Exclusive Eyewitness Story to the nabbing of MAKSIM GELMAN



courtesy of New York Daily News, February 2011

MAKSIM GELMAN, the man that was charged with the killing of 4 people (via stabbings, a carjacking and hit and run) on the weekend of February 11th, was also hit with ATTEMPTED MURDER charges today (February 23rd) for the actions done towards straphangar Joseph Lozito on February 12th (thanfully, Lozito surivied the attack and only received staples and stiches from injuries of not only slices on his body, but also included a stab in the skull)

Gelman is currently at the Bellevue Pshyc Ward under supervision. Also, the morning of Gelman's arrest: a coworker of mine (Jenny) happened to be in the train that got held up at Times Square ... and has this EXCLUSIVE story to share with YourNextTopic readers:

"It started out as a normal Saturday morning for me.  I am a personal trainer and my first client was at 9am.  I was on a downtown 2 express train traveling from my neighborhood  down to work.
The train rolled into 42nd street and when the doors opened dozens of NYPD officers came running down the stars of the station.  There was a lot of screaming and running, mostly from the police officers, as they got everyone inside the trains to clear the platforms.  It was clear that they didn't know if the suspect was on a train, in the tunnel or on the platform.

This is about when I realized that there was an off duty policeman sitting beside me on the train. He was in his street clothes but he had a badge around his neck.  I leaned over to him and said, "Do you have a gun with you?" and he said "Yes."  That made me feel a little better because even though there were many police officers in the area it was nice to know that our train had its own personal weapon.

About 20 minutes later and things start to settle down a little bit.  Our train was still being held in the station while police searched for the suspect, who I have now been told is "very dangerous". Then a few minutes later an uptown express train rolled into the station carrying the suspect and many police officers who had him pinned down in one of the cars.

We all watched as the man was arrested and that is when the officer on my train told me that it was the man who had been on a killing spree for the past 36 hours. Just another Saturday in NYC."


The Unnecessary Battle of the Pop Stars

Let me first off state that I have one of the greatest pop culture fanatic friends IN THE WORLD! I really do! But due to some recent actions and defenses  ... it has inspired me to write this entry on here for the world to hear.

When I was in my teens, we had the battle of the pop star divas: Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Mandy Moore, Jessica Simpson and so forth and so forth. Now, forward over 11 years later: it's the comparison of Lady Gaga to Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, early Madonna influences, etc etc. (Mandy is off doing acting now and Simpson is richer than you) There is nothing wrong with music in the world. Sure, there maybe a different way of getting it out there and purchasing it and  many "newcomers" (as Aguilera likes to state) have entered the music business but i also remember a time where music brought us together. With Lady Gaga vs. the world: it seems to have had a destructive effect on it.

With Britney Spears's arrival back on the scene and a new album coming out: it really has seems to bring out the WORST in some. Passionate and die hard fans can be one thing that i can appreciate and find so cute, but to pin your idol to others (as i have had in the past few weeks with RM pinning Britney to Kylie) is just plain disgusting. There is no doubt that Britney has accomplished such a magnificent amount of sales and promotions in the 11 years or so she has been around. No one is doubting that FOR A SECOND. The only thing i don't appreciate is that in a nearly 100% part of the time: her voice is never fully used, BUT she has made up for that in performances of gyrating, hair loss and cages (and that was just her last tour). I personally would  not pay $150 or so to see a LIVE artist LIPSYNC when i can go to some site, download the special mixes used on tours and even show love and appreciation for it.

This war is not only about Britney v Kylie, but the COMPLETELY.UNNECESSARY Britney vs. Gaga. While it may make for a great night out with friends and great icebreakers for conversations, that is where it should stop. Of course, Gaga is experiencing what Britney had to deal with (or anyone that starts out) when they come onto the scene. Heck, even the Britney/Christina battle was tame by both of their fans. BritAholics and Monsters BOTH need to relax in my opinion. Just because an artist sells more than others does not make them ANY better. The fact that these women are even OUT THERE doing it has sealed my respect for them.

