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.

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.

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.

kid kudi - day 'n' nite
by 75_prod

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.