Music’s Biggest Night

For the past 50 years the music industry has gathered together to honor the greatest achievements in music in the past year. This year they not only honored current artists but honored those that have contributed to music in the past. With some pretty chillingly spectacularly and amazing performances, this years Grammys looked back over the past 50 years and recognized the people that have made music what it is today—pairing past stars with current. More than before the ceremony focused on the performances rather than the awards, and while some were a little sloppy, there were some great examples of why these artists win Grammys. Here are some of the best moments (I was going to do ‘awards’, but msn beat me to it…):
Beatles Tribute: While the Cirque du Soliel portion didn’t really work on the Grammy stage (I still want to see Love though), the performance of Let it Be following it was one of two times I got chills up my spine. Very powerful, and I will definitely be seeing across the universe very soon.
Kanye West: firstly the tron-like Stronger was impressive. The white slated glasses we’ve come to associate with Graduation and electric jacket, backed with red-fringed DJ’s and blue-fringe violins. That song was then followed by the second goosebumply moment Kanye’s song dedicated to his mama. With Kanye’s emotional voice singing supplemented with a segment of strings it was a truly powerful moment
Orchestra: my favorite thing about the Grammys (and whenever and wherever they do it) is mixing orchestra pieces into current and pop songs like Kanye did in his song to his mama, and how Foo Fighters did in the Pretender.
Jazz: bringing special recognition to a music form that might have been forgotten, most prominently honoring Herbie Hancock as Album of the year but also in the performance of George Girshwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.
Josh Groban and Andrea Bocelli: awesome. Great tribute for an amazing singer.
Kanye West: making the second appearance on this list for telling the music to stop. And it did, indeed he does run the Grammys and it is his house.
It was a great show with lots of great moments and awards going to mostly the musicians that deserved it, I thought.
Oh, and if you didn’t get it ALL of last night, shop at target and buy a Malibu.

Superbowl Shokers

That, my friends, was an intense and amazing game. In the end the New York Giants turned out the winners, denying the New England Patriots and even the pitiful selection of commercials. Yes, the underdogs have done it; they’ve made it the rematch of dreams and a super bowl worth watching. For this season at least, the patriots will not be the undisputed champions and they don’t have the perfect season (rather 18 wins and 1 Giant loss). That was the most shocking part to the superbowl, the second big shocker was that the ads (overall) SUCKED! Everyone knows that if you don’t watch the superbowl for the football then you watch it for the ads. Companies spend millions on these things and its one of the few television events where every commercial is broadcast in 16:9 HD. There were a lot of ‘good’ ads, but no ‘great’ ones, some even prompting a ‘you-bought-30-seconds-of-air-time-for-this’ responses. Avoiding the terribly ads here are the best as I viewed it:

Diet Pepsi Max- What is love (featuring Chris Kattan, music made famous from the SNL ‘night at the Roxbury’ sketch, and more celebrities nodding off before getting a burst of energy)

Bridgestone– Scream (simply for the one shot of the grasshopper screaming)

FedEx- Carrier Pigeons (how else would you deliver packaging?)

E*TRADE- Baby Buys Stock (so check it, click. I just bought stock.)

But the best was definitively:
Coca-Cola- It's Your Coke, Charlie Brown (an epic battle between Stewie and Underdog for a bottle of coke in the)

Perfection?

Superbowl Sunday looms over our heads again. For whatever reason you watch it (the football, the teams, or the commercials) it’s a game that has everyone talking. The New England Patriots (18 and 0, looking for 19) and the New York Giants (undefeated on the road…if you forget that Dallas game…) will bring their top game (for the first 3 quarters anyway, eli) in a rematch of epic dimensions. So maybe I’m inflating this game a little more than its worth; it’s a regional game, both teams in the northeast, one bulldog of a team and the second an underdog, one record setting quarterback/receiver combo, another just reaching his adulthood of football. On the other hand, it’s a game that everyone can enjoy for most of the same reasons; some love the underdog (and the giants are very much the underdog in this contest) and others love to see history (even if it is the patriots…). Looking back to their last matchup together, it was a tight game, both teams not holding anything back, for a game that meant nothing in the playoff standings, with the final score coming with a 3 point difference in favor of the Patriots. Now with everything to play for, heres to hoping it’s a game that lives up the expectations, to see two top class teams give it their all to be named champions.

Oh if your wondering who I’m supporting: ill have to give it to the Giants, like I said people have a tendency to root for the underdog, and I’m one of those people.

And the score: Giants 34 Patriots 38. Just because I support the giants doesn’t necessarily mean their going to win…

Change

I.E. I used to have a dollar but because the economy is terrible its now just spare change. Seriously this word is getting passed around like a football. Yes it is Superbowl weekend, but it’s also voting time. A time to rack your brain, ready your fingers and decide who would make the best fit for a president. Its true, America needs a change and the question is who will give it? We’ve got change coming at up from all angles, propositions, promises, predictions. The key is to decipher what change is good, which will benefit the country the best. Candidates are proposing different approaches to the economic problems facing America, claiming a way to change practices to ensure a stable and steady economy for one example. I urge you to look to what the candidates are really saying, don’t vote on the candidate with empty, immature or understated promises. The support on Facebook, for example, for candidate Ron Paul is ill-founded (Facebook claiming he has 40.1% of Facebookers supporting him). I would like to see his supporters give one fact aside from he supports medical marijuana to which they would want him for president. On the other side of the spectrum Obama is receiving support simply because he isn’t the (and I’m quoting here) ‘crazy bitch.’ Look at what’s being presented to you, vote on the issues; then perhaps we can truly achieve Change.

I think my books misprinted

I just finished reading Darren Shan’s Blood Beast (the Demonata book 5) and I have to say I feel like I did after seeing Pirates 2. A feeling that goes like this: I just paid full price for half a product. The main problem with this book, like pirates 2, is that there is no viable conclusion to the story. A problem that leads to a feeling like the book was a waste of time on my part, that the book had gone no where since the introduction. I was pretty psyched to read the latest part of the Grubbs Grady story, I thought Slawter was a great book, and at the beginning thought this book would be the same. Needless to say I was disappointed; when the first storyline seemingly ended and a second slower and more repetitive story line took its place I began to realize that this book wasn’t going anywhere. When the action finally did pick up again near the end I had hope that there would be some conclusion instead I discovered three words that dashed my hopes, in the form of ‘to be continued…’. I knew what Darren Shan was doing; he was trying to set up the next book so that everything would fall in to place. The problem was his execution wasn’t there; even if it’s a set up, the book still needs to have a feasible story line. Ultimately that was my biggest problem to the book, the fact that it was just a beginning and middle.

Best Albums of 2007

For the past month and a half I’ve been thinks about the albums of this year and thinking it was a dismal year for music. On the other hand though, now looking back at the top 10 albums of this year, I’m thinking it wasn’t that bad after all. Now I have to admit some of my favorite albums (or even some of the good ones) came from pretty unknown sources, but regardless they are what I’ve come to accept as the music of this year. So here is my list, as a music listener, for the top 10 albums of 2007.

Before we get to number 10 there are a couple of albums that didn’t quite make the list, but make the honorable mentions, in no particular order.

Honorable Mention: Mika, Life in Cartoons Motion
Honorable Mention: Gym Class Heroes, As Cruel as School Children
Honorable Mention: Scouting for Girls, Scouting for Girls

Ok here’s the good stuff, like last year 10-4, quick and painlessly then 3-1 and why they are the best music of 2007.

10: Mark Ronson, Version. (Great covers, love the horns)
9: Switches, Heart Turned to D.E.A.D. (New band, great harmonies, keep and eye on them)
8: Linkin Park, Minutes to Midnight. (Bringing back something old, making it new)
7: Arctic Monkeys, Favorite Worst Nightmare. (Sophomore album, still making good music)
6: Foo Fighters, Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace. (The Foo’s have still got it)
5: Kanye West, Graduation. (Something different but good here)
4: Kaiser Chiefs, Yours Truly, Angry Mob. (Another sophomore album, better than the first)

3: Streetlight Manifesto, Somewhere in the Between.

You might say, Streetlight who, but anyone in the Ska community will immediately recognize the name (as well as some of its controversy). Regardless of their past Streetlight has brought to the table a new set of songs that is more streetlight than ever before; darker, grungier and Ska-ier with beats and melodies that are catchy and will inevitably get stuck in your head all day. The best part of these new songs is that they not only sound great on the CD, but they sound awesome live too. With so much energy to each song, this album is easily playable again and again and again.

2: Fall out Boy, Infinity of High

You’ll realize a recurring pattern between the top three in that I have also seen the band that holds the number 2 album spot (in fact 2 days before the number 3 album’s band). I know a lot of people who say that fall out boy isn’t any good (terrible, crap, utterly unlistenable etc.) but I’ve seen this album change at least 2 people’s opinions and ill hold that it is one of the best albums of 2007 regardless of the bands credibility. It starts with by dropping a heavy double bass drum bringing in the first song of their new album and moves through hearty melodies, stiff guitar riffs and catchy lyrics, and the quirky and smart song titles. And while some songs aren’t as goof as the others, I can say that overall there are great points to each and every song, like the double bass drum, or the hallelujah retort in Hum Hallelujah.



1: the Fratellis, Costello Music

I saw this band during the summer in New York Cities Roseland ballroom; it had been a few months earlier that I picked this album up at the New York City virgin megastore. Now I know that this album had been released 6 months earlier in this UK, having heard the unbelievable catchy tune Chelsea Dagger the summer of 06, but being as I live in the United States I have to put on the 2007 list lest it be forgotten between the two years. Regardless of when the album was released I can’t deny that it’s an inimitable force in the music scene of the last year. Starting from tiny roots in the American culture with Flathead on an iTunes commercial to a point now where they’re music is easily found floating between scenes on TV shows and movies, or heard from a distance coming from a radio or someone’s headphones. Their songs are easily recognizable, upbeat, fast, furious and happy, bursts of energy that feel good no matter what music you’re feeling. Quick lyrics, toe tapping beats, so-good-you-sing-along lyrics and over all music that you enjoy listening to. This album epitomizes the album of my year, something that I could listen to over and over, above any of the other albums released this year. (In fact while I’m writing the draft of this, Chelsea dagger is on the back of ER, just to reinforce my point)