I have been dying to be able to talk about OneRepublic’s new album Waking Up that is out today! So here I go…I got an advance copy of the album last week and I have to admit that I haven’t stopped listening to it. I am pretty sure everyone has heard me have it on repeat.
Waking Up, recorded in OneRepublic’s hometown Denver, is the band’s most sweeping, cinematic effort to date, with even more strings and movie-like moments, thanks in part to the use of the same children’s choir and orchestra used by Batman and Edward Scissorhands composer Danny Elfman (with whom Ryan Tedder has shared ideas). Plus, OneRepublichas recently added co-writer and bass and cello player Brent Kutzle to its lineup. “All he listened to before getting into this band was soundtracks,” Tedder says. “He can name every score and soundtrack guy from the last 15 years.”
My favorite songs off the new album are definitely All This Time and All The Right Moves. Especially with All This Time it talks about how someone was always in love with this one person, and how all this time it was them they were supposed to love. (I’ve listened to that song the most.)
This for sure has to be my favorite album of there year. You can get it on iTunes right now by following this link.
Ryan Tedder says his best work with OneRepublic is ahead of him, and he’s more inspired than ever. He practically speaks in lyrics these days. “Music is my life,” he says, “and songs are my currency.”
OneRepublic’s highly anticipated new album Waking Up hits stores Tuesday, November 17th, but fans can hear the tracks a few days early by visiting the band’s MySpace. Waking Up includes the single “All the Right Moves,” as well as the tracks “Secrets” and “Good Life“.
In celebration of the release, OneRepublic will perform a live, online concert on Monday November 16th, at 5pm PST / 8pm EST. The concert will take place at the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, and will be powered by Ustream. Fans will then be able to chat with the band via Ustream’s Social Stream that integrates Twitter, Facebook, AIM, and MySpace. Visit Ustream.tv for details and to watch OneRepublic on Monday.
I will also have my review of the whole album on Monday.
OneRepublic have released a new song on iTunes called “Good Life” which appears on their forthcoming album Waking Up due out next week. They have been unveiling a new song each week on iTunes as a countdown to the album’s full release on November 17th. (I will have my review on the whole album on Monday! I can’t stop listening to it.)
The band has just announced a brand new headlining tour date at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, CA on November 18th. Fans in the Southern California area can also help celebrate the release at a CD signing and free performance on November 19th. Visit OneRepublic.net for more information on the concert and event at The Americana at Brand in Glendale, CA.
We love 100 Monkeys here. All of them (Jackson Rathbone, Ben Graupner, Ben Johnson, Jerad Anderson, and Uncle Larry). And I am so happy to see that one of my favorite songs, Ugly Girl, is a music video. And really watching the guys putting on makeup is funny! I love it! I think the guys should for sure rock that look more often at concerts.
Jackson did an interview recently and he was saying how he is more excited about music than acting…which later he explains that he loves both. (Considering the band is releasing a new album, GRAPE.)
“People say that [I'm more excited about music than acting], but I just feel like I have more control over music than I do over, say, playing Jasper in the Twilight series. Because I get to write the words that I sing. As opposed to as an actor, I wear what people want me to wear, I stand where they want me to stand, I say what they want me to say. That’s great — I love being an actor and I’ve been studying to be an actor since I was about 14 years old. But music balances it out. I can’t have one without the other.”
I know that I would be sad if Jackson left either place. He can rock it out and act. And later in the interview I love how humble that Jackson has stayed.
“We don’t have a cushy life. We’re not playing arenas and selling them out yet. We play dirty dive bars and love it. Whenever we’re on the road we sleep in two motel room and take turns sleeping on the floors. It’s not all glamorous and it’s great. If it were all glamor, it’d be boring.”
I love that they play at the “dirty bars” I have heard nothing but good things about their concerts. It could be that they are more intimate because they are smaller. They love to connect with the audience. And for that…they will always be loved.
Serabee is releasing her new EP tomorrow November 10th. I have talked about Serabee before. She has an amazing sound that you haven’t really heard yet. I think that it will get her far. I’ve listened to the whole EP and I love it. I will be buying it tomorrow!
My two favorite songs on the EP were Driving Me Stupid and The Rest Of Me. I love how she sings about how in love you can get…how it can make you feel like you are crazy. And with her soulful and upbeat love songs you are sure to be able to relate to her.
There’s no doubt Serabee’s nomadic musical instincts fan the flames on the fiery self-titled debut. Note perfect and a helluva’ lot of fun, she’s a soul siren who’s not afraid to let loose in ways almost forgotten on contemporary records tempered by auto-tune. Also known for her emotive, uplifting auditions, it was the piano-tinged romp she put on for the executives at Universal republic that would ultimately seal the deal.
“I guess I’ve never been afraid to show what I’ve got,” she smiles, slyly reverting to that wry lyric on “The Rest Of Me”: /’Who cares what I look like under this dress./ I know that you will be impressed….you’ll love the rest of me…’ “
The truly amazing feat is that she was able to pour such an undeniable essence into every groove of her new EP.
Lifehouse announces the release of their fifth studio album Smoke & Mirrors on Geffen Records December 8th. First single “Halfway Gone,” co-written by Lifehouselead singer Jason Wade, Kevin Rudolf (”Let It Rock”) and producer Jude Cole (Rocco Deluca, Beth Orton, MoZella), has already been serviced to radio and is available on all digital outlets now.
With Smoke & Mirrors; lead singer/guitarist Wade, drummer Ricky Woolstenhulme Jr., bassist Bryce Soderberg, producer Cole, and live guitarist Ben Carey have created a set that combines their live sound with great record making.
Smoke & Mirrors showcases two sides of Lifehouse — songs like “Smoke & Mirrors,” “Wrecking Ball” and “Had Enough” (with guest vocals by Chris Daughtry) have a raw and stage driven feel to them capturing the live, rock side of the band; a sound they had perfected after 10 years of solid touring. While tracks like “All In,” “Here Tomorrow Gone Today” and the first single “Halfway Gone” are songs sure to be heard on radio for years to come.
Lifehouse’s multi-platinum 2000 debut, No Name Face, produced “Hanging by a Moment,” a #1 alternative hit which crossed over to become Top 40’s Most Played Song of 2001, while 2002’s Stanley Climbfall solidified the band as a touring force. Their 2005 self-titled platinum effort yielded “You and Me,” a giant hit ballad (Wade, Cole) that set a record by spending more than 60 weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. 2007’s Who We Are, also produced by the Smoke & Mirrors team, included the hits “First Time,” “Whatever It Takes” and “Broken,” which combined sold over 3 million digital downloads. To date Lifehouse has sold over 5 million albums.
