Media- Thumbs Up or Down?

Watching Gay Engaged and Underage on MTV.. which is so so awesome! It may still be reality television on what's supposed to be MUSIC television- but still so cool that MTV is sending out such a positive message.

On the downside, one of the news headlines today was something like "Lindsay Caught Picking at Her Nose."

Fashion Cash-in

Not that I can afford even one piece of these lines, but these are my niches in fashion, if that even makes sense.

Cheap Monday (especially their awesome skinny jean choices and colors)

April 77 is a line that I think is my new favorite- ever! The mens and womens lines are amazing- I love the punk-rockish look without being too Hot Topic. This line defnitely seems to be worth the pretty penny. I love it! Even cooler, a record label from the designers with a hip-hop sound called April 77 Records has been started.

Salasai hails from New Zealand. It's edgy, while still being feminine and classy. I love the color palatte- blacks, reds, dark blues, gold/beiges. A lot of the pieces can be mixed and matched too.

Salasai
Salasai

Cheap Monday Black Skinny Jeans
April 77
April 77- awesome shiny skinny jeans!!

Internet Takes Over Lives

I deactivated my facebook!

**Note that deactivate means I can get it back exactly how I left it at anytime.

Jonas Jonas Jonas

Right now I'm watching (one of) my fantasies: Jonas Brothers + Pete Wentz on FN MTV.

They also just announced that they are performing on the VMA's. Their pants, their shoes, their scarves.. I love it so much.

*photo from usmagazine.com

A Big Loss

Tony Snow, former White House press secretary, and someone's whose work I always respected, passed away. I was so surprised when I heard the news today, even though it's been out that he had been diagnosed with cancer.

Here's another great article in which CNN reporters reflect on Tony and his work.

Music Music Music/Chicago

At the Taste of Chicago yesterday (Sunday), I caught a free and very very up-close concert with Josh Kelley and the Plain White T's.

It rained pretty much the whole time- but at the booths AND at the performance which drew a huge crowd, it didn't look like ANYONE left.

Josh Kelley aka Katherine Heigl's husband has a few songs that I love- and seeing him perform "Almost Honest" and "Amazing" live was so awesome. He was pretty funny too, as was the rest of his band.

He played this song taken from his CD that is going to be played during the Olympics- joking that it will be the new montage song that will replace Sarah McLachlan's.

I seriously thought Plain White T's were just going to play their set and not really say much, but the lead singer is pretty funny! I've seen them comment on the "I Love.." shows on VH1, where they made me laugh and it didn't stop there. They played a new song from their album out this fall which they had never played before, along with "Our Time Now" (some people know this as the Greek theme song), "Hate(I Really Don't Like You), and "Hey There, Delilah."

The Chicago Sun-Times wrote a perfect article explaining their set, how the pouring rain that I stood in tied in with their music, and more.

Both performances were really really good- awesome for a free show!

*photo from marlerblog.com

Career

My major is Public Relations (or Communications, I don't know yet). A short article defines the entire field. As of right now, I want to work in the music industry. PR to me can be exciting at the top, but to me it seems like the long road to that is mostly/partly in an office.

Now, I don't mind interning (I am now, at a radio station 102.3 XLC) because I can observe, learn new things about the business, and gain contacts. But I just don't want to do something that's not interesting/exciting to me. I really really like the type of people that are in the music industry that I have met so far (well, I haven't had too much time with major record labels' top employees yet) -the creativity, artistic minds, and a lot more.

I like that the music industry is always on the go- touring, new music, festivals, etc. The experiences that I have had so far this past year have been really great, and I'm excited to see what will happen next!

Music Music Music

Love The Black Lips! Categorized on MySpace as "psychedelic/comedy" might make you think they're a joke without giving this group a listen. "O Katrina" and "Bad Kids" are two very very cool songs.

And they're playing Lollapalooza this year!

Cool Cause + Music

The Nike+ Human Race is being advertised as the world's largest one day running event. It will take place in 25 cities on August 31 of this year. "Money will be raised via givebacks from registration fees, a percentage of Nike+ Human Race t-shirt sales and a donation of USD $1 million from Nike. " (from this article). There is also an online tool where users can pledge money.

