Foster The People – Pumped Up Kicks Lyrics were in top 20 this week at MetroLyrics.com. Get lyrics here.
Lyrics to 20 Top Songs

Things are starting to speed up now!  The plumbing is all done and the electricity will be done soon. This involves about a million decisions on lights, plugs, switches, and generally trying to figure out all the potential future needs and installations…..yikes. Ariane has been up to the task on the lighting and is handling that crucial aspect. Meanwhile, we set the ledgers for the upper and lower decks and started running the metal roofing panels. The plasterer Felipe is barreling through and has the first story wrapped in paper and wire for stucco. He will be back Monday with a crew to set all the scaffolding for getting the whole thing wrapped… a huge undertaking. I have a crew coming on Monday to help us with the roofing and we should have that done next week, then the whole thing will be completely waterproof….yeah!

So here are some updated pictures:

East side wrapping

South side , with first roof panels installed!

The roofing should go fast, each panel is 38″ wide and after overlapping, you cover a 3′ by whatever length the roof is with one piece…sweet!  Metal roofs are great, they do not have the thermal mass of shingles or tiles which radiate  heat back into the structure, so you stay cooler in summer, warmer in winter. Plus with baked on finish the metal roof lasts 40 yrs. The underlayment is special too as it is also rated for 40 yrs, unlike felt paper which is about 15. So you end up with a pretty maintenance free roof for a  long time.

You lay the roof panels on so the overlap faces away from the main direction of rain and bad weather. In our case that is from the northwest, so all the overlaps face east.

The installation of electricity and plumbing is unique for these structures as well, here are some details.

You have to block out areas where plumbing goes like this. The red spray paint marks the electrical chases. To pull wire or move it through the chases, you can make a 4" hole and then feed wire.

Fire sprinkler riser…..

Here you can see a switch box and the circle cut for feeding wire to a light outlet..

Here are some random photos of the interior space:

Ariane, James and I built the stairs!…no more ladders!

Office with clerestory windows.

Upstairs bedroom.

Hallway, and light cans

Jerry James Banjo News

Without match.com Aaron and I never would have met. Granted, we had a mutual friend or two on Facebook, but neither one of us would have had the guts to contact each other if it wasn’t for a chance connection on match. After Aaron saw my profile in his Daily matches and noticed I hadn’t [...]
Official Match.com Blog

Oprah Winfrey’s Primetime Series to Launch on New Year’s Day

It’s been a busy week for the…

Latest news from Aerosmith

Rien Ne Va Plus were formed in 2007 and completed by the second guitarist in 2008.

Due the expirience of every single band member, and the constant of practising of at least 3 times every week, Rien Ne Va Plus decided to record their first demo cd, without having had one single live gig at that moment.

So not only the short amount of time the band had to write and finalize the seven songs, but also the fact that Rien Ne Va Plus haven´t performed their songs live before, corroborates the high quality of their first CD.

With the help of Los Dreams, Rien Ne Va Plus made substantial progresses with their studio – work and so the cd was released at the end os september.

In January 2010 a new memebr joined RNVP, DJ able on the turntable. AT the Moment RNVP is snowed under with work to organize several live gigs.

Hollywood Music TV

Berklee percussion professor Steve Wilkes is creating an aural map of Cape Cod.
Berklee News

ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons says the Texan trio plan to release their first studio album since 2003′s Mescalero before the end of 2011
American Recordings

The performance finale for Fox’s “The X Factor” grabbed the top ratings spot for the night and pushed the network to an overall victory on a slow night all around, according to preliminary numbers. With viewership in the key adults 18-49 demo down 7 percent versus last week across the board from 8 …
– Bing News

The last day of the 12 Days of Skratchmas is upon us. But let’s not be sad as Christmas is just about to begin properly for everyone. And hopefully this final prize will bring a massive smile to someone’s face, as I have a complete controller setup to give away courtesy of Numark. A Mixtrack Pro, Red Wave headphones, Laptop Stand and a pair of NPM5 monitors. But that’s not all – thanks to Magma Bags, I have a one of a kind, never to be repeated skratchworx branded rolltop backpack. Even I don’t have one of these.

skratchworx – Number 1 for DJ news and reviews!

President Obama today urged House Republicans to heed Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell’s call to pass a short-term payroll tax cut extension.

CNN.com

Scientists from the University of Bristol believe they have ‘The Hit Equation.’ A group focused on artificial intelligence developed machine learning algorithms that mined the characteristics of top hits to develop a formula for key musical features that determine whether a song will be a hit. The Intelligent Systems Lab identified 23 features that were considered important from tempo and loudness to harmonic simplicity vs. non-harmonicity…

Music Business Times News

The US appeal court has ruled that “YouTube on steroids” site Veoh can’t be sued for copyright infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act . Judge Raymond Fisher said that rights holders (like
Music-business News – Congoo

One thing we’re looking forward to next year is the stabilization of microblogging site Tumblr.

By now even your great-grandmother has a tumblr. You know because she’s tweeting about it and she’s your Facebook friend. Every time she updates her Tumblr, it updates her Twitter which feeds her Facebook page and your newsfeed on Facebook. Modern times, y’all!

There’s so many tumblrs – Good ones, great ones, awesome ones, awesomely bad ones, ones that crash because Tumblr is operating like its server farms are living in 1998.

STORY: Our Fav Celeb Tumblrs

Making this list wasn’t easy, especially when you consider all the porn we had to sift through.

Above is one of our favorites, http://hotrufftrade.tumblr.com/ which is a tumblr about fashion and sex from the perspective of a 20-year-old kid living in either Bed-Stuy or Crown Heights, Brooklyn. 

