Archive for the ‘Music’ Category

Who Shot the Rapper Dolla?

May 12th, 2013 |

Who shot the rapper Dolla?

Dolla, an up and coming rapper from Atlanta, was shot in the head and killed in a brawl outside of a shopping mall in Los Angeles on Monday, May 18th. The shooting allegedly occured shortly after 3:00 PM near the La Cienega Boulevard entrance to the Beverly Center in Los Angeles, after a fight between a group of individuals broke out. Some witnesses report that a woman was seen firing a handgun. Another source told TMZ that a male suspect was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport as he attempted to board a flight — we now know the identity of the male suspect.
The Los Angeles Police Department did not immediately release the identity of the victim — the story was instead broken by his publicist, Sue Vannasing.

Dolla, whose real name is Roderick Anthony Burton II, was 21 years old at the time of his death. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dolla was shot while waiting for friends at the Beverly Center’s mall valet — Dolla was with fellow rappers DJ Shabbazz and Scrapp DeLeon. Dolla’s publicist said that just before the shooting a man and a woman were seen “trailing” the rapper. As of this writing, Los Angeles Police have “two persons of interest” in custody. The cops picked up one man at the ticketing area of the Los Angeles International Airport with a gun in his possession. As of this morning, the man in custody, Aubrey Berry, has been charged with murder — TMZ was the first to release the identity of the suspect.

Writing on his Myspace page, Dolla said “My music is universal. I can do street music or pop music. But whatever I do, I attempt to make meaningful songs with substance.” Dolla had a couple of releases under his belt, but was still hard at work on his first album for Konvict Music Records.

In fact, Dolla was in Los Angeles to continue work on his much anticipated debut album, A Dolla & A Dream. The rapper was born in Chicago, but his family relocated to Atlanta when he was five after the suicide of his father. Dolla was first a member of the Elektra Records signed group known as “Da Razkalz Kru”. After breaking with “Da Razkalz”, Dolla worked his way up the Atlanta hip hop scene, building reptutation and talent. He was eventually recruited by Sean Combs (“P. Diddy”) to be a model for Combs’ Sean John fashion line. Around the same time as Dolla began to work with Combs, the rapper hooked up with Akon, who quickly signed Dolla to the Konvict Music Records label early in 2007. At this time, Dolla recorded the hit “Who the F*** Is That?” with the artist T Pain. The song reached Number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100. Dolla’s follow-up single “Feelin’ Myself” was featured on the soundtrack of the film Step Up. Dolla’s publicist released a statement after the shooting, saying that Dolla ” . . . had a very promising career. He was being hyped as the next Tupac [Shakur]. He chose music to get off the streets.” While the comparison to Tupac may be a bit too much, we won’t ever know now how much talent Dolla had.

According to TMZ, the police picked up Aubrey Berry at LAX airport. Aubrey Berry is believed to have dropped off a rental car before he was found at the airport with a handgun. Airport police spokesman Sergeant Jim Holcomb told the media: “As the officers approached the suspect, they asked him ‘Do you know why we’re here?’ ” According to Holcomb, Berry then put his hands up in the air and said, “Yes, I’ve got a gun in my waistband. Don’t shoot me.” Police recovered a loaded 9mm semiautomatic handgun from Berry, who is currently being held in Los Angeles county on $1 million bail.

Los Angeles Police Sergeant Ronnie Crump insisted that the other unknown people with the alleged gunman are also “persons of interest”, though no arrests have been made thus far. It was not clear how many people were with the gunman or what the argument was about.

Music Questions & Answers

January 30th, 2013 |

Very few things are as personal to someone as their preference and taste in music. Which is why so many of our members send in music related questions. In our “Music Questions & Answers” section you’ll also find music advice and music tips contained in the responses written by our staff.

Are you interested in finding out about a particular music style? Or perhaps you’d like to know more about your favorite band. If so please send us an email to questions [at] askdeb.com and we’ll try to answer your questions promptly and accurately.

Music Advice

These articles feature some of the latest music advice submited at AskDeb.com. If you would like contribute please visit our forum at the “Community” link on the top menu of this page.

Recent Music Related Blog Posts

The following are recent music related blog post we feel are relevant to our readers.

Who Sang That Song – And Other Popular Questions

Caravan Dance Version by Duke Ellington

It’s possible the song you’re looking for is “Caravan” by Timo Maas featuring Finlay Quaye. The song appeared as the 13th track on Timo Maas’s 2002 album, Lost. (Though there are two copies sold on Amazon, and one version of the album replaces “Caravan” with a Paul Oakenfold song. Remember to be sure and get the right album when buying the product on Amazon or elsewhere.)

Who Sings Wild Side Of Life?

Why Did Daryl Hall And Sara Allen Break Up?

Who Sings The Song That Sounds Similar To “Time Of The Seasons”?

Who Originally Wrote The Song “Rollin’ and Tumblin’”?

The song “Rollin’ and Tumblin’” is a classic blues song from the early days of the modern blues pioneers. It encompasses everything from what you think a blues song should be.

How To Buy a Guitar

Knowing how to buy a guitar is very much like buying anything else. You don’t need to be an expert guitarist, but you do need to be a savvy shopper.

What is the Music Score For Numb3rs Episode 23 May 15th?

How do Music Royalties Work? And How are Music Royalties Calculated?

Here’s basically how royalties work, though I would suggest you get a deeper understanding if you’re going to be in the music business. Copyright laws state that when 2 or more musicians collaborate on writing a song (either musically or lyrically), then the ownership is “pro rata”.

How Can I Learn How To Sing?

Who is Susan Boyle?

If you’ve turned on the TV in the last week, you’ve likely seen her — a plain looking older Scottish woman with a microphone in her hands and a crowd of people on their feet.

Who Sang This Song or Who Wrote That Music?

Occasionally, readers here at AskDeb will write in asking for information on who wrote a song, who sang some popular song of the past or even what a particular song someone heard once was.

How Do I Choose Good Music For Cheerleading?

Choosing good music for cheerleading routines is harder than it would seem. First, you have to choose high-energy songs.

What Are The Best Places To Get Country Music Ringtones?

Getting country music ringtones is a mixed bag on the internet. Some of the best ringtones download sites don’t offer a whole lot of country music ring tones, even if they have huge ringtones archives for other popular music categories.

Who Sang That Song?

This page collects all of the “who sang that song” and “who sings that song” questions on one page, along with the answers to those questions. So if you’re wondering who sings (fill in the blank here), this is the place to find out.

How Do I Get Into the Music Business?

I’m assuming if you’re asking that question, that you want to get into the music business as a successful musical act. I’ll put it to you straight.

How Do You Start a Music Management Company?

Starting a music management company allows someone who loves the music industry and wants the excitement of the music business to get involved in the scene.

What Are The Best Wedding Love Songs?

Weddings are beautiful affairs. They celebrate love, romance, and commitment. So many things go into a wedding to make it the perfect event.

How Can I Use Music To Improve My Mood?

How Can I Learn To Appreciate Classical Music?

Learning to appreciate classical music is probably just a matter of time. If you spend the time to listen to classical music and search for the classical music tunes you’ll most enjoy, you’ll start to appreciate the craftsmanship and imagination which goes into great classical music.

How Does Yahoo Music Work?

Yahoo Music provides Internet radio and a number of music services to its users. YahooMusic also provides music videos, music news and music artist information & bios, as well as original music programming to visitors. Yahoo! Music is both a media player and an online music site.

What Is The Best Music Download Site?

Where Can I Download Free Christmas Music?

How Do I Become A Rap Music Producer?

How Do I Choose Music For An Aerobics Workout?

Choosing good music for an aerobics workout requires matching the tempo of the music to the intensity of your workout.

Where Can You Download Karaoke Music?

Most sites which allow music downloads also have software for downloading karaoke music. The selection might not be as large as the downloadable commercial music from the original artists, but you’ll be able to find a wide selection of songs on your larger karaoke download sites.

How Do I Get A Job In Radio Sales?

Where And How Did Rap Music Originate?

How Do I Find New Music To Listen To?

There are so many ways to find new music to listen to. I’ll try to go over some of the best ones I can think of off the top of my head.

How Can I Learn To Appreciate Country Music?

What Is Zydeco Music?

Zydeco music is an American folk music form which developed during the first few decades of the 20th century in a particular part of Louisiana, namely southwest Louisiana near the Texas border.

What Is Music Technology?

Music technology describes the technological equipment used mainly to compose, perform, record, store and play back modern music.

What Is Reggae Music?

Reggae music is a Jamaican musical genre with roots in the several Caribbean music and African music forms, as well as the rhythm and blues genre of American music.

What Is Ska Music?

What Is Music Row?

What Is Zune Music?

“Zune” is the brand name for a popular product line of portable media players created by Microsoft in cooperation with Toshiba.

What Is Music Publishing And What Do Music Publishers Do?

Music Tips

Are you looking for the lyrics to a song? Are you seeking information about your favorite artist or group? Then these music tips should help you out.

Who sang the following songs… “She’s Leaving Home”, “Second Home By The Sea” and “Homeward Bound”?

“She’s Leaving Home” is by The Beatles, “Second Home By The Sea” is by Genesis and “Homeward Bound” is by Simon and Garfunkel.

Get Rock collectibles including Beatles Sheet Music at The Rock Snob.

Who sang the song, “Since He Said Goodbye” or it may be, “One Less Man to Pick Up After”?

The song you are referring to is “One Less Bell to Answer” written by Bacharach/David and sung by Marilyn McCoo while she was with The 5th Dimension.

Who sang “Don’t Say Goodnight and Mean Goodbye” and “I was looking back to see if she was looking back to see if I was looking back”?

The Shirelles sang “Don’t Say Goodnight and Mean Goodbye” and The Browns (Jim and Maxine Brown) sang “Looking Back to See”.

Would you happen to know who sings “Generation Landslide”?

Alice Cooper sings Generation Landslide. It’s on the CD Special Forces.

Do you know the second song in the “Cruel Intentions” trailer?

(I know that the first song is “6 underground” by the Sneaker Pimps and the last song is “How Soon is Now?” by Love Spit Love.) … a follow up post to this finds that this song is NOT on the soundtrack. Here are some of the lyrics (we think?) “Now far gone, so far beyond, Oh that I don’t hold on and on [or uh-oh].” Does anyone know the title to this song? If so, please e-mail us.

I found! The name of the band is Pushmonkey and the song is “Cut the Cord”. Thanks for helping me find the other two titles. - Darth

Deb says…. Good job, Darth! Thank you for finding the title to that song. Click here and it will bring you to a page where you can hear several Cruel Intentions Songs from that movie.

I am trying to find information on the artist who sang “Listen To My Heart”

The lyrics are “Listen to my heart, that’s what you are, you’re everything there is to being true”. I originally found it on MP3.com, but they are no longer in existence.

I did a search for the song “Listen to My Heart” and found that the artist’s name is Larry Edoff. Here is a link to the official website of Larry Edoff. There are links to sound files, lyrics, and to buy the CD titled “In Subtle Tones”.

What Is Zydeco Music?

January 30th, 2013 |

Zydeco music is an American folk music form which developed during the first few decades of the 20th century in a particular part of Louisiana, namely southwest Louisiana near the Texas border. Zydeco music is played primarily with the button accordion and the scrub-board, and is characterized by a fast tempo.) Zydeco has integrated numerous influences and dance forms over the years, so that zydeco involves everything from waltzes and shuffles to hip hop beats and ska tones. Of course, a “traditional zydeco music” still exists, which focuses on the aforementioned waltz and shuffle, as well as rock-n-roll and blues.

Louisiana Creole Zydeco

Zydeco music was developed by the “black creole” peoples from the musical forms of the traditional Louisiana creole peoples. (For more about the meaning of “Louisiana creole”, read the note on creoles and cajuns at the bottom of this page.) After the Civil War, the black creoles were temporarily among the leaders of the African-American communities of Louisiana. White tried to reimpose white supremacy throughout the South, including Louisiana, and the Creoles were increasingly grouped among the disenfranchised blacks. Given their longer period of freedom, the black creoles continues to press for social justice. Their music began to evolve its own identity in these years, incorporating elements of many other music traditions: gospel, blues, jazz, Cajun and, of course, traditional Creole music. While it wasn’t called that at the time, this fusion would become known as zydeco.

Why Is Clifton Chenier The King of Zydeco?

Clifton Chenier is sometimes called “the King of Zydeco”. Chenier, whose musical recording career spanned from 1954 until his death in 1987, is credited with first spreading the popularity of zydeco music.

Clifton Chenier became famous for playing the rub-board with a variety of bottle openers. His zydeco songs from the 1950′s are thought to have been the first zydeco recordings, and were certainly the first songs popularized to the American people. In 1983, Clifton Chenier was given a Grammy Award for his zydeco album, “I’m Here”. Chenier’s music has been invoked by Paul Simon, Rory Gallagher and John Mellencamp, and he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1989.

Zydeco in the 1980′s

The 1980′s became known as a golden time for zydeco music in the pop culture, as Rockin’ Sidney and Queen Ida also received Grammy Awards for zydeco during this time. Other zydeco acts, such as Zydeco Force, Terrance Simien, Chubby Carrier, John Delafose, Boozoo Chavis, the Sam Brothers, Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas, C.J. Chenier, Geno Delafose, Terrance Simien, Nathan Williams, Beau Jocque, Chris Ardoin and Keith Frank. Of all these, Buckwheat Zydeco would make the largest impact.

Buckwheat Zydeco

Stanley Dural, Jr., aka “Buckwheat Zydeco”, is the most successful mainstream performer of zydeco music to date. He signed the first zydeco contract with a major label, and was also nominated for a Grammy Award. Buckwheat Zydeco appeared in the movie, The Big Easy, a movie about a mob investigation in New Orleans (of course). Buckwheat Zydeco’s career continues to this day, and his band is known for its energetic live performances.

How Does Zydeco Music Have Its own Grammy?

It took many decades, but Zydeco Music gained its own Grammy Award (kind of) in 2007. This award is known as the “Grammy Award for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album”.

Zydeco has made an subtle and not-so subtle impact on the American pop culture. Zydeco restaurants are found throughout the U.S., while zydeco bands tour both America and Europe. Zydeco music is synonymous with Louisiana and is loved for its upbeat rhythms. Today, there are several zydeco hotbeds, specifically in places where Lousiana’s black creoles migrated during the post-war Great Migration: Texas and California. Oregon has a zydeco community, while Louisiana continues to have a vibrant zydeco music community.

Zydeco Music Instruments

Zydeco music is played using the piano accordion and the frottoir (what we have referred to as the rub-board). Other instruments used by zydeco players include standards like bass guitar, drugs and fiddle, but also guitar, horns and keyboard instruments.

Louisiana Creoles

“Louisiana creole” refers to someone descended from those who lived in the area Louisiana during the French-Spanish era of colonization. While “creole” often refers to people of mixed heritage, this is not the strict definition and does not apply to most Louisiana creoles. Also, creoles are distinct from “Cajuns”, who are a specific branch of French-descended Canadians from the French-Canadian region of Acadia. (The word “acadian” somehow became “cajun”.) The term “creole” originally meant those of European descent who were born in the New World. Over the years, it took on connotations of mixed European and native descent, but this is neither the original or modern definition.

“Black creoles” were French-speaking freedmen of African descent. While France brought black slaves to their colonies during their early colonial period, the “Code Noir” of 1724 brought freedom to French blacks a full 140 years before American blacks in English-speaking regions. These black creoles located to southwest Louisiana, leading a largely isolated existence. These would be the people who invented zydeco music in the 20th century.

What Is Zune Music?

January 30th, 2013 |

“Zune” is the brand name for a popular product line of portable media players created by Microsoft in cooperation with Toshiba. These MP3 players were designed to compete against iPods, and the portable media players and Zune Windows-embedded software is designed to interface with “Zune Marketplace”, a website for downloading online music, online videos and podcasts.

“Zune music” is a website where someone can download files to their i-Pod, including music files, podcasts, music videos, tv videos, movies, games and audiobooks. Pretty much anything that can be downloaded to an iPod or MP3 player can be downloaded on Zune.com. Zune software interfaces with both Windows Vista and Windows XP, so people can buy song files, rip audio from their CDs, add music videos and manage music files once they’re in the format. Since our focus is “music downloads“, I’ll focus on Zune music.

When you go to the Zune Music homepage, you’ll find categories like “artist of the week”, “free songs” and “deluxe ep”. You can also browse by genre, top songs, top albums and top artists. Interestingly, each selection on Zune music shows how many times that particular song, album or artist has been played.

Top Artists on Zune Music

For instance, when you find the “Top Artists” section of ZuneMusic, you’ll see the Top 5 most-played artists of the week. Click on “all time” and you’ll find information on the most-downloaded artists all time on Zune.

Downloading on Zune Music – Zune Marketplace

When you first download on Zune music, you’ll be taken to the “Zune Marketplace”. If you don’t have the software to interface with Zune music, you’ll have the choices “I have it” or “I need it”. If you click on “I need it”, you’ll end up downloading the software needed to operate on the Zune Music Marketplace. This software is easy to download, is non-invasive and does not obligate you in any way to buy products on Zune.

If you have trouble with the Zune download, contact Zune through the “support” link. Visitors who are concerned about downloading software onto their computer should read the privacy statement, terms of service and “safety” page.

Zune Music Genres

There are 14 different music genres offered at the Zune Music Marketplace. These include rock, hip hop, r&b and soul, pop, electronic and dance, Latin, reggae and dancehall, world, country, classical, jazz, blues & folk, comedy & spoken word, Christian & gospel, soundtracks and kids’. For those rare items that don’t fit into one of those fourteen categories, there is a more music category, too.

Zune MP3 Models

Zune 30 was the original product offered by Microsoft and Toshiba, in an attempt to compete with the Apple ipod. Since that time, improvements have been made to the product. Here is a current run-down of the Zune music products you can buy to interface with the Zune Marketplace online store.

Zune MP3 Music

Note that Zune Products won’t hold the maximum number above on all three file types above, but some combination of the three. For instance, the Zune 4 will hold 1000 songs, 25,000 pictures or 12 hours of videos, but not all three at once. You can load 1000 songs. You can load 25,000 pictures. You can load 12 hours of video. Zune users can mix and match these files, but you won’t be able to hold the maximum of each.

Model Type	Price	Songs Held	Pictures Held	Video Limit by Hours
Zune 4	$99.99	1,000	25,000	12 hours
Zune 8	$139.99	2,000	25,000	24 hours
Zune 16	$179.99	4,000	25,000	48 hours
Zune 80	$229.99	20,000	25,000	250 hours
Zune 120	$249.99	30,000	25,000	375 hours

You can hold 500 songs and 6 hours of videos. Of you can hold 500 songs and 25,000 pictures. Or you might be able to hold 500 songs, 6,250 pictures and 3 hours of video.

But for $100, you can buy a Zune Music Mp3 player which holds a thousand songs at a time. You’ll be able to go to the Zune Marketplace and download music from their site.

How Does Yahoo Music Work?

January 30th, 2013 |

LAUNCHcast Internet Radio

LAUNCHcast is the Yahoo Music internet radio service, similar to iTunes radio. Internet visitors to Launchcast can sort songs through such interface tools as genre, album title, song title and artist name. People will find several hundred thousand music files which can be accessed on the site. In early 2009, LAUNCH Cast will merge with CBS Music, giving Yahoo! Music a more robust radio network.

When using Launchcast, people can build entire playlists of favorite songs or even favored radio stations. The launchcast software sorts songs according to user suggestions, according to the aforementioned artist, album or genre. Also, you can find music which other users with similar music tastes (through a ratings system) recommend. You don’t have to use the rating system, though you get better results if you do.

Yahoo MusicMatch Jukebox

“Yahoo MusicMatch Jukebox” once allowed song files to be ripped and burned from CDs, eventually transferring music files to portable mp3 players and USB flash drives. Yahoo Music Jukebox also allowed members of “Yahoo Messenger” to perform certain tasks on the Yahoo Music site. As of the summer of 2008, this service was no longer possible, because this function was bought by Rhapsody. Yahoo Music Unlimited was also purchased by Rhapsody.

MusicMatch Jukebox allows you to purchase and manage bought content through the “My Station” function on the Yahoo! Music website. Users are encouraged by Yahoo Music to use MusicMatch Jukebox, which is an upgraded version of Yahoo Music Jukebox.

Yahoo! Messenger Music

Subscribers to Yahoo Messenger can stream music from one person to another, accessing each other’s playlists. Members can add entire songs to their Music Jukebox playlist, while non-members are limited to a thirty second sample of the same song. Note that streaming music and streaming videos is not the same as file sharing or downloading music, so you are not paying for the ability to share music files with one another directly.

Yahoo Homepage Music

When you get to the Y! Music homepage, you’ll first see links for music “videos”, “radio”, “downloads”, “artists” and music “exclusives”. You’ll also find a search engine function at the top of the home page, by typing in what you’re searching for and hitting the “search music” button. If you have questions about how to use the Yahoo music website, you can also hit the “learn more” button.

On the site, you’ll find the “Top 100 Charts”, where to see your local concerts, “music news” and featured music blogs. Like iTunes, you’ll also be able to search through Yahoo!’s featured radio stations by hitting the “today’s big hits” and “play station” links.

You’ll notice in the middle of the home page of Yahoo music links for videos, songs, albums and artists. This is the heart of Yahoo Music, because this is the easiest way you can listen to new music selections and watch new music videos.

Other Yahoo Music Options

You can listen to millions of free tunes by clicking on “Rhapsody Unlimited” at the bottom of the home page. Also, use “Yahoo! Music Backstage” for news about the hottest music stars and music videos, or just take a lot at all the music charts.

Yahoo Music Information

“Yahoo Music” was named “LAUNCH” when it was launched by Yahoo! in 2001. The company changed its name to “Yahoo! Music”, and then changed it to its current name — “Y! Music” — in 2005.

Y! Music is one of the most popular internet music websites in the world. Yahoo Music was the #1 online music site in March 2007, in terms of “time spent” and “audience reached”.

Who Sang That Song?

January 30th, 2013 |

People write to AskDeb.com all the time asking questions like this:

Who sang that song…?
Who sang this song…?
Who sings…?

Who Sang That Song “I Want You To Want Me”?

Cheap Trick sang the song “I Want You To Want Me”. The song was featured on Cheap Trick’s 2nd album, In Color, which was released in 1977. In 1979, a live version of the song “I Want You To Want Me” hit #7 on the Billboard charts. The song was on the charts for 19 weeks. “I Want You To Want Me” has been covered by artists including Dwight Yoakam, Chris Isaak, and Lindsay Lohan.

Who Sang This Song “It’s The Time of the Season”?

The Zombies originally sang the song “Time Of The Season”. (“It’s the Time of the Season” is a quote from the chorus of the song, but the actual title of the song is a little bit shorter.) “Time of the Season” was a hit in 1968, reaching #3 on the Billboard charts. “Time of the Season” has been covered by artists like Ben Taylor (James Taylor’s son), the Dave Matthews Band, and rap star Necro. The song has also been featured in various movies and tv shows, including Friends, The Simpsons, and South Park.

Who Sings The Song “One Less Man”?

The name of the song is actually not “One Less Man”. The title is actually “One Less Bell To Answer”, and The Fifth Dimension sang the song. (Marilyn McCoo was the lead singer on the song “One Less Bell To Answer”. The song reached #2 on the Billboard charts, and it was later covered by Dionne Warwick. “One Less Bell To Answer” was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

Who Sang “Heard It In A Love Song”?

The Marshall Tucker Band sang “Heard It In A Love Song” in 1977. It was their most successful song, reaching #14 on the Billboard charts. Mark Chesnutt also covered “Heard It In A Love Song” and used the name of the song as the title for an album.

Who Sang “Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy”?

Sonia sang “Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy” in 1991. The song hit #22 on the British Singles Chart.

Who Sang “Hold Me”?

“Hold Me” is a pop song from 1933 that was originally sung by Little Jack Little. Various artists have covered the song “Hold Me” since then, including:

Ann Margret
Eddy Arnold
Frankie Avalon
Peggy Lee
Dean Martin

Who Sang “Listen To Your Heart”?

The Swedish pop duo Roxette sang “Listen To Your Heart”. The song was #1 on the Billboard chart in 1989. The Belgian dance group D.H.T. also sang the song in 2005.

Who Sang The Song “I Thank You”?

Sam and Dave sang the song “I Thank You” in 1968. (The song was co-written by Isaac Hayes.) In 1979, ZZ Top also recorded the song “I Thank You”.

Who Sang This Song: “You Just Keep Me Hanging On”?

The Supremes sang the song “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” in 1966. (Diana Ross was the lead vocalist.) The song was #1 on the Billboard charts for 2 weeks. The song has been covered by Wilson Pickett, Rod Stewart, and Reba McEntire.

Who Sang Listen To Your Heart?

It was one of those types of song that encompassed everything about the 80’s. From the beat to the heavy keyboards, “Listen To Your Heart” was a hit song in the United States. It is also one of those few songs from that era that still gets air time. Every time I hear it, I get taken right back to high school (yeah, I am that old). So who sang this song? It was a small duo from Sweden called Roxette.

The Band

Roxette was a Swedish pop duo that officially formed in 1986. The two members, Per Gessle and Marie Fredriksson, were originally part of a bigger band called Gyllene Tider. Before that, Fredriksson was with a band called MaMa’s Barn. She later joined Gyllene Tider as a back-up singer.

While popular in their native Sweden (they had won an award for Best Swedish Group in 1982) they still wanted to tap into the American market. Gyllene Tider released their first English-speaking album in 1984 called Heartland Café. The album was released due to interest from Capitol Records, the American label for EMI.

After the album’s release, Capitol took six of the eleven tracks and re-released them as an extended play version in the U.S. However, the group’s Swedish name was deemed not marketable in the U.S. Capitol wanted something audiences could easily remember. The band decided on the name ‘Roxette’ after a 1975 Dr. Feelgood song.

Due to poor performance of Heartland in the U.S., Gyllene Tider soon broke up and Gessle and Fredriksson took up solo careers. However, in 1986, at the advice of their record companies, the two teamed up and released an English-language single, “Neverending Love”. They called themselves Roxette and the song broke into the Swedish Top 10.

Roxette has released numerous albums over their successful career. They include:

Pearls of Passion (1986)
Look Sharp! (1988)
Joyride (1991)
Tourism (1992)
Crash!Boom!Bang! (1994)
Baladas in Espanol (1996)
Have A Nice Day (1999)
Room Service (2001)

One of Roxette’s biggest hits was the song “It Must Have Been Love” which was used in the soundtrack for the movie Pretty Woman starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts.

The Song

“Listen To Your Heart” was from the album Look Sharp! and was the third single released by the band in the U.S. It was written by member Per Gessle along with help from Mats M.P. Persson. It was chosen as a single in Sweden and the U.S. because Gessle and EMI wanted to showcase Fredriksson’s vocals.

The song hit #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Singles and was an immediate success. Ironically, the band never imagined that it would reach that peak in the U.S. because it was written for Swedish audiences. Gessle has stated that the song was Roxette trying to re-create the American FM-Rock band sound and really going overboard with it.

When the video was shot for the song, the location was the ruins of Borgholm Castle on the isle of Oland on the Baltic Sea. The crew was American and at first thought the castle was just a set built specifically for the video.

In 2006, the song “Listen To Your Heart” had been played 3 million times on American radio.

Who Sang that Song from the 90′s?

Hi,

I am trying really hard to find this song from the 90′s and its not working. I don’t remember a lot about the song at all. They played it on “Mix 107.7″ which is Dayton, OH I believe. I feel like it had “heart” in the title of the song. Maybe 90′s was in the name of the band. It was a really long band name. I watched the video on you tube and I just totally can’t remember what it is now. Please help me. I know I didn’t say a whole lot but ummm…..it’s an awesome song when i find it.

