in high school (i had a thing for backstreet boys, DON'TJUDGEME), so re-living a better version of it was a lot of fun. i'd forgotten how joyous it is to watch the floor jump up in down in unison to songs like jumper and semi-charmed kind of life. the new songs they previewed were pretty consistent and catchy. won my tickets from http://laist.com/ so a big shout out to them!

been superrrr busy studying so i've been behind on my music updates (obvi). been listening to a lot of KCRW b/c my cassette player in my car (i know, how quaint) has decided he and my cassette adapter (that i hook up to my ipod) are on the outs. wish they would make up again but i have a feeling this time the break-up was for good. waiting for my itrip that i ordered to get here soon.

otherwise, i've been weirdly getting into a whole female lead singers phase. a whole lot of maria taylor, for sure. just ordered some CDs on amazon a few days ago, so i'm excited to (finally) get the sounds' album crossing the rubicon, phoenix's album wolfgang amadeus phoenix, and regina spektor's far.

that's about it with my life. i'm really loving the santa monica public library-- there is so much good stuff lurking around in there... though it's all off-limits to me till end of july. till then, xox.

shake the glitter off your clothes now

[katy perry - waking up in vegas music vid]

Waking Up In Vegas

i'm not sold on the lip-syncing at all... but the costumes are F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S! plus the dude from bones is in it. i can't find his name... if anyone would like to suggest it. thanks.

you've gotta swim

[jack's mannequin - swim music vid]

Jack's Mannequin |MTV Music

man, i miss this. the brighter days.

no "kids" were harmed during the making of this video

[mgmt - kids (music vid)]



as one friend tweeted, "i don't know if i love the new mgmt video or i have a giant "wtf" sign over my head."

idk, like an update or something?

[phoenix - 1901 music vid]

totes obsessed with the song. you can d/l it as part of nylon's summer 09 playlist/mix here, along with other songs by a ton of other artists.

this i found on stereogum:
[weezer - cover of mgmt's kids & lady gaga's poker face]

rivers' dancing seems like an accurate depiction of what future (read: older) andrew mcmahon's dance moves will be like. jussayin.

you can check out some new regina spektor stuff here from her new album FAR. premiere of blue lips here and music video for dance anthem of the 90s here via ONTD.

last but not least-- my ♥'s, the sounds, have their whole album crossing the rubicon available for streaming on their myspace. let them know via twitter what your favorite song is! (psst: you can snag a free d/l of dorchester hotel here & if you sign up for their email list, a free d/l of no one sleeps when i'm awake at http://the-sounds.com.) album drops june 2nd. get on board.

ok, so i have MOARR studying to do, so i need to scram. see you next week/month/august or something.

free show next saturday: the maine and meg&dia

the maine and meg & dia are playing a free show NEXT SATURDAY (set times: meg & dia @ 7pm; the maine @ 8pm) at an all day event from 11am - 9pm for the grand opening of a new shopping center called the strand. more info over on the maine's myspace blog here.

location: 5th Street & Pacific Coast Hwy, Huntington Beach, CA 92648

not sure if i'll be in attendance yet, have another show to be @ in la that night... seems like a good place to go if you want to be scene. oh yes, i just did.

wolfgang amadeus phoenix

i first heard phoenix's "1901" on kcrw and was like WHO IS THIS BAND?? MUST KNOW. anyhow, as i do with all things in life, procrastinated away until both the william beckett AND spin magazine beat me to it. whatever, i'm not bitter or anything!

their album wolfgang amadeus phoenix has a US release date of may 26, 2009 & their tour hits los angeles @ the wiltern on sun., june 28, 2009. tix via livenation here (floor appears to be all sold out).

you can hear 1901 on their myspace. i guarantee its awesome-osity. and it's beckett approved.

here's their vid lisztomania... song kind of reminds me of the spinto band's "oh mandy" but more dancy. is that weird?? idk.

[phoenix - lisztomania]

kylie minogue us tour

amex presale started this morning at 10:00am ; reg. sale starts sunday, may 17 @ 10:00am (hollywood bowl: october 4, 2009). everyone's twittering about it! get on board.

we can hear the first beat to the flatline

[maria taylor - time lapse lifeline]


heard this song by maria taylor on bones... the music video is perfect, peppered with silly antics and the kinds of memories girls reminisce about and relive over and over. though, tbh, never thought about pelting har mar superstar with water balloons... also, would like to take this moment to claim this song as my graduation anthem.

(in other bones news, john francis daley who plays sweets is appearing with his band, dayplayer, on the final ep of the season. heart him!)

anyhow, maria headlines the troubadour on the 3rd before heading off to her european tour, if you want to go see. would be there but i've got big (exam) plans for monday. let me know how it is! her album, ladyluck, is avail now.

you should've seen right through

caaaan't wait to see them open for no doubt after my exam in august.

[paramore - decoy (LIVE)]

heavy metal friday: redefined

the record label i interned @ during college began a tradition of Heavy Metal Friday (HMF). it is unclear at this time how prevalent HMF is in other workplaces. i hear it involves guitar hero, jussayin.

