The Police Reunion Update

The Police are rehearsing in Vancouver (Vancouver?) and there is a possible appearance at The Grammys. Stink is going to screw this up...I just know it. Read more here.

Terd Nugent, Total Prick

When "Terd" Nugent -- affectionately known as the "Nooooge" by legions of imbeciles who mistake the Ultimate Fighting Championship cage for the rock stage -- isn't being a total racist asshole, do you think he just hangs out in a suvival bunker shooting flaming crossbow arrows at his freakish wife (and reading fan mail from ullimike)?

A letter to Van Halen - Reunited and it feels so...Bad?

Van Halen, Van Halen, Van Halen, *Sigh*...(I feel like a disappointed Mother). We've been waiting for a Van Halen reunited tour WITH ALL ORIGINAL MEMBERS for how long now? 23 years!? Ever since Van Halen 1984...One of the top 6 best albums in your Diamond David Lee Roth catalogue? (That's a joke folks...they're all great!) And now you've waited until the new millennium to try to put your differences aside only to reunite WITHOUT MICHAEL ANTHONY? ARE YOU PLUM FOCKING CRAZY? Don't answer that...

I'm sure Wolfie is going to do an amazing job at 15 and all...and yes I know I will be in the audience yelling over to my fellow Top 40 Music Sucks contributors/friends…"Damn for 15 that kid rocks!" But can a 15 year old drink 2 fifths of Jack Daniel's straight from the bottle, run around the stage with his Jack Daniel's bass and a bra on his head, panties hanging off his tuners, and pump out an ear splitting, drunken bass solo that will amaze and entertain the masses? Given our minimum drinking age of 21 and that Wolfie is not Michael Anthony that would make that a rhetorical question.

Now you will see in earlier posts that the members of Top 40 Music Sucks named Michael Anthony as one of the "Luckiest Musicians Ever" due to his lack of musical ability while being overshadowed in talent by you and your fellow band mates. But what he lacked in musical ability he absolutely made up for in stage antics and alcoholism. Let's face it…he was a part of the VAN HALEN all your fans know and love. In short, this can't be called a reuniting tour...it should be called "Another Reincarnation of Van Halen that Will Most Undoubtedly Fall Short of Expectations Tour".

Now, let's talk Van Halen psychology (a tough one to understand I know). I have a red hot burning question for you Van Halen brothers thats been stewing in my head for years. WHY THE HELL CAN'T YOU GET ALONG WITH YOUR BAND MATES? When Michael Anthony of all people, leaves to play with Sammy "The Red Rocker" Hagar, you have to ask yourself "What the hell am I doing wrong to piss off the luckiest musician alive?" I mean it's been nothing but teenage bickering and drama with you two brothers. I've felt like I've been watching a 23-year episode of The Real World. And it's ALWAYS the other guy...Dave's a freak (ok I agree with this one), Sammy's a jerk, Gary Cherone didn't sell, Michael Anthony is in Sammy's camp, and now you're going to expose your 15 yr old son and nephew too the rigors, sins, and possible mental abuse of a 40 stadium tour? You better start looking for a good drug, alcohol, and sexual abuse center NOW for that kid, not to mention a life long plan of therapy, Xanax, and Cymbalta. (Man, as I write this I'm actually getting a little worried for good ol' Wolfie who I haven't even seen, heard, or know...poor kid doesn't know what he's in for.)

AND LASTLY...What in THEE heck are you going to do when you get inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? (I predict an all out Van Halen brawl...That would be FANTASTIC wouldn't it? Diamond Dave gives Eddie a scissor kick to the chin while Michael Anthony smacks Alex over the head with a bottle of Jack...Anyone know who's in charge of SNL these days?)

Diamond Dave Lee Roth told Billboard last May, "I see it absolutely as an inevitability...to me, it's not rocket surgery. It's very simple to put together. And as far as hurt feelings and water under the dam, like what's-her-name says to what's-her-name at the end of the movie 'Chicago' -- 'So what? It's showbiz!' So I definitely see it happening."

