Dave and Chuck the Freak take me on a Journey

I was listening to The Morning X with Dave and Chuck the Freak this morning on 89X and they were talking about this cover band on YouTube called The Zoo. I didn't catch the entire discussion they had, but I tuned in just in time for them to play a couple of the video's on air. I didn't understand the fascination with the band until I heard the lead singer, Arnel Pineda, start belting out a song by Journey, then Bon Jovi, and then Sting. He sounded just like these guys. He could mimic most of them perfectly.

I was so interested in listening to more, so I searched around for the videos tonight. In my search, I found that a member of Journey ended up contacting the lead singer after seeing and hearing the videos. He actually wanted to bring in Pineda from the Phillipines to audition as the lead singer. As it turns out, Pineda is now touring with the group and a new album is in the works. Here's a clip from CNN Headline News that tells about the story.

I even found a video of one of their first performances together. It's kinda freaky. It's just like the movie with Mark Wahlberg in it. Usually, movies are inspired by true stories, but instead, this is a story inspired by a movie. Just plain weird.

Here's one of the cover songs the band put up:

The Cold War Kids comment on Detroit scandal, kinda...

I was reading a Detroit Free Press editorial on the current political mess here in Detroit and caught a pretty amusing comment string that followed the article. Here's the original comment by user OctopiAlley:

The whole city, region and state are being Hung Out to Dry after the Mayor has already fleeced the public, his family values and the image of Detroit... Gov Jenny needs to stand up and break ranks unless it's a united front for different reasons.

Now, the comment in and of itself isn't amusing. It's the fact that the user followed up his comment with another one 6 minutes later with the following:

Cold War Kids - "Hang Me Up To Dry"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrrGKR8Xii4

It's as if the user thought of the song right as he posted the original comment and then went out to YouTube to find the song so he could share it with everyone. That's the amusing part to me. Here's another version of the video by the Cold War Kids if you'd like to check it out:

89X and Rides Again kept me in my car

I was listening to Detroit's New Rock Alternative, 89X, on the way home from a friends house today and a new song caught my ears right before I got out of the car. I liked it enough that I stayed to listen to the entire song before going inside. It was song called Infected from a group named Rides Again, an alternative rock trio out of Ontario, Canada.

Before I started listening to XM Radio, my car radio was typically tuned to 89X. It is actually a Canadian based station that delivers modern and alternative rock to the metro Detroit area. They sometimes feature music that isn't completely mainstream yet, including more local acts like Rides Again.

The song I listened to today really reminded me of Hoobastank with some really great, driving guitar hooks and riffs. What's really funny, is when I went to look up the band, I couldn't remember the name of the group. Their name sounds a lot like Rise Against, so I was looking for the song under their name, obviously with no luck. I finally went to 89X's web site and found what they were playing. The band recently added the song to YouTube:

Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails wants you

After writing about Nine Inch Nails releasing their latest album online a few weeks ago, I recently found that Trent Reznor has now announced a project that allows you to be a part of the creative process. Reznor recently submitted a video to Youtube to explain his vision. In it, he explains how he wants people to submit their own videos for the music on the Ghosts album. He talks about how the tracks on the album were intentionally unnamed as to not influence the outcome of any videos produced.

This is on the heels of what Reznor proclaimed a very successful album release. I think this is another great way for a musician to connect and interact with their fans. Here's the video if you want to learn more:

R.E.M. dropping their latest album on iLike

I came across a blog post on Techdirt today that talks about R.E.M.'s latest album, Accelerate, and how it will be available on the music social network, iLike, a week before it hits stores. Techdirt referred to an MSNBC article on their blog as they explained how R.E.M. is another example of how music groups are reaching out to broader audience by allowing fans to get their music free or early in new and more dynamic ways than a CD. I mentioned Trent Reznor from the group Nine Inch Nails last week and how he has applied the same business model. I think it's a great way to promote your music and build an even bigger and more devoted fan base.

Although I don't follow R.E.M. that much, I think they have written some great alternative/pop songs that have somewhat defined a generation. One of the songs that I'll always remember from their collection is It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine). Here they are performing the song live in Toronto:

New Album for The Bravery

In my Facebook feed I saw that The Bravery was on tour and would be in the Detroit area in the next few months. I first heard this band back when I played MVP Baseball 2005. The band contributed their song "An Honest Mistake" to the soundtrack of the game. It was often playing in the background of the menu screens of the game.

