Well, we got about another three hours until April Fools day official starts, but we are just going to wish you Happy April Fools Day early. First off, there are a lot of albums that are supposed to be released tomorrow, and we will highlight the big ones for you. All in all, April looks like it will have a lot of good solid releases, so you can expect some (hopefully) good reviews on upcoming releases!
The Following Will Be Released This April Of 08':
April 1st, 2008
****: Live in Phoenix - Fall Out Boy
Undeniable - AZ
Last Night - Moby
April 8th, 2008
All I Feel - Ray J
When Angels & Serpants Dance - P.O.D.
April 15th, 2008
E=MC² - Mariah Carey
April 22nd, 2008
N***a - Nas
April 29th, 2008
Hard Candy - Madonna
Lyfe Change - Lyfe Jennings
Rising Down - The Roots
We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things - Jason Mraz
II Trill - Bun B
Looks like we got a lot on tab for this month, be sure to check back here for more news and reviews on all these albums!
Yes the rumors that you have heard are true. At the beginning of May, May 6th to be exact, Barenaked Ladies will be releasing a kids album on Desperation Records entitled Snacktime. While not much information has been released thus far, we know that a children's book will be available for purchase as a companion also titled "Snacktime". I think that it is really cool that BNL is reaching out to a younger audience, and in fact bolstering their image. The Barenaked Ladies are portrayed as a very fun band, and this just boosts their "funness" level if you know what I mean. We'll definitely scout the album when it hits the stores, and maybe even do a review for all of you children's music fanatics. Jack Johnson's Curious George Soundtrack album was great, so let's see what BNL can do with this one.
Track Listing: 1. "Raisins" 2. "The Ninjas" 3. "Pollywog in a Bog" 4. "7, 8, 9" 5. "Food Party" 6. "Canadian Snacktime Trilogy: "Snacktime"/"Popcorn"/"Vegetable Town" 7. "Drawing" 8. "Humongous Tree" 9. "Eraser" 10. "My Big Sister" 11. "Louis Loon" 12. "I Don't Like" 13. "Allergies" 14. "I Can Sing" 15. "What a Wild Tune" 16. "Here Come the Geese" 17. "Bad Day" 18. "Things" 19. "A Word for That" 20. "Curious" 21. "Wishing" 22. "Crazy ABC's
This week I'm comin' at you with some remixes of one of my favorite songs, I Tried by Bone Thugz-n-Harmony feat Akon. The two remixes feature two of my favorite old school and really true and real rappers, 2Pac and Eminem. In my opinion the Eminem remix is better mixed, because for some reason there's some weird background humming in some parts of the 2Pac song remix. The thing that I love and really appreciate with these mixers is the way that they do their music videos. They are able to mix pictures into a slideshow or mix pictures with the music videos from the actual song and create a new experience. Without these music masters and the visions that these artists have, we wouldn't be able to experience all of our favorite artists and songs as one single entity. Thank you. Enjoy!
So I have had this idea for a while now, an now I am putting it into action. Every now and then, expect a custom made playlist made by us. So for our first playlist, I thought it would be a good idea to have our first playlist would coincide with this years March Madness (Final Four) 2008.
Before we list our playlist for March Madness 08', we will make our predictions as of so far for who will be advancing to the Final Four, and who will be in the championship game.
Elite Eight Picks:
Davidson vs. Kansas:
Our pick is that Davidson gets the upset in this one (just like in all their past games). They have been unstoppable, and no team has had an answer for Curry as of yet. We don't see Kansas having a way of stopping Curry, and we also think the Davidson defense will make it hard for Kansas to score offensively.
UNC vs. Louisville:
We got UNC on this one. There is just no way that Louisville will be able to shut down such a powerful UNC offense. While Louisville has been playing well, and has show that they could upset in the Elite Eight, we doubt they will. Our winner in this game is UNC over Louisville.
Memphis vs. Texas:
Not that we always enjoy picking the under dog to win, we don't see Memphis as a strong enough team (at least not strong enough to beat Texas that is). Texas will have a home court advantage in this game, and they will more than likely out power, hustle, and run Memphis. Texas is big, and much more physical than Memphis, and our prediction that is that Texas will end up with the win against Memphis.
UCLA vs. Xavier:
Well, this one won't be an upset situation, UCLA will end up beating Xavier. Be sure to check that game out as I am sure it is going to be a close fought battle. Xavier does have a very good team, but I don't see them upsetting the power house that is UCLA.
Final Four Picks:
UNC vs. Davidson:
UNC wins this one, but not in a blowout. Curry will still be tough to contain, and all of UNC's players would have to play at their finest to take down this hot Davidson team. Were predicting UNC beats Davidson, and moves onto the championship game.
UCLA vs. Texas:
UCLA should win this one, barring any huge mistakes from the UCLA roster. If UCLA runs on all cylinders, I would find it hard to see Texas being as dominant as they could be against the one seeded Memphis. The outcome will be a UCLA win, and a chance for UCLA to win it all.
Championship Pick:
UNC vs. UCLA:
UNC wins it in a close game. UCLA is a very young team, and still has a lot of proving to do. In order for UCLA to win it all, they would have to be able to shut down the UNC offense, and I don't see how that could happen. Our prediction is that UNC will win it all in a close game.
Today, from 8:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. will mark "Earth Hour" around the world. The "60" seen above on the Earth Hour banner is for the sixty minutes in which your lights should be off for. Earth Day is a way to help our environment, and is also a way to help keep the world we are living in safe.
