Me encanta el nuevo disco de Coldplay, ¡está mega genial!   *w*

La verdad estaba medio escéptica porque el disco anterior no me gustó, solamente dos canciones aguantaron: "Fix you" y "Speed of sound". Pero con este disco ocurre todo lo contrario, todas las canciones están magníficas, ninguna me la salto. =D  Tal vez la única que no me enloquece tanto es "Violet Hill",  pero de ahí en fuera, todas son buenísimas.

Los de Coldplay cambiaron bastante su sonido, ya no tienen el tonito plañidero, quejumbrosito y melosón de "Yellow" o "In my place",  ya saben, con Chris Martin y sus tonos agudos y su pianito; en este disco las canciones son muy variadas, se escucha que le metieron una amplia gama de instrumentos para darle sabor al asunto.

Aunque he leído comentarios donde se acusa a los de Coldplay de haber puesto a su productor, Brian Eno, a crearles arreglos pegajosos pero vacíos para hacerse una transformación total y seguir vendiendo, creo que hicieron bien al arriesgarse y salirse de la fórmula que les venía funcionando tan bien. Por ejemplo, comparen "Clocks" con "Lost" y nada que ver.

Como sea, los críticos pueden decir misa, pero si al público le gusta, no hay nada que puedan hacer para evitar que Coldplay coloque su disco en el primer lugar de ventas mundialmente. 

En resumen, les recomiendo enormemente "Viva la vida", es de esos discos que de principio a fin se disfrutan, y más si se escuchan con audífonos porque así se pueden apreciar todos los arreglos que tiene.

Judas Priest - Nostradamus
Data de Lançamento: Junho 2008
Género: Heavy-Metal
Editora: Sony BMG

CD1
1. Dawn of Creation
2. Propechy
3. Awakening
4. Revelations
5. The Four Horsemen
6. War
7. Sands of Time
8. Pestilence and Plague
9. Death
10. Peace
11. Conquest
12. Lost Love
13. Persecution

CD2
1. Solitude
2. Exiled
3. Alone
4. Shadows In the Flame
5. Visions
6. Hope
7. New Beginning
8. Calm Before The Storm
9. Nostradamus
10. Future Of Mankind

Judas Priest, banda de heavy-metal britânica, responsável por influenciar algumas das mais espectaculares bandas do género e não só que viriam a emergir mais tarde, bandas como Guns N' Roses, Slayer, Pantera, Accept, Skid Row, Iron Maiden, Metallica. Formada em 1969, por At Atkins (voz), KK DOwning (guitarra), Ian Hill (baixo) e John Ellis (bateria) adoptavam um som pesado e rápido numa mistura entre Zeppelin e Sabbath. Durante anos confinada ao underground foi com o carismático Rob Halford e com um segundo guitarrista Glen Tipton que alcançaram o maior sucesso. Formação que ainda se mantém até aos dias de hoje, somente com Scott Travis na bateria como novidade. Depois do bem sucedido Angel of Retribution em 2005, precisamente o primeiro álbum após o vocalista Rob Halford voltar 12 longos anos depois, a banda estava de volta não só ao metal tradicional do inicio mas à boa forma de palco para gáudio dos imensos fãs, desde o tempo que abarrotavam os bares londrinos.

2008 traz até nós o primeiro conceptual dos Priest dedicado ao astrónomo francês Nostradamus. Personagem conhecida pelas suas previsões de catástrofes e acontecimentos futuros. Será que este consegue ser mais um bom voo dos anjos demoníacos? Sim e não.

Sendo este um álbum conceptual é em tudo diferente do resto que os Judas Priest nos ofereceu durante a sua história, marcos como "Painkiller", "Screaming for Vengeance" ou até "British Steel". Não agradará a todos, já que não contem as características vincadas de um álbum de metal puro. Soa mais a um conjunto de efeitos orquestrais, coros, sons que nos transportam para o 300 anos atrás. Halford está soberbo, mas faltam os solos, as letras brilhantes outrora de Priest, eficazes, mordazes e muito pesadas. Entre cada faixa principal do disco duplo teremos uma faixa de introdução que serve de ponte de ligação entre elas, começando exactamente com uma dessas "Dawn of Creation", nada a apontar de importante apenas uma faixa de inicio com uma melodia simples, instrumentos de sopro e algumas batidas., que abre o mote para a 1ª faixa a sério "Prophecy" sente-se a voz mas falta quase tudo o resto numa música de metal tipica. Partimos para a curta "Awakening", apenas uma introdução com voz e rapidamente passamos a ouvir "Revelations", faixa bem mais constituída com alguns riffs e batidas e som rápido com direito a solo, muito bom! "The Four Horsemen" nova introdutória e nada a realçar, "War" introduz o tal elemento orquestral com violinos e efeitos a lembrar explosões e lutas entre os bravos e sanguinários da época.

