Tag Archives: Music

Lilith Fair Gone, Not Missing

Seriously, right? Whatever happened to the Lilith Fair? And why doesn’t anyone seem to care? Are we saying more about the music or the listeners, if we’re saying anything at all, and if so, what? I couldn’t say for sure.

I was reading Jim Gaudet’s post Ani Difranco, I Am Drunk Leave Me Alone and it got me wondering where are the new female vocalists, which lead me down a wondering road of vague ideas to a Lilith Fair of performing females from the late nineties.  Not that I ever cared about the concert event itself, but I was a fan to many of the performers (of which, I believe, one Ani Difranco was not).

Now I find myself, many years later, trying to identify the new women of yesteryear who can write, perform, and sing without the help of a computerized sound, but I’m left with nothing.  Is it that they exist and I’m too far removed to know what’s happening on the scene, or have the true songstresses truly been replaced?

SiriusXM Making Changes, Good Or Bad

SiriusXM It took me a second to adjust to the new station lineup when the two companies merged and started consolidating their content, but I eventually came around and accepted its newness even if I wasn’t all that interested in what was new and what was lost.  They’ve even recently returned the BackSpin station (Sirius channel 39), which they had removed for about a month.  These changes are ultimately good moves for the satellite radio giant drowning in debt.

Merging was step one, consolidating content was step two, but now that we’re at step 3 I’m even less excited and find myself wondering if I’ll continue my subscriptions when they expire.  Step 3 is pricing overhaul.  Translation:  my cost to enjoy is going up.  Not a fan.

The two big cost changes: 1) eliminating free internet service.  It will now be an additional $2.99 to.  2) Second, third, and fourth radios will be offered at $8.99 rather than the current $6.99.  Now I’m not sure it’s worth it to keep two radios.  But, we’ll see when it comes time to renew, which SiriusXM is urging subscribers to do before March 11th when the changes kick in.  (If you extend subscriptions now, you can also extend the current benefits for the life of the extension.)

I couldn’t say for sure whether or not these moves will have any positive impact to the company’s stock which is ridiculously low these days in the ten cent range, but it surely can’t hurt the cash flows, which have been in the red for years.  Hence the massive amounts of debt, a billion of which is coming due this year.  I sure hope they are able to refinance the debt, but if they can’t, who knows what will happen.  Why should I pay more for a service that may not be around this time next year.  (A bit dramatic, but you get the idea.)

All is well and good I suppose in a world where we pay for things we want but don’t really need. In the meantime, I’m going to keep enjoying my last.fm stations.  Hopefully last.fm will soon be accessible from my car stereo unit.

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Madonna At It Again, Entertaining All

I don’t know how she does it, or how she continues to keep doing it, but Madonna really just is not ready to call it a day and hang up her singing career.  It’s absolutely amazing.  She continues to stay current and relevant, and it’s not just her music.  According to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle via Jimmy Orr at The Christian Science Monitor, she’s at it again surrounding herself in controversy.  I’m sure she could sell out concerts from here to the end of the universe, so it’s safe to say she doesn’t need to stir the pot but hey, it’s Madonna, and her antics help hold our attention when we tire of her singing about not asking she quit or slow down.  Right?  I mean, wasn’t it just a couple years ago that she was in the papers for kidnapping children from third world countries.  There’s no such thing as bad PR, even if it means stealing a couple of foreign-born kids.  I suppose this time it’s not quite as exciting as she’s just depicting her opinion of the presidential candidates during some portion of her live concert.

Free Album From Rhapsody MP3 Store

Too good to be true, but it is true.  The credit must be used by midnight Pacific time, July 4, 2008.  And you must sign up for an account.  So head on over and get yourself a free album from Rhapsody MP3 store.  (Offer good up to $10, and you must sign up with a credit card.)  I purchased Whiskeytown’s album Pneumonia at a 256kbs quality level.  So far there seems to be no nasty DRM issues.

Thanks to Mr. Lambino for sharing this news via email.

Enjoy!

Ricky Berger's First Album

CD Release Party & Ice Cream Social

Nichole, I, and that other guy, arrived promptly at twelve after seven and made our way to Revolution Wines behind Bricka Bracka after first paying cover for the Ice Cream Social and purchasing featured artist Ricky Berger’s CD , which would be autographed later in the show.  The three of us enjoyed a reasonably-priced flight that consisted of seven different wines from Sacramento’s Urban Winery.  (My favorite was the 2006 Clarksburg Syrah.)

The wine and company was nice, but it was not the reason we left the house.  We attended the night’s event to show our support for local music artist Ricky Berger who released her debut album "Ricky Berger’s First Album" to family and friends.  As we waited patiently in line to enter the venue, we had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with Ricky’s grandmother — a sure sign that we truly had shown up for a family event, as Ricky’s grandmother shared family stories.  (Ricky’s father graduated from my Alma Mater, Cal Poly, and studied Engineering.)

