By Siddharth (c) 2009

The girl above (and the two old women) are members of the so-called “untouchable”  community of India. ‘Dalits’ is now the politically correct term. Generations of dalits have been raped, killed, burnt and discriminated against because of the ugly caste system. Of course, caste discrimination is illegal by the law books of India, and over the years, progress has been made. We have had a dalit President (although I might add that in India, the post is only ceremonial), a dalit Chief Justice, a dalit Speaker of the House, and several dalit public figures, including Ambedkar, the Father of the Indian Constitution.

This doesn’t mean that dalits are no longer discriminated against; not by a long shot. But in this case, that of the girl above, the future is bright. She goes to school and is in the 9th grade and manages to score a very good 75% in her exams. She will get to work, being the only child to her liberal parents. She is well informed of the happenings of India and the world even, given she reads newspapers everyday (on the other hand, her parents are illiterate). She also claims that untouchability is something she has never had to face in her life.

Many have been wondering, how did Untouchable make it to Taylor Swift’s Fearless Platinum CD when it was originally written and produced by Luna Halo. Well, Tennessean.com interviewed Nathan and Cary Barlowe’s (the members of Luna Halo) where they talked about this whole thing and how Taylor ended up covering the rock band’s song. 

How did Taylor Swift hear “Untouchable,” and how did it end up on theFearless: Platinum Edition?

It originally happened when Scott Borchetta, who’s the president of her label, gave her (our) CD to listen to. Then, when she was doing a TV show called Stripped, he told her she had to come up with a cover. She could have chosen any cover in the world, but that’s what she chose. And we had heard from other people that she was a fan of Luna Halo, so I think it was a combination of those things. We lucked out, really. She covered the song and it sounded amazing, so from there, there were so many YouTube hits on it, and so many people watching it and doing imitations of it, that’s when the label decided that they should put it on the record.

Taylor changed the melody of the song for her version. What did you think about that?

She changed the verse quite a bit. The chorus is still pretty true to what it was. When I first heard it, it caught me off guard because I didn’t even recognize the melody of the verse and some of the arrangement. But she’s one of, if not the biggest artist in the world right now, and when she wants to change a little thing about your song, I’m fine with it, you know?

If someone has a better title for the Fearless One, I’d like to hear it.  Swifty is making friends in all genres lately.  As previously reported, she made sure Justin Bieber was ok after he took a nasty spill opening at Wembley Stadium before T-Swizzle’s turn to perform.  Justin’s pain was our gain, as we are now rewarded with the one thing we haven’t had in ages. A video blog with Taylor in YouTube and posted via Twitter @justinbieber.

In other Swift friends news, Gloriana was recently interviewed by OK! Magazine.  The country group members, Tom and Mike Gossin, Rachel Reinert and Cheyenne Kimball talked about Taylor’s advice to the female members of the Nashville foursome.  Rachel calls her “Oprah” when she gives guy advice to both she and Cheyenne.  You can read the full article here.

Another group that is gaining notoriety by being less than six degrees from Taylor Swift is the Nashville rock band Luna Halo.  Taylor included a cover of their song Untouchable in the Platinum Edition (Taylor wanted to call it the Super Jedi Ninja Version but that never happened) and chose to sing it live in her Saturday Night Live appearance.

You can read the interview with Nathan Barlowe of Luna Halo at Tennessean.com.

Don’t miss Taylor on NBC’s People of Year special, November 26 at 9PM EST.

