Monday, May 4, 2009

Is This Goodbye?

Sadly, I believe this is goodbye. I have merged with my fellow friend and blogger, Digger. If you're sad don't be. The new blog is going to have all the usual goodies that I post plus Digger's fresh perspective. We're even going to be adding a few more writers, one being my friend Ian. So get ready and get ready to add a new bookmark because your new favorite blog is, Digital Hygiene. It's going to be fantastic. There is already two free music downloads up, The Cool Kids mixtape, "Gone Fishing" and new artist Jade's EP, "It's My Heart, Cookie." So get your butts over to Digital Hygiene and make it a daily habit. This has truly been a pleasure and the response has been overwhelming. In just a short time I got over 1,000 page views which was awesome. All right, see ya guys and remember, Let Love Rule!

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Let The Beat Build.

In case you didn't know, this is a cover of a song by Lil Wayne. This video was filmed in one take, with audio being recorded simultaneously with the film. The video features Nyle and is produced by Last Pictures and 194 Recordings.

Nyle "Let The Beat Build" from Nyle on Vimeo.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Hacking Democracy.

Hacking Democracy is a documentary made to bring awareness to problems surrounding our voting system. With the formation of new technologies, voting ballots have been started to get counted electronically. This has raised some serious questions about voter fraud and election rigging. In the film they found about that the company in charge of all the electronic voting machines, Diebold, had terrible security measures on their software. In fact, hackers were able to change vote totals within about a minute. They didn't even have to use a password to log in and change to totals. There were simply ways to work around the log in, which is a very scary to think about. While this is a concern, it would be relatively easy to pick up on if the voter total didn't match the amount of votes cast. That's why this next part is the most frightening bit of data. The memory cards that are used for the voting machines can be manipulated to take votes away from one candidate while giving the other more. So to make sure it doesn't effect the total votes they simply would just take say 5 votes away from one candidate and give the other 5 additional votes.

I am downright stunned. Yeah everyone makes mistakes, but when you run a business that is responsible for tallying the votes for presidential elections, this is inexcusable. Either these guys are really dumb and don't know what their doing or it has been done on purpose. I'd like to think that our government puts sufficient thought into contracting people for the job. It appears they dropped the ball on this one. Diebold needs to be held accountable. They need to secure their software so that the votes are tallied correctly and aren't open to outsiders to potentially hack and change the results of an election. This shouldn't even be an issue we should have to talk about.

Turbo - TDouble?

I'm unsure on what this young emcee actually goes by. It's either Turbo or TDouble. Either way, I'm on board. I just saw this video he put together and became an instant fan. Check it, then go to his myspace.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Passion Pit - "The Reeling"


Here is a band that you might have heard of by now called, Passion Pit. I coped their Ep, "Chunk of Change," a tad over a month ago and have had a fantastic time exploring it. My immediate favorite song was "Sleepyhead," but their are other greats like "Smile Upon Me" and "Better Things." Turns out I'm not a lone fan of these dude from the Boston area. Turns out everyone has been hyping the shit of these guys even picking them as their "band of 2009." While Passion Pit is great, and brings new sound to the table, I wont be so quick on my judgement. There is a lot of 2009 left to go people, who knows what's in store. So this post is mainly supposed to be about Passion Pit's new video/song debut called "The Reeling." The video and the song are both excellent. If the Ep wasn't quite selling you on Passion Pit, I think "The Reeling makes a strong case for you to go out and buy their debut album, Manners on May 19th. I believe I will be. So let me get my SNL host on right now. Ladies and gentleman, Passion Pit.


Passion Pit - The Reeling from Smoke My Tabaco on Vimeo.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

So You Think You're Fly?


When Theophilus London steps into the room you'll surely be outdone. Theo's signature cutout camera chain says it all. But it doesn't stop there. He does some pretty super hip-hop as well. So super, that some are even saying that he is laying the groundwork for the resurrection of good hip-hop. Me personally, would not consider myself a hip-hop fanatic. But Theo has definitely captured my attention. With the help of label mate, Machinedrum (normrex), Theo has put together two fantastic mixtapes. The first mixtape embodies a Michael Jackson theme, appropriately titled, Jam! The second one draws influence from his early influences like Whitney Houston and The Smiths. Hence "This Charming Mixtape," a play on The Smiths song, "This Charming Man," for the title of mixtape number two. In the large scope, I've been really impressed with the production of mixtapes that have come out in past year or so. We've seen Charles Hamilton an almost redundant amount of mixtapes with the "Hamiltonization Process" and then also with Kid CuDi's "Man on the Moon." Theo's "Jam!" and "This Charming Mixtape" deserve to be in the same category and I would even put him a notch above Kid CuDi. Mixtapes have become a super marketing tool for these artists, which has benefited both the listener and the artist because they are free and gives people something to bump in anticipation to their new album. Personally I think they work the best for artist making their debut. Just a hype machine. So mixtapes are great and so is Theophilus London. He actually just came out with his debut album last week called "This Charming Man." Since I just recently started listening to Theo I haven't had a chance to fully explore his mixtapes yet, so I'm going to wait to purchase this for a little while. If it's anything like his mixtapes we should all be in for a treat. I'll end this by quoting Theo and giving some much appreciated love to all of you for sticking with this blog. "This one's for my day one fans."

Here's a sweet ass song called "Hum Drum"

Monday, April 20, 2009

Live Show Review: Pomegranates.


First off, Pomegranates like to do what I describe as "Rock The Party." Not is so much of a literal sense, although they definitely demonstrated that the could last night, but in more of a every day type of use. Like for example....

Some Person: Hey man are you ready to go to the grocery store?

Me: Yeah dude, let's rock the party.

