LA don’t dance. That’s what I came to realize last night as me and my three lovely cohorts gyrated and bounced and rocked out to the musical genius of Ben Folds. Three of us were die-hard fans to begin with, and I’m pretty sure the fourth is now a concert convert. Ben is a rocker. Don’t let his physical demeanor and the fact that he sits behind a piano fool you. Actually, he hardly ever “sits” behind the piano. He spends most of the concert half standing over the bench railing on the ivories faster than my eyes distinguish. But [...]

Want to hear a track from the upcoming (yet to be named) album from Liz Phair ? Or how about one from the new OK Go album tentatively titled, "The Influence of the Blue Ray of the Sunlight and of the Blue Color of the Sky?" Well head on down to your local Banana Republic , and get yourself some new overly priced chinos or perhaps a sun dress for the summer. The digital-only album titled " City Stories " features unreleased tracks from nine different artists from around the globe and is [...]
One of the best shows on television by far is 30 Rock . It's definitely come a long way since its awkward first season to upstage The Office on a regular basis. Last night's star-studded bit for Jack's newfound father who needs a kidney is just more proof why few shows - if any - can top 30 Rock these days. Dealbreaker. If you can't decipher all of the musicians in the clip, here is a list of everyone involved: Elvis [...]
So I’ve never been to a Sun God festival ever in my 8 years of living in California, although I really would’ve liked to. But the lineup has never really been that stellar for me to take the 6-hour drive down from San Francisco. But this year, I must say it’s pretty tempting. UCSD finally announced their lineup last night , and it’s probably the best lineup I’ve seen from this festival. What’s baffling however is that Girl Talk (which was announced last night) is conspicuously missing from the lineup tonight. Where did it [...]

Hotel Cafe was a force to be reckoned with at SXSW . It seemed like at almost any hour of any day I could go and see a Hotel Cafe artist. Omnipresent beings these Hotel Cafers. The first one I caught was the saucy Meiko inside the Convention Center on the Day Stage. Joined by a friend on trumpet, Meiko charmed the crowd, but dialed back her usual demeanor for the all ages crew. I later saw Meiko again at the Hotel Cafe showcase at The [...]
This is the song that clinched it for us back five years ago when we first heard an early version, pre-Epic signing, on Sara Bareilles ' independently released album "Careful Confessions". A richly complex ballad that is all about a gorgeous melody, a powerful, nuanced vocal performance and those killer piano chords, "Gravity" may not have the upbeat hook of her big hit "Love Song", but this one is a classic standard for the ages. Yeah, it's that good. From her album Little Voice.

[Birthday candles Sunday for both Ry Cooder and Sly Stone on what will be a very busy weekend ...] Tonight: Van Nuys-based imprint Hopeless/Sub City Records has been doing good things for years with its charity outreach, and its eight annual Take Action Tour, with DoSomething.org as this year's beneficiary (the group will get three $1,000 grants), hits the House of Blues with Buffalo, N.Y., emo-rockers Cute Is What We Aim For as the headliner. I'm more curious to hear the [...]

Pictured: Sara Bareilles Banana Republic is bringing the inspirational elements of city life to its Spring 2009 marketing campaign which features talented young musicians, including Grammy-nominated Sara Bareilles , Grammy-nominated Liz Phair , and the Grammy-winning band OK Go . Watch video: Sara Bareilles - Banana Republic City Stories : With New York City and Brooklyn as a backdrop, nine recording artists are photographed wearing Banana Republic apparel and accessories, along [...]

Feeling a bit...cosmopolitan as of late? Banana Republic has begun rolling out a massive musical campaign in stores this week, entitled City Stories . Designed around the cultural and personal significance of city life, the store has brought together nine different artists from all stretches of the world to share their insights and sounds inspired by the diversity, intensity, and sentimentality of city lifestyle. Needless to say, there's a lot of different sounds going on. Just check out the tracklisting: 1. [...]

MUSIC NEWS - The Irish pop/rock trio, The Script were THE breaking new band of 2008 in the UK and their native Ireland, and now have announced a date for their anticipated America release of their self-titled debut album, THE SCRIPT (via Epic Records / Sony Music) on guess when? --- March 17 th / St Patricks Day . The news of the album’s release is even more notable as word is out that VH1 has just picked The Script for their You Oughta [...]
En una especie de invasión 2.0 la cantante Katy Perry le está pidiendo a sus fanáticos que le envíen videos hechos en casa por ellos mismos cantando "I Kissed A Girl" para que ella pueda mostrarlos mientras realice la presentación de los Grammy , que se realizará el 8 de febrero en Los Angeles. El que ya se haya decidido y quiera enviar el video tiene que hacerlo a través de la CBS antes del 21 de enero y tiene que durar menos de 1 minuto. [...]

This isn't a list for anyone to approve of and no doubt most of you haters out there will tear it apart with your bare hands but these are songs that I found in 2008 that made me LOSE it upon first listen and they just got better. Most have been posted somewhere on here since I started this blog eight months ago (almost 200 posts later) and I wouldn't be a blogger if I didn't do some sort of year-end list. Thanks to all of you who came here for one song or many - you made a girl [...]

LA music venue The Hotel Cafe put out a holiday compilation this year called "Winter Songs." Since The Hotel Cafe focuses on female singer/songwriters, the album is solely that. All your favorite women of music like KT Tunstall, Ingrid Michaelson, Fiona Apple and Katy Perry (singer/songwriter? Really?) are there giving you soft snowy goodness. I feel inspired already. Fifty cents from each purchase of the album in CD form will go to Susan G. Komen for the cure (breast cancer). Sixty cents from each download of the medley of "Auld Lang Syne" (an old Scottish folk song), which [...]
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We can't listen to metal all the time, but whatwith the massive amount of CDs and press packs we receive it's hard to find time to get to anything else. Usually if I'm not listening to metal it's '70s soul/r&b/funk with some classic reggae or dub thrown in for the more "festive" occasions, but there [...]
=One, *Haute (Chocolate) Mess*
Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson, while I'm sure they are delightful people who anyone would be lucky to get to know, were two of my least welcome music-related developments this year. Bareilles' "Love Song" irritated to me to no end, and it haunted me around every adult contemporary corner. Michaelson's music is just too deliberately cute for my tastes and a tip towards a general Greysanatomizing of music that is sure to drive me mad if it goes on for too long (although at this pace, it might go belly-up soon enough, so there's something). [...]

OneRepublic teamed up with singer Sara Bareilles to re-record their track, "Come Home" for the US troops (inspired by Ryan's friend who got engaged then got sent to Iraq the next day). It's beautiful, and I think it suits Sara's voice very beautifully.

My Itunes was on shuffle and Dennis Wilson's "Common" came on, just a few minutes ago. I heard the piano line, and immediately thought "why do I have that DirecTV commercial song on my Itunes." Turns out that Dennis Wilson wrote a piano riff that Sara Bareilles must have liked. I'm not saying that she necessarily stole the piano line, but it does just sound like a modern, spiced up version of his song. Both MP3's are located below, so decide for yourself. Enjoy! Dennis Wilson- Common Sara Bareilles- Love [...]