With Field Hockey Comes Good Tunes

So this past weekend (reason for lack of blogging) was an experience in eastern Pennsylvania in which field hockey players, including myself (and Bre) gathered together to play competitively and possibly be evaluated by coaches at higher level institutions. So on we went to West Chester University in West Chester, PA., and I found myself grouped on Team "South Africa," which allowed me to be able to play on a team with an energetic Canadian, a legitimate "B.E.N.N.Y.," and a Chicago native, to name only a few. In our discussions about diversity and our sessions allowing us to brag about why our homes are the best (I totally won those arguments), we had an exchange of music in our last night of camp. Let me tell you, I heard some music and found out about artists that I had to ask how to spell the name at least three times. The Canadian mentioned this band TV on the Radio, and the name definitely caught my eye, so I checked them out today when I got home. "Wolf Like Me" is a really cool song, not gonna lie. So besides being completely made fun of for how I said "hot" and "water" and being told my accent is like The Sopranos, I found out some really cool music and made some genuinely different friends.

www.myspace.com/tvotr

Ingrid Michaelson Tour

Aside from supporting Dave Matthews Band on their tour this summer, songstress Ingrid Michaelson has introduced a headlining tour beginning June 1 and ending on July 2. Michaelson, whose songs are often featured on ABC's hit television show Grey's Anatomy (favorite show), will be playing in our surrounding area (kind of) quite a few times on her tour, including Terminal 5 in New York City on June 20. If it weren't for my brother graduating from high school... I would most definitely be going.

For a full list of dates, including others around our area...

http://www.ingridmichaelson.com

School House Rock: America Rock

Back in 2003, Allenwood School students, including myself, were introduced to musical bliss - School House Rock. By far the most well-produced and informative of all the rocks was America rock, including Elbow Room, a tale about the largest real estate deal in America's history, the Louisiana Purchase, as well as No More Kings, a rebellious tale about breaking away from British rule. And who could forget "The Great American Melting Pot?" Or "The Preamble?" Thanks to that 2:59 second song, I can recite the whole preamble to the Constitution (We the people, in order to form a more perfect union...)

There's not too much relativity to my beat on this one...but seriously. Credit must be given where credit is due.

Jack's Mannequin in NJ

Well they were at Bamboozle, a two-day festival of music in East Rutherford, N.J., but I went on Jack's Mannequin's website to just filter through the site and check things out that may be blog-worthy. In my search, I found that the most recent photos added are from their show at the Stone Pony. Here's the link...

I heard new Chemtrail music

That's surely a perk of being the guitarist's sister. But seriously, not being unethical or bias or anything, but I know a lot of students at our school have been introduced to Chemtrail recently, as they played at the "Rock Away Hate" concert in the Wall High School cafeteria. I was writing a self-reflection essay this weekend and my brother Mr. Christopher Camano came into the room and handed me the unedited edition of their new cd. I don't know if I can say album names or song titles or anything...but all I can say is it's good.

The Mercury Program

Whenever I'm doing anything, there's got to be music on. I think that's a pretty standard statement for anybody. The thing is, if I'm doing homework or anything that requires a decent amount of thinking, it's not uncommon for me to be singing the songs and accidentally write the lyrics to a song that I'm really into on my chemistry homework instead of writing the oxidation of a copper (II) ion. What I've come up with is that listening to music without words isn't even bad when you listen to artists like The Mercury Program or Maserati or Explosions in the Sky.

Most recently I've been listening to The Mercury Program, specifically "You Give Me Problems About My Business." It allows me to concentrate on my work rather than the lyrics to my frequent flyer iTunes songs. It goes to show that the music's not just about the words. It's about the quarter notes and eighth notes and all the notes in between. It's about the sudden change of tempo or the crescendo before the bridge. Sure, some artists are meant to sing and write meaningful lyrics to accompany their songs, but artists like The Mercury Program are fine left by themselves.

Songs I Actually Leave on the Radio

I don't often listen to the radio. If I'm in the car, sure, but there's not much music that's too appealing to me on there. Lately, however, I don't know if my taste has been altered or if there's just better music on the radio, but I find myself enjoying a bunch of songs I'll hear on z100...and I actually like it.

American Idol winner Jordin Sparks' most recent hit "No Air" is very catchy to me, and I'm not even an avid Idol fan. I mean, her last song "Tattoo" was even pretty good.

