Take a lil look at the before and after of Rihanna:

Before: My girl is wearin a nice pair of jeans and a hooded top…you see how she manages to turn something casual into a sexy outfit!

This was nicely at the beginning of her career when I’m thinkin most people were rollin’ with the novelty of her being an artist fresh from Barbados and not the US lol! 

Ok…so onto the after…RAH!

Well! Jeans and hoodie got thrown straight out the window…onto the leather playsuit, and my girl has her legs wide open, and crotch facing the world. The positioning of her hand shows that that’s where she wants the focus. Well…I guess she has to do something interesting coz her voice…just…aint! Seriously.

Check this:

Now with a voice like this…at my uni please believe she woulda just got a couple tumbleweeds blowing in the background lol…I am so serious right now! Yet with the backin of Jay-Z, she’s managed to sell “…over 12 million records, worldwide in her four-year career span and has received several accolades, including the 2007  World Music Awards for World’s Best-Selling Pop Female Artist and Female Entertainer of the Year, as well as the 2008 American Music Awards for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist and Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist. Rihanna has attained five Hot 100 number one singles, becoming the first of two female artists with the most number ones attained within the 2000s. She also serves as one of Barbados’ honorary cultural ambassadors.” (www.wikipedia.org)

ARE YOU HAVIN’ A LAUGH?!

Obviously it’s not what you know, it’s who you know…the joke!

Live life, love music

Missaddler

10. Taio Cruz:  Break Your Heart
Sooner this song is out of the Top 10, the better! It may be catchy but its as generic as Hell with a real cheesy video.
9. David Guetta featuring Akon:  Sexy Chick
“Im trying to find the words to describe this girl without being DISRESPECTFULLLLLLLLLLL!” Most women don’t find it very respectful to call them a sexy chick…or the more explicit uncensored version of this song.
8. Chipmunk featuring Dayo Olatunji:  Oopsy Daisy
Yet another rapper hiding behind a female vocalist in order to gain a hit. Generic R&B at best!
7. Tupelo:  Cá Bhfuil Ár Scoil
I’m not totally against this song as it is doing something to try and repair Ireland’s crappy education system. That said…childrens’ vocals! Ewww! (I know I’m a horrible person).
6. Robbie Williams:  Bodies
This is only here because of Robbie’s status as a legendary popstar. The song is pure cack!
5. Michael Bublé:  Haven’t Met You Yet
This is a guilty pleasure of mine. Why didn’t he perform it when he was on The X-Factor?
4. Shakira:  She Wolf
AWOOO! This song has actually grown on me thanks in no part to Shakira’s contortionist abilities in the video. Can’t wait ’til the release of Did It Again in December.
3. Black Eyed Peas:  I Gotta Feeling
Thirteen weeks in the Top 3 and the third E.N.D. release Meet Me Halfway is already fast moving into the Top 10. The Black Eyed Peas are simply unstoppable.
2. Alexandra Burke featuring Flo Rida:  Bad Boys
Poor Alex! Not only do her family reportedley betray he but then her former X-Factor mentor Cheryl Cole not only steals the top spot from her but in also beats her record for the biggest selling single in the UK.
1. Cheryl Cole:  Fight For This Love
This is going to have a concrete hold on the top spot until the 2009 X-Factor finalists come along and grab hold. And then the X-Factor winner will succeed them. Damn you X-Factor (and Simon Cowell)!

The only good song on the radio right now:

Although I am not a fan of reality television, the muchmusic show Disband interests me.  Perhaps it is the soul crushing manner in which the judges put down the abilities of young musicians (many of whom aren’t that talented) or just the wide-eyed optimism of the participants that is so intriguing.  Last night the participating band actually ended up signing with Universal Records after an expanded episode chronicling what happened after a successful visit to much.  The questions raised by the group signing a contract without consulting a lawyer aside, the comments of one Disband judge caught my attention. He remarked that although he was impressed by the bands tightness and package, he lamented the state of the music industry.  He was upset that this band’s music was representative of what was popular in the business.  He was tired of the pop-punk, bubblegum scene, and referred to them as the Jonas Brothers of punk.

His remarks reflect the nature of the current music industry. There are definitely two main currents which are usually defined as mainstream and indie, although it is not so clear cut.  Popular music is popular because it is what people like.  This band’s music is appealing to a wide segment of the population, particularly those who have the extra money to buy albums and go to concerts.  I have no doubt they can do very well in the industry.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with taking that approach to music, particularly if you want to make a career of it.  Ultimately, music is a subjective experience, and each performer/composer will do what they feel best represents their musical abilities and interests.  The very fact that an indie scene exists is a testament to this fact.

The Disband judge makes a valid point about the cookie-cutter nature of popular music.  A great many groups find a pattern that works and stick to it until the money dries up.  Gene Simmons appeared on the episode because he was interested in the band, and there could not be a better example of the make money approach to music than him.  His band, by definition, made fairly generic and uninteresting music, but found a way to market the concert experience and band image successfully.  As a business the music industry is just like any other, it depends on creating a product that people will buy, then finding every means to sell it and expand market share.

Does this mean there is no room for people making “unpopular” music?  Of course not, but it means that they won’t find major label support (a mixed blessing)  for their efforts.  Luckily, there is more opporunity than ever for innovative groups to reach out to an audience and connect with like-minded individuals.  The internet is a sea of music, but it is still possible for high quality music to stand out.  The wide variety of podcasts, internet radio, music sites, and CD retailers online, allows any band to reach out into the world. Whether people listen or not has a lot to do with hard work and luck.

After going to bed hella late, woke up at 10:00am or 11:00am. Got ready in a jiffy, because I wanted to see Parenthetical Girls ((GIRLS)) and HEALTH. Went to the Habana Calle 6 and missed what musta been the latter half of HEALTH’s set, because we should have been in Habana BAR not Habana Calle 6. The other problem was that we went to get Jimmy John’s beforehand, and while Jimmy John’s was delicious, it was not HEALTH. It is fairly HEALTH-y, however, but that’s not good enough! But man, is their French bread delicious or what!

The main problem with missing a HEALTH set is that I missed my lover, HEALTH’s John Famigletti, in action. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE. He’s so hawt. One of these days, one of these shows, I’ll actually talk to him. Someday.

While waiting for The Mae Shi to come on, Titus Andronicus were playing in the side room. Pretty straight-forward, Irish-esque punk. Don’t care for it.

Super theatrical.

SUPER theatrical!

The Mae Shi were on next, and they were super funny and theatrical. I’m pretty convinced their bassist must be SOME kind of theatre dude, because his movements and facial expressions are so damn hilarious… not to mention the fact that he was wielding my lover’s bass because his bass broke.

Jeanette’s hot Mae Shi guy.

The Mae Shi’s crowd.

