Now Playing: Janine And The Mixtape

Yes friends, it's time for more music that is new to me and possibly to you too. I've all but lost hope in the Amazon free MP3 section but luckily SoundCloud has graced me with some new music recently.

The artist is called Janine and The Mixtape. According to her SoundCloud bio she writes, plays and produces her own beats. Pretty cool I think. Plus she has a nice voice and some good songs. In my opinion she has a very smooth R&B/Pop feel. Similar to the artist Nylo who I talked about in this post. Anyway, give her a listen for yourself down below.

Now Playing: Nylo - Cocaine Hearts

More music for your listening pleasure. Aren't you excited?!

Anyway, I honestly can't remember how/when I first discovered Nylo. Possibly on Spotify this time around. Usually I find my new music on Amazon but since they've changed their MP3 store setup I rarely even search there anymore. I guess Nylo could be described as a mix between soul, R&B, electro, alternative and maybe a few others. Bottom line is she's got a great voice and good music. What else really matters right? Oh, and you can download her songs for free on SoundCloud and free is always good. 

Give her a listen!

Newly Discovered Music: Jillette Johnson

New to me, maybe not so new to you.....

Yes, it's time for me to once again put you on to an artist you may not have heard about before. For once my discovery isn't from Amazon.com (ps: They all but erased the free mp3 section...smh). I found Jillette Johnson's music via a Facebook link for some magazine (can't remember which, sorry) listing the top 10 most underrated albums/artists of 2013. The list included her song 'Torpedo' which I instantly loved. I decided to head over to Spotify and listen to the rest of her album 'Water in a Whale' and I liked what I heard. My favorite song of hers is 'Pauvre Couer' with 'Cameron' as a close second. As a side note, another favorite of mine Tori Kelly was also on the list.

Give a listen for yourself if you haven't already or if you want to again....

Music Monday: Tori Kelly

Time for another installment of Music Monday. Today's feature is 'Dear No One' by Tori Kelly from her Foreword EP. I like her, I like the song and hopefully you will too if you don't already. 'Dear No One' is basically a love song to your future soul mate. Cool concept if you ask me. Enjoy!

Here's Tori performing an acoustic version of 'Dear No One' on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (honestly I prefer the original).

Newly Discovered Music: Banks

Welp! Amazon has done it again. Yet another discovery made while browsing the mp3 section is this lovely lady called Banks. I listened to a preview of one of her songs called 'Waiting Game' and instantly loved her. Naturally I went over to Spotify to find more of her songs in full. I really don't have much to say about Banks other than I just really, really like the vibe of her music. I'm not sure which genre of music this would be considered but honestly, who cares? I like it regardless. I wasn't able to find much information about Banks (i.e. didn't look very hard) but to my understanding she's a new artist so there isn't much to be found at this point. Give her a listen for yourself.

Music Review: Travis Garland

Recently, Travis Garland released his self titled album to the masses. I had listened to some of his music before and even had a couple of his songs on my iPod but I wasn't really going crazy with anticipation waiting for the album. Anyway, I decided to listen to those little 1:30 previews over on iTunes and I really liked what I heard. Enough to spend my little $7.99 (also available on Amazon.com for the same album price but only .99 cents per song).

I'd definitely consider this album to be R&B/Pop. Heavier on the R&B side if you ask me but I'm not complaining. I think Travis is definitely of the "blue eyed soul" variety. If you like artists such as Jojo, Leah LaBelle, Justin Timberlake, etc. then you'll probably like him. Though Travis' music is a bit edgier and more risque if you will (notice the explicit content label). Either way, check it out for yourself!

Track List:

1. Where to Land
2. Motel Pool
3. Easy
4. Abby Lee
5. Clouds
6. Pullin' My Hair
7. You Made Your Bed (So Lay in It)
8. Neighbor
9. Other People
10. Modern Life
11. AllSheWannaDo
12. Homewrecker
13. Blue Electric Roses
14. Chariots of Fire
****iTunes Exclusive Track****
15. 1 of 1

Music Monday: Birdy

I actually discovered this young lady quite some time ago but for some reason I never thought to make a blog post about her. Weird. Anyway, is another young artist I discovered once again while browsing the free MP3 section on Amazon.com. I'm telling you, they have some good stuff over there. You don't hear me though.

