_berg loves pizza_

And Winter Came with Trains and Winter Rains… and Enya

It’s the sound of heaven on earth!!! Enya surprised fans a couple of weeks back with an official announcement that a new album from her will be released on November 10th (11th in the US). It will be called And Winter Came. Originally conceived as a Christmas record, the album later evolved into more of a full-on Enya album based in a Winter landscape where Christmas arrives here and there (as described by producer/collaborator Nicky Ryan). It might be neither cool nor uncool to like Enya but the lady has been moving albums under the radar for the past 20 years and has since sold over 70 million units of her records worldwide. Quite an achievement considering she’s not a mainstream artist. I first became a fan of hers with the release of The Memory of Trees back in 1995, when I was still discovering the vast greatness of possibilities that is Music. Since then, every time she releases an album it has been an event coz she only releases them every three to five years. I’m looking forward to this one already… looks like my holiday season will be glorious with the majestic, lulling, beautiful music of Enya playing throughout the season. This right here is the first single from this album, it premiered a few hours ago on BBC Radio 2’s Wake Up To Wogan show with Terry Wogan. If you missed it (or if you don’t live in the UK, like me) here’s a radio rip of the song from the world premiere in HQ. I’m glad she’s back! I looove the intro to the song… chills man… chills haha. (I’ll update this post with a better quality audio file when I find it).

Listen to Enya’s “Trains and Winter Rains“ *updated with HQ* (thanks Wendel!)

I’m quite feelin’ this… are you? (pre-order Enya’s album And Winter Came via Amazon here)

*update as of October 22, 2008* – The song’s official music video:

Now Streaming: Britney Spears – “Womanizer”

Finally, it premiered! Z100 and KissFM played this first a few hours ago but if you missed it I’m sure you’ll hear it a whole lot more in the next couple of months. If you don’t wanna turn on your radio however, you could always listen to the song here. When Britney Spears releases something new, people always buzz about it. I know a lot of you aren’t fans of Ms. Spears right here but I’m sure you’re curious about how she sounds after the horrible year she had last year. I’m happy to say that she’s in tip-top shape and fine form on this new single of hers. Its not a new sound… I could easily put this along with the others on the Christina Aguilera – Rachel Stevens – Goldfrapp post I made a couple of weeks ago, but I won’t because this is a mighty fine dance-pop single. It uses the same 8/15 beat that plenty of hit (albeit crappy) singles are using these days, but this one is taking it to the next level with sleek production values courtesy of The Outsyders. Talk about energy! Britney’s sixth album comes out on December 2nd 2008. It will be titled Circus. This joint is smokin’! I wasn’t a big fan of hers before but I can’t help but root for her this time around.

Listen: Britney Spears “Womanizer“

What do you think?

Listen to David Cook’s New Single “Light On”

Well folks, here it is… David Cook’s first official single outside of the American Idol bubble. This is not ‘Time of My Life’ territory people! But it’s not as hard “rock” as I thought it would be, well it’s a ballad. I guess he’s trying to bridge the gap between the songs that the people heard from him on idol and the type of rock he said he wanted to make… all before shocking us in awe of the rockin’ tunes he’s got cooked up on the rest of his album. One could only hope. I don’t know what I think of “Light On” yet, i’m not jumping outta my chair in excitement but i don’t hate it either. After a couple of listens though, the chorus lingers in your head. That’s how I got addicted to Daughtry’s “It’s Not Over” back when it first came out. Will this one follow suit? Don’t know yet… the band Hinder comes to mind at times when I listen to this… not the greatest comparison in the world coz right now I’m so not over not liking “Lips of An Angel” yet. You be the judge! The stream is not *now updated with* higher quality audio, its just that – stream quality. The song is produced by Grammy-winning producer Rob Cavallo who previously worked with Green Day on their American Idiot album, and other artists such as Kid Rock and The Goo Goo Dolls. The single will be digitally available for download on September 30 via iTunes. The as-of-yet untitled album from Cook will be released on November 18th 2008.

listen to David Cook “Light On“

what are your thoughts on this one?  (pre-order David Cook’s upcoming album via Amazon here)

Twelve Songs To Make Your Week (T.M.R. Pt.2)

This list was supposed to be Tuesday Music Roundup Part 2 for last week, but I got caught up with my other responsibilities and wasn’t able to put this up. Oh the joys of being a young guy trapped in an adult’s world. Anyway, this set here is strong. The first song alone is killer!!! multiplied!

