Well It's About Time

So its official. The United States of America has its first African American president. Barack Obama is our country's 44th president. They say you can tell a lot about someone just by what's on their ipod. Well I say, America voted right, because ladies and gentlemen, we finally have a president with good taste.

It's typical to have a president with country tunes along with American pride songs decked out over their itunes. Not so much the case with Obama. Obama remains to listen to some of the likes of Bob Dylan, Jay-z, and Ludacris.Who would've thought that before his Innagural Address, he could've been rockin out to some "get, that, dirt of ya shoulda!"

With Obama's winings, comes a couple of "firsts." Such as one of the first to take Global Warming seriously, one of the first to talk policy with rap artists, and one of our youngest men to lead the White House. And, who knows, maybe one of the first to be seen backstage at a T-Pain concert...

And the Nominees Are...

'Tis the season for creative juices to flow! Coming out of one Screen Actor's Guild Award show to the next. In the mists of this season's award shows, I find it appropriate to cover such an event that defines music (to an extent.) Oh yes, it's the 51st Grammy Awards on February 8, 2009.

Now I suppose the Grammy's are something one could argue over. Whether its the fact that most of the nominees are based on radio play and not hardcore talent. Or the fact that they should just go ahead and announce the Record of the Year first, because no one wants to sit through 3 hours of back to back unknown artists, speaking from a first hand testimonial. But it seems this year, the case is no different. Nominees include chart toppers such as Lil' Wayne, Leona Lewis, and M.I.A.

~Album of the Year~

-Viva La Vida or Death and All His Freinds-Cold Play
-Tha Carter III-Lil' Wayne
-Year of the Gentlemen-Ne-Yo
-Raising Sand-Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
-In Rainbows-Radiohead

Perez Hilton, Eat My Eraser Shavings!

"Fan fiction (alternately referred to as fanfiction, fanfic, FF or fic) is a broadly-defined term for stories about characters or settings written by fans of the original work, rather than by the original creator." taken from wikipedia.com

It's pop culture's latest craze and collides with such names as Perez Hilton and TMZ. The only difference is, its not created in a board room, art colleges, and not even in schools. The engineering starts at any one's computer, even yours. Fan fiction can release some of your favorite peer writers and can be your new favorite past time.

I first discovered fan fiction on Falloutboyrock.com's message boards back in 2006. The idea of fans being the authors of stories written by them with appearances by musicians, creeped me out none the less. My curiosity got the best of me as I began to indulge in my most fascinating guilty pleasure. The idea of people just like me living lives with my favorite stars was something I couldn't just ignore.

Fanfiction comes in all characters and themes. Whether its Paris Hilton being divorced from Bob Smith, to Lindsay Lohan being best friends with Brendon Urie. There's a story for everyone. Fan fiction is most popular among music. Most bands including Cobra Starship admit to reading it from time to time. So just where can I find this 'fan fiction' you ask?

These stories can be read and created all across the inter-web. Including some of my favorite places such as ficwad.com, mibba.com, and quizilla.com. If you're up to the challenge, jump in the deep end and post your own. My personal account on mibba is currently on a writers block... Fanfiction. Generated by the people, for the people.

"The universe tends to unfold as it should." Adam T. Siska

Rumors have recently been adressed regaurding the reunion of the legendary Blink 182. It seems as though anything is a possibility including a future tour.

Blink 182 bassist Mark Hoppus adresses the issue of rumors floating about a possible Blink 182 reunion. "The future is wide open," he says. Shortly following the heart-stopping plane crash involving Travis Barker, the band began to speak once more after almost 4 years. "We need to get back to a certain point as friends before we could ever take a stage together again, because that's what we always based everything on." says Hoppus. So there is a possibility in the near future of a reunion, collaberation, what ever you want to call it, no matter how many "if's" Hoppus tends to use.

I for one, couldn't stop staring at the monitor as it stared back at me the words Blink 182 and reunion in the same sentence. It will be something spectacular to see the boys on one stage again. After seeing Angels and Airwaves (Tom DeLonge's band) one stage and +44(Hoppus and Barker's band) on another, I think they owe it to us more recent fans to perform at least one show for us to feast our eyes on. The Blink 182 reunion would possibly be one of the biggest shows in the past decade. I have a feeling the selling of tickets will be something like buying tickets to The Best of Both Worlds tour.

Don't Call It a Comeback!