A parachute the Mae Shi dudes spread out! And I’m in the black and white plaid.

Jeanette had a crush on the Mae Shi’s guitarist. He’s good-looking, definitely, but not skinny enough for my emaciated-man-loving-tastes. I also brought my camera this particular day, but forgot to grab my battery because I was in such a rush this morning, so Jeanette used my camera lens and shot the Mae Shi photos and stuff.

After that, it was onto Stubb’s (and seeing the Australian on the way), because Jeanette wanted to go there for the Spin Magazine party. I’d totally forgotten I was supposed to watch Chairlift right after watching The Mae Shi, but oh well :/ Ended up at Stubb’s for FUCKING FOREVER. The Crystal Method first played, and they were decent. Whatever, though. The Black Lips were next, and they were relatively good, but not exactly my bag. I did get some good shots of them, though.

The Black Lips.

The Black Lips.

The Black Lips. GRILLZ, Y’ALL!

Glasvegas was next, and Glasvegas was a band that Micha had said was super good and that Jeanette really wanted to see. Sucked balls. I don’t understand it at all. And when I say I don’t understand mainstream tastes, Glasvegas pretty much epitomizes my inability to understand. I see nothing redeeming about their music whatsoever. They are like Viva Voce in my book, but worse, because at least Viva Voce has a lead lady who can shred like a motherfucker, and Glasvegas has, as far as I can see, jack shit to offer. Their drummer also sucked balls; she seriously used the same exact rhythm for EVERY song and was staring at her hands the entire time as if she honestly had just learned how to play drums. Her drum-playing skills and abilities are on par with my drum-playing skills and abilities when I practice with Rock Band or something… they’re fucking terrible, in short.

And yeah. Mainstream tastes and my tastes are completely confused and do not maketh the sense together. It’s a bizarre world, I tells ya.

One of Jeanette’s Glasvegas pics.

N.A.S.A. did sets before and after Glasvegas, and it was good stuff.

Echo & The Bunnymen came next, and I wasn’t listening too closely, because I was upstairs talking to this guy named Jify who manages this band and is this pretty good-looking Indian dude. Echo & The Bunnymen were definitely 100x better than Glasvegas, though. Imma tell ya that!

They were giving out free Havaianas at that show because they were a sponsor of the Spin party. Unfortunately, when we got there, they were all out. They also gave out free Flip Mini video cameras, and Jeanette and I walked away for like 5 minutes to sit down and they threw them out and Jeanette was quite bummed. Haha. But at least she won a The Container Store gift certificate the previous day!!! She did also get a free SxSW t-shirt because the Flip Mini people were giving out t-shirts, which fulfilled her dreams of getting a SxSW t-shirt this year. I also got one, but they are super big and don’t actually fit on me. But perhaps it will be my new sleep shirt

Then we did nothing for a while. Metallica was announced as this secret Guitar Hero guest band, so we were trying to stay in Stubb’s… because Echo & The Bunnymen ended the Spin party, and there was an hour before the next party started, which was a Guitar Hero we didn’t have backstage passes for. Needless to say, we were trying to stay in the downstairs floor of Stubb’s to see if we could stick around for Metallica, but we got kicked out after trying to stay there forever. The bouncer / worker guy literally had to ask us like… at least ten times… before anyone moved a little bit. It woulda been cool to see Metallica, but whatever. Just to say that you have seen them, but whatever.

Anarchy on the streets of SxSW!

After that, we went to Jeanette’s obsession, Pita Pit, and then walked all the way back to see The Escape Frame. We got lost on the way there and asked a few people for an idea, but no one had a real solid idea! Especially the police officer and dude at the Fader Fort… they totally directed us in the completely wrong direction. Whatever. The show was at the Independent, which I think is usually not a music venue but an art gallery. Nobody was there except for like, six other people who were not in another band or somehow affiliated with the band. Perhaps fewer. Afterwards, I went to talk to the lead singer to give him my business card and see if he’d gotten my e-mail about their album review. It seems he did not. He asked for feedback. I told him basically that his performance is pretty decent but that his guitarist sucked balls and looked bored as fuck and needed to work on his stage presence. Their drummer was also good, but evidently leaving soon, and he kinda looked like Johnny Depp. Their lead singer told me to tell their guitarist the feedback I’d told him, but I told him that it was wayyyy too mean to say that stuff to his face, and that I wasn’t going to do it. So. I didn’t do it.

Scissors For Lefty’s lead singer.

We left ASAP to go see Scissors For Lefty, and we had to sit at the bar for a while because the previous bands were whatevers. The one downstairs was kinda decent but I didn’t stick around to listen so much. Initially I was confused as to who the members of Scissors For Lefty were because I didn’t recognize the bassist who was totally hot and wearing like this vest with no shirt. I still don’t think I quite recognize him but whatever. The lead singer was funny, spunky. I talked to him afterwards briefly, and asked him if he remembered me, and that I’d done a photo shoot. Conversation like this:

Him: “Of course I remember you! It’s been a while!” (<– a HINT that he knew who I was, although… does it really hint at anything?!!)
Me: “Yeah. Here’s my business card because we’re going to write a review about your show and you should check it out. Do you have any more shows coming up?”
Him: “We have a Lance Armstrong Benefit show tomorrow, but this is the show we really wanted.”
Me: “Well, hopefully that’ll be karmic justice and you won’t get testicular cancer.”
Him: “I agree.” *Hi-five.

The end. Cute. Then off to the Karma Lounge, which was hella far away, to see The Bird And The Bee. My Jerusalem was playing before them, and they were pretty good, although by now I was so tired I just wanted to sit, so there was a lot of sitting and finally standing and then more sitting. They had a lot of members, like, I want to say eight – one of which was this super hot Persian or Indian chick who played bass.

While we were waiting for The Bird And The Bee to come on, Jeanette recognized Perez Hilton and took a photo with him!

Afterwards, The Bird And The Bee finally came on and they had like the lead singer, the keyboard guy, and then three other backup dancers / miscellaneous instrumentalists / singers. Was cool. Sounded really good. I managed pretty much to get to the front row of every show at SxSW, so it was the schiznit.

On the walk back from that venue to our house, I overheard some dudes talking about Seattle, so I started talking to them about Seattle. They were transplants from Oklahoma / Seattle who were moving to Austin and saying how great the city was. They were cool, and one of them was there and had gotten into all of these parties cause his sister was a promoter. I forget names… they were going to see Dredg, though. We were going home. Word.

In this day and age, in a World that thrives off of materialism, how can there be any room for spirituality? Even taking it to another level, how can there be any room for spirituality in Hollywood?

