There is all types of dance that you can do with all types of music.  But there are some artists that make music that just makes me wanna dance.  You know the music that you hear and instantly you just want to break out into a dance and get moving?  Yeah, that’s the music I am talking about.  So what really makes me wanna dance, you ask?  Here you go:

• Anything by LMFAO.  There lyrics crack me up and I love their beats.  If you do not believe me, play “Sexy and I Know It” and see what happens.  Oh yeah, you will definitely be dancing.
• Ke$ha always makes me want to shake my booty.  Maybe it is all her talk about clubbing and what not.  I am not too sure if that is the case, but I sure do love it.
• Oh and if I want to really shake it, I like to turn on some Pitbull.  His Latin beats are enough to keep me very pumped and ready to groove.

Of course there are a lot of other artists and songs that can make me ready to throw down on the dance floor.  There is no better fix for a somewhat crappy day than to just turn on some jams and get to moving.  You will surely feel a whole lot better after you do.

Does it seem like it’s been a whole year since Scotty McCreary won American Idol Season 10?  Time sure goes by fast these days, but in this case I am not complaining.  American Idol is something I’m glad to see coming back around so soon.  The X Factor was a lot of fun last year, too.  If you watched both, which was your favorite of these two epic music competitions?  Let us hear from you.

Oh wait:  somebody did.  Here is the video tribute to the Man Himself.  Pop in your ear buds and turn the volume up.  You’ll like this one.

I love the below infographic because it reveals how far it really has come.  You will see on it the infographic where portable music began in the 1950s all the way up to the current time and what portable music means today.  If you need to, click it to make it bigger.

But Eminem’s debut at Lollapalooza was by far the most epic and successful debut of any hip-hop or rap artist in the history of the event, where the real slim shady slammed the crowd of well over 60,000 fans with a mind-blowing 90 minute set. After faking an on-stage relapse, Em shouted, “How many people in this crowd tonight are f*cked up?” Insanity from the crowd. “How many people in this crowd… get fucked up to the ‘Recovery’ album?” More insanity. “What kind of motherf*cking backward-ass sh*t is that?” Pointing out, “I told you theyre crazy.” There are rumors that his set at Lollapalooza will be featured on a DIRECTV special, but only time will tell.

Despite mocking his fans from the start, the audience still sung along word for word song after song for the entire hour and a half. Rumors of appearances from his wide array of A-list contributors from Lil Wayne to Rihanna and Dr.Dre were everywhere, but it was Skylar Grey’s presence during “I Need A Doctor” that really finally got the audience going and capped Miss Grey’s spectacular Lolla appearance following her intense set that afternoon. But while Skylar’s guest appearance may have been as predictable as her scheduled solo set, Bruno Mars surprise guest appearance for “Airplanes Pt. II” more than made up for the lack of Haley Williams vocals on the chorus.

All in all, the entire set in front of a crowd of 60,000+ was the most packed show of the entire weekend, whether or not the rain hampered the Sunday night headliners or not. Even if the rain spared Foo Fighters, Kid Cudi and Deadmau5, there’s no doubt which mainstream headliner owned the weekend.

“Girls” release date was pushed forward after it was leaked online in early April, and better received internationally than it was here at home. That might have something to do with the fact that America is still behind the curve when it comes to house music, considering how heavily intertwined the production of “Girls” and Knowles’ aptly named fourth album is with electronic and house elements. Other than track production from Switch, international electronic icons Afrojack (Nick van de Wall) and Diplo (Wesely Pentz) teamed up with The-Dream (Terius Nash) and Adidja Palmer to write and record “Girls”. 4 also includes contributions from Sleigh Bells’ Derek Miller (Does this mean that the DJ O-Face mash up album of Sleigh Bells and Jay-Z tracks will finally be made available to the public again?), trance enthusiast Sia, Tricky (Christopher Stewart) and others.

But at the end of the day, Ms. Knowles is still a hip-hop and R&B artist. Darkchild, Frank Ocean, Kany West, Q-Tip, Ne-Yo, Jim Jonsin and One Republic all laid some tracks for 4, and it still sounds like a hip-hop and R&B album, just with a little more party to it. As Sean Garrett said, “I think we are doing a lot of up-tempo records for this one. She’s in such a good place right now in life that she is interested in making party music”. As electronic tracks and house sounding music is more and more frequently incorporated into Top 40 artists and powerhouse mainstream tracks, you can expect more and more casual listeners to get indulged into the raving genre in the states. As for the girls, we’re glad we get to dance around just a little more with Beyonce’s latest production.

Post sponsored by the great people at Hot Sauce Planet

With over 30,000 in attendance for its inaugural year in 2010, Hopscotch is bound to sell out and bring more to the table this year, with VIP wristbands having sold out over 3 months before the festivities are to begin, and having better headliners than last year. With Panda Bear playing in City Plaza, al beit after a killer set by Broken Social Scene, the music and the atmosphere of the outdoor venue mixed just about as well as cheese puffs and yogurt. But this time, you’ll be singing “do you realize” for a whole other reason, combined with pizza and beer and outdoor music that makes more than just sense. So head down to Raleigh September 8-10th for The Independent’s very own music festival, and start the fall season off right with a different and unique live music experience.

