If you want to know what’s new and interesting in U.S. music, keep your eyes on artists from outside the U.S.
This first video comes from Adele. God I love this woman. Coming to you from London, Adele’s video “Chasing Pavements” instantly stood out as something different when I saw it. I love the dancing on the sidewalk. Just a cool video and a great voice. I guarantee you’ll be hearing more from her.
The next video comes from Canada’s Justin Nozuka and is called “After Tonight”. This is a simple but catchy summer love song. I really liked the falling stars. There just aren’t that many love songs anymore. We need more of them.
Another singer with ties to London, Leona Lewis, is no stranger to the U.S. charts. Her new single is called “Better In Time” and I’m sure it’s going to do well.
Honey, honey, honey… you must have not received my note about the rappers.
You took a really fun song, “I’ll Be Lovin’ U Long Time”, and then you changed the studio version to include 4 minutes of a man saying “yeah, yeah, yeah… uh, uh”.
WTF?
It was a great song… no rap necessary. Why did you ruin it for the video?
And that’s two videos in a row that have been completely ridiculous. Even at her crackhead worst, Whitney put out better stuff…
You have two breasts. They’re perky and firm, and you like rolling them around in the sand.
We get it, and we’re happy for you. But your audience is primarily straight women and gay men, so do us all a favor and put those puppies away.
I think I’ve finally come around to enjoying Madonna’s Hard Candy album.
There are at least 4 songs on there that I genuinely love:
- 4 Minutes
- Miles Away
- Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You
- Voices
But why does she keep saying her sugar is raw? Miss Madonna, if your sugar is raw, you need to put some Preparation H Cooling Gel on it and sleep it off like the rest of us do. Mmm-kay?
A lot of you have asked what I thought of the Netflix Player I bought a few weeks ago… so here’s my feedback on it.
The Good: Using the Netflix player is incredibly easy. When you’re logged into your Netflix account online, you can browse to see what movies are available to watch instantly. They are marked with a navy blue icon. Just add it to your Instant Queue, and you’re ready to watch it on your TV. The only thing you need is an internet connection to the player, which can be done by wire or wirelessly through your network. The clarity and sound is wonderful. I couldn’t believe I was watching a show over online streaming on the TV. The $99 price tag is perfect.
The Bad: A lot of people have complained that the selection is limited. Unfortunately, the blame actually falls on movie studios that stubbornly refuse to allow their content to be made available for online rental. Netflix is working to negotiate with studios and I feel confident that they will have much more to choose from as the year goes on. They are already adding more content daily.
The Ugly: I had a technical question and called Roku, who makes the product. They will be your point of contact if you have a question that is hardware related. The first question they asked me was what I was using for my wireless network. When I told her it was an Apple Airport, she immediately told me to call Apple and said she wouldn’t help me.
This is inexcusable. The Apple Airport is simply a wireless router, just like any other brand. It has nothing to do with Windows or Mac, or anything like that. It’s just a box. And there’s no way Apple is going to provide support for the Roku box. Roku is the maker, and they should provide support for their product. Not Apple.
Further, the Netflix Player is intended to compete with Apple TV. They have a long way to go if they refuse to help anyone using an Apple product.
The Bottom Line: Crappy support aside, the Netflix Player is wonderful! It’s affordable, reliable, and we’ve been so impressed with it. We did have some troubles on the first day, but I suspect the box was in the middle of a service update. Just like Tivo, the player automatically downloads updates from the internet periodically. After being on for a few hours, it was fine and there have been no more problems.
We laughed, we cried, we applauded! I’ve never been to a movie where I felt like the audience was so connected to the film. It’s everything a Sex and the City fan could ever hope for!
It truly is a movie for the fans. If you aren’t a fan of the show or haven’t seen it, most of the film’s dialogue will be over your head. But if you are familiar, you will love it!
12 more hours until we meet up with our favorite fag hag to see Sex and the City. I can’t wait!
