Thursday, January 31, 2008

Terry Tate Office Linebacker

Fucking with me is a problem

Now Myspace is Super Tuesday

The long wait is nearly over. MySpace says it will launch its developer platform on February 5th, offering outside application developers a means of integrating with the king of social networking. How much access the platform will give remains something of a mystery, but perhaps more important is that fact that MySpace will support Google's OpenSocial platform at launch.

Although much hyped, there have been very few implementations of OpenSocial so far. The MySpace announcement could give Google’s fledgling platform a much-needed shot in the arm.

Rival site Facebook has a significant head start in the platform wars, and it has already announced some new tools that will enable applications created for Facebook to run on other sites. Still, competition is rarely a bad thing, and widget developers are no doubt preparing for some sleepless nights once the MySpace platform launches.

As for how the platform might impact MySpace users, we’ll have to wait for more details as the official launch date gets closer. But judging by the OpenSocial and Facebook platforms, your dreams of an easy way to get all of your data out of MySpace are unlikely to come true.

In the end, the MySpace platform will likely be yet another way to take part in fun but meaningless quizzes, play time-wasting games, view more ads and partake in all the other joys social networking sites have to offer.

If you’re interested in building something for the new MySpace platform, there’s a signup page for developers (login required).

Kanooooooooooo

3 videos deep. Lil Mama may need your help-Not.

Hey, this girl has an album, please release it

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Wale Interview-Can i be your DJ?

YEAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH

By Chris Richburg

Award-winning beatsmith Lil Jon is diversifying the line up of his BME Click by adding various action sports athletes to the fold.



Among the newest members of the Click are pro-skateboarders Greg Lutzka and Ryan Sheckler (from MTV's Life of Ryan), pro-snowboarders Danny Kass and Dingo, and pro-surfer Travis Mellem.



Lil Jon, along with the entire BME Click, was on hand last week to support Kass as he competed in the SuperPipe competition at this year’s X-Games in Aspen.



The group officially welcomed in the event with a party for the BME Click during the Grenade Glove event at the BME/Oakley House.



"All of the BME athletes came together for the preview of the BME Grenade Glove and to support Danny Kass!," Lil Jon said. "BME Click was everywhere, from kids rockin' our bandanas and New Era hats, to athletes riding BME snowboards. It's always good to be with family, and that's what X-Games was."



The addition of the action sports stars marked the latest accomplishment for Lil Jon, who is noted for co-founding BME Recordings in 2001 and crafting hits for established artists such as Ciara, Usher and Three 6 Mafia.



"When Lil Jon wanted to get into action sports he wanted to pull the illest crew together, and it is an honor to be picked by that man," Kass said about joining the Click.

Eddie Vedder - Guaranteed

Just saw this video and i love this song.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

late news-Heath Ledger aka The Joker dead at 28

RIP

Marky Mark is back!!!!

Former rapper and now actor Mark Wahlberg will star in an untitled film based on the life of Miami drug lord, Jon Roberts. Roberts was chronicled in the hit documentary, Cocaine Cowboys. The movie, which will be directed by Peter Berg, details Roberts’ time in Vietnam as a decorated soldier to his role in distributing billions of dollars worth of cocaine for the Medellin drug cartel while residing in Miami. Roberts, who eventually served ten years in prison for distributing drugs, is featured in DJ Khaled’s video "I'm So Hood." The untitled movie is slated to go into production when the writer's strike ends.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Prodigy is speaking to the world

Platinum-selling artist Prodigy's album hits stores in March, and could be translated into as many as 1,400 different languages.
Photo: Michael Scott Jones

When Prodigy's next album drops, it could debut in nearly 1,500 different languages without the rapper having to so much as crack a translation dictionary.

The lyrics to "H.N.I.C. Part 2" will be translated using proprietary speech-conversion software developed by Voxonic. The company says the software can deliver Prodigy's lyrics in his own voice, in any spoken language.

