Snoop Dogg - More Malice in Wonderland

Snoop's done it again. Not only is his album Malice and Wonderland one of the biggest hits of the year, but Snoop has decided to take choice songs from the album and make a movie out of it. The movie will be released in a deluxe re-packaging of Malice, entitled More Malice in Wonderland. Essentially, the movie is a series of music videos tied together with a loose story but Snoop definitely gets props for originality. It's definitely not The Wall, but it's worth a look.

Bass Thumpin' Thursdays

Boy, this has been one busy week and I'm glad it's almost Friday. I've been kind of lagging in the posts as of late due to the craziness of this week and my continuing pursuit to find a new primary job. Whatever. Either way, I bring to you a collection of music videos that have made the rotation on my PC. The first is a mash-up of Notorious B.I.G.'s Juicy with The XX's VCR. This song brings a whole new freshness to the hip-hop classic and I hope you enjoy!

Notorious B.I.G. vs. The XX - Juicy-r

Next up is a dance track by SASH! entitled Raindrops. Though the song is over a year old, it's infectious melody gets stuck in my head from time to time. Beware... once you play the video, you may not be able to stop humming.

SASH! Feat. Stunt - Raindrops (Encore Une Fois)

Hadouken! is a band that I've only recently discovered, yet I've been saying their name for years. Hadouken! draws it's name from the popular fireball in the even more popular Street Fighter video game series which begs the question: How long until we see a band called Shōryū-ken?

Hadouken! - That Boy That Girl

Added Bonus: Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent. The song itself is pretty catchy, but the video is even better. Given that I suffer from a mild, self-diagnosed, form of coulrophobia, any video that depicts clowns getting the shit kicked out of them gets a thumbs up in my book.

Arctic Monkeys - Fluorescent Adolescent

New Eminem - Not Afraid

Check out Eminem's new song Not Afraid. It is the first single from his upcoming album Recovery (formerly titled Relapse 2) set to drop on June 22. I'm a huge Eminem fan but Relapse to me was hit and miss. Eminem certainly showed that he was back in top lyrical form on Hello, Same Song and Dance, and Medicine Ball. Even more so on the Relapse: Refill re-release of the album, but I felt that the entire album could have been better had Em not peppered in some of the more ridiculous antics. Eminem acknowledges this himself with a line from his new song:

Let's be honest, that last Relapse CD was "ehhhh"
Perhaps I ran them accents into the ground
Relax, I ain't going back to that now

Anyway, Recovery sounds promising and I'll definitely be picking it up on Day 1. In the mean time, feel free to satisfy your sweet tooth with Eminem's new single and leave your opinion in the comments section.

Eminem - Not Afraid - Download Here

The Game - The Red Room (mixtape)

Building anticipation for the his long-awaited R.E.D. Album, set to drop on June 15th, The Game is back with DJ Skee to bring you The Red Room Mixtape. The mixtape features DJ Skee's version of The Game's recently released track 400 Bars and provides some fuel to the fire that is The Game. Beef and name-dropping aside, The Game is one of my favorite rappers alive right now and he rarely disappoints in the mixtape game. Give The Red Room a listen and leave your opinion in the comments section. Enjoy.

The Game ft. DJ Skee - The Red Room Mixtape - Download Here

T.I. - I'm Back (music video)

T.I. is out of jail and back with a new single and video. The track, I'm Back, reminds us why he is regarded as one of the best rappers in the game. I can't wait for his new album King Uncaged which is set to drop on August 17, 2010.

Mario: Game Over

Check out this video and see that even video game characters have personal problems. "Mario: Game Over" was nominated for Best Comedy Video of 2007 in the Youtube Awards.

Steve Carell Drops By The Daily Show

Steve Carell stops by The Daily Show to remind Jon Stewart just who he is again. With so many successful corespondents moving on to other careers, it's no wonder Jon can't keep them straight.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
style='padding:2px 1px 0px 5px;' colspan='2'Steve Carell
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Bob Marley Live

To get you in the mood for tomorrow, I'd like to share a couple of videos of Bob Marley live. The first one is at Dortmond and the second is live at the Rainbow Theater in London 1977. They're both full videos over an hour long each so check em out out for some good vibrations and they'll have you feeling' irie.

Good Comic Book Movies: Few and Far Between

Comic books were once my favorite pastime as a kid and, even though I have significantly less time to devote to them in my adulthood, they still are. Recently, there have been a slew of comic book movies that have been made that are more or less faithful to the original source material and proven to be box office giants and there have been some really horrible movies that have either butchered the original intent of the comics or were otherwise so bad that they didn't make much at all (too many to list.) Comic book movies don't seem to be waning in popularity any time soon and with a few big adaptations in the works (Captain America, The Avengers, The Green Lantern and more) I thought I'd point out a few mistakes and corrections that can be made for future adaptations of my beloved childhood heroes.

If there has been another movie made in the last 30 years, featuring the same superhero we don't need another Goddam origin story. 2008's Incredible Hulk was far superior to 2003's Hulk in almost every way possible. There was more action, more emotion, a real villain from the comics, and (best of all) we didn't have to hear how the Hulk got his powers again. All was handled in a couple of scenes during the opening credits of the movie and by the time the movie started, we were ready for action. Since the abysmal performance of Spider-Man 3 (critically, not financially) Sony has decided to go the reboot route and completely restart the franchise. Don't get me wrong, Spider-Man is one of my favorite superheroes, but the first Spider-Man movie nailed his origin perfectly. We don't need another movie where the first half is comprised of an awkward teen getting bullied until his fateful bite by a radioactive spider or the inevitable gun-shot that murders Uncle Ben. When and if the Spidey reboot ever makes it to the big screen, we need an enthralling story that can make us temporarily forget how they completely butchered the character of Venom which brings us to our next point.

