analogue

So that will be 10PM UK time right?

Happy Birthday

I just ordered a Mic of amazon today so i'll probably be able to make it What program do you need to download to get into the podcast?

This is the kind of stuff the tabloids don't want people to see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqKWwLxjpHM Michael is a good person

You should check out the commenbts on the site too. http://www.ballerstatus.com/article/editor...s/2007/08/2994/ The Day Hip-Hop Lost Its Voice Published: Tuesday - August 21, 2007 Words by Lucy Diamonds Lately I've been wondering about the day hip-hop lost its voice, so this article is dedicated to seeking an explanation for what I like to call "the writers block era." What happened to good music and good songs? Where are all the good writers and good lyrics? Where's the poetry? The vision? The art? Why is it all so art-i-ficial now? DJ Shadow explained it best on his debut album, Endtroducing, released in 1996. There's a song called, "Why Hip-Hop Sucks In 96" and it's completely instrumental until the end, when the words "it's the money" ring out. Well, over a decade later, most hip-hop still sucks... and the reason is still the money. It's a known fact that record sales are at an all-time low, especially with the rap world rapidly plummeting. People who aren't even in the music business know that this industry is a sinking ship, struggling to barely stay afloat. What I'd like to offer in this article is a rescue boat, although I know most people will just continue to tread water, drowning in their ocean of arrogance. We read it all the time in interviews from artists, producers, media and executives, the word on everyone's lips is quite simply that records aren't selling like they used to; the industry is drying up. Sure, you can blame the internet and downloads and over-saturation, but while everyone is pointing fingers at everyone else in the assembly line, more and more records are being shipped back to the record labels as returns, or quietly forgotten and left to collect dust on the shelves. Nobody has an answer for all this, just an excuse with a different kind of blame attached to it. WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!! I'll tell you the reason why record sales are at an all-time low, and trust me, it's very simple. It's you! You are the reason! I am the reason. We are ALL the reason. Anyone who claims to be an artist, or creates music in some form, is the problem with the industry today. Think about it... "Record sales." What is a record sale? Who makes the records? We do! We are the creative force behind every product sold. So if our products don't sell, we aren't doing OUR job. Quit blaming the internet. We're already learning to capitalize off of digital sales, and every other retailer (not just music oriented) is booming from global internet sales. The real problem is that most artists aren't making good records anymore -- the product is just not good, especially in hip-hop. For the most part, hip-hop has become over commercialized with too many businessmen trying to pretend to be artists who think they know what the consumer wants. Most of your music isn't good, it's just catchy enough to get you a very short-lived paycheck, and as a self-indulgent businessman, that's all you are really concerned about. Congratulations, you've just conformed to the mentality of nearly all of these narcissistic industry executives. But with everyone's greed blinding them, they don't notice that these temporary cash cows only hurt in the long run. There are too many hands in the pot and no chance for longevity of either the product or its meager revenue. Shouldn't there be a much greater significance to this culture's power of expression than a product's first week sales? Why do the labels want to coerce artists to dumb down for an audience that now complains about the lack of substance? It's just these business-minded corporations won't give anything a chance and put in the necessary diligence to stand behind something they believe in. But as history shows, the only people who last in this business are the ones too afraid to take risks, so they just sit around, sweating bullets every time one of these labels merges with another, and most people are left searching for other jobs anyway. Risk is not rewarded the way it used to be, which is why if the industry won't pick up on good music, artists have no reason to make it. And that's where the truly big problem is... When I worked with Bruce Swedien (Quincy Jones' partner -- and one of the most successful men in the history of recorded music) he told me that when he, Michael Jackson, and Quincy Jones were working on Thriller, (which just happened to become the best selling album of all-time) the music industry at that time in 1982 was at another all time low. Kids weren't buying records then; they were going to the new video game arcades and spending money on those stand-up, coin-operated games, not on music. Epic Records was nervous that Thriller wouldn't sell very well, so Quincy Jones and Bruce Swedien's theory was, "let's drive people back into the record stores." And they did... at a record breaking level. Listen people, we can do that again. People say you can't sell millions of records like you could in the past, and here I am asking "Why not?" I believe that right now, you could seriously sell more records than ever! With the digital technology of today and all the different mediums of distribution, you can have a blockbuster of a release. You can hit literally every country now, and do it as easily as with the click of a mouse. Only a few years back, when record sales were booming you couldn't reach the amount of people that you can today. Impulse buying for music should be through the roof with ringtones, iTunes, Myspace, etc. We are set up now with music distribution in so many areas that we never even dreamed of, and yet, we are at an all-time low? Come on, now... Quit making excuses and make some good music. The music IS the most important thing in the music business, and that is why even in the term "music business" the music must come before the business. But people are steadily placing the business first, which is why the industry is suffering -- too many egos, too much "business music." All these executives are forgetting it's the music that pays their salaries, vacations, mortgages, car payments, perks and affords them everything. Everything stems from the music. And yes, the game has evolved. The money has evolved and the opportunities have evolved. Hip-hop's evolution has mostly been into capitalism, not into art, and that's truly sad. Artists need to stop claiming to be real and actually start being real artists. Being real doesn't require a marketing plan. But this sort of development will never happen until hip-hop can stop asking "what can I make?" and start asking "what can I make happen?" We've got to stop acting as individuals and work for the greater good of music. So help spread the word. Print out this article and hand it out to people. Hang it up in your offices and recording studios. Pass it around and forward this through your email and let other people know about what we are facing and how we can help the outcome. Let's breathe some life back into this wonderful art we call hip-hop and this right to expression we call music. We need to protect it and it's all up to us. We as artists need to take back the music this business has robbed us of and let some real artists make some real music! If hip-hop really means more to you than a paycheck, then treat it that way! Preserve it! YOU can make a difference and help hip-hop get its voice back! For more info on Lucy Diamonds, visit Myspace.com/OfficialLucyDiamonds. The views expressed inside this editorial aren't necessarily the views of BallerStatus.com or our staff.

