Hey. So I got a question. Do you wanna have a slumber-party in my basement?

Maybe I’ve been living under a rock up here in Connecticut.  I was Google-ing lyrics for Ke$ha’s Your Love is My Drug (I couldn’t tell if she says “I like your beard” or “I like your beer” at the end of the song, both options are odd) and I stumbled across this piece of news from January!  Who knew that Paris Hilton was the reason that Ke$ha got her start in the music biz?! Not I!

Ke$ha’s hippie, meditation-loving (and surprisingly normal) family appeared on an episode of the The Simple Life where Nicole Richie and Paris stayed at Ke$ha’s house in Nashville. I am completelty shocked that Ke$ha has a family, let alone a home! I always thought she was raised by wolves. Or gypsys. Who knows, she frightens me.

Yikes!

It makes complete sense that Paris and Ke$ha clicked when they met on the show. Rich-Blonde-Skank meets Wannabe Rich-Blonde-Skank. A match made in heaven! Actually, judging by the episode, Ke$ha used to be a ginger! This is just getting way too easy to make fun of.

In this episode of The Simple Life, Ke$ha’s mother, “Pebe,” is having man-troubles and  Paris and Nicole  jump to her rescue and find her a date. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree if you catch my drift:

After becoming Paris’s new BFF, Ke$ha was featured in Flo Rida’s song Right Round and quickly released her debut album, Animal. I knew she was really raised by wolves. The Simple Life episode was just a PR stunt to make us think otherwise. Kidding, of course…

Not only has Ms. Hilton provided us with countless crotch-shots, but now we have Ke$ha to thank her for too.

Hates it.

Not done making fun of Ke$ha yet? Ok good, neither am I.  Here is a glimpse in to the tumultuous life of Ke$ha from the smart-folks at The Key of Awesome. Enjoy:

This is the song that has been blowin’ up my Facebook newsfeed for the past 72 hours. If one more of my girl-friends makes their status,  “Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars… I could really use a wish right now,” I may consider deleting my FB account all-together. Honestly, what does that song lyric even mean? Why would any one make a wish on an airplane? Call me superstitious, but that does not sound too lucky.

New song Airplanes Part 2 appeals to all kinds of audiences featuring hip-hop artist B.o.B, rockstar Hayley Williams of Paramore and… EMINEM. Say what you want about Eminem, but one thing is true. Any collaboration track that he’s involved in is a great-listen. Take Crack a Bottle with Dr. Dre and 50 Cent for example. Alone, Em’s excessively-angry lyrics can be frightening, but adds a much-needed aggressive touch when combined with other artists.

Chill out, Marshall.

Despite the lame and overly-girly chorus, Airplanes Part 2 is a pretty cool song. Aside from Eminem, the track showcases the vocal talents of Williams, who does not get enough recognition as a female rocker. Williams has been the lead singer of Paramore since the band’s formation in 2005 when she was only 16. Since then, Paramore has released three studio records including latest album, Brand New Eyes.  Think William’s voice is dynamic in Airplanes? Listen to her voice reach a whole new level in a few of my favorite Paramore songs:

Misery Business:

Decode (Featured on the soundtrack of Twilight):

crushcrushcrush (This song is an option on the only video game that I actually enjoy, Rock Band! Very fun to sing-a-long to):

Hayley Williams. Courtesy of WireImage.com

Airplanes Part 2 is the second single from B.oB’s debut album, B.o.B Presents the Adventures of Bobby Ray. I am a huge fan already and love it when my phone rings so I can hear Nothin’ On You blast through my Blackberry speakers. Looking forward to some fresh new hip-hop tunes from B.o.B!

B.o.B

Their forthcoming album is not set to be released until May 4th, but Minus the Bear is already providing fans with a free listening party. The band posted a link on their website yesterday to a streaming audio player on KCRW.com of new album, OMNI. The freebie is available until May 18th and I am urging every one to take advantage! 

OMNI

OMNI track list: 

1. My Time 

2. Summer Angel 

3. Secret Country 

4. Hold Me Down 

5. Excuses 

6. The Thief 

7. In To The Mirror 

8.  Animal Backwards 

9. Dayglow Vista Rd. 

10. Fooled By The Night 

Just like with past albums such as Planet of Ice and Menos El Oso, Minus the Bear still continues to amaze us with spacey electronic beats and sexy lyrics. OMNI is sure to entice tons of new fans with the band’s attempt at creating melodic-sounding catchy choruses, but long-time listeners will love the care-free vibes that the album exudes. 

