Wednesday, January 30, 2008

The Truth.





The Manifesto (in writing, read along....)-

"lights out !" : an open letter to the record industry & the idiots who work for the fascist regime .
read this out loud !

this is intended for all of you lowly puppets who sit in your big offices in big buildings that will soon be out of business & thus, forced to hold vacant memories of an industry that once was . this is for all of the big wigs in suits & ties who sit at the head of the conference room table with creative opinions as empty as the "music" they force down the throats of the now bored & uninspired creative consumers . this is for all the idle assistants who only work hard enough to get their names on the grammy party lists, or whose only existence remains obsolete if he/she can't get into the hot new band's hollywood show debut . this is for the borderline retarded a&r guy who should in fact abandon his dreams of changing the failing record industry to become a highly paid talent scout at a modeling agency . this is definitely for all the marketing low lives who fail to avidly push great talent because the world's fave reality slut randomly decided one day while botoxing her armpits that she wants to be a rockstar .

yes .
this open letter is for all of you .
come feast your eyes upon the truth behind your insolence for 5 minutes , if you even have your job for that much longer.

your blatant lack of respect & worship for the oldest & dearest artform has brought a once thriving & artistic industry to a grinding halt . your willingness to believe that the world wide web has killed the consumers' thirst for new & exciting talent is wildly ignorant & safe . you would like to feed into this stupidity because you are too lazy to stand behind substance ; you'd rather take the low & easy road than take the time to nurture true talent . you'd rather tirelessly feed us the same carbon copied , lip synching , sex dripping , faux punk "i got my entire outfit from hot topic" rocker , buffoonishly ghetto "are they even speaking english?" hip hop , "same old same" sound from song to song type image & force us to believe that this is all the world's artists have to offer . you'd rather watch your company stocks & yearly record sales severely plummet than take strong initiative to fix the current problem . you'd rather see hundreds of employees laid off & out of work during the holidays because you're too afraid to stand up for something new & different . you're content with creating a 1-hit wonder society , where any idiot with anything shockingly catchy can enjoy a sorry 15 minutes of fame & a future segment on vh1's "biggest 1-hit wonders of 08" extravaganza .

where is the new generation of legends ?

beyonce & alicia keys are old shoe ins . r kelly , sure , but his personal dramas easily overshadow his genius . radiohead & outkast comes to mind , & then i draw a big blank .

the latest thrill in music has been an over abundance of great dancers with mediocre voices , albums , singles , concert ticket sales , etc . thank god the internet allows every joe blow in the universe a free forum to overexpose every little thing , especially mediocre celebrities . thank god for online music forums , such as myspace . artists are able to directly connect with the people & expose themselves & their art to everyone everywhere at the click of a button . myspace proves that music can no longer fit into a box . long gone are the days of urban vs pop vs alternative radio . gwen stefani had hit songs for years on the pop & alt charts , but she records a song written by pharrell & she's instantly on top of the urban charts as well . this new r&b dance pop music crosses over to white kids & that kelly clarkson "since you've been gone" song was smeared across the lips of many a young black girl last year . m i a is all over the indie alternative stations , & lets not even get started on gnarls barkeley .

all signs point to the obvious : true music consumers right now are a ) young , & b) smart . young kids are able to point & click their way to every new trend . they arguably have short attention spans & they want to be in on what's cool & personable to them . when madonna emerged in the '80s you had tons of girls around the world imitating her every move & style down to the mole . kurt cobain turned grunge commercial when he was exposed to millions of kids who felt like society's outsiders looking in . hip-hop has been a huge influence on mainstream culture since the early '80s because of it's relativity . kids have not changed . young people are not mindless robots who like what you tell them to like with no opinions . the youth are always looking to be enthralled .

