Beth Ditto's Picture Perfect World

Could this be a dream come true? All my Portland bands, are releasing new albums? Could this be Portland screaming for me to return home? Oh, probably not, but who the HELL cares..on May 22, dance-punk trio Gossip will return with a new full-length for Columbia, titled A Joyful Noise. The record was produced by Brian Higgins of Xenomania (Kylie Minogue, Pet Shop Boys, Girls Aloud, Sugababes). Dancing queen Beth Ditto said she "spent the whole year listening to ABBA" while recording. Check out the lead single, "Perfect World".



The band currently has no plans to tour in the US. But..BD will be the face of her very own MAC cosmetics collection--it's incredible. Any curvy girl who strips down into her girdle, in every live performance, is not only empowering but worthy of idol worship.

I feel so CLOSE to you right now, it's a force field...

...I wear my heart up on my sleeve like a big deal.
I am notorious for wearing my emotions in plain sight. This heart on your sleeve mentality, has it's good and bad quality's. It shows people utter joy, and also despair. It's one part of my personality that sometimes I wish I could turn off, but it's also the part of me...that I love the most. There is simply no questioning where I am at moment to moment, and I know that freaks a lot of people out.
Like an open book, you can read the exact page I am...and in this moment I am head over heels made about the new Calvin Harris song, 'Feel so Close". Yes, you heard it here first. I am crazy, mad about...a dance song.
Remember the good times in your life, and grab the one you feel close too...and don't let them go!

Grow up, and blow away.

Like every angst filled teen, I longed for the day that I could finally get a tattoo. It was something that I was definitely NOT supposed to do. In good teenage FASHION, I just had to do it (you know exactly what I am talking about). It was sure to be my stamp that I was a "rebel without a cause", a real big middle finger to the "man"(my parents, of course). Not something too big, but not too small...indiscrete enough so my Mom wouldn't see it, this train of eternal age of teenage wisdom could only lead to a "TRAMP STAMP".  It seemed so genius in the moment, a music note.

I am sure we all have a phrase that our parents never let us live down. The day that my Mother found that treble clef in the small of my back is that day for me. I can remember it vividly. In fact, it almost seems like yesterday. She was furious and asked me WHAT WAS ON MY BACK, and I screamed with rebellion..."MUSIC IS MY LIFE MOM!" In my 18 year old mind, it was...and in my 26 year old mind it still is. I just don't know that at my current age, I would get a tattoo to "symbolize" my musical rebellion.

As the years have progressed from 18 to 26, a lot of things about me have changed. My love for music, is one passion that has resonated in me through out time. Though I have had my romances with certain genre's here and there, one band has always stood out for me--METRIC.


Emily Haines, and not to sound the slightest bit crazy, has the voice of an ANGEL. Yep, I said it. I first heard of Metric, from the girls I worked with at my first MAC counter. At the time I would have never admitted my obsession with Haines, as I was far too "hardcore" for my own good. Old World Underground--got me hooked. It was from that moment on that my secret obsession with Haines began. Old World Underground would find itself on my constant rotation until 2005, when Live It Up and then their debut album re-release Grow up, and Blow Away in 2007.

In 2009, I finally got to see Emily face to face. Fantasies had just been released a couple months before, and I had noticed a distinct change in the musical direction of my favorite band. She was standing on the stage covered in silver sequins, strobe lights bouncing back and forth off the dress, singing my favorite song DEAD DISCO. Even though Fantasies didn't hold the tiniest candle to the passion I felt for OLD WORLD UNDERGROUND, I realized that standing before me was my favorite band, and all of the sudden I fell in love with Fantasies. That concert, will always be one of my favorite memories. The energy, and the passion she exudes makes me love the band even more. Haines will always be my favorite singer, and Metric is STILL my favorite band, and guess what? MUSIC IS STILL MY LIFE.

Sidenote...if you haven't listened to Emily Haines and the Soft Skeleton, you should do that NOW.

One Day, We're gonna live in Paris...I PROMISE, I'M ON IT.

Just when I think I am having a bad day...something totally random and unexpected starts blaring through the speakers of my computer. It sends me right back to the moment I first heard it--Covered in plaid, feeling as if the floor was moving beneath my feet, completely entranced my every energetic moment in the song-even though it was pouring rain outside, I had this strong instinct to "Jump in the Pool".

When I bought the Friendly Fires album in the weeks to follow, I don't think I took it out of my car for months. I would turn it on before I went to work, as I was getting ready for my nights out, when I was aimlessly driving around in my car trying to find "the meaning of life".



