Riva Starr's EP was released a little over two months ago, a long time to many bloggers, but not me. Scratch N' Itch is still one of the freshest Electro/Tech-House albums I have heard in a long time. Listening to it has encouraged me to check out more from Southern Fried Records. Riva Starr is right up there with Dusty Kid when it comes to my favorite artists from the label. I still think Crookers are overrated though. Im exited for Starr's new EP War Drums which is scheduled to drop in June. Peace & Beat

And while the band is devastated that pirates, pirates!, have released Kung Fu Lover into the wild in this inauspicious manner, well, if you've heard it, we'd still like to know what you think, so here is a place for you to comment.

If you didn't stumble across the Kung Fu Lover torrent in the last few days, for instance by searching "Kung Fu Lover" on isohunt or the Pirate Bay, we are certain that you would not have any luck if you tried now.  It would be completely futile.  Don't even waste your time.

But please comment, if the spirit moves you.

extended virsion: here it is

For now on i will post almost everyweek

Another great illustrator is Johnny Cheuk. 

Photographer Naoya Katakeyama

I don't remember where I got the name or how I even learned about the artist, but I received his book for Christmas one year and have always loved the layout of the photographs in the book. I used it as inspiration when designing the layout of our wedding album. You can still find the book on Amazon, but the price has gone up I think. It's worth every single penny. 

I wasn't all that impressed with the print quality of the book from the Apple printing services that can be used from Aperture. I did all the color correcting and cropping in Aperture and never even touched Photoshop. I like the convenience of being able to design the book through the same program but it's a shame the print quality is weak. On some pages you can see lines on the images like it was printed on an inkjet printer.

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On Jumbo I've been listening to High Contrast's High Society album and Tough Guys Don't Dance. I'm loving every minute if it. 

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This has been tossed around the web lately but I only saw it today for the first time. It's so elaborate, it's massive. Top 5.

[audio http://sq.txdnl.com/mwt/h/a/w/d/hawdeet12/playlists/189638/1520923.mp3]

About the Song

This song is among the few upbeat songs that are included in Leona's album, but yet it is a very good and powerful song. I love the lyrics which I think are good for a bad breakup, especially when you think that it was unfair and that he/she is coming back. (yh I just said that) The song itself fused with Leona's voice gives a vibe of confidence. Enjoy!

Thirstquenchin' Asskickin' Motivatin' Goodbuzzin' Cooltalkin' Highwalkin' Fastlivin' Evergivin' Coolfizzin' Bad Ass. Use as directed:

Quiet Village - "Circus of Horror"

Notorius B.I.G. - "Party and Bullshit (Ratatat Remix)

Justice - Stress (Auto Remix)

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.1200722&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26] from youtube.com posted with vodpod

       I've always wondered how these networks do there exit polling.  I'd like to see them do it Live and In person.  Because I  Know I've never been Polled once.  Makes me wonder if or when they will run into a situation when they'll call it wrong based on Exit Poll Numbers.   Wait They're Updating again...YES!  Actual Votes This Time!  1% of the Vote in and Hillary is Leading 56% - 36%.....wait.  That's Only 92%...this isn't a Poll, Doesn't the Breakdown have to Make up 100% of those That voted???  Does This Mean that 8% of the People who Voted....DIDN'T VOTE?  or maybe they Voted for a Write in Candidate that CNN Hasn't got listed.  It's Possible.  Same Type of Thing for The Republicans.  11% of the Vote is Invisible, They Voted for No one,  or that ever popular Write in Candidate "Candidate to be named later"

          I'd Vote for him(or her).  Wouldn't you?  No sniper fire, No reverend wrong, No age issues.  Sounds Good to me.

       Final Update, at 10:00 p.m.  Hillary's Up 64% -29% with 38% of the Vote in.

