Ahead Of The Curve '09

The videos are online! Check out the work we did at SXSW here!

A favorite of mine, Ladyhawke:

My Notes On The Latest Albums

Dan Auerbach, "Keep It Hid"
-Can anyone say rock n’ roll? Auerbach's solo album is a must-buy...it’s like listening to the Black Keys but with a full kick ass band (otherwise known as Hacienda) and I’ve been listening to this non-stop!

Blitzen Trapper, "Furr"
-A bit country pop, this band was a favorite of mine at SXSW, and I have no idea why I didn’t like them before!

The Airborne Toxic Event, self titled
-Another favorite at SXSW, a mixture of a bit Arcade Fire, Bush, and Lightspeed Champion, with a killer violinist

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "It’s Blitz!"
-Their third album and typical Karen O, but they bring something new to the table here—keep making more!

Wilco, "Sky Blue Sky"
-I’m excited to see this album play out in concert—check out Wilco if you haven’t already, their experimentation might take a bit to get used to, but trust me you’ll love them!

Peter Bjorn & John, "Living Thing"
-I’ve been anticipating their second album, but who hasn’t? These guys stood out at Coachella, and if you liked “Young Folks” you will be pleased

Camera Obscura, "My Maudlin Career"
-Same dreamy voice, same original sound. They played in this small, beautiful church at SXSW and it felt like heaven

Coner Oberst, "Outer South"
-Album is released May 5th, but I got a sneak peak at Coachella. Oberst, otherwise known as Bright Eyes, does folk rock at it’s finest

Chairlift, "Do You Inspire You"
-You know their song “Bruises” featured on an ipod nano commercial, but the rest of the album is solid and very different (keep an open mind), and they did a impressive job for us at SXSW

Felice Brothers, "Yonder Is The Clock"
-I’ve been talking about these boys non-stop and their dusty, rustic folk rock sound; with vocals reminiscent of Dylan. You feel like you’re in a barn during a country jam session drinking beers—in the distant past

Ida Maria, "Fortress ‘Round My Heart"
-I like this album, but it’s still growing on me—I’ve gotta support my fellow Norwegians! I like her loud rock tunes but more so when she slows it down, and I hear she’s great live

M. Ward, "Hold Time"
-One half of the band She & Him, and the talk of the town at Coachella, this album is a great one to sit back and relax to, or to pop in your car during a road trip

And look out for Hockey, if you like the Black Lips you will probably dig these dirty boys!

Summer Festivals--My Top 10 Picks

Splurge and treat yourself...

1. Glastonbury - London 6/24-28
2. Fuji Rock - Japan 7/24-26
3. Roskilde - Denmark 7/2-5
4. Oxegen - Scotland & Ireland 7/10-12
5. Pukkelpop - Belgium 8/20-22
6. Oya - Norway 8/11-15
7. Lollapalooza - Chicago 8/7-9
8. Bonnaroo - TN 6/11-14
9. Rothbury - MI 7/2-5
10. Rock Werchter - Belgium 7/2-5

NY Summer Shows

Summer in New York is the absolute best time to see shows--the amount of bands coming through increases ten-fold.
So far here are my picks:

Phoenix
Music Hall of Williamsburg
6/18
Terminal 5
6/19

Wilco
7/13
Keyspan Park

MGMT
Prospect Park bandshell
7/1

The Roots
Highline Ballroom
Several Dates

Animal Collective
Prospect Park bandshell
8/14-8/15
Terminal 5
5/13

Keane
Radio City
5/27

Apostle of Hustle
Bowery Ballroom
6/10

Allman Brothers
Jones Beach
8/27
Red Rocks (Colorado)
9/5

AC/DC
Giants Stadium
7/31

Phish-Several Shows
Jones Beach
Merriweather (MD)
8/15

Allman Brothers Band & Widespread Panic
Merriweather (MD)
10/9

All Points West Festival
Liberty State Park, NJ
7/31-8/2

Lou Reed Misses

I couldn't believe that Lou Reed tickets were $20 at the Gramercy Theater on Friday night, and not sold out. Well, it was easy to see why--when for the first time in my life I walked out of a show after 5 painful minutes.

I saw Lou Reed a few years ago and he was great. He only played 2 songs but it was exciting seeing him after being such a fan of the Velvet Underground. Now he's touring with the "Metal Machine Trio," and it's a bunch of extremely loud screeching and scratching--no vocals! I can appreciate original music, but not something that hurts your ears. It was sad to see so many people walking out, especially people like my crew that didn't do their research.

Favorite Song of Coachella

The Killers KILL IT

Coachella Videos

A little bit from Paul McCartney, Fleet Foxes, and Band of Horses.

