A New Mog

Here's a quick little post. MOG has a brand new redesign that's nice and clean. Check it out by visiting my MOG. Blogcritics Magazine is also set for a new redesign soon and I'll let you know when that happens.

A Kinda Sorta Review

I've put up an impromptu review of Isbjerg's Dilla tribute Danish Donuts up on my MOG. What do I mean by "impromptu review"? Well, I was just planning to write a simple post about it but the more I wrote, the more it actually sounded like a simple review instead. It was completely unintentional. It's like my subconscious really wanted me to write a music review.

As a side note, I'm probably picking up Royksopp's new album this Tuesday. I like the first single, "Happy Up Here." It reminds me a bit of the stuff from their first album.

Brief Thoughts On The 50th Annual Grammy Nominations

The 50th Annual Grammy Award nominations came out today. While I may do a Grammy predictions post sometime in the future, here are some brief thoughts that popped to my mind as I read the nominees:

-My God, I hope that Kanye finally gets his damn Album Of The Year Grammy this time.

-Although I don't like Amy Winehouse as much as others do, it was a given that she would get a bunch of nominations due to buzz alone. The question is whether or not she'll be well enough to perform.

-Ladies killed the Best New Artist category. The only males nominated are the ones that are in Paramore.

-“Crank That (Soulja Boy)” got nominated for Best Rap Song. It's a fun little track and all but it shouldn't be nominated for a songwriting award.

-And now, the snubs that glared out at me:

Album Of The Year: Icky Thump by The White Stripes

Best Alternative Music Album: Strawberry Jam by Animal Collective

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance: “Still In Love With My Ex” by Kelly Rowland, “Flaws And All” by Beyonce

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: “Bed” by J. Holliday

Best Urban Alternative Performance: “In The Mood” by Talib Kweli feat. Kanye West & Roy Ayers, “The Way I Are” by Timbaland feat. Keri Hilson and D.O.E.

Best Rap Solo Performance: “Hot Thing” by Talib Kweli

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: “Make Me Better” by Fabolous feat. Ne-Yo

Best Rap Album: Hell Hath No Fury by Clipse, Gutterfly by Lifesavas

Sterfish's Personal Mixes: The Christmas Remix Mix

I haven't made a mix in a while. Since I'm in the holiday spirit, I decided to make a Christmas mix. Unlike the Holiday Mix I made for Mixmania two years ago, this mix features solely Christmas remixes.

Here are the tracks on this mix:

1. Andy Williams - "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year (A Shrift Remix)" from Christmas Remixed

2. The Nat King Cole Trio - "All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth) (MJ Cole Remix)" from Merry Mixmas

3. Kay Starr - "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm (Stuhr Remix)" from Christmas Remixed

4. Dean Martin - "Jingle Bells (Dan The Automator Remix)" from Christmas Remixed

5. Berlin Symphony Orchestra - "Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy (Red Baron Remix)" from Christmas Remixed Volume 2

6. Vic Damone - "Winter Wonderland (Future Loop Foundation Remix)" from Christmas Remixed Volume 2

7. Nancy Wilson - "The Christmas Waltz (awayTEAM Remix)" from Merry Mixmas

8. Bing Crosby - "Happy Holidays (Beef Wellington Remix)" from Christmas Remixed

9. Joe Williams - "Jingle Bells (Bombay Dub Orchestra Remix)" from Christmas Remixed Volume 2

10. CSSR State Philharmonic Orchestra - "Good King Wenceslas (Patrick Krouchian Remix)" from Christmas Remixed Volume 2

11. Dean Martin - "Baby, It's Cold Outside (ARP Remix)" from Merry Mixmas

12. Charles Brown - "I'll Be Home For Christmas (Ohmega Watts Remix)" from Christmas Remixed Volume 2

13. Patti Page - "Frosty The Snowman (Rondo Brothers Remix)" from Christmas Remixed Volume 2

14. Duke Ellington - "Jingle Bells (Robbie Hardkiss Remix)" from Christmas Remixed

15. Mel Torme - "The Christmas Song (Michael Kessler Open Fire Mix)" from Christmas Remixed

16. Bing Crosby - "Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer (John Beltran Remix)" from Christmas Remixed Volume 2

17. Charles Brown - "Merry Christmas Baby (MNO Remix)" from Christmas Remixed

18. Ella Fitzgerald - "Sleigh Ride (The Latin Project Remix)" from Merry Mixmas

19. Lou Rawls - "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (awayTEAM Remix)" from Merry Mixmas

20. Mahalia Jackson - "Silent Night (46bliss Remix)" from Christmas Remixed Volume 2

I may upload this mix to Fuzz so you can enjoy it in full. Let me know what you think.

Return Of The Portable CD Player Killer

Almost three years ago, I did a post about how all my portable CD players don't last long. Why am I bringing this up? Because another one just croaked.

Not only did another portable CD player die, but it was the second one to die within one year. I got a portable CD player for Christmas from my family and it barely lasted a few months before it decided to not want to play CDs.

What killed my most recent player wasn't me dropping it on the floor...it was the battery compartment. I had to change the batteries and noticed that I couldn't get one of the batteries to stay in. I tried to force it in and although the player worked, it acted like I had a dying battery in it. When I went to take out the not-fitting battery, it was hot.

The little nodes where the poles of the battery are supposed to hit were off track. Since the player only uses batteries, it's effectively dead.

The death of this CD player comes about six or seven months after my first MP3 player bit the dust. The headphone jack on my little Sansa, a Christmas present, developed a nasty short.

These developments would probably lead you to believe that I'm rough on technology. That's only somewhat true. I'm only rough on music technology.

My first computer, which I got seven years ago, still works as does my first printer which I got eight years ago. My roughly six year DVD player still works as does my old-as-dust TV.

