What you want Episode 2

I'm telling you what you want.......again!!
What do you want today?
A PIECE OF PAPER!!!!!
THAT'S WHAT YOU WANT!!!!!!



In case you did not notice, this is a very serious riff on the MacBook Air.
You know you want one now.

The quest to become the world's greatest Rock Band Band

As you might know (well, now you know) I have recently received the most amazing Christmas gifts ever in the form of the game Rock Band and the means to play it all day and all night (an Xbox 360). And since Rock Band is clearly one of the best multi player games of all time, there was absolutely no way that I was not gonna start a band or two. The first band I started was a 3-person band naturally called Band.One. This band consists of me on drums, and my sister and any of her little friends switching off on singing and guitar.

Band.One is currently sitting on 146 stars (for each song you play, you gain from 1-5 stars based on how well you do. these are added to your cumulative game score) and 186,400 fans. Not to shabby for a couple of n00bz.

The pop duo consisting of me and my sister, Twice az Nice, is currently edging out Band.One with 149 stars and a whopping 230,000 fans. Note that T.A.N. has also recently acquired a jet and is now on a world tour playing venues in places like Paris, Moscow, and Tokyo.

My other bands are slightly more obscure. Indie pop bands The Slayers (20 stars) and Shifting Balance (54 stars) have not amassed in one place all that many times But with or without a bass player, we proud owners of Rock Band know how to rock nonstop. Werd!

50th Annual Grammy Awards are comin' to town!

Hey! I just read some of the nominees for the Grammy Awards this year and was interested. Not only because this is the big five-oh for the most prestigious award show in music (sorry, the MTV music awards really have no class. Plus, they are voted on by the fans! Who cares what they say??). Anyway, since I have no Television and no idea when the actual show is, I will give you my take on the nominees (at least the ones I know), and who I think should win. Honestly, I cant predict who really will win since i have know way to get into the twisted(?) minds of whoever decides. Oh....and this may take more than one post. Enjoy!!

Record of The Year

Irreplaceable-Beyoncé
I have not yet heard the whole album, but the title track is a very soulful and just generally fun to listen to. And I do know Beyonce to have one of the best voices in the biz, on or offstage. Deservingness: 3.5/5

The Pretender-Foo Fighters
Never heard it, unfortunately. But the Foo Fighters have been one of the most entertaining pop bands during the last couple of years, and many of their hits are just about as original as their name. Plus, they are actually performing! Deservingness:4/5

Umbrella-Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z
The (slightly overplayed) title track of this album gracefully outdoes the average obnoxious single that whining about boyfriends and booze that you might find from a teenage pop star like Rhianna. Instead, it is a pleasant, catchy, and meaningful song about a good friend, sung in a good voice. Some of her other tunes are equally catchy and un-obnoxious, but I have unfortunately never known somebody in this genre who has been able to get past good singles. Is this any different? I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. You're welcome, Rianna.
Deservingness:4/5

What Goes Around…Comes Around-Justin Timberlake
Oh lord....this new album from the worlds most over-rated artist fails to impress. Although I have not gotten far into the album, the singles are overproduced, predictable, and ugly. Despite a fairly large following, J-Tim does almost nothing for his career, and his music reflects that. Deservingness: 1.5/5

Rehab-Amy Winehouse
You have probably heard the breakthrough lyric that opens Amy's 2nd album. "They tried to make me go to rehab/ but I say no, no, no". This merely marks the beginning of a wonderful soul trip along the roads of Back to Black. The style can best be described as very 40's style R&B with modern lyrics. But Amy pours her heart into her music in a way that most artists could not achieve. Songs such as Back to Black and Tears Dry On Their Own pack a serious punch and ooze soulful attitude. Combine that with incredibly tight brass in a kick-ass backup band, and Amy Winehouse puts on a hell of a show. By far the most worthy of album of the year. Deservingness: 5/5

UPDATE: My review of Amy Winehouse's Music also applies (in so many words) to her nomination for Album of the year, Song of the year (Rehab), Best New artist, best female pop vocal performance, and best pop vocal alum, Respectively.

YouTube top 10: We left of at #7, right?

The YouTube top 10 continues (finally) with a video that nobody needs to see more than once. Everybody has heard the song, its the one you all hate to love (or just hate) that pulls in at number 7. Its the video that, for better or for worse, made the entire world familiar with the phrase "superman that hoe". So without further ado, I (somewhat regretfully) present you with Number 7 on the countdown, which is officially labeled as........

