I am not going to lie, this music video is the freaky deaky... I am not a huge fan of horror films or scary movies, and if you are, then this stuff might be right up your ally.  The music video itself really does show how scary getting involved in drugs and how bad a relapse really can be... People out there need to be aware of the problems of addiction and drugs in general, and I hope that Eminem was trying to show the scares and horrors of spiraling out of control due to addiction and drugs (whether hard drugs or prescription).  I have been a firm believer that music is much more than just something to listen to, and it has a much deeper meaning!  Eminem seems that he is changing his whole persona from the "old" Eminem to this new and improved Em.  Eminem isn't done showing the new him, and I know that THERE WILL BE A SEQUEL TO THE UPCOMING MAY 15TH RELEASE ENTITLED RELAPSE 2.  

On top of this song pretty solid, I think it does an excellent job conveying the hardships of being under the influence of drugs and addiction.  Drugs don't just take over ones life, it takes over their free will as well.  People are no longer able to function for themselves, think for themselves, and act for themselves.  On the contrary, they lose all that, and become slaves to a drug.  I think drugs are bad (whether they are hard drugs or not...), and if you are young, I would advise you to stay away from them, and live a clean and healthy life.  I don't understand the people that stoop down to doing drugs, and not only drugs, but smoking!  Your body clearly is not supposed to have these other outside influences affecting them.  I can't really grasp people who are okay with breathing smoke into their lungs, which they use to breathe out of!  If anyone can give me a valid reason, then I will be willing to change my opinion.  I am serious, if you are addicted, just watch the video, and realize that maybe some stuff needs to change.  I applaud Eminem for making the album he is, it is about time that music was used to tell a story and warn everyone the dangers of something.  I think what he is doing is great, and I think he is going in the right direction, I am amped for the May 15th release, and from what I understand the album has leaked already.  If you are a true music fan, and someone who appreciate music and the art of telling a story, please wait to go out and download the album.  Just buy it in stores or on iTunes, and give the man a proper "welcome back" to the music game.  I am sure the album will be magnificent, and that he will be warning others about the dangers of addiction and drugs.

Eminem's Verse: "Crack A Bottle" Music Video:

50 Cent's Verse: "Crack A Bottle" Music Video:

More Eminem Updates Coming Your Day In The Near Future, PLEASE DO NOT DOWNLOAD THE ALBUM ILLEGALLY.  Eminem Deserves More Then That, And Relapse Definitely Has A Lot Of Meaning To It!!!

P.S. Be On The Lookout For News On The Sequel Album Entitled Relapse 2

So I was talking with Julius the Myth (a pretty sick musician who you will all be hearing about in the very near future) and we were talking about celebrities/people who made it big from his high school (and mine, except there are none from mine, seeing as it has only been open for like eight years or so).  He is the next big thing out of high school, but before him, Andy Milonakis was the, "big thing".  The dude is thirty six now, but he definitely had a knack for being funny, and it has scored him a TV Show on MTV and MTV2 from what I understand.  He started his journey on a web cam, making videos, posting them up places and from there, it led to him becoming a pop star sensation.

The dude is funny, no doubt there, but the thing that is craziest, Andy is in his thirties!!!  Sure doesn't look like it in the picture above, but he has a congenital growth-hormone condition which gives him the appearance of an adolescent.  He starred in the hit movie, Waiting... and is going to be in the sequel to that movie which is due out this year entitled, Still Waiting...  The movies discuss the fictional stories and adventures of some people who work in a restaurant.  I saw Waiting... and absolutely loved it, and I just found out today that there will be the sequel, so I am pretty amped for that.  Anyway, this is just an appreciation post to Andy, your the man, and we love that you do what you do every day!  Check out some of his videos below, the dude is straight up funny, if your into my type of humor, you'll really dig Mr. Milonakis.