Minus the Bear

As usual, Minus the Bear is in the middle of a pretty lengthy tour with many East-Coast stops coming up at the end of the month. Catch the band in New York, Philly, Jersey, Hartford, Boston or DC if you’re in the mood to be serenaded by this guy: 

Lead singer Jake Snyder

But for a certain group of students at the University of Connecticut, the weekend is also synonymous with playing a sold out concert at a legendary Connecticut venue.

1-2 Kidz performing at Toad's Place.

Over the weekend, 1-2 Kidz took the stage at Toad’s Place in New Haven. The rap group, comprised of five friends, Matt “Illy Puddy” Healy, Tommy “TommyGo” Gorecki, Matt “G-Money” Gaboury, Luis “Juberries” Lluberes and manager Justin Hannan, are astounded at their seemingly overnight success.

“Coming into this a month ago, we had no idea we’d be playing shows. U2 and Jay-Z have played at Toad’s, so this is a really big deal for us,” said Hannan.

1-2 Kidz first started when creator, Healy, began rapping in high school. Known as the “1-2 Kid,” Healy combined forces with long-time friend, Lluberes, and the two were creating songs in a shed behind Healy’s house in no time.

Healy, a.k.a Illy Puddy, continued his hobby of rapping when he came to UConn. Friends quickly began to take interest this past fall and Gorecki and Gaboury jumped on the 1-2 Kidz bandwagon.

1-2 Kidz

“We started playing at our parties and friend’s parties. It was a great confidence boost once people began to chant the words to our songs with us. Our friends support is what caused us to become more serious about our music,” said Healy.

Only having about five songs recorded, 1-2 Kidz knew big moves had to be made to gain the success for which they yearned. The guys purchased a microphone along with some other recording equipment and quickly began making new music.

“We banged out a bunch of songs in just one night,” said Gorecki.

Instead of spending their spring break boozin’ on the beaches of Mexico, 1-2 Kidz spent their time recording the group’s first mixtape in New York.

During this time, Hannan decided to submit their track “Stoolapalooza” to college Web site BarStoolSports.com. Hannan heard back from the site’s creator immediately and “Stoolapalooza” was posted on the Web site, receiving 20,000 views in two days. 1-2 Kidz was then invited to join New England rapper Sam Adams on BarStoolSports.com’s spring tour, Stoolapalooza.

Stoolapalooza 2010

With the completion of their first mixtape on March 25, 1-2 Kidz released “Fools Day” a mere week later on April 1.

1-2 Kidz posted the entire mixtape on their Facebook page and gained close to 2,000 fans in one week.

“I knew people were going to like it,” said Healy.

In addition to the show at Toad’s Place, 1-2 Kidz will also be performing at the Mullin’s Center at the University of Massachusetts on April 30. Despite the new rockstar-status and success of “Fools Day” though, 1-2 Kidz are not letting their victory get to their heads.

“There are six stops on the tour. We’re set to perform at two of them now, but can’t do the others because of finals,” said Hannan.

Perhaps the recently incarcerated Lil’ Wayne can take a study tip from 1-2 Kidz.

Soon-to-be the new party anthem of UConn, 1-2 Kidz’s “tribute to the ladies” is a huge hit on-campus already.

“I ain’t got no affinity to the girls up at Trinity, but they ain’t nothing like a UConn girl,
I get all up in that ass when I’m up at UMass, but they ain’t nothing like a UConn girl,
Eastern’s fine if you don’t want a dime, but they ain’t nothing like a UConn girl,
Damn sure ain’t nothing like a UConn girl,” Boasts the lyrics of  “UConn Girls.”

“We’re gonna have to switch those lyrics up when we perform at UMass though,” said Healy.

Good choice, the women of UMass would probably not appreciate getting dissed on their own turf!

With the end of this semester right around the corner and summer rapidly approaching, 1-2 Kidz have big plans that definitely do not include relaxing. The group aspires to produce an “industry-quality” mixtape and play lots of shows, according to Hannan.

“1-2 Kidz started as ‘dorm-room rap,’ but now we’re out of the dorms and are moving on to bigger and better things,” said Healy.

Never knew Cudi was an Ozzy fan, very cool!

