I am not going to take sides in this debate, but I do think it is awkward for T.I. to have a snitch hotline and be one of the biggest rap icons in the world.
In closing, Pimpin Ken (Who gets a lot of respect in the hip hop world) is basically taking shots at T.I. because T.I. and his group of friends call themselves the Pimp Squad Click but do not literally speak about how they are pimps/ do not actually act like pimps.
The most awkward part is that T.I. is being hated on for doing the right/legal thing!
Actors do some pretty crazy things and it's not really a secret. Some like drugs, some like to party, and others like music, which is cool, it's when they start trying to make music that the problem arises. I won't lie, I owned Big Willie Style, Willenium, AND the "Wild Wild West" single when I was younger, and some people, although I'm not one of them, like Jared Leto's band 30 Seconds to Mars. But for every success story there is Bruce Willis putting out "The Return of Bruno," or Eddie Murphy singing "Party All The Time."
What got me thinking about this was Jason Schwartzman, of the movie "Rushmore" fame, recently released his second album, titled "Davy," with his musical project Coconut Records. Schwartzman isn't a musical rookie, he was the drummer of Phantom Planet for a long time. I bought this album completely oblivious to the fact that this was in fact an actor making music and making it really well. Zooey Deschanel, from "Yes Man," was the front-woman for She & Him and their release last year received a lot of critical acclaim as well so it's not impossible for an actor to be a successful musician.
With the advent of Auto-Tune, I can just imagine more people in show business making their way into the musical world. Hell, if T-Pain can make a career out of Auto-Tune couldn't anyone else? If Kanye West can make "great art," (his words, not mine) with Auto-Tune what's stopping someone like Nicolas Cage or Julia Roberts from trying the same thing?
Point is, how do you feel about actors making music? Is it a gimmick and they're just using their names to fulfill some farfetched dream of theirs? Or is it something you support, regardless of the outcome? Personally, I'm against it in most cases. When it's obviously a gimmick, like Bruce Willis and Eddie Murphy, then I can't support someone who is obviously not musically talented taking the spot of someone who has dedicated their whole lives to music.
With the Grammys looming, I printed off the nominees and chose my winers and also who I think the winner will be in each category. In the time since the nominations were made public, I'd almost forgotten how many nominations Lil' Wayne pulled in for Tha Carter III. One of few artists who sold 2,000,000+ records or more in 2008 (especially notable in this economic times), Weezy F. Baby successfully completed his mainstream crossover.
Wayne-heads have been following Weezy obsessively via mixtapes and features since Tha Carter III. Knowing this, when Tha Carter III dropped and I saw the tracklisting, I didn't forsee such a huge commotion. Half the songs that made it onto the album have been circulating the internet and showing up on mixtapes for the last 2+ years. I could sing most of them word for word, hence I was not inclined to rush out and buy the album the second it dropped.
Was it loyalty that made people go out and buy Tha Carter III? Or was the material legitimately new to them? Or was it the annoucement of the I Am Music Tour? It was amazing if you didn't catch it. This man has done everything from killing the stage at Hot 97's Summer Jam to performing at the Country Music Awards with Kid Rock in 2008. How does he do it?! More importantly, will he do it again?
I came across this article the other day on Kings of A&R (somewhat similar to the velvet rope, but not updated as frequently; also not a forum).
The article talks about how Quincy Jones (legendary, Grammy winning producer) is yet another musician turned journalist. The article goes on to talk about how is the current slump of the newspaper world, more and more people are getting their news elsewhere before reading it in the newspaper.
Basically, the "entertain"-ment columnists (not literally though) are starting to write columns for very notable & successful papers like the Chicago Tribune, about topics that transcend their musical endeavors. Also as a way to spark interest once again (kind of stirring the pot if you will). Check out the original article from Reuters and the topic link for Kings of A&R.
I think it's interesting to see guest writers like this. Actually, its not that too old of a practice to see guest columnists from a different media background venture into the journalist/columnist world. I often remember reading "Ask Vinnie" in revolver, where readers could send in their questions for advice, or reading about a musician or actor's favorite recipe in a local paper or magazine.
I understand that Guitar Hero has become a staple in gaming world. It gives bands with great rock musicianship a new outlet (i.e. Dragon Force) for exposure. It also provides established bands a chance to gain respect with a much younger generation. As a matter of fact, I feel it’s quite an entertaining game. This game has become such a source of passing time that it shows up at parties, bars, school functions, even art gallery openings. International competitions are being held as we speak. Our age group is beginning to become known as the guitar hero generation. However, I have some major complaints that I would like to share regarding the game itself, as well as some of the major ideas it instills.
