Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Eminem




Marshall Bruce Mathers III, better known as Eminem with his alter ego Slim Shady is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter, and actor. Born on October 17, 1972, Eminem has been through many problems in his life. Between his father abandoning his family and moving between many cities, life was difficult for him. He repeated ninth grade twice and dropped out of high school at the age of 17. Eminem and his maternal uncle, Ronald "Ronnie" Nelson, were very close, but "Ronnie" committed suicide when Eminem was young. Today, he supports a tattoo on his upper arm that says "R.I.P Ronnie." Living life in a vastly African-American area had it's affects on Eminem. He made music and acquired the approval of a underground hip-hop audience. One of his first mentors was Champtown, a local rapper. Eminem got his first music video appearance in Champtown's 1992 video "Do-Da-Dipity." Later on, they had a fall out and Eminem was on his own. He eventually worked with many others in many different bands. Eminem got into drugs and alcohol and almost ruined his career. He's been drug-free for awhile and has made it clear he won't be going back to his old ways. Eminem has been rapping for almost 20 years and will probably rap for much longer. He has one biological daughter named Haille, two daughters he adopted (Alania and Whitney), and is the legal guardian of his younger half brother Nathan. Eminem has made many albums including the latest ones "Recovery" and "Relapse." He has around 1,364 songs total. Hopefully, he will stay around for much longer!

Monday, December 19, 2011

Top 10 Songs Of The Week (12/19/11)

1. We Found Love - Rihanna Featuring Calvin Harris
2. Sexy And I Know It - LMFAO
3. It Will Rain - Bruno Mars
4. The One That Got Away - Katy Perry
5. Good Feeling - Flo Rida
6. Ni**as In Paris - Jay Z Kanye West
7. Someone Like You - Adele
8. Moves Like Jagger - Maroon 5 Featuring Christina Aguilera 
9. Without You - David Guetta Featuring Usher
10. 5 O'Clock - T-Pain Featuring Wiz Khalifa & Lily Allen

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Pop Music!


According to one source, pop music has been around since around the 1950's. The first glimpse of pop music was probably given to us by Elvis Presley. That is a lot different then the pop music that we listen to today. The reason that our music is changing so much is because of all the technology that is being added to it. Pop has been experimented with so much that it is becoming something completely different then what it used to be. With all the new technology that could be added to music to make it boppy, or to change a sound of an instrument, or even to use no real instruments at all, pop music is evolving into something that is becoming more like all the other genres.

You can see the resemblance between pop and just about any other kind of music. Its almost like they could all be connected in some kind of way. I do enjoy listening to pop, its a nice genre, but I'm beginning to like it less and less because it is more like all the other genres that i don't really like a much. I wish that they would take out all of the technology stuff, I feel like its better that way.

The Information in this blog was found on the site Pop Passes Fifty.


Best Music Sharing Sites


There are many sites on the internet made for the purpose of sharing music files. The problem with some of these sites are that they are junk, and some are even illegal for downloading. The number one site would be Bearshare. Bearshare is completely legal and all unlicensed files are free. To get premium content, you have to pay a fee. You can either pay for a subscription and download unlimited songs, or you can pay by the song. The second best site would be Blubster. Blubster is another free site for sharing and downloading files, especially music files. It is technically legal, but it can not control all of the files that are added, and so cannot be completely sure that it is all legal files uploaded. The third best music sharing site would be 4shared. 4shared is a site that allows you to upload and share your files and allow others to access these files. All downloading is free and legal unless the file is copyrighted. Also, you can hide your profile or add a password so that only friends can access your files.

I often use sites such as these, but haven't really used these 3. I have used 4share, and it seems to be a pretty good sharing site, the others I haven't really looked into.

These sites came from trendlists.com.

Music Devices Over The Years


The way we listen to our music has changed over the years. The devices we use are becoming much more technical then they used to be. From the phonograph to the IPod, the devices have become both much easier and convenient.

