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