Now that my crash course on "Rock The Party" is complete let's get to how rad Pomegranates are. I've been itching to see how these fellows sound live and to my delight, they played at 7th Street Entry last night, which if I could have chosen prior to, would have been my venue of choice. Off to a great start. The only thing that sort of bummed me out was the number of people in attendance...around 20. But it turned out to be ok. Poms played like it was a sellout crowd. Appreciated. I don't think they actually told the audience who they were until about 4 song in. Instead they introduced themselves under a few different alias' like 3 ninjas plus one for example. There were a few others that I can't currently recall, but awesome non the less. With exception to the drummer, the other three rotated instruments playing guitar, bass and the keys throughout the show. What an added bonus to know that these guys are super talented musicians on top of playing ridiculously fun music. They even pulled a dude out of the crowd to play the tambourine for the last song. Overall these guys blew me away. I went in expecting a good show, but they far exceeded my expectations despite a small turnout. To put the icing on the cake they seemed super genuine too. I got to meet/talk to Joey after the show and was a super cool dude. He even said that despite the small showing, that this was the most fun that they've had on tour thus far. Their performance surely seemed to reflect that. Wow, so I realize I've just been gushing about this band, but there is one final thing that made this night fantastic. Instead of t-shirts, they were selling aprons. I coped one, and am definitely going to get the BBQ going.

Notes:
-Their album "Everyone, Come Outside!" just came out so buy it baby. You won't be disappointed.
-Wye Oak headlined the show and was pretty rad. The guy counterpart in the band played the drums with one hand while playing the bass on the keyboard with the other. Crazy.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Merger?

So dialogue has been exchanged. Me and my fellow friend and blogger, Digger, are thinking about collaborating on a new blog. Nothing would change except for the name and you would get you daily dose of Digger and I both without having to leave the page. Check out Diggers Blog and let me know what you think. I'm pretty sure it's going to go down, we just have a think of a fresh name for the new blog. As for this blog I think I still might update it for a while, but will probably end up going full time on the new blog. Well until it's official I'll keep you all posted. Let love rule.

-J

Friday, April 17, 2009

Facing Ali.

Facing Ali is a movie about the greatest fighter to ever live, Muhammad Ali. This looks awesome. Can't wait to see it.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Bruno Trailer.

For all of you that loved Borat, Sasha Baron Cohen has been hard at work with his next outrageous film, Bruno. Bruno is another character from his HBO series, Da Ali G Show in which he plays a homosexual male from Austria. If you thought Borat was edgy, wait until you see Bruno. Believe it or not he probably gets himself into more trouble playing Bruno than Borat, most likely explained because of our countries ignorance and brutality towards homosexuals. Anyways, on this films first submission to the MPAA it received a rating of NC-17, which will be required to be cut down to R to be released by Universal. Here is the first trailer for the movie.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Live HP Trailer Stream!

Who wants to watch the live HP trailer stream from the half blood prince tomorrow at 7pm. Ummmmm I DO! You can watch it live on my this very blog. Just tune in tomorrow at said time. Get excited people!!!!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Kenna, Lupe, JT to Climb Mt. Kilimanjaro.


According to MTV news this is the real deal people. Star Track label mate Kenna has recruited Lupe Fiasco and Justin Timberlake to climb the tallest mountain in Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro, in an effort to bring awareness to the worldwide water crisis. The three are planning on climbing this fall so hopefully they will try to document their journey on film. From the sounds of it, they all seem pretty content on trying to be the first one to the top. For music sake, let's hope that their journey is safe one. We can't afford to lose any of these wonderful gentleman. I'm glad this is for a good cause and I can't wait to see how this unfolds.

Jordan.

I have to agree with Digger. This is the best ad of all time. Check out his blog here.

Monday, April 13, 2009

I'm On Twitter.

A few months ago I started using the fastest growing social networking site on the web, Twitter. I was always a hater of Twitter, but if you haven't tried it than I don't think your opinion is as legitimate. Subsequently I joined up and I think that I can form a concrete opinion on this relatively new phenomenon. The results are in and Twitter passed the test. Believe the hype. Over the past couple of months I've spent tweeting I've really enjoyed it. It is the first social networking site, shit, the first anything to allow you an inside look at celebrities, who are in some cases your god damn idols. Some of the people I follow are John Mayer, P Diddy, Ellen, Rev Run, Shaq, Martha Stewart, Jimmy Fallon, N.E.R.D. along with many others including friends. Twitter is also a great way to get up to the second news by following the New York Times, CNN, or NPR for example. While this is all great there are some things that I wish I could improve in my Twitterverse. In order to really engage with this new technology a mobile phone with a twitter application is essential (i.e. an iPhone or Blackberry). You can tweet from your cell phone, I think you have to pay standard texting fees and I don't think you are able to see other people tweets. I do all my tweeting from either my iPod Touch or from my computer. I still enjoy this method of using Twitter, but having an iPhone would make the Twitter experience even cooler. Another thing about Twitter is that the more friends you have using it, the more fun it becomes. I only have a few friends that I follow and likewise. However, it's still fun. Sorry if this is written really poorly. I just got a mondo headache about half way through and at this point I'm just trying to complete it. Anyways my verdict was in favor of the good people at Twitter. Go and use it, you'll probably enjoy it. You don't even have to tweet yourself just get on and follow your favorite celebrities or use it as a news source. In order to make your Twitter transition easier you can go ahead and follow me as a template.
My Twitter Page Hope you see you all on there!

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Japanese Cartoon.