We all know that they were Born This Way to enjoy the music, and if people feel the need to hold the creativity and accomplishments of OTHERS against other fans (?) , then the only thing that should be held against me is the equal enjoyment of so many sounds not from only the past: but the future sounds to come.

Besides, we have WAY too many wars and uprisings going on in this world. Music is supposed to bring us together, to make us NOT compare each other and to unite the spirit and people of the world. No matter what, the dancefloor needs to stay as an Altar of Unity ... and NOT a Landmine of Destruction due to comparison

Mighty Aphrodite: KYLIE Les Follies Tour Domination Begins




photo courtesy of Zimbio.com

 



On February 19th, Kylie Minogue debuted her latest tour "Aphrodite LES FOLLIES" in Denmark ... and showed once again as to why she is this blogger's Pop Queen Of The Universe!!!





photo courtesy of Zimbio.com

  



Keeping with her latest album release, APHRODITE, the stage and majority of the show was inspired by Greek Mythology (and what Greek inspiration is not complete with costume designs by DOLCE AND GABBANA *wink* ) as well as some minor flashbacks of her Showgirl tour from a few years back (as a major fan, i noticed immediately). Also, this was the first time concertgoers got to see/experience in the much hyped SPLASH ZONE, where not only the crowd was being drenched with Kylie's hits but also with water ... and LOTS of it!!!

Water being shot from the stage, amazing dancers, a group of aerialists, a beautiful stage ... all in all, the estimated $25 million production and 25 trucks it takes to transport it around seems to be money well spent!!

Photo courtesy of Zimbio.com

The 23 song set list is as follows for the tour (which is divided into 7 Acts):

1. Aphrodite
2. The One
3. Wow
4. Illusion
5. I Believe In You
6. Cupid Boy
7. Spinning Around
8. Get Outta My Way
9. What Do I Have To Do
10. Everything Is Beautiful
11. Slow
12. Confide In Me
13. Can't Get You Out Of My Head (rock Version)
14. In My Arms
15. Closer
16. Looking For An Angel
17. There Must Be An Angel
18. Love At First Sight/Can't Beat The Feeling
19. Better The Devil You Know
20. Put Your Hands Up
21. If You Don't Love Me
22. On A Night Like This
23. All The Lovers

One thing that many fans noticed after the setlist was finally announced is that BETTER THAN TODAY (Kylie's latest single from APHRODITE ) was not featured, even more suspicious as just 2 days before the tour started it had reached #2 on the Billboard Club/Dance Charts. Also, if you are planning on seeing her on the USA Leg of the tour, keep in mind that the Spash Zone effect will not be featured :(. Yes i know, but now you have all the more reason to reach out to her record label and DEMAND an Arena Tour during her next USA Visit.

Check out the newly released footage from opening night in Denmark to check out some fans getting hyped up as well as some show highlights (ANGELS AND GOLDEN HORSES AND HUMAN FOUNTAINS .... YES, PLEASE!!!)




(Blog Posted @ 10:06pm February 20th, 2011 NYC)

Wall Street FOR SALE?

direct from February 10th's Wall Street Journal:

"After 219 years as the citadel of American capitalism, the New York Stock Exchange was near an agreement to be acquired by Deutsche Börse AG in a deal that would create the world's largest financial exchange. With the parent of the New York Stock Exchange and Germany's Deutsche Borse in advanced talks to merge, Aaron Lucchetti and Dennis Berman look at the likely impact on Wall Street as the financial capital of the world.
If a deal is reached and regulators approve, the combined company would trade more stocks and futures than any rival in the world and more options than any U.S. exchange.



what does this mean for the status of New York's "Financial Capital of The World" status? It 'seemed' to be that the NYC area was slowly climbing back ... but the possible NYSE Merger? This is pretty huge and interesting.... stay tuned. Will definitely follow up with this story......

TwitterView With Britney Spears: Brazil, Ballads and Boring?

