Music Blog

Performers expected at the Hyde Park show in London include Elton John, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Coldplay, The Cure, REM, Scissor Sisters, Sting, Robbie Williams and U2. The only black stars on the 24-act bill are Ms. Dynamite and Snoop Dogg.

too bad we couldn't move fast enough in the humidity to make it to the parade, but we did see Ashanti in the subway and made the bestest salad ever...it was so beautiful, we took a picture, then sat there dissecting it and having a good 'ol time shouting out Jasmine Guy...more subwaying and meeting the cuz, more shopping..and really having to cut myself off...we hung out at washington square park and thought about picking up some spaghetti and books that some student left on the street...walked thru the remnants of pride and got hot dogs and holleration from nasty dudes selling whitney houston vinyl in the street ("chinese girls make me hungry") grr...the asian fetishists in this town are not cool..NOT COOL. whadeva, are they cool in any town really? weren't we supposed to set up an asiaphile website or something? tammy?! how u doing in the hurricane city? we hitched a ride back with the boyfriends and saw radio city music hall (the bsb are playing there july 29) and nbc studios...i guess i'm not making it to central park this trip, oh well. next time, though it will prolly be the dead of winter, but hey! i can wear my parka!

When I first listened to the The Spaghetti Incident? I knew that Guns N’ Roses would soon be over. I was not clear as to what had ended the mystique that had started as the band that was destined to rule the world of rock and roll. I knew that egos were getting over inflated and that the drinking and partying was getting the best of the rock stars fulfilling the old cliché of that lifestyle. Guns N’ Roses like the Sex Pistols of the last generation changed music for me. I remember listening to them and being mesmerized by their videos. I could only wish to be as cool as Slash, his guitar really made me appreciate the band. When the band split I felt a void that only Nirvana filled, but then, after that no, other band has truly rocked for me.

Mastodon - Leviathan:This band rox..some track more than others of course..some are just brilliant..the rest very good...Tuff stuff hard and heavy and tripped out...like Sleep mixed with The Tea Party if they did metal tunes...very Sleepish very trippy/stoner i guess, some kinda Doom-metalish stuff going on..(these next listed infuences are very small and probably not really there but i thought i heard it...a bit... Sabbath, Ved Buens Ende is there as well maybe Nirvana and Alice in Chains and even Metallica pops up a bit...) Odd music, Great music

A few nights ago I had the opportunity to view a perfectly charming movie, which would be pretty cool to take in this summer.� 'The Perfect Man', starring Hilary Duff, Heather Locklear (the queen of several TV Gen-X series, dating back to 'Dynasty', 'Melrose Place', and 'Spin City', as well as Christ Noth of 'Sex and the City' and 'Law & Order' fame, is a surprisingly fun look at the struggles that a teen daughter of a single mom who is still hopeful for love (but needs to learn to be strong in her own skin), has to endure.� The film takes the attitude that it is the daughter who needs to learn to be appreciative of the struggles and heartache of her mom, and in so doing, makes it a morality play (though a nice, subtle one), about the need of teens to respect and honor parents.� While that is true, the movie for me showed how much children often try mightily to have some sense of normalcy in their lives.� Poor Holly Hamilton, played by Miss Duff, is totally distraught about how her mom Jean, played by Ms. Locklear, always seems to go 'vamonos muchachas' when she gets dumped by another second-rate, bottom-feeder kind of guy.� She doesn't just get upset, no, she gets out of town, which means another school, another attempt at new friends and fitting in.� Being drop-dead pretty doesn't hurt that struggle, and being mature and responsible for her age, but it doesn't seem to matter.�

It was very much an “alternative rock” album in the climate of 1993. In America, grunge was at its peak. While contemporaries R.E.M. latched onto this with their distortion-filled Monster, U2 released an album without angst or even a single guitar solo. In Europe, BritPop was beginning to conquer the charts, yet Zooropa owed more to the experimentation of David Bowie and Brian Eno than to the melodic pop of The Beatles and The Kinks.

Jay-Z – Arguably the greatest rapper. Undeniably, raps greatest hustler. I admire him immensely for both. ALSO – this song is from the Grey Album. The Grey Album was done by DJ Danger Mouse and mixes Jay-Z’s lyrics with samples from the Beatles. One of the most creative things I’ve ever heard. Again, if you haven’t heard…listen.

Between talking all sexy and stuff and carrying on about hitting the town, Brit proves she has grown up and is quite her own woman now. Better yet, she finally delivers an album that's more fun than filler.

