I'm Going Hip Hop. Tell Your Friends.

Sup!

The whole world has gone hip hop. And ya know, I kinda like it! I'm diggin' the new beats by LeCrae, The Ambassador, V Rose. Sometimes I go old school with John Reuben. Getting ready to lay down them funky beats on my first hip hop CD!

Aw yeee.

Me - Scott Jackson - going hip hop! Am I 730?!

Listen peeps. It's bout the music, y'all. I ain't talkin' no mean-muggin'. I wanna bring it to dah shtreets in the east end of Barrie. Lay it down on my 808. That's dope, Randy.

Gonna ask my main man Horrocks to keep it tight. Record it - go to number one on the charts. Make my pockets fat. Ya man.

Beats so fly we off the chain.

Photo 1 - I think the wall plug brings out the ambience. Photo 2 - blue screen effect. So I can drop in my hommies in the hood.

Ok, for now it's bout the cd jacket. Got two choices. I like both. Real fly, fo 'Shizzle. Which one for the cover? Gotta get the cover done. Worry bout the music later.

Much later. Gotta bounce.

Peace out.

So Far Away - lyrics and video

I love this song! I thought I was done with it, then I saw House of Heroes perform it at Kingdom Bound. The boys are headlining Air Raid 20 February 25. Here's their biggest song in 2011.

SO FAR AWAY

We gotta hold onto hope
In this heartless world, we gotta hope
We gotta let it go
Or it will eat us alive, we gotta let it go

Do you know me?
Do you trust me?
Can you find me?
Do you love me?

What if I told you we were so far away?
What if I told you would you go with me anyway?
What if I told you we were so far, so far away?

You gotta tell me the truth
If they take that too, then we have nothing to lose.
You gotta let me through
I can make a way if you light the fuse

I know you see me
I know you need me
If you believe me
Then I can be me

What if I told you we were so far away?
What if I told you would you go with me anyway?
What if I told you we were so far, so far away?

Enjoy!

Album Covers and Lyrics

My apologizes to my artist friends. Ok? I'm not talking about YOU! I'm talking about someone else. (ahem)

Why are so many album covers by Christian artists, always a guy, standing on the top of a mountain with his arms outstretched to the sky?

Or, the other cover - the same guy (!!), standing overlooking an ocean, with his arms outstretched? You know what I mean? It's the same scene you see on the church screen with worship lyrics over it.

I guess the view from majestic mountains and seas with no limits remind us of the awesomeness of God. But - it's the same photos re-captured over and over. It's so unoriginal. Right now I can think of four artists with that same cover.

Now let's talk about lyrics. Why are so many Christian songs, (I'm not talking about rock songs, but the nice, contemporary songs), a rip-off of scripture? Yes, scripture is wonderful and singing scripture out loud is edifying, but as a commercial artist isn't it plagiarism to copy the Bible and claim them as "your lyrics". They aren't.

One of my favourite Christian songs is "Meant To Live" by Switchfoot because it's Jon Foreman's commentary, not a transcribed Psalm. There's lots of songs that a commentary, but there too many other newly released songs with unoriginal lyrics.

You artists are creative, abstract people. Please write more Christian songs that reflect your thoughts, your love, your observations, instead of stealing what David wrote and we've already sung a hundred times before.

Stupid People

Friday afternoon, attempting to relax and enjoy the sun at Johnsons Beach.

Buddy brought his dog to the beach. Sign says "No dogs on beach". The Barrie lifeguards are in zombieland, paying no attention. The dog was off the leash running around, sniffing people and peeing. The owner made a feeble attempt to call back his dog. This went on for half an hour. (No the peeing, just the chasing around).

Why do people bring their dog to the beach? It's kinda hot. I'm sure the dog isn't happy. For sure the beach people don't want a dog sniffing their faces. So the only person enjoying "the dog at the beach" is the owner. Swell.

HEY YOU - LEAVE YOUR NICE DOG AT HOME, WHERE IT'S COMFORTABLE.

Why do people feed seagulls? We all agree the birds are "trash-birds". They eat garbage. They fly in flocks and they poop all over. ALL OVER!

Random people are tossing cheesies out on the sand, feeding an army of scavenger seagulls, that take massive dumps during take-off. That must be why people bring tents to the beach.

HEY YOU - STOP FEEDING YOUR FAT FOOD TO THE GULLS!

What a lovely day. Squalking, fat seagulls eating and pooping; dogs running rampant sniffing and peeing and the Barrie lifeguards are - well, doing nothing. Thanks for enforcing the rules so we can all have a nice day.

Nice.

