Ok, mainstream chart toppers have been getting way too much attention in this blog so I am switching gears to something different, funky so make some noise for HYPER CRUSH! With the help of Google and a few keystrokes, I found this very entertaining band from LA. Mixing HipHop and electronica~ Now that is as fresh as it can get. I bet no one have heard of this band yet or maybe some lucky listeners actually heard of them on the radio, so let's just say I fall to one of the majority. So I am putting them out there for you all to check it out.

MV is magma hot, command lines!!!geeky? no... it's pumpin hot. I love the mv. Two vocalists represented!!! She is hot and the dude is nerdy in a good way. Jamming the keys ,homie!! We got some creative video right here on Feb 2009, this is what I am talking about, T-Pain has a competition for the best creative mv of 2009. Love it. Wrappin up this post is the song itself, digitize and synced heavy is what this song is all about. The title was already a give away when it comes to where the direction of this song is goin to go. I like it when both vocalist paired up to make this song more likeble. With songs featuring on MTV's Bromance, it's about time they received some hardcore attention!

Song's Rating: 4/5
Watchability: High
Recommend: Yes
Ratings: 4/5
The Ups: It's a video that you can't get bored during reruns.
The Downs: Transition scenes can get annoying but it's bearable. Wish they twicked the graphics even more, would have been way hotter. Still loving it though.

Stereopony, a relatively new Japanese rock band that was formed in Okinawa, Japan in 2008. Although they have performed live, so far their discography consists of only 2 singles that are mainly geared towards the Anison (Anime song) genre. What's great about their accomplishment with "Namida no MUKOU" is debuting at the Oricon Charts Week 8 at No.2, something that is not often achieved by songs categorized under that genre amidst the more mainstream Japanese music releases. Whether or not Stereopony will live up to the same feat as L'Arc-en-Ciel remains to be seen, but the song itself (currently used as the 2nd opening theme of Gundam 00 -2nd Season-) is likable in its own way, with arrangements that make it easily recognizable as an Anison rock song.

As for the music video, this is one of the recent few which I genuinely like, or maybe I'm just a sucker for nice visual effects and camera shot editing. Smart use of a city backdrop interchanging scenes with the band. What worked for me is that they showed each scene for a suitable amount of time - not too short to cause eye seizure, and not too long to send the viewers into a bored sigh or doze.
PS. Watch the HQ version.

Song's Rating: 4.5/5
Watchability: High
Recommend: Yes
Ratings: 4.5/5

The Ups: Great song. Creative MV.
The Downs: Quite frequent use of the same kind of visual effects but that will probably only irk folks who are picky with detail.

Besides the weird dance steps, this mv is OK. Good shot of the band but it's not giving enough air time for other three members. Lots of scene involving the two main singers which fans might find it unsatisfying. Not as good as their first two m. videos that I have seen. Fans, prepare to be disappointed.

Song's Rating: 3/5
Watchability: Medium
Recommend: No
Ratings: 3/5
The Ups: Good storyline based on the song so its good relation between the two.
The Downs: Weird dance steps. Swingin from left to right and so forth, not really good is it?

What a disappointment and a pain to watch to see such a club banger song sink down with such a bad mv. Though trying to relate to the song with "round stage and props", this mv is a letdown from previous Flo Rida's mv. The song can be a huge hit,why wouldn't they go for a good mv to go with it, frustrated with the whole mv. I wander whether the recession got anything to do with it. Lastly, Flo Rida still did his best in the mv, nothing awkward bout his presence in the mv, rapping clean, bro. Between T-Pain's Freeze and Flo Rida's Right Round, T-Pain is freezing all other competitors, yet again, T-Pain won the best mv of 2009, come on, directors!! Step up the game.

Song's Rating: 4.5/5
Watchability: Low
Recommend: No
Ratings: 2/5
The Ups: Relates to the song. Flo Rida did his rapping well. Camera loves him.
The Downs: Terrible thru-out.

The triangle lighting around Miley is absolute genius, now that's a great spotlight to play with. I haven't seen much of club's light on mv since Usher's Yeah mv. That is cool. The whole music concept is great, it's interesting, and finally, it's fresh to finally see a really good mv worthy of 2009. Goes great with the song too~ Good transitions in between all the scenes. The blending of the movie clips is also great, instead of using old-fashion cut and paste clips, the director chose the merge of scenes from the current mv to the movie was creatively done. I like the song too but the vocal ain't that strong but it's her song now so I have no complaint. Great ballad.