Q: what happens if you listen to [insert your favorite non-metal artist] on HMF?

A:

HMF is more an attitude than a music choice. On Fridays you should let your guard down and understand that all your drama in the work place can go on hold. It will be waiting for you on Monday, I promise. It's a time to stop taking yourself so seriously. So grab a cold [beverage], put on some AC/DC and walk away from your computer. Take a long lunch... Read more, hit a happy hour, educate your younger co-workers on the genius of CC DeVille. Whatever you do for HMF, do it with a smile on your face using Van Halen as the soundtrack. Life could be a lot worse.

answer attributed to jason c.

great northern listening party next wednesday!

great northern is hosting their own listening party tonight NEXT WEDNESDAY (4/22) in la. hear the new album (which i've been raving about, like, forever) remind me where the light is and get free food courtesy of MALO (may i recommend the hamburger taco? thx irene).

RSVP to reserve your spot @ RSVP@eeniemeenie.com.

event deets: 8pm-12 midnight @ MALO
located at: 4326 w. sunset blvd., los angeles, ca 90029

also, previously in as the world tweets, their album is STILL available on itunes for the super cheap price of $5.99. well worth every cent, i swear.

the sounds headlining us tour

apparently the dates are selling out fast, so get yr tix asap.

adaline: famous for fire

adaline is a canadian singer/songwriter who i heard about through the grapevine (don't click if one more mention of twilight makes you want to start hulk!smashing your head into a brick wall). reminds me a tad bit of sara bareilles, but with more eclectic influences, notably electro.

stream her entire album famous for fire here (released april 22, 2008 and available on itunes & cdbaby) & download her song "whiter/straighter" by right-click-save-ing here.

my picks:
- famous for fire (title track)
- meaningless meeting (dark, freedom comes with a price)
- pioneering (jaunty, with handclaps!)
- planes to nowhere (dreamy, rilo kiley-esque + electro-blipping)
- state of mind (has an anthemic quality, could see this being used as a live performance on some cw show).
- we've got something (the simplicity of it makes it beautiful-- i've got something, you've got something, we've got something). this is my absolute favorite song off her album.

[adaline's epk - live performances, etc.]

tinted windows: excuse me while i squee

guess which lucky fangirl bought herself a ticket to see tinted windows (taylor hanson easily my favorite member of hanson, james iha easily the coolest asian evs, bun e. carlos ok i fail on this one, adam schlesinger also cool, owns label w/ james)?

UM YEA THAT WOULD BE ME. (the show is at the troubadour on april 28, 2009. you can get yours here; i recommend the FAX option. only $2 service charge per tix.)

[thetripwire - video interview with tinted windows @ sxsw]

source: thetripwire.

great northern thursday @ the roxy

full deets here: KROQ Locals Only Moves In
Posted using ShareThis

chance to win free tix: @WebInFrontNet: Want free tickets to Great Northern @ the Roxy?: http://webinfront.net/?p=1899

eta: eenie meenie records is giving away tickets too!

silversun pickups - swoon

silversun pickups have an album called swoon coming out april 14, 2009, right before the madness of coachella. if you haven't already heard their single panic switch, listen to it here off their myspace. the song is all up in kroq's business, i.e. their furious 5 at 9 countdown, which is awesome for this la-based band.

upcoming tour dates:
April 12: Pomona, CA @ Glass House
April 17: Indio, CA @ Coachella
May 25: Gorge, WA @ Sasquatch Festival

old vid... who knew it was directed by joaquin phoenix? whoa.
[silversun pickups - music vid: little lover's so polite]


on a random note, does anyone have any suggestions for emo shows to go to? i'm bummed i missed the academy is...'s acoustic set @ chain reaction (of course, i hadn't heard of it until the day of. yikes.).

YOU'VE SUMMONED THE FAIL WHALE!!!

i enjoyed this too much to let it die a lonely tweet-death. so here it is... forever. guess i angered the tweet gods (or perhaps the fail whale decided to chew up my tweet for dinner). or perhaps i shouldn't have made the comment about re-tweeting it being ironic.. ::muses::

carry all that sound into the dust

while you were gone (in sxsw)....

last monday, i took j to catch great northern's set at silverlake lounge. after grabbing some in-n-out in westwood (boo, enemy territory), we trekked out to SL to get our collective hipster on. o+s, who were opening for great northern, had a huge following-- the place was packed to the entrance. after their set ended, we decided to try to make our way forward, and ended up close enough to the stage where we could see.

i really loved seeing snakes and numbers live; i always tend to like the toe-tapping and/or upbeat songs more, probably b/c there's more movement on stage. home (off of their previous album) was fab as well. rachel & solon's vox are a perfect match for each other-- neither are too much yet neither are underwhelming either. all in all, good times were had.

setlist:
story
houses
fingers
snakes
home
new tricks
mountain
numbers

oh hai, is my bff.

