Arcade Fire - At Madison Square Garden

Meet Caleb Mak

Tonight on The Music Meeting I'm real pumped to premiere music from a local artist called Caleb Mak. He's a member of the Fightin' Texas Aggie Class of 2013 and I'm really digging his style. Catchy tunes definitly worth a listen...



If you like what hear you can catch him live at the Goodbye Summer Party at Schotzi's on Northgate on August 5th alongside Kid Cudi's pal Chip tha Ripper. Which gives me the perfect excuse to post this:

Free Tunes Friday

Spin.com has long been one of my favorite resources when it comes to discovering new artists. I showed up late to the indie-rock party and they helped me navigate the sometimes muddy waters of music that was slightly left of center.

I still remember buying my first copy, way back in 2004. Franz Ferdinand was on the cover. (This was when "Take Me Out" was EVERYWHERE...video games, commercials, radio airwaves, MTV....ok that last one's probably not true. MTV 2 maybe? Well, Fuse for sure.)

Anywho, Spin's giving you the chance to get some free music from some artists featured in their latest issue. CLICK HERE for your free download code! And here's the track list for the sampler:

Buckcherry "All Night Long"
Department of Eagles "Brightest Minds"
First Aid Kit "Hard Believer"
Francis and the Lights "For Days"
Henry Clay People "Slow Burn"
Jaill "The Stroller"
Maximum Balloon "Tiger"
Menomena "Five Little Rooms"
MNDR "Fade to Black"
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band "Leaving Trails"
Sun Kil Moon "Australian Winter"
Tame Impala "Solitude Is Bliss"
The Love Language "Heart to Tell"
The Sword "Tres Brujas"
Villagers "Becoming a Jackal"


Now, if that weren't enough free stuff for one day, Spin's also giving you a 14 song sampler of artists that are playing this years Lollapalooza festival in Chicago. CLICK HERE to get your download code sent directly to your email. And here's the track list for the sampler:

1. Spoon, "Written in Reverse"
2. Wavves, "Post Acid"
3. Social Distortion, "Far Behind"
4. Deer Tick, "20 Miles"
5. Dirty Projectors, "No Intention"
6. The Temper Trap, "Science of Fear"
7. The Big Pink, "Dominos"
8. Jamie Lidell, "Telephone (Tiga Remix)"
9. Chiddy Bang, "Dream Chasing"
10. Cypress Hill, "Light it Up"
11. Erykah Badu, "Window Seat"
12. Nneka, "Viva Africa"
13. Cut Copy, "Hearts on Fire (Holy Ghost! Remix)
14. Empire of the Sun, "Walking on a Dream (Hong Kong Blondes Remix)"

All Summer

It's no secret that I'm a sucker for collaborations. Throwing a few of my favorite artists on one track is one of the best ways to get my attention, and that's exactly what Converse has done. Again.

In 2008, they decided to get Pharrell Williams together with Julian Casablancas from The Strokes and Santigold for this little ditty...



Well this year, Converse tapped Kid Cudi (swoon), Beth Cosentino from Best Coast and Rostam Batmanglij from Vampire Weekend to take part in their "3 Artists: 1 Song" series. And the result has been stuck in my head all week long.




And while I'm sure you've all familiarized yourselves with Kid Cudi and Vampire Weekend, here's a quick introduction to one of my new favorite acts: Best Coast.


Best Coast - When I'm With You
(And yeah, I know. I hate clowns too. But I freaking love this song. And I love In-And-Out, so its ok.)



Best Coast - Boyfriend

A blog from my future husband...

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...I disagree. I think this is...

If you tuned into The Girly Show on Candy 95 this morning, you heard me laughing like a crazy person when I stumbled across a blog called "Dear Girls Above Me"... The premise is a guy had some girls move into the apartment above him, they say bone-headed thing. He retorts. I laugh maniacally ...and I'm sorry for my cackling...

Here's a video he posted, infoming the girls of what he does when they're having one of their parties...

