When the frontman of The New Pornographers became a solo artist and emerged in 2004 with his debut album “Slow Wonder,” he probably didn’t expect to get as big in the music industry as he really did.

Allen Carl Newman, also known as A.C. Newman, blends a variety of instruments with his voice to create a soulful representation of various topics. He’s been compared to Ray Davies, Harry Nilsson, and Ben Folds, and has cited Brian Wilson and Burt Bacharach as influences.

Check A.C. Newman out in our BeatCrave Fav series and pick your favorite band this Friday!

Pick of the Day: A.C. Newman Continue Reading

Cash Cash is popping up everywhere. It’s almost hard to believe that this small New Jersey band is rising so quickly in the music world. Vocalist and Guitarist Jean Paul Makhlouf was nice enough to answer a few questions posed by BeatCrave despite his damaged vocal cords from their past tour with Metro Station. We cover the release of their new album, how Dashboard Confessional spurns acoustic shows, and their upcoming stint on Warped Tour.

How would you describe your music?

A sugar rush explosion in your mouth…Remember Pop Rox candy?? It’s kinda like that…but better! ☺ or I guess I could also say if Michael Jackson had a threesome with Britney spears and Daft Punk and somehow had a baby….it would be us!

You just finished your tour a few days ago, but you’re not starting up again in January, right?

We’re actually are starting another tour in Jan. Early January we’re going to be doing a short acoustic Hot Topic in store tour with We The Kings & Hey Monday. That tour will end in California where our next tour with Millionaires begins. Continue Reading

Beyonce slides past T.I. and Rihanna this week to grab the number one spot, while Lady GaGa continues to rise up on the charts. Multiple artists are holding up multiple top spots: T.I., Beyonce, Britney Spears, and Kanye West take up 8 of the 10 top spots, leaving room for only Lady GaGa and Katy Perry to hold on tight. Here are your top 10 songs for the week:

1. Beyonce - Single Ladies | Preview and Buy
2. T.I. ft. Rihanna - Live Your Life | Preview and Buy
3. Lady GaGa ft. Colby O‘Donis - Just Dance | Preview and Buy
4. Britney Spears - Circus | Preview and Buy
5. T.I. - Whatever You Like  | Preview and Buy
6. Britney Spears - Womanizer | Preview and Buy
7.Kanye West - Heartless | Preview and Buy
8. Katy Perry - Hot N Cold | Preview and Buy
9. Beyonce - If I Were a Boy | Preview and Buy
10. Kanye West - Love Lockdown | Preview and Buy

While the Dave Matthews Band tries to capitalize on the music industry by selling multiple albums at a time, the highly anticipated Fall Out Boy album, Folie a Deux is finally out. All American Rejects, on the other hand, learn what it’s like When The World Comes Down. Here are your CD Releases for the week:

All-American Rejects | When The World Comes Down
Keyshia Cole | A Different Me
Dave Matthews Band | Live at Mile High Music Festival
Dave Matthews Band | Live Trax Vol. 13
The-Dream | Love vs. Money
Fall Out Boy | Folie a Deux
Jamie Foxx | Intuition
Plies | Da REAList
Soulja Boy | iSouljaboytellem

While Brand New is not an up and coming band (in fact, they’re pretty well established), they have always been a very prolific indie-rock band. They’ve been around since 2000, but have not broken into the mainstream music genre despite heavy rotation on Fuse and MTV.

In the past, Brand New has toured with Incubus, Thrice, Taking Back Sunday, and Finch. Their music focuses mainly on finding oneself amidst the adversities of life, and being able to recuperate after losing someone. Brand New’s music would probably fall under what many people call “emo”, but what is emo if it doesn’t stand for emotional? All music comes with emotion, and Brand New is the epitome of expression in its finest form.

Check Brand New out in our  BEATCRAVE FAV series and pick your favorite band this Friday!

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Note: There is a photo gallery at the end of this post.

Last Saturday, December 6th, the newly re-opened Hollywood Palladium housed a sold out show for Slightly Stoopid, Bad Brains, and The Expendables. The show started around 8 with a performance by The Expendables, a surf rock band from Santa Cruz, California. Their set was relaxing but upbeat, as the smoke above the crowd suggested, but the guitar riffs and the strums of the bass kept everyone on their feet as they crowded around the stage to watch.

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Chances are, you haven’t really heard of 19-year-old Dan Hunter of PlayRadioPlay!. He’s graced the virtual pages of BeatCrave once before, and has all but dropped out of the music world (his MySpace states that he’s unsigned), but he’s still of my favorite electronic artists.

What’s so great about PlayRadioPlay!? The catchy beats, for one. For another: to imagine one man creating a perfect blend out of those free-standing beats is intriguing in itself. Dan’s talent in terms of creating music is exceptional. Using FruityLoops, Pro Tools, and Logic Pro as resources, Dan has created something out of physically nothing (except his computer!).

PlayRadioPlay! has been compared to The Postal Service, Hellogoobye, and Metro Station. Check Dan out in our new BEATCRAVE FAV series and pick your favorite band this Friday!

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These CD releases are somewhat… sparse. Who wants to make bets and project sales? I’ve got my $2 on Britney Spears. Here are the CD releases for the week:

Akon | Freedom | Preview and Buy

Ricky Martin | 17 CD/DVD | Preview and Buy

Scarface | Emeritus | Preview and Buy

Britney Spears | Circus | Preview and Buy

Photo by Hardcore Shutterbug

Welcome to BeatCrave Fav! We’ve started a new daily series where we bring you the staff’s pick of the day. Today? 3OH!3, an electro-hip hop duo from Colorado. Make sure you check back every day for a new artist, because you’ll have the chance to vote for your favorite BeatCrave Fav on Fridays! Whoever you vote as the winner will be featured once again with an interview by the band (pending their availability, etc.)

Pick of the Day: 3OH!3

Mp3: Listen to “Don’t Trust Me” here

Next shows:

• Dec 1 2008: HOB New Orleans, Louisiana
• Dec 2 2008: The Studio @ Warehouse Live Houston, Texas
• Dec 3 2008 Emo’s - Outside Room, Austin, Texas

Albums: Want - Preview and Buy

Video Below:

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