From United Press International:
"Lennon memorial tender could face charges" —
Ayrton "Gary" dos Santos, also known as the "Mayor of Strawberry Fields," said police have threatened to charge him with littering and assembling large groups without a permit, after he spent 15 years spreading flowers across the site and speaking to visitors about the former Beatle, the New York Post reported Monday.
This morning I tunned 91.5 FM (NYC) expecting to find my sedate Diane Rehm show, instead music came blaring from the station! The Diane Rehm show had grown on me since the demise of so many of my favorite shows on Air America (Morning Sedition and The Sam Seder Show). I must admit a kind of relief to hear "independent radio" again. It's been a long time since I there was music I could stomach on the radio. The new station is not bad. It's KEXP Radio Liberation from Seattle. They experience a few gliches now and then, but that goes with change. You can listen to them via the web also. I've never heard of KEXP before, but evidently lots of people have and they enjoy a happy following.
KEXP Radio Liberation: where music matters —
Independent radio stations KEXP 90.3 FM in Seattle and Radio New York 91.5 FM have joined forces to create Radio Liberation, an unprecedented partnership dedicated to listeners and independent music.
Through Radio Liberation, Radio New York airs four KEXP-produced shows Monday through Friday on Radio New York. This partnership makes it possible for KEXP to reaching another 14 million terrestrial listeners in New York, sharing Seattle’s unique music community with New Yorkers and fulfilling the station’s mission to bring more great music to more listeners.
As part of Radio Liberation, KEXP and Radio New York will produce hundreds of live performances a year. With increased access to New York bands and touring artists, Radio Liberation will also bring additional “in-studio” performances by regional and touring artists to listeners on both coasts.
All of the other Radio Liberation programming is created specifically for Radio New York and does not affect KEXP programming on 90.3 FM in Seattle and online at KEXP.org.
Keke Palmer, who is now 14 year old, played Akeelah, in the movie Akeelah and the Bee with Laurence Fishburn. She is a real talent that has been attempting to put out a R&B album. One problem: record companies have determined that the music she needs to produce is "urban" which in corporate-ize means raunchy.
From Davey D's Hip Hop Blog by Bruce Banter
of Playahata.com:
"Atlantic Records Tries to Turn 14yr Actress Into Lil Kim" —
She and her mother Sharon have a huge problem with the upcoming record deal they signed with Atlantic Records in March of 2006. The problem is that the record label wants to market the 14 year old as a sexpot but she does not want that image.
... Keke admits "From the very beginning Atlantic's A&R representative tried to get me to record inappropriate music, and my parents and I resisted."
... Paul Porter of www.Industryears.com says "Keke Palmer is the poster child for what's wrong with the music industry. Imagine being 12 year's old and Atlantic Records trying to mold Keke in the mold of Lil Kim or Foxy Brown."
What has happened to R&B is the height of what's wrong with the music business: there is more business than music. The images that are being pumped out depict the worst parts of American culture. One could say that this is non-culture, a made up way of life concocted in the boardrooms of white men with adolescent minds. The negative images of black people in media are not produced by black people. So it is mostly a waste of time to ask the black artists to stop producing these negative images since we can see the strong arm tactics of the large corporations use to make these artists produce them.
The old adage that "it is in the hands of the consumer" and "if we don't buy the bad stuff, they won't make the bad stuff" is beginning to seem doubtful. Large corporations don't seem to care what Americans really think. Their ambition is to make Americans think what they want us to think. Corporations will shove down our throats their vision of the world until we see the way they want us to see it.
I suppose the solution is to continue to use the Internet for purchasing our music. Listen to independent radio stations where individual DJs actually have control over what gets played and cut the large corporations out.
Check out Keke's music for youself at www.kekepalmer.com. It's kids stuff. It's not supposed to be deep, just fun. My God, man, she's just 14 years old!
From PRI's The World reported by Marco Werman:
"South African reggae superstar murdered" —
(you need Window Media Player) Last night's carjacking and murder in Johannesburg of South Africa's reggae superstar Lucky Dube has shocked his fans worldwide.
I must admit that I had given up hope. I've been here before. You fight the good fight, you know that what is happening is totally unjust, but you lose anyway. Some greedy, lying, cheating fat cat gets away with bloody murder off the backs of decent good people with the helpful support of the government. The deadline for the royalty rates increase for Internet Radio Stations was yesterday, July 15, so this morning I was expecting to hear snow when I turned on Radio Paradise, my favorite Internet radio station. What a surprise, there was music instead! And posted on their webpage was this message:
Thanks to the tremendous outpouring of support we received about the royalty rates that the big record companies were trying to impose on Internet radio stations like RP, the US Congress has intervened and told the RIAA guys that they had to play fair and negotiate a rate with webcasters that won't bankrupt our entire industry.
