MTV Does Something Not Related to Pregnant Teenagers

CDEFGABC from lernert Engelberts on Vimeo.

At this time

A really awesome breakbeat to breakdance to.

Brian Auger, The Trinity, & Julie Dris - Let The Sunshine In

Kobe or LeBron?

Kobe Obviously.



and the full song...

Black Violin - Fanfare

Children's Music!

This is what, the fourth or fifth related band or something. Heh. Anyway, Matt Pryor decided that he wanted to write children's music at some point, so he formed The terrible Twos.

On a side note, Paper Heart looks like it's going to be a terrible movie. Which is hard to believe considering it's in the hard to screw up mockumentary genre. I don't know why Seth Rogen is in this movie. Why in the world would they put Seth Rogen in this movie?

I hate the movie industry almost as much as I hate the music industry. If you have to go see this movie, slap yourself and go see 500 Days of Summer instead.

MAH

One of my favorite bands. Steve introduced me to them when he took me to see them at Chain Reaction.

My American Heart - Fantasy

Spanish, Typography, and Not Knowing What to Do

A friend recently showed me this really amusing Spanish music video. The band, El Cuarteto de Nos, is from Uruguay; their song, "Ya No Sé Qué Hacer Conmigo," is a catchy blend of Latin guitar and alternative rock; and their music video is an impressive show of dynamic typography which accompanies the song incredibly well.

For those that don't understand Spanish, the song (titled "I Don't Know What to Do With Myself Anymore") is essentially a list of all the many exciting things he's done and his melancholy of not knowing what to do with himself anymore. Enjoy!

This song is probably about Matt Pryor

I believe Jim Suptic is the guy you hear singing on songs like "Ten Minutes," though the credits say James Dewees even though his voice sounds nothing like that, heh.

One more video after the cut.



My best friend told me about these guys. I don't trust anyone else more when it comes to music taste.

Currently listening to

Because the movie "Fast and Furious" comes out today on DVD and Blu-Ray. This song was in the commercials/trailers.

Does It Offend You, Yeah? - We Are Rockstars

Alcoholic Faith Mission - Nut In Your Eye

I just found out about this band while randomly checking a music blog. All I know is they are from Denmark and they remind me of Stars, a band that many feel predated bands like Rilo Kiley and Metric. This is one of my favorite songs by Alcoholic Faith Mission, "Nut in Your Eye."

I feel like I should do a series on TGUK related bands

Topic: Praise and Worship

Who's down with the P&W? I know I am. I'm more into the contemporary Christian praise and worship songs than gospel, but I'm cool with that too. I just got back from a retreat in San Diego, and I heard some new songs I had never heard before. I loved them all. Now I'm wondering, what is everyone's favorite praise and worship songs? Mine is definitely The Stand right now, they played it so beautifully at Steubenville.

Here's a couple of new songs I heard this weekend that I've never heard before:



continue...

Just cuz.

Just feeling God's energy in this song.

Hillsong United - Devotion

Cater to U - Destiny's Child Cover

I apologize for the lateness but I do want to share with you one of my favorite youtube covers of a song by Destiny's Child called "Cater to U." Although there are no vocals, I think the instruments do the song justice. I forgot to mention that these guys are my brother's friends from UCLA... or at least one of them is but I forgot. Anyway, enjoy! :)

YouTube Covers

Probably one of my favorite YouTube covers...LEGIT! Apologies to the Wire Box editors for breaking the one-a-day rule--it's been a while and just had to!


Brad Doggett - Nice & Slow (Usher Cover)

I fancy Mike Kinsella

C'mon, look at this effin' cute-ass hipster family!

Mike Kinsella's one man band, Owen, is set to release a new album this upcoming September. And though people criticize his music, saying it's the same song over and over--it may be true, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.

More Owen (including a short sampler) at my tumblr.

Owen - The Sad Waltzes of Pietro Crespi

The Anniversary - All Things Ordinary

(Posted in relation to Justin's; because the keyboardist of this band and the bassist of TGUK were married until she, the keyboardist, cheated on him with the lead singer of The Anniversary.)

Before "emo" was a verb/adjective/way to dress/etc., it was a musical genre characteristic of subtle-to-in-your-face dynamics and true-to-heart lyrics. The Anniversary's earlier material was very indie-emo; their later stuff was incredibly indie. Check it.

If TGUK took "Overdue" and Made an Album based off that

One of My Favorite Artists

Because it's my sister. She has over 1500 subscribers on youtube and I'm just like WTF? Anyway, this was her and my cousin performing at my brother's graduation party a while back. She obviously doesn't know how to play my djembe.

Taking a step back

It's during times like these where I need to stop and think how blessed I am just still living. I found more Nujabes music on youtube. Just hearing this song and listening to the major beats and mixing gave me the impression of how originality can be established if you dig deeper in yourself.

Nujabes - Sanctuary Ship

Japanese banjos.