Japanese Cartoon is a band on the up and coming label 1st and 15 Entertainment started by Lupe Fiasco. There is a lot of uncertainty behind this band because everybody thinks that the singer in the band is Lupe Fiasco using an english accent and a fake name, Percival Fats. Despite the band refuting this with a blog post, it does sounds exactly like Lupe. I'll believe them for now, but I wont be surprised if he does turn out to be Lupe himself. Besides all of this idendity shenanigans, Japanese Cartoon is actually quite good. I'm pretty pumped for their debut album that doesn't have a projected release date but I'll be sure to update you guys if I hear anything about it.

Here is their song Heirplanes.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

New Releases - 4/7/09

There are many releases today worthy of a purchase. Example, The Veils have a new album out along with Bat For Lashes, Telikenesis, and The Thermals. However none of them stand out more than the brilliantly named, Dananananaykroyd. I heard about these guys a while back through their band friends, Los Campesinos! I'm quite sure I will be buying this album today, despite my struggling bankroll. The song you should listen to first is 'Black Wax.' I've provided you with the video. I don't care if you like Dananananaykroyd or not, it's Tuesday. (i.e. release day) So go out there and support good music and get yourself an album on one of the most exceptional release dates of 09'.

Friendly Fires - 'Skeleton Boy'

If you like the band Friendly Fires and if you like their song 'Skeleton Boy,' then do I have a deal for you. Their video for the song is the iTunes free video of the week, so if you're interested click here to go and get it. Below I've posted said video.

Chester French.

I've never taken Chester French seriously, mainly because I don't think they are that great. Pharrell, to his credit, has believed in this band for probably over a year now. In result, they signed with Star Trak, P and Hugo's label in which was probably one fatty deal. I've been dodging this band for months because to be honest, I thought they were average. Not a lot has changed since then, but I think their single 'She Loves Everybody' is solid. Well, at least solid enough to reserve their single a spot on the average listeners iPod. By the way, these kids went to Harvard. What's up with that?

Monday, April 6, 2009

Let's go State!

So my friend and fellow blogger Digger made a brilliant post earlier this morning. Hit it up at the jump. Be sure to read his blog too. The man has skills. Check It.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Phoenix.

I'm not going to say much about this band because if you pay attention to music at all you're going to hear about this band very soon. Despite their band name and lyrics, this band is from France. I first heard about Phoenix from the release of their last album "It's Never Been Like That." I only have one song off it and I think it's because they were featured on the iTunes free song of the week a while back. Anyways this band is really good and I'm sure have the industry wangs licking their chops. With their recent performance on SNL this weekend with host Seth Rogan they are going to get catapulted into the limelight. Be prepared for these Frenchies to invade your iPods/radios, unless they already have...

Here is Phoenix on SNL this weekend performing new songs "1901" and "Lisztomania" off their new album due out in May.



The Antlers.


Soooooo I'm excited to let you all know about this album I purchased this morning. It's called "Hospice," and it's by The Antlers. I heard the song 'bear' on Pitchfork's track reviews and was pretty floored. While I usually find myself disgusted with Pitchfork, they do review relevant music even know they don't have any idea what they are talking about most of the time. The Antlers happened to be a very relevant band. After listening to the album straight through I cannot recall one single song that disappointed me. One thing required of you as a listener is to listen to the entire song that I'm going to post. The Antlers might seem super mellow and moody but their songs have a tendency to shape shift. Yes, shape shift. I don't want to guarantee that you will like this album, but this album is full of songs worthy of an extensive amount of spin. Songs like 'Shiva,' the aforementioned 'Bears,' 'Kettering' and the 8 minute gem 'Wake' stand out on first listen. But the whole album was a very smooth full listen through. At no point was I reaching to skip a song. I have a feeling this album will be sticking around in my iPod for quite a while. The song embedded is called 'Kettering" it's one of the better ones on the album.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Bon Iver

So I've posted about Bon Iver multiple times, but do you blame me? They're from my home town for fuck sake. So I was looking through some you tube videos because Bon Iver is amazing live and bumped into a pretty good (sound quality) version whilst getting my faced tubed for a bit. So if you haven't seen Bon Iver live yet they are amazing. I was pretty floored by the whole set, but if I had to chose a song that stuck out for me it would be creature fear. Peep this now.

Yikes.

Well hello there blogfaces. Don't worry, I didn't forget about you. I've just been occupied with shit that's definitely not as important as you all. This next week I'm going to hit the blog hardcore. There are like 4 shows worth seeing this weekend which would be totally rad if I could make it to all of them. Unfortunately only one concert will be graced with my presence. Wow that was arrogant. So incase you haven't heard of the crazy awesome fun going on this weekend I'll provide the details for you.

Tonight.
-Headlights play at the Nomad World Pub on cedar ave.
-Rouge Buddha Art gallery is again hosting the Scion art tour deal. I went last year and it was dope. They will have free Colt 45's wine, non-alcoholic beverages and food. It's from 7-11. If you want to hang out with me tonight that's where I'll be.
-Lookbook is opening up for Junior Boys at First Ave. main room tonight. I still need to see lookbook live. They have many other dates coming up soon at a much cheaper price. Thats cool they get to play main room though. Yay!

Tomorrow.
-Los Campesino! play at the Fine Line Cafe. I forget who they are playing with. I actually just started listening to these guys. I like them and read their blog because it's awesome, but I'm going to opt for.....
-Say Hi... (To Your Mom) at 7th St. Entry, my favorite venue in the cities. They have cheap PBR tall boys until 11 and the venue is just the bomb. Great place to see new upcoming bands before they sell out (hahahahaha totally kiding lol omg.) Anyways a band called Telekinesis is opening up for them. I own one of their songs and totally dig it so I'm hoping I'll just get blow away at this show. Plus I don't own any Say Hi... but I have listened to their myspace and they seem sweet. Oh, and the show is only 6 bucks. Hell yes.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Skateboard P

Gotta love P singing the old 80's McDonalds commercial tune.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Pomegranates.


