Flashback Friday!

I forgot how great this video really is!  Still going strong after nearly 22 years, Smashing Pumpkins are still one of my favorite bands of the 90's.  They're right up there with Stone Temple Pilots.  Happy freaking Friday everyone!

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PSA: Congratulations, you sound good with AUTOTUNE.

This.Needs.To.Stop!  Stop, please!  Networks, stop telling your reality "stars" that they can sing!  Seriously, they can't!  Nice that you sound good with AutoTune.  Congratulations - maybe some day they will add the category of "Best Song With AutoTune by a Tool" category to the Grammys.  I'm sure these hopefuls are thinking it will.  Listen if you dare.

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Remember this guy?

Jaron Wood is one of the hunky identical twin brothers from the once popular (sorta) duo, Evan & Jaron.  Well Jaron now calls himself "Jaron & the Long Road to Love" and is a country singer.  His first single, "Pray For You," actually made it on the top 20 Top Country Songs AND his first album released in June entitled "Getting Dressed in the Dark" hit #2 on the Top Country Albums (selling about 20,000 copies.... hmm... must not be a lot of competition in the country world lately...).

I dig this song mainly for the lyrics - it randomly came on the other day and I honestly couldn't stop laughing.  Happy Thirsty Thursday!

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Another actress trying to be a singer

Oh Gwyenth, why do you tease us like this?  Isn't it enough that you're married to a singer - now you are trying to put your own songs into movies you have leading roles in?  This song isn't awful - I just wish she wouldn't do this.  She is no Alicia Witt, that's for sure!

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New From Robyn: Hang With Me

Words cannot describe Robyn's performance on Saturday night in San Francisco.  The.best.concert.of.2010.  I had a grin on my face that would not leave - all because of Robyn's high energy and incredible performance.  She even ate a banana on stage.  Take note Lady Gaga & Katy Perry - it is not all about shock value and crazy costumes.  Robyn's stage presence alone had everyone dancing all night long.  And no one was dancing on their own.

Sidenote: Kelis put an incredible show as well - blended her old school hits right into her new songs with two DJ's on stage was brilliant.  Dan Black had so much high energy, I think I got a contact high from being in the room with him.  And unfortunately, I missed the dance like Michael Jackson guys, Far East Movement - but I am told they had a good set as well.  I had the privilege of meeting all of the bands after the show and all of them were sweeter than candy.  Robyn even pulled my shirt out of my pants to sign it!

Her official video off "Body Talk Pt.2" (due in September) is below:

Robyn - Hang With Me official video from Robyn on Vimeo.

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Jennifer Knapp continues tour!

One of my very favorite singer-songwriters, Jennifer Knapp, is beginning her "Letting Go" tour in late August.  Jennifer previously promoted her latest album with a short tour after a near 10 year hiatus - and she even made it to San Francisco.  She will be returning to San Francisco September 22nd (cannot wait to see her again at the intimate Red Devil Lounge).  Check out more dates at her website!

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TODAY IS THE DAY!

These incredible musicians are taking over the San Francisco Mezzanine venue!  I have waited years to see the lovely Robyn.  I don't need you to pull out any of your old hits (well, maybe "Do You Know") - just please be sure to sing "Fembot", "Dancing On My Own", "Hang With Me" and "Cry When You Get Older."  Thank you for being one of the great musicians who inspired me to start this blog - and share with the world your musical talent.  Continue to amaze us!  And be sure to notice the 3 guys wearing our very own "Initiating Slut Mode" tshirts :)  We made them just for you!  Kelis, please pull out "Milkshake", "Bossy" & "Trick Me."  Anything from your new album will get us dancing.  And Dan Black, get the beats going and wow us - I know you will!  Can't wait to experience your music live tonight!  

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Katy Perry's Latest

New from Katy Perry: "Teenage Dream"

Whatdyathink?

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Her heart is definitely in this

This girl is really becoming one of my favorites.  Thank you Alicia for sharing your unique voice and heart on Craig Ferguson.  This girl plays the piano, writes and sings her own music and pours her heart into her performance.  I hope we will be hearing more from you her soon!

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Ace of Base is ba-ack!

Ace of Base has replaced it's original two female members for two younger and hotter versions.  Introducing Clara Hagman & Julia Williamson, the hot blonde & brunette to join the band after the Berggren sisters disbanded.  Not sure if A.o.B. will make a solid comeback with the new girls - but the first two singles that have leaked seem to be in classic Ace of Base style.  No matter what the US thinks, I'm sure their home country of Sweden will embrace their Europop sound.  What do you think?

