John Lennon Shot: 40 Years Later

Most of the things that I ultimately learned about John Lennon came later in life.  I was too young to remember the Beatles.  But I've heard tons of stories about how talented of a musician he was and it is sad that the world lost a musical genius on this particular day 40 years ago.

I remember watching a Monday Night Football game between the Dolphins and Patriots when Howard Cosell announced during the game that Beatles singer, John Lennon, had been shot and killed.  There was no internet back then, so radio and TV were your only sources for breaking news.    

I remember asking my dad why someone would kill somebody who was famous.  I was about 9 years old at the time and I thought that everyone loved celebrities and would never harm one.  I don't recall what his answer was to me, but I just remember going to bed that night wondering what in the world caused someone to shoot John Lennon.  

As I got older, I've learned that celebrity shootings weren't so rare after all and that the reasons for them weren't always good either.  My favorite singer, Sam Cooke, was shot in 1964 in what was called a "justifiable homicide" although most think that he was murdered for being a black man with a white woman.  Marvin Gaye was shot in 1984 during a family dispute.  Selena in 1995 by a crazed fan.  Tupac, Biggie, Roger Troutman, Jam Master Jay.  The list goes on and on.  

Lennon's murder was probably my first introduction to the underbelly of the real world.  There isn't a person on this planet that is loved by everyone.  Someone will always have a problem with you or seek something to gain by harming you (physically or emotionally).  

I'm not a Beatles fan or anything.  I own none of their albums.  But I understand what they brought to society by way of their music and I respect their craft.  It's a shame that folks have prematurely taken from us some of the most gifted people in our society.  

Do We Over-Sexualize Female Role Models?

How many mainstream female celebrities out there aren't hot?

Did you come up with anyone other than Condoleezza Rice?  :)

Okay, I shouldn't pick on Condi. I asked that question from a cynical standpoint.  Let me try again...

When's the last time you saw a mainstream female singer who wasn't hot?  I'll wait...

I recently read a quote by singer, Rosie Lowe, that talked about how Beyonce and Rihanna reinforce stereotypes because they sexualize their bodies to promote their music.  Therefore, they are bad role models for young women.

First of all, I see what Rosie is saying, but I don't agree with it.  Entertainers are just that.  Stop making them into more than what they are.  Although that's very hard to do when adults are slobbering over these celebs even more so than the kids.  Have you seen Facebook timelines after a Beyonce video gets released?  It will make you think that Jesus has returned.  And that's not Bey's fault one bit.  If her body and how it moves brings in just as much money as her voice, then why shouldn't she make money off of them both?

Most female celebs probably couldn't care less how the use and display of their bodies affect your daughters as long as your kid is watching them and buying their products.  The responsibility falls on mom and dad to raise their kids, not some R&B singer who doesn't even know that your child exists.  Parents should teach their child that twerking on the Billboard Awards for a paycheck is different than twerking at the club for a drink.  Much different.

But, let me return back to the topic: do we over-sexualize female role models?  Yes.

We have even gone as far as commenting on the bodies of the current and the previous First Ladies of the United States.  Even when some sick-in-the-head female teacher takes advantage of one of her underaged male students, what's the first thing that comes out of some guy's mouth: "Man, she's hot enough to have any dude she wants, why does she want a kid?"

No woman is off-limts to being rated.

Will it change?  Not in my lifetime.  Should it change?  Absolutely.  No one should look at a successful, good-looking woman and wonder if she's actually achieved her status by hard work or was it given to her because of her looks?  After all, we don't rank men based on looks.  Do you know how many ugly dudes are on TV making a nice career for themselves?  Steve Buscemi is worth $35 million dollars!

That's completely unfair to women and we need to find some way to stop it.  Talent is talent.  Looks need not apply.

Steve Buscemi

Prince is the Epitome of Musical Greatness

Many great musical artists have come and gone in my life, but this one feels different. I enjoyed Luther. I adored Whitney. I was awed by Michael. But none of them delivered art to my senses like Prince.

Not just music, but fashion, color, acting, and dancing. Prince was a multi-tooled performer and to think that his talents are gone forever is such a shame. This is a man who spent almost 40 years of his life bringing us music that we've dance to, nodded our heads to, and definitely made love to. He went from being labeled as a "freak" and "weirdo" in the late 70's/early 80's to literally being considered royalty just a decade later.

I feel so sorry for the Millennials who can't seem to wrap their brain around what a musical genius truly is.  And to think some of them were probably conceived to Prince's music.  SMH.  My definition of "greatness" doesn't line up with theirs at all.  Greatness is not the number of Twitter followers you have.  Greatness is not the kind of car you drive.  Greatness is not being heard on the radio every 20 minutes.

• Greatness is walking into a room and seeing people forget their own names.  
• Greatness is leaving a lineage of other performer's music behind you (Sheila E., Sheena Easton, Morris Day & The Time, Wendy & Lisa, Apollonia, Vanity, Tevin Campbell, Jesse Johnson, and more).  
• Greatness is being offered an opportunity to complete an entire movie soundtrack ("Batman").  Not one song, but the entire soundtrack album!  
• Greatness is having a sketch comedy show like Saturday Night Live dedicate their show to you.  A comedy show celebrating a musician?  Where they do that at?  
• Greatness is being recognized by a color or a symbol.

