Kanye West - "Heartless/Pinochio Story" on SNL

Kanye West - Heartless / Pinocchio Story - SNL - 12/13/2008
by 3030fm

One more clip from SNL. One other observation from my girl: "Why are all the rappers trying to sing now?" That's a really good question.

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Kanye West performs "Love Lockdown" on SNL

Kanye West - Love Lockdown - SNL - 12/13/2008
by 3030fm
Taken from the good folks at www.3030fm.com.

Watching this live, I was left with a few impressions:
- What's up with that hair style? Someone @ okayplayer.com compared it to Elvin from the Cosby Show. It's pretty busted, no matter which way you slice it. My girl kept commenting on how busted 'Ye is looking in general on this. Not that I'm trying to check him out, but I gotta agree.
- Auto tune just doesn't sound right live. Some of it sounded distorted, and at least a few times sounded straight static-y.
- The "Glow In The Dark" tour screens looked alright on that small stage, but I think the lighting could have been tweaked a little better. It definitely didn't have the same effect as when I saw it live in May.
- 'Ye's singing in general was a bit off this time around. When he debuted the song at the VMA's, I remember it being a little tighter. Of course, it was a bigger stage so I'm sure that had to affect his performance. Although the verdict's still out for me on "808's and Heartbreaks," I'm pretty amped to see him perform some of these songs live in an arena. They seem suitable for a big concert performance. Overall, his SNL performance fell a bit short, but only because I'm just holding him to such a high standard these days.

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"Beautiful Tragedy" by In This Moment featuring Emma Ortiz-Griffin of Population 5

"Beautiful Tragedy" by In This Moment

A video of Emma Ortiz-Griffin, the nine-year-old lead singer of local kids rock band Population 5, singing "Beautiful Tragedy" with Maria Brink of metalcore outfit In This Moment.
Alls I can say is "Wow!"

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New P.O.S. - "Goodbye"

Some new stuff from ya boy P.O.S. of the Rhymesayers crew. This is will be the single for his upcoming album, "Never Better."

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Audio: Asher Roth - “The Day I Was Crowned”

I stole this from NahRight.com, the newest single from the Caucasian sensation Asher Roth.

While it's obvious he's all up on Marshall Mathers's steez, he's still got a lot going for him. That college frat boy swag should go a long way toward some pretty serious buzz. He's already got a "Next" cover on XXL, alongside a pretty talented crop for '08 (including Wale, Kid Cudi, and my personal fave, Blu). '09 could be a pretty gigantic year for Mr. Roth. Plus, he's ripping The Root's "Get Busy" freestyle, which is never a bad thing.

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2008 Alisal Eagles Pee Wee highlight reel (rough cut)

Here's a little video I put together for the Alisal Eagles pee-wee footbal team. They had a great season, making the playoffs and showing a tremendous amount of talent on the grid iron. This is a rough cut, the completed version should be arriving in time for X-Mas. Let me know what you think!

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Introducing The Best Late Night House Band Ever: The Roots!!!

Well, looks like Jimmy Fallon has got at least one thing right so far in regard to his new late night gig @ NBC: he hired The Roots to be his house band. While this was announced some time ago, it's pretty awesome to see it taking shape.

While this means less opportunity to catch the band on tour, it's definitley a good look for the guys. I'll be tuning in as much as I can to watch them. Can't hardly wait.

Video Recaps | Full Episodes | Webisodes

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8 Grammy nods for "The Best Rapper Alive?"

Last night, Lil Wayne got 8 Grammy nominations. And I'm like "What?"

I mean, I can't front on "The Carter III." Best selling album of the year, alladat. But geez, 8 friggin' Grammy Awards? That's all kinds of crazy.

I barely remember watching this year's Grammys, but I'm pretty sure I'll be watching next year, just to see what Wayne wins. I'm almost certain he'll take home the award for Rap Album of the Year, even though I'll be quietly crossing my fingers for Lupe Fiasco's "The Cool" (no nom for The Roots "Rising Down?" Bummer).

It'll be interesting to hear Weezy's name mentioned alongside the other album of the year nominees like Radio head, Robert Plant and Allison Krauss and Coldplay. If Plant and Krauss win, I wonder if they'll shout out Weezy? I think Chris Martin would definitely big up Wayne since Martin's so tight with Jay-Z. Man, the possibilities just keep getting weirder and weirder.

And what if "The Carter III" does win for album of the year? Will Baby show up out of nowhere and give an acceptance speech like he did when Juvenile won at the Source Awards about 10 years ago? Where is Baby in all of this anyway? He was nowhere to be found on "C3." If Wayne wins, will he kiss Baby on the lips in the crowd? Did I really just wonder about that out loud?

On a side note, I hope MIA's "Paper Planes" wins for Record of the Year. It's a really great record and deserves that type of shine. Won't be mad if Adele wins for "Chasing Pavements" either. That's me and my girl's favorite song of the moment.

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E-40: "Earl"

Gotta give it up to the good folks at Nation of Thizzlam for putting the rest of us up on game. This is a seriously dope video and song. E-40 is looking reinvigorated. Maybe it's them dreads?

I haven't given "The Ball St. Journal" a proper listen. My bad. The stuff I have heard is pretty decent, save for the pop-y stuff.

What's up with Ice-T showing up at the end of the track? And he's not even rapping? Not sure what to make of that right there. Oh well. As they say in the O, this song go.

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"For The Record," Britney's back (sorta-kinda)

There was nothing severely revelatory about “For The Record,” the quote-unquote Britney Spears documentary that aired Sunday on MTV.
The opening sequence, a panoramic view of the L.A. skyline, is overlaid with a brief intro graphic explaining how Spears allowed cameras to follow her around for roughly two months, beginning just before the MTV Video Music Awards and leading up to the weeks prior to her album release, which debuted Tuesday.
While that opening sequence attempts to inject drama into its subject matter, it's stilted at best. Anyone who cares to watch it already knows the context of the documentary. Spears's celebrity has transcended pop-star stratosphere and entered a realm of surreal voyeurism rivaling the attention given to heads of state. We already know the girl is drama.
What makes the documentary work are the glimpses of humanity that pop up. It's hard to imagine there's a real human being hiding in that celebrity skin, but the cameras manage to steal some moments: her pops serving her cheese grits for breakfast, her best friends being flown in from back home in Louisiana, and, in the most revelatory point, Spears getting her two boys ready for a night of Halloween trick or treating.
Those parts serve the documentary's overall purpose, to remind people that Spears is a real person, better than the interviews segments that are supposed to provide a narrative thread. While the intro promised that no topic was off-limits, that is certainly a lie.
It's those interviews that provide the most glaring proof that this documentary was meant to shed the most positive light on Spears and her comeback. There is no mention of drug use. Nor is there any mention of her infamous ambulance rides to the looney bin
What we get are ambiguous answers from Spears on how she was surrounding herself with the wrong people and how she was manipulated by those she trusted.
The one interesting interview scene comes early on, when she confesses how deeply hurt she was after her breakup with former beau Justin Timberlake, which leads into her regret over her rebound hook-up with ex-husband Kevin Federline.
Other than that, it's pretty much false advertising as far as interview topics go.
Speaking advertising, the premier promised non-commercial interruption, but that only lasted until the 25-minute mark, at which point the audience was treated to an overly-produced perfume ad for her fragrance line. The cross-promotion cycle is complete when we later see Spears picking out the final design looks for her perfume.
Which is final proof that Spears comeback machine is right on course.

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