Now, I have felt a little bit of confusion with Rihanna's new song "Take A Bow." Other than her song "Breakin' Dishes," which I haven't heard on the radio, I believe it's one of her best. The thing is, she's talking about dropping her cheater boyfriend...isn't that a little hypocritical, Rihanna? I mean, you did sing "Unfaithful" and all... Anyway, moral to the story is that "Take A Bow" is something I have since downloaded and have played on my iTunes quite a few times.

"Run the Show" by Kat DeLuna is an upbeat hit incorporating Latin roots into popular music appealing to many radio listeners today. This song was on our lacrosse warm-up C.D. and when it was blasting over the speakers you couldn't help but get your body moving.

So there you have it, a few songs I've noticed are worthy of mentioning on my blog. That takes a lot. Enjoy your radio hits and I'll hopefully be finding some more with my station surfing soon.

"Biznizz Ethics"

Just kidding, the "Billy Madison" reference really doesn't have to do with unethical or ethical situations in my beat...but I love that movie. So when I was thinking about my blogging and what I would find easiest to blog about, I thought about maybe talking about the recent musical performances at Wall High School including "Rock Away Hate" and "Wallapalooza." The thing is, my brother (Mr. Camano) played at "Rock Away Hate" with his band Chemtrail and my other brother Dan played at "Wallapalooza." Besides being left the only musically declined Camano child, I was left with the situation of whether I could blog about those performances without being bias. The situation has left me torn and I think I'll wind up excluding them from my blogs...until later notice. I'll hopefully blog about the rest of the performances, but I hope this blog throws out a disclaimer for me totally NOT wanting to sound like all I listen to is my brothers' music. Not true. My job is just to spread around the love of good music...and that's what I'm going to do.

Unethical even for Britney Spears

I don't really want to blog about Britney Spears or anything, I think she's talked about enough. What I really want to accomplish here is how I believe her paparazzi boyfriend Adnan Ghalib is using her to make a few bucks off of his photos of her. Honestly, I know that some things are meant to be, but how is it possible that this guy isn't unethically using the time he spends with Britney to take photos of her and sell them. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe it's one of those things that are meant to be, but it seems a little sketchy to me that once she begins to make news all the time again, this paparazzi guy is dating her.

Check it out for yourself... "happily" dating?

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1579490/20080111/spears_britney.jhtml

Bloggers 'R Us

Seriously. You can go anywhere and find a blog. My favorite is of course John Mayer's, whose entries are often so intricately written that I'll have to read them a few times. I think that's the way a blog is supposed to be, though, almost like a stream of conciousness. It's easy for a musician to describe their feelings through song or words, but it's still good to look at a musician's personal writing and just see what they do time to time. It's like looking through a hole into their lives, living the dream of fame along with them while most importantly making note that everyone's human. In his incredibly human blog, I have found more respect for artist Matt Nathanson, who writes sometimes of random things on his mind or just experiences he had that day. I thought it was worth mentioning, that people don't just blog about celebritites. They blog too.

Matt Nathanson's Journal:
http://www.mattnathanson.com/journal




and just because I have to throw it in....
www.johnmayer.com/blog

As I Am is worth much more than the $9.93 I paid for it.

Most definitely. For participating in a study by the Eagleton Institute of Politics, I was rewarded two $5 gift cards to Amazon.com. After much debate, the verdict of what to spend my free money on was this - Alicia Keys' album "As I Am." I've mentioned it before and said that I'd review it when I finally got around to purchasing it. With pleasure, I present what my blog has aimed to do all along - relay my feelings about music to others.

"As I Am" is a powerful album. It's strong but petite. When the music is quiet, it speaks loudly about being loved or being lovesick. When it's loud, Keys' voice contains a tone that still feels calm and conserved. The notes are hit well and the beats are catchy. It's smooth but still rough around the edges, in the best way possible.

"As I Am [Intro]" - a melodic piano solo in which I had to double check I turned on my Alicia Keys cd rather than some classical music. Nearly a minute in, the bass begins to pump and the rhythm and blues R&B stands for are soon to follow.

"Go Ahead" - The words explain it all; the life of a woman who realizes her rights allow her much more than anyone could ever control her to do. If you just read the lyrics, they're not nearly as strong as the powerfully swaying chorus speaks.

