amen.

beefed up content at the needle.

First day of live, smoking hot posts over at The Needle, the new IT girl for music.  Read up on what is up in music today, yesterday and what’s gonna be the hottest in the future.  Meet your new procrastination tool.

NEW BLOG.

http://needlemusic.wordpress.com/

Get ready to never do any work ever again.  If you have ever used your hairbrush as a microphone, (you Debbie Gibson wannabe) or the dashboard of your car as a keyboard (cut-rate piano man…sigh) it is The Needle.  The crossroads for all musical tastes and generations.  Everything you ever wanted in a music blog.  New, reviews, trivia, interviews, whatever we can get a hold of. 

Stop by, tell friends, contribute. 

movie review: trapped in the closet

P-p-p-impin for life!

Every last one of you can make fun of me for the next twenty years, but I had to share what I had the pleasure (?) of watching last night over at our friends’ Brad and Jenn’s cookout yesterday.  “Trapped In the Closet” a hip-hopera by R. Kelly was probably the worst piece of movie mess that I have ever seen.  However, on the contrary, it was the most engrossing, quotable, hilarious thing I have ever watched.

Anything I could possibly say about it would never do it any justice.  You just HAVE to go rent it.  The whole film is sung in the same tune - like the same song.  It starts off with R. Kelly having to hide in the closet of the woman’s bedroom with which he is cheating.  And if you thought that was dramz enough, just wait.  Gay love affairs, midgets, pimps in church and about 10 LL Cool J References later, the SM and I were desperately begging for more last night.  R. Kelly, while the whole movie is not meant to be taken seriously, absolutely should be considered for the next Madea or Nutty Professor film.  As the main character Sylvester, as Pimp Lucius, as the church’s janitor, and the pastor of the church as well, R. Kelly is actually down-right hilarious, despite his previous life of pissing on teenage girls.

Long story short, do yourself a favor.  Please spend the $4 at Blockbuster or wherever your rent your fine films from and fully experience “Trapped in the Closet.”  It’s worth every penny of your $4. 

jam of the moment.

I am a huge music fanatic and through some of the weird last few months with me being a mental clusterfuck of sorts, I haven’t paid as much attention as I should to new music, new artists, or really tapping into that part of me.

Today I decided to add a Sonific Songspot to my blog here…and feature some of the awesomest Canadians on earth, the Barenaked Ladies for my first “Jam Of the Moment”.  The song is called “Sound of Your Voice.”  Here are the lyrics:

The moon is full but there is an incompleteness
The days are beautiful but I feel a bitter sweetness
If I had a wish, or even a choice
I’d wake up to the sound of your voice
How I miss waking up to the sound of your voiceI let you down and fell right off of your good list
I hope each day you’ll find peace and forgiveness
The alarm clock rings, What a lonely noise
And I long for the sound of your voice
Oh, how I miss waking up to the sound of your voice

Take it from me: there’s not much to see
In this void

The saying goes there will be other dances (don’t give up)
This little song is about second chances
Just say the word and I will rejoice
And wake up to the sound of your voice
Oh, how I miss waking up to the sound
To the sound (sound)
To the sound (to the sound)
To the sound
Waking up to the sound of your voice

Take it from me: there’s not much to see
In this void

I think the lyrics are sweet and meaningful; deeper than we usually give BNL crerdit for.  So that my friends, is why I have chosen this as the jam of the moment.  Enjoy.

spinning the ones twos and cheese.

I’m forever you-ooouurrrsss….faithfully. Steve Perry. 

To keep with my arbitrary chosen theme of the day - love found in weird places,  came across an article over on Yahoo Music about the cheesiest love songs of all time.

I didn’t realize when they said “all time” they meant “of the eighties”.  Billy Ocean?  Journey?  Air Supply? Atlantic Starr?  Dude, I cried myself to sleep many a night with these songs as my soundtrack when I realized Davy Jones from the Monkees couldn’t be my boyfriend.  This kind of stuff is what soundtracks of our lives are made of.  Enjoy the flashback to 1983.

music review: sara bareilles, “little voice”

 
Who needs angels anyway?  Sara Bareilles.

