BuzzSugar

Link Time! 6/4

BuzzSugar — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:30:34 -0700

Conan O'Brien - live from Super Mario World? - Vulture
The Muppets in Reservoir Dogs? A-mazing. - Popwatch
I really should read I Love You, Beth Cooper before the movie opens; this previously unreleased art from a new edition of the book looks way better than the movie. - Cinematical
A tribute to David Carradine, who was found dead in Thailand. - Pop Candy
The video for MGMT's "Kids" disturbs me and makes me want to cry a little. - Stereogum
The new game Yoostar enables you to digitally embed your voice, picture, and action into your favorite TV and movie scenes. - geeksugar
Whoa, an interview with MC Hammer! - TV Squad
And another interview with Ed Helms. - HitFix

Buzz News Roundup, 3/2

BuzzSugar — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 13:30:05 -0800

Alexis Bledel will play a new intern in the ER series finale. - TV Guide
Jason Bateman will join George Clooney in Up in the Air, directed by Jason Reitman (Juno, Thank You For Smoking). - ComingSoon
Two more Virgin Megastores are scheduled to close: The Union Square location in New York City at the end of May and the Market St. store in San Francisco at the end of April. - Billboard
Alyssa Milano has landed the lead in an ABC comedy - just months after the network scrapped her last one. - Zap2it
David Foster Wallace's unfinished third novel will be released in 2010. - New York Times
The French film industry honored Dustin Hoffman and saluted Sean Penn Friday during a ceremony that saw its coveted Cesar for best film going to Martin Provost's Seraphine. - AP
Speaking of France, MGMT are suing French President Nicolas Sarkozy, accusing him of using its hit "Kids" in online videos without permission. - NME
The producers of The Sarah Silverman Program (including Silverman herself) are threatening to quit over budget cuts, leaving season three up in the air. - Reuters

Source

This Just In: NME Thinks America Is Cool Again

BuzzSugar — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 05:30:51 -0700

Bad news, Buzz readers (and America): Apparently, we have all been suffering from a crisis of uncoolness for some time now. And the worst part is we didn't even know it (or, at least, I didn't)! This is all according to the British music magazine NME - but there's good news, too, since NME has now managed to find 25 American bands that are making us cool again!

To quote the press release, the new issue is celebrating "the 25 American acts who are whipping up a storm on both sides of the Atlantic - signaling the re-birth of the US music scene!" Which is good, since I've had nothing to listen to for years now when I want to support the good ol' US of A!

Sarcasm aside, I'm glad the magazine is recognizing some great bands that started here - but this is kind of dramatic. I mean, did you know our music scene had died? I thought things were going pretty well, even before Vampire Weekend showed up.

Anyway, I may not agree with NME's sensational declarations, but I am OK with these bands representing America's fine musical taste abroad. I'll share the list of bands after the jump, but I'm also curious what acts gave our friends in the UK such a sour feeling about American music before now. If they really thought we were suffering, they could have just asked, and I would have been happy to point them to some great music!

To see the 25 bands that have helped us reclaim some cool points and let me know your thoughts, read more.

Vampire Weekend
Lil Wayne
Glass Candy
Kings of Leon
MGMT
Spank Rock
TV on the Radio
Boy Crisis
Black Kids
Holy Ghost Revival
The Hold Steady
Fleet Foxes
Amazing Baby
Jay Reatard
HEALTH
The Cool Kids
Black Lips
Yo Majesty
White Denim
Telepathe
Iglu and Hartly
Chester French
Girl Talk
TheDeathSet
Grace Jones

Source

What to Download: New Music on iTunes

BuzzSugar — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:30:31 -0700

Tuesdays are big in entertainment-ville: Not only do all the new DVD releases hit Netflix, but new music also pours into stores, including iTunes. So I take a spin through each week's iTunes music releases and pick out some albums and tracks worthy of a download. Here are today's selections:

The provocateur: Finally the album that made headlines long before it was ever released is here, and getting fairly good reviews. The album seems intense, and while I'm already bouncing my head to some of the melodies and rhymes ("Queens Get the Money" and "Make the World Go Round" featuring Chris Brown), other tracks are so thick with messages and insinuations it will take more than a quick listen to suss it out ("Sly Fox," for example, is an all-out attack on Fox News).

