I just found out that thus month is “Black Music Month” on Yahoo. Meaning, they are paying special tribute to the black musicians and singers for the whole of June. An interesting reaction came from the discussion on their forums, and on other blogs I’ve seen:

Why is there no “White Music Month”?

They were�saying that if�they�were to start celebrating a White Music Month, they’d be called racist. That if the music industry truly were promoting equality, then there should be no highlighhting of any race. According to them, music is music, and there should be enough recognition from either side.

This is my stand on the matter: They’ve got it all wrong.

The reason why I think there should be a Black Music Month is because they managed to make advances in music DESPITE the oppression. And those advances have been so influencial to the rest of the music scene, that in fact, I think their influences are most felt among any. The point of Black Music Month isn’t to�say that they’re better than white musicians, but to celebrate how their music survived, thrived, and conquered. All this, despite the opinions that continue to think they have no right to celebrate their music, which truly is special.

What exactly is this “White Music” that they want to celebrate anyway? Rock music (which seems predominantly white) had its roots from early African American R&B artists. Even pop music has been influenced so much by Black music nowadays. That influence in itself should be reason enough to dedicate this month to them.

They say that they’ll be called racist for making a White Music Month, and they should not wonder why, if they are so adamant about it. This is not about individual talent, because that would be something that doesn’t concern race. If you claim to defend music and the anti-racist stance, you’ll understand why there has to be a Black Music Month.

Technorati tags: music, racism, black, white, black music month, yahoo, r&b, rock

I made a photo video on Dream Studio (I could really get hooked on that thing…if I’m not already heheh). Well, I’ve mostly been uploading videos I find in the internet, but this time I thought I’d try something different, so I made this really simple video of Ne-Yo, with a song I really like.

I really like Ne-Yo’s voice. These are the types of songs I listen to when I’m on the road home at night or something. I guess R&B is my feel-good music, and oddly enough, it’s also my wake-me-up music. Yes, while other people think rap and R&B are boring, I think it’s the beats that really draw me in. While I really like rock music (etc) as well, when I’m sleepy, my ears tend to tune it out and I could so easily fall asleep even if the volume’s up.

So anyway, while that was rather mindless rambling (I apologize), hope you like this song.

I found this video of a guy playing a song called “Together”, but it was on a funny-looking instrument that was really unfamiliar to me. Anyways, like most other videos I find amusing,�I uploaded it on Dream Studio:

Sounds good no? Piano-ish. Apparently, the instrument is a Chromatone 312. Yes, that would be a model name, at least I think it is. It has a Janko keyboard, now that’s our answer. The layout like that was patented in 1882 by a Hungarian mathematician/musician named Paul von Janko. Apparently the octave span is smaller, so it’s easier for small hands.

Honestly I think it looks like something from a bad dream, when you’re just starting on a 500-word term paper due the next day, and you have to do it on a traditional typewriter. Then the letters on the keys disappear and next thing you know there are 39746289347 keys. Yes, I have issues. Well, if the instrument works, then it’s good…I guess.

Technorati tags: chromatone, music, instrument, keyboard, janko

Yellowcard will be coming out with a new album on July 17! They’ve released some sample music already, and so far I really like the songs. I’ve just been recently introduced to their music by a friend (who happens to have everything of theirs including liver stuff haha), but I gotta say they’re really good. I like the arrangements too, and when I say that that means I really really like their music. Haha.

Well to be honest, I used to be sorta biased against songs that are labeled as “emo”, because there are some songs that I’ve heard that aren’t really all that good, just very expressive heheh. But I gave this (and some other bands) a shot like a good citizen, and whaddaya know, I came to like these guys.

These guys seem to have a really massive fanbase. They call themselves the Underdogs, but I think their fanbase is awesome, you can really feel the love and support. And for good reason. Anyways because I wanna spread this said love, here’s one from the upcoming album. Enjoy!

This album has been out for some time now, but I never had a chance to listen to it till about a week ago. Actually I’ve never really heard much of her songs except for a couple of really mainstream ones. Anyways, this girl gets special mention from me.

What I like about this album is that it’s the type of thing I can put on random, loop, and just play. The beats are nice and I really like her voice. She’s definitely very talented and skilled for her age, and it sounds so effortless. Makes me forget sometimes that she’s only 16. Heck, her first album reached Platinum, and she was only 13 then.

But anyways one thing I noticed though is that the themes of her songs are pretty mature for her. Let’s just say, she obviously didn’t write them, and even if she did, they wouldn’t be based on experience.

But all in all, great album. I’m probably not gonna get tired of this anytime soon. I read that her next album won’t be out till she’s 18. Hmm too bad.

Technorati tags: jojo, the high road, r&b

I read news that a Korean rapper who goes by the name 60row wrote a song (rap) against some famous Korean pop groups: SG Wannabe, DBSK, and Big Bang. It’s called “Stop Ya Music”. Actually the first two were simply mentioned, it was Big Bang who was really on the hot seat in the song. He was ranting about how the Korean music industry is going on looks and popularity instead of talent. While I do believe he has a point regarding the music industry in general, I don’t believe he’s right. There’s a difference.

I don’t listen to SG Wannabe and DBSK stuff (just never got to, not that I’m against them), but I do listen to Big Bang. In fact I like their music, but not because of who they are. If they were all ugly 50-year-olds singing those songs, I’d still listen to their stuff. 60row was going on about how their music is bad, how they have “nonstop popularity” and that they should stop singing those songs that are no good anyways. Sounds like your typical stuff, and it is, but in a different sense.

Typical, because this type of thing has been going on for such a long time. There’s always hostility, especially concerning “boy bands” or one genre to another. In this case it was probably because Big Bang raps as well, and he probably felt it was his responsibility to protect rap music from “wannabes”.

Sounds pretty noble, but my take on it is different. He’s probably one of those purist people—those who think that to be hiphop you cannot listen to rock music, and vice versa. I’m not saying he’s a faker, all I’m saying is that his claims are baseless. He’s talking about talent, when the boys clearly have that. He’s talking about bad songs, when there is nothing wrong with those songs except that maybe he personally isn’t into them. A rocker could say the same of his music, just because they don’t take the time to consider what makes the song good. Basically he probably feels that if it doesn’t fit in his playlist, it isn’t good at all.

In my opinion, that’s as narrow as the mind gets, and rather disappointing coming from anyone who claims to love music. He claims that these groups only go for popularity and good looks, but honestly, anyone who’s followed Big Bang knows that they’ve worked hard, they write their own music, and even pros will say that they really have talent. Should they be hated by the purists because they have good voices and want to sing R&B? Btw, you don’t see anyone talking against Usher and the likes. Should they he hated because they happen to have good looks? Say their companies DID get them for their looks, should their talents be ignored already? So what if they’re popular? To repeat, I’d listen to their songs even if they were ugly 50-year-olds. If 60row can give an argument beyond personally disliking their music, I might listen to what he has to say. But until then, it just sounds like whining to me.

Technorati tags: music, big bang, sg wannabe, kpop, rap, dbsk, tvxq, 60row