Nicole Scherzinger – Don’t Hold Your Breath
This is actually a fantastic track. It’s got a really good chorus (so I think at least, it’s easy, and catchy). Plus, Nicole Scherzinger sounds exactly like how PCD did (ha! get it?) and of course, she’s still good as ever. It really feels like a good summer track, but Wikipedia says that the track will be released 3/20/2011. Also it says that she’s going to be in MiB III. Ooky.

Katy Perry – Part of Me
Starts out with a drumbeat that reminds me of “The One that Got Away”, and then starts a guitar riff that sounds like “California Gurls”. Part of Me is reported to actually have been from the same studio sessions as the rest of Teenage Dream, but it got cut. Which is too bad – it’s a good track, easy listen. I guess it feels too similar to some of the other stuff.

Avril Lavigne – What The Hell
Avril Lavigne is fun to listen to, even if everything is super annoyingly catchy (I guess that is the point). She’s still as good as ever at writing songs that get in your head. “What the Hell” was released 1/11/11 (clever), though it premiered on NYE. It really just reminds me of high school, for some reason. Er, not my own experience. Just the stereotypical one. Somewhere.

LMFAO – Party Rock Anthem
“Party Rock Anthem” was also released on NYE. It is, like the rest of LMFAO’s tracks, party oriented. Feels a lot dancier than a lot of the stuff from their first album, Party Rock. Probably because of all the synths. Probably also a bit more approachable due to the lack of SHOTS SHOTS SHOTSSHOTSSHOTS SHOTS.

Panic at the Disco – The Ballad of Mona Lisa
I love Panic at the Disco for everything they do, because they make great music. They kind of took control of their own identity in their sophomore album, doing less emo stuff and some more happy sounding things. They dropped the exclamation mark from the name as well. The band lineup’s changed from the last album. Brandon Urie’s still around (hence the recognizable voice), as well as the drummer. Supposed goal is to go to a more pop sound, though this song really seems to hearken back to the first album, which I approve of. “The Ballad of Mona Lisa” was released 2/1/2011

Frankmusik – Stereo World
Frankmusik’s working hard on his album, to be released shortly. For those who don’t know, Frankmusik busted into my library last year and has quickly become one of my favorite artists – with some great synth tracks. Kind of reminds me (in terms of tech) of Owl City but not so saccharine (good thing). Stereo Love is such a happy song and I love it. Unfortunately, it’s not going to be on the next album – he’s released all the tracks that were cut in downloads and EP’s. This track was out in mid January (and makes me want to dance every time I hear it)

Taio Cruz – Higher (ft Kylie Minogue and Travie McCoy)
There are actually a bunch of versions – one with just Taio, a duet with Kylie, a duet with Travie, a collab with both, and another with K3 (some Flemish girl band). Highly catchy song, I imagine good for play in a club/dance scene. I like the version with Kylie in it because I think she is awesome and makes good music etc. This version was released 2/1/2011

Sean Kingston – Won’t Stop (ft Justin Bieber)
Ok I don’t actually like this song (well, yet, maybe). And that isn’t just because Justin Bieber is in it – he has some songs that are fun to listen to. I haven’t listened to it that much, because it was released maybe a few hours ago (2/3/2011). And c’mon, who wouldn’t be amused at Justin Bieber a) autotuned to hell and b) with a mid-pubescent voice and c) rapping with said mid-pubescent voice. Oh Justin Bieber, you embarrass yourself, but it seems to work for the ladies (if they are between the age of 4 and 17).

Colbie Caillat – I Do
Everyone loves Colbie Caillat! And you can’t not like her after listening to “I Do”. It’s a silly song about weddings (she says it’s a joke) but it is absolutely a joy to listen to (ukelele!) and she’s a beautiful singer, as usual. The song is planned to be out 2/7/2011, and the album on 5/3/2011.

Lots of good albums to look forward to this year! If I can manage to keep my interest in blogging high, maybe you’ll hear about them before your friends who don’t have the joy of knowing me and reading my fantastically interesting blog posts. Also as usual, ask me if you want anything! Dropbox is generally full of what I’m listening to for the week, so just ask for access.

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So my method of music listening, as some of you know, is by album. Therefore, in this case, the top ten is really unfairly weighted towards Jason Mraz, I’ll just write about the top 10 albums. Since I don’t use iTunes, I’ll just pull from my last.fm charts. Each item is followed by the number of plays

Top 10 albums

1. Owl City – Ocean Eyes (397)
2. Leona Lewis – Echo (286)
3. Lady Gaga – The Fame Monster (Deluxe Edition) (282)
4. Passion Pit – Manners (235)
5. Mika – Life in Cartoon Motion (229)
6. Frankmusik – Complete Me (215)
7. OneRepublic – Dreaming Out Loud (208)
8. Fergie – The Dutchess (194)
9. 周杰倫 – 范特西 (Jay Chou – Fantasy) (194)
10. Lady Gaga – The Fame (184)
11. Cobra Starship – Hot Mess (Deluxe Edition) (180)

OK so Lady Gaga is there twice, so I’ll stick up Cobra Starship there as well. So sue me. These numbers seems really low. Ah, who knows. Other interesting tidbits: Since installing Windows 7/Foobar2k in December, I’ve played 4wk, 2d, 15:45:18 and counting minutes of music! This amuses me for some reason.