Happy Balloons:

Andy Milonakis - Spoon Commercial:

Andy Milonakis Rap - SICK NARSTY SONG... Forgot To Mention He Can Rap:

Andy Milonakis' Views On Heaven:

Andy Milonakis & Lil' Jon:

I love coming across crazy mashup stuff, but I can't say I have ever found something like this before.  I found a sick mashup that these guys did with only Tarantino movie scenes.  It really is a work of art, something that you don't really see very often, and when you do see it, your just left sitting in your chair like, "WOW, did I just watch that!?"  The Tarantino tape features not only excellent audio mixing, but even better visual mixing, integrating the movie scenes and streaming them all together to get a perfect fit.  Anyway, check their mashup below, and as a bonus, check out their other one entitled, "Rock & Remix".

"The Tarantino Mixtape"

BONUS TRACK: "Rock & Remix"

Check Back Here For More Sick Music Updates & Posts

Well looks like the playoffs have continued and things have not been exactly what everyone thought they would be... Or so I thought!  The Lakers get upset in the first game of round two, as well as the Celtics.  The Wings start the second round down two games to one, and the Bruins find themselves in a one-one tie with the Hurricanes.  Anyway, check out my take on things below, and some rumors and ideas that have been floating around on the internet!

Let's start with some NBA talk... The LA Lakers lost their first game of the second round to the Rockets, but me's thinking that the Rockets don't have enough to take down the colossal Lakers.  The Celtics went down a game in the second round, but seem to be all business now and have a commanding lead over the Magic in game two.  The Magic blew a pretty big lead in the first game of the series, so this may very well be a rest of series thing in which the Celtics just straight up dominating the rest of this matchup.  Denver, unlike a few other teams has been one of the biggest surprises in the playoffs thus far.  They have pretty much had a commanding lead over every single team they have played so far in the first two series (recall their 58 point victory over the New Orleans Hornets).  ATL looks like they are in some big trouble right now, finding it difficult to stick with the high-flying Cavs.  LeBron seems like he is all that and a bag of chips, but in reality, the dude is just bag (no chips included).  When he plays the way he does against Detroit & ATL against the Lakers, Nuggets or the Celtics.  Rumor's have been floating around the league and some have landed with the once dominant Detroit Pistons.  The Stones have been in rumor talks around the league stating that they will make a bid for trading with the Hornets for Chris Paul... YEA, THAT'S RIGHT!!! CP3!!!  Now the trade that they are talking about would make a lot of sense, seeing as the Hornets need to clear some cap, and the Pistons have a ton of cap room to accommodate the high-performing and paid superstar.  I think CP3 would have a nice look in a Red-White-Blue Detroit jersey, don't you think!?  Haha, we'll see what happens, it looks like there won't be much left from the '04 Championship team.  If you trade for CP3, your likely going to lose Hamilton and someone else.  This would in turn mean that you move Stuckey to shooting guard, and have CP3 take over your point guard duty.  We'll see what happens, only time will tell Piston fans.

Moving on to the NFL (we'll take a small break from the playoff talk for a bit).  It looks like Brett Favre will never retire.  News has come about that Mr. Favre is in talks with the Minnesota Vikings, a franchise deeply in need of a presence at QB.  Now I don't know what crack the people over in Minnesota are smoking, but it must be some heavy duty stuff!  To want to sign a 40+ year old QB, have him take your team, and turn it around, and lead them from just making the playoffs to a Super Bowl team is some way left ideas.  I guess I won't judge though, since they really don't have many options at QB... Jackson is only a good QB when you use the run game on a regular basis, and the guy they got from Houston is a decent dude, nothing special.  Then again, Favre does have the capability to throw a 30+ pass game, but he will only help if he can stay healthy all year.  I guess if Favre is making a return, Madden will have to come out of retirement and get back in the booth.  The Detroit Lions made some splashes today (and it is about gosh darn time, I mean you go 0-16 and make barely any moves... what's the deal!?).  Detroit native Larry Foote (who I am a big fan of) signed a one year deal with Detroit (which will potentially turn into more years if he plays well).  I like the signing, it is a huge step in the right direction for the 0-16 Lions.  I am glad that someone has figured out that the D sucks and that there is no O-Line at all.  Maybe they will win one game this season (but only because they signed Larry Foote).