I have a cousin who is from Minnesota and has encountered Prince on several occasions.  I haven't spoken to him since Prince's death, but he has a ton of stories to share about him.  Just like me, my cousin listens to music "from the inside-out."  It's difficult to explain, but it's essentially focusing on the accompanying instruments first and working your way to the more dominant instruments like the bass or drums later.  It's making an attempt to "hear a song within a song" is the best way that I can put it.

Prince was a master of giving you that little extra that a lot of people would rarely notice no matter how many times they'd hear a particular song of his.  I have such an appreciation for what he did and it's a shame that it ended last Thursday.

I'm not one to mourn celebrities like I mourn people I actually know personally.  I just don't get attached like that to people that I've never met.  However, I do miss the talent when it is taken from us.  We don't have a lot of musicians left.  We don't have too many music artists who are so talented that other A-List celebrities stutter when trying to speak to them.

Prince was a one-of-a-kind entertainer and his talents will be missed dearly.  A friend of mine posted this lyric on Facebook that very much describes how so many people felt last week.  It comes from the Parade album which was the soundtrack to the movie, "Under the Cherry Moon."

Sometimes it snows in April 

Sometimes I feel so bad, so bad 

Sometimes I wish life was never ending, 

And all good things, they say, never last

Truer words have never been spoken, Prince.

Check Out Singer/Songwriter, @Nick_Festari!

Check out his music on Soundcloud!

WRITER / ARRANGER / SINGER Roberto Festari (a.k.a. Nick Festari) started to study piano at 9 years old. When he was 16, he became one of the organists of his parish. It was there that he took his first steps accompanying a talented choir during the liturgical celebrations and performances.
 
In that period, Nick met the 2 people who would have believed in him, and together they have been writing some of the best eurobeat hits for years. In 1986 he started a cover band with some friends where he has been playing keyboards for about 2 years. In 1987 the musicians and Live Music Studio owners Claudio Accatino & Federico Rimonti began to work with the well-known dance producer Mark Farina. Nick Festari started to cooperate with them playing some arrangements and rhythmics, progressively improving his studio work skills.

In the meantime, he became a member of a band and gospel/Christian rock choir that performed in some churches and small local theaters. Furthermore, he participated in various song contests as writer, winning the last edition in 1992. In the same year, Accatino & Rimonti joined Time Records (a famous Italian dance label) and proposed to Nick to writing new melodies for the Japanese audience.

Two years later, Claudio and Federico started their own label, "HI-NRG ATTACK", where Festari was involved in writing almost 800 songs in about 20 years, also arranging and often singing these tracks behind many aliases with his own particular style. These songs have been long appreciated by the Japanese fans and a good part of the world that love eurobeat and Italo-dance.

At the end of 2012, Nick considered the chance to undertake a solo career and began to write a voice/piano pop-ballad. Once finished, he took some months to make a hard decision, and in summer 2013 he took a chance and left eurobeat, dance scenes and HI-NRG ATTACK that gave many satisfactions and professional skills to him. Now Nick Festari dives into pop-music trying to reach for a totally new audience with his own style so appreciated in his former path.

www.NickFestari.com

Download “A Missión of Heart" for FREE! @SarantosMelogia #NewMusic

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New Year's Eve on Bourbon Street

Okay, so last night my cousin from Minnesota and I decided to roll down to New Orleans and spend NYE on Bourbon Street.  He wanted to experience something different and frankly so did I.  In 2013 I was asleep on my couch shortly after 11 PM.  I wanted to at least be awake and away from home this year.

Just to give you a bit of history, back in 1999 cuz and I decided to roll down to New Orleans that night to experience NYE during the Y2K hype.  I was 28 years old and unmarried at the time.  We arrived in NO shortly after midnight and walked up and down Bourbon Street a couple of times.  We were gone in three hours and back on the road to home.  To this day we don't know what prompted us to drive down in the first place, but we just did.  It was just something to do to say that we did it.

Fast forward 15 years later and we're at it again.  Much older, but just as determined to do something fun on NYE.  Now I'm 43 and unmarried.  So, since I'm not "boo'd up" why not get out of the house and do something fun?

Our trip on the way down was enjoyable because we listened to great music.  My cousin and I enjoy music differently than most people.  We both have a musical background and we listen to music instead of just hearing it.  Dissecting some of the intricacies of the music with someone who listens to music allows you to hear things you may have missed in a song.  We both enjoy isolating instruments and sounds that make up the song.  Each instrument plays a part in the total sound that we enjoy.  Time passed by quickly as we listened to everything from The Doobie Brothers to Maxwell during the three hour drive.

We arrived in NO at 11 PM and after walking six blocks we're on Bourbon Street by 1130 PM.  There were people everywhere!  Not just because it's NYE and Bourbon Street is a huge attraction, but also because the Sugar Bowl is being played on New Year's Day in the Superdome.  A lot of the people visiting the area are football fans of Ohio State and Alabama, the two competing colleges.