(ROCKET SURGERY! WATER UNDER THE DAM! AAAAAAAHHHH...HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Holy crap have Diamond Dave's synapses completely folded or WHAT!?)

So, I'm going to leave you two one last question that will be on everyone's mind when the tour is announced..."How much are tickets?"

Grammy Awards Voting Process - Is it Biased?

Here is the 49th Annual Grammy Nominee List

I've always asked myself "How do they pick Grammy winners when there are so many other bands and artists out there who deserve the award more than a lot of the talentless (but marketable) musicians getting the golden record player?"

Well, I've looked into the process and would like to present it to you here (with comments of course). The explanation and FAQ's come directly from the The Academy's Awards & Nominations Committee on the grammy.com website. The comments are, of course, from me...Mahsheet Smelsrahbahd.

The object is to challenge The Recording Academy's mention that "The GRAMMYs are the only peer-presented award to honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position."

Why do I doubt their integrity? Because as a musician I doubt any integrity in the Music Industry...

The process begins with members and record companies submitting entries, which are then screened for eligibility and category placement. The Academy's voting members, all involved in the creative and technical processes of recording, then participate in (1) the nominating process that determines the five finalists in each category; and (2) the final voting process which determines the GRAMMY winners.

Submission

Recording Academy members and record companies enter recordings and music videos released during the eligibility year which they consider worthy of recognition in the GRAMMY Awards process.

FAQ: How are recordings entered?
The Academy accepts entries online. After registering with the Awards department, entrants are given information on how to electronically submit their recordings for consideration. Recordings can also be entered via mail.

What does "Registering with the Awards Department consist of?"

FAQ: What are the eligibility requirements?
For the 49th Annual GRAMMY Awards, recordings must be released between Oct. 1, 2005 and Sept. 30, 2006. Recordings must be in general distribution in the United States, i.e. sales by label to a branch or recognized independent distributor, via the Internet, or mail order/retail sales for a nationally marketed product.

Ok, so bands and artists must have a recording contract with a record label which has independent distribution in the United States. This eliminates all "do it yourselfers" or bands and artists who sell their own albums on the internet, at shows, or distribute themselves at their local record stores.

FAQ: Who can vote?
Recording Academy voting members only. Record companies do not vote.

See next FAQ.

FAQ: Who qualifies as a Voting Member?
Recording Academy voting members are professionals with creative or technical credits on six commercially released tracks (or their equivalent). These may include vocalists, conductors, songwriters, composers, engineers, producers, instrumentalists, arrangers, art directors, album notes writers, narrators and music video artists and technicians.

Aren't most of these folks hired, paid, and are representatives of the record company in an un-official way? Wouldn't it be in their best interest to help submit and vote for those artists who fall under the label that pays them? I'm a little iffy on this one.

Screening

Reviewing sessions by more than 150 experts in various fields are held to ensure that entered recordings meet specific qualifications and have been placed in appropriate fields such as Rock, R&B, Jazz, Country, Gospel, New Age, Rap, Classical and Latin, among others. The purpose of screenings is not to make artistic or technical judgments about the recordings, but rather to make sure that each entry is eligible and placed in its proper category.

Ok, no problem here. This is more of a Quality Assurance step.

Nominating
First-round ballots with lists of eligible recordings in all fields, except those voted on by special nominating committees, are sent to voting members who return their ballots to the independent accounting firm of Deloitte for tabulation. To help ensure the quality of the voting, members are directed to vote only in their fields of expertise; they may nominate in the four general categories (Record Of The Year, Album Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best New Artist) and in no more than nine out of 31 fields on their ballots.

Except those "voted on by special nominating Committees?" Who in are these "Special" nominating committees?

Special Nominating
Committees In craft and other specialized categories, final nominations are determined by national nomination review committees comprised of voting members from all of The Academy's Chapter cities.

Ok, an explanation of "special", but still too vague to to answer my question of who the "special" people are. Not to mention "Specialized categories". Why are these "specialties" separated from the rest of the Recording Academy voters? This needs more of an explanation.

