LP /  by E

       LP (Laura Pergolizzi) is an alternative rock singer and pop/rock songwriter. She was signed to her first label in 2006 and began writing songs for other artists, including Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguilera, Vicci Martinez, and Rihanna.
       This is the best way I can find to describe seeing, then hearing, LP perform for the first time: 
      




       In 2011, LP signed to Warner Brothers Records and, shortly after, her song, "Into The Wild," was featured in a Citi Bank commercial; it's the song people most recognize, solely because a few lines were featured in a thirty second commercial, but the song itself is truly great. It was the first song LP performed which she had written herself; she performed it in front of the music industry people she normally associated herself with and has stated that, though she enjoyed song-writing and working behind the scenes, she had gotten to the point where she had written songs she felt only she could sing.
       Her first album, Into The Wild, is a compilation of five of her songs, recorded live. Her next full-length album is, supposedly, in production and set to be released sometime in 2012, though this year is coming to a surprisingly quick end and a release date has yet to be set.
       LP writes all of her own songs, giving herself the advantage of writing a song which will best suit her voice but, even when she does her covers, her voice is amazing. "Levitator" and "Wasted Love" are my favorite songs of hers but, though "Levitator" does show off her voice, her voice is not quite as amazing in the other songs as it is in "Someday" (a song she co-wrote with Isa Summers, from Florence + The Machine).
       Hearing her sing, or watching her live performances, on your computer or iPod does not do her voice justice. Her stage presence is so powerful, a feat especially difficult for a single female with only a ukulele and a microphone at their disposal, that it gives the songs a sense of urgency, in a good way, the way that you can only feel at a concert; blissfully happy with the performance, amazed by how great the artist is live, and desperately waiting for the next song so that you do not miss a thing. I feel slightly indebted to my friend for forcing us to arrive at the festival early to get good 'seats' for Passion Pit, and then for forcing me off the curb and up to the front of the gate to watch LP perform, rather than ignoring the stage until Passion Pit was on it (the only other time she was this right about a situation was when she claimed that, no, I was not too white to see Wiz Khalifa).
- E

Album Releases /  by E

       September was full of highly anticipated, by me at least, releases. The bands all finished their summer tours and music festivals and their labels are desperate to get out the newest albums before their band is forgotten in the haze of the fall concert season. If you missed any releases, here are a few to catch up on:
Kodaline- The Kodaline
Two Gallants- The Bloom and the Blight
Alt-J- An Awesome Wave
The Chevin- Borderland
The Killers- Battle Born
Green Day- ¡UNO!
       This is just a minuscule list of all the albums (and a glimpse at a few of the songs) released in September; if you want an incredibly long list filled with artists who have not been given any mention, just try typing in September releases and I'm sure you'll get a long list of the albums released this month. Though this month is coming to an end, October is promising to present us with plenty of good releases, as well:
10/02- Matt & Kim- Lightening
10/02- Tilly and the Wall- Heavy Mood
10/09- Ellie Goulding- Halcyon
10/09- The Script- #3
10/09- Fitz & the Tantrums (There is no information on the title or when it will actually be  
       released, only this date and an old comment from Fitz, stating that he hopes the album is 
       released by September--a little late on that one)
10/30- Andrew Bird- Hands of Glory
       Now, to wait and see if they are released on time, and if they are worth the wait.
- E

Ke$ha /  by E

       No matter how 'good,' relatively, your taste in music is, everyone has that one band or artist they cannot get enough of. My friend used to refer to this person as "forbidden fruit" and would walk around saying "Taylor Swift is my forbidden fruit," which was kind of funny, until she came out (erm, my friend, not Swifty), then it just got a little weird (she realized this before we did though, and decided that the term, guilty pleasure, was more socially acceptable).
       My guilty pleasure is Ke$ha. She kind of got overlooked in the whole Katy Perry/Lady Gaga era, but Ke$ha is amazing all on her own. She puts on a great show, without the incredible weirdness of Lady Gaga or the awful sweetness of Katy Perry. She's just better, overall, because she's crazy weird (without reaching the awkward stage), has some really nice songs (without being sickeningly sweet), and does whatever the fuck she wants (without being annoying about it). I kind of stomped on Lady Gaga a lot in that sentence but, really, she's just annoying. Who wears a meat dress or heelless heels (the fuck came up with that torture device; I prefer my heels to have heels)? That's the same as screaming, "PAY ATTENTION TO ME; I AM INSECURE". Ugh, Lady Gag.
       Back to the greatness of Ke$ha- if you can make a music video like this and dress up Simon Rex like this, while still writing a song like this...or this... you're pretty great; being diverse is a strength, not a weakness. And turning around from the dirty look and feel of "Tik Tok" to make something that's, literally, sparkling and bursting with color in "Take It Off," is kind of impressive (plus, if you don't feel like singing along to "gonna get faded, I'm not the designated driver, so I don't give a, I don't give a,--supreme auto-tune-- I don't give a," then you're just not fun).
       That's the point of Ke$ha, just to be fun. There is the occasional serious song ("The Harold Song," "Dancing With Tears In My Eyes"), but Ke$ha's music is more concerned with getting you to dance than in getting you to think about deeper issues. Every once in a while you need to listen to an upbeat artist like this. I know that, after an hour and a half of listening to all of her songs in my iTunes, I feel kind of great (either that or that fourth cup of coffee finally kicked in...). Either way, I cannot wait until Warrior is released December 4th.
- E

"Lessons Learned" /  by E

       I hate mornings. But Matt & Kim make them a little bit better. This is a great song, and a kind of terrific music video. The only video of theirs that is almost as great as this one is "Daylight"; It's adorable, yet predictable, and "Lessons Learned" is just a better song to start your day. So start your morning the healthy way, by watching Matt & Kim strip down in Times Square.
- E