Dear Mix 107.7 Listener,

That’s a stumper, there. I haven’t been able to find a whole lot of groups with “90′s” or “Nineties” in the name that were actually active in the 1990′s. There was 98 Degrees (98°), which had a 1998 hit named “True To Your Heart”, that appeared on their album “98° and Rising” and also on the Mulan soundtrack. That song is likely to have been played on Mix 107.7, since the Mix played “Hot Adult Contemporary” from 1993 until the late-1990′s, then changed to a standard adult contemporary playlist moving ahead from the late-90′s until the present. Unfortunately, “98 Degrees” isn’t a very long group name.

There was a band named “Class of ’99″ that had a hit in 1999, but it was just a cover of the Pink Floyd song “Another Brick in the Wall” and was found on the soundtrack of the movie, The Faculty. The group in question was made up of stars from several grunge and alternative acts of the 1990′s, but the song certainly doesn’t fit what you wrote about the song and isn’t likely to have been played on 107.7.

If you’re looking for a long name from the 1990′s that had something similar to 90 in the title, you might think of “MC 900 Foot Jesus”. But MC 900 Foot Jesus never had a hit single with the word “heart” in it, and even if he did, it’s unlikely these songs would have been playing on a hot adult contemporary station.

So that’s a tough question to get an answer for. Write in again and tell us something about the video for the song and we might be able to find that answer for you.

Thanks,

Who Sings Wild Side Of Life?

January 30th, 2013 |

The song opens up with the lyrics “You wouldn’t read my letter if I wrote you/You asked me not to call you on the phone/But there’s something I am wanting to tell you/So I wrote it in the words of this song”. These words belong to the song “Wild Side of Life” and it is a classic tune that has been covered by numerous artists from several genres of music. It was originally a country song and has the standard country beat to it. But the lyrics perfectly capture that feeling of a lost love and cemented it as one of the great country songs of all time. But who sings “Wild Side of Life”? The answer to that was country music legend Hank Thompson.

Who Was Hank Thompson

Hank Thompson was born on September 3, 1925 and grew up in Waco, Texas. He grew up playing the harmonica and after serving in World War II, he decided to pursue music. His first single, “Whoa Sailor” for Blue Bonnet Records, was a local hit in Texas.

Thompson was known for his style of country music. Termed Western Swing, it was a blend of electric and steel guitar, and fiddle. His band was known as The Brazos Valley Boys (named after the Brazos River that runs through Waco). Thompson sang in a deep voice that was similar to Johnny Cash or Ernest Tub. As a type of Western music known as honky tonk music, he sang about nightclubs, women, drinking, good times, and bad times.

In an attempt to be more marketable and to gain more jobs playing in the dance halls of the era, Thompson altered his style a bit. He switched to a type of Western Swing, made famous by Bob Wills, that had a better beat and was more suitable for dancing.

In 1952 brought his first number one hit with “Wild Side of Life”. He followed it up later with another hit, “Waiting in the Lobby of your Heart”. After that he had a string of other hits that followed one after another. Most of his successful works were during the 1950’s and 60’s.

Hank Thompson performed for over six decades. He was not as prominent in the last few decades of his career but he was still active and recording. He recorded for Capital Records until 1965 and then switched over to Warner Brothers Records until 1967. For the next 12 years, he recorded for Dot Records which later became ABC Dot and MCA Records.

In 1989, Hank Thompson was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame and was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1997.

At this time he was still touring with The Brazos Valley Boys. However, in 2007, he had to cancel the rest of his Sunset Tour after he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of lung cancer. His last performance was on October 8, 2007, in his hometown of Waco, texas.

Hank Thompson died on Novermber 6, 2007. He had requested that no funeral be held so to honor him, a celebration was held at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, Texas. Fittingly, it is the largest (and probably most famous) honky tonk nightclub in the world.

Wild Side of Life Song History

“Wild Side of Life” was written by Arlie Carter and William Warren and was released as a single in 1952. It spent 15 weeks at number one on Billboards country charts.

Writer William Warren was inspired to write the song after his experiences with a woman who left him for the lure of the honky tonk nightlife. It completely captured the essence of that life and its use of a woman as the source for all of men’s problems is a theme that has dominated country music.

Interestingly enough, Hank Thompson was the not the first person to record “Wild Side of Life’. Country musician Jimmy Heap and the Melody Masters recorded the son in 1951 but never had any suiccess with it. It wasn’t until Thompson recorded his version a year later that it became a hit.

Country music singer Kitty Wells sang a song in asnwer to “Wild Side of Life”. It was titled “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” and was released later in 1952. It is a woman’s answer to Thompson’s song where Wells pointed out that men, not just women, were unfaithful and strayed occasionally. Like the song before it, Well’s version also hit number one on the charts.

Wild Side of Life Covers

There have been so many cover versions done for “Wild Side of Life”. Most of them have been by other country artists such as Willie Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Merle Haggard, Conway Twitty, Hank Williams, and Ray Price.

There have also been successful cover versions done by artists of other genres. In the 1970s, the song became popular when the British rock band Status Quo covered it and it became an international hit. Later that same decade, the song snuck into the limelight again when Rod Stweart covered it. Bonnie Tyler also did a version released in 1981.

Who Originally Wrote The Song “Rollin’ and Tumblin’”?

January 30th, 2013 |

The song “Rollin’ and Tumblin’” is a classic blues song from the early days of the modern blues pioneers. It encompasses everything from what you think a blues song should be. It has a simple beat accompanied by that disinctive slide guitar sound, wailing harmonica, and throaty vocals. It has the classic blues makeup of a three line structure with a 12-bar blues lyric. This means that the lyrics are made up of verses with one repeating line but there is no chorus. The lyrics have even been changed from time to time, depending on who performed it, but the beat has always remained the same. Rollin’ and Tumblin’ has been covered numerous times over the years by various musicians and performers. No one knows the exact origins of the song but most people believe the legendary blues master Muddy Waters first authored the current version of the song.

Who Was Muddy Waters?

The real name of Muddy Waters was McKinley Morganfield who was born in rural Mississippi on April 4, 1913. He was one of the founders of what is known as traditional blues and is considered by many to be “The Father of Chicago Blues”. He got his name because as a child he liked to play in the mud which earned him the nickname “Muddy”. Later on he changed it to “Muddy Waters”. He was influenced by early blues musicians Son House and Robert Johnson. Muddy Waters first learned to play the harmonica but by the age of seventeen had picked up the electric guitar. At the time, most blues artists were still playing the acoustic guitar. The foundation of his style is Mississippi Delta blues but he added microtones in his vocals and guitar style which made it hard for others to follow and duplicate. It has been said by himself and others that his style of blues is the hardest to play.

Waters achieved the height of his career around the mid 1950’s. He made a trip to England where he made a live recording at the 1960 Newport Jazz Festival. His loud style of playing shocked and inspired audiences. It was the first time audiences heard amplified blues music. His performances in England at this time went on to be a major influence on a new wave of music that would be called British Rock and later renamed as the British Invasion which included bands such as The Who and the Rolling Stones. The Rolling Stones named themselves after Water’s 1950 song “Rollin’ Stone”. Even guitar legend Jimi Hendrix cited Waters as a major influence.

After the 1950’s, Mudder Waters career began to wane. Conflicts with bands and record labels caused a number of problems. Then in 1977, his career took a turn for the better. Guitarist Johnny Winter convinced his label, Blue Sky, to sign Waters. Waters’ album, Hard Again, was hailed as a comeback. The sound of the album was a throwback to the earlier Chicago sound that Waters was known for. Hard Again went on to win a Grammy.

In 1982, Water’s health declined and he had to cancel most of his performances. His last public performance was in 1982 when he sat in with Eric Clapton and his band at a concert in Florida. Muddy Waters died in his sleep in 1983 at the age of 70. His funeral drew a huge crowd of blues enthusiasts and fans. Waters’s career proved to be an influence to a wide variety of music: you can hear his sound in jazz, rock, rhythm and blues, and country. Besides his influence, Muddy Waters helped Chuck Berry get signed to his first record label. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Muddy Waters as #17 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Rollin’ and Tumblin’ Through the Years

One of the earliest versions of “Rollin’ and Tumblin’” was recorded by Hambone Willie Newbern, one of the early founders of classic blues. But the song has been recorded and covered many times over by many different artists. Other blues masters have recorded it under different names but with the same beat. Robert Johnson recorded it as “If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day” in 1936 and John Lee Hooker recorded it as “Rollin’ Blues”. Muddy Waters recorded the song in 1950 for Chess Records.

The song has been popular with early rock bands. In 1966, Eric Clapton’s band Cream recorded their version on their debut album, Fresh Cream. Johnny Winter recorded a version on his 1968 album The Progressive Blues Experiment. Other bands include Canned Heat on their 1967 album. At the same time, the Yard Birds did a version but changed the lyrics and gave it a new title “Drinking Muddy Water”. Fellow Delta bluesman Johnny Shines did a version of the song but renamed it “Red Sun” and changed the lyrics to reflect a prison-theme.

“Rollin’ and Tumblin’” also came up in the 1990’s and later. Eric Clapton played it for his album Unplugged in 1992 aswell as Me and Mr. Johnsonin 2004. Jeff Beck recorded it on his album You Had It Coming in 2004. Grateful Dead did it live in 1995 on their final tour. One of the most recent recordings was by the legendary Bob Dylan for his 2006 album Modern Times. The song basically has the same rhythm and arrangement but Dylan ended up using new lyrics with the exception of the song’s two opening lines.

What Are The Best Wedding Love Songs?

January 30th, 2013 |

Weddings are beautiful affairs. They celebrate love, romance, and commitment. So many things go into a wedding to make it the perfect event. One of the most important is the music. When planning a wedding, you have to have the best love songs. They can be played during the wedding ceremony, the reception, or even at the honeymoon suite. When setting up the music, you should make sure that the dj you hire has a good repertoire of love songs in his mix. Ask to look at his list and pick out the ones you like to make sure that they get played. But how do you decide what are the best wedding love songs?

Choosing the Style of Love Songs

There are many different styles of music to choose from and each style has a slew of popular love songs. When choosing the best songs for your wedding, go with the style that you like. You don’t even have to stick with just one. If you like rock, country, and R&B, then throw a little bit of all three in there. Remember, it’s your wedding, right?

Pick Some Crowd Favorites

When choosing the right love songs for your wedding, you want to pick songs that you like. However, do not disregard the guests by picking obscure songs that only you like. Not everyone is going to know that indie band that you fell in love with while at the club one night. Make sure that you choose some songs that everyone is familiar with. They will be guaranteed to have a better time.

Find Out What He Likes

Believe it or not, the groom may have an opinion of his own. Even though it is your day, it would be a good time to practice ‘compromise’. Ask him what kind of songs he likes and if he knows of any good love songs. Try to include him in choosing some songs. He may surprise you by bringing up a song that you haven’t thought of. But if it is something from a band called Metalhead Bunnies From Outer Space, fell free to veto it.

Top 50 Wedding Love Songs

So what are the best wedding love songs? There are tons of love songs that would be great for a wedding but to help you out, here is a list of the top 50 songs and the artists who sings them.

Sonny and Cher – I Got You Babe
Lady in Red – Chris Rea
Tony Bennett – The Way You Look Tonight
Bon Jovi – I’ll Be There for You
Toni Braxton – Breathe Again
Phil Collins – One More Night
Chicago – You’re the Inspiration
Nat King Cole – When I Fall in Love
Gloria Estefan – Live for Loving You
Peter Gabriel – In Your Eyes
Faith Hill – Breathe
Foreigner – Waiting for a Girl Like You
Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warne – Up Where We Belong
Elton John – Can You Feel the Love Tonight?
Elton John - Your Song
Michael Penn – No Myth
The Police – Every Breath You Take
Elvis Presley – I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You
REO Speedwagon – Can’t Fight This Feeling
Lionel Richie – Hello
Lionel Richie – Truly
Seal – Kiss From a Rose
Percy Sledge – When a Man Loves a Woman
Rod Stewart – Have I Told You Lately?
U2 – With Or Without You<
U2 – One
Shania Twain – From This Moment On
Shania Twain – Forever and For Always
Luther Vandross – Always and Forever
Stevie Wonder – I Just Called to Say I Love You
Trisha Yearwood – How Do I Live
Beyonce – We Belong Together
Coldplay – Yellow
Kelly Clarkson – A Moment Like This
Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You
Journey – Open Arms
Aerosmith – I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing
The Beatles – And I Love Her
Belinda Carlyle – Circles in the Sand
Sea of Love – Hooneydrippers
Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight
Etta James – The Very Thought of You
Frank Sinatra – Someone to Watch Over Me
Woman – John Lennon
Norah Jones – I’ve Got To See You Again
Mary J. Blige – Be Without You
Sade – Love is Stronger than pride
Bette Midler – Wind Beneath My Wings
Engelbert Humerdink – After the Lovin’
Bryan Adams – Heaven

What Is Music Technology?

January 30th, 2013 |

Music technology describes the technological equipment used mainly to compose, perform, record, store and play back modern music.

People can study music technology at the university level, giving them a firm grounding in everything from music craft to today’s commercial music business. Because new music technology creates new techniques and opportunities to explore musically, this field of music helps to spur new music and new forms of musical creativity in today’s artists.

What Is Music Technology School?

If you were to attend a college to study “Music Technology”, you could study acoustic science, which is the study of sound and sound techniques. Others might study “music programming”, which is the use of electronic devices such as computer programs and sequencers to create your own music in the studio. Both hip hop music and electronic or ambient music like “trance music” and “chill music” use programming these days. Other forms of pop music and rock music also include music programming techniques, though these practice is not as prevalent.

Music technology also includes more practical fields of study in the music industry, such as the study of business practices in the record industry. Even music psychology might be considered part of the music technology field, though this is more debatable.

Music Technology Innovation

Music technology innovation has two aspects: technological innovation and musical creativity. Music technology innovation develops new devices to spur creativity, while improving old music devices to make music recording more affordable, easier to produce and available for a wider audience.

On the other hand, music technology and creativity is simply finding new forms of expression and using new technology to produce new sounds or new patterns of sounds. Technology makes it easier for one person to produce entertaining music in the comforts of their own home, while it increases the ability of the music producer to either cover or expand the scope of a music artist’s compositions and performances. Some have complained about the tyranny of the producer in the current age of popular music, because a talented producer can use music technology to hide the relative lack of talent of the musical artist being recorded.

What Is Music Technology Software?

Music technology software is the present and appears to be the future mainstream of music technology. Sequencer software can be used to record audio clips and MIDI sequences. The producer can then sequence these clips in any way he or she sees fit, editing, processing and duplicating them in an endless array of patterns in a process called sound engineering.

As music technology advances, it is presumed that new avenues for sound creativity will open. By its very nature, these advances and the creative process these advances will inspire are hard to predict. What is certain is that “music technology” looks like it will be a larger and larger part of the artistic process in music in the years and decades to come.

Learning a field of music technology is more technical now than ever, so a sound technician, sound engineer or producer should attempt to learn these skills in a formal college setting, if possible. If you want to enter the music industry, consider learning about music industry business techniques, because the recording labels and music production companies needs talented executives now more than ever, in the challenging and increasingly democratized music industry landscape brought on by the internet revolution.

Who is Susan Boyle?

January 30th, 2013 |

If you’ve turned on the TV in the last week, you’ve likely seen her — a plain looking older Scottish woman with a microphone in her hands and a crowd of people on their feet. She’s Susan Boyle, a singing sensation from the small village of Blackburn, Scotland, and she’s burst onto the scene after an audition on the British TV program “Britain’s Got Talent”.

Her story is as riveting as her performance was on both the British television show and her recent appearance on CBS’ Early Show. Deprived of oxygen at birth, Ms. Boyle endured a childhood of teasing — she had learning disabilities and an admittedly “unglamourous” appearance.

2009 Britains Got Talent Singer Susan Boyle

Boyle tells of being teased well into adulthood for speech and motor difficulties related to her difficult birth. Let’s be fair, Susan Boyle is more than just plain — her face is a bit scrunched up, and her eyes rarely widen past slit level. Still, when she opens her mouth, there’s no denying her courage, her ability, and her gift. Ms. Boyle says she lived with her mother her entire life, until her mother recently passed away, and used her mother’s death as inspiration to audition for Britain’s Got Talent, no matter what the skeptics said. Her performance?

As soon as Boyle hit the stage, there was an audible laugh from the huge crowd, and the three British judges (including American Idol’s notoriously sour Simon Cowell) made pained faces. Perhaps expecting a repeat of the now infamous William Hung performance (you remember — the “She Bangs” guy? the one who couldn’t sing but somehow found his 15 minutes of fame after appearing on Idol?) the judges braced themselves for what they expected to be an awful performance.

The show’s setup didn’t do her any favors. Susan, dressed plainly, informs the show’s pre-audition interviewer that she is “nearly 48, unemployed but still looking.” She goes on to mention that she lives with her cat, named Pebbles, and has “never been kissed”. Any skepticism on the part of the viewing audience at home would soon be wiped away, and Ms. Boyle boldly states before taking the stage: “I’m going to make that audience rock.”

Back to the stage. Cowell puts his trademark sneer on his face and asks her old she is. Susan responds “I’m 47″ and does a little hip grind before adding ” . . . and that’s just one side of me.” Cowell and the other judges look at each other with pessimism as the audience roars with laughter. To make things worse, when the judges find out she’s going to perform the song “I Dreamed a Dream” from the musical Les Miserables, they shift uncomfortably in their seats. This song is quite difficult, and would be easy for an amateur to butcher. Expectations couldn’t be lower.

By the eight word of her song, the mood in the theatre shifts dramatically. Ms. Boyle has a beautiful voice, bold and stunning, clear and pretty. The cameras show Simon Cowell’s reaction first — he actually smiles, raising his eyes and shifting forward to pay attention. Amanda Holden, Cowell’s fellow judge and British television star, nearly bursts into tears, her face a picture of surprise and happiness. Piers Morgan, the final judge on Britain’s Got Talent and best known to American audiences as the English judge on America’s Got Talent, is shown laughing, looking around at the audience and clapping — the woman hasn’t even gotten to the second line of her song, and it clear to everyone what her fate will be. At the end of her audition, two of the judges (Holden and Morgan) are near tears, and Cowell can’t hide his shock. The crowd, still on its feet, cheer wildly much to the delight of Susan Boyle. The judges all agree — yes, she will move on to the next round.

Susan Boyle is not just the latest British singing sensation — rumor is she’s already signed a contract with Simon Cowell’s company, Sony BMG — she is a true inspiration to people around the world. A Google search of her name reveals over 2 million results — her fan base on the web is huge, with people on message boards saying things like “Elaine Page’s voice is tinny compared to Boyle’s” and “I’ve listened to her version of the song [I Dreamed a Dream] 200 times in the last couple days”. It seems that this plain unknown Scottish woman has shot an arrow into the heart of a web community that is typically very judgemental and suspicious of “new talent”.

Susan Boyle made her first appearance “to American audiences” recently on CBS’ Early Show, performing an acapella version of the tune she sang for her Britain’s Got Talent audition. As an added surprise, the hosts of the Early Show brought in Patti LuPone, the Broadway star who originated the peformance of Ms. Boyle’s audition tune, to give Boyle advice and encouragement. LuPone had plenty to say, praising Boyle for her “pluck” in choosing one of the more difficult Broadway showtunes as her audition piece. LuPone pointe dout that the song is very difficult technically, especially the dynamic ending, which Boyle nailed in her audition. After all the positive energy from Patti LuPone, one of the co hosts of the Early Show asked Ms. Boyle how she felt — her response? A humble “That’ll do”.

Having overcome learning disabilities and problems from birth defects, Ms. Boyle is poised to finally realize her own dream, while encouraging other people who may have similar problems to realize theirs. Without saying a word about her disabilities on camera, she has become an inspiration to those suffering with similar defects.

Susan Boyle says she’s wanted to be a professional singer since the age of 12 but was never given the chance. Susan Boyle’s performance was unexpected, and videos of her singing have become downright viral — one video on Youtube got well over 11 million hits in just four days. There is no doubt that Ms. Boyle’s successful audition on Britain’s Got Talent was a proper tribute to the memory of her mother.

What Is Ska Music?

January 30th, 2013 |

Ska music is a distinctive Jamaican musical genre created in the late-1950′s, which went on to influence the later reggae music form. Ska music itself was heavily influenced by Jamaican “mento music”, as well as calypso music out of Trinidad & Tobago. Ska songs also incorporated influences from American jazz (especially jazz horns) and American rhythm and blues. Ska music is known for a walking bass line and offbeat rhythms, much like reggae music, though ska is an upbeat music form, while reggae is a downbeat music form.

I’ll try to give an overview of ska music in its various forms. I hope hardcore fans of ska music won’t get offended when I mention the ska-influenced bands who achieved mainstream attention, since I’m answering this question for a reader who wants to know “what is ska music”, not “what is the best ska band I’ve never heard of”. In other words, I’ll try to give someone new to ska music a picture of the genre to which they might be able to relate.

Jamaican Mento Music

Mento music was a Jamaican folk music heavily influenced by the music traditions of African slaves. Of course, because Jamaican slaves who played music often played for their masters, mento music came to be influenced by European music forms, too. Mento often commented on the traditional poverty of Jamaicans, as well as social issues like poor housing, but usually in a sly and humorous way. This light-heartedness influenced ska music, when it took over for mento as the most popular music in Jamaica in the 1960′s.

Ska Music Beginnings

Most people trace the beginnings of ska music to the late-1950′s or early 1960′s, and a generally accepted timeline for the creation of ska is between 1959 and 1961. This corresponds to a growing influence of American pop culture in Jamaica.

After World War II, many Jamaicans began buying radios. These radios often picked up stations out of the American deep south, particularly New Orleans. Therefore, Jamaicans began to hear the popular jazz and rhythm & blues tunes played on New Orleans radio. Also, American troops were stationed in and near Jamaica during the early years of the Cold War, due to treaties signed between the U.S. and British governments during World War II. This further brought American musical influences to the Caribbean.

As mentioned earlier, mento music was popular in Jamaica in the 1950′s. For the younger generation of Jamaican musicians, though, mento influences began to mix with American influences, and the product was known as “ska music”. In the early-1960′s, the fast-paced, generally light-hearted ska songs were the rage in Jamaica.

Ska would go on to influence both rocksteady and reggae music. By the mid-1960′s, some ska musicians were slowing down the offbeats of ska tunes, creating the rocksteady genre of music. A few years later, certain other Jamaican musicians would slow down the rocksteady beats once again, leading to reggae music. These days, ska music remains popular in Jamaica, though reggae has eclipsed ska in both worldwide and native popularity.

What Is Ska Music And 2 Tone?

Ska music gained a following in countries outside of Jamaica, most notably and most naturally in England. By 1964, the mods of England began to listen to ska music. This came and went, but certain kids of the 1960′s who enjoyed Jamaican music incorporated came of age in the late-1970′s and began developing their own music, which came to be known as 2 Tone.

“2 Tone” combined the harder and edgier tunes of punk music and even some pop music with the offbeats of ska music. The product was something faster and harder than original Jamaican ska music, but also more varied and layered than punk rock. The music genre was named after 2 Tone Records, which helped popularize many of the Two-Tone bands. Some of these bands included The Specials, the Beat and the Bodysnatchers.

What Is Ska Music “Third Wave” Mean?

The “third wave” of ska music started in Southern California in the United States in the 1980′s. These bands were influenced mainly by the “2 Tone” bands of England. Third wave ska featured faster tempos and accented offbeats, as well as a focus on brass instruments.

Several of the third wave ska bands achieved notoriety in America and worldwide. Fishbone, for example, is considered a fusion of ska, funk metal and punk rock. Formed in 1979, Fishbone has achieved consistent critical success and garnered a loyal fan following. Casual pop fans might remember their 1991 hit, “Everyday Sunshine”. Other early ska bands who made an impact were The Donkey Show, Let’s Go Bowling and the Uptones. Along the way, some of these bands branched off into sub-genres of ska like “ska punk” and “ska-core”.

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones are generally put in the ska-core category. They had a high with their 1993 addition to the Clueless film soundtrack, “Where’d You Go?”. In 1997, the BossTones had their biggest commercial success with the #23 hit, “The Impression That I Get”. Fans of the 1990′s pop music scene might remember the Mighty Mighty Bosstones as the band with the ever-present non-musician (sometimes referred to as “Bosstone”) dancing onstage. This unique part of the act was performed by Ben Carr, who was also the manager of the band. Another ska hit was “Sell Out” by Reel Big Fish, which the band subsequently complained about on a song called “One Hit Wonderful”, because it seems to overshadow all the other songs they’ve performed over the years.

Showing that Third wave ska music was not all upbeat, the ska band Sublime had a hit with the song “Santeria”. This song gained widespread mainstream attention and the video, which featured a western theme featuring actor Tiny Lister and ghostlike video clips of late Sublime singer/guitarist, Bradley Nowell, who had died of a heroin overdose two months before that particular album was released in 1996. The video became popular in 1997.

Of course, the biggest mainstream success from the ska 3rd wave was No Doubt. The band’s singer, Gwen Stefani, is continuing her breakout solo success even today, though she was originally just an add-on member because her brother was in the band. No Doubt hit the charts in 1996 with hit songs like “Spiderwebs”, “I’m Just a Girl” and “Don’t Speak”, and became a major musical force in the pop culture of the late-1990′s.

Ska Music Overview

Meanwhile, ska music remains a popular musical genre back in Jamaica. In fact, ska-influenced genres have popped up all over the world, though the proliferation of sub-genres might make it hard to know exactly what is ska music. Some American third wave ska bands, like the Slackers, Hepcat and the Allstonians, continue to produce music that sounds more like the original ska sound of 1960′s Jamaica. Like any successful musical genre, ska music has evolved into an expansive style of music, which has brought joy and entertainment to millions of fans worldwide with generally fun-loving, upbeat songs.

How Can I Learn How To Sing?

January 30th, 2013 |

While there are many people that are born with the natural gift of singing, even they too need to practice to get better. All of your favorite singers at one point or another have probably have had lessons and help from professional coaches. Is it possible for you to become the next big star? While we can not guarantee that, we can try to give you some pointers on how to become a better singer. Provided below is a list of tips to use while learning how to sing. Most the tips provide you with suggestions on how to breath better and allow more air in when you inhale. In no time flat you will be singing on a stage in front of thousands instead of by yourself in the shower.

Learning to Sing Breathing Exercises

Breathing and controlling how you breath is the most important thing you can do. You want your body to be relaxed and standing preferably.

You will want to keep your arms slightly to your side and in front of you. This is so your rib cage can expand as much as possible when you inhale. Air allows you to project your voice much stronger and clearer.
When you inhale, push out your stomach to allow your rib cage to expand and as you exhale your stomach should come back in.
Good posture is important. You should not be hunched over, but sitting up tall and relaxed.
A very good tip is to push down on your stomach as you are singing. This should help you reach higher notes.
You will find that using your stomach muscles are very important as they will allow you to reach certain notes and allow you to finish sentences where you would normally be out of breath.

Practice these breathing techniques until they are habit.

How to Practice Singing

You will want to use a recorder when you practice. Take notes on the keys you miss and where you seem to be needing to work harder. Practice these immediately instead of finishing the song because the longer you wait, the harder it will be to change these habits.

When you practice, sing and project your voice to the back of the wall. You will want to be sure that everyone, even those in the very back, can hear you.
Find your natural voice. Forcing yourself to either sing quietly or loudly will result in more mistakes and an unnatural sounding voice.
Be sure to stop to have water frequently
Give your vocal cords rest frequently at first. They are similar to muscles and need time to grow.
Do not smoke.

The absolute best tip to give on how to learn how to sing is to practice. Practice whenever you can whether you practice singing or breathing exercises. You will find that with a little bit of practice and hard work, that singing fairly well can actually be much easier than you thought. Not to mention that you can “wow” your friends and family with your newfound talent!

