A little healthcare humor

With all the angst of the healthcare debate, T-Pain decides to liven it up a bit.

U2 Rocks Raleigh

My whole body is sore and aches. That is a testament to how good the U2 concert was on Saturday.

I've been a huge U2 fan for a long time, so when I heard they were coming to Raleigh, I was super excited. They played in Carter-Finley stadium (NC State's football stadium) and it looked like a sold-out show, which meant there were more than 60,000 people there, making it the largest concert I've ever been to.

The set is one of the largest ever built for a concert and it looked like a spaceship. The music was great and U2 did a phenomenal job, but among the large crowd and the large set, it was one of the most intimate and moving concerts I've been to.

It's amazing that 60,000 people of all shapes and sizes and colors could come together and have fun. No violence. No prejudice. No anger. Just all singing together in perfect pitch, 120,000 arms waving in sync with one another. If we could do this for 2 hours, imagine what we could do with the rest of our lives.

Of course, that's the social message U2 is all about, and it came through loud and clear during the concert. Desmond Tutu even gave a message of love and unity during on of the encores.

Awesome, awesome concert.

Very sneaky

Has anyone else recently noticed that prices on iTunes have suddenly changed? What once was $0.99 across the board has quietly risen to $1.29. At first, I thought this was just for the more popular songs, with artists trying to cash in on song popularity. But then I went to download "California Dreamin'", and noticed that it, too, was $1.29. Now, unless the Mamas and the Papas are making a sudden comeback, I'm guessing that iTunes is starting to make the jump for all songs.

It's funny, because 30 cents doesn't seem like that big of a deal. But psychology works in strange ways...I really find myself contemplating whether I NEED certain songs, because $1.29 seems like more of an investment than $0.99.

I get that with the cost of living increasing, the cost of songs must increase, too. But it seems a little sneaky. I think I would have been less shocked - and resistant to the price increase - if it was announced on iTunes. Just let me know that things are going to be a-changing.

And speaking of childhood memories...

I was very sad to hear about Michael Jackson's death on Thursday. It was a total shock, and a piece of my childhood also died. As a child, it was my dream to be Tina Turner and marry Michael Jackson. I fufilled part of that dream last October, when I saw Tina in concert, dancing on the stage in her four inch heels; but, now, I'll never be able to realize that dream with Michael.

Yeah, I know. He was a little...strange. But I've always felt a bit sorry for him. He had a tough childhood, with an abusive father and a spotlight always on him. He should have had better people around him, to tell him what was inappropriate or could be perceived as over-the-line. But there's no denying that he was truly talented, and there doesn't exist a person today who can do what MJ did.

I have these great memories of me dancing around in my underwear to "Beat It" as a child. And while I might still do that to this day, it will lack a bit of the luster and passion as it once did. Here's hoping his music and musical influence will live on for another generation to enjoy.

Coffee bean dream

What I look for in musicians is generosity. There is so much to learn from each other and about each other's culture. Great creativity begins with tolerance.

--Yo-Yo Ma, Cellist

How true, indeed. Our minds cannot be open to creative ideas unless it is open to life, and that includes being open to all of life's inhabitants. And what better way to judge tolerance - and, for that matter, acceptance - than by measuring generosity.

When celebrities do stupid things

First, Michael Phelps got photographed smoking the bong. Then A-Rod admitted to using drugs. And now Chris Brown is beating up his girlfriend. When are celebrities going to realize that they can't do stupid things anymore?

A spokesperson for Billboard records speculates that Chris Brown's career is now over. And while what Chris Brown did was terrible, I find that kind of interesting that beating your girlfriend can end your career.

After all, celebrities do drugs and their careers are fine. They can shave their heads and take a bat to their ex-husband's car and no one bats an eye. Cheat on their taxes and their significant others and face no consequences. They can even kill another man and their records sell more than ever. But beat your girlfriend...that's just too far.

Maybe part of it is our culture - men don't hit girls. And perhaps, because of that, what Chris Brown is unforgivable in fans' eyes. Don't get me wrong - I'm in no way justifying what he has done and I agree that Chris Brown's records and bank account should face a terrible consequence as a result. I just find it a bit amusing that the public has reacted so vehemently to this crime, when it tends to turn a blind eye to others. But it also makes me wonder how this reflects the way we think of women in our society - as vulnerable and needing protection.

Rihanna is a victim, no doubt. But I hope she doesn't fall into the annals of stupid-dom, as well. After all, if she chooses to go back to Chris Brown, to forget his past acts of violence and become his girlfriend again, then I think fans should react in kind. She has a chance to be a role model and stand up for other victims in her plight; I just hope she isn't stupid and screw it up.

UPDATE: Rihanna and Chris Brown are back together. They are both idiots.

It's all about the Benjamins' Benjamin

Have you ever noticed how 99.9% of all songs ever recorded are about relationships? It's either about falling in love, falling out of love, or wanting to fall in love. Basically, it's all about sex. Very few songs you listen to have to do with anything other than that. One that comes to mind is "Unwritten", but that's really about it. Of course, there is that 60's and 70's genre that dealt primarily with the war. But again, it was all about making love.

A quick peak at the iTunes Top Songs should help clarify the point:

1. Kiss Kiss
2. Apologize
3. Crank That
4. Bubbly
5. No One
6. How Far We've Come
7. Cyclone
8. Gimme More
9. Hate That I Love You
10. Stronger

Of these, only "Crank That" and "How Far We've Come" don't mention anything about the opposite sex. (And you could argue that "Crank That" ...see me bouncing on my toe...is just a veiled mating dance).

If you continue down rest of the popular iTunes list, you'll see just how obsessesed we are with relationships. Why is that? Could it be that, evolutionarily, that's our whole point of being (or one of them) and it's so ingrained in our being that it comes out in song? Or could it be that it's something that we all can relate to, in one way or another, and so makes the artist more marketable? Or maybe we just don't have anything better to sing about?

It's also strange that all songs have exactly the same format: verse - chorus - verse - chorus - bridge - chorus. Sometimes a song might start off with a chorus and then go to a verse. Or maybe it ends with two choruses. But listen next time. Every song is in exactly the same format. There is always a bridge (the part of the song that sounds just a little bit different, or is in a slightly different key).

Interesting. Perhaps we are a lot more predictable than we'd like to think.

You Ain't 'Cause You Not

I was driving in my car last week, windows down, wind in my hair, when I was suddenly roused to inspiration from the words coming from my radio:

This is why I'm hot.

This is why I'm hot.

This is why

This is why

This is why I'm hot.

I'm hot 'cause I'm fly.

You ain't

'Cause you not.

This is why

This is why

This is why I'm hot.

Who said the great orators of our time are dead? There are few that truly compare to the velvety eloquence of Mims, wouldn't you say?