Rihanna Rips off the White Stripes?

Rihanna’s latest hit, ‘Disturbia’ has been rockin’ the billboard charts for quite some time now. It has reached the number one spot on the singles charts in a very short amount of time and now it is still up there competing against new songs that are coming out. The people behind Rihanna are amazing, Jay-Z must be proud having a protege under his wing – well not anymore. Rihanna has become one of the most dominant R&B singers out there next to Beyonce. She already has seven singles reaching number one on numerous billboard charts. Starting with ‘Pon de Replay’ and now continuing on with ‘Disturbia’. She is a force to be reckon with.

I have never listened to her latest single, ‘Disturbia’ until I saw the MTV awards and I couldn’t help to notice that the song sounds much like ‘Seven Nation Army’ by the White Stripes. Not the entire song, but the intro of the song or the hook or the beat that gets everyone pumped. I was listening to it and it very much reminded me of the opening riff from The White Stripes first single. Whoever produced that song was clearly running out of fresh ideas. I actually listened to and watched her music video for the single soon after watching her amazing performance at the awards show just to make sure I wasn’t hearing things. Alas though, I was not hearing things and the beat is very similar to the opening riff of ‘Seven Nation Army’. I know Rihanna is not to blame for this as she probably does not listen to The White Stripes and I don’t think she writes her own music either, so I’ll blame the producer.

I’ve compared the two and each riff/beat is of the same length, they are in the same key, and in the same tone. It is a good thing the producers changed it up a little, the tempo is different and there are noticeably more beats in Rihanna’s beat than The White Stripes’ riff.
I have to say, what’s going on here? Everybody in the music industry is ripping off each other, and these allegations are becoming more prevalent in the media. I’m really disgusted about how producers/singers/writers are ripping each other off for their own gains. There’s no more originality and there’s no more inspiration to make something you love. It’s all about the money and that’s what everyone wants.

At least it’s not as bad as Sum 41 ripping off Metallica’s ‘Battery’ with ‘The Bitter End’. I do not care if they wrote that song as a tribute to Metallica but seriously, Deryck should have wrote the song with more originality and diversity rather than just using ‘Battery’ as the template.

Harmonix Knows You Play Rock Band 2 Early

I was reading arstechnica today and I found this post where someone got to play Rock Band 2 before it was released. Pictures of the game have been posted up on a forum and they’re pretty hilarious.

Either being fake or not, the messages are pretty funny.
One message says, “Welcome to Rock Band 2! Nice work on scoring the game before it comes out!!”

This actually might be a developer’s copy or something like that. No doubt though, that this will put more hype into the battle between Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour.

Death Magnetic Leaked

So a few hours ago, or so I have read Metallica’s new album ‘Death Magnetic’ was leaked onto the internet. The record was due to be sold on Septmber 12 2008 but a French music store a couple of copies to patrons and one posted it on Blabbermouth with pictures of the cover album and disc.

The track listing of Death Magnetic includes:

01. That Was Just Your Life
02. The End Of The Line
03. Broken, Beat & Scarred
04. The Day That Never Comes
05. All Nightmare Long
06. Cyanide
07. The Unforgiven III
08. The Judas Kiss
09. Suicide & Redemption
10. My Apocalypse

Surprisingly, the band is not worried about the album being leaked out onto the internet. They believe in the long run, record sales will not be affected by this leak. It is interesting in what Lars Ulrich had to say about it as after the controversy Metallica created against Napster and P2P, “Listen, we’re ten days from release. I mean, from here, we’re golden. If this thing leaks all over the world today or tomorrow, happy days. Happy days. Trust me. Ten days out and it hasn’t quote-unquote fallen off the truck yet? Everybody’s happy. It’s 2008 and it’s part of how it is these days, so it’s fine. We’re happy.”

No one would expect them to be comfortable with this leak, but there is no point now in worrying is there?

The leaked album is already all over the internet on fan sites and such and no doubtingly on the torrent websites with massive amounts of activity.
Well lets just hope that the album is good and people will actually buy it and say it was worth the money.

Guitar Hero: World Tour with Metallica?

I would not really know how Activision would be able to compete with Red Octane’s ‘Rock Band’ but I guess they would have to go with the flow as since they are presenting their new Rock Band-esque instruments.  Included with the guitar which I believe has playback so people won’t have to buy the guitar with the whole package will be the drum set and the microphone.  From Microsoft’s E3 conference today, they announced that the drum set will be wireless which will be kick ass!  It looks a lot more realistic than the Rock Band one as there are actually cymbals on top of the drums and the tom toms.  The new guitar is different.  I believe it is a Gibson guitar, it is the same model as the Ibanez S/SA series, but the stock looks like a Rickenbacker stock which is weird because that stock is usually made with banjoes. I don’t think it is an Ibanez because Guitar Hero only carries Gibson Guitars but after the lawsuit Gibson filed, I’m not sure…maybe a PRS guitar but haven’t seen any PRS models like that.  It could be a bass guitar model that they showed at the conference though.

