Obama's Got Jokes

A couple of weeks ago, President Obama traded jokes with Jay Leno at the 2010 White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington, D.C. Check it out, Obama's got some jokes and most of them are better than Leno's (but then again, whose aren't?) He was in top form and a joking CoCo supporter as evident by a couple of one-liners.

I'm also glad that I'm speaking first. because we've all seen what happens when someone takes the timeslot after Leno's

-President Obama

Bass Thumpin' Thursdays

Today, I bring to you an assortment of music that has been coursing through my head, as well as my car and computer speakers. First up is a new song by British artist Wiley. This addictive dance/ rap track has infected me since I first heard it and reminded me of the song it sampled: White Town's Your Woman. White Town's original featured a sampled trumpet line taken from "My Woman" by Al Bowlly, therefore Wiley's Song is a sample of a sample. Don't be dismissive however, because Wiley makes great use of the source material. This pulsing track is an excellent lesson on how to use a sample that's rarely been used to make an entirely new compilation. Too often producers try to use the same samples that have been shown to be tried and true hits. They follow the reasoning that if a song sold 10 million copies, they can nab a percentage of that original song's fan base. Regardless, here is my first pick, as well as the sampled source material from the 90's.

Wiley Ft. Emeli Sande - Never Be Your Woman

White Town - Your Woman

Next up is another act that's gaining popularity in the UK, Serbian DJ Gramophonedzie. Aside from being a DJ, Gramophonedzie (real name Marko Milicevic) studied Sound Design at Belgrade University, in Serbia. He has made music for many video commercials, shows, films and produced projects of some major hip-hop groups in Serbia as well as the theme for the Balkan version of Big Brother. He is definitely an act to watch and we wish the best for Gramophonedzie when and if he decides to drop a full-length album.

Gramophonedzie - Why Don't You

Lastly, to round out the April Foolishness, I'd like to share a little ditty that has my head bobbing like, well, a bobble-head doll. Rene Ablaze (real name Rene Bos) started his career in 1986 in smaller clubs and discotheques and surprised many people while playing a fledgling musical genre known as trance. His off-the-cuff sets never repeated themselves and Rene was always happy to take audience requests. "Beside working for his own company “ABLAZE PRODUCTIONS”, which among other things deals with mediation of artists and music productions, Rene also founded the record company “REDUX RECORDINGS” That is growing to a very populair [sic] Trance Label" according to Rene's Myspace. Check out Floating from Rene Ablaze and give me some feedback on music you like and would like to hear.

Rene Ablaze - Floating

Stephen Colbert - Whitehouse Correspondent's Dinner (2006)

Friday's post of Bill O'Reilly interviewing Jon Stewart reminded me of a great moment in political history: Stephen Colbert's roast of then-president Bush. During his closing years as president, Bush was a hot topic for comedians. Anyone can bash the president from the saftey of a stage or a movie set, but Stephen Colbert brought the pain live and direct in front of the prez himself. This is from 2006 and whoever hired Stephen Colbert as a speaker at the Whitehouse Correspondent's Dinner didn't quite get the joke from his cable news/comedy show.

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