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Being misquoted, misunderstood and taken out of context is one of the most definite things to occur in the media world. And unfortunately, this normally leaves an opening for idiotic and ignorant people to prey upon the situation and start trouble like a bunch of ego maniac and pompous teenagers.

Blender magazine has stooped to this absurd high school level in a recently published interview regarding Alicia Keys. While I'm not Ms. Keys biggest fan, I do think she is one of the most talented pianists out there today and I am in awe each time I see her play.

So I thought, rather than continue to bash Blender, I would print her response to the absurd interview printed in Blender.

"Anyone who knows me and my character, knows that I am not a conspiracy theorist or, by implication, a racist. My comments about 'gangsta rap' were in no way trying to suggest that the government is responsible for creating this genre of rap music. The point that I was trying to make was that the term was over-sloganized by some of the media causing reactions that were not always positive. Many of the 'gangsta rap' lyrics articulate the problems of the artists' experiences and I think all of us, including our leaders, could be doing more to address these problems including drugs, gang violence, crime, and other related social issues.


Additionally, regarding the AK-47 reference, AK-47 is a nickname given to me by some of my friends in jest, as an acronym for Alicia Keys and a metaphor for wowing people with my music and performances, "killing 'em dead" on stage. The reference was in no way meant to have a literal, political or negative connotation."

The recent implications about me are too radical and too dramatic a departure from whom I have continually demonstrated myself to be. I work so hard and give so much of myself to bring about positive change to this world, and I only wish those efforts received as much press and attention as the misinterpretations of the Blender article."

To further state for the record and every pointing finger out there. I don't give a hoot what y'all think or say or roll your eyes about in regards to this post. I do not and will not stand for anything remote defaming, especially something so out landish.

Labels: Alicia Keys, interview, music news

Please head over to the website for VENUS magazine and check out the interview/review I did with Hardly Art Records' new band "Arthur &
Yu."

Arthur & Yu
The Seattle duo reels in excitement about developing In Camera

Arthur & Yu - "Lion's Mouth" (mp3)

And also, I recommend heading over to Treble for a review written by Jeff Terich on "The Long Blondes" new album, Someone To Drive You Home. Terich says, "Sheffield's Long Blondes aren't merely the best female-fronted band in England at the moment, I might go so far as to say they're the best band in the UK at the moment. "

The Long Blondes - "Weekend Without Makeup" (mp3)

Labels: Arthur Yu, interview, The Long Blondes, Treble

Sorry this isn't hitting Bring Me Up until right now, but I did get the interview yesterday afternoon and I did get it published at Indie Music Xposed before this dreaded stomach flu hit me.

And so now I have crawled to my PC to update the blog.

Here's an excerpt from the interview write-up.
Please head on over to Indie Music Xposed for the full article!

It's not often you get to talk with an awesome band only a few weeks before their new album is going to be released by Mint Records. "Immaculate Machine" made time to talk with me so I could let you know more about who they are and what's going on in their world.

I could hear the cars passing by in Victoria, British Columbia while we were talking on the phone. "Immaculate Machine" has been causing quite a stir not only on music blogs, but also with the music community as a whole. Their new album Fables comes out on June 12th and then they will begin a summer tour traveling all of North America and then heading over to Europe.

Get the scoop at Indie Music Xposed!

Labels: Immaculate Machine, Indie, interview, music

So I just heard back from the features editor of the Venus magazine.
And I have been picked to do a piece on The Noisettes!
It will be a phone interview some time the end of this month while they are touring with Bloc Party!

How psyched am I!?

I'll keep you posted and will definitely let you know when it publishes.

Labels: interview, music news