This  morning I watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I was both pleased and shocked over the changes to this parade. For one, I was glad that this parade returned to its original route, ending on NYC’s 34th Street, as in the film Miracle on 34th Street. Being a musician, I was curious as to which artists would grace the stages of some of the floats. While this year’s Thanksgiving Day Parade featured astounding musical numbers and singers like Andrea Bocelli and Carly Simon, I noticed that this parade had more artists that were new to me: artists like Jay Sean, Keke Palmer, Boys Like Girls, Billy Currington, and Mitchel Musso. These singers cover a wide range of genres, some of these performances bothered me. Currington, for instance, sang “People are Crazy,” where he proclaimed his love of God and alcohol (Was that really necessary for a family program?). Others, like Musso, lip-synched their hit songs, often barely avoiding musical snafus reminiscent of  Milli Vanilli. Honestly, I’d prefer if all of the performers would just sing and not rely on their amplied studio recordings as crutches!

An 18 year old employee of mine asked me the most ridiculous question today, she rudely put forth, ” you don’t like Lady Gaga?” This young lass asked this question with such audacity and awe that I was forced to ponder the question, call it mental rendition. I answered with a pathetic “I guess she’s OK.” Complete fail, she’s OK? She’s agitating, she’s trendy, she’s terribly untalented, she’s somewhat sexy in the bestiality kind of way, but she’s not “OK.” After hitting up Natural High to peep Karma tonight I knew my preference for substance was not music nerdy or socially elite, it was a simple dismissal of terrible radio junk. Lady Gaga is the type of artist that ends up in a figurative garbage can, considering it’s Gaga, she may end up in a physical one to boot. I can’t think of a reasonable historic example to exemplify my point here, but 4 Non Blondes and Milli Vanilli come to mind for some reason. Either way, this YouTube character, Lord Gaga, is the kind of viral identity I would usually dismiss with a passive glance and a wave of the mouse. But this character hammers my proverbial nails in Lady Gaga’s coffin, I can’t help but stare awhile, and yes, free my mind from an unknown interrogation cell in Syria.

Check this video of Lady Gaga while she was still human and a student at NYU.

]]> http://manoamondo.com/2009/11/25/heresy-the-beatles-milli-vanilli-and-the-smell-of-bullshit/ Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:45:29 +0000 mikthom http://manoamondo.com/2009/11/25/heresy-the-beatles-milli-vanilli-and-the-smell-of-bullshit/

I’ve never liked The Beatles. Even as a kid there was something condescending in their melodies and lyrics. I felt like a dog watching a ball bounce, my head forcibly nodding against the staccato handclapping and harmonized shouts of cheer. I didn’t have a fully formed world view, but I knew by instinct it was piffle to say “Nothing you can know that isn’t known/ Nothing you can see that isn’t shown.” There’s a folksy egotism in their cheerfulness; as if the universe exists simply because we’re here to witness it, and that fact should be sung out loud.

When I heard “Nobody Told Me” for the first time I started to get an inclination of what I felt was missing. I really like John Lennon’s solo records, but The Beatles make my teeth clinch. You’ve heard before about all the attendant dishonesty and hucksterism that built up The Beatles, in every bit the same way as have been New Kids on the Block, The Backstreet Boys, N’Sync, and the Jonas Brothers.

They began a bunch of woefully ambitious teenagers with Little Richard in their eyes. After playing local coffee shops and eeking out a meager tour in Germany, they hire Bruce Epstein, whom Paul McCartney would later call the real “fifth Beatle.” With Epstein’s help, the milky and red-lipped runts started wearing suits, won a record contract, and kept playing regular gigs with Epstein covering expenses. And then the kindling of dimples, eternal love, and an E Major caught fire and turned them into something like a sneeze, but even better.

