U2's YouTube stream could mean more to come

When one of the world's most influential bands joins up with one of its most important websites, the show is stunning and U2 did not fail to disappoint during their performance tonight, which was streamed live from the Rose Bowl via YouTube.

U2's current series of stadium concerts is expected to be one of the biggest tours the world has ever seen, as they are performing from a gargantuan stage, which the LA Times profiles here. Furthermore, Bono's dreams of ruling the world have reached unprecedented heights (check out this article if you don't believe me). The interesting element of last night's concert, though, was not U2. It was Internet superpower YouTube, which is slowly dipping its toe into the mostly unexplored waters of live streaming.

As Mashable's Pete Cashmore notes here, Justin TV and Ustream have pretty much dominated the field so far, but if YouTube chose to become involved, their resources would make for a pretty lopsided competition. Furthermore, the Google power behind YouTube has the wealth to take the sometimes shady world of live streaming and completely legitimize it.

This could be both good and bad for the Internet, as it would be providing better service and showing companies how to make a profit, but, at the same time, moving further away from the open source heritage of the Internet's past. If YouTube could find a way to continue live streaming, albeit more in the vein of the smaller sites that are doing so right now, it would be a major step in the online revolution that we are in the midst of right now. If it was a step towards monetizing the Internet, though, that step may be futile.

(If you can't tell, I have extremely complicated feelings on this matter as a journalism major. On one hand, I want companies and organizations to be able to make gobs of profit off of the Internet so they can take advantage of the abundance of opportunities that it allows. On the other hand, though, I am an Internet consumer and like being able to find what I want for free. This may be the topic of another post soon.)

Why do we hate Kanye?

Kanye West is one of the most talented and influential music artists of the past decade, as The College Dropout and Late Registration both went triple platinum, while Graduation went double platinum. Even West's latest album, the polarizing 808's and Heartbreaks reached number one on the charts. The question then, is why were people so quick to jump on the "Kanye's Dead!" bandwagon last week when an unverified report claimed that the rapper had died in a car accident reminiscent of the 2002 one that the song "Through the Wire" is based off of?

Part of it may be that, for both better and worse, West has managed to hang onto the front pages of tabloids for much of his run. From the car accident to his mother's bizarre 2007 post-plastic surgery death to the drunken Taylor Swift incident to the Spike Jonze-directed short film that features a drunk (again!) West's demon stabbing itself (see below), Kanye always seems to be up to something. Much of this is undoubtedly self publicizing, but on the other hand much of it is also not West's fault.

Sure, the Taylor Swift incident was boorish and appalling, but, at the same time, he couldn't do anything about his mother's death and had the same initial reaction that many people do when tragedy hits them, turning to the bottle for comfort.

We are uncomfortable with Kanye because he is living out the same dramas that we do everyday on the stages where we expect perfection. It is not uncommon for the normal person to embarrass themselves, whether it is by innocently tripping down some stairs or saying something insulting while drinking. We don't like to be reminded of this, though, while we are watching entertainment. Watching the 19-year-old accept her pop star is much more comforting than watching the rap star come to the stage and interrupt her speech.

Kanye may be inappropriate at times, but, intentionally or not, he is one of the biggest acts in music and deserves to be treated as such. If the rumors of West's demise were true, the tabloids and music magazines would, at the very least, be much less interesting places.

How Kid Cudi made the song of 2009

To say that something is the song of the year is high praise, to say the least, but Kid Cudi may have nailed it on his first try. Ironically, the song is not "Day N Nite," the song he is using as the first single off of his new album. Instead, it's "Make Her Say," the Lady Gaga-sampling tune that features guest appearances by Kanye West and Common.


The reason that Cudi's song is the most representative of 2009 is fairly simple. By taking lyrics from many of the year's hits as well as borrowing the vocal skills of two of rap's superstars, the Cleveland rapper has managed to effectively utilize the spastic nature of pop culture right now.

The song directly references multiple hit songs from the past year, including T.I.'s "Whatever You Like," Asher Roth's "I Love College," Jamie Foxx's "Blame It," in addition to the omnipresent Lady Gaga.

Today's culture is a strange mixture of self-references and the same old formula, while this song points to the hits of 2009 and acknowledges them even as it makes something new out of them. By recognizing the typical creative process (and let's face it, nothing is completely new in this era), Kid Cudi has managed to make the perfect song of 2009.