30Mar / 2011

Casey Abrams is testing my resolve

Have you been watching this season of American Idol? Clearly I have. Maybe you’re not tuning in because of the new judges, but let me tell you that Steven Tyler could create a half-hour program of just his facial expressions during the performances. They are priceless.

Every season I wait until the very last week to vote. That’s right, I don’t vote until they’re down to the final two. And usually I never feel the need to vote until it gets to that stage. For example, Adam Lambert was my favorite from his season, and he sailed through to the finals, so I did not have to take the time to vote to keep him there. Lee DeWyze – same thing.

But Casey Abrams is testing my resolve.

I thought for sure that Casey was just like Adam and Lee – practically untouchable until the finale. I didn’t think I would even have to pay attention to the voting numbers until the finale. But last week Casey you scared me! You were eliminated, and then had to be saved by the judges. (Which by the way was a fantastic 15 minutes of television, please go find it on YouTube if you get the chance).

Casey I can’t have this. I can’t. I can’t watch another bland, vanilla contestant like Kris Allen win. So tonight I vote. But you’d better perform.

Permalink Leave a comment

06Mar / 2011

Please Don't Sing That

Every year, I have some pretty intense opinions on American Idol, most of them having to do with the horrible song choices made. If you don’t watch the show, the contestants have to pick their own songs (given that the show can get the rights to them). And every single year about half the contestants broadcast their complete lack of originality in the songs they choose. This seems to anger me in increasing proportion year after year. So I decided to get out my frustrations and make a list of songs I would like banned from being sung on American Idol.

They are:

Alicia Keys – Fallin’
Why does every bland white girl contestant think if she comes out and murders this song she will make it through to the finals? DOES NOT WORK.
Alicia Keys – No One
The judges like to use this one for group rounds a lot. I wish they would stop.
Stevie Wonder – Superstition
Great song, but no one does it good enough on the show. It’s also very dated.
Ray LaMontagne – Trouble
Stop ruining Ray LaMontagne for me.
Edwin McCain – I’ll Be
Ugh, so vanilla. Bland bland bland bland.
Miley Cyrus – The Climb
It’s pretty terrible when you sing a song and someone thinks “hmmm, Miley Cyrus sang that better.”
Corinne Bailey Rae – Put Your Records On
I think this song is pretty harmless, but that’s why you shouldn’t sing it. It doesn’t do anything for you.
Cy Grant – Feeling Good
I put this on the list because Adam Lambert killed it, so good luck trying to top him because you won’t.
Kelly Clarkson – Breakaway
Everyone girl who chooses this song is killing it slowly.
Anything by Carrie Underwood that you choose to sing during “Country Week.”
There’s really no better way to declare “I don’t care about country music” than to choose a Carrie Underwood song on country week.

Let me help you out for country week. Because this is the week that makes me cringe. I don’t know why everyone thinks they have to sing Carrie Underwood, John Denver, Garth Brooks, or Johnny Cash. Do they not know there are people making country music today that is actually decent music? Here are a few songs I would LOVE to hear on country week:

Dierks Bentley – Draw Me a Map
David Nail – Mississippi
Nickel Creek – Helena
Toby Keith – God Love Her
Darius Rucker – Forever Road

I would legitimately consider bribing Casey Abrams to sing Helena while playing the upright bass. The only problem is you have to wait until the last couple of rounds because the “ZOMG” effect of that song is completely lost if you don’t sing each and every verse. And on that note can we just give the title to Casey Abrams already?

Permalink 1 Comment

16Jan / 2010

Eighty-six Carrie

I’ve been trying to create the perfect country music station on Pandora for quite some time. But every one I make seems to play more Kenny Chesney than I would like. (Note: I hate Kenny Chesney, it’s the same song over and over again.)

But I think this week I finally got it, and I only had to use one artist: Lady Antebellum. I haven’t heard one Kenny Chesney song yet! Now all I need to do is find a way to cut out the negligible amount of Carrie Underwood that seeps in.

Permalink 5 Comments

10Jan / 2010

Playlist

Sometimes at the gym, I just listen to Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the USA” and Cobra Starship’s “Good Girls Gone Bad” on a continuous loop.

