Katy Perry and Kelly Clarkson release awesome videos for their lame new singles

Katy Perry and Kelly Clarkson are both known for making amazing pop songs but they both have singles out now that are nowhere near as good as they should be. However while the songs are lackluster the videos are amazing.
Katy Perry's new video is for her breakup anthem and second single off of Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection, "Wide Awake." The song features cliche lyrics about waking up and moving on from a breakup. While her last single "Part of Me" was a pissed off dance-rock song dedicated to her exes "Wide Awake" is just kind of there. While the song isn't bad, it's just not that great. Perry should have just stuck to releasing songs off the original Teenage Dream album. "Hummingbird Heartbeat" or "Not Like The Movies" are both better songs off of that record that could have been big for her yet Perry chose to rerelease the album with one great song and two that weren't up to par.
The video for "Wide Awake" is quite good thought. She is shooting a scene for her "California Girls" video in the beginning and then when Perry is in her dressing room, alone we begin to see that she is depressed behind closed doors. She then goes on a journey that involves creepy monsters and following her childhood self until finally she gets to the fantasy land of her future. In the end she is seen as being whole again and she goes off to play a show, happier than ever. The video is quite moving yet the song just doesn't hold attention.
Kelly Clarkson's new single "Dark Side" is an electro-rock song about a lover accepting her for who she is, despite the fact that like everybody else she has a dark side to her. While the song works good as an album cut, it isn't a strong single. The song is taken from Clarkson's fifth album Stronger. There are many other songs on the record that could have been singles like "I Forgive You," "Hello," or "The War is Over." "Alone" and "Don't Be A Girl About It," which were both bonus tracks could have been better singles and are better than most other songs on the record.
The video is about everybody having dark sides. From being bullied to drug abusers, many groups are represented in the video. Eventually Clarkson goes on to hug a few of them showing that faults can be forgiven and everything will be okay in the end. The video is comparable to Christina Aguilera's video for "Beautiful."
While both these women are forces to be reckoned with in the pop music world, they may want to make better single choices if they'd like to stay that way. Below are their latest videos.

Tweet releases new songs, prepares third album

Soul singer and Missy Elliott protégé Tweet released her debut album Southern Hummingbird just ten years ago. The album featured the song "Oops (Oh My)," which featured Missy Elliott and was an ode to self love. Her second album It's Me Again three years later. Both albums featured Tweet's soulful singing and a slew of breakup jams. Tweet began to work on her third album Love, Tweet. This record never came to fruition and after many delays the album was renamed Simply Tweet. At the beginning of the month Tweet began to release new songs on her website iamsimplytweet.com. The first was a cover of "Day Dreaming" by Aretha Franklin, the second was called "Trouble" and now the third of her Tweet Tuesdays releases is "C4EVA." Each song is a soulful reminder of what Tweet did for the music world and a peek into the future of this talented woman. Tweet's album doesn't have a release date but Tweet and her label confirmed that it will be released this year. Below is a video of the song "Day Dreaming."

Synthetica, completely authentic

Indie Rock band Metric have released their fifth album, Synthetica and this album is anything but synthetic. Front woman Emily Haines brings every song to life with her amazing voice. From the album opener "Artificial Nocturne" which starts off quiet but packs a punch at the end to the final song, the album rarely disappoints.
The band's last album Fantasies was great, this album is on the same level. Songs like "The Void," "Lost Kitten" and the title track will be sure to keep the listener's attention. The title track is by far the best song on the record. While most of the album doesn't pack the same rock punch as their older music, this song has a more rock sound and tons of energy.
The album has it's weaker spots, like the closing songs "The Wanderlust" and "Nothing But Time" tend to drag on but the previous nine songs are so great it's hard to hold these two songs against Haines and company.
Below is the video for the first single, "Youth Without Youth."

