As I begin to type this entry, I had just seen the lifeless body of Michael Jackson in a body bag. Michael was being taken from a helicopter and put into an ambulance on its way to the LA coroner. They also just showed the last known picture of Michael before “officially dying,” when they were attempting to revive him in an ambulance on its way to the hospital.

Wow. Simply wow. I’ve been at a loss for words since it was announced. I was never one of the obsessive fans, but I’ve always loved Michael’s music and frequently popped in an album to get my fix. But not only am I a big fan of his material, I also know the significant impact he’s had on pop culture and the world today.

I’m not going to get into some of the more interesting elements in his life, which is still mostly speculation and rumors. I don’t believe we truly know the whole story on some of these issues and, most likely, any chance of truly understanding the truth on these matters are now gone with Michael too. So all I’m going to say is this:

Michael Jackson was a brilliant artist. He had some of the most creative talent we’ll ever see in a human being. His vocals could soar with the melodies, whether a catchy pop tune or emotional ballad. His dance moves were trend setting as he invented so many moves never before seen that are now used by everyone today. His live shows were massive and elaborate, boasting some effects that hadn’t been seen at any other concert prior. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have chart-topping artists such as N Sync, Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Chris Brown and many, many other artists today (especially those on Top 40 radio, both past and present). His influence can be heard everywhere, arguably having the most influence in pop music than anyone else in history. He set the stage for mixing music and humanitarian work, which lead to events such as Live Aid. He was also the first African American to get crossover success on MTV, which helps prove the case for those saying he helped break racial barriers in certain aspects of America. These are just some examples of the influences he’s had in many areas.

Personally, I was very much looking forward to seeing how his upcoming London shows were going to go. I was pumped for his “come back.” Now I’m disappointed it will never happen. Hopefully the material he was working on for a new album will eventually come out.

So much that could have happened is left uncompleted. But that’s the nature of death at a relatively young age.

What’s unfortunate is how the many people who criticized him, mocked him, and basically threw him under the bus are now singing praises for him and his career. It’s to be expected, I suppose, but still too bad Michael couldn’t have seen and heard for himself all the kind words being said around the world.

The world lost a visionary and pioneer for music and pop culture today: Michael Jackson, the legendary King of Pop. It’s a very, very sad and emotional day. While seeing videos of him talking in past interviews or seeing/hearing his music videos being played constantly on TV, it still hasn’t hit yet that he’s no longer with us. This entry doesn’t do justice for my appreciation of Michael, what he’s done for pop culture and my sadness in his death. He will be missed.

Rest in peace, Michael. And thank you.

What do merchandisers at Future Shop (aka Best Buy Canada) do after the store is closed? You are about to find out!

Thanks to Brad for filming and editing. Without your help, this would never have happened. Also thanks to Marc Scott for the DJ voiceover.

I do have a high res version (full 1920 x 1280), but couldn’t shrink it down properly without audio sync issues. Had to upload a low res version that is also a little disproportioned. My apologies… The blurriness drives me absolutely crazy too.

(Okay, so I’m not actually a merchandiser. But the other three are.)

A real blog entry will be coming soon. I promise. Sorry for the delay…

I received a LOT of positive feedback from the last entry… Thanks everyone. I will try to get more interesting articles posted here…

As you may have guessed with my absence, things have been busy. But upon further reflection, I think I’ve realized why blogging updates have been minimal. With so much social networking at our fingertips, there are just too many avenues to keep tabs on. I’m sure if I had more time I could… but when you are bouncing a few jobs plus trying to obtain a business degree, your time is short. Only two weeks left until the end of the semester though, which means one month off school!

I think this is why Twitter is such a fantastic tool. You can post quick updates on what you are up to, make your opinions known quickly, get instant feedback, etc. Plus I can do it on the go on my BlackBerry… Then when you add in extra social networking goodies that enhance the Twitter experience, you almost forget about blogs completely. ha. Examples of enhancements would be TwitPic.com (posts pictures from your cell up on Twitter) or my new personal favorite, Qik.com (stream video LIVE from your cell to the internet). Very cool. I need to use them a lot more than I do now, but my crappy camera in my Pearl isn’t very encouraging at the moment. I will be using both of these a LOT when I upgrade my phone next month with a much, much better camera.

