Archive for September, 2010

By: Caitlin Hoffman
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Crushes may be fleeting, but Young Love sure isn’t. Hailing from our beloved New York, a boy with a band has decided to take on the dance floor. Some may say the efforts of Young Love is futile despite being endearing, very much like the state of mind they’re named after. But the hopeless romantic in me likes to think they could grow into something demanding.

I know, the synthesizers and mod hair cuts scream cliche pretty boy music, but there are some bridges that really break you with their power and willingness to be free. Behind the electrified dance tracks, there’s real feeling. My only question is: why isn’t Young Love a widely distributed drug by now? It’s got everything the public eats up: a tune you can dance to, a gorgeous lead singer (Dan Keyes), and a pungent strangeness that lights up the stage. The media is as random as it is unfair. Sure, maybe some of their manoeuvres are a little too brass to be taken seriously, but I still don’t think they deserve all the chilled reviews they’ve been getting.

One Of Us, released last year, didn’t get the attention in the electronic scene it clearly deserved. From the heartbreaking push in The Picture to the get-up-and-go quality of Black Boots, it was everything you could ask for and more. Hopefully, if they keep working at it, Young Love will have a chance to bloom with their next attempt.

Fingers crossed.

While we wait for their attraction to mature, tease your glands with the gritty video for One To Ten. It’s dance rock meets grindhouse film. (And, a little NSFW.)

By: Maria Ciezak
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

[Lorenzo Martone, Stefani, & Mr. Brainwash / L.A.M.B. Spring 2011 Event in New York City -- Photo by Andy Kropa/Getty Images]

My goddess, Ms. Gwen Stefani, took some time to discuss the new No Doubt material, and I’m like a kid in a candy store. How will it sound? How much longer?! Should we call it a comeback? Either way, I yearn for the days of Tragic Kingdom.

Enjoy the tease from Stefani below.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Get your 3D glasses out, kids.

I placed a spotlight on Kelly Rowland’s Rose Colored Glasses months ago, and continued to play the track on a loop weeks after I placed the song here on BTB. So naturally, the song feels old to me, even though the video was just released and Rowland’s upcoming album hasn’t even hit shelves. Admittedly, I wore the song out because I genuinely love/relate to the message, not to mention the beat easily slides underneath the skin.

The treatment to the video is delivered wonderfully, captured in 3D. The video shoot was conducted in late July with British fashion photographer John “Rankin” Wadell as director. In a statement regarding the process behind the shot, Wadell said: “The concept for the video is 3D, we’ve used turntables and circular trap so we can go around her and see from all angles.”

The video centers around a crumbling relationship.

Check out Rose Colored Glasses below.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Too cool for Ivy League skool!

Brown University’s all-male singing group, The Jabberwocks, have created a Glee-like performance of Cee-Lo’s gloriously delicious Fuck You. The boys turn on the swagger and pour out clean-cut vocals, covering the track with an alpha attitude, backed with an endearing stage presence.

Check out the NSFW awesomeness after the jump!

[Related Post: Cee-lo Drops Music Video for 'Fuck You']

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Speaking exclusively to BiggerThanBeyonce.Com, heartthrob Ry Cuming, who’s currently on tour with Maroon 5, gave us a peak into his sweet sexy soul. Read the interview (in full) below.

ROB BRAYL: I know you’re an avid surfer — has surfing influenced your music?

RY CUMING: Always. The ocean is a really big influence in my life in general and therefore the music I write, too. I try to be as close to the sea as I can — I probably surf 300 days of the year, if I’m not taken away too long on tour that is!

RB: Speaking of surfing and beaches. This is random but I’m curious: do you watch any shallow trash TV a la Jersey Shore?

RC: [Laughs] No, actually I don’t. I don’t have a TV so I don’t really watch a lot. But I love a good film. Don’t we all?!

RB: Your music is anything but shallow or trash. You write beautiful music — where do you feel that beauty comes from?

RC: Thank you so much. That means a lot to me. I try to be honest in what I write. All the songs hold parts of me or my life in them somehow. I guess I see the world a little romantically so maybe that comes through too.

RB: How has touring with Maroon 5 been? Any dirty details you wish to spread around the internet? Feel free to spill the dirt!

RC: Touring with those guys has been amazing, playing some huge venues and getting to share that experience with them and everybody is a gift indeed. I have known the M5 boys for some years now, so being on the road with friends is always amazing. I’d love to spill some dirt — I really would! But I find those guys are all stand-up, great musicians and people. But hey…there’s a little dirt in all of us.

