I've blogged about my friend and Stanford alum ('06) Jack Conte on here before, but I couldn't help but put this one up, too. It's a collaboration with Nataly Dawn (aka Natalie Knutsen '09) called "Pas Encore" and released under the collaboration name Pomplamoose.

As if the awesome group name wasn't enough, the song is better. If I were cool enough to say the word bumpin', I would say this song is effortlessly bumpin'. I downloaded the mp3 from Jack's mySpace and have been playing it on my iPod all morning. It's my "new, awesome, hot" song for the summer. And, much like Jack's other YouTube videos, this one was first released in VideoSong format, so there's some fun stuff to watch. A particular delight for you CCRMA folks, I would think.

I've noticed that in general, rap songs that have dance moves associated with them end up being more popular - Lean Back, Pop, Lock and Drop it, 1,2 Step, and others. One of the newest hip-hop dance songs on the scene is Soulja Boy's - "Crank That (Soulja Boy)", which returned to the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Crank That" (wp) has a dance associated with it, some might call it snap music, and a quick youtube search of "Soulja Boy dance" returns 5,400 video results of people demonstrating their version of the dance. I personally know of two athletic teams who have choreographed and performed dances based on the song as well. I'll leave with you some dance videos, so you'll be able to bust out the Soulja Boy dance at the next frat party. Cheers.

Every year, Stanford's campus is alive with an incredible line-up of jazz during the summer. Unfortunately, most students have already left campus before getting to take part. If you are around though, you should definitely take advantage of the free (and not free) jazz concerts, jams, and other events.

SFJAZZ Summerfest Series
SF Jazz, the second largest jazz presenter in the nation, hosts a FREE summer series of concerts in our own Stanford Shopping Center. The "Summerfest" runs every Thursday from 6:00 to 7:30 PM, through August 9th, and then moves up into Union Square in the city.

The series will be hosted by award-winning emcee and radio personality Clifford Brown Jr., who's voice you should recognize if you listen to 91.1 KCSM. If you want to tune in to hear Clifford, he hosts the Mid-Day jazz series Monday-Friday, as well as the American Jazz Countdown on Sundays on 91.1 FM.

Stanford Jazz Festival and Workshop (and JAM SESSIONS!)
Stanford's campus will be buzzing with jazz throughout the summer with the Stanford Jazz Festival, and the Stanford Jazz Workshop, aka "Jazz Camp." There is also a series of jam sessions taking place at the CoHo throughout the summer, 10PM-Midnight through August 2nd, tied with Jazz Camp and the Festival. Keep reading to see the schedule of CoHo Jam Sessions!

Yeah, this may be a shameless promotion. But we can all agree that the state of Hip Hop is far from its zenith with cookie-cutter rappers and superficial lyrics. We need bring the music back! And that's what Non Human Intelligence (NHI) wants to do. As Imani of The Pharcyde put it, "NHI is a breath of fresh air, and NHI is exactly what Hip hop is missing."

Oh, and one of the rappers is my uncle (Abyss).

So I hope you take a listen and enjoy real, organic Hip Hop.

I hadn't seen Will Cheng play the piano since we lived together in East Flo freshman year. He was fantastic then and since, he's won just about every award Stanford gives to musically-inclined individuals. Yesterday evening, in "Musical Imaginations," Will's performance was simply breathtaking -- one of the best I've seen. I had never heard any of the pieces he performed, but he was instantly engaging and passionate... and incredibly meditative. At times, the music incorporated elements of jazz, which I wasn't always sure were in the written music. Perhaps a little improvisation? Possibly.

Check out his performance of Isaac Albeniz's "Evocation" from Iberia (I apologize greatly for the hissing sound... but I think the video still captures much of his subtlety if you can put up with the quality):

Full program:
English Suite No. 4 in F (1720 or prior) - Bach
Evocation (1906) - Isaac Albeniz
Piano Sonata in D, Op. 10 No. 3 (1798) - Beethoven
Piano Sonata in B minor, Op. 58 No. 3 (1844) - Chopin

I particularly loved the Chopin piece, so I found the movements on imeem for anyone who wants to hear them: Movements 1, 2, 3, 4.

This evening, BSU's Blackfest hosted rapper Lupe Fiasco at Roble Field.

Lupe played for about 50 minutes and sang some of his best-known songs such as "Kick Push" and "I Gotcha." He opened with Kanye West's "Touch the Sky," a track on which he is originally featured. Other hits from today were "Sunshine" and "Daydream."

The crowd at Roble Field.

Lupe, a native of Chicago, Illinois, had his debut album Food & Liquor nominated for 3 Grammy Awards in 2006.

Ten reasons YOU should get one or several copies of the Stanford Soundtrack Vol. 6:

1. The music is great.
2. 20 tracks from the best Stanford bands and musicians.
3. The packaging is totally awesome, and you know you want it on your shelf.
4. Did I mention it's free?
5. Take some home to friends and family -- it's the coolest Stanford souvenir you'll find on campus.
6. It's volume six, which means, if you have any of the past volumes (volumes one-five), you should complete your collection.
7. You might have missed the Soundtrack CD Release party, but you can party to this CD.
8. Your friends are either on the Soundtrack, or, if you are at all the kind of cool Stanford student I assume you to be, you have probably seen some of the bands play at campus parties, or at the CoHo or Moonbeans.
9. You love music.
10. You love Stanford.

You can pick up your free copy from the CoHo, or from the unofficial SOCA warehouse, the SICA office -- in Roble Gym, first office on your right after you enter.