Here are more pictures from our Holiday party.
Shore Fire Holiday Party at the Hi-Fi, part 1
December 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Last night, Shore Fire trekked all the way to Manhattan’s Lower East Side to celebrate the Holidays. Good Friends, “El DJ”, an open bar, and Bhi Bhiman made for a very memorable night. Special thanks to the Hi Fi for hosting us.
If you see yourself in the below pictures, leave us a comment! Check back for more pictures later today.
Win Prizes from the Shore Fire Vault
November 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Shore Fire has collected hundreds and hundreds of CDs, DVDs, Vinyl Records, and miscellaneous swag over the years. Instead of letting it sit there, we are giving it away!
Every Friday, check out our Facebook page for our “From The Vault Friday”. We give away a prize to a random fan each week. All you need to do is ‘like’ our page and answer the weekly question. That easy!
We’ve given away vinyl records from Nick Lowe, box sets from Johnny Cash, countless CDs, DVDS, and we’re always finding new treasures in the depths of our vault (re: stock room).
Be sure to check us out on Facebook every Friday. Here is a preview of what will be given away for the next couple of weeks:
Butch Walker and the Black Widows - "I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart"
Nick Lowe Magical Playing Cards*Not Available In Stores*
Let Them Know: The Story of Youth Brigade and BYO Records
Genesis "The Video Show"
The All-Singing Meryl Streep Birthday Tribute
June 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Happy 62nd Birthday Meryl Streep!
I know she is an obvious choice for a favorite actress, but she is also the correct choice for a favorite actress. “Graciously Amazing” is how I would describe her. She is so talented of an actress, that it kind of is a footnote of how great a singer she is. Very soft, lulling, and lovely voice that can grow powerful unexpectedly. So in honor of Meryl Streep’s birthday, here’s your guide to Meryl Streep singing in the movies:
-”Mama Mia”: She actually reached the Portuguese pop charts at #8 and received a Grammy nomination for her work in the Abba-musical
-”Postcards from The Edge”: She also gets points in this movie for covering Ray Charles “You Don’t Know Me” while rocking a denim jacket
-”A Praire Home Companion” – Starting around the 2:20 mark of this video– watch out.
-”Silkwood” - Just a link here because her singing happens at the very end of the movie, so SPOILER! (This is one of her Oscar nominated movies, so best just to go watch the whole thing).
Upon writing this post, I learned she is a classically trained vocalist (makes sense), she had extensive stage work, which included musicals, before her film career (makes even more sense), and that there is a song in ‘Fame’ titled “Think of Meryl Streep”. And since I’m talking about Meryl Streep and music, I should mention “Music of the Heart” which I have never seen but know it exists through Meryl and through Nsync (probably why I don’t want to see it).
The Beatles Frontman George Michael
May 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I remember being a teenager. It wasn’t that long ago. So I didn’t think I would agree with much on the “I Hate Young People” blog.
But, alas. In the following video, teenagers in New York are asked really basic questions about The Beatles (What is the Fab Four? Can you name any Beatles song?) to disappointing results:
I get that if teens only listen to a certain genre of music, they aren’t going to go far outside that genre. But C’MON!
Pioneers of Video Game Music
April 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
With last week’s announcement that video game soundtracks are now eligible alongside FIlm and Television soundtracks in the Visual Media categories for Grammy Awards, I couldn’t help but think of my all-time favorite video game soundtrack. Now I am actually a horrible video game player (save for NBA Jam), and will admit there are literally thousands of video games I haven’t played let alone listened to. Of all the games I’ve played, this soundtrack is hands down the best I’ve come across: KATAMARI DAMACY.
For those unfamiliar- the plot to Katamari Damacy is rolling a ball that gathers whatever it rolls over so the ball gets insanely bigger. Yeah. You just roll a ball over desks, chairs, and eventually over people, towns, bridges… it’s really addicting and the music helps the gameplay maintain a giddy charm:
The music ranges from heavy jazz to samba to techno-lounge transfusion; but you can just file it under ‘experimental’. The music has become so popular that five albums are available as well as a tribute album. The game has one its share of industry awards, as well as garnering a BAFTA nomination in 2005.