I’ll be the first to say that I don’t really have many celebrities as my role models. I know lots of people do, but can we honestly say there are lots of good role models in mainstream music for example? What about actors? We’ve experienced so much awesome talent over the years losing their own identity and falling into this corrupt and unclean environment that you fall into when you reach stardom. How many people can we say actually stay true to themselves, and not let the media influence them, but rather let themselves have profound influence over others? Can we honestly put blame on any of our youth for their rebeliousness when they have no one to look up to in a World that is seriously lacking in spirituality?

Enough questions. I actually spend alot of time thinking about this stuff, and have profound discussions with people on what we can do to create a safehaven for our young people, and to give them a chance to explore their own spirituality more. We all have a role in this society, and everyone should have  a chance to find out what their role is.

Oh yeah, isn’t this post about Rainn Wilson, Oprah…. and soulpancake? Well, I find Rainn Wilson to be one of those gems in Hollywood. If you don’t know Rainn Wilson by now then you quite frankly live under a rock. He plays Dwight Shrute on the hit series ‘The Office’. I read in one of his interviews that he says that Hollywood isn’t actually as bad as people make it out to be, and that there really is some awesome people out there. Well he does work with some of the funniest people on the planet (I’m so jealous, I want to work with Creed too).

Rainn, along with two of his friends have created a website called http://www.soulpancake.com. It’s an online community with a big vision. I can’t describe it as good as the website, so I’ve taken a bit from their ‘FAQ’ page:

What is Soul Pancake?

Well, it’s more of a mission than a Web site…
We want to make discussions about Spirituality, Creativity, and Philosophy cool again. Were they ever cool? I have no idea. But it seems like a good idea. We want to engage the user to “Chew on Life’s Big Questions”™. (I was kidding about the ™ symbol; you can use that phrase however you want. Even to sell frozen taquitos.) Where do you go on the Interwebs if you want an irreverent, fun, and profound take on God and Art and the Soul and Faith and Beauty? Fox.com? Maybe. But maybe also here at SoulPancake.com.
We provide some rockin’ content (interviews, blogs, challenges, contests, features, and more), but it’s really all about having YOU – the SoulPancake community – bring this site to life. Say what’s on your mind. Be real. Talk about WHY WE’RE HERE. And if I say something that offends you, let me have it.
Just remember: Life is a rich, weird, difficult experience. So join us as we go on the spiritual and artistic journey that is SoulPancake.

 Pretty awesome eh? Oh yeah, I’m supposed to write something about Oprah here too. Oprah’s radio show ‘Soul Series’ is a program that focuses on spirituality. So What do you get when you bring Rainn Wilson and Oprah together? An awesome interview. It’s 7 parts. Obviously I’m not going to waste webspace by posting all 7 parts; but I urge you all to click on this first part and follow the ‘related videos’ and watch the whole thing.

Finally, something I can’t really argue about that makes me feel like a genius today. Some guy with a PhD named Virigil Griffiths recently discovered something miraculous in his research: Beyonce fans are stupid. So are Lil Wayne fans. And just about anyone else who follows mainstream pop/hip-hop culture. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t completely agree with mainstream unless I’m partying — probably like most of you. But if you chill and listen to mainstream music, I guess that supposedly makes you retarded.

Griffiths based his research on the SAT scores and musical tastes of each subject. What he found out was, as he likes to call it, ‘hilarity incarnate’:

“Those who prefer indie music are most intelligent, while pop, rock and gospel fans were all ranked at the lower end of the scale.

Fans of legendary acts like Queen, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Sinatra and Bob Marley are all around average and above when it comes to intelligence, according to Griffiths.

Radiohead, U2 and Bob Dylan all have intelligent fans, he said.

Fans of Beyonce, Timberlake and Jay-Z all tended to score below 1,000 on SAT scores, with the average being a mark of 1071 out of 1600.

Fans of Beethoven were way ahead of the rest with an average score of over 1300.”

I still can’t understand why anyone would base intelligence off of SAT scores, but I can see how this makes sense.

And this is what he has to say before every test: “I’ve listened to artists who after listening to I thought to myself ‘Wow… loving this rubbish says a lot about someone and how much they got going on in their head’. Could one’s musical tastes say something about intelligence?”

All this lead me to one question: who in the hell listen to Beethoven on a regular basis in highschool willingly? Not counting you hipsters either.

To view a list of the correlating SAT scores/musical tastes, click here. BTW, Counting Crows and U2 are both above Bob Dylan. Something is wrong here…

Full Article @ Telegraph

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The Cool Kids are my favorite rappers out there these days.

Ol’ skool style and ol’ skool-influenced beats and flows, yet somehow still fresh in their sound. So, essentially, they’re modern without all of the suckiness of everything else modern.

And I mean fresh as in new, not fresh as in awesome. But they are fresh as in awesome.

Because they’re my favorite, that means they’re the best. Which, of course, also means everything else sucks. Because I’m cooler than you and I, thus, know better than you. Pssshhh. Obviously.

I’ve been buying into their hype about the new album they’ve been working on, When Fish Ride Bicycles, and I hope it’s as good as I expect it to be. I just hope I can get a lot of enjoyment out of it before The Cool Kids blow up like M.I.A. did, and everyone’s all on their bandwagon, at which point I probably won’t like them as much — like I don’t like M.I.A. as much anymore — because everyone else does.

Anyway, it’s not my favorite song necessarily, but I’ve always really liked the following selection from “A Little Bit Cooler.” And because I’ve always wanted to post lyrics to songs on my blog like all the cool kids do, but haven’t really felt comfortable doing because the music I tend to listen to isn’t conducive to doing, I’ll take this moment to do so with this song:

…(Before I get to the full selection, you have to admit “You clown jokesters pose for poser posters” is a pretty dope line from the song as well)…

So much game that I could put it in a bottle and sell it to lames
And gettin’ graphics in your fade was fresh in the day
But it was jacked by the losers; I’m ’bout to say screw it
And grow a jheri curl, wear a diaper like Cupid
Or something else stupid and see if people do it
If they do, then that proves it; people are just losers
And they’ll do anything if someone cool do it
But they won’t do it first, so I guess they not cool
And that’s the end of the verse, so I’m chuckin’ that deuce

'Violent by design' - Unreal album.

As you all probably know, I’m absolutely rattled by our exit in the Champions League. This one stung bad. Even more than previous years. But I cant let my fans down. I love you guys too much. So here I am, still truckin’, and writing about things that I love.

If you’ve been following this blog, you’ll know that bar some exceptions, I hate mainstream music in the modern era. That’s right; I don’t care about your poker face or if you wear your sunglasses at night. I also don’t care if you can let it rock because you can’t rap anymore (Ok, you can rap, but your music is garbage). I’d rather listen to music that comes from the heart; a la Lupe.

My friend Craig introduced me to Jedi Mind Tricks. And after I did some further research on them, I felt really out of the loop as far as underground rap goes. These guys are really popular. I’ve been jammin’ to them all day. I’m especially hooked on their ‘Violent by design’ album.