All of this being said, I’ll try to post more blog posts here… Even if they are little ones. Again, follow me on Twitter to stay up to date and have a real conversation with me. It’s quite fun…

Anyway, on to a few reviews/comments on CDs I’ve been listening to recently…

Kanye West – 808s & Heartbreak
It took a few spins, but this disc is really growing on me… Despite what some people try ti say, it’s not really a straight up hip-hop CD It’s more like pop meets rock meets some hip-hop/rap… It’s very mainstream at times, but at other times it’s quite unique… Again, takes a bit to get used to, but I like it. Kanye himself calls it “pop art.” You can tell he’s going for the mainstream crowd a bit too, because it’s his first CD without a Parental Advisory sticker. ha. I keep finding myself coming back to it though. It’s a pretty solid disc.

Coldplay – Prospekt’s March
It may only have eight tracks (two of which are new versions of songs from Viva La Vida), but it is still a brilliant little EP. Lost+ with Jay-Z is pretty snazzy, while some of the new tracks are so atmospheric and epic that you remember why the band is phenomenal. Coldplay’s latest full length is one of my favorites, so this extra EP is just icing on the cake.

P!nk – Funhouse
Wasn’t sure what to expect going in… I mean, P!nk has her signature sound, but at the same time she always has a little different flavor with each record. This one seems to be more of an extension of her last one… Very upbeat and fun, though maybe an emphasis on the latter due to the album’s funhouse theme. ha. Nothing too memorable overall though. Just more addictive P!nk music.

Taylor Swift – Fearless
Wow… There’s just something about Taylor Swift’s music that is refreshing. The music’s honest story telling captures your attention and the catchy melodies hold it. It’s also great to see her having a significantly large role in the songwriting process (see: the vast majority of it). Definitely one of the best country-pop CDs of 2008.

Kevin Rudolf – In The City
Another interesting CD… It’s like rock meets rap meets pop. Lots of distorted guitars and vocals… Very in-your-face and upbeat… It certainly gets the foot tapping and head banging. After a spin or two, I’ve determined I like it.

Linkin Park – Road To Revolution
Meh, it’s simply another live CD/DVD combo from the band. You can tell from the camera quality that it would look very good in HD… and you can tell this even on the inferior DVD medium. It’s cool to see the band play some of their songs from Minutes To Midnight live and to see them play some classics with some new twists, but overall nothing to write home about. Jay-Z comes out to sing two of their mashup songs, which is cool…

And that’s all for now… See you on Twitter.

As I sit here typing, I’m also filtering through the many artist submissions/recommendations/CDs that are begging for my attention. Not necessarily because they are good, but because they have been sitting here for some time… And it’s been a while since I’ve thoroughly gone through them, so the pile is rather hefty.

It’s not that being in this situation is foreign territory for me, as I usually have at least fifty or so discs on my desk and countless artists waiting for me to evaluate digitally. I can’t even recall a time in the past seven years that this hasn’t been the case. So I simply start attacking the pile, giving the ones that grab my attention the first dibs on my listening time (though if it is a major release that I need to review, then obviously release date will be the deciding factor).

I must admit though, it can be frustrating how some of these artists really don’t look like they WANT to be discovered or listened to. Instead of commanding my attention and striving for professionalism, it feels like these artists are either apathetic or think they are the hottest new thing and is giving me the privilege to let me listen to their music. Easy there hot shot, I get it.

So let’s assume you are an aspiring musician and you want to get noticed. The entertainment industry is a cut throat field that truly revolves more around who you know than what you know. But even if you had a contact or two to abuse, unless you get off your backside and not rely on others, you too could very well end up chasing the paparazzi with umbrellas shortly after shaving your head. How’s that for a mental image? That being said, labels are now looking heavily for artists who can show they know how to hustle and make a name for themselves on their own first, so it is less work for their company once you are signed.

Now keep in mind that if the aforementioned industry insiders are good enough, they will be able to detect potential talent and whether you are worth their time within seconds of pressing the play button. So how do you get the attention of the talent scouts and media? Well, I’m going to try to give you a few pointers that should hopefully help in the process. If everyone would follow these simple rules, I would already have a lot of the music I have to go through daily filtered out. Keep in mind these aren’t all of the rules though, just a few of many…

1. Make it professional, both inside and out. You’d think this would be common sense, but unfortunately it isn’t. When you are making your CD, spend the extra bucks and get professional production qualities that can be compared to those found on record labels. Don’t make it sound like your roommate made it on his crappy computer that was lying around and/or with free recording software. In this day and age, studio setups are much, much cheaper than they used to be and you should be able to find a producer that can pull off some magical things for a relatively inexpensive price. Also, make sure the actual packaging of your product is professional and doesn’t look like it was done by Grandma on her Apple II.