This tumblr is genius for many reasons, including its play with gifs and the repetition of imagery. Trust us, an image takes on new meaning when it’s repeated ad infinite. Andy Warhol knew this and employed it in his giant screen printed paintings, the most famous being his Elvis and Marilyn paintings from the ’60s and ’70s.

Hot Ruff Trade excels with this technique, offering criticism, celebration and eroticism of the homo and hetero variety, in a single self loading frame.

Somehow it works, as do these, listed on the following pages!

[pagebreak]

40OzVanNYC.Tumblr can best be described as a hip-hop, groupie loving, booty loving site. With close to about five million page views, the site isn’t the best place for T&A, but it will get you started. It’s funny, sad, simple, and most of the time, not safe for work.

[pagebreak]

Terrysdiary.Tumblr

We’ve pulled quite a few stories from this Terry Richardson run Tumblr, which isn’t as exciting as it could be. Most of the time – OK all of the time – Terry posts pictures of all the stars, models and musicians who drop by his downtown NYC studio. Sometimes Terry, usually on his bike, will trek to other parts of the city, (he went to Harlem a few months ago) and around the country, and post images of Americana.

[pagebreak]

Drejones.Tumblr

The Dre Jones Tumblr isn’t one of the funniest Tumblrs around or the best designed, but it could be! It’s also a great place to check out dope photos such as the one above.

[pagebreak]

VirgilAbloh.com 

Virgil’s tumblr reminds us of Terry Richardson’s Tumblr in that it functions as a diary of the author’s experience which include trips to Vegas and Watch The Throne Tours.

It’s very sleek, understated and visually cool. 

[pagebreak]

Pipercarter.tumblr.com

Detroit native Piper Carter is a fashion photographer and gallerist who went back to her hometown to contribute to its rebuilding/rebranding. Her Tumblr is a fashion lover’s dream! Images of our favorite supermodels from the ’90s and earlier are her staple of images.

Article Thumbnail: 

Article Image(s): 

Ronald McDonald.

You… are quite good… at turning … me on.

Rooktopia

Justin Bieber will ‘sing in’ the new year alongside Lady Gaga and Ryan Seacrest in Times Square.
Music

Filed under: Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop News

Even after death, rapper Notorious B.I.G. is causing a ruckus, but not because of his rhymes. The Brooklyn rhymer’s image is what’s causing controversy in the same New York borough he was raised in.

Sean Meenan, owner of Habana Outpost, a solar-powered restaurant in Brooklyn, commissioned a mural of the ‘Life After Death’ rhymer that merged his face with a famous painting of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara. However, the final result doesn’t give credit to the man who designed the original creation, 21-year-old Parsons: The New School for Design student John Garcia.

“It’s frustrating, because I literally laid out everything on the wall,” Garcia told The Brooklyn Paper. “They didn’t mention me [on the wall of the mural] and they said in the future in they would.”

The Boombox Music Blog

Filed under: Cambio News

Miley Cyrus is speaking up again, this time using her Twitter account to defend her recent actions in Costa Rica. As we previously reported, the 19-year-old pop star was vacationing with Liam Hemsworth when she stopped to take pictures with fans. She gave them a couple of shots, but then politely said she had to go.

As the singer walked away, someone called her a name. Naturally, she had some choice words for the heckler, which included some profanity. The entire moment was caught on tape and soon made its way around the Internet.

However, Miley is firing back, defending her actions and explaining that she would never act that way to a fan. She wrote: “Been trying not to tweet & just enjoy the holidays but just to clear something up I would NEVER swear to a fan. When someone yells something SO rude making ME look like an “a**hole” infront of fans who I am more than happy 2 take a picture w/ i cant tolerate that kind of rudeness.”

She continued, “Every1 who was there apologized 4 the womans brusque behavior. She obviously wasnt a fan. Hope every1 has a Merry Christmas! LOVE 2 ALL!”

What do you think of what went down? Do you back Miley’s actions? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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Cambio

Filed under: Music News, YouTube, Beyonce Knowles

Beyonce made a group of children very happy this week when she made a surprise appearance at Harlem Target and even joined them for a special performance.

According to CBS New York, over 150 kids from various youth groups gathered at the store to … Read more

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PopEater

Filed under: Exclusive, Country News

Billy Dean loves touring with Kenny Rogers during Christmas, but he is first to admit that after singing holiday songs all these years, he still forgets a lyric every once in a while.

“I never get all the words right all the way through until the last show,” Billy tells The Boot with a laugh. “Sometimes I get the versus mixed up.”

Kenny’s Christmas show is a huge production — fun for the fans, but a bit complicated for the entertainers! “There’s a lot to think about while you’re on stage,” says Billy. “It’s all choreographed, and you have to go to certain places at different times. It’s easy to let yourself get involved and start singing along with everyone else, and then suddenly I’m in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’ll run into some little kid, and he starts crying and doesn’t understand that I’m the one in the wrong place and I’m trying to get to where I’m supposed to be!”

The Boot

You always wanted to be part of a tour and take a look behind the scenes? Now this is your chance! Joe and his crew took a camera for one day and let you see the everyday life behind the curtains. Hope you enjoy it!

A Day in the Life from columbiadeutschland on Vimeo.

News

A Spanish man has been arrested in connection with the leak of Madonna’s forthcoming single “Gimme All Your Luvin.” The
The Music Mix

The Australian artist makes his U.S. radio debut on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic, and shares his singularly affecting breakup songs from the record Making Mirrors.

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Music Videos

The rappers Common and Kendrick Lamar demonstrate that that message-driven hip-hop has begun to find a home again.

