Still Fond, 3 Little Words

In the daunting process of whittling down my large "Favorites of 2008" list to fit onto a measly disc, I got the overwhelming feeling of "THIS SONG EFFING RULES!", the song being "Still Fond" by Cut Off Your Hands. The video is pretty great too, considering how LAME music videos have gotten since 2004. I like the lenticular action in the middle of the video.

While we're on the subject, I'm including Frankmusik's "3 Little Words" video, a tribute to Tom Hanks in BIG. Unfortunately I don't know who directed it, nor do I like the new version of the song that's used in it. In my opinion the original version is best, which can be heard/seen here, though Frankmusik looks really good in the piano version. I'm afraid I've developed a bit of an aesthetic and musical crush. (Sorry, Boo!)


directed by Joel Kefali



Stuart Price version

Our Song

I don't want to write a blog about how I got engaged. (I realize that I "announced" it by changing my status on Myspace and Facebook, but I still would rather tell people in person.)

Instead, I'd like to commemorate my engagement by sharing "our song" in a claudioblog: I Love You by The Bees (UK), aka Band of Bees.

It's one of my all-time favorite songs. Not only is it insanely good, but it was recorded by a British band in 2004, not 1960's Motown or Low-Rider Oldies. Also, Chris does the best trombone imitations to it and I love them.

I love you, boo.




download I Love You
download I Love You (remixed) ... wait :30 for the beat to kick in

Version 90210.1.0

I can't believe I left this gem out of last week's list!



JEREMY JORDAN right kind of love download

90210 edition

With the new 90210 approaching in three days, I thought I'd post my favorite soundtracks from the original "Beverly Hills 90210", along with a couple of songs that just remind me of 90210.



JOHN DAVIS theme from Beverly Hills 90210 download

CROWDED HOUSE don't dream it's over download
I always associated this with 90210 but never knew if it was actually used in an episode. So after some research, I found out it was at the end of Episode 10, when Brenda and Dylan go on a date and kiss for the first time! Even if it was never used on the show, it just sounds so 90210-ey.

JADE every day of the week download
[Off the official ST] Jade... what an underrated 90's R&B group! For people who like this kind of music, at least.

JAMIE WALTERS hold on download
THE HEIGHTS how do you talk to an angel download
No 90210 mini-playlist is complete without Jamie Walters or The Heights (the spinoff, remember?). As a side-note, the Ben Stiller show did the funniest parody called Melrose Heights: 90210-2402

BIG MOUNTAIN baby i love your way download
I'm cheating and putting a song that always reminds me of Melrose Place. I just remember that it was used at the beginning of an episode while the camera panned to Michael's beach house. I think he was doing it with Marcia Cross, but I don't remember. It's already hard to believe I was 10 and watching Melrose Place. Anyway, not technically from 90210 but I wanted to include it.

CATHY DENNIS w/ D-MOB why download
[Off the official ST] I think this was used during their prom, when Donna of all people gets drunk. I always liked Cathy Dennis. My dad had her CD and I remember taking it for myself, heh heh. Watch a great 90's music video/great remix of this song here on Youtube. Man oh man... remind me to post more old Cathy Dennis!

Friday forte 08/15/08

Haven't done a Friday forte in a long time, so here goes.



MARITIME tearing up the oxygen download
I was enjoying an old song by the Promise Ring the other day and it made me wonder "Whatever happened to them?" Cuz they were really awesome. So after some Google investigation, I found out that two of the guys started a new band called Maritime, which is also good.

MEMPHIS i'll do whatever you want download
Just a song a found on someone's blog and I liked it a lot. It's like fast-paced shoegazing.

TIFFANY EVANS w/ CIARA promise ring download
TIFFANY EVANS lay back & chill download
My aunt gives me a truckload of Sony CD's every year for my bday and I gave this one a chance. I'm glad because the female R&B dance sub-genre died in the late 90's/early 2000 and ghettoblastin' pop never gets old.

The New "Ice Ice Baby"?

Another belated Friday forte. Short but sweet.



CREAKY BOARDS the songs i didn't write download removed
COLDPLAY viva la vida download removed
You've probably already heard of or seen this YouTube video. I do agree that they are similar, but people are making too big of a deal out of it. I personally like the Creaky Boards version a little better (though the ending is lame). OBVIOUSLY the melody goes down where Coldplay's melody goes up. ::a bit of sarcasm::

ALICE DEEJAY better off alone download
Lastly, at band practice Marc totally heard "Better Off Alone" hidden in a new keyboard patch I was using. So now I know how to play it. HELL YESSS

nerds (Friday forte 6-20-08)

everyone nose (all the girls standing in the line for the bathroom) download
you know what download
windows download
yeah you download
I got this CD last week and these are my favorite 4 tracks. N.E.R.D. is one of my top favorite bands and this third album of theirs is somewhat disappointing. For one, the quality of the mix (the way the instruments blend together) isn't good. I listen to this in my car and wish the sound was less shallow and just had more..i dunno... volume. Also, their songwriting hasn't been as it once was, like when they first came out with In Search Of... ::sigh:: Oh well. I hope you enjoy these tracks nonetheless and as a bonus, I included what is probably my most favorite N.E.R.D. track:
the way she dances (from Fly or Die) download

Friday forte 06-13-08

Mangia!



