M Is FOR MASHUP - August 1st, 2012
When Mashups ROCK!!!
By DJ Useo
I'll be among the first to agree that the vast majority of mashups fall into the dance category. If there's a new club hit, the bootlegging deejays will immediately cut & loop the song, add extra beats & effects & some messed up vocals to large acclaim from the 'masses'. I'll also agree (I'm very amenable today, eh?) that rock gets mashed far less, but there's an everpresent smaller flow of new rock mashups. I suppose you could consider it pop on pop, but the first mashup I ever heard involved the Monkees singing over the Beatles. Deffo not a dance mashup. To demonstrate the lesser, but still strong appeal of rock mashups, lets take a look at some recent successes in that area.
01 - DJ Schmolli's 'Rock Of Ages' starts with a bed of Led Zeppelin's 'Whole Lotta Love' & then ever so magically lays in bits of 22 other rock songs. Mind you, this all happens in only 5 minutes & 8 seconds. The hot new video-maker, Panos T
( https://www.facebook.com/PanosT.VideoEdits ), has crafted it into an amazing video version. One of the best rock mashups you'll ever see/hear.
( http://djschmolli.com/2012/06/19/rock-of-ages/ )
02 - G4Gorilla delivers all the classic rock satisfaction you could want in a mashup in his new mix 'Born To Be Beautiful' (One Direction vs Steppenwolf). It's fascinating to me that such an old song would even get used in a mashup, but actually, that 'Born To Be Wild' song is a true classic. Hear how fine it is in the hands of a mashup master like G4Gorilla. You'll find that from now on you'll sing it his way in your head.
( www.g4gorilla.blogspot.com/2012/07/born-to-be-beautiful.html )
03 - Mighty Mike blows your mind with his '
Hellostone' (Martin Solveig & Dragonette vs The Rolling Stones). It maintains all the joy of the Stones classic 'Satisfaction', but gives it a brilliant new pop twist with the lovely feminine voice of Dragonette. It employs a few neat deejay effects resulting in a track you'll repeat often.
( ) http://mightymikebootlegs.blogspot.com/2011/03/martin-solveig-dragonette-vs-rolling.html
04 - Dan Mei is never a slouch at mixing any genres together & proves it again with his 'Set Fire To 21 Guns' (Adele vs Green Day). This track displays a more modern rock group, yet maintains the classic feel to a high degree. I reckon most of us know both of these songs, or at least have heard the Adele. What you never suspected is how incredible they sound mixed this well. If you didn't know it was a mashup, you'd think it came right from a label artist directly.
Get it here
( www.xstreamist.com/members/4177/audio.php )
05 - 'The Rolling Stones Mashed By Chocomang' is the real prize of this assortment as it's not just one excellent classic rock mashup, It's seven! From the track 'Bigmouth Shelter' (The Rolling Stones vs The Smiths) to the track 'Sympathy For Black Betty' (The Rolling Stones vs Ram jam vs T.Rex vs The Stooges) this collection surges with classic rock appeal. Not overstating here, this is one gem of a set.
( chocomang.org/mashup/rollingstonesmashed.htm )
It's easy to understand the lure of mixing with the classics. Modern music 'can' be pretty good, but the proven classics will always endure. I love punk, dubstep, & even some country, but my favorite song is still the Beatles doing that old Berry Gordy and Janie Bradford-written standard 'Money' (That's What I Want). I should mash it asap, don't you think?
Mix Of The Week
It's been a while, but I mixed up a new live mix that runs a full disc-length called 'Useo Vous Joue Le Fromage Dont Vous Rêvez'(Useo Plays You The Cheese You Crave). It's cheesy new club music. By that I mean it's the kind of club tunes where they sing pretty melodies. Usually people demand I play wordless music. They seem to think the singing club music is for kids. I don't agree, for the most part. This set runs the gamut of artists from L. Ross, to Romazz, to Soul Breakers, & many more. They might be too new (gnu?) for you to know (gnow?), but you'll sure enjoy discovering them. I even threw in a couple tracks that cover classic rock tunes, except in a dance format. Check the
playlist, listen or download here
( ) http://www.bmbx.org/2012/07/useo-vous-joue-le-fromage-dont-vous-revez/
Mashup Tip : Update your mixing programs when able, it WILL make a big difference.
Latest Useo Thing
'Boss Of Ramble' is Led Zeppelin singing 'ramble on' atop They Might be Giants' 'boss of me'. Is it worth a comment? I'm certain it's worth a listen. It got 3 times the number of plays I usually get in a week in just 3 days.