Com o começo de "Sands of Time" vem a "Pestilence and plague" falando de doenças bem conhecidas da altura de Nostradamus onde era fácil morrer milhares de pessoas de uma só vez, epidemia que estava associada a Deus quando este era irritado por qualquer factor que acontecesse de "mau", acreditava o povo. "Death" é a seguinte, faixa principal igualmente, mas muito pobre em construção lirica e musical, sendo uma das mais fracas do enorme album. Agora do outro lado encontramos o bem e a paz com "Peace" introdução para "Conquest" aludindo às conquistas de território pelas nações que ainda encontravam e buscavam ferozmente novas fronteiras. Letras mais uma vez pobres, mas musicalidade superior a bater a marca notória de Judas Priest. "Lost Love" é uma balada nem má nem excelente, simplesmente mediana. "Persecution" é de imediato uma das melhores, que nos transporta mentalmente por momentos ao ano de 1990 com Painkiller. Fosse todo o álbum com a mesma mestria desta faixa e seria ouro sobre azul. Garra, sede e poder do quinteto bem patente. A parelha seguinte de "Solitude" e "Exiled" soa a bem consituido, melódico mas sem impressionar. Aplicando-se tambem a "Alone" e "Shadows in flame". Já "Visions" a segunda musica disponibilizada gratuitamente pela banda para audição mostra-se pausada mas capaz sobretudo se for ouvida mais do que uma vez. Da esperança em "Hope" para um novo começo "New Beginnings" conseguimos assimilar um som mais fresco e altivo, destaco o solo belissimo da parelha Tipton e Downing. "Calm Before the storm" é a antepenúltima desta, mais uma vez introdução desta feita para as duas que fecham o disco "Nostradamus" e "Future of Mankind". A faixa homónima do album sobre o Nostradamus, em grande plano com a voz de Halford uma vez mais, é esta a faixa mais marcante de todo este concept disc, mas sem desprezar a última que nos deixa a sensação de reflexão para o mundo actual, para o nosso futuro enquanto civilização, destaque esse que vai inteiramente para as guitarras e baixo.

Sim este é um álbum difícil de ouvir, não é algo que estejamos habituados muito menos nesta banda que sempre foi pautada pelo seu peso e rapidez, mas se valer a pena para alguns para outros poderá ser um pontapé no escuro naquilo que esperavam. Não é um clássico, não é sequer marcante ou um dos melhores mas a nota é dada um pouco pesando os fãs que abraçarão o novo disco, ainda que não alcance voos maiores.

Nota: 6/10

“Hollywood“

Ói nós aqui
Ói nós aqui
Hollywood fica
Ali bem perto
Só não vê quem
Tem um olho aberto

Ói nós aqui
Ói nós aqui
Hollywood
É um sonho de cenário
Vi um pau-de-arara
Milionário

E eu que nem sonhava
Conhecer o tal Recife
Pobre saltimbanco
Trapalhão
Hoje sou mocinho
Sou vizinho do xerife
Dou rabo-de-arraia
Em tubarão

Ói nós aqui
Ói nós aqui
Tem de tudo
Nessa Hollywood
Vi um índio
Cheio de saúde

Ói nós aqui
Ói nós aqui
How do you do
Caruaru
I wanna see
Piripipi
Ói nós aqui

Ói nós aqui
Ói nós aqui
Camelôs, malucos
E engraxates
Aproveitem enquanto
O sonho é grátis

Quem há de negar
Que é bom dançar
Que a vida é bela
Neste fabuloso Xanadu
Eu só tenho medo
De amanhã cair da tela
E acordar
Em Nova Iguaçu

Ói nós aqui
Ói nós aqui
How do you do
Banabuiú
I wanna buy
O Paraguai
Hollywood
And me
Ói nós aqui (vixe!)

“História de Uma Gata“

Me alimentaram
Me acariciaram
Me aliciaram
Me acostumaram

O meu mundo era o apartamento
Detefon, almofada e trato
Todo dia filé-mignon
Ou mesmo um bom filé... de gato
Me diziam, todo momento
Fique em casa, não tome vento
Mas é duro ficar na sua
Quando à luz da lua
Tantos gatos pela rua
Toda a noite vão cantando assim

Nós, gatos, já nascemos pobres
Porém, já nascemos livres
Senhor, senhora ou senhorio
Felino, não reconhecerás

De manhã eu voltei pra casa
Fui barrada na portaria
Sem filé e sem almofada
Por causa da cantoria
Mas agora o meu dia-a-dia
É no meio da gataria
Pela rua virando lata
Eu sou mais eu, mais gata
Numa louca serenata
Que de noite sai cantando assim

Nós, gatos, já nascemos pobres
Porém, já nascemos livres
Senhor, senhora ou senhorio
Felino, não reconhecerás

-----
+ Veja também:

• Discografia: Chico Buarque de Hollanda (Discography)

• Letra & Vídeo: “Disparada” | Jair Rodrigues

• Letra & Vídeo: “O Que Será” | Chico Buarque

• Letra & Vídeo: “O Enredo de Orfeu” | Toni Garrido, Caetano Veloso & Gabriel, O Pensador

• Letra & Vídeo: “They Don't Care About Us” | Michael Jackson & Olodum

Cheetah DVD Burner 2.32 - Burn Audio, Data and ISO DVDs…Fast! Burn dual layer DVD R, UDF Video DVD, UDF/ISO DVD, DVD RW, DVD R, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, CD-R, and CD-RW discs. Burn audio CDs from WAV, MP3, MP2, AVI, OGG, and WMA files. Burn ISO, Bin/Cue images and create ISO images. Erase CDs and DVDs. Copy audio and data CDs with one or multiple drives. The Cheetah DVD Burner also includes an audio CD ripper.

