Los muchachos de RostbiF se presentan en el Pepsi Bandplugged de este año, si pueden pasen y dejen su voto por ellos en la página del certamen. ¡Vamos que se vota en menos de un minuto!
¡Arriba, muchachos!
Lady Gaga Becomes The New Queen Of Twitter
Lady Gaga Is Now The New Queen Of Twitter
Acrimony arose when Britney Spears became the most popular Twitter user ever, displacing Ashton Kutcher in the process. Like him or loathe him, Kutcher has always offered fans a personalized experience, answering their queries himself and interacting with them on a tangible way. On the contrary, Britney’s Twitter account has always been the kind that is kept by a marketing team from day one.
Well, Britney’s reign as the Queen of Twitter is over. She has just been toppled by Lady Gaga. How much of an improvement is that? Not that much, to be frank. But at least she is more engaging than Britney.
And we shouldn’t really complain – by the looks of it, Lady Gaga will be dethroned before too long.
Justin Bieber is racing his way to the top.
Gulp.
As the Goo Goo Dolls sang, “I wanna bulletproof myself”.
Joni Mitchell (General Introduction)
Joni Mitchell In The '70s
The music industry can dent anybody’s enthusiasm and willingness to make art. But a true artist always keeps at it, not only because it is the only valid form of expression he knows, but because he realizes there comes a point his public needs him to articulate how they feel. It becomes something wholly reciprocal; they need each other, they feed off each other and they motivate each other to do their best.
That is the true moral that arises from Joni Mitchell’s career – a career that has seen wild commercial up and downs, but that has had Joni true to herself and to every single one of us.
Joni Mitchell was born Roberta Joan in Fort MacLeod (Canada). The year was 1943. She showed a precocious interest in music, studying first the piano and then the guitar. Yet, at age nine she was stricken with polio. That made playing the guitar difficult from that point onwards, and that was one of the reasons Joni developed the unique tunings she would be renowned for in her career.
She has defined herself as a “rebellious teenager”, and upon growing up she intended to attend art school in Calgary. She attended classes only for one year there before moving to Toronto, where she met a cabaret jazz singer named Chuck Mitchell that would become her husband in 1966. Together, they headed for the US to seek their fortunes as musicians. The marriage fell apart in 1967, and Joni went to New York City to launch her solo career in earnest.
Before ever releasing her debut album, other artists began recording her songs – Tom Rush sang the very first song she ever wrote, “Urge For Going”, and Judy Collins made the poignant “Both Sides Now” popular long before Joni did.
Joni’s big break came when she was discovered by David Crosby, who convinced his record company (Reprise Records) to sign her up. They did, and Joni’s first album (known as either “Joni Mitchell” or “Song For A Seagull”) was recorded and issued. Public interest began picking up, and a heavy schedule in support of both her debut and the follow-up record (“Clouds”, 1969) made the press take notice as well.
“Ladies Of The Canyon” was issued in 1970. It became her first gold record on the strength of “Big Yellow Taxi” (a top 30 hit) and her own version of “The Circle Game” (the song had been recorded long before by both by Tom Rush and Buffy Sainte-Marie). Continue reading
The World Of Social Networking In Songs (Part 2)
This post finishes the coverage of social media songs that was started yesterday. Just turn up the volume and enjoy. And share it with your friends, dammit – we are talking about social media! ; )
6– Badges Like Us (The Foursquare Rap)
A service that many of you have just become acquainted with by the introduction of Facebook Places, Foursquare is the king of location-based networks. As such, it has got its own rap.
7– Everybody Tweet
What can be said about Twitter? To many, it was destined to steal Facebook’s thunder. Well, it didn’t. But it did inspire this nice ditty.
The World Of Social Networking In Songs (Part 1)
Like it or loathe it, social networking has changed the very paradigm in which we become acquainted with others and interact with them. Facebook is the undisputed flagship of the whole social phenomenon – it has over 500 million users and a movie (directed by no other than Steven Soddeberg) that is premiering in a mater of two months.
Time, then, for a little revision of how it all got started and evolved.This is a collection of songs, spoofs and parodies of the world of social networking. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter… everything is mentioned at some point or the other.
I hope you like this selection, and I also hope that you check back tomorrow for part 2 of this feature.
1– My Mom’s On Facebook
This is my personal favorite. This video was actually featured in MusicKO way back in March. It is a hilarious hair metal song by comedy group Back Of The Class that deals with the nightmare of having your mom befriending you on Facebook.
2– Welcome To YouTube
A wry and clever piano number by Bo Burnham:
3– A Social Network For Two: A Modern Love Song
Time for a sweet interlude, now:
Music180 – Connecting Indie Artists With Renowned Music Pros
Name: Music180
URL: http://www.music180.com
Music180 is a development platform for artists. What the site does is to connect new musicians with big names in the industry and let them collaborate to the full. For example, young bands can get in touch with renowned producers and cover designers, and strike up a relationship that might end up in them getting their album produced by people who have worked with international superstars.
The site has a database of music pros that have worked with artists of the caliber of Aerosmith, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, and these indie artists who sign up can have their music brought to their attention. It is all taken from there, and in addition to producers Music180 makes it possible for performers to get in touch with the kind of people who can dream up the right marketing campaign for any musical genre. Continue reading
Armless Pianist Liu Wei Teaches Everybody A True Life Lesson
The latest sensation to emerge from a “talent” show, pianist Liu Wei has captivated the world with his life story and his determination. He lost both arms when he was 10, and he learned to do everything using his feet. That includes playing the piano.