If you are reading this post, viewing the blog, or are an active reader of our blog, we would like you to take part in the efforts to help make our world a better place. Same as seen on the Google main page, we are asking viewers (no matter where you live in the world) to turn off your lights from 8 - 9 tonight. Although this post has nothing to do with music, myself and ICECrush plan on keeping our lights off, and we hope that you will do the same.
Together, we can all make a difference in this world by just turning off the lights for an hour. If you want to learn a bit more about Earth Day, check out the YouTube video below, and check out the Earth Day homepage by Clicking Here!
Little did you know, running a blog on blogger can be expensive. We here at TGLR buy our albums, and review them. Albums cost money, and it is getting hard to keep paying for albums. We are looking to keep the blog running strong, and to keep giving reviews, but with the album buying problem, it is getting hard to keep on going. As of right now, we are setting up a PayPal, and are hoping that the viewers will be able to donate just a small amount to us. We are not expecting to ever get a big donation, but a dollar or two from our viewers could go a long way for us. If we average about one hundred people a day, and every person donated a dollar, we could buy tons of albums to review and work on!
Expect in the coming weeks to see a space on the sidebar where you can donate some money to help us out with the blog. Also, if you enjoy reading posts on the blog, feel free to pass our link onto your friends and family. We promise to continue our mission to delivering the best of music, whether it be news, reviews, or interviews/discussion topics.
Thanks for sticking by us, and hopefully helping us out with the funding of our blog!
We have some sad news for you all (by all we mean those who read the blog...). As I sifted through my e-mail yesterday, I noticed how much spam was on my GMail account. I begin sifting through the spam, and I come upon an e-mail from The Blogger Team, stating that the blog has been filed for breaking infringement laws.
We here at TGLR do not allow the downloading of tracks that we do not own. We are simply here to do what we love, review music, discuss music, and bring you all music news. We are unsure of what the future has in store for the blog, and we hope we can stay open for as long as possible. The e-mail which was sent to us was vague in telling us what infringements we had committed. All that we were told was that on our review of Mail on Sunday by Flo Rida, there was material that was on the post which needed to be removed. We took off the music videos from YouTube, but left up the links to some YouTube videos that we had found.
We here at TGLR do not know how much they wanted us to remove, but we would just like to convey to everyone out there that we do not have any downloads running on the site right now. Nor do we plan on hosting any download links (with material we do not have permission to release). Our mission is simple, all we want to do is bring out the best in music, and we hope by adding music videos to our posts will not be a problem. If there is someone who knows information on infringement law, please e-mail us, and maybe you can help us understand what we have to do, so that we can keep on working on the blog, and avoid unneeded lawsuits. If you e-mail us, we will show you what we were told and then hopefully you can help us out. Thanks to all of our viewers out there who come visit the blog, and thanks to all of you who support us, whether it is just by visiting, inviting friends to the blog, or leaving comments on the stuff we do.
A UK based four piece called Rebbeca, have just released their debut album online as a free download accompanied by a ltd edition Digipack CD, which is now sold out. Don’t be discouraged by their unsigned status, Rebbeca have shared bills with The Killers and the Foo Fighters as well as headlining several UK tours. As testament to their success to date, producer of Coldplay’s X&Y and Rush of blood to the head, Danton Supple, is already on board to produce their next album.
You can download their first album off of there site at www.rebbeca.info, and check out there MySpace to listen to some of their tracks. I was really impressed by there works, and if you want to get into something new, give them a listen! Let us know what you think of their works, and let them know if you like their stuff. Expect some uploads from them in the near future!
Here are what some UK sources have said about Rebbeca:
"intricate blend of elements of The Killers, a more savage, blistery Coldplay and, on Public Face, seriously loud echoes of Queen" – NME
"(Influences) include Radiohead, Muse, Jeff Buckley and other enthusiastic sky-scraping indie sounds. Rebbeca hype is growing thanks to wicked singles and invitation only studio gigs" – Rock Sound
"..to put it simply, this is a brilliant song and one that will promote Rebbeca to the elite" – Gigwise
"..with the vocal dexterity of Matt Bellamy, the epic quality of Mansun at their best, and the space rock power punch of Pink Floyd. it’s a great single" – Subba-cultcha.com
"If every new band sounded this flawless then people like me would be out of a job. Thankfully nothing this year has tasted so delicious" – Rockmidgets.com
It all started in 1982. A special child was born weighing 10 lbs, 8oz . His parents knew he was different from the other kids so they put him in a space pod bound for the planet earth. One night during a meteor shower in the village of Enfield, a couple name Mike and Cathy Boyd found the space pod in the river in thier back yard. They took the child in as thier own and decided never to tell anyone that thier adopted son was a alian. They named him Mike Jr. As Mike jr. got older he started to notice he had powers that the other kids did not. He could create multi syllable rhymes in the blink of an eye and his flows were of the charts. He knew he had to cherish these gifts and use them only for the good of man kind.
Mic Boyd has just released an album entitled, Lost in Woods, and you can for sure expect to see a review for that soon. Mic Boyd has an older brother who has been putting out records for a while now, and he goes by the name of, "Classified." Unlike other hosted musicians on this blog, Mic Boyd has something different. His sound is much different then most musicians, and he has a different way of going at his style. Maybe it is just how they do it in Canada? Who knows, but one thing for sure is that this guy is good, and if you want to give him a listen, and hear more stuff by him, you can check out his MySpace.
As I am sure we have reported earlier, there will be an upcoming album for Death Cab for Cutie entitled, Narrow Stairs. The album will be Death Cab's sixth release, and is due out on disc May 13th, 2008. The album as reported earlier, is not going to have the same exact style as the last ones. The band said they would change it up, and make it interesting. The first single off the album is entitled, "I Will Possess Your Heart," which is now being played on the radio, and can be bought off of iTunes. The song has a radio edited version due to its long length in time (eight minutes, thirty-five seconds).