Permalink 4 Comments

08Jul / 2008

Baby you turned the temperature hotter

Something new has been going on in my life for the past… week or so. Something that I almost cannot explain. Something I probably don’t want to explain, but I will.

This new phenomena in my life, it makes me giggle like a desperate 8th grade girl. I am waiting for the day to come where I am not still completely excited and needy for it. My life was entirely normal a week ago before this thing started. WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME?!?!

Okay, okay. I’ll just come out with it. I listen to the Jonas Brothers.

I bought the single for Burnin’ Up on iTunes a week ago on a whim. A WHIM, PEOPLE! Oh how I wish I could turn back the hands of time. But I cannot. This song is so damn catchy I cannot stop listening. I was cleaning the house last Thursday listening to my iPod, and I kept switching back to this song because no other song would do.

I confessed all of this to my sister Audra, who promptly informed me that she herself was “burning up” for Nick Jonas. Me too, Audra. ME TOO!

Have you seen the video? OMG adorable. Seriously, how did they get that guy from Profiler to be in it? Gawd, why am I such a sucker for crappy pop songs? One day I will have taste! One day…

Permalink 12 Comments

29Jun / 2008

Girl Talk, not girls talking.

I work in an office next to a YMCA, and very often, I sneak out of that office for an hour to enjoy the two things I love the most, music and running. As this is my first guest post on Cloudy Day, and as I run a music blog, I thought I’d hit on the musical note, and follow up Will’s post about girls talking with the actual Girl Talk.

Girl Talk is Mashup DJ Gregg Gillis, a Pittsburgh native who just released his fourth album last week, a 12-track club banger called Feed The Animals that’s pretty hard to summarize, because, as you’ll hear, the album shifts gears every 15-30 seconds, pairing songs like Jay-Z’s Roc Boys over Radiohead’s Paranoid Android, T-Pain and Dolla’s Who The F*** Is That over Avril Lavinge’s Girlfriend, and my favorite mix, Timbaland’s Drop over a mix of Tom Petty, Of Montreal, Good Charlotte, Cheryl Lynn and Schooly D.

The album as a whole covers hundreds of samples, and is already gearing up to be this summer’s party soundtrack, and as one reviewer put it: “If you only buy one album this year, you might as well buy this one – it seems to have all the others on it.“

Below are three of my favorite tracks on the album. Hope you enjoy.

(Click here to cop the album for free.)

1. Shut The Club Down – Girl Talk
2. Give Me A Beat – Girl Talk
3. In Step – Girl Talk

Permalink 5 Comments

30Apr / 2008

Or Better Still, Be My Winding Wheel

I’ve had this idea in my head for almost a month– every since I saw people making Muxtapes. After many hours at the gym skipping through songs on my iPod, I’ve finally made my own Muxtapes. Two opposing Muxtapes to be specific. So anyhow, here they are. Notes given as necessary.

Songs that Make me Wish I Had a Boyfriend

Kings of Leon – On Call
- I remember a couple of weeks ago I walked into Mellow Mushroom and one of the cooks in the kitchen was singing this out loud. It made me smile.
Gomez – Catch Me Up
Josh Turner – Would You Go With Me
- I told my friends last summer this would be my wedding song and I had dibs! I don’t quite feel the same, but it’s still pretty.
Nada Surf – I Like What You Say
- Yeah, I know they used this song in John Tucker Must Die, but just give it a chance!
Harry Connick, JR – For Once In My Life
Ryan Adams – My Winding Wheel
- I will have a hard time being with someone who doesn’t appreciate Ryan Adams. It wouldn’t be impossible, just difficult.
Howie Day – Secret
Dave Barnes – Everybody But You
Dierks Bentley – Good Things Happen

listen to this mix —>

Songs that Make me Want to Join a Convent

Foreigner – Cold As Ice
Damien Rice – Rootless Tree
- I got a speeding ticket while listening to this song. This wouldn’t have happened if I was in a convent.
Cobra Starship – Keep It Simple
- Gabe Saporta, I heart you. But this is by far your most man-whorey song!
Jimmy Eat World – Carry You
- Don’t aaaaaaaaaaaaaask.
Dierks Bentley – Lot of Leavin’ Left To Do
Keith Urban – I Told You So
- If you think this song is all cute and sweet, LISTEN AGAIN! So spiteful, Keith.
Color Me Badd – I Want to Sex You Up
- Pretty much any desire I ever have for sex is squashed the minute this song comes on. I’m guessing my father would be happy if I had this on repeat for the rest of my life… or at least until my 30th birthday.
Miranda Lambert – Kerosene
Nickel Creek – Helena
- If a guy told me that guys like him never sleep alone at night, I’d kick him.

listen to this mix —>

I put a little bit of work into choosing these songs, so please give it a listen and be nice. Also, I need to say that Brandon encouraged me to make these, so if they suck you know who to blame.

