Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Eckhart Tolle - Earth as Gaia Clip

Here's a great clip of Tolle talking on the concept of Gaia. Kind of makes you realize how insignificant humans really are in the bigger picture of it all:

US Republic vs US Empire?

Interesting concept, could be the new distinction between the old America and the New one, you heard it here first:

And the "Hot Song of the Day" is....

...Living in America, by American indie-pop group DOM (previously known as FUR). This DOM is a 3 piece band from Worcester, Maine, and the reason I said "this DOM" is because there are about 8 other bands around the globe by the name of DOM, so its not too original to say the least. Living in America comes off of their Sun Bronzed Greek Gods EP released in April of 2010. They have an interesting sound and it is an eclectic mix for sure. Check out their myspace page here.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

And the "Hot Song of the Day" is....

...Mowgli's Road, by Welsh indie-pop singer/songwriter Marina and the Diamonds. Marina and the Diamonds is actually Marina Lambrini Diamandis, and is of Greek decent (hence the name), yet she grew up in Wales. The "Diamonds" part of her stage name refers to the Diamanidis part of her birth name. The song Mowgli's Road comes off of her February 2010 studio album release titled The Family Jewels, which has been certified gold in the UK already. 

Saturday, June 26, 2010

And the "Hot Song of the Day" is....

...Starry Eyed, by Australian hip-hop duo Spit Syndicate. They formed back in 2005, and have released 3 albums, and are based in Sydney. This song comes off of their 2010 release album titled Exile. Don't know too much else, so check em out. Unfortunately, bloody youtube (which is seriously devolving into and impotent website more and more every day) doesn't have this song, so you will have to go to this myspace link to listen to the song, so check there if your keen, and if not, eat bon bons and drink some more kool-aid. Sorry if I sound a bit jaded today, just irritated that Ghana beat the USA yet again, would have been neat to have won at least one elimnation-round match, oh well, life goes on.... Exile

June 26th, 2010

So the USA is beaten out of the World Cup by Ghana once again, and today is the Pluto in the Full-moon day/night also known as the planet of death and rebirth indicating massive death and rebirth (according to my astrologer Steve Judd). Interesting times no doubt. I hear news of social services being cut all around, public libraries closing, schools closing, money being funneled away to somewhere, after all the money doesn't just disappear, it goes into someones secret bank accounts somewhere. You know, I always wondered, when is enough enough? Like Charlie Sheen's character in the original Wall Street movie (I see they are making a crappy sequel at the moment), says to the Pope of Greed (Gordon Gecko, aka Michael Douglas's character), "How much is enough Gordon, how many yachts can you water-ski behind?" That is a good question to all of those who are actually receiving the money. Do the ultra-rich actually think that life is really going to be better for them when they have to live in gated communities, travel with body-guards everywhere they go, engage in mafia-esque tactics, compete with other ultra-richies for who can spend the most money on meaningless material items that lose their luster quickly after? As a character from Conan the Barbarian once said "the jewels cease to sparkel, the gold loses its luster, and all that is left is a father's (or mother's) love for their child." Well no doubt it is going to be interesting to see how all of the Daniel Plainview's (see There Will Be Blood) of the world feel when they have "won it all," my guess is their feeling of victory will be short-lived in their never-ending need thirst for more, they are the true vampires of this world, the malignant parasites of cut-throat capitalism at their worst. But, in the end it is all just life, there are no good guys or bad guys, as eventually everything passes and everything dies, even Walt Disney who has frozen his body in some cryogenic freezer has passed and even that freezer will crack and dissolve over thousands of years and then what??  They say it is the inevitable collapse of the collective human ego and its pain body, but we shall see. I am talking crazy talk now I suppose, but I remain optimistic, I see the city of Detroit as a place that collapsed early on, and which is already rising from the ashes in many ways to give us all insight on what the future is going to look like. Did any of these material items and toys really make our lives better? And by who's definition of better? I know that Ali G would say, "in the sense that something is better and something is worse," but we all know its a bit deeper that that, unless we don't. Crapola, now what team do I follow?

Friday, June 25, 2010

And the "Hot Song of the Day" is....

...Cool Down, by Hawaiian-American band Kolohe Kai. Kolohe Kai is an new-island-music group from the windward side of the island of Oahu, Hawaii. They have released one studio-length album titled This is the Life, released in September 2009, of which Cool Down comes off of. I highly recommend checking this album out if you like island-music as much as I do. Mahalo!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

And the "Hot Song of the Day" is....

...Twin Peaks, by American indie rock band Surfer Blood. Surfer Blood debuted in 2009 with their Swim single. They released their debut studio album in January 2010, which is titled Astro Coast, and which reached #124 on the Billboard Albums Chart. Surfer Blood are based out of West Palm Beach in the sunny and recently well oiled state (in more ways than one) of Florida. Not too much other info about them on wikipedia so look them up if your keen. Got to love that album cover, ShazaM!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

And the "Hot Song of the Day" is....