I first saw Masahiro Nitta perform at a taiko concert held at Diamond Bar High School when I was still a senior there (I even got his signature!). Anyhow, watching him perform was the first time I saw or heard of a shamisen in my life (a "Japanese banjo", essentially). This is my favorite original song by Nitta, called "Yuki No Hana". In this video he is playing with Kevin Kmetz, a member of a shamisen rock band called God of Shamisen.

Anyway, here is "Yuki No Hana", followed by one of my favorite pop-rock songs with the shamisen as a primary instrument... "Change" by Monkey Majik. ...I don't know what to label this post as! I guess "Japanese" works?



Masahiro Nitta - Yuki No Hana


Monkey Majik - Change

Breaking from the theme...

I'm in NACS right now studying GRE vocab. But for the past week I've been listening to my mellow playlist which basically consists of Azure Ray and other artists. This song just came up on Imeem, so I figure I'll share it with the lot of you.

Cover Theme - Killing Me Softly

I like this cover. I had never heard the song "Killing Me Softly" before watching these two pretty ladies sing it (wonderfully I might add ;) ). My favorite part is when they sing "one time, one time."

Cover Theme Post

Haha, not gonna lie--this is probably one of my favorite covers of all time. It mixes parody with a legit cover of a great hit that I'm sure everyone is sick and tired of hearing. Whatever, I have about 13 versions of this song in my iTunes library, sad...but true. Haha, what can I say, I get obsessive when it comes to music...It's Vanilla Sky's cover of Rihanna's Umbrella...so here, enjoy. :P

Guilty pleasure.

This is by far one of my favorite covers (sorry--I don't make my own covers, Mark!). The original "Lollipop" by Lil Wayne isn't even a song I like (except for when I'm clubbing or something haha). But Framing Hanley's rock version of the song makes it quite enjoyable (though the lyrics are still painful to listen to).




Framing Hanley - Lollipop

Btw, here's one of my favorite tracks by them... "Hear Me Now"! The lyrics have religious implications (a lot better than whatever "Lollipop" is spewing.) I think I might be delving into another rock phase soon.



Framing Hanley - Hear Me Now

Song for THEME Week

This cover made me want to play guitar.

AJ Rafael and Cathy Nguyen - Lucky (Cover)

Originally sung by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat

Drift Away Cover

Back in winter quarter of this past year, my hallmates and I cranked out quite a few covers, and here is one of them. It's probably one of the covers I feel more satisfied with.
Anyway, some background on the song: it's called "Drift Away" by Magnetic North, composed of two members, Direct and Theresa Vu. I think they may have been sued for copyright infringement or something (due to the song's resemblance to Uncle Kracker's song of the same name). Wongfu Productions directed and produced the music video, which is really touching and can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsafOstm6H4

Anyway, here's Justin on rap, Randy on guitar, Mitul hitting the guitar to keep the beat (lol kinda pointless actually), and myself on vocals. Enjoy :]

Nada Surf

My friend introduced me to Nada Surf sophomore year of high school. I also like their other song "If you leave".

Nada Surf - Always Love

EDIT: I didn't read the blog before I posted this. Sorry this song isn't part of the THEME this week.

THEME: Covers.

I think we all have our favorite covers on YouTube, so throw up yours this week. I'd love to see what you like.

Ebrahim - As I Am

Today my brother introduced me to this song called "As I Am" by an artist named Ebrahim. He also showed me Melissa Polinar's (an amazing youtube singer's) cover of the song and I fell in love with both versions of the song in addition to the lyrics. I think the song is beautiful. Whenever I feel like I'm at a loss for words, I try to find a song that captures exactly how I feel. Music brings everything to life. How powerful is that? I love it.




If you took a look at me now
I know you may not see too much
No fancy occupation name
Or the time for Sunday brunch
See the life I live is quite simple
Cause all that complex stuff
Gets in the way of what I’m trying to do
And that’s give you my love
So if you…

Take me as I am
And let your heart find its
Way to me
See I’ll be all that you need
Oh if you take me as I am
You know I want to share my world with you
And I’ll give my love that’s true

Now everyday your love inspires me
You keep striving for the better things
So one day we can live all comfortably
I see it in your eyes
But don’t worry no more
I may not have it all planned
But I can see what the future holds

Take me as I am
And let your heart find its
Way to me
See I’ll be all that you need
Oh if you take me as I am
You know I want to share my world with you
And I’ll give my love that’s true

Salem Al Fakir - It's Only You (Part II)

As of late, I've really been into Casio/Yamaha/Radio Shack keyboards from the 80's (pre-90's). I'm talking about those keyboards (borderline synths) that still run off square wave chips (as opposed to FM chips of the early 90's) and have about 16 keys and you can only play two notes at one time (duotones as opposed to polytones). Anyways, I'm hoping to pick up two this weekend; one a gift from a friend and the other I found off Craigslist.

Salem Al Fakir is a Swedish soul singer who was recently in a Volvo commercial, and he sort of reminds me of where I'm headed musically.

LP

This song is from the album titled "Meteora". Probably one of my favorite songs in that album.

