Project Playlist

Yet again, my 17-yr old sister Lizzie showed me another really cool site. (My apologies if you've known about this for years.) Project Playlist lets you build a playlist of songs for you to post on your myspace, facebook, or any other social network site. I've permanently added my "Pandora Favorites" playlist on my Facebook account. I've also posted it below so you can get a preview of the wonderful music I'm finding on Pandora. Thanks Lizzie!

Across the Universe

I'd heard about this a while back when Bono signed on to play a small role, but I'd forgotten about it. Today I stumbled across the trailer for the upcoming musical "Across The Universe". I'm intrigued. I love the Beatles. (I have to. It's genetic. Had my Mom had the chance, she would have traveled great distances and slept outside of arenas to see them. Sound familiar?)

A love story set against the backdrop of the 1960s amid the turbulent years of anti-war protest, mind exploration and rock 'n roll, the film moves from the dockyards of Liverpool to the creative psychedelia of Greenwich Village, from the riot-torn streets of Detroit to the killing fields of Vietnam. The star-crossed lovers, Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), along with a small group of friends and musicians, are swept up into the emerging anti-war and counterculture movements, with "Dr. Robert" (Bono) and "Mr. Kite" (Eddie Izzard) as their guides. Tumultuous forces outside their control ultimately tear the young lovers apart, forcing Jude and Lucy – against all odds – to find their own way back to each other.

Crazy Performance @ the Grammys

While I was very excited and impressed by the Police's performance at the Grammys, I was completely blown away by Gnarls Barkley's performance of their hit song "Crazy". I watched it a couple of times trying to figure out who the guy's voice reminded me of was, then it hit me -- Otis Redding! Anyway, loved the performance. Hope you do, too!

Roooooooxanne!

Wow! The Police played the Grammy's last night, reuniting for the first time (I think) since the 80s when the group broke up. Great performance!

I'm waiting on someone to post the video of Gnarls Barkley's performance, which was *awesome*!

The Police Reunite!

Holy Moly! The rumors are true! The Police are reuniting to open the Grammy Awards this year. This will be great! ... *if* Sting, Stewart, and Andy can behave themselves and not start fighting before the show. (Have you seen the VH1 Legends show on them? They're like brothers - they literally have fist fights!) So ... I have my DVR set and anxiously wait for February 11! (*Plus* the show will be hosted by my friend and yours, Mr. Stephen Colbert!)

My sister hangs out with rock bands

Every once in a blue moon, a non-country band will make its way out to the middle of west Texas ... the biggest city without an interstate ... good ol' San Angelo. And if by chance they make it to this mecca of mesquite, chances are my sister is there eating pizza with them.

The last band to make it to San Angelo was Army of Freshmen. I'm not going to lie -- I don't know their songs. I've heard their music pumping out my sister's room on my holiday visits home. But my sister loves them. Somehow (it's a long, very cool story I hope she someday posts on her blog or myspage page) Lizzie ended up getting invited backstage at the Steel Penny Pub during their concert. Keep in mind, she wasn't even able to get into the front door since she's only 16. (That being said, my parents were with her during this whole escapade.)

She's actually been friends with the band for a while now. They swap emails and check out each others' myspace pages. So, after the show, they quietly informed her that they'd be indulging in some pizza at the local Double Dave's, so she (and my entire family ... well, except me since I'm not in San Angelo ... Mom, Dad, Lizzie, Teresa, Mat) eat pizza with the band.





See Lizzie's set of AoF pictures.

**Yeesh!** I take her to one Green Day concert and she touches Billie Joe's hand, and next thing you know, she's hanging out with rock stars. ... *sniff* I'm so proud!!

UPDATE: Just found a video Lizzie posted on YouTube of her adventure.

Blue October - Into The Ocean

This song is stuck in my head! Love it, though.

Vertigo USA ... times two!

Fatima and I had been planning on going to the Vertigo USA (U2 tribute band) concert at Firewater in Dallas last Friday ... but they were so good and we had such a great time that we decided to see them again Saturday at the Tipperary Inn. We had a chance to talk a lot with Greg (Edge) and Blair (audio/lighting expert and belly-dancer), and they are really cool.

