Burgernoodle

Kanye West apparently believes that he and Justin Timberlake rule the world.  According to CNN Entertainment, he recently claimed that Timberlake is his “inspiration and biggest competition”…which is, of course, an innocuous statement more flattering to the pop star than anything else.  But then his ego inflates a tad and he says, ”I look at me and Justin like Prince and Michael Jackson in their day.”  Justin, possibly.  Kanye, hardly.  And finally, “I feel like my lyrics are, if not THE, then equal to, the realest lyrics out there.”  Now, it is par for the course to have hip hop/rap artists going around touting their musical talents, but someone needs to stick a little pin in that inflated noggin of his because after that statement the score is already English Vocabulary: 1, Kanye: 0.  Sure, “Gold Digger” was a big hit way back when, “Stronger” is a hot summer single, and he’s had some successful collaborations, but he’s a few groundbreaking albums away from being on the same level as Prince, MJ, and even JT.

Under the Blacklight, the latest album by LA-based indie rockers, Rilo Kiley, hit stores today.   After the 2004 release of More Adventurous, both Jenny Lewis (vocals, keyboard) and Blake Sennett (guitar, vocals) took a bit of a hiatus from the band to focus on their respective solo projects - Sennett released his second album with his alt rock band, The Elected, and Lewis released her soulful and country-infused debut album Rabbit Fur Coat.  But lucky for Rilo Kiley fans, the talented two (who were both child actors and were even romantically involved for the first few years of the band’s existence) are together again doing what they do best…blasting out great pop melodies.  Listen to some samples on Rilo Kiley’s myspace page, or check them out live at one of their upcoming shows.  List of tour dates after the jump: Continue Reading…

This summer’s finest “Celebreality” show airs Sunday nights at 9 on VH1.  If you haven’t yet seen this little gem of a show, you are really missing out.  It’s “The Batchelor” with a bottle of whiskey, way less clothing, and a few hundred more tattoos.  Did I say “less clothing”?  I meant no clothing.  Bret Michaels (lead singer of hard rock band, Poison) searches for love the only way anyone knows how to these days…on national television with 25 potential mates to chose from.  I haven’t totally figured out why this show is so fantastic.  Is it because Bret Michaels is a veritable Rock God (heh heh)?  Because you’d rather meet Freddie Kruger in a dark alley before one of these ladies?  Or simply because watching the show makes you feel better about being you?  It’s a mystery that will only reveal itself as the show rolls on week after week.  Some highlights: the songwriting competition in which the women had to woo Bret with their music-making skills; Bret serenading Jess with a “new” song that was basically “Every rose has it’s thorn” with different lyrics; and Heather, the professional stripper, trying to pass as a 32 yr old.  Check it out next Sunday then check back here for more highlights…

In April 2002, Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley died of a cocaine and heroine overdose after years of struggling with addiction.  Six years ealier the band spent one of their last performances together on Mtv’s Unplugged.  According to Billboard.com, on September 18th Columbia/Legacy will re-release that album along with three other classic Unplugged performaces (Bob Dylan, Mariah Carey, and Tony Bennett).  The reissues will include a DVD of tracks and extras that weren’t part of the original television production.   The somber intensity of Alice in Chains’ music made them one of the pioneers of the Seattle grunge scene in the early 90s, but their hard rocking nature also appealed to metal fans.  This Unplugged release is a chance to see an amazing band (who’s music crossed over sub-genres of rock music) perform in an intimate accoustic setting before the darkness of addiction took Staley’s life.

This is the first of periodic “TOP 5″ lists (these are just the opinions of BN and are not supported by documented evidence or popular polls)

What did the infamous Power Ballad bring the 80s hard rock scene besides a female audience and some radio popularity? Please, it defined a generation! So let’s pay tribute to a time when white trash wasn’t just a funny party theme, but a chapter in music history.  And really, a way of life.