Final Voting

Lists of the finalists are sent to voting members with their second round ballots. The finalists determined by the special nominating committees are also included on these lists. In this final round, Recording Academy members may vote in the four general categories and in no more than eight of the 31 fields. Ballots again are tabulated in secrecy by the independent accounting firm, Deloitte.

FAQ: How many categories are there?
The GRAMMY Awards includes 31 fields (Pop, Gospel, Classical, etc.) and 108 categories within those fields.

Again, with the "Special Nominating Committees", dammit, who are these people?

Results
Results of members' voting are not known until the GRAMMY Awards presentation ceremony when names of the winners are delivered by Deloitte in sealed envelopes. GRAMMY Award winners are revealed during the GRAMMY Awards telecast.

Well, there it is folks. Is a Grammy nomination subject to bias? You decide. Given the voting process listed above, it is clear that many bands and artist are excluded because:

1.) They don't want or need a record company to distribute their music. Should bands who have many fans and sell a good deal of albums on their own be shut out from being entered into the Grammys and the nomination process?

2.) They are subject to vague descriptions of who can vote leaving room for interpretation. Even though record companies can't vote, it seems there is a very good possibility to have contracted workers (engineers, producers, concert promoters, etc.) vote for musicians on that record companies label.

And lastly, just an observation. The Grammys receive a lot of revenue from advertising during the awards show. No big names= no revenue. You will notice that it's always the small musical genres and artists (i.e. Best Bluegrass, Best Producer, Etc.) get cut out of the show or get very small mention. Don't they deserve as much recognition? They are just as good or even better artists than many of the top categories (Pop, Rock, Hip-Hop). If this is to be an un-biased awards show, shouldn't the smaller categories get a chance to play live and accept their awards on live television? Is this a case of Money over Art?

To end on a good note (pun intended)...I would like to point out that The Grammy Foundation does a lot of good work with schools and their music programs to ensure music is a part of students lives. They also have another foundation called MusiCares which provides critical assistance to musicians in need. Good stuff...

SomaFM - Free Streaming Audio

I've been remiss in not posting this sooner. I listened to "indie pop rocks!" all day at work today. The good stuff.

http://somafm.com/



Soma FM is a free (donations keep the station alive - so donate!) streaming radio station in San Francisco with many very cool formats (see below):

Groove Salad
A nicely chilled plate of ambient beats and grooves.

Secret Agent
The soundtrack for your stylish, mysterious, dangerous life. For Spies and PIs too!

indie pop rocks
New and your favorite classic indie pop tracks.

Space Station Soma
Tune in, turn on, space out. Spaced-out ambient and mid-tempo electronica

Illinois Street Lounge
Classic bachelor pad, playful exotica and vintage music of tomorrow.

Beat Blender
A late night blend of deep-house and downtempo chill.

cliqhop idm
Blips'n'beeps backed mostly w/beats. Intelligent Dance Music.

Drone Zone
Served best chilled, safe with most medications. Atmospheric textures with minimal beats.

Boot Liquor
Back on SomaFM! Americana roots music for Cowhands, Cowpokes and Cowtippers.

Doomed
Dark and scary industrial-inspired music for tortured souls.

Tag's Trance Trip
Progressive house / trance. Tip top tunes.

Secret Machines - Ten Silver Drops

The Secret Machines sophomore effort "Ten Silver Drops" is, to make a long story short, simply amazing. The album is incredibly well constructed with moods and feelings that range in various forms of down trodden complexity to ultimate triumph that you just don't hear much these days.

As Brandon Curtis explains “We experienced a deconstruction of our personal lives. Coming home to a familiar setting and being alien to it created a sense of isolation from the people we’re close to. There were all these invisible barriers that were tough to reach through. So we ended up with songs like ‘Alone, Jealous, and Stoned’ and ‘Lighting Blue Eyes,’ about how our emotions propel us toward these conflicts and away from the people we love.”

Bands hungry to make music their life often tour incessantly (check out Secret Machines live @ Top of the Pops in order to gather enough exposure to pay the bills and in the end forgo many friendships and the closeness of family all for the love of making great music. It seems even though Brandon (bass, vox, and keywords) has his brother, Ben across the stage with him on guitar and drummer Josh Garza kicking out Bonham like beats... the drag of the road has once again produced a great album which leaves all rules of songwriting behind with the average song length clocking in over 5 minutes.

