The Artist: Silverchair

The Song: "Straight Lines"

Where you heard it first: I first heard this song way back in 2007 when SIlverchair released their final album together entitled Young Modern.  Let's start from the beginning, before The Maine was even jamming in their garage in Tempe, Arizona, my first music love was Australian band Silverchair.  Yes, they sound extremely different from The Maine, but when I first heard their first album Frogstomp at the age of 12, I didn't think music could get much cooler than what I was hearing.  Ever since then, Silverchair has always held my heart as my favorite band.  The boys of Silverchair, Daniel Johns, Ben Gillies, and Chris Joannou, were my first musical crushes and to this day, I love Daniel Johns more than words.  Each of their albums, Frogstomp (1995), Freak Show (1997), Neon Ballroom (1999), Diorama (2002), and Young Modern (2007) has a distinctly different sound, but somehow, they all sound cohesive and amazing in their own ways.

Why it’s been stuck in your head: "Straight Lines" came on my iPod this morning while I was driving to work and it made me remember how much I love this band.  I quickly switched to listen to the entire collection of Silverchair music I have and have been listening to it all day.  Yes, I may be a bit young to be appreciating a band that gained popularity in 1996, but I don't really care.  Even at their very last U.S. show in Los Angeles in 2007, I was by far the youngest person there at 20 years old.  "Straight Lines" and the rest of the songs off their final album are much more pop-related than their other albums and it's easier for these songs to get stuck in your head even if you've never heard Silverchair's music before.  

Why you recommend it to our listeners: I am a firm believer in trying out all different musical genres in order to come to a conclusion about what you like and what you don't like and so I dare you all to take a listen and see if you like Silverchair.  Maybe you don't, and that's okay, but all of us should take the opportunity to broaden our horizons and discover new music as often as possible.  And so I give you "Straight Lines", one of the last songs from my favorite band in the world.

-- Kelly Lee

In honor on this weekend's MTV Video Music Awards, we've created a list of our top 15 VMA performances since 1990.  Check them out below.

1. Michael Jackson's HIStory - 1995
Michael Jackson is a legend (so much so that the lifetime achievement award is named after him) and therefore, he was obviously our top performer in the past few years.  The late legend played some of his hits including "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Beat It", "Black or White", and "Smooth Criminal" and even brought out special guest guitarist Slash from AC/DC!

2. Justin Timberlake's Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award Performance - 2013
Before receiving the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, newlywed Justin Timberlake performed hits like "Take Back the Night", "SexyBack", "My Love", and included an NSYNC reunion that blew up the internet.  Every skill that makes Justin a legend in the making was on full display.  A personal highlight was Justin calling out the newer boy bands, saying "show these young boys how to do it" before joining his former bandmates with their famous synchronized dance moves.  Taylor Swift was in tears, Niall Horan head bobbed awkwardly while his bandmates tried to appear unimpressed, and Lady Gaga rocked out like the rest of us.

The Band: Little Mix

The Song: Black Magic

The YouTube Link:

Where you heard it first: Little Mix has been getting a lot of air time here after performing in the local summer concert.  I've always loved them, and they're my go to music right now when I need an energy boost.

Why it’s been stuck in your head: Because it's super catchy!  And who doesn't love a good girl group harmony?

Why you recommend it to our listeners: If you love cheesy pop music, you'll definitely love this.

And the Fandom Emmy Awards winners are. . . . . 


Outstanding Drama Series: 
Supernatural

Outstanding Comedy Series:
 Friends

Outstanding Animated Series: 
Avatar: The Last Airbender

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series: 
Aaron Tveit as Mike Warren, Graceland

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series: 
Hayley Atwell as Agent Peggy Carter, Agent Carter

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: 
Cory Monteith as Finn Hudson, Glee

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: 
Zooey Deschanel as Jessica Day, New Girl

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: 
Dylan O’Brien as Stiles Stilinski, Teen Wolf

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: 
Serinda Swan as Paige Arkin, Graceland

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: 
Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson, How I Met Your Mother

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: 
Sofia Vergara as Gloria Delgado-Pritchett, Modern Family

Outstanding Reality-Competition Program: 
The Voice

Outstanding Guest Actor/Actress in a Drama Series: 
Michael Raymond-James as Neal Cassidy/Baelfire, Once Upon A Time

Outstanding Guest Actor/Actress in a Comedy Series:
Grant Gustin as Sebastian Smythe, Glee

Outstanding Comedy Series Ensemble Cast: 
Friends starring Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer

Outstanding Drama Series Ensemble Cast: 
Graceland starring Vanessa Ferlito, Brandon Jay McLaren, Manny Montana, Daniel Sunjata, Serinda Swan, and Aaron Tveit

Outstanding Variety/Talk Series: 
The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon

Outstanding Variety/Talk Host: 
Ellen DeGeneres

Outstanding Variety/Talk Guest Host: 
Justin Timberlake on Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Opening Title Sequence: 
Game of Thrones

Outstanding Male Multi-Fandom Performance: 
Sebastian Stan as Carter Baizen (Gossip Girl), Jack Benjamin (Kings), Jefferson/The Mad Hatter (Once Upon A Time), and TJ Hammond (Political Animals)

Outstanding Female Multi-Fandom Performance: 
Katie Cassidy as Laurel Lance/The Black Canary (Arrow, The Flash), Juliet Sharp (Gossip Girl), Brooke (New Girl), and Ruby (Supernatural season 3)

Fandom MVP: 
Misha Collins

Let’s go back to: Misha Collins' resume circa 1997
In honor of Misha Collins' birthday today, let's go back to JIB Con 2012 when a fan brought a copy of Misha Collins' resume from 15 years prior.  Let's just say that Jensen Ackles and Misha had a good laugh about some of the ridiculous "special skills" an out-of-work actor would put on their resume.