As usual, if anything up in that list interests you, ask me about it!

For more info: 30 Things in 30 Days

This is kind of a weird prompt. Songs don’t really make my cry, but they make me want to dance sometimes?

Well, today, I decided to write about a song that is pensive and such.

Sade – By Your Side

It’s about how someone will always be there to help you up when you’ve fallen, to help lead you back onto the path if you’ve strayed. “Oh, when you’re cold, I’ll be there, by your side”.

Listen to it! Maybe if you’re feeling down this will make you not cry, but to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

For more info: 30 Things in 30 Days

Me and Teddy at Passion Pit concert! Passion Pit is too cool =) Also, concerts are awesome and stuff.

For more info: 30 Things in 30 Days

Studio version

Jamie Cullum’s “Mixtape” from his latest album, “The Pursuit” has got to be one of the most fun songs that I’ve heard in a long time. It really just makes me want to dance every single time I hear it. In it, he sings to a significant other about a mixtape that he’s made, with all the artists he’s got.

It’s a great song for me because this is what I feel like all the time. “I’ll make you a mixtape that’s a blueprint of my soul,” the lyrics say. I make CD’s as gifts sometimes, and of course they’re mixtapes (barring the fact that is/was a “disc of MP3’s”). My iPod even, is just a giant mixtape where I put everything I’m feeling on 512MB for about 2 months.

I feel like everyone needs to have a playlist that’s just got songs of everything they’re feeling at the moment. What song would be on your mixtape?

For more info: 30 Things in 30 Days

SNSD – Oh!
Honestly, for those in the NU region, I hardly have to explain this. Asian guys just like SNSD.

Taeyang – Wedding Dress
The 2nd most overplayed song at Celebrasia (where Bad Romance was 1st)

Matt Duke – Rabbit
Thanks Katie Hsih for a nice song! I feel like if i were to do a cover this would be fun to do. As in, it would be doable and quite fun!

Little Boots – Remedy
Yes, this is, in fact, a fun song. Little Boots in general is pretty fun, but i think this is probably the best on the album.

A Fine Frenzy – Blow Away
I guess technically “New Heights” is the song that most people like, but I find that this one is pretty good as well. It’s light and enjoyable to listen to, of course!

? – A Suprise!
Well I guess putting a good description would give it away, but it’s now my ringtone on my cell, as well as a nice way to reminisce on childhood things!

I apologize – to me, it seems the pickings are slim, and not as interesting as they were last time. I just wanted to share some other stuff that people might not have heard – maybe I’ll have some more inspiration at a later date (ie when I am not going through final projects). And, of course, if you want to download any of these songs, let me know.

Basically, the Nexus One is probably the best phone I have ever used (though the HTC HD2 comes in close second – I only played with the hardware). Apps marketplace is pretty robust, though it might not be as big as the App Store. Managed to kill the battery once by forgetting to turn off a GPS app (phone was dead by dinner) and also managed to get hit by a $200 data fee (luckily diverted by a last minute $15 unlimited data addition). But really, that just highlights how Google Apps connectivity is just baked into the phone so you’re always connected. Love it!

I went to the Chicago Auto Show the first night i got the phone, and took some pics of new cars! Since I am pretty car illiterate, i just call them “shiny” and “faster than my van”. Photos were taken on the Nexus One’s 5MP camera. Apologies for pieces being cut off.

 
Cars are fun, and it was a good night out with Chenfei, John, Matt, and David. We went to Lao Sichuan in New Chinatown afterward. It was spicy and good.

Following was a week of class, and lots of busy work.

Programming in Tech for 10+ hour shifts is always fun! But is OK because the night it was due, I was able to go to a David Choi concert! He is an amazing singer and a funny guy. For the NU-ites out there, look for him at KASA show this Spring!

What a good singer. Apologies for the fuzziness in any pics – I am still getting the hang of taking dark photos (as in, I have no idea).  I also notice that this was the first “this is what I did” blogs in a while. Enjoyable?

Some songs that have come across my radar via various sources. Just as a beware, I don’t know how this post will appear in Facebook or in Xanga, so feel free to click through to the permalink (http://www.calvyno.com/byroncheng/2009/10/here-have-a-listen/). Also I am not using imeem this time, so full tracks!

