music

For real: Mukilteo High teacher wins country-music contest

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:36:00 +0000

On the way back from a trip to California, Chance McKinney began composing a country song in his head. He was afraid he'd forget it, so when he boarded the plane, he hid under a blanket and recorded the song onto his phone — without being caught by the flight attendants.

Four years later, that song landed McKinney the grand prize in CMT's Music City Madness contest.

The 38-year-old math teacher at Kamiak High School in Mukilteo submitted his original song, "Be Real," just two minutes before this year's contest deadline Oct. 5.

"You talk about procrastinating — holy smokes," the Montana native laughed. "I didn't put it off to the very last minute, I put it off to the last two minutes."

Contest results were announced Tuesday, and when McKinney checked the CMT Web site and saw he'd won, it sent his class into an uproar.

McKinney has been pursuing music for the past 12 years. After college, he sang bass for a Motown group, then joined local country band Nathan Chance for several years, opening for big-name country acts such as Rascal Flatts and Kenny Chesney.

"I would've had no idea that 'Be Real' would touch this many people in this many different ways," he said. "Everybody has a little piece of the song that they are. I've been getting e-mails from all over the nation. I'm sitting there going, 'I'm a high-school math teacher!'"

In CMT's contest, entrants moved forward in the competition based on how many votes they received online. When students learned McKinney had entered, they spread the word to at least 28 different states and five countries.

One of the students in McKinney's advance-placement statistics class, Najin Kwak, came up with a T-shirt to promote his song. The front of the shirt features a photo of McKinney, while the back makes a jab at "Twilight." The design shows three options: Team Edward, Team Jacob, and Team Chance. Team Chance is the winner.

Kwak said she sold 94 shirts, and is making a second run for people who still want them.

"A bunch of kids I know were like, 'I don't know if I should vote for him because I want him for my teacher next year!'" she said.

McKinney's plans for next year might be determined by what happens next with CMT. As grand-prize winner, he'll go to Nashville in late January to record a few songs in a Studio 330 session, which will air on CMT.com, and possibly the CMT network. He'll also audition with Valory Music, which holds Reba McEntire's contract.

"To be honest, I think the audition has already taken place," McKinney said, referring to the response the song has gotten. "The opportunity will only be what I make of it."

Rockers Def Leppard Developing Cartoon Series

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:34:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - British metal veterans Def Leppard are getting animated about their career.

The group has entered a wide-ranging deal with music publishing company Primary Wave, which is developing various marketing and branding opportunities.

Among them is a cartoon TV show, said Primary Wave CEO Larry Mestel. The project is still in the early stages, and has not been pitched to the networks, but it will depict the five members of the group in a fictional, adventurous setting, he said.

Primary Wave is also developing what Mestel called "unusual" videogame and cell phone applications.

Additionally, the company will administer Def Leppard's music publishing, a task previously performed by Sony/ATV. The copyrights will continue to be owned by the songs' various composers.

The group is now a free agent after fulfilling its contract with Universal Music. Its last album, "Songs from the Sparkle Lounge," debuted at No. 5 on the U.S. pop chart in May 2008 -- its best start since "Adrenalize" opened at No. 1 in 1992. In the U.K., it debuted at No. 10, its best showing for a studio album since "Slang" reached No. 6 in 1996.

Whidbey Island Life

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:34:00 +0000

Window on Whidbey: Pink flamingos + music in the mist

Des Rock of Useless Bay Coffee in Langley was greeted by these colorful birds one morning. A donor to Whidbey Island Center for the Arts "paid" to have them planted in front of the Second Street coffee house. The only way to get rid of them would be to pay WICA more $$. But Des likes them so much that, well ... they're staying for awhile. Photos by Sue Frause.

Outside pink flamingos, inside music by Subito. The island trio is Frances Kenny, Dyanne Harshman and William Dolde. They play folk, jazz and classical standards; a warm greeting on a Sunday morning in Langley.

Anne MidgetteClassical Music

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:33:00 +0000

Best

1. "Hindemith: Das Marienleben." Soile Isokoski, soprano; Marita Viitasalo, piano [Ondine].Hindemith's cycle on Rilke poems, a highlight of his career, may never have sounded better. Even in the composer's more muted revision of the youthful original, Isokoski shines.

2. "Bernstein: Mass." Jubilant Sykes; Marin Alsop: Baltimore Symphony Orchestra [Naxos, 2 CDs]. One of Marin Alsop's happiest artistic achievements at the BSO has been the revival of "Mass" documented in this release.

3. "Shostakovich: The Nose." Valery Gergiev: Mariinsky Soloists, Orchestra and Chorus [Mariinsky, 2 CDs]. The Mariinsky launched its in-house record label with Gergiev's stellar account of Shostakovich's early comic opera.

4. "Shostakovich: 24 Preludes and Fugues." Jenny Lin, piano [Hänssler Classic, 2 CDs]. A superb performance of superb and oddly underappreciated works.

5. "Lang: The Little Match Girl Passion." Paul Hillier: Theatre of Voices [Harmonia Mundi]. Spare, lovely, quirky, this Pulitzer Prize-winning vocal work has stood up well to repeated hearings.

6. "A/Rhythmia." Alarm Will Sound [Nonesuch].Rhythm and its uncertainties are the focus of this powerhouse chamber ensemble's cover album of six centuries of music.

7. "Salonen: Helix; Piano Concerto; Dichotomie."Yefim Bronfman; Esa-Pekka Salonen: Los Angeles Philharmonic [Deutsche Grammophon]. As the Finnish composer-conductor concluded his tenure in Los Angeles, this recording demonstrated the offbeat appeal of his recent and already much-played piano concerto with the soloist for whom it was written.

8. "Mahler: Symphony No. 1, 'Titan.' " Manfred Honeck: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra [Exton]. In his first season as music director in 2008-09, Honeck brought a new vitality to the Pittsburgh Symphony, as documented in this vibrant account of Mahler's First.

9. "In C, Remixed." Grand Valley State University New Music Ensemble [Innova, 2 CDs]. This recording, a fine sophomore effort from the GVSU ensemble, brings a new twist by having Terry Riley's hypnotic, repetitive piece reimagined by other composers, from DJ Spooky to Nico Muhly.

10. "Beethoven Past & Present." David Hardy, cello, Lambert Orkis, piano [Dorian, 4 CDs]. Beethoven's complete oeuvre for piano and cello is presented here twice: once on period instruments, once on modern ones. The strong performances (by two NSO principals) afford new levels of insight.

Worst

CD: Paul Potts: "Passione" [Sony].The conjunction of let's-find-talent-"Idol"-style reality shows and crossover, Il Divo-style "pop-era" has yielded "Britain's Got Talent" winner Potts, whose sophomore album included an unlistenable rendition of Puccini's "E lucevan le stelle."

Performance: Carole Farley: Recital: "La Voix Humaine," Library of Congress. The worst performance of the year in Washington was certainly Farley's alarmingly ill-sung and ill-conceived caricature of French vocal music.

EMI's future may depend on Christmas music sales

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:31:00 +0000

The company is hoping sales will help lift the earnings-to-net-debt ratio in its recorded music business above the minimum threshold at which its bank can declare a loan default and seize control. However, the early indications are not promising, with the company losing ground in the UK. EMI's share of the album market reportedly slipped to 13.3pc from 13.4pc last year and 15.5pc in 2007.

EMI can fall back on a cash injection from a pot of money supplied by its private equity owner Terra Firma if albums sales drop short. Terra Firma's money is held by Maltby Capital, the acquisition vehicle used to buy EMI.

The real test for EMI and Terra Firma will come in March, when the money in that pot is likely to be out of reach.The company has already used the Maltby Capital fund twice. In May, £28m was paid in, and last year a £16m injection was made. A further payment to the recorded music business could boost its earnings ratio to a level in line with the banking covenants.

The music company and Terra Firma, run by Guy Hands, are pushing to refinance the loans from Citi, but the bank has ruled out such a move.

EMI paid £150m of interest in the six months to the end of September 2008, since when the rate has gone up.

After Citi rejected a proposal to waive £1bn of debt earlier this month, Terra Firma brought legal action against the bank , accusing it of misleading the private equity firm into thinking there was a rival bidder, and causing it to overpay for EMI back in 2007.

PSHS music teacher named as finalist as Texas’ best AP teacher

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:30:00 +0000

Dr. Terry Eder, the music theory teacher at Plano Senior High School, has been named a finalist for the O’Donnell Texas AP Teacher Award and is eligible to receive a $30,000 cash prize if chosen. The winning teacher will be announced on Jan. 7 at the Westin Riverwalk Hotel in San Antonio.

Presented annually by the Communities Foundation of Texas, the O’Donnell Texas AP Teacher Award recognizes one AP teacher in a Texas public high school for remarkable contributions to their students and school, as well as to the teaching profession. Nominations for the award may be submitted by a teacher, administrator, AP student or parent of an AP student. The cash award is believed to be the largest individual prize offered to a public school educator in the United States.

“I was wowed, extremely humbled and highly honored to be recognized as a finalist for this award,” Eder said. “Especially since it’s named after the O’Donnells, who have helped more students take more challenging and rigorous courses in the fine arts.”

Eder is a choral conductor and music teacher with more than 30 years of experience at both the college and secondary levels. He currently serves as the music theory teacher at Plano Senior High School, where he teaches beginning and Advanced Placement music theory.

During his time at PSHS, Eder developed a one-day workshop on Vertical Teams in Music Theory for the College Board and has written an article on strategies for dealing with the sight singing portion of the AP exam. He is currently a member of the College Board AP Music Theory Development Committee.

Nominated by a colleague from Texas Christian University, Eder said he was surprised to have heard he was selected as one of the six semi-finalists.

As part of the application process, Eder submitted his resume and some letters written by former students.

“I get one or two [letters] every year from my students, saying how much of an impact I was on their education,” he said. “Some go on to pursue careers in music, while others don’t, but in my class they all gain knowledge that can be used in all facets of life.”

Through the years, the letters have helped Eder form his philosophy on teaching and served as an inspiration for the essay part of the application.

“The students who have been a part of my classes have been successful and many have been inspired in their study of music and music literacy. It is my strong belief that through working, discovering, creating and by applying themselves in a serious way, almost every student has the potential for success and can reach an acceptable degree of achievement in the study of music,” Eder wrote in his application. “For that reason I want to give every student who chooses to learn about music a chance to succeed in an advanced curriculum by utilizing innovative and challenging methods of teaching and learning. I am a teacher who continually reviews, revises and works to refine the methods and strategies necessary for delivery of a rigorous and challenging curriculum — a curriculum that focuses on helping students develop into independent and lifelong learners.”

Eder was announced as a finalist last week after a board interview from the award committee. When asked his philosophy on teaching, he said, “What students gain in my AP Music Theory class is something that makes a complete person. In the world, we, as a society, need doctors, scientists and other science, technology, engineering and mathematics-based careers, but even they need fine arts to some degree.”

As a finalist for the O’Donnell Texas AP Teacher Award, Eder was selected for demonstrating a commitment to teaching and providing an exemplary model for leading students through AP curriculum. Approximately 80-85 percent of the music theory students that he has taught have received qualifying scores on the AP Music Theory exam over the past 12 years.

Eder came to Plano Senior High School from Newman Smith High School in Carrollton six years ago.

“When I came to Plano Senior, only 29 students were signed up for the course,” he said. “It has continually grown year after year, and 75 students are now enrolled. While I will not be so naive as to think that this increase has been only because of me and my teaching, I do believe that success breeds success. The students who have been a part of my classes have been successful and many have been inspired in their study of music and music literacy.”

The AP program offers high school students an opportunity to earn important credit hours at most of the nation’s colleges and universities. In just 20 years, AP classes have radically changed the educational landscape. Nowhere is that more apparent than in Texas, where participation in AP exams has outpaced the national average.

Morton H. Meyerson created the O’Donnell Texas AP Teacher Award to recognize teachers who inspire, challenge and prepare students through AP curriculums – and to honor the O’Donnell’s commitment to education. The O’Donnell award is funded by The Morton H. Meyerson Tzedakah Fund.

The award honors Peter and Edith O’Donnell, Dallas-based philanthropists who established the O’Donnell Foundation in 1957 to focus on improving education in Texas. The O’Donnells and their foundation have developed and funded model programs designed to strengthen math, engineering, science and arts education. Central to the success of all of their programs are teachers at all levels, from elementary to graduate school.

The O’Donnell Foundation created the Advanced Placement Incentive Program, which has led to an increased number of high school students, especially minorities, who pass college-level courses in mathematics, science and English. The incentive program is the model for Advanced Placement incentive programs used by the National Math and Science Initiative as well as by high schools in Texas. The O’Donnells currently serve on the board of Advanced Placement Strategies, Inc., a nonprofit organization they founded to manage and implement the AP incentive program in Texas schools.

“We could not be more pleased to collaborate with Mort Meyerson on the O’Donnell Texas AP Teacher Award,” said Brent Christopher, president and CEO of CFT. “This award recognizes those teachers going above and beyond every day. In addition to recognizing these wonderful teachers and the O’Donnells, it sheds light on the importance of the AP program. We look forward to recognizing many teachers from Texas for many years.”

In 2008, Robert Dennison, the Advanced Placement science teacher for the Houston Independent School District, received the inaugural O’Donnell Texas AP Teacher of the Year Award for his outstanding record in helping students master college-level work in high school.

Tis the Season: Gifts of Music

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:29:00 +0000

You remember Christmas 1969, New Year's 1970? That was forty years ago! No wonder my beard is white!

Enough of us old boomers don't know how to download that the record labels are pulling out the stops to keep us listening happily (and consuming profligately) on our way to the eternal Winter Wonderland.

Nothing says Christmas like Mick Jagger in a top hat. I will certainly be passing out a few copies of the 40th anniversary deluxe box set version of "Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!," the classic Rolling Stones live album from their 1969 tour.

