52nd Grammy Awards Preview

Well, tonight's the night.  The famed Grammy Awards are taking place this evening.  With a slew of awards to give out and plenty of performances, it's sure to be an exciting event.  The one question that everyone's asking is, "Who will win Album Of The Year?".  This year, most of the major categories consist of the same artists.  Lady GaGa, Beyonce, and Taylor Swift are all nominated for the three biggies (Album Of The Year, Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year).  The major competition will be between those three artists.  Hopefully, there won't be a "Kanye" moment.

Who do you want to win an award?  Personally, I hope that Paramore, Imogen Heap, and The Ting Tings win where they're nominated.  As for the three main awards, I would like to see Lady GaGa win something, but Taylor Swift will probably win them all.  Leave a comment telling me who you would like to win...

I'll be tweeting throughout the entire show, commenting on whatever performances or upsets happen.  You can follow me here.  Also, look for a recap post tomorrow.  May the best music win...

Angels & Airwaves - Hallucinations

Angels & Airwaves is a band made of other bands.  To be clear, it consists of members who were formally in Blink-182, The Offspring, 30 Seconds To Mars, and more.  I wouldn't quite call them a "supergroup", but those are some very recognizable names.  The "almost supergroup" plan on releasing their next album, Love, completely free.  That's right, another band is releasing an album for exactly $0.00.  Hallucinations is the first single for the album.  You can download it right now, for no cost, here.  The song itself isn't amazing, but it isn't terrible either.  It's just a little too generic.  A decent alternative-rock song, that's all.  Vocalist, Tom DeLonge from Blink-182, sounds just as he did in his previous band.  The difference is the style of music.  Parts of the song sound strangely like Kings And Queens, from 30 Seconds To Mars.  Is it just a coincidence that a member of 30STM is also in this band?  Definitely download this song, I mean... it's free.  Also, download the full album when it's released on Valentines Day.  You just might learn to love "Love".

AM Taxi - The Mistake

Everybody loves rock music with a punk twist to it, right?  Well if you do, you should know about this song.  AM Taxi will be releasing their album We Don't Stand A Chance on June 8 of this year.  The Mistake is a fast paced song with one of the most memorable "non-pop" melodies I've heard in a while.  The song starts nice and mellow with the verse.  Then, the chorus hits you.  The chorus is so catchy you'll be singing it long after you hear it.  The chorus is very reminiscent of something Rise Against would do.  It's enough to consider the band a possible influence, yet subtle enough to not sound like they're copying them.  Very impressive.  I could hear this song on modern rock or alternative radio.  Vocalist, Adam Krier, has just the right tone to his voice to save this song from falling into the overwhelming pop-punk genre.  Give the song a listen if you like Rise Against, Billy Talent, or similar bands.  The Mistake is not quite as heavy, but it's still worth a listen.

Ke$ha - TiK ToK

I featured this song in a previous post but never wrote a full review on it.  I figured with all of the hype surrounding it and with all of the records it's breaking, I should write a complete review.  I have a different opinion of the song now.  I've kind of seen it for what it is.  Ke$ha (born Kesha Rose Sebert) found out what people what right now in pop music.  Fun.  It's plain and simple, this song is fun.  If you focus on the lyrics and song structure, you'll soon find out that Tik Tok is simple and shallow.  But if you sing along to it and party carefree, you'll have fun.  This is Ke$ha's key to success.  It's the kind of song that teenage girls will blast in their car with the windows rolled down.  They'll get excited when it comes on the radio.  I mean, when you spell your name with a dollar sign, you can't be serious.  Sure, the song is pumped full of auto-tune, but that doesn't really matter in the end... at least not for Ke$ha.  Download this song or pick up the album if you need a catchy party song.  Skip it if you can't tolerate songs about beer, swagger, and Mick Jagger.

HIM - Heartkiller

From the title, Heartkiller may sound like an "exciting" song, but in reality it barely passes "memorable".  The Finnish band's seventh album Screamworks: Love In Theory and Practice is being released in the US on February 9.  Heartkiller is the lead single, but it fails to do what a lead single should, make you want more.  The single plays it safe in almost all ways.  The vocals aren't pushing any boundaries and the music is bland except for the opening guitar riff.  The bottom line is, if this is what the entire album is like, then you might not last the entire album.  Especially with the overload of rock bands that flood the industry, HIM needs something extra to set them apart from everyone else.  I would pass on this song.  If you're a long-time fan, either download the song or wait for the album and see how it sounds, it's up to you.  At least the album artwork stands out from the rest...