       In other Political News, I've Got a Story here that Involves The President, and Oil.  But Not Iraq.  I thought that was a love triangle that he Liked, but I guess he can't have that partner this go round.  Quoting the AP Story:

       Congress voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to challenge President Bush to temporarily halt the daily shipment of thousands of barrels of oil into the government's emergency reserve.  Lawmakers disagreed on what — if any — impact the suspension might have on gasoline prices and acknowledged it was but "a modest step" in addressing public anger over soaring energy costs.  Bush has steadfastly refused to halt shipments of about 70,000 barrel barrels of oil a day into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a system of salt caverns on the Gulf coast. The reserve, created to respond to major oil supply disruptions, holds 701 million barrels and is at 97 percent of capacity. END QUOTE.  For the whole story click here --->       http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5imPz0z6szykAL-CAKZDEZOAiDREgD90L2IUO0

       They don't know if it will work, they admit it is But a Modest step.  Several states are taking steps To Help alleviate the prices at the Pump, one That was Introduced on a Nationwide level to the Public By both Hillary Clinton and John McCain, and was Universally Decried as Being Insignificant, not Enough to do Anything for the economy and gas prices and it could easily be countered by the gas companies witha small hike in prices. The Gas tax Holiday.  This will be just as ineffective as that.  Maybe more so, because the gas tax holiday hasn't been tried on a Nationwide basis, and won't be, while this will get the chance to fail just as miserably as they say the gas tax holiday would.

      I am finding myself in the Uncomfortable position of Agreeing with the President here.  The President opposes This and Any Maneuver to stop the continued buildup of and delivery to the National reserve.

       I Agree with Georgie Porgie??? Oh SHIT!   Had to happen sometime tho, I guess.  What's that Bazooka Joe Saying, "A broken clock is still right twice a day."?  Something Like that applies here.  The man can't be wrong all the Time no matter how he tries.

      In International news, They are still Digging out from that Major quake In China.  At least 13,000 people are dead, and Thousands are missing, But this isn't Myanmar.  China cares about it's own.  And knows what to do.  Quoting the Story from Reuters: 

       "Some 30,000 troops will join 20,000 already digging through rubble in the southwest province of Sichuan, where Monday's 7.9-magnitude earthquake crumpled homes, schools and hospitals, the Xinhua news agency reported, citing a Ministry of Defence spokesman.  Across the region there were clusters of weary survivors and rescuers pulling at broken chunks of buildings and peering into crevices in hopes of finding someone still alive.  "There's still people inside, there's still people inside!" shouted a man surnamed Zhang, gesturing at the rubble of a building in Dujiangyan. "There must be a dozen dead people in there," he said.  The national death toll from the quake has climbed past 13,000 and is likely to rise steeply after media said 19,000 people were buried in rubble in just one area of Sichuan."  END QUOTE.  For the entire story, click here ---> http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSSP50273

       Let's hope and pray that they can get as many people out of their as humanly possible.  The Chinese May be Less than the best people on earth when it comes to Tibet, But they care about their own people, and you can rest assured they will do everything they can to help get those people whatever help they need.

       I'll cover Zimbabwe and Myanmar in depth at some later date.   The Time has Come to speak of Music.

       Guitar: I continued in The same vein as yesterday, Insofar that I continued to get away from the Legato playing and went speed picking for all I was worth.  And I severely beat the Arpeggios today as well. Several Times I went to The 3 string major and minor 4 note, first time I went at it kind slow, On the Acousitc, By the Time I got to my third run through, I was On the electric, I was all sorts of distorted and I was Blazin!