( www.groovytimewithdjuseo.blogspot.com/2012/07/boss-of-ramble-led-zeppelin-vs-they.html )
Podgornio, The Mashup Psychic Predicts
No need to make a prediction this week as you're just going to skip to the tv listings below.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Constant: The Man Without Qualities (The Stranger)
Does Anybody Like Mitt Romney? Is There Anything to Like?
Fred Kaplan: Romney's World (Slate)
Mitt's insults, mistakes, and blunders abroad aren't gaffes. They actually represent his true worldview.
Jim Kraft: Government good deeds (Minot (North Dakota) Daily News)
One of my pet peeves is the statement by select politicians that the government can't do anything right. The news during this last month reminded us of examples that address the issue.
Scott Burns: Lazy Portfolios Beat Professionally Managed Portfolios (AssetBuilder)
Costs matter. This is one of the eternal verities of investing. We know this from John Bogle, the founder of Vanguard and patron saint of index investing. If we act on this simple fact- that costs matter- we can improve our investment results.
Roger Ebert: Oh, how I wish you could hear this!
As the world watched the incredible opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the same thought was on many minds: How in the world can London possibly top this in 2012? Faced with that challenge, director Danny Boyle seems to have been inspired by the title of a Monty Python film: "And now for something completely different.
Roger Ebert: Review of "Ruby Sparks" (R; 3 stars)
The movie's intriguing in its fanciful way, and there are times when both Calvin and Ruby seem uncannily like they're undergoing revision at the hands of some uber-writer above them both. If the film has a message, and I'm not sure it does, it may be: As long as you're alive, you're always in rewrite.
Megham Daum: Confessions of a TV couch potato (LA Times)
Are you a binge TV watcher? It's OK - unless it's poor-quality programming.
John Crace: "Wallace: 'I have a feeling Gromit has a hankering to be a composer himself'" (Guardian)
The cheese-loving inventor has written a concerto for the Proms - without any help from his dog.
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
David Bruce's Lulu Storefront
David Bruce's Smashwords Page
David Bruce's Blog
David Bruce has 42 Kindle books on Amazon.com with 250 anecdotes in each book. Each book is $1, so for $42 you can buy 10,500 anecdotes. Search for "Funniest People," "Coolest People, "Most Interesting People," "Kindest People," "Religious Anecdotes," "Maximum Cool," and "Resist Psychic Death."
Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
Bosko Suggests
Hearts
Have a great day,
Bosko.
Thanks, Bosko!
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Day 23
Gulf Fritillary
Came across some Gulf Fritillary larva
on the back fence, so it looks like we'll have a third year of raising butterflies. : )
Click on any picture for a larger version.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
A little marine layer is a lot better than no marine layer.
My pal, Barbara, the Fish Lady, has a new
series on Koi care on the YouTubes.
Colbert With Joyce, Sendak
Philly
Talk show host Stephen Colbert's foray into children's books has landed him alongside some exalted literary company.
A playful new exhibit at the Rosenbach Museum & Library pairs priceless material by James Joyce and Maurice Sendak with, um, perhaps less valuable items used by Colbert to write "I Am A Pole (And So Can You!)."
Colbert's pens, beer bottles and lunch remnants are certainly not the usual fare for the Rosenbach, the Philadelphia institution that houses the only complete manuscript of Joyce's "Ulysses."
But museum officials say the display reinforces their mission to engage and inspire visitors with collections that include papers from Lewis Carroll, Bram Stoker and Miguel de Cervantes.
The story began in January after Colbert, host of the satirical "Colbert Report" on Comedy Central, aired an interview with Sendak, best known as the author and illustrator of the children's book "Where the Wild Things Are."
Philly
Becomes Snoop Lion
Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg wants you to know that he's tired of hip-hop, is Bob Marley reincarnated and is embracing reggae instead of the culture of guns he once rapped about.
Also, he's got a new name: Snoop Lion.
The artist said at a news conference Monday in New York that he was "born again" during a visit to Jamaica in February and is ready to make music that his "kids and grandparents can listen to."
The former gangster rapper is releasing a reggae album called "Reincarnated" in the fall. He said that in Jamaica, he connected with Bob Marley's spirit and is now "Bob Marley reincarnated."
Bob Marley's son Rohan attended the conference and gave Snoop his blessing.
