Music News Monday.

Short and quick MNM, because I have essays to write and a marathon of The Powerpuff Girls to keep watching.

New U2 Single

Yep, they're still goin. The song, "Get On Your Boots", is actually pretty good. I don't know how much radio play it'll get, though. It's kind of a slow-song. There's a nice little techno background going on and the very U2 bells and chimes. It's alright, but it's no "Vertigo."

Kelly Osbourne Arrested For Slappin' a Bitch

Heh. Just read it.

Music Licenses Necessary To Play

This is almost as bad as DRM-free iTunes. In Britain, an agency is walking around demanding music licenses from small business who turn on radios at work. Are you freaking kidding me? The stupid agencies that run around these days, honestly.

Music News Monday.

This is the news I felt like finding today.

Inaugural Performers

Artist such as Bono, Shakira, Beyonce, and will.i.am are set to play at Barack Obama's opening celebrations on January 18th, in honor of his inauguration. The full list is there. (Me? Posting this just because I'm excited?)

Amy Winehouse's Husband Files For Divorce

Rehab don't fix everything.

Lonely Island Gets a Tracklist

If you haven't heard of Lonely Island, just go to Youtube and search "Dick In a Box" or "Jizz In My Pants". This also means you're over 35 or live under a rock, either or. Anyway, the tracklist for their LP Incredibad just came out, and I'm excited. It's almost as good as a dick in a box.

Also, on that link is a skit Adam Levine is in.

I need not start so quickly on this blog about the lengths at which I love Adam Levine, so you're all safe from fangirl ranting. FOR NOW.

More Links For Monday

Yes, I know I've already posted, but I'm bored and have just discovered the joys of del.icio.us and Technorati. Oh, and I made 42 cents off of ads. Another click and I might be able to get some chips out of the vending machine. I might be doing something right with this blogging business.

The first thing I'd like to introduce all of you to is Musebin.

Have ADD? Can't stand to read those long blog-length music reviews? Well, why the hell should you have to!? Musebin lets users make reviews...only they have to be under 140 characters. And they have a convenient green/red/brown color system that can simply tell you if the album sucked or not. I approve and I'll be a member once I'm done typing this out.

The second is Turn Me Up!

This is a movement to try and get artists to shut the hell up.
Well, in a sense.
They've scientifically proven that music has gradually gotten noisier and louder instead of more dynamic and want to give artists a chance to change this trend. They want little stickers on CDs saying that the music is dynamic and not just annoyingly loud. You go, guys. You go.

The third is Pandora Radio, one of my longstanding favorite sites.

You simply type in an artist and the site will create a radio station around that artist's musical attributes. This is the basis of Apple's Genius function on iTunes and works a hell of a lot better. You get to hear tons of great music that applies directly to you. It's amazing. (I'm a fan of typing in "The Killers" and letting it go for hours.)

Another is The Hype Machine.

You simply register and wander around the site finding posts of other music blogs that include mp3's. You click, it plays, you favorite the song or the blog. Easy and you get to listen to cool music.

That should keep you entertained for the remainder of this boring Monday, lovelies. If you have anything else to entertain me or think my links suck, please let me know. I love to be entertained or insulted, and the latter normally results in the former.

Top 5 Songs of 2008 I Loved

(The happier continuation of Top 5 Songs of 2008 I Really Hate)

2008 did have good songs come along. These are songs I'll be listening to for a while, whether they're not very critically acclaimed or overplayed to crap. Either they're amazing and I haven't gotten sick of them or they haven't gotten the machine gun playing of the worst songs of '08.

With no further ado...

5. I Kissed A Girl - Katy Perry

Okay, I know. Quit rolling your eyes at me.
Sure, this got the airplay overkill of the century. I know. I don't know if it's Katy Perry's amazing voice or how real, emotional, and taboo the song sounds...but the song is great. It's catchy and it stays in your head and never gets out. You're singing along and you don't even know it. I think that is a successful song, no matter how many people get pissed about it.

4. So What - Pink

I don't think this song will ever get old. Pink pours her heart and soul into "So What" after her divorce. The song is an anthem of rebellion and courage. She's pretty much saying fuck the world and produces an upbeat, catchy song that brings a smile to every love-scorned girl. (Including myself.)

