Announced last night via Twitter, The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards will play host to a memorable performance of Drake’s “Forever” remix featuring, Lil Wayne, Eminem and Blink 182 drummer, Travis Barker.
The 51st Annual Grammys saw a similar performance when T.I. performed the boastful posse cut, “Swagga Like Us” featuring Lil Wayne, Jay-Z and Kanye West.
However, for unspecified reasons, Kanye West, who is also featured on “Forever,” was not named in the announcement as a performer. West is still experiencing backlash for crashing the 2009 MTV VMA stage during country singer Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech.
This will also likely be Lil Wayne’s last award show performance before his early February sentencing for pleading guilty to a felony gun possession, stemming from a 2007 arrest in NYC. Weezy is expected to serve up to a year in jail. (Source)
It is no secret that sanctions against Iran has been spinning in the public arena for a long time and there are many in Washington including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who feel that sanctions is due to be implemented. Everybody is saying they have exhausted all resources and efforts to bring Iran to the table and now is the time for sanctions…Hold on a minute! What about those hundreds of thousands of protesters marching on the street who are bleeding and calling for reform and removal of Ahmadinejad from power and a return to the polls to vote for a new leader? If we sanction Iran then we are also sanctioning a democracy that exist in Iran and is asking us to help them…In times past I have written to foreign leaders (Israel’s Prime Minister included) and called for them to vote against sanctions, because it would only harm the people who are not responsible for their governments action’s and would be absolutely counter-productive and inhumane to the working class people of Iran. If the West supports sanctions against Iran and the United Nations approves the sanctioning, then what we would be doing is isolating the Iranian people from the rest of the World and helping them to make a pact with the devil against the West.
If sanctions hurt them enough, they will most likely increase the numbers of Shiite radicals in their own country as a result of America’s failure to see things more rationally. Who Wins:
Those who will profit from sanctions against Iran are the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank who will tax the rest of the planet for Iran’s re-construction and their defaulting on any already existing debts which eventually leads to those developed countries actually owning Iran by default (generosity is not for free)…The money every country gives is borrowed from somewhere…Your generosity is not for free, we have to pay back that money if we did not have that in surplus…The developed nations are the guarantee against default of under-developed economies who suddenly go into bankruptcy due to hyper inflation set in by lack of trade stimulus. Sanctions Contribute To Global Destabilization
We have a very dangerous destabilization or domino effect happening in our global economy because of too many hot spots in the World as a result of conflict and prolonging of those conflicts which drains resources from more peaceful and productive projects in our world that are needed to heal our planet and the United States once again is going to do opposite of what it says…It is going to commit a crime against humanity because the bank says so. Sanctions Do Not Work and Have Never Worked. If we are going to promote peace and freedom than we need to arm those who want it and help them to fight it…These weapons do not necessarily have to be a gun or knife, it can be a computer, radio, camera and even plenty of ink cartridges rather than bullets…Every citizen in Iran can help bring change if we support them…The Supreme Leadership of Iran knows the threat the information superhighway poses to them and they fear the pen just as much as the sword or even worse than the sword because the pen can carry poison. I hope that all who see this today will write their Congressman and Senators or whatever representative you have in your country and encourage them to rethink their foreign policy toward Iran…It is not the Iranian people who want to destroy the West and Israel, but a minority of wannabe dictators who happen to be Islamic elitist and want to exploit the issues of Zionism, Western Imperialism and Islam to make money and those less elite are vying for a status as an Iranian Gestapo officer who enjoys the sadistic pleasure of oppressing their own people. Sanctions Lead To Hidden Taxes On Consumers In Developed Nations:
As a member of a developed nation, you will have taxes levied against your paycheck and you will pay at the check stand when you purchase goods or services especially gasoline which has so many taxes attached and luxury items which less are able to afford due to taxation. Remember every donor nation to the IMF or the World Bank has to borrow money from somewhere and so your nation’s generosity is not for free. It cost you in taxation to be a generous giver. You have a right to ask what are you getting for your money? You have a right to ask who is getting the money and what are you paying for? You have the right to hold your elected officials accountable because it is your money that they are playing with and it is your paycheck that is guaranteeing your government’s ability to pay off the debts of defaulting countries.
