Yes, we still have a copy of the first Beatles album out in the United States and no, no albums were harmed in the making of this background.

The signs are everywhere. You know that looming project you attack head on for a few weeks, and suddenly you just…fall off the face of the Earth? Progress stops, and the guilt begins almost immediately.  That’s exactly what has happened here. My last song of the day was in August. I’ve been motivated. I’ve had ideas. They’re written on pale yellow post-its and bits of paper, which have scattered themselves across my desk and nightstand, or taken up residency in a dark corner of one of my bags. I carry bits of this blog with me everywhere I go. Literally.

“Bennie alternated between the Sleepers and the Dead Kennedys, San Francisco bands he’d grown up with.  He listened for muddiness, the sense of actual musicians playing actual instruments in an actual room. Nowadays that quality (if it existed at all) was usually an effect of analogue signaling rather than bona fide tape…”

Slight exaggeration.  All joking aside, being able to experience a weekend full of music in the heart of Chicago made me realize one thing.  It’s time to get back on this bandwagon and keep up with the musical world.  How to start?  A legitimate and (kind of) timely recap of the musical happenings of the weekend.

Muse - Music Unlimited - 8.5.11

Friday

The first day of any new experience comes with a flurry of different emotions.  In the case of Lollapalooza, excitement, nervousness, the inability to sit still and ecstasy come to mind.  The day technically began at noon, but because I have a fear of using vacation days, Lollapalooza didn’t get started until around 4:00pm.

First up – Two Door Cinema Club.  This was an obvious first choice as the lead singer has red hair.  The group put on a solid show and had good interactions with the crowd.  Since I didn’t come to the event with a grasp on their discography, I used part of their set to look around, get accustomed and people watch.  I did, however, walk away thinking that I needed to research the group a bit once the weekend was done.

Tinie Tempah: Sound familiar? British rapper Tinie Tempah blew up in the U.S. when his song Written in the Stars hit radio waves. (He might also sound familiar since he was featured on HauteThought in March.)  A two time BRIT award winner and proud member of the Billboard Top 100, Tinie Tempah understood how to get the crowd involved and play to their excitement.  With multiple shoutouts and compliments to the city and people of Chicago, it’s no wonder those at the Google+ stage had their hands up and heads moving throughout the entirety of his set.

Tinie Tempah - Google+

Muse: Generally speaking, a truly entertaining musician has the ability to perform while interacting with the audience just enough to keep it interested in not only the music, but also in the performer himself.  In other cases, the music speaks for itself.  Muse happens to fall under the latter group of stage dwellers.  Matthew Bellamy’s haunting voice filled the entirety of Grant Park on Friday night and certainly didn’t disappoint.  Within the first few notes of the opening song, the audience was captivated – something that takes many artists an entire set to do.

Saturday

Eminem - 8.6.11

Super Mash Bros.:  DJing is rapidly sneaking its way into mainstream music.  Thousands of people line up to see these technicians distort sounds, create mixes, operate turn tables and amp up the energy level in any room.  Super Mash Bros was no exception.  Creating mixes that included songs from Justin Bieber to Journey to Darude’s Sandstorm, this show was the best way to dance off the calories consumed earlier in the day and relive high school dance days, complete with dancing teenagers, of course.

Death From Above 1979: During the walk to the Bud Light stage, the group I was with ranted and raved about Death From Above 1979.  I hadn’t included them on my “must see” list, so I was anxious to see what I was missing.  Truthfully, I could have skipped this act and been fine.  Our group decided to use the hour for photo shoots, catching up, and re-living the past day, resulting in having a live band as not much more than background music.

Patrick Stump: Lead singer of Fallout Boy Patrick Stump has gone solo.  Hailing from a suburb of Chicago, Ill., Stump enchanted the audience with This City, an anthem to the city he’s from with a sample from Chicago native Lupe Fiasco.  While Lupe didn’t make an appearance for Stump’s set, he was able to get the audience to sing along in the anthem to Lollapalooza’s home.  Stump’s set was performed on the BMI stage, a more intimate setting with Buckingham Fountain and the skyline as a backdrop.

Cee-Lo Green:  Ever since the line up was released, I became beyond excited to see Cee-Lo’s performance.  I, along with the rest of the country, had an obvious obsession with F*ck You.  I have since discovered some of his more soulful pieces and couldn’t wait to hear them live.  Cee-Lo is an artist with a truly different voice for this generation of music.  His R&B vibe and sassy stage presence were sure to team up for an unbeatable set.  How did I feel after the last note was sung? Let down.  Cee-Lo performed on the stage Eminem would be visiting next and the area was already starting to fill up with spot claimers.  Defeated by the lack of enthusiasm from the crowd, Cee-Lo performed his set without much oompf…but he didn’t miss a note.