Birdy is a 17 year old singer/piano player from the UK. That's about as much of a bio as you're going to get from me. I'm only here from the music. My favorite song that she does is 'People Help the People'. I saw a YouTube comment that another song she does is a remake but I never bothered to check for sure so who knows. Either way, I enjoy her version. Give a listen for yourself.

Another one I really like is 'Without a Word' (actually I think I like it more than People Help the People)

Newly Discovered Music: AlunaGeorge

That's right, more randomly discovered music for your listening pleasure. I was once again over on Amazon.com browsing the free MP3s but there was nothing that caught my interest. AlunaGeorge was a part of my recommendations based on previous searches. I'm not sure what made me hit play, sometimes I just like the cover art. Who knows?

Anyway, after doing minimal research I found that AlunaGeorge is a group from the UK made up of a young lady named Aluna and a young man named George. Aluna does the singing from what I can tell and George, well, I'm not entirely sure what his role is. Producing? I honestly couldn't tell you. Their music is something of a mix between pop, R&B, electronica, etc. Hard to describe but it's definitely catchy. They also do a remix to Montell Jordan's 'This Is How We Do It' which is pretty cool. Check them out!

Newly Discovered Music: Lorde

Have I mentioned how much I love finding new music? Well I do. Maybe it's not new to you but it is to me. In this edition I'm talking about a young lady called Lorde. I say young because she honestly doesn't look much over 16 to me but I actually have no idea how old she is. Anyway, I was turned on to Lorde by someone on my Twitter feed mentioning her. I decided to check out her website and listen for myself. I liked what I heard and decided to download a couple of her songs. Lorde has an EP out called 'The Love Club' and I definitely recommend it. 'Royals' is the single but 'Bravado' is my favorite.

Newly Discovered Music: Jessie Ware - Sweet Talk

Yet another artist and song discovered in Amazon.com's free mp3 section. You really should check it out sometime if you haven't. They have some decent music over there. This was supposed to be a 'Music Monday' post but I was so busy I just didn't have the time so here we are. I really don't have anything to say about Jessie Ware, I just want to share this song with others who might enjoy it as much as I do. The song is called 'Sweet Talk' from Jessie's album 'Devotion.' Happy listening!

Music Monday: Alice Smith

Alice Smith is yet another artist I discovered while browsing the free mp3 section over on Amazon.com. The song available at the time was called 'Cabaret' which I've grown to really love so of course it's on repeat on my iPod. I haven't listened to much of her music but I really like her voice.

Here's Alice giving a live performance of Cabaret. She sounds amazing live! 

Music Monday: Delta Rae

I first heard of the group Delta Rae when I was browsing the free mp3 downloads over on Amazon.com. The song available was called 'Bottom of the River' which I love. I decided to listen to some of their other music and found that they have quite a few songs that I really like. I've added two of my favorite songs below. Give them a listen.

Newly Discovered Music: Wynter Gordon

I've never heard of Wynter Gordon before but I recently heard a song of hers that I really like. If you watch the show Chef Roble & Co you've heard the song called Stimela by Wynter on the latest episode during the Mataano fashion show. I remember thinking that I really liked the song and luckily Chef Roble tweeted the name and artist after someone asked about it. Anyway, I looked her up on Facebook and she has some free downloads available as well as paid songs on iTunes and Amazon. Honestly, there's a few of her songs I like but I'm not yet sure if I like them enough to download.

Here's the video for 'Stimela'

Newly Discovered Music: Conor Maynard & Leah Labelle

This will (hopefully) be a short blog post about two new artists that I've recently discovered and so far I like what I hear. First up is Leah LaBelle. I'd heard Leah's name a few times here and there but never really bothered to look her up and listen to her music. Recently another artist that I love, Jojo, broadcast a concert from her living room online in which Leah made an appearance and they did a duet of John Legend's 'Ordinary People.' This was my first time hearing Leah's voice and I must say I like what I heard. I decided to look up a few of her songs and happened to find one that's pretty much been on repeat for days called 'Sexify.' If you haven't heard of Leah LaBelle I'd definitely recommend giving her a listen if you're into Pop music with an R&B feel (a similar vibe to Jojo if you will). Take a peek at her video for 'Sexify' below.

