jay-z and nas interview on BET

jay-Z and nas have already sat down with sway on MTV news to discuss (how real bosses move) and basically put thier make up into perspective. now, this friday, @ 10 PM, toure goes (behind the beef) with nas and jay-Z on BET.

Nas on Cam'ron: "Some of these artists that come at artists have everything you could tear down in a rhyme. Just look at them. Just look at their appearance, look what they sound like, how they got in the game. The whole history of their existence in rap is a joke. I just don’t understand the nerve of some of these dudes."

Jay on his reconciliation with Nas: "When they write about hiphop they write about it a certain way. They write about it like these guys is wild... They really killin each other. Now they have to write about hiphop in another way."

According to Carmen Bryan, mother of Nas' daughter, subject of a line in jay-z's "takeover" --- his legendary diss against nas, and author of Sex, Drugs and Hip-Hop . . . Oh and Did I Mention Love?, says her book is the catalyst for bringing nas and jay-z together. she's interviewed in the latest issue of king.

blog links:

• peace, prosperity & paper - what's beef?
  
• zilla says - YouTubing Jay-Z & Nas Interview And Lost Album
  

technorati tags: music | hip-hop | on TV | jay-z | nas

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brook'nam ny diary 2.28.06

another new york story.

yesterday i was awakened by the doorbell.

there was a swarm of police officers gathered in my hallway.

turns out there was a leakage in one of my neigbors apartments and when the firemen came no one was home so they busted the door open. upon entering, they discovered a weed farm.

the story was reported in the nydailynews today.

technorati tags: brooklyn | new york city | weed

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researcher awarded nsf grant to study turntablism

Rayvon Fouché, associate professor of science and technology studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to examine the phonograph’s cultural and technological transformation into a vehicle for musical expression within hip-hop culture.

The transformation of the phonograph — designed and long used solely for the reproduction of sound — into an instrument used to transform bits of pre-existing recorded sounds to produce a rhythmic effect began in African American communities in New York City in the late 1970s, according to Fouché.

“African Americans reappropriated and redefined the phonograph’s existing technology according to their own distinctive cultural aesthetics,” says Fouché. “In a very sophisticated way, that community made a technological choice that runs counter to the perception that new technology is better than old.”

Presently, with the introduction of digital turntables Fouché has noticed that many turntablists remain resistant to new technology, particularly that in the digital world. He says this technological resistance demonstrates the crucial role that cultural and aesthetic values play in determining the equipment turntablists’ use and in shaping the way in which they use them.

Through in-depth ethnographic research and interviews with turntablists and designers, engineers, and programmers responsible for developing turntables, Fouché seeks to gain insight about the way black aesthetics influence technological change, as well as the effects that the larger transition from analog to digital technologies have on our society.

Over an 18-month period, Fouché intends to follow the historical dissemination of turntablism from east to west, starting in New York City, traveling to San Francisco, and ending in Tokyo. At each location Fouché will study the various ways that DJs engage their equipment, and consider the ways turntable designers and engineers integrate cultural knowledge and experience with technical requirements and design protocols. Research also will seek to shed light on the severity and the cause of resistance toward the use of new digital technology in DJ communities.

technorati tags: music | turntablism | dj culture

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weekly last.fm top artists and tracks

according to last.fm, from Sunday Feb 19 - Sunday Feb 26 my top 10 artists were:

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Two Five
Too $hort
Lil' Wayne
Busta Rhymes
Clinton Sparks & Kanye West
APB
Arctic Monkeys
Loose Ends
Mos Def

my top tracks for the same time period were:

