A Styl'd Finale

Lately, Styl'd has become my favorite show. Beyond the guarantee of weekly drama, the great list of celebrity guest stars, and the intoxicating mix of ridiculous characters, Styl'd also has done a great job at using some amazing songs from two of my favorite rising star bands in Radio Freq and TV/TV. Well, the first season has sadly come to an end, and Jen Rade has picked a winner. I won't spoil this for you, as you can watch the whole episode below, but I will say that she definitely made the right choice, picking by far the most talented (if not the most entertaining or charismatic) of the junior assistants.

Guest stars for the finale were The Veronicas (who ought to know a thing or two about style) and Ashley Tisdale. I was surprised at Ashley's reaction to the what the junior asisstants picked out for her, as I never pegged her as the high maintenance type, but it definitely made things interesting.

Rounding things out, the season finale came full circle when it came to music as well, going back to Radio Freq and TV/TV, which I thought was great. Radio Freq's "Feel the Beat" popped up for the second time this season, while TV/TV's "Fire Island" made it's third appearance. In case you haven't been paying attention to my Styl'd blogs over the past few months, I will spell it out for you again - pick up the records from both of these amazing artists now, and by the end of 2010 you will be able to tell all your friends you were first to the party.

Styl'd has definitely been my favorite new show to pop up over the past year, and I can't wait to see what they do next season. I suppose I will have to find a new addiction now, so any suggestions are welcome (although I still don't think I can make the jump to Jersey Shore....I have to draw the line of decency somewhere LOL).

Styl'D - MTV Shows

Radio Freq on MySpace

TV/TV on MySpace

Dead And Gone

The superstars continue to parade through the Styl'd set and this time as the junior assistants are given the task of styling Alex Meraz of Twilight fame, as well as up-and-coming songstress Keri Hilson (who I discovered earlier this year on The Hills). Meraz is gets styled appropriately enough in a cemetary for an LA Confidential Magazine photo shoot, while Hilson is done up for a concert after-party. Just like last week, there is a lot of drama but without spoiling it too much for everyone I will mention that one of the junior assistants actually walks off the job in this episode and that a regrettable one-night stand also rears its ugly head.

Styl'd has done a great job all season long of implementing great, hip music that fits the aesthetic of the show, and in this episode, they chose to go with two songs from TV/TV that they have already used this season with "Small Time" (aired in last week's episode) and "Fire Island" (aired in episode 3). These dancey, synth-heavy grooves are great introductions to one of the best young bands out there right now, so be listenning for them while you watch "Dead And Gone" below, and have a safe and happy New Year's.

Styl'D - MTV Shows

TV/TV on MySpace

A Very Styl'd Christmas

Merry Christmas all - hope everyone enjoyed the holidays as much as I did, and while I'm still recovering from seemingly endless amount of rich foods that I consumed in the last few days, I took some time out today to catch up on some Styl'd.

"Playing Favorites" saw the Styl'd junior assistant crew take on assignments with Sean Kingston and Brenda Song. While these weren't my favorites (nothing beats the episode with Academy Is and Fall Out Boy), the episode did feature a fight between the well-documented psycho Tara and Jen. But even better than that, "Playing Favorites" played a few of my favorite songs as well, by two bands that seem to fit the fashionable edge of the show - Radio Freq and TV/TV.

Radio Freq's "I'm Alive" is a pulsating thriller that just begs to have a lot of dandy remixes that you will hear on the dance floor in 2010, while TV/TV brought two equally addictive songs to the table with "Good Cop Bad Cop" and "Small Time." Have a listen and look for yourself below.

Styl'D - MTV Shows

Radio Freq on MySpace

TV/TV on MySpace

According To Greta

With dead weak over and now finals almost upon me, you would think I would be extremely bummed right now, but I'm not, partly because I don't have any truly scary finals, and party because I just got to see the incredible new film According To Greta. Starring Hilary Duff in a role that I predict will help launch a new phase in her career, the movie puts her as a 17 year old suicidal girl as she arrives at her grandparents' home in Jersey shore for the summer. Evan Ross (son of Diana Ross - yes, the Supreme herself) plays her love interest in this great coming of age movie. With a great cast, supreme acting, and a good 'indie' feel to it, I think According To Greta is easily the most underrated movie of the year and if you have a chance to see it (it has a limited theatrical release), you should take advantage of this.

