Jay Brannan: A Death Waltz Live From Emanuel Vigeland Mausoleum In Olso

Jay continues to amaze and inspire, performing his song A Death Waltz live from Emanuel Vigeland's Mausoleum in Olso, Norway.

Emanuel Vigeland was a well-known artist in Norway and he originally had the Mausoleum made as a museum for his work to be held in before he ultimately chose for it to serve as his burial place. His ashes still remain above the entrance to the building. The artwork in the room is a depiction of human life from conception to death. Quite a few concerts have been held in this space.

Just listen to those acoustics. A Death Waltz is featured on Jay's full-length album "Goddamned", which is now available to download worldwide through i-tunes and available in stores July 15th. Pick it up or download away. It is a brilliant album.

Alanis Morissette: Flavors Of Entanglement

The seventh studio album from Alanis Morissette may have taken 4 years to manifest itself but I must say that it was truly worth the wait. The album is a masterfully written and performed collection of electro pop/rock songs which is being described (by the fans who have already heard it in it's entirety) as her best work since her 1998 release "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie" and in some regards as her best work ever.

I personally have been describing the album as a combination of the very best elements of Jagged Little Pill, Supposed, and So Called Chaos. It has the hard edged rock sensibilities of Jagged, the reflective softness of Supposed, and the radio-friendly popiness of SCC all blended together with incredibly rich electro beats reminiscent of Bjork's earlier works (think Post and Homogenic) courtesy of producer Guy Sigworth. Alanis herself describes the album as "techno-sounding but organic."

The tracklisting for the album is as follows,

1) Citizen Of The Planet

2) Underneath (first single)

3) Straitjacket

4) Versions Of Violence

5) Not As We

6) In Praise Of The Vulnerable Man

7) Moratorium

8) Torch

9) Giggling Again For No Reason

10) Tapes

11) Incomplete

Deluxe Version Bonus Songs:

1) Orchid

2) The Guy Who Leaves

3) Madness

4) Limbo No More

5) On The Tequila

Flavors Of Entanglement will be officially released on June 10th.

Michelle Williams: Unexpected

The Divine Michelle Williams will be releasing her third solo album entitled Unexpected later this summer. I have been trying to add the hot new video for her first single "We Break The Dawn" all afternoon but everytime I do I keep getting a failed post message from youtube (assholes lol).

Michelle's last two albums (2002's Heart To Yours and 2004's Do You Know) which were primarily gospel music records did little if anything to establish her as a solo artist like her Destiny's Child counterparts, which is a shame because I always considered her to have the most unique (and therefore best) voice of the the group.

Lately she has found some success in the world of musical theatre. She replaced fellow R&B artist Toni Braxton in the title role of Elton John and Tim Rice's "Aida" on Broadway, and was most recently featured in the role of Shug Avery as part of the touring cast of the musical version of "The Color Purple".

Hopefully with her new Pop/R&B sound and Destiny's Child "Lose My Breath strut" in fine form (see the video) , she will finally begin to turn heads on the billboard charts as a solo artist.

The tracklisting for Unexpected is as follows.

1) Unexpected Intro

2) Hello Heartbreak

3) We Break The Dawn

4) Lucky Girl

5) The Greatest

6) 'Til The End Of The World

7) Private Party

8) Hungover

9) Stop This Car (rumored second single)

10) Unexpected

11) Thank You

12) Too Young For Love

The album will be released August 12th. I'll keep trying to add the video but for now you have the link.

Out Now: Sex And The City The Movie

Get the girls together, put your Manolo Blahnik's on and order up a cosmopolitan because our favorite Girl Gang is back via the silver screen.

The Sex and the City Movie is out in theatres today!!!!!!!!!!

Jay Brannan: Housewife Official Video

Okay, so I think I'm going to turn this blog into a shrine for Jay Brannan because I can't seem to stop talking about him lol. Here is the official music video for Jay's first single "Housewife from his first full length album (mentioned below)out July 15th in stores.

The one take video starts with a nod to Jay's beginnings as a music artist through his youtube video recordings with him in an apartment with his guitar performing to the camera. As he plays on the background changes showing a suburban existence reflected in the lyrics of the song and then back to the empty apartment.

Great stuff.

New Album: Jay Brannan - Goddamned

Yay! I'm sure you've all had your fill of me writing about the sublime Jay Brannan on this blog but I haven't posted in a month (and I'm sure nobody even checks this site anymore but me) so I'm going to mention some very exciting news.

