now playing:tuesday - No Doubt

No Doubt - Push and Shove

Today i thought i would talk about the new No Doubt album, Push and Shove.

I have been a fan of No Doubt since their ska days....man i miss those dayz. 

Tragic Kingdom will always have that special place in my heart....i almost wore out my tape...yes tape!  I had Tragic Kingdom on cassette tape (sad my kids will never fully understand what that means).

from my instagram this morning (@ezzimcgee)

Moving on, Push and Shove, for lack of a better description, is POP.  No big surprise seeing as though the last few albums, including solo work, have been rather pop-y.  This album is the lady gaga, madonna, katy perry kinda pop.  *sigh. 

That being said, i still like the album.  Yes it's different, far from the ska style i long to hear from them again, but a fun album nonetheless.  If you are looking for a good album to bop along to while running/working out, driving, etc this is it.  It's very upbeat and has a constant tempo throughout the album (important if you run to it).  It definately makes you want to move your body....very dance-y.  I still love her voice and the band.  Everytime i hear they are coming out with something new i get my hopes up for a old skool ska roots type of album....and then get let down...pop.  I'll take it but i may not be happy about it.

If you aren't sure (no doubt my review put a seed of doubt in your head) give it a test-drive on iTunes.  The deluxe edition was around $14 with a extra mixes of "Settle Down" and acoustic versions.  Let me know what you think.

can it really be that i didnt post anything in the month of may....geez sorry y'all.  its been a very busy month and june is shaping up to be the same.  yikes.

in an effort to get back on track i wanted to share the french music stylings of

Coeur de Pirate

Real name, Beatrice Martin, is the heart and soul of Coeur de Pirate ("Heart Pirate").  She is a French singer/songwriter from Quebec, Canada.  If you read up on her you will find that she has an interesting life story (*coughs-alt porn model at age 16-*coughs), however, she has a great voice and beautiful music.

y'all might be thinking..."wow, you speak french!?" ...no.  i do not speak french other than a few words here and there that i picked up the two times that i visited France.  i do, however, have a love for music no matter what language it's in. 

Coeur de Pirate's almost child like voice mixed with the rhythm of her lyrics and piano is just soothing.  kinda hard to describe.  it makes me feel carefree and light? does this make sense to anyone? just like watching Amélie...it makes you feel playful and free...atleast i do.

She released her self titled debut album in 2008- most known for the song

"Comme des enfants" and "Ensemble" which was featured in a YouTube video about a baby.  In November 2011 she release her follow-up album "Blonde"...which i just found out about (I was too busy getting married to notice-I played one of her songs during my cake cutting!).

Anywho, I encourage you to check out both her ablums on iTunes. 

It's great feel good music that you can put on when you want something playing that wont destract you with lyrics you understand and want to sing along with...unless you are like me and still learn lyrics in foreign languages.

i love her music!

*all images can be found from a google image source-i had a hard time nailing down a single url source

 

weekend update: laundry and music

after a failed attempt at getting these suckers installed on wednesday they were finally installed on saturday.  this is the first time ive had a working washer and dryer since i moved into my townhouse a few years ago (yes i did laundry at my moms place like a poor college kid....but it also gave me really great family time).  needless to say i think i did about 6 loads of laundry this weekend...sheets, towels, clothes, anything that i could throw in there for the heck of it!



sorry for the bad iphone pics

i also got to go to an amazing show with some of my favorite people!!  The band Sucré came into town (see this post for their album review) and played with my friends in the band Finnegan and the Ton Tons (didnt get a pic of the Ton Tons sorry - but they are great check them out).

i also got to me Mrs. Elsie Larson from A Beautiful Mess.  I didnt take a pic with her because i already felt like a duffus for being really excited to meet/chat with her (she was my gateway blog).  she was just as sweet in person as she seems on her blog as was Jeremy.

The show was awesome.  I got to hang out with my hubs and friends and enjoy some great music...what more could a girl ask for?

now playing:tuesday - Sucré

from my instagram @ezzimcgee

Today's now playing feature is the debut album, A Minor Bird, from

Sucré

This band is made up of Stacy King (from Eisley), Darren King (Mute Math), and Jeremy Larson (Husband to Else from A Beautiful Mess)...talk about an a crazy talented group. 

The album just dropped today and I will admit i pushed the 'buy' button at 12:05a this morning so that it would be ready for me to listen to when i woke up this morning. 