The modern alternative group has written quite a few catchy and addictive tunes. I always want to sing along when I hear one. The recently release radio tunes of "Believe" and "Time Won't Let Me Go" are the first ones that come to mind.

You can check our their MySpace page for tour dates. Their new album, called The Sun and Moon Complete, is set to be released March 18th, 2008. It's a very interesting album as it will be released as a 2 disc set. According to the bands' MySpace blog post, the first disc, called "The Sun", will be 12 songs originally produced by Brendan O'Brien. The second disc, called "The Moon", is the same exact 12 songs in the same order, but re-worked and "re-imagined" by the band. Very interesting concept and a great way to show something unique by the band.

Here's the band playing in Times Square during the 2008 New Year's Eve show on ABC:

DJ Armando rocks my commute

I love commercial free radio. I love XM. In the last few months I've been listening to DJ Armando's show, appropriately named Addiction, on the way home from work. His show airs on channel 81, also appropriately named BPM, from 5PM to 6PM and 8PM to 9PM EST. So, even when I have to work the late shift, I can catch him late on my drive home(as I did this evening). I don't know what it is, but I just enjoy listening to electronic/dance music in the car. Just turn it up and thump those speakers. It's great listening to an hour long mix. It definitely makes the drive better. I'm definitely addicted to it.

If you want to check DJ Armando out, he has a pretty cool website. I did find that it has some downloads of mixes he's done. I'm tempted to download a few just to check it out.

Independent group Schaeffer gives behind the scenes look

Whenever I see one of my friends become a "fan" of a music group on Facebook, I'll atleast find out what they're all about. So on this night, I got a chance to take in some tunes from an alternative group named Schaeffer. I would probably put them in the emo/alternative realm. At first listen, they really reminded me of Sleeping At Last, a group I got to see in concert when they opened up for Switchfoot a few years back in Detroit.

Schaeffer has apparently gotten enough following as an independent group to get their music on iTunes. Then again, I guess I don't know how hard that is to pull off. I guess somebody will have to let me know. I haven't really been in the "music biz" since college. You can also check out their music on their MySpace page.

Here's a YouTube video the group put together that gives a behind the scenes look of their latest album, Something Worth Fighting For:

Nine Inch Nails releases album online

With little pomp and circumstance, Trent Reznor of the group Nine Inch Nails has released a new ablum called Ghosts exclusively online. According to the album website, they've had 3 times the amount of traffic on his site to download the first 9 tracks, which happen to be totally free, and which has also brought the site to a halt as there's too many people trying to download it. I caught the first news of it on Techdirt's web site, which points out how, even though the tracks are free (Reznor even uploaded the first 9 tracks himself to torrent sites), he is still able receive revenue without the music labels help.

So, checkout the new album if you're into NIN. If you're not into NIN, atleast enjoy Johnny Cash's cover of one of Nine Inch Nails tunes, Hurt. It's his last video before his passing. See it below:

Dispatch live in Madison Square Gardens

Every so often I flip through the HD channels. I don't normally watch live TV, but it's been more often since the writer's strike forced a much shorter list of shows on my Tivo. I also love to watch TV in HD, I'm hooked. Anyways, I caught a fairly entertaining concert on MHDTV, an HD music channel. The concert featured the band Dispatch in a benefit concert called Dispatch : Zimbabwe where all ticket proceeds went to charities that are fighting disease, famine, and social injustices. At one point during the concert, the group even invited the African Children's Choir up to sing along. Check out the YouTube video below that shows some clips from the concert and some behind the scenes interviews.

Here's the video:

Old School took me back, old school

OK, so I just finished watching Old School on ABC (I know, not much going on for a Saturday night). Anyways, there was a part that started in slo-mo, which pretty much leads to the point where you need to hear the Chariots of Fire theme, or the slo-mo just doesn't make sense.

I thought I'd look up the song and I found the theme performed by Vangelis on YouTube. He is backed up by an orchestra and it's being performed in Athens. It's only 4 minutes and 16 seconds, but it will feel like 10 minutes due to the slo-mo effect.

Here's the video:

Acoustic Version of Breaking Benjamin Tune

Came across an acoustic version of Breaking Benjamin's The Diary of Jane. The song is off of their latest album, Phobia. It's on YouTube, but there isn't a true video for it, it's just few images thrown up while the song plays. It's a great sounding track. It can definitely stand on it's own without the distortion and screaming from the original track.

Here's the acoustic version:



Here's the original song if you care to watch the video to compare: