Don't really know what to say about this yet....
Wow.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
I Love Jennifer Hudson
I love this woman.
She is strong. Beautiful and talented beyond words.
What she has been through over the last year, I don't think anyone expected her to recover.
Her mother, brother and small nephew were murdered by her sisters crazy boyfriend.
She could have went and hid under a rock and nobody would have blamed her.
Instead she got married, had a baby, lost 80 pounds and made a promise to continue on with her life.
Now she is out with a new look, a new album, and a kick ass single.
Check it out.
Happy Birthday George!
Today would have marked the 68th birthday of my all time favorite Beatle. Yup thats right, I'm a George fan. My mother and I have debated it for years, but to me it doesn't get much better then the man above.
You will live on forever through the beautiful music you made.
Thank you George and Happy Birthday!
And man did this guy have a way with words:
"I think people who can truly live a life in music are telling the world "you can have my love, you can have my smiles. Forget the bad parts, you don't need them. Just take the music, the goodness, because it's the very best, and its the part I give"
"Try to realize it's all within yourself no one else can make you change, and to see you're only very small and life flows on within you and without you."
"When you've seen beyond yourself, then you may find, peace of mind is waiting there."
"As long as you hate, there will be people to hate."
"Love one another" (his last words)
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Daft Coke
Anyone who is familiar with the genius french duo "Daft Punk" should be very excited over this unveiling.
These limited edition Coke bottles will be sold as collector editions in random nightclubs in france and on the website www.daftcoke.com.
I want them.
Okay so you still don't know who Daft Punk are...did you see TRON?
Then you do.
"What Is The Internet, Anyways"
This video is absolutely hilarious and scary at the same time.
Weird to think how far we have come...and how fast.
Kelly Clarkson on Ellen
Two of my favorite people.... Ellen and Kelly Clarkson!
The one and only American Idol I can really get behind....
Guest Blogger: The Rick
Guest blogger for this post will be by my brother Rick also known to many down here in Richmond as "The Rick" due to his unique ability to kick ass at most things in life.
The kid is pretty amazing at most things in life and we have gotten pretty close over the year but the one thing that continues to be laughing joke to me is his music taste. Its hilarious. He loves all things on Ryan Seacrests radio station, Garth Brooks and Broadway Shows. Again the kid is one of a kind.
Her are the emails I got from him today...
"Great performance or the "greatest" performance of all time..... I miss this"
Followed two minutes later by another email from him of "put this on your blog"
Oh Rick...good thing I like you....
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
The 90s Are Here
What does the above picture remind you of?
Thats right...its the best of the 90s!
So here they are some of my favorites from the years 1990-1999. And boy were there some classics.
Starting with this one....
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Rihanna is Everywhere!
Just to prove that Rihanna makes any song hotter, check this out.
I have slowly over the past two years lost about all of my respect for Kanye West. I used to really like him as a talented artist, yet now I think hes more out for himself then for the music. And well that sucks...
But I will give the following to him.
This is a hot song.
Nicki Minaj - Fly
Say what you will about this girl but she is KILLING the rap game right now.
Last night I was listening to her album Pink Friday and came across this song "Fly" feat Rihanna.
Its great for many reasons, but most being the last verse that Nicki raps.
I must have listened to this verse 80 times in 5 minutes.
"everybody wanna try to box me in
suffocating everytime it locks me in
paint they own pictures than they crop me in
but I will remain where the top begins
cause I am not a word, I am not a line
I am not a girl that can ever be defined
I am not fly, I am levitation
I represent an entire generation
I hear the criticism loud and clear
that is how I know that the time is near
so we become alive in a time of fear
and I ain't got no muthaf-cking time to spare"
Fly girl Fly
Phish Summer Tour 2011
Phish summer tour announcement came today.
And I have a small shocking announcement of my own.
I will not be going.
**GAAAASP**
Yes, I know what is the world coming to?
But to be honest? After the year I had in 2010, where I basically needed Phish to survive. (I had a tough year I needed music to pick me back up....)
