I keep an ear out for new music. I got used to discovering new bands when I was a music journalist. Even though this is mostly a sports blog, I still add quite a bit of music and pop culture content.
I received a lot of great feedback from my my hipster music post in July. A lot of emails came in from readers who recommended new tracks to me, which I love. I hope that continues for months to come.
I have been called a hipster on more than one occasion. I like indie music more than any other genre of music. Don't get me wrong, I can rock out to Bon Jovi or Carley Rae Jepsen (depending on the amount of alcohol in my system).
I've decided to write a monthly post dedicated to introducing ten great, new indie songs I'm currently listening to. Your ears will thank you for clicking on this post.
Cub Scouts - "Do You Hear?"
Catcall - "The World Is Ours"
The Lighthouse and the Whaler - "Venice"
Jukebox the Ghost - "Somebody"
All We Are - "Cardhouse"
The Crookes - "Afterglow"
PK - "Berelain"
The Griswolds - "Mississippi"
Husky - "Tidal Wave"
Slow Magic - "On Yr Side"
Music recommendations are always welcome. Follow me on Twitter by clicking the box below...maybe we can share Spotify playlists.
Ryan Lochte beat Michael Phelps in the 400-Meter Individual Medley and surprised most of the U.S. since casual swimming fans didn't know how great Lochte has become.
Lochte and Phelps only took the silver medal this afternoon in the 400-Meter Freestyle Relay, so I hope this funny parody video of Carley Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" cheers you up.
"Call Me Lochte" is an entertaining parody and I hope you enjoy it.
Chief Noc-A-Homa was the super racist mascot for the Atlanta Braves from the 1950s until 1986. He was beloved by fans and best known for emerging from a tepee in the bleachers to rally the hometown crowd.
Black Lips is a band from Atlanta and wanted to pay homage to the former mascot. "Noc-A-Homa" is their song about the former Braves mascot. The video depicts a present-day Chief Noc-A-Homa who has fallen down on his luck. He enacts his revenge for being humiliated for years.
The Black Lips video for "Noc-A-Homa" is after the jump...
VICE Magazine and Ray-Ban's musical arm, "Never Hide Noise", combined to produce this video.
"Noc-A-Homa" is from Black Lips latest release, Arabia Mountain, out on VICE Records.
"The Dark Knight Rises" opens today and I'll be one of the many people who will pack in a movie theater to watch this instant classic...but there's something in the movie trailer that made me very curious.
First, why is Hines Ward in this movie (seriously). Secondly, would his touchdown count in fantasy football? I know what you're thinking, "Wow, Bobby...you really have fantasy football on your brain." It's true, I've been working on a lot of fantasy material for the site, but it's a legitimate question.
Gotham is full of some sketchy characters. You know that sports gambling is rampant. Fantasy football has to be a multi-billion dollar industry in the DC Universe.
In our universe, we get mad when Brian Westbrook takes a knee at the goal line.
Let's examine the photo of Ward's touchdown. He has crossed the plane and clearly has possession. The only problem is that he is the only remaining player from either team not sucked down the sinkhole. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the game would be cancelled due to neither team being able to field a full team...oh, and the field is no longer there.
The touchdown wouldn't count. The game wouldn't be official since it didn't last all four quarters.
This may cause a major uproar in the local Gotham City Fantasy Football League, but maybe Batman help settle the issue (you know, after he's finished saving the city from being completely destroyed by Bane and Catwoman).
If you haven't seen the trailer for "The Dark Knight Rises", I've embedded it below.
Mumford & Sons announced that their highly anticipated sophomore album, "Babel," will be released on September 25th and include twelve songs.
The album will be produced by Markus Dravs, who worked with them on their debut album and has worked with Arcade Fire in the past.
Even though they toured for three years on the success of "Sigh No More", I'm surprised they had enough time to churn out a new album. They have been extremely busy.
I have the track listing for "Babel" along with a live version of "Whispers In The Dark", which will appear on "Babel"...it's all after the jump.
Babel
Whispers In The Dark
I Will Wait
Holland Road
Ghosts That We Knew
Lover Of The Light
Lovers' Eyes
Reminder
Hopeless Wanderer
Broken Crown
Below My Feet
Not With Haste
"Babel" is said to be a darker album with no singles that pop out. They wanted to make an album that is solid throughout and had a natural progression. They told Rolling Stone that fans will not be disappointed with the updated sound.
They kick off their U.S. tour on August 1st in Hoboken, NJ. If you want a full list of their tour dates, visit the band's website.
Here is a live recording of "Whispers in the Dark", which will be the second track on "Babel."
Season five of AMC's "Breaking Bad" is set to debut on July 15th. The San Diego Comic-Con debuted the trailer preview for the season...and it looks amazing!
If you haven't watched the show before, this trailer is filled with spoilers from season four. It doesn't show any new plot twists from the upcoming season. I am anxiously awaiting this season.
The Comic-Con trailer preview for season five of "Breaking Bad" is after the jump...
I love this time of the year. The summer weather is in full swing and great new music begins to leak in advance of the late summer/early fall releases.