This was the greatest period for the Stones, right in the middle of their "Beggars Banquet"/"Let It Bleed"/"Sticky Fingers" heyday, and "Ya-Ya's" is their only essential live album. This re-issue includes five extra Stones songs, complete sets from opening acts B.B. King and Ike & Tina Turner, and some fantastic DVD footage of Mick and Keith sitting on stools playing a short acoustic set . . . like a diabolical mockery of Simon and Garfunkel.

It's raw, it's ragged, it's the Rolling Stones. Our parents didn't get it, our kids don't get it, but if you're lucky you'll get it - for Christmas.And speaking of great concerts from the Nixon Administration . . .

"Amchitka" is a recording of a 1970 concert that helped fund Greenpeace. The album features full sets from Joni Mitchell, James Taylor and Phil Ochs.

It's a really wonderful time capsule. The Sixties were turning into the Seventies and the protest music of Phil Ochs already sounded a little out of date. Mitchell and Taylor were ushering in the next wave of folk more concerned with the personal than the political.

"Fire and Rain " was a current hit at the time of this concert, and Taylor was clearly enjoying the spotlight. James and Joni were a couple at the time they duet on "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "The Circle Game" - but Joni was the star of the show. She introduced a couple of new songs that would later show up on "Blue," and there is a lost gem here, a song called "The Hunter," that never made it onto any of her albums.

"Amchitka" makes the last 40 years melt away. Another great voice who emerged in 1970 is Jesse Winchester. Although Winchester never achieved the fame of Joni and James, he remains a songwriter's songwriter, revered by other musicians. His latest album is called "Love Filling Station," and it is delicate, powerful and moving. Jesse looks back on young romance with the wisdom of years and human folly with a patient chuckle.

Jesse Winchester is an American treasure, and this is perfect music for sitting in front of the fire on a cold night.

Finally, for those of you for whom money is not an object, back up the reindeer! "Miles Davis: The Complete Columbia Album Collection." Forty years, fifty-two CDs!

Plus of course, a bonus DVD . . . just in case listening to 52 disks leaves you unsated.

Miles Davis was the greatest figure in post-War jazz. From "Kind of Blue" to "Sketches of Spain," "Bitches Brew" to "On the Corner," he created and abandoned styles like a musical Picasso. Those who came after him are still exploring the ramifications of his innovations. If you were moving to the North Pole and this collection were all the music you could take with you, it would be plenty.

A changing landscape in pop music

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:24:00 +0000

It was a year of triumphant comeback and poignant loss. Few stories dominated the world's interest the way Michael Jackson's death did in June.

The summer became an ongoing tribute to the late superstar, restoring much of the goodwill lost during his latter-day legal troubles and thrusting his music back into the center ring: In the five months following his death, U.S. fans purchased more than 7 million Jackson albums and 10.2 million of his tracks, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

The loss of Jackson came as Detroit's Motown Records celebrated its 50th anniversary, a global tribute spoiled only by the lack of a big public party here.

It was a lively, bustling 2009. Eminem returned, Phish reunited, Oasis called it quits. We got our latest round of Beatlemania. Cobo Arena began an extended good-bye with a pair of shows from Kiss, while Comerica Park hosted the concert event of the summer with a two-night Kid Rock stand -- the biggest shows of his career.

Our culture's intense, Internet-fueled fascination with celebrity continued apace. Chris Brown overshadowed the Grammys when word emerged that he'd beaten his girlfriend, Rihanna, the previous night. Kanye West stole the spotlight from the MTV Video Music Awards, though a massive public outcry left him with an overdue lesson in humility.

His target, young Taylor Swift, quickly moved on in a year when she firmly staked a place in the mainstream and further erased the line between country and pop. To their credit, Britney Spears and a resurgent Whitney Houston seemed eager for a divorce from the tabloids and a reunion with their music.

And one saucy British lady delivered the year's best fairy tale in a voice that tugged hearts, leading Susan Boyle to the top of the charts.

In the long haul, we may most remember '09 as the year Lady Gaga made her surge to the front. The glam-pop dynamo closed out the year with a sizzling sophomore album, brandishing genuine star power and setting herself up to be the pop queen of 2010.

In some ways, the decade ended as it began, with several familiar figures -- Eminem, Britney, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, U2 -- in leading roles. But 2009 saw a dramatically transformed music industry, with album sales down at least 15% from 2008 -- and a whopping 50%-plus since the decade's start. The scramble for a new business model went on. It's striking to recall that in 2000, licensing songs for commercials was still fairly taboo for artists -- in 2009, it could be a badge of honorOnline, the retail action began to blossom beyond its Apple core, as Google and Facebook took notable strides to break the iTunes stronghold. The content industry even made some headway in its long, frustrated battle against digital piracy, with several of the big file-sharing hubs scaling back or even shuttering for good.

All told, 2009 was marked by the same trends that have loomed large the past several years. History will look back on the '00s as the era that transformed the way we interact with music. There was the array of choices that could feel as overwhelming as it was intoxicating. The demise of the old gatekeepers. The ability to burrow into ever-more specialized niches, and the erosion of music's role as common culture.

But the good stuff was out there. And even if you personally weren't moved by much, there's always reason to hope. As we put a cap on '09 and head into the 2010s, it's a sure bet that right now somewhere -- in some anonymous basement or bedroom or garage -- there's a musically inclined kid gearing up to change the world, or at least yours. Keep your ears peeled.

10 great albums from 2009

Animal Collective, "Merriweather Post Pavilion": The year's best indie-rock album tucked simple treasures beneath its deceptively complicated surface -- a gorgeous kaleidoscope of a record that even the most cynical music snobs couldn't help but get giddy about. In a year when indie often seemed to have devolved into the new adult soft rock, this Baltimore quartet stood out by putting an edge on the mellow.

Avett Brothers, "I and Love and You": A jam band for those who don't like jam bands, the Avett Brothers bring meaty rustic rock with lots of fixin's on an album with equal love for the Beatles and bluegrass. A decade in the trenches produced this elegantly sculpted masterwork.

Neko Case, "Middle Cyclone": One of rock's purest voices issues her best record to date, an album of dreamy, literate twang-pop that bends conventions even as it pays them tribute.

Mayer Hawthorne, "A Strange Arrangement": Hawthorne's autumn debut was payoff for a year of simmering buzz for the young Ann Arborite, who crafts retro '60s grooves and soul hooks with a cool, astute touch.

Patty Loveless, "Mountain Soul II": The country veteran quietly crafts another jewel with this moving collection of real-deal Appalachian music.

Manchester Orchestra, "Mean Everything to Nothing":The young Atlanta band issues a magnum opus well beyond its years, an intense, emotionally rich album that puts thick guitar muscle behind its melodic howl.

Mastodon, "Crack the Skye": As pleasurable on headphones as it is cranked up in the car, Mastodon's sublimely executed hard rock feast is artful and cathartic. Don't let the hipster kudos fool you: This is heavy metal for the real heads.

Maxwell, "BLACKsummersnight": Talk about comebacks. The New York master craftsman reemerged from an eight-year hiatus with a reliably nuanced album of sensual bedroom soul.

Phoenix, "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix": This French quartet's fourth album is like listening to sunshine. It's an infectious blast of sly pop, with just enough stylized Euro trimming to make it vaguely exotic.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "It's Blitz!": The Yeah Yeah Yeahs find the right spot between angst and release on this sleek, dazzling album of electro-pop.

The best and worst of 2009: Pop music

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:28:00 +0000

1. Maxwell, "BLACKsummers'night" Maxwell's R&B masterstroke (pictured at right) topped charts with a poise that evoked past, present and futures unknown. And while the neo-soulman's falsetto can bend time, heartbreak remains inescapable

2. jj, "jj no. 2" From Gaga to Glambert, eccentrics ruled 2009. So it only makes se nse that the year's best debut came from crypto-genius Swedes who sound like Enya covering Lil Wayne at Lilith Fair 2015. Right?

3. Animal Collective, "Merriweather Post Pavilion" A hallucinogenic formlessness has always throbbed at Animal Collective's gooey center, but the band's glorious new album flickered and quaked toward something resembling pop.

4. DJ Quik & Kurupt, "BlaQKout" These left coast rap vets didn't rest on their laurels so much as mutate them into a new g-funk dialect. The masses ignored it, but let's hope Dr. Dre won't.

5. Paramore, "Brand New Eyes" Having survived the teenage wasteland that is Warped Tour, Paramore tackled young adulthood with a snarl that made the pre-fab angst of its peers feel like kid stuff.

6. Brad Paisley, "American Saturday Night" Hopeless romantic. Unbridled optimist. Caring dad. Carefree dude. With his strongest album yet, country's leading man felt like a natural in every role.

7. Phoenix, "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" Dormez-vous, America? After running a sleeper campaign for rock-band-of-the-decade, these fabulous Frenchmen finally dropped an album that stateside eardrums couldn't ignore.

8. Wale, "Attention Deficit" The Washington rapper's long-anticipated treatise on beats, rhymes and life in the DMV was totally worth the wait.

9. Aventura, "The Last" Melding traditional Dominican bachata with prickly sweet pop hooks, this Bronx foursome may have invented a new kind of sugar high.

10. Jon Hassell, "Last Night the Moon Came Dropping Its Clothes in the Street" With his 15th studio album, the esteemed jazz trumpeter evaporated Miles Davis's cosmic slop into a resplendent sonic mist.

Worst

1. Jay-Z, "The Blueprint 3" "BP3" still leaves me cold. Doesn't the greatest rapper who ever lived have better things to do than shake his cane at the Auto-Tune generation?

2. Grizzly Bear, "Veckatimest" The only thing more exhausting than listening to the hosannas heaped on this band is listening to this band. Masterfully sung, but suffocatingly pretty.

3. Chris Cornell, "Scream" Forgive me for hoping the decade's chief pop architect (producer Timbaland) and the most under-utilized larynx in rock (Cornell) might actually make something awesome.

The New Sound of Music

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:26:00 +0000

I don’t know how many people read this column regularly (four, perhaps?) but ever since Download Central began a little over a year back, I’ve heard one common response: “Why do you write about bands that we’ve never heard of?” This has become such a refrain that I’ve often felt a twinge of self-doubt. Am I really writing about completely obscure bands that no one knows or cares about? If that was indeed true, what was the point of writing the column?

LISTENERS’ CHOICE: Topping the NPR list of 50 best albums of 2009, as picked by listeners, was Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimest

But that is the point of Download Central. To unearth great new music that one could nudge other people towards them. The internet has made it easy to discover a treasure trove of bands and simple to share music that you enjoy with other people. And Download Central aims to do just that… so that great new musicians who’re not in the mainstream (and, therefore, not in the music stores here) can be discovered by others. But what if people thought these were obscure people making unheard of music? Wouldn’t that defeat the very objective of Download Central?

So last week, with a hint of the blues, I was mulling the future of this column, when suddenly the light shone brilliant and bright. I was reading the All Songs Considered blog at NPR (a great source of new and indie music for me), which had just posted the ballot results for the 50 best albums of 2009 as picked by listeners and I realised that not only had I heard and liked at least 20 of the top 25 but I’d also mentioned them all in Download Central over the past year.

Topping the NPR list was Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimest, followed in the second spot by Animal Collective’sMerriweather Post Pavilion. Then there was Middle Cyclone by Neko Case, who’s also a member of the

A YEAR TO DISCOVER: Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion was second in the NPR list

Canadian band, The New Pornographers, and Andrew Bird whose album Noble Beast wowed the indie scene this year. And, of course, The Decemberists’Hazards of Love, Wilco’s Wilco (The Album), Bon Iver’sBlood Bank’ and The Avett Brothers’ I And Love And You… all albums and bands, you will notice, that have found mention in these columns through the year, sometimes more than once. So, some people out there are listening to the music that I am too. Hmm… makes me feel good!

On a more relevant (and less narcissistic) note, the list of 50 top albums, as chosen by NPR’s listeners, is an interesting retrospective of what happened during the year on the predominantly indie or non-mainstream popular music scene. I say ‘predominantly’ because there are some mainstream acts as well on the NPR list—I’ve linked to the entire list here (where you can also listen to all of these artists and, in some cases, even download their music, live or recorded).

I liked the NPR listener’s ballot list mainly because it helped jog my memory of the past 12 months. It’s only when you look back at all these albums and bands you realise what a wonderful musical year it has been. And I’m not only talking about indie music. Consider: Bob Dylan had a good album, Together Through Life, out this year (it made it to #35 on the listener’s list); U2 had No Line on The Horizon, which was, well, kind of okay (it made it to #27, though); and Pearl Jam had Backspacer (I wonder why it made it only to #29; should have been much higher).

But what the NPR poll results really made me do was to dig out all of those lovely, lovely albums of the year and listen to them again. Scottish band, Camera Obscura’s My Maudlin Career with Tracyanne Campbell’s exquisite voice became part of my commute time playlist as did Modest Mouse’s No One’s First, And You’re Next, a short, 8-song EP but one that shimmers and satisfies like rock music ought to.

Women singer-songwriters like Bat For Lashes Aka Natasha Khan, became stars of the indie scene

This year also saw a new project by Jack White, Dead Weather. On their debut album, Horehound, White, the guitarist, actually switches to the drums and the band is a kind of a supergroup. There was so much more this year, mainly from women singer-songwriters who’ve become stars of the indie scene. Besides Neko Case, who I’ve mentioned above, there was St. Vincent’s (aka Annie Clark) fantastic exploration of the inner anxieties of women in her album, Actor, Bat for Lashes’ (which is the stage name for Natasha Khan, the Anglo-Pakistani singer) Two Suns, an album that explores the singer and her alter ego, and the Soviet-born New Yorker, Regina Spektor’s anit-folk, quirky, Far.

Well, of course, Download Central has mentioned all of these and so many of the NPR listener’s top 50, through the year. Didn’t you know this column is all about obscure music?

This week’s reccos:

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix: The fifth album from French alt rock sensations, Phoenix. Grammy nominated. You can’t not listen to it.
Spiritualized: English space rock band from the 1990s. This is a live concert from 1998 at Cane’s Bar & Grill in San Diego, while they toured with Radiohead.
Cat Power: Two songs from the critically acclaimed minimalist American singer-songwriter–He War and Speak For Me.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - In a grainy black and white Web video, similar to footage from an in-store security camera, you can make out the muscular frame

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:26:00 +0000

I have reached the final installment of my take on the 15 greatest Christmas recordings of all time. These five selections should be very recognizable to all.

5. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” — Brenda Lee

If anybody was ever born to sing, it was Brenda Lee. At a very early age, she could take a note and absolutely nail it to the wall. When she recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” in 1958, it is no surprise that the song became the biggest holiday hit ever by a female artist. Lee, who is the only female to be inducted in both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, is an accurate definition of a true entertainer.

4. “The Christmas Song” — Nat King Cole

Although it is officially titled “The Christmas Song,” most listeners prefer to call it by the opening line “Chestnuts roasting on an open fire.” Nat King Cole put his crooning touch to this classic in 1946. Written by Mel Torme and Bob Wells, this has long been a holiday favorite of many3. “Jingle Bell Rock” — Bobby Helms

Bobby Helms recorded “Jingle Bell Rock” in 1957, and it has been a popular song ever since. Known for the country hits “Fraulien” and “My Special Angel,” Helms put his near honk-tonk style to this peppy toe-tapper, and listeners loved it. Helms reached number six on the charts with “Jingle Bell Rock,” and it still garners a lot of airplay each December.

2. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” — Gene Autry

Kids everywhere have been singing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” for nearly six decades. Recorded in 1949 by Gene Autry, this is a Christmas staple. For some time after his original recording, Autry’s version averaged selling about two million copies a year. Known as “The Singing Cowboy,” Autry seemed to do it all. He remains the only entertainer to have five stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one each for radio, records, movie, television, and theatrical performances.

1. “White Christmas” — Bing Crosby

To be perfectly honest, there was never a doubt about what the top song on the list would be. In 1942, Bing Crosby sang “White Christmas” in the movie Holiday Inn. Five years later, he recorded it again because the original was worn out due to the tremendous amount of pressings. In 1954, he recorded “White Christmas” a third time for the movie by the same title.

Today, it is an absolute standard, and possibly, the only Christmas song that is ranked up there with the best pop recordings of all time. The inviting and easy listening lyrics are enough to please any listener, but when the well-written tune is combined with Crosby’s classic vocal touch, it is a masterpiece. Hearing Crosby sing “White Christmas” makes me wonder how you could not like this recording, because it is as timeless as any piece of music.

Charles Haymes is a writer from Beebe and a member of both the Country Music Association and the International Bluegrass Music Association.

Music labels bet Vevo.com is next MTV

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:24:00 +0000

NEW YORK (Reuters) - In a grainy black and white Web video, similar to footage from an in-store security camera, you can make out the muscular frame of rapper 50 Cent, smashing dozens of TV sets with a baseball bat.

ENTERTAINMENT | TECHNOLOGY | MUSIC | MEDIA

None too subtle in its message, the clip is part of a advertising blitz by Vivendi's Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment, two music giants hoping that their new website, Vevo.com, will finally put to rest any idea that TV is a place for top flight videos.

Launched on Tuesday, Vevo offers music from both Universal and Sony, as well as EMI Music, and contains programing from CBS radio stations and Last.fm, both owned by CBS Corp. In all about 30,000 videos are available.

The idea is to create an MTV for the digital age, a music site where all the latest and archived videos can be found. It's a business model similar to that of Hulu, the popular TV and movie site.

Vevo's debut comes as music companies are losing revenue and profits at a rapid tick due to the combined impact of falling sales of CDs, online piracy and evolving methods fans discover new music.

Moreover, MTV Networks, owned by Viacom Inc, is no longer considered a major outlet for playing music videos, and while Google Inc's YouTube has been an important music discovery tool for the record companies, it has failed to attract premium advertising dollars.

But Vevo has landed just the sort of blue-chip brands that have shied away from YouTube and its the random user-generated clips. That's largely because of the high production value of the videos, and the top flight artists they feature.

Indeed, Vevo launched with the support of nearly 20 new advertising partnerships, including names like Colgate-Palmolive Co., MasterCard Inc., McDonald's Corp., and AT&T Inc.

These advertisers will pay a near premium rate of around $20 to $45 for every 1,000-page views, Vevo Chief Executive Rio Caraeff said in an interview.

"We're offering advertisers opportunities that they can't buy off the rack," said Caraeff, who has hired more than two dozen executives to sell ads.

CHANGING THEIR TUNE

Across the industry, music companies and their technology partners are increasingly banking on the idea that fans are prepared to either pay for access to a site or will tolerate targeted advertising in exchange for their favorite songs.

Owning music, either in a physical format or even as a digital file, is also no longer as important as it once was, the thinking goes.

One indication of this came last week when Apple Inc's iTunes Music Store bought Lala, a digital music service that streams songs on a variety of sites.

The move surprised many long-time Apple watchers because iTunes is easily the dominant online music retailer, controlling about 70 percent of the U.S. market.

Apple is also not known for buying technology companies, preferring instead to painstakingly develop its own software to seamlessly fit within the Apple ecosystem.

"Apple's music strategy is always primarily about delivering a differentiated, high-quality music experience on its devices," said Mark Mulligan, an analyst at Forrester Research. "But social music and other streaming services have shifted the momentum of digital music away from downloads."

What has changed for iTunes is similar to the thinking behind Vevo: Modern music fans expect to have access to their songs on demand.

Services like Europe-based Spotify, News Corp's MySpace Music and YouTube have done well with fans because of the ease with which they can find their favorite songs.

The challenge is making the all-you-can-hear model work. Spotify delayed its launch in the United States till next year because it is still working out agreements with music publishers.

"It's like having your entire CD collection and that of all your friends with you wherever you are," said Daniel Ek, founder of Spotify. "That being said, music should be about choice - there will be some who will continue to prefer ownership over access for a time yet."

Sales of music video games plummet in 2009

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:24:00 +0000

DENVER (Billboard) – What a difference a year makes.

The music-game category raked in $1.4 billion in revenue last year, according to Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter, driven largely by sales of "Rock Band 2" and "Guitar Hero World Tour." By the time 2009 comes to a close, Pachter expects the category to make half that -- $700 million -- despite such high-profile releases this fall as "The Beatles: Rock Band," "Guitar Hero 5," "DJ Hero" and "Band Hero," not to mention "Guitar Hero: Van Halen," which is due Tuesday (December 22).

According to data from market analyst NPD Group, sales of these games haven't met expectations. The Beatles game, while selling a respectable 800,000 units of its various versions so far, missed the 1 million mark analysts expected in just the first month after its September 9 debut. "Guitar Hero 5" sold 500,000 units in its first month, compared with the 1.4 million "Guitar Hero III" moved two years ago in its first month.

"DJ Hero," the game that was meant to expand the category into the hip-hop genre, moved 123,000 units in the first few days after its late-October release, and analysts at Cowen & Co. slashed their sales forecast for the game from 1.6 million this year to 600,000.

So what happened to this once-promising category, which so many in the music industry looked to for much-needed revenue? According to Pachter, the answer is: Too many games with too much music in too short a time.

'TOO MUCH VALUE'

"(Game) publishers have probably done themselves a disservice by giving us way too much value for our money with each of these games," Pachter says. "You just get way too much content. The installed base has a lot of music, and they don't really need a lot more. It's sort of like buying more books when you have a stack of books left to read. You just don't."

Pachter points to the disappointing sales of "The Beatles: Rock Band" as proof of this theory.

"There isn't a game that we would expect to have more widespread appeal than that," he says. "And yet with the installed base of music-game owners at around 20 million, it boggles the mind that only 800,000 bought 'Beatles: Rock Band.'"

But this doesn't mean the music-game category is a quickly fading fad with no future. No one expected the same level of record-breaking sales achieved in 2008, and Pachter expects the category will level off at about $500 million-$600 million per year, which he calls a "nice, healthy" genre on par with the "Call of Duty" action-game franchise. That doesn't take into account the revenue earned from in-game music sales, which "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero" have yet to report.

Hand in hand with the decline of music-based game sales is a softening of the impact those games have on digital downloads.

A sampling of the songs included on soundtracks to "Guitar Hero 5," "Band Hero" and "DJ Hero" shows no significant increases in track sales as a result of their inclusion in each respective game, according to Nielsen SoundScan data.

The game with the most impact on sales was "Brutal Legend" -- which isn't a music simulation game but an action/adventure title with a strong heavy metal theme and soundtrack. But while songs from acts likeMotorhead and Judas Priest saw sales spikes as high as 700 percent, the volumes were too low to make much of a real impact -- in many cases from single-digit or double-digit weekly sales to low triple-digit sales.

To re-create the blockbuster sales of last year, the category needs a new innovation. One idea: Dahni Harrison -- the son of the Beatles' George Harrison, who worked closely on the development of "Beatles: Rock Band" -- told the Chicago Tribune he is working with Harmonix to create a version of "Rock Band" with new controllers that could actually help teach gamers to play guitar rather than just simulating the experience. Such new motion-capture devices as Microsoft's Project Natal may also play a role in evolving the gameplay.

Until these innovations come to fruition, though, the music and video-game industries will have to live with a music-game market that has fallen back to Earth.

Parental Advisory: Music Censorship in America

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:23:00 +0000

If you were expecting more...

Even though my original music censorship Web site has been quite popular over the years, I have decided to close it down. There is some basic information on the book below, which is still available used and in digital formats.

"Nuzum has the cultural critic's eye for the quietly fascinating."
--Associated Press

"A breezy and informative book, that should be read
by anyone interested in U.S. popular culture."
--Library Journal Review

"...a thoughtful, readable work."
--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

From the Book Cover

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About The Music Your Parents Never Wanted You To Hear

Believe it or not, music censorship in America did not begin with Tipper Gore's horrified reaction to her daughter's Prince album. The vilification of popular music by government and individuals has been going on for decades. Now, for the first time, Parental Advisory offers a thorough and complete chronicle of the music that has been challenged or suppressed -- by the people or the government -- in the United States.

From Dean Martin's "Wham, Bam, Thank you Ma'am" to Marilyn Manson's Antichrist Superstar; from freedom fighters such as Frank Zappa and in-your-face rappers such a N.W.A. to crusaders such as Tipper Gore, this intelligent and entertaining book shows how censorship has crossed sexual, class, and ethnic lines, and how many see it as a de facto form of racism. With nearly one hundred fascinating photographs of musicians, record burning, and controversial cover art; illuminating sidebars; and a decade-by-decade timeline of important moments in censorship history, Parental Advisory is by turns frightening and hilarious -- but always revealing.

How To Purchase

Parental Advisory is out of print. Used copies are available anywhere used books accumulate. Both Barnes and Noble and Amazon sell both used and digital versions.

More writing on the subject

Since Parental Advisory's publication, I have written a large white paper on music censorship post 9/11. It is available, free, as a PDF here. I'm afraid most of my other articles/editorials on the subject are quite dated now, but you can find a few of them here.

Interview Requests or Questions for School Projects

Music censorship is a subject that is very important to me, yet I rarely work on the subject any longer. I have moved on to exploring other subjects. Therefore, I rarely do any speaking or interviews on the subject. Parental Advisory contains a wealth of information and analysis on the subject and I wish to keep my contributions as they are.

Since I receive so many requests, I do not do any interviews or answer questions for students researching school projects.

Errata

Following is a list of mistakes contained in the first edition of Parental Advisory.

15 The television host identified as Christina Paul Crouch is actually named Paul Crouch.

43 The band name “Megadeth” is spelled incorrectly.

71 & 229 The text misidentifies Moby Grape’s Skip Spence as the group’s drummer. While he was the drummer for Jefferson Airplane, he played guitar in Moby Grape.

78 & 245 The name of the Scorpions' album is Love at First Sting, not Love at First Bite.

112 The members of the group Body Count were all African-American. There were no white members as the text suggests.

157 & 240 References to the Rolling Stone’s record label are incorrect. The correct label was Rolling Stones/Atlantic.

220 The photo of Elvis Presley is from one of his 1956 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, not the 1957 appearance as the text indicates.

118 The case Burstyn v. Wilson occurred in 1952, not 1962.

141 & 228 While singing "Light My Fire"on the Ed Sullivan Show, Doors singer Jim Morrison did not sing facing the camera.

150 & 211 The song "The Mooche" does not have any lyrics as indicated in text. The song contains scatting, not sung words.

269 The first reference to the album Nasty As They Wanna Be contains the typo "Wanne."

Tigers look to avoid repeat of meltdown in Music City

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:22:00 +0000

CLEMSON — The last time the Clemson football team found itself in this position, nothing short of a nightmare ensued in Nashville, Tenn.

After Kentucky took its opening drive for a touchdown against the Tigers in the 2006 Music City Bowl, there wasn’t much looking back, as the Wildcats walked out of LP Field with a 28-20 victory that wasn’t nearly as close as the score indicated.

Thanks in large part to four Tiger turnovers, which led directly to 14 Kentucky points, Clemson trailed 28-6 going into the fourth quarter of a game that saw its share of head-scratching moments, the least of which wasn’t the fact that the revered running back duo of James Davis and C.J. Spiller combined for all of 13 carries.

Spiller, who was just a freshman during the Tigers’ Music City debacle, doesn’t carry many memories from the loss, apart from the obvious one.

“Them just winning the game, plain and simple,” Spiller said. “Their guys came out with more fire and came out with that will they weren’t going to be denied and that’s the main thing I remember. They were ready to go.”

And with Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, then the receivers coach under Tommy Bowden, preparing his Tigers for their upcoming rematch of that game, he isn’t particularly keen on talking about it, though his wounds from that loss still run deep.

“We don’t spend a lot of time talking about four years or anything like that, but they’re certainly aware the last time we played these guys, and Clemson didn’t represent the paw very well,” Swinney said. “We weren’t prepared to play and it was pretty obvious, so we’ll have to do a better job.”

The parallels of the 2006 game are certainly there as the Tigers (8-5) prepare for next Sunday’s Music City Bowl against the Wildcats (7-5), which will kick off at 7:30 p.m. (Central Time) and be televised by ESPN.

