Twostepcublog

Tonight's DSS is by Angie B , who is a contestant on the French version of Big Brother . Her pop assimilation of Tektonic (French electronic dance music) on her new single "Soundwaves" is dance pop you can listen to in the car with your 12-year-old. Just don't show them the video... You can pick up "Soundwaves" at Amazon's MP3 store by clicking here ...

Maybe you should just STFU and let wedding parties do your publicity. Here's Chris Brown explaining to Larry King how he can't believe he did all those nasty things to Rihanna, and still luvs her. Yeah. Right. Embedded video from CNN Video

Last night on the way home from work I stopped at my friend Cliff's house , where he was having a barbecue. I couldn't stay long, but thankfully got to catch singer/songwriter Josh Zuckerman do an informal set in the backyard. I haven't seen him play since years ago, and since he's been a staple on Logo's Click List and Sirius Radio, and he's still down-to-earth enough to play in front of a bunch of happy drunk party-goers. (I keed, I keed.) If you're interested in some great alt-pop-rock by one of the "good guys", show some love and head to the Amazon MP3 store and pick up some of his older tunes ( click here to go there ) or go to ITunes or CDbaby to get his latest album....or order one of his CDs , of which his latest, Got Love , I got last night, and it'll be my work-driving music for the beginning of this week. And if you like, vote for Josh on Logo's Click List site by clicking here !

Tonight's DSS is by German techno group Scooter , who have been at the head of the German rave scene for fifteen years, and making the top-10 in their home country twenty-two times.They've crossed into Britain, hitting the top-40 eleven times, though in the States the only single to chart so far was a top-30 dance club single, "Fire". The boys from Hamburg are releasing a new album this fall, Under The Radar, Over The Top , and the first single is "J'Adore Hardcore"... Luckily in the States, Scooter has enough of a following that you can buy "J'Adore Hardcore" on Amazon's MP3 store by clicking here ....

Not much more is needed than to show the heartfelt and powerful eulogy for the late Senator Ted Kennedy by his son, Ted, Jr. Here's the two parts...

Tonight's DSS is by Just Jack , the Londoner who has been on my DSS post before . His latest single "The Day I Died" strikes a Streets' "Dry Your Eyes" chord with a macabre twist...the video features British actor James Nesbitt and it's quite reminiscent in tone to the movie Memento , maybe not faithfully, but in spirit... You can pick up a copy of Just Jack's All Night Cinema CD, which contains the songs "The Day I Died" and "Embers", at Amazon.com by clicking here .

Hey guys, it's a rainy Friday night and time for my tunes for the week. This week Katy Perry spends a third week on top and in Vegas, while rock band Cage The Elephant (pictured above) sneaks into the top-10. Former big hits by Miley Cyrus, Kellie Pickler, Livvi Franc, Lady GaGa, and Deborah Cox drop off the chart, while tunes by Beyonce, U2, and Kristine W. make the biggest jumps (marked in red). Link-O-Rama is still in effect so you can click on the highlighted name of any artist to go to their website (right-click and you can use a different tab or window)...Bottoms Up! This Week Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Waking Up In Vegas - Katy Perry (1) 2. Use Somebody - Kings Of Leon (2) 3. Please Don't Leave Me - Pink (5) 4. Her Diamonds - Rob Thomas (4) 5. When Love Takes Over - David Guetta f/ Kelly Rowland (3) 6. New Divide - Linkin Park (6) 7. No Surprise - Daughtry...

Today's big story is thankfully a heartwarming one. Jaycee Lee Dugard, who was abducted 18 years ago by a mad couple in California and forced to live in virtual prison camp conditions, was found and reunited with her mother and stepfather . The evil man who took her when she was 11 eventually forced her to carry two of his children. That man, Phillip Garrido, was a previous convicted rapist who has been on parole. Of course, like many crazy psychopaths, he used the cloak of religion to hide or compensate for the awful things he has done. I'm sure Jaycee is going through a lot of trauma right now, especially since she apparently succumbed to Stokholm syndrome , where she sympathizes with her captors. I have her in my prayers tonight, and I'm thankful for what I have in this world.

Today's DSS is by French DJ Laurent Wolf (nee' DeBuire), who had one of my favorite dance jams of last year, "No Stress". This time out he contorts Johnny Cash's "I Walk The Line" into an electro bouncer, and accompanies it with an appropriately western-themed video. It's made the top-10 in France already in it's first week, here's "Walk The Line"... You can pick up an import of the CD Single for "Walk the Line" at Amazon's French site by clicking ici (here)...

Tonight's DSS is by Dutch singer Esmee Denters , who gained a following covering songs on YouTube , and now is signed to Justin Timberlake's "vanity record label", Tennman. Her new single has hit the top-10 in The Netherlands as well as Great Britain. Here's the Britneyesque "Outta Here"... Outta Here @ Yahoo! Video You can download Esmee's "Outta Here" at Amazon's MP3 store by clicking here ...

One of the best pop songwriters of all time, Ellie Greenwich, passed away yesterday in New York. Greenwich, with her former husband Jeff Barry, co-wrote some of the most memorable tunes, and was behind much of the best of producer Phil Spector's output, including "Da Doo Run Run", "Chapel Of Love" and "Baby I Love You". She also branched out as a producer, and helped mentor acts like Neil Diamond and Dusty Springfield. Here are my two all-time favorite songs by Greenwich...Darlene Love's "(Today I Met) The Boy I'm Gonna Marry"... The Crystals' "And Then He Kissed Me"... And of course, "Be My Baby" by the Ronettes...

This week's Republican Douchebag award winner goes to Kansas (as in "What's the Matter With...") Rep. Lynn Jenkins, who would've won the C U Next Tuesday award for female douchbaggery if I had read this two days ago. Jenkins held a town hall meeting , which apparently for her means Republican party campaign meeting, last week in Hiawatha, Kansas. In heralding what she feels as a new wave of Republican hopefuls that will save this great land from the dictatorship apparently secretly imposed on us by our rightfully (for once) elected president, she invoked the insightful and colorful phrase "Great White Hope". As in "save us from the scary black man". As in its most famous usage, the search for the boxer that would wrest the heavyweight title from the first black champion, Jack Johnson . That hype culminated in race clashes that followed Johnson's victory over rascist goon James Jeffries. Lynn, dear, don't pretend you don't know how ...

Tonight's DSS is by Scottish dance artist Calvin Harris , who previously co-wrote two of the best songs on Kylie Minogue's X album, "In My Arms" and "Heartbeat Rock". He follows his twin UK #1 singles ("Dance Wiv Me" and "I'm Not Alone") with the discofied "Ready For The Weekend". With the chorus sung by Mary Pearce, it's the perfect bouncy song for me attempting to dust.... You can pick up "Ready For The Weekend" at Amazon's MP3 store by clicking here .

Ted Kennedy lost his battle with brain cancer last night . As the last of the Kennedy brothers who were at the heart of the Democratic party, Ted was an enigma to those not passionate in politcal history. In fact, for most, including me as a younger man, the cariacture of the bloated, drunk, philanderer whose horrible mistake at Chappaquidick which cost him his presidential aspirations, but more importantly the life of a young woman. There's no excuse for those incidents, and you can argue back and forth about it, but if you try to focus on the legacy of what he's accomplished as a Senator , including the fight for a fair wage, the advancement of civil rights, and being a sane voice against the Iraq War. Also, he's been one of the strongest advocates for the LGBT community in the history of Congress , even better than the gays and lesbians that are there. The more I read about his history, the more I will miss him. May his memory inspire the biggest cause of his career, t...

Hey, my vacation is over, and it's time for my tunes for the week. This week Katy Perry spends a second week on top, while the Silversun Pickups (pictured above) jumps into the top-10. Songs by Kristine W., Deadmau5, and Tim McGraw make the biggest moves (big moves in red), while former big hits by The Script, The Zac Brown Band, The Perry Twins, and Anberlin drop out. Link-O-Rama is still in effect, so you can click on the highlighted name of any of the artists to go to their website (right-click, and you can use another window or tab and leave this page up). I hate fucking skunks! This Week Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Waking Up In Vegas - Katy Perry (1) 2. Use Somebody - Kings Of Leon (3) 3. When Love Takes Over - David Guetta f/ Kelly Rowland (2) 4. Her Diamonds - Rob Thomas (4) 5. Please Don't Leave Me - Pink (5) 6. New Divide - Linkin Park (8) 7. Second Cha...

Hey everybody, it's time for my tunes for the week. This week Katy Perry takes over the top spot, while Linkin Park (pictured above) move into the top-10. Former big hits by Dierks Bentley, The Fray, and Carolina Liar drop off, while Michael Franti, Ginuwine, and La Roux make the biggest moves. Link-O-Rama is still in full effect, so if you want to find out more about any artist on the chart, just click on the highlighted name to go to their own website (right-click and you can use another window or tab and leave this page up) . F-ng lawn mowers! This Week Song/Artist (last week's position in parentheses) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Waking Up In Vegas - Katy Perry (2) 2. When Love Takes Over - David Guetta f/ Kelly Rowland (1) 3. Use Somebody - Kings Of Leon (3) 4. Her Diamonds - Rob Thomas (4) 5. Please Don't Leave Me - Pink (7) 6. Second Chance - Shinedown (6) 7. If Today Was Your Last Day - Nickelback (5) 8...

Watch the stupid. This is the face of the much-hyped "American psyche" today. Someone with no clue, just a "gut" feeling, and absolutely no comprehension of the so-called debate that she's having with Hardball guest-host Lawrence O'Donnell. He was easy on her, and yet she was almost self-immolated in her own ignorance. So let me get this straight. Her kid is about to get surgery which would possibly set her family back God knows, and she is STILL a lemming for the Rushbot mass? Classy.

If the sourced information from ESPN is true, Michael Vick will be signed to the Philadelphia Eagles for a two-year deal. Yes, Michael Vick, who it seemed like yesterday was convicted of running a horrible dogfighting ring. Holy fucking shit. Whoever came up with that marketing/tactical strategy needs to be checked for rabies themselves. Done.

It's been hard wrapping myself around a "story of the day" lately, since apparently everything is hunky dory in Iran and the collective American pulse has moved to the appalling prospect of making sure that citizens have health care. Everyday the media has been transfixed, because there's nothing like a good shouting/pushing match, isn't there? What my take on this whole bullshit comes down to this... The President/administration wants to put through a reform to healthcare. It's been pretty vague what specifically this reform would take, whether it be more regulation of the insurance industry, or a public option where people can choose to be in a group that can negotiate just like the major employers can. (There's also the boogeyman of a "single payer option", where all "insurance" would be a government handled affair.) How did this become the coming of Armegeddon? And especially to the ignorant Seizure Villagers that rot away while suc...