Overall, the general report from those out there who have reviewed the album say it is going to be a good one. The album will feature eleven tracks, and the album art is posted above. As reported before, the first track off the album, "Bixby Canyon Bridge" is nine minutes long. From what I have listened to, there is a for sure different sound in music (only listened to the released single), but I like it. This album will for sure be a good one, and I cannot wait to hear more about it in the coming month! Check out Death Cab's first single off of Narrow Stairs below and let me know what you think!
"I Will Possess Your Heart" Single Review:
Death Cab's new single is much different then what most are probably used to. The song is also much longer than what most songs are (especially for singles). I personally enjoy the song a lot, and while people may think that the sound to it is different, I don't really see much of a difference at all. Still the same mellow beat, same soothing voice singing, the only thing different is that the tempo in this song is a bit faster then their past albums/songs. Overall, I really enjoyed the single, and you should for sure check it out and let me know what you think about it!
Track Listing:
"Bixby Canyon Bridge" "I Will Possess Your Heart" (8.9 out of 10) "No Sunlight" "Cath..." "Talking Bird" "You Can Do Better than Me" "Grapevine Fires" "Your New Twin Size Bed" "Long Division" "Pity and Fear" "The Ice is Getting Thinner"
"I Will Possess Your Heart (Album Version, 8:35)"
The Picture In The Video Above Is The Album Art For The Single, "I Will Possess Your Heart."
Guess who's back? That's right. MJ. This time MJ isn't just back with more baby dangling scandals, but with a fresh new twist on one of the most successful albums the world has ever seen. In my mind this was sort of a radical move, but the new mixes were actually quite good. Rolling Stone gave it a 5/5, and I would too.
So who's on the new tracks? Well I'll tell you. Michael produced new and improved version of his songs with will.i.am, Akon, Fergie, and Kanye. Michael is also coming out with a new album later this year, and maybe these artists are a good indicator of awesome collaborations that will be going on. Current confirmed artists for Michael's new album include will.i.am, Ne-Yo, and Akon, and hopefully many more.
Of the new 2008 tracks on this album my favorite was definitely "Wanna Be Startin' Something" feat. Akon. First of all, Akon is one of my favorite artists, and he always brings a good vibe to collaborations. Starting off the song with his signature sound, the clink of a jail cell, to his Senegalese voice and words (there are some weird words in this one as awesome fillers), make his tracks awesome. If you were to listen to the original and compare it to the new and improved version, you would definitely enjoy the Akon influenced version much more as I did.
I encourage all of you to at least check out the new tracks along with the whole album especially if you are unfamiliar with Michael's stuff. The other 2008 tracks are sick as well including great new versions of Beat It with Fergie, The Girl is Mine with will.i.am, and Billy Jean produced by Kanye. If you haven't checked out this album, you really don't know what you're missing.
Track List: Thriller: Original Tracklisting - US Billboard Chart Peaks 01. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" - (#5 Hot 100, #5 R&B) 02. "Baby Be Mine" 03. "The Girl Is Mine" (with Paul McCartney) - (#2 Hot 100, #1 R&B, #1 Adult Contemporary) 04. "Thriller" - (#4 Hot 10, #3 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks) 05. "Beat It" - (#1 Hot 100, #1 R&B) 06. "Billie Jean" - (#1 Hot 100, #1 R&B, #9 A/C) 07. "Human Nature" - (#7 Hot 100, #2 Adult Contemporary) 08. "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" - (#10 Hot 100) 09. "The Lady in My Life"
Bonus Material 10. Vincent Price
Previously Unreleased Tracks For 25th Anniversary Edition 11. The Girl Is Mine 2008 with will.i.am 12. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) 2008 with Michael Jackson and will.i.am 13. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008 with Michael Jackson, Akon and will.i.am 14. Beat It 2008 with Fergie 15. Billie Jean 2008 with Kanye West 16. For All Time (unreleased track from original Thriller sessions)
The new hit sensation out of Florida, is none other than "Flo Rida." Before Flo' decided to release his L.P. he had only done mixtapes and features on songs. As I am sure most people know (both adults and kids), "Low (Feat. T-Pain)" was an extremely popular song. In my opinion, the song was more popular than Soulja Boy's first single entitled, "Crank That (Soulja Boy)." It is tough to say which one overall had more popularity, but that can be discussed at another time.
As stated above, "Low" was the first single to drop from the album. Then on February 11th, 2008, "Elevator" was released. Obviously it is hard to have a follow up single to "Low," but "Elevator" was just as good (in my opinion). There won't just be two singles for this amazing debut album. There will be two more tracks entitled, "Ms. Hangover," and "Roll (Feat. Sean Kingston)." Expect in the near future for there to be a music video for one of these singles.
Overall, my assessment of Mail on Sunday is a four and a half stars out of five stars. The album was really great, the singles got me really excited for the albums release (the ones that were released before the album debuted). On top of that, the album itself has such depth to it that it can pretty much be listened to anywhere. Whether your on your computer, on the internet, or sitting in your car, Flo' has you covered. On top of that, unlike many other music artists out there, Flo Rida did not get too flashy on his debut album. You see musicians out there in the industry who are just trying to do too much with the first album they drop. Just look at Soulja Boy's first album, he tried way to hard to not only be something he wasn't, but also tried to put out an album in which every single track would be a hit like his first single. I look forward to more music from Flo Rida, I am sure he will have a follow up album to his already solid debut album.