A really neat feature that is coming with the World Tour set is the ability to have an eight player guitar battle or co-op mode against people online.  It could get crowded on the screen, but still, it is going to be fun.  The best feature presented is now the user has the ability to create and edit their own music which I am confused about.  I’m pretty sure they can only create their own signature layout for each song, but not actually create and record an actual song.  It would be the shit though if the game allowed the user to do so.  Along with the XBox Live feature and PS3 one, I don’t know what it is called, their will be the new GHTunes distribution system that will allow the people to share their own creations.

The best announcement from the Microsoft conference at E3 was the content that Guitar Hero will have at launch.  R.E.M (of all bands) have actually signed a contract which will allow XBox users to download an R.E.M package of their hit songs and such to be played in World Tour. Not only that, but they will have three new songs included in their package from their new album, ‘Accelerate’ which will be pretty cool to listen to if you are an R.E.M fan (I am not a fan though).

The very best announcement for World Tour was that Van Halen, and the Eagles have exclusively lent their songs to be played and listened to for the game and, AND SOMETHING I NEVER WOULD HAVE IMAGINED, Metallica will have their new album, ‘Death Magnetic’ available on XBox Live for people to download and play to coinciding to its release in stores. I can not believe that Metallica are actually doing this.  They really have thought hard about the fan backlash from the Napster controversy.  I hope the new songs will be good, much better than St. Anger, and it will be THE SHIT to play on Guitar Hero. Sweet deal, I can not wait until it comes out.

iPod, more like i(t)Sucks

The iPod is responsible for saving Apple from obliteration and re-instating it as the desirable fruit in the technology market. I on the other hand consider the iPod the forbidden fruit that mainstream society has taken a bite out of. It is a technological breakthrough…if you live under a rock! I consider it as just another piece of unnecessary crap. It’s a little tool designed by Steve Jobs to capture the funds of teens or let’s be honest here, their parents’ cash. I can not tell you how many people I see each day listening to their iPods. The real question is, “Who doesn’t have an iPod?” The iPod has become a major necessity to everyone. If you don’t have it, you’re a loser, an outcast; you’re a disgrace! Once you get your own iPod, you’ve just conformed and became Steve’s bitch, or shall I say, Steve’s “iBitch!”
So what is it about the iPod that makes me churn inside? For one, the iPod has forty Gigabytes of memory. Does anyone actually have that much music, and if they do, how many songs do they regularly listen to? To be generous, let’s say about a hundred songs. Is it possible to listen to all the songs before the batteries run out? No! Once you get your iPod, you have that feeling, “I must fill this baby up with as much music as I can!” Next thing you know, you have the RIAA suing your ass because you downloaded and ripped too many songs to your iPod.
It is a marvel how many people are into the iPod. Its sleek design makes it so desirable. You cry and whine to your parents, just hoping they will get it for you – but it’s an mp3 player. Why would you pay a couple hundred dollars for it? All that matters is if it looks good or not. If a cell phone looked that good, you’d probably pay a hundred bucks just to have it. The iPod looks so cool, but it stands out due to its bright white colour. Just by wearing the headphones, you become an instant target to thieves. They know you have it, and they’ll obviously take it from you. You might as well tape a sign to your back reading, “Hey I have an iPod, come and steal it from me!”
I have to hand it to Steve Jobs though. He has chewed up the iPod and spit it back out to make it look brand new. He just adds little features to it and voila! A new iPod. Now there are many different iPods, each one with one more additional feature than the last. There is the new iPod Video which has video playback capabilities, but soon enough, you’ll have the MPAA on your ass as well for downloading and ripping movies to your iPod.
As technically revolutionizing as it may seem, it's still a piece of crap. The batteries last for about three years and it is a major hassle trying to replace them. What a sound investment that is. It’s easier to buy another iPod.
Once you realize the iPod isn’t as revolutionizing as they say, it just becomes yesterday’s news. Apple has gotten lucky on this waste of space but their fortunes will decline. Soon the iPod will become yesterday’s news and by then everyone will have one. As for those “iBitches” out there, you know your going to get the latest iPod, no matter what feature it has. Honestly, what does the iPod do? It plays media, that’s it. Get over it. It’s just an unnecessary piece of crap!

Car Wash for Peace? Or do the Walls Fall Down?

