I Have To Have You

Bleu has been pimping his 5th full-length on PledgeMusic for a while now with plenty of extra special bonuses for contributors. I strongly encourage you to support this Too Poppy-approved artist! Pledge now and you'll get the album very soon along with those extras (which includes becoming a member of the Redhead Record Club celebrating Bleu's stellar second album). If you're looking for a free preview, NoiseTrade is offering the full download of To Hell With You for free or for a generous tip! R U KIDDING ME? This offer is for only two weeks so get on it now.

To Hell With You gets a world-wide release On Jan 28, 2014. Bleu is currently on tour. Get the details here.

Official Site | PledgeMusic | NoiseTrade | iTunes | Amazon

Oh Oh Oh

Bleu has co-written what might be the best fake pop hit since That Thing You Do. It's called Ordinary Extraordinary Love and was featured on the comedy Happy Endings. It is hilarious. I hope it's supposed to be hilarious.



Naturally it's available on iTunes.

Don't forget to pledge Bleu's to-be-released To Hell With You here. Freebies and bonus items galore!

I Found Meaning In A Tacky Old Guitar

Pop maestro Bleu is prepping his fifth full-length album for release next year and he's sharing a couple new tunes here. It's Not Over sounds like early Bleu through an 80s McCartney filter - very poppy. And Won't Make It Out Alive is a nice folksy tune with some electronic blips and whistles to make it just a bit different.

Bleu is also touring this fall. Check out dates here.

Finally, Bleu stopped by the Daytrotter studio in July to tape a session. Check it out here.

Official Site | iTunes | Amazon

Like He Knew What I Needed

Bleu's new rocker Singin' in Tongues is available as a free download. It's from his upcoming Kickstarter-funded album Four out October 25.

Go to NME.com for the download and 9 others, including a cover of Macca's Ram On by The Morning Benders!

MP3: Bleu - Singin' in Tongues
MP3: The Morning Benders - Ram On (Paul McCartney cover)
...via

I'll Know It When I See It

I was going to post last week about Bleu's new Kickstarter project for his upcoming album Four, but he hit his goal within a day or two and then some! Congrats, Bleu. Still you have some great rewards if you participate in the project prior to the release of the album, including having the opportunity to write a song with Bleu! Go here for all the details.

Bruce at Not Lame posted his thoughts on the need for Kickstarter and more at his new social media project Rock and Roll Tribe. Read it here.

Preview Four at SoundCloud

We All Race For The Finish Line

Bleu is previewing a few new tunes from his upcoming album Four on Facebook and one of them prominently features Jellyfish's Roger Joseph Manning Jr.! Sounds fantastic - quite Macca-esque. Can't wait to hear the rest.

Just Take a Look

Today Bleu debuted his new video for No Such Thing As Love full of waify ladies who sure are perty. I felt a little pervy for watching it at work though.



No Such Thing As Love is from Bleu's latest A Watched Pot. Download it from Amazon or iTunes.

You and Your Angelic Shout

Mogul = Bleu, Mike Viola, Roger Joseph Manning Jr., and Rooney.
Mogul performing Jellyfish's That is Why = stunning.


Thanks, @myhmphs!

Can't Be That Bad

Two Bleu posts in a row? Sure, why not? It's his week after all.

NoiseTrade.com is offering a bonus EP with six songs not found on A Watched Pot. If you're not familiar with how NoiseTrade.com works, all you have to do to download the tunes is tell at least five friends about it and/or pay what you want. I love this model.

Life is Full of Living

Today marks the release of Bleu's long-awaited new album A Watched Pot. Download it from iTunes or Amazon, or get physical copies from Not Lame (w/bonus EP) or Newbury Comics (w/autograph).

He's playing with Roger Joseph Manning Jr., Mike Viola, and the Rooney rhythm section - collectively known as Mogul - tonight at Hotel Cafe in Hollywood! Those Hollywood bums have all the luck.

