Friday, March 19, 2004
Has the whole world gone mad?
Man, it seems like it's going off throughout the whole world:
Afghanistan:
- The Pakistan military allegedy has Al-Qaeda "Number 2" Ayman al-Zawahri cornered in the Pakistan-Afghan border region (previously an area unpatrolled by the Pakistan military and left in the control of heroin dealing Afghan warlords, Al-Qaeda fugitives and their former Taliban patron stooges) but that's been the story for the last almost 24 hours so I'm not sure what the real deal is. (Washington Post)
Iraq:
- More bombings. (San Jose Mercury News)
and
- Iraq Suicide Bombs Killed 660: Thousands of people in Iraq have suffered from suicide bombings - a phenomenon unknown here until after the U.S.-led war toppled Saddam Hussein's regime nearly a year ago. (Associated Press)
Kosovo:
- U.S. Sends Troops to Quell Kosovo Violence. (Reuters)
and
Poland:
- Poland 'Misled' on Iraq, President Says and was considering withdrawing troops from Iraq several months early. (Associated Press)
Update:
- Polish leader: Troops stay in Iraq. (CNN International)
Blog alert: I've been referencing a few stories here and there from the politics 'n more Greater Nomadic Council group blog run by mallarme (as he just informed me) but it's been on fire recently with the posts so, rather than link to it every day in my posts, make the site part of your daily blog reading routine with the new permalink in the "Media & Politics" section of the sidebar at left. Here's a couple of tasters to give you some incentive though:
But CBS finally does something I can respect: Mel Karamzin Stands by [Howard] Stern in Decency Debate (New York Post)
Related:
- Viacom Pres. Mel Karamzin's apology and response to Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) regarding the Howard Stern segment that got Stern dropped by six Clear Channel stations has been rejected by Brownback.
The Senator's spokesman Brian Hart said that "the tone of the response, as well as Mr. Karamazin's testimony before the House Commerce Committee, seems like 'business as usual' instead of progressing toward upholding existing FCC regulations and working toward cleaning up our public airwaves." Racial slurs, one of which was uttered by a caller to Stern's show and was the basis for the Clear Channel filing, and removal of Stern from its stations, do not apparently fall under the definition of broadcast indecency. (All Access Net News, reg. required)
I used to hardly watch any TV (outside of firing up the box to get at some movies from Netflix) but now my Thursday nights are being blown out by The Apprentice (which had a mid-season catch up episode last night which was good for johnny-come-lately's like myself to get up on the whole story to date) followed by Making Da Band and Pimp My Ride on MTV. Networks, please leave the good TV to HBO so I can only waste my Sundays on this stuff.
Speaking of MTV though, here's some advance album previews courtesy of Viacom's finest:
- Usher's Confessions (via MTV)
- N*E*R*D's Fly or Die (via VH1)
And via earplug issue 18, an album that sounds interesting:
And check out my friend Osman Akan's installation of seven etchings that form a virtual sculpture at the ABC No Rio "Ides of March" art show opening tonight (March 19) at 156 Rivington, between Clinton and Suffolk from 7-10pm. The show runs through the 15th of April. For more details, click here.
Toy, an artist/musician aquaintance of mine is also having a gallery showing of her work in Harlem this weekend:
Saturday March 20
100 West 118th Street, Suite 2F
(at the corner of Lennox Ave.)
3-7pm
For more details, call Toy at (917) 806 1522
And some observations from this week's soundscan album chart:
- Chingy's album has sold more than the Black Album (2.4M vs. 2.16M) and is still outselling it now on week-by-week basis by a good 5000 units.
- Outkast has scanned 4.35 million which means it's probably been certified for at least 9 million units sold (since double albums count for 2 units each on Billboard and the RIAA certification stats).
- Black Eyed Peas have scanned 947K of their current album (and not one of them to a real hip hop fan, I bet).
- Anthony Hamilton is at 427K. People, please do yourelf a favor and cop this jawn. It's the best soul album this year. All you jokers who made India.Arie go platinum should be ashamed of yourselves for passing up on this album. And Kelis is only sitting at 441K sales of her album. Same goes for her, go cop that jawn as well: it's slightly more bohemian in sound than Hamilton's record but, point blank, it's incredible.
- Nelly's remix album has sold 752K and Murphy Lee's solo jawn has sold 629K. That tells you roughly how many suckers will buy anything they see on TV no matter how bad it is.
