ZZ Ward - "Blue Eyes Blind" (Recording Session)

I posted this video on my OLD blog, but I thought I would share it on here as well because it's so cool. It shows a behind-the-scenes look at the recording of my favorite song on the record, "Blue Eyes Blind" and performing LIVE in the studio with her band. She talks about the writing & recording process behind her debut album,"Til The Casket Drops".

I have long been a fan of ZZ Ward since this album released in October 2012, which was a smashing success and there are multiple 'singles' on that record. In no time you will hear ZZ Ward on the radio, she has a style all her own - It's  got  a blues / pop-rock sound with a heavy southern influence and touches of hip hop! That's what makes ZZ Ward so good; she is able to combine all those genres to create her own original sound. Check out this video and you'll be hooked! "Til The Casket Drops" is one of my all-time favorite albums.

"It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" - Season 10 Review

"It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" just finished it's 10th Season, and is unbelievably coming back for an 11th season in 2016! No other current TV show has lasted for more than 10 seasons without cancellation or cast changes and/or re-boots. Not even the classics like, "Friends" or "Seinfeld", or other popular shows that have been on the air for a long time, such as - "The Big Bang Theory", "The Office", "30 Rock" or even "Entourage"  have lasted 10 seasons! "It's Always Sunny" started off small in 2005, when episodes were just airing on "HULU" (back when it was free!). Just by word of mouth, This show became more and more popular, it especially appealed to the 18 - 29 age group of viewers. Soon, "FX" picked them up and they have blasted off from there to become the leading television series on "FXX", and kind of the face of the network.

Now, they have completed their 10th season with episodes like, "The Gang Beats Boggs". Which is an episode consisting entirely of a competition to see who could drink the most beers during a cross-country flight. "The Gang Goes on Family-Fight", which is basically "Family-Feud" and played the same way. Naturally the gang makes asses out of themselves on cable television in this funny episode. "Charlie Work" is an instant classic episode about a surprise visit from the city health inspector, and somehow "Charlie" pulls it off in this fast-moving, clever episode (probably the best episode of the season). The gang also made up social networking sites this season like "Bunchers.com" (Where you go on group dates) and "Raters.com" (website where you can rate your date).

I think this is one of the best seasons yet, even though the cast said they thought season 8 was their best work.... I completely disagree, there are several other seasons that I think were better. They've pretty much touched on  every socially taboo subject like, interracial marriage, homosexuality, under-age drinking, racism, abortion, smoking crack, mocking religion & the handicapped, politics, prostitution, death, and alcoholism. Plus, every other hot button issue in today's society and they have crossed every line imaginable to become one of the most popular, offensive, comedy series on TV. Yet, somehow these three guys keep coming up with new and original ideas for more episodes. You should watch interviews with the three writers / creators / stars of the show - Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney, and Charlie Day. Get an inside look at their filming and script-writing process.

"Man Seeking Woman" - Season 1 Review

"Man Seeking Woman" just wrapped up it's very first season on "FXX" and it has already been confirmed that Season 2 will start in January 2016. This is a totally original and creative series that has received many accolades and reviews from critics. Even "Rotten Tomatoes" gave this show a 82% rating, (which is a 6.7 out of 10) and they usually only give good ratings to kids movies. I'm already a big fan after watching this first season; it's a very unorthodox, strange, and totally original comedy series. "Josh Greenberg", played  by Jay Baruchel, lives in a very different world than we do, but it's the only reality he knows. "Josh" is a weak, insecure, whiny, 27 year old that works as a 'Temp', and this show is all about him getting over his long term ex-girlfriend and finding someone new. Unfortunately, with a lack of self-confidence, bizarre situations and trouble with every girl he dates, that becomes more and more difficult for him. His best friend  "Mike" is the exact opposite - he is laid back, has a much easier time getting girls, and he's the only reason "Josh" ever steps out of his comfort zone. "Mike", played by Eric Andre, attempts to help "Josh" by trying to hook him up with girls and giving him terrible advice. He is focused on  getting "Josh" laid, and against him getting into a relationship. "Josh" also has an overbearing sister, played by Britt Lower, who is  focused  on setting him up with a new girlfriend, and is also constantly giving him bad advice. (his sister is the hottest girl on the show!)

