Miranda Cosgrove Live At The Beacon Theatre

Miranda Cosgrove performed live at the Beacon Theatre last night, with opener Greyson Chance. This is part of her Dancing Crazy tour, from the Beacon Theatre, in Manhattan, February 5th.

















Greyson Chance
1. Fire
2. Empire State Of Mind
3. Broken Hearts
4. Paparazzi
5. Unfriend You
6. Waiting Outside The Lines

Miranda Cosgrove
7. Leave It All To Me
8. About You Now
9. Disgusting
10. Just A Girl
11. Stay My Baby
12. There Will Be Tears
13. Hang ‘Em High
14. Brand New You
15. Medley: Dynamite/Bulletproof/I Gotta Feeling
16. Shakespeare
17. Kissin U
18. BAM
19. Oh Oh
20. Sayonara
21. Dancing Crazy

http://www.multiupload.com/FY9F6BTSR6

Well Well Well, Does She Kiss And Tell?

Today, as I strolled through Manhattan, with not a care or destination, I imagined a scenario where I'd meet the Gossip Girl cast, and get to ask one question (am I watching to much TMZ?). I came up with a great question though, to ask Taylor Momsen if her band is "Taylor Momsen & The Pretty Reckless" or just "The Pretty Reckless."

I couldn't give a hoot about her answer, personally, but the question itself is a good one. It reminds me of a story about the Doors. They were introduced one night as "Jim Morrison & The Doors" and Morrison emphatically claimed that it was just "The Doors."

Attaching one's name ahead of the band implies that the person is not in the band, but instead they are two entities collaborating. By just having the band name, there is a sense of togetherness, and a lack of ego. Imagine "Hayley Williams & Paramore" or "Paul McCartney & Wings" (ok, bad example on the second one.)

Although, actually, that does lead me into where the use if the name ahead of the band makes sense. Paul McCartney was a performer before and after Wings. Wings themselves were a backing band, made of rotating talent (aside from the constant presence of wife Linda, and Denny Laine.) Paul wrote the material, and aside from 1975-76, when Wings was a more conventional and democratic band, it was really just Paul and musicians.

Anywho, this goes into the real topic of today's post: Selena Gomez. She has an album in the pipelines, called "Kiss And Tell". It is due out September 29th. The tracklisting is still unknown, but a bonus track has been talked about, a new recording of "Tell Me Something I Don't Know," which in original form came out last year, but was probably recorded much earlier. The album is to be by "Selena Gomez & The Scene." That's right, unlike Miley or Demi, Selena has a band name. Now, I already discussed the implications with having a name tagged ahead, but I wonder if perhaps Selena did not want to have her name there. I say that because when she first talked about making an album, she said she wanted to not have her name attached. So, I'm guess label Hollywood Records had the final say. By the way, the name is The Scene, because Selena says people jab at her by saying "she thinks she is scene" and the like. I'm just glad it rolls off the tongue nicely. Has that alliteration to it.

Then there is Miley. What a week. She stirred the pot a bit with her Teen Choice Awards performance. While singing her new single, "Party In the USA," part of her routine had her on a pole. Like a stripper. That, plus her argueably age-inappropiate attire got her some bad reviews, but also wound up stirring support from her fans, evidenced in the Twitter Trending Topic "#weloveyoumiley". Okay, not the best evidence. I concur.

I already posted about how the press likes to play up her sexual undertones (okay, overtones), and adds perception that is not necessarily there (I think that is what I said...). Either way, her new song is a hit, and she has her new EP coming out August 31st (with 7 songs, including "Before The Storm" live with the Jonas Brothers, and her song from the film "The Last Song.")

Miranda Cosgrove has a new song called "Raining Sunshine," which will be played during the credits of the film "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs."

Emily Osment is taking over Radio Disney tomorrow. What a coup! Heads will roll! Wait, nevermind. Anyway, she will premiere "All The Way Up," and discuss an new EP. (My guess is that the EP will contain songs that will later be on her 2010 album, but that is yet to be seen.)

And finally, "Send It On" and the Wizards Soundtrack were released. "Send It On" sounds like a lost eighties charity single, with its' gospel/hip hop beat. Except the singers were not born in the eighties. (Well, Kevin Jonas was. Maybe Joe too?)

