Janelle Monáe – Tightrope ft. Big Boi

Dean Kalyan linked to this great pop video saying:

I dig this. In an age where music videos continue to devolve into nonsense and porn-inspired gimmicks, it’s nice to see people with talent are still able to shine.

Love the “moon walking” dance steps.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Janelle Monáe (born December 1, 1985 in Kansas City as Janelle Monáe Robinson) is a Grammy nominated American singer, songwriter, dancer, and performer. …

Janelle Monáe – official website

arrived Charlottetown …

I’m not actually the biggest celebrity here at Peakes Wharf.

Rick at "tourist central" Charlottetown 2010

We’ve got Cirque du Soleil, Randy Bachman and Fred Turner, Regis and Kelly, Great Big Sea …

My hosts Jim and Lea Rand put on a tub of mussels for us. All you can eat.

Rick's mussels Charlottetown 2010

great guitar – Springstein and Tom Morello

Dan recommended the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary concert in Madison Square Garden, New York City.

Here’s one terrific highlight clip:

Bruce Springsteen calls Tom Morello on stage to let him rage against the general harmony of the song, “The Ghost of Tom Joad”. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary in Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Watch the complete song on YouTube. (9min)

Tom Morello is a …

Grammy Award-winning American guitarist best known for his tenure with the bands Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, his acoustic solo act The Nightwatchman, and his newest group, Street Sweeper Social Club. He is best-known for his use of guitar effects, his innovative guitar solos, his use of the tapping and his heavy-riffs. He was featured as one of the guitarists in Rolling Stone’s “The Top 20 New Guitarists” article and was ranked #26 on Rolling Stone’s list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time”

He and Bruce both are leftist political activists, especially Morello. He’s pretty much an American Billy Bragg.

Rage Against The Machine, plays Springstein’s The Ghost of Tom Joad (1995) song in concert.

A New History of Gospel Music

Kate and I were impressed by author Bob Darden interviewed on the CBC radio program Tapestry. (I immediately went and subscribed to the show as an audiocast.)

People Get Ready!: A New History of Gospel Music (2004) is a passionate, celebratory, and carefully researched chronology of one of America’s greatest treasures. From Africa through the spirituals, from minstrel music through jubilee, and from traditional to contemporary gospel, People Get Ready! shows the links between styles, social patterns, and artists.

The emphasis is on the stories behind the songs and musicians. …

Amazon

not Gaga …

In 2010 … if Pop music is not entirely dead to me, Pop music videos are.

There’s nothing new in music videos so far as I’m concerned.

Despite that, Lady GaGa has become the first artist in history to have her music videos watched a total of one billion times online. (Perhaps the rising tide of all social media sites is raising all boats, including Gaga.)

Yet there’s nothing new about Gaga aside from her unashamed goal to be more famous than talented.

Seems to me her videos rehash Madonna (who was original) using Eminem’s style guide. Every scene is stolen from somewhere else, and not like a Quentin Tarantino homage. This is simply stale.

Click PLAY or watch Telephone ft. Beyoncé on YouTube. (10min)

Leave a comment if you can ‘splain me why I should be Gaga.

acoustic medley of TV show music

A one man band, Fredrik, of learnguitarez.net.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

0:01 Two and a Half Men
0:22 The Simpsons
0:36 O.C
1:00 Naruto
1:11 Family Guy
1:41 Married with Children
1:57 Cheers
2:16 That 70’s Show
2:41 Big Love
2:58 Freaks and Geeks
3:18 Malcolm in the Middle
3:35 X-Files
3:55 Firefly
4:09 The Office
4:24 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
4:44 Scrubs
4:54 True Blood
5:27 Charles in Charge
5:38 The Big Bang Theory
5:55 How I Met Your Mother
6:05 Mission Impossible
6:14 Friends

Thanks Warren.

Jason Mraz – I’m Yours

Kyle Shewfelt linked to this video. (He’s been spending a lot of time in Hawaii over the past couple of years. It’s got a great island vibe.)

“I’m Yours” was nominated for Grammy Award for Song of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 51st Grammy Awards. …

“I’m Yours” was immensely successful in the U.S. on the Billboard charts. At 76 weeks on the Hot 100, it holds the record for most weeks spent on the chart, breaking the previous record set by LeAnn Rimes’ song “How Do I Live” in 1998. It is currently the third best selling digital song of all time in the U.S., selling in excess of 4.4 million downloads. …

Wikipedia

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

OK go – This Too Shall Pass

Here’s another version of the viral video by OK go. This is the official vid featuring a Rube Goldberg machine.

EMI made an exception to their normal (idiotic) rule not to allow their artists to embed videos. This has already been seen over 6 million times.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.