Category Archives: Music

Think you have an awesome name for your band? So does everyone else



The Band Name Book

We’ve all played that game:  somebody says something that sounds a bit off while you’re all out drinking at the bar (something along the lines of “Hey, what those bar hotties reject Ian’s pickup line”) , and someone else in the room chimes in with “hey, that would make a great band name!” (in this case, “Bar Hottie Rejects”).

If Web Watch had a nickel for every awesome band name that we’ve come up with while in a drunken stupor – well, we’d be in a drunken stupor a lot more often (but drinking more expensive stuff).

Continue reading "Think you have an awesome name for your band? So does everyone else" »

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Fark
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Reddit
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Buzz
Also posted in News | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Watch this video: Jedward’s UNDER PRESSURE / ICE ICE BABY



Jedward Ice Ice Baby single

Apparently, Web Watch has been living under a rock since last November when teen sensation JEDWARD hit the scene in Britain’s THE X FACTOR program.

Sure, they may have lost the competition, but that hasn’t stopped JEDWARD (aka eighteen-year-old identical twins John Paul Henry Daniel Richard Grimes and Edward Peter Anthony Kevin Patrick Grimes) from moving forward and releasing their popular version of UNDER PRESSURE (ICE ICE BABY) as their first official release.

Continue reading "Watch this video: Jedward’s UNDER PRESSURE / ICE ICE BABY" »

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Fark
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Reddit
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Buzz
Also posted in Video | Tagged , | Leave a comment

What is the key of YOUR favorite songs?


Sixpence None the Richer

Remember back when Web Watch told you about how THERE SHE GOES by SIXPENCE NONE THE RICHER was called THE MOST PERFECT SONG EVER RECORDED?  It was called that, in part due to its ideal song length, and for other reasons as well.

While it may not be a way to tell if what you’re listening to is THE perfect song or not, if you’re a LAST.FM user than we can at least identify if the key of your favorite songs all fall into the same ballpark or not.

In other words, do you favor listening to songs that are in the same key or not?

Continue reading "What is the key of YOUR favorite songs?" »

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Fark
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Reddit
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Buzz
Also posted in Internet, Websites | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Buy This Album: Peter Gabriel’s SCRATCH MY BACK



Peter Gabriel Scratch My Back

This week, Peter Gabriel releases a new acoustic album entitled SCRATCH MY BACK, with no guitars or drums. 

On the album, Peter covers songs done by other artists.  Later, a companion album of Peter Gabriel covers by other artists will be released on a disc entitled I’LL SCRATCH YOURS.

The songs on SCRATCH MY BACK include:

  • HEROES by David Bowie
  • THE BOY IN THE BUBBLE by Paul Simon
  • MIRRORBALL by Elbow
  • FLUME by Bon Iver
  • LISTENING WIND by Talking Heads
  • THE POWER OF THE HEART by Lou Reed
  • MY BODY IS A CAGE by Arcade Fire
  • THE BOOK OF LOVE by The Magnetic Fields
  • I THINK IT’S GOING TO RAIN TODAY by Randy Newman
  • APRES MOI by Regina Spektor
  • PHILADELPHIA by Neil Young
  • STREET SPIRIT by Radiohead

Some of the covers to be on I’LL SCRATCH YOURS have been announced to include the following:

  • Paul Simon doing BIKO
  • Stephin Merrit of The Magnetic Fields doing NOT ONE OF US
  • Randy Newman doing BIG TIME
  • Tom Yorke of Radiohead doing WALLFLOWER
Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Fark
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Reddit
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Buzz
Posted in Music | Tagged | Leave a comment

Dee Snider wants us to TAKE BACK THE HORNS



Ronnie James Dio poster

Rock-n-roll is all about being a rebel and going against The Man and The Corporation.

To hear Dee Snider tell it, it’s also not wearing a pledge pin on your uniform.

That’s why Dee Snider has asked the Internet to come together for one singular cause:

Continue reading "Dee Snider wants us to TAKE BACK THE HORNS" »

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Fark
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Reddit
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Buzz
Also posted in Websites | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Want to be in a music video? Open casting call is online now – all you need is a webcam


Web Watch was at a music video shoot many, many years ago.  It consisted of standing around a concert stage in an empty arena for hours on end while the same song got played over and over for the artist to lip-sync.  It really wasn’t as much fun as we were promised, and no pizza was provided.  Through the magic of editing, the crowd shots in the finished video look much more packed than what was really there.

So have you ever wanted to be in a music video, but were never in the right place at the right time?  Now’s your chance.