I agree. Co-writting and ghost writting are two different things and i do wish that Will would write songs by himself but a co-writter is better than a ghost writter

Who cares if FP isnt on that list. Like he says it isnt about the money it's about the artistry

Does anyone have the interview of Will on Inside the actors studio?

I know that the TV show went downhill a few years back but now the show is really improving again. Season 18 was a great season Oh and Maggies first word was ''Daddy''

Yes it did

Cool It was great to see Will say some nice things about Michael Jackson instead of doing the usual cheap shots that alot of other people would do

I was flicking through the music channels and on the channel B4 (For those of you who don't know what it is it's a channel in the UK that shows all the latest music videos) and Summertime was on there but it had an extra beat added onto it so it was kind of like a remix So is Summertime being re-released?

Yeah, i'm not a huge Kayne fan but i will definatly support him if it means the end of 50 Cent

50's singles arnt making any noise? BRILLIANT!!!! This may be the start that will end all this crap rap that's out now. It won't get rid of it compleatly but it's a step in the right direction

Pretty interesting video (Well i think it is anyway lol) http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/66

Happy Birthday Brakes!!!

I just liked that comment better lol and i allready knew about that Rick Roll thing (whether or not you want to believe me is another thing) but i was just holding on to false hope that maby Maxfly had made a mistake

Errrr i knew that

Why does the link keep taking me to that ''Never gonna give you up'' song? If this is a joke then it's a very cruel joke lol

I just saw The Simpsons movie and it was amazing. Really funny and it was just like the old classic episodes.

It says File not found and i couldn't find it on i-tunes either

Part 1 http://youtube.com/watch?v=qJqvHBxc9R0 Part 2 http://youtube.com/watch?v=nl_FQ-3wDg0&amp...ted&search=

Great interview but i wish that interviwer would shut up and let Jeff speak and i really wish he would stop saying ''mmm'' every 5 seconds.

I was only 3 at the time

Anything the media says about any celebrity i'd take with a pinch of salt. After all these are the same people who said that Michael Jackson sleeps in an oxygen tank lol