Cee-Lo Green - 8.6.11

Eminem: Quite possibly the most anticipated act of Lollapalooza 2011, Eminem took on the stage without a shadow of doubt.  He started a bit slow, with limited interaction with the audience resulting in a more mellow camaraderie.  Screams from the audience were greeted with an enunciated “Chi-caaa-GO” from Eminem.  Once he began interacting with the audience and truly putting on a show, all bets were off and the environment amped up immediately.  Talk of his sobriety stood as the turning point, as Eminem claimed that he wanted to drink with Chicago, grabbed a handle of vodka and took a swig.  Streams of “vodka” began pouring out of his jacket as he vowed to continue to stay sober, and started introducing older songs from a time before his sobriety.  The audience went wild and in that instance, Eminem gained complete command of the stage.

Eminem - 8.6.11

Sunday - “Mudapalooza”

It is important to note that on Sunday, Lolla go-ers transformed from music lovers to drowned rats.  Two separate rain showers pelted down on the scene, drenching anything that stood in its way.  The result? An extremely muddy environment where only the most dedicated survived – and an amazing day, overall.

City and Colour - 8.7.11

City and Colour: Looking at my initial schedule now, I see that I marked City and Colour and highlighted a couple of their songs.  However, after 2 days of concerts and a limited amount of sleep, parts of my schedule escaped my mind a bit.   We wandered to City and Colour on a whim and all became enthralled.  Congratulations, you have 3 new fans.  Lead singer Dallas Green’s raspy yet raw and beautiful voice easily stands as one of the most impressive parts of the weekend.  The group’s dedication to music in general became clear when they asked the crowd to put away all cameras and cell phones during a more emotional song and told them to simply experience the moment.  What an organic way to start a day reminiscent of rainy, muddy Woodstock.

Sam Adams: In absolutely no offense to Sam Adams and his set, the biggest thing I remember about his performance is mud, rain, mud, mud and more mud.  Trains of mud monsters as well as crowd surfing mud-caked concert goers were constant passersby during this set.  While the environment and weather stand as the most exciting part of the Sam Adams show, it was an unforgettable experience and I would gladly do it again if I could.

City and Colour audience - 8.7.11

Thank you, Lollapalooza, for reuniting me with my love for music and reminding me why I started this blog in the first place.

Flight to New Orleans: about $350.00 round-trip
Obligatory purple, green and gold clothing: probably close to $50
Hotel/food/drink costs: don’t even want to think about it

Grand total? A sobbing wallet, clinically depressed bank account, and minuscule dignity.

Luckily, Festa Parties has a solution for all Chicagoans who bleed purple, green and gold and are willing to do whatever it takes for some bead laden neck candy. Bead Quest III: Bead You Tonight, Festa’s Mardi Gras pub crawl, allows crawlers to experience 9 bars in Wrigleyville while competing for beads at each location.

Rather than trying to come up with an excuse deemed professional enough by your boss, (ie: NOT “it’s always been my dream to make my parents proud by raging on Bourbon Street.”) call your best friends, significant other/others – though it may be smart to only tell one per event/parents/coworkers/top MySpace friends, and enjoy Chicago’s own tribute to Mardi Gras.

Notorius for its 10,000+ attendee TBOX event (Twelve Bars of Xmas), Festa Parties knows how to create a memorable (or slightly hazy…) event. This year’s tribute to Mardi Gras madness will take place on February 19th, beginning at 2:00pm at Murphy’s Bleachers. Bead Quest III takes bead collectors full circle, ending the event at 10:00pm right where it started, complete with Karaoke and a DJ dance party.

Last year, party planners tossed out over 10,000 beads to Miller Lite and Vodka Hurricane drinkers parading through Wrigleyville. Save yourself the time, money and creative effort required to take a trip to NOLA and celebrate Mardi Gras in the comfort of the Windy City.

Click here to learn more and to purchase tickets for Bead Quest III.

Check out the allstar mistake published on the FOX News website.  It has since been fixed, but apparently FOX spells Liverpool, M-a-n-c-h-e-s-t-e-r.  I’m sure it happened because they were so focused on being fair and balanced. 

Welcome to iTunes, Boys from Liverpool!

Click here to see the edited version of the story.