I think I have always loved music as much as I do, for the soundtrack it creates for your life. Songs bring me back to specific moments, and the feelings that I felt in them. They are my own nostalgia, and all it takes is the first few seconds to remember a world that I have forgotten.

I am finding a harmony in the intense electronic beats again, meaning behind the words..."you and me in the photobooth..." and I still just want to "Jump in the Pool.."

Jump In the Pool by namiks

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y NIGHTS!

I've decided to be a little more diligent with this blog, as listening to music is like second nature for me, and I love sharing that world with people. SO...Saturday's I will do a Saturday Night Playlist of all my favorite music from the week. SO EXCITED, to share this first one with you!

1. "Midnight City" M83
2. "Video Games" Lana Del Rey
3. "Empty Bottles" I Break Horses
4. "It Ain't Gonna Save Me" Jay Reatard
5. "Black and White" The Generationals
6. "Holy Diver" Dio
7. "When the Water Gave Me" Florence and the Machine
8. "Future Starts Slow" The Kills
9. "Do You Wanna Touch Me" Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
10. "Lollipop" Lil Wayne

Listen to most of the tracks here: http://www.last.fm/user/motorheadwithme/library/playlists/59ygx_s-a-t-u-r-d-a-y_nights

Happy Saturday, and Happy Listening!

Midnight City...this city is my church.

The hypnotic chanting of "Midnight City", the first single off M83's album fourth coming double album Hurry Up We're Dreaming (10/18) , will no doubt send you into a trance. It's just a taste of what is to come on this mesmerizing release.

You can download the entire album in MP3 form, at ilovem83.com

As Gonzalez has said about the album, “I think it is a reflection of my 30 years of being a human being. It’s a compilation of all my previous music together. It’s a retrospective of myself.”

Midnight City by M83

STUNNIN LIKE MY...

If you know me on a personal level at all, you know that I possess a small obsession with a certain rapper that goes by the name of, Lil Wayne. When I hear his voice blaring through speakers, I can't even begin to describe the phenomenon that takes place...(unless you have witnessed it yourself). Basically, I can feel Weezy coursing through my veins. It's like he's physically present, and most times I can hardly contain myself.

Now that I have let you in on my little secret, you can imagine how I felt as I was midway through doing a winged liner on a customer, and I heard "Stunnin like my daddy" repeat three times over through the speakers at work. It's like the ground below me jolted, the room spun for a moment, and than everything paused. I snapped out of my trance, as I heard the sweet voice of Ellie Goulding..."Hit, Hit, Hit, Hit me with lightening...".  I had to know more. Who was this, what was this? Was I dreaming, for months it seemed we had been plagued with unidentifiable "indie" music, and now this?! I tried to act cool, quickly finished the winged liner and ran over to the cupboard that hosted our playnetwork system.

"Basic Physics-Starry Eyed" scrolled across the screen...

Nightlife in the Northwoods, is the must hear mixtape from Basic Physics. Basic Physics is the creation of Madison, WI DJ/ Producer Alex Syse, and Minneapolis, Minnesota's DJ, Eric Mitchell. Founded in 2010, they have brought a fresh new face to the DJ/Mashup game.


Alex provided some insight into the mixtape. "Nightlife in the Northwoods is a compilation of 15 Basic Physics mashups. When we went to the drawing board to create this mixtape, the first thing we laid down was that this was going to be about quality. We are not a mashup group that releases tracks just for the name behind it. We wanted to produce a mixtape that kept the listener into it 100% of the way, that flows from start to finish. Eric and myself have so many influences, including the production quality of Xaphoon Jones, the addicting sound of Wolfgang Gartner or Afrojack, the brilliance of Daft Punk, and the creativity of artists like Pretty Lights, Ellie Goulding, and Lupe Fiasco. Having the ability to make a mashup is one thing, but making it memorable and something worth listening to is our main goal. What started as a passion for music has become something that we are pursuing. We are going to continue to produce mashups, but we also plan on diving into other projects including an original EP and producing for various artists. This mixtape is something that we hope will elevate our ability to achieve the things we want to do and the music we want to produce."


Starry Eyed E.T. (Katy Perry // Ellie Goulding // Lil Wayne) by Basic Physics


Visit BASIC PHYSICS FACEBOOK TO DOWNLOAD "NIGHTLIFE IN THE NORTHWOODS"