Click on the images below for a larger view, or click here for my entire Vertigo USA collection.

Firewater (9/15/2006)








Tipperary Inn (9/16/2006)






I also have a few video clips from the shows. I'll upload those in the next day or so.

Sweet!! (U2+Green Day)

Ok, let me give you some background info here.

1. Lizzie: My sister, and a *huge* Green Day fanatic. Buttons on her purse, posters all over her walls, first concert was Green Day, touched Billie Joe's hand, was right up against the stage at this concert, greatest time in her life.
   
   
2. Me: *Huge* U2 fan. Posters on my walls (at home and at work). First "real" concert was U2. Have touched Bono, Larry, and *swoon* Adam's hands, was right up against the stage in several concerts, greatest times in my life. (NOTE: I didn't say *swoon* when I mentioned Bono, b/c it's a given.)

Well, U2 and Green Day are doing a pre-game concert on Sept.25 at the first New Orleans Saints game back home at the Superdome. They'll be performing a 1978 punk song "The Saints Are Coming" that they recorded together recently at Abbey Road studio in London.

No, I won't be attending the pre-game show (pipe dream!), but I think it's just incredibly cool that my absolute favorite band and my sister's absolute favorite band are together for this. Very cool.

OK Go

Last year, Fatima and Ryann told me about a band they really liked called OK Go. Well, I didn't really get around to listening to (and watching) more of their music (and videos) until last night when Roy stumbled upon one of OK Go's videos. Ok, so I like them. Below are a couple of their (very cool, extremely well choreographed) videos and a link to my myspace site where I my (current) favorite song of theirs. You can also listen to more music on OK Go's myspace site. Enjoy!



A Million Ways


Here It Goes Again


Update: The song was removed from myspace, so I've updated the link to the band's audio link. Enjoy! ~Kat (13 Sept 2006)

Little Miss Sunshine

That God it's the weekend!  After an incredibly long weekend, Roy and I decided to go out for dinner and a movie last night.  Dinner was great, and the movie was *WONDERFUL*!

"The Hoover family treks from Albuquerque to the Little Miss Sunshine pageant in Redondo Beach, California, to fulfill the deepest wish of 7-year-old Olive, an ordinary little girl with big dreams. Along the way the family must deal with crushed dreams, heartbreaks, and a broken-down VW bus, leading up to the surreal Little Miss Sunshine competition itself. On their travels through this bizarre landscape, the Hoovers learn to trust and support each other along the path of life, no matter what the challenge." (Lycos Movies)

Wonderful cast of characters.  The VW van.  The routine.  You'll love it!

Click here to watch the trailer.

Oh, and the music in the movie was really good ... and yet familiar.  I realized a bit into the movie that the author also had music in the movie Everything is Elluminated (which is also *very* good).  The musician is Devotchka, and you can listen to his music on his myspace site and on his website.

Heartless Bastards

No, I'm not actually calling anyone a heartless bastard ... there's actually a band from Cincinnati called "Heartless Bastards", and from what I've heard so far, I really like their music. Driving home from work today, I heard a review of their new album "All This Time" on NPR (*sigh*). For songs are available on their myspace website, and another song plays when you load their official website, so you get exposed to a bit of their music. I actually had a hard time deciding which song to add to my site, since they're all really good.

Update: I have a new song for the week folks, so I've updated the graphic link to the band's myspace site. Here you can find "All This Time" along with three other great songs. Enjoy! ~Kat (8-27-2006)

"Banquet" by Bloc Party

Have I mentioned that Pandora is the greatest musical invention since ... well, since ever! God bless Engin for introducing me to it!