Linkin Park - Breaking The Habit

Switchfoot

The movie "A Walk to Remember" had about 4 songs (correct me if I'm wrong) by Switchfoot during the movie. This song was playing near halfway of the movie when things are starting to get really emotional. Has a really nice tune and rhythm to the song. And the lyrics are just breath-taking. Hope you guys like it.

Switchfoot - Learning to Breathe

MURS - Bad Man

When Mark made a comment on The Box Office (the chat box at the bottom of this page) about the Treasure Island Music Festival coming up in October, I looked at the festival lineup. Little did I know, an LA rapper named Nick Carter--though he is professionally known as MURS (aka Making Underground Raw Shit)--is going to be there. I only know one of his songs, which I discovered on my TV music channel, ha. Nevertheless, it's a good hip hop song. I wish I could go to that music festival, ugh.




MURS - Bad Man

Good Old War - Coney Island.

Back in the day, the lead singer of Good Old War was part of a band known as Days Away, which is how I found out about Good Old War. This is one of their most popular song. Pretty sick video as well. And there's a sick live version here.

Currently Listening to...

I first heard this song in 2004. This song was in the MVP Baseball 2004 video game soundtrack. And now they use this song in the commercials of the show "Rescue Me" on FX. It's just one of those songs that's catchy and chill.

The Von Bondies - C'mon C'mon

You just gotta admit it...

That Britney really is more than just a tabloid queen. She was my first celebrity crush when I was younger and I always thought her music was kind of catchy. Now I know that she doesn't write her music, but what she does add is a creative adaptation of the music presented.

In any case, this isn't her singing, this is a great piano cover I found on YouTube a while back. It got me to thinking that the beats and tune of most pop music is really based on something as simple as a bar of beautifully interconnected notes and pauses and that, at the end of the day, is what music is:--no matter the genre, artist, or band presenting a particular song--universal.

Anyway,

To Be Real

I freestyled to this song in my Jazz dance class on Monday. So happy that I was able to feel the music so easily that day.

Cheryl Lynn - Got To Be Real

Emo+Video Games+Humor+Acapella=?

I'm always trying to bring something different. Here's a find from a while ago: Emocapella, a group from George Washington University.



And also... Nintendopella!

Ghostland Observatory - Piano Man

Somehow I had this song on my iTunes and I have NO IDEA how it got there. I listened to it for the first time, and I think it's pretty good. This is interesting because electronica is not usually a genre I listen to. Enjoy =)

Are you starting to change?

I recently heard a couple of the songs on MGMT's first major studio album, Oracular Spectacular, which was actually released in October 2007. Anyway, besides the popular tracks like "Time to Pretend", "Kids", and "Electric Feel", one of the other lesser known songs in this album has really caught my attention. Feel free to interpret the video however you'd like.




MGMT - The Youth

This is a call of arms to live and love and sleep together
We could flood the streets with love or light or heat whatever
Lock the parents out, cut a rug, twist and shout
Wave your hands
Make it rain
For stars will rise again

The youth is starting to change
Are you starting to change?
Are you?
Together

In a couple of years
Tides have turned from boos to cheers
And in spite of the weather
We could learn to make it together

The youth is starting to change
Are you starting to change?
Are you?
Together

The youth

Something the Same but Different

I really appreciate this cover. Marilu Bustamante accompanied by AJ Rafael performing "I Speak Six Languages," my favorite song from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

Steel Train - Kill Monsters in the Rain.

I have all these random burnt CDs in my CD case that I never really listen to. I found this one (Steel Train's Trampoline) recently and fell back in love with it. It's definitely very different from their early stuff especially since they were at one time on Drive Thru Records (along with The Starting Line, New Found Glory, etc.). One of their original vocalists was actually the original singing voice of Simba for the Broadway play The Lion King. Here's one of my favorite songs by them, "Kill Monsters in the Rain."

David Cook - Declaration (Homerun Derby)

I never heard David Cook before this performance at the All Star Homerun Derby. Needless to say, I think I became a fan by this one song alone. He's definitely different from all those other American Idol "winners." I stopped watching the show after Ruben Studdard, so this was definitely a pleasant surprise.

Phoenix

Got this song from a friend.

Phoenix - If I Ever Feel Better

**Update: Chat Box!**

So if you scroll all the way down you should see something new...

A chat box (of sorts)! I added this as a "chat box/forum" to post upcoming shows in, ask questions, or to just simply talk. How is it? And I know it's at the bottom of the site, but if I put it at the top it really takes up a lot of space (and isn't very pleasing to look at). Comments/suggestions, anyone? Yay or nay?

Btw, if you DO like the idea and want to post up info on upcoming shows, please post a link to the venue for reference! And to post a link, you don't need to insert any HTML. Just simply copy and paste the link into the comment entry box and the gadget will automatically make a link when your message is posted. Links don't work in this new comment box I added (the other one had technical difficulties). But please copy and paste a link anyway if there is an upcoming show you'd like to share! Thank youu.