T: I've never heard anyone else use that phrase like they do in my home town.
C: What phrase?
T: You suck.
C: You've never heard anyone say "You suck?"
T: Sure, but never with that meaning.
C: What meaning?
T: You're lucky.
...
..
.
C: Excuse me?
T: You know, "you're really lucky-- you suck."
C: That's not what that phrase means.
T: Sure it does. You just used it that way.
C: I did not.
T: Sure you did. He beat your hand and you said, "You suck."
C: Yeah, because he sucks. You're lucky in poker is denoted by saying "he sucked out."
T: Really?
C: Yeah.
T: Wow. That explains why everyone always got so upset with me.

First, to The Incredible Hulk. (C's second time seeing it.)
C was a little skeptical but a good sport. They both thought it was very good.

Upon second viewing, it still holds up--though there are few holes that are noticeable.
1. What time of day is it exactly in the first chase scene?
2. Where, exactly, did she carry her purse? (Maybe he carried it?)
3. How did they not notice her renting that room?

Then we went to Hancock.
Excellent! Not the greatest film we've ever seen, but definitely a winner in the Superhero genre.
* Will Smith was excellent in the role. Very good acting.
* The idea was well done and creative.
(One reviewer ripped it for being "not superheroey" Well, that's the point really. Let's not fault hollywood for getting creative, OK? Don't want to discourage that. And he is quite the superhero at the end.)
* Like the mythos they alluded to.

C actually figured out the plot twist. (C was, oddly, gobsmacked by it.) She's smart-- what can I say.

We'll be adding it to our DVD collection.

Also, Shinhwa has worked themselves like nuts, that I feel they deserve the success and the money that comes with it. As is well known, Korean pop stars are probably the most overworked celebrities in the world. I have long forgiven them for wanting to make money by releasing fandom items after items. Sometimes I feel they are useless, other times, I'm running to buy. Here are some goodies I deem to be worth MY money and other ones which aren't.

CDs/DVDs/Photobooks. They are pricey (sometimes astronomically so), but they are the ultimate collection. I go for the ones with a lot of behind the scenes and personal footages because that's when Shinhwa is best, being themselves. Even when they were sleeping, eating, or messing around, the personal tapings never fail to excite me. Recently, as a group, they released 2 DVDs and 3 special edition albums. 1 Photobook is still yet to be released, Forever Photobook. Selling at 140 plus, I just know that unless someone decides to gift it, I'd never lay my hands on one of those. There's also the part where I would have to be at gun point to hand over that much money for a photobook. Anyways, aside from the actual 9th Album, Shinhwa has released the first Shinhwa Vol.9 Special Limited Edition with Photobook, then there's also the International Edition of it because the 50k copies of the actual Ltd Ed weren't made so accessible to international fans with low stocks supplied to internet based stores. If that's not enough, they repackaged it and sold it under the new name of Shinhwa Vol.9 White Edition with some additional pictures to the photobook and a new song. Frankly, even if I have more money, I wouldn't spend it for this because the difference between this and the original one is so little that I would feel cheated paying another 30 something dollars just to see some more pictures and hear a new song. As for DVDs, there's the ridiculously overpriced Shinhwa 2007 Tour DVD and the more recent Shinhwa Greatest Artist which, from the looks of it, seems to be quite worth it.

Posters/Postcards. I'm never a poster kind of girl. In my years of being a fangirl, I somehow never took up to plastering posters on the wall. I tried with some movie posters, but it didn't last and I ended up taking them down. So now my wall is clean. My point is, posters are wasted on me. I ended up throwing this poster and this poster away and giving the Sp.Ed poster to a friend. As for postcard, seriously? It's pretty and it can function as a bookmark, but no, thank you.

Other collectibles. The sheer amount of random goodies in the world of Shinhwa can shock you. Stuff from clothing, tumblers, perfumes, towels, paper bag, light stick, umbrella, hairpin, stamps, necklace, cellphone accessories, soaps, deskboards, aaaaaand *drums* underwear!! It's pure insanity, if you ask me. I had a thought of buying the fragrance, but hell, I can't even pay for my own cell phone bill. And these, IMO, fall under the 'useless' category.