2. Have a press kit? Make it different. Everyone sends it in a folder that will hold the standard 8″X11″ sheets inside with a bio, fact sheet, and so on. Needless to say, when you have a stack of them sitting there on the “to do” pile, they all look the same. Spend the extra couple bucks to make it unique so it jumps out at us from the stack. Change it to an unconventional size, make the colors bright (but tasteful), throw in some extra swag… Do whatever it takes to just make it jump.

3. Communication: you have spell check, so you better use it. When making communication to a member of the press or a scout, please refer back to grade school grammar rules. If you are trying to sell yourself or if you have finally found someone who will listen to your music, use common sense. Don’t use any sort of abbreviations (thx, u, y, tho, etc.) and use proper grammar/punctuation/capitalization. If you look sloppy and lazy in your communication, it leaves a bad first impression. If I get initial e-mails like this, I’m already turned off. Every e-mail client and word processor has a spell checker, so there is NO excuse to not have it look like business correspondence. No lingo or gang signs either, please.

4. Communication: you get what you pay for. If you are going to be professional, get your own e-mail (and preferably not a free one such as hotmail or gmail; that just looks bad). In both my scouting and journalist positions, I’ve had managers send me an e-mail initially to which I would reply. But then suddenly when they reply back to me, the sender has a different name in the “From” field (sometimes even someone of the opposite sex) and still sign it with their name at the bottom of the e-mail. This is confusing and lacks any sort of professionalism. It’s too bad when the artist they are representing happens to be a promising talent, because it still taints their image. Don’t use e-mail forwarding (especially to a shared e-mail account), just get a real address. It’s cheap.

5. I know sliced bread has nothing on you, but calm down. Sure, you need to be somewhat convincing and forceful in your presentation, but stay humble about it. If you don’t shove it down our throats that you could rock those four British guys from the sixties’ world, we’ll appreciate you more. Don’t go over the top in selling yourself, just list your accomplishments/bio and let the listener decide. If you try too hard, it’ll show painfully. And trust me, way too many artists go overboard in selling themselves that it usually isn’t even close to being accurate anymore. Have someone else look over your promotional content just to make sure.

6. If you’re finding yourself comfortable, you aren’t working hard enough. Remember, scouts are looking for artists who can establish a following and accolades on their own. So work, work and work some more. Play tons of shows, stay late to hang out with the fans to win their adoration, build a great looking website, promote yourselves online by signing up on the popular social websites, and don’t give up. Again, just don’t go excessively overboard in the online promoting or it’ll feel more like spam to users. You’re trying to earn their respect as well as their ears.

7. If you network, they will come. Even with all of these other points, you still need to make that initial contact with key individuals to get noticed. As I stated earlier, this is a business where it’s more about who you know than what you know. Networking is one of your most valuable tools in any business. So get out to industry events, make your name known, become best friends with those lower in the food chain at labels and rub shoulders with absolutely everyone. Don’t just assume those who make the big decisions are in suits, as they could be the guy in the back with the ripped jeans. Just make sure you complete the other steps about being professional and having a professional product first so the networking goes smoother. The last thing the insiders want is a disc and package in their hands that looks like it was made in your basement. Otherwise, if you’ve got the goods, be fearless. The worst you can get is a “no.” Business cards are very handy (and inexpensive) too.

8. Follow up with your contacts. To say scouts and journalists get a ton of e-mail is an understatement. I get tons of e-mails and phone calls from all levels of seniority in the industry with various pitches or offering potential talent. So if you don’t get a reply right away, try again. It may not be that they are blowing you off; it’s just that you may have been accidentally and genuinely lost in the shuffle. At the same time, don’t hound them too much either, or you’ll be too forceful and that will be a turn off. Find the right balance in your follow ups.

So there you have it… Just some simple tips to get you started. Again, there are lots of dos and don’ts, so think things through before you act. But these are some pointers to help you get started and will definitely make the other person’s job much easier and less stressful. If you follow these rules, you will already start on the right foot.

