"So what are you going to do with an English major? Are you going to teach?" You bet your ass I am.

I have fixed them. If interested, you can go to the original posts and listen, or listen here.

Peace, Jeniffer Knapp

[audio http://us.f13.yahoofs.com/bc/47a746a9_12192/bc/Music/Peace.mp3?BCcvxLIB2wR0TlC9]

Only You, David Crowder*Band

[audio http://us.f13.yahoofs.com/bc/47a746a9_12192/bc/Music/OnlyYou.mp3?BC36xLIBegvija51]

He's really cool.

Go Google him, maybe pick up Pissin' Razorbladez.

That is all.

In the past year Kanye released Graduation, which beat 50 Cent's 'Curtis' album in sales. Kanye has also jumped on alot of remixes and he's made some business deals. Not to mention his successful Glow In The Dark tour and possible collabration with Nike over Nike Air Yeezy's.

Congratulations go out to Kanye.

Here is the list in full. If you click onto the names, it will take you to MTV where they'll explain their reason. On a side note - Little Brother beat his Big Brother

1) Kanye West
2) Jay-Z
3) Lil Wayne
4) Rick Ross
5) Snoop Dogg
6) 50 Cent
7) Lupe Fiasco
8 ) Young Jeezy
9) Andre 3000
10) T.I.

The only thing The Hip Hop Chronicle would say is that Lupe should be higher up. His album was fantastic

OMFG

I enjoy South Pole better, but don't get me wrong. I LOVE BOTH of them.

North Pole is rockin', but South Pole makes me wanna lift my arms and give thanks that Solid Globe produced two heavenly tracks.

Just wonderful, makes me dance madly around the room, singing at the top of my voice.

*smiles happily*

and the lyrics to follow along:

"Now Peter Piper picked peppers but Run rocked rhymes
Humpty Dumpty fell down that's his hard time
Jack B. Nimble what nimble and he was quick
But Jam Master cut faster Jack's on Jay's dick
Now Little Bo Peep cold lost her sheep
And Rip van Winkle fell the hell asleep
And Alice chillin somewhere in Wonderland
Jack's servin Jill a bucket in his hand
And Jam Master Jay's making out our sound
The turntables might wobble but they don't fall down

Now Dr. Seuss and Mother Goose both did their thing
But Jam Master's gettin loose and D.M.C.'s the king
Cause he's adult entertainer
Child educator
Jam Master Jay king of the crossfader
He's the better of the best best believe he's the baddest
Perfect timin when I'm climbin I'm a rhymin apparatus
Lot of guts
When he cuts
Girls move their butts
His name is Jay hear the play he must be nuts
And on the mix real quick and I'd like to say
He's not Flash but he's fast and his name is Jay

Jay's like King Midas as I was told
Everything that he touched turned to gold
He's the greatest of the greater get it straight
He's great
Playing fame cause his name is known in every state
His name is Jay
To see him play
Will make you say
God damn that DJ made my day
Like the butcher the baker
The candlestick maker
He's a maker a breaker
And a title taker
Like the little old lady who lived in a shoe
If cuts were kids he would be you
Not lyin y'all he's the best I know
And if I lie my nose will grow
Like a little wooden boy named Pinocchio
And you all know how the story go

Tricks are for kids he plays much gigs
He's a big bad wolf and you're the three pigs
He's a big bad wolf in your neighborhood
Not bad meaning bad but bad meaning good

We're Run-D.M.C. got a beef to settle
D's not Hansel he's not Gretel
Jay's a winner
Not a beginner
His pockets get fat others get thinner
Jump on Jay like cows jump moons
People chase Jay like dish and spoon
And like all fairy tales end
You'll see Jay again my friend"

From Jisto.com: "I wish I could punch iTunes directly in the face"

Yes, why is iTunes so often so slow??? Where's the awesome Apple user-friendliness and user-design I always hear about? Windows Media Player is amazingly fast and easy to use compared to iTunes...

This will be her first single since November 2005. You can get the single from Itunes on May 27th.

If Sam Walton, creator or Wal-Mart and Sam's Club, was a an independent recording artists he we would cut out the the major record labels. Why? Walton bought his products directly from the manufacturer/wholesaler. Who is the wholesaler for independent recording artists? THE INDEPENDENT RECORDING ARTIST!! Every independent recording artists is a manufacturer/wholesaler. You're the one making the music, you're the one supplying the goods.

