Monday, September 22, 2008

Companies joining to push music on memory cards

By RACHEL METZ, AP Technology Writer Mon Sep 22,
NEW YORK

Just as vinyl once gave way to compact discs as the main physical medium for music, could CDs be replaced now by a fingernail-sized memory card? Perhaps not entirely, but SanDisk Corp., four major record labels and retailers Best Buy Co. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are hoping that albums sold on microSD memory cards will at least provide an additional stream of sales. The companies were expected to unveil plans Monday to sell memory cards loaded with music in the MP3 format, free of copy protections.

Called "slotMusic," the new format is meant to address two intertwined trends. Most albums are still sold in a physical format (449 million were sold on CDs in 2007, while 50 million were sold digitally, according to Nielsen SoundScan) yet CDs are decreasingly popular. Albums sold on CD dropped almost 19 percent last year.

Given this, the record labels (Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group Corp. and EMI Group PLC) are hoping slotMusic can be another physical revenue source -- and one that is more versatile than CDs, given the kinds of gadgets people carry around these days.

Unlike when the CD was introduced and people had to buy new players, many people already have the ability to play slotMusic albums, since many cell phones and multimedia players support microSD cards.

These new albums will come with a small USB dongle that lets buyers use them with computers, too.

"Particularly in this kind of economic climate, the idea of being able to use an electronic device you already own to enjoy music rather than going out and buying a dedicated player is pretty compelling," said Daniel Schreiber, who heads the audio-video business unit at SanDisk, which created the microSD card format and is working on the technology behind slotMusic.

The rest at:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080922/ap_on_hi_te/tec_music_on_memory_cards

Sunday, September 21, 2008

9/21/08 Playlist

1. Robin & Linda Williams: Maybelle's Guitar and Monroe's Mandolin (Buena Vista), Red House 213 www.redhouserecords.com
2. The Refugees: Save the Best for Last (Unbound), WABUHO www.therefugeesmusic.com
3. The Guy Mendilow Band: Depois Que O Ile Passar (Skyland), Earthen Groove www.guymendilow.com
4. The Hackensaw Boys: Hobo (Look Out!), Nettwerk 30705 www.nettwerk.com

5. Anne Hills: First Day of Autumn (Bittersweet Street), Redwing 5402 www.redwingmusic.com
6. Dan Berggren: Drink of Autumn (Fresh Territory), Sleeping Giant www.berggrenfolk.com
7. Eva Cassidy: Autumn Leaves (Live at Blues Alley), Eva Music 2263
8. John McCutcheon: Colors (Autumnsongs), Rounder Kids 8037
9. The Short Sisters: Autumn (A Planet Dancing Slow), Black Socks Press 12
10. Steve Gillette / Cindy Mangsen: When the First Leaves Fall (A Sense of Place), Redwing 5409 www.redwingmusic.com

Denice Franke and her house on Galveston Island are fine!
11 & 12. Seminole Girl & Brand New Sky (Gulf Coast Blue), Certain Records www.denicefranke.com

Andrew Revkin wears his Times Science Writer hat at Eastern CT State U on Tuesday:
13. Arlington (private) revkin@nytimes.com

It's Leonard Cohen's birthday. I played "Anthem" first because Elizabeth Edwards mentioned having its chorus-lyrics "posted everywhere."
14 - 16. Anthem, Democracy, Dance Me to The End of Love (More Best of Leonard Cohen), Columbia CK 68636

I read a bit of Bill Moyers / Michael Winship's article "Moguls Steal Home While Companies Strike Out" (truthout.org)
17. Peter Dyer: Moneychangers (single), self
18. George Mann: The Banks Are Made of Marble (Into the Fire), Running Scared www.georgemannmusic.com
19. Richard Thompson: Bank Vault in Heaven (You? Me? Us?), Capitol 33704
20. Eliza Gilkyson: Great Correction (Beautiful World), Red House 212 www.redhouserecords.com
21. Del McCoury Band: Moneyland (Moneyland), McCoury Music www.mccourymusic.com

