50 CENT

Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper and actor. Born in South Jamaica, Queens, Jackson began drug dealing at the age of twelve during the 1980s crack epidemic. After leaving drug dealing to pursue a rap career, he was shot at and struck by nine bullets during an incident in 2000.

On “Curtis”, his third major label album, rapper 50 Cent gives no quarter. As hard and brutally honest, yet musical and entertaining, as his first two albums – each of them Number 1 Pop, Number 1 R&B/Hip-hop and at least seven times platinum – 50 Cent (AKA Curtis Jackson) tells it like it is on Curtis and makes the resulting controversy pay as he heads… Straight to the Bank, the title of the album’s first street track.

Curtis(Shady/Aftermath/Interscope), releasing September 11th, 2007, features guest appearances by Eminem, Akon, Justin Timberlake, Mary J. Blige, Robin Thicke, and Nicole Scherzinger from the Pussycat Dolls.

Curtis continues 50 Cent’s phenomenal rise from the mean streets. His official debut album, 2003′s Get Rich Or Die Tryin, sold 872,000 units in the first four days of its release, making it the fastest-selling debut disc in the SoundScan era (since 1991). The album was the biggest seller of 2003 and is currently ten times platinum worldwide. Later that year, The New Breed, a DVD with a bonus CD including new songs, charted Number 2 Pop and Number 1 R&B/Hip-Hop. His second album, 2005′s The Massacre, was the second biggest-selling album of the year and is now seven-times platinum worldwide.

Since he first dropped his bombs on the music world, 50 has earned 11 Grammy nominations, from Best New Artist to Best Rap Album for each of his first two efforts. Attesting to his worldwide popularity, Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ hit Number 2 in the U.K. and Number 1 in Australia while The Massacre went Number 1 in both those countries, Number 2 in Sweden, and is the biggest-selling rap album in India, where it has been certified double platinum, selling more than 2,000,000 copies.

Back in the U.S., 50 has scored three singles claiming the Number 1 spot across the charts – R&B/Hip- hop, Rap, and Pop. In Da Club, Candy Shop, and 21 Questions (featuring Nate Dogg). Three more went Top 3 across the board: P.I.M.P., Just A Lil Bit and Disco Inferno. Yet another four were Rap Top 10′s: Wanksta, Outta Control (Remix), Window Shopper and Best Friend. Four of the above have been certified digital gold: In Da Club, Candy Shop,P.I.M.P. and Disco Inferno.

Jan Seiden

Not since Grammy-winner Mary Youngblood rose to prominence some years ago has another female player of the Native American flute attracted so much attention and support from within the Native American and music communities. Maryland-based flutist Jan Seiden’s career has skyrocketed since her appearance at the 2002 Musical Echoes Native American Cultural Gathering. Her unique sound, original music and deep spiritual connection carry listeners to as-yet undiscovered places within their own hearts.

Judged by an internationally recognized jury of recording artists, Seiden was awarded First Place in the Traditional Solo Category of the 2002 Musical Echoes Flute Competition. She has performed on stage with such leading artists as Mary Youngblood and Michael Graham Allen of Coyote Old man. She has been a featured performer in prime concerts with NAMA-Award Winners Tito Las Rosa and with Jeff Ball at Milwaukee’s 2002 Indian Summer Festival (one of the largest gatherings of Native American tribes, attended by 65, 000 people), as well as a featured soloist at the 29th Annual Baltimore American Indian Center Pow Wow; Baltimore’s American Indian Center Mini-Pow Wow in 2003, and at American Indian Heritage Day in St. Leonard, MD. She has played for the Commission on Indian Affairs and the Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum, and was filmed by Maryland Public Television for a program that aired in spring 2004.

Seiden has touched many people’s lives with her healing flute music. She works with children in Maryland public and private schools as well as with inner city at-risk youth in Washington, D.C., in conjunction with the Washington Parks and People Organization; workshop and concert programs in 2003 with inner city youth were funded specifically for Seiden by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and the D.C. Arts Initiative. She is currently developing a program of therapeutic music for hospital patients at the Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine. She has also conducted seminars and performed at the University of Maryland, School of Medicine Center for Vaccine Development, as well as at the Oregon Ridge Nature Center, She is a friend and member of the Baltimore American Indian Center.