Location, location, location. Walton looked at demographics and numbers to pick the location of his stores. He built his first store around 1950, before the Internet existed. Sam Walton's first customers HAD TO BE within a five to ten mile radius so they could get to the store. A lot of people could not afford cars, there were no cell phones, and there was no Internet.

Today independent recording artists have the Internet. Just open your OWN STORE online and have customers ALL OVER THE WORLD. Sam Walton would have loved to have that technology back in 1950. If Walton was alive he would ask the record labels "Why Do I Need You? What Is It That You Do For Me?"

The better question is why aren't more independent recording artists asking this question? Consumerism is a mindset that thrives off of dependency. Companies try to get you hooked on their product and make you think you cannot live without it (dependency). Record labels do the same. Sam Walton would not take this or believe it and neither should you.

Walton was a visionary as well as realist. As a realist he would acknowledge the weakness of the independent recording artist and FIX IT. Marketing is the weakness. He would fix this problem by using Strategic Marketing as opposed to Mass Marketing used by major recording labels.

Strategic Marketing is as it sounds. You look at demographics, numbers, and other data to predict where, when, how, and IF you should advertise.

Mass Marketing is the opposite. Just throw a whole bunch out there and see who buys the most. Whoever buys the most is your market. If nobody is buying simply make people buy it by getting the idea stuck in their head (play it over and over again on the radio).

Major record labels have used mass marketing for years. However, mass marketing is less effective in the new digital era. For example, more people listen to their CD players and Mp3 players as opposed to the radio. True, many people enjoy the morning talk shows, but now they can download the podcast and avoid the commercials. Creators of online communities like FaceBook are opting not to sell their companies the way Tom sold MySpace to Google. Refusing to sell the companies means less advertisements and mass marketing.

Customers Must Come To You

We're all sick of advertisements. Everywhere we turn something is being pushed on us. Ironically, Wal-Mart does not put much money in advertising. Here is another reason I use Sam Walton as an example. He made his name brand name so big, customers look for his stores. Wal-Mart does not have to go looking for customers. This is what independent artists must do.

Independent artists, you've got to get people looking for you. When you go on vacation what is one of the first things you look for? A Wal-Mart! You want people looking for you. My dad played football at Hamilton College and used to listen to one record before every game. Indie artists when athletes are about to take the field or somebody is just having a bad day you want those people looking for music.

Make Your Music Easy To Find

For independent recording artists, it's not about mass marketing. It's about two things. Strategic marketing and accessibility. We already went over strategic marketing. Accessibility means your music is easy to find. I should not have to go through thousands of MySpace pages to find your music!

Accessibility is one of the biggest problems that plagues Indie artists. They often follow the hottest trend, like MySpace, and get buried under millions of other artists. GET YOUR OWN WEB PAGE. You can have the MySpace, but you need your own web page i.e yourbandname.com.

Search Engine Optimization

This is extremely important to independent recording artists. You can find a Wal-Mart on every corner. I should be able to find your music on most Google and Yahoo searches. Sounds extreme and impossible. It's not. Search Engines like Yahoo and Google are evolving, meaning they are becoming better. If you did a Google search three years back you'd get lot more unnecessary information than if you searched today.

As the search engines become for efficient, so do the search categories. Categories are becoming more specific. People no longer Google 'Buy Car' instead they Google 'Buy Hybrid Car'. People are becoming very specific with their wants and demands and the search engines are as well.

Pretty soon we will see Google searches designed specifically for independent music. Currently Google has the following types of searches: Web, Images, Maps, News, Shopping, Video, YouTube, Groups, Books, Blogs and a few others.

So if You're looking for a specific video, do a Google video search. If you know that video is a Youtube video. Don't do a video search, do a YouTube video search. See how the search engines are getting more specific. Pretty soon people will not just search music, they will search music from independent artists in North Carolina or music from independent Neo Soul artists in Raleigh, North Carolina. Search engines get more specific everyday.

Get your own domain name and web page. Make it easy for people to find you. Take me for example. My name is Jamille Luney and my webpage is jamilleluney.com. I have a MySpace page the address is myspace.com/jamilleluney and I linked it to my web page jamilleluney.com. This makes it easier for people to find me and it helps the search engines fined me as well. I also have a blog. Jamilleluney.wordpress.com and I combined the blog address with the website. Again this makes it easier for search engines to find me. Search Engine optimization baby.

