Just the other day I was browsing and something startling came across my eyes. X Men Origins: Wolverine, which is supposed to release on May 1st, was available for download(of course an incomplete workprint with green screens and ropes still visible). This got my eyes popping out of its sockets, and at the same time my skin crawling at the sheer extent to which pirates are willing to go.

I am a guy who doesn't hate or write off piracy as a completely evil thing. If I really want to see a movie, I will see it in the theaters and won't succumb to piracy. And moreover If you want to have the feel of the movie you should watch it in the theaters. But pirates releasing prints of the movie before the movie has even released is one of then despicable acts-an act devoid of ethics.

This has gone to a new level with Wolverine releasing 2 months before its actual release. Even though all pirates doesn't deserve to be punished, the ones who released(and re-released) are very much deserving of the axe of the law. They should be punished rather hardly for committing such an act of "media terrorism".

And according to sources there was over 100,000 downloads for the movie baffled me. Who would want to see an incomplete version of the movie with strings and green screens and destroy the feel of the movie. And before posting something like this one should think about the amount of work put in to the movie by the actors, director and the whole crew, and how they are destroying it single handedly. You should at least give the movie a couple of weeks in the theater before you do something like this.

You can get the work print of the movie even now on p2p networks, but I strongly recommend against it. Not because of the legal implications but because of our moral obligations. The FBI is on the case and 20th Century Fox looks pretty confident that they will find and prosecute the person/persons behind the leak(and I hope so too). Apparently there is some kind of advanced watermarking employed by Fox(USVO watermarking) which will lead to the culprit.

An awesome Bollywood version of Apple's iconic iTunes ads! Dancers are silhouetted against a vibrant green background in classic iTunes ad style, performing Bharat Natyam, Kathak, Indian Folk, Hip-Hop, and modern Bollywood dance. The song used is "Bachna Ae Haseeno" from the movie Bachna Ae Haseeno, which is actually a remix of an older song by the same name.



Sure we have known this for long how the iPod has changed the way the world listens to music, revolutionizing the way things are. The new deal between Steven Job’s Apple and Hungama.com means that Indipop music and Bollywood soundtracks can be downloaded from iTunes across America, Europe and Asia with effortless ease and reasonable rates. This will be a big help for the Music Industry in India as its struggling from piracy by opening up a whole new market.

Anyways the ad is catchy, I just wish they didnt use the word Bollywood, which in my opinion is so degrading to Indian Film Industry.

P.S. Thanks to Kiran who send me this video and brought this into my notice.

I hate to post this right after I made a post on how Kid Cudi is going to be the next big thing. But in a vociferous rant in his blog Kid Cudi announced his retiring from the music industry. Retiring??? Even before his debut album dropped? Doesn't it sound crazy?

I don't know what got into him( or if this whole thing is a big publicity stunt). Anyways he claims the drama of being famous is way more harder than the stuff he had to deal when he was broke. He says he want to drop out of the game before he looses his peers and his supporters crucify him? (wtf??) Read on for his rant.

iam sorry
March 16th, 2009

AFTER THE RELEASE OF MY FIRST LP THIS SUMMER, IAM NOT MAKING ANY MORE SOLO ALBUMS. IAM FALLIN BACK ON BEING A ARTIST. THE DRAMA THAT COMES WITH IT IS MORE OVERWHELMING THAN THE SHIT I WAS DEALING WIT WHEN I WAS PISS POOR BROKE. MY FRIENDS GET MAD AT ME, SAY IVE CHANGED, ONE OF THE ONLY HOMIES I GOT IN THIS GAME, WALE, IS WORRIED ABOUT ME CUZ OF SHIT HE HEARS. LIKE WTF? WHO CAN SAY IM BEIN HOLLYWOOD? IM NOT AROUND ANYONE BUT PLAIN PAT AND EMILE. WHO CAN SAY THAT SHIT? MUTHAFUCKAS TALKIN SHIT HERE AND THERE, SPREADIN RUMORS, MAKIN JOKES, TRYNA JUDGE ME, AND FOR WHAT? DOES MY MUSIC POKE FUN AT OTHERS? DO I TALK SHIT ABOUT PEOPLE N MY MUSIC? I ALREADY WENT TO HIGH SCHOOL ONCE, AND GOT EXPELLED CUZ IT WASNT FOR ME. IMA DROP OUT THIS SHIT BEFORE NIGGAZ TRY AND CRUCIFY ME.

I DONT LOOK AT IT AS QUITTING, FOR I HAVE ALREADY ACCOMPLISHED MY GOAL. I HAVE A SOLID FANBASE WHO TRUELY APPRECIATES ME AND MY MESSAGES THRU SONG, I GOT MULTIPLE BIG RECORDS, I HAVE RECIEVED WORLDWIDE CRITICAL ACCLAIM FROM THE BIGGEST TASTEMAKERS IN THE GAME, 3 FAN MADE BEST OF MIXTAPES WITHOUT EVEN RELEASING MORE THAN ONE MIXTAPE AND NOT EVEN RELEASING A ALBUM, I CAN PAY MY MOMS MORTGAGE AND HELP MY SISTER WITH MY NIECE AND HOLD MY BROTHERS DOWN WITH WUTEVER THEY NEED. THATS WUT I GOT IN THIS GAME FOR, TO ACCOMPLISH ALL THESE GOALS AND I HAVE. NO REGRETS

IM SORRY TO THE FANS, IM SO SORRY YALL. I KNO U GUYS WILL ALL HATE ME, BUT REMEMBER, IM JUS A REGULAR DUDE WHO WAS GIVEN A AMAZING GIFT, AND NOW WITH THAT AMAZING GIFT CAME MORE UNCALLED FOR PROBLEMS THAN THE AVERAGE HUMAN BEING SHOULD HAVE TO DEAL WITH.

