In Love with: coralie jouhier’s unkempt chic tresses

Lords of the Tour: 30 Seconds to Mars

If you want to be a successful musician you need to get yourself a loyal group of fans and go on world tour after world tour to keep them happy. If you look at the music industry you’ll realize that the acts that have stayed relevant are those with a massive loyal following bordering on cult status. The survival of most musical acts is heavily dependent on touring and what I like to call roadwork. Lets face it, nowadays  CD sales are quite disappointing so touring presents a steady source of income. Touring is also essential for musicians because it allows them to connect with their fans and keep their communities alive.  No  genre is more reliant on touring  than rock music. Rockstars spend most of their time on the road spreading their music and keeping themselves relevant.  I remember hearing that Linkin Park once  had only one free day in the whole year because they were on tour. From Grateful Dead to Guns n’Roses, Coldplay to Foo Fighters, touring has proven a very effective way to promote yourself. Being on the road for months on end cannot be easy for artists but if you love your fans that’s the sacrifice you make. After all, fans are the reason why successful artists remain successful. It’s really not about the critics, what do they know? It’s all about the fans, all about the fans. One of the most successful touring bands has got to be 30 Seconds to Mars who have been touring extensively touring for the past two years, which is very impressive. Their incredible touring has gotten them into the Guinness Book of World Records and today the band will perform its 300th concert at New York’s Hammerstein Ballroom. I am a huge fan of these guys so I am very excited for them. This is a band that loves their fans, look on Twitter and Facebook for proof. I would love to see 30 seconds to Mars perform soon but I will definitely be there in spirit today. Congrats boys, keep it up!!

SiMH❤ Ode to Girl Power

Once upon a time, in another life I was a crazy Spice Girls fan. Who am I kidding I still am. I have been known to rock out to Spice from time to time (I know you do it too but won’t admit it). My friends and I used to pretend to be the Spice Girls and I was Baby Spice (if I could do it again I would definitely be Ginger). It’s really funny to think that those five British ladies inspired a generation but they really did. The term Girl Power became something young girls could say with pride and as a part-time feminist I love that  fact.  Before Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez, the Spice Girls were the music industry’s very first brand with watches, colouring books and lollipops, and who didn’t want to wear those huge platform shoes (I had 3 pairs). Now in terms of talent, the Spice Girls aren’t your Mariah Careys and Christina Aguileras, but they worked. The were fun, in your face and easy on the eye. These gals bought the energy and attitude of rock music to pretty, squeaky clean pop. The Spice Girls are probably one of the reasons I wish to explore a career in music. They had their drama but it was nice to see a group of girls drive so many people crazy. They came, they saw and conquered the global music industry, and although fame conquered them they held the top spot well. It’s sad that they have been reduced to bad jokes and Halloween costumes but let’s be realistic something that big was bound to fall at some point. My favourite Spice Girls tracks are Stop, Spice Up Your Life, That Love Thing and Too Much. I don’t really like Wannabe but I get the appeal. Without these girls, pop music would be a totally different genre. They deserve respect for ruling and redefining it.

SiMH❤ Encore: The Purses and Suits of Happiness

WHERE DID ALL THE ROMANCE GO?

Excuse me but was I under a rock when the most romantic phrase became “Just throw it in the bag” as rapper Fabolous and the Dream teamed up to sing? I am confused and appalled at this because love seems to now be measured by how much a man spends on you and the price tag and label on what he buys. Money, as it turns out, can buy love!!

According to the world today, happiness is not pursued,it is bought. I will use rap as well as r n b as my case study. If one listens to most rap songs it is clear that money,cars and lavish living are the way to obtain happiness. Kid Cudi sang about the “Pursuit of Happiness” but now what I am seeing are the “Purses and Suits of Happiness”.

 

Even listening to a rap “love song” one is appalled at how love and money are put on the same level. From T.I singing “you can have whatever you like” to “I got a bunch of dollars so I can spend on her/so she can be my lady she can be my lover,” as Rick Ross sings, it is so clear that these men think buying expensive cars and purses is the measure of their love. Now don’t get me wrong, it is nice to spend money on your lady but don’t make it seem like it is the only thing you need to do to keep her happy. What saddens me  is that some women are happy with these kinds of relationships not realising that they are worth way more than that Hermes bag he just purchased.

I really  don’t know why women marry rappers. The message I get from most of their music is that they are super materialistic people who think success is measured by the suits they wear, and the price tag of the purse he bought his girlfriend. I heard this song by The Dream called “Make up bag”, in which this tragedy is applied. Besides the awful lyrics I actually managed to find something more appalling, and that is the meaning and message of the song. So basically in this song The Dream cheats on his girlfriend and she finds out.”I been out all night patroning/she sayin sorry won’t get it.”

