Blog: The Noise Bazaar

All good things must come to an end.... Man that was cliche, even for me. Anyway, after weeks of thought, I've decided to step away from the Noise Bazaar blog here. I've enjoyed posting my thoughts here, but I have noticed that recently all it has become is a dumping ground for links that I find. It had no direction...never really did. That made it hard to keep up to date. I couldn't even keep Tuesday Guilty Pleasure going. [...]

via blackberrycool.com This is just too funny. Gotta love goofy tech guys at Foursquare putting out a rap song. Posted via web from Preposterous

via youtube.com The long-awaited "EuroTripping Part III" is finally online! I've had this put together for about a week now, but I just took a while to get it uploaded. This video chronicles our travels through Paris and Milan. In the video, though, you can't see all the crazy problems we had in Paris. For those, you'll have to go back to the blog and click on the EuroTripping label. Hope you enjoy. The fourth and final part is on it's way, taking us through Florence and [...]

The truth is, it%u2019s always been a lousy business. My husband, Steve Buttry , has spent his 38-year professional life working in the newspaper business. After all that time, he%u2019s worn out. We were college students when one of the papers in the city (yeah, there was still more than one paper per city back then) folded. The reporters arrived at the newsroom that day to be told to clear out their desks instead of going to work. The Fort Worth Press had ceased publication. Two years later, when our first son was still [...]

via pastemagazine.com This video is great, as is the song. I'm a really big fan of the new Vampire Weekend. Haven't really listened their first album (somehow I missed out on them when they became blog obsessions last year) but I'll have to change that. Lil' Jon as the tennis coach might be the best part. Posted via web from Preposterous

11:45 a.m. UPDATE: Davis' dad says Davis hasn't made an NBA decision, and injury has set him back North Carolina forward Ed Davis' biography was on a sports agency's Web site Thursday morning, but agent Vincent Porter said the sophomore has not signed, or verbally committed, to his agency -- even though Porter has had contact with the family. "I don't even know if he's going to go pro ... this injury has opened up all possibilities,'' Porter said in a phone interview. Porter said he [...]

via youtube.com I'm a big fan of both of these songs and this mashup is damn good. I need to break out the Lupe albums more often. Posted via web from Preposterous

Music blog Gorilla Vs Bear was concerned by Google's actions In what critics are calling "musicblogocide 2010", Google has deleted at least six popular music blogs that it claims violated copyright law. These sites, hosted by Google's Blogger and Blogspot services, received notices only after their sites – and years of archives – were wiped from the internet. "We'd like to inform you that we've received another complaint regarding your blog," begins the cheerful letter received by each of [...]

Even if there is no love lost between Duke and North Carolina basketball fans, there's not much hate in the rivalry, either, according to a survey released today by Public Policy Polling. Thirty-five percent of North Carolinians said they'd root for UNC Wednesday night, compared to 21 percent who said they'd root for Duke. Nearly half, 44 percent, said they don't care who wins. Among those respondents who have a rooting interest in the game, just 18-20 percent of Duke fans and 17 percent of North Carolina fans said they "hate" their rival. [...]

Bonnaroo is just dying to be a trending topic today, or maybe they're scared their website is going to explode (again) when they unveil their lineup. They've been revealing "#BonnarooClues" the past week or so via Twitter as to who some of the acts on the bill shall be, ranging from Paul McCartney and Paul Simon to D.A.N.C.E.-enthused Justice . If they actually show up on the bill then I'll feel more investigative than Steve Burns himself . So while the Roo execs keep adding artists, [...]

This article is unbelievable. Not the premise, but the way it was written. The idea of this New York Times piece is that many universities have an overwhelming female majority. OK, sure. It's focused around UNC Chapel Hill, which is about a 60/40 ratio women to men. Got it. The idea of the article is that it's essentially slim pickens for girls as many guys are already taken or "aren't datable." It also says that guys get better pick of girls because the girls have less to choose from. I [...]