The reviews have been negative, but you know what they say about sex… even when it’s bad, it’s still good. 
I’m not one to make impulse buys. But today I jumped on the bandwagon and ordered a Netflix Player. This ugly little black box connects to your TV and streams video from your Netflix Queue. It can stream wirelessly through your network or you can connect it to your modem.
There is a catch… The only movies available are the ones Netflix has added to their Watch Now section. Many new releases are not yet available and selection is somewhat limited.
But time after time, Netflix has impressed me and I know they are going to be adding a great deal of content in the coming months. So I’m really looking forward to it.
If you’re already a Netflix customer, you’ve probably noticed the option to watch some movies and TV shows instantly on your computer. Anything that’s available there is available through this. There are no additional monthly fees and you can still get DVD’s in the mail.
I’ll let you know how it turns out. Anybody else buying this?
Two of my favorite celebrities are together… Awww. I’m a fool for a love story… Even a Hollywood one.
Jennifer Aniston and John Mayer.
Jennifer Aniston is someone who I will eternally associate with the character of Rachel on Friends. Although I know most actors consider that to be a curse because nobody wants to be typecast as the same role their whole career, I personally think of her with fondness because I love that show.
Oh, and let’s not forget Office Space. Such a great movie. Also, The Object of My Affection. Part of the “gay 90’s”, specifically the fag hag era.
And John Mayer… I have a strange love for him. I’m not really a fan of his music, but I love his sense of humor. In fact, I think his comedic side have made more headlines than his songs in recent years. But a sense of humor will win my heart every time.
He’s witty, and subtle, and borderlines on dry and sarcastic at times. Just my style.
(Now kids, what are you doing snuggling in the sun? Don’t you know it will cause early signs of aging, wrinkles, and spotty skin? I hope they’re wearing sunscreen!)
Today was the fifth anniversary of Apple’s iTunes Store. I was browsing their year-by-year summary of the most popular songs sold from 2003-2008, when I unexpectedly got flooded with emotions from the past.
For most people, music is the soundtrack of our lives. It evokes feelings, moods, memories. Whether good or bad, we use songs to remind us of an old friend, a lost love, a parent or sibling. Something as simple as a melody can take us back years, even decades, to a different place in our lives.
The page about 2003 reminded me of the internship I started at an up and coming design firm in Raleigh, NC. I was weeks away from graduating college at the top of my class with a 4.0 GPA. What a great time. Life was good. I had music playing at my desk every day. Outkast and Black Eyed Peas played a lot.
2004 immediately makes me think of the time I met my friend’s Winston and John for the first time (I talked about them in this recent post). “The Reason” by Hoobastank always makes me a bit misty eyed when I hear it. Although the message has absolutely nothing to do with them, it was on the radio, and I just connect it with them.
2005 reminds me of a lot of changes. By then I had moved up to the Senior Designer at that same web firm, and my career was flourishing. But I made the decision that our family was more important, so we moved to Nashville, TN to be closer to our family in Illinois, 3 hours away. I quit my job and found a new one here. Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Fall Out Boy, Kelly Clarkson, The Killers… those are just a few of the names mentioned in iTunes that bring back memories of that time of transition in my life.
2006 is when Rodney and I bought our first house. It was a hectic time, but not too bad overall. I know a lot about real estate, so it was actually pretty smooth. I think The Fray pretty much defined that year, and Justin Timberlake brings back good memories too.
2007 - Daughtry, Daughtry, Daughtry. There wasn’t any station that didn’t play his songs on the hour, every hour. This was the year I quit my day job and started running my own design business full time. I had a lot of time alone to listen to whatever I wanted that year.
These memories are probably meaningless and insignificant to anyone else. But to me, they are bricks that build the foundation of my life. Every song, every artist, every cover image makes me think of someone or something pertaining to that particular time in my life.
So here we are in 2008. I’m left wondering what songs and which artists will define this year when I look back at it. I already have a few in mind.
Subscribe to Nathan Exposed
