Hip-hop music, once a platform for creative expression and friendly competition, has, sadly, become a popularity contest. With record sales down and ringtone dollars up, rookies searching for that “one big hit” seem solely concerned with being deemed “cool.” Lyrics have side-stepped, giving way to dance-instructing “rappers” more concerned with sparking the new “Macarena” than being hailed as an MC.
On the outside looking in at such followers is Lupe Fiasco. Rather than conform to music industry standards, Fiasco (born Wasalu Muhammad Jaco) has trail-blazed his own path to critical acclaim. Possessing head-spinning wordplay and a topical range more akin to the underground than the mainstream, the 25-year-old lyricist has proven that talent can still make waves in the rap game.
Born and raised in the seedy, confrontational West side of Chicago, Illinois, Fiasco grew up like the regular urban survivor. What wasn’t common, however, was the means by which he carried himself. Comic books and literature of all genres cluttered his bedroom floor, and a skateboard replaced your typical drop-top Cadillac. Influenced by the Californian gangsta rap of artists such as Spice 1 and Ice Cube, Fiasco gradually grew leery of such negative messages, gravitating toward the dazzling lyricism of the likes of Nas and Jay-Z.
Rox messaged me with the link to this one, and it’s seriously brilliant. The melody is great and the lyrics are intense! It’s not the first time I’ve heard it, but it’s the first time I’ve shared it on my blog :)
When you feel it in your body
you found somebody who makes you change your ways
like hanging with your crew
said you act like you ready but you dont really know
and everthing in your past- you wanna let go
I can’t help but think that this songs music and flow of chorus/lyrics sounds so incredibly similar to another song by a different artist. Unfortunately I cannot pin point which one, but each time I hear it, I think of another song. I’d be so stoked if someone could point it out!
What good’s a memory
Without you there with me
The morning sun ain’t the same
Without you here
You are the summer breeze
The wind blowing through the trees
You make the loneliness
All just disappear
It’s a really awesome song though, and comes off their most recent album: Back Home. I must admit, all the albums this fantastic group has released have been fantastic. If you’re in the mood for some emotional, easy listening stuff, they seem to hit the spot perfectly!
Pete Yorn (www.peteyorn.com), another easy listening addition to my music collection :)
Pete Yorn was born in New Jersey to a dentist (father) and a former concert-pianist turned school-teacher (mother). Yorn taught himself to play drums at age nine and soon moved on to guitar. Yorn attended Montville High School in Montville, New Jersey. In 1990, while drumming for his band in a high-school talent contest, someone suggested that he sing The Replacements’ song “Talent Show.” It went over well enough that a competing band requested that he sing Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World” with them.
Yorn was encouraged enough to maintain a focus on music while attending Syracuse University (class of 1996) where he was a major in the department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies and a member of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity. After graduating, Yorn moved to Los Angeles, where he began to attract a following with his performances at Cafe Largo. Film producer Bradley Thomas (‘Kingpin’ & ‘There’s Something About Mary’) liked Yorn’s act enough to request Yorn send him some rough demos for possible inclusion in the Farrelly Brothers’ film Me, Myself and Irene. Soon after, Yorn landed a job scoring all of the music to the film and also contributed the songs Strange Condition and “Just Another” to the film and its soundtrack. “Just Another” was also featured on the television shows Felicity, Dawson’s Creek, and Smallville. In addition to appearing on the Me, Myself, and Irene soundtrack, Pete Yorn’s recordings have appeared on other movie soundtracks, including Orange County (2001), Spider-Man (2002) and Shrek 2 (2004).
After experiencing this taste of success, Yorn released his 2001 LP debut, entitled musicforthemorningafter, which went gold on the strength of the album’s lead single, “Life on a Chain.” Rolling Stone Magazine named Yorn one of “Ten [artists] to Watch in 2001″ and gave the album a favorable four-star rating.
Yorn went on to release the 2003 album Day I Forgot which has sold over 300,000 copies to date and scored a third radio hit with the song “Come Back Home.”
In 2006, Yorn released his third album, Nightcrawler.
Legendary guitarist Peter Buck of the band R.E.M. has made appearances on several Pete Yorn recordings, including instrumentation on the single version of “Strange Condition” and a number of songs from the Day I Forgot LP. Yorn has worked with producer Ken Andrews of Failure and Year of the Rabbit on all three of Yorn’s studio albums, in addition to several other producers including Butch Walker and Sonic Youth producer Don Fleming.
Yorn has shared bills with the Dave Matthews Band, R.E.M., The Foo Fighters, Weezer, Coldplay, The Dixie Chicks, and Semisonic, among others.
He is currently touring with the recently-reunited Crowded House on their first tour in over a decade.
Boys Like Girls is a four-piece American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. The group completed nationwide tours with Cute Is What We Aim For, Hit the Lights and Butch Walker and topped the Top Unsigned Artist chart on PureVolume, within a few months from forming in late 2005. In August 2006 they released their Matt Squire-produced debut album, Boys Like Girls via Columbia Records/Red Ink. On March 17, 2007, it was announced that the band was voted 2006 Artist of the Year by the readers of Spin.