The Wizards soundtrack was cool for the Selena songs (althought the absence of "Make It Happen" is a slap). Selena had good songs to work with. Sure, this is the equivilant of Hannah Montana, in that Selena had no creative imput. But she sure can sing, and these tracks make the best of that!

Summertime, Summertime, Sum Sum Summertime

So, now that summer is here, let's take a look at the new releases you can listen to while you're at the beach, or bike riding, or massaging senior citizens (you can do that all year round!)

June 30th - Jennette McCurdy's debut album? McCurdy once stated her album could come out on the 30th, but since that is tomorrow, it seems very unlikely. No Amazon.com spot. No direct message from McCurdy (she only mentioned the 30th in interviews once or twice). Stranger things have happened, but it looks like we will have to wait a bit longer for this one.

July 3rd? - Klaus Voormann, artist/bass guitarist has spent his career as a great session man, most notably with Apple Records, where he played alongside George, John, Ringo, and was even rumored to replace Paul McCartney in a never formed Beatles-follow up band the Ladders. Now, he is releasing his first solo album, a collection of collaborations with artists like Yusuf Islam and Bonnie Bramlett (or Sheridan, as she goes by now.) Notable is "I'm In Love Again," a Fats Domino cover, with Klaus on bass, Ringo on drums, and Paul on vocals.

July 7th- Hannah Montana 3. In a strange marketing scheme, Disney will release 11 singles to promote this album. That mostly means showing Miley sing these songs live on a special concert (more on that in a moment) along with playing the song on Radio Disney. Anyway, the album is out next week, and features 14 songs, including a duet with Corbin Bleu ("If We Were A Movie," and this version is actually from season 2), and a duet with David Archuleta ("I Wanna Know You," also featured in a solo version.) Mitchel Musso has one song on the disc. "Let's Do This," and "Let's Get Crazy" are recycled from the movie soundtrack. A little dissapointing, but no biggie. The concert Miley did was a special taping, to make music videos out of, and will somehow be included on this album (probably enhanced CD).

July 21st - Demi Lovato's sophomore album, "Here We Go Again." Demi's new disc will feature John Mayer, Jon McLaughlin, and William Beckett. It is to be less of the power-pop of "Don't Forget," and closer to Demi's taste ("Don't Forget" was, in some ways, very much a mix of then beginner Demi being shown the ropes by the more experienced Jonas Brothers, whose flavor definatly comes across.) Expect there to be many foreign edition bonus tracks, itunes bonus tracks, and other things down the line for this one. Especially a track only on an Australian 7" steel vinyl, played at 12 rpm, backwards, on a Tuesday, if it is sunny, at exactly 6 o'clock, with a mouse, in a house, on a plane, near a train, I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them Sam I Am. Two songs were cut from the original tracklisting. They are "For The Love Of A Daughter," and "Shut Up and Love Me." (there is no Australian 7'', by the way.) All editions are set to include 2 bonus tracks already: "A Gift From A Friend", a song from an upcoming Tinkerbell movie, and "So Far So Great," the Sonny With A Chance theme song, already released on "Disney Channel Playlist."

August 4th- Wizards of Waverly Place Soundtrack. This album only features 5 songs by Selena, and oddly excludes her song "Make It Happen" from the series. And, one of those 5 songs is "Everything Is Not What It Seems", the shows theme song, already released on "Disney Channel Playlist" (wierdly still only 50 second long.) The album is filled out with other Disney artists, and features 4 different songs all titled "Magic." Selena has more output here than any other album, but it is surprisingly little.

September 9th - Beatles Remasters. 'Nuff said.

September 15th- Between My Head And The Sky. Yoko Ono is back, and she is bringing back the conceptual Plastic Ono Band! Yoko has released an EP already called "Don't Stop Me!" on itunes, which has an alternate version of a new track, a remix of another new one, a two other songs. It is great to see Yoko, and in full experimental unleashed mode.