On a slightly administrative note, evidently my reviews are popular. The stats up in this mo-fo are pointing straight to my Juno review, so I thought I’d tickle your eyeballs with another review, this time of the music variety.

One of my favorite albums in thelast few months has been Sara Bareilles’ “Little Voice”.  I was doing some travelling for work that required me to be locked up in a rental car for a few days straight (the “PT Loser” I affectionately nicknamed it) and as I stopped into a Best Buy, I was taunted by the delicious music section.  I needed something to invigorate my numb mind after miles of frozen Ohio fields and gray skies.  I ended up picking up Colbie Calliat’s “Coco” and Sara Bareilles’ jams. 

(Bonus review:  “Coco” sucked.  Bubbly is a simple little summery song that made me feel like a little ray of sunshine was on my face when I heard it glow through my radio…but every other song was a sad copy of that, or like Jack Johnson’s little sister, stealing his guitar and pucca shell necklace and trying to record some shit up in her room like her big brother.  Don’t waste your time.  Or - I’ll sell you my copy for half price.  Fo’ real.  I give it maybe 2.5 surfboards out of 10.  On a generous day.)

I popped in Sara’s disc first, because in my journey I had heard “Love Song” a few times and I really liked it.  There isn’t anyone out there who hasn’t felt that way a little bit at one point.  So with that being said, I wanted to see what else she could bring to the table.

The disc started off with “Love Song” and I decided to come back to it to learn the words later.  I knew I liked that.  Surprisingly, as a listened, the whole rest of the album just got better and better.  Surprising chord progressions, touches of Fiona Apple on piano, scatting reminiscent of Jason Mraz, sexy pulsing beats that reminded me of Maroon 5’s new stuff….sister was blowing me away!  Every song was a complete departure from the last and I was able to listen to the album from top to bottom without skipping a track.

Highlights for me? 

1. “Come Round Soon.”  Lyrics like, “One too many drinks tonight/and I miss you/like you were mine…” are incredibly cool, sincere and reminded me of introspective years gone by.  Made me drive faster and more aggresively.
2. “Morningside.”  The syncopated rhythms, the minor to major chord progression into the chorus just blows my mind.  It’s pretty and vulnerable and real.  I think the people in the cars next to me enjoyed my dancing.
3. “Between the Lines.”  The story of a girl that has been cheated on.  The lyrics say that she doesn’t want to details.  Just knows what is going on and that she was left for another.  “My memory is cruel/I’m queen of attention to details/Defending intentions if he fails/Until now, he told me her name/It sounded familiar in a way/I could have sworn I’d heard him say it ten thousand times
   If only I had been listening…”  I’ve never been cheated on, but this gives me a good idea of what it feels like.  Could barely see the road through my tears.
4. “Many The Miles”.  It’s like gospel.  This Little Light o’ Mine, turned up to an 11.  Shows her vocal range and makes me smile and put the sunroof back.  Amen.
5. “Gravity.”  Sara saved the best for last.  To me, this is the masterpiece on the whole album.  Beautiful lyrics, beautiful piano, beautiful voice. So much pain and melancholy….and yearning.  Perfect for the beginning stages of the relationship, when the honeymoon has just worn off and you’re torn between the chains of love and freedom, self-definition and co-definition with your newly acquired significant other.  Example:  “You loved me ’cause I’m fragile/When I thought that I was strong/But you touch me for a little while/and all my fragile strength is gone”.  To me, this one song is worth the cost of the album. 

Beautiful, fragile, sensitive, fun, empowering, you name it.  Really, I could have said something positive about every song on the disc.  Sara Bareilles’ “Little Voice” is a great album that I’d recommend to anyone who is already a fan of folks in cut from the same cloth as Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Jason Mraz, slightly edgier John Mayer, Maroon 5 - anyone who is a fan of the pop sensibility, gone just a little dirty/bluesy/sexy/more thought-provoking/left-of-center.  But still pretty PG-13.

Conclusion:  8.5 out of 10 little voices.  If you’ve heard any of it, give your review in the comments…I’d love to hear your take.