NIZA por las tardes download
Of all the places to discover a song I really like! I had to Verizon SongID this one while walking through CityWalk ::ashamed:: But if I had to pick my favorite genre ever it would be the big umbrella [pun intended] of "tropical music"... e.g. bossa nova.

ADELE daydreamer download
I REALLY dislike Amy Winehouse. And although Joss Stone is pretty good, the soul-singing Brit that I prefer is Adele. I fell in love with this song the first time I heard it.

WEEZER heart songs download
I normally hate songs that have tons of pop culture references (like the fcukin' annoying Abercrombie & Fitch song by LFO!) but I really enjoy this Weezer ballad nonetheless.

BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB & COLDPLAY clocks download
COCO FREEMAN & FRANZ FERDINAND download
These two are my favorite tracks from "Rhythms del Mundo: Cuba" by the Buena Vista Social Club. It was a charity covers album released in 2006, but I only bought recently. I've gone astray from my former Coldplay devotion, but I will always love their older work.

(belated) Friday forte 06-06-08

Here's my belated Friday forte. I don't - ok, well I DO - mean to brag; I was previewing Toy Story Mania yesterday. =P Enjoy the list!



RADIOHEAD weird fishes/arpeggi download
GOD I could listen to this song all day.

REGINA SPEKTOR fidelity download
This was used in some commercial and didn't realize how catchy it was until I saw the music video last week.

FLEETWOOD MAC little lies download
My bf teased me of lying the other day and randomly sang the chorus from this. It just reminded me how much I liked this song when I was little (as well as impressed with Chris' knowledge of 80s pop).

MUSIQ teachme download
MUSIQ buddy download
"Teachme" is like, a year old, but didn't realize how much I liked it until recently, when I stumbled upon a piano tutorial on YouTube (I don't remember what I was originally looking at). That, in turn, led me to a cool video of some guy playing "buddy" by ear. Hardcore musicians are always uppity about this kind of thing and never impressed with people who play pop songs by ear, but I say Get off your high horse cuz it's still a cool gift [that I am jealous of].


TAANA GARDNER heartbeat download
INI KAMOZE here come the hotstepper download
Lastly, the original that's sampled in "buddy". LOTS of hip-hop have sampled "heartbeat", but c'mon... hotstepper's the shit.

Friday forte 05-30-08

Here's my Friday forte of what I've been playing all week /slash/ been obsessed with lately. Enjoy!



THE MEETING PLACES on our own download
I've been obsessed with this song for two and a half weeks already. I love dreamy rock.

VAN SHE here with you download
VAN SHE kelly download
"Here with you" is another dreamy rock song. (I would preferably just use the term "shoegazer", but I'd probably get attacked by music snobs for using it incorrectly. ugh.) In looking for this song I was forced to download the whole EP it came on. I never heard of Van She before but I'm glad I had to download the whole EP because it's REALLY GOOD! I'm including 2 songs for you in this post, but you can dL the whole EP here (basically the same guy I downloaded from). "Kelly" could get mistaken as an 80's teen movie song. And the rest of the tracks is more synth rock, which I am always a sucker for.

MOBIUS BAND year of the president download
Another old song I only discovered recently. I love how 90's it sounds.

BEN KWELLER lollipop download
CAKE strangers in the night download
two oldies covers made for a video game called "Stubbs the Zombie". The Cake version reminds me of the Eagles.

Soundtrack Rarities

This week I'm going to highlight 6 great, hard-to-find songs from old, vintage horror/grindhouse movies. The great thing about movies from the late 70's and early 80's is the great disco and synth pop that came with. These songs I picked are pretty much some of the best 70's and 80's songs you'll ever hear. You're in luck because now they're all on this one page for you to download.

A big thanks to my Christian and his latest Netflix obsession with old Italian horror, exploitation films and other grindhouse movies. I would never have known these existed, and now you do too!

Without further ado:

	SLEEPAWAY CAMP (1983) Frank Vinci - You're Just What I've Been Looking For (Angela's Theme) right-click to download great 80's track; this is probably the most-known flick of my list
	CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1980) Riz Ortolani - Cannibal Holocaust (Main Theme) right-click to download not a dancy one like the rest, but beautifully sad, especially the way it's used in the film to contrast what's happening
	ZOMBIE aka ZOMBI 2 (1979) Fabio Frizzi & Giorgio Tucci - Zombie right-click to download starts off creepy, but then the awesome synth riff kicks in!
	PROM NIGHT (1980) Prom Night (part 2) right-click to download don't make the mistake i did: just because jamie lee curtis and leslie nielsen are in it, doesn't mean it's good; disco is its only redemption
AND NOW MY FAVORITE TWO:
	TENEBRE (1982) [3 guys from the band] Goblin - Tenebre right-click to download I gave this movie 5 stars on Netflix. Same would go for the song.