"Superwoman" - A while ago I called this as being the next solo off of the album. Turns out I was wrong (see later tracks), but if I was a radio broadcaster I would choose "Superwoman" to play any day on my station. Again, Keys chooses to show her strength as a successful African American woman, but eventually the song speaks to all those "fighting for better days to come," and the fact that they can get through the day.

"No One" - The first of the solos from the album as well as the first track about being in love. She assures her listener that "everything's gonna be alright," no matter what others say. Good vibes connecting much to the invincible stage of love.

"Like You'll Never See Me Again" - Second album single. At first I thought I was hearing "Take My Breath Away" by Jessica Simpson(?) and didn't understand exactly what I was listening to. Turns out to be much more bluesy and continues along the love song path.

"Lesson Learned" - What do you get when you combine my favorite male and female vocalists? Musical perfection. John Mayer and Alicia Keys are always a winning combination...always.

"Wreckless Love" - Sporadically placed staccato words followed by the sound of a horn repeated create a beat like none accomplished thus far on the cd. It's a song you'd put on and dance strangely around your room with abrupt movements just because you're in a good mood.

"The Thing About Love" - I can see many people relating to such a song. Even though love will build you up then pull you down and make you feel like "you're the only one going through it all," people still go look for it again, and this song provides a push to keep looking and that "it's the time for you to shine."

"Teenage Love Affair" - Synonym: puppy love. Ah...what a funny way to approach this topic. It's what you'd say you'd never do, but teenagers do it all the time - think their first love's "the one." It's interesting to look at the way love changes from this song to more "lovesick" songs about being broken up with or being hurt.

"I Need You" - I love the lyrics. Contrasting so many different things all leading up to one.. "North needs South, East needs West and no needs yes yes yes, up needs down, life needs death and no needs yes yes yes - I need you."

"Where Do We Go From Here" - It's more about the end of a relationship or the stage known as "Trouble in Paradise." Something's gone wrong, but it's surely not this song.

"Prelude to a Kiss" - In the search of something higher to guide her elsewhere, Keys' second-shortest song on the album still has power and explores her dynamic sound and range just as much as any other.

"Tell You Something (Nana's Reprise)" - I almost feel strange writing about this because I'm sure it was written with the most heartfelt nature. It's unfortunately true for many, however the way it can speak to us may even make it better.

"Sure Looks Good To Me" - A song about living life to the fullest every day, no matter what. It's about throwing everything out there and not wasting one minute of it. Pretty empowering stuff.


So there you have it, a cd that could actually be summed up in one word: quality.



- Ashley

GREY'S ANATOMY IS COMING BACK

That's a big deal. Thursday April 24 at 9 p.m., I will be avoiding all homework and sitting down to enjoy my favorite television show. Actually, other than The Soup on E! I don't watch t.v. (except news of course!), but this is a big deal. Ever since the writers' strike began, I was cringing every time a new episode ended, worried that I wouldn't be given the teaser clips from next week's episode. Well, eventually the unavoidable truth came and I didn't get footage from the next week's episode. But thanks to the magic of patience and speedy writing from Shonda Rhimes, the 24th (that's next Thursday!), I'll be enjoying my Grey's fix.

Moral to the story here is that beyond the unrealisitically goodlooking doctors at Seattle Grace Hospital, there is music that is chosen to perfectly fit the tension of the show. There are so many artists that Grey's Anatomy has introduced me to that I never would have heard about, but now love. The sountracks to seasons 1 and 2 are both equipped with some of the best solo artist songs I've ever heard. Or bands with names I can't pronounce correctly. Whatever it is, it's worth listening to.

These artists/songs have reached the top of my "Top 25 Most Played" on iTunes, or are getting preeeetttty close, all thanks to this delightful drama about scalpels and scandals:

Ingrid Michaelson
Finally someone was smart enough to put "The Way I Am" on the radio. It's simple and calm. It's easy to work to. The words are most definitely relative to anyone's lives, in the way that it describes the way someone would do whatever it takes for someone else in love.

Kate Havnevik
Usually during the most tense of scenes on Grey's, Kate Havnevik's extremely light voice relaxes but is somehow able to keep with the intensity of the moment. "Grace" was on the tearjerker season 2 finale, and I don't exactly remember which season or episode "Unlike Me" was on...but still very good (plus I heard it at Max Brenner's in NYC on Thursday...Mallory was there!)

