KOL May 7, 2009 Concert Review

As the lights dimmed over the audience, eventually to complete darkness, the clapping got louder and the cheering turned to screams. After a minute of having the audience wait anxiously in the dark, four young men, dressed in ordinary street clothes and sporting overgrown hair, walked out and each took a place underneath a golden spotlight. They picked up their instruments, and calmly looked out into the crowd. Then, just before starting their first song, Caleb Followill, the vocalist in the band, spoke, “Good evening, we are The Kings of Leon.”

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On Thursday May 7^th, The Kings of Leon performed at The Bank United Center in the city of Miami. This performance was part of their 2009 tour, triggered after releasing their fourth and most successful album yet “Only by the Night”, which includes the international hit, “Sex on Fire.”

When the band of three brothers and one cousin, Caleb, Nathan, Matthew, and Jared Followill, started playing their first song “Crawl,” the audience was instantly captivated by the hard guitar riffs, the powerful drum beats, the slamming base, and Caleb’s soul-filled voice. They’re songs described by MTV as sounding like “bar-band, country-garage, Allman Brothers-meet-Strokes music,” kept the audience’s arms in the air and their feet always dancing.

What seemed more captivating at times was the interaction of the band onstage. At times the brothers would look around at one another and grin as they heard the music they were making pour out of the five foot speakers lined behind them. At other times they would watch as Caleb’s eyes shut, voice crack with emotion, and teeth clench; then seconds later his head would violently shake, as if bringing himself back to reality, shaking off sweat droplets at the same time.

As the concert eventually drew to an end, Caleb turned to the massive South Florida audience cheering him on, and said, “We've been trying to build a fan base in Florida. I think tonight we did.”

One word to describe the concert: unforgettable. I can't wait till their next concert in September!

Gorrilaz Came Out With A Hot New CD: Plastic Beach

"Plastic Beach" is the third studio album by English virtual band Gorillaz. recently released on March 3, 2010. The album has produced three singles, “Stylo” “Superfast Jellyfish”, and “On Melancholy Hill”.

Primarily a pop album, "Plastic Beach" contains lyrics concerning consumerism and ecology-related themes.

Creators of Gorillaz, musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, originally began working on a new Gorillaz project in November 2007 called "Carousel", which then eventually evolved into "Plastic Beach", the group's third studio album.

Gorrilaz is known largely for it’s animated band members; but now "Plastic Beach" is different.

In a July 2008 interview with The Observer Albarn said, "Gorillaz now to us is not like four animated characters any more — it's more like an organisation of people doing new projects. That's my ideal model — Gorillaz is a group of people who gave you this, and now want to give you new stuff."

Hewlett also expressed annoyance at having to draw the band members again: "I'm so fucking bored of drawing those characters. But then we had a moment where we had a new angle on it... I'm gonna adapt them. They'll be the same characters, but a little bit older and told in a different way".

Albarn said in September 2008 that he wanted "to work with an incredibly eclectic, surprising cast of people". As with previous Gorillaz albums, "Plastic Beach" features a number of collaborations with other musicians and music groups. The album features Snoop Dogg, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Lou Reed, The Lebanese National Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Music, and more.

Eagles of Death Metal: My New Favorite Band?

Listen to the Eagles of Death Metal's new album "Heart On" and you too will be in rock n'roll love.
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The Eagles of Death Metal are an American garage rock band from California formed by Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme in 1998. Although the bands name seems to hint that the music is "death metal", it is not.

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The band acquired their name when a friend of Homme's was trying to introduce the death metal genre to him. When the friend played a death metal band for Homme, he called them "the Eagles of death metal". After hearing this phrase Homme wondered what a cross between the band the Eagles and death metal would sound like. His curiosity therefore led him to create a band that was, well, a cross between the smooth-bluegrass-slide-guitar sounds of the Eagles mixed with stripper-drum-beats-and-hard-vocals of the death metal genre.