22. Tom Paxton: I Am Changing My Name to Chrysler (Politics Live), Flying Fish 70486
23. David Ippolito: Where'd Dat Money Go? (private) www.thatguitarman.com
24. Dan Zanes and Friends: I Don't Want Your Millions, Mister (Catch That Train!), self
25. Priscilla Herdman: Brother Can You Spare A Dime? (Forgotten Dreams), Flying Fish 70230

The Dreaded Folk Calendar over selections from Aidan O'Rourke's "Sirius," Compass 4483 www.compassrecords.com

26. Chuck McCabe: Minimum Wager (Bad Gravity Day), Blah Blah Woof Woof 7602
www.chuck-mccabe.com
27. James McMurtry: Can't Make It Here (radio edit -- download), Compadre? www.jamesmcmurtry.com
28. Bruce Springsteen: American Land (We Shall Overcome -- The Seeger Sessions, American Land Edition), Columbia 88231
29. Randy Newman: A Piece of The Pie / radio edit (Harps & Angels), Nonesuch
30. Randy Newman: Mr President Have Pity on The Working Man (Good Old Boys), Reprise

31. Robin & Linda Williams: I'm Invisible Man (Buena Vista), Red House 213 www.redhouserecords.com
32. Steve Gillette / Cindy Mangsen: Homelessness (Being There), Compass Rose 11 www.compassrosemusic.com
33. Eliza Gilkyson et al: Peace Call (Land of Milk and Honey), Red House 174

Update on the Campaign to Nominate Pete Seeger for the Nobel Peace Prize

From the NobelPrize4Pete newsletter, 9/21/08:

Please check out our new web site http://www.nobelprize4pete.org and use the resources, pictures, sponsors and stories to help promote this campaign. You can also sign the petition by clicking on the "Sign the Petition" link. Who would have thought when I started this petition just about one year ago that it would have been so heartily supported?

By this time you probably want to hear news of the progress of this campaign. The bad news is that our petition was off line due to some sort of "technical difficulties" for almost a month, and I'm sure we lost some signers and confused many people. The good news is that it is up again and has nearly twenty thousand (20,000) signatures!

Now we need your help. Our most urgent goal is to get Pete nominated before February 2009, the Nobel committee's deadline. Do you know anyone who works at an organization that might be officially able to nominate Pete? In order to do this, we urgently need help finding a person or agency that will pledge to nominate him. The American Friends Service Committee was interested but gave us no assurance that they would present his name. Qualified nominators include some elected representatives, university professors, and previous Nobel Peace Prizewinners. Please help us find a nominator! Spreading the word is critical.

BREAKING NEWS: Representative Barbara Lee's office has agreed to consider our recommendations to nominate Pete. Please call and write Maha (mahaibrahim@mail.house.gov), 1301 Clay St., Suite 1000-N, Oakland, CA 94612; 510763-0370 or 202-225-2661.

This campaign is not about making an icon of Pete Seeger, it is significant on a much larger scale: 1) Pete is a life-long activist for peace and social justice, someone we can strive to emulate; 2) As a cultural worker, he exemplifies the under-represented strata of the arts, showing that the arts can be more than a medium of entertainment but one of enlightenment, compassion, participation and joy; 3) This is the first time a candidate has been chosen and supported by a grassroots movement, we are taking charge of our own history, heroes and heroines. Those who tell their stories on the petition convey a feeling of family warmth. They are grateful they have a chance to say thank you to Pete during his lifetime, just as many of us wish we had had with our own fathers. They repeat Pete's one-liners just like uncle Joe's old jokes, such as his saying that "not everybody can talk at the same time but everybody can sing at the same time." He never did a concert or demonstration without teaching everybody to sing, and in harmony! "My voice is shot now," he says, "but I don't have to sing anymore; I just wave my banjo neck at the audience and they do the singing."

