Spmusic Monday (On Wednesday): Counting Down

**NOTE: Spell check isn't working again so sorry if there are mistakes I missed**

(1 Cent): R.I.P. Busdrivers VI

I knew it. I predicted it. I saw it coming. It was inevitable ... it still didn't make it easier to digest.

The Busdrivers VI fantasy basketball team took on too many injuries and couldn't withstand the punishment the other team had to offer. I will now go light fire to the Sno Shack across the street.

I mean, why wouldn't it happen? It's happened for 6 straight years, so why should this year be different? Not only was Wade out (yes, he came back but is playing less than 22 minutes a game and wouldn't have helped me one iota) and Randolph out (season ending surgery to his non-shooting hand AFTER he had a CAREER HIGH 43 points and SEASON HIGH 17 rebounds) ... but Stephon Marbury -- the man I traded for to help put me over the top -- had 47 FP's his first game ... which is good ... then he got injured playing in his second game of the week (sprained big toe) and went out scoring only 5 FP's. You do the math. So, we were stuck with him in our line-up (and it says a season ending injury) and it was game over. PLUS ... another guard Delonte West sprained his ankle and has been out since, leaving me with a pathetic 20 FP's in the wind. I mean, wtf?!?! 4 guys out for the season (I count Wade out for the season, at least the fantasy one). What are the odds!?!? FOUR guys!?!? And I still only lost by 12 FP's. Gosh dang it, this is going to haunt me for a very, very long time.

Also not helping our cause:

-- Amare Stoudemire giving me a pedestrian 25 FP's

-- Richard Jefferson giving me NOTHING by scoring 20 FP's ... THEN THIS WEEK AFTER ELIMINATION HE'S AVERAGING 36!!!!!! WTF!?!?

-- Chris Wilcox giving me his usual subpar performance with 23 FP's

AND:

-- The main thing from the other team that absolutely KILLED me was Hedo Turkoglu (ORL, F) scoring a SEASON AND CAREER HIGH 37 FP's ... his previous week he scored 25 ... and before that 15!!!! WHY ME?!?! WHY NOW!?!? I mean, why wouldn't he have his best week of his effing career against me this week, huh? The fantasy gods are cruel.

Week 23 (1st Round of Playoffs): L - 295.75 to 307.92 ... Eliminated

Week 23 Fantasy Stud: Kobe Bryant (LAL, G) - 51 FP's ... my only constant the whole season ... eff Wade.

Week 23 Fantasy Dud: The rest of the Busdrivers team, but mostly Richard Jefferson (NJ, F) ... he's a loser, he's soft and I will never have him on my fantasy team again. Ever.

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Players that are added to my list of people whom will never be a Busdriver again:

-- Richard Jefferson (NJ, F)

-- Delonte West (BOS, G)

-- Stephon Marbury (NY, G)

-- Chris Wilcox (SEA, F)

-- Zach Randolph (POR, F)

-- and ... Dwayne Wade (MIA, G) ... well ... maybe ...

It's stuff like this that makes me not even want to do fantasy sports ... it's more unpredictable than guessing whether or not Britney Spears is wearing underware.
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Our fantasy baseball team VTC is kinda doing good ... well, we thought they were. At first, we thought we won, then the stats updated or something and we got blown out. I'm still figuring out this scoring business. It's like, we play a team head-to-head, but then it ranks us against what all the other teams in the league did (i.e., we're 8th out of 10 teams right now in overall scoring). So, I have no idea what the actual "games" are for, since it just puts us with everyone else's scoring. Lame.

On the bright side, our 7th pick Alex Rodriguez (NYY, 3B) has hit 6 homeruns in his first 7 games ... ha! That's how you do it ... that's how you draft!

(2 Cent): Number 3

The third producer on my list is actually a duo. Their names are Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, more commonly known as The Neptunes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Neptunes

Now, I said that longevity plays a big part in my personal ranking, but they started to make hits when I started to listen to Hip-Hop (circa '95 and they started becoming popular in '96-'97). Twelve years is good enough for me. Plus, they have a really distinct sound and had major hits (i.e., within the Wikipedia article, it says in 2003 that a survey revealed that The Neptunes produced about 43% of what was on the radio ... that's insanity).

They live up to their name, with their spacey out-of-this-world type sound. It's crazy to even begin to think of how they came up with their beats. Like Timbaland and Dr. Dre, you'll have to look long and hard to find a song that isn't produced well or not original (which is difficult to do). They have produced some of my favorite songs of all-time, which some will be listed below.

