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aDDICTION :(?

addiction :(?

i have an issue i get easily addicted :( all my friends think i'm a freak because i'm like obsessed with michelle pfeiffer
is it normal
why do they think i'm a freak just because i've seen almost all of her movies read her biographies and watched all of her talk show apperences

do you think i'm a freak whats wrong with me

Rap: Urban Music Going Suburban

Whether you perceive rap as a musical art form or fad you wish would just fade away, there's no denying the impact it's had on the American musical scene. With its explosive lyrics and supercharged rhythms, rap burst onto the musical radar in the late 1970's and early 1980's. As it grew, combining deejaying with emceeing and break dancing, rap evolved into an entirely new genre known as hip hop. However, at its heart, rap music was essentially the work of inner city youths addressing the troubles and concerns associated with urban life.

Rap can be traced back to West African singers/storytellers called the Griots. However, in the United Sates, the genre got its start in the Bronx, New York, when the exiting middle class immigrants and their businesses were replaced by poor black and Hispanic families. Accompanying these poor people were crime, drug addiction, and unemployment. It seemed like overnight street gangs appeared on every corner of the Bronx. At the same time, "Times were changing," according to Henry A. Rhodes of the Yale New Haven Teachers Institute, "with the advent of the seventies people were getting into music and dancing and going to clubs." The first person to bring rap to the clubs was Cool Herc, a Jamaican immigrant whose style of spinning records led to the development of break dancing. Other American DJ's contributed to the rap scene. These included Theodor, who developed the technique known as "scratching," which involved the DJ spinning a record backwards and forwards very fast while the needle was in the groove, and George Saddler, known as Grandmaster Flash, who was an expert at "punch phasing." Another American deejay, Afrika Bambaataa, tried to replace gang rumbles and drugs with rap, dance, and the 'Hip Hop' style.

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Today, says Rhodes: "Even though rap is proportionally more popular among blacks, its primary audience is white and lives in the suburbs." He notes that the more rappers are packaged as violent black criminals, the bigger the white audiences become. "I do not think anyone can account for the popularity of rap to a white audience no more than one could account for the popularity of the black entertainment in the 'speakeasies' to the white audiences of the late 1920s and 1930s," says Rhodes, "other than the attraction which exists for something that is taboo or forbidden by one's social group." According to Rhodes, Run-D.M.C. was the first black rap group to break through to a mass white audience with their albums, Run-D.M.C and King of Rock, both produced by a white, Jewish punk rocker named Rick Rubin. Some critics have argued that with the influence of whites on the rap music scene, it is only a matter of time before rap starts to lose its popularity in the black community goes out of style. Rhodes disagrees. "I believe that rap music can withstand the influence of other (ethnic/social) groups and still remain popular and flourish." Some consider that a blessing, others a curse.

To read other articles on rap visit our blog.

Download Rap Music for free legally on our site.

To view and listen to the Top Rap Songs see our site.



Eztracks

Let the Music Do the Selling -- Popular Songs and Lyrics in TV Commercials

Dionne Warwick's 1968 million selling Grammy winning international smash hit the Billboard Top 10 in May 1968, Record World Top 40 at #8 and was also a UK smash at #8. The flip side "Let Me Be Lonely" also written by Bacharach and David also hit the Billboard Hot 100, one of many double sided hits Dionne recorded on Florence Greenberg's Scepter label. Dionne charted an astonishing eight Billboard Top Twenty hits in less than 30 months: Alfie-#15 July 67; I Say A Little Prayer-Nov 67-#4; Theme From Valley of the Dolls-Feb 68-#2 (4 weeks); Do You Know the Way to San Jose-May 68-#10; Promises, Promises-Oct 1968-#19; This Girl's In Love With You-March 1969-#7; You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling-#15-Sept 69; I'll Never Fall In Love Again-Jan 70-#6. In addition, Warwick hit the Top 40 in the same time period with Windows of the World-Sept 67, Who Is Gonna Love Me-July 68, and The April Fools-July 69. In 1969 Dionne was the first African-American Female Vocalist to win in the Grammy category Best Contemporary-Pop Vocal Performance, Female for Do You Know the Way to San Jose. "San Jose" was also used as the theme in Dodge automobile commercials in 1968 and 1969, for the Charger and the Challenger. "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" became "Dodge Is Turning Up the Fever Now"! Another note of trivia: the background vocalists for this session were Valerie Simpson (Ashford & Simpson), Cissy Houston and DeeDee Warwick. Writes Nick Tosches, the renowned writer, music journalist, novelist <b>...</b>


There was a time when music and lyrics, called jingles, would be specifically written for products advertised on TV.  Although there are still advertisers who hire songwriters to write specific music and lyrics for their particular product, many have switched to licensing popular songs to use in their TV ads.  This is because many people are already familiar with the music and lyrics of these songs, so an instant, pleasant association is created with the products being advertised.  These are a few of those songs.