This blog will be updated in the near future as things develop…I hope you visit often.
V Peace, Shalom aleichem,Salam Alaykum,Paz,Namaste
Here is part 2 of Galkin’s list. I know it probably seems sooo behind the times to keep talking about 2009 songs, especially while there is so much new music already out this year (Yeasayer, Hot Chip, Ok Go – dare I even say Ke$ha? – to name a few) but Galkin’s list is easily still my favorite playlist on my iPod right now, and it needs to be completed. Besides, didn’t you need some new stuff to stream at work? We’ll get to 2010 soon enough, don’t worry…
85. Eminem – “We Made You”
Much anticipated comeback was good, not great. Good to see he still likes to make fun of people though.
84. The National – “So Far Around The Bend”
On the Dark Was The Night compilation – check it out, seriously
83. Manchester Orchestra – “I’ve Got Friends”
Band that you can distinctly hear maturing over their last 3 albums
82. Muse – “Undisclosed Desires”
Need to see these guys in concert. Will be epic.
81. Say Anything – “Hate Everyone”
One of my favorite bands, but didn’t connect with the new album like previous ones
80. Paramore – “Ignorance”
Hayley Williams is adorable. That is all.
79. Anderson – “Trevor On The Dancefloor”
Fun electronic dance-y song you’ve never heard of from a band you don’t know. It’s my list.
78. Yes Giantess – “Can’t Help It” Michael Jackson-like sounding lead singer makes me miss MJ…the non-crazy, black version
77. Pony Pony Run Run – “Walking On A Line”
Don’t care for the band name, good thing they make catchy music
76. Classified – “Choose Your Own Adventure 3”
White Canadien rapper, eh? I’m as surprised as you are. Also known as the Steve Nash of rap (may or may not have made that last part up)
75. Jay-Z – “Run This Town”
Excellent chorus by Rihanna along with Kanye kept in check made this a winner
74. Peter Bjorn And John – “Nothing To Worry About”
Including singing kids generally makes things better
73. Shakira – “She Wolf (Villians Remix)”
Heavy breathing also makes things better
72. Taking Back Sunday – “Sink Into Me”
A favorite band from high school still has something left in the tank
71. Flight Of The Conchords – “Carol Brown”
“…hoping that you’ll stick around” – would have enjoyed another season of FOTC
70. Harlem Shakes – “Strictly Game”
Good band that unfortunately broke up…luckily it was after I got to see them live
69. Neon Indian – “Deadbeat Summer”
Trippy.
68. The Sounds – “No One Sleeps When I’m Awake (Viking Remix)”
An already good song, but the additions in the remix put it over the top
67. Norah Jones – “Chasing Pirates”
Classiest song of the year
66. Wale – “90210”
Disappointing live, but still one of the top rappers IMO
65. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – “Zero”
Spin’s song of the year – not mine, but still really good
64. Simian Mobile Disco – “Audacity Of Huge (Dada Life Guerilla Remix)”
The ones who usually do the remixing get remixed themselves – what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, right?
63. The Big Pink – “Dominos”
Methodically paced and catchy song about girls falling like dominos
62. Glee Cast – “Don’t Stop Believin’”
Best song by a fake Glee club
61. The Bird And The Bee – “Love Letter To Japan”
I feel like The Bird and the Bee are a hidden gem – have always enjoyed their quirky songs.
60. Jay-Z – “DOA”
Electric guitar and soprano sax make this much more than your regular rap song
59. Owl City – “Cave In”
Called Owl City a year and a half ago…you’re welcome
58. Parachute – “Under Control”
Charlottesville/UVA band that is gaining popularity – this should have been a bigger hit
57. Florence And The Machine – “Dog Days Are Over”
Florence’s haunting yet fierce voice make the first track of the album stand out
56. The Drums – “Let’s Go Surfing”
Old school sounding song of the year…think a modern indie Beach Boys
After a longggg while away from ya, I’m back by first giving you some stuff you may have missed in the last month or so I’ve been away. Hope everyone’s holiday season went well. As far as mixtapes go, Lupe Fiasco released Enemy of the State back in November. Here’s my favorite track from the tape called popular demand
The mixtape has a couple remixes to Jay-Z tracks, and a great remix to Radiohead’s Kid A jam National Anthem and Slaughterhouse’s The one. Grab it on Datpiff here. Another one to get is Wiz Khalifa’s Burn after rolling. Which you can get here. My jam from the tape is Knock U Down which I got for ya below.