As always, I’ll get the ball rollin for y’all:

For anyone who hasn’t heard, Incubus will be releasing a greatest hits & rarities album entitled “Monuments and Melodies” on May 5.  There will be some new material on the album with the first single, “Black Heart Inertia” to be released on radio airwaves sometime in March.  Along with this release, the band will embark yet another North American tour this summer.  That is great news to my ears because Incubus is one of the most amazing live bands I have ever witnessed.  They get a lot of negative criticism for being a “mainstream” band.  First off, Incubus has constantly evolved and brought something fresh to the table with each new album.  If you listen album by album, you will notice a change musically.  If the evolution has lead to more mainstream music, so be it.  I am a huge fan of S.C.I.E.N.C.E. but would absolutely hate to have 6 other Incubus albums similar to that one.  The band has grown and incorporated various new instruments over time adding a unique element to their music.  The whole mainstream criticism is something that I really hate hearing.  Music snobs would love for their favorite local bands to remain locked down to touring around their little city, rather than hope for success of reaching the biggest audience possible.  If Incubus had remained a local act in Southern California playing funk-driven tracks from Fungus Amongus, I don’t believe the band would have survived.  They never “sold out” as their careers progressed.  Every band wants to make it big, therefore every band wants to sell out.  Incubus makes the music they want, not the music producers tell them to make.  The guys record in studios that cater to the feeling of the album they wish to portray.  Once again, I digress, but music snobs are one of the most annoying things in the world to me.  Every one has their own tastes.  If you don’t like a band’s new stuff, don’t listen to it.  Simple as that.  There is not one band in the world that everyone likes.  And just for the record, I hate hate hate U2.  I hate their music, I hate Bono’s sunglasses, and I love the episode of South Park where Bono was revealed to the be the world’s largest Number 2.  (If you haven’t seen it, check it out!  Hilarious, kinda gross, but hilarious)  Back to my actual article…  I would venture to say that most of these critics have never actually seen Incubus live.  Their live performance musically mimics what they record in the studio which is a testament to their musical abilities.  Every show involves solos from every band member in typically elongated jam sessions which entertain from beginning to end.  They vary their set-lists from show to show and put on amazing performances night in and night out.  I have seen Incubus five times now and will continue to follow them.  It looks like they are going to be performing in Indianapolis and Cincinnati again.  The tour cities seem to be pretty common tour spots for the band.  Out of the five performances I’ve been to, four of them were in outdoor amphitheaters.  The non-outdoor performance was at Rupp Arena in Lexington.  I can’t wait to see these guys again.  It should be a treat following the break the band has had.  Every member has had some pretty significant things happen during this break.  Brandon held his second art gallery out in California.  Jose became a father of the first Incubus baby.  Mike has been studying at Harvard.  Ben has been touring with his solo act.  Kilmore, well I don’t really know what Kilmore has been up to, but I’m sure it was rewarding in some way.  I CANNOT WAIT for this summer!

Y’know, bashing Lil Wayne via words is one of the funnest things to do. One day I’m going to be paid full time to trash talk and write shit about athletes and coaches, when I become a full time/full paid sports writer. But that’s until then. Right now, it’s time to step on Lil Wayne a little more and question how people can possibly listen to his mush mouth, inarticulate piece of junk that’s in the mainstream music.

He doesn’t rap. What he [supposedly] ‘raps’ isn’t rap. Like I said a long time ago, it’s Pop music. Hip Pop. Club Rap. How do I perceive that? Well, it’s popular, isn’t it? But, “It’s labeled as hip hop,” you ask. And, so what? Tim Duncan is labeled as a center but he’s a power forward, isn’t he? I rest my case. Lil Wayne doesn’t stick to the root of true rap/hip hop music. It’s all become a huge facade. A mecca to rap about bitches, guns and money. But don’t worry: there are rappers out there, underground rappers, who can outrap these no-talent hasbeens like Lil Wayne any day of the week.

“But Lil Wayne is more known, so he must be better.” Well, to the average basketball fan, they’ve probably heard of Kevin Garnett more than they’ve heard of Tim Duncan (trust me, I know plenty), when Duncan is clouds above Garnett. It’s all about popularity in the rap business; and with dumbasses, who don’t know what music is if they were trapped in a sound room and slapped in the face with headphones, buying music off of these mainstream hip hop artists who stick to the same bullshit theme, they’ll keep getting their money to add to their wealth. My theory is that, because he’s from the south, guys like Trick Daddy and Rick Ross — who are also terrible mainstream ‘rappers’ — ride his nuts like no other.

Is Lil Wayne the best rapper right now?

Firstly, to even discuss this question, you need to take your mindframe out of the last three to five years as well as learn something about hip hop music. Wayne isn’t a good lyricist period. He can’t rip freestyle and his flow is just bitten from volume one of Jay-Z. Like I said: he’s mush mouthed, inarticulate, and absorbed in narcissism, which some of you Young Buck fans may like, but does not signal a quality mic. You can only compare him to Ludacris, Young Jeezy, T.I., and Juelz Santana, because, save Luda, those three are NOT memorable rappers. Period. They don’t suck super hard, but they aren’t going in the history books as the best of the game. They aren’t even the best in the south. Killer Mike, Outkast, UGK, Scarface, Project Pat, Geto Boys, Devin the Dude, Pastor Troy, Little Brothers: Better rappers than the aforementioned four. Hell, David Banner smokes these cats on record. These dudes drop rhymes multisyllabic with sophistication and have versatility on the mic, unlike all the rappers mentioned in this question.

Canibus, The Roots, KRS-One, MF Doom, Nas, Papoose, Planet Asia, Rakim, RJD2, Talib Kweli, Jedi Mind Tricks and Immortal Technique all blow him out of the fucking water.

Once you learn something, find me here again and read this blog, and then you will understand why haters, like myself, hate on Wayne. You will understand why he sucks.

Justine from Minessota asked me this:
“Jamille you’re a big advocate of indie music.  Do you listen to any mainstream?  If so who?”

My Answer
I do listen to some mainstream music, we all do at some point it is unavoidable.  HOWEVER, I honestly do not care for most mainstream music.   In fact I think it is safe to say the majority of the music industry is a big show of politics.  The music industry is like the presidential debate, you want to watch it but you know what they’re going to say and your sick of hearing the same song over and over again.

Jamille Luney Music Analyst

What Mainstream Artist I Like 
I have to put my money on Keyshia Cole.  I like this young lady and she is definitely genuine.  You may not always agree with Keyshia, but she tells you the truth and what she feels.  Telling people the truth is showing them respect and that is what Keyshia Cole does.  When you lie to people you insult their intelligence (that is what is going on politically right now).  Keyshia Cole will not lie to you, in fact the media and industry tend to criticize her for her honesty.  I applaud her and I urge my fellow indie music lovers and artist to do the same. 

