There is nothing more incredible than the experience of getting to see incredible musicians perform live. We become fans of artists by listening to their LPs and recordings, but we fall in love in concert. The ability to “bring it” in front of massive crowds is something that truly separates musicians from legends. Something that I often regret is that I never had the opportunity to see some of the greatest artists in person before they passed away, often too soon.

Last week marked the ninth year anniversary of the death of Aaliyah, who at the young age of 22 died in a horrible plane accident. She is the prime example of young talent gone far too soon, and I want to dedicate this playlist to her memory. I was very young when she died and it affected me deeply and now that I am older (just days older than she was when she died) I still have not gotten over this loss. Many of the artists in this channel are some of the all-time greats, and we should cherish all of their contributions to music. This channel focuses primarily on vocalists, as there are many other instrumentalist who have passed on as well.

Some of my generation owes a lot to these musicians who we never got the chance to see live. Especially this fella, who my mom assures me had a lot to do with me ever coming into this world.

Rest In Peace
Aaliyah, Luther Vandross, Marvin Gaye, John Lennon, Notorious B.I.G, Tupac Shakur, Kurt Cobain, Otis Redding, Michael Jackson, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, Freddie Mercury, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, George Harrison, Ray Charles, Selena, Jam Master Jay, Sam Cooke, Elvis Presley, Rick James, and the many other greats who have passed on. You are gone but certainly not forgotten!

If you haven’t already heard of Remi Gaillard, you need to watch our new feature channel ASAP! Remi is a crazy french guy who produces and creates what he calls “dangerously funny” videos. After watching them myself, I realized that he actually means “hysterical and exceptionally obnoxious” videos.

Here is a prime example: Remi dresses up in a Kangaroo suit, does a series of nonsensical things, and finally mid-hop, kicks an unsuspecting golfer into a pond. Instead of chasing Remi down with a raging golf club, the golfer proceeds to drag himself out of the pond, drop his club, and brisk-walk towards the already skipping away Joey. Perhaps this inaction can be attributed to the shock of being assaulted by a giant velor kangaroo.

However, golfer karma does kick in when Remi gets whacked with a golf club by a peeved bystander in a later video where he pulls the PAC-MAN prank.

Remi justifies his actions by his life motto “C’est en faisant n’importe quoi qu’on devient n’importe qui” or “It’s by doing whatever that you become whoever.” He does become whoever he wants, especially when it comes to professional athletes. He has a series of Sports Impostor videos, where he manages to fake being a part of several sports teams. In one of them, he pretends to be a football player in the 2002 Coupe de France finals. He takes part in the winning celebrations, holds the trophy, smiles brightly in team photos, provides autographs, and is even congratulated by the then president of France, Jacques Chirac.

One of my personal favorites is this one. I can’t say anymore or I will give it away, and nobody likes a spoiler. Do yourself a favor and check him out!

It’s time to get pumped for the final major tennis event of 2010 which is already underway in Queens. The historic tournament which is in its 129th edition started August 24th and will continue until September 12th. For us serious sports fanatics out there who cannot get enough of high-stakes, championship sports there has been a bit of a lag since the end of the sports euphoria that came earlier this summer (World Cup, US Open [Golf], French Open and the NBA Championship). The US Open comes at just the right time and will occupy the rest of my time leading up to the beginning of football season.

Some of this year’s luster is definitely lost with the absence of several big players due to injury. The men’s defending champ (Juan Del Potro, wrist injury) was recently added to the list of star player who will be unable to compete in this event. Justine Henin is out with an elbow injury and Serena Williams won’t get the chance to erase the bitter memories of her exit from last year’s tournament with her fourth US Open title.

But none of this will prevent this from being a phenomenal tournament, which is pretty much guaranteed whenever Nadal and Federer are in the mix. Also keep an eye on Novak Djokovic, who in addition to doing very well in this event in his career, made a name for himself at Arthur Ashe stadium a few years ago for his now famous impersonations.

Do you ever get the warm and fuzzies whenever you hear the opening music to your favorite TV show? Well prepare to get all nostalgic as we deliver you a channel full of some of the most memorable TV show openings ever. Whether your style is as serious as Grey’s Anatomy or as carefree as the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, there is something here for everyone. This channel includes intros, opening credits and theme songs from TV shows from the 60’s to now, with great shows ranging from the Bold and Beautiful, Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, to Dexter.

There is an ample selection of cartoons as well ranging from Ducktales to the Jetsons. Growing up there was no opening credit song that I loved more than The Wonder Years;  Joe Cocker’s raspy voice never failed to grab my attention. Despite how much I loved Fred Savage as Kevin Arnold, I may have been a bigger fan of his little brother Ben as Corey Matthews in Boy Meets World. I guess we all have our preferences.

I apologize in advance for some of the poor grainy quality of these videos, but hey, there was no HD when most of these shows were made!

If there is one annual event that I make sure to never miss it is the Miss Universe Pageant. There are many reasons to tune in this year, but none more exciting than an epic rivalry that is brewing around this year’s competition. The host country (USA) will be trying to win a victory for the first time since 1997. Despite the controversy currently surrounding a Muslim cultural center being built a few blocks away from Ground Zero, Miss USA, Rima Fakih, is the first Muslim and Lebanese-American to represent the country in the competition.

But just as big of a story this year is Miss Venezuela Marelisa Gibson, who looking to extend Venezuela’s already unprecedented winning streak in the Miss Universe pageant. Miss Universe 2009 Stefania Fernandez made Venezuela the first country in the history of the pageant to win the title back to back.

The USA currently leads Venzuela 7-6 in the tally for the most Miss Universe winners in the competitions history. USA won in 1956, then in 1995 and 1997 and Venezuela won in 1979 and 1981. Curiously, between the Venezuelan triumphs of 1979 and 1981 the winner was from the USA, and between the two USA wins in 1995 and 1997 the winner was from Venezuela. There is no doubt that eyes will be following these beautiful young ladies closely. Not to mention the 81 other beautiful young ladies from around the world, make sure you tune in to NBC at 9-11PM ET on August 23rd to see the crowning of the next Miss Universe!

P.S. There will be a musical performance by John Legend and the Roots, which is guaranteed to be amazing!