Ignoring the irony of a solar-powered iPod charger sold by a band hailing from the land of perpetual gloom (also: bad weather), we feel this co-branding establishes a frightening precedent for slapdash, slap-on marketing that will take a product we like—and we do like the Solio just fine—and turn it into something we'd be a bit embarrassed to have around. Unless they make an Ashlee Simpson rechargable Ni-Cad battery system, which would be so great omg.

However. I am thanking Mr. John Galliano for giving me a great love for the Scissor Sisters. That’s right, Johnny boy. You have introduced me to modern disco. Freaking love it. Sounds like it came right outta 1978. I loves it.

I've been playing Nintendo consoles since I was age of 6, I stopped playing those stuff around mid 90's I was in mid teen then I think when I returned to England after all those years I have changed and got into football a lot. I picked Chelsea as my favorite team. I was so into it watched almost every game on TV like World Cup. I got into Metal about this age too. Started listning to Metallica, Iron Maiden then Judas Priest, Rainbow, Megadeth etc... Metal through and through.

Unlike Ryan, I’m not lovin’ the new Jessica Simpson video. Apparently, she’s covered Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walking” and somehow, in her vid, there’s nothing very feminist sounding about the song. I used to think it was a powerful piece about a woman standing up, doing her thing; in JS world, it’s about phat asses, washing the General Lee in a skimpy two-piece, and balancing a beer bottle on a bar tray. Even stranger, for me, is that Willie Nelson seems to be oggling JS throughout the whole thing . . . it just looks a little creepy, especially since she asks him to do it. But there’s quite the hook in this song and I can imagine it to be “big” this summer . . . JS can only cover other’s materials now, yes?

On the other hand, saw the trailer for the Dukes of Hazard movie – besides the question of why? what about the casting: Jessica Simpson as Daisy Duke, Burt Reynolds as Boss Hogg, or Willie Nelson as Uncle Jessie? Obviously, their careers are headed for a dead end, good buddy.

While the above description is true of the movie I see the movie as more of a picture about a relationship with a mother and a daughter, than one about trying to find the perfect man. The mother, Jean, played by veteran television actress Heather Locklear, is the perfect example of a woman who has to find her identity in a man. She has one failed relationship after another and rather than deal with her disappointment and search out the reasons why she is failing in these relationships, she chooses to uproot her family and move to another town. This isn’t the best way to parent your children. This gets old for the daughter Holly, played by Hilary Duff, as you see her blog about what it is like to be on the road all the time because her mother continues to run away, dragging her from place to place so that she can’t even get close to someone and even go to a dance.

Holding a bowl of spaghetti, I turn on the television only to see Wang Chung doing a cover of Nelly’s “Hot in Herrre” on NBC. It reminds me of the time I walked in on my parents singing karaoke to a Jay-Z song. Oh wait, that was just a nightmare. No, this is much worse than karaoke. How can this be enjoyable, if not farcical?

So anyway, he’s talking on the Mtv and smiling and just being adorable when suddenly, they cut to another shot and Jessica Simpson is grinding her ass about 4 inches from his crotch. Turns out it was the “making of” her new video. So Willie Nelson stood their stoically and played his beat up old 6 string, and looked a bit bewildered as Jessica Simpson ground her hips into oblivion while licking her lips at him. I was horrified. I mean for Christsakes people, this is WILLIE NELSON. The Red-Haired Stranger? “Blue Eyes Cryin’ in the Rain”!?

I do feel a bit differently about the whole Janet Jackson thing because I think it was a sad and pathetic attempt by a hasbeen musician to make herself relevant again that it just needs to be mocked and insulted. There was no reason to have a song that says “I’ll have you naked by the end of this song” and then show her tit. I’m sorry to go off on a tangent, but I never really voiced my opinion on the whole thing. However, the FCC did overstep their bounds by a quite a bit after that.

Bottom line? If you are a Christian and think you can still listen to AC/DC, Eminem, J-Lo or whatever it is you like remember this: if the song doesn’t Glorify God, who do you think it glorifies? Pray that the Lord will help you in this matter and give you a love for music that Glorifies Him and builds up your spirit. My own prayer is that you do.

There is, if you didn’t know, a new musical incarnation of the Pussycat Dolls–the Hollywood cabaret act that’s been drawing attention outside L.A. in recent years for their notable guest stars: Gwen Stefani, Christina Aguilera, Carmen Electra, etc. They’ve recruited at least one singer in hopes of cracking the pop music market. She is flanked by seven to twelve dancers/backup “singers.” I can tell you quickly why they have no hope as a musical act:

If you want a little “Creeping Death” or “Ain’t My B*tch” as the ringtone on your mobile phone, you’re in luck. The band Metallica has launched a little head-banging ringtone site. Remember, they’re the ones that thought the original Napster, and file sharing in general was something to be destroyed. I won’t be a big customer.

Researchers combed through the seven years of virus-laden messages stored in Panda’s malware database to determine which celebrities most often had their names involuntarily used in association with malicious spam. Rounding out the top five in Panda’s “celebrity virus ranking,” were Jennifer Lopez, Shakira, and Osama Bin Laden.

In a statement released to MTV News, the trio of Beyonce, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams announced plans to disband after their world tour ends in the fall.

One of the more interesting things about being in Italy has been learning the language better, and seeing just how much American culture/English language influences the way people speak, dress and generally communicate here — even though every few people actually speak English. But people of all ages wear shirts with English slogans (that often don’t make sense), and whenever I’ve gone to the more crowded beach where there are lots of young people, I’ve heard the same music I’d hear if I were at home listening to any top-40 station — Usher, Missy Elliot, Justin Timberlake, etc. But the difference is, nobody actually knows what they’re saying. Or, some people do, but Cagliari isn’t like Florence or Rome where most people speak at least a little English. Here, you have to ask for what you want in Italian, or you won’t get it.

Time reports that U.S. interrogators are using Christina Aguilera music to torture Muslim detainees.

David Wright sees similarities between the English renaissance poet John Skelton (ca.1460-1529) and American rapper Eminem.

“As P. Diddy and Usher are making red-carpet arrivals decked out in the luxury of real fur, real diamonds and haute couture, I believe that an entirely new generation of appreciative Liberace fans are in the making,” observes I Love Liberace cofounder, Karan Feder, an award-winning Hollywood Costume Designer.

New York Daily news hears OK! Magazine has offered Paris Hilton and fiance Paris Latsis $2 million for exclusive access to their nuptials. “It’s a perfect event for OK!’s U.S. and European editions,” says a source. “He’s Greek, and she’s American.” OK! is also said to be waving money in front of Jessica Simpson - should she split with Nick Lachey. “She’ll get editorial approval and $1million,” says the source. “This is all driving the other celeb mags crazy.”

Jessica Simpson is set to send temperatures soaring in the video for her new track These Boots Are Made For Walkin’, by stripping into a skimpy pink bikini. Jessica is seen soaping up a car as she writhes around and shows off her curves to the updated beat of the Nancy Sinatra classic - which she recorded with country legend Willie Nelson. Simpson also sports a Harley-Davidson t-shirt cut right below her breasts and short denim cutoffs in the clip, which was shot in the character of her role as Daisy Duke in her upcoming comedy Dukes Of Hazzard.

I saw The Longest Yard with my man Andy tonight. I AM SOOOOO ENVIOUS OF NELLY!!!!

Well, gotta go Brit. I need to...uh...go listen to some tunes by Christina Aguilera. Remember when you two were Mouseketeers together? She's a much better singer than you'll ever be.

Phil Margera (Celebrity Fit Club 2) told a Philly radio station that his son Bam (Viva La Bam) banged Jessica Simpson (Newlyweds). Bam's ex-girlfriend Jen then phoned in the station to confirm the affair, as well as one Jess had with Dukes Of Hazzard co-star Johnny Knoxville. Perez has more details.

I remember seeing the Backstreet Boys or one of those other boy bands on the Today show one morning, and the host said something along the lines of you must be rich. To which they replied that they’d just broken even because they owed so much to the writers, promoters, record company, etc. The artists receive pennies per CD. So let’s say I want to buy a song directly from an artist for $0.25. A lot of artists would make out on the deal, because if I buy their CD they earn $0.20. (Is it any wonder that bands with big contracts- like Metallica- are out there screaming the loudest about piracy?) The record companies stand in the way of this transaction. They are the middlemen who try to tell the consumers who is popular and what is cool.

Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere will start shooting a new movie this summer for 2006 release. No, it's not a sequel to SHALL WE DANCE. It's a brand new movie, different in plot and all.

We devote this post to one of my favorite "Beatles" Paul McCartney who happily transitioned from The Beatles to form a band with his wife Linda McCartney called Wings!

Britney's wholly idiotic attempt to mimic Jessica Simpson and brainwash viewers with stupidity is showing signs of failure. Her show about herself and her husband flailing around like Jerry Springer guests lost more viewers on its third episode. The shows rating dropped to its lowest point yet of 1.1, finishing last against broadcast network shows in that timeslot. It also finished last in the key demographic of adults age 18-39.

While I am on a rant, I might as well keep going. Jennifer Lopez is another one. She is a mediocre singer at best. Her acting ability doesn’t stretch much beyond light comedy. An academy award nomination isn’t within her reach. She speaks unintelligently. I guess I just fail to see any real talent in her. She is good at getting married often, but that isn’t much of a positive attribute.