"The prospect of having fans understand what I'm saying and repeat it in their language (drew me to) the company," said Prodigy in a phone interview just before he began a jail term for illegal gun possession. "Now, fans will like more than just the beat or the rhythm. They'll understand what I'm saying and relate to it."

So far, one of Prodigy's singles has been converted into Spanish, with negotiations ongoing to translate songs into German, French and Italian. The entire album, scheduled to drop March 9, could be released in any spoken language, from Urdu or Japanese to any of the 11 official languages recognized in South Africa. The music is being released by Voxonic's Vox Music Group in partnership with AAO Music/Reality.

As voice-recognition technology improves, translation tools are being utilized from the internet to war zones -- sometimes with unexpected results. Voxonic has high hopes for its application, both in the entertainment industry and beyond.

Voxonic president and avid rap music fan Arie Deutsch picked Prodigy for the project largely because of the rapper's global appeal. One-half of the platinum-selling duo Mobb Deep, Prodigy boasts a loyal international fan base thanks to the group's performances overseas since 1995.

"Hip-hop is a big genre internationally, but you have people around the world saying the words and not understanding them," said Deutsch. "This will change that."

Here's how the Voxonic translation process works. After translating the lyrics by hand, the text is rerecorded by a professional speaker in the selected language. Proprietary software is used to extract phonemes, or basic sounds, from Prodigy's original recording to create a voice model. The model is then applied to the spoken translation to produce the new lyrics in Prodigy's voice.

"A 10-minute sample is all we need to imprint his voice in Spanish, Italian or any language," said Deutsch.

Voxonic's software is able to convert any bit of recorded text into 1,468 different languages with 99 percent accuracy, according to the company.

Peter Mahoney, vice president and general manager at Nuance, a speech technology company, said he has seen steady improvement in the accuracy of speech software over the last several years.

"Processors are getting faster and scientists are inventing better algorithms," he said. "That allows us to do more sophisticated things that you couldn't do before."

Some musicologists wonder what will get lost in translation.

Mark Katz, professor of music at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of Capturing Sound: How Technology Has Changed Music, was skeptical about whether the vocally morphed tracks would remain intelligible and authentic.

"What do you do about a song like Kelis' 'Milkshake'?" he asked. "We all know what it means, but how would you convey that in 1,400 languages? You couldn't, and the song wouldn't be the same."

H. Samy Alim, a professor of anthropology at the University of California at Los Angeles who specializes in global hip-hop culture and sociolinguistics, also doubted the newly minted songs would retain the clever wordplay and innovative rhyme schemes inherent in popular music. Alim admitted he would "love to hear what it sounds like," but said the industry -- already overflowing with multilingual artists -- isn't exactly screaming for Voxonic's product.

"Who wants to hear a poorly translated version of their favorite American song?" he said.

Besides, he laughed, "How do you translate 'fo shizzle' in a way that retains its creativity and humor for a global audience?"

Prodigy said hearing his automated self rapping in another language was a surreal experience: "It's definitely weird. But this is going to be world-changing, and it sounds incredible."

Other applications for the technology include movie dubbing and political speeches, but Deutsch is wagering on massive international crossover appeal in the music industry. And so is Prodigy, who was recently brought on as a partner at Vox Music Group.

"I can't wait to hear myself rap in Arabic," he said.

coachella line up announced

Coachella 2008 Lineup Announced
Includes Portishead, Kraftwerk, Verve, Death Cab, MMJ, Breeders, Jens, M.I.A., Spiritualized, Justice, Battles, Dan Deacon, Rilo Kiley

Photo by Anoulay Tsai

Let the 2008 festival season begin, North America! Here we have the much-anticipated lineup for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, taking place April 25-27 at Empire Polo Field in hot, sticky Indio, California. Organizers made the big announcement at a press conference today in Mexico City, according to the LA Times.