Now to the NHL... Things are looking different, then again, the first round was a tell-tale sign that upsets were going to happen throughout the playoffs this year!  Let's start off with the Boston Bruins.  After manhandling their first round opponents, they took on the Hurricanes in the second round.  After two games, the teams are tied at one a piece (pending the game tonight, as it stands, the game is 2-2 with seconds left in the third... The Canes are known for last minute crazy goals!!!).  The Pens and Capitals series has been everything that a fan could want.  A high action, scoring, and hitting series that features two of the best in the NHL.  Games 1 & 2 were taken by the Capitals, and it as of right now, Game 3 is in overtime!  Some have compared Ovechkin and Crosby to NBA's Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.  The two young players are battling it out on the rink, and I am sure that the two of them will be having this whole rivalry thing for a very long time.  On we go to the Vancouver/Chicago series where Vancouver (no big surprise there) is up two games to one.  Should be interesting to see how much fight the Blackhawks have left, they have made it this far, let's hope they make a push for an upset and get the Canucks out of the playoffs. Luango has been insane in net for them, and looks like he will be tough to score on, no matter what team he faces.  And the last series of the NHL playoffs... The Wings are taking on the Ducks and unlike many thought, the DUCKS have a surprising 2-1 series lead over the powerful and high-scoring Wings.  Now I am not going to get into the whole debate about how a certain referree who was in the game screwed up a call and blew the game for the Wings, because that is neither here, nor there.  Game 4 is a must win for the Detroit Red Wings, and if they go down 3-1 tomorrow night, it will be another upset in the Ducks book.  I got a lot of faith and hope that the veteran Wings will get their mojo back and be able to put three or four past the young Hiller (goalie) of Anaheim.

And that concludes our... OH WAIT, BASEBALL!  Haha, well there really is not much to cover here, I will give you a standings update, whose where, and who's dominating the sport right now.  As of right now, in the American East, Toronto is in the lead followed by Boston, and then the Yankees (who were recently swept by the Sox, and have been having a pretty bad season for a team who is jacked with some pretty high profile players, remember though, it is only the beginning of the season).  In the AL Central, Kansas City (a huge surprise) is atop the standings in first followed by my Detroit Tigers and then Minnesota in third.  In the NL East, Philadelphia is on top, followed by the young gunning Marlins and the injury/poor pitching NY Mets.  In the AL West, Seattle is on top (after recently acquiring Ken Griffey Jr. in the offseason), followed by Texas.  The LA Angels are in third, and are definitely a team to keep an eye on, they are really solid, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them spring up in the standings.  In The NL Central, St. Louis is on top followed by Milwaukee and Cincinnati.  Lastly, in the NL West, the Dodgers are off to a great start and are 12-0 at home, and have already won 20 games!  They are ahead of the Giants (since when were they good?) who are ahead of San Diego.  Now for my Tigers talk, haha.  I don't have much to say, Nate Robertson needs to be either dropped, traded, sent down to the minors, are moved to the minor league coaching staff, I can't stand seeing him on the mound anymore.  Verlander needs to play like he did in his last outing, and some positives from pitching are the presence of Edwin Jackson and Porcello who won just last night.  Should be interesting to see what moves the Tigers make with their pitching, and from what I understand, the D-Train is in the process of making a comeback.  Apparently he threw a real solid game last night in the minors, and is definitely on his way back to being in tip-top shape.  Cabrera is still a boss, and Maggs needs to start hitting the ball, but other then that, the Tigers could be making a strong bid for the playoffs if Inge and other players keep playing the way they are!

UPDATE: Boston Bruins lost to the Hurricanes in OT last night, they lost the game 3-2, and the series is now in favor of the young and upset team of the playoffs, The Canes.  Along with that, the Capitals were unable to eek out a victory in OT against the young gunning Pens, who scored three goals, one big goal in OT giving them the win and cutting into the Capitals two game lead in the series.  In the NBA, The Lakers and The Celtics each got even, as each team won in their respective games, causing both series to be tied at one...  That's your sports update from last night!

