M Is FOR MASHUP - April 13th, 2011
Mashup Review System 1-10 : MRS1-10
By DJ Useo
As you know, most mashup dj's don't sell their tracks as the copyrights are retained by the source artists. So, in lieu of a show of shekels, mashup-mixers rely on your courtesy as guests of their sites & simply want some feedback. When time allows, I enjoy leaving some form of written reaction especially on the deejays' sites. It's not about feeding my ego by getting my name all over, it's about encouraging peeps to mix so I get more tracks to enjoy. To keep my interest up & to provide some clarity beyond 'thanks', I devised this new MSR-1-10 (Mashup Review System) to aid in completing a satisfying comment regarding heard mashups. It looks like this -
1-10 Rating System For Mashups
Mix -
Production Sound -
Musical Appeal -
Tweak Advice -
Final Score -
Comment -
Here're some examples of how it helps in efficient communication. Download & see if you agree. :)
01 - LeeDM101's 'Sound of Light' (Ellie Goulding/Husky Rescue)
( leedm101audiolego.blogspot.com/2011/04/leedm101-sound-of-light.html )
Video here - ( vimeo.com/22096391 )
Mix - 10
Production Sound - 10
Musical Appeal - 10
Tweak Advice - not applicable
Final Score - 10
Comment - The sound production is finestkind. The combined effect is massively cool.
Many congrats & thanks.
02 - Hahnstudios' 'War: Where are you?' (Edwin Starr vs 16 Bit)
( hahnstudios.blogspot.com/ )
Mix - 9
Production Sound - 10
Musical Appeal - 9
Tweak Advice - Raise the pitching of the vocals mildly where the gent sings near the end.
Final Score - 9 (tweak would make it a 10)
Comment - Massively impressed with the track. The attention to detail & all the extra bits work great.
It's wonderul already, & the pitching is not that obvious.
Thanks.
03 - Roaxx J's 'Happiness for Beautiful People' (Alexis Jordan vs Benny Benassi)
( www.roaxxj.com/2011/04/06/alexis-jordan-vs-benny-benassi-happiness-for-beautiful-people/ )
Mix - 9
Production Sound - 9
Musical Appeal - 9
Tweak Advice - not applicable
Final Score - 9
Comment - I liked it more as it progressed. A splendid combined effect from the sources. Thanks.
04 - DJ Morgoths' 'Viva La Vida Mr. Nice Guy' (Coldplay vs. Alice Cooper)
( djmorgoth.blogspot.com/2011/04/dj-morgoth-viva-la-vida-mr-nice-guy.html )
1-10 Rating System For Mashups
Mix - 8
Production Sound- 9
Musical Appeal - 8
Tweak Advice - Alice sings a little loud imho
Final Score - 8
Comment - It was hard to adjust to the alice changes for me, but with familiarity...Thanks.
05 - DJ Flashards' 'Dance Floor Heartbeat' (Good Charlotte vs Katy Perry)
( djflashard.wordpress.com/ )
Mix- 9
Production Sound - 9
Musical Appeal - 10
Tweak Advice - not applicable
Final Score - 9
Comment - Thanks. A way memorable track. It clicks on all cylinders.
Try the MRS1-10 yourself.It may endear you to some poor, lonely bootlegger.
Mix Of The Week
DJ Riko's 'Gilding The Lily' is Hip Hop, Pop, & Rock all mashed together by the practiced hand of one of the best. You can't go wrong with this one. A true keeper.
( www.djriko.com/ )
Mashup Tip : Catch any mashup dj on online chat to hear unfinished crappy mashups.
Latest Useo Thing
Whiskey In The Vibe (Afrika Bambaataa f/ King Kamonzi vs The Boys Of Country Nashville vs Man With No Name) is really awesome, very catchy with a blend of Celtic, Hip Hop and Techno. This track is entered in the current GYBO Challenge.