3. Spotlight - Jennifer Hudson

For being a popular Top 40 song, this song has a lot more substance than the usual public is used to. It's a song of longing for the outside world but not knowing enough about the inside to leave. Jennifer Hudson has somehow made a gorgeous, soulful song and made it catchy enough to make it insanely popular. Sure, it didn't get the airplay that some of these songs did, but I think I like it better that way. "Spotlight" is too beautiful to be ruined by overplaying.

2. Just Dance - Lady GaGa and Colby O'Donis

Yes, I'm aware it's generally the same basic idea as Metro Station's "Shake It", which I loathe. But it's done so, so, so, so much better.
Lady GaGa creates the catchiest song of the year, in my opinion. The background beats are absolutely amazing and the synthesizers don't go insane. Of course, the song is made to be a dance beat, but Lady Gaga's vocals are so beautiful that you don't even notice you're not at a bar dancing on a table to it.

I'm singing it in my head right now and will be for the next few hours.

1. Viva La Vida - Coldplay

Obvious answer of the year, much?

I don't need to tell you how good Coldplay's Viva La Vida is. Everyone else already has. I haven't met, heard from, or read anything from anyone who didn't like that album. Obviously, the title song has been the most popular, and the song is simply gorgeous. I need not say more aside from the fact that Coldplay are complete genii.

P.S. My opinion is subjective and you might loathe these songs as much as I love them. I'd love to hear from you, internet. What did you hate in '08? What did you not hate?

Top 5 Songs Of 2008 I Really Hate

For my first "Stuff Saturday" (in which I'll write about whatever music news I feel like, make some lists, etc.) I'm going to talk about the music of 2008. This was influenced by my finding The Number One Songs of 2008 on Yahoo!

Mostly, these are the songs I wish would just disappear off the face of the earth.
These songs were either generally bad in the first place, or just overplayed so much I wish I would have gouged out my ears around July.
Enjoy.

5. Whatever You Like - T.I.

Now, I really like T.I. I think his music is genius and he's great with words and rhymes. I loved this song when it first appeared--in fact, I was probably the first person to get it after it got released. It's a great song.

It's a lot less great when it's played at least 20 times a day. Even good--nay, great--songs get crappy when you hear them after every commercial break on the radio.

4. Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis

Again, I liked this song when it first came out. It's very soulful and has a nice melody to it. However, when it has been continually played for pretty much the entire year, I want to throw something at my radio when it comes on. I won't miss this song when it finally dies.

3. Live Your Life - T.I. and Rihanna

Oh, Rihanna. The Queen of Overplayed Music. See, here she's even bringing down T.I., whom I've already said I adore. But this song is just...weird. I don't know why, but it's catchy the first few times you hear it, but then it's not so good anymore. It's kind of like the Mexican food you regret the next morning. And then it was played with the same, if not more, repetition as the past two songs.

It's like eating the entire menu of the Mexican restaurant and ten minutes later going "That wasn't so good, after all." Yep.

2. Fall For You - Secondhand Serenade

Okay, maybe this is just because I loathed the song from the start, but the fact that it was heinously overplayed and every person on my Facebook posted it constantly just made me hate it pretty endlessly. I hate the lead singer's voice, I hate the melody of the song, and I generally will never like this song, no matter how many times people throw it in my face.

And, drumroll please...
1. Shake It - Metro Station

The song that would not DIE.

It was a good song at first. I liked it. Nice beat, catchy.
But then it was played every ten minutes on the radio.
And all of my friends sang along every time it came on.
And then it was on TV. And music countdowns. And played at my homecoming.
And then everyone was crapping themselves over how good the song was and how amazinnnng Metro Station is.

And, even now, you'll still hear it fifty times a day. Why!?
I can't tell you. But the teenage girls are screaming for more, and I guess they're going to get it, no matter how much this teenage girl wants to sneak into their houses and break all of their radios and Metro Station CDs.

Feel free to add an opinion, argue, or add to the hatin'. It's all good.