So during the summer of 2007…which was basically about two months ago, I was watching 'The View.' Yes I watched 'The View'; please, please, it was only for Jimmy Fallon; who's a great guy by the way. I was bored also, and I had nothing else better to do. So I watched Jimmy as he walked up on to the stage and conversed with Barbara Walters and friends. The most brilliant thing about the interview was that he got up and sang a song, 'Car Wash for Peace' which I found amusing, “Cause there's trouble in the Middle East.” It was a fun song, pretty nice; it had a catchy chorus to it and the best part is that all proceeds from buying the single off of any web music store goes to charity. It was the last I heard of the song…

Fast forward to a month later. As I awoke from my relaxed slumber in the mid day afternoon…I suppose. I heard that familiar jingle of Jimmy Fallon. I was bobbing my head and waiting to sing the chorus, then the time came and I sang, “Car wash for peace!!!!!” Yeah…that did not go so well, as I listened to the lyrics, “As the walls fall down.” I was thinking in my head…oh boy, someone ripped off Mr. Fallon. As the song finished, I heard Josie Die from 102.1 THE EDGE! Say, “And that was Beduoin Sound Clash with their new single, 'Walls Fall Down'” I was like, WTF². So as my excitement died down, I was like wow did Bedouin rip off Jimmy? Maybe. Its been a while since I heard anything from them…well yea because they were in the studio for the past few months recording their new album. Maybe, just maybe Jimmy ripped off Bedouin or it could be the other way around. I don't think anyone noticed the similarities between the melodies of their songs, but I haven't really researched any of that. I hope it doesn't turn out into that whole Deryk Whibley fiasco with everyone accusing him of ripping off numerous artists and bands. It even stemmed from their debut major label album, “All Killer, no Filler.” I researched into it and I say, many of their songs sound similar to different bands and artists. Lets see, we have Papa Roach, ColdPlay, METALLICA (especially), and…that's all I can think of right now LOL. Oh, there is the Rubinoos that Mrs. Whibley allegedly stole their single from to use in her summer smash hit. It does not matter now as I do not care, which leads me to question why the fuck am I writing about this topic in my Live Journal. I have better things to do, like catch up on all my homework; fuckin' RMS, I hate you so much but not as much as Solution Curves, you goddam mother fuckers!

So I spelt Bedouin wrong in some of my words ah whatever, I'm too lazy to spell check.

Guitar Lessons

After two weeks of deliberation, I finally went back and restarted my guitar lessons. Its been two weeks of pain for me to try to catch up with Chemistry. Even after taking a break from guitar, I am still lost in Chemistry. The point is, I am glad I went back to learn more guitar, because I never really knew and appreciated how important theory is to the guitar. I can not believe how much stuff you have to know. There are so many chords and styles of playing, its just unbearable…except for my guitar teacher who is like a master at this. My teacher taught me “Wake me up When September ends” by Green Day which everyone should know by now. The freakiest part was, he memorized how to play it in half an hour, just by listening to the song. He is one of those people who have trained their ears. He listened to the song and automatically knew the chords and notes you needed to play it. That was so weird. I will probably forget how to play the song, but no worry because one of his students actually has the official tab for the song. So he can just photocopy and give it to me. HA!

Well tommorow I will be celebrating my birthday by studying for a freakin' test! I hate it sooo much. The good part is, I can go get some good shit on Thursday and have a BLAST on Friday! I'm thinking about going to Waterloo on Friday, but screw that, too tired. LOL.

Man I just got 'Fort Minor' by Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park and let me tell you, it is superb! Even though it is rap/R&B, it's still pretty good. The songs are amazing excluding the rapping part, but I can deal with that. 'Remember the Name' is so good with the strings going at it to make the main riff. The main riff to that song is sick! You can even go to the AOL website and see a live performance of Mike, Ryu, Styles of Beyond, and the others performing Petrified, Remember the Name, and more…I dont' remember though. It is so cool in the performance, oh and the weirdest thing though in the performance…two black guys playing the violin and another black guy playing the cello. Have you ever seen that before. Mostly, only the asians play those instruments, but wow, I've never seen a black guy play classical stringed instruments. I saw some behind the scenes DVD footage and the artwork Shinoda has created is kick ass. I love those skulls he created, they way he outlines them, the different underused colours, and the messiness most importantly makes it look amazing. I can't believe he even made a whole bunch of the skulls in a pile in that way. It is so cool how he does that. Mike Shinoda is so cool. He is an artist lyrically and visually and especially a talented musician. When i grow up…I'm gonna be Like Mike (no pun intended, lol). Actually no I'm not, I'm just gonna draw and stuff and maybe do some animation or something LOL. Play some music on the side and create a video/game that incorporates all my art skills, music skills, comm tech skills, and programming skills (yeh right…my ass!).

When my birthday comes around, I will probably get 'Fort Minor' and probably a game. Maybe I will get 'Burnout 2' or 'Need for Speed: Most Wanted' or better yet maybe even 'Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat'. I want to drum on those bongos all day long lol.