( www.gybo5.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=4568 )
Podgornio,The Mashup Psychic Predicts
Mashups will be altered forever next year when a radiation leak of Boron-238 mutates all mashups into anime cats.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Jim Hightower: The Disaster of Two Ricks
This is a Code Red, five-alarm, public emergency warning for the people of Florida: Flee immediately, abandon the state, run as fast as you can - for a disaster is headed your way. A tsunami? A plague? Martians? No, much worse. You're about to be hit with Texas!
Paul Krugman's Blog: A Word From Those Who (New York Times)
Anyway, no, I don't think the plan goes too far. I think it's disingenuous and fraudulent. And the reason I think that is that I have actually done the math.
How to Get a Real Education (Wall Street Journal)
Forget art history and calculus. Most students need to learn how to run a business, says Scott Adams.
British art schools: Class dismissed (Guardian)
The art schools that trained students from Tracey Emin to MIA are heavily targeted for cuts. What effect will that have on tomorrow's artists? Laura Barnett reports.
Miranda Sawyer: "Mike Leigh: 'Creativity is a life-blood for people'" (Guardian)
The writer and director talks to Miranda Sawyer about the revival of his 1979 play 'Ecstasy,' arts cuts and why he doesn't tweet.
Garrison Keillor: Not Smart? Not a Problem (Tribune Media Services)
My time is short and so is yours, so why not tell the truth: A person can get along very well in life without one bit of the mathematics and physics they rammed into our brains in high school. Fifty years later, and there hasn't been a single moment when I've thought, "Oh if only I could remember higher algebra!"
Sam Leith: What's wrong with popularising poetry? Well, the poets don't seem to like it . . . (Guardian)
Garrison Keillor has responded to August Kleinzahler's attack on his poetry with superbly malevolent benignity.
Edited from an interview by Susan Michals: Wild, Wild Westwood (Wall Street Journal)
London fashion designer and original queen of punk Vivienne Westwood discusses her new store in L.A., marriage, and the best night of her life.
HELEN KIRWAN-TAYLOR: The Writing Is on the Wall (Wall Street Journal)
Once an act of defiance and vandalism relegated to brick walls and subway cars, graffiti is now invading the home, with everything from stenciled murals to "tagged" chairs, lamps and wallpaper to soap bottles.
Bob Mankoff: "The People of the Joke: Exploring the Covenant of Jewish Comedy" (Huffington Post)
It's strange that the Jews, The People of the Book, eventually became much better known as The People of the Joke. Strange because laughter in the Old Testament is not a good thing.
George Varga: Going Gaga Over Gaga (Creators Syndicate)
Has the title of Lady Gaga's recent Grammy Award-winning album, "The Fame Monster," turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy for her? Is Gaga's superstardom, and the pressures and expectations that come with it, starting to devour her sky-high career? Or is Gaga, the biggest pop-music sensation of the past two years not named Justin Bieber, poised for a new triumph with "Born This Way," her new album?
The 10 myths of Riot Grrrl (guardian)
For their guardian.co.uk/music takeover, the Cribs commissioned a blog from one of their favourite writers, Everett True. They said he could pick his subject matter, so Everett chose to debunk the myths of Riot Grrrl.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2009/sep/14/myths-riot-grrrl-cribs-takeover
David Bruce has 41 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $41 you can buy 10,250 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," and "Maximum Cool."
took the day off.
answered:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Reader Comment
RE: Lamb among Daffodils
Marty, the picture of the lamb among daffodils was certainly one of most beautiful pictures I have seen in a long time. My personal view is could be a metaphor for Jesus Christ on earth. The Lamb of God. Many thanks for the image.
BSmasher
Thanks BSmasher!
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Mostly sunny and on the cool side.
Trove Of Writings Found In U.S. Archives
Walt Whitman
A researcher culling through Civil War-era documents at the National Archives has identified nearly 3,000 letters and papers written by one of America's greatest poets -- Walt Whitman -- when he worked as a government clerk, officials said on Tuesday.
