After my fugue, where I exclusively listened to Sade for about 3 weeks, I wasn't sure if I could handle hearing this or another Sade song ever again.
Looks like I was wrong. Soldier of Love drops Feb 9, Act like you know.
Archive for the 'Music' CategoryPage 2 of 11
So last week I hated on VEVO for it's launchday woes. And then later I noted some improvement, and maintained my other complaints. Well, today is more of the same. I'm glad that VEVO displays large videos on the main playback page, however I do not like that the embeds are 575 pixels wide by default. That is a bit too large for blog embedding in general, (especially this one). Oh, and the site makes you disable Adblock Plus in order to watch. YouTube doesn't do that, and either does MTV.
Anyway, today's video, courtesy of a functioning VEVO, is Calle 13's La Perla, featuring Rubén Blades. It's a great song, and the video is low impact - but scenic. If you can't enjoy this then... well i don't know, but something is clearly wrong with you. It's chill. And for what it's worth, it did win a Latin Grammy. Enjoy.
I want to like VEVO. Unfortunately, there are a number of issues standing in the way.
First and foremost, I can't get the site to work. I know it's in beta, and it just launched - but this is unacceptable. The launch was way too hyped for 2nd day performance to be this sluggish. I can't get any videos to play and the search functions are for shit. I can't even access a Beyonce video - apparently it's not authorized for my region. Pray tell, what region is licensed if not the U.S.? Also you have to access the site using the www prefix (which is redundant). That might all be minor nitpicking, but this whole thing is a joint venture with Google. Superstar uptime and IT are sort of their thing. Operational Fail.
And does this website even need to exist? I am totally comfortable watching ads on Hulu - and even on AOL or MTV when watching music videos, but where is the added value for me? All I see is value in aggregation, and maybe fewer broken video links in the future. But, reinventing the wheel, breaking everyone's current YouTube embeds, and promoting the site seems like a large outlay for small potential profits. Also, couldn't this have been defined as a new category of videos at Hulu (they have movies and tv right now) or even YouTube as opposed to a whole new site? Why not leverage Hulu's great brand image? I understand this involves a different set of parties, but I think this could have been done better. Oh wait - it totally has been:
MTV's implementation (which has an open API) of a music video streaming site is much better, and it launched last year. The design is infinitely less abrasive and offers all the same favorites, review, playlist, and social networking features that VEVO is promoting. And, they have a large (though not exhaustive) collection, including most current pop hits. The videos are easy to embed and most importantly, the site works. Booyah.
I imagine that Google / the labels will work the bugs out pretty quickly, but right now VEVO is a No-Go.
Our podcast crew is all yours as we talk about Jean-Claude Van Damme in Replicant, the Harry Potter movies as modern classics, the upcoming Tournament Movie Tournament (!!!), Jingle All the Way (overrated), Supernova (underrated), DOA: Dead or Alive, Grammy Award nominees including The Ting Tings and Booker T, Cudderisback by Kid Cudi, Nick's guitar spotlight spectacular featuring Dennis Coffey, Roger Troutman, and Rodrigo y Gabriela, Lady GaGa's The Fame Monster, and the Annie Award nominees including Cloudy and Mr. Fox.
I ust wanted to remind all of you that neither my alter ego RonnieB, nor UAL, is in any way affiliated with Andy Samberg's Shy Ronnie. That is all.
Actually, that isn't all - what the hell is RiRi wearing? Ha-HA!
I'm not sure how to process Beyonce's alter ego, Sasha Fierce, anymore. I can't even come up with a witty headline. The 'good' vs. 'edgy' single release strategy was cute back in 2008, but 4+ cycles later I am over it. In any case, B just dropped a new video for Video Phone featuring (no surprise here) Lady Gaga.
The Track: Garbage. So far everything I have heard from this 'era' sounds the same. I think the beat could have been better used for something else. Gaga's inclusion is pointless play for relevance and she fails to add anything to the track. Bey is capable enough on her own, why is she bringing another 'diva' in the mix. Isn't that why she left DC in the first place? I don't get this, the same way I don't get why she did that other track with Shakira. Finally, I know I've said it before, but why does B keep trying to appear gutter glam? That's like Bill Gates saying he really digs the open source model and that he uses Plan 9. More to the point, it's not like anyone other than the Jigga Man has the remote possibility of a chance. Such a ridiculous and unbelievable tease.