I WILL STILL DO THE COLLAB ALBUM WITH CHIP, AND THAT WILL BE MY LAST STUDIO RECORDING.

IAM GOING TO FOCUS ALL MY ATTENTION ON THE HBO SHOW WHICH WE START SHOOTING IN AUGUST AND MY ACTING CAREER IN GENERAL…ILL CONTINUE TO DO SHOWS FOR THE REAL KID CUDI FANS, AND IM PLANNING A BIG CONCERT THIS SUMMER, JUS ME, AND I WILL PERFORM MY ENTIRE MIXTAPE FROM BEGINNING TO END AND NEW SONGS FROM MY ALBUM. ILL KEEP U GUYS UPDATED ON THAT

AGAIN, IAM SORRY, BUT ITS THE ONLY WAY TO KEEP ME FROM GOING COMPLETELY INSANE. IM TOO REAL FOR THIS HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL SHIT. BAK TO THE MOON I GO.

I just hope this is a big publicity stunt or if he means it then he change his mind. I was just beginning to warm up to him. I wonder what Kanye would be thinking?..

Anyways here are a few of his songs I love.

Day 'N' Nite
Sky Might Fall
Super Boo
Switchin' Lanes

P.S - I got a little busy these days and there is pretty much nothing interesting happening in both the Music and Movie industry. That's why the slag on blogging. :)

The 4th trailer for the new Harry Potter movie has released and its awesome as always. The CGI work in the movie is amazing and the whole smoke thing is pretty innovative. I have read the book and this one has the potential to be an epic movie. Can't wait to see it in theaters. Releasing on July 17th 2009.

Gifted are a two-piece musical experiment formed by vocalist PJo and producer Saum G. They got the curious blend between Hip Hop and Electro that just works. I'm surprised why they didn't get the attention they deserve. Check Out their MySpace page and you can find 5 of their songs and its all awesome.

I can't just pick any tracks cause all of them are really amazing. Thanks to PMA who introduced me to these artists.
This is what PMa had to say about them:

"Their first single “Music” is a curious blend of hip-hop and electro — and at some points you hear some classical strings and piano. Something else that strikes me as interesting is the way PJo sings the song. At the beginning of the track, he’s whispering, but that doesn’t last long — he builds up the song into a pumped-up crescendo. Very nice. Also, the start-stop trend PJo has going is reminiscent of rap, but it still holds that sing-song R&B vibe throughout. They even get their Kanye on and sorta jump on the vocoder for a couple of seconds. Very tastefully done."
"....“Come With Me,” 2nd single off their upcoming debut album, Presence, to share. “Come With Me” blows “Music” out of the water! The production on the track is insane and PJo’s flow is buttery smooth. If “Music” didn’t do it for you, “Come With Me” will definitely convince you that Gifted is one of the most talented up-and-comers around."

PMA offers free download of both "Music" and "Come With Me" over at their site. The rest of the songs can be found at their MySpace Page for listening. Give them your love. They deserve it.

The 2009 Academy Award function just ended and Slumdog Millionaire sweeps 8 out of 10 categories it was nominated. I am really happy now and that is cause of many reasons. Firstly this Oscar awards saw an Indian get three Oscars- Best Original Score and Best Original Song for A.R Rahman and Best Sound Mixing for Resul Pookutty. Secondly I am happy that all my predictions for the movie Slumdog Millionaire and its music is coming true.

The rags to riches story Slumdog Millionaire fulfills its Oscar destiny by bagging the Best Picture and seven other awards, including the directorial honours for Danny Boyle. A story of hope amid squalor in Mumbai, India, “Slumdog Millionaire” also had wins that include adapted screenplay, cinematography, editing and both music Oscars, score and song. Danny expresses his gratitude to everyone and especially to the people of Mumbai saying they “dwarf even this guy” as he held up his Oscar statue.

With two of the three song nominations, “Slumdog” won for “Jai Ho,” the rousing Bollywood number that closes the film. “Slumdog” composer A.R. Rahman, a dual Oscar winner for the score and song, said the movie was about “optimism and the power of hope.” “All my life, I’ve had a choice of hate and love. I chose love, and I’m here,” Rahman said.

The other top winners were Kate Winslet who got Best Actress for the Holocaust themed "The Reader", Sean Penn who got the Best Actor for his portrayal of Harvey Milk in "Milk", Heath Ledger who got Best Supporting Actor for his unforgettable rendition of The Joker in the movie "The Dark Knight", and Penelope Cruz who got Best Supporting Actress for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona".

Ledger's Oscar for the Warner Bros. blockbuster was accepted by Ledger’s parents and sister on behalf of the actor’s 3-year-old daughter, Matilda.

“I have to say this is ever so humbling, just being amongst such wonderful people in such a wonderful industry,” said his father, Kim Ledger. “We’d like to thank the academy for recognizing our son’s amazing work, Warner Bros., and Christopher Nolan in particular for allowing Heath the creative license to develop and explore this crazy Joker character.”

“I have to say this is ever so humbling, just being amongst such wonderful people in such a wonderful industry,” said his father, Kim Ledger. “We’d like to thank the academy for recognizing our son’s amazing work, Warner Bros., and Christopher Nolan in particular for allowing Heath the creative license to develop and explore this crazy Joker character.”

The epic love story “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” which led with 13 nominations, had three wins, for visual effects, art direction and makeup. “The Dark Knight” had a second win, for sound editing. The ever adorable Wall-E got the Best Animation Feature Film Award.