Woooohooo. It's late.

Perfume

rather than write another long, daunting wall of text that are full of easily misinterpreted and possibly disparaging comments, I'll just post this in honor of Perfume's recently released new album.

Perfume is a japanese electropop that is decently popular in Japan. I am currently obsessed with them again after a two year hiatus. Their musical style tends to fluctuate depending on the single they release.

This isn't their latest single, but it's the best recent example of their typical style and sound. Bear with the long 20 second startup please, it gets better.




also, I'm curious if anyone here has a last.fm account. I just got one and its pretty nifty.

Tortioise - Djed

In the 1990's a band known as Tortoise burst on the scene. Their instrumental-core music made way for post-rock bands like Mogwai, Godspeed, Explosions in the Sky, Pelican (blah), Sigur Rós, and countless other bands. The album Millions Now Living Will Never Die iconisized them as being the front-runners of their genre. Personally, I dig the song "Djed." It reminds me of a song from Fugazi's Instrumental (which is a great post-hardcore album by the way).

(video on expand)

Currently Listening to...

My girlfriend introduced me to the band Sigur Rós. They're from Iceland. The music video is pretty deep. Sæglópur is icelandic for "lost at sea" (I looked it up on Wikipedia). It's just one of those songs where I just need to be by myself and just reflect on what's going on in life. Hope you enjoy...

Define this Genre

One of my friends on LiveJournal apparently met the pianist of this band. They're apparently a Japanese band of some sort. It sounds kind of epic. Like, if you're playing an RPG and its the opening credits, doesn't it? Anyway, I heard this, and this song is pretty cool.



Anyway, I don't really know how to define this style of music. What do you guys think?

An Amazingly Talented Duo

Last weekend on my long drive from San Jose to LA, my apartment-mate introduced me to this amazing little duo: Rodrigo y Gabriela. With only two acoustic guitars and an impressively unique strumming technique, these two make an amazing sound that's part Flamenco, part Heavy Metal, and all spectacular.

I must say, I have quite a weakness for guitars (and, really, for most string instruments), so their music just about makes me melt. My personal favorite song of theirs is "Ixtapa" (since they work in a violin), but all of the songs are worth listening to! Check them out on MySpace!

Chain Reaction Shows

Wednesday, August 19th
Hello Goodbye, fun, Limbeck, and My Favorite Highway

Thursday, August 20th
The Higher (one of my top 3 favorite bands)

Thursday, October 22nd
Owl City, The Scene Aesthetic, Brooke Waggoner

Never Fly United and other musings

So, apparently a guy named Dave Caroll went on a plane trip with United Airlines and, well, the song explains it all. I don't know why the band is wearing fake mustaches and sombreros, but in the words of Rod Blagojevich, it's bleepin' golden.



In addition to that, I've been learning to play a couple of song on guitar...

Both are jazz standards. The first one I set about learning was Jamie Cullum's version of "What a Difference a Day Made" which features the wonderful chord Em11 which is just about the easiest thing you can play on a guitar.



The other one is Norah Jones's version of "The Nearness of You" which is really sparse musically and makes it really pretty. And by sparse, I mean really soft. Kind of like Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek," except of electronic manipulations of voice, it's just voice and piano. You get the idea.

No live videos of her for this song unfortunately.



Any way, it's helping me get a better understanding of jazz and how jazz chords fit. Or, at the very least, how to make weird chord shapes work, heh.

Daphne Loves Derby

In the song, it reminds me of just the times where I have a hard time to take the initiative to help take a friend's pain/struggles away. And when I do take the initiative, the lyrics "but she doesn't care, no she doesn't care." circulate around my mind. I try to be there for her, but I guess she doesn't need my support. It's one of those things where your help means nothing, and you just gotta respect your friend's personal space. Other than that, the song is wonderful and really chill. I hope to see them live one day.

Daphne Loves Derby - Middle Middle

My "feel good drag".

Was addicted to this song during Fall of 2008. But anyway, it's late and I need something to keep me going. [Expand post to listen.]

This song is part of my "Rokk" playlist on YouTube. I was in a total rock/alternative/80s phase at the time.

Some of my personal favorites on the playlist are...

White Town - Your Woman

Paper Rival - Cassandra [The official music video is no longer available on YouTube.]

The Offspring - You're Gonna Go Far Kid

3OH!3 - Don't Trust Me

Pendulum - Propane Nightmares

Black Kids - I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend

Anberlin - Feel Good Drag

Matt and Kim- Daylight

Matt and Kim is an indie rock duo from Brooklyn. The group was formed in 2004 by Matt Johnson (vocals/keyboards) and Kim Schifino (drums/vocals). The two met while attending the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and started out by playing local warehouse shows .This song was recently featured in a Bacardi commerical that you've probably seen. Just an awesome and fun song about being happy :D Also check out their "Lessons Learned" music video.