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The band took off on the "Desert Sessions Volumes 3 & 4" album in 1998; but because Homme's was distracted with his other band Queens of the Stone Age, he stopped paying attention almost completely to his project The Eagles of Death Metal.

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Then in 2004 The Eagles of Death Metal finally released their debut album. Some of their songs were featured in television commercials, video games, and movies. But their true fame has come from their latest album "Heart On" which was released late 2008. They then toured in 2009, quickly gaining popularity.

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The Eagles of Death Metal have announced that they will be part of Milwaukee's new music festival "Verge" on June 4, 2010.

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Axl Rose Sued for $1.9 Million

Guns n' Roses is now managed by Doc McGhee, Kiss’ manager since 1996 and the man credited with helping artists like Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe, and Hootie & the Blowfish rise to fame.

But now trouble has arisen with former managers as they have filed $1.9 million lawsuit particularly against the band's leader, Axl Rose. The lawsuit claims that Rose reneged on a verbal agreement from 2008.

The $1.9 million is 15 percent commission Rose's previous Front Line Management was promised of the estimated $12 million the band have earned so far in their tours of Asia and South America.

Specifically the lawsuit talks of breach of contract for “failing and refusing” to pay Front Line the promised 15 percent.

Guns n’ Roses are currently on tour in South America and has nothing to say to any news outlet.

Ricky Martin Finally Comes Out of the Closet

Finally putting the speculation to rest, the truth has come out about Ricky Martin. He is gay.

Martin came out of the closet by posting a really long note on his website in both English and Spanish for both of his fan audiences.

Here are some highlights of the note:

"Writing my memoirs got me very close to my truth-- Hiding my sexuality any longer would indirectly diminish the glow that my kids (twin boys from a surrogate mother) were born with."

"These years in silence and reflection made me stronger and reminded me that acceptance has to come from within and that this kind of truth gives me the power to conquer emotions I didn’t even know existed."

In an old interview (August 1999) with Rollingstone Magazine, Ricky Martin seemed to give hints about his sexuality:

"You can fantasize however you want to. Go for it. Be free about it. I’m not too concerned with what people say about me. You can think whatever you want. I know what I am, my beliefs, what I like and don’t like."

His lengthy note ends in a peaceful ending:

“Writing this is a solid step towards my inner peace and vital part of my evolution--I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man. I am very blessed to be who I am.”

Good for Ricky!

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This video makes light of the "Coming Out of Ricky" situation:

And just for old times sake:

Phil Collins Suffering From Nerve Damage

After a surgery to repair a dislocated vertebrae on his neck, Phil Collins, best known for his work in Genesis has suffered severe nerve damage to his hands that has made drumming and playing the piano now impossible.

Ironically, Collins claims that the damage was a result of his poor posture during the Genesis' 2007 World Tour, which caused his vertebrae to crush his spinal cord.

Phil Collins told Rollingstone Magazine, “The first time I picked up the drum sticks after my neck surgery, they flew across the room because I couldn’t grip them. I’ve had to tape the sticks to my hand. It’s very strange. It really cramps your style.”

But despite saying this Collins stays optimistic.

"After a successful operation on my neck, my hands still can't function normally," Collins told newspaper The Daily Mirror. "Maybe in a year or so it will change, but for now it is impossible for me to play drums or piano. I am not in any distressed state -- stuff happens in life."

Jimi Hendrix fans listen up!

Jimi Hendrix is back from the dead! Well... no... not really... But recently a collection of relatively unreleased music tracks, recorded with the Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1969, has made itself apparent. It's sort of like a hidden treasure that has been uncovered by some archeologist.

This musical treasure is titled the "Valleys of Neptune". Listening to this album is like seeing an old friend that you haven't seen in forever. You are instantly comfortable and wanting to desperately catch up.

