Sunday, September 21, 2008

Modern Music Learns from the Past

Some friends and I were at a club last night for a birthday party and heard Fergalicious by Fergie. I offered $5 to anyone who could name what song this modern dance song was based on. I still have $5 in my pocket.

Listen to "Fergalicious" by Fergie:

SeeqPod - Playable Search

Then listen to "It's More Fun to Compute" by Kraftwerk released in 1981 from the album Computer World.

SeeqPod - Playable Search

From Wikipedia:
"Kraftwerk’s releases in the 1970s and early 1980s, most significantly Autobahn (1974), Radio-Activity (1975), Trans-Europe Express (1977), The Man-Machine (1978), and Computer World (1981), directly influenced and continues to inspire many popular artists from many diverse generes of music."

This is just one example of so many. Notice that the entire bassline and many of the riffs are all taken directly from Kraftwerk. So if you want a history of where modern dance music came from, just listen to Kraftwerk. A German band that started in the 1970's, still tours to this day, and whose influence continues today and likely beyond.

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Predicting the Post Election Headlines


Because of the love affair the media has with the democratic candidate, I'm going to go out on a limb and predict what much of the media may say. If McCain wins and Obama looses:

It was because America was...
  • not ready for a black president
  • not ready for radical change
  • not ready to accept the lifestyle of gays

And not because he...