The Killers – “Human” Pay my respects to grace and virtue. Send my condolences to good. Give my regards to soul and romance, they always did the best they could. And so long to devotion, he taught me everything I know. Wave goodbye, wish me well, you gotta let me go. [listen] remarks: new album Day & Age produced by Stuart Price will be released on November 25th 2008 (or the 24th or 26th, depending on what part of the world you’re from). If this new single is any indication, it is going to be insanely awesome! The song is pure lyrical genius imo. I’m addicted already!

Jack White and Alicia Keys – “Another Way To Die” A door left open, a woman walking by, a drop in the water, a look in the eye, a phone on the table, a man on your side, or someone that you think you can trust is just… another way to die. [listen] remarks: its the official theme song to the 2008 Bond movie Quantum of Solace. I love Alicia on this one, its so different from everything she has ever done so I applaud her for being adventurous. But this was so obviously written by Jack White. Looks like Alicia could sub for Meg White, she’s killing it on this joint. Probably the first Bond theme I like!

James Morrison – “Nothing Ever Hurt Like You” Loving you is easy, playing by the rules. But you said love tastes so much better when it’s cruel. [listen] remarks: this is the second single from new album Songs For You, Truths for Me. Just reminding you that the album comes out next week! And this song is pure soul fine-ness. I love that soul music is getting heard more and more these days with all these new crop of artists having successes (Amy Winehouse, Duffy, Paolo Nutini, Adele, etc.). This song channels motown soul to a tee… it kinda reminds me of Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through The Grapevine”, which I totally don’t mind not one bit.

Musiq Soulchild feat. Mary J. Blige – “If U Leave” You think I’m so full of it, full of it. But I think I’m just fed up, baby. You think I can be so arrogant, arrogant. But I’m just tryin’ to keep my head up, baby.On My Radio [listen] remarks: I was excited for a new album from Musiq this year, that was until I heard the first single “Radio” which made my jaw drop in all its horrendous-ness haha. Thank God this is the second single, which is a spark of hope that he hasn’t lost his mind just yet. Hopefully the album (out December 2nd 2008) won’t have any more “Radio”s littered all over the place. This ballad follows the trend of his previous success stories “Halfcrazy” and “Teachme”, some real r&b slow jams.

The All-American Rejects – “Gives You Hell” Truth be told I miss you, and truth be told I’m lyin’. When you see my face hope it gives you hell hope it gives you hell! [listen] remarks: those lyrics should tip you off on what sort of song this is haha. new album When The World Comes Down, their third, will be released on the 18th of November 2008. This is the first single. Nothing fancy or groundbreaking… but its fun and very radio-friendly. Could be a hit for them, yet again. Sounds like something off of Weezer’s last album Make Believe.

Metro Station – “Seventeen Forever” We’re one mistake from being together, but let’s not ask why it’s not right. You won’t be seventeen forever, and we can get away with this tonight. [listen] remarks: What do you think it’s about? I’m not so sure. I see two possible interpretations but I won’t discuss it here hehe. I got this band pegged wrong, their album is actually quite good. People have been describing them as The Cure on happy pills… I’d have to agree with that. They may be young but they exude potential. Try to give ‘em a listen, their self-titled debut album has been out for over a year now, you’ll find it easily with no problem. This song is their 3rd single.

Chairlift – “Bruises” I tried to do handstands for you! I tried to do handstands for you! [listen] remarks: The new iPod nano commercial song! ’nuff said. Thanks to Jason for the heads up on this one. Its now stuck in my head… yeah… thanks a lot! Sample their other songs through their myspace page.

Josh Kelley – “More Than Love” What if love’s not enough to keep the world from breakin’ up. If we’re all out of touch, will we ever know what is enough? whats more than love? [listen] remarks: I wonder why he’s releasing a new album so soon after releasing his last one just last February of this year. There must be a surplus of songs he’s written. The guy’s inspired! Must be the Heigl-effect! This ain’t the single off of new album To Remember, but this one’s my favorite from the ones I’ve heard so far. Sometimes it sounds like a Mark Cohn song, oh goodie!