The chorus is the killer. Firstly it says something about The Dream’s songwriting skills and more importantly it says a lot about the society in which we are living.

“if you ever make ya girlfriend mad/don’t let your good girl go bad/drop five stacks on a make up bag/”

Really? So if a guy messes up then buys me an expensive bag all will be forgiven? That really isn’t a compliment to us women. What connotations does this have on us? How do you even know if the apology is heartfelt? What an appalling song. Sadly,it isn’t just a concept or a song, some ladies would be happy to receive such an expensive apology. Are these the messages music should be conveying. It isn’t just hip hop that died, R n B and pop went with it. Sad day. Marvin Gaye must be turning in his grave. Mercy,mercy me indeed!

To answer the question at the beginning, romance has clearly gone from peoples’ hearts to their pockets. I am all for old school romance not this new type of love. If you really think about it how much thought does it take to charge a pair of Louboutins to your black American express card? Not much, coz your assistant probably does it for you. I am not fooled by this phenomenon, I see it for what it really is. An act, a cover up, a facade. If you think your bling will blind me, you are grossly mistaken.  In this case I will sing along with J.lo and say “my love don’t cost a thing” So as an independent woman I refuse to have my worth measured by that monogrammed purse you want to buy me. Actually I can buy it myself, thank you.

No, I am not single….

Underplayed and Underappreciated : Robin Thicke

Robin Thicke’s new album drops officially drops in a fortnight! Loud high fives all around people, this is exciting news. More exciting than Rihanna’s Talk that Talk release by far because here is a guy who actually makes real music (No offence Riri fans.) Yes, Love after War, Robin Thicke’s new will be in stores on December 7 (Merry Early Christmas!!). Two tracks from the album have already been released, and if Love After War and Pretty Lil Heart are anything to go by, we expect nothing but perfection when the album drops. The Love after War video is also out now so for those of you who want to see Robin Thicke’s good looks (or Paula Patton’s) check it out. You gotta love a guy who loves putting his wife in (a lot of) his videos.

Why do I love Robin Thicke, you ask? I have a thing for old school soul i.e Marvin Gaye and although I wasn’t in existence in Marvin’s time, Thicke’s music gives me that old school feeling. Robin Thicke is soul music personified and he has the moves and voice to back it up, so no, he’ not just a pretty face. I will always support artists who go against the grain and refuse to be changed by the pressures of the industry. The success of thump thump songs like Party Rock Anthem and We Found Love shows exactly where the music industry is at right now (music with a lot of shuffle and no soul). Artists like Robin Thicke forever stand out because they are unashamedly all about the soul. His music is deep, authentic and honest, and although the industry doesn’t give him the attention and respect he deserves I think he has 10 times the talent of The Billboard Top 10 combined.

I don’t understand how some people get so much attention and airplay when they don’t have the unique talent and presence to back it up. If you took away the good producers, autotune and bells and whistles there wouldn’t be anything special about them. Notice how I didn’t mention any names? I practised severe restraint here. For every 10  silly catchy thump thump songs there is one quality song. These songs are wasting airplay. Am I the only one who sees something wrong with that? Shouldn’t it be the other way round? Shouldn’t we have a plethora of good music then a few mediocre songs to balance it out? I am passionate about the music industry and what I want to see it return to a time where quality actually meant something. That’s why I fully support Robin Thicke and his music. He still knows what music is and refuses to be tied down by the current commercial pressures of music.

SiMH❤ Today: The City Game ft Kendrick Lamar

“I won’t stop till I’m the king of every state!!”

This is a good first track if there ever was one. Opening an album with this song reminds me of being pushed into an ice-cold pool. No you didn’t get into it inch by inch, you fell full body into it and you can’t and don’t want to get out. If someone asked me my favourite track on Game’s R.E.D, giving a straight answer would be more than difficult because I actually love the whole album. But if I had to pick this song would come out on top. Track 1 on an album is the pace setter, a foretaste of what to expect. I heard this song and I wanted to listen to the whole R.E.D. It’s aggressive and it’s about Game’s city. He teams up with one of the west coast’s most talented up and comers Kendrik Lamar who delivers a brilliant hook. I don’t know why he’s so angry in this song but it makes the song incredible, and you have to adore the “leave the angels in the city” sample in the song. It’s such a simple arrangement but between the beat, lyrics and flow you find yourself wanting the whole album to yourself.