Jay is finally releasing his first official "made in studio, sold in stores" album entitled "Goddamned". Jay has been touring and recording tirelessly and I know the album is going to be perfection. Plus the thought of me having a studio produced version of the song Goddamned is so thrilling. The album which was recorded at the Village Recording Studio's in LA will be released via Jay's record label "Great Depression Records" with the first single being the song Housewife for which Jay will soon be shooting a video for.

The track listing for the album is as follows,

1) Can't Have It All

2) Half-Boyfriend

3) American Idol

4) Death Waltz

5) At First Sight

6) Housewife

7) Goddamned

8) Home

9) Bowlegged & Starving

10) On All Fours

11) String-A-Long Song

Goddamned will be released July 1st through I-tunes and in stores on July 15th. To hear the album version of Housewife visit Jay's Myspace Page.

Madonna: 4 Minutes

The new Madonna video is finally here. Even though the song hasn't really grown on me yet I do think it is a good video. She and Justin are sticking to what works best for them (dancing), and she looks gorgeous, I'm not liking Justin's facial hair though.

I'm hoping the album has better songs than this. This just sounds like a cast off from one of Justin's albums.

The album Hard Candy comes out April 28th.

Janet Jackson: Rock With U Video

Here is the video for the second single from Janet's latest album "Discipline" which has reached the Number 1 position on the Billboard (her first album to do so since the release of All For You). The video is done in one shot and features Miss Jackson and the Kids (dancers) dancing up a storm.

Enjoy.

Jay Brannan: At First Sight

That's right, another Jay Brannan song for your listening and viewing pleasures. Would you say I'm obsessed yet? Okay, maybe I don't want to know the answer to that.

I enjoy the way he pieced this video together. Clever. More to come.

Jay Brannan: Ever After Happily

I'm going to add a few more Jay Brannan video's because so many of his songs have become like anthems/theme songs for me. I relate so much to his words and music and like I said I have different songs for different states of mind and this is somewhat of the one I'm in at the moment.

Introduce your friends to Jay's music if you like what you hear. He's up and coming and such an extraordinary talent. Ta.

Mariah Carey: Touch My Body

It took me a few listens (and a few watches) but I'm starting to really enjoy the new Mariah Carey song. It's quite catchy, the video is quirky and humourous but she keeps insisting on wearing the micro-mini's. You can change your style once in a blue moon Mariah, it's starting to get boring.

The new album "E=MC²" is scheduled for release on April 18th. Hope it's a good one.

Jann Arden: Good Mother

After my emotional hit parade yesterday about societies direction, I wanted to add a song that fit with the subject matter in a round about way. Music is such a powerful tool. I have a song or album for every thought and emotion that has ever run through my blood. I thought Jann Arden's "Good Mother" fully encompassed my thoughts at this time perfectly. Plus the video is too beautiful to describe.

I dedicate this to the kids in the world who are living in a world they didn't make.

"Facing Forward Be Yourself!"

What Are We Teaching Our Kids?

Okay I was seriously too tired and emotional to read about this today, I even started tearing up here at work and had to compose myself.

On February 12th of this year, a 15 year old boy named Lawrence "Larry" King was murdered at his school in Oxnard, California. A few weeks before the shooting which took his life Larry had admitted to many in his school that he was gay and had started enduring harassment from many people around him. He had asked Brandon, the 14 year old boy who shot him, to be his Valentine, Brandon then showed up to school, entered their school's computer lab and shot Larry twice in the back of the head.

Ummm..... I really don't know where to go from here as I'm starting to tear up again. I'm just wondering how do we get to a place like this? How has society not risen above this sort of prejudice? What kind of message is society sending to kids that would make one act so violently towards another because of a simple Valentine proposal? Just what exactly makes a certain person disposable in the eyes of another?

It takes a lot of courage to come out to people especially at such a young age. It's perhaps been the most terrifying experience of my personal existance and I was in my 20's when I started telling people, I couldn't even fathom coming out at 15. But on top of that, to be met with hostility and violence for the sake of being truthful with yourself and with others just makes it all the more difficult. Everyone, Everyone, EVERYONE has the right to a peaceful state of mind and to love freely who they choose. That is everyone's God Given Right and to deny a single person that right is the purest form of hatred and cruelty in my mind.

