M Is FOR MASHUP - December 25th, 2013
Merry Mashup Christmas
By DJ Useo
Time sure seems to speed up during the latter part of December. If I wasn't so busy with Christmas activities, I'd take the time to figure out why. As it is, I just barely have time to present to you these new mashup collections from around the world. If you're like me, you enjoy any music as long as it's good. It makes no difference what part of the earth it comes from. Allow me now to describe some great new free mashup albums.
01-"Smith & Smart - Mashdogs' is the third volume in a series where finest kind European bootleggers take the new SMITH & SMART rap album and transform it into solid mashups. Look for hugely-talented mixers like Mashup-Germany, DJ Schmolli, Ed Home and more on this wonderful collection.
( mashupyourbootz.blogspot.com/2013/11/smith-smart-mashdogs.html )
02-"La Masheillaise 2" is another sequel to a swell collection of only French Mashers. All the tracks use a French artist paired up with a non-French artist. So you get tracks like Alliance Ethnik vs Bruno Mars, NTM vs Alex Clare, & Stromae vs Muse mixed by skilled producers like Sebwax, Chocomang, Amoraboy, and many more well-known names from the bootleg scene. There's a secret bonus disc that's excellent if you search around a bit.
( masheillaise.rigolitch.com/ )
03-The fine folks at "MASH UP YOUR BOOTZ" ( mashupyourbootz.blogspot.com/ ) deliver a great mashup album collection every month. This month they give us a special bonus assortment themed along that fat, jolly guy in the red suit. "Mash-Up Your Christmas Party 2" ( mashupyourbootz.blogspot.com/2013/12/mash-up-your-christmas-party-2_8.html ) gathers a splendid batch of Christmas-themed mashup suitable for any Yuletide party. You'll hear tracks with Major Lazer vs Soma vs Jars of Clay, Johnny Cash vs Fatman Scoop vs Fiddy, and Andy Williams vs Technotronic vs The Osmonds. Mixing is provided by Cheekyboy, Voicedude, DJ BC, Mojochronic and very many more. All in all there's 20 Christmas-themed mashups just waiting to spice up your holiday season.
( mashupyourbootz.blogspot.com/2013/12/mash-up-your-christmas-party-2_8.html )
04-While I'm mentioning "MASH UP YOUR BOOTZ" I have to remind you of the latest MUYB album, "
Mash-Up Your Bootz Party Sampler Vol. 79". DJ Morgoth again has selected a superb assortment of the best new mashups he's heard recently. Kill_Mr_DJ's "Lithium For The Remains Of Happiness" (Sam Sparro vs Linkin Park vs Evanescence), Fissunix's "Stay Unconditionally" (Plan B & Pendulum vs Katy Perry) & G4Gorilla's "Kids" (Saskwatch vs Robbie Williams & Kylie Minogue) are excellent examples of the appealing tunes luring on this latest volume.
( mashupyourbootz.blogspot.com/2013/12/mash-up-your-bootz-party-sampler-vol-79.html )
05-"The Mashup.org ( mashup.org/ ) Presents Always Beat It" ( www.themashup.org/always-beat-it/ ) is a selection of excellent Mash's and Remixes of Michael Jackson´s "Beat It". It's a big treat to hear how different "Beat It" sounds when mixed by chaps like Party Ben, Loo & Placido, Pheugoo, DJ Lobsterdust & many more. This and lots of other tremendous mashup compilations are available from here
( www.themashup.org/always-beat-it/ )
Have a great time with these new mashups. You don't even have to wait till Christmas morning to open them. It's already Christmas!
Now go and enjoy some figgy pudding. Much love to you all.
Podcast Of The Week
"DJ Useo Winter Mashup Podcast 2014" is me hosting an hour and a half of classic mashups. There's lots of variety of styles,all mixed by top notch bootleggers.
Stream or d/l from here
( www.mixcloud.com/djuseo/dj-useo-winter-mashup-podcast-2014/ )
( www.groovytimewithdjuseo.blogspot.com/2013/12/dj-useo-winter-mashup-podcast-2014.html )
Mashup Tip
Write to other mashers and trade acapellas with them.