they want to be entertained . they want to feel as though they are a part of something that will be written about , studied , & revered 20 years later . they , like all of us old & young alike , want to be inspired . when i was a kid i saw prince prance around on stage & dazzle people with his art & i felt inspired to do the same thing . why are you music industry idiots attempting to tell us that we don't want to be touched ? why are you trying to rob us of new musical experiences ? will there ever be another motown 25 / michael jackson moonwalk experience ? will we never again hear a single like queen's "bohemian rhapsody" on the radio because the hook isn't catchy enough ? will we never see another band like the talking heads & joy division or parliament ? will there never be another artist to rival frank zappa ? will we be forced to hear different versions of the same dumb song on every single radio station every 5 minutes simply because the record label had enough money to pay off the station manager ? are we still supposed to care about mtv when there are hardly any videos in rotation ? do i even need to mention b e t or v h 1 ? are any of the classic record industry outlets working these days ? as of late it seems that artists are independently breaking ground with their own efforts . songs are being licensed for national commercials from artists' myspace pages & personal websites . ellen degeneres has been known to book musical guests from videos seen on youtube , & as i aforementioned , gnarls barkeley not only created a new genre , but they also won grammy awards for an album that was recorded in home studios & released through an indie label .

why should artists even seek major label deals ? they are completely outdated & obsolete . artists are sold the dream that talent can secure superstardom , but it becomes evident that labels only sign bands nowdays because of the band's existing fanbase & record sales , or because they dig the artist's look & want to cash in . they don't want to develop the art . they don't want the artist to express his/herself entirely . they just want the artist to comply with what will get the company a big monetary return . they sign you for millions , pimp you for pennies , then drop you a year later when the music they made you record & release is no longer relevant . you're left on the streets unsigned & irrelevant & ready to infect the world with the music you've always wanted to make , but no one will take a chance on you due to your previous material . meanwhile , the label has already put white out over your signature on the slave deal & replaced it with a younger version of you . cold game , ain't it ?

the age old model is failing . as an industry based on faithful consumers you have lost your connection with the people who matter most : the PEOPLE . you have yet to show them that you are with the changing times & able to adapt to something new . you are proving that you are too afraid to promote good music . you would rather let the monotonous drone of what is today's music remain unbalanced by substance . you would rather watch more legendary artists abandon you for direct deals with itunes & touring companies . you would rather allow the internet to defeat what should be your life's work . maybe you should excuse yourself from the next a&r meeting to go take a look in the bathroom mirror . stand there & ask yourself why you took this job , & when you realize it's simply because you wanted to be cool & "in the mix" then return to the conference room , take that gun out of your pocket , & shoot yourself in the head in front of your coworkers so that you are made an example of . if you can in fact leave that conference room & look in the bathroom mirror with pride & hunger to break the monotony then head back into that conference room , jump on top of the table & read this manifesto .

this is a challenge .
we're calling your bluff .
record labels are nothing but banks that give artists hi price loans in exchange for artistic control . put your money where your cocks are . go out on a limb & support real music for a change . find the line where the internet & the real world meet & infect more people with something magical . start building more legends . it's almost too late . interscope is dead . def jam is next . motown who ? mca what ? warner , you're not too far behind . the war sirens are ringing & you're content with playing deaf & dumb .
we're calling your bluff !
we're here to reprogram how you & the rest of the world listen to music .
we can do this together , or you can stick to your own devices & peril in the process .
we are the people . we are the future . we are the present .
who are you ?

*******************************************************************

copy this , paste this , & repost it wherever you see fit . email it to those who you believe can benefit from somethin like this . this is from the heart in jerry maguire "who's comin with me?" fashion . lets open our eyes , our ears , & our hearts . lets stop standin for the bullshit & start demandin these idiots to take charge & make change . substance has the right to be heard . support real shit & start takin it to the streets !

c'mon people .
it's 2008 . diddy killed music in 94 . it's time for some better shit .

pass it on . . .


