The coffeehouse meets the beach in the easygoing music of boho California-free-spirit Angel Taylor. The closest I can come to classifying her summery sonic melting pot is "the female Jack Johnson," but even that falls woefully short. Her bouncy blend of sleepy reggae, upbeat soul and acoustic pop evokes everything from Third Eye Blind to Sheryl Crow to "Somewhere Over The Rainbow," without actually sounding like any of them. Who do you think she sounds like?
Angel's debut album, Love Travels, got a boost from iTunes, when they named her "Make Me Believe" their single of the week. And it's a fitting match. The breezy go-to track would be right at home in an iPod commercial. The song's success won her opening slots on tour with Adele, Brett Dennen, Brandi Carlile and Gavin DeGraw, among others. Are you impressed yet?
To seal the deal, fall into "Make Me Believe" or any of Angel Taylor's other delicately-plucked perfume daydreams, and keep an eye out for this gently rising talent.
Throaty Australian-born belter Gabriella Cilmi grew up on a steady diet of bold, personality-driven classic rock. She names Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin and T.Rex as her influences. When you hear the wallop of her voice -- and I do mean a literal fist-in-the-gut wallop -- and witness the leggy, theatrical electricity of her performance, those names start to make a lot of sense. Others that come to mind are Amy Winehouse, Alanis Morissette and Macy Gray.
Cilmi's explosive, disco-ready second MTV single, "Save The Lies," already owns in her native Australia. It's also made the rounds in Europe, where it has also just completely dominated. Why is it that we get this legit talent last?!? Regardless, when you watch the swagger-soaked video, you'll agree that Gabriella Cilmi was well worth the wait.
Finally, speaking of "worth," Cilmi's got that in droves, too. This past Saturday she joined Jack Johnson, Kings Of Leon, Wolfmother and many others in playing "Sound Relief," a monster concert whose proceeds all go to a relief fund for victims of a raging Australian wildfire that's already claimed more than 200 lives. Watch the video for "Save The Lies" below and visit the Australian Red Cross to see how you can contribute to their efforts.
Tons of shaggy kids and embarrassing old people are trucking their smelly hair and vans out to Hampton Coliseum in Virginia to hock veggie burritos and huff patchouli at the Phish reunion this weekend. Are you going? If mellow Cali crooner Brett Dennen weren't all tied up touring the Midwest with Little Ones, he'd probably be all over it. His hippieness -- a sweet-smiling babyface with a pile of hair like a Conan Halloween wig -- has done duets with such Bonnaroo regulars and jam-circuit giants as Jack Johnson, Femi Kuti, Lucinda Williams and even Mike Gordon of Phish. How, Brett Dennen? HOW?!
Well, I guess because he's really good. Back in '04, he dropped a groovy little sparkler called "Desert Sunrise," and that basically took over the Los Angeles airwaves. Since then he's released three albums, none of which has made him a millionaire, but all of which have won him a very dedicated following. Give his aforementioned Femi Kuti duet, "Make You Crazy" a whirl below, and join the cult of Brett! Mandy Moore did. (OMG. Shoes.)
(Credit: Candice Lawler)
I know. It's hard to believe that the guys above actually play music and aren't extremely life-like mannequins, designed to just stand there and stare back at you, making you think slightly impure thoughts because they're SO FREAKING HOT IT'S INSANE.
But they're actually for-real living, breathing human beings AND musicians. You know Jay Lyon as Whitney Port's boyfriend on The City, and that's Potsy on the right, and they're both in the beachy band, Tamarama -- think Jack Jackson meets Jason Mraz on holiday at Bondi Beach. (Do you like how I just casually said "holiday"?) And they're both extremely hot, if I didn't mention that yet. I would mention the fact that they have Australian accents, but your either your head or monitor might detonate.
+ Check out brand-new Tamarama photos, and watch Tamarama's latest video, "Everything To Me."
(P.S. Jay's actually that absurdly gorgeous in person.)
Earth Day was first celebrated in 1970, the idea of then-Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson, who saw the event as a nationwide "teach-in." Well, we've come a long way since then, but the idea of Earth Day has never been so important. Living a greener life is no longer some sort of hippie ideal or left-of-center concern, it is, in short, the only way to keep the planet on which we live functioning for those who live here now and for generations to come.
Sure, Earth Day should be every day, but since it is today (the March equinox), here are a few things you can check out that might give you some food for thought: Read more...