Lance Armstrong already committed to the race, along with many other athletes. Staying true to modern uses of the internet, nikeplus.com offers a place where you can create a user profile and has access to information about the race and pre-race training.

There will be 25 major recording artists in each of the 25 cities- including Kanye West in the Los Angeles race and Fall Out Boy in the Chicago (yay!) race. Other cities include London, Paris, and Madrid.

This sounds pretty cool, and there is already a great source of more information for participants at nikeplus.com. I wonder if any of it will be televised? Hopefully, the turnout will be really really successful- I'm sure the huge performers + the cause itself is enough for people to get interested. Once on the website, you choose which city you want to run in, and also the charity you would like your proceeds to be donated to- pretty cool. The FAQ section will probably give you even more incentive to join, there's a lot of information in here! (this one is for Chicago's race).

Money made will be donated to each of the three organizations: WWF, the global conservation organization, Lance Armstrong Foundation and UN refugee agency's ninemillion.org campaign.

More Music Industry

A very very interesting piece was written, again on the changing music industry. The article weighs in on rap stars and their soon-ending contracts, and their next steps. One of the main points that looking into being signed on a record label is not necessarily a priority is the music industry's new focus on digital media and online social networks and the entire boom of music and products on the Internet in general.

The money is not necessarily just in the records themselves, but in a whole new form of branding on the internet. Sales from rap albums, as well as others, are down from just last year. These artists (LL Cool J, Jay-z) are already huge and established, and could do well on their own. There are more do-it-all entrepreneurs than ever- think Diddy. What they choose to do will without a doubt have a huge impact on the future of the music business.

The Future (should be) Now

*photos from inhabit.com

Wow! First, here's the picture. Yes, that's a CAR. Branded as a "solar, human, and gas-electric hybrid vehicle," it has a 150+ miles per gallon fuel efficiency- complete with solar panels on the roof! Where did this come from? Hungary, where it's titled as the Antro Solo and set to come out in 2012 for the price of $20,000.

I Love.. 'I Love..'

VH1's I Love the New Millenium started this week, starting with 2000/2001. Maybe it's just not as fun to hear about something I'm extremely familiar about that only happened a few years ago. I Love the 80's and I Love the 90's seemed to flow better and had more of a variety of what the network chose to show on the series. It's still good though, but maybe should have waited a few more years to recap events that only happened very recently. You just don't get that "Oh yeah, I forgot about that!" reaction from this series really at all. They did do a good piece (no humor was used) on 9/11 though in the 2001 hour.

Music Industry

Recent studies show "consumers acquired more music in 2007, but spent less." No kidding! That would be just one of the causes of changes /problems in the music industry today.

The Real World

Good news for us soon-to-be grads in Illinois!

Northside Pride

It's time for.. the CUBS/SOX series this weekend! Awesome time to be in Chicago. The Chicago Tribune has started a new blog featuring both Cubs and Sox team players in posted videos on the site, plus other really unique things from around the Internet.

**UPDATE: Cubs swept the Sox this weekend- still another Cubs/Sox series coming up!

The Taste of Chicago in Grant Park- which is increasing ticket prices and I think having less vendors this year- is also coming up in a little over a week. It's really fun though, lots of people, only comes once a year, live music- definitely worth it! One of my favorite bands, A Cursive Memory is set to play.

Lollapalooza is coming up in early August, which I will be interning at- should be cool! Also Warped tour- which is the same weekend! Not so good.

Jonas

Yeah, I just bought People magazine's Special Collector's Edition of the Jonas Brothers. Moving way up on my list of people to meet is their stylist, Michelle Tomaszewski. They're ALWAYS dressed extremely well AND coordinated with one another!

Late Night News

Larry the Cable guy has ruined Deal or No Deal for me!! On The Tonight Show, he jokes, "I had a dream last night about the Deal or No Deal Girls. They were all prostitutes and the amount in the case was the amount you paid for them. And it's like "Come on 10 dollars!!"

