Monday, March 28, 2011

Oh Land, Oh My

This is absolutely not fair. I mean, sure there are beautiful people and talented people, but how many people have both!? Well, Nanna Øland Fabricius has GOT BOTH. Wow wee. This Denmark native goes by her stage name, Oh Land. At first, I thought her name probably has some indie meaning/twist to it. Oops. Don't assume! Oh Land's self titled album came out in March 2011. I was watching late night (shocking) a while ago and saw her perform live. Freaking mesmerized.

Her future hit (because it's that good), "Sun of a Gun," showcases her vocal talent and her destiny as a pop star. I'd group her songs with La Roux and Shiny Toy Guns and her beauty with Heidi Klum and Jamie King. Seriously. She's going to hit the big time in no time. I just hope her style doesn't change much for the corporate machines. Here's hoping.

Check out her FREE shows in New York this week!

Charles Bank Gallery
196 Bowery Street
March 29th to April 1st
Doors open at 8PM
Show starts at 8:30 PM
Space is limited!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

BACK!






Oy. So where was I?? Oh, yes. Playing on the soft pink sands and breath-taking waters of the Atlantic. Ahhhhhh. And now back to reality, sigh. Here's a few pictures from my trip to Bermuda. I wish I had more time to enjoy these wonders! Be back soon!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

DJ on the Subway

Gosh. The last thing anyone wants to think about after a long night is HOW LONG it's going to take to get home. I had to get a frappachino to assist me in my journey. Then my friend and I hopped on the subway in hopes of getting home at a decent time. It was a weeknight, after all.

Halfway through my trip, after my friend got off at her stop, I heard, "Sorry, I'm just being nosy." I turn around and see a woman all up in my neighboring commuter's business. She looked a little too happy. I'm thinking she had one too many happy hours that night! But I end up looking at his business, too. This guy was mixing on a turntable on his netbook! I see LMFAO, Usher, Lupe Fiasco, Korean music and SO MUCH MORE on his list. The DJ was gracious enough to hand her one of his earphones to listen to him mixing. He was more than excited to share, actually. The lady and her friend were having a ball! So was the rest of the train that looked on, haha. Then the party had to stop because DJ arrived at his destination. Sigh. Fun times, though.

Even for a mere moment, on a sleepy subway, in the midst of a Wednesday night, music can still take us away.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Japan - Earthquake~Tsunami

Waking up to news like this, puts your life in perspective. I have placed the people affected by this disaster in my thoughts. I hope Japan will be able to make a quick recovery. I hope that all loved ones will be able to find one another. Because in the end, that's all we care about.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Kisses - Keeps Us Warm ;)

The first thing I thought of, on this cold New York City day, was why did I NOT wear an extra layer?! Brr. After hopping onto the subway, I frantically searched for my ipod. I knew exactly what I wanted to listen to. All I wanted was Kisses!! Ah. Much better.

This L.A. duo first made their appearance in my life at the CMJ Marathon during the fall of 2010. Jesse Kivel takes reign of the vocals, while his girlfriend, Zinzi Edmundson, holds down the (very heavily synth) keyboards. I was hanging out in a corner at "The Studio" waiting for the cold Friday night to whittle away when Kisses took the stage. The first few notes caught me for the rest of their gig. As I watched and listened, I was flooded with memories of kisses from the warm summer breeze that gently touches my skin as I walked along the streets...without a care in the world. Makes you happy, dance and ready to fall in love. Just what I needed for my commute this morning!

Jesse's voice can reach impressively low octaves and remain very sweet and sensual at the same time. Wow. Kisses got a good thing going for them. They're an upbeat love story between 80s band, A-Ha and 90s band, Ace-of-Base. Seriously.

Their newest single, Midnight Lover, sounds similar to their older song, Bermuda. The lyrics are pretty interesting. They have quite a way with words to get a story across. Nevertheless, I still very much like them both. It's like saying Sarah McLachlan's songs sound similar. It's just their signature style.

Off to Bermuda!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Ray LaMontagne

His music is straight out of the 70s and what you would expect to come on the radio after "You've Got a Friend" and "American Pie". His voice is raspy and emotional like James Morrison. But the beard is all Ray.

When I'm listening to Ray Lamontagne's songs, I feel like I'm looking up and down the street, from Kevin Arnold's front porch on a hot summer's day. Basking in the satisfaction of drinking an ice cold lemonade, made by his mom, as a treat for us after a hard day's play at the school's playground. Ah, those were the days.

By the way, Ray Lamontagne is also a recent Grammy winner(!) for the Best Contemporary Folk album named, God Willin' and the Creek Don't Rise. Congrats! Yeah, I don't think he performed that night...

Ray grew up in New England and attended high school in (reluctantly) Moscow. He started his career back in 1999, playing in local indie bars. Since around 2005, his music started to appear in many movies and television series. Not too shabby. =)

Here's one of my favorite songs of his, Forever My Friend.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

PS 22's Stellar Oscar Performance 2011

I am still gushing over P.S. 22's version of "Over the Rainbow"!! I must say it was the best performance of the whole show. So was Colin Firth's acceptance speech. And not much else...
I was so afraid of Anne Hathaway at the end of the performance when she gave the kids high tens. It looked like she would've pushed them off the stage with all the "woo"-ing bubbly force she was using!

Anyways, great job kids and Mr. B! Great job! Made us so very proud =D