In both seasons, Clemson failed to capitalize on its chances to claim an ACC Championship before tumbling down the bowl ladder, though this year’s squad did manage a breakthrough by winning its first-ever ACC Atlantic Division crown.

And just like the last time these teams met, Kentucky appears to be much more excited about its trip to Nashville, as one recent report indicated Wildcat fans have bought 16,000 tickets.

According to that same report, Clemson fans have snatched a meager 4,000 tickets.

And if those ticket sale figures represent the level of excitement in the fan bases, it conjures up Michael Palmer’s memories of the Tigers’ last trip to Nashville.

“The only similarity is probably the disappointment,” said the senior tight end, who scored on a two-point conversion in the 2006 game. “I remember the senior class was obviously disappointed; the entire team was disappointed back in 2006, much like we were this year.”

And though the disappointment is present again this year, as Clemson nearly played itself into an Orange Bowl berth with an ACC title, Spiller was adamant that motivation won’t be a factor next week, as the Tigers are plenty hungry for their chance to finish the season with a ninth victory.

“Our objective going into the game is to win it, and we’re not coming out just because we got selected to go there,” Spiller said. “We want to send the rest of our seniors out on a high note and give these young guys some confidence going into the offseason, so there’s a lot of things to motivate us.”

And Swinney will make sure to do his part in instilling plenty of motivation, like he has done all season.

“We’re going to do what we’ve done all year, and that is prepare relentlessly, coach hard, meet to win, practice to win and try to get these guys to play with great effort,” Swinney said. “Hopefully we can get them to play a little bit smarter than we have the last couple of weeks in particular.”

Looking ahead and hoping to close the season on a high note, Spiller added he doesn’t feel like the 2006 game will be a factor once the ball is spotted next Sunday, as there’s little point in giving it much more than a second thought.

“Both teams are very different from each other, so the main thing we want to do is prepare well and not direct (attention) too much on what happened in ’06 because we can’t control that,” Spiller said.

All Spiller and the Tigers can hope to control is helping to erase the memories of 2006 while ensuring a new nightmare doesn’t unfold this time around.

New Sounds From a Smaller Stage

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:21:00 +0000

The New York Philharmonic must be gratified that a sizable and enthusiastic audience showed up at Symphony Space on Thursday night for the inaugural concert of Contact!, a contemporary-music series. This venture is the brainchild of Alan Gilbert, the orchestra’s new music director. Some risk was involved, and not just the obvious worry of whether people would come to a series of contemporary-music concertsThat fear, at least, has been put to rest by the response to this program, which presented premieres of four works for chamber orchestra, conducted by Magnus Lindberg, the Philharmonic’s composer in residence. Listeners of all ages, including lots of eager-looking young people, filled the hall. Audience members chatted animatedly during intermission, swapping reactions to the first two pieces.

But there was another potential risk. The Philharmonic does not want to be viewed as segregating new music in a sub-series of off-site programs for chamber orchestra.

Happily, nothing of that sort came through. In his first season, Mr. Gilbert is imaginatively integrating new and recent works into the orchestra’s subscription-season programs. So the Contact! series has the potential to be a dynamic addition to the Philharmonic’s offerings beyond the confines of Avery Fisher Hall, which was the whole idea. (Mr. Gilbert will conduct the second Contact! program in April.)

Thursday’s program began with “Game of Attrition” for chamber orchestra by Arlene Sierra, an American now living in London. Before the performance she spoke about the piece with Mr. Lindberg. (Conversations with composers are to be a regular part of Contact!) Ms. Sierra has long been fascinated by game theory and Darwinian evolution, and this piece is an attempt to evoke the process of attrition, as in natural selection.

Throughout the bustling 14-minute work, instruments engage and tussle with one another as if struggling to prevail and move up the musical/evolutionary ladder. Yet, as the title suggests, Ms. Sierra makes a game of it. Little cells of tightly confined pitches knock about with others, grow into larger gestures and then cut loose into skittish flights.

Next came “Verge” for 18 strings by the Chinese-born Lei Liang, who has lived in the United States for 20 years. Mr. Liang began composing the piece a month before his first child was born and completed it the month after. The work uses pitch equivalents for the letters of his son’s name (Albert Shin Liang) as the basis for themes and chords.

The opening, an atmospheric haze of sounds laced with soft bow scrapes and cosmic high harmonics, seems not very pitch-oriented. Soon, however, melodic fragments and thick, piercing chords emerge, along with a plaintive theme meant to evoke Mongolian chant.

At one point the music breaks into a grimly urgent episode, as the instruments dispatch perpetual-motion riffs. “Verge” ends in spiritual calm, though the sustained chords are still pierced with ethereal scratching sounds.

During his conversation with the noted French composer Marc-André Dalbavie, Mr. Lindberg’s limitations as an interviewer became evident. He asked if Mr. Dalbavie was still as fanatical about spectral music as when they first met in 1985. But he never defined the term — which refers to allowing computer analysis of the aural and spatial qualities of sound to affect the process of composition — and used too much insider lingo. When Mr. Dalbavie said he employed an actual Gregorian chant as a thematic thread in his piece, titled “Melodia,” Mr. Lindberg might have had an orchestra member play the chant for the audience.

Still, the music was mesmerizing. Mr. Dalbavie has an acute ear for lush colorings and pungent, post-tonal harmonies. This pensive work evolves in fragments and gestures, with strands of chantlike melody interspersed with sustained sonorities and tremulous colorings. In one unexpected, exhilarating outburst, the instruments break into a kind of free-for-all toccata.

Arthur Kampela, a Brazilian-born New Yorker and a gregarious talker, was a hit with the audience as he explained that his piece, “Macunaíma,” was inspired by a 1928 novel that follows the exploits of a fantastic young man, loosely based on Amazonian folklore. The character, born black with the capacity to turn white, winds up a mystical entity, a “constellation of pleasure,” as Mr. Kampela put it.

The piece came across as a restless, wildly colorful but rather messy romp. Imagine a makeshift work by a Brazilian Ives. At the start, half a dozen players with colorful hand drums walked slowly up the aisles in the hall and joined the ensemble onstage. Soon everyone broke into a rowdy din of frenetic rhythms and every-which-way riffs. At one point some players went behind a curtain, where you heard them playing bits of marching-band music and laughing.

There may be a real piece in “Macunaíma” somewhere. I would like to hear it again. It was certainly fun for the players, who were good sports, and for the audience, which whooped during the ovation.

Immigration raids hurt Latin music in 2009

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:20:00 +0000

MIAMI (Billboard) - This fall, George Lopez became the first Latin comedian to host his own late-night talk show on an English-language channel. Last summer, the Spanish-peppered "In the Heights," with its merengue/salsa/bachata score, won a Tony Award for best musical. And Shakira, a Colombian, has a hit on the Billboard 200 with her new album, "She Wolf."

MUSIC

And yet, despite the mainstream attention, Latin music, which a mere three years ago stood as a lone example of success amid declining sales, is enduring its worst downturn in recent memory. As a result, labels and artists are struggling to adapt to a new marketplace where CD sales are no longer the measure of success, revenue-sharing deals are the norm, and every penny counts.

For the week ended November 22, sales of Latin music albums in the United States stood at 14.7 million units, according to Nielsen SoundScan, a precipitous 35 percent decline compared with the same period the previous year. Even taking into account the expected upcoming surge of holiday sales, it's unlikely that will compensate for the loss, which is markedly higher than the 21 percent decline of Latin music sales posted for year-end 2008 compared with year-end 2007.

Even more alarming than the numbers is the fact that the sales drop accelerated as the year progressed. For first-quarter 2009, sales were down 31.3 percent compared with the year-earlier period, according to Nielsen SoundScan. By midyear, they were down 33 percent, and by the last week of September, they dipped yet again, by 35 percent.

In fact, Latin music's decline outpaces that of the market as a whole, just as the genre's growth in 2005 and 2006 went against the general market's decline.

A HARDER HIT

The reasons for the drop-off cited by numerous executives echo the challenges facing the market as a whole, but their effect is magnified in a Latin marketplace that often occupies a place parallel to the mainstream. Many retailers report that sales of all Latin products -- including books and other non-music-related merchandise -- have suffered. Because so many Latins work in construction and service industries, they may be disproportionately affected by the economic downturn and also by harsher anti-immigration policies.

"Our biggest account is Walmart, and when I speak with Walmart they say there aren't as many people coming into the stores," says Johnny Phillips, vice president of indie distributor Select-O-Hits.

More than the economy, raids aimed at illegal immigrants have been "fatal" for business, the managing director of one Los Angeles-based Latin retailer says. "Ninety percent of our business came from immigrants. That's gone now."

In addition, retail closures are doubly impactful for a consumer base that still overwhelmingly purchases physical, as opposed to digital, product. "The Hispanic distribution network has broken down completely," says Marti Cuevas, general manager of indie Premium Latin. This fall, for example, J&N Distribution, which fed product to dozens of small mom-and-pop stores, shut down, effectively severing a crucial link between consumers and their product.

But "because Hispanic people don't use digital the same way mainstream does," there are still "a lot" of small stores selling Latin music, according to Cuevas. "Many of them don't have computers. We're still dealing with a lot of new immigrants, and yes, they can afford to buy a CD."

Premium, whose roster includes top-selling act Aventura, a bachata group from New York, is addressing the mom-and-pop issue by grabbing the bull by the horns. Beginning in late November, the label began to sell to these small accounts directly, offering the same prices it does mass merchants. Even if the accounts are small, Cuevas says, a sale is still a sale.

Phillips has seen Select-O-Hits' Latin business grow from 15 percent of its total business in 2008 to 30 percent this year -- not with big-selling releases, but with what he calls "niche" titles that may sell 10,000-20,000 units. "And if we have five of those, we suddenly have 100,000 copies," he says.

DIGITAL CHALLENGE

Beyond overcoming the lack of retail outlets, another challenge for Latin labels is revving up a digital marketplace that has consistently refused to come alive.

According to Nielsen SoundScan, for the week ended November 22, sales of Latin digital albums stood at 615,000 units, a negligible rise over the 554,000 reported a year earlier. Although that number represents 4.1 percent of total Latin albums sold -- an increase over the 2.5 percent digital album sales represented in 2008 -- it's still a far cry from the 15 percent that digital album sales represent in the overall album market. And of course, it nowhere near offsets the decline in physical sales.

Still, Fonovisa/Disa president Gustavo Lopez says, "We are really focusing on the online marketing arena. We've been very aggressive about getting artists online, getting their sites up and building and guiding what they're doing."

Although it's hard to quantify the effectiveness of these efforts, digital sales, including mobile, now account for 20 percent of Disa and Fonovisa's net billing, up from just 5 percent last year, and Lopez estimates that percentage will grow to 30 percent in 2010.

And while music sales decline, there have been signs of stability and even growth, particularly in those cases where the focus has shifted from merely moving CDs to a more holistic approach that ranges from so-called 360 deals -- in which recording artists share not just revenue from album sales but concert, merchandise and other earnings with their label in exchange for more comprehensive career support -- to revenue sharing. These approaches encourage labels not only to invest, but also to go out on a limb in search of opportunities.

"Being an indie, and one with 14 people working in the office, allows us to switch lanes when needed without too much trouble," says Tomas Cookman, president/CEO of Nacional Records, which has increased its business every year since its inception in 2004. "Whereas we love to go for sales, we try to take an overall approach to generating revenues."

Madonna Leads List of 2009's Top Music Tours

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:18:00 +0000

NASHVILLE (Billboard) - A year ago, many were predicting a downturn -- if not disaster -- for the music touring industry in 2009 based on a gloomy economic forecast, particularly in North America.

A look at the top tours of the year shows that there were plenty of acts people wanted to see. A dozen of the top 25 tours topped 1 million in attendance, and Madonna and U2 reported 2.1 million and 3 million tickets sold, respectively. The numbers are based on data reported to Billboard Boxscore fro the print magazine issues dated December 6, 2008, through November 21, 2009.

In terms of grosses, five tours exceeded $100 million at the box office, and 18 were at $50 million-plus. Leading everyone is U2 with its groundbreaking 360 tour, which reported a staggering $311.6 million in grosses and 3 million in attendance from 44 sellouts. And that's just the first leg. U2's strategy of boosting capacities by staging a first-ever mobile 360-degree configuration clearly paid off. The band averaged more than $7 million in revenue and attendance of nearly 70,000 per show, surely the highest averages ever reported to Billboard Boxscore.

Not only is the Irish band's production fiscally sound, but it's also a crowd-pleaser. Word-of-mouth is driving ticket sales well into 2010With around 50 stadium shows scheduled for next year, compared with 44 in 2009, U2 is on a pace to top $600 million total, which will make it the highest-grossing tour ever, surpassing the Rolling Stones' Bigger Bang tour of 2005-07.

MADONNA HAS MUSCLE

The second leg of Madonna's Sticky & Sweet tour finished second for the year, coming in at $222 million, on her way to the top-grossing solo tour ever. Madonna's numbers are also among the highest per-show averages ever, taking in an average $4.8 million in sales and 47,565 in attendance per show.

Bruce Springsteen continued his marathon with his E Street Band in 2009, morphing the Magic tour into the Working on a Dream tour without missing a beat. Springsteen's take for the year was $156.3 million from 72 shows and attendance of 1.7 million. The total take for the two tours, since October 2007, is $388 million and 4.1 million in attendance from 171 shows. Among them: the final shows of Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., and the Spectrum in Philadelphia.

