MUSIC & DANCE

by Natasha Tang, 30 May 2007

Rakim y
Ken Y
Wisin Y
Yandel
Daddy Yankee
Pitbull
Don Omar
Zion Y
Lenox Hector
“El father”

The Gods of Reggaeton. And that’s only a few of them.

Reggaeton is a kind of dance music especially popular in Latin America. But now it’s taking over. Reggaeton has been influenced by hip-hop and Jamaican dancehall. Its origin is debatable but the majority agrees that it came from Puerto Rico.

I probably discovered reggaeton through Daddy Yankee and Pitbull when I was in High School. I liked it but didn’t think too much of it. Now when I got to college, I became friends with Cuban-Americans and began to listen to a lot of it in their room and at the clubs. I fell in love. The beat is amazing, you cannot stop yourself from dancing when you hear it. Among all my friends, I am now the one most associated with reggaeton.

For spring break I went to Puerto Rico, and let me tell you: BEACH + SUN + REGGAETON = PARADISE!
I was in the heart of reggaeton.

That kind of music is part of the culture, it’s everywhere. You’re walking down the street, you hear it blasting from car speakers. You turn on the radio, it’s there. You go to the clubs, people are dancing to it.

But I’ve got to admit that me being absolutely in love with anything Hispanic has a lot to do with why I love reggaeton too.

Some complain that the lyrics always refer to sex and make it seem like men dominate women. I speak Spanish pretty well, I know what they’re saying. And I’m not gonna lie and say that’s not what they talk about. But while some, like parents, might be afraid that this music will corrupt their kids, we reggaeton lovers say it’s not all about the lyrics.

Reggaeton is not going to turn everyone into sex-machines. You have to appreciate the beat, the culture, and you have to love to dance.

Dale!

A couple of songs for you reggaeton fans out there:
Yo Voy (Zion Y Lennox ft Daddy Yankee)
Rakata (Wisin Y Yandel)
Mayor Que Yo (Wisin Y Yandel)
Ay Chico (Pitbull)
Descarada (Pitbull)
Dale Don Dale (Don Omar)
Rompe (Daddy Yankee)
Tu Principe (Daddy Yankee ft Zion Y Lennox)

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CLICK HERE to sample Reggaeton for yourself

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Buy Music from Amazon:  El Abayarde Contraataca

by Steve Ward, 21May2007
French Rapper

At a recent performance at the Metisses Music Festival in southern France, rising star Abd Al Malik, is welcomed to the stage by cheers and screams from his fans. His recent album, Gibraltar, is a curious reconciliation of his Congolese and French roots, and has already won four awards, including the Victoire de la Musique.

Using his own experiences for inspiration, Abd Al Malik raps about drug dealers and gang life, but instead of glamorizing it, he seeks to show the common thread of humanity that runs through us all. Gibraltar is lyrical and even philosophical, as Abd Al Malik is an Albert Camus enthusiast (Albert Camus was a French existentialist writer).

Even despite his self-described “moral responsibility,” Abd Al Malik’s music is a mixture of rap and hip-hop and is engaging to listen to. He not only has a gift for music, but also for being a role model to all of his French fans.

CLICK HERE for his Official Site

by !Baha, 19May2007 

Singer Sheryl Crow was recently in the news, but this time not for her musical talents. The blonde star was in the limelight advocating her novel idea that ONLY ONE SQUARE of toilet paper be used per sitting.

Over time, it’s sure to save our trees, especially as more & more people will consider using tree leaves to keep themselves clean and smelling fresh - trees/& their leaves will be much in demand. Original story on BBC News

Then there’s her fun and practical idea to launch a line of clothing sporting “dining sleeves”. Here’s what Sheryl had to say about “dining sleeves”:

“I also like the idea of not using paper napkins, which happen to be made from virgin wood and represent the height of wastefulness. I have designed a clothing line that has what’s called a “dining sleeve.” The sleeve is detachable and can be replaced with another “dining sleeve,” after usage. The design will offer the “diner” the convenience of wiping his mouth on his sleeve rather than throwing out yet another barely used paper product. I think this idea could also translate quite well to those suffering with an annoying head cold.”

CLICK HERE for a few witty comments about “dining sleeves”

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Would you wear “dining sleeves”?