The first major issue that needs to be addressed about this game is simple. In many cases, you are not hearing the actual artist play the song itself. After doing some research, it was brought to my attention that this was done because of the difficulty of programming the games guitar mechanism to sync up with certain recordings. In other cases, it was a copyright issue. This is quite a conundrum. There are some individuals who are learning about classic staples of the rock world through what is essentially a karaoke track. Some people may say that this is not a big issue. I tend to disagree. Can you imagine hearing a MIDI version of Stairway to Heaven several hundred times before actually hearing the original? What could potentially have been a mind blowing experience would be lost forever. This has major long term implications. Listening to music requires a great sense of refinement. Developing this sense requires years of choosing the music you think is of a high caliber. By having long exposure to these “cover” tracks will greatly affect those who have yet to develop that sense. I am not talking about people who are approaching their twenties and beyond, but the group of 8 and up who play this game at near obsessive levels.
Secondly, I am going to speak about what I like to call the “Tony Hawk” effect. Skateboard culture is a wonderful thing. However, learning how to skateboard takes years of hard work and lots of scrapes and broken bones. After Tony Hawk hit stores, many were introduced to this type of culture for the first time. Everyone became very enthusiastic about the skateboard. The only issue was that this game was highly unrealistic. It is physically impossible to do nearly all of the things executed in the game in real life. Many people who loved the game picked up a board, and were amazed to find themselves not being able to kickflip within first few days of riding. Thus discouraged, went back to living their dream through fantasy. The same type of effect is happening with guitar hero. I am a guitarist of 12 years. I cannot play guitar because I am so used to playing the actual instrument itself. What is going to happen to all of the younger individuals immersed in guitar culture who have no idea the amount of time and dedication it takes to master a real instrument? By living through fantasy, you are condemning a potential reality.
I by no means am trying to completely bash guitar hero. I would just rather see more people striving for musical excellence, rather than opting out.
They are not teaming up otherwise the world will end immediately.
This is follow up to the amazing auto tuned voice blog!
Yes, auto tune is being used to the extreme lately (I've been on the other side of this argument before). Many artists use some sort of pitch correction to fix everything from intonation to a wrong note when the perfect tone and emotion was present in a take. Moving on.
What I am not understanding is the Jonas Brothers. At least in regards to how the record sounds. I constantly question if those are real instruments, but that's besides the point. When have you ever heard a drum kit sound like that in person? (let me know if you have, I've been trying for years). There are no dynamics other than the fade ins and outs. No emotion. Everything is too perfect. To a person with ocd, the CD is a dream come true... or not.
Now lets move over to the same year... Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. They recorded in a top studio (Sage And Sound). Plant could've gotten ANY sound he wanted. Even the same sound that the Jonas Brothers achieved (my apologies Mr. Plant). BUT, he chose the natural sound of the instruments. 'Earthy' could be the term used, only because we have to come up with something to describe natural sound because we've forgotten what that is.
Maybe it's not all about slamming the audio file through the roof the produce the loudest, hottest, hippest, *_____* record. Maybe it's about the music, the sounds, the message and the heart (not the kind of jeans they're wearing or the instruments they are endorsing).
I have friend who was a successful recording engineer in the "pop" world (Eric Clapton, B-52's, P-Diddy, REM, Frank Zappa, Mary J Blige, Notorious BIG, to name only a few). One of his reasons for leaving that world was because of the lack of dynamics and musicality.
Maybe I'm a sarcastic person who watched a little too much Lewis Black growing up, but which artist has more emotion? Which one evokes more emotion from the listener? Who is nominated for Album of The Year and Record of The Year?
There's a reason for that. (take a listen to Herbie Hancock's album, River - The Joni Letters)
I could go on forever about this duo and the show (and I hope someone does at some point... dibs?), but this is just a quick post about the upcoming premiere of the show's second season.
Last night, I went to a free screening of the premiere episode, which shows on HBO this Sunday, January 18th. Highly highly recommend it. I went to the screening with several friends, some who were huge fans and some who had never seen or heard of the show/them, and everyone loved it. Worth checking it out if you haven't, and definitely worth watching if you're a fan.
Also, they're running a promotion right now where you can submit a video online of you lip syncing to "Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros," and the best ones will be shown on HBO. We tried it at the premiere but I'm pretty sure we failed horribly. Check it out: http://www.flightlipdub.com/
Music is, and always has been, a very social experience.I know I’ve made several friends by bonding over music at concerts, at parties, in dorms; hell, I had a whole conversation with a woman over elevator music once when we got stuck (the music, thankfully, had turned off).With the internet a secure part of our daily lives, it was only a matter of time before those social connections through music made it to the web.While most of the attention has focused on the uproar around illegal downloading sites, what interests me is the legal stuff- the sites like last.fm, Lala, and Pandora where users can stream music, share what they’re listening to, and browse the selections and recommendations of other users.
