Father Bieber?

Justin Bieber made the headlines this week.
Okay so he makes news it seems on the weekly basis, but I don't think he sought to create this kind of attention. A woman claimed to have given birth to Justin Bieber's child three months ago, and this blew up on the internet.
If you haven't heard the story, in a nutshell, this is what she claims. After a concert in October in Los Angeles, the woman, Mariah Yeater, maintains she had sex with Bieber in a backstage bathroom. In July she gave birth to a child she says could only have been Bieber's, since she didn't have sexual relations with anyone else at that time. Bieber has expectedly denied the allegations this morning on The Today Show, and stated that it "just comes with the territory of fame," and has never met her before.
First of all, I don't believe JB when he says the encounter never happened, because who remembers all of his sexual conquests when he's probably already slept with dozens if not hundreds of women, especially when you're one rich and famous fella.
I certainly don't buy her story one bit either. She apparently had a run-in with her ex-boyfriend and his new partner prior to Christmas last year. So maybe, just maybe she fabricated the whole story to buy herself a new life with the almighty dollar. Still, you have to be one desperate person to go through the whole process of filing a lawsuit and having your past drug through the media like you're someone important...like Justin Bieber...hmmm...I smell another person seeking their quarter hour in the spotlight.

Top Albums For The Week

Evanescence debuted atop the Billboard charts this week with their eponymous third album with sales of 127,000. Despite its number one position, it is quite a steep decline from their previous effort, The Open Door, which garnered first week sales of a whopping 447k.
Adele has been on the charts for 34 weeks but is selling at an unprecedented rate in today's market. Her 21 album sold 111,000 this week and has been no lower than number 5 on the charts for her entire run.
Five Finger Death Punch enters the chart at number 3, which is an improvement over their last album which peaked at #7 in 2009.
American Idol winner Scotty McCreery is holding strong as he drops just three places with 88k sold in his second week on the Billboard chart. However he still holds the #1 spot on the Country Albums chart.
Meanwhile, Lauren Alaina, who finished second behind McCreery in the AI voting, dropped her debut last week and finished behind the winner again with sales of 69,000 of her Wildflower album.
The rest of the top 10 goes like this:

6. Tony Bennett Duets II  55k
7. Ryan Adams Ashes & Fire  49k
8. Lady Antebellum Own The Night  47k
9. Lil Wayne Tha Carter IV  45k
10. Martina McBride Eleven 40k

Soulja Boy Going His Own Way

Rapper Soulja Boy was arrested today in Georgia after found marijuana, pistols, and cash inside their Escalade. Him and his entourage were booked in the Carroll County jail.
So the downward spiral for the young rapper continues after offending Army soldiers in a tasteless song that seemed to translate into an anti-war rant. Before that it was reported that he bought some outrageously expensive jet but supposedly that turned out to be false.
My take is this: Soulja Boy is a one hit wonder who received fame after posting "Crank That" and the silly dance from that song. He's desperately trying to seek attention since no one really gives two "you know what" about him anymore, or maybe he's just another thug who doesn't seem to understand that the people you hang with can cause you more harm than good when his fortunes turned his way.
Sadly he will end up in jail and even if he decides to record again, will anyone still care.

What Has Happened To Best Buy

I just want to take the time to express my opinion on the state of affairs for the once desirable Best Buy store. It's just not what it used to be and it makes me sad to even write this.
I moved to Columbus back in 1999 and it was in that period that I walked into a Best Buy for the very first time. First of all, I was struck by the sheer size of the store. It looked more like a warehouse to me. After I got past that initial shock, I noticed the rows upon rows of CD's and that's when I realized I was in heaven.
I remember that you could find any CD you were looking for and it didn't seem to matter how obscure you thought the artist was. It was there.                                                                                                              I understand it's become more of an online business now with these same CD's being shipped back to their warehouses to be distributed through online orders. This disappoints me greatly since I do very little shopping online because guess what, I don't want to pay shipping and handling charges. I'd rather walk in browse around until I find what I'm looking for, pick it up, and walk to the cashier. Hell, I might even make an impulse buy while I'm at it.
Now, their CD selection is two ten foot rows of pop rock, less than a row of country, about a half row of rap, and a half row combined of soundtracks and greatest hits of the decade packages.
Even their DVD/BlueRay section is bad considering how much the selection has grown. It's no wonder people aren't frequenting the now former retail giant, which is struggling now due to a stubborness to not lowering their prices, which are ridiculous, and the struggling economy.
So I leave with one final word: Best Buy, if you really want to turn things around, why don't you at least start conducting your business based upon your name.

