liam finn - second chance (new video)

liam finn - second chance [link 2]
[if the surname looks familiar, it's because liam is the son of neil finn (crowded house) and a touring member when the band needs to do international dates. like his father liam also has a knack for songwriting and has crafted a lovely 2007 debut i'll be lightning that has only reached our shores this year. playing every instrument on the album, word is that liam continues his one man band persona when he performs live onstage. hot!]

on the rader 2008: kerli - walking on air (new video)

kerli - walking on air [link 2]
[i first saw this video on perez tv and was drawn into the estonian popstars sound (part esthero part bjork). signed to island def jam, looks like kerli is on the verge of something big, can't wait to hear more!]

morrissey - all you need is me (video premiere)

morrissey - all you need is me [link 2]
[how much did this video cost? it's like they just donned colorful shirts and decided to walk around a back garden for the afternoon. bizarre. the song, is a one week only release that will hopefully refuel our interest in moz before his proper album 'years of refusal' is out in the fall.]

on the radar 2008: white lies - unfinished business / death (live on jools holland)

white lies - unfinished business [link 2]
[this four piece has the UK blogs buzzing with their confident sound that kind of blends the editors, joy division and the killers filtered through a more popular song structure. i'm a nerd for built up rousing anthems so these guys pretty much had me at their opening chords. doing the festival rounds this summer, keep an eye out as there's a rumored mini-US tour in august.]


white lies - death (demo) [link 2]
[i actually saw this performance on my favorite music show later with jools holland first and was won over by their performance. i definitely like this song better than the 1st single and can't wait to hear what else they have to offer on their upcoming debut.]

black kids - hurricane jane (video premiere)

black kids - hurricane jane (demo) [link 2]
black kids - hurricane jane (cansecos remix) (webrip) [link 2]
[jacksonville florida alt kids, with an 80's bend, release a follow up to their UK #11 charting hit "i don't want to teach your boyfriend...". though i'm still not completely won over by their lo-fi pop antics, i can't deny that their songs are definitely catchy as heck. personally i'm feeling their remixes alot more than the originals, which is why i've offered up the cansecos version for you!]

kanye west - flashing lights (vers 3 video premiere)

kanye west feat raheem devaughn - flashing lights (remix) [link 2]
[since this is the 3rd version of the video (still not as good as the original), i figured i'd pass on yet another (bootleg?) remix of the song this time with raheem devaughn adding some sulty vocals to the track that is determined to be a massive hit. i love the song already... sheesh!]

that itunes ad song: coldplay - viva la vida

coldplay - viva la vida [link 2]
[as a pre-cursor to their upcoming album of the same name, i'm actually hoping that the album will have more gorgeous tunes like this one than the less than inspiring 1st single "violet hill". though my adoration for this band has waned a bit, this is still a big release for the summer.]

tapes n tapes - hang them all (video premiere)

tapes n tapes - hang them all [link 2]
[it's taken me a bit longer for me to warm up to this tapes'n'tapes release. much is because their last album the loon was so instantly catchy. but after a few listens, this new album (and 1st single) sounds like a band who are moving beyond their hooks to release a mature, confident follow up. go out and buy walk it off now]

usher - moving mountains (new video)

usher - moving mountains [link 2]
[ok, i'm probably going to get some hate commentary for this next statement, but i don't hear a song here. all i hear is 'MOOOVING MOUNTAINS' and 'LEAVE ME BE. JUST LEAVE ME BEEEEEE' over and over again with a bit of babbling in between. thank goodness the arrangement of the song by tricky stewart and the dream (both vocal and musical) is interesting and gorgeously layered. taken from the upcoming album here i stand]

michelle williams - we break the dawn (new video)

michelle williams - we break the dawn [link 2]
[i don't want to be rude, but what a completely misguided video for ms. williams. as a true fan of the destiny's child, i truly want them to do great work. but rather than go the natural route and make a great summer lifestyle fun post-party/watch-the-sunrise-in-the-big-city, kind of video, someone convinced her to go for a contrived 'tranny hangs with her gay boys' gathering instead. lame! great song, crap video!]

n.e.r.d. - everybody nose (new video)

n.e.r.d. - everybody nose (remix feat kanye west, lupe fiasco, crs and pusha t) [link 2]
[this song may be the most annoying/coolest song of the season, but whatever you think of the track, it does mark the return of N.E.R.D.! after watching their highly stylized video (with a way too meta cameo by lindsay lohan), check out the spankin new kanye west remix that is just killer!]

dance bitch dance: the presets - are you the one (lifelike1's serious remix) (video premiere)

the presets - are you the one (lifelike 1's serious remix) [link 2]
[the wonderfully hip sydney based modular records pulls out this (now classic) 2005 electro club smash by the presets and revs up interest again with a brand new remix thanks to lifelike. the end result is f**king fabulous!]

