N.I.C.E. (New, Intense, Cool, Exciting)

Just like Raivynn posted about new music, I thought I should do so too. I mean, who doesn't like new music???

I happened to be on Youtube the other day, listening to Kanye West while writing about Kanye West (it helps set the mood), when one of those Vevo ads came up on the bottom telling me to check out Asher Roth's new single "G.R.I.N.D. (Get Ready It's a New Day)."

Now, in case you don't already know, Asher Roth is the rapper who made the mini-hit "I Love College." So, for some reason, I watched that one first, and that gave me a good idea of what this new song was probably about (I mean, it is called "G.R.I.N.D."). But, seeing as I am a curious being I checked it out and it is quite a different song than I imagined. I looked up Asher Roth and he's this college aged rapper who makes, well, typical rap music. But this isn't typical rap music.



So, again, the song is called "G.R.I.N.D. (Get Ready It's a New Day)" by Asher Roth. Don't be fooled by the name, Roth's actually got something good this time.

Better Late Than Never

Kanye West's second album, "Late Registration", sent some ripples into the ocean of music. This album debuted at number one on the Billboard charts and ultimately sold three million copies in the U.S alone. In case you've lost count, it's forty on our little countdown.

"Late Registration" is the second of Kanye's education themed albums, the first being "The College Dropout" and the last being "Graduation." The album is truly Kanye, with double-meaning lyrics, tight beats and an array of artists featured. It's no joke when I say there's an array- everyone from T.I, Brandy and Cam'ron to Jamie Foxx, Lupe Fiasco and Adam Levine of the acclaimed band "Maroon 5" is on this album.

My favorite song on this album had to be "Drive Slow", a song that features Paul Wall and GLC. The song is slower and the lyrics focus on the idea that our generation shouldn't be so quick to grow up. Of course, Kanye doesn't just up and say this. But listening to him say, "Ya need to pump your brakes and drive slow homie", you get the point.

Two other favorites were "Roses", a touching anthem to Kanye's grandmother, who went through surgery before he was famous and almost didn't make it, and "Hey Ma" a song, aptly named for Kanye's mother, Donda West, who sadly passed away in November 2007.

Of course, they are the singles "Gold Digger" and "Touch the Sky", which many know and love. Seeing as Raivynn isn't here I can't be sure of what her favorites were, but I am about 85% sure she really likes "Heard Em' Say", the second song on the album that features Adam Levine. I also think she'd like "Celebration", another Kanye specialty on this album.

There was one notable thing I didn't like about this album- the fact that there were twenty-one songs in this album! I understand having to make your music and get it out there, but twenty-one!

Rai already gone on about what makes Kanye so good, but I'm going to go ahead and tell you guys why I love Kanye's music.

Kanye West has something the world is lacking these days- originality. Now, that's not to say he doesn't have influences, he does. But Kanye is his own man. He makes and produces his own music and he raps about everything- not just sex, drugs and money. Listening to his music, you'd probably think most of it's about him and his ego, but if you take the time to really listen to the words, Kanye's actually got a little bit of soul. He talks about everything from family to society to race in America today. What don't I like about Kanye? Well, he's a jackass. He really is. He says and does stupid stuff he knows he shouldn't, much like another gifted musician we know (cough cough, John Mayer, cough cough). But, as much of a jackass as he is, the man makes good music.

I know I'm not the only one to think this too, because Kanye has won forty-seven awards, fourteen of them being Grammys. So, the brotha can't be too bad. Try it yourself, look up one of these songs or others from our older post on Kanye West on Youtube, or whatever you use for music. Keep listening kiddies.

-Whitni

Like A What What??

So, when is the last time you went to the club? No? Okay, maybe not the club. Maybe a frat party, or a house party. Wherever you've been, there has probably been music playing, loudly. And, if you're like me, you probably picked on a song or two that you liked. Well, last weekend, I myself was in this scenario. At yet another Knox backlight party, with plenty of half-drunk people, I heard a really interesting, cool song that made absolutely no sense. And so I had to check it out!



And... after much tireless work, I found my club song. It's called 'Like A G6' by Far East Movement, a group of Korean guys from LA that have been around since the early 2000s. The song is very awesome, the group shows a lot of promise in their genre, which is a sweet combo of pop, hip hop, and rap. Their music has been on shows we love, like Entourage and CSI: Miami. These guys have nowhere to go but up.

Girl Power

This is nothing new (that is, if you pay attention to the world of popular music), but girls have kind of, well, taken over. This past year Lady Gaga, Kesha, Katy Perry, Beyonce, Susan Boyle, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, Alicia Keys, La Roux, and countless others spread across each and every genre have taken over the charts. AOL looked at the top ten songs so far this year and out of the ten, four are by female artists and two are by males and feature a female artist and one is by a co-ed country band by the name of Lady Antebellum.

http://www.aolradioblog.com/2010/02/03/best-songs-of-2010/

It's not just in music, but in acting and politics too. Earlier this year Kathryn Bigelow won the Oscar for Best Director, toppling James Cameron, the director of Avatar. She was the first woman to receive this award. In politics, Christine O'Donnell is stirring up ripples in Delaware where she threatens to uproot long nine-term U.S Congressman Mike Castle. Of course, I'm not personally advocating her (she's a Tea Party chick and I try not to pin myself down to a particular party), but she's paving the way. Even in colleges, girls are surpassing boys in record numbers.

