Javy's page

New Oh land - Speak Out Now.

2012-02-09T14:55:00.002-05:00

Although Oh Land has all the elements to become significantly popular here in the U.S., her popularity has not increased as much as I wish. Oh Land made her US television debut performence on David_Letterman on 2 March 2011 performing her single "Sun of a Gun" which gave her some incredible buzz. Pop stars as Sia and Katy Perry couldn't help notice Oh Land's talent and asked Oh Land toured North America and Europe as their supporting act. Check out Oh Land's new video

And don't miss checking out the absolutely epic live performance of Audition Day

My 5 cents...

2012-02-06T17:28:00.002-05:00

We all watched the Superbowl; some for the game and the rest of us to watch Madonna’s half-time performance. I think that we all agree that it is definitely amongst the top best halftime shows ever; however, I couldn’t help to notice some similarities to other live performances from other artists and I made my comparison which I posted on facebook. To my surprise, a friend of mine whom is a relentless fan of Madonna got extremely offended and called me a ‘hater’ and even asked me to unfriend him, which is what triggered this post.

In my opinion, Madonna’s performance was over the top, flashy and entertaining as is expected for a Superbowl’s half-time show and I loved it. However, because of the lack of originality I found by comparing it with Kylie Minogue’s Aphrodite tour (see below) and the similarities of Madonna’s new single with Gwen Stefani’s Hollaback Girls, I was slightly disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Madonna but come on!!! We are talking about Madonna, The Queen of Pop, and we always expect to be surprised and amazed with some new trend; it just didn’t do it for me this time. Although I was not surprised by Madonna’s performance, I was surprised that objectivity has been lost when it comes to her name, especially amongst my people, the gay community.

Madonna 2012

Kylie 2010-11

Apparently, we live in a super sensitive, insecure, and uptight society where one is called a "hater" for just speaking your mind and having an opinion. How dare you say X or Y musician’s latest single sucks? It seems to me that the industry and my gay community is blinded with this mindset, and if you don’t like Madonna, Katy Perry or Britney Spears’ job then you are a hater. Heaven forbid I might be speaking the truth… This whole episode made me think if I should even consider I need to shut up and not speak my mind in order to fit in on a certain circle of friends or even to simply keep a friendship.

It also made me wonder who the real hater is. Is it the person who speaks their mind and provide the facts that support his opinion, or is it the person who hates the criticism and calls you a hater for speaking your mind? It is clear to me who the “hater” is and those who criticize and have the facts and accurate arguments to support their opinion are not the “hater”. A ‘hater’ is someone that just simply criticizes without having the arguments to support their negative opinion: they Hate and can never say exactly why. But hey, this is America, the land of the free and the freedom of speech and even the real ‘haters’ have their place and must be respected even when they have their biased opinion.

Bottom line is that music is a form of art and some of us who are passionate about music have strong opinions about what happens out there in the music industry. When we listen to a new track or watch a live performance or a music video, we tend to see it as a piece of art. If we look up the definition of Art Appreciation, we’ll find out that is the ‘knowledge and understanding of the universal and timeless qualities that identify all great art’. The more you appreciate and understand about the art from different eras, cultures, movements, styles and techniques, the better you can develop, evaluate and improve your own work. If your interest in art is simply for your personal enjoyment, a greater knowledge of art history and an understanding of elements, such as composition and technique, should increase your appreciation of art and enhance the pleasure you derive from looking/listening at it.

The reason I’m somewhat disappointed of ‘my gays’ is because as homosexuals, we are fighting for a better world in which tolerance is valued and bullying is ‘eradicated’. However, within our own community, we tend to be the most intolerant people with our own diverse groups and we even bully ourselves constantly. It should not be ok for anyone to feel that you can’t speak your mind because your friends will go off on you simply because they don’t like your opinion. In this case, the fact that Madonna is “The Queen of Pop” should not be the excuse to not being objective when it comes to critic her job. If it sucks, then it suck; if it was copied, then it was copied and if it was amazing, then it was amazing. This Madonna Superobowl's performance was amazing and entertaining, but not so much original or mind blowing. And because I have an opinion about something I am passionate and something I'd say I am somewhat literate, I will give my opinion even when it does not make me popular amongst those I know. If someone can't agree to disagree or respect your opinion, then it just simply should not be your friend after all.

Fortunately, a few out there still see things objectively as proven by SNL’s writers on the skid in which Kristen Wiig impersonated Lana Del Rey. Yes, because Lana Del Rey’s performance has been negatively criticized (including me) but SNL’s skid (Watch SNL's Kristen Wiig as Lana Del Rey) reminds us how biased the industry and critics have become.

Kristen Wiig as Lana Del Rey:

“Based on the public's response, I must have clubbed a baby seal while singing the Taliban national anthem."

“no serious musician would ever change their name. Except for Sting, Cher, Elton John, Lady Gaga, Jay Z, everyone else on hip hop and of course, Bob Dylan”

"The music stage on 'Saturday Night Live' is hallowed ground, and I failed to reach the high bar set by past guests like Bubba Sparxxx, The Baha Men and Shaggy."

