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.

171 Reasons to love Mark Malkoff

Photo via Airtran Airways.

In one day, at every single Starbucks location in Manhattan, the comic attempted to order a total of 171 drinks. Now this guy is pulling to break a Guinness World Record for ....what was it again? Oh-yeah...most hours of continuous flying. So as the story goes...Malkoff will be living on board an AirTran Airways flight for the entire month of June. He's not even leaving the plane to shower... [uh...] Each night, he'll sleep on board while the aircraft is parked in jolly ole' Atlanta (also the world's busiest airport-- I know...from experience).

The hilarity ensues...

* Visit Markonairtran for updates, etc...

P.S., I love you, Mark!

The Black John Cusack

His name is GMK, his age is undetermined, and he's here to kick the music industry out from under its own two feet. I could gab on and on, compose a well written feature (2,500 words max), and then cap off at the first copy editor that replaces "gab" with "ramble"-- but I won't. That's why I have this blog anyway. I'm here to talk about what matters. And while some of you may value my opinion, I'd rather let the artist do the talking. With that being said, Enjoi. [Yes, I'm talkin' skate apparel].

JANET SANDERS: Who are you, anyway?
GMKTHEGREAT: I can actually do that in two words or less. You pick. "Brilliant” or "His Brilliance". Who am I? A spawn of everything I've ever loved--done my way.

JS: "His Brilliance”. Reminds me of that time Prince went by that whacked out symbol that nobody could pronounce. I like it.
GMK: You know, there are many aka's, and numbing amounts of kings and princes. I went with "brilliance". It means a lot to me...still has charm.

JS: What are you listening to these days? Any artists in particular who inspired SFB?

GMK: I inspired myself to not repeat anything I'd done before.[Nice way to put it] As far as listening. Little Dragon, Imogene Heap, Blonde Redheads, Sa-Ra.

JS: You're doing a few radio runs right now, yeah?
GMK: Started with 90.3 KEXP.
JS: Any stations playing songs from SFB yet?
GMK: 90.3 KEXP in Seattle,Wa KUBE 93.3 Seattle,Wa and College Radio all over.

JS: So I'm starting film school soon. You going to let me direct a music video?
GMK: Oh sure! I call myself the black John Cusack. We can create a cool video inspired by Say Anything!
JS: The black JC? Say Anything? I'm down.

JS: There's an age issue in the mix. Really, how old are you?
GMK: My manger would say: "Say you're twenty!" So I'll do that. But in the end, close friends and Wikipedia will find out the truth. I'm just after Miley & Jonas. [laughs]

JS: Let's talk music. You've done some amazing collaborations.
GMK: My collaborations have yet to really start. I was reluctant to be on the Jake One album...
JS: But it turned out great.
GMK: I also produced for a wonderful artist by the name of Choklate.
JS: Anything in the future?
GMK: Soon it will be Bilals and I on Erykah Badu's "A Hidden Song" with 2AM Club.

JS: I love 2AM Club. Have you worked with them previously?
GMK:I'm good friends with Tyler [Cordy] and Marc [Griffin]. We ended up doing a real cool record. Some have discovered it. Maybe you will.


JS: Do you consider yourself "rap" or "hip-hop"? There's a great debate going on, you know? To me, hip-hop has soul.
GMK:I am Hip-Hop. "How cliché!” Hip-Hop is where I come from and it's the culture that I'm part of. What I do in record form is "Rap".
JS: Even what you do in record form is far from rap. I wouldn't feel it if that was the case.
GMK: Over the years, rap became a powerhouse genre, and stereotypically, I deemed that to be more commercial and mainstream...less soulful. [Word]

JS: You know, hip-hop is the product of years of evolution starting with cats like Hendrix, Sam Cooke, and Ray Charles.
GMK: Music, when done and heard right, always has a circling point. We come from each person you just mentioned.
JS: It’s a persona, a state of mind, like putting on a pair of old worn out shoes. You dig the new kicks, but the old ones feel much better.
GMK: I can definitely get with that.

JS: So you're going to leave me hanging on that "secret" record? Am I going to have to resort to sources like Google and Yahoo?
GMK: You're online like I am. No exceptions to the rule. [laughs]

*Can I get a team on that 2AM/GMK shakeup? Like...stat?

"Songs for Bloggers" (SFB for short) hits iTunes tomorrow [June 2nd]. You can also follow His Brilliance on Twitter.

"What if Starbucks marketed like a church?"