In the first album review I ever wrote, I wondered what a fifteen year-old really has to share with the world. I asked it of Miley Cyrus, but I think the question deserves to be asked of The Beatles. They formed as miscreant teenagers, hung on long enough to find a similarly hungry manager, and won themselves a podium in front of the world before they’d even really had a chance to live. I don’t mind being sung to by teenagers, but I’d prefer they do it in a voice that’s their own. The Beatles sound chillingly impersonal to me. They sound like a bunch of sophomores with big lungs and an ear for form, unconvicted smiles and headbobs to accompany songs about loving someone forever.

Their music sounds cold and alien to me, the pious augmented chords from the hymnal conflated with the sing-along major chords of Gilbert and Sullivan. Even when there was nothing else like it, The Beatles still bore the stiff structures of their deathly boring antecedents in proper British culture.

It’s bizarre to see how many people still like The Beatles, and seem to do so without having much thought about why. In most company it goes almost without having to ask, it’s simply assumed that you’ll like them. We all do.

I’ve been called a bullshit artist by a lot of people. My friend S, upon first meeting me, used to peer at me suspiciously when we talked because she was always trying to figure out if I was being serious or not. It’s an easy trick to look someone in the eye and tell them something of which you have no serious understanding.

It’s a pretty idea to imagine we’re rational creatures who communicate through intellect, experience, and exchange. But people are just as prone to believe something based on the way it sounds, or how pretty is the box in which it comes. Go read a newspaper, watch a news show and listen to how much unfounded assertion there is in the daily life. And listen to your friends, co-workers, and family members parrot these assertions which they’ve internalized, not because they’re true, but because they arrived with some startling force and conviction.

I often wonder if I could get away with writing articles whose factuating hyperlinks point to nonsense. I could make a claim about the civil war in Sri Lanka and link to a clip of Looney Tunes just as easily as I could a news story from the AP. Alternately, I could write something filled with daggers and venom about some political conspiracy whose supporting texts were dense thickets, 10,000 word think tank reports which needed to be fished through to discover the one relevant passage which, I’d inevitably be mischaracterizing.

But if things sounds true, based on some subliminal animal response to tone of voice, diction, body language, and insinuation, then they becomes true.  Perception is reality. I wish I could have created a compilation of the reactions I’ve gotten in telling people that I don’t really like The Beatles. The blank disbelieving eyes, the head turned to the side in mistrust. I told my friend C that The Beatles were church music with a backbeat and he’s made it into a refrain whenever I see him.

When I was twelve I was in love with Milli Vanilli. For a year or two, their first album became the candy coating on my pre-teen ennui. I doped myself with their music, feeding hopeless crushes that stretched towards infinity, and daydreams about another summer vacation. I didn’t know anything. My conscious life had unfolded in a quiet suburb measured in bicycle routes. The only scandals I knew were about neighbors divorcing or kids throwing parties when their parents were out of town. It was a simpler time, one that placated my sense for bullshit. It lasted for a while, but as soon as I started listening to another generation’s bullshit, I realized I was already covered in it.

Ik hou van muziek, wie niet? Ik draai dagelijks muziek op mijn laptop en op mijn werk hebben we de hele dag de muziek aanstaan. Heerlijk! Ik luister naar verschillende soorten muziek,  mijn voorkeur gaat toch wel uit naar rock en naar popmuziek. Ik heb een lijstje gemaakt met mijn tien favoriete songs van dit moment.

1. Iron & Wine – Flightless Bird, American Mouth.

Dit nummer hoorde ik voor het eerst op het einde van de film Twilight – in deze scene dansen Bella & Edward in een koepel op het eindejaarsfeest- en ik was meteen helemaal verkocht. Ik vind dit echt een heerlijk nummer om bij weg te kunnen dromen. Het nummer is ook perfect gekozen voor de eindscene van Twilight. I love it!

2. Cobra Starship FT Leighton Meester – Good Girls Go Bad.

Ik draai dit nummer denk ik wel zo’n 5x per dag en ik blijf hem helemaal geweldig vinden. Dit nummer hoorde ik voor het eerst tijdens een aflevering van Gossip Girl en toen ben ik meteen gaan opzoeken van wie dit nummer was. En wat bleek, Leighton Meester – zij speelt de rol van Blair in Gossip Girl- bleek mee te zingen in dit nummer. Hoe cool!