Track Listing:
"American Superstar (Feat. Lil Wayne)" "Ack Like You Know" "Elevator (Feat. Timbaland)" "Roll (Feat. Sean Kingston)" "Low (Feat. T-Pain)" "Priceless (Feat. Birdman)" "Ms. Hangover" "Still Missin" "In The Ayer (Feat. Will.I.Am)" "Me & U" "All My Life" "Don’t Know How to Act (Feat. Yung Joc)" "Freaky Deaky (Feat. Trey Songz)" "Money Right (Feat. Rick Ross & Brisco)" "Gotta Eat" (Best Buy Bonus Track)" "Make a Wish" (Best Buy Bonus Track)"
March 18th (release on iTunes) marked the debut release of The Odd Couple (on March 20th, it will be released on album). I got the album off of iTunes, and can't stop listening to it! Every track is just a new sensation to my ears, and is a complete masterpiece follow up to the groups first release. The only complaint someone could have about this album would be that the genre of the songs (like beats and styles of tunes) changes at every other track. While that does give the album some variety, and I am not complaining about it, it is just something you don't see very often.
The Odd Couple is now number one on the U.S. Digital Chart. The "Odd Couple" that is Gnarls Barkley made a bold move, and decided to release the album much earlier then they had originally planned. The album was due to out for release in April of 08', but was moved forward to March 18th (on iTunes), and March 20th (on disc). The album is coming at a perfect time, where new music and hits can be played on the radio, internet, and as all you college basketball fans know, during March Madness.
While the album is pretty solid, the album itself is pretty good. If you really haven't heard of the dynamic duo that makes up Gnarls Barkley, and want to hear the stuff they do, go to your corner store, and pick up their first album entitled, St. Elsewhere. The first release from Gnarls Barkley was a huge hit, and I have a strong feeling that once the full album comes out on disc, it will be an even bigger hit! Check out their first album by stopping into your corner music store, and pick up their first album. Check out the track listing, and the two music videos provided below (each music video is a single from the album).
Track Listing:
"Charity Case" "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" "Going On" "Run (I'm a Natural Disaster)" "Would-Be Killer" "Open Book" "Whatever" "Surprise" "No Time Soon" "She Knows" "Blind Mary" "Neighbors" "A Little Better"
If you ever look at John Legend's release dates (for his past two albums), you will see a pattern. The album will always be released towards the end of a year, and so far, his releases have been coming out every two years.
John Legends upcoming album will be following his pattern, and the planned released date is for August 2008. There really is not much news on the album, but as of late, we have been trying to get an interview with Mr. Legend on his current works, and past productions. I am sure that his third album release will be just as good as his past ones.
Check back here in the coming weeks for reviews of both Once Again and Get Lifted.
"Save Room" Music Video:
Above is one of my favorite singles from John Legend, check it out, and if you have never heard of John Legend, search up his stuff and listen to the song above!
November, 2008, Common will be dropping his next album. The Believer is for sure going to be a great one.
Common's last release was one of the best albums I had heard in a long time. Like most artists in the industry, there will be an E.P. for the album in early July, and one confirmed track on the E.P. is, "Invincible Summer." I'm sure that you will eventually start hearing singles and seeing music videos and commercials for the album soon. There are some rumored producers for the album, one being his old collaborators No I.D. (and Kanye West has also been rumored to produce the album as well.) There is a track listing that has been provided on the web, but I have no idea if it is a confirmed listing. There will be a total of sixteen tracks on the album if this track listing is right. Check it out below, and when we hear more about the album, we will put it up here on the blog!
Track Listing:
"Lost Alley (Coltrane's Reprise)" "The Believer (Feat. The Philadelphia Experiment and Joshua Redman)" "To Find Mecca is Within... (Feat. C.L. Smooth and Q-Tip)" "Moonlight (Feat. Christina Aguilera)" "The Cause" "Nirvana is in the Blunt" "Chicago School (Feat. Kanye West, Twista, Do or Die and R. Kelly)" "Sinewave" "@1AM (Feat. Roy Hargrove, Nas, Guru, and Greg Osby)" "Green Room (Freestyle)" "Empty Threats (Feat. Kool G Rap, Rahzel, Joe Budden and Talib Kweli)" "Skyline (Feat. Estelle)" "Stay Good" "Ghetto Purgatory" "Diagnosis (Skit)" "Requiem for a Love"
This Is Just Our Take On It, It Is Hard To Pick And Choose From All The Performances
Live Performance #1: October 18th, 1975 - Simon & Garfunkel
In only SNL's second episode, Paul Simon and his ex-partner in crime Art Garfunkel had decided that they would perform live together. If you were to watch the performance on the DVD release of the first season of SNL, you would be able to see how awkward it was for both Simon and Garfunkel. While this was still the case, it was a great performance, and was pretty amazing.
Live Performance #2: December 17th, 1977 - Elvis Costello
SNL's third season on the air, and of those three seasons, nothing as spontaneous as what Mr. Costello decided to do had ever happened on the show. While Costello was scheduled to sing "Less Than Zero," he cut that song short, and broke into the song, "Radio, Radio." If you really love music, and know a bit of history, and look at the lyrics of the song, "Radio, Radio," you will see as to why it was so memorable.
Live Performance #3: September 29th, 2007 - Kanye West
Kanye's live performance on September was great. In fact, it was more than great, it was amazing! I have not been so entertained by an SNL performance since I started watching the show back in 2002. I had only heard stories about Kanye's live performances, but witnessing it on SNL showed me why everyone loved them so much. Kanye West's live performance on SNL definitely deserves the number three spot here.
Live Performance #4: January 22nd, 1977 - Chuck Barry
When you can get a famous rocker like Chuck Barry on your show, your in for a great delight. Out of all the performances on SNL, his was one of my favorites, hence making it onto the top five performances of all time (in SNL history). Chuck Barry and George Benson brought down the house that night, and boy was it memorable (even though I have only seen it on re-runs).