Madcon - Beggin'

Man, it's been an age since I last posted. Life's been a bit too tumultuous for my liking. In any case, I offer this song I'm sure most have heard on the airwaves as of late. It's by Madcon...and for those of you who don't know they're an urban duo from...NORWAY. Yeah, whoduthunk that those Norwegians were good? Haha, I joke, but it's funny to think as an American in this little blue marble we call Earth.

It's a fresh summer jam with an interesting introduction remnant of the whole urban-classical clash that has been all the rage for a while now. Technically speaking it's called a progressive intro but it just reminds me of "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" or "Kill Bill" for some reason.

Alright, enough jabbering from me...

What the OC is known for...

Heh, Charmaine is all up in the business of random html stuff and announcements on this blog.

Anyway, Jerick's post on No Doubt and the apparently start of a 10 Things I hate About You TV show made me think of the now defunct Save Ferris. The OC has had a pretty big ska-punk music scene which includes Save Ferris, No Doubt, Reel Big Fish, RX Bandits, the Supertones, and many others, but yeah.

Video after the jump.

Edit (3:19pm): Also after the cut, a new Auto-tune the News. Either people are talking more musically, or they're putting more work in this or both.

No Doubt

My cousin got me into No Doubt in the 90's. They filmed this song in my neighborhood in Anaheim (my hometown, and I just looked up that No Doubt is from Anaheim as well!). I can't post the video because the youtube account who has the music video won't allow people putting the music video in other sites. But if you look it up, they were playing in my neighbor's garage. I didn't know my neighbors, but I was able to see Gwen Stefani later that night. My mom told me about this last night, thought I'd share this with you all. She told me how I was scared and didn't want to take a picture of her. Lol I was young I guess, and I didn't know how to react with people who I don't know. I recognized the liquor store that Gwen walked to in the music video during the 2nd verse of the song. So yeah, just check it out on youtube. Here's the song.

No Doubt - Sunday Morning

Owl City -- The Saltwater Room

If you're looking for a nice song on the drive home, this song would be it -- especially in the summer time, with the windows rolled down and a cool breeze coming in. This song is actually one of my recent personal favorites, even though I ignored it the first time I heard it.

Owl City is an electronica/pop band founded in 2007 by one person, Adam Young. So if you're into the indie scene, you'll probably enjoy this, too. Even if you haven't heard of Owl City or aren't familiar with indie music, this is a good listen. Unfortunately, I couldn't find an official music video for this song -- there probably isn't one.

Either way, give it a listen [expand the post]!

In Defense of the Genre.

Metric is what I'd describe as the harder-edge, Canadian version of Rilo Kiley. (Debate?) Although the original version of "Help I'm Alive" is decent as well, I think the acoustic version is better. (Personal opinion of course.) Also there's an mp3 of this floating around somewhere - don't worry, it's totally legal. They released it as an incentive for signing on to their mailing list.

**New: Expandable Blogs!!**

Hey everyone! First of all, thanks to Justin for helping me through the wonderful world of javascript, and for his feedback. And thanks to Mark for his helpful comments as well!

Secondly, here's an exciting update for you all! If you click "New Post", you'll notice a code in the "Edit Html" section that goes like:

[span class="fullpost"]

[/span]

(I replaced the arrows with brackets so the code wouldn't register as HTML in this blog.)

This code is made for those who have a long post but do not wish to take up too much space on the blog! (If you DO NOT want to use this code, simply DELETE IT and you won't have to bother with it.)

[Click Read more or expand post to see the rest of the blog.]


Pretty cool right?! You can expand your post :)! Anyway, here's what all that jibberish means.

Anything above the words [span class="fullpost"] is going to be your excerpt post. In other words, the post that is supposed to be the introduction to your "full-length" post, before it is expanded.

Anything BELOW that code (and before [/span] ) is where you enter the rest of your post!

If you're totally lost, this site can provide some clarification.

If you're hesitant about posting since you think readers will ignore your "small intro" post, don't fear! The posts are expandable and collapsable so your entire post will still show up on the same page (not a new page or a new window)!

Well, pleeeease comment me about this. I hope this all made sense!! Thanks again, to Justin (as well as Mark!) for giving me feedback and helpful links!

Sincerely,
Charmaine

Nostalgic

I love Pokemon, that's that.

All 12 Pokemon Openings

Pearl Jam -- Low Light

From the album Yield, by Pearl Jam. Imho, it is an unusually positive work from a band well associated with the dark, apathetic tones of grunge. It reminds me-- that at any given moment, we can never sum up what our lives have amounted to, or what we hoped to eventually find. Concepts of right and wrong, what we ought or ought not have done, are as impermanent as our moods. But instead of despairing, the tone is hopeful; it seems to say, that even in the failing light of reason, we must continue living the dream, calmly and steadily.

Help Polyvinyl Record Co.

Quite the steal for a ton of great music--if you love supporting good indie rock check this out!

Polyvinyl needs your help! Some of our distributor’s warehouses around the world are being downsized or consolidated and we either need to destroy over 10,000 records or face some high storage costs.

