Diddy, P-diddy, Puff Daddy... whatever you call him, he's got a new album with a group he's formed called Dirty Money, or Diddy-Dirty Money. I'm not about to say the album is fantastic, 'cause it isn't, but there's definitely a few wicked tracks. Call me a sucker for anything Biggie Smalls... they've dug up another piece of his featured in this track "Angels". Beside the song, the video is REALLY well done. Some beautiful cinematography in this one. Check it!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Michael Jackson with Akon
Very soon, they will be releasing a full album of MJ tunes and Hold My Hand (as heard on Virgin Radio) is the first single from that album. Check the vid... I think it's really well done!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Dr. Dre is back with Kush...
Ya baby!! If you're a hip hop fan like I am, you probably LOVE the old Dre and Snoop albums... well Dre is back with this killer track "Kush" featuring Snoop and Akon.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Dirty Radio's "Head Go Wild" music video!
Dirty Radio and team SEX-ED have released their first music video, and the jury is in. SWEET! I love these one-take vids like J. Cole's Who Dat video. If you know anything about film-making, you'll know it's quite the challenge to coordinate and time out. Well done guys!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Gettin' Dirty... Radio
I get a TON of music landing on my desk in the Virgin Radio music department, and one thing we pride ourselves on is that we listen to EVERYTHING. In the world of Top 40 radio, it doesn't always happen that way. The fact is, if it isn't already mainstream, indie submissions often have little relevance to a Top 40 programmer. We like to support local talent with features like Virgin Radio's Best of BC so it's part of what we do every day.
It's very much like the film industry when you submit music to a radio station- don't call us, we'll call you. There's pretty good reason for this too. It would take an army of people to respond to every submission.
But let me tell you- when the new album "Debut" by Dirty Radio was dropped on my desk, they got the call! The album was produced by local production team SEX-ED, and became an instant favorite here at Virgin Radio. You'll hear "My Heart" featuring Sherry St. Germain on Virgin! Check it out below.
(Click the here to hear and buy the rest of the album. I can't get enough of it... it's AWESOME!)
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Cee-Lo Green of Gnarls Barkley, Goodie Mob goes VIRAL
I'm sure you remember the song "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley? Well if you're like the masses and thought Gnarls Barkley is the guys name, it's not... it's a group.
Cee-Lo Green is the heavy set guy who fronted Gnarls Barkley... and if you're a hip hop fan, you may know that Cee-Lo's fame comes from another previous group - Goodie Mob!
Well Cee-Lo released a video on the web about 2 weeks ago, and since then it's had over 2 million views. The "safe" version you'll hear on the radio and TV is called "Forget You"... not necessarily as much impact as the uncensored version - "Fuck You".
***WARNING - IF YOUR BOSS/CO-WORKERS/FAMILY/FRIENDS etc DON'T APPRECIATE SONGS THAT SAY FUCK YOU SEVERAL TIMES, DON'T WATCH THIS VIDEO IN THEIR PRESENCE.***
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Pop music sucks... or does it?
I know I've been bad with blogging this summer, but I promise I'll be back in full force this September. Not that I'm making excuses again, but between time off and filling in for others taking their time off, the summer is NUTTY busy!
Anyway, this is a bit of a stray from the usual "sharing music" blog... and more of a rant.
It stems from on-going complaints I hear about pop-music and Top-40 radio. Let's start with pop-music. I want to start by pointing out that there's VERY little pop I turn on at home- I listen to a lot of blues, metal/hard-rock, hip-hop, and some electronica. I was also one of these Pop-music haters for many years before I decided to try and shed my self-righteous music snobbery and try to be more open minded.
The "Pop music sucks" statement gets tossed around so much, and frankly, while you certainly have a right to your opinion; know that it only demonstrates that you have very narrow taste in music. Just because you don’t like it, doesn’t mean it isn’t good music or lacking in talent. Pop is short for POPULAR, and in case you haven't figured it out yet, it's THE MOST POPULAR genre of music. Exponentially more people listen to it than your rock and hip-hop audiences. Simply put, while you might not like pop music, the rest of the world does.