Ricky Berger's First Album Cover

Ricky performed songs from her recently released CD as well as tracks she’s planning for her second album.  (Always think sequel, baby!)  I enjoyed Love Junkie most, but it didn’t make the first album so I’m looking forward to Ricky’s next release and keeping fingers crossed that she includes it.  The released CD itself is a treat with, perhaps the most touching song, Okle My Dokle , which brought tears to concert-goers’ eyes as she made a heartfelt dedication to her late grandfather.

That other guy @JoshGZ and I purchased copies of Ricky’s first album.  It comes loaded with eleven tracks and the video "If" (watch it below.)

Special thanks to Leatherby’s Family Creamery .  Your delicious dessert complimented the night.

Ricky Berger’s First Album

CD Release Party & Ice Cream Social

Nichole, I, and that other guy, arrived promptly at twelve after seven and made our way to Revolution Wines behind Bricka Bracka after first paying cover for the Ice Cream Social and purchasing featured artist Ricky Berger’s CD , which would be autographed later in the show.  The three of us enjoyed a reasonably-priced flight that consisted of seven different wines from Sacramento’s Urban Winery.  (My favorite was the 2006 Clarksburg Syrah.)

The wine and company was nice, but it was not the reason we left the house.  We attended the night’s event to show our support for local music artist Ricky Berger who released her debut album "Ricky Berger’s First Album" to family and friends.  As we waited patiently in line to enter the venue, we had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with Ricky’s grandmother — a sure sign that we truly had shown up for a family event, as Ricky’s grandmother shared family stories.  (Ricky’s father graduated from my Alma Mater, Cal Poly, and studied Engineering.)

Ricky Berger's First Album Cover

Ricky performed songs from her recently released CD as well as tracks she’s planning for her second album.  (Always think sequel, baby!)  I enjoyed Love Junkie most, but it didn’t make the first album so I’m looking forward to Ricky’s next release and keeping fingers crossed that she includes it.  The released CD itself is a treat with, perhaps the most touching song, Okle My Dokle , which brought tears to concert-goers’ eyes as she made a heartfelt dedication to her late grandfather.

That other guy @JoshGZ and I purchased copies of Ricky’s first album.  It comes loaded with eleven tracks and the video "If" (watch it below.)

Special thanks to Leatherby’s Family Creamery .  Your delicious dessert complimented the night.

Feed The Animals, Save The Planet

Latest Girl Talk Album

Pop Lovers Anonymous, get ready for another smashing good time with the latest mash-ups from Girl Talk!  Feed the Animlas is the follow-up album to the 2006 release Night Ripper (which we all know and love) on the illegal art label.  This new release is well worth the “you-name-the-price” price.  I opted for the ten dollar version plus shipping.

To put this in some kind of perspective, it’s been a long time since I’ve paid for a CD or paid to download music.  Not because I’m off downloading pirated music files, but because I’m a Sirius Radio subscriber, and I don’t usually have an interest in CDs or music files.  So that should help you understand how huge this is for me to spend any amount of money on an album.  Not only spend the money, but then come here and recommend it to you.

Briefly, I’ll say this isn’t exactly what GT was pumping on his last release.  While it’s still definitely a mix of pop music from every genre (that sounds funny,) he’s moved on and up to change his style just a little.  Clips are played just a bit longer, and more care and detail is given to the transitions between mixes.  It’s the right mix of being up-up-and-away for dancing and then mellowing out just enough to rest and catch a breath before the next fast mix hits.  The whole time keeping your interest in the party.

I’ve had the album less than 48 hours, and I can honestly say it’s all I’ve listened to on the home and car systems.  (Huge speakers aren’t required, but they help with the “getting pumped up feeling”.)  I’ve caught myself dancing at home, and bopping my head in traffic.  (Now if I can just figure out how to make my way to one of the concert dates.)

Fine, maybe you won’t be saving the planet if you buy the CD, but you’ll definitely feel an urge to get up out your seat and move your feet.  That leads to happiness, and we can all agree that happy people are good for the planet.  Right?

Do your thing.  Play your part.

Savage Chicken Reminds of Ricky Berger

Today’s cartoon from Savage Chicken , reminds me of the first time I ran into Ricky Berger . It was the first time I’d ever attended a Second Saturday Art Walk and I’d been out drinking most of the day with a buddy. We stumbled into one of the art houses to find her singing. She sang Tiptoe Through the Tulips. And some others, but I don’t remember them. I remember very little. I was wearing a black hat.

We ran into her a few more times after that, but then she started touring outside our local living area, and I haven’t seen her since.

This cartoon also reminds me of the video game Guitar Hero. I’m not a fan. I don’t get it. Maybe it’s just me.