by Lady Gaga ft. Beyonce: I don’t even know where to begin with this mess. I remember when Lady Gaga came out about a year ago, and I really liked her music. After the MTV Video Music Awards when she came out dressed in bizarre outfits and blood all over her body, my liking of her began to dwindle. I feel like she, or anyone else for that matter, shouldn’t have to do all the extra-ness to get people to listen to her music or be interested in her. To talk about her? Maybe…but it’s not necessary! The music alone should speak for itself.
This video presents her biggest debacle to date! I heard a few people mention this video a few days ago but I thought nothing of it. I really thought people made the mistake of calling the video Telephone when they really meant Video Phone – which is Beyonce’s previous single. I finally became intrigued enough to search for the video today, and I was shocked. To even watch the video you have to be 18 or older and have a YouTube account to login. That’s just to watch the video…because it’s that explicit!
After being uploaded for only seven days, there are already more than 20+ MILLION views! And the video is almost ten minutes long! That’s a mini movie – like the kind Michael Jackson used to make back in the day. Yet, this mini movie is straight clownery. Lady Gaga has no self respect and with 10 layers of makeup on, she looks ridiculous. I’m trying to figure out what made Beyonce want to be a part of this song/video!?! I can understand the ‘you be in my video, I’ll be in yours’ deal they probably made, but sometimes you have to put your foot down. Bey just lost some cool points and entered a lower class level in my book by being in this video. My guess is that her hubby, Jay, pushed her to be in this video due to the publicity she would get by being associated with Lady Gaga. Yep – that’s my story and I’m sticking with it!
I could dwell on so many parts of the video that are whack…. the name of the Bey’s truck (Pu**ywagon – what the hell?), Tyrese’s guest appearance (dude – are you really not getting any more movie roles that you have to stoop so slow and be in a LG video?)…I won’t even say anymore. I’ll let you watch this craziness below.
When I was searching for Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas video a couple weeks ago, I noticed a Vevo overlay that played 
on the YouTube video. It looked as though whatever Vevo was had taken over Mariah’s page. I thought nothing of it and kept it moving until I saw the same overlay on Timbaland’s YouTube channel last week. I thought it was weird to see an artist’s username changed from artist to artistVEVO, such as TimbalandVEVO, so I did a little research on Vevo. Vevo is a new platform that will offer video provided by three major labels, EMI, Sony Music Group, and Universal Music Group. Vevo will host 85 percent of the videos while YouTube will host the remaining 15 percent.
I think Vevo will completely change the user experience on YouTube. The platform provides higher quality videos, but it doesn’t come with the cost of advertisements being played prior to a video starting based upon your aggregate usage. For me- that is beyond aggravating. I hate seeing ads where I don’t want them. However, there are some benefits to the platform. When watching on YouTube, you are guaranteed the original version of the video. When you embed the video on an external site, you get the high quality version of the video but the Vevo overlay is not shown.
On each artist’s Vevo YouTube page, Vevo displays links to its website, Vevo.com. On the platform, you can watch an artist’s official video with lyrics, extra behind the scenes footage, and interviews. Plus, you can create a playlist of videos – similar to the way you can with Grooveshark.
People are referencing Vevo as the Hulu for music videos. One negative about Hulu is that it does not include all content. For example, I’ve seen a television series that only included two episodes out of five seasons of video.I hope that Vevo can get the music video library of all of the participating record labels uploaded. I also hope that the platform can upload the music videos as soon as they are produced. So much of ambiguous uploading is caused by labels and artists uploading videos weeks after they are produced. Understanding that people want content quick and in the best quality available will help Vevo be successful. People will embrace the new platform if it honors these two requirements.
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.
One Night, One Voice, One Life at a Time. This Tuesday December 1, on World AIDS DAY, Alicia Keys will give a live concert on YouTube. The performance will take place at the Nokia Theater in NYC and be open to the public via live global webcast at 8pm EST on Alicia’s YouTube Channel. She’ll be performing tracks from her new album, The Element of Freedom. All proceeds from the event go to Keep a Child Alive.
by Kutiman: I have not blogged in such a long time but it was one of my personal goals two weeks ago. So, I guess now is better late than never! Although I haven’t written, I have kept a running tally of all the artists/tracks/experiences I want to write about and Kutiman is first on the list. I want to start by saying he is majorly talented! I don’t know if I would call him an artist, an editor, or just an all around lover of music. Kutiman finds different artists, vocal or those that play instruments, whose sounds he likes and adds all of their videos to create one track. When you watch the following video, you will see what seems like complete chaos, but is really a cohesive track that sounds amazing!!! While viewing, you can click on “more info” on the video description to view all of the videos that were used to create this one track – just in case you don’t believe that it’s possible. The listing only reinforces this man is the truth!
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.