Snoop Dogg
Fans Redeem 1979 Tickets
The Who
A group of hardcore fans of British rock band The Who will finally redeem tickets for a canceled 1979 Rhode Island show.
The Who's 1979 concert in Providence was canceled by then-Mayor Buddy Cianci, who cited safety concerns after a stampede before a show in Cincinnati, Ohio, killed 11 people. The band hasn't been to Providence since.
Now, the band plans to end its Quadrophenia tour in February at the same venue where its show was canceled 33 years ago.
The Dunkin Donuts Center is honoring tickets for that canceled show. A handful of fans have come forward to trade in their old tickets. They'll make the trade Tuesday afternoon at the box office.
The Who
Understands Cats
Jackson Galaxy
Many cats are tail talkers. If those tails start to twitch and wag, watch out for fangs and claws, warns cat behaviorist Jackson Galaxy.
If you try to pet a cat when its tail is wagging and get bitten, "You had it coming," says Galaxy, who helps solve behavior problems, both human and feline, on his Animal Planet TV show, "My Cat From Hell."
Galaxy figures cats and owners equally share the blame for relationships gone wrong, but when it comes to changing behavior, cats are the easier students - by a wide margin.
His house call kit is a guitar case loaded with cat toys and treats. But there's no magic wand in the box, he says. It takes time and hard work. "You get what you give."
Jackson Galaxy
Deal Brokered
Online Poker
Two online poker companies settled U.S. civil charges of illegal Internet gambling on Tuesday in a deal that positions one of them to take over the assets of the other and to capitalize on the growing legalization of the U.S. market.
The Department of Justice said it had brokered a deal in which Isle of Man-based PokerStars will acquire the assets of rival Full Tilt of Dublin and forfeit $731 million. The two companies, once the main online poker operators in the United States, along with a third, Absolute Poker, were slapped with civil money laundering charges last year.
Prosecutors on Tuesday also announced they had entered into a proposed settlement with Absolute Poker, which called for it to forfeit assets to the government. That deal must be approved by U.S. District Judge Leonard Sand in Manhattan, who has overseen the civil cases against the three companies.
Tuesday's civil settlements come as Delaware in July became the second state to authorize licensed online poker within its borders, following Nevada, which is now reviewing license applications.
Many cash-starved states, encouraged by intensive industry lobbying, have felt freer to act since December, when the Justice Department declared that one federal anti-gambling law, the Wire Act, would no longer be enforced beyond sports betting.
Online Poker
The Daily Dumps Third Of Staff
Rupert
News Corp's digital tablet magazine The Daily is letting go of 50 employees, around 29 percent of its total, as it streamlines production to focus on its most popular features.
Launched just 18 months ago, The Daily was News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch's risky bet that he could reinvigorate his news business with tablet devices like Apple Inc's iPad.
But The Daily has struggled to find its feet in a turbulent and uncertain news market, where well-established print papers have been cutting staff and going through numerous restructurings as circulation and advertising dollars shrink.
As part of the changes, The Daily's sports pages will be provided by its sister company Fox Sports and it will lose its opinion section.
The publication operates on a traditional subscription news model at the cost of 99 cents a week or $39.99 a year.
Rupert
Barnes & Noble, Indies Unite
E-Books
Longtime rivals Barnes & Noble Inc. and the country's independent booksellers have united in New York to support publishers being sued by the government over antitrust claims.
The superstore chain and the independent trade group theAmerican Booksellers Association announced Tuesday they had filed a motion in federal court in Manhattan against a proposed settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice and three publishers over allegations the publishers colluded to set e-book prices.
Apple Inc. and five publishers were sued in April over e-book agreements reached in 2010 with Apple, which publishers hoped would cut into Amazon.com's dominance of the e-market. Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple has denied the allegations and said it has fostered innovation and competition.
Barnes & Noble and the booksellers association allege dismantling the agreements will "hurt competition" and "ultimately harm consumers."
E-Books
Warrant In New Orleans
Cuba Gooding Jr.
New Orleans police say an arrest warrant has been issued for actor Cuba Gooding Jr. after an incident at a Bourbon Street bar.
Police said in a news release that a bartender told officers that Gooding was there at 3 a.m. Tuesday when he became upset with other patrons who started asking him to take photographs with them.
The bartender told officers that Gooding pushed her after she asked him to calm down, and again after she told him he needed to leave and police had been called.