So, today, I'm happily tapping away on my headphones, enjoying my Perfect Radio Station I've set up. Yes, a combination of artists that are similar to and influenced by the likes of U2, the Cure, INXS, Radiohead, New Order, REM, and Depeche Mode. Relaxing to the beautiful melodies by the likes of Elefant, On the Speakers, and the Stars, I'm suddenly completely blown away by a song called "Banquet" by a band called Bloc Party. The song was so "kickin'", as my pal Lynda would call it, I had to add it to my myspace page.


Click here to listen to "Banquet" by Bloc Party.
(No, I'm not trying to steer you toward my myspace site just to get you to add me as your friend and leave a comment ... but hey, if you're there, add me and drop a msg!)

I'm sure you're thining to yourself ... "Man! I sure wish I could listen to that Perfect Radio Station she's talking about!" Well, my friend, you can. Just click on the image below or click on the Perfect Radio link in the sidebar of my blog. Enjoy!

Click here to listen to ...

Update: I have just updated my myspace site with a new song, so the link above has been changed to link to Bloc Party's myspace site, where you can listen to "Banquet". Enjoy! (16 Aug 2006)

MTV Awards - 1997 - U2 - Please

Yet again, thank you Pandora for reminding me of this.... Thanks to the magic of YouTube, I've found a gem from the U2 archive. I remember watching the MTV Music Awards anxiously that year, waiting anxiously for U2 to make their appearance. The band took the stage, and honestly, I was surprised to hear them begin playing "Please". But a minute into the song, I realized it was an incredibly good choice.


Chills. Goosebumps. Shivers. At 2:40 (min:sec) into the clip, Bono just loses it ... but in such an incredible way! I remember when it finished, I kept rewinding and watching the performance over and over. Incredible.

New U2 Songs?

Our friends in France captured U2 practicing what sounds like three complete new songs. The quality isn't great since it was recorded using a handheld recorder; however, it's enough to definitely get you excited! Enjoy!


Click here to listen to the new U2 songs.

Thom Yorke (Radiohead) interview

Wednesday evening, as I was driving home from work, I was pleasantly surprised to turn on the radio (which is almost always tuned to NPR these days) and hear Radiohead's "Creep". Terry Gross, the host of Fresh Air, interviewed Thom Yorke on the band and his own recent solo album. It's a good interview, especially if you're a fan.



Click here to listen to the interview

There's only one "One"

A few weeks ago, my (way cool) sis Lizzie sent me the link on YouTube to the new (well, new to me) "One" vide with U2 and Mary J. Blige. I like it ... kind of. There's been a lot of talk (...about this next song ... Maybe, maybe too much talk ...) on the mailing lists between people who like this version and people who just can't stand it. I'm stuck somewhere in the middle. Of course, Mary isn't going to just do a copy of the song -- you expect her to add her own "flavor" to it. And I like (mostly) what she's done with it. But ... it just seems at times like she won't stop singing. Part of what makes the song so powerful is how "clean" it is. (I hope this makes sense.) At the end, when you're supposed to hear the guitar and how Edge plays it so beautifully, Mary completely sings over it, and I think it loses a lot because of it. So, that's my brief analysis of the new version of the greatest song in the world. And without any further ado, I bring you U2 and Mary J. Blige with "One"...

U2 and Mary J Blige - One


Just for fun, I thought I'd bring back some memories with this (incredibly cool) version of "One" done by REM and U2. Back in the good ol' days, when there was a Democrat in the White House ... *sigh* ...

REM & U2 - One


However, let's end this post by reminding ourselves what "One" is meant to sound like. Below is the band playing the greatest song ever at Live8.

Do you hear us coming, Lord
Do you hear us call
You me knocking, knocking at your door
You hear me calling
You hear him call
You hear him scratching
Did you make him crawl

U2 @ Live8 - One


God, I love this song!

Update:The link to the Mary J. Blige/U2 video has been fixed. ~Kat (10 Sept 2006)

Stuck in my head: Stars

(Thank you Pandora.)

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful song. Listen to it HERE.

Stars, "Elevator Love Letters"

I'm so hard for a rich girl.
My heels are high, my eyes cast low
and I don't know how to love.
I get too tired after mid-day, lately
I take it out on my good friends,
but the worst stays in or where would I begin?