     I also did a Little bit of jammin with the radio.  Headphones On One ear only, while listening to XM and jamming with Ozzy Osbourne "You can't kill rock and roll"  Motley Crue "Kickstart My Heart"  and  Danzig "Twist of Cain"...no wait it wasn't twist... Dammit I don't remember the song.   But I had fun.  The riff was  A,E,A,Eb,A,D,A,C,A,C,A.  If you read this, Play it and get back to me with the name of the song if possible.  I have the Alzheimer's again, can't remember the name of the song.  :-P

       I tried to play several riffs and get some Playing high uip the neck in today.  I was Up above the 20th fret a fair bit.  I am absolutely Ecstatic that I have those extra fret to play with.  It was such a hassle to Not be able to play High up on the Neck because the Only working guitars I had were acoustics, and those acoustics aren't cutaways, the Highest I was reaching there was the 17th fret, 18th On a good day.  Today I was playing around, Just to do it, I was speed riffing In B Minor, Started with a 2+ octave run that started On the 17th fret on the 6th string and ended on the 24th fret on the first string.  Nothing Pretty, and any guitarist with a half a fingers worth of talent should be able to play what I played there, But it was , and is a delight Just to Rip that High on the fretboard when you've been restricted in your playing like I was.

     Nothing Says love like Jackhammer riffin at the 24th fret.  I'm Out!  JAM ON!

Today's Nuggets, Via Wikiquote:  I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.  Isaac Newton

Theology is never any help; it is searching in a dark cellar at midnight for a black cat that isn't there. Theologians can persuade themselves of anything. Oh, my church, too — but at least mine is honestly pantheistic. Anyone who can worship a trinity and insist that his religion is a monotheism can believe anything just give him time to rationalize it. Forgive me for being blunt.   Lucifer, from the Book,  Job: A Comedy of Justice, By Robert A. Heinlein

"I'm not a girl, but if you look at me closely............"

Paul Moss: I'm not signing in pink

Oh my oh my!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ah, his first gig since being in the slammer and Pete Doherty receives a variety of rowdy  audience scuffles. But the Doherty man seemed to go with it the whole night. He simply lit up a cigarette after the fights and broke the anti-smoking law. F--- Forever, he probably felt. Read more here.

Did this the same day that he did Clue's joint. Same jacket.

PREVIOUSLY: Nas Sits Down For Some Nigger Talk Pt. 1

Even it's a trend now for kids.

No offense to Tektonik dancers. The steps look as difficult as hell but I still can't find myself to enjoy the hip hop and techno blend.

My preference is still more highly inclined to:

The final part to Step Up 2: The Streets

"...then hell, we'll be out doing our thing where the streets started." Cool line

Yeah, hip hop and a mix of ballet. Sweet.

And of course, I won't miss out on ballyhooing Se7en, my favorite Korean baby,

Now for those of you who know me, I LOVE MADONNA!!!!!!!!!  I have been in love with her since 1984 when I was in the fourth grade and saw the music video for "Like A Virgin" at a friends house on MTV (we did not have cable in my family's house until 2000).  Ever since I have been obsessed with the Material Girl, Queen of Pop.  I have all her albums and admire all her work in music and many transformations.  So today, I will post Juli's favorite song of the day, "Ray of Light" for your viewing and listening enjoyment.

You already know! I know people been dying for this record to drop. Well, here you go dopeboyz and dopegirlz. Shakewins again! Ahh man, this shit is dope, even Wayne comes off on this. Enough said. Ya'll now fuckin with the best in the woooooooorld.

DOWNLOAD: Lil Wayne - Lollipop (rmx) f. Kanye West [or ShareBee]

Hosted by comedienne and actress Wanda Sykes, this year’s event, in preparation for the Apollo’s 75^th Anniversary, will commemorate the life and music of Apollo Legend Smokey Robinson with a ceremony inducting the performer into the Apollo Legends Hall of Fame where he will join predecessors Gladys Knight, James Brown, Ella Fitzgerald and Little Richard. The awards ceremony will continue with the Ruby Dee & Ossie Davis Arts and Humanitarian Award given to Pauletta and Denzel Washington as well as appearances by the presenters of the evening including Oscar nominated actress, Ruby Dee; Oscar nominated actor, Terrence Howard and Grammy-Award winner, Janet Jackson.  The corporate award will be presented to Verizon for their ongoing commitment to the community.  The much-anticipated evening will commence in the historic, legendary Apollo Theater where guests will be entertained with a wide range of performances and appearances by the Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter India.Arie, Nnenna Freelon, and Earth Wind & Fire. The event will culminate with the Apollo Supper Club—a stylish lounge atmosphere featuring the generous gourmet creations of celebrity chef, Alexander Smalls prepared by Great Performances; plentiful libations courtesy of Belvedere and late-night dancing to music spun by DJ D-Nice.