"Stone Free", the opening track in the CD, remakes one of Jimi's earliest recordings. "Fire", one of Jimi's most famous tracks, is also on the "Valleys of Neptune" CD, except this time around, the guitar is more fluid and clear. "Sunshine of Your Love" is also on the album, this time more instrumental than the last. The best tracks though, are the ones that are mixes of rare tracks that only true Jimi fans are familiar with.

If you're a 60s/70s child, or just someone who enjoys listening to true classic rock, I suggest giving the "Valleys of Neptune" a listen.

Kings of Leon Concert Coming in September! Buy Tickets NOW!!

Okay, so all of you probably know who the Kings of Leon are. Am I right? Well in case you need a memory refreshment KOL is a band of four really smokin' hot southern boys. Okay, well that's not all there is to them... they are also really good musicians who have recently gotten extremely popular with their chart topping hit "Sex On Fire". So if you haven't seen them in concert yet I suggest you do! And now here's your opportunity: They are coming to South Florida on September! But be careful because the tickets are already running out!

KOL will be performing in the Cruzan Amphitheater, in West Palm Beach, on September 17th. I bought my ticket about 2 weeks ago, but the last time I checked (which was on March 30th) the first three frontal sections (left, middle, right) were already filled up! So I suggest you buy them now, unless you want to sit all the way in the grass area of the amphitheater where the sound is not as good, and the boys look like the size of ants.

If you would like to buy the tickets, click on this ticketmaster link. The tickets are currently being sold for $71 a person.

If you need further convincing, please read my review of a KOL concert that I attended last year on to the next blog entry...

The Features: New band gave awesome performance!

The Features appeared in concert on February 28th at Revolution Live as the opening band to Manchester Orchestra. I believe part of the reason why the Manchester Orchestra concert seemed to suck so much was because The Features blew everyone away. Manchester Orchestra should have opened for them!

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The Features, as I have previously blogged about, are a relatively new indie band. Well for being a new band they played like pros. They played as if they had famously been around for years. They knew what the audience wanted and they gave it them. They initiated sing-alongs, played only dance-worthy music, and knew how to communicate well with all the concert-goers.

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Here is an excerpt from another review of this same concert (I agree with what he says about The Features in the following paragraph, but strongly disagree about what he says about Manchester Orchestra in the rest of the review.)

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"By the time I made it inside, The Features were setting up their gear. Not knowing anything about them, I planned to hang in the back and wait for Manchester Orchestra--but from the very first song, The Features caught my attention, and I was turning to my girlfriend saying, “Hey, these guys are good.” They play what I will cautiously call indie bar rock. You know: Modest Mouse meets Wilco. The guitars are scratchy, the vocals sharp, and the mood defiantly carefree. Many in the audience seemed to know the band already, and most of the rest of us were quickly won over. The Features charmed the crowd with a very organic balance of energy and melody, bursting into what seemed like jam sessions at random. But behind this, “Hey, it’s just rock and roll, so who cares?” attitude were some very well-crafted tunes, and for the first time in years, I’m considering buying one of the opening acts’ albums."

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After attending this concert I have almost no doubt that The Features will have a successful future. Perhaps Manchester Orchestra should take a few music lessons from them!
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Warning: Manchester Orchestra may cause mass suicide at their concerts

As I previously blogged a few weeks ago, the band Manchester Orchestra was having a concert on February 28th, at Revolution Live... let me just tell you all ahead of time, this blog is not going to a positive one because their concert... SUCKED!

The concert started out pretty decent because the band actually played upbeat songs that made the crowd sing and dance along. A few young boys in the audience even started "moshing" (a crazy dance style that requires the "dancers" to push, shove, and basically beat each other up).

But then after the fourth or fifth song on their setlist, it all went downhill. Manchester Orchestra started playing nothing but emo-kill-myself songs. It completely changed the audience's mood for the worst. Singing stopped. Dancing stopped. Moshing stopped. People were obviously not enjoying themselves. They were looking around as if saying, "Really?"

