Just checkin' in...

Hey kiddos! I apologize for not updating today. My day's been kinda busy. I had the day off from work but I had to get up and go to court over a speeding ticket. Then, since I had the day off, I had some day off type errands that needed to be tended to. I do want to make a couple of notes though:

• I will not be leaking full albums on this blog. I know I leaked the Cheyenne one but that will be the only one. I'm not against downloading music - obviously. But I am a big believer in supporting artists. Research goes to show that 90% of people who download do actually go out and purchase the albums and that's a good thing. But I want to do as much as I can to encourage people to still buy albums. I'm well aware that Back To Basics has leaked but I won't be posting it here. Also, I'm really excited to hear that album and I haven't even downloaded it myself. Sometimes you just want to feel that excitement that you get after you've purchased it in the store and get to hear it for the first time.

• With so many artists releasing albums in the upcoming months, I'm going to be doing "Looking Back At..." posts, where we look back at tracks/singles from artists' past albums. For tomorrow I know I'll be posting a look back at Clay Aiken and Kelis...and maybe Christina Aguilera if I've got time to get it uploaded.

- Robbie

Nothing You Confess Could Make Me Love You Less

In the spirit of helping my friend Chris' Girls Aloud video collection - and your own - grow, here's today's download of the day. It's the video for "I'll Stand By You." It's a Windows Media Video file. It's not low quality but it certainly isn't high quality. It's alright quality. Also, Jem, I saw your request for "Whole Lot Of History" and I'll make that my upload on Friday.

» download I'll Stand By You.wmv (18.76 MB) «

"Call Me When You're Sober" Preview

from MuchMusic

A Few Release Date Changes

I don't know where they got the information from but according to My-JoJo.Net, JoJo's second album, The High Road, has been pushed back to an October 17th release date. Also, Stacie Orrico's Beautiful Awakening will not be released in the U.S. until January 2007. All of Stacie's international release dates main in tact.

A Few Upcoming Release Dates

A few upcoming release dates from Arista/J Records:

August 22 - Luther Vandross - The Ultimate Luther Vandross
September 19 - Monica - The Makings Of Me
September 26 - Ruben Studdard - The Return Of The Velvet Teddy Bear
October 17 - Sarah McLachlan - Wintersong
November 7 - Fantasia
November 14 - Maroon 5
November 14 - Taylor Hicks
November 21 - Mario

New Jessica Simpson Leaks!

» download "If You Were Mine" (full length 192 kbs) «

» download "The Lover In Me" (full length 192 kbs) «

[ Source: TryXThis at Phlosh Phorums ]

*download links removed - Sony BMG is shutting down blogs that are sharing these and I want to keep mine*

You Can't Mistake My Biology

My friend Chris asked me if I'd start sharing my Girls Aloud videos and I told him I'd be happy to oblige. I don't have a lot, though, but I'll share what I've got.

» download Biology.avi (34.82 MB) «

Also, I know some of you have said before that you don't like Megaupload. I prefer to use it because it allows me to upload large files and it works exactly the same as Rapidshare without restricting how many times one user can download. I'll continue to use it for video files and I'll use zShare for audio files (though zShare has been giving me problems today).

Mariah Live At Pepsi Smash

Mariah Carey did a warm-up for her upcoming "Adventures Of Mimi" tour Saturday night in Los Angeles. The set list was:

• It's Like That
• Heartbreaker
• Dreamlover
• My All
• Honey
• Shake It Off
• Fantasy
• Don't Forget About Us
• I'll Be There
• Fly Like A Bird
• Hero
• Make It Happen
• Vision Of Love
• We Belong Together

As you can see, I uploaded a few of the mp3s. To download the rest of them, visit my friends at Mariah Daily.

[photo credit: Mariah Daily]

Brand Spankin' New Clay Aiken

Clay Aiken's new album, A Thousand Different Ways, hits stores on September 19th (pitting him against Fergie). I've got an mp3 of the first single, "1000 Days," and it sounds as if it's a stream rip.

» download "1000 Days" (stream rip) «

Props to my friend Chaz for sending it to me. Please credit either him or Static For The From Below or both of us if you post this on your blog.

The Nominations Are Out....

Here are the nominees for the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. Scheduled performers include Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Ludacris and The Killers. For the first time ever, viewers can vote in the general categories (Best Male Video, Best Hip-Hop Video, etc) through August 20th and the voting for Viewer's Choice will run from August 7th - August 31st.