Ace of Base - All For You by Wonky Pop

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Thirsty Thursday's Video of the Day

And of course, this one is for Christina.  The video is out today for "You Lost Me," the most powerful ballad on her album "Bionic."  Classic Christina style on this video.  Let's hope it pulls the radio waves in her direction.

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Robyn: Body Talk Pt. 2!

SO FREAKING EXCITED for this one!  As I mentioned yesterday, Robyn is releasing her "Body Talk Pt. 2" this September in the UK and her next single will be "Hang With Me."  Robyn has a beautiful, acoustic version of the song on her "Body Talk Pt. 1" and is releasing a dance-lounge-infused version of the song soon.  Can't wait til the video comes out!  This girl never ceases to amaze me.  She's on her own record label and doing what she loves - and the way she wants to do it.  (Listen: "Don't Fucking Tell Me What To Do").  Can't wait to see you on Saturday Robyn! 

Robyn - Hang With Me by Wonky Pop

Don't Fucking Tell Me What To Do by robyn

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Summer Tunes (halfway point)

Though it doesn't always feel like summer in San Francisco, when I get onto the 580/80 and head back into the city from the East Bay, I'm that it is.  As I make my way over the Bay Bridge, the dense fog starts to swallow up San Francisco and the temperature drops a good 12 degrees.  It's summer alright!  (Summer's in SF are typically August-October FYI.)

Though we're already halfway thru the summer, I don't have to go to school in the fall.  My schedule stays the same.  And I don't have to think about leaves falling off the trees, turning colors and then the nasty white shit falls from the sky.  Thank God I live in Northern California.  If it ever snows in San Francisco, I'll be on the next flight outta here and on my way to San Diego.  I left Minnesota for a reason.

For those of you baking in the heat back east, here's some good tunes that's had me enjoying my summer so far (some old, some new - and a note or two).  You can't find all of these on iTunes (Apple isn't always on top!) but most are on Legalsounds.  It beats paying $18 for an imported album.

Stone Temple Pilots - "Core" - Long Beach, CA - a classic 90's album

Kevin Rudolf - "To the Sky" - NY, NY (currently Miami) - this will keep you driving for hours.  Many of you probably remember his hit "Let It Rock."  This album will have you hooked.

Naomi - "The Big Shapes" - Germany - it's Pet Shop Boys meets Mute Math & the lighter side of Muse.

Example - "Won't Go Quietly" - UK - TripHop/HipHop/Electronica & Dance.  It's amazing and I have this one on repeat.  You won't be disappointed!  This is in the running for my favorite album of 2010.

Taio Cruz - "Rokstarr" - UK - A perfect blend of R&B, Hip-Hop & Dance.  I fell in love with Taio's musical style while in London last Thanksgiving and his first album "Departure." 

Robyn - "Body Talk Pt. 1" - Sweden - Of course this summer would NOT be complete without Robyn.  This album is incredible.  Especially "Fembot" and "None of Dem."  Cannot wait for "Body Talk Pt. 2" releasing in the UK September 6th!  A US release date has not been issued yet.

Backstreet Boys - "Black & Blue" - Orlando, FL - I'm sure it's due to their recent appearance at SF Pride that I started re-living my late high school and early college years... and I'm not ashamed to admit, I love the BSBoys.  And "Black & Blue" was highly underrated- all because it strayed away from their usual.

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Introducing...Gaby!

Will we soon be hearing about this young singer's major record deal?  Perhaps.  Over 47,000 views of her cover of Sia's "My Love" from the Eclipse soundtrack.  Yes, I am not ashamed- I have all of the soundtracks for the Twilight movies.  ANd guess what?  I want this woman's job - because she does an incredible one, getting some of the greatest musicians out there today (who are underrated) onto a best-selling album.

Beautiful song.  Though I do prefer Sia's version better, I applaud Gaby for giving her own spin on the song.  Keep an eye on this girl!  Not much is known about her... except she's somewhere in LA.



Here's Sia's version:

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Sneak Peak!

Christina's new video premieres this Thursday on Vevo.

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Hector channels Stripped Xtina

Hex Hector channels "Make Over" for the remix of Christina's soon to be released single "You Lost Me."  The music video is finished and photos have surfaced online to tease us, but as of yet, there is still no release date.  Makes this a better Monday!

UPDATE:  Christina's newest music video will premiere on Vevo on July 22nd!

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Chunk's Truffle Shuffle for Monday

What ever happened to Panic! At the Disco?  Though they always sounded awful live, their first album A Fever You Can't Sweat Out was freakin' fun.  Their second album, not so much.  And then they disbanded.  In 2009 of last year, guitarist Ryan Ross & bassist Jon Walker left the band, because they had too much of the jumping and screaming and repetitious shit of creative differences.  They formed a new band called The Young Veins and haven't looked back.  I am not all that familiar with their music however, they do have a nice Indie-Alt-Rock feel to their style.  Here's one of Panic!'s hit singles, "Nine in the Afternoon." 

