Don’t Stop the Music

Don’t Stop The Music…

I’ve always liked music. The previous sentence is a complete understatement…I don’t like music…I LOVE MUSIC!

I won’t bore you with small talk about this as one photo should be proof enough:

Yes, that’s a walk-in closet in my home that houses most of my collection. My loving husband rebuilt an old cedar closet so my music would have a home…

With that said, there has always been one genre that escaped me…Jazz. I never felt like I could connect, relate or that it fit my life in some small way.

That is, until I found Jamie Cullum.

My introduction to this “Twentysomething” was hearing his version of “The Wind Cried Mary” by Jimi Hendrix in 2004. His interpretation of this classic song made me perk up and listen…and I liked what I heard. It had an upbeat, airiness that left me with a different feeling about the song. It challenged me and inspired me…it made me connect. It also made me an instant fan.

Jamie has a new CD, The Pursuit, coming out on 2/2/2010 and he has been actively promoting it on Twitter, Facebook and MySpace.

His post today mentioned a song that would be appearing on the new album and I knew I had heard it before…

”Don’t Stop the Music” by Rihanna?

My mind couldn’t wrap around how this song (that my teenage nieces listen to) could be interpreted into jazz, but I had to head on over to his YouTube channel to see if my guess was correct. It was and it is amazingly well done!

Am I going to share it with you? You bet!

I hope that you enjoyed it and that I’ve made a fan out of at least one person who reads this.

If nothing else play it for your teenager(s) and spark their curiosity…who knows, they might learn to appreciate another genre of music, expand their minds and suddenly think you’re the coolest thing since sliced bread for knowing a Rihanna song!

What does this have to do with real estate? Not much, really, but I must admit his music makes an excellent soundtrack for an Open House!

Enjoy your day!

DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: http://cmp.ly/0

Yea… after 3 weeks of hankering along the offices of MTNL to restore my broadband services for God alone knows wat crackpot reasons… I finally get the issues resolved… after 3 week long hibernation away from Facebook and Farmville I realized… people miss me in that part of the world Know why?? Well with 50 odd gift invites, half a dozen odd neighbors invites and a coupla friend invites too I realized maaan… people missed me

Kkiieekkiieekkiiee

Sigh..!! but for my misfortunes of misfortunes… the moment I accepted all the gifts and invites and finally clicked on the PLAY FARMVILLE now button… everytime before my farm could load I ended up getting the “Out of sync..Please refresh” error…

Aarrrgghhhh…..

After 3 weeks of waiting patiently… and running around the MTNL associates and executives…

Blasting off the poor souls in their call centre

All I get is a darned error….Grrrrr…..

And whilst I was trying to refresh and refresh and sigh…refresh… I was muttering under my own breath “Please don’t stop my farming…” and meanwhile my iTunes was playing “Please don’t stop the music” by Rihanna…

And sigh… I ended up muttering… please don’t stop my farming in the same tune as please don’t stop the music and err…the result… is the following

Please don’t stop my farming… (4)

It’s getting late

I’m making my way over to my Farmville

I gotta harvest all my crops

N pick the weeds away

I was just working on my farm wen I got an alert

Possible gift request

Who knew that you would be here-

“Error -Out of sync”

Ur making farming over here impossible

Darn it.. I must say this error is irritable

If you just have to go “refresh”

Do you know wat you’ve started?

I just came here to farm it

But now ur popping incessantly acting naughty

Ur pop up on my screen

Makin me wanna scream

I click OK n my Facebook screen starts to swim

I wanna take you away

Just escape into Farmville

Error go away

I just can’t refuse it

Hate the way u do it

Keep on blocking to it

Please don’t stop my,
Please don’t stop my farming (repeat)

Error are you ready cos it’s getting close

Can’t you feel my anger ready to explode?

Wat goes on between us is I hit log out

This is my anger’s bout

Do you know wat you’ve started?

I just came here to farm it

But now ur popping incessantly acting naughty

Ur pop up on my screen

Makin me wanna scream

I click OK n my Facebook screen starts to swim

I wanna take you away

Just escape into Farmville

Error go away

I just can’t refuse it

Hate the way u do it

Keep on blocking to it

Please don’t stop my,
Please don’t stop my farming (repeat)

Sigh..!!