Search Engine Optimization is the best Strategic Marketing for independent recording artists.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Lagu indah maha dahsyat ini dibuka dengan solo organ / kibor yang menggema dengan sentuhan musik klasik yang sangat kental tanpa ada instrumen lain. Dari intro nya saja sudah memberikan kesan kuat
terhadap atmosfir lagu secara keseluruhan. Alunan melodi yang dihasilkan sangat gagah dan menciptakan nuansa heroik. Sesekali bebunyian organ ini disertai jeda sebentar yang menambah suasana khidmat. Ini mengingatkanku akan permainan Keith Emerson dari kelompok ELP namun dengan sentuhan yang lembut. Mungkin lebih mirip gaya Jurgen Fritz dari kelompok Triumvirat. Setidaknya, itulah yang kurasakan. Sedikit kemungkinan kita tidak ikut bergaya seolah kita yang menekan tuts organ pada bagian ini karena begitu elegan nya. Bagian intro ini. Pada sekitar menit ke 1:20 instrumen lain, bass gitar disertai dram, sudah mulai masuk dan tiba-tiba bunyi organ yang menggema kini diganti dengan alunan kontinyu musik dengan kibor sebagai kendali melodi dan bass gitar lincah menari memberi aksen pada musik.

Pada menit ke 2:17 nada musik meninggi dan komposisi musik menjadi lebih dinamis dengan dominasi organ disertai sentuhan simfonik yang kental, diiringi dengan bunyi melotron. Kesan heroik lebih terasa saat musik mengandung suasana penabuhan genderang bak pasukan akan berangkat perang. Hal ini kentara sekali dari cara dram ditabuh. Sangat nuansamatik. Kemudian vokal masuk dengan indah dan perkasa dengan kualitas vokal Keenan yang sangat prima: “Bersatulah resahmu resahku dalam simfoni ….” Wow ….!!! Betapa megahnya musik ini. Luar biasa.

Pada menit ke 5:15 ditandai dengan tereakan ngerock dari Keenan “ … merana! Woowww!!!” diikuti dengan interlude maha indah dengan solo kibor. Kemudian disertai bunyi kibor dan gitar saling sahut menyahut. Bener-bener menakjubkan bagian interlude ini. Aku bangga sekali memiliki musisi Indonesia sekaliber Keenan & Debby Nasution yang bisa menciptakan maha karya ini. Masterpiece!

Pada menit ke 6:40 ditandai dengan tereakan berupa ajakan pada generasi muda: “Hei kau pemuda masa kini. Kita berantaslah korupsi. Jangan kau biarkan mereka. Menganiaya hati kita ….” musik meninggi lagi dan bernuansa lebih simfonik lagi.

Klimaks dari lagu ini mengingatkanku akan klimaks lagu “Close To The Edge” dari kelompok Yes namun dengan komposisi dan melodi yang berbeda. Sangat orisinil

karya Keenan: “Semoga Tuhan memberkahi kita semua ….” Waduh pas bagian ini begitu megahnya lagu ini dan sangat menyentuh hati. Mbrebes mili jadinya.

Lagu berdurasi 8:53 ini beraliran progressive rock, setiap musisi berkontribusi maksimal memperkuat komposisi. Selain kibor / organ yang lincah, permainan bass gitar juga sangat dinamis, dram yang variatif dan juga gitar. Pesan yang disampaikan sangat tematikdengan ajakan anti korupsi yang ternyata sampai saat ini (27 tahun kemudian) masih sangat relevan. Begitu banyaknya kebobrokan korupsi di negara kita tercinta ini. Akankah 27 tahun kemudian kondisi yang sama akan berlaku? Wallahu’alam. Kita doakan presiden SBY mampu memberantasnya.