Live Performance #5: October 13th, 2007 - The Foo Fighters
Great performance by the Foo Fighters. They did a great job performing and proving why they are one of the best rock bands to ever take the stage on SNL. The Foo Fighters are generically good live, and it showed on their October 13 SNL performance.
Meanwhile, I told you what I thought of Mariah Carey's performance on SNL tonight, so here is what I think! I really liked her rendition of, "Touch My Body," But when the show ended, and the closing songs began, I began to really get into it. Her supposed next single entitled, "Migrate" which will be featuring T-Pain, sounded great. T-Pain fits into the song perfectly, adding his excellent ability to contribute to a track.
Top Eight Performers on SNL:
Dave Grohl - Has Appeared Nine Times
Paul Simon & Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Have Appeared Seven Times
Randy Newman, Beck, & James Taylor - Have Appeared Six Times
The Foo Fighters & Sting - Have Appeared Five Times
Like I had said before, I am really excited for the Gnarls Barkley 08' release. But while I am very excited for the release, I am also very confused! On their (Cee-Lo's and Danger Mouse's) website, it says that the album will drop on March 2008. I had previously stated that the album would drop in April of 2008. So now the question is, who is right? Obviously I am going to go with the Gnarl's Barkley homepage on this one, it is awfully hard to be a whole month off on your own website. If you go to http://www.gnarlsbarkley.com, you will see the album cover and the words, "March 2008" underneath. So it looks like The Odd Couple will end up dropping at some time this month! We will let you know when we hear more about it.
Mariah Carey has been in the music industry for a long time now, and has really changed the industry. Her latest single entitled, "Touch My Body" is a great song. It flows, her voice is great (as usual), and the beat flows very nicely. If this is any sign of what her album will be like, then I am extremely excited for it! The music video that she released for the song is comedic and funny. I really did like Mariah's first single, and I can't wait to hear more tracks for the upcoming April 15 release.
On a side note, some news on the album itself. The title E=MC² supposedly stands for: "Emancipation equals Mariah Carey to the second power." There has been a list of songs released on the web that is supposedly the track listing of the album, but from where I am looking at it, the list of tracks has not been confirmed.
Unconfirmed Track Listing: "Lovin' You Long Time" "Touch My Body" "That Chick" "Thanx for Nothin'" "For the Record" "Migrate" "Cruise Control" "Love Story" "OOC" "Bye Bye"
"Touch My Body" Music Video:
Make Sure To Tune Into SNL Tonight To Watch Mariah Carey Perform Live. She Was Not Originally Scheduled To Be On The Show, But Due To Janet Jackson Becoming Ill, Mariah Will Be Taking Her Spot. From What I Understand, She Will Be Singing, "Touch My Body" and "Migrate." I Have Only Heard Her First Single ("Touch My Body"), So If She Sings "Migrate" I Will Let You All Know What I Think Of It!
This is not so much of a blog update as it is just a notification. We (our blog) has now joined MySpace in the music section. If you want to friend us, you can, and if you want to message us anything on there, we will be sure to respond. Myspace will just be another tool in which our blog can utilize and use to make the way things work for us, better. We are trying to get back to what we were doing before on the old blog. We have contacted many musicians for interviews, but none have responded yet. Maybe if we are lucky, MySpace will be able to help us get an artist or two to ask them questions.
On the last blog, we had an interview all set up and in place. Whether you know this one man band man or not, they told us to send them the questions for an e-mail interview. So we did as they said, and e-mailed them questions. Back on 10-17-07 we had gotten a return e-mail from Five for Fighting stating they would love to help, "contribute" to our blog (at that time on its first edition/version). We sent them the questions back questions that same day (10-17-07). We never heard from them again. On 2-9-08, we decided to e-mail them one last time to see if they would follow through on their part, but we still have not gotten a response.
As you can see, we have not had the best of luck getting, "Big Name Artists" in an interview, but hey, it was worth a shot! We are still going to try and get interviews from musicians, but I personally doubt that any attempts will have great success.
If you are an up and coming artist, and have a MySpace, feel free to friend us, and in a message, let us know that you are an upcoming musician. Plus, whether or not people know this, but we are still promoting artists. Unlike other blogs, we only have two right now (unlike AKAvsMA's blog which has tons!) If you would like us to sponsor you, drop us a line.
Check Out The Posts Below For Information Stuff...This Header Post Will Be Updated With All The New J. Dollaz Tracks And What Not, So If You Are Looking To Download, Be Sure To Check Here First!
1.] I Won't Tell [Remix] 2.] Dey Know [Remix] 3.] Give U The World [Remix] 4.] Umma Do Me [Remix] 5.] Girl U Know [Remix](EvilShare Not Working? Click Here) 6.] Drop and Give Me 50 [Remix] 7.] With Me [Remix] 8.] Innocent [Remix] 9.] Emotional [Remix] 10.] The One That Got Away [Remix] 11.] Ching A Ling [Remix] 12.] Sexy Can I [Remix] 13.] Love Me No More [Remix] (zShare Not Working? Click Here) 14.] Shawty Get Loose [Remix] 15.] Hey Baby (Jumpoff) [Remix] 16.] Apologize [Remix] 17.] Go On Girl [Remix] 18.] Last Time [Remix] 19.] She Said, I Said [Remix] 20.] Girlfriend [Remix] 21.] The Boss [Remix]
The blog I had set up for J. Dollaz will be taken down very soon, as he has created his own blog run by himself. You can check it out by Clicking Here! Hope you guys enjoy visiting his blog, and still check back here for more updates, news, and interviews.