M.I.A. - Bad Girls (Official Video)

2012-02-03T11:44:00.000-05:00

With her rumored upcoming performance on the Super Bowl for her collaboration with Madonna , M.I.A. just released the video for Bad Girls and she is reminding us what this bad girl do so well. Her rhymes are pure perfection and the twisted synth beat is super contagious. The truth is that we know that Madonna will only carefully select what trends she wants to incorporate on her albums, and this time, once again, she got it right by collaborating with M.I.A. But who is the baddest girl between Madonna and M.I.A.? Tough one but I'll dare to say that these days, it is time for M.I.A to shine as the baddest.

Watch New Miike Snow's Video

2012-02-03T10:45:00.000-05:00

Miike Snow, the trio of superproducers Bloodshy & Avant (Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg) and Andrew Wyatt will release their new album Happy to You March 27 via Downtown/Universal Republic. A video was released a few weeks ago for one of the new album's track (The Devil's Work) but now that they have released the video for Paddling Out, it all makes sense as The Devil's Work is a continuation of Paddling Out's video. Both tracks are excellent and I am expecting this album to be exceptionally good. Check the two videos below. "The sun is gone completely; I used to lie thinking clouds aside here and which was dust." and check out this mix with some of Sweden's greatest artists including Miike, Robyn, The Knife, Lykke Li, etc. In support of the new album, the duo will head out on a North American tour-- the full schedule is below

Miike Snow:

03-13 Austin, TX - SXSW

03-23 Miami, FL - Ultra Music Festival

04-10 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre

* 04-11 Portland, OR - Roseland Theater

* 04-12 Oakland, CA - Fox Theater

* 04-14 Indio, CA - Coachella

04-21 Indio, CA - Coachella

04-24 New York, NY - Terminal 5

* 04-27 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory

* 04-29 Boston, MA - House Of Blues

* 05-01 Toronto, Ontario - Sound Academy

* 05-02 Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis Theatre

* * with Penguin Prison

Watch Lana Del Rey Live on David Letterman 02-02-12. Did she redeem herself?

2012-02-03T09:43:00.000-05:00

Watch Lana Del Rey's performance last night and judge yourself if the controversial new artist redeemed herself after her SNL's horrible performance? I think she did...

And check out one of my favorite remixes of Video Games

Lana Del Rey- From "who's that? to Vogue's cover in just months

2012-02-02T09:44:00.004-05:00

What's up with Lana Del Rey's success even after so much criticism by the media and industry? Lana's album has been called everything from "dull, dreary, sad, failure and a disappointment" and I don't even need to mention what has been said of her live performances ; however, the pretty girl that many asked "who the %$# is this?" just a couple of months ago, is next month's British Vogue's cover and her record just became #1 in 11 countries. YES! 11 countries... crazy, right?

But lets face it; is this sudden unexpected success surprising at all? Not so much to me... Lana has everything on her side: the looks, the not consistent voice/talent, schyzophrenic lyrics that make not much sense, and controversy follows her every step of the way. Isn't that what people love these days and what made artists as Brintey Spears and Ke$ha become huge pop stars? Oh, and who Lana Del Rey happens to admire? Britney Spears of course....

Now, in my opinion, and contrary to Britney and Ke$ha, there is something about Lana that fascinates me. Otherwise, I would not be writting about her here. Oh, and please, forget I have mentioned those 2 other names on my blog; I never thought I would.

Check out Lana's live performance of Video Games at a German show

and my favorite so far which by the way, has already almost 17 million hits in just about a month

Listen miike snow + lykke li = black tin box

2012-01-27T10:45:00.000-05:00

miike snow + lykke li = black tin box

Florence + the Machine - All This and Heaven Too (Live Jonathan Ross Show)

2012-01-27T10:38:00.000-05:00

Check out Florence + the Machine perfectly performing All This and Heaven Too on The Jonathan Ross Show.

And the heart is hard to translate

it has a language of its own

it talks in tongues and quiet sighs

and prayers and proclamations

in the grandest of great men

in the smallest of gestures

in short shallow gasps

but with all my education

I can't seem to command it

and the words are all escaping

coming back all damaged

and I would put them back in poetry if I only knew how

I can't seem to understand it

I would give all this and heaven too

I would give it all if only for a moment

that I could just understand

the meaning of the word you see

cause I've been scrawling it forever

but it never make sense to me at all

And it talks to me, it tiptoes

and it sings to me inside

it cries out in the darkest night

it breaks in the morning light

but with all my education

I can't seem to command it

and the words are all escaping

coming back all damaged

and I would put them back in poetry if I only knew how

I can't seem to understand it and

I would give all this and heaven too

I would give it all if only for a moment

that I could just understand

the meaning of the word you see

cause I've been scrawling it forever

but it never make sense to me at all

poor language it doesn't deserve such treatment

and all my stumbling phrases never amounted to anything worth this feeling

oh this heaven, never could describe such a feeling as I knew it

words were never so useful

so I was screaming out a language that I never knew existed before

Florence + The Machine - Lover To Lover Live performance (new video)

2012-01-25T15:00:00.002-05:00

Check out Flo's most recent videos of flawless live performances for two tracks of her new album Ceremonials:

What The Water Gave Me

Lover To Lover

And if you have not fallen in love with this woman, you will after seeing the video below filmed in October 2011 when Flo visited New York for a special showcase of 'Ceremonials' for The Creators Project.

