international music

congratulations! she has arrived.

Silvia Night is congratulating you!! Why? Because she is so amazing, of course.

This Icelandic superstar caused quite the stir at the Eurovision Song Contest this year. When her song “Congratulations” was translated to English, the lyric “the vote is in, I’ll fucking win” was pointed out as being inappropriate by Eurovision exec Svante Stockselius. Silvia’s response to his statements were “I’ll fucking say what I fucking like.” In a press conference, she called out a reporter for looking her in the eyes and demanded that her bodyguard take her away. Despite all of this, Ms. Night gained quite a following. She appeared on MTV Japan, telling the VJ that she arrived in Japan to purchase a baby because they’re cute. The first thing she says to them is “Dont mention Björk cause she’s a retard. I feel really bad for her cause everyone is making fun of her.”

The profanity and generally offensive behavior didn’t stop there. After Silvia’s song did not “fucking” win, Silvia got violent with several reporters, stating “Somebody has been spreading lies about me and I think it is YOU…and you are a slut and I hate you.”

WATCH: Eurovision performance (featuring men in short shorts & telephones that come out of candy-canes)
WATCH: Official Music Video

DOWNLOAD: SILVIA NIGHT- Congratulations

Unfortunately, Silvia’s performance went beyond this song. She is actually a character created by a member of the band Ske, Ágústa Eva Erlendsdóttir, and an actress on a semi-reality television show. Even the reporter who was carried out by her “bodyguard” was an actress. It actually took a while for the Icelandic and Eurovision audience to realize this. It only took me a few minutes thanks to youtube and wikipedia. At first I was disappointed, and then I realized what an amazing acting job all of this was.

tigarah: what can you do with a b.a. in political science?

TIGARAH was planning to change the world through the government after graduating as a political science major from Japan’s Keio University, but instead she decided to change the world with music. It was that simple. She’s traveled from Japan to Rio to the UK to L.A. to craft a delightful mixture of Baile Funk, UK Grime, etc. Her full album hasn’t even dropped yet, and I am shitting my drawers in excitement…literally.

Apparently, I’m not the only one. Tigarah has recently been the cat’s meow in LA— featured everywhere from the LA Times to cobrasnake. “Girl Fight” was featured in BLENDER’s top 20 downloads a few months ago. She’s catching on like the bird flu…which isn’t really catching on at all.

Beyond all this though, I can’t help but think she’s just a second-rate M.I.A. But even if she’ll never be as cool as the recently deported Ms. Arulpragasam…I don’t really mind.

DOWNLOAD: TIGARAH- Girl Fight!

BONUS TRACK: TIGARAH- Japanese Queen

Check out more tracks at the space OR check out her website, a place where you can listen to a hell-of-a-lot of remixes or BUY the 8 song EP and get a free button!

the beginning and the end: a playlist for moving on and growing old.

WELCOME to my new music blog IT’S THE MONEY SHOT!! The name for this blog originated from a simple mistake in conversation. A friend at Wesleyan University was trying to describe a junk-swapping unit by saying, “It’s the jackpot!!” Instead, she exclaimed the very title of this blog and hilarity ensued.

As a music blogger, I was very hesitant to make this first post. Generally it seems that music bloggers make their first post about their favorite band…but how could I choose favorites from my eclectic range of musical tastes? In the end, I decided to post a full playlist. A playlist which will showcase the type of music you will hear on this blog as it develops. BUT what would a playlist be without a theme…?

As I write this I am witnessing some of my closest college friends move on into the excitement and scariness that is “the real world”. As I write this I am moving on from a minorly successful time with pop culture blog totesumbrellas to venture solo into the cruel world that is “the blogosphere”. But enough with the mushy stuff…I know what you really want. THE MONEYSHOT!!…I mean, the music?

  1. NINA SIMONE- I Get Along Without You Very Well (Except Sometimes): The mix starts off slow and sappy with this supposed break-up jam that I will be listening to next year when I am pretending that I am okay with having no friends at this school.–(BUY album)
  2. EL PERRO DEL MAR- Party: You probably wouldn’t expect a song called “Party” to have such a somber tone, but it does.–(BUY album)
  3. TARKIO- If I Had More Time: After graduating from college, frontman Colin Meloy left Tarkio and started The Decemberists. Who’s to say that these are the best years of your life?–(BUY album)
  4. THE CARROTS- Kissing & Telling: I have to give props to gorilla vs bear for this myspace find. The carrots sound like they belong in the 60s much like The Pipettes. This one is for all the WeScammers.
  5. DON LENNON- My Resume: I dedicate this song to the unemployed. Resumes are the worst. Don Lennon is pretty cool though. Routine contains a number of college-related tunes, including the ever-so-strange “Junior Year Abroad”. I dedicate that song to all the bitches I love leaving during my senior year to go hang out with some foreigners.–(BUY album)
  6. ANATHALLO- Hanasakajijii One, The Angry Neighbor: This song reminds me slightly of the ever-so-praised Sufjan Stevens, except it’s a bit more disorganized and, um, interesting. Don’t get me wrong…I love Sufjan, but the man doesn’t take risks very often. Seriously…what is a jam like “The Henney Buggy Band” doing on an outtakes album?–(BUY album)
  7. THE BOY LEAST LIKELY TO- Rock Upon a Porch With You: As we sit upon porches today, think ahead to the days when we will rock together remembering the stupid things we used to do. Because of this song (and a recurring theme of Spiderman), The Boy Least Likely To has catapulted forward to become one of my favorite bands (of the moment).–(BUY album)
  8. NICCOKICK- I Drink To Get Thrilled: Niccokick is a relatively obscure Swedish band. This video for this song is exceedingly low-budget, and I sincerely hope they were drunk when they filmed it. I sincerely hope that you are drunk right now…as I film you? j/k!! LOL…no, really.–(BUY album)
  9. OH NO! OH MY!- Farewell to All My Friends: It’s not really goodbye I guess, but it feels that way. Oh No! Oh My! are kind of a big deal now. And they deserve to be. (BUY it at insound)
  10. HAMMELL ON TRIAL- Inquiring Minds: Did you pee on your friends’ kitchen floor? Wake up in lounges and not remember how you got there? When your children (should you have any) ask these questions, this song advises you to lie. Big ups to Matt at YANP for this one. Big ups to Ed Hammell for naming his album Songs for Parents Who Love Drugs.–(BUY album)
  11. CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARD- Since the Days of Pigtails (And Fairy Tales): OK, so I admit that the theme of this song is a bit creepy and it is barely about actually growing up…BUT IT IS SO GOOD. For the lovers of some good ol’ soul.–(BUY album)
  12. THE FEATURES- The Idea of Growing Old: Here’s another romantic diddly doo, complete with whoa-oh-oh-ohs.–(BUY album)
  13. GNARLS BARKLEY- The Last Time: When was the last time you danced? Cee-Lo demands that you tell him. If you happen to be Beyonce (I can only dream), it might have been at a Gnarls Barkley concert.–(BUY album)
  14. SPANKROCK f/ AMANDA BLANK- Blow: This is a song that you can dance to with Cee-Lo…or alone in your underwear. The rest of the songs on this mix are solely for dancing and have nothing to do with moving on or growing up. I figured you may need something upbeat after all that.–(BUY album)
  15. ZEIGEIST- Tar Heart: This song is infectiously dancey. I don’t even mind if it’s got a trashy-euro-pop tinge.–(BUY album)
  16. LEIF + M.I.A.- U.R.A.Q.T. (driving mix): Leif is the shit. Hands down.–(SUPPORT artist)

Any feedback or comments would be appreciated!

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