3. Lady Gaga – Paparazzi

Ik was al fan van Lady Gaga’s eerder uitgebrachte nummers Just Dance en Pokerface maar toen ik Paparazzi voor het eerst luisterde toen ik The Fame had gekocht was ik ook meteen helemaal weg van dit nummer. Vooral de clip vind ik echt supergaaf gemaakt. Ook dit nummer draai ik nog dagelijks!

4. Muse – Supermassive Black Hole.

Zodra ik dit nummer hoor denk ik automatisch aan die geweldige baseball scene uit Twilight – jaja weer een track uit Twilight, die film zit gewoon vol met geweldige songs- waarin de Cullens samen met Bella een potje gaan honkballen. Ook van dit nummer was ik meteen groot fan!

5.  Michael Jackson – Man in the Mirror.

Al sinds ik een klein meisje was was ik al fan van Michael Jackson, ik draaide mijn cd van Bad en History helemaal grijs. Sinds zijn dood vind ik de tekst van Man in the Mirror geweldig mooi, en zodra ik de begintune hoor krijg ik nog steeds kippenvel.

6. Nick & Simon – Pak maar mijn hand.

Ik heb echt helemaal niks met Nederlandse muziek, maar de muziek van Nick & Simon vind ik wel heel goed. Pak maar mijn hand heeft een geweldig mooie tekst. Do i need to say more? Luister dit nummer maar eens, I know you love it!

7. The Jackson Five – Ill Be There.

Ik vind dit nummer het allerbeste nummer wat The Jackson Five gezongen hebben, vooral de stem van de kleine Michael is zo mooi. Vooral als je nagaat dat hij nog hartstikke jong was toen hij dit nummer zong zit het toch vol emotie. I love it.

8. Milli Vanilli – Girl, Im gonna miss you.

Volgens mijn moeder was dit het enigste nummer wat ik mee kon zingen in mijn kindertijd. Nog steeds vind ik het een heel mooi nummer en kan het me helemaal niets schelen dat de zangers fake bleken te zijn. Ik luister muziek namelijk vooral om de tekst, en de tekst in dit nummer is gewoon heel mooi. Punt!

9. Simon Keizer – Kronenburg Park.

Een aantal weken terug was er op Nederland 2 of 3 het progamma De beste zangers van Nederland waarin een aantal bekende zangers – waaronder Nick & Simon- bekende stukken van andere zangers zongen. Toen Simon het nummer Kronenburg Park van Frank Boeijen moest zingen liepen de rillingen me over de armen heen. Ik heb hem meteen gedownload en nu is het 1 van mijn favoriete nummers.

10. Justin Timberlake – Losing My Way.

Losing my way gaat over een man, Bob, die verslaafd is geraakt aan drugs en wat hij door zijn verslaving is kwijtgeraakt. Dit nummer raakt je gewoon en Justin zingt het geweldig mooi. Ik vind de live versie van zijn Futuresex/Lovesound tour nog het mooiste.

Dit was mijn lijst, wat zijn jullie favoriete nummers? Let me know!

The day of the mighty fall from grace for Milli Vanilli. 3 US number ones, an album entitled The Hits that Shook the World, and a Grammy for Best Newcomers. They were as big as Banaramama, Mel and Kim, Bros, all those greats of the late 80s. What a time.

Turned out- on all their hits, those cultural milestones- they hadn’t written the music, didn’t play any instruments, they didn’t even sing. And they were found out live in concert. Watch below.

The Grammy was taken back on the 19th November 1990. Yet the decision of the judges didn’t stop talentless people making money from others’ music. The 90s was a decade dominated by lip-synced, manufactured pop. What’s the difference between this and some glamorous puppet of the noughties, mincing their way through someone else’s lyrics and an auto-cue? Its still ‘fake’.