All of the dust hasn't settled, but it looks like we will continue to pay the highest royalties of any class of broadcaster in the US — but not the absurdly high rates that the record companies had wanted (and that the US Copyright Office had rubber-stamped). For all of the details, see last Friday's edition of Kurt Hanson's RAIN newsletter, or this Wired blog post.
It looks like the good guys won this time. It happens so rarely these days that I don't know what to make of it. I hope this bodes well for the future. There are bigger and far more important battles ahead. But it's important to celebrate the little victories. It reminds us that the strong don't always win, sometimes us little guys can get a knock in, too.
Prospect Park Bandshell
9th St & Prospect Park West
Park Slope, Brooklyn
For More Information
Ani DiFranco will perform as a benefit for the free performances at the Celebrate Brooklyn Festival, a program of BRIC.
Highline Ballroom
431 W 16th Street (btwn 9th & 10th)
For More Information
The anitcapitalist preacher joins his Stop Shopping Gospel Choir and the Not Buying It Band to celebrate his new book, What would Jesus Buy?
Please see my post Ahh, To Be An Awake Consumer.
I never thought of myself as a Bjork fan. Her music has always seemed bizarre to me. But this song and video I just get. It is so beautiful and a true work of art. I just had to share. Enjoy! (Thanks RP for playing this today!)
New York actually does something for it's citizens during the summer months for FREE! It is a series of concerts in Central Park from some of the hottest artists and performers around. And all you have to do is show up early, ready for a good time. Some of this summer's music highlights are:
There are also other special events during the summer such as a film screening of Music Is a Weapon with a concert featuring Femi Kuti & The Positive Force and a reading from Amiri Baraka and Sonia Sanchez.
For More Information go to www.summerstage.org.
I must admit my hippie past. Well, not really, I'm too young for that. But I can admit that my neighborhood growing up was full of hippies. They were sooo cool! They wore beautiful flowing clothes and were so gentle and kind. They were my first impression of white people in this country — I'm originally from England and came here when I was very young — so I thought that all white people here were like this for most of my formative years. (Ahh, if only it were so!) I think that deep down inside we all have some of the hippie in us. The person who wants to be free and easy. The one who wants to fight the power and have no doubts that they can change the world.
I watched Woodstock this weekend on VH1 Classics only intending to see a little bit. Not possible. Richie Havens, Crosby, Stills and Nash, Sly and the Family Stone, and (Oh, God!) Jimi Hendrix, And the mud! I loved seeing all those people sliding up and down in the slick mess proclaiming that even a down pour of water will not dampen the joy that they feel out there on Yasgur's farm. It's strange to think that all of those young faces are now ready for retirement. I would have giving the film 5 stars if it wasn't for Joan Baez. Nice lady, but I can't stand her voice. To each their own.
This dude that I used to share CDs with at my old job told me that he was at Woodstock. So I asked him how it was. "Umm, well, umm, I remember arriving and, well, umm, I think, umm, ..." He was there! Hey, if you can remember you weren't there, man. But seriously, It's really cool to see this movie for the music but it's also cool to see how everyone pulled together for 3 days of a little peace, love, and understanding. We can all use something like this right now, some good friends, good times, and good music.
To learn more about this issue go to: www.savenetradio.org
I fallen in love with Radio Paradise and the thought of losing it just as soon as I've found it has been devastating. Almost as devastating as losing Morning Sedition from Air America. Going to the Radio Paradise site and seeing the clock tick away the time left before it will "cease to be" has been just painful. I just don't want to go through that again. Life has been so hard of late and it is the few simple pleasures like listen to good music that helps to keep me going.
Please call your congressman and ask him or her to support H.R. 2060, The Internet Radio Equality Act. I, too, will promise to call mine. My congressman, Ed Towns, is a useless sack of shit, but I'll call him anyway. I've already emailed him and both my senators, Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer. (Hillary at least had a response email but what an empty barrel she is.) I have some ideas of what I think is really going on here as I wrote in a previous post. I don't want to get to distracted with that right now. As my partner just reminded me this morning, sometimes the good guys win. Let's hope that this is one of those times!
I don't even know what to say. I can't believe this country. As soon as something good comes along there is this mad dash to squash it. At this point, it looks like the only thing left to do is to send a letter to your congressmen to stop this from happening.
A statement from The SaveNetRadio Coalition:
The future of Internet radio is in immediate danger. The Copyright Royalty Board in Washington, DC has more than tripled the royalty rates for webcasters and left unchanged they will kill Internet radio. These exorbitant rates go into effect on May 15 (retroactive to Jan 1, 2006!). Without Congressional action the majority of webcasters will go bankrupt and silent on this date. We need your help. Please take a moment to send a letter to your member of Congress to keep Net radio from being silenced.