Victorious 2.0 is very hit and miss

The Cast of the Nickelodeon show Victorious just released their second set of songs from the hit show. Victorious 2.0 contains dance pop anthems performed almost exclusively by Victoria Justice. The songs contain influences of rock and hip hop music. Out of the six songs, four are good, one is okay and one is stupid.
The best song is the second single "Take A Hint," which is a duet between Justice and her cast mate Elizabeth Gilles. The song is a dance-rock song that is like a teenage version of "U + Ur Hand" by P!nk. "Get your hands off my hips, before I punch you in the lips. Stop your starin' at my, hey! Take a hint, take a hint," the girls sing in the chorus. The song takes the music of the show in a more adult direction and that's just fine.
Another standout song is the cover of "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds. The song features a more modern take on the song and Justice shows a little more emotion on this cover than she does on the other songs. The song doesn't trump the original but it sure comes close.
The worst song is "5 Fingaz to the Face." The song features the entire cast rapping and is a terrible rip off of "You Can't Touch This." The song is so bad I'm done talking about it.
"Make It In America" is a dance-pop song about making it big in America. The song was written by Justice and Martin Johnson, lead vocalist of Boys Like Girls. The song isn't the best but it's a good song that'll be stuck in heads all over.
This EP is definitely worth checking out and it goes to show that the cast of Victorious will only continue to make catchy songs from a great show.
Below is the song, "Take A Hint."

Regina Spektor is back to her prime on new album

Regina Spektor released her sixth studio album, What We Saw From The Cheap Seats at the end of last month and the album takes her back to how great she was before her last record, Far was released. Far was a good record but it just lacked the same bounce that her music usually has. Her last record was far too boring and didn't catch the listener's ear. This album is less polished than her last one and it is a return to her quirky, fun sound. Yet while Spektor can get weird with the rest of them, she sounds just as confident on her ballads as on her faster, quirky songs.
On "Don't Leave Me (Ne me quitte pas)," the bouncy second single Spektor paints a picture of New York City so vividly. The song is simply fun and it more than makes up for her musical mistakes of the past.
The other best song is the gorgeous ballad "How." This song may just be one of the best things Spektor has ever made. "How, how can I forget you now? How can I never see you again? There is a time and placefor one more sweet embrace," Spektor sings heartbreakingly over the piano laced track. The track speaks of coming to terms with the end of a great romance, like Adele's "Someone Like You" for the indie pop crowd.
While "Ballad of a Politician,"  a social commentary on politics and fame is pure enjoyment some other songs like "Jessica" and "The Party" aren't as memorable, there aren't really any bad songs on the album. There are just awesome songs and songs that are meant to be heard and not listened to.
Below is a video for "Don't Leave me (Ne me quitte pas).

Hey Monday, yet not as good

Hey Monday went on hiatus at the end of last year and lead vocalist Cassadee Pope announced that she'd be going solo. Pope released her debut self-titled solo EP at the end of last month. The album featured four songs that sounded a lot like Hey Monday's last EP, 2010's Beneath It All.
The first song on the EP and single is called "Original Love." This is the best song on the record. It sounds like Hey Monday, so much that it doesn't sound like Pope had any originality to put into her own material.
The second song, "Secondhand Love" is decent, but forgettable. It's slower and it gets sort of boring. It's still an okay song though.
The third song "I Guess We're Cool" is a tad bit faster in the beginning before it slows down a bit. A good song, but still not as memorable as half the songs on Hey Monday's full-length.
The final song is called "Told You So." Anybody who has listened to pop-rock like The Veronicas, Kelly Clarkson or Ashlee Simpson has heard a song like this, and they've heard it done better. This song is once again okay but it's no "Candles" (Hey Monday's biggest single and slow jam).
This EP is good but Pope has done so much better with her band that it's hard to take seriously. Hopefully Hey Monday's hiatus doesn't last too long because if it does, the world will need to hear more half-assed EP's like this. Below is a video of "Original Love."

Gossip step their game up on fifth album

Dance-rock band Gossip released their fifth album A Joyful Noise a few weeks ago and it is a step up from the awesome that was their last album, Music For Men. While both albums had a dance leaning as compared to their other more garage and indie rock the band are at their best on the fast dance numbers. Songs such as the new single "Move In The Right Direction" and "Get Lost" are about finding oneself after a breakup and are fast paced, where the band has it's strengths.
The two best songs on the record are "Get A Job" and "Casualties of War." "Get A Job" has frontwoman Beth Ditto singing to a friend and roommate about getting her act together and stopping her hard partying ways. "I'd love to stay and party, but I gotta go to work," Ditto chants with attitude over the synthed out melody. "Causalities of War" is a more acoustic oriented ballad in the vein of "Four Letter Word" the best song off of the band's last record and their best song ever.
One of the main things that make the band work is Ditto's soulful voice. The singer recalls Adele on certain songs on the record, despite her saying there's nothing in common.
All in all the band are moving "In The Right Direction" with this album and if they keep up on this path they'll soon be stars. Below is a video of the song "Get A Job."

