I received a copy of John Mayer’s new CD Battle Studios last week, and I have to be honest, I’ve listened to it about 25 times. I have never been a huge fan of John. I have always enjoyed his music – but not enough to actually buy one of his CD’s. And then I got this CD, and I was pleasantly surprised! I really love it! There are so many great songs! I especially like his duet with Taylor Swift, “Half of My Heart”, but my favorite is “Assassin”.

It’s been 3 years since John’s last CD, and this album was WELL worth the wait. It has eleven amazing songs on it! John is kicking off a HUGE tour to celebrate the new album, GO HERE to see when he’s coming to your city!

John Mayer’s Battle Studies was released on November 17th, 2009 on Columbia Records. The seven-time Grammy Award winner’s fourth studio album was co-produced by John Mayer and Steve Jordan and debuts three years after his critically acclaimed 2006 album, Continuum. Incorporating the warmth, melodies and simplicity of 70’s and 80’s California rock/pop, Battle Studies is a confessional, relaxed and liberated album recorded in a private home in California where Mayer lived and worked over the course of six months before wrapping at the famed Capitol Studios in Los Angeles.

The album’s first single, “Who Says” challenges conventional standards of what one can accomplish or undertake – despite society’s constraints. Battle Studies also showcases universal themes on “Heartbreak Warfare,” “Assassin,” and “War of My Life,” while flexing guitar chops on “Rock Song,” and a reinterpretation of “Crossroads.” The famously collaborative guitar player also invited one of music’s brightest new talents, Taylor Swift, to appear on “Half of My Heart.”

“I approach music like a director doing a period piece,” says Mayer. “Where Continuum was R&B and Soul, Battle Studies was written with the timelessness of Tom Petty, Fleetwood Mac and Neil Young in mind. The melodies and message are concise and from-the-gut with the efficiency of simplicity.”

A John Mayer North American tour is currently being planned and will follow the release of Battle Studies in early 2010, details to be announced soon. In the meantime, two rare performances by John Mayer Trio (John Mayer, Steve Jordan, Pino Palladino) have been announced for December – December 29th in San Diego at the Copley Symphony Hall and a New Year’s Eve show on December 31st in Las Vegas at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

In place of Mayer’s annual Holiday Revue, these concert events will raise money for two veteran’s charities – Military Outreach Ministry Camp Pendleton (MOM) and NCIRE – the Veterans Health Research Institute. MOM is a nonprofit organization that supports young military families of all faiths and NCIRE is the largest non-profit research institute affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Among other investigations, NCIRE researches the causes and best treatment for post- traumatic stress disorder and other combat-related injuries.

JohnMayer.com
John Mayer on Myspace
Buy Battle Studies on iTunes

I looooooove me some Mat Kearney. Two years ago I was able to see him when he came to Portland, and it was one of my favorite show’s I’ve ever seen. (See that review, and a picture of me with him here!) His first album, Nothing Left to Lose is still one of my favorites, I listen to it at least once a month. He took a long break after heavily promoting that album, and I’m happy to announce that he has a new album, which came out May 19th called City of Black & White! This album was worth the wait! I love it so much! It’s everything I loved from his first album, and so much more! My favorite tracks are his first single, Closer to Love, Here We Go (which is amazing! I hope this is his next single!) and All I Have. The songs are so well written, and so beautiful, if you liked his first album, even a little – then you’ll love this one.

I saw him at the Roseland Theater last night, and he definitely did not disappoint!   He played all the songs I love from his first album Nothing Left to Lose, and played a ton of amazing songs from his new album! Before the show began, I had the chance to meet him backstage, and it was great to meet him again! He claims to have remembered meeting me the first time – and while I’d love that to be true – I highly doubt it. He’s charming, and nice, and puts on one of the best show’s I’ve ever been to.  He is an amazing performer!!

He only has 4 more dates on his tour left, so if you’re near any of these places – CHECK HIM OUT!

Nov 05 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore

Nov 07 – San Diego, CA – House Of Blues

Nov 08 – Phoenix, AZ – Marquee Theater

Nov 10 – Los Angeles, CA – Henry Fonda Theatre

After spending five years traveling the country establishing himself as a new artist, Mat dug his roots into his new hometown of Nashville, TN, allowing the songs on City of Black & White to evolve from various places and sources – in the back room of a studio where he stopped in to visit a friend, writing with people he met at coffee shops, hearing someone fiddling around with the guitar and humming along. He opened up the writing process to friends and to the community of musicians in Nashville, and crafted songs such as “Fire and Rain,” “Here We Go,” and “Lifeline.”