Brandon mentions “Some things are worth soaking in... If you think of music as a picture or a story, sometimes you want to be immersed in that world for a while. If we get something going, we enjoy the feeling that it gives us and want to let it spin. Just because it can’t be said fast, doesn’t mean it’s not valid.”

The Secret Machines have a streaming live video shot at Austin City Limits coming out soon. Make sure to check it out and go out and grab Ten Silver Drops (produced by Alan Moulder, who is known for his work with Nine Inch Nails & My Bloody Valentine)

New Layout!

Ok pretty much everyone responded to a new layour (which I agreed with).

So here it is....

Thoughts!?

New Layout????

Im kinda getting tired of this layout. Should I make a new one?

New Layout?
	Yes
	No
pollcode.com free polls

Trey Anastasio BUSTED! (Not for creating bad solo albums)

It seems Trey has a taste for pain & anti-anxiety pills, and hashish as he was busted in Albany, New York by the 5.0. Trey was allegedly swerving all over a rural road early morning on December 15th where the amount of drugs found on him may lead to a felony arrest and possibly a Grand Jury. It has also been rumored that Trey has a tenancy to dip into the big H bomb as well and was the reason for Phish's first break-up...purely rumor though.

Trey was quoted as saying he felt "terrible about what happened last night, and I am deeply sorry for any embarrassment I have caused my friends, family and fans."

That's ok Trey. We still love you. I think your last couple of solo albums may have embarrassed us more than this (oooh, I know it's a cheap shot, but dammit ain't it true?). We've all been there. We like the party as much as the next person. But dude, YOU HAVE THE MONEY FOR A LIMO DRIVER! Damn, if I've never understood why the rich and famous continue to drink (or drug in this case) and drive when they have plenty of money for a cab, or even a limo for jeez sakes. Dammit people...use your heads! Or better yet your wallets...

The Devil In "The Devil and Daniel Johnston"

While living in Austin for several years, I would regularly pass a mural on the side of a used record store on the Drag. The mural depicted nothing but a silly googley-eyed frog rendered in stick-figure cartoon minimalism, and a caption that read "Hi, How are you?" I always thought the owner of the record store just had a bad sense of humor. But after watching "The Devil and Daniel Johnston" -- a documentary about an unlikely cult figure who became the darling of Austin's in-crowd in the mid-80's -- I now know that I am supposed to regard that mural as a precious piece of urban art painted by an artistic visionary and musical genius. Street cred demands it: if the likes of Kurt Cobain, Thurston Moore, Moe Tucker, Ira Kaplan, and Gibby Haynes are drawn to him, then he must be a genius. Or, so it would seem from the legions of too-cool-to-be-hip hipsters and novelty-starved indie enthusiasts who have jumped on Johnston's bandwagon over the years.

But the praise lavished on him by these well-meaning folks strikes me as at least disingenuous, if not cruelly patronizing, because Johnston's is not a kind of music that people typically like: His lyrics are juvenile, his vocals are a high-pitched and nasal warble, and his guitar playing is clunky and amateurish. But Johnston is a sweet man who is haunted by severe mental disorders, so people want him to succeed. I just don't see how regarding him as a genius helps, any more than gawking at a car accident on the highway helps those in the wreck.

Then again, I never believed it when people said they "really" liked Wesley Willis's music either. I suspected that some people went to his shows for the cruel spectacle and others for street cred and novelty. But surely there are people compassionate enough to just *will* themselves into liking the music. I suppose I think the same about Johnston's fans.

Daughtry - AOL Sessions EP

I really wanna make a post of Daughtrys AOL Sessions Performances

so does anyone have their mp3s their willing to share

with the blog? Ill credit obvi

I already found "Home", but I need the rest.

thanks

-matt

"Do we need another Smashing Pumpkins record?" update

Check out Billy Corgan's latest blog entry on the Smashing Pumpkins MySpace page which gives a somewhat cryptic update of how the new album is coming along. The post starts off like this:

"Dear Beautiful Souls, Happy New Year to you! May 2007 prove to be a blessed year in every respect and every way...I send you every ounce of love I have in my heart...May the grace of Mother be with you...This year for us will see a new album of songs and a world tour of tears, and we truly look forward to playing again for fans young, old, and missed...So yes, tunes are being dusted off, while others are being asked to kindly submit to an upstart millennia and all it's asking..."