And for all those people who still pay for music, some stuff to buy would be Eminem’s Relapse Refill, and what I’ve been listening to on repeat which is the collaboration of The black keys and several rap artists in a group/album entitled Blakroc which you can buy here. I’m gunna put a couple of the tracks below to give you a taste because if you like these two, I’d HIGHLY recommend buying this album.
Bleugh, getting back to work with snow and ice still covering all the roads is not that fun. Been looking at the albums recently that I’ve enjoyed over the last decade and taken a few days since my last post to compile them in a list. Not going to dilly dally about too much on this one. I’ll start today with just a simple countdown then I’ll do the top 10 in a little bit more depth soon.
So, here goes;
50. Get Cape, Wear Cape, Fly – The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager.
49. Jay-Z vs. Linkin Park – Collision Course
48. Sum 41 – All Killer, No Filler
47. The Darkness – One Way Ticket To Hell … And Back
36. Franz Ferdinand – You Could Have It So Much Better
35. Gorillaz – Gorillaz
34. The Raconteurs – Consolers of The Lonely
33. Johnny Cash – American V: A Hundred Highways
32. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Fever To Tell
31. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Stadium Arcadium
30. The White Stripes – Elephant
29. Coldplay – Parachutes
28. The Zutons – You Can Do Anything
27. Kanye West – Graduation
26. The Libertines – Up The Bracket
25. Muse – Black Holes & Revelations
24. Nine Inch Nails – With Teeth
23. The Killers – Hot Fuss
22. Kings of Leon – Because of The Times
21. Damien Rice – 9
20. Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
19. Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures
18. Coldplay – A Rush Of Blood To The Head
17. Foo Fighters – One By One
16. Arctic Monkeys – Favourite Worst Nightmare
15. Eminem – The Eminem Show
14. Metallica – Death Magnetic
13. Red Hot Chili Peppers – By The Way
12. The Strokes – Is This It?
11. Kings of Leon – Aha Shake Heartbreak
So theres the first part and I’ve also made a Spotify playlist with a selection of the best songs of all of the albums. Will be back very soon with the completion of the countdown.
Susan Boyle’s “I Dreamed a Dream” reigns for a sixth straight week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 137,000 (down 73%) according to Nielsen SoundScan, bringing her cumulative sales total up to 3,104,000. However, while that is a huge sales sum — especially considering it was totaled in just six weeks time — it’s not enough to overtake Taylor Swift’s “Fearless” as 2009’s top selling album. The latter is at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 this week, selling another 60,000 — bringing its 2009 total to 3,217,000.
Of course, Boyle can rest easy in knowing that her “Dream” is but one of just two albums to sell at least 3 million copies in the U.S. last year — something that hasn’t happened since 2006, when three albums did it. Boyle’s “Dream” is also 2009’s top selling album released last year (Swift’s “Fearless” dropped in late 2008), and was also the top selling physical album of 2009. Of its overall 2009 total, physical CDs accounted for 3,019,000 copies, whereas digital downloads made up a rather tiny 86,000.
Michael Jackson’s “Number Ones” is 2009’s third biggest-selling album, with 2.36 million according to SoundScan, while Lady Gaga’s “The Fame” is fourth with 2.24 million. Andrea Bocelli’s recent release “My Christmas” powered through 2.21 million in just nine weeks, making it the year’s fifth best. The soundtrack to “Hannah Montana: the Movie” is sixth (1.82 million), followed by the Black Eyed Peas’ “The E.N.D.” (No. 7 with 1.79 million), Eminem’s “Relapse” (No. 8 with 1.74 million), Jay-Z’s “The Blueprint 3″ (No. 9 with 1.52 million) and Kings of Leon’s “Only By the Night” (No. 10 with 1.40 million).
Fans of Michael Jackson will also be pleased to find out that the King of Pop owns four of the year’s top 20 best-selling albums. Not only is “Number Ones” at No. 3 on the year-end list, but the top 20 also houses “This Is It” (No. 12 with 1.29 million), “Thriller” (No. 14 with 1.27 million) and “The Essential Michael Jackson” (No. 20 with 1.15 million).