RB: Musically you’re influenced by?

RC: Soul. Whether its Marvin Gaye, or Fleet Foxes. I love music that carries real soul and a story. Above all Jeff Buckley has been a really big influence.

RB: What song/album is currently on heavy rotation on your iPod?

RC: I listen to so much music. Right now I have been playing ‘Lay it down’ by Al Green a lot. I’m thinking about working out a cover to play of that in my live set.

RB: For those who may not know Ry Cuming, what’s the pickup line you’d use to get those to check out your work?

RC: I don’t know if I’d straight out lay a pickup line down, but…put on the spot, I’d say come see me live — that’s where I feel it all really lives and dies.

RB: You’ve worked with Sara Bareilles, One Republic and others — is there any artist you’d like to mesh/collaborate with in the future?

RC: So many people! I love collaboration. The idea of music community and playing with people from all genres gets my blood running. Sara was amazing to work with, humble and so very talented. I don’t really think about it too much as far as people specifically — it’s like lovers…you get attracted to certain people when you meet — that happens musically too, just got to be open and ready.

RB: What can one expect at a Ry Cuming show? You appear to be a real ‘what you see is what you get’ kind of guy and that’s always a good thing.

RC: [Laughs] That’s true in many ways. I think I’m always honest, at least always trying to work more towards that. I am trying to cut out the idea of being ‘on stage’ in what actions I take and think more about playing the songs and being present in that [moment]. It’s hard to do that sometimes, but if I’m thoughtful or quiet one day that definitely carries to the show that night. If my blood is pumping, then that carries too. I play different songs depending on how I feel.

RB: Where do you hope your music will eventually land?

RC: I hope it lands with the people that connect to it, however they feel it. That would make my heart full.

[For more info on Ry visit http://www.rycuming.com/]

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Another dosage of random!

Sometimes I chug
Sometimes I bong
Sometimes I chase with Red Bull
But all I really want is a guido to hold me tight
Treat me right
Be with me all over Seaside Heights

I know, I know — I’m a lyrical genius.

For the entire length of Britney Spears’ Sometimes, Snooki manages to steer clear of pickles and shots and delivers a lipsync vid that’s downright cutesville. Yep, cutesville.

Check out the pint-sized bouffant in action, below.

Oh! And speaking of funny bumper car face, check out Obama’s face in action here. Bwhahaha! Awesome.

[Related Post: Snooki's Grammy Takeover]

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

[Photo Credit: Andrew Werner Photography]
Check out a snapshot interview I conducted with the beautiful Jamie Bendell (a singer/songwriter based here in New York) after the jump!

ROB BRAYL: If you could create a storyboard of all the things that inspire you musically, what would we see tacked onto the board?

JAMIE BENDELL: Images of myself looking pensive and quite probably, worried; I don’t mean it in a depressing, sad way, but anxiety plays a huge hand in inspiring my lyrics. I think constantly and I worry constantly and a lot of my inspiration comes from situations in which I feel that someone took advantage of me or acted out of line, or if someone wrongs someone else. There would also be images of me at a regular open mic I attend at Caffe Vivaldi. There would probably be a couple of book covers tacked up, including Cradle to Cradle (by McDonough and Braungart), and a plot summary of the movie He’s Just Not That Into You.

RB: I understand the track ‘Chocolate Milk’ was created after a bad clubbing experience?

JB: ‘Chocolate Milk’ came about after spending a night out at a club with my friends. We were pretty close to my apartment and I was trying to make the best out of the situation, but I just couldn’t handle it. I like talking and listening, and although dancing is definitely fun once in a while, I just get so tired of what I perceive as a “let’s just drink and get wasted, don’t care to hear myself think or anyone else speak” mentality. I was actually standing by the bar, trying to put down a couple of lyrics in my phone to express the way I was feeling, but it wasn’t coming out. I left by myself to walk home, and stopped in CVS on the way. I picked up a bottle of chocolate milk, and when I got home and sat down at my computer, the song just came out.

RB: What’s your goal/vision for your music?

JB: I hope people find my music easy to relate to. I want them to hear my songs, and attribute their own meanings to the words. I’m always happy to share my inspirations for the music, but I don’t want people to lose sight of what the words mean to them. If the words even do evoke meaning. That would be a huge achievement; to make listeners feel something or relate to an idea that I put out as a song. I’m sure many artists say the same thing, but as a songwriter, I especially hope that happens.