my friend s sent this link to me in an email awhile back... (if this doesn't make you feel all warm and fuzzy, CLEARLY YOU ARE DEAD INSIDE) i hope it makes someone happy today!

no one sleeps when i'm awake

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

pssst-- you can hear the recorded version of the single on their myspace.

beware of strength in numbers

been super busy lately! last thursday, my friend kp and i headed over to the nokia theatre and saw jimmy eat world on their clarity x10 tour. snagged an awesome parking spot on the street and headed in. tickets were $50 so the line for drink wristbands was long, natch. not a lot of youngins... the show was fantastic. also weird for me because i wasn't into jimmy eat world when clarity was released (sadly, i was still stuck in my boy band phase... for shame. i'm trying to redeem myself here, kay?). the group in front of us was RIDICULOUSLY into the show (by ridiculously, i mean harmonizing parts like "can you still feel the butterflies"), which was hilarious, because they were all hxc and tatted up.

monday was the day before rockinsider's birthday... so irene & i headed out to the cha cha lounge in silver lake. i really need to get out more!

wednesday was kind of a nightmare... after spending approx. 4 hrs wrangling with verizon customer service & alternately agonizing over the unwarranted termination fee bill that they'd sent to my house, finally settled it. i'm going to plug the consumerist b/c that site is amazing. before making complaints or trying to figure out how to deal with customer service, i HIGHLY recommend you reference the site first. at the very least, it'll give you helpful tips on how to deal with the company and the situation at hand.

randomness round-up: (aka things over which i obsess and to which i subject my friends/readers)
- no doubt added dates to their tour. 2 at gibson amp (july 27, 28) and 1 more at verizon in irvine (total 3: july 31, aug. 1, and aug. 2). tix here.
- rpattz GQ mag photos... ::squeals::.
- download ragged mag (via filter) here featuring jack's mannequin (and andrew looking very emo-esque, channeling bright eyes... ha), the von bondies, asobi seksu, great northern (my current obsession), the knux, anya marina and robotanists.

anyhow, if you want more of this annoying-ness on a daily basis, twitter is where it's at.
xoxo

come out with your fingers

here are some weekly videos to commemorate the countdown to the release of great northern's latest album, remind me where the light is, out april 28, 2009. i've already decided on some of my favorite tracks off the album (fingers, mountain, and warning are my early faves), but the more i listen to it, the more difficult it gets to restrict myself to those tracks... the album, as a whole, is absolutely breathtaking. full-bodied sounds, portentously catchy melodies, etc. y'all need to hear it.

some west coast tour dates:
3/11 - Seattle, WA - Sunset Tavern
3/12 - Portland, OR - Holoscene
3/14 - San Francisco, CA - Hotel Utah
3/16 - Los Angeles, CA - Silverlake Lounge
3/17 - Tucson, AZ - Plush
3/19 - Austin, TX - SXSW
3/20 - Austin, TX - SXSW
3/21 - Austin, TX – SXSW

L-I-L-Y-R-O-S-E is it hard being so awesome?

Lily from ollie stone on Vimeo.

a love song for @lilyroseallen.

it's not your birthday anymore

Morrissey "Wrestle With Russell"

russell brand interviews morrissey about his new album years of refusal.

ollie oohlas video blogs, covers a song

curses a lot and calls out the schrillionaires... remains adorable while doing so.

cover is @ 4:45. the oohlas self-released chinchilla EP is out in feb/march. get on it.

[the oohlas - ollie's first video blog]

i'm throwing my arms around perez hilton

JK. i despise that man more than i despise paris hilton btws.

[morrissey - i'm throwing my arms around paris]


the moz's album is out feb. 17th on attack/lost highway records.

well, i'm just a girl

in case you've been living under a rock, this was an announcement that i received via myspace bulletin late january: Paramore is going on tour with No Doubt! They'll be the special guests on The 2009 No Doubt Summer Tour along with The Sounds and Bedouin Soundclash.

so basically, this might force me to reach new level of "my heart might explode." NO DOUBT. PARAMORE. THE SOUNDS. could we get a better lineup? no. this is going to be the greatest thing evar, and i'm totes going to all the socal shows. so y'all better watch out. xox

[Buzznet Exclusive: Catching Up with The Sounds in the Studio]


ok so the vid is from december, which i guess is ancient in internet years, but i just had to share the clip b/c i have a girlcrush on maja. you can check out the rest of the sounds stuff on buzznet here.

new great northern track: houses

you can hear the gorgeous new great northern track, "houses," by off of their upcoming album, remind me where the light is, out on april 28, 2009, here. they'll be out and about on the west coast in march before hitting up SXSW. venues are tba for now, but here are the dates:

3/11 - Seattle, WA
3/12 - Portland, OR
3/14 - San Francisco, CA
3/16 - Los Angeles, CA
3/17 - Tucson, AZ
3/19 - Austin, TX - SXSW
3/20 - Austin, TX - SXSW
3/21 - Austin, TX - SXSW

punk goes pop 2

it's no secret that i'm a total sucker for covers-- bad OR good, probably b/c i have no taste whatsoever. anyhow, punk goes pop 2 comes out march 10, 2009 on fearless records; and they'll stream a new song every few weeks on the myspace page. which cover are you most excited for?