Useo's Latest Thing
"I Am Dust Beat" (Gary Numan vs Simian Mobile Disco) Hear new Gary Numan singing over old Simian Mobile Disco.You will be pleased.
( hearthis.at/vXMfxz7w/i-am-dust-beat-gary-numan-vs-simian-mobile-disco/ )
( www.groovytimewithdjuseo.blogspot.com/2013/12/gary-numan-vs-simian-mobile-disco.html )
Podgornio, The Mashup Psychic Predicts
DJ Spider will stick his thumb in his latest mashup and pull out a sugar plum! Go figure!?
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Deborah Orr: "Boris Johnson missed the point on IQ - gifted children are failed by the system" (Guardian)
From politicians to psychologists, too many people fail to understand how high intelligence can isolate people, especially children.
Deborah Orr: "Lawson, Saatchi and Grillo: the messy bond between master and servant" Guardian)
The pair opted to have familiar, personal relationships with Elisabetta and Francesca Grillo. You can't insist staff are 'family', then cry fraud when they behave as if they are.
Suzanne Moore: How to be a good mother (Guardian)
It's not just about you, says Suzanne Moore. You have to let loose the Monster Munch, put a lock on your bedroom door and buckle up for the biggest balancing act of your life…
Meaghan O'Connell: The Best Investment Book I Read This Year (The Billfold)
Okay, it is the only investment book I read this year, but I read it twice! And while I have never read another investment book, and so I have nothing to compare it to, but it is called The ONLY Investment Guide You'll Ever Need and I am hoping it lives up to its name, because I certainly have no plans to read another one.
Suzanne Moore: My tips for surviving Christmas (Guardian)
Stop aspiring to someone else's fantasy - and have a recipe for dishwasher vodka to hand.
Aaron Bracamontes: Woman sues over vaginal, anal exams in El Paso drug search (El Paso Times)
New Mexico woman was searched for six hours at border, University Medical Center [and billed for $5,000].
Brandon L. Garrett: You Don't Have the Right to Remain Silent (Slate)
The Supreme Court's terrible-and dangerous-ruling this week on the Fifth Amendment.
Nicholas Carlson: Does Being Rich Make You Happy? Here's What Rich People Say (Slate)
There's an oft-cited study out there that says money does buy you happiness-but only up until a certain point. It says that after you make $75,000 per year, increasing your income is not going to make you any "happier." But the truth about wealth and happiness is more complicated than any study can say.
David Bruce's Amazon Author Page
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David Bruce has approximately 50 Kindle books on Amazon.com.
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny, warm and remarkably clear.
Members Reunited
Pussy Riot
Two members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot were reunited on Tuesday after spending nearly two years in prison for their protest at Moscow's main cathedral, and said they want to set up a human rights organization.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alekhina were granted amnesty on Monday, two months short of their scheduled release, in what was seen as the Kremlin's attempt to soothe criticism of Russia's human rights record before the Winter Olympics in Sochi in February.
Alekhina flew into the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk early Tuesday to meet Tolokonnikova. They have said the amnesty and their release was a publicity stunt by the Kremlin before the Olympics. Tolokonnikova has also called for a boycott of the Olympics.
Both women reiterated their Monday statement that they would like to focus their future work on helping prisoners, and that they will discuss setting up a human rights organization.
Pussy Riot
Urges Uganda Boycott
Richard Branson
British tycoon Richard Branson has urged companies to boycott Uganda over a draconian anti-homosexuality bill passed by its parliament last week.
The Virgin founder said Uganda must abandon the bill, which would make homosexuality punishable by up to life in prison, or find itself "ostracised by companies and tourists worldwide".
"I have been courted by various people and government officials to do business in Uganda. I was seriously considering it," Branson wrote on his website on Monday.
"However, the dreadful witch hunt against the gay community and lifetime sentences means it would be against my conscience to support this country.