A recent article from CNN looks at the newest surge of music sharing as it spreads around the internet.The article mentions several ways users can now broadcast their music interests, like the “now listening” feature on Skype or status updates on Facebook, Twitter, and the music-oriented Blip.fm. What caught my eye was the mention towards the end of the article about a new company called Jook.
(Random sidenote: I don’t know how familiar you are with Asian cuisine, but “jook,” also known as “congee,” is a common kind of rice porridge: an odd association, and probably the first reason why this company caught my eye.)
Jook has created technology for headphones and music players that allows a listener to broadcast what they’re playing and allows others near them to listen in.You can change the mode that your headphones are in from “Me” mode (normal headphones setting, completely private) to “Us” mode (you are broadcasting whatever song you’re listening to) to “U” mode (you are listening to someone else’s music).A light on the headphones changes color to indicate what mode a listener is in.
The company explains on their website that they are trying to bring back the social aspect of music, as personal MP3 players are rather solitary experiences.Their intent was to allow the social sharing of music in an easier and more universal way than speakers or splitting a pair of ear buds.
I still haven’t fully processed my reaction to this.At the very least, it will be interesting to see if the idea can gain popularity in the future.I think I’m mostly curious to see how much this technology will cost the consumer. And hoping I won't be broadcasting to others when shuffle pulls up some of the more embarrassing songs in my collection.
With the creation of the DVR, I now have the ability to watch any TV show I want at anytime. Let me say this to you all now, "Hi, My name is Amanda Cox and I am a TV-aholic." I admit, I probably watch about 15 different television shows with my roommates while we do homework, hang out, or even just have shows running when people are over.
Something I have noticed that really has drawn me into television series lately is how great all of the background soundtracks are. There are a few shows that come into mind that have interesting artists on their episodes. Some shows include Gossip Girl, Chuck, 90210, Grey's Anatomy, and Cold Case among many others. I found this website a while back called Tune Find. (http://www.tunefind.com/) If you have ever wondered what track had played on what episode of the show you were watching, check out this site.
I know I have personally found artists because of my excessive TV habit and it makes me happy to hear WEA artists being played on primetime spots. Gossip Girl alone has played Bloc Party, Death Cab for Cutie, Jenny Lewis, and Phantom Planet during their current season. Chuck (produced by Josh Swartz) plays a variety of independent and upcoming artists, and 90210 has played The Raconteurs, Death Cab for Cutie, Cute is What We Aim For, The Virgins, Jason Mraz, and Carolina Liar.
Though some of the shows might not be something you enjoy to watch, pay attention to what music is being played in the background. Sometimes I feel that the music really gives the scene a whole new light and really adds so much emphasis to the storyline. I am no critic when it comes to television, but I really enjoy the new emergence of background soundtracks to all of my shows.
I wanted to share this blog series on Velvet Rope(if you haven't checked out this site, just read a couple forum posts and you'll see some of the funniest view points on pop culture and the music industry.) entitled Belly of the Beast that recounts Jack Ponti's life in the music biz.
In between anecdotes involving his regular encounters with "A Night At the Opera" producer Roy Thomas Baker, Ahmet Ertegun, and his former bandmate Jon Bon Jovi, Ponti creates a personal narrative that really puts you in every situation he brings up as his career evolves.
It's chronological so start from the beginning with a preface.
I know I'm not the only one who is tired of this but I'll say it so other's don't have to, enough with the Auto-tuner...please! Considering the alarming rate that artists such as T-pain, Lil' Wayne and even Kanye are played on the radio, it is hard to be listening to you're local hip hop radio station and not hear an artists whining or mumbling into a microphone with the auto-tuner effect over it. It might have sounded cool and fresh the first 10 thousand times T-pain did it, but it's time to give it a rest.
I've become so annoyed with the auto-tuner sound I have to turn the station every time I hear a song that features this "new effect" and pray that it hasn't yet crossed over to other genres (can you imagine Metallica with auto-tuner? The thought sends chills down my spine, and not in a good way). I am increasingly convinced with every new song that I hear with this effect that it is now just being used to give the illusion of singing talent. You've heard the in-audible mumbles of both Kanye and Lil' Wayne on their newest albums.It's a good thing lyrics are included in the cd jackets or we may never had known what they are saying (gives incentive to buy the physical copy instead of the single off of iTunes).