Just Another Mash-Up Monday

"A lot of people just assume I took some Beatles and, you know, threw some Jay-Z on top of it or mixed it up or looped it around, but it's really a deconstruction. It's not an easy thing to do. I was obsessed with the whole project, that's all I was trying to do, see if I could do this. Once I got into it, I didn't think about anything but finishing it. I stuck to those two because I thought it would be more challenging and more fun and more of a statement to what you could do with sample alone. It is an art form. It is music. You can do different things, it doesn't have to be just what some people call stealing. It can be a lot more than that." - Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton


Mash-Ups, like covers songs can be a thing of beauty....they can also be a frickin apocalyptic-level disaster.

Run DMC started the ground work for the mash-up game over two decades ago but I don't think people really understood the impact they have on the music industry until Danger Mouse released The Grey Album in early 2004.

Jay-Z followed with the mainstream mash-up blueprint (pun intended) when he brought Collision Course, his collaboration with Linkin Park and claimed the top spot on the Billboard Hot 200 chart later that same year.

In recent years, we seen the emergence of Viva La Hova, Jaydiohead and countless other mash-up releases that have been widely praised by audiences and critics alike.

Both Jay-Z and Lil' Wayne have said that they feel Drake is poised to rise to the top of hip hop. So it was only a matter of time before someone decided to take his rhymes and set them to a new soundtrack. Enter producer Chi Duley and here's what you get...




While I'm not feeling all the tracks on "October's Very Cold", due to the fact they lack the imagination of The Grey Album and the seemlessness of Collision Course, I still found this 10 track offering well worth a listen or two. There are some high points ("The Fly Scientist", "The Best Strawberry", "Troubles Over") and some downright silly moments ("Money to Fix", "Viva La Forever"), but overall let's call this what it is...A great way to spend some time on a Monday morning.

Here are a few of my personal favorites..and you can click here to hear "October's Very Cold" in it's entirety.

Just Another Mash-Up Monday by EmoSarah

Advanced Warning - June 15th, 2010

June 15th 2010 by EmoSarah

Brandon Flowers - "Crossfire"

I have to admit, the first time I heard this track I immediately wondered if this was a B-side from "Sam's Town". But upon further review, I started to come around and appreciate this song. For everything negative thing people have said about Brandon Flowers, there is a something that is unmistakable about his talent. We all have our missteps in this life (Does "Day & Age" ring any bells?) but I for one am excited to see what he has instore for us when his first solo album "Flamingo" hits stores in September.

Stars - "Fixed"

Oh, Canada. Somedays I think that you must have been secretly observing my adolescence because how else would your musicians be able to write its soundtrack? A few years ago, Stars replaced Alanis Morrisette as my Canadian heart song writers and I'm unashamed to admit I've cried my way through 2005's "Set Yourself on Fire" and 2007's "In Our Bedroom, After the War" on more than one occasion. I've only heard two tracks from "The Five Ghosts", which is set to be released next Tuesday, but from what I've heard my interest has been peaked.

The Roots featuring Monsters of Folk - "Dear God 2.0"

I know I already told you about this song a few weeks back, but now that the album "How I Got Over" is set to hit stores next Tuesday I'm jumping at the chance to talk about it again. The Roots are artists, pure and simple. No pretension. No club-bangers. Just real music. This song gets to me...and I mean that in the best possible way.

The Gaslight Anthem - "American Slang"

Geez, I just love this band. There's nothing about them that I don't like, other than the fact that I haven't seen them live yet. Luckily, I've been tied over until that day by their full Bonnaroo set, which I posted earlier this week. The new album is in stores and available for download today.

Arcade Fire - "Ready to Start"

So if you are anything like me, you spent yesterday feverishly scouring the interweb looking for full versions of the 2nd set of new songs from "The Suburbs". (It's release date has been set as August 3rd) Well, I was finally successful and I figured I'd share the love with you guys.