Concerts, oh how I love them. There is really nothing better than watching a great band or singer perform live.  In order to get the full concert experience though, one can not just merely stand to the side and speculate the show.  OH NO. You gotta get right in the middle of that mosh-pit, exchange sweat with other screaming fans while dancing and singing at the top of your lungs. At the Kid Cudi and Jack’s Mannequin’s concert at the University of Connecticut last weekend, I did just that.  Check out my review of the AWESOME show for NBC Connecticut here.

However, it is kind of hard to take pictures in the midst of crowd-surfing and fist-pumping. Luckily, I found a fellow concert-goer who got some killer shots of Jack’s Mannequin and Kid Cudi’s performance. Check out a few select photos from the April 10th concert right here! 

Cudi serenading UConn.

Space cadet Kid Cudi urging UConn to "Embrace the martian"

Jack's Mannequin, sippin' some drinks and chillin' out.

Lead singer Andrew MacMahon slammin' those piano keys!

Chris Carrabba has been doing it since 1998. 

Chris Carrabba, lead singer of Dashboard Confessional, rocking out at Ramapo College last night.

Belting out heart-wrenching ballads of pain, love and joy, that is. Making girls swoon with his boyish good looks. And last but not least, owning the stage. Take your pick, Dashboard Confessional knows how to put on a damn good show and they did just that last night. 

With the release of their latest album, Alter The Ending, the Boca Raton natives are in the midst of a two-month international tour that brought them to the Bradley Center at Ramapo College in New Jersey last night. Dashboard Confessional was greeted by over 1,400 ecstatic fans, according to Ali, an 8^th semester senior at Ramapo. 

Dashboard Confessional. Members Chris Carrabba, John Lefler, Scott Schoenbeck and Mike Marsh.

“Dashboard played a few new songs from their new album, like Belle of the Boulevard, but still played lots of older classics,” said Ali. Like many college-age students, Ali has been a fan of Dashboard Confessional since early albums such as The Swiss Army Romance, The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most and A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar. Lead singer, Chris Carrabba, knows that although the band’s new music is great, the majority of Ramapo students came to see him cry the words to Screaming Infidelities. 

“Well As for now I’m gonna hear the saddest songs
And sit alone and wonder
How you’re making out
But as for me, I wish that I was anywhere with anyone
Making out.” Screaming Infidelities. 

The Original King of Emo, a.k.a. Chris Carrabba never holds back with expressing his deepest emotions in Dashboard’s song lyrics. Most of them about heartbreak and despair, but Carrabba’s middle name is Ender so he can’t help but love to paint his nails black. Alone. In the dark. 

That last part was kind of a joke, Dashboard actually has a couple uplifting songs among many emo-gems. 

To go along with his image of a wounded but determined soul, Carrabba never fails to dress to impress. Word on the street is that he’s a bit of a diva and demanded Starbucks and dry-cleaning from the Ramapo Concert Series staff. Move over Beyonce! 

Hope his Caramel Macchiato was brewed to perfection!

Donned in a classy collared white button-down and black vest, Chris Carrabba rocked out with a great seat-list and great hair, as usual. 

“Dashboard’s energy was still as high as it always has been at their concerts. Things haven’t changed much, Carrabba’s hair is still goofy,” said Ali. 

Ali and I saw Dashboard for the first time together in 2003 in New Jersey and many times since.  Carrabba’s voice is one of those that must be experienced in person. Despite his petite 5 foot 5 inch frame, Carrabba is capable of producing some dynamic sounds. The band played crowd-favorites such as Thick As Thieves, Vindicated, Screaming Infidelities and closed with Hands Down at Ramapo last night. 

Carrabba is known for being a very interactive performer and talks to the audience a lot in between songs at shows. Last night, he revealed the inspiration behind song Thick As Thieves to fans, according to Ali. 

“The song is about his crazy ex-girlfriend who all of a sudden started stealing stuff,” said Ali. 

According to Carrabba, the klepto stole Snickers bars and then upgraded to MAC make-up and eventually cars. I guess Interscope Records isn’t paying Chris enough to buy his lady a new lipstick. 

Joining Dashboard Confessional on their tour is Anthony Raneri, lead singer of Bayside. Raneri has some new solo work coming out and won the crowd over by playing I’ll Follow You In To The Dark by Death Cab for Cutie  last night. 

Anthony Ranieri of Bayside. Photo Courtesy of MTV.com.

Nicki Minaj. Courtesy of NickiMinajFans.com.

I really did not expect Nicki Minaj to look like this.    

