MJ

I've got nothing.

I love you, Atlanta.

People are interesting. I could stare at them for a mere twenty seconds and conjure up about twenty thousand descriptive words. At Starbucks, the people flow in and out. They mingle, and eventually, sporadically disperse. My favorite thing to order at Starbucks is a seat. Seriously…just sit down and watch...listen. You’ll learn a lot. Like this guy standing in line, the one with the purple polo shirt,khaki shorts, black rimmed glasses. He looks a bit pensive. So does his kid, he's sitting at exactly 11:00 o’clock. Dad is biting his bottom lip. I say it’s the long line that’s frustrating him. Check out that business lady in the black coat. She’s flirting with some guy, “Really? You work here?". They’re smiling at one another. (Hold on, let me put my glasses on). Now another girl has joined in on the conversation…red leather jacket, short haircut. They’re exchanging…..numbers? Candy, perhaps? Nope. Business cards and travel brochures. He’s not married either, and I’m kind of glad for that. But really, how fun would it be to watch a married man flirt with some other lady who is SO not his wife? Very.

Starbucks asks: "What's your passion?"

The seriousness of this video is hilarious, but I think it's a neat little marketing scheme anyway. So,I've got two questions for you:

a.) What do you pair with your morning coffee? I usually have a cup over the computer while Fox & Friends is on television.

b.) What's your passion? Food is my ultimate passion, but I'm obvioulsy a music Nazi as well.

Alan Wilkis is Pink & Purple

When I think of Alan Wilkis I think of sheet metal disposition (don't ask). I first started talking with him last year post release of his debut album, Babies Dream Big. I became a fan after hearing It's Been Great. With his sophomore release, Pink and Purple, Wilkis continues to blow me away with blasts of mid-80's inspired pop reminiscent of a Michael Jackson swagger. On N.I.C.E, Wilkis blends a futuristic flock of beats with vintage synths to create a melodramatic pot of electro-pop stew. While the title track, Pink and Purple, is a non-stop roller coaster ride filled with frenzied loops and laden in high flying handclaps. This, my friends, is genre jumping at its finest.

6 flags? More fun? Most definitely.

* You can check out Alan Wilkis on Myspace -- or Wilcassettes.com

Ever heard of Rocco DeLuca?

So much soul.



Kudos to Mac Surak for the photo.

WORD

"Nobody can be so amusingly arrogant as a young man who has just discovered an old idea and thinks it is his own." - Sydney J. Harris

So next time you think you deserve to be treated as a Saudi Prince who just freed 200,000 of his people from the wrath of the largest sand storm in the history of the free world.... think twice.

P.S., I've told 2,765 of my closest friends not to buy your newest album. Want me to shoot for 3?

-Cheers

An Open Letter to Joey DeGraw

Going along with the theme of his newest album, Say Something Strong, I decided to--well, SAY SOMETHING STRONG.

Joey--I thought I'd let you know,

You’ve accomplished what I once deemed to be impossible: You have put a genuine smile on my face with just one song. I listened to your newest album, and it really had me thinking about the odds and ends of this unforgiving and all too controlling industry. Ya’ know, you don’t cookie-cut it. There’s no fashionable way around the obvious with you. Mr. DeGraw, I love to hear you speak your mind. It’s so refreshing to hold real music in the palm of my hand--to stare curiosity in the face. I feel as if I’ve just listened to Bob Dylan for the first time. The lyrics are deep, meaningful, heartfelt…blatantly “I don’t give a damn-ish”. This may sound like one page turner of a novel, but I’m just giving you the cold hard truth. I like you. I like you a lot.

Promise me you‘ll never change,

Janet

* Look for a full review of Say Something Strong next week. Be sure to pick up the album (you're only cheating yourself if you don't). It's available everywhere August 18th.