Song's Rating: 4/5
Watchability: High
Recommend: Yes
Ratings: 4/5
The Ups: Love the lighting and the concept overall
The Downs: Unrealistic scenes at times but bearable.

An exciting upcoming album from one of NZ's best hip hop group, Smashproof, set to be release on March,2009. The group consists of Tyree, Young Sid and Deach, rising from the street of S. Auckland. Shoutout to them for creating such an addictive hip hop song. Blast your stereos for the great drum pumping sounds and the unique voice of Gin Wigmore will give listeners a good chill. MV hits close to home for the boys and I love the way the mv played out. Creative concepts and the core of the song brought out the real meaning of brother, though this mv was released back in 2008, I like to bring it up again for those who had miss the mv. Currently ranking No2 at the NZ's chart, won't be long till they knock Jason Mraz out of the number one sit. Check them out.

Official Website

Song's Rating: 4.5/5
Watchability: High
Recommend: Yes
Ratings: 4/5
The Ups: Awesome shots of the streets portraying the stories of the hood.
The Downs: Black & white thru out the whole mv

Second single from their new album, Get It Together releasing this month is setting up for a wave of new hits from New Zealand, though not many had manage to become mainstream in other countries. I for one love the music from Sola Rosa, with the help of Iva, this is certainly played out to be a feel good music~ I hope I manage to shed some light to all my follow readers about Kiwi music. Give it a go, you might find something that you enjoy listening to. The intro of S. Rosa's mv kind of catch my attention for awhile cos of its eccentric movement of a guy and a gurl. As the scene proceeded further, the mv kind of settle down with blackout scenes thru-out. Could get really annoying. Good shots of Iva I must say. Nohing special about this mv but the music will pull the audience thru. International readers, check out their official site for more info about Sola Rosa.

Official Site


Song's Rating: 3.5/5
Watchability: Low
Recommend: Yes
Ratings: 3/5
The Ups: A good hook from the start of mv
The Downs: Annoying blackout scenes

Hannah Montana The Movie is coming to the big screen soon!! Well, what are you expecting, yes, heaps of screaming girls & boys (trust me, 20ish old mates of mine are into her) shouting for Hannah or is it Miley? I am confuse as ever cos I have never watch the original tv series, no thank you, not watching it either. As a devoted fan to music, I will just post up some reviews on her latest mv, the climb and her other mv for the promotion of her upcoming movie. Hoedown Throwndown? Sounds like an advice from AskMen.com's article, bros before hoes?

Catchy as it is, the song reminded me of Jessica Simpson's These Boots. The similar tune and beats, Miley Cyrus is offering the pop innocent gurl version of J. Simpson's song. Catchy but is it really an mv? Running just over 1 min plus, I wouldn't count it as a mv, more like a sucker's trailer to get people to watch the movie, well, adult audience will be scratching their heads over this one, should I ? Yup, I aint clappin, I am scratching.

Song's Rating: 3/5
Watchability: No
Recommend: Yes (for the kids) n No (for the others)
Ratings:3/5
The Ups: Could be the next Single Ladies's dance phenomenon
The Downs: Way to short to be amv

Soul petrol, take notice!! Taylor Hick's latest music video is up. Check out his latest song. He is back with a nice slow ballad to ring your jingles. His voice is still as soulful as it was back in American Idol. Definitely worth checking out for all fans of Taylor Hicks. New listeners, it might be fantastic or flop depending on your taste. Love the music video concept, it suited the song really well. Taylor works his magic on the mic, stands on the stage and you got a winner. Nicely done with good camera angles and lighting. Do know that the quality of the mv is good doesn't mean it's has a good watchability factor. One thing for sure is that audience won't find it frustrating watching this mv. A good watch for once and boring the next time round.

Song's Rating: 3.5/5
Watchability: Low
Recommend: Yes
Ratings: 4/5
The Ups: Fits the music really well, nice scenes
The Downs: Worth watching once but it will get boring after a repetitive watch

19 year old RnB singer from NY is set to release her album later this year. Her first single on radio play is Find A Way, a nice mid-tempo RnB Song. great melody and a nice vocalist. If you haven't heard of her song yet, check her out~ She has a nice voice suited for RnB. The mv was shot and released this year. Definitely a good quality mv. Not much of any shaky scenes. One thing I noticed was it does share some similiaritity to Jordan Spark's No Air mv but set in the morning instead. Find A Way is definitely a hit for me, nice guitar rhytm and good on the bass. That's how I like my RnB.