Oh the vinyl.  Most popular from the start of the '50s, collected my many, and what gives most mid-towners their indie cred. It seems as though not just the '80s are back, but as are the vinyls. Record sales have nearly doubled in 2008. 

Having parents born in the '50s, their fascinations and collections with vinyls are something that do not surprise me. Im used to hearing old school Jackson 5 and Nat King Cole vinyls playing around the house in the summer. They were collectors of all types of records to play on the record player in my living room. Who would've thought that bands such as Radiohead and Neutral Milk Hotel would bring back the old school vinyl, not to mention Panic at the Disco...

Being a huge fan of Panic at the disco since the release of A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, I can say that I was not suprised to see their debut album in the form of a vinyl sold at Hot Topic. The band always striked me as one to be original and experiment with things other bands had not, including creating a vinyl. I was pleasently surprised to know that the record sales had doubled in 2008. I think this partially was due to the trend of the past and I like to think Panic played some part in it also...

So vinyls are back. As are bright colors, old school vans, and on a lesser extent plaid. With all these trends being brought back, I wonder what will be next. What about the cheesy lingo. Sport, kid-o, honey. Oh god, I sure hope not...

"I reminisce with bliss of when we was closer"

You heard it here, Katy Perry and Travis McCoy are an official dunzo. The cause of the split is said to be non-stop fighting and arguments. The two separated at the end of 2008 towards new year. This is indeed a sad loss for Travy fans.

Do you remember the first time you flipped through the channels and landed on MTV? Showing, was a very catchy rock-hip-hop band with an oh so soulful voice in the background. You see a guy on the screen who seems to be in some relations with this female and treats her like 'his perfect girl.' For most, this was the first time any of us ever witnesses Travy on the Gym Class Heroes music video "Cupid's Chokehold." The couple of Travis McCoy and the later famous Katy Perry. Little would anyone know that this female would later overcome the charts with such singles as "I Kissed A Girl" and "Hot & Cold."

The couple was everyone's dream. The sweet and "innocent" pop singer who had it all, with the rebel lead from the infamous band. Even though this is a surprise to some, it wasn't for most. They dated for nearly a year before the split and were said to have continuous arguments. Post-breakup, McCoy posted on his friendsorenemies.com blog lyrics from the hip hop group "Main Source" expressing his views on the breakup. Including, were the lines, "We fight every night,now that’s not kosher.I reminisce with bliss of when we was closer.And wake up to be greeted by an argument again..."

Its a hard reality to face when one of your favorite celeb couples break up. In the back of your head, you must remember that not all relationships last forever, except for the good ones at least, haha. Think of your favorite couples who are holding on to their reationships, Pete & Ashlee, Joel & Nicole, and of course, Nick & Selena. For now, lets hope Katy and Travis sort things out and possibly get back together. "I know she thinks that I don't try, but I realize that I can do better..." On My Own Time- Gym Class Heroes.

The Artist Outdoes 2009 With a Surprise

We've all been there at one point or another. Its last week of 2008 and the year end is fast approaching. What better time to start planning your new years resolutions. No matter how much you know that around this time, nearly a week after the new year, these resolutions would would slowly shatter due to your resistance, will power, and good 'ol temptation. So here's a new plan, when contemplating what obstacles to add to your list, who better to look to for inspiration to change for the better than the artist formerly known as Prince.

Being a professional musician,one of the things you must face at one time or another, is the creation of an album. When creating, expect a few things. Tedious meetings and phone calls with your record label, occasional writer's block, frustration, and anticipation from your oh so adoring fans. When I came across the news that Prince was not only creating AN album for 2009, but 3, I was in astonishment. I could not grasp the idea that he was going to release 3 albums in 1 years time that are expected to live up to the quality of my personal favorite Purple Rain soundtrack.

With titles such as Lotus Flower, MPLSOUND, and Elixer, I couldn't help but to wonder what the tone and sound of the records would be. My eyes rested on the name Sheila E. under collaborations, at least I was assured that with such a great percussionist, it couldn't be a complete disaster. Another controversial topic surrounding the albums, was that Prince was assembling them with no help from record labels. On the website Lotusflow3r.com, fans are soon to be taken away by features such as exclusive content, music downloads,and concert tickets. Keep in mind that the albums and website were created WITHOUT the help of record labels.

Being an independent man now, let's hope that 2009 is a year of success for the artist formerly known as Prince. Being a fan of Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" days, I am actually looking forward to the releases. Let's just hope the album reviews wont have to "rain" on his parade.