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London!

May 1st, 2012 | Posted by marksuknanan in music | Random - (0 Comments)

 I just got back from London, England and let me just start by saying it’s a trip you must make at least once in your life. There is so much cool stuff to look at like Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Will and Kate’s bedroom. You know, same old. I went for the week and a half and it was the best week and a half EVER. I’m going to outline some cool stuff I did along with the different music I heard while I was there so let’s get to it.

“The Tube”

You will take the Tube everywhere you go. Cabs are expensive but the tube is crazy accessible and easy to use.  I’m not going to lie you have to study the map before you get there because they have like 10,000 different lines going all over the U-K. It’s pretty frikken awesome. It will also make you feel like you’re a londoner. I mean, they are super cool over there. Just don’t mock their accents, your street credit goes away.

“Platform 9 3/4″

Any Harry Potter fans out there? This was a huge deal to me. I actually thought I was going to go through the wall and get to Hogwarts. It’s basically the only reason I went there.

“Abbey Road”

Beatles-mania is still taking over London and many tourists take a bus to Abbey Road to see that very crosswalk where the Beatles shot their 11th album cover for “Abbey Road”. There is a recording studio right up the street where they recorded the album and the staff can be seen kicking people off their property. It was pretty funny. What was also funny is that people halting traffic to get a replica of the Beatles picture by walking across the street themselves.

“Ron Mueck”

His artwork can be seeing all around the world but I checked out his first ever solo exhibit while I was over there. His artwork is better then wax-museum sculptures actually portraying emotions and out of this world details. If you ever hear about his stuff, you must check it out. It looks so real it’s unbelievable.

“Matilda”

Who remembers watching Matilda as a child? The Danny Devito narrated story about a girl who has magic and the worst parents ever was on repeat when I was a child. I never really liked musical theater so going to see this show I was a little whatever-ish. But after the show I was shocked of how good it was. The cast is mostly made up of children and they are so talented and entertaining to watch. I’m hoping they’ll bring this to Toronto because everyone needs to see it.

“Hootananny”

One thing I really respect about London is their pubs and music culture. During my stay there we checked out this pub called Hootananny which I thought was going to be a mess. But we walked in and the atmosphere made you feel like you’re part of something. A Jamaican band took place to play some great music and the crowd was loving them. I’d definitely call it the ‘gem’ of London.

There are many other things to do because they’re are a ton of markets to check out. Above are some of my main highlights of my trip and the shopping there is magical. If you’re going go see Camden Market, Brick Lane, Picadilly Circus, Oxford Circus, Covent Garden and all of the museums are free!

Conor Maynard is HUGE in the U-K. His song ‘Can’t Say No’ which kind of reminds me something of what Justin Timberlake would release is on radio repeat there. It’s a pretty catchy song and he even says “Houston, I think we have a problem”.

Meet Tulisa. A lot of the music they listen to over there is similar to the music we listen to over here when we’re talking about mainstream stuff. This girls voice is very Keyshia Cole but the beat sounds like it’s David Guetta produced. Same old power-house vocalist over a crazy dance meet. I like it, makes for good club music. This girl is off of the X-Factor.

This entire week my ‘Song of the Day’ will be from artist I discovered while over in the U-K.

Happy May!

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The Wanted wants to be wanted.

May 1st, 2012 | Posted by marksuknanan in gossip - (0 Comments)

 

“The sun goes down, the stars come out” are the lyrics you have been hearing for the past couple of months over and over again. The song that proves an accordion can make a song a smash hit sung by the U-K boy band The Wanted has gotten these boys quite the publicity. Instead of hiding from press and making them want more and more…the boys have been apart of some of the craziest headlines.

1:

They were told to stay away from One Direction.

Apparently the two bands use the same rehearsal space and whenever the boys are around One Direction they treat them like little bro’s. So a lots of pushing around and poking fun.

2:

While on tour with Britney Spears, they were told to ‘face the wall’ as she walked down around backstage.

