Wretched Pop Star Countdown!!!

In the words of Timbaland, "It's been a long time, we shouldn't have left you, without a dope beat to step to."

5) Justin Timberlake
You haven't released an album in five years. Sean Parker was on top with Napster, went away, and roared back as part of Facebook. Come back and take your crown!

4) Wiz Khalifa
Tell a girl that you "ain't gonna flex" and "not gonna front" and she'll slant. Slant? Yes, I can use fake verbs too. But "you know if I ball, then we all gon' strut." That's true; I can't argue with that.

3) GLEE cast
Get some original songs.

2) Britney Spears
This hurts me more than it hurts you. "Hold It Against Me" the song was OK. I like that she's going for a new sound. But the video? Where was Brit? I saw a wedding dress, some TVs, but barely any her. Single #2, "Till the World Ends", is a tacit admission that Ke$ha, the song's author, is better than her. She ain't, but to allow that thing to be thought gets you on the list.

1) Black Eyed Peas
Only a SEAL team surgical strike against all their recorded music can save us.

Who do you admire? Clamz edition.

Philip Guston: the year he died! his shirt, his face, and his hands looks like his paintings!

Dan Bejar: so gypsy chic! but I sing British blues music!

Joan Mitchell: I can fit in with all of those masculine drunks! and I love my dogz!

Rude Boy

How did I never realize this until now? But Rihanna's video for Rude Boy is just like JOP's classy Blingees!

New favorite band

Presenting...LADYTRON.

Four albums to date, heavy on the synth. Four members of unknown gender.



Here are two of my favorite tracks.



I mostly enjoy the ghostly voice of lead singer Helen Marnie, heard in Playgirl.

Pandors ads

These are the things Pandora thinks I will buy:




Nine Inch Nails+Beyonce+Muse+Ladytron=Diamonds and pools.

Atlanta (sucks?)

This past weekend I attended a Muse concert in Atlanta. Duluth, GA, actually, but that is irrelevant in regional terms. North Georgia can now be called Atlanta and most people won't bat an eye.

The concert occurred on the penultimate day of Olympic competition. It made me recall the 1996 Games in Atlanta. And I wondered, How in the hell did Atlanta win the Summer Games? How do Atlantans think they belong in the same discussion as other summer host cities? Roll call:

Sydney, Australia (2000): One of the world's most beautiful cities and home to the coolest building made in the 20th century.

Barcelona, Spain (1992): 2,000+ years of history in a gorgeous Mediterranean setting. The only city ever to win an architecture award normally awarded to individuals.

Seoul, South Korea (1988): 2,000 years old and home to 1/4 of the nation's population. The metropolitan area has 4 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Beijing, China (2008): Thousands of years of history. The Beijing Dialect is the basis of Standard Mandarin, the world's most-spoken language.

London, England (2012): Another national capital with 2 millennia under its belt. One of 3 command centers for the global economy. Second most-visited city on Earth. The capital of the world during its empire days.

Athens, Greece (2004): 5,000 years old. Birthplace of the Olympics. Birthplace of Western Civilization.

On second thought, kudos to Atlanta for joining this list of cities. I'd drive there and thank them in person, but I would get stuck in traffic.

Celine Dion is Amazing

The We Are the World video reminded me of Celine Dion's own brand of craziness. This video cements how insane she is - and I can't stop watching!!

We are the World

I've avoided the new "We are the World" video and song for a while. But then I finally caved, and boy was it worth it! There are so many hilarious parts, I don't even know where to start. Nice points: they included Michael Jackson's old voice recording. The laughable parts are so plentiful I don't even know where to begin. And the best thing is, the longer you watch, the better it gets. All I could think was "boy, this would make a great SNL skit!"

There's a strong start with that youngest Disney product--I'm not sure of his name. Tony Bennett is in there too! There's even a rap-breakdown in the middle of the song with like, every commercially famous rapper who has ever lived practically. Then Kanye has his own solo rap which is simply pathetic sounding.

High points:

-Celine Dion

-'Lil Wayne

-T-Pain doing his animatronic voice

-spotting Julianne Hough in the "chorus" group

Ed note: from Susan: The original video. The best parts: the beginning 80's magic dust-esque intro, Kenny Rogers and the way Springsteen makes every note heartfelt.

Song of the Day

Via Italy.

What to Watch & Listen To

Conan's Last Show! Tonight @ 11:35pm. Will Ferrell, Neil Young & Steve Carell are confirmed (Will & Neil via Conan, Steve via Twitter). Is it wrong to hold out hope that Bruce Springsteen will stop by to play with Max & Conan???


Charlotte Gainsbourg's new cd in collaboration with Beck, IRM. Beck and Charlotte have a duet, and this record seems to be influenced by Charlotte suffering a cerebral hemorrhage in 2007.

LOST. 11 MORE DAYS!!!!

Cut of the week.

Ronald Jenkees.

Awesome Name. Awesome Music. Look this guy up. Wish there was an actual video to go along with the song.

THIS JUST IN

"The thing that's interesting is I don't need Sasha Fierce anymore, because I've
grown, and I'm now able to merge the two. I want people to see me. I want people
to see who I am."

-Beyonce

I found this amusing and it answered my question too!

bm2xv

Resolved Question

Show me another»

Why do foreign metal bands sing in english?

So many awesome foreign bands like In Flames, Opeth, Blind Guardian, Children of Bodom, and the Scorpions sing in english, it seems to be the norm. Why is this?
And for that matter why are they so good at it? Some of the deepest lyrics I've heard have come from In Flames and Opeth.