Email us… E D I T O R @ i C U B E D . U S

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by Steve Ward, 29APRIL2007

Music Review

Timbaland – Shock Value CLCK HERE to sample on MYSPACE

I didn’t know what to expect when my friend lent me this album, but I did know I was looking for something to dance too. (Which I did find a few times over on this album.)

I must say that the album is aptly titled, as there are a few shocks packaged within the album. First, it’s long.

And by long, I mean 18 tracks, over-an-hour-no-end-in-sight long. However, instead of being bored towards the end, Timbaland grabs your interest through some interesting rap-meets-rock combinations with the like of Fall Out Boy, The Hives, OneRepublic, and even Elton John.

I did enjoy these songs, as they really were something unexpected. That being said, the rest of the album seems to be more on the normal pop/hip hop/rap side of things, where Timbaland laces the songs with rather fly beats while other artists sing or rap. Lyrically speaking, it’s more of the generic egocentric money and status bragging, with a decent amount of vulgarities.

Overall, I’d give the whole thing a listen, especially if you like to dance. (Or just to listen for the last few tracks.)

by Steve Ward
24April2007

I’ve had it happen to me many a time—you’re listening to your mp3 player and someone asks what you’re listening to, you reply with a band name they haven’t heard of, and when you tell them it’s “Christian music,” their expression drops and they run away like you’ve got the plague.

Christian music seems to have a gospel stereotype attached to it, as if Christian music can’t sound like secular music. People don’t understand that Christian music can sound like any other sort of music– rap, rock, alternative– the only difference is the song content.

To get you started, here’s a sweet new CD:

Jackson Waters—Come Undone

Don’t be afraid, Jackson Waters offers a friendly pop/rock album for your listening pleasure, with engaging lyrics for your soul. With a vocalist that sounds like country singer meets James Blunt, Come Undone is a mix of southern flavor, easy going rock, and the occasional ballad. Though the genre itself isn’t terribly remarkable, the album managed to find a credible amount of versatility in each of the songs. Jackson Waters goes from prayerful in “Send Her an Angel,” to Christ’s impact on our lives in “Different.”

At first you may be surprised to find out that Jackson Waters produces Christian music, I mean, it just sounds so normal!  But whether for the casual listener or the church-going man, Come Undone offers something everyone can enjoy.   

CLICK HERE for Wikipedia on James Blunt

by SLy, 15 April 2007

Her name is Verity and she’s a South African artist.

She has not made it big yet - in fact, she has not even recorded her first album. But she’s got big dreams for a singing career and a most innovative project - the Lucky Packet Project - that is going to help her realize her dreams.

Her website www.iamverity.com is taking pre-orders of her first album for R150 ($21) and once she has collected enough money to record her first album, well, she’ll be recording her first album! So far she has pre-sold almost 1,000 copies in 23 countries. Verity also has a philanthropic streak and donates 10.6% of sales to POWA (People Opposing Women Abuse) and the Live Your Dreams Fund (to help disadvantaged artists).

As if the above is not innovative enough, future owners of her album are listed on her website and help to shape the future album by voting for the songs she will finally record.

Recording is set to begin in May of this year.

Verity believes in working to make dreams come true…

WHAT’s YOUR DREAM?

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DARE TO SHARE your dreams with the world! 

by Steve Ward
Music Blog, 12APR07

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SO lately,

it’s been pretty rough going, ya know?

A combination of school work, teenage angst, and the fact that girls collectively seem unable to recognize the good in me - all has me pretty down. And personally, I listen to music that reflects my moods. And thus I am always amazed by how lyrics seem to be written for just the mood you’re in—you lean back and say to yourself, “Ah, so that’s what they meant!”

Here are 3 songs that can make you feel bad and good at the same time.

1. Happy Ending—Mika
Don’t be fooled, this song is anything but happy. In fact, it’s about the lack of a happy ending, in the form of one hell of an epic ballad. It starts slow and quiet, yet builds into a awesome, pull-you-into-the-song finale complete with raging strings and a powerful choir. Be prepared to replay.

2. Invisible Monster—Motion City Soundtrack
Though it is upbeat and full of somewhat generic, emo falsettos, Invisible Monster caters to all those going through awkward breakups and broken hearts. There are lines in this song that everyone can feel in tune with, and the song is even rockin’ to boot.

3. A Better Time—Streetlight Manifesto
This is the song I go to for uplifting—its message is full of hope about life’s improvements “and when you wake up/everything’s going to be fine”, friendships, and human potential, complemented nicely by a fast rhythm, electric guitar, and horns. Granted, it’s probably out of most people’s musical tastes, but definitely worth listening too.

by SLy, 11April07

“MAKING BEAUTIFUL MUSIC”

Take one world famous virtuoso violinist along with his handcrafted 1713 Stradivari violin (reportedly purchased for US$3.5 million) and put them in a world class city (Washington DC) to play six classical pieces, starting with Bach’s Chaconne.

But take them out of the concert hall and place them out of context, at the entrance to the L’Enfant Plaza metro station on a Friday morning at 7.51 am, with an open violin case placed on the ground, ready for “donations”. What would happen? The Washington Post wanted to find out.

Leonard Slatkin, director of the National Symphony Orchestra, estimated that 35-40 people out of 1,000 passersby would recognize Joshua Bell and that 75-100 people would stop to listen to him play and that the yield would be roughly $150 at the end of 43 minutes of play.

The Washington Post worried about crowd control and various “what-if” scenarios were hashed out.

The actual result?

ONE person (Stacy Furukawa), out of 1,097 passersby recognized Bell and he made $32.17 after 43 minutes of performing.

Furukawa said, “It was the most astonishing thing I’ve ever seen in Washington. Joshua Bell was standing there playing at rush hour, and people were not stopping, and not even looking, and some were flipping quarters at him! Quarters! I wouldn’t do that to anybody. I was thinking, Omigosh, what kind of a city do I live in that this could happen?”

As the Washington Post pontificates, “IF A GREAT MUSICIAN PLAYS GREAT MUSIC BUT NO ONE HEARS . . . WAS HE REALLY ANY GOOD?

It’s an old epistemological debate, older, actually, than the koan about the tree falling in the forest.

Plato weighed in on it, and philosophers for two millennia afterward: What is beauty?

Is it a measurable fact (Gottfried Leibniz), or merely an opinion (David Hume), or is it a little of each, colored by the immediate state of mind of the observer (Immanuel Kant)?”

Interestingly, every single child who passed by wanted to stop and linger and every single child was quickly shunted away by a parent or guardian.

An important lesson here: each and every one of us should remember to honor the child within us and listen to that child - that child is the one who can feel and sense beauty - even if it happens to be out of context.

As for 39-year-old Bell (once a child prodigy), he recently accepted the Avery Fisher prize, which recognizes American musicians’ outstanding contributions to classical music.

For the full text of the Washington Post article, please click here

CLICK HERE to sample Joshua Bell’s mesmerising music

by Olive Hui, 3 April 2007

      When you’ve broken up with someone that you’ve really really liked and had thought that the relationship would last longer than……. six months, what do you do?

You listen to the songs from the list below:

Do You Have a Little Time – Dido
Walk Away – Ben Harper
I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine – Beth Orton
Come Here Boy – Imogen
Heap Don’t Go Away – Oasis
Hard to Miss You – Mojave 3
Lover I Don’t Have to Love – Bright Eyes
Come Pick Me Up – Ryan Adams

I always think wouldn’t it be cool to have a theme song for every person that I know.

I know I have one for my family and me. It’s Cool to Love Your Family by Feist.

For my best friend and I, it’s I Hope Tomorrow is Like Today by Guster.

My roommate and I, Santeria by Sublime. Why? Because one time when we were studying, she leaned over to put the earphone into my ear and asked me what that song was. It instantly became our “theme song”.

My own current personal theme song: Circle by Edie Brickell.

by Olive Hui, 13March07

This is a blog dedicated to my all time favorite musician, Ryan Adams.

He’s one of those musicians you’d label as a “f***ked up artist”. Hmm… I’m trying to recall on what occasion I first heard about him. Ah… it was from one of my favorite TV shows, Felicity, again.

It’s La Cienega Just Smiled the first song of Ryan Adams I heard.

The meaning of the song lies in reminisces of a broken heart; whenever the guy thinks about the girl he used to go out with, he sees her smile back at him and it pains him to no end just seeing that at the back of his mind. (I know - I know. I just happen to be one of those nerds who’d actually analyze the words of a song.) Listen to the song, and if you like what you’re listening to, also try the followings from Ryan Adams:

Starlite Dinner
Dear Chicago

Harder Now It’s Over
September

Hard Way to Fall
When the Stars Go Blue

Silver Bullet