PAULA, SIMON, RANDY AND RYAN - THE BOOK

Yes, I build my winter week nights around “American Idol”. I’ll pause here while you super-spiritual college grads judge me - "Scott, you are too worldly". Shhhhhh.....

Behind the music and the hype there is a story to be told that is great reading for any Idol fan. I love finding out how things work. I wanna see the man behind the curtain and hear the untold story.

The story I want to hear is, at what point does a contestant sign a contract that requires them to always be available for six months, or more. What's in the contract? Do the Idols get paid? Do they quit their day jobs to be on the show and when they get axed, are they booted off the set? Who pays for all the flights for all the friends and family members in the audience. Is Ryan Seacrest just the face or does he run the show? And what about all those Christian singers - they must represent nearly half of the auditions.

The book is out! “American Idol - the Untold Story” by Richard Rushfield.

The first half of the book is all about the "British Idol" and the story that will never end about Simon Fuller, Simon Cowell and Nigel Lythgoe - their egos that try to out do each other. That whole section is lame and boring.

The second half of the book gets into the Christian aspect. In fact a chapter is called “The Pastor” and it’s about connecting the singers with church, bible study during non-working hours and other neat stuff. Lots of quotes by the Christian Idols. The last couple of chapters solidify how big this show really is.

I would have like to have known more about “living as an Idol”. I could care less about how much Simon and Paul earn.

Critics like to say “the heyday is over” but when Idol remains the number one watched show on TV I don’t think they heyday is anywhere near over.

So, I know what I’m doing on a cold Wednesday night this February!

PAULA, SIMON, RANDY AND RYAN - THE BOOK

Yes, I build my winter week nights are “American Idol”. I’ll pause here while some super-spiritual college grad tells me that I am being worldly. Shhhhhh..... All right.

Behind the music and the hype there is a story to be told that, I’m guessing, must be fascinating. I love finding out how things work. I wanna see the man behind the curtain, or the untold story.

The story I want to hear is, at what point does a contestant sign a contract that requires them to always be available for six months, or more. Do the Idols get paid? Do they quit their day jobs to be on the show and when they get axed, are they booted off the set? Who pays for all the flights for all the friends and family members in the audience. Is Ryan Seacrest just the face or does he run the show? And what about all those Christian singers - they must represent nearly half of the auditions.

The book is out! “American Idol - the Untold Story” by Richard Rushfield.

The first half of the book is all about the British Idol and the history of Simon Fuller, Simon Cowell and Nigel Lythgoe - their ego to out do each other. That whole section is lame and boring.

The second half of the book gets into the Christian aspect. In fact a chapter is called “The Pastor” and it’s about connecting the singers with church, bible study during non-working hours and other neat stuff. The last couple of chapters solidify how big this show really is.

I would have like to have known more about “living as an Idol”. I could care less about how much Simon and Paul earn.

Critics like to say “the heyday is over” but when Idol remains the number one watched show on TV I don’t think they heyday is anywhere near over.

So, I know what I’m doing on a cold Wednesday night this February!

The Stage Collapsed

The stage collapsed in Indiana! The same thing happened in Ottawa this summer at Bluesfest!

Cruisin' In Peterburger

Another Sunset Cruise - another awesome night spent with LIFE listeners who lock their radios on 89.3 - our repeater station in the Kawarthas!

We departed from Lock 19 in Peterborough. Rozz and Terry were our Street Team Promo Crew, taking care of hanging LIFE banners, distributing LIFE info, organizing our performers and connecting with the boat caterers.

Handsome and Gretyl (Gretyl and Brett Baird)

While it rained during our ride into Peterborough, the sun came out just as we pushed off shore from Lock 19. Handsome and Gretyl (my son Brett and his wife) were on first, entertaining us with a few songs from their EP "Hold On Tight Love". Man, they sold a mitfull of CDs! Then, LIFE 100.3 Karaoke Superstar Winner Andy Taylor took the mic, playing his radio hits, some worship and a couple of new songs he's written. A heartfelt performance!

Hanging with listeners builds the relationship. A boat cruise, on the glass-like Otonabee River, was a peaceful, relaxed ride, with the sound of worship music carrying us down the river. The last time we did this was with Greg Sczebel and I remember the power on the boat went out! No such bad luck this time!

The chicken dinner was great! In fact, the whole staff on Liftlock Cruises was great! We gave away a pair of front row tickets to the Hillsong concert this weekend in Toronto. And best of all - nobody fell overboard!

Andy Taylor (left) performing "Good And Faithful One".

Thanks Peterborough! We gotta do this again next year!

Spiderman 2012

Here's the preview trailer. Looks great!