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Charice Gets botox

Are you kidding me with this crap?  What's next, liposuction for babies?  See the link below for the latest craziness.

This Is Our Future, Part 10

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Double Your Pleasure double Your Fun

Introducing Jedward, hailing from Ireland.  Former X Factor contestants (came in 6th in 2009), the duo twin brothers Johh & Edward Grimes will be releasing their first album next week in the UK.  So far they've released "Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby)" featuring Vanilla Ice  and a cover of Blink 182's "All the Small Things" (see video below). I must say, though the song isn't much different than that of B182, it's a genius idea.  I hope good things come of Jedward!

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Flasback Friday just got some newness!

Holy shit!  Ace of Base is putting out a NEW album this October!  And they just released their first single "All For You" via European airwaves today!  Here's a 30 second clip of their new sound (the girls are new to the band, the guys are the originals!).

Ace of Base - All For You (30 Sec Clip)

Thanks for the tip AlphabeatLJ!

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Flashback Friday: All Saints

Founded in 1993, disbanded in 2001 and reunited for a short term from 2006-2007, All Saints were one of the most successful girl groups in the UK of the 1990s.  Obviously, they were probably overcast by the shadows of the great Spice Girls, but nonetheless, they had 9 top 10 hit singles (5 of which were NUMBER 1) and sold over 10 million albums worldwide.  Not bad for a group of girls who couldn't get along with one another, long enough to have a reunion tour.  They only released 3 studio albums (most of you recall their self-titled debut album) and one "Hits" album.  Their last album "Studio 1" was only released digitally due to the disbanded of the members.  Rumor has it though, the girls have been in and out of studios over the past two years.  Could it be true, they know where it's at?  They need someone like RedOne or Max Martin to produce a reunion album, if they expect to repeat history.  Happy Friday!

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Thirsty Thursday's Video

Remember when MTV used to actually show music videos?  Those were the days...  Anyway... One of the most creative (and lowest budget) music videos ever.  OK GO's "Here It Goes Again" even won a Grammy in 2007.  I saw OK GO open for Snow Patrol about 4 years ago and they put on a great show.  Lots of energy and great choreography.  Is it beer-thirty yet?

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Did Google pass this one up?

The story about the creation of Facebook (sorry MySpace you still have a bad reputation!) will be coming to the Big Screen this October.  David Fincher, the director of hits such as "Zodiac" and "Fight Club" has produced this dramatic tale of one of the largest social networks on the web.  The only reason I am showing it on here is that they showcase the Scala choir (Belgium girl's choir) in the trailer - beautiful cover of Radiohead's "Creep."  The movie looks surprisingly interesting.  Thoughts?

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breaking the silence after short hiatus

Sorry to my fellow Wonky Poppers for being so M.I.A. these past few days (almost a week I guess huh?).  I was lost in the wonderful world of oHIo.  It was surprisingly a nice break from the homeless-ness, liberal crazy & pot-infested beautiful city San Francisco.  It felt an awful lot like Minnesota.  Especially when my boyfriend's family decided to cut down a living tree from the front yard of their house at 8 o'clock at night!  Good thing I got that on video - maybe I'll have to throw that up on YouTube soon.

Maybe one day I can focus on this blog and not have to work full time- but I don't foresee that happening anytime soon.  In the meantime, take a listen to this girl that I am loving right now - Lena Meyer-Landrut.  The German singer set a record by having three top five singles with her debuting album "My Cassette Player."  She's already sold more than 400,000 copies in German, most likely due to her winning the Eurovision Song Contest this year.

She has a similar singing style to that of Kate Nash and an incredible mature voice for a 19 year old girl.  I love it because it's not one of those covered in sugar canes and gum drop type voices.  It's raw and unique and stands out.  Though her album has not released in the USA (big surprise there because the USA can't seem to embrace these great artists), it is available on Legalsounds.  I love her cover of Jason Mraz's "Mr. Curiousity" as well as Adele's "My Same."  She's had some great writers on this album, including Ellie Goulding, another favorite of Wonky Pop.  Here's her hit "Satellite" below.  I just wish the video was a bit more exciting for such a fun, head-bopping song!  So instead of her official  video, here's Lena singing live.

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Brandon Flowers = solo single

It appears Brandon Flowers of The Killers will be exploring his more religious and Mormon side of himself with his first solo album "Flamingo."  Apparently, there will be a "gospel" song on the album.  Though, watching this video of Brandon & Charlize Theron in his first single "Crossfire" - I feel that there is quite a bit of religious symbolism.  What are your thoughts on Brandon's solo venture?