His mix of, "Girl U Know" has been featured on DefSounds and I have placed a player with the song straight off of DefSounds below. More information as to how you can get the mixtape coming soon!
As I am sure most of you out there know, the leaking of tracks and albums before their set release dates happens all the time. Take Tha Carter III (which is due out May 2008) as an example. Pretty much every single track that was supposed to be on that album (when it was due out for release in December of 07') was leaked onto the internet, and heard by everyone. Think about it this way, if you had an album due out for a December 2007 release, and all your tracks got leaked, what would you do? As any normal person would think to do, they would pull the album, and start a new. Weezy, not your typical music artist, saw this leakage as an opportunity to help himself and his 08' album. He decided to take all the tracks that were leaked, throw them onto a disc, call this disk The Leak E.P. What a genius thing to do, don'tcha think?
So what is the big problem with tracks leaking onto the web, and people listening to them? The answer is short and sweet. Artists suffer big time from major leaks because their album sales will go down severely. So you have to be thinking right now, if thats the case, then how come artists can't do what Young Weezy did, and put out an E.P. with the leaked tracks and then release a different set of tracks for the album. What Weezy did was unheard of, and truly magnificent! If you have the ability to ditch an entire album plan, make it an E.P. and release a totally new L.P. I give Weezy props, but I personally feel for artists whose material leak before they can get the release out and get paid for their respected efforts. Artists like Nicole Scherzinger are currently fighting this problem. Her album was supposed to be dropped a long while ago, and yet, still no set release date! Why do you think that is the case?
Look at Mario Barrett's album Go! The guy had over sixteen release date changes. I don't know if they all had to do with tracks being leaked, or what, but from what I saw around the web, his tracks were leaking left in right. Not to mention the amount of left over tracks that had leaked from this album that were floating around the internet. It is very possible that those tracks that had leaked on the web were originally on the slated track listing for the album. Another artist you can look at is Chris Brown. When Exclusive came out, over twenty-five tracks had leaked which were not featured on the final track listing. Coincidence? Maybe. The chances of it happening due to the amount of leaked tracks for the album is a more likely answer.
So as you see, this so called "leak" problem is a pretty big issue. It is clearly hurting tons of artists out there, especially because they are losing so much money, and fame from people stealing the music before it is released. So as I sit here on my computer, listening to unreleased tracks on YouTube, I wonder if it is even worth typing up a post about this common problem in the music industry.
Here is just a list of what is going on with the blog and some new features! Let us know what you think about the new stuff and the future planned tasks.
NEW MUSIC PLAYER featured on the far right sidebar of the blog (if you have any suggestions for songs that could go there, let us know by leaving a message in the chatbox or on this post!)
NEW ALBUM COVERS are featured at the bottom of the blog. It is all of our favorite albums (their covers), thought it might be interesting for you all to see what we listen to!
POSSIBLE live chat box might be placed somewhere on the blog, we really don't know yet if we are going to go to a sort of meebo chat room idea, we'll see.
BRINGING BACK the old blog domain? We sure are! The old blog (http://sickisity.blogspot.com) will now be used for placing old stuff (i.e. 2006 Albums of the Year...After 2008 is done, 2007's Albums of the Year, and other stuff as well). We are thinking of converting the old blog into a more rankings thing, where all we do is like rankings of music. Ranking would be like Top 10 Lists, Best and Worst, and so on and so forth.
SPAM is a very big issue on the blog right now. This guy named Marlond keeps on spamming our chatbox. We have asked him numerous times to stop, and if he does not, we plan on sending a personal complaint e-mail to not only himself, but to the people who are running the chatbox service. So Marlond, if you read this, please stop spamming my chatbox, thanks! (P.S. if you want to affiliate, just say that in a message instead of leaving a link over and over again).
AFFILIATES will be added at the end of this week. We have some great blogs wanting to join forces with us, and then there are also some blog(s) that went down this week, and we will be sure to pay them their dues and take them off the list.
MIXTAPE production has already gone underway. This is what is going on! I have proposed a title for the T-Pain mixtape that like six blogs are working on together. It will be, from what I understand, a 3 part mixtape, having his collabs, featured tracks, and singles all together. If your a big T-Pain fan, I think you will really enjoy this compilation of his works! I have proposed a name for the mixtapes called, "T-Pain: The Collection (Collaborations/Productions/Remixes). I will have more news on that as I talk to the other people involved in this work process!
That is pretty much all for now, check back later for more reviews, and news!
Lil' Weezy's first single has dropped today entitled, "Lollipop (Feat. Static)." I really like it, it has a much colder tone to it then his past singles and songs, but then again, if you take a look at the 'supposed' album artwork above, you can see that this album is not meant to be a happy-go-lucky one. The music video has been leaked as of yesterday, but was taken down within hours of being posted. The official release of the music video was today, March 12th, 2008, on BET. While there has been no sign of it on the web, I have found the music video's rough cut. Check it out and let us know what you think of the song itself! Looks like this album is going to be a good one!
Quick Notes:
Next Single To Drop - "A Millie" (No Set Release Date)
Tha Carter III's Expected Release Date - May 8th, 2008
The LeakE.P. Has Already Been Out For A While, It Features Most Of The Songs That Were Supposed To Be On His Upcoming May 8th Release.