• 2 years ago

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LuvMusic

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Actually,... you'll have to take it back to the days when England and Spain were the world's super-powers!... At that time those two nations had a huge influence on the rest of the world!... As they were invading new lands/territories, they were implementing their "mother-tongue"!... That's why now the two most commonly spoken/understood languages in the world are Spanish and English!...

So,... being that a song that is sung in one of these two languages is more marketable to the world,... that's the reason that these metal bands will typically do their songs in English!...

As far as the depth of their music,... it's a cultural thing!... Other cultures place more emphasis on issues with more substance,... things other than material possesions!... That's why their music deals with more than the bitches, the hoes, the bling-bling, their "ride" or a simple heart-break....

• 2 years ago

Christmas all year round

Somebody help me because I can't stop listening to Christmas music.

Actually don't help me because I like it.

Gaga

I love Lady Gaga.

I suspected it from the start, but Bad Romance clinched it. It confirms her title of Best Booty of the Decade. The crazier and sexier the pop star the better. Her fashion sense supports her insanity. She digs chicks and dudes. Hot.

Yet Gaga would never confine herself to the pedestrian role of Pop Star. The 23-year-old aimed for the top: Pop Legend. (The female Pop ___ hierarchy goes: Star, Sensation, Diva, Legend). How does one reach such status and how soon will she get there? The scale:

A Star needs one or two hits without using a musical instrument. Her first album, The Fame, gave us four top-10 singles and two #1s, mostly while just dancing and dodging photographers. Check.

A Sensation needs a couple more hits, preferably from another album, or to stir up some controversy. Bad Romance reached #2 on the charts. MTV lists her as its most popular artist. She simulated bleeding on stage at the MTV VMAs. Check.

A Diva is dramatic, insane, or both. Mariah Carey and her addictions come to mind. Britney Spears and her marriage? pantilessness? child-rearing? support her Diva status. As for Gaga, have you seen her clothes before? Ever? Check.

Finally, a Pop Legend sustains Diva status for years, and creates numerous hits. Madonna holds the crown for all-time Pop Legend (remember, this is the female scale). Mariah and Britney await on the threshold, if they haven't passed it already. Gaga's not there yet.

Lady Gaga is new on the pop scene; even Rihanna is old by her standards. Gaga's song-writing ability and great dance beats shot her to the top in an instant. Her bizarre nature will keep her there for years to come. And in my heart forever.

Christmas Songs

Even before the poll to the left of this post, I was wondering about how many Christmas songs annoy me. Now, its not really the cheesiness that gets to me...sometimes its just hearing the same songs over and over again and enough already.

I do feel bad, but I can't stand John Lennon's "Happy Christmas (War is Over)". There's something about the line "let's hope that its a good one, without any fear"--just seems like a weak line to me. And although I do like the subject matter in "O Holy Night" the tune drives me crazy, its just too over the top, like its a display of the vocal talent of whoever is singing it.

I've been listening to Sufjan Steven's five disc Christmas album. He released one each year for a while, and recently released them all together. There are a lot of great hymns on these discs. There are also short little takes on traditional Christmas songs, they serve as small breaks in between more rambunctious tunes. I like a lot of the songs, but not all of them. And a few I like a lot. I like his versions of "I Saw Three Ships", "Once in Royal David's City" and "Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella". My favorite original tune is "We're Going to the Country." All in all, these albums have really gotten me into the Christmas spirit for which I am thankful!

I use to make fun of "Same Old Lang Syne" by Dan Fogelberg, but now I really love it.

Couplings

I resisted this story when I first read it...because it seemed pretty bogus. Today I found confirmation on People and it's kind of weirding me out. From 98 degrees to Smashing Pumpkins? I kind of think Joe "Papa" Simpson played a big part in this...per usual.

Country Music?

Who knew Darius Rucker was now a "country" "singer"? (I wish I could have found his CMA performance last night, but you get the idea.)




And Taylor Swift - I wish her time was up. Her opening number was an assault on both my eyes and ears.



Maybe I'm crazy, but I like country music like this:




And who doesn't love '80's country??? "Come on Kenny!" - Dolly

Ben Keough

It's crazy to me that Elvis has a 20 year-old grandson...and that he "rocks" "guyliner" (Ben, left). At first, I was like, who is his mother?? Obviously Lisa Marie. Even more crazy is how much he resembles Elvis (center). AND the guy that played Elvis in the TV movie Elvis and Me (Dale Midkiff, right).

Miley Cyrus

It's hard to ignore Party in the USA. The first time I heard it, I thought "this is horrible". After a few more listens on the radio, I realized I wasn't changing the station. I youtubed her "controversial" performance at the Teen Choice Awards where she pole dances. Or as Miley & the Cyrus fam say, "she's just dancing on an ice cream truck". It's true, she is, but also, come on! We get what's implied. It's clearly over the top, but after watching the whole thing I think more than trying to be sexy, she just comes off as really uncomfortable and awkward. Check out her awkward facial grimace after the show is over. Also awkward at the end: the God shout-out. I imagine this is some brilliance from Billy Ray that differentiates Miley from Britney's early performances. I could care less if she's trying to experiment with her sexuality or whatever way they put it...but let's just admit that's what you're doing and not try to pretend it's anything different. I think we all remember the Annie Leibovitz "omg we had no idea she'd just be wearing a sheet" controversy from this family.

I think the thing about Party in the USA that gets me the most is her voice (also the chorus - does she need to say "and a britney song was on" 3 times??). We all know it's not great. But as compared to her last single The Climb, Party in the USA sounds like a completely different person singing. I get that it's auto-tuned, but even more then that it sounds like she's had something corrected with her vocal cords. Judge for yourself!

Something to think about for best/worst lyrics ever - "noddin' my head like yeah, movin' my hips like yeah".