Hugh Jackman who hosted this year's Oscars was not the usual comedian host, but a song and dance man. He asked an interesting question in his song- why don't comic book movies get nominated?- a definite dig at the omission of The Dark Knight from most of the important categories. I definitely felt it at least deserved a nomination for Best Picture.

Courtesy: MSNBC for all the quotes which I was not alert enough to remember :D.

For a Full list of Oscar Nominees and Winners go here.

Edit- I made a blunder of mislabelling the 2009 awards as 2008 awards. Corrected. Sorry for that :)

Touring is where the money is if you happen to be a recording artist, and here’s further proof. This is Billboard’s list of the biggest music money-makers of last year, and most of the revenue was generated by touring alone. Even if album sales are more and more at an all-time low, some of these artists are making more money than they ever have.

It’s not so strange that the album Madonna released last year, Hard Candy, barely saw the light of day from its lowly position on the sales charts – but it is in sharp contrast to the success her tour saw in 2008. Just look at the list- Jonathan Brothers made more than Lil Wayne?? Kenny Chesney made more than double Kanye?? Celine Dion?? Police?? and to top it all of -"MILEY CYRUS" What is the world coming to? :D Anyways here is the Billboard’s “Moneymakers” list of the musicians who took the biggest paycheck 2008. Thanks to Pretty Much Amazing

1. Madonna: $242,176,466
2. Bon Jovi: $157,177,766
3. Bruce Springsteen: $156,327,964
4. The Police: $109,976,894
5. Celine Dion: $99,171,237
6. Kenny Chesney: $90,823,990
7. Neil Diamond: $82,174,000
8. Rascall Flatts: $63,522,160
9. Jonas Brothers: $62,638,814
10. Coldplay: $62,175,555
11. The Eagles: $61,132,213
12. Lil Wayne: $57,441,334
13. AC/DC: $56,505,296
14. Michael Buble: $50,257,364
15. Miley Cyrus: $48,920,806
16. Taylor Swift: $45,588,730
17. Journey: $44,787,328
18. Billy Joel: $44,581,010
19. Mary J. Blige: $43,472,850
20. Kanye West: $42,552,402

P.S- I've been busy collecting and catching up with the Rock/ Hip Hop collabs that are any good. Will soon put up a list on that. Till then ciao.

At long last, the many, many Grammy Awards have been announced for another year. There are some clear favorites this year, like Coldplay, Lil Wayne, and John Mayer, along with some oldsters who just keep on gettin' it right, like Robert Plant and Al Green.

The insane drama over Chris Brown’s arrest and the allegations that he assaulted his girlfriend Rihanna ALMOST overshadowed the 51st Annual Grammy Awards that took place at the Staples Center last night.. but the awards went on without a glitch and provided an amazing night of entertainment. The evening kicked off with a killer performance by U2, and it just kept getting better as musical acts like Justin Timberlake and Al Green, Coldplay, Carrie Underwood, Kid Rock, Taylor Swift and Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers and Stevie Wonder, and Kanye West. Katy Perry put on the Worst Performance of the night(she should have lip-synced :D). Adele and Estelle, on the other hand, are amazing performers and I was thrilled with their wins. Those ladies can sing and I’m happy they were rewarded for their talents.

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the big winners at the 51st annual Grammy Awards Sunday night. They won album of the year for Raising Sand; record of the year for their performance of the song “Please Read the Letter”; and three other honors. The duo upset rapper Lil Wayne and British rock band Coldplay; those artists had the best-selling albums of 2008.It kinda upset me too because I was rooting for Coldplay. Lil Wayne took home three Grammys, including best rap album, and Coldplay also won three awards, including song of the year. I am kinda bummed about Lupe Fiasco getting no Grammys. He deserves atleast one Grammy. And in my opinion "A Milli" did not deserve the best Rap Solo Performance. But I'm not in charge of the Grammy's, so what can I do? :) ..

The complete list of winners at the 2009 Grammy Awards is as follows:

Album of the Year: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Raising Sand

Best Rap Album: Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III

Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: John Mayer, “Say”

Record of the Year: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, “Please Read the Letter”

Best New Artist: Adele

Best Rock Album: Coldplay, Viva la Vida

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, “Rich Woman”

Song of the Year: Coldplay, “Viva la Vida”

Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group: Sugarland, “Stay”

Best R&B Album: Jennifer Hudson, Jennifer Hudson

Industry Icon Award: Clive Davis

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical: Rick Rubin (Death Magnetic, Home Before Dark, Mercy, Seeing Things, Weezer)

Best Rock Song: Bruce Springsteen, “Girls in Their Summer Clothes”

Best Rock Instrumental Performance: “Peaches En Regalia,” Zappa Plays Zappa, Featuring Steve Vai & Napoleon Murphy Brock

Best Metal Performance: Metallica, “My Apocalypse”

Best Hard Rock Performance: The Mars Volta, “Wax Simulacra”

Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals: Kings of Leon, “Sex on Fire”

Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance: John Mayer, “Gravity”

Best Alternative Music Album: Radiohead, In Rainbows

Best Pop Vocal Album: Duffy, Rockferry

Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals: Coldplay, “Viva la Vida”

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance: Adele, “Chasing Pavements”

Best Pop Instrumental Album: Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, Jingle All The Way

Best Pop Instrumental Performance: Eagles, “I Dreamed There Was No War”

Best Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books): Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth (Beau Bridges, Cynthia Nixon and Blair Underwood)

