And now a quick look at music artist Oren Lavie! I decided to bring him into the limelight after recently seeing that his music video for ”Her Morning Elegance” has gained popularity.

Perhaps his video of “Her Morning Elegance” has been on the charts for a while now, but I just looked at Yahoo’s top music videos, and I noticed that this music video was number 2! I could not believe it; I had no clue that people even knew what this song was! It turns out that I have been a little of out the loop; apparently it was nominated for a 2010 Grammy Award for “Best Short Form Music Video.”

I first found this song back in, oh when was it, July of 2009 maybe? I fell in love with the song first, but I loved the video as well.  It is done in a stop-motion style and featured Shir Shomrom, a beautiful Israeli born model/actress. My friend had done a stop-motion video for an interview process and I had just made one of my own as well, so I knew how much work must have been put into making this video. Granted, it may not have been as much work as other flashier videos, but there was a lot of effort and art put behind the creation of the video. I tend to like simple videos the best – like OKgo‘s “Here She Goes Again“.

So, who is this Oren Lavie guy? He is an Israeli singer, playwright, songwriter, and theatre director. He was born in 1976 in Tel Aviv. He went to London in 1998 to study theatre directing at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and after he graduated, two of his plays were produced in many London theatres. He then moved to New York in 2001, but soon went to Berlin (2003) to produce his own recordings. His first album, The Opposite Side of the Sea, was released in Europe in January and February 2007, and in the United States in March 2009.

From the USA’s point of view, it was a slow start for Oren, but I think that all of his hard work has finally paid off. I am very happy for him and his successes.

In the past few years Drake has become one of the hottest rappers. To tell you the truth, I had no clue who he was until a few weeks ago, but I have been listening to Kiss 108, “Boston’s Hit Music Station”, recently and they keep telling their listeners all about him.

So, who is he? Born Aubrey Drake Graham on October 24, 1986, Drake is a Canadian actor and recording artist. Drake had officially signed with Lil Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment record label back in June of 2009. He was supposed to release his newest album back in 2009, but then he postponed the release date until some time in early 2010. He then postponed this studio album’s release date to June 15th, 2010. Called Thank Me Later, the album also happens to be his first studio album. According to Kiss 108 and other sources, he continued to push back the release date because he was trying to incorporate other big names into the album. Well, with all of this postponing, I sure hope that the album is decent!

Drake was originally known for playing the character Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation. He started his acting career on this show back in 2001 and eventually went on to perform in 138 episodes. He has also worked with other hip-hop artists such as Lil Wayne, Jeezy, Eminem, Jay-Z, and Kanye West. He was selected to perform at the 2010 Grammy awards and also won two Juno Awards in 2010 for Best New Artist and Rap Recording of the Year.

So Far So Gone is what really got his music career started. This was his third official mixtape and it was released on February 13, 2009. The singles “Best I Ever Had” and “Successful” brought him so much success (how ironic is that?) that the mixtape that was originally posted online for people to download was turned into an EP. This EP featured only five songs from the mixtape and it also added one new song. This mixtape was named “The Hottest Mixtape of 2009 (So Far)” by MTV and Drake’s success level had skyrocketed.

Well readers, the wait is over for the release of Drake’s official debut album, Thank Me Later. I guess it is time to see how worthwhile the wait was.

Thesixtyone.com is my new preference for listening to music over Grooveshark. While I do love using Grooveshark and being able to have the ability to check out pretty much any song I ever could imagine and then being able to save those songs on to a playlist, I rarely use Grooveshark to break out from my typical music and find new stuff. This is where thesixtyone comes into play.

Being sick of the same old stuff, I discovered thesixtyone and started on my musical adventure. The interface of the site just recently changed, so I still am getting used to it, but it is actually pretty fun to use. All you really need when you are using this website is the album or the band, and then you have a few menus that pull out when you hover over areas that allow you to navigate. These toolbars allow you to skip the song, save the song to a playlist, “heart” the song, and more. There are a few things about this interface that I do not enjoy, such as how last time you could simply “save” songs while now you have to save them to playlists that have a maximum capacity of 10 songs. Another odd thing about this interface is that you cannot look at a list of songs to chose from; while you can search for a particular artist, you cannot see a list of the top X songs or so and choose from there.

The cool thing about thesixtyone is that it is a place for new artists, and then it is the listeners who decide what’s good. The more hearts and saves a song gets, the more popular it becomes, and the more well known the artist becomes. They claim to be “nurturing a growing ecosystem where talented folks can sell songs and merchandise directly to their fans.” On thesixtyone artists can make at least $7 per album and are paid every 30 days– that’s  a lot of money in comparison to the standard $1-2 per album.

They’re named after Highway 61– “The road by which people left their homes to take their music to the world.”