Coachella-Sunday

Another fabulous day in the beautiful Palm Springs has passed, and sadly the spring break is over.  Kate and I started the day by the pool and then stopped by the Indioasis party, which had an interesting hipster crowd frolicking in the pool. After getting our share of free booze we headed over to the festival's main stage and chilled there and at the closest beer pen all night. Amazing performances by Peter, Bjorn and John and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs ensued, after which we met some great people and danced wildly to The Cure--the most anticipated show of the event.
I was sad to miss Lykke Li (we weren't rushing over to the festival) but I'm sure I'll get to see her again in NYC. I haven't seen PB&J in a few years, but they seem much more in sync with each other and I have been waiting for their next album! The Yeah Yeah Yeahs always put on some of my favorite shows. They rock hard, and damn good. Karen O is as crazy and happy as ever performing, and it's always great fun watching her do her thing. Unfortunately we had to sit through My Bloody Valentine, which was horrible. It was a good beer break but as Kate put it, "like listening to constant static." How did they get such a great time slot??? As for The Cure, it was surreal. I never thought I would see them, let alone they'd be touring again. They were perfection, and Robert Smith was just as scary as you'd think he would look. I love his voice though, and they played a set list everyone was happy with.

What a perfect festival weekend!!!

Coachella-Saturday

Yet another day of great shows at Coachella has passed. I forgot just how amazing the Killers are and they are fresh on my mind. Brandon Flowers has got such great energy and dance moves, and I was looooving all of the hits old and new. Flowers also surprisingly changed things up a bit with a few different beats and I loved that.
The best part about the show is that I’m not camping, nor rushing over to the festival to sit in the 100-degree desert. Yesterday morning I was drinking poolside and welcoming one of my closest friends Charlie, who is usually the best part of the party and I am SO happy to have him here (thanks to the VIP passes also). After the pool drinking debauchery (and some glances at Tiffany Amber-Theissan), we headed over to the festival and were treated with an unbelievable lineup. TV on the Radio, Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses, M.I.A (did she even take maternity leave?) and The Killers! Band of Horses has been my favorite show so far (a high energy show and a great view of the beautiful, sexy Scott Speedman didn't hurt), but I was sad to miss Jenny Lewis and Thievery Corporation. The VIP section was nothing special, although I did have a quick convo with Jared Leto and M.I.A's stylist. I'm off to the pool now and can hardly contain my excitement for today's shows! The Cure here I come!

Coachella-Friday

Coachella has been a blast so far. We arrived at our beautiful resort with pools straight out of Melrose Place with music lovers in their 20s and 30s everywhere. We rushed over to the festival as soon as we could so as not to miss The Black Keys. Unfortunately we did miss The Airborne Toxic Event, a favorite newcomer of mine that I discovered at SXSW last month, but you just can’t fit them all! As soon as we walked into the festival fields we ran into some college friends and sadly had to watch The Black Keys from a “beer pen” next to the stage. The show was a good as ever and a great start. From there, Kate, my partner in crime, and I, stopped by Conor Oberst where we ran into Lake Bell and soon after saw Anne Hathaway canoodling with her new beau at Leonard Cohen. He had a fantastic voice but was a bit slow so we took a beer break, while hearing Franz Ferdinand, N.A.S.A and Crystal Castles from afar (all sounded great). Our plan was to skip Ghostland Observatory since we’ve seen them so many times, but how could we resist? It was plain awesomeness, as usual, and was lucky enough to dance next to none other than Justin Bobby. A quick stop over at the highly recommended Beirut was next on the schedule, and back to the beer pen complete with Girl Talk in the background.


Last, but by far the least, was the infamous Paul McCartney. It was so much better than expected and on top of playing songs dedicated to Linda and John, and a ukulele from George, he played a plethora of Beatles songs amongst fireworks. “Black Bird,” “All My Loving,” "Yesterday," "Something," "Can't Buy Me Love," "Eleanor Rigby," "Band on the Run," “Live and Let Die,” “Hey Jude,” “Let it Be,” “Drive My Car,” “Back in the USSR,” “Paperback Writer;” to name most. Let's not forget "A Day in the Life" transitioning into "Give Peace a Chance!" I feel so lucky to have seen Paul, one Beatle, in this lifetime.

Now I’m hanging poolside living the Cali lifestyle, reminiscing about yesterday’s shows whilst sipping on a mimosa…what could be better?

Sexual Healing

So I have been requested to make a mix tape to enjoy with your loved one.  Add this to your playlist, and go ahead and thank me later.