People have asked why I feel so passionately about proposing Pete for this international accolade. I refer to another aphorism of Pete's when he speaks about what he calls the "teaspoon brigade." Working for peace, he says, is like adding sand to a basket on one side of a giant scale, trying to tip it our way despite enormous weight on the opposite side; but if we get enough people adding sand with teaspoons, even if everybody else is laughing at us, we can tip the scales. This is my teaspoonful!

Now we need everybody's help to make this nomination a reality.

Eleanor Walden
Coordinator, Committee to Nominate Pete Seeger for Nobel Peace Prize

(at the website, http://www.nobelprize4pete.org, you can add your name to the petition, order bumper stickers, and also find a flyer you can print out and post at work, at the local coffeehouse, etc.)


PETE SEEGER'S AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

1993 - The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award

1994 - National Medal of Arts from the National Endowment for the Arts

1994 - Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Honor

1996 - Harvard Arts Medal

1996 - Induction into the Rock and Roll hall of Fame

1997 - Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album for his record "Pete".

1999 - The Felix Varela Medal, Cuba's highest honor for "his humanistic and artistic work in defense of the environment and against racism."

2007 - The Schneider Family Book Award for his children's picture book "The Deaf Musicians."

2007 - to present - Nominated by email petition for the Nobel Peace Prize.



POTENTIAL NOMINATORS
Elected Officials

The Honorable John Conyers, Jr.,
Michigan, Ph: 202-225-5126

The Honorable Barbara Lee,
California, Ph: 202-225-2661
or 510-763-0370

The Honorable John Lewis,
Georgia, Ph: 202-225-3801

The Honorable Jesse Jackson, Jr.,
Illinois, Ph: 202-225-0773

The Honorable Barack Obama,
Illinois, Ph: 202-224-2854

The Honorable Charles B. Rangel,
New York, Ph: 202-225-4365

The Honorable Maxine Waters,
California, Ph: 202-225-2201

The Honorable Harry Reid,
Nevada, Ph: 202-224-3542

The Honorable John Hall,
New York, (Pete's district),
Ph: (845) 291-4100,Fax: (845) 291-4164

The Honorable Bernie Sanders,
Vermont, 1-802-862-0697,
http://www.sanders.senate.gov/comments/

Ron Dellums - Oakland Mayor
510-238-3141, FAX 510-238-4731

Kriss Worthington - Berkeley City Council,
510-981-7170

Steve Gold - Mayor of Beacon, NY (Pete's town):
http://www.goldforbeacon.com/index.html

Contact Organizations for Former Nobel Winners

American Friends Service committee,
Phone: (215) 241-7000 Fax: (215) 241-7275
http://friendsforpeace.net/peace/peace-program/

Jimmy Carter/Carter Center:
Ph (404) 420-5100 or (800) 550-3560
carterweb@emory.edu

Al Gore:
AlGore.org
2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to spread awareness of man-made climate changes and lay the foundation for counteracting it.
press@carthagegroup.com

Martin Luther King, Jr. Foundation,
http://www.thekingcenter.org/

Nelson Mandela Foundation,
http://www.nelsonmandela.org/

Jody Williams,
1997 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
http://almaz.com/nobel/peace/1997b.html


NEWS FROM THE HUDSON RIVER
http://www.clearwater.org/annual08-cw.html

Linda Ronstadt in the NYTimes

Once a Rock Star, Now a Matriarch of Mariachi
By PATRICIA LEIGH BROWN

NY Times: September 19, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO

EVEN now, lounging around her apartment at the age of 62, wearing Mephisto
slippers and a far-from-revealing hoodie, Linda Ronstadt is thinking back to
a summer in Guadalajara when she was 12, and a light-haired Mexican boy
named Mario.

"I would flirt with him," she recalls wryly, her come-hither eyes and
heart-shaped lips still echoing the days when she was decreed "Rock's Venus"
by Rolling Stone. "One night I heard music and ran to the window. I peeked
through the curtain, and there was Mario with two taxis full of mariachis
serenading me with firecrackers."