Don't add more villains if you can't get the first one right. Spider-Man 3 had a lot of things wrong with it, but one of the main problems was that it tried to tie in too many villains along with their respective origins. Harry Osborn had already been set up in the first two movies to become the second Green Goblin (or New Goblin as it were) and I can understand the inclusion of The Sandman as an additional threat, but the whole concept of the black suit and Venom seemed rushed. Venom is my favorite villain/hero and it definitely rubbed me the wrong way to see him (them?) treated with such disrespect. Almost all of the Spider-Man franchise's characters were cast well except Sam Raimi, who admittedly didn't like the character, decided to cast Topher Grace as a character that's supposed to be the equivalent of a roided-out body builder. Sad to say this ruined the character and I would have much rather seen a no-name or someone as physically intimidating as UFC champion Brock Lesnar in the role of Venom. Topher Grace was simply not believable (or portrayed as) as a hulking brute and would have been better suited as Venom's rival/offspring Carnage. Word is a Topher-free Venom spin-off is in the works for 2012 and will hopefully offer some redemption for the character.

My final piece of advice to movie-makers is to actually read the comics that they are adapting and to quit making up ridiculous powers. Does anyone remember the cellophane "S" that Superman threw at the three evil Kryptonians near the end of Superman II or the amnesia inducing kiss he gave Lois? How about the telekinesis he used to repair The Great Wall of China and save a couple of falling policemen in Superman IV? I can understand taking certain liberties with superheros' costumes because some just don't translate to real life like when Wolverine joked to Cyclops about their tight leather uniforms in the first X-Men, Cyclops responded "Well, what would you prefer? Yellow spandex?" (This was a nod to the comics as Wolverine's bright yellow and blue spandex costume would have looked positively silly on Hugh Jackman) But I absolutely can't stand when movie-makers give hero's entirely new powers or abilities. Almost every Batman movie (aside for the Tim Burton and Christopher Nolan movies) had the titular hero in a perilous situation only to have him overcome the odds by pulling out a new device from his utility belt or costume or Bat-Copter (Bat Shark Repellent, Ice Skates???.) My point is a hero cannot be a hero if you make him escape extraordinary circumstances by simply giving him a new power or gadget. He must overcome the odds using his intellect or skill, otherwise why couldn't jack-off with a utility belt become Batman?

That said, here are some movies to look forward to in the near future

Kick Ass - April 16, 2010
Iron Man 2 - May 7, 2010
Batman: Under the Red Hood - DVD - July 27, 2010
Captain America: The First Avenger - July 2011
Green Lantern - 2011
Deadpool - 2011
The Flash - 2011
The Avengers - 2012

New Cypress Hill Music Videos - Rise Up album out 4/20

Cypress Hill's new album Rise Up is dropping on 4/20 this year and they are getting the internet into a tizzy by releasing some new videos. below are the official videos for It ain't Nothin', Rise Up featuring Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine fame and Armada Latina featuring Marc Anthony and Pitbull (and a sample of Crosby, Stills & Nash’s lush multi-part classic, Suite: Judy Blue Eyes) The entire album leaked yesterday, April 10th, but it's definitely worth a retail purchase. Make sure to pick up Rise Up before you light up on April 20th.

Having a Bad Day?

This will make it all better. I promise.

Anticipation Builds for Detox: Single Coming Soon (Supposedly)

Dr. Dre has announced the first single from his long awaited Detox album is a track featuring Jay-Z called Under Pressure. The name of the track is fitting seeing how the good Doc hasn't released an album since 1999's 2001 and in this world over a decade later Detox has achieved near mythic status and unrivaled buzz that any lesser known artist would kill for. Is the single a sign that the Dre is ready to release Detox on the world, or is he simply testing the waters to see if people are still into him?

The world is a different place since Dr. Dre released his last album and with the popularity of file-sharing, Dre may not sell as well as he once had. Regardless, Detox will be a day-one purchase for me and my only regret is that I don't have any Beats by Dr. Dre with which to listen to his opus. I am optimistic that Detox will please but sometimes it is hard to top even your own hype. Dre has kept the world waiting so long and changed his formula so much that people's expectations are at an all-time high. People are expecting a masterpiece. Will Dr. Dre deliver? My money's on "yes" but the world will have to wait and listen. In the mean time, check out some of the tracks that leaked or will most likely not be used on the album. If this is what Dre's thrown away, I can't wait to hear what he's kept.

The Roots - Dilla Jawns (mixtape)

Hello everybody in internet land. In order to prepare for 4/20, I've been on a streak amassing music to kick back relax with. With that, I bring you The Roots - Dilla Jawns. While I normally disapprove of cover songs as well as cover albums, I can say that this album is certainly worth your time. The album consists of The Roots covering some fantastic J. Dilla beats in a lively manner unheard from most hip-hop groups. For those that don't know, J. Dilla (aka Jay Dee, real name, James Dewitt Yancey) was a superb producer in the earlier part of the decade, working with top hip-hop acts like Common, Busta Rhymes, and De La Soul until his untimely passing away in 2006, due to cardiac arrest. It was later revealed that he suffered from thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, a rare blood disease, and possibly lupus. Since his passing, J Dilla's mother started the J Dilla Foundation: an organization dedicated to finding a cure for lupus. Though, J. Dilla has left the Earth, his music and legacy will be remembered for a long time to come. Give Dilla Jawns a listen and let me know what you think.

The Roots - Dilla Jawns - Download Here

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