The Useless Critic 2.0

I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of Marina and the Diamonds' single "Hollywood." It's a little trite, a little more trashy than I'd grown to expect from Marina. ("Obsessions" was one of the best songs of 2009. Or 2008? Whatever.) However... Marina just released a new orchestral version of it on Youtube. It's absolutely AMAZING. I'm basically blown away. The bitch is back! Click here to hear the original.

I know this is a fairly old song (released in what, 2008/2009?), but Australian electronic duo Empire of the Sun's Walking On A Dream is on constant replay for me right now. The music is evocative, electronic but not overwhelmingly so; the lyrics, which describe how it feels to be in love - at least while you're having sex - are beautiful. This is undoubtedly one of the best songs of 2009. Or 2008. Whatever. We are always running for the thrill of it, thrill of it Always pushing up the hill searching for the thrill of it On and on and on we are calling out and out again Never looking down I'm just in awe of what's in front of me

Chromeo is an electronic/dance duo comprised of P-Thugg (Patrick Gemayel) and Dave 1 (David Macklovitch). As their Wikipedia entry so astutely states, "The two childhood friends jokingly describe themselves as "the only successful Arab/Jewish partnership since the dawn of human culture." They became relatively well-known with the release of their second album, Fancy Footwork, which featured the singles "Fancy Footwork", " Tenderoni ", and " Bonafied Lovin' ". I personally discovered them via their song "Opening Up (Ce Soir On Danse)". "Night by Night" is the first single off Chromeo's third studio album, to be released in the summer of 2010. I don't really know how to describe it. The song is almost an '80s throw-back while simultaneously building on their discography in an organic, interesting way. It fits well in the electronic/dance genre that is becoming relatively popular (see La Roux, Ladyhawke). F...

I've got a soft spot for country music, which confounds my friends and family. ("Country music? You? Seriously? " "Yes, mom.") Carrie Underwood is one of my favorite country singers. I don't know why. Well, yeah, I do - she has a great voice and she's never released a single I haven't loved - but her style of country isn't necessarily the type of country I like. I mean, I love the "My woman left me and my dog died and my pick-up won't start" type of country. Carrie does more of the, "Jesus please help me KICK SOME EX-BOYFRIEND ASS YO" type of country music. I like it, but if there ain't no whiskey I have trouble supporting it. On that note, I love her new single, Cowboy Casanova. It's not reinventing the wheel, but sometimes the wheel doesn't need reinventing. And the music video is pretty good too. ( Click here to watch the music video for Cowboy Casanova.) What do you think of Cowboy Casanova? What's you...

Something I just discovered: LILITH FAIR IS BACK, BITCHES! Yeah, I'm a little late on the uptake, but I'm okay with that. It was a music festival celebrating women in music back in the late '90s. Think, Sarah McLachlan, Lisa Loeb, Fiona Apple, Indigo Girls, Sheryl Crow, and other female musicians and bands who aren't really relevant to music today. As I grew up on Tori Amos and Fiona Apple and other female-led acts, I am ridiculously excited for this event. And they're coming to Chicago! And Philadelphia, for those of you from Pennsylvania. The majority, I'd guess. I'd love it if Jonatha Brooke, Tegan and Sara, and Beth Hart show up. Who do you hope plays at Lilith Fair 2010? Do you think the Spice Girls will reunite (again) to play there?

As you may or may not know, I am a huge fan of Florence + the Machine. As far as I'm concerned, the woman is a genius, her first album is incredible, and she has one of the best voices out there today. However, I'm a little disappointed by her new single, "You've Got The Love." "You've Got The Love" is a cover version of the song "You Got The Love" by The Source ft. Candi Staton. It's a beautiful song and a worthy cover (I like it better than the original ), but it's not her song. Her album has so many fantastic songs to choose from - ranging from "Howl," which would do well on the New Moon soundtrack, to the amazing "Cosmic Love," which has already had some success on the charts in Ireland - yet she releases a cover. I don't understand this decision whatsoever. On the other hand, her voice sounds great, the harp works wonderfully with the lyrics, and it fits in perfectly with the rest of her songs. I'll ...

Back when I was around 12 years old and Napster was still in its prime (ah, memories!), I went through a phase where I would download every song I'd ever heard of, whether I'd heard it before or not. This introduced me to music that would impact my music taste for years to come (Tori Amos, Placebo, Mary Prankster) and some music that I was better off without (... Eminem). The Kinks' "Lola" is one song that didn't fit into either category. I remember liking it a lot when I was 13 or so, but then I went years without hearing it again. It just went from computer to computer until I found it just last week. Since then I've been listening to it on repeat, right after "Bulletproof" by La Roux and Eric Prydz's "Call On Me." The lyrics are genius, the music is amazing, and it's hard to believe that it was released in 1970; it's aged like a fine wine. How they managed to get away with this song in the '70s, I don't know, but ...