What I'm trying to say is that while memorabilia and collectible items such as above would heal our longing for the group while they're on hiatus, we have to face the fact that some of these goodies are plain money down the drain. I'm not going to persuade you to stop buying, because these goodies actually feed the boys too. But sometimes, people interpret being a fan as buying as much merchandises as you possibly can and go crazy on them despite themselves.

Having said that, it all depends on your taste and financial conditions. Some would kill for a good tubed poster, while others would show their love by drinking out of a Shinhwa tumbler. These goodies WOULD lessen our missing them. So, if you're doing well and have more money, why not sleep in a Shinhwa hoodie?

Must we rate a President, on his entertainment value?

George W.Bush was so good for laughs that books were published, not on his wit- but on the wit written over him. His friend on the other side of the Atlantic was pretty entertaining too while he was in office. Italy's Boss, Bernasconi, is breathtaking, and he owns most of the media so he can be his own critic.

But I would say the award goes to Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the French Republic,and popularity strategist.

His wife Italian born Carla Bruni is certainly trying to help him up the ladder.

On the 11th of July she will be the first wife of a President to bring out a music album.

Titled " Comme si de rien n'était" (As though it was nothing) It is the third CD that the Singer,Model,and First Lady has made.

Most of the 14 songs she wrote herself, and sing the praise of her husband. One "You belong to me" is from Bob Dylan.

French Journalists say that they can't remember a bigger advertisement campaign.

Not for Dylan,not for Callas,not even for Edith Piaf.

I hopped on the scale this morning and am down another pound.   

I've continued with my plan of listening to the 30 min hypnosis session in the evening and the 10 min session in the morning.  I've also noticed my afternoon cravings -- the kind that drive me to the work vending machine -- have disappeared entirely.

...es sind nur noch wenige Tage bis zum weltweiten Release unserer Platte, drei um genau zu sein...die letzten Wochen haben wir hauptsächlich damit verbracht, die CDs an diverse Magazine/Internet-Blogs/Zeitungen/Veranstalter zu schicken, das Baby sozusagen hinaus in die Welt zu senden, damit es von anderen betrachtet und bewertet werden kann.

Alles hat damit begonnen, dass ich vor zwei Jahren in der S-Bahn saß, mir die seit 2003 angesammelten Demos anhörte und den Entschluss fasste, die Produktion des neuen Albums selber in die Hand zu nehmen. Diese Entscheidung war der Beginn einer wunderbaren Reise...in den letzten 24 Monaten habe ich mehr über Musik gelernt, als ich den vergangenen 17 Jahren meiner "Musikerkarriere" zusammen...Kompression, Equalising, AD-Wandlung, Frequenzspektren auf der einen Seite, auf der anderen Alpha-Juno Basssounds, Virus Powercore-Strings, gepickte Akustikgitarren, wimmernde Matrix 1000-Flächen...und in der Mitte - natürlich - der Song und die Stimme von Stefanie. Die Arbeit war auch deswegen so erfüllend, weil die Verantwortung bei einem selbst lag, das Schiff immer nach dem eigens vorgegeben Kurs fuhr....und dann die magischen Momente, wenn die Nackenhaare sich beim einspielen/anhören aufrichten und man spürt, wie der göttliche Finger durch einen durchgeht...nicht nur unbezahlbar - sondern auch *lebensnotwendig* für solche Kreaturen wie uns...

Jetzt ist "Natural Minor" fertig und an diesen 47 Minuten hängen so viele Emotionen und Erinnerungen dran, eine musikalische Postkarte unserer Lebenszeit seit dem Abschluß unserer ersten CD. Es gibt viele Menschen, denen wir danken wollen - und bei denen wir das auch schon getan haben - aber explizit hier im WWW nochmal die Namen von fünf Menschen, ohne die unser Album nicht so gut klingen würde:

Sebastian Ganzlin - für seine so wichtigen fundamentalen akustischen Weisheiten, für die kompetente Beratung in der Anschaffung unseres Studioequiments und für das feine analytische Gehör, das uns einige Male wieder auf den richtigen Weg gebracht hat.

Oliver Modisch - für die Einführung in die wunderbare Welt der analogen Synthesizer, für die einmalige fachliche Beratung (nimm lieber einen Jx-3P als einen Jx-8P) und für den einen großen hilfreichen geistigen "Tritt in den Arsch" zu Beginn der Produktion. Und Du hast recht: Niemals klangen Synths so warm und geil und fett wie zu Beginn der 80er Jahre. Wir freuen uns wahrscheinlich mehr auf Dein neues Album als Du selbst.

Elias Matt - für "Rain In My Face", den Song, der das Album auf so wunderbare Weise beschließt, für die vielen kleinen anderen unerwähnten musikalischen Farbtupfer auf der Scheibe und für die Tür, die Du uns mit Deiner Version mit "Theater Of Life" aufgemacht hast.

Robert Charles Owen - für die wichtigen musikalischen Elemente in "Chocolate Cloud", die den Song erst zu dem machen, was er ist. Und das First-Take/One-Take Orgel-Solo ist für uns das Highlight der Platte!