There You Have It... Sports In A Nutshell For Ya!

Our topic at hand today deals with ticket scalping and how it effects you guys at home. Yes this is one lengthy article, but hopefully you can enjoy it, or at least take something good out of it. Please note that this is my final paper for my Modern American Culture class so it is written as one. Enjoy :)!

One of the beauties of America can be found in its underlying Capitalist economy. For a country’s people to be happy, they must be economically independent and be able to participate in free enterprise. In a global quest for money, some people will come out better off at the expense of others. One subdivision of free enterprise includes the markup of scarce goods in high demand, and more specifically ticket scalping. While some states have special laws controlling scalping practices, it is perfectly legal to buy and sell tickets online in New York State and many other states. In order to evaluate ticket scalping and its affect on modern American culture, we must fully investigate the music industry as well as the economics, causes, and effects of scalping.

For years, Americans have enjoyed many forms of entertainment including sports, movies, and music. There is an enormously rich market for these industries across the country, and the guys that run movie studios, stadiums, and concert halls know how to milk the fans for their money. The music industry is multifaceted in the fact that there are 2 media: recorded and live. If you were to ask a fan about the difference, such as Ben Ratliff in his letter to the NY Times editor about The Dead, he/she would tell you, “…it is important to understand that recordings are no substitute for… live [music].” There is a premium to pay for a live concert as opposed to going out and buying a CD, but hardcore fans understand this economic truism.

So what is ticket scalping? Occidental Economics defines it as, “any resale of a ticket for an event above the face value (i.e., printed dollar value on the ticket)”. Ticket scalpers may be licensed brokers, or more simply individuals looking to pocket a little extra cash, or fans looking to offset another set of tickets for the same event that they want to attend. It is estimated that 10% of ticket sales are associated with scalping, with 20-30% of the premium seats going through scalpers. Billy Joel was once quoted stating, “For someone to pay more than $30 to see my show is outrageous. My show isn’t worth $150.” Garth Brooks commented on a 900% markup of his tickets and joked, “Hey, I’ve seen the show. It’s not worth it.” It’s great that these artists think this way, but hardcore fans would remark otherwise. The majority of Americans are unable to pay such high prices for shows, but the small majority seems to be able to. If the fan is willing to shell out the dough, a multitude of people will be willing to sell at those high prices. The middle class American seems to be robbed of his experience at the expense of the almighty, omnipotent ticket scalper.

The history of ticket scalping can be traced back to the Romans when seats near the Emperor were highly coveted luxury items. “Tickets to these events were regularly resold or bartered for a better view of the emperor,” says Ticketmaster co-founded Albert Leffler. With the development of the internet and new technologies including eFast ticketing, the secondary ticket market has exploded into an entrepreneurial enterprise accessible to anyone willing to learn the tricks of the trade. With a little research, some startup capital, and a high-speed internet connection, it’s almost too easy to turn a profit. Previously, the title “scalper” was a dirty term referring to sketchy characters that would hang around stadiums quietly murmuring trying to sell their stock without being caught by the police. It is still possible to see these individuals today, but the majority of tickets sold on the secondary market changes hands on the internet through sites like eBay, StubHub, TicketsNow, etc. The business model has been drastically altered in favor of the regular ambitious American. Ray Artigue, professor of practice in the marketing department at the W.P. Carey School explains, “The secondary ticket market revenue pie keeps growing exponentially, and everyone wants a piece of it.” With the right amount of time and energy, anyone can succeed.

