This is Kanye’s epic 35 minute full length Runaway video. I just finished the whole thing. Dang. I don’t really know what to say about it. Weird would be the obvious thing to say but it’s Kanye so weird goes without saying nowadays. The whole thing is visually stunning. Very beautiful. It was fun to watch though I can’t say I’ll ever subject myself to watching it again. I’m left with a sense of what was the point? Maybe that’s over thinking it though. Maybe the point is there is no point. It’s art for the sake of art. I’m cool with that. All in all I liked it. Kanye is brilliant. Crazy as all get out but brilliant. That’s all I can say.

Can You Dig It?

Artist – Song – Album

• Hanson – With You In Your Dreams – Middle of Nowhere
• Sean Kingston – That Ain’t Right – Sean Kingston
• David Crowder Band – Our Happy Home – A Collision
• DC Talk – Day by Day – Jesus Freak
• Linkin Park – The Little Things Give You Away – Minutes To Midnight
• Wyclef Jean – Fast Car (Feat. Paul Simon) – Carnival Vol. II Memoirs of an Imigrant
• Lasgo – Blue – Some Things
• Prince – Fury – 3121
• Michael Jackson – Man In The Mirror – History
• Zero 7 – Somersault (Danger Mouse Remix) – Somersault
• Coldplay – Politik – A Rush of Blood To The Head
• Ray Charles – Mess Around – Ultimate Hits Collection Disc 1
• DC Talk – Jesus Freak (Reprise) – Jesus Freak (10th Anniversary Edition)
• David Crowder Band – Thank You For Hearing Me – Can You Hear Us?
• Radiohead – Myxamatosis – Hail To The Thief

Call me ignorant, but I do not understand the fascination with John Mayer. I suppose he’s somewhat attractive. I know that his smash hits like “Your Body is a Wonderland” and “Waiting on the World to Change” are supposed to get under my skin with their tender and positive messages. But there’s something I can’t get past. It’s not that his voice irritates me, or that I think he’s undeserving of his Grammy awards. It’s not that the specific male pop singer/guitarist thing has never appealed to me (if a guy does pop, I’d prefer he was more straight up about it a la Justin Timberlake)—there’s just something about John Mayer’s overall person that annoys me beyond description. He seems arrogant, cocky and completely phony.

Why you hating on my boy John Mayer? Don’t hate. Appreciate. He can’t help if his game is smooth like butter. JM’s game is so tight he need not speak in his own defense. His songs do the work for him. Singers have been getting in women’s pants with a little help from their songs for years. He obviously has some redeming qualities or all these women wouldn’t be lining up to go out with him. Yeah, his new doo is a bit out there but I still like him a lot. On a side note: Is it just me or does he look like Marc Anthony’s younger, slightly less malnourished/emaciated looking brother?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=l607rEC8tzM

Mandy’s attempts at facial earnestness border on cheesiness but the song itself is alright.

Music featured in televised iPod advertisements

Artist – Song – Album

• The Killers – Bones – Sam’s Town
  
• Sean Lennon – Bathtub – Into the Sun

This song was rather fitting considering that I was taking a shower (standing in the bathtub) while it was playing

• tobyMac – Ill-M-I – Welcome To Diverse City

TobyMac’s new CD came out yesterday. I tried to snag it at Wal-Mart this morning on the way to work but they didn’t have it. Wal-Mart used to be the place for buying new releases from Christian artists but no more. At least not the one that’s near work. It’s on the outer edge of the hood. They specialize in edited R&B/Hip-Hop and Latino music. Lots of Latino music.

• The Click Five – Lies – Greetings From Imrie House
• Madonna – Let It Will Be – Confessions On A Dance Floor
• Sam Cooke – Cupid – The Man Who Invented Soul
• Lupe Fiasco – Trials And Tribulations – Food And Liquor
• india.arie – There’s Hope – Testimony, Vol. 1: Life & Relationship
• Stars – Elevator Love Letter – Heart
• Wilco - Jesus, Etc. – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
• Imogen Heap – The Walk – Speak For Yourself
• Janet Jackson – Velvet Rope – Velvet Rope
• Pigeon John – The Grand Ol’ Waltz – Pigeon John Sings The Blues

This is refreshing. You don’t hear many songs in popular music today with a 3/4 time signature. Most everything is in 4/4 time. I had flashbacks to beginner band in 8th grade and piano lessons when we first learned about counting time. 1-2-3, 1-2-3. 3 beats to a measure. 1-2-3, 1-2-3. My non-accelerator foot and fingers just naturally started tapping to the beat while driving. I couldn’t help it. It was engrained in me through years of musical training.