The attack on the actual songwriting is something I find almost comical. A quick story on that: The artist Lights was visiting the Virgin Radio Factory to do a couple songs acoustically, and we have a rule here- the artist must play a cover-tune, preferably from a genre outside their comfort zone. Lights said something that I've quoted many times... that you know a song is really amazing when you strip it down to a singer and a guitar (or piano) and it's still an amazing song. Then she played Backstreet Boys "I Want It That Way". I suddenly had instant respect and appreciation for this song and could envision it being done by Billie Joel, Elton John, or even Johnny Cash! It truly is a well written song. My point is that it's often in the arrangement and production that causes the negative reaction, or because it's recorded by a pop-star whose image you don't relate to... NOT because it's actually a bad song.
Also, there's often the "no talent" attack I hear out of Pop-haters mouths. Regardless of your opinion, you don't need to sing like Robert Plant or play like Eddie Van Halen to be considered talented... and if you think that even the most laughed-about pop singers don't have talent, then wake up and get your head out of your ass. Open your mind, because there's a reason they've gained the opportunities they have, and there's a reason they've sold thousands, if not millions of records. Although some may not be "as talented", they all have something unique about them that gives them appeal.
Back to the radio game, another statement that gives me a kick is the "pop stations just force-feed you this music". Not true... and maybe you should do some investigating before making a statement that just outs you for knowing absolutely nothing about how a pop station works. In case you're one of those people (or maybe just curious), here's the basics on how music comes to pop radio. A label representative from each of the 4 major labels (as well as some smaller labels and indies) come to us every week with a list of songs they're working. For the most part, labels are fantastic at picking the best song to go to radio. We make changes on our playlist, which are made- 1) on the programmers gut feelings, and 2) based on information like charts and weekly research... and guess where that research data comes from. Yup, YOU, the listener. Just as all radio stations do, we invite our listeners to join our music survey club. Every week an email goes out to those who have signed up and so we can get their feedback on the tunes. It's this data that allows us to know what to stop playing ('cause YOU don't like the song), or what to play more of. Lady Gaga isn't getting played 10 times a day because we want to. It's because YOU want us to.
...and then we come to the "pop stations play the same thing over and over again". Ask yourself how much time you spend listening to the radio. Most people are going to tell you it's for 10-20 minutes in the car on the way to/from work. Why are you tuning in? So you can hear a bunch of music you've never heard before? Nope, if you wanted that you'd go to a Triple-A station (ie The Peak or the Shore in Vancouver). People punch into pop stations to hear their favorite tune from Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas, Katy Perry etc. If we don't play the biggest records every 3 hours (which is approximately how often the biggest songs play), then you will have to listen all day just to hear it once. Get it? Pop radio (and a most modern rock stations) can't be successful if they're playing everything off the latest album from X artist. It just doesn't work.
I often get emails like "could you guys please play something else from Adam Lambert's album other than If I Had You, like song X, or song Y... they're SO good". Well right off the bat I know this person is an Adam Lambert fan. Second, we reflect what's popular. If Adam is performing If I Had You on late night TV shows and it's the number 1 song on iTunes download, why on earth am I going to play song X that NOBODY KNOWS OR CARES ABOUT. Pop radio stations are a reflection of pop culture, and what is "pop"? It's what's POPULAR.
Do you like The Beatles? Guess what guys... yup, POP music!
I guess what I'm saying with all this is just open your mind. If you like any kind of music, you should be open to all types of music. I don't like everything, but I like some music from all genres. Lose the music-genre snobbery and embrace what's out there.
That's all I got. Send your hate mail to jeffwinskell@gmail.com
Monday, June 28, 2010
One sweet music video! J. Cole
A buddy of mine posted this last week. It's from rapper J. Cole called "Who Dat", and was directed by film-duo "BBGun". I LOVE these long one-shot takes. It requires a ton of skill and planning to hit all the marks, and pull off such a tight piece of work. Two thumbs way up on this one! Oh, and the song itself is pretty frickin' awesome too!!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Nas and Damian Marley - Distant Relatives
Alright, so I haven't been good over the last month at regular updates... but it's been a crazy month. Covering an air-shift-and-a-half daily, plus the regular music gig gets a little crazy. But enough of the excuses and on with the fricking music, eh?!
If you like urban and reggae and you haven't already picked up the new Nas and Damian Marley album Distant Relatives, what the F are you waiting for? It's simply RAD!
Front to back, it's a sweet blend of Jamaican Reggae and American Rap that mixed perfectly to create this awesome album. The mix of hip-hop beats and reggae grooves are a total sonic success.