After quiting Oasis following a big fight with his brother Liam in August last year, Noel Gallagher is going solo. It can be remembered that Gallagher had written on Oasis’ website in August that he “simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer”. Now he has just announced his first solo concerts. He will be performing in two of the Teenage Cancer Trust’s annual charity concerts at London’s Royal Albert Hall on March 25 and 26. This will be the former Oasis guitarist’s fifth time to be featured in the Teenage Cancer Trust’s annual charity concerts. According to Gallagher, the nights he had performed for the trust’s yearly events had been the ‘best nights’ he’s ever performed in the United Kingdom.

“Ten years ago I got a call from Roger Daltrey asking me to join him for the first ever concert for the charity. Since then I’ve been honoured to support this amazing charity. I’ve had some of the best nights I’ve ever had on a UK stage,” Gallagher said of the yearly charity concerts.

The Teenage Cancer Trust’s annual charity concerts will be Gallagher’s only shows this year, so it will be very special for him and for his fans. The patron of the charity, Roger Daltrey, the founder and lead singer of English rock band The Who said that he is very thrilled about having Gallagher in the March concerts. “It’s a blinder. I’m over the moon. It will be Noel’s only shows this year, so those nights will be special,” he said. Gallagher will be joining Arctic Monkeys, The Specials, The Who, Them Crooked Vultures, Suede and boy band JLS for the series of concerts. Depeche Mode will be opening the event on February 17th.

Will there be an album after this? Is there something in the works now? That remains to be seen, but it seems that it is unlikely that there will be an album from him this year.

I always find it funny how music works between America and England.  Kings of Leon are from America and have been huge in England for years, but they just are making waves on their fourth album over here.  Whereas a band like Muse has been doing very well in their home country of England and just now are doing well over here pending the release of their fifth album.  It is a shame that America doesn’t just jump on the wagon with some of these bands earlier on.  If England digs it, then it must be great.

As I mentioned earlier, Muse will be releasing their fifth album The Resistance in a few weeks, and there is plenty of anticipation.  A friend of mine has been a Muse fan since he saw them open for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Foo Fighters tour in 2000, and I’ve been paying attention to them since 2004.  Matter of fact the stub with the NEXT logo is from a gig in Boston in 2004 at the Axis Ballroom, and we only paid $15 to see them.

Interviews with the band might show a cocky side, as they get ready to play at larger venues and use crazy lighting gear.  These boys have every right to be cocky because they really can rock any venue they are booked to play.  This fall they will open for U2 on a few dates, as did Kings of Leon a few years back, and once you open for a band like U2 you’re on the up and up.  Muse also have managed to play sold out shows at Madison Square Garden and Wembley Stadium, which is no easy task for a band with such a small catalogue.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

It was not her intention to become a recording artist when she uploaded her videos to Youtube, all she wanted was to show one of her friends a song she has written. But Zee Avi, a Malaysian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and ukulele player, ended up becoming a recording artist when Brushfire Records signed her a few months after her videos were on Youtube.

“I went on there without any expectations or intentions for it to be a marketing tool, because I’ve never perceived YouTube to be that, I saw it as an outlet for entertainment and for me to share my music. The fact that other things are happening is pretty crazy.” Zee Avi says.

I learned about Zee Avi on Youtube a week ago; I just stumbled upon one of her songs, “Bitter Heart”. The video is in black and white, and in it Zee Avi looks like a girl from the 60s. I became enamored with her voice, it reminded of the Australian band Frente! The song “Bitter Heart” does not sound bitter at all, it feels like a little girl skipping along with the beating of a happy heart. I love the song’s easy rhythm and its simple jazzy chord progression; it is very minimalistic yet it sounds so complete.

Of course, after discovering such a good song I started digging for more from the girl, and I came upon the song “Honey Bee”. This song sounds more mature than “Bitter Heart“, and it reminded me of one of Joan Baez’s 70s performances. The third video of Zee I watched was the song “Kantoi” which sounded naughty. I did not really understand what it was all about because many of the words in it are not in English, probably Malaysian. But I know that it’s a naughty song because of the way it was sung and the way it was presented on video.

After hearing three songs from Zee Avi, I found myself going to her website and learning about her debut album, Brushfire Records & Monotone Present: Zee Avi, which was released in May. I listened to the whole album on Zee Avi’s Myspace blog. I guess Zee Avi may have a good future in music, her music sounds so refreshing.

There are good things and not so good things that come with having a father who’s been to stardom and whose name is already etched on the face of music history. One of the good things is that it is easier to follow the father’s footsteps; it’s like having the road that leads to stardom already laid out for you, all you need to do is follow it. Becoming a star is easier when one’s parent has been one. The downside is that it is not that easy to build a name of your own. We’ve seen many artists who’ve lived under the shadow of their fathers’ names all their lives. Miley Cyrus, the daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus, knows this. That is why she wants to get out of the box, do it her way, and build a name for herself. For starters, she won’t be doing a cover of the song that made her father a star– Achy Breaky Heart.