Another Halloween, another SAW movie.  It’s a tradition now.  Ok, I’m going to be honest and get this out of the way: for some weird reason, I like the SAW movies.  Yes, the acting may suck and it may be pretty disgusting but under all of that are pretty good morals.  That lasted through the first 2 movies.  The same goes with the crazy twists.  Now, to SAW 1,985.  This is how I grade it:

Quality – F

Acting – D

Twist – F

Morals – D

Enjoyable – C

The acting is the worst in this movie.  I can’t even say the twist without ruining it but it pissed me off because it ruined the rest of the movies.  Jigsaw died in the 3^rd one.  Doesn’t that usually mean the series is over?  Oh, ok guess not, just checking.  The main character is an “author” who wrote a book based on his survival from a Jigsaw trap…except that he’s a fraud and wasn’t in a trap.  SHOCKER.  So, his traps are teaching him how to be honest.  One of the worst things about this movie is the quality.  It seems that the production team rushed to make this movie.  The makeup is god awful.  You’d think by the seventh one they would know how to torture people and make it look real.  You can tell where the hooks are in a guys chest and you can tell that the guy’s back that is glued to a seat being ripped off is rubber.  This one just sucked. Somehow though, I could sit through it.  I hope this isn’t a sign of me becoming Charles Manson.  I might want to put the cyanide away…..JOKING!  November Fools!!!!  Anyway, don’t bother seeing this movie.  Even if you’re a fan of the series. It just makes the series look bad.

5. The Walking Dead (AMC)
Ok, I’m cheating on this one since it just premiered but you can’t get more original than having a show about zombies. It looks like they had actual fear and emotion in this show. Can’t wait to watch it. A guy wakes up in a hospital and finds out the world is inhabited by the walking dead. He sets out to find his family. He hides in a tank at one point in the preview as it gets covered in zombies.  Oh, it’ll be great.

4. Chuck (NBC)
One of the most underrated shows out there. This adds humor, romance and spies into one original, funny, touching show. Let’s call it Chuck with F*R*I*E*N*D*S like James Bond. (You see that? I combined the elements it mixes into a title. Oh, I’m so creative.)   Chuck is about an underachieving Best Buy worker who accidently downloads government files into his brain and has to work for the CIA.  His team consists of a hardass, a badass and a REEEEEEALLY hot girl who they have a Ross and Rachel or Jim and Pam romance going on with. Plus, he wears Chucks.

3. The Buried Life (MTV)
I have never been so touched by a show while laughing so hard.  This show is so legit!  It’s about 4 college buddies who set out and do things on their bucket list.  The touching part is that when they cross something off their list, they help a random stranger cross something off their’s (reunite me with my long lost kid, get over my fear of heights, etc.) MTV doesn’t help them doing this at all except maybe give them gas money.  They have done everything from crash a wedding to sneak into the playboy mansion to ask out Megan Fox and Taylor Swift.  Most recently they stole a lock of Robert Pattinson’s hair.  You’re missing out if you’re not watching this show.

2. Modern Family (ABC)
This show rescued the classic sitcom with just one simple thing: actual humor. It’s about one large family who, like all families, have their issues. It’s also very diverse. The dad is married to a much younger, beautiful Columbian wife. His daughter is married to a loveable idiot with 3 kids, and his son is gay with a boyfriend and they adopted a baby from Vietnam. The show is hilarious. One of the best things about this show is that you can jump in at any time and not be totally lost. The son’s boyfriend Cameron is the funniest character. With his overdramatic personality and one liners, he makes you crack up every time you see him. The husband Phil is hilarious as a dad trying to be the cool dad but mostly ends up being the embarrassing dad. (You all know which one you are.) The show gets props for handling the gay and Columbian situation with maturity and honesty instead of the usual stereotypes. That’s where the show succeeds.

1.The Office (NBC)
Of course I picked this as my number one. It’s hilarious. It’s original. It’s how Steve Carell got his start. This is where “That’s What She Said” got her start. This show isn’t just funny. It has moments of sincerity with great acting. The quieter scenes are just as good as the over the top moments and that’s a tough thing to pull off. John Krasinski plays Jim and he is the best character on the show. With smartassness and slackerness (yes, I just made those 2 words up) he always finds a new prank to pull on Dwight. And like Chuck, the supporting cast is outstanding. Season 2 – 4 are the best ones because it has the best “will they or won’t they” since Ross and Rachel. Jim and Pam’s story line is touching, cute and hilarious. That’s where John Krasinski really shines as an actor. Go watch the show. It has always left me smiling and satisfied (that’s what she said).