Despite the youth of the huge college crowd there were still plenty of people of all ages walking around with beads around their necks and adult beverages in their hands.  If you've never been on Bourbon Street on a holiday then I'll paint the picture for you: constant bumping and jostling from people who are sometimes shoulder-to-shoulder with you as you navigate through the crowd.  There's also the occasional jarring bump from drunk people who are having difficulty keeping their balance.  Sporadic nudity or extreme flirts from people who haven't a care in the world at the time.  The sounds of multiple genres of music emitting from each bar you pass every 20 feet.  There is so much to see and hear that it's really overwhelming to the senses.  The downside to all of the delightful distractions is that your safety can sometimes become secondary without you even knowing it.

It's so difficult to pay attention to every single thing going on around you that you sometimes forget that "people are people."  There are good ones and unfortunately, there are bad ones.  So, it's easy to accidentally be too close to a fight that breaks out, hit in the head with large beads being thrown from the balconies above, or stumbling over trash in the street and risking being trampled by the crowd.  If you decide to go for the first time then go with a group and make sure that you're watching out for one another.  My cousin and I are pretty big guys yet we still feel the need to watch over each other.  I can't imagine how some of the petite women that I saw last night made it from one bar to another.  Especially while drunk.

But, back to the NYE experience...  As the clock ticked down towards midnight you could hear the soundwave of people counting coming towards you.  By the time the clock was five seconds away the entire street was counting down in unison and Bourbon Street erupted (even more) as every person screamed "Happy New Year!"  I got a hug from an attractive, but too young for me, Alabama grad as we exchanged beads from each other's necks and made small talk.  But as quickly as the euphoria came, it left.  Everyone went back to doing the same things they always do on Bourbon Street.

Was that it?  Was NYE on Bourbon Street what I expected to be?

Actually, it was.  Hey, there's only so much you can do on a street filled with 5,000 drunks, right?  There wasn't an apple dropping from the sky or anything dramatic like that.  Just a bunch of people kissing and hugging in the street which is normal for Bourbon Street anyway.

What made the trip fun to me was hanging with my cousin and enjoying the sensory overload of Bourbon Street.  The eye candy, music, smell of good food, and more makes every trip to NO a memorable one.  Having someone special to share it with and a nearby hotel room would have made it even more memorable.  But, there's always next year, right?

25 Years Later We're Still Fighting The Power - @PublicEnemyFTP

I remember turning on the TV and seeing this video for the first time. I was mesmerized as a 16 year old to see the power within the video of a group of people coming together for a united front.  Even at such an early age I recognized what that video meant to me as a black teen.  It meant that there was still work to do to bring about equality in the United States among the races.  I had no idea how much more this video would mean to me 25 years later after Michael Brown and Ferguson, MO.

Seeing the unity that "Fight The Power" displayed in a rap video was nothing short of amazing.  This wasn't a group of rappers coming together on their own for a cause like "Self Destruction" or "We're All in the Same Gang."  This was a video about a rap group marching down the streets of Brooklyn during the time of a political rally and the people just randomly started joining in.  It was just recently that I found out that the neighborhood people showed up only by word of mouth.  There was no plan to have them all there.

I got on board the PE train with their first album, "Yo! Bum Rush the Show!" in 1987.  I was fascinated with the side of blackness they taught that I couldn't get anywhere else at the time.  Remember that this was roughly five years before people starting regularly using the Internet.  In fact, a majority of the black history that I learned as a youth came from listening to Public Enemy.  I would listen to their album and then go to my city library to learn about the people they mentioned.   Stokely Carmichael.  H. Rap Brown.  Huey P. Newton (Huey Freeman on the "Boondocks" series is named after him).  These were people that were never talked about in any history books that I read at school.  And regardless of how people felt about them and what they represented they were still a very important part of black history which is essentially American history.

The video also contained images that will forever be embedded in my brain of Angela Davis, Medgar Evers, Jackie Robinson, signs that encouraged voter registration, and most importantly, youth participation.  There were kids everywhere in this video.  Also, one of the most powerful scenes at the time was at the 6:00 mark when teenager, Tawana Brawley, was shown standing in all white.

Tawana was part of a huge rape case back in 1987 when she accused six white men of raping and defiling her.  Although it was ruled in 1988 that she made up the false allegations against her accusers, she has always stuck by her story and said that the rape occurred.  Seeing her smiling and participating in the video was a sign that she was still standing strong with the support of the black community.  The community had her back.  That sentiment was also shown in Spike Lee's movie, "Do The Right Thing," with a scene that displayed graffiti on the wall that said "Tawana told the truth."  I can still remember the applause in the theater when people saw it during the movie.

"Fight The Power" would prove to have an impact on the consciousness of many people of all colors as it depicted how black people came together to promote unity.  Another important part of the video to note is that it showed how blacks can be peaceful yet firm in making an impact on society.  Despite the "nervous" police presence according to P.E. front man, Chuck D, there were no incidents.  Not one.

Enter 2014.  Music has changed tremendously.  The only people rapping about political consciousness aren't on the radio.  Gone are the days where KRS-1 is rapping "Why is That?" or Gang Starr is dropping knowledge on "Who's Gonna Take The Weight?"

I'll continue to hold on to old school rap although I know it's next to impossible to pass down to younger generations.  They just aren't buying into things from back in the day.  However, I'll do what I can to expose them to conscious rap with hopes that it catches on.  I won't let Public Enemy die with my generation.

So, click on the video below and "Fight The Power" in 2014.  We still have a long way to go.
 