discovery 2008: wild beasts - the devil's crayon

wild beasts - the devil's crayon [link 2]
[i'm in awe! upon hearing this song for the 1st time, the soaring theatrical vocals of hayden thorpe swirl into a falsetto chorus only to switch into a ripped up gutteral howl which somehow makes for a perfect blend of random. will this work for their upcoming full album limbo, panto? i'm not quite sure, but at least i've just discovered a unique band that i'll be keeping an eye out over the next couple of months.]

portishead - the rip (video premiere)

portishead - the rip [link 2]
[this mellow folk song (featuring beth gibbon's gorgeous vocals) kicks into a retro-electronic tune after 2 minutes and it's just genius really. transforming into something french act air would record, portishead have really reinvented themselves this time around with surprising diverse sounds in their album 3rd. brilliant really!]

the courteeners - no you didn't, no you don't (new video)

the courteeners - no you didn't, no you don't [link 2]
[what a great new song by the manchester quartet! am i getting old or does everything sound like variations of the housemartins these days? taken off the wonderful debut album st jude.]

kurt nilson and willie nelson - lost highway (video premiere)

kurt nilsen and willie nelson - lost highway [link 2]
[how cool is this? the guy who won norwegian idol back in 2003 is not only a legitimate artist back home, but this year he's gone and recorded a full fledged country album to boot. the duet 'lost highway' (with willie nelson!!!) has already gone to #1 back home and looks set to crossover to the rest of the world now that perez hilton has written about him. love this guy!]

video of the week: gnarls barkley - going on (video premiere)

gnarls barkley - going on [link 2]
[this video is hot! totally simple, but captivating to watch. maybe it's the dulled retro look mixed in with some great dancing. maybe it's just the fact that it's shot in jamaica and i'm craving a warm climate. or maybe it's just a slow week for new videos. i just like it. deal. like it? go and buy the album the odd couple]

anticipated reunion tour: yazoo (aka yaz)

back when i was a young little tyke, i discovered an affinity to electronic beats and synthesized keyboards (a sound which still wins me over to this very day). one of the earliest recollections of my love for the sound came from a duo from the UK called yazoo (or 'yaz' as they were known in the US). there was something about the soulful vocals of alison moyet set against the catchy musicality of vince clarke that just made this short union special.

with only two albums under their belt, vince and alison called it quits, both finding success in other incarnations (um... erasure!). now, 25 years later (!!!), yazoo have announced a reunion that includes a mini tour and a 4 disc box set collecting their brief but influential musical collaboration.

check out their story (and some musical gems) below:


yazoo reconnected: the formation of yazoo


yazoo reconnected: recording only you


yazoo - only you (1999 mix) [link 2]
[with additional strings to this remix]


yazoo - don't go [link 2]


yazoo reconnected: yazoo and the split


yazoo reconnected

got the yazoo fever yet? pre-order their 4 disc box set in your room (which includes both yazoo albums, remixes and a dvd) now!

oh and if you haven't bought your ticket for the upcoming tour, here are the dates for you to try and get tix (good luck!):
Mon 07 July: Oakland, CA Paramount Theatre
Tues 08 July: Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theatre
Thu 10 July: Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theatre
Fri 11 July: Los Angeles, CA Orpheum Theatre
Mon 14 July: Chicago, IL Chicago Theater
Wed 16 July: New York, NY Terminal 5
Thu 17 July: New York, NY Terminal 5

retro dance bitch dance: sonny j - handsfree (if you hold my hand)

sonny j - handsfree (if you hold my hand) [link 2]
[how cool is this song? country meets big beats meets all out campy fun! if this is a preview of his upcoming debut album disastro, i can't wait!]

live wongie: hot chip - wearing my rolex (wiley cover @ bbc live lounge)

hot chip - wearing my rolex (wiley cover @ bbc live lounge) [link 2]
[just minutes after posting the wiley video, i found myself bopping along to a cover version of the same song by the awesome hot chip. can these guys do no wrong? brilliant!!!]

drum n bass?...um...rock?...um...dance bitch dance: pendulum - propane nightmares

pendulum - propane nightmares [link 2]
[what a strange song. on one side it's a track with hard rock leanings and on the other is a bass heavy drum n bass chorus that surprisingly mixes in really well. is this the beginning of rockers hanging out with rave kids? the aussie drum n'bass collective pendulum are definitely onto something (heck it's a top 10 uk single), now the question is if they can sustain a full album on this.]

on the radar 2008: royworld - dust

royworld - dust [link 2]
[that's right, if you're missing out on a big-boombastic lush heart-on-your-sleeve kind of pop music, then hopefully this uk band will fill your void for the time being. heck, they even have keane producer andy green working with them, what more of a substitute do you want?]

on the radar 2008: foxboro hot tubs (aka green day) - mother mary

foxboro hot tubs - mother mary [link 2]

[i've kind of gotten in pretty late on the 'discovery' of foxburo hot tubs, but this green day offshoot makes the kind of retro rock n roll music that just makes a blogger like me a tad giddy. gosh, i'm sentimental. if you like what you hear, download the album online now.]