Too $hort - Blow Da Whistle
Two Five - “Homicidal Thoughts” (Produced by Jah Son)
Shawnna - Gettin' Some
Busta Rhymes - Touch It Remix Feat. DMX
Jadakiss - U Make Me Wanna
New Order - Here To Stay
Loose Ends - You Can't Stop the Rain
Two Five - “SUPERMAN” (REMIX) Feat. Bone Crusher, Super Slip & Two Five
DJ Drama And The P$C - Hump (Suckafree) & T.I.P. - Phone Convo #3
DJ Drama And The P$C - Xtaci & Khia - My P###Y

though i must profess my last.fm addiction and have even totally gotten into using the radio station features far more frequently, i'm kind of tossin' up that relationship for my sirius subscription. though i've had sirius forever at home, i've rarely listened to it online. that was until most recently. channel 35 chill gets me through my hectic work day like no other music.

technorati tags: music | web radio | last.fm | sirius

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octavia butler dead at 58

"Octavia E. Butler, considered the first black woman to gain national prominence as a science fiction writer, has died, a close friend said Sunday. She was 58.

Butler fell and struck her head on the cobbled walkway outside her home, said Leslie Howle, a longtime friend and employee at the Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame in Seattle.

The writer, who suffered from high blood pressure and heart trouble and could only take a few steps without stopping for breath, was found outside her home in the north Seattle suburb of Lake Forest Park and died Friday, Howle said." (more at CNN)

there's an interesting thing about african-americans and sci-fi. not a lot of african-american sci-fi writers, but according to mark dery --- who was credited with coining the term afrofuturism --- there should be more. [Black To The Future: Afro-Futursim 1.0]

thanks for the heads up on butler, ronn

other blogs (besides ronn's) mentioning butler's death

• Thought 4 The Day - Moment Of Silence
  
• Professor Kim's News Notes - Octavia Butler, brilliant master of sci-fi, dies at 58
  
• hiphopmusic.com - Octavia Butler, 1947-2006
  
• negroplease.com - Octavai Butler
  
• The Backlist - Octavia Butler
  
• ebogjohnson.com - rips - octavia
  

technorati tags: octavia butler | sci-fi | books | afrofuturism

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hot in the clubs

two tracks that are hot in the clubs right now and burning up my iTunes (though not necessarily appropriate for the ears of youth) are:

Shawnna - Gettin' Some (play)

Too $hort - Blow Da Whistle

technorati tags: hip-hop | music | shawnna | too short

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never drank the kool aid - by toure

got my review copy of this baby last week and started reading it already. hoping to snag a conversation with the author in coming weeks for your reading pleasure.

from the publisher picador: Never Drank the Kool-Aid is the chronicle of Touré’s unparalleled journey through the American funhouse called pop culture. Its rooms are filled with creative, arrogant, kind, ordinary, and extraordinary people, most of whom happen to be famous. It is Touré’s gift to be able to see through the artifice of their world and understand the genuine motivations behind their achievements--to see who they truly are as people. This is a searingly funny, surprisingly unguarded, and deeply insightful look at a world few of us comprehend.

technorati tags: pop culture | books | toure

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maxwell flirts and eva likes macs

i've always said there's no place like my fair city and b/c of that there's a story i'm about to tell you that you may not even believe. whether you believe it or not is totally up to you, all i can do is tell it like it happened.

the story began like a typical weekend new york story on a typical new york weekend day. on sunday february 19, this writer, this writer's girl, and this writer's girl's child went to brunch at bubby's in tribeca on hudson st. always the one to make small conversation, this writer noticed an sxsw logo on maitre d's shirt only to discover that said maitre d's boss at blender was a former associate of this writer's at this writer's current gig.

after brunch, the three of us trotted down hundson towards the parked vehicle when a gentleman stared into the face of this said writer. being a brisky cold ass day and all, the gentleman had on a wool cap pulled down slightly over his forehead, a heavy coat, a pair of jeans, and some boots. at first, this writer wondered, "why is dude all up in my face?" yet, this writer looked closer, and closer, and closer still, and when a smile broke on dude's face, this writer realized that it was none other than the nu-soul singer maxwell. there's no smile like a maxwell smile, we tell you. so there was no denying that it was the one and only he. this writer said out loud, "yo, that was maxwell and he was flirting with me." still steady cool, this writer was absolutely convinced that it was maxwell. writer's girl is all like, "for real, i don't believe you, let's go back there and see."