Soulja Boy Tell Em - Crank That MUSIC VIDEO Album In Stores!

You probably wont enjoy, but I'll say it anyway.

Enjoy!!!!

NEBTD's "What You Want" Episode 1: Robotic Guitar

As you know, some of us who have nothing else better to do need consumer goods in order to give us something to do. Since here at NEBTD we are dedicated to bringing you stuff to do, I will write segments telling you what you are gonna want in order to have something to do. Some people ask you what you want, but I am telling you. This is what you want today; The one and only robotic Guitar by the most awesome guitar maker in the business, Gibson. Check it out.


http://www.musiciansfriend.com/Gibson-robot

MS-OMG!!!! Bill Gates gives speech, rocks out, wins bet!

Bill Gates, in all his awesomeness did so many cool things in his final Keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show yesterday, I had to split them into two parts! Here goes.......

Part 1: Keynote Speech



(this is only part of it, but its still pretty long. Sorry i cant get the whole thing in one video.)

Part 2: ROCK OUT!!!!! (for those of you who are soley interested in rocking)


One thing that bothered me: Where the hell is my Multitouch-Xbox 360-Windows-digital-wireless-Zune-Phone???

Merry Christmas!! Oh, wait...... I said that already.

AS YOUMight know by now, Christmas for me this year was excellent. In fact, I could probably even say that it Rocked. It was truly awesome, and I hope you can figure out what made it so awesome by clicking the links. Hope You have a Happy (rockin') New Year as well!!!

You'd Better Not Shout...

You'd Better not cry
You'd better not pout
I'm tellin' you why.

Merry Christmas to all you Christmasy people out there today! This is brought to you today on Christmas for your NEBTD pleasure, even though you probably will have better things to do today. Hopefully i will soon be able to fill you in on what i have received from others and what I soon will be buying for myself (not having it is not always an option). There also should be pictures on the way taken from my own wonderful camera (its film, so you might have to wait a while. It will be worth it). At the same time, keep in mind to be very zen about the presence (no, not presents) of your friends and family. Or just yourself. This is obviously the important thing. Have a wonderful day, and merry Christmas, y'all!!!

Here in Alabama!

Merry Christmas! Here is my first report from Birmingham, Alabama.

We arrived late last night and had dinner with the family. The drive was about 10 hours, but we had good food along the way and it was a good time. Although we did get lost at least twice on the way to the hotel, it meant that i got to see quite a few very exciting and beautiful Christmas light arrays. At some point I hope to take pictures of them to show y'all (that is what I have to say now that i am in the south). Nothing much has happened since, but I'm am looking forward to "cosmic bowling" tonight, and hope to have something really interesting to tell you about next time. And, this keyboard is really annoying, so I'm gonna stop now. Thanks, y'all!

Techno blip: Hold on, iPhone!

NOWIf you have read my earlier review of the iPhone when it first arrived September 25Th (Oh wait....that was Halo 3. Sorry), or whenever it was that the JesusPhone was released to upper-class America, you might remember what i have concluded about it. If you don't, I will tell you now. What i concluded was that the iPhone was a fabulous device that is nothing like anything coming before it, but was fabulously flawed at the same time. With it's obscene $499 price tag (we think that's what it was), and obscene monthly voice-and-data plan prices (maybe they are not that bad, but still not a lotta minutes for the money), the iPhone was unfortunately not going to be the savior of everyone. It's evident lack of a few things phones really should have, such as video with the camera [UPDATE: A new app lets you do just that. Barely.], and lack of things mobile 'net devices should have, like support for video streaming (other than YouTube), and third party-apps. Yes, APPle clearly did not live up to its name in this area (anybody else notice that? didn't think so). The release of Firmware 1.1.1. very audaciously shot down any app that a forward-thinking geek might have created to further improver his/her iPhone. And if they preferred T-Mobile to support this gadget, we really hope that they like bricks, too*. Given this, I ended up stamping the iPhone with a 6.5 out of 10 score (For your friends). BUT things have changes since then!