THIS....was greatness.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Done Did It Again

After the popularity of his first video of him doing the Soulja Boy song with his drums, Travis "ima beast on the drums" Barker re-uped and did this........

Low by Flo-Rida
THE REMIX



I need to go cop Rockband and get my drum playin skills in line haha. But seriously, that was good.

On another note, although Flo-Rida isn't anything worth listening to musically....His name is seriously one of the most creative ones I've ever seen. Now if only he can transfer that to his lyrics................

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Im not jealous. Really.

This guy makes one song a year............and is SOOOO FAMOUS!! Wow....is it really that easy to get big?






damn I need to step my game up and find something to get rich off. ahhhhhhhh

I wonder whats coming out first.....The Wrap Up 2008 or Detox?.....yeaaaa, now i got you thinking.

wow.

Im pretty sure yall have heard of 2girls 1cup and the gross nasty-ness that goes on in that realm of disgusting sickness. But its funny as hell at the same time lol.

I wonder to this day what those girls were thinking when they made that video? Did they enjoy making that shit (no pun intended). Honestly, haha, you cant tell me your reactions didnt go anything like this when you first saw it, or every time you saw it haha.



it might have even gone like this (big ups to who ever made this haha, perfect timing on everything haha.)




ORRRRRR
it might have gone like this for some of you........sickos.



but seriously, did they get aids/cholera/Ecoli/any other STD/virus from that vid, *shudders* eww...........haha.

Monday, January 14, 2008

pause

This is old but gets me everytime lol.



They were both so very close to saying "no homo" that gus johnson actually replaced it with "pause" HAHA.......classic moment in sports journalism.

now, you may ask "no homo" i hear that everywhere but dont know where it came from. Well, thanks to our friends over that Youtube (actually some guys channel) you can now be educated in the origins of the all to easy to use phrase of "no homo".....

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Check It Son..........

WHAT UP!!!!

I seriously think that perusing the internet is a art now for me lol. I just read an article about how a man threw his kids over a bridge in Alabama.

They all died.

The oldest one being three year old, the youngest being around 2 months.

ummmm......I cant make this stuff up yall. Its right here if you want to read it, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7180276.stm . Fool just threw them over, just cus he got mad at his wife.

now WTF has to happen to make you so mad that you would throw your own kids to their death.

Anyway....on a lighter note. I had training today for work and some guy came and talked to us about retirement and what not, and it got me to thinking about what I should be doing. I know I'm a young collegiate but when its gonna cost me damn near half a milli to pay just for food for me and my wifey - I better get started NOW.

But.....money seems to find its way out my bank account pretty quick these cus of this beautiful tool man invented called the Debit Card. Ahh the wonders of the DC or the CC (credit).

But yea, CD's, Stocks, Mutual Funds, 401k, IRA's, mattress money, other investments, ALL these things, are things that MOST kids have no idea about. Its crazy how you could go up to some people and be like I just put my money in a 3-year CD and they'll respond with a simply put "wtf you talking about" or "there's no such thing as a three year long cd,stupid, who the hell would listen to that??"

Haha in all seriousness though, you can best believe some saving of the dough is gonna happen. By the time I retire I wanna be able to be balling outta control with no worries (read: Dave Chappelle Skit).



Staying on subject though.....I dont think people my age realize that when they get older.....there isnt gonna be any Social Security check coming in the mail. We're gonna have to be living off of what he saved, and you can quote me on this but....you think there are a lot of homeless people now? Watch, In like 30 years, see how many more people are cruzin the streets of Portland, Phoenix, LA, NY, ATL. Alot more. End quote.

Get your mind right, dont be dumb.

or....you can just win the lottery and be rich.....but everybody knows only old people win that, or factory workers who pool their money. but anyways....

Moral of the story, save now, be comfortable later. Coming from your local Financial Adviser S to the A M M Y. peace.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Shaolin Warriors Invade Tempe

January 5th, 2007 will forever be known as the day I witnessed the greatest hip hop act to ever assemble.

