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Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
Concert Announcement / News Concert announcement: Stone Temple Pilots
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 3:53 PM
Stone Temple Pilots have listed an Oct. 6 date at Road Runner Mobile Amphitheatre on their tour schedule for this fall. No word on ticket sales yet.
News Fourth Homebrew CD submissions wanted
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 2:43 PM
Time's running out to get your music in for consideration on the next edition of Jeff Hahne's Homebrew CD compilation.
You can find out all of the details here.
10-in-10 CD Reviews / News 10-in-10 CD reviews
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 12:02 PM
Each Friday, we review 10 recently released CDs in 10 words each:
Clubfeet Gold on Gold — Australia trio’s mellow music is backed by heavy electronic beat.
Menomena Mines — Experimental rock trio creates steady balance between songwriting and quirks.
36 Crazyfists Collisions and Castaways — Album starts softly before hitting you upside head with brick.
Micki Free American Horse — Sad tale of Wounded Knee does not need “ya dig?”
Graham Czach Lucid — Plenty of 60s/70s prog-rock influence in this album.
The Restoration Constance — This thing comes with a freakin’ book… not just booklet.
Great Big Sea Safe Upon the Shore — Canadian folk-rockers release 10th album with bit more edge. (At McGlohon Theatre on Sept. 28.)
Eli Paperboy Reed Come and Get It — ‘50s style of music has familiarity, but not much originality.
Gyptian Hold You — “Reggae sensation” leans more toward soul than Marley-style reggae.
Doug Keith The Lucky Ones — NYC singer/songwriter has deep soft vocals over indie folk.
On TV / Awards / News American Idol judge changes
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Fri, Jul 30, 2010 at 10:32 AM
So, the buzz going around the Internet today is all about American Idol and the future of the judges now that Simon Cowell is gone.
Ellen DeGeneres has decided to leave the show because "It was hard for me to judge people and sometimes hurt their feelings." Um, yeah, it's callled a judge for a reason and she did nothing but stroke egos and balk at any chance of giving someone real criticism. Aside from the fact that she had no background in music whatsoever.
A rumor is swirling that Kara DioGuardi will be fired. I say good riddance. She wrote a couple of songs for former Idol contestants and they bombed. So, maybe her day job isn't so safe either.
More rumors are swirling that the judges will be Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez. Ugh. Way to push down a sinking ship — and by that I mean Aerosmith. After all the problems in the band, would Tyler really leave the band - again - to go to a ratings starved television karaoke contest? I sure as hell hope not.
As for Lopez — her career has been struggling for a while and she was on the path of Paula Abdul anyway.
American Idol worked in the beginning because it was new and fresh. Now there are 457 reality competitions and they all look the same. Time to find the next big thing and abandon the Idol ship while you still can...
Thursday, July 29, 2010
New Releases / Videos / Local Leak / News Local Leak: Ike Turnah & Panama Ski's "Armor All"
Posted By Mike McCray on Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 4:32 PM
Maybe my cries for better local video production haven't been falling on deaf ears after all.
Enter Q.C. hip-hop staple, Ike Turnah, and the slightly lesser known, Panama Ski, and the new video for their track, "Armor All." This is what all Charlotte hip hop videos could be. Sure, it had it's art school moments, some classic footage went a little long and we overly artistic but as a whole this video is solid, well shot, very well edited. A dope compliment to a dope song you'll probably never hear on Power 98 but CL will always support. Look out for Panama Ski spitting on top of one of our boxes in NoDa in the video. The clips from Money Talks was also a nice touch.
Videos / News Kanye West rhymes at Twitter HQ
Posted By Mike McCray on Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 4:31 PM
Rapper Kanye West made a social media mark yesterday. Not only did he increase his social media presence by joining Twitter and amassing something like like 50 new followers a second (he's already up to 258,ooo +) but he also stopped by Twitter headquarters and spit this a capella verse from his upcoming album for a handful of employees.
Opinion / News The magic of ear buds
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 1:50 PM
As much music as I listen to, I figured there wasn't much difference from one kind of ear bud to another... You put the small speakers in your ears, hear music, what's the big need for fancy ones vs. the basics.
Well, I'm ready to admit that there's a difference. I don't have a problem with the basic JVC set I bought for about $10, but having just tried out the Wicked Empire (list price is $34.99), I can say I quickly heard a difference.
Aside from the noise canceling properties that make me feel like I'm in a tunnel with no distractions but the music at hand, I also noticed that the bass is a little deeper, the vocals a little clearer and the sound quality improved a good bit. The old set had a tinny, treble overload on them.
While the Empires feel a little bass-heavy on first listen, it quickly settled into a more balance aural experience. It wasn't that the bass was heavy, it was just that the old pair didn't offer much low end.
The buds come with three different cushion sizes to make sure they fit comfortably, which also helped. I'll admit I'm indifferent about the eight-ball logos on them, but as far as comfort and sound, I can't imagine going back to the JVC brand unless these break or fail in some way.
Sadly, it now makes me wonder what reviews I've done that might have been different if I had access to better speakers or ear buds that can provide a truer representation of the sound and production quality.
Photos / Live Reviews / setlist / News Live review: Paul McCartney
Posted By Jeff Hahne on Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 11:23 AM
Paul McCartney
Time Warner Cable Arena
July 28, 2010
The Deal: Legendary musician hits Charlotte for two-hour-and-45-minute show full of hits, classics and solo tunes.
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Live review: Iron Maiden, Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, 6/21/2012 10
Band kicks off 2012 tour in Charlotte.
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Congrats to the Avetts!
