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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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!

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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I’m trying to refrain myself from flogging Channel Frederator’s The Meth Minute 39. But Dan Meth made this one is so funny I can’t help myself.

Most of the time I’m not a first mover. Early, sure (blogging, Channel Frederator, VOD Cars), rarely first. But with my music jones I’ve tried to be on top of most everything and often just wanted to kill myself. Over the years, I’ve been a musician, a record producer, a music television producer and most of all a stone music fan. Pop, rock, jazz, R&B, hip-hop, you name it, I’m there. So, the digital revolution has given me a wonder of hopes and frustrations.

I’ve used ‘em all –the original Napster, Winamp, MusicMatch, the HangGo, the Airport Express, heck I’ve even ran SonicNet Radio for a while– and eventually just chocked on the exasperation. The inventors have caught up with my needs –selection, convenience, and (relative) quality for a reasonable price– and though I’m a little behind the true hipsters, I’m finally at (almost) fan nirvana.

Sonos was the first level of enlightenment (more…)

Who would have thought that Election ‘08 would be sexy, funny and cool — and it’s still ‘07? Our friend Ben Relles, that’s who.

He’s the mastermind behind BarelyPolitical.com’s Obama Girl, the viral video phenom that made loving Obama something more than sticking a bumper sticker on your car or a pin in your lapel. Ben’s back with more political love as his new video features “Giuliani Girl”, who’s got it for a former NYC mayor whose chrome dome is now, well, sexy to somebody. Better yet, the video features Giuliani Girl meeting Obama Girl in a “Beat it” face-off that’s a hoot.

Ben’s onto something with his unique twist of bringing politics into the pop culture discussion and his ambitions for BarelyPolitical.com are to keep the discussion fresh and funny. I’d bet on Ben to do it… and do it again. There’s a lot more smart, funny, sexy satire in Ben’s brain, and politics will never look so good.

This post has absolutely nothing to do with the internet, or networks, or any of the stuff we do here.

I’ve been cleaning out my drawers lately which caused me to scan some of my stuff and throw it on my Flickr page. Some of it’ll eventually get linked to on my old branding agency archive, but who knows about the rest.

The picture above is from the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City. It’s from a random collection of photographs I found in a box at a junk shop specializing in then-uncool mid-century furniture. I couldn’t resist the hundreds of vintage prints of these amazing deco buildlings I’d really only seen in amazing stylized illustrations from the fair. I had no idea what I was going to do with the snaps –hell, I still don’t know what I’m going to do with them– but they were great just to have.

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In the late 70s I was producing jazz records and became friendly with Michael Cuscuna, soon to become one of the medium’s most revered producers and the leading reissue producer in history. (more…)

It’s not The Sorpranos, though that was a pretty cool show, and sad to see it end, if it ended or whatever happened. But, it does star one of its’ cast. And it’s not even a TV show. It’s a radio show.

Many Sunday nights, I revert to my childhood, jump into bed and ditch the lights (radio sounds better that way ) and tune into Little Steven’s Underground Garage. Little Steven, best known from Bruce’s band and as (dead or alive?) Silvio on the Sorpranos, is the master of ceremonies behind a weekly rock and roll circus where you’re likely to hear everything from original garage band Count Five to contemporary garage ( Steven’s term) like The Charms (my fave) and a sprinkling of the Stones (the London Record years), Iggy and, of course, the Ramones. And each week, Steven keeps contemporary garage alive and kicking featuring a different “Coolest Song in the World” and introducing bands heard little on commercial radio.

Little Steven has created a soundtrack of my life (not to be confused with the Swedish band Soundtrack of Our Lives that he plays regularly and who are very cool). And if you’re not into appointment radio, you can check out the Underground Garage website, hear past radio shows, see playlists, station listings and all things garage whenever you want.

And there’s a method to his madness. A friend of mine told me that there’s only one rule that guides the choices Steven makes. The rule: it’s got to have inspired the Ramones or been inspired by the Ramones. For me that defines good music: from The Wall of Sound to The British Invasion to 70’s punk, Nirvana and it’s present day descendents.

But the brillance of the show doesn’t lie in just the music—it’s what surrounds the sounds. Soundbites from classic b-movies (are there any other kind?) like Hell’s Angels, or non-sequitors from tough guy James Cagney, The Marx Brothers, or Batman (the TV series, of course). Add tributes to true iconoclasts like Roger Corman, Alan Freed, Brian Wilson, and culture markers like Shindig, CBGB’s and odes to everything from go-go girls to songs of Summer, narrated in Steven’s very cool way and you’ve got radio that’s audio and visual.

And that’s cool. Thanks Steven.

Harold Melvin & the Bluenotes > The Love I Lost

Teddy Pendergrass was one of the great improvisers of all time. This record was at the height of HM&TBN’s tenure at Philadelphia Intl. with Gamble & Huff and when Teddy was at the height of his powers. And what heights they were. You can hear it about halfway through this track. Teddy starts working over the rhythm section and the repeated vocal choruses like it’s the last time he’s going to sing again. And while he’s doing it he takes us to church (as Dan Meth mentioned to me today) and teaches us things about our lives we didn’t know we didn’t know. Geeeezzz.

I heard this record on satellite radio the other day and for reasons completely unclear to me I felt like it belonged on the NNN blog. Something about the nature of improvising, American musical improvising in particular, but I’m not really sure how to make a parallel to what we’re doing. I know there is one, but… (more…)

I should have linked to this sooner, but the latest round of VLOG DEATHMATCH brought in a huge field of participants - 20 in all. The challenge: make a music video. No restrictions.

Twenty vloggers entered… but only one will leave at midnight tonight with the right to put the coveted “V.D. Champion” badge on their site (which always seemed a mixed blessing to me anyway).

Right now, it seems to be a showdown between Irina Slutsky’s pretty amazing nerdcore battle rap (which actually features the line, “by the time he’s done with video compression/ i’m already on to my next vlogging session”) and The Burg’s remake of the Buggles hit that launched MTV (which Fred here should get a kick out of).

But if a few thousand of you NNN blog readers vote right now, you could put anyone into the lead. Maybe Chuck Olsen will take the race? Deathmatch organizer Bill Cammack and Action Girl? Coolest of the bunch may be Michael Verdi’s Second Life-shot entry, Wreck & Salvage’s Francopop video, or Jackson West’s funky camphone piece — but really, there’s not a bad entry in the competition. I just had a blast watching them all.

Meanwhile, here are the two lead entries, for your consideration, after the jump.

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