Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - BABY81

Speaking of bands that rock, check out 2 new songs from my favorite underrated band of all time - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. The 2 songs are from their new album, BABY81 (coming out May 1st). In my humble opinion, all of their albums have some excellent songs, from their debut LP B.R.M.C. to their sophomore effort, Take Them On, On Your Own. Their last album, Howl, an acoustic departure, was a huge risk but even that rocked out.

Why this band gets no PR is beyond me. All these guys know how to do is play raw guitar and drums ROCK, with scathing vocals and lyrics to go with it. They are the kind of band that can take the stage in a dingy, sh*t bar and rock the hell out of it. I saw them in NYC a few years ago and they cranked out some serious noise.

The new songs that are featured on their web site are "Weapon of Choice" and "666 Conducer" (great rock song titles..).

Check them out and let me know what you think.

Breaking All The Rules

So when you are in a small-town MBA program, you are *supposed* to have this razor sharp focus on job search, classes, and networking. You are *supposed* to have your head buried in books, spreadsheets, financial models, cases, projects, and presentations (and have time for little else!).

That is, unless you are THE CORE. What is THE CORE? (It's kind of like, "What is the matrix?" OK, maybe not...)

Anyway, The Core, aside from the name of an excruciating but rewarding first year b-skool curriculum, is also the name of an MBA student band, formed here at IU, and is surprisingly EXCELLENT. And I have been to my share of concerts in NYC (*thank you very much*) and these guys are talented. My bud Ritesh and I are music connoisseurs (aka, music snobs) but even we enjoy the Core.

These guys don't play for the money, they don't play for the girls (although they could), they don't play for the fame, and they don't play to stroke their egos. Ultimately, they play for fun, entertainment, and the love of great music - which keeps it pure and simple, the way music was meant to be.

They cover the kinds of great songs that keep rock alive and kicking. Pearl Jam, The Rolling Stones, U2, The Killers, Rage Against the Machine, the Hives, and many others. They even wrote a few songs of their own. Who knows how long they will play together, but man do they stoke the fire here at IU. To my knowledge, no other b-skool has an MBA band (and if one does, they can't rock like this).

In a few months, these guys are gonna be sitting at desks like the rest of us MBAers. But right now, they are living for the moment and doing what they always wanted to do, and you gotta respect that.

Here's to THE CORE, who mix it up every few weeks here at IU just because they can.

FutureCar

So my friend Tray told me about this cool 4-part series on Discovery called Future Car. It focuses on the incredibly innovative and creative work being done by designers and artists around the world in the auto industry.

Some of the ideas are truly out of the box and show where we are headed in the next 20-30 years.

Cars have the potential to change they way we move and interact. Imagine a car that drives itself, designed super-slim and leans into all your turns, with near-perfect aerodynamics, and gets 150 mpg of efficiency.

Check out the show sometime and imagine the possibilities.

The 4 parts:
The Extremes: Wed, Feb. 7, at 8 p.m. ET/PT
The Body: Wed, Feb. 14, at 8 p.m. ET/PT
The Fuel: Wed, Feb. 21, at 8 p.m. ET/PT
The Brain: Wed, Feb. 28, at 8 p.m. ET/PT

If you missed some of the parts, check your listings as I am sure they will be re-broadcast in the near future.

Why Music Matters...

Here’s why. I can tell a LOT about someone by fully understanding their musical tastes. It is like a roadmap to their psyche, personality, preferences, values, and, dare I say, their soul.

Try the test yourself on your friends, spouse, family, and co-workers. You will find an amazing consistency between people’s true personality and their favorite songs.

And it is no coincidence that I have most of my favorite music on this site. The purpose: to share with you what I am all about and what I believe in. Each song is a different angle, a different message, a different ethic, a different scene & experience, or a different soundtrack to an era in my life. From growing up in Brooklyn, to high school in Queens, to college in Binghamton, to all those hours studying, to working in the bright lights of Manhattan, to the sh*t and tough times, to the reinventions and very best moments, from the east coast to the west coast and all of the endless miles in between…the stories are all there in the songs.

What does your life’s soundtrack sound like? And, like any great mix, the order matters. So bring the noise.