Song's Rating: 4/5
Watchability: Medium
Recommend: Yes
Ratings: 4/5
The Ups: Well done MV for a debut star.
The Downs: Black and white scenes can be a turn off at times.

Bayje - Find A Way

• 10: Gun N Roses - November Rain ($ 1.5 million ) [ Classic coolness]
  
• 09: George Michael - Freek! ($ 2 million ) [ Excessive use of digital graphics]
  
• 08: Will Smith - Miami ( $ 2 million ) [ Love the transition scenes ]
  
• 07: Backstreet Boys - Larger Than Life ( $ 2.1 million ) [ Worth the dollars cos it's still looks great]
  
• 06: Mariah Carey - Heartbreaker ( $ 2.5 million ) [Simple video but damn on the $$$, dont get it at all]
  
• 05: Madonna - Bedtime Stories ($ 2.6 million) [ Still look modern but it's a weird mv]
  
• 04: Puff Daddy Ft. Notorious B.I.G. & Busta Rhymes - Victory ( $2.7 million ) [Helicopters & Bombs, action-packed mv]
  
• 03: Madonna - Die Another Day ( $ 6 million) [Fancy fencing action ]
  
• 02: Michael Jackson Ft. Janet Jackson - Scream ( $ 7 million ) [ Love the sci-fi goodness]
  
• 01: 30 Seconds to Mars - From Yesterday ( $ 13 million ) [Grand & Fancy, cool sword fighting]

Who knew shooting a music video can go up to such a high cost. $ 13 million, an indie film wouldnt cost that much to shoot~ 2 or 3 indie movie perhaps? Add a million dollars, this mv will be on par with Brokeback Mountain's budget. 134 mins against 5mins ? Ridicilious!! Better off donating to the poor people.

Video kickstarted with a verse from a bible, 1 Corinthians 13:11. The mv sums up the whole lyrics in flash forward cut up scenes which the director did a good job in following up with T.I's rapping. So no complaints with the chopped up scenes. Both JT and T.I dress up all black. T.I with the car and JT on the piano. The piano on fire scene is unnecessarily though. It doesn't make sense. The whole lost in the dessert concept worked really well with the song so thumbs up again. The mv is OK, it wasn't exciting. It's rather simple but right on target with the song.

Watchability: Low
Recommend: No
Ratings: 3/5
The Ups: Relevant content. Justified the song itself.
The Downs: Boring

1. I'd Like To - Corinne Bailey Rae
Comment: A great seductive start, love the nice tempo.
Rating: 4/5

2. I'm Amazed - My Morning Jacket
Comment: This is an indie rock/country song that does not bring any significant to the whole movie at all.
Rating:1/5

3. Don't You Want Me - The Human League
Comment: This song ain't cutting it. Maybe I am just not into the whole digitize sound thru-out the song. But some listeners might find this a flashback trigger, just not me cos I wasn't born yet. Not feelin it.
Rating:1/5

4. Supernatural Superserious - R.E.M.
Comment: Good guitar drift but too much noise on the song, so it's not good on stereos.
Rating: 3/5

5. Madly - Tristan Prettyman
Comment: A good uptempo song, love the drum sticking sounds and claps.
Rating:3/5

6. This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) - Talking Heads
Comment: The worst song of the entire album. Sorry, its unique but it didn't fly well.
Ratings:1/5

7. By Your Side - The Black Crowes
Comment: Though this song was released nearly a decade ago but it's still remain as one of the more modern song. Very electrifying. Love the blues.
Ratings:4/5

8. I Must Be High - Wilco
Comment: This song is giving out the cool rocking feel. Wasn't that melodic though so that's a downfall.
Rating:3/5

9. You Make It Real - James Morrison
Comment: No doubt my favorite track from the soundtrack. Raspy voice from James is a sure plus from me. This is a definite set to a great empowering scene
Rating:4/5

10. If I Never See Your Face Again - Maroon 5
Comment: Fresh fresh fresh in the midst of the other songs on this album. This is the disco song which I think every romantic movie should have, or at least have a really upbeat songs that wasn't a bore. This is it.
Rating:4/5