Who Sings The Song That Sounds Similar To “Time Of The Seasons”?

January 30th, 2013 |

Even if you didn’t grow up in the 60’s, you’ve probably heard the song “Time of the Seasons” at some point in popular media. Some people think the actual title is “It’s the Time of the Seasons” which is the song’s main chorus line. The song has an unforgettable beat and a really different lyrics composition. It is probably one of the more memorable songs from its era and its distinct sound is very characteristic of the 1960’s. But if you are a true music connoisseur, you may have noticed a similarity between “It’s the Time of the Seasons” and another famous song from that decade. The Beatle’s “Things We Said Today” has a composition and style that is very akin to ‘Seasons”. Part of it may be due to the sound of the 19650’s, which is when both songs were recorded. The songs are not a direct copy of one another, like many rock songs tend to be, but it is easy to see how someone who wasn’t listening closely might get them confused. Let’s take a closer look at the two songs and see what makes them so similar.

“Time of the Seasons” by the Zombies

“Time of the Seasons” was written and recorded by the band The Zombies in 1967. The Zombies was a British rock band that formed in 1961 and produced several hits such as “She’s Not There” and “Tell Her No”. The song “Time of the Seasons” was written for their album Odessey and Oracle which was released in 1968. That album was not an initial success but slowly gained in popularity and was eventually recognized for its merit. Rolling Stone magazine eventually ranked it number 80 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Interestingly, “Time of the Seasons” was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London, a studio made famous by the Beatles’ recordings.

“Time of the Seasons” was released only at the urging of Columbia Records representative Al Kooper. The song features a heavy bass riff which sounds very similar to the song “Stand By Me” by Ben E. King (but that is where the similarities end). Another distinct part of the song is the repetition of the verses by the band members. Its starts out with lead singer Colin Blunstone singing the first two verses. By the third verse the band members are repeating the lyrics “What’s your name (What’s Your name)/Who’s Your daddy (Who’s Your daddy)”. This repetition goes all throughout the rest of the song and makes for a really interesting composition.

Another key component to “Time of the Seasons” is the distinct psychedelic sound from Mellotron, an electric keyboard. The Mellotron was suppose to electronically re-create different symphonic sounds but in the end sounded nothing like an orchestra. This was an instrument that was in wide use and very popular of music from that era. It came to represent the psychedelic sound of the 60’s.

“Time of the Seasons” has appeared in many forms of media from television shows to movie soundtracks. It has also been covered by several bands throughout the years such as The Dave Mathews Band and The Guess Who. Despite the song’s success overseas, it was never a hit in The Zombies native Britain.

“Things We Said Today” by the Beatles

“Things We Said Today” was recorded by the Beatles in 1964. It was credited as written by John Lennon along with Paul McCartney’s assistance and was recorded as part of the soundtrack to the Beatles’ film A Hard Day’s Night. Paul McCartney actually wrote the song during vacation with his girlfriend. He and band member Ringo Starr had rented a yacht and taken their girlfriends out for a cruise. While on the boat, McCartney wrote the song as a tribute to his girlfriend to express that even when they were apart, they would have their memories of each other. The song was one of three that McCartney wrote for the soundtrack to A Hard Day’s Night. The other two were “And I Love Her” and “Can’t Buy Me Love”.

“Things We Said Today” was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London. The song features a fast strumming on the guitar. Unlike the song “Time of the Seasons” the Beatles’ tune does not have that characteristic psychedelic sound from the electric keyboard. What makes the two songs similar is the musical composition of the lyrics. McCartney’s voice on the verses sounds similar in pitch and progression to The Zombies’ song. The rhythm of the song is faster than “Time of the Seasons” and the chorus sounds different (“Things We Said Today” does not have that pause in the chorus like The Zombies song). But the similarity in the verses of the two songs is still pretty easy to see (or in this case, hear). Unlike The Zombies album, the soundtrack to A Hard Days Night went on to become an instant hit in both Britain and overseas.

How do Music Royalties Work? And How are Music Royalties Calculated?

January 30th, 2013 |

Hi Deb,

Firstly I would like to say thanks for putting up such a great site, brilliant idea and i hope it proves successful for you

I’m writing to you to ask for your advice on a very tricky area for myself at the moment. I have currently been playing in a band with 3 other friends for almost a year now, we have had relatively quick success and have had label interest from a small indie wishing to work with us.

My question is that of royalties for the songs we have already produced and future works. Our band works in a strange way when it comes to writing. the formula goes as follows:

I am the member who has been responsible for writing the songs, I will write the guitar for the songs by myself, structure the song and record a rough from start to finnish. I will add overdubs and ideas for vocal melodies and bass root notes to accompany.

I then take the song to the vocalist who writes the majority of the lyrics for the song, I have also contributed to this stage of the song writing.

The final stage is a band practice is organized, there the bassist generally follows my song structure by playing the root notes from my playing, the drummer listens to my song and adds the beats.

Now it’s coming to the time to discuss the share of royalties for song writing I would like to know what is the procedure for this, as I write the songs I feel I should get a larger cut. However, technically the fact the bassist and drummer add there parts makes them co-writers, if I’m correct? As for lyrics the vocalist is the major contributor, but I do also have my input.

As you are aware this is a tricky matter for me to raise with my band mates as I don’t want to devalue the work they put in but at the same time I wish to be credited fairly for the amount I contribute.

Any advice on this matter would be a great help, I feel I’m in a no win situation. Again many thanks for your service.

Regards,

Martin

Dear Martin,

Yeah, that’s a tough situation to be in, Martin. On the one end, you don’t want to create lingering resentments among your band mates, if one or more have the idealistic notion that bands should have a “one for all” mentality when everyone splits things equally. On the other hands, if you don’t speak up and your band goes big time, then you’re likely to have a lingering resentment, if you feel like you’ve done the lion’s share of the song creation and you don’t get your fair reward for that hard work.

You’re right that the other members of the band would likely get co-credit for their efforts in writing the song. If the issue is not addressed, the default is equal royalties. So if you feel that the subject of you getting a larger percentage of royalties needs to be discussed, now is the time to discuss it, before a record company releases a record. After that, you’re out of luck.

I want to stay close to the copyright law information I’m looking at, so there isn’t any confusion in the translation. Here’s basically how royalties work, though I would suggest you get a deeper understanding if you’re going to be in the music business. Copyright laws state that when 2 or more musicians collaborate on writing a song (either musically or lyrically), then the ownership is “pro rata”. Pro rata means you share the royalties equally. This happens unless you have a prior agreement that states one member gets a higher percentage of the royalties (and by prior agreement, I mean an agreement in writing, not a gentleman’s agreement).

This is highly important and something that should be addressed before your album is released. The technical definition of collaboration is when a person is integral in the arrangement of the songs, the tempos or the instrumentation.

I would suggest that you buy a copy of a music business “how-to” guide, such as the “The Music Industry: The Practical Guide to Understanding the Essentials” or “This Business of Music: The Definitive Guide to the Music Industry”, each of which can be found on Amazon. For the moment, I’ll direct you to an older copy of The Musician’s Handbook. Turn to page 52 in this pdf for the specific information.

Broaching the Question

If you decide to address your band mates about the issue of royalties, I would suggest you do so in the calmest and least provocative manner possible. This is a question that gets to the heart of what “being a band” means, besides it being a question about potential big amounts of money and who-contributes-most in the band. If your band members have any kind of ego, this might be an unpleasant conversation. Even if it isn’t, it could cause lingering resentments.

The fact that you are concerned about the question tells me that you’re likely to have small resentments if this isn’t addressed up front, and the experts say these are questions that need to be settled before you sign a contract with a record company. So read what you can, determine from what you know of the contributions if your band members deserve an equal share of the royalties and address the question in a calm and reasonable fashion. You might even tell your band members that you’ve been reading about royalties and the music business and these books recommend that a band sit down to discuss this issue.

Whatever the case, arm yourself with as much information as possible. Have a book for your fellow musicians to look at and discuss what it all means. Make this less about the personalities and more about the music business. In the end, you still risk creating hard feelings, but addressing this up front is a good idea, before the lawyers get involved.

Good luck

What Is “Music Row”?

January 30th, 2013 |

Music row is an area in Nashville, Tennessee where hundreds of music-related businesses are found. These businesses are cogs in the country music, Contemporary Christian music and gospel music industries. This area in just southwest of downtown Nashville has become synonymous with country music, to the point that when some people want to refer to the country music industry as a whole, they say the phrase “Music Row”.

How Did Music Row Get It’s Name?

Several times, I have been asked “How Did Music Row Get It’s Name?”, which I find amusing. Music row is the area of Nashville between 16th Avenue South and 17th Avenue South, which are referred to as Music Square East and Music Square West, respectively. This area is home to numerous record labels, radio stations and recording studios, as well as music publishing houses, video production companies, licensing firms and corporate headquarters for radio networks. Some of the local streets are named for famous country & western musicians of the past, such as Chet Atkins and Roy Acuff.

Famous music production houses like RCA Studio B are also found there, though industry giants such as Sony Music, MCA, Gaylord Entertainment, Starstruck Studios, Mercury, Warner Chappell and EMI can be found there, too. These many country music enterprises are part of what has come to be known as “the Nashville Sound”.

Nashville Music Row History

The history of Nashville Music Row began as a part of the country music recording industry in the 1950′s. In fact, as early as 1950, Nashville had the nickname “Music City U.S.A.”. Nashville was even instrumental in getting rock-n-roll off the ground. It was in Nashville where Elvis Presley began to record the hits that would make him an American legend, while the Everly Brothers also got their start in Nashville. By this time, a decision by RCA Records to create a branch office in Nashville led others to locate offices in the region, as the south was an important place to sign acts.

In the mid-1950′s, rock and roll music passed in popularity what was called “country & western music” at the time. Nashville music appeared to be only regional in popularity, and it appeared in need of a makeover. Men like Owen Bradley and Chet Atkins gave country music its makeover, producing a smoother, cleaner country music sound. Better production values combined with more sophisticated arrangements to create the Nashville Sound. This made country music a little more like rock-and-roll and a great deal more acceptable to the American pop culture audience, and country music has continued to be a major American pop music genre over the past several decades.

Nashville Sound

The question “what is music row and how did it change country music?” splits fans of American music. Music row is involved in every aspect of the country music business, even mass-producing country lyrics and songs, while using slick producers and studio musicians to create the distinctive Nashville sound. This has led some critics to say that the corporate nature of music row has made country music too formulaic and homogenized, while stripping the music from its original roots in folk music and gospel music. These critics point to the profit motive and corporate greed for eliminating the organic, spontaneous and genuine nature of country music and country life. Others say the production of country music takes real life country experiences and translates them into an appealing product for a wider audience, thus bringing the experience of country living to more Americans than it would otherwise.

There have been country movements apart from (sometimes even revolts against) “music row” in the country music scene over the years. For instance, “outlaw country” of the Texas-Oklahoma region and the “Bakersfield sound” out of California have achieved wide audiences in decades past. Even today, Austin, Texas has a vibrant “Texas country” music scene, where country artists perform songs influenced not by the sounds coming out of Nashville and music row, but by country music acts of a previous generation. These country music artists tend to distance themselves from the Nashville country music scene.

Meanwhile, other products of music row have sought wider mainstream audiences. Acts like Shania Twain, Faith Hill and the Dixie Chicks have found crossover appeal with American audiences. Often, their crossover songs appear to have more rock or pop influences, or (in the case of the Dixie Chicks) tackled non-traditional Nashville or country issues.

Music Row remains a huge factor in the country music industry these days. Some of the most famous musicians and musical acts are part of the Nashville sound created on Music Row in Nashville, and tens of millions of Americans consider “country” to be their preferred type of music. Music row looks as though it will continue to be the Madison Avenue of country music for generations to come and, as long as country music remains popular, music row should be a factor in the American music industry.

What Is Reggae Music?

January 30th, 2013 |

Reggae music is a Jamaican musical genre with roots in the several Caribbean music and African music forms, as well as the rhythm and blues genre of American music. Particularly, reggae music evolved from the Jamaican ska music genre, which first gained momentum between 1959 and 1961. By the mid- to late-1960′s, reggae musicians were developing their own type of music.

Ska Music

Ska music combined jazz-influenced horns, a walking bass line and offbeat piano or guitar rhythms. Ska, of course, was played at a much faster pace than reggae. This music became quite popular in Jamaica in the early Sixties, and had gained popularity in England among the “mod” scene by 1964. By the mid-Sixties, ska musicians were slowing down their rhythms and producing the type of music now known as rocksteady. By 1968, though, Jamaican musicians were slowing down their music even slower, producing the distinctive rhythms which came to be known as reggae music.

Early Reggae Music

The first reggae music recordings were by acts like The Beltones or Larry Marshall, while the reggae was first noticed by American audiences due to the 1968 hit by Johnny Nash, “Hold Me Tight”. No doubt helping the notoriety of reggae music in America (at least among those “hip” to the beat) was the Beatles’ hit, “Ob-la-Di, Ob-La-Da”, also released in 1968, which incorporated a reggae beat.

The real crossover phenomenon for reggae music was the band known as The Wailers, named after Bunny Wailer. Including such future reggae legends as Peter Tosh and Bob Marley, the Wailers were founded in 1963 and would by the end of the decade become the face of reggae music to the international music scene. Other names important in the early days of reggae music (or helping it gain notoriety and acceptance worldwide) were Desmond Dekker, Jackie Mittoo, Prince Buster, Jimmy Cliff (acted in the first famous reggae movie), as well as producers like King Tubby, Coxsone Dodd and Lee “Scratch” Perry.

What Is Reggae Music About?

Reggae music tackles themes that many other genres of music have tackled, though it does so in a distinctive fashion. Common themes involve such myriad topics as religion and poverty, peace and injustice, and standard popular music fare like love, relationships and sexuality. Reggae music also focused on social issues and politics, often rallying support and concerning officials with the activism of its most famous artists. Because reggae music was distinctively Jamaican, Reggae music (much like calypso music in Trinidad & Tobago) discussed the many political and social concerns of Jamaicans living in the 1960′s and 1970′s.

Also, reggae music has come to be identified with the Rastafari movement. Rastafarianism is a religious movement which combines reverence for the late-Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, with the spiritual use of cannabis (marijuana) to reject the teachings of western society and orient towards a more Afrocentric outlook towards social issues and politics. A Rastarafian view Haile Selassie, the only black monarch in Africa in the middle of the 20th century, as an incarnation of “Jah Rastafari”, sometimes known as “Jah” or “Ras Tafari”, a divine being, member of the Holy Trinity and Biblical messiah. They believe that Jesus was guided by Jah, but his teachings were corrupted by “Babylon”.

At the same time, one can overemphasize the connection between reggae music and the Rastafari movement, because many reggae songs are about light-hearted and worldly subjects, and reggae music has had 40 years of evolution to take on many different sub-genres: reggaeton, dancehall, rockers, lovers rock, dub and roots reggae — to name a few.

What Is Reggae Music Today?

Today, reggae music is what it always was. The most distinctive aspect of reggae tunes is the offbeat rhythms played by guitar over repetitive bass riffs and regular chords. When you hear these distinctive sounds, you know you’re hearing reggae music. The rest is details, whether it be the subjects the reggae song discusses or the homeland the musician is native to. Many non-Jamaican reggae bands have found success, though reggae is still evocative of Jamaica, ganga and dreadlocks.

Where And How Did Rap Music Originate?

January 30th, 2013 |

Rap music originated in the middle of the 1970′s, though the music genre did not get nationwide attention until the early 1980′s. By the late eighties, rap music was a major part of the American mainstream musical landscape, thanks to lyrical content, the energy of live shows and the parallel rise of MTV and music videos.

What Is The Difference In “Rap” And “Hip Hop”?

“Rap music” and “hip hop culture” are roughly synonymous in the minds of many Americans, though there are differences. Hip hop was originally a combination of rap, DJing, breakdancing and “tagging”, which was the hip hop name for producing graffiti. Therefore, “rap” is the most famous part of hip hop culture, but “hip hop” comprises more than just rapping and rappers. These days, though, people often use the term “hip hop” when discussing music which combines rapping and Dj, and the term “hip hop” can be considered a proper definition of rap.

Who Started The Hip Hop Culture?

Generally speaking, rap was started in the Bronx, New York in the 1970′s. Because of personal recollections and the myth-making aspect of hip hop, it’s hard to isolate the exact time and place where rap started or who exactly should be considered the inventor of rap. For instance, many believe “Kool Herc” helped create rap at street parties in the Bronx, while others cite “Melle Mel” as the first official rap MC, or at least the first to call himself MC.

Origins Of Rap Music

In New York City dance clubs in the Bronx in the late-1970′s, club Djs began to isolate and sample the sounds from the disco and funk music of the 1970′s. These distinctive beats and bass lines became the foundation of a new type of music in these clubs, and Djs can be seen as the prime movers of hip hop.

MCs (Master of Ceremonies) in the clubs were there to introduce the hot new DJ. Between songs, though, MCs began to talk to the crowd. Like MC’s even today, this talk varied between jokes, biographical anecdotes, as well as attempts to excite and energize the audience. Eventually, some local MCs began to talk over the music, and this talk soon became part of the music performance. These MC’s became known as “rappers”.

Eventually, “rap music” was refined to become a mixture of rhythmic poetry, and rappers were getting noticed by 1979 and some commercially successful records were selling locally, though rap had hardly made an impact on the U.S. mainstream.

Mainstream Rap Success

The first rap song which gained mainstream notice in the American music media was “Rapper’s Delight”, performed by the Sugarhill Gang. Rap gained a wider following throughout the early 1980′s, and the genre was known by the American youth on some level in the early 1980′s, though mainly as an African-American genre of music.

1986 was the year that rap crossed over into the American mainstream, as Run-D.M.C. had the first huge mainstream rap album with “Raising Hell”. The music video for Run-D.M.C.’s cover of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way” classic rock hit featured a collaboration with Aerosmith. This song appealed to wider audience of white American youth. It not only made Run-D.M.C. one of the first rap acts which became a household name, but resurrected Aerosmith to popularity. Seeing how commercially viable rap music could be, record labels became more aggressive in signing and marketing rap acts.

MTV became a huge engine for marketing rap music to the American public. The Hollywood glamour of music videos would combine with the (often gritty) realism of the rap music itself to make huge stars out of rap singers and DJs alike, and any list of important rap artists would be incomplete enough that it’s better not to start a list here.

Rap Music In African-American Culture

Rap had antecedents in African-American culture going all the way back to the spoken-word artists of pre-slavery West Africa, the griots. Some of today’s rappers, academics and media commentators are on record calling today’s rap artists “modern-day griots”.

African-American culture also has claims on rap. For instance, African-American blues artist, Elijah Wald, has pointed out that lyrics were “rapped” by blue singers as far back as the 1920′s. Rap no doubt was also influenced by 1920′s “Jazz poetry”, another African-American art form. And scholars of reggae and mento music will point out that American deejays were “toasting” or rapping to Jamaican beats as early as 1956.

Therefore, there are many possible origins for modern rap, and many different African-American artists can claim to have originated rap music. Given the fusion of pop culture that hip hop and rap represents today, it would be fair to say that all of these various art forms and artists influenced rap at one time or another. But if you want to say how and where rap music originates, you are on solid ground saying in New York City in the Seventies.

How Do I Become A Rap Music Producer?

January 30th, 2013 |

Becoming a rap music producer sounds like a glamorous job with all kinds of rewards, but you are going to have to master a myriad of different skills and knowledge before you can become a successful rap music producer. Mastering the skills below will set you on the path to becoming a hip hop music producer, but remember that two of the less glamorous suggestions — learning and perseverance — are perhaps the two most important. Both are something every successful hip hop producer masters.

Producing Hip Hop HowTo Guide

Purchase Rap Producer Software – Buy some rap production software like Fruity Loops and begin to experiment with it. Read the instructions, test it, master the basics and then begin to experiment with advanced techniques. Purchase Fruity Loops 7, 8 or 9, as of this writing. If, for some reason, you don’t like Fruity Loops production software, take a look at BUZZ software, MAGIX software, Propellerhead Reason or “Computer Music”. Whichever production software you buy, make certain to test it and master the uses of it. You’ll need to be able to use these tools effortlessly, in order to focus on the creative aspects of rap producing.

Don’t Be Afraid To Learn – Learn from reading books about rap producing and other rap producers. Learn from asking questions of others in the business. Learn from experimenting with your rap production software and figuring out what works and what doesn’t. Most of all, learn from your mistakes. Don’t be afraid to admit (to yourself, at the very least) that you made a mistake and correct your future decisions based on that recognition. Just be willing to learn as you go. If you aren’t willing to learn, you’ll never get better.

Study Music Theory – You don’t have to get a degree in music technology to become a rap producer, but you do need to know the basic concepts of rap and the structure of hip hop music. Learn what rap “beats” are. Learn what “song measures” are. Master the concept of sampling and music samples. In fact, read about all the rap music terms are. Get a concept what they are on paper, then get a picture (or sound) of what they are in practice. Learning the theories behind the construction of rap songs will pay off every single day of your career. You’ll be able to get inside songs and understand why certain hip hop songs are more successful than others. Read, listen and study anything you can about rap theory.

Choose a Rap Genre – If you want to be a rap producer, you probably already know the broad general definition of the rap genres: East Coast, West Coast, Dirty South and all the various hybrids and hip hop fusion sub-genres. You might like elements of each, but you need to learn which one you like most of all. Also study why you like one more than others. Once you do this, focus all your energies on that one sub-genre of rap and master it. You may have heard terms like “falling between two chairs” or “jack of all trades, master of none”. If you try to master every aspect of rap, you’ll probably end up mastering none of them. You’ll fall between two chairs. Focusing on one form of rap allows you to focus your energies in one direction, as well as establish an identity of your own in the industry.

Locate Well – Once you know which kind of rap you want to produce, locate to the part of the country where that scene is most prominent. For instance, if you decide to become a “west coast” rap producer, it makes no sense to live on the “east coast”. If you move to where the scene is strongest, you maximize your chances of succeeding in that rap genre.

Network the Business – The rap industry is a “who you know” business, like any other. So network by meeting other rap producers and meet every rapper and DJ you can meet. Make friends and contacts when you can, because you never know where your big break will come from. Also, the more people in the business you interact with, the more you learn about the business. Listen as much as (or more than) you talk and absorb the information you’re getting.

Keep An Eye Out For Talent – Always keep an eye out for new hip hop acts. Another reasons that an up-and-coming rap producer needs to network is you need to spot good young hip hop talent. A newcomer to rap producing isn’t going to produce for established rappers who’ve already had commercial success. That means you have to spot talented new rappers and DJ’s, because these are the people whose rap producers you’ll produce. The more hip hop artists you meet, the better your chances of “getting lucky” and finding the next big name in hip hop. Rappers are important to find, but finding a good DJ might be more important, because you can learn more from them.

Learn To Manage Talent – When you begin to produce rappers and DJs, you’ll need to learn when to tweak their work and when to make suggestions. Sometimes, rap lyrics need improving, to make them better fit into the rhythm of the song. Sometimes, a DJ’s beats need improving or rearranged. You’ll have to get comfortable enough with your knowledge of hip hop to make those suggestions, and you’ll have to develop a talent for spotting holes in a hip hop artist’s art and how to make changes on the fly. Obviously, you’ll have to learn a little bit about human psychology when tackling this aspect of being a rap producer, because you’re going to be dealing with talented and sometimes sensitive artists.

Don’t Get Discouraged – Rap producing is a competitive field. Rap producing won’t make you rich overnight. In fact, you’ll probably have to support yourself for years in some other career while you’re becoming a successful rap producer. You have to love rap production to stay in the business. You also have to be patient and persistent. If you’re in it for the money, you’re in rap producing for the wrong reason. If you expect to become rich and famous and meet a lot of women in a few months, you’re not going to succeed. Approach becoming a rap producer with the right attitude, learn the business from the ground up and prepare for the long haul of hip hop producing.

Studying Rap Music Production

By studying successful rap music production from your field, you’ll learn what makes a successful rap single and a successful rap album. I’m talking about honing your “ear for good music”, because you’ll develop your own ideas and theories about what makes a rap song a good rap song. Figure out which song you like and which you don’t like. Analyse the melodies you like. Get to the underlying reason that a song sounds good. Also, listening to new music in the industry allows you to keep up with the latest trends and the hottest tunes in the rap industry, as well as predict where the trends are likely to lead. Form your own ideas about what makes a catchy song and what makes a successful rap hook.

How Do I Get A Job In Radio Sales?

January 30th, 2013 |

Radio sales jobs can be exciting and economically rewarding, so becoming an “account executive” is a coveted position for salespeople. That said, becoming a radio salesperson is possible, because there are a lot of radio stations out there. In many ways, becoming a radio account sales executive isn’t any different than most other jobs for which you might apply.

Radio Job Application Tips

In fact, you don’t necessarily need to have been in sales before applying for such a position, though having sales experience looks good on your resume. Speaking of resumes, that’s where any good job search begins. Here are some raido sales job application tips.

Send in a Good Resume – Submit a concise, complementary but truthful resume to the radio station where you want to work. Write a cover letter for your resume which is short and respectful, while showing off your personality. Make an impression, but make a good impression.
Mail and Follow Up – Unless the station’s “now hiring” ad says otherwise, mail in your resume to the radio station. If you haven’t heard from them in a week, make a follow-up call. Don’t drop into the station until you have submitted a resume and given management a chance to respond.
Do a Little Research – Once you have an interview, listen to the station you’ll be applying. Learn the on-air personalities’ names and a little bit about the format of the radio station. You might even take note of the station’s major advertisers. This just gives you background about the radio station, though you don’t need to have encyclopedic knowledge of the station and allow you to speak about the subject (of the station) comfortably. No matter how much you know, be truthful about your knowledge of the radio station.
First Impression – Be early to your interview. Also, dress nicely to make a good first impression. Remember, a radio sales job is about scheduled meetings with potential advertisers, so if you blow off your job interview by being late or sloppy, you’re not going to give the impression you’ll be a very good account executive.
Be Confident and Relaxed – Next, interview well. That’s easier said than done, because interviewing is a stressful for most people. Try to relax and project confidence in your abilities. The interview is about you, so you know all the answers. To that point, don’t make up lies about your abilities or experience in the industry. Be honest and straightforward and confident you can do the job.
Be Honest – If you don’t know much about the industry, be honest. A lot of times, management will view lack of knowledge in the entertainment industry as a plus, because you’ll be more detached from the product and easier to train for the right knowledge and right approach to the job. So unless you are an expert on the music genre or the sales concepts you’ll be selling ad time for, you’ll make yourself look like a fool trying to fake it. These people know the business and will see through a pretender. Whatever knowledge you’re lacking can be taught in the training process.
Say Thank You – Send a “thank you” card as soon as you finish the interview. This should arrive a couple of days after the interview, gently reminding the manager you appreciate their time and are interested in the job. Remember to specifically name the person who interview you when you address the letter, so you are certain to correspond directly with the person who is making the decision to hire you.

What Is Music Publishing And What Do Music Publishers Do?

January 30th, 2013 |

Music publishing is the marketing of original songs through the issuance of licenses of various sorts which authorize use of these songs. The licenses a music publisher will issue involve mechanical, synchronization, performing rights, print and other licenses. Music publishing allows a musical artist or composer to focus on creating songs, and music publishers must have a not only skill in the business side of the music business, but also skill in spotting musical talent worthy of the financial and time commitments of music publishing.

In many ways, a music publisher fills the role that a “music patron” filled in an earlier time. The music publisher gives the musician the resources — both financial and material — to produce new art. In turn, the music artist can focus solely on creating imaginative new songs and not have to be concerned with the gritty business details of music production. So you can view a music publisher as a kind of patron of the arts, though one whose purpose is to make money instead of achieving a reputation as a lover of the arts (which was the motivation of many art patrons).

