giveaway

I Said I’ve Been Looking for You

Posted by John on February 22, 2012
Posted in: concerts, giveaway, singles, youtube. Tagged: . Leave a comment

A week ago, I posted on Twitter my musical wish for 2012: “I need more old-school house music in my life. That is all.” Well, turns out Sam Sparro heard my plea. (Humor me)

First off, can I get an Amen? How about a Hallelujah? Sam is taking it to CHURCH!

That wasn’t very professional blog writing, I know. But if you don’t feel uplifted and able to take on the world after listening to this record, you are either tone-deaf or you are without a heartbeat. It opens with a killer House piano riff, then leaps into full-on funk mode. You don’t know if it’s House, Funk or Disco, but it’s all good. Combine “Happiness” with teaser track “Shallow End,” and you will know why Return to Paradise is one of my most-anticipated discs of 2012. On top of that, Sam is hitting the road for a mini-tour in April, and tickets are only $15 here in the US. I am currently debating which city I will travel to, but I WILL see him on this tour. If you’d like to check him out, Sam is offering tickets up for liking his page and sharing the link. More details here.

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Random Notes – 02-14-10

Posted by John on February 14, 2010
Posted in: giveaway, holiday, movie, music industry. Tagged: , , , . 5 Comments

– First off, Happy Valentines Day to all of you. You don’t need to have a special someone to enjoy the people around you that you love. And a good romantic ballad is ALWAYS a good thing. Speaking of romantic music, congrats to Trav in Michigan and Amy in Pennsylvania for leaving comments that got them a copy of the Now Love CD compilation. Those CDs will be in the mail soon. Hope y’all enjoy!

– Finally saw Avatar yesterday (on IMAX 3D…wow), and I am still stunned that James Cameron would have thought that “I See You” by Leona Lewis would be a worthy successor to “My Heart Will Go On”. While the melody worked very well in instrumental form for the scenes between Jake and Neytiri, the actual song itself is so limp and lifeless that it is probably a good thing that it is hidden at the end of the movie. No wonder this song has not charted anywhere. Oh wait…looks like it made it to #47 in Ireland. My bad.

– I feel like I need to post a small disclaimer about my We Are the World post. While I may be severely disappointed in the way this song and video came out, it does not change the fact that the people of Haiti need help, and buying “We Are the World” is not the only way to do so. There are multiple organizations out there (including Unicef, which is specifically helping the children in need) that can effectively use your donation to get resources where they are most needed. While I am sure it is great to say you supported the same charity that Susan Boyle or Jeff Bridges sang for, I would rather eliminate all of that middleman stuff and go straight to the source.

– There has been a lot of news about the music business recently, and one of the more interesting bits I have come across is that Warner Brothers is testing out a “Six Pak” format that allows an artist to put out new music faster to their fans. Country singer Blake Shelton will be the first artist to get the six-song treatment for his Hillbilly Bone CD, and it will be released on March 2nd. The single of the same name is currently at #9 and climbing on this week’s Hot Country Songs chart.

Speaking of country artists getting creative with releases, Rascal Flatts released on February 9th a limited-time digital collection called Fourteen Love Songs for the Fourteenth. The package will only be available for two weeks’ time, and contains some of their biggest ballads, including “Bless the Broken Road” and “I Melt”. You can find the collection at online shops like Amazon, but get it before the 23rd.

My Musical Valentine

Posted by John on February 7, 2010
Posted in: giveaway, holiday, personal, videos, youtube. Tagged: , , , . 10 Comments

I have a fluctuating interest in Valentine’s Day, and that may come from conflicting feelings about it from my youth. For those of you who do not normally celebrate it, Valentine’s Day starts out as a reason to sugar kids up and give out Disney Princesses or Transformer valentines to all of your classmates, but evolves into that one-on-one declaration of love that many adults struggle over. For me, Valentine’s Day always manifests itself musically, either as a celebration of the love I am currently experiencing, or as a balm for those times when being single and Cupid collide. Based on selections from this year’s Country-leaning playlist, I think you will be able to tell where my heart is at currently.