“I think both me and my dad have both heard that song enough,” Cyrus told MTV News. “He’s the one and only. I don’t want anyone to ever to cut it, really, because he’s the one and only guy that could do it, I think. I don’t want anyone to ever cut it, really, because he’s the one and only guy that could do it, I think.”"

But this does not mean that Miley Cyrus won’t be doing any covers.  Her father enjoys listening to her cover version of Rolling Stones’ “Honky Tonk Woman”. She has also recorded a version of John Lennon’s “Imagine” as a duet with her Hannah Montana co-star Emily Osment.

Miley Cyrus seems to be poised for stardom.  The movie she stars in, Walt Disney’s Hannah Montana: The Movie,  opened with $34 million in ticket sales. This is another number one box office debut for her, following her first-place premiere last year with her 3-D concert film. Now, this girl really is building a name for herself.

Even after leaving The Misfits, Doyle Frankenstein knew that he still would have music as a part of his life. The punk legend went on to form Kryst The Conqueror before his recent formation of the metal band Gorgeous Frankenstein. Doyle’s newfound metal home is steadily building a cult following of metalheads and punk fans alike. Although it is definitely a change of pace to go from punk to metal, for Doyle it isn’t really all that big of a challenge, as he is easily one of the greatest punk guitarists of all time.

Gorgeous Frankenstein recently released their self-titled debut and are touring nationally. With songs like  “Gorgeous Frankenstein” and “Made in Hell”, you can’t help but feel like Motley Crue was morphed with the Misfits and a little Black Sabbath as well. From catchy hooks to sing along choruses and the furious guitar stylings of Doyle, it is like audio candy to any music fan’s ears. They also have a new member, former Misfits drummer DR Chud.

Whether you like punk or metal it definitely is a group to watch out for and to even jam to. Look for them to invade a home or a club or even a basement near you.

This past Saturday, my new husband, our best friends, and I headed to Northboro, MA, to watch Steve Centorino perform at Tom’s Gourmet Marketplace.  We had not heard Steve perform nor been to this restaurant/shop previously.  We were delighted with both.

Steve did an excellent job combining original songs and covers throughout his two and a half hour performance.  He delivered an excellent performance, especially in light of the fact that he was supposed to have given only a one hour show.  However, with a last minute cancellation by the other performer, Steve entertained the audience with his music and banter.

Tom’s Gourmet Marketplace was the perfect location for this show.  The seating was close and comfortable, providing an intimate environment.  At points during the show, Steve was able to interact with the audience, allowing for a more personal feel to the show.

Steve began the show with an original piece, “Carousel”, which had excellent lyrics and great rhythm.  During the evening he sang covers of various songs, though each had its own Centorino touch to it.  A remake that I particularly enjoyed was “Killing Me Softly”.  Accompanied only by acoustic guitar throughout the evening, Steve’s performance was solid, especially with another original, “Eternally Yours”.

Steve is now on my list of artists to follow.  I can’t wait to see his next performance.

Who is Marié Digby? To some, she’s a new pop singer/songwriter whose rise to fame was through YouTube. To others, she’s a fraud.

Like most people, I found her through YouTube and was under the impression that she was a budding amateur. (Her videos were taken simply from her home, nothing special.) It turns out, I was wrong.

Back in 2005, before Digby started posting YouTube videos, she signed a contract with Disney. Marié has told the public that the path with Disney was not working, so she made her own “desperate” attempt at fame through YouTube. The Wall Street Journal reported a story different than that. The article writer made claims that Marié was pretending to be an amateur as part of a master plan from Disney. The thought was that this type of advertising would work better than the original route. The WSJ’s writer’s intent was to expose Marié digby as a fraud, but it only helped Marié gain more public recognition.

There’s no doubt about it, Marié has talent. If her music is good, it doesn’t matter how it gained recognition. I love her rendition of “Gimme More” by Britney Spears, though Digby is more famous for her cover of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” which was featured in MTV’s The Hills. She also has many original songs. (It makes sense, because according to the media, the covers were only a ploy to attract attention to her originals.) Last week, I heard Marié’s “Say It Again” on my XM radio, and I expect to hear her more frequently on the radio in the upcoming months. She recently released her first album.

Even if the Wall Street Journal’s entire story is true, it doesn’t change my opinion of her music, how could it? Besides, the procedure they supposedly used seems smart, and I bet it won’t be the first time we see it happen.

What do you think about it? Leave a comment.