The 2014 #Grammys: Play-By-Play

I hate award shows. I truly do. The people that I always think deserve to win never win. It's some sort of popularity contest or who creates the biggest story more so than who's actually the most talented (in my opinion).

Having said all of that, I felt the need to watch The Grammys tonight. Why?

A) There's no football to occupy my Sunday Night
B) Everyone else and their grandmother will be watching and tweeting, so I may as well join the fun, right?
C) I pray that Kanye West gets on stage and says, "Beyonce's twerk was better than Miley's" or something. 

So, check in from time-to-time this evening to see updates on what I'm seeing.  I'll update my blog throughout the broadcast of The Grammys...

7:49 PM EST - Macklemore is on the Red Carpet wearing his Thrift Shop clothing.  Cyndi Lauper is there as well with her Sharon Osbourne hair color.

7:50 PM - Taylor Swift's dress is nice.  A little chainmail look to it, but it's classy.  Paula Patton looks great in her outfit, too.  And she doesn't appear to be high!  Yay, rehab!

Robin Thicke and Paula Patton

7:56 PM - The Summer's Eve commercial where the man tries to "reclaim his manhood" is absolutely hilarious!  Should have been a Super Bowl commercial!

8:02 PM - Beyonce kicks off the show with the "Drunk in Love" song.  She's all grown up now and she loves showing off that fact.  She's more sexualized and curses regularly.  I guess that if it works for Miley Cyrus then it can work for her, too.  She's going to wear out that "surfboard" term.  Uh, oh.  Here comes Jay Z.  Dude always rocks a nice suit, but he's still a punk to me for what he did to Harry Belafonte.

8:08 PM - L.L. Cool J is starting to look older with the hats.  He may need to let them go.  He looks like one of the old guys that used to come to my barbershop.  Now he's trying to remind people that he used to be a musician.  I doubt anyone under 20 remembers.

8:10 PM - What happened to Pink?  Why does she look like a body-building dude now?  And why is Pharrell Williams dressed like Ranger Rick?

8:12 PM - You could look at Kendrick Lamar's face and know that he wasn't going to win Best New Artist over Macklemore.  Macklemore will win every rap category tonight.  Watch.

8:23 PM - Whaaaatttt!!!!???  Liam Neeson has another movie coming out where he has to kill someone?  I'm already there! #Non-Stop

8:28 PM - I have no idea who this kid is, but he looks and sounds like he's trying to pass a kidney stone.

"It hurts!!!!!"

8:36 PM - Katy Perry would have been the perfect Wonder Woman.  She has the look.  I wonder if she knows how to act?

8:47 PM - By far the best performance so far tonight with Chicago and Robin Thicke!  Chicago's band reminds me why I first started loving music!  Live instruments can beat a computer any day!  Wow!

9:01 PM - Kevin Hart just gave a shameless plug to "Ride Along" when referring to Charlie Wilson.  Terrible!  LOL!

9:09 PM - I'm just seeing this on Twitter courtesy of IG: LeanaShenise.  Best outfit of the night by far!  LOL!

9:21 PM - There is no way Pink is singing live while spinning through the air like Cirque du Soleil.  Dangerous performance though.

9:31 PM - "The Talk" has the cast of "How I Met Your Mother" on tomorrow and they're trying to tie their commercial to The Grammys.  No, there's no connection there.

9:32 PM - Oh, joy!  Ozzy Osbourne is reading a teleprompter!  #TVGold!

9:38 PM - Okay, let's discuss this...

Did "Gremlins" get a reboot? #Stripe

9:56 PM - Loved Kasey Musgraves!  I don't necessarily listen to country music, but I love the old style country classics.  The outfits, the music and her lyrics screamed a young Loretta Lynn!  Bravo!

10:01 PM - Julia Roberts' mouth is so big that when she smiles her ears get wet.  She's presenting the Beatles semi-reunion with Paul and Ringo.

10:05 PM - Yoko Ono makes an appearance trying to dance to Paul and Ringo.  She doesn't look bad for 96.

"I miss John!"

10:23 PM - Kasey Musgraves won over Taylor Swift.  I couldn't be happier!  It's nice to see someone who actually sings country music win a Best Country Album award.

10:32 PM - The Grammys are starting to wind down and I'm still waiting on that one moment that everyone will be talking about tomorrow.  It's yet to occur.  No Kanye running on stage or saying Obama hates white people.  I hope he's just hiding in the rafters right now or something.

10:33 PM - I just saw a commercial for the new movie "Need for Speed".  You're a decade late, fellas.  "Fast & Furious" pretty much cornered the market on racing.

10:43 PM - Lourde takes down Macklemore for Song of the Year ("Royals").  She sucks in acceptance speeches though.  I'm pretty sure she killed animals as a child.

10:54 PM - It's my first time seeing Metallica perform and I'm enjoying the music.  Mixed in with a classic pianist gives it a nice and unique blend.  The Grammys have done a good job coordinating artist collaborations.

11:03 PM - Just saw the trailer for "3 Days to Kill."  How is Liam Neeson not starring in that movie?  Kevin Costner?

11:11 PM - This is The Grammys "big moment?"  A mass wedding with 33 couples getting married by Queen Latifah?  Did she get her license to marry from Devry's overnight online class?  And why is Madonna dressed like a pimp?  No wonder she feels comfortable saying the n-word.