Justice (French band)

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 04:11:00 +0000

Justice
Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay
Background information
Origin	Paris, France
Genres	Electro house Disco house
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Ed Banger, Elektra^[1]
Website	Justice at MySpace
Members
Gaspard Augé Xavier de Rosnay

Justice is a French electronic music duo consisting of Gaspard Augé (born 21 May 1979 inBesançon) and Xavier de Rosnay (born 2 July 1982).^[2] The duo is one of the most successful groups on Ed Banger Records^[3] and is managed by the label's head, Pedro Winter. Justice is known for incorporating a strong rock and indie influence into their music and image.^[3]^[4]

Their debut album † was released in June 2007 to critical acclaim.^[5]^[6] The album was later nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Electronic/Dance Album" and came in at number 15 on Pitchfork's Top 50 Albums of 2007^[7] and number 18 on Blender's "25 Best Albums of 2007" list.^[8] It was nominated for the 2007 Shortlist Prize, losing out to The Reminder by Feist. Their remix of the MGMT song "Electric Feel" won the Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical in 2009.^[9]

In June 2009, it was announced that Justice would be moving to WMG/Atlantic's newly relaunched Elektra Records label, and plans to release a new album in early 2010.^[10] Justice will also be among the headliners at The Voodoo Experience 2009 in New Orleans, Louisiana on Oct 30th, 2009 and then will be among the headliners at Hard Haunted Mansion in Los Angeles, California on Oct 31st, 2009. ^[11]^[12]

History

Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay 2007 in Paris

Justice first produced tracks together for Musclorvision's "Hits Up To You," a concept compilation where tracks were designed to sound like they were meant for the Eurovision song contest.^[13] The compilation included two of their songs, and a track by Augé's alter-ego Microloisir.^[14] Justice first came to prominence through their 2003 remix of Simian's track "Never Be Alone", created for a Paris college radio station's remix contest.^[4] The remix resulted in the group being signed to Ed Banger (who released it) and became a hit in clubs and on the Internet.^[4] The song was re-released in 2004 on DJ Hell's International DeeJay Gigolo Records^[15] and eventually given a commercial release in the UK in the summer of 2006 under the title "We Are Your Friends," on Ten Records, a sub-label of Virgin Records.

After the original release of "Never Be Alone," Justice worked on remixes^[15] for a number of French groups (Vicarious Bliss, Scenario Rock, and Gambit) as well as for larger mainstream acts such as Britney Spears,^[15] N*E*R*D,^[15] Fatboy Slim,^[15] and Daft Punk.^[15] Justice's first solo single, "Waters of Nazareth," was released on Ed Banger Records in September 2005 and was championed by DJs such as Erol Alkan, Tiga, 2 Many DJ's, and Ivan Smagghe. The track was re-released in 2006 with additional remixes. The duo's prolific remix work continued, as they turned in mixes for Franz Ferdinand, Mystery Jets, Soulwax, and Mr. Oizo.

Justice at Rock Werchter 2008

Justice won the award for Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2006 for Justice vs. Simian - "We Are Your Friends." Augé and de Rosnay were not present at the ceremony, and the award was accepted by label art director "So Me" and video director Jérémie Rozan. So Me was famously interrupted mid-speech by rapper Kanye West, who went onto the stage arguing that he should have won the award instead.^[16]

Their debut album, titled †, was released on Ed Banger Records on 12 June 2007. The album was released in the United States on Downtown/Ed Banger. The album was preceded by the D.A.N.C.E. EP, released on 28 May 2007, which featured the tracks "Phantom" and their own remix of "D.A.N.C.E." titled "B.E.A.T". "D.A.N.C.E." was nominated for "Video of the Year" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. On 1 November, Justice received the "Video Star" award at the European Music Awards in Munich and was named the Best French Act of the Year. Justice was chosen to do a mix for the Fabriclive series in 2008, but Fabric rejected it. de Rosnay said that, "[T]hey weren't ready for something like this." Now titled "Justice Xmas Mix," the mix is available on the Internet.^[17]

Justice appeared as a Live PA at the 2007 Parklife festivals around Australia, the 2008 Coachella festival; the Fuji Rock Festival in Niigata, Japan; the Hultsfred Festival in Hultsfred, Sweden; the Oxegen festival inKildare, Ireland; the T in the Park festival in Kinross, Scotland; the Reading Festival in Reading, England; the Vieilles Charrues Festival in Carhaix, France; the Roskilde Festival in Roskilde, Denmark; Pukkelpop inBelgium, at the "I LOVE TECHNO" festival in Ghent, Belgium; Dour Festival in Belgium; Rock Werchter in Belgium; the Lowlands festival and the Pinkpop festival in The Netherlands; at Tennents Vital in the Radio One TentBelfast; at the Phoenix Park Marquee in Dublin; and at the Festival Internacional de Benicàssim in Spain.

Justice was nominated for Best Dance Recording (for "D.A.N.C.E.") and Best Electronic/Dance Album (for †) at the 50th Grammy Awards.^[18]

Justice uploaded their music video for "Stress" to YouTube on 1 May 2008, having had several TV stations boycott the video.^{[citation needed]} The clip features a group of youths committing acts of vandalism and harassment, wearing jackets bearing the Justice cross on the back. Accused in some quarters of racism for its stereotypical depiction of youths of African descent from Paris’ socially deprived banlieues, others saw the video as a critique of their portrayal in the French media.^[19] Speaking in an interview with The Quietus website, Augé said, “We were expecting some fuss obviously, but definitely not on those topics… If people see racism in the video, it's definitely because they might have a problem with racism; because they only see black people beating up white people, which is not what happens.”^[20]

On their MySpace page in late 2005, Justice described themselves as “electro-Christian-club” and used a crucifix as a logo. de Rosnay said, “Eighty percent of France is Christian." In an interview for Dummy in 2005, Justice said that they wanted a strong concept for each record they put out and with this one they wanted to keep people guessing.^[21]

Justice at Fabric with the large lit cross they typically perform alongside

On 1 June 2008, The Sun announced that Justice was chosen by Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Peppers to produce the band's follow up to Stadium Arcadium,^[22] but this was quickly corrected by Ed Banger manager Pedro Winter, as Anthony Kiedis had only stated he was a fan of Justice, not preparing for a collaboration.^[23]

In July 2008, Justice was revealed to have done a mix for the Dior Homme Summer 2009 Fashion Show, much like Daft Punk did for Louis Vuitton in 2007.^[24] The track, now known as Planisphere, was released in four parts on the band's MySpace page, with an extra final cut that did not make it into the fashion show mix (known as "Planisphere IV", or "Planisphere Final").

On 25 August 2008, the band announced via Myspace that their next major release would be a DVD documentary/concert film titled A Cross the Universe. The announcement was also tied in with an invitation for fans to email photos, images and artwork to an address so that the received photos could be compiled for use as artwork for the release.

While doing a DJ tour for the release of A Cross the Universe in November 2008, controversy arose when a photograph of Augé DJing with an unplugged Akai MPD24 surfaced. The photograph sparked accusations that Justice's live sets were faked. Augé has since said that the equipment was unplugged very briefly before being re-attached and the band put a three-photo set of the incident on their MySpace page.^[25]^[26]

Justice played 2009 New Year's Eve in Chicago, at the Congress Theater to a crowd of well over 4,000. Augé was later seen that night at an after-party thrown in honor of the band featuring various local DJs, artists and photographers.^[27]

Their remix of MGMT's "Electric Feel" won a Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical in 2009.^[9]

In April 2009 the music website Stereogum hosted a remix by the duo of U2's song Get On Your Boots, the lead single off of the band's most recent album No Line on the Horizon.^[28] Their remix of Lenny Kravitz's song Let Love Rule was also featured on Kanye West's blog.^[29] Also in April 2009 at the Coachella Valley Music Festival, Augé was seen at the "Dome" with Busy P, DJ Mehdi, and Daft Punk. They are set to play at the 2009 Voodoo Experience in New Orleans, as well as at the HARD Haunted Mansion in LA over the Halloween weekend.^[30]

Musical style and equipment

Justice in concert (2007).

Their style has been thought of as having some heavy metal influence^[31] and combines cut-up bass lines with a compressed and distorted synth sound. Their music often includes bass slapping, which results in an electro house style. Additionally, Justice uses samples of other songs to add to the effect, as with their song "TTHHEE PPAARRTTYY", featuring Uffie.

Equipment used by Justice in their productions include an Apogee Ensemble Recording Interface; a Power Mac G5 computer; their Korg RADIAS, MicroKORG, and Cubase and other software sequencers.^[32] Their live setup includes a Korg RADIAS, three JazzMutant Lemur Input Devices, two MacBook Pros running Ableton Live, a Korg MicroKorg, an AKAI MPD24, a Korg ZERO8 and a Pioneer DJM800. On each side of "Valentine" (a non-functional modular synthesizer prop) are nine stacked Marshall cabinet fronts, adding up to a total of 18.^[33] The cabinet stacks are another nonfunctional prop that serve as stage dressing.^[34] Their DJ setup previously included two Pioneer CDJ-1000MK3s and a Pioneer DJM800.^[35], but since the A Cross The Universe release tour, Justice have been using Ableton Live controlled by an AKAI MPD24 and a Pioneer DJM800 for their DJ sets.

Main article: Justice discography

†
Planisphère
TBA

Live albums

2008: A Cross the Universe

Filmography

A Cross the Universe

Awards and nominations

**Justice awards and nominations**
Award	Wins	Nominations
Grammy Awards	1	4
MTV Europe Music Awards	3	3
MTV Video Music Awards	0	1
NRJ Music Awards	0	2
Shortlist Music Prizes	0	1
Victoires de la Musique	1	2
Totals
Awards won	5
Nominations	13

Justice's only album, †, was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Electronic/Dance Album" and it was also nominated for the 2007 Shortlist Prize, but lost to The Reminder by Feist. The duo has been successful at the MTV Europe Music Awards, winning three awards: "Best Video" for "We Are Your Friends" in 2006 and "D.A.N.C.E." in 2007, and "Best French Act" for the band, also in 2007. Their remix of the MGMT song "Electric Feel" won the Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical in 2009. Overall, Justice has received five awards from thirteen nominations.

[edit]Grammy Awards

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States.^[9]^[36]

Year	Nominated work	Award	Result
2008	"D.A.N.C.E."	Best Short Form Music Video	Nominated
	"D.A.N.C.E."	Best Dance Recording	Nominated
	†	Best Electronic/Dance Album	Nominated
2009	"Electric Feel (Justice Remix)"	Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical	Won

MTV Europe Music Awards

The MTV Europe Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony established in 1994 by MTV Europe.^[37]^[38]

Year	Nominated work	Award	Result
2006	"We Are Your Friends"	Best Video	Won
2007	"D.A.N.C.E."	Best Video	Won
2007	Justice	Best French Act	Won

MTV Video Music Awards

The MTV Video Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony established in 1984 by MTV.^[39]

Year	Nominated work	Award	Result
2007	"D.A.N.C.E."	Video of the Year	Nominated

NRJ Music Awards

The NRJ Music Awards is an annual French awards ceremony created by the NRJ radio station and the TF1 television network.

Year	Nominated work	Award	Result
2008	Justice	Best New Artist	Nominated
2008	"D.A.N.C.E."	Best Video	Nominated

Shortlist Music Prize

The Shortlist Music Prize is a music award given annually to an album released in the United States within the last year.^[40]

Year	Nominated work	Award	Result
2007	†	Shortlist Music Prize	Nominated

Victoires de la Musique

The Victoires de la Musique is an annual French award ceremony.^[41]

Year	Nominated work	Award	Result
2008	Justice	Best Electronic/Dance Act	Won
2008	"D.A.N.C.E."	Best Video	Nominated

References

^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/cee-lo-justice-little-boots-signed-to-reborn-1003978407.story
^ Eric Dahan: Que justice soit fête. In: Libération, 7 June 2007, and Julian Shovlin online
^ ^a ^b "RA: Ed Banger: Teaching the rock kids to dance again - Feature / Interview".
^ ^a ^b ^c "French Electronic Dance Music - New York Times".
^ "Breaking Artist: French DJ Duo Justice Crosses the Atlantic With Body-Rocking Debut Album". RollingStone.com. Retrieved 2008-06-23.
^ "Justice: Cross (2007): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
^ "Pitchfork Feature: Top 50 Albums of 2007".
^ "The 25 Best Albums of 2007 :: Blender.com".
^ ^a ^b ^c "The 51st Annual Grammy Awards Winners List". National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
^ "Billboard News Article: Cee-Lo, Justice, Little Boots Signed To Reborn Elektra Label".
^ http://www.nme.com/news/eminem/45776
^ http://www.hardfest.com/
^ "Musclorvision - Hits Up To You". Discogs. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
^ "Microloisir". Discogs. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "RA: DJ Justice Biography & Discography".
^ "EMAs Shocker: Kanye Stage Invasion!".
^ Pitchfork article http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/page/news/47956-update-rejected-justice-fabric-mix-turned-xmas-gift
^ 50th Annual Grammy Awards Nominations List
^ "Uproar Over French Music Video". Time.com. 19 May 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
^ "A Cross The Universe: Justice Interviewed". The Quietus. 28 October 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
^ "From the Dummy Magazine Archive: Justice Interview". Dummy Magazine Blog. 9 January 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2008.
^ "Justice to produce Red Hot Chili Peppers album – Tabloid Hell". NME.com. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
^ "Justice not producing Red Hot Chili Peppers album". Mixmag.net. Retrieved 01/07/2008.
^ "Asian Dan: Justice x Dior Homme: Spring-Summer 09 Mix". Asian Dan. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
^ "Justice Unplugged". URB. 2008-11-18. Retrieved 2008-12-19.
^ Justice (don't) fake DJ set - (false) panic in technoland
^ "Chicago Suicide Club presents Justice NYE After Hours".
^ http://stereogum.com/archives/justice-u2-remix-mp3_062471.html
^ http://www.kanyeuniversecity.com/blog/index.php?em3106=229797_-1__0_~0_-1_4_2009_0_0&eM=
^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/eminem-kiss-flaming-lips-to-headline-voodoo-1003988174.story
^ New York Times review
^ Sterling, Scott T. (2007-08-01). "Cross Examinations". Remix. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
^ Behind the Scenes with Justice in Rio
^ Electronica That Rocks, à la Française
^ "Justice - Electro Music With Punk Attitude".
^ "50th Grammy Awards - 2008". Rock on the Net. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
^ "Kanye West a sore loser at MTV Europe awards". MSNBC. 2006-11-03. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
^ "2007 MTV Europe Music Awards – Winners". MTV. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
^ "2008 MTV Video Music Awards". MTV. Retrieved 2008-09-21.
^ "Feist wins 2007 Shortlist Music Prize". Forbes. 2008-02-05. Retrieved 2008-09-26.
^ "Justice" (in French). Les Victoires. Retrieved 2008-09-21.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Justice

[hide] v • d • e Justice

Gaspard Augé · Xavier de Rosnay

Studio album	†

Live album	A Cross the Universe

Singles	"Waters of Nazareth" · "D.A.N.C.E." · "DVNO" · "Phantom" · "Tthhee Ppaarrttyy"

Related	Discography · Songs remixed by Justice · Awards

Taylor Swift - ‘Fifteen’ Music Video Released!