Keyshia sings and speaks from her emotions and she is not shy about hiding them. That is the definition of a true artists—turn your emotions into music.  I hope and pray Keyshia continues to do this as the industry pressures people to become a certain image.  In a recent interview with Kathy Hughes Keshia hinted that her next album (her third) will be lighter and more fun.  Please don’t make it too light Keyshia, we like listening to you and we value your opinions and emotions.  If i am going to buy a mainstream album, it will definitely be Keyshia Cole’s.

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I think I’m becoming the kind of music fan I hate.

I’m becoming the music fan who, when they hear an artist before the artist goes mainstream, they’ll listen to the artist’s music to death. But once their music starts going mainstream, those music fans start resenting the artist, they listen to the music less and less, and start getting annoyed by people who talk about listening to that artist’s music.

It makes absolutely no sense, but that’s what happening to me.

My main artist example of this, currently, is M.I.A.

(Chromeo is sort of another current example of that, but that’s for another time…)

I don’t know if M.I.A. is considered “mainstream” yet, but I do know some mall stores were playing “Boyz” last year, and now everyone and their mama seems to be bumpin’ “Paper Planes” – even so-called cool kids who reject the idea of “mainstream” music. For that matter, “Galang” was featured in a car commercial in ‘06.

Look, I’m not the kind of dude to be out front and say I liked an artist before most people, but since I’m becoming the kind of music fan I hate, let’s take this all the frickin’ way:

Undoubtedly, there are some people who found her and liked her before I did, but chances are that I liked M.I.A. waaaaaay before you did and way more than you do.

You know when I first got into M.I.A.?

2005.

Yeah, that’s right: two-thousand-effin’-five!

Count it up: that’s one, two, three years ago.

I bet you’d never even heard of M.I.A. then, huh? Yeah, that’s right — what now!?

One Saturday afternoon in the summer of ‘05, I was doing some chores around the crib and had on IMF (International Music Feed — that channel doesn’t even exist anymore; that’s how O.G. I am!) when all of a sudden, up on the screen comes this hot rapper(?) girl with an accent and an apparent attitude chillin’ in the jungle, riding elephants, and doin’ this song w/ a crazy simplistic beat consisting mostly of bongo sounds, no bassline, some interesting effects, a catchy hook.

I was watching it on a DVR receiver, so the second it ended, I rewound it, recorded it, and watched it like five more times in a row. I didn’t know what the eff it was, but it was something completely different at the time and it blew my mind.

It was M.I.A.’s “Sunshowers” video.

(This is the spot where I had the “Sunshowers” video embedded… It was the legit Universal Music Group youtube video, too; apparently, though, embedding has been disabled, so if you really want to see it, click here!)

The very next day, I drove to the nearest Borders to see if they had any M.I.A. music. I didn’t know anything about M.I.A. I was watching her on IMF, so for all I knew, she could’ve been some international artist with a gang of albums. All I knew was that, on the merits of “Sunshowers,” I was ready to buy whatever CDs I could find of hers.

I opted for Borders because I knew M.I.A. was likely obscure enough that Best Buy and the like wouldn’t carry her. After looking around for anything by M.I.A. to no avail, I went to one of those computers Borders has set up to help you find books, music, or movies you’re looking for. Some Borders employee didn’t seem to want to let me use it on my own, so she jumped in and basically took it over.

Normally that might piss me off a little, but I was too deadset on finding whoever this Sunshower girl was as quick and easily as possible.

I'd memorized the lyrics to this back around the time Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together" made you want to jam pencils into your ears.

Sure enough, the lady discovered two copies of M.I.A.’s CD “Arular” were in stock, found what part of the music section it was located in, and walked over with me to help me find it. (It was located in the “world music” section, which I had perused, but just missed it while looking.)

The second I got that disc in my hand, I hotfooted it to the checkout counter. I paid for the CD, took it out to my truck, tore it open, and popped it in the CD player. And in my ride home, I made sure to blast “Bucky Done Gun” with the windows down right by a bunch of kids who when I drove by got these weird looks on their faces.

Yeah, I bet they know all the words to “Paper Planes” now.

After consuming the entire CD twice in a row, I got on the computer to look up M.I.A. I don’t know why I didn’t do that in the first place before rushing off to the store — that’s what I’d do these days (maybe I was in too big a rush?) — but upon finding M.I.A. info on the Internet, I found that not only was the CD her debut CD, but it had been released just the Tuesday before!

Countless times bumping it later, I discovered M.I.A. re-released it with a couple changes: a different between-track skit, the song order was slightly different, and there was even a song my version didn’t have.

Despite even purchasing some CD singles (that’s right: CD singles!) through Amazon of songs off of “Arular” (“Bucky Done Gun,” “Galang,” and “Sunshowers”), I never did get the second editon of “Arular.” But I still did follow – totally fanboy-style – M.I.A. news and tour dates and all that.

I missed out on an M.I.A. concert in Detroit in 2006, which I soon regretted because shortly after it, the U.S. government banned her from coming back into the U.S. Sometime after her second album, “Kala” came out, she got let back in and started doing shows again, including Lollapalooza 2007 (which I also missed but had looked into going to).

Last November, however, I did finally make my way to an M.I.A. show, even as I was starting to develop a minor case of resentment for the limited popularity “Boyz” had achieved (that had to do, in small part, with the fact it was my least favorite track on “Kala,” but mostly because it was sorta popular). The show, which I dedicated one of my ol’ skool blog’s posts to, was held at this really tiny venue where — aside from nearly going deaf, and being annoyed by all the high school girls there who couldn’t sing along to any song except for “Boyz” — I had an awesome time.

But that concert sort of symbolizes where my appreciation for M.I.A. ended. I still do get defensive of other artists ripping off her style, like when Fergie’s “London Bridge” came out, or more recently, Santogold (I’m trying to give Santogold a fair shake; I thumbed her up on my Pandora electonic music station). Heck, I’ll still bust out M.I.A.’s music every now and again — mainly because I love crazy weird music and hers is pretty crazy weird – but I find myself mostly having moved on from her.

And unfortunately, because of whatever music snobbiness I’m harboring, the more people listen to “Paper Planes” and whatever else she comes out with in the future, the less I’ll probably enjoy her music.

***

An trivial side note about “Sunshowers”: A month or so after I’d gotten “Arular,” I was watching the movie Boyz N The Hood. During one scene I heard what sounded like the hook to “Sunshowers” in the background. At the end of the movie, I waited for the soundtrack portion of the credits and tried to figure out what it could be — sure enough, there was a song called “Sunshower” listed by Doctor Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band. The hooks are a little different, but that’s it. Oh, and I even ended up downloading that song.

