BuzzSugar

What to Download: New Music Today

BuzzSugar — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:30:14 -0700

It's one of my favorite days of the week: Tuesday! Which means I get to add DVDs to my Netflix queue, along with some brand new tunes for my iPod. So check out today's music releases for what you should download. (And if you like to review albums, don't forget to take a peek at the Music Review Group in the community.)

A smooth ride: Sufjan Stevens takes a breather from his states project with BQE, an ode to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. He originally performed the work to accompany a film about the road, but the music stands on its own as a beautiful orchestral arrangement. Warning if you like Stevens's mellow voice: BQE is all instrumental. Still, it proves that he has what it takes as a composer, and I'd like to see him lend his talents to more of this sort of work. My picks: Movement II: Sleeping Invader, which sounds like a ballet dream sequence, and Traffic Shock, which mixes in clashing electronic sounds like a busy gridlock.

Pretty packs a punch: If you haven't heard of Florence and the Machine, get ready. Florence Welch is the latest spunky Brit singer on the scene, and her debut Lungs already went platinum in the UK. Today, it's available to buy stateside. She's the singer I'd want to be if I had my own band - a woman who wails while banging the tambourine - and her album veers between tough-chick anthems and haunting ballads a la Sarah McLachlan. Make sure you try the hand-clapping, feel-good Dog Days Are Over or the romantic Cosmic Love.

See two more releases when you read more.

Freaky fun: If you're a Flight of the Conchords fan - or even if you're not - you'll want to check out I Told You I Was Freaky, a compilation of music from season two (including three previously unreleased tracks). Sure, half the fun is watching the boys act out each song on the show (and Jemaine's wicked dance moves), but when you listen to the music on its own, you realize just how talented they really are. Each selection could qualify for radio-play - or just a ridiculously fun karaoke night. The album includes favorites like Sugarlumps, Hurt Feelings, and the Emmy-nominated Carol Brown.

Lyrical wanderlust: Jay Farrar of Son Volt and Benjamin Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie team up on One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Music From Kerouac's Big Sur, an ode to the famous author's work. The two musicians met while working on a documentary about Kerouac and decided to collaborate on this album using words from his novel. It's fitting then that the result feels like a cross-country trip - lazy and laid-back with some twangy country, Americana sound. I'll be adding the title track and California Zephyr to my car playlist.

Death Cab For Cutie's "Meet Me on the Equinox" Video From New Moon - Love It or Leave It?

BuzzSugar — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:35:40 -0700

Fans everywhere have been anxiously waiting for the video from the New Moon soundtrack, Death Cab For Cutie's "Meet Me on the Equinox." It's the first song off the album, and the video features the band playing between clips from the movie. While it's not among my favorite Death Cab songs, it does seem to fit the bill for New Moon's big breakup between Edward and Bella. Check it out below and tell me what you think - love it or leave it?

Listen Up: Amy Millan's "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" Cover

BuzzSugar — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:30:39 -0700

The Death Cab for Cutie song "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" is heartbreaking no matter how it's performed, but Amy Millan's country-tinged version feels a little less like a sock to the gut than the original. Perhaps it's that her soft, lovely voice is so comforting, but somehow this one doesn't emotionally destroy me quite as much as Death Cab's.

Millan plays with the bands Stars and Broken Social Scene, but this Death Cab cover will appear on Masters of the Burial, her second solo album.

Apparently Millan has performed the cover live a few times, but now there's a studio recording so you can have the sweet, tender song gently - but firmly - squeeze your heart in its fist any time you'd like. To hear a twangier version of "I Will Follow You Into the Dark," read more.

Hat tip to Stereogum for premiering the tune.

Source

Music Video: "Little Bribes" by Death Cab For Cutie

BuzzSugar — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:30:12 -0700

This music video for Death Cab for Cutie's song "Little Bribes" is basically just a series of things spelling out the words to the song as we hear Ben Gibbard sing them, and yet, it's mesmerizing. There's no real visual story going on, but I found that I didn't want to look away from these words flashing onscreen, perhaps because I just wanted to see what objects would be used to spell out the next word. It's so basic, but playful enough to be interesting. And actually, the same could be said for the song itself. To check out the video, read more.

What to Download: New Music Today

BuzzSugar — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:30:06 -0700

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

An ode to California: Jill Sobule's known for her 1995 hit "I Kissed A Girl" (no relation to Katy Perry's song of the same title). I've always liked that song, and I'm excited the talented singer-songwriter is back with her seventh full-length album available online today. I'm already enjoying "San Francisco" (Margaret Cho directed the song's video - watch here) and think "Palm Springs" is beautiful, too.

More Death Cab is good: A year ago, Death Cab for Cutie released Narrow Stairs, and apparently four songs from the band's time in the studio weren't quite right for that album. So today Death Cab is dropping the Open Door EP, which includes those songs plus an extra little gem called "Talking Bird." I really love "A Diamond and a Tether," but the whole thing is very sweet.

One more up next, so read more.