Introducing the Wu...Tang...Clan.......KILLER BEES ON A SWARM



EVERYBODY was at the concert. Except for the RZA and obviously ODB. I guess the little falling out that GFK and Raekwon had with Bobby Digital is for real after all. Too Bad.

But don't be fooled, the show went on....and Wu Set it off.

The first act was this jazz/rap fusion group called Antedote. They were pretty good but some dumb people were booing them which was whack.

The second act was these 2 white guys whose name I do not know, and all i can say to them is that they have MAD bravery to keep rapping on stage. For as sorry as they were they finished their set. The messed up thing was that the crowd was actually throwing stuff at them!

Bottles.
Cups.
Ice.
Garbage.
Anything they could get their hands on. That they could throw.

The guys did suck, but the crowd didn't have to do them like THAT!

But I digress, finally at about 10pm (mind you I've been there since 7) Mef's voice is heard on the mic and the crowd ERUPTS into this "WU TANG, WU TANG" chant. The energy level picked up and the standing room tightened up and it was off to the races for the group. Playing hit songs off their early albums as well as some songs from certain member's catalogs EVERYBODY went crazy throwing up the "W" with their hands.

C.R.E.A.M
Ice Cream
M.E.T.H.O.D Man
One Blood
Protect Ya Neck
Triumph
Bring Da Ruckus
Clan in Da Front
Wu Tang Clan Aint Nothin to F*** With
Reunited
Shimmy Shimmy Ya
Got Your Money (RIP ODB)

and some other songs too that I couldn't quite make out due to weak mics. The energy of the place was unreal even drawing the "this is the livest crowd we've had yet" phrase (probably said at ever show, but who cares!! haha)

During their set they brought out a hometown kid MC by the name of Heaven Sent. 16 years old and spiting like he was a veteran. There was a slight mess up at the beginning but, after that though....He went off and even going a Capella at one point.

Big ups to you brothaaa!

I could go on for a while about the concert but it was mad crazy after once they started. Ahh, and I bought a shirt all excited to see the "Tempe, AZ' on the back. Only to be disappointed to see that they MISSPELLED my hometown.It read "TEMPLE, AZ"..........oh well, the show and the shirt was dope lol.

Pics will be added later. Give me some time yall!

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Today was a Good Day...............(pause)...............NOT!

SOoooo.....I got off work............my drawer was off .30 cents.

I have to cancel work out plans to take my sister to practice....and later find out, the suns game (tickets provided by the team).......

I get the tickets, get to the stadium, only to find out the tickets are for 2 months from now. Dumb ass coach told us they were for today and my being a dumbass also, didn't check.

So then I call him up, he's in the arena already (at this point im like WTF??? and pretty pissed) and he tells me to just go to the box office and switch them for todays game and that they will let us do it. Im like ok, so I go to Customer service and explain the situation.

about a half an hour goes by where the workers are trying to figure out what happened, and then a sales representative explains to me that the YMCA....(stupid tempe)....was given two batches of tickets. One was for today, the other for March 1st. Somewhere in between the Sales rep giving the tickets to the Y (and telling them that they are 2 different games) and the distribution of the tickets to my sister and myself, the batches got mixed up..............WACK. (and now i a really pissed off).

I'm mad now for a couple reasons.

1) It would have been my little sisters first suns game and she was VERY excited about it. and to see the look on her face when they told us there was nothing they could do was pretty wack.

2) I had plans that I put to the side to take her to the suns game. I could have done what I wanted to do.

3) I wasted gas/time/money in this adventure. Luckily, the arena parking people were still there and gave me my money back.

4) I wasted gas/time/money

5) Screw you stupid YMCA of TEMPE


All in all, this week, which was a VERY good weak, was pretty much ruined by today. ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

Hopefully tomorrow's Wu-Tang Concert will bring my spirits up. Until then GOOD NIGHT!