I don't recall posting about these young chaps hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio, but if I did who gives a shit. The Pomegranates are that good. Funny story. I have actually bought their first full length album 2 or 3 times now because it mysteriously disappeared off my computer multiple times. That's what I get for buying music on iTunes. But I have an external hard drive now. It's quite large and can hold all my beautiful ear whisperers just like Noah's Ark held beautiful animals of all walks. Wow what a terrible metaphor, but I do this in life all the time so why try and come up with awesome ones for the blog. Well my ADD has led me astray, but lets stay the course, 1,000 points of light (I think my roommate might be the only person that truly appreciates that joke). Exibit A, the feature film, disney on ice.... 'Everybody, Come Outside!' is the Pomegrantes second full length release and it truly rocks the party. The first 2 seconds (it's a crazy little fluttering guitar bit) of the first track "Corriander" can pretty much sum up Pomegranates in a nut shell. They use their guitars in a very disticnt way, which easily distiguishes Pomegranates from others, but their vocals are equally effective at this. The rest of the album does not disappoint. Each track makes its own mark and they transition nicely together to make one beautiful cohesive album. Personally I think the album is good enough to listen to straight through every time. However, there are stand out tracks. "Sleepover," "Svaatzi Uutsi" and "Jerusalem Has A Bad Day" are all excellent, but like I said earlier the whole album is terrific so don't just settle for these. Develop your own favorites. These are mine damnit. Jk, I'm just funin'.

By the way. Their album isn't supposed to come out until April 14th. They have made it available for purchase digitally though! So go buy it right now. Plus the play right here in Minneapolis on April 19th at First Ave. 7th Street Entry with Wye Oak. Don't miss it. I hear their live show is fantastic.

Be sure to check out their myspace

Here's a track off their debut album 'Everything Is Alive." It's called "Whom/Who."

J. Period Mixtape - Q Tip.



Yo! Go download this mixtape. It's free and fresh. I just gave it a full listen through. Tip actually shares some really cool stories throughout the mixtape that give some really cool insight on Tribe, hip hop, and influences.

Click here for the download.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Kanye + Complex = The New Standard.

So as you may have heard by now Kanye is on the cover of Complex magazine. It might be one of the craziest covers I've ever seen and is definitely one of the most innovative. Apparently they use these crazy laser scan and super rad cameras to get a 3D scan of his body and then the end product you see is all compute graphics or something like that. Anyways the video below does a much better job at describing the technical details that went into developing the cover and all of the other photos. Also, this is another chance for you to better understand where Ye is coming from. He has some cool things to say. I learned a bit. Enjoy...

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Kanye @ SXSW.

Like I said, Kanye was going to make an appearance at SXSW. That's exactly what happened. Kid KuDi was doing his set at Levi's Fort Fader with Ye making an appearance for G.O.O.D. Music.

View it here.

I never said that it would be a great performance, it's just proof that he was there.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Lookbook.


Lookbook = my new current obsession. Well maybe not entirely obsessed, but for sure one of the songs, 'Believe the Hype.' Lookbook is a two piece band from Minneapolis, Minnesota. They are both formaly members of the band Digitata, which you may or not be familiar with. For one reason or another the band split and the remaining two members formed Lookbook. They actually played a show at 7th street entry the other night before leaving for SXSW. I missed it. Not smile times, but if it is anything like the Digitata shows used to be I'm sure it was stellar. Anywhoooo, go to their myspace and check out the song 'Believe the Hype' first, you'll be hooked. This is pretty cliche of me, but if you were driving someplace desolate during the night this might be one of the best songs to fire up. I just recently purchased their 7 song album, which is solid, but no song comes close to topping 'Believe the Hype.' Lookbook is the Minneapolis underground music scene at its best and I hope they kill it at SXSW. I thought Digitata deserved my press than they got so hopefully they'll pull a Bon Iver and blow the doors off the bitch. A little side note - Maggie Morrison, the vocalist in Lookbook, is from Eau Claire and is friends with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver. So the idea of Lookbook rackin' up some spins nationally is a very realistic possibility.

Lookbook

Sunday, March 15, 2009

La Blogotheque.

La Blogotheque is somewhat of a mystery to me. Being from France much of their information is in french. This presents a bit of an obstacle when trying to figure out adequate information. One thing can be determined. Their 'A Take Away Show' segment is unbelievable. It's the mecca of live indie music performances. Not only do they take the bands out on the streets of Paris, they mic them up so the sound quality is studio-like. Below is a few of my favorite performaces so far. The bands they have worked with so far is in the range of 70 - 90, so I haven't come close to seeing them all. I've just watched the bands that I've heard of so far. Below are a few of them that I enjoyed (Noah and the Whale, Fleet Foxes, and The National), but don't let it limit you. Check out their blog yourself at the jump.

La Blogotheque




Fleet Foxes - A Take Away Show from La Blogotheque on Vimeo.

Friday, March 13, 2009

I gotta go...Holy Balls!

I snagged this from the bbc blog. I don't think I'd have a hard time peeing in this bathroom. Quite scary.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Kanye West to Perform at SXSW.

I'm going to go ahead and break this story before those dickbags at pitchfork. Ye is going to be performing at SXSW. Don't ask me how I know, I just do. Of course this isn't official yet, but do I really need to lie to you? SXSW is taking place next week so keep your eyes out for some youtube footage. In case you didn't know what SXSW is, I believe it's the biggest music festival in the US and if I'm not mistaken, the world. It takes place in Austin, Texas and apparently is a killer time. I'll go some day.

Are You Ready??????