And finally, House on the Edge of the Park. I haven't actually seen this movie (yet), only the trailer. The music in it is amazing. I'm including the trailer for you, but I have to warn you first that there's a lot of frontal nudity and semi-abuse toward women. Other than that, it's really worth it to see the wrong translation of the title (Whoa! Better watch out for that EDGY PARK!) and to hear the awesome trailer music.

HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK (1980) Riz Ortolani - Do It to Me right-click to download GOD THIS SONG RULES

OH SHIITAKE! (new music blog)

FUCK! I like a Kanye West song. I mean REALLY like.  

Well, it's technically "Estelle featuring Kanye West". And she's not even a good singer but FUCK why does the beat have to sound so good?? UGH! The more I listen to it I think, What a waste of a dance song! It should have gone to a much better singer/group. Her voice is horrible and drastically autotuned (i REALLY hate when she sings the "you" in "come kick it with yoooou") and Kanye West really annoys me as a person. But FUCK he can be a good producer at times. UGH.

On a brighter note a friend of mine (thanks Alex!) introduced me to an old band called Whitest Boy Alive. DAMN could I be more oblivious because Whitest Boy Alive was Erlend Oye's side project next to Kings of Convenience, which is only MY MOST FAVORITE GROUP EVER!!! Apparently he got the band together in 2003 or something, but DAMN i can't believe i never followed up on it then. It's not that surprising because Erik was my favorite 'King' anyway, but nevertheless, I found a new band to really love and I'm glad.

Enjoy these Downloads (they're legit and virus-free) and have a great weekend!

ESTELLE feat. KANYE WEST american boy
WHITEST BOY ALIVE 24k [3 seconds near the end are mute. sorry.]
WHITEST BOY ALIVE figures

RIP BMW - a requiem mixtape

It’s been a little over a month since my old car was donated. It was my "first car" - a used, 1986 BMW 528e that was handed down from my parents.

It has played a big part of my life - senior year HS, LMU, commuting to internships, joining a band, and starting at Universal.

It was bound to happen though. And to commemorate the old Pimpmobile, I am going to share with you the old mixtape that got me through all the traffic and long commutes between Hollywood and LMU; the summer I worked at RECA and the following year that I interned at Capitol.

You may laugh at this mixtape - oh, and it was definitely an actual cassette - but I loved it. I made it, hoping that it would be a mix that I would never grow tired of. Of course my taste is much more expansive than this little tape but when I listened to it yesterday, it still holds true that I’m not tired of this mix.

Goodbye, BMW. You will be missed.




BMW Mixtape, dated 05/15/04
A side:
MICHAEL BUBLE come fly with me
HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH sugar daddy
PHARRELL frontin’
POSTAL SERVICE dc sleeps alone tonight
SAVES THE DAY nightingale
BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS waiting in vain
YELLOWCARD ocean avenue
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE sound of settling

B side:
AMEL LARRIEUX for real
VIVIAN GREEN what is love
N.E.R.D. the way she dances
JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE let’s take a ride
THE CURE just like heaven
SADE kiss of life
JOHN MAYER clarity
COLDPLAY parachutes

click here to download my mixtape (in ZIP format)

Do I have a Great Bushy Beard??!: A heelarious blog about DST

To the three of you who actually read my blogs, you might recall that my first music blog featured Mr. Paul F. Tompkins and a devil doll. To those of you who are unfortunately unfamiliar with Mr. F, your luck is about to change!!

This is a track about Daylight Savings Time from his stand-up album "Impersonal". Do yourself a favor and buy a copy or iTunes it. Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day song

My usual Valentine's custom is to post my "VD playlist" of anti-love songs, a great list that included radiohead's creep and garbage's 1 crush. This time around I was too busy to compile a new one, plus the original list was saved on my old computer and God knows how long that takes to boot up!

So I can only leave you with these two little numbers, which had been the top 2 on that countdown, as well as my own personal anthems up til 2006 when I no longer needed an anti-love/I-hope-you-get-VD-on-VDay playlist. (yay for boos!) Hopefully I can put up that full list sometime but enjoy these until then. Love, Claudine

Song of the Week 1/27/08

Last October 30 was pretty much the greatest night of music I've ever experienced. It was a little Halloween show at the Largo called "Eban Schletter's Witching Hour". It was basically a show he created of kooky Halloween chants, ghost stories and music that Eban Schletter wrote, with a bunch of cool special guests like Paul F Tompkins, Tom Kenny, and Kevin McDonald.

And just in case you're wondering, Eban Schletter wrote the music for Mr. Show and currently writes music for Spongebob Squarepants. You can read more about that stuff if you click here.

Anyhoos... Chris and I got to meet him around Christmastime at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater. He was super nice and super happy that we liked his Witching Hour so much. He told us that a CD of it was in the works (YAY!) and that he would be doing the same show again February 2 because the turnout was good (YAY!). Chris - no joke - got reservations that same week and Largo didn't even have it on their website calendar until about 2 or 3 weeks ago! here's a flyer

Since I'm super excited I'm submitting "Devil Doll (feat. Paul F Tompkins)" as my first Song of the Week installment. It's super good.

PS- Feb. 2nd seems random but he said it coincides with another witch holiday. i just forgot the name.