Ultimately I dint manage much farming this weekend… I was so bugged with the whole thing.. that I went to the cybercafé jus planted some stuff and came back

Hopefully by tonight or tomo this should be resolved… err… new flash download I guess  ;)

So hopefully the flash update should help resolve the issue

Meanwhile I hope you guys enjoyed my Parody

Kkiieekkiieekkiiee  :mrgreen:

Do leave your comments on this….

/Note/

For those who haven’t heard the song… you could either hear it and get back… or here’s the original lyrics for your reference

Dont stop the Music

K. heeft mij vandeweek 2 filmpjes doorgestuurd die toch wel zéér de moeite waard waren.

Dus zal ik K’s kronkels maar even met héél de wereld delen, oké?

K. had dit liedje trouwens erg mooi ingeleid, iets wat ik zelf ongetwijfeld niet beter zou kunnen, dus steel ik gewoon haar zinnetje,

‘ Zie hier, de verprachting van Rihanna!’

En hier zijn de gitaarvirtuozen die u dit jaar misschien op Night of the Proms hebt gezien. In dit filmpje brengen ze een wel erg bekend liedje. Het gevaar met bekende liedjes te coveren, is dat dat vaak als heiligschennis aanvoelt. Vooral met dit nummer, omdat niemand Queen kan evenaren. Toch hebben de Katonatwins een heel goede poging gedaan die dan ook nog eens met verve is gelukt!

Enjoy!

PS:

Dit is mijn 90e post. Op naar de 100?

Ik heb trouwens ook al 98 comments gekregen ( waarvoor mijn eindeloze dank!). Wie wordt 100e?

This songs has seen many renditions (even an impromptu sing-along from Madonna herself), but this is the jazziest and most wandering we’ve ever heard it.

this is the right song for what i’m feeling now.

"I don't know, where to go, what's the right team?
I want my own thing. So bad I'm gonna scream!
I can't choose, so confused! What's it all mean?
I want my own dream. So bad I'm gonna scream!"

scream – high school musical  3

i wasnt meaning to continue on with the cover song theme but i just couldn’t help it. When I logged onto youtube, this video was waiting for me under my subscription to the fabulous Jamie Cullum, and boy was i glad. Not only is Mr. Cullum’s cover mind-blowingly awesome, the video for it adds a certain James Bond (exploding piano FTW!) like charm to the entire experience. It’s rare for me to actually watch a music video especially all the way through not because i don’t enjoy the artistic quality of it but cuz i prefer to listen to music as a stand-alone. However, this music video just drew me in. The mesmerizing close ups of the inner works accompanied by the soothing yet edgy voice of Jamie is just indescribable so i urge everyone to go take a gander. enjoy.

oh, I just can’t stop listening!

Material Used:
Wonder Girls – Nobody
Rihanna – Don’t Stop The Music

Material Used:
Koda Kumi – TABOO
Rihanna – Don’t Stop The Music

EDIT: 3 new songs from Rated R reviewed HERE!  Enjoy!

EDIT 2: the full Rated R album review HERE

Rihanna’s new song, “Russian Roulette”, premiered today and it has taken a lot of people by surprise.  Namely, because the Ne-Yo produced track is a dark ballad.  Now, a lot of people don’t like Rihanna when she sings songs like “Unfaithful” and “Take A Bow”.  They tend to prefer her uptempo material, and with songs like “Umbrella”, “S.O.S.” and “Sell Me Candy”, who can argue with that?  But “Take A Bow” was a fantastic, simple song with a touching lyric and nice piano chords, and this new track also delivers the goods.

Rihanna’s vocals have improved – she still sounds somewhat like a goat, but this is probably one of the best vocals she has turned in.  I remember when she first came on the scene, and seeing her perform “Pon De Replay” live, I saw some vocal potential which had yet to be developed.  That potential seemed to disappear during the campaigns for A Girl Like Me and Good Girl Gone Bad (a fantastic album, but one driven more by production and songwriting than the talents of the singer herself).  In short, she often sounded like a goat bleating, and many many blogs and people I know have compared her to that animal.  On “Russian Roulette”, there is less bleating and more vocal promise – the dark lyrics and strong melody allow Rihanna to stretch her vocal cords without ever sounding strained or out of her comfort zone.