needless to say chick didn't believe this wrtier. so this writer said, "we'll see him when we drive by the bank." sure enough as we were riding by, he exited the bank and looked in the car directly at this writer. chica realized this writer was telling the truth all along and all excitedly started gesturing and looking at him. he was staring in the car for a cool minute or so, and finally, maxwell broke another one of his signature smiles. how anyone in the near distance didn't notice him is beyond us. we, this writer that is, is wondering why she didn't act more like a fan and inquire when the next album would be coming out. oh well, better luck next time.

but the day didn't end there.

said writer and company then ventured over to prince st. to the apple store to see if the writer's apple genius friend was in house and would take a look at the presumed ailing hard drive and battery. the friend was off for the day, so much time was spent watching people who use the apple store to read and send personal email, look for employment opportunities and apartments on craig's list, and take photos of themselves and download them to their iPods. thinking there was a story to be written about this somewhere, said writer starts taking a closer look at what some of the shop's visitors are really up to.

during this time of being nosey performing research, said writer notices once-upon-a-time barber with a crush entering with his child and child's mother. writer and former barber play catch up, and after they embrace to say farewell, writer notices none other than eva pigford - one of america's next top models (from season 3) - stroll in the apple store with a friend.

writer's girl, and girl's child follow eva and friend up the stairs with writer's sidekick to capture a photo to prove that this sighting indeed occurred. meanwhile this writer sits on a bench and starts entering this post into moveable type, while chica and child approach the model and friend. the child returns with only an autograph in hand saying that ms. top model politely declined to be photographed without makeup. we don't blame her - she probably knew we had this blog and would post the photo herein. again, as with maxwell, it appeared that no one else in the near distance even realized who was in their presence. (this smells a lot like the rick fox, and nicole ari parker and boris kodjoe sighting from back in november.)

of course all of this would seem typical for this writer's profession, and on many levels it is. but personalities such as these are usually only sighted at events and interviews - and rarely ever just chilling on a sunday sans bodyguards or entourages doing the same exact things that this writer is doing.

technorati tags: pop culture | new york city | maxwell | top model | eva pigford

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highlighted on sxsw interactive

at first, jason toney was the only one i mentioned this to, but now since others, like some of the good folks over at odeo have noticed it i suppose i might as well mention it. on feb. 3, i was the featured speaker in the news over at sxsw interactive.

btw, a few of us are speaking at sxsw interactive again this year on the blogging while black revisited panel. more to come on this soon, but check current discussions already happening @ blackfeminism.

SXSW Collective Brainstorming: Identity Blogging and SXSW Collective Brainstorming: Defining Identity Blogging or What is “Blogging While Black (or Gay/Asian/Latino, etc.)”

technorati tags: odeo | sxsw

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uk soul singer lynden david hall dead

From monsters and critics: "British R&B singer Lynden David Hall died Tuesday (Feb. 14) after a two-year fight with cancer. He was 31."

Being a fan of two-step and garage, I'm particularly fond of the contributions that this singer, along with Craig David, have made to the R&B scene in UK music.

RIP Lynden David Hall

Lynden David Hall - All You Need Is Love

Lynden David Hall - Forgive Me (Artful Dodger Dark Dub)

technorati tags: lynden david hall

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prince's black sweat

when steven fullwood first mentioned that prince was working up a black sweat, i had not seen the video or heard the song. i didn't even have time to go over to housequake to check it out. but now after viewing it on vh1 soul, i'm wondering why this song sounds like it was produced for justin timberlake or some other such pop tart?

see for yourself (press play)...

___

my buddy living in the UK IMd me yesterday during the broadcast of the british music awards to report that prince's performance, along with shelia e, and lisa and wendy was phenomenal.

