Finals week is a terrible time to have a computer go on the fritz, but lo, my 2003 Dell, the one that got my brother through college and has lasted me the 2 and a half years of my college career thus far, has fallen ill. This means blogging is gonna be a bit harder to do consistently for the next week or two (harder than it already would have been whatwith it being finals week). But I'm taking ...
More >
Best Of 08: The Bloggers
Weekend WTF: Bee Gees Drink Some Powerthirst
-
Artist:
That's right, back for a limited engagement this weekend only, it's the return of the Weekend WTF!! This one comes by request from my good friend Ray. Ray went to go see The Aquabats at the Trocadero last week, and opening for the band was a group calling themselves Tragedy. Tragedy bill themselves as "An All Metal Tribute to the Bee Gees". If you're eyebrows are somewhere on the ceiling right ...
More >
Kanye Gives Us his Broadway Moment
Re-posted with streams instead of linksIn theater we describe musicals as being scenarios where the stakes get so high that characters can't express themselves through words anymore; they feel so strongly about the given situation that they have to sing. That same idea is what drives Kanye West's new album, the remarkably divisive 808's & Heartbreak. Released less than a year after the death of...
More >
Kanye West Gives Us His Broadway Moment
-
Artist:
-
Album:
-
Track:
In theater we describe musicals as being scenarios where the stakes get so high that characters can't express themselves through words anymore; they feel so strongly about the given situation that they have to sing. That same idea is what drives Kanye West's new album, the remarkably divisive 808's & Heartbreak . Released less than a year after the death of West's mother and breaking up with hi...
More >
The Crash Motive Coming To An End
-
Artist:
No radio show today as I'm getting ready to head home for Thanksgiving break. Lots of blogging today though.This news will probably not get picked up by anyone else, but it means something to this blogger, so we're gonna give it its due.Delaware-based rock outfit and friend to ¡Viva la Mainstream! The Crash Motive will be disbanding at year's end. In a message sent out to the band's mailing lis..
More >
At Long Last, A Chinese Democracy Review (And I'm Not Kidding This Time)
-
Artist:
-
Album:
I have a much different angle on Chinese Democracy than most of my blogging peers. When Use Your Illusion came out, I was probably sitting in front of a TV watching Sesame Street at the tender age of 2 years, 11 months (This is where I duck while my peers throw things at me for making them feel old). I haven't waited 17 years, endured the countless broken promises and trainwrecks that led to ye...
More >
Jesus to John Lennon: "Yeah, It's All Good"
-
Artist:
It took 42 years, but the Vatican is finally ready to make nice with The Beatles. In its newspaper on Sunday, the Vatican announced that it had forgiven John Lennon for a controversial interview in 1966 in which he stated that The Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ. The report more or less came down to the Vatican realizing that Lennon was coping with sudden success, and the fact that B...
More >
Ducking For Cover
-
Artist:
Want to clarify something I said in the last post that garnered some comments:I don't believe that Blink 182 is my generation's The Police in terms of their talent or quality of music. Naturally The Police are a significantly better band. I meant that it seemed like the careers of Blink and The Police are strikingly similar. Both bands exploded rather unexpectedly and developed a rabid fan base...
More >
Blink 182 'Reconnecting'; Reunion Speculation Heats Up
-
Artist:Blink 182
Just a few short months after Travis Barker was nearly killed in a tremendous plane crash that killed 4 people, he and the other members of Blink 182 are apparently back on speaking terms for the first time in four years. According to a blog post written by former Blink bassist (now with +44) Mark Hoppus, the punk trio that sold nearly 12.7 million albums between the mid-90s and their split in ...
More >
The Killers Lay Tribute At the Altar of All Things '80s
-
Artist:
-
Album:Day and Age
[Hey Hype Machine readers: Most of my posts aren't being picked up anymore as a result of me trying to dodge Blogger's anti-DMCA iron fist. If you're reading this on hypem, bookmark me the old-fashioned way (Ctrl+D) and check back regularly for mp3 goodies and some awesome music stuff.]The Killers are many things, but bashful sure as hell ain't one of 'em. The Las Vegas band's debut Hot Fuss wa...