Tonight the Stars Speak

Simply the best worship band I have ever heard. The composer, Ben Crist, is the brains of this operation. He delivers music that is purely from the heart. And, in my opinion, that is worth the price of gold today. Anointed is the only word that comes to mind when I try and describe their presence.

Anyway, the main point I’d like to convey is this: so far (under my observations), they have been very misunderstood by the mainstream Christian media. On the other hand, they have been an absolute hit with the underground music scene. Granted, they are signed to BEC and Tooth and Nail, the latter having been known for their more underground music. They also house the power house record label we know today as Solid State Records. On the other hand, BEC (another sub-label to T&N like Solid State) houses mainstream hits like KJ-52 and KUTLESS!

What is so captivating about this group? What makes them so relevant to the underground music?

I have two answers.

First, is I find that labels such as T&N and Solid State sign bands that are anointed and thus more understood by those that actually are anointed. Or I could be psycho.

Second reason is their style/genre. Because their worship music is so out of the norm and drastically different, they are accepted more-so by the fans of music that is already obscure (by mainstream standards, of course). Amirite? Aren’t fans of metal, hardcore, emo, THE SCENE, more accepting of sounds that are, in a word… different?

Or I could be psycho.

EDIT: P.S. Go listen to them!!!!!!

Since its release a few days ago, I have been thinking about the new Girl Talk album a little more with each passing day (I spin the disk more than once daily) and I have started to wonder about certain cultural and psychological qualities to music.  Specifically I’ve started to become interested in how much the beat of a song matters in the grand scheme of the song as a whole.  Some may argue that such an interest is of no importance when concerning contemporary popular music, as those types would begrudgingly say (as they probably have said ever since they put that Miles Davis or J. S. Bach recording on their turntables for the first time) that most music today is crap.  Without going into my theories on aesthetics and art, I will simply say that the masses, even when keeping consumerism and knowledge boundaries in mind, still listen to various bands and songs in one genre over others.  The market can indeed control which artists get big and which don’t, but bands and artists get discovered or created based on the qualities of the listeners.

So now that, hopefully, it’s understood that even the more basic types of music (though the types are often expanded on by complex, avant-garde or underground types) deserve critical analysis, let’s get back to my concern for the beat of the song.  If you turn on the radio today, chances are the first thing you will if you have never heard the song before will be the singing voice in the song.  The singer is undoubtedly the most relatable to the listener as the singer can make contact via the musical qualities of voice as well as the linguistic, verbal communication qualities (ie. language) that the listener can most easily relate to (both in terms of linguistic speech patterns and the the similarities in emotional capacities of the voice).  But after agreeing or disagreeing with the singer, whether by knowing who the singer is or by not knowing and choosing whether or not to accept the voice, one lingers on the song to see how effective the beat of the song is.  Now this is a rudimentary and perhaps naive inference because there are obviously tastes in genres and sub-genres, emotional factors within the listener, et cetera that will influence a decision to keep listening, but for the sake of argument, let’s stress the important the beat of a song–including the rhythmic or pacing qualities a song has (ie. how fast or slow it is).  The beat includes a combination of percussion, both keyboard melodies, synthetic strings, and otherwise drums, Granted, the voice and other melodies (guitar, backing vocals, singer or rapper) strictly replace the function of the beat as dominant in songs that lack or do not focus on having a beat, if any beat at all, but for songs that have a drum line or use variations on cyclical percussive patterns, there tends to be a theme (perhaps this is my hypothesis or postulate, if you will), that lack of beat equals lack of song.  I bring this up particularly with Feed the Animals because the album, in its arguably seamless entirety, makes use of sampled beats that spontaneously change faster than a Venetian Snares track, and ultimately the track has such auditory suction because of its ability to maintain a vibrant, diverse, and energetic series of beats that makes it both pleasuring, interesting, and at many times, hilarious.

On a random google search I came across this article on human timing mechanisms and their relationship to an internal beat.  This is the hard science end of what is required when analyzing mass interpretations of music and many of the biological functions that are going on between perception and braing activity.  Unfortunately I am not well-versed in literature of the sort so I don’t know what established arguments or camps currently exist, particularly in terms of euphonic approaches to contemporary music.  What I do know is that Girl Talk combines the pre-established relations to hit (popular) songs that most people know, probably primarily through radio, in what could be considered a Jungian throwback to the development of some collective unconscious, some constantly changing, constantly unfolding razzle dazzle that is able to hit all genre bases (thus, perhaps, nullifying genre), and that is able to hit popularity and obscurity bases (you’ve got Nine Inch Nails, Of Montreal, and Lil Wayne; you’ve got “Come on Eileen” and “Throw Some Ds” and Baby Mama’s intense spit about lip gloss).  After all is said and done, the focus comes down to the sheer number of changes that happen throughout this wonderful new approach to soundscapes–it’s like an epic symphonic poem, of sorts–it’s like the world of music condensed and then manipulated, like the world’s greatest computer turned into a two inch long flash drive that is colored pink and makes pig noises.  The total length of the new album (fifty five minutes) is astonishing–it keeps the listener wanting more, gives a delicate, well-maneuvered shift between rises and falls in energy and mood, and the music does not wear out through repetition.  It’s important to understand how easily repetitive electronic music of any sort can get.  From hip-hop spinning to heavy goa trance tracks to drum and bass to artists like Diplo and DJ Shadow–all of these sub-genres of music (that aim to not only please the listener aurally but provide the incentive to groove or dance) can get really old and obnoxious and bland if not expanded on regularly.  The old Girl Talk album, Night Ripper, was good at what it did, but I think many would agree that the first half of the album really shines, where the second half of the album tapers off into “okay, we’ve seen your mashup capabilities and know you’re good at what you do, but we liked the first half better–it was more explosive” land.  But that’s not a huge bash to Night Ripper.  A potentially larger bash would be the compliment that the album was generally enjoyed all the way through because it was played at parties where extensive alcohol consumption levels were as a) mind-blowing (literally and figuratively) as the music itself, and b) were as long-lasting as the repeat button on the player that spun the disk.