The Rolling Stones, "Ruby Tuesday"

The Raconteurs, "Together"

Radiohead, "Fake Plastic Trees"

The Cure, "Pictures of You"

Death Cab For Cutie, "Cath"
The Rolling Stones, "Wild horses"
Led Zeppelin, "Tangerine"
The Doors, "Love me two times"

Nico, "These Days"

Coldplay, "Lost?"

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, "Upon this title wave of young blood"

Modest Mouse, "3rd Planet"
The Doors, "Light my fire"
Jimi Hendrix, "Voodoo Child"

The Beatles, "Lucy in the sky with diamonds"
Bob Dylan, "Simple twist of fate"
The Black Crowes, "She talks to angels"
My Morning Jacket, "One big holiday"

Radiohead, "Karma Police"

MGMT, "Kids"

The Flaming Lips, "Yoshima battles the pink robots, pt. 1"

Pink Floyd, "Wish you were here"

My Morning Jacket, "Thank you part 1"

Bon Iver, "Skinny Love"

Kings of Leon, "Revelry"

The Pixies, "Where is your mind"

My Morning Jacket, "Thank you part 2"

The Black Keys, "All you ever wanted"

Pink Floyd, "Hey You"

Bush, "Glycerine"

My Morning Jacket, "Laydown"
Billy Joel, "Piano man"
Counting Crowes, "Amy hit the atmosphere"
Pearl Jam, "Nowhere man"

Arcade Fire, "Rebellion (lies)"

Radiohead, "Jigsaw falling into place"

Band of Horses, "No ones gonna love you"
Led Zeppelin, "Thank you"

Black Kids, "I've underestimated my charm (again)"

Bob Dylan, "Ain't no more cane"

Cut Copy, "Strangers in the wind"

The Raconteurs, "Blue Veins"
Pink Floyd, "The great gig in the sky"

Jimi Hendrix, "Hey Joe" 
Kings of Leon, "Sex on fire"

Elliot Smith, "Oh well, okay"

Rolling Stones, "Moonlight Mile"
Red hot chili peppers, "Desecration smile"
Radiohead, "In rainbows"

Arcade Fire, "Neighborhood 1-Tunnels"
Lynyrd Skynyrd, "Tuesday’s Gone"
Bloc party, "Like eating glass"
MGMT, "Electric feel"

Nico, "The fairest of the seasons"

The Black Crowes, "Time will tell"

Radiohead, "All I need"

The Replacements, "Unsatisfied"

Music: During Those Intimate Moments

Sorry Mom & Dad, I know you're reading this.

Music is a key ingredient to heat things up in the bedroom, and I thought I'd share a few artists and albums to help you get in the mood/intensify the atmosphere. Music brings out so much emotion and electricity in myself, and I hope to pass on the experience. If you need a mix tape, let me know.

-A no-brainer: Any Led Zeppelin record
-Pink Floyd, "Dark Side of the Moon"
-The Rolling Stones, "Sticky Fingers"
-Ray LaMontagne, "Gossip In The Grain"
-A Tribe Called Quest, "The Love Movement"
-The Velvet Underground, "The Very Best of the Velvet Underground"
-The Beatles, "1967-1970"
-Pearl Jam, "Rearviewmirror"
-Bob Dylan, "Blood on the Tracks"
-Nirvana, "Nevermind"
-Any My Morning Jacket record
-Eamon, "I Don't Want You Back"
-Bon Iver, "For Emma, Forever Ago"
-Cat Power, "Jukebox"
-Rachael Yamagata, "Happenstance"
-The Black Keys, "Attack & Release"
-Band of Horses, "Cease to Begin"
-Bush, "Sixteen Stone"
-The Black Crowes, "Shake Your Money Maker"
-Kings of Leon, "Only By The Night"
-Muse, "Black Holes And Revelations"
-Explosions in the Sky, "The Earth is Not a Cold Dead Place"
-David Gray, "White Ladder"
-Counting Crows, "This Desert Life"
-The Doors, "The Very Best of the Doors"
-Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Stadium Arcadium"
-The Felice Brothers, self-titled
-John Legend, "Get Lifted"
-Jimi Hendrix, "Are You Experienced"
-Keane, "Hopes and Fears"
-Death Cab For Cutie, "Narrow Stairs"
-Radiohead, "In Rainbows" or "The Bends"
-Any Coldplay record
-The Cranberries, "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?"
-Arcade Fire, "Funeral"

Coachella Here We Come

I'm officially taking the plunge and heading out to the west coast with my dear friend Kizz to enjoy my third bi-annual Coachella festival in the hot hot heat of Palm Springs.  This year, we're doing it right with a hotel room 5 miles from the festival with a much needed pool and spa.  I'm still trying to convince my father to loan me the BMW convertible, and then we'll be rocking in style.

I look forward to reporting back.