Check out Florence's spring 2012 tour dates below and get your tickets on time because seeing Florence live is a unique experience that can't be described with words:

Apr 14 - Santa Babara Bowl, Santa Babara, CA
Apr 15 - Coachella Festival, Indio, CA
Apr 17 - Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, NV
Apr 18 - Mondavi Center - UC Davis, Davis, CA
Apr 20 - Comerica Theatre, Phoenix, AZ
Apr 21 - The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
Apr 22 - Coachella Festival, Indio, CA
Apr 27 - Hennepin Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
Apr 28 - Eagles Ballroom, Milwaukee, WI
Apr 29 - Peabody Opera House, St. Louis, MO
May 1 - Palladium Ballroom, Dallas, TX
May 2 - Verizon Wireless Theatre, Houston, TX
May 3 - New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, New Orleans, LA
May 8 - Radio City Music Hall, New York, NY
May 11 - Mohegan Sun Arena, Uncasville, CT
May 12 - Borgata Spa & Resort Event Center, Atlantic City, NJ

Tickets for all Florence & The Machine headline shows will go on general sale this Friday (January 27) at 10am (in the time zone relevant to the venue) via Ticketmaster.

A lot can happen to a daydreaming girl in the world, and in the last few years, it's all happened for Florence. The debut album she dreamt up in her bedroom in South London burst into being and swept the planet, selling over three million copies, winning the coveted Brits 'Best Album' award and etching itself indelibly into the popular consciousness. Now she has been everywhere: the girl has seen the world and the world has seen the girl. And after months of laying low on home turf, writing and recording in the London she’s long been in love with, Florence returns with her triumphant second album. Ceremonials is a stunningly accomplished record by an artist teetering on the wind-blown top of her game, an extraordinary testament to what Florence refers to as “my incorrigible maximalism”. The pounding epiphanic positivism of ‘Spectrum’; the galloping massed-ranks majesty of ‘All This And Heaven Too’ and ‘Shake It Out’; the triumphant emotional battle cries of ‘No Light No Light’ and ‘Heartlines’. Spend a little time with Ceremonials and what strikes you first and foremost is the apparent confidence of its execution.

“This is the first time I’ve made a record with a sort of overarching, cohesive sound” says Florence: “It’s a proper studio album in that sense: a group of songs that paint a unified picture of where I am in my life right now.”

Recorded with her full band over five weeks this summer in Abbey Road's legendary Studio 3, 'Ceremonials' is another product of her long-running collaboration with producer Paul Epworth. Together they’ve created an expansive art-pop vision that can be both captivatingly tender while still frequently soaring to places where it can overwhelm the senses like an emotive tidal wave. It’s a rich tapestry that unpicks the conventions of classic pop, shoots them through a black hole and reconstitutes them into a multi-layered, future-primitive stomp. And underpinning it all, Florence's beguiling, epic vocals. A mature masterpiece that confirms its creator is in for the long haul.

“I feel like it’s a record made by someone becoming a woman, becoming a grown-up. And it’s about all the problems that go hand-in-hand with that” says Florence. “Lungs was very much the work of someone wrestling with sort of simultaneously being a teenager and being an adult. This is the work of someone who’s trying to grow up I guess? But probably failing.”

At twenty five, the art-school dropout has done much of her growing up amid the maelstrom of her whirling worldwide success. In 2010 she broke America in spectacular style, her monster hit Dog Days blazing a trail across the nation, taking the charts and the airwaves by storm. She wrote and recorded a heart-stopping track for the Twilight: Eclipse soundtrack and performed Dog Days to a rapt and truly global audience at the MTV VMA awards. The viewing figures were almost a billion, and the following day Florence was the most Googled person on the planet.

In the last year she’s graced the stages of Saturday Night Live, Good Morning America, The Colbert Report, the 53rd Grammy Awards - where she performed as part of an all-girl, all-star Aretha Franklin tribute and was nominated for Best New Artist - the 83rd Academy Awards, Anna Wintour’s obscenely star-studded annual Met Ball, and the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo. Time Magazine ranked her at number fifty-one in their 2011 list of the one hundred most influential people in the world. She has officially graduated from up-and-coming fashion influence to full-blown style icon. She’s hung out with her musical heroes and heard their blessings and gushing praise. Even Beyoncé has acknowledged that Florence and The Machine was a key influence on her last album.