Sample of 20 Songs From Hit List (in no particular order):

-- "Lookin' At Me" by Ma$e featuring Diddy

-- "SuperThug" by Noreaga featuring Pharrell & Tammy Lucas

-- "Got Your Money" by O.D.B. featuring Kelis

-- "I Just Wanna Luv U (Give It To Me)" by Jay-Z featuring Pharrell & Memphis Bleek

-- "Southern Hospitality" by Ludacris

-- "U Don't Have To Call" by Usher

-- "Young'n (Holla Back)" by Fabolous featuring Pharrell

-- "Pass the Courvoisier (Part 2)" by Busta Rhymes featuring Pharrell & Diddy

-- "Hot In Herre" by Nelly

-- "When The Last Time" by the Clipse featuring Pharrell & Kelis

-- "Like I Love You" by Justin Timberlake featuring the Clipse

-- "Excuse Me Miss" by Jay-Z featuring Pharrell

-- "What Happened To That Boy" by Baby featuring the Clipse

-- "Beautiful" by Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell & Uncle Charlie Wilson

-- "Light Your Arse On Fire" by Busta Rhymes featuring Pharrell

-- "Milkshake" by Kelis

-- "Drop It Like It's Hot" by Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell

-- "Say Somethin'" by Mariah Carey featuring Pharrell & Snoop Dogg

-- "Margarita" by Sleepy Brown featuring Pharrell & Big Boi

-- "Vato" by Snoop Dogg featuring B-Real & Pharrell

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I kept finding it difficult to give only 10 songs for a sample, so I did 20 this time (Timbo and Dre could've had that easily). Since this will be one of my last regularly written blogs -- meaning I won't be able to finish my top 10 list in its entirety with tracks) -- I thought I'd give a little more here.

My Top Producers List:

1a - Timbaland
1b - Dr. Dre
3 - The Neptunes

(1/2 Cent): Review & Explanation

As I mentioned the other day, Timbaland came out with a solo album. Now, I was at first excited about it but then remembered that he usually saves his best tracks/beats for other people, meaning that his solo albums are a tad less quality overall.

Now, I don't know if he stepped his game up because of that supposed beef with former friend and producer Scott Storch, but this is by far Timbaland's best solo album. Not only does he keep his trademark sounds, but he invents some more new sounds that are totally unique while blending in Hip-Hop, R&B, Rap, Pop and Alternative music throughout. It is an incredibly well produced album that I've listened to for over a week straight in my car.

He just combines so many elements and has so many layers throughout the tracks, it's an auditory delight that basically can not be matched. Since there are no interludes, has 17 tracks, each track is way above average, all are unique, has great guest appearances (even Elton John on the ivories!) and has an awesome first radio single that's superb ("Give It To Me" featuring Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake), I totally feel comfortable giving this a 10 out of 10. No hesitation.

(Note: you must listen to this -- and any other CD -- with a good sound system ... whether it is in your car or your home audio ... you will not be able to distinguish all of the intricate sounds and layers if your speakers are junk)

Also, I couldn't do just five ... I had to do 10 ...

**My Terrific Ten** (in descending track order)

1) Track 3, "Release" featuring Justin Timberlake - The duo of Timbaland and Timberlake is straight money ... this is another club/dance hit that takes some of the elements they did together from Timberlake's latest solo album ... I am diggin' the little "yeah!" in the background from Timbaland.

2) Track 4, "The Way I Are" featuring Keri Hilson & D.O.E. - Keri has some hot vocals (an insert in the CD says she has an upcoming album) ... I am in love with the hook ... a great dance beat that makes you move (even if you're stopped at a signal and people are staring at you).

3) Track 5, "Bounce" featuring Dr. Dre, Missy Elliott & Justin Timberlake - One of the hardest beats Timbo has come up with ... I love the new sound he created which I can't explain or describe, but he singles out the sound at 3:28 ... absolutely crazy.

4) Track 6, "Come And Get Me" featuring 50 Cent & Tony Yayo - Another hard, street beat with half of G Unit helping him out on the verses ... I like the background singers that gives it that almost gothic church sound.

5) Track 7, "Kill Yourself" featuring Sebastian & Attitude - The beat is a more mellow sound, with a different church-ish choir sound in the background ... almost like this song should be in a movie (in a good way).

6) Track 10, "Scream" featuring Keri Hilson & Nicole Scherzinger - A mix between a chill beat and one that makes you nod your head ... killer vocals from Keri again and the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls ... I likes it.

7) Track 12, "Bombay" featuring Amar & Jim Beanz - Timbo brings back that Indian sound with tight drumming and who ever sings that crazy stuff ... then it switches to a different beat ... simply crazy.

8) Track 14, "Time" featuring She Wants Revenge - I've never heard of this band, but their vocals are pretty cool ... just a crazy mix of styles that result in a great song.

9) Track 15, "One And Only" featuring Fall Out Boy - I really like the hook from the singer of Fall Out Boy (again, don't know much about them) ... this is a more up-beat rock song, that still works ... Timbo gets his rock on as he semi-sings/yells out a verse ... great collaboration.

10) Track 16, "Apologize" featuring One Republic - It's just this group (or the one guy from the group) crooning and Timbo in the faint background with some sounds and his great track ... one of my favorite mellow songs of all-time now.

Don't get me wrong ... you can totally listen straight through the CD, but these were the songs that stood out to me.

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As I've mentioned earlier in this space, I'm not going to be able to consistantly write in my blog anymore since I am starting a different job next week on the 17th. So, most likely Monday the 16th will be my last blog for a while. What's funny is that on that day, it will mark my 100th posting (including the lame ones where I announced that some had to be postponed). Still, a landmark.

Thanks again for the read and I will have another one on Friday the 13th in two days ....

HCP