Best Contemporary R&B Album: Mary J. Blige, Growing Pains

Best R&B Song: Ne-Yo, “Miss Independent” (Mikkel S. Eriksen, T.E. Hermansen and S. Smith, songwriters)

Best Urban/Alternative Performance: Chrisette Michele Featuring will.i.am, “Be OK”

Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance: Al Green Featuring Anthony Hamilton, “You’ve Got the Love I Need”

Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals: Al Green Featuring John Legend, “Stay With Me (by the Sea)”

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance: Alicia Keys; “ Superwoman”

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: Ne-Yo, “Miss Independent”

Best Rap Song: Lil Wayne Featuring Static Major, “Lollipop” (D. Carter, S. Garrett, D. Harrison, J. Scheffer and R. Zamor, songwriters)

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: Estelle Featuring Kanye West, “American Boy”

Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group: Jay-Z and T.I. Featuring Kanye West and Lil Wayne, “Swagga Like Us”

Best Rap Solo Performance: Lil Wayne, “A Milli”

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: Natalie Cole, Still Unforgettable

Best Country Album: George Strait, Troubadour

Best Country Song: Sugarland, “Stay” (Jennifer Nettles, songwriter)

Best Bluegrass Album: Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass: Tribute to 1946 and 1947

Best Country Instrumental Performance: Brad Paisley, James Burton, Vince Gill, John Jorgenson, Albert Lee, Brent Mason, Redd Volkaert and Steve Wariner, “Cluster Pluck”

Best Country Collaboration With Vocals: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, “Killing the Blues”

Best Male Country Vocal Performance: Brad Paisley, “Letter to Me”

Best Female Country Vocal Performance: Carrie Underwood, “Last Name”

Best Reggae Album: Burning Spear, Jah Is Real

Best Hawaiian Music Album: Tia Carrere and Daniel Ho, Ikena

Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Raising Sand

Best Traditional Folk Album: Pete Seeger, At 89

Best Traditional Blues Album: B.B. King, One Kind Favor

Best Contemporary Blues Album: Dr. John and the Lower 911, City That Care Forgot

Best Long Form Music Video: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “Runnin’ Down a Dream”

Best Short Form Music Video: Weezer, “Pork and Beans”

Best Classical Album: Weill, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny

Producer of the Year, Classical: David Frost

Best Classical Crossover Album: The King’s Singers, Simple Gifts

Best Classical Contemporary Composition: John Corigliano, composer, Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan (JoAnn Falletta, conductor)

Best Classical Vocal Performance: John Corigliano, Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan

Best Small Ensemble Performance: Spotless Rose, Hymns to the Virgin Mary

Best Chamber Music Performance: Elliott Carter, Pacifica Quartet, String Quartets Nos. 1 and 5

Best Instrumental Soloist Performance (Without Orchestra): Gloria Cheng, Piano Music of Salonen, Stucky, and Lutoslawski

Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (With Orchestra): Hilary Hahn, Schoenberg, Sibelius: Violin Concertos (Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor)

Best Choral Performance: Sir Simon Rattle, “Symphony of Psalms”

Best Opera Recording: Weill, Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny

Best Orchestral Performance: Shostakovich, “Symphony No. 4,” Bernard Haitink, conductor (Chicago Symphony Orchestra)

Best Engineered Album, Classical: Traditions and Transformations: Sounds of Silk Road Chicago

Best Electronic/Dance Album: Daft Punk, Alive 2007

Best Dance Recording: Daft Punk, “Harder Better Faster Stronger”

Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album: Kirk Franklin, The Fight of My Life

Best Traditional Gospel Album: The Blind Boys of Alabama, Down in New Orleans

Best Southern, Country or Bluegrass Gospel Album: Gaither Vocal Band, Lovin’ Life

Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album: CeCe Winans, Thy Kingdom Come

Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album: TobyMac, Alive and Transported

Best Gospel Song: Kirk Franklin, “Help Me Believe”

Best Gospel Performance: Mary Mary, “Get Up”

Best Latin Jazz Album: Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, Song for Chico

Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album: The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Monday Night Live at the Village Vanguard

Best Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group: Chick Corea and Gary Burton, The New Crystal Silence

Best Jazz Instrumental Solo: Terence Blanchard, soloist, “Be-Bop”

Best Jazz Vocal Album: Cassandra Wilson, Loverly

Best Contemporary Jazz Album: Randy Brecker, Randy in Brasil

Best New Age Album: Jack DeJohnette, Peace Time

Best Comedy Album: George Carlin, It’s Bad For Ya

Best Polka Album: Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra, Let the Whole World Sing

Best Contemporary World Music Album: Mickey Hart, Zakir Hussain, Sikiru Adepoju and Giovanni Hidalgo, Global Drum Project

Best Traditional World Music Album: Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Ilembe: Honoring Shaka Zulu

Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album: Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys, Live at the 2008 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival

Best Native American Music Album: Come to Me Great Mystery—Native American Healing Songs

Best Norteño Album: Los Tigres del Norte, Raíces

Best Banda Album: Joan Sebástian, No Es de Madera

Best Tejano Album: Ruben Ramos and the Mexican Revolution, Viva la Revolucion

Best Regional Mexican Album: Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano, Amor, Dolor Y Lágrimas: Música Ranchera

Best Tropical Latin Album: José Feliciano, Señor Bachata

Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album: 45, Jaguares

Best Latin Pop Album: Juanes, La Vida...Es un Ratico

Best Musical Show Album: In the Heights

Best Musical Album for Children: They Might Be Giants, Here Come The 123s

Best Spoken Word Album for Children: Bill Harley, Yes to Running!

Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s): Natalie Cole, “Here’s That Rainy Day” (Nan Schwartz, arranger)

Best Instrumental Arrangement: Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, “Define Dancing” (From Wall-E) (Thomas Newman, arranger)

Best Instrumental Composition: “The Adventures of Mutt” (From Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)

Best Surround Sound Album: Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition; Night on Bald Mountain; Prelude to Khovanshchina

Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical: MGMT, “Electric Feel,” Justice Remix (Justice, remixers)

Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical: The Raconteurs (Joe Chiccarelli, Vance Powell and Jack White III), Consolers of the Lonely

Best Historical Album: Art of Field Recording, Volume I: Fifty Years of Traditional American Music (Documented by Art Rosenbaum)

Best Album Notes: Miles Davis, Kind of Blue: 50th Anniversary Collector’s Edition (Francis Davis, album notes writer)

Best Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package: In Rainbows

Best Recording Package: Metallica, Death Magnetic (Bruce Duckworth, Sarah Moffat and David Turner, art directors)

Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: Peter Gabriel and Thomas Newman, “Down to Earth” (From Wall-E)

Best Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer, The Dark Knight

Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: Juno

Tokin' Black Guy- a new artist on the block with some pretty good music. Rumors are ripe that this is Kanye West's alter ego. Kanye West has denied this, obviously. Take a look at the track and tell me it doesn't sound like Kanye. And the fact that Kanye's G.O.O.D music is promoting this artist by mailing the songs to the leading music blogs makes everybody's suspicion that much stronger. The guy has a MySpace page- but nothing much to get from there except he is friends with Kanye(*nod nod*). I bet that Kanye’s trying to test the waters to see if people are actually digging his music without the evidence of his arrogance clouding their judgment.

Tokin' Black Guy may or may not be Kanye's latest gamble, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't check out the still-mysterious musician and his ultra-danceable, Outkast-sounding tunes.

Tokin' Black Guy - Turn My Music High



Tokin' Black Guy - Body Clock

Transformers:Revenge of the Fallen
A new very short teaser trailer aired yesterday and from the looks of it Transformers 2 will be one hell of an action packed movie with things getting blown up and destroyed right and left. Oh man!!!

Plot:Decepticon forces return to Earth on a mission to take Sam Witwicky prisoner, after the young hero learns the truth about the ancient origins of the Transformers. Joining the mission to protect humankind is Optimus Prime, who forms an alliance with international armies for a second epic battle.



Up
From the makers of Incredibles, Wall-E, Finding Nemo, Monsters.Inc and many more thoroughly enjoyable animation movies comes a new movie "Up" made exclusively by Pixar and distributed by Disney.

Plot:By tying thousands of balloon to his home, 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Right after lifting off, however, he learns he isn’t alone on his journey, since Russell, a wilderness explorer 70 years his junior, has inadvertently become a stowaway on the trip.



G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra
Just saw the sneak peek of G.I Joe:Rise of the Cobra and I'm stumped. I thought G.I Joe was gonna be one of those "shoot all you want with your guns" movies but I wasn't prepared for this. This looks awesome and I'm sure to catch this movie in the theater. I live in India and G.I Joe is not that popular here; may be that's why I'm unfamiliar with it.

Plot:An elite military unit comprised of special operatives known as G.I. Joe, operating out of The Pit, takes on an evil organization led by a notorious arms dealer.


Angels and Demons
I have posted a trailer of this movie earler, but this one has something more I guess. Anyways check it out.



Race to Witch Mountain
I've always been amazed at how well Dwayne Johnson or "Rock" as we all know him do comedy. Looks like Disney has adopted him for its "tough guy part" in their Family movies. This one looks interesting and funny and coming from Disney I'll probably love it.

Plot: A UFO expert enlists the help of a cabbie to protect two siblings with paranormal powers from the clutches of an organization that wants to use the kids for their nefarious plans.



Land of the Lost
The name Will Ferrel definitely scares me and approach this movie with caution. But from the trailer it looks pretty decent. But you know what they say-"Never judge a movie by the trailer".

Plot: Three adults inadvertently stumble into a mysterious land populated by dinosaurs and other creatures, including the mysterious and dangerous race of Sleestak.



Monsters vs Aliens
I have posted another trailer for this movie too over here. But this is a new one and I'm sure you all will enjoy.



Star Trek
Looks like a Star Trek movie I will finally love. The new trailer gives us much more of the much awaited Star Trek and teases us with incredible visual effects and action.

Plot:A chronicle of the early days of James T. Kirk and his fellow USS Enterprise crew members.

As usual bringing you the latest songs that is leaked, released etc on Youtube.

The Dream ft Chingy - She Make Me Say
Yet another single from Dream's upcoming album has hit Youtube and from the looks of it the upcoming album will be a pretty decent one.



The Lonely Island - I'm On A Boat (Feat. T-Pain)
After their hit single- the hilarious "Jizz in my Pants" The Lonely Island is back with another single off their debut album.



Asia Cruise ft Colby O'Donis - Run Away
I haven't heard of Asia Cruise, but the name Colby O'Donis made me listen to the track and I loved it. I'll be looking forward to Asia Cruise now.



Play N Skillz Ft Akon - Angel Eyes
A new track from Play N Skillz featuring Akon hit the shelves on youtube. Take a look and dicover a new artist.(Although most of what you hear might me Akon's work)



Mams Taylor Feat. Bobby Valentino & Snoop Dogg - Girl Gotta Girlfriend
Mams Taylor too is a new name for me but the name Snoop Dogg was enough to make me listen to it. A nice blend of dance beats, R&B and good old Snoop Dogg makes this a pretty good track.


