New Music From: Robbie Williams, Diddy, Jessica Simpson -Ciara

I'm kinda busy right now, so I can't do extensive, insightful comments for each of the songs. Let's keep it short and sweet. You do know what you want to download, right?

Robbie Williams - Lovelight: Lewis Taylor cover. Second single. Next step of Robbie's reinvention as the new electro white dude.

Diddy feat. Christina Aguilera - Tell Me (Radio Rip): A radio rip, but very high quality. Don't care for Diddy, it's Christina that stole the show here. Better than that dreadful 'Come To me' for sure.

Jessica Simpson - I Belong To Me (Single Version): It wasn't much different from the album version, it just got rid of the tinkly strings in the chorus. The beats rip off those of Mariah Carey's 'We Belong Together', clearly. Weird choice for a second single, as the song's kinda boring. Nothing special.

Ciara - Promise (AOL Web Rip): An r&b ballad, produced by Polow Da Don. Wasn't what I expected from her, she's way better when she does the upbeat, crunky songs than slow jams. This will be the next single off her second album entitled 'Ciara: The Evolution'.

Saturday Is For Soundtrack: Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Part 1: Choice Cuts

Buffy The Vampire Slayer is one of the best tv series I've seen. I can say that without hesitating. Drama, comedy, horror, action, adventure...the show's a blend of it all, with an outstanding cast. I feel bad that I didn't have the chance to watch it since the beginning. I was just surfing channels when I found out that they're having reruns at weekdays, and I was just clued to the tv screen, five times a week, for 7 seasons. Joss Whedon's the man.
Not only does the show provide great action and well-written dialogue, but the music selection is also quite phenomenal. That's why I decided to post a 4-part focus on songs used on Buffy. First part's about those songs played at the most memorable moments of the show.

Sarah McLachlan - Full Of Grace
Sarah McLachlan to Buffy is like Imogen Heap to The O.C. Her music only gets featured at the climacic end in season finales. And her song worked so well that every time I listened to it, I thought of the scenes. So this was played in the season 2 finale episode 'Becoming, Part 2', after Buffy killed her lover Angel and decided to leave Sunnydale. Sarah just does what she does best: singing heartfelt piano ballads that can move you to tears in a cold night if you're really in the mood. Beautifully-crafted song.

Sarah McLachlan - Prayer Of Saint Francis
Sarah's music returned to Buffy with this rarity, played at the season 6 finale 'Grave'. Although it's not as outstandingly good as 'Full Of Grace', it's still a short, bittersweet, melodic song, and really helped capture the moment.

The Sundays - Wild Horses
What I like about Buffy's song selections is that they don't simply choose new songs to promore artists who are having fresh new cds in stores. They choose what suits the moments best. This is a gem 1992 cover of the Rolling Stones' classic by a duo called The Sundays. It was played in episode 'The Prom' in season 3, when Buffy was having the last dance with Angel before he left town, and before she faced with the apocalypse at graduation day. This might not be the best cover version, but I love it for what it is. The acoustic arrangements are beautiful, and the female lead vocals sound so honest and fragile. It's a great choice for the prom's slow dance.

Next part: Some cool tracks off the soundtrack cd 'Radio Sunnydale'.

***Off topic: Oh, today, at a scholarship award ceremony, I saw the girl whom I used to have a crush on in my elementary school days. I think she didn't see, though. Didn't have the nerve to walk up and talk to her, for I was quite sure she wouldn't remember me. She still looks the same, like she did ten years ago. Wo, sweet brief moment there.

Pop Comeback: All Saints - RockSteady

I was not much of a fan of All Saints back then. I really do love some of their synth pop singles like 'Black Coffee' and 'Pure Shores', but I wasn't a music junkie like I am these days.So, the deal is, after solo attempt failures, they're back. With an uptempo pop single that doesn't really sound like the 'old' them. From the first listen, I can get why PopJustice is all over it, and yes, the song's quite catchy. I think it gets better after repeated listens. Another comeback worth looking out for. Check their new song out, it's called 'Rocksteady'.