I have been a fan of Bloc Party since "Silent Alarm" came out in 2005. The the two releases that followed didn't live up to their debut, but after listening to "Octopus", I'm excited about their upcoming album, "Four".
"Octopus" sounds like it could have been a B-side from "Silent Alarm" recording session. I love that they went back to guitar-driven music, which was lost in the last two albums that focused on a more electric sound.
Bloc Party's new album, "Four", comes out August 21st with a U.S. tour starting on September 14th.
The music video for "Octopus" is after the jump...
Ric Flair is the most famous heel in professional wrestling history, but he's currently out of a job. TNA Wrestling recently parted ways with him.
At 63, his professional wrestling options are limited. WWE and TNA find themselves in the middle of a legal battle and WWE is currently staying away from "The Nature Boy" until that calms down.
In major need of a paycheck, Flair has agreed to appear at the Insane Clown Posse's yearly "Gathering of the Juggalos" from August 8th - 12th in Cave-in-Rock, Illinois.
Flair is an example of a professional wrestler falling from grace. What happened to the WWE Hall of Famer? I'll explain what has happened to Flair over the last decade and why he needs to find a new profession. Before I go deep into the Flair's fall from grace, I need to give props to Shane Ryan at Grantland.com. I haven't been the biggest fan of the site, but his August 2011 piece on Ric Flair is the site's greatest work.
Ryan explains Flair's current financial woes, his failed marriages, and his erratic behavior that could be explained by multiple brain injuries. He is a mess, but he has to keep wrestling in order to pay multiple alimony payments and cover failed real estate deals.
An appearance at the "Gathering of the Juggalos" is a smart move for Flair. A large portion of ICP's fanbase are wrestling fans. The rap duo started Juggalo Championship Wrestling in 1999 and the promotion is still in business. They even had a short runs in ECW, WCW, and WWF at the peak of ICP's popularity.
Flair's current unemployment may only be short-term since WWE plans to launch the WWE Network at the end of the year. It is no secret that Triple H, Vince McMahon's son-in-law, is Flair's close friend. He would be the perfect host for the network's programming, since they will be featuring a lot of classic wrestling matches.WWE will not hire Flair until TNA's lawsuit is settled.
TNA Wrestling is claiming that a former WWE writer they hired leaked information that Flair would soon be released to his former employer. TNA even filed a restraining order against WWE when the rumored 'mole' was made public.
Flair's story is a cautionary tale of the life of an entertainer. Professional wrestling has many of these tales, but now with the big money that professional athletes are receiving, the stories of bankrupt players are becoming more and more common. You can only cash in on your past performance for so long. He is too old to perform in the ring and TNA realized that by letting him go. It was even rumored that Spike TV, the channel that broadcast's TNA programming, banned Flair from making himself bleed and made him wear a shirt while wrestling.
A lot of people will be attending ICP's festival and it isn't as embarrassing as wrestling in a high school gym for $50. I hope he gets an endorsement deal with Faygo out of this appearance.
For those who are not aware of Insane Clown Posse's music, here are the music videos for their songs "Miracles" and "Another Love Song".
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is seen here helping his girlfriend audition for a Vince Vaughn movie. Ricki Lander isn't officially Kraft's girlfriend, but no 'friend' would humiliate themselves like this. I'm certain that he didn't expect this video to be public, but I'm glad it happened...I was expecting Jeff Saturday to come into the shot and hug him. #CreepyOldMan
[Video Has Been Blocked by Kraft's Lawyers]
I will be searching for another video of this audition to post.
Until then, here's a picture of Robert Kraft picking his nose.
Yesterday, Band of Horses posted a video for a new song called "Knock Knock". It is their first single off their upcoming album "Mirage Rock". It will be released on September 18th, 2012.
This is not the first time I have posted something about Band of Horses and this will not be the last. Their last two albums have been amazing. If you're an indie music fan, you need to check it out.
I have yet to seem the live, but I know many people who have and they sing praises about the experience. They will be on tour this summer/fall to support the album.
Check out the video for "Knock Knock" after the jump...
Here's a video of Tom Brady singing Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe". The editing of this video must have taken weeks. This is just amazing...thank you Kristen Radu for sharing this with me.
I keep an ear out for new music. I got used to always receiving or finding out about new bands when I was a music journalist. Even though this is mostly a sports blog, I still add quite a bit of music and pop culture. Everyone likes music, even Pittsburgh Steelers fans, right?!
(Maybe? I'm not sure if they have evolved enough to understand the concept of 4/4 time.)
I have been called a hipster on more than one occasion. I tend to like indie music more than any other genre of music. Don't get me wrong, I can rock out to Bon Jovi or Carley Rae Jepsen (depending on the amount of alcohol in my system).
I've decided to write a monthly post dedicated to introducing 10 great, new indie songs I'm currently listening to. Your ears will thank you for clicking this post.
Japandroids - "The House That Heaven Built"
A Silent Film - "Danny, Dakota & the Wishing Well"
San Cisco - "Awkward"
The Cast of Cheers - "Family"
The Lumineers - "Stubborn Love" (live in studio)
The Whitest Boy Alive - "Burning"
Tanlines - "All of Me"
Watch The Duck - "Poppin' Off"
Matt and Kim - "Let's Go"
Atlas Genius - "Trojans"
Music recommendations are always welcome. Follow me on Twitter by clicking the box below...maybe we can share Spotify playlists.
Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" is one of my all-time favorite songs. It's a simple song that has more honesty in it than Abraham Lincoln had in his entire body. I am always skeptical when an artist attempts to cover this track, but Jack's Mannequin knocked it out of the park. I highly suggest you listen to this cover and I predict that you will even give it a 'like' on YouTube.
Today is the last day of June, so it means that this will be our last post during 'Cover Song Month'. If you are curious to see which songs we've selected this month, click here.
The video for Jack's Mannequin's cover of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" is after the jump...
I was in on Florence + the Machine pretty early. I downloaded their "Lungs" album from iTunes mid-2009. I liked it, but I buy a lot of music and it got lost in the shuffle (literally). I didn't think about them again until I heard "Dog Days Are Over" playing at a bar. That album went on to be a worldwide success and put them on the map.
I was searching YouTube for new cover songs to showcase during our 'Cover Song Month' and I ran across Florence + the Machine's cover of Drake's "Take Care". I am not a big Drake fan, but Florence and the crew made the song their own. I didn't even recognize the track when they first started playing.
The video of Florence + the Machine's live performance of "Take Care" is after the jump...
There are only a few more songs left in 'Cover Song Month' and I wanted to post a song that relates to two of my favorite bands...Mumford & Sons and The National.
"England" is off of The National's last album "High Violet". The entire album is great and you can find nearly every song covered all over YouTube. Mumford & Sons did a great job with it and really made it their own.
I expect both of these bands to release something later this year.
The YouTube video of "England" is after the jump...
We are approaching the last leg of 'Cover Song Month'. Usher must have known that we were doing this because he came out and performed a cover of Foster The People's "Pumped Up Kicks" on Radio 1 in England.
It's an interesting choice by Usher, but I like it. The video of the live performance is after the jump...
I am very hard to surprise, but when I was searching for today's addition to 'Cover Song Month', I found something disturbing/intriguing...Katy Perry covering a song from "Watch The Throne".
I guess the most surprising thing wasn't the fact that her cover of Jay-Z & Kanye West was decent, but the fact that she would even attempt the track.
The video of her live performance is after the jump...
It's probably not very manly to like Regina Spektor, but I've been a fan since she collaborated with Ben Folds on a track. Her new album is called "What We Saw From The Cheap Seats" and it's a good one.
Here's a video of her cover of Radiohead's "No Surprises" that she performed on Triple J.
I have been aware of Bad Rabbits since I researched bands that would be appearing at SXSW Festival this year. I was very impressed with their track "Neverland" and knew that I would like more of their music. I ran across their cover of The Smashing Pumpkins' "1979" while I was finding songs to feature during 'Cover Song Month'.
The Pumpkins' "Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness" double-album was in my CD player for most of my middle school and high school years. I would credit that album along with Live's "Throwing Copper" and Weezer's "Blue Album" as inspiring me to start a music journalism career at an early age.
I think you'll enjoy Bad Rabbits' cover of "1979"...the video of their live recording is after the jump...
It's Father's Day weekend and it seems appropriate to give our dad readers a treat. After you open your gifts (probably ties and golf balls), relax and watch some Kate Upton videos.
The Sports Illustrated cover model has appeared in movies "Tower Heist" and "The Three Stooges" and even made a small cameo in an episode of "Saturday Night Live" last season. I assume that she will soon host an episode herself.
Upton is the current 'it' girl in modeling. She has been connected to New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez and she will probably be connected to a few more before she settles down.
Here are 10 of the best YouTube videos of Kate Upton... The most searched terms on Google are 'Kate Upton playboy', "Kate Upton nude", and "Kate Upton naked". I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but she has never posed for Playboy or has ever posed nude for any video or publication.
I'm sorry to ruin your day, but keep your chin up and watch these videos of Kate Upton doing things.
Skullcandy's 'Take A Supermodel To Work Day' featuring the Oklahoma City Thunder's Kevin Durant and James Harden.
This is the video that started her ascent to fame. All it took was her doing 'the Dougie' at a Los Angeles Clippers game.
The Dougie video lead to this video of her doing the 'Cat Daddy'. It was even taken down from YouTube at one point because it violated the site's sexual content rule...it was later put back up.
Here is a Bikini.com video with Kate Upton. She talks about her rise from horseback rider to runway model.
A video of Kate Upton's 2011 "Sports Illustrated" swimsuit issue shoot.
Carl's Jr./Hardee's banned Super Bowl commercial starring Kate Upton.
Kate Upton's appearance on Comedy Central's "Tosh.0"
Video of Complex Magazine's farm-themed photo shoot with Kate Upton.
Beach Bunny Swimwear 2012 photo shoot
Kate Upton attempts to do the 'Cat Daddy' on "The Dan Patrick Show"...but the song wasn't right.
I keep an ear out for new music. I got used to discovering new bands when I was a music journalist. Even though this is mostly a sports blog, I still add quite a bit of music and pop culture content.
