Update: Reuters.com is reporting that the major record labels have said that this information is false. They have not signed a contract with Qtrax but they were working together on beta testing. So now we would have to wait and see if any of the major record labels would actually sign the contract which we doubt. Why doesn’t each major record label run there own website/p2p and make their own profit ?
The new buzz
of the internet for today is a company named Qtrax which is going to offer free and legal music to download. It is going to work with p2p in a way that you don’t have to download any program, it runs of your browser. The great news about this is that all major record labels have signed an agreement so it is legal to download it from the website. It also offers more songs than iTunes and Amazon which is a great way to compete. Of course to every great story comes bad news. So far it is DRM wrapped, you need a specific player to listen to the music and even worse for most, it doesn’t work with your ipod. They say that they are working on it but until then I don’t see myself using this service. Mac users are also screwed because it only works for Windows at the moment but it is expected to be Mac compatible in March. I hope everything works out the way they plan it and that it will be free and legal, if it does these will be a great success.
Yasser
I had talked about this awaited album called The Cool by one of my new favorite artist’s Lupe Fiasco. He just keeps delivering all the time, with his nice beats and his smooth lyrics. In this new album he introduces his “Cool” side and defined as The Coolest Nigga. It’s now one of my favorite albums of this year with Kanye’s. Don’t overdose on the cool…
It’s been a long time since I talk about music so might as well do it now than never. What I’ve been hearing the most lately is Kanye West latest album, Graduation. It is without a doubt one of the best album of the years. Every song is good, every beat is good. There are a few songs that could of been better but they are still good. The only album that I’m looking forward to this year and I hope is just as good or better is Lupe Fiasco’s, The Cool. For now everything else is just a come and go, nothing that could stick for years.
Yasser
I’m going to see Sum 41 sometime in Fall and I’m so hyped about it. I hadn’t heard there last album, Underclass Hero, until now. This album is not there best, in fact I think they went a bit low on this one. It’s a good CD but it’s sounds a lot like the previous ones, specially the single Underclass Hero. I think they could of done a lot better. I preferred their previous album which was more on the edge of Metal with Punk rock. This one is a lot more pop which is good but sounds to pop-ish this time. I still love Sum 41, they rock. And I will go see them when they come to R.I.T.
Yasser
Do you remember when Lollapalooza was the coolest concert during summer? I don’t because it’s not from my times but I’ve seen the videos and it looked pretty awesome. Today Lollapalooza (hard to spell) isn’t that great of a concert but it is still a pretty big gig. The concert/festival is taking place August 3-5 at Grant Park in Chicago. The webcast will be live from AT&T’s Blue Room. Here are some of the bands performing this year: Pearl Jam, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, Amy Winehouse, Modest Mouse, Patti Smith, The Black Keys, Spoon and Interpol.
Yasser
YouTube has officially gone Hip-Hop/Rap with a new contest called YouTube OnTheRise Rap Edition. It’s a competition for DJ’s and rappers, if you can mix, do beats and rhyme then this is for you. The judges for this will be 50 Cent, Common and Polow da Don. The winner of the contest gets to record one song with G-Unit and some other prices. People have until August 17 to submit their video at YouTube and the winner will be announced in September. This seems like a great way to give more publicity to YouTube which will soon become almost an online Tv Channel.
Source: TechCrunch.com
Yasser
I just finished watching the new album from Velvet Revolver, Libertad (Freedom). I just started listening to it and it sounds good. It has some great riffs and the good solos by Slash (ex-guitar player for Guns N Roses). Velvet Revolver is still evolving and keeps the old classic sounds of good Rock music. There great riffs, good vocal and one of the best guitar players in the world makes them a great band. They don’t get all the media in the world, but they don’t need it. If you love good guitar riffs and great rock songs then this is your thing, listen to it, you will like.
Yasser
I remember the Spice Girls, they were hip and cool (back then). They were so big they even got their own weird movie which wasn’t that bad, it was funny. After they broke up some of them went solo, some did good, some did horrible. Today they announced that they are back together and are going on a World Tour. I don’t know why but it seems very strange that they want to tour “together” again. I think they must be running out of money or they just want some more money. Im pretty sure they will do great in their tour and it will be very expensive. They’re also releasing a best hits album which should be a good CD to have around to remember old days. Here are tour dates and location so far:
Los Angeles - 7th December 2007
Las Vegas - 8th December
New York - 11th December
London - 15th December
Koln - 20th December
Madrid - 23rd December
Beijing - 10th January 2008
Hong Kong - 12th January
Sydney - 17th January
Cape Town - 20th January
Buenos Airies - 24th January
Source: Pop Buzz UK
Yesterday, April 21, I went with my cousin and a friend to go see Gym Class Heroes at Alfred University. If you don’t know who Gym Class Heroes are then you better get to it and start listening to some of their music. They’re a rockish hip hop band they get compared to The Gorillaz but they’re a bit different. They have become one of my favorite bands and I recommend them to everyone before they get too big and they’re sound might change. The weird thing is that this band or at least he lead singer, Travis, talks about using drugs and encourages it during his show. He doesn’t say it directly but it’s no secret that he’s a junkie. They even have a song called pillmatic about using pills. And if you’ve read my previous post about Pot America I’m not for it, but they make great music and I care for their music, for what they deliver, for his life… that’s his problem. So, if you havent heard from the yet get to it and start with the old cd not the new one, then make your way to the new one.
So sexy,
Yasser
I am honored to say that I attended the first stop of this tour. This is a great tour, with Anti-Flag as the main show. Anti-Flag are the Gods of punk, they are punk, they are political and they are uncensored. At times like these we need more bands like Anti-Flag to speak out against war. They are touring with AlexisOnFire, which is not a band that I really liked but they are ok; a bit hardcore but with weird “normal” vocals also. Also touring along with Big D And The Kids Table, this is a ska band, it’s ok if you are into ska, I really enjoyed there last two songs; checklist and some other that I cant remember there name. Also in the tour is Set Your Goals, which I personally liked even though the vocals were kind of squeaky but I liked the hard rythm they had.
The main show, Anti-Flag, was just extremely amazing. They played: One Trillion Dollars, Turncoat, New Kind of Army, Die For Your Goverment, Underground Network; and other popular songs, many of there new album were performed also like The End. To top it off they had a special guest, Tom Morello, former lead guitar player from Audioslave, now lead guitar player of Rage Against the Machine (yes, he is back). I am also going to see them again on Sunday at Buffalo. If you have the oportunity to see this show, don’t miss it. Anti-Flag is true punk rock.
Yasser
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