• Cake – No Phone – Pressure Chief
• Hoobastank – Don’t Tell Me – Every Man For Himself
• Janet Jackson – janet – Where Are you Now

Very eclectic mix today. I made a tweak to my linked smart playlist system over the weekend. It’s made for a vast improvement in the song selection on my radio playlists. That in turn is leading to more songs in the list that I want to hear and less skips. I’ve been using this system for about a year. It’s really improved my ipod listening experience. Over that time I’ve come across a flaw in the system based upon how the logic is set up. The method of linking the playlists is designed to move new songs into the playlist automatically. The problem is when I skip a song it stays in the playlist instead of cycling out. So I’d end up with some new songs on the playlist each day (or every few days depending on how often I update) and a bunch of songs I didn’t want to hear or didn’t feel like hearing at that time languishing there for days or weeks. I got tired of skipping the same songs each day.

The advent of skip counts in iTunes 7.10 was the answer to my problem. I added a toggle to my exclusion playlist to exclude any track skipped in the last 2 weeks. With that in place any track I skip today or whenever is banished to exclusion temporarily. That way I’m getting a larger group of fresh songs populated to the playlist each day when I sync. The system is more efficient at cycling in new songs to replace ones that have already been played or skipped that day now. That translates into a more enjoyable listening experience for me and less battery drain for Gordo Negro (a.k.a The Black Ninja) since I’m not having to skip every few songs.

American Idol Vocal No-No List

Aretha Franklin
(or Re-Re as my wife calls her)
Patti Labelle
Whitney Houston
Celine Dion
Mariah Carey
Mary J. Blige
Christina Aguilera
Amy Lee*
Jennifer Hudson**

No-No List Exception Requirements

A person can qualify to sing a song from a listed artist IF they meet the following requirements.

1. You must be able to blow. I mean really blow. We’re not talking about singing in the shower or in your bed room good. I’m talking serious, serious pipes. (Experience singing in church is not required but a definite plus.)
2. You must be able to come up with an arrangement of the song that showcases your voice instead of merely copying the original. You are not Re-Re (Aretha). You’re not Christina or any of the others. If you try to sound exactly like them you will fail and Simon, Randy and Paula will roast you. If you meet requirement # 1 this shouldn’t be too hard. You’ve got a nice voice use it.
3. You must be tight on your runs. If you are not tight on your runs consider your No-No List Exception application denied and find another song to sing. When I say tight I mean tight. We’re not talking about early Beyonce/Destiny’s Child fake runs. You gotta bring serious, real deal runs to the table.

You’ll notice we haven’t included any men on the list. We’ve given it some serious thought but have been unable to think of any male vocalists who’s sound and voices are so far above everybody else as to make them worthy of inclusion on the list.

* Gina Glocksen sang Call Me When You’re Sober by Evanescence (with Amy Lee on Lead Vocals). Technically this is a list violation but since it occurred during the round of 24 and not during auditions it’s sort of okay. She made it her own realizing that she was not and never will be Amy Lee. That meets requirement #2.

** LaKisha Jones can flat out blow. She received an automatic exemption the first time she opened her mouth to sing on the show. I thought J-Hud was on the stage when LaKisha sang And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going. Got goose bumps right there. The same thing happened when she sang I Have Nothing by Whitney Houston. The list does not apply to LaKisha.

Playlist: Big D Radio – WOKI 91.4

Artist/Group – Song – Album Title

• Morningwood – Televisor – Morningwood
• Cake – Wheels – Pressure Chief
• DJ Topcat – Dec. 4th, Oh What A Night (Jay-Z vs. Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons) – Best of Bootie 2006
• Ace of Base – Wheel of Fortune – The Sign
• Radiohead - Optimistic – Kid A
• team9 – The Money Song (Hard-Fi vs. Red Hot Chili Peppers. vs. Flying Lizards vs. Abba vs. Jay-Z)
• Christina Aguilera – Ain’t No Other Man (Radio Edit) – Ain’t No Other Man
• Switchfoot – 4:12 – Oh! Gravity
• Frou Frou – Must Be Dreaming – Details
• TV On The Radio - Snakes and Martyrs – Return to Cookie Mountain

The iPod did alright this morning. I had a couple of skips here and there but overall it and I were groovin’ today. This is an interesting list. Notice the distinct absense of people of color this morning. I guess G.ordo N.egro S.ugoi (My iPod’s official name even though my fiance just calls it the Black Negro) was feeling the white folks this morning. Two Swedish super groups were in the mix, Abba and Ace of Base. You see Frou Frou with Imogen Heap on vocals. I love her voice. The new Switchfoot is in the house. I haven’t had a chance to really sit down and digest that album yet. GNS seems to like smashups that include Jay-Z. Gotta have at least one brother reppin’ for the people.

Playlist: WOKI 94.1 – Big D Radio

• Rhymefest – Devil’s Pie – Blue Collar
• Yellowcard – Only One – Ocean Avenue
• David Gray – Babylon – White Ladder
• Watashi Wa – Broken Man – Eager Seas
• Kanye West – Late – Late Registration
• The Alpha Conspiracy – Scarlet – Aura
• Jamiroquai – Hot Tequila Brown – Dynamite
• Blues Traveler – Hook – Four
• James Brown – I Got A Bag of My Own – Star Time (Disc 4)
  R.I.P.
• Jars of Clay – The Eleventh Hour (Live) – Furthermore: From the Studio/From the Stage