Autumn? - Emily Osment and Selena Gomez both have debut albums currently set for a Fall release. Selena already has a place holder on Amazon.com. Emily is on a smaller label, so expect less promotion. That said, she does have a music video done (or is still working on it.) Selena already had the Demi duet from Princess Protection Program "One And The Same", and Emily had the Dadnapped song "Hero In Me", both on the album "Diseny Channel Playlist."

Then there is "Send It On." This song is part of Disney's environmental campaign, trying to raise 1 million dollars, and then offering viewers to decide what environmental projects the money should go to. This track, still unreleased, plays in the background during the TV spots, and even has a music video filmed, but also unreleased. It is an all-star recording with Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, and the Jonas Brothers. I would have traded the JoBros for Jimmy Page, Jack Bruce, and Ringo Starr, but that is not the point. The point is that it must have been awkward with Miley, Nick, and Selena? No, the point is that I want to know the release date.

Also in the loop are a possible new Paul McCartney album, and a box-set of outtakes and unreleased material. Ringo has hinted at a new album too.

And that leaves Miranda Cosgrove. She has stated she that is working on a new album, and once hinted at a summer release, but has been mum since, leaving me to wonder. Even Autumn releases are getting nods now, so if she doesn't speak up soon, we may not have a new album until at least late Fall/Winter.

I look forward to all of these (well, honestly, I don't have very high hopes for the Wizards soundtrack, but that is mainly due to quantity, not quality. At least there is a new Wizards movie, which the soundtrack ties into.)

"And You Wonder Why People Don't Worship Beauty"

So, I almost went a month without a new post.

First off, I posted a song a while back called "Love'n", proported to be a lost Beatles song. It is NOT actually the Beatles, but The Colours, a never-made-it sixties band, featuring Carl Radle on bass. The track, "Lovin", was on their Mickie Most produced LP. Someone edited the song to make the vocals (which would have made it obviously not the Beatles) near inaudible. I was kind of hoping it was the Beatles, but either way, it is a cool track.

Now, I mentioned a possible Paul McCartney box set, a new "Cold Cuts". Well, since then, tracklistings for 3 of 4 discs have been leaked. Each disc has 25 songs, plus a hidden track. Tracks are edited to fit all of them on a disc. For the full tracklists, check wogew.blogspot.com

Just about every unreleased gem we know about is featured, plus many more, including things we've never heard of before. The set is limited to studio work only, as another set of live material, as well as a set of demos, will be on horizon. Hints of a set actually date back to 2001, when Paul produced a documentary called "Wingspan." On a mini website dedicated to the film, a message said fans will be pleased with a new release coming soon. However, Paul got sidetracked, most likely with his new relationship with Heather Mills. But now, the set is back on track.

The set is a dream come true. Paul is releasing every track from the original "Cold Cuts" save for the instrumental "Tomorrow." And he is putting out thing that have never been booted, like "Crawl of The Wild," a "Venus & Mars" outtake featuring Dave Mason (who also played guitar on "Listen To What The Man Said.) "Crawl Of The Wild" has been renamed (or corrected to be) "Wild Cat." Paul has also opened the vault on the "London Town" sessions, from which we've had very little save for rough mixes and such.

There a few well known booted songs missing, like "Jazz Street", but the listing is nothing to complain about. One interesting note, though, is that, save for an early "Ram" version of the song "Sunshine Sometime," Paul has ignored his unreleased "Rupert The Bear" soundtrack. Paul did a soundtrack to his favorite childhood character, with instrumentals and some sung songs, along with some narration, and after years of coming back to it, recorded a full listing with Wings in '78. The project never materialized, but a few years later, Paul did make a short Rupert cartoon, which featured the song "We All Stand Together." I suspect Paul will release the Rupert song seperatly (well, I sure hope he does!)

Onto Jennette McCurdy, who has released another single. The song is a cover, called "Homeless Heart." Part of the proceeds of it go to charity. Like every other celeb, Jennette has not said anything about a release date for her album, and I'm beginning to doubt the rumoured "June 30th" date. In fact, Jennette is still hitting the recording studio (although she hasn't enlightened us as to whether she is still working on her first album, or starting another one.)

