Arcade Fire will be performing live at the Grammys this year. It’s clearly going to be a fantastic show!
thegrammys:
World-conquering Canadian rockers Arcade Fire are up for three Grammy Awards this year, including the all-important Album of the Year award for The Suburbs. And now, the Recording Academy has announced that Arcade Fire will perform at the Grammy Awards ceremony, which CBS will broadcast on February 13 at 8pm Eastern. That right there is a big TV moment in the making.
The following is inspired by a Microsoft commercial (see post below) and recaps some lessons learned in MIT.
Hey there, you may know me as Prince. I loved this past New Years Eve because who doesn’t like partying like it’s 20Ten and playing with meaning? That’s what Derrida promoted back in his day and I can see why. It’s exactly why I released some songs through a newspaper this past summer, as I like to do things differently.
People in this world need to be courageous and creative. Being a follower won’t get you anywhere but being called a copycat and I don’t want a CC of anyone else’s ideas. I prefer to spread my own ideas and I love how Web 2.0 lets me do just that.
That’s why I turn to the blogosphere to rant about whatever I feel like. Democratic communication is a beautiful thing and I think more people should recognize how they can use it for progressive social change. So many opportunities, yet so little time, but we got to stop procrastinating already and put an end to all this marginalization. There are simply way too many stereotypes circulating the WWW and it’s time that somebody does something about it!
It’s great that Kylie has the tools to capture, edit and share her photos, but let’s not forget that her distant relatives aren’t all as lucky. There’s some major social injustice in this world; someone’s got to fix that digital divide. When there are journalists who think a university campus could be ‘too Asian’, it seems impossible for everyone to be like one happy family in a global village. Kylie seems optimistic though. Hopefully her online habits won’t make her become the sad caricature of the computer enthusiast (you’re the man, Vincent Mosco).
The keyboard is like a sword sometimes; Kylie should be careful what she does with those little fingers. As Alan Turing says, communication is war continued by other means. So whether it’s for employment purposes, personal branding, or just an attempt to get a date on Saturday night, people should be careful what they say.
By creating a whole campaign based on binaries, Apple makes it seem like every day is national suit up day in uptight Seattle. You know what Microsoft should really do? Develop an app or add a feature to MS Word that helps people develop their craft in spoken word. It’s such a cool art form, yet many people don’t recognize that. It must be because they’re spending too much time fooling around with their shiny iTouch screens.
I’m thinking about booking a trip to Mexico so I can strengthen my muscles in one of Madonna’s new gyms. What a material girl, trying to put her name on everything. She’s always touring the world to reinvent herself. Well, wish me luck on my upcoming globe-trotting adventures (and come see the show if you can).
That white kid Bieber thinks he can take my place? He can try, but he can’t replace me or the king of pop, may he RIP. Michael was a fabulous performer. Plus, he practically named his son after me. Everything’s so pre-digested these days. We need more originality. Come on, you indie musicians, let’s hear it. Put your cultural capital to good use. You’ve got your freedom and I don’t see anyone handing you death threats, so get to it! I’m curious to see what bricolage budding musicians will mash-up next.
Here’s to making great cultural texts,
Cheers!
Candlelight – The Maccabeats
Happy Hanukkah!
Courtesy of Canadian Press:
An A-to-Z list of Canadian music stars, including Anne Murray, Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger, and members of the Tragically Hip, called on the government Thursday to impose a levy on MP3 players. More than 350 musicians signed a letter addressed to Industry Minister Tony Clement and Heritage Minister James Moore about the government’s copyright bill, C-32.
A Commons committee began studying the proposed legislation this week, and the two ministers testified before MPs on Thursday morning.
The letter urges the ministers to apply a levy to MP3 players that would later be redistributed to artists in royalties, in the same way that levies are currently applied to blank cassettes and CDs as compensation for music that is copied by Canadians.
“MP3 players are this generation’s version of blank media. A copy is a copy and the principle of fair compensation for rights holders should apply whether the copy is made onto blank media or MP3 players,” the artists wrote.
“…We know that you do not want to see a Canada that is devoid of musicians and songwriters, but without fair and balanced treatment, that may be the tragic consequence.”
Other artists who attached their names to the letter include Stompin’ Tom Connors, Tom Cochrane, Lawrence Gowan, Metric, Hedley, Sarah Harmer, Kathleen Edwards and Hawksley Workman. The letter was co-ordinated by the Canadian Private Copying Collective, the organization that takes in existing levies and hands out royalties to singers, songwriters, producers and record companies.
Last week, a group of Canadian actors lobbied MPs on Parliament Hill on the same issue on behalf of actors union ACTRA.
Clement and Moore have consistently said they are against applying a levy to MP3 players, calling it an unnecessary tax on Canadians.
Bill C-32 makes it legal for Canadians to copy music for personal use, although it has been criticized in some quarters for making it illegal for an individual to pick a digital lock imposed by rights holders to do so.
Some critics also say the legislation gives educational institutions to much freedom to reproduce and use copyrighted material.
I enjoyed live tweeting the American Music Awards last night, but I wasn’t all that impressed overall.
It’s great that Canadian singers have garnered critical acclaim internationally, but are the American Music Awards really the right time to recognize Michael Buble or Justin Bieber? We Canucks have our own version of the award show; it’s called the Junos.
1. I think it would have been more fitting if Miley performed ‘Party in the USA’, but showbiz told her to do otherwise I suppose. In any case, I muted the TV after she took the stage.
2. I loved when Enrique’s marching band emerged in the aisles. This was also the first time I saw what Pitbull looks like in real life.
3. Bieber’s sneakers were cool, but his attempt to be the new Michael Jackson – not so much. It was no surprise when the camera immediately panned to Usher’s reaction after Bieber concluded the song by kneeling on the ground, as if he were praying. Anyone could anticipate that Bieber’s mentor would be smiling.
4. It was nice to see Christina make use of the vocal chords that made her famous when Disney featured her in Mulan’s soundtrack. She was a cute pop star back in the day, but then she started releasing such awful music that I barely take an interest in her new releases. Nevertheless, I can’t wait to see her and Cher on the big screen next week in Burlesque.
5. Rihanna is beautiful, but what was with her hair?! That shade of red is so unnecessary.