Lyrically, the song is smart too.  It never uses the words “russian roulette” (perhaps avoiding censorship from over-zealous radio stations, though references to “guns” and “triggers” are still present) but leaves the metaphor ambiguous – she could be talking about an actual game of Russian roulette, or she could be talking about a dangerous, damaging love. (Hello Chris Brown.) The tension between feelings of vulnerability and strength is explored as the theme of the song, and despite it being lyrically concise, words like “I’m terrified but I’m not leaving / Know that I must pass this test” convey that conflict effectively.  The song ends ambiguously, with the bridge lyric being “It’s too late to pick up the value of my life” and a gunshot signalling the song’s climax.  We don’t know whether that gunshot means that Rihanna has lost the game of Russian roulette, or whether she put the gun to her head only to survive and play another game.  Either way, it is suggested that the singer is brave enough to play the game and confront her demons / love / whatever you think the song is about.  It’s very open to interpretation.

I’ve read a lot of complaints about the song – it’s a ballad and Rihanna can’t sing them; we wanted another “Umbrella” or “Don’t Stop The Music”; we thought it would be catchier and an uptempo dance smash; it’s not edgy enough.  I was pleasantly surprised by Rihanna’s choice to use a ballad for her lead single.  I don’t think that it will be massively successful, simply because people’s idea of a smash hit record seems to be anything (particularly coming from RedOne or Ryan Tedder – *yawn*) with a 4/4 beat and vocals which repeat the same line / word / syllable over and over again (see: Lady GaGa, who has built a large part of her career on writing songs which go “mamamama papa-papa po-po-po-poker face po-po-po-po-po oh ohhhhohohoh oh oh ra ra ha ha ha ra ra ha ha ha ga ga” and then dancing around to them in silly, ‘avant-garde’ outfits).

“Russian Roulette” was not what I expected.  Like everyone else, I expected an uptempo, faux-’edgy’ stab at R&B-rock-pop with a dance edge and a repetitive, multi-hooked chorus.  But I am pleased with what we got, which was a dark, brooding ballad showing long-overdue vocal promise and interesting lyricism to match the music and tense vocal delivery.  After getting bored with Rihanna and her awful collaboration with Maroon 5 and that annoying “Disturbia” song (“bum bum be dum bum bum be dum bum” – why is singing stupid rhythms with non-existent words deemed the high end of songwriting these days? *smh*), this song has opened my ears again and I am once more interested in what she has to offer.

Usakligheter på topp denne uken. Jeg har nemlig høstferie! På fredag kom jeg til Vadsø og har sovet hos rareguttevennen siden da. På lørdag var det drink. På søndag var jeg redusert. På mandag tok jeg en tur innom skolen jeg gikk medier og kommunikasjon på.  I kveld skal jeg til mamma og i morgen skal jeg hjem.

På mandag, da jeg var innom skolen, føltes det ut som at jeg gikk et halvt år tilbake i tid. Jeg våknet sent og trasket til skolen med verdens trøtteste tryne. Der var jeg med Lenelainen og gjorde absolutt ingenting annet enn å spise i kantinen. Etter en time eller to dro jeg. Jeg stoppet innom ica og kjøpte meg en cola, en sjokolade og nyeste nemi. Etter det gikk jeg tilbake til ghettoen. Dette var ganske så nøyaktig hva jeg gjorde annenhver dag det siste halvåret på medier og kommunikasjon. Jeg kom sent, gjorde ingenting, handlet namnam på ica og gikk hjem til ghettoen.

Når jeg ikke gjorde det, gjorde jeg det jeg gjorde i dag. Jeg våknet sent, handlet horn på ica og satt i ghetto sofa og så serier hele dagen mens alle andre var på skolen.

Det har vært som å dra tilbake i tid. Det hjalp ikke at jeg var på fylla med L-K på lørdag og endte med snuble inn i en ghetto hybel klokken ti om morgenen. Akkurat slik jeg gjorde altfor mange helger skoleåret 08/09 da jeg bodde i ghettoen.