I still am not that great at playing this game, but my failing has led to maximum exposure of a lot of these songs. It’s still a testament to how off-the-wall catchy and quirky the soundtrack is that even when I think of my failures, I still have a smile on my face
R.I.P. Elizabeth Taylor
March 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Very sad to hear about the passing of Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor today at the age of 79. Being a 25 year old, I didn’t experience the magic first hand nor am I well versed in her filmography. My generation is familiar with her many marriages, Michael Jackson’s kind-of strange relationship with her, huge diamonds, and her refusal to appear on the Krusty the Clown Comeback special (also Simpsons trivia: she voiced Maggie Simpson’s first word). HOWEVER- being a 25 year old who loves film in the age of technology, I have had my gut-wrenched by the powerhouse of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”; I have called people ‘Maggie the Cat’ and ‘Big Daddy’ thanks to “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”; and I generally don’t care if it is really Elizabeth singing in “A Little Night Music”, that’s just a good movie.
Upon hearing the news, one of the first things to come to my mind, and one of my first memories of her, was Elizabeth Taylor at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert for AIDS awareness. I remember watching this and about to fast forward her speech on AIDS prevention, when someone in the crowd yelled out- “GET OFF THE STAGE”, to which Taylor responded “I’ll get off- I’LL GET OFF IN A MINUTE. I have something to say.” That bit of serendipity led to me seeking out more of her movies. Here is that speech:
“I promise I won’t sing.” – Elizabeth Taylor (R.I.P.)
Welcome Back 120 Minutes
March 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Pretty excited about the return of 120 Minutes. Not that I’m going to watch it, but just to know it exists gives me a very calming, pleasant feeling.
I was in 4th grade when I was allowed to stay up late enough (in summers only) to watch the show, and I really did balk at mostly everything thing the show threw at me. But they played Oasis and that ‘Istanbul’ song I heard once before- so I was always curious to watch the show. What I mostly remember is how weird Tool videos were, and how awesome a name-dropper Matt Pinfield was/is. It also was my first experience in music snobbery (imagine an 11 year old describing Radiohead).
Really though, as I got older and into college- the process of binge-listening to records was made much more easier thanks to remembering bands from 120 Minutes (“Sonic Youth makes a lot more sense now.”) So thanks 120 minutes. You made me one weird little kid.
For nostalgia’s sake, here is the classic 120 Minutes intro in all it’s head-tattoo, math equation glory:
It’s Schaal Good
March 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
You may not know her by name yet, but in my pantheon of comedic integrity Kristen Schaal is a world champion.
Yesterday, I came across the new video for The National “Conversation 16″, which stars Schaal as The President of The US, Jon Slattery (Mad Men’s Roger Sterling) as the in-love-with-her bodyguard, and James Urbaniak (Venture Brothers) as The Russian President:
Schaal’s getting to be a pro at in music videos, as she was the mutiny deliverer in ‘Mutiny, I Promise You’ for The New Pornographers. She also came up with the concept for ‘Conversations 16′, and is generally killing it with everything she does. Schaal has an impressive list of credits to her name (from ‘Toy Story 3′ to ‘Xavier: Renegade Angel’; and stealing the show on ‘Modern Family’ and ‘The Daily Show’), and performs live way more than she needs to in NYC (check out the brilliant variety show ‘Hot Tub’ , which she co-hosts along with co-mutiny deliverer/frequent collaborator Kurt Braunohler, before she becomes too big to do it [there's one this MONDAY]).
My hope is that Schaal can appear in 80% of music videos released over the next 4 months than transition into movies and win an Oscar while hosting the very same, critically-loved Oscar ceremony. I don’t doubt her abilities, but if you do- please see the following clip of Schaal’s breakout character Mel, the lone obsessed fan, on Flight of The Conchords.