Anyway, music is about the pleasurable experience of listening, not the talent that has gone into the making of it. Better to judge Milli Vanilli for their shit-piss music they agreed to mime along to, than the fact that they were miming.

On this day in 1990 – Milli Vanilli was stripped of their Grammy Award because other singers had lent their voices to the “Girl You Know It’s True” album.

SOTD: Human Highway – The Sound

CAHOTD

DOTD (WOOT OFF DAY  3!)

RCOTD

Question of the Day:

What is the best kind of milkshake, and what item goes best with it?

1990, Producers confirmed that Milli Vanilli did not sing on their album…but they did dance in their videos, right? Right!?!??!

Vampiro (Ian Hodgkinson) / myspace.com/drochfhoula / www.vampiromovie.com

Por Jorgito

Me parece interesante que ayer, en el programa V3, de Multimedios Televisión, vi una entrevista con el Vampiro Canadiense y estubo muy buena a continuación, les anexo una parte de lo que ocurrio:

• El Vampiro Canadiense, ex luchador ídolo de los 90´s en México estuvo anoche de invitado hoy es un hombre renovado, luego de estar atrapado en la fama y las drogas.
• Billy Ian Hodgkinson confió que la fama es falsa, no existe, porque él no disfrutó su época de gloria y nunca entendió por qué lo amaron tanto si siente no era un hombre bueno

• Además su imagen no era tan suya, él fue guardaespaldas de Milli Vanilli y de ellos copió usar pañoletas y extensiones con trenzas que tanto gustó a sus fans.
• ¿No se esperaban esto en la entevista?, preguntó El Vampiro Canadiense
• Recordó la locura que vivió al llenar la Arena México en casi 40 ocasiones y actuar ante más de 30 mil personas y todos vitoréandolo, eso era difícil de comprender. Llegó a luchar 37 veces a la semana y en días locos se aventaba 12 luchas al día, seguro sólo tolerable con la droga.
• Era ir de un avión a otro, de una ciudad a otra. Recordó en una ocasión que luchó tanto se le fracturó una pierna, el promotor le dijo perdóname, pero al momento recapacitó:
• “Me dijo, perdóname, madres te faltan dos luchas más. Me inyectaron algo en la rodilla e hice las otras dos luchas, pero así era. Después de eso me encerré en mi habitación, me rape el pelo y le llame para decirle no me llames más”.
• El Vampiro Canadiense permaneció encerrado por un año y fue que decidió algo debía hacer con su vida. Hoy pertenece a la asociación Angeles Guardianes que ayudan a jóvenes de zonas marginadas y son encauzados a servicio comunitario y apoyan a las autoridades para limpiar las calles de vandalismo y se les aleja de las drogas.
• Hoy Ian es el ángel guardian, aunque no se puede olvidar la magia que dejó en el pancracio como El Vampiro Canadiense…

Enlaces:

• MySpace de la banda del Vampiro: Droch Fhoula
• El documental del Vampiro

So apparently after a Britney Spears show in Australia, people were angry to find out about her lip-synching.

Now, some lawmakers over there want artists to tell in advance whether or not their performance will be live or lip-synched.

If this happened here, American music would probably cease to exist.

Producătorilor le plăcea cum suna numele altui proiect muzical Scritti Politti. Au născocit o versiune mai vanilată, au adunat muzicienii din studio, au găsit doi manechini talentaţi la karaoke şi aşa s-a născut o nouă vedetă.

Milli Vanilli

We the Indie Music fans of the world have a duty.  The world we’re leaving for our children is in terrible peril! While the media has pumped us full of Save he Whales, Save the O-Zone, and Save the world from the likes of John and Kate, there is a much more threatening evil on our doorstep.

Yes Indie Citizens…I’m talking about carbon copy, teeny-bop, pop.

I’m talking about the Jonas Brothers. I’m talking about Hannah Montana…or Miley Cyrus…or Hannah Montana…oh whatever. I’m talking about The Cheetah Girls! Yes. It’s horrible. And it’s threatening to lead our children down the path of musical starvation, turning them into Star whatever point whatever and KIIS FM  zombies who won’t know the difference between a good song and a radio jingle!

