I love the softer side of The Stones… even though it’s not really that soft. Well, they are named after rocks. Here are The Rolling Stones with “Ruby Tuesday” live.

Audio Addiction: Sufjan Stevens

A lot of times when I write about music, I look to alert readers about upcoming or undercover acts that deserve some recognition. Sufjan is nowhere near unknown, but he’s still relatively unfamous, which is enough to prompt me to write.

He’s a great songwriter and he’s very subtle in his stylings. His music is very strong, yet his brand remains untapped. He’s relatively popular to people who know good music, yet he’s still just playing tiny concert halls for devoted fans, most likely just because he wants to, which is great! I’m a big fan of Conor Oberst and all of his projects, but I think the Bright Eyes frontman has reached a level of critical acclaim and public notoriety that leaves him in a weird limbo within the music world, in that he’s still brilliant but bordering on mainstream indie. I think Sufjan could be a decent alternative, in his own right. 

How would you get along in a world without sound? Imagine if you had never heard the way your own name sounds.

I wish I could have gotten the specific clips of Chris hearing noise for the first time and going to school to explore the next day. Also, I like the scene where he hears his girlfriend say his name for the first time. I really like the True Life series on MTV. It sort of reflects early successful attempts by MTV to make relevant reality television, which is why this serves as a nice followup to my last post about The Buried Life. I have a few favorite episodes, but this one is definitely a standout.

I like the girl’s story of learning to dance without ever hearing music, just vibrations. More so, I like the boy’s story. Chris is a high school student who was born deaf and has opted for an implant that will allow him the ability to hear. You really need to watch it for yourself, which is why I’m posting a link to the full episode on MTV.com below, but you can sort of get a feel for it from the trailer above.

I guess I had never even thought of the fact that if a deaf person were to be given the ability to hear, they would still need to learn language. Also, I think Chris is especially interesting because everything from his style and school friends to his guitar playing father suggests that music would be a big part of his life, yet he had never heard a note prior to receiving his implant. His initial reactions to sound are priceless. Do yourself a favor and at least skim through the full episode because it’s really something worth watching.

This is another one of my all-time favorite songs. It’s Blink-182 with Mutt, live in Sydney. It’s one of those songs, for me, that just has so many memories behind it.

Angela Martin, a contestant who has attempted to conquer Idol about three times now, I believe, was eliminated just prior to the semifinals this time around. At age 28, it was her last season of eligibility. Angela has had the worst string of bad luck ever.

Over the course of her three season idol run, Angela’s father was murdered by his girlfriend and her mother has gone missing. She was forced to drop out of the running during her second attempt after being forced to serve a week in jail for minor traffic violations she didn’t have the money to pay off. In addition, she is raising a daughter who suffers from seizures.

The video above is really great. It shows new judge Ellen championing Angela for overcoming her issues and for her resilient spirit. The best part of the video comes at it’s end, where Ellen and fellow judge/expert songwriter Kara Dioguardi surprise Angela with the promise to write and produce a song with her, and to find her a record deal.

Good luck!