official tracklisting:
1. Alesana- "What Goes Around...Comes Around" by Justin Timberlake
2. Silverstein- "Apologize" by One Republic
3. August Burns Red- "...Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears
4. Mayday Parade- "When I Grow Up" by Pussycat Dolls
5. A Day to Remember- "Over My Head (Cable Car)" by The Fray
6. Escape the Fate- "Smooth" by Santana feat. Rob Thomas
7. There For Tomorrow- "Ice Box" by Omarion
8. Chiodos- "Flagpole Sitta" by Harvey Danger
9. Bayside- "Beautiful Girls" by Sean Kingston
10. Breathe Carolina- "See You Again" by Miley Cyrus
11. The Cab- "Disturbia" by Rihanna
12. A Static Lullaby- "Toxic" by Britney Spears
13. Four Year Strong- "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles
14. Attack Attack!- "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry

and just for the lulz, taylor lautner of twilight, telling you that it's too late to apologize. it's too laaaate... with extra door banging, phone singing, and oicwhatudidthere symbolism!
[apologize music video (song by onerepublic)]

jamuary night #3: the outline

so, basically I HAVEN'T SEEN THE OUTLINE IN A YEAR. or something.
if i get a hold of set times, i'll eta (edit to add). xoxo

william beckett's hair(watch '09)

so this post will commence a somewhat-creepy william beckett's hairwatch '09, wherein i blog about his hair and when he cuts it and then i follow the Subsequent Uproar It Tends to Cause (much like rpattz's recent haircut, amirite?).

exhibit A:
[source] i tweet'd earlier that he looks like a vampire. jussayin.

exhibit B:
hot topic acoustic mall tour thing... just like... twilight, really.

you said move on, where do i go?

katy perry's album one of the boys was definitely one of my favorites of '08. haters can hate, but that album was simply SO MUCH FUN. and she looked & sounded fabulous @ warped tour, which is a feat in and of itself. we once took pictures with her... in the background. yea. sorry if that was creepy.

[katy perry - thinking of you music vid]

as duly noted by jax, she has THE FIERCEST shoes on in this video. also, on jan. 12th (i guess that would be tomorrow...), katy perry's playing an acoustic show @ hotel cafe 10pm. i guess it's all sold out online, but there might be a few tix at the door... so if you're into that, i highly recommend it!

rock and roll, my little girl

[robert francis - little girl]


robert francis is playing a month-long residency @ the echo on mondays (starting tomorrow, jan. 5th). each week will feature different special guests... tomorrow's show features pete yorn sitting in w/ him. also playing: a solo set from andrew of radars to the sky, seasons, and boll weevil. guess this would be an opportune time to mention that it's TOTALLY FREE.

download "little girl" for free in x/c for your email addy here.

as thirty dialogues bleed into one

hello all! akemashite omedetou~ (japanese for "happy new year").

so yesterday was a whirlwind of errands (finding accessories - bowtie headband at forever21; fire engine sippy cups at party city) and getting ready for nye and all the other things i needed to do before the year ended (that didn't end up getting done, aka cleaning my room), so no time for a year-end contemplative blog. i was self-checking out at ralphs yesterday and the checkout lady asked me if i was 21. i responded affirmatively, in a sort of "uh, isn't that obvious" tone and she didn't card me. dumbfounded, i asked her if she wanted to card me. but not before someone walking by goes "really? you're 21?" i was all "bb, i'm WAY over 21, you have no idea." thus concludes my ralphs adventure.

here are my resolutions:
(1) go out more often. from this, blog more.
(2) take better care of myself. this -hopefully- includes going to the gym. i'm getting poochy.
(3) find a job, post-grad.
(4) travel out of this state and/or country at least once before starting to work.
(5) be (and stay) positive.
(6) learn to cook beyond my repertoire of scrambled eggs, boiling water, and heating canned soup.

please note that there are no plans of: (1) getting married, (2) having children, (3) buying a condo. just... note that. oh, and my desktop is in the ICU. need to get my files off that thing before dr. issues a do-not-resuscitate order. which also means i'm going to need a copy of photoshop, if anyone wants to help me with that...

xoxo

xmas eve, leisurely spent

officially turned in my paper 2 days ago. life feels good.

heard two songs the other day on indie that i really liked... one was glasvegas "geraldine" and the other was longwave "sirens in the deep sea." upon further listening, i'm going to have to get their album secrets are sinister. i highly rec you listen to that single-- the sound is so lush... loves it. they're here in march-ish opening for OKGO, but i don't see an LA date.. blasphemy! there are still a few days between their dates in anaheim and santa cruz, so hopefully it'll happen. i mean, cmon, it's la. you don't skip over us or stand us up.

today, i perused amazon and itunes listening to stuff (if all this is old news, sorry, i've been living in a cavernous location for quite some time this semester): css, little boots, mezzanine owls, & paper route. if anyone has any show suggestions from this date forward, please share. i'm back on the prowl for new bands and i've got a perfectly compatible new year's resolution: go out more. yes!

xoxo

free event: pablove supreme

check out some bands and feel good this holiday season!