In the same way that my father saved me from Debbie Gibson, Maddonna, Tiffany, Milli Vanilli, and Vanilla Ice with the Beatles…I believe we should all fight the mainstream music maleficence take and introduce our kids to good music. Music that doesn’t feature just 3 power chords. Music that doesn’t feature “jaded” in the lyrics . Yes, music that doesn’t suck.

Let me help get you started. Here are some songs that have gone over like the Berlin Wall on my kids:

• Mates of State – My Only Offer. My kids love this song. EVERY one of them, ranging from 8 years old to 4, even the 6 month old likes it.
• Architecture in Helsinki: That Beep: This song has been so requested at our house that I’ve almost had to hide the CD.
• Of Montreal: Brush, Brush, Brush. Ok, I don’t care that this song is off the soundtrack for the weirdest kids show on TV. Yo Gabba Gabba has the Teletubbies and Poobah beat for psychotic mental trip, and truth be told, I really can’t stomache the show, but this song is cool. And Of Montreal is one of the indie-est Indie bands on the planet.
• They Might Be Giants. (see video below). You can pick just about anything from John and John. Their music is fun and wacky, and they even do kid music. I’ve actually been listening to their kid stuff for years with my kids, and let me tell you: they sure beat Raffi! In fact, you don’t even have to buy a CD to get your kids started. Go right over to Itunes and subscribe to the Friday Night Family Podcast (or click here to watch it in “syndicate”). Other great TMBG hits your kids will love: “Experimental Film,” “The Mesopotamians,” “Man It’s So Loud in Here,” and even the classic “Birdhouse in Your Soul”. Below is a ditty from their new Kiddie Album.

• Rodrigo and Gabriela – Diablo Rojo. Pretty much anything by this duo will make your kids dance.

• Robert Bobbert / Apples in Stereo – We Are Superheroes. You can count on just about anything from Apples in Stereo. Robert Bobbert is the lead singer and has done his own stuff (like the link above).

• Dan Zane and Friends – Hello. Ok, this guy really IS a kiddie musician, but this song was featured in a recent Coke Ad, and it’s very cool. (sorry, no download link).
• Dogs Die in Hot Cars – Godhopping. Just a cool song all around. Fast paced, and it talks about children in poor countries…so bonus points for teaching kids social responsibility.
• 8 1/2 Souvenirs – Happy Feet. This is a great swing outfit. Their stuff is…well…happy.
• Forro in the Dark – Asa Branca (Featuring David Byrne). Brillian brazilian beats. Used to be a legit free download on music.download.com, I’m sure it still is somewhere.
• Guster – Amsterdam. Pretty much anything of this album (Let’s Keep it Together), is great. In fact, I think this album is one of the best (if not THE best) indie albums of all time. Yes. I just said that.
• Oingo Boingo – We Close Our Eyes. Come on, it’s Halloween. I had to include something from Boingo.

9/10/2009 - Originally Posted on www.thebrightsideup.blogspot.com

Douchebags (aka “tools”) have become the staple of every nightlife venue all over the United States. Whether you’re sipping on a dry martini in New York or having sex on the beach in Miami, you will never find a shortage of douchebags. If you’re unfamiliar with what a douchebag is, just refer to the image below:

The sweat band absorbs the dripping hair product to maintain the magnificent electroshock hairstyle.

Douchebags come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. Many douchebags are known for being narcissistic, superficial, steroid-abusing and jagerbomb chugging individuals with the uncanny ability to appear as confident in themselves as Ron Jeremy did in his acting for the film One-Eyed Monster. Despite the glaringly positive attributes of these nightclub demi-gods, their efforts to become loved by their peers is shot down as fast a dog who loses a fight in Michael Vick’s thunderdome (no wait he strangled them himself, but we’ll leave that for another post).