Regardless to say, I left the concert about 45 minutes before it was set to be over. Oh, and I left in a horrible mood as did the majority of the crowd that also left early.

The only entertaining aspect of the concert was the fact that the keyboardist of the band seemed to be really drunk or on some drug, because he was going nuts. Everyone was giving him weird looks. His bandmates even seemed to be eyeing him strangely.

So in conclusion, unless you are into depressing concerts, do not see Manchester Orcestra in concert!

Opinion Blog: Enough With Taylor Swift!

One word that describes Taylor Swift: BORING!!!

(Before I begin, can I just point out how ridiculous that picture to the right is? Please Taylor! Please! Do not start rapping like you said you wanted to!)

In my opinion, Taylor Swift is as plain as a white wall. She is another blond pop icon who tries to make movies but fails, who gives off the squeaky clean image until something raunchy is revealed (which something will), and who has become so commercialized into our clueless media that it's just annoying!

Yes, she is pretty, plays the guitar, and seems like a sweet girl, but who really cares? She does not have the potential to become a lasting star. All her lyrics seem to be the same. All cheesy love songs. And her voice is generic.

I really don't think she should've won all those Grammy awards. But then again, sometimes our media doesn't appreciate true music. They go by what's on the radio and what teenagers, who barely pass Algebra, like.

I wish our music industry would wake up and realize what good music is. I wish they would realize that lyrics like these (From the song "You Belong With Me"): "But she wears short skirts, I wear T-shirts She's Cheer Captain and I'm on the bleachers..." SUCK!

Oh and for the record, Kanye, you're mean, but totally right...

Check this band out: The Black Keys

They are usually compared to bands such as The White Stripes, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and ZZ Top. Bands such as Metallica claim to listen to them. Artic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders can be seen wearing their band t-shirt.

The Black Keys are the definition of the-modern-day-indie-blues period. The band, composed of just two guys, Dan Auerbach (guitarist and vocalist) and Patrick Carney (drums), started off their musical career in 2002 with the release of their first album "The Big Come Up".

Following "The Big Come Up" they produced "Thickfreakness" (2003), "Rubber Factory" (2004), "Magic Potion" (2006), and "Attack and Release" (2008). With "Magic Potion" and "Attack and Release" they gained their fame.

Songs on their 2006 and 2008 albums were featured in about 40 movies, television shows, and commercials combined. In 2007 the film Black Snake Moan featured their song "When The Lights Go Out" and the film Cloverfield featured the song "Grown So Ugly". The song "Strange Times", one of their most popular hits, can be heard on the video game Grand Theft Auto 4, and on television shows Dexter and Gossip Girl.

Recently (2009) The Black keys have produced the album "Blakroc" which features a unique blend of hip-hop and bluesy-rock. "Blakroc" features hip-hop artists such as Wu-Tang, Ludacris, Ol' Dirty Bastard, and Jim Jones.

The Black Keys are beyond any doubt a revolutionary band. Listen to them once and you'll be hooked. Listening to Auerbach's unique and emotion-filled voice is seducing. You'll never want to press stop on your iPod.

See them April 18th at the Filmore in Miami. I already bought my ticket. Have you?

Pickle VS Nickelback: The Battle on Facebook Ends

Pickle won!

A few weeks ago a rather strange group was created on Facebook titled "Can this pickle get more fans than Nickelback?" The page was out to prove that it could get more fans, or facebook members, to join than, the actual Nickelback fan page could.

Well after only four weeks, compared to the years that the band Nickleback has been on facebook, the pickle page got a whooping 1,500,210 members to join. Nickleback's fan page has 1,424,629 members.

"Pickle" fan page creator Carol Anne claims that, "This page is only intended for humour and nothing more or less. I am not using this page to endorse any hate towards the band Nickelback."

Let's just hope that Nickelback doesn't take offense to this page and doesn't develop a hate for pickles.

