So, for anyone who hasn’t seen it already, here is the famous video interview in which Beyonce herself seeks to explain who Sasha Fierce is, and when she became her. She talks about the decision to split the alter-self titled album into two parts: one reflecting the serious, softer side of herself and represents her, Beyonce. The other is the alter personality, Sasha Fierce, who is wild and crazy and more sexual.

Obviously I love when new music comes out.  It pumps me up when I hear something new that I just love.  More often than not though I get a little disappointed in the new releases.  I mean, I guess I have some high standards or something but so much of today’s new stuff just does not give me the chills that I am looking for.

Of course this might mean that I am getting old and becoming one of those old fogeys that says things like, “you kids wouldn’t know good music if it hit you in the face,” and “back in my day we listened to music that really mattered.”  I am not quite sure that I am at that point yet, though.

Yesterday when I went onto the old YouTube machine it kept telling me to listen to this newly released Rihanna single.  Well, after a while I gave in to give it a try, and I must say I was quite surprised.  I really liked it.  For the most part I could take or leave Rihanna’s music, but this one was different.  Take a listen to it below and see what I mean.  Do you like it?  Or are you over it?

Last Friday Spotify made an announcement that the Radio functionality has been made over.  This change has made it so customers (even non-paying) can skip through however many songs they want to and create however many stations they would like.  Of course this seems to be a direct way to call out Pandora since no matter who you are, paying or not, you only get six skips a hour per station.  The newest version of Spotify is in beta, but to make sure that you have the best information about making a choice, I thought I’d give it a run.  I downloaded the new version of Spotify (it only comes in a desktop app) and opened up Pandora in my browser.  Remember–Pandora also has a mobile app and desktop app that functions just like the browser supported option.  Let’s see how the two compare, shall we?

• Skipping

Spotify wins this round.  Skipping tracks is unlimited with Spotify and not with Pandora.  If you are an all-day Pandora user then you have likely came across the desire to skip more than allowed and this can cause problems.

• Create a New Station

Both of the services features for creating a new station to listen to are basically the same.  You simply click the button in Spotify to create a new station.  After that you begin typing and choose your selection.  To find what you are looking for you can choose a song or an artist.  Pandora’s new station creator is in the control bar where, like Spotify, you can type it in and choose.

• Music Selection

As far as finding music that is what I wanted to hear, Pandora takes the cake.  The music selection based off of the stations that I create tend to be more “accurate” in my opinion.  Spotify does not do a bad job at providing tracks, I just don’t feel like the choices chosen as carefully.

• On the Go

The only one that is mobile right now is Pandora.  You can get the Pandora app for free on all types of platforms.  Spotify has yet to have a mobile radio app and even if it did it is only for paying users.

So, your choice depends on what you are looking for from your “radio.”  Set it and forget it types will choose Pandora and for those interested in interaction, Spotify may be for you.

But back to the performances.  The winner of Entertainer of the Year, Taylor Swift did a beautiful job with her song “Ours.”  Jennifer Nettles completely killed it with Rihanna singing “California King Bed,”  and the hosts Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood were incredible in “Remind Me.”  Carrie Underwood has such amazing range and talent, and I love watching her sing.  And I can’t forget my new favorites The Band Perry.  Take a look at my favorites below.

Recently, the glamorous singer was sighted with a bare face while enjoying a romantic outing at the beach with her boyfriend in Hawaii.  There were no gigantic, caterpillar sized fake eyelashes glued to her lids, and her eyes looked a little washed out without all the mascara and eyeliner we are used to seeing on Gaga — but all in all, when people are given a choice, they tend to prefer her with a more natural, less exaggerated look.  Of course, there are still those who say that a starlet without makeup is like a castle without adt home security, but to each his (or her) own.  Check out the infographic below for more opinons:

Now I know what most of you might be thinking, and that is that I am a music snob.  Well, if thinking that techno is not music at all is being snobby, then yes, I am proud to be a music snob.  I would rather listen to bluegrass music nonstop for days than have to hear even twenty seconds of the crap that is electronic dance music.  At least the bluegrass artists are in fact artists playing instruments with real talent.  Techno is talentless.