In the age of the copyright, though, music publishing mainly focuses on the need to copyright original songs, while also ensuring the copyright is enforced, the music is licenses and the proper individuals are paid royalties. Control of the song’s license therefore allows a music publisher to recover money they spend to publish an artist’s songs. In this way, a music publisher is more of an investor in music, and music publishing becomes the music investing. This is where the ability to spot the best (or potentially most marketable) music talent becomes so important, because a music publisher who cannot consistently make money off their artists will not stay in business.

Talents and Skills a Music Publisher Needs

I’ve produced a list of talents and skills a music publisher needs to understand in order to successfully publish music. This gives an idea how much trouble goes into buying song licenses and marketing those songs to the music-buying public.

Finding talented songwriters and supporting these musical talents as their song-composing skills are developed. A music publisher might pay the artist money for everyday living expenses, while also offering them the facilities with the necessary music technology (music studios) to produce new songs.
Offering advice to their songwriters and providing guidance to the artist about writing in the whatever genre or industry the music publisher works.
Commissioning new songs and coordinating work flow.
To register the music works with collecting institutions like “PRS for Music” (once known as MCPS).
Producing scores and parts for each members of the band.
Producing demonstration recordings or demos.
Licensing the production of printed music versions of the song or songs.
Physical production of promotional materials for the song or band, including scores and sample CDs.
The promotion of the songwriter to other people in the business, such as record companies, fellow performers, radio broadcasters and everyone else involved in the commercial side of the music business.
Licensing the music of the songwriter or musical artist for use in the industry.
Track use of the music and making certain the licenses song is not used without compensation.
Making certain that money payments for all licensed music is paid to those who are owed this money.
Assuring that royalty payments are paid to the songwriter or songwriters in question.
Finally, enforcing the license of the song through legal action, if necessary. This becomes perhaps the most taxing part of the music business for the music publisher.

As you see, when you ask what music publishing is and what music publishers do, the answer to that question is long and complicated. The music industry could not work without the important work which music publishers perform, though generally people tend to forget about the lynch pin of the music industry known as music publishing.

What is the Music Score For Numb3rs Episode 23 May 15th?

January 30th, 2013 |

Deb -

can you tell me the name of the song from the Friday may 15th show; opening scene? I’ve spent hours looking and can’t find any clues.

Thanks,

Mark

Dear Mark,

I’m pretty sure the song you’re looking for is “The Sniper at the Gates of Heaven” by the Black Angels. I had meant to include the lyrics to The Sniper at the Gates of Heaven, but apparently, finding the lyrics to the song is harder than finding the song itself. The Black Angels are perhaps best known for their song, Dead Young Men, off the album Passover (2006). They have released 2 albums to date, including their latest in 2008, Direction To See a Ghost. Here’s the quick scoop on the Black Angels.

The Black Angels are a psychedelic band based out of Austin, Texas. Their membership includes Alex Mass on vocals, Christian Bland on guitar, Kyle hunt on guitar and keyboards, Nate Ryan on bass and guitar and Stephanie Bailey on drums. The Black Angels’ purpose in forming a band is, according to Tommy Hall, to quest for “pure sanity” by altering their mental states and achieving a point of view where all objects relate “horizontally” and not vertically or hierarchically.

Whether The Black Angels have found the enlightened state they were originally seeking, they have found remarkable success since their formation in May of 2004. The band released its first album, Passover, in 2006. Before that, the Black Angels had a song on the 2005 two-disc psychedelic compilation album, Psychedelica Volume 1. Another song was featured in Death Sentence, a Kevin Bacon film released in 2007. Besides their song’s appearance on Numb3ers, the Black Angels had a song appear on the 2nd episode of Fringe. They have appeared on television on Beautiful Noise (Rave TV in the U.S., Sun TV in Canada) and The Daily Habit (Fuel TV). In August of 2007, the Black Angels played at a Lollapalooza show in Chicago, while the Black Angels MySpace page has attracted a growing following for the band. For more about visi The Black Angels official website.

For those not familiar with Numb3rs (pronounced “numbers”), it is a show about an FBI investigator and his mathematical genius brother, who uses his geeky genius to help them solve seemingly unsolvable crimes. The episode of Numb3rs in question is the Season Finale of Numb3rs Season 5, Angels & Devils. Amita is kidnapped and James Callis (Dr. Baltar on Battlestar Galactica) guests stars as the primary suspect. Charlie (the mathematical genius) sets aside his personal feelings to find the woman he loves, then proposes to her at the end of the episode. Her answer was not shown, which supplies the season’s cliffhanger ending.

Hope this helps.

How Do I Find New Music to Listen To?

January 30th, 2013 |

There are so many ways to find new music to listen to. I’ll try to go over some of the best ones I can think of off the top of my head. Let me start by saying the internet is the best way to find new music, because you can listen to samples of new music and immediately click on another link if you hate what you hear. Finding new music online (if you have a high speed) connection is simply the easiest and best way to research, because you can find all kind of musical options in an hour or two of surfing the internet.

Let me give you four options in four words: iTunes, Pandora, Amazon and Youtube. In no particular order, I’ll discuss how you can find new music to listen to by visiting each site.

Finding New Music At iTunes

One of my favorite ways to find new music I enjoy is listening to iTunes. When you get on the front page of iTunes, click on their “Radio” link. This takes you to a list of radio stations you can select with one push of the button. Music genres offered include alternative, ambient, blues, classic rock, classical, college radio, country, dance, electronic, folk, golden oldies, rap & hip hop, holidays, hits of yesteryear, international, Jazz, Latino, pop, public, reggae, religious and R&B and soul. Each of these links offers dozens and dozens of radio stations in that broad genre. In other words, you can listen to selections from just about any music genre in the world, from the house mixes of London, Paris and New York to the native songs of Iran, China or Africa.

When you’re listening to iTunes, keep a “notepad” document open and write down any artist or song you enjoyed listening to. You might also write down the stations you enjoy and go back to see if they play other songs you enjoyed. If you listen to several songs that you just don’t enjoy, find another station and give it a try. In this way, you’ll be able to keep a fresh supply of music coming your way all day long, and quickly compile a list of new music to listen to. Keep a text file with this list on your computer and add to it daily, or whenever you want new music to listen to.

i-Tunes was created by Apple to help people find new music they can download to their iPod or iPhone, but remember that listening to these radio stations from around the globe is totally free. Unless you decide to download new songs to your computer, you don’t have to pay one cent or give personal information. This makes iTunes a perfect search engine for new songs and artists.

Searching For New Music At Pandora

If iTunes sounds like too much trouble, Pandora Music does the job of searching for new music for you. Pandora.com is a website where you can put in any song title or artist name and match it with similar songs or artists. For instance, if you put in the name “Kanye West”, Pandora will bring up a Kanye West song for you to hear. After that song is finished playing, Pandora will use computer software to analyze other artists and songs and play those which are deemed similar. This continues indefinitely, until you click off Pandora site.

When you hear songs you don’t like or don’t agree sound similar to Kanye West songs, you can skip over them. (I think you get 3 skips per hour.) You won’t always agree that the songs you’re listening to are the same, but Pandora is a great way to find musical suggestions for obscure or not-so obscure artists similar to the tunes you like. And if you are curious about other bands or artists, simply start a new playlist (known as a “station”) and see where that takes you. Once again, Pandora is free, so you aren’t paying to have this website help you find new music to listen to.

How do I find new music to listen to at Amazon.com?

Amazon lets potential customers browse through their CDs and singles, listening to 30 second samples of every song on an album. You’ll occasionally find albums that don’t allow this option, but most of the time, you’ll be able to browse and listen. This gives you a pretty good idea what you’re getting into when buying new music. Once again, this is a free service, so you are not obligated to buy anything, just because you listen to Amazon music samples.

Also, when you click on an album or music single on Amazon, the site automatically creates “frequently bought with” and “customers who bought this item also bought” lists. These lists are suggestions of music bought by other customers who liked the album you’re listening to. Sometimes, these will be albums by the same band, but most will be from other artists in the same (or similar) genre.

One thing to watch out for is that songs often sound different in your car than through your computer. This is a double-edged sword, because sometimes you buy a song that doesn’t sound as good on your car stereo, and sometimes the songs sound much better. Also, remember that you’re listening to a sample of 30 seconds from a song and the selection is sometimes arbitrary, so you may or may not be listening to the best or most representative 30 seconds of the tune.

You also can read reviews or music threads on Amazon. Reviews give you an idea what other customers think of the music. In my experience, the reviews can be (unintentionally) deceptive, because it seems that huge fans are more likely to post comments and reviews than critics. Amazon allows you to click on review by star rating (1 through 5 stars), so you can click on 1-star reviews to get the other side of the picture, if you want to. When considering buying a CD, I’ll often look at samples from a wide range of reviews and see which reviewers are most likely to see eye-to-eye with me musically.

As mentioned before, you can also read threads started by music-lovers on Amazon. These discuss all aspects of popular music, and you can find threads about “new music suggestions”. Read through these to get ideas for new music you might give a try.

How do I find new music to listen to on Youtube?

This is one you’ve probably done before anyway, but I wanted to mention Youtube. If you go to Youtube and put in the name of a band or song title, you’ll be taken to that song’s music video. You can listen to songs on Youtube and surf through other suggestions on the right side of the page. In this way, you’ll be able to listen and see selections from other artists who are similar to the artist or song you enjoyed. This is a little more user-intensive, since you’re likely to sit watching a music video or frequently clicking on links, but Youtube is likely to have music selections or music videos from your favorite (or new) artists, often imaginatively mixed with personal photos or some video from the pop culture.

New Music

Use a combination of these four techniques and you’ll have new music to listen to all the time. Remember to keep something handy so you can write down the bands and songs you really like. There’s nothing more frustrating than listening to a new song you love and not being able to remember later what it was called or who performed it.

How Can I Use Music To Improve My Mood?

January 30th, 2013 |

Using music to improve your mood is a perfectly valid use of songs. In fact, music has been used to uplift humans since the beginning of human history. Music uplifts the spirit and increases energy among individuals and groups. Getting the right kind of music to improve your mood is the tricky part, since everyone has different tastes and mental states. Something that raises your mood might depress someone else, or bore them to tears.

For instance, if someone is depressed, a “happy song” could either lift up their spirits or just make them angry. At the same time, a “sad song” or “depressing song” might drive them further into despair, or inspire that person, because they connect with the words and tunes of someone else out there in the world who felt the same emotions. So “music and moods” are by no means universal. With that in mind, I’ll suggest types of music that might improve your mood.

Improving Your Mood With Nostalgic Music

There are ways of improving your mood with nostalgic music. Let’s start with the song which made you happy before. Go back to a happy time of your life. Maybe you were enjoying a carefree time with your friends or had just “fallen in love” for the first time. Maybe you were experiencing the first freedoms of your teenage years, or it was your first semester at college. Everyone will have a different experience, but remember the songs you were listening to at that time. Once you remember the songs that bring back good feelings and good memories, start collecting those songs.

Even if you don’t have the money to buy downloads or rebuy every great CD you once had, go to Youtube and look up the song you enjoyed. Listen to the song and watch the video that goes with that song. That will take you back into the good times you had. You can even follow the links to similar tunes from that period in your life, maybe even hit songs you forgot existed. Do this when you’re feeling down, or make a tape of such songs.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found that old songs bring with them a lot of nostalgia. Even songs I didn’t particularly like at the time evoke memories of another time and place. Since many people look back at their childhood as “simpler” or “more carefree”, you can escape for a few moments a day with a warm memory from the past.

Of course, nostalgia only goes so far. Many people don’t want to hide in the songs of the past, but find new and fresh songs that will improve their moods. I imagine that someone asking how they can use music to improve their mood is looking for new songs that will spark new, positive emotions, so let’s stop dwelling in the past and get into the kind of music which might improve your moods.

Experiencing New Tunes To Improve Mood

Chill Music – Chill music is designed to calm people or help them “chill out”. Chill music is downbeat electronic music, more often than not with female singers, which tends to have a relaxing effect on its listeners. Don’t get the idea that chill music is elevator music, though. Chill tunes was designed by Djs to play in side rooms of dance clubs, to give dancers a chance to get away from the droning sounds of the dance floor and relax for a few minutes in peace and quiet. People who enjoy trance music and other electronic dance tunes are likely to see parallels in the chill tune, though the sounds are decidedly downbeat.

A couple of representative radio stations which play chill music are “Chill Out Lounge” and “Groove Salad on SomaFM”. Some of the most-played chill acts on these stations are Air, Thievery Corporation, Fila Brazillia, Boards of Canada, Lemon Jelly, Afterlife and Groove Armada, though the playlists are full of creative chill tunes from obscure bands and Djs around the world.

Classical Music – Don’t let your preconceived notions keep you from enjoying classical music. Everyone will find the type of classic songs they’ll enjoy, if they sift through enough of them. That’s the trick, of course. Whatever the case, you should at least give uplifting classical music a try, and don’t let anyone tell you you’re being pretentious or elitist learning to enjoy classical music. I’m no expert about classical music, though I have enjoyed certain composers over the years.

Mozart is calm and elegant, so that’s a great place to start listening to classical music. Vivaldi also tends towards elegance, though you’ll find a little Italian passion in this former monk’s music, occasionally. If drama, emotion and romance raise your spirits, try Beethoven. Franz Schubert came just after Beethoven, and therefore is rooted firmly in the romantic period, though his melodies are first rate and beautiful, and tend to put me in a good mood. Brahms and Wagner add to the scope and drama of the classical period, though listeners to Wagner will need more patience. If you like romantic piano music, Franz Lizst is a good place to start. For those who enjoy darker tunes and unorthodox piano arrangements, Frederic Chopin might be a good place to start.

Tchaikovksy often raises my mood, though I think a lot of his music is supposed to do the opposite, I think (maybe I’m wired backwards). 20th century classical music tends to be a little more jarring and atonal, so I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it as a body of music to improve your mood. If you want to go back in time, many people enjoy Baroque music most of all, because of the extraordinary variety it encompasses and its “quaint”, often anachronistic, complicated melodies. Try Johann Sebastian Bach and if you enjoy listening to “interesting patterns of sound”, because you can follow the intricate melodies and wonder at the mind of a man who could imagine such complexity.

This is just scratching the surface, of course. Don’t be ashamed to try out opera recordings composed by Verdi or Bizet, to see if these relax you and improve your mood. Give Spanish classical guitar songs a try. You might find them relaxing or frustrating, but if you prefer more intimate arrangements, Spanish guitar music might be for you. If neither guitar songs or opera scores are for you, try out the other classical music arrangements and see which work for you. I’m a novice collector, so if you want an obscure genius work, you’re barking up the wrong tree, but maybe you can start down the path to uplifting classical songs from the short list above.

Salsa Music – I love salsa music and it generally puts me in a good mood. Give salsa music a listen and see if it does the same for you. Salsa music comes from Cuba originally, and it is an interesting fusion of several rich musical traditions.

Because Cuba was colonized by the Spanish Empire, Cuba’s musicians became familiar with the European musical forms, and were heavily influenced by Spanish versions of European classical music and instrumentation. Because Spain’s colonists brought African slaves to the island during the colonial period, Cuban music is heavily influenced by the drums and beats of the displaced West African slaves.

And because Cuba was an American protectorate from the end of the Spanish-American War (1898) to the rise of Fidel Castro to power (1959), Cuba was influenced by American music of the early 20th century, especially jazz.

Put all that together with the natural talents of the Cuban people and Cuban salsa is a vibrant, often upbeat, technically-sound brand of music which is known to lift the spirits of those who listen to it. Give salsa music a try. It might be just different enough to bring something new into your life.

Trance Music – Trance is electronic music with roots in the symphonic and new age sounds, but they are fast and high-energy mixes.

Trance music is what I listen to when I work out. It’s high energy keeps me going through workouts, and it’s become something I associate with “pep me ups”. If you like electronic music, ambient sounds, a sizable number of instrumentals and a good portion of the singing done by females, you’ll enjoy trance music. The combination of energy and beauty might improve your mood.

You’ll find some forms of trance music among the rave music sub-genres. (“House” electronic songs are based more on soul or funk.) These would include “hard trance” and “goa trance”. Since individual DJ’s often mix genres and remix songs, it’s easy to overstate the distinctions in the various electronic and rave music genres. I would like to try house music to see if it has the same effect on me as trance music, and I’ll report back when I do.

Music Genres I Can Use To Lift My Mood

Ultimately, just about any music can be used to lift your mood. Some people will find even the most violent-sounding and aggressive music lifts their spirits. Maybe metal or hip hop puts you in a good mood, because these songs get your juices flowing. Or maybe new age music, which would cause some people to fall asleep or just roll their eyes, puts you in a good mood. That’s just how people in this world are different.

The Sensual Impact Of Music

From the beginning, music was meant to have not only an emotional, but a sensual impact.

Someone much smarter than me has pointed out before that our five senses are actually just three senses. Sight is one sense, of course. Taste and smell are really just one sense, which I think most people would understand when they think about it for a second. But the one that most people miss is that touch and hearing are really the same sense.

That is, hearing is just the ability of our ears to discern sound vibrations touching our body (ear drums). That’s important when you start to consider music. Music literally touches our bodies, so listening to music isn’t just an intellectual process. Music literally makes you feel good, because music vibrations are bouncing off your body as you listen.

That’s why the sounds of music are so much more important to me than musical lyrics. To me, it’s the sound that makes music so different than most other forms of art. If I want a good story, I can read a book. If I want to hear words put in a pleasing fashion, I can read poetry out loud. So it’s the sound of music that sets it apart, and it’s the sensual soundwaves associated with music (and not the intellectual connection we have to the lyrics) which is going to improve our mood.

I’m making a generalization, of course. I have a good friend who loves the stories that songs tells. You give him a musician with a six-string and a few funny lyrics and he’s instantly in a better mood. That’s every bit as legitimate of a reason for listening to music. It’s just not how music affects me.

The point being, music has different effects on people. I’m arguing, though, that if you want music to put you in a good mood quickly, you’re probably better off finding the most pleasing sounds and most interesting patterns of sounds, and the above genres of music are what I personally have found to be the best music.

Try New Music Until Something Works

What works for me may not work for you, though. If the music you’re listening to isn’t putting you into a good mood — and that’s what you’re looking for in your music — then keeping trying new songs and new musical genres until you find one that does. Don’t box yourself in to the music genres you’ve listened to until now, or the ones that your friends seem to listen to. Everyone is different.

Think about it. We’re living in a golden age of music availability. More music is available for us to conveniently listen to than at any other time in history, so we might as well use the music we have available to improve our mood or entertain ourselves as we see fit. Enjoy.

How Do You Start A Music Management Company?

January 30th, 2013 |

Starting a music management company allows someone who loves the music industry and wants the excitement of the music business to get involved in the scene. There are a lot of jobs in any professional music scene, so even people without the musical talent to be an artist or musician can join in the excitement and glamour. Being a music manager may not be as glamorous as fronting a chart-topping music act, but you’ll be an integral part of the success of those music acts.

First of all, let’s discuss what a “music management company” does. A music management company becomes a musical artist or band’s business manager. The company will book concerts and gigs for the band, guide the artist’s career and sometimes handle negotiations with the record label executives. In return, the music management company will earn a percentage of that artist’s earning. These earnings will be mainly from concerts and musical performances and less from record sales (which mainly go to the record label).

Starting Your Music Management Firm

Now you that you know what’s expected of a band management company, here’s how you go about starting your music management firm.

Learn About the Music Industry – Get a cursory knowledge of the music industry you plan to operate in. Obviously, you won’t really learn the business until you’re in the business, but read everything you can about the music industry, musicians of note and other successful band managers. Especially focus on this last topic, because these are the people you’ll need to emulate and eventually compete with. Check out information provided by industry organizations like the Musicians Union, and read every industry trade publication you can get your hands on. The musicians you’ll be handling won’t be expected to know the business, so you’ll be the expert everyone is looking to for direction.
Design a Business Plan – Now that you understand something about the business you’re entering, come up with a business plan for how your management company will work. That plan needs to cover how much you charge for your services (your percentages), as well as a mission statement for your partners to know what the plan is. Set benchmarks for success and a create a guide of where you want to lead this company in 1 year, 5 years and even 10 years. This sets a strategy for your music management company and lets your associates know you’re in the business for the long haul.
Collect Start Up Capital – This business won’t be economic self-sufficient for at least 6-12 months, so you’ll need to line up some “start up capital” until your bands start making money and your commissions start paying the bills. Be patient, because you aren’t going to build a successful music management company overnight. Know that you’ll be losing money for a little while if you are getting into a business with no contacts at all.
Get an Office – Don’t worry about getting a huge, impressive office space. Find a functional office with enough space for your needs, because you’ll be meeting with potential artists and clients, as well as other industry figures. Most importantly, make certain the office is conveniently located. For instance, if you open an office in Nashville, make certain it’s relatively near Music Row. Decorate your office in a style befitting a music management company, and make certain the office presents the aura of professionalism.
Network – Maybe the most important answer I can give you when you ask, “How do you start a music management company”, is to get to know other people in the music industry. Music is a “who you know” business as much as any in the world, so you need to start meeting people. This means you’ll need to attend every industry event you can get into. Live the music business. Meet anyone and everyone you can meet. Get to know as many people with contacts in the industry, and make certain these people get to know you. Make friends and not enemies. This is good for your clients, because you’ll have more connections to help their careers. It will be good for your business, because you’ll learn about more potential clients and these artists will soon learn you are “connected”.
Sign Clients – At the same time, see as many music performances as you can see. Watch local concerts and talent (or open-mic) nights. Go to local bars and clubs and get an idea who’s who among the unsigned artists in your scene. Even attend performances at local colleges, because you’re likely to find talented student-musicians who have yet to be noticed. Cover the entire scene. Watch several shows a night if you can. Most of what you’re watching won’t amount to anything: but the more musicians you watch, the better your chances are you’ll find that one unnoticed talent that will take you to the top. You’ve heard people call themselves “the hardest working man in show business”: you want to be that man.
Learn Your Strengths – You’ll eventually want to limit your band managing to a select type of musician. At first, though, you’ll want to keep it broad and learn exactly which bands are the best for you to manage. Once you start to figure out which type of bands are the best for you to work with, begin to fashion an identity about the type of bands you’ll manage. Heck, if a talented act comes in the door that doesn’t fit your profile, you can always refer them to a friend in the industry. Become a real part of the community, but one with an identity and a reputation.
Get a Rep – Establish a reputation in the business and let the game come to you. Don’t immediately sign every act you can get your hands on. In fact, most bands will be suspicious of the unknown band managers showing up after a show with all kinds of promises. Don’t overload yourself at first. Start to build a reputation and then let clients come to you. That doesn’t mean you should stop going public. Watch as many shows as you ever did and figure out who has talent: just don’t try to sign acts after shows.
Network Online – Make certain your bands can network online through sites like MySpace and Facebook. CDBaby is another important online tool for musicians. These sites help bands attract interest and followings beyond the venues they are playing in. Remember, bands that have not yet got their music contract can still make money, if they play enough and create a market for themselves. In turn, this will help the band get enough buzz that a record label might notice.
Send out Demos – Send a music demo tape to industry people to get your band noticed. This means you should be sending a band’s demo to as many record labels, agents and club owners as possible. You not only get the band gigs, but are trying to get them signed by an agent, if not a music recording label. Besides sending demos, send promotional photos when you present your band to these people. Also, send along any press releases and news clippings of any buzz your band has created.
Book Shows – Get your band into clubs and music venues. Make certain the band is professional and on time. Check up on the progress of your band. Your acts affect your reputation and your relationships with club owners, so make certain they are representing you in a good light. The last thing you need in the music business is a bad reputation.
Hire a Good Lawyer – Retain the services of a good “entertainment lawyer”. When you’re negotiating with a music label, you want to know the implications of every word and phrase of the contract. An entertainment lawyer will focus on the legal side of the business, while you focus on the business side.
Build a Good Reputation – Build good relationships on every level of the industry. Always return phone calls. Build a reputation in your music scene as someone who is fair and trustworthy. If your the business of your music management company gets too big for you to answer every call, hire a good assistant who will take some of those responsibilities for you. Make certain they have a level head and a good attitude, because this person will be representing you to other people. Remember, you never know who is going places in this industry, so it’s not in your business interests to alienate potential future contacts.
Build a Relationship with the Record Labels – The record executives ultimately have the keys to the kingdom. When you interact and negotiate with them, be professional. Build a relationship with the record labels you deal with, because you’ll be going back to these same people, time and again, asking them to sign your clients and negotiating with them over details.

Running A Music Management Company

As you can see, running a music management company is a full-time business. You’ll have to master a lot of skills, meet a lot of people and do a lot of hard work for each and every band you represent. To be a successful music management company, you and your people will have to have a passion for the business. Don’t get in if you’re interested in just the wealth and glamour. That might come if you work hard enough, but you should only become a music manager if being in the music scene 24/7 is enough payment for you.

Where Can You Download Karaoke Music?

January 30th, 2013 |

iTunes Karaoke Downloads

If you don’t know by now, iTunes is the proprietary music software download site which Apple Computers introduced way back in 2001 to help people download music to their Apple products. These days, iTunes is the primary resource for downloading music, movies, videos and podcasts to their iPods and iPhones. It has been copied many times. Itunes also lets you connect to hundreds of radio stations worldwide in every music genre known to mankind, so you can find the music you want to download.

i-Tunes allows people to download karaoke music, too. If you have trouble finding the karaoke section, just type the word “karaoke” into the “Search iTunes Store” search box at the top right hand corner of the iTunes interface. You can download karaoke CDs for less than you’ll be able to find them in most karaoke stores, which generally have a huge markup on their CDs. Most karaoke CDs on iTunes will cost $9.99. You can find everything from Broadway showtunes karaoke selections to hip hop karaoke tunes. If you prefer selecting one song at a time, you can buy karaoke per-song at a rate of $0.99 for each song.

Zunes Karaoke Downloads

Zunes doesn’t have as large a karaoke selection as iTunes, but you can find over 300 karaoke albums on the Zune Marketplace song download site. You might remember from a previous article that Zunes Marketplace is Microsoft’s answer to iTunes: an online stop for Zune users to download music onto their Zunes mp3 player.

Napster Karaoke Downloads

Napster has their own karaoke song downloads page, and it is one of the most complete karaoke catalogues on the internet. With over 7,000,000 songs to download, you’ll find a (much smaller but) sizable karaoke playlist on Napster. This isn’t the Napster of ten years ago, of course. These days, Napester is owned by Best Buy, so you’ll be paying for each download. Highlighting this point is the Napster front page, which these days has a woman come onscreen and try to sell you on how great Napster is and why you should sign up. That’s annoying, since navigating to Napster implies you’re probably already interested in their services and don’t want to hear a sales pitch. Still, the site itself is pretty awesome, and I would suggest you go directly to Napster’s artist search to avoid all that mess.

Once you get to the Napster Karaoke page, you’ll see a list of “top tracks” and “top albums”, to show what the hottest-selling karaoke choices are these days. Strangely, the “Happy Birthday” singalong song is the most downloaded karaoke song at the moment, while “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (of all things) is #4. Go figure. You’ll also find links to the left of this page to individual recording artists, if you want to see what an individual music act has to offer on Napster.

Where Can You Download Karaoke Music For Free?

This is a tricky question. First of all, it’s illegal to download copyrighted material. There has been a decade of battles between the music recording industry and the peer-to-peer music downloading websites, with the big recording companies enforcing music licenses by suing the peer-to-peer download sites and prosecuting selected music downloaders (seemingly at random). These days, record companies employ people whose job is to search the internet searching for the sites and the people who download pirated material, and karaoke music is no different.