The name of the band describes itself....sweet.  Stacy has a such a pure and angelic voice you cant help wanting to listen to.  The songs are well written, melodic but still catchy.  You can tell that it's Darren on the drums, although he has a certain technique for drums almost like a unique signiture, he keeps it soft and very fitting to the music.  Jeremy, the multi instrument wonder, is amazing as always.

The best way for me to describe this album....had this been out when the movie Garden State was made it would have most certainly been on the soundtrack.  If you are a fan of Eisley, Imogen Heap, Frou Frou, Lia Ices, or perhaps Feist you will love this album.

You can purchase the full album now on the iTunes for only $7.99.  For 11 amazing songs thats a pretty good deal.

Perhaps the things that excites me most about this band is that they are coming to Houston on April 22nd and playing with some of my good friends - Finnegan (also available on iTunes).  To add to the excitement Elsie (from A Beautiful Mess Blog) will be traveling with her husband (Jeremy) for this short tour, and unless she is completely bombarded, I might be able to stop by and say hello.  Elsie has a special place in my heart because she was the very first blog i ever read before i realized just how big the blog world was.  She is a great source of inspiration for anyone looking to follow their creative dreams.  Enough gushing....go check out the album and let me know what you think.

now playing:tuesday - The Cranberries!!!

The Cranberries

Squeeeee....the Cranberries release a new album today, "Roses."  This is the first album in 10 years from my favorite Irish band! Can you believe it has been 10 years since their last album? Geez i feel old.

(source)

i haven't spent as much time with this album as id like to before writing about it (only heard it all the way through a couple times) but it only came out today.  it sounds great!  it is the classic expected Cranberries sound, just new material to memorize and imitate in the car at full volume.  this album has 12 new songs and 2 live versions of "Linger" and "Zombie" recorded from a show in Madrid (i bought the deluxe version)

(source)

this band will always bring back memories of middle school, watching clueless, and blaring my Cranberries tapes on my walkman while sitting by the pool.
i definately recommend you go have a listen on the iTunes and buy this album.  if for no other reason than to show your Cranberries fan pride...."hey thanks for making an album 10 years later and not giving up on rockin out."

any suggestions for now playing:tuesday? leave me a comment if there is somthing you think i should listen to!

now playing:tuesday - Gardens & Villa

today i want to share with you the music stylings of

Gardens & Villa

(source)

their music is very hipster....think along the lines of mgmt, local natives, and perhaps alittle miike snow.  their sound is very mellow yet upbeat.  its good background music for doing stuff around the house.

i definately recommend you hop on over to the itunes and check them out!

(source)

any new bands you want me to check out?  leave me a comment!



now playing:tuesday - wild child

this week i want to share with you a band from "up the road" (Austin)

wild child

wild child's debut album "pillow talk" is incredible...i dont know what else to say.

all photos from wildchildsounds.com

this austin based band has a very mellow yet upbeat sound.  one of my big draws to this band was the use of violin, ukulele, banjo and acoustic guitar....always a sucker for those strings.   this duo has an effortless sounding vocal chemistry that you cant help but want to sing along to.  if i was to lump them into a musical genre i would have to say indie/folk.  i listen to this album while at work or hanging out at the house.  i highly recommend you give them a listen and/or purchase "Pillow Talk" on iTunes ($10).  you wont regret it!!

want me to check out a new band or artist? leave me a comment

weekend update: nothing but rock shows

this weekend consisted of nothing but screen printing and gigs.

friday night dave and his spanish rock band, La Sien, had a show.  we had spent the better part of last week reprinting shirts and restocking our merch table....its alot of fun but also a lot of hard work.

cant wait til they have their full length EP done....ill pass on updates when they are available.

on saturday we printed shirts for our friends new band "Satellite Brigade" (check 'em out on Facebook).  i snapped a couple of product photos before their show saturday night....i think they came out great!

dave on the left....lookin mighty handsome and Loren (drummers girlfriend) on the right.

The show went great and they got a great response!! Also on the bill was "Darrin Love" a "Athousandcolours" - the show was really great!

Satellite Brigade - Frank (on drums) and Ramses (vocals and guitar) - photo by Erin Cason



got some local bands you want me to check out?  let me know.....who knows they may make an apperance in my NowPlaying:Tuesdays

now playing:tuesday - 2Cellos (again!)

a little while ago i posted a video of today's feature and since then they have release a full album of pop music covers.

today's feature is

This cello duet, from Slovenia and Croatia, have become a hit almost overnight.  They posted a video of themselves covering Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" this past January, 2011.  Their YouTube video received over 3 million views in the first two weeks!  Since then they have made countless appearances all over the world performing covers of popular music. 