Keane - "Somewhere Only We Know"

Rilo Kiley - "Portions for Foxes"

The Cardigans - "Live and Learn"

Thirteen Senses - "Into the Fire"



11 days until I hear more music to recommend!

The Sweetest Sweet Sixteen

My sixteenth birthday is May 21 (Birthday alert: 53 days-ish?). Just saying. I'm not a person to throw a party for myself, so don't be too upset if there's no invite to some glamorous bash at a fire house or pavilion. What would be an absolutely ridiculously insane sweet sixteen would be to spend it in New York City for the "Progressive Nation 2008" tour, starring two of the best bands everrrrrr, Canadian-based Dream Theater and Raleigh-Duram, NC band Between the Buried and Me (BTBAM.) When I turned 13 I saw BTBAM at the Stone Pony on my birthday with August Burns Red, Everytime I Die and others, but another possibly even more spectacular show to be on my birthday, in a feasible weeknight location. It's almost too good to be true...now on to ticket-buying...hopefully.

MIKA shouldn't tour in France because he should be in NJ.

Michael Holbrook Penniman, Lebanese singer known as Mika, rose to fame in the last two years after his album "Life in Cartoon Motion" hit shelves in 2007. And I love it. Therefore, there should be more tour dates in the New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania area. Come on now, giving me two feasible locations with dates that have already passed doesn't feed my desire to see one of these shows. With colorful music of songs capable of laughter or tears, I can only imagine how the live show must feel. There's songs about life, death, overweight people, lollipops and songs about ex-princesses of Monaco. Tell me that's not an eclectic album.

To any radio broadcasters reading:

A. Play more Mika on the radio
B. Advertise when Mika's shows are better
C. Auction off Mika tickets rather than Lame Musicians on Ice
D. All of the above




D.

"Here Comes Peter Cottontail..."

"hoppin' down the bunny trail..."


You sang it. You can't deny it. Yesterday on a beautiful Easter Sunday I was sitting and actually wondering... where did anyone come up with associating religion and a rabbit? Not to mention the fact that rabbits can't even lay eggs. Comedian Jim Gaffigan touched upon it, along with other random holiday traditions, which can be heard on his Comedy Central broadcast or the CD version "Beyond the Pale." There's a five minute, 16 second track totally about holidays and when I was thinking about the Easter traditions, Gaffigan flashed back to me. He also examines the strange traditions of putting lights outside when you cut down a tree and put it inside, July 4th's excuse to blow things up because "It's what the founding fathers would want," and the "gamble chocolate" we get on Valentine's Day along with the "heart-shaped antiacids."

ANYWAY, I wanted to know why we did such strange things on Easter when they really have nothing to do with what the holiday is supposed to do with. I googled it and found "Sunniebunniezz" answered a lot of my questions, teaching me that eggs and rabbit symbolize life and rebirth in different cultures. Who knew?

Check it out:

http://sunniebunniezz.com/holiday/easter.htm
(they even gave some Easter poetry)


But as for the best of Jim Gaffigan...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFFTwnYXI20&feature=related

What a Coincidence.

So I was feasting at The Melting Pot in Red Bank with some friends for fellow PJ 1 Marissa's birthday and I heard "Almost Lover" by A Fine Frenzy. I thought it was too coincidental not to blog about, but it made me realize that dinners out play a lotttt of good music. I heard some Mat Kearney in there too, and it was "Crashing Down" rather than his album hits "Nothing Left to Lose" or "Undeniable."




Happy Easter and enjoy good memories and music (and food)!

A Fine Frenzy

VH1's "You Oughta Know" told me about them a while ago, but I didn't really think I had to know. Turns out, I did. Check them out, it's worth listening to as a good change of pace from radio stuff. I recommend "Lifesize" and "Almost Lover," but "Rangers" is the best I've heard. I have to buy their album "One Cell in the Sea" and I'll be more in depth later about the tunes


www.afinefrenzy.com

Straight Answers from Rachel Benjamin

Facts and answers straight from Rachel Benjamin, Master of Social Work intern at St. Peters Addiction Recovery Center in Albany, NY.



Q: What age do you see the most amount of people needing help for substance abuse?

A: In my particular substance abuse treatment program, the majority of clients are in their thirties. The reason for this is that people in this age bracket are being mandated by parole, probation, CPS (Child Protective Services) or their place of employment because of positive drug screens. The majority of my clients began regularly using drugs in their late teens.