“It’s certainly a very different thing this time around: making an album that you know a lot of people are anticipating” reflects Florence; “…but I’ve just tried to do what I would’ve done anyway. This one is a real attempt to just make exactly the kind of music I want to hear: dramatic and really huge and kind of spooky. I want it more than anything to have an overwhelming effect on the listener: I want it to make people feel something.” Feel something you irrefutably will. Far from being one of those sell-out-and-go-pop second records that so many promising new artists settle for, Ceremonials is a wholly more experimental and challenging body of work. “I wanted to push the aggression of the sound” Florence says; “Bigger drums, bigger bass sounds: as big and as powerful as we could go. We did much more experimenting this time with electronic sounds, but overall I think we’ve ended up with a more organic-sounding album. It’s a kind of organized chaos.”

Since her days of art college and squat parties and gigs in grotty pubs, the life of Florence Welch has gone all the way into the stratosphere. With Ceremonials, Florence is back from outer space and back to what it is she does best, making forward-thinking, unclassifiable, truly overwhelming music. Some artists respond to a successful debut album by reacting against it; attempting to disown the very qualities that drew people to them in the first place. “I couldn’t do that if I tried!” says Florence. “Lungs seemed like so many records rolled into one that I wouldn’t even know what I’d be reacting against.” Instead, Florence Welch has dramatically delivered on the promises of Lungs. “It’s a big-sounding album? I guess there’s no getting around that. I’m attracted to that sense of being overwhelmed by something. If there’s a chance that I might respond that way while these songs are playing around me, then someone else might too. And that’s surely the point, isn’t it?”

Miike Snow - Black Tin Box (ft. Lykke Li)

2012-01-25T09:47:00.003-05:00

Great collaboration with chill synths, great melodies and a certain darkness that makes this track just perfect.

This is not the first time they collaborate to create magic as they did by covering Knocked Up:

Check out some of Miike Snow's great stuff below

From the new unreleased album:

and the not so new:

Miike Snow Tour Dates:

03-13 Austin, TX - SXSW
03-23 Miami, FL - Ultra Music Festival
04-10 Seattle, WA - Paramount Theatre *
04-11 Portland, OR - Roseland Theater *
04-12 Oakland, CA - Fox Theater *
04-14 Indio, CA - Coachella
04-21 Indio, CA - Coachella
04-24 New York, NY - Terminal 5 *
04-27 Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory *
04-29 Boston, MA - House Of Blues *
05-01 Toronto, Ontario - Sound Academy *
05-02 Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis Theatre *

(Aren't we missing the Washington DC area? We want you here too)

Is Lana Del Rey's SNL horrible performance a brilliant marketing strategy?

2012-01-17T18:50:00.000-05:00

When hipsters, bloggers, music connoisseurs, indies and critics tuned in to watch the controversial music sensation's big debut on SNL, I think they never imagined it would be what it turned out to be. Yes, because there is no doubt that Lana's SNL performance is amongst the top 5 worst performances in the show's history, along with Ashlee Simpson, Sinead O'Connor and Kanye West. SNL is a great platform for new and upcoming artists and although maybe most Americans have no idea who Lana Del Rey is, for several months she has been an internet sensation,well known and talked about by critics and bloggers. And some of us ask ourselves; how did she become a sensation so quickly? could be because her good looks? is it because she is a great singer or not? is it because she brings something new? Although she is very pretty (even when she looked like a semi-dead zombie with a crafted wig on drugs during her SNL performance) and brings something different, the truth is that Lana Del Rey has become a sensation by creating controversy because her vocal capabilities are not so extraordinary. Her nationality, identity, origin, music background, etc has been some of the controversies that have given Lana Del Rey some popularity. Her video for her new single received about 12,000,000 hits in only 3 weeks and this is evidence that her popularity has increased enormously in only months.

But let's think this through: with just a few weeks to release an album, a stunning beautiful female singer chooses to look the way she did and to give a painful performance (I couldn't even finish watching) as she did, must be no coincidence. Otherwise, would we be talking about her right now? NO. The media has been talking about Lana's performance for days, and the posts on my blog about her have received an incredible amount of hits, which indicates that she got what she wanted from this performance (to be talked about of). And we all know that these days all that matters in the music industry is to be popular regardless you can sing or not. All I have to say is: move away Britney Spears and Kesha, here comes Lana Del Rey.

Check out the video for Born To Die (which I absolutely love the song and video)

And get ready to suffer if you have not seen this video of her performance at SNL

YOUNG GALAXY - Firestruck

2012-01-17T17:43:00.000-05:00

I'm firestruck
I've left all we had forlorn
And I owed you more
The wound I gave is the price I paid
I can't help but ignite a love
A love, a love

I'm firestruck
I'd do all I can do to warm
Until you come back home
And you'll find me
Dishonor me
But I'm drawn to the heart of your fire
A fire, a fire
A life overthrown
By heat and light
You've left for so long
Feels warm to right
I'll make it simple
Blame on me
Blame it on my burnin' heart
I'll make it simple
Blame on me
Blame it on my burnin' heart

The Best of 2011

2012-01-12T15:25:00.007-05:00

MC Frontalot

Sepalcure

Florence & The Machine- No Light

Although is not such a great video, this track is one of my favorites of 2011 and the scene in which she breaks into the cathedral through the ceiling in front of the altar rocks my world.