Stop being so selfish and think about the douchebag. Let’s start off with some words of wisdom for those who encounter the douchebag:

The Angry Girlfriend

So he cheated on you…
On more than one occasion…
With your sister…
And then with your best friend…
Then again with your sister.

Before you start packing your bags, take a look at why your douchebag decided to plow the garden of another woman’s farm (have sex with another woman). Your douchebag obviously had no choice due to the fact that all women want him. Being a gift from God to women is a responsibility that douchebags take seriously. He told you that your sister was waiting in the room and that he HAD to do it. It didn’t mean anything. Oh yeah, and that night you sent him angry text messages meant that you didn’t care so he had the green light to f*ck your best friend.

The Average Guy

You’re out on a Friday night with your buddies and girlfriend after a long week of working at (insert hated job here). You decide to go drinking at the hottest bar in town when suddenly your local douchebag locks eyes with you. In a fit of testosterone and drunken filled exhilaration, he gleefully calls you out to a screaming contest or as douchebags refer to it as, “fighting”. Of course, you mistake this act of male bonding as aggression and walk away. However, during this time another local douchebag is also getting acquainted with your friends (specifically your girlfriend) by having a tonguefight in the corner of the room. Oh and your friends got kicked out because they decided to play slap-ass with the local douchebag promoter. That could’ve been you!

What’s the big, deal man!? I hope you feel ashamed of yourself. If you can’t appreciate a good night out then just keep your negative mumbo jumbo to yourself. Douchebags turned what would have been a rather mundane night of pleasant banter, moderate drinking, and designated driving into a cyclone of fun.

So I hope you see that douchebags are humans like all of us. They’re like Jesus except instead of loving everyone they only love themselves. Just because they look different and speak a different language does NOT mean you should criticize them.

I hope I’ve opened your eyes and your hearts to accepting these stupendous creatures.

In the words of the douchebag,

“Aye brah, there’s a party in my mouth. You should come.”

Thanks to hotchickswithdouchebags for many of the images .

If you’re in your 20-something to 30-something, you ought to know what we mean. Human beings moving in the oh-so-very don’t ways, lip syncing,  good looking guys dudes (don’t be bitter, they were); Milli Vanilli.

Before we begin, we’d like to extend our condolences to Rob Pilatus’s family. You can read more about him here.

You might not agree with us. After all, it is a typical 80s video, except that this one was pushing the bad gym knockoff a bit far. Keep in mind that if we didn’t really dig the song, we wouldn’t be writing this.

Ok, you have no clue what we’re on about? Have a look at the video.

1. First things first, the beginning of the video is the epitome of overacting, lip syncing, and bad pick ups.  What is “what are you doing back”? Is it just another way of saying “so what are you doing back here? why the heck did you come back?” or “what were you doing at the back of the gas station to be so full of grease”?

2. “well, I sat back and thought about the things we used to do. It really meant a lot to me. You mean a lot to me.”

“I really mean that much to you?”

Ok, what is NOT wrong about this? Who can lip sync ACTUAL talk. And no girl in her sane mind would reply, in the same tone, “I really mean that much to you?” It sounds like they are playing charades and guessing each other’s words. Good job.

3. Blame it on the busy streets of where it was filmed. Is it us or are you twitching too every time a vehicle passes while they’re still talking? Also, we’d also like to compliment them on the wrong choice of vehicle colors, at some point, a red bus passes behind her, and not a second later, a red one passes in front of the viewer. #Fail

4. That busy street and those vehicles produce no sound whatsoever (WTH? Creepy).

5.#Fail

Aie! *crush* #Fail

Don’t do that! Who does that?! We know you’re happy to be taping a video to your *ahem* song, but, now we get a clear picture as to why “Girl who doesn’t know it’s true” does NOT know it’s true ooh ooh ooh, and needs reasurance by very lip-synced song. (Clue #1 as to why she doesn’t actually know)