LISTEN TO “THE CITY”

 

Hip Hop Hooray on a Tuesday : The Talented Mr Taylor

Six years ago beefing with 50 Cent was career suicide. Remember how Ja Rule became irrelevant literally overnight? Ok so maybe his music wasn’t as good as before but the beef with Mr Jackson didn’t help his case. It’s ironic however that (the) Game also beefed with Fiddy but his career is going from strength to strength. Frankly he’s doing a lot better than 50 Cent(who’s laughing now).

4 albums later Jayceon Terrell Taylor is still relevant and doing pretty well for himself while he’s at it. In terms of rappers, New York is well accounted for with people like Jay-Z, Fabolous and Nas. LA as the birthplace of Gangster rap and home to Tupac Shakur seems to be running out of great rappers. Snoop has lost it, and Dr Dre is more producer than rapper so I think it would be correct to say that Game is holding the flag of the West up high. I have a lot of respect for this guy, he has stayed true to his roots and delivered an amazing album R.E.D which was released earlier this year. Game oozes West Side swag and R.E.D is so Compton you feel like you’re riding in his “Cherry 64” with the ocean breeze in your hair. From the epic words, “this is how we do” until now he has stayed true to himself. He raps about life growing up in a tough city, and escaping it’s traps and life on the other side. From an abusive childhood, foster care, loss, and near death experiences this guy’s life story is remarkable. The fact that he rose above all this and became so successful makes him admirable in my eyes. It’s not about where you’re from it’s about where you’re going. You can feel pain, determination and most importantly passion in every rhyme and verse.  R.E.D is a brilliant album with a wide range of songs for any moment. I listen to this album everyday and it sounds better everyday. By today’s low musical standards, if you can listen to an album without skipping a single track, you have a good album on your hands. Some albums have a few great tracks while others get boring by the 7th song, but not R.E.D. This is an exceptional work and the collaborations with Kendrik Lamar, Tyler the Creator, Nelly Furtado, Big Boi, Lil Wayne and Chris Brown show is far reaching talent.  2011  has been a great year for hip hop and R.E.D has contributed enormously to this fact. That’s why Game is stuck in my headphones..

Fall of the Gentleman?

After the dismal failure of his fourth studio album, it seems that Ne yo went back to the drawing board (or so we thought). Year of the Gentleman was such an impressive album because it epitomized the reasons why we fell in love with Mr Smith in the first place. That voice,  those poetic lyrics and that oh-so-smooth gentleman status he exuded so effortlessly. This man looked like he had been lifted from the most posh, exclusive gentleman’s club and he not only loved women but he treasured and respected them at the same time. I have no idea where all that went in Libra Scale because I couldn’t recognize him. He exchanged musical quality for dancing shoes with dismal results.

I usually write blog posts from inspiration, this one however stems from seething anger. What happened to the man who serenaded us with Part of the List, made us sad in So Sick and thrilled us in Closer. What is the difference between the Ne yo of Because of You and the Ne yo of Libra Scale? One word-arrogance. I mean I don’t blame the fella, if you have penned hits like Irreplacable and Take A Bow and have half the music business clamouring   to work with you, the angle of my nose would be a little higher too, but what he’s exuding is 100 times more than a little cockiness. I always liked Ne yo because he was humble and easy to relate to but he is now turning into those R n B singers who think the world revolves around their music  and their autotuned, oversexed, overpayed personas.

Ne-yo I am sad to say this but you are starting to really annoy me…I have resorted to listening to your early albums and reminiscing about the days when you were a shining star. You used to stand out, you were so different but now you just blend in with the already dead genre of RnB (check my last post). Case in point, Ne-yo’s new single The Way You Move from his new album The Cracks in Mr Perfect. The album name might be a warning that he is losing it, remember how 50 Cent called his album Before I Self Destruct and his career did just that (and then some). Anyway back to Ne-yo. I feel like 7 other people have a song called The Way You Move so what’s so special about your song Ne-yo? Huh? I mean it’s a song about strippers for crying out loud and ever since “I’m in Love with a Stripper” I think that theme is a lot old. Dude you just had a daughter and you’re praising strippers in your song? Are you serious? And then you had to feature Mr “I’m in Love With a Stripper” himself-why is T-Pain still getting any work. Ne-yo you used to make timeless music now your music belongs on the playlist of a bad RnB radio station. I am saying this with a lot of love because I am actually a big fan but I am really disappointed in you right now. Why are people making songs about strippers anyway, there are many other things going on in the world that do not revolve around poles.

And why is Mr Trey “sex on a stick-I sing like a horse” Songz on your song, can’t you get creative with your collaborations. Look for Frank Ocean’s number or you can even call Mario/Omarion everyone knows those dudes need work right now. Look, maybe the new Ne-yo album will be amazing, it’s really too soon to tell so I might be proved wrong. But if the album flops I won’t say I didn’t see it coming.