While you are at it check out the new songs by Chris Cornell from his new album Scream produced by Timbaland. After making his presence felt in all areas of rock he is now venturing into R&B. Way to get that creative juices flowing. Just one of many I'm embedding here

Lil Jon ft The Game and Ice Cube - Killas
I hope everyone remember Lil Jon, the guy who promised a Crunk Rock album years ago. Guess what, Crunk Rock" is not dead, apparently. A new track, supposedly off the album, released on YouTube. Can't say its a great track, but glad to know that Lil Jon still got it.
Edit:- On second thought, or after many more hearings, the song rocks.. They sound so angry..



Lil Wayne - Prom Queen
Since Kanye West started singing(which was good) Lil Wayne gotta do something to change it up a bit and he turned to Rock. Reports are that his upcoming album Rebirth is going to be a rock album and Prom Queen is the first single off it which must be available on MySpace by now. Youtube has a live version that I'm embedding here. The others have some guy shouting something all throughout ruining the song. The song is below average,if you ask me. Leave the rock to those who know to Rock and stick with Hip Hop Lil Wayne. Unless there is something more good than this one on the album I'm gonna pass.
Edit: The song grew on me and now I love the song and am kinda looking forward to his new album.



Soulja Boy Tell 'Em ft Sammie - Kiss me through the phone
Soulja Boy is back after his phenomenal hit "Crank That" (although I don't think it deserved that much success) with "Kiss me through the phone" which is just as addictive as Crank That. Personally I like it even better than Crank That.



Novel - Mad World
We have all been shaken up by the disturbing events on New Year's Eve which resulted in the death of an innocent civilian Oscar Grant. Novel released a beautiful song as a dedication to Oscar Grant. R.I.P Oscar Grant. Its a great song and a must listen.



Bobby Valentino, Ludacris, Lil' Kim, Lil' Wayne, Yung Joc, Fabolous - Beep Beep (Official Remix)
Thats a long list of great artists right?. An official remix of the popular song Beep Beep released featuring a lot of big names. I wasn't so sure about the original version but this one is so good. Ludacris made the track for me.



Kat Deluna ft Lil Wayne - Unstoppable
I didn't know who Kat Deluna was until I stumbled across this beautiful track featuring Lil Wayne. The song is the first single off her sophomore album "Inside Out".

Guy Richie who is best known for his fast paced, slightly comical and wildly stylish, brain twisting British crime thrillers, Lock Stock and Smoking Barrel and Snatch being his best. I've been a fan of his works and loved his style of film making( I'm conveniently forgetting Swept Away)and been looking forward to a good movie from him. I saw Rock'n'Rolla couple of days back and I think Guy Ritchie is in the right direction for a comeback after the disastrous Swept Away. This made me take a more detailed look at his new adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. I've heard about the project and it struck me as odd that Guy Ritchie will choose such a topic for a movie and was apprehensive about it. What I didn't think of was the possibility that instead of Guy Ritchie conforming to Sherlock Holmes, he might just modify Sherlock Holmes to his style.

I saw an article and a still from the movie in NewYork Times that completely put things in perspective.
I think the picture speaks for itself. Thats Sherlock Holmes we see in the movie with blood on his bare chest and Robert Downey Jr showing off his well chiseled abs. Well for all those who pictured Sherlock Holmes as a quite, passive, think tank Guy Ritchie's version of Sherlock Holmes is gonna give a rude shock. I for one think it is absolute genius using Sherlock Holmes' boxing and sword fencing background to good use. Here is a little excerpt from the article:

IN a filthy, dank labyrinth of rooms below the streets of the East End, Sherlock Holmes was solving a case. That is, Robert Downey Jr., playing Holmes in the forthcoming film “Sherlock Holmes,” was engaged in hand-to-hand, foot-to-stomach combat with a very big and very bad villain (Robert Maillet). Bam! Pow! Ouch! Both characters would end up knocked out on the floor, along with Holmes’s trusty sidekick, Dr. John Watson, played by Jude Law.

Filmed in December, the scene presented a sharp corrective to the popular cinematic view of Holmes, at least the one propagated by the old films featuring the wonderfully named British actor Basil Rathbone. That Holmes occasionally wielded guns, leapt out of carriages and rushed through the fog with Errol Flynnesque panache, but mostly he was a giant brain inside a tweed suit, sexlessly debonair in the way Hollywood liked its leading men in the 1930s and 1940s. His Watson, played by Nigel Bruce, was a lumpy, good-natured, birdbrained foil for Holmes’s brittle brilliance.

The Sherlock Holmes of “Sherlock Holmes,” which is scheduled for release on Nov. 13, will not be wearing a deerstalker hat. Nor will he be wearing an Inverness overcoat, the kind with the dashing cloak that hangs over the shoulders as extra protection against the English rain. Sometimes — as in one fight scene — he will not even be wearing a shirt. (This gives Mr. Downey a chance to show off his admirably chiseled abs.)

Sure, he will still be smarter than everyone within a three-planet radius, and he will retain his uncanny ability to intuit whole life stories from the tiniest speck of dust on a shoe. But he will do those things while being a man of action, a chaser, shooter and pummeler of criminals — “like James Bond in 1891,” Joel Silver, one of the film’s producers, said last fall.

