Music Alert ~ Natasha Bedingfeld August 19, 2007

For quite sometime I have been wanting to know if the song “Unwritten”, the theme song for the MTV show “The Hills”. It sounds like Pink, but it’s not!

Her name is Natasha Bedingfield. Being compared to Christina Aguilera and Pink ( I was close), she has been topping the Billboard Charts in the UK, and here in the states. Having a #1 single in the US, and a #1 UK debut album, and over 6.5 million units shifted worldwide, Natasha Bedingfield is the UK’s biggest female pop star. Last year, Natasha had the first British chart topping hit in almost twenty years.

She is a force to be reckoned with. Her talent has gotten her invited by her hero Prince to jam with him at a private party; her song ‘Unwritten’ proved to be the most played song on mainstream American radio in 2006.

Her first album, released in 2004, got her recognition, for the outspoken lyrics on her take on life. Her sophomore album N.B., she explains as:

“I want to make music that matches who I am. My first album was about independence and opportunism. I’m still very independent and I find it hard to let go of that freedom, but I’m in a different place now. I’ve been dating, searching for a partner, looking for Mr Right…”

Her sophomore album, N.B., is THE Break-up album. Just the titles alone, make any girl feel like they have therapeutic tunes to mend their heart. But to hear her voice & lyrics, makes the experience - comforting.

Proving that affairs of the heart, although difficult, make for excellent song-writing material. Each track on the album explores a varying stage of the ‘relationship’ story, and the issues, experiences, and processes that come with these stages: from the lonely place of never feeling like you will fit with anyone (Soulmate), through the flirting, dancing stage where you feel you might (How Do You Do?), to the moment at which the game playing ends and open honesty prevails (Say It Again).

N.B. forthcoming single ‘I Wanna Have Your Babies’, due to be accompanied by a colourful and entertaining video from Dave Meyers (Pink, Missy Elliot, Outkast). Lyrically, ‘I Wanna have Your Babies’, touches on a female’s fight to reign in their natural disposition to ‘rush into things’ in an effort to find that elusive ‘one’, that potential father to their children. Musically it is distinctly ‘Natasha Bedingfield’ - the voice to melt radios, the beats that drop either side of the Atlantic, the arrangements that are undeniably quirky, but still, somehow, work.

Currently, Natasha is on tour with Justin Timberlake - who this past Thursday performed @ Madison Square Garden.

Here are some of her songs! Click “Launch Standalone Player” to hear tracks

~f@ke

NYC Is The Placed To Be August 19, 2007

So after years of living in the NYC a.k.a the Melting Pot. I made my way over to one of the most popular clubs in the city on it’s most acclaimed nites, Wednesday.

APT, located on 13th Street off of 9th Ave, in the Meat Packing District. With a line with a wait of 10 - 20 mins, depending on how crowded it is inside. We got there after 2 am & it was so crowded you could feel the heat seeping outside on an Mid - August nite. Luckily, we just hopped to the front of the line, but we still waited. Seeing the almost forgotten R&B Singer, Maxwell (minus the hair & rocking a pair of specs), Baby Lover - R.Kelly rolled in with his entourage (adding another 10 mins to our wait), Ali Shaheed Muhammed - from A Tribe Called Quest, who happened to be meeting his friend, Q-Tip who was guest spinning.

Apt has two floors. The first floor looks like a loft apartment, different colors and decor for each room. The second floor ( the lower level) is where it’s at!! Wednesday nites are usually Dj’d by Rich Medina. If you don’t know about this guy, you have to here him. He has been dj’ing for well over 5 years. Know in the Independent, Afro Beat, & House Music sector. You can find plenty of mix cd’s with Medina spinning. I’ve loved the guys work for a couple of years now. Him and Mark Ronson have came a long way.

So we get downstairs, after Security @ the door tells us we can’t go downstairs, because it’s reached its capacity. And it’s so hot that when you brush up against people to get through the crowd, you are greeted with an arm or back drenched in sweat. Good Party?? You think!!!

Q-Tip had the crowd jumping. Spinning 70’s Classics, Old School Hip Hop, Afro-Beat, and of course House Music. And the rest is history. If you want to go to a hopping party on a Wednesday Nite. If you want to go to a party and dance your ass off on a Wednesday Nite - Go to APT.

Q Tip spinning w/ Rich Medina

Me & Ali Shaheed Muhammed of A Tribe Called Quest

Check out Rich Medina’s Myspace Pg for Upcoming Parties in the Tri-State Area & some of his music!

~f@ke