(Sources: YouTube, Twitter, TheBoot.com, Ok!Magazine, Tennessean.com)

Multiple rumors of celebrity relationships have surfaced in recent weeks, which have all been denied by the celebrities’ agencies:

• Two weeks ago, FRIDAY reported that actress Aya Hirayama (25) and Hey! Say! JUMP member Yuya Takaki (19) are dating. The two were seen last month having dinner in Shinjuku, then riding in a taxi together.
• Actress Yukie Nakama (30) and actor Tetsushi Tanaka (43) are also said to be dating. They have worked together in three television dramas, including the currently airing “Untouchable.”
• The latest issue of FRIDAY says that KAT-TUN’s Koki Tanaka (24) is involved with gravure idol Erina Takamatsu (23). The magazine published photos of the two at Narita Airport right before they left for Hawaii. Tanaka’s management explained that they were just part of a group of friends traveling to Hawaii for another friend’s wedding.
• This week’s issue of Josei Seven ran pictures of NEWS member Tomohisa Yamashita (24) and actress Keiko Kitagawa (23) together outside a restaurant. Rumors about the two have been around since their student days at Meiji University, and the rumors had resurfaced when they were chosen as co-stars in Fuji TV’s “Buzzer Beat” last season. It was later rumored that Yamashita was dating fashion model Seira Kagami (22), though it is said that the two have broken up.
• The same issue of Josei Seven claims that actor Tetsuji Tamayama (29) and actress Chiaki Kuriyama (25) have been dating since spring. They both appeared in the movie “Hagetaka” that opened in June.

Source: Tokyograph

Nu är dagens skola slut (okej, vi har hemstudier, men ändå!) så jag ska hem och ta det lugnt ikväll. Bland annat ska jag köpa hårinpackning på Åhlens. Mitt hår är skit och jag hatar det, men nu ska jag börja ändra på det. Så det så!

Btw så har de lagt upp Taylor Swifts nysläpp av “Fearless” (Platinum Version) på Spotify och jag dör nästan av glädje! Om ändå de kunde ge den till mig också!

Rulla lugnt chicks!

// Elin Johansson

Após terem lançado o super single “Be your wings / FRIENDSHIP / Wait for you”, ocupando a quarta posição no oricon com 22,801 mil cópias vendidas em sua primeira semana, o trio GIRL NEXT DOOR lançará mais um single para o dia 25 de novembro, intitulado “Orion”.

A banda que recentemente se apresentou no a-nation 09 deste ano, confiram a performance do GIRL NEXT DOOR com a música “Be your wings”.

“Orion”, o sétimo single da banda, está sendo usada atualmente como música tema do dorama “Untouchable (アンタッチャブル)”, protagonizado pela atriz Yukie Nakama que faz o papel de uma repórter chamada Narumi Ryoko (dorama que estreiou em 16 de outubro pela TV Asahi).

Confiram o site oficial de Untouchable onde tem um trailer  tocando a música “Orion”.

Versão Regular CD

Versão Limitada CD+DVD

CD Tracklist

1. Orion
2. Toki no Shizuku (時の雫; Drops of Time)
3. Drive away (GOGO’s Remix)
4. Orion (Instrumental)

DVD Tracklist

1. Orion <MUSIC VIDEO Monochrome Version>

Fonte: JpopStop

Créditos: Jstation

Some of my favorite lines from John Mayer’s Battle Studies.

“Anything other than ‘yes’ is ‘no’.  Anything other than ’stay’ is ‘go’.  Anything less than ‘I love you’ is lying.”
- Friends, Lovers, or Nothing

“How come the only way you know how high you get me, is to see how far I fall?”
-Heartbreak Warfare

“You will hate that I never gave more to you than half of my heart, but I can’t stop loving you with half of my heart.”
-Half of My Heart

Not John, but this is one of those few songs that I can really connect with on a deeper level.

“Untouchable – burning brighter than the sun, and when you’re close I feel like coming undone.”
-Untouchable, Taylor Swift

-I

Credit: Secret4four@youtube.com

Been really really busy in the last few weeks (kinda still am, but I have a quick moment to make a post) trying to get all my projects and stuff done. I’m really considering moving the Top Ten Countdown to Tuesdays, but I can’t listen to all the stuff that is released that day, so I’ll figure it out. But you know the drift, ten songs, back to the old school just stuff I’m loving for the week. So here we go…

10.Get U Home – Shwayze (feat. Cisco Adler)

Shwayze is back and though his stuff isn’t as good as his first CD, it’s still better than some of the crap hip hop out there. Also why do I have to end up writing featuring Cisco Adler for all his songs!