NYT > Music

Rushing to a city near you!

Cast: Columbia Records

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Vimeo / Columbia Records’s videos

Factor Press Conference Los Angeles December

lazygirls.info – new images

The MyIdol Community take-down date has moved from 10/31 to THIS Friday, 10/28. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. As a precaution, it’s best to save all data that you would not want to lose. Keep the chatter coming on Facebook.com/AmericanIdol and @AmericanIdol …

AI-Insider’s blog listings.

With the ever increasing popularity of this style of music, more and more artists rise to the production and more and more listeners grow attached to this unique sound. From wobbling bass and smooth synths to “filthy” dirty bass drops, Dubstep has become a true reflection of music culture in the American society.

Artists like Skrillex and producers like Rusko have pioneered their own unique post-dubstep sound commonly known as “brostep”. Spin Magazine in 2011 referred to brostep as a “lurching and aggressive” variant of dubstep that prevails in the United States. Skrillex expresses his emotion in this music, generating millions of listeners that are attracted to this “grungy angry” style of music.

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/WSeNSzJ2-Jw” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

With over 45 million views on youtube of Skrillex’s single “Scary Monsters and Sprites”, One can ask what makes this music so popular to pop culture in America? This music reflects the values and emotions that are expressed in the youth of America. The robotic and dirty anger expressed in this style can be interpreted to be the feelings that are trapped in many kids in the nation. Is is a real surprise that it has become a popular radio hit and club jam?

Is Skrillex sending a message to the listeners out there? What is so intriguing about this sound?
Music is an expression of emotion and a reflection of character. To the listeners of dubstep, with the music reflecting emotions that may be expressed through this music, is it aggression and noise that surrounds our youth? Is it the wobbling bass and powerful drops, or is it all in plain view robotic noise layed over a 140 tempo beat?

A direct connection between music and it’s evolution of society is a pattern that is seen throughout history. Where does dubstep fit in the society of America?

Musicouch

Justin Bieber just gave his fans a reason to love him even more. While shooting a holiday concert special in Toronto on Thursday night, the teen sensation took a break from performing…

In this article: Justin Bieber, Toronto

Music – Articles – Evri

American Rapper, Slim Dunkin (Mario Hamilton), was shot dead in a recording studio in South Atlanta on December 16. Now police report that an argument over a Christmas candy bar instigated the shooting.

Detective David Quinn of the Atlanta Police Department told WSB-TV.

Someone came in and struck him and a fight ensued. Now the information we’re getting, and it’s unconfirmed but, witnesses are saying that this whole thing started over a piece of candy.

Quinn has also stated:

Whoever he was fighting with secured a weapon and shot him.

Dunkin was a member of Waka Flocka Flame’s Brick Squad 1017 crew. He has just released mixtape on the Black Squad Monopoly record. At the time of the shooting there were around 20 people in the studio, so witnesses have come forward.

Music Feeds

Better Homes & Gardens 365 30-Minute Meals /by Better Homes & Gardens. A mouthwatering collection of quick and delicious weeknight dinners the whole family will love year round
365 30-Minute Meals is filled with a years worth of fast, fresh and fun dinner ideas.
Full Software Downloads – Download For All

In 1965, when Frankie Valli left the Four Seasons to embark upon a solo career, he took the most recognizable aspect of the group with him — his unmistakable falsetto voice. Though the Four Seasons had a number of hits throughout the 1960s, they never earned the respect other bands from the era have garnered. This trend continued with Valli’s solo career. Shortly after releasing his debut solo album in 1967, Valli rejoined the Four Seasons until the early ’70s, when he again broke off on his own. Though he had minor hits throughout the decade, his career more or less leveled off. Valli’s ’70s songs survive as prime AM radio fodder — slow-paced, easily digestible numbers ideal for those moments in the dentist’s chair while you’re waiting for the Novocain to kick in.
- MMURRMANN
Top ’50s Rock ‘n’ Roll Artists on Rhapsody Online

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Rap Basement

William Shakespeare put it best, “If music be the food of love, play on.” There’s no substitute for setting the mood for your reception or getting the guests up onto the dance floor than a live music from a great soul band. You can book them for special occasions such as weddings, private parties, and corporate events.
Arts-and-Entertainment:Music-Industry Articles from EzineArticles.com

Reed gives his top tips for controlling your sugar cravings!

What are some of Reed’s favorite holiday traditions?

Reed shares a behind-the-scenes tidbit from the set of iCarly!

POPSTAR!

Joined by labelmates Lil Wayne and Tyga, rapper Drake pays homage to the Bay Area in his new music video for “The Motto.”The clip also features Bay …
Singersroom.com Music Videos

Music Industry Newswire COLUMN: When you hear the word ‘image’ you may think of a pretty picture or the manufactured persona of someone who is famous for being famous. But if you say ‘Baron Wolman image,’ suddenly you’re talking about beauty, truth, and iconographic permanence.

Photography books are a special breed, with special requirements. You want large-scale presentations of fascinating subjects. You want them well-printed on thick paper, and in a sturdy binding so you can return to the book time and time again to put yourself into the splendid images, perhaps often sharing these moments with others.

All of that, I am happy to say, is delivered with Baron Wolman’s “The Rolling Stone Years.” Here are beautiful prints of musicians in poses that reflect their personalities, their desires, and their dreams. And what a terrific list of people:

Jimi. Janis. Miles. Mick. And a whole bunch of amazingly photogenic (at least in front of Wolman’s lens) artists who are as just significant as those who can be identified using only a single name.

