Global Underground 4 is a compilation of progressive house, tech house, and some old school progressive house hits. Some of the songs are rather too techy and boring for my tastes, but other songs are good dance-floor-fillers. This is what you would expect from a compilation with over 50 songs: some good, some blah. And yes, I said over 50 songs. The best part is that it comes unmixed and as a mixed version together, for a pretty good price. So that right there is worth buying, even though only about a fifth of the songs really stand out. Also check to see if you already have the songs first, not like me (and now I have a few duplicate songs).
Top Songs: Sebastian Ingrosso - Laktos; Gui Boratto - No Turning Back; Faithless & Cass Fox - Music Matters (Mark Knight Remix)
3 out of 5
6.30.2009
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DJ Mix Review: Global Underground 4 |
6.28.2009
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Transformers Takes Over The Weekend |
With no surprise, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen dominated this weekend, transforming about $112 million at the box office and making just over $200 million in five days (second, only behind The Dark Knight). But we'll have to wait and see if this movie has legs to match Christopher Nolan's comic book escapade.
Pixar's Up now claims the top spot, as the highest grossing movie of the year with over $250 million. However, with the juggernaut that is Transformers, I presume it will soon relinquish its title.
Weekend Estimates:
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: $112 million ($201.2 million total)
The Proposal: $18.5 million ($69.1 million total)
The Hangover: $17.2 million ($183.2 million total)
Up: $13 million ($250.2 million total)
My Sister's Keeper: $12 million ($12 million total)
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Pros: Sequel to $700 million plus debut movie. Has a major built in audience. Already made $16 million at midnight screenings... a bit behind The Dark Knight's $18.5 million and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith's $16.9 million.
Cons: Poor, poor, reviews...Rotten Tomatoes currently sits at 21%. Almost every critic is taking pop shots at it. This Transformers sequel looks like a replica of the first, just more visual effects and repetitive action.
My Sister's Keeper
Pros: Very different target audience from Transformers. Looks like a heart felt ethical morality tale.
Cons: Needs strong word of mouth to sustain being overshadowed by that robot movie.
My Predictions:
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: $95 million
The Hangover: $17 million
The Proposal: $14 million
Up: $14 million
Year One: $9 million
6.21.2009
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Sandra Bullock is back on Top |
This weekend, two new movies battled out what was left of The Hangover and Pixar's Up. And it actually turned into a pretty strong one as Sandra Bullock's The Proposal led the way taking in almost $35 million. And while the other new contender, Jack Black and Michael Cera's stone age comedy, Year One, garnered horrid reviews, still managed to rake in $20 million.
Weekend Estimates:
The Proposal: $34.1 million ($34.1 million total)
The Hangover: $26.9 million ($153 million total)
Up: $21.3 million ($224.1 million total)
Year One: $20.2 million ($20.2 million total)
The Taking of Pelham 123: $11.3 million ($43.3 million total)
Overview:
The Proposal
Pros: Sandra Bullock's money maker is the romantic comedy genre, looks appealing to the older female market.
Cons: We've seen this movie before, many-ah-times.
Year One
Pros: Funny man Jack Black and Michael Cera seem to be doing well lately.
Cons: Will their star power be enough for the stiff competition from The Hangover?
My Predictions:
Year One: $26 million
The Hangover: $21 million
Up: $20 million
The Proposal: $18 million
The Taking of Pelham 123: $12 million
6.17.2009
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10 Most Annoying Songs On The Radio, Summer 2009 |
It's Summer, and I actually thought it would be hard to find ten more songs on the radio that are annoying. However, here we are and I have found them. So without further adieu, here are the songs on the radio that make me want to change the station or listen to my iPod.
10) Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Zero
What? I'm sure a lot of you indie fans are pissed off. But let me state that I did like the song when I first heard it. However, I got tired of it quickly because every time she hits the note during the line "you're zero... hero... to go" it just bugs the hell out of me.
9) Britney Spears - If You Seek Amy
This is one of those songs they stuck through a machine. However, it is way too catchy and by the time you want to change the station you've already listened to the entire song.
8) Jeremih - Birthday Sex
This song is actually quite funny.
7) Jamie Foxx - Blame it
What I don't understand, and I know that it is the hot thing to do in pop music these days, but Jamie Foxx can actually sing... So really, does he need to use auto-tune to effect his voice?
