People have been turning to music in times of emotional crisis for a long time. These days, though, the neurochemically confused seem to be turning more and more to pop songs that simply mirror their despair, rather than look for happier tunes to cheer themselves. My Chemical Romance’s album The Black Parade went platinum last year because they convinced anguished teens that they felt the pain, too. In the battle to claim our musical mood, optimism seemed down for the count. Luckily for us, James Taylor and his Band of Legends came to the Greek Theatre Tuesday night, to remind us that it’s a lot more fun to be happy.

James led his group of impressive musicians through more than two hours of feel-good music, splitting the time between his classic hits and a number of cover tunes from their recently recorded album. For the most part, the covers worked, the high point being Glen Campbell’s “Wichita Lineman,” which sounded positively beautiful. “Oh, What A Beautiful Morning,” the opening tune from Oklahoma, also fit surprisingly well into the James Taylor mold, and The Temptations’ “It’s Growing” started off the set like it had been in rotation for years.

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Coolio comes in with a steal, Young Jeezy educates on the Recession, and Andre Williams wants to know if you can Deal With It. Here are the CD Releases for the week:

Coolio | Steal Hear
Alice Cooper | Along Came A Spider
Richie Havens | Nobody Left to Crown
Rick Springfield | Venus in Overdrive
Andre Williams | Can You Deal With It?
Young Jeezy | The Recession

I’m sure almost everyone has lost something near and dear to them, whether it be a friend, family member, or a pet. We deserve to feel sad sometimes, and at those times, music can help soothe the soul. Here is a playlist to help you cope with the lost of a loved one.

1. Brother Iz – Somewhere Over the Rainbow | Preview and Buy
2. Jimmy Eat World – Hear You Me | Preview and Buy
3. Audrey Hepburn and Henry Mancini – Moon River | Preview and Buy
4. Babyface – Every Time I Close My Eyes | Preview and Buy
5. Boyz II Men – It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday | Preview and Buy
6. Aerosmith – I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing | Preview and Buy
7. Lifehouse – Everything | Preview and Buy
8. Anberlin – Paperthin Hymn | Preview and Buy
9. Anna Nalick – 2 AM | Preview and Buy
10. Luthor Vandross – Dance With My Father | Preview and Buy
11. BBMak – Ghost of You and Me | Preview and Buy
12. Angels and Airwaves – Distraction | Preview and Buy

Picture by evenz

Valencia Live

Hey, you know that band that sounds like that band that kind of sounds like Fall Out Boy? Well there is a new band that sounds a lot like them.  Valencia is adding to the screeching-guitar meets screeching-broken hearted-boy music genre with their album “We All Need a Reason to Believe.”  Comprised of Shane Henderson (vocals), JD Perry (guitar), Maxim Soria (drums), George Ciukurescu (bass) and Brendan Walter (guitar), Valencia are definitely a competent band but there is something greatly lacking on “We All Need a Reason to Believe” and it’s not just originality.

All eleven tracks on the album sound painstankingly like the song that came before.  While each song is obviously about something slightly different than the last (though they all seem to be, in one way or another about a nameless girl) the pace of the album never seems to change. Even the songs that seem to slow things down quickly (pun intended) pick up and revert back to the faster tempo and create a monotony that could have easily been remedied with a balladesque track or two.

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Katy Perry pulled a triple whammy this week, topping three different charts on Billboard. “I Kissed a Girl” made # 1 on the Hot 100, Pop 100 and Hot Digital Song charts. Ahh, the bicurious scene kid’s theme song!

Just when the LGBT community was slowly getting some validation and respect, this gospel girl gone gay comes out crooning about how confused she is for expressing homosexual desires. Oh no, kissing a girl! She liked it…What would her pastor parents think? This creates a sort of Catch-22; should we be glad that it’s now acceptable to mainstream audiences to sing about homosexual tendencies even if it’s still in that silly overrated heterosexual paradigm? Perry’s lyrics both help and hurt the LGBT community at large. Here you have a hot new influential gorgeous female who is successful and of a religious background talking about kissing girls: PRO. You also have a hot new influential gorgeous female saying that she’s confused, she feels dirty, she feels good and bad: CON.

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Many of you may remember thenewno2 from our Know your LA Bands series or possibly some where else not as cool. We just found out about some awesome new stuff going on with the thenewno2. Their new song, “Another John Doe” and their older release “Choose What You’re Watching” are available on iTunes now. They will be releasing their new album, YOU ARE HERE on August 1st and you can buy or download from their MySpace. Just to tide you over until then, you can also find their new track “Yomp” which will be featured on YOU ARE HERE, available on RockBand for PS3 and XBOX 306 on July 29th. To find out more details you can check them out on MySpace.

The one thing that I never knew about TheNewNo2 when we interviewed them was how amazing their fan base is. Their fans seem to follow them passionately as well as creatively. TheNewNo2 has set up a fan art section where fans can upload their work.

Astra Heights

It was an exciting night at Key Club last Wednesday. At 6:30 a red carpet lay on the Sunset sidewalk welcoming supporters and members of the David Lynch Foundation to the fundraising event that would include both musical performances and a silent auction. By around 8:30 the club was jam packed with people sporting David Lynch Foundation shirts, placing bids on clothing articles and artwork (including the featured painting of David Lynch himself), and sipping drinks. Astra Heights was the first band to take the stage, loosening up the club with some Texas grown pop-rock. The following act was 8mm whose lead singer charmed the room with a silky voice and equally smooth moves.

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Until last night I had never been to the Hollywood Bowl, but I am already planning my next trip. What a fantastic venue. Usually I prefer a smaller venue when I’m seeing a show, but when my friend was buying tickets and asked if I’d like to go, I figured I would check it out. I’d heard two Feist songs before last night and I’m sure anyone can guess which two; I was going for Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings. For those of you who haven’t heard the powerful Ms. Jones and the soulful sounds of the Dap Kings, I highly recommend checking them out.

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The Chronicals of Jeremiah Victory

The first time you meet Jeremy Vic (short for Jeremiah Victory), its not hard to figure out what he’s about. He doesn’t hide his passion or excitement for the music he makes whatsoever, and this type of honesty is almost disarming. Observing him with his peers provides another peek into this passion; the support behind his debut album The Chronicles of Jeremiah Victory is astonishing, as friends new and old came to rally in support of his endeavor.

All of this, however, is secondary to the music, which was still waiting to be debuted at “South,” a hip Santa Monica sports bar, when I arrived. Playing mostly rock earlier in the night, there was a clear shift in the vibe as the lights dimmed, and “Light It Up,” one of the most club friendly tracks on the album, began pumping through the speakers. Without realizing that they were listening to an up and coming new artist, peoples’ heads began to nod, booties began to shake, and it was clear this was a success. The sentiment of one party goer accurately reflected my feelings about the track, “The more I listened to it the more I liked it!”

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