9. Friday I’ll Be Over You – Allison Iraheta

She was apparently on American Idol and got fourth place on it. The song is amazingly catchy, though for a hispanic girl her singing voice sounds really British.

8. Fireflies – Owl City

People must really like Christian electronica, since this song has been sitting atop the iTunes Top Singles list for the pasts 3 weeks, only today it was knocked off by Lady Antebellum.

7. New Fang – Them Crooked Vultures

The new superband of Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters), Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) sounds pretty good. You can hear each person bring in their band’s notable style to the song. Most likely this band won’t be together for more than one album though.

6. Heaven Can Wait – We The Kings

We The Kings are back with their second album coming out soon, Heaven Can Wait was released on iTunes a few weeks ago as their first single from it.

5. Untouchable – Taylor Swift

Yeah when Taylor’s Platinum Edition of the Fearless album came out, she just took over the charts that week. Out of the 4 new songs on the album she decided to play this one on SNL, so I decided to post it.

4. Baby By Me – 50 Cent (feat. Ne-Yo)

I’m still not sure what he means by “have a baby by me baby, be a millionaire” but this reminds me of his old stuff along with Ne-Yo’s R&B voice on the hooks.

3. Cha-Ching – Hedley

This song is just fun. Just a catchy song that disses reality tv and most likely you’ll catch every reference they make.

2. The Authors – VersaEmerge

A band that sounds exactly like Paramore, but better? That’s how I would describe VersaEmerge. They currently only have released EPs and gone through many band member changes, but their looking to explode in 2010 with their new album.

1. WTF? – Ok Go

5 YEARS! THEY MADE US WAIT 5 YEARS! Well it was actually worth the wait. Though their next album doesn’t drop until 2010, the first song and music video from the boys known for dancing on treadmills is finally out, enjoy.

Oh yeah join me and giving Universal Music Group the middle finger for making music video searches and blog posting almost impossible. F you Universal Music Group, F you.

Snart somnar jag här i skolan. Det är inte lärarens fel, men det vore enklare om det var så. Jag ska över till Hp ikväll i alla fall, måste koppla bort tankarna från skola, flytt och operation, jag håller på att bli galen. Stressad är jag med. Bad circle…..

Något som lättar upp i ekorrhjulet är i alla fall det nya albumet från Boys Like Girls “Love Drunk”. Speciellt de lugna låtarna, de är avslappnande och lugnande. Tänkte bara säga det…

Nu är det konstruktion, håller på att rita ett hus i SolidWorks. Det är rätt svårt för jag har inget intresse för det direkt.

Just nu lever jag i alla fall på Taylor Swifts nya låtar “Jump Then Fall”, “Untouchable”, “Come In With The Regn”, “SuperStar” och “The Other Side Pf The Door”.

/Elin “Sleepy” Johansson

1. “Jump Then Fall”
2. “Untouchable”
3. “Forever & Always” (Piano Version)

4. “Come In With the Rain”
5. “SuperStar”
6. “The Other Side of the Door”
7. “Fearless”
8. “Fifteen”
9. “Love Story”
10. “Hey Stephen”
11. “White Horse”
12. “You Belong with Me”
13. “Breathe”
14. “Tell Me Why”
15. “You’re Not Sorry”
16. “The Way I Loved You”
17. “Forever & Always”
18. “The Best Day”
19. “Change”