11:22 PM - Why does Ryan Seacrest torment me so?  He's everywhere.  It's like trying to run away from Jason Voorhees.

11:37 PM - Yoko Ono is a presenter, but I'm disappointed that she didn't speak more or dance.  Daft Punk wins Album of the Year.  They are cleaning up.

11:44 PM - Took forever for the Grammys to end.  A great show if you're a lover of music and / or Country/Rock.  Not much at all for R&B and rap, but an enjoyable evening.  I'm disappointed that no one did anything outrageous.  I guess that's a good thing though.  L.L. Cool J was non-existent as a host.  Half of the time I forgot that the show evening had a host.  Not very memorable on his part other than him flirting with Taylor Swift.

Good night, all!

YouTube Killed The Radio Star

Worst YouTube video ever: "It's So Cold In Tha D"

I was talking to a friend of mine recently (M&M) and he brought up something I'd never considered before: YouTube Killed the Radio Star.

As recently as the 90's, one had to have talent in order to have an opportunity to be called a "star" or "an artist." Those days are long gone. Now, all a person needs is a camera and a YouTube account. It doesn't matter how well you play or sing. It only matters if you're trendy enough to "go viral."

There were two televised talent shows that I remember watching a lot while growing up: "Star Search" and "Showtime at the Apollo." Those were basically the only two options of being seen in the world in hopes of becoming a music legend. You even had to beat the odds just in order to make it as a contestant on one of those shows. Now, there is no direct competition to getting an opportunity to be seen. There is no more "8 Mile" as "M&M" said. There's no more separating the best from the wack. There's no more school talent show to see who's good enough for regional, good enough for state, good enough for a national contest.

So, there's no way to weed out the non-talented from the talented. If you want an opportunity to share your skills (or lack thereof) to the world, just shoot a video. It's free and it's easy. Ask this guy...





When I first saw this video, I thought it was a Chappelle Show skit. It was almost a week before someone convinced me that it was supposed to be a serious video. Over 8 million hits for his rapping "skills." Now, I'm not sure how many of these millions watched this because they thought Yung Humma had talent. I'm also not sure how many millions watched this because someone sent them there for a good laugh (I fall into this group). People get on YouTube, rap/sing and then parade around like stars. And some people are crazy enough to believe that they are stars simply because of the number of hits that they have.

M&M was onto something when he brought up this concept and if you want more of his "M&M'isms" then check him out here. Now, don't get me wrong. There are some extremely talented people on YouTube who rap, sing and even act. There's Issa Rae, Real Dondada and this young lady below who goes by the name "Jane Doe." The problem is that they can't always get traction on page hits because people like the Numa Numa guy and Why Must I Cry guy get all of the attention. After all, Americans love a train wreck.

So, if you're going to check out YouTube videos for performing artists, then do us all a favor: please show your support for real talent, like Jane Doe, and give a thumbs up. And for the "Lemme Smang It" types, please thumb them down so the rest of us can be forewarned. Let's focus on real talent and not gimmicks. I can only take so many Nicki Minaj songs.



Be sure to give Jane Doe a thumbs up if you appreciated her vocal talents.

Do you think YouTube has dumbed down our expectations of talent?

History 101

I'm sure some of your hip-hop fans have heard the phrase: "It's not where you're from, it's where you're at."

Well, that's not true. If it were true, then rappers would act like people who understand the concepts of social responsibility and money management (where they're at) rather than acting like the "hood rich" people from their block (where they're from). But, that's not what my blog post is about (this time).  I want to get into how a person's history can shape their future. Not with the history we learned in school, but from the history we learn from television and movies.

I've noticed that a lot of 20-somethings today don't know a lot about things that happened prior to their first memories.  I have younger relatives who have little-to-no knowledge of movies / TV shows prior to 1990.  They don't remember when Michael Jackson was black.  They think LeBron James is the best basketball player ever because they were too young to remember Michael Jordan or never even saw Larry Bird or Magic Johnson play.

I am so thankful that my parents saw to it that I appreciate everything that life has to offer...  even if it occurred before I was born.  We had two or three televisions in my household when I was growing up, but one was in my parents' bedroom and the other two were in our den and our living room.  The only connection in my bedroom to the outside world that I had as a child was an AM/FM radio.  Because of this, if I was going to watch TV, it was usually in the company of my parents.  And since they had control of the TV except for on NFL Sunday, I watched what they watched.  Something as simple as that gave me an appreciation for shows that came before me.

Some of my favorite TV personalities as a child: Bob Hope, Sammy Davis, Jr., Lucille Ball, Clint Eastwood, The Marx Brothers, The Three Stooges and Tim Conway.  Now, some of you who are 30 years old and under maybe only recognize a couple of those names.  All of these people were making movies long before I was born.  Some of them were actually dead a few decades before I was born, but I still learned to appreciate their work. It's because of that, I can watch "Planet of the Apes" with Mark Wahlberg (2001) or Charlton Heston (1968) and be entertained by either.

Things are different today. Kids have options. Too many options, if you ask me. They have TV's in their bedrooms, iPods, iPads, iPhones, laptops, game consoles, etc. So, instead of maybe taking in a nostalgic episode of "Seinfeld," "Three's Company," "Miami Vice" or "The Incredible Hulk" with mom and dad, they're free to watch what they want which is generally mainstream TV.