- Joe's album has sold 375K after 13 weeks. I haven't heard the album but my question is: how does that happen when you're a veteran artist with a track record of hit singles and albums and you have 50 cent & G-Unit on your first single?!
- Zero 7 drops to under 8000 sales this week for a 2-week total just shy of 18K. I'd say it's pretty much over for them unless they employ "the Moby strategy" and get a joint (or two) in a TV commercial or a soundtrack pronto. I'd love to say the album deserves to do much better but, while it's grown on me a little, it's really not all that. Air, their musical counterpart, don't seem to be anywhere on the Top 200 chart. Ditto for other hipster faves The Strokes while their counterpart, The White Stripes, have scanned 1.48 million units.
- Meanhwile, staying in hipster territory, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have limped to 206K units 6 weeks after finally making it onto the chart. So much for the MTV airplay the "Maps" video was (is?) getting. (Buzz "soul" artist Joss Stone is one position above them after a 9 week chart run so far with a 282K sales total.) Franz Ferdinand enters the chart at 164 with 7700 first week tally. Let's see how that improves when they get the Epic Records machine behind them, while the Von Bondies barely enter at 197 with 6400 pieces. I wonder how much of that is attributable to the press they got from their lead singer catching a whupping from Jack White?
- The Missy Elliot total after 16 weeks: 600K. Her sales actually went down 2K this week with all the hoopla around her big tour with Alicia Keys and Beyonce which just jumped off. Does the Emperor have no clothes?
- And all hail the king?: Slim Shady is sitting at 169 on the chart after 95 weeks with just over 9 million albums sold. Benzino: was you crazy thinking you could bring this kid down?!
Tweet
Afghanistan:
- The Pakistan military allegedy has Al-Qaeda "Number 2" Ayman al-Zawahri cornered in the Pakistan-Afghan border region (previously an area unpatrolled by the Pakistan military and left in the control of heroin dealing Afghan warlords, Al-Qaeda fugitives and their former Taliban patron stooges) but that's been the story for the last almost 24 hours so I'm not sure what the real deal is. (Washington Post)
Iraq:
- More bombings. (San Jose Mercury News)
and
- Iraq Suicide Bombs Killed 660: Thousands of people in Iraq have suffered from suicide bombings - a phenomenon unknown here until after the U.S.-led war toppled Saddam Hussein's regime nearly a year ago. (Associated Press)
Kosovo:
- U.S. Sends Troops to Quell Kosovo Violence. (Reuters)
and
Poland:
- Poland 'Misled' on Iraq, President Says and was considering withdrawing troops from Iraq several months early. (Associated Press)
Update:
- Polish leader: Troops stay in Iraq. (CNN International)
Blog alert: I've been referencing a few stories here and there from the politics 'n more Greater Nomadic Council group blog run by mallarme (as he just informed me) but it's been on fire recently with the posts so, rather than link to it every day in my posts, make the site part of your daily blog reading routine with the new permalink in the "Media & Politics" section of the sidebar at left. Here's a couple of tasters to give you some incentive though:
- Iraq on the Record: a report prepared at the request of Rep. Henry A. Waxman, is a comprehensive examination of the statements made by the five Administration officials most responsible for providing public information and shaping public opinion on Iraq: President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. Read the report here.After building up some unexpected goodwill with his surprise hit reality TV show The Apprentice, it's back to business-as-usual for "The Donald": Trump Seeks to Trademark 'You're Fired!' (Reuters)
- Bush: "our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over." (Onion)
But CBS finally does something I can respect: Mel Karamzin Stands by [Howard] Stern in Decency Debate (New York Post)
Related:
- Viacom Pres. Mel Karamzin's apology and response to Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) regarding the Howard Stern segment that got Stern dropped by six Clear Channel stations has been rejected by Brownback.
The Senator's spokesman Brian Hart said that "the tone of the response, as well as Mr. Karamazin's testimony before the House Commerce Committee, seems like 'business as usual' instead of progressing toward upholding existing FCC regulations and working toward cleaning up our public airwaves." Racial slurs, one of which was uttered by a caller to Stern's show and was the basis for the Clear Channel filing, and removal of Stern from its stations, do not apparently fall under the definition of broadcast indecency. (All Access Net News, reg. required)
I used to hardly watch any TV (outside of firing up the box to get at some movies from Netflix) but now my Thursday nights are being blown out by The Apprentice (which had a mid-season catch up episode last night which was good for johnny-come-lately's like myself to get up on the whole story to date) followed by Making Da Band and Pimp My Ride on MTV. Networks, please leave the good TV to HBO so I can only waste my Sundays on this stuff.
