Can of soup for a BBQ lunch// 09.14.11

An extra can of soup, a box of pasta or a cash donation will get you a barbecue lunch on Wednesday.

In exchange for canned goods or some cash, Lay’s potato chips (through its parent company PepsiCo Foods Canada) and Alberta Food Banks are hosting a lunch in the downtown core to boost donations and raise awareness around food banks and what they do.

Last year, the Calgary Food Bank handed out 140,000 emergency hampers to families, most of whom come three times or fewer to get food. In the 2010-2011 fiscal year, that number is expected to increase to 150,000 — in line with Calgary’s growth.

The event runs between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Wednesday (the 14th) on Stephen Avenue Mall at 2nd Street S.W.

At noon, Lay’s officials will present a cheque for $10,000 to the Alberta Food Banks (part of a $100,000 total donation to food bank associations across the country).

So, gather up a few cans or some extra dough, grab lunch downtown and help out a worthy cause.

RIP DJ MEHDI

French hip-hop/dance producer DJ Mehdi, who began his career on the underground Parisian hip-hop scene, died on Tuesday (September 13). According to several reports, the DJ/producer (born Mehdi Favéris-Essadi) was fatally injured when the roof of his Paris home collapsed. He was 34 years old.

A source told MTV News that Mehdi was celebrating his 34th birthday with friends on his rooftop when the tragic accident occurred.

After working his way up to premier producer status, Mehdi linked up with French electro-house DJ/producer Pedro Winter (a.k.a. Busy P), whose label, Ed Banger Records, rose to international prominence with acts like Mr. Oizo, and SebastiAn and Justice. Mehdi’s 2007 single “I Am Somebody,” featuring Chromeo, enjoyed Stateside success, including placement in a commercial for XM Radio.

But Mehdi was equally well-known for his remixes, memorably reworking tracks by Architecture in Helsinki, New Young Pony Club and Miike Snow, among many others.

On Tuesday morning, his fans, friends and collaborators took to Twitter to express their condolences. The Bloody Beetroots’ Bob Cornelius Rifo tweeted, “R.I.P. Dj MEHDI. The void he has left behind is unbearable. Love you, Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo.”

Just Blaze was in shock, writing, “I’m literally shaking right now. We just played together last week. Heart goes out to his family and loved ones. RIP mehdi.”

Steve Aoki tweeted that he was “devastated,” before following that up with a simple message: “Rest in peace to my brother forever here and in the after life djmehdi. i love u and miss u.”

A rep for DJ Mehdi had not returned requests for comment at press time. 

Legitmix - clearing sample service

Hey all you DJs and producers out there! Ever had a masterpiece at your finger-tips that you just know would be a monster smash with listeners if you only you could clear the sample that you so cleverly used in the making of your track/remix/mixtape? Well now you don’t have to worry about all the hassle and oodles of money that that process involves as a new online service is setting out to revolutionise the sampling process in a way that benefits artists, listeners, labels and copyright holders.

Though still in Beta mode, the recently launched Legitmix system is already making a splash as it bridges the copyright gap that exists for sample-centric musicians. As simply as we can define it ourselves Legitmix operates on a partially interactive model where artists upload their sample-inclusive material to the website and put it up for sale to fans who then purchase the individual songs included in that work. To launch the initiative Legitmix has teamed up with Diplo and his Mad Decent imprint to offer a few initial tracks and a mix set from Diplo himself which features 14 copyrighted tracks and as well as paying $3 for the mix itself you’d also be buying those 14 tracks for a total of $16.46 – that is unless you already have some of the sampled tracks in your digital collection, in which case you’d only purchase the ones you’re missing and fill the mix that way.

Does that make sense? Hopefully it kinda does because it took us a little while to fully click to the idea. It certainly seems like a novel approach to sampling which is mutually beneficially for all the artists involved and the supportive fan. Check out the video below to have a little more light shed on this.

Legitmix Empowers Artists from Legitmix on Vimeo.

Avicci & Afrojack on David Guetta’s double album

As he enthused to inthemix last month, the new David Guetta album Nothing But The Beat promises a lot of David Guetta. With two discs and 21 tracks, it’s the Frenchman’s attempt to straddle commercial radio, club dancefloors and even the bags of “the most credible DJs on the planet”. It’s all part of the Guetta game-plan.

“People going after-hours tripping on my music, that’s my challenge,” he muses in the album’s press release. “And I want to have everybody together with my music playing in the gay clubs and on mainstream radio, my music playing on urban radios and on pop radios. Hip-hop DJs playing my dance music songs, and house music DJs playing tracks where I incorporate raps in.”

A lofty aim, certainly, and while we don’t imagine Richie Hawtin or John Digweed will be playing his latest jams, it’s hard to fault the man’s ambition. As we already knew, the opening CD of Nothing But The Beat is groaning under the weight of appearances from Guetta’s Stateside accomplices like Nicki Minaj, Taio Cruz, Chris Brown and Usher. That “urban radios and pop radios” part of the equation is all sewn up.