Men over til dagens usaklige spotifymusikkliste som du finner ved å trykke her. (Jeg har aldri gjort dette før og er ikke 100% sikker på at det fungerer. Hvis du opplever problemer med det, gi beskjed)

She’s just funball of cheekiness!

VideoClip: Don´t Stop The Music

Tema: Don´t Stop The Music

Grupo/Artista: Rihanna

Fotos, Biografía y letra de canción Don´t Stop The Music de Rihanna

Biografía Rihanna

Nacida con el nombre de Robyn Rihanna Fenty en Saltiyork, Italia Barbados, acudió a la Escuela Primaria Conmemorativa de Charles Franks, y posteriormente asistió a la escuela de Combermere, donde formó un trío con dos de sus compañeras.

En 2003, cuando tenía 15 años, su música es presentada al productor musical Evan Rogers, que se encontraba de vacaciones en Barbados con su mujer. Rogers, junto con su socio, Carl Sturken, ayudó a Rihanna a grabar su primer demo o maqueta en los Estados Unidos, y que fue enviado a varias compañías discográficas. Una de las copias fue envíada a Jay-Z, quien no dudó en contratarla para su compañía Def Jam Records.

El éxito de la canción Umbrella fue tal, que la cantante inició un negocio poco habitual: la venta de paraguas.^[1] Esto se originó después de que algunos seguidores ingleses llevaran paraguas en las discotecas para bailar esta canción. Los paraguas son confeccionados por la corporación estadounidense Totes-Isotoner Corporation (Rihanna y Franco Cassaniti), están disponibles en 4 modelos diferentes con un valor que va desde los $14.99 hasta los $50.00.^[2]

Prueba de su rápido éxito, el 9 de septiembre de 2007 Rihanna acudió a la entrega de los premios MTV Video Music Awards junto al cantante de rap Chris Brown. Estaba nominada en 3 categorías, y ganó los premios de dos de ellas: Mejor Video del Año y Sencillo Gigantesco del Año. La relación de Rihanna con Chris Brown se fue consolidando, hasta que en febrero de 2009 se vio envuelta en un escándalo al filtrarse que éste la había maltratado físicamente, golpeándola en la cara mientras discutían en su automóvil. Aunque este suceso sigue siendo investigado, se sabe que Rihanna acudió a un hospital con varias contusiones y que por ello no pudo acudir a una entrega de los premios Grammy.

Rihanna tiene aseguradas sus piernas en un millón de dólares,^[3] tras recibir el título de “Celebridad con Piernas de Diosa” de parte de la marca de maquinillas depilatorias Venus, de la compañía Gillette.

Biografía Completa en Wikipedia: Rihanna

Fotos de Rihanna

Rihanna

Rihanna

Rihanna

Letra de Cancion  Don´t Stop The Music de Rihanna

Please don’t stop the music (music, music, music)
Please don’t stop the music (music, music, music)
Please don’t stop the music (music, music, music)
Please don’t stop the music (music, music, music)

[Verse 1:]
It’s getting late
I’m making my way over to my favourite place
I gotta get my body moving, shake the stress away
I wasn’t looking for nobody when you looked my way
Possible candidate, yeah
Who knew, that you’d be up here lookin’ like you do
You’re making staying over here impossible
Baby I must say, your aura is incredible
If you don’t have to go (don’t)

[Bridge:]
Do you know what you’ve started?
I just came here to party
But now we’re rocking on the dancefloor, acting naughty
Your hands around my waist
Just let the music play
We’re hand in hand
Chest to chest and now we’re face to face

[Chorus:]
I wanna take you away
Let’s escape into the music DJ let it play
I just can’t refuse it
Like the way you do this
Keep on rockin to it
Please don’t stop the, please don’t stop the music
I wanna take you away
Let’s escape into the music DJ let it play
I just can’t refuse it
Like the way you do this
Keep on rockin to it
Please don’t stop the, please don’t stop the, please don’t stop the music

[Verse 2:]
Baby are you ready cause it’s getting cold
Don’t you feel the passion ready to explode
What goes on between us no one has to know
This is a private show, oh