Of course, you’ll find plenty of karaoke download sites which offer “free karaoke music” or “free karaoke downloads”, but most of these are actually trying to sell you karaoke music instead. The “free” is just a ruse to get you to their website, which is frustrating. If you want to check out free music online, I might suggest you go to limewire.com, because it’s one of the biggest peer-to-peer websites which still offers free downloads. Frankly, I’m not sure how Limewire skates by, because the record industry has to know about them. Other sites to look at are “EXTracks”, “Great Karaoke Catalog”, “KaraFun”, “Blaze Audio” and “Mr. Free Free”, but I think several of those are sites which promise free and end up charging you, so let the buyer (or free downloader) beware.

Personally, I wouldn’t recommend getting music free off the internet. Technically, free online music is illegal and I don’t want to advocate you doing anything illegal. The chances of being prosecuted are small, but the chances of getting struck by lightning are small, and I wouldn’t recommend walking through a lightning storm. Besides, you can download songs for a dollar on most sites. Karaoke songs might cost $2.

How To Buy a Guitar

January 30th, 2013 |

Knowing how to buy a guitar is very much like buying anything else. You don’t need to be an expert guitarist, but you do need to be a savvy shopper. That means doing some research, learning all you can about the product and then shopping around. Buying a good guitar takes patience and diligence.

Anatomy of a Guitar

There are three basic types of guitars to choose from; acoustic, classical and electric. The guitar you choose will depend on the style you want to play. You should at least be familiar with the parts of a guitar before you go shopping. This will help you understand the salesperson’s jargon.

The body of the guitar is the largest part. The sound hole is where the sound comes out, located in the center of the guitar body. The strings are attached to the body of the guitar near the sound hole, along a strip called the bridge. The long piece of wood that sticks out from the body of the guitar is called the neck. You will notice the neck is divided into sections. These are called frets. At the end of the neck, you will see that the strings are each sitting in a groove called a nut. Each string is attached to a tuning peg that is turned to tune each string. This area attached to the neck, where the strings end, is called the headstock.

Electric guitars have some additional features that are not found on acoustic or classical guitars. They have a volume knob on the body and often feature a “whammy bar” used to alter the sound of the guitar. Electric guitars also have a “pickup”, which is an electronic component that picks up the vibrations of the strings, which are then sent through a cord to an amplifier. The body of the guitar will have a small hole where the sound cord can be plugged in.

Types of Guitars

A classical guitar has nylon strings and is played by finger picking, rather than strumming. The neck can be harder for little hands to get around, being wider than an acoustic guitar. The benefit of a classical guitar is the smaller body, making it easier to transport if you travel often. You may also simply prefer the sound.

Acoustic guitars have steel strings, which can be much harder on the finger tips of new players. Watch out for guitars with “high action”, meaning there is a lot of distance between the strings and the neck. The more pressure you have to put down with your finger tips, the more painful the guitar will be to play in the beginning. High action can also cause unnecessary wear on a guitar, causing the neck to bend over time.

Acoustic guitars can be amplified through the use of a pickup that is installed in the sound hole. This allows the player to amplify the sound for large audiences. These types of guitars are called acoustic-electric.

Electric guitars come in three categories: Electric, Hollow Body Electric and Steel. Each type of guitar creates a very different sound. When buying an electric guitar, consider the cost of the amplifier as well, since the music cannot be heard without one. You will also need a sound cord and a shoulder strap.

Standard electric guitars can be made of solid wood or another composite material. They can be had very affordably, for around $100. The sound of an electric guitar will depend on the type of pickup used. Single-coil pickups give a brighter, less distorted sound. Humbuckers are preferred by those who play loud rock styles because they transfer distortion better.

Jazz musician will often choose a hollow body electric guitar because it produces a unique sonic resonance through the use of two chambers cut out of the guitar body.

Steel guitars are known for their unique, twangy sound, often heard in country music. These guitars are placed on the player’s lap and feature elevated strings. The player uses a tone bar to play the guitar, a cylindrical piece of metal, worn on the middle finger, which slides across the strings.

Guitar Size

Just like clothing, guitars come in different sizes. It is important to try on a guitar before buying to see how your arm feels when strumming. A large-bodied guitar can make playing very uncomfortable for someone with a small body frame. You can also buy ½ and ¾ sized guitars for children.

Looks

Also like clothing, looks are important in your choice of guitar. This is especially important with new players. You need a guitar you will actually want to play. Choose one that appeals to your sense of style, color and personality.

Budget

A guitar can cost anywhere from $100 to several thousand, depending on your needs. When shopping for a child, stick to a smaller budget. Try to spend under $300 for a child’s first guitar. Avoid buying a “toy” guitar for your child if you want them to stick with playing. Your child will lose interest in the instrument as they quickly develop a better sense of sound.

Also consider other equipment when budgeting for your guitar. You will need a digital tuner to keep the guitar in tune. A case is useful for carrying the guitar back and forth from lessons. A music stand will be needed for holding music sheets while your child learns to play a piece. Lessons are also vital for children to develop a long-term interest and talent with the guitar.

If you are shopping for yourself, your budget will have more wiggle room. Pay less attention to how much you spend and put more focus on the quality, looks and feel of the guitar. When you go to buy a guitar, bring someone who knows how to play the guitar with you. Your friend can help you try out guitars and overcome the shyness new players often feel when trying out a guitar in a public place.

Take the time to try out several guitars and ask questions. Take notes and do some additional research before you make your final decision. Music stores are like car dealerships. There will be some dickering and bargaining. See if you can get a discount or some added gear thrown into the deal. You’ll walk away with a sense of satisfaction and a new hobby that will bring you years of pleasure.

What Is The Best Music Download Site?

January 30th, 2013 |

There are so many great music download sites out there, that it’s hard to pick out just one. In fact, everybody has different download preferences, different mp3 players with different compatibilities and completely disparate ideas about what makes a good music download site. So I’ll go over some of the big name options with the biggest music files archives and the fastest download times on the internet. There may be one out there that’s better than these, but I haven’t come across it yet.

iTunes Music Downloads

iTunes was the first music download site built to download music to iPods, and it remains the best if you own an iPod or iPhone and you want to download music into it. There’s a huge advantage to having one company design both your music download website and your music file storage device. Plain and simple, there just aren’t as many compatibility problems. It’s like having all the original parts on your car; you might get perfectly good replacement parts, but they won’t be as good of a fit for your car as the original.

iTunes has a store for music, movies, tv shows and podcasts. To help research the best new music, you can click on iTunes radio to hundreds of American and international radio stations to listen to the best new music. Once you’ve figured out what you want to download, follow the “iTunes Store” link to buy the music downloads you want. Just about every song file is $0.99.

On iTunes, you can also set playlists of recommended songs to listen to while you’re on your computer. These include the party shuffle, “my top rated”, “recently added”, “recently played” and the “Top 25 Most Played”. You can also browse songs through suggested genres like alternative rock, electronica & dance, jazz, classical, latin, pop, rock and world.

But I’m a Mac freak, so I would say that iTunes is the best place to download music. Here are other options, if you aren’t sold yet.

Zune Music Downloads?

ZuneMusic is Microsoft’s answer to iTunes. The Zunes storage devices are Microsoft’s answer to the iPod. You get the point. Zune was built to do everything that iTunes does for Apple. It’s a competitor, and you’ll find Zune mp3 file storage devices everywhere you shop for electronics.

If you want a full recap of Zune Music, you might check out our page where I answer a question about what Zune music exactly is. Here’s the overview.

Zune Music is compatible with both Windows XP and Windows Vista. Zune mp3 players like Zune 4, Zune 8, Zune 16, Zune 80 and Zune 120 are compatible with the site, too. It’s always nice to have an mp3 storage device that’s made to work with a website, so you get that advantage using all-Zune music technology.

Zune tunes include the hottest ep releases on the charts today, as well as a large archive of free songs. You can search through fourteen different Zune music genres, as well as the “everything else” category.

Yahoo! Music Downloads?

Yahoo Music or Y! Music seems to always be changing, with name changes and certain features sold off and others combined into services like Rhapsody and MusicMatch Jukebox. It can get a little confusing at times. Still, Yahoo has been the #1 most-visted music download site as recently as the Spring of 2007, so you don’t want to discuss the Yahoo Music Marketplace as anything but a well-traveled, first-rate music download service.

Best Online Music Sites

Well, there you go. I believe iTunes is still the best music online music site, though Zune-users will probably find that Zune Music is the best option for them. Also, Yahoo Music is a top competitor, so if you are using an mp3 player that isn’t a Zune Device or iPod, you might have just as much luck with Y! Music.

The answer to this questions depends and your wants and needs. If you want free music downloads, that becomes a whole different question. But if you are looking for the best music download site for paid downloads, you want something with lots of music files, good support and a solid reputation. That’s why I’m suggesting these sites, because they are known reputable companies with a long track record in the music download industry.

Where Can I Download Free Christmas Music?

January 30th, 2013 |

The best place to download free Christmas music is probably “Feels Like Christmas“. This site has legal free mp3 files of Christmas music. The “Feels Like Christmas” website takes artist-submitted Christmas content from several different styles and eras. Best of all, you get free music downloads without worrying about breaking a federal law. You just go to the Feels Like Christmas address and download music.

Feels Like Christmas divides their Christmas music files into four distinct categories: Traditional Vocal, Contemporary Vocal, Traditional Instrumental and Contemporary Instrumental. So if you want nice, traditional Christmas instrumentals in the background for your Christmas party, you won’t have to sift through hundreds of contemporary Christmas songs to find what you’re looking for. To listen to samples of the Christmas tunes, just left-click on the song links. If you want to save Christmas music files to place on your mp3 player, simply right-click on the same link.

Download Christmas Stories For Free

Besides finding free Christmas music downloads, you can also download Christmas stories for free. These stories range from traditional Christmas readings like “Twas the Night Before Christmas” to Bible passages, like “Luke 2: 1-20″ from the King James Version of the Bible.

Other features you can download for free on “Feels Like Christmas” are “Christmas Sounds”, holiday coloring & clip arts, information on the Christmas artists and even Christmas gift ideas.

Downloadble Free Religious Christmas Songs

You’ll find a lot of free religious Christmas music at “Music Download” which has thousands of downloadable songs from dozens of different music genres, but the site also offers free traditional Christmas music as free downloads. At the moment, you can download songs like “Noel”, “Joy to the World”, “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”, “Angels We Have Heard On High”, “Silent Night”, “O Little Town Of Bethlehem” and “Ave Maria” for no charge. I know how frustrating it is to see the words “free music downloads” and realize you have to pay once you try to download the mp3 files, so I’ve checked this one out to see if it’s a trick and you really can download these songs for free.

For those interested in other sorts of Christmas music, there are “Secular Christmas” and “General Holiday” categories, to go along with the “Spiritual Christmas” songs I’m describing.

Where Can I Download Free Christmas Music Classics?

Another place to find quintessential Christmas music files for free is “Christmas Gifts” which offers free religious Christmas music selections, but also offers Christmas standards like “Deck the Halls With Boughs of Holly” and “The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite. These songs are sure to get you and your guests into the Christmas spirit. And like the other site I mentioned, I’ve checked it out and these holiday tunes truly are for free. Merry Christmas!

Why Did Daryl Hall And Sara Allen Break Up?

January 30th, 2013 |

Daryl Hall, who is part of the famous 80’s duo Hall and Oates, had a relationship with songwriter Sara Allen for the better part of 30 years. The two had an on again/off again relationship but they finally parted ways back in 2001. Why did Daryl Hall and Sara Allen break up? Actually, nobody is talking. Daryl Hall is a very private person. He has stated before that everything that he has to say is said through his music. So maybe to find the cause of their breakup we would have to listen to his work after 2001.

Celebrities go through breakups just like everyone else and the reasons are usually no different. If the celebrity makes the headlines and is in the spotlight often, you can guarantee that the media will sooner or later find out all the dirt. However, since Daryl Hall is no longer in the spotlight and leads a fairly quiet life now, it is much harder to gather current gossip and information.

We do know a little about Daryl Hall and Sara Allen. So here is a little information that we were able to track down about Daryl Hall and Sara Allen: then and now.

A Little Background

Daryl Hall and John Oates met in the late seventies and formed the highly successful music duo Hall & Oates. Their first big album, released by RCA Records, was simply title Daryl Hall & John Oates but most fans refer to it as the Silver Album because the back of the jacket cover was silver.

This album contained the song “Sara Smile”, which Hall wrote in honor of his girlfriend Sara Allen. Allen was a stewardess when she met Hall but became a collaborating songwriter. She helped pen several of Hall & Oates more popular songs such as Private Eyes, Maneater, and I Can’t Go For That.

Despite being together for almost 30 years, the couple never married.

Where Are They Now

Daryl Hall and Sara Allen remain good friends to this day. When Hall had to cancel tour dates in 2005 because of an attack of Lyme Disease, Allen helped nurse him back to health. They both have homes near each other in Duchess County, New York. Allen has received compensation for her work on Hall & Oates songs and she had dabbled in real estate in the recent past.

Besides his ongoing music career, Hall now restores historic homes. He has completed projects both in the U.S. and in England. The home in England was located near the River Thames in London and dated back to 1740. His recent restoration projects in the U.S. included two houses in New York, one built in 1771 and the other in 1780.

Hall currently has a website called Live From Daryl’s House. The site runs podcats of Daryl and friends as they sit down at his house to play music. So far, there have been several music names appear on the show such as KT Tunstall, Ray Manzarek, and Robbie Krieger.

How Can I Learn to Appreciate Country Music?

January 30th, 2013 |

It sounds like you’re someone who’s trying to appreciate country music to adapt to a new setting. That is, I bet you either have a new boyfriend/girlfriend who wants to listen to country music, you started working somewhere that plays country music all day or you just moved South and want to understand what the heck these new people are listening to. Or maybe you just want to broaden your horizons and learn to appreciate something new. Whatever the case, let me try to help you.

I’ve noticed over the years that people, when they don’t like or appreciate a type of music, they usually say, “All the songs sound the same to me.” That’s a natural reaction and an honest one. Learning to appreciate music is to learn what makes that music loved by those who do love the songs. So if you want to appreciate country music, think about why other people you know enjoy country songs.

Country music is first and foremost a story-telling music. So when you listen to country songs, you need to listen to the stories the songs are telling. One of the reasons people listen to country music is because the tunes involve sad stories or funny anecdotes which relate to their lives. Country music is by-and-large stories about living in smaller, agriculture-based American towns, even if the songs are often written by people who live in a city dominated by corporations and marketing firms.

It wasn’t always that way, so if you want to appreciate modern country music, you should learn where country music started.

Appreciate Country Music By Learning Its Origins

If you find that modern country music seems mass-produced and plastic, try giving a listen to the country songs of the past. You might say this is getting back to the roots of country. Remember that “country music” started as folk music. In fact, country music is a blend of several kinds of folk music, which combined to form a distinctive new kind of folk genre.

Country music can be said to have first formed in the 1920′s. Country songs of that era were largely written by the descendants of English and Irish immigrants to the American South. These people brought with them the folk songs and folk stories of their British heritage, and many of the country instruments and tunes have an origin in those folk traditions. These people lived in a society based on agriculture, far different than the culture of the American North, which was based around urban living and cosmopolitanism.

But the American South had another important, creative demographic that never existed in Old England and Old Ireland: the African-American population. African-American musical culture in the early 20th century was deeply influenced by the long culture of slavery and the lingering strains of segregation and poverty. Out of this mileau came music forms like the blues, which would have a tremendous impact on country music. Combine African-American blues with Irish and English folk songs and you start to have something that sounds like early country music.

Then remember that all these people, whether of African or European descent, were transplanted to an entirely different continent. All these people had in common small-town communities based on agriculture. Whether white or black, most Southerners lived hard-scrabble existences based on farming the land, and their music told tales of hardship, hard living (usually through strong drink) and self-reliance. Combine this with a fair amount of good humor to help soften the hard times, and this new folk music became rich with stories either humorous or sad, and sometimes both.

Country music quickly combined with “western music” to become “country & western”. The western part of “country and western” came out of the American Old West, which was also based on agriculture, hard living and self-reliance. Because these people were settling an untamed continent, self-reliance and independence was a hallmark of this music. The cowboy had rightly or wrongly become the symbol of American self-reliance, and this found its way into the country & western music genre.

This became the basis for all subsequent country music, and it’s the basis of country music today. As you can see, country music isn’t nearly as homogeneous as you might suspect, despite the similarities of agriculture and small-town living.

Listening To Old Country Songs

Like any music genre, though, the early development of country music was heavily influenced by a handful of talented people. New art forms need legendary figures to build a new foundation on, and some of those figures are Bob Wills, Roy Acuff, Roy Rogers and Gene Autry. These men appeared in the 1930′s to help define country and western music for the American people.

“The Grand Ole Opry” is a weekly Nashville country music performance and radio show, and the oldest-running radio show in American history. Amazingly, the Grand Ole Opry has been heard weekly in the U.S. since 1925, and it has had a tremendous role in the careers of country music artists over nine decades. For the past five of those decades, country musicians who want to be considered “members” of the Grand Ole Opry must perform at least 26 weeks a year to maintain membership. Most of the biggest name acts in Nashville and country music history have played at the Grand Ole Opry, which has been located in several different venues in Nashville. This show is, in many ways, the common thread running through country music these many years.

Roy Acuff was known as the “King of Country Music”, and did much to set the sound of country music in the 1930′s, as well as influence later country musicians. Roy Rogers and Gene Autry were part of the “singing cowboys” phenomenon so popular in the 1930′s, 1940′s and 1950′s. These men helped form the bond between country music and western cowboys, a conflating which continues to this day.

Bob Wills came out of Texas to help found “western swing” music in the 1930′s, most famously in a band known as the “Texas Playboys”. This style would eventually influence the “Bakersfield Sound” in country music and is a great entry into country music, because Western swing isn’t exactly what you would expect to hear in a country song.

Hank Williams

Hank Williams developed “honky-tonk music” in the 1940′s. Despite dying in 1953 at the age of 30, the prodigious Hank Williams is one of the most influential country musicians ever. He was popular in the post-war years when country music was beginning to be noticed in the mass media, and Hank Williams blended many styles to make his distinct brand of country music.

Nashville Sound

“The Nashville Sound” came to characterize the country music songs produced in Nashville in the late-1950′s and 1960′s, championed by men like Chet Atkins. The Nashville Sound was influenced by the rising popularity of rock-and-roll, and sought to modernize and popularize country music’s image from the honky-tonk sounds that dominated country at the time. The Nashville Sound used orchestral arrangements and slick production techniques to give country a more sophisticated sound, hoping to reach a mass audience like rock-n-roll did. The Nashville Sound influenced “country pop” of the 1970′s and 1980′s and beyond.

Those associated with the Nashville Sound are Chet Atkins, Owen Bradley, Bob Ferguson, and successful acts like Patsy Kline, Charlie Rich, Charlie Pride, Ray Price and Glen Campbell.

Bakersfield Sound

While the Nashville Sound was defining how Americans listened to country music, others were not happy with Nashville’s definition of country music. “The Bakersfield Sound” referred to Bakersfield, California, which might seem like an odd place for a country music movement to start. But during the Dust Bowl of the late-1920′s and 1930′s, a migration of Oklahomans moved to California seeking work. These transplanted Southerners brought with them their musical traditions. A generation later, a musical scene formed in the agriculture-heavy oil town of Bakersfield, led by men such as Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. This sound took country back to its roots and rejected what they considered the slick, corporate image of Nashville. This would not be the only reaction against the Nashville Sound, but it was the first to get major play on the country radio stations.

Outlaw Country

Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard (also of the Bakersfield Sound), Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson can each be grouped in the “outlaw country movement” of the 1960′s and 1970′s. Outlaw country was another reaction against the Nashville Sound, but it came almost a decade later than the Bakersfield Sound. This places the Outlaw movement in the late-1960′s Vietnam Era, and many members of the Outlaw country movement included strong stances on social issues and the war with their decidedly rougher approach to country music.

Some of these artists had tried their hand in Nashville, and one or two had success there (Willie Nelson, for instance, wrote Patsy Kline’s biggest hit, “Crazy”). But these artists found the Nashville approach to country music too restrictive for their artistic visions, so they found success with alternative approaches to country songs. Ironically, some of these men are among the biggest icons in country music today. Other important members of the Outlaw movement are David Allen Coe, Billy Joe Shaver and Kris Kristofferson. Hank Williams Jr. is another example of an outlaw country singer.

Today, the divide between Nashville and non-Nashville country music continues, with alternate country movements found in places like Austin, Texas. For those interested in appreciating country music, you might try the Austin sound if you don’t like today’s Nashville artists.

George Strait

One artist who is an institution in country music is George Strait. George Strait has been consistently popular with country music fans for over 20 years, while occupying a unique place creatively and artistically. George Strait plays his own form of “western swing music”, and therefore draws upon country musical traditions different than so many of the other mainstream (or anti-mainstream) country singers. While it’s natural to think of someone as slick and popular as George Strait as part of the “country pop” scene, he actually combines western swing with honky-tonk to have fashioned a career writing what has been described as “bar-room ballads”.

Country Pop Appreciation

“Country pop” became the standard Nashville musical product from the 1970′s on. Country pop tries to wed elements of traditional country music to the mainstream American pop music to increase it’s appreciation, and has had tremendous success in selling records over the past few decades. Some of the biggest and most notable country artists are country pop artists, and this music defines modern country, for better or worse. If you are asking “How Can I learn to Appreciate Country Music?”, you’re probably talking about country pop.

Artists who fall into this category are Glen Campbell, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Eddie Rabbit, Ronnie Milsap, Garth Brooks, Billy Ray Cyrus, Shania Twain, Leann Rhimes, Alabama, Reba McEntire, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, Big and Rich, Trace Adkins and Carrie Underwood. Just looking over these names should give you an indication of how phenomenally successful this sub-genre of country music is.

Of course, country pop has been criticized as getting too far away from its country roots, trying to become pop music or adult contemporary music at the cost of its integrity. Some country music fans believe that Nashville has become too influenced by corporate culture and greed, and they mass produce songs with only a tip of the hat to American country living. That’s up for the listener to decide, but if you find you don’t enjoy listening to country pop, consider listening to other genres described in this article.

With the richness of the country music tradition and nearly a century of country songs to draw from, you’re likely to find a type of country music or a miscellaneous country music playlist of songs you appreciate and enjoy. There is a lot of great music in the country genre, though you have to know where to look sometimes. Once you find country music you can appreciate, you might find that you enjoy listening to other country tunes you didn’t like so much the first time around. As they say down south, you’ll have something to “hang your hat upon”.

Either way, if you’re trying to learn to appreciate country music, remember to listen to the stories. That’s what country music is about: stories about people in small towns.

What Are The Best Places To Get Country Music Ringtones?

January 30th, 2013 |

Getting country music ringtones is a mixed bag on the internet. Some of the best ringtones download sites don’t offer a whole lot of country music ring tones, even if they have huge ringtones archives for other popular music categories. On the other hand, a few of the big-name ringtone downloading websites offer first-rate country music ringtones selections. Of these, the best I have found are Banana Network, RingTone Jukebox and RingingPhone.

Top Three Country Music Ringtone Websites

I’ll cover the top three country music rington websites in the following list, as well as go over a couple of ringtones sites which disappointed me with their country music ringtones pages.

Banana Network – Banana Network has one of the most comprehensive country ring tones lists. Some of the country stars have dozens of songs in the ringtones catalog. For instance, here is their current top ten most downloaded country ringtones and how many ringtones Banana Network has for each: Taylor Swift (31), Brad Paisley (37), Kenny Chesney (49), Carrie Underwood (21), Sugarland (29), Rascal Flatts (72), Big & Rich (29), Blake Shelton (25), Kellie Pickler (11) and Trace Adkins (22). Keep in mind these country
music downloads are split between ringtones and
karaoke tunes, but that’s still a nice bit of coverage for a ringtones site. Banana Network has lesser known country acts like Jack Ingram, Joey and Rory and the Zac Brown Band.
RingingPhone – Ringing Phone offers both mp3 and polyphonic ringtones in the country music section, with ringtones from Keith Urban, Faith Hill and Brad Paisley. You’ll also find a lot of hit songs from previous decades on Ringingphone.com: Hank Wiliams, Kenny Rogers, Tammy Wynette and Alabama.
Ringtone Jukebox – “Ringtone Jukebox” has a lot of country music customers, because it’s overall most downloaded ringtone song right now is
Taylor Swift‘s “Love Song”. In fact, you’ll find one of the biggest country music selections on the internet with RingtoneJukeBox.com. The site offers a full 19 pages full of country music ringtones, including classics from Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline and Waylon Jennings, ringtones from obscure (to me) bands like Mud Hog, new hits from middle-rung stars like Pat Green and Miranda Lambert, and even ringtone favorites from lesser-known outlaw country singers like Billie Joe Shaver. If you want ringtones from the Drive-By Truckers, then RingTone JukeBox is the palce for you. Of course, you’ll find hit songs from the giants of country music, like the Dixie Chicks, Alan Jackson and Kenny Chesney.

Disappointing Country Ringtone Websites

In my search I ran into these disappointing country ringtone websites.

Monster Tones – Normally, I would suggest “Monster Tunes” as a good place for country ringtones (2 pages). Unfortunately, through some glitch, the website will take people to all the ringtones of other music genres, but not country music. Check back at MonsterTones sometimes to see if that has changed. I’m sure it will.
Jamster – Currently, Jamster only has 38 ringtones for what they call “country & folk”. The artists featured are George Strait, Taylor Swift, Toby Keith, Julianne Hough, Trace Adkins and Rascall Flats. Basically, if you’re looking for Taylor Swift ringtones, you’re likely to find what you’re looking for. Otherwise, you probably won’t. It’s a shame Jamster doesn’t have more country & western ringtones, because the rest of their site is one of the best in the ringtone business.

Country Music Ringtones

All of the sites listed above have other pop music genres listed, too. These sites generally offer monthly packages between $2.99 and $5.99, which include not only ringtones, but text messages, wallpapers and graphics. Jamster offers fun sounds, polytones and “real tones”, for example. Most offer cellphone games apps and downloads, for those who want to play downloaded cellphone games while they’re driving or waiting for friends.

How Can I Learn To Appreciate Classical Music?

January 30th, 2013 |

I said in the article “How Can I Learn to Appreciate Classical Music?” that people tend to dismiss music they don’t like or appreciate by saying “It all sounds the same”. That’s because music we aren’t used to hearing is often strange and jarring to us, or we don’t listen to it as closely or with as discerning of an ear as we do musical genres we know. If you like rock music and are familiar with it, when you hear a new rock song, you’ll naturally compare and contrast it with some other song in the genre. But if you aren’t familiar with a genre of music (like classical music), then you have nothing to compare the classical music piece to. It all ends up sounding the same.

Finding Doorways Into Classical Music

So learning to appreciate classical music begins with familiarizing yourself with the music in some way. Find classical music songs you enjoy, then begin to compare and contrast that classical music with selections that are new to you. It’s called finding “doorways” into classical music.

Buy A Classical Music Guide

Buy a Classical Music Guide – Buy two or more of them, if you want. In fact, I would suggest it. Like any musical form, classical music tastes are subjective, so you don’t want to rely on any one author’s impressions and criticisms to guide your own classical music tastes. These books help you gain a rudimentary understanding of classical music theory, an overview of the different types of composition, a history of the evolution of classical music and who influenced whom, as well as historical insight about the great composers and how their music was influenced by their times. When you start to learn a little bit about why a composer wrote what he did, you’ll gain a better appreciation for the thought process behind the music you’re listening to. While you don’t need such insight to appreciate classical music, there are some people that will connect with the music better if they know the whys and wherefores of classical music.

If you want a concise overview of classical music, try buying a book like “Classical Music For Dummies” or “Classical Music 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Classical Music”. Another good book is “The Vintage Guide to Classical Music”, which I got as a gift about ten years ago and still go back to occasionally. Since I didn’t buy the book myself, I’m not sure how available it is these days, but I would recommend it as a resource about the lives of the famous composers and a ready guide to their best or more essential works.