They went on tour with Britney over in the U-K and signed a confidentiality agreement to not say anything about the tour. But they just did.

3:

They called Christina Aguilera a bitch.

Christina Aguilera was cold to them when they were on the voice so they called her a bitch. As simple as that.

4:

Justin Bieber punched one of them in the crotch.  

They were also on tour with Justin Bieber, and this doesn’t surprise me.

So what’s up with all the headlines guys? I don’t mind because I feel like they are letting us see what the celebrity world is actually like. Dealing with diva’s like Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears, people taking jokes in the wrong way like One Direction and having fun with Justin Bieber is basically all there is to the music industry.

Right?

;)

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Rihanna. . .doin’ it well.

May 1st, 2012 | Posted by marksuknanan in music videos - (0 Comments)

Rihanna has just proven all of her haters wrong with the release of her new video for Where Have You Been. Come. Come to think of it, where HAVE you been Rihanna? Rihanna’s last video ‘You Da One’ did NOT have the attention that her smash hit ‘We Found Love’ had. I started to think it was because Rihanna was getting lazy. The last video was full of glamour shots of her grabbing her crotch. Not that I minded but hey, I like to see a girl get down and that’s exactly what she did in the new ‘beast’ of a video. The video that doesn’t have a storyline is full of coreography, fun and Rihanna-ness african vibes. After watching it, I felt that Rihanna was FINALLY making an effort. The video that is kind of reminisent of Beyonce’s “Run the World” has brought Rihanna back in the way that people can see that she isn’t just being given songs to sing now she’s actually owning it which will gain her more street cred.

I liked the video..not loved…but liked.

What did you think? Rihanna for the long-haul?

The Electrofied Bluesfest!

May 1st, 2012 | Posted by marksuknanan in Concerts - (0 Comments)

While we’re RAVING about who was at the many U-S music festivals that are going on…we forgot that there is one just a couple hours away from us in Toronto. The Ottawa Bluesfest is happening in July and has gotten itself quite the line up. Lauryn Hill, The Weeknd…I mean I should just stop there because that already had me saying I’M THERE. But there is no stopping this festival with Norah Jones, Carly Rae Jepsen, LMFAO (yes, I know…), The Arkells, Seal, Down with Webster, Chromeo, Snoop Dogg, The Sheep Dogs, Our Lady Peace, Young the Giant, Skrillez, Tyga, Young Empires, K’Naan, and Metric. There are many more people playing but the only negative thing about this festival is that the shows take place on a bunch of different stages on a bunch of different nights. Rather then the one after the other concert, you have to way full days to see your favourite artists.

I just tweeted:

“LMFAO is playing at a ‘Bluesfest’, I couldn’t think of anyone more perfect for that gig.”

but I can’t poke too much fun because on any given day you can see me singing the Party Rock Anthem and the festival is called “Bluesfest, Electro-fied”. Very smart descison because now they’ll have waves of people coming out.

For more info go to : http://ottawabluesfest.ca the festival takes place from July 5 – the 15th. See you there.

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Gotye reminds us that he isn’t just a one hit wonder.

April 16th, 2012 | Posted by marksuknanan in music - (0 Comments)

Over the weekend I was listening to “Somebody that I used to know” over and over again. Then I had the thought that maybe Gotye is going to be a one hit wonder. That didn’t make me too happy because he was so many good songs on his album. But that infectious song featuring Kimbra is basically an instant classic. Gotye took the stage in New York this weekend for a taping of SNL to perform “Somebody that I used to know” along with “Eyes Wide Open”. I’m going to assume that “Eyes Wide Open” is going to be his next single, and the fast paced power driven beat accompanied by lyrics about putting your self through misery was made for radio.

Watch/listen to the performance below. I won’t let this guy become a one-hit wonder.

The Weeknd takes over Coachella.

