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Calvin Harris - I'm Not Alone

I know people have been talking about Calvin Harris' new album "Ready For the Weekend" for a while now, but I only just recently started to listen my copy, partially because I took a long break from anything electro after HARD Summer.  But let me just say, "Ho. ly. cow. 'I'm Not Alone' is exactly where it's at".  Legitimately, it's one of my favorite tracks of the entire year. 

For a little bit, I couldn't pin point exactly why I fell so hard for this song or why I kept it on repeat, but I was walking home and listening to it tonight when it suddenly hit me.  This track is the best of all worlds dance! 

It's got that discotheque electro sound, the new wave vibe and vocals, that friendly synthpop feel, and those somewhat cryptic lyrics, but it also has that heavy house beat and use of the synth (that kicks in at around 44 seconds) that makes you want to throw your hands in the air and let it all out.  It's a song that caters to guys and gals in their skinny jeans and plaids, just as much as it is a song for ravers with their UFO pants and beads, and certainly everyone else in between.  And the Deadmau5 remix? Listen for yourself, but don't say I didn't warn you about having your mind blown.

I'm Not Alone (Radio Edit)

I'm Not Alone (Deadmau5 Remix)

Cheers, Oasis.

So, multiple sources have written that Liam Gallagher has "officially" declared the end of Oasis.  Even though I was disappointed over their last few albums and their '05 show at the Hollywood Bowl, and as much as I chuckled over the issue of the Gallagher boys and their tussle backstage in August, or at the thought of Snoop Dogg collaborating with Noel, and Jay-Z with Liam, this news is seriously upsetting. 

Oasis was never the band of my generation, but it was of my sister's.  Thanks to her, I grew up listening to Oasis.  When she was gone for the day at school, I would sneak into her CD collection and pop (What's the Story) Morning Glory? into my mom's Sony CD/Radio/Cassette Sound System, lay on my stomach and read liner notes and lyrics.  Wonderwall was the first full song, to my recollection, I had ever memorized...in the THIRD grade.  It became a huge sing-a-long song for people during high school, but I don't think I know anyone else my age that this song means more to.  Wonderwall and What's the Story opened up mind at the very influential age of 10, and showed me a world of music outside of mainstream and Top 40 radio.  To this day, What's the Story is still one of my favorite albums.  That guitar solo in Don't Look Back in Anger was one of the reasons I wanted to even play guitar (Unfortunately, I never learned how to shred like Noel). 

And don't even get me started on the first time I saw them live -- 2000 at the Universal (Gibson) Ampitheatre with Travis as the opener.  My first "real" concert.  You know when you go to a show and you see a 10 year old with his/her parents and think, "Damn, that kid is so cute.  He/she's so lucky to have such awesome parents"?  I was that kid.  Except those awesome parents were my sister and her friends.  I was that short 5th grader shyly rocking out and singing Oasis songs amongst a crowd of raucous high school and college students, and 30+ year old drunken Brits waving and holding up the Union Jack.  Suffice to say, that night was one of the most memorable of my life.  It was the night I realized I would some day end up in the music industry, where I would always be surrounded by people who shared the same passion and love for music as I do. 

Oasis...Liam, Noel, you guys changed my life in ways that you'll never know.

Cheers.