Along with Jennette, Miranda Cosgrove has been doing great on "iCarly." The show keeps getting high ratings, and deservingly so. It is consistently funny. Personally, I relate mostly to Spencer (being an artist myself, as well as a big brother, who one day will have to worry about a teenage sister.) But everyone is hysterical, and the development of different relationships and interactions with characters is great. I love when Freddie or Sam are alone with Spencer, with a dilema that Spencer tries to solve, like when Sam was having nightmares about a monster eating her soup. Spencer works so hard to help, like attempting to analyze Sam's dream, but in the end only causes more trouble, like after he dresses as a monster, and steals Sam's soup, to cure her, she beats him up, thinking he is a monster, and then Spencer has nightmares about monsters and soup. It is a clever set-up, and the actors pull it off convincinly and with personality that really sells the material.

Selena Gomez has a new release on Tuesday, a duet with the group "Forever The Sickest Kids." The single will be on iTunes (and maybe other d/l sites?) I'm looking forward to it.

Now, all these none of these celebs will give a release date, but Disney is different. On June 9th, Disney will release "Disney Channel Playlist," 15 songs from their TV shows and original TV movies. Of interest to me is "Everything Is Not What It Seems" (by Selena Gomez, it is the "Wizards Of Waverly Place" theme, "The Hero In Me" (by Emily Osment, from the movie "Dadnapped"), "So Far, So Great" (by Demi Lovato, it is the "Sonny With A Chance" theme), and "One And The Same" (a Demi and Selena duet from "Princess Protection Program.")

On July 14th, the "Hannah Montana 3" soundtrack will finally come out. It will feature 12 songs from season 3 (one of them by Mitchell Musson, the rest by Hannah Montana, including the duet with David Archuleta.) Track 13 is "If We Were A Movie" with Corbin Bleu, which was actually from season 2. It looks like another fun release, with song titles like "Ice Cream Freeze (Let's Chill)". Also, what is it with the word "Let's". "Let's Chill," "Let's Do This," "Let's Get Crazy," "Let's Dance."? Oh well, no matter. The titles are similar, but the songs are all different.

While Hannah is releasing a new disc, the real girl Miley doesn't seem to have a new disc on the near horizon. She will be filming "The Last Song," a film adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel. Rumors are also abound that Miley is wanted for the new "Footloose," although Miley has yet to say anything on that subject. Also, Miley will be touring again later this year, in Europe for sure, as she mentioned on her "Live In London" iTunes exclusive EP. Demi should have a "Live In London" EP coming out too. I wonder what is taking so long.

I can't say why people don't worship beauty. But what I can say is "The King Of Fuh" is a great song. By Brute Force, the song was presented to the Apple label, where George Harrison got a hold of it. Harrison loved it, mixed it a bit, and even had an orchestral arrangement added. The song talks about the King of Fuh, who is the "Fuh King." This line was too obscene to get a release, but George, as well as John Lennon, pushed for the song, which got a limited Apple release before being pulled. The song proved elusive after that, but Brute Force has since made it easily acquired on the album "Tour de Brute Force." It is such a beautiful song. I had wanted to hear it just to get a laugh from the lyrics, and while I did, the arrangement had such a sad, post-psychedelic beauty that enraptured me.

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

Stella May Day

Well, I took to my blog last week complimenting and supporting Miley Cyrus after happening upon her Twitter comments @ Perez Hilton in regards to same-sex marriage and homosexuality. But now I feel even more compelled to soap-box it for a moment. Since Miley made her comments, she has been catching some negative responses from various organizations, who think Miley is "confused" and no longer a good influence. As I see it, Miley is the perfect scapegoat. Aside from the usual factor that she is so famous, and the easiest way to go through for publicity, she is not gay. Therefore, it comes off as less offensive to attack her. Had these organizations said nary a word against Perez Hilton, they would be in quite a stew.

It is not all bad news. Miley is going around the world, in promotion of her new movie. And, in an upcoming episode of "Hannah Montana," a duet between Hannah and American Idol runner-up (oh, I bet he wishes he could lose that epitaph) David Archuleta will be premiered (and on Radio Disney a day later.) I saw a clip of the two together on the show on youtube, and heard a bit of the song. Personally, I'm not a fan of Archuleta, but he does have a good voice, and I liked the duet. Hopefully, it will be on the long-delayed "Hannah Montana 3" soundtrack, which had been slated for January, but pushed back due to the movie soundtrack (and most confusingly, some season 3 songs were put on the movie soundtrack.)

