Exciting news for American Idol fans… Kara DioGuardi will join the judging panel when the eighth season of the wildly popular singing contest begins. Definitely a smart move by the producers as it brings a new dynamic and adds “freshness” to the show.
Kara DioGuardi has a very impressive resume and certainly has the credentials to be a judge. She’s written songs for Kelly Clarkson, David Cook, Pussycat Dolls, Tom Jones, and Hannah Montana, just to name a few. The list of artists she’s written for and collaborated with is just way too long to list!
What I love about music is that it has the ability to bring so many people together as one. It doesn’t matter if you’re white, black, Democratic, Republican – when we like a song, we’re united in harmony. We’re all in the moment enjoying the melody and enjoying the music that inspires us. Perhaps that’s why events like Woodstock in the past and the annual Lollapalooza gatherings were so successful. There are no competitions – just straight-up music from people who have words of wisdom to spread or stories to share.
Speaking of which, Lollapalooza will take place on August 1-3, 2008 at Grant Park in Chicago. I visited Chicago for the first time last summer and now I understand why Grant Park is definitely the perfect venue for this event. The lineup for this year includes big names such as Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Kanye West, and Nine Inch Nails – along with other other artists I’m not too familiar with.
Hundreds, if not thousands gathered for the grand opening of the Hard Rock in downtown San Diego. I’m pretty bummed about missing out on seeing the Black Eyed Peas. I think that they’re one of the few groups in the industry today that have what it takes to make it through the long-haul.
I was turned onto the Black Eyed Peas when their single, Where is the love? first came out. Love the lyrics…
What’s wrong with the world, mama
People livin’ like they ain’t got no mamas
I think the whole world addicted to the drama
Only attracted to things that’ll bring you trauma
Overseas, yeah, we try to stop terrorism
But we still got terrorists here livin’
In the USA, the big CIA
The Bloods and The Crips and the KKK
But if you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And when you hate then you’re bound to get irate, yeah
Madness is what you demonstrate
And that’s exactly how anger works and operates
Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight
Take control of your mind and meditate
Let your soul gravitate to the love, y’all, y’all
It was only a couple months ago that I was in the Gaslamp Quarter and took this picture during the construction of the Hard Rock, so I was pretty surprised to see it go up so fast!
The 12-story, 315,000-square-foot property features 420 suites, 40,000 square feet of unique indoor/outdoor meeting space, nightlife destinations created by Rande Gerber including the sultry lobby lounge, Sweetwater Saloon and rooftop respite, Moonstone, a Nobu restaurant by celebrated chef Nobu Matsuhisa, and the Hard Rock Hotel’s own signature comfort-chic coffee shop, Maryjane’s. Additionally, sweet-spot Pinkberry will offer its irresistible frozen yogurt served with the freshest toppings – a culinary concept with fanatics nationwide.
A recent study has been done titled Musicians Have Enhanced Subcortical Auditory and Audiovisual Processing of Speech and Music. It’s been found that music training may be more important for enhancing verbal communication skills than learning phonics.
All the more reason for children to learn music at a young age!
I like what Tim Smith of Critical Masshas to say about this study:
“If only governments, local and federal, could ever fully grasp the significance of such findings. Maybe we could finally see the day when arts are as valued as sports, starting from the earliest school days. How promising that could make the prospect of all the next generations to come.”
The Video Music Awards (VMAs) are upon us and the blogosphere is a buzzin’ about Britney Spears opening the show. As usual, Kanye West has something to say about that… The MTV News website published this account:
“I can’t believe she would perform/ She hasn’t had a hit record in years,” he freestyled, sublimating the song’s true lyrics with his off-the-cuff rhymes. He then referred to last year’s VMA opener, Justin Timberlake, and rapped, “I gotta get my money right/ Or maybe I gotta get my skin white.” After the song died down, he joked — in a high-pitched voice — “That’s one angry black man.”
I used to admire Kanye West for the trials and tribulations on his journey to being a successful rap artist – including surviving a tragic car crash, but some of his actions as of late has caused me to think that perhaps he isn’t really all that humble. Well, I did like that statement he made about the president not liking black people, but other than that… Of course, that’s just my honest opinion. I know, I know, I shouldn’t be judging Kanye for speaking his mind…
I’m actually excited to see Britney Spears make a “comeback”. That woman has been to Hell and back. There are others who think she’s a “train wreck waiting to happen” and that’s just not fair. All that negativity is probably one of the reasons she had all those issues. I’m just for lifting up my fellow woman – not bringing her down.
Here’s a video of her rehearsing for tonight’s show…
Well, friends, I missed the Justin Timberlake HBO special that aired Monday night, but I’m counting on a rerun in the near future!
I still haven’t quite pinpointed the allure of Justin Timberlake. Perhaps it’s his down-to-earth, boy-next-door look and attitude or maybe it’s the way he moves on the dance floor. All I know is that he makes grown women giddy with excitement whenever his songs comes on the radio. Yes, I would be talking about myself
Justin Timberlake is an artist in the purest sense of the word. You can tell that he loves what he does. Maybe it’s that passion that makes him so attractive… Check out this video clip of an interview with him and his team of “creative minds”.
I must admit that I was a slow adopter to this new mp3 era. Heck, I just got my first mp3 player this year which was actually given to me on my birthday. It now sits lifeless for whatever reason – can’t seem to figure out why and I can’t find the receipt to return it.
As much as I love the idea of being able to carry music in my pocket, I still prefer to listen to Cds. I don’t really know why – but I did come across this article over SFGate.com which talks about the quality of mp3s and how our brain processes this music that we listen to.
Here’s what Dr. Robert Sweetow of the UCSF audiology department says:
“Poorer-fidelity music stimulates the brain in different ways. With different neurons, perhaps lesser neurons, stimulated, there are fewer cortical neurons connected back to the limbic system, where the emotions are stored.”
This may be true for instrumental music, however, I do believe – as does Dr. Sweetow – that the words trigger our emotions, so whether or not the quality of the sound is good, we can still feel the essence of the music.
Well, no matter which way we look at it, mp3 music is here to stay…At least, for a little while. I wonder what’s next?
Exciting news for American Idol fans… Kara DioGuardi will join the judging panel when the eighth season of the wildly popular singing contest begins. Definitely a smart move by the producers as it brings a new dynamic and adds “freshness” to the show. 
Speaking of which, Lollapalooza will take place on August 1-3, 2008 at Grant Park in Chicago. I visited Chicago for the first time last summer and now I understand why Grant Park is definitely the perfect venue for this event. The lineup for this year includes big names such as Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Kanye West, and Nine Inch Nails – along with other other artists I’m not too familiar with. 
A recent study has been done titled 