Listen to them all…

Continue Reading…

Everyone loves mash-ups, even Eddie Vedder.  He performed one of his own this year at Lollapalooza 2007 when he rocked “Daughter” right into Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In The Wall”.  Not everyone, however, likes anti-Bush setiments, especially corporations like AT&T.  During the telephone titan’s webcast of the concert, portions of the performance were mysteriously cut out…right when Eddie sings “George Bush, leave this world alone/George Bush, find another home”.  In a statement made by At&T, they said that what happened on the webcast was a “mistake”, against their policy, and that “AT&T does not censor performances.”  And if anyone believes that, I’m quite certain they also believe that there’s an extremely rich lady who lives in the sky and collects human teeth as a hobby.  However, it’s understandable why Pearl Jam fans and Bush-haters (who together probably make up 92% of the population) are upset about this.  It’s rock music’s job to challenge the status quo, question the nature of oppressive administrations, and empower younger generations.  Rock stars do not sing about fluffy kittens (although if Jimmy Page had written it, there would definitely be less feral cats running around).  Anyway, the lesson here is that AT&T should grow a pair, Pearl Jam should say something worse next time, and fans need to keep circulating this stuff on the internet.  Here it is, the song that AT&T censored.

Well, it’s that time of year again.  The moon men have shipped from the warehouse, landed on the desk of some Mtv executive, and are patiently awaiting their new home.  Mtv.com has announced this year’s nominees for the Video Music Awards which will air September 9th at 9pm, live from the Palms Casino in Las Vegas.  The major condenders should be no real surprise to anyone.  Justin Timberlake and Beyonce, King and Queen of all things Pop are both up for seven awards each.  Timbaland could win Monster Single of the Year with “The Way I Are,” but depending on how much influence Idol had this year, Daughtry’s “Home” could wind up with that one.  Man are we sick of that song.  In all honesty, Rihanna/Jay Z’s ”Umbrella” should take it home since that single is ridiculously fantastic.  All in all, the R&B influence in pop music these days is truely impressive.  And thank god for that because there are only so many Avril Lavignes and Fall Out Boys than we can handle.  Saying “no” to rehab scored Amy Winehouse a few nods as well (now we are getting into Academy Awards lingo).  And of course, it wouldn’t be a VMA without U2 winning awards for their alleged new releases .  The band is nominated for Most Earthshattering Collaboration for “The Saints Are Coming” (featuring Green Day) and Bono, himself, is nominated for Quadruple Threat Of The Year - you will need to visit Mtv.com for the definition of that one.  Of course they will win one, if not both, of these awards because that’s just the way it works.  Next year there should really just be a Generic U2 Award and the moon men can ship directly from the warehouse to Bono’s home address.

The latest issue of Rolling Stone Magazine has posted the “College Radio Top 10 Albums” and here they are:

1. THE WHITE STRIPES (Icky Thump)

2. SPOON (Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga)

3. WILCO (Sky Blue Sky)

4. THE NATIONAL (Boxer)

5. BEASTIE BOYS (The Mix-Up)

6. METRIC (Grow Up and Blow Away)

7. THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS (The Else)

8. BATTLES (Mirrored)

9. THE POLYPHONIC SPREE (The Fragile Army)

10. QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE (Era Vulgaris)

Question: when did college kids become so cool?  What happened to 18 year olds who leave the nest gripping onto their Cat Stevens, The Doors, DMB, and Phish cds?  Oh and don’t forget Alanis Morissette.  The top college album in the late 90s (burgernoodle’s years) was probably August and Everything After, for chrissake.  Is music getting better or are college kids getting smarter?  Or do they just not want to look at their cd collection when they’re 30 and realize Amoeba won’t buy them and they’re too embarassing for the yardsale?  Who really knows, but three cheers for Music Darwinism.

If you live in a major metropolitan area, chances are this incredible Canadian arena rock band is probably coming to an amphitheater near you this summer (although, they’re also heading to Maryland Heights, MO and Bonner Springs, KS).  So it would behoove you to (ahem) rush to ticketmaster right now and get yourself a couple of decent seats.  Rush will be rocking North American cities through September before they head off to continue their tour in Europe.  The tour promotes their latest release, Snakes and Arrows, one of the first albums released in MVI format (Music Video Interactive).  You can play this stuff on DVD players, computers, video game consoles.  What does that really mean, exactly?  Who knows,  just do a little research on Wikipedia.  And don’t make any excuses about not having any time for said research, because unless you work on the floor of Nordstrom Rack, you have time.  Back to Rush, check out their summer tour and get more news updates on the band’s official site, http://www.rush.com/.