Pablove Supreme: a night in honor of the Pablove Foundation
when: December 16, 2008 FREE – All Ages – 6pm
where: @ Space 15 Twenty in Hollywood (1520 N. Cahuenga Blvd/ Los Angeles, CA 90028)
brought to you by Dangerbird Records, Filter Magazine, and Urban Outfitters/ performances by The One AM Radio, Eulogies, and special guests*

FYI:
The Pablove Supreme event is to celebrate and promote the good work of the Pablove Foundation, a charity that supports pediatric cancer treatment and research at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. Dangerbird Records, Filter Magazine, and Urban Outfitters teamed up earlier this year to create the Give Listen Help compilation to benefit the charity. The double CD, which is being sold at Urban Outfitters and on their website, includes rare and unreleased tracks by Garbage, Radiohead, Bloc Party, Oasis, CSS, Of Montreal, Rilo Kiley, Silversun Pickups, and many others.

The Pablove Foundation is named for Pablo Castelaz, the 5-year old son of Dangerbird Records co-founder Jeff Castelaz. Pablo was diagnosed with a rare form of kidney cancer in May 2008. He has been undergoing treatment at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, a non-profit institution dedicated to providing expert medical help to everyone, regardless of health insurance or their ability to pay. Last year alone, CHLA gave $54 million in charitable care.

the graduate, revisited

short linkspam post: everyone should check out the graduate. because i said so.

- 4 free downloadable songs here.
- videoblogs on their youtube channel here.
- anhedonia amazon mp3's for just $2.99. THE WHOLE ALBUM. i think the offer is only for a limited time. get on it.

in other news, finals period is underway. absolutely terrifying. no matter how many times i go through it, it does not get any easier D: listening to a lot of iron & wine to keep myself sedated, especially "flightless bird, american mouth" (how amazing was the placement of the song during bella & edward's slowdance prom scene? eh?).

taking back sundaes

ok, so it's not a sundae... but taking back sunday has contributed yet another menu item to denny's: the Melty Grilled Chicken and Sausage Quesadilla.

awesomely enough, denny's has teamed up with the band to give away a pair of tickets to EVERY show on their upcoming tour (sorry bbs, none in la or the surrounding area). tbs will also be hosting exclusive Denny's Allnighter afterparties following shows in Tucson, AZ and Norfolk, VA (denoted by ** below) at the local Denny's, where they'll be on-hand meeting fans, taking photos, signing autographs, and among other things, eating. for more details for either afterparty, email RSVP@dennysallnighter.com with the city name in the headline. tour dates listed below; enter here to win free tickets to your show!

Tour Dates
12/3 Corpus Christi, TX @ Concrete St. Amphitheatre
12/4 Mission, TX @ Las Palmas Race Park
12/5 El Paso, TX @ Club 101
12/6 Lubbock, TX @ Lonestar Pavilion
12/7 Tucson, AZ @ Rialto Theater**
12/9 Tulsa, OK @ Cain’s Ballroom
12/10 Columbia, MO @ Blue Note
12/11 Loves Park, IL @ Victory Sports Complex
12/12 Louisville, KY @ Club Oasis
12/13 Grand Rapids, MI @ Orbit Room
12/14 Toledo, OH @ Civic Theatre
12/16 Norfolk, VA @ The Norva**
12/17 Winston Salem, NC @ Millennium Center
12/18 Athens, GA @ 40 Watt Club
12/19 Knoxville, TN @ The Valarium

and so the lion ate the lamb for breakfast

twilight - the movie
(BECAUSE, LOOK, I'M NEVER GOING TO GET OVER IT. OK?)

win:
+ i ship rpattz/ray-bans and jacob/formal wear. a lot.

+ my favorite character, alice!!!

+ baseball scene (alice and jasper ftw!)

+ kitchen scene (emmett wave, alice entrance, edward's expressions)

+ victoria/rachelle lefevre is fierce (but hardly has any lines)

+ charlie, ngl you actually felt for him when he said "we could do things..."

+ YOU BROUGHT A SNACK - never fails

+ ok i love edward's vamp!hair. sorry. and rpattz's overacting when he's being emo. i kind of expected it given how expressive he is IRL. what i did not expect was the endless lulz it brought.

+ the humans-- yes, they were cheesy. and stereotypical. and whoa! multicultural. but at least they were there, being human... instead of like random side characters that bella forgets about by the time the series is over. i liked when bella sees them being normal and joking around while exiting a restaurant/coffee shop (?) when she's in the truck trying to escape james.

fail:
- kstew: i get it. you have a fierce b!tchface which is kind of awesome in photographs. but look, even though bella is the biggest non-character ever, i don't think bella looked permanently aloof and/or comatose the whole time. where was the obsessive bella? where was the effect of being "dazzled?" you throw in a scene about you dreaming about him and then "you're beautiful" and then you're like 0 to sparkle!love in 20 seconds. what gives?