More >
Coming Up Today on ¡VLM! on the ARC
-
Artist:
-
Album:808's and Heartbreak
=Breaking down Kanye's 808's and Heartbreak =What few highlights exist from David Cook's solo record =I continue to proclaim my undying love for Hayley Williams =Plus beginning to construct the Best Of 08 list All today at 3PM on The ARC radio.arcadia.edu ==TJ==
More >
David Cook's Record Everything We Thought Nickelback's New One Would Be
-
Artist:
-
Album:
Finding a copy of David Cook's self-titled record proved much harder than I initially thought. My usual seedy sources came up short, and the leak that was circulating above ground was of poor quality. So it was only yesterday when I finally got to listen to the bugger. In truth, knowing what I know now, I probably could've stood to wait a bit longer. David Cook's post-American Idol record is e...
More >
Review: Nickelback - Dark Horse
-
Artist:
-
Album:
-
Track:
More >
Today on VLM on the ARC...
-
Artist:
NOTE TO THOSE SEEING THIS ON THE HYPE MACHINE: THIS WILL BE THE LAST POST YOU PEOPLE SEE FOR AWHILE. IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU READ, BOOKMARK ME AND COME VISIT THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY!!! Today on the ¡Viva La Mainstream! radio show... -Democracy arrives in China. -3 consecutive Nickelback songs that aren't necessarily awful. Could Dark Horse be the first Nickelback record to get good reviews? -Kany..
More >
CHINESE DEMOCRACY HITS ITUNES!!!
-
Artist:
-
Album:
In yet another sign of the apocalypse as caused by one W. Axl Rose, iTunes is now accepting pre-orders for Chinese Democracy , the 14-years in the making record from Guns N Roses (or 'Axl Rose and some guys he picked up off the street', to the naysayers). Pre-ordering the album will get you the title track/first single, and the rest of the record will arrive on hard drives on Sunday, November 2...
More >
Third Eye Blind Not Making Lattes, Releasing New Music
-
Artist:
-
Album:Red Star
-
Track:Non-Dairy Creamer
So we're gonna try something new; every song I post is going to have a stream here. It means that until I figure out something better, nothing I post is going to the Hype Machine, but it's an acceptable loss for the time being. Intelligent users (using Firefox) will know to access the source code for the entry and can access the mp3 from there for downloading purposes. If someone knows a way fo...
More >
An Important Announcement From Viva La Mainstream
So with the help of reader Michael I was able to piece together why I've had so much trouble getting content to stay up on the blog. He found this article from prefixmag that tells the whole story. The long and short of it is that the RIAA and its European counterparts grabbed Blogger by the balls, and now Blogger has to comply with their wishes. From the looks of it, VLM has gotten it easy; ye...
More >
On Being A Music Blogger
The last few weeks in the life of VLM haven't been particularly easy ones. Seems like everything I write that has any kind of substance to it gets cut down by some RIAA prick citing DMCA. Look, I know that under the law, operating a blog like this is kind of illegal. From the outset I've never disputed that. I firmly believe that the rules are unfair and in desperate need of change, but that's ...
More >
Post Promising Another Post...
Today's show is posted below:Viva La Mainstream on The ARC - October 28, 2008Snow Patrol review has been re-posted...again. It also was one of MOG's album reviews of the week...nice.Two posts coming tomorrow...one of them is gonna be a semi-response to the fact that VLM is being targeted for consistent DMCA bullshit.==TJ==
More >
Today on the ¡Viva La Mainstream! Radio Show
-
Artist:
-
Album:
-
Track:Two Drink Minimum
-Seriously, what's the deal with Chris Cornell's Scream ? -Going all a-twitter about the new Snow Patrol album -New Nickelback song sounds like Finger Eleven on steroids...that's a good thing -A webrip quality version of "Chinese Democracy" -Kanye! Kanye! Kanye! (read that in your best "used car dealer commercial" voice) -Plus some of the usual stuff, and all your requests (IM them to TheArcReq...
More >