Andreas Fuhrmann - Der Unterschied zwischen einer gut klingenden und einer sehr gut klingenden CD ist oft das Mastering und wir können uns für "Rescue Mission" keinen besseren Mastering-Meister vorstellen als Dich!

Egal was über "Natural Minor" in den nächsten Wochen, Monaten, Jahren gesagt und geschrieben werden wird, unser ganzes Herzblut, unser Verstand, unsere Leidenschaft ist auf dieser Scheibe und wir hoffen, dass Ihr das in manchen Augenblicken fühlen könnt.

Denny

Over the past few years, a common response to ‘beef’ between two rappers has been “the industry is like WWE now.” Well, I’m going to agree with that point, but take it beyond disagreements between artists.

For those of you that don’t know, I am an avid fan of professional wrestling. Ever since my great-granddaddy first put me onto the NWA at the tender age of 5, I’ve been a loyal supporter wrestling. For most of my childhood, I won’t front, I thought that wrestling was real. The blood, the injuries, the climatic finishes, and everything had me sold. But, as I watched it more, and got older, I not only came to the conclusion that it was staged, but I also started to appreciate the wrestling culture for what it brings to fans everyday.

Think about it: these performers, promoters, stage hands, drivers, and announcers work 300 days year, risking injury, astranged relationships with their own families and peace of mind to entertain millions of fans worldwide. Pro wrestling is one of the biggest pay-per-view draws in the world, and last April 70,000 fans piled into the Citrus Bowl for Wrestlemania 24. But that’s enough of my lovefest for wrestling. Let’s get to the similarities between ‘rassling’ and rap.

Let’s start at the top. The top of the food chain on any major label is the label’s president or CEO. The head honcho at any radio station is the program director, so the entity that influences all program directors would have a serious impact on airplay. The heads of music channels like MTV, BET (I’ll tear BET apart at a later date), and other music channels have a huge say in who & what we see. Magazine editors decide what artists they’ll feature in their publications (again, that’s another discussion for another day). Those are a lot of people to remember, so from here on we’re going to refer to this conglomerate as ‘the machine.’

Well, pro wrestling’s equivalent to the machine is Vince McMahon. He has final say over everything related with the WWE. (My apologies to the independent federations such as TNA, but at the time of this your market share is too small to be relevant. And let’s be honest, you pretty much exist in the shadow of Vince’s WWE.) Vince and the machine are both all about whatever will make them the most money.

Anyway, the important point here is the concept. Independent artist who can create a buzz on their own are more attractive to the machine. The wrestling equivalent is the indie wrestler that starts out in local federations, busting his ass for small crowds, all while demonstrating superior talent, personality and charisma. Soon, the locals spread the world about him, and the shows start to get more crowded. Then the internet latches onto the hype, and you start seeing columns, blogs, and even bootleg videos of the wrestler’s work. At this point, someone is whispering in Vince McMahon’s ear to offer the indie wrestler a tryout. (the new World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk followed this path).

In both cases, if the response is good, then the artist/wrestler will be given more. That is, if the first CD sells well in stores and online, then the label is more likely to give the artist more promotional money, and a larger budget for future releases. That’s how an artist like Ludacris can go from 25,000 sold out of the trunk, to a deal on Def Jam, to a multi-platinum artist, actor and label owner. I’ve already mentioned CM Punk. His current position in the WWE is the result of the insane response that he gets from fans, and how his television segments draw in more viewers. Not to mention the fact that independent wrestling fans are the equivalent of backpacker rap fans: hard to please, but when you find a way to draw them in, it’s a great thing. Punk is like a mainstream artist that keeps his underground fans happy while making new fans in the mainstream.

That’s the positive spin on all of this. But what happens when an artist doesn’t sell well the first time out, or if the fans don’t respond to a new wrestler? Well…

If the new artist doesn’t sell well, then chances are that it could be a very long time before the artist gets a chance to do better on the second album. (nevermind the fact that it could be the label’s fault for how they promoted the artist/album) Some of the rap game’s promising acts never got a chance to follow up a solid first album, since that album didn’t live up to the financial expectations. (G-Dep comes to mind, even though rumor has it that he got high more than he went to the studio)

When the fans don’t respond to a new wrestler, his gimmick or his storyline, then the wrestler is going to either be taken off of TV, pitted against lesser/unknown wrestlers at house shows, or possibly released. The process of winning over the fans will have to start all over again, and none of us get any younger from day-to-day.

There are some key factors to the making of a successful wrestler or a rapper. First of all, Vince/the machine needs to provider their employee with the necessary resources. Its not fair to ask an artist to sell 1,000,000 records (or even 100,000) when you’re not getting the lead single played on the radio. Its impossible to win over wrestling fans without them getting to see you wrestle.

When Edge slept with his then-best friend Matt Hardy’s girlfriend, although Hardy was previously fired, the “you screwed Matt” chants from fans towards Edge at live shows practically forced Vince to re-hire Matt.