I would be willing to bet that there have rarely been such perfectly timed portraits of James Brown, The Who, Mike Bloomfield, Tom Morello, Jeff Beck, Little Richard, Joni Mitchell, Taj Mahal, Johnny Winter, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bootsy Collins, Duane Allman, Gregg Allman, Steve Winwod, Kris Kristofferson, Joan Baez, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dolly Parton, Keith Richards, Rod Stewart, and on and on. And these are not “publicity shots.” These are mystical frozen instants of time when the person, the place, the emotion, and the spirit of the epoch have all merged. It is something that is rare enough in life, and rarer still in front of a photographer’s lens.

Oooh and Ahhh

Every time I open the book, there are pictures that make me catch my breath. It is difficult to be objective when confronted by what has been caught on film by Wolman and presented in this big (10-1/4 x 12-1/4″) and impressive volume. The “oooh and ahhh” factor is very high with this book.

Not only is the list of subjects quite long, it goes beyond the “names you’ll recognize.” There are also stunning sections on Woodstock (the original one) as well as a six-page section devoted to Groupies.

(Got your attention now, I’ll bet.)

Insight in Sight

In the Prologue written by art director Tony Lane, he notes that Wolman is diametrically opposite from those photographers whose images display “fear discernible in the eye of the hapless subject.” He goes on to say:

In Baron’s photos there is acceptance and often delight showing in the twinkle of an eye, a gentle smirk or an enchanting smile, and never the fear often generated by certain uncomfortable demands of contemporary publicity and branding….Whether it is in a studio portrait, a backstage document or an on-stage performance shot, Baron’s subjects always seem to embody the essence of themselves.

Writer Jerry Hopkins, in a four-page essay that serves as the book’s Introduction, talks about some of the experiences he shared with Wolman, including “…being welcomed into the groupie world; and touring with The Rolling Stones the year Tina Turner, who had just dumped Ike, and B.B. King were the opening acts. It was, as it’s said, a crappy job, but someone had to do it.”

The Method

“When I picked up my first camera and looked at the world through its viewfinder, I discovered form within chaos,” Wolman states. While his prose is entertaining and often contains observational gems like that one, it doesn’t read like it was composed but has the feeling of being dictated, which he reveals is the case on page 175.

Still, there are many excellent points in the text, as when he explains that he “was photographing the music, not really hearing it.” He notes that “you try to shoot the process of the musician making the music, try to isolate a peak moment of the music being made, try to communicate the ecstasy of somebody playing, singing, performing.” He achieves this in shot after shot and it is a delight to behold.

You’ll have your own personal favorites, but I like returning to the visages of Frank Zappa peeking out of a cave (page 167) and riding a bulldozer (pages 42-43), Bob Dylan lost in the power of an electric guitar chord (page 166), Pete Townshend seeming to levitate (page 163), Johnny Cash looking like he’s daring the world to intrude (page 63), Grace Slick staring straight at you with a look that can be interpreted in oh-so-many-different ways, from cosmic to carnal (page 146).

Wolman shot in both black-and-white and color. Everything in the book is superb, but I have a fondness for the b/w frames. Perhaps Wolman does, too, as he states “Light is the key element to black and white photography, much more so than with color — the light and the shadows, the degrees of gray and black.”

His method for putting a subject at ease is logical and time-tested, and he freely divulges it. He also explains his technique for replying to a probing inquiry about one of the rock stars in such a way that the questioner thinks there was an answer when in reality nothing was revealed.

Modest and self-deprecating, Wolman admits he’s a “good, competent photographer” but claims that the fame of his subjects makes him seem better. But on page 154 is his portrait of Lotti Golden, an artist who is unknown to me but who appears interesting, intriguing, and important because of Wolman’s great photograph.

Gone Are the Days

Like many people, Wolman sees the advent of MTV as the tipping point for quite a lot in the music industry, including how the talent gets photographed. Musicians would see music videos and think “‘Oooh, we want to look like this and we want to look like that.’ MTV changed everything. . . now there is very little honest portraiture of the musicians themselves, everything is stylized.”

Or perhaps there was another turning point:

After Woodstock the music industry came to understand the economic possibilities of the mega concert. When they saw all those people gathered to hear music the corporados started drooling dollar signs.

Fortunately, Wolman was on the scene when it counted and we now have his photography as testimony to his artistry. It was a proud pursuit and a ton of work, although he obviously had a great time along the way. In bold type under a charming photo of a tee-shirt-clad Pete Townshend at the piano, it reads “Rock music, fashion, lovely young women, and gritty street photojournalism. It’s a wonderful life…”

You will have a great time, too, not just with the eye-candy photos but also with the stories about Jim Morrison’s “package,” Carlos Santana’s drug trip, Jerry Garcia’s missing digit, Bill Cosby stealing Wolman’s girlfriend, and Janis Joplin coming to his home for what he called a “Performance for One.”

There are also a number of lovely quotes from the stars he photographed, including Miles Davis telling him, “Listen carefully to my music; I play like I box. You can ‘hear’ the jabs, the feints, the crosscuts, the uppercuts. You can imagine that I’m boxing when I’m playing.” That’s a quote so good that it appears twice, on pages 108 and 131. (There are a number of repeats in the book.)

Visuals Beyond Visuals

You know what? I now have new favorites, such as the ethereal and cinematic image of a couple of flower children/adults on page 152 and a stunning tableau on page 141 featuring saxophonist Sonny Rollins and his own perfectly-cast shadow. Or perhaps I’m now drawn to B.B. King on page 90, as he plays Lucille in what appears to be a trance-like state. Since there are nearly two dozen shots of Janis, a dozen of Jimi, and multiples of many others, you’ll have plenty of choices of your own.

