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This is why it's hard to criticize the "Get a Mac" commercials.

Erykah Badu uses her Mac even on stage!
I saw her performing this summer in Belgium!
Great performance BTW

Oct 01, 08 - 07:55 am Comment from: Mr. Reeee

Good for her.

I'd really like Apple to do a "This is what I do with my Mac" series of commercials. And SHOW the person actually DO things. Somebody like this could be a perfect spokeswoman.

What a shame that the term "diva" has been cheapened to such an extent. It used to be reserved only for performers at the pinnacle... Maria Callas, Birgit Nilsson... not every other over-hyped microphone screecher out there.

Oct 01, 08 - 08:04 am Comment from: John

@ Mr Reeee: couldn't agree more about the over use of Diva. There are only a few rock/blues singers that have ever lived up to that. Give me Birgit Nilsson in her prime any time!

Oct 01, 08 - 08:12 am Comment from: ron

This is a 'diva?' Yuk.


I stay woke
I stay woke
I stay woke
I stay woke

Oh ah, oh ah
I stay woke
Oh ah, oh ah
I stay woke
Oh ah, oh ah
I stay
Oh ah, oh ah
Ohh i stay
Oh ah, oh ah
Oh ah, oh ah

Baby sleepy time
To put her down and
I'll be standin round
Until sun down, hey

Oh ah, oh ah
Oh ah, oh ah
Oooooh, ooooh, ooooh
(oh ah, oh ah)
I stay woke
(oh ah, oh ah)
Mmmm stay woke
(oh ah, oh ah)
I stay
(oh ah, oh ah)
I stay woke, i
(oh ah, oh ah)
I stay woke, yes i do
(oh ah, oh ah)
I stay woke
(oh ah, oh ah)
Mmmmm, mmmmmmm yea
(oh ah, oh ah)
Stay woke
(oh ah, oh ah)
I stay woke

Oct 01, 08 - 09:00 am Comment from: The Dude

@ Ron...
Sad isn't it. The media loves the buzz-words.

The Dude abides.

Badu is a genius in her own right.... obviously she's not for everybody... but for those of us that love her and Millions do (as proven by her at at alest 2 platinum albums) ...she's a phenom!

Her STAGE show is amazing too! She had her Macbook on stage with her as she performed live in Brooklyn last month.

@ Ron & The Dude... it always amazes me how many closed minded people are mac users... seem's almost like a oxymoron. Just because some artist music doesn't speak/appeal to you, doesn't make it bad, just means that it doesn't apeal too. I'm sure their are certain music artist you like that other's hate. Badu writes her own lyrics, music and plays multiple music insturments... she always performs with a live acoustic band... the "Analog Girl in a Digital World!" No need to disparage people just because you can't relate to them. Thats the problem with this world today in way.

She had never heard of a digital recorder, or even a tape recorder? She actually couldn't think of anything better than calling herself on her cell phone? Great that she's finally using GarageBand, but that just sounds too stupid to be true. Not a very inspired person.

Oct 01, 08 - 10:08 am Comment from: G4Dualie

@ Ron & The Dude... it always amazes me how many closed minded people are mac users...

@Mac_ATTY

Oh please. For all you know these two are Windows trolls. One of them, fer sure and the other is just a lemming; it's right there in his sig.

And besides, calling them Mac users is a slight to the rest of us.

Oct 01, 08 - 10:17 am Comment from: ron

!2,000 aapl shares, and I'm a troll? - Hahahahahaha. You guys are a real chuckle. Diva my arse.

Oct 01, 08 - 10:19 am Comment from: ron

"That's until her 10-year-old son took pity on her and explained how to use Apple computer's [Mac] built-in music recording program, GarageBand," Stewart reports.

What's the bet the son is without a dad at home?

Oct 01, 08 - 11:04 am Comment from: ron

"And besides, calling them Mac users is a slight to the rest of us."

I've been a Mac user since Pontius was a pilot, and have had every model up to the Intel iMac I'm using now.

@Ron

...and after all that, you're still a dork.

Oct 01, 08 - 11:51 am Comment from: Predrag

I can respect someone like Erica Wright (popularly known as Erykah Badu), having grown up without a father, and yet being able to get educated (not quite complete college, though). The influence of here upbringing is unmistakeably there, though (having three children with three different men). Her talent is clearly significant, otherwise it would be difficult to become so successful, even in America. However, diva she definitely is not. For those who don't wish to bother looking diva up in a dictionary, the primary meaning of it is a female opera singer of rare, outstanding talent (Ex. Maria Calas, Renata Tebaldi, Mirela Freni, etc). There are some additional meanings (a bitchy, pompous, self-important, presumptious female), however I have a feeling this wasn't what the article meant when they used the term.

Oct 01, 08 - 11:56 am Comment from: Predrag

That GarageBand is an incredibly powerful and simple tool. Having used Cubase, ProTools, Logic and other high-end professional DAW software, I have recently found myself often firing up GarageBand for a lot of short-form work (jingles, short video soundtrack, commercial, corporate, training, etc). It is just so intuitive and fast to work with, I often find all the powerful tools out there overbearing and in the way. GarageBand is 100% true to the philosophy of Mac - stay out of the way and make it simple and intuitive.

Oct 01, 08 - 11:59 am Comment from: ron

'An old dork', if you please, axis of evil words.

@ Ron... I see too many Hillary Clinton Supporters from West Virginia are starting to buy Macs....

& BTW: the Father of Eryah Badu's son is Andre' Benjamin of Outcast... so regardless of ur desire to spew your cloaked venom... his future is already secured ... this 10 year old will go places, own things, meet people, do things you can only dream of! ... if the universe so blesses him...