The Video: Hype Williams done lost his mind. White, black, epilepsy inducing editing, a multitude of hyper color toy guns, Abu Grahib esque hoods, dudes with camera lenses for heads. Hype was clearly tripping off some Terry Gilliam Brazil / Time Bandits nonsense.
I mean check it out for yourself, it oozes excess and hubris. The whole thing is visually jarring for the sake of being so. Then again, taken as a leading indicator, we could be finally pulling out of the recession.
The video and inclusion of Ms. Disco Stick reinforces my theory that Lady Gaga is the most disruptive force in pop music right now. (Important note: B rocks a plastic m16 while Lady GarBage rocks an anemic pistol) Ciara, Beyonce, Shakira, Rihanna, and even my dear Amerie are all falling prey to and imitating her crazy, lone ranger, weirdass B.S. Every new pop diva video I see is just trying to capture some of her wackass style.
The Bottom Line: Hot, soggy, smelly refuse
I got Shakira'd out when I lived in Mexico. I mean really, how many times can you hear the same song in an hour? Compound that with her more or less undecipherable singing voice and extremely terrible, hyper-sexualized, Gaga-esque single She Wolf. Between her, Nelly Furtado, and even my beloved Belanova, I've been slowly losing heart. All this crap has had me pining for the simpler times when Living La Vida Loca was about as crazy as things ever got.
But Lo! Ask and ye shall receive, from Papa Pharrel no less. Shakira's new joint Did It Again is kinda awesome - both sonically and visually.
The Track
First off, I can actually make out the words. I know most of her songs are recorded in Spanish and then later rerecorded for us lazy American monoglots - but this is a big selling point for me as my Spanish has really fallen off. That said, it surprises me how manypeople don't listen to lyrics - legions of 13 year old girls have no idea what they are bumping on their iPods.
I'll defer to Nick for his thoughts on this incarnation of Neptunes production, but this is 'Pharrel Lite'. No Timbo-style acapella, just heavy synth with a light drumline/steel drum backbeat. I can dig it -- although would a little more knock have hurt? Afterall, isn't Pharrel the drum guy?
The video
Two words: Sexy Capoeira. I think the concept is pretty awesome, a sexy fight on a sexy bed with lots of cool flips. Haven't seen that before, so it is primo video material in my book. A bit reminiscent of La Tortura at points, and I liked that one too. Way better than coming out of a pool with a sequined mask and an aquamarine swimsuit. Inconsistency or 'artistic license' manifests itself in the form of the shower cutaways and the Japanese drummers. (Come on Fam, we all know those drums were from an 808 / tape loop.)
The bottom line
I dig it. Were I to assign a letter grade, it might fall around B+. Of course, I don't do that, so let's just go with dope.
So I know that Nick and I talked about this the other day (podcast 101), but I maintain that few people actually appreciate beatboxing as an art. Proof positive: Remember Rahzel? Remember back when the Biz still freaked it hard? Of course not, not one of you lame ass ringtone kids actually listens to real hip hop or looks out for trill unsigned hype. I can say that because I don't think anyone has ever commented (besides Nick) on a single one of my music posts, so there! I'll calm down now and get to the point.
My point is, the last time beatboxing got any real exposure was that wackass freestyle from She's All That or in that Rock Your Body joint by Justin Timberlake. And while JT may have potential - it just becomes a caricature of something great when some kid from a boy band does it (i.e Dick In A Box vis a vis Color Me Bad). I know (repeat from yesterday's podcast, yea yea) that if I approach some kids on the block and ask them what they know/like about beatboxing, some kid will start spitting raspberries into his hands. Contrast that with something like B-boying which is way more popular now then back when Breakin' came out --- or rap. Any kid on the street will tell you how much work rapping is - the streets is tough and all that - but that's it.