Phantogram’s album “Eyelid Movies” is based largely in the concept of dreaming and what their music is supposed to make you feel. Carter and Barthel both harnessed dreams of their own when creating their music, and Carter later explained that “Daydreams, the spots you see moving around when your eyes are closed tight, and the shapes you see in the world – those are the kinds of things we want to surface in your mind when you hear a Phantogram song.”

After listening to a few of their songs, you realize that they have very much succeeded. With Carter playing guitar and Barthel as keyboardist and vocalist, the duo creates electronic beats and rhythms that sound like they’re coming from an enchanted forest that teases the possibility of actually existing in nature. While their sound is echoing the idea of swirling air, these echoes are beat driven and almost have a blues-y feel to them. This sort of conundrum is what leads the listener to the day dreaming theme- very real yet we’re not quite sure how.

Phantogram has been largely under the alarm for home radar until very recently, appearing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon earlier this year and announcing a new album in the works to be released late 2011, and embarking on a national tour this summer, opening up for west coast electronic super band The Glitch Mob and playing their own sets a mega festivals Lollapalooza and Outside Lands. After listening to both their first self-titled EP and “Eyelid Movies”, reading their live reviews, and seeing that The Glitch Mob themselves completely endorses and even raves about them, one gets the feeling that Phantogram is about to make shock waves through the synch-pop scene with their deep and dark songs (that always seem to find an up beat rhythm to avoid being just interesting yet depressing low-fi music). Only the aftermath of their increased visibility this summer will tell.

His self-confidence and assurance paired with his sheer brilliance and academic training made him a powerful force to be reckoned with. The diversity of his mediums and skills presented themselves in a way that impacted people unquestionably; Clive Davis commented, “Was there a Dylan in him? A Miles? A Stevie? A Sly? Yes, he was all of that, and yet the guy was unique.” But it turns out his dark past couldn’t escape him, for even through the late stages of his life, producing a new LP well after rehab and drug struggles, many close friends believe he still struggled with his drug addiction, and that that may have contributed to his death.

But even during his worst periods of addiction, Scott-Heron still found time to give back and make room for those less fortunate. In 1984, during a decade known to have been one of the worst for Heron’s drug addiction, he took in a homeless man who came backstage at one of his performances and gave him a job as a manager on his tour. That man, Malik Al Nasir, formerly Mark Watson, knows better than anyone else what this meant about Gil’s character, “He was a guy at the top of his game, in this random city, and decided to pick up this homeless black kid with no prospects and mentor him. That was the kind of man he was” (A direct tv quote). And while his demons and their devastation may have eventually had their way, Gil Scott-Heron will never be forgotten for his striking personality and strong character expressed through his art.

Eddie Vedder – “Ukulele Songs”

piracy protection This is Eddie Vedder’s second solo album that is full length and on it, he really captures even more so what an amazing artist he is.  As the title suggests, the songs are all sung and accompanied by a ukulele and nothing more.  Using this instrument that he first discovered around fifteen years ago in Hawaii, Vedder is able to grow even more and show that while he is the same voice, he can change it up and still have incredible songs.  The calming vocals and the strumming of the uke provide an intimate feeling that Vedder fans are sure to love.  A lot of the songs on the 16 song album are from his own writing’s for the last ten years that he wrote specifically for the unkulele, and some are covers that happen to be some favorites of Vedder.  If you are looking for a more personalized and warm Eddie Vedder, then definitely check out “Ukulele Songs.”

Death Cab for Cutie – “Codes and Keys”

The “Codes and Keys” album is the seventh studio album for the band death Cab for Cutie, and it is their newest release since the year 2009.  This album is comforting to Death Cab for cutie fans and those who are not as familiar with the band, because it reminds you of something, not that you can quite put your finger on what it is though.  While the entire album is not crazy good, there are still many moments on the album and even entire tracks that let you into how the band has grown to be more assured and confident in their work.  For any Death Cab for Cutie fans, or those looking to broaden their musical interests, “Codes and Keys” is a good starting point.

Flogging Molly – “Speed of Darkness”

Flogging Molly’s frontman Dave King noted that their newest album, “Speed of Darkness” was not what they originally had in mind.  Their writings were inspired by a three month time period they were in Detroit and witnessed all of the recession and struggles of the working men and women of the area.  The songs featured on the album have some of their well-known harder sounds, along with some more traditional tunes from the group.  ”Speed of Darkness” is a perfect celtic punk album.

Jordan Knight – “Unfinished”

Jordan Knight, the lead of New Kids on the Block proves to be quite savvy with the timing of the release of his new album, “Unfinished,” one that he has been working on for over five years in fact.  This summer his group New Kinds of the Block (NKOTB) is pairing up with the Backstreet Boys (BSB) to create NKOTBSB–every boy band lovers dream.  The two groups are on tour and it is one event that is already a hot show for this summer.  This is Knight’s fifth solo album, and I’m thinking that his great marketing will probably pay off for the 41 year old boy bander.