If you think that hopping on your computer and making up a beat is talent, all I can say is you are full of it.  Maybe it is time to find a real hobby or interest.  I mean, you may love music for all I know, but have no musical talent whatsoever, I could possibly understand the fact that you can only get involved with music by using a computer to generate sounds and what not.  But if you think that because you can create techno dance music you have musical talent, you are way off.

So for all of you talentless and annoying techno lovers and makers out there, just keep it away from me.  And maybe try to find music that isn’t crappy and annoying.

In the music video knockout Katy Perry is dressed as a high school student that went a little bit crazy on Friday night. I loved how she took on the role of a nerdy high school student. It shows that it doesn’t matter what you look like or people want to say about you in school you can still have fun and go crazy on Friday night.

This song is one of my favorites because I love when Friday comes around and I can have fun and go crazy. Although I don’t go as far as Katy Perry’s song, it would make a very fun Friday night! The best thing about this song is that it is totally about having fun and letting loose while you can. Most songs are so serious, it’s nice to have a song that talks about having fun and hanging out with your friends. I am defiantly a fan even though I don’t party like the song talks about.

The song was instantly a hit and their music video is amazing as it tells the story right along with the words to the song. The author of the song sat down and explained where the song came from he  said “There was a girl I was seeing, who lived in Kansas City. We really liked each other, but geography and timing just wasn’t working for us. She was getting pretty frustrated with the whole thing and wanted me to slow down, as far as traveling so much and all those things. I wasn’t willing to do that because we were just getting started, and I’m chasing my dreams.

I was going to see her. We were in Green Bay, Wisc. playing a show with Little Big Town, and it was pouring down snow. We were supposed to go to Kansas City the next day for some radio thing, but the radio people canceled. Instead, we just went on to wherever we were going next. I had to call her and tell her that I wasn’t going to make it. She was not a happy camper. She let me have it. I hung up the phone, walked on the bus and wrote the chorus and the melody to the chorus.

Me and Zac worked on the first chorus together. I knew the song was special. You can just tell as a writer when you’ve written something that has a chance to be big or special. I knew that one was.”

When you know the meaning behind a song it means much more than a song that just has a catchy beat in my opinion and I think that this song tells a great story that can be interpreted however you like it to be whether it be missing your family or a love that can’t happen.

This isn’t something completely new.  I still love to watch the Beatles in their own movies and Cher always steals the show in Moonstruck, despite the fact that she doesn’t even sing a note.  These are not the experiences I would like to talk about today.  These were the examples, along with some others that I don’t have the space to list, that accentuated the natural talents of the artists involved.  The Beatles used their own music in films and Cher was certainly blessed with the gift of acting in addition to her powerful voice.  The examples that I want to discuss are the ones where the viewer is surprised to see that artist acting and the plot doesn’t necessarily benefit from it.

If films want to grab the attention of a new audience base, they throw Beyonce into an Austin Powers flick to reach a particular demographic.  Britney Spears makes the movie Crossroads to see if she will be a successful actress.  But does this experimentation benefit the music realm?  The more mainstream every artist gets the more they are influenced to produce what the record label wants and to appeal to more and more people instead of being able to focus on their steady niche market.  In my opinion, throwing in an acting career serves to dilute the music realm even more.

Making cheesy attempts at less than flattering films is just another publicity stunt because the artist wants more attention.  I think there needs to be more of a focus on music creativity and production so the inspiration isn’t lost.  It’s great to hear Beyonce’s striking vocals on Dreamgirls because that is what she does best.  It is not as great to see a great musician tarnished by a poor acting job.  Some musical artists can survive the big screen while others should probably stick to what they know for the overall best interest of their careers.