“I realize I have two choices in life”, he says. “Die now or live a beautiful life”. A very inspiring video, and one that I am immensely pleased to share with you.
The song he plays is “Marriage D’amour”.
(Sketches For) My Sweetheart The Drunk (Jeff Buckley) – Album Review
(Sketches For) My Sweetheart The Drunk Was To Be Released Posthumously By Jeff Buckley's Mother In 1998, One Year After The Drowning Accident That Ended His Life.
Jeff Buckley’s drowning in 1997 in Memphis was a harrowing tragedy. We lost a great human being and we were deprived of a gifted performer whose career was just starting in earnest. At the time of his passing, Jeff was about to begin working with his band on a set of songs he had actually recorded once in Manhattan (with Television’s Tom Verlaine) and scrapped. He referred to those songs as “My Sweetheart The Drunk”, and he defined the album as “a guidebook for losers in love”.
Upon his passing, Jeff’s mother supervised a two-disc release made up of the songs Jeff had scrapped on the first disc, and the songs he had left behind as 4-track demos on the second CD. This double album became known as “(Sketches For) My Sweetheart The Drunk”, and it was a moving reminder of Buckley’s talent and determination to create a legacy as enduring as that of his brilliant (yet troubled) father Tim.
The songs he had recorded with Verlaine and scrapped only make it patent how much he strove for perfection – there was nothing wrong with them. Jeff was aiming to create a work which showcased him and his band as the close-knit performing unit they had become. And that was more than fulfilled by each of the ten songs that were featured.
“The Sky Is A Landfill” (a song in which he comes to terms with his father’s addictions) opens the album in an assertive way, and Jeff closes it almost single-handedly 50 minutes later with “You And I”, the nearest he has ever come to an acapella number. Generally, the songs stand as a more muscular version of the goth/folk sound that had been so captivating the first time around.
“Nightmares By The Sea” is a definitive highlight, and it was covered respectfully (but not brilliantly) by Katatonia later on. With its tale of lovers returning from the hereinafter to doom the existences of those still alive, the song is a clear tribute to Edgar A. Poe, an artist Jeff was very keen on. (He actually contributed a reading of “Ulalume” to an album produced and issued by Hal Willner in 1997, “Closed On Account of Rabies”.) Continue reading
A New Version Of Justin Bieber’s “U Smile” Goes Viral
A Dirge-like Remix Of Justin Bieber's "U Smile" Has Ended Up Giving An Unknown Producer A Lot Of Notoriety
It’s amazing, but a producer who was fooling around with a song by the Canadian teen star has actually ended up with a viral hit in his hands.
The song in question is “U Smile”, and it has been slowed down beyond all belief (800 %, in fact). You can listen to it below, on the Soundcloud profile of the remixer (an aspiring producer named Nick Pittsinger)
Anyway, this is the song. Again – the amount of plays it has garnered is nothing short of breathtaking.
Mal Yo (Interview)
(Hagan click aquí para leer esta nota en español)
Well, here you can read a small interview I conducted with the cool guys from Mal Yo (remember them?). They are as funny as ever, and they have begun playing more shows around Montevideo Way to go, folks!
Band Information
Name: Mal Yo
Genre: Rock Pop
Band Members: Diego da Silva (guitar & vocals), Rodrigo Camejo (bass) and Sergio Alastra (drums & backing vocals)
Been Together Since: 21st of November, 2009 (first gig).
Main Claim To Fame So Far: We were number one in the ranking of Cadena de la Costa FM 102.1 (La Paloma)
Some Questions
Where did the name of the band come from?
It came from Sergio’s head – unable to think of anything better (like always) he thought up that name, as a way of asking advance pardon from the listener for what he is going to be put through.
How will you make to leave your mark in the history of Uruguayan music? Is that a concern, or will you just let time determine the role played by Mal Yo?
We play for fun. We love music and we don’t think about “leaving a mark”… if it happens, then that’s great. But come to think of it, we are not really ready for such a challenge.
What is the first thing that someone who is outside of Uruguay will think about when he listens to your songs?
We have seen that our page got a lot of visitors from abroad, but they didn’t stay for long. The probably thought the music was a pile of crap, or something like that!
In which sense being in Uruguay gives you an edge over musicians in other parts of the world? And how does it hinder you?
Well, residing here doesn’t really give you a lot of advantages, The market is small, it is hard to find pubs to play, and even to arrange your own gigs. Musicians here usually earn a living by doing other things that are unrelated, not being able to devote half as much time to it as we’d like… though that doesn’t apply to us and our ineptitude.
How are you building up your following? What role do social tools and services like Twitter, MySpace and Facebook play in your strategy? Would you say that kind of service has redefined how artists and fans connect, or do you believe that nothing beats a face-to-face with your audience?
We use all three, but Facebook is the main one for us. Lots of people have become acquainted with us like that, friends of friends and so on. We advertise our gigs, we upload pictures, videos and make comments. Our goal is to get through to people, and it is actually happening not only in Facebook, but also live. We have good chemistry with the audience. After each gig, we stay to meet people, take pics that we upload to our site… a close, nice group of friends is beginning to manifest itself. That is unbeatable. Well, that’s what we pay these guys for – to go and support us at gigs! Continue reading