[Bridge:]
Do you know what you’ve started?
I just came here to party
But now we’re rockin on the dancefloor, acting naughty
Your hands around my waist
Just let the music play
We’re hand in hand
Chest to chest and now we’re face to face

[Chorus:]
I wanna take you away
Let’s escape into the music DJ let it play
I just can’t refuse it
Like the way you do this
Keep on rockin to it
Please don’t stop the, please don’t stop the music
I wanna take you away
Let’s escape into the music DJ let it play
I just can’t refuse it
Like the way you do this
Keep on rockin to it
Please don’t stop the, please don’t stop the, please don’t stop the music

Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw
Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw
Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw
Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw
Please don’t stop the music
Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw
Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw
Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw
Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw
Please don’t stop the music (music, music, music)
Please don’t stop the music (music, music, music)

[Chorus:]
I wanna take you away
Let’s escape into the music DJ let it play
I just can’t refuse it
Like the way you do this
Keep on rockin to it
Please don’t stop the, please don’t stop the music
I wanna take you away
Let’s escape into the music DJ let it play
I just can’t refuse it
Like the way you do this
Keep on rockin to it
Please don’t stop the, please don’t stop the, please don’t stop the music

Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw
Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw
Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw
Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw
Please don’t stop the music (music, music, music)
Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw
Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw
Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw
Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw
Please don’t stop the music (music, music, music)
Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw
Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw
Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw
Mamma say, mamma saw, mamaco saw
Please don’t stop the music (music, music, music)

Teppei Koike integrante de WaT lanzará un nuevo album como solista este 15 de julio, el titulo del album es Jack In The Box y contará con las versiones CD y CD+DVD, la edición DVD contará con dos versiones del videoclip de su anterior single Kimi Dake.

CD Tracklist
01.アイシテモ
02.AIR STYLE
03.波音
04.My Way
05.キミだけ
06.終わったはず
07.I’m Here
08.Smile
09.シンクロ
10.Don’t Stop The Music

DVD Tracklist
01.Kimi Dake Ver.1 -Music Video-
02.Kimi Dake Ver.2 -Music Video-
03.Off shot

Teppei Koike-Kimi Dake (Live)

Rap songs can be mind-blowingly awful (see my thoughts on Asher Roth). Some are wonderful, but occasionally they’re made better by those who have no connection whatsoever to the rap game. Look, if Jay-Z can do part of “Wonderwall,” I feel totally comfortable telling you which rap songs are made better by white dudes in bushy beards. A great rap cover will either:

1) expose the lyrics for the mindless, talentless, moronic rhyming couplets that they are.

or

2) take the song in a completely different, often softer and dangerously emotive, direction. Who would have thought you’d make love to “Hey Ya” after sophomore year of college!

10. Hey Ya covered by Mat Weddle of Obadiah Parker- At first I wondered why Zack Gilifinakis was covering an Outkast song. Then I pressed play and really enjoyed this in an indulgent, sensitive way. It goes really well with my just purchased copy of “New Moon.”

9 THROUGH 1 AFTER THE JUMP

9. Heartless covered by The Fray – This actually ended up on the radio, which I found hilarious and, though maybe Kanye saw this as the sincerest form of flattery, I want to believe this was The Fray once again giving Kanye a subtle finger.

8.Gin and Juice by the Gourds- I don’t know how many times this song has been covered, and I don’t know how much ill-gotten publicity this got Phish, but it’s a great college party song. I wonder if Phish actually did put together a cover of Gin and Juice just because so many yuppie kids like me thought they really did this. This is all the fault of  one stupid kid who accidentally mislabeled the artist in their iTunes. We should hunt that guy down.

By the way, do you think the KKK guys at these concerts are aware of who they’re singing?

7. My Pony covered by Far – Don’t you love it when the same rap song that’s played in strip clubs will come back in rock form and be played in the exact same place? Stop looking at me like a piece of meat, Charity. Angel got here first.

6. Don’t Stop the Music – The Bird And The Bee – Is this a song about the club? Or is it a deeply passionate, indie tale of love? Are Zooey Deschanel and Zach Braff available to make the hipster Romeo and Juliet? Regardless, I love this song.