April 16th, 2012 | Posted by marksuknanan in Concerts | music - (0 Comments)

The singer from Canada who refuses all interviews, award show appearance and any kind of publicity had one of the most anticipated sets over the weekend in California. While a bunch of celebrities looked on, The Weeknd took the stage to perform various songs from his mixtapes. The mixtapes that have been critically acclaimed from music lovers came to life with a more edgy rock vibe during his 50 minute set. People went ape sh*t for him and it was great to see his success come alive on the stage.

He performed songs like High For This, Dirty Diana (Michael Jackson Cover), Crew Love (a Drake cover) and to close off his set he performed his song Wicked Games which was the highlight of it all.

It was cool to see him on stage, as well as the Airplane Boys at the same time. Canadian music is taking over and it’s making me super excited.

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Angry Nicki!

April 16th, 2012 | Posted by marksuknanan in music - (0 Comments)

  One of the very few celebrities who keep in touch with their fans over twitter has now deleted their accounts. In a passion of anger, Nicki Minaj pressed that ‘deactivate my account’ button. Minaj’s last tweet said “Like seriously, it’s but so much a person can take…Good f***ing bye.”, then her account was gone. Nicki Minaj was mad at a fansite called NickiDaily.com for leaking her music. Which I think she has a reason to be mad. When one of your ‘fansites’ is advertising your music for free it doesn’t really make sense because they should be buying your music. So when the fansite realized they were the reason for Minaj’s anger rant they hit Minaj back when their site said CLOSED and had one of her songs called “Dear Old Nicki” playing on a loop. 

Do fans thinks she has changed now that she is become more mainstream?

What do you think?

Tupac, the Hologram

April 16th, 2012 | Posted by marksuknanan in Concerts - (0 Comments)

This is SO cool. There was a lot of speculation that this would happen and it actually did. During Dr.Dre and Snoop Dogg’s closing set at Coachella this weekend Tupac made an appearance. But how you ask? In the form of a hologram. The project that cost 10 million dollars brought a 3-D Tupac to the stage and performed a slew of songs like Hail Mary and Amerikas Most Wanted. Looks like we’ll be able to relive the 90′s with this new technology forcing passed on celebrities to perform for our entertainment. As weird as that sounds, it’s kind of true. I wonder if this will be a one time only deal, or if they will start doing this more often.

Think about how many cool performances we would be able to see.

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Kanye West goes from “Theraflu” to “Way too Cold”.

April 16th, 2012 | Posted by marksuknanan in gossip | music - (0 Comments)

For a song that calls out PETA and Kris Humphries (Kim Kardashian’s EX) Kanye west proves that there is no such thing as bad publicity. Except Kanye West can’t really do what he wants. The rapper who gets away with pulling countless antics either on stage, over twitter, or in his music finally made a descision to follow the rules. Theraflu, his new single named after a cold medicine has gone through a name change. The company who invented Theraflu wasn’t feeling the same so Kanye had to change it. As we know, Kanye isn’t the type to admit he was defeated so he said it was a creative decision.  But other then the title, why is this song so controversial you ask?

“And I’ll admit, I had Explainfell in love with Kim
Around the same time she had fell in love with him
Well that’s cool, baby girl, do ya thang
Lucky I ain’t had Jay drop him from the team
La Familia, Roc Nation”

Apparently, Kanye West has say over whether or not Kris Humphries career can go on. Jay-Z is the minority owner of the ‘Nets’ but the head honcho Mikhail Prokhorov said that he would never let that happen.

Tell PETA my mink is dragging on the floor”

No background to this lyric, it’s just rude.

But no matter what, you gotta love Kanye.

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artist to watch; Birdy

April 11th, 2012 | Posted by marksuknanan in music - (0 Comments)

Everyone meet Birdy. Kind of a weird name I’d have to admit, but her voice will make you want to fly away. I first discovered Birdy’s voice on the Hunger Games soundtrack on a unforgettable song called “Just a Game”. If you have watched or read Hunger Games, the lyrics just melt to the storyline and make everything come full circle. Birdy’s style is very old-fashioned, smooth, raw, with a bit a edge. While listening to her, I pictured a short blonde hair woman…not a long brunette haired 15 year old. She may be young in the face, but her voice screams maturity. Mostly backed by her piano playing skills, I’d classify her music as mood music…but I would definitely check out her self-titled album ‘Birdy”. She won a talent  competition in the U-K, then got signed. Now she is making some sweet music that we all can’t deny.  If I still haven’t sold you on ‘Birdy’ then listen below to her track off of the Hunger Games soundtrack.