'grime' dance bitch dance: wiley - wearing my rolex

wiley - wearing my rolex [link 2]
[hot! hot! hot! but since when did this kind of music get categorized as 'grime' meets electro? uk rapper wiley gets sampled then made redundant in the video version of this top 10 hit. 'grime' indeed!

update: i got served with fact checking, turns out the song was recorded with with full electrogrime intentions and wiley was scheduled to be in the video, but he walked off the set. so there...]

reeemix: cary brothers - ride (tiesto remix)

cary brothers - ride (tiesto remix) [link 2]
[haha, i just found out that cary brothers is actually the guys name and NOT two brothers named cary! finding fans via placement on shows like greys anatomy and movies like the last kiss, cary gets a re-release treatment of the song 'ride' with a smooth dreamy dj tiesto mix. hot! if you like this track, buy his album here.]

pop song of the week: lady gaga feat colby o'donis and akon - just dance

lady gaga feat colby o'donis and akon - just dance [link 2]
[from the lower east side as a rock'n'glam performance artist to a full on fabulous major label makeover, lady gaga looks set to bring a lil bit of electro pop into our lives. her voice sounds amazingly like fergie. i'm just sayin...]

live wongie: the last shadow puppets - meeting place (acoustic)

the last shadow puppets - meeting place [link 2]
[love this track from one of the better albums of the season. part of a live session they shot a few weeks back, if you want the full album, go buy the age of understatement here]

alphabeat - 10000 nights (bimbo jones remix) (video premiere)

alphabeat - 10000 nights (bimbo jones remix) [link 2]
[just something to bop along to for the day. btw, i'm off on a two week gig so even though i'll still post stuff, i probably will leave my comments to a minimum. please forgive me if you're a fan of my snarky random commentary. if you haven't gotten your copy of one of the better pop acts around, go buy their album here]

mariah carey - bye bye (new video)

mariah carey feat jay z - bye bye (remix) [link 2]
[i'm not quite sure what her press tour has to do with the memory of her late father, but somehow mimi has figured out a way to also incorporate her current boyfriend nick cannon (and possibly their honeymoon) into the procedings. thank goodness the video switches mode halfway through and gives props to those who passed on in mariah's life with a flickr-like photo album. wtf?]

tift merritt - keep you happy (video premiere)

tift merritt - keep you happy [link 2]
[just listen to the smoothness of tift's voice, it's enough to melt any bad mood away! balancing the border between folk and country, the lush strings on this album highlight showcase the fact that you don't need dramatic arangements or vocal acrobatics to get the lovelorn message across. if you like what you hear, go and get her wonderful album another country now.]

live wongie: madonna @ roseland (hard candy promo concert 4/30)

[thanks to mark and michelle for the pics (yeah, i forgot my camera that night!)]

THIS was the showcase of the season to go to and by some miraculous fate (and some serious grovelling), i managed to get into the madonna hard candy showcase at roseland last wednesday. fans had been lining up overnight to get one of the many wristbands to fill up the 3000 spots allocated to diehards, worldwide contest winners, label folks and 'press' like me. after going through 2 rounds of name checking, i was finally in the building and ready for a special night.

bumping into a few friends (equally connected press folk), one of them led me to a spot on the side of the stage which was away from the crowds, but close enough to see all the action. my friend showed me the set list that was given to her and we quickly started to speculate what kind of cameos would happen tonight. we decided that justin was a sure bet, but whether pharell, kanye or timbaland would show was a stretch. hey, it's madonna.

after bopping along to a mish mash of pop songs, the dj started a mix of tracks with the word 'candy' in it (bow wow wow's "i want candy", 50 cent "candy shop", new edition "candy girl"), the crowd went wild cause they knew the show was about to begin and begin it did!
[the queen emerges and damn is her skin flawless!]

check out the opening performance of candy shop below (thanks to queeria)

madonna @ roseland - candy shop (live) [link 2]
[now i have to be honest and say that i wasn't a big fan of the album upon first listen, but something about the perfect sound coming out of the speakers and the crazy crowd made me totally rethink the whole collection. i can now call myself a fan of hard candy's instant sugar coated-ness.]