The biggest surprise? No My Bloody Valentine, who were heavily rumored to be playing this year's fest. The second biggest surprise? How underwhelming it is in comparison to years past.

Among the big ticket items: Roger Waters of Pink Floyd performing Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety, Portishead playing their first American show in forever, the reunited Verve, uh, Jack Johnson. But hey, Kraftwerk!

Other acts announced include the Breeders, Death Cab for Cutie, Jens Lekman, My Morning Jacket, M.I.A., the Raconteurs, Rilo Kiley, Spiritualized, Love and Rockets, Battles, Dan Deacon, Justice, Kid Sister, Crystal Castles, UNKLE, Chromeo, Autolux, Louis XIV, Cold War Kids, Junkie XL, VHS or Beta, Cafe Tacuba Fatboy Slim, Midnight Juggernauts, Akron/Family, Does It Offend You, Yeah?, and the Cinematic Orchestra. So still pretty great, right?

Take a good look at that lineup, folks. Chances are you're going to see some combination of all of those names at least 15 more times within the next few months as the festival season gets underway.

AEG Live and Goldenvoice, the people behind Coachella, are expected to announce a festival for later in the summer which will take place at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Monday, January 7, 2008

Vampire Weekend - A-Punk

this is a cool video. I saw it on MTV2 this morning.

Downtown 81

Downtown 81 is a dodgy movie that doubles as essential viewing for anybody with even a passing interest in New York. Its chief point of entry, in broad cultural terms, is Jean-Michel Basquiat: The painter, only 19 when the film was shot and not yet the Basquiat of museum lore, stars as an ethereal wanderer of the East Village when the neighborhood played home to lots of weird artists and looked like a war zone. He walks around and happens into people and places-- though, as one of many bits of overlaid narration has it, "any resemblance between the characters and events depicted here and reality is...purely magical."

Not exactly. As a film, Downtown 81 is a groan-inducing mess, with a limp script (see: a solemn poetry-slam invocation of New York as "neon literature") and scores of poorly acted scenes between characters whose sole interest in the proceedings seems to derive from the fact that they were all good friends. It so happens, however, that all the friends at play were extremely cool and important figures on "the scene"-- the cross-section of culture that, in early-80s New York, included a rich cast immersed in art, fashion, design, dance, and especially music.

Music rescues Downtown 81, so much so that the film's goofy missteps and frivolous tone count now among its charms. The soundtrack bears this out: Recently released on CD for the first time (the movie itself was only resurrected in 2000), Downtown 81 offers a survey of 1980s art-music that differs from more austere post-minded compilations charged with making a case for their own worth. The mix of no-wave, punk-funk, and hip-hop heard here plays less like historical data and more like social music-- the kind of stuff that people scammed their way into shows to hear, that got laughed at, and danced to.

After the filmic theme, as played by Basquiat's band Gray, the social aspect rushes to the fore with Coati Mundi Hernandez's "K Pasa-Pop I"-- a manic spat of would-be world music in which background singers vamp behind Hernandez singing/rapping/scatting, as he himself says, "like a fruit fly on a pear." Hernandez was a member of Kid Creole & the Coconuts, who show up later with "Mr. Softee", a joyous romp that falls somewhere strange between funk and ska.

Much of Downtown 81's allure owes to the ways it collapses any perceived distance between such poppy party songs and the abstract anglings of, say, DNA. In the film, the two scenes featuring DNA make up some of the most electrifying footage of a band playing live ever. (Not to mention the film's DVD commentary, in which the director explains that DNA bassist Tim Wright spent many years in the jungles of Belize learning how to be a witch doctor and "actually is able to converse with flies.") The detuned exhortations of the band's "Blonde Redhead" and "Detached" work just as well as plain audio, and they slot in on the soundtrack with other nervy experiments by Tuxedomoon, Lydia Lunch, and Walter Steding and the Dragon People.