Find a comfortable seat near a good light. Open this book to any of the large photos. Immerse yourself in another time, another place, and another aspect of the creative rendering of history.

Book Summary:
“The Rolling Stone Years” by Baron Wolman
Vision On (Omnibus Press), Hardcover, 176 pages, ISBN: 9781847727404, $ 37.95, £24.95.
www.omnibuspress.com
www.baronrocks.com

Article is Copr. © 2011 by John Scott G, and originally published on MusicIndustryNewswire.com – all rights reserved. Disclosure: neither the author or this site or its publisher have been compensated in any way for mention of this book.

Missed out the last demo Rosli did with Yamaha’s Pacifica 611HFM electric guitar together with Laney’s Ironheart amp? Then set your hearts and calendars to the next demo of another RM+Yamaha+Laney combo! This time round, Yamaha’s Pacifica 510V will take its place alongside Rosli, its 611HFM sibling model and Ironheart. Having used the 510V as [...]
Rosli Mansor – Official News and Updates

By Sasha Geffen

Windy City Rock – Chicago Music News

A direct descendent of the legendary “King of the Flat-Tops,” the J-185 could be dubbed the “Prince of the Flat-Tops” given its ability to deliver bold, rich tones in a slightly more compact package for a wide range of playing styles. Released in 1951 and discontinued in 1958, guitars in the first run of this model are some of the rarest Gibson acoustics ever produced. Now, as part of our exclusive Five Star Series, Gibson Acoustic introduces the 60th Anniversary J-185 Quilt Custom. This guit…
Gibson Acoustic Instruments

New Twitter Beef…
Pop/Rock Music News from SortMusic.com

I’m going to buy this giant-sized, refurbished Kindle DX e-Reader for Kyle Wagner for Christmas. Why? Not because I particularly love the idea of a 10-inch e-Reader, but because in his review of the latest Kindle, Kyle complained about the placement of the buttons making his delicate little hands cramp up. I figure if I get him a Kindle with a bigger screen, more words will fit on the screen and he’ll have to turn the page less. But who knows, the added weight of the DX might actually make his delicate little arms fall off. But you know, at $ 200 (which is $ 380 off its normal price), it may just be worth the spectacle. -AC

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Gizmodo

I admit it…the title of this blog is meant to cause a double-take. But this afternoon, I found a way that the iPad could save you from a fatal flesh wound.

We held our annual holiday concert on Monday, and most of Tuesday was spent striking our extensive shell and holiday set-up from the stage. Today was the day that choirs turned in their music and received some new music.

As I put music away, I also put some “loose” music away from our fall concert. While reaching into a stack of music, I sustained a life-threatening decent paper cut on the ring finger on my left hand. As with most paper cuts, it’s painful, in a bad place, and it bled a bit (as a teacher, there are band-aids in the office).

If we were an all iPad school, there would be almost no further risk of a paper cut.

Granted, the avoidance of paper cuts is not a reason to move to iPads, but it is an added benefit.

Technology in Music Education

Toward the end of a 3-hour concert, Guns N’ Roses really catches fire. But the urgency of the old messages goes largely missing.

Toward the end of a 3-hour concert, Guns N’ Roses really catches fire. But the urgency of the old messages goes largely missing.

L.A. Times – Music News

Forbes is an American publishing and media company.  Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is well-known for its lists, including articles on the richest Americans (the Forbes 400) and its list of billionaires.  The company has discovered that people are interested in learning about the world’s richest celebrities.  The curiosity has spawned a large collection [...]
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01/01/2010
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Lana goes full on Lolita

NME Reviews

Filed under: Exclusive, Top Ten Lists

Featuring the talented and gorgeous Syd Duran on vocals, Valora are poised for big things.

The Southern California group first got international attention when Duran made an appearance on Breaking Benjamin‘s 2011 single, ‘Blow Me Away.’ Signed to Hollywood Records, Valora’s blend of glossy vocal hooks and darkened guitar and keyboard tones is already gaining steam on the Internet without the benefit of a proper album even in stores yet. The group’s ‘I Waited for You‘ single is currently available for download and they also have a cool graphic novel series which you can check out here.

While at home during a break for the holidays, Duran took time out to take part in Noisecreep’s ‘Five Albums That Changed My Life’ series.

‘Grace,’ Jeff Buckley (1994)

Noisecreep

Well, BD was away in Australia last week, and I thought it wouldn’t be fair on Jurat to do this one by myself, so I’ve invited a good friend and long-time member of the Beijing music scene Jean-Sébastien Héry (aka Zhang Si’an) to step into Badr’s shoes and take on the ‘He says’ side of this one. Here’s what we think of ‘Sans Famille’!

Jean-Seb on Sans Famille:

I have known Jurat for a long time. I first met him about five years ago somewhere in Beijing, in Jiangjinjiu bar I think. It is Ubul, a Uyghur percussion player I used to play with who introduced me to him. He was singing covers of Sting and The Police, as well as many other things such as folk songs from Xinjiang (China’s North-East region).

Jurat is a Uyghur musician who came to Beijing a few years ago with an idea of making music in his own way. He is from the North-East part of that region, and when I was asked by Ruby to do the review of his CD while Badr is out having fun in Australia, I said why not.

First of all ‘Sans Famille’ (Without a family) has a French title, which is an interesting point. The title comes from a French novel, written by Hector Malot around 1878 (Wikipedia says so…). That story is very famous in France. The novel was turned into movies several times, and there are even several Japanese adaptations in animated manga style. FYI I used to watch the Japanese cartoon version on TV when I was a kid in France. The story is about a kid who looks for his mother.