Destroying the records is not an option...we don’t have to destroy great records, and you get the opportunity to get some awesome music from the likes of Aloha, of Montreal, Mates of State, Joan of Arc, Mike Kinsella, Rainer Maria, and many more.

The Morning of - Reverie

I want to start a series of a couple posts about live shows. Before I was 18, I had only been to about two live concerts in my life: Jethro Tull and Hootie and the Blowfish with my dad. Once I turned 18, I took my girlfriend at the time to Warped Tour for her birthday. It ended up being a pretty cool event, and it definitely wasn't what I expected. At the end of the summer I went back again to the final show (I got to see the first show and the last one) with Tony and Camila to see Meg & Dia. I didn't think it was all that great, but then Tony told me that a band I was starting to like a little bit (The Higher) was playing at Chain Reaction, close by our house, the following week. They were playing with two bands, June and My American Heart. That show at Chain Reaction set off a chain reaction that fueled my interest in indie music that has grown so much to this day. Had it not been for that show, I never would have heard of bands like My American Heart, June, We Shot the Moon, Waking Ashland, Everybody Else, Sherwood, A Change of Pace, and so many more. And if it wasn't for that first show, I never would have heard of one of my favorite bands, The Morning Of.

I remember going to this show in December with the best group of people ever (Charmaine, Mark, Charlene, Ace, Jerick, and Julisa) and it would have to be my second favorite show ever. The bands that played were Artist vs Poet, Danger Radio, My American Heart, and The Morning Of. The audio for the video isn't too good, but we're at this show, so there =P Look them up and check them out at

Enjoy






P.S.


I like this little link thing. Too bad I don't use it =P

Arcade Fire - Wake Up

I was inspired to post this because of Justin's post on Ryan Gosling. This is a song by Arcade Fire called "Wake Up"; an acoustic version of the song is in the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are. I hope you like it. (Also, it's coincidence that Gosling and Arcade Fire are Canadian; I meant to post it because they're both indie rock.)

NEEDS MOAR METAL IN THIS JOINT, THEREFORE CAPS LOCK AND DRAGONFORCE

with all these music afficionados here and their well-developed tastes, I can't help but feel a bit inferior. Even so, I want to try and share my off-kilter tastes in music. (check out the "tl;dr" at the bottom of the post if walls of text offend you)

Ah, Dragonforce. My favorite band.

I say this with a lot of certainty, since I have few bands that I truly like. If I made a collection of my favorite songs, it would be mostly a hodgepodge of songs from various groups or bands. Dragonforce is one of those few whose songs I generally like all around.

If you haven't heard of Dragonforce, their style could be best describes as 80s-style thrashing power metal meets Journey. Founded in 1999 and almost a decade old, they recently released their 4th album last year in August 2008. They're most famous for the energetic twin guitar shredding by their lead guitarists, Herman Li (an asian playing metal music? *GASP*) and Sam Totman (insert witty comment here). Z.P. Theart (yes, that's his real name), rocks on with the vocals that echo of Steven Perry and other rock vocalists. Their song lyrics are often full of sweeping and epic images ripped out of a medieval fantasy novel. At the same time though, the band is full of jokers who don't take much of what they do or sing about too seriously. At live shows, they'll often goof off or do showy things to get a few laughs or get the crowd excited.

They hit mainstream fame recently thanks to Guitar Hero III and their single from their third album, “Through the Fire and the Flames.” Unfortunately, this sudden exposure has caused hasty judgments and generalizations that all their songs sound the same. But this is power metal we're talking about, a genre that hasn't change much since the 1980s. Innovation isn't going to pop up in every song. We're not dealing with some whiny indie band that makes a soapbox of every song they make. And just like all metal bands, Dragonforce has its active legion of trolls and haters along with its fans. It's only gotten worse thanks to Guitar Hero.

I happen to enjoy this band a lot for many reasons, but here's a few good ones. The most obvious thing I enjoy is the raw energy and power every one of their songs exudes.

Secondly, I find it refreshing that they don't take themselves too seriously all the time. Most artists and bands nowadays unfortunately always seem to have an axe to grind, be it against sociopolitical groups or "the Man" or whatever the hell people think that means now. For all of Dragonforce's songs about epic battles, they have no real enemy, aside from lethargy and boredom.

Despite this, some of their songs have substance through its metaphorical value. Basically, thinking about their lyrics not literally, but being inspired by the images they paint to stand strong and steadfast in what you believe or set out to do. Life is full of personal battles, why run from it when we should instead be firm and face those challenges head on?

okay that sounded dorky.

well, anyway.

before I lose your attention, I'll just post a video. "Through the Fire and the Flames" was a weak choice to introduce the wider world to Dragonforce. At best, it's mid tier in comparison to their other songs. Instead, I'd like to introduce to The Wire Box a superior single they released for their new album last year, and one of my personal favorites, "Heroes of Our Time."


tl;dr: Dragonforce is kewl. watch the video plz. kthxbye

Ryan Gosling is So Indie

And apparently has a band of sorts. He's done a number of indie movies that I've really wanted to see (while his mainstream ones, other than The Notebook and his small role in Remember the Titans, are forgettable), but apparently he's decided to venture into music. Considering his fellow Mickey Mouse Club alumni, it could be successful, but the stuff he does is anything but pop.