...Pursuit of Happiness (Nightmare) (featuring MGMT & Ratatat), by American rapper, singer, and producer Kid CuDi.  Kid CuDi has been posted before on this vlog, but this song hasn't yet, so a brief re-hash and then the song. He is based in Brooklyn, New York and has just recently produced a new album/sequel to the album this song came off of called Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager (2010). This song comes off of his Man on the Moon: End of the Day album, which was released in September 2009. Blah blah blah...and now the song...

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

June 22, 2010

Well, it is officially Summer here in the northern hemisphere, and the longest day of the year is past, which unfortunately that days will begin to get shorter, but not to be noticed til autumn or some shiznit like that. The FIFA World Cup continues to be unpredictable which actually makes it a lot more interesting, but like I have said before, going down to your local casino and placing some bets on who wins or loses always makes it more interesting and nail-biting to watch, although I can't say I felt the urge to do so in this round of matches. Wimbeldon is also on now, for all of you out of the know. Now, my astrologer has said that tension is mounting from the end of May all the way til the first week of August or so and on a global scale I can definitely see that what with all of the politics, war shiite, sporting events, oil spills and economic turmoils, but by September there is supposed to be a real ebb in the conflicts, at least for a short time, so all y'all should keep mindful of that if there is heaps of tension in your personal or professional lives right now, it is that way for just about everybody. But in the short term, he says that June 26th, this Sunday is a time of massive death/rebirth and change, so hopefully that doesnt mean nuclear assaults or anything crazy like that...what I think is it has to do with this oil spill and all the ocean and bird life it is eradicating, and no doubt it will wreak havoc on human populations as well, and in the meantime some brilliant judge just decided to life the ban on offshore drilling despite all of the warning signs of this current spill. It is truly amazing how people will make decisions based purely on their personal interest, or what they believe is in their personal interest, because no matter what they think we are all connected at multiple levels, and when we create hell-on-earth for others it always comes back at us. I believe Newton stated it as for every action in the universe there will be an opposite and equal reaction, so for all of you invincibles out there, think again, it is only a matter of time, and as they say "every dog has his day," and yes, I know that includes yours truly. Let's see, what else can I rant about to make this blog a bit more spicy, or as my nephew says it, "picy."  Blah!

And the "Hot Song of the Day" is....

...10:10, by Australian roots band The Beautiful Girls. The Beautiful Girls have been around since 2000, and have released 6 studio albums and 3 EP's in that time (according to wikipedia). The three current band members are Mat McHugh on vocals and guitar, Paulie B on bass, and Bruce Braybrooke on drums. 10:10 appeared on their Spooks album, which was released in May 2010.  I haven't listened to much of their stuff except this song, which definitely has that reggae-roots vibe to it.

Monday, June 21, 2010

#80 of VJ Samsonite's Top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown!

Welcome back to VJ Samsonite's top 100 80's Dance Hits Countdown! Today we are presenting #80 of the top 100 countdown, and starting to really get into it! And the song is...Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' by the King of Pop himself Michael Jackson. Now if you don't know who Michael Jackson (R.I.P.) is than I can't help you out. For those of you who don't know much MJ-trivia, he was born in Gary, Indiana in 1958, and he was 50 years old when he passed away just last year on June 25th (almost a frickin year already!!) in Los Angeles California. You might find it interesting to know that Madonna and Prince both also turned 50 years old last year, officially being the Queen and Prince of Pop during the 80's with recently deceased King M.J.. Now I know that there has been speculation about who will be the next, but as far as I am concerned no one currently can sit in the throne, so its empty until someone who really "has it" comes along. I have heard people say they think that Lady Gaga is making her way as the next Queen of Pop, however I remain skeptical on that one as I reckon you have to be extremely prolific and consistent with pop-hits over an extended period of time to take the throne, not that Lady Gaga isn't capable of this, but it remains to be seen. This discussion has me on a bit of tangent so back to the topic at hand. Wanna Be Startin Somethin, was the first track of Jackson's epic Thriller album which won Jackson a record-breaking eight Grammy Awards in 1984, including Album of the Year, and numbers are uncertain but it has been estimated as having sold approximately 78-110 million copies worldwide as of 2009. Shockingly enough youtube actually allows posting of the actual music video, so enjoy.

And the "Hot Song of the Day" is....

...Coca Cola, by Australian indie-rock band Little Red. Little Red are from Melbourne, Australia consisting of Adrian Beltrame (Guitar, Vocals), Dominic Byrne (Guitar, Vocals), Quang Dinh (Bass, Vocals), Tom Hartney (Vocals, tambourine and harmonica) and Taka Honda (Drums). Wikipedia says they have been compared to the Beach Boys in their sound, either way they definitely have an upbeat sound, no depressing grunge here. Coca Cola comes off of their Listen to Little Red album, released in 2008, so yes it is a bit old, but probably new to you, def check it out.