This is why a lot of them only live in the "here-and-now" which can lead to problems in the adult world for some.

- They get confused when confronted by discrimination because maybe they never saw "Do The Right Thing" or "Philadelphia." They only saw "Paranormal Activities" or "Shark Night 3D."

- They don't know how to grow into a good family person because they never saw how families interacted on "The Waltons" or "The Cosby Show." They only saw "Keeping Up with The Kardashians" or "The Osbornes."

- They don't understand expressions of love because they never listened to "James Ingram" or "Chicago." They only heard "Soulja Boy" or "Ke$ha."

And how many times have you heard some young person complain about how long a microwave takes to warm up food?  Those my age remember almost starving before a bag of popcorn would pop.  Younger generations need to at least know how things were in order to appreciate how things are now.

If your kids can't appreciate the values and traditions of your childhood, then how can they truly appreciate you?

I've never seen a lioness follow her cub. I've never seen an eaglet teach an eagle how to fly. Even when you're driving, you can't do so effectively without checking in the mirror behind you from time-to-time.

Your child doesn't have to do what you did as a child or like everything you liked, but it's up to you to at least give them a blueprint of "where they're from" so they can appreciate "where they're at."

The Grammys: Play-By-Play

I hate award shows. I truly do. The people I always think deserve to win never win. It's some sort of popularity contest or who creates the biggest story more so than who's actually the most talented (in my opinion).

Having said all of that, I felt the need to watch The Grammys tonight. Why?

A) There's no football to occupy my Sunday Night
B) Everyone else and their grandmother will be watching and tweeting, so I may as well join the fun, right?
C) I pray that Kanye West gets on stage and says, "Willow Smith's video was better than Justin Beiber's" or something.

So, check in from time-to-time this evening to see updates on what I'm seeing.

6:25 PM Central Time - On E's Red Carpet Show, Ryan Seacrest is interviewing Willow Smith and asked her to turn around and say "hello" to Miley Cyrus. Willow turns around and gives Miley a look like, "uh, isn't this interview about me?"



6:34 PM - Katy Perry shows up with her grandmother and a dress with angel wings on it. She really thinks a lot of herself to be wearing angel wings. It looks like she's carrying a pelican on her back. I have to admit though, she's not bad. All of her songs sound alike, but she's still a pretty good entertainer. Showed way too much cleavage on Sesame Street though! LOL!



6:41 PM - Rihanna busting out in a white Michelin Man dress. Nice! I wonder if she had anything under those clouds? How was she able to walk any way? Maybe she had some of Diddy's guys carrying her on their backs.


6:59 PM - Didn't Nicki Minaj wear that dress during her SNL "Bride of Blackenstein" skit last week? She looks like the Heat Miser from those claymation Christmas shows I watched as a kid. I thought she was more interested in looking like a Barbie Doll, but here she just looks like a mess.



7:04 PM - Christina, Martina, Florence, Yolanda, and Jennifer sing for 15 minutes, but I kind of enjoyed the tribute to The Queen of Soul (who has lost a lot of weight). Hopefully Aretha gets better and can be present at next year's Grammys. I'm also happy that Christina got all of the words right to her lyrics. However, she did stumble (although not over a lyric). She almost fell at the end of the segment.

7:24 PM - What's up with Lady Gaga's shoulders? Coming out of an egg is freaky enough to not have pointy shoulders. And has she basically stolen every act (and melody) from Madonna? She even had the long ponytail like Madonna did in "Vogue." For real, if you closed your eyes and listened, you would have thought it was Madonna performing. I'm now dubbing her "Magaga."



7:47 PM - "Sucker Punch" is my type of movie. Action, bad women, and no plot. Nice!

7:49 PM - I didn't know if Bruno Mars was trying to recapture Ricky Ricardo or some sort of Jermaine Jackson flashback with his hairstyle. Wow.



7:57 PM - Funny Tweet -> @rustymk2 RT by CIH8U2 "Katy Perry is the Samuel L. Jackson of pop-stars. There's no grey area. the verses go like this. THE CHORUSES GO LIKE THIS."

8:00 PM - They've given out two awards. No wonder they give out awards prior to the show because at the rate their going, we'll be a few days away from next year's Grammys before they're done. An hour in and two trophies?

8:05 PM - We have our first Beiber on-stage sighting! It's the first time I've heard the kid sing live. He's a talent when it comes to sing/playing music! I have to give him his props! I think he's lip-synching tonight though. The Mrs. isn't impressed at all. Are there plenty of other artists who deserve a movie before him? Definitely. But, he got a chance and he took advantage of it. Milk it, Justin. Milk America for what they give you. I can't hate on that.

8:07 PM - Usher shows how original he is with a 2011 version of Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation." My boss texted me and said that, "if it wasn't for MJ (Michael Jackson), nobody would know how to dance."

I agree 100%. I'm still waiting on someone to do something different.



8:22 PM - Lady Gaga wins an award and shows up on stage with a butt of armor. I can't explain her outfit, but imagine two tortoise shells on each cheek.