Kearney’s major label debut, Nothing Left To Lose includes the hit singles “Nothing Left To Lose,” “Undeniable,” and a late addition to the record, “Breathe In, Breathe Out,” which was used in television promotions for the fourth season of Grey’s Anatomy and included a music video that premiered during the season preview. Kearney was also a VH1 You Oughta Know Artist, headlined the first VH1 You Oughta Know Tour, and his video for the single “Nothing Left To Lose” tied the record for the most weeks in rotation (45) on VH1. Six separate songs from the album received prominent television licensing on popular shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, Bones, Friday Night Lights and more. Kearney has toured with John Mayer, Sheryl Crow, The Fray, Jason Mraz, and more.

Mat Kearney Official Website

Mat Kearney Official Myspace

Order City of Black & White Here!

I get music sent to me all the time, which I LOVE. I love discovering a new band that I’d never heard of before, especially one I turn out to really love. Some music I like, some I hate, and some of it I can’t stop listening to.  This CD is one that made the “can’t stop listening to it” category – and I thought I’d share!

I first heard of Band of Skulls when I heard their song “Friends” on the New Moon Soundtrack, and I knew I had to have the whole album! I got a copy of their album Baby Darling Doll Face Honey, and I aboslutely love it! There are so many great songs! My favorites are Death by Diamonds and Pearls and Honest. I had to learn more about the band, and why I hadn’t heard of them before! I did a little digging, and found out who they are…

The three Southampton, UK members of Band of Skulls, Russell Marsden (guitar & vocals), Emma Richardson (bass & vocals) & Matt Hayward (drums), first met at college and quickly discovered that having two lead singers and three songwriters in a band was always going to present unlimited possibilities. With their creative process and sonic path fully intact the band quickly established themselves in the music and art community with a series of culturally inspired club nights in Southampton, London and further a field in Moscow and Tokyo.

The band, previously known as Fleeing New York, were working on new demos in late November 2008 at Courtyard Studios in Oxfordshire when their paths crossed with an music, art and management international collective based in London, Montreal and LA who are now, in a very modern way, partners with the band. After more studio time, the band formed the foundation of their debut album, Baby Darling Doll Face Honey. With a working relationship sealed with a handshake the album was recorded, mixed and mastered from January through March 09 before contracts had time to be signed.

At this time their music came to the attention of iTunes staff and made such an impact that the band’s undeniable debut single ‘I Know What I Am’ was selected for the coveted iTunes Single of the Week campaign beginningon April 7th. Within weeks of completing the album the band will be introduced globally to a digital audience in the USA, UK, France, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the Netherlands via this free download. Music fans around the world will get the first taste of the band’s driving guitar force, heartbreaking duets and sun-kissed, Wall of Sound harmonies of not only their single but their debut breakthrough album Baby Darling Doll Face Honey on Shangri-La Music which will be exclusively at iTunes for two weeks beginning April 7th.

Band of Skulls is awesome, I love their music, their CD is great, and I think you’ll like it too!

Check out Band of Skulls on Myspace

PS: At 5:00 is my favorite song on the album, “Honest”.

Those of you that have been following me and my little blog since I started in 2006 know how much I love Brandi Carlile. I’ve seen her four times in Portland, Oregon – and have each of her three albums; Brandi Carlile, The Story and the new Give Up the Ghost.

Brandi is one of those artists that really gets to me. Her music has always moved me. The music is so passionate and emotional, I’ve been known to cry and at the very least get goosebumps when I listen to her.  Forget seeing her live.  I’m a complete mess! She has one of the strongest, most beautiful voices I’ve ever heard.  I feel like I connect with her when she sings, and I know that’s why most people love her like I do.

Portland loves Brandi.  Her hometown is close, just outside of Seattle, Washington.  When Brandi comes to Portland, she is so jazzed and excited and happy to be onstage. When I talked to her last night, I told her I thought the show was great – and her performance was so energetic. She said that when she gets close to home, she gets her “second wind”. Like I said earlier, I’ve seen her perform three times previous, all in smaller venues. Last night she performed for the first time in the Arlene Schnizter Concert Hall, which seats over 2,700, and there were few empty seats. She spoke over and over about how much it meant to her to be playing in the Hall, which is one of Portland’s most beautiful theaters. You could tell she was loving it, it was her best performance to date!