Here's what Roger said is on tap tonight:

The 4 songs I will be playing with the band are: That is Why, Sebrina Paste & Plato, The Land of Pure Imagination, and a song that Bleu and I recently wrote called Everything Is Fine.

Excuse me for awhile - I need to somehow lift my jaw from the floor.

Maybe This Is Something

Spiffy new video for Bleu's Come 'n Go from his upcoming album A Watched Pot out July 14. Nice work.

Go

Not Lame is offering a special deal with the purchase of Bleu's new album A Watched Pot:

[R]eceive a super cool, exclusive 3 song CD-R EP that contains the following songs:

1. Go (Acoustic)
2. Come N Go (Acoustic)
3. The Blame Game (A Watched Pot B-Side)

THIS IS A LIMITED OFFER and only good until August 15, 2009. You will, also, receive an another exclusive. An MP3 audio of an interview I am going to be doing with Sir Bleu next week.

Nice. Not Lame Guy Bruce Brodeen is soliciting questions from you for the interview. Just email him here ASAP.

Check out samples and pre-order right here from Not Lame. If he's not careful, he's going to have to change the name to Way Not Lame.

It's Been a Long Year

New Bleu for you, dear Too Poppers.

A Watched Pot - an appropriate name for an album a long time coming - will finally be released July 14. The album was recorded back in 2005 as a follow-up to his excellent Redhead, but Bleu was a victim of terrible times for the music industry, which resulted in the record being tied up by his former label. They will never learn.

Bleu is a special talent. He has a knack for sincere melody and lyrics without sap, a delicate line to travel but one with incredible payoff. No doubt he's one of the best popsters in the game today, and the company he keeps is second to none. Can't wait to spend more time with the album - I can't imagine it won't be one of my top pop picks this year. In the meantime, below you'll find two new MP3s for you! Enjoy and salivate.

Ning
HisSpace
Twitter
Official Site

MP3: Bleu - Save Me
MP3: Bleu - No Such Thing As Love

I Won't Go Hollywood

...but I should. Just look at who Bleu is playing with in the coming weeks...

Jun 30 - 9:00P - Hotel Cafe - Record Release w special acoustic set from Rooney, Hollywood, CA
Jul 07 - 9:00P - Hotel Cafe - Record Release w Drake Bell, Hollywood, CA
Jul 09 - 8:00P - Knitting Factory w Ace Enders, Hollywood, CA
Jul 14 - 8:00P - Hotel Cafe - Record Release w Mike Viola and special guest Roger Joseph Manning Jr., Hollywood, CA
Jul 22 - 6:00P - In Store at Newbury Comics, Faneuil Hall Location
Jul 24 - 8:00P - TT The Bear's - Record Release w Hooray For Earth, Air Traffic Controller & Count Zero, Cambridge, MA
Jul 25 - 8:00P - Joe's Pub - Record Release w Jim Boggia, NYC - EARLY SHOW!
Jul 31 - 8:00P - Puck Live - Record Release w Jim Boggia, Doylestown, PA
Aug 01 - 9:00P - The Listening Room - Record Release w Sandra McCracken, Nashville, TN

Bleu, Mike Viola, Roger Joseph Manning Jr., Rooney? Mind-blowing.

Twenty Plus Twenty Is Better Than Dead

Bleu has created his very own social networking site on the Ning platform and he really really wants us to join it. In one of the coolest promotions ever, joining his community will automatically make you eligible to win a very special prize, a custom birthday song written and performed by Bleu himself!

1. Make a personal profile at Bleu's new online community, the site is free!
2. Upload a picture of yourself
3. Add your birthday to your profile and make it viewable (you don't have to add the year!)
4. Do all of this before August 25, 2009 and you'll be entered!

Evidently he has a history of performing special birthday songs for friends. You can download an EP of those songs via iTunes. Here's hoping for inclusion of "A Too Poppy Birthday" on the next EP.