Now its 2011. I have a whole lot on my plate and things have changed.
Both my parents turn 60 this year, my brother is getting married, and I well, yeah nothing much has changed with me but those things require a lot of time and money and well, I don't have a lot of either. So something has got to give.
Phish. I'm looking at you.
For now.
So friends have fun, tell the boys hello. I'll be back hopefully sometime this winter.
I'll survive... I promise.
New Project Time
Okay time to unveil part of the new project that I have been working on lately.
Anyone who knows me knows that there are two big things that are a part of my life. Music and Pictures. I love them both. Am I a photographer? Absolutely not. But I take my camera wherever I go with me and tend to capture some pretty cool moments on film.
So now I have these collections of photos and nothing to do with them. Now what?
So I decided to start a project making these pictures that I take the best pictures ever through the use of my new fancy computer (I knew I blew $1,700 for a reason). So yes I'm slowly teaching myself how to edit photos and put cool effects on them.
Here are the few I have completed so far. And yes it takes a lot longer then you think when you have absolutely no idea what you are doing. Trust.
And again. These are the work of a beginner
This original picture was taken while on vacation in St. Croix
UPS truck driving by my apartment during a snow storm
Cart of food donations that came into work
This was a creepy bronze statue I took at a DC Museum
Sail boat I saw off the coast of San Francisco
Pair of old boots I saw at a thrift store in Richmond, Va
The original picture was of the coolest staircase I have ever. San Diego, CA
Finally my favorite, while driving down a random road in Virginia I stumbled upon this sign.
Reasons like this is why I keep my camera handy.
Have a good day everyone... its never too late to start a new hobby.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Today
Got a lot to say, but no creativity left in my body to share.
I will explain more tomorrow.
Started a new project this weekend.
Yes, you should be excited.
Bye.
Friday, February 18, 2011
The Legendary Roots Crew
If you are not a fan of these guys watch this mini documentary below and know why these men are known as "legendary" in the hip-hop world.
Its the Roots Crew!
Aww Snap. Britney is Back
I was wondering what was taking so long.
Here it is. Britney is back and well its..um...well its..um...Britney.
Because They Are Radiohead and They Can.
Surprise. Just after announcing just a few days ago that they would be releasing a download of their new album on Saturday...the world woke up to new radiohead music.
Yup thats right, this morning they released the download and a new video.
Why?
Because they are radiohead thats why. They don't have to explain much as far as I'm concerned.
So lets just enjoy it!
aaaand Happy Weekend!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Sia - I'm In Here
Lyrics:
Can you hear my call?
Are you coming to get me now?
I've been waiting for,
You to come resuce me.
I need you to hold,
All of the sadness I can not,
Living inside of me.
I'm in here. I'm trying to tell you something
Can anybody help?
I'm in here, I'm calling out but you can't hear,
Can anybody help?
Love love love love love this song.
Its sad simple and perfect.
If you don't own her albums by now and you like good music, I highly recommend this for you today! Its music you can get lost in. The best kind for me....
Ahhh! Justin Beiber and Phish In Same Article
Oh My Goodness.My world just exploded. Man my brother is going to love this one.
Justin Beiber and Phish are in the same Rolling Stone article. Sinking in?
Let me explain.
To the right you see Justin Bieber and his music director and lead guitarist Dan Kanter at Dan's wedding in October. After being asked to front Biebers band a few years back Dan, a self professed Phish Head, took the gig immediately.
"We both played drums, are from Canada and like hockey, so we really hit it off. I didn't know really then how big it would become." Since then he has worked on Biebers albums, appeared in his movie, and now is playing venues from Wembley Stadium to MSG" Recently he sat down with R.S. to explain how he is trying to influence Bieber with some different genres.
Here in the article is where it took a left turn.
Is he a Dylan fan at all?
Through me, he’s gotten into Bob Dylan. I just walked into his dressing room the other day and he was blasting “All Along the Watchtower.” He likes Michael Jackson as much as he likes Metallica, and he’s into all sorts of hip-hop. He’s also going through a huge Beatles phase right now, and I’m trying to teach him about Phish and how great they are. We actually met Trey [Anastasio] at a show. He brought his daughter to see a Bieber show, and what a world colliding there that was.