To Ms. Ronstadt, whose roots are deeply embedded in Mexican soil, it was the
ultimate seduction. "These are big-voiced songs, filled with the exuberance
of nature, the fertility of the earth, love and romance," she says of
mariachi music, the focus of much of her artistic passion since she
abdicated the throne of rock Venus-dom in the early '80s. "They're about
growing the land, and romance blooming in that context. The songs are more
complex sexually, I think, than the romantic love we grew up on."

A mistress of self-reinvention who likens her resolve to "a Mexican crossed
with a Sherman tank," Ms. Ronstadt's post-"Heart Like a Wheel" career has
included pop standards with Nelson Riddle, Gilbert & Sullivan's "Pirates of
Penzance" onstage for Joseph Papp (she was nominated for a Tony), twangy
Appalachia (with Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris), French Cajun (her recent
"Adieu False Heart" with Ann Savoy) and of course, with "Canciones de Mi
Padre," mariachi - which reconnected her to her Tucson childhood as the
granddaughter of a German-Mexican mining engineer and rancher whose mariachi
band serenaded the populace from a now-defunct bandstand in the city's
central plaza.

-----

The rest of the article is at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/21/arts/music/21brow.html?pagewanted=all

Sunday, September 14, 2008

9/14/08 Playlist

Very new:
1.Notorious: Gelem, Gelem / Aoleanul de la Petresti (Elkins), Black Socks Press 27 www.notoriousfolk.com
2. Pete Seeger: Wonderful Friends (At 89), Appleseed 1113 www.appleseedmusic.com
3. Eliza Carthy: Little Bigman (Dreams of Breathing Underwater), Topic 571 www.topicrecords.co.uk
4. Tom Pacheco: Midnight Waters of The Rio Grande (The Best of Tom Pacheco Vol. 1), self www.tompacheco.com

Lots of discussion about who’s religious, who isn’t, what difference it makes, these days:
5. Susan Werner: (Why Is Your) Heaven So Small (The Gospel Truth), self www.susanwerner.com
6. Chris Smither: Origin of The Species (Leave the Light On), Signature Sounds 2001 www.signaturesounds.com
7. Po' Girl: To the Angry Evangelist (Home to You), Nettwerk 30606 www.nettwerk.com
8. Ned Massey: They Hijacked Jesus (A Brief Appearance), self www.nedmassey.com
9. Randy Newman: God's Song [That's What I Love about Mankind] (Sail Away), Reprise
10. Todd Snider: They Ain't Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore (Why the Hell Not...), Sustain www.sustainrecords.com
11. Hayes Carll: She Left Me for Jesus (Trouble in Mind), Lost Highway 54463

Guest: Chuck McCabe www.chuck-mccabe.com
12. Meat in A Can (live)
13. All Figured Out (live)
14. The Flavor Came from Fat (live)
15. Contractor (Creatures of Habit), Blah Blah Woof Woof [www.chuck-mccabe.com]
16. Partisan Polka (Creatures of Habit)
17. I'd Rather Be in Redding (live)
18. Our House (live)

Kitty sang her song on Thursday Sept. 11 at the dedication of the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial (the ceremony can be seen at CSPAN.ORG, and the song was performed around 59:35 into the program):
19. Kitty Donohoe: There Are No Words (Northern Border), Roheen RR007 www.kittydonohoe.com

Can anyone talk about anything but politics? I can’t…….
20. Roy Zimmerman: Sarah Pale in Comparison (single download), self www.royzimmerman.com
21. David Ippolito: Don't Know Sarah (download), self www.thatguitarman.com
22. Peggy Seeger: Obama Is The One for Me (single), self www.pegseeger.com
23. Johnny Walker: President Who Looks Like Me (American Standard), self www.johnnywalkercomedy.com
24. Will Kimbrough: I Lie (Americanitis), Daphne www.willkimbrough.com

The Dreaded Folk Calendar over selections by Catriona McKay's "Starfish," Compass 4489 www.compassrecords.com