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 04:05:00 +0000

Check out the world premiere of Taylor Swift’s brand new music video, “Fifteen.” It features her real-life best friend Abigail Anderson.

The song is the fourth single from her 2008 album Fearless.

Taylor has said, “‘Fifteen’ talks about how my best friend, Abigail, got her heart broken when we were in ninth grade and singing about that absolutely gets me every time.”

What a cute video. Loves!

Taylor Swift - “Fifteen” Music Video

Mariah Carey

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 04:02:00 +0000

This article is about the singer. For her self-titled album, see Mariah Carey (album).

Mariah Carey
Carey at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival for the premiere of Tennessee on April 26, 2008.
Background information
Born	March 27, 1970 (age 39)^[1]Huntington, Long Island, New York, United States
Genres	R&B, pop
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, model, record producer, actress
Voice types	Alto^[2]
Years active	1989–present
Labels	Columbia (1988-2000) Virgin (2001-2002) MonarC / Island (2002-2004) Island (2004-present)
Website	www.mariahcarey.com

Mariah Angela Carey (born March 27, 1970) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut in 1990 under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, and became the first recording artist to have her first five singles top the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Following her marriage to Mottola in 1993, a series of hit records established her position as Columbia's highest-selling act. According to Billboardmagazine, she was the most successful artist of the 1990s in the United States.^[3]

Following her separation from Mottola in 1997, Carey introduced elements of hip hop into her album work, to much initial success, but her popularity was in decline when she left Columbia in 2001. She signed to Virgin Records but was paid to leave the label the following year after a highly publicized physical and emotional breakdown, as well as the poor reception given to Glitter, her film and soundtrack project. In 2002, Carey signed with Island Records, and after a relatively unsuccessful period, she returned to the top of pop music in 2005.^[4]^[5]

Carey was named the best-selling female pop artist of the millennium at the 2000 World Music Awards.^[6] She has the most number-one singles for a solo artist in the United States (eighteen; second artist overall behind The Beatles),^[7] where, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, she is the third best-selling female artist and sixteenth overall recording artist.^[8] In addition to her commercial accomplishments, Carey has earned five Grammy Awards, and is well-known for her vocal range, power, melismatic style, and use of the whistle register. She is ranked as the best-selling female artist of the U.S. Nielsen SoundScan era (third best-selling artist overall),^[9] with shipments of over 62.5 million albums in the U.S.^[10] and has sold more than 200 million albums worldwide.^[11]^[12]^[13]^[14]^[15]^[16

Life and music career

Childhood and youth

Carey was born in Huntington, Long Island, New York. She is the third and youngest child of Patricia Carey (née Hickey), a former opera singer and vocal coach, and Alfred Roy Carey, an aeronautical engineer.^[17]^[18] Her mother was Irish American and her father was of Afro-Venezuelanand African American descent;^[19] her paternal grandfather, Roberto Nuñez, changed his surname to Carey to better assimilate upon moving to the United States from Venezuela.^[20] Carey was named after the song "They Call the Wind Mariah".^[21] Carey's parents divorced when she was three years old.^[22] While living in Huntington, racist neighbors allegedly poisoned the family dog and set fire to her family's car.^[23] After her parents' divorce, Carey had little contact with her father, and her mother worked several jobs to support the family. Carey spent much of her time at home alone and turned to music to occupy herself. She began singing at around the age of three, when her mother began to teach her after Carey imitated her mother practicing Verdi's opera Rigoletto in Italian.^[24]

Carey graduated from Harborfields High School in Greenlawn, New York. She was frequently absent because of her work as a demo singer for local recording studios; her classmates consequently gave her the nickname "Mirage".^[25] Her work in the Long Island music scene gave her opportunities to work with musicians such as Gavin Christopher and Ben Margulies, with whom she co-wrote material for her demo tape. After moving to New York City, Carey worked part-time jobs to pay the rent, and she completed 500 hours of beauty school.^[26] Eventually, she became a backup singer for Puerto Rican freestyle singer Brenda K. Starr.

In 1988, Carey met Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola at a party, where Starr gave him Carey's demo tape. Mottola played the tape when leaving the party and was impressed. He returned to find Carey, but she had left. Nevertheless, Mottola tracked her down and signed her to a recording contract. This Cinderella-like story became part of the standard publicity surrounding Carey's entrance into the industry.^[27]

Early commercial success: 1989–1992

Carey co-wrote the tracks on her 1990 debut album Mariah Carey, and she has co-written most of her material since. During the recording, she expressed dissatisfaction with the contributions of producers such as Ric Wake and Rhett Lawrence, whom the executives at Columbia had enlisted to help make the album more commercially viable.^[28] Backed by a substantial promotional budget, the album reached number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, where it remained for several weeks. It yielded four number-one singles and made Carey a star in the United States, but it was less successful in other countries. Critics rated the album highly, and Carey won Grammys for Best New Artist, and—for her debut single, "Vision of Love"^[29]—Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.^[1]

Carey conceived Emotions, her second album, as an homage to Motown soul music (see Motown Sound), and she worked with Walter Afanasieff and Clivillés & Cole (from the dance group C+C Music Factory) on the record. It was released soon after her debut album—in late 1991—but was neither critically nor commercially as successful; Rolling Stone described it as "more of the same, with less interesting material [...] pop-psych love songs played with airless, intimidating expertise."^[30] The title track "Emotions" made Carey the only recording act whose first five singles have reached number one on the U.S. Hot 100 chart, although the album's follow-up singles failed to match this feat. Carey had been lobbying to produce her own songs, and beginning with Emotions, she has co-produced most of her material. "I didn't want [Emotions] to be somebody else's vision of me," she said. "There's more of me on this album."^[31]

Although Carey performed live occasionally, stage fright prevented her from embarking on a major tour.^[32] Her first widely seen appearance was featured on the television show MTV Unplugged in 1992, and she remarked that she felt her performance that night proved her vocal abilities were not, as some had previously speculated, simulated with studio equipment.^[33] Alongside acoustic versions of some of her earlier songs, Carey premiered a cover of The Jackson 5's "I'll Be There" with her back-up singer Trey Lorenz. The duet was released as a single, reached number one in the U.S., and led to a record deal for Lorenz,^[1] whose debut album Carey later co-produced.^[34] Because of high ratings for theUnplugged television special, the concert's set list was released on the EP MTV Unplugged, which Entertainment Weekly called "the strongest, most genuinely musical record she has ever made [...] Did this live performance help her take her first steps toward growing up?."^[35]

International success: 1993–1996

Carey and Tommy Mottola had become involved romantically during the making of her debut album, and in June 1993, they were married.

Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds consulted on the album Music Box, which was released later that year and became Carey's most successful worldwide. The album maintained a presence on the Billboard 200 for a staggering 128 weeks.^[36] It yielded her first UK Singles Chart number-one,^[37] a cover of Badfinger's "Without You", and the U.S. number-ones "Dreamlover" and "Hero". Billboard magazine proclaimed it "heart-piercing [...] easily the most elemental of Carey's releases, her vocal eurythmics in natural sync with the songs",^[38] but TIME magazine lamented Carey's attempt at a mellower work, "[Music Box] seems perfunctory and almost passionless [...] Carey could be a pop-soul great; instead she has once again settled for Salieri-like mediocrity."^[39] In response to such comments, Carey said, "As soon as you have a big success, a lot of people don't like that. There's nothing I can do about it. All I can do is make music I believe in."^[40] Most critics slighted the opening of her subsequent U.S. Music Box Tour.^[41]

"One Sweet Day" (1995)

Carey's collaboration with Boyz II Men is one of her biggest singles in the U.S.

Problems listening to this file? See media help.

In late 1994, after her duet with Luther Vandross on a cover of Lionel Richie and Diana Ross's "Endless Love" became a hit, Carey released the holiday album Merry Christmas. It contained cover material and original compositions such as "All I Want for Christmas Is You", which became Carey's biggest single in Japan^[42] and, in subsequent years, emerged as one of her most perennially popular songs on U.S. radio.^[43] Critical reception of Merry Christmas was mixed, with Allmusic calling it an "otherwise vanilla set [...] pretensions to high opera on 'O Holy Night' and a horrid danceclub take on 'Joy to the World'."^[44] It became one of the most successful Christmas albums of all time.^[45]

In 1995, Columbia released Carey's fifth album, Daydream, which combined the pop sensibilities of Music Box with downbeat R&B and hip hopinfluences. A remix of "Fantasy", its first single, featured rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard. Carey said that Columbia reacted negatively to her intentions for the album: "Everybody was like 'What, are you crazy?'. They're very nervous about breaking the formula."^[46] It became her biggest-selling album in the U.S., and its singles achieved similar success—"Fantasy" became the second single to debut at number one in the U.S. and topped the Canadian Singles Chart for twelve weeks; "One Sweet Day" (a duet with Boyz II Men) spent a record-holding sixteen weeks at number one in the U.S.; and "Always Be My Baby" (co-produced by Jermaine Dupri) was the most successful record on U.S. radio in 1996, according to Billboard magazine. Daydream generated career-best reviews for Carey,^[47] and publications such as The New York Times named it one of 1995's best albums; the Times wrote that its "best cuts bring pop candy-making to a new peak of textural refinement [...] Carey's songwriting has taken a leap forward, becoming more relaxed, sexier and less reliant on thudding clichés."^[48] The short but profitableDaydream World Tour augmented sales of the album, which received six Grammy Award nominations.

New image and independence: 1997–2000

Carey and Mottola officially separated in 1997. Although the public image of the marriage was a happy one, she said that in reality she had felt trapped by her relationship with Mottola, whom she often described as controlling.^[49] They officially announced their separation in 1997, and their divorce became final the following year. Soon after the separation, Carey hired an independent publicist and a new attorney and manager. She continued to write and produce for other artists during this period, contributing to the debut albums of Allure and 7 Mile through her short-lived imprint Crave Records.

Carey's next album, Butterfly (1997), yielded the number-one single "Honey", the lyrics and music video for which presented a more overtly sexual image of her than had been previously seen.^[50] She stated that Butterfly marked the point when she attained full creative control over her music.^[51] However, she added, "I don't think it's that much of a departure from what I've done in the past [...] It's not like I went psycho and thought I was going to be a rapper. Personally, this album is about doing whatever the hell I wanted to do."^[52] Reviews were generally positive:LAUNCHcast said Butterfly "pushes the envelope," a move its critic thought "may prove disconcerting to more conservative fans" but praised as "a welcome change."^[53] The Los Angeles Times wrote, "[Butterfly] is easily the most personal, confessional-sounding record she's ever done [...] Carey-bashing just might become a thing of the past."^[54] The album was a commercial success—although not to the degree of her previous three albums—and "My All" (her thirteenth Hot 100 number-one) gave her the record for the most U.S. number-ones by a female artist.

Toward the turn of the millennium, Carey was developing the film project Glitter and wrote songs for the films Men in Black (1997) and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000). During the production of Butterfly, Carey became romantically involved with New York Yankees baseball starDerek Jeter. Their relationship ended in 1998, with both parties citing media interference as the main reason for the split.^[55] The same year, Columbia released the album #1's, a collection of Carey's U.S. number-one singles alongside new material, which she said was a way of rewarding her fans.^[56] The song "When You Believe", a duet with Whitney Houston, was recorded for the soundtrack of The Prince of Egypt(1998) and won an Academy Award. #1's sold above expectations, but a review in NME labeled Carey "a purveyor of saccharine bilge like 'Hero', whose message seems wholesome enough: that if you vacate your mind of all intelligent thought, flutter your eyelashes and wish hard, sweet babies and honey will follow."^[57] Also that year, she appeared on the first televised VH1 Divas benefit concert program, although her allegedprima donna behavior had already led many to consider her a diva.^[58] By the following year, she had entered a relationship with singer Luis Miguel.