I know at this point it will still sell records and there are people out there who aren't as annoyed with it yet as much I am. That being said, I can't be too mad at the artist for "striking while the iron is hot" so to speak. However, I will be heavily anticipating the day that rappers stop trying to sing and put that twangy effect over their voices. I know I'm not alone in this anticipation, so while we wait check out this SNL sketch with Andy Sandburg ft. Ludacris and T-pain. Apparently they even know auto-tuner is rediculous.
Cheers, Roon
Because NBC doesn't allow their videos to be shared I had to use a you tube video. If you want to just see the regular sketch use this link(http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/blizzard-man/848723/). Otherwise, this is an interview done my MC Search formerly of the 1990's rap group 3rd Base. He ask's Ludacris about Sandburg's skills.
The inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were announced. Metallica and Run-D.M.C are two of the acts that will be inducted in April. Both of these groups are extremely talented and deserve to be recognized. What artists that have come on the music scene since 2006 do you feel will be future nominees?
I had the chance to be interviewed for the local paper about the resurgence in vinyl just recently. Talking about why and what customers are buying, future of, etc. (this was apart of my job working at the indie record store).
It was an interesting discussion about how over the holiday it was a huge seller for the store where I work at. Not like a few pieces over the course of the week, but a dozen a day going out the door. Watching people dig through the bins for that lost album they had as a kid or discovering something completely new like the "Figure 8" 180 gram repressing from Elliott Smith, a picture disc for "Sgt. Pepper" by the Beatles, or that super deluxe Metallica "Death Magnetic" 5 LP set with CD combination...oh heaven.
What's even better was noticing more and more younger kids/adults buying vinyl this year. And I'm not talking like teenagers or 20 somethings picking up a stack here and there but 8 & 10 year old kids walking up to the counter with stack of gems like Marvin Gaye, the Smiths, Toby Redd and others. It' simple sets me back in awe. Sure, some are buying to collect them, others to play. Whatever the case, it's just amazing to see the pickup in vinyl increase steady every year.
Me, I love vinyl. Everything about it. I collect it. I play it. I marvel at the shear greatness and sound that simple piece of plastic-vinyl material produces every time I drop the needle down. Playing vinyl is a zen moment for me. With a CD, you just pop it in and press play & then forget about it. But vinyl is such a tediously loving project of flipping from side to side, placing the needle down on the track you want to hear, and protecting the record with plastic dust sleeves and shelves. It's become something to respect and love for me.
I find it great reading articles and see stories about vinyl. Watching all the attention that this once forgotten medium is getting now. Seeing how vinyl sales were huge this year, up 50% from reports I read, it doesn't look like it's going away any time soon. If anything, I only hope that it can continue the trend of people going out and buying a record pressing of the favorite artist or album.
My favorite quote that I've read about vinyl sums it up best: "You can't roll a joint on a download".
For young music enthusiasts, it is easy to spend hours online checking out bands and albums. Lala, Myspace, Pandora, Last FM, take your pick, they all offer more music than you could ever listen to, right at your fingertips.
I had to spend hours on the phone though. For the same reason, to hear new bands and records. The high-speed Internet boom hadn't emerged, and I was too young to drive to record stores. If I was lucky, I might hear a few new bands on the radio each week, or catch a new MTV Buzz Bin act. That was until 1-800-Music-Now hit the market.
What more could I ask for? An automated music store with samples of every album imaginable. My friends and I were hooked, we would call almost every day. We would listen to every band we were curious about in the BMG Record Club catalog, then listen to the opening acts for every band coming to town. 1-800-Music-Now was an audio encyclopedia of music for us.
I never bought a record from them though, and I don't think many people did, they were gone within a year or so. Recently, it really hit me that they were a little bit ahead of their time. If they started a few years later and sold ringtones and digital files delivered directly to handsets, I think they may have really had chance.
These days, there are a flood of new ideas, and nobody is certain what direction formats and distribution will go. Maybe the answer isn't that far off from where things are now though. 1-800-Music-Now was an attempt at selling music in a new way before it was a necessity, but maybe if they stuck it out the mp3/ringtone revolution would have caught up.
I knew that it was only a matter of time before the supposed physical "replacement" to the CD would come, but will it be enough to overcome the ground that digital downloads have gained in the last couple of years? Like any new technology, only time will be able to tell whether the idea of HD Sound recordings will catch on with the general public.
For many of us, I think its fairly easy to appreciate what superior sound quality can do for any listening experience, but until I hear what one is like, I won't be placing any bets on it (this coming from the kid who thought that Mini Disc's were the next "it" thing haha) I definitely feel that with time, like Blu-Ray, there could be a market for it, the question is whether it will be large enough to make a difference.
