Robots Taking Over Sooner Than Expected–They Got Janet, Too! @11:36 AM
I'm starting to think that the singularity has already occurred and I just didn't notice it up to this point. Apparently, computer intelligence has already gotten more advanced that the human brain and figured out how to fuse itself with human cell tissue and that the robots are already reprogramming themselves and re-enhancing themselves and regenerating themselves-into today's leading hip-hop and R&B stars. READ MORE 5
"Video Phone": Watching and Being Watched @11:34 AM
Beyonce's I Am… Sasha Fierce celebrated its one year anniversary last week, and it is still being unspooled across various media—most recently, in a remix released last night of "Video Phone." The album is notable for an album by a woman in that it has no guest stars, no rappers cropping up, but in this remix, she is accompanied by more-newly-famous entertainer Lady Gaga. This is a remix in the sense that Sinead O'Connor's remix of "Jump in the River" with Karen Finley was a remix, in that there is largely only sections added; added value, brand conjunction, etc., and also that the match-up seems at first strange. In musical reality, this constitutes a problem because it means that there are two singers here: Beyonce and Lady Gaga, which is sort of like Kermit the Frog guesting on a Nina Simone record. READ MORE 7
Album Title of the Year (!!!) @3:05 PM
Did you love M.I.A.'s song Paper Planes last year? Do you like space-age weaponry but have difficulty spelling it? If so, or if not, check out Major Lazer's new album, Guns Don't Kill people-Lazers Do. (Man, if ever an album title needed three exclamation points.) Major Lazer is a production duo made of Diplo and Switch, the former being M.I.A.'s longtime collaborator and the latter being the coproducer of her Kala. The album is "Jamaican music at its roots" except apparently with lazers, featuring vocalists like Vybz Kartel and Santigold. Early reviews are strong and they are still on tour, particularly if you are in Denmark this week. 6
New Camera Obscura @12:39 PM
Tonight at 11:59 p.m., NPR begins streaming the entire new Camera Obscura record; My Maudlin Career will be released next week. Do you not love them already? Then catch up. READ MORE 0
