Win 2 Tickets to Josh Ritter's Show TOMORROW!

Hey guys -- this might seem a little last minute, but if you're interested in checking out Josh Ritter's show at The Beachland Ballroom tomorrow evening then. . .

Leave a comment (or email teamgf@gmail.com) with the musician and/or band that you feel most influenced Ritter's music. The response that we feel is most accurate and creative will be awarded with two tickets to the show*

Pretty easy, eh? :)

{Mp3} Josh Ritter - Girl in the War
{Mp3} Josh Ritter - Roll On (live in Berlin)

Top 5 Songs Of The Week (Happy 4th of July Edition)

[Editor's Note: mp3 Links Fixed]

On this Saturday, unlike the last couple of Saturday's, we got very little going on and that is not a bad thing at all. After all, the 4th of July should definitely be about maxing and relaxing. Today we plan to just soak up some rays, eat some good food and be thankful that we live in such a wonderful country.

Thank you to our founding fathers and Happy Birthday America! Hope everyone enjoys their holiday and our Top Five Songs of the Week!
5. (mp3) Zambri - Easier A duo comprised of two sisters (Jessica & Cristi Jo) who hail from NYC. Their sound is sassy sister electro and synth driven pop. For me, this feels straight out of 80's R&B pop. Kelly says this remind her of Venus Hum. This will make you want to get off your seat and GET DOWN!
2. (mp3) New Roman Times - Smoke In Your Disguise Are a foursome who are not fearsome, led by a husband and wife duo from Austin, Texas. They've got some great angular hooks and jangly guitars like the Airbourne Toxic Event combined with great male/female vocals. Also makes us think of Stars. Love the way they coo "your breaking my heart" -- never thought those words could sound so beautiful.
3. (mp3) The Generationals - When They Fight They Fight Are yet another duo, but this time from New Orleans who make music that is bright, cheerful, full of hand claps, horns and 60's style bass and guitar. This song is instantly catchy and thus it comes as no surprise they are on the Park The Van label, home to the awesome Dr. Dog.
2. (mp3) Cocosuma - Charlotte's On Fire This trio is from Paris. Their sound is a little bit of Air, a little bit of The Concretes and some New Order thrown in there to keep things interesting. The pretty melodies and Sing-Sing-esque vocals will woo you into a lovely pop song slumber. They have their debut American record "We'll Drive Home Backwards" coming out in August on the always great Minty Fresh label.
1. (mp3) Elizabeth & The Catapult - Taller Children This New York trio has a catchy sound that immediately brings to mind The Bird and The Bee and Feist. This is a song that works well on a nice and relaxing summer's day such as this one. They are currently on tour and coming to Cleveland on July 22nd to play a show @ The Winchester with Greg Laswell.

Ultimate (& Worthwhile) Indulgences

Throughout the past week, we both found ourselves suffering the dire consequences of eating perhaps a little too healthy for a little too long. We had hit the brick wall. We needed a reward. It was pretty obvious that our bodies were telling us to treat ourselves. Who were we to ignore the hunger pangs and cravings? Soo, treat ourselves we did ;)

If you find yourself in a somewhat similar position (plus or minus the eating healthy part, of course!), we most definitely have the cure for you. The following establishments come with the very highest of recommendations:

Valerio's La Gelateria
[The usual Stracciatella + Peanut Butter Chip for me and Coffee + Dolce de Leche for Jose]

A Cookie and a Cupcake
[The Signature Cupcake was too cute to resist and Jose is a sucker for mint chocolate combos, so the Grasshopper Cupcake was perfect. View all cupcake varieties here]

Lilly's Handmade Chocolates
[We giddily sampled the Forty Winks, Rocco, and Maui Wowie -- INCREDIBLE!]

Bonus: Lilly's has a fantastic and unique selection of wine and beer -- you can even create your own 4 or 6 packs. Hmm, decisions, decisions. . .

ps - I just realized that for some reason we haven't been posting much music. This needs to change.

[Mp3] Stellastarr* - My Coco
[Mp3] Tilly & the Wall - Poor Man's Ice Cream
[Mp3] The Owls - Peppermint Patty
[Mp3] Paul McCartney - Vanilla Sky

"Your life is fine. It's sweet and sour. Unbearable. Great. You gotta love every hour. You must appreciate." - PM

Made in the 216 Pictorial

We cannot say enough about this past weekend's Made in the 216 event. . .

In a word: WOW.

Room Service owner, Danielle DeBoe really outdid herself -- in the most inspirational way possible, one that makes you truly believe that this is only the beginning of wonderful things to come. A paving of possibility and positivity not only for the Detroit Shoreway Neighborhood, but for Cleveland's so very talented artists.