Aerosmith Makes Up and Announces Tour

After months of quarrels between Steven Tyler and his bandmates, Aerosmith has made up and announced their “Cocked, Locked, Ready to Rock” summer tour of Europe. Lead singer Tyler tells Rollingstone Magazine, “We’re coming your way and rocking your world. Look out baby, ’cause here we go again!”

Only three weeks ago Tyler threatened to sue his bandmates if they went on a tour with another singer. Aerosmith was testing out other singers, such as Billy Idol and Lenny kravitz, for their front man position. The band was apparently fed up with waiting for Tyler to rejoin them for more gigs and was willing to replace him.

The band met early February and came to a realization that they belonged together. Regardless, they made up being the old friends they are, and announced another tour. Aerosmith is now confident and boasting that they are once again ready to rock.

Upcoming Concert: Manchester Orchestra & The Features

This Sunday, February 28th, Manchester Orchestra and The Features will be playing in concert at the Revolution Live venue in Downtown Fort Lauderdale. Doors open at 7pm and tickets cost $13.50.

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As I've mentioned in a previous blog, The Features is a hot new indie band similar to the Kings of Leon. On Sunday, they will be opening up the show for Manchester Orchestra, a band that has quickly won fame.

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Manchester Orchestra is an indie band from Atlanta Georgia, formed in 2005. The band is made up of five guys, singer and guitarist Andy Hull, lead guitarist Robert McDowell, keyboardist and percussionist Chris Freeman, bassist Jonathen Corely, and drummer Jeremiah Edmond.

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The band of five has released two popular albums, "I'm Like A Virgin Losing Child" (2006) and "Mean Everything to Nothing", and several extended plays.

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The album "Mean Everything to Nothing" is where they got their most recognition from. Some of the hits on that album include, "I've Got Friends", "Shake It Out", and "The Only One".

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Manchester Orchestra has toured with such bands as, "Brand New", "KOL", "Say Anything", and "The Annuals".

(Manchester Orchestra)

Remember the 80s Musical "The Last Dragon"?

The Last Dragon is a 1985 martial arts musical, directed by Michael Schultz, now considered to be a cult classic.

The Last Dragon centers on a teenage martial arts student, Leroy Green, who has dreams of becoming a great martial artist like his idol Bruse Lee. Leroy goes on a quest to achieve the title of "The Last Dragon", the highest level of martial arts. On his journey to becoming the "Last Dragon" Leroy confronts villains such as a corrupt arcade mogul Eddie Arkadian and the evil Sho'Nuff, from whom he must also protect his younger brother Richie and crush, TV Music Video Host, Laura Charles

Being a kung-fu musical in the 80s, the movie got a lot of recognition for its music. Featured in this film is a DeBarge song, "Rhythm of the Night", written by Diane Warren. The song reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Billboard R&B charts. The film's Richard Perry's produced title theme was nominated for Worst "Original" Song at the 1985 Golden Rasberry Awards, as was Laura Charles’ song "7th Heaven".

A remake of the movie is currently in the works, with actor Samuel L. Jackson taking on the role of Sho'nuff. John Davis of Davis Entertainment and Gordy's son Kerry Gordy, along with the RZA are set to produce. Wu-Tang will be the Executive Producers.

Rihanna is also said to star in the movie as a sexy dominatrix (as seen on the photo on the left). Starpulse Entertainment said, "It's not a part for the faint hearted."

This is no joke people. In case you haven't ever seen The Last Dragon, here's a trailer (keep in mind this was a low budget film... therefore this is a low budget trailer):

Jay-Z Performs an Unforgettable Concert at the Bank Atlantic Center

Wearing all black and sporting his trademark Wayfarers, Jay-Z came out on the BankAtlantic Center stage with one goal, to give everyone there a concert to remember. This was a night which all Jay-Z fans will be boasting about for months, if not years, to come.