Kenangan

Lagu ini aku nikmati saat aku duduk di bangku SMA, jaman-jamannya memburu cewek bermodal motor bebek pretelan.. Pada saat itu yang nge-top justru bukan lagu ini, namun “Nuansa Bening” yang merupakan trek pembuka album ini dan berirama balada romantis. Tentu saja lirik dan iramanya banyak disukai anak-anak SMA saat itu. Kenanganku akan “Negriku Cintaku” sangat kuat karena ini lagu yang selalu menemaniku saat menempuh pelajaran sekolah (selalu aku senandungkan, meski dalam hati). Pada saat mulai belajar di malam hari untuk ulangan, aku selalu memutar lagu ini sebagai pembuka semangat. Sangat nuansamatik sekaleee ….

Dampak

Meski sudah 27 tahun berlalu, lagu ini tetap memberi dampak sangat positif bagiku. Sampai saat ini aku masih sering memutarnya terutama saat akhir pekan, pagi hari, dengan volume setengah ampli. Keras sekali. Megah! Keenan harus bangga bahwa karyanya sangat berguna, setidaknya bagiku dan juga beberapa teman baikku yang kutahu pasti mencintai lagu ini: Agung Surjoatmodjo dan Rahmat Herry.

Paling cocok lagu ini aku gunakan saat aku sedang memikirkan suatu perubahan. Menuju yang lebih baik, tentunya. Bila diteruskan dengan membaca buku “Thinking for a Change” karya John C Maxwell sudah pasti lebih nyamleng dan … menggerakkan jiwa! Bravo Keenan & Debby!

Salam,

G

Everything But The Girl and their website

I step off the train
I'm walkin' down your street again
And past your door
But you don't live there anymore
It's years since you've been there
And now you've disappeared somewhere
Like outer space
You've found some better place

And I miss you
(Like the deserts miss the rain)
And I miss you
Oh
(Like the deserts miss the rain)

Could you be dead?
You always were two steps ahead
Of ev'ryone
We'd walk behind while you would run
I look up at your house
And I can almost hear you shout, down to me
Where I always used to be

And I miss you
(Like the deserts miss the rain)
And I miss you
(Like the deserts miss the rain)

Back on the train
I ask why did I come again
Can I confess?
I've been hangin' 'round your old address
And the years have proved
To offer nothin' since you moved
You're long gone
But I can't move on

And I miss you
Oh-oh (Like the deserts miss the rain)
And I miss you, yeah
(Like the deserts miss the rain) And I miss you

I step off the train
I'm walkin' down your street again
Past your door
I guess you don't live there anymore
It's years since you've been there
And now you've disappeared somewhere
Like outer space
You've found some better place

And I miss you
(Like the deserts miss the rain)
And I miss you, yeah
(Like the deserts miss the rain)
And I miss you, and I miss you
(Like the deserts miss the rain)
And I miss you, yeah
(Like the deserts miss the rain)

Deserts miss the rain
(Like the deserts miss the rain) Like the deserts miss the rain
(Like the deserts miss the rain

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

It takes me away from this grey, damp land, and back into the land where the passion runs so deeply in my veins.

I know I do!

I just listened to Taking Back Sunday's version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and I just re-realised how awesome they sounded together. You should totally listen to that song, it's hillarious. I really miss Fred being in TBS. Adam and Fred's vocals were harmonically perfect.

But yeah, I really hope that the new guitarist/back-up vocalist will sound just as good and can bring TBS' music up to a whole new level. Not in a more accessible way kind of thing, but more in terms of better musicianship, songwriting, better material, basically. The first time I heard TBS I instantly fell in love with the sound. Most of my favourite bands right now took a while for me to get into, but not with TBS. It's like discovering chocolate for the first time: you know that this is something you'll be into forever. Many people have said that their latest studio album, Louder Now was a huge decline compared to its predecessors but it's still worth listening to. TBS will always be one of those bands that I can never, ever get tired of.

For those who are wondering, here's the song in question:
http://rapidshare.com/files/115594560/11_untitled.mp3.html

Enjoy :)

Chloe's quite taken by a song called Baby Bumblebee right now. Catchy tune, but what weird lyrics it has (for a kid's song).

It starts out fairly innocuously (although who the hell leaves a kid out to play where he/she would run into said insect):

I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee
Won't my Mommy be surprised at me

Then it takes a strange (yet logical) turn for a children's song:

I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee
Ouch, he stung me!

This is a very logical song, for the next stanza is pretty much what one would do when stung by a bumblebee:

I'm squishing up a baby bumblebee
Won't my Mommy be surprised at me
I'm squishing up a baby bumblebee,
Ooh! It's yucky!

