Category Archives: Press Play Friday

Press Play Friday: I Love the 90′s (Part 2)

Zig-A-Zig-Ah

You slide on your favorite pink flip-flops and walk out into the sunshine, avoiding the chalk art you drew the day before, simultaneously clipping your Walkman to the loop of your denim jeans. After placing the slightly worn headphones over your ears, you remove the cassette tape from your pocket and carefully place it into the predetermined gap, being sure to set it in the correct position – having experienced that all too common problem before. Holding the moderately sized device in your hand, you push the smooth, black, slighty raised rectangular button in the center of the console, impatiently waiting the few agonizing seconds it takes for the music to start. You hop on your bike and ride towards the school playground a few blocks away from the house, silently singing along to a chorus of Mmmbop, tapping your fingers against the handlebars. You immediately begin to get lost in the soft hum of the ride, the swift beat of the music. Eventually, wondering if anything will ever be as good as this moment, as this undeniable freedom. It’s isn’t until years later, you realize life is but a fleeting moment and you must savor each and every single smile, every single note . . . or start a blog so you can reminisce about 90′s music as much as you like and never have to apologize for it. You know, either one. It’s like that time you had so much fun talking about Nsync and No Doubt you wanted to do it again, and again, and again.

More Music After the Cut!

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Download This! (Lyric Video Edition)

Video Killed the Radio Star

There’s this new thing that’s very popular in the music world. It’s called a lyric video, and it’s a music video that really isn’t a music video. Confusing, I know. Back in the old days, I’m sure we all remember, there was one video for one song. Now, it’s not uncommon for the latest tracks to have two or more video versions. In some cases, these lyric videos can be as equally entertaining as their elaborate, million-dollar counterparts. For example, I suggest you Download This!

Paramore – Still Into You

Thirty Seconds to Mars – Up In the Air

Justin Timberlake – Suit & Tie

Don’t forget I want YOUR music suggestions! You can Tweet, Facebook, or E-mail your suggestions to me. And you can always leave your song, artist, or album suggestions in the comments below!

What did you think of the featured songs and videos above? Are there any new albums you are looking forward to? Which songs and artists have you been listening to recently?

For more Kim the FanGirl follow the blog on Twitter @kimthefangirl and on Facebook

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Press Play Friday: Fresh Music (2/1/13)

Familiar Faces

Have you felt like your music playlist was missing something in recent weeks? Are you tired of listening to the same albums over and over again? Do you feel like you’re in a musical rut? If the answer is yes, then I have just the thing for you. I’ve found some familiar faces – melodious voices we’ve known for some time – who have graciously brought us another wave of euphonious anthems. They’re three very different artists, carrying three very different melodies. However, they all share one thing in common. You. You and you’re irrepressible need for the music they create.

Punk-Rock royalty, Paramore, have begun their return to the stage, debuting the first track off their new self-titled album (Arriving April 9th). Now is more reminiscent of their introductory record, but creeps ahead enough to distinguish itself as a more evolved breed. It’s more aggressive vocally, but lyrically downhearted and pinned in its usual place. If you’re a fan of their previous work, you’ll no doubt form an attachment to the tune, but feel a bit wistful and wish for more variation.

More Music After the Cut!

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Press Play Friday: Imagine Dragons

It’s Time

I really can’t remember much about my first meeting with Imagine Dragons, but I know we didn’t have the same relationship as we do now. We didn’t take to one another right away, which made me a little hesitant – as I usually am – to later reintroduce myself to these top-of-the-charts artists. It wasn’t until I heard their exemplary contribution to The Host trailer, that things finally started to change. Nowadays, we correspond on a regular basis.

They talk about love and ambition, as most do. But these Dragon’s add a bit of schmaltzy goodness to their imaginative concoction of Alternative-Rock and 80′s Electronic. They also bring with them a built-in following – having released several EP’s before broadcasting their full-length album, Night Visions, this past September. Which means, by now, many of you have already met. However, I know there are a few of you – like I was, previously – reluctant to except that this is a band you want to introduce yourself to. Commerciality and trendy melodies are overrated, right? It’s my responsibility, as your musical hostess, to put these thoughts to rest. You know how it goes. We’ll allow the music to speak for itself.

