Enough Music To Last Me A Week

In case you were curious, I haven't done a Top 40 rundown for the last two weeks because, frankly, for the last few weeks the Top 40 has been pretty lame. I'll consider another one this week if I see something interesting.

In the meantime, my status as the Arcadia's music geek has been challenged. Yesterday a dude by the name of Mike Newsham and I bonded over music, and ended up sharing bits of our collection. He got my 30 Seconds to Mars CDs, some Beatles, almost all of my Foo Fighters, and a bunch of other stuff. Mike gave me:

-Enough Eric Clapton to last me for awhile. (By Clapton I mean any band Clapton's ever been with; Derek & the Dominos, Cream, Blind Faith, solo stuff...all of it)
-A primer on the works of the Counting Crows
-A healthy boost to my Queen collection (including the soundtrack to We Will Rock You)
-All 3 singles by the Gin Blossoms (one of those '90s bands where you recognize the music when you hear it, but probably never got around to picking up any of the music).
-Some blues stuff from Jools Holland's TV Show (info here)
-Albums by John Mayer and Jimmy Eat World

In all there were 302 songs added to my computer yesterday. I'm still sorting through most of it, but I'll get back to you on what I think of all of it. Here are some MP3s from that set so far (stuff I already heard and approved.

Derek and the Dominos - Layla
Cream - Sunshine of Your Love
Counting Crows - Rain King
Gin Blossoms - Hey Jealousy
Rainbow - I Surrender

Eric Clapton on iTunes
Counting Crows on iTunes
Gin Blossoms on iTunes
Rainbow on iTunes

Rainbow is Ronnie James Dio's band before Black Sabbath. He left by the time I Surrender came out, but it's still pretty cool.

I don't remember if I actually did this yet or not, but ratings for the two albums I bought off Amazon last week.

Rage Against the Machine - The Battle of Los Angeles
The sound is positively epic, Tom Morello's guitar comes out firing on every song, and overall it shows the band at their absolute best. A stunning way to end a band's career (or so we thought back in 2000)
Ruling on the Field: 9.5/10
Highlight Reel: Testify, Sleep Now in the Fire [iTunes]

The White Stripes - Icky Thump
Expect a Second Spin on The White Stripes later this week.
Ruling on the Field: 8/10
Highlight Reel: You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told) [iTunes]

And an update on something I posted about not too long ago; I was a runner-up in The Crash Motive's iMix and Win contest, so I got an autographed CD and T-Shirt. Will post pictures in the near future.

Back next time I can find some spare time.

==TJ==

A Week's Worth of Stuff in 3 Paragraphs

Hey everyone. Sorry for the weeklong absence. Real life/College life can get in the way like that sometimes. Let's get started with all the stuff that I've been meaning to post for the last week.

A combination of my joining the Activist club on campus plus and doing community service work on MLK Day led me to pick up a whole bunch of Rage Against the Machine music. I iTunes'd their self-titled album and bought The Battle of Los Angeles via Amazon and the latter arrived today and I love it. Look for a second spin column on them in the near future.

Rage Against the Machine - Testify [iTunes]
Rage Against the Machine - Sleep Now in the Fire [iTunes]*

*Easily the best RatM song, and perhaps one of my new favorite songs from my lifetime

In the last week Chris Daughtry has once again trashed American Idol, been verbally spanked by someone tied to the show, and consequently backpedaled from said comments. Daughtry told Rolling Stone that AI has lost a lot of credibility since he's been on the show, citing the poor ratings from last season as well as the failed records by Taylor Hicks, Katharine McPhee and Reuben Studdard. Randy Jackson then proceeded to say something to the effect of "Without American Idol there is no Chris Daughtry". Daughtry then backpedaled on his website, agreeing with Jackson's statements. The problem is, both sides are right. American Idol did create Chris Daughtry, and ironically getting kicked off the show was the best career move Daughtry could have made. Also, Taylor Hicks sucks. End of story. It's science. "Tattoo" is a great song and Jordin Sparks has talent, but Kelly Clarkson she ain't. Blake Lewis could potentially be a hit, but his record label doesn't seem interested in promoting him, so its a safe bet he'll be seen working at a coffee shop within two years. I don't know what it'll take to make AmIdol relevant again, but if Chris Daughtry has any ideas, they'd do right to listen.