Q. What kind of reason do many have for their use of drugs?

A. There are multiple reasons for drug use, the most prevalent being family history of drug use, social and peer influences, mental health issues (anxiety, depression etc.) environmental factors (socioeconomic status, peers, family, education).

Q: How does an addict begin the process of seeking help for their problems?

A. Some are mandated to treatment while others recognize that they have a problem with drugs and they seek out help on their own. Depending on the severity of the individual’s drug problem, they would seek help at either the inpatient, outpatient or detoxification level.

Q. Do you think the actions of elders have a good amount of bearing on the way teens may act, especially if a family member is influencing a child?

A. Definitely, children model and learn from the people around them and their parental figures. Additionally, the way that elders treat teens and adolescents impacts how those children deal and cope with treatment. If the adult is an abuser user, the teen is more likely to turn to drugs to cope with abuse. Moreover, if a parent is an active drug user, they are more likely to abuse drugs themselves (Sometimes with the parent).

Guitarist's 2007 Death...Where was the news on this then?

Alright so even though it's not the best band, Hawthorne Heights is decent enough for some people to like hearing it on the radio. But seriously. Just browsing through the web for my feature, I landed myself at MTV News looking at an article for the death of H.H.'s guitarist, 26-year-old Casey Calvert from Nov. 27, 2007. So like I said, not a huge fan of this band (at all), but it seems pretty strange that we didn't hear about the death from other news broadcasts, if any. It seems a little strange to me that a 26-year-old could just die like that and nobody say anything. According to a Washington D.C. Medical Examiner, Calvert's death was caused by "acute combined effects of opiate, citalopram and clonazepam intoxication."

Celebrities...drugs...overdose...sounds a whole lot like my feature. Keep reading...

Alicia Keys Tour, Sure Looks Good to Me

I'm finally posting the released dates for everyone's favorite piano WOman.

http://www.ticketmaster.com/artist/807171?camefrom=GGLEEX_SEM_ALICIA&WT.srch=1

Journalism final is the day after the show at the Prudential Center... so if blogging is part of the exam, I think we might be golden.

John Mayer "Say(s)" it all, all the time.

I can't say there's anything I listen to more than John Mayer. It's probably the greatest music anyone could ever listen to and I'll fight anyone who dislikes him until they realize for themselves that his music is much more than the poppy (but AMAZING) songs on the radio. You can say his tone is boring, but you'd be wrong. You can say he's just another typical singer/songwriter, but you would be ever more wrong. Besides his amazingly good looks and comedic interludes between songs at live shows, John Mayer has developed a new caliber for any other person on the radio.

The point of the matter is that you need to go deeper than radio hits with most artists, but John Mayer is too good to even produce a song that can be considered overplayed. They're just too good. I'm just saying, if I had to pick my top songs from the three studio albums, it would be a completely different experience for listeners than the songs on the radio. From his latest studio album "Continuum," i'd definitely choose "Stop This Train." From the 2003 album "Heavier Things," it would be "Something's Missing." From his earliest full-length sudio album "Room for Squares" (2001), it would have to be my favortite song of ALL TIME, "3x5."

Even though I've known this song for a longggg time now (50+ plays on iTunes in the last month(ish)), when I heard Mayer was writing a song for the movie "The Bucket List," starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, I was hit with extreme excitement, but I waited patiently hoping that it wouldn't be a song addressing the movie alone. And then it came... "Say." Musical genious. Talent not only with the irresistable vocals but the perky strumming of the acoustic guitar and harmonies behind the main vocal track. Equipped with lyrics to live by, "Say" is on the radio and deserves to be played on loop all day long. I know I'm not the only one that thinks so.

I'm telling you.. it's a sign. I woke up this morning (delayed opening - thank you HSPAs!) and something told me to turn on VH1. Less than a minute later I'm watching John Mayer preach about the "Save the Music" foundation, then the video for "Say" came on. What a wonderful coincidence.

This is the first rant about John Mayer I have, and you can count on many many many more. All's I'm saying is don't bother arguing with me about him. You won't win.