11. Can't Hardly Wait - The Replacements
Comment: American rock band from the 80s make this album quite unique with their own twist of unique sounds. The best of the 80s on this album for sure.
Rating: 3/5

12. Fruit Machine - The Ting Tings
Comment: When it comes to TTT, this band crave out a good bubble gum teen track. It certainly gave this album the edge it needs.
Rating:3/5

13. Smile - Lily Allen
Comment: It had that summer groove to it. No complains on this one but does get boring overtime,or rather quickly.
Rating: 3/5

14. Somewhere Only We Know - Keane
Comment: English band,Keane brings in the english feel to the album, from the piano to the guitars, drums to the vocal. Certainly one of the better song in this album.
Rating:4/5

15. Love, Save the Empty - Erin McCarley
Comment: This is the hook for the movie, used on the trailer as well. By far the catchiest song cos of the repetitive piano rhythms.
Rating:4/5

16. Friday I'm In Love - The Cure
Comment:92's hit song from The Cure actually fits the movie really well. It had been used on the trailer itself.
Rating:4/5

17. Last Goodbye - Scarlett Johansson - (featuring Mike Lang)
Comment: Not really a strong vocalist at all, so this song is a flop in my book. Soulful at times but she is better off sticking to acting than singing. Good try though.
Rating:2/5

The blend of the 80's music till the current music weren't exactly a smart move. Some album came pulled it off easily but not many could. Old songs for me wasn't meant for a repetitive dial in my CD player cos I find myself listening to it for awhile and then I am off doing some other stuff. It's a good alternative listen for sure. But, that's a problem for me, that's just show it's only doing good on the background. Throw in a few jingles or two and that's it. So I say this isn't the best compilation of songs. Well, it is a soundtrack anyway. The movie did a good job using all these songs to blend in to the scenes but I wouldn't take notice of the songs expect for a few notables one like James Morrison to name a few. Overall, nah, not my type of listening.

Overall: 3/5
Recommended : Medium
Outstanding Song:
1. I'd Like To - Corinne Bailey Rae

5. Madly - Tristan Prettyman
7. By Your Side - The Black Crowes
9. You Make It Real - James Morrison
16. Friday I'm In Love - The Cure

Comment:
An overall "OK" mixtape from classic to modern. Depending on what you are looking for, if you like to have a good listen, this album won't do any good, but if you like it to play on the background without paying much attention to it.Yeah, this is album will be right for ya.

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone~! Here is the result from C4's U Choose 40 show which nz online users choose their favourite love songs for the special occasion. Here is the kiwi's top 40 love song. Enjoy~!!

• 40: Boy II Men - I Will Make Love To You [Romantic Start]
  
• 39: Plain White T's - Hey There Delilah [A freshie]
  
• 38: Phil Collins - Against All Odds [ Good old classic]
  
• 37: James Blunt - You're Beautiful [Fantastic on stereos]
  
• 36: Dave Dobbyn - You Oughta Be In Love [It's OK]
  
• 35: Jennifer Warnes Ft. Bill Medley - The Time of My Life [Upbeat??]
  
• 34: Elton John - Your Song [Great piano melody]
  
• 33: Black Eye Peas - Where Is The Love [Not exactly a love song, is it?]
  
• 32: One Republic - Apologize [More like a breakup song,haha]
  
• 31: Wet Wet Wet - Love Is All Around [Nice love song]
  
• 30: Will Smith - Just The Two of Us [Well, he is the man for it, he is hitch]
  
• 29: Tiki Taane - Always On My Mind [Amazing on guitars]
  
• 28: Sara Bareilles - Love Song [Funny song]
  
• 27: Nelly Ft. Kelly Rowland - Dilemma [Famous RnB song]
  
• 26: John Lennon - Women [Bit slow but it had that lovey-dovey feel]
  
• 25: Extreme - More Than Words [Really nice acoustic song to sing]
  
• 24: Puff Daddy Ft. Faith Evans - I'll Be Missing You [Cool Groove]
  
• 23: Opshop - One Day [Kiwi's Best]
  
• 22: Bob Marley - Is This Love [Summer Groove Love]
  
• 21: Christina Aguilera - Beautiful [An anthem]
  
• 20: Goo Goo Dolls - Iris [Awesome melody]
  
• 19: No Doubt - Don't Speak [hemm, a quite valenti,perhaps?]
  