___

from jay at hiphopmusic.com, what's it like working with prince

technorati tags: prince | black sweat | brit awards

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how stop snitchin' opened a marketplace

this is not a post about the stop snitchin' t-shirts. nor is it a post about scarface and the game's song, "i never snitch". though in many ways it's heavily related to the two.

so there's the hate it/love it popularity of the original t-shirts. then we're introduced to scarface's song with a likely co-star in the game, who now sells his own branded stop snitchin/stop lyin t-shirts and a cd at theblackwallstreet and has also released a dvd of the same name that's available for download @ mixtapetorrent.

there are probably more movers and shakers using stop snitchin as a genre than i know about, but one case of marketing in this regard that is quite audacious is lil troy presents ... paperwork: subject "scarface" : g-code violation. and here's an example of the paperwork that lil troy says he has to prove that scarface broke the g-code. dirtysouthrap.com reported the back story to this beef back in september and i know i'm not breaking the story, because sohh interviewed lil troy about this back in septemeber.

the first amusing point of this is that scarface would come out with a song that boasts he doesn't snitch, when lil troy allegedly has paperwork to proved otherwise.

the second point, and i find this one a tad bit befuddling, is that beef has taken on this new face of whether one is a snitch or not and there's a business being made of it.

(an aside: stop snitchin shirt makers have now launched start peace shirts in response to the stop snitchin backlash and an agreement with boston's mayor - 'Stop Snitchin' Shirt Makers 'Start Peace')

technorati tags: hip-hop beef | stop snitchin | scarface | the game | lil troy

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street lit's laughing now

about a month ago, there was much ado about street lit given that nick chiles penned an op-ed piece in the ny times, "their eyes were reading smut."

felicia pride weighed in with an opinion, as did danyel smith, and even i had one.

the most provocative opinion of course, was john hood's, "LIT FRAUD I: Putting the nabosh on Naysaying Nickie," that appeared in the ny press. after calling nick chiles a crybaby, mr. hood raised the fact that chiles, with his wife, authored What Brothers Think, What Sistahs Know About Sex: The Real Deal On Passion, Loving and Intimacy. a title that suggests a topic not far removed from the very books that were being riled against.

Hood opined, "Well, discounting the presumption that these bold new fictionists aren’t serious about their craft (Who’s being crass now, Nick?), we’ll grant that street lit is supplanting some so-called serious fiction at the top of the charts in Essence, but it’s not because “serious” work is selling less. It’s because the street is selling more."

but this is not the point of this post. the reason i say street lit is laughing now, is because on Tuesday, on the cover of the arts section of the ny times there was a story titled, "Street Lit With Publishing Cred: From Prison to a Four-Book Deal."

the article is about a gentleman, who goes by the name of relentless aaron who has secured a four-book, six-figure deal with st. martin's press. and no relentless is not the first to score such a deal, there have been others. k'wan is one, nikki turner is another, but they are definitely not alone in this instance.

but i read about relentless' deal with personal interest. mainly because when i interviewed him in september '04, i considered him a "genuine" writer and i also admired his tenacity. i just couldn't understand why his street hustle had not yet been noticed. now it is. and i'm sure he'll end up on the bookshelves next to mr. chiles books also.

technorati tags: street lit | relentless aaron | nick chiles | john hood

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jay dee and the reality of lupus

When the first Detroit Free Press reported that producer Jay Dee/J Dilla (James Yancey)had died on Feb. 10, it was breaking news. It was also shocking and somewhat mysterious as all that was being reported at that time was, "died Friday morning of kidney failure at his home in Los Angeles, officials at his record label said Friday evening." He had just turned 32.

The next day, the Detroit News reported, "died Friday at his home in Los Angeles. No cause of death has been released, but Dee -- real name James Yancey -- had battled kidney problems in recent years."