Jackson is the biggest selling albums artist for 2009 with more than 8.2 million album sales for the year. Swift comes in as the second biggest selling albums artist for 2009 with 4.6 million album sales and the second straight year of 4 million or more album sales.
For the 52-week period January 5, 2009 through January 3, 2010, there were 373.9 million albums sold in the U.S., down 12.7% compared to the same frame of 2008 where 428.4 million albums were sold. However, digital album sales in the same time frame comparison were up a hearty 16.1% — to an all-time high of 76.4 million in 2009 versus 65.8 million in 2008.
Vinyl LP aficionados can also celebrate in knowing that vinyl album sales totaled 2.5 million in 2009, up a whopping 33% compared to 2008 (1.88 million). More vinyl albums were purchased in 2009 than any other year in the history of Nielsen SoundScan (since 1991).
Total music purchases in 2009 — which include albums, singles, music videos and digital tracks — reached the 1.5 billion mark, making it the fifth consecutive year music sales have exceeded 1 billion [1.5 billion (2008), 1.4 billion (2007), 1.2 billion (2006), and 1.01 billion (2005)].
As for the top selling digital songs of the year, 2009 marked the first time a digital song broke the four million sales mark in a single year. And even better — four songs sailed past the 4 million mark.
The Black Eyed Peas own the Nos. 1 and 2 sellers: “Boom Boom Pow” (4.76 million) and “I Gotta Feeling” (4.43 million). Not to be outdone, Lady Gaga nets both the Nos. 3 and 5 biggest selling tunes with “Poker Face” (4.38 million) and “Just Dance” (3.20 million), respectively. Flo Rida’s “Right Round” (No. 4, 4.13 million), Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A.” (No. 6, 3.16 million), Jay Sean’s “Down” (No. 7, 3.05 million), All-American Rejects’ “Gives You Hell” (No. 8, 2.88 million), Owl City’s “Firelfies” (No. 9, 2.75 million) and Jason DeRulo’s “Whatcha Say” (No. 10, 2.71 million) round out the rest of the year’s top 10 best selling digital songs.
A whopping 1.159 billion digital tracks were sold in 2009, up 8.3% compared to 2008 (1.070 billion). The biggest selling act, in terms of digital song downloads, was Lady Gaga with more than 15 million in track sales.
via Taylor Swift Edges Susan Boyle For 2009’s Top-Selling Album | Billboard.com.
Unless Janet Jackson decides to show her other breast on prime time television, it is Congress and the FCC that need legislative restraints.
Oh, wait. That’s what the Constitution is for.
In an age of DVRs, online television, torrent downloads, YouTube and mute buttons, no one has any excuse for complaining about the noise of television commercials. It is every right of the advertiser to pump up the volume. People like to complain about anything and everything, but let’s be adults. If you don’t like the volume of commercials, find a way to eliminate the noise. Congress botches everything it puts its finger on. Why would noise regulations be any different?
On a side note, I personally almost never watch live television. The few shows I do follow are offered online where the commercials are few, if they exist at all, and turning the volume off is a snap. One’s outlook on life vastly improves when the intake of commercial noise is reduced.
Elton John is on your boy Eminem’s heels about his drug problem.
Via AP:
LONDON – Elton John says he has been helping American rapper Eminen fight drug problems for more than a year.
John says Eminem is succeeding in his well-publicized battle against substance abuse.
John told BBC Radio Saturday that as a recovered drug abuser he is happy to help people if they want the assistance but drugs make people so cocky and arrogant that they often reject help.
Eminem has written about his substance abuse problems in the past.
Mediaoutrage- Elton’s the wrong musical genius to ever drop the Lever 2000 around.
Lupe Fiasco released Enemy of the State back in November. Here’s my favorite track from the tape called popular demand
Grab it on Datpiff here. Another one to get is Wiz Khalifa’s Burn after rolling. Which you can get here. My jam from the tape is Knock U Down which I got for ya below.
and what I’ve been listening to on repeat which is the collaboration of The black keys and several rap artists in a group/album entitled Blakroc which you can buy here. I’m gunna put a couple of the tracks below to give you a taste because if you like these two, I’d HIGHLY recommend buying this album.