Now for the very malleable and formative young minds listening to this song, we've already established that it's fine to play with bees and squish them when they sting you. Excellent, excellent job!

The last stanza delivers the clincher:

I'm wiping off the baby bumblebee,
Won't my mommy be so proud of me,
I'm wiping off the baby bumblebee,
Now my mommy won't be mad at me!

Great. Mommy won't be mad because you played with a bumblebee, got stung by it, and killed it. Why? Because you cleaned yourself up by yourself?

Mommy's just going to be so proud of you, won't she?

Another version of the song have the kid bringing home a baby snapping turtle (?), baby rattlesnake (WTF?!?) and a baby dinosaur (*speechless*), aside from the baby bumblebee. This one ends with the baby dinosaur eating up the kid by the end of the song. Heh.

Yet another version teaches the kid to taste the squished bumblebee after the stinging happens, then throwing up after tasting the squished bumblebee. At least the kid ends up cleaning his/her own mess by the song's end.

And they say rap/rock/pop/[insert genre here] music is bad.

Anyhow, just another video of mine we made lately. As usual, I do look crazy but videos are design for sillyness. I guess not that bad to be one. Enjoy!

PEGASUS FANTASY
------------------------------------------------
by Highlord
dikutip dari Metrolyrics

Burn your Cosmo down
Embrace the power of your soul
To the limit of the stars see a miracle become true
Maybe we will fail

We will learn to feel the pain
Still far is the way but a promise has been done
Pegasus Fantasy it's only in your dreams
Use the wings of your soul this time no one can stop your fly

Saint Seya - All young warriors
Saint Seya - New heroes will come... Oh yeah!
Saint Seya - Pegasus will lead you
Saint Seya - Right now fly away!

Look up to the sky
Find the evershining stars
Follow them to the end it's your power feel the strengh
Until that day I promise I won't fall
I will risk my own life in th ebattle i've engaged

Download link : Link 1

I was wondering what kind of songs Saori will be singing after leaving the highly popular show, 'We Got Married. Well, wonder no longer! She released a single on 14th May 2008, entitled Happy Virus!

Doesn't have a lot of time to check it out, but here is the cover and track list. According to the people posted in z-degrees.net, the single is full of happy songs, upbeat, and kind of rock/electronic. Well... visit z-degrees.net for the download!

Saori Band - Happy Virus

Track List:
01 응석쟁이 (Feat. 빽가)
02 하쿠나마타타
03 별의 꿈
04 삐삐삐
05 일어공부송
06 응석쟁이 (Inst.)
07 하쿠나마타타 (Inst.)

Here is xx_swit_c_xx review from z-degrees.net!

She's one of those "cute voice" high voices... not a great singer vocally.. but the songs are catchy and happy & cute.... similar voice in my opinion to Jadu?... yeah, similar to Jadu but she sounds more young.. pop-ish... with some rock/electronic feel to it... all the songs are upbeat and catchy though... they don't make you depressed and they don't make you wish you had a boyfriend =D haha... 

01 응석쟁이 (Feat. 빽가) - 8/10

02 하쿠나마타타 - 8.5/10 (puahaha... "hakuna matata" is the title^^ like Lion King)

03 별의 꿈 - 8/10 ("Wish Upon a Star").. has a similar melody to another song.. sounds stolen

04 삐삐삐 - 7/10 ("Bbee Bbee BBee")... eh, this one was a bit TOO childish & 'cute' like a elementary kid's song....

05 일어공부송 - 8/10 (not very original... but still nice to listen to)

Surely it can't be because I've been on two big shopping sprees in the past two days? I'm no Sex In The City type clothes fiend, but I have got some fab bargains. My mum and I went to The Shop earlier on today and I broke my record - £36! (that was two skirts, a pair of shoes, three tops, a pair of trousers and a cute as pie Bob The Builder coat for my cousin G to grow into). I should add that I took a big big big bag of clothes and shoes to a charity shop after that though!!

So here I am, typing away and listening to Delirious on my iPod, feeling really uplifted. I only have four Delirious tracks so far - Stare The Monster Down, History Maker, I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever and Wonder - but I am thinking of getting a couple of their albums.

"Part of the weekend never dies" trailer

Here's a video of Motorpsych from the last time they played at Postbahnhof in 2006