I wonder what kind of parents you have and if they would be proud of how the person they raised interacts with the rest of the world? What good is having 2 parents if you grow up with hate in your heart? Sad.

Oct 01, 08 - 12:34 pm Comment from: Predrag

I'm not sure what's 'Outcast', or who is Andre' Benjamin, but judging by the comment of Mac_ATTY, he must be a wealthy person.

Unfortunately, money doesn't automatically equal proper upbringing. Apparently, that Andre' does NOT live with Ms. Wright (aka. Badu) and her children; she is a single unwed mother (just like her own mother was), which is an arrangement that, by itself, diminishes the importance of a father in a person's upbringing. In other words, that 10-year old might be going places (luckily for him in that respect, his father's wealth is inconsequential, as his mother alone can provide for it), but he will still be missing out on one of the most significant aspects of child's life -- a father who's there and a family.

I can't see where Mr. Ron was exhibiting hate (or "cloaked venom"...!) in his messages. It seems that his greatest transgression here was voicing his personal opinion on talent of an artist. What I'm having even a harder time understanding is, how do his statements have anything to do with Hillary Clinton, or West Virginia???

Oct 01, 08 - 01:02 pm Comment from: ron

I'm avid ono diva mi.

I having a hard time understanding what Ron's opinion of Erkya Badu's music has to do with whether her son's father is in his life or not (which he his... I seen several interview where both Andre and Erkya speak of their relationship with him). "What's the bet the son is without a dad at home?" - why inject that comment into a discussion about how Artist are using Mac's to create music? Just smacks of a typical supremist thought process in my opion.... I understand others may disagree. I just find it appaling that when ever there is a post on this site that involves the name or impression of a person of minority descent, we get get these types of messages posted. Its seems so "un-Apple." I thought the Apple community was a community of the "creative class," a community of open minded individuals that had love and respect for everyone. After all, genetically every human on the planet is 99.9% the same... its only the 0.1% that seperates us... let for too many people that makes all the difference. But then again, maybe I'm applying my on personal stereotypes and expecting too much of the Mac/Apple community.

Oct 01, 08 - 02:17 pm Comment from: ron

" I thought the Apple community was a community of the "creative class," People who use computers are just that - people.

I've been a money making artist all of my life: sculpture, carving, oil painting, mosaics, models, etc. That doesn't make me a left-wing, kissy-kissy tree hugging lib. I'm a Ronald Reagan Republican and am amazed at the socialist rantings on the media etc.. Tonight, the 'moderator' of the VP candidates is a PBS lib. who has just written a book about how wonderful O-Bummer is. Now there's lack of bias for you! All this from the use of the word 'diva'.

Oct 01, 08 - 03:10 pm Comment from: Predrag

Mac_Atty (not sure if it's the same Mac_ATTY from above) had made a reasonable and well-argumented (if ocasionally misspelt) argument and good part of it holds water. Before the beginning of the argument in the discussion (and my subsequent trip to Wikipedia) , I wasn't aware that Ms. Wright was in fact a minority. Once I found out, it just uncovered another sad stereotype. It really is very difficult to understand why the vicious cycle cannot be broken. Why is it that Ms. Wright is just another one in a continuous string of examples how children are raised by single mothers? Obviously, Ms. Wright wasn't a pregnant teen; she wasn't in dire economic situation (the usual situations that produce single mothers); she was afforded a very broad choice of candidates for fathering her children. Normally, women instinctively select mates based on their ability to stick around, provide for the offspring and maintain consistent, continuous presence. Normally, women choose to live with these mates for the rest of their lives. Normally, men don't mind such an arrangement. Yet, im Ms. Wright's case, that's not true, despite her very favourable situation.

As for Ron, while his original post(s) haven't contributed hate (or cloaked venom), his last one was an obvious broadside against a fairly large group of Americans. Funny how he found himself offended when someone implied that he is open minded individual that has love and respect for everyone. But then, again, he did say he was a "Ronald Reagan Republican"...

Erykah Badu will do well until her label tries to strong-arm Apple and pulls her singles from the iTunes Store.

@ Predrag ... U lost all credibilty with me when you indicated you had no knowledge of Outcast or Andrew Benjamin (Hey Ya!). May be as a member of the minority community I'm more sensitive to or quicker to recognize supremisicist enendo & rants by be sad individuals like Ron, but that doesn't make my insights any less accurate. His last post confirms it. And with a name like "Predrag" I'm pretty sure you wouldn't be welcome in his idealic world either.
The Mac is just a computer though ... I see I am wrong to think people who are open minded enough to choose a Mac, wouldn't be the kind of person that is filled with hate. That is unfortunate. Sorry for da typos - I was a PC, I mean an engineer in my former life.

Oct 01, 08 - 05:06 pm Comment from: Predrag

Mac_ATTY,

Not sure if this will be received, as it is the end of the day but here goes. Not sure where my credibility was before, or where it's now, but in all fairness, I have no idea who or what was Outcast. With respect to music, the names tossed around my household are, for the most part, Bach, Haydn, Debussy, Grieg, Tchaikovsky, etc. (you get the point). My children are too small to know any names in contemporary music (still singing Disney movie songs), and most of my friends are of the similar musical tastes (we often swap tickets for the Met or Carnegie Hall).

As you can see, I cannot say anything of the talent or quality of any of the people you have mentioned; all I know about them is what I have quickly read on Wikipedia, which sadly reinforced current stereotypes. I am sure these people have great talent; as I said, they'd have to, in order to gain that much popularity and acclaim. My comment was, for the most part, social.

I'm not even sure now what this statement will do to my credibility with you. Also, what is the meaning of "Hey Ya!"?