Electric Jam

With Taylor Swift most likely seeking advice from her high school counselor on how to cope with the bullies of the music industry, Kanye is at it again. Releasing his new song to the general public with a shiny new video to go along with it. “Coldest Winter” is another soon to be overplayed love child of auto-tune and the “lyrical genius” known only as Mr. Kanye West. Having said this, it seems as though the once boisterous and all around prissy Hip Hop superstar of times past is taking a new approach with tracks that purvey a sense of humility and dare I say reality? Hopefully, this stars career will not have to correct the award shows anymore and finally allow him to live the life he describes in his music. With his new track on Youtube and multiple musically inclined websites, Mr. West might be on his way back into “Da Buildin” but is currently still in “Da Doghouse.”

The first fully animated band is drawing attention again with the upcoming release of their new album “Plastic Beach”. Gorillaz is one of those musical experiences you never quite forget, much like A Flock Of Seagulls or David Bowie. Whys this? Is it stylish hair? Could it be the metallic makeup? Whatever it may be, Gorillaz has remained an always-modern band implementing always-innovative methods concerning their personal brand of music. Similar to many other artists on iTunes these days, Gorillaz has chosen to leak one of the eighteen tracks on their new album and allowing people to wet their appetite and pre-order the album. Boasting contributions from artists of almost every corner of the world of music, the band knows that the treasure they are sitting on until March 9^th, 2010 is well worth the wait. To me, this form of viral marketing makes the music industry seem more like a toy store to me. Having said this, I cannot deny the fact that an added element of excitement is most definitely present.

In a world in which people can connect to friends they had back in middle school, search for information concerning an upcoming paper, or even discover personal information about their favorite artists; can it be that privacy is slowly fading? Tons of people use the Internet as a tool that lets them to connect to things that they fancy, but is there a point where things go too far? It can be argued that information given to Internet sources are at the discretion of the user, but in this day and age, information is oftentimes obtained in oftentimes-questionable ways. Musician Ezequiel Claverie shows that life outside work does not need to (hyper)link to your vocation. While many artists choose to open their private life to the adoring public on their websites like Facebook or Myspace, Ezequiel refuses to dispense personal information at the price of his privacy. When fans or intrigued first-time listeners visit Ezequiel’s Myspace they will surely notice that he has left his personal information out to make sure that his life outside his music is still... private...

So today as I browsed my music on iTunes, I came across a very interesting promotional move made by Apple. Apparently iTunes is nearing a count of 10 billion songs and from what I gather; Apple WANTS those downloads. The person who finalizes this dream for Apple receives a gratuitous gift of $10,000 dollars (...On an iTunes gift card... hooray.) Personally I would have wished that the world's top music service would dish out a record-breaking prize to match the record-breaking title that some unknowing downloader is going to allow them to reach. iTunes has a countdown monitor on their store homepage to help "motivate" the downloaders with possibly increasing their contributions towards the TEN BILLION TITLE. So how does this achievement help iTunes? Well for starters, iTunes would most likely win the “bathroom competition” that we like to call the online music service rivalries, which we see and hear about seemingly constantly these days.

So today I realized that I’ve been hoodwinked. Apparently Owl City; yeah, the kid who does that “Fireflies” song that has been haunting me since 2009 reached “Most Downloaded Song” status on iTunes?! The worst part is I unknowingly helped. Fan-fricking-tastic, that free download I just HAD to snag on iTunes earlier in 2009 is more regrettable than most late-night stories. The volume behind Owl City’s following comes primarily from online sources such as Myspace, Facebook and iTunes, making it one of the best examples of just how advantageous the online community can be for up-and-coming musicians. Having said this, I strongly believe now more than ever that iTunes should incorporate a sort of refund for free downloads, because people should not have to suffer the consequence of a horribly un-educated decision… after all, isn’t that why contraceptive advances are even made these days? Thanks to Owl City, I live in a world of fear concerning free downloads along with many other frustrated individuals.

Only one word can sum up the Winter Music Festival: ULTRA! People of all ages are flocking online to buy their tickets for an event so crystallized with stars that it could pass off as something illegal. Since the event's website was too stingy to let the public know the full lineup from the get-go, most people have had to find out that not one or two of their favorite electronic artists, but freaking all of them are headed for Bicentennial Park this March via cardboard pamphlets (as shown here) being handed out around Miami Beach. Needless to say, I have taken the past weather conditions into account and am already shopping online for all-weather gear to prevent Ultra from turning into a messy occasion for me. With basically every signed artist under Dim Mak Records to classics such as Atb and Groove Armada making up the roster, I don't think I'll need anything besides the lineup to make me pass out (of excitement).

p.s. Tickets Available Here!