Pete Wentz

Ready, set, GO!

/ Lisa

The Ready Set aka Jordan Witzigreuter.

Wow. What a mouthful. No wonder he goes by the alias The Ready Set. It’s Jordan’s band, except he’s the only permanent member.

And I am getting completely obsessed. He is awesome. I would like to say he is the next big thing, therefore making him the next Justin Beiber. But he is nothing like the Beibs. He’s better. It also helps that he’s just that little bit sexsi and completely of age (he’s 20).

In November 2009 he was signed with Decaydence Records. You might recognise that as Pete Wentz’s label. Yes, he’s one of those. Set to follow in the footsteps of Panic! At the Disco, Paramore, Cobra Starship, The Academy Is…, and the list goes on.

He’s had a few EPs and a couple of singles. But his first full-length studio album, I’m Alive, I’m Dreaming, is set for release on June 15th. His first single “Love Like Woe”, is already making its way around the interwebs and boy, is it catchy. This is where I say, “Let’s play a game!” Spot the celebrity cameo in the video. It shouldn’t be hard. He’s appeared in at least one video of each of his other protégés.

Jordan has also been making some little webisodes called “The Ready Setisodes” in the lead up to the release of his debut album. Rather cute, but the “acting” is a tad cheesy and cringe worthy. If you’re a member of Lockerz.com, you can view them there. Or else they are on The Ready Set’s Myspace page.

And here, for your enjoyment/obsessing pleasure is the video for “Love Like Woe”. It, is like, seriously, like whoa!

It’s been a while…

/ Lisa

As the headline says, it has been a while. My first post in… (actually, I can’t be bothered looking at the date of my last post) a few months, at least. So just a few musings…

AVATAR: It has become the highest grossing movie of all time. I honestly don’t know what all the fuss is about. Went to see it in 3D, which was barely a redeeming factor, because there totally could have been more stuff coming out at you. The storyline was barely existent and very reminiscent of Pocahontas. I agree that the CG animation is amazing and if Avatar wins Oscars for its special effects, good on ’em. However, if it gets best picture, which is highly likely, I will be ashamed of the entire human race. I like movies which actually have a plot and storyline, flashy blue aliens just don’t do it for me. But, I can understand why people are going to see it in their droves – as James Cameron says in January’s issue of Empire: “Controversy is more interesting than agreement. Controversy fuels curiosity.”

BIG DAY OUT: A week before I was to drive to Auckland I was very much contemplating selling my ticket. Until about 9pm I still wished I had. But then Muse took the stage. A-MAZ-ING. I loved seeing them play super massive black hole live and the amount of energy they exerted on stage was addictive to watch and listen. A redeeming act to the hot, sweaty, un-exciting, day that was the Big Day Out. Oh and Rise Against were rad to see again, but the sound on their stage was unbelievably shit making it difficult for them to be amazing.

UP IN THE AIR: Two words: George. Clooney. And another: SWOON. Personally part of me wants to live like his character Ryan Bingham – nothing in my backpack because I burnt it all (you’ll get this reference if you go see the movie) and I totally want one of those awesome 10 million miles cards. What could be better than flying all around the US and staying in totally sweet hotels and getting paid for it? Anyway, it’s about a company that fires people, that is the business. So with the economic down turn, their business is booming. Anna Kendrick plays his protege of sorts Natalie Keener. She proves she is so much more than Twilight and will probably still be making movies when K-Stew has used up all her Twilight fame. Definitely worth a watch, if not several.

MY SISTER’S KEEPER: I was so frikin’ angry they changed the ending. HOW DARE THEY. Bad Hollywood etiquette. Changing a novel’s end to make it more film worthy. BAD HOLLYWOOD, BAD.

THE INFORMANT: WTF? Adds new meaning to Matt Damon (said in that retarded-team-america way). What a fucking idiot. Has an Austin Powers feel to it, but ultimately the movie is just bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES: ZOMG. So good. 19th Century period England where they all fight zombies and were taught by ninjas. BRILLIANT. And of course there is Mr Darcy. Set to be turned in to a movie with Natalie Portman as Elizabeth. Can’t wait. Everytime I watch the 2005 film version of P&P I keep expecting zombies to jump out.

GLEE: TV Programme: amazing. Soundtrack No 1: amazing. Soundtrack No 2: amazing. Can’t wait for the second season. It’s like High School Musical but for adults. Oh and Cory Monteith who plays Finn is 28. Playing a 16-year-old. That’s just weird.