- Ashley

"Finding My Way" to PNC on July 12

If anyone caught the reference, Canadian trio Rush will be in Holmdel, N.J. at the PNC Bank Arts Center. I've been a fan of Rush for about five years now, which is only a small fraction of the time they've been around. Band members Geddy Lee, Neil Peart and Alex Lifeson have released 24 gold records and 14 platinum ones, including three that have gone multiplatnum. I'm positive that they'll be playing a lot from their newest 2007 album "Snakes and Arrows" (which I have heart little to none of), but I am open to anything they'll put on the table. Some favorites I hope to hear include "The Spirit of Radio" and "Tom Sawyer," but most importantly "Limelight." The CDs I frequent by them are their Chronicles alblums with the greatest hits of all time... unfortunately not including "I Think I'm Going Bald."


Tour dates here - www.rush.com


- Ashley

Who's Oscar Anyway?

I'll be honest - I took a look at the lists of nominees for each of the 2008 Oscar categories and I've only seen two of the movies. American Gangster (highly recommended), nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Ruby Dee) and Best Art Direction, neither of which they took away the award for, and I saw Norbit (Best Makeup), which despite what I've heard people say about how bad that movie was and how it was an hour and a half of their life that they'll never get back, I actually enjoyed it and found it, call me crazy, very funny.

Dont get me wrong, it's not like I don't get out of my house or anything, it's just that I don't get enough cash flow to be able to see all the movies nominated for Oscars. Evening showings nowadays run for about nine dollars a person that I can't be spending every weekend to see what apparantly is "the best picture of the year," even though there's only a small handful that I've seen previews for that haven't claimed that same statement.

With only two awards dealing with music, and both including only motion pictures that I've never seen, I had to brush up on what went on in these movies. Winner of Best Original Score was "Atonement," a soundtrack written by Dario Marianelli (also wrote for Pride & Prejudice - great movie) and performed by Jean-Yves Thibaudet. I can see why it won such a prestigious award, as the music is moving and allows me to picture some kind of on-screen emotion that would be fitting for the tune. Other nominees included The Kite Runner, Michael Clayton, Ratatouille and 3:10 to Yuma.

The award for Best Music in a single song went to Once and the song "Falling Slowly," written and performed by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. I listened to it on YouTube and then immediately downloaded it, despite never even hearing of the movie Once ever hitting theaters close by. The Irish singer-songwriter duo combines Irglova's femininity with Hansard's deeper tone, giving off a contrasting yet still pure sound. Mixed with some light piano and background strumming, "Falling Slowly" was very deserving, along with its contenders from August Rush and Enchanted. I took a look at the songs nominated from Enchanted (all three of them) and saw that producers Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz and Mark Bright wrote songs from other Disney films including the Little Mermaid, and my second all-time favorite Pocahontas (right behind the Lion King). It brought back some memories of the type of music I would exchange with my Britney Spears or Backstreet Boys CDs on the way home from Allenwood School, so I'll admit it was almost refreshing.

But in all seriousness, I'm not some kind of person that is against movies or anything, it's just the movies I risked my money on weren't nominated. Personally, I would have liked to have seen I Am Legend nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Art Direction, Makeup, Visual Effects and most definitely Best Picture (it was worth the nine dollars to say the least). But from the looks of it, I'll surely be keeping Blockbuster busy in the future when all these movies hit shelves.

Little Manhattan, Big Soundtrack.

"Love isn't about rediculous little words. Love is about grand gestures. Love is about airplanes pulling banners over stadiums, proposals on jumbo-trons, giant words in sky writing. Love is about going that extra mile even if it hurts. Letting it all hang out there. Love is about finding courage inside of you that you didn't even know was there." - Gabe, "Little Manhattan"




It was a quiet night, so two of my cousins and I decided to rent a movie. One of them suggested we rent "Little Manhattan," a 2005 production that I had never even heard of before, so we decided to give it a shot. Usually I'm not the kind of person who will rent a movie without hearing anything about it from anyone, but I soon found out it was a risk worth taking. Mark Levin, director of "Little Manhattan," teamed up with writer Jennifer Flackett (also wrote "Wimbledon" and "Madeline") to come out with more than just a cute story about children's romance. The story takes viewers on a rollercoaster ride from the perspective of 10-year-old Gabe and his quest to break the separation between girls and boys and the dreaded cooties that girls brought. Gabe, played by Josh Hutcherson, experiences troubles in his home life, where his father continues to sleep on the couch while divorce papers are in the works, and his mother begins to date again, despite still living with her husband. These troubles only add to the heartache as Gabe is filled with love for karate partner Rosemary Telesco (Charlie Ray), a picture-perfect rich girl who has the social calendar of a celebrity.