RB: You have a super sweet innocence about your image and music. Has this always been the case? In terms of writing about the notion of love, etc?

JB: I think it’s fair to say that the innocent image and musical style has been present for most of my life. I never really had nicknames but the only one that I could say stuck somewhat was the nickname “Pure”. My best girl friends called and sometimes still call me that. I don’t even know why, and I don’t even know if they know why.

I don’t think I’ve ever been in love and I’m almost positive that my music and lyrics reflect that. I think there’s a naivete to what I write, and sometimes I get embarrassed that my writing doesn’t have all of the emotion of someone who has been through heartbreak, but I don’t want to rush anything.

RB: What’s the most repeated song right now on your iPod?

JB: I’ve been having trouble sleeping, so probably ‘You Can Close Your Eyes’ by James Taylor, the One Man Band version. It’s on repeat when I can’t sleep. That, or ‘King of Anything’ off Sara Bareilles’ new album ‘Kaleidoscope Heart’. I think it’s a tie.

Learn more about Jamie Bendell by clicking here.

Listen to an acoustic number by Bendell below.

White Light — Jamie Bendell (Acoustic Version)

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

What in the hell?! (PS: Don’t you love my photoshopping skillz?)

When I first heard about this venture, I giggled. Then I realized it was actually happening/not a joke and I giggled some more. Actually, I’m pretty positive this show may be super entertaining. Think about it: Achy Breaky Heart exploring for ghosts and aliens? It’s genius really.

Billy Ray and son, Trace Cyrus, are set to host a new show about UFOs. Yep, you read that correctly. The new series will be called UFO: Unbelievably Freakin’ Obvious. The show will debut on the NBC Universal-owned SyFy network.

The father/son will travel around the country hunting for paranormal activity as well as investigating conspiracy theories.

On the venture Billy Ray stated: “The existence of paranormal phenomena is something I’ve always wanted to explore further. Getting the opportunity to take this adventure with my son, who has always had a keen interest in this area, is a dream come true.”

He went on to add: “I hope this series can shine a light on some of the activities we have questioned, and the mysteries that have long inspired us.”

I don’t know about y’all but I’ve never been inspired by aliens. But hey, whatever floats yo boat!

Are you curious to check out Unbelievably Freakin’ Obvious?

And just when you thought this post couldn’t get any more bizarre — for shits and giggles, check out this Border Collie dancing to Billy Ray’s classic Achy Breaky Heart, below. Pooch is workin’ it!

By: Maria Ciezak
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

A rock album that you need to check out as soon as possible: Anberlin, Dark Is the Way, Light Is a Place. Trust me, this is more than just a title for it tells a story, one that all should read. Anberlin’s fifth studio album is an expedition through your consciousness, your earnest and darkest thoughts. Music that holds your hand, and guides one to a place where the themes of existence, worship, ache, and dissatisfaction duke it out, kick ass, and make up in the end. I haven’t stopped spinning it since it came out.

This is a band that matures gracefully on each development. I feel this is their strongest release ever, for the album doesn’t contain any filler. It’s well-written, inspiring, and has something for everyone. It’s a sleek, streamlined pop/rock album, with gloss puckered first-class production. For those long-time Anberlin fans, a good friend commented: “This really feels like a radio-ready, reduced-calorie “Cities” with a little of its own tricks.” Agree?

Starting with We Owe This To Ourselves, creeping into my much loved track, Impossible, than rolling into Take Me (As You Found Me) – which btw will become a huge smash, for its resonant chorus will be pleading for people to join in and sing along. This album opens up with a bang that will convince even the biggest skeptics or jaded fans to keep listening. It eventually pours into the pace with the peculiar Art of War. The nippy industrial sound clashes with the humid, tender character of Christian’s voice, and thunder roars off Nathan’s drums, thus creating a beautiful distinction. Christian exposes so damn much here, wearing his emotions on his sleeve, declaring that, “Am I the latest, in your art of war? Thought your hands could heal, what they left me so? You’re so good at what you think you do to me. You’re so good, at what you think you do to me.”

To get the complete picture of just how immense the sound on this album is, you have to wallop on a pair of headphones, and suddenly it takes you to an additional level. Several tracks on this release exhibit an inventive side to the band, un-chartered territory with inspired drumming beats, with a little something for all to enjoy; songs that are easy to relate to with beats and guitars that are catchy yet original, for no two tracks sound the same.