Not that I specualted, as we often do in hip-hop, that either drugs or alcohol were the culprit, but I'm sure it was on the tip of some of our minds as no real cause had immediately been reported.

After listening to much Slum Village and Jay Dee in memoriam over the weekend, it wasn't until Feb. 13, when I received an emailed press release from the Lupus Foundation that I really found out the truth.

The letter read:

Good Afternoon,

I am writing in regards to the death of music producer J Dilla, who died Friday in L.A. His death was not a result of tragic violence, nor was it a self-inflicted demise---J Dilla's death was caused by the autoimmune disease lupus.

His untimely death at age 32 serves as an important opportunity to highlight the impact of lupus on the African American community. More than 1.5 million Americans suffer from lupus, and African Americans are 2-3 times more likely to develop the disease than Caucasians. Lupus is a serious health threat. While skin rashes and joint pain are among its many symptoms, lupus can lead to heart attack, stroke, kidney failure and death. Sadly, J Dilla survived only 3 years past his diagnosis.

Lupus is widespread, yet awareness and accurate knowledge about it lag behind many other illnesses. I represent two sister organizations: the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation, the nation's leading lupus organization combating the disease through research, education and direct patient services, and the Lupus Research Institute, the leading sponsor of innovative lupus research. You may access our websites here: www.LupusNY.org, www.LupusResearchInstitute.org. We also have a dynamic chapter in Los Angeles, Lupus LA: lupusla.org.

I hope that you take a moment to consider the need for greater awareness of lupus in your community. Should you be interested in developing a story on lupus or a follow-up story to the one below, please feel free to contact me at any time for more information on the disease, patient/physician interviews, research studies, and so on.

Best regards,
Liane Stegmaier
Public Relations
S.L.E. Lupus Foundation/Lupus Research Institute

Further info:

• One In Every 250 African-American Women Have Lupus
  
• Lupus and African-Americans
  
• Lupus in African American Women
  

tags: j dilla | jay dee | james yancey | lupus |

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on misusing the n-word

corey writes an open letter to Aaron McGruder today.

some of the most interesting points of his letter include:

"come on son. hearing "nigga" a thousand times EACH AND EVERY episode is not shocking, thought provoking, or genius. if you had made one episode where all everyone said was nigga, that would have made the point very strongly that we overuse the word, it would have been talked about, it would have been edgy, and you could have moved forward. instead, by over using it every week, you come off like a dude on some "pre-trip-to-africa" richard pryor renaissance sh*t, or some "post-cosby-rant" sympathizer."

we haven't seen boondocks on adult swim much, save for the granpa tries to turn a ho' into a housewife bit, so there's no comment at this time. but in reading corey's letter, it's obvious that there are probably more out there like him -- those who really appreciate the strip and have been huge fans, but are getting turned off by its stint on adult swim.

this use of the n-word to try and show us blacks how much we use the word inappropriately has been setting off a maelstrom lately. we suppose you've heard about the white Louisville high school teacher who used the n-word as slang toward a black student and got himself into a heap of trouble.

watch a video of paul dawson's intent when he used the n-word in response to a student and how he defines its usage. the teacher received 10-days suspension after this incident and then called for student's to show their support for him. here's a video of dawson discussing the aftermath.

i suppose dawson, similarly to mcgruder, is making an attempt to illustrate that the n-word is overused and misused. but it's highly unlikely that a white teacher or a cartoon series overusing the word will have any impact on youth who use the word loosely. you be the judge.

technorati tags: boondocks | aaron mcgruder | n-word

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dr. dre to produce next jay-z set

It seems that the Jigga man can't retire and let others on his label get some shine. According to page six:

"Rapper Jay-Z, who now toils as president of music label Def Jam, has industry sources snickering - because it seems the narcissistic hip-hop mogul can't stand life out of the recording booth. One music business insider in L.A. for the Grammys snipes, "The big gossip of the Grammys is about Jay-Z. After saying he was going to retire when he became president of Def Jam so he wouldn't compete with other artists on his label, he has a record coming out in June. To make matters worse, Dr. Dre is producing the record, which is huge because Dre hasn't produced an album in years. Dre is on rival label Interscope, and while Def Jam and Interscope are both under the Universal umbrella, people have their noses out of joint. This album will be huge. But first of all, Jay is not using a Def Jam producer, and second of all, he will be competing with his own artists. Not cool. His ego is so big he can't not release an album. He is a president of a label and should not be doing this."