Alright, I’m not just saying this because I’m a die hard Iowa fan.  I’m saying it because it is true. Iowa football has done a 360 in 3 years and turned out to be a great, diverse team.  Granted, Iowa has never been a horrible team.  Well…let’s just say they weren’t after Hayden Fry was finished with them.  They also have one of the classiest coaches in college football: Kirk Ferentz.  You will never see a game where Iowa scores more than 60 points; not because they can’t, but because Ferentz is just that classy.  He doesn’t want to outscore the losing team that badly (if, of course, they were the losing team).  Another one of my heroes is Shonn Greene.  He was Iowa’s running back 2 years ago and ran over 100 yards every game.  The only mistake he ever made was going pro his junior year.  He should have stayed his senior year then his draft stock would have gone up and he could have had a shot at a Heisman.  Iowa had a legendary season last year. They came back and won all but 2 of their games in an emotional rollercoaster of a finish.  No one will forget the games against Indiana, Penn State, Michigan State or Ohio State…especially Ohio State.  We did lose that game but in OVERTIME at Ohio State with a BACKUP QB. Yes, you read that right.  After that, how do they not get the respect they deserve?  They are almost the underdogs and with their annihilation of Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl last year, they still don’t have respect.  With giant players like Adrian Clayborne, Christian Ballard and Karl Klug, they have one of the nation’s top ranked defenses.  And, with Ricky Stanzi playing like a pro this year, their offense ain’t too bad either.  C’mon, Lee Corso and Kirt Herbstreit, let’s show Iowa respect.

When everyone heard Hollywood was going to make a Facebook movie, I’m sure the thoughts that crossed your mind were: “Really?  That’s not necessary.”  When I saw The Social Network…wow.  There isn’t one thing wrong with it.  It isn’t too long, it isn’t boring and it isn’t badly acted.  Justin freaking Timberlake, you know…the guy from N’Sync, can act-and really well!  But this isn’t about him.  The lead actor, Jesse Eisenberg, knows how to be a huge smartass.  (You may remember him from Zombieland or Adventureland.)  Before this, Eisenberg had Michael Cera (Superbad, Juno, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) syndrome.  They play the exact same person in every movie they’re in: the horny, talks fast and slick, NERD.  The Social Network totally changed my opinion of Eisenberg.

The Social Network switches between how Facebook was created and the court cases in which Jesse Eisenberg’s character, Mark Zuckerberg-the creator of Facebook, is being sued.  Whether it is an accurate portrayal or a greatly exaggerated one, it’s a fun ride and pretty interesting.  Armie Hammer plays the Winklevoss twins, who claim Zuckerberg stole the Facebook idea from them, with such an intensity that it will probably come up around the Oscars.  Hammer’s two characters were the best part of the movie.  He who brought sexy back a.k.a Justin Timberlake plays Sean Parker, the computer programmer who created Napster and wants a part of the rapidly growing Facebook business.  Let’s just say that when he joins the team…well, it all goes down the toilet.  I don’t want to say much more ’cause then I’ll spoil it.  Just go see it.  You’ll “like” it.

Hahaha get it?  ”Like” as in “like” on Facebook?  Ohhh I’m funny.

Also, pay attention to the writing and the music throughout the course of the movie.  You’ll like them, too.  Hahahaha like!  Ok, I’m done.

While driving the other day, listening to the radio (yes, I still listen to the radio–my ipod isn’t hooked up to my car 24/7.  Guess what else.  I still buy CDs.  I’ll wait for you to grasp that since I know it’s a foreign concept…) and the DJ was talking about Miley Cyrus’ new controversial music video for “Who Owns My Heart.”  Now, I’ve never been a huge Miley fan, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t shriek from excitement each time I heard “Party in the USA” last year.  I went ahead and looked up the video and it was everything I thought it would be: Miley draped in revealing clothing, dancing twitching in that awkward way that she does, trying to be older than she is.  OLD NEWS.  Been there done that.

As annoyed as I was with that video, I can’t say that I was the least bit surprised.  The video itself is not what made me mad.  The lack of human music in the video made me mad.  Sadly, the formula of digitalization + Auto-tune has resulted in over 2,500,000 views on YouTube.  Is digitalization honestly what this era of music is going to be remembered for? What talent does that take?  It takes a tech-savvy individual and the right program.  Not talent, not musical intuition, not…anything to do with…music.

I don’t hate everything digitalized in the music world.  Take Lady Gaga for example.  She uses vocal manipulations in a ton of her songs and it allows her to showcase her individuality.  What is the difference between her and artists like Miley?  Lady Gaga can actually sing.  She writes her own music, and has the impeccable ability to stay on pitch.  She is a musician, not just a performer.  My dad could talk his way through the lyrics to “Who Owns My Heart,” hire an Auto-tune expert, and sound the same way as Miley.  (No offense, Dad.  I mean, you’d probably sound better but I’m trying to prove a point here.)

Think about what the 1970s are musically remembered for….  The Lennon/McCartney songwriting duo, the continued celebration of Motown and well, you get the idea.  What is 2010 remembered for?  Auto-tune?  Editing?  Digitalized vocals?  Yeah…impressive.

**I realize many other artists also use and abuse Auto-tune and computerized sound effects.  I only focused on Miley Cyrus because I was inspired to write about it after watching her video.