The first impression I got from the CD is that the sound is pretty good, and so are the musicians on it. All the songs are pretty well recorded, except maybe for the voice on the first song, which felt a bit too raw to my ears. I only listened to the mp3 versions of the songs, and didn’t have the CD in my hands, so I can say I’m not judging the music by it’s cover

All the words in this album are in Uyghur, except for the last song, ‘Sans Famille’, which is in French. I didn’t understand the words at first glance but as a French man I appreciate the effort, especially knowing the fact that Jurat doesn’t speak any French. I can say that the song is not really the best of the album…

I got the a translation of the words from Uyghur to Chinese, which allowed me to understand the meaning of the music and the idea behind the words. The words of the songs in the album are mainly short poems, poems about loosing yourself, your soul, not knowing where you are going and why you live in one or another way. My interpretation is that it is also about being a lonely artist in a big city, with no family to rely on. It’s also about dreaming, and finally about death. There’s one song called ‘Mother’, which is about regrets.

I think the words in the last song, give an idea about what the words are about in this album (I think it actually comes from the original novel).

L’histoire d’un enfant,
Esseulé et sans parents.
Quand on est marmot,
Le cœur en lambeaux, en mille morceaux, rien n’est beau.
Un musicien des chemins,
Décide de lui tendre la main,
De l’emmener avec lui.
Seul le récit nous dira,
Une fois les épreuves passées,
Et épaulé par Mattia,
Si la mère espérée sera retrouvée

The story of a child,
Alone, without his parents.
When you are a child,
Your heart breaks into thousand pieces, nothing looks good.
A musician on the roads,
Decides to reach out, to take the child with him.
Only the story will later tell,
Once all trouble is gone,
And helped by Mattia,
If the mother willl be found

The influences of Jurat for that album clearly come from 70′s and 80′s rock music but it also feels like you are going through time listening to the history of rock music. In that album, there is metal, Italian rock, grunge, progressive rock, hard rock, ska and more. I hear Sting, Muse, Metallica, 80′s Genesis, Nirvana, Pink Floyd, Eros Ramazotti, with also a Uyghur folk influence.

There’s a nice lady’s voice on the song called ‘Qux’, it sounds like Japanese, which made me think of the Miyazaki movie ‘Spirited away’. That’s the best song on the album for me.

The arrangements are sometimes very interesting but the sound is a bit too 80′s for me. On the other hand, if you like the 80′s, that album is for you.

Overall I think Jurat is better live than on this CD. I also got the opportunity to listen to experimental demos of Jurat that I felt were more inspired and sounded better and less commercial than this CD. I hope he will publish that work one day, because it would show you the guy is a real artist.

In any way, this album makes you discover one of Jurat’s way of making music. If you want to know more about Uyghurs and Xinjiang music, check IZ, Ashkar, and Xinjiang folk music forms such as Muqam (an art form classified by UNESCO).

Ruby on Sans Famille:

China always surprizes me with the sheer number of different styles and genres of music you can hear here every week. I think nothing of seeing Yunnan ‘country metal’, Ningxia folk, Beijing post-rock, traditional guzheng combined with American banjo and Mongolian rock all in the same week – in fact that’s exactly the shows I’m seeing this week! But when I saw on douban a few months ago a show advertised as Uyghur psychadelic rock, it grabbed my attention and I had to check it out.

What I got to see was a Uyghur guy wearing a Pink Floyd T-shirt, playing guitar with such passion and singing in a language so far removed from Chinese, it’s hard to believe it’s still part of the same country. I’ve caught Jurat’s shows a couple of times since then and it still doesn’t cease to amaze me.

Jurat went home over October holiday and recorded this album in Xinjiang. He’d recently lost his American bass player to the dreaded ‘it’s time to go home’ that has torn apart many a good band in this city. The album was recorded with musicians he is friends with, and yes, they are all very talented musicians, but you can hear on the album that it’s not his band, it’s just not as tight as the live shows I’ve seen them play.

The album pulls together songs Jurat has written from 1996 to this year, since before he moved from Xinjiang to Beijing to focus on his music. The title ‘Sans Famille” (Without family) reflects the vibe of the album, while I don’t understand the lyrics, it feels to me to be about the trials and hardship many musicians in the city face. They move away from home and leave their families behind to make it in the big city. Rustic tell a similar story in their album ‘City of Heartbreak and Horror’ It’s not easy to make a living from music in this city, especially without the support of your family to help you survive.

Jurat’s familiar psychadelic rock forms the basis for the album from the way he plays guitar, but the songs are all different and unique in their own ways. My two favourites on the album are the middle two, ‘Mihman’ (Just guests) with it’s heavier metal feel, deep gutteral vocals from his good friend Mamer; and ‘Qux’ (Dream) with spoken uyghur lyrics by Ismangul, which really does feel like someone talking to you in a dream. I also love both the vocals and guitar in ‘Hiyal’ (Fancy).

When I listen to the album, I’m left wanting more, maybe that’s because I’ve seen the live shows. But I also think it’s good thing, so often I hear an album, then am disappointed when I see the band live, because the album has been too over-produced and cleaned up it doesn’t reflect the real sound of the band. This album gives you a good taste of what to expect from Jurat’s show, but leaves it open for him to wow you even more in person.

So there it is, our impressions of what is a truly unique sounding album. The album launch was last Saturday at Temple bar, but you can definitely catch Jurat playing around the city over the winter!

BeijingDaze

Glen Campbell photo courtesy of Big Hassle PR.