Next up is a guy named Conor Maynard. I first heard of Conor when his song 'Animal' was featured as the free song of the week on iTunes. It's definitely a fun party song in my opinion. I looked up a few of his other songs and there's quite a few that I really like. According to Spotify's description he's been hailed as "the British answer to Justin Bieber" which honestly made me throw up in my mouth a little but I digress. I suppose they have similar styles of music but whatever. I think Conor has a more mature tone to his music and there's definitely some sexual references here and there. Anyway, if you haven't heard of him, take a listen below and enjoy!

Newly Discovered Music: Emeli Sande & Kimbra

I was browsing the free section of Amazon MP3s and discovered these ladies. Emeli Sande from the UK and Kimbra from New Zealand. In my experience, the free music on Amazon is lame but I was pleasantly surprised by these two ladies. After doing minimal research I found out that Kimbra is the singer featured at the end of the Gotye song 'Somebody That I Used to Know.' The songs that were free on Amazon were 'Where I Sleep' from Emeli Sande's Our Version of Events and 'Settle Down' from Kimbra's Vows albums.

In my opinion, Emeli's voice sounds similar to Jordin Sparks who I also really like. I also think that Emeli has some really good lyrics though I'm not sure if she writes her own music or not. Something about Kimbra's music just has a cool vibe to me and all of her songs seem to be pretty different so it's difficult to categorize her. Either way, I'm really liking them both. Take a listen....

I wasn't able to find a video for 'Where I Sleep' so here's one for 'Heaven'

Kimbra 'Settle Down'

Movie Review: Final Destination 5

****Spoilers may be mentioned****


Overall I thought the movie was good enough for what it was but nothing special. I thought the ending was a good way to tie this last movie in with the rest of the films. My main complaint with the film were the special effects. I just felt that the effects they used to enhance the 3D were just extra, cheesy, corny and cartoonish. For example, when the bridge collapses and the girl falls on the sail boat and her guts are removed by the pole to be shoved in your face. To me it just looked fake as hell. Almost laughable.

Another thing that was unrealistically laughable was when the girl's eye popped out after she fell through the window. I mean, really? Her eye just happens to roll right out of her head like that? Please. Then they add to the stupidity buy having the eyeball get run over by a car. Pathetic. I honestly couldn't even believe they went there. I'm sure there were other ridiculous moments that annoyed me but those two are the ones that really stood out. Also, I wonder if it's really possible for that whole body bend and break to happen to a gymnast. Ew.

As far as the characters, the chubby guy with the glasses, Isaac I think, was THE most annoying piece of shit ever. And I just REFUSE to believe that a guy who looks and acts like him would be able to bag all the women he was claiming to bag throughout the movie. Also, I instantly hated the main girl Molly. I don't know why but there was just something about her I hated on sight. The boss was also annoying but the rest of the characters were okay. Sad that the one guy went a little crazy at the end but whatever. Of course a bright spot was once again seeing "Candy Man" being all creepy. He's probably the best character in the entire Final Destination franchise.

Anyway, the movie was decent but if I had to do it again I'd probably wait for it to come on TV instead of actually paying to see it.

Movie Review: For Colored Girls

I'm gonna keep this pretty brief.

I have to say that overall I really liked it. It's not my favorite movie but I'd definitely watch it more than once. It was a little awkward at times when the characters started reciting their monologues/poems or whatever they were. There were a couple that just didn't quite seem to fit into the moment and if you aren't familiar with the play or book (like myself) then it comes of as really random. The first couple of times I didn't even realize what they were talking about but then it started to make sense.

I don't want to give anything away but the scene with the kids was just INSANE. I was so shocked I couldn't even believe it. Then there was the one part with Macy Gray that was also pretty crazy. I also heard that Mariah Carey and Jurnee Smollett were originally supposed to play the characters played by Thandie Newton and Tessa Thompson (respectively). To be honest, I can't imagine Mariah in that role AT ALL. Not even a little bit. But I can totally picture Jurnee as Tessa's character (sorry, I don't remember their names).

Anyway like I said, I thought it was a good movie and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone.....not just "colored" girls.

Movie Review: Inception

I honestly had no intention of seeing Inception but I'm kind of glad I did. My friend and I were at happy hour at T.G.I. Friday's and somehow movies came up and she suggested we go. Fine by me. I didn't really know what it was about but based on what little I did know I didn't think it was my kind of movie. Turns out I like more different types of movies than I thought. Hurray for my self discovery! Now let's get to the point.

