...Kim Kardashian

Does anyone remember that Kim Kardashian song she made? It was a huge...non hit... I sort of liked it, I thought it could use a remix, a club mix for sure. Anyway she made a video for it, because she assumed people would love it. When people hated it they shelved the video. Well there has been a piece of the video leaked onto the web and my oh my is it a joke.



Can anyone tell me what this has to do with her at a club or anything of the sort? Butt shots and her slithering around has nothing to do with the song. I have always said that the Kardashians are not as nice as nice or smart as people would like to make them out to be, and by people I am E! employees. Kim claims to be above her sex tape and more than just a sex symbol, but what else is she? Her mother runs her life and she has no talent, none at all! She poses nude for magazines and then claims she was tricked into it, yeah right. All she is...is a butt, nothing else but a butt. Hype is all she is about, and nothing more than that. Sadly she has become a brand like many other talentless people with reality shows or with a somewhat career...Justin Bieber anyone. Everything about this video is dumb, including the song because it just makes it all sounds SO much worse. I am giving Kim Kardashian 2 Digits Down for this horrible thing that she agreed to create.

...MTV

Someone has a birthday... I wonder who? It is MTV's 30th birthday and my oh my has it changed. There are rarely any music videos played on the channel, unless you are up from 3AM-7AM. They launched and created something amazing, all music, all of the time, but eventually that went away. Why? It is expensive to run a channel without ads or sponsorship with just a single mindset, ask Speed.

(The moon-landing promo ran roughly 75,000 times on MTV, including 17,000 plays in MTV's inaugural year.)


I remember watching shows like Beavis & Butt-head and Daria and watching their Spring Breaks when they were way better than they are today, but they also used to be in Florida when Florida was okay with that. Even when they moved to Mexico it was not so bad for the 1st couple of years. At midnight August 1st, on the exact 30th anniversary of MTV's first broadcast, VH1 Classic will replay MTV's entire first hour of footage from 1981. The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star" was the first video MTV ever played, but can anyone name the second? Maybe int he next 10, 20, 30 or so years MTV will add music back into their programming. I doubt it, but it could be a nostalgic thing, like TV Land or Nick at Nite. Still I am impressed with the longevity and revenue MTV pulls in and for that alone I am going to give MTV 2 Digits Up.

...OK Go

I like art, mostly all art in one way shape or form. OK Go is a band that makes music videos that go on to become viral hits. Some would say that their music videos are art, this can be debated and it would be a healthy debate. I am not here to debate that. Below is their new video for a new song and once again they have done something interesting that will capture the attention of a lot of people. My problem with OK Go is their music. Do you really remember any of their songs? Better yet do you like any of their songs? While you remember their videos you can vaguely remember their song. I can only remember the song that went along to their video of them on the treadmills. Actually I remember the music, not the lyrics. So then I start to wonder, do they make interesting videos to cover up for their bad songs? It is like a bad singer that looks really petty, or as we know it pop music. I would like OK Go to make good music rather than so so music and an interesting video. If they can not do that then they should change their name to something more fitting like Used Car Salesmen. For their lack of memorability music wise I am going to give OK Go a Digit Down.

...Amy Winehouse

Believe it or not I ma still not fully over the death of Amy Winehouse. However she did leave her fans a parting gift, music. Spokesman Chris Goodman said Thursday that Winehouse left behind "plenty" of material, but there have been no discussions yet about releasing anything. The Guardian newspaper on Thursday quoted an unnamed spokesman "close to" record label Universal as saying Winehouse had left the "framework" of about a dozen songs. Producer Salaam Remi, who worked on both Winehouse albums "Frank" and "Back to Black" and was involved with her new material, told DJ Kim Kane of New York's Power 105.1 radio station that there were not large amounts of finished material, and Winehouse's estate had yet to approve the release of anything. I want nothing more than more songs from Amy, an album or two would be nice as well. However if it negates her legacy then I will be okay with her two albums and other songs she was featured on. I am sure her family will allow her music to be released with a large amount, if not all, of the proceeds from that album going to the charity her father is setting up in her name to help people with addiction who cannot afford treatment. Along with this news I found out a little more about Amy's on again off again boyfriend Reg Traviss. The accomplished British film maker on the rise was approved of by Amy's father. He said Amy felt good about life and was looking forward to a future with him. He also said she was happy, the happiest she had been in years. This just adds to the mystery surrounding her death. Still I am going to give this a Digit Up. I see good things for the legacy of Amy Winehouse.

