After only 3 hours of sales, Lady Gaga’s new album The Fame Monster was No.3 on iTunes today. The Deluxe edition, which also features her first album The Fame, is No.5. Now, she has the No.1 song, video, and album simultaneously. She is also featured in the No.2 video, Beyonce’s “Video Phone” remix.

Check it out, and buy your copy of The Fame Monster here!

This is quite possibly the coolest thing I have ever seen so far in my life! The construction of a 400 foot tower to be built over the London skyline has been proposed for the 2012 Olympics. This ‘cloud’ they are calling it, will ‘float’ above both the Olympic stadium and the city itself. The bubbles of the cloud, which all interconnect and can be used as observation decks, have digital LCD displays on the outside that can relay such information as scores and results of the Olympic games, as well as photos and videos.

The coolest part of this project could come after the games are over, when the cloud’s displays could be used to relay the city’s mood (using Google searches):

“We could provide a custom feed of… searches made by Londoners during the Olympics to give a real time ‘barometer’ of the city’s interests and mood,” said Google, one of the supporters of the project, which has also offered to provide the information feeds.

I could totally see Twitter being a part of this as well. Or seeing certain parts of the cloud change based on the mood of the city. This concept could be viral in other cities in the world and create some very artistic forms of architectural expression.

Here is the official video of the proposal:

The mayor of London has yet to decide on a design, but I am really hoping he chooses this one. I have every intention of going to London for the Olympics in 2012, so maybe I’ll get a chance to float in the cloud!

Check out the project’s official Twitter here: http://twitter.com/raisingthecloud and their official website here: http://www.raisingthecloud.org

Recently the people over at TUAW.com did a review on a new iPhone app called Balloons! It seemed really cool and so I wanted to try it out and write a little review on my site.

Balloons!, made by Shiny Development, is a really cool app that integrates a variety of the iPhones APIs and capabilities. In Balloons, a user can capture an image and/or write a message, attach it to a virtual balloon, and send it off in to cyberspace for other Balloon users to catch. Once you catch a balloon, you can add your own personal statement and/or photo, and send it off once again. The app uses your iPhones location to pin point exactly where you are and attaches the info to the tag.

You can also track the balloons that you have sent out. In this setting you can see not only what other people have attached, but how long the balloon as been circulating throughout cyberspace.

Overall, I really like this app. I find myself wondering if anyone has caught my balloons, and what they have said. I think it could even be considered a unique way of blogging. You’re writing, capturing images, and posting it to a server. I would definitely recommend buying it.

Check out the official video demonstration here:

Balloons! is $2.99, which might be a little steep considering it doesn’t do anything amazing, but for less than a price of a Starbucks latte, it’s well worth the entertainment you’ll get out of it.

With 100,000 apps in the app store, this new app is a refreshing and interesting new way to have fun on your iPhone.

App: Balloons!
Released: November 4, 2009
Stars: 7.5/10
Cost: $2.99
Click here to download Balloons!

Out of control.

So last night was my third time seeing Ingrid and the band. Each time has been in Pittsburgh, the last 3 years. And each time she and her crew of eccentric personalities make the hour drive to Pittsburgh more than worth it!

This show was actually at Mr. Small’s Theatre in Millvale, PA, which is just over the river from downtown Pittsburgh. I managed to get lost 3 times getting there, but I eventually found it. I walked up the steps to the queue of people and told the man waiting that I was on the guest list (somewhat profoundly, because after all, how many times does someone get to be on a guest list for a rock group!?). He radioed in my last name as I waited impatiently to get inside and get a drink. The woman radios back, and she says, “Thrasher…that’s a negative.”

I am standing there paralyzed in shock. “What do you mean? I’m definitely on the list. I was put on there by Brian Vinikoor.” I thought name-dropping would boost my chances, or at the very least cause people standing in line watching this unfold to wonder who the hell I was. But that was all shot to hell when the guy checking tickets said, “I’ve never heard that name before in my life.”

The line to get in to the venue of die-hard Ingrid fans. Pouring rain/ice.