This next bit isn't exactly music related, but the theatre guy in me won't let this go unnoticed on this blog. Heath Ledger's death earlier this week was just crushing. I was shocked when I first got word, and talking to people on campus I haven't heard a single person express any level of apathy. Everyone I've talked to is shocked and saddened beyond words. I haven't seen Brokeback Mountain or Casanova (what are believed to be his best performances), but A Knight's Tale has always been a favorite of mine and is probably one of the most depressingly underappreciated movies ever. There was so much future ahead for him, and as Alex said, there is one less star on Earth tonight.

RIP Heath Ledger...you will be missed

Yellowcard - View From Heaven (Live) [iTunes]
Jimmy Eat World - Hear You Me [iTunes]

Back soon.

==TJ==

VLM Celebrates One Year of Indie-Bashing!!!

Ladies and gentlemen, it was one year ago today that Viva La Mainstream first launched. It's gone through a number of changes, most notably its name and its focus, but the goal is the same: Bringing the ROCK back to the blogotubes, or whatever the hell it's called these days.

In celebration of one year of blogging, I'm reposting the intro survey I did in the first entry. You can see the original answers here. Also posting MP3s when available. Let's get started!

Number of songs: 3058
Total Time: 8:05:33:38 (days:hours:minutes:seconds)

Sort by song title:
-first song: Bowling For Soup - A-Hole
-Last song: Jay-Z - 99 Problems

(Note that in the past year iTunes in their infinite wisdom did an update which decided that numbers now belong at the end of the alphabet.)

Sort by length:
-Shortest song: Ronnie Day - Insert 1 (:09)
-Longest Song: Allman Brothers Band - Mountain Jam (33:41)

Sort by album:
-First Song: The Beatles - Here Comes the Sun (Abbey Road)
-Last Song: Collective Soul - The World I Know (last listed album; there are a bunch of songs with unknown album)

First five songs that come up on shuffle:
1. Linkin Park - Crawling
2. The Killers - Smile Like You Mean It
3. U2 - One
4. My Chemical Romance - All I Want For Christmas is You
5. Familiar 48 - Learn to Love Again

Top 10 Most Played Songs:
1. Linkin Park - Bleed it Out (22)
2. Buckcherry - Crazy Bitch (16)
3. Buckcherry - Everything (15)
4. Foo Fighters - Long Road to Ruin (14)
5. Stone Sour - Zzyzx Rd. (14)
6. The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Face Down (13)
7. AFI - Summer Shudder (12)
8. The All-American Rejects - Move Along (12)
9. The Fray - How to Save A Life (12)
10. Jimmy Eat World - Hear You Me (12)

Search "sex", how many songs come up? 16
Search "love", how many songs come up? 111
Search "death", how many songs come up? 2
Search "hate", how many songs come up? 14
Search "wish", how many songs come up? 6

(adding some more questions for the hell of it)
Which artist appears most often?
Foo Fighters (125 songs)

Sort by date added:
Most recent: Led Zeppelin - Fool in the Rain (added 1/16/08 4:36 PM)
Least recent: 3 Doors Down - Let Me Go (Acoustic) (Added 7/20/06 5:37 PM)
[About 20 songs are listed as being added at that time, but this is the one at the bottom of the list]

Which song appears most often?
"Happy Xmas (War is Over)" (6 Versions)
Versions by Acceptance, The Fray, John Lennon, Melissa Etheridge, Sense Field, and The Used/Street Drum Corps

Number of songs never played: 780
Number of songs with 5-star ratings - 618
Number of songs DRMed/bought on iTunes - 195

And I think that just about does it. Here's to another year of blogtastic awesomeness!