Jonelle Procope, president and CEO of the Apollo Theater Foundation, explained that “as the Apollo prepares to enter into its 75^th anniversary next year, we continue to champion the mission of honoring the history of our much revered Theater as well as securing its future. This is more than a venue. The Apollo is an experience and this year’s Spring Benefit, in particular, completely embodies that sentiment. This is the one event where everyone from the business community to the entertainment world to the Harlem community- can come and celebrate and help preserve their Apollo Theater.”

Richard Parsons, chairman of the Apollo’s board of directors, expressed the significance of the evening and the institution as “the Apollo Theater shares a unique relationship with everyone who walks through its doors – from the countless stars that were born on its stage to its world-famous, international audience to the thousands in Harlem ’s communities served by its programs. With the support of businesses combined with commitments from civic-minded individuals, this milestone event will go far in helping to guarantee the future of the Apollo and its programs.”

Time Warner Cable is the Title Sponsor for the event. Lead Sponsors include American Airlines, Coca-Cola, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, Hearst Corporation, Skadden Arps, Time Warner, TV One, Verizon and W Hotels.

Tickets are available for $1,000.  To purchase tickets or to make a donation to the Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc., call 800.618.3444. Press inquiries contact Jake Spitz at 646.688.6379 or jake@expagency.com.

About the Apollo Theater 

The Apollo Theater is one of Harlem , New York City, and America ’s most iconic and enduring cultural institutions.  The Apollo was one of the first theaters in New York , and the country, to integrate, welcoming traditionally African-American, Hispanic, and local immigrant populations, as well as headlining uniquely talented entertainers who found it difficult to gain entrance to other venues of similar size and resources.  For that reason, the Apollo has been a pioneer in presenting the cultural contributions of black and Latino communities and played a central role in the development of American music into the 21^st century.  The Apollo has launched and nurtured the careers of seemingly countless legendary performers, including Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Sara Vaughan, James Brown, Gladys Knight, Michael Jackson, Lauren Hill, and Alicia Keys.

The Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc., was established as a nonprofit, charitable organization in 1991 and is dedicated to the preservation and development of the Apollo Theater.  The Foundation brought stability to the Theater’s operations and focused its efforts on reinvigorating the Apollo legend.  Over the past few years, the Apollo has roughly tripled its operating budget, full-time staff, annual audience, and weekly programs. 

The Apollo’s mission is to honor the influence and advance the contributions of African-American artists and advance emerging creative voice s across cultures and artistic media through the Apollo Experience of world-class live performances and educational programs. The Apollo reigns as one of New York City ’s premiere uptown attractions and is the cultural anchor of the current reinvigoration of the 125^th Street corridor.

For more information, visit www.apollotheater.org.

The Experiential Agency, Jake Spitz (646) 688-6379, Jake@expagency.com

Consilium Ventures, Sasha Tcherevkoff, (917)554-1135, Sasha@consilium-ventures.com

 Apollo Theater Foundation, Inc., Nina Flowers (212) 531-5334, Nina.Flowers@apollotheater.org 

Karen Jimenez, Marketing Associate, XA, THE EXPERIENTIAL AGENCY, Chicago - New York - Los Angeles, 636 West 28^th Street, Floor 9, New York, NY 10001, p:  212.625.9191 ext.6300, f:   212.274.1788, d:  646.843.0032, c:  917.330.9240, karen@expagency.com, www.expagency.com

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Robert Rauschenberg, whose use of odd and everyday articles earned him a reputation as a pioneer in pop art but whose talents spanned the worlds of painting, sculpture and dance, has died, his gallery representative said Tuesday. He was 82.