So, after a few e-mails from my phone, calling multiple people inside, outside, and in Los Angeles, they finally found the guest list that my name was on and put an admission bracelet on my wrist. So, I stood in the line of people waiting to get in, and surely enough it starts pouring down rain. Then the rain turned to ice. I was standing there getting soaking wet for a good 25-30 minutes! However, by the end of the night, I have to say: it was all worth it.

I don’t want to go on and on about Greg Laswell, but he was definitely a very nice surprise. I hadn’t had a chance to research him before the show because I have been so busy, but was very impressed with his voice and songwriting. I’ll probably end up being a fan eventually.

Ingrid and the band, as expected, performed beautifully and to the audience’s liking the entire night. Tonight’s show was the last stop of their North American tour, and their 47^th show in 2 months. Allie Moss, Ingrid’s guitarist and usual back up vocalist, had lost her voice, but still smiled, laughed, and even sang some parts. What a trooper! You would never know they were tired, or sick of what they were doing because the energy was consistent the entire show, even with Allie Moss as a mute.

The crowd forming hearts during Ingrid Michaelson's song, "The Hat" at Mr. Small's Theater, Pittsburgh, PA, 11.5.09

One thing that I picked up on early in the performance was Ingrid’s voice. Given the last time she performed in Pittsburgh she was sick, I have to say that her tone and timbre of her voice was a lot richer and developed than I ever remember it. This was particularly noticeable in the second song of the night, “Die Alone.” I’m not a professional by any means, but as a constant Ingrid YouTuber, and follower, it was something that caught my…ears.

Her set list also had some unique features. She played a new untitled song, which has made its way to YouTube thanks to me a die-hard fan. After the song, she asked what it should be named, to which a voice behind me gave a suggestion. I guess we’ll wait and see if it makes the next album, and if she took his advice. Here’s the YouTube video of the new song:

Immediately following that song, she introduced another new song: a duet with Greg Laswell. This song is also untitled, unrecorded and unpublished. It was a very ‘happy in-love type of song’ and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say that maybe Greg and Ingrid are in to each other? A friend I was with noticed that they both had wedding rings on, so who knows? It will be interesting if we find this out for sure somewhere down the road.

After the show was finished, Ingrid did 2 encores, including a Mexican-food themed version of her current single “Maybe,” which the audience ate up absolutely loved.

Overall, the show was a huge success, and Ingrid and her band’s musicianship made for what many would call an entertaining, fun, and enjoyable evening.

I have to say thank you first to Brian Vinikoor for making the arrangements for me to see the show. I really really appreciate it, and I’m not sure there’s anyone who could appreciate these efforts more than I. Also, thank you to the merchandise manager, Lauren Glucksman, for being so helpful with the misunderstanding with the guest list, saving my ass from the rain, and for being so fun after the show!

Here is my official Flickr set of photos from last night’s show.

Click here for Ingrid Michaelson’s official website
Click here for Allie Moss’ official website
Click here for Bess Rogers’ official website

All 3 artists’ music is available for download on iTunes and Amazon.

Here was the set list for the night:

Soldier
Die Alone
Once Was Love
First Love
Be OK
You and I
The Chain
New Song (Untitled)
Duet with Greg Laswell (Untitled)
Giving Up
Mountain And The Sea
Maybe
Keep Breathing
Locked Up
The Way I Am
Maybe (Mexican Food Mix) – Encore 1
Far Away – Encore 2

Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music are releasing the entire Beatles catalog on a 16GB USB ’stem-drive’ for your listening pleasure. 30,000 of these unique collectors items will be sold in the U.K. on December 7 and in the U.S. on December 8.

The apples come with the Beatles 14 stereo titles in FLAC 44.1 Khz 24-bit, in addition to 320 Kbps MP3s and a whole digital stack of special materials like liner notes and mini-documentary films.

All of this for a mere $279, which isn’t bad for the die hard Beatles fans. If you buy one of these let me know, I want to play with it!

Credit: Engadget

I know that we are young,
And i know that you may love me,
But i just can’t be with you like this anymore,
Alejandro

To me my outfits aren’t wacky. They are who I am. The fame can kill you. You say I am my clothes, and I am my clothes. And my clothes bleed too. Just like me.

Check out Amber Riley, who plays Mercedes on the FOX show Glee, sing the National Anthem along with other cast members at a recent World Series game in Philadelphia!

She tore it up!