Kings of Leon – “Use Somebody” Off in the night, while you live it up, i’m off to sleep. Waging wars to shape the poet and the beat. I hope it’s gonna make you notice… I hope its gonna make you notice someone like me. [listen] remarks: Couldn’t really get into them before, but they had some good songs. On their new album Only By The Night however, they’ve maintained their sound but have gotten much more melodic… and now I’m listening. One of the best albums of the year? maybe. The album drops today… get it! The lead singer’s gritty voice is great. This is my fave track off of the CD.

David Nail – “I’m About To Come Alive” Maybe I’m not but you’re all I’ve got left to believe in. Don’t give up on me I’m about to come alive. And I know that it’s been hard and it’s been a long time coming. Don’t give up on me I’m about to come alive. [listen] remarks: It’s one of Train’s songs from My Private Nation!!!!! re-recorded by a country artist! I still love the song… this guy did it justice. Damn this is like one of my favorites from Train, sooo good. Why do I get the feeling this guy’s gonna get big pretty soon? Chap’s got a strong voice! Kinda like Teddy Thompson but stronger. Me likey!

Marc Broussard – “Going Home” [listen] remarks: I love this guy’s voice… so soulful! He’s back with a brand new album and its about damn time. Keep Coming Back its called, and its very rooted in old-school soul territory… not exactly what I expected but I’m not surprised he went this route. Still getting used to it, but I’m 100% sure it’ll grow on me just like his other album Carencro did. This is one of the songs that could have felt at home on his previous album… the reason why I picked it for this post. Nice laid-back breezy track about, what else, going home duh.

Robin Thicke – “The Sweetest Love” Why do people smile when no one’s smiling? It’s coz they’re thinking of someone they’re loving. Keep on believing we are meant to be and nothing’s stopping you and me from going to heaven. Sweetest Love. [listen] remarks: It’s Robin’s second single from Something Else (album out in a couple of weeks). This guy knows how to do a slow jam and do it right!!! Dayum!!! Its so smooth… so smooth that I wouldn’t be surprised if babies were conceived in the next few months due to its sheer awesome smooth sexy romantic power! McLovin’ in the house!

There you go, hope you guys have a good week! Post some comments and tell me what you think about these songs. I’ll be back soon. Coming within the next few days is the brand new single from this year’s American Idol… David Cook and his song “Light On”. Look out for that one!

Can Anyone Help Me Out With This?

So I have this friend who’s getting married in two weeks, right? And me being the music nut that I am, sorta messed with their wedding music. I wasn’t feeling a lot of the songs on their playlist so I recommended a bunch of songs for them to listen to so that perhaps they could improve their selection. Of course, it wasn’t my “100% recommended by berg” list, I had to reach a certain point of compromise taking into account their personalities, values and beliefs. One of the songs they liked was this Christian-contemporary ballad called “When God Made You” by the group Newsong featuring Natalie Grant. The bride-to-be (my friend) sent me a message the other day that they are going to use it, and she was asking for my help looking for an instrumental version of the track. I don’t know how they’re going to use it, maybe somebody’s singing it during the ceremony or reception? *cough*

After snooping around the net for an entire night the only sources for it I found were the online music retailers. The cheapest option of course, was to purchase it digitally for just 99cents. Problem is, they wouldn’t sell me the stuff because I’m not in North America. None of them will give me the song just because I’m in Asia. I’m frustrated.

That’s why I’m asking for help from anyone out there in the US… could any one of you please buy the song for me? We could strike up a deal on how I could pay you back the 99cents. But please, no selling my soul stuff or anything like that hehehe! I’d really appreciate the help! If any one of you decides to grant me this favor, just put a comment below indicating so so that no double-purchases will be made. You can send me the song file/mp3 through e-mail at berglovespizza@gmail.com . Thank you so much for taking time to read this silly request haha. If anyone decides to help, thank you very much in advance! You are going to make my week! Yay!

Here are a couple of links to where you could buy the said song (Instrumental/Backing Track/Accompaniment w/o Backing Vocals – “When God Made You” by Newsong and Natalie Grant – Medium Key)

via iTunes: [here] or via Amazon: [here]

again… if anybody decides to help me out with this, thank you very much in advance! I’ll forever be grateful to you!