Currently listening: Jimmy Eat World - Electable (Give It Up) [iTunes]

SaveFile acting up right now...will be back with MP3s...sorry!

==TJ==

*Insert Witty Music Related Title Here*

Went on a bit of a ringtone buying rampage last night that might carry on into today. For the record, $2.50 for a 30 second clip of a song on my phone is ridiculous. No wonder ringtones have been so profitable. Anyway, if you were to call my phone right now, I would hear one of the following songs:

Finger Eleven - Paralyzer
Sixx:A.M. - Life is Beautiful
Dropkick Murphys - I'm Shipping Up To Boston

Today happens to have two birthdays of note; The first is that of my mother. I doubt my mother reads this thing, but either way, Happy Birthday Mom! The other is that of Foo Fighter's leader Dave Grohl, who turns 40 today. In honor of this, I was going to upload my 10 favorite Foo Fighter songs, but the internet here on campus is being slow, so I can only give you my three faves off the new album.

The Pretender
Long Road to Ruin
Cheer Up Boys, Your Makeup is Running

Get all kinds of Foo Fighters stuff on iTunes here

Back tomorrow...maybe. Going back to school is not good for daily blogging.

==TJ==

Maybe the Angel Isn't Crying As Much Now

I linked my friend Alex to that "Low" remix I posted earlier today. He countered with this:

Timbaland - The Way I Are (OneRepublic remix)

It would appear that's how a band says "thank you" for stealing a song and making it a #1 single. As remixes and collaborations go, I've heard far worse. Hell, I've heard worse on Timbaland's CD. 1000 points to Alex for pointing me in this direction, and props to Mixtape Maestro for giving me the link.

==TJ==

Somewhere In This World An Angel is Crying

And, now, I'd like to present you with a healthy dose of WTF?!?! I can't make this kind of stuff up:

Flo Rida - Low (Red Jumpsuit Apparatus remix)


Pop quiz, everybody! The song above makes TJ want to:
A)Proclaim the arrival of the golden age of music
B)Weep uncontrollably for the future
C)Punch small children, set fields of flowers ablaze and destroy everything that is beautiful in this world
D)Dance like a moron



If you answered A to that question, go sit in a corner while the rest of us point and laugh. If you said D...just...no. If you answered C, you would be correct. Apparently the way to make an irritating-as-all-unholy-hell song acceptable to people like me is to take a second-rate rock band and put them behind it. Did it work? The scary thing is...I don't know. For the moment I'm hoping this is a joke and I won't turn on Q102 later today to hear this. But if you find me later today and my ears are bleeding and you see some small children crying in a scorched field, you'll know why.

==TJ==

We Gonna Party Like It's Your Birthday...

So apparently if you're born on January 9th, there's a good chance you can become a rockstar. Looking at the list of births today, we've got a bunch. Some of these guys I either don't know or don't care about (i.e. lead singer for LA Guns, bassist for Hole), so let's just take care of the good ones:

-Dave Matthews of the aptly named Dave Matthews Band turned 41 today. I'm not sure how I feel about this. The rockstars from so many of the bands I like are getting old (in music terms anyway). I know 40 isn't really old at all, but compared to all these new bands and the fact that these days a 13 year old with a sense of pitch can get a recording contract with Disney (if not someone more legit), guys like Dave Matthews, Slash, Dave Grohl, etc. are practically seniors. Makes me a little sad.

Dave Matthews Band - Grey Street [iTunes]

I am now going to attempt to finish the next bullet point without using the words "Bonnaroo" or "tour".

-Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page turns 63 today. I wanted to put an MP3 of "Fool in the Rain" here since I heard it for the first time today on WMMR in honor of Page's birthday, but I failed to get a copy of said song. Hope this'll work out just as well. Bonnarootour...DAMMIT!! I tried...