The packaging is also quite nice... another reason to still buy hard copies of your favorite albums rather than buying it online or (please no!) downloading it for "free".
Sample below
If you like urban and reggae and you haven't already picked up the new Nas and Damian Marley album Distant Relatives, what the F are you waiting for? It's simply RAD!
Front to back, it's a sweet blend of Jamaican Reggae and American Rap that mixed perfectly to create this awesome album. The mix of hip-hop beats and reggae grooves are a total sonic success.
The packaging is also quite nice... another reason to still buy hard copies of your favorite albums rather than buying it online or (please no!) downloading it for "free".
Sample below
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
F-ing impressive!!!
So this guy named Paul Dateh is a classically trained violinist from the age of 4, and later switched to Jazz on his first day of University. Well this guys musical talent knows no bounds. Check out this video of Paul as he multi-layers a violin/top 40 montage including music from Lady Gaga and Rihanna. AWESOME!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
After a few weeks hiatus, the music monkey is BACK baby!
After a few weeks hiatus, the music monkey is BACK baby! (insert monkey sound effect here)
Today is all CanCon... "Canadian Content" for you non-industry folk ;)
The first track was released last year by Toronto-rapper Classified and features Maestro Fresh-Wes, Choclair, and Moka Only. We don't get a ton of great Canadian Hip Hop... but this is an exception!
This next one's the second single from Toronto-singer Aleesia. Although she's not signed to a big label or anything, she definitely had the budget to produce a great music video to support the song. If you've seen Kesha's "Your Love Is My Drug" (video FAIL!), you'll probably agree after watching: Aleesia 1, Kesha 0
K'Naan first broke on the mainstream scene with the single Bang Bang (featuring Adam Lavigne from Maroon 5) off his second album... but it was his second single called Wavin' Flag that really broke K'Naan, first being selected as the Fifa 2010 anthem, followed by a remake of the song with an arsenal of Canadian talent to support the relief effort in Haiti. Here's his next single called Take a Minute
Also check out K'Naan's interview with George Stomboulopoulous on CBCs The Hour.
Today is all CanCon... "Canadian Content" for you non-industry folk ;)
The first track was released last year by Toronto-rapper Classified and features Maestro Fresh-Wes, Choclair, and Moka Only. We don't get a ton of great Canadian Hip Hop... but this is an exception!
This next one's the second single from Toronto-singer Aleesia. Although she's not signed to a big label or anything, she definitely had the budget to produce a great music video to support the song. If you've seen Kesha's "Your Love Is My Drug" (video FAIL!), you'll probably agree after watching: Aleesia 1, Kesha 0
K'Naan first broke on the mainstream scene with the single Bang Bang (featuring Adam Lavigne from Maroon 5) off his second album... but it was his second single called Wavin' Flag that really broke K'Naan, first being selected as the Fifa 2010 anthem, followed by a remake of the song with an arsenal of Canadian talent to support the relief effort in Haiti. Here's his next single called Take a Minute
Also check out K'Naan's interview with George Stomboulopoulous on CBCs The Hour.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Holy hotness batman!!!
Ciara's just released a new video with rap super-star Ludacris, called "Ride"... and no, she's not talking going for a drive. Let's just say I had to remain seated after watching Ciara get low in this new vid!
Check it out
La Roux played the Commodore in Vancouver last Sunday night, and what a frickin' awesome show! It's the second time I've seen her, and get's another 10/10 for this show. While the audio isn't great, here's a vid of her encore where she did her first North American smash "Bulletproof".
Did I mention I ran into Elly Jackson after the show?? :) :) :)
Check it out
La Roux played the Commodore in Vancouver last Sunday night, and what a frickin' awesome show! It's the second time I've seen her, and get's another 10/10 for this show. While the audio isn't great, here's a vid of her encore where she did her first North American smash "Bulletproof".
Did I mention I ran into Elly Jackson after the show?? :) :) :)
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Hot new artist V V Brown,
New UK artist V V Brown was named artist to watch in 2009 by both the LA Times and UK newspaper The Independent... and while '09 wasn't much of a year for V V, 2010 just may be. Here's a live acoustic version of Shark in The Water (also now playing on Virgin Radio Vancouver) You can also check out the official music video here!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Aguilera is back, Mayer shreds Vancouver
The ever-so-sexy Christina Aguilera released a new single last week titled Not Myself Tonight from her upcoming album Bionic. It's been 4 years since a full album release from Christina... and to fans, the Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade of Hits (which featured one new track - Keeps Gettin' Better) was just a tease in a long gap between albums... but hey, she's back with this track, which is produced by Polow Dan Don - the same guy who produced for the likes of Fergie and Usher.