First to come around in 1877 was the phonograph. This used cylinders to record and reproduce sound. As you talked into the cylinders, your sound waves would move a needle that was making scratch marks on a record. If you put the needle back on the first point and played it back, it would produced a scratchy version of the words you had spoken.

Next in 1888 came the vinyl records. These records took the idea of the phonograph, but took them a step further. Instead of you going through and recording yourself, there was already scratches in the disks that when you played it back, played music. The down side of this was that it needed to be cranked in order for it to work. Finally in 1925 the electric record player was created, so no cranking was necessary.

In 1965 8-tracks came around. 8-tracks are long continuous rolls of tape inside a hard plastic cartridge. The tape inside of the cartridge is split into 8 tracks (which is where the name came from). The tape is spun around coils on the inside the the cartridge, playing 2 tracks at a time. The music continues to play as the coils spin the tape.

The Walkman came around in 1978. It was a portable device for listening to cassettes. It was capable to do things such as play, stop, fast forward, or reverse. In the Walkman is an electromagnet, which is highly sensitive to the tape inside the cassette. This causes vibrations which sends the sound waves through the headphones.

In 1983 CD's were introduced. They are shiny round discs. They are almost the same thing as vinyl discs, only a lot smaller and made of plastic. This made them much more convenient. Another benefit to CD's was that there is the ability to skip tracks, unlike on a cassette. In 1995 recordable CD's were introduced, which bumped up the popularity because it made it so mixed tapes were possible. In 1992 minidiscs were introduced, which were easier and pocket-sized.

Today, we have mp3 players and IPods. They are very convenient because they are quite small (you can fit them into your pocket) and you can fit all your music into one place without having to carry around lots of CD's, or tapes, or whatever it ay be that you may use. All of your songs from all different bands or genres can be put into one place, and can be done on the computer. It makes it all much easier.

I absolutely love my IPod. I take it everywhere i go, its like my baby! I would much rather carry that around then any other bulky music device. Also you don't have to listen to it through headphones, but can put it onto speaker. Its great!

For more information on this history, go to http://library.thinkquest.org/08aug/01589/mediaplayers_history.html

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

NeverShoutNever


NeverShoutNever is a one-man band put together by a boy named Christofer Drew Ingle. He has been in other bands, including eatmewhileimhot! He began like most artists do these days, by putting some of his tunes onto the internet. There were about 15,000 views of his songs every day, so he decided that he would take a shot and record some - and it was worth it. Christofer soon became a hit with his pop/acoustic style music, playing mostly the the guitar and the harmonica (at the same time) and using his voice. Hot Topic's clothing line also featured some of his albums. Recently, NeverShoutNever has gained more members, turning into an actual full band.

Chris had a pretty rough time growing up. He was always moving around, so he never became cool, he was laughed at for never being the kid to play football, and he was pressured into doing a few things that he will always regret. This is what inspired Chris to write most of his songs. A lot of his songs are also about love, and how that is all that he has ever looked for. His songs all tell a story about different things that have happened to him. To help inspire him are his 2 sisters, Hannah and Sarah, and his brother, David. They have been some other very important parts to his song writing.

Personally I believe that NeverShoutNever is a fantastic band (probably my favorite). They are very inspiring and a lot of their songs make you want to dance. They are the kind of thing that you would love to listen to if you were in the mood to relax, dance, or just sing a fun tune. Its the kind of music that you may get stuck in your head, but its so great that you don't really seem to mind it much. A great music experience.

For a longer bio on Christofer Drew, and a full song list, visit the NeverShoutNever site.

Top 10 Songs Of The Week! (12/13)


^^
1. We Found Love- Rihanna ft. Calvin Harris

2. Sexy And I Know It- LMFAO
3. It Will Rain- Bruno Mars
4. Moves Like Jagger- Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera
5. Good Feeling- Flo Rida
6. Someone Like You- Adele
7. Without You- David Guetta ft. Usher
8. Ni**as In Paris- Jay-Z & Kanye West
9. The One That Got Away- Katy Perry
10. Stereo Hearts- Gym Class Heroes ft. Adam Levine