– Brad Paisley “Then” – Paisley normally has the critics in the palm of his hand, but when “Then” was released in advance of American Saturday Night, it was derided by many as a bit bland and not as clever as he normally is. However, for myself and a lot of other music fans, “Then” is a sweet and real tale about how the love between two people grows farther and further than you can ever imagine. Picture being in the early weeks and months of a relationship, and having someone play this song for you and telling you that these lyrics remind them of you:

I remember, trying not to stare the night that I first met you.
You had me mesmerized.
And three weeks later in the front porch light, taking forty five minutes to kiss goodnight.
I hadn’t told you yet, but I thought I loved you then


– Ty Herndon “Loved Too Much” – There were two types of country hits in the 90s…those “New Traditional” songs that harkened back to the Golden Age of Country Music, and those that could be played on Top 40 radio stations almost as easily as they could be on Country radio. Ty Herndon’s music definitely leaned toward the pop side of country, although he only barely hit the Top 40 on the Hot 100 chart one time (“It Must Be Love” at #38). A perfect example of Ty’s pop-country sound can be found on “Loved Too Much”, which tells the story of a man who isn’t able to casually be in a relationship.

I need to be loved too much I need to be held too tight
I need to hear someone say at the end of day
I’ll make everything right.


– Dixie Chicks “Never Say Die” – Way back on their major label debut, the Chicks already had some of the best writers in Nashville offering up their wares to be Dixiefied. George Ducas and Radney Foster capture the minutiae of a relationship that has seen some pretty big moments, because sometimes you don’t realize what you have until life slows to a crawl for a moment. Martie Maguire can milk some amazing emotion out of a few violin strings, and this song is a perfect example of that. “Die” is one of multiple highlights on Wide Open Spaces, and occasionally it will drift up to the surface for no apparent reason.

We’ve both had our share of doubts
Waited out those ole storm clouds
Boy it’s nights like this that I know why
Lovers like you and me will never say die


– Norah Jones “Come Away With Me” – So the mix closes with a request to run away to anywhere but here. Has a 3-minute song ever sounded as lush as this song does? Within those three minutes, you are transported to a cabin in the woods, a mountaintop, a field on the plains, and a bus heading for points unknown. The amazing thing to me is how much of a classic this song sounded like upon its release, and it was from Norah’s debut album. I have enjoyed music from each of her successive records, but I fear that lightning may not strike twice for Norah. Then again, wouldn’t most artists beg, borrow or steal to have one record like Come Away With Me?

And I want to walk with you
On a cloudy day
In fields where the yellow grass grows knee-high
So won’t you try to come?

So speaking of “Come Away With Me”, it appears on the new Now That’s What I Call Love collection that came out last week. The cool thing about this collection is that it has a variety of sounds, including rock, country, pop, and R&B. Coolest inclusion? Howie Day’s “Collide”, which remains one of my favorite songs from the late 90s. There’s even one for the potential adulterer in your life, courtesy of Hinder’s “Lips of an Angel”.

Is your interest piqued? Well, thanks to the folks at EMI, I have 2 copies of this 20-song collection to give away. If you leave a comment between now and Tuesday afternoon, you will be entered to win a copy of the CD. Comment away!

Random Notes – 10-05-09

Posted by John on October 5, 2009
Posted in: giveaway, new releases, news, singles. Tagged: , , , , , . 4 Comments

Noisettes Banner– If you haven’t done so already, check out the contest to win one of three Noisettes CDs. The winners will be announced this weekend.

Alphabeat Spell– Current songs that sound really good on the radio: Alphabeat’s “The Spell”, which is up on Radio 1 in advance of its release on October 18th, and REALLY needs to see a US release; Britney’s “3”, which I heard coming out of David Guetta’s “Sexy Bitch”, making for a pretty impressive (and surprising) one-two punch; and Carrie Underwood’s “Cowboy Casanova”, which needs to see a pop radio push at some point in the near future. Even in its original form, it is incredibly catchy.

Crazy Frog Wal Mart– Who decided that Crazy Frog needed a new album, let alone one that’s an exclusive to Wal-Mart? And how disturbing is it that “Cha Cha Slide” is among the tracks covered? Or “Last Christmas”? Thankfully, there aren’t samples on the website, or I might be typing wounded right now.