Lana Del Rey-Born To Die

Can't explain this one but I think that it could be those facial expressions she makes through the video helped her make it to my top videos.

#20-Man Like Me -Peculiar

Simply a peculiarly cool video

#19-Goddamn Electric Bill

#18-Peter Bjorn and John

Very cool animation work

#17-Lady Gaga-You and I

Surprise surprise; she made it to my list.... but just because I do love the acoustic version of this track and the video does not shows many silly choreographies as she normally does.

#16-R.E.M.-uberlin

Love the vibe which goes perfect with the track and our dancing boy.

#15-Robyn-Call Your Girlfriend

Following R.E.M.'s 'street dancing boy' steps is Robyn with this 80's inspired 'dance as if no one is watching' routine that reminds us she is the performer.

#14-Swedish House Mafia

Love the concept and couldn't be happier to see these cuties saving the world.

#13-Die's Antwerp bitch is a Rich Bitch Bitches!!!!

#12-Pj Harvey

One of the best (if not the best) albums of 2011 and one of my favorite songs. This video is one of a several from a Series Of 12 Short Films By Seamus Murphy for the Album Let England Shake

#11 Adele

A similar viseo to Lykke Li's Follow Rivers without the drama.... Still, very effective

#10- Ya Conoceran-Julieta Venegas

Julieta's simple but yet beautifully made video that succeeds capturing pain through these people eyes.

#9-Bjork's

Michel Gondry and Bjork always create something magical.

#8-Duran Duran's Girl Panic

Fierce supermodels on a well directed video to one of the coolest bands ever.

#7--Fire Sprawl II

This awesome song gets a great music video and a cool interactive video as well.

#6-Calle 13 Latinoamerica Just a beautiful representation of my people and great display of our land.

#5-Lykke Li's I Follow Rivers

Perhaps I'm biased but the simplicity of the untold/unknown story and how is captured had me playing this video on the background many times.

#4-Rugged Wilderness & Mountain Man No More - Dropping Feathers

AMAZING and beautifully made!!!!!

#3-Bon Iver - Halocene

Needless to say that the serenity and peace that watching this video gives me makes it deserving this position.

#2 Young Galaxy

This was easy as the combination of these great tracks with these cool videos is simply perfect. On We Have Everything, Jennifer finds herself given a second chance to live a fulfilling life. A producer discovers her one night singing in a karaoke bar and gives her the glamorous life she had previously only dreamed of. In the end, she makes the same mistakes as in her previous less than privileged life, having learned nothing at all despite her creator’s efforts. Will she ever learn? process = The band asked me to create a second animated music video and I suggested making a sequel to We Have Everything off the same album. Peripheral Visionaries picks up where we left off, our main character is stranded on the side of the highway, her bus having broken down. This narrative interprets Peripheral Visionaries as a confession to the attraction of the unholy and a belonging to an ambiguous (nonetheless determined) rebellion against virtue. Our main character was to give in to her superficial ambitions but not without a cost. The line “We a sea, tears from the eyes of god.” repeated over and over, is taken as a foregone conclusion.

#1 The Chase-I Like You

FLAWLESS!

Likke giving out free downloads

2011-12-22T08:16:00.000-05:00

What is found can be lost quickly just as what is lost can be found again says Lykke; Lykke found these great versions of Follow River, Jerome and Youth Knows no Pain and she thought of sharing them for free so go to her website below and download these tracks.

click here for 3 free downloads

Check out the videos of these dark versions below

Arcade Fire's new SpawI 2 interactive video

2011-12-16T16:48:00.002-05:00

Sprawl II was inspired by the inspiring book MOUNTAINS BEYOND MOUNTAINS, in which the life of Paul Farmer is told, and shows how he has set out to do all he can to cure the world. Paul Farmer found his life’s calling: to cure infectious diseases and to bring the lifesaving tools of modern medicine to those who need them most. Kidder’s magnificent account takes us from Harvard to Haiti, Peru, Cuba, and Russia as Farmer changes minds and practices through his dedication to the philosophy that “the only real nation is humanity.”

There is a Haitian proverb that says “Beyond mountains there are mountains” which means that as you solve one problem, another problem presents itself, and so you go on and try to solve that one too. Sprawl II talks about finding your calling just as Paul Farmer did. See the original version of SprawlII and the interactive version below; on the interactive version you control how they dance and you get to be part of the video.

Interactive version here (A dance activated video by Vincent Morisset & friends. Webcam and broadband recommended.)