I promised happy posts. This one's going to flood. I'm so happy right now I can barely stand the amount of time it's going to take me to write up this post. You know that your mind can think at more than double or maybe even triple the speed at which you can talk or write or type for that matter. I want that kind of speed damnit. So lets get to the content. Drumroll..........White Lies. Yes, that's the name of the band you HAVE to check out. So I heard about them from my favorite music publication, Clash Magazine out of the UK. I proceeded to check out their myspace, which by the way has one of the coolest layouts i've seen in a while. So what's so cool about this band? Well lets just say that I knew I was in love with this band a mere 4 seconds into the first track I listened to, 'Farewell to the Fairground.' Apparently these guys are just the beans across the pond (yes we can refer to Europe this way as well. suck it) and are expected to be considered for album of the year. Probably not by the big music industry wangs, but most certainly respectable publications such as Clash. Now as I'm writing this I've only listened to about three of their tracks so far. The best of them all so far is 'Farewell to the Fairground' the track that sucked me in. I'd post the video for it but they have disabled the embedding. Kind of shitty. Instead, I'll throw down the url for your convenience. Well I think I've blabbed enough. Just check them out. If your ears work properly you should hopefully agree that they aren't terrible.

Farewell to the Fairground - Watch it in HD fools.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Digital Divide.

I last talked about the problem of internet addiction. That might seem a little more relatable than the next issue of the digital divide. The digital divide is defined as the gap between those who have access to information and communication technologies and those who don't. This is especially prominent in Africa, which in some parts remain decades behind the rest of the world in the digital frontier. To think that somebody cannot stroll over to their local coffee shop and pick up a wifi connection with their laptop seems pretty bizarre, but yes, there are places that do not have the internet, like Africa.

Many people have have identified this as a major issue, which it is. In order for us to help less fortunate nations technology is a necessity. Technology is so crucial because it is our most legitimate shot at being able to educate a population, especially while they are young. There are companies and individuals that are devoting their lives to this cause like One Laptop Per Child (OLPC). Their mission is by through donations they will be able to provide one laptop per child in Africa in order to give them the tools and skills (especially education) they need to succeed around the world. Below you can view a video that will better articulate their message in an animated video!

You may think that the digital divide is only an issue in Africa, but it is more than likely happening in your own community. In a country where more and more information and services are being merged onto the web the demand to get everyone synced in very large. Minorities tend to be most effected by the digital divide and in order for us to be united as a nation we need to come up with a solution to get everyone on the internet that wants to be.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

612 Clothing.

Time to rant again. 612 Clothing, what a joke. From my understanding they are kind of a big deal around here in Minneapolis for no good reason. Probably the least innovative shit I've seen in a long time. Here's an idea, lets call our company 612 because its our area code so we can represent son! Really? First off it's just a horrible business strategy. Who is going to want to represent 612 or a minneapolis skyline on their shirt ANYWHERE OTHER THAN MINNEAPOLIS. Way to limit your demographic. If you want to be taken seriously as clothing designers, which I hope is your goal, change your company name and stop putting Minneapolis landmarks on your T-shirts.
Sorry if I offended anybody. It's just that these are no better than tourist shirts that end up becoming your painters T's after a month. Check it out for yourself at the jump. Feel free to disagree. I may be completely off, but I doubt it.

612 Clothing

Again, sorry the posts have been a little angry. I haven't been in a good mood lately. Happy posts are on the way. New band BLK JKS from South Africa. Yay!

Monday, March 9, 2009

Internet Addiction.

Internet addictions is apparently something that has become a problem, especially in China. Having the most Internet users out of any country in the world (290 million) is a big reason why. 4 to 6 percent of the population is estimated to be addicts and more than 13 percent of them are college students. In order to qualify as an "addict," as a college student you need to spend over 6 hours online doing non-school related activities. Hard feat... There are even adults that are addicted to the internet China, which is mainly because of online gaming like "Audition." It's an online dancing game for those of you who weren't aware. One lady apparently accrued 68 internet husbands. Malarkey I say! Now for my thoughts on the matter.

My initial thoughts about internet addiction is that it's about as real as unicorns, but after thinking about it critically I take back my quick conclusion. After reading about this article I don't deny that it's a real issue. I just find it hard to understand how somebody could let it go far enough to take over their social life. Personally I think that I'm probably addicted to the internet. However, I use it for vastly different purposes than the example group in the article based out of the internet addiction rehab center in China. For instance, I like to think that the main reason I utilize the internet is for information. Not that I don't use it for recreation (i.e. I don't have cable tv so I watch a lot of my favorite shows on Hulu), I just like to think that I wouldn't use the internet nearly as much if it wasn't a good opportunity to heighten my knowledge on a vast rage of topics. Because after all, people keep saying knowledge is power, right? Plus my personal belief is that if you don't stay up on your internet, your going to suffer socially. Keeping your internet hours up heightens your exposure to all sorts of things which allows you to be well rounded is all sorts of social scenes. I'm a big music head so the net is super awesome to help feed that addiction in my life. Also, by using the internet regularly you won't become an expert at everything, but I think it gives you enough knowledge or knowhow to at least mesh into almost any social situation, granted your viewing the right information online. It's just like reading a newspaper, but the information comes at you in a little more of a disorganized fashion and there is more of it.

While I might not think I'm completely addicted to the internet I do understand peoples addition to online gaming, because I was at one point myself. Not to computer games, but to Halo for the Xbox. My freshman year in college it pretty much ran my life. I spent hours playing online with my friends in the dorm and on Xbox Live. It hurt my social life and my grades. I've since quit, but it has allowed me to recognize this as a real problem for other individuals. I think that these internet rehab centers are a good thing and have the potential to help a lot of people ease their internet addiction.

Rad, but sad.

This video is crazy. It's about a man who builds an entirely virtual and holographic world: he undertakes the construction of a monument for the woman whom he loves. One day of turning and 2 years of post-production.