ANNOUNCED GIGS: Pixes announced a side show at The Powerstation on the 11th March and it sold out in 2 minutes. I didn’t even have a chance. However I have better things to do then, like The Backstreet Boys concert that’s happening at Vector. Then Cobra and Gaga. It will be a busy weekend. Paramore gig transferred locations to Waitakere Trusts Stadium in order to open up some more tickets because it sold out on the day and then the extra tickets sold out too. I am lucky enough to have one. Weeee! But still, gig’s now out west and not south, still does not make travel easy.

FALL OUT BOY: Chatter all week about Fall Out Boy officially breaking up because of some tweets sent by Pete and the gang saying they quit. Every band has to have a break at some point and that is what they are doing. They’ve recorded CD after CD and done nothing but tour for the last seven years. They’re on a break and they don’t know how long it will last. I’m going to take the come-backs-are-very-popular route. It gives me hope.

And hopefully this set of rants will have reinstated the weekly rant-athon and more regular postings.

Lisa out.

Fall Out Boy – are they believers?

/ Lisa / 1 Comment

Believers Never Die

Fall Out Boy have essentially gone off the radar in recent months – one could say the beginning of their hiatus. Rumours have flooded the internet with many-a-fan thinking it was the end. The band have not helped matters by releasing a greatest hits album – something I think is way before its time, it makes me feel old.

But the band remains adamant they have not broken up, but just taking a well-deserved break.

The release of their greatest hits album – Believers Never Die – last week and release of the music video for single “Alpha Dog” is the last we will hear of Fall Out Boy until 2011 apparently. Although Trohman and Hurley are making some kind of super group in their time off.

The “Alpha Dog” video has a definite feeling of finality for Fall Out Boy. Especially when you have made a mash up of all your previous videos to make one. A good concept yes, but I think it was poorly executed – as if some hack had quickly pieced together the video, but that may just be the crappy pixelation of YouTube.

Kudos to Pete Wentz for putting a disclaimer at the beginning, but as for calling watchers “little jerks” bad move. The disclaimer is needed because the video shows some of the shenanigans Fall Out Boy get up to while touring. Some of them just hurt to watch, but personally, I would love to see the size of the bruises.

I think what it shows the most, is how much fun the band has had over the years, just hanging out with each other. Something we should all hope bands have, because when bands aren’t having fun, there goes the awesomeness we get in live shows and albums.

Maybe it is one way their greatest hits album needs to be interpreted. Titled Believers Never Die, if you believe in Fall Out Boy enough, they will never die? Or are they saying they are believers therefore Fall Out Boy will never end? Yes or No? Well here’s hoping it is only a well-deserved break and they will be back in 2011, because they have only done about half of what truly great bands have achieved and I’m not ready for them to go. I want more.

It has been almost a year since Folie a Deux was released, but can a band survive when they are not touring, not writing music together and ultimately forgotten about by mainstream radio listeners? Lets hope so.

Cobra mess up.

/ Lisa

This review was published first in AUT University’s student newspaper Te Waha Nui.

Cobra Starship’s third album Hot Mess is just that, minus the hot.

It gets off to a great start with Nice guys finish last and Pete Wentz is the only reason we’re famous. Both songs have superfluous amounts of energy.

To tie off the beginning and best part of the album Good girls go bad with Leighton Meester, from TV’s Gossip Girl, is a smash hit. There is no denying it is a great song, great single, and people love it.

But once those three songs are said and done, the energy dissipates like air out of a balloon.

The remaining eight songs, one would think there is something good, when you have some of the biggest names in music, writing and producing the majority of your album.

When Pete Wentz, Patrick Stump, Kara DioGuardi, Kevin Rudolf, and the biggest surprise of all, pop duo Daryl Hall and John Oates litter the liner notes, some form of magic has to be going on. Alas, this is not Harry Potter.

Although You’re not in on the joke brings back sounds of Snakes on a Plane, those sounds do not stick around, unlike that tune.

You are pulled in to a false sense of ending well, when ultimately all it does is fail with The world will never do.

Written on the back of the front cover booklet is “Cobra starship is still a band”…well maybe they shouldn’t be.

Maybe that is a little harsh; they do have a keytar player, so they already stand apart from most other alternative bands in existence.

But for being one of the up and comers, who produce an amazing live act, this album is a let down.

Perhaps the down fall was titling one of their songs Pete Wentz is the only reason we’re famous, at least they have been consistent in the Decaydance record label of having obscure song titles.

It does have potential to be one of those hidden treasures that with time, and maybe a little bit of torture, can be rather enjoyable and even great.

But for now, if this is how their live shows are heading too, there will be one less fan in the crowd come March.