I’ll say. What was that like?
It was quite funny. Scooter [Braun, Bieber’s manager], said to Justin, “This is the reason why all my friends dropped out of college.”
HAHA.
Mike Gordon Releases "Inside In" on Vinyl
8 years after its original debut, Phish bass player Mike Gordon is re-releasing his solo debut album on Vinyl. And well you get the above.
Amazing.
HA.
This is in conjunction with 'Record Store Day' trying to bring money and credit back into old school music stores. Its a fantasticly brilliant idea that hopefully will catch on with lots of people.
Phish themselves are participating in "Record Store Day" releasing two of their soundchecks on Vinyl and well you can believe I am going to scoop me one of these! For sure!
One More...Promise!
Okay sorry, I forgot one more thing Adele related. It was announced yesterday that my girl will be doing MTV Unplugged next week... and well....um....HELL YEAH!
I just scooped a sneak peak. Check her out singing Natural Woman.
Can't wait!
NPR Spotlight: Adele: An Unforgettable Voice
Okay I know I should just rename this blog to all things Adele but seriously this latest album of hers deserves it all.
This morning I woke to an amazing spotlight done on her by the genius's over at NPR (who by the way I hear their funding is getting cut and we need to save this great institution immediately!)
Anyways, they did a great piece in their "All Things Considered" that just needs to be reposted here, then I promise that will be all for the week here. The interview is just stellar, and you learn so much more that this girl is not just another artist on the pop spectrum.
Here is the excerpt from the website: I've bolded my favorite sections
British singer Adele arrived on the world stage three years ago with her debut album, 19. Now, two Grammy Awards and millions of records sold later, she's out with her second release, 21. Adele herself is now 22, but her powerhouse voice and '60s glam look — hair sleek and teased up high, fake eyelashes out to there — belie her young age.
The new album is a set of songs steeped in the singer's love for American soul and R&B. As Adele tells All Things Considered host Melissa Block, she traces that love back to a happy accident in a London record store.
"I saw the most stunning woman I've ever seen in my life," Adele says. "She had this beehive weave, and these catty eyes, and this seductive figure, and this look on her face, like, 'Don't mess with me.' "
That woman was Etta James, though not in the flesh — Adele had stumbled upon a compilation of the soul icon's greatest hits in a bargain bin. When she finally listened to James' music sometime later, Adele says she may as well have been standing face to face with the legend herself.
"She went right through me — it was the first time that I'd ever been so moved by someone's voice," Adele says. "It was like she was singing a song that was written for me, about me, 50 years after she recorded it."
Before that revelation, Adele's music preferences were about what you'd expect of a teenager: The Spice Girls, The Backstreet Boys, a few British boy bands. She describes her mother's taste at the time as "brilliant" but says she took a while warming up to it.
"You're not supposed to like what your parents like, so I was a little dismissive of it," Adele says. In time, though, it was her mother's love of songwriters like Jeff Buckley, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Janis Joplin that made her want to become a singer herself.
At 22, Adele has already had more success than many performers twice her age. For the moment, she says she's satisfied with it.
"I could die and go to heaven right now," Adele says. Asked whether she aspires to the kind of lifelong career her idol Etta James enjoyed, she replies, "I'd love to, but it's pretty unlikely. There might not even be a music industry next year."
Here is her "Tiny Desk Concert" from earlier this year over at NPR.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
R.S. Readers Pick Top 10 Drummers of All Time
The drums. The spine and pulse of a band. A bad drummer can lose an audience complete. A good drummer can keep the flow going and keep the band together. A great drummer completely owns the music and the stage.
Recently Rolling Stone Magazine did a poll of their readers to pick the Top 10 Drummers of All Time. Again this is strictly according to readers...but I gotta say... I pretty much agree with them. This is a badass list. Complete with their commentary. Good job Rolling Stone.