But before I go overboard, I think this is where a cultural inspection of popular music becomes an important piece of the puzzle in understanding why certain music is considered “good” and certain music is danced to because it’s “good to dance to.”  It is a complicated assessment of how far down the music intricacy rabbit hole you want to go.  The music that is good to dance to, to groove to, that initiates you and keeps you an active participant in it–rather forces you to feel it’s energy and assertiveness–is probably, more often than not, just like all other forms of music, crap.  But look at Girl Talk and tell me the music is crap–perhaps it’s even more noteworthy because it combines accessibility and that electronic musician talent that is often lost through the bass lines and beats of most of the crunk and club music out there–those songs that maybe incorporate a maximum of four instruments in their beat, with maybe a sample from a keyboard and a few synthetic string arrangements.  You know the type.  Hell, even artists that I listen to on a regular basis–Young Jeezy, Bun B, T Pain, Lil Wayne, Birdman, Trina (we could all go on)–don’t exactly have beats that are genre defining or even defining.  Most of the cultural staples are, in essence, remembered because of their lyrics.  “Everyday I’m hustlin, hustlin–” that line is really easy to recall, but do you remember any of the music that stood behind Rick Ross’s little gem?  Diehard fans might, but then ask them how many of the beats of Rick Ross, who I enjoy thoroughly by the way, they can recall and describe to you.  It’s a test that’s not supposed to prove anything.  If you don’t know the beat of one of the twenty-plus hip-hop songs off Bun B’s King of the Trill album, no one is going to beat you up and stop calling you gangsta.  In contemporary popular music, ranging from hip-hop to electronic mash-ups, the beats tend to be “in-the-moment” features of the music.  Their function is to serve you while you are listening, as opposed to when you are reflecting or remembering.  I am not going to say that some songs, such as Busta Rhymes’s “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See,” or Animal Collective’s “Purple Bottle” have beats that you can’t remember if you’ve heard these songs before (and liked them, by the way–let’s not forget basic memorization patterns!).  Some songs are exceptions.  Maybe they are examples of the real mainstream “art” of the medium, as they will probably have a better chance of standing the test of time than, say, “Fireman” by Lil Wayne, or “Let’s Make Love in the Club” by Young Jeezy.  While those songs do have their positive qualities, their function is, depending on how you look at it fortunately or unfortunately, temporary.

I have single-handedly gone from an interest in how the beats of the song matter to how songs maintain throughout time or fall apart and fizzle into dust.  That’s generally what happens when I approach culture.  But these thoughts will have to be expanded.  If you download the new Girl Talk album, take a step back as your shoulders are moving up and down, your head is nodding, and your fingers are tapping.  Start to question what qualities within each track (and within the album as a whole) make you want to dance, and make you want to continually dance.  I still wonder why the new album is so successful.  I’m pretty sure it has something to do with its appeal through popular culture by way of familiarity and humor, combined with its ability to sound good through those cultural elements and the beats that are used.  Another interesting factor is that the songs on the album have beats that are not always distinguishable.  Meaning, he probably took the drums from somewhere, but where?!  The next question would be: does it matter to know where the beats come from, or are there qualities about them that make them good even when they are not distinguisable between songs?  It’d be hard to doubt that certain beats and beat patterns are all over different songs, and that, though the sounds of the percussion and synths may very, their patterns are cyclically identical through history.  But what makes a beat pleasing to the ear?  What’s the best (most effective) drum track, and how can it be expanded?  Girl Talk expands–notice the glitching and the spitfire fragmentation–but there are even more successful tracks that are played in dance clubs everywhere, blasted from cars that travel down the road, and find homes in the cell phones of people everywhere.  The minimalist would say, “it sounds good.”  But just as poetry addresses natural breath by way of meter, and just as songs often refer back to their metronomic approach to time and speed, I think that aural substance in given spots of time, little packets that enter in and out of the airwaves, in and out of the ear, affect the perception of euphony greatly.

In other news, I started to listen to the new Sigur Ros album, the first two tracks in particular.  The album is called Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust and apparently it’s produced by the same guy who has a production history with Nine Inch Nails, which explains why the first two tracks have a heavier, fast-paced, percussion-oriented, studio-resonating sound.  A big difference from the ambient currents of ().  Though I’ve got virus problems on my home computer, the album will probably get listened to and reviewed this evening.

A few years back- when BBC Radio 3 still has the wisdom to carry the experimental music show Mixing It - (now happily relocated on Resonance FM as WTSIT -where’s the skill in that) – I remember (and fortunately taped) a great interview with cutting edge producer and performer Steve Albini. When asked about the differences between mainstream and underground music, this was his reply:

“There’s always been a mainstream music scene which is a business enterprise….there has always been an underground which is separate from that. The mainstream and the underground have a little bit of cross pollination but more often than not they can be thought of as completely distinct from one another.

The underground is self defining and doesn’t have an external support network and anything which has no burden can move quickly. So there tend to be quick development and little pockets of hard boiled enthusiasm that will survive forever.

There was a period in the 1990s when the mainstream started trying to co-opt certain stylistic elements and certain personalities from the underground – inflating them into mainstream significance. That little experiment having played itself out, the mainstream has retreated from this kind of music.

So the people in the underground scene are cognisant of the fact that it’s not necessarily a way to make a living but , like figure skating or fly fishing, it’s enjoyable for its own sake, whether or not someone pays you to do it”

Today’s mainstream music is not very healthy for the average person’s psyche. It leaves most people going in circles and never resolving anything, only hoping to win the lotto of material wealth and fame.

Music in the past had worthwhile messages and often empowered the listeners to strive for something good and meaningful. Nowadays, the listeners are often led on selfish head trips that do not empower at all but rather cripple.

Much of the music of the past was geared to correct society’s problems. Now, music is rather limited in its focus. The main focus is on appearance, material gain and other rather selfish themes. Take a look at MTV for evidence.

In Plato’s, The Republic, the role of music was discussed for the ideal state. In the ideal state, harmonies which expressed excessive sorrow and relaxation were to be banished completely. In musical terms, Plato only allowed for two modes in songs and melodies: Dorian and Phrygian¹ Probably, Spinal Tap’s sad piece, “Lick My Love Pump”, would have been banned.

The modern Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said in his Case of Wagner in 1888: “Only sick music makes money today.” I believe this quotation has much relevance to most of today’s mainstream music.

Here is the Top Ten hits from Top 40 Charts for May 2, 2008 for sales and airplays.

1. Lil Wayne – Lollipop
2. Leona Lewis – Bleeding Love
3. Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown – No Air
4. Usher & Young Jeezy – Love in This Club
5. Mariah Carey – Touch My Body
6. Madonna & Justin Timberlake – 4 minutes
7. Sara Bareilles – Love Song
8. Ray J & Jung Berg – Sexy Can I
9. Chris Brown – With You
10. Lupe Fiasco – Superstar

Let us examine some of the lyrics.

Partial lyrics Chris Brown – With You

‘Cause if I got you
I don’t need money
I don’t need cars
Girl you’re my heart

Mr. Brown’s implied message is good. He implies that material things are less important than people. I give him a thumbs up for good positive message.

Usher & Young Jeezy – Love In This Club

Might as well give me a kiss, if we keep touching like this
I know you’re scared, baby, they don’t know what we’re doing.
Let’s both get undressed right here, keep it up and, girl, I swear.
I’m gonna give it to you non-stop.
And I don’t care, who’s watching.

I believe this is bad message that promotes impulse and lack of commitment. Thumbs down.