Any other suggestions, questions or comments? Comment below or shoot me an e-mail: josh[at]joshmcconnell.net

So today, in twenty-eight States, is Juneteenth. It celebrates the day of announcement that slavery was abolished. For those unfamiliar with it, you can brush up on your history a bit over here.

I saw OneRepublic in concert a week and a half ago. Wow. I figured they would be good, but they blew me away. Even with the lead singer having to come out on crutches and not move around too much, they still put on a great show. They made me enjoy their music even more, perhaps putting them up there as one of my favorites. I’ll definitely be seeing them again next time they come to Toronto… I recommend them to anyone…

Next concert? On July 30th, I’ll be seeing Coldplay at the Air Canada Centre. Unfortunately, they are the “worst” seats I’ve had at the ACC to date, but that’s not saying much since I’ve lucked out with all of my past shows there (within the first 10 rows every time). ha. I’m about halfway back in the lower bowl (section 120). Not too bad. Either way, the place sold out in about 5 minutes, so I’m just glad to be going…

Speaking of Coldplay, has anyone picked up their new album, Viva La Vida? I’m really, really digging it… Very impressive record. It’s going to be one of my favorites of the year for sure… Pick it up if you haven’t already. You can even buy it in LP format…

Firefox 3 debuted on Tuesday and I like it a lot. It has some new features that are cool, it seems to be even more stable, and basically it reaffirms my belief that Firefox is the best web browser out there right now. You can also watch a real-time counter to see how many downloads it has received. So far it is sitting at over 11 million. Impressive.

I’m trying to decide what my next BlackBerry should be… I have the silver Pearl now and I love it, but I could do more with a more powerful unit since I have unlimited data. Out of the ones available, the only other one I’d get is the Blackberry Curve. But there is also the Blackberry Bold and Blackberry Thunder coming later this year… The Thunder doesn’t interest me too much because I don’t want a full blown touch screen phone. But I’m holding out to see what the Bold ends up looking like, because right now I think it may end up being my replacement…

I finally got around to putting my entire Beatles collection onto my computer and, in turn, my iPod yesterday. ha. It took quite a while…. Twenty albums later (three of which are double discs)…

Anyway, off to work… The two days off were definitely nice but it is time to head back, unfortunately…

So Mute Math is in the studio working on their next album… I’m very excited. I have a feeling this next album is going to be a big one for them.

As they record in the “studio” (it’s more like equipment simply set up inside a house), they are updating their YouTube account with vlogs. Check it out here.

In other news, U2 is also in the studio and apparently their upcoming release is a lot more artsy than their last couple of records. According to Daniel Lanois, it’s just about done. Here’s a quote he recently said in a newspaper in Europe:

… Again the content is very much driven by the aspirations and dreams people have. At the core it is the same U2 but the tones and textures sometimes take a slight different turn sonically to provide a slant on the song and a complexity that listeners will keep coming back to. That’s what we as human beings appreciate in art, the hidden corners that reveal themselves over time.

Complexity that listeners keep coming back to? Hidden corners that reveal themselves over time? I’m pumped already. Sounds like it could be one of their best ones in a while…

Both Mute Math and U2 are hoping for albums around the September time frame.

I’m such a sucker for pop music… Right now my addiction is Maroon 5’s new single. They re-recorded If I Never See Your Face Again with Rihanna… So infectious. It replaced Madonna’s 4 Minutes, which features Justin Timberlake and Timbaland. Of course, that’s not to say I only listen to pop tracks. I’ll usually listen to them in between other stuff, including classics like The Beatles or REM. Still, I can’t help but listen to the catchy mainstream stuff… It’s like a drug.

So I went to Ottawa for a few days last week for business… It was pretty crazy, but fun. Microsoft gave everyone in attendance (250-300 people maybe?) a Microsoft Zune, which doesn’t come to Canada until June 13th. I think it could give the iPod a run for its money… It has some really, really cool social/interactive features…

I just finished reading the book Bringing Down The House, which is what the movie 21 is based off of. It’s a true story, actually. What a fantastic book… I wish I read it earlier. I couldn’t put it down. It definitely gets my recommendation, especially if you enjoyed the movie. I really enjoyed the movie, but the book blows it out of the water. It’s pretty intense. Oh, and for those wondering, the movie comes to DVD and Blu-Ray on July 22nd. Looking forward to it…

You know summer is coming when all of your favorite TV shows are winding down… Everything is ending either this week or next week it seems. How sad… Tonight is American Idol (I’m still sticking to Cook winning) and next week is Lost. Now what am I going to do to unwind after work on Thursdays? Hmm…

Anyway, thanks for the feedback on the new layout. I’ve had a number of e-mails on top of the few comments, most of which was positive. It’s been growing on me more too… It was time for a change.