There is an unhealthy correlation between the sheer volume of mail flowing into the inbox and the amount of crazy/bizarre/wacko things exposed to my eyes and ears. Sometimes it feels like being an average fan of art walking around the the Louvre, quickly flocking to the things that are famously familiar while either being drawn into the adventurous pieces or passing them over semi-appalled muttering "I just don't get it !" Luckily, the only thing to "get" about Sunglasses is the combo of catchy tunes and a seriously enjoyable music video. [...]

• Sunglasses - Whiplash

It’s about time, Broken Social Scene. Since the release of the band’s 2005 self-titled album , the Canadian collective has toured extensively but not released any new material (aside from solo efforts). But all that will change on May 4 when the group releases it’s latest LP via Arts & Crafts. The yet-to-be-titled album features the current lineup of Kevin Drew, Brendan Canning, Justin Peroff, Charles Spearin, Andrew Whiteman, Sam Goldberg and Lisa Lobsinger in addition to a huge list of guest contributors and BSS alum. Accompanying the album’s release is a [...]

There was lots of hoopla over the garish performances and big winners at Sunday night's Grammy Awards, which overshadowed a fantastic little human-interest story. And that involved kora master Mamadou Diabate -- a Durham resident who very nearly didn't make it to Los Angeles and needed a big favor to get there in time to hear his name read at the ceremonies. Read about it here. Diabate, by the way, was in the 2006 edition [...]

What’s the old adage? A tweet is worth…ten thousand dollars? The saying holds true if you’re Kim Kardashian, reality-television star and one of a number of celebrities making thousands of dollars to send out product-endorsing tweets. PRNewser reported last month that Kardashian receives up to $10,000 per tweet about specific products. In a post from Jan. 12, Kardashian says, “Have u guys ever tried Popchips? They are kind of amazing!” This may or may not be an ad; it’s sometimes difficult to tell. This blending of tweets and advertisements [...]

A&E is my new favorite channel (and one of the three I know by heart here in Charlotte) and shows like "Hoarders" are the reason. Nothing makes an unorganized, cluttery person like myself feel better about life than watching people who have houses literally overflowing in junk. So my coffee table is a little messy. This woman hasn't been able to get into her kitchen for the past three years. So I have [...]

In what was a fantastic and classy ending to his far too brief run on "The Tonight Show," Conan O'Brien threw on a Les Paul and rocked in an all-star jam of "Free Bird." The band included Will Ferrell on lead vocals decked out as a Van Zant brother along with Beck, Ben Harper and Billy Gibbons (of ZZ Top). There's also the return of Ferrell's infamous cowbell too. Check out the video below and enjoy. Oh, and watch for Conan's solo towards the end. He's a pretty decent player. Check out a video of Neil [...]

It's that time of the year again, when all my Bonnaroo brethren are anxiously awaiting for the official lineup to be announced. The Roo crew usually release the lineup the first week of February, so it's only natural that the rumors and leaky lineups pick up super steam the week or two before the real deal drops. Is the below list completely accurate? I'm not sure. That all depends on how well you trust "hackers", "message board gurus", and the "hip insiders". I can say, from multiple Bonnaroo experiences, [...]

Journalists, at the mercy of financial woes and a shifting industry, have had to find ways to cope. Many have turned to Internet humor to help them bear the strain. There are those who’ve become cynical fast (We’re looking at you, Overheard in the Newsroom ), but others have created something that appeals to industry outsiders. Ken Lowery, Mark Hale and their contributors at Twitter account Fake AP Stylebook , have done just that. Their spoofs on the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook, whose grammatical rules journalists have long obeyed, range from scalding cultural commentary to [...]

I'm not sure how in the world I missed this, but thank you Twitter for showing it to me . This is the latest video from Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers for their song "Shady Esperanto and the Young Hearts." It's a great track off their new album, "The Bear," and it was featured on this week's Music Tuesday on YouTube . The video shows exactly why I love seeing this band live: they like to have fun. [...]