A blog specifically titled: Californication

Californication is a term, not a word. I have been reading several news posts about the law suit involving Anthony Kiedis and Showtime and I have to say: stop it. Oh-My-God. Guess what folks! We've got ourselves another Metallica on our hands. How big do the money piles have to be, honestly? I can see that yes, it is the name of their most sold album- and apparently to Kiedis:"Californication is the signature CD, video and song of the band's career, and for some TV Show to come along and steal our identity is not right."  But I say, c'mon! Even if there wasn't proof of that term existing prior to the release of Californication in 1999, which there is- a mutli-state campaign to the tune of "Don't Californicate _your state here_", wouldn't you assume somewhere in the history of there being Californians that one of the millions of people- at some point between 1846 and 1999 said, wrote, or thought CALIFORNICATION? If Kiedis really believes he has coined this then he already is high on money, and thus proving he doesn't need anymore. You cannot copyright a title! Songwriters have bitched and moaned for years about it, but it doesn't make any difference. The fact that "Dani California" was said to be a rip off of a Tom Petty song as well, and Tom Petty shrugged and went on about his business is another reason this karma-train needs to hault for them. They have so many accomplishments that is is really sad to leave a last taste of douche-baggery in the fans' mouths. I'm a fan of the Showtime program, and a fan of RHCP- but after this I have to wonder what they really want out of life: fans or a pile of money. They aren't the first, and certainly won't be the last to have their creativity used toward other avenues, but in this case I really feel like the two are so unrelated it's quite ridiculous to sue over it. Kiedis mentioned he wants them to be the only ones that can use the term, and to that I say: "You're Fired!"

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Say Hi to this Deal

Just thought I'd post a quick note about the new Say Hi To Your Mom Album, The Wishes And The Glitch which is set to be in stores February 5th of 2008. I went by the official site today and was pleasantly surprised that you can get the album now if you buy it in a bundle, directly from them. For 28 bucks you get a download code immediately emailed to you to get the digi-files, as well as the actual album along with a limited T-shirt, and button pack mailed to you within a few days. In my opinion, that's one heck of a deal, so if you're a fan like me, you'll want to get a hold of this album sooner than later. Here's the link to check that deal out: http://www.sayhitoyourmom.com/shop.htm

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BV3K lives.

So I've been a huge fan of Bran Van 3000 since my exploration into my subconscious that I started in the late 90's. Let's just say I wandered a bit after high school, and they provided a very memorable soundtrack to my alternate reality. I was blown away with the genre-meshing of Glee in 1997, and loved the the follow up, Discosis, which was smuggled back for me by a good friend from Europe, since it was unavailable in the states. They had a great thing going in my opinion, but it was definitely not something for mass markets back then, and being on the label Grand Royal didn't help them one bit. After being booted from GR when Mike "D" closed the label, the band was left a free agent, and from what I gathered, on the verge of a break-up. I remember checking their site from time to time in hopes of movement, but after a year I figured they were never going to surface again. I remember feeling a loss as I thought about the mis-timing of their endeavor and how much creativity their songs spread throughout. The market now is so much different, so open ended, so many barriers down thanks to the DIY movements, and the rebirth, yet again, of electro-pop in almost every facet of music. Basically, all the things people didn't like, or get, are now common place: sampling, crossing-genres, random guest vocalists, sound exploration, etc. I was making a mix for a friend and happened to put a BV3 song on it, it made me wonder if their old site was still looming in the digital shadows. I was pleased to find, not only a new site, but new content- and that an album had been completed, called Rosé, and supposedly is to be released, in Canada, in the next few weeks! The track they have on the site from the new album is called "Call Me" and is very much in the same vein as the 1st track off Discosis as in it is a cover-esque song. Knowing them like I do, the rest of the album couldn't be judged by one track anyway, so I'm very excited to hear more. The site is lacking in content, but it does have lingering hope for the future, and after 8 years of silence, that's enough to get me excited. If you've never experienced a Bran Van 300 album, I highly recommend either of their 2 releases to get started and you should really give the whole thing a listen before making too many rush judgements, they tend to bounce around. If you like to dance, physically or mentally, this group is going to move you in every way. Their session-esque songs are community joints that range from electronic to acoustic to hip hop to dance to reggae to whoever drops by, and the end result is great music that cannot be put into any box. I'm so glad they decided to rebirth and wish them all the best this go around. Check out their new online identities and hear at least one new track & several old favorites:

http://www.bv3k.com/
http://www.myspace.com/officialbv3000

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(Fork and Knife)

So, Brand New released a single song on iTunes the other week called "(Fork and Knife)" and it's pretty interesting- I recommend downloading it for sure. For one, it's a piano based song that's pretty mid-tempo, but it's still a really good song. I'm happy they put it out- it's definitely not a B-side from God And The Devil Are Raging Inside Me and shows that they are indeed not lacking in range. It's actually more reminiscent of the mellow side of Deju Entendu, and I love that album as well.  I was glad to hear a little softness in their mix and the vocals are outstanding in this song. Though simple and repetitive, it alludes to fantastic follow up work and shows they are far from burned out in their musical passion.

keep it coming guys, you're one of the most promising bands in your genre in my opinion.

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