– Idolator has some detail on FTC regulations going into effect in December which will require bloggers to disclose anything that they have received from a third party that was utilized for writing a post. Many of you may recognize the unfairness of this, as TV, radio and newspapers have received promotional materials for years and don’t have to disclose this information. Between this, and a current law rolling through Congress that defines a protected journalistic source as someone that works and receives a paycheck for what they do (hence, no indy bloggers), the old establishment is doing everything it can to tie new media’s hands behind their backs.

So for the record, how many bloggers even collect a paycheck for what they do, let alone get freebies from a record label? Personally, I can count on one hand the number of times I have received promotional material from a label, and even then, I let them know point blank that I will not promote anything that I do not believe in. I can see the potential for a class-action lawsuit against the FTC on this, but when was the last time you paid money into the music blog lobbying fund? Yeah…me either.

– The new Usher? Good, but not great, although it’s a definite return to Confessions-style slowjams.

When CDs Attack!

Posted by John on October 2, 2009
Posted in: giveaway, new releases, reviews, videos, youtube. Tagged: , , . 6 Comments

Sometimes the musical blogosphere seems a bit detached from the rest of the world, because we seem to operate with our own agenda and timetable, and that doesn’t always match up with reality. A few months ago, you would have sworn that the new Pet Shop Boys was released worldwide, but the reality of that was America saw a release several weeks after most other countries. So it seems a bit odd to me that we are looking at record companies pushing artists with buzz here in the U.S. that have been out elsewhere for a while now. Here are a few of the more interesting arrivals on American soil over the past few weeks. Make sure that you read through to the end for a cool little giveaway…

Gary Go Cover– Gary Go – So I RAVED about “Wonderful” when it came out. Amazing song, cool video, quirky artist, but where do you go from that? Well, in the case of Gary Go, you only get to #25 with the single and #22 with the full-length before you turn your attention to…America? Yeah, that’s not the typical model, but I have a feeling that it might work with Gary. This could actually help him out at home as well, because if the powers that be back at Decca see that he is become successful in the U.S., there will inevitably be a second push for Gary back in the U.K.

My initial reaction to tracks from the CD was not that great, but after having heard the full domestic release, I am hooked. Americans won’t necessarily recognize the Gary Barlow-like songwriting, but they will recognize the Coldplay-like song structure with a bit more of a personal touch. Besides, who couldn’t use a little uplifting these days, courtesy of “Wonderful”? Personally, I see the similarly-upbeat “Open Arms” making some bigger waves, but I really like the more mellow “Heart and Soul” and the elegant “Brooklyn”.

La Roux Cover– La Roux – Oh, Elly Jackson. I am sure you mean well, with your punkish attitude and your mile-high hair. The public loves a polarizing figure sometimes if there is some redeeming quality. Unfortunately, at this moment, there really isn’t one for La Roux in the U.S. (released digitally this month), because while she may have an interesting persona, the music just isn’t where the American public is currently. It’s a really good CD…former #1 dance track “Bulletproof” will lodge itself into your head for hours at a time, and “In For the Kill”, despite certain frequencies of Elly’s voice, is a pretty classy electronic pop romp. The rough part for Elly and Co is that in order to crack the pop charts here in the States, you either need a sound that draws off of something that’s already been a hit, or something that is completely new, different, and impactful. I just don’t see this happening with anything on the current release, but hopefully they develop enough of an underground following that will sustain them through to their sophomore effort.

Noisettes Cover– Noisettes – I admit it…”Don’t Upset the Rhythm” was not an immediate hit with me. Despite all of the raving that was going on for the track, it just did not fully click with me. Fortunately, there was more to this trio from London than just an all-out funky jam (which is currently in the Top 5 of the Billboard Dance/Club Play chart). “Never Forget You” seeped into my brain, and has made regular appearances for the past month, making it a strong candidate for “Earworm of the Year”. If there is a track that can crack America, it is “Forget”, which has a bit of an Amy Winehouse vibe to it, but with a lot more 60s-era class. This is custom-made for the VH1 set, and it would only take one breakthrough performance on a show like Saturday Night Live (think Adele last year) to bring this album to the masses. Here’s hoping…

So speaking of bringing this record to the people, I have three copies of the Noisettes’ Wild Young Hearts to give away. All you have to do is leave a note in the comments section with a good reason I should send you a copy. Creativity and knowledge of the band don’t hurt the cause, and living in the US or Canada would be good as well, because that’s as far as we can ship at the moment. Good luck!