The newly unearthed papers, most written when Whitman was a low-paid clerk for the attorney general, touch on issues ranging from the prosecution of former Confederate President Jefferson Davis to a copyright claim by fellow poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
The announcement of the discovery of the Whitman papers coincided with the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. On April 12, 1861, rebel forces bombarded Union-held Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor, South Carolina.
The documents highlight the issues that faced the country in the Reconstruction period after the war as well as the environment in which Whitman worked at a time when he wrote his poems mourning the 1865 assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
Whitman, a New Yorker best-known for his poetry collection "Leaves of Grass," was in his 40s when the war began and never enlisted in the military. In December 1862, after learning his brother George had been wounded in the Battle of Fredericksburg, he traveled to the Virginia camp to see him.
Walt Whitman
Wins MacDowell Medal
Edward Albee
Edward Albee has received another top literary honor.
The playwright won the Edward MacDowell Medal for outstanding achievement in his field. The MacDowell Colony, a leading artist colony, announced the award Tuesday.
Albee, known for such plays as "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "A Delicate Balance," has won three Pulitzer Prizes and three Tony Awards.
Previous winners of the MacDowell medal include Merce Cunningham, Thornton Wilder and Leonard Bernstein.
Edward Albee
Rare Photos
Civil War
America's Civil War, whose 150th anniversary is marked on Tuesday, is so often described in battles - the Battle of Gettysburg, the Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Fort Sumter - that it may be easy to forget that the soldiers who fought in the four-year war had a lot of time between fighting. The rare photos document just that - the time soldiers spent waiting, preparing, recovering or just living.
"We wanted to show more of the daily life of these people and remind people that they were living their lives in the middle of this horrible war and there was a lot of daily living going on," says Kelly Knauer, editor of "TIME The Civil War: An Illustrated History."
He points out that because of where camera technology was at the time, the in-between was much of what was photographed during the Civil War, since battle scene photos would often come out too blurry. The war marks one of the first times dead bodies were photographed. Another thing that comes out of some of the photos is a time truly left in the past, when family members and nearly entire towns would travel with the men to their battlegrounds.
As Knauer notes: "When they went to war, they took their whole families with them."
Civil War
Crowned World's Hottest Chili Pepper
Trinidad Scorpion Butch T
Fighting fire with more fire -- and a WWF-worthy name -- there's a new champ holding the title of world's hottest chili pepper.
As you may recall, in December The Lookout reported on the Naga Viper and its initiation as the chili pepper with the most heat. But now there's a hotter ticket in town: the Trinidad Scorpion Butch T
Yes, the Butch T. outdistances the Naga Viper, barely, on the Scoville scale -- which rates spice power by tracking the presence of a chemical compound in chilis. The Australian Butch T. weighs in at 1.46 million heat units on the scale, while the British Naga Viper tops out at 1.38 million. For comparison, the average jalapeno pepper falls around 5,000.
Trinidad Scorpion Butch T
Appeals Arguments
Phil Specter
Attorneys for music producer Phil Spector have presented arguments to a California appellate court as they try to overturn his second-degree murder conviction on grounds that a Los Angeles judge made judicial errors.
However, judges on the state's 2nd District Court of Appeal asked pointed questions at Tuesday's hearing and seemed reluctant to accept arguments that the judge acted improperly.
The panel also questioned points made by the state attorney general's office about admissibility of evidence in the case. The judges have 90 days to make a decision.
Spector was convicted two years ago of shooting to death actress Lana Clarkson at his Alhambra mansion in 2003. He's serving 19 years to life and didn't attend the hearing.
Phil Specter
Lawsuit From Blogger
Huffington Post
A blogger and labor activist has filed a lawsuit against AOL and the Huffington Post for not paying freelance bloggers while benefiting financially from the content they create.
Jonathan Tasini's suit, filed Tuesday, seeks class-action status on behalf of more than 9,000 writers and other content providers and asks for at least $105 million in damages.
The suit names Huffington Post co-founders Arianna Huffington and Kenneth Lerer as defendants. AOL bought the Huffington Post for $315 million last month, which Tasini said prompted the lawsuit.