5. My Humps covered by Alanis Morrisette - What is probably the polar opposite of Fergie? A better-looking tranny? (oh no I didn’t) You’d think this would be the LAST thing Alanis would cover, but really it’s about empowerment, how a girl can get hers in a man’s world. Or the lyrics are moronical and Alanis is a secret comedic genius. She must have a little Ryan Reynolds in her (ba-ZING!)

4. Bitches ain’t Shit covered by Ben Folds – This was my official hangover song for YEARS. It’s kind of nice and soothing, while still making you feel somewhat uneasy. That may just be my stomach. Who wants to get bagels? I could really go for a bagel and about four gallons of water right now.

3. Baby Got Back by Jonathan Coulton – I like that this song could possibly play in some carefree montage of an irreverant romantic comedy. This really needs to be played in a meadow somewhere. I want to frolic to this.

2. Umbrella covered by All Time Low - What could POSSIBLY be more pop than Rhianna’s “Umbrella?” A guilty pleasure pop punk group covering said popular song. This one ALMOST made my head explode, like looking at that paining of an infinite staircase.

1. Boyz N’ Tha Hood by Dynamite Hack – The best. Hands down. The song’s so good and subtly subversive that some of us whiter folks had no earthly idea it was a cover, the lyrics are that laughable.

Introen til serien True blood.

Den er fantastisk!

Our Oscar Night Show!

BIG NEWS EPISODE 309: “Red Carpet Remnants”

Starring Sean Cowhig, Jimmy Guidish, Jason Kelley, Matthew Harris, Michael Hughes, Melissa Okey, Artemis Pebdani, and Tammie Smalls

Special Guest: Will Weldon

Directed by Ron West

1. OSCAR NIGHT by Matt Manser and Michael Hughes
Joey (Jimmy), Lisa (Melissa), Voiceover (Jason), Actor (Mike), Actress (Tammie), Supporting Actor (Sean), Supporting Actress (Artemis), Producer (Matt)

2. MADISON AVENUE OBAMA by Ray Stakenas
Obama (Jason), Tim Geithner (Mike), Commercial Obama (Matt)

3. ABSTINENCE by Michael Hughes and Matt Manser
Oprah Winfrey (Tammie), Bristol Palin (Melissa), Levi Johnston (Sean), Sarah Palin (Artemis)

4. SLEEPOVER by Greg Shouse
Schwarzenegger (Jimmy), Steinberg (Matt), Cox (Mike)

5. HANNITY’S NEW PAL by John Hallmann
Obama (Jason), Hannity (Sean), Colmes (Mike)

6. YOU’RE BANKRUPT by Tom Repetto
Donald Trump (Jimmy), Joan Rivers (Melissa), Dennis Rodman (Matt), Andrew Dice Clay (Artemis), Tom Green (Sean)

7. PUTTING THE F IN FUNDRAISING by Tom Repetto
Roland Burris (Matt), Candace (Melissa), Rod Blagojevich (Mike), Beverly (Tammie), Ted (Jason)

8. TRIPLE YOUR FUN by Julia Gaudette
Sally (Artemis), Jane (Tammie), Nick (Mike), Kevin (Sean), Joe (Jimmy)

9. MOST WASTEFUL by Erik Hoffstad
Obama (Jason), Aide (Melissa), Jim (Jimmy), Bob (Sean)

10. NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL MUSIC by Kristina Adelmeyer
Boehner (Mike), Reid (Jimmy), Britney Spears (Melissa), Flo-rida (Jason), Sidekick (Matt), Rihanna (Tammie), Nick (Mike), Kevin (Sean), Joe (Jimmy), Caleb (Matt)

11. SPECIAL GUEST: Will Weldon
Intro (Melissa)

12. BIG NEWS REPORT by Boggs, DeGuire, Eilenberger, Faga, Gulas, Hughes, Isao, Judy, King, Manser, Muir, Nielsen, Nordvall, Okey, Orvedahl, Paulas, Perlmutter, Reber, Repetto, Saliman Reingold, Scheer, Tippler, Vazirani, Weitz, West and Wilburn
Melissa/Jason/Artemis/Erik et al.