Quase um ano depois do lançamento de Fearless, o CD que levou à fama mundial a cantora country Taylor Swift, - sim, aquela que o tonto do Kanye West interrompeu no VMA. Sim, aquela que namorou o Joe Jonas. Mas também sim, aquela que esgotou seu show no Madison Square Garden em 1 minuto. Sim, aquela que foi a única artista country a ganhar um VMA, especialmente o de “melhor clipe feminino do ano”, You Belong With Me, contra o Single Ladies da Beyoncé. Sim, aquela que é a celebridade mais sincera e pé no chão que eu já ouvi falar. E principalmente, sim, aquela que eu vou mesmo ver pela segunda em Fevereiro, agora que o meu ingresso já chegou! - amanhã, dia 26 de Outubro, será lançada a Platinum Edition do mesmo álbum, contando com um DVD com bônus exclusivos e 6 novas canções. Se não levarmos em consideração Come In With The Rain, que vem do primeiro CD dela, auto-entitualado, e também a versão no piano da música escrita pro Joe, Forever And Always, são quatro músicas inéditas, Jump Then Fall, Untouchable, Superstar e The Other Side of The Door, totalmente naquele jeitinho country-Swift de ser. Que, em outras palavras, é a mesma coisa que ”perfeito”.

Fiquei apaixonada pelo encarte dessa nova versão, que segue a linha criativa-fofa-e-totalmente-adorável do Fearless original, pela nova versão – muito emocionante e emocionada –  de Forever And Always e, principalmente, pela música Jump Then Fall. Obviamente, traduzi pra colocar aqui:

“Eu gosto do jeito como você soa de manhã / Estamos no telefone e sem um aviso / Eu percebo que sua risada é o melhor som que eu já ouvi / Eu gosto do jeito como não consigo me manter concentrada / Te assisto falar, você não percebeu / Escuto as palavras mas tudo no que consigo pensar é que deveríamos estar juntos // E toda vez que você sorri, eu sorrio / E toda vez que você brilha, eu brilharei pra você // Woah, estou te sentindo, baby / Não tenha medo de pular e então cair / Pule e então caia em mim / Baby, eu nunca te deixarei / Diga que também quer ficar comigo / Porque vou permancer aqui durante tudo / Pule e então caia // Bem, eu gosto do jeito que seu cabelo cai no seu rosto / Você tem as chaves de mim, amo cada sarda no seu rosto / Oh, eu nunca me amarrei tanto antes / Eu gosto do jeito como você é tudo que eu sempre quis / Tive tempo de pensar bem nisso / Tudo o que posso dizer é chege mais perto / Respire fundo, pule e então caia em mim // E toda vez que você sorri, eu sorrio / E toda vez que você brilha, eu brilharei pra você // Woah, estou te sentindo, baby / Não tenha medo de pular e então cair / Pule e então caia em mim / Baby, eu nunca te deixarei / Diga que também quer ficar comigo / Porque vou permancer aqui durante tudo / Pule e então caia // O chão será tirado de sob os nossos pés / Eu te pegarei, eu te pegarei / Quando as pessoas falam coisas que te colocam nos seus joelhos / Eu te pegarei / O tempo chegará em que você ficará tão bravo que chorará / Mas te abraçarei a noite toda até você sorrir* // Woah, preciso de você, baby / Não tenha medo / Por favor, pule e então caia em mim / Pule e então caia em mim / Baby, eu nunca te deixarei / Diga que também quer ficar comigo / Porque vou permancer aqui durante tudo / Pule e então caia / Pule e então caia, baby / Pule e então caia em mim, em mim // E toda vez que você sorri, eu sorrio / E toda vez que você brilha, eu brilharei pra você / E toda vez que você estiver aqui, baby, eu te mostrarei / Te mostrarei, você pode pular e então cair / Pule e então caia / Pule e então caia em mim, em mim, yeah.”

*Fala se essa não é uma das frases mais fofas de todas as músicas da Taylor?!

Não vejo a hora de chegar aqui pra eu ter o meu CD!

Pra ver as fotos do encarte, clique nas miniaturas abaixo:

Brenda Nepomuceno

Who needs dressing
with such an exotic salad?
Fresh earth glides
right past my lips,
fat-free
but still
straight to my hips.

Come reap the ripe flesh
you have sown
into my garden.

Thoughts of love
sprouting like spring time
in the autumn
of a weary heart.

You will be my undoing.
My untouchable.
The undressing
to my salad.