Rauschenberg died Monday, said Jennifer Joy, his representative at PaceWildenstein gallery in New York.

Rauschenberg, who first gained fame in the 1950s, didn't mine popular culture wholesale as Andy Warhol did with Campbell's soup cans and Roy Lichtenstein did with comic books.

Instead, his "combines," incongruous combinations of three-dimensional objects and paint, shared pop's blurring of art and objects from modern life.

He also responded to his pop colleagues and began incorporating up-to-the-minute photographed images in his works in the 1960s, including, memorably, pictures of John F. Kennedy.

Among Rauschenberg's most famous works was "Bed," created after he woke up in the mood to paint but had no money for a canvas. His solution was to take the quilt off his bed and use paint, toothpaste and fingernail polish.

Not to be limited by paint, Rauschenberg was a sculptor and choreographer and even won a 1984 Grammy Award for best album package for the Talking Heads album "Speaking in Tongues."

"I'm curious," he said in 1997 in one of the few interviews he granted in later years. "It's very rewarding. I'm still discovering things every day."

Rauschenberg's more than 50 years in art produced a varied and prolific collection that that filled both Manhattan locations of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum during a 1998 retrospective.

Time magazine art critic Robert Hughes, in his book "American Visions," called Rauschenberg "a protean genius who showed America that all of life could be open to art. ... Rauschenberg didn't give a fig for consistency, or curating his reputation; his taste was always facile, omnivorous, and hit-or-miss, yet he had a bigness of soul and a richness of temperament that recalled Walt Whitman."

Rauschenberg split his time between New York and Captiva Island in Florida, where he kept a house stocked with his own art and those of his friends.

"I like things that are almost souvenirs of a creation, as opposed to being an artwork," he said in a 1997 Harper's Bazaar interview, "because the process is more interesting than completing the stuff."

A biologist has named a newly discovered trapdoor spider after rock star Neil Young: Myrmekiaphila neilyoungi.

The musician is "worthy of that honor" because he's been an activist for social and political issues, said East Carolina University biologist Jason Bond.

Bond, 40, examined the spider in a collection at the American Museum of Natural History in New York where it was identified as a new species that's indigenous to Alabama. He sent students there to collect more specimens.

It's not the first time Bond has bestowed a beloved name on a new spider species. He named one species Stasimopus mendelai after South African civil-rights leader Nelson Mandela. The spider Apomastus kristenae is named after his wife, Kristen.

"I've got about 30 new species of trapdoor spiders from California that I have in the queue to put names to, and I've got a few people in mind," Bond said. However, he says, "We don't always name things after people."

The 62-year-old Young — whose hits include "Rockin' in the Free World," "Heart of Gold" and Bond's favorite, "Cowgirl in the Sand" — has released more than 30 albums since 1969.

[audio http://sq.txdnl.com/mwt/h/a/w/d/hawdeet12/playlists/189638/1529023.mp3]

About the Song

Yuna Ito is a Japanese singer. Her song "Alone Again" came out in her newest released album WISH. Although this album contained only a handful of good songs, "Alone Again" is a nice ballad song with soothing violin strings and a nice beat. It is a MUST listen...

Violet Hill:  I like the beginning (It was a long and dark December / From the rooftops I remember / There was snow / White snow).  After that, I think it goes downhill while there is that crazy background beat.  I like it again near the end (I took my love down to Violet Hill).  Overall, I think it is a pretty good song, but not up to Coldplay standards.

Viva la Vida:  I like this song a lot.  I wouldn't probably put it in the top five Coldplay songs, but it could be in the top ten.  It has a background beat like Violet Hill, but I think it fits in with the song a lot better.  I also love the lyrics.