...Hearing Loss

Today I found out I am lossing my hearing. I am young, younger than most, I cannot even rent a car, and yet I am losing my hearing! My grandmother is lossing her hearing, but she is almost 75! It all started with the sound of a teapot going off in my ear and the sound around me going in and out. Of course like most people my age I like my music LOUD! Not only do I like it loud but I like it to go directly into my ear. I have ear buds, not headphones, but ear buds. They fit firmly in my ear and cancel out all other noises around me. As a child I loss my hearing totally in my left ear and 75% in my right ear. They did some surgery and bing bang boom I could hear again. My mother would always warn me not to listen to music too loudly because she feared I would do deaf for real this time. Although I knew the danger of listening to music too loud my headphones or ear pieces would usually breakdown before my ears would even hurt. Now they are more advanced and they last a lot longer. Also I was hoping that medical science would come through and solve hearing loss. I mean they did give sight to a few blind people so saving an ear with more than a hearing aid seemed probable. Unfortunately this has not happened and I doubt it will by the time I do go deaf. Fortunately for me I still have a lot of my hearing and I just have to hold off cranking up the tunes in my ear. I guess I could use speakers... I will have to make a sound proof room 1st though. I am giving this a Digit Down because this is not cool, this is not fun, I am too young to have these issues. What is next for me, prostate problems?!? That could actually happen, you would have to be me to know why.

...Paying

I hate paying for a lot of things. The things I hate paying for most would be: Gas, Food, Music, Insurance, Utilities, Cell phone bill, Cable/Internet and Hair cuts. Other than music, if I plan on moving to the Wet coast, California, I will end up paying a lot for all of these things, including taxes, whcih I do not mind paying for, but California taxes are crazy. I love to drive and West coast gas is more because it is so far from everything! Car insurance, house insurance...CRAZY high. I am young as well so it will be a portion of my pay check, the invisible pay check I assume I would have but probably would not...not regularly anyway, I am not a flake I am just not a robot. For now I will stay content with my South-East cost of living, though it still anonoys me. I am giving paying for things a Digit Down. Though I am an adult, none of you other adults out there can honestly admit you enjoy paying for things all fo the time.

...American Idol Singers

Some people really really really like America Idol, I would assume most of those people are middle school girls and their moms. If you have the extra cash and want to hire one of them to sing for you it is going to cost a lot more than I thought. I understand why some of these singers are for asking so much but, others...really???

We Are The Fallen featuring Carly Smithson - $5-10K
Blake Lewis - $10K
Lee DeWyze - $15-25K
Crystal Bowersox - $15-25K
Danny Gokey - $30K
David Archuleta - $30-40K
David Cook - $30-50K
Adam Lambert - $40-50K
Kellie Pickler - $50-60K
Fantasia - $50-75K
Clay Aiken - $85-100K
Jennifer Hudson - $100K
Daughtry - $200-300K+
Kelly Clarkson - $350-500K
Carrie Underwood - $350-500K

A lot of these singers(Kellie Pickler, Clay Aiken, David Archuleta, Danny Gokey, Lee DeWyze, Blake Lewis, David Cook) have had one or no hits at all! You may have to Google some of those singers to remember who they are, I would have but I did not care enough to. Apparently Carrie Underwood can charge as little as $200,000 if she is on tour and as much as $1 million if she is not. I guess I can understand a little, she has had a lot of hits, but I really would not pay $1 million to see her sing in my backyard. Kelly Clarkson! Really, half a million dollars to see you sweat and sing off key and run out of breath? Maybe in 2007, but not in 2011. Wait...not even in 2007. I think a few of these singers need to lower their prices, the show has not made all of you THAT famous. I am giving these singers a Digit own, though individually I understand, but as a whole I do not.