For those of you who know my original iPhone review already, this is the really
important part

Since my original review, Apple has not only reduced the cost of the great phone by $100, but also offered a $100 rebate to those who purchased them at the original price. And hell, they sure deserved it. On top of that, iSteve (with his pal iWoz**) has also allowed numerous third party apps on to the iPhone (and now the iTouch as well). Well....sort of. Apple has opened up to any application creators who wish to make something for their phone, and offered to approve it for download on their website. This is very difficult to explain. But in short, apps are now available, and more are coming. Still, the whatever-you-want, whenever-you-want other-party is still far out of sight from the iPhone. But this does not mean I should not update the review. And that is exactly what i am doing. For the reasons I have stated, the iPhone's Official rating has been officially raised from 6.5 to 8.0 out of 10. So here this:

The Apple iPhone:

8 out of 10

Super hot product

*Bricked- In the case of electronics,Rendered highly useless, much like a ceramic block.

**-If you noted that the nickname iWoz was listed as an official Wozniak nickname (after clicking the link to wikipedia), you must know that I honestly wrote that before reading the article. Funny nickname, though.

The New 102

Don't Look Now, But Mr.X in all his glory just created a new alliance of musicians and groupies for the sole purpose of rocking out to the beat of a different drum......preferably played by him. As chief of marketing for this new group, The 102, the Mr.X Clothing Co. has been converted to serve the purposes of The 102. Some of the old designs have been deleted, but for the greater good. Here is a link to the new shop. Spread it around, and rock out with Mr.X in the Bassment.......only @ The 102.

The New 102

Band Of The Week

Band of the week-
Ozomatli

I have seen ozomatli preform live in a club, on TV, on the radio, and on their albums and there is no doubt in my mind that this Latin hip-hop rock group has some of the best performances I have ever seen. They are a 9-piece band with a horn section, several percussionists and a couple of rappers in addition to the usual guitar-bass-drums rock group. And, they have played in about every musical genre you can possible imagine. From there most recent pop single, Cant Stop is one of their most fun. But that is only where the fun starts. I would highly recommend Ozo's newest album Don't mess with the dragon for fans of any Latin, hip-hop, R&B, rock, or jazz. This ethnically diverse group of musicians can produce so many varieties of excitement on a single disc, you might never be able to get enough. The hip-hop/pop tune about Los Angeles, City of Angels contains exciting brass and a little beatnik percussion and rapping to round off the full LA experience. Oh, and did I mention these guys where from Los Angeles? I probably did not need to, because you can here it in just about every song. La Gallina, Their Latin jazz tune written entirely about a chicken (in Spanish), is a fave on the Latino/Mexican pop charts. Also, the title track of an earlier Ozomatli album, Street Signs, is truly a musical trip that is not to be missed. Watch some of these videos, you might never think of hip-hop, Latin, rock, R&B, or jazz in quite the same way again.

Band of the Week: The White Stripes

The NEBTD band of the week!!!!!!
only a little late......

These days, rock bands are often overrun by large groups of musicians all wanting 15+ minutes of fame. Yet at the same time, music and the music industry is being consumed by a very large amount of over-hyped crap. Yea, I said crap. And although those first two statements where not necessarily related in any conceivable way, that does not make the White Stripes any less of an awesome band. Armed with an intense guitar player/singer who does not play any guitar that he would consider well built and a drummer who pounds out beats that would be considered.....er.....elementary by most any standard, you might think The Stripes would underwhelm as performers. They do not. Instead, they put on an unforgettable act that will undoubtedly leave you wondering where all that sound came from. Jack White stays interesting with his diverse musical diet, from 4-chord rhythm guitar to complicated riffs. While I suggest you check out a few of their albums (Elephant and White Blood Cells being two of my favs), I also suggest you immediately watch a couple videos from the NEBTD video bar. What??? No bass player???? Rock on, Stripes. Rock on.

Band of the week: Ok Go

Are you paying attention??
Beacuse if you are, you will notice that I have added an awesome video bar to the right side of my blog. This will feature some YouTube videos from my band of the week. This week, the band is Ok Go, a British pop group. Along with their infamous YouTube hit, here it goes again, OK Go has filmed a couple other music videos that you might actually want to watch, as well as listen to. I sure did. ENjoY!!!

Happy Thanksgiving with #8!!!!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL READERS!!!!!
Naturally, I must do something for thanksgiving that is completely unrelated to Thanksgiving in reality. Naturally, my number 8 on the YouTube top 10 would be perfect for such a thankful occasion. This is a very rockin', yet simple video involving an electric guitar cover of..........Pachabel's Canon. I'm serious about this. Although you cannot see this guy's face, you can feel his rock through the whole video.
So here it is, Number 8 on the YouTube countdown, simply entitled guitar, Its........................

Guitar

Coming up later........
The YouTube Honorable Mention awards:
"Dont Stop The Music"