Confirmed Tracks: (For Tha Carter III)
"A Millie" *Second Single For Tha Carter III* "Beat the Block" "Eat You Alive (Feat. Ludacris)" "I'm Illi" "Let the Beat Build" "Lollipop (Feat. Static)" *First Single For Tha Carter III* "Showtime (Feat. Shanell)" "Untitled Track Name (Feat. Jay-Z)"
"Lollipop (Feat. Static)" Music Video [Rough Cut Version]:
While we posted up awhile back that Akon will be coming out with an album in 2008, we did not have that much information on the upcoming release. Now we do, and we can confirm that the title for his upcoming album will be called, Acquitted. His album titles seem to be following a "prison life" trend (or at least the steps of law in which someone has to go through before they are put in jail.) It is interesting to see how the third album sounds, Akon thinks that is will sound pretty good as he has been quoted, "Akon also explained the record as "worldwide" and stated "The record is so huge. It's too big. [Michael's] the only person I could have collaborated with," while boasting the rest of the album and it's songs as "huge"." We'll see how "big" this album really will be. The tentative release date is May 2008.
Just like 50 Cent, Akon chose to do two albums at once. This means he has already completed both Acquitted and his album to follow his third release entitled, Double Jeopardy. It has been stated on MTV that Double Jeopardy is already done, and could be released, "30 days." This being said, if the label companies decide to try and make a big sale with releasing both albums on the same day, they could. Akon has told them that he could be done with both the albums in thirty days. I would love to see a double album release day from Akon. I don't think anything like that has ever been done before. We'll let you know more on Akon's upcoming albums, but for now this is all we know!
You all know Kanye, whether it is his absurd rage outbursts, his political statements, or his good old fashioned contests, we all have grown to love him and what he does. So this post goes out to him, as we review all those Kanye moments from the past.
So lets start off our Kanye moments with a blast, shall we? It all started in 2001, when Kanye entered the music scene. He was featured in the song, "Izzo" which was a diss song against Nas and Mobb Deep. Well, clearly Mr. West did not have a problem with them, he ended up doing many works with both artists as his career progressed. So how did this song exactly make him big (considering he only became popular much later)? Well you see it did not. He was rejected by all record companies including Roc-A-Fella records. This whole scenario set up the Kanye we all love and know today. As you for sure know, Kanye West is always trying to prove someone wrong.
October 23rd, 2002, Kanye West gets into a huge car accident, on his way home from the recording studio. Had this crash never taken place, who knows whether or not the hit single, "Through the Wire" would have ever been made. As you all know, Kanye is a religious type of guy, as one can see from tracks such titled as, "Jesus Walks."
After College Dropout was all said and done, two years later, Late Registration was released. The album was a hit. "As ornate and bloated as West's ego." (Spin September 2005, p.99) This quote hit it right on the spot and sums up who Mr. West is...One heck of a egotistical person. But I mean come on, who can say that his ego does not match up with what is there? The guy has put out three amazing albums, all of which have been achieving awards and nominations for awards. Kanye is allowed to have his ego because, he can. If 50 Cent ever tried to act like Kanye did, then he would fail. But then again, his ego has been known to get him into trouble. If you all remember, back in 05' there was a terrible hurricane which had destroyed most of New Orleans, sinking and completely filling up the whole city. Kanye West was partaking in a commercial for aiding those who were hurt by the Hurricane, and when Michael Myers finished his comments on the subject of relief aid, Kanye started to speak and this is what he said. "George Bush doesn't care about black people." That may be the case Kanye, but did you really have to say that so that everyone in America heard? Yea you did! We all love Mr. West for his political antics, and fearlessness, what would we do without him?
Well, here we go again! It is now 2006, and what better way to start off the 2006 year with a picture of yourself dressed as Jesus, in the Rolling Stone, with a crown of thorns resting upon your head. And just like we mentioned earlier, his ego had a huge role as to why he took a picture like this. "He suggested in Playboy that if a Bible were written in the present day, he is famous and important enough to be included in it. "I throw up historical subjects in a way that makes kids want to learn about them", West claimed, "[I'm] definitely in the history books already."" Talk about being egotistical. And who can forget the infamous Evil Kanyevil? Yes, that is right, I am talking about the ever so controversial music video for the hit song, "Tough The Sky (Feat. Lupe Fiasco)." If you all remember correctly, Evil Knievel was suing Kanye over using his ideas and using them in a sexual connotation.
After that, 2007 roles around, and the hit album entitled, Graduation is released. This one you should all know about, we even talked about it on the blog for a little bit. Both Kanye and 50 Cent had their albums set to be released on September 11th, 2007. So they each decided to make it interesting. Whoever sold more copies on the debut day won. Fitty had said that he would retire from the game if he lost, as you can see, his ego is no match to Kanye's. At the end of the day, Kanye won by a large margin, and the end result was nothing, 50 Cent was still in the music business. Here is what Kanye had to say about the contest at the beginning. "When I heard that thing about the debate, I thought that was the stupidest thing. When my albums drops and 50's album drops, you're gonna get a lot of good music at the same time."
Just when you thought the controversy was over, there was more in store for 07'! Kanye was heard, "In September 2007, West suggested that his race had to do with his being overlooked for opening the MTV Video Music Awards in favor of Britney Spears; he claimed, "Maybe my skin’s not right."" On September 9th, 2007, Kanye West had lost every single nomination his album had been up for. The VMA's may not have been good for him, but the Grammys sure were, getting eight nominations there.
So I leave you with a bit of Kanye'isms from his book. Get Used To Getting Used! "To most people, the saying, "to use someone," carries a negative connotation. But I don't see it that way. To 'mis', 'over' or 'ab' use someone is negative. To use is necessary. And if you can't be used, then you're useless."
Yo this week's remix is fresh; a combination of old and new, and by old I mean really old. This week's mashup combines Kanye's Gold Digger with Beethoven's 5th in a legit expression of musical talent. You guys are gonna enjoy this one. Sadly I have no mp3 download, but I can try to find one to post. For now the YouTube stream will do. Enjoy!