Led Zeppelin - Good Times, Bad Times [iTunes]

The other notable ones I saw aren't nearly as cool:

-Carl Bell, one of the guys from Fuel, turned 41 today. Sadly, that's about the number of people who enjoyed Fuel's last album. Sorry guys, but Bret Scallions pretty much was your band, and the new guy can't hold a candle to him or Chris Daughtry.

-AJ McLean, the substance-abusing Backstreet Boy, celebrates his 30th birthday today. By traditional boy band rules, I believe this means he is now subject to cloning a younger version of himself while the original is put through a ritual sacrifice. Oh, the trials of a musician.

Currently Listening: Sonny Rhodes - The Ballad of Serenity [iTunes]
(yep...the theme from Firefly)

==TJ==

Countdown to 5,000 Songs

My Last.fm page says that I have played 4,990 songs since joining. In celebration of the pending song 5000, I am going to play the next 10 songs right now, and depending on how I feel, say a bit about them and/or post an MP3 of them. For the record, I have my iTunes set to shuffle my entire library, and I will not skip any song, no matter how embarrassing it may be. So here we go, this should be fun!

Song 4,991: The Monkees - Daydream Believer [iTunes]
...and I can see we're off to a good start *rolls eyes*. One of those songs that's been played about three bazillion times on your local oldies radio station (see also: "Brown Eyed Girl", "Magic Carpet Ride"). And how can you not love the multiple key changes at the end? Ah...

Song 4,992: Foo Fighters - Never Talking to You Again (Husker Du cover) [Foo on iTunes]
Got this as a B-Side when The Good, The Bad and the Unknown released a bunch of unreleased Foo songs. Always loved acoustic Foo Fighters, and this one sounds just as good as a Foo song as it does anyone else.

Song 4,993: The Beatles - Let it Be (Naked Version) [buy the CD on Amazon]
Almost certainly on my list of the 10 best Beatles songs ever. Don't know if I like the original or the Let it Be...Naked version better, and there are times when I'm not sure I can tell the difference (just as I finished typing that I got to the guitar solo and lo, I could hear a much more stripped down, raw guitar. Advantage: Naked version (for now)). My high school chorus would do this once or twice in class when we had nothing better to do. The last verse seals the deal every time:

And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me
Shine on til tomorrow, Let it be
I wake up to the sounds of music, mother Mary calls to me
Speaking words of wisdom, let it be...

Love it. Love it. Love it.

Song 4,994: Jimmy Eat World - Night Drive [iTunes]
One of the better songs off of Futures, an album that I could never really appreciate, especially now that Chase this Light is on constant rotation on my computer. One of Jim Adkins' best lyrical moments on the whole albums, and one of the few instances where the slower, softer Jimmy actually works out well. I think if I ever do the cliche "take a girl up to a hill overlooking a city" bit, I'd want this song playing. Has the right atmosphere, even when it kicks back into full band at the last 90 seconds or so. Its about as good as the most average songs on the new album, which is still pretty damned good.

Song 4,995: Secondhand Serenade - End [iTunes]
This works out rather nicely, since I got a MySpace bulletin from them encouraging to tell one person about them. Since I'm writing a blog that I assume more than one person reads, I think that mission is accomplished. I did a more thorough write up on Secondhand Serenade last week, go check it out.

This brings up one more thing; if you read this thing, leave a comment at some point just to say what's up. It'd be nice to hear some feedback, even if it's a "you're taste in music sucks". Which I doubt it would be since you're reading this and its a blog dedicated to music. As long as I'm on a tangent here, let the record show that I've been typing live, so if there are any screw ups or if some bits seem shorter than others, that's why. The Foo Fighters song was only 2 minutes long, hence it's shortness. This song is nearly 3 minutes of the line "Don't Let Me Down", among others, so its easy to run out of stuff to say. Awesome harmonies though. So yeah check these guys out.