6. At the beginning of the “story”, she’s all blue and gloomy and feeling left out as she is PMSing next to the window of what appears to be a crappy hotel room. (Clue #2, cheapo). He walks in, they’re talking, she happens to push him and he is suddenly jolted away and bam, bashes his little body onto the wall. #Fail, my super ex-girlfriends. (Clue #3 – ditch her)

7. Stop the swinging, you’re making us dizzy. We know you’re trying to fill editing/film gaps.

I shampoo my locks

8. Maybe this was supposed to be part of their pitch, but “Girl who doesn’t know it’s true” is..uhm..wearing no bra. So when he’s chasing her, badong-badong-badong. #Fail and very sad

9. They do a tapdancing gig when they’re angry? If we did that, we’d be VERY lonely. No tapdancing when you ANGUEE! NO NO!

10. Shoulderpads. Huge shoulderpads.

11. Swingy dancing. Very masculine, we-swing-our-baddeys-with-our-little chicken-thighs dancing. #fail and #COMEON (Clue #4)

Don't

No

..please...

12. The walking threesome. Wasn’t she dating the other one? Now she’s hugging the slow one? ‘Nuff said.

13. The focus on hoochie butt. For a song aimed at girls (Come on, it’s “Girl, you know it’s true”), that was a bad inkblot on the storyboard.

14. Don’t do that. Specifically NOT if you look better than your girl dressed like that. (Clue #5)

Call Mom, tell her I'm skipping dinner

15. We could have written a dozen more, but come on, don’t you just love that song?

Also, watch yourselves because Milli Vanilli are coming at you with their swingy thighs to  prove “it’s true”.

gloup

Good lord, it’s cold and rainy here in Connecticut! For this weekend, Emme and I had discussed horseback riding or a trip to the Thompson Speedway, but the forecast  is not encouraging.  Will the ladies of OneSixNine have to find indoor adventures (or Conn-ventures, if you will)? I think it may be true. Suggestions?

Also, I know you are all waiting eagerly for the write-up of our trip to Stonington on Monday. Rest assured, it’s coming. The ladies have had busy, busy weeks.

To: milli@aol.com

From: vanilli@aol.com

Subject: Release of debut album and subsequent tour

Dude, I’ve got a bad feeling about this.

We hate Jonas Brothers Fan and we hate the post Win a Build-A-Bear.

1. WE HATE your love of the Jonas Brothers. You will wake up one day and also hate your love of the Jonas Brothers. We know. It happened with us and Milli Vanilli. We wrote a fan letter to them in 1990 (before your parents were married and divorced). That’s how someone used to express their love of a musical act, by the way. They wrote fan letters. By hand. On paper. And they mailed it. Using the post office.

2. WE HATE that as we write this at a coffee shop, we have to hide the top of your page on the off chance that someone is looking. We’re male, forty-seven years old, balding and overweight. We expect the cops to bust through the door any second now.

Here's looking at you, ten year old girls. Looking ... very intently ... at you. Yes, you. We're coming for you. The middle one, Stanley, is going to make you wish you were eleven.

3. WE HATE the over-exuberant comments. Would you like some words with your exclamation marks?

4. WE HATE that nowhere on your blog could we find acknowledgment of the stomach-pumping rumor. You know, the one about Joe getting his stomach pumped after his well-documented ritalin overdose and the doctors finding 2 litres of a certain unmentionable male fluid in there? The band hasn’t denied it. All the blogs are mum. What’s the deal?

5. WE HATE your vlogs.

Here’s a drinking game: Every time you want to throw your computer across the room while watching that video, drink. Bonus game: Every time Katie and Karleigh (we hate alliteration) say “like,” slap yourself in the face.

We lasted a minute before passing out red-faced. How did you do? Comment before October 10th and you’ll automatically be entered to win a We Hate Your Blog ashtray.

Powerline A.D. has debuted what we hope will be a regular feature on the Web site. In The Media and Their Music, we will ask members of the media from the US and the UK about their musical tastes, how music fits into their life, and what music artist would they most like to interview.