The problem with the revenue pie growing exponentially is that while it helps the seller, the buyer on the other side of the transaction falls victim to outrageous price gouging due to instantly sold out supplies and shortages. Hardcore fans are unable to purchase tickets in the primary markets because scalpers instantaneously transfer them from the primary market to the secondary. For those fans able to purchase tickets in the primary market, they fall victim to another problem; the average ticket price has skyrocketed in and of itself. Economist Alan Krueger of Princeton University, studied historical pricing data, and found that ticket prices have been escalating for the last five years, with no plateau in sight. Pollstar data showed that over the last five years prices for concert tickets have grown 61%, while CPI has only increased by 13%.2 In addition, the cost of a concert ticket has sped past the cost of other tickets in the entertainment industry by approximately 30 percent. In 2006, a Dave Matthews Band ticket at the DTE Energy Music Theater in Clarkston, Michigan cost about $60, when in 1995, a ticket cost $19. The average price of concert tickets had increased by about 82 percent between 1996 and 2003, and has roughly double over the last 10 years. In an age where many people download music for free on the internet, maybe they can afford to pay a hefty fee for a concert ticket. But for those playing by the rules, tickets are just too expensive. While $60 dollars may not seem too expensive, it is important to remember that there is a wide range of prices for different artists. Ben Folds may cost only $40, but Lil’ Wayne at Madison Square Garden costs $200. The music industry is becoming too inaccessible to the average Joe.

Kruger has studied the ticket pricing market in depth, and has come up with a few hypotheses that try to explain the causes of increasing prices. In a 2002 lecture titled, “Rockonomics: Economics and Public Policy in the Rock and Roll Industry”, Kruger talked to his students about his work in the study of economic causes and effects of the rising cost of concert tickets. First of all, production costs for shows have allegedly increased, however he is a bit skeptical of the “facts” he received from industry professionals regarding elaborate sets, pyrotechnics, etc. One thing that we must take into account though is new technology that previously had not been used. The elegance and grandeur of some concerts is out of control; i.e. Britney Spears and The Pussycat Dolls. Secondly, the music industry has been consolidating over the years. Recently, TicketMaster and Live Nation have joined together creating a monopoly over concert ticketing services. Congress was concerned about the antitrust implications of the merger, and the fan should be too.5 If TicketMaster and Live Nation don’t use good judgment in pricing, we may see even greater ticket inflation. Kruger’s third hypothesis deals with the status of album sales and its affect on the price of tickets. He has observed that Jazz and Blues fans tend to buy more music, while there seems to be more piracy in the genres of Rock and Pop. Kruger has concluded that this trend explains why Jazz and Blues ticket prices have grown more slowly (23.4%) than Rock and Pop ticket prices (74%). Lastly, Kruger hypothesizes that ticket prices in general are just too cheap, in terms of real market value. While it may seem expensive to pay $60 to see DMB, a hardcore fan may be willing to pay close to $150 for the show, especially if the seats are in a prime location. Usually different levels of seating are priced differently, but the difference in price between a front row seat and a dead last row seat are the same. Due to this spread, a scalper is able to mark up hot seats while paying a lower base price for the seating area. The secondary market only exists because there are buyers willing to pay.

In an attempt to further understand the complexities associated with the secondary ticket market, I took it upon myself to conduct a case study. When news broke of a Phish reunion tour, my first reaction consisted of, “Sweet! I really wanna go, I hope I can get tickets!” After reading the rest of the press release however, my happiness was immediately usurped as I realized that the concert was in Virginia, and that I would not be able to go. Fortunately, the human brain is multifaceted, and my entrepreneurial spirit took over realizing that a once in a lifetime opportunity to earn a large sum of disposable income was sitting right under my nose.
To begin, it was important to do some basic research regarding buying and selling practices, and it seemed pretty simple. Numerous websites made sure to inform me that it is imperative that a buyer syncs his clock with the atomic clock, and gave tips for quick CAPTCHA image verification bypassing. After you hit submit on the purchase page, it’s just the luck of the draw. After a few minutes of heated anxiety, my brother and I were fortunate enough to cop a pair of tickets. In researching the ticketing of the show, it seemed that most of the tickets were going out to the fans and not directly to brokers. Another beauty of the 3 day reunion tour that Phish was playing in Hampton, Virginia was that the Hampton Coliseum is completely General Admission, meaning that all tickets are priced the same, and worth the same; it is up to the fan to choose his/her standing spot by arriving early to the venue. Another beauty of this ticket offering is that the tickets were relatively cheap, at $46.50, because Phish wanted them to be cheap. Phish also made it clear that they would not stand for their tickets to be scalped. Fortunately, diehard fans that were lucky enough to win the figurative “TicketMaster lottery”, were able to purchase tickets for an incredible show at an affordable price. On the other hand, scalpers were able to purchase tickets for an incredible show at an affordable, and at the same time were able to pocket a good $500-1000 in cash! After about two weeks, and numerous problems with eBay’s ticket resale policies, my brother and I made a hefty profit of $583.50 through StubHub (a 447.13% markup!). Ticket scalping was as simple as we had thought. The hardest part is earning the chance to buy the tickets. After that, patience and perseverance leads you to your goal.