Song 4,996: Creed - My Sacrifice [iTunes]
There was no way I was getting through 10 songs without something potentially embarrassing coming up. But at any rate, be a man and admit it; you liked Creed back when they were popular too, and jumped ship like everyone else when things got sour. The only difference is I still admit to having all three CDs and listening to them once in awhile. The music wasn't terrible (not compared with some of the other garbage that was making money in 2001), people just hate Scott Stapp. And to some degree with reason.

In a related story, Human Clay was apparently #7 on the list of 10 best-selling albums of the SoundScan era. At #1? Shania Twain's Come On Over. Seriously? Shania Twain is at #1, and people are gonna bitch about Creed? There's something wrong with this picture.

Song 4,997: Staind - Outside [iTunes]
The second, less-appreciated single from what was Staind's first widely popular album. Sadly this isn't the live version where Fred Durst kinda mumbles along and then shouts at the crowd during the guitar break.

This is another band that gets a bad rap for being on the radio in the early '00s. Look; if you found out you could write songs, and one or both of your parents treated you like crap, don't you think you would try to get some getback? Cut Aaron Lewis a break. It's not his fault that a bunch of other bands tried to ride his coattails.

(This is getting increasingly difficult as my dad tries to make his new phone work. Missed the last 30 secs of "Outside" and the first minute of the next song. Pausing now to catch up.)

Song 4,998: Eve 6 - Tongue Tied [iTunes]
And we're back on track. Found out two weeks ago that Eve 6 is among the laundry list of bands that chose to reunite. Normally these guys would qualify on the list of bands that didn't deserve a reunion, but Horrorscope (the second album) was one of my favorite CDs in middle school, so I'm gonna let this one slide. Cool song from the first album, the only one I don't have.

Song 4,999: The Animals - House of the Rising Sun [iTunes]
Another frequenter of the oldies radio stations. Every time it comes on my dad feels the need to point out that there's an organ solo, so yeah...there's an organ solo somewhere in this song. The first verse was also the intro to the U2/Green Day song after Hurricane Katrina "The Saints Are Coming". I wanna say its been used in something else worth noting, some movie or something, but I'm blanking. A thousand points to whoever comes up with what I'm thinking of. Not a terrible song, despite being on oldies radio station (sorry folks, after hearing oldies every time I'm in a car with my father, I have a special place in my heart for such things).

And now...here it comes...I want you to know I'm drumrolling in my head right now...




Song 5,000: Maroon 5 - Not Falling Apart [iTunes]
...
...
...
Wow. That was anticlimactic. I think I've only listened to this song maybe once. One of the misses on the hit-and-miss last album. Of all the good songs on the CD, I had to get this pedestrian one? iTunes has failed me. Listening to it now anyway...it's not so terrible that my ears are bleeding, but there's nothing particularly fun about it. It sounds like an average Maroon 5 song. I don't understand why Rolling Stone gave so much love to this CD when Linkin Park and the Foo Fighters put out so much better work this year. It probably has something to do with the fact that Adam Levine looks like equal parts Justin Timberlake and Bruce Banner. Maybe they were afraid of him going Incredible Hulk or something.

So there you have it. 5,000 songs since November 27, 2006. Below I'm posting songs 1,000 and 2,000, just 'cause I have them listed. I'll be back later.

Song 1,000: Eminem - Lose Yourself [iTunes]
Song 2,000: The Killers - Sam's Town [iTunes]


==TJ==

PS: I did this piece as I heard each song, so you basically got 10 Currently Listening's today, so I'll skip a separate one today.

On Account of Nothing, A Little Bit Of Everything

Most of this weekend was spent doing a whole bunch of nothing, both in my universe, and it would appear to be the same for the rest of the world (except for that Britney Spears episode, but in the interest of NOT giving into the media frenzy, we'll pretend that didn't happen). Luckily that gives me free range to post random stuff for your enjoyment.