Permalink 14 Comments

06Apr / 2008

Dear Dierks

Let me preface this by saying that I am always trying my best to shield my various fandoms from this blog, but today I fear I couldn’t help myself. I just had to say something to Dierks Bentley.

Listen Dierks,

I thought you did a really great job last year just being you. The Long Trip Alone video rocked my socks off. You seem to happily married–although not to me, which I think is a grave oversight on your part. I even found this youtube video of you doing a cover of Foo Fighter’s My Hero with Hayley from Paramore.*

And here you are hanging out with Tim Riggins. You just get better and better. That is, until last Thursday when I watched your new video for “Trying to Stop Your Leaving.”

First, let’s address the issue of your hair. The following pictures are examples of acceptable haircuts for you.

Short or long. Your pick. Got that? Okay good. Now you can explain to me why your hair is long in the back in the most unattractive way in your new video. It pains me to see you look like that!

Next, let’s talk about why this video is so bad besides the fact that I want desperately to take a pair of scissors to your head. YOU RUINED THE SONG, DIERKS. This was by far my favorite song off Long Trip Alone. I thought it could be your next “Settle for a Slowdown.” Now there’s an impressive video. The part where the music cuts out, you walk into the party, and just sing to her? KILLS ME. I am dead it’s so good. This new video? I don’t even know what you were trying to do. I wouldn’t have had the big band there, and the token eye candy slut was a bad actress. RECAST!

I think a good next step for you in your music video career would to be to put your wife in some videos. Brad Paisley did it and his career has never been better.

To summarize: get a haircut, convince Cassidy to appear in your videos, and make a better video next time.

Still love ya,
Emma

*I secretly love Paramore. They’re not really my taste, but they all went to Franklin High, which is rad. I just said rad!

Permalink 8 Comments

16Jan / 2008

I don't understand just why we can't be lovers

*Nsync’s “Tearin’ Up My Heart”– a lyrical breakdown and analysis.

Chorus:
It’s tearing up my heart when I’m with you
But when we are apart, I feel it too
And no matter what I do, I feel the pain
with or without you

Wow. The ultimate catch-22. A conundrum if you will. How will we solve this problem of your heart in pain whilst I am hear, and also while I’m absent? Will your heat murmur subside if I exercise and get in-shape? The saga continues…

Baby I don’t understand
Just why we can’t be lovers
Things are getting out of hand
Trying too much, but baby we can’t win

I think my celibacy would prevent us from being lovers. And things are getting out of hand? Yeah, I’m focusing too much on the use of the word “hand” here, and I’ll leave it at that.

Let it go
If you want me girl, let me know
I am down on my knees
I can’t take it anymore

You’re down on your knees? Get up off the floor J.T. Timberlake! That’s no way for an international pop-star to be.

Repeat chorus

Baby don’t misunderstand
What I’m trying to tell ya
In the corner of my mind
Baby, it feels like we are running out of time

We’re running out of time until your voice finally drops? Well, that’s a relief. Because listening to you trying to act in Alpha Dog made me think you were a girl.

Let it go
If you want me girl, let me know
I am down on my knees
I can’t take it anymore

I thought we went through this already! GET UP!

Repeat chorus

Tearin’ up my heart and soul
We’re apart I feel it too
and no matter what I do, I feel the pain
With or without you

Very creative variation on the chorus. NOT!

Repeat chorus

And no matter what I do, I feel the pain
With or without you

So I should bring Ibuprofen on our dates, yes?

Permalink 4 Comments

01Nov / 2007

Geekin' Out

Last Saturday I attended a band competition. And not just any Mom-and-Pop let’s-get-the-local-school-bands-together competition. This one was the big time: the Bands of America SuperRegional in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome. I’m guessing your jealously is growing by the minute.