Woodland Winds
The extraordinary debut album really started ten years ago when Jan Seiden took up the Native American flute after having studied concert flute for nine years as a child. She also studied the sacred process of flute making in the Cherokee tradition under the guidance of master instrument maker, Billy Crowbeak, who has been crafting exceptional instruments for over two decades. On Woodland Winds, she plays handmade traditional instruments – both Woodland – and Plains-style flutes – made by Native Americans including medicine man and fifth generation flute maker Hawk LittleJohn, Cherokee flute maker Danny Bigay, and Billy Crowbeak, as well as three instruments she crafted herself under the tutelage of Crowbeak.

The 15 original solos heard here demonstrate not only phenomenal breath-work and superb lip-tongue technique, but also demonstrate her poetic soul and passionate heart. In fact, Cherokee educator and storyteller Joseph Stands with Many was so impressed by Seiden’s embrace of her chosen instrument that he says “Her music touched me in such a way that I asked her if I could honor her and give her a Cherokee name. I named her Wonder Heart, for that is what came to me through her music.”

Watchout! There’s Ghosts – Ghost Town

Beyond the bad grammar in their band name and the fact that they’re the kind of band that people will associate neon, crunkcore and all that garbage with them, Watchout! There’s Ghosts is your almost typical electronic screaming band, a la Breathe Carolina. Seeing as this will probably be my most controversial review, I might as well let people know that I really enjoy this band. It’s not completely a guilty pleasure, but it’s not one I take the most pride in listening to. Watchout! There’s Ghosts is the offspring or former A Skylit Drive singer/screamer Jordan Blake who parted with the band for seemingly unknown reasons. Some would say the move was terrible, seeing as A Skylit Drive has quite a fan base, but seeing as Watchout! There’s Ghosts just finished a tour with Jeffree Star and are soon going on tour with Brokencyde (god forbid), they could gain quite a fan base with the young 14-year-old girls who enjoy the previous two “artist’s” music.

I’m sure it’s not uncommon that people hate Blake’s voice along with Josh Stott’s screaming. Relatively speaking Blake has a rather high voice that does have quite a bit of problems (both on albums and live), but he still can seem to sound sort of decent. Stotts has a nice set of lungs and can do some pretty nice screaming, both in album and live. Stotts provides the guitar (which Breathe Carolina lacked until Hello Fascination, so a plus for these guys for starting with it right away) which is evident in just about all the songs. Watchout! There’s Ghosts has created infectious beats that I just can’t seem to help but like.

Ghost Town isn’t a technical marvel. We get synth and beats, with some pretty basic guitar and a vocalist who, more or less, has trouble holding his high notes for more than a few seconds. But for some reason, that’s never stopped me from liking this album a lot. There is no new definition of this genre. It’s just another band who put out another electro scream album. But I seem to find that the beats are just so engrossing and that the lyrics are actually quite decent. Particular favorites come from “Don’t Shoot Me Annie Oakley”, “Remember Me, Oh God, For Good” and “I Ruin Dreams, Not Nightmares.” “Don’t Shoot Me Annie Oakley” is a song full of what seems to be regret, with Blake stating “If I treated you / The way you deserved / They maybe I / Would never be hurt / Maybe it’s my fault from the start / I took that chance, I took it far.” Mix it in with a few screams and a beat that sucks you in, and you have a pretty decent song. “Remember Me, Oh God, For Good” is one of those obligatory sad, slow songs telling the world that they aren’t happy unless a girl is around. And to be honest, it does quite a good job of that, starting with the lyrics “I hold your back against my chest / Rest my lips gently on your neck / Watch you stir so peacefully / I wonder if you’re dreaming of me” that deliver a pretty powerful message (to me, at least). “I Ruin Dreams, Not Nightmares” isn’t as much of a serious song, but it does make me smile when I hear Blake sing “Call out my name / Pretend he’s me / Woah oh oh oh / Pretend for me.”