Mike Shinoda Biography and Picture

Mike Shinoda was born February 11, 1977. his full name us Michael Kenji Shinoda. is a Japanese American musician, record producer, and artist from Agoura Hills, California. His father is Japanese American. He is best known as the rapper, keyboardist, backing vocalist and rhythm guitarist of Linkin Park, and his side project, Fort Minor. He also provides artwork, production and mixing for both groups.
Biography
Mike Shinoda was raised in the Los Angeles suburb of Agoura Hills.
He first wanted to play music during his middle and high school years, he has started to play on different music tools like piano and took lessons on them. He attended Parkman Elementary and Lindero Canyon Middle School. After that, he began taking piano lessons, studying classical pianist techniques, and later moved on to jazz and hip hop. It was during this period that he added the guitar and, eventually, rap-style vocals to his repertoire.
After his teens, Mike Shinoda's rap interests found a source of encouragement in friend Brad Delson, with whom he started to write and record songs in a makeshift studio set up in his basement. Shinoda attended Agoura High School with Linkin Park bandmate Brad Delson, as well as with members of the band Hoobastank. By the end of high school, drummer Rob Bourdon had become involved in their musical ventures. The trio formed the band Xero, and began to make a more serious attempt to pursue a career in the music industry. Chester Bennington came along a few years later.
After high school, Shinoda enrolled in the Art Center College of Design to study graphic design and illustrationIt was here that he made the acquaintance of DJ and turntablist Joseph Hahn, who, along with Delson's college-mate Phoenix, was soon added to Xero's line-up. Shinoda eventually graduated from college with a degree in illustration, securing himself a job as a graphic designer right after graduation. With his background as a graphic artist, Shinoda has taken it upon himself in designing all of Linkin Park's artwork with Hahn, and has even designed the album cover for Styles of Beyond's debut album, 2000 Fold. In later years he would go on to showcase his art skills;[citation needed] he had his debut art showcase at Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles in the time leading up to Linkin Park's album Minutes to Midnight.

Linkin Park
Shinoda's band (at this point called Hybrid Theory) brought in second vocalist Chester Bennington, replacing Mark Wakefield. From the onset, Shinoda was closely involved in the technical aspects of the band's recordings, and over the subsequent releases that role continued to expand. The first song they sang was "Crawling". Shinoda, with guitarist Brad Delson, engineered and produced the band's Hybrid Theory EP, and performed similar roles in the recording of the Hybrid Theory album. Mike executive organized and oversaw the band's remix album Reanimation (2002), contributing his own production remixes that he made in his home studio for "Crawling" and "Pushing Me Away." In his spare time, he produced and performed on a song by The X-Ecutioners entitled "It's Goin' Down."
On the second Linkin Park Warner Bros. studio release Meteora (2003) Shinoda continued to expand upon his duties as a musician and studio technician/engineer. Additionally, for the backbone of the album artwork, Shinoda collaborated with graffiti artist DELTA, graphic designer Frank Maddocks, and band-mate Joe Hahn.
By the release of the Linkin Park and Jay-Z 'mash-up' album Collision Course in 2004, Shinoda's involvement in the creation of the albums continued to grow. He produced and mixed the album, which won a Grammy Award for "best rap / sung collaboration" later that year.
The band released their latest album, Minutes to Midnight, on May 15, 2007. On this album, Shinoda shared a production credit with producer Rick Rubin, overseeing the musical evolution of the band's sound. This album was also the first time that Shinoda, best known for his rapping, sang a featured vocal. Mike sang on the songs "In Between", "Hands Held High" and the b-side song, "No Roads Left". Despite of the uncommonness of Shinoda-fronted singing tracks, Hit Parader ranked Mike at number 72 of the Top 100 Metal Vocalists of All Time.