Jay-Z, also known as Shawn Carter, holds the record for No. 1 albums in the Billboard 200 and for selling more records than Elvis, the King himself. His success was apparent last night at the concert, the first concert in his BP3 tour, as every song he would perform got louder cheers than the last.

The Brooklyn native opened up the sold-out concert with the hit “Run This Town”, followed by an amazing “Diamonds From Sierra Leone” remix. He then went to play his latest hit, “On To The Next One”, followed by “D.O.A (Death to Auto-Tune)”.

Other hits played last night include, “99 Problems”, “Empire State Of Mind” featuring Bridget Kelly, “Dirt Off Your Shoulder”, “Swagga Like Us”, “Big Pimpin’”, and “Hard Knock Life”.

Jay-Z and his mic were backed by a mind-blowing 10-piece band, including two drummers and a large brass section. The band helped his songs boom and got reactions from the audience not seen or heard at other concerts. The impressive, visually-changing backdrop also helped emphasize his songs and their lyrics.

At the beginning of the night new artist Trey Songz started the party with recent hits such as “I Invented Sex” and “Say Aah”. His radio famous songs got the crowd pumped for the real show.

As a “half-time show”, also giving Jay-Z time to rest his tired voice, Young Jeezy took the stage to give a mediocre performance. Jeezy’s voice was out of tune, causing his lyrics to be hard to understand. It was apparent that the audience was highly anticipating the return of Jay-Z.

As the night came to an end, Jay-Z gave a respectable salute to the fans, “I appreciate every one of you.” Without a doubt Jay-Z knows how to put on remarkable performances.

PHOTO BLOG

These are pictures, taken by me, of all the concerts I have been to in the last two years...

STONE
TEMPLE
PILOTS

NINE

INCH
NAILS

PEARL
JAM

PEPPER

LANGERADO
MUSIC
FESTIVAL

MY
MORNING
JACKET

KINGS
OF
LEON

JANE'S
ADDICTION

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Hot New Indie Band: The Features

The Features is an indie band composed of four guys Matt Pelham, Roger Dabbs, Don Sergio and Parrish Yaw, who went to middle school together in the small town of Sparta, Tennessee.

Growing up in a town of only 5,000, the boys started their band in 8th grade out of boredom. Their playlists consisted of songs by artists such as Beethoven, Neil Young, and Guns n' Roses.

Through high school the guys continued their band, playing in small events such as parties and talent shows, and in their college years they moved up to playing in clubs and bars in Nashville.

Within only a few years, the band signed a contract with Spongebath Records and had started professionally recording their music.

Their chance at stardom came when they toured with the popular band of brothers the Kings of Leon as their opening band.

Touring with the KOL paid off. On June 2009, the Kings of Leon announced having the freedom to sign and champion artists of their choice. The Features were the first band to be signed to the imprint, and the first release as part of the deal was the Some Kind of Salvation LP, released July 28, 2009.

Check out this video of their featured song "Lions" on their Some Kind of Salvation Album:

Music Diva Beyonce Takes Home Six Grammy Awards

Beyonce Knowles led the Grammy Award nominee list with ten nominations. Out of those ten, she won six, a new record for a female artist.

Knowles list of nominations were contained within the Top Three Grammy categories, Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

Her actual wins include Song Of The Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, and Best Contemporary R&B Album.

Her 2008 album I Am... Sasha Fierce is now running against the Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga for Album of the Year.

Nine Inch Nails Makes a Promise to the Fans

After announcing an end to concerts and touring and perhaps album-making, Nine Inch Nails has promised their fans a little something to put them at ease.

Trent Reznor, vocalist, has promised new music from his new studio-only project. He also made another mysterious promise on the band's website to introduce something else that "isn’t" Nine Inch Nails. Reznor claims to be in an unsure state of rediscovery and reinvention. This may have triggered him to want to create new music.