It was very easy to proclaim Radioactive as my favorite Dragons song after my initial encounter with it. The anthem is unlike its siblings. It’s dark and uncompromising in all aspects, promoting a choir of howling, distressed voices. It’s epic and thoroughly addicting.

“I’m waking up; I feel it in my bones. Love to make my systems go. Welcome to the new age. I’m radioactive.”

More Music After the Cut!

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Press Play Friday: Holiday Edition – The New Classics

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Here we are again, celebrating with family and friends; the houses decorated with elaborate rows of bright lights; the snow falling outside our windows. It’s a time for giving. It’s a time for caring. It’s a time for MUSIC. Yes, what would the holidays be without the incessant repetition of the same five Christmas songs playing on the radio? But fear not, music nerds. It’s not so bad. I am here to save you. Though we’ll always have a special place in our hearts and iPod’s for A Charlie Brown Christmas or The Carpentersand how could we ever forget John Denver & The Muppets or Mr. Christmas himself, Andy WilliamsI know you’re on the lookout for something different. A new generation of classics, if you will. Today, I present for your approval, four must-have Christmas albums for your collection . . . Okay. Home for Christmas may be over ten years old, and you probably have it already, but I don’t think anyone has ever forgotten just how awesome an *Nsync Christmas can be. Oh, the memories!

More Holiday Music After the Cut!

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Press Play (Wednesday Edition): Ryan Adams

“It’s Only Gonna Make You Love Me More”

Source: Google Images

Welcome to a very special installment of Press Play! I’m glad you could make it. You might have noticed this isn’t our usual meeting place; those special Fridays we had reserved now overrun by vampires and hybrids. It’s just not right to let you go without, so I thought we all could use a good mid-week music fix.

It’s been quite some time since we saw a new face around here, heard a new song; our desire to add to that well-worn list of melodic favorites put on the back burner for some time now. What we need is to get back into a rhythm; find a beat that will take us where we need to go, an artist that will make us want to jump up onto our feet and sing along. Luckily, I have just the person for you. Meet singer/songwriter, Ryan Adams. With 10+ albums under his belt, I’m sure many of you have already met this über talented musician, so I’ll make this introduction brief.

Ryan Adams has become one of those quintessential go-to artists. With deep, blues-inspired melodies, lines and lines of magnificently crafted lyrics, and that typical eccentricity we readily look for amongst musicians, Adams has easily made himself a comfortable home on many of our iPod playlists. Combining long threads of words – heartbreaking and passionate – with coarse guitar strains, Adams signature style transcends the stereotype and becomes something else entirely. His unique rasp is well-known, making it impossible for you not to recognize a track or two.

More Music After the Cut!

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Press Play Friday: Songs from the Movies – Part 2

Music Loves a Screen

Music and film, a most unrivaled pair, you must admit. She is not complete without his voice, the love songs he sings. He is the melody that accompanies her, giving life to a scene. They, essentially, are the perfect couple.

We’ve met them here once before (of course), not too long ago, jotting down the names of a few tracks on our list of favorites. Part One saw elaborate elephant love melodies and had us falling slowly, only a brief glimpse into this mellifluous world of movie-music. Today we delve even deeper, belting out Pop tunes and gloomy ballads, dancing on tabletops and strumming our guitars.

It’s an endless adventure and we’ve only just begun.

There was a time when we couldn’t stop singing this anthem. It was in our heads night and day. There was no escaping it. The group might have broken up, but that doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten them. They’re one of the best fictional bands of all-time, doing That Thing You Do! Jimmy. Shades. The Bass Player. Lenny. Who would have thought we’d come to love this film so much? No point in denying it. You love it. I love it. I want to go watch it again right now!

“Here they are, playing that thing that’s been racing up the charts . . . The Wonders!”