6) Flo Rida - Sugar
I actually like parts of the song. However, the part I don't like is the sample of that annoying Blue song from Eiffel 65. It's a risk, but a risk I wish they left out.
5) Kristina DeBarge - Goodbye
Umm... Am I at a sporting event or something? Goes "na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye." really?
4) Plain White T's - 1 2 3 4
Oh man... I'm too old for this..
3) The Veronicas - Take Me on the Floor
I guess I'm not a teenage girl.
2) Black Eye Peas - I Gotta Feeling
This song actually starts off great; good melody and nice basslines. This is all thanks to the teaming up with French producer David Guetta (What? Cool... I know). However, once the rap vocals enter, it sounds like a totally different song... not in a good way. It only gets worse in the bridge when they echo every last word as if it's supposed to be cool. Guetta's own remix is better as it only leaves in the good parts.
1) Glee Cast - Don't Stop Believing
I actually have not heard this on the radio yet. Hopefully it wont come to it. I've seen the TV commercial for that TV show and it made me change the station and not ever want to see the show. Thanks for ruining a classic Journey song.
5 most Annoying Songs on the Radio, Spring 2010
10 Most Annoying Songs on the Radio, Spring Edtion 2009
6.16.2009
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Album Review: Kings of Leon - Only By The Night |
Kings of Leon's latest album Only By The Night, is the band's most successful album to date. With radio overplayed-songs like Use Somebody and Sex on Fire, I'm pretty sure you've heard of them by now.
As for the album, if you do like those two songs mentioned, then you'll most likely like it also. I liked Sex on Fire when it first came out, but soon became very overplayed here... only to be followed by Use Somebody. And I rarely listen to the radio. And apparently they are huge in the UK as compared to the USA, since they are a US band.
Anyways, what I like about Kings of Leon, is the instrumentation and the music they produce; it sounds ethereal and very different from any Southern rock band in their genre. However, my only caveat, albeit a major one, is that the lead singer's voice hits that raspy note which gets on my nerves from time to time. And an entire album of that, made for a hard listen through.
Top Songs: Closer, Sex on Fire
2.5 out of 5
For Tour Dates and more info Click Here.
6.15.2009
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Movie Review: The Hangover |
Synopsis: Four friends arrive in Vegas for a bachelor party... Three of them wake up the next day in a trashed hotel suite, hung over, not remembering a thing and find the groom missing.
Pros: Very funny. This year's breakout comedy. A very quotable movie.
Cons: Not much thinking required... but who cares.
Overview: The Hangover is a funny movie. It is certainly this year's unexpected hit, and it has a little bit of raunch, so deserves it's "R" rating.
4 out of 5
The Hangover
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha
Directed By: Todd Phillips
Running Time: 100 min.
Budget: $35 million
6.14.2009
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The Hangover Hangs on to the Top Spot |
The Hangover dropped only about 26% this weekend as it remained in the top spot, narrowly edging out Pixar's Up. Denzel Washington's and John Travolta's The Taking of Pelham 123 came in third, as Eddie Murphy's Imagine That came in 6th with about $6 million (proving to be another disappointment for the once bankable star).
Will Ferrell's Land of the Lost continues to slip, which now makes it tough, for the rumored $100 million budgeted movie, to make it's money back.
Weekend Estimates:
The Hangover: $33.4 million ($105.4 million total)
Up: $30.5 million ($187.2 million total)
The Taking of Pelham 123: $25 million ($25 million total)
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: $9.6 million ($143.4 million total)
Land of the Lost: $9.2 million ($35 million total)
The Taking of Pelham 123
Pros: Star factor (Denzel Washington and John Travolta) along with director Tony Scott providing a thrilling action movie remake in the midst of big-budget special-effects-driven summer movies.
Cons: A non-big-budget special-effects-driven summer movie may get lost in the shuffle. Although, it is rumored to cost $100 million to make.
Imagine That
Pros: A family pic that you can take the kids to.
Cons: Outside of a certain Dreamworks animated franchise, Eddie Murphy hasn't exactly been golden with the box office.