It's Like Fleetwood Mac, Biggie, and Tupac in a Game of Twister

Bleu has finally announced a release date for his new album A Watched Pot. Ok, so it's more of a release month (July), but it's close! Evidently Sony held it captive for awhile, but it has since seen freedom and will soon hit our iPods or other music players of choice.

there will also be a companion EP released simultaneously with some b-sides and a few tracks from my nEXt record (whazup biatch, i'm a record releasing dynamo now!!)

Don't worry, nothing is wrong. That's how he always writes.

Bleu is a working musician. Check out everything else he's been up to by reading his email newsletter.

Now I've Heard There Was a Secret Chord

A great bit of news from Bleu that I've neglected for about a week:

YES IT'S TRUE!!!..i actually got "A WATCHED POT" BACK from Sony!!!...signed the paperwork just a couple days ago!!...currently, our plan is to wait until i finish my new record (tentatively titled "FOUR") and assess...i'm very close to completing the new stuff, and i believe that songs from the two as-yet-unreleased records will end up being put together to create two records, but not necessarily in exactly the form they are in now....there will certainly be some sort of "official releases" in the coming months, and i'll be doing some touring, etc...hall-eh-lujah!!!...

Indeed.

Learn more here. Man, this guy has been busy!

We Got It Made

Bleu, Mike Viola, and Ducky Carlisle are The Major Labels and their debut album Aquavia is now available. Each are accomplished artists in their own right - together, they are Major. They're essentially pulling a Radiohead and letting you set the price you're willing to pay for the album, but they do have a suggestion:

...now..if you ask me..i'd say our record's worth at-leAst 8-bucks...i mean..that wouldn't even cover our tater-tot/miller-chill cost for a day...but..art is (as always) subjective(ish)..i guessss.....but..i would like to point out that starbucks charges $14.99 for some really bunk-ass CDs....and ok..my manager insists i mention again that you do, of course, have the option of paying whatever the frig you want (like $8) for our record AND telling your friends..and really..that ain't askin' much is it?..it's not like i'm asking you to donate to some charity you've never heard of or something (don't get me started...seeeriously)...

Subtle, eh? Use the widget below to get it and tell others. Do it. Haven't heard it yet, but I'm sure it's worth at least $8. Go to TheirSpace for previews.

Maybe You Think I'm Lucky

Our favorite pop-centric online record store is giving away music today! Over at the Not Lame blog, you can freely download the aptly-named NOT LAME BLOG Soundtrack, Vol. One, complete with 15 nuggets of power-pop goodness. Bleu, Roger Joseph Manning Jr., Myracle Brah, need I say more? No, I don't. Those three are good enough for me, but I'm sure I'll enjoy at least another ten of them.

For the full tracklist, head on over.

I've made it a bit more convenient for you Not Lame lovers by zipping all the files. I hope they don't mind.

MP3s: NOT LAME BLOG Soundtrack, Vol. One (zip file, tracks via Not Lame Blog)

Die Tuff

Plenty of Bleu news to report:

• Two new literally-named EPs are now available online.
  
• The Blizzard of 05 was written, well, two years ago during a blizzard: "most of it was recorded in the two weeks surrounding that legendary storm, and it was done almost entirely live in the studio..as a result, i think it's one of the most cohesive works i've been a part of." More here. Download here.
  
• Birthday Songs is a little collection of, well, birthday songs Bleu has written for friends: "they were all written, recorded and mixed in 24 hours (or less)...sometimes it shows (hA!), but some of them are really fun." Download here.
  
• His hair metal band LoudLion has a few songs on the upcoming Balls of Fury Soundtrack. Download LoudLion here or here.
• The Major Labels record is finished.
• "for those of you with short memories, TML is the band i started with Mike Viola and Ducky Carlisle (now Rock Jetstream)...making this album was easily one of the most rewarding musical experiences i've ever had...and i genuinely can't wait to get it out there and start bringing the music to the people (slash/melting-faces)...this project is really close to my heart...stay tuned."

Previously...