The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection: The Essential 350 Works

Along those lines, if you want to start building a classical music CD library of your own, an invaluable resource is “The NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection: The Essential 350 Works”. This book not only gives you the classical compositions you’ll want to know about, but the best versions of them. That’s very important. You’ll walk into a classical music CD section and notice ten versions of the same piece of music. You’ll either ask yourself why one version won’t work, or suffer paralysis-by-analysis in choosing the best option. The NPR (National Public Radio) Guide solves that problem, because it gives you insight into at least one music lover’s suggestions. I’ve found that I don’t always agree with these suggestions, but I’ve also noticed dozens of times that some of my all-time favorite classical music performances made it into this book. So this should help a new classical music collector save some money and find good selections of music without a lot of the trial-and-error a lot of us have gone through.

Listen To Compilation CD’s

If you want to start to learn about which composers you like, buy a few compilation CD’s, “best of” albums and anthologies. These will give you a glimpse of different composers or classical music eras. Get a “best of baroque” or “Beethoven’s greatest hits” and see if certain songs stand out. Once you start to get an idea which composers or eras you like most, start to explore those subjects in greater depth. The idea is to get your foot in the door.

Figure Out “Your” Classical Music Favorites

What is your favorite type of classical music? Do you like longer or shorter pieces? Do you enjoy operas or instrumental pieces? Do you enjoy large orchestras or smaller arrangements? Do you like loud or soft, fast or slow tunes?

Once you start to figure out which type of classic music you enjoy most, you can seek out that type of music. The variety is so large that you’re certain to find the kind of music you’re looking for.

Find A Favorite Classical Music Composer

Select a composer whose work you admire and then work from there. Read about other works about that composer which seem interesting, or search for other composers who are thought to have similar styles. Once you find a doorway into classical music, you’ll find other doorways.

For instance, look at a composer like Tchaikovsky. Many consider him a doorway composer, even though many classical music lovers consider his compositions lacking in technical quality. Still, Tchaikovsky had a talent for catchy tunes and works of his like The Nutcracker Suite, Swan Lake or the 1812 Overture are among the most recognizable selections in the classical music repertoire. The Nutcracker has five or six songs itself you’ve probably heard one place or another, and people often come to classical music through the songs they are familiar with and enjoy.

Beethoven and Mozart are also good doorways into classical music, for obvious reasons. You’ve heard a lot of their songs, too, and probably enjoyed a few of them. I came to love classical music through J.S. Bach, but his music is from an earlier period, and I would not necessarily recommend it as a start (though Bach is still my favorite).

Listen To Movie Soundtracks

Classical music makes it into a lot of movie soundtracks. If you heard a particular song you enjoyed in a movie, search the credits and write down the name. Find a good recording of this selection and enjoy.

Watch A Pops Concert

“Pops” concerts generally involve shorter classical music compositions, medleys and pop music given the orchestral treatment. This is another doorway into classical music. While some purists might look down their nose at pops performances, we aren’t trying to give purists tips for appreciating classical music.

Read A Little About Classical Music Terms

Don’t call it study. Just read a little about some of the classical music terms. I’m not talking about anything complicated, but basic stuff like “melody” and “harmony”. This will give you a rudimentary understanding about which are the most important instruments in any given orchestra or composition.

You might move on to terms like counterpoint, eventually, as well as the types of songs: fugues, canons, suites, cantatas, sonatas, overtures and so on. These aren’t essential, but they help you get an idea what you’re getting yourself into and what to expect when buying a CD.

Be Patient

The final thing is that you have to be patient and willing to learn a little bit. If you’ve read this far, you’ve shown you already have the patience needed. Modern people are on the go more and have less free time (or seem to) than people in a less hectic time. Maybe we just have more distractions. Whatever the case, a lot of us (include me) don’t always have the patience to appreciate something which requires a little bit of effort, like classical music.

The small amount of patience and effort required to buy classical music CDs and listen to them will be well worth your time. Classical music is some of the most beautiful, most intricate music ever written. You owe it to yourself to learn to appreciate classical music on some level, or else you’re missing out on one of the finer things in life.

So try not to be bored. Try not to be intimidated. Not everyone who loves classical music is a musician, composer or patron of the arts. Most of us (like myself) just like the music and want to know a little more about it. So find some classical music songs you enjoy and see where it goes from there.

Classical Music 101

If you’re going to start learning about classical music and want to gain an appreciation, it might help to get a basic overview of what makes classical music. So below is a cursory look at the main eras of classical music and the most famous composers associated with those eras.

People who think of classical music probably are thinking of European classical music after 1600, though it’s proper to place Renaissance Music (where Baroque Music branched off from) in the same classification. I’ll start our quick guide to classical music with the baroque era, though. This should help you start to fit together the who, when and why of classical music.

Classical Music Eras Overviews

For those wanting the briefest of overviews of classical music, here’s a quick snippet or two about the general categories of classical music. This will probably be longer than I originally intended, but way too short to cover the subject. Remember, I’m an amateur collector, so my information will be incomplete and unofficial. Don’t take my word for the gospel of classical music. Read some of the books above to get a better understanding of basic classical music. Here’s hoping my vaguest introduction to classical music will help a few music listeners on the way to a greater appreciation of classical music.

Baroque Music Era

Baroque literally means “bizarre”, so this should give you an understanding the disparate nature of the music you’ll be listening to in this classical music era. The era lasted about 150 years, from around 1600 to around 1750, which explains why the music is so multi-faceted. I’m certain a lot of these composers would have found it strange that you group them all together.

Baroque music broke from Renaissance music and took European composition towards the concepts we know today. The Baroque Era saw the invention of opera and homophony – that is, music with a single “voice” or melody that is supported by a range of harmonies. In the previous years, polyphony and counterpoint characterized music. While polyphony had a major place in baroque music, we see music evolving into the melody structures we know today. The clash between these two ideas give baroque music an richness and variety which continues to fascinate us to this day, because the baroque music period was a time of great transition in classical music.

Baroque music composers generally wrote for a particular church or nobleman, and the arrangements were for smaller numbers of musicians than much of the later classical music. Musical forms like opera and the symphony were still being fine-tuned into the forms we know today. Most of the musical selections were for more intimate, more aristocratic tastes.

Composers and musicians were performing for patrons, so they had to produce a lot of songs and they had to adapt those songs to the needs of their latest patron. Musicians were sometimes expected to improvise on the themes of the songs, and composers sometimes borrowed ideas from other composers. While a lot of this music sounds archaic to our ears, because it conformed to 17th and 18th century aristocratic forms and because it uses sometimes defunct instruments, a lot of it sounds incredibly fresh, because it is so different than the classical music you’re probably familiar with. Because baroque pieces (like fugues) would pose a theme, then move to freeform along that theme, and because musicians were sometimes expected to improvise songs, some Baroque tunes, such as those of Bach, have even compared to jazz. The parallels can quickly be taken too far, but those who enjoy jazz might start out listening to baroque music.

Some of the most famous or lasting baroque composers are Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, George Frideric Handel, Claudio Monteverdi and Domenico Scarlatti. You’ll find a great song or two from composers like Johann Pachebel and Tomaso Albinoni on baroque composition CDs, as well.

Classical Music Era

This is the term not just for this broad type of music, but also a period of classical music lasting only a couple of generations – from 1750 to around 1800. This classical music period is characterized by the refinement and elegance of the music, and is typified by the works of Mozart.

Classical music continues to be written for aristocratic tastes, for salons and court rooms. Take note these are the years just before the French Revolution, where it can be said that European aristocrats were enjoying their final years as the unchallenged masters of European society. In music as in society, the pomp and decadence of this age would lead to violent revolutions in the next.

If you think of classical music (as a whole) as effete, sophisticated and somewhat emotionless, you’re probably thinking of the work of the classical era composers. In a lot of ways, these are unfair words to describe the works of Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Hayden. In comparison to the romantic works of Beethoven and his romantic age followers, though, these words have some merit. Opera was further developed by men such as Mozart, who also wrote over 40 symphonies.

Romantic Music Era

The Romantic Period of classical music was heavily influenced by the ideas of the French Revolution, and no one’s ideas on music were more influenced by the egalitarian principles of the revolution than Beethoven’s. This was a time when the old system of Europe was being challenged, and composers began to write not for single patrons or for the church, but for “the people”. Music was produced not necessarily for the banquet halls of a noble’s home, but for the concert halls of the local city.

Romantic music appeals to the emotions. It trumpets the idea that a lone man can change the world through heroic actions, and it stokes the flames of patriotism, national spirit and idealism. Sometimes dramatic, sometimes bombastic: romantic music was music with a point, music meant to inspire and evoke.

The opera came into full force in the romantic period, championed by men such as Guiseppe Verdi in Italy and Richard Wagner. It was no coincidence that Verdi was often invoked by the “republicans” and “nationalists” of Italy who were trying to unite Italy in the face of Austrian imperialism, or that German nationalists were similarly inspired by the works of Wagner.

The symphony also came of age in the 19th century, as Beethoven added a fourth movement where before there were three. Symphonies became the medium by which 19th-century composers showed the full range of their abilities, and these compositions were large enough to give full scope to their artistic visions. In fact, Brahms, who waited to compose his first symphony until relatively later in his career, was underrated as an artist because some feared (wrongly) he was not up to the challenge.

Because the romantic period lasted for the better part of a century during Europe’s greatest artistic period to date, the number of romantic composers of note are too many to list here: Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Franz Liszt, Frederic Chopin, Johannes Brahms, Johann Strauss, Mendelsohn, Mahler, Mussorsky, Tchaikovsky — just to name a few.

20th Century Classical Music Era

The romantic period actually extended into the 20th century by about a decade, but when it came to an end, it stopped abruptly. Many point to the year 1913, when Igor Stravinsky unleashed his unabashedly un-romantic ballet, Rite of Spring, on the audiences of Paris (and the opening night audience in Paris unleashed a riot). 20th century composers broke with most of the forms of classical music, much like their contemporaries in painting, prose and poetry. Classical music became atonal and dissonant, and conspicuously deviated from previous convention to shock their audience out of its complacency.

Stravinsky in many ways anticipated the 20th century, because the true break with 19th-century romanticism came in the years 1914 to 1918, during the Great War (or World War I). Citizens of Europe began to ask how the greatest, most cultured society in the history of man could tear itself apart in such a suicidal, tragic conflict. The number of lives shattered by the Great War were beyond anything seen in the history of man, and it was natural for this kind of cataclysm to force people to doubt every previous assumption about civilization and question even sacred truths. If people could question civilization itself, then it was no stretch they would question their assumptions about art, and music was no different. The early 20th century composers were people like anyone else, living to see the seemingly natural order shattered into chaos, and their music mirrored their joy, sorrow and outrage at the breaking of the order.

Much of 20th century music tries to avoid many of the conventions of the classical and romantic periods, though classical music was fracturing in the ways that society was fracturing in this time. You’ll find radical experimentation, but you’ll also find neo-classical attempts to capture some of the beauty from the past. You’ll find classical music, more than ever, attempting to sway public opinion with the ideas they contain. But you’ll find music that is itself influenced more than ever by the art forms around it, even those modern art forms like movies.

Again, you’ll find a large collection of “important” or famous composers in the 20th century, such as Stravinsky, Claude DeBussy, Maurice Ravel, Dimitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, and even a few American composers, like Aaron Copland and George Gershwin. Since this music is closer to us in time, it’s harder to know who are the important artists and who are the merely popular, but you can listen and make your own conclusions.

How Do I Choose Good Music For Cheerleading?

January 30th, 2013 |

Choosing good music for cheerleading routines is harder than it would seem. First, you have to choose high-energy songs. Second, you have to remember that a high-energy cheerleading song isn’t just a quick beat, but a good cheerleading song is catchy, memorable and likable. And third, you have to choose songs that the judges haven’t heard a half-dozen other times in your cheerleading competition.

So when you choose good music for cheerleading, you’re going to have to search through a lot of music that won’t make the cut. Because some cheerleader competitions require or reward song mixes with more than one good cheerleading song, you’ll have to find several good cheerleading music selections, as well as selections which mix well together. Finally, you’ll need to have a seemless mix of those songs, because awkward transitions damage the synergy of your cheerleading routine.

That last point can be helped with a good cheerleading music mixing company. This lets you focus on choreography instead of becoming a remix producer, which is a waste of your creativity and cheerleading time. I’ll get back to that later, but for now let’s focus on choosing good cheering music.

10 Tips For Finding Cheerleader Music

Here are 10 tips for finding cheerleader music.

Don’t Be Boring – The #1 rule is to avoid boring music. Some songs might sound great in the car or on your mp3 player, but just drone on when they are blaring in a big auditorium. Find songs with good definition that aren’t going to sound like one big beat in a cheerleading competition.
Have Fun – Find music which is fun to listen to. You want to turn your routine into a celebration, so don’t choose music that’s angst-ridden. Don’t choose cheerleading music that you wouldn’t play at a happening party. Be entertaining.
Keep It Fast – The beat of your cheerleading music should have a good beat, by all means. Make sure the music beat is around 136-144 beats per minute, which equals about 2.2 to 2.4 beats per second. That’s going to be fast, but it isn’t going to drone to the audience.
Find the Right Music Genre – Rock music and rap music are great song selections for cheerleading. A good hip-hop beat is probably better than rock on average, because it’s made to dance to. But you want music which fits well with your cheerleading unit’s skills and personality, so don’t try to make a cheerleading song fit when it doesn’t.
Look Through Party Mixes and Dance Mixes – Most music stores are going to have party mix CDs. Check out these mixes, especially at stores like Barnes & Noble and Borders which let you preview or listen to the party mixes before you buy them. If you’re doing your research at home, then give them a listen on Amazon or YouTube. If you can’t find the right mixes in the party mix cds, then take a look at dance mixes and even trance mixes (though some of the trance songs might be too fast or repetitive for your uses, so be careful).
Avoid What Everyone Else Is Playing – Have your music stand out, as long as it stands out for the right reasons. If everyone is playing a hip-hop rhythms, try something that stands out from the pack. Ultimately, high quality cheerleading music and high quality mixes are going to win out, but if the last 8 routines have used rap beats, then throwing something different at the cheerleading judges is probably going to be welcome relief to them. The cardinal rule is to avoid songs which other cheerleading squads have used, so don’t make the obvious choices.

Good Music For Cheerleading Routine Mixes

Another thing to consider is spending the money to hire a professional music mixes to produce your cheerleading routine mix. The mix will sound better and you’ll save yourself a lot of time. It doesn’t cost a whole lot of money to get a professional mix, even if the team has to chip in to make it happen. Once you hear the music mix, you can even get new songs added into the routine for around $50 at websites like cheerleading-music-mix.com. To avoid having having a bad selection, make certain the service gives you samples of all the cheerleading music in your routine.

All in all, this allows you and the other cheerleaders to spend your time on choreography and practice. Choose good cheerleading music, make your suggestions to the professional music mix producers and then focus on building the perfect routine for your great cheerleading music.

Caravan Dance Version by Duke Ellington

January 30th, 2013 |

Dear sir/madam,

A week ago I heard a song, but I cannot find it anywhere because I don’t know the title.

The song is a sort of dance/disco like and uses the jazz classic “Caravan” as bassline/melody. The song sounds kind of mysteriously and a bit “arabic”, but this could be perception.

From what I remember the song was not called Caravan (I have a service called TrackID on my cell phone(which gives you information about the song played);I used TrackID, but I can’t recall the information again). In the song there are not many lyrics used and the word “Caravan” is not used at all. Would it be possible for you to give me the title of this song or the group who performed it?

I hope I’ve have informed you properly and I thank you in advance,

Tom Scholing

The Netherlands

Dear Tom,

“Caravan” by Timo Maas does have one mention of the word “caravan” very late in the song, but the rest of the lyrics seem different from the original version of the song. There are one or two instances of Arabic-sounding singing mixed into the track, so this might account for the fact that this version of “Caravan” has a slightly Arabic feel.

The inclusion of this song on the album is likely due to Timo Maas’s collaboration of Finley Quaye, who is the godson of Duke Ellington.

Finlay Quaye

Finlay Quaye’s birthplace was Scotland and he is a British musician born to a long line of British musicians, including his father, Cab Kaye, and his noted brother, guitarist Caleb Kaye. Finlay’s aunt is noted English singer, pianist and percussionist, Terri Kaye. Finlay Kaye was heavily inspired by jazz music, though he is a versatile musician who won one major award for reggae music.

Timo Maas

Timo Maas is an electronic dj and mixer who has had three solo albums and whose singles have appeared on many electronic music compilations, as well as video game soundtracks like FIFA Football 2003 and The Sims 2: Nightlife. Timo Maas’s 2002 album, Lost, on which “Caravan” appears, was considered an album that would bridge the gap between Maas’s hardcore electronic releases before and a more mainstream audience of dance music lovers.

Caravan by Duke Ellington

Caravan has been covered so many times that it’s hard to know if this is the song you’re looking for, Tom. If the Timo Maas and Finlay Quaye version of “Caravan” is not the version you’re looking for, write back and I’ll start the search for your tune again.

Good Day.

How Do I Get Into The Music Business?

January 30th, 2013 |

I’m assuming if you’re asking that question, that you want to get into the music business as a successful musical act. I’ll put it to you straight. The music industry is one of the toughest and most competitive careers to break into, because the rewards are so great. You go to any of the major music capitals (L.A., Nashville, New York City and Austin, for example) and you’ll find 10,000 bands and musical artists looking for their break.

So if you want to get into the music business, you’ll have to have determination, perseverance, the ability to shake off criticism (while learning from positive criticism) and have a passion for music which sustains you through the hard times. You are working towards a hard-to-attain goal and most people are going to fail to achieve their goals. That’s the plain and simple truth.

Getting Into The Music Business

Some would say that getting into the music business and becoming a star is a matter of luck. While a good break or two is going to be needed at some point, that diminishes the hard work and the “dues” which most musicians have to pay before getting noticed. Not everybody’s story is the same, of course, but here are some common elements that many successful music acts share.

Bring Something Fresh – While there are plenty of acts who get signed copying other acts, it helps to have something a little different to stand out from the crowd. Maybe that’s otherworldly singing skills or technical proficiency. Maybe that’s a rare talent for writing hooks or melodies, or a skill for writing catchy lyrics. Maybe you put on a phenomenal live show, a devoted and boisterous local following or a natural charisma that transcends the stage. Or maybe your band has an outrageous stage persona the likes of which has never been seen.
The point is, you should have something to hang your hat on. Think outside the box and don’t be content to just copy others. That’s a sure way to become a cover band. Certainly, have your influences and a solid foundation to build on. But dare to be different, because that will get you noticed by music managers, talent agents and record label executives alike.
Know the Business – You don’t have to be a businessman in a three-piece suit and a brief case, but try to learn the business side of things a little bit. Understand what makes your music industry work. Don’t be afraid to be a bit of a self-marketer and a shrewd business person. Professionalism never hurts, and being able to sit down over a table with an executive or manager and talking intelligently definitely will not hurt. In the end, these people have to trust you and believe in you and your talent, so exhibiting a grasp of the business is a very good thing to them.
Get To Know People – Another part of the business is connecting to other people in the music industry. Never turn down an acquaintance in the business. If you’re invited to an industry event, from a birthday party to a listening party, make sure you go. Always return a phone call. You never know which person you meet is going to be the one who can help your career, so you need to treat every person you meet as if they are important to your music.
Don’t Be Afraid to Self-Promote – I’ve mentioned this once before, but it bears repeating. Music is a business and you are trying to sell yourself, your act and your art. Keep a demo tape with you at all times and be ready to hand it out to any business exec you meet. When I say “at all times”, I mean it. Keep a demo in your car, so if you meet someone at the fast-food restaurant, a car wash or a club, you’ll have the demo ready to hand out. You just never know where your big break will come.
Also, be prepared to talk about yourself intelligently. Don’t shy away from talking about every aspect of your career. Be truthful. Be straightforward. Talk about where your band is at, though do so in an upbeat fashion. Project confidence, but project genuineness. People will respond to this, because those two traits do not always go hand-in-hand.
Try To Improve – Always try to improve your music act. This might mean hiring a voice coach. Maybe it simply means practicing twice as much every day, or rehearsing harder than the band previously did. Maybe it means improving your writing skills or getting inspiration through reading books on writing technique. Maybe it means exposing yourself to new musical influences to get your creative juices flowing.
Listen To a Lot of Music – On that subject, listen to a lot of music. Know the business and the charts of your particular music genre. You need to know who is doing what and why other bands in your scene are successful. But it goes beyond that.
As much as you listen to music in your industry — and you should spend most of your time immersing yourself in your music scene — also expose yourself to other musical influences. Don’t overdo this, but occasionally listen to music to get you out of your music scene. This might inspire you or give you a creative idea that nobody else in the area has had. I’m not talking about a country artist listening only to pop or rock, either. I’m talking about music that is way outside the box — maybe something from over the oceans. Don’t overdo this, of course, but just think outside the box occasionally and see if it inspires you.
Be Prepared For the Grind – It may take years to get signed. They also say that a band waits on average five years to see real money after signing a record contract. So keep that in mind. You’re in this for a marathon. Very seldom will a band form, get signed within a year or two and become a major hit on their first try. Don’t plan on being the exception. That’s great if it happens, but plan on being the average successful band.
You’ll have your ups and downs, you advances and setbacks. You’ll have plenty of detractors, perhaps even among your most trusted friends and family. Listen to feedback and what people have to say, but don’t lose faith in your talent. Don’t turn a blind eye to reality if your career is going nowhere and talent scouts tell you that you have no talent, but if you’re having some success and you can see a path to success in your music career, maintain faith in yourself and your art.
Maintain Your Passion – Also, maintain your passion for the business. If you’re asking “how do I get into the music business”, I presume you have some music talent and you feel passionate about your music. If so, then being in the music business on any level is going to be a dream-come-true for you. Understand how lucky you are to be living out your being of being in the music business and revel in that good fortune.
Sometimes, your passion for the music business is going to be all that’s sustaining you. This is a lifetime decision, so you need to keep a lifetime commitment. You should be passionate about something in life, so you might as well make it the music business.
Music is Expansive – Maybe you’ve already decided you want to be in the music industry, but you don’t think that career is on the performance side of the business. Maybe you asked “How do I get into the music business” because you wanted to pursue something in music management or music production. If so, read our articles titled “How do you start a music management company”, “How do I get a job in radio sales“, “What is music technology” or “How do I become a rap music producer“. These might give you other ideas for getting into the music industry. Good luck.

How Do I Choose Music For An Aerobics Workout?

January 30th, 2013 |

Choosing good music for an aerobics workout requires matching the tempo of the music to the intensity of your workout. This means that not every song is right for every aerobics workout, because people work out at different intensities and use different exercises. I’ll give some common-sense general advice for choosing aerobics music, then move on to the types of music you might choose for your workouts.

How To Choose Aerobics Workout Music

When you ask yourself “how do I choose music for aerobics workouts”, keep in mind that you are looking to synchronize the cadence and rhythm of a song to the type of workout you want to produce, so you are setting a pace for your body to work at and a setting to focus your mind with.

Research Song Selections – Make a list of the music genres which you think will help you exercise properly and which you think you will enjoy listening to throughout numerous exercises. Listen to stations on iTunes with the kind of music you are researching and record the songs you find promising. Later, you can use these examples to research similar songs or songs from the same artist on Youtube or Amazon. In this way, you’ll build a list of song selections for your workout.
Match Music to Exercise – If your workout is energetic and intense, you want a faster, driving kind of music to work out to. This requires a faster rhythm and pounding beat, and often a strong bass line is important in driving your during your workouts.
Vary the Song Selection – Exercise schedules which go through cycles should also have different tempo music. For instance, if you have a stretching portion, a high-impact workout segment and a cooling down period, you will need slower, more harmony-driven music for the stretching phase of your workout, while using longer, high-energy songs for the main workout phase (like that described in #1) and, finally, slightly slower melodies for the cooling off phase of your exercises.
Low Impact Tunes for Low Impact Aerobics – Those who have a more uniform, low-impact aerobics workout should listen to slower music of a more meditative quality, since this encourages relaxation and relieves stress. Soundscape music and more even harmonies are needed for this type of workout regimen.
Repetitive Music Selections for Harder Workouts – People using longer and more strenuous aerobics workouts should find repetitive songs with heavier beats which will set a rapid pace for your body to follow. This drives your body to further exertions and helps you build stamina with repetition.
Build Up a Large Music Library – You’re going to be working out successively over a long period of time, so you need lots of appropriate songs, or else you’ll get bored with your workouts and your body will get used to the rhythms and your exercises will not be as productive.
Collect Your Music in One Place – Rip the songs to your mp3 player or record selections onto one CD. If you use the CD, you’ll need to burn the CD in such as way to structure your workouts in proper order. If you use the mp3 player, you might consider taking the same idea into mind, though in either case you can use your music player to arrange and rearrange the music to your daily workout needs.

Which Music Genres Are Best For Aerobics Workouts?

There are several genres of music which lend themselves to aerobics workouts and workouts in general. Most high-energy music is appropriate, and songs which people enjoy dancing to in freeform dancing is often useful. Dancing is a kind of aerobic exercise, so this only makes sense. Notice that musics with “a beat” are featured prominently here.

Aerobics Workout CDs – Before we get started, I wanted to point out that aerobics workout CDs are sold at many of music stores and store chains like Wal-Mart and Target. These are specifically designed for aerobics and exercising, and often involve compilation CDs of dance hits of the past. If you want the easy fix, you might be one or two of these Cds and give them a try. You can find aerobic music tapes targeted for “cardio kickboxing”, “senior workouts”, “step aerobics”, “water aerobics” and just about any type of high energy (or low energy) workouts you can imagine.

Dance Music or Disco – Many people use dance music or dicso music from the past in their exercises. These former dance hits are recognizable to many people and have a nice beat which encourages energy, movement and repetition.

Trance Music – Trance music is electronic dance music from the 1990′s to the present, which uses upbeat sounds and rhythms to produce high energy songs. You might have walked past the “trance music” section of your music store a hundred times, because “trance” sounds like its songs for meditation. Believe me, trance music isn’t, and it’s one of my personal favorites for my workouts.

Hip Hop Music – Hip hop music is also electronic music with more hooks and lyrics. Many people find the repetitive rhythms and loud bass lines perfect for their workout time, and the familiar rap hooks help them pass the time better than dance or trance songs.

Industrial or Metal Music – Once again, these tunes are high energy selections, though metal is used more often for weight lifting than low impact aerobic workouts. For those who enjoy metal (or find it “cooler”) over dance or hip hop, though, several metal or rock genres offer a rock alternative. Industrial songs which sometimes use electronic influences can be used for aerobics workouts.

Latin Music – If you want to spice things up a little bit or if you need some music a little different than the workout music you’ve been listening to, given Latin music a try. Some of this is high energy and a lot of it is based on American pop and dance music, so you’ll find something that’s a bit of a twist, but also isn’t alien to your senses. The Latin dance tracks have the kind of workout beats you’re searching for. Also, give a listen to Cuban music, which brings a Caribbean flair to Latin music. You might start out with salsa music or even mambo music and work from there.

Everything Else – I have seen all kinds of music genres converted for aerobics workout music. I have seen “big band”, “beach music”, “Broadway music” and even “Southern Rock” used for aerobics workouts. So just because it’s not traditional workout music, doesn’t mean it isn’t valid. Make certain you use workout music that keeps you on your toes and moving at a fast pace. As long as you don’t break these rules, you can find aerobics workout music in a lot of places.

Who Is Shakira?

December 25th, 2012 |

Who Is Shakira?

Shakira is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, a Columbian-born singer, dancer, musician, music producer, and songwriter who has been a pop music sensation in Latin America since the early-1990′s, and became a Latin American pop legend after the release of her ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones? album, which has sold over 10 million copies worldwide. Following the release of her album Laundry Service in 2001, Shakira became a crossover star attraction in American mainstream pop.