• 18: Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You [One of the best love song]
  
• 17: Coldplay - Yellow [Great rocky song]
  
• 16: Savage Garden - Truly Madly Deeply [Great lyrics]
  
• 15: Backstreet Boys - As Long As You Love Me [The great pop love song]
  
• 14: Oasis - Wonderwall [Long Forgotten Song]
  
• 13: Alicia Keys - Fallin [Piano Ballad]
  
• 12: K-Ci & JoJo - All My Life [Tear drenched]
  
• 11: The Exponents - Why Does Love Do This To Me [Hippy Love Song]
  
• 10: Roxette - It Must Have Been Love [Great classic again]
  
• 09: Guns N Roses - November Rain [Electric Feel]
  
• 08: Westlife - Flying Without Wings [Not sure why but who cares?]
  
• 07: Celine Dion - My Heart Will Go On [The vocal is wowie]
  
• 06: Enrique Iglesias - Hero [Sexy Song]
  
• 05: Robbie Williams - Angels [Nice ballad]
  
• 04: Snow Petrol - Chasing Cars [Brought famous by Grey's A.]
  
• 03: Aerosmith - Don't Wanna Miss A Thing [The title said it all]
  
• 02: Bon Jovi - Always [Jovi's Ballad rocks]
  
• 01: U2 - With or Without You [U2 is the number one, outstanding!]
  

[All Top 40 Songs are tagged to lead to their very own music video]

Asia's superstar, BoA is set to released her first English album which is due this coming March 2009. The fate of the album had yet to be decided. Two different music videos had been released in the past for the same song, and her single is yet to be charting at the Billboard Hot 100 but only at the Billboard dance chart. Eat U Up had a great aggresive beat for a good workout on the floor. Though she is an asian, she can still belted out a great english song. It does take awhile to catch up to the lyrics but that doesn't stop this monster song from reaching out to hardcore fans and all other listeners alike. This is definitely goin to be a defining moment for this pop-tart. March is soon approaching and I hope she will start promoting her album aggresively to garner some attention. Stars like Britney Spears and Lady GaGa both releasing more singles and hot as videos, she is goin to be at the corner facing the giants of the pop world. Eat U Up has an alternate version to her "already good" music video. This version isn't as good because of the weird sequence. The shots of BoA sitting on a chair is kind of disconnected from the rest of the scenes. This mv is focusing more on her dance moves which I gave them a thumbs up. With less cuts, I find that the video isn't as exciting as her first version B (Korean's Director) music video. What I can say is , you can't have all the dancing in a mv, it just wouldn't work on this one,sadly. Taking that aside, this mv truly showcase BoA's true talent. Let's see whether her music will have the same impact as her dance. Will see?

Watchability: High
Recommend: Yes
Ratings: 4/5
The Ups: Awesome dance sequence
The Downs: Some scenes are disconnected from the rest, Wasn't as exciting as her first version

Latest music video from our retro queen, Lady Gaga! Finally she released a better music video then her previous. Love Game got everything it needed to be a hot video. Her sexy self, a lot of dancing, kinky moves and a touch of erotic. Does the music had any relevant to the mv itself, not really, well, it doesnt seem to be in her previous mv anyway. This is by far her best music video to date. Its oozing sexyness. The shooting of the whole sequence, not to many cuts and the props are realistic. This is quality video, highly recommended! Fans of Gaga won't be disappointed with this one, she is back with Love Game. Checkster!!

Recommendation : Yes
Ratings: 4/5
Highlights: Lots of dancing, cool outfit, sexy gaga herself

Boi, does this mv looks expensive to shoot. Trashing up a house filled with rather glassy stuff. Now that's childplay to what Ricky Martin did on Private Emotion where the whole room was on fire and wet at the same time, that's a high budget. This type of mv is rather repitive, Kelly Clarkson's mv,anyone? Well, not saying that it's a bad mv. It is well shot mv, just that I got bored half way thru the video. Sure, it had some nice shots of the whole trashing and throwing, what both of these singers got going on but it's still lacking the creativity. The whole idea seems recycled for some reason. I am not "wow"-ed just Ok. Music is certainly good but the mv just didnt lift up to that expectation. This mv is just ok for me, I only watch it once and it's considered done. Zip!

Watchability: Low
Recommend: No
Ratings: 2/5
The Ups: Good shooting overall, nice close-up
The Downs: Lack of creativity, Boring, Concept of video - Recycled~