Bad Lip Reading - Rebecca Black and Bieber

A new channel on Youtube called BadLipReading has uploaded some hilarious new videos with what could be a big new genre of parody videos. They took the popular video for the song "Friday" and re-dubbed it with new lyrics and subtitles. They did an excellent job and created an entirely new song that is just as catchy as the original. Check it out here:



They have one more made from a Bieber and Rascal Flatts song re-dubbed "Asian Baby" which I think is even funnier. The vocal parodies are spot on and hilarious. Check it out here:

CathyMay15 - Youtube Star

CathyMay15 is the name of a Youtuber who made videos of herself singing along to various popular songs. Her videos became viral due to the fact that her singing was not very good. This of course drew lots of negative comments and in turn she deleted her channel before many people even heard of her.

In case you are wondering what she is up to now, she has new Youtube channel CathyMay20 where she still sings and does covers of popular songs. Check it out and give here some support!

Rebecca Black - The New Pop Sensation

Chances are you have heard the new song or seen the music video "Friday" from a new singer named Rebecca Black. The video went viral because it is as some say, "so bad it is good". I stumbled upon this video and here was my reaction:

At first I just thought, "oh great, another manufactured pop song that's going to be all over the radio". I kept listening and soon realized how bad the song was in terms of lyrics, singing, and production. Then I thought it must be a joke or a parody because it was so bad. But the thing is, it's not a parody! It's real!


Of course I had to do some research on all of this and here's what I found:

She is one of many girls who has worked with a company called Ark Music Factory. Basically they cater to young girls who want to be the next pop star. For a fee, they will make the girl a song and a video and put it out on the internet. Judging by their video releases, they are not picky when it comes to talent.

So this company makes this awful song for Rebecca like they have done for many girls, only this time something happened. It went viral and now has over 13 million views on Youtube. It is also charting on iTunes and being played on the radio.

Now there is nothing wrong with Ark running a business of making songs and videos for girls, but by intentionally making them bad, that's just taking advantage of them. They knew the song was bad when they made it, but they still took the money. They never expected it to get popular, but it did.

Rebecca Black will of course get a lot of hate for the song and video, but it's not her fault. She is just a girl with a dream that came true. If anyone is to be hated on, it's the company that created the content for her.

Because of this, I support her and I hope she has continued success!

2011 Grammys Review

Being a music fan, of course I have to watch the Grammys. Being someone who is really into music, usually I am disappointed with the Grammy awards. This year was no exception.

The overall production seemed cheap. For example the graphic design for the commercial breaks seemed more fitting for the Kids Choice Awards.

There were so many performances and not enough televised awards given out. I know they want to entertain people, but this is an awards show, not a concert.

Of course there are many talented unknown artists each year that don't get recognized. It really is a business of who you know. Unless you are with a major label and have connections, you have no chance of being nominated.

I managed an independent label a while back and looked into submitting some of my artists to the Grammys. I remember you had to join an association and pay a yearly fee just to be able to submit an artist for consideration.

This year there were a lot of upsets. I was not impressed by the nominees for record of the year.

I can't believe Arcade Fire won album of the year. I have tried to get into this band but I have never even heard one song by them that I liked. They performed 2 songs and they just sounded like noise with a constant drum beat. Really, do they need 2 drummers for simple beats like that? Did they even have any songs on the radio? Katy Perry should have one for album of the year. She had several huge hit singles from her album

Like everyone I was surprised by the best new artist winner Esperanza Spalding. Never heard of her. I would think Beiber would get this since he is everywhere but I guess the voting committee wouldn't have it. Again I was not impressed with this list of nominees in the 1st place.

Oh yeah, and a message to Eminem: Cheer up! Your a multi-millionaire, best selling rap artist of all time. You can stop scowling now.

For next year, I would like to see more awards given out on tv. Also make it live.

Music Recommendations: Feb 2011

First recommendation is a singer named Meghan Tonjes who is gaining popularity from her covers and original songs on Youtube. I just discovered her this morning and was blown away by her voice, enough to already post this up as a recommendation. Expect to hear her on mainstream radio in the near future. Here is one of her original songs called "This Year":



Next up is an older song from a group that just popped into my mind recently. Remember the Avalanches? They are known for using lots of samples to make their songs. This song "Since I Left You" one was one of their hits. I watched the video this morning and really enjoyed it. Check it out:



Last up is a song by Ryan Seiler being covered by Luke Conard. The song is called "July". It's a nice acoustic song with a good chorus. Enjoy!

Why Isn't Rugby More Popular in the USA?

I just watched a rugby tournament on one of the NBC network channels. Rugby is not on tv very often, but when it is, I usually watch it. I don't know much about the sport, but it is entertaining. Rugby is basically a combination of American football, soccer, and a little bit of wrestling. These guys are more physical than football players and they don't even wear any pads!

With the Superbowl happening today it got me thinking. The Superbowl is one of the most watched events. When you compare football and rugby, rugby seems to be a lot more entertaining. Comparatively, football is much slower. There is a lot more action in rugby. I think if Americans were more exposed to this sport and they learned the rules, this sport would pick up in popularity.

Update 4-8-15 Rugby still does not get much coverage in the US at least not on the major networks, but a while back, they did have a special with the New Zealand All Blacks coming to the US for an exhibition game against the USA team. 

Of course the All Blacks one by a lot because they are one of the best teams in the world, but it was still fun to watch.  Hopefully this sport gains some more popularity and we get to see more coverage soon!

The Income Tax System is a Mess

So I recently filed my income taxes online like I do every year. It's a bit early, but I had all the documents and some free time so I did it.

The thing is, the system is so complex and ridiculous. Using an online form is not difficult because you just plug in your numbers, but what is ridiculous is all the deductions and exceptions that are involved. There is so much room for error and estimation. Heck, you can't even put in exact numbers to the cent; they make you round it to the nearest dollar.

Here is a question. Why don't employers submit their employee's earnings? This would be direct and most logical. Instead they send a form to the employee and then they have to report their own earnings. I'm not objecting to the effort it takes to report your earnings, I just don't see why they are leaving it up to the employee. It's like adding an extra step that is unnecessary.

I understand that if you are self employed, you would have to report your own earnings, but if you work for a company, they should report it for you.

Well you ask, what about all the other stuff you have to include like deductions? Here's the thing, there shouldn't be deductions. Income tax should be solely a percent taken from the amount you earn in a year. Simple as that. Take how ever much you earn and pay the established percentage in the form of tax.

Like I said before, it is ridiculous how many options and exceptions there are that will alter how much you have to pay on taxes. It's so inexact. Some people are going to end up paying more than they should because they don't know which deductions they can take, and others who know a lot about it are probably going to end up paying less than they should. And there is no way the IRS can monitor all these hundreds of options and elements that make up the tax forms because there are so many. Yes they can do thorough checks with audits, but if they can't do thorough checks on every submission, well then it is just not good enough. That is why the system has to change.

The income tax system needs to get a lot more streamlined and simple. Get rid of all the hundreds of deductions. Get rid of all these odd exceptions and alterations. Set the percent that must be paid and then take that percent from however much the individual has earned. Why does it have to be more complicated than that?