In This Moment new single is a nice growth for the band

Metalcore kings and queen In This Moment have a new single coming out next week but it can already be heard online. "Blood," the first single and title track of the band fourth album was put head to head against another band's new song on a rock radio station's website.
"Blood" is nothing like the band's earlier singles or albums. The song is grimy and dirty and frontwoman Maria Brink tries to be both angry and sexy at the same time. Sadly the song is more creepy than Brink would have liked but it's still fantastic. "I'm a dirty, dirty girl," Brink screams during the chorus.
"Blood" also features the band's first foray into dun dun dunnnnnn, electronic music. The synths on the song are not a hindrance to the band. It shows that they are willing to grow. While many fans may call sellout for this since many bands are now doing this but I personally think that it shows that the band are so great that they can take a trend and follow it without making it seem like a desperate plea for attention.
While this single may not be In This Moment's defining song or the best thing they'll ever release it's still a great song that is a good intro to what is sure to be a great new album.
Below is a link to the webpage where "Blood" is currently streaming.
http://banana1015.com/10-years-vs-in-this-moment-cockfight/

The Bunny The Bear stay weird on new LP

The Bunny The Bear released their new album a few weeks ago and it's the same brand of silly posts-hardcore that was on their first record. The Stomach For It take The Bunny's harsh vocals with the emotive clean vocals of The Bear.
The music is post-hardcore mixed with electropop. The end result leads to an enjoyable listen but there are a few changes the band could make to their music. Every song seems to be piano based, while the post-hardcore elements are layered onto each. The best songs "Pieces" and "Soul" are very pretty with The Bear singing.
The only issue I have with the bands albums is The Bunny's screaming. It isn't really screaming it's more scream-talking. In fact songs like "All Birds" are ruined by The Bunny's terrible screaming. His screaming shouldn't be cut out all together because that's what makes the band's music so interesting.
Despite the few changes the band needs to make their music is still enjoyable and if you like silly post-hardcore music this band is for you. Below is a video of their song "Soul."

Periphery release epic new single

Periphery's new album Periphery II will be out next month and their first single was released this week. "Make Total Destroy" may just be my favorite Periphery song ever. The verses come at you like a heavyweight boxer trying to get a K.O. and the clean vocals of the chorus and bridge are simply amazing. Vocalist Spencer Sotelo truly shines on this song. This makes the new album definitely something that everybody should be looking forward to. Below is a video of the song.

Garbage release fifth album

On Not Your Kind of People, Garbage's fifth studio album and first record in seven years, the band have not strayed far from the electronica and grunge inspired alternative rock of their past efforts. The album has a few memorable songs but the rest of it sounds just like their other music and it all tends to blend together after awhile. Songs like "Automatic Systematic Habit" and the bonus track "The One" are just as catchy and great as any other song by the band but other songs like "Felt" and "Control" are only going to satisfy hardcore Garbage fans. While there are not classics like "Vow," "Special" or "Why Do You Love Me?" there are an album full of reasons to fall back into love with Garbage and be reminded why you did in the first place. Below is the video for the single "Blood for Poppies."

Adam Lambert grows on new album

Adam Lambert released his new album Trespassing a few weeks ago. The album is a departure from his dancey pop-rock filled debut album. This album is best when Lambert is letting himself go on dance songs like the title track and the best song on the album "Cuckoo." "Walk that walk like you don’t give a fuck. You got a right to turn it up and get down," Lambert croons over the disco beat. The song, which also features a dubstep breakdown is all about letting loose and enjoying the day and not caring about what others think.
The album's only flaw is that many of the ballads aren't as strong as the faster songs. The only exceptions are the first single "Better Than I Know Myself" and "Outlaws of Love" which is about acceptance. The only song that isn't good is "Broken English." Everything from the title to the music just isn't good. This album shows that Lambert will only get better with each album he has. Below is a video of the song "Cuckoo."