Give Up the Ghost is Brandi’s third album, and in my opinion is her best yet.  She collaborated with her idol Elton John on the track “Caroline”, and the rest of the album boasts talent like the Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench and Amy Ray from the Indigo Girls.

Her voice is her greatest instrument. She has a voice that has only gotten better over the last three years. There are a few songs in particular that really got to me on the new album.   My favorite song is “That Year” which Brandi said she wrote for a dear friend who committed suicide when they were both 16. She told the audience it took her 10 years to forgive her friend for committing suicide.  She woke up one morning, and realized that she was wrong – and wrote the song “That Year”.

When she sang the song – I melted.  I witnessed a suicide when I was 18 – and just hearing her sing the song, I got chills. This song is one of the reasons why she is so special to me.

I must have been sleeping, I must have been drinking,
I haven’t been dreaming about you for years. There was a sharp
turn and a sunburn I was too cool for high school that year.

Must have have been New Years. No one invited you, took things too far but I missed you and your antics. You were lonesome and blue-eyed and so special to us.

You could have taken a long break instead of a long drop from a high place. Ten years I never spoke your name. Now it feels good to say it. Your my friend again.

Said he forgave you, I said I hated you, he was the bigger man, I was sixteen. All the innocence it took well I guess you finally made the year book. That year. That year.

You should have taken some time away instead of a long drop, instead of a leap of faith, ten years I never spoke your name. Now it feels good to say that your my friend again. your my friend again.

I was angry, I was a baptist, I was a daughter, I was wrong.

She wrapped her show with a very long encore.  She covered Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues - which had the whole crowd on their feet and dancing. She covered the Beatles’ Let it Be, and ended the night with the most beautiful version of Mad World I’ve ever heard.

After the show, which was unbelievable and amazing, I was able to meet her.  And I was able to thank her for what she’s done for me.  She is one of those performers that has really gotten to me, and my husband. Three years of listening to her beautiful music – and I was able to thank her in person.  That doesn’t happen everyday.  She was just as beautiful in person.

She asked asked what we thought of the show. I was like “ARE YOU KIDDING!” Of course she was brilliant!

So what’s my bottom line? Brandi Carlile is amazing, and if you don’t have her latest album Give Up the Ghost, then you have to pick it up.

Here I am meeting Brandi last night.

Visit Brandi on Myspace
Order Give Up the Ghost on Amazon

Pictures by Troy Kujala

A suburban London teen finds her traditional education replaced by something slightly more sinister when an older, more worldly suitor sweeps her off of her feet while placing her future in jeopardy. London, 1961: 16-year-old Jenny (Carey Mulligan) is smart, attractive, and eager to start her adult life. She’s grown tired of the familiar adolescent routine, so when urbane newcomer David (Peter Sarsgaard) appears in town, Jenny senses a rare opportunity to shake things up a bit. Quickly falling under David’s spell, the impressionable Jenny begins accompanying her newfound beau to classical concerts, art auctions, crowded pubs, and dinners that stretch into the small hours of the night. But Jenny is brighter than most kids her age, and her parents always dreamt of getting their exceptional daughter into Oxford. These days it seems like she’s headed in a different direction — will David ultimately be her undoing, or the person who helps her finally realize her true potential?

An Education was so good, it might be my favorite movie, in I don’t know how long. I’ve always loved Peter Sarsgaard, and this performance will hopefully bring him all the praise and awards he deserves. He was absolutely brilliant as the tormented, creepy older man, who falls for the beautiful, smart and naive 16 year old girl.  Carey Mulligan  is absolutely gorgeous, and her performance makes you stop and say “Who is this girl!”. She is such an amazing actress, I can’t wait to see her next films.

There are so many things to love about this movie.  For one – the acting is absolutely Oscar worthy. If Peter and Carey don’t come away with Oscar nominations, I will be absolutely shocked.  The second is the cinematography.  Each scene is more beautiful than the next, and the atmosphere almost becomes a character in and of it’s own.  It was like you could pause each scene, and it could be a work of art.

There were so many amazing actors in this film, every time a new character was introduced, I was shocked to see them! There were characters played by Emma Thompson, Rosamund Pike, Dominic Cooper and Sally Hawker (Happy Go Lucky).

It was one of those films that I’m happy to have seen because I know it’s going to really take off. You know when you see a really amazing movie and you just know you’ve seen something special? It really is that amazing. I know the critics are going to love it, and I know I’ll be seeing this on Oscar day. 