It's not as easy as weird and not-weird, though. There's no such distinction to be drawn on a compilation that flits between the stately jazz of the Lounge Lizards and freestyle rap by Melle Mel, a patch of Cuban music by Pablo Calogero, and the wiry new-wave of the Plastics. Followers of the era won't necessarily need more copies of Liquid Liquid's "Cavern" and James Chance's "Contort Yourself", but there's great worth in hearing such hits in the midst of lesser known-- and less contextualized-- gems that suggest New York in the early 80s was as much a refuge for fun as it was an asylum for free-thinking.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Hollywood Holt

Now i know what to do when i get my moped

Audio Bullys - We Don't Care

i like that commercial

Radiohead - Scotch Mist

SebastiAn - Killing in the Name of SebastiAn

Sebastien Tellier - Sexual Sportswear (RMX)

this the remix. not bad. I may bump this on my next mixtape. Coming out next month

Sebastien Tellier - Sexual Sportswear

ok, so i like me a british chick or two

By Kathy Iandoli


It’s been a bizarre ride to the stateside for Lily Allen. While jousting with the media’s incessant need to place her and Amy Winehouse at war, Lily’s been keeping her head above water through harsh paparazzi and missing her family and friends back home. The UK starlet may have canceled half of her US tour, but that doesn’t stop her fans from showering her with love as her album makes waves in both the pop and Hip-Hop worlds.

Her album, Alright, Still is still doing quite alright in both the U.S. and abroad, thanks to Lily’s knack for fusing multiple genres into one tight work. In fact, there’s a rumor in the air that Lily will be working with none other than Common on his next project.

We were fortunate enough to catch up with Lily Allen twice – at the beginning of her tour and post-cancellation. With so much going on in her life, Lily expresses her gratitude towards her fans for sticking with her through thick and thin. She vibed with us on the many rumors surrounding her, the kidnapping and rescue of her dog, and the biggest prices to pay for being one of music’s overseas “it” girls.

AllHipHop.com Alternatives: How is the adoption of Lady Sovereign working out?

Lily Allen: [laughs] She hasn’t really gotten back to me. We’re ready and waiting, so…

AHHA: What was the whole problem between the two of you? Weren’t you two cool?

Lily: Oh yeah, she just made a few funny comments about how my dad boosted my career, which bugged me a bit. I [made it] on my own though. [My dad] gave me advice like any dad would, but I worked hard to get where I am, so I just didn’t appreciate her comments.

AHHA: Since both of your parents are in entertainment, when you made the decision to sing, was it something they urged you to do? Or did they advise you to stay away?

Lily: A bit of both.

AHHA: But you didn’t listen, obviously. [laughs]

Lily: Yeah, that’s one thing I don’t do..is listen. [laughs]

AHHA: Since you’ve come out, who would you say is more vicious with paparazzi: The UK or the US?

Lily: Oh the UK. Some [paparazzi] in the US are quite friendly, actually. In the UK they’re in your face more.

AHHA: Have your fans been supportive of your decision to cancel a portion of your tour?

Lily: Very supportive. My fans are overwhelmingly supportive!

AHHA: How were your shows at Coachella and SXSW?

Lily: Coachella was brilliant. An amazing setting, cool crowd, perfect acts. A perfect festival! [SXSW] was fun! Quite interesting. I didn’t really get to spend a lot of time at the festival. I was staying kind of outside of it, really, but it was fun. Good energy, there.

AHHA: Really? What was the crowd like? I just imagine industry people and cowboys at SXSW.

Lily: You’re right. It was really kind of full of company executives and really industry, so the gig itself wasn’t like performing in front of my fans, but you know. It kind of felt a little bit like a fishbowl. [laughs]

AHHA: Being a UK artist, what was your take on the New York crowd?

Lily: Webster Hall had a really good vibe there. One of my top ten gigs of all time, I’d say. There was brilliant sound as well, and just great energy there.

AHHA: At your Irving Plaza show in New York, you were shocked to see a fan in the front row crying. What was that like?

Lily: Quite emotional.

AHHA: I recall later that night you were a featured DJ at the New York premiere of YOYO. How long have you been DJ’ing?

Lily: I’ve been DJ’ing ever since I bought my first record!

AHHA: Well you do have a strong foundation of great DJ’s surrounding you like Seb Chew, Mark Ronson, and Aaron Lacrate. Have they given you any pointers?

Lily: If they gave me any advice, it would be, “Don’t give up the day job yo!” [laughs]

AHHA: Will you be releasing any more mixtapes?

Lily: I would love to. I’m a perfectionist, so I never find the time to make one.

AHHA: What would you say is the most annoying aspect of being famous?

Lily: Being in airports all the time. I would say that and not being home with my family and friends. That’s the hardest part. If I could take them all on the road with me, I would be happy.

AHHA: A short while ago, your dog Maggie May was kidnapped! How did that happen?

Lily: She was stolen basically. There’s kind of a big…a lot of people are known in England to steal dogs for money. I’ve never experienced it before [then], but we have her back and I’m so happy!

AHHA: You have a personal relationship with your fans through your blogs. Have any fans ever crossed the line?

Lily: No, but sometimes I’ll get a call on my phone and I don’t know how they get my number, [laughs] like, “Come on let’s hang out!” And I’m, “Well, I’m a bit busy. I have some stuff to do.” My fans are really cool and I have a great relationship with them. They’re all very honest and tell it how it is.

AHHA: Your music has been readily embraced by the Hip-Hop community. How do you feel about that and your contribution to Hip-Hop music?

Lily: I’m very excited; it’s brilliant. Any contribution I can make towards the genre, I’m really happy to do so. My music kind of spread across the board, and I love Hip-Hop music. It’s what I’ve grown up listening to, and it’s very important to me…something I feel passionate about.

AHHA: Rumor has it you're working with Common on a project. Are you able to speak on that?

Lily: We hung out together in the studio…He is a good guy and gave me some good advice.

AHHA: So I understand you were a big fan of TLC…

Lily: TLC was one of my first albums! They had this incredible independence, and I just remember listening to them all the time in my room when I was growing up.

AHHA: Do you feel that we have a lot of those female role models around now?

Lily: I mean yeah, there’s a lot of good [female] artists around now. I wouldn’t say “role models” because that’s a word I don’t like to use often, but musically there’s a lot coming out this year that will surprise us.

AHHA: I heard somewhere that someone compared you to Paris Hilton…

Lily: [laughs] Yeah I do not get that comparison.

AHHA: There was also a rumor circulating that your accent was fake.

Lily: Yeah, I don’t know why. [laughs] It’s not fake, but it is what it is. Mine is more of a North London accent.

AHHA: Let’s talk about your videos. They’re so detailed and fit perfectly with your songs. Do you have any input in the creative process for the videos?

Lily: Oh yeah I have creative input. I have an idea and kind of develop it. I like the fact that all of my videos have all been different in how they feel. Songs like “Smile,” “Littlest Things” and “Alfie” are all like completely different songs and what I wanted to do in those videos was portray that difference from black and white to using a puppet. It’s important for me to get a different feel and not be…I want people to be surprised and not like, “Oh yeah I thought she’d come with that idea.”

AHHA: In your song "Knock Em Out" you describe an annoying encounter with a guy who can't take a hint. What would you say is the worst pickup line you've ever been told?

Lily: “I’d like to get in your pants!”

AHHA: [laughs] Wow. Your sense of style is pretty fresh and often imitated. If you had one designer to pick to create an entire wardrobe, who would it be?

Lily: I would ask Karl Lagerfield to make my wardrobe…or maybe we could work together!

AHHA: What about your new clothing line coming out?

Lily: My line is with a new look. I modeled the designs on prom dresses and dresses I wear everyday. There are several different designs – all individual, bright, comfortable, and easy to wear!