The XM and Sirius satellite radio merger may finally be coming to an end… It’s taken them long enough. Insiders are saying it looks like it may be entering the stage where the FCC is just going to push it through quickly because it’s been so long… If you are one to play with the stock market, you may want to take that as a hint. But it’s also a gamble since we don’t know for sure what is going to happen…

PC got an iPhone! ha. You have to laugh at this one…

Speaking of Apple, rumor has it they have been playing with new ideas of distributing music. First, Universal Music has approached Apple with the idea of releasing a device that contains the label’s entire catalog. Interesting. Apple has actually been trying for the past six months to negotiate with the major labels and allow a Total Music concept with the iPod. This means that you would have completely free (and legal) access to all of the major labels and their subsidiaries’ music, but the files will only work on your specific iPod device.

Coldplay has announced the name and release date of their upcoming album. It’s Viva la Vida and will street on June 17th in North America. People like to give Coldplay a hard time, but I will admit that I’m looking forward to hearing it…

So apparently Gibson is suing video game companies over patent infringement for Rock Band and Guitar Hero. Oh Gibson, I’m ashamed…

You knew it was bound to happen, but people have now proposed over Twitter… ha. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think it would have the same emotional effect. Not near as romantic. Wait, so maybe I’m not a geek after all? Score.

Oh, I just realized I still have last night’s episode of Lost to watch… Off I go…

Wow. What a crazy holiday season. Final exams for the semester took up a lot of time, then the day after I finished the last exam, I was at work essentially every single day. Oh retail, how I love thee. Things are finally beginning to die down though. I have today and tomorrow off work, which I’m strategically using to play catch up on many things I haven’t had time to do in the past month and a bit. Then on Monday it is back to school until April for semester number two…

Not a whole lot new has happened since the last update, however. It’s just been crazy busy with work. If I’m not working, I’m sleeping to get ready for the next shift. Ha. But there are a couple of minor updates…

First, the KT Tunstall concert at the end of November was amazing. I’m even more impressed with her now that I’ve seen her live. Great show and cool venue (Koolhaus in downtown Toronto)…

Secondly, I did in fact score Matchbox Twenty tickets for next month’s concert. I was able to get tenth row, center-floor seats at the Air Canada Center in Toronto (it holds about 18,000 people I believe). Crazy! So I’ll be seeing MB20 and Mute Math nice and close… Can’t wait! The concert is less than a week before my birthday too, so it’s a good birthday present to myself. Ha.

Anyway, now I’m just picking up the pieces and trying to reorganize and rethink a number of areas of my life at the moment. I think 2008 is going to start off with some changes. Nothing too major, but still changes nonetheless. I’m changing departments at work after two and a half years of the same position, I may be switching programs at college for next year, plus a few other things may see some shifts. Then there’s the whole magazine thing… Who knows what’s going to happen with that yet…

Well, that’s all for now. Nothing too exciting has surfaced other than work and lack of sleep. I should have more of an online presence again very soon though, so stay tuned.

I’ve had many e-mails from readers asking about Renown Magazine and the lack of a website currently up at RenownMagazine.com. It’s a bit of a long story, but I’ll try to sum up what’s going on…

Basically, the website was running on an unsecured back end CMS (content management system) that was outdated and prone to hackers. In order to ensure the site (and server the site is hosted on) isn’t compromised, we needed to move the website from the old CMS to a brand spanking new one. So the site has been taken down and the conversion process has started. The only downside is it is a very lengthy and tedious process that could take a week or two from now. But that’s okay… While there may be nothing up right now, it’ll be back soon enough. Thanks for the concern and support!

