Blender and Stuff

I just wanted to check in an let everyone know that all is well but it is time to take a break...the blog is on a small hiatus until April 2nd.





RIP: ANOTHER MUSIC MAG
I hate to say it but after some time...Blender started to get boring...I better get my money back!
See here : RIP

Necro Show Nearly A Riot.

A show sponsored by Abort Magazine in Vancouver nearly ended in a riot when headliner Necro failed to appear.

Fans became restless after hours of waiting for the rapper to appear only to be told that he had been forced to reschedule due to travel delays.

Despite the fact that the show had been rescheduled for the next day, concert-goers began throwing bottles, chairs, and tables on stage at the DJ.

Security at the club became and the Vancouver police had to be called in. Abort Magazine criticized the way the police handled the situation referencing “excessive force,” several fans were slammed to the concrete outside as patrons yelled out accusations of police brutality.

For more: Abort Magazine/Necro

An Update...

MusicAlly posted on their blog an update to the Spiralfrog issue and I thought I would share the link : Spiralfrog

RIP: Spiralfrog

Spiralfrog, one of the first digital music services to attempt ad-supported downloading, has closed down.


The ad-supported site operated much like any other subscription service with the idea of not paying but having to visit the site once a month to renew licenses. The key was to fill out one of their surveys.



As a person who used Spiralfrog I must say that I am not surprised about its demise. I wouldn't say that I am that picky of a music fan but many artists I tried searching for didn't have content on the site.

The site didn't seem all that user-friendly to me. To go to the site to search for new music was tiresome. If you chose the genre rock it would show you a small list of artists that were "top artists." It would show you a few albums to check out as well. If you wanted a more detailed list (to search through more artists) it would break things down into a smaller group (alternative,industrial,etc.).


The thing that bothered me about it is that once I finally got to check out an album either some tracks I couldn't download, or it wasn't available. Many things were unavailable. Some searches showed you links to go buy an album that was unavailable on the site. If I wanted to just go buy it wouldn't I have just gone right to that site and cut out the middle man?


With some artists there were pages made up for them but no content.


Let us not forget.... DRM. When that month was over it cut you off from playing that song you have grown to love as you are walking down the street. You want to hear it again? Well then, get home, log on, and fill out the survey. You might have to erase the track on your player and put it back in in order to hear it. Sounds like fun right?



Most of the music I got from Spiralfrog was just to play on the computer. If the songs grew on me enough I just bought them.



I hope other services now and in the future take Spiralfrog and its fate as a lesson.

Useless Fact Of The Week

A garter snake can give birth to as many as 85 babies.

Placebo - New Album

Placebo has announced their new album "Battle For The Sun." The album will be released on August 6, 2009 as a Download, CD, Limited Edition CD/DVD package, LP, and also a very special limited edition Deluxe Box Set.



The best part....



The first 500 copies of the Box Set ordered will be hand signed by the band!!
There will be 5 Golden Laminate passes hidden inside 5 of the Box Sets - 1 per continent.



The Box Set (and more details) is now available for pre-order on the bands' site.

Things Read

For those just looking for a good article:

The show "Family Guy" recently won a court battle over a song used in the show: reuters

Live Music Overtakes Record Sales in The U.K. : bbc

When DJs Ruled The World (great article): independent

NAB vs. RIAA : radiomag

Comics and Dethklok Fans....

Here is a promo from MTV for a new comic book in which The Goon takes on Dethklok (Metalocalypse)

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Any opinions?

Promo Video

Mos Def - Words - The Ecstatic - in stores Spring 2009

Vintage Beat Machines Sample Pack

Akai Professional recently released vintage Beat Machines Sample Pack ($29.99). The sample pack contains samples and analog synthesis-based sounds from more than 55 different beat machines.


According to the website the sounds are from drum machines, beat and rhythm generators, and other synthesizers dating from the 1980s all the way back into the 1960s.