Besides her catchy songs, Shakira has made a name for herself with her individual, idiosyncratic dance style, which incorporates Latin American and Middle Eastern (belly dance) styles that she has made all her own. While there are many Latin American musicians who are huge in the Spanish-speaking and Portuguese-speaking countries, but hardly known in America, the UK, and other English-language nations, she has become a household name in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

Who Is Shakira? To this day, Shakira is the only artist from South America who has charted the #1 spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, #1 on the the U.K. Singles Chart, and #1 on Australi’s ARIA chart. This international popularity made her a natural choice to sing the official song of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, “Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)”.

Shakira Background

Shakira was born in Barranquilla, Columbia in 1977, and she was of mixed Spanish Catalan, Italian, and Lebanese descent. She began writing poetry at age 4, and she wrote her first song at age 8, “Your Dark Glasses”, which was about her half-brother, who had recently died in a motorcycle accident, and how her father hid his grief at this incident behind his dark glasses.

As a child, Shakira was known for her impromptu performances, dancing at an Arab restaurant for the patrons, or known as the “belly dance girl” for her Friday performances for classmates. She tried out for the school choir in second grade, but was rejected, because the choir teacher thought her vibrato sounded “like a goat”. This did not dissuade her from performing, and she began to get a name from age 10-13 in the Barranquilla area, for her public performances.

Meanwhile, Shakira’s father was forced to declare bankruptcy, and she lived with relatives in Los Angeles at age 8, while the family’s economic difficulties were resolved. Upon returning to Columbia, she was shocked to see how many family possessions had been lost. Devastated by the loss of her family’s wealth, these feelings took a different turn when Shakira’s father took her to a local park to see the orphaned children there, and Shakira told herself she would one day have the money to help out similar orphans.

At age 13, she was spotted by Monica Ariza, a local theater producer, who was determined that Shakira would be noticed by record producers. She arranged an audition with Sony Columbia executives and, after an initial rejection by a single executive, she impressed a larger group of Sony execs, so they signed her to a three record deal.

Shakira Albums

Magia – 1990
Peligro – 1993
Nuestro Rock (compilation) – 1995
Pies Descalzos – 1995
¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones? – 1998
Laundry Service (Servicio De Lavanderia) – 2001
Grandes Exitos (compilation) – 2002
Oral Fixation Vol. 1 (Fijacion Oral Vol. 1) – 2005
Oral Fixation Vol. 2 (Fijacion Oral Vol. 2) – 2005
She Wolf – 2009
Sale el Sol – 2010

Shakira’s Rise to Success

Shakira released several Spanish-language albums to begin her career, including her debut album, Magia, and 1993′s Peligro. These releases garnered some attention in her native Columbia, but she did not have creative control, and were such a disappointment to her that she refused to promote the second album. Both have been taken out of circulation these days, and are not considered part of Shakira’s official releases (instead being labeled “promotional releases”).

Shakira’s fame and professional reputation began to grow with 1995′s Pies Descalzos, which Sony paid her $100,000 to produce, because they had no expectation it would sell more than 100,000 copies. Given creative control for the first time, she produced an album which was heavily influenced by American alternative sounds, and contained grittier sounds and smarter lyrics than critics expected. Pies Descalzos debuted at #1 in 8 countries and spawned 6 hit singles, though the album made little impact in the U.S. mainstream market (#5 on the U.s. Latin music charts).

Hit Songs off Pies Descalzos

Estoy Aqui
¿Dónde Estás Corazón?
Pies Descalzo, Sueons Blancos
Un Poco De Amor
Antologia
Se Quiere, Se Mata

This album made her an international pop star, though she was still an unknown in the United States and most English-speaking countries. The album went on to sell 5 million copies.

¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones?

¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones? was the 1998 release by Shakira, and this album was even more popular than Pies Descalzos. Eventually, ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones? would produce 8 singles, and has since sold 1.5 million records in the U.S. market alone. At the time, despite the Latin American success, this underrated record only reached #131 on the U.S. Billboard Top 200 chart.

Singles from ¿Dónde Están Los Ladrones?

Ciega, Sordomuda
Moscas En La Casa
No Creo
Inevitable
Tú
Si Te Vas
Octavo Día
Ojos Así

Rolling Stone Magazine gave this album 4 out of 5 stars, and “No Creo” broke the Top 100 on the U.S. Billboard Top 100, so Shakira was becoming a name in the States. It would be her next album that she became a worldwide pop icon.

Laundry Service – Shakira

Shakira finally catered to an English-speaking audience in 2001′s Laundry Service, which was her first English-language release. This also contained her breakout hit, “Whenever, Wherever”, which was ubiquitous worldwide in 2001. with the popularity of Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias in those days, she got a push from her record label, who wanted to make her a crossover, mainstream American act like those Latin stars. Given her chance, Shakira hit the ball out of the park, and Laundry Service had sold 20 million copies worldwide in 2002, a year in which Laundry Service was globally the top selling album.

Singles from Laundry Service

Whenever, Wherever / Suerte
Underneath Your Clothes
Objection (Tango) / Te Aviso, Te Anuncio (Tango)
The One
Te Dejo Madrid
Que Me Quedes Tu
Poem to a Horse

Visit MySpace for more Shakira songs.

Shakira These Days

Since then, Shakira has released several more albums, which have continued to surpass expectations. She remains a favorite act in the Latin American nations, while topping charts in the English speaking world, as well. With her massive fame worldwide, Shakira has used her name and her money to become a philanthropist, helping the type of unfortunate people in Latin America her father once pointed out to her as a child.

This post is part of a series of biographies we’ve been posting lately. Some of the others include Who Is Taylor Swift?, Who Is Megan Fox?, Who Is Michael Buble?, and Who Is Tiger Woods?

Guitar Center Coupons

February 7th, 2011 |

Printable Guitar Center Coupons and Coupon Codes

Founded in 1959, Guitar Center is the largest chain of musical instrument stores in the world. There are 215 Guitar Center locations spread across the United States. Headquartered in California, Guitar Center has an amplified presence from Texas to Massachusetts.

Guitar Center also does business under a few other names, including Music & Arts Center, Musician’s Friend, GuitarCenter.com, LMI, Giardinelli, Musician.com, Private Reserve Guitars, Woodwind and Brasswind, and Harmony Central. If you’re in the market for drums, guitars, music accessories, or anything else related to making music, Guitar Center’s got you covered.

Unfortunately, prices at Guitar Center are high. Music supplies tend to be expensive–musical instruments are usually hand-crafted, complicated pieces of equipment, and they come at a high cost. On your next trip to Guitar Center for a pack of guitar picks or a new cymbal, check out these coupon ideas before you plug in to full price. Guitar Center Coupons

Online Guitar Center Coupons, Discounts, and Deals

First, head to Guitar Center’s website. There’s at least two easy ways to find online Guitar Center coupons and deals at the site. You should sign up for Guitar Center’s email newsletter, because it gives you access to special online coupons. You print these coupons out and use them in-store, or enter the promo code at the website to get the same great discount at Guitar Center’s online store.

While you’re at the website, check the “daily deals” section for instant discounts on different instruments and accessories that change every day. This section is pretty hit or miss, especially if you’re looking for one item in particular. If you’re a musician that just wants to browse and see if something you need is on sale, the daily deals section is great fun. You’ll find everything from harp strings to harmonicas on sale. This is also a great place to look for gifts for the musician in your life and save money at the same time.

Third-Party Coupon Sites & Guitar Center Deals

The good news for people trying to save a little cash at Guitar Center is that online promo codes and printable coupons are easy to find. Check out the RetailMeNot.com Guitar Center page. There are currently seven coupons and promo codes listed as “reliable”, including free shipping offers and special prices on specific items.

Other third-party sites have Guitar Center coupons listed, including coupons.com and pretty much any of the popular deal hunting sites. Check these sites regularly–deals rotate in and out, and new promo codes get posted on a weekly basis.

Other Guitar Center Deals

A good way to save cash at Guitar Center is to open a credit account. Your Guitar Center credit card is just like a regular credit card only it only works for Guitar Center purchases. You can get the equipment you need now and pay it off over time. But when you open your Guitar Center card account, you’ll get special offers, including coupons and promo codes, from Guitar Center. As of this writing, you get 15% off your first purchase with your Guitar Center card.

The “Clearance” section of the Guitar Center website is your last option for saving cash on Guitar Center equipment. There are “in-store” clearance and “online” clearance sections, and take note that not all locations offer all of the “in-store” clearance deals. The “online” clearance items are usually available with free shipping, too. The “in-store” clearance items can be picked up at a Guitar Center location or shipped directly to your address for a small fee.

See also:

Subway Coupons and Promotions
Sonic Discounts 2011
Free Printable Quizno’s Coupons
Free Shipping Deals at Garnet Hill
Free Shipping from Edible Arrangements
Melting Pot Discounts Online
Great Clips Haircuts at a Discount

What Is a Workout Playlist?

November 4th, 2010 |

What Is a Workout Playlist?

A workout playlist is exactly what it sounds like — a list of music ideal for the gym. Working out is hard, but by playing music that gets you going, music that you love, and tunes that inspire you to push your workout to the next level.

So what goes into an ideal workout playlist?

Good Dance Music for Working Out

Ever notice that those ultra-cheery workout mavens on TV are always listening to some generic thumping dance music? Lots of bass and very little in the way of music? They use that music because it appeals to a larger number of audience members and because it sets a good “pace” for a workout. Here are good pieces of dance music to power your workout. These are faster tunes than most, at around 120 beats per minute each, so they’re best for faster workouts, or warming up with cardio.

What Is a Workout Playlist?

1. Axwell, Bob Sinclair & Ron Carroll – What A Wonderful World

2. Metric – Help I’m Alive

3. Forever the Sickest Kids – Whoa Oh! (Me vs. Everyone)

4. Theory of a Deadman – Hate My Life

5. Chris Lake & Nastala – If You Knew (Feed Me Remix)

6. Hyper Crush – Keep Up

7. Metallica – Cyanide (dance mix feat. Danger Mouse)

8. Basshunter – Now You’re Gone

9. Trapt – Contagious

10. Booty Luv – Say It

Good Pop Songs for Working Out

Just because the exercise programs on TV use “dance music” doesn’t mean you have to. Your favorite pop songs can be just as inspirational as the latest piece of dance music. Here are some good classic pop songs to plug into your next workout playlist. These songs are all about 80 or 90 beats per minute, which should match most workout plans.

1. Jamie Foxx & Justin Timberlake – Winner

2. Katrina and the Waves – I’m Walking on Sunshine

3. Avril Lavigne – Girlfriend

4. Beastie Boys – Sabotage

5. Trina – Single Again

6. The Smiths – Ask

7. Whitesnake – Here I Go Again

8. Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks

9. Rihanna – Rude Boy

10. Freddy “Boom Boom” Cannon – Palisades Park

Good Hip-Hop Songs for Working Out

It is no surprise that lots of people use hip hop or rap music to power their workout. Using hip hop tunes in your workout combines the best of the pop music and dance music worlds. You get a good loud beat, a little melody, and lots of rhythm. Here are the best hip hop songs for your workout playlist. These songs move from pretty fast (Outkast) to pretty slow, so make sure and tailor your hip hop workout playlist to the pace of your personal workout plan.

1. Outkast – B.O.B.

2. Kanye West – Stronger

3. Luke – I Wanna Rock

4. Onyx – Slam

5. 50 Cent – In Da Club

6. Crime Mob – Knuck If Ya Buck

7. Eminem – Lose Yourself

8. Daddy Yankee – Gasolina

9. House of Pain – Jump Around

10. A Tribe Called Quest – Scenario

Whatever music you decide to use, make sure it is inspirational, motivational, and easy to ignore. The point of your workout is to get in shape and build muscle mass, not to play rock critic. Put these tunes on your iPod, plug in your headphones, and rock your way into an amazing body.

See Also:

Who Is Taylor Swift?

September 30th, 2010 |

Who Is Taylor Swift?

Taylor Swift is one of America’s most popular country music singers and pop stars. Unlike many Nashville stars, she is also a singer-songwriter, writing many of her own hits singles.

With 4 Grammy Awards, 13 million albums and 28 million digital tracks sold, and a budding career as an actress (See How to Become an Actor for more information about becoming an actress.), this 20-year old blond beauty looks like she has staying power. In fact, Forbes Magazine ranked Taylor Swift as the 12th most powerful celebrity of 2010, with earnings around $45,000,000.

Taylor Swift Biography – Childhood and Early Career

Who Is Taylor Swift? Biography, Music, Singles Taylor Swift was born in December, 1989 in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, to a homemaker and stock broker. Taylor’s grandmother was an opera singer. Taylor Swift began writing at an early age, and she won a national poetry contest when she wa sin the 4th grade. Around the same time, she began singing at fairs, festivals, and karaoke contests. She gave a performance at Bloomsburg Fair in 2001. She began playing the guitar (See How to Buy a Guitar for more information.), which helped her in writing songs. Her inspirations were Shania Twain, LeAnn Rimes, Dolly Parton, Tina Turner, and her own grandmother.

In 2000 (at age 11), She traveled to Nashville and began to distribute demos of her music to every label in the city, but she received no attention. (See How to Get into the Music Business for advice on this subject.) She sang the National Anthem at the U.S. Open Tennis Tournament at age 14, which garnered her some national attention.

Taylor rejected an artist development deal with RCA Records at age 15, but soon after signed to become a staff songwriter for the Sony/ATV Tree publishing house. (See What Is Music Row? for more information about being a Nashville singer-songwriter.) She was eventually “discovered” by Scott Borchetta, who signed Taylor Swift at age 15 to his Big Machine Records, a new label. She began working on her debut album, Taylor Swift, and it was only a matter of time (2006) before she would become a blockbuster country star.

Taylor Swift Hit Singles, Songs, and Lyrics

Below is a list of her hit singles, which have driven sales of her albums and data files. Beside each song is where the single peaked on the relevant Billboard’s country songs chart.

Tim McGraw (#6)
Teardrops on My Guitar (#2)
Our Song (#1)
Picture to Burn (#3)
Should’ve Said No (#1)
Love Story (#4 on Hot 100)
White Horse (#2)
Jump Then Fall (#10)
Forever & Always (#14)
Untouchable (#19)
The Other Sides of the Door (#22)
Superstar (#27)
Come in With the Rain (#30)
Today Was a Fairytale (#2)

What makes the chart success of songs like Untouchable, The Other Side of the Door, Superstar, and Come in With the Rain is their charted success was not as released singles, at least at first. Several were re-released as singles, once their popularity was understood by Taylor Swift’s label.

Taylor Swift Boyfriends – Joe Jonas and Taylor Lautner

Taylor Swift had a highly publicized romance with Joe Jonas of the famous Jonas Brothers musical act, but that relationship ended in November of 2008. The song Forever & Always is considered a reference to the Joe Jonas relationship, and she claims many of her songs are autobiographical. In 2009, she began dating Taylor Lautner, who plays the werewolf in the Twilight movies. The two Taylors have since ended their relationship, but are said to remain friends.

Taylor Swift’s Third Album – Speak Now

Taylor Swift is putting the finishing touches on her third album, Speak Now. Swift released one track off the upcoming album, “Today Was a Fairytale”, as an iTunes digital download. The song became a sensation online, charting as Taylor Swift’s 6th Top 10 hit. At present, she has had 23 songs in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

No doubt, when Taylor Swift’s next album is released, she’ll begin adding to her list of accomplishments, awards, and world records. She already holds the record for most digital downloads in the first week after release, and this is bound to be eclipsed when her next single is released. You can expect millions of sales, a Grammy nomination or two, and the continued support of millions of fans.

We’ve written a few other biographies of celebrities this week that you might also be interested in:

Who Is Michael Buble?

September 29th, 2010 |

Who Is Michael Buble?

Michael Buble is a 35-year old Italian-Canadian singer who has won three Grammy Awards and has sold over 25 million albums globally. Michael Buble sings (see Learn How to Sing for more information about singing) in a number of different genres, from jazz and big band music to soft rock and easy listening songs. He has been active since 1996, and his singing career has also allowed Buble to take on roles as an actor, but he is most famous for hit songs like “Haven’t Met You Yet“, “Home“, and “Everything“.

Michael Buble Background

Michael Buble was born in Burnaby, British Columbia, and has said he wanted to be a singer since the age of 2. As a child, he slept with a Bible, praying to become a singer, and gained an appreciation for jazz at the age of 5, while listening to his parents’ Bing Crosby records. Buble’s vocal talents first became known to his family when he was thirteen, as they heard him singing “White Christmas” on a holiday drive in the car.

Who Is Michael Buble? Songs, Lyrics, and Albums Besides singing, he had a childhood interest in hockey, and had the standard youthful dreams of playing professional hockey, and his childhood heroes were Vancouver Canucks players like Gary Lupul, Patrik Sundstrom, Ivan Hlinka, and near-namesake Jiri Bubla. Michael Buble came from a working class background, though, so from the age of 14 and for the next six summers, he joined his father, a salmon fisherman, as a commercial fisherman. This involved trips on the water for two or three months at a time, and involved “deadly physical work”, in Buble’s own words.

Meanwhile, he continued to sing. He began appearing in local nightclubs at age 16, and his singing lessons were paid for by his Italian grandfather, Demetrio Santaga, a plumber living in a small town some 15 miles from Venice, Italy. This maternal grandfather inspired Buble with his own collection of jazz albums, and the singer has stated that Demetrio Santaga was the driving force in his pursuit of music. Even at that, Michael Buble says none in his family assumed he would become famous, and that even his grandfather assumed he would be opening up shows in Las Vegas. He never gave up hope of being a star.

Michael Buble Gets Noticed

When he was 18, Michael Buble won a local talent contest, but was disqualified after it was learned he was underage. The event’s organizer, Bev Delich, entered him in the Canadian Youth Talent Search, which Buble won. After this Bev Delich became his manager for the next seven years, though these years proved to be unfruitful in Buble’s search for a career in music. In these years, he sang at conventions, bars, clubs, corporate parties, and in malls, hotel lounges, and convention centers. He approached his singing career in a workmanlike fashion, appearing in talent shows and musical revues. He even delivered singing telegrams and portrayed a singing Santa Claus on more than one occasion.

Michael Buble’s Acting Career

In these years, Michael Buble also tried his hand at acting, appearing in the 1996 Death Game (also known as Mortal Challenge) on television, and also in an uncredited role on 2 episodes of The X-Files (1996 season). He first appeared on tv as a singer in 1997, during the Bravo! documentary Big Band Boom!, during the short-lived big band craze of the late-90′s. It was also in this year that Buble began appearing on the Vicki Gabereau national talk show on the CTV network.

Michael Buble made numerous appearances and, because the show was live, he even filled in once for a guest who canceled late. He also shared a guest role opposite Diana Krall, who at the time was already a Grammy nominee, and who was impressed by his performance. He also had a role in the movie Duets, starring Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow, playing a karaoke singer. He also appeared as a club owner in the 2001 movie Totally Blonde.

By 2000, Michael Buble had received two Genie Award nominations for songs in the film Here’s To Life!, and he was in the midst of recording three independent albums. These garnered little attention, and at the age of 25, he was considering a return from Toronto to Vancouver, where he expected to become a journalist.

Michael Buble and David Foster

Michael Buble sang at the wedding of ex Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, who had heard Buble sing at a corporate gig. At the wedding, Buble met David Foster, the Grammy Award winning producer and influential record executive. Foster has had a hand in some of the biggest careers of the past 25 years, including Celine Dion, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Kenny G, Andrea Bocelli, and Josh Groban.

Foster was reluctant to sign him, though, because he didn’t know how to market his music. Foster agreed to produce Buble’s next album, if Buble came up with $500,000 to cover the cost of the album. After winning the support of Foster’s friend, Paul Anka, Buble was able to produce the financing. When Foster’s support became a reality, Bruce Allen agreed to become Michael Buble’s manager.

Buble’s debut album in 2003 was a Top 10 album in Canada, England, and South Africa, while it reached #1 in Australia. The album was only a marginally successful in the United States, though three of the singles appeared in the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks Top 30.

Michael Buble – It’s Time

In 2005, Michael Buble released his second album, which became a #1 album in Canada, Japan, and Italy, #2 in Australia, and #7 on the Billboard 200. It spent a record-setting 78 weeks on the Billboard Top Jazz #1 spot. Singles like “Home” and “Save the Last Dance for Me” drove this success. Buble went on to win four 2006 Juno Awards for his album, and the album took home the 2006 Grammy Award for the Best Traditional Pop vocal Album.

Michael Buble – Call Me Irresponsible

In 2007, Michael Buble released his third album, which debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and rose to #1 the very next week. This album made him a household name, as it sold 2 million copies in the U.S. market. Once again, the album was popular in both Australia and the United Kingdom, and eventually sold 5 million copies worldwide. Hits included “Lost” and “Everything“, for which Buble was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. That same year, Michael Buble won a Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Grammy for Call Me Irresponsible.

Michael Buble – Crazy Love

Michael Buble’s 4th studio album (Crazy Love) continued this chain of success. The debut single, “Haven’t Met You Yet”, was a huge success, and Buble performed the song on the Oprah Winfrey Show. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard’s Canada Adult Contemporary list. This album remains strong, and he appears ready to garner more Grammy and Juno awards in the years to come.

In 2010, he won another Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album award for his 2008 live album, Michael Buble Meet Madison Square Garden, and it’s no coincidence that many songs on Crazy Love were performed live, because this has proven a highly successful format for Michael Buble. Michael Buble’s is hard to pigeon-hole as a pop singer, which is one reason David Foster was originally reluctant to sign him, but whatever Buble (who writes many of his own songs) is doing, the English-speaking public likes it.

This is part of a series of biography posts we’re making this week. Other biographies include Who Is Shakira?, Who Is Taylor Swift?, Who Is Tiger Woods? and Who Is Megan Fox?

What Is an MP3 Player?

March 14th, 2010 |

What Is an MP3 Player?

An MP3 player is a wonderful piece of technology that’s taken over the world of personal music players — the next generation of the LP, the cassette, and the CD. An MP3 Player is a device that plays files called “mp3″ files.

Buy an MP3 Player at Amazon Now

What Is an MP3 File?

An MP3 is a form of digital audio file that is compressed into a portable and easy-to-handle size using a specific audio recording standard. These standards are defined by the Motion Pictures Experts Group, known as MPEG. Where does the name come from? These files are technically called “MPEG-1, Layer 3″, hence the shortened version, “MP3″. These files use only about 10% of the storage requirements of the popular CD format, meaning you can squeeze more music onto a smaller space using MP3 files.

MP3 Player Specifics

MP3 players come in all different sizes, colors, shapes, and capabilities. The smallest and highest-end MP3 players use a specific kind of memory known as “flash” — unlike conventional memory you might have on your desktop or laptop computer, “flash” memory does not lose stored information when the power source is removed or turned off.

Flash memory is crucial to these devices — it takes up little space, uses little power, and lets designers of MP3 devices create really small devices that have extended battery lives. Both important features when designing a personalized music playing system.

What Is an MP3 Player? The major benefit of an MP3 player is that a consumer can hold a huge chunk of their music collection in their hand rather than lugging around bulky boxes or cases of CDs. Also, MP3 users can create endless amounts of personalized music lists and carry thousands of songs, videos, and even mini games in their pocket wherever they go.

All of that stored music and the MP3 player itself fit into a device that, in some cases, weighs less than one ounce. Portability is a large factor in the popularity of the MP3, considering the ease of transportation in comparison to a CD player and CD storage case. In addition, some devices provide additional technology, like video and photo viewing, alarm and calendar functions, and even cell phone and Internet service.

Downside of MP3 Players

The major case against flash memory based MP3 players is their limited storage capacity. If you have a huge music collection, you’re never going to get everything onto a flash based MP3 player — you’ll need a hard drive backup or a larger hard disk based MP3 device. Some of the larger MP3 devices can store tens of thousands of songs (some companies claiming storage of over 100,000 songs) but you lose the small size and portability features of the flash-based MP3 players. The cost is different as well — flash-based MP3 players are cheaper.

If you are a music fan and you don’t own an MP3 player, you are behind the curve. You shouldn’t upgrade to an MP3 player system just because it is the hot new technology — do it because CDs are on the way out, and all music could one day exist digitally, rather than on a hard disc.

Where to Find Cheap MP3 Players and Accessories

Finding cheap Mp3 players and accessories involves shopping around. You might be able to find an inexpensive MP3 player on Craigslist or eBay. But keep in mind that buying a used MP3 player carries a certain amount of risk with it; when you buy one new, you get a warranty and a customer service department to deal with. If you keep a close eye on Amazon, they run sales and specials from time to time. Amazon is the best place to buy cheap MP3 players and accessories.

Buy an MP3 Player at Amazon Now

For more information related to MP3 players, visit some of the following pages:

What Is the Sandisk Slot Music Player?
What Is Zune Music?
How to Copy Songs from an iPod to a PC
What Is the Best Music Download Site?
How to Convert Tapes to CD

Song Question about 2007 Canadian Band

December 3rd, 2009 |

Ask Deb -

Here’s a tough one, as my memory has died in the past couple of years. I don’t know the name of the band, the song, or the girl that sang it. It came out in 2006 or 2007. (about the same time as the song “Pain“).

The girl was new to the band. I believe I heard either the girl or the band were from Canada. The girl did an interview (i believe for Mtv)- she talked about her first time on stage while they set up for a concert. She said something about she was in the way, or felt like she was in the way, so she found a tall stool climbed up on it and scrunched up.

The video was all cut scenes – I think it may have been a dream sequence.

I don’t remember much else. I had the page for the online video in my favorites but I lost my hard drive, now I cant remember it. “for some reason I keep going back to “funeral for yesterday” I think because they came out about the same time. None of my friends can remember it, so if you could – “please and thank you” – I’d appreciate it.

Dear Music Lover -

I’m afraid you have me stumped on this one. It looks like the two songs you mentioned were big during late 2006 and more likely in early 2007, so I’ve tried to figure out which other Canadian bands with girl singers were big on the scene at that time. None of the options seem to fit the bill, mostly because the videos didn’t seem to fit or the genre seemed a lot lighter than the other bands cited.

Since people can like all different kinds of music, though, I’ll go ahead and list the Canadian bands getting the buzz in early 2007. Maybe one of these will be the one you’re looking for, or perhaps jog your memory somehow.

Arcade Fire, a Canadian band fronted by a husband-wife combo, received all kinds of accolades and awards for their work in 2007. The founder and male singer of this Montreal based band is Win Butler. His wife and bandmate is Regine Chassagne, originally from Haiti. Arcade Fire’s 2006 album, Neon Bible, won the 2008 Meteor Best International Album award and the Juno Award for Best Alternative Album in 2008 (for their success in 2007). Singles off the album were “Intervention”, “Black Mirror” and “Black Wave/Bad Vibrations”.

Broken Social Scene, a Canadian “supergroup” from Toronto, also got a lot of talk in early 2007. Broken Social Scene is a collaborative effort of musicians from the Toronto music scene, with a membership that ranges from 5 to 17 musicians at any given time. Formed by Brendan Canning and Kevin Drew, one of the female members was Toronto singer, Leslie Feist, better known as “Feist”. Her song “1-2-3-4″ became a huge senstation in late 2006, after it was featured on a famous iPod commercial.

Among non-Canadian bands that had hit singles in 2007 there are bands like Paramore, which scored a hit with “Misery Business”. The singer of Paramore is Hayley Williams, from Mississippi by way of Tennessee.

This is one I hope I’m not overlooking something obvious, but that seems to be the extent of the Canadian bands who were making big news in the pop music scene in late 2006 and early 2007. If it comes to me in the middle of the night, I’ll update this page.