10. Michael Shrieve
"The musical highlight of the original Woodstock concert in 1969 may as well be Santana's 10-minute performance of "Soul Sacrifice". Drummer Michael Shrieve holds the whole thing togogether, and Santana was never quiet the same after he left in 1974. Since then he has worked with Sammy Hagar, Todd Rundgren and many others-but he will remain best known for Santana. Fans long for his return to the group, but earlier this year Santana married his current drummer Cindy Blackman, making Shrieve's return even more unlikely then before."
9. Ginger Baker
"Before John Bonham and Neil Peart there was Ginger Baker, Creams legendary drummer who practically invented the rock drum solo. Since Cream broke up in 1968 he became deeply interested in world music, but in 2005 he returned with Cream for concerts in London and New York. Many had written him off for dead before those shows, but as he demonstrated with his famous "Toad" solo every night, he still had the goods-even if time had slowed him down a bit."
8. ?uestlove
my personal favorite
"At this point there are few famous musicians that Roots drummer Ahmir '?uestlove' Thompson hasn't performed with. From jamming with Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lauryn Hill and D'Angelo to his stint as the band leader of the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, he's had more chances to play with the greats than nearly anybody else in the business. For one of the countless amazing things he's done, check him out filling in the big shoes of Max Weinberg on "Because the Night" with Bruce Springsteen and Steve Van Zandt last year. "
7. Stewart Copeland
"Stewart Copeland has been more influenced by jazz drummers than rock drummers, even though he's the drummer in one of the most successful rock groups of all time. He is powerful but has a subtle genius to him, The Police have benefited from this their entire career. "
6. Buddy Rich
"Widely considered one of the greatest jazz drummer of all time, Buddy Rich played with Tommy Dorsey, Benny Carter, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. He continued to play until shortly before his death in 1987, and his skills were fully intact until the end."
5. Ringo Starr
"Ringo wasn't a flashy drummer, and he saved his only drum solo in The Beatles for the final song on their final album. Here's the audio from Ringo's big moment in "The End" from Abbey Road."
4. Dave Grohl
"Before joining Nirvana Dave Grohl played drums in local bands Freak Baby and Scream. The Foo Fighters have taken much of his time in the past 15 years, but he's made time to get back behind the kit in Queens of the Stone Age and Them Crooked Vultures. Here are some cool Grohl-central clips from Nirvana's final years to remind you. "
3. Neil Peart
"To Rush's army of fans any name at the top of this list other than Neil's is surely sacrilegious, though it's likely that Peart himself would be more than happy to see his name at Number Three. Of course, no Rush concert is complete without a Peart drum solo. "
2. Keith Moon
"Keith Moon's wild-man drum style was part of The Who's DNA, ad they haven't sounded the same since he died in 1978. To get an idea of how amazing he was in The Who's early days, check out this live performance of "So Sad About Us" from 1967."
1. John Bonham
"Last weekend we asked our readers to name the greatest drummers of all time. Everybody from Eric Carr to Animal from The Muppets got votes, but Led Zeppelin's John Bonham led the list by a significant margin. Here's his legendary "Moby Dick" drum solo from The Song Remains The Same."
My Chemical Romance "Sing"
"Would You Destroy Something Perfect In Order To Make It Beautiful?"
Last night while watching one of my favorite shows GLEE, they sang a song from the band My Chemical Romance. Now while I know this is not my type of music....Pop-Rock....I remember hearing this song back in November when it was released and taking notice. And now I have spent the last 6 minutes watching this really cool video they did for it... good job boys.
Phish Makes a List!
With the internet a buzz with rumored summer Phish dates today... I will bring you Phish fans a little piece of good news. We made a list on Billboard.com! haha. Yes thats right. Billboard announced musics top money makers of the last year and Phish falls right at number 19, right in front of Eric Clapton and right behind Eminem. Not to shabby boys.