This sample pack works with all MPC models and contains samples and analog synthesis-based sounds from more than 55 different beat machines.




Check it out here: akaipro.com

Straight Outta Compton

It looks like now is the time for hip-hop biopics.


The most recent announcement is from New Line who is planning a biopic on N.W.A. Titled "Straight Outta Compton," the pic is planned to chart the rise and fall of the controversial group as they were banned in many media forms and rose to sell millions of records.




The film's producers are reported to include Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Tomica Wright (Eazy-E's widow). There is no director as of yet thought it is said they are looking for one a la Curtis Hanson (8 Mile).



Can you imagine who they would cast for this?

A Picture I Took

Recommended Reading

Here's a sweet little list....(a shout-out to great writing if you will)

Enjoy!

Not too long ago URB magazine posted a good interview with rapper Aceyalone. (urb)

David Grann discusses the truth about the lost Amazon tribe (huffpost)

What happens to your online life when you leave this world? solutions here (online)

And last but not least....

Headline reads: Man dressed like The Joker slain by police in park (washpost)

Useless Fact Of The Week

Didjaknow???

The Muppet Show was banned from TV in Saudi Arabia because one of the stars was a pig.

Hospital Sued For Saving A Life

A hospital in Blackburn, England has paid damages for saving a man's life after he attempted suicide. The man, Michael Dexter, overdosed on drugs when the hospital apparently gave him an overdose of the antidote.


The out-of -court settlement between Dexter and Blackburn Royal Infirmary is reported to include a payment of 90,000 pound (approx 125-128,000 USD).


Dexter had been taken to the hospital after ingesting pills that he washed down with rum and coke. He says he suffered permanent damage to his right arm when the hospital emergency department administered four times the correct dose of sodium bicarbonate through a catheter. He says he is unable to work or to perform simple cooking and gardening chores.


"I know they saved my life but if you went in with a heart attack you wouldn't expect to leave with a limb you can't use," he said.

What's Going On?

Things have been a bit hectic lately.... getting ready for spring! Here's a few things that may have been missed.......



Keith Thompson questions if radio should now be censoring an Eagles song after 33 years.. (hp)



AFI plans a show in June and an album release... (livedaily)



Cypress Hill is returning with a new album... (eurweb)



Darryl “DMC” McDaniels - reality show host... (Mi2N)



Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan to star in Kevin Smith's "A Couple of Cops" (artistdirect)



and....finally....



A study was done on how people define themselves racially...does acknowledging yourself as being mixed make one more confident? (wiley)



HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Useless Fact Of The Week

Devised by the ancient Egyptians, iridescent beetle shells were the source of the earliest eye glitter ever used.

Round-Up

Time for another round-up of things that may have been missed...



Sam Jackson will be Nick Fury? In how many movies? (sj)



Walter Hoover, 70-year-old man in Missouri, was arrested and charged with unlawful use of a firearm. Allegedly, he was upset about the switch to digital and became frustrated over losing his cable and his inability to make his digital converter box function properly that he shot the tv. Investigators said his wife said he had been drinking prior to the incident.



It is being reported that unreleased Beatles material has surfaced... (beatles)



And in closing ....for now....



Prince is set to release a new cd set through Target (purple)

Coolio Robbed

Rapper Coolio was performing Feb 25 in Stoke-on-Trent,England when he decided to attempt a stage dive that didn't turn out well.



Reports say that the audience parted and thus sent Coolio crashing to the floor. The audience then pounced on him and jewelry,bandana, and sneakers before he was rescued by security.



James Fielden, a witness to the event, says, “(Coolio) nearly flattened one poor girl. Then all the students decided to launch on him. They grabbed whatever they could, including his trainers, watch, chains and glasses. He was pulled back on stage by the bouncers. They got his shoes back for him.”



Reminded me of another person who shouldn't have attempted his stage dive... (youtube)

A Picture I Took

While out for a stroll....