Gooding left the bar before police arrived. Police issued an arrest warrant for municipal battery, a misdemeanor.
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Gets Community Service
Scout Willis
Scout Willis, the daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis (R-Rotten Tipper), can do community service to resolve her public-drinking and fake-ID case, a judge said Tuesday.
Willis, who is now 21, was excused from court as a Manhattan judge agreed to dismiss her misdemeanor case if she does two days of service.
The Brown University student was arrested June 4. A court complaint said she was sipping an eight-ounce can of "Pakistani beer" in Manhattan's Union Square in violation of an open-container law.
Willis, who was then 20, also gave police an ID with the name Katherine Kelly before ultimately showing her real ID, according to a criminal complaint. Those allegations led to a misdemeanor impersonation charge.
Her lawyer, Stacey Richman took aim at the charges in court papers earlier this month, saying she had contacted Pakistan's sole brewery and found it didn't make an eight-ounce can of any alcoholic beverage and didn't have permission to export products to the United States. The case was resolved before prosecutors responded.
Scout Willis
Visits Kodiak
Pitbull
Miami rapper Pitbull received a care package Monday from Walmart during his visit to Kodiak, complete with bear repellent spray and bear bells used by hikers to make noise, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported.
The bear spray had special meaning to about 250 people who attended the Pitbull appearance at the Coast Guard base in Kodiak. The rapper had tweeted he heard the local Walmart sold the spray.
In a marketing deal, Pitbull - whose real name is Armando Christian Perez - agreed to visit the Walmart that got the most likes on its Facebook page.
Kodiak was the easy winner, thanks to David Thorpe, a Boston writer who thought it would be funny to send Pitbull to the most remote Walmart possible. Thorpe also was in Kodiak Monday and met the rapper.
Pitbull
Microsoft Revamps
Hotmail
Microsoft Corp unveiled a revamped, Facebook-friendly version of its free, online email service on Tuesday in an attempt to reverse market share losses to GoogleInc's fast-growing Gmail.
The world's largest software company is renaming its Hotmail service Outlook, giving it a sharp new look, social network links and new features for handling the tide of junk and mass mail that swamps many users.
Hotmail was still the world's largest online mail service as of June, according to the latest comScore figures available, with 324 million users, or about 36 percent of the global market.
But it is losing customers to Google's Gmail, the fastest-growing rival, which now has about 31 percent of the market. Yahoo Mail is static with about 32 percent.
Hotmail, launched in 1996, was one of the first online email services, but it has not been updated by Microsoft for eight years.
Hotmail
Watch Auctioned
Steve McQueen
A watch worn by Steve McQueen in "Le Mans" sold for nearly $800,000 at an auction of film memorabilia.
The auction house Profiles in History said Tuesday the Heuer wrist watch sported by the actor in the 1971 action movie sold for $799,500. A signed U.S. passport belonging to McQueen fetched $46,125.
Other items that were sold included a miniature drop-ship used in "Aliens" for $225,000; Groucho Marx's wire-rim glasses from "A Night at the Opera" for $86,100; and Vivien Leigh's hat from "Gone with the Wind" for $67,650.
One bidder coughed up $98,400 for Marlon Brando's assassination jacket from "The Godfather." A personal copy of the 1971 film's script signed by Brando went for $55,000.
Steve McQueen
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for July 23-29. Listings include the week's ranking and viewership.
1. "Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony," NBC, 40.65 million.
2. "Summer Olympics" (Sunday), NBC, 36.05 million.
3. "Summer Olympics" (Saturday), NBC, 28.72 million.
4. "America's Got Talent" (Tuesday), NBC, 10.43 million.
5. "America's Got Talent" (Wednesday), NBC, 8.76 million.
6. "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 7.88 million.
7. "NCIS," CBS, 7.22 million.
8. "Wipeout" (Thursday), ABC, 6.85 million.
9. "Two and a Half Men" (Thursday), CBS, 6.64 million.
10. "Hell's Kitchen" (Monday), Fox, 6.46 million.
11. "Master Chef" (Monday), Fox, 6.4 million.
12. "Hell's Kitchen" (Tuesday), Fox, 6.23 million.
13. "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 6.14 million.
14. "Big Brother 14" (Thursday), CBS, 6.11 million.
15. "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," CBS, 6.083 million.
16. "Master Chef," Tuesday, Fox, 6.082 million.
17. "60 Minutes," CBS, 5.9 million.
18. "Two and a Half Men," CBS, 5.8 million.