The band seems to be Gosling, a guy named Zach Shields, and a children's choir. They describe their style on MySpace as Gothic, Gospel, Showtunes. I'm not really sure how to categorize it myself.

Interestingly enough, they're on Werewolf Heart Records, some small label. The same one as Ima Robot.

Popping music

This song and watching my friends do a routine on this song made me want to start going back to popping again.

Martin Solveig - C'est La Vie

ASL: Lechonpark

Name: Lechonpark

Location: Southern California

Favorite Genre of Music: I'm not going to lie and say "assorted genres" or "little bit of everything."
I basically like Eurobeat, power metal, video game and anime tracks, 70s and 80s music, and dance music. I also have a thing for music with comedy or kitsch value.

Favorite Artist:
(currently into): Perfume (again), Power Quest

(wanna look into): popular music, expand music tastes and tolerance

(will always love): Dragonforce, Clara Moroni and her many aliases, Dschinghis Khan, O-zone

Posting Style: whatever

Random/Corny Fact About Yourself: I arrange my tshirts in my closet by color.

Final Fantasy

This is one of my favorite songs in the game Final Fantasy X. This is the background song when you venture in Besaid Island.

Final Fantasy X Soundtrack - Besaid Island

In Honor of 12:34:56, 7/8/9

Lights & Music.

I learned about this song back in March, apparently, but didn't unearth it again until now! A great song by the Australian band Cut Copy called "Lights & Music"! The track is part of their album In Ghost Colours, which was released in March 2008.

DISCUSSION: Pandora limits free radio to 40 hours a month.

If you didn't hear, recently (today) Pandora has limited its free radio service to 40 hours a month. You can opt to pay a specific amount for unlimited listening. Personally, I am kind of outraged especially since I think that 2/3s of the music I listen to was introduced to me by Pandora especially during those wee hours in the morning during finals when you need something more than your regular fix. The service, in my opinion, has done more help than harm.

Obviously there are pros and cons to this situation, but I'll let you find them out. The music industry is indeed suffering, but who's fault is it really? Does increasing music royalties seem like a good solution to the ailing industry or is it just giving music listeners more incentive to go out and download music? Discuss.

Electric Violin Solo!

The band is Zox and the song is "Spades." I saw them live at Bamboozle Left in 2008. The violinist, Spencer Swain, is pretty BAMF looking.

Jaymay - Gray or Blue

Hello everyone! I've been meaning to post for the longest time, but I haven't been able to find time (until now :] ) to post something other than my profile. So for my first musical post, I'd like to share a song called "Gray or Blue" by one of my favorite indie artists, Jaymay. A friend of mine introduced me to this song around the end of fall quarter last year, and I totally fell in love with the song. It's one of the first songs I learned to play on the guitar and still probably one of my favorites to play (because it's fairly easy haha). I couldn't find an official music video, and I didn't really like any of her live versions, so I found a YouTube user's video of the song set to a clip from Serendipity (one of my favorite movies :] ). Enjoy :]



I found some other songs of hers on Pandora, and I'd definitely recommend her song "Snow White" if you like this one.


And if you're interested, I did a cover of this song back in January, when I was even more of a noob at guitar. The audio isn't that great, but if you ever see me in possession of a guitar, feel free to request a live version and I'd be happy to do it for you :] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kU05NA3cu-o

Kaskade

I see myself just wandering and driving in the freeway with this song in the car. My friend is a DJ, so he's been getting me back into trance and house music. Since he's been listening to my music, he gave me his. Here's one of the songs he sent me.

Kaskade - Move For Me

Weekend Discovery

I went to Anime Expo this past weekend and (for the first time ever) got to go to the AMV contest there. First of all, I have to say that some of those videos were breathtakingly amazing. In addition to the great video editing and craftsmanship of the AMV creators, I discovered a few absolutely beautiful songs. I managed to find out the information for one of the songs, but the other remains presently elusive. For now, I present to you this gorgeously heartbreaking song:


Trading Yesterday - Love Song Requiem




Also, there are apparently 2 versions of the song. I'm not exactly sure what the difference between them is (nor am I sure which version I heard in the AMV), but you can check out the other version here.

The Juliana Theory

I first heard this song from the movie "Motocross". It's a chill movie, and has relevance to the song how when the motorcyclists are in the air they feel like at the top of the world. That's how I feel like when I'm with my girlfriend. Enjoy.

The Juliana Theory - We're at the Top of the World (To the Simple Two)

Ben Folds - Still Fighting It

In the 90's, Ben Folds Five (his previous band) released "Brick" and became overnight sensations. The song was about an abortion that Folds' college girlfriend had (in one part of the song, he describes selling Christmas gifts to pay for said abortion). Years later Folds would go solo and even do some songs for the CGI-animated film, Over the Hedge. They were some pretty legit songs (check them out).