Shooting for the big time: One reviewer described the new album from Metric as having an "unrepentant commercial nature," which may disappoint some of the band's early fans, but I'm already liking what I hear. I'm mixing in "Stadium Love" and "Help I'm Alive" to my morning commute playlist ASAP.

BuzzSugar's Must Haves For April

BuzzSugar — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:30:08 -0700

Yippee! April is here, and that makes me happy because the weather in my part of the country is lovely right now. But this month also contains some great entertainment stuff: one of my favorite annual celebrations, a really cool live radio event, and some buzzworthy new CD and DVD releases. Ready to dive into April (without any foolin')? Just hit "start."

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Link Time! 5/20

BuzzSugar — Tue, 20 May 2008 13:31:26 -0700

PopCandy is dying to dish about last night's season finale of How I Met Your Mother which left her "squirming and squealing." What did you think?
Pitchfork has a gorgeous, amazing video of Jose Gonzalez performing "Killing for Love" live.
Popwatch has a great Sex and the City flashback video clip of Miranda and Carrie's first big argument, one of the best/worst TV fights ever.
FilmExperience is curious: What's the last movie you went to see in the theaters with your parents?
TV Squad has videos of Human Tetris, the international game show soon to be appropriated for American audiences thanks to Fox.
Stereogum is trusting the entire blog to Death Cab for Cutie all day today. Head over to see their bloggy musings.
Cinematical is reporting live from Cannes that Clint Eastwood has no plans to ever regurgitate his role as Dirty Harry.
GiggleSugar has a hilarious fake trailer for Into the Wild starring Matthew McConaughey.

Photo courtesy of CBS

Rewind: This Week's Buzz

BuzzSugar — Sat, 17 May 2008 07:30:35 -0700

We appear to have a mellow movie weekend ahead of us in terms of new releases, but there is still lots out there to keep you busy. Which movie are you headed to this weekend?
Holy cow, it was a busy week for TV! The network upfronts gave us a lot of good stuff to look forward to this Fall. Fox added some cool-looking sci-fi shows to its roster while the CW charts a clear path forward, littered with rich kids.
Speaking of the CW's rich kids, are you excited for the new 90210 now that we've got some pictures? And what do you think about the series Surviving the Rich (based on the book How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls)?
Hooray for Reaper! It will not be canceled, which I assume is a great relief to its star, Bret Harrison, who I had the honor of interviewing!
There were a lot of trailers out on the Web this week some good, some not so good. I thought Edge of Love looks breathtakingly gorgeous (and so romantic!) and I'm really intrigued by Woody Allen's latest all-star flick.
Is it just me or does it seem like only people raised in the '80s are running the show down in L.A. right now? They're bringing Fraggle Rock to the big screen and. . . wait for it. . . a cereal box mascot movie (yeah, it's odd, just read the post).
James Frey, author of the bestselling memoir A Million Little Pieces (which later turned out to be more fiction than anything else) has a new book out and it's getting stellar reviews. Are you open to reading his stuff?
Definitely make time to check out what's new on iTunes because there's some great stuff out this week, including Duffy and Death Cab for Cutie. And if you're curious about who's singing that sweet little tune on the diamond commercials, I have the entire song here.
Also, the new Flight of the Conchords video for "Ladies of the World" is. So. Funny.

Source

What to Download: New Music on iTunes

BuzzSugar — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:29:25 -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:

Just in time for summer: I've been excitedly anticipating the release of this new Death Cab for Cutie album for a while now. From what I've heard so far I'm really loving it. Tracks like I Will Possess Your Heart have that jam-band quality we got a peek at a little while ago, but I'm finding other songs on the album are equally as unexpected like You Can Do Better Than Me for example. Personally, I'm downloading the entire thing.

Raise your hand if you like pretty songs: Jason Mraz's new album We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. is finally here and there is even a special bonus track version you can pick up at iTunes. I think Jason Mraz is a little like John Mayer - you either dig the singer-songwriter's pop style or you don't. One thing I'll say about this new album is it is far more intimate and laid back than his previous poppy coffee house tunes. One bonus track, I'm Yours is already a bit of an Internet phenomenon and for good reason. It's really sweet!

To more to download, so read more.

British invasion: There's got to be something in the water across the pond because here comes another gritty, bluesy voice out of the UK, a la Amy Winehouse. The LA Times calls Duffy's soulful album a "very early-'60s retro sound" and I'm really digging it. I think most people will love her sassy up-tempo tunes like Mercy but I really like her voice slowed down and bluesy in Warwick Avenue.

They've got the right stuff: Are you ready for the first single from the reunited NKOTB?! It's called Summertime and it's, you know, boy band-ish. But it's fun and nostalgic and you'll probably giggle a little.

BuzzSugar's Must-Haves for May

BuzzSugar — Thu, 01 May 2008 09:30:42 -0700

Spring is truly here! That means I'll be seeing some big-time movies, reading sweet books, and listening to good tunes as I enjoy all the freshly blooming flowers. In addition to these picks for May entertainment, everyone will be talking about Scarlett Johansson's Anywhere I Lay My Head album when it drops on May 20th, not to mention the finale of American Idol that same week. To see the other things that are at the top of my list for May, just press "Start."

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