John Mayer played GM Place in Vancouver last Thrusday... and WOW! What a guitar player this guy is.
Too often, he gets pigeon-holed as a pop artist who writes sappy love songs that only appeal to women. Nothing wrong with that... I was in the minority at the show :)
That night he covered Bill Withers Ain't No Sunshine. If you have any appreciation for a guy who can shred on the 6-string, have a listen!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Ameri-pop, UK Gold Rock, and Music to Weld to
We're going for polarizing today. One new pop song from an actress/singer that pop-culture can't get enough of (despite her superb filthy debauchery)... one awesome Sam Cook-like UK rock 'n roller.... and one shredding metal tune from a local band.
I have to credit this first one to Bri's Cheese and Sleaze. If you don't already follow Bri Cook's blog, then you must! Let's just say... Perez Hilton who?
She posted this new Lindsay Lohan track called Stuck yesterday, and I'm gonna have to agree with her... it's actually a pretty decent pop tune!
I went to a Los Lobos concert with one of my main concert-going buddies, Cam, several years ago and although I'm often late for shows and miss openers (or arrive during them), we caught this guy's set from the start. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor after his set. Just ripper 50's style rock and roll with the occasional ballad. There are two live tracks here by James Hunter... simply WOW!
This next track completely shreds. If Kelly Clarkson, Shania Twain, and Katy Perry fill your Top 25 Played on your iPod then clicking play on this next track may leave you scarred for life. There, you've been warned! But if you love screaming vocals, ripping crunchy guitars, and double-kicking madness... then you'll love this song from Southern Death Threat - Brass Knuckles
I have to credit this first one to Bri's Cheese and Sleaze. If you don't already follow Bri Cook's blog, then you must! Let's just say... Perez Hilton who?
She posted this new Lindsay Lohan track called Stuck yesterday, and I'm gonna have to agree with her... it's actually a pretty decent pop tune!
I went to a Los Lobos concert with one of my main concert-going buddies, Cam, several years ago and although I'm often late for shows and miss openers (or arrive during them), we caught this guy's set from the start. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor after his set. Just ripper 50's style rock and roll with the occasional ballad. There are two live tracks here by James Hunter... simply WOW!
This next track completely shreds. If Kelly Clarkson, Shania Twain, and Katy Perry fill your Top 25 Played on your iPod then clicking play on this next track may leave you scarred for life. There, you've been warned! But if you love screaming vocals, ripping crunchy guitars, and double-kicking madness... then you'll love this song from Southern Death Threat - Brass Knuckles
Monday, March 29, 2010
More UK pop hits!
More late comers to the North American music scene, but already massive in Europe. First up is a versatile pop star who does genres from R&B to Electro-pop. Her name is Pixie Lott and this track is a top 40 hit in the UK as we speak. Check it out:
Who knew Jennifer Love Hewitt was in a UK female group a la Spice Girls?! Well that's because she's not, but one of the girls from The Saturdays sure looks like she could be her long lost twin.
Since Polydor doesn't like people blogging about their artists and helping spread the word, I can't post the video in this blog. You can listen to it below, or click here to see the official vid on youtube. Tell me the second girl isn't JLH! This is Ego by The Saturdays.
Who knew Jennifer Love Hewitt was in a UK female group a la Spice Girls?! Well that's because she's not, but one of the girls from The Saturdays sure looks like she could be her long lost twin.
Since Polydor doesn't like people blogging about their artists and helping spread the word, I can't post the video in this blog. You can listen to it below, or click here to see the official vid on youtube. Tell me the second girl isn't JLH! This is Ego by The Saturdays.
Friday, March 26, 2010
The America's are always late on the Euro
Canada and the U.S. tend to get all the Euro-hits a year later, and this is no exception. This track, reminiscent of '90s Dance, is by Inna featuring Bob Taylor... and WOW is this video hot!
This one on the other hand (also by Inna)... well let's just say it looks like they had a pretty tight budget...
