Today's Music Ain't Got The Same Soul

Have you seen the new Guitar Hero commercial? A-Rod, Tony Hawk and Michael Phelps slide into the room in their undies a la Tom Cruise in "Risky Business." Kobe then does the same, and proceeds to lip sync "Old Time Rock N Roll" while the other boys back him up.

I'm more of a Rock Band girl, but you have to admit that Kobe stole the show. 

He said it was fun and easy to shoot... just like singing with his daughters at home.

Also loving this street art from Cherry Flava...

"Found on the streets of London - this wilting, dying memorial of flowers with a sign reading ‘in loving memory of the boom economy’. At least the guerrilla street artists are having fun."

Word up. CaNiBa, what's the status with your street art?

Manhattan Mini Storage rips Sarah Palin in their new subway ad...
I wrote about their ads when I first started blogging.

They had balls of steel then, and they still do now.

And speaking of being in your face with information, please take the time to watch Zeitgeist: Addendum below.

I told you about the first Zeitgeist film a few months ago, but instead of just scaring us, the Addendum actually presents some solutions. Just like last time, I'm not saying I stand by ALL these assertions, but I do think it's important to be open minded and critical of our government. That is what freedom and patriotism should mean, no?

Revisit The Track, Tell Me I'm Wack - You Lyin'

It's CMJ week in NYC, and on Tuesday night, I actually caught THREE shows. 

The first was Mark Ronson's showcase for ALLIDO Records at SOBs:

I couldn't stay for Wale and UCB (devastated!), 

or Daniel Mayweather, or The Rumblestrips- but I caught Mark Ronson's introduction.

Snazzy 'fit.
The first performer was 

Rhymefest
And he brought out beat-boxing phenom, Rahzel.

Watch Rhymefest 's "Obama Rap":

...And also watch the footage of Wale's set (that I effin' missed) HERE. What's amazing about the clip? Not only is he doing one of my favorite verses from "The Elevator," but he goes at Sarah Palin!

Fine. Fuck It. Done. Fin.

Fine. Fuck It. Done. Fin.

Fine. Fuck It. Done. Fin.

Nope. My CMJ evening certainly did not stop there...

We Watch The Stars... They'll Be Out For Us

After the showcase at SOBs, I headed to Bowery to catch 

Friendly Fires

I've put you on not ONCE, but TWICE already. Seeing them perform LIVE with a fly lead singer, TWO drummers, a possessed guitarist, and lots of cow bell somehow made leaving Wale worth it; the D.C. emcee will be back soon to promote his album, but these guys are Brits. Read more info about the show over at TastesLikeCaramel.

Here they are, performing a piece of "Ex Lover":

In the last 3 seconds, you can hear security tell me "NO VIDEO." 

Oopsies! Listen to the full song HERE.

The vocal mic sounds very faint, but HERE'S footage of them performing "White Diamonds," their song that was used on an episode of Gossip Girl. Quirky and energetic, these guys used a DUST BUSTER on their guitars toward the end of the show, presumably to tinker with the sound...

It was way cool.

Unfortunately, I couldn't record them performing "Paris," 

so here's the video instead:

"I'll find you that french boy, you'll find you that french girl- I promise. I'm on it."

Just like Lykke Li, (the headlining act they opened for,) 

these guys were really fun to shoot. 

After... Laughter... Comes Tears.

Friendly Fires finished, and Lykke Li took the stage.

Performing Wendy Rene's 1964 song, "After Laughter," Lykke's voice was beyond intoxicating- especially during the second half of the clip below. In fact, this has been on repeat all weekend...

Don't forget to listen to the original record, in it's entirety:

Apparently, Lykke also performed "After Laughter" with El Perro Del Mar when they toured together earlier in the year. I was at the Bowery show where the footage was taken, but S Dot and I left before the encore- WOMP WOMP. In addition to that gem, I also suggest you watch my footage of Lykke performing "Breaking It Up," and "Window Blues" - "I Don't Mind." Never having heard "I' Don't Mind," I assumed it was a cover of some obscure European pop star. Turns out I was right and wrong: Not a cover, it's actually Lykke's song... and you should listen to it HERE.

I heart CMJ. It's extremely dark, but in the following clip you can hear Lykke channel A Tribe Called Quest and perform "Can I Kick It" as she exits the stage. Ending the encore in the same manner at Le Poisson Rouge two months back, she really got the crowd involved this time, too. But sadly, after seeing three live shows of hers this year, the novelty of her stage presence may have finally shown itself. And novelty, my friends, eventually wears off. My fingers are crossed for her!

Two Turntables And A Microphone

Mega late... Beck played three shows at United Palace two weeks ago. Just like what Fort Tryon is to NYC parks, United Palace is one of New York's most stunning venues- but unfortunately, people tend to not take the trip so far uptown. If you've never been to the church/concert venue, put it on your to-do list.

Beck's stage setup was really cool... chunky lights and a backdrop reminiscent of Lite Brite. (Note to self: Buy one off E-Bay.)

We were in complete view of the set list:

And at one point, he and his band stopped playing their instruments, and performed a song electronically on MPCesque equipment. It was bananas.

Although I adored him back in high school, his live show was a bit of a snoozefest. But then again, I'm not a super-duper fan either. I am, however, a super-duper fan of his opening act. That's right folks, MGMT opened for him, and it was a very good look for them.

Andrew, the lead singer, is so dreamy!

Here they are, performing "Weekend Wars":

And my favorite song of the year, "Electric Feel":

BTW- Guess who's on the cover of November's SPIN?

They're clearly 

"Where It's At."