In addition to learning about the simple economic principles of supply and demand in a real-world situation, we learned a lot about the industry and were able to tie some of our previous research into the mix. Regarding Phish’s executive decision to keep ticket prices low and to stop scalping, it seems as if their plans backfired. Kruger’s fourth hypothesis dealing with irrationally low priced tickets seemed to be correct. While Phish wanted to see low ticket prices, crazed fans unable to see those low ticket prices on their computer screens rushed to eBay, StubHub, and TicketsNow, keeping their eyes on the prize, and not on their bank account balances. No matter how little a ticket costs, if there is enough demand, the base price of the ticket has no importance in the secondary market other than to help sellers calculate percentage gains. Keep in mind that not all shows turn profits, but the right shows turn them. A good scalper is a smart scalper; he does his research, he has a feel for the industry, and he has good hand-eye coordination. Master scalpers/brokers are hard to come by, but any average Joe, or 17-year old kid, is capable of low-level success.

Despite the state of our current economy, The Chicago Tribune reports that concert ticket sales haven’t been effect that badly. Suite101 contributing writer, Shelley Aylesworth-Spink, found that, “although times were tight in 2008, revenue for concert sales in the United States were up 7.8 percent to $4.2 billion. Ticket sales, however, did drop by three percent which means that in 2008, ticket prices were still high.” Workers facing unemployment seem to find the cash to escape to a good concert and at the same time are paying less in the secondary market. Checking eBay close to the date of a concert can reveal steals under face value. In a world where the concept of face value has almost disappeared, an economy in a nosedive is saving the consumer. Simple microeconomic theory explains that as demand rises, the price of an item rises, and when demand falls, the price of that item falls as well. In an economic crisis, the demand for concert tickets will indeed fall, but there will still be demand for them at a certain price. As the price of the tickets equalize lower, those willing and able to dispose income, will purchase the tickets at the new price. The answer to controlling ticket scalping is not increased regulation, but rather self-regulation, setting a bar for your maximum eBay bid lower than before. A ticket is only worth as much as you value it.

An American is an individual born with the unalienable rights of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of economic independence, and many other rights. In an attempt to fully analyze the ticket scalping market, the analysis of the buyer and the seller are of the utmost importance. For all intents and purposes, we can assume that the buyer is a fan, a parent, or just an average Joe that wants to see a concert, but we cannot make any assumptions in the seller’s territory. As seen in our case study, it is as likely for a ticket broker to be on the other side of a transaction as is a 17 year old kid, just looking to earn some cold hard cash. It is true that tickets are sometimes unfairly marked up in the secondary market almost instantly as primary supplies liquidate in minutes (or even seconds), but aside from previous broker negotiations, a large supply of tickets is still available on the open market for everyone to purchase. Many people do not understand how quickly tickets sell out, and how important it is to sit at their computer at the exact second tickets go on sale for the chance to purchase. Purchasing tickets on TicketMaster is a lottery, not a sure commitment to a purchase. As much as the consumer wants to be mad at scalpers, he must change his perspective and realize that he could scalp, or learn how to purchase tickets if truly inclined. The problem with scalping is that an artist’s pricing judgment for affordability is swallowed up by a third party. The beauty of scalping is that we can directly see the free market at work. Will-call ticketing is a great measure that artists can request to ensure that quality seats are unable to be resold, but complete control and restriction of ticket scalping by any form of government cannot happen. It is not our job to criticize the industry and to place moral judgments on the successful, but rather to marvel at the system and hope to gain some insight. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. And if you choose not to join ‘em, learn, practice, enjoy, and repeat.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Online Sales Make Hot Tickets Harder to Get (nytimes.com)
• Is Ticketmaster Taking Advantage? (consumer-alerts-product-recalls.suite101.com)
• Ticketmaster/Live Nation Merger Could Raise Ticket Prices (wired.com)
• Ticket resellers: A butt in every seat (money.cnn.com)
• New York Senator Introduces Ticket Legislation After Botched Springsteen Onsale (idiomag.com)