The Allman Brothers Band, Glen Campbell and George Jones are among the artists announced as recipients of The Recording Academy’s Special Merit Awards. All three, along with Antonio Carlos Jobim, the Memphis Horns, Diana Ross and Gil Scott-Heron, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award. Dave Bartholomew, Steve Jobs and Rudy Van Gelder were announced as Trustees Award honorees and Celemony and Roger Nichols were named Technical GRAMMY Award honorees.

“This year’s honorees offer a variety of brilliance, contributions and lasting impressions on our culture,” said President/CEO of The Recording Academy Neil Portnow. “It is an honor to recognize such a diverse group of individuals whose talents and achievements have had an indelible impact on our industry.”

The Lifetime Achievement Award honors performers who have made contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording while the Trustees Award recognizes contributions in areas other than performance. Technical GRAMMY Award is presented to individuals and companies who have made contributions of outstanding technical significance to the recording field.

The invitation-only ceremony will be held during GRAMMY Week on Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012, and a formal acknowledgment will be made during the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards which will air live on CBS on February 12, 2012 at 8/7 CT.

Browse photos from last year’s 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards show »

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GAC News & Notes

Here’s a little something to enjoy with your boof boof. SPIN celebrates the girls that run the world, the Girls that run Korea, and one Fall Out Boy running dry. We rolled in pop’s deeps for the year’s best: Hold it against us.

SPIN’s Best of 2011:

• One Fucked Up Year: SPIN’s Best of 2011 Issue
• SPIN’s 50 Best Albums of 2011
• SPIN’s 20 Best Songs of 2011
• SPIN’s 40 Best Rap Albums of 2011
• SPIN’s 10 Best Reissues of 2011
• SPIN’s 25 Best Live Photos of 2011
• Endless Bummer: 30 Ways 2011 Was a Drag

• 20. Jessie J

  Who You Are

  Put aside her label’s relentless attempts to make her ubiquitous and simply listen to English powerhouse Jesse Cornish’s debut album: This swaggering, soulful kid (she’s only 23!) could step in for Rihanna (“Do It Like a Dude”), Christina (“Who’s Laughing Now”), or Kelly Clarkson (“Domino”) should a pop star emergency arise. She didn’t hit the cross-the-pond crossover jackpot like Adele this year, but “Price Tag” still shines as total Brit-soul gold. CARYN GANZ

• 19. CocknBullKid

  Adulthood

  Born Anita Blay, this Ghanaian Londoner wrote the year’s smartest, funniest pop album that you probably didn’t hear. Her placid voice belies proudly neurotic lyrics (“You give me an asthma attack/Still you keep me, keep me coming back”); she’s essentially the missing link between Motown and Morrissey. BARRY WALTERS

• 18. Girls’ Generation

  Girls’ Generation

  This nine-member, all-girl K-Pop drill team fully exploits South Korea’s 800-pound neighboring market with a Japanese-language album (plus English choruses!). And though it may be a translation trainwreck, these chipper, reality-show vets behave with real zeal — eagerly beaming, winking, chattering, emoting when it’s called for — over terrifyingly sophisticated dance tracks (echoes of Latin Freestyle, Italo disco, every Backstreet/Britney scrap from 1999), plus a dutifully aching ballad or two. The peak is “Run Devil Run,” a white swan/black swan kiss-off with a chorus so confidently sassy it could stop a North Korean missile in mid-air. CHARLES AARON

• 17. Sky Ferriera

  As If EP

  Beloved by the fashion world and belittled by the pop cognoscenti, this 19-year-old singer-slash-you-name-it (model, actress, Internet troll bait) still managed to grab songwriting credits on all five tracks on her debut EP. The subject matter ranges from the trials of being a hot teenage starlet (“Haters Anonymous”) to lame lovers (“99 Lovers”), all wrapped up in über-fun Stacey-Q-meets-Kylie synth-pop. C.G.

• 16. Ellie Goulding

  Lights

  The year’s sweetest British import was one of the few pop stars to embrace subtlety in 2011. The 24-year-old pixie cooed her way into fans’ hearts with disco-lite tunes “Lights” and “Starry Eyed,” finishing off her debut album with a dusting of shimmer rather than a blinding dose of glitter. Her folk-poppiest tracks recall countrywoman Beth Orton’s most beautiful concoctions, and her trembling cover of Elton John’s “Your Song” got a royal stamp of approval at William and Kate’s wedding reception with good reason. C.G.

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• 15. Roxette

  Charm School

  Even more influential than ABBA on the Swedes behind Britney, Kelly and Ke$ ha, these masters of the pre-grunge pop airwaves return from the near-dead for a thrilling third act of classic rock riffage, supercharged sugar hooks, and soul-aching choruses bigger than the national debt. B.W.

• 14. Perfume

  JPN

  Just as shiny, but not remotely as nuanced, as the art-hop robo-bop bouillabaisse popping off in neighboring Korea, Japanese pop trio Perfume still strike hard thanks to a monolithic, overblown maximalism. Third album JPN is a neon-blinking wash of clinical synths and utopian melodies — perfectly punk in both the Daft and pop senses — a near-android gush of voices adrift in the ether and AutoTune so clinical that you could eat off of it. CHRISTOPHER R. WEINGARTEN

• 13. Oh Land

  Oh Land

  A Danish dancer who fought disabling spinal injuries by writing these songs of defiance and survival, Nanna Øland Fabricius combines synth-pop’s instant satisfaction with sleeper substance: Sly metaphors for dark sensuality and inner light linger long after her steely new wave hooks have left their mark. B.W.