First, I present to you a song dedicated to my new television obsession:

The Wallflowers - Heroes (Not available on iTunes or AmazonMP3)

I rented the first two discs of season 1 this weekend. I tried giving it a shot earlier in the year, but real life kept me from watching it regularly. I'm truly impressed. Definitely not the typical comic book superhero type thing going on, but it still holds my attention as well as Spider-Man. Definitely something I'm gonna try to snag on DVD when I have money again.



I went bowling with a few of my friends this weekend. No real story here, it just gave me an excuse to post this video/song. If you didn't see Across the Universe in theaters, its out on DVD February 5th. Make your life a little better and go watch it.

Jim Sturgess - I've Just Seen A Face [iTunes]

I got a new phone last week, and finally managed to get some ringtones that don't suck. If you were to call me right now, I would hear "Paralyzer" by Finger Eleven. I posted it in the last entry, go pick it up.

In what is the ultimate proof of justice in the music world, American Idol winner Taylor Hicks was dropped by his record label last week. When reached for comment, fellow contestant Chris Daughtry had only this to say: "Taylor Who?"

Daughtry - Over You [iTunes]

I think that's it for now. I promise a better entry tomorrow.

Currently Listening: Snow Patrol - Set Fire to the Third Bar [iTunes]

==TJ==

Top 40 Breakdown: FINALLY Someone Knocks Off "Apologize"

Every Friday from now until whenever I decide to stop, I'm going to provide a breakdown/commentary on the week's Top 40 radio charts (If someone from Pretty Much Amazing wants to throw things at me for snagging an idea they had for awhile, now would be the time). So let's look at this weeks hits:

After 8 seemingly endless weeks atop the list, Timbaland/OneRepublic's "Apologize" saw its reign come to an end this week, slipping to #2. Before you feel bad for either band though, OneRepublic has "Stop and Stare" at #25 and climbing, and Timbaland's name appears a staggering 3 times with "Apologize" (#2), "The Way I Are" (#14), and 50 Cent's "Ayo Technology" (#29) all charting this week.

Replacing "Apologize" is the new Alicia Keys track "No One". Quite frankly I would have rathered another week of "Apologizing" boning the radio, but clearly I'm in the minority here. The rest of the top 10 is pretty lackluster, as Fergie's "Clumsy", Rihanna and Ne-Yo's "Hate That I Love You" and Colbie Caillat's "Bubbly" are still holding strong, as is the intolerable "Low" by Flo Rida. The only bright spots in the top 10 are Finger Eleven at #9 (down from #7 last week) and Jordin Sparks' "Tattoo" rising to #6.

Once out of the top 10, things get good. "Misery Business" by Paramore rose to #13 this week, but with a gain of only 5 plays nationwide, I don't think that'll get much higher. Daughtry's newest pop/rock crossover "Over You" is holding at #12, and rounding out the top half is Linkin Park's "Shadow of the Day", up one spot from last week. Also in there are a bunch of songs left over from the summer, with the aforementioned "The Way I Are" and Kanye West's "Stronger" (#17) just refusing to lay down and die. At 29 weeks, "The Way I Are" is the longest charting song on the Top 40 right now.

Once out of the top 20, the rest of the list is made up of songs either on their way in or on their way out. After "Everything" failed to make a dent on the radio, Buckcherry's "Sorry" is making a run for the top, currently sitting at #22. The positively generic "Never Too Late" by Three Days Grace follows close behind, while Boys Like Girls and Chris Brown's "With You" also saw chart increases this week. On the way out is the indefensibly bad Soulja Boy, who starting next week will most likely enter the recurrent chart, along with Maroon 5 and 50 Cent. At the tail end of the list is "Calling You" by Blue October, released on the re-issue of 2006's Foiled (the original version was released in 2003). The song has bottomed out the chart for the last two weeks, but I'm personally hoping for a boost in the coming weeks.