More Music After the Cut!

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Artist of the Month: Florence + The Machine – Between Two Lungs

“I tend to lose myself in the moment. I’m not very good at holding back. I don’t know how to do this without feeling everything. My emotions are the tool I use to perform.” – Florence Welch

Dear Florence,

Wow, what an amazing month this has been. I can’t believe it’s over already. We’ve learned a lot about you, about your music, in such a short time frame. It seems a bit unreal. You’re a bit unreal, to be honest. A bit ethereal, magical, in a way. Always evolving, you create characters on and off the stage, with elaborate gowns shining in vibrant color, unexpected robes, capes, flowers, and headdresses.Your voice, so soft and delicate at times, ardent like thunder the next. Listening to your acoustic renditions, they leave me speechless. What you have is pure, raw talent. Nothing can compete with that. You’re a performance artist. When you’re on stage, it’s as if you’re on a different plane than everyone else. With every expressive theatrical movement, every spirited dash across the platform (Your pirouettes are flawless, by the way), you take your performance and your audience past the standard, propelling yourself and your voice into the beyond. I guess I’m at a handicap, never having the opportunity to see you perform live. However, the countless hours spent watching your phenomenal concert footage make up for that (partially), I like to think. I know, it’s not the same. I’ll make you a promise, though. One day, in the not too distant future, I’ll be there. I’ll be there, center stage, front row, screaming my lungs out. Guaranteed.

More Dear Florence After the Cut!

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Artist of the Month: Florence + The Machine – The Music (Part 2)

“I’ve got my ideal job. I like to sing. I like to dance. I like to bang drums and dress up. And someone pays me. It’s incredible!” - Florence Welch

Her music makes your heart beat. It throws you into a new world, a world of fantastical charm. Florence + The Machine are the unequaled, the unmatched; a feeling, a sound, an image you’ve only ever seen in your dreams. Each inspired lyric, each innovative rhythm join together to create an alternative domain outside of reality. A place where you can feel every beat, every rhyme. I imagine it to be a place that has been replicated exactly from a story book, completed by magnificent technicolor, a wonderland ruled by our favorite crimson haired beauty. Her music has the ability to encircle you perfectly, until you only see what she wants you to see. Enter at your own risk, for there is no way out. She will captivate you, hold you, and never let you go.

You can see her running toward something – someone – as if she’s in need of an escape. She’s crying out. This is the last resort. No Light, No Light. Her love is tragic. Broken. Hear the pain, the defeat, in the inflections of her words. It’s ethereal. The pounding, ritualistic drums fight against the impassioned choir. Our heroine is in love-lost. Listen to her plea. ‘What has happened to our love? You are my everything. I’d do anything to make you stay.’ Asking questions with no answers has made her unnerved. She must find her way out of this darkened maze, clinging to her mate, fighting for the love that has been misplaced.

More Florence After the Cut!

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Artist of the Month: Florence + The Machine – The Music (Part 1)

“We are Florence + The Machine and we demand human sacrifices! We want your bodies!”

You can feel it in your bones, spreading its symphonic sounds equally throughout, as if they were raindrops sinking into your overheated skin. Intricately woven refrains, utterly unique and unmatched, make your heart scream, as though he were attempting to flee the safety of his home. Her voice prevails in the delirium. She will not go unanswered. The music of Florence + The Machine connects seamlessly with the soul inside, leaving an infallible imprint. There is nothing like it. You can not escape.

Follow me. Step through the looking-glass. Peer into the light. Give her your soul. Pledge your Rabbit Heart and feel the music pulsate around you.

Imagine running into the depths of an enchanted forest, fighting the mystical elements for survival, coming across a scarlet beauty. Listen to her sing. Consumed by her love, she must find the courage to overcome the dark recesses of despair. She must conquer her fears and slaughter her opponents. Hear the quiver of her voice, the steady heartbeat of the staccato drum, and the cry’s of passion. Join her prayer, in battle. Embrace the frenzy as you Raise. It. Up.

More Florence After the Cut!

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