AHHA: What’s your favorite brand of shoe?

Lily: Christian Loboutin

AHHA: If you had to choose, which would you give up: Nikes or junk food?

Lily: Junk food.

AHHA: Tupac or Biggie?

Lily: Biggie. I had a show in Glasgow [on March 9] and held a silence for him. I’m not even sure most of the crowd knew who Biggie was, but it was something I [wanted] to do.

AHHA: Your dream Hip-Hop collaboration?

Lily: Whoa. Jay-Z and Timbaland!

AHHA: If you could come out as any artist during any era, who would it be?

Lily: Joe Strummer in the ‘70s or Jay-Z today!

AHHA: If you weren't here doing this, where would you be?

Lily: I’d be a florist.

Mike Skinner says .....

Mike Skinner, aka the Streets, put his label the Beats out to pasture last month. In a little ceremony that took place the Friday before Christmas, Skinner and fellow label head Ted Mayhem gave a speech and had a poetry reading, while Skinner performed a song as a sort of eulogy in the presence of friends of the label.

While it existed, the Beats served as the home of the Mitchell Brothers, Professor Green, Trim, Example, and Neon Hitch, among others. A limerick addressed from "Warner Bros Promotions" and pictured below (via Skinner's MySpace blog) explains the Beats' retirement concisely: "the profit margins got thinner and thinner."

Skinner spoke to NME.com today and elaborated a little on the decision to end the Beats (no rhymes here, alas): "It just comes down to the fact that the traditional record label is dead. The Beats represents me growing up. Spectating was more nerve-wracking than performing. What I'm doing now is looking for the thing you can create that embraces the next generation. I'm really into what you can do online and I'd rather be at the center of it." Insert obligatory Radiohead mention here.

As for Skinner's live-instrumentation follow-up to 2006's The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living, it's still coming along slowly but steadily. He's obviously overshot his goal of a release by Christmas, but he hasn't announced a make-up release date. May we suggest he title the album It'll Get There When It Gets There?

The Go Team on Tour

You know that friend of yours who's really into the Go! Team? The one who uses, say, "Huddle Formation" as their auditory double-shot, blasting that sucker every time he or she needs to get things accomplished? That's an awfully efficient friend, I'll bet. Just imagine how much your pal Zippy would get done if he/she were actually in the Go! Team, and lighting that particular fire under his/her own hindparts? Why, they'd be a human dynamo!

Well, your productive pal is (almost certainly) not in the Go! Team, but guess who is? That's right, the Go! Team are! And the self-powered Brightonites will blast through both the UK and Portugal in the weeks, right after they wrap up their previously announced journey Down Under. Hurry on up and see these guys already, willya? [MORE...]

The is no JUSTICE, Just US.

Seeing Justice DJ or perform or do whatever they decide to do on stage has kinda become an unofficial chance for us to lose our shit and flail around. We did it at our FADER 50 Party and we'll be doing it again here. DUDES Justice are playing at THE GARDEN! That place can hold a lot of people! We got hooked up with the advance info for the show and are giving it to you now so you can get yourselves some tickets before they officially go on sale. Go here to buy them, the password is "edbanger." See you there.

Keep Brooklyn Brooklyn

Gentrification is just one of those inescapable beasts when it comes to the NYC housing market (but hey, it got us an organic market in Bushwick!) That said, few developments cause enough stir to inspire twenty authors (including some favorites of ours) to contribute to an anthology in defense of their neighborhood. Brooklyn Was Mine is a collection of essays, stories, and poems from notable authors like Jonathan Lethem, Dinaw Mengetsu and Robert Sullivan (plus a whole bunch more) was released Wednesday to directly benefit Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn—a community organization committed to fighting Forest City Ratner’s extensive Atlantic Yards development. The collection is only like fifteen bucks, and there are two readings in the coming weeks to support the organization. There's more info on the book, the organization and the readings here.

Welcome Back 2008 bitches