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Introducing... Alicia Witt!

The actress character that I wanted to punch in the face during Two Weeks Notice (not because she did a bad job but because she was moving in on my Sandra Bullock and trying to take her place) is actually a singer/songwriter.  Who knew?  Apparently I've been behind the times because Alicia Witt released her first self-titled EP a year ago - oops.  I guess that also means critics didn't take lightly to her music.

That's really unfortunate because I've heard her song "Anyway" and it's actually quite beautiful.  Nothing out of the ordinary, no crazy costumes or music videos, but just an honestly written song.  And of course, I'm a severe sucker for the piano driven tune.  I recall a day that Minnie Driver released an album - which actually had critics quite surprised by her talent - and playing that album for various friends.  I wouldn't tell them who it was until they had a good listen to a few of her songs.  When I did reveal the actress' name, they were in shock.  Sometimes, an actress/actor can actually cross both horizons (or vise versa).  For those who can, I applaud them.  For those who can't (ie. Madonna, Scott Baio, Hilary Duff, Jamie Foxx) stop it.  Please.  Stick to what you're good at.

Thank you Alicia for sharing your songs with us!

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Introducing...Sky Ferreira!

Can't get enough of this song. Also check out "Animal" and "17". This 17 year old Los Angeles singer/songwriter is going to be the new princess of the Electro pop world!

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Every Day is the 4th of July

The great Kelis has released her latest single "4th of July" and here's her latest music video.  I cannot wait to see her live on July 24th in San Francisco.

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I've seen better days

Damn girl, get your shiz together.  You actually have a great voice.  Even with the rats living in your beehive, you can sing.

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Lady Gaga = 10,000,000+ fans

Well she must be doing SOMETHING right.  Lady Gaga has more than 11MILLION fans on Facebook. She is the first "living thing" on Facebook to have achieved that many fans.  She has even outdone the President of the United States.  Is this something to be proud of?  Really puts my 169 fans of this blog to shame, wouldn't you say?

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Chunk's Truffle Shuffle for this Hump Day

Chunk hasn't shuffled all that much these past few weeks.  Maybe it's because he's been eating too much food.  Or perhaps, it's because I've been too damn busy moving, painting, re-organizing my life.  No, actually, I think it's mainly because Simplify Media shut off their damn services.  Sell outs!! And now everyone seems to be trying to release their amazing "streaming" software for iTunes.  Thank God I found my Mojo.  I can successfully have Chunk spin the draddle iTunes shuffler and choose a random song of the day.

In my collection of 23,000 + iTunes (yes, it's officially hit 23,000 as of this past weekend and if I ever lose my external hard drive in a fire, I'm fu*ked!), Chunk's jolly love handles landed on none other than Elvis Presley's "All Shook Up."  If anyone out there still think he's alive, think again.  Today he'd be 75 and with all those drugs potato chips he got shook up with, he wouldn't have made it to 40.  Oh shit, he lived to be 42... well, in any case, the "legend" is dead.  Will kids in 2200 still think he's a legend?

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7x7 = dumbass

Maybe this time he'll get it.  Maybe.  George Michael, the "47-year old former pop star" was arrested after driving into a London store this past weekend.  Hmmm.... Faith ain't gonna save you in this case GM.  Get your shiz together!

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New Kids on the block had a bunch of hits

Remember when these teeny-boppers were big?  Thank God Mandy Moore focused on acting and later changed her style of music.  I remember seeing her for the first time live when she opened for the Backstreet Boys Millenium Tour.  She was so young, she had to have the car pulled by another car for her video "Candy."  Who knew the 16 year old pop star would release one of the highest regarded cover albums later in her life?  Ryan Adams was a great influence on her last album (how could he not be, they're married!) and her voice definitely matured.  Coming from her first & middle real names, "Amanda Leigh" is a beautiful album and I applaud MM for releasing it.

Here's a few pop sensations and summer songs that still add a little fire to the grill (especially if you've put back a few beers).  Happy 4th of July weekend!

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No, really, it's not bong resin

Here's the worlds' first mobile recorded music video, ever.  Created with the iPhone 4G.  Sidenote: iOS 4.0 screwed my 3G.  Thanks a lot Apple.

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Gotta wait until November

That's when Cher & Christina Aguilera will premiere their staring roles in the movie "Burlesque." There's lots of hype already behind this movie - let's hope the hype doesn't outweigh the actual movie, as it did for Christina's latest album, Bionic. Poor Christina, everyone wants good things for her- let's hope her third single does better!

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