Yesterday, I was back in the mix from a five day weekend and sluggish. I had tons of e-mails to dig thru so the only song I got to post was one that I heard early in the am on beehivefm. Such a fitting song since it’s summer and every Friday you can catch me trying to “fly” home and be near some fun, water and sun. This song puts me in a really happy mood. I’ve never smoked before a day in my life, but I think it’s safe to assume Lenny was high as a bird when he made this track. He was probably floating amongst the stars he sings about cuz that is exactly how I feel when listening… Let’s go and see the stars; The milky way or even Mars; Where it could just be ours…When looking at this video in depth (because I obviously hadn’t seen it since 1998 when it came out) I did NOT know this joint looked like an orgy. And who knew that a girl got nakey in the video (around 1:42). That’s a mess! Lenny was shoool pushing the envelope.

I take it for granted that people follow me on Twitter and read my tweets. I should come back down to reality and conclude that the number of people who actually follow me is a very small number. I have to remind myself that there is a whole group of people that don’t follow me, and there is an even larger group that of people that are not present on Twitter. I want to use my blog as another outlet to share my #MusicMonday updates with everyone. On Twitter, Monday is the designated day for everyone to share music and use the hashtag #MusicMonday to the mark the update. You will likely find #nowplaying as an accompanying hashtag to the #MusicMonday hashtag, both of which typically dominate the number one and two top trending topics on Monday. Some people share new music. Some people share their old, favorite tunes. I choose to share whatever music is on my mind at the time.

This Monday, I posted:
Come Around by M.I.A. and Timbo
Calabria 2008 by Enur
Electric Feel by MGMT

I choose to blip my choices for #MusicMonday so they can all be viewed in one location at any time. You can go to my dj page on Blip.fm to listen to these and all other posts in a playlist. Visit this page throughout the week to get a glimpse into what I’m listening to or check back in on Mondays for my #MusicMonday selections.

I’m loving Blip.fm, a new music sharing site. When I registered I became a DJ and could become friends with other DJs. The purpose of the platform is to “blip” music, which is somewhat like a tweet but the blip has audio and/or video embedded in the message. All of my blips are located on my user profile, very similar to the way in which messages are displayed on Twitter. That sounds like a whoooooole lot, but think about it this way: Blip.fm is like the music version of Twitter that allows you to include songs in your messages.

I like to send out Tweets of the music I listen to as I listen. Traditionally, I would have to search on YouTube for a video and hope that I find a high quality one. I would post my Tweet with the YouTube video link and that would be it. But Blip.fm provides three features that I think will change the way I share music on Twitter:
1. When searching for a song, I can preview the song with a single click. It’s very simple! I don’t have to click, go to a separate page, wait for the video to load, go back to the previous page if the video isn’t right, then start the process all over with the next video. None of that on Blip.fm. I can preview as many searched videos that I want all on the same page.
2. I can link profiles: Twitter, Facebook, etc. I can send one message that includes Twitter handles and hashtags, and it will automatically post to whatever post profiles I have linked. The message that is displayed on the other networks includes a link back to Blip.fm that will allow the reader to listen to my music.
3. All of the music that I blip is displayed on my user profile. This is great because people can see what I’m listening to in one location. On Twitter, my music tweets are intermixed with other tweets but this provides a more focused platform for solely music content.

The first negative that I have seen thus far is that the link that is shared on the social networks takes you to a section of Blip.fm that shows other people who have sent blips about the same artist. I would have much preferred that link to take the reader to my personal profile to see all of my blips vs. a mix of blips by other DJs. The second negative is regarding a concern over ease of use. If someone clicks a link that is included in my blip and they are taken to Blip.fm, they may not immediately find where to play the music. I know I didn’t see it at first and it took me a good 10 seconds! That’s 10 seconds for me and 30 seconds for you

Those are only minor details yet not enough to make me stop using the platform. As of now, I like Blip.fm and will try to find additional uses for this innovative 3rd party Twitter website.

I’M SO IMPRESSED with Alicia Keys’ live YouTube performance. Her look. Her sound. Her band. All fabulous! It was such a great use of technology to bring the performance and the cause to those not physically attending. #AmexAlicia, the designated hashtag on Twitter, became a trending topic during the show and by the end of the show was at number 3. Alicia performed a melody of hits from her first debut album, Songs in A Minor, to her latest album, Element of Freedom, that will release on December 15. To be honest, I’m glad she switched it up. I’m not really feeling the first two singles from her album. I just found out today that Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart was her second single – which means I totally missed the first single! Out of the songs that she performed, which I included below, I’m most excited about Love is Blind. For 6 years to have passed, I, along with the millions of other A Keys fans, am anxiously awaiting the Element of Freedom. December 15 everybody! Don’t forget!

Songs that Alicia performed:
Love is Blind
Karma
You Don’t Know My Name
Doesn’t Mean Anything
Wreckless Love
Diary
Distance and Time
If I Ain’t Got You
Superwoman
Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart
Like You’ll Never See Me Again
Falling
No One
Empire State of Mind – and there was a surprise appearance by Jay-Z

by Esmee: I think Twitter is amazing! I am such a supporter of the microblogging site as it allows people to form authentic relationships while sharing information instantaneously. Just now, I saw a tweet from @iamnovel who is a  producer/songwriter/artist. His most recent update stated that he was in the studio with Justin Timberlake working on an Esmee Record and provided a link. The link took me to the video that I have included below. It features an emerging artist from the Netherlands named Esmee who was discovered on YouTube in August 2006. Since then, she has continued uploading covers to her YouTube channel and most recently she has been signed to Justin’s record label, Tennman Records. You can tell that she has grown so much from the original videos she uploaded. When you hear her voice, one cannot deny that she has talent. She is one that would contradict my theory that music is only half of what it used to be. She has released a couple of singles, such as Follow My Lead and Outta Here, and I need to get them! Her debut album is set to release on May 22. Keep her on your radar as I predict her to be one of the best new artists with a sultry sound.