I guess since I listen to music almost everyday, anything dealing with it doesn't last nearly as long. I don't have a shelf stereo or home audio system of any kind (although I had a great Aiwa system for years). All of my music listening is done either on a portable CD player or on my computer. As such, I usually go through up to two sets of headphones a year regardless of what happens to what I listen to music on.

I've been debating on buying a new MP3 player, especially since I rip a lot of the new CDs I buy to my computer. However, I'm a bit worried at the same time. It's one thing to kill a $40 CD player but it's another thing entirely to kill a $100+ MP3 player. Those extended warranty/coverage plans are usually a joke but given my track record, best believe I'm buying one on my next MP3 player.

Oh, and to end this post on a happy note, I have one portable CD player which has survived for quite a while. The Panasonic player that won't stay closed still works. I always keep it handy as a backup player and that's what will keep my CD listening unfettered in the time before I plop down money on another portable CD player.

New CD Arrivals

I have gotten two new CDs and I’m really looking forward to reviewing them.

First, I went out and bought the 2-disc reissue of Jaylib’s Champion Sound album.

Since I didn’t get into J. Dilla’s indie stuff until after his death, I was happy to pick up this re-release.

The only thing that’s a little disappointing is that a couple of beats have been changed from the original release (“The Red” and “No Games”). From what I understand, some sample issues forced the changes. While the original beats are better, the new beats (likely provided by Madlib) are very good substitutes.

I haven’t checked out Disc two in full, but it’s pretty packed with stuff. I’m always a sucker for instrumentals and disc two has instrumentals of 15 of disc one’s tracks.

The other CD I received was my review copy of The Chemical Brothers’ new album We Are The Night. My first listen to it was a full one and so far, I like it. It seems to be a throwback to the techno of their first album.

One thing that I’ve always found kind of funny is how there is almost a distinct formula to many of their albums. You’re virtually guaranteed to hear the following:

• A well-known English vocalist (Noel Gallagher, Richard Ashcroft)


• A rapper (Q-Tip, Fatlip on the new release) or rapper sample (Missy Elliott, Schooly D)


• A dreamy-voiced female singer (Beth Orton, Hope Sandoval)


• A long opus (“The Sunshine Underground,” “The Private Psychedelic Reel”)

Despite this, I usually really like their stuff. I’ve bought every album since Dig Your Own Hole, which was the second electronic music album I ever bought (The Crystal Method’s Vegas was the first). I can’t wait to listen to their new album some more.

Look for my reviews of my new CDs soon, hopefully.

A Brief Review Of Hairspray

I saw the new musical movie remake of Hairspray on Friday and I’ve decided to share some brief thoughts.

Go see this movie. The End.

...

Okay, I’ll go into a little more detail.

There aren’t many movies that you could genuinely call “crowdpleasing” but Hairspray is one of them. It’s happy, brightly, peppy, and a hell of a lot of fun to watch.

The movie rests on the shoulders of newcomer Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad and she hits it out of the park. She has a nice voice and her dancing is top-notch.

The rest of the cast is great too. All of them did a great job but two stuck out for me. Elijah Kelley is damn near a mini-James Brown as Seaweed Stubbs. Also, I can say that after all that hype, John Travolta puts in a really good performances as Edna Turnblad. He makes it work by not overdoing it.

Oh, and I can’t forget about the music. I hadn’t seen the musical play of Hairspray, so I was blown away by the music. Songs like opener “Good Morning Baltimore” and “Welcome To The 60’s” were great.

One of the best things about Hairspray, though, is that it avoids the major pitfall of movie musicals: length. It's under two hours long and because there are few scenes without songs, it moves at a brisk pace.

Overall, this is a summer movie that’s worth your money. Fans of John Waters’ original movie will like the cameos by Waters and members of the original Hairspray cast. It’s family-friendly but still remains a bit edgy in the form of subtle wit.

Go see this movie. The End.

This Week On My MOG

From my MOG:

This week's Yoko Kanno Day tracks:

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Also, check out my post "Did Kanye West Pick The Wrong First Single?".

And Now, Some Yoko Kanno

I've been posting Yoko Kanno tracks every Tuesday and Thursday on my MOG. If you don't keep up with that site, here are some of the tracks I've posted this month, which is dedicated to Cowboy Bebop:

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New At The MOG

If you haven't visited my Mog, you've been missing out on Yoko Kanno Days, my twice-weekly series where I share songs produced and/or composed by Yoko Kanno. The month of May is Cowboy Bebop month for this series and so far, I've shared "Piano Black" from OST 1, "Blue" from OST 3: Blue, and the live version of "What Planet Is This" from Cowboy Bebop: The Movie.

Also, I post about music-related blog posts on my Mog, adding relevant songs. For example, the posts about my Time Mixmania mix and the Bonus Mix feature songs from each respective mix.

So, while this blog is in another brief dry spell (at least three music reviews are on the way, trust me), check out MOG and mines while you're at it.

Introducing Kanno Days (Plus Some Other Stuff)

Ever since I joined in February, I've been enjoying MOG. With that, I've been trying to think of ways to do some exclusive stuff on there. Well, I finally thought of something.

Beginning today, I will be uploading a different Yoko Kanno song every Tuesday and Thursday to my MOG. I'm calling this "Yoko Kanno Days" or "Kanno Days" or something like that. The first edition is now up and it features "Tank!" from Cowboy Bebop.

Lest you think I'm neglecting this place, more reviews and other stuff are on the way. In fact, some of those reviews will be "blog first" in that they will appear here before they appear anywhere else.

Finally, although I don't like to comment on current events that often, my prayers go out to those affected by the terrible tragedy at Virginia Tech University. This is one of those events that makes you realize how trivial things like the Don Imus scandal really are.