I decided I was a fan of Minaj a few months ago when Bedrock first came out. Her verse in the song alongside Lil’ Wayne, Drake and Lloyd is super fun and of course, super sexual. When I downloaded Itty Bitty Piggie today I realized that I actually have no idea what Nicki Minaj looks like.  Using my always- trusty Google image search I stumbled across many intriguing pictures of her.  

JERRY! JERRY! JERRY!

 

I must be blunt- she looks like a tranny with daddy issues on Jerry Springer. And kudos on the fur, I smell a PETA protest…  

Whether I’m a bit frightened by Minaj’s appearance or not, I think she’s  hugely talented. Good female rappers are hard to come by and I think this is the first one we’ve seen since Lil’ Kim of Missy Elliot. And just like Lil’ Kim, 25-year-old Minaj boasts a lot of bedroom experience in her music.  

Signed by Lil’ Wayne’s label, Young Money Entertainment, Minaj has been recording since 2007. Fun fact- she was actually found on Myspace. See the benefits of social media?  Hope you’re reading, Professor Hancock!  

Check out Minaj’s first mixtape, Playtime Is Over and newest album, Barbie World. My favorite tracks are posted below, enjoy!

I Get Crazy-

Bedrock-

Itty Bitty Piggy-

Have you ever listened to a rap song and had to rewind a couple of seconds back to listen to the lyric again just to make sure that the rapper really said that? Do you listen to rap music not because it’s fun to sing-a-long to in the car, but because the lyrics make you laugh hysterically? Or do you listen to rap music to steal a clever lyric to claim as your own when you drunkenly repeat it to your friends later? Not that I ever do that or anything…

Lil' Wayne Mad Magazine Cover.

If you answered yes to one or more of the questions above, I have an Internet-gem that you are going to absolutely adore. During dinner with a few pals tonight, my friend Samantha told me about a website she found and knew I would love. I was immediately intrigued and clicked on the link that she sent me as soon as I got home. What I discovered next is now one of my new favorite websites.

Courtesy of SnacksAndShit.com.

SnacksAndShit.com is a blog completely devoted to picking out those outrageous rap-lyrics and trying to depict their “real meaning.” Started in  February 2009, the site was inspired by Jay-Z’s song Hey Papi. According to SnacksAndShit.com, the lyric, “No room service, just snacks and shit,” was the line that sparked creators Chris Macho and Chris D’Elia’s obsession with rap and hip-hop lyrics. Find out more about their site here.

 I have always been a fan of rap, but let’s face it, some a lot of the song lyrics are completely ridiculous. Rather than getting offended at the vulgar and degrading lyrics that most women find repulsive, I often times just laugh in disbelief. Like the time Kanye West said, “I’m Christopher Columbus, ya’ll just the pilgrims,” in Swagga Like Us.

Even Georgie-Dubz is laughing!

Instead of being bitter that I did not think of making a website about silly rap-lyrics first, I am providing readers with a few of my personal favorite preposterous lyrics:

1. “Even deaf bitches say hi to me, She tell the blind bitches, She say I gotta see,” Upgrade U- Lil’ Wayne

I’m sure if she was still with us today, Helen Keller would have been a huge Weezy fan.

2. “I like them black, white, Puerto Rican or Haitian, Like Japanese, Chinese, or even Asian,” Balla Baby- Chingy

Dear Chingy, get a map. Love, your Chinese, Japanese and Asian fans.

3. “Young, black and famous, with money hanging out the anus,”  Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down- P.Diddy

Ouch, sounds painful. Might want to use some of that money to get that little issue checked out.

4. “My rap career goes back further than yo father’s hair line, Its Ludacris, I pack more nuts than Delta Airlines,” Comin’ 2 America- Ludacris

Obviously Ludacris has not recently flown with Delta Airlines. Due to budget cut-backs, they do not provide customers with nuts, or even pretzels, anymore. Sad, I know.

In a mere three weeks, quite a few talented artists are going to start releasing new albums left and right. Spring is a hot time for bands to release new albums in order to get fans amped up for their SUMMER TOURS.

Here is what our spring release line-up is looking like right now:

COHEED AND CAMBRIA- Year of the Black Rainbow- April 13

MGMT- Congratulations- April 13

CIRCA SURVIVE- Blue Sky Noise- April 20

MINUS THE BEAR- Omni- May 4

Mmmm it’s going to be like Christmas for my IPod.

Which of these new releases am I most excited for? Uh is “all of the above” an answer?

Right now, I’m in a slightly screamo/sweet guitar-riffs/big hair kind of mood, so lets start with Coheed.