It's the same character we have seen Jay Baruchel play in pretty much every movie he's been in, it's an absolutely perfect role for him (it's like the part was written specifically for him). The creator of the show, Simon Rich, looks like a 14 year old kid, but he is actually a 31 year old kid, and he is a comedic genius at his young age. He started as a producer on "SNL" for a while and then went on to create this series, and there is truly nothing out there like it. (that's why I like it so much)

The main character, "Josh" lives in a bizarre world where "Cupid" is real, Hitler is still alive and like 130 years old, and a normal part of dating is submitting 'boyfriend applications' to different women and hope for an acceptance letter in the mail, like colleges. It's a world where trolls, demons, and Japanese penis monsters exist, women have sex with robots, and 7 year old girls get engaged. There is even a "destination wedding" in hell.... and all of this is normal to everyone. "Josh" is the only seemingly 'normal' person in this surreal world and he is the only one who notices how strange everything is. He finally gets over his ex-girlfriend at the very end of the season and the world ends up even more bizarre. I can relate to "Josh Greenberg" in most of these episodes, I just can't relate to all the crazy things that happen to him.

"The Last Man On Earth" - NEW TV Show

Will Forte stars as "Phil Miller" in the brand new, off-beat comedy series, "The Last Man on Earth". So you guessed it, "Phil" is the last man on earth due to a virus that wiped out the world's population. It's a similar premise to the movie "I Am Legend", just without zombies or monsters. Unlike those serious / scary movies and TV shows about the end of the world; "The Last Man on Earth" is a silly, light-hearted comedy about being the only human left in the world and all the things you can do now. For instance, "Phil" picks a mansion in an affluent neighborhood in Tuscon, AZ. to move into Then he decorates it with classic art and million dollar paintings from museums, dinosaur bones from an exhibit, and the oval office Presidential rug from the White House. He makes a "margarita pool", a "toilet pool" and a "trash pool". He goes to grocery & liquor stores and gets whatever he wants as he makes his way down each aisle like a regular shopper. He eventually becomes lonely (of course) and drives around the country with a P.A. system looking for other survivors like himself and writing messages on billboards in hopes that someone else is alive and might see them. After a while, he starts to lose his mind like Tom Hanks does in "Castaway", but instead of talking to a volleyball, "Phil Miller" makes a dozen friends out of an assortment of sport balls, including a badminton ball..

Soon enough, he finds out he is NOT the only human alive and that actually complicates things further for "Phil". The next episode premieres tonight (Sunday) on FOX. This will only be the 5th episode, so this show just got started and it's a totally original comedy series with endless possibilities. It's not too late to start watching NOW!

Grouplove - "Ways To Go" (NEW Music Video)

This is the music video for "Ways To Go", which is my favorite song from Grouplove's second & most recent album, "Spreading Rumors". Check it out, and then check out  the video below for a sample of what their older stuff sounds like. I personally like the first record more, but i absolutely love this song. I also like the video a lot - It portrays the whole band performing this song Live in North Korea and the video is all about a young Kim Jong-Un spreading peace.....for some reason. Plus, you get to hear & see BOTH vocalists equally on this track. It's a very entertaining video and easily one of the best songs on the album. This single almost has a hip-hop element to it, and the female vocalist provides the band with a unique Pop sound. It's like a mix of other indie-rock bands such as; Snallpools, Modest Mouse, Passion Pit, and Phoenix.

Grouplove - "Tongue Tied" (Music Video)

This is the music video for "Tongue Tied", the one Grouplove song everyone knows by now, This track is off the band's first album, "Never Trust a Happy Song" and it's absolutely infectious.It's definitely one of my favorite Grouplove songs, and this music video shows a crazy, party night played in reverse.I wrote reviews of both of Grouplove's albums on this blog months ago. Since then, the new record has grown on me, so my next post will be the music video for my favorite song off the second album, "Spreading Rumors". That way, you get a sample of both records and you can hear the difference between both albums.

Passion Pit - "Where The Sky Hangs" (NEW Song)

This is another song off Passion Pit's new album "Kindred" which doesn't even release to the general public until April 21, 2015. This is the first time Iv'e heard of a band intentionally leaking the singles off their own album before the release date.... Maybe they're trying to build up some hype around this upcoming record, or maybe they're just giving all the Passion Pit fans (like me) a taste / sample of what to expect. It's working, because I can't wait to hear what the rest of the alum sounds like.