My Predictions:
Up: $28 million
The Hangover: $24 million
The Taking of Pelham 123: $22 million
Imagine That: $16 million
Land of the Lost: $9 million
6.09.2009
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Cool Video: The Beatles - Rock Band Intro |
Here is a cool video made for the new Rock Band game that features music from The Beatles. It was featured at this year's E3 and is directed by Pete Candeland the animator of the Gorillaz shorts.
6.08.2009
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Album Review: M83 - Saturdays = Youth |
Electronic, Dream Pop, is how Wikipedia describes the music of the French band M83. I can't really explain it either, except that it is ethereal and ambient (although some songs have a rolling drum beat). It includes soft spoken lyrics over loud instruments and the heavy use of reverb. They remind me a bit like Air, a bit like Sigur Ros, and maybe at times like MGMT's more ethereal moments.
I am actually quite surprised that I like this album. It is ambient and very much indie sounding, I thought I'd probably find it a bore. However, it is a great album that sets you in a state of trance. And the more you listen to it the better it gets. Definitely one of the better albums I've listened to in a while.
Top Songs: Kim & Jessie; Skin of the Night; We Own the Sky
4.5 out of 5
For more M83 info and tour click here.
6.07.2009
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The Hangover On Top of Up |
Will Ferrell's big budget remake, Land of the Lost, surprisingly, did not take first place this weekend, as The Hangover, also unexpectedly, took the top spot as it only had Pixar's Up in its way. Land of the Lost didn't even place second... more like third, garnering almost a disappointing $20 million, when many analysts predicted it to make over $40 million. Oh well...
Weekend Estimates:
The Hangover: $45 million ($45 million total)
Up: $44.1 million ($137.2 million total)
Land of the Lost: $18.8 million ($18.8 million total)
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: $14.6 million ($127.3 million total)
Star Trek: $8.3 million ($222.7 million total)
My Predictions:
Land of the Lost: $52 million
Up: $43 million
The Hangover: $15 million
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: $14 million
Drag Me to Hell: $10 million
6.03.2009
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9 Things I've learned in my first year of Blogging. |
Wooo!
This month marks the one year anniversary of the greatest website blog ever: Motion Select, of course. Thank you to all those that have come across this blog and read a few things here or there. And speaking of things, yes things... here are the 9 things that I have learned over the course of the year:
1) There is no money in blogging.
Really, mostly everything has been written about and there is already a blog out there. And yes, I've read books on blogging and have visited the many posts from problogger and copyblogger, but really, it's a job to make money from blogging.
2) It's tough keeping up with a blog.
It is quite hard to keep posting items when you have a job and many other things going on in your life. It's also tough coming up with article ideas and concepts... that takes some time.
3) Analytics is the way to go.
I used to post more items, but due to the fact that I a lot of my posts were news items from other websites (even though I found them interesting), it didn't really bring people to my site. So that's why, if you noticed, I have done a way with a lot of that, especially random movie-news type of stuff.
4) Digg and Stumble Upon.
These are great sites to get your articles noticed. However, don't expect lots of people to click your ads. The good thing about these sites is that the people actually take time to read your articles even though they don't care for ads. Which I'm okay with, since people are actually hitting up my site. I've personally gotten way more people from Stumble Upon than Digg. And I've also learned that Digg's ratings can spike high very quickly, but it also gets buried really quickly. Stumble Upon usually comes back once in a while.
5) Post your own posts.
All the posts that I have come up with myself have done ten times better than the others. So look for more fun lists and experience related type of posts in the future.
6) More posts doesn't mean more attention.
Like I said earlier, now that I am posting less I've gotten more hits. It's because of what I've posted not how much I've posted.
7) People Love Dropping F-Bombs.
Just for the hell of it. It's true and it's funny. You know what I am talking about... people love to flame whatever posts you write.
8) Don't take it too Personally.
I'm sure you've seen people who get all fired up because an opinion differs from their own. Although, it does make for good readership.
9) You should do this for fun.
It does take time out of your life, and unless you devote all your time in trying to figure ways to make money from it, blogging should be something that you like to do. Many people, it seems, try to make money at something they don't want to do because they thought it would be easy.
6.02.2009
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Cool Video: Philips Carousel Commercial |
The next step in the bullet-time Matrix effect. Lots of work and very cool video. Check it out. Directed by Adam Berg. They also have a making of video below...