My expectations for next week: With no song immediately poised to take down "No One", expect it to remain for another week or two, unless "Tattoo" can make a huge jump quickly. A bunch of songs will probably fall off the charts next week into the recurrent section, which might pave the way for "Calling You" to rise, and Sara Bareilles' "Love Song" to crack into the crossover list. That's the best I can offer this week, perhaps as I keep looking we'll see something more.

The Highlight Reel
Timbaland feat. OneRepublic - Apologize
Finger Eleven - Paralyzer
Paramore - Misery Business
Linkin Park - Shadow of the Day
Buckcherry - Sorry
Boys Like Girls - Hero/Heroine
Blue October - Calling You

Source: http://www.radioandrecords.com/Formats/Charts/CHR_Top40_Chart.asp

Current Music: Our Lady Peace - Made of Steel (DRMed...sorry guys)

==TJ==

Dave Grohl to Drum for Led Zeppelin?

For the last 4 months anytime anybody breathed the words "Led Zeppelin" the whole world stopped to listen. I could right now start a rumor that said that Led Zeppelin was going to do an intergalactic tour that kicked off tomorrow on Jupiter and there's a good chance it would get picked up by someone. There's been more bullshit surrounding this than any real fact; first they're reuniting, now its a one-off. A source says they're headlining Bonnaroo, two more say they aren't, then three say they are. I've been trying to avoid it simply because I'm not the world's biggest Zeppelin fan, but the one I read yesterday is too much to let pass.

WMMR here in Philadelphia picked up a story from a site called gigwise.com that suggested that if/when the Zep decide to tour, the man behind the drum kit would be none other than Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl.

(I know a bunch of people probably stopped reading right here and are chalking this up to my neverending love of the Foo, but I'm not making this up. Read it here.)

British newspapers are saying that Grohl was on the list to take over for the late John Bonham on drums for their O2 show in December, but the spot ended up going to Bonham's son, Jason. They go on to say that Grohl would drop anything Foo Fighters related for a chance to play with Led Zeppelin. The Foo Fighters camp have not responded to these rumors, and as expected, reps for Zeppelin have been equally silent.

I'm not saying that its a good idea for this to happen, but damn it if it isn't the coolest bit to come across my computer screen all week. If I had to make a call, I would say that someone will debunk this story by early next week, but either way the story is awesome.

Back later today with a breakdown of the Top 40.

Foo Fighters - Another Round (feat. John Paul Jones) [iTunes]

Currently Listening: Led Zeppelin - Dazed and Confused [iTunes]
(this news made me decide to give them another shot)

==TJ==

Secondhand Serenade puts a Twist in their sound

Secondhand Serenade, alias singer/songwriter John Vesely, is releasing a second studio album in February, titled A Twist in My Story. The first single "Fall For You" found its way onto iTunes earlier this week. Unlike Vesely's 2007 debut Awake, "Fall For You" features a full band, but still carries the heart-pouring lyrics and crystal clear harmonies that led Awake to become a hit out of nowhere.

Besides the full band sound, the other clear change rests in the production. For A Twist In My Story Vesely enlisted the help of producers whose previous work included albums by Nine Inch Nails and Angels & Airwaves, a far cry from the solo acoustic work heard in the past. The song itself is on par with some of the best of Awake, and is a clear break from the "baby Dashboard" that was prevalent on Awake. According to Secondhand Serenade's MySpace, other tracks will include a re-recording of Awake track "Maybe" and tracks like the title song that hearken back to the stripped down sound of old.

Ultimately Vesely is promising an album that's out to please fans first and foremost. As someone who shelled out cash for Awake, and am enjoying "Fall For You", count me in when A Twist in My Story drops in February.