So to me, its no surprise that many artists (or their labels for that matter) seek out conflict with other buzz-worthy artists in an attempt to bring attention to what they are doing. Shawty Lo’s video series targeting T.I. is no different than when wrestlers cut promos targeting their opponent at the next pay-per-view. Diss records back and forth aren’t any different than one wrestler attacking the other on Monday Night Raw, then the next Monday that attackee becomes the attacker.

The crazy thing about this comparison to me is that, at least in the realm of pro wrestling, the fans above the age of 9 are aware that it’s a staged performance, and that the ‘drama’ of beef and disagreements are not genuine 90% of the time. But as rap fans, many of us are all too willing to accept every new rapper that claims to be a tough guy who moved weight as genuine. AND…we’re too quick to give a rapper the title of ‘conscious’ after they make a record that makes us think outside of the box. Some of these conscious rappers are bigger hypocrites than the mainstream rapper that they blame for ruining hip hop! (that too, is another blog for another day)

In closing, I hope that now you see the real reasons why the rap game is parallel to pro wrestling. I can only assume that there are members of the machine that dream of having the type of success that Vince McMahon has achieved with his WWE. Either way, I’ll be watching both to see what happens next.

"We’re writing to you about downloading and sharing of copyrighted files on the Internet.
That’s because we’ve received a report that copyrighted music has been shared using a
computer linked to your Virgin Media Internet account. Please allow us to explain"

This comes after the BPI (BPI-EXPL) was provided personally-identifiable data by Virgin Media to users on its network(s) of whom have been known to share music and other files via BitTorrent or other Peer to Peer sharing services. The letters being received by customers read (in white text with a red background colour.)

"Important. If you don't read this, your broadband could be disconnected."

Originally it was stated that if users continued to illegally-download music that they ran the possibility that there broadband could be disconnected, but Virgin Media now denies this.

If you were left out of this (meaning you didn't get a copy of this letter.) feel free to download the Virgin Media or BPI copy via the links below.

Virgin Media File Share Notice (RV1) - PDF 24KB

British Phono. Industry (BPI) File Share Notice - PDF 32KB

This is being considered as an extremely controversial move. Sending out a piece of paper will do nothing to solve this. The fact that people are downloading tracks illegally should be a wake-up call to not only the BPI, but other like it that the industry needs to be reviewed and looked at closely.

Customers will simply continue to download tracks illegally. Once disconnected, They'll find a new Internet service provider and simply move on. I still don't suggest you download tracks illegally (You'll find that all of my tracks are purchased via iTunes or SevenDigital or I purchase CD's via Amazon UK / Amazon US.)

Many customers have downloaded only a single track. As reported by Radio 1 Newsbeat,

Will McGree was living with his girlfriend and two flatmates in a shared house in Cardiff.

He received a letter in June claiming that his account had been used to copy a single Amy Winehouse track from a file-sharing network.

Will told Newsbeat the date and time of the alleged download did not add up.

[BBC News - Radio 1's Newsbeat]

If you ask someone who does choose to download tracks Illegally you'll find the reasons are probably one of the following.

• "Music is over-priced £0.79 per track or a few quid (£5 - £7) per album is extreme."
• "I don't see illegally downloading as stealing."
• "The music industry is making enough money already"
• "Copyright laws need to be over-hauled for the 21st century."

All of those have an element of truth. Studies show that music should be priced around £0.35 per track or less, Record labels do make almost-appalling amounts of money already and Copyright law isn't well suited for the 21st century. But the current fact is that (Point Two) Illegally downloading copyrighted material is considering here in the UK and abroad as stealing. (Read more about the reasons people list for stealing music on the BBC's dot.life blog here. Written by Darren Waters.)

If the industry really wishes to "put a dent" in illegal downloading and sharing of its music one of the first things that needs to be done is the removal of DRM (Or Digital Rights Management)

Not only does this restrict the consumer from playing purchased content on devices like the Creative Zen, Apple iPod or other lesser-known devices but it also revolt among consumers. The fact is that the consumer doesn't appreciate being restricted to what he or she can do with items they purchase. Even if those items are in the digital form. For example Apple's FairPlay technology which is placed on a majority of content on both the iTunes UK and iTunes US stores restricts purchased content from being played on more than 5 Authorised systems or players other than the iPod. Its also the source of, To be honest lousy audio-quality. Tracks with the FairPlay technology are encoded in 128Kbps AAC (with the .m4p file extension.) this audio-quality is almost unacceptable, and in a few years will be just that. 7Digital, A site I recently found provides legal MP3 downloads in either 256Kbps MP3 or 320Kbps MP3. The highest MP3 bit-rate currently available. This also brings the point, Why not return to CDs? In recent years (the last 6-7 years to be exact.) We've seen consumers drop CDs and Vinyl and move to Digital formats, Even with lower audio quality and strict content restrictions. We'll get to Vinyl and its "come-back" a little later on.