Classical Music….not for me

I went to get some music books today, and I got it…finally, METALLICA. Oh yeah, I got, 'Ride the Lightning' and 'The Black Album.' Sweetness. I went to Cosmo to get the book and the woman at the cashier said that you can not return or exchange or refund the books. DAM Aloke, you and your crazy 'photocopying the book and returning it' antics. My mom overheard about the other Cosmo store and my mom asked about it. The store is basically all the classical instruments you know, flute, trombone, violin, cello and stuff. I looked at the instruments and they were pretty cool…until I saw the price tags. Freakin $2000 for a freakin' trumpet, ARE THEY CRAZY? Well probbably because the instrument is made out of metal and that does cost a lot compared to wood which is a natural resource and there is tons of it, but then trees are being cut down to make it and they are not growing back sadly enough. I looked at the cellos, they are freakin' huge and so nice. The tuning knobs though….are so weird and big. Those cellos freakin cost like $4000. I don't want one anymore. I got a look at a brass instrument, what is it, its freakin' huge, like a trombone, or something but ya that cost almost $10 000. JEEZ, I'm not going to even touch that. I saw some wood and metal xylophones, sooo cool. I didn't know they used sticks with yarn balls attached to play them. the sound are soo cool. Man I jsut want one now lol!

My Chemical Romance – Helena

I watched ‘Helena’ by ‘My Chemical Romance’ for the first time…a few months ago. Then today I actually said, what the hell is that video talkin’ bout?! LOL. It’s about a girl…obviously…and in the video she is dead and they are at the Church conducting the funeral cermony and stuff and then the girl starts dancing with extras and its a musical. So weird. Musical with a dead body dancing around with everyone else and then she just falls back in the coffin with her eyes wide open. The lead singer is singing while he is walking down the steps with the other band members I assume… then I’m like…’Isn’t that coffin heavy?’ I mean like wow he is able to sing and walk down the steps at the same time, I mean like wow he must be strong well ya with the other band members. It would be a pain though if you were one of the mounties carrying Pierre Elliot Trudeau after he passed away. I saw that ceremony, freakin’ CTV had to interrupt my cartoon morning to show the funeral. I saw those mounties, it took them like half an hour to get the coffin from the front of the Church to the Hearse. I say, they were walking one step for like every 5 seconds. If that were me, my shoulders would have been in freakin’ pain, but not as much pain as the NAVY SEALS and how they carry the rubber life rafts for like a whole hour, then they have to run in the beach at like 3AM in the morning and have to go into the water and come back out. That would be the worst. Ya and in that video, it was raining to so I be thinking, what if that guy slipped while walking down the steps, holy shit, that guy would have been hurt and the coffin on top of him, you could only see his feet and legs dangling around, and then the corpse just plops out, eeeeww.

Wake Me up When September Ends

Man I saw the video for that song. They premiered it on MTV like LOOOOOOOOOONG TIME AGO and i just went to a site and DL it. Whoa man that story is sooo said. I didn’t really like it because they didn’t finish the story. If I did it I’d be like OK in the beginning we have them giving each other this promise ring to get married and stuff and keep the rest of the story going until his company gets ambush. Then the music stops and they start gunnin’ it out and in dramatic fashion and slo-mo, the guy gets shot in the chest area like he somehow takes off his bullet proof vest while protecting an injured commrade and then he gets shot. Super slo-mo to him just falling back to the ground and the rest of the team trying to do CPR on him. His eyes are still and they zoom into his pupil or zoom out of the scene and fade it out. Then transition it to zooming out of his girlfriend’s eye and she’s crying and looking at the news with a sad look at the boyfriend’s house. Then a military car comes in a a General and two lieutenants walk out with a letter and she comes running out and starts crying and screaming HE’S NOT DEAD, HE CAN’T BE and in slow-mo while she’s running towards them, they take out the promise ring she gave to him and she stops, collapses, cries, and the mom and dad come out and they all cry and stuff while the army dudes give them the letter and all this while they finish the rest of the song. In the very last outro of the song, have the funeral going and a big picture of the dude and they somehow make a crazy effect where they somehow show that the guy is actually Billy’s (lead singer’s name I think) dad and that the girlfriend is the mom. And then fade out with Billy with a tear running down a cheek.
That shit would be sooo much better. It would inflict pain and sympathy around everyone cause the war is going on staying in tune with the political events and staying to their album. Then it shows dramatically that Billy wrote this song because of his dad who I think died which inspired him to write the song.

a) With reference to September in which the month his dad may have died.
b) He wants to metaphorically sleep through September because of the pain.
c) The direct reference to his late dad.
d) With reference to ’seven years’ in the beginning of the song. in which Billy has finally written a song about his dad after the thing about how come he wrote a song about his dad now, why not then, and blah blah blah.

There is more but whatever| thought this up while watchin’ the vid.