- also, i'm fairly certain kstew was playing the role of bella kstew.

- meadow scene: mostly lolarious. see: delivery of "as if you could outrun me! as if you could fight me off!"; see also: sparkle!time "this is the skin of a killah!"

- plot holes and/or things that are assumed because apparently we've all read the book: fan blowing in bio lab, where is 20 questions in the volvo, why do they love each other (other than that she's a freesia-scented nomnom), why bella doesn't wear more clothes when she's lying next to ice-cold marble adonis edward, inexplicable pianoward bella's lullaby, where's jasper's power, lack of explanation re: alice's vision of seeing vamp!bella, lack of explanation in ballet studio of how alice got vamped... ok, sorry, too much fail for one bullet point.

- still not convinced that nikki reed is rosalie. she looked like she was going to laugh when bella said "oh, where i become a meal?" and the jeans in the cafeteria scene. were. atrocious. plz to be burning your wardrobe kthxbai

- sepia-toned flashbacks were lame.

- i still do not get how easy it was for bella to escape alice and jasper. one, jasper is highly sensitive to emotions and feelings. two, alice is A PSYCHIC VAMPIRE. DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO ESCAPE A VAMPIRE WHO ALREADY KNOWS WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO?

- the movie needed MOAR JACKSPER.

list is subject to change w/o further notice.

UPDATE: the always incredible cleolinda has posted her "twilight in 15 mins" parody. plz to be reading. ~*spoiler alert*~ don't read it if you don't want breaking dawn ruined for you. or if you take the movie really, really, really seriously.

all me, he's mine... my snack!

snack attack all day! starbursts... rice crackers... chocolate truffles... hungry again. my eating habits = OOC and really, what is stopping me from eating myself into some sort of excessive sugar/carb/random meat coma? i will never know. one of the many consequences of staying at home to study. whatev, gotta store up some energy reserves for finals anyway.

took a listen to the death cab cd, narrow stairs. none of the songs really caught my ear the way transatlanticism or plans did, but i'm hoping it was just cos i was distracted.

remember when i said i would stop talking about this movie? no. oldie but a goodie:
[twilight trailer spoof]


he still has my nickelback cd, i kinda want that back...

k, it's been a long day for me. goodnight and have a pleasant tomorrow.
xoxo,
king of this pity party

you'd better hold on tight, spidermonkey

last night, the sounds played a few new songs that they've been recording. so so so good. i esp liked the first one... not sure what it was called though. of course, old crowd-pleasing favorites were played, and i again have a massive crush on all of the members. i hope they don't read this.

twilight = oh deer. i'm going to save my commentary for another day. excuse me while i mourn the loss of my brain cells and my dignity. and my hopes for this movie. ::sits down in a corner, facing the wall::

as you may notice, the time left until finals begin and the time spent utilizing procrastination methods are inversely related. therefore, i think i'm starting a new series of blog posts called "adventures in procrastination." this is where i blog about whatever i feel like blogging about. plus my mom is gone for a few weeks which means my eating habits are going to be absolutely insane.

for example, today i have eaten:
4:00am: mcdonald's chicken strips, med fries, and a med diet coke
1:00pm: chicken thigh, skittles
6:00pm: slice of pep pizza, a few bites of fish, edamame
ETA: 10:00pm: chocolate truffle, miso soup

that was probably the most protein i've gotten this whole week.

also, ETA: thoughts for the day
- what is the sound of one vampire sparkling? trust me... they do.
- if edward sparkles, and bella isn't around to hear it, then does edward make a sparkle!noise?

my thoughts you can't decode

[paramore - decode on jimmy kimmel live]


photos of hayley and the gang (yes, i know paramore is a band) at the twilight premiere here courtesy of ONTD.

out of the two songs on the twilight soundtrack, i think i prefer "i caught myself" mostly b/c it more in the vein of pop-py/punk paramore. decode is just too much angstward/bellaswansong, tbh.

ps. the hq option on youtube is sooooooooooo much awesomer than reg. q!

the city lights are bright enough to blind me

the sounds @ the palladium this thursday, nov. 20, 2008. get yr tix here on livenation. doors 7, show 8. also, i may or may not be dressed up as alice cullen... yes, i do have some shame, just take my word for it.

the oohlas love you

i'm two months late, but whatever. go check out the oohlas' new tunezzz here on their blog (i searched high and low trying to figure out if i could embed the player here.. but alas i'm not that technologically advanced). ETA: madcao is my hero!

new trax sounded SO good when i was at the show @ the roxy. hells yea!

what makes you drink, sit and sink

caught part of the grad's set on thurs @ the troub. leave it to me to be incapable of leaving on time, and leave it to LA to dish out some optimal traffic when i'm trying to get to a venue like 6 miles from my house. they're heading back home and then to baltimore to write/record etc. so it'll be awhile till they're out here again.