So, Neal, are you going to shut up soon? What are you really trying to say? I think what I am trying to say is, my boy J. Stone (NYC STERN CLASS OF 2010!) still has respect for beatboxing AND has fun with it. Perhaps you should check him out. He's been doing this for a little while, all over the world to boot. If that isn't your thing or you are looking for something a little more lowkey/alt, peep his roommate (and fellow Sternie) Corey J.
J. Stone (beatboxing) vs. Diwon (MPC) Live at Shemspeed Sukkot Party @ South Paw
Yes, I did just use a whole post to plug my personal agenda and classmates. It's my blog - deal with it!
Last Friday, over a sausage and onion pizza at John's Pizzeria in Midtown, my friend Matt and I discussed the quagmire that is copyright law. Turns out, there are some interesting things that apply to music vs. literature.
I was unaware for example, that you can cover anything you want without permission. Yes, you have to pay some license fees whenever you record, perform, or otherwise 'act' it, but this is an established process and honestly, no one really enforces the live performance part you are actually successful (or U2 (BTW, fuck U2)). Personally, I think this is the bee's knees. As part of the gospel of Scott Sandage, covers and interpretations are an important part of musical evolution. Without them we'd be spinning our musical wheels so to speak, wearing the groove but not much else. Not to mention the power a cover has in connecting an entirely new audience to an older song (i.e. The Fugee's cover of Roberta Flack's Killing Me Softly)
Contrast this with sampling. You can't sell a record without sample clearance in most cases; as a result many great songs end up on unmarketable mixtapes. What does that mean for the artist? Less creative freedom. What does it mean for the consumer? Less choice. Of course, there are plenty of stinkers that come out of sampling. The Diplomats catalog is proof enough that some 80's Rock and R&B tracks needs to be left alone.
Printed works seem to go in reverse. You can write a book that lifts entire passages from another work as long as you properly cite the source and don't claim that it is your own original work. And you can sell your book, without paying the cited author anything, as long as you followed the correct citation protocol. However, you can obviously not rewrite the original work in your own hand and sell it. (Note: do not hand in a paper written by someone else, cite your source, and expect to get an A). While this is the basis for all plagiarism, comparatively few cases are ever pursued in the music industry, (outside stuff like the Vanilla Ice vs. Queen thing or the Milli Vanilli debacle).
Granted, my analogy is less than perfect, and my underlying arguments are based on a 30 minute conversation that I had while sick with the Stern Flu - so be still your raging heart - misinterpretations/totally wrong things may have been made or said. Feel free to tell me how wrong I am below.
Regardless, what I find so interesting about this, is how these essentially opposite use schemes have allowed both music and literature to grow effectively. Where else is that true?
Unrelated but still cool: Tomorrow is the first day of the the A3C Hip Hop Festival in Atlanta. The schedule of performances is here. If you are down south, I would recommend going - since I can't. I think you can still get cheap(ish) tickets online and around.
Let me state for the record: I am not a Drake stan. But, I have listened to the Heartbreak Drake disc a few times and won't turn it off it someone puts it on. I am not a stan - not even a fan - more like a guy who passively listens. Anyway, someone finally got around to shooting a video for Successful and here it is:
I used to really dig Trey Songz, and his hook on this track is pretty sick; but it's hard for me to give a fuck about Drake or his verses. His flow is just OK - there's no edge or flair to it. Not to mention the thematic content of the song is fucked considering "the times we live in". If I had a tour bus, and said tour bus looked like a 'freakshow', I would not be whining about my tumultuous internal conflicts and struggles with success and fame.
The video is pretty boring too, no more than a vehicle for Trey and Drake's faces. Nothing actually happens, it's all just passing medium shots. But perhaps Drake said it best himself: 'Buzz so big, I could probably sell a blank disc'.
Anyway, I'm glad that 'mini-weezy' has been getting so many guest spots requests recently. It can only increase the chances that he'll record some stellar hits and that he'll get stellar production throughout. As it is, I feel like most of his present hits depend pretty heavily on Weezy/Young Money.
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