after her fabulous introduction, madonna took a swig of champagne and got into guitar mode, playing my favorite track off the album, 'miles away'. i, like all the people around me only knew the catchy chorus but sang along anyway (imagine a hundred folks going...'your always nabadaba... MILES AWAY... i hear it...yabadababoo... MILES AWAY... SO FAR AWAAAAY..'). hilarious!


madonna @ roseland - miles away (live) [link 2]

going to black (and knowing the set list), i was ready for the appearance of justin timberlake. with the lights out completely, i knew we were in for an amazing performance and boy did they deliver. with moving video panels and a certain JT hiding behind one of them, the room went insane the second he popped up. with a gaggle of girls surrounding me, i squealed along with the best of them.


i LOVE this pic cause it really captures the energy that evening. mad house!


madonna @ roseland - 4 minutes (feat justin timberlake)
[ok, i couldn't tell when i was there, but how off key are both madge and jt? yikes!]

with madge doing what she considered 'oldies' ("music"/"hung up"), i was pleasantly surprised with the song 'give it to me' the most. as i mentioned before, i didn't enjoy the simplicity of the album upon first listen, but when i heard this song live, i realised just how poplicious it really is (maybe it was the laser beams that they used during the performance or my new favorite kooky interlude in which madge gets on her knees and does some marionette popping. somehow it was just too fabulous to ignore.)



madonna @ roseland - give it to me (live) [link 2]

so after 32 minutes of pure high energy fun, the lights went up, everyone walked out in a daze and we all looked like we had the biggest sugar high ever. i was talking to another journalist and we both thought maybe all concerts should be this short from now on. all it does is make you crave for more AND we'll all be in bed by 11pm. thank you madonna!

reeeeemix: kylie minogue feat spank rock - heartbeat rock (benny blanco remix)

kylie minogue feat spank rock - heartbeat rock (benny blanco remix) [link 2]
[i had no idea that a remix was commissioned for this track, but DAMN am i glad it happened! featuring the awesome MC spank rock, this electro bleeped out remix takes away the crappy keyboards of the original version and just sassifies the whole experience to a weekend anthem. totally HOT!!!!!]

chris brown - forever (new video)

chris brown - forever [link 2]
[produced by polow da don, i find it really interesting that electropop has been embraced by most r&b acts these days. my feeling is that this track will probably do better in europe, but then again 'forever' is already a top 10 hit on billboard so what do i know. this new track is just one of the 4 new tracks that will be featured on re-issue of his album 'exclusive' coming out in june.]

chromeo - fancy footwork (new video)

CHROMEO - Fancy Footwork

chromeo - fancy footwork [link 2]
[the montreal/new york/paris based duo of chromeo have gone out and not only re-released their fabulous single 'fancy footwork' but shot a fun sexy video to go along with it. i liked this title track to their album last year and now i LOVE this song a year later. funny how tastes change year to year.]

insane video of the week: justice - stress

justice - stress (auto remix) [link 2]
[i just have to warn you that this video is EXTREMELY violent and jarring to watch, so if random acts of aggresion is not your thing, then really, don't even bother. but for the curious, check out this INSANE video by romain-gavras who's already helmed the moving images for the last shadow puppets and simian mobile disco vids. this time around, he takes the frenetic music of justice and ups the ante by doing an almost man bites dog doc style vid about a group of kids (wearing justice jackets no-less) as they terrorise the city. it's so wrong that it's almost genius (see how they incorporate 'd.a.n.c.e.' during a carjack). i don't know what else to add, it's just crazy.]

we are scientists - chick lit (video premiere)

we are scientists - chick lit [link 2]
[oh those silly boys of we are scientists. their latest video has the cute duo playing cowboys rounding up a group of rowdy... um... puppies. just verging a bit on 'brokeback mountain' territory, i'm assuming the dogs were used as a distraction tactic (look! elvis!). with their fun catchy album brain thrust mastery already in stores, expect to watch more puppery videos in the future!]

mtv exit presents: radiohead - all i need (video premiere)

mtv exit presents: radiohead - all i need [link 2]
[as part of MTV's social awareness program, MTV Exit was created last year as a multimedia initiative to educate their viewers on the atrocities of human trafficking around the world. with their initial special about europe teenage sex trade hosted by angelina jolie back in 2006, asia is where the new campaign is focusing their efforts on. in conjunction with the special, radiohead has allowed their song 'all i need' to be the programs' official theme. check out the video above.

now if you have some extra time, i have the 30 min MTV special hosted by lucy liu focusing on human trafficking in asia. i'm not a big fan of re-enactments, but it does get the message across. you can also download it for free here:

that ipod ad song / the leak: the ting tings - shut up and let me go

the ting tings - shut up and let me go [link 2]

[we're officially three for three on fun party singles. can the ting tings do no wrong?]