Rainbow, Carey's seventh studio album, was released in 1999 and comprised more R&B/hip hop–oriented songs, many of them co-created withJimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.^[59] "Heartbreaker" and "Thank God I Found You" (the former featuring Jay-Z, the latter featuring Joe and boy band98 Degrees) reached number one in the U.S.^[59] and the success of the former made Carey the only act to have a number-one single in each year of the 1990s. A cover of Phil Collins's "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)" went to number one in the UK after Carey re-recorded it with boy band Westlife. Media reception of Rainbow was generally enthusiastic, with the Sunday Herald saying the album "sees her impressively tottering between soul ballads and collaborations with R&B heavyweights like Snoop Doggy Dogg, Usher [...] It's a polished collection of pop-soul."^[60] VIBE magazine expressed similar sentiments, writing, "She pulls out all stops [...] Rainbow will garner even more adoration"^[61] but it became Carey's lowest-selling album up to that point,^[51] and there was a recurring criticism that the tracks were too alike. When the double A-side "Crybaby" (featuring Snoop Dogg)/"Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)" became her first single to peak outside the U.S. top twenty, Carey accused Sony of underpromoting it: "The political situation in my professional career is not positive [...] I'm getting a lot of negative feedback from certain corporate people," she wrote on her official website.^[62]

Personal and professional struggles: 2001–2004

After receiving Billboard's Artist of the Decade Award and the World Music Award for Best-Selling Female Artist of the Millennium,^[6] Carey parted from Columbia and signed a contract with EMI's Virgin Records worth a reported US$80 million.^[5] She often stated that Columbia had regarded her as a commodity, with her separation from Mottola exacerbating her relations with label executives. Just a few months later, in July 2001, it was widely reported that Carey had suffered a physical and emotional breakdown. She had left messages on her website complaining of being overworked,^[63] and her relationship with Luis Miguel was ending.^[64] In an interview the following year, she said, "I was with people who didn't really know me, and I had no personal assistant. I'd be doing interviews all day long, getting two hours of sleep a night, if that."^[65] During an appearance on MTV's Total Request Live, Carey handed out popsicles to the audience and began what was later described as a "striptease".^[66] By the month's end, she had checked into a hospital, and her publicist announced that Carey was taking a break from public appearances.^[67]

Critics panned Glitter, Carey's much delayed semi-autobiographical film, and it was a box office failure.^[23] The accompanying soundtrack album, Glitter, was inspired by the music of the 1980s and featured collaborations with Rick James and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis; it generated Carey's worst showing on the U.S. chart. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch dismissed it as "an absolute mess that'll go down as an annoying blemish on a career that, while not always critically heralded, was at least nearly consistently successful",^[68] while Blendermagazine opined, "After years of trading her signature flourishes for a radio-ready purr, Carey's left with almost no presence at all."^[69] The lead single, "Loverboy" (featuring Cameo), reached number two on the Hot 100 due to the release of the physical single,^[67] but the album's follow-up singles failed to chart; however, a live rendition/medley of the single, "Never Too Far" made its way to #81.

Later in the year, Columbia released the low-charting compilation album Greatest Hits shortly after the failure of Glitter, and in early 2002, Virgin bought out Carey's contract for $28 million,^[5] creating further negative publicity. Carey later said her time at Virgin was "a complete and total stress-fest [...] I made a total snap decision which was based on money, and I never make decisions based on money. I learned a big lesson from that."^[70] Later that year, she signed a contract with Island Records, valued at more than $22.5 million.^[71] and launched the record labelMonarC. To add further to Carey's emotional burdens, her father, with whom she had little contact since childhood, died of cancer that year.^[72]

In 2002, she performed the American national anthem in front of an audience at the Super Bowl XXXVI at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Following a well-received supporting role in the 2002 film WiseGirls, Carey released the album Charmbracelet, which she said marked "a new lease on life" for her.^[65] Sales of Charmbracelet were moderate, and the quality of Carey's vocals came under severe criticism. The Boston Globe declared the album "the worst of her career, revealing a voice no longer capable of either gravity-defying gymnastics or soft coos",^[73] and Rolling Stone commented, "Carey needs bold songs that help her use the power and range for which she is famous. Charmbracelet is like a stream of watercolors that bleed into a puddle of brown."^[74] The album's only charting single in America, "Through the Rain", was a failure on pop radio, which had become less open to maturing "diva" stylists such as Celine Dion, or Carey herself in favor of younger singers such as Christina Aguilera, who had vocal styles very similar to Carey's.^[65]

"I Know What You Want", a 2003 Busta Rhymes single on which Carey guest starred, fared considerably better and reached the U.S. top five; it was also included on Columbia's release of The Remixes, a compilation of Carey's best remixes and some new tracks. That year, she embarked on the Charmbracelet World Tour and was awarded the Chopard Diamond award for selling more than 100 million albums worldwide.^[75] She was featured on rapper Jadakiss's 2004 single "U Make Me Wanna", which reached the top ten on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop chart.

Return to prominence: 2005–present

Carey performing on stage with her dancers inTampa, Florida during her successful The Adventures of Mimi Tour on August 7, 2006.

Carey's tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi (2005), contained contributions from producers such as The Neptunes, Kanye West and Carey's longtime collaborator, Jermaine Dupri. Carey said it was "very much like a party record [...] the process of putting on makeup and getting ready to go out [...] I wanted to make a record that was reflective of that."^[76] The Emancipation of Mimi became 2005's best-selling album in the U.S., and The Guardianreviewer defined it as "cool, focused and urban [... some of] the first Mariah Carey tunes in years I wouldn't have to be paid to listen to again".^[77] The album earned Carey a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album, and the single "We Belong Together" won Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song. "We Belong Together" held the Hot 100's number-one position for fourteen weeks, her longest run at the top as a solo lead artist. Subsequently, the single "Shake It Off" reached number two for a week, making Carey the first female lead vocalist to have simultaneously held the Hot 100's top two positions. (While topping the charts in 2002, Ashanti was the "featured" singer on the #2 single.)^[78]^[79]^[80]^[81]^[82]

In mid-2006, Carey began The Adventures of Mimi Tour, which was the most successful of her career, although some dates had to be cancelled.^[83] She appeared on the cover of the March 2007 edition of Playboy magazine in a non-nude photo session.^[84] In early 2007, she was featured with Bow Wow on the Bone Thugs-n-Harmony single "Lil' L.O.V.E.".

Carey performing on stage with her dancers in summer 2008.

By spring 2007, she had begun working on her eleventh studio album, E=MC².^[85] Asked about the album title's meaning, Carey said "Einstein's theory? Physics? Me? Hello! ...Of course I'm poking fun." She characterized the project as "Emancipation of Mimi to the second power", saying she was "freer" on this album than any other. Like her previous one, this album mainly concentrates on pop and R&B, but also borrows hip hop, gospel and even reggae ("Cruise Control") elements.^[86]^[87] Although E=MC² was well received by most critics,^[88] some of them criticized it for being "a clone of The Emancipation of Mimi".^[89] Bleu Magazine's critic said that the "facsimiles aren't terrible, they're just boring and forgettable at this point."^[90] Two weeks before the album's release, on April 2, 2008, "Touch My Body", her first single from the album, became Carey's eighteenth number-one single on the Hot 100, pushing her past Elvis Presleyinto second place for the most number-one singles among all artists in the rock era, according to Billboard magazine's revised methodology.^[91]^[92]^[93] Carey is now second only to The Beatles, who have twenty number-one singles.^[94]

Carey's singles have collectively topped the charts for seventy-nine weeks, which places her just behind Presley, who topped the charts for a combined eighty weeks.^[95] Carey has also had notable success on international charts, though not to the same degree as in the United States. Thus far, she has had two number-one singles in Britain, two in Australia, and six in Canada. Her highest-charting single in Japan peaked at number two.^[96]^[97]^[98]

On April 30, 2008, Carey married "soulmate"^[99] Nick Cannon, at Carey's private estate on Windermere Island in The Bahamas.^[100]^[101]^[102] In October 2008, Carey was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame.^[103]^[104] Carey performed "Hero" at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ballafter Barack Obama was sworn in as America's first African-American president on January 20, 2009.^[105] On July 7, 2009, Carey alongsideTrey Lorenz emotionally performed her version of the Jackson 5 hit "I'll Be There" at the memorial service for Michael Jackson in the Los Angeles Staples Center.^[106]

Carey was featured on "My Love", the second single from singer-songwriter The-Dream's album Love vs. Money.^[107] In early 2009, The-Dream spoke with MTV UK about working on Carey's next studio album:^[107]^[108]

“

I think it's about just writing an album that includes the focus of all the hits that she's had. She can't take a loss; she has to do everything to the T. So it's basically like we're trying to make a greatest hits album without using the greatest hits.

”

On May 20, Carey used her Twitter page to reveal the title of her 12th album: Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel.^[109] Its first single "Obsessed" debuted at number 11 and has so far peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it her 40th career entry on that chart.^[110] Carey is the eighth woman to amass 40 Hot 100 singles; Aretha Franklin has the most, with 76.^[111]^[112] The album's second single will be a cover ofForeigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is". "H.A.T.E.U." will be the third single to be released by Carey and was revealed when she performed at a private V.I.P venue in New York on October 5 ^[113]^[114]. The album underperformed in the U.S. debuting at #3 with first week sales of 168,000, considerably less than her previous album E=MC2 which debuted at #1 in 2008 with sales of 463,000 her biggest first week sum ever.^[115]

Acting career

Carey began to take professional acting lessons in 1997, and in the coming year, she was auditioning for film roles. She made her debut as an opera singer in the romantic comedy The Bachelor (1999), starring Chris O'Donnell and Renée Zellweger. CNN referred derisively to her casting as a talentless diva as "letter-perfect [...] the "can't act" part informs Carey's entire performance".^[116]

Carey's first starring role was in Glitter (2001), in which she played a struggling musician in the 1980s who breaks into the music industry after meeting a disc jockey (Max Beesley). Though Roger Ebert said "[Carey]'s acting ranges from dutiful flirtatiousness to intense sincerity",^[117]most critics panned it: Halliwell's Film Guide called it a "vapid star vehicle for a pop singer with no visible acting ability",^[118] and The Village Voice observed: "When [Carey] tries for an emotion — any emotion — she looks as if she's lost her car keys."^[119] Glitter was a box office failure, and Carey earned a Razzie Award for her role. She later said that the film "started out as a concept with substance, but it ended up being geared to 10-year-olds. It lost a lot of grit [...] I kind of got in over my head."^[65]

Carey, Mira Sorvino and Melora Walters co-starred as waitresses at a mobster-operated restaurant in the independent film WiseGirls (2002), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival but went straight to cable in the U.S. Critics commended Carey for her efforts — The Hollywood Reporter predicted, "Those scathing notices for Glitter will be a forgotten memory for the singer once people warm up to Raychel",^[120] and Roger Friedman, referring to her as "a Thelma Ritter for the new millennium", said, "Her line delivery is sharp and she manages to get the right laughs".^[121] WiseGirls producer Anthony Esposito cast Carey in The Sweet Science (2006), a film about an unknown female boxer recruited by a boxing manager, but it never entered production.^[122]

Carey was one of several musicians who appeared in the independently produced Damon Dash films Death of a Dynasty (2003) and State Property 2 (2005). Her television work has been limited to a January 2002 episode of Ally McBeal. Carey had a cameo appearance in Adam Sandler's 2008 film You Don't Mess with the Zohan, playing herself.^[23]^[123]

In 2006, Carey joined the cast of the indie film Tennessee (2008), taking the role of an aspiring singer who flees her controlling husband and joins two brothers on a journey to find their long-lost father.^[124] The movie received mixed reviews, but most of them raved about Carey's performance and praised it as "understated and very effective."^[125]^[126]^[127]^[128] In 2009, she appeared as a social worker in Precious, the movie adaptation of the 1996 novel Push by Sapphire.^[129] Variety described her acting as "pitch-perfect".^[130]

Artistry

Carey has said that from childhood she was influenced by R&B and soul musicians such as Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan^[131], Gladys Knight,Aretha Franklin^[132], Al Green^{[citation needed]}, Stevie Wonder^{[citation needed]}, and Whitney Houston^[133]^[134] Her music contains strong influences of gospel music, and her favorite gospel singers include The Clark Sisters, Shirley Caesar and Edwin Hawkins.^[131] When Carey incorporated hip hop into her sound, speculation arose that she was making an attempt to take advantage of the genre's popularity, but she told Newsweek, "People just don't understand. I grew up with this music".^[135] She has expressed appreciation for rappers such as The Sugarhill Gang, Eric B. & Rakim, the Wu-Tang Clan, The Notorious B.I.G. and Mobb Deep,^[27] with whom she collaborated on the single "The Roof (Back in Time)" (1998).

During Carey's career, her vocal and musical style, along with her level of success, has been compared to Whitney Houston and Celine Dion. Carey and her peers, according to Garry Mulholland, are "the princesses of wails [...] virtuoso vocalists who blend chart-oriented pop with mature MOR torch song".^[136] In She Bop II: The Definitive History of Women in Rock, Pop and Soul (2002), writer Lucy O'Brien attributed the comeback of Barbra Streisand's "old-fashioned showgirl" to Carey and Dion, and described them and Houston as "groomed, airbrushed and overblown to perfection".^[137] Carey's musical transition and use of more revealing clothing during the late 1990s were, in part, initiated to distance herself from this image, and she subsequently said that most of her early work was "schmaltzy MOR".^[137] Some have noted that unlike Houston and Dion, Carey co-writes her own songs, and the Guinness Rockopedia (1998) classified her as the "songbird supreme".^[138]

Despite the fact that Carey is often credited with co-writing her material, she has also been accused of plagiarism on several occasions. Many of these cases were eventually settled out of court.^[139]^[140]^[141]

Voice

Although she self-identifies as "an alto with a five-octave range,"^[2] music critic Jim Farber of Daily News said that Carey has "a range wide enough to cover all the octaves between an alto and a soprano and the agility to move between those roles with swiftness and aplomb",^[142]^[143]and her vocal trademark is her ability to sing in the whistle register.^[144] She has cited Minnie Riperton as the greatest influence on her singing technique^[145] and from a very early age, she attempted to emulate Riperton's high notes, to increasing degrees of success as her vocal range expanded. In 2003, her voice was ranked first in MTV and Blender magazine's countdown of the 22 Greatest Voices in Music, as voted by fans and readers in an online poll. Carey said of the poll, "What it really means is voice of the MTV generation. Of course, it's an enormous compliment, but I don't feel that way about myself."^[146]

Themes and musical style

"We Belong Together" (2005)

One of Carey's many love songs, and a Grammy Award winner for "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" and "Best R&B Song".

"Vanishing" (1990)

The first song that Carey was allowed to co-produce demonstrates the piano influence that permeates much of her music.

"My All" (1998): Classic Club mix

Remixes of Carey's singles by producers such as David Moralesestablished her presence on the U.S. club scene.

Problems listening to these files? See media help.