...Foster the People

Ever heard of them? Until last week I had not, but now I am a fan! A website suggested that I might like them and they were correct. Certain songs stand out to me most of all being "Helena Beat", something about the lyrics and the beat are just amazing. If you are into that indie electro rock sound then go out and buy their album Torches. Once you give it a listen you will understand why I am giving them a Digit Up.

...Rebecca Black - Friday

Maybe I like bad music. I liked Paris Hilton and Heidi Montag's album, I love new wave, synth, pop, disco, etc. Maybe I am ahead of the curb, I sometimes catch on to songs late, much later than others, especially songs by Rihanna and Beyonce and Britney Spears (Though "Hold it Against Me" is still a crappy song). This song "Friday" by Rebecca Black has finally stuck with me. I must say that although the lyrics are simple and bad they are catchy.I like the little song that cost no more than $4,000 to make. More people hate it than love it, even Miley Cyrus said "It should be harder to be an artist." Really Miley? You sound like a cat in heat hitting the shredder. Rebecca sounds no better or worse than anyone on the radio right now, Ke$ha anyone? Think about it, if this were on Disney or Nickelodeon no one would really care, it might even be #2 on Radio Disney. I may be in the minority when I say that this song is pretty good. I am going to give Friday by Rebecca Black a Digit Up for sure.

...Britney Spears

Birtney's new album "Femme Fatale" drops today and we already know it will be number one. I must say though that while so far I like one song,"Til the World Ends", and hate another, "Hold it Against Me", Britney is still Britney. This album is low on vocals, high on beats and the same goes for her live performances. Most artist make the bulk of their money from tours and live performances and Britney has been phoning it in lately. The videos below show you just what I men. Lots of walking, siting, and hair tossing, no true dance moves really. She looks bored, probably is, needs to retire soon, because I doubt she wants to do this forever, and she just is not the girl she once was, but who is anymore... I think fans will flock to see her because if you are a fan of hers then you are not expecting a masterful performance, you are just there to see her, here her album be lip synced and maybe get a good stage show. I on the other hand am not a hardcore fan, I have a lot of her songs yes, but I am not going to buy an album. I am giving her a Digit Down because it just gets lazier and lazier as the years go by.

...Loleatta Holloway

Who is Loleatta Holloway? Well for all of you lovers of disco and 90's house music, she is someone you might know. Most people know her as the voice of the Marky Mark and The Funky Bunch smash hit "Good Vibrations", a song I totally love love love even to this day. She started singing gospel, moved into disco and then R&B. She died last night from an undisclosed illness at the age of 64. She will be missed, but she will always be remembered. Digit Down to this for this news.

...Sean Parker

Ironic. That is all I can say about what Sean Parker is trying to do. The face behind Napster, the Internet music downloading site that started the downfall of the music industry, and more recently the man who helped launch Facebook into the mainstream is bidding to buy the Warner Music Group. Though he has not been named yet, he is aligned with one of the bidding groups, so basically he is in. I ma sure he is not "named' due to his high profile and past history with the music industry... Basically they hate him. He just become a listed billionaire with a net worth of $1.6 billion, and with the music industry dying off, pretty much thanks to him, some are wondering why he wants to buy this labe. Some think that since he has been working as both an adviser and investor for Spotify, a streaming music service, like the Rhapsody. Although Spotify is very popular in Europe, with a million paying subscribers and 7 million users, music labels like Warner have kept the streaming service out of the U.S. market. Parker could have joined the investing consortium in order to help Spotify license Warner's content. When I 1st heard of what he was doing I thought it was interesting, then I thought that this was cool because it totally reminds me of a classic corporate takeover. Though I doubt that was his thought when he came up with Napster over a decade ago, it would be awesome if it was. I am giving Sean Parker 2 Digits Up for possibly being the smartest guy in the room.

