More ranting, Orianthi, and the Grammys.

In the light of news that the Grammy nominees have been released, I truly am not surprised that Taylor Swift has been given 8..... 8... YES 8, nominations for whatever categories. Only beaten by Beyonce with... 10... YES 10 nominations.

I may be extra hard on the mainstream drivel but somebody seriously needs to explain how or why Beyonce is so highly regarded as the Queen on the pop scene right now? Her music has hardly improved from when she was in Destiny's Child and the only reason I can see is because she got with Jay-Z that suddenly boosted her profile? I'll admit that her live performances are flashy, if not over the top but her songs are seriously quite rubbish. 3 off the top of my head.. the one which goes "To the left to the left", Single Ladies, and Sweet Dreams, all crap. I mean who seriously can listen through Sweet Dreams? Her vocals are nothing special, the beats nothing new, so why? Is it because of her Divaness? You tell me.

Moving on to Taylor Swift, this one is not so mind-boggling as she is manufactured to sell CDs to tweens and teens with songs moms would approve of. But seriously? Nominated for Grammys? I mean, how can anyone take her music seriously? Every song sounds so similar even in the chords used and don't even get me started on her singing ability. I believe that has been covered many times over by other writers out there. Just look around for her live performances.

And then there's this:

Record of the Year: Beyonce's "Halo," Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feeling," Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody," Lady Gaga's "Poker Face," Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me."

Make of that what you will. That's the state of the music industry now. IT'S THE GRAMMYS btw. The only decent song in there is Use Somebody and we all know it's just there to make up the numbers.

This is an award that has been given to truly talented artists and we can just look through the past winners to see what mainstream music has become.

In the 50s and 60s, winners included Frank Sinatra, Henry Mancini, and Tony Bennett to name a few.

In the 70s, we had the Eagles, Billy Joel, Carole King, and Roberta Flack

In the 80s, along came Michael Jackson and Tina Turner.

And in the 90s, we still had Eric Clapton, Whitney Houston, Nat King Cole, Phil Collins and Celine Dion.

After the Millennium, winners included U2, Coldplay, and Norah Jones.

All the names I've listed out are respected proper talented artists. Closer to today though, names such as Green Day, and Amy Winehouse have managed to bag Grammys, god knows how. Then again, I remember last year, we had the Jonas Brothers perform at the Grammys and suddenly it's all a little clearer.

Anyway enough of the Grammys, I don't think anyone, even in the music industry takes it too seriously anyway. Look on wikipedia for what Maynard James Keenan has to say about it for example.

No, today I'm here to give us a bit of hope. You might have heard of her and seen her video on MTV by now, but I'm still sure the majority haven't even heard of her and I think that's an injustice when we have hacks like Taylor Swift at the top of the charts. Anyway, I present you, Orianthi. She's released an album now and her video, According to You is on MTV, you can search for it on Youtube as for some reason I can't embed it. The song isn't great but it's a smart way to penetrate the market to lead them on to what she is actually capable of.

Santana has been one of the few people who have backed her and she was the guitarist on MJ's This is It tour. The girl can ACTUALLY play guitar and is damn good at it. Anyway here are some clips.


Santana on her and some clips of her live.


Orianthi - According to You Live.


This one is a compilation but mostly of her playing guitar.

Yesterday is history,
Tomorrow is a mystery,
Today is a gift,
That's why it's called the present.

Music for the Lounge.

Alright, after a considerable pause in which I have started Uni and then celebrated CNY, I feel it's time to post again. Since I've been labeled a "womanizer" because I post nice pictures of hot women, this week I'll go back to giving you guys and girls some music. Don't panic though, my chick of the week series will be back when I find another nice one.

So down to business. This week's music will be something slightly different and maybe less played or known but it'll be lounge music. Lounge music is very wide ranging from soft jazz to upbeat modern electro beats. Well my compilation is a sort of middle ground.

Have chic chill-out parties that you can't really find the music to go with? This will be suitable for you, it's chilled out, laid back, yet the beat is not too slow to ensure you have a jazzy background to people mingling or just chilling out. Y'know, music that would even be at home at a swanky art gallery party or something like that. Or even, after a long day, you just want to sit back, have a drink and enjoy for a bit, this is for you.

Ladies and gentlemen, music:

1) Incubus - Are You In? (Paul Oakenfold remix)
Alright Incubus and Paul Oakenfold might turn you off abit for lounge stuff but fear not. This is definitely one of my favourite lounge songs, the beat is so chill out the whole vibe of the song just really flows along.

2) Bebel Gilberto - Aganju (The Latin Project remix)
Now this is almost the epitome of lounge music in my opinion. As it is, Bebel Gilberto is one of my favourite musicians because her music is just beautiful, if you want softer lounge music definitely check out her stuff. This remix ups the tempo a little, giving the song a beat and just adding that little bit of chic to it. Suitable loud or just flowing background music. I made up this post almost solely based around this song.

3) Jazzanova - No Use (feat. Clara Hill)
Jazzanova, another of the lounge specialists. This is one band where you can just put them on and do other stuff (mingle, surf the net). It's inobtrusive yet it just gives you something to groove to in the background. All their stuff just goes along, with classy beats to compliment the jazzy melodies. Great for dress-up parties.

