I normally don't buy albums. For the past 15 years, I've been part of the problem that the music industry suffers from. Since the inception of platforms such as Napster, LimeWire, and a myriad of other websites like them, I've had the luxury of just picking and choosing from my favorite musicians' catalog, and just downloading individual songs, as opposed to just going out and buying an ENTIRE album just to hear my favorite track on that album. Well, this tradition carries on today. While I may not use LimeWire and Napster anymore, I still find ways to get my music for free. Now, don't get me wrong, but if I sample an album at a friends house or something, and more than 8 songs on a particular album catches my ear, then I have no problem going out and giving that artist a cool $12-17 bucks for their efforts. I'm a fair guy. But I just don't go out of my way to buy albums anymore. I feel like the artists nowadays are just looking for that hit #1 single; a song with a catchy hook that will warrant 1,000,000 ring tone downloads. They're trying to get rich quick; instead of making great music that will stand the test of time, or compose a body of work that will captivate fans for a generation and establish a legacy as a successful artist. This is one of the many problems with the music industry today, but its a HUGE problem in the Hip Hop community. But I wont go there just yet. In due time...
- I listened to The Game's newest album, "The R.E.D. Album". I thought it was pretty good. Stellar production. I liked the guest appearances (Dr. Dre, Snoop, Tyler the Creator, Lil Wayne, Big Boi, E-40, Wale, Drake, etc.), but what I really liked is the fact that he kept the name dropping to a minimum. I have always thought The Game could "rap"; he understands Hip Hop and the importance of being a formidable MC. He's still on that gangsta shit though, so he may not get the love that a Mos Def or a Andre 3000 or other wordsmiths out there warrant, but as an MC, I think he's a little underrated. Good but not great word play, a commanding voice, and the ability to "ride" a track just right makes this album pretty easy to listen to. I'll do an official review of this, song by song, later this week.
- Why does the media criticize our president so much? Did they forget who was in power before him? Did they forget that the country is in this financial crunch probably because of a certain Texan had a hard-on for stirring the pot in the Middle East? I'm just sayin....
- How freakin awesome is it that next year, we get the Avengers movie? As an avid comic book connoisseur since my child hood, I never dreamed I'd see the day that I'd see a movie of such epic proportions. Does anyone remember that Generation-X movie (a pseudo"New Mutants" for the late 90's- shout out to all my X-men buffs out there) that went straight to t.v.? It was low budget and just...bad. I use this as a base of comparison because I thought that every "comic book movie" would turn out like that. My mind was changed drastically in 1998 when 'Blade' hit theaters. To this day, I think Blade is an underrated film that doesn't get the credit it deserves. The action, special effects, storyline- all on point. (Well done, Mr. Snipes). This movie breathed life into Marvel's film making potential. Fast forward to 2012- and I just cant wait to see Captain America, Hulk, Thor, and Iron Man all in one movie. Wow. Who's gonna be the bad guy? If they're smart, they'd re-create the story arc from The Ultimates 1, where Hulk destroys Manhattan and the Avengers/Ultimate have to bring him down. This would be epic. Now, if Marvel can do a great Wolverine movie, that sticks to the true character in the comic, I'd be a happy man.
- The 2011 College Football season kicks off this week. The top 25 poll came out a few weeks ago, with Oklahoma claiming the number 1 spot. What a joke! Does anyone in their right mind see OU staying undefeated all year? Are they really the best team in the nation, right now? Better than Alabama? Oregon? I think they'll get past Florida St. on Sept.17, but knowin Bob Stoops, he'll blow a conference game along the way, and that will be really sad with the Big-12 being watered down now. OU always loses on the big stage as of late; it was a joke to put them with UConn last year in the Fiesta Bowl last year (c'mon, the Big East cant play football! And to make matters worse, OU lost to West Virgina in the Fiesta Bowl in 2007! Don't get me started on these guys... i don't have the time today). My main beef with OU is that because the gave up the ghost and lost to Boise St. in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl; the Boise St's and the TCU's and the Utah's (back then, not now since their Pac-12) of the college football world think that they can hang with the big boys and contend for a National Championship. They helped expose the BCS for the flaws in its system. They opened pandora's box by losing to the Broncos of Boise St and their magician of a head coach (go back and watch the last 10 minutes of that game... Chris Petersen pulled those plays outta his magic hat, and the white bunny that emerged has screwed up everything, in my opinion). Boomer Sooner.... kiss the baby.
- Why haven't we been back to the moon since 1969? Just wonderin.
Be easy, everyone. But not too easy, that'd be sleazy. Peace.