I grabbed myself a copy of their album and immediately started listening. Two of their most popular songs are The Great Escape (listen) and Hero Heroine (listen). Here are some lyrics from Hero Heroine:
And I feel a weakness coming on
Never felt so good to be so wrong
Had my heart on lockdown
And then you turned me around
I’m feeling like a new born child
Every time I get a chance to see you smile
It’s not complicated
I was so jaded.
I’m not a huge punk/alternative/rock fan, but I find quite a few of there songs very enjoyable. Thanks to Danielleyxbelly for pointing this group out to me :)
I am a big fan of BBC Radio 1 and a few other stations, and I’m pretty sure I have blogged about it a number of times and from these articles I’ve received a couple requests from people asking how they could record off the streaming audio stations. I decided that I would find a program and blog about it, just to let everyone know it’s very easy.
Audacity is the perfect program for this job, the steps are as following:
MySpace, social networking monster, has launched a new music program called ‘Music Transmissions’. Music Transmissions will provide exclusive video content from recording artists. This will allow artists to exclusively record and sell content on MySpace. This will include both audio and video materials.
The first artist to appear on Music Transmission will be none other than James Blunt. James blunt has already recorded several tracks exclusively for MySpace in the hopes to burst this new feature across the MySpace network. One of his tracks is entitled ‘Same Mistake’. Fox Interactive Media Inc has said that it will name additional artists, who will be participating on Music Transmission, later in the week.
According to the company, all of the content from MySpace Transmissions will be archived and available through MySpaceTV and user profiles.
Teddy Geiger was born on September 16, 1988 in Buffalo, New York to John and Lorilyn Geiger. He was always gifted with music, learning piano from his grandparents at an early age and guitar by the time he was eight. By that time, he had started writing and recording his own songs as well. He probably would never have considered becoming an entertainer if it wasn’t for his mother. Teddy was entered into the VH1 2004 TV Contest ‘In Search of the Patridge Family’. Even though he didn’t get the part he was auditioning for (he was deemed too young by the producers), he did catch the eye of top music producer Billy Mann, who rushed and scribbled down his number on a piece of paper for Teddy before he left. Teddy was signed to Columbia Records for a six record deal. On March 21st, 2006, Teddy released ‘Underage Thinking’ on Columbia, generating the hits ‘Confidence (For You I Will)’ and ‘These Walls’. A special edition of the album was also released, containing remixes, early demos that Teddy recorded in his Pittsford, New York basement and a DVD with music videos and other bonus features. Geiger is now recording his follow-up release in Connecticut with producer Billy Mann, scheduled for release in late 2007 or early 2008, and a summer tour is also planned.
His song ‘For you I will’ is awesome, here’s the video and the lyrics :)
Wondering the streets, in a world underneath it all
Nothing seems to be, nothing tastes as sweet
As what I can’t have
Like you and the way that you’re twisting your hair
round your finger
Tonight I’m not afraid to tell you
What I feel about you.
I’m gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have
and cannon ball into the water
I’m gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have
For you I will
For you I will
Forgive me if I stutter
From all of the clutter in my head
Cuz I could fall asleep in those eyes
Like a water bed
Do I seem familiar, i’ve crossed you in hallways
a thousand times, no more camouflage
I want to be exposed, and not be afraid to fall.
I’m gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have
And cannon ball into the water
I’m gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have
For you I will
You always want what you can’t have
But I’ve got to try
I’m gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have
For you I will
For you I will
For you I will
For you
If I could dim the lights in the mall
And create a mood I would
Shout out your name so it echos in every room
I would
That’s what I’d do, That’s what I’d do to get through to you
I’m gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have
And cannon ball into the water
I’m gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have
For you I will
You always want what you can’t have
But I’ve got to try
I’m gonna muster every ounce of confidence I have
For you I will
For you I will
For you I will
For you I will
I’ve grown to really enjoy Mika recently. i’ve previoused blogged about the song Happy Ending, and another of my favourites is Relax (take is easy) – both definitely worth listening too.
There’s a Mika Fan Club with tons of members, I actually never realised how popular the band is! Below is the track listing..
Another website to watch out for is Party Watch – A local website, providing news and information on all the latest parties out and about. The website was created by a mate of mine, Peter, who also started Model Base – A local hangout for photographers and models. One thing I am a little confused about is this statement: “Port Elizabeth Entertainment E-Zine” – Does that mean that Party Watch will only be following parties in Port Elizabeth?
Party Watch is still very much under construction from a contextual point of view, but I have seen some advertising on Facebook, so clearly they are trying to push some traffic, I’m sure once their is some good content, that the website will do really well. Surfing places like Thunda become a nightmare, as the site is very bulky and slow, so hopefully Party Watch will be fast and straight to the point. Party Watch is looking for bloggers who will be willing to add content and interesting articles to the site, so if you are interested in guest blogging, this might be a good place to get in with.
The first article on Party Watch is about Piercings, which is an intersting selection for opening posts, I guess there’s a chance that it’s just an opening post for place holder purposes?
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