Saw them at the Iron Horse on Thursday, and bought their E.P.:
25 & 26. Anais Mitchell & Rachel Ries: Come September & Grace the Day (Country E.P.), Righteous Babe

27. Will Kimbrough (Cheney Hall 9/20): Less Polite (Americanitis), Daphne www.willkimbrough.com

I hear that Galveston wasn’t hit as hard as was predicted, but hard nonetheless:
28. Tom Rush: Galveston Flood (Classic Rush), Elektra LP
29. Fourtold: Run, Come, See Jerusalem (Fourtold), Appleseed 1071 www.appleseedmusic.com
30. Dr. John and The Lower 911 & Willie Nelson: Promises, Promises (City That Care Forgot), 429 Records 17703 www.429records.com
31. Gina Forsyth: Talking Hurricane Refugee Blues (Born into The Whisper), Waterbug Anthology Eight www.waterbug.com

32. Will Kimbrough: Act Like Nothing's Wrong (Americanitis), Daphne www.willkimbrough.com

33. Bob Dylan: The Times They Are A'Changin' (The Times They Are A'Changin'), Columbia CK 8905
34. Sally Rogers: Gone to The Dogs (We'll Pass Them On), Red House 71 www.redhouserecords.com
35. Eliza Gilkyson et al: Peace Call (Land of Milk and Honey), Red House 174 www.redhouserecords.com

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Kitty Donohoe's "There Are No Words"

Kitty wrote this beautiful song in response to 9/11, and made it available to DJs as soon as she could. The song was also made available for sale to the public, with revenues donated to organizations that helped with recovery. Kitty will sing her song on September 11 at the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial. Here's what she sent out about this commemoration:

"We (David Mosher, Pooh Stevenson and me) will be performing it at the dedication ceremony of the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial this Thursday, September 11th, in Arlington, Virginia. I was initially disappointed when we were asked to change from the donor recognition dinner being held on the 10th to the ceremony itself on the 11th, because the dinner¹s being hosted by Tom Brokaw, lots of officials and celebrities will be there, and I thought it would be cool to be a part of that. And as it happens, we’ll be guests anyway.

"Then it began to sink in that this request from the Pentagon is a very big deal. The United States Air Force Band and Choir will be playing [the song] with us and the entire dedication is going to be aired live on all networks, beginning at 8:00AM (EST). The program goes until 10:30 and we¹re roughly in the middle, immediately following a moment of silence. As we’re performing ‘There Are No Words’ there will be a screen next to the stage running a clip from the film that got all of this started in the first place, ‘A Nation Remembers: The Pentagon 9/11 Story,’ and it’s very moving. A special thanks to David Barrett for making that happen.

"None of us has any idea what will follow this, but I’m honored to be a part of such a national event. A little scared, too. And it’s always possible that at the last minute there will be a breaking news story or something and our part won’t be seen by most Americans. But we’ll still be there for the families of the victims, and that’s what matters most.

"So if you can get up and turn on the TV at 8:00 on Thursday and wing a little ‘good luck’ our way, we’ll feel it."

9/7/08 Playlist: the SECOND shortest S.N.F.F. EVER

1. David Bromberg Band: Sally Gooden Medley (Live – New York City 1982), Appleseed www.appleseedmusic.com
2. Capitol Steps: Help Me Fake It To The Right (Campaign and Suffering), self www.capsteps.com
3. Roy Zimmerman: Sarah Pale in Comparison (single download), self www.royzimmerman.com
4. Peggy Seeger: Obama Is The One for Me (single), self www.pegseeger.com
5. Cindy Lee Berryhill: When Did Jesus Become A Republican (Beloved Stranger), Populuxe www.cindyleeberryhill.com
6. Idgy Vaughn: Small Town Girls (Origin Story), self www.idgyvaughn.com
7. Crabtree & Mills: What Else Can I Do? (Flight of Fancy), self http://www.joannecrabtree.com/crabtree&mills/
8. Eliza Gilkyson et al: Peace Call (Land of Milk and Honey), Red House 174