since anhedonia revisited won't be released, here are two tracks that were going to be on the release that the band re-recorded. download from the links below... to your heart's content:

click to d/l "the formula"
click to d/l "interlude 2.0"

[the graduate - interlude 2.0]


ps. the skippy part @ 3.17 interlude 2.0 is quite possibly my favorite moment evs. *continues inarticulate fawning*

sippin' the kool aid

ngl, the vid gives me the creeps, but i've heard it on indie 2x and thought it was a fab song.. the kind that would totally get me going during a workout.. if.. i were ever to make it to the gym. sorry, mom, for still making you pay for my membership. anyhow, it's techno rock ish and totally energizing. see below.

[pendulum - propane nightmares music vid]


also i just got the shinys, dcfc, and TAI cds. yay weekend project.

i wrote a book about myself, and i liked it

THIS DAY COULD NOT START OFF MORE EPICALLY.

apologies in advance if you think my obsession with twilight is problematic (but the movie comes out in a week and i am ready to squee like the fangirl i am at the midnight showing). move along, nothing to see here.

what's better than the movie is the PR mess the two leads are creating. SO HILAR. idk how you would even try to play this off as somehow positive. trust me, i can turn a lot of words around on you... but this... this is epic.

rpattz dallas interview: at 2:13 "...when i first read it, i thought that stephenie meyer completely believed that she was bella, and she was just completely insane, and this wass just her private sexual fantasy novel, which seems published by accident."


kstew article: (re: stalker fans @ shooting locations) "I just didn't pay attention," Stewart recalls. "I was like, 'You guys are celebrating something that has not come true yet. So, you are really retarded and have nothing to do with this creative process and I really don't want to hear you celebrate in front of me. Get out of here! It's my responsibility!'"

rpattz e! online interview: a deluge of choice quotes... where shall i begin. perhaps at 3:33: "when i read it... i was convinced that stephenie was convinced that she was bella." "it was like a book that wasn't supposed to be published"... more sexual fantasy... blah blah "this woman is mad, and in love with her own fictional creation."


perhaps this is his form of revenge for smeyer saying "i don't think you'd want him for a boyfriend." rob was troubled by this statement for awhile, as evidenced in this interview by variety.

epic twi-spam roundup by cleolinda here.

cruel to be kind, in the right measure

letters to cleo (reunion!), tonight @ the roxy. the oohlas r opening. doors at 8.

i can has a nostalgic moment?

hay there, edward and jacob

i guess this is an old meme but twilight is a relatively recent phenom... watch/listen to it once, you won't be able to forget it. read the interesting history of the song originally from sweden (but eventually crossed over to japan) on wikipedia.

[caramell - (twilight) caramelldansen]

a family of trees wanted, to be haunted

[jack's mannequin - kids (acoustic MGMT cover)]


i'm never going to get over this song.

10 things i hate about you

before miley cyrus ruined that whole line with her 7 things song... blah blah ok i don't hate her. i just have a lot of love for that movie, okay?

anyhow, i've been neglecting my blog and abusing my twitter. i also don't have much of a social life (le sigh) so it's been increasingly difficult to keep up with everything going on. some updates:

- shiny toy guns have an album out today-- kind of loving "ghost town." need to get on that asap.
- the oohlas are opening for letters to cleo, this saturday @ the roxy. get tickets here. i bought one extra so i need a date.
- the graduate is no longer re-releasing their anhedonia-revisited album. they'll be @ the troub on the 13th with ludo and the higher. tix here. (e, are we still going?)
- the sounds are @ the palladium on the 21st.

dear google

please remove these grammatically incorrect "yes on prop 8" ads from my blog. i will love you more than i already do.

sincerely,
m

ps. NO ON PROP 8 FTW!!!

get in the car, i'm a friend of your mother

[paramore - decode music video]


ngl guys, twilight coming out in nov is like xmas came early for me. before finals. and that is the only time it would count, anyway.

ETA: srry guys, mtv has an "embed" option yet it doesn't work on blogger... fail.

are we human, or are we dancer?

best fb status i've seen thus far that relates to the song:
"Jason is: wondering whether Obama can answer the question of whether we are Human or Dancer in his first term."

the song is epic, check the link on my twitter page for the vid.

also need to listen to the following albums:
- kings of leon only by the night
- the killers day & age, whenever that comes out
- the academy is... fast times at barrington high
- does it offend you, yea? you have no idea...
- that kanye west album that came out like a year ago
any other rec's? i need catchy, easy to listen to stuff to accompany me during my lonely nights @ school.

it started feeling like october

amazing, isn't it-- the first time i heard that line in "annie use your telescope" was when it had just become october. and now we're two-thirds into the month.

honestly, i don't know where this semester has gone. for one, things have changed since the end of september... things are always changing. even when i finally think the motion has settled, it's only because i've gotten used to the situation shifting. chaos is constant in its own weird way.