Below is just a glimpse of our experience*

C.L.E. Clothing - "Spreading Cleveland Pride, One T-shirt At A Time"

I wanted everything. . .

Including the beautiful watering can below -- if I own it, perhaps I will actually water flowers and not forget about them, letting them die per usual :(

Great crowd. Great vibes.

Pabst was the perfect sponsor

Looove Messy !!

Also love the way that the merchandise was set up in an aesthetically pleasing boutique-style rather than booth-style

Also, be sure to check out Duo Home, located right next to Room Service -- already want to go back to purchase an item or two (or three. . .)

ps - If you missed this event, no worries! Catch the very next Made in the 216, already scheduled for Friday, November 7th (4-9pm) and Saturday, November 8th (11am-6pm)

What are you doing today?

To put it simply today in the Cleveland if you want to be where it is AT you need to go to the 7th annual Waterloo Arts Festival in Collinwood!



or if you can't go till later you better go to this(see below)


Any Questions?

If you do go here or here or here!

Random Retro Wednesday Song (on a Thursdsay): Jam

This evening we are both very saddened by the passing of Michael Jackson. You can say whatever you want about him personally but you can't deny his talent, nor can you deny his impact on pop music artists today. I remember my dad putting Thriller on the record player and then instantly breaking into dance and air guitar, especially during Beat It.

We first heard something about MJ's massive heart attack while on the way home from work, then came home to skeptically read TMZ's report that he was pronounced dead -- but no other publication had confirmed this at that point. On the way to dinner this evening @ The Greenhouse Tavern in the car a radio broadcaster unfortunately confirmed that he had in fact died.

Coincidentally, prior to leaving for dinner we noticed on Facebook that Chef Sawyer said he would be playing the King Of Pop's tunes in MJ's honor tonight at the GHT. We enjoyed every single morsel of our delicious dinner while we also enjoyed listening and reminiscing to many classic jamz from Captain Neo. During dinner, Kelly and I specifically started talking about Jam and how we had not heard that song in quite some time. Laughing about how stereotypically 90's the music video is -- which includes cameos from Kris Kross, Heavy D, Michael Jordan, among others. We were also fondly recalling during our youth that when MJ had a new music video premiere it was a worldwide event.

On a day where Michael Jackson left us and Shaq came to be with us, it seems fitting to pay tribute with this basketball themed tune:

Michael Jackson - Jam

We did not see James Franco BUT we did see all of this @ The CMA Summer Solstice Party!

Saturday night we had the great pleasure of attending the opening reception for the unveiling of the new east wing @ The Cleveland Museum of Art. It was an awesome event and it was inspirational to see so many people out supporting our fantastic museum.

The CMA truly is a treasure and we are incredibly fortunate to have such a world renowned institution like this in our fair city (and free, no less). We encourage everyone who has not already had the opportunity to view the new east wing to do soon. It opens to the public on June 27th.

People were chowing down on the good eats!

What a gorgeous evening it was -- remarkably, there was almost no rain

These dancers were just a glimpse of the visually pleasing entertainment

Dog Alien part deux?

There were some great fireworks to help put the exclamation point on this very special occasion

More pretty fire works where you can see the red foam wall that surrounds us that night

The towers that help connect the new east wing

During Dan Deacon's set, it started raining which lead to pure bedlam. His fans are hardcore, even while holding a tarp over his gear he GOT DOWN

You can see from the glistening ground that there was a brief period where the rain had picked up. This shot made us think of a music video, perhaps shot in Eastern Europe at night? Maybe Prague? Gotta love that purple haze in the sky!

We just really liked this shot -- especially the shadows against that green light

The cube in the new east wing. Do you see that guy is actually wearing a kilt?

You can see the progress the museum is making on this wall with highlights of the past, present, and the future laid out.

DJ Rehka was thrownin down on the 1's and 2's!

Couldn't help but capture an image of these trippy totem guys that definitely caught our eye

The view from outside the festivities as we departed*

Top Five Sngs of the Week (Summer Solstice Celebration Edition!)

The weather that has descended upon us this weekend has been the kind that causes hair to frizz, skin to gloss, clothes to stick, and moods to deflate (or is that just me?). Sweltering humidity with a chance of rain isn't exactly the forecast that makes you want to do anything other than bask in your AC half naked. . .that, or perhaps drink chilled beverages poolside.