Anberlin has established themselves as one of alternative rock’s most exciting acts and as a band that refuses to limit themselves to one scene or sound, it’s paid off. Bands like this are a dying breed, and it’s amazing how much one release can restart the pulse. Take a listen to Impossible below, and follow the light, for according to these dudes, it’s definitely a place to be.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Adorable vid!

It’s not often to see a band use their video time to promote anything other than their rebellious ways or pretty faces — but in The Maine’s video for Inside Of You, the boys provide a backdrop to the story beneath the song with an outcome that is, well, cute. I mean this as a downright compliment for I wasn’t expecting the video to hold what it held — a story full of substance revolving around the loss of a loved one.

The Maine currently have a free EP out as a way of giving back to fans. The Daytrotter Session-EP can be downloaded for free at daytrotter.com and consists of four unedited songs off their current album, Black & White.

Check out the video for Inside Of You, below.

The Maine – New Music – More Music Videos

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

[Photo Credit: Sean Murphy]Bros before hoes!

Weezer keeps getting better with age. In the just-released Memories music video, the band is seen with a few of the most infamous bros in crime — Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O and the rest of the Jackass crew. The song appears on the soundtrack of Jackass 3D as well as Weezer’s brand new disc, Hurley. The outcome is pure balls-to-the-face fun with plenty of ridiculous stunts thrown in for good measure!

The just-released Hurley is a high-energy rock album that wastes no time with the first single Memories, an impassioned look at nostalgia with fast tempo, & buzzing guitar riffs. Other standouts include: Ruling Me, Trainwrecks, Hang On and Brave New World. Rivers Cuomo picks up the acoustic guitar on the reinvented power ballad Unspoken and the raw Sixties influenced, Mac Davis co-written Time Flies. But don’t worry, the classic Weezer sound is not lost but reignited with songs like Smart Girls, Run Away and the quirky Where’s My Sex?

Fueled by a newfound sense of independence, Hurley finds the quartet making some of the most powerful music of their steadfast career.

Check out the just-released video for Memories after the jump!

Weezer – New Music – More Music Videos

By: Caitlin Hoffman
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Another living legend that’s gotten intimate with the darkest forms of the human conscience. Another hardcore rocker that fell right into the truth. Another talented person who forgot his self-worth, forgot self respect, and somehow managed to get it all back.

Let’s give a moment of respect to Brian Welch, ex-Korn guitarist, who went from Ground Zero to Cloud Ten after a life-altering moment when he took Christ into his life, and vowed to be a proper father and turn away from drugs. I’m not just trying to paint over this message with glory and cuddles because he’s now a born-again Christian; even those who don’t want to focus on the spiritual aspect have to admire his determination to find the truth behind the fake world he was living in, and to find the reason behind all the waste. With his heavy-laced dreads and ink-kissed skin, you may not think Welch would be the kind of person to be singing God’s praises. But that’s the beauty of God: no judgment on stereotypes for all are welcome inside, as is.

Brian has been doing really well for himself the past few years. Not only has he kicked some dirty addictions, but he’s taken those experiences to breathe intense life into new creative projects, including his very own single act. It seems he’s finally found his eternal niche, the place where his mind can go to play and soul can sit to rest. After making love to destruction and holding hands with death most of your life, you can really understand the heaviness of your decisions, as well as understand the preciousness you almost threw away. Playing a game of hopscotch with The Grim Reaper isn’t just some fleeting fancy — even if you survive, you may never be the same again. This is true for Brian Welch, but in the positive sense.

The thing is, when you’re caught in a manic-depressive roller coaster whirlpool of hatred and lies, you start thinking there’s nothing else you’re made for. But when you somehow crawl out of that horror unscathed, you begin wondering if maybe something or someone wants you to do something better.

As Welch explains it best: “I feel like I was created to do what I’m doing right now. Everything I learned in my life before I changed it all over, it set me up for what I’m doing now. That’s the satisfaction. That’s the peace in knowing, without a doubt, that you’re on the road you’re supposed to be on. There’s nothing more content than that.”

Those are the words of a man who has his life in order, and is proud of it. This new-found life philosophy has done nothing but improve his musical skill, the edge to his sound is as sharp as a razor blade. You seem to find something honourable and core-shaking in his music, like the ballad of a soldier. After all, he’s beaten the largest battle within.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

[Photo by Chris Polk/Getty Images North America]

Let me state for the record that I’ve never fully been on the GaGa bandwagon. I know, can you believe it?! A gay dude who doesn’t think GaGa is the coolest thing since sliced bread? Well, it’s true. And no, I am not a hater. I repeat: I am not a hater. I actually admire GaGa for her drive and passion — specifically with wanting to ignite change — but at the end of the day, I’m not on board with the behavior that surrounds her image, nor am I certain I ever will be.

