In today's "adorable" and "not news" category ... we have a little girl dancing to Bad Brains. Check the replies for the collective, "awwwwww."

This has absolutely nothing to do with music (but hey, neither does Kesha and we post about her) -- but it's my site and I feel like sharing the elevator prank video that would make me shit my pants and probably punch a child in makeup. It's in the replies.

If you couldn't tell from the last few news posts that I'm clearly in a weird mood as the day winds down, here's one for you (and no, I'm not posting about zombies): our galaxy is fucked ... in 6 billion years.

From the Article

When Andromeda gets here, the sun will likely be pushed out much farther into the universe. By that time though, Earth will have become too hot to be inhabited by humans anyway. Our sun will not be directly hit when the initial collision happens in 4 billion years. But in 6 billion years, when the merger is complete, our sun will die.

Do you prefer listening to music with headphones or speakers? I've found that I have a much more personal connection with the music when I'm using headphones, but sometimes the expansive sound of the entire room being filled is worth it.

After talking with Zack from POZ about the differences between today's pop-punk wave and the bands from a few years ago, it got me thinking about all the bands that went unnoticed. Sure, bands like Blink-182 and Sum 41 were blowing up ... but do you remember Dogwood? What about Much The Same? I convinced Zack to check out Slick Shoes (to a positive response) -- so I figured I might as well put together a full on playlist of a bunch of stuff I could think of from around that timeframe. You can check that out in the replies ... sometimes something old, is something new. Along with that, I had Zack help me put together a playlist for the "nu-pop-punk" bands that we've got in this...

Say that you were going to start a record label ... today. You've got 5 spots to fill, and they've got to be filled up with bands that you could reasonably get on your label. That means, they're either unsigned or on a relatively small record label that you could probably buy out to get them to come on over (it's a hypothetical, have fun with it). You're not getting Bruce Springsteen, you're not gonna convince Thrice to come back, and you're not getting Brand New on your label. Gotta think harder than that. So, who do you put on your roster? Who are the 5 bands you sign?

My Fake Record Label Signings
1) Daybreaker
2) David Wazeter
3) Andy Burrows
4) House of Heroes
5) Cary...

Saves the Day ... save the date. Genius. I wish I would have thought of that. Congratulations to the happy couple, you are awesome.

So, we're four months into the year and lots of great music, and lots of shitty music, has hit our ears. I was looking at my "most anticipated" list that I put at the end of my EOTY feature -- and it got me thinking about the rest of the year. First, I was stupid and forgot to include The Gaslight Anthem (absolutely my most anticipated) on there. And second, my favorite album of the year so far (Hot Water Music - Exister) was no where to be found. Way to go Jason, way to go. I decided to take a little time and revisit my list and included comments on the ones I've heard. Then I figured I might as well add a few that I now know are coming out and definitely have shot up my list. ...

It's Valentines Day. We run a website that has a "music mends broken hearts" tag line. It's like our anti-holiday or something. So, with that, what are your favorite break-up songs/albums? When you're feeling all emo and like the world hates you -- what are your go to albums? Fall Out Boy's Take This To Your Grave? Brand New's "70x7"? All of Taking Back Sunday's Tell All Your Friends? Those have to be three of the most viciously bitter "go to" recordings. Let's hear your picks in the replies.

Sometimes supporting a band financially is more difficult than it should be. There are three traditional ways I can think of supporting a band I love: buy their music, buy their merch, see their show. I listen to virtually all of my music in some digital form. I subscribe to Rdio and I buy quite a few digital releases as well (using a combination of Amazon and iTunes). Now, it's not really a secret that even this method of (legal) music consumption is not putting much money in the hands of the artists or labels I'm enjoying. When it comes to physical media - I've basically given up on CDs (also not a great way of getting money into the hands of the bands I love), but I just don't...

I get the marketing reason behind it -- but I really am getting tired of having to "like" a band in order to hear music. I'll like something once I like it. I prefer less friction when trying to hear new music. Maybe it's just me. Anyone else with me?

Dear internet, The "shit so and so say" meme is now dead. These All Time Low fans have killed it. Sincerely, the rest of us.

There's a giant pink elephant in the room. Look behind you, see him in the corner? He's just sitting there. His name is "highly anticipated new album that just leaked on the internet." I was recently reading this blog post about Hollywood imposing a 56-day "no rental window" on new movies - and it got me thinking about how the music industry (for the most part) continues to construct their own 'window of stupid' on albums once they leak. I think we can all name albums that are available, right now, on the internet for free - and yet there's no way for fans to purchase them or legally stream them. The quote from Matt Drance remains perfectly applicable, in my opinion, to the music...

I've heard some people call Rise Records the new Victory Records, and I guess I get the comparison from a certain standpoint - but I gotta admit: the emails I get after I crack a joke about a Rise Records' band on the homepage are always lighthearted and good spirited. When I used to make jokes about Victory stuff, the emails were basically threatening. Gotta give Rise a lot of credit. Plus, they're in my neck of the woods, are signing a lot of really good bands, and bringing in Matthew Gordner to do A&R work has been brilliant.

Every time I listen to A Wilhelm Scream I immediately hate all other music. Then I binge on their catalog for days. Anyone else have this happen with any band? And while hovering around this topic: what's some similar music I should check out?