Fashion Mixed with the Music

As seen in music videos, cover albums, and magazines, many music artists now a days display their own sense of style and fashion. Back in the 1980's it was all about the big hair and tight pants, today it is more of what is hot on the red carpet and designer labels. Many artists now own their own clothing line and even perfume line. At retail and on the runway, several fashion lines launched by music stars have made an impact. Since almost all of these businesses are privately owned, their financial figures are not readily available. However, according to various sources, Jennifer Lopez has scored the biggest success with the meteoric rise of her J.Lo line. Also at the top of the hit list of music-celebrity clothing lines are two brands that started in 1999: Sean John (from Sean "P. Diddy" Combs) and Rocawear, co-founded by Jay-Z and Damon Dash. Music celebrity clothing lines trying to catch up to the industry's leaders include Shady (from Eminem), Fetish (Eve), Vokal and Apple Bottoms (Nelly), Screamline (Scott Stapp), L.A.M.B. (Gwen Stefani) and Shago (Bow Wow). I personally like L.A.M.B. by Gwen Stefani. I listen to a lot of her music and lyrics and she really stands out in her own way when it comes to other artists. Her clothing line really resembles her sense of style of her music as well. Check out these artists' clothing lines that I mentioned here if you are in the mood for a new look or want to just stand out in the club!

Music Videos

What do you like to watch on television? Is it Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, or maybe Heroes? For me I enjoy watching music videos. Many stations such as VH1, MTV, CMT, and BET show various music videos each day. Now each station has different types of music styles, for example, CMT mainly plays country music videos, VH1 is more of the alternative type of music videos, and BET is mainly all rap/R&B. MTV plays just about anything when it comes to music, but lately MTV has not been showing many music videos at all. I personally enjoy watching 106 and Park on BET because this show plays the day's top ten videos and never cuts the video short. I love hearing the newest song with its cool new beat. Most of the time I watch the dancers to see if I can copy any new move or combination that really stands out. So if you need a new song to put into your iPod or want to download a new music video on to it, I suggest watching any of these music stations (depending on your personal interest in music) to keep your iPod updated.

Night Clubs

Night Clubs are a great way to go out and socialize. For me, I am not only socializing, but I also go to clubs to dance! Now there are many different types of "clubs", but the type I am talking about is some type of bar/building that serves beverages and plays loud music. I love going to clubs where the DJ is amazing. I do not like the clubs where the DJ plays songs over and over that were extremely popular three months ago and are no longer popular anymore...aka bars in Sioux City. During the summer I usually go to night clubs on my day off with my friends. I have gone to many clubs, gay and straight, in various states including Texas, Iowa, Minnesota, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana. Some clubs even put on shows and host main events that are great to check out. Here are my top three clubs I recomend going to if you ever get the chance or are in the area:

1. Bourbon Pub/Parade (New Orleans, LA)


2. Station 4 (Dallas, TX)


3. Club La Vela (Panama City, FL)

Competing to the Beat

As you may have read in my "About Me" profile, I work for a company called MA Dance. I have been working for this company since the summer of 2006 to the present. During the summer I am a dance/baton instructor where our staff goes around to the southern states like Texas, Alabama, The Carolina's, Louisiana, and Mississippi, and teach high schoolers routines/technique. It is a fun job I must admit! I get payed to travel, meet new people, and on our days off go out to various clubs. In the spring, MA Dance hosts competitions and during these competitions I fly out on the weekends to be a judge. Now at these competitions I have noticed many times that "pop" and hip-hop music are quite the popular pick for routines. Even if the choreography is terrible, the dancers still pick these sort of songs to compete to. Yes, many dancers compete in the lyrical division too (which is more of the slower type of movement), but hip-hop is now out numbering many other divisions like pom, high-kick, jazz, and military. It seems to me that hip-hop is on the rise because of its awesome background beats and the endless opportunities the choreography has to offer for it. I especially enjoy judging the hip-hop category at competitions, so dancers...bring it on!

Stress Reliever

Watching music videos and listening to my favorite tunes, which include Ludacris and other up beat songs, really relieve my stress. Today I was very busy with school work and paying my bills, so before I jumped into any of these tasks I jammed out to music on my iPod. My music library in my iPod mainly consists of Rap and Broadway music...weird combo right? But just listening to music that I am familiar with and enjoy listening to relieves my stress. I know some people have other ways of chilling out like watching TV or cooking, but just blasting my tunes keeps me on track. There is something about Ludacris, which I have 40 songs of his on my iPod plus many more with other artists that he features with, that is a great de-stresser. Maybe it is his songs like Act a Fool, Roll Out (My Business), Area Codes, and even his new song Undisputed that really capture my attention and gets homework off of my mind.
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