In honor of me aging...somewhat aging...I present a song "Still Fighting It" by Ben Folds. Definitely a song about growing up and being young. Unfortunately, I can't embed the actual video, but it's here; I hella like it. So ignore the visual portion of this video. It's kind of lame. Haha.

Just because

I sing this song outloud in my car.

Kelly Clarkson - Since You've Been Gone

Supertramp - Breakfast in America

Happy Fourth of July everyone! Thanks to Mark for starting up the themed post! In honor of the holiday, I'm posting "Breakfast in America" by one of the bands I love most--Supertramp (I'm a big fan of 70s & 80s rock). I'm sure most of you have heard [at least some of] it already, though, through this familiar revised version of the song. The original Supertramp hit was released in 1979. (I wasn't sure if I should the song was considered "70s" or "80s" in the label but I just stuck to the 70s.)

The song is about a person who has never been to America.

(By the way, Supertramp's hit "The Logical Song" is great, too [my favorite song by the group]. It's one of the songs I'm guaranteed to sing on karaoke.)

Ray Charles - America the Beautiful

Going along with the 4th of July theme I decided to post one of my favorite Ray Charles songs of all time. I first heard this song while watching The Sandlot during the scene which they're playing baseball under the fireworks. Every baseball player that has ever watched The Sandlot has always dreamed of playing baseball on the 4th of July underneath the fireworks like they did in the movie, and this song will always remind me of that.

THEME: America - Fuck Yeah!

So many years ago our forefathers killed a bunch of Limeys (that's Britz for you 'ignant peepz'). And now we can blow shit up via magnesium. So, in honor of this joyous day, please post patriotic American stuff. (Include tag: "4th of july").

Happy fucking 4th of July!

I now present to you: From the film Team America, "America (Fuck Yeah!)."

E.S. - M. M.

"That's exactly what it was, surreal... I enjoy performing almost as much as I enjoy making up songs in the first place. But the Oscars was a very strange show, where the set was only one song cut down to less than two minutes, and the audience was a lot of people who didn't come to hear me play. I wouldn't want to live in that world, but it was fun to walk around on the moon for a day." (Wiki)

One of my favorite and most influential artists and the song that probably got him the most national attention ever.

A Discussion on Electronic Music, Some Original Songs

Hey Everyone!

I've noticed that one of my favorite genres of music, electronica, has garnered some labels. Below I've embedded some original electronic music, mixed and produced on my laptop using a program entitled Dance Ejay 7. All of the sounds you'll hear are original, edited and created by myself.

I would love to hear your comments and suggestions, because the difference between good electronic music and bad is often very subtle. I'd also like to start a miniature discussion, barring people's interest, on the nature of electronic music. What defines the various sub-genres within that larger label? What do the words Chill, House, Trance, Techno, Electro, Drum&Bass, Experimental, and Ambient even mean?

Thanks to Justin for posting the Imogen Heap song. I love that song, and I have a trance version of it that is truly remarkable.

Cleverness.mp3 -

Natural Reverberations.mp3 -

The Only Moment We Were Alone

This song reminds me of times when nothing is going on at the moment. Everyone is asleep, no sound or anything. With that, I'm able to pray to God in peace. No distractions, no nothing. Near the end of the song, it feels like God is giving me a head start to continue life, giving me a boost to continue breathing.

Explosions in the Sky - The Only Moment We Were Alone

**Important: NEW RULE & REMINDERS**

TO ALL MEMBERS: ONLY ONE POST A DAY, PLEASE!
As you might have noticed, the blog is quite active and in order to have room for other members to share their music, I'm implementing a ONE POST A DAY rule. If you DO NOT post only once a day (that means within 12AM one day to 12AM the next day), I WILL DELETE YOUR EXTRA ENTRY/ENTRIES.

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Hey everyone, I've also been noticing that when new members make their first post there would be a few things forgotten. Just keep in mind that if you're new & making a new post:

FIRST POST

1. Make a profile
2. Label your author name (not your real name... unless that is your author name)
3. Label your post as profile
4. Label the genre(s) of music your are posting (if you have a song/video in your first post). NOT the artist

However, if you are a REGULAR MEMBER, please don't forget the following guidelines (this of course applies to all newcomers):

REGULAR MEMBERS

1. Make only one post a day
   
2. Post only one video per post
3. Max video width is 540 (height can vary)
4. Label your author name
5. Label the genre(s) of music your are posting (NOT the artist. Michael Jackson was an exception)

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As always, I'm glad you guys have been updating and I'm really liking the music. But just keep in mind that there are guidelines in this blog to keep "The Wire Box" manageable & user-friendly! If you need clarification on anything that I mentioned above, please let me know!


I want to know what you have to say! If you have any questions/comments/suggestions please e-mail me or simply comment this post!


Thank you for your cooperation!! Happy posting.


Sincerely,
Charmaine