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.

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.

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"

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.

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

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.

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.

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!!!!

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.

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!

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.