Great.

A comment about Das Racist being 'deported' from the UK.

Hey, didn’t you guys go to Wesleyan? Doesn’t that school cost over $50,000 a year? Maybe you should play down the kids from Queens with an agenda angle a little and play up the privledged extreme upper class people without the proper papers angle a little more

Fantastic.

Somethin Somethin Somethin (Royksopp + Sage Francis)

The Incredibly Strange World of Vocaloids

Yamaha, the same corporation that has brought you everything from drum sets to motorcycles, has over the past six years slowly started a musical revolution that no one asked for or wanted, and more importantly is relatively unknown to anyone living outside of Japan - but with my frequency of 4chan for the hilarious antics that can be found there, I stumbled upon the inane and absurd nature that are vocaloids.

Developed in conjunction with the Pompeau Fabra University located in Spain of all places, Vocaloids are an application for creating entirely synthesized music - essentially a piece of software that realizes the dream of the 2004 Disney Channel Original Movie 'Pixel Perfect,' or Simone (from the Al Pacino Movie) in the creation of an artificial identity... that sings.

The vocaloid software enjoyed relative success when it was released in 2004, but it wasn't until the second version of the program and the introduction of a 'Pop Star' that vocaloids entered the mainstream. Initially released in 2007, Hatsune Miku - The Pop Star image behind one of the voice options offered, spawned the beginning of absurdity and a strange manufactured brand of ultra-saccarine pop that could only come from an unholy alliance of Japanese artists and one of the countries largest corporations.

If there is one thing that the Japanese have got down to a science, it's marketing and the exploitation of an image and ideal as opposed to reality. A rise in popularity from an upswell of content that became heavily viewed on Japan's equivalent of Youtube lead to albums, sponsorships, concerts, video games, and just about every kind of consumer merchandise that could be imagined.

Hatsune Miku's likeness is even on the recently failed (Well we'll know for sure in 6 years as it tries to enter the orbit of Venus) Venus Probe, Akatsuki, and it is on there not once, not twice, but three damn times.

In terms of sound, it lies somewhere under a heavily auto tuned melody and somewhere above the super deformed sounds that are created with a vocoder. While the manufacturing of pop music is nothing new, to see it actually take the singer out of the picture entirely is great in theory, but a tad less enticing in practice. This could be partly due to the fact that the music that is predominantly created due to the actual technical limitations of the software (fast pop music handed down from the devil himself - and by that I mean it would be my definition of a level of hell) is insufferable.

Subsequent 'Pop Stars' have been created which all feature an animated avatar to accompany the software.

English versions of the software are available, but don't seem to work as well as their Japanese counterparts due to the difference in flow between the two languages, creating somewhat of an uncanny valley as opposed to the Japanese version. A third iteration of the software is forthcoming and it has been rumored that english has been made a larger focus, so it may make an impact sooner rather then later in the States.

A song about vegetable juice... idk it has almost 1.7 million youtube views

Following in the footsteps of Gorillaz as far as technology goes (Certainly not in the quality of music) the concerts utilize 3D Hologram technology to project the character on stage. I shutter to think of the strange possibilities that both this technology and the introduction of a real english version of the software could create. It's rather an odd thing to try and predict what kind of impact the software could/will have in the states, especially with no real national affection for Anime styled characters. In all likelihood if the software were to catch on in the US it would be a much more 'Pixel Perfect' like scenario with the likeness of an actual person used to promote the music and brand - which is scary, yet somehow awesome at the same time.

Will pop stars like Ke$ha disappear in favor of computerized programs? Probably not (although in Ke$ha's case one could hope), but there remains that tinge of morbid curiosity that will keep me tuned into vocaloids, if simply to laugh at how terrible and absurd they become.

Remember When I said Ratatat should work with Justin Timberlake?

I Found Love and a Neckbrace in Vegas (Felt + Justin Timberlake + Ratatat)

Download

Grammy Nomination Thoughts and Picks

Well its that time of the year, and by that time I mean I looked at the list only after seeing a tweet from Marcus talking about Janelle probably loosing to Ceelo (although I think she'll take Best Contemporary R&B Album).

So here we go. Go to the website to follow along, I don't want to copy and paste everything.

Record of the Year:

Should and Will Win - Empire State of Mind

Album of the Year:

Should Win - Arcade Fire
Will Win - The Gaga

Song of the Year:

All of these nominations are stupid.

Ceelo I guess?

Best New Artist:

Once again stupid at the lack of legitimate nominations, but The Bieber will probably win.

Off the top of my head Gayngs and Best Coast come to mind.

Also, who the fuck is Esperanza Spalding?

Ok I looked her up, Vocal Jazz, hmm way to be obscure in a way that no one under 50 cares about.

Best Female Pop Performance:

Seriously, a Beyonce live performance...? I'm sorry that is stupid, she won the same category last year with the same damn song, give someone else a chance Grammy committee.

Should and Will Win - Lady Gaga: Bad Romance

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance:

Will Win: Micheal Buble
Should Win: Couldn't care less.

With the caveat that Micheal Jackson might win, but that would be stupid.

Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals

This category is just depressing.

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals

Should Win - Gaga: Telephone
Will Win - B.O.B.: Airplanes, Part II

Best Pop Vocal Album:

Should Win - The Fame Monster
Will Win - Really have no clue, it could go anyway except John Mayer... No one likes him. I think it may go crazy and go to Katy Perry, we'll see.

Best Dance Recording:

Should Win - Konichiwa Bitches
Will Win - Rihanna

Best Rock Album:

Should Win - Muse (I've had my ups and downs with this album, but lets just say it has a tad more creativity then the other 'rockers')
Will Win - Who cares, it'll be either Tom Petty or Neil Young

Best Alternative Music Album:

Should and Will Win - Arcade Fire

Best Rap Solo Performance

Should and Will Win - Kanye West: Power

Best Rap Performance by a Group or Duo

Should Win - Big Boi: Shutterbug
Will Win - Jay Z: On To the Next One

Best Rap Song

Should Win - Empire State of Mind
Will Win - Love the Way You Lie

Best Rap Album

Weak, but judging at the number of nominations I would guess Eminem.

Hmm a lot of country...scrolling scrolling scrolling... Producer of the Year

Should Win - Danger Mouse (See Dark Night of the Soul)
Will Win - Dr. Luke

Hmm, I guess there is a bunch that I am skipping over, but just thought I go through quickly.

A few that will probably make my top albums of the year list left high and dry.

Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma
Spoon - Transference
Sufjan Stevens - The Age of Adz & All Delighted People
Gorillaz - Plastic Beach (Did get a few noms, but where was R&B performance for Stylo? Hell where was the nomination for Album of the Year?)
Sage Francis - Life

Tons of others, but we'll wait for my list to give my best stuff of the year.

By these awards it sure makes it look like nothing but absolute GARBAGE came out this year.