The Naked and Famous

I recently heard this band from New Zealand on 97X out of St. Petersburg, FL. I was immediately drawn to them. They are The Naked and Famous, the band consists of Aaron Short, Alisa Xayalith, David Beadle, Jesse Wood and Thom Powers. Their first studio album, Passive Me, Aggressive You, dropped in their home country back on September 6, 2010 and debuted at number one. There are currently 3 singles from that album, with "All of This","Punching in a Dream" and "Young Blood". The latter reached number one in New Zealand as well. The album itself has gained fairly positive reviews.

As I've listened to "Young Blood", they remind me of MGMT. Which is a good thing. The song is very catchy and has been featured on shows such as NBC's Chuck and promos for the UK's original version of Skins.

The band is currently wrapping up a tour in the eastern US before heading out the United Kingdom, where they will eventually play at the Glastonbury Festival this June.

For more on tour dates and to get a free digital download of their song "Crazy Yes Dumb No", be sure to check out their official website.

For now, feel free to watch the video for "Young Blood" and discover what others have felt.

My take on Scream 4, 127 Hours and Coachella!

Scream 4

Well, honestly, I enjoyed Scream 4. It's unfortunate that it opened up against Rio, as children and family movies have the upper hand against horror movies at the box office. Regardless, I enjoyed this much more than Scream 3, and almost as much as the original 1996 thriller. And it wasn't afraid to poke fun at itself, especially with the amusing “movie in a movie” opening. Almost like it opened with a joke before getting to the main event. And just like the original, it kept me guessing on who the real killer was. I played cinema detective, figuring out who it could be, and ruling out the obvious. Unfortunately, I was thrown way off and surprised with how this movie ended. Now, I believe this should be it, despite the low gross income, Wes Craven should just stop with Scream because anything else and Scream will become as worn out as the Saw franchise.

127 Hours

It took me a while to get to 127 Hours, as its limited release hindered my ability to go see it. The last movie I spent an hour's drive to see was Better Luck Tomorrow. And it pained me to miss this in the theater because I had seen most of Danny Boyle's movies going back to 28 Days Later in 2003. So, anyway, onto my thoughts. Honestly, I thought it could have been a little better. I'm not saying it sucked, because I still loved it, but it just didn't quite meet my expectations. Yes, James Franco was great as Aron, the cinematography and layout was amazing, even the multiple camera angles and frames, but there was just something missing. As I saw the trailer, I was really excited for this. But it seems that whatever elements I saw in the preview, were not featured in the movie. It was still great though, Boyle rarely misses with me. I even loved Sunshine. The Beach, not so much, but maybe in the coming weeks, I'll do an article just on Danny Boyle's work.

Coachella

Let me make myself clear, I was NOT at Coachella! I wish I was. But I had to settle for the Youtube stream, which was just as good...I was in my air conditioned living room, I didn't have to fight the crowds and I had instant access to any of the 3 stages. Well okay, it didn't quite match the atmosphere. Anyway, I did enjoy this year's festival, as it was the first time I ever saw something like this through a live stream. I missed out on SXSW, but if they stream Bonaroo, Glastonbury and Splendour in the Grass, I will definitely tune into those shows. Back to Coachella, it did look amazing, and I was able to catch Mumford & Sons, Jimmy Eat World, Arcade Fire, Yelle and an amazing performance by The Strokes. There were a few delays such as Foster the People, but all was forgiven with Pumped Up Kicks. I will say though, that having Kanye West as one of the final acts was a bit unusual. Maybe it was just me but in a weekend of indie rock and a little bit of electronica, it was just odd for me to see Kanye. But again, that's just me. So, I will leave you all with a look at the 2010 Coachella festival in this amazing video!

Music Spotlight: Grouplove

Very few times has a new song played on the radio and I didn't change the station. It happens a lot. The first time I heard "Shake Me Down" by Cage the Elephant, I turned it off. It was only a few days later where I heard the rest of the song, did I not only embrace it, I bought it on iTunes. When I first heard "Colours" by Grouplove, I was hooked from the start.

They are based out of Los Angeles, California and the members are Christian Zucconi (Lead Vocals and Guitar), Hannah Hooper (Vocals), Andrew Wessen (Guitars), Ryan Rabin (Drums) and Sean Gadd (Bass).

In an interview, Zucconi and Hooper met in New York City and would go on to meet the other three members in an art residency on the Greek island of Crete. From there, they planned their music and upon returning to the States, recorded their material at Rabin's home studio.