A new songbird: Every once in a while I flip on VH1 while I get ready in the morning because that's one of the few times I'm able to find actual music videos on the television. On one such morning, I caught this young Aussie singer (and former star of the TV show Neighbours), Delta Goodrem, and she sounded alright. Kinda reminded me of a slightly more upbeat Sarah McLaughlin. Check out the tracks "In This Life" and "Brave Face" from her self-titled album now available in the U.S. and let me know what you think.

One more pick to go (hint: it's a soundtrack) so read more!

Teen angst: This soundtrack might be to today's youngsters what Empire Records soundtrack was to me back in the day. It's a cute, timely mix of songs from a great little movie, and includes tracks from a range of artists including MGMT, Cat Stevens, and The Ting Tings. And while I may not be a teenager, I'm definitely loving this mix. The folks behind this movie have excellent taste in tunes.

Source

Bands to Watch: MGMT and Yeasayer

BuzzSugar — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:29:29 -0800

Manhattan may be home to Vampire Weekend, but it's just across the river in Brooklyn where the real magic is happening. From the borough is emerging a movement of young bands - led by Yeasayer and MGMT - that are making exciting and innovative new music.

Yeasayer's (right) first album, All Hour Cymbals, is a smorgasbord of eclectic inspirations, with equal parts Ravi Shankar, 60s hippie rock, barbershop quartet, and even Phil Collins. They have the hipster aesthetic, but there's nothing disaffected about their spirit-touching melodies. Intrigued? Four of their songs are available on their Myspace page, including their first single, "2080," as well as the mesmerizing "Sunrise" and the transcendent "Wintertime."

MGMT (pronounced as individual letters) is leading the scene in terms of hype. To see what I mean, read more.

On top of being declared a band to watch by Rolling Stone, they've scored a four-album record deal with Columbia and are currently headlining a tour around the country with Yeasayer.

Comprised of two recent Wesleyan grads, MGMT just released their debut album, Oracular Spectacular. Their music makes you want to dance at an avant-garde disco, if such a thing existed, and their album is studded with lots of catchy tracks.

I especially love the funktastic "Electric Feel" and their tongue-in-cheek rock star anthem, "Time to Pretend." (Lyrics: "Yeah, it's overwhelming but what else can we do / Get jobs in offices and wake up for the morning commute?") Check out their kaleidoscopic video below.

MTV has a great video with interviews from both Yeasayer and MGMT, as well as a handful of other bands that make up the Brooklyn scene (and you may recognize the host, Kim Stolz from Cycle Five of ANTM). And check back soon for a review of the recent Yeasayer and MGMT show here in San Francisco.

MTV Interviews:

MGMT's "Time to Pretend":

Source and Source

Highlights From the 2009 Treasure Island Music Festival

BuzzSugar — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:30:05 -0700

As expected, this year's Treasure Island Music Festival was a well-rounded weekend of awesome live music, dancing, and pretty views of San Francisco. The gorgeous and warm weather on Saturday fit the bill for the lineup that had a heavier concentration of electronic music and DJs (like MGMT and Girl Talk), while on Sunday I bundled up and chilled out to The Decemberists and Grizzly Bear. All in all it was an awesome weekend that ended with a bang as The Flaming Lips closed down the party. Check out some photos of my favorite acts from the weekend.