It seems like all you hear about on the news these days is health care. Is Obama's plan the right way to go about things? Should we stick with what we've got? Is Obama actually propagating the socialist agenda? (Answers: maybe, probably not, and the day Obama supports socialism is the day Republican politicians stop cheating on their wives.) Frankly, I don't think anyone is ever going to agree, and the Democrats and the GOP need to learn to compromise. But until that day comes - you know, when pigs fly and hell freezes over - I think we should all listen to Troubled Hubble's song "Ear, Nose & Throat." (Watch the video above.) Troubled Hubble was a band from Chicago who broke up only weeks after I discovered them in 2005. They released a number of albums in their six-year existence, with their best - and my personal favorite - "Making Beds in a Burning House" coming out in 2005. "Ear, Nose, Throat" is particularly of interest, especiall...

I've been to a number of drag shows in my day. Men dressed as women, women dressed as men, inebriated sexually ambiguous audience members dancing up on you, awkward situations in the bathrooms, ridiculously expensive alcoholic beverages... it's always a good time. As a result of my attendance at these festive events, I have a sick habit of hearing a song and thinking, "This would be PERFECT to do drag to." Unfortunately, I've never felt like shaving my legs (and my face), taping up Mr. Happy, pulling on a miniskirt and a pair of high-heels and dancing around on stage while lipsynching to "Girls Just Want To Have Fun." But here are a few songs I'd totally do drag to, if I were willing to shave my legs. Tori Amos - Raspberry Swirl Tori is to the gay community what Eminem is to insecure white boys from the suburbs: she's a god(dess). "Raspberry Swirl" features such lyrics as, "everybody knows I'm her friend / everybody knows I...

You've probably heard of Colbie Callait--- her new album "Breakthrough" was released last Tuesday. You know how some artists have their own sound that seems to transcend over their albums? Colbie is one of those artists and, frankly, I like it. She has a pop/acoustic sound that just simply relaxes you. I'm not going to lie though, I'm preatty sure you need ovaries to really love this music. If you're a girl, I'd recommend that you check out her two albums "CoCo" and "Breakthrough".

I'm not a big fan of folk music, but "Reservoir Park" by The Dutchess and the Duke has been on repeat all day. I like other songs by the band (I recommend "Strangers," "I Am Just A Ghost," and "Mary" - the latter of which has a very, ah, interesting music video. Watch it here .), but there's just something about "Reservoir Park" that really clicks with me. It's an interesting song; it's your typical lo-fi indie folk music with a male/female singing duo. The band reminds me of the Mamas and the Papas; both bands have a similar sound and this song in particular works perfectly when placed in a '60s context. Or something. I may be full of shit, but that's how I feel. Well I went to see the gypsy to have my fortune told. She said, "You ain't got no future, you ain't never growing old." And the clouds keep rolling on in. Questions: What are your favorite folk bands? Do you have any specific songs ...

I discovered Yeasayer by accident: I was playing a radio station on last.fm when the song "Germs" popped up. I liked the track. A few songs later "Sunrise" played. I really liked that one. I then went on a bit of a rampage, downloading everything I could find by them. I completely missed this band back in 2007, so I'm making up for lost time now. Yeasayer is a so-called "experimental band," whatever that means. Their music is a little trippy, a little psychedelic, and a little indie. Their first album, "All Hour Cymbals," was released in 2007 and their upcoming album is to be released January 2010, although they've been hinting that they'd do something "big" in October. Rumor has it they're incredible live. (An excellent live version of 2080 is shown above.) Many of their songs are melancholic, with themes ranging from being left behind by evolution ("Sunrise": the fish began to fly / I went and stole some wi...

Florence + The Machine - Drumming Song So earlier today I was surfing around on YouTube and, just by chance, I stumbled across Florence and the Machine's brand new music video for her upcoming single "Drumming Song." Not gonna lie - I love it. The song is one of my favorites off the album and the video is HOT. The whole "sexy nun" thing has been done to death, but Florence is on FIRE. I mean. Holy crap. She's not traditionally sexy, or even all that beautiful, but she is absolutely stunning in this video. Bitch is (dare I say it?) FIERCE. Legs for days. And her moves are fantastic. Who could deny that humping? It's sacrilicious. In conclusion, I have a crush on Florence and I'm not afraid to admit it. Oh, and the church is pretty sweet too. (Yeah, I know 2/3rds of my posts in this blog are about F&TM. I'll work on that. Honest. I already know what I'm going to review next and everything!)

I first heard Florence and the Machine over a year ago, back when the band has less than 1600 plays on last.fm. First I came across "Girl With One Eye" on the Hype Machine, then I listened to "Kiss With A Fist," and then the acoustic cover of Cold War Kids' "Hospital Beds". Every song was amazing. I searched the Hype Machine every week for new tracks - and never found them. Then a combination of events occurred, I forgot about the band, and I only just got hold of Florence's new album, "Lungs," earlier this week. The band now has over 1.6 million plays on last.fm, a #2 album in the UK (just behind Michael Jackson - damn him for dying and messing up Flo's chances of getting to #1!), and every single released has charted, with "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" the highest at #12 in the UK. My, how things have changed! Let's put it like this: I've listened to the album non-stop for the last three days. "Rabbit Heart (Ra...