In Brief....Murphy To Portray Pryor

Various sources are reporting that Eddie Murphy is to play Richard Pryor in the upcoming biopic titled "Richard Pryor: Is It Something I Said?". It is also being reported that Murphy waived his usual multi-million dollar fee to be in the film.

The script is said to also feature roles for Pryor's four ex-wives, as well as Red Foxx. Director Bill Condon (Dreamgirls) is looking for a 2010 release date.

Tours!

Here are a few artists making plans or are continuing for 2009 tours:



R&B group Boyz II Men are returning to the road in support of their 2007 album, "Motown: A Journey Through Hitsville USA." They will be hitting places in North America and Europe.



Electronic group MSTRKRFT will be heading out next month in support of their second album,"Fist of God," which is due March 17.



Recently Chris Cornell has added 10 dates in North America in support of his third solo effort, "Scream," which is set for release March 10.



Let's not forget.... The return of No Doubt w/ opener Paramore across North America. Sounds like destiny to me.



And finally... for now...



Faith No More is reunited for a tour in Europe in the summer.

Stax: The Soul Of Hip-Hop

Stax records is set to release "The Soul of Hip Hop, Volume I," a collection of classic tracks from the ‘60s and ‘70s offering a glimpse of hip-hop’s roots.

The Soul of Hip Hop, Volume I will be available at all digital and retail outlets on March 31, 2009.

From press release:
Apart from its undeniable influence on the hip-hop generation, Stax Records holds a pivotal place in American music history as one of the most popular soul music record labels of all time – second only to Motown in sales and influence, but first in gritty, raw, Southern-steeped soul music. In its heyday throughout the ‘60s and early ‘70s, Stax placed more than 167 hit songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 pop charts as well as a staggering 243 hits on the R&B charts.

Tracklisting:

1. 24-CARAT BLACK – “Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth”
2. THE EMOTIONS – “Blind Alley”
3. BOOKER T. & THE MGs – “Melting Pot”
4. THE BAR-KAYS – “Humpin’”
5. THE DRAMATICS – “Get Up and Get Down”
6. ISAAC HAYES – “Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic”
7. ISAAC HAYES – “Hung Up On My Baby”
8. DAVID PORTER – “I’m Afraid the Masquerade Is Over”
9. WENDY RENE – “After the Laughter (Comes Tears)”
10. CHARMELS – “As Long As I’ve Got You”
11. THE SWEET INSPIRATIONS – “Why Marry”
12. RUFUS THOMAS – “Do the Funky Penguin (Part 1)”
13. LITTLE MILTON – “Packed Up and Took My Mind”
14. WILLIAM BELL - “I Forgot To Be Your Lover”

Not The Same.... My Candy Rain

A big thank you to Knile....



Brian Dalyrimple, of 90s R&B group, Soul For Real, is at this time on the run with his 10-month-old-son from police in Atlanta,Ga. He is allegedly in connection with an identity theft case that involves more than 200 victims.


“One of our detectives is working on [ the case] she’s our white-collar crime specialist and she has identified 145 victims within our jurisdiction, several of them businesses, and an additional 115 victims in other jurisdictions, so you’re looking at over 260 victims right now,” said Maj. Don Woodruff with the Duluth Police Department.

Wow.... the concern of course is to find the child. Dalyrimple does not have custody of his son. It is reported that he took his son from daycare.



Duluth police have already arrested a woman, Laborah Crawford, in connection with the identity theft case. She is being held in the Gwinnett County Jail.




For those who didn't know.... R&B group, Soul For Real are best known as the 90s group of brothers (discovered by Heavy D) with their biggest hit "Candy Rain."



See video here : Candy Rain
Candy Rain Remix (c'mon...some of you know you loved it!)

A Picture I Took

sunset....

Useless Fact Of The Week

Gray whales migrate 12,000 miles each year. This is farther than any other mammal.