"I would urge other companies worldwide to follow suit. Uganda must reconsider or find it being ostracised by companies and tourists worldwide."
Richard Branson
10,607 Video Games
Guinness Title
Maybe it was getting his first video game, Cosmic Avenger, for Christmas at age 12, and then having to wait an entire year for the hard-to-land Colecovision console to play it on that made Michael Thomasson so determined to get his hands on every video game and system he could find.
Now, 31 years and roughly 11,000 games later, Thomasson is the newly crowned world record holder for having the largest collection of video games. He is featured in a two-page spread in the just-released "Guinness World Records 2014 Gamer's Edition."
"I have games on cartridge, laser disc. I have VHS-based games, cassette-based games," Thomasson said, standing among the collection that fills the basement of his suburban Buffalo home.
Along with the games, he has the devices to play them on, not only the Xboxes and PlayStations but obscure ones like the Casio Loopy, the only game system specifically geared toward girls, which came out in Japan in 1995, and the Pippin, a dud released by Apple the same year.
At the other end of the spectrum is the old Colecovision unit like the one that appeared under the Christmas tree one year after his grandparents gave him his first game for it. They had mistakenly believed his parents had gotten their hands on the playing system, which was a hot item that year. It stands to this day as the best present his parents ever gave him.
Guinness Title
Uninjured After Driving Off Road
Arsenio Hall
Los Angeles police say talk show host Arsenio Hall drove off a road in the San Fernando Valley but he's uninjured.
Sgt. Russell Carr tells City News Service that Hall lost control of his Porsche and drove into a dirt shoulder at around 7:15 p.m. Monday in West Hills.
The car had to be towed.
Carr says it's unclear why Hall lost control of the car but police have ruled out driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Arsenio Hall
Not A Big Reader
Mrs. Palin
After Phil Robertson, the patriarch of "Duck Dynasty," made controversial remarks about homosexuality that were published in GQ magazine, former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin spoke out in his defense.
However, when asked by Fox News host Greta Van Susteren (R-Scientologist) if Robertson's remarks were offensive and whether or not she had any objection as to how he worded his comments, Palin said she didn't know what Robertson had actually said, Politico reports.
"I haven't read the article. I don't know exactly how he said it," Palin explained on Fox News's "On the Record With Greta Van Susteren" on Monday.
On December 18, shortly after the "Duck Dynasty" controversy began, Palin took to Facebook where she wrote, "Free speech is an endangered species. Those 'intolerants' hatin and taking on the Duck Dynasty patriarch for voicing his personal opinion are taking on all of us."
Mrs. Palin
Parrots Mother
Bristol Palin
Bristol Palin says gay activists are "hypocritical" to take offense at "Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson's anti-gay comments.
"I think it's so hypocritical how the LGBT community expects every single flippen [sic] person to agree with their life style," she said in a blog post.
"I hate how the LGBT community says it's all about 'love' and 'equality,'" she continued. "However, if you don't agree with their lifestyle, they spread the most hate. It is so hypocritical it makes my stomach turn. They need to learn how to respect others' opinions and not just jump to the conclusion that everyone who doesn't support homosexuality and gay marriage is homophobic."
Bristol Palin is making essentially the same argument as her mother, Sarah Palin, who said on Facebook last week, ""Free speech is an endangered species. Those 'intolerants' hatin' and taking on the 'Duck Dynasty' patriarch for voicing his personal opinion are taking on all of us."
The former "Dancing With the Stars" contestant has denied in the past that she is herself "a homophobic."
Bristol Palin
Credit Suit
'The Expendables'
Millennium Films and Nu Image have sued the Writers Guild of America West and writer David Callaham for alleged fraud in the screenwriting credit he received for 2010?s actioner "The Expendables."
The suit was filed Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging fraud and unjust enrichment and declaratory relief.
The WGA West, which is the final arbiter over screenplay credits, and Callaham had no immediate response.
Millennium Films and Nu Image allege that the 2009 WGA arbitration gave Callaham a credit that was unwarranted. The plaintiffs are seeking the $102,250 bonus that was paid to Callaham and that the arbitration be reversed.