Reznor decided to stop touring after his recent marriage. Though fans are still not happy with NIN's decision to quit concerts after their "Wave Goodbye Tour" with Jane's Addiction, it helps that Reznor has decided to keep NIN as a studio project.

(Both pictures were taken by me at the Jane's Addiction NIN concert this past summer.)

Lil Wayne Soon to be Behind Bars

On Febuary 12th hip-hop artist Lil Wayne, also known as Weezy, will be going to prison for 12 months following his 2007 New York City arrest for illegal gun possesion.

Lil Wayne, mostly known for his albums Tha Carter I, II, and III, the third including last years hits "Got Money" and "Lollipop", says that prison will not keep him away from making music and the fans. Wayne has told Rollingstone magazine that you only stop when you die.

While Wayne is locked up, his label Young Money will be moving to New York to be near him. Wayne will also stay in touch with fans through Twitter accounts to endorsements. Weezy also claims that he will be able to keep an iPod, in which his label will send him beats to.

Jail time will not keep this hip-hop/rap star from realeasing music and money. In fact, Tha Carter V is scheduled to be released shortly after he gets out.

Drake: Best I ever heard

Drake has become my new favorite artist. His songs are catchy, smooth, and vary in sound content. This 22-year-old started out in the show "Degrassi", a teen drama in which he acted in for seven seasons. When the young Canadian actor decided to branch out into rap, he turned to DJ Smallz and together they created his first work "Room for Improvement" (2006).

Drake released his second work "Comeback Season" a year later in which Weezy participated in. Weezy has since supported Drake in every way, including signing him for his "Young Money" record label. Since then, Drake has created and participated in chart-topping hits.

This young artist, a son of a Jewish Canadian mother and an African American father, has made a breakout in the charts with the songs "Best I Ever Had" and "Successful" in his 2009 "So Far Gone" album. Drake has been known to say that this sometimes gloomy album is about his journey into adulthood.

Since "So Far Gone" Drake has worked with huge hip-hop artists such as DJ Khaled, Young Money, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Young Jeezy, Mary J. Blige, Timbaland, Birdman, Trey Songz, and Jamie Foxx.

Drake's beginning as an artist has proved to be an impressive one. I'm sure his future will continue to be as bright, if not even brighter.

Lady Gaga: Will her stardom last?

Her music makes many want to "Just Dance", her wardrobe causes eyes widen, and her risky performances sometimes make audiences go "Huh?"

Without a doubt, Lady Gaga is considered to be one of today's pop icons. But will she go down in history for having hits such as "Poker Face"? Or will her fame dim as many other stars do?

Many compare Lady Gaga to big celebrities such as David Bowie, Madonna, or Queen because of her eccentric fashion sense, including crazy hair, big makeup, and little or no clothing. In fact, Lady Gaga even got her stage name "Gaga" from the Queen song "Radio Ga Ga"; "Lady" because she admired the way that Queen always portrayed themselves as royalty.

Putting fashion aside, Lady Gaga is notorious for having artsy and very different performances. When she is up at stage she does not simply stand there with a microphone in her hand. She acts out her music and doesn't seem to care how graphic she gets. In past performances she has made out with fellow dancers on stage, stripped down to her panties, and covered herself with red paint that resembled her blood.

Lady Gaga isn't your average dresser or performer, but what how good of a songwriter is she? Because after all, a huge part of being a music artist is not just clothing or dance moves but, duh, music.

This link leads to a website that contains all of her song lyrics. You be the judge. Do lines such as: "Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah-ah Roma-roma-mamaa Ga-ga-ooh-la-la Want your bad romance" from her song "Bad Romance" or "I'm your biggest fan, I'll follow you until you love me Papa, paparazzi" from "Paparazzi" deserve Grammys? Will they be remembered in the next generation and be played on radio stations years from now?

Who knows the mystery behind Lady Gaga... Many say her songs are trash, while others claim that they are truly addictive. Only time can tell on whether this new pop diva will live on.