Looking at my purchase history on Amazon, Since the 14th of April this year I've purchased just over 20 CDs and one piece of Vinyl. Totaling just over £150. This doesn't include my purchases at actual physical shops like Virgin Mega or smaller "indy" shops.  Compare this with my CD purchases of 2007. Zero. Nil. None. The fact is that I'm returning to CDs. Slowly. But returning none-the-less. I began purchasing music digitally in 2005 on iTunes. Prior to that I purchased very-few CDs, and very little music in general. Not because I stole music but because I really didn't listen to much music. Besides what I listened to on Radio 1 or other private radio stations here in the UK I really wasn't much of a music consumer. The digitisation of music has allowed people who wouldn't have previously had access to music to access lots-and-lots of it and download it legally without having to deal with CDs or other "Analog" formats.

As I mentioned it also appears to be that the consumer is making a move back to Vinyl (Labeled by some as the "Black Plastic".)

Consumers in the UK and the US are purchasing more Vinyl, Not nearing the amount of CDs purchased (511m CDs in the US versus just 1m LPs. The BPI or other organisations in the UK choose to "with-hold" current LP and CD data.)

(I'll have more on Vinyl and its apparent come-back in a future post.)

Have you received a letter from Virgin Media or BPI? Do you know someone that has? What are your feeling in regards to this?

Os deputados da oposição sustentavam a sua argumentação em algumas suposições:

1. nos últimos meses o crescimento da economia portuguesa sofreu um decréscimo bastante acentuado, correndo-se o risco de atingir-se um crescimento económico reduzido igualando o nível de crescimento económico que se verificava quando o actual Governo tomou posse.

2. desde que o actual Governo iniciou funções o crescimento económico foi quase sempre nulo e quando este foi positivo, teve um valor muito pequeno .

.A sit

A situação descrita em (1) está representada no gráfico: verifica-se nos últimos tempo uma redução acentuada no crescimento económico, sendo que, se verificar-se a tendência poder-se-á atingir um nível idêntico ao do início do mandato.

Na minha opinião, a incoerência que se verifica nos argumentos da oposição reside no facto de que, se nos últimos tempos ocorreu uma redução acentuada (B a C) no crescimento económico atingindo-se um nível ainda superior ao de início do mandato ( ponto C ), teve de ocorrer em algum instante, durante o actual mandato de Sócrates, um aumento do crescimento económico de elevada magnitude, contrapondo o argumento (2) da oposição.

É impossível unir os pontos A e B através de uma linha contínua, sem que em algum momento, essa curva tenha uma inclinação elevada (indicadora da ocorrência de um aumento de magnitude considerável do crescimento económico)

Deixem o vosso comentário.

......

Stattdessen habe ich jetzt 6 neue CDs im Schrank, die ich schon immer mal "physisch" haben wollte:

• Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory
• Linkin Park - Meteora
• Muse - Absolution
• Muse - Black Holes and Revalations
• Editors - The Back Room
• Editors - An End Has A Start

Wunderbar....jetzt hab ich sie :) ...

I got my phone back! So y'all can start to sms or call me if there's anything up. Another thing. My blog finally hit 10000 hits! It's crazy man! Each time I checked my blog stats, I see people reaching my blog by searching avril lavigne/chimpanzee/wwe-related stuff. A 100 hits a day! What a blast.

Finally I set my goals into motion. After a talk to my cousin, one of my primary inspirational leaders, I realized how short time I have left to study. I linked everything together, and the facts hit me right in the face. As of July 7th, Youth Day, we have 105 days left to 19th October, the day before the O Levels. I scheduled the time into parts to help me reach the targets. Right now, to everyone, I'm just a nice (really?) guy but a failure. I'm set to change that. Dear reader, I wonder if you knew why my MSN nick was The Dragon Rising. I adopted it from Ovid. 'Inde ferunt, totidem qui vivere debeat annos, corpore de patrio parvum phoenica renasci'. It means, 'A little phoenix is born anew from the father's body, fated to live the same number of years'. That's right, after thinking deep and realizing I spent nearly my whole Secondary School life as a slacker, I felt it was time to make a change. It was time to use gifts given to me but I so frequently abuse by not using. This time, The Dragon Rises.

I know, I know, some people out there are going to say, what the f-, you are a loser, you can't do all these, you're just all big talk. Some others will say, it's okay, it's okay, you tried your hardest, don't be sad. But these are the people whom I will prove myself to. The look that people gives you when they know you are failure, like pity, is enraging. Every single time I look over the class after getting back results, I see cheers of elation, people talking to each other happily. Yet I was left out. Sure, I could be a funny guy, but when academia kicks in, I'm pathetic. For a long time I was content with being in the middle; then I fell, fell and fell into the proverbial ring of fire. Yet I was still content. Who gives a damn, I'm just getting through life!