The article states that the band took down over 10.5 million dollars last year (.5 million obviously from my friends and I)
It reads "In early 2009 overwhelming demand for Phish reunion tour tickets famously triggered a meltdown in Live Nations newly launched in house ticketing system during the trek's on-sale. Its not that surprising: Between 1989 and the group's 2004 breakup, Phish racked up $175.5 million in concert grosses. That road-tested appeal remained strong in 2010 among Phish's loyal fans, or Phish Heads. Touring behind its latest studio album 'Joy', the band grossed $30.7 million from 43 U.S. concerts that drew 579,188 fans. That enabled the band to finish among Billboards top 25 highest-grossing tours of 2010. Recorded-music sales accounted for a small portion of the group's total income in 2010, with album sales reaching only 68,000 last year."
HA.
So boys, why don't you announce your run down in Portsmouth, VA for the summer I can be a happy camper and won't have to travel up and down the east coast for my shows. I'm moving this year, expenses will be high, and my phish show count will be low. Lets make them easy on me.... what do you say?
Brit Awards
Last night the Brit Awards were held in London's famed O2 Arena. They are basically the British response to our Grammy awards. The big winners were Arcade Fire, Bieber (finally got his little award... is the universe happy now?), Kings of Leon and Eminem.
All and all pretty decent award show. I like that its held in a huge arena allowing tons of fans to witness the show and the performances. Easily the performance of the night went to Adele with her new "Someone Like You". She is having quite the week, her album 21 dropped Tuesday to stellar reviews and well she is tearing it up live all over the place.
Happy to be living in a world with this artist. Here is her stunning performance from last night.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Shocked?
Are you really that shocked about my no posting today after the Grammys threw up all over my page yesterday? That post took me like 3 hours.
I'm off today. I promise you three will survive.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Grammy Awards 2011: The Recap
Okay here goes nothing.
Last night I sat down to watch live the 2011 Grammy Awards. In previous years, I have been very disappointed in this award show. Giving awards to non-talented acts, performances that were terrible (I'm looking at you Jamiee Fox from last year) and well its usually an award show that is greeted with a laugh by the people who actually know music.
Well I'm happy to say that the award show last night pleasantly surprised me. Was it ridiculous? Yup. Did some performances suck? Yup. But for the most part people with talent won. A few performances stand out this morning as head and heals above the rest. And sanity was finally restored when Arcade Fire took home the top prize for Album of the Year after MGMT got robbed last year.
Okay that being said here is my ridiculously long, hopefully entertaining recap of what I was thinking during the entire show last night.
(Notes..I watched it all the while texting with my Dad and Brother about the ridiculousness everyone was seeing, so their comments will appear as well...)
Pre-Show: Awards given before Red Carpet even started.
-Some big names took the cake here. Best rap song went to Jay-Z "Empire State of Mind". Alternative Album went to The Black Keys "Brothers" R&B Album went to John Legend and the Roots. Biggest winner here was the Black Keys. Seriously people if you don't have this album what are you doing!
Red Carpet:
-Pre-red carpet predictions included: "what will be this years Jamie Foxx performance... my guess Beiber/Jaden Smith Duet". My little brother professing his love for all things Beiber. And my profession that I think that Mumford & Sons and Arcade Fire would win big.
-Lady Gaga - I guess I should start by addressing the picture at the top of this post. Yes that is Lady Gaga in an egg being carried into the Grammys. I'll wait as you process that.... I have seen a lot of red carpet tricks in my 28 years but nothing like this last night. Gaga was literally "incubating" before her performance and well it was fantastic. More on performance later....-Rihanna - What the hell are you thinking girl. I get it. Your body rocks. You're talented. You have collaborated with some of my favorite songs ever. But why do you have to wear this? (see left) Way to leave absolutely nothing to the imagination.
-Jamie Foxx - You can't have an award show without some Jamie Foxx ridiculousness. On the red carpet last night he spouted this gem: "I don't keep my grammys and my oscar inside my house...I have people who come over who don't even have social security numbers" Way to keep it classy Jamie.
Nicki Minaj - The red carpet would not be complete without some fierceness from the "poor mans Gaga" Ms. Nicki Minaj who came with well... I don't even know how to describe this in words. I'll just put it in picture form.
