Mike James & DJ Kriegs

I just wanted to thank you for releasing another insanely ridiculous, annoyingly catchy song that I'm going to be hearing all summer. Seriously? Seriously. "California Gurls" is going to be stuck in my head for a long time. I'm having palpitations just thinking about how much idle time my brain is going to dedicate to internally humming this track to myself. Perhaps if I just take a day to listen to this song repeatedly I'll get sick it of it, but I don't know, it might have the opposite effect. Also, dear Snoop Dogg: not only would it have served you better to not be associated with this single, but to put in such a weak effort... For shame. Katy Perry's next album Teenage Dream, from which "California Gurls" is the lead single, will be out on August 24 2010.

Listen to "California Gurls" here:

Usually this blog is dedicated to the alternative and indie realm, but, as a recent online quiz told me, I am only 66% indie because of my guilty affinity for pop music. So I thought I would share the 5 songs that are holding me back from 100% indie gold status:

1) "Find Your Love" - Drake
From Degrassi to hip-hop stardom, Drake's popularity (and ego) has really sky rocketed this past year. "Find Your Love," with it's thumping bass and heartfelt message, does what Kanye West failed to do during that fateful SNL performance, prove that the star can not only rap but sing. Drake's next album Thank Me Later is out June 15 2010.

2) "Telephone" (ft. Beyonce) - Lady Gaga
It seems the world can't get enough of Lady Gaga, and when she teams up with the almighty force of Beyonce things only get wilder. "Telephone" is a mega-hit sure to win award after superficial award for it's popularity and catchiness. Lady Gaga's next album is, apparently, almost complete and due out at the end of this year.

3) "Break Your Heart" (ft. Ludacris) - Taio Cruz
Ever since "Come On Girl" I've liked the music put out by Taio Cruz. He's a British songwriter and producer with international fame that still has the flair of the UK in his music. "Break Your Heart," though having a somewhat scandalous message, is a dance-tastic track injected with the ridiculousness of Ludacris. Rokstarr, the album featuring "Break Your Heart," was released in the US on June 1 2010, and this song is his first US single.

4) "Rude Boy" - Rihanna
"Rude Boy" is a definite statement of sexuality, there's really no hiding. Some may say that she's really pushing it here to, I dunno, show strength after the whole Chris Brown affair (just as GloZell), but regardless, the song has a tonne (that's metric) of club charisma and sing-along-ability. And have you seen the "Umbrealla" video? She's pretty much showing everything there, so I don't really see any change. The rest of the album Rated R is pretty crap, but the "Rude Boy" video is tres stylish.

5) "Your Love Is My Drug" - Ke$ha
Perhaps the least trashy of all Ke$ha's songs, "Your Love Is My Drug" is a pure pop anthem, something akin to early B. Spears. I still quite can't figure out if the lyric "Do you want to have a slumber party in my basement" is some sort of innuendo, nor can I fathom the parting statement at the song's end--"I like your beard"--but my enjoyment is not lessened by these unanswered questions.

So here's something fun--I'm from Barcelona. The band comprises 27 members creating fantastic music. "Anywhere You Looked" is a cover of the Au Revoir Simone song of the same name and appears on the Amnesty International PEACE album , on which artists from all around the globe, including I'm From Barcelona, have come together to record 180 songs to raise money. You can purchase this album for as little as 5 euros and feel good about donating to a good cause. Or, if you're broke, cheap, or uncharitable, you can go to the PEACE website and just stream the songs.

Listen to "Anywhere You Looked" here:

Check out the PEACE website--donate and download or just listen to all 180 songs from around the world: www.buffetlibredjs.net/peace.html.

Or go to Blalock's Indie/Rock Playlist site where a download of this song is included in the May 2010 playlist: http://www.blalocksirp.com.

Here's something else that's a little cool and generous from I'm From Barcelona--they recently released the album 27 Songs, an album of--as the name suggests--27 songs, all of which are free to download. The projects took a solo recordings by each of the artists and released them over 27 days. So take a listen and tell us what you think!

Official I'm From Barcelona website: www.imfrombarcelona.com.

HEY BLOGTOWN -
It's been absolutely ages since we've updated the blog, my b.
Unfortunately, in official air quotes, technically, the Mike James and DJ Kriegs show with relation to WGUR is now donesies.


BUT!!!! No worries, Mike Jeezy and myself plan on continuing to update the blog with fantastic music and updates about our lives as struggling artists slash college graduates. Most importantly, we plan to give consistent updates about the hipster polls, i.e. who is leading in 'all-around hipster' (which I know is your main concern). We also plan to record some podcasts in case you experience extreme withdrawals from our dreamlike voices.

So, in summation, CHECK THE BLOG for new stuff-izzle.

Okay. So it may not be a terribly new song, but it's a new song to me and shame on you blog reader for negating my newly found feelings of awe and wonder. Shame! With every listen of Miike Snow, each new discovery, I love the band more and more, and "Silvia" one such pleasant finding. The song seemlessly, organically blends acoustic with electronic into something morose yet fresh sounding--truly delightful! Also, the band is from Sweden, which, as it happens, is turning into something of a big deal in my (music) life... I suppose at some point I'll have to get some therapy to figure out just why that is :P

Listen to "Silvia" here:

Uber-Canadians, Stars, are releasing their 11th (that's right, 11th) album, The Five Ghosts, June 22nd 2010--that's a Tuesday, by the way--and Sterogum has been kind enough to hook an indie kid up with a free download of the first single from the new disc, "Fixed." Excellent track, worth a download in such a way that no money is exchanged in the process, that is free, but don't take my word for it, here's what the crazy Stars fans from Last.fm had to say about the new single:

"I won't even listen to the new track."
"Augh. Fixed = seriously amazing."
"always." (That may be a response to another comment...)
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
(Posted by user leaaahhhhhhh.)

If these testimonials haven't convinced you to download "Fixed" then I don't know what will...

Download "Fixed" from Stereogum: http://stereogum.com/328772/stars-fixed/mp3s/.

Sheesh! Sorry about the absence everyone, I know you missed us and we totes for def missed you. Sometimes it can be hard to snap out of that Spring Break feeling a update your blog, especially when you know you should be working on all that school work you neglected. You just feel guilty, y'know?--But wait. Don't feel guilty! Music is a source of awesomeness that should never be regretted-ed.
Here's a new song from Luke Temple's new band Here We Go Magic. Katie suggested that we play some Magic on the show before, and, seeing as their new album Pigeons is about to be released, I thought why not put them back on your radar. "Collector" is a meandering five minutes of peppy guitar riffs, and if you're one of those people that likes to be in the know, we will be playing it on tomorrow's edition of The Mike James & DJ Kriegs Show, so you can pretend to do some fortune telling to your friends when you're all huddled around the radio tomorrow night. Oh! They will be impressed with you!

Download "Collector" here: http://secretlycanadian.com/herewegomagic.

Or listen to the song here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KtrX6ft1HQ.