World Builder from Bruce Branit on Vimeo.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Mykonos

Great song/video from a great band. They're Fleet Foxes if you didn't know already.


Mykonos from Grandchildren on Vimeo.

Art Snobs.


I recently wandered over to the Walker Art Center here in Minneapolis, Minnesota and gazed at the exhibits, one being a gallery featuring artist, Elizabeth Peyton. I had never seen any of here work before, but it was pretty cold. I liked what I saw. I might not be able to interpret the art for the depth or meaning it was intended to have like most of the art crowd think they can, but I'm confident I can appreciate good art when I see it, no matter its original intentions. That being said, I'd like to go on a bit of a rant. Hang on children.

I'll start off by saying that I had never been to the Walker before, which weakens my leverage on the matter. However, I think it's applicable to other experiences I've had viewing art in public. The thing that ticks me off is the people who enjoy art, fine art in particular. This is a bit stereotypical of me and I don't normally judge people, but my instincts lead me to believe the following words. I don't enjoy dirty looks from snobby people. Now not everybody at the Walker last night was snobby, there were just a handful that I drained through my social sieve. My problem is that these people ruin the mood for everybody involved. You don't have to look sophisticated to enjoy art and you especially don't have to be some giant critical dick while you observe it. These are peoples most intimate, vulnerable expressions of themselves, and because of that I believe all art is magnificent. Obviously some artists are able to articulate better than others, that's why we've installed such institutions like the Walker, but it doesn't make some art better than others. So, all of those who aren't going to read this, lighten up. Art is for everybody, not just those who criticize it for fun and look down on kids for wearing a sweatshirt a size to small and tattered vans ((id est (i.e.) my wardrobe last night)).

The moral of the post. Don't be a prick. It doesn't take much effort and in the process, you'll make the world a little more pleasant.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Slow Jammin' The News.

So I fell asleep before the first Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, which I'm irate about, but if this clip is a sign of what's to come then I'm totally on board. Why can't we always slow jam the news?

Monday, March 2, 2009

Kanye On VH1 Story Tellers.

So if you didn't check out Vh1 storytellers with Kanye you missed out big time. He ended up playing 10 songs, which were extended in most cases. In every case the song was tweaked and completely original, meaning better! I don't normally give songs like 'Heartless' and 'Love Lockdown' much spin, but these versions were exceptional, especially 'Love Lockdown." Oh, and the stage was crazy amazing.

Now I feel it's necessary for me to share a couple of words about Ye himself. Ever since I saw his glow in the dark tour (9th Row!) its been really easy for me to be a Kanye hater. Especially after he concluded the show with a 20 minute rant about how he was going to be the best musician to ever live. Then, leading up to the release of '808's and Heartbreak,' this was another golden opportunity to reinforce my 'hater status' because of the use of auto-tone, but a little piece inside of me was super curious of the new album. I ended up getting it, and was surprisingly, very impressed with Ye's latest release. Because of all this I've come to peace with my Jonners Kanye relationship. I've realized that it is so easy to be a Kanye hater, but if you look past egoism and the George Bush comment (hahahaha), there is so much more about Kanye that you can benefit from. Vh1 Storytellers is a prime example. Ye keeps on pushing the envelope and the artist around him to make better music. With all that being said I'll leave you with yet another controversial quote from Mr. West.

"My biggest pain in life is that I'll never get to see me perform live."

One could chose to view this as egotistical, but I'm going to chose to interpret it as Kanye wishing he could see somebody perform that poured as much heart and soul into the music that they create. This is very evident on his new album and on Vh1 Storytellers. Kanye is human just like everybody else and has gone through a heartbreaking 2008. So embrace the man because he is going to be around as long as he wants to keep making music.






Shoegazin.

Here are a couple of songs I shoegaze to. I was pleaseantly surprised when I saw these videos this morning. First one is M83 "We Own The Sky" followed by "What Else Is There?" by Royksopp. Enjoi dudes, I sure did.

Royksopp Myspace
M83 Myspace


M83 We Own The Sky Music Video by Dax Norman from dax norman on Vimeo.


What Else Is There? from Röyksopp on Vimeo.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Love?


I'm in love with a french singer songwriter by the name of Beatrice Martin. Her stage name is Coeur de Pirate. She is from Canada and sings in French. I just bought her album today and it has officially made my day and probably week/month.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Your Infamous Harp

This is another band that was featured on the podcast Hospital Records. The band is called Your Infamous Harp and apparently the group is just a boyfriend/girlfriend duo who quite frankly, make some of the most creative music I've heard in a long time. You can listen to their album here and what is super cool is that you can purchase their album for however much you think is appropriate through pay pal. This is the only song I could embed. Hope you enjoy it, but still go and visit their site to listen to their album in its entirety.

Billionaire Boys Club.


If I could be any Celebrity in the universe I would choose Pharrell Williams because of shit like this. The man does anything and everything and has been an inspiration for me. That being said, here is one reason for my man crush on Skateboard P. Damn, I want this sweater.

The Temper Trap.

So crazy how things work, but I kind of found out about this band in the most random way. Today I'm minding my own Lab Bro duties when this guy (John Hardy...more on him later) says what's up. We get to talking and find out that we are both into music. He actually has his own company www.stonearchmpls.com but that will get it's own post soon. He suggested a few Drum & Bass podcasts to me so I checked them out. The one I enjoyed most was Hospital Records. The first band they plugged was a band from Melbourne, Australia called The Temper Trap. It sounded great so I went to their myspace page, which most definitely locked me up as "a fan." Currently they only have an EP available for purchase with standouts "Sweet Disposition" and my favorite "Science of Fear." For $4 this is worth the purchase on iTunes. I anticipate heavy spin in my earbuds for the next week at least. Who know, it could hold up even longer.