Take a look at the big scary man above. Semi-frightening, right?

Now listen to this song:
 

Can some one please tell me how a creature of this size can produce a sound so soothing? Just one of life’s greatest mysteries, I suppose.

Giant fro or not, Coheed and Cambria is back with some sweet new tunes. New album, Year of the Black Rainbow is set to be released on April 13^th. Two new tracks, Here We Are Juggernaut and Broken, are available for our listening pleasure on Coheed’s website.

After listening to Juggernaut 11 times in the past hour, I have decided to do the unthinkable and actually PURCHASE the CD when it comes out.  And I’m not talking about half-assing it and buying the cheaper version on ITunes. I’m going to march right over to Best Buy on April 13^th, pay the $11.99, tear off the crispy plastic wrapping and pop Year of the Black Rainbow right in to my old-school boom box. Claudio’s voice does not live up to its full potential in mp3 quality.

Coheed and Cambria

“This is not your place, no this is not your playground, it’s my heart,” just one of the emotionally twisting lines from Juggernaut that Coheed is so famous for.

Coheed and Cambria have been around since the mid-90s, but did not release a full studio album until The Second Stage Turbine Blade in 2002. The have since released four more studio albums, two live albums and many special-edition releases. Fun fact- all of Coheed’s albums are concept albums that reveal a science fiction storyline called The Amory Wars, a series of comics written by Claudio Sanchez.

Coheed is on tour headlining right now and will be stopping off in California for a little festival called Coachella in mid-April. Then the guys are hopping back on the road for a two-month tour with Circa Survive. You have two options: 1.) Patiently await my stellar review of Coheed and Circa’s  performance in Central Park on May 26, or 2.) GO SEE THE MAGIC FOR YOURSELF.

Michael Jackson. Courtesy of RollingStone.com.

1.)MICHAEL JACKSON- The King of Pop. The single biggest influence to the music world. The most famous person in the world. Take your pick, there are many titles that Mr. Michael Jackson goes by. Starting his career as the baby-face front man of the Jackson 5, Jackson began his solo career in 1971 and is responsible for the best selling album of all-time, Thriller. Due to his eccentric appearance and legal problems, Jackson was often misunderstood as a person, but will always be respected as an artist.

No Doubt. Courtesy of RollingStone.com.

2.) NO DOUBT- Accredited with the revival of ska-pop, No Doubt made waves with the release of their second album, Tragic Kingdom in 1995. The band as a whole was tremendously talented with hit-singles such as Don’t Speak, Spider Webs and Hey Baby, but it was lead-singer Gwen Stefani who made No Doubt shine. With her bad-ass style and incredible voice, Stefani has made history as a solo-artist since the break-up of No Doubt.

Britney Spears. Courtesy of RollingStone.com.

3.) BRITNEY SPEARS- This superstar is no stranger to the cover of Rolling Stone. Since this issue was published after the success of Spears’s first album, …Baby One More Time, Spears was later featured on at least half a dozen Rolling Stone covers. Although the Britney we know today exhibits questionable behavior (to say the least), she was at the top of her game in 1999. This former Mickey Mouse Club member is ranked as one of the top-ten best selling female artists of all-time. 17 year-old Britney’s short-lived innocence is shown in this photograph as she holds a Teletubby (is any one else’s WTF meter buzzing?) and an old-school phone with a “curly-cord,” of course. Can’t say I miss those phones, but I do miss the old Britney.

Justin Timberlake. Courtesy of RollingStone.com.

4.) JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE- Can’t have Britney on the list with out Justin! The former lovers-turned-frenemies got their start of the Mickey Mouse Club together and have since moved on to bigger and better things. With the break-up of N’Sync in 2002, Timberlake began his dynamic solo-career with the release of Justified. It took some time for the music industry to respect the former jerry-curled boy band front-man, but Timberlake earned his status with hits such as I’m Lovin’ It and collaborations with Timbaland, Madonna and Snoop Dogg.

Fergie. Courtesy of RollingStone.com.

5.) FERGIE- Fergalicious, or Stacy Ann Ferguson, is almost at Beyonce-diva status. Unlike B, however, Fergie is able to maintain all facets of her stardom- a solo-career, lead singer of the Black Eyed Peas and even dabbles in the fashion and movie industry. Her 2006 album The Dutchess proved that Fergie could handle it all with five Billboard 100 top-singles and a Grammy-nom.