Photo courtesy of Twitter

Britney Spears took to her official Twitter page to answer questions directly from her fans for approximately 45 minutes or so on Thursday. Now, I am not an extreme die hard fan of hers (that title belongs to SOMEONE ELSE *ahem one of my best friends*) but it was great to hear directly from the source of this whole "Legendary" pop star (or it could have been her manager, whom tends to tweet under her name from time to time). BUT: just in case you are on the EDGE of YOUR seat since you maybe don't have a Twitter account ... here are some things she would like for you to know:

1) Ballads: now, we all know that she has a 99% tendency to lipsync during her performances (which is the MAJOR problem this blogger has with her), but it usually is the BALLADS that she does do live. Her upcoming release (FEMME FATALE, due out March 29th) will contain "a few midtempos that could be considered ballads". This is good news for her audio system on tour since it will be given a break to cool down and actual sound from her mouth will come out on the microphone ... OH! and speaking of TOURS.....

2) When she was asked by Twitter user GabrielOnyx (yes, that is the name) if she was going to SOUTH AMERICA for any upcoming tour: "I'm Thinking about touring right now and I would to visit a lot of places I didn't get to go to on my last tour .... Especially BRAZIL!!!" .. looks like Britney made GabrielOnyx's day (he is from Brazil if you did not catch that)

3) Competition: As the opposite action my best friend (whom just LOVES to throw down some battle between Britney and Gaga for some reason). Britney stated: "I love Lady Gaga. I think she's a really interesting artist." Whether that was her manager or Britney herself that said that, it is 100 MILLION PERCENT BETTER than what a fellow recording artist said about GaGa over 2 years ago!

4) She pretty much has forgiven (or maybe have forgotten about a specific incident from) Perez Hilton: She was asked about her thoughts on Perez Hilton and she admitted to his website as being "a guilty pleasure" as well as describing Perez himself as a "Real Firecracker" (but if this was 3 years ago, she might have said otherwise)

5) She is BORING: Hey! That is coming from her. While it has been noticeable that she has not been out and about stealing necklaces and pushing the law, she also wants you to know THIS: "I'm really just a boring homebody who loves staying home with my kids and thats where i'm the happiest"

Britney also discusses GLEE, STARBUCKS, and MADONNA during her Twitterview, which you can see some of the answers to at her official Twitter page

What would YOU have asked her? Does all this make you want to get on the TWITTER Bandwagon (with red bull and cheetos and grits with Britney of course)?

(blog posted at  3:31pm Feb 10th 2011)

X-Men: First Class MAGNETO photo!!!

The trailer for the new X-Men movie is set to be released on their official Facebook page TODAY! ( facebook.com/xmenmovies ) Check out the photo released along with the announcement!  Are you ready to see how Professor Xavier and Magneto started out?

X-Men: First Class is set out for a JUNE 3RD, 2011 release

Silent Library is BACK!!!

Sure, MTV just is not the music channel we remember, but between its new format there can be some great shows: Enter SILENT LIBRARY!!! Season 4 is set to premiere on March 28th

The Jersey Shore cast is kicking off the new season as contestants and THEN the next day is JIMMY FALLON AND THE ROOTS!!!! Check out the video for the just released trailer!! AND REMEMBER: SILENCE!!!! Will You be checking into Silent Library this season?

Silent Library - MTV Shows

Kenneth Cole Damage Control

Yours truly found out this afternoon while updating this blog about one of the worst marketing tweets so far read on Twitter. As stated to my friends earlier today: There is a difference between bad press and just plain TACKY! Congrats "Kenneth Cole Tweet" for the latter

And now... the damage control.

Kenneth Cole himself has taken to twitter and issued an apology for that tweet heard around the world, calling it ".... Poorly Timed and Absolutely Inappropriate"

Many have also taken their frustration out on the official Kenneth Cole Facebook Page in light of the tweet earlier today.

Nothing HAUTE about this at all, huh?