VIDEO OF THE YEAR

Christina Aguilera: "Ain't No Other Man"
Madonna: "Hung Up"
Panic! at the Disco: "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"
Red Hot Chili Peppers: "Dani California"
Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: "Hips Don't Lie"

BEST MALE VIDEO
Busta Rhymes f/ Mary J. Blige, Rah Digga, Missy Elliott, Lloyd Banks, Papoose & DMX: "Touch It Remix"
James Blunt: "You're Beautiful"
Kanye West f/ Jamie Foxx: "Gold Digger"
Nick Lachey: "What's Left Of Me"
T.I.: "What You Know"

BEST FEMALE VIDEO
Christina Aguilera: "Ain't No Other Man"
Kelly Clarkson: "Because Of You"
Madonna: "Hung Up"
Nelly Furtado f/ Timbaland: "Promiscuous"
Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: "Hips Don't Lie"

BEST GROUP VIDEO
The All-American Rejects: "Move Along"
Fall Out Boy: "Dance, Dance"
Gnarls Barkley: "Crazy"
Panic! At The Disco: "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"
Red Hot Chili Peppers: "Dani California"

BEST RAP VIDEO
50 Cent: "Window Shopper"
Busta Rhymes f/ Mary J. Blige, Rah Digga, Missy Elliott, Lloyd Banks, Papoose & DMX: "Touch It Remix"
Chamillionaire: "Ridin' "
T.I.: "What You Know"
Yung Joc f/ Nitty: "It's Goin' Down"

BEST R&B VIDEO
Beyoncé f/ Slim Thug: "Check On It"
Chris Brown: "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)"
Jamie Foxx f/ Ludacris: "Unpredictable"
Mariah Carey: "Shake It Off"
Mary J. Blige: "Be Without You"

BEST HIP-HOP VIDEO
Black Eyed Peas: "My Humps"
Common: "Testify"
Daddy Yankee: "Rompe"
Kanye West f/ Jamie Foxx: "Gold Digger"
Three 6 Mafia: "Stay Fly"

BEST DANCE VIDEO
Madonna: "Hung Up"
Nelly Furtado f/ Timbaland: "Promiscuous"
Pussycat Dolls f/ Snoop Dogg: "Buttons"
Sean Paul: "Temperature"
Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: "Hips Don't Lie"

BEST ROCK VIDEO
30 Seconds To Mars: "The Kill"
AFI: "Miss Murder"
Green Day: "Wake Me Up When September Ends"
Panic! At The Disco: "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"
Red Hot Chili Peppers: "Dani California"

BEST POP VIDEO
Christina Aguilera: "Ain't No Other Man"
Madonna: "Hung Up"Nelly Furtado f/ Timbaland: "Promiscuous"
Pink: "Stupid Girls"
Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: "Hips Don't Lie"

BEST NEW ARTIST IN A VIDEO
Angels and Airwaves: "The Adventure"
Avenged Sevenfold: "Bat Country"
Chris Brown f/ Juelz Santana, "Run It!"
James Blunt: "You're Beautiful"
Panic! At The Disco: "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"
Rihanna: "S.O.S."

VIEWER'S CHOICE
Chris Brown f/ Juelz Santana: "Run It!"
Fall Out Boy: "Dance, Dance"
Kelly Clarkson: "Because Of You"
Rihanna: "S.O.S."
Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: "Hips Don't Lie"

BEST DIRECTION IN A VIDEO
10 Years: "Wasteland" (Director: Christopher Sims)
AFI: "Miss Murder" (Director: Marc Webb)
Common: "Testify" (Director: Anthony Mandler)
Gnarls Barkley: "Crazy" (Director: Robert Hales)
Red Hot Chili Peppers: "Dani California" (Director: Tony Kaye)

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY IN A VIDEO
Christina Aguilera: "Ain't No Other Man"
Madonna: "Hung Up"
Pussycat Dolls f/ Snoop Dogg: "Buttons"
Sean Paul: "Temperature"
Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: "Hips Don't Lie"

BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS IN A VIDEO
Angels and Airwaves: "The Adventure"
Beck: "Hell Yes"
Missy Elliott: "We Run This"
Pearl Jam: "Life Wasted"
U2: "Original of the Species"