Speaking of MTV though, here's some advance album previews courtesy of Viacom's finest:
- Usher's Confessions (via MTV)
- N*E*R*D's Fly or Die (via VH1)
And via earplug issue 18, an album that sounds interesting:
Dirty Sound System Dirty Diamonds (Diamondtraxx)More music industry website action: CMU Online and their daily and weekly newsletters.
Paris-based producers and DJs Dirty Sound System became a hometown sensation last year when their Dirty Diamonds mix CD was a runaway hit despite being available only at the legendary boutique Colette. Now the album is getting a proper release, and its easy to understand why Parisians were so excited — the irresistible mix is a tongue-in-cheek, rock 'n roll twist on the floaty retro-future pop popularized by Air and their ilk. From the opening strains of "Angie" (the Rolling Stones' classic is given a vocodor once-over) to a score from horror flick director and composer John Carpenter to the classic Larry Levan mix of Grace Jones' "Pull Up to the Bumper," Dirty Diamonds makes space-age lounging cool all over again. (DJP)
And check out my friend Osman Akan's installation of seven etchings that form a virtual sculpture at the ABC No Rio "Ides of March" art show opening tonight (March 19) at 156 Rivington, between Clinton and Suffolk from 7-10pm. The show runs through the 15th of April. For more details, click here.
Toy, an artist/musician aquaintance of mine is also having a gallery showing of her work in Harlem this weekend:
Saturday March 20
100 West 118th Street, Suite 2F
(at the corner of Lennox Ave.)
3-7pm
For more details, call Toy at (917) 806 1522
And some observations from this week's soundscan album chart:
- Chingy's album has sold more than the Black Album (2.4M vs. 2.16M) and is still outselling it now on week-by-week basis by a good 5000 units.
- Outkast has scanned 4.35 million which means it's probably been certified for at least 9 million units sold (since double albums count for 2 units each on Billboard and the RIAA certification stats).
- Black Eyed Peas have scanned 947K of their current album (and not one of them to a real hip hop fan, I bet).
- Anthony Hamilton is at 427K. People, please do yourelf a favor and cop this jawn. It's the best soul album this year. All you jokers who made India.Arie go platinum should be ashamed of yourselves for passing up on this album. And Kelis is only sitting at 441K sales of her album. Same goes for her, go cop that jawn as well: it's slightly more bohemian in sound than Hamilton's record but, point blank, it's incredible.
- Nelly's remix album has sold 752K and Murphy Lee's solo jawn has sold 629K. That tells you roughly how many suckers will buy anything they see on TV no matter how bad it is.
- Joe's album has sold 375K after 13 weeks. I haven't heard the album but my question is: how does that happen when you're a veteran artist with a track record of hit singles and albums and you have 50 cent & G-Unit on your first single?!
- Zero 7 drops to under 8000 sales this week for a 2-week total just shy of 18K. I'd say it's pretty much over for them unless they employ "the Moby strategy" and get a joint (or two) in a TV commercial or a soundtrack pronto. I'd love to say the album deserves to do much better but, while it's grown on me a little, it's really not all that. Air, their musical counterpart, don't seem to be anywhere on the Top 200 chart. Ditto for other hipster faves The Strokes while their counterpart, The White Stripes, have scanned 1.48 million units.
- Meanhwile, staying in hipster territory, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have limped to 206K units 6 weeks after finally making it onto the chart. So much for the MTV airplay the "Maps" video was (is?) getting. (Buzz "soul" artist Joss Stone is one position above them after a 9 week chart run so far with a 282K sales total.) Franz Ferdinand enters the chart at 164 with 7700 first week tally. Let's see how that improves when they get the Epic Records machine behind them, while the Von Bondies barely enter at 197 with 6400 pieces. I wonder how much of that is attributable to the press they got from their lead singer catching a whupping from Jack White?
- The Missy Elliot total after 16 weeks: 600K. Her sales actually went down 2K this week with all the hoopla around her big tour with Alicia Keys and Beyonce which just jumped off. Does the Emperor have no clothes?
- And all hail the king?: Slim Shady is sitting at 169 on the chart after 95 weeks with just over 9 million albums sold. Benzino: was you crazy thinking you could bring this kid down?!