I'm not trying to sound like a feminist, mostly because I'm not one. But, as a girl, it's hard to ignore this shifting in the world. Besides, I see this as a good thing. Maybe, in a couple years someone will redo that oh so famous song, "It's A Man's Man's Man's World" by the hardest working man in show biz, Mr. James Brown, so that it reflects the world we live in. Who knows, around here, almost anything is possible.

-Whitni

PS- I am aware it is no longer summer, but seeing as this project is far from done, let's continue the fun! I'm not one to start things and never finish them, except for when it comes to writing stories, so sit down and buckle up. This sound be fun. For you lovely readers, if you're out there, I hope you continue to read and even comment (it won't bite, I promise) because, you know, we music lovers have got to stick together.

Awkwardness: Those Weird Little Moments You Try To Avoid

I am now a college freshman, and with my new found knowledge (I know most of the campus by heart now), I would like to talk about a very serious subject.

Awkwardness.

See, I made you squirm. It happens to everybody, and there seems to be no cure in sight. But there are treatments, and people with nothing else to do are working very hard to find a way to help people who come in contact with it everyday.

And in case you have been living in a cave for the last 10 years, I will break it down. Awkwardness means many things- lacking skill, lacking balance (clumsiness), lacking social skills, hard to deal with, embarrassing. But most of all, I think it means lack of social grace.

For example. I was sitting at breakfast this morning, eating across from two girls from Nepal. Don't get me wrong, they were very nice and cool people. But it was still kind of awkward, I didn't know them well, and it was sometimes hard to hear them through their accents. We were polite, and smiled at each other, but, nevertheless, there was awkwardness.

Then again, maybe awkwardness isn't so bad. Maybe it reminds us that we're human, that we're new to stuff, that we don't have it all figured out. I bet the most famous relationships in history started with some awkward moments.

So, lets all raise our glasses to being awkward! Awkward forever!!

Or, maybe not...(Awkward turtle)

Rai
(P.S. Greetings from Galesburg!)

Whatever You Think This Is, That's What It Is

Like the title? Well, if you do, you're sure to like the title of the album being reviewed here- Arctic Monkey's debut album "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not."

I have to say, I do love the Arctic Monkeys. They've got that energy you can also find in artists like Panic At The Disco, The Fratellis (before they broke up) and The Strokes. This music makes me want to dance in my chair and slaps a smile on my face.

This album, which I will label from now on as "Whatever People Say...", is one so close to to be an album I love to love. Right now that spot is reserved by both Vampire Weekend albums, the first two All-American Rejects albums, Coldplay's last two albums, too many Beatles albums to name, The Fratellis debut album, too many John Mayer albums to name, and Mika's "Life In Cartoon Motion". Basically, I love all the songs on all of these albums, and that's no easy thing for me to do. But I got really, really close with this album.

My favourite on this album was "Mardy Bum", which never became a single but I wish it had. It's leaking with all the good stuff we music people love. The guitar riffs catch you right in the beginning of the song and as soon as you hear lead vocalist Alex Turner's beautiful British voice come through your speakers you melt where you stand. The song is poetry, a tale of misfortune and the not so nice side of people. Another favourite of mine is "You Probably Couldn't See for the Lights but You Were Staring Straight at Me". Whoo, that is a mouthful! Truthfully, I couldn't understand half of what Turner was saying over guitarist Jamie Cook and drummer Matt Helders, but I looked up the lyrics later so all was well.

My other favourite on "Whatever People Say..." happened to be the last song- "A Certain Romance". This song grabbed my attention from a very good book and was so good I had to listen again.

I am not exactly sure of which songs Raivynn was digging, but I know she liked "Mardy Bum" and I think she liked their hit off that album, "I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor".

I wasn't really into the song "Fake Tales of San Franciso." It didn't reach that level of good the other songs on this album reached. But even this song wasn't that bad.

I'm always split with bands like this. Bands that are so good you want them to be popular so everyone can hear their music, but you also want them to stay slightly unknown because you see their goodness when no one else does and that makes you feel special.

This album is great and I recommend it to all and everyone. It's definitely one for the books and I can't imagine a greater album to get a band off the ground and onto the charts.

Whitni

PS- This extra little part is just for the chickas reading this blog. I don't know about you girls, but it never hurts when a band is not only good, but the members aren't so bad-looking either. If you don't know what I mean, take one good look at Alex Turner.



PPS- Before hearing and reviewing this album I had only heard one notable song from the Arctic Monkeys. It's called "Fluorescent Adolescent" and it's off the album "Favourite Worst Nightmare". This is one amazing song and happens to be in my latest top ten, along with "Yellow" by Coldplay, "Hey Ma" by Cam'ron and "Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)" by Shakira. Check it out!