They appeared at SXSW 2011, The Carson Daly Show and have opened up for Florence and the Machine and Cold War Kids. They are currently set to appear in the UK in May for the NME Radar Tour with Anna Calvi.

Their self-titled EP has 6 songs on it and has been meet with positive reviews. For me, they remind me of The Pixies and Modest Mouse. After listening to "Colours" for a dozen times, I cannot wait for more from Grouplove.

Music Critic? Not me!

Recently, I was with friends, driving through International Drive with "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros playing and the idea came up that I should become a music critic. Although flattered, I'm not sure I would enjoy having that title. I do not believe in music critics.

I do love music and I've been told I have a unique taste. I actually didn't get into music until around 1994, anything else I had heard was just through kids singing pop tunes on the school bus. So, "Whoomp there it is", "Baby Got Back" and "Jump Around" were songs I had heard second hand. By middle school, I was aware of pop music and enjoyed it, but it wasn't until MTV's late night Alternative Nation and VH1's Crossroads that exposed me to the alternative scene. The Smashing Pumpkins, Hootie & the Blowfish, Goo Goo Dolls, Weezer, Dave Matthews and Gin Blossoms were some of the first musical acts I had ever gotten into. In fact, it was "Molly" by Sponge as the first song I ever recorded on video tape and played over and over again.

And over time, my interests would grow, with Counting Crows, Bush, No Doubt and The Wallflowers. Around high school, I made my way into Prodigy, Moby, Fatboy Slim, Daft Punk and other techno and electronic artists. No, I was never into the rave scene, but I did enjoy the music. I might be the only guy who can jam to Trance Power without being inebriated. During my last years of high school, I also enjoyed emo rock like Saves the Day, The Get Up Kids, Dashboard Confessional and The Starting Line.

While in college, I started to get into indie rock acts such as The Shins, Bloc Party, Postal Service and Deathcab for Cutie. I also became a fan of Coldplay and Jack Johnson.

In recent years, I usually find out about music through video games, television ads, Youtube and Pandora. These days, my iPod is usually set to Phoenix, TV on the Radio, Vampire Weekend and MGMT.

So, I know I have an usual taste in music that spans over several genres and brands. One thing that is not on my iPod is country music. I could never get into it. Many times, I just want to drill a hole into my brain when I hear it. Although I do enjoy Johnny Cash and I dug Lady Antebellum before "I Need You Now" became radio overkill. But, I do know that country is popular, my father and several friends can't get enough of it. That is one reason why I know I cannot be amusic critic, for I do not have an open mind for all music like I do with movies and television.

The other reason is that I actually hate music critics. It's my personal belief that no one person can really critique or judge music to the point that it becomes “Don't listen to the Paper Tongues, but do listen to Britney Spears!”. Just like how I can't really push people who hate techno... listen to Cut Copy or Chemical Brothers. Electronic beeps and repetitive lyrics are not music to some. But its the lifeline to others.

Everyone has different tastes in music. Green Day is not The Sex Pistols. Ace of Base is not ABBA. Oasis is not The Beatles. Edward Sharpe is not Johnny Cash. Justin Timberlake is not Elvis. And no one should compare or critique any of those musicians. It just cannot be done.

What I can do is...report on music.

I can tell you about the band, their history, their songs, their albums, where they've come from and where they're trying to go. I can't sway anyone to go out and buy the album or see them in concert. But I can at least introduce you to them, give you a Youtube link and the rest of up to you.

So, let's start tonight. The band is called Foster the People. They are an indie rock band out of Los Angeles, California. The band consists of Mark Foster (vocals and keyboard), Mark Pontius (drums) and Cubbie Fink (bass and backing vocals). They started back in October of 2009. They gained popularity through The Hype Machine and SXSW. At the moment, they only have an EP out, with 3 of their songs available for iTunes purchase. Their upcoming album, Torches, will be released on May 24, 2011.

Their current single, "Pumped Up Kicks", is a song I first heard on 97X out of St. Petersburg, FL. It has a very catchy beat but with somewhat dark lyrics. It reminds me of "Jamie's Got a Gun"by Aerosmith, another popular and catchy song with very dark words. Regardless, it's a song that I have come to love and I play it as I drive out in my car. They are currently on tour as we speak and are scheduled to appear that the 2011 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (April 15, 16 and 17) in Indio, California. . I will leave you with the Youtube video.