Continue reading "Want to be in a music video? Open casting call is online now – all you need is a webcam" »

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Fark
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Reddit
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Buzz
Also posted in Video | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Lip Dubs on YouTube are the new MTV (until the lawsuits come)


iPod Karaoke MachineKids today love music, and they love their YouTube.

So why not put the two together into a LIP DUB?  It’s a better group activity than Rock Band or Guitar Hero, and can even result in some kids getting grades if they do this as a special project in the classroom (as seen in the amazing backwards video below).

What is a Lip Dub?  It’s a homemade music video done as a single tracking shot through a school, office, mall, or other environment.  All the participants are dancing around the camera into and out of the shot, and the main person on screen is lip-syncing the song.  There are no rules -- more than one person can sing any part of the song, and random costumes are encouraged.  The term “Lip Dub” itself is traced to Jakob Lodwick, founder of the Vimeo video service.

If you get your office together to create a lip dub, you can even submit your production to OFFICE LIP DUB.

We won’t get into the details surrounding the hows and whys behind some of these lip dub videos, but you can click through to the stories behind the stories for full details.  Let’s just say that some of these folks may have too much time on their hands, but they’re making stuff that’s wildly creative and entertaining.

The bigger question for these students is going to be whether making lip dubs and posting them to YouTube and other video sharing services is legal or not.

Jakob Lodwick’s Vimeo openly solicits for lip dubs to follow their original creation of Flagpole Sitta.  Now, Vimeo is being sued by the record labels for encouraging these flagrantly illegal lip dub videos to be made in the first place.  One side says that the homemade videos’ use of songs qualify under fair use; the labels say that doesn’t count since the entire songs are usually used.

Watch these videos, and decide for yourself if the music labels have a point:

HEY YA! by Outkast

Continue reading "Lip Dubs on YouTube are the new MTV (until the lawsuits come)" »

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Fark
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Reddit
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Buzz
Also posted in Internet, News, Video, Websites | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Mahna Mahna (doo doo doo doo doo). Mahna Mahna (doo doo doo doo).


Mahna Mahna songSo by now, Web Watch hopes that you have taken the time to view the Muppets’ version of Queen’s BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

If you haven’t, we’ve included it here.  (If you have, we know you’re just going to click PLAY again, if only to watch Animal’s segment one more time.)

Obviously the highlight of the video for most people is Animal’s part.  Web Watch, on the other hand, enjoyed noticing the many lesser-known Muppets that were included in the video, including Mahna Mahna.

Continue reading "Mahna Mahna (doo doo doo doo doo). Mahna Mahna (doo doo doo doo)." »

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Fark
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Reddit
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Buzz
Also posted in Disney, TV, Video | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Ugly Truth about Music Royalties from TOO MUCH JOY’s Tim Quirk


Too Much Joy - Cereal KillersTOO MUCH JOY was a band in the early 90’s that not a lot of people knew about, although they had a reputation for being one of the best live bands around.  Web Watch knows this first-hand, having been lucky enough to have the chance to see them play more than a few times over the years.

If you’ve seen the film SHAKES THE CLOWN, then you’ve heard TMJ’s song “CLOWNS” (which also was part of a lawsuit brought by Bozo the Clown).  Web Watch recalls that “CRUSH STORY” was used on some television special about teen idols in 1992 or so.   And fans of magicians Penn & Teller should know about the band, as Penn as praised TMJ repeatedly in print and has sat in with the guys in the studio, and Teller directed one of the band’s music videos.

In other words, Too Much Joy has been around the block a few times.  They’ve released a few albums, made national news covering other people’s songs, had some radio play, have celebrity fans, and have done pretty well for themselves in the subsequent years.  They’ve even been called “sell-outs” by some of their fans.  What’s not to love?

Tim Quirk, lead singer of Too Much Joy and now an executive at the music streaming service Rhapsody, knows the answer to that question:  the music royalties.

Continue reading "The Ugly Truth about Music Royalties from TOO MUCH JOY’s Tim Quirk" »

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Fark
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Reddit
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Buzz
Posted in Music | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Want some awesome – and free – Christmas and holiday music? Check out these two sites…


Bing Crosby White ChristmasIf you’re looking for some free Christmas or holiday music, you need to pay attention this month.

AMAZON.COM has decided to share FREE MP3 DOWNLOADS of holiday music in the Amazon Music Store.  Every day, Amazon will be placing a free song on their site for download.  For example, today’s free MP3 song is “Joy to the World” by Casting Crowns.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

Continue reading "Want some awesome – and free – Christmas and holiday music? Check out these two sites…" »

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Fark
  • LinkedIn
  • MySpace
  • Reddit
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • Yahoo! Buzz
Also posted in Websites, shopping | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment