We at Musicmusic always prefer the real synthesisers over softsynths. However Arturia managed to do emulate the Moog Modular with it’s 9 (!) oscillators for €229,-.  The real deal goes for over 30K now. Although this softsynth wil never sound like the real deal there are a couple advantages:

With the original extremely expensive Moog you couldn’t play more than one note at a time, so you needed to build things up with multiple takes and a tape recorder. Also you can save your presets easily with the softsynth version, which makes it easy to switch between sounds. Not to mention this version weighs as much as your laptop.
Originally, synthesizers weren’t seen so much as music instrument replacements, but as taking things somewhere else. Even in the seventies, some university would not allow a keyboard to be connected to their Moog, because then it would make it too easy to fall into the habit of using it as a glorified organ.
Even when synthesizers got small and used switches rather than patch cords to rearrange the modules (and usually then limiting the variety), they were seen more as for adding some unique sound to the stage rather than to emulate other instruments.

Now, synthesizers not always mean “electronic music” but a means of getting all kinds of instruments into one package, and with a single interface, the piano keyboard, to control it. In the 70’s some folks trucked their Moog modulars on tour. The drama of patching things mid-song onstage and the faux-scientist tweaking of this 3″ high sea of knobs went a long way toward elevating the prog rock keyboardist to wizard status- see Rick Wakeman, Darren Emerson (see pic.), etc.
The modulars were used for sound effects/noise sounds as well as lead synth sounds. A good Moog modular makes a very nice noise, and for some they were irreplaceable onstage. Because they were so large, heavy, and unreliable, you had to be a major touring band with a good synth tech and sympathetic roadies to do this, but it certainly happened pretty often.

Later came the MiniMoog,  Moog’s attempt to make a playable, basic synth that was more portable. It was extremely popular with touring acts, but of course, didn’t offer the crazy modulation and processing options that the big boy did.

We at Musicmusic think that Kids tv should be more like this:

We at Musicmusic are big fanst of Biz Markie. He reminds us of a cartoon character. That’s why he’s such a great fit on Yo Gabba Gabba! where he does the “Biz’s Beat Of The Day” segments!
TuneUp Media, cleans up digital music libraries. Apparently, Biz is a big fan of TuneUp and DJ’d at their launch party, so he was game to act endearingly ridiculous in the commercial co-starring is Andy Milonakis.

Here is the full version of the dub section with Bunny Lee, Prince Jammy & Scientist doing the “Jailhouse Rock” track. It has a small introduction about King Tubby, and his importance to dub. Right after that Prince Jammy is at the controls, Bunny Lee giving his input and dancing like a madman and the guy in the red shirt & light colored dreads is “Gold” who was involved in the dub scene and worked with Don Carlos alot.

StS’s Rolling Stones

Check out Snoop dogg’s parody on Heineken’s walk inn closet commercial:

Today Coca-Cola’s launches the  “Open Happiness” video, which tries to associate that song with the brand seen for only an instant.  Coca-Cola signed a crew of well-known band members and performers to record the single. It also produced several different language versions for other countries. MTV is expected to show the premiere of the music video for “Open Happiness.” Coca-Cola said it did not pay MTV for the showing. As is the case with the song, viewers of the video will be hard-pressed to spot the Coca-Cola brand. “I studied the video like the Zapruder film,” said a Coke spokesman, Petro Kacur, and the Coke reference “is so super-fast that you really have to be looking for it.”Umut Ozaydinli, the global music marketing manager for the Coca-Cola Company, said the upbeat song pulled consumers into the Open Happiness campaign, rather than pushing it on them like traditional advertising

Check the article here at the NY Times website.

David from Southwest Airlines has a shtick that’s a welcome break from the usual pre-flight instructions.

DIY package for Daft Punk’s “Harder Faster Stronger”. We heard it a million times, but it keeps being fun!
Check it here