BEST ART DIRECTION IN A VIDEO
10 Years: "Wasteland"
Common: "Testify"
Panic! At The Disco: "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"
Red Hot Chili Peppers: "Dani California"
Shakira f/ Wyclef Jean: "Hips Don't Lie"

BEST EDITING IN A VIDEO
The All-American Rejects: "Move Along"
Angels and Airwaves: "The Adventure"
Gnarls Barkley: "Crazy"
Red Hot Chili Peppers: "Dani California"
U2: "Original of the Species"

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY IN A VIDEO
AFI: "Miss Murder"
Ashlee Simpson: "Invisible"
James Blunt: "You're Beautiful"
Red Hot Chili Peppers: "Dani California"
Prince: "Black Sweat"

BEST VIDEO GAME SOUNDTRACK
"Final Night Round 3" (Electronic Arts)
"Burnout Revenge" (Electronic Arts)
"NBA 2K6" (2K Games)
"Driver: Parallel Lines" (Atari)
"Mark Ecko's Getting Up" (Atari)

BEST VIDEO GAME SCORE
"Hitman: Blood Money" (Jesper Kyd)
"Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter" (Tom Salta)
"Dreamfall: The Longest Journey" (Even "Magnet" Johansen)
"Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion" (Jeremy Soule)
"Electroplankton" (User Generated Soundtrack)

Personally, I haven't been excited about the VMAs in years. Even though I'm a fan of many of the artists nominated, I find all the nominations to be bunk. I am looking forward to seeing Justin, Beyoncé and The Killers perform though. Who knows, maybe they can pull out a decent VMA show this year. The show has just been seriously lacking the past few years.

You can vote at http://www.vma.mtv.com/

Fergie Video DVD Rip

Promise #1 fulfilled. Here's the DVD rip of Fergie's "London Bridge (Oh Snap)." It's a .vob file so that means a) it's a really big file and b) you need some sort of DVD playing software to watch it. I recommend PowerDVD.

» download "London Bridge (Oh Snap)" (223 MB) «

If you post this on your blog, please credit Static From The Floor Below. Thank you.

Fergie Radio Edits

Promise #2 fulfilled. I know that clean edits of explicit songs aren't a high priority on anyone's download list....but still, haha. In the .zip file below, you'll find every possible kind of radio edit you can think of for Fergie's "London Bridge (Oh Shit)." Download and enjoy!

London Bridge (Oh Shh) (with siren)
London Bridge (Oh Shh) (without siren)
London Bridge (Oh Snap) (with siren)
London Bridge (Oh Snap) (without siren)
London Bridge (Oh Snap) (intro edit with siren)

» download Fergie.zip (26 MB) «

If you post this on your blog, please credit Static From The Floor Below. Thank you.

Brooke Hogan DVD Rip Video

Promise #3 fulfilled. Here's the DVD rip of Brooke Hogan's "About Us" featuring Paul Wall. It's a .vob file which means a) it's a big file and b) you need some sort of DVD playing software to view it. I recommend PowerDVD.

» download "About Us" (201 MB) «

If you post this on your blog, please credit Static From The Floor Below. Thank you.

Cheyenne & Josh - "Wonderful"

Anyone who watched "Cheyenne" on MTV wondered when her album came out what happened to Cheyenne's duet with Josh Hoge. The song is called "Wonderful" and it was released exclusively on the Target version of The Day Has Come. My friends over at Tip Top Pop posted it last week and now I'm sharing it with you.

» download "Wonderful" «

I'm Back!

Hey everyone! Just wanted to drop a line and let you know that I'm back. For the past couple of weeks, my schedule has been kind of hectic and I haven't been able to devote as much time as I'd like to this blog. However, today is Monday and it's a new week and I'm back with more dedication than ever. Enjoy the downloads!

- Robbie

On A Personal Note...

Hello all! I'm writing once again to offer you my deepest apologies on the lack of updates. Since I've returned from vacation, I've had situtations come up in my personal life that need dire attention and I've been given a new project at work that's taken up much of my time. I feel really bad. I feel like I teased all of you with a great blog for a week and a half and then abandoned you. I really enjoy being able to provide all of you with great new music and exclusives. I promise that sometime this week I will upload some new edits of Fergie's debut single that were sent to radio. There's an "O Snap" edit without the sirens in the beginning as well as an "O Shhh" edit with and without the sirens. I also have DVD rips (.vob files) of the Fergie video as well as Brooke Hogan's video.