...Britney Spears

Britney Spears is ready to sell you an album. She released her new single "Hold It Against Me" a day ahead of schedule, it was leaked last week and blogs have been leaking it out as well so why not? Well I had a chance to listen to it and I was really hoping that it was going to be a smash hit. You know what? It was eh. Her fans love it, but they love everything she does. It is good enough to be on an album and it is not the worst song out, but it should have been better. The song will probably, 99% sure, it will go to number 1 soon, but I do not know if it is really worth that spot.



I know that I am going to be one of the few people who thinks this song is not good, I am okay with that. I am also okay with giving Britney a Digit Down. Stop being lazy and actually get back to the good pop, not this comparison pop.

...Born This Way

Born This Way is the new album by Lady Gaga that will be released May 23, 2011. I listen to some tracks, do not ask me how I pulled that one off, and I must say that I m not impressed. She has said that this will be the album of the decade, I am not sure about that. Only 2 songs have been confirmed, "Born This Way" and "You and I". She said that there could be up to 20 songs on the album and that it is completely finished. This is what she told the BBC:
"The album is a marriage of electronic music with major, epic, dare I even say, metal or rock 'n' roll, pop, anthemic style melodies with really sledge-hammering dance beats. It's finished and all, it's just fine-tuning everything. It's kind of like the post-operative stage of the album. I've already done the full heart surgery. I'm just sewing myself back up again. I think that lyrically this album is more poetic. It's really written by the fans, they really wrote it for me because every night they're funneling so much into me. So I wrote it for them. Born This Way is all about my little monsters and me, mother monster."

Maybe she is WAY above me and her lyrics will hit me 10...20...30 years from now, but I am just not that into it. I only liked one song out of the 8 I heard and that was Nothing On (But the Radio). It is one of the few true pop/club/dance songs on the album, the others will probably me a commercial success but nothing more than that. I am not sure what people will think when they hear the album. I am sure it will go platinum in a bunch of countries and she will win a lot of awards, but that does not necessarily mean it is as good as the hype surrounding it and her. Like black people voting for Obama in 08', put her face and voice on something and her little fans, which she calls monsters, will buy it and rep it no matter what. I on the other hand am going to give the album a Digit Down. This is premature of course but I am sure I will not be eating my words on this.

...Hearing Loss

Apparently 1 out of 5 American teens has hearing loss, up 5 percent. As I am writing this I am blasting music in my ear so this may be true, although I am not a teen. The hearing loss was slight and equates to the sound of leaves rustling or a mother whispering, which I am sure the teen can hear but chooses not to. The cause for the hearing loss? MP3 players of course! Mostly anyway. Doctors are urging teens to turn down the volume and turn it up no more than 50% of the allotted volume. I do know that some times I wake up wondering if I am def, and then I turn on the television and I get happy. These new earbuds are smaller and fit more directly in the ear which makes the music sound louder and clearer, especially as the volume gets louder. It is suggested that you buy noise cancellation headphones to prevent you from cranking the music up too loudly. If you do not know, hearing loss cannot be repaired, once it is gone, it is just gone forever. Doctors worry that this will increase in the future and start to affect even younger children. I think instead of lowering the cost of mp3 players and lower the cost of good noise cancellation headphones. The best and cheapest pair I found were starting at $150, and I could buy any ole mp3 player for less than $100, even name brand ones. I will give this news a Digit Down. Not because of the hearing loss, but because there are billion spent every year on medical research and yet we have nothing to reverse hearing loss better than a freaking annoying hearing aide! Horrible.