Love is the subject of the majority of Carey's lyrics, although she has written about themes such as racism, social alienation, death, world hunger, and spirituality. She has said that much of her work is partly autobiographical, but TIME magazine wrote: "If only Mariah Carey's music had the drama of her life. Her songs are often sugary and artificial—NutraSweet soul. But her life has passion and conflict."^[147] The Village Voice wrote in 2001 that, in that respect, Carey compared unfavorably with singers such as Mary J. Blige, saying "Carey's Strawberry Shortcake soul still provides the template with which teen-pop cuties draw curlicues around those centerless [Diane] Warren ballads [...] it's largely because of [Blige] that the new r&b demands a greater range of emotional expression, smarter poetry, more from-the-gut testifying, and less unnecessary notes than the squeaky-clean and just plain squeaky Mariah era. Nowadays it's the Christina Aguileras and Jessica Simpsons who awkwardly oversing, while the women with roof-raising lung power keep it in check when tune or lyric demands."^[148]

Carey's output makes use of electronic instruments such as drum machines, keyboards andsynthesizers. Many of her songs contain piano music, and she was given piano lessons when she was six years old. Carey said that she cannot read sheet music and prefers to collaborate with a pianist when composing her material, but feels that it is easier to experiment with faster and less conventional melodies and chord progressions using this technique. Some of herarrangements have been inspired by the work of musicians such as Stevie Wonder, a soul pianist to whom Carey once referred as "the genius of the [twentieth] century",^[27] but she has said, "My voice is my instrument; it always has been."^[149]

Carey began commissioning remixes of her material early in her career and helped to spearhead the practice of recording entirely new vocals for remixes.^[150] Disc jockey David Morales has collaborated with Carey several times, starting with "Dreamlover" (1993), which popularized the tradition of remixing pop songs into house records, and which Slant magazine named one of the greatest dance songs of all time.^[151] From "Fantasy" (1995) onward, Carey enlisted both hip hop and house producers to re-imagine her album compositions. Entertainment Weeklyincluded two remixes of "Fantasy" on a list of Carey's greatest recordings compiled in 2005:^[152] a National Dance Music Award-winning remix produced by Morales, and a Sean Combs production featuring rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard. The latter has been credited with popularizing the pop/hip hop collaboration trend that has continued into the 2000s through artists such as Ashanti and Beyoncé.^[150]^[153] Combs said that Carey "knows the importance of mixes, so you feel like you're with an artist who appreciates your work—an artist who wants to come up with something with you".^[27] She continues to consult on remixes by producers such as Morales, Jermaine Dupri, Junior Vasquez and DJ Clue, and guest performers contribute frequently to them. The popularity in U.S. nightclubs of the dance remixes, which often sound radically different from their album counterparts, has been known to eclipse the mainstream chart success of the original songs.

Philanthropy and other activities

Carey is a philanthropist who has donated time and money to organizations such as the Fresh Air Fund. She became associated with the Fund in the early 1990s, and is the co-founder of a camp located in Fishkill, New York, that enables inner-city youth to embrace the arts and introduces them to career opportunities. The camp was called Camp Mariah "for her generous support and dedication to Fresh Air children",^[154]and she received a Congressional Horizon Award for her youth-related charity work.^[155] She is well-known nationally for her work with theMake-a-Wish Foundation in granting the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses, and in November 2006 she was awarded the Foundation's Wish Idol for her "extraordinary generosity and her many wish granting achievements".^[156] Carey has volunteered for the New York City Police Athletic League and contributed to the obstetrics department of New York Presbyterian Hospital Cornell Medical Center. A percentage of the sales of MTV Unplugged was donated to various other charities. In 2008, Carey was named Hunger Ambassador of the World Hunger Relief Movement. She is giving a free download of her song, "Love Story", to customers who donate to the organization at participating restaurants.^[157]

One of Carey's most high-profile benefit concert appearances was on VH1's 1998 Divas Live special, during which she performed alongside other female singers in support of the Save the Music Foundation. The concert was a ratings success, and Carey participated in the Divas 2000special. In 2007, the Save the Music Foundation honored Carey at their tenth gala event for her support towards the foundation since its inception.^[158] She appeared at the America: A Tribute to Heroes nationally televised fundraiser in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, and in December 2001, she performed before peacekeeping troops in Kosovo. Carey hosted the CBS television special At Home for the Holidays, which documented real-life stories of adopted children and foster families,^[159] and she has worked with the New York City Administration for Children's Services. In 2005, Carey performed for Live 8 in London and at the Hurricane Katrina relief telethon "Shelter from the Storm". In August 2008, Carey and other singers recorded the charity single, "Just Stand Up" produced by Babyface and L. A. Reid, to support "Stand Up to Cancer". On September 5, the singers performed it live on TV.^[160]

Declining offers to appear in commercials in the United States during her early career, Carey was not involved in brand marketing initiatives until 2006, when she participated in endorsements for Intel Centrino personal computers and launched a jewelry and accessories line for teenagers, Glamorized, in American Claire's and Icing stores.^[161]^[162] During this period, as part of a partnership with Pepsi and Motorola, Carey recorded and promoted a series of exclusive ringtones, including "Time of Your Life".^[163] She signed a licensing deal with the cosmetics companyElizabeth Arden, and in 2007, she released her own fragrance, "M".^[164]^[165] According to Forbes, Carey was the sixth richest woman in entertainment as of January 2007, with an estimated net worth of US $225 million.^[166] Carey directed or co-directed several of the music videos for her singles during the 1990s. Slant magazine named the video for "The Roof (Back in Time)", which Carey co-directed with Diane Martel, one of the twenty greatest music videos of all time.^[167] In 2008, Carey made Time's annual list of 100 most Influential people.^[168]^[169]^[170]

lady gaga

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 03:59:00 +0000

When Lady Gaga was a little girl, she would sing along on her mini plastic tape recorder to Michael Jackson and Cyndi Lauper hits and get twirled in the air in daddy’s arms to the sounds of the Rolling Stones and the Beatles. The precocious child would dance around the table at fancy Upper West Side restaurants using the breadsticks as a baton. And, she would innocently greet a new babysitter in nothing but her birthday suit.

It’s no wonder that little girl from a good Italian New York family, turned into the exhibitionist, multi-talented singer-songwriter with a flair for theatrics that she is today: Lady Gaga.

“I was always an entertainer. I was a ham as a little girl and I’m a ham today,” says Lady Gaga, 23, who made a name for herself on the Lower East Side club scene with the infectious dance-pop party song “Beautiful Dirty Rich,” and wild, theatrical, and often tongue-in-cheek “shock art” performances where Gaga – who designs and makes many of her stage outfits -- would strip down to her hand-crafted hot pants and bikini top, light cans of hairspray on fire, and strike a pose as a disco ball lowered from the ceiling to the orchestral sounds of A Clockwork Orange.

“I always loved rock and pop and theater. When I discovered Queen and David Bowie is when it really came together for me and I realized I could do all three,” says Gaga, who nicked her name from Queen’s song “Radio Gaga” and who cites rock star girlfriends, Peggy Bundy, and Donatella Versace as her fashion icons. “I look at those artists as icons in art. It’s not just about the music. It’s about the performance, the attitude, the look; it’s everything. And, that is where I live as an artist and that is what I want to accomplish.”

That goal might seem lofty, but consider the artist: Gaga is the girl who at age 4 learned piano by ear. By age 13, she had written her first piano ballad. At 14, she played open mike nights at clubs such as New York’s the Bitter End by night and was teased for her quirky, eccentric style by her Convent of the Sacred Heart School (the Manhattan private school Nicky and Paris Hilton attended) classmates by day. At age 17, she became was one of 20 kids in the world to get early admission to Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. Signed by her 20^th birthday and writing songs for other artists (such as the Pussycat Dolls, and has been asked to write for a series of Interscope artists) before her debut album was even released, Lady Gaga has earned the right to reach for the sky.

“My goal as an artist is to funnel a pop record to a world in a very interesting way,” says Gaga, who wrote all of her lyrics, all of her melodies, and played most of the synth work on her album, The Fame (Streamline/KonLive/Cherrytree/Interscope). “I almost want to trick people into hanging with something that is really cool with a pop song. It’s almost like the spoonful of sugar and I’m the medicine.”

On The Fame, it’s as if Gaga took two parts dance-pop, one part electro-pop, and one part rock with a splash of disco and burlesque and generously poured it into the figurative martini glasses of the world in an effort to get everyone drunk with her Fame. “The Fame is about how anyone can feel famous,” she explains. “Pop culture is art. It doesn’t make you cool to hate pop culture, so I embraced it and you hear it all over The Fame. But, it’s a sharable fame. I want to invite you all to the party. I want people to feel a part of this lifestyle.”

The CD’s opener and first single, “Just Dance,” gets the dance floor rocking with it’s “fun, L.A., celebratory vibe.” As for the equally catchy, “Boys Boys Boys,” Gaga doesn’t mind wearing her influences on her sleeve. “I wanted to write the female version of Motley Crue’s ‘Girls Girls Girls,’ but with my own twist. I wanted to write a pop song that rockers would like.”

“Beautiful Dirty Rich” sums up her time of self-discovery, living in the Lower East Side and dabbling in drugs and the party scene. “That time, and that song, was just me trying to figure things out,” says Gaga. “Once I grabbed the reigns of my artistry, I fell in love with that more than I did with the party life.” On first listen, “Paparazzi” might come off as a love song to cameras, and in all honestly, Gaga jokes “on one level it IS about wooing the paparazzi and wanting fame. But, it’s not to be taken completely seriously. It’s about everyone’s obsession with that idea. But, it’s also about wanting a guy to love you and the struggle of whether you can have success or love or both.”

Gaga shows her passion for love songs on such softer tracks as the Queen-influenced “Brown Eyes” and the sweet kiss-off break-up song “Nothing I can Say (eh eh).” “‘Brown Eyes’ is the most vulnerable song on the album,” she explains. “‘Eh Eh’ is my simple pop song about finding someone new and breaking up with the old boyfriend.”

For the new tour for this album, fans will be treated to a more polished version of what they saw (and loved) at her critically acclaimed Lollapalooza show in August 2007 and Winter Music Conference performance in March 2008. “This new show is the couture version of my handmade downtown performance of the past few years. It’s more fine-tuned, but some of my favorite elements to my past shows – the disco balls, hot pants, sequin, and stilettos – will still be there. Just more fierce and more of a conceptual show with a vision for pop performance art.”

It’s been a while since a new pop artist has made her way in the music industry the old-fashioned/grass roots way by paying her dues with seedy club gigs and self-promotion. This is one rising pop star who hasn’t been plucked from a model casting call, born into a famous family, won a reality TV singing contest, or emerged from a teen cable TV sitcom. “I did this the way you are supposed to. I played every club in New York City and I bombed in every club and then killed it in every club and I found myself as an artist. I learned how to survive as an artist, get real, and how to fail and then figure out who I was as singer and performer. And, I worked hard.”

Gaga adds with a wink in her eye, “And, now, I’m just trying to change the world one sequin at a time.”

Lady Gaga to perform on MTV Video Music Awards Show

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 04:01:00 +0000

U.S. singer Lady Gaga performs at her concert in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Aug. 9, 2009. "I'm simply gutted to be both a performer and nominee at the 2009 VMAs. In fact, I'm so happy, I could die."

Lady Gaga expresses happiness in her own quirky way, and we can expect and equally interesting performance when she hits the stage Sept. 13 at the MTV Video Music Awards Show.

She is nominated for nine video awards.

Lady Gaga’s debut album, The Fame, has sold more than one million copies and reached No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart.

She has had two No. 1 songs, Just Dance and Poker Face. Another single, LoveGame, made it to No. 5.

The show will be broadcast live on MTV at 9 p.m. ET and tape-delayed at 9 p.m. PT.

The TV program will air on MTV’s entire network of 68 channels throughout the world. Theoretically, the program can be seen by more than one billion people.

In a study in contrasts, Taylor Swift will also perform on the awards show.

The public may vote for their favorites in some categories at MTV.com.

Among the award presenters this year are Miranda Cosgrove, star of iCarly, singer Katy Perry and Leighton Meester of Gossip Girl.

Taylor Swift to perform on MTV Music Video Awards

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 03:59:00 +0000

Taylor Swift in The Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience (Disney Photo)

Taylor Swift will perform on the Sept. 13 MTV Music Awards show, she announced late Sunday morning in an email to fans.

She did not say which song she will perform, but she is nominated for Best Female Video for You Belong with Me.

Taylor, 19, has produced two No. 1 albums and is on a sold-out tour of the United States.

Taylor was nominated for the MTV Music Video Award for Best New Artist in 2008.

She has won three Academy of Country Music awards, an American Music award, five BMI awards, on Country Music Association award, five CMT Music awards, a Nashville Songwriters Association International award, three Teen Choice awards, one Young Hollywood award and one CMT Online award.

Pink ends record-breaking Oz tour

noreply@blogger.com (bazooka) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 07:08:00 +0000

She rocketed onto stage for her first Sydney show 12 weeks ago and last night pop star Pink pulled down the circus tent on her Funhouse tour for the last time in Australia.

Promising more than a few surprises and some previously unseen tricks, the American two-times Grammy award-winning star hadn't lost her sparkle, despite her punishing 58-show tour schedule.

She shot through a trap-door for the opening number, Bad Influence, writhed around on the stage to Just Like a Pill and swung from a trapeze during Sober.

"Sydney! Can I take you home with me?" She hollered to the crowd.

"‘If everyone brings a VB, I’ll be stocked for a year."

The singer’s aerial tricks, a hallmark of her tour, went off without a hitch, unlike in Brisbane on June 16 when a safety cable snapped, leaving the singer suspended above the stage for about a minute.

Pink’s Australian tour broke several sales and venue records, including eclipsing John Farnham’s record for the most number of shows at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena in a single tour.

The tour, which has been seen by more than 660,000 people - or one in every 32 Australians - has grossed more than A$70 million.

Pink scheduled several breaks between shows during her three-month stay in Australia, but was forced to cancel one Brisbane show on July 20 because she had laryngitis.

On the micro-blogging website Twitter on Friday, Pink said she was sad to be leaving Australia.

"Sydney! Last two shows ... can u believe it? We’ve been together for 3.5 months. I feel like we’re breaking up," she wrote.

Pink, whose real name is Alecia Moore, will return to the US this week in time for her 30th birthday on September 8.

She is married to motocross rider Carey Hart, who joined her for parts of her tour in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Newcastle.