Britney Spears – 3. As the title so cleverly puts it, it is about three-somes and such. It really isn’t as fun as Circus was (overall). I imagine that it will end up as the first single that is eclipsed by the second, the way Circus took over Womanizer.

Fall Out Boy – Alpha Dog. If anyone listened to “Citizens for a New Administration”, the Fall Out Boy mixtape that came out before Folie a Deux, this song was one of the openers, though the lyrics were “Welcome to the New Administration” instead of “Welcome to the New Deja Vu” which is quite disorienting for me (but how ironic the words become). Good song.

Jason DeRulo – Whatcha Say. Wrote about this last time. Still a good song, samples from Imogen Heap’s Hide and Seek while making the song mainstream ready. Hope people appreciate the sample.

John Mayer – Heartbreak Warfare. Pulls out John Mayer’s great vocals but is backed against a full band. It reminds me of the old stuff that he did. I’m really happy to hear some new stuff coming out.

Lady Gaga – Bad Romance. Keeps the Lady Gaga beat going, and clearly has her voice in it. The rambling bit in the beginning is oddly addicting to sing. Not sure how it will chart, but it _is_ the first single, so can’t be too bad.

One Republic – Secrets. Oh. My. God. I heard this song and just thought “This is totally One Republic”. And it is a GREAT song. Starts with the cello again, and then goes into Tedder’s insane vocals. Is this the One Republic formula for winning songs? Whatever it is, it is AWESOME.

Rihanna – Russian Roulette. A new song from Rihanna (first after the assault i guess). I’m a bit surprised that is it so dark – normally the first single back is the fast, upbeat dance track, and the second is the slow ballad. This one is the slow song, kind of dark. Not bad.

Ryan Tedder – Halo. Ryan Tedder gets to things written about him today. If you were unaware, he wrote Halo for Beyonce (and repeated the background for Kelly Clarkson’s Already Gone – though he says that isn’t true). Regardless, it was a great hook, and here we get to hear his demo for Halo. It’s got an interesting bridge in the middle (but personally I’d say Beyonce carries this song better than Tedder. And Mike Posner’s version isn’t half bad either)

That’s all for now. If you want anything, ask me for it! Or we can talk about music, because I love it.

Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/byroncheng

This is just some stuff that I’ve been listening to this summer. Apologies for those people who read from Facebook (really, does anyone read this?) I am unsure if the imeem embeds will be also embedded for you. Regardless, I’ve provided the artist and the title of each song that I posted here. If you’re curious about any single artist or song (or multiple artist or song) let me know and I’ll hook you up with some more stuff. I’m willing to talk about music too, it’s pretty fun stuff. For those who are extremely dedicated to my music tastes, I have a Dropbox (see here) shared folder that I am willing to invite you to in order for you to keep up with some of the latest stuff I’m listening to.

Follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/byroncheng

Dan Black – Symphonies. Calm Stuff, quite nice for driving, makes me think of wandering. I can’t really think of anything that it is similar to – maybe Radiohead but not as “concept” sounding.

Jason Derulo – Whatcha Say. Taking advantage of Imogen Heap’s Hide and Seek vocorder sound, he builds on it from a unique acapella like sound to a more traditional pop-ish song. Imogen Heap purists may hate it but I think it was done well (he’s younger than I am!)

Eva Simons – Silly Boy. Posted on YouTube as Lady Gaga (obviously not) and then later revealed as a new artist. Got the Lady Gaga look, backing, but with a Disturbia like verse, and a voice sounding like a mix of Rihanna and Natasha Bedingfield

Owl City – Umbrella Beach. Perhaps you’ve heard “Fireflies” by the same artist before. People describe them as sounding like Postal Service (but not as good) and therefore by extension, Death Cab for Cutie. I want to describe the sound as “sugar dance”. It’s overly happy stuff.

Colbie Caillat – Fallin’ for You. From her sophomore album, Colbie Caillat maintains the same style as before with another song that sounds just as bubbly as, well, “Bubbly” (don’t hurt me). A fun chorus keeps the song memorable.

Nina Simone – The Look of Love. The mixed version from the Sex and the City soundtrack keeps Nina Simone’s trademark voice while adding in a more modern beat. It’s lounge type music that is very chill, but keeps that beat going in the background

Kings of Leon – Sex on Fire. Followill (ha! they’re all Followill’s) vocals are great for the song – a rough voice with an almost pleading chorus just makes this song addictive

Basically, I have much less time than I want. Things are just picking up like crazy, academics are, as usual, quite overwhelming. Thus, in lieu of actually posting meaningful things, I will share some videos that I have enjoyed recently.

Oren Lavie – Her Morning Elegance

Also, I’ve been trying to find some concerts to go to, as I just want to go see something.

Talk to me, because sometimes, we just need someone to blather on and on to.