Over the past week or so we have been hitting PR firms like crazy and getting mad hookups with artist that we never would have though would be possible. We have a dope interview tomorrow with Day26 from MTV's "Making The Band", but our newest opportunity has just arisen with one of Bob Marley's son's, Stephen Marley!

A member of the celebrated Marley sibling group The Melody Makers since the age of seven, Stephen Marley, the Grammy winning producer, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist has also been the driving creative force behind the music of his brothers.

Stephen's production, performance and writing credits recently earned him two Grammys, giving him a total of five: more than any other Marley family member OR reggae artist in history! His most recent win was for his album Mind Control featuring Mos Def, Ben Harper, and brothers Damian and Julian. He has since reworked that album into a soulful, all-acoustic project. Now Stephen has built and laid the foundations for a full-blown Marley family renaissance with Mind Control Acoustic. It's an album full of confidence and diversity in styles and emotion.

Watch out for Stephen Marley taking America by storm this summer when he joins forces with Snoop Dogg and punk-reggae veterans Slightly Stoopid for the "Blazed and Confused" tour of North America. The tour launches July 10th in Nevada.

For now you can preview Stephen's tracks below, and hopefully support him by picking up his album down below.

Enjoy and stay tuned for the Interview very soon!

IMEEM stream - The Traffic Jam (Acoustic – available exclusively via digital download)

Mind Control Acoustic on iTunes

The kidz are back in the building...

It seems as if the best up and coming artists these days are smart dudes kickin' it old school in their COLLEGE DORMS!!!

Hopefully y'all are aware of our guys Mike Posner and Eric Holljes from Duke, so hopefully y'all will welcome my new Northwestern kid, Jordan Looney. Jordan Loony was introduced to me by my new blog friend Max over @ The Revolution Will Be Tape Recorded, and to be honest with you he's pretty fresh. Max is doing some promo work for him, so I thought I'd help him out with the lovin', spreadin' Looney's stuff across the interwebs if you know what I mean.

Max shared a few things with me about Jordan, showing me his first Mixtape Nerd Hop Vol. 1, and hitting me up with one of those singles, as well as telling me about his new mixtape that will be coming out soon titled, Nerd Hop Vol. 2.

From what I was able to listen to, Looney seems pretty dope, he seems pretty looney to me (in a good way don't worry). Check out the single, check out the mixtape, and just check out new music from the world's finest, the kids comin' on ur HUD.

Jordan Loony was just featured in The Daily Northwestern in a hot interview that looks pretty legit as well!

Check it.

Listen to Jordan Looney's Single: "Oh Really" [zShare]

Download Jordan Looney's Mixtape: "Nerd Hop Vol. 1"

I've taken a liking to insane covers these days and have incorporated them into Remix of the Week. This week's Remix of the Week is a really cool cover of the song "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King. The title of this video is Playing For Change Song Around The World "Stand By Me". In accordance with the title, the producers of this video, Concord Music Group, did just that. They went around the world taping street artists singing different parts of the song. My favorite part of the song has to be Grandpa Elliott from New Orleans. This blind dude is just rockin' out sitting on the street expressin' himself. He is a paradigm of muzack. Please enjoy the vid, it will touch you in places you didn't know that you could be touched.