In the interest of promoting the band, I'm not posting "Fall For You", but instead I'll give you the original version of "Maybe". You can get "Fall For You" on iTunes here

Secondhand Serenade - Awake [iTunes]
Secondhand Serenade on MySpace

Currently Listening: The Beatles - Wait

==TJ==

Songs I'm Loving (Perhaps A Bit Too Much)

-A month after seeing the movie, I'm still loving the music from the August Rush Soundtrack. I went looking to see if Johnathan Rhys Meyers was ever in a band or had any other music out, and was sad to find nothing. Even his work in Velvet Goldmine was redone by other bands for the soundtrack. Rather unfortunate if you ask me, but then again the rest of the industry seems pretty bent on crucifying actor/musicians (look at the way other artists have trashed Jared Leto and 30 Seconds to Mars). At any rate, another sampling of Meyer's music ("This Time" was posted in an earlier entry)

Johnathan Rhys Meyers & Steve Erdody - Bach / Break [iTunes]

-As much as the rock fanatic in me hates to admit it, the new song by Avril Lavigne is too damned much fun. Say what you will about how 'corporate' she is or whatever, it's still ridiculous, upbeat pop that's got just enough in it to keep my brain cells from dying. At this rate The Best Damn Thing might end up getting a second spin before too long.

And just for the record, nobody is forcing me to write any of this, I promise.

Avril Lavigne - Hot [iTunes]

-There was once a time where I would trash anything that came out of American Idol. Then 2007 happened, and Kelly Clarkson released a rock album, Chris Daughtry did his thing, and most recent winners Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis both released great first singles (yeah I know I'm behind on this, but I've been hiding behind my rock music for awhile). Sparks' "Tattoo" is a version of "Big Girls Don't Cry" that guys won't feel as embarrassed to listen to, and as my friend Alex put it, Blake Lewis' "Break Anotha" is Justin Timberlake minus the annoying. Given the choice, I think I prefer "Break Anotha", but just the fact that I enjoy both is earth-shattering. A review of Lewis' Audio Day Dream will be coming soon.

Blake Lewis - Break Anotha [iTunes]
Jordin Sparks - Tattoo [iTunes]

-My rediscovered love for Pearl Jam that I talked about last week is still going strong. I've been in the process of uploading every Pearl Jam CD I own, which is surprisingly hefty given that I previously only gave them a passing glance. Given that I also watched Reign Over Me earlier this week, this song seems appropriate.

Pearl Jam - Love Reign O'er Me (Who Cover) [iTunes]

(One day I will post a PJ MP3 that isn't a cover...I promise)

-Shortly before naming Chase This Light the second best album of 2007, I uncovered this B-Side left off the album. Only heard it once so far, but its just as good as everything else on the CD, and I'm not quite sure why it was left off. Enjoy.

Jimmy Eat World - Open Bar Reception [Chase This Light on iTunes]

That's all for now. Back later.

Currently Listening To: Pearl Jam - Jeremy [iTunes]

==TJ==

VLM's New Year's Resolution: Blog More

Happy New Year Everybody! The title pretty much gives it all; my goal for 2008 is to give more to you, my loyal readers. Haven't figured out exactly what that means yet, but some of the things I'm thinking about doing include:

-Reviving the Second Spin and Discount Rack features
-Weekly commentary on the radio charts
-Show you what I'm listening to every entry (see below)
-Perhaps a LiveBlog of the Grammys?
-Looks at awesome bands that aren't quite mainstream yet but deserve to be (also see below)
-Possible revival of the Radio Show
-More random looks into what I'm listening to

And any other things that I come up with. Either way, you're getting more from me. Regarding that awesome bands that aren't mainstream yet, if you're in such a band or know of a band that fits this category, let me know! Friend the MySpace page (now with a Link on the Left), or leave a message here. Already looking at doing a piece on 10 MySpace Bands I think everyone should know, so if you have ideas get 'em to me.

As for the what I'm listening to every entry...well, it's pretty simple. In addition to the MP3s of the songs I blog about, I'm gonna start giving out MP3s of the song I'm listening to as I type this. (assuming its different from one of the songs I write about). I'm also plotting some cool stuff for the pending one-year anniversary of VLM, so keep reading, and I will be back in the very near future.

Currently Listening To: Foo Fighters - Wind Up [iTunes]

==TJ==