Weekend shinanigans! Pt 2.

Break-dancing killed this lil ol radio star, yeow!

So like a kid hungry for cartoons on Saturday morning, yearning for mums pancakes, pleading to have friends stay over after baseball and hungry hungry hungry to ensure his weekend is absolutely filled to the brim with activity, so too do you yearn for the second instalment. NEVER FEAR. I hear your cries, and feel your tears fall upon my paper. Here is the second instalment of the weekend that was, the weekend that bore fruit to such events as row-dogs uncles combie stalling on the bend, my bro putting on The final Scenario of 09 and the anticipated return of the irreplaceable Jess to the shores of Australia. “Perfect timing” I say, “you can come to The Scenario at Melt and get your b-to-the-oogie-woogie on! YEOW!!!”

Friday, 4-12-09. As I exit the combie which has stalled and spluttered its way to the Cross and parked right outside the entrance to Melt, Row-dog and I look at each other, smile and get ready for what we know will be a killer of a dessert treat after the Boy and Bear gig we just witnessed. The funked up Boom Box at the entrance lets me know I am here and ensures I am ready to witness some of the finest Hip-Hop talent in Sydney. Greeted with man-hugs from my brothers and the usual crew including Bravo, Sandy-scand-hole and el-capitan-Phil, followed by a kiss or two (Awww schmucks) from a couple’o’girlies I know, I am welcomed by the realisation that tonight isn’t just the usual Scenario crew, tonight is Battle Night... Time to watch some full on radical, flippin crazy, unmentionable and unimaginable movements by some fine fine talent on the dance floor and cast my vote by cheering and going bananas for those who I think deserve to win. Tonight, I am told we have been blessed with a guest appearance by two representatives from The Vagabonds, 2006 B.O.T.Y Winners. With Bboy Abd-L and Bboy Mounir in attendance this night was shaping up to just get better and better, and dude... These guys can dance. Check out some of their videos but I am pleased to say they didn't just walk in and destroy the guys who show up week in and week out, the faced some stiff competition and eventually made it to the final where the faced the winners of The Scenario's last battle night, and the final heated up to the last round and the Vagabond boys just threw everything at it and came out on top with some of the sweetest moves I have ever seen. Even if Hip-Hop is not your bag, briefcase or even shopping trolley you have to agree that to be able to manipulate your body in the way and with the ease with which they do so is ridiculously amazing! If you are interested The Scenario will be back first Friday of February so hit me up with an email and I will get you some info. Blam!

Now while conducting a bit of research, I had the thought, why not try and find out a little bit more about my judges and how they may be able to help. After all, they are deciding who wins this thing, and they are gods in their own right. So I started with Kate Vale (Hi Kate! just in case I do receive the pleasure of you reading this). And upon searching google I found a page which had an interview with Kate, and while reading this I realised she started her career (after an initial stint in HR at a Law Firm) at TMP Worldwide.... Wow Kate... I think you have to hire me as this is where my career started... YAY!!!! So I kept looking at some more and I realised Kate, as el-numero-uno in the digital world at Google as far as Youtube goes, I realised her personal mantra is “TEST TEST TEST! Make sure you test different creatives – different ad creatives can represent a four-to-five-times difference in your click-through and post-click conversion rates. As with keywords, the only way to know is to experiment. Do you want ads with catchy slogans, or ones providing “just the facts” of your product and price? It depends on the industry and the product. Test numerous creative approaches, and track results.” Now I thought about this and realised it is very relevant to this competition. We need to be trying different things, gauge results based on comments/profile views etc and then make changes dependant on what it seems people want to read about/watch/look at and this will enable us to win this competition. I think if people are really trying they will be replying to messages, they will be genuinely interested in other entrants not only on a competitive level but also as a music lover and as someone who values the opinion of others. Honestly, I hope it helps me win this competition but if someone uses this awesome info to beat me, well I can't complain as it would be a job well done.

Anyway my lovely coco-pop munchin kiddles, that is it for now. I will update this post with video content of the Scenario battles as soon as I get it off my flippin busted phone, so until next time, “You Stay Classy San-Diego”... YEOW!

Funky like a duck

Good afternoon/evening/morning/afternoon again, dependent on when you are reading this. I hope all is well in your respective worlds and you are ready for yet another installment of Mind Music and Me, YEOW!

Jelly legs and throat of a sick bird. Thudding head and echoes of "my shout" still going around and around in my head. Monday's have become something more like a bad dream than reality as the sun is not welcome on my face and the sound of speech seems almost too much to bare. Rargh Rargh the bear grumbles and is ready for the meal so far avoided. Inspired by kitchen dude.

Can I just start by congratulating Boy and Bear (See first Blog) on their recent news, winning the Triple J unearthed competition to play with the likes of Powderfinger and SIA at the upcoming Homebake festival! Nice one lads. I am sure this opportunity as well as the upcoming Slightly Mexican tour http://tiny.cc/Uj9GP will be the ripe reward for all the hard work. YEOW!

Also, sorry all for the delay in producing this post. The weekend may have been filled to the absolute brim so very little time was spent on el-computer-io. However I have some sweet as tunes and some even sweeter candy to share with you all so listen up and get your musical taste-buds tingling cause this is about to get tasty.

So a good friend of mine from Norway introduced me to a musician a couple of years back called Erlend Oye and I remember straight away saying this is awesome, however for a little while I totally forgot about him. That was until I heard the new project, The Whitest Boy Alive. As soon as I heard a track of the new album Rules, I had to get back on the wagon and listen to as much as I could! So so so good. Totally love the singers style and the electronic feel is nice and relaxing but not put-you-to-sleep-style. Check it http://tiny.cc/KyU9X

Also, while I was listening to some of their stuff, Youtube suggested I listen to this track http://tiny.cc/XIQYB it is only short but for some reason I listened to it probably five or six times, love it! I don't know anymore about this song other than I enjoyed it so I hope you do too.

Now, an artist that has somehow not had a mention throughout my posts to this date but has been on constant rotation on my walkman/discman/ipod since I got my first in 1999, is Mos Def. No idea how he has not been mentioned as of yet as he is one of my absolute favourites. Black on Both Sides released in 1999 is still one of my most played albums and his singing ability during choruses is something I have come to love. Something you do not hear every MC touching on, and just another element he adds to his tracks. His latest single to hit the aussie charts is is a collaboration with Slick Rick, and as my brother will attest I have been absolutely obsessed with this track for months now! http://tiny.cc/hV4nG Madlib's presence is notable as soon as the track kicks off and no one need question either Mos or Slicks MC-ability. The three collaborate so smoothly and Slick Rick's unique style is just as fresh as the first time I heard his voice. Love it.

If you need any more persuading or just want to hear a couple of little snippets of Mos and his abilities check out these videos of him freestylin against close friend Kanye West http://tiny.cc/pSURM http://tiny.cc/ZEPYw

Okelie so that is another super awesome blog diggety done, and I hope you all appreciated it. If not I am sorry but the only way I know to fix it is if you tell me,so access my twitter account as above if need be. Always happy to hear feedback, tips, opinions or even suggestions for topics. But, for now, I'LL GET YOU NEXT TIME CAPTAIN PLANET! Jeni's out.

Yeow!