Demi Lovato is busy to, doing some big concerts before her first headlining tour (with Archuleta as a supporting performer, by the way.) And, she has somehow managed to cut another album.. The girl works fast! She was already twittering to William Beckett of The Academy Is... that she is working on choosing a title (and may name the album after a song the two did together for it). She seems to be pretty confident on a July release, so, if that holds, I expect a single soon. I also learned that an International Edition of "Don't Forget" has been released, and carries an exclusive song, entitled "Back Around." It is a rock number that fits in with the rest of the albums heavier cuts.

Paul McCartney is very slowly popping up in the news in regards to a new album. A new album was hinted at when some reports claimed Paul and Ringo would play together on it, which would make it the first studio collaboration in over a decade. Now, it is said Paul has written a song about his girlfriend Nancy Shevall (who I think lives by my school, just to mention), and this song may appear on a new album. But before that, Paul appeared on a song "Boots And Sand", by Yusuf Islam (the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens.) Dolly Parton also appears on the song. Also, a deluxe edition of Paul's Fireman release "Electric Arguments" has been delayed since January, but finally, on the MPL website (MPL is McCartney's publishing company), short samples of new tracks are available. There will be seven new tracks. They are remixes of songs from the album, often with less instruments or no vocals. A track like this called "Sawain Ambient Accapella" has already been on iTunes. This song it the album track "Lifelong Passion" minus bass and drums.

All this is exciting, but I am left wondering about Paul's next classical album. In 2007, Paul had made a mention or two about a guitar concerto album. Nothing has developed since. Perhaps dealing with the divorce derailed the project a bit. The album would be a quite a departure from his other classical works, which have been very symphonic.

Emily Osment has gotten a Twitter (so you can stop follow all the fakes now.) Her address is Twitter.com/emilyosment.

Speaking of Twitter, Miranda Cosgrove tweeted something about putting together a final tracklist for her full-length debut. For a while now, fans have been able to hear a song named "Adored", which was briefly on Miranda's myspace (probably by accident.) It, along with the two new songs from Miranda's EP "About You Now", show great promise for her album.

On a personal note, I met Lady Gaga. Well, sort of. I was at a performance at her alma mater in Manhattan, where her sister attends. Her sister played the bongo for a rather dada-esque take on the "Ave Maria" (also played on violin and piano.) Lady Gaga was standing like two feet away from me at one point, taking pictures. However, I didn't even see her. In fact, I didn't know she was there. She chose not to stay for refreshments later on.

Also, the Virgin Megastore is closing its' doors soon. I'd go on a rant about the death of CD's and such, but rather than do that, I'll just say that I will miss the store and its' slightly overpriced merchandise (but I will be there when they start slashing prices! They only cut CD's by 20% for now, but they will probably go down more eventually.) Tower Records closed for good three years ago, and that was really sad for me. Borders Bookstores are eliminating their CD sections (and I managed to hit one having a 50% sale, and picked up Cream's "BBC Sessions" and McCartney's "Ecce Cor Meum" there.)

If you're wondering what today's blog title refers to, "Stella May Day" is a song Paul McCartney recorded for daughter Stella to use on the runway while presenting some clothes she designed, while she was still in school. The song is on bootlegs only, but it is a cool track.

The Whole World Is Just One Big Love-In (And That Is Just Fine)

So, the theme of this post is Love. No particular reason, but it felt right, so I'll go with it.

First off, here is a link to a song called "Love'n"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx9pWgN0g2c

The song is credited to The Beatles. It may very well be a fake, but no one knows for sure at the moment. It is also listed as an early version of "Getting Better". This could be the Rutles for all we know, but I figured I'd share it anyway.