Okay well that was the red carpet. Its about 8pm now and ready to go in for the live show. Again, I feel really terrible for the lucky lad who sits behind Nicki Minaj. Just sayin...I'd be pissed.
Okay the awards are starting everyone take their seats!!!
Aretha Tribute: Now this is a way to kick off the show. Five superstars Yolanda Adams, Martina McBride, Christina Aguleria, Jennifer Hudson and Florence Welch took to the stage to sing a love letter to one of the greatest singers of all time. Best parts went easily to Jennifer and Florence who sang their parts effortlessly and brilliantly. Bravo! Way to bring it! Well that was until Christina fell walking off.. I'm telling you 2011 is just not her year...
- Next...flash to a shot of Justin Bieber in the first row... I only noticed this because my little brother pointed it out that "it will be Biebers night" I felt sad correcting him...so I let him go for a little.
-First Award went to the band Train (who was famous when I was in middle school) and that STUPID song...Hey Soul sister...Maybe now people will stop using it in commercials. Probably not. Ugh. But they did make a funny thanking Bieber for not being in this category... and the Beiber curse is set.
-Ricky Martin wearing silver Jeggins. Yes Jean-leggings in silver comes across my tv to introduce Lady Gaga. Wait...what is happening...is she hatching? Okay I'll give it to her for this performance. Very Madonnaish (but I think its on purpose...) and well come on people who else can make an organ solo sound so badass? Or as Rick says at that point "BOOM! So Great!"
So after our short Lady Gaga text message battle where we just could not believe what we were seeing my brother sent me the text of the night. Mind you my brother is 100% a straight man who loves football and cold beer, but for some reason has a huge love for pop music. HUGE.
Rick: "I think I was a gay backup dancer for a pop star in a previous night"
As Rick were to say...Boom. My night was complete.
Moving forward.
Next was time for my bathroom break/make food/catch up on sleep time as the country music portion of the night came on. I do not care for country music. I do not like it. And well....I'm allowed. NEXT! Rick reedems his masculinity with "This chick is hot" during the country performance. I laugh...while my ears still are burning.
Next is time for some real rock. Muse takes the stage for some real rock and my Dad finally woke up. "These guys are pretty good" read the text from him during their performance. I explain that they are a big stadium rock band who made it big in Europe before the U.S. The performances finishes and they deservingly then nab the Rock- Album of the Year Grammy. Conversation quickly turns to "How did this dude get Kate Hudson pregnant...". Ha. The men in my family never seem to fail me when it comes to one liners. More from Dad later... Anyways Muse ends on a high note. They play kick ass music that like Rick says "I want to go start a riot". Thats rock.
Next is a trio of young stars. Bruno Mars, B.O.B. and a girl that I have wrote about numerous times here...Janelle Monae. I dont really care too much for the first two but Janelle. Whoa. Girl you showed up last night. Way to show those boys who is boss. Video is worth the watch. Especially the stage dive! Oh and one more reason to love this girl. She has stated before "I wear black and white to represent the working class people like her family is". You deserved this stage last night!
-Next is followed with more country music awards. Blah. Rick is loving all the blonde chicks...I again am clawing my eyes out. My Dad on the other hand is making some great crowd observations.."Theres Cyndi Lauper..Met her in the Myrtle Beach Airport"... ha! This is also followed by the shocking realization of my father that he has just found out that they only give out 10 awards during the entire telecast. He seems a bit confused that "nobody actually cares about the awards...the Grammys is now a two hour shit show of performances". I think we may have lost him a little at this point.
Next Rick wet himself a little bit when Justin Bieber was announced. For his sake I will not elaborate on this performance. All I will say is at one point Will Smiths kid came out in leopard pants and started rapping. I won't say it was terrible....but well.... lets just say it proved why exactly the kid went home with the big goose egg for awards. Rick still sticks to his "mini Timberlake" prediction. I stay silent.
That and watching Usher try to ride this kids coattails into another comeback was well...sad.
Next!