Since Clear Channel is one of the members of the coalition, it seems unlike that this is really about money. This most certainly can't be about the musicians, they don't want this either (besides when has government gave a damn about them?) So what could this change in the copyrights laws be about?
I suspect there is something more duplicitous going on here. I think that "the powers that be" want to end all uncontrolled means of communication in the US. DJ's on the Internet are independent and can say what they want. They have been developing large followings which makes them powerful. So far they have only used their power for playing music, but there is always the possibility that one day they may say something. They are not like bloggers (any idiot — including me — can put up a blog) but very few people read them. No following, no problem. But I wouldn't be suprised to see some effort to silence the large bloggers soon.
This is similar to MySpace.com being used by Latino kids to communicate for immigration rights. No one saw that coming. (and Murdock quickly bought MySpace.com. That was easy.) But all these independent DJ's can't be bought up like this. So change the copyright laws and put them out of business. It is the easiest way to silence them. Scarry shit, if I'm right.
Open up the broken cup
let goodly sin and sunshine in
yes, that's today
and open wide the hymns you hide
you'll find renown while people frown
at things that you say
but say what you'll say
about the farmers and the fun
and the things behind the sun
and the people round your head
who say everything's been said
and the movement in your brain
sends you out into the rain
— Nick Drake from Things Behind the Sun
May 9 - 19, 2007
David Bowie will be personally curating a festival to raise money for the High Line Park in the old meat packing district here in NYC. The concept of the park is quite nice — fixing up the abandoned train track — even if it is frivolous and for the use of the rich that have taken over the area. (I'm sure that they'll let the public in when it's done. Yes, I'm being snarky!) Check out their site for tickets and more info: www.highlinefestival.com
The High Line is a 1.45-mile-long elevated rail structure on Manhattan's West Side. It was built in the 1930s to remove dangerous trains from Manhattan's streets. No trains have run on it since 1980. FHL, a community-based 501(c)(3) non-profit group, formed in 1999 when the historic structure was under threat of demolition. FHL's mission is to preserve the structure for reuse as an elevated public open space.
Celebrate Earth Day the right way -- with music! The Green Apple Music Festival will be held here in NYC as well as in Chicago and San Francisco. There will be a lot of music and venues to choose from and the whole event is to be CO2 Neutral. Cool! Check out their site to find out more information about the performances: www.greenapplefestival.com
When I moved here to Brooklyn (omygosh!) 7 years ago it was with the misunderstanding that African music would be everywhere and easy to access. I was spoiled by my home town's own World Music Organization. Surely, I thought, NYC would have a bigger and better setup. Oh, was I wrong! Initially, I thought that BAM would be that organization. What a disappointment they are. They have terrible programming and even worse community relations. Damn! What's the hell wrong with them? Angelique Kidjo lives down the street in Park Slope! (I think they are cultural racists. I know this from personal experience which I may go into more at some later date.)
World Music was awesome! And I miss them so! Fantastic acts from all over the world right in my little city of Cambridge, MA. The dance troupes would even give classes to us Laypeople at the Dance Complex in Central Square. But now I've found the World Music Institute here in NYC. It looks pretty good so far. I'll have to keep an eye on them. But they have some very big shoes to fill in my eyes.
7:30 PM and 9:30 PM
This is Somi singing in our old store's back garden. I always knew that this girl was going somewhere. I used to play her demo CD in my store all the time. I'm so glad to see that she is "movin' on up" and singing at Lincoln Center. I'm all proud and "what not!" She beautiful and sings like an angel. Go catch her show. And remember that you heard it here first!
From TimeOut New York:
Somi’s parents hail from Rwanda and Uganda, but the music on the singer’s new Red Soil in My Eyes (World Village) is more jazz-inflected R&B than world fusion. No small wonder that her band for this gig includes local soul sophisticate Jeremy Pelt.
Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola
(at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall)
212-258-9595
$30 plus $10 minimum at tables, $5 minimum at bar
Subway: A, C, B, D, 1 to 59th St–Columbus Circle
Starting on Friday, April 13th at 11pm on IFC, The Henry Rollins Show (yes, that Henry Rollins formally of "Black Flag") is back on the air -- and not a moment too soon. I've missed you Henry. Don't leave me again! This is sincerly the coolest 22 min on television. Intellegent (uncensored) conversation with interesting guests and best of all MUSIC! In an era of corporate control music, Henry dishes up real musicians who play real music. Hurray, for IFC for having the balls to put this show on the air!
When the Bushes are getting me down and I need a good laugh, I just put on this video. It's funny and it's a great song, too. You can sing along:
'Cause you're an ass-hoooole,
Yeah, yeah,
Yeah, yeah,
'Cause you're an asshole.
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