They heard me singing and they told me to stop,
Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock,
These days, my life, I feel it has no purpose,
But late at night the feelings swim to the surface.
Cause on the surface the city lights shine,
They're calling at me, "come and find your kind."

Sometimes I wonder if the world's so small,
That we can never get away from the sprawl,
Living in the sprawl,
Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains,
And there's no end in sight,
I need the darkness someone please cut the lights.

We rode our bikes to the nearest park,
Sat under the swings, we kissed in the dark,
We shield our eyes from the police lights,
We run away, but we don't know why,
And like a mirror these city lights shine,
They're screaming at us, "we don't need your kind."

Sometimes I wonder if the world's so small,
That we can never get away from the sprawl,
Living in the sprawl,
Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains,
And there's no end in sight,
I need the darkness someone please cut the lights.

They heard me singing and they told me to stop,
Quit these pretentious things and just punch the clock.

Sometimes I wonder if the world's so small,
Can we ever get away from the sprawl?
Living in the sprawl,
Dead shopping malls rise like mountains beyond mountains,
And there's no end in sight,
I need the darkness someone please cut the lights.

Arcade Fire provides support for charities helping development of communities and families, especially the diverse needs of the Haitian people holistically: health, nutrition, education, and financial independency. Singer Régine Chassagne is actually on the board of directors of KAMPE (seeks to put an end to the cycle of poverty) . Chassagne's family has roots in Haiti, and the organization has given her the lofty title of grand ambassador. Check Arcade's video of Haiti below

The TOP 20 of 2011

2011-12-15T10:42:00.000-05:00

Is never too late to feature the best of 2011... Here are my top 20 music videos of 2011.This is not the typical list featuring the mainstream; this list features those that although are not promoted by multimillionaire recording studios, were able to create a video that caught my attention either because is creative, original or overall 'superb'.

First let's give proper recognition to those close to make the top 20:

MC Frontalot

Sepalcure

Florence & The Machine- No Light

Although is not such a great video, this track is one of my favorites of 2011 and the scene in which she breaks into the cathedral through the ceiling in front of the altar rocks my world.

Lana Del Rey-Born To Die
Can't explain this one but I think that it could be those facial expressions she makes through the video helped her make it to my top videos.

#20-Man Like Me -Peculiar
Simply a peculiarly cool video

#19-Goddamn Electric Bill

#18-Peter Bjorn and John
Very cool animation work

#17-Lady Gaga-You and I

Surprise surprise; she made it to my list.... but just because I do love the acoustic version of this track and the video does not shows many silly choreographies as she normally does.

#16-R.E.M.-uberlin
Love the vibe which goes perfect with the track and our dancing boy.

#15-Robyn-Call Your Girlfriend

Following R.E.M.'s 'street dancing boy' steps is Robyn with this 80's inspired 'dance as if no one is watching' routine that reminds us she is the performer.

#14-Swedish House Mafia

Love the concept and couldn't be happier to see these cuties saving the world.

#13-Die's Antwerp bitch is a Rich Bitch Bitches!!!!

#12-Pj Harvey

One of the best (if not the best) albums of 2011 and one of my favorite songs. This video is one of a several from a Series Of 12 Short Films By Seamus Murphy for the Album Let England Shake

#11 Adele

A similar viseo to Lykke Li's Follow Rivers without the drama.... Still, very effective

#10- Ya Conoceran-Julieta Venegas

Julieta's simple but yet beautifully made video that succeeds capturing pain through these people eyes.

#9-Bjork's

Michel Gondry and Bjork always create something magical.

#8-Duran Duran's Girl Panic
Fierce supermodels on a well directed video to one of the coolest bands ever.

#7--Fire Sprawl II
This awesome song gets a great music video and a cool interactive video as well.

#6-Calle 13 Latinoamerica Just a beautiful representation of my people and great display of our land.

#5-Lykke Li's I Follow Rivers
Perhaps I'm biased but the simplicity of the untold/unknown story and how is captured had me playing this video on the background many times.

#4-Rugged Wilderness & Mountain Man No More - Dropping Feathers
AMAZING and beautifully made!!!!!

#3-Bon Iver - Halocene
Needless to say that the serenity and peace that watching this video gives me makes it deserving this position.

#2 Young Galaxy

This was easy as the combination of these great tracks with these cool videos is simply perfect. On We Have Everything, Jennifer finds herself given a second chance to live a fulfilling life. A producer discovers her one night singing in a karaoke bar and gives her the glamorous life she had previously only dreamed of. In the end, she makes the same mistakes as in her previous less than privileged life, having learned nothing at all despite her creator’s efforts. Will she ever learn? process = The band asked me to create a second animated music video and I suggested making a sequel to We Have Everything off the same album. Peripheral Visionaries picks up where we left off, our main character is stranded on the side of the highway, her bus having broken down. This narrative interprets Peripheral Visionaries as a confession to the attraction of the unholy and a belonging to an ambiguous (nonetheless determined) rebellion against virtue. Our main character was to give in to her superficial ambitions but not without a cost. The line “We a sea, tears from the eyes of god.” repeated over and over, is taken as a foregone conclusion.