We predict that there'll be duets with Nas, Kanye, Lupe Fiasco, and Lady Sovereign.

technorati tags: jay-z | dr. dre | def jam

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how to market a music artist in the now

last month i was supposed to attend MIDEM in Cannes to sit on a panel in the Electronic & Urban Workshop called "Get a Buzz Started - Reach your Community!"

The description of the panel was: "A release is no longer enough. Working on building a community has become a great launching pad. By developing a tribe and creating a unique visual identity to illustrate specific values, an artist can appeal to a specific audience. Find out how to reach small communities, create and manage a network. Alongside more traditional community spaces such as clubs, unconventional community tools have sprouted: weblogs and virtual communities can now help conquer a community."

Unfortunately due to unforseen circumstances I could need attend. But had I attended, I would have definitely used Lupe Fiasco as an example. The marketing that has been put into motion for his release is awesome. He's on the cover of Fader and listed as a Vibe Next artist, mainly on the strength of his Kanye West and Jay-Z affiliations.

Yet what I think is more impressive than the crew he runs with are the web marketing efforts put into play for his release. The guerilla street team-like approach to marketing this artist and his mixtapes works are of the community building aspect, and I think it's definitely going to be a win. He's already garnered quite a following over at lastfm.

There's no final album yet, and Atlantic has basically put up a site that is nothing more than an audio player, serving as a test marketing tool for the artist. The site has a big push for community, prompting users to become his friend through his myspace page. On his site there's even an audio message from Lupe and a big play at developing message board fanaticism, with threads started by Lupe himself (or more likely an intern posing as Lupe).

Of course we're not downplaying the 3-part mixtape series Fahrenheit 1/15 and what a mixtape push can do for the marketability of an artist before an album is released (50 showed us the blueprint for that one), but nowadays mixtapes, crew affiliations, and releases with simple marketing plans just don't make the cut. We've seen how the blogging community can often aid the making or breaking of an artist's career, but it's just now that the labels are catching on to this. They're retaining these web marketing gurus to hit up bloggers directly with mixtapes and mp3 samples, as part of their overall marketing plan.

technorati tags: lupe fiasco | atlantic records | last.fm | myspace

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when small worlds collide

so yesterday, i'm having this business lunch at a thai restaurant in union square, and a guy walks over to the table and stares in my face. it was quite unnerving to say the least. he keeps staring. so i ask, "do i know you?" he responds, "you should, i know you." he stares closer and asks me to look closer.

wouldn't you know it - it was none other than peter dean rickards of the notorious afflictedyard. who happens to have launched one of the best looking magazines i've seen in a decade.

unfortunately, it had been awhile since i'd seen him in person. so considering that was five years ago, and he didn't have his wooly mane, i think i can be forgiven.

i guess that's what i get for not remembering that john told me last week when we were hanging out that peter would be in town soon.

after seeing him, it dawned on me that he got the whole VOD years ahead before all of this hubbub going on about it now. he was broadcasting live reggae shows out of Kingston back then when I met him. just a shame that there was no infrastructure there to support that kind of innovation then. you know how does 56k dialup support that?

i guess that's even why pseudo.com with all of their original broadcasting coming out of their soho studios was ahead of its time. these folks could've been big players right now had they managed to stay afloat.

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is there an iTunes killer in the wings?

Xeni Jardin seems to think so. songbird's site is down right now, but if you're a windows user, you can still download the app and check it out.