'The Expendables'
Not Vulture Fans
Vinton, Va.
Officials in a Virginia town are looking for ways to get migrating buzzards to buzz off.
This year, nearly 100 vultures landed in the Gladetown area of Vinton. Vinton police officers fired booming guns into the air to drive the birds away, and most left.
Town manager Chris Lawrence tells The Roanoke Times that more efficient methods are being considered for the vultures' return next year.
The town could apply for a federal permit to kill one vulture. The remains would be hung near the other vultures. Lawrence says the vultures would disperse because they don't like to be around their own dead.
He says vultures are loud and dirty and tear up trees. But he says the town tries to co-exist with nature.
Vinton, Va.
Prime-Time Nielens
Ratings
Nielsen's top programs for Dec. 16-22
1. "NCIS," CBS, 19.7 million.
2. "NBC Sunday Night Football: Chicago at Philadelphia," NBC, 18.3 million.
3. "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 15.6 million,
4. "NFL Regular Season: Baltimore at Detroit," ESPN, 14.2 million.
5. "The Voice (Tuesday)," NBC, 14 million.
6. "Sunday Night NFL Pre-Kickoff," NBC, 13.6 million.
7. "The Voice (Wednesday)," NBC, 12.7 million.
8. "Person of Interest," CBS, 12.4 million.
9. "60 Minutes," CBS, 12 million.
10. "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 11.3 million.
11. "Football Night in America (Part 3), NBC, 10.6 million.
12. "Blue Bloods," CBS, 10.5 million.
13. "Hawaii Five-O," CBS, 9.6 million.
14. "Barbara Walters Presents," ABC, 8.9 million.
15. "Mike & Molly," CBS, 8.88 million.
16. "I Love Lucy Christmas Special," CBS, 8.7 million.
17. "How I Met Your Mother," CBS, 7.7 million.
18. "2 Broke Girls," CBS, 7.59 million.
19. "The Millers," CBS, 7.5 million.
20. "Mom," CBS, 7.4 million.
Ratings
In Memory
Julian Myers
One of Hollywood's last old-style publicists, whose job included making sure Marilyn Monroe got out of bed for promotional events for the movie, "All About Eve," died Saturday at his home in the oceanside community of Marina del Rey, his son said.
Julian Myers, who died of congestive heart failure at the age of 95, was also an avid runner, competing well into his final year of life, according to an obituary written by his son, Eric. In 2013, Myers set a record for his age category in the 800-meter dash at the Huntsman Senior Games in St. George, Utah.
He also loved marathons, for years competing in Los Angeles, New York, Boston and Greece.
A Detroit native, Myers moved to Los Angeles in 1937 to become one of the first students at the University of Southern California's then-Cinematography School, the obituary said.
In 1949, Myers began working as an entertainment publicist for Twentieth Century Fox, where part of his job included organizing the elaborate stunts that were routinely used to promote the movies of the day.
For the 1950 premiere of the film "All About Eve," which co-starred Monroe, Myers persuaded the famed Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to black out all of its neon sign except for the letters "EVE."
Myers started his own firm, Julian F. Myers Public Relations, in 1962, representing such clients as Cloris Leachman and George Kennedy.
He also taught entertainment publicity at Loyola Marymount University and the University of California, Los Angeles school of extended learning.
Myers, who lived in the unincorporated Los Angeles community of Marina Del Rey, is survived by three adult children and two siblings. His wife of 43 years, attorney Patsy Nanna Myers, died in October.
Julian Myers
In Memory
Yusef Lateef
Grammy-winning musician and composer Yusef Lateef, one of the first to incorporate world music into traditional jazz, has died. He was 93.
Lateef died Monday at his home in Shutesbury in western Massachusetts, according to the Douglass Funeral Home in Amherst.
Lateef, a tenor saxophonist known for his impressive technique, also became a top flutist. He was a jazz soloist on the oboe and played bassoon. He introduced different types of flutes and other woodwind instruments from many countries into his music and is credited with playing world music before it was officially named.
