John Mayer – Battle Studies

I think John Mayer is back on his game. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I did enjoy Continuum for the most part (in particular, “The Heart of Life” and “Slow Dancing in a Burning Room”), but the album seemed rushed. It seemed as if he was less inspired and more pushed by a label or something.

But Battle Studies comes three years after Continuum, giving Mayer plenty of time to get his groove back. I just think he has a problem with picking first singles. “Waiting on the World to Change,” for example, was the most different and unappealing song of Continuum. I feel the same way about “Who Says” on Battle Studies. I just don’t like it, so I was afraid I wouldn’t like the rest of the album. I actually like it a lot. It’s one of those albums I’m actually excited to buy.

And, what could be better than a song with both John Mayer and Taylor Swift? Okay, sure, I can think of a lot of amazing duos I’d like to see…but this one really works. “Half of My Heart” is my favorite song on Battle Studies, I think. Overall I approve of the album. Welcome back, John.

Pick up Battle Studies today!

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Hey Mobilers, next up is New York-based group The Radiant, and they certainly have a radiance to their sound. Together since 2006 and with two albums under their belt, the group has toured nationwide and internationally. We sat down with keyboardist Mark Mangold and got him to let us in on the band’s themes, influences and love of creating “tapestries” of music.

Check it out and give them a listen.



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Well. It’s that time of year again.

After a lot of anticipation (even though the last movie came out barely a year ago), the second installment of the Twilight saga—based on the books by Stephanie Meyer—hits the theaters this Friday, November 20. To nobody’s surprise, the movie is already breaking records.

First of all, the movie premiered in Los Angeles on Monday—but, fans were already lined up for the chance to get a peek at the stars by Friday night. That’s insane. Who does that? These people literally camped out on the streets of Westwood just to see some ambiguous limos pull up to the theater on Monday night. I mean, I’ve waited a couple of hours before, but days?! No way.

The movie stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattison, and Taylor Lautner. It’s about teen vampires and werewolves, and one clumsy girl. I won’t give anything else away, I promise.

According to Variety, Twilight: New Moon will make record-breaking openings. It has already sold out over 2000 showings, and is expected to pass the $80 million mark in the first weekend. I will inevitably keep you posted on how well this vampire movie does in the box office. Look for a post on Monday about its performance this weekend!

Will you be seeing the movie?

Why do I love the fall so much? The answer may seem incredibly obvious. But, then again, so is the question. What is there not to love about fall? I realize that I do not live in a state where there are four traditional-weathered seasons, but I would imagine that the fall is perfect everywhere.

In the winter, there is a ton of snow and ice, and people’s cars freeze, and there’s dirt and mud everywhere, no leaves, etc. etc. Fine. In the spring it’s humid and rains a lot. Okay. In the summer the weather is miserable and ugly people walk around without a lot of clothes on. Understandably annoying. But fall? The weather is crisp and cool, the fashion is great, the holiday music starts to play, Black Friday produces massive sales, the colors of the leaves change…and, of course, the food that’s in season is incredible.

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From November 14 (Saturday) to November 20 (Friday), Wal-Mart will be giving away $100 gift cards to anyone who buys a BlackBerry phone from a Wal-Mart store.

When you buy your BlackBerry and sign a two-year contract with Verizon Wireless, AT&T, T-Mobile, or Sprint, you’ll get a gift card to spend on any purchase after the phone. According to Greg Hall, Wal-Mart’s vice president of Media Services, “We know customers are very focused on value, and we have promised each week to deliver new savings to help them stretch their dollars this holiday season.”

With the holiday season coming up, Wal-Mart’s strategy isn’t just to get people to buy phones from their stores. They want people to have a little bit of extra spending money for their wallets this season.

For a list of the devices that go along with this offer, follow the jump!

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