8:31 PM - Not only did Bob Dylan sound bad, he sounded badly for three minutes. Why did they leave him on stage for so long? He's so far from "there's a choice we're makin'" in "We Are The World." How does he still sell CD's?

8:47 PM - The NBC logo makes an appearance on CBS to sing "Forget You." He definitely stole that from Elton John's closet. I had no idea Fraggle Rock got down like that.



8:55 PM - Funny Tweet -> @CIH8U2 "30 years and Cyndi Lauper still doesn't own a comb"

8:56 PM - Katy Perry sings from a swing. When Maxim picked her as their #1 lady in their Top 100 for 2010, I didn't quite get it. But, now I can see what they mean. She's a very cute woman. It's hard to be cute and sexy. Some of you are confused right now by that statement, so maybe I'll blog about it some day. There is a difference and some women are fortunate enough to be both.

9:04 PM - "Need You Now" is Song of The Year. It's a very good song with excellent lyrics, so I get that. I can't argue with that selection at all although I have no idea who the group is.

9:13 PM - I'm sorry, but Rihanna has a head shaped like a rattlesnake.

9:23 PM - Another repeat of Alicia Keys commercial for HP. I wonder if she stole that ad spot from another woman?



9:31 PM - Funny Tweet -> @CIH8U2 "To everybody under 25...Best New Artist goes to someone talented ever since that Milli Vanilli Fiasco..."

9:35 PM - Out comes Mick Jagger with his first performance at The Grammys. He looks like Angelina Jolie and a raw chicken had a kid.

9:42 PM - Funny Tweet -> @BasseyworldLive "I'm mad that Usher is 150 years younger than Mick Jagger but was out of breath after his performance. Mick looks like he could go again."

10:00 PM - Rihanna sounds like an eight year old singing karaoke. She is arguably one of the worst live performers in the game right now. Bobby Brown thinks her live singing sucks.

10:17 PM - This stuff is still on. I thought for sure I'd be watching the news and kicking back in the bed by now. Instead I'm watching these million dollar commercials for Target. Wait. Do the Grammys command that type of money for an ad spot? I doubt it. Maybe $250k. What's a Grammy anyway? Okay, I'm babbling.

10:26 PM - Last performance and I'm unsure of the group's name. They won Album of The Year over some big names, so I'm assuming they're talented. They're song isn't bad, but a little too much percussion. I think CBS did a horrible job with the sound on this broadcast. A lot of drop outs and I think they missed Eminem dropping an "F-bomb" in one of his lyrics. Weren't they the station who showed Janet's nips during the Super Bowl?

This has been fun, guys! Difficult, but fun. It's hard coming up with things to discuss and find photos at the same time. I'm still mad I couldn't find a photo of Lady Gaga's tortoise shell butt implants. I'm sure you'll see it at some point on tomorrow. This is the first awards show I've watched in its entirety in probably 25 years, so this was a big deal to me.

Catch you guys later. It's time for me to watch the local news and catch some Z's. I just hope that I don't have any nightmares of Rihanna, who I'm sure is a Visitor, screaming like a banshee while an alien-shaped Lady Gaga is chasing me with raw steaks.

Thank, Q for Common Sense!: The Billboard Awards: Play-By-Play

Free Pass

No, I'm not talking about Falen's "Hall Pass" post. I'm talking about people giving others a free pass just because they are biased.

Free Pass #1: R. Kelly
Robert, who I think is part Native American (native name is Flowing Stream), has been accused three times of child molestation and/or porn. Well, let's just call it what it is: it's rape. Molestation is a word someone made up to "pretty up" an act of rape. R married the late Aaliyah when she was 15 years old (Vibe Magazine showed the marriage certificate and the marriage was eventually annulled because of her age). He was also allegedly in a video where he sexed a teen and peed on her. The 21 counts of child porn were later dropped because the (well-paid) Chicago family didn't want to press charges. This happened a month after he was charged with 12 counts of child porn in Florida (which were also thrown out for search/seizure reasons).



Where there's smoke, there's fire. Three times he's been accused (one proven) of child rape. Yet, he opens for the B.E.T. Awards and Twitter goes wild with "R did it big tonight" tweets.

If you're willing to put down your morals for a child rapist just because you like his music, then I'd like to see you try to justify it in the comments section below.

If R. Kelly was an everyday John Doe who worked at the gas station down the street who peed on a 14-year old girl, you'd be the first person to volunteer to be on the jury to send him to jail. But since he can sing and you have the "12 Play" album, then let him slide. After all, "she knew what she was doing," right?

It's easy to sweep crimes under the rug when a woman is the victim.

Free Pass #2: Charlie Sheen
I wouldn't come down so hard this dude if he only hurt himself, but he has endangered the lives of others more than once. This coke head doesn't hide who he is. He's put more up his nose than an elephant locked in a peanut factory. No matter how close he gets to killing himself annually, more people watch his show and CBS gives him a raise to buy more dope/hookers.

Even Keith Richards thinks he should slow down on the partying. Yet, every week, "Two and A Half Men" is high in the television ratings. Why? Because he makes us laugh, it's okay for him to threaten his wife, scare hookers with his behavior, and get so many rides to the E.R. that his 10th ambulance trip is free.