My heart goes out to the families involved and to society in general for the way we treat each other. Tolerance takes a lot of time and I hope even in this high paced world we can work harder on achieving it together. I leave you now with this clip of Ellen Degeneres talking about this tragedy on her talk show last week as she is a lot more eloquent when it comes to matters like this, my head is far too jumbled. Please watch here and try not to forget that tragedies like this are occuring daily and we can stop it by helping to change our little portion of society. If you don't understand something (or you fear something) educate yourself on the matter, don't dispose of it or ignore it.

RIP Lawrence King. Peace Everyone.

Paula Abdul: Dance Like There's No Tomorrow Video

I think Paula has done a pretty good job with the video for her new single. She looks good (I'm loving that she's in her classic dress shirt and black slacks that she often wore in her video's back in the day), the song is good and she shows off just how well she can still perform and dance around.

The one problem I have with the video is the fact that Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell show in the end shot. What the fuck is that Paula? I get why Randy is in the video, he produced the song and it is on his Music Club: Volume 1 album, but what is the point in having simon and Ryan in it. You already premiered the video on American Idol...I think that was enough of a tipping of the hat to the show.

Oh well, I knew it wouldn't be perfect, but it's nice anyway.

The OFFICIAL Sex And The City Movie Trailer

It's finally here! The official full length movie trailer for the Sex And The City Movie. Of course there are a few spoiler moments (as with any other trailer) including the reveal of Mr. Big's full name, Carrie is getting married, Charlotte get's pregnant but also has her adopted Chinese daughter, Steve seems to cheat on Miranda and Samantha is just her usual fabulous self.

"This one's married and she's not growing a national forest." Lol Classic Samantha.

Dead Like Me: Teaser Movie Trailer

For those of you who were fans of the show Dead Like Me here is the official teaser trailer for the straight to DVD movie that is expected to drop in stores sometime this year.

The show about a bunch of misfit Grim Reapers had a huge cult following but sadly only aired for two seasons. By the time the rabid fans of the show sent petitions to have it brought back to television, actor Mandy Patinkin (who played head reaper Rube) was already on another series. The entire cast with the exception of Patinkin and actress Laura Harris who played Daisy Adaire are back for the film (including my personal favorite Christine Willes as Deloris Herbig "as in Her Big brown eyes).

As far as I can tell, the Reapers have a new Head Reaper named Cameron Kane and George (played brilliantly by Ellen Muth) has been communicating with her younger sister Reggie. Watch the trailer to get a better idea of what I'm talking about.

Kylie Minogue: In My Arms

As I mentioned before Kylie has released two new singles at the same time. I previously posted the video for the North American/British single Wow and now here is the video for the single In My Arms which is the new European release.

Kylie is clearly loving her dayglo colors on this album. Though this might be my least favorite track on the X album I actually prefer this video over the one for Wow. What does everybody else think?

Sheryl Crow: Love is free

I'm really O.D.-ing on the music video's lately aren't I? Oh well, I'm loving so I'll keep doing so until I'm tired or until something better comes along.

This is the official first single from Sheryl Crow's new album Detours. The song and video are both celebrations of the people of New Orleans who have overcome many hardships in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Taylor Dayne: Beautiful

Paula Abdul is not the only one making a comeback. Taylor Dayne is back and according to this video she is bringing the early 90's back with her.

This song is off of her new album "Satisfied" which came out this past Tuesday and I really like the song (and album). The album is really soulful (which let's face it, is what Taylor does best) and her vocals are just as powerful now as they ever were, but isn't this video a little too 1992? I mean really, every female vocalist back in the early 90's had a video where it was them frolicking around while Calvin Klein models took their shirts off (not that I'm complaining), even Alanis did it, Remember the Feel Your Love video?

Anyway, it's a really nice album. She does two cover songs, the Red Hot Chili Peppers classic "Under The Bridge" and Des'ree's "Kissing You" which is the perfect match for her voice. Beautiful is the first single (duh) so give it a listen.

Paula Abdul: Dance Like There's No Tomorrow [Live]

Okay, Paula Abdul may be crazy as fuck but I have to admit...she puts on a good show. I think this was a pretty good comeback performance. She mixed the old with the new (nice, we like that), she had good stage presence, fine she was lip synching but who doesn't nowadays? Plus considering all of her health problems that slowed down her dancing (early set arthritis, back problems) she moves really well. The song is catchy to boot.

I think if she makes a right proper video for the song and goes in this direction with the new album she is working on (which according to her official website will be out this summer) I think it will be quite a promising comeback all around. Better than Britney's anyway.