Why it means something to you or to our podcast: We here at ALNM love Supernatural and Misha Collins, one of the ultimate "fan stans".  We love how much Misha embraces the Mishamigos.  It's definitely in stark contrast to some of the dislike we get from Jensen Ackles when it comes to Destiel shipping.

Where can you find it now?: Right here!

-- Kelly Lee

The Artist: Anna Kendrick

The Song: I Can Do Better Than That

Where you heard it first: I know that we've already profiled the soundtrack for The Last Five Years on Music Monday, but I'm totally in love with this song.  I first heard this song on Valentine's Day when I watched this movie for the first time, but it is honestly my favorite song off the soundtrack.

Why it’s been stuck in your head: Whenever I am in the car, I like to listen to this song because Anna Kendrick sings it while in the car with Jeremy Jordan...and let's be honest, we all like singing to Jeremy Jordan in the car.

Why you recommend it to our listeners: This song is so fun and upbeat.  I love it and I know you will too!

-- Kelly Lee

Let’s go back to: 1955.  A little theme park called Disneyland opened.

Why it means something to you or to our podcast: Disneyland is an obsession shared by both my cohost Kelly and myself.  I don't think there's a time we've hung out together in Southern California and not at least grabbed dinner in Downtown Disney.  This year is the 60th anniversary celebration, resulting in lots of awesome diamond themed decorations and goodies.  Sleeping Beauty Castle is looking especially awesome.  If you have the opportunity you should definitely check it out.

Where can you find it now?: Just like Walt Disney intended, the park has continued to help people relive the bright moments of their past and look forward to an optimistic future.  It is simply a place dedicated to joy.

-C

What Is It: Fantastic Four is a reboot of the 2005 film of the same name and a reboot of the Marvel comic by Sony Studios in order to retain their rights to the superhero foursome.  In this version, it told the story of Reed Richards (Whiplash's Miles Teller) who, at a young age, had a dream to build a teleportation device back in the fifth grade.  Reed, along with his friend Ben Grimm (played by Billy Elliott himself, Jamie Bell) achieve that dream and gain the attention of Dr. Storm and his daughter Sue (Kate Mara, House of Cards).  Dr. Storm recruits Reed to the Baxter Foundation where he can complete his work on what will be known as the Quantum Gate, allowing teleportation to another dimension.  After a successful trial on a primate test subject, Reed, Ben, boy genius Victor Von Doom (Toby Kebbel) and Sue's brother Johnny Storm (played by That Awkward Moment's Michael B. Jordan) use themselves as the first human test subjects, resulting in catastrophe for Reed, Ben, Sue, Johnny, and Victor.

My experience: I decided to see this movie on a whim this weekend and was pleasantly surprised by it.  After hearing some pretty terrible reviews of the film, I had resigned myself to seeing it at the local dollar theatre, but when a friend and I needed a way to beat the Sunday heat, we chose this film and both of us found it fun and exciting.  I honestly did not think that I would enjoy it as much as I did.

Why You Should See It: Yes, the first attempt that this franchise was campy and, even originally, didn't do as well as one might have hoped, but you have to remember, this was before the Age of Iron-Man where Robert Downey, Jr.'s portrayal of a Marvel B-Team character revolutionized the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  With Phases One and Two of Marvel movies under our belts, this seemed like a good time to bring back the Fantastic Four.  Perhaps the best thing about this reboot was that it truly was about an origin story.  It started with Ben and Reed as young fifth graders with a dream and developed into them being courageous college students who were just trying to figure out how to make the best out of the situation that they found themselves in.  Perhaps the best part of this reboot was the casting of Michael B. Jordan as the brother to Kate Mara's Sue Storm.  When his involvement in the film was first announced over two years ago, many people were skeptical.  Originally, Johnny Storm was played by Chris Evans, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed man and now Michael B. Jordan, a younger, black man was stepping into the role while Kate Mara played his blonde-haired, blue-eyed sister.  But let's face it, everyone: this is 2015.  Interracial families are pretty common at this point.  Why wouldn't they be superheroes together?  I have to say, Michael B. Jordan (and his existing friendship with Miles Teller) was probably my favorite part of the movie.  It's about time we be color-blind when casting and start giving everyone the opportunity to play the superheroes they dreamed of being as children.

The Future: While this film only made about $60 million in its opening weekend, a sequel is set for 2017, but we'll have to wait and see if it actually happens.  Until then, this film has just been released and you should catch it while it's in theatres.  You won't regret it.  It's the type of fun, exciting film that's the perfect way to beat the heat.  However, for all your hardcore Marvel-moviegoers, be aware, this is an incomplete Marvel film with no end credits scene and no Stan Lee cameo.  Looking into the future of the film, the Fantastic Four will be integrated into future films of its fellow Sony-owned Marvel friends, the X-Men.  You can catch Miles Teller reprising his role as Peter in the Divergent series' final films Allegiant Parts 1&2 due out in 2016 and 2017, respectively.  You can also see Jamie Bell  reprising his role as Tintin in The Adventures of Tintin: Prisoners of the Sun, the sequel to his 2011 computer-animated adaptation of the classic story.  Probably most nerdy of all, Toby Kebbell will play the role of Durotan in 2016's highly anticipated Warcraft film, based on the wildly-successful MMORPG World of Warcraft.