Thanks Billy. May your New Year be great and the grace of Mother be with you too (grace of Mother?). Anyway, it confirms we will definitely be seeing and hearing a new Smashing Pumpkins album this year. As you may have read in a previous post regarding the actual need for such an album, there were many issues which were pointed out about the band, their music, and their attitudes which frankly...bugged the living crap outta me. But this next part of Billy's post sort of made me believe that he is ready to put his ego aside and ROCK.

"God has absolutely blessed us in every respect...for many years there were private laments about opportunities missed and hearts so broken, but no more...we have turned the page and moved on, from places and faces, names and games...this age calls for resolve and certitude, and the fire within to burn ever bright...if that fire should be connected to absolutely deafening guitars, thundering drums, and the melodies of snakes, then so be it!"

I'm sure there are many skeptics out there like us here at Top 40 Music Sucks that are of the mindset "I'll believe it when I see it" but there are 10 times as many hard core Smashing Pumpkins fans anxiously awaiting this album.

Ok Billy, you did it...you got me backing down wanting to see, hear, and believe again. Turn it up to 11 and let's see what you got. Oh, when the hell are you going to actually announce who's in the band besides you and Jimmy?

The Police to get back together for 30th Anniversary of "Roxanne"?

Well folks...Never say never. The chances for a Police reunion tour have actually gotten much, much better as Sting, being the sole member of The Police historically against a Police reunion tour, is now actually considering it.

Rumors have started on many music websites such as billboard.com regarding plans for a possible reunion to celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Police's first single, "Roxanne" which broke The Police in the United States.

The following is an official statement (found on Sting's website) released on behalf of the band by a spokesperson at Interscope Geffen A&M Records:

"As the 30th anniversary of the first Police single approaches, discussions have been underway as to how this will be commemorated. While we can confirm that there will indeed be something special done to mark the occasion, the depth of the band's involvement still remains undetermined."

In other words...it's all up to what Sting wants to do. There have been many statements in the past from Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers which shows them as have always been open to a Police reunion.

This summer, Andy Summers told Billboard Magazine he was certain the group could have continued as a successful band long after its 1983 commercial peak with "Synchronicity."

"The more rational approach would have been, 'OK, Sting, go make a solo record, and let's get back together in two or three years,'" he said. "I'm certain we could have done that. Of course we could have. We were definitely not in a creative dry space. We could have easily carried on, and we could probably still be there. That wasn't to be our fate. It went in another way. I regret we never paid it off with a last tour. We snuck out the back door, which is what we were told to do, until it just became too frustrating to lie about it."

Copeland told Billboard.com "I'm very keen on it," talking about a potential Police reunion the day after the Rock Hall induction. "But I absolutely understand why it's not going to happen and I'm down with that. It was really great to be the Police for 15 minutes. If you can think of some other award we can go get or some other good reason, give me a call, and I'll try it out!"

So Sting...what do you say?

Anybody There?

Guys, I havent gotten any comments on anything for a while now? even just a thanks for whats up tells me somewhere, someone is reading and visiting. i always wanna hear from you guys

-matt

After Eleven Now Open

The official launch of After Eleven just opened!

After Eleven is the clothing brand that one of my

good friends makes, she designes all the apparel,

and my other friends made the entire website.

So please head over there and look around and

hopefully order some stuff, its great!

ok done with the marketing ;-)

-matt

http://afterelevenapparel.com

Happy New Year!

Holy shit its 2007!!! WOOO!!! haha

Hope all of you have an amazing new year.

Im looking forward to this being an amazing

year in music *cough*britney*cough*

Sorry about current dry period, its just theres

nothing special enough to post. Once I find something

you know Ill post it asap.

Happy New Year!

-matt