They decided to put together a cd of popular music covers.  Recording wrapped in May and the album was just released last week.....talk about working fast.

Their self titled album includes covers of bands such as U2, Muse, Nirvana, Guns 'N Roses, Nine Inch Nails, Kings of Leon, and Coldplay.  If you are a fan of string and instrumental music you will really like this album.  You're probably thinking..."well does it sound like classical versions of these artists?" and the answer is no.  They do a really good job of getting the rock sound and intense beats in there....just with their cellos.  If you watched the video i posted a while ago you know they dont play gently....they break bows.

This cd has been in heavy rotation over the past week....i love it!!

I like to play string instrument music while at work....which is why i have several Pandora stations dedicated to just that.  If you like string instrument music that is more modern or does pop music covers you might want to make a Pandora station based on these artists:  Vitamin String Orchestra, Bond, Escala, The Section Quartet, and of course 2Cellos

As always...if there is music you would like me to try out and feature let me know.

weekend update

it was a crazy busy weekend....which only included about 7 hours of sleep total...yikes. 

i had 2 custom cakes and 2 dz custom cupcakes....both for great friends.

Dave had a show this weekend with his spanish band La Sien.  The bill also included Making Movies - bilingual band out of Kansas City.....these guys are awesome on and off the stage (see my NowPlaying:Tuesday for more info about them)

here are some pics of this weekend....there is only a few because i was having to much fun to remember to take pics.

my first finished friendship bracelet since like the 4th grade

Graduation cap and diploma cake

custom graduation cupcakes (lemon and coconut)

polka-dots for a precious 3 year old girlie

Making Movies on stage

funny story about the show on Saturday night - the booking agent double booked the night.  it was supposed to only be spanish bands....but it turns out that he had also accidentally books a rapper showcase with like 12 different local rappers.  so both rappers and the spanish bands played.....im not going to lie....it was an awkward mix of people.  but sticking around til almost 2am to hear Making Movies was well worth it....plus we got to hang out with them all night prior to them going on.  cant wait to hang out and listen to them play again!

until next time

Free Music Download: Making Movies

remember how a couple of weeks ago i featured the band Making Movies?

well i was informed that there is a free music download of some of their songs available here:

http://makingmovies.bandcamp.com/album/in-deo-speramus

again.....i love this band so please check them out.  if you live in the houston area they will be coming to town on May 15 i believe.....and hopefully La Sien (Dave's Spanish band) will once again have the opportunity to play with them.  ill keep you posted on the time and venue so you can come out and visit and enjoy some rad spanish rock.

now playing:tuesday

This weeks band is

Making Movies

Dave and his spanish band La Sien had the privilage of playing a show with these guys a few weeks ago here in Houston.  I didnt actually get to stay and listen to their set...because it was already 2am and i was exhausted, but we did buy a cd of 'em.....and its been playing in my car nonstop for the past couple of weeks.

As you can tell they are a spanish band....however, their cd has both spanish and english songs.  regardless of language they are great!!!  their cd is available for purchase ($10) on cdbaby .  If you like Cafe Tacuba, Mars Volta, or Ozomatli you will like these guys. 

Dave has informed me that they will be coming back to Houston to play another show with La Sien soon so if you like them and you are in the Houston area I will keep you posted on when to come out!!

now playing:tuesday

i found this weeks artist on the cover of the current issue of Foam Magazine (surf, art, music magazine):

Lykke Li

"Wounded Rhymes" is the second album from this young Sweedish songstress.  Her sound is a mix of indie rock, pop, and a little electronic hipster.  The thing that drew my attention is her almost Stevie Nicks "raspy voice." In my eyes no one comes close to Stevie Nicks....but Lykke Li has that raspy quality to her voice.  Most of the songs on the album are upbeat and will definately be put on my "Driving to the beach" playlist.

So far Lykke has been featured in a few movie soundtracks, including the Twilight Saga's "New Moon" and "Sorority Row"(? never heard of that movie).  She has also performed at 2009s Coachella and Lollapalooza.

She is definately one to check out and watch.  Her album "Wounded Rhymes" is now available on iTunes.