Also, right after watching a segment of some guy that jumped over 8 interns on the Late Show, the announcer says "Stay tuned for Spencer Pratt." WHAT?! So weird. Except I still think the FN MTV commercials are funny.

Indie Rock

*photo from indierockcafe.com

After catching these guys perform a great live show at Club Firestone this past weekend, I did a little searching on the indie/pop/rock group Vampire Weekend. Here's one review from their album released earlier this year. Vampire Weekend put on an awesome live show and definitely won me over with that and their great sound. I love them!

So, I don't obsess over/love all indie music. I think I once described what I do like of Indie music is the more "upbeat sounds." I like The Strokes, Radiohead(in smaller doses, don't kill me), Muse, The Killers, etc.

But I just don't listen to all of what indie music has to offer. However, I do think it's great and probably one of the most creative sounds of today. I don't think I have to just stick to one type of music though. I love learning about different bands and different sounds, but have a hard time focusing on just one ALL the time.

What I'm saying is, when I'm listening to music to bring a good mood, enjoy my time, have fun, etc. I would say I mostly like listening to other forms of rock (pop, classic) or punk. I'm absolutely not saying that there's anything wrong with "indie" music- it's extremely creative and I'm impressed with every said band that I listen to.

I'm saying that for example, if I'm going for a drive, The Libertines wouldn't necessarily be the first band that I feel like cruising to. I wouldn't spend my life's savings on tickets for The Kooks. I can listen to and enjoy this type of music; it's just not the very first response I would give out when talking about my favorite music.

I hope it doesn't sound like I don't like this type of music, the point is that I do! I just am not always in the right place to WANT to feel like listening to it. That's all!

Funny Funny Funny

*photo from phillymag.com

Can never get enough of this awesome impressionist, Frank Caliendo! He is so so so good at what he does. This is one of the best and funniest sets of his from the David Letterman Show.

There are a lot of aspiring comedians who aren't funny, too over the top, too raunchy, too repetitive, etc. But Caliendo puts on a great act; very funny! I've seen most of his stuff, and he should definitely come out with some new material soon.

More Hacking

This, about the Chinese hacking computers of those in U.S. Congress, sounds like an episode of 24.

Pete Wentz

*photo from people.com

Ok.. this commercial for Pete's new show promising music on "F'N MTV" is pretty funny, even though you try not to laugh. But you can't help it! (You have to watch until the very end!).

Mission Space

There's really nothing else to say about it, except this new space mission is pretty cool! I remember sophomore year of high school in my environmental geoscience class, my teacher read from Stephen Hawkings' book "A Brief History in Time," about black holes, endless space, etc.

The device that left for space today was described as a "flashlight that will shine in space" where it can discover things not yet known or seen out there.

Also, the Kennedy Space Center is like a half hour from where I live and I've still never been there!!

Reality TV

In this clip, Jeff Lewis, a crazy, funny guy who renovates expensive homes and sells them on his reality show "Flipping Out," refers to last season where he "flipped out" because his assistant brought him an order of food with onions- you can only guess how he felt about this, and he's not afraid to say it.

The show is coming back on June 17th!!

Myspace Gets Outsmarted!

Reportedly, Myspace user "Jesse" hacked into pop group Boys Like Girls' Myspace all day today. He hacked their account, posting bulletins titled "Add him! He is the reason we're here," giving his own link inside. Inside the bulletin, user "Jesse" writes,

"Add the guy that got us where we are now! This is the guy that basically got us started from the ground up and really enjoyed helping us. He's an all around nice type of guy but recently got deleted.He help us as much as many others start off and since he has gotten deleted we want to help him out like he did so add him you might recongnize his face but help him get up there again!"

This story is only reportedly true.. with over 6,000 friends this guy is a genius, but also an idiot! What's the point? To get more friends.. on the internet? Or to show off?

He even went as far as to put himself on the band's top friends. Boys Like Girls has gotten very popular recently, with help of MTV and major radio airplay and are also signed to Columbia Records. The band from Boston has hundreds of thousands of friends, a lot of whom have potentially read the many bulletins posted today by the hacker.