The movie brought much more than I ever thought it could, and when I was watching it (feeling myself heartache during Gabe's trials for Rosemary) I couldn't help but realize the music it was accompanied with couldn't have been better chosen. Somehow the movie found a way to successfully incorporate songs that were perfect to suit the mood of Manhattan life, even if it was just the three-by-three block area that Gabe's parents allowed him to scooter around. These tunes included "Sleepless in Brooklyn," performed by Californian group Lazlo Bane, as well as the fitting "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" performed by Freedy Johnston.

What was most impressive to me, however, was that in the final two minutes of the movie, without giving anything away, I found myself singing along to a Matt Scannell rendition of The Beatles' "In My Life." The reason for my surprise was that I'm not even really a huge Beatles' listener, but maybe what it took was to listen to one of their songs actually reproduced WELL. The mood the song emits was perfectly chosen for the mood of the movie, and the tone of Scannell's voice is clean and pure. It is strong yet giving, which I felt more powerful than the typical either too soft or too overbearing sound that some musicians possess.
Hear it for yourself here, and non-Beatles fans, let me know if this helped you enjoy their sound more (definitely did for me): www.myspace.com/mattscannell

Also check out:
Lazlo Bane - www.myspace.com/lazlobaneofficial - "Sleepless in Brooklyn" isn't here, but you can get the taste of what their sound is like compared to...
...Freedy Johnston - www.freedyjohnston.com

Behind the Beehive: Amy Winehouse

Everyone's been talking about her, and singer Amy Winehouse has been getting tons of negative spotlight for her drug usage and unwanted trips to rehab. But finally, something that shows what's beyond her rants about rehab and the fact that her husband's in jail. Check it out from Rolling Stone:

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/amy_winehouse_back_in_black_rehab_married_soul_beehive_diva

Speaking of American Idol...

My brothers and I noticed this when we were watching a Journey DVD that one of them had gotten for Christmas. I had to do this.

Alicia Keys Tour

On a short ride to field hockey my mom's XM radio told me that Alicia Keys will be touring with American Idol Jordin Sparks. I looked on her official site (and read some of her blog there!) and didn't see anything posted yet, but even though I'm not an American Idol buff, I appreciate the kind of music both musicians bring. I haven't heard much of her new album "As I Am," but I'm going out on a limb and calling "Superwoman" to be her next single to follow her current one, "No One," which has topped charts for months now.

When I find tour dates, that's something that might be worth going to. I'll keep you posted.


- Ashley

After 12 Days...

...I'm back to school again. After coming back from Florida and two trips to Pennsylvania, a lot has happened that I'm still not even caught up on. News has been scattered lately as everywhere I've stayed has had different T.V. channels, so I couldn't even keep consistent what kind of news I was watching. The politic-infested news we've been seeing is still completely engulfing the entire population of the U.S., but it's important we step back and look at what's going on outside the bloody world of politics and see what's going on music-wise. Going from Disney World and its princess love songs and the unforgettable, everlasting "It's a Small World" song OVER AND OVER again, back to sanity in the Blue Mountain Ski Lodge in Pennsylvania where the portable heaters were huddled around by resting ski instructors listening to Boston and Rush on their boom-boxes. The differences between the two places went way beyond temperature differences, as I saw how tailored music is to the audience it is playing for.

No matter how badly I wanted to travel on the "Mayercraft Carrier," a Carnival Cruise which sailed out of Miami, Fl. in the beginning of February, I checked out the setlists Mayer played and was glad of the variation between songs that he chose to play, with songs overplayed on the radio (but still great) and songs that have never touched a radiowave.

On another note, Arizona-based group The Format announced that they won't be making another album. Frontmen Sam Means and Nate Ruess didn't give an exact reason for the break-up, but more will follow if they post more on their MySpace (blog post by Nate, Feb. 4 - http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=2823645&blogID=354665121)



- Ashley

Entry #1

When it comes to music, everyone has their own opinions. These opinions may be about their favorite band or singer, or might be completely against a certain musician as well. Favorites, and the hated, can sway and switch any day of the week or change with genre, which is where this blog comes into play. The contrast between the music of yesterday and the music of today is constantly growing, and someone, somehow, can make a comparison between rap and classic rock. If you have it "Any Way You Want It" with Journey frontman Steve Perry and live the "Good Life" with rapper Kanye West, and there's no saying what kind of music you'll like tomorrow, and you'll find it all here.