Forums: Music Of Laos

An enclosed order of Benedictine nuns is set to storm the charts after signing a deal with Universal Music, the world's leading record company.

The joint performance here of Aretha Franklin and Condoleezza Rice could be described as being driven by the political concept of "equal time." Ms. Franklin's most visible recent appearance was singing "My Country 'Tis of Thee" at the Obama inaugural, so it's only fair that she should sing it again in the company of a prominent Republican. ~snip~ This once-in-a-lifetime collaboration occurred Tuesday night at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Fairmount Park, where Ms. Franklin and Ms. Rice each performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra and, briefly, together. ...~snip~... both artists donated their services. ~snip~ Ms. Rice (whose...

Wyclef Jean will formally announce his bid for the presidency of earthquake-shattered Haiti within two weeks, sources tell us. The former Fugees star, 37, who's an ambassador under the current Haitian government, