Last I checked, Coldplay’s Viva La Vida (released yesterday in the US) is rocking the top of the iTunes Album chart, RcrdLbl is hunting for the official Song of The Summer, and Getty Images and the Barbarian Group are Moodstreaming.

Coldplay, “Violet Hill”

Yesterday marked the US release of Coldplay’s latest album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. I just bought the album from iTunes, and I’m listening to it all the way through for the first time as I write this post. Other than being great blog writing music, I have yet to form any deep conclusions about it. For those also exploring the album, what do you think? Any favorite song popping out? I always find that my favorite song on an album is usually never a single.

Speaking of singles, I’m always checking out RcrdLbl to find music videos that aren’t on my radar (read: videos not served to me on a silver platter via my Tumblr dashboard). It seems that they are searching for this year’s Song of the Summer, and I can’t blame them. The summer pop anthem always stays with us, and while sometimes it’s a song that makes you cringe 10 years later, other times it brings back a flood of amazing memories.

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What a crazy, fun, intense, and exhausting week it turned out to be! There were parties, meetups, conferences, and endless meetings to be had, and it all concluded with the Webby Awards. I didn’t make it to the Webby Gala, but I did hit up the Webby Film & Video Awards, and had an amazing time with Tim Shey, Rachel Garcia, Erin Flood, Derek DeAngelis, Roy Weissman, and Vanessa Pappas!!

Vanessa Pappas, Kenyatta Cheese (Rocketboom), Erin Flood

The night started off with a cocktail reception, which I remarked felt like some sort of a high school reunion. Just about every person I adore from the Video 2.0 industry was there, and I felt at home.
We drank champagne, posed for pics (That’s Webby Award Winner Derek D and myself), and caught up with old friends as we readied ourselves for a three hour ceremony hosted by 30 Rock’s Judah Friedlander. As Derek D accepted the People’s Choice Award for Sports, we cheered him on from our seats (which happened to be next to where Lorne Michaels, Michel Gondry, Rosie Perez, and Seth Meyers were seated!!)

Derek D Accepts the FLD Webby Award from Michelle DeForest on Vimeo.

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I’m always looking to discover new music, and since leaving the car=radio=new music lifestyle (thanks, New York), I’m finding it increasingly more difficult to randomly discover new music. But wait! We can’t ignore the what the internets have to offer in the way of international music discovery. So let me introduce you to one of my recent, and kind of random, music programming finds, iNTERVIEW!

I stumbled upon Interview via Tumblr. They have a blog on which they embed every episode, and from there I began following their trail to Sly-Fi, discovering it’s a channel on the publishing platform Hobnox.

Like I said, the first of Sly-Fi’s shows I discovered was iNTERVIEW, which presents an interesting and engaging format in which interview questions are loaded onto a laptop, and then sent to a band. The band members then play the pre-loaded interview questions, and respond while being filmed by the web cam on the laptop, as well as a free-floating hand-held camera. Some of their recent interview highlights include One Two, We Are Scientists, Anti-Flag, The Kooks, Death Cab For Cutie, and embeded above, the Ting Tings.

Next I discovered Making Of… which chats with bands currently in the studio working on an album. This is certainly something most fans can’t get enough of in anticipation of a favored artist’s new release.
Making Of…”The Golden Hour”

Hobnox, the platform on which Sly-Fi is hosted, also boasts two web based applications, the Livetool, and the Audiotool.

According to their website, “The Hobnox Livetool is a web based application, which allows you to produce and broadcast your own web-TV show on Hobnox.com. You can use live source (cameras) or library items (clips) to create a show.” And the Audiotool will “supply you with an emulator of some famous little machines, used by DJs, producers and bands all over the planet.” And currently they “can equip you with a rebuilt Roland TR-808, TR-909, TB-303 and some floorboards.”

I’m certainly going to be investigating the Livetool, but please check both out and let me know what you think in the comments!

There are a few things that most of us at the company have in common: We like to have fun, we wish we were rock stars (well, we’re already rock stars, but I mean actual rock stars), we love movies, and we are superhero fanatics!
To my delight, I was able to catch the Superhero Fashion & Fantasy exhibit at The Metropolitan Museum of Art this weekend (which I highly suggest), and it reminded me of a fantastic series that I saw a trailer for a few months ago.

Italian Spiderman Trailer

Italian Superman was something of a mystery to me after I watched the trailer. I thought it was a brilliant, campy one-off, and nothing more. To my surprise, I saw an episode featured on Yahoo! Video last week, and was psyched to find the first two episodes up on YouTube, MySpace, and Yahoo!. The story that accompanies it is just as outlandish as the series, explaining that Italian Spiderman was adapted from the novel, Death Wears A Hat, and filmed in 1964 by Italian filmmaker Gianfranco Gatti, and produced by Alrugo Entertainment.
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I’m pumped for next week. Why? It’s Internet Week in NYC! Imagine SXSW Interactive, minus the panels, and set in the most lively city in the US. Sure it’s a bonus that I live here, and I have an excellent excuse to hit the parties at night and come in to the work late, but correct me if I’m wrong, NYC seems like a perfect setting for celebrating what we are all devoting our careers to try and make the most of.

*Brief History Lesson* It all started when the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting called up the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences (aka the Academy behind the Webby Awards), and asked them to help rally companies to throw parties and make their meetups and conferences a part of the festivities.

The events start this Tuesday, June 3, and run through Tuesday, June 10 concluding with the Webby Awards Gala. And in case you hadn’t heard, Fast Lane Daily picked up a Webby Award so we’re ready to celebrate BIG TIME!

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I’m a sucker for a good mash-up or remix. OK, really I’m just a sucker for music. Add a kickin’ soundtrack to any video footage, and all the sudden, “it’s my favorite video, ever!” Now Weezer’s put their spin on the “mash-up/remix” for their latest single Pork and Beans. They’ve basically pulled an Internet People, and paid homage to a TON of our favorite YouTube stars! (Weezer has even released footage from the shoot featuring Kelly and Dan!)

What a smart move on their part! Nothing gets the “viral” web going like engaging the community that promulgates it. And seriously, who wouldn’t want to help out Weezer? While you try to name all the web stars in this video, I’ll leave you with a few other super-sweet remixes and mash-ups. And if you have a favorite, link it up in the comments!

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