Charlie Sheen will probably outlive all of us, but time-after-time, he apologizes for his behavior, thanks his fans and CBS for their support, and checks into a spa resort... uh, I mean "rehab." Months later he'll be found unconscious in a hotel room with a Jagermeister I.V. in his arm.

What does that say about us as a country? What does that say about you as a person? As long as a person is talented, then it's okay, right?

R. Kelly can pee on my daughter any time since he's my favorite singer, right?

I'd love to live next door to Charlie Sheen's wild parties because he makes me laugh, right?

Sure, it's cool to forgive and give second chances to people we don't even know, but giving someone a third and fourth chance shows that it's not just something wrong with them... it's something wrong with you.

R.I.P. Rhythm and Blues :(

What has happened to my R&B? My beautiful genre in which I could always rely on to take me through a range of emotions from listening to one mix tape/CD. Gone are the days when I could get into my car, turn on my radio, and not have to change the station until a commercial break. Now, I'm scanning through 10 presets in my car and I'm struggling to find something worth listening to for more than a few minutes.

I know some of my younger peers are saying to themselves, "Man, you've just reached that age when you think your music is the end-all, be-all". Well, that's kind of true, but only to a certain extent. Sure, I do think the 70's and 80's are the two best decades of music, but that's not why I am no longer feeling today's R&B.

I'm off the R&B bandwagon now because it's so unrecognizable from what it used to be. Today's R&B shouldn't be classified as such. I think it's time a new genre is created. For one: you don't even have to know how to sing because your voice can just be auto-tuned. Keith Sweat couldn't sing, but that didn't stop him from trying. LOL! He was even so bold as to join forces with Gerald Levert and Johnny Gill, two of the best singers of their era. That's "confidence" defined right there. Or "clueless". But, I digress.

Usher and Will.I.Am have the "OMG" song and John Blu is "In Love With Yo Booty". I won't lie to you, but I actually like both songs. I wonder if Roger Troutman's estate is receiving royalties from them and T-Pain for these computerized voices? If they only had iPhone apps when he was alive...

Anyway... Secondly, and most importantly: R&B no longer makes me think in the abstract. It doesn't paint a picture. Now, it's in-your-face. Nothing to the imagination, just "boom", here it is.

No one is finding "Love on A Two-Way Street" any more like Stacy Lattisaw once did. Or finding "One Hundred Ways" to please their woman like James Ingram. Jonathan Butler once sung about a woman named "Sarah" that he missed so badly. He loved her so much that he said her name twice and asked, "what happened to you and I?" and "how did the fire die?". That's emotion. (I just took some people back with that "Sarah, Sarah" reference. Yeah, you're smiling right now if you're old school). That's putting something on a listener's mind and taking them back to a place in time to where they lost someone. And even if you were too young to have experienced love yet, you knew how serious it was because of the soulful lyrics you heard from the crooners and divas.


Nope. Not these days. In fact, this week, I heard the following songs during my 12 minute commute to work: Trey Songz's "Neighbors Know My Name" which is basically about a guy who's so good in bed the neighbor's know him by name from his woman screaming it. Then I heard The Dream's "Make-Up Bag" which is about a guy who stayed out late and is in his woman's dog house, so he leaves $5,000 on her make-up bag to keep from hearing her mouth. Next was "Lil' Freak" by Usher and some female which is about a menage a trois, I think. I know he mentions girls kissing and putting their hands in each other's pants or something. I can't say for sure because at this point, I've changed the station to 105.9 for sports talk during my last few minutes of the ride to work.

Not one song left anything to the imagination. One was about a man with skills so good the neighbors hear him having sex. The second is about a guy who stayed out too late, but doesn't care because he can buy his woman's affection with five grand. The last is about a guy going out and picking up two women who are tongue wrestling in the corner of the club.

No songs about heartache like "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart?" by Al Green or Lisa Lisa and Full Force being "All Cried Out". No songs showing appreciation for a love like Larry Graham's "One In A Million" or Atlantic Starr's "Masterpiece".


Just songs about either having sex, paying a woman hush money, and three-way sex. Wow. Less than 12 minutes of radio.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not necessarily knocking the songs. They're not my cup of tea, but that doesn't mean these artists don't have a right to perform these songs. My question is: is this R&B? I'm guessing the average teen doesn't even know what "R&B" stands for. Not "Rims & Bentleys". Not "Racks & Booty". Not "Reefer & Blunts". "R&B" stands for "Rhythm & Blues". It was a combination of jazz and blues that started in the 40's. Over time, it has been generalized as a genre.

Think of old school R&B as a tree. Back in the day, there were branches that stemmed from the root of R&B. There was Funk: Cameo, Brothers Johnson, and George Clinton. There was Disco: Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, and A Taste of Honey. There was Soul: Ray Charles, James Brown, and Aretha Franklin. There was New Jack Swing: Guy, Bell Biv Devoe, and Tony Toni Tone'!

Maybe it's time we create a new branch of R&B for today's sound. Sex Anthems? Grindin'? Dip & Sip? (referencing dancing and drinking in a club)

Hey, I'm just trying to help the young school find something to call their own. And before you under-30 people start hating on this blog, I want you to think of the last wedding you attended and think of what was sung during the ceremony. Was it "Spend My Life With You" by Eric Benet and Tamia? Was it Mul-ty's "Looking For Love"? Yeah, admit it. You need us over-30 people :)