Tuesday Music Roundup part 1

I’m back people! Delayed by a week or so… I’m slackin’ again sheesh! Anyway, here are a bunch of (mostly new) songs that have come to my attention within the past week or so. These are the ones that are dominating my playlist these days, among others that I’d rather not put up here for now for reasons of consistency. Here we go… (throw some comments my way, alright?)… let’s begin the hodge-podge:

Safetysuit – Someone Like You >>> [buy album here] >>> Safetysuit is a rock band originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma. Then, members Doug Brown, Dave Garafolo, Tate Cunningham, and Jeremy Henshaw decided to move in a new direction by way of relocating to one of America’s best musical hubs… Nashville, Tennessee. It was there that they met Greg Archilla by chance. Greg has recorded with such artists as Matchbox 20 and Collective Soul. They recorded an EP together which gave way to playing shows two or three times a week at various venues around the area from clubs to theaters, helping them to amass a growing fan base. Soon thereafter, record labels took notice of the band and they eventually signed with Universal Records. Deciding to stick with Greg Archilla as producer, recording sessions has produced a powerhouse rock album in the form of Safetysuit’s official major-label debut release Life Left To Go. What initially drew me in to give this band a listen was the fact that they were based out of Nashville… I sorta have a fascination with the place even if I have not been there yet. They remind me of one of my favorite bands, Switchfoot… I guess that’s a good thing. Here is Safetysuit’s first single from their debut (out now!), it’s called “Someone Like You”. [Listen]

Kanye West – Love Lockdown >>> Kanye West closed last week’s MTV VMA’s with this song. I thought it was a great performance, and the song is very good. “Love Lockdown” is a surprising little ditty because Kanye sings throughout the whole song, not a single rap verse in sight. Sure it’s auto-tuned / vocodered (you know, T-Pained? haha) but I give the guy credit, he is a musical genius. Supposedly, it was written just a week-and-a-half prior to his VMA performance. If you listen to the lyrics, it sounds like Kanye’s in a broken-hearted state of loneliness. He probably went through a breakup, I don’t really know I don’t follow showbiz news that much… or it could be about him missing his mom who passed away earlier this year. This leaked by way of his blog last week but I have a feeling this isn’t the final version of the song. We’ll see. His as yet untitled new album drops sometime this December. [Listen]

Snow Patrol – Take Back The City >>> [pre-order new album here] >>> Yup, it’s one of my favorite bands! In six weeks, Snow Patrol’s new album A Hundred Million Suns will be released… something good to look forward to on October 28th. This, their fifth album, was recorded throughout this past summer and was produced by Garret “Jacknife” Lee. The first single, “Take Back The City” premiered last September 2nd on BBC Radio One and finally we have a good quality file of the song for you to enjoy. Of course, you oughtta buy it legally so you could enjoy it in the best quality possible. This is just something to tide you over at least until it is available for purchase. Its a damn good song… one of their trademark up-tempos. [Listen]

Joshua Radin – I’d Rather Be With You >>> [buy album here] >>> Waaaaaaaahhh!!! Finally he released his new album! Joshua Radin put out an EP earlier this year (Unclear Sky) saying that a full new album will be out by May, but it didn’t happen. But yay, new album Simple Times was released digitally last September 9th and will be available physically (CD) in stores on September 30th. The album is excellent, I didn’t expect any less from Mr. Radin who has become one of my all-time favorite artists in such a short span of time ever since I discovered him about two years ago. The sound here is a progression from the hushed production on his previous full-length release We Were Here, which got his sound branded by many people as “whisper rock” hehe. On this one, percussions are used to an appropriate extent, enough to give a slight zing to his unmistakable sound. Go get it, its one of my favorite albums of the year! On a side note, did you see him perform his song “Today” during Ellen DeGeneres’ and Portia De Rossi’s wedding reception? It was just beautiful… perfect. This here is the sweet first single from Simple Times, its called “I’d Rather Be With You”. [Listen]