The suit claims the Huffington Post has been "unjustly enriched" by luring contributors with the prospect of exposure but keeping the financial gain from their articles.
Huffington Post
Revives Bid For Movie Cash
Diandra Douglas
The clash between Michael Douglas and his ex-wife over his "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" earnings is back for another, nastier run in a New York court.
Diandra Douglas is seeking half the Academy Award-winning actor's take from the 2010 movie. Her camp pressed a judge Tuesday to reconsider his view that the case belongs in California. The couple divorced there in 2000 after 23 years together.
Michael Douglas' lawyer says his client's ex "should be ashamed of herself" for seeking more when she's gotten more than $51 million.
Her lawyers, meanwhile, mentioned his recent purchase of a $5 million-plus home near New York.
Diandra Douglas
Vatican't Sanctions Bishop
Bruges, Belgium
The Vatican has sanctioned a Belgian bishop who resigned last year after admitting he had sexually abused his nephew, saying he can no longer act as a priest in public and may risk further church sanctions.
The Vatican on Tuesday clarified the punishment against the former Bruges Bishop Roger Vangheluwe after Belgian bishops reported over the weekend that he had merely been sent outside Belgium for spiritual and psychological counseling, a seemingly cushy punishment given the seriousness of the crime.
The decision was the first known application of the Vatican's new sex abuse norms approved last year giving the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith jurisdiction to investigate and punish bishops - not just priests - who abuse minors. The ultimate possible penalty: defrocking, or laicization in church-speak.
Previously, when bishops committed canonical crimes the pope dealt with them by delegating the cases to various Vatican offices or the Roman Rota, a Vatican court.
The pope, however, has the final say on Vangheluwe's punishment.
Bruges, Belgium
TV Airwaves Needed For Profit
FCC
Some U.S. airwaves used for free, over-the-air TV signals must be repurposed for mobile broadband use to tackle a looming spectrum crisis, the top U.S. communications regulator said on Tuesday.
The Federal Communications Commission wants Congress to grant it authority to hold incentive auctions that would compensate television broadcasters for giving up some of their spectrum to wireless companies.
"I believe the single most important step that will drive our mobile economy and address consumer frustration is authorizing voluntary incentive auctions," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski told broadcasters at a convention in Las Vegas.
Some 25 million Americans watch video on their cell phones, and tablet computers like the iPad put 120 times more demand on spectrum than older phones.
Some 43 million Americans rely exclusively on over-the-air television.
FCC
Former Miss Russia Accused
Anna Malova
A former Miss Russia faced drug charges for a second time on Tuesday, allegedly using stolen prescription pads to obtain painkillers and anti-anxiety drugs from pharmacies in New York.
Anna Malova pleaded not guilty in state Supreme Court in Manhattan to 44 charges of petty larceny, forgery and criminal possession of controlled substances.
The indictment compiled by the city's Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor includes 11 instances in which Malova allegedly forged prescriptions to obtain the painkiller Vicodin and the anti-anxiety drug clonazepam, which is marketed as Klonopin, using pads she stole from two psychiatrists she had been seeing.
The former beauty queen had been arrested in 2010 on similar charges in a case brought by the Manhattan District Attorney's office. That case has been absorbed into the current narcotics case.
Anna Malova
Tries Tax Breaks
Thailand
Thailand isn't feeling a hangover from its Hollywood closeup.
The host of "The Hangover Part II" is giving foreign actors a tax break to lure more movies here, earning filmmaking dollars and promoting tourism.
Deputy Finance Minister Pradit Pattaraprasit said the Cabinet decided Tuesday that actors who live outside of Thailand will not be taxed on earnings from movies filmed in Thailand from this year through 2015.
Thailand is expected to get massive exposure from the sequel to the blockbuster bachelor comedy "The Hangover."
Thailand
Film Claims Discovery Of Nails
Jesus's Cross
Could two of the nails used to crucify Jesus have been discovered in a 2,000-year-old tomb in Jerusalem?