Shoot a Mother-Humpin' Moose 8 Days of the Week

Much to my initial chagrin, ObamaFever has proven to be infectious... even I'm close to catching it! I just hope he delivers everything he's promised- within reason, of course. But regardless, a new kind of mainstream political awareness has been growing over the last year+, and we owe Barack Obama for being one of the catalysts in the transition. The cultural impact of all this is overwhelming, but we're taking it in stride...

Check out what Bobby Kennedy said 40-years ago about race:

Spooky and ill at the same time, right?

But the Realest Moment Of The Week Award goes to Keith Olbermann for passionately addressing John McCain's sleazy and potentially dangerous campaign tactics. Take the time to watch below:

Fire!!! Oh, Keith- do you mean people like these ignorant Ohio residents (below) harassing an Obama supporter? Watch this next clip... it completely exemplifies the ignorant hate he speaks of:

Yikes!  To lighten things up a bit, Josh Brolin hosted the Saturday Night Live episode that Sarah Palin appeared on last night. He also stars in a little movie that I need to see... maybe you've heard of it?

I had no idea he played the older brother in The Goonies!

The SNL episode was terrible -it's only redeeming elements were Brolin hosting, the Palin skits, and my girl Adele as the musical guest. If you missed the Palin Rap during Weekend Update, definitely watch it now:

At the very least, the episode was a good look for Brolin and Oliver Stone to plug the movie. And speaking of W., imagine (1) Sarah Palin won the vice presidency, and (2) a movie named P. was made about her time in office. Someone put those ideas to life and created a hilarious animated movie trailor for it:

And here's a fun toy that literally allows you to play with that same hypothetical scenario...

http://www.palinaspresident.us

Beyond W., I also need to see Bill Maher's film Religulous. Speaking of which, I wonder if Bill's seen this footage of young Kanon Tipton "preaching" on stage in his church, and if so, I'd love to know what he thought about it:

It kind of wigged me out. *SIGH*

To read an account of a family member who was there, go HERE.

And lastly, you most likely saw this at some point in the last two weeks, but I had to post it anyway. Celebrities come together to convince people how important it is to vote...

It might be too late to register, but our day to enter the voting booth is right around the corner. Maybe they count 'em, maybe they don't... but you might as well do it. Or don't. Whatever. 

Let Your Atmosphere Surround Me

Last Thursday was unbelievable. Tickets to Maxwell's first New York show in years (at Radio City) arrived at the eleventh hour, and since I wasn't planning on going, it was extra delightful. PS: He KILLED it... every person in that theater was vibing.

Favorite Maxwell song? Might be "Submerge: 'Til We Become The Sun"...

Even though his sexuality is ambiguous, I still love him! A big THANK YOU to AF for hooking up the ticket :) Unfortunately, I had to scoot early (at the encore) to head downtown to SOBs to see Styles P. perform. High five to Milly for accompanying me! At least there were some girls there this time...

He was a little shy at first...

But was able to warm up with some beverages...

And (see right hand), some herbal relief.

Once acclimated, he jumped into the audience to get up close and personal.

If you're a fan of him, this show was pure joy- Pause.

And I think our favorite rapper's favorite rapper got really into it.

Just look at how he was embraced!?!?

Those middle fingers symbolize unification and love ;)

Gonna Show This Town How To Kiss These Stars

Hope you didn't forget about

PodZilla

Just a little something from ZILLA to YOU... enjoy.

I Know Just-Just What You Are-Are-Are

Britney Spears' "Womanizer" smells like comeback city... FINALLY!

And lady Beyonce's trying to school us in "If I Were A Boy"...

You know I'm appreciating the gender-role examination...

even if it IS in the form of Uber Pop.

It's So Real... How I Feel...

I posted about Chester French back in May, so when I heard they were opening for N*E*R*D and Common, I knew it was going to be a long, amazing night. Recently upstreamed from StarTrak to Interscope, watch them perform their dirty single "She Loves Everybody":

"She craves affection, so I use protection."

Motown meets Pop, and he yells "oww!" - so naturally, Zilla approves.

A man with a tambourine? *swoon*

How can you ignore guys whose CD single comes in faux Trojan packaging?

Do yourself a favor and listen to it HERE.

N*E*R*D came on next, and when they performed 3 ill songs in a row, I didn't have the heart to stop recording! As a result, the clip below is almost 12 minutes long, and since you can't upload more than 10 minutes onto Youtube (didn't know that until now), I used Vimeo...

Of course, they had to intro "Sooner Or Later" by mentioning the economy. SMH.

After those songs, Pharrell gave the crowd a brief N*E*R*D history lesson: Apparently, it was initially Diddy's suggestion to start a group- and thus, the hip hop/rock hybrid was born. After saluting Puff, Pharrell then tipped his fitted to Hot 97's programming director, Ebro. Watch:

Nice of them to also biggup the fans... it was clearly appreciated. And BTW, did you catch him say that "Lapdance" was motivated by George Bush being in the white house? I did.

Although N*E*R*D was definitely the highlight of the show,

 Common did his thing too.

Watch the clip below to see him perform "Universal Mind Control," "Get Em High," "Drive Me Wild," and "I Want You," in that order:

Oh, one last thing...

In case you missed VH1's Hip Hop Honors tonight,

you can still watch the full show... HERE. xo

How Was I Supposed To Know?

Just a few videos to put on your radar...

Cold War Kids "Something Is Not Right With Me" 

LOVE the song. And FYI, it closed Entourage last week.

Lykke Li "Breaking It Up"

My girlcrush/musical innovator/goddess has struck again.

The Kooks "Do You Wanna"

For all you hornballs who need a new theme song. 

And, umm, I was introduced to Wale at Roseland last night.

Photos and video from the Chester French/N*E*RD/Common show on the way...