Now, on to the more personal note....

As most of you have probably heard by now, Lance Bass (formerly?) of *NSYNC will be coming out of the closet in this week's issue of People magazine, due on newsstands this Friday. Lance was always my favorite member of *NSYNC and I never could quite put a finger on why. I always felt that part of it was because we grew up in similiar situations. He grew up in the tiny town of Clinton, Mississippi and I grew up in a tiny town in Tennessee with a population of 400 people. I always related to him - and Britney Spears - because I admired how they never let where they were from stop them from pursuing their dreams of fame and stardom. I've used their inspiration to fuel my own dreams.

I know firsthand how difficult it is to come out of the closet and the struggles you face - mentally and emotionally - in doing so. I'm happy to read that Lance is finally at a place in life where he's comfortable with himself and at peace with the person he has become. I now have a new reason he's my favorite member of *NSYNC.

At the same time, though, I have to offer a giant "Fuck you" to the Internet gossip media - particularly Perez Hilton. For months, in his highly publicized blog, Perez has been out to, well, out Lance. In fact, Lance told MTV News the rumors online were getting back to his parents and they were starting to question him. No one - and I mean NO ONE - should ever be forced to out themselves if they don't want to because, quite frankly, it's no one's business. I'm sorry that not all gay men wear their homosexuality on their sleeve and parade it around like Perez Hilton. Some of us prefer to be known by our actions and how we treat others, not by who we sleep with. On Howard Stern this morning, Perez defended his actions and said no one is sacred. He'll out who he feels like outing. This whole idea makes me sick and it's not the first time it's happened.

Several years ago, Danny Pintauro (Jonathan from "Who's The Boss?") was forced to come out of the closet and he wasn't read. Star magazine called him and said they had the pictures and the proof and they were going to run the story with or without his interview. He reluctantly agreed.

Alright, I'm stepping down off my soap box now. You came here for music, not my rantings.

- Robbie

A Public Affair Album Sampler

Some looped clips from Jessica Simpson's upcoming album A Public Affair are circulating. I'm excited for this record because I'm a huge Jessica Simpson fan. I'm still not sure how I feel about what I'm hearing here though. I haven't spent enough time with the clips yet and, well, they're just clips. You can sometimes misjudge a song just by it's clip. "B.O.Y." sounds like upbeat, retro fun (similiar to "A Public Affair") and the intro reminds me of "Stacy's Mom" by Fountains Of Wayne. "I Belong To Me" and "I Don't Want To Care" sound like they could have been on Nick Lachey's record. I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I'm not saying that's a good thing. I've been trying really hard to like his record lately but everything sounds the same and there's only so much depressing divorce music you can take, you know? haha "If You Were Mine" is another slice of retro upbeatness...however, I don't know how I feel about it. To me this seems very much like a concept album similiar to Mariah's Glitter album. Laugh all you want, but once you got that Mariah's album was an 80s concept album, then it turned out to be a really good record. I've still yet to form an opinion about "The Lover In Me" and "Walkin' 'Round In A Circle." "The Lover In Me" sounds like it could have been on In This Skin and "Walkin' 'Round In A Circle" sounds like it was meant to be a country record but Jessica couldn't quite pull off the country sound. The only snippet I'm definitely in love with is Jessica's cover of Dead Or Alive's "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)," which is one of my absolute favorite songs of all time. Also, before downloading, you should know these are not high quality clips. They're 64 kbs but they're good quality for being such low quality.

» download album sampler .zip file «

....and, because I love the original so much and I think *everyone* should hear it....

» download Dead Or Alive - "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)" «

As far as credit for these clips as concerned, I found them via xmike at Phlosh Phorums. Henry from Fetch Me Some Music has them and he got them from Dance To The Music.

I'm Coming Back, I Swear!

I know I said updates would resume this weekend. However, I've had some pressing issues in my personal life since I returned from vacation that needed tending to you. I swear to you I'll be back tomorrow with clips from Jessica Simpson's new album as well as some new Fergie radio edits. Thank you all for sticking by me.

- Robbie

Vacation - All I Ever Wanted....

I'm on vacation from work all this week and out of town. Updates will resume this weekend. Have a great week!

- Robbie