On the flipside, the ‘electronic’ disc is pitched at Guetta’s ‘original fans’. “I didn’t want people who’ve been following me for years to feel left out,” he says. There’s not a rap verse in sight, with a suite of the producer’s Ibiza-ready house records, including his hook-ups with Stereosonic 2011 headliners Avicii and Afrojack. Doesn’t sound like the stuff you’ll be “tripping on” at the end of mega bender, but we’re certainly looking at a blockbuster dance LP here.

To view the original article, click here.

Beastie Boys - Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win

Your average rap video, this is not! In the 11-minute course of Don’t Play No Game That I Can’t Win, the plasticized trio gets shot at, shoots back, escapes in a submarine, takes Santigold waterskiing, and kills many bad guys.

The stupendous Spike Jonze video will please anyone who enjoyed Team America, likes toys murdering each other, yetis, fake snow, cheeky dialogue, knife-attacks, sniper rifles, torpedos, denouement, or parachuting. And, of course, the Beastie Boys. Watch it in HD for full toysplosion glee.

Dwayne Wade - Hacked my Mavs fans?

NBA star Dwyane Wade is headed to Texas — no, he’s not goingto apologize sheepishly to Maverick’s star Dirk Nowitzki. He’s traveling to the Lone Star State to testify in a hacking case.

For the last five years, Wade has been under attack from hackers that live in Texas. These unidentified perps reportedly broke into his email account and stole both business and personal information they found inside.

It sounds like they had a lot of fun. The hackers changed his passwords, intercepted emails, and even impersonated Wade online. The fake Dwyane Wade was so convincing some acquaintances revealed personal and confidential information about themselves to these impersonators.

Part of the motivation for this prolonged attack may be related to Wade’s behavior on the basketball court. Wade and his Miami Heat beat the Dallas Mavericks in 2006, some would say unfairly, and a bitter rivalry between the two teams began. Sports are taken seriously by Texans and it’s possible that this hacking may be the 21st century form of booing your opponent off the court. 

Words by Kelly Hodgkins

SUNGLASSES AT NIGHT - Global Clubbing Brand

After a great weekend with Rachel Sehl here in Calgary, negotiations have begun to bring on me (Mikey Da Roza) into the Sunglassesatnight.com family. This brand is a global clubbing brand, having successful residencies in many cities, not only in North America, but in Europe as well.

I have to say, I am more than honored to be part of this exciting experience. Regardless of the outcome, I am more than happy to have Rachel as a friend and am looking at doing some great work, throwing some great events and touring with this crew.

Stay tuned for details as they unfold.

For now, become a fan of Sunglassesatnight.com on Facebook :)

UNDRCRWN: Mick Boogie & Jazzy Jeff ‘Summertime 2′ Mixtape

UNDRCRWN presents the second installment of its Summertime mixtape series: Jazzy Jeff & Mick Boogie: Summertime 2. The first volume has been downloaded and streamed over 500K times and this new one promises to reach even more people. Laid-back, beach-friendly, top-down, barbeque-rific music from De La Soul, Stevie Wonder, The Fresh Prince (of course!), The Turtles, Slum Village, The Pharcyde, Q-Tip, Slick Rick, The Isley Brothers and more is featured. Volume 1 and 2 can be downloaded here.

via Hypebeast.com

The Amazing Spiderman - July 2012

Andrew Garfield feels his Spidey senses tingling on the cover of Entertainment Weekly’s latest issue, on newsstands Friday (July 15).

Here’s what the 27-year-old English actor, who will hit the big screen in The Amazing Spider-Man next year, had to share:

On relating to Peter Parker: “I always felt stronger inside than I looked on the outside, which got me into trouble. I related to Peter Parker so much because I felt like someone else inside. I loved the comic books and the animated TV series, and I even dressed up as Spider-Man as a kid. My brother was Superman.”

On checking out the first Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire Spidey film: “That rekindled everything. I bought a pirated copy on Portobello Road and watched it over and over with my buddy Terry. The action sequences were so expansive and breathtaking, with Tobey swinging through the air. It just floored me!”

Andrew’s co-star, Emma Stone, on wanting to make the film relatable: “When I’m watching movies like this, if I don’t find something I can relate to story-wise and character-wise, it’s just a bunch of noise. You feel like a 4-year-old watching fireworks. With [director Marc Webb], you just know that the film will be grounded in reality.”

Article by Entertainment Weekly. For more on Andrew, visit EW.com!

Kanye West – SXSW 2011 Performance

During this year’s SXSW festivities, Kanye West invited his G.O.O.D. Music family and close friend Jay-Z to assist him on stage during his much anticipated set. The event’s sponsor, Vevo, has now unveiled quality footage of the performance that include the likes of KiD CuDi, Mos Def, John Legend, Pusha-T, Big Sean, CyHi Da Prynce, Mr. Hudson and of course the Watch the Throne protagonists. Check out the above featuring Kid Cudi, while other videos can be viewed here and below. Enjoy!

via Hypebeast.com