"Rock and Roll" - by Led Zeppelin

Commercial:  Cadillac

When Led Zeppelin sold this song and its classic lyrics to Cadillac, many die-hard fans screamed, "SELLOUT!"  Especially because, until that time, Zeppelin had a strict anti-licensing policy regarding all of their songs and lyrics.  It was rumored that singer Robert Plant opposed licensing the song to Cadillac and was outvoted by guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones, although he stated in a Chicago Sun Times article that he thought the ad would be a great medium for exposing the song to a generation of new listeners who never tune in to classic radio.  Still, there are very few Zep fans who don't cringe when some kid refers to "Rock and Roll" as "The Cadillac Song."

"Revolution" - by The Beatles

Commercial:  Nike

"Revolution" was one of the first songs to set off the widespread licensing of song lyrics and music for TV commercials, and it also set off a huge uproar among Beatles' fans, who felt it disrespected John Lennon's memory, and his political beliefs.  Unfortunately, the surviving Beatles could not control their song performance rights, which were held by Capitol Records, or the rights to their lyrics and music, which were held by Michael Jackson.  Still the controversy was so fierce that Nike ditched plans to use Beatles songs in future TV ads.

"Lust for Life" - by Iggy Pop

Commercial:  Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines

A cruise line that advertises itself with the music and lyrics of a song about heroin addiction?  Now, that's REALLY freestyle cruising!  Royal Caribbean wanted to be associated with the song's upbeat tempo, and the lyrics of its chorus, which emphasize living life with gusto.  But it definitely didn't want to be associated with any questionable lyrics.  So the version used in the commercial begins with the lyrics, "Here comes Johnny Yen again," skips past "With the liquor and drugs/And the flesh machine/He's gonna do another strip tease," and jumps right to the chorus, "Lust for life."

"Baby Come Back" - by Player

Commercial:  Swiffer WetJet

The music and lyrics of this 1978 #1 hit were given new life in a Swiffer WetJet commercial.  A lover's lament, those lyrics, "Baby come back/You can blame it all on me/I was wrong/And I just can't live without you," are now being sung by mops that are apparently stalking women who've ditched them for the dapper and dashing Swiffer WetJet.  The mops try to woo the ladies back by crooning this song's lyrics, and sending them flowers and candy.  They may be housewives, but c'mon--they're not desperate!!



Merryl Lentz

Wedding Music: How Hard Can it be to Choose a Song for Your First Dance?

There was a time when couples had 'their song' and the decision of which track to use for the first dance at a wedding was a simple one. However, in the new millennium, this choice is not as easy as you might think for some couples. Whether this is due to a glut in good quality modern love songs and ballads is debatable, but with the growing popularity of hip hop, dance and house music, the likelihood of the newly-weds favourite song being at the right tempo and having appropriate lyrics, becomes more remote.

 

A quick search of U-tube will show you that this doesn't pose a problem for everybody, with plenty of comedy clips of elaborate 'first dances' to tracks like 'I Like Big Butts and I Cannot Lie'. However, such a theatrical approach is not to everyone's taste and a return to the more traditional ballads of the twentieth century is still very common. Indeed, out of the top ten songs rated by users of www.occasionsongs.com only one was written within the last ten years.

 

It may seem obvious, but having selected a track, a quick check of the lyrics and some research into the premiss of the song is well worth doing. For example, at first listen, Lou Reeds 'Perfect Day' might be regarded as particularly suitable, with a great tune, tempo and seemingly appropriate lyrics. However, if you dig a little deeper, you will find that many people suggest that this song was written about Lou Reeds heroine addiction. Even if it wasn't, the final line “you're going to reap just what you sow” isn't exactly the most romantic line ever.

 

Another classic song to be regularly misinterpreted is 'Every Breath You Take' by the Police. A quick google search will show you that this song is widely regarded as being about Stings break-up with his first wife (hardly a fitting sentiment for the first dance of a newly wed couple).

 

So how do you navigate your way through the pitfalls of choosing a song for the 'first dance' at your wedding, if you don't already have a suitable favourite? Well, if you can't face reading through the sleeve notes of your record collection, you can try some of the many internet sites offering suitable suggestions, such as www.occasionsongs.com , which as well as providing popular lists and song lyrics, also gives useful additional information about each song, allowing you to assess how appropriate it really is. If all else fails, you could just play safe and plump for an instrumental track instead (occasionsongs.com recommend Santana's Samba Pa Ti).

 



James Jackson


SYNOPSIS: Kabhi Kabhie is the story of a poet Amit (Amitabh Bachchan) and the beautiful Pooja (Rakhee). It is the story of how these two visualize a perfect future together. But destiny has other plans, as Pooja bows to the wishes of her parents and marries Vijay (Shashi Kapoor). Amit drifts away from his poetry in a futile and unsuccessful attempt to forget Pooja he marries Anjali (Waheeda Rehman). But just how picture perfect are Amit and Pooja�s lives? Some 20 years on� spanning over to the next generation, Pooja and Vijay�s son Vicky (Rishi Kapoor) and Anjali�s daughter Pinky (Neetu Singh) from a prior relationship, fall in love. A chain of events brings together old lovers as friends. Kabhi Kabhie is a love story of generations.

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