19. "Big Brother 14" (Wednesday), CBS, 5.77 million.
20. "Rookie Blue," ABC, 5.66 million.
Ratings
In Memory
Maeve Binchy
Bestselling Irish author Maeve Binchy, one of Ireland's most popular writers who sold more than 40 million books worldwide, died in Dublin after a brief illness, Irish media and national leaders said. She was 72 years old.
She was best known for her depictions of human relationships and their crises in such books as "Circle of Friends" and "Tara Road," based mainly in the small towns of Ireland but also in London.
The Irish Times, her former employer, told The Associated Press it had spoken to Binchy's family and said the acclaimed author had died in a Dublin hospital on Monday with her husband, Gordon Snell, by her side.
Binchy wrote 16 novels, four collections of short stories, a play and a novella. Her work landed her on The New York Times' bestseller list and in Oprah's Book Club.
After graduating from University College Dublin, Binchy worked as a teacher before becoming a journalist, columnist and editor at the Irish Times, one of the country's leading newspapers.
She later moved to England, where she became the newspaper's London editor in the early 1970s.
Her first novel, "Light a Penny Candle," was published in 1982 - after being rejected by five publishers - and became a bestseller.
The best advice, she added, comes from the "Coronation Street," a British soap opera: "Oh, get over yourself."
Binchy is survived by her husband, her brother, William, and her sister, Joan.
She is to be cremated Friday at a private service following a funeral Mass at the Catholic Church of the Assumption in her native Dublin district of Dalkey.
Maeve Binchy
In Memory
Gore Vidal
Writer Gore Vidal, who filled his intellectual works with acerbic observations on politics, sex and American culture while carrying on feuds with his big-name literary rivals, died on Tuesday at the age of 86, Los Angeles Times reported.
Vidal's literary legacy includes a series of historical novels -- "Burr," "1876," "Lincoln" and "The Golden Age" among them -- as well as the campy transexual comedy "Myra Breckenridge."
He started writing as a 19-year-old soldier stationed in Alaska, basing "Williwaw" on his World War Two experiences. His third book, "The City and the Pillar," created a sensation in 1948 because it was one of the first open portrayals of a homosexual main character.
Vidal referred to himself as a "gentleman bitch" and was as egotistical and caustic as he was elegant and brilliant.
In addition to rubbing shoulders with the great writers of his time, he banged heads with many of them. Vidal considered Ernest Hemingway a joke and compared Truman Capote to a "filthy animal that has found its way into the house."
His most famous literary enemies were conservative pundit William F. Buckley Jr. and writer Norman Mailer, who Vidal once likened to cult killer Charles Manson.
Mailer head-butted Vidal before a television appearance and on another occasion knocked him to the ground.
Vidal and Buckley took their feud to live national television while serving as commentators at the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Vidal accused Buckley of being a "pro-crypto-Nazi" while Buckley called Vidal a "queer" and threatened to punch him.
Eugene Luther Vidal Jr. was born in West Point, New York, and eventually took his mother's surname as his first name. He grew up in Washington, D.C., where his grandfather, Democratic U.S. Sen. Thomas Gore of Oklahoma, had a strong influence on the boy. The young Vidal developed an interest in politics as he read to the blind senator and led him about town.
After his parents divorced, Vidal's mother married Hugh Auchincloss, who later also became the stepfather of Jacqueline Kennedy. That connection gave Vidal access to the Kennedy White House before a falling out with the family.
After early success, his literary career stalled - perhaps because of the controversy of "The City and the Pillar" - and he concentrated on television and movie scripts.
Vidal got back on track in the 1960s with "Julian," about a Roman emperor; "Washington, D.C.," the tale of a political family; and "Myra Breckenridge." Bigger success followed with recreations of historical U.S. figures - such as Aaron Burr and Abraham Lincoln - that analyze where Vidal thought America fell from grace.
Vidal also was known for his sharp essays on society, sex, literature and politics. He was especially fervent about politics and what he considered to be the death of "the American Empire."
"The genius of our ruling class is that it has kept a majority of the people from ever questioning the inequity of a system where most people drudge along, paying heavy taxes for which they get nothing in return," he once said.
He once described the United States as "the land of the dull and the home of the literal" and starting in the 1960s lived much of the time in a seaside Italian villa. He moved back permanently in 2003, shortly before Howard Austen, his companion of more than 50 years, died of cancer.
Gore Vidal
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