So, love. Everyone should love. Miley Cyrus has publically stated (perhaps somewhat unintentionally?) that she supports gay relationships, via Twitter comments @ Perez Hilton. "jesus loves you AND your partner and wants you to know how much he cares!" This is came about after Hilton asked Miss California er posistion on gay marriage, to which she gave her "biblically" inspired negative response. It is interesting, because Miley is a Christian and very devouted to the Bible. I for one am glad that Miley is displaying to people a sense of openess and acceptance ('specially to fans who are either gay and perhaps forced into a corner of shame, or those who make them feel that shame.) If only this feeling of love could be embraced by our whole world.

Miley's twitter is found here:
http://twitter.com/mileycyrus

Following that, I must say Twitter is perhaps the coolest of all the internet crazes as far as following celebs is concerned. It only takes second to update, meaning even the busiest celeb can update often. There is no html coding or wierd things like that. Myspace and Facebook and Xanga (not that any celeb I know of ever did Xanga) took investments of time, and often become more like giant internet advertisements for celebs, which is kind of a waste since celebs can do the same with there own website.

At the same time, Twitter (and for that matter Facebook status) can become kind of creepy and stalkerish. Sometimes.

But, getting back to love, Paul McCartney got lots of love from indie fans at the Coachella festival. Also, McCartney showed love for The Fireman, his side project, which released a new album last November, by doing two Fireman songs live, the first time he ever did so. Paul performed "Sing The Changes" (the proper single, and one of my favorite new Fireman songs), and "Highway" (one of my least favorites.) Also, on the big screen behind Paul, footage from the Beatles Rock Band was shown. The game comes out September 9th, the same day as the remaster discography of the Beatles. Dhani Harrison (son of George Harrison) says the game will feature previously unheard material.

I don't even know what love has to do with this, but in a seperate interview, Dhani Harrison talked about working on a box set of unreleased George Harrison material. The idea of this set is nothing new, going all the way back to when Harrison was alive. Dhani wants to get the set out, and thinks the material he would release is better than the bootlegs fans have of George outtakes (and George outtakes are somewhat slim, and often instrumental versions or rough mixes of songs, stuff that is often boring and similar to commercial material). Dhani is cheesed off at EMI, which instead of putting out the set, or even finishing the remaster series, is putting out a lame greatest hits. So sad.

Oh, just for kicks, here are some more Twitters:
http://twitter.com/MirandaBuzz - Miranda Cosgrove
http://twitter.com/jennettemccurdy - Jennette McCurdy
http://twitter.com/selenagomez - Selena Gomez
http://twitter.com/ddlovato - Demi Lovato

The KCAs

Last Saturday was the Kid's Choice Awards. I haven't watch a KCA show in a few years, so it was cool to catch it this year with a renewed interest.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was a funny host. I prefer him in children's fare than as a wrestler. He's pretty funny, and very self-teasing, in good taste.

I voted for some categories out of obligation, but others more seriously (considering that it is a Kid's Choice Award.)

Voting for best show was hard. I had to choose between "iCarly"and "Hannah Montana." Both great shows, but I ultimately chose "iCarly". As of late, it has been more entertaining. And it doesn't get the same press as "Hannah Montana." So I figured it deserved a KCA. And it won! Good call on my part.

Then their was best female singer. I chose Miley hands down, and she of course won. But when she came out (as part of a joke, where her and Johnson wore the same dress), she was given the award unannounced. She was first surprised, and then started crying. It was adorable, and showed how much she really cares about what she does.

Voting for best female actress was hard. Miley, Miranda, and Selena were all nominated. Most of the time, I chose Miranda. But the last time I voted, I gave it to Selena (in part just cause she is a good actress, and also because it was the only nom she got, unlike Miranda who got one for the show, and Miley who had singer, show, and voice in an animated movie.) And Selena won! She wasn't there, still working on the "Wizards" movie, but there is a video on youtube of her getting the news, and thanking her fans.

Lastly, the best part of the show was when the most unlikely trio came out to present an award. Miranda Cosgrove, John Cena, and Chris Rock came up to the podium. Forgive me as I paraphrase a bit, but their banter went something like this:

John Cena - we are going to be in a remake of "Charlie's Angels."
Miranda Cosgrove - I'll be the smart one
John Cena - I'll be the strong one
Chris Rock - and I'll be the black one.

Hysterical!