This song is awesome and I think it's their 2nd single, it's called "Where The Sky Hangs" and just like the other video that leaked, this isn't really a music video. It's just a slowly moving version of the album cover for "Kindred". It's not about the video, it's about the song - just press play  and enjoy this happy, up-beat song. Passion Pit has been a consistently good band with 2 very successful records so far and it sounds like this new one will be no different (I hope more songs are leaked).

Sir Sly - "Gold" (Music Video)

This is the music video for the 2nd single, "Gold" by my new favorite band, Sir Sly (which Iv'e posted other videos about). There's still no video for "Ghost" (my favorite song), but this track is awesome too. "Gold" has an ominous tone and a big chorus build-up. It's an intense song with a cool beat & vocal effects, and the video is also intense and matches the song very well.

Just as I mentioned in a previous post about Sir Sly, they sound very similar to bands like "Foster The People" and "MGMT" (when they were both still good). Sir Sly released their debut album, "You Haunt Me" in September 2014 under "Interscope Records", which is a HUGE label that has produced such famous bands / artists as: Imagine Dragons, One Republic, Maroon 5, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Zedd, The Black-Eyed Peas, Madonna, Lady Ga-Ga, The Rolling Stones and even Dr. Dre & Eminem. It's a very diverse label with countless successful artists from all sorts of different genres of music and different generations. So I think it's safe to say that Sir Sly is going to be a major commercial success with this phenomenal debut record. There should be a music video for EVERY song on "You Haunt Me".

Sia - "Chandelier" (Music Video)

Another creative and catchy song by Australian pop artist, Sia. Just like the music video for the single, "Elastic Heart" - this video also stars professional dancer, Maddie Ziegler. She does an interpretive dance to Sia's 2nd single, "Chandelier". She is wearing the same thing too - that weird, flesh-colored leotard and that blonde wig, which is intentionally made to look like Sia's hair.This 40 year old artist is talented, but not very photogenic. She looks old, dresses like a hippie, and has short blonde hair. She doesn't appeal to the American Pop music culture looking/dressing like that. So she has Maddie Ziegler portray herself as a young, attractive Sia in her music videos. Even when performing LIVE on "SNL", Sia had her back turned to the audience during the whole performance and had Maddie Ziegler dance on stage while she sang...... She is very eccentric to say the least, but talented too.

ONE "Lady Ga-Ga" is enough!  However, Sia is making her way into the mainstream 'electro-pop' music scene in the U.S. with videos like this. I actually enjoy the dancing in this video as much as the song itself, and I usually hate interpretive dance

"Trainwreck" - Trailer

I'm not a fan of Amy Schumer.... at all, but this movie actually looks like it might be funny. I'm a big fan of Bill Hader and I love that Lebron James has a role in this movie. But, the main reason I am going to watch this is because it's an "Apatow Production" movie and Judd Apatow is one of my all time favorite Directors / Producers and probably this generation's BEST comedy film-maker. Apatow is responsible for such hilarious films as, "Pineapple Express", "Knocked Up", "Superbad", "Forgetting Sarah Marshall", "Funny People", "The 40 Year Old Virgin", "Wanderlust", "Bridesmaids", "Step Brothers", "Talladega Nights", "This is 40", and many other comedy classics and fan-favorites. I won't list every movie he has directed & produced because there are so many! He is married to famous actress, Leslie Mann and together they have two daughters, Maude & Iris Apatow. Oddly enough, Apatow casts his own family to star in some of these comedy movies, such as "Knocked Up", "This is 40", and "Funny People". You can see the chemistry between them on-screen, and both of their daughters are natural actresses. For some reason, Paul Rudd is cast as the husband & father to Apatow's family in all three films they're in together.

It seems Judd Apatow always hires actors from the same group of guys - Seth Rogen's circle of friends, who are always doing movies with each other. It includes pretty much EVERYONE from the movies, "Knocked Up" & "This is The End", including well known actors other than Seth Rogen, such as:  Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Martin Starr, Jason Segel, James Franco, Joe Lo Truglio, John C. Reily, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Will Ferell, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Bill Hader, and of course, Leslie Mann (his wife). Paul Rudd & Seth Rogen seem to be his favorite actors to work with,.but I love every single one of those actors named, so even though I dislike Amy Schumer, Judd Apatow creates comedy gold - so hopefully it will be great.

"Avengers: Age of Ultron" - NEW TRAILER !

This is the 3rd trailer released for "The Avengers: Age of Ultron", and it's the best one so far. This trailer shows much more of the action sequences and gives the audience more information about this upcoming sequel. It feels like it's taking forever for this movie to hit theaters! (May 2nd, 2015) It's genius marketing though; releasing short trailers one at a time, showing glimpses of the film to get fans excited. So there is A LOT of hype surrounding this sequel now, and it's going to be a box office smash (maybe even bigger than the original).

In this new movie, apparently "Tony Stark" accidentally builds the evil robot, "Ultron" and it seems it has control of ALL the "Iron Man" suits that "Stark" has built. It looks like the "Avengers" get their asses kicked in this trailer. I don't see how they stand a chance against "Ultron" AND "Vision", (shows his face at the end of the video) especially with useless members like "Black Widow" and "Hawk Eye".... Not to mention, they're also up against "Scarlet Witch" and "Quicksilver", so this should be epic - I can't wait!

Tiësto - "Wasted" (Music Video)

Another song that everyone has heard at some point and recognizes it from soundtrack music for movies and television shows. It plays everywhere and I knew the song, but I never heard of Tiësto. Which is the much shorter stage name for this Dutch DJ named Tijs Michiel Verwest (that's a mouthful). He is actually a world-renowned DJ and famous internationally. In fact, he was voted "The #1 DJ in the world" by DJ Magazine for three consecutive years (2002-2004). So he has been around for quite a while,  he has six studio albums, but never gained any notoriety in the U.S until the release of his most recent album, "A Town Called Paradise". It was released in June 2014 and finally got the mainstream media attention in the U.S. with two hit singles - "Wasted" (video above) and "Red Lights". Tiësto is known for remixing other artists' music and collaborating with other artists and DJs, but he also records his own music. This is an original song featuring vocals by Mathew Koma and I'm sure everyone has heard this song at some point.

Tiësto tours all over the world, but seldom does he come to America because he's not nearly as famous here, as he is in Europe. Plus, the DJ / Dubstep / House Music scene is pretty much tied up with DJ's like Daft Punk, Zedd, Skrillex, Girl Talk, Ratatat, DeadMau5, etc,. So hopefully with the success of this new record and the growing fan base here, Tiësto might schedule more U.S. tour dates.

M83 - "Midnight City" (Music Video)

This is the music video for "Midnight City" by the French, electronic band; M83. This is the famous hit single from their sixth & most recent studio album, "Hurry Up, We're Dreaming" released in October 2011. In fact, this single reached #5 on "The Billboard Top 100" and it's a phenomenal song! It will get stuck in your head; it's got an awesome, recognizable, electronic-beat intro and a catchy chorus. The soft vocals and music style makes it sound like a song from the 80's. It reminds me of other current bands that have that similar style and sound, such as VHS or Beta and Friendly Fires. I'm a big fan of this album and especially this song.

I heard this song somewhere before and I'm sure everyone else has also heard this song from commercials, TV, or movie soundtracks, and wonder "What band is this??". M83 is finally making a splash in the United States with this album and this single! What started as a duo in 2001, has grown into a 5-man band, and they have replaced several of those members over the years as well as their sound / style.

Phoenix - "1901" (Music Video)

This is definitely one of my favorite songs by Phoenix, and it's probably the best song on the record. This is just one of the many great songs on "Wolfgang Amadeus" - the fourth studio album by Phoenix. They released their fifth and newest album, "Bankrupt" in 2013, which was not as good as their older albums like "United" and "Alphabetical". You might think because of the band name, that they're from Arizona or Phoenix..... but these indie rockers actually hale from France. There are all these bands with similar styles and sound are from different countries all over the wold.  Music transcends through language barriers, accents, countries, and cultures - good music is appreciated all around the world.. It's like a universal language.

"Wolfgang Amadeus" is by far the best album by Phoenix.in my opinion, and the only album released under Glassnote Records, along with other favorite artists like, Two Door Cinema Club, Childish Gambino, and Chvrches. So, it's no wonder this album was so good and such a critical  and commercial success. After this album, the band went back to Rhino Records, which is a small label under the Warner Bros Records. For what it's worth, it would be tough for anyone to meet or exceed the stunning 2009 release of "Wolfgang Amadeus". It was popular on a mass scale with hit singles such as this song ("1901"), "Lisztomania", "Fences", and "Lasso". This record sounds similar to bands like, The Kooks and Two Door Cinema Club.