4) Liquid Lounge - Complete Life (Jazzanova remix)
As you can see, the artist's name is already Liquid Lounge, complete with a Jazzanova remix, the song builds slowly and bounces along, bubbling just under the surface. Once again you can just leave it on softly and you may not notice each and every note or melody in the song but this is where it excels, in the background hardly noticed but appreciated. It's a long song but you probably won't notice it is as it's just chilled out beats.

Hope you guys and girls enjoy this one, something a little different.

You can download it here.

The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe,
is that none of it has tried to contact us.

Brit Rock

Alrightey, get down to getting this out and proper. Just got done with Youth '09 BOTB, went pretty well, undying support from our friends meant we got a consolation prize.

God, it's been one hell of a hectic week. Started Uni on wednesday, 9 to 5, Thurs, 9 to 5, and Friday, 9 to 1, after which I rushed off to perform in the preliminary rounds of the Battle. Jammed basically every night till late. Which explains why I didn't have the chance to update this.

Well, put something together for you guys and girls, some good ol Brit(British) Rock to groove to or whatever you do when you listen to music.

This contains:

1) Muse - Exo-politics
Taken from their album "Black Holes and Revelations", this one is extremely catchy and will stay in your head for days if your not careful. Matt Bellamy again stellar with his Thom Yorkish vocals and the backing band superb as ever.

2) Kings of Leon - Be Somebody
Alright, if you don't already know Kings of Leon, they are at the forefront of Brit music now. Technically they're American but I just had to put this in here. Latest album is so atmospheric, with his signature vocals. If you like this, check out Sex on Fire.

3) Kasabian - Shoot the Runner
Brilliant once again from the Leicester rockers, stand out song from the album and sickeningly catchy bass-line. One of my favourites from them.

4) Arctic Monkeys - D is for Dangerous
Unless you've been living under a rock (no pun intended), you must have heard of the Monkeys. Catchy catchy catchy, brilliant Brit accent. The line "D is fer Dangerous and tryin ter keep yer trousers on" will be repeated in your head.

5) The Killers - For Reasons Unknown
Ah, the self proclaimed best Brit band from USA, this will grow on you. Atmospheric and with memorable lines all over the place. Will have you coming back again and again. I never really liked the Killers but after repeated listens of Sam's Town, found myself singing certain parts to myself and this song is definitely one of them.

Download the file here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?5mxznigiw1m

Hope you enjoy your newfound music and keep rocking. I'll continue with my music for moods series after this.

Music for the Night.

Hey this will be the first part in my series of 5 song compilations in tune (no pun intended) with moods. Technically it's my second as I've already posted a Emo one some time ago.

This compilation is a series of songs that you might want to listen to after a long day, relaxing in front of your PC, maybe chatting, having a drink or just spacing out. They're rather downbeat and might tug at your heart, you know for those nights where you feel maybe a little too lonely?

Ah well, enough of me droning on, good music is good music.

Inside is:
1) John Mayer - Wheel
From his Heavier Things album, one of the songs I like most from John. Slow, heavy guitar leads the song which slowly builds. Nice to sing along to as well.

2) Sigur Ros - Ara Batur
From their latest album, this one is simply beautiful. Recorded live (in one take) they have a full choir joining in at the end. This song either puts a smile on your face or a tear in your eye. Beautiful, breathtaking stuff.

3) John Frusciante - Hope
This one is a semi-depressing song by RHCP's guitarist from his Curtains album, just him singing with a guitar. Very barebones which is why you can feel his emotion coming through. Just the opening line, "I feel the hope, running low." Definitely one of my favourite songs.

4) Jose Gonzalez - Deadweight on Velveteen
Lifted from his Veneer album, this one is typical Jose, soft wispy acoustic guitar lines running and him almost whispering the lyrics. Once again, filled with emotion.

5) The Cinematic Orchestra - To Build A Home
From their Ma Fleur album, this one just sounds sad from start to finish. Song starts out slow and grows, having it's up and downs but the whole feel of the song is just that of bittersweetness. Tugs at the heart strings.

To download it, click this link:
http://rapidshare.com/files/160335915/Music_for_the_Night.zip.html

Choose free user, wait for the timer to countdown and follow the instructions from there.

Cheers and enjoy.

P.S. Sorry the file's a little big, the Sigur Ros song is 21mb but it's well worth it.

Time is irrelevant,
it's what you do with it that matters.

Emo/Slow Compilation.

Hey loyal readers, sorry to have kept all of you waiting, anxiously checking back day after day with nothing new. To make for it, I am giving all of you a treat of sorts. This will be the first of my music compilations, which I will drop around for you guys and gals every once in a while.

This one will be an emo playlist of sorts. Not Emo as in Hardcore/Emo/Bullshit stuff. Emo as in emotional/slow/nightime songs. Good for driving alone, or spending those lonely nights where you feel like wallowing in your own sadness. Well, here it is. 10 songs to enjoy.

1. Beck - Guess I'm Doing Fine
   
2. Brooke Fraser - Scarlet
3. Evanescence - Good Enough
4. Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek
5. Enya - May It Be
6. Jimmy Eats World - My Sundown
7. John Mayer - Dreaming with a Broken Heart
8. Sia - Breathe Me
9. Norah Jones - Lullaby
10. Porcupine Tree - Feel so Low

All the songs can be downloaded here:
Emo/Slow Compilation

Don't worry, It's not some virus. Just follow the instructions from that site and there you go, 10 songs to cry to.

Review of The Dark Knight will be up soon, hopefully by Monday. Till then, hang tight.

The night is darkest just before dawn.