@ZackTeibloom We’ve come to the final match-up of round one. There are a few perfect brackets, but the real points come in the next couple rounds as points double. This match-up is a monster, with indie-rock heroes Phoenix matching up against Lady Gaga, the juggernaut of the tourney. A bunch of you have “Pokerface” going all the way, but I know a few Austinites pretty excited about Phoenix coming back into town tomorrow night after their wildly triumphant show at ACL in October. We could have just as easily gone with “Lisztomania” and it’s infections Brat Pack video, but we went the same way Cadillac did and went for “1901.” Everyone sang “Pokerface” this year, from Cartman to Christopher Walken. Would you rather have Cartman sing your song or Cadillac use it to move cars?  Read the rest of this entry »

@AndyShore I found enough comedic value in the episode last night to want to do it all over tonight. Some of the bands are also legitimately talented. The preview from last night showed that a lot of the performances tonight would be from the Catchiest Songs of 2009 list. I guess that means I’m gonna have some craptastic pop music stuck in my head the rest of the evening. Yipee. Let’s hope there’s some more unintentional comedy tonight to fuel my two hour live blog. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom We really need to televise festival line-up announcements. I know the Grammy nominee show was a flop, but putting the festival acts online at midnight doesn’t do them justice. We need them unveiled one at a time from least to most exciting. We need a few of the bands there in person for a teaser song. Like you wouldn’t watch this? If there was still a legitimate music channel, we would have such a show. Even if you couldn’t get any of the bands there, just playing a lick of Pearl jam a little Jack White solo to let you know Dead Weather would be there, some breathy Van, an Aretha shriek and some classic BB. If there was still a real music channel, we’d have this show. It would only have to be half an hour. And maybe we could do it before midnight so I don’t have to have a bunch of sandwiches to calm myself down and still end up staying up until 4:30 a.m. with festival dreams running through my head. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom You probably have a positive reaction to “Right Round” without even realizing why. It was the ending song for “The Hangover” as those still pictures of the night no one could remember came across the screen. You know why you have a positive reaction to “Love, Sex, Magic.” It’s JT being sexy again and there hasn’t been too much new Justin this year. Flo Rida had a #1 hit this year with “Right Round” by heavily sampling the ’85 hit you know from The Wedding Singer. Ciara put her name on the map with this international sensation that went #1 in Taiwan, India and Turkey to name a few. Are you gonna go for the one that makes you think of Zach Galifianakis’ junk while being chased by Mike Tyson’s tiger or JT and Ciara getting hot. Personally, I’m partial to Zach G-funk’s balls. Read the rest of this entry »

@AndyShore In anticipation of the Jazz Fest line-up being announced, Zack and I had a little geek out moment this afternoon. We live for this. This is the first line-up that is being released, breathing life into a new festival season. 2009 marked the first appearance for the Festival Crashers at Jazz Fest. It was also my first crash. Jazz Fest was one of my favorites of 2009, thanks to the incredible hospitality of @samifest, some delicious meals from her dad and one of the deepest line-ups around. The line-up for Jazz Fest 2010 is no different. Read the rest of this entry »

@AndyShore American Idol season is just around the corner. I think I saw the first commercial for it yesterday. I decided I might try an Idol tune-up when I saw an ad for The Sing Off last week. I’ll give it a go tonight and see if there’s enough going to write about (re:make fun of). Just finished a sandwich, so now seems as good a time as any to see what The Sing Off is all about. Who’s coming with me? Read the rest of this entry »

@AndyShore 2009 was clearly Lady Gaga’s year, and not just because Zack and I put two of her songs in the top-16. She’s dominated every award show and dropped jaws with her performances. No matter where you go, it’s likely one of her songs is playing. Jay Sean, also new to the scene, was less in-your-face with the catchiness of his hit single, “Down.” I saw pop-punk band The Cab cover “Down” last month at the hip-hop heavy LXM Pro concert, to ease their way into that crowd. What a better way to grab the attention of the crowd, than with one of the catchiest songs of the year? Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom We’ve got another hip-hop battle up in here. A little old school vs. new school with young up and comer Kid Cudi taking on the Jigga man himself. Yeah, it’s Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi vs. Shawn Corey Carter*.  It’s almost unfair that Jay-Z has Alicia belting out the chorus behind him and Kid Cudi doesn’t even get a guest spot from someone like his mentor Kanye. Jay-Z and Alicia are the Kanye and Estelle duet of this year’s contest. A legit duo where the woman takes over the best parts and makes the song hers. Even without help from Kanye, Cudi has put out the most re-mixed, longest lasting single of the year. “Day ‘N’ Night” has been building momentum for nearly two years (it was finished in Feb. 08) and you still can’t go out without hearing some version of it.    Read the rest of this entry »

@AndyShore Roster McCabe first came onto my radar when Kinetix came through Chicago during their Spring tour last year. They had just played a bunch of shows together and had struck up a friendship. I met Drew Preiner at 10klf and saw them play to a very packed Store the following week. They’ve got excellent musicianship and great songs. Billboard Magazine even recognized them as one of the bands to look out for on the jam scene. At 10klf I listened as Drew and Eric Blumenfeld of Kinetix discussed the trials and tribulations of making an album the right way. Last week, Roster McCabe announced just how they  intend to do that. Read the rest of this entry »

@ZackTeibloom We’ve got Eminem, the most articulate* rapper alive making yet another comeback** with “We Made You” vs. Jeremih “yeah, it’s really spelled like that” and his “Birthday Sex.” I think we’re ready for our first upset. There really aren’t enough songs about birthdays, as weird as that sounds. We’ve already got enough videos with Eminem boasting about how he’s back in a series of costumes and dissing Jessica Simpson with a solid Dre beat behind him. Birthday sex is an anthem. Em may have the catchier video, but a few years from now, we’ll likely still be singing about how we want some birthday sex. Read the rest of this entry »