From what I hear, this "white noise" is a theme of the album.  I don't know what to think about that.  I might miss the old Coldplay, but this could be something different and refreshing.

Violet Hill is the first single released from Coldplay's new album, "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends". Coldplay offered a free download of their song from their website, and people noticed. The song was downloaded over 600,000 times within the first 24 hours, and over 2 million times in the week that it was available. The song is a quite different from some of Coldplay's previous music; it has more of a feeling of rock and roll and includes electric guitars, and even a guitar solo. And although it is much different from previous Coldplay, I think that they did an excellent job with the song, and it's really worth a listen. Check it out here.

Hot Chip. Finally. They came back, and part of their stage banter involved a full apology for bailing on us the last time 'round. To further make up for the cancellation, they put on an absolutely incredible show. I got an email from Chief pretty much the second I plugged my computer into the internet line out here; offering me a ticket if I was free. Sure, I was absolutely bombed from lack of sleep, but really, how could I say no? It's Hot Chip, fer chrissakes.

The show was, as I said, fantastic. Their CD is ... fun. But doesn't at all compare to their live shows. It's known that DJ outfits rarely translate well to CD form, but this show, when compared to their CD, proves this above and beyond a doubt. Chief and I migrated our way to the middle of the crowd and fully enjoyed ourselves. I was equally amused to note that some of the tracks that I'd found least entertaining amongst the tracks from the CD were the true winners from the show, though I was rather disappointed that their self-titular track, "Hot Chip," didn't get play.

The second show I ended up going to on my own; as soon as I realized that Simian Mobile Disco was coming to town, I made plans to see it, and neglected to line up company for the show. Irregardless, there was no way in hell I was going to not go, so I went solo, and loved it. I'd had one of the girls from Caffeine reserve me a ticket, given that she has an In with Sealed With A Kiss, the folks who put together the show. I waltzed my ass in well after the doors opened, and the floor was still empty. As the floor gradually filled, I took a spot reasonably close to the front and waited for the show to begin.

When it did, it was everything I had hoped it would be. Simian Mobile Disco is one of my favourite dance or party bands in general, and they more than lived up to their phenominal reputation. In the same manner as Hot Chip majestically surpassed the performance of their CD, Simian more than exceeded an already brilliant CD.

Additionally, I met some absolutely charming folks in the crowd, who took pity on my lonely attendance and absorbed me into their little group. I chilled with them for the night, having a few drinks and chatting between songs. Additionally, I had people to talk to while I was standing around waiting for the line to clear up enough for me to get my coat from coatcheck.

...And then I got Mad Props from some bloke in line after I refused to let a pair of girls cut past me in the crush for coats. He let them by him, and admitted that he just didn't have the cahones to refuse them, but sure wished that he had.

*Salon calls out Soulja Boy as the beginning of the end of hip-hop. [ypulse]

*Last.fm Playground: Check out Last.fm's in-the-works projects. From the Last.fm blog via Waxy.

*Video: Madonna covers Pantera's "A New Level." Pantera fans don't love it. Pantera fans.

*Outdoor slow dance parties: Go to Buenos Aires.

*Jack Black has recorded his own version of Kung Fu Fighting (with Cee-Lo). [cinematical]

*A Fraggle Rock live-action feature film will soon be coming out. [parent dish]

*Nate Dogg is not dead, despite what Google trends may try to tell you. He had a stroke earlier this year.

*Wear it: A Wacko Jacko Michael Jackson Mask. [bb]

*Local (Minneapolis): The Basilica Block Party lineup. Editorial: There are a lot of negative people in the world. Also, the Star Tribune sucks ass. [mnspeak]

*Yes, music blogs are the new record labels. But this needs more talking about.

*Girl Talk + Taco Bell = Diarrhea. (Trick equation. ANYTHING + Taco Bell = Diarrhea.)

*I should note that I would post all these items much earlier, but I have a 60-hour-per-week day job to worry about also. I feel like kind of a dick. Apologies. Ugh.