Well, the weather might win other days but not today :)

This evening we'll be heading out to The Cleveland Museum of Art's Summer Solstice Celebration in honor of the East Wing Unveiling. I'm also lobbying for a drink at RumbaR prior to entering into the craziness. They are bringing a new wave sound of female fronted indie girl dance rock that makes us think of Blondie, Elastica and Metric.

But before doing so, just thought we'd share some tunes to help cool you off and get you in the mood to go out on the town:

5. {Mp3} Mason Proper - Get Innnoculous/Love Lockdown You may recall that back in November we posted their video for Lock and Key because it is a great song and was shot in downtown Cleveland. This time those lads from Michigan are back doing a great job blending the best elements of Kanye West's "Love Lockdown" along with LCD Soundsystems' "Get Innocouus" ”

4. {Mp3} Miracles of Modern Science - MR 2 This 5-piece got their start at Princeton University. Guess where they live now?... yep Brooklyn, big surprise right? They play indie rock that is full of beautiful orchestration with some nice sea chanteys too They remind us of Vampire Weekend, Ra Ra Riot, Andrew Bird and Margot and The Nuclear So & So's.

3. {Mp3} Amazing Baby - Bayonets This band is bringing their glam meets Elvis Costello straight out of Brooklyn. This is one that once it got stuck in our heads it is has become a serious ear worm and will not leave.

2. {Mp3} My First Earthquake - Cool In The Cool Way This aptly titled foursome hail from San Francisco and they too will make you shake like an earthquake. They are bringing a new wave sound of female fronted indie girl dance rock that makes us think of Blondie, Elastica and Metric.

1. {Mp3} The Fire and the Reason - Do It Again (Blogua Remix) This international duo of Bella Saona (from Brazil) and Steve Navarez (from Ecuador) are bringing the fire and making some dirty and downright dangerous baile, funk, pop, dance. Reminds us as if the energy of the Ting Tings were mixed with sass of Santigold and the vocal swagger of Anya Marina.

Random Retro Wednesday Song: After Laughter (Comes Tears)

Prior to heading out for an evening this past week, we were energized while listening to random hip-hop and remixes when our iTunes unexpectedly shuffled to a song that made us both fall silent. This particularly beautiful track struck us in such a way that we played it multiple times in a row. Not to mention, the more we listened to the song the more it started driving us crazy because neither of us could quite place where we had heard the familiar soulful chords and vocals.

Our questions were soon answered upon reading this wiki article, where we discovered that the catchy melody and chorus was sampled in a Wu-Tang song [listen here] and featured in a scene of The Wackness while being covered by the likes of Alicia Keys, El Perro Del Mar, and. . .oh yes, of course I (now) remember Lykke Li singing a rendition when I had the pleasure of seeing her perform in Boston last fall -- if you're also a fan, I highly recommend watching the youtube clip from that very show here.

{Mp3} Wendy Rene - After Laughter (Comes Tears)

Bonus: {Mp3} Lykke Li - After Laughter (Comes Tears)

Ooh La La. . .Anthropologie

Most ladies will agree that it's quite the challenge to enter and exit the warm, inviting confines of Anthropologie without doing some major damage. . .

But, I must say (quite proudly, in fact) that this evening I simply perused the outdoor tent sale, staying strong and focused. Although I admittedly tried on multiple items and was inevitably tempted by the aromas of several beauteous candles, I walked out of the store purchasing only one oh so lovely item. Half-priced no less. Whew!

Um, anyhow.

So, this brings me to a safe and harmless alternative to dangerously shopping the isles of Anthropologie or addictively clicking away within their website: there is no harm in innocently browsing the delicate pages of one of the catalogs, right??

Right :)

Especially if the catalog is able to combine musicians and fashion so effortlessly as Anthropologie did in their June issue.

Not only was I pleased upon discovering Anya Marina's pretty face donning a couple pages, but then flipping through to see the ethereal ladies of Au Revoir Simone (btw, there's no denying how super excited I am to see them Friday, June 26th at The Grog Shop). Oh yes, and Annuals had a nice little spread as well. Never having heard of the other musicians featured, I was intrigued enough to check them out. So here you go!

Lenka

{Mp3} Lenka - Don't Let Me Fall Definitely won me over with her playful and graceful Regina Spektor-esque style. And, how freaking adorable does that zigzag dress look on her??

Honey Honey

{Mp3} Honey Honey - Little Toy Gun Their sound possesses an intensely energetic melody that saunters into your subconscious, bound to leave a lasting impression. I imagine it's only a matter of time before this song is used in a movie trailer or commercial.

Okay, so Anthropologie -- I must say that I happily approve of your music selections and look forward to future catalog features such as this*