The one negative thing I have to say about Inception is that it was too damn long. I believe it was 148 minutes according to the movie theater website. Seriously, it started at 8:30 and we didn't get out of there until damn near 11pm. If not for my popcorn and the occasional comic relief in the film I probably would've fallen asleep.

Other than that I really don't have anything bad to say about the movie. I thought the whole idea about being able to go into other people's dreams and plant ideas was pretty cool. I also really liked the dream within a dream stuff even though it had me confused for a minute. I'm not gonna give away the end because I'm not that asshole but I was a little mad about it. Not in a bad way though, but I can't really say more without giving it away. It's funny because when the movie ended everyone in the theater let out a simultaneous "aww." But not the sad or sappy "aww" more like a "you're really not gonna tell me what happens" kind of aww, if that makes any sense. It was leaning more towards an "aww damn!" kind of thing but I'm gonna stop trying to explain it now because I'm making myself crazy.

Anyway, if you liked Shutter Island (also starring Leonardo DiCaprio) you'll probably like this movie because it's really similar in a lot of ways. I'll give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Review: The Hills Series Finale

To be honest I started watching The Hills later and I was never really a fan of Laguna Beach so when I finally did start watching The Hills it was during a time when they were showing a marathon on MTV. Not that it really matters when I started watching but I just thought I'd share.

Basically for a series finale I thought the episode sucked. And what was with that little Hollywood backdrop thing at the end? Was that confirmation that the whole thing was fake? I'm pretty sure everyone already knew that. The ending was just lame if you ask me. In fact the entire show has been lame ever since Lauren left. I don't care what anyone says that was HER show and without her it didn't stand a chance. I'm not the least bit surprised that the series ended as soon as she was gone.

All that BS with Kristin and Brody was more annoying than anything. Either get together or just be friends, enough with the nonsense. Audrina and Justin? Whatever. He may be hot but he's a loser as far as boyfriends go. Yay for Lo being practically engaged! Who knew she even had a man? And that guy that Stephanie met seems pretty decent. They look like a cute couple. Speidi wasn't there but they're both fame whores who can kick rocks. Poor Heidi should've listened to her friends and family about Spencer from the beginning.

Anyway, The Hills going off the air is really no big loss to me. It was fun while it lasted but hey, life goes on.

Review: BET Awards

I knew the BET Awards were gonna be nothing but fuckery and coonishness because that's really all BET is lately anyway (which is why I really don't watch anymore, except for The Game). I was actually looking forward to having a good laugh....and I did. I'm not gonna talk about everything, just a few moments that stood out for me.

Let's start with the host. As much as I love Queen Latifah, she really wasn't that funny as a host. And what was up with those weird costume changes and half assed skits? Weird. The best part was the very beginning when she opened and that rap she did. Also the white outfit at the end was fly. Queen always looks good.

Alicia Keys. She sounded good and looked good for sure and I'm glad she won. I just don't understand why she was crawling around on that piano. Is it okay for a pregnant woman to do that? I was a little worried. I wonder if Mashonda was watching, HAHAHAHA! (That was wrong, I know)

Chris Brown. I must admit that his MJ tribute was SO on point. Much better than that nonsense BET tried to pass off as a tribute last year. But what the hell was he crying about? People on twitter talking about they got emotional because he was crying and all this bullshit about him breaking down. People PLEASE! I'm so over this dude I don't know what to do with myself. Yes he's talented but he's also a woman beater. People keep saying you have to forgive, etc but he doesn't need my forgiveness. I'm not the one he beat up so it doesn't matter. I'm sure he's sorry and he should be. I still just can't fuck with him anymore. *shrugs*

Patti Labelle. YES bitch! Kick those shoes off and SANG!!!! That is all.

Monica. First off, she should have been nominated for best female R&B instead of that bootleg ass centric award. Second, what the hell was up with those big ass shoulder things on her outfit when she was performing? Girl NO! Last but not least, despite being partially distracted by the oversized shoulders, her performance was on point. That girl has a voice.

Prince Tribute. It was cool, but his facial expressions during it were the best part. And who wears a shirt with their own face on it? Vain much?

DeBarge. To be honest I'm still not sure which one of the DeBarge's it was but he gave those youngins a lesson.

These are all the things that really stood out for me. Everything else was just whatever. And yes I will be tuning in for next year's coonery as well.