“I Got You Dancing” and “Random” by Lady Sovereign

“Ignorance Is Your New Best Friend”

“Ignorance,” Paramore’s new music video, came out today on MTV.com. Just one word, AWESOME. The video is different from their old videos, such as Pressure, because their video production quality is getting way better as they get more and more mainstream. The tone of the video matches the song and lyrics so well, you gotta check it out. The video is dark, edgy, loud, and has that powerful Paramore feel.

Their new album, Brand New Eyes, will be released September 29, 2009 (the same date that they plan to start their tour). The band says they want a smaller, “really intimate” tour, instead of a big tour like the No Doubt tour they just came out of.

They told MTV, “We haven’t hashed it all out yet, but it will be smaller, due to the fact that the tour we’re doing right now is so large and, like, ticket prices are on a whole new level … everything is a whole new level for us,”… “And we love it, but we want to do something that’s really intimate and that our fans can be right up there and don’t have to break their banks [for tickets]. It will just be really fun. I’m stoked.”

I can’t wait to see them on their new tour!

(500) Days of Summer

(500) Days of Summer is an amazing movie. It has just the right amount of comedy and romantic drama to make you fall in love with this realistic story about love. The music is one thing that caught my attention. The soundtrack includes music from The Smiths (of course), Black Lips, Doves, Hall & Oates, Feist, Regina Spektor, She & Him and a few more.

My favorite songs from the soundtrack are Us by Regina Spektor and  A Story of Boy Meets Girl by Mychael Danna and Rob Simonsen, which are both in the trailer and the intro of the movie. I also adore the music by She & Him – Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward – where they sing Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want. Be sure to check out the movie and the soundtrack if you haven’t already. Now if iTunes would only let you buy soundtrack songs separately instead of buying the whole album…in this case, it’s probably worth it.

Miley Cyrus @ Teen Choice Awards

You might have seen the Teen Choice Awards last night and caught a glimpse of Miley Cyrus’ performance of “Party In the U.S.A.” I don’t know about you, but I thought it was kind of risqué for a “teen” choice awards show to have Miley dancing like this. She is a role model for so many young girls out there and she could set a bad example for those watching.

I wonder how many parents were shocked to see Miley dancing like this, to have their kid look up at them and say “I wanna dance like Miley!” You might be on Miley Cyrus’ side and think that it is a harmless thing and times are just changing, but I think that a pole-less performance would be okay. Maybe in a few years, when her and her fans are older it will be okay, but for now maybe they should try something else. But who knows, in a few years from now Teen award shows will probably look more like a Comedy Central show.

Brooks & Dunn Call It Quits

Straight from the Brooks and Dunn website, news is announced that the duo is ending their 20 years of making music together. On their website, they state:

“To Our Fans:

After 20 years of making music and riding this trail together, we have agreed as a duo that it’s time call it a day. This ride has been everything and more than we could ever have dreamed…. We owe it all to you, the fans. If you hear rumors, don’t believe them, it’s just time.

We will release our #1’s and then some” on September 8th and bid you farewell one last time in 2010, with The Last Rodeo Tour…(dates to be announced).

Brooks & Dunn”

They may be calling it quits, but Brooks and Dunn have definitely made an awesome impact on country music. I saw them in concert about a year ago and they are amazing live! Guess we’ll see them in 2010!

John Hughes

In memory of the great film director and screenwriter John Hughes, who died recently of a heart attack, here’s a blog of the 5 Best Music Scenes in his films.

The video clips are from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Pretty In Pink, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Some Kind of Wonderful. I love the scene from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off when he sings Twist and Shout in the street! John Hughes definitely knew how to mix film and music together wonderfully to make such memorable movies. RIP John Hughes.

NME’s Future 50 List

I was looking on the NME music website and found this blog about the top artists that are pushing music to fresh directions.

The list is called “The Future 50” and La Roux is featured on the cover of the NME magazine this issue.

I don’t know any of the bands/artists except for maybe four, but I guess that’s why it is the future list of artists! The comments on this blog almost all have the same theme…that this list is “awful.” Some might say it is awful, but maybe some of them will become big in the future, who knows. Do you recognize any of the bands on “The Future 50”?

Bubble Sound Barrier

It might look like something from a sci-fi or futuristic movie, but these “bubbles” are actually on the market to buy, either at home or in the office. They are called Bubble Sound Barriers created by I-Beam Design. They hang from the ceilings and it supposedly cancels out all of the outside noises. It also can come with speakers at the top of the bubble, so only you can hear your music playing. I’m not sure if I believe they can contain your music to only your ears, but it is interesting design for noise canceling and music speakers. The I-Beam site also has a few other designs, like the Chemical Light, designed with “standard lab equipment”.

Del Mar Summer Concerts

The Del Mar Fair and the Races are a big summer event in San Diego every year. The county fair runs from June to July, and then the Del Mar Races start mid-July. This year at the races they have a concert series lineup of mostly rock bands.

Coming up to perform this year are The Airborne Toxic Event, Common Sense, Pinback, Super Diamond, Pete Yorn, The Flaming Lips, Steel Pulse, and a Bob Marley Roots Rock Reggae Fest. Every Friday night a live band performs – which is nice way to end a day at the races.

Musicals

So I went to see Wicked a few weeks ago in downtown San Diego and it was a really awesome musical! After I go to a musical, I’ll listen to the soundtrack for weeks and weeks, over and over again until I can’t stand listening to it anymore, haha (but I tend to do that with most songs). I haven’t read the book Wicked, but I’m sure it’s a good book considering the musical and the story were great!

A lot of popular movies are going to the stage as well, like Legally Blonde and The Lion King. Those musicals would be fun to see, as the whole story is transformed into songs. I hope I get to go to another play soon! What’s the last play you saw?