Next the pop vocal album is announced and it well deservingly goes to Lady Gaga. Say what you will about this girl but you can't go anywhere in the last two years without hearing her songs. And all those songs came off of one album. The Fame Monster. Yup. Deserved this award.
I pause for a moment to tell you again how much I hate the Subway "Five Dollar Foot Long" commercials with every part of my soul. The song is now stuck in my head for the next six weeks... dang. Moving forward.
Performance of the Night: David Letterman introduced two of my favorite in Avett Brothers and Mumford and Sons and suddenly all the people who tuned in to see Bieber, Gaga and Rihanna are really really confused by the number of banjos and beards on the stage right now. These bands deserve to be heard, and this is their biggest exposure to date. Cut to me dancing around my living room, screaming. It was the highlight of my night... then the corpse of Bob Dylan came out and ruined it. But for the first six minutes it was amazing!!!
And as my brother eliquently put it...."Well Bob was never really known for his voice". True brother true.
Either way check out my blog post earlier for video of this amazing performance. Do it!
Next up big crossover winners of the night Lady Antebellum and their song "Need You Now". Okay, you guys get it by now I hate country music. BUT I will say this, I am quite impressed on how this group was able to cross from country to pop and nab song of the year. Now for everyone out there today who is crying that Eminem didn't win this award. Tell me one person who doesn't know this song above. Its everywhere! Every radio station, every tv show, every movie, every where you turn!! Of course they deserve song of the year. And thats about as good you will hear me talk about country artists.
Next was time for Cee-Lo Green to turn the award show on his head with his 2010 hit "Fuck You" or now renamed "Forget You". This will get both a picture and a video because there is no way that I can describe it better than a video. Although I will try. Okay so my man came out in full homage to Elton John with the feathered peacock suit. And just like Elton before him he had the backup of The Muppets to help him out! Thats right...the old school hand puppet Muppets. Amazing!
Everything was great perfect amazing. Then Gweneth Paltrow came out and well. Ruined it. I'm sorry. I don't care if Gweneth can sing or not. Stay home. I do not need to see you in a black jump suit crawling on the piano like a 16 year old. It was gross. Yes she didn't sound terrible...but I just didn't get it. Or the earings. That was my opinion. Also it prompted many funny jokes between my brother and I...that she should have "Stayed in the Box"....Alas the movie Seven.... "Whats in the box!?! Whats in the box". Terrible DeMaio humor. Here is the performance.
Okay...I promise its almost over.
Neil Patrick Harris came out next to introduce Katy Perry. While I didn't care too much for this performance, Rick on the other hand watched intently..."hoping for a wardrobe malfunction". There is the 26 year old brother that I know and love. Her performance was boring... expected more from someone who sings songs where flames shoot out of her boobs like in "Firework".
Next is more awards including lifetime achivement awards to Dolly Parton complete with a suprise performance by Nora Jones, John Mayer and Keith Urban. Other than John looking like a poor mans Depp they all sounded great and fantastic...oh and how adorable is Nora Jones? I remember this award show a few years back when she took basically every single award home. Good to see her back.
Moment of the Night: Seth Rogan comes on stage to say he has just finished smoking pot with Miley Cyrus backstage. I laugh probably too hard. The crowd is uncomfortable. Oh, I love award shows. He introduces Eminem and Rihanna who literally burned the stage down. Its been 10 years now I've been listening to Eminem and he gets hotter every year. Seriously.... hes on fire!
Award of the Night: Best New Artist.
I stated to everyone who would listen before this show that if Justin Bieber walked away with this prize I would turn off the show in protest and vow to never watch again. Not because I hate the kid, his music is just not good, and there are way too many talented people who could win this award. For example, I was pulling for either Florence and the Machine or Mumford and Sons to win...but was pleasantly surprised when Esperanza Spalding (above) took home the award in the upset of the night. For everyone who doesn't know about her, I wrote about her last spring. She is a double bass playing jazz badass who is inspiring musicians all across the world with her inspiring play.
Check out her performance at the White House from late 2010.