And could they have mysteriously disappeared for 20 years, only to turn up by chance in a Tel Aviv laboratory?
That is the premise of the new documentary film "The Nails of the Cross" by veteran investigator Simcha Jacobovici, which even before its release has prompted debate in the Holy Land.
The film follows three years of research during which Jacobovici presents his assertions -- some based on empirical data, others requiring much imagination and a leap of faith.
Jesus's Cross
Finally Gets Human Specimen
Phallological Museum
In life, Pall Arason sought attention. In death, he is getting it: The 95-year-old Icelander's pickled penis will be the main attraction in one of his country's most bizarre museums.
Sigurdur Hjartarson, who runs the Phallological Museum in the tiny Icelandic fishing town of Husavik, said Arason's organ will help round out the unusual institution's extensive collection of phalluses from whales, seals, bears and other mammals.
Several people had pledged their penises over the years - including an American, a Briton, and a German - but Arason's was the first to be successfully donated, Hjartarson said.
Hjartarson's museum started in Reykjavik but has since moved to Husavik, a small community better known for its whale watching. The Phallological Museum is an important part of the region's tourist industry, bringing in thousands of visitors every summer.
Phallological Museum
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by the Nielsen Co. for April 4-10. Listings include the week's ranking and viewership.
1. "American Idol" (Wednesday), Fox, 23.13 million.
2. "Dancing With the Stars," ABC, 21.83 million.
3. "American Idol" (Thursday), Fox, 21.54 million.
4. NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Connecticut vs Butler, CBS, 20.06 million.
5. "NCIS," CBS, 19.4 million.
6. "Dancing With the Stars Results," ABC, 16.09 million.
7. "The Mentalist," CBS, 15.17 million.
8. "Criminal Minds," CBS, 14.08 million.
9. "60 Minutes," CBS, 13.11 million.
10. "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 13.06 million.
11. "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 12.66 million.
12. "Prelude to a Championship," CBS, 11.46 million.
13. "Castle," ABC, 11.45 million.
14. "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 11.4 million.
15. "Undercover Boss," 11.24 million.
16. "Body of Proof," ABC, 11.15 million.
17. "Survivor: Redemption Island," CBS, 10.94 million.
18. "The Good Wife," CBS, 10.82 million.
19. "Blue Bloods," CBS, 10.71 million.
20. "Bones," Fox, 10.58 million.
Ratings
In Memory
Lacy Gibson
Blues musician Lacy Gibson, whose jazz-influenced guitar and rich vocals were sought after by leaders of Chicago's once-thriving blues scene, has died at age 74, one of his record labels said on Tuesday.
Gibson died on Monday of a heart attack, according to a statement from Alligator Records.
Gibson was born in Salisbury, North Carolina, in 1936 and headed to Chicago at age 13 with his family, gravitating to the blues music scene to learn at the feet of Willie Dixon, Sunnyland Slim, Lefty Bates, Matt "Guitar" Murphy, T-Bone Walker, and Muddy Waters.
Gibson rounded out his unpredictable guitar style playing pop and jazz in Chicago supper clubs and lounges in the 1950s.
His versatile guitar became a mainstay on stages and in recording studios for numerous bands led by such blues luminaries as Son Seals, Otis Rush, Jimmy Reed, Billy "The Kid" Emerson, Billy Boy Arnold, Big Time Sarah, and Sun Ra.
He recorded three albums as the headliner, beginning with "Wishing Ring" on his brother-in-law Sun Ra's label in 1971. Gibson also recorded at Chicago's famed Chess Records, singing vocal on his tune "My Love Is Real" with Buddy Guy on guitar.
Gibson cut four tracks for Alligator Records' "Living Chicago Blues" series in 1980, then released "Switchy Titchy" on the Black Magic label in 1983. His most recent release was "Crying For My Baby" in 1996 for Delmark.
Most recently, he helped run and occasionally played sets at an after-hours club on Chicago's West Side called Ann's Love Nest. The club is named for his wife, who survives him along with a son, five daughters, 17 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
Lacy Gibson
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