Out there
• YouTube loves Aimee Mann. Apparently, up there with Chipmunking R&B songs and videotaping your kids singing, another YouTube thing is uploading videos of yourself playing Mann's "Save Me." So now Mann and her record label are having a contest: upload a video of yourself performing her new song "Freeway" for a chance to perform live with the singer. According to Spinner: "Mann is excited at the process of going through the 'Freeway' covers, but jokingly hopes that the contest isn't overly successful. 'I can't wait to have a little time to sit down and go through them all,' she says. 'Looking through hundreds of videos, however, would be a little daunting. Dozens would be ideal.' "
• NY Mag has invited five New York musicians to make summer MuxTapes -- among them, my favorite Stroke, Albert Hammond Jr. It's a good mix, themed around an upstate weekend vibe, although it would work on any road trip. He also has the cheek to include both Kraftwerk's "Autobahn" and George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," both songs which clock in at over 8 minutes. A daring move for a mixtape, but it works.
• Over on Nerve's gaming blog, Cole Stryker has dug up the Pixies' cover of the theme from the '80s video game NARC. I like how they're doing something to the guitar (or whatever) to give it that 8-bit tinniness. Very authentic.
• Soulja Boy vs. Ice-T: If you haven't been following, the two are in a bit of a tiff. Fortunately Videogum has been following the feud: 1, 2. The language is VERY NSFW, BTW. Now, V'gum reports, the feud has hit the cartoon world! If the video not working there, here's a link. Soulja Boy's strategy is all about calling Ice T old, but it seems to be effective. Ice T is maaad. Although Ice T's barbs are a little more pointed. In the end, sadly, I think Soulja Boy might be right about the fact that Ice T is just stirring up trouble to promote his new album ...
eh.www.amNY.com