Donavon Frankenreiter – Come With Me >>> [buy album here] >>> Lookie here, its the sound of extended summer in a box. I’ve been listening to some of Donovan Frankenreiter’s songs ever since I heard “Free” when I was living in Japan (of all places) back in 2004. It was the welcome distraction of laid-back beach-y vibes, which reminded me of home, in a foreign land where I found myself lonely and homesick a lot. I tagged this guy as Jack Johnson lite… they give off the same vibe. No surprise there, Jack Johnson produced Donavon’s debut album, and apparently they’re good friends. Subsequent albums saw Donavon sort of stretch his musical palette by adding in some soul/jazz vibe to his songs but still with the same old framework that started on his debut. On his fourth album, Pass It Around, Donovan follows the same path… its not tired yet so I don’t mind. This is one of the tracks off of the CD, it’s called “Come With Me”. [Listen]

Taylor Swift – Love Story >>> [pre-order new album here] >>> Taylor Swift sure has come a long way from two years ago. Back then I thought she was a he, I thought ‘his’ debut single “Tim McGraw” was one of those one-hit-wonder type gimmick songs… until I heard it. After the realization that the song was good (from my point of view) and that her album was chock full of nice songs, I didn’t have any doubt that she would make it big in the country scene. Little did I know, she would exceed my expectations… she has become a bonafide superstar, rivaling Carrie Underwood in her level of success, crossing over to mainstream radio occasionally with her songs. She has a nice spunky personality too, based from what I’ve seen of her myspace videos. Her new album, Fearless, is set to be released November 11th. This is her first single off of that, a nice-to-listen-to pop/country fluff record hehe. The lyrics… well… you decide for yourself if you like it or not. Some people find the lyrics a little annoying, I find it tolerable but not great. I like her still though. [Listen]

Shane Mack – Lie To Me >>> The beauty of running a music blog, in my opinion, is finding people who have similar tastes in music as you. Occasionally, they even send you songs through e-mail… which I appreciate a lot . Now, here’s one that showed up recently in my mailbox and I just fell in love with it. I don’t know who Shane Mack is, but I checked out his myspace and his songs were quite good. I initially thought it was a girl singing this song, you’d probably think the same thing when you hear this. But no, Shane’s a guy haha. Great song!!! [Listen]

to be continued later today…

if you don’t recognize the artist, just give the song a chance… it just might surprise you

Who did Fall Out Boy and Christina Aguilera rip off?

Okay, let’s do this chronologically.

June 2003 – British duo Goldfrapp released the second single “Strict Machine” from their second album Black Cherry to positive response from critics. It reached the Top 25 in the UK Singles chart and topped the Billboard US Dance Charts for one week.

July 2004 – UK pop star Rachel Stevens releases a single called “Some Girls” produced by Richard X. Some reviews compare the song’s glam-influenced sound to works of Adam Ant, to T.Rex’s 1971 single “Hot Love”, and noted similarities to Goldfrapp’s 2003 electronically-influenced album Black Cherry.

August 2005 – Goldfrapp released the lead-off single of their new album Supernature (great album!) to stellar reviews. The song was “Ooh La La”, an electronic-dance masterpiece that subconsciously gets in your head because of its pulsating beat, hypnotic rhythm, and simple but uber-catchy chorus. The song was based on a synthesizer and guitar arrangement inspired by the disco era, but unmistakably euro-sounding. Rolling Stone magazine included the song in its list of Top 100 songs of 2006, ranking in tenth place. It was also nominated for a Grammy Award for best dance recording last year.

March 2008 – Sam Sparro released his debut single “Black and Gold” which spent 17 weeks in the UK singles chart peaking at #2.

September 2008 (early last week) – Fall Out Boy’s first single “I Don’t Care” from upcoming album Folie A Deux leaks on the net. I’m likin’ it. I immediately recognize the same pulsating beat and similar influences the song has to the previously mentioned songs above. I dismiss the striking similarities and decide that I like the song because despite the retread, the song’s kinda spunky with its rock edge added to the sound.

September 2008 (late last week, Friday) – Christina Aguilera decides to release her new single “Keeps Getting Better” to radio stations. I listen to it and my initial reaction was “w.t.f., her too????!!!?!?!?!” And to that I say this has got to stop. Maybe she realized (in a girly voice) “oh no its so gonna be obvious that i ripped this off of someone, i better release this quick and pretend that i did it first.” lol.

Listen to each song and tell me what you think. Did the latter artists rip-off the former ones? Me thinks *duh!*