whirlwind is so oddly appropos to describe my life right now. i've settled into a habit, school, work, school, work, work, work... and so on. i forgot to renew the book i'd checked out a few weeks ago. momentary lapse in memory. being on campus is so normal-- i just wish school were closer so i didn't waste so much gas shuttling myself back and forth.

friendships made, lost, and then hopefully made again. some days i don't know what i'm working toward; and other days, it's so obvious. it's those days where i feel so aimless that i wish i could rein in the feeling of "knowing," and save it for those days when i need it. in my ideal world, i would allow myself to drift and see where i'm taken; but i know that the control freak in me would not appreciate it. at all. i need to at least pretend to have direction. see where i can take myself with maximum effort. and then decide: do i like where i am, or don't i?

on the subject of music, i finally caved and signed up for pandora. i really liked it the first few times i've used it, so i'm hoping to get into that more. otherwise, i've been listening to the veronicas' album hook me up as a totally gratuitous pick-me-up. i love that they've gone for a more dancier vibe than their previous album (which is somewhere in my stacks of cds, needs to be found sometime asap). they are just so cute and it makes me happy.

needless to say, i'm in a strange limbo place right now. i don't know if i belong in certain worlds. but if i try, i know i can make myself.

take only what you need from me

from the "secret" show @ viper room last night... prior to starting the song, he mentioned that it was a song that they were thinking of covering acoustically, but their acoustic equipment has/had already been shipped off to ATL where they start their tour in a few days. he also mentioned he was totally obsessed with the song... and then he starts singing and my heart. literally. exploded. I SANG ALONG, BECAUSE I'M NOT COOL OR INDIE. the end.

[jack's mannequin - kids (mgmt cover)]

every aching wound will cauterize and bruise

i've been obsessed with this acoustic version of the song since i heard it on gossip girl...
"Fell In Love Without You (Acoustic)" video

why would you settle for less when the world gives you more

a few weeks ago i went with irene to the submarines (opening for the brazilian girls) @ the wiltern. hadn't been there (or even out to a show) in awhile; headed over post-class and found some street parking which is always convenient. since i was only there for the opening act, the wiltern was a bit empty so we snagged front row of one of the tiers. the place filled up later on as the brazilian girls' set time got closer.

the subs were so cute-- the lead singer reminds me of how maggie gyllenhaal would be if she were a singer + a dash of the cardigans. she was a tad under the weather b/c she was sick, but considering that fact, i still loved how they sounded live. whenever i haven't been to a show in awhile, i forget how much more i like live versions of songs (provided that the band is a good live band). hearing the same songs that i've been listening to on my ipdmini, but in real, live form-- with the little inflections in voice-- truly is the best way to hear a song. there were tambourines, flowers, little keyboards, and lights... "you, me, and the bourgeosie" is still one of my main obsessions this year. loved the little electro-random sounds.

they had a cover of "boys don't cry" posted on their myspace, but as of yesterday, have no idea where it went. if anyone finds it and would like to send me a link... plz to be doing so.

i hit up the rock band live tour last night; then skipped out on panic at the disco so the secret jack's mannequin show at viper room. more later, i guess.

FOREVER. BEGINS. NAO.

omg epic lulz!! noteworthy: rpattz's random accent, kstew "vampire," tree-hopping, tree-throwing, SMUGWARD + raybans, y no sparkles?, apple symbolism- oic wut u did there...

Twilight Trailer

it's just that at night i've got nowhere to hide

these hammers and strings
been following me around

i'd just gotten halfway through the third run of The Glass Passenger. somewhere during "Hammers and Strings," i just felt complete. i was overwhelmed, but totally ok. i actually cried; i'd zoned out and before i knew it the tears were flowing. i was so glad i'd kept myself away from most of the youtube videos and from listening to the leak. it was worth it to have the actual cd in my laptop, knowing this was the real thing... that it was real.

i listened to the song again. my memory isn't that great, but three years ago, the first album came out... so many things have happened since then. perhaps some things were meant to happen, perhaps some weren't. yet the songs still make me wistful for those long-gone days. they still make me feel like what i've done in the past three years was worth it. that a lot of things i do are worth the effort. that there are still great things to do ahead of me...

third time's the charm, i guess.

the glass passenger

finally got it in the mail yesterday. way to call it a "pre-order," considering it came out on the 30th... post-order is more appropriate. anyway, i am listening to the album. in peace. do not disturb.

in other news:
- check out http://stepheniemeyer.com/ to hear the new paramore single decode which will be on the twilight soundtrack (out 11/4). you have no idea how excited i am for this movie... also rpattz performed @ whisky-a-go-go last night... it would be just my luck that i would miss that.
- i've noticed that people are searching for pictures of andrew mcmahon @ the light the night event. you can stop googling that, guys. i'm not posting them on here. wait a few weeks to check http://dearjackfoundation.buzznet.com. they will be there.
- katy perry put out a vid for hot and cold, one of my fave singles off of her album. see below.
Hot N Cold