Check out this mother f'n song. Damn.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Politics and Web 2.0

After experiencing the first election with Web 2.0 I'd like to take a look back on the potential impact it had on election. In chapter five Dan Gillmor also predicts politics and the internet, which was not too far off.

For the 2008 election Web 2.0 completely changed my voting/information gathering process compared to the 2004 election, which I was also fortunate enough to participate in. Sure, we had the internet in 2004, but it wasn't nearly as advanced as it is now and the candidates from my understanding, were not using it in nearly the same fashion as in 2008. For this past election I used features of Web 2.0 for election coverage and information every day for months leading up to the election. I watched videos online of my favorite programs every night, I downloaded the Obama 08' application for my iPod Touch, and watched live streaming videos on CNN of stump speeches and debates every chance I could. Maybe this election was just more significant than in 04' but regardless I participated at a much higher level in the 08' election and I believe Web 2.0 played a big role in explaining why.

Like Howard Dean started, Obama took full advantage of the internet to generate campaign donations raising the most funds in United States history. This isn't the determining factor as to why Obama ended up winning, but if you looked at how the two candidates utilized the internet I think Obama came across much more savvy and definitely helped him more than it hurt him. Overall he made the internet a very high priority in his campaign efforts and had the foresight to identify how important of a tool it could be for him come election day.

Obama didn't stop once he was elected President, however. During his transition to the White House he posted weekly video addresses to the public on YouTube and his website Change.gov, which is now the official website of the President/White House. One thing I think Obama has realized is that we cannot continue to reach out to people in traditional ways. With Web 2.0 he has been able to communicate with citizens on a level nobody has ever come close to before, which says volumes about why he is president and the record breaking voter turnout in 08'.

To paraphrase Buzz Lightyear. To Web 2.0 and beyond!

Day 'n' Night.

Kid Cudi's video for "Day 'n' Night." Not as cool as Ye's new video for "Welcome to Heartbreak," but its dope. The bigger story is the anticipation of what Cudi will release in 2009. Definitely somebody you need to keep your eye on.

Are You Kidding Me!?!?!


This is unbelievable. They obviously are claiming this was in no way supposed to be linked to president Obama, but if you had half a brain that would be your first conclusion. Here read this article by Roland Martin, an editor at CNN for a more articulated response to this madness.

The Cult of the Amateur.



Sup yall. Today I'm going to be talking about Andrew Keen's book The Cult of the Amateur. To give you a rough synopsis of the book, Keen's main goal of writing this book was to start a conversation about Web 2.0 and how it could potentially destroy our culture. Yes his ideas are a bit biased and extreme at times, but I commend the man on the stances he takes because in the end, they have allowed him to accomplish his goal. I flew through the book in a few hours and had immediate interpersonal communication with a handful of people regarding particular issues I found noteworthy. In the next couple of paragraphs I'll address some of these issues, shed a little light on them, and hopefully get you talking about it as well.

First off you must know, I'm a bit of a music head, as my blog may indicate at times. I'm not sure if this is just a cartoon thing, but music to me is like the coal you have to keep shoveling into the furness to keep the train rollin'. I must have it. It keeps me going. Keen is also a music junkie, but is already claiming the music industry "dead" like everybody else and it's all because of Web 2.0 and file sharing. I'm not so convinced. Yes, billions of dollars of music are downloaded every year, but whose to say that everybody who is downloading would have even bought the album anyways. Keen admits that music has become more popular than ever with the introduction of Web 2.0, but automatically assumes that every album somebody downloads would be an album that they would buy. Yes these are potential sales, but are consumers that might not even be in the market without Web 2.0. If anything, this might increase purchases due to consumer involvement being at an all time high. Attendance at live performances have been at there highest rate ever, so maybe revenue is just being reciprocated in different ways like at shows, ringtones, ect. In no way am I trying to say peer to peer file sharing is healthy. It's still stealing. I just think that everybody automatically concludes that file sharing is the reason the industry is dying. We must consider that we are in the midst of a format war and maybe the major labels should take a second look at their business model. As we have seen in politics, tradition doesn't always give you traditional results (i.e. the economy). The same should be said about the music industry. Besides the last time I checked musicians can still make a very good living and have a blast doing it!

Ok I feel like I just wrote a lot, but I'll deluge into one more topic that I actually agreed with Keen on. Actually, I kind of felt that way about the whole book it was just a little extreme at times, but was necessary to accomplish his goal of starting conversation about Web 2.0 externalities. However, the one topic I did find myself a little outraged/nodding my head to was Wikipedia.

Wikipedia is great, but for certain things. Being a music fan I find myself routinely checking Wiki pages of my favorite artists to learn a little bit more info on them. I find that it strengthens my appreciation for the artist at times. Also, you need to know your shit if you start talking to somebody as passionate about music as you are. My dislike for Wikipedia stems from scholarly posts. Although the information about a large variety of subjects is regularly accurate, it can be biased or misleading at times. The particular example that Keen used about the guy who had devoted his entire life studying the environment and climate change that had been limited to how much he could contribute per day because they believed he was using what they like to call Point of View (POV), was ridiculous. Facts should not be excluded from Wikipedia if they want to be taken seriously. Also, Wikipedia is putting experts, people who have devoted their whole lives to education and research, out of jobs because some teenage bastard can copy and paste something off the internet. Wikipedia has the potential to be great if they make some major adjustments. They should have something like a "Wikipedia Scholar" where only experts or professionals are allowed to post and then they could just do a regular Wikipedia where any Joe Shmo can post a fun fact about Jay-Z or some other tid bit of celebrity gossip.