Mariah Carey – Touch My Body

Touch my body
Put me on the floor
Wrestle me around
Play with me some more
Touch my body
Throw me on the bed
I just wanna make you feel
Like you never did.
Touch my body
Let me wrap my thighs
All around your waist
Just a little taste
Touch my body
Know you love my curves
Come on and give me what I deserve
And touch my body….

Trash lyrics. Maybe Mariah is tired of the Paparazzi filming her and claiming they had relationship with her. Thumbs down for negative message. (oh boy).

Leona Lewis – Bleeding Love

Closed off from love
I didn’t need the pain
Once or twice was enough
And it was all in vain
Time starts to pass
Before you know it you’re frozen um ooh ooh ooh yeah

But something happened
For the very first time with you
My heart melts into the ground
Found something true
And everyone’s looking round
Thinking I’m going crazy

But I don’t care what they say
I’m in love with you
They try to pull me away
But they don’t know the truth
My heart’s crippled by the vein
That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
I keep bleeding
I keep, keep bleeding love
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love
You cut me open

Trying hard not to hear
But they talk so loud
Their piercing sounds fill my ears
Try to fill me with doubt
Yet I know that the goal
Is to keep me from falling

But nothing’s greater
Than the rush that comes with your embrace
And in this world of loneliness
I see your face
Yet everyone around me
Thinks that I’m going crazy, maybe, maybe….

I’ll give credit to Ms. Lewis for staying committed and fighting the good fight through the problems. This song is obviously about love. Thumbs up for positive message.

The music of the 1960s brought about change in a turbulent decade. The time was about questioning authority. George Harrison’s song “Think for Yourself” is a good example of the philosophy of the 1960s. Now people do not question authority much. We have become too satisfied with life. We have too much idle time and so we become obsessed with determining who has “The Sweetest Ass in the World”. If you do not know this song, look up Alex C. on google or youtube. These are the type songs that are not only popular but sell money today. I think Nietzsche would be having a fit!

In the past, music had the power to literally break down walls. In Biblical times the town of Jericho was liberated by music and sound. The walls surrounding Jericho came down from the loud blasts of trumpets and the shouting of priests. ² The music set the people free. The music of today often keeps us in bondage to depression or to bad situation we are going through.

Another Biblical musical reference is about the Shepherd David. David was requested to calm down the anxiety-ridden king of Israel. In the King’s palace, David played his soothing harp. This is an example how music can be used to benefit mental health.³

Most of today’s music is aggressive but it makes sense with the War on Terrorism and Iraq both raging. There are so many bad vibes floating around. The workplace is also very volatile and up and down with lay-offs, wage freezes, and rumors of recession. Maybe we are all fed up with what is going on or we should be. We are in a fearful and uncertain time. It is often hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I believe that most people should be a little angry and fed up. If the person is not, then the person is probably numbed by anti-depressants or other pills. (Been there, done that). Living in the comfort zone of America, people have become too apathetic to break away from American Idol or the latest fad or trend.

In the 1960s, there were riots, protests, demonstrations, assassinations, the most turbulent of decades. Today is probably just as turbulent or more but where is the cry for change from the mainstream?

There are a few but it is limited. System of a Down has been one of the more outspoken bands about the war in Iraq.

B.Y.O.B.

Everybody’s going to the party have a real good time.
Dancing in the desert blowing up the sunshine.

In 1969, at Woodstock, Country Joe sang his famous protest song of the Vietnam War. Here is the first part of the lyrics.

I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ To Die

Yeah, come on all of you, big strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again.
He’s got himself in a terrible jam
Way down yonder in Vietnam
So put down your books and pick up a gun,
We’re gonna have a whole lotta fun.

And it’s one, two, three,
What are we fighting for?
Don’t ask me, I don’t give a damn,
Next stop is Vietnam;
And it’s five, six, seven,
Open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain’t no time to wonder why,
Whoopee! we’re all gonna die….

The band, Rage Against the Machine has been outspoken on such issues as censorship and artistic freedom.

This is a very big issue in the music industry these days. Stay tuned…

To end on a positive note, here is a list of artists that have thoughtful and forward thinking messages and have meant a lot to me. You cannot go wrong here!!

1. Animals, The
2. Arlo Guthrie
3. Association, The
4. Band, The
5. Beach Boys, The
6. Beachwood Sparks
7. Beatles, The
8. Beck
9. Black Angels, The
10. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
11. Bob Dylan
12. Bob Gibson
13. Brian Jonestown Massacre, The
14. Bruce Springsteen
15. Buffalo Springfield
16. Byrds, The
17. Canned Heat
18. Carl Perkins
19. Carter Family, The
20. Chi-lites, The
21. Chris Stills
22. Chuck Berry
23. Coasters, The
24. Counting Crows, The
25. Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young
26. Cure, The
27. Dandy Warhols, The
28. David Bowie
29. Deep Purple
30. Depeche Mode
31. Donovan
32. Doors, The
33. Edie Brickell
34. Elvis Presley
35. Fairpoint Convention
36. Flat People
37. Flying Burrito Brothers, The
38. Further
39. Gene Clark
40. George Harrison
41. Go-Kart Mozart
42. Gram Parsons
43. Grateful Dead, The
44. Hank Williams
45. INXS
46. Janis Joplin
47. Jay Farrar
48. Jefferson Airplane
49. Jesus and the Mary Chain
50. Jimi Hendrix
51. John Lennon
52. Johnny Cash
53. Kinks, The
54. Kula Shaker
55. Led Zeppellin
56. Left Banke
57. Lenny Kravitz
58. Little Richard
59. Lou Reed
60. Louvin Brothers, The
61. Love
62. Lovin’ Spoonful, The
63. Merle Haggard
64. Monkees, The
65. My Bloody Valentine
66. Mystic Chords of Memory
67. Neil Young
68. N.W.A.
69. Oasis
70. Paul McCartney
71. Pink Floyd
72. Poco
73. Police, The
74. Quarter After, the
75. Radiohead
76. Rage Against the Machine
77. Red Hot Chili Peppers
78. Richie Furay
79. Ride
80. Roger McGuinn
81. Rolling Stones, The
82. Ryan Adams
83. Sheryl Crow
84. Sly and the Family Stone
85. Simon and Garfunkle
86. Son Volt
87. Spacemen 3
88. Stephen Stills
89. Strawberry Alarm Clock
90. System of A Down
91. Thrills, The
92. Tom Petty
93. Troggs, The
94. Tyde, The
95. U2
96. Uncle Tupelo
97. Van Halen
98. Van Morrison
99. Velvet Underground, The
100. Violent Femmes, The
101. Warlocks, the
102. Who, The
103. Willie Nelson
104. Wiskey Biscuit
105. Wilco
106. Wings
107. Zombies, The
108. ZZ Top

up¹Plato. Republic. Trans. Benjamin Jowett.

up² Josh. 6:20

up³ 1 Sam. 16:23