Beyond what I consider an absolute breakthrough performance by Duff, the movie also was smart enough to set the tone early with the great Americana sing-a-long "I Wanna Die" by Jolie Holland, which plays during the opening credits.

Jolie Holland on MySpace

Remember Me

I've seen both of the Twilight films, and while they're enjoyable, I always thought that the romance between Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart's characters seems so forced. I don't know why, but I just am not a fan of Stewart and her version of Bella always seems so nervous and off when on-screen with the adorable Pattinson...and it's exactly this reason that has me super curious to check out the movie Remember Me. Pattinson's love interest in this is none other than Emilie de Ravin, best known as Claire from Lost. From the trailer, I think it looks to be quite an intersting movie, and I also hope Chris Cooper has a big role, because he's always great.

Of course no post here would be complete without mentioning some music, and the trailer has two songs that really caught me ear. First, there is an acoustic guitar-based song that plays in the first half of the trailer, and I've been dying to figure out what it is - googling like a mad woman in between my studies. Any of my readers have the skinny for me?

Next, there is a song I DO know, and that's "Asleep" by The Album Leaf, which is the beautiful song that starts playing about halfway through. RIYL Explosions in the Sky, The Album Leaf make these awesome sounding mini-symphonies featuring great use of guitar and synthesizers that sound like other instruments...great evocative music that quite often fits the many rainy days we experience here in Seattle.

Check out the trailer for Remember Me below, and again, please if anybody can ID the other song I'd be very grateful.

The Album Leaf on MySpace

Radio Freq Soundtracks Styl'd

Whew. Finals have been kicking me straight in the rear for the last few weeks, which has been putting a real wrench in my TV schedule. Luckily for me, I haven't really missed Styl'd, because they've been spacing out the episodes more than a week apart lately. For once, that actually sits well with me. Anyway, in last night's episode, the team got to prepare The Academy Is, Nicole Richie, and Fallout Boy. While I thought they came up with quite a bad look for Nicole (that headband just doesn't go well with somebody who has such buggy eyes), they did a great job with The Academy Is and Fallout Boy and overall it was another fantastic episode of one of my favorite new shows, which is also quickly establishing itself as one of the better shows when it comes to music. I've already blogged about their use of TV/TV, and now they've included another great band that knows how to incorporate synthesizers into their brand of rock n' roll, and that's Radio Freq.

Radio Freq's "Feel the Beat" makes you do exactly as it commands and really makes me wish I was on the dance floor instead of in my room taking a quick study break to blog. Like TV/TV, this band I think outdoes The Killers and The Bravery at their own game, and I think it's just a matter of time before radio stations start catching on to this awesome crew of upstarts.

Radio Freq on MySpace

TV/TV Gets Styl'd

Last night I decided to check out Styl'd, the new MTV reality show that follows some up and coming style assistants as they try to move up in the ultra-competitive world of high-end celebrity stylists. While I missed the first two episodes, last night's quickly drew me in, and I think I may have developed (yet another) new addiction. On top of the show being quite riveting (yes, I know it's probably 90% scripted just like every other reality show - spare me the lecture), it also featured some great music from one of my favorite up-and-coming bands, TV/TV.

TV/TV is a new wave/synth pop/garage rock band that combines some of the best elements of The Bravery and The Strokes into one, combined with a singer that sprinkles great strategic yelps into his casually cool delivery. Their songs "Turn Me On" and "Fire Island" both played during last night's episode, and both are great examples of their party-starting sounds. You can listen to "Turn Me On" over at TV/TV's MySpace page, and watch the episode below:

Styl'D - MTV Shows