Thursday, March 25, 2010
The Cool Kids, Katy Perry and Timba
Is Katy Perry not f-ing hot?! If you haven't seen the vid for Timbaland with Katy Perry - If We Ever Meet Again, then get your bib tucked into your shirt and click play below
Speaking of hotness, check out the white Ray Bans on the girl in this next one. The track isn't new by any means, but it's a killer hip hop tune by a group not none to mainstream... The Cool Kids. Check out Black Mags
PS Did I mention I love Katy Perry? Best day EVER
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
One of the most amazing videos EVER!
This video is one of the most amazing videos I've ever seen. It's all time-lapse HD footage of Vancouver with clouds and fog, rolling in and out. The reason I'm posting it is because it also has a fantastic dance/new-age song by local singer Linda Ganzini.
Good Hip Hop, Irish Struggle, and a UK Firestarter
Three tracks for you today. Some sweet hip hop, a folk song about Irish struggle, and this track currently sizzling in the UK - Dirty Picture. Taio Cruz and Ke$ha team up for this one... another to make sure you have the bass turned up on!
When I went back to high school to graduate, I had a teacher named Coach Bill McKittrick... and I probably spelled his name wrong, because we all simply called him Coach. Anyone who went to one of two high schools in Richmond, BC over 30 years would know exactly who I'm talking about. He gave me this cd of Irish-American music and this next tune was on that disc. This youtube version I stumbled across, not thinking there would be a video for any of the songs on that disc. It's a passionate song about the Irish struggle, and is worth a crank up on the speakers.
So little good hip hop these days... but that doesn't mean there isn't any. My buddy Chase posted this last night, and it's such a SICK tune, I had to post. Not likely to be heard on Virgin Radio soon, but more than worth a listen if you like the genre.
When I went back to high school to graduate, I had a teacher named Coach Bill McKittrick... and I probably spelled his name wrong, because we all simply called him Coach. Anyone who went to one of two high schools in Richmond, BC over 30 years would know exactly who I'm talking about. He gave me this cd of Irish-American music and this next tune was on that disc. This youtube version I stumbled across, not thinking there would be a video for any of the songs on that disc. It's a passionate song about the Irish struggle, and is worth a crank up on the speakers.
So little good hip hop these days... but that doesn't mean there isn't any. My buddy Chase posted this last night, and it's such a SICK tune, I had to post. Not likely to be heard on Virgin Radio soon, but more than worth a listen if you like the genre.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Shake your booty to this!
This is an awesome track bound to make you shake your booty... yes, you too guys! It's by V.I.C. and the name says it all: Wobble
Monday, March 22, 2010
a MUST for the live music fan
Are you a live music fan? Do you love the rock, oldies, and classics? If the answer is yes to all of the above and you haven't already heard of a site called Wolfgang's Vault, I'm about to make your day. This site has a vault of live music recordings you can stream right on your computer or iphone. It's a combination of random and historic shows from artists like these:
- Aerosmith
- The Allman Brothers Band
- The Band
- The Beach Boys
- The Beatles
- Black Sabbath
- Bob Dylan
- Bob Marley
- Bruce Springsteen
- The Doors
- Elton John
- Eric Clapton
- Fleetwood Mac
- Frank Zappa
- Genesis
- Grateful Dead
- Jeff Beck
- Jefferson Airplane
- Jethro Tull
- Jimi Hendrix
- Jimmy Buffett
- Journey
- Led Zeppelin
- Little Feat
- Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Mahavishnu Orchestra
- MC5
- Metallica
- Miles Davis
- Neil Young
- Pink Floyd
- The Police
- Queen
- Quicksilver Messenger…
- The Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Rod Stewart
- The Rolling Stones
- Santana
- Steve Miller Band
- Tom Petty
- The Tubes
- U2
- Van Morrison
- The Who
HOT! UK artist Cheryl Cole with Will.i.am
This is a super hot song that we've been playing for a couple weeks on Virgin! It's by UK pop star Cheryl Cole with Will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas. It's called 3 Words. The video is really cool too! Check it out below
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Dubstep remix of Bulletproof by La Roux
Today's track is a really cool remix of Bulletproof by La Roux. I've been listening to a lot of dubstep lately and came across this! Check it out... and hopefully your computer speakers dish out some decent bass, but not too much 'cause it rattle stuff right off your walls.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)