Bottom line: An Education is absolutely brilliant. I’m going to see this movie again, just in case I missed anything the first time. You won’t be disappointed, it really is THAT GOOD.

Check here to see when An Education opens in your town!

I had the pleasure of attending a screening of Chris Rock’s new documentary Good Hair on Friday, and I absolutely loved it.

The documentary starts off with Chris’s two beautiful daughters, and was shocked to hear his youngest ask him “daddy, why don’t I have good hair?” And so began an exploration into the billion dollar enterprise of “good hair”.  I literally had NO IDEA this world even existed, let alone to what extent.

Chris delves into why thousands of women feel the need to have “good hair”.  Why they will spend thousands of dollars on a weave, or inflict injury upon themselves with the toxic “relaxer”. Why men can’t even begin to think of touching their wives head, and why they would spend more on their wife’s hair – than their own mortgage payment. It’s unflinching and moving.

Chris jetted from Los Angeles to Atlanta – and even India to find out how important good hair really is.  The most poignant part of the documentary, for me, was when Chris traveled to India, where one of their top exports is human hair. It was difficult to watch as women have their heads shaved in a religious ceremony, only to have the church turn around and sell the hair for a profit.  This particular ritual makes this church the most profitable – second only to the Vatican.  It was really unbelievable to watch.

Chris sets off to talk to hair professionals, stylists, actresses and singers to get to the root of the pursuit of good hair. The documentary was eye-opening to say the least. Chris proved to be a masterful host, bringing humor – and sometimes the sad truth to the what some women will do for a good head of hair.

It’s no wonder this documentary won the Jury Prize Award at the Sundance Film Festival.  It really is a gem.

Bottom line? I loved it. Chris Rock does a perfect job of exploring the topic completely – while keeping us laughing the whole time.

Good Hair opens near you this Friday on October 23rd.

I got my copy of the New Moon Soundtrack last week, and I haven’t stopped listening to it yet.  The album is full of original songs from huge artists such as Thom Thorke, Death Cab for Cutie (video above!), The Killers, Muse and more!  It’s really hard to find an album where every single song is amazing, and this CD really is one of them.  Each song is so great! With the movie still a month away, this soundtrack is helping ease my anticipation!

You don’t have to be a Twilight fan to enjoy this album. It is full of amazing songs – you’d be hard to find a song on the CD you don’t like!

BUY THE ALBUM HERE!

Ever since the lineup went public, MTV News has been hitting up these musicians for their thoughts on joining the “Twilight” universe and the inside word about the songs they’ve contributed.

“We were all really excited to be asked to write for it, because it had become such a massive phenomenon,” Death Cab frontman Ben Gibbard said. “We wrote and recorded the song and turned it in, and you hoped the people deemed it worthy.”

It was indeed deemed worthy, as was the track recorded by Bon Iver and St. Vincent called “Rosyln.” “I think there’s something vampirey and creepy about the two of us singing together,” said St. Vincent, whose real name is Annie Clark. “It’s a simple, stripped-down kind of song. It’s really elegant and beautiful.”

Swedish singer Lykke Li revealed that she caught an early viewing of “New Moon,” sat down at the piano and composed “Possibility.” “It’s almost like a fever haze,” she explained. “It’s very repetitive, like a mood you go into. … The lyrics are like, ‘When you walk, you walk like a thief with blood on your hands, because I die when you leave me.’ ”

Returning for the second “Twilight” soundtrack, Muse said they were thankful for the increased exposure. “I think our music has reached out to whole loads of new people that haven’t heard us before,” drummer Dominic Howard said. “It’s great to know that people are discovering our music. It’s a nice side project to be involved in.”

Here is the official track listing:

* DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE — MEET ME ON THE EQUINOX
* BAND OF SKULLS — FRIENDS
* THOM YORKE — HEARING DAMAGE
* LYKKE LI — POSSIBILITY
* THE KILLERS — A WHITE DEMON LOVE SONG
* ANYA MARINA — SATELLITE HEART
* MUSE — I BELONG TO YOU (NEW MOON)
* BON IVER & ST. VINCENT — ROSYLN
* BLACK REBEL MOTORCYCLE CLUB — DONE ALL WRONG
* HURRICANE BELLS — MONSTERS
* SEA WOLF — THE VIOLET HOUR
* OK GO — SHOOTING THE MOON
* GRIZZLY BEAR — SLOW LIFE
* EDITORS — NO SOUND BUT THE WIND
* ALEXANDRE DESPLAT — NEW MOON (THE MEADOW)