The band may not yet have realized they have been hacked, and no statement has been released or update posted.

***Updated: Jesse's MySpace account was deleted

Dave's Top 10

Sometimes David Letterman's Top 10 is funny, sometimes it's a little bit less. This was from last night's show called "Top Ten Messages Heard on Barack Obama's Answering Machine." Very, very funny.

Chicago

The weather in Chicago is getting warm- for my coming home! Not really, but the news says that in Chicago the high today is 92 and it was something like 72 degrees now (9:06 AM CT).

Same weather as here in Orlando, awesome! About one week until I'm home!! Except, oh yeah, I still have to get through the statistics final. Well actually I still have to get through the statistics project due in an hour and a half.

Sex and the City

*photo courtesy of amazon.com

The Sex and the City soundtrack is getting great reviews! The soundtrack includes songs from artists Fergie, Jennifer Hudson (also in the film), Morningwood, The Weepies, and Joss Stone.

Still can't wait to see the movie!! Also, I'm still trying to avoid hearing people talk about it, which is hard.

Twitter on CNN

Twitter breakthrough! On the front page, the headlining CNN story is entitled, "Freed student uses Twitter to demand translator's release." I talked a little about Twitter in the first post. It's a website that many people- mostly 18+, businesspeople- can compose statuses which are updated right away on the Twitter website, from the site itself and/or from their cell phone or Facebook. There's a word limit,which makes it easily readable and a quick process.

It takes a little to get use to remembering to go to it- but users can make connections and send important information through their updated statuses.

This is a great example. A student alerted his friends he was arrested by updating his Twitter status through his cell as "Arrested," in which his friends were then aware of the situatuon. The student and his teacher were taken into custody while at a protest concerning the economy. He was let out of jail by help of a lawyer he hired. This has lead some to reaearch concerning a "Twitter network that would allow those in trouble to directly let someone know that they are in danger."

Interesting! Look what technology has come to. This is really cool, especially considering Twitter is kind of a newer site. It's fast, quick approach opens a lot of doors for researchers, and I'm sure there will be a lot of good that comes out of this.

That's Nice!

Reported from the huffingtonpost.com:

On the topic of Vice President Dick Cheney and Senator Barack Obama's recent findings of being distantly related,

"Cheney explained that during the course of researching his family lineage for Lynne's memoir "Blue Skies, No Fences" last year, he learned there were Cheneys on both his father's and his mother's side of the family. There was a Richard Cheney on his mother's side, the vice president said, 'So I had Cheneys on both sides of the family and we don't even live in West Virginia," Cheney quipped.'

Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia was not amused:

'...Now that he or the Administration he represents no longer needs their vote, Mr. Cheney apparently feels that he is now free to mock and belittle the people of West Virginia. With his trademark arrogance, the Vice President even added 'You can say those things when you're not running for re-election.'"
"This pitiful comment is not entirely surprising when you consider the source. Vice President Cheney's words reflect the attitude of an administration and a party that says what they must to get elected and then turns their backs on those they promised to represent.' "

Yeah, that's nice.

Internships

I apply to so many different internships/volunteer opportunities/etc. that sometimes it's hard to keep track.. but I do remember the Lollapalooza one which would be so awesome to do.

Also, when I apply to intern or work at a record label- whenever that is- I think I don't want to start off with Major labels. That sounds backward, but this is just my opinion that those in the major record labels have been in the business for years and it's ALL about the money. I think that like, for indie record labels, more of the music- since it IS indie- is a bigger factor. That's really not the only reason at all because it could definitely not be true. I like a lot of music these days from labels like Drive-Thru Records, Tooth & Nail, and others. I think it's important to actually believe in, support, and understand the type of music that I would be working for.

I also don't want to end up working for a huge corporation (which who knows, I could end up happily doing that) because eventually I want to start/co-start my own company. I'm not exactly sure what kind, and hopefully I can start more than one unique organization, not necessarily all related to music or the music industry either.