They take us next to a musical montage of all the artists we had lost this year....and man did we lose some greats. In tribute the man himself. Mick Jagger came out for his first ever Grammy performance and well it was stellar. The mans still got it. Need proof check out this facial expression. He gets the biggest cheer of the night...
Next is a big award...Rap Album of the Year. Could go to anyone but Eminem is clearly the front runner and takes the award down easily. He makes a nice reference to Detroit in his speech...and still looks good. Great comeback Em.
Next is time for Rihannas solo performance with Drake and well...all I will say is that she forgot that kids may be watching. The pictures tell the story.
Whoops.
And finally it was time for the final performance of the night. Arcade Fire took to the stage, blinding the crowd with their lights and overpowering rock sound. Great choice for closers by the Grammys. They really showed the best of best of music this year. And why would I say that.... oh yeah thats right. Right after their performance they took home ALBUM OF THE YEAR. Which caused me to run around my house cheering yet again and caused my brother to put his foot through his tv in disgust. ha. What a difference a few years makes....He was upset that Eminem didn't win and I was happy that good music finally won out.
Could it be the insanity that has been the Grammys for the last few years has been restored to normal? Good people won. Performances were pretty on point. I give it a good 8 out of 10. And after last years 3 out of 10. Big improvement. BIG!
And I'm signing off.
Okay this last post is going to take forever. So until then enjoy what is by far the greatest performance of last night... well that was until Dylan came out. I love you Bob...but its time to hang it up. If you can't come out there and do what Jagger did... its not really worth it in my opinion. But seriously I spent most of 2010 talking about the two following bands. I'm glad that the world is following suit...finally!
Meet Mumford and Sons and the Avett Brothers!
We Pause
We pause during this day of complete Grammy coverage for a very big announcement.....
RADIOHEAD IS BACK BITCHES!
Thats right. After teasing us for months on end...an announcement has come!
Just this morning the band took to their website this morning to let fans know that their new album King of Limbs will be available for download on February 19th!
Yay!
Its been described as the " the Worlds First Newspaper Album". And just to show you how cool this band is... it will come in the form of two 10-inch vinyl records in a "purpose built record sleeve, a CD, and "many large sheets of artwork and full colour piece of oxo-degradable plastic to hold it together". The price for this unique hard copy: a mere $48. I will note that customers (like myself who are broke and will not be able to afford the badass hard copy will be able to purchase the digital download alone for $9).
And just for fun here are my top 10 Radiohead tunes:
10. Creep
9. Optimistic - Kid A
8 Exit Music - OK Computer
7. House of Cards - In Rainbow
6. High and Dry - The Bends
5. There There (The Boney King of Nowhere) - Hail to the Theif
4. Everything in its Right Place - Kid A
3. Let Down - OK Computer
2. Paranoid Android
1. Yes I'm going with it...Karma Police.
Okay focusing back to Grammys....
Validation
(My girl Janelle Monae during her performance last night)
Okay as you can imagine today will be all day Grammy posts. There will only be a few because each one will take a little bit, but its the music awards....how can I not cover these.
So before I give you my play by play observations...(yes I took notes)... I should probably tell you that if you read this blog...last night should not have been a surprise. Why may you ask? Easy.
Winners (click on links!)
Make sure you take notes of dates....most were written a year ago.
Album of the Year- Arcade Fire - The Suburbs
Rap Album - Eminem
Best New Artist - Esperanze Spalding
Pop Vocals - Lady Gaga
Rock Album - Muse
Pop Colaboration - Herbie Hancock "Imagine"
Traditional Pop Vocals - Michael Buble
Rap Song - Empire State of Mind
Rock Performance by Due/Group - The Black Keys
Performances of the Night:
Grammy Awards...Still Processing
I'm still processing what actually happened last night.
All I know is that there were a lot of great performances. Sanity was finally restored when Arcade Fire took home top prize and Justin Beiber lost to Esperanza Spalding... Who may you ask?
I don't know why don't you check my entry from MARCH.
Full update to follow
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