View Slideshow ›

Weekend Tunes: A Treasure Island Music Festival Playlist

BuzzSugar — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 10:30:09 -0700

For the third year in a row, I'm off to the Treasure Island Music Festival! Now that I'm a seasoned veteran, I can't wait to settle in for two days and listen to some tunes. The other day I highlighted Thao With the Get Down Stay Down, but there lots of other acts I'm psyched about. From MGMT and Girl Talk tonight to The Decemberists and The Flaming Lists shutting things down tomorrow, I'm predicting the perfect balance between fun beats I can dance to and slower jams that I can quietly enjoy. For those of you who can't make it out to the Bay Area, I've put together a playlist of some of my favorite songs from the weekend's artists.

Oh, and be sure to check out the Music Review Group in the Buzz Community! To check out the playlist just read more.

Link Time!

BuzzSugar — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:30:02 -0700

Will Ferrell will star in indie comedy Everything Must Go - Zap2it
Ugly Betty is back tonight! - TV.com
Ian Somerhalder will star in romantic gothic fairy tale Cradlewood - The Wrap
The Big Chill: where are they now? - Moviefone
Last night's 30 Rock is even more meta thanks to low ratings - Vulture
Hilarious: old folks review MGMT's video for "Kids" - Stereogum
Penelope Cruz is going to make a cameo in the Sex and the City sequel - Cinematical
The Top 20 Celebrity Twilight fans - PopSugar
Telling the difference between Where the Wild Things Are and Wild Things - MTV Movies Blog

Video of the Day: Summer Lives on Thanks to Thao With the Get Down Stay Down

BuzzSugar — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:15:16 -0700

This weekend I'll be heading to the Treasure Island Music Festival for two days of music just outside of San Francisco. The awesome lineup includes MGMT, The Flaming Lips, The Decemberists, and Yo La Tengo just to name a few. I'm also excited to see Thao With the Get Down Stay Down, whose front-runner rocks out on her guitar to catchy, upbeat tunes that always make for a fun live show. In a new video for "When We Swarm," the band dances happily lakeside with a bunch of friends, making it the perfect pick-me-up if you're still in denial that Summer is long gone and Fall is here. Check it out below.

For more on the latest music, check out the Music Review group in the Buzz Community - and be sure to check back for updates on my Treasure Island weekend!

What to Download: New Music Today

BuzzSugar — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:30:59 -0700

It's Tuesday! I've already given you some picks to beef up your Netflix queue, but now it's time for your iPod. Check out today's new music releases for what you should download.

The birth of new sound: The latest from The Flaming Lips, Embryonic, is the musical equivalent of an acid trip. The band reportedly improvised a lot in the studio, so the entire album feels raw and pretty much all over the place. MGMT joins in on the track Worm Mountain, Karen O lends silly animal noises (yes, really) to I Can Be a Frog, and a mathematician spouts out equation, x=y type stuff on Gemini Syringes. Weird? You bet. Every track is experimental, which means you'll either embrace it for its free-spirited creativity, or write it off as too strange. Either way, it's worth checking out.

Pop culture candy: Hell has frozen over - Jack White is on the 90210 soundtrack. Hey, I'm not knocking TV music - I've already professed my love for it - but I was surprised to see The Raconteurs associated with a CW show. The band lends a wicked guitar riff to the first track Many Shades of Black (featuring soulful singer Adele) to start the album off. The rest of the playlist includes a mix of new offerings from indie artists and more mainstream pop, but my favorites are the sleepy Valium by MuteMath and the Postal Service-ish Sunburn by Owl City.

See one more release when you read more.

Bah-hum-blah: I was pumped when I heard that Bob Dylan was making a holiday album. It may be Halloween time now, but I always love a good carol, and Christmas in the Heart includes 15 of my favorites. But that's where my excitement ended. Dylan's voice will always be uniquely his, but the throaty quality seems out of place here, singing famous ditties like Here Comes Santa Claus. It's almost like your uncle had too many spiked ciders and started caroling. Even so, I'll probably still download I'll Be Home For Christmas or Winter Wonderland just so I'm not a total Scrooge - the proceeds go to the charity Feeding America.