#1 The Chase-I Like You

FLAWLESS!

Featuring this week: The Chase

2011-12-09T14:17:00.001-05:00

I came accross The Chase through a French friend I follow on youtube whom added The Chase's I Like U video to his favorites. Needless to say that I became a fan immediately after watching the video.

The Chase is a French Indie/Pop/Rock group founded by Cyril Douay, musician, songwriter, arranger and producer. The group consists of Sophie Moryoussef, Stephane Deal (keyboards), Mike Pobo (Bass), Florian Brinker (Guitar) and Laurent Guillot (Drums). The first album of The Chase, produced by Mark Plati (Bowie, REM, The Cure, Rita Mitsouko, Charlie Winston), recorded in Montpellier and finalized in New York, was released late in 2011 by Pias Recordings France. Although is too early to say how well they will be managed, I can see them being as succesfull as similar genre bands such as Metronomy.

Check out some of their videos below and at their webesites (http://www.myspace.com/thechaseofficiel http://www.facebook.com/piasfrance)
Or downbload for free their premier single "Butterfly" here: http://bit.ly/hVze8Q

Single here

Butterfly (in my stomach) - Unplugged Version

Keep an eye on that line = another great track

World AIDS Day

2011-12-01T15:19:00.000-05:00

The statistics are alarming. Here in the US, someone is infected every 9 minutes with this terrible virus that for the past 30 years scientists and governments have been unsuccesful in finding a cure. In southern countries in Africa, the statistics are even more alarming with countries such as Lesotho in which 1/4 of the population has been diagnosed with HIV.

The numbers are loud and clear:

33.4 million are currently living with HIV/AIDS.
More than 25 million people have died of AIDS worldwide since the first cases were reported in 1981.
In 2008, 2 million people died due to HIV/AIDS, and another 2.7 million were newly infected.
While cases have been reported in all regions of the world, almost all those living with HIV (97%) reside in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
More than 67 percent (approximately 22.4 million people) of those infected are in sub-Saharan Africa.
In Asia [PDF, 204KB], an estimated 4.7 million people were living with HIV in 2008, including the 350,000 people who became newly infected.
In Latin America, there were an estimated 2 million people living with HIV/AIDS in 2008;
In Eastern European & Central Asia, there were 1.5 million people living with HIV/AIDS.

How we can help?

Get involved; information and awareness are some of the tools to help reduce the spread of the virus. Please visit the following link for more ways in which we can help: http://aids.gov/federal-resources/

Julieta Venegas - Ya Conoceran

2011-11-30T22:58:00.000-05:00

I love Julieta's music and recently saw her live as she visited the DC area as part of her tour. Her music is simple yet beautiful, and with lots of heart and meaning. Ya Conoceran talks about the heartache of loosing a loved one but as only Julieta can; giving heartache a positive twist.

Here's a new video to Ya Conoceran

Ya Conoceran

Todos los que no entienden de perder
te diran no pasa nada la vida seguira,
todos los que no saben de soledad
te diran todo se olvida otro ocupa su lugar,

como van a saber si no han nadado en la profundidad
ya conoceran la verdadera sensacion del ma

Lo que a tu lado fui me lo guardaré solo pido que deje de doler (x2)

A todos nos tocara enfrentar por primera vez la mirada que nos cambia,
a caso no es algo natural buscar en los demas el consuelo que nos falta,
ya te encontrara siempre te va buscando la verdad
un dia entendera lo poco que va quedando en su lugar

Lo que a tu lado fui me lo guardaré solo pido que deje de doler solo pido que deje de doler (x5)

Lykke Li leftovers in need of a home

2011-11-30T15:35:00.001-05:00

As Lykke Li finalizes her touring schedule and thank her fans for the success of Wounded Rhymes, she does leave us with one of those things that she says, "are leftovers she found in need of a home": an acoustic version of Youth Knows No Pain/The lost Sessions. Once again, Lykke invites us to join the cult with this dark rendition and we are loving it. Check out the new video, which was just released today
.

The crazy ride that life is...

2011-11-28T16:46:00.001-05:00

I always thought that life can compare with driving your car on any regular day and where your life goals are the errands you will run during that day. Here are some points to defend my argument:

is always better to do it with good company and a good copilot that will help you when needed
music is a must needed companion
You will make wrong turns and only you can decide if you want to keep making the same turn and keep going in circles, or if you want to stop and ask for advice.
Although other people’s advice could get you somewhere, it will not always be where you wanted to go
You should have a roadmap for when you find yourself lost or need to get somewhere faster or easier.
Sometimes you need to stop, pull over, take a break and pull out a roadmap to look for that place where you want to go and plan how to get there
the shortcut not always will give you the view, benefits and satisfaction that the correct but long route can give you
your passengers can distract you and get you in trouble
when you get lost or distracted, it will take you longer to get to your destination
if you let another person drive it, you lose control of how fast or safe you’ll get to your destinations
our actions and decisions not only affect you, but also your passenger’s life
every now and then take your dog for a ride and enjoy seeing him enjoying the wind
there will be always someone that wants you to go somewhere but only for their own benefit
Without routine checkups, maintenance and care will not take you too far
texting should not be allowed
leather is always a plus
you should take some time to enjoy the view
you never know what is going to be ahead of you but as long as you are focus on the road, you can be able to face it or avoid it successfully
there is always someone who will come to scratch your doors
it doesn’t matter how dirty may look on the outside, inside can be just as heaven
it will not last forever but you can get a hell of a ride on it

