still on my reggaeton kick..

new fav. 'reggaetonist': dj shadee..(heard tonite on music choice)

for once SNL didnt suck..

Saturday Night Live - New Senator - Video - NBC.com
this..and i'm also referring to the 'Hamm & Buble' sketch--(i only gave it time of day cos Jon Hamm was hosting)
this was a repeat that i had never seen

New Neon!/warm goosebumps

http://hypem.com/track/1159495/Neon+Hitch+-+Billionaire

-yes an unfortunate travesty of a song-but..her voice....

also, on my walk last week-i was listening to sia's 'my love' and got goosebumps..in over 100 degree heat. you know a song is powerful when it can do that to you. its my new fav. song. so breathtaking.

On reggaeton/romantikeo..

so ive been listening to a lot of latin music lately (reggaeton)-its in my zumba class. its opened my ears to a whole nother world of latin i've never heard before. a new breed of reggaeton emerging/emerged (sub-genre known as 'romantikeo' i'm just learning). its definitely evolved, and i like it. the rhythms there are unlike any other. anyway, theres some really exciting stuff happening in that genre, and i hear as definitely the future of music, it's certainly progressed and is more sophisticated than it used to be. of these, (and this isnt new), is a song called gata brasileira by axe brahia, a brazilian group. its virtually unknown on itunes, i only know it thru my zumba class but it's really great. this is what it sounds like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mG09mDTKqVc

also, and sort of related-my zumba has gotten a lot better. if u'r not latin, look at u'r hips as 'locked' when u'r born, and zumba (latin dance in general) unlocks them, it is the 'key'. my hips no longer lie, and its changed everything about the way i move/feel the music. i've done belly dancing and stuff, and my background is ballet, so..for me, its exciting exploring this side of dance. ive never moved my hips this way before, and its a particular teacher who opened these doors. essentially, its taught me a whole new way of movement. i definitely feel/see the difference.

On reviews..

so pitchfork just posted a wanted for writers--i seriously considered it, then thought..wait i hate reviews.

part of me hates reviews, i like musical discussions. i also like reviews, seeing the music in a whole new way, another way to explore the music, but only after i have heard it first and judged for myself.

i think part of (my problem with) it is them, as writers, fluffing their feathers, making the emotional, intellectual. colorful language and so forth. which theres nothing wrong with being articulate, but if somethings really great, i dont wanna read a 2 page essay on how/why great it is. i wanna be told to just listen and then i'll understand. music/culture reviews are its own form of pretension. and i have a problem with them, and i also dont. i always feel 2 ways about something it seems..

can u make the intellectual emotional?

anyway, i think this is me just dealing with the fact that i could never be a music critic, not in the conventional sense. i dont think it does great music justice to have it reviewed-thought about intellectually, i think thats missing the point. i think music should be enjoyed, THEN picked apart (if one wishes). basically, stay away from reviews til AFTER. not the other way around. its like movies, where they show the making of before its release..i dont wanna see that! i wanna believe the magic, see it with innocent eyes, then go from there, if anywhere.

i founded this blog on the pretense that there would be 'no fluff', and i think ive held true to that. lose the 'soaring guitars' blahblahblah please. well, or just dont bother writing fancy adjectives til AFTER ppl have heard and can judge for themselves. there's a manipulation there that i have a problem with, (attempting to) coloring ppl's opinions and so forth. i dont mind descriptive writing so long as its subjective. all music 'reviews' need to be from a subjective point of view, b/c its all a personal experience. i think i'm just too honest to work as a music critic, i'm too selective. for ex., new arcade fire is nothing to ride home about. (but theyre still one of my fav. bands).

..i think if i were a musician, i'd lean the other way (objective), but thats another discussion and bottom line, is not why i do or dont listen to something.

ok, so twitter is no longer enough..(&is currently 'overwhelming' me)

so, i'm taking to this..currently feeling overwhelmed by twitter--and its plethora of 'good' info. there are times i just simply cant take it. everything seems interesting and i wanna read it all (and i wanna 'run away'). anyway, i'm taking to here b/c i cant fit what i have to say in twitter-the reason for this in the 1st place.

first (random): not sure what i think of new walkmen 'stranded'-something i like about it, reminds me of a paolo nutini song sort of. not a walkmen 'fan' or anything, but something i do like about them. cant put my finger on it.

next, learning about sugar minott (RIP)--how he pioneered dancehall and such.

now, i am just looking back, appreciating the pre-'twitter'/blog days, when artists went into studios, came out with a new album, and some filmmaker somewhere made documentaries about it (AFTER the fact). something i appreciate about that old-school approach, where every move, day in the studio, the process isnt tweeted about. i appreciate the mystery surrounding that process.

at the same time, i do enjoy reading these very things-these little anecdotes from times in the studio on tour etc. what THEY'RE listening to. i feel 2 ways about it i guess, but ultimately, the old-school, the 'mystery' is my favorite. joanna newsom, is on to something..i think its come full circle sort of and she represents that time in the past, and i just appreciate that. i feel more artists should look to her when it comes to releasing their album. (& keeping it underwraps) and i know ive already said this, but to me was worthing repeating. and nothing against these things, this is just a personal preference of mine. i think arcade fire did an OK job of protecting their recording process, this lead-up time..