This might me the Sherlock Holmes that the new generation like and love. Just the idea is exciting. A movie in which we can see incredibly amazing deductive abilities of Sherlock and a little bit of action too along the way. Die Hard Sherlock fans will most probably hate this, and those who are already familiar with him will find it difficult to adapt to this new Sherlock, but the new minds-those who are unfamiliar with the concept of Sherlock holmes will most probably love this one. Can't wait for this movie to release.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire sweeps the Oscar nominations with 13 and 10 nominations respectively. Although the announcements were made a little after daybreak in Los Angeles, the news broke here in India at a providential moment - when the film's Indian premiere in Mumbai was underway and several of the film's adult and child cast and crew assembled on stage, with television cameras ready to capture the whoops of joy.

A.R Rahman, with 3 nominations, sounded overwhelmed. "I was like a nervous schoolboy biting my nails," he told Times Of India. "I feel the whole world is watching me. I'm at the top of the world. Honestly, I am not even thinking about the Oscars now. Everything is a blur...It'll be a great energy booster for creative people in India." This is the first time an Indian has received three Oscar nominations. I just hope he wins all of them.

The Oscars pretty much turned in to a war with two players - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Slumdog Millionaire. The thing that took me off guard was that Dark Knight failed to get nominations in almost every main category except for Heath Ledger's Joker for Best Supporting Actor. It did get eight nominations. But solely in the technical section-Achievement in Art Direction, Achievement in Cinematography, Achievement in Film Editing, Achievement in Makeup, Achievement in Sound Editing, Achievement in Sound Mixing, Achievement in Visual Effects.

Brad Pitt received his second Oscar nomination for Benjamin Button, and will go up in the Best Actor category opposite Richard Jenkins (The Visitor), Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), Sean Penn(Milk) and Golden Globe winner Mickey Rourke(The Wrestler). Winslet will compete opposite two actresses from independent films, Anne Hathaway(Rachel Getting Married) and Melissa Leo (Frozen River), and two previous winners, Angelina Jolie (Changeling) and Meryl Streep(Doubt), who received her 15th nomination.

In what's usually a rare feat, all five Best Picture nominees had corresponding director nods. And the Best Animated Feature nominees were Bolt, Kung Fu Panda and WALL-E (which received six nominations overall, including original screenplay).

The whole list of nominees are :

BEST PICTURE
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire

BEST ACTOR
Richard Jenkins - The Visitor
Frank Langella - Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn - Milk
Brad Pitt - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke - The Wrestler

BEST ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway - Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie - Changeling
Melissa Leo - Frozen River
Meryl Streep - Doubt
Kate Winslet - The Reader

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin - Milk
Robert Downey Jr. - Tropic Thunder
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Doubt
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon - Revolutionary Road

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams - Doubt
Penelope Cruz - Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis - Doubt
Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei - The Wrestler

DIRECTOR
David Fincher
Ron Howard
Gus Van Sant
Stephen Daldry
Danny Boyle

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Courtney Hunt - Frozen River
Mike Leigh - Happy-Go-Lucky
Martin - In Bruges
Dustin Lance Black - Milk
Andrew Stanton - WALL-E

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Eric Roth and Robin Swicord - Benjamin Button
John Patrick Shanley - Doubt
Peter Morgan - Frost/Nixon
David Hare - The Reader
Simon Beaufoy - Slumdog Millionaire

FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Der Baader Meinhof Komplex
The Class
Departures
Revanche
Waltz with Bashir

ANIMATED
Bolt
Kung Fun Panda
WALL-E

Black Eyed Peas - Rocking Tha Beatz
A snippet of the new song from Black Eyed Peas has been leaked on to the internet and is available at YouTube for listening. It been so long since I've heard any thing from Black Eyed Peas and am really looking forward to them. I have been managing with the solo album of Will.i.am released back in 2007 till the album from BEP hits the shelf(By the way, the solo album from Will.i.am rocks). The new song leaked has all the trademark BEP elements. Sounds kinda dance-club track which energetic beats with bass to the max. Enjoy..


Milow - Ayo Technology
We've all heard and loved the Chart-topping hit single by 50 Cent and Justin Timberlake. Now its time for a cover version of the same song which really puts a new perspective on the song. The more mellow, almost acoustic rendition of the song is something that is instantly likeable and puts a whole new twist to the song that we all come to love.

A little look at the new trailers which are out in YouTube.

Fast & Furious Trailer#2
A new trailer for Fast and the Furious hit the YouTube couple of days back. The background music could have done better than Soulja Boy, but still the trailer looks cool. Check it out. Hitting the theaters on 3rd April 2009


Franklyn
The film is a split narrative set simultaneously in contemporary London and in a future metropolis ruled by religious fervor. It's the story of four lost souls, divided by two parallel worlds, on course for an explosive collision when a single bullet will decide all their fates. The plot and trailer looks awesomely interesting. The movie is gonna come out 20th February 2009 in UK and I'm sure to watch it.


Next Day Air
When a misguided UPS driver inadvertently delivers a package containing concealed bricks of cocaine to the wrong address, it sets in motion a desperate search and battle for the coke between the furious dealer that sent it, the fearful intended recipients that missed it, and the conniving accidental recipients that plan to flip it. Time is running out and everyone's trying to get their hands on the package that's been sent. Looks interestingly funny enough though reminds me a lot of Pineapple Express. Releasing 8th May 2009.


The Last House on the Left
Masters of horror Wes Craven and Sean Cunningham revisit their landmark film that launched Craven's directing career and influenced decades of horror films to follow: "The Last House on the Left." Bringing one of the most notorious thrillers of all time to a new generation, they produce the story that explores how far two ordinary people will go to exact revenge on the sociopaths who harmed their child.



Fighting
In New York City, a young counterfeiter (Tatum) is introduced to the world of underground street fighting by a seasoned scam artist (Howard), who becomes his manager on the bare-knuckling brawling circuit. Looks like another Never Back Down which I loved cause I love martial arts and fighting. So most probably I'll love this one too.


Pink Panther 2
Although the trailer has been long released I just thought I would mention it. The bumbling Inspector Jacques Clouseau returns in a brand new adventure and now teamed up with a squad of International detectives who are just as bumbling as he is. Their mission: Stop a globe-trotting thief who specializes in stealing historical artifacts. I loved the first Pink Panther and from the looks of the trailer will love this one too. The trailer is too funny.
"No, it only looks like a tape recorder. Its actually a pen". LOL .. Releasing on 6th February 2009.

Linkin Park - Lockjaw and Qwerty
Linkin Park, the alternative rock heroes are in the studios working on a new concept album which they describes in cryptic snack metaphors to MTV as "In terms of describing what it sounds like ... it sounds like peanut butter and jelly," frontman Chester Bennington said. "It's sounding delicious." Two new tracks are up in YouTube from Linkin Park and they sound pretty good. There is no official confirmation or release of singles as far as I know. These may be most probably demos they made, but it sounds enticing.
Lockjaw- an instrumental track


Qwerty


Apocalyptica feat Three Days Grace's Adam Gontier - I don't care
I was looking for new stuff from Three Days Grace( who is by the way the best Rock band out there) and I found a great track, a new single from Apocalyptica featuring Adam Gontier from Three Days Grace. He has really good voice, it fits the song perfectly. Melody and lyrics are also great, so what else can you ask for? Till the much awaited(I can't stress this enough) new album from Three Days Grace releases, here is a track that features Adam Gontier(lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the Band). Never been a fan of Apocalyptica, but I think I'll check them out after this song(I'm not Jesus). I didn't know Cello can rock..LOL.



Red - Never Be The Same
Red is a name that pops up in my head now and again but still takes a backseat to all those other alternative rockers out there. I personally have listened only to a handful of their songs and love a couple of them. This new track is one of those I love- it got great guitar riffs, great lyrics, melody and voice. This makes me look forward to their new album in 3 years.



Papa roach - Lifeline
Papa Roach released their new single Lifeline, which I think is a lack luster performance from the band that has delivered so many great tracks. I honestly was a little disappointed with the song and hope there are other tracks in the upcoming album that makes up for this. Anyways you guys hear it and form an opinion.

Lets take a look at some of the recently released(YouTube) R&B tracks. There are some really good ones and guess what Ciara is back with pretty good stuff. So is R. Kelly, Sean Kingston and the new comer on the rise Colby O'Donis (yes the guy who Akon is so fond of now).

R. Kelly Ft Plies - Playaz in the Club
R.Kelly's new track Playaz in the Club is a typical R.Kelly track which has that catchy melody voice and those club friendly sound. This is an absolute cracker of a trackand I'm addicted to it.



Ciara - Roll Call ft Lil Wayne, Lil Jon and Never Ever ft. Young Jeezy
Hope you all remember Ciara. She hit gold with her debut album "Goodies" which had many great tracks and featured many big names in Hip Hop and R&B world. Her debut Single "Goodies" reached number one in United States and United Kingdom. The second and third single "1, 2 Step" featuring Missy Elliott and "Oh" featuring Ludacris were top five singles, both peaking at the number two spot on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, in both countries. A couple of tracks are out on Youtube from Ciara one of which(Never Ever) is her official 1st single off her new album titles Fantasy Ride.

Roll Call ft Lil WAyne, Lil Jon


Never Ever ft Young Jeezy


Colby O'Donis - The Fame and Touch Me
Since he is a relatively new name I'll give a brief intro(courtesy Wiki)

He was born in the Richmond Hill section of Queens, New York, and is of Puerto Rican descent. Colby's parents discovered his talent at age 3 when he won first place at a talent show by singing a Michael Jackson song. At age 9, Colby's parents had relocated to Altamonte Springs, Florida where he began collaborating with producer/songwriters, Full Force, who were responsible for numerous hits by the Backstreet Boys, Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam, 'N Sync, and Britney Spears. He travelled just under the radar until a career-altering meeting with Akon occurred. Upon hearing Colby's demo in 2006, Akon immediately booked studio time for the then 17 year old:

"The chemistry was just crazy. And after that he [Akon] said, Yo, I got this new label I’m startin’ up soon. It’s called Konvict Muzik. It’s gonna’ be real big, we’re gonna’ be partnering up with Interscope Records, and I want you to be one of my acts on the label. And from there we kinda’ just ran with it. We were like, yeah, let’s do it. I was down. ‘Cause when you looked at his eyes you could just tell he had that determination that he wasn’t gonna fail, and the rest is just history in the making, so, we’re workin’ on it."

I noticed the guy when I found him along with Akon in his first single "What You got" which was a awesome track. Further he was featured in one of Akon's songs from his latest album "Beautiful" which was yet another great song. So i definitely was interested when I saw a couple of his songs on YouTube and liked both of them.

The Fame


Touch me


The Dream ft Mariah Carey - My Love
I was not familiar with The Dream until I got my hands on "Falsetto" a single which apparently was in upto the no 3 spot in U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. I listened to it and I couldn't stop listening. The song is so addictive that I advise nobody listens to the track.(The Dream - Falsetto). Anyways The Dream released another single featuring Mariah Carey and its really good (though not as good as Falsetto).


Sean Kingston - You and Me
I guess everybody knows Sean Kingston from his self-titled debut album which totally rocked and if anybody doesn't I strongly recommend checking out his debut album. You won't regret it. I found a new song from him on YouTube, no where near his songs from the previous album, but still worth a listen.