Well, so far I have only heard two singles off of Fat Joe's upcoming album and this one is titled, "The Crack House." The song features Lil' Wayne, and is pretty solid, the same old Fat Joe sound you have been hearing for awhile. Nothing to special, it is not as hot as some of his past singles like, "Make It Rain." This was supposed to be the first single off of his album but was then replaced by, "I Won't Tell." "The Crack House" was released as a "Street Single" and was not released officially as the first single off the album. "I Won't Tell" got great reception from fans, and I really liked the song. Both the "Street Single" and the real single will be on the album! Enjoy listening to them on the video players provided below!
The next single to drop for Fat Joe's album will be entitled, "300," and it does not have an expected release date as of yet. The "300 Brolic" beat will be different on the final release of the album, due to the track leaking earlier then the albums release date. Elephant in the Room will be released supposedly tomorrow (March 11th, 2008).
Track Listing For Elephant in the Room:
"The Fugitive" "You Ain't Sayin' Nothin (Feat. Dre Dre and Plies)" "The Crackhouse (Feat. Lil Wayne)" "Cocababy (Feat. Jackie Rubio)" "Get It for Life (Feat. DJ Khaled and Pooh Bear) "Drop" "I Won't Tell (Feat. J. Holiday)" "K.A.R. (Kill All Rats)" "300 Brolic (Feat. Opera Steve)" "Preacher on a Sunday Morning (Feat. Pooh Bear)" "My Conscience (Feat. KRS-One)" "That White"
Thats right, a new single for the upcoming Gnarls Barkley has dropped and while all the other blogs have music videos down...we have one that is up and working! Check it out below! The song is much different then the first single off The Odd Couple. It is a much slower paced song, consisting of a beat. I am not a huge fan of it, it is not the type of Gnarl's sound that I am used to. Check it out and let me know what you think about Gnarl's second single entitled, "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" off of his upcoming April release of The Odd Couple.
Well, there is no excuse for what has gone on so far this week. We are really sorry about not being able to post much up, and we apologize for that, but we are back into full gear (well not full gear, due to my need for a break this weekend!).
So here is what has been going on with the blog! We are still working on putting out those two mixtapes that we mentioned earlier (the T-Pain and Fan Made mixtapes), and we are still waiting on people send in their stuff! While I was thinking mixtapes, an idea came into my head, and I think it may work! This mixtape would be all us, no help from others or viewers. This mixtape would consist of all the Remix(es) of the Week(s). So be sure to be on the look out for that to drop somewhere within the next month or so. That is all for now, and we are again, sorry about the long delay for posts, check back here later for more information on the mixtape progresses and much more!
Well, the title of this song is not actually known, so we gave it our very own title! The song consists of Kanye West's "Diamonds Are Forever (From Sierra Leon)," and Maroon 5's "This Love." The song is mixed beautifully, and you would think that it was professionally done or released by Maroon 5 and Kanye West. So check out the video below, and give it a listen, I promise you will enjoy it!
Download Link Will Be Available Soon! In The Mean Time, Check Out The Song In The YouTube Player Below:
Well, when is the last time you have heard of MTV banning a music video, and it not being for sexual or inappropriate reasons? There is a first for everything, and Gnarls Barkley is the first in this situation. The music video for Gnarls Barkley's first single off their second album is being banned due to the speed and light work used in the video. The way the video was shot, and the speed in which the frames go at can cause certain viewers to seizure. The music video failed the Harding Test, and will not be aired on MTV (unless they fix it). The "Odd Couple" are in dispute with MTV arguing that they do not see how their video could do such a thing, but as far as anyone is concerned, that does not matter. The video will not air unless it is changed for TV screening, and if it is, then MTV will more than likely lift their ban on the video.
More News To Come When We Hear About It, But For Now, (If You Do Not Seizure Often) Check Out The Music Video Below!
Well for sure a different type of sound out of Usher on this one. It has a bit more of a Pop/R&B sound then his other singles and songs that he has released. For sure a solid song out of Usher, and having Jeezy in there really helps add to the song. You can tell from the very first second of the song that this one is different. I have never been a huge Usher fan, I have liked some of his stuff. This song is definitely one of those songs that I like. The beat and the lyrics fit perfectly together, and as I said before Young Jeezy is a perfect edition to the song. "Love In This Club" was released on February 26th, 2008, and is the first single off of Usher's untitled fifth studio album. There have been a set of confirmed tracks for the album, and although there has yet to be a music video released for his first single, you can listen to it on the YouTube videoplayer below!
Confirmed Tracks:
"Love in This Club (Feat. Young Jeezy)" "At the Time" "Dat Girl Right There (Feat. Ludacris)" "The Realest"
"Love In This Club (Feat. Young Jeezy)" Music Video:
When we decided to move V2 to a totally new template and format, we lost everything. All of our texts, widgets, and other features to the site were deleted. We are going to try and bring back our Music 101 section. It will feature many of the same old stuff, including where to find album/movie artwork, sheet music, and other great stuff that will help supply your music hunger. Our compilation of sites may take awhile to re-create, but do not fret, we will have it up as soon as possible! If you know of anything that should go here, let us know by dropping us an e-mail. Thanks, and we hope you make good use of this section!
Well, we got about another three hours until April Fools day official starts, but we are just going to wish you Happy April Fools Day early. First off, there are a lot of albums that are supposed to be released tomorrow, and we will highlight the big ones for you. All in all, April looks like it will have a lot of good solid releases, so you can expect some (hopefully) good reviews on upcoming releases!
Looks like we got a lot on tab for this month, be sure to check back here for more news and reviews on all these albums!