If you agree, what car’s make you’ll be?

Flo admits she wrote "No Light No Light" while drunk (ONCE AGAIN) and releases new video

2011-11-18T11:27:00.001-05:00

Here's the music video for Flo's next single 'No Light No Light', which is set to be released on January. In regards to writing 'No Lights, No Lights' during an interview for Fashionnews after Karl Lagerfeld Photographed her for Chanel, Florence said: Yes, I can remember the story behind ‘No Light, No Light’ very well. I wrote that song three years ago and it was the first song for the album. It was 4 am and we had been on the tour bus on our way to Amsterdam to a festival. We started drinking Midori at 7pm and that’s how we developed the first beats for the song. So one can say how that night layed the fundation for the whole album. I absolutely love performing that song on stage. But I really couldn’t pick just one favourite song.

Florence and the Machine - Ceremonials at the Hackney Empire (Part 2 of Channel4 Album Launch)

On Wednesday night BBC Radio gave a first play to the Dave Sitek's Remix of "No Light No Light" and you can listen for just a few days here at the mark of 1:20 of the 2hours set
But while we wait for those remixes to be released, here's Benny Bennassi's remix of Shake it Out SHAKE IT OUT BENNY BENASSI REMIX Florence + Machine by Eltonka Also, check out this below to see a Special Presentation of Channel 4 with special. footage of several old and new tracks at the Hackney Empire on the 25th October, where Ceremonials was launched.

New this week: Die Antwoord, Duran Duran, etc

2011-11-10T14:51:00.001-05:00

Die Antwoord
FOK JULLE NAAIERS
Die Antwoord (which means 'the answer' in English) are a futuristic rap-rave crew from South Africa with a fresh new style called ZEF and is compposed by Ninja, Yo-Landi Vi$$er and DJ Hi-Tek. "Julle" means "You". "Naaiers" means "Fuckers". So the Title pretty much means: "Fuck you fuckers"; very classy. despite their filthy mouths, Die Antwoord is one of the most creative and original crews out there these days. Their videos are a must see... and if you are offended by their use of words such as faggot, amongst others, you shouldn't as Ninja himself explains (video below), Dj Hi-Tek is gay and in South Africa there is no such stupidity when it comes to these words. By the way, they just left their record label and went indie; perhaps to be able to keep their creativity intact and not manipulated by the labels. Check them out at their website http://www.dieantwoord.com/

MC Frontalot -Critical Hits
Creativity at its best; video was created using a campaign to fund its creation. See below MC Frontalot's campaign and video.

Duran Duran - Girl Panic!
One of the coolest bands ever are back with a very fashionably cool video featuring the greatest models of the 80's and 90's (Naomi Campbell, Helena Christensen, Yasmin Le Bon, Cindy Crawford and Eva Herzigova. Great song and video...

Florence & the Machine showing off her mad vocals at X-factor (UK) and Later Live... with Jools Holland

First Aid Kit - The Lion's Roar
The Swedish duo new release is as expected, beautiful and haunting.

Christina Perri - A Thousand Years
New single and part of the soundtrack of which Christina and David Hodges wrote for Bella and Edward after screening the movie Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1.

GQ Magazine's review of Wounded Rhymes

2011-11-03T18:59:00.001-04:00

Lykke Li gets a great review for her performance at the Roundhouse, London by GQ Magazine, and offers a free listening of Lykke's album Wounded Rhymes. "Because you're a woman, the music industry puts you in another corner. I want to be fighting with the men. I want to be amongst the men, topless, throwing things." says Lykke Li to GQ Magazine. One, among many, of those things we love about Lykke Li. Listen to Wounded Rhymes by Lykke Li in full and for free at GQ.com

Free music - Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes

Featuring Hot Chip this week

2011-11-02T13:11:00.002-04:00

Hot Chip are an English electronic indie band. Their beats are smart and full or rhythmic melodies... They are for sure one of those bands/artists that are not appreciated as they should be. Not to mention, their videos are very funny and smart. Go to their website to check out their latest album (One Life Stand) http://hotchip.co.uk/
Here are some of my favs: This video is one of my "all times favorite". VERY FUNNY One Life Stand And check out these remixes Pick N Mix Remixes of Hot Chip Collection by Hot Chip