On a completely different note (because we all know I can’t just focus on one thing at one time after all)… Matchbox Twenty has announced their tour! I’ve been planning on going to the show all along if they happened to come to Toronto, regardless of who is opening for them. But it ends up that one of the supporting acts is just icing on the cake… Mute Math will be one of the supporting acts. Hecks yeah! So, provided I get tickets, I’ll be rocking out to both Matchbox Twenty and Mute Math on February 22nd at the Air Canada Centre… That’s my birthday week too, so I’ll consider it a present to myself. ha. Now hopefully I can get good seats…

Anyway, sorry I didn’t post about the Renown issue sooner. This past couple of weeks have been brutal at college in terms of the workload and many exams… We’re in the final stretch of the semester though. Almost there!

This is it. We’re in the final stretch… The geek in me is showing and I’m excited that we are less than a week away from the release of Apple’s new operating system, OS X Leopard! Streeting on October 26th, the new OS is doing a major overhaul and adding over 300 new features from it’s previous version. There are a number of cosmetic changes too, such as the new look for the dock. I like a lot. So much so that I pre-ordered it and Apple promises I’ll receive it by the 26th. Let’s see if they hold their end of the bargain…

You know which CD I’ve gotten into a bit lately? Timbaland’s Shock Value. I heard it prior to its release through an advanced copy, but I never really focused too heavily on it until three solid singles hit airwaves back to back: Give It To Me, The Way I Are and Apologize (my favorite). The song he recorded with Elton John is pretty cool too…

Nearly a month until the KT Tunstall concert at the Kool Haus in Toronto! Again, looking forward to that…

Apparently U2 is in the studio working on two different projects. One is with producer Rick Rubin and is expected to be their next official album. But, on top of that, they are also recording tracks with the very successful production team of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanios and many are wondering if it could be a Passengers II disc. Man, I want them now though. ha. The clips of material I’ve heard from the current studio sessions sounds fantastic… Speculation has it we may see one of them in the spring (likely the side project) with the other one releasing in the fall.

Anyway, I’m exhausted. Off to bed…

So much for trying to keep this updated… ha. It’s been a while and you know what that means: a fragmented entry to try to bring you up to speed quickly! I can smell the excitement.

- College is going well… It’s a fairly big workload with my other various jobs, but that comes with the territory. The first semester is over in two months and then I am a quarter of the way through the program. Booyah. So what would I like to do afterwards? I’m not sure yet… Eventually I wouldn’t mind ending up in California…

- I finally got around to seeing Across The Universe. Really cool movie. It was one of those movies where you aren’t quite sure what to think immediately following the movie, but as you think back more and more you realize it was really good. It is a bit of a ‘rougher’ movie though, so I wouldn’t recommend it for a young audience or the easily offended. But for the most part it should be an entertaining watch for the majority of Beatles and music fans alike. I’m considering seeing it again, actually…

- I’m going to see KT Tunstall in concert on November 22nd with my friend Krystle. Looking forward to that a lot… She’s supposed to be awesome live and I’m a pretty big fan of her music. You can bet I’ll be talking about it more as the date approaches. My ticket arrived today actually…

- I ordered a new 80GB iPod Classic and it arrived. The only thing that sucks is there is a stuck pixel on the screen. Grr. That’s what I hate about LCD screens. So I’m going to see if it goes away, otherwise I may call Apple and see what they say. I don’t know if it’s going to be more of a problem to fix if there is a custom engraving on the back or not…

- Aside from Xbox 360’s Halo 3, I think the next four to six months are the PS3’s season for new games. There are so many I want to pick up that are coming out… One of which is the new Ratchet and Clank (releasing October 30th). The free demo went online yesterday and it’s awesome. Then there is Uncharted, Simpsons (though its on the 360 too), Little Big Planet, Haze (not 100% sure on that one yet), Killzone 2, Unreal Tournament and more. I may not play games as much as I used to, but I definitely love my PS3 to play when I get the chance…

- The new seasons of Heroes and The Office are both awesome so far… Not a bad episode yet. I love Mondays and Thursdays…

- So the Canadian dollar is currently three cents higher than the American dollar. What a weird situation. It’s too bad we’re being charged more up here now for goods and services than in the States. They need to adjust that so we’re not being ripped off… Rumor has it they will early next year (after the holiday, of course).

- Speaking of rumors… Rumor is OS X.5 Leopard will be releasing on October 26th or 27th. Can’t wait!