Thermals, The Body, The Blood, The Machine

When an album feels like it’s kicking your ass, you’re in for a good time. When it touches you emotionally or makes you sing along at the top of your lungs, you will be sure to remember it for a long time. When it makes you question the world around you, then it’s been impactful. Lots of classic records are able to touch one, maybe two, of these facets. The Thermals’ 2006 release, The Body, The Blood, The Machine, encapsulates them all and does so in flying colors. The Body, The Blood, The Machine,“tells the story of a young couple who must flee from United States governed by fascist faux-Christians.” I quote the band there, because really, it couldn’t be put better. Though the “story” may not be a coherent set of events, the album still retains the feel of connectivity, which is all that really matters. So much of the album’s success comes from lead singer/guitarist Harris’s lyrical work. He is, for my money, the best simple lyricist in music today. By this I mean that he tackles his ideas not only with clever precision, but also with a sense of knowledgeable punk’s brevity. His observations about God and His followers are emphatically straight-shooting and to the point, but touch on some really interesting and complex ideas. Yet even in the darkest moments, there’s always a faint tinge of hope that propels the ideas forward. From the opening church organ hum on “Here’s to Your Future,” the listener is thrown headfirst into the dystopian state. As a slick guitar riff and vocals join in the mix, things begin to build. When the drums and bass come in, everything spirals out of control into sonic bliss. Without skipping a beat, “I Might Need You to kill” comes. It’s a track that showcases the thing that really sets The Thermals apart from their peers: the fantastic rhythm of their riffs. It’s amazing how fantastic a simple chord progression can sound with an off-kilter strumming pattern. The follow-up, “An Ear for Baby,” has Harris singing with such a delicious snarl and grin in his voice that it’s hard not to get wrapped up in the music. The song also highlights the band’s love of basic, but effective, melodic guitar solos and feedback. As the The Body, The Blood, The Machine continues the rush on, it hits it’s highpoint with it’s two singles, “A Pillar of Salt” and “Returning to the Fold.” “We were born to sin. WE WERE BORN TO SIN!” That’s the rallying cry of “A Pillar of Salt,” which rings out as if The Thermals are preaching to the choir of the disenchanted. As the barrage of punk down strokes lay the groundwork for the track, a snappy keyboard line adds a coat of poppy sugar to jazz it up just a hair. It’s a full speed attack with bounce that just makes me want to throw my hands in the air in search of some kind of sonic salvation. It is hard to point to what exactly makes “Returning to the Fold” so fantastic; it’s probably just the sum of the parts. Harris absolutely wails on the verses here, the guitar/bass lines rhythm pattern is wonderful, and the drums crash throughout. On top of that, the lyrics are terrifically tongue in cheek with lines like, “I forgot I needed God like (a) Big Brother.” After this burst of fury, the album’s slow jam “Test Pattern” comes along. It’s the only song not overtly about religion on the record, instead dwelling on failed relationships. Loneliness seeps through the track which is sharp due to the brilliantly simple drumming (which exists throughout The Body, The Blood, The Machine, but is front and center here) that drives forward the heartbreak. The rhythmic guitar comes back in full forces with the sliding line of “St. Rosa and the Swallows.” As the most uplifting song in the bunch, it is placed perfectly to keep the pep up between the two slowest songs. “Back To the Sea” tells the tale of denying Noah and his ark and instead crawling back to the sea; it’s the type of track where most bands with a punk background would grossly misfire, but in the hands of The Thermals, it is pulled off. It truly feels like the subject is defiantly trudging away from the ark as the blustering wind and pouring rain beats down on it. Before the last hurrah comes “Power Doesn’t Run on Nothing,” a cut that might be the most fun song blasting obsessive greed ever written. It has all the energy of the last lap of an auto race, with cars barreling by one another at mach speeds to hopefully make it home first, only to have them crash in a violent blaze. Once the dust is settled, it’s hard to tell who really crossed the line first and won, but the crowd is on their feet cheering. The final track, “I Hold the Sound,” is basically used as a cinematic tool as much as a pure song, and while that may sound like a negative, it excels in this role. The lyrics seem to be hopeful in the face of desolation. “It’s safe now, we can move. The world is over, the world is over.” As the album finishes in a mush of crashing distortion the listener is left conflicted and unsure of what has become of the world and characters The Thermals created. But that’s the point. The Body, The Blood, The Machine is an album about questioning. It’s not merely about second guessing religion and authority, but also about examining the day to day complacency so many of us allow to consume our lives. There is not one thing complacent about The Body, The Blood, The Machine, and that’s what makes it so tremendous.