Foster The People Foster Promise

Torches is the debut release for Foster The People released on May 23 this year. The trio consist of lead singer Mark Foster along with bandmates Mark Ponitus and Cubbie Fink. Foster hails from Cleveland and has been recording music since he was a kid, but when he met his other future bandmates in Los Angeles, the seed was planted and grew quickly when they wrote "Pumped Up Kicks" and put it on the internet. Soon after they got themselves a record deal.
It's pretty easy to write these guys off as one hit wonders, but lest we forget "Don't Stop" garnered a spot in  a commercial and listening to the album was quite a surprise for the skeptic in me that identified their songs as rather hipster-ish, and a little too lo-fi for my taste. Well I was wrong. FTP is essential summer music infusing catchy synth beats and computer wizardry to create something different for the masses and kudos to this trio in making it work. When I first heard "Pumped Up Kicks" I didn't think it would catch on, but it did, and the rest of the album is no snoozer with nary a ballad to be found. Just some feelgood, uptempo tunes that will no doubt get some attention once the Grammys noms are announced later this year.
I give them an 8 out of 10.<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/music" rel="tag"><img style="border:0;vertical-align:middle;margin-left:.4em" src="http://scm-l3.technorati.com/static/img/pub/icon-utag-16x13.png?tag=music" alt=" " />music</a>

New Release Tuesday

Hello again music fans! I'm just guessing but it should be a better than average sales week in music. Some notable rock releases today include the first album in five years from Evanescence, whose original lineup has shrunk to just lead singer Amy Lee, who really was the only recognizable face to begin with. Also out today is Five Finger Death Punch's third effort which will definitely duke it out with Evanescence for sales supremacy this week. In the Country landscape, newcomer and American Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina debuts her long player today along with veteran songbird Martina McBride with her aptly titled album. Here are their albums which were released today along with a few other notables.

Evanescence Evanescence
Ryan Adams Ashes and Fire
Lauren Alaina Wildflower
Five Finger Death Punch American Capitalist
Bjork Biophilia
Joe Jonas Fastlife
Martina McBride Eleven

Jury Still Out on X Factor

I've watched American Idol since it premiered in 2002 with Kelly Clarkson walking away a winner, with the exception of the season in which Ellen Degeneres was a "judge". I guess I still watch it for the new crop of talent that arrives each year making it seem fresh and new.
I am still undecided after watching a couple audition shows of X Factor whether I am interested in yet another singing competion show.
To me it seems like a cross between AI and that other show that debuted earlier this year, The Voice. After the auditions X Factor puts the contestants that passed their auditions into a boot camp in which the judges will narrow the glut of people down to 32 and divide them up, which compares to The Voice where the judges picked who they wanted to work with, which is exactly what the 4 judges on X Factor(Simon, Paula, Randy...er L.A., and Nicole) will do when that number becomes 32.
So far XF has not had the gaudy numbers that AI put up, but it has the potential to be a thorn in their side, even though it doesn't look like they will be going head to head...yet.
The wanna-be multi-millionaire recording artists are likable for the most part. I mean you get a wide range of personalities and characters, as you would with any other group, but I am interested in getting to know these people more in the coming episodes.
Even though Factor has its parallels with Idol, it is beginning to distinguish itself as a show that can keep the Idol fanbase who were no doubt bummed when Simon left before last season, and next week's boot camp scenerio will at least keep me tuned in...at least for now.

New Release Tuesday

Here's just a small sampling of CD's that were released today.
The Whole Love  Wilco
Chickenfoot III  Chickenfoot
Neighborhoods  Blink 182
Nevermind (2CD Deluxe Edition)  Nirvana
The Hunter  Mastodon
Lady and Gentlemen  LeAnn Rimes
Sweetheart of the Sun  The Bangles
Vice Versus  Switchfoot
Kicking and Screaming  Sebastian Bach
Yeah I know what you're thinking. I didn't know The Bangles were still together either. Anyway, if you're a fan of these bands make sure you go out and buy their CD(the one you can actually hold in your hands),but even if you didn't already, you're planning on it because that's what true fans do.  

Lady Gaga's "Edge of Glory" is a winner.

I admit it. I am a fan of Lady Gaga. Ok, so I am not one of her "little monsters", as she calls her fans, nor am I gay(not that there's anything wrong with that). However, after about four or five listens to her new album "Born This Way", it has become quite clear to me that her best song on the disc sits at the end.
When I first heard "Edge of Glory I was struck by how over the top it seemed and reeked of 80's pretentiousness, but I realize that's just why it's so darn good. Her album is chock full of songs that could be hits in each of the last four decades, and "Edge of Glory" has a beautiful melody and memorable hooks that make it a timeless piece of work.
I am a sucker for her interjections and stuttering nonsense that stick in your head and has become her trademark. You won't find any nonsense in this song but you will discover a seriousness that she employs and succeeds with a straight-forward approach apparent here: There aint no reason you and me should be alone. And then comes the cherry on top: ...toniiiiight yeah baby, toniiiiight yeah baby. Then the rest is...let's just say glorious.
As I write this review, I have already heard the song featured as theme music at sporting events and television shows, which have obvious drawbacks, but this gem will be heard on the radio and various other mediums for years to come.

We just better get used to it. I already have.