This is what we know about it, other than what you can read over at boingboing.

" Songbird is a media browser and Web player built from Firefox's browser engine. Songbird is open source, will run on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux and supports user contributed, cross-platform extensions."

This is a preview release, a proof-of-concept, so there are many things still missing."

we haven't yet tried it ourselves, but the features that the app promises - look, erm, promising.

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stop purchasing ringtones

Eliot Van Buskirk posts commentary @ Wired News, detailing how to transfer computer MP3 files to your MP3 enabled phone. Of course this will take away from the billions of revenue generated by the music industry.

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y is jada pinkett smith sooo angry

Wicked Wisdom - "Something Inside Of Me" Video

(video player courtesy of Google Video)

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last night's rewind

so last night seemed as if it were going to be pretty special. at least i knew i was on the list for the prince debuts tamar event, if nothing else. i knew i was going b/c i had confirmed it with the press agent with a phone call, just to make sure it was legit and that i had a + 1. so what at the eleventh hour i couldn't find one single person to go with me.

just after posting last night though, i received an im from john threat. just what i needed, a jeep rider to ride with for the night. we hadn't hung in a while so this was going to be cool on several fronts.

while threat and i were getting our itinerary together, i got an email from ian, i was also going to be in the miss 60/kelis joint, minus a + 1 of course. but this was still major. everyone's been trying to get into that party all week.

for me though, it was going to be a grand night. i rarely go out anymore, and i suppose one of the reasons i never really go out anymore is because it appears that murphy's law is attached to me with the same indelibility as my tatts. i can't shake off "if anything can go wrong it will" -- for nothing. i especially couldn't shake it off last night.

so threat and i agreed to meet up @ the industry cosgin weekly mixer @ 9, of course he wasn't there @ 9, but it was cool. i happened to know some folks outside the venue and we chatted it up for several minutes, and i even met this new rap cat named esso who is about to drop major heat with sicamore.

when threat finally arrives we decide to go inside to grab snack and libations. halt. we don't do this, b/c the mandatory $1 coat check is killing us. no not the $1 fool, the mandatory coat check part. so off we bounce to miss 60/kelis. things look a little unorganized at the time and the line a little 2 lengthy for our pleasures. halt.

we spin back to the mandatory coat check joint and after a few phone calls and barganing with the party hosts, we get in w/out the mandatory. snacks and libations were splendid. and we even got our tab covered, w/out asking it be so. we chat with industry heads - but all i'm thinking in my head, all i wanted all night, was an opportunity to possibly catch prince perform. the tamar introductions i'm sure woulda' been cool, but all i was thinking about was his short purpleness. in fact that was the only reason i was even out at all.

remember - "if anything can go wrong it will?" well it did. dead halt. at the theater, the list was checked numerous times, the tickets at will call as well - and neither my name or my company name could be found. livid. i texted a quip to the pr agent. i keep forgetting that everyone and their mother owns either a sidekick or a blackberry now, and didn't expect the immediate response. said pr agent was also livid. but couldn't explain. promised it wouldn't happen to me at other events. cool. but not so cool.

meanwhile, i had forgotten that i had tried to reach the miss 60/kelis connect as well as my trusty spin allies who were on the inside to find out what was what over there. i had already missed kelis it appeared and there was no way i was getting a + 1 in there.

so why did i go out again?

making the best of the best, threat and i went back to bk for a drink. but why is it that i can't get a drink in bk w/out seeing either someone who works for my company, who used to work for my company, or is related to my company in some way? it just doesn't happen. ever.

it was good to spend time with threat, but really, to be really, really, totally, brutally honest --- my ass shoulda' just gone straight home from work.