- To the industry personnel who have asked: yes, I’m aware my bio is over a year old. Ha. But unfortunately it isn’t that high on my list of priorities right now. So unless someone would like write one for me (ha), it’ll have to be put off for longer. I should try to quickly re-do the links section though, since I barely read any of the current list anymore…

Well, I think that’s enough for now… I’ll try to update more frequently from here on out…

So for those who haven’t been following, my online magazine has had numerous updates in the past few weeks. Though many of you have probably already seen them, I thought I’d list some of the newest articles to join the ranks. To show I’m not biased, I’ll list them in alphabetical order…

Interviews:
The Cheetah Girls
Finger Eleven
The Last Goodnight
12 Stones

Reviews:
Casting Crowns – The Alter And The Door
Half Past Forever – Take A Chance On Something Beautiful
John McLaughlin – Indiana
Kelly Clarkson – My December
KT Tunstall – Drastic Fantastic
Linkin Park – Minutes To Midnight
Thousand Foot Krutch – The Flame In All Of Us

Okay, fine, I’ll be biased for a second. The new KT Tunstall album is freaking awesome… End biased-ness…

After years of waiting and hoping that one day it would see the light of day, the time has come. U2’s PopMart: Live In Mexico City concert has finally been released onto DVD today! And yes, I bought it already. And no, I didn’t cheap out and just get the single disc version, I bought the two-disc deluxe edition.

Sure, the 90s was the controversial era of U2, but it was also my favorite. I’ve always been a big fan of Pop and PopMart in particular, even though it was rushed a little and Bono’s voice was in dire need of a break. Perhaps that is why I enjoy it so much, it’s just so raw yet also over the top at the same time. Seriously, who wouldn’t love seeing a band come out of a giant mirror ball lemon?

Do yourself a favor and pick this one up. Highlights include Bullet The Blue Sky, Last Night On Earth, Discotheque, Please and Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me. I really hope they do an elaborate tour like this again. The theatrics are awesome…

Gosh, thank goodness for a day off. I have so much magazine work I need to catch up on today, plus I need to go to an orientation thing for college that runs from 10am to 2pm. First things first though: I need to prep some questions for an interview I’m doing with The Last Goodnight tomorrow. If you haven’t heard of them yet, don’t worry, they are brand new and their debut is releasing on Tuesday. You may have heard their first single, Pictures of You, on the radio though as it is doing quite well. The first time I heard the song a few weeks ago, I had the feeling these guys could really take off. There is just something about their sound… It’s a very infectious pop vibe that reminds me of Maroon 5 at times, without the incredibly high vocal range.

Speaking of The Last Goodnight, we’re actually running a contest on Renown Magazine right now where the grand prize is a digital camera and copy of the new CD. It’s open to residents of the United States and Canada, so boogie on over and enter! Click here for the link. Here’s a link to their MySpace profile too if you want to check out some songs…

It’s hard to believe the vacation has arrived so quickly. As I said before, it’s our first family vacation in about fifteen years (at least), so we’re all excited. It should be a lot of fun hanging out in the House of Mouse for a week. I’m just checking out some of the extra benefits Disney gives their resort guests and I sure am impressed. They really know how to treat their guests with incredible service. Three more days….

For those new to this blog (and there are a lot of you), don’t forget to check out my other profiles around the net too:

- My Tumblr account is where I link to various interesting news articles, links, photos, videos, and so on that I find throughout the net. It’s what they call a Tumblelog and it’s nice because it doesn’t clog up space here.

- My Twitter account is something that I absolutely love. I jumped on the site a couple of months before it exploded at SxSW early this year and now tons of people use it. The question is simply “What are you doing?” and you answer it in 140 characters or less. It’s like an up to date mini-blog that you can use to tell people, well, what you’re doing and other tidbits of information. You can send in entries via web browsers, e-mail, AIM, third party apps or, my favorite, via text messages on your phone from anywhere. Really cool. People have already heard big news through twitter long before on the TV or internet (such as a big earthquake that just happened). So sign up and add me as a friend!

- Flickr is another site that I couldn’t live without. For about thirty bucks a year, you can have unlimited storage and bandwidth to host all of the pictures your heart desires for the world to see. You can then link to them easily and efficiently anywhere, such as the little banner I have on the column to the right. You can bet lots of Disney photos will be coming up afterwards.

Those are just a few of profiles on the net. You can see more of them over at ClaimID. So if you’re on these sites, add me as a friend and make sure you say you found it from my blog…

Okay, off to this orientation thing, then I need to get going on that interview…