"I believe that all humans have knowledge," he said in a 2009 interview for the National Endowment for the Arts. "Each culture has some knowledge. That's why I studied with Saj Dev, an Indian flute player. That's why I studied Stockhausen's music. The pygmies' music of the rain forest is very rich music. So the knowledge is out there. And I also believe one should seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave. With that kind of inquisitiveness, one discovers things that were unknown before."
As a composer, he created works for performers ranging from soloists to bands to choirs. His longer pieces have been played by symphony orchestras throughout the United States and in Germany. In 1987, he won a Grammy Award for his new age recording "Yusef Lateef's Little Symphony," on which he played all of the instruments.
In 2010, he was named an NEA Jazz Master, the nation's highest jazz honour.
Lateef had an international following and toured extensively in the U.S., Europe, Japan and Africa. His last tour was during the summer.
He held a bachelor's degree in music and a master's degree in music education from the Manhattan School of Music, and from 1987 to 2002, he was a professor at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, from which he was awarded a doctorate in education.
He created his own music theory called "Autophysiopsychic Music," which he described in the NEA interview as "music from one's physical, mental and spiritual self, and also from the heart."
Born William Emanuel Huddleston in Chattanooga, Tenn., in 1920, Lateef moved with his family to Detroit five years later. He became acquainted with many top musicians who were part of Detroit's active music scene and by age 18 he was touring professionally with swing bands led by Lucky Millinder, Roy Eldridge, Hot Lips Page and Ernie Fields.
In 1949, he was invited to perform with the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra, which was playing be-bop. He took the name Yusef Lateef after becoming a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, and twice made the pilgrimage to Mecca.
He became a fixture on the Detroit jazz scene in the 1950s leading his own quintet. In 1960, he moved to New York and joined Charles Mingus' band. Lateef would go on to perform with some of jazz's best talent, including Cannonball Adderley, Donald Byrd and Miles Davis.
Lateef first began recording under his own name in 1956 for Savoy Records, and made more than 100 recordings as a leader for such labels as Prestige, Impulse, Atlantic and his own YAL. His most enduring early recordings included such songs as "Love Theme from Spartacus" and "Morning."
He is survived by his wife, Ayesha Lateef; son, Yusef Lateef; granddaughter and great-grandchildren.
Yusef Lateef
In Memory
Frédéric Back
Two-time Oscar winner Frederick Back, who moved to Canada from Germany in 1948, has died at the age of 89.
Back earned his first Oscar in 1982 when "Crac" won in the Animated Short Film Category.
He followed that up in 1988 with success in the same category for "L'homme qui plantait des arbres," whose English title was "The Man Who Planted Trees."
Back, who also earned two other Oscar nominations, was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1990.
He was also well-known as an illustrator and as a screenwriter.
The ardent environmentalist and animal-rights activist taught at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Montreal shortly after arriving in Quebec. He later joined Radio-Canada's graphic department.
Back was also the creator of the sprawling stained-glass mural at Montreal's Place-des-Arts subway station in 1967.
Frédéric Back
In Memory
Ricky Lawson
Studio drummer Ricky Lawson, a collaborator with musicians including Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins and Whitney Houston, has died at a suburban Los Angeles hospital following a brain aneurism. He was 59.
Lawson's uncle, Paul Riser of Detroit, said Tuesday that Lawson was removed from life support 10 days after the aneurism diagnosis and died around 7 p.m. Monday.
Lawson was being treated at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center in Long Beach, California, about 25 miles (40 kilometres) south of Los Angeles.
The Detroit native learned to play drums at age 16 and jumped into the music business even before graduating from Cooley High School, developing into one of the nation's top studio musicians in the 1980s.
His work appears on Houston's version of "I Will Always Love You." He also performed with Al Jarreau, George Benson, Bette Midler, Quincy Jones and many others.
A founding member of the Yellowjackets, Lawson won a Grammy Award in 1986 for R&B instrumental performance for the jazz-fusion group's hit "And You Know That."
Ricky Lawson
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