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prince and tamar in town

so there are quite a few parties going on in nyc this week as it's fashion week and all. there's been no real going out for the lass lately, so tonight was going to be the night of indulging oneself. there's the negril spot where all these media types hang out every thursday. it's never been checked out by the likes of us, but we thought we should considering people are always telling us and asking us about it.

we'll probably attend, but we want to see what else is going on...

earlier this week, an email came through that read:

...You have been invited to attend the debut NY LIVE performance of Prince protégé Tamar, at the Nokia Theater. Rumor has it that Prince will grace the stage as well.

When: Thursday, February 2nd

Time: 11:30PM

Please let us know if you would like to attend.

*Please note: RSVP does not guarantee admittance; tickets are limited as the show is already sold out. We will send email confirmations.

***3121, the new album by Prince, will be released on March 21.***...

hmmm...might be nice

hit reply - rsvp + 1

holding breath, cuz of course this is limited craziness and even the princely one once waited on line to hear d'angelo.

in the midst of waiting, another email made its way into the inbox:

...MISs sixty fashion week after-party

at

Capitale

with

Beverly Bond on the 1's and 2's

Doors at 10pm

Kelis scheduled to perform at 11:00pm...

ooooooo, let's rsvp for that too

sounds like it'll be a fine night

fine, fine night

except - only one confirmation received - and received @ the 11th hour to be exact

confirmed for Prince and Tamar plus one

oh shit

how to find a plus one for the night at a moment's notice

lover can't go

siblings can't go

all best friends have moved away

ok start asking writers, former employees, and other friends

how the hell, does everybody love prince, but no one, but me, can make a decision to go to this thing at a moment's notice

i guess i'll be going alone then - but heh, don't cry for me

posted by lynne | link to this | comment () | trackback (0) |

superbowl commercials on demand

many of us -- who are not men and who are not white -- tend to only watch the superbowl for the half time show and/or the commercials. well this year, you won't have to sit through the game just to see the commercials as they're being distributed through multi-platforms.

• nfl to run super bowl ads on multi-platforms (mediaweek)
• sprint kicks off superbowl features (wirelessweek)
• super bowl ads hit espn web plays

it's a good biz dev move for espn.com to air the commercials, as espn mobile will launch during super bowl with a 60-sec spot.

• espn unveils sports heaven (adweek)
• mobile espn super bowl xl launch (imedia connection)

posted by lynne | link to this | comment () | trackback (0) |

soap operas gets new mediarized

the recent developments of cbs, particularly with its flagship soap opera - the guiding light, is definitely a comment on how popular blogging, vodcasts, and podcasts have become. traditional media is finding its way on the other side more and more every day.

a visit over to the guiding light website reveals the GL Insider Blog, a behind-the-scenes look @ GL. there's also GL video with show summaries and interviews with the show's stars. and that's not all, as part of the cbs netcast GL has its own podcast and podcast lite, for those who don't want to or can't listen to the entire show.

not to be outdone by cbs of course, abc has added abc mobile to its digital offerings. oh wow, just what a wanted (*sarcasm) -- text messages from the notorious erica kane.

posted by lynne | link to this | comment () | trackback (0) |

Is VOD the next killer app for the Web?

It would appear so, considering all of the recent activity in the marketplace. While Apple may have had the running start out the gate, landing major content coups (especially SNL and MTV) it doesn't mean that other start-ups won't be competitive.

Apple already had a template, following it's strategy with the iTunes music store. Make a product that requires content, and then build strategic partnerships in order to provide the content to those devices.

But what about the user who wants their VOD right where they are -- at their desktop? This is where Google's simple but effective debut of its beta google video comes in. Google foregoes the bells and whistles making content discovery just as fun as it is on youtube. Well, almost.

The youtube model works best because it features a community aspect. And isn't that just what all the web's killer apps have done? Napster. Blogs. Flickr. Myspace. Just name any web tool that people have gathered around the water cooler to discuss, and there's one thing they have in common — community.

But that doesn't mean that Apple or Google, or the endless players who will follow suit, won't be able to get it right. It's just that it might not be right now.

posted by lynne | link to this | comment () | trackback (0) |