The feature debuts with a Q&A with Contessa Brewer of MSNBC (pictured above). Contessa discusses the music she likes, playing the piano, singing karaoke, and an interesting experience at a Milli Vanilli show when she was 16.

To read the first of our The Media and Their Music series with Contessa Brewer of MSNBC, click here.

http://alphainventions.com                           http://blogsurfer.us

Happy Birthday to Rebecca

Elsewhere in Bdays today…
~1926 John Coltrane born in Hamlet, NC; saxophone, composer, bandleader, bebop, hard bop, post bop, free jazz. 

~1930 Ray Charles born in Albany,Ga; Fun Fact: “Charles gave each of his children $1,000,000.00 tax free in December 2002 at a family lunch. 10 of his 12 children were given a check for $1,000,000 at the luncheon, 2 couldn’t make it.”
Firsts for Today…
~1962 ABC’s 1st color TV series-The Jetsons
~1977 Cheryl Ladd replaces Farrah Fawcett on Charlie’s Angels
~1984 SF 49er Joe Montana misses his 1st start in 49 games

Music Notes…
~1967, making their UK live debut, The Mothers Of Invention appeared at the Royal Albert Hall London.
~1967, The Box Tops started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘The Letter’
~1968, working on new songs for their forthcoming ‘White Album’, The Beatles recorded a new John Lennon song ‘Happiness Is A Warm Gun In Your Hand’, (working title of ‘Happiness Is A Warm Gun’). The title came from the cover of a gun magazine that producer George Martin showed Lennon.
~1989, Milli Vanilli started a two week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘Girl I’m Gonna Miss You’, the duo’s second US No.1

Deeeeep Thoughts…on deeep questions
(Tip of the hat to sixnate)

~If you have sex with a prostitute against her will, is it considered rape or shoplifting? 
~Can you cry under water?
~How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered?

Weird Tweetin’…
~ClaytonMorris: Clayton’s Weird Fact: Ants stretch when they wake up. They also appear to yawn in a very human manner before taking up the tasks of the day.
~weirdralph: My pet elephant has a bad rash. Over-the-counter creams don’t work, so today we’re going to see a pachydermatologist.

Smooth ‘n’ Jazzy Living…

~”Decide on what you think is right, and stick to it.”-George Eliot (1819-1880) English Novelist

Enjoy your day…thanks for visiting.

It’s 80s night at the Black Swan. Come decked out in 80s fashion and earn 1 bonus points for your team. What is 80s fashion? Pastels, stone washed jeans, Members Only jackets, big hair, Swatch watches, Izoid shirts with the collar turned up. You get the picture. Make an effort, and I’ll be lenient.

Each team can earn up to 2 bonus points for their team.

As for clues, here’s some random 80s trivia:

• President Ronald Reagan always kept a jar of jelly beans on his desk in the Oval Office.
• Sean Penn played Jeff Spicoli, the burnout in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
• America’s top golfer between 1985 and 1989 was Curtis Strange.
• On the TV show “Cheers,” Gary’s Old Time Tavern played numerous practical jokes on the Cheers gang.
• Princess Grace died in a car crash near Monte Carlo in 1982.
• MacGyver’s first name was Angus.
• Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus of Milli Vanilli had their Grammy Award revoked in 1989 after it was revealed studio performers — not the duo — recorded the vocals on their albums. Morvan and Pilatus lip synced the songs during “live” performances.
• In 1984, Tipper Gore and three other women founded the Parent Music Resource Center [PMRC], an organization that favored censorship to fight what they considered offense lyrics in music. The group eventually convinced the major record companies to voluntarily put “Parental Advisory” labels — known as “Tipper Stickers” — on albums that contained explicit lyrics.
• In Super Bowl XX, Chicago Bears Quarterback Jim McMahon became the first QB in NFL history to rush for two touchdowns in a Super Bowl.
• Speaking of the Bears, they had a hit music video with “Super Bowl Shuffle” as the team finished the 1985 season with an 18-1 record that included a Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots.