Jay Sean slows down the dance hit “I’ve Gotta Feeling” with just his voice and a piano in this BBC radio performance.

What will make this mini-album review different than some of my past ones is that for once I’m not worried about what the artist is saying, but how it makes the listener initially feel without understanding what the songs truly mean.  Follow the music, and let your own theme unveil.  I will say “Battle Studies” does paint a color blue, but presents plenty of different shades to it to let you decide where it takes you.

Not really having it as a main focus (ergo, why this is a mini-album review), what I can only guarantee about John Mayer’s “Battle Studies” is that it’s your perfect album for this winter season.  Don’t get me wrong, an intimate connection can definitely be made as it explores heartbreak and love and the insecurity of it all, but for the most part, looking at it as a soundtrack in life, the music takes you on  a winter-wonderland walk down a city’s downtown covered in white Christmas.  Continuing with this imagery, the only catch is is that you’re not sure whether or not your love is walking right next to you….

All in all, badass album.  Can’t wait to connect with it on a personal level…

“Rock-N-Roll, or as your grandmother knew it as ‘The Devil’s Music’, has once again made its stain on pop culture.” Now that the 80 year old typing on his 30 year old dusty typewriter is done and passed away lets talk about a movie. “Pirate Radio” is a fantastic movie depicting the struggles that many teenagers in the UK had to endure to shake their “bons-bons to some tunage”, also known as music to those of pseudo-language illiterate followers. Phillip Seymour Hoffman (A.K.A. The flippin’ Man) has torn up the silver screen again with his dramatic (HA!) representation of “The Count”.

For those cinematic enthusiasts (junkies) like myself, I found it refreshing to see Hoffman in a comedic role that was similar to his mastering of Lester Bangs in “Almost Famous”. Combine an American smart-ass with British dry-humor and the result is a fantastic flipping movie! The ensemble cast includes some British royalties: Bill Nighy (Underworld Trilogy, Hot Fuzz), Rhys Ifans (The Replacements, Notting Hill), Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead), and Rhys Darby (Flight of The Conchords, 7 Days). Rhys Darby isn’t exactly British but he is from New Zealand so who the hell knows the difference?!

This movie combines factual occurrences with minor blips of imagination to illustrate the power that the British Government used to implement to ATTEMPT control over the sound waves. Fortunately for those teenagers and young souls living in the UK, there was a group of rebels willing to put it all on the line to stick it to the man! Go for the music and stay for the anarchy!!!!

Gerard Butler has returned to his role as a bad ass mamma-jamma.  Butler throws away the girly-man persona that he had in The Ugly Truth, and returns to a god-like murdering machine.  I think anyone who watches this movie will agree; do not f**k with this man’s family.  A trained genius with only one thing in mind, vengeance against the system and all those involved.  Butler was reminiscent of Einstein spliced with the old-fashioned Arnold from Terminator.

Now for the bad news: Jamie Foxx is in the movie as well.  The man is a great dramatic actor (Ray, Collateral) but his acting in this film was predictable as a children’s book.  A smug lawyer just trying to protect his “stats” does what all self-centered, egotistical public figures would do: slither out a “victory” (if the common conception of “victory” involves robbing a man of moral justice, then sure do the victory dance).  What he does not know is that Butler is going to kick the dog snot out of him on the screen and in the box office.

Now Jamie Foxx aside, this movie was intense.  Butler does a sensational job of portraying an inspired methodical genius.  For anyone who enjoyed Gamer, this movie is a must see.

I love the holidays, more than you could possibly imagine.  Gifts, food, carols, snow, fat jolly guys, little people, red, green, bells, lights, credit cards, debt, frolicking, family, and the list could go on and on.  But this holiday season I found something that has really brought a daily holiday delight right to my computer.  I recently discovered Santa Claus on Twitter!  I thought well I should share such a joyous occasion with all, so here’s his address; http://twitter.com/loadedsanta and from what I understand following him gains you major “nice” points.  No lump of coal for me this year.  Fuck ya!

I think unique might be an understatement.

First off apologies for the brief hiatus! Now that that’s out of the way, we are going to embark on  a month dedicated to riding music because snowboarding season is kicking off right round the corner. The fundamentals of perfect riding music derive from a sense of flowing, if it flows you’ll flow. Hip hop is notorious for flowing and what better band to present than Jurassic 5. They’ve been in the game for years and they’re newer stuff  has taken a progressive turn, but the old stuff, damn! My personal favorites have gotta be Jayou and the entire Quality Control album.

Jurassic 5 – 18 – Jayou

This will explain it way better than I can:

“After losing contact with Earth, Astronaut LEE MILLER becomes stranded in orbit alone aboard the International Space Station. As time passes and life support systems dwindle, Lee battles to maintain his sanity – and simply stay alive. His world is a claustrophobic and lonely existence, until he makes a strange discovery aboard the ship. Driven by the powerful music of ANGELS & AIRWAVES, “LOVE” explores the fundamental human need for connection and the limitless power of hope… A high-impact visual adventure, that resonates a common truth, that everyone has a story to tell and something even greater to leave behind.” (Apple Trailers)

Please send this video to your friends!