• 12. Patrick Stump

  Soul Punk

  Skimpy on punk but helium-high on soul, the former Fall Out Boy’s self-written/produced/played reinterpretation of Prince and MJ’s artistic peak is as unrelentingly catchy as it was commercially unsuccessful. Even while contemplating fame and fortune’s pitfalls, Patrick Stump radiates refreshingly unhip, utterly sincere joy. B.W.

• 11. Patrick Wolf

  Lupercalia

  Applying the arty smarts and homegrown string arrangements of his earlier albums to anthemic arena rock, the newly romanticized Wolf comes on like a baroque English-Irish Bruce Springsteen who fancies stars and boys rather than cars and girls. B.W.

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• 10. Rihanna

  Talk That Talk: Deluxe Edition

  No other chart-topping siren sells fleshy thrills more explicitly than RiRi when she’s in aural porn mode, an affect that has never been more prevalent then on her sixth and most sex-obsessed album. “I’m willing to look so stupid ’til I’ve had enough,” she actually admits. Her richly conflicted love songs tower high above the TMI sleaze however, particularly on The xx’s minimal “Intro,” reshaped on the deluxe edition into the extravagant “Drunk on Love.” B.W.

• 9. Kelly Clarkson

  Stronger

  With every album she makes, Kelly Clarkson inches a bit closer to removing the “American Idol winner” that’s permanently sutured onto her name. With songs this indelible delivered with such sincerity and turbo-thrust, Clarkson continues to stand in a class by herself. Her fifth LP has its requisite anthems, but its deep cuts are all thrillers. She’s a little bit country (“I Forgive You”), a little bit rock ‘n’ roll (“You Love Me”), and all kick-ass. C.G.

• 8. Coldplay

  Mylo Xyloto

  Let’s call a Mylo a Xyloto: Chris Martin and Co.’s fifth album is more Timberlake than Thom. It’s the sound of the English quartet realizing they’re the grilled cheese of British rock — reliably great comfort food we can all get jazzed about when the moment’s right. Hell, they even got Rihanna to sing on it. “Paradise” is Coldplay at their most tuneful and “Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall” could stop a soccer stadium or a soccer mom in their tracks. C.G.

• 7. Florence + the Machine

  Ceremonials

  What can we divine from Florence Welch’s sophomore album, which itself aspires to divinity? For one thing, the British singer probably doesn’t own a pair of jeans — nothing about her universe is casual. But of all the theatrical impulses indulged here (harps, organs, drum climaxes), it’s the backup choirs echoing her every emotion that will convince you to join the congregation. PHOEBE REILLY

• 6. 2NE1

  2nd Mini Album

  The TLC of K-Pop dropped this stopgap, six-song EP compilation in July, and for pure (purely impure?) sonics, it might be the year’s most boldly thrilling recorded statement. A collision of electro-house, hip-hop, and pop-rock guitar, with yet another undeniable hook cropping up every 15 seconds, it is the primary work of producers Teddy Park (formerly of Korean-American rap group 1TYM) and Kush. But this all-female foursome clearly own their persona more than most K-Poppers, particularly on the spicy, playalistic “I Am the Best” and the body-image throwdown, “Ugly.” There’s even a solo turn by the group’s vocal powerhouse Park Bom, who considers the cosmos over a springy sprint to a piano-plinking chorus. C.A.

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• 5. Adele

  21

  Rarely do massive pop sensations feel this personal. Adele delivers every love-damaged line as if avenging deep pains both universally shared and uniquely private. She belts like a timeless force of nature, her wounds of betrayal perfectly suited to the sociopolitical moment. B.W.

• 4. Katy B

  On a Mission

  Like many current Anglo chart queens, this ginger upstart graduated from the Brit School that birthed Amy Winehouse and Adele. Kathleen Brien’s absorbed their blue-eyed soul gifts, but she also boasts the beats of dubstep, jungle, and UK funky. The combo yields the undeniable pop tunes that dance music often lacks with a street vibe that prefab pop tarts couldn’t buy. B.W.

• 3. Britney Spears

  Femme Fatale

  Britney Spears will never be a balladeer like Beyoncé or an auteur like Lady Gaga, so she’s digging her heels into the territory that’s always served her best: feel-good, hands-up synth-pop crafted by an elite production squad — Swedish smash machine Max Martin (who started her career in 1999), Bloodshy & Avant (who are responsible for her best song, “Toxic”), and Dr. Luke (who gave competitors like Katy Perry and Ke$ ha irresistible hits). As a result, Spears’ seventh album rarely stumbles. Bonus points for including the year’s best apocalyptic barn burner (“Till the World Ends”) and knowingly drawing out the word “haaazzayy” on “Hold It Against Me.” C.G.

• 2. Beyoncé

  4

  Most pop singers spent 2011 chasing down dubstep producers. But the one star capable of out-dancing them all shifted into a totally different lane, releasing an album of ’70s-inspired soul and funk tunes alongside suave baby-making ballads. Beyoncé’s fourth album isn’t a “Party,” though she snagged André 3000 to contribute a guest rap and production from Kanye West, The-Dream, Frank Ocean, Diplo, Babyface, et al. It’s sophisticated proof that Sasha doesn’t need to be fierce to run the world. C.G.

• 1. Lady Gaga

  Born This Way

  The year’s biggest pop album made no effort to obscure its Reagan-era inspirations: Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, that scene in Footloose where Kevin Bacon plays chicken with a tractor. But what’s even more retro is Lady Gaga’s earnestness as she pursues her social-equality agenda. Beneath the hair and makeup and arena-razing disco-metal grooves, Born This Way delivers a message that old glamazon Pete Seeger could dig: She thinks pop can still move policy, and she might be right. MIKAEL WOOD

Daily Noise Blog | SPIN.com