My office glows all night long.
It's a nuclear show and the stars are gone.
Elevator, elevator, take me home.

I'm so hard for the rich girl,
Her heels so high and my hopes so low,
'Cause I don't know how to love.
I'll take her home after midnight
and if she likes, I'll tell her lies
of how we'll be in love by the morning.
I don't think she'll know that I'm saying goodbye...

My office glows all night long
It's a nuclear show and the stars are gone.
Elevator, elevator, take me home.

Don't go. Say you'll stay.
Spend a lazy Sunday in my arms,
I won't take anything away.

Don't go. Say you'll stay.
Spend a lazy Sunday in my arms,
don't take anything away...

Pandora

Have you heard of Pandora? If not, you really need to try it.


Pandora is a (high-quality) streaming free music service that runs on flash, meaning that it's completely cro-platform compatible. Go to http://www.pandora.com, and type in a favorite band or song. It'll build a library, based on your input, of music with similar qualities. If it plays a song that you really like, you can tell the player you like it, and it'll add more music (or seeds) to your stream.

I'm really enjoying it b/c I'm being exposed to music I'd never heard of before and probably never would have heard of before! Another great feature is that if you hear a song you really really like, you can set it as a favorite. And you notice over on my sidebar, I have my most recent favorites listed. Pandora enables you to create an RSS feed of your favorites, so this list auto-updates ever time I add a new one.

Thanks to my co-worker Engin for finding this. I'm really enjoying it! Want to hear my radio station? >>Click here.<<

Oh right ... about that Oasis concert...

I must me losing my mind. My U2-pal Mary just emailed me the following: "So you've blogged about everything but the Oasis adventure... "
Doh! I knew I was forgetting something.

The concert last Thursday was great! And very, very, very loud. My ears have finally stopped ringing. No really, like just a couple of days ago. Next time, I'll use earplugs.

Highlights from that evening:

• $3 pretzels and $4.50 bottles of water. Not really a highlight, but definitely worth commenting on. Plus, venue policy states that they couldn't give me the lid to my water bottle. Who knows why. Maybe they don't want anyone hitting Liam in the head with a water bottle cap.

• "That wasn't Jett??!!" Mary and I didn't really know much about the band Jett, who was set to open for Oasis, other than that one popular song "Are you gonna be my girl". So the first band comes out, and we just assume it's Jett. The band finishes their set, and I turn around and comment to Mary, "Hmm, they didn't play that one big song they have." We realize a few minutes later that the first band was in fact not who we thought was. How did we come to this realization, you ask? As they are setting up for the next band, they bring out this huge banner with "JETT" spelled out in two-foot letters. The first band was actually Kasabian, who were very good.

• Jett. The real Jett took the stage, and I realized that I actually knew a few more of their songs than I'd originally thought. They were definitely good. Kind of Black Crowes-ish. But not too much.

• OASIS!! Ah, the Gallagher brothers, Liam and Noel. The wonderfully haughty Liam, standing at the front of the stage, treating us with that arrogant stare that only Liam himself has perfected. (It's weird in a way -- I truly appreciated the way he just stood there and looked at us. It was very Liam. Anything else would have been weird.) And quiet, contemplative Noel, who ended the show by walking up and down the stage handing out guitar picks to folks in the front row. He's definitely my favorite.

• Singing at the top of my voice. I've actually been an Oasis fan since back in college. So, it was great to hear music I've had coming out of my stereo for almost a decade.

• Random phone calls. The only thing better (I think) than getting a phone call from a pal who is a bit tipsy is getting a phone call from a friend who's at a concert. "VICKI! IF YOU'RE THERE, I CAN'T HEAR YOU! I'M AT AN OASIS CONCERT!" My victims that evening were my Vicki, my cousin Cristina, and my Dad. (Actually, I was trying to call my super-cool sis Lizzie, but she wasn't home.)

So, the concert was fun, the music was great, and Oasis was awesome! Definitely had a blast!