(posted @ 4:15pm February 3rd, 2011)

Let's Talk To: PYRO FIGHTER

Photo courtesy of facebook. Photography done by David Cuerdon (cuerdon.com)

There seems to be some type of unique relationship I have been having with PYRO FIGHTER as of recently, and I have realized that they have been responsible for many firsts as of now:

They were the first entry in my HAVE YOU HEARD series, their song "LMFAO" was the opening song to the season 2 Premiere of MTVs Mega Hit JERSEY SHORE ... and now they are the subject to my first interview here for YourNextTopic!!! I managed to get a hold of the singer of the group, Dany Mellette and had her answer some questions from a new "PYRO" fan!

HI, Dany! Thank you for taking the time to answer a few questions. How is everything with you?
Everything is great, just finishing up a few last shows before our big move!

Right now you are in Ohio but you are heading to Chicago, correct? Why the move?
Chicago is a much bigger market and there is a ton more opportunity for us to create fans and a following. 

So, I heard that you actually met your band mates in a crazy way ... tell us how that happened.
I met them via Craigslist a few years ago. Sounds lame, I know...but it worked out I'd say!

Where are you all originally from?
I'm from Mill Creek Indiana (close to Chicago) Billy is from Lima Ohio and Patrick is from Worthington Ohio

You described your music as "Tron-Pop" and seeing some footage of your performances, it seems like a great house party/rave vibe. What more can you tell us about your sound/influences to your music? I personally enjoy the feel good mood I get from the synth and bass from HONEY SHOT and LA LEMON DROP!!
When we first started, we based our music off of what we heard major DJ's doing, took some influence from the 90's and mixed it up with, what we think, is a more futuristic sound. It has since developed into a dirty pop sound...that's when we finally had a grasp on what we were doing and what we wanted. So it's a toss up between calling it "Tron-Pop" and "Dirt-Pop" 

I also see that you have played alongside DJ Benny Benassi (at BOMA)! are there any plans for some collaborations/future work together with him? (He is one of my favorite DJs by the way, and I can sense a great vibe with your group and Benny)
No plans on a collab with him, but you never know what might happen! That was our first actual show ever and a lot of doors blew open after it. We met some crucial local DJ's and got ourselves in touch with the power houses of Columbus as a result. We figured, "Damn, if we could get THAT as our first show....imagine what we could do down the road!"

Your song LMFAO was the opening song to the Season 2 JERSEY SHORE premiere and ELECTROBOTIC was featured in a recent episode in season 3. How has this "JerseyShoreExposure" to your music affected? I can only imagine how many more new Pyros there are now. How has the reaction been after all that?
Yeah, we were actually on Episodes 1 & 2 of Season 2 and Episodes 1 & 2 of season 3. The results....I can't even explain it. We went from no views on YouTube to over 20k on LMFAO and over 12k on Electrobotic (in 2 weeks) and it's still steadily climbing. Our iTunes sales jumped and so did our "Likes" on facebook. The fact that we had a screen ID on the show helped.

Your new song "Play Stop Rewind" was just released on iTunes last month. Does this mean that there is some newer material coming out?!?!?!? :-) and if so, what can we expect?
There is ALWAYS new stuff in the works, one thing about us is we take forever...sometimes finishing and throwing away entire finished tracks just to start them over from scratch. We are perfectionists but we will keep pumping them out as fast as we can! Once we have 10 or so, we will release a full length album.

Any gigs planned soon so that people can see you live and have a great time?
Feb 12 with InnerPartySystem at The Basement Columbus, OH
Feb 19 with big local acts at Skully's Columbus, OH
We will move to Chicago right after that and start booking there.

Before we part, is there anything else you would like to say to anyone reading this interview? 
Add us on Facebook
Buy Merchandise at www.pyrofighter.bigcartel.com
and THANKS to everyone who has supported us from day one and to all of our new supporters! We love each and every one of you "Pyro Fuckers"


Thanks again to Dany for her time and awesome vibes! You can check out/purchase Pyro Fighter music here via iTunes

(blog post @ 2:07pm February 3rd, 2011)