I’ve become a huge fan.

let’s get you all caught up.

April 11th, 2012 | Posted by marksuknanan in music - (0 Comments)

 

Monday: 

Over the weekend there were 2 shooting at 2 separate Young Jeezy concerts. The rapper stopped off in Toronto and London, Ontario to promote his new album when two shootings took place. Last week at the Sound Academy even before the rapper took the stage someone was shot. Then at the London Music Hall a fight broke out and someone got shot again. What are the odds? I asked myself the same question. Never going to a Jeezy concert, EVER.

Rumours have been circulating that Rihanna would give her ‘life’ to play Whitney Houston. But she has been shafted now that Whitney’s daughter Bobbi Kristina wants to play her Momma. This is a RUMOUR but according to the very untrustworthy sources she would be the perfect choice for the role. I think it would be weird for a daughter to play her mother. If there is going to be any movie on Whitney, it’s going to be dark. Something that Bobbi Kristina shouldn’t even be watching.

Tuesday: 

Mobb Deep has a internal feud. 1/2 of the rap duo engaged in a twitter brawl with the other half. Havoc released tweets to his pal saying that he had sex with men in jail but then later covered it up by saying his phone got stolen. Prodigy who the target of the hate tweets was in jail for a gun possession charge. He hasn’t responded to the claim, but Fat Joe was quick to comment by saying ” this is the like 9/11 of Hip Hop”. DRAMA

Nicki Minaj had a big dateline interview on Monday. But instead of bashing her arch-nemisis Lil’ Kim she bashed GAGA. Saying she hates the comparisons and that just because she wears wigs doesn’t make her like Gaga. She continued saying why she was different even mentioning that she was a Rapper! Oh yeah Nicki, you’re a rapper…I kind of forgot after all the singing you have been doing lately. Being called the “Gaga” of something is becoming annoying to singers because they can’t take risks without being compared to the popstar.

Wednesday: 

Bobbi Kristina creeped back into the headlines with rumours of a reality show, but it ain’t happening. Thank Whitney!

One Direction went through some identity crisis. A band called One Direction from California is suing the band for STEALING THEIR NAME. After a very successful performance on SNL, and topping the U-S chart…the original ’One Direction’ starting to close in on the U-K bands plan to take over the world and decided to sue. Although the band isn’t officially signed yet, referring to the U-S one…they still have sold albums on iTunes. But now the U-K 1-D might have to change their name. What’s probably going to happen is that the U-K is going to pay the U-S to go in another direction and they’ll settle.

The Lollapalooza line-up has been annouced! This is HUGE news for music fans. Besides Coachella I’d say this is one of the biggest festivals the North America has to offer. Red Hot Chilli Peppers, The Black Keys, Black Sabbath, Florence and the Machine, Avicii, The Weeknd, J.Cole, Frank Ocean, Metric, Childish Gambino, FUN., Dev, Haley Reinheart and MORE are slated to play Chicago Based August festival.

YEEHAW.

 

song of the day: Demi Lovato – Give Your Heart A Break

April 4th, 2012 | Posted by marksuknanan in music - (0 Comments)

Demi Lovato. Nuff said.

(but in a brief explaination: this is her new single off of her album “UnBroken”. Last night I tweeted about the album saying that you must listen to it even if your not a Demi fan. The album is a masterpiece.)

She has an awesome voice, doesn’t she? The video isn’t anything to complicated but it reminds me of Rihanna’s We Found Love and Katy Perry’s The One That Got Away.

-Mark Suknanan

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