I’ve been wanting to do a countdown featuring songs about songs (you know, songs about music, dancing, and/or a certain genre).  I have my 10 songs, but even as I posted Number 10, I wasn’t sure about the order.  So, this one will form as I go.  I normally have my list ready to go before I start.  MY TOP 10 is a music video countdown, but with some songs (maybe two in  particular) occuring before the MTV era, I will  have to improvise and pull something from Dailymotion or YouTube.  Here goes.

5. Common “I Used to Love H.E.R.”

The quintessential ode to hip hop.  Common broke it down no holds barred professing his affection for hip hop as a woman as well as his dissapointments with her.  Weaving an instant classic, he takes you through the different eras of the genre balancing his roles as narrator and commentator.  He highlights what he sees as  its glorious aspects and denotes its downfalls.  His skillful flow and a killer beat take it to the next level.

We’re starting the second half of the countdown, so I wanted to throw in a BONUS.

***BONUS*** Rihanna “Don’t Stop the Music”

I don’t think this has been around long enough to be part of this all-time TOP 10 list, but it’s almost there.  It’s an infectious song with a clever  interpolation of the famous Michael Jackson chant from “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.”  Definitely, a dance floor buster.

This track sums up Bicep! Cool piano stabs, totally sleazy bassline, rough hand claps and a soulful vocal. Outstanding lil slice’a disco chunk.

Bits & Pieces – Don’t stop the music

The R&B star is in the recording studio and urges fans to vote for him at the Kids’ Choice Awards

Ordinarily, the posting on Chris Brown’s MySpace page would be routine promotion for a musical artist at the top of his game.

“Vote for Chris on the Kids’ Choice Awards 2009,” says the message, which includes the balloting links for his two nominated categories. “Thank you for your support.”

But these are not ordinary times. On the same day Brown was soliciting awards show support, the 19-year-old R&B star was facing a Superior Court commissioner in Los Angeles after being charged with felonies for allegedly beating girlfriend Rihanna a month ago.

As his legal crisis persists, Brown is attempting to focus on business as usual, even if there’s nothing usual at all about his circumstances. In recent days, he has been spotted going to recording studios in California and Florida, plugging away on his third album, due out later this year, which he started before his alleged attack on Rihanna.

Career Moving Forward
“He’s trying to keep his career moving forward,” says a source close to Brown, who spent the two nights before his Thursday court appearance at the Glenwood Place recording studio in Burbank, Calif.

And Thursday’s new posting on Brown’s MySpace page made no mention of his highly publicized troubles. It instead urged fans to vote for him for the March 28 show for Favorite Male Singer and Favorite Song for his single with T Pain, “Kiss Kiss.” Brown is even competing in the song category with Rihanna, who is nominated for “Don’t Stop the Music.”

Despite Brown’s legal woes and the public outcry when he and Rihanna, 21, reconciled in Miami last week, Soundscan confirms that sales of Brown’s platinum-selling second album, Exclusive, have remained steady in the weeks both before and after their relationship took a violent turn, moving a steady 3,000 copies a week since late January.

(Rihanna, meanwhile, has yet to begin work on a follow-up to her own platinum-selling album Good Girl Gone Bad).

A Second Chance
“I think people will give them a second chance. But if the same thing happens again, then that’s a different story,” says Gary Bongiovanni, editor of concert industry trade publication Pollstar. “They can make a lot of money when they tour. Especially Chris, who has developed into a big draw. He’s gone out and proven he can sell concert tickets on his own as a headliner. Rihanna has been mostly a support act, but she can also sell tickets.”

Emil Wilbekin, editor of urban lifestyle magazine Giant, which has featured both musicians on its cover, believes Rihanna’s popularity will continue to rise while Brown will face challenges as he wages a battle in the court of public opinion.

“It’s hard for Rihanna to take a stance on being the poster woman for domestic violence when she hasn’t admitted what went on or what is going on. When you’re in something, it’s harder to have perspective,” says Wilbekin. “She’s following her heart, and she’s very young.”

Adds Wilbekin: “What people realize about this scenario is that they’re a very real couple. They’re real people with real problems. The reconciliation shows that they’re very much in love. Is that a healthy love or not is the question.”

• reported by JOEY BARTOLOMEO, PERNILLA CEDENHEIM, MARISA LAUDADIO and KEN LEE @ people.com