I’ve gotten in numerous discussions over why I have resisted the newly crowned pop icon and it always comes down to hysterics/aesthetics. For instance, I sometimes feel as if she truly contradicts herself. IE: If you are not attention-seeking as you once claimed in an interview with Barbara Walters, then why show up late to a Mets game and then flip the paparazzi the bird? So there’s that. Not to mention, showing up to airports in underwear and Armadillo heels. The attention-seeking aspect of her “art” really annoys me if I’m being completely blunt and simply comes off as being ungenuine and phony.

As far as music goes — yes, I can get into Bad Romance just like the next person but I just didn’t feel any sort of connection to her debut record, The Fame. Perhaps it’s because, to me, a majority of the music GaGa has released thus far seems to be shallow gay dance music. I don’t mean that as an insult as I see nothing wrong with shallow gay dance music — it has a purpose and there’s tons of mindless pop that I enjoy on the dancefloor. But the fact of the matter is that for me, once the lights come on and I leave the club, I don’t take that music to bed with me. Bottomline: I always have a hard time clinging to shallow gay dance music.

Do I think GaGa is talented? Of course. I’m just anxiously awaiting a delivery from GaGa that doesn’t feel like it has been dipped in an ink of contrived thought, an ink that’s too superficially pop. I honestly feel like The Fame is not the type of music that GaGa truly loves the most. Nor is it the type of music that fits her sound/vocal ability the best, either. It seems to me that it was a record that her label knew would sell and make an impact commercially. After all, labels (especially huge mainstream giants) are businesses and businesses thrive on money. Even the most creative talents often lose a sense of their identity when signing major record deals.

I simply wish GaGa would do a more piano/rock Elton John-esque record in the vein of her You & I performance — a record that showcases her seemingly deep nature and sensitive heart. The same sensitive heart that delivered this speech last night. Although I have resisted her before and most likely will again, I will say that she never fails to win me over with her humility and tender touch in interviews (I actually love this about her). And from the emotional little snippet she belts, I have a feeling GaGa may eventually win me over as an official little monster on her next release, as Born This Way sounds like a song that is everything but shallow gay dance music — a song I would certainly take to bed with me.

Check out GaGa’s beautiful acceptance speech, below.

By: Maria Ciezak
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Sometimes when songs come out we don’t understand how beautiful the lyrics are, because of overproducing, or the track getting thrown into a different genre. I stumbled upon an amazing cover of Usher’s DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love, and it’s magical. Carmen Reece has a voice that will give you chills. Thing is, it seems effortless for the girl. Reece is a true talent, an artist I could find myself pouring my heart and soul into and I think you all would agree.

Please check out this amazing cover, and let us know what you think.

By: Rob Brayl
For BiggerThanBeyonce.Com

Hot little tater tot!

When I first heard Whip My Hair by Will Smith’s daughter, Willow, I wasn’t sure how to react. On one hand, it made me want to booty pop drop n’ lock like the baller that I am! Then there was the other side of the coin — being an overly analytical writer and all — where I began to think about the idea of a 9-year-old girl being exposed to fame at such an early age and how that truly can warp their perception of this thing we call life, in the end.

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but there is a part of me that questions any child in the entertainment business. Yes it happens, but 9x out of 10, most children who grow up in the industry end up being complete screwballs later down the road. You do have your exceptions. But I’m just sayin’!

With that being said, the track is dynamite, a sizzling piece of confectioned soft candy. There is definitely a presence to the song and to the way the song is delivered by Willow that makes it work — a delivery that makes the beat strut as if it’s a Kardashian girl at a Baby Phat runway show.

Jay-Z recently confirmed that he had signed a record deal with Willow, for his label, Roc Nation.

Willow announced the news via the Ryan Seacrest radio show, where she was joined by Jay-Z via telephone, who ranted about her awesomeness, even comparing the tater tot to the legendary Michael Jackson: “She has child innocence but she has a clear vision of what she wants and who she wants to be. I can imagine — I don’t wanna go so far — but I can imagine that’s how Mike was as a young kid.”

Listen to Willow whip it, below.