I have these big dreams where I wanted to be a wrestler, a doctor, a cook, a cartoonist. But as each dream became an impossibility due to the nature of my skills, I began to think wilder, smaller. Like a superhero. A pizza man. A criminal. But these impossibilities came with a price. Soon I was living in my own world, not giving a damn about lessons, skipping school frequently... More than once in class I was forced to grip my table tightly to ensure I was really in this world.

But something was always available to me, always by my side. This something motivates me to no end, and drives me for greater things.

That something, is CDS.

It may sound corny to most people, who probably think I'm just a fake retarded loser, but it's true. CDS brought out my character; CDS trained me, gave me the skills not only to become a better performer, but a better leader, and a better person. I took CDS complacently for the longest time ever. I never gave back, I never contributed. I was free-loading off CDS.

Since I was young, I had a burning desire to work and live in America. Their culture, their way of life, intrigued me so much I wanted to be there no matter what happens. Entertainment, food, education, people, these things all attracted me. I knew I had to get to them one way or the other.

I never put these two factors together, because it would just be so weird. But finally, at a point where I was out of luck, out of friends, out of emotions and out of results, came one thing that catalyzes the whole thing.

MADtv.

Just a simple TV show? Not so to me, or my other forum mates. When I watched MADtv continuously, I came to a realization: I have to do this. This is what I was meant to do. These people were making people laugh, and getting paid to do it! I needed to do this. And thus, my acting background and love for acting kicked in with my American interest, and I was all fired up. A powerful emotion coursed through my body. It motivated me, and told me I have to be the best, not any other way. I set targets. I set restrictions. I would give up Sangokushi Taisen for now. I would work harder. I will do all I can. Because this is too good to pass up, and I will not falter. I will climb and climb. Some may treat this as a joke, but who gives a damn about those people? The Knight ends; The Dragon rises

Besides, I promised Becky I'll take her out for dinner if I scored a certain point and below. No reason to reveal THAT.

Do you believe in rock and roll,

Can music save your mortal soul?

And can you teach me how to dance

Real slow?

After all that 4th of July Barbecuing, stop by this Fort Greene/Clinton Hill stoop sale and nab some good deals before these stoopers flee the country.

Address: 286 Lafayette Avenue (between St. James/Hall and Grand, right next to Pratt Architecture School)

Map this location

Date: Sunday, July 6th

Time: 10:00 am until . . .

The Goods: furniture (small bookcase, side table, kitchen/microwave stand, stools), floor lamps, filing cabinets, metal filing boxes, women's clothes (mostly size 8 +/-), wicker storage baskets, dishes & glassware, Aiwa compact stereo, books (including some nice art books, cookbooks, poetry, contemporary fiction), big mirror, CDs (Jazz, rock, classical, world music), nice winter coats, microwave, magazine rack, toaster oven, cookware and much much more.

Call 347-423-8804 for questions

Mi sentir por este cd (y por todos los anteriores de Coldplay, todo sea dicho) se resume en una sola frase: lo más aburrido que he oído en tiempo. Mientras unos los llaman genios, yo les tengo que llamar brasas. No veo nada original en el cd, ni buena música ni mala. Simplemente algo soporífero de principio a fin, con un Chris Martin que nunca ha tenido voz.

Tal vez si otro grupo, con diferentes componentes y otra manera de hacer las cosas compusiera e interpretara las mismas canciones, la opinión sería diferente.

¡Ah! Y el título del álbum a ellos les parecería muy “guays”, para ir de intelectuales y esas cosas, incluyendo esa frasecita en español en contraste con la otra, pero de “guays” no tiene nada. Hortera a mas no poder. Y en la portada han destrozado una pintura de Delacroix sin piedad.

Sin calificación.

Following the footsteps of fellow Disney friend Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers are now trying their luck to break into the British market when they launch their first U.K. single as the trio relies not only on their musicality, but also on their clean and so far scandal-free rep to win the hearts of British children and parents.

The band from Wyckoff, New Jersey, wear purity rings to signal their abstinence from sex until marriage.  The trio – Nick, 16, Joe, 18, and Kevin, 20 – started wearing the rings when their parents, who follow the band around the world and watch every performance, asked them if they wanted to.  They just finished a sell-out arena tour of Britain and released their single "SOS," which, experts believe, is expected to climb atop the U.K. charts any day now.

Despite their bow of abstinence, the siblings said they are not in any way immune to the charms of the female British fans.  Frontman Joe said British girls are “hot” and their accent is “very cute.” They also mention loving the food in the U.K.

Needless to say, the top dogs over at Disney hope the Jonas Brothers maintain their clean-cut image.  Cyrus, whose Vanity Fair pictures showed her with her bare back exposed and only a bed sheet covering her front, was practically forced to issue an apology after parents of her mostly young fan base expressed outrage at the revealing photos.

The siblings first went to the U.K. in April for a performance at Islington Academy, and then in May with Avril Lavigne for a series of performances across Europe.  Their self-titled album, which has sold more than a million copies in the U.S., will be released in a few days while their movie Disney's Camp Rock will debut in the U.K. this September.

We can't get ENOUGH of JB! :)