Hope you find the song you’re looking for.
John Clifton

Ten Must-Own Albums from the 2000s (#5 – #1)

September 15th, 2009 |

Ten Must-Own Albums from the 2000s (#5 – #1)

5. Elliot Smith – From a Basement on the Hill (2004)

Elliot Smith is one of my favorite songwriters. His songs, from narratives about strung out ex girlfriends to poorly hidden political rhetoric, capture the tone of my adolescence and college years with perfect pitch. Often accompanying himself on acoustic guitar only (before later in life turning to larger studio productions) Smith rose above the crowd of acoustic noodlers to become a sort of big brother to an entire generation. When Elliot warned us about the dangers of cocaine and heroin, many of us listened.

Unfortunately, Elliot died in October 2003. This album was released posthumously in October of 2004, and is considered by many of his fans to be the most personal and honest set of recordings Elliot ever made. Still other Smith fans reject the album as having been thrown together for profit after the singer’s death. It is this strange and varied response to Smith’s last album that I find interesting — not just the rumors that his girlfriend murdered him (the autopsy results show his stab wounds were “not necessarily self inflicted”) or the buzz about there being tons of “unreleased” recordings.

Moving away from Smith’s mostly spare style, From a Basement finds Smith playing John Lennon in the studio — singing over a long poem recited by a friend of his, bringing in dozens of session musicians, clanging guitars and jumbly arrangements. This album is usually not considered Smith’s best (by critics or fans), but I select it for this list as an homage to one of my generation’s great songwriters, and because it was released nearly a year to the day after his controversial suicide.

Buy this album because: You probably didn’t buy it when it came out, and you should have.

4. TV on the Radio – Return to Cookie Mtn. (2006)

Return to Cookie Mountain is probably the biggest critical darling on this list. In 2006, every music critic and venue for writing about music went on and on about TV on the Radio’s greatness. Pitchfork Media, not known for their generosity, considers this album one of the best albums of that year, rating it a 9.1 out of 10. Spin magazine declared Cookie Mountain the “album of the year” well before the year was up. That nerdy guy you know who is always listening to his .mp3 player? Yeah, he knows about this album.

But that doesn’t mean you should be wary. TV on the Radio make some of the darkest and most beautiful pop music you may have never heard. This is a band more than willing to sample Lou Reeds’ seminal (and terrible) Metal Machine Music alongside vocal cuts by David Bowie and guest appearances by their indie rock pals. They may be a bit experimental, but never at the expense of the sound of the music.

And that sound is unique, something you can’t get from other big name acts. From the simple but powerful lyrics (listen to the song “Province” off this album for proof of their lyrical prowess) to the groovy backbeat and fuzzy guitars, this is music as it was meant to be made in the 2000s. Mysterious but loveable.

Buy this album because: Look, if David Bowie says they’re good, you can at least give them a listen.

3. Animal Collective — Feels (2005) and Gorillaz — self-titled (2001)

This may seem like a strange pairing at first — Baltimore’s Animal Collective (less a band than a gathering of individual talents) and the Gorillaz (an animated coverup for a collaborative band from around the world). I selected these two albums to represent two popular and common themes in music over the past decade — collaboration and false identities.

The members of Animal Collective resisted “naming” their band, preferring instead to perform in random combinations as the gig or their mood provided. Before deciding to perform under the name Animal Collective, they were known by their individual names — Panda Bear, Avey Tare, Geologist, Deakin, Doctess, and Eyvind Kang.

Their freak folk rock sound is easiest to hear on their 2005 release Feels, which depended on a badly tuned set of guitars for its unique sound. The track “Grass” became a big hit on college radio, and Animal Collective used the success of Feels to launch their first major international tour. Their most recent release, Merriweather Post Pavilion earned them even greater success, already popping up on some pre emptive “Album of the Year” lists.

Gorillaz came out of nowhere back in 2001. The hit single from the album, “Clint Eastwood”, is instantly recognizable, with its addictive beat, unique rapping (provided by the always bizarre rapper Del), and that “squishy”, bouncy, and highly danceable music. Yes, this album flew just under most people’s radar (peaking at #14 in the US though performing better overseas) but for those that were listening, Gorillaz were a big hit. Much like the example of Animal Collective, the members of Gorillaz hid their public identity behind animated characters designed specifically for the band. There were four fictional members of the group, voiced by the people “behind the curtain” — Del, Damon Albarn, Miho Hatori, and a handful of their friends.

There were plenty of acts performing behind masks, hiding their identities, and collaborating like crazy over the past decade. The reason collaboration is important in the 2000s? We’ve seen the collapse of the traditional music industry. Bands aren’t getting paid the way they used to. Venues for concerts are getting smaller. Radio is becoming impossible to break into without truckloads of payola — when bands collaborate, they get the opportunity to play with other musicians and in front of new audiences.

Buy these albums because: You have to have something weird from this decade you can play for your kids

2. Beyonce – Dangerously in Love (2003)

From simple beginnings (born in Houston in 1981), Beyonce Knowles became one of the most recognizable and talked about figures in pop music.

It doesn’t get much bigger than Beyonce in modern day R&B. She was first popular due to her role in the super group Destiny’s Child. After that group split up, Beyonce took off on her own (multi-platinum) career in 2001. Between record sales that were off the charts, multiple Grammy awards, a few big movie roles, and a well publicized romance with rapper/CEO Jay-Z, Beyonce became one of the biggest stars of the 2000s. She’s a sure thing at every entertainment event, from the Grammys to the Super Bowl.

Okay, I have to admit it. I’m not a fan. I don’t own this album and I probably never will. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t an important piece of music from this decade. The single “Crazy in Love” is ubiquitous — enter the mall and you WILL hear this song. Millions of fans know all the words to her songs, even the more obscure stuff that doesn’t feature Jay-Z, and it is likely that your mama and your grandma know who Beyonce is.

Buy this album because: Beyonce is the rags to riches story of the new millenium.

1. R Kelly – Trapped in the Closet (2005 – current)

Trapped in the Closet isn’t technically an album. Also, as it is a constant work in progress, it may be difficult to “own” the whole thing.

It is called a “hip hop opera”. The story, told so far in 23 parts, is related in its entirety by R Kelly, who sings all of the different roles, some in hilarious character voices. The story is too complex to relate here — suffice to say it concerns the very complex goings on in a small town.

Trapped in the Closet is epic, it lacks any sense of irony, and you get the feeling watching it that R Kelly really means what he is expressing. He’s trying to play storyteller, and the story he tells is almost always unintentionally hilarious.

It is also the second most popular thing R Kelly ever did on video. (Zing!)

I said before that this list is not in any particular order, but I have to make an exception here. For being bizarre without excuses, for R Kelly’s willingness to cling to motifs without breaking a sweat, for the hilarious video and the epic scale of the work, Trapped in the Closet is probably the most brilliant piece of music recorded in the past twenty years or more.

Buy this album because: When you need a laugh (or a good story) there’s simply nothing better.

Ten Must-Own Albums from the 2000s (#10 – #6)

September 14th, 2009 |

Ten Must-Own Albums from the 2000s (#10 – #6)

I know this list is gonna generate some controversy. Hell, I’m counting on that.

And considering the 2000s aren’t quite over yet (we have another 16 months or so to go) I do not consider this list complete. Having said that, I feel it would be difficult for an album released in the next year and a half or so to top any of the albums on this list.

Have a suggestion? Your favorite album get passed over? Just want to bend my ear for including both pop and indie music? Add your comment below. If I get enough solid reponses I would be totally willing to alter the list.

Without further ado — and in no particular order — here are the top ten albums released in the 2000s that you just have to own.

10. Modest Mouse – The Moon and Antarctica (2000)

I picked this album because it tells a story common to fans of contemporary indie rock — cult favorite band signs to major label and eveyone worries about how the album will turn out.

Epic Records signed Modest Mouse after the fan buzz got too loud to ignore. We Modest Mouse fans worried if Epic would require the Mouse to play radio friendly rock without the charm and awe of their standard fare. Modest Mouse was known for odd arrangements, solid lyrics, and a sound nearly defined by their willingsness to vamp on a particular theme for what seemed like hours on end.

Instead of letting us down, Modest Mouse spent their major label money recording what is perhaps the most haunting and intricate of their albums to date. Classic tracks from this album, like “Dark Center of the Universe”, show off the best of Modest Mouse’s heady past while introducing new elements, such as more sophisticated and personal lyrics.

Other tracks (I’m looking at you “The Cold Part”) found Modest Mouse playing around with atmospheric sounds. You could almost hear the growing pains if you turned the speakers up to 11.

Yes, Modest Mouse lost some fans after this album dropped. And yes, they gained about twenty times as many as they lost. Cut to 2004, when Modest Mouse enjoyed platinum success and tons of airplay. Was Moon the first step towards mainstream success? We could debate that for hours.

Buy this album because: Good major label released by indie bands are rare.

9. OutKast – Stankonia (2000)

It is fall of 2000. Having just moved in with a new roommate, I look for ways in which we can bond. He’s a wet behind the ears rich boy with a penchant for hardcore punk and (above all) System of a Down. Instead of dwelling on our problems, I pop in the new OutKast album I picked up.

The rest is history. The roommate and I are still great friends, and he hasn’t played a System of a Down album since. I’d like to think I changed his life that day, but let’s be honest — OutKast deserves that honor.

Stankonia is good, okay? I don’t care if you don’t like rap, I don’t care if you have something against Big Boi and Andre 3000, I don’t care if you’re an Icelander, a Brit, or a Lilliputian. This album produced two major hits for the burgeoning rap duo out of Atlanta — “Bombs Over Baghdad”, and “Ms. Jackson” — while earning them critical praise at a level unknown before in the world of rap.

Stankonia is an expressive, intricate, sometimes loud and sometimes gentle composition that highlights the best of OutKast’s talent. Featuring some of the best wordplay in rap history alongside music so hot it can still be heard leaking out of car windows 9 years later, this was my favorite album for years after its release.

Buy this album because: Rap is relevant, and this is the War and Peace of rap.

8. New Pornographers – Mass Romantic (2000-2001)

Boy oh boy am I going to hear a lot of nonsense about this pick. First of all, look at that date up there. How could an album be released across two years?

This album tells another of the great stories of music in the 2000s — how promotion and PR affects a band’s success. While Mass Romantic technically came out in October of 2000, the record label did literally NOTHING to promote it until 2001. This was simply a crime — the New Pornographers are making some of the best pop music in recent memory, and they’re doing it with style dripping out of their ears.

Many people came to the New Pornographers through the fame of Neko Case, who sings on most of the tracks. Neko is a star in her own right, and it is not uncommon to hear NP fans complain when she is absent from the lineup.

Mass Romantic is proof that good pop music is not dead. We don’t have to mourn the end of Brian Wilson or the Beatles. The New Pornographers play highly energetic pop music — and these guys are talented musicians. I’ll say it — Mass Romantic is the catchiest collection of tunes to come out since the last great era of Pop, the 1960s.

Carl Newman, who records solo as A.C. Newman, arranges these seemingly simple songs with the delicate touch of a jeweler. Neko Case adds her heartbreaking voice. Dan Bejar’s lyrics are more than just a little off kilter — this is the kind of songwriting that gets under your skin and takes up residence in your ear.

Buy this album because: The title track will intrigue, alarm, and excite you.

7. Wilco – Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)

This album from one time indie mainstay Wilco was not popular across the board. In fact, if rock critics read my list, they’d be quite likely to point this selection out as “way off”.

Was YHF a brilliant and bold new direction for a band once considered alt-country? Was it a forced and lazy piece of experimental garbage best left in the same pile as Metal Machine Music? If you ask me, YHF ‘s unique style not only spread the band to new groups of fans, but it also represented the next stap for a band who’d already made several.

Their first album, AM, was an alt-country masterpiece. It only took one more album for the band to change itself. The second album, Being There was a direct slap in the face of their alt-country fan base. Wilco’s been changing from the beginning. Get over it.

This is a small album, a “minimalist” album if you must — an album that Pitchfork describes as being “concerned with subtraction”. What frontman Jeff Tweady was doing on YHF is very clear — he’s taken his typical folk style and stripped it down to its most basic parts, then added flourishes whenever he felt like it.

Buy this album because: It represents a common meme among bands in the 2000s — experimentation outside of their genre. Plus, “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” might get you laid.

6. The Books – The Lemon of Pink (2003)

The Books aren’t making pop music. Sure, sometimes their fractured sound collage can be catchy, and I’ll admit to getting parts of their tracks stuck in my head like a bad early Beatles song.

No, The Books aren’t making pop — they’re more concerned with the creation of sound from ideas. Whoa, I know, this is getting pretty heavy. And I don’t want to make it sound like this album is a noise experiment or something only music snobc can enjoy. That’s simply not true.

There are soundbites collaged and mixed in new ways used to create many of the “lyrics”. Much of the music coomes from similar sources — soundbites, sound effects, synthesized percussion, handclaps, it is all here. But you’ll want to hear it again and again.

The Books represent, much like Wilco’s YHF, the new direction that popular music was and is moving in the 2000s. Sound collage has been done before, but not popular enough to get heavy airplay at colleges across the country. And it isn’t all sound of technology — pretty bursts of fiddles, banjos, and other strings crop up more often than a 50s sitcom.

Buy this album because: It is a journey in the best sense of the word. Because it may be the most remarkable listening experience of the last 10 years.

Tommorrow, catch the second half of the top ten list. Here’s a spoiler — Animal Collective will make an appearance, along with R Kelly.

When Will Digital Music Sales Overcome CDs?

August 19th, 2009 |

When will digital music sales overcome CDs?

I’m guilty.

In this era, where digital seems to dominate every other format, I am still a sucker for purchasing a physical CD. Something about holding the album art in my hand, turning the shiny music disc over and over, sliding the device into the drive — I just don’t get the same satisfaction from a digital download. Call me a Luddite, call me what you will. I just can’t accept that I may never own a physical piece of music again. This is the same attitude that keeps me from joining the eReader revolution . . . at least until that particular technology improves.

Come to find out, I’m not alone. CDs are still the most common method for consumers in the United States to enjoy their music. In short — CDs rule the music market.

But not for long. Sure, CDs still account for well over sixty percent of all music sold in the first six months of 2009. There is new information today that suggests that digital downloads of music files are quickly gaining speed. This according to a report released this week by a research group that charts music and other sales — the NPD Group.

The trend goes something like this. Digital music sales increase between 15 percent and 20 percent every year. Meanwhile, CD sales drop at just about an equal pace, between 13 percent and 18 percent a year. It is only a matter of time before purchasing that must have album on a plastic disc will be a thing of the past, an old fashioned attempt to get in touch with a part of my past. Much like the vinyl collectors of the past ten years or so, I may have to trudge to a low lit store full of hipsters and snobs to get my fix of 90s-era alternative music. At least, on CD.

The “tipping point”, as NPD likes to put it, will come in 2010.

Russ Crupnick, the vice president of the NPD Group who concentrates his work on analysis of the entertainment industry, says that 2009 and 2010 will represent “a dead heat” between sales of music in digital formats and the sales numbers for CDs. NPD is amazed by the spped that digital music sales have become a real competitor with CD format. NPD reports that digital sales represented only one out of every five songs sold just two years ago. I think most people believe that CDs died out as a reliable format long ago. The truth is that CDs are still the most common audio format, though “the assumption is that [CD sales died out] . . . five years ago,” said Russ Crupnick.

In fact, the numbers are much closer, at least here in America. According to NPD’s research, there are still 250% more people who buy CDs regularly as those who buy digital music. NPD predicts that by 2011, digital sales will far outreach CD sales.

In 2008, digital music sales totalled nearly $2 billion, a healthy number for sure. By the same measure, CDs and other physical units of music represents nearly $9 billion in sales, these numbers according to the Recording Industry Association of America. That’s a huge disparity between two numbers that most people thought were much closer. While over $9 billion in sales sounds remarkable for a format that most people were ready to bury, remember that CD sales are dropping $1 billion a year or more.

The face of the leading music retailers are changing too. Gone are the days when my friends and I would load up the car, head to Circuit City or Best Buy or any of the big box stores and load up on new released. Now, the number on music retailer is Apple’s iTunes service. Music downloads from iTunes make up more than a quarter of all music sales in the United States. This number is up from 20 percent in 2008 and just 14 percent in 2007. With digital sales galloping ahead and CD sales falling by the wayside, it doesn’t take a consumer group to tell you that digital will soon far outclass CDs in terms of sales.

The bottom line is this — American consumers are buying more and more of their music online. Some industry analysts suggest that customers are illegally purchasing as much as 10 times more music through peer to peer Web presences and other illegal sources. If the recording industry was somehow to turn those illegal purchases into legal ones, digital purchases would far outweight physical CD sales.

The move to digital music has had a wide range of other impacts on the music industry — the biggest in my opinion is the fact that most online shoppers aren’t likely to buy entire albums, preferring to cherry pick the singles they want. This limits the artistic impact of a musician or band’s release, and limits the income that retailers make off music.

What Is the ITablet?

July 28th, 2009 |

What is the iTablet?

The iTablet is Apple’s next attempt to shake up the entertainment industry — this time with a kind of revamp of some older Mac technology.

Apple’s cult hit Newton was a kind of early PDA. It was hugely popular among a percentage of the population, but is a well known flop in the computing industry. This time around, Apple is introducing a device, known for now as the iTablet, that is portable and lets its users download movies, play games, and read digital books. According to insiders, more and more pieces of entertainment are being marketed with multimedia trappings — think of CDs released with digital booklets, or movies that come with trivia games, etc.

This new iTablet device will likely be hitting stores sooner than you think. Tech analysts have been discussing an Apple tablet device since a reference at an Apple conference in 2004 sparked rumors about a return to the Newton. Many of these bloggers are now suggesting that the iTablet could see a launch in the early part of 2010.

The iTablet will be a touch screen internet ready gadget that aims to do what Microsoft failed — compete with Amazon’s Kindle, SOny’s Reader and another device that Barnes & Noble is set to release. The iTablet, which will be similar to an iPod Touch device according to insiders, is expected to have a 10 inch screen. Some writers have suggested that the new iTablet product would be just another extension of Apple’s massive iPod line — a holding that owns more than 70 percent of the American digital music market — due to the iPod’s recent loss of market share. In fact, just last week, Apple announced that iPod sales were sagging between 7 percent and 8 percent. Tech writers say that the iTablet product could breathe new life into the iPod line or fill a specific niche in Apple’s product line.

So why is Apple pouncing on an even more modern way of delivering content? Besides expected losses from the still widespread online piracy of music, the recording and film industries have taken a huge hit in the bankbook from the standard behavior changes found in all consumers — this iteration of entertainment consumers are moving away from traditional means of ownership. In layman’s terms, no one’s really buying albums and movies anymore, at least not from the usual places. In 2007, sales of download singles rose 27 percent while sales of physical CDs and albums dropped a massive 25 percent this according to the RIAA. One potential bright spot for musicians interested in making more than just singles — downloaded albums rose 34 percent.

In an effort to push back against this trend, record industry types and film studios are hunting desperately for new ways to get people to buy their products. Part of what they’re doing is revamping the product — the most recent album I bought (digitally) came with a beautiful digital “booklet” and a video of an interview with the band. This kind of material not only generates the all important industry “buzz”, but it also creates a need for different kinds of devices to enjoy them. For instance, I can’t enjoy the digital video that came with the album unless I’m using a music player that plays video, and even then I can’t leaf through the digital booklet unless I have a device that can read that sort of file, and on and on.

Expect Apple’s new iTablet device to be polarizing — remember, when the iPod came out there were plenty of people willing to line up against it, for whatever reason. If Apple can build on the parts of the Newton that were succesful, while drawing in some new customers to the world of PDAs and portable display units, the iTablet is a sure winner.

Additional related articles:

What Is Bagpipes from Baghdad?

May 13th, 2009 |

What is Bagpipes from Baghdad?

Bagpipes from Baghdad is a song from Eminem’s new CD. The controversial rapper took the opportunity on this new track to personally attack actor Nick Cannon and Cannon’s new wife Mariah Carey. The reason? Eminem once briefly “dated’ Mariah Carey, though Carey, a star in her own right, has denied that there was any physical connection at all, and they went out together a few times as friends.

The track “Bagpipes from Baghdad” contains the standard material we’ve come to expect from Eminem. Foul mouthed rants about Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey are supported by a very unique and engaging beat. Most of the lyrics related to Cannon and Carey are too dirty to print in their entirety in this forum, but I’m happy to share a censored sample, so our readers can understand the new “beef” between Eminem and Nick Cannon.

Nick Cannon better back the f*** up.
I’m not playing, I want her back, you punk.
Nick Cannon, you pr**k, I wish you luck with that f***in’ whore

Cannon has fallen into Eminem’s trap, releasing statements through many media sources about how Eminem’s attacks on his wife will lead to “repercussions”. Eminem is known for creating publicity through these ridiculous musical conflicts, having already gone through almost a half dozen similar feuds in the past, with everyone from Whitey Ford to Ja Rule. Eminem has fallen out of popularity in the past — it has been a while since his last record, and even longer since his last smash hit. A stint in rehab for an addiction to Ambien, a non narcotic sleep aid, didn’t help matters. Clearly, Eminem manufactured this disagreement with Cannon to get his name in the papers, and its working.

But the attacks on Mariah Carey aren’t limited to the album alone. On Eminem’s satellite television channel, Shade 45, the young rapper insinuated that he had engaged in a particularly foul sex act with Carey. What Eminem may be hoping for is some kind of public confrontation with Nick Cannon. There’s nothing quite like free publicity for a musician who has fallen out of favor with the public.

Eminem, real name Marshall Bruce Mathers III, made a name for himself in 1998 with the release of his Grammy winning album “The Slim Shady LP”. His followup album, “The Marshall Mathers LP” is still the fastest selling rap album in history, and won another Grammy, as did his third album, “The Eminem Show”. Mathers owns his own record label, Shady Records, and even won an Oscar for a song that appeared in the film about his life, “8 Mile”. Eminem took a major hiatus from the music business, and hasn’t released an album since 2004. His new album, “Relapse”, will have its full release onFriday May 15, 2009.

The lyrics to “Bagpipes from Baghdad” continue to comment on his relationship with Mariah Carey, with Eminem rapping about being “locked in Mariah Carey’s wine cellar”. Eminem even makes reference to his addictions, rapping about the residue from a bottle of pharmaceuticals, and getting his “one year sobriety chip”.

For some reason, this story is hugely popular. Maybe people are interested in Cannon’s reaction to Eminem’s foolishness, or maybe Eminem still has a big enough fan base to create buzz. Either way, there are news stories about the supposed “feud” between Cannon and Eminem as far away as Asia, and all major news outlets in the US and Western Europe have chimed in on this publicity stunt. Just what Eminem wanted.

80 Fun Questions to Ask Friends

March 5th, 2009 |

I offer the following fun questions to ask friends to anyone who’s looking for something to talk about. I’ve categorized them into 8 different categories. Pick and choose the questions you like, and avoid the questions which might be too intimate or uncomfortable for you.

Fun Questions About Movies to Ask Friends

Everyone watches movies these days, so here are some fun questions to ask you friends about the movies.

What’s your favorite movie of all time and why?
What was the best movie you saw this last year and why?
Who’s your favorite director and why?
Do you like black and white movies? Why or why not?
Do you read movie reviews? If so, which reviewers do you enjoy? If not, why?
What’s the scariest movie you’ve ever seen? Do you like horror movies? Why or why not?
Who’s your favorite actor and why/
Do you cry at movies? If so, which movies make you cry?
What’s the funniest movie you’ve ever seen?
Would you rather see a movie at the theater or at home on DVD? Why?

Fun Questions to Ask Friends About TV

Even more people watch tv than go to the movies. So here are some fun questions to ask your friends about tv.

What’s your favorite tv show of all time and why?
How many hours a week do you spend watching tv?
What’s your favorite tv station and why?
What was your favorite tv show when you were growing up?
Who’s your favorite actor on television and why?
Would you rather watch a sitcom, a reality show, a police drama, a legal drama, or a medical drama? Or something else? Why?
Has a television show ever moved you to tears? If yes, which one and when?
Do you watch the news on tv? How often?
Have you ever been on tv?
If you were a character on a tv show, which one would you be?

Fun Questions to Ask Friends About Books

This one is a little tougher, because a lot of people don’t read books anymore. But here are 10 fun questions to ask friends about books anyway:

Has reading a book ever changed your life? Which one and why, if yes?
Do you prefer to read fiction or nonfiction? Explain your choice.
If you could be a character in any novel you’ve ever read, who would you be and why?
Has reading a book ever made you cry? Which one and why?
How many books do you read each year?
Have you ever written (or started to write) a book?
Name one book you had to read but hated, and explain why you hated it.
If someone wrote a book about your life, what would they title it?
If you could pick a book you’ve read to make into a movie, which one would you choose?
What was your favorite book as a child and why?

10 Sexy Questions to Ask Your Friends

Depending on your relationship with your friends, you might or might not be comfortable asking them sexy questions. If so, just skip past this list of 10 sexy questions:

Have you ever been involved in a threesome? Would you consider doing so in the future?
At what age did you lose your virginity?
What’s your favorite sexual position?
What’s your favorite foreplay activity?
Have you ever faked an orgasm?
Have you ever had a one night stand?
Which 3 celebrities would you most like to have sex with?
What’s the kinkiest kind of sex you’ve ever had?
Do you own any sexy underwear? How often do you wear it?
How often do you have sex each week?

Fun Questions to Ask Friends About Money

Money is a less sensitive issues than sex with some people, but others might find it even more personal. Here are 10 lighthearted and fun questions about money you can ask a friend:

What would you do if you had a million dollars?
Are you a spender or a saver?
How much money do you save on a regular basis? (As a percentage of your income?)
Do you have a personal written budget?
When you go to a meal dutch, would you prefer to itemize the receipt or just split it in half?
When you’re on a date, do you think the man should pay or not?
What’s the most expensive gift you’ve ever given someone?
What’s the most expensive gift you’ve ever received from someone?
If someone offered you a million dollars for a night of sex, would you do it? Would it matter if the person were good looking or not?
Do you invest in the stock market? What kind of investing strategy do you use if you do?

Fun Questions to Ask Friends About Music

Almost everyone listens to music. Here are a few fun questions about music you can ask your friends:

What’s your favorite kind of music?
Who’s your favorite singer or band?
What’s your favorite album?
What’s your favorite song?
Do you like to sing karaoke?
Are you a good dancer?
Do you like musicals? (movies or theater)
Has a song ever made you cry?
If your life was a song, what would the title be?
If you could be a particular singer or musician, who would you be?

Fun Questions to Ask About Games

All of us played games of some kind growing up, and some of us still play games now. Here are some fun questions on the subject:

What was your favorite game to play as a child?
Do you play video games now?
What’s your favorite gambling game?
Do you prefer card games or board games?
Do you ever play drinking games?
Are you good at Chess?
Have you ever played Dungeons & Dragons? Did you like it/
Do you ever play solitaire when you’re bored?
Are you good at Trivial Pursuit?
Have you ever been on a game show? Which one?

Dilemmas

Dilemmas are questions you have to think about. Thinking aloud about your answers with your friends can be a lot of fun, and it can shed a lot of light on why your friends are the way they are.

Would you rather be rich or healthy?
Would you rather be good looking or rich?
Do you believe in the death penalty? Why or why not?
Have you seen Sophie’s Choice, and if so, do you think she made the right choice or the wrong choice?
Would you like to know the day you’re going to die ahead of time? Why or why not?
Would you rather have super strength or super intelligence?
Would you rather have the power to be invisible or the power to read minds?
Would you rather spend the rest of your life without a significant other, or would you rather have a partner who is extremely difficult?
Would you rather spend life in prison or be executed?
Should marijuana be legalized? Why or why not?

And that’s that. 80 fun questions to ask friends. Hope these break the ice at your next party or first date. For more creative questions we recommend the The Complete Book of Questions: 1001 Conversation Starters for Any Occasion book.

See also:

Related:

Page 1 of 212 »

You are currently browsing the archives for the Music category.