Well I feel that this is adequate for my first post, so feel free to comment and fire up the conversation as Keen intended his book to do. If you get a chance I would highly recommend that you read the book. It's a really quick read and is highly relevant to our generation because ultimately, we are the ones that will fix this mess. Hopefully...

Warning.

My next two posts are going to be for my New Media class so bare with me. Who knows, maybe you'll find it interesting.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Holy Balls

This might be one of the coolest video concepts I've ever seen. Pretty rad that this is my favorite song off the album.


KANYE WEST "Welcome To Heartbreak" Directed by Nabil from nabil elderkin on Vimeo.

Friday, February 13, 2009

New Grizzly Bear Song.

Here is Grizzly Bear performing a new song "Fine For Now" at the All Points West Festival. Today they just released that the title of their album will be called Veckatimest and is due out May 29. Here is the track list.

01 Southern Point
02 Two Weeks
03 All We Ask
04 Fine for Now
05 Cheerleader
06 Dory
07 Ready, Able
08 About Face
09 Hold Still
10 While You Wait for the Others
11 I Live With You
12 Foreground

Valentines Day Tunes.

I'm posting two special songs that you can groove to on valentines day. Don't thank me, thank one of the best artists on the planet. Mr. Raphael Saadiq. Scoot over to the music player on the right to listen.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Jerry Hsu and Friends.

All of these videos come from on show on vbs.tv called Epicly Later'd. Jerry Hsu is probably my fav, but check out the one about Jay Barbee for some old school radness. I know you're worried, but please, don't be. I'll post more cool ones as I find them.





School of Seven Bells.


As of yesterday afternoon I truly believed that I wasn't going to be attending last nights show at First Ave's 7th Street Entry. Being stubborn like usual I put off getting tickets early and not to my surprise, the show was sold out. I just didn't believe that with Fujiya and Miyagi headlining that it would be a sell out show, but once there set started I could see why. They have developed an extensive fan base who goes absolutely bonkers for them live. However, I was not one of their devout fans, I was their to see School of Seven Bells.

After calling First Ave around 6 I found out that they were holding 5 tickets at the door, so I got there early and and ended up getting into the show. Two hours and two PBR tall boys later, School of Seven Bells, the sister duo Alejandra Deheza and Claudia Deheza took the stage with their band mate/co-founder of the band Secret Machines Benjamin Curtis. Besides the dude in the front row getting his dick rubbed by his girlfriend and sticking his camera in the band members faces, their set was sweet even though they seemed a little exhausted on stage. Having only one album they had a limited amount of material, but they definitely played a selection of their best of their songs like "Iamundernodisguise," "Face To Face On High Places," "Half Asleep," "Connjur" and "Prince of Peace." Even though it seemed like they lacked energy on stage I'm becoming more convinced that this might just be their stage demeanor, which they can pull off when two of their band members (who are sisters) could be full time models. Later, post-set, I got to chat with the sisters who were mega friendly. I ended up buying their record on vinyl and they offered to sign it without me even asking.

The show, which as of yesterday afternoon didn't seem like a realistic possibility, was pretty awesome overall. Fujiya and Miyagi were quite danceable and their songs were fun, but in the end that wasn't who I went to see. I feel like meeting one of your favorite bands in person more often than not ends up negatively altering your perception of the band. Strangely the complete opposite happened to me last night. My crush on these two spectacular females (Alejandra/Claudia) will be everlasting and I will continue to enjoy/purchase their music for years to come.

Here is an in studio performance a Radio K of "My Cabal." Also, be sure to check out their myspace and to support the band if you dig em'.


School of Seven Bells - My Cabal (Live on Radio K) from Radio K on Vimeo.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Woahhhhh.

This is so not amateur.


Nice Clean White from DaBrainkilla on Vimeo.

Monday, February 9, 2009

He Bit Her. Really???

So some new details on the Chris Brown fiasco has emerged and the victim of his beating and biting (wtf) is in fact Rihanna. What a dick bag. You don't hit/bite any woman dude.

Unfortunately, you can read about one of the most idiotic stories of 2009 here.

Grammys.

I wasn't able to see the Grammys last night, but I did catch some video of the performances last night. What I saw did not impress me (even though the "swagga like us" video posted below was pretty ill). I realize it's the Grammys and we expect to see the artist that abuse our eardums on a daily basis via radio, but enough is enough. It would be hugely appreciated if the great people that run the Grammys quit lying to themselves and us. "A Mili" by Lil Wayne is NOT the best rap solo performance of the year. "Viva La Vida" is NOT the best song of the year especially after two bands have claimed the song was stolen by Chris Martin (I don't think he stole the song but still). These are just two examples of how stupid the Grammys are, not to mention Raphael Saadiq was mother f'n snubbed. All I want is for the Grammys to celebrate the BEST music of the year. Checking the billboards is not a logical way of determining this. I don't want to see Kanye, Coldplay, Jay-Z, and U2 perform over and over again every year (the John Legend/Corinne Bailey Rae/John Mayer performance a few years ago was the shit however). Instead, lets shed some spotlight to new bands (fuck it. they don't even need to be nominees). Bands that can perform heads and shoulders above what we see year after year. Sorry for the rant, I just believe that I could improve this so called "music night of the year," into something that would make a more lasting impression on the mostly musically brainwashed viewers at home.

P.S. I realize that this is all kind of the "hippster" idealogy, but me and my skinny jeans will not budge on this.

Swagga Like Us.

There are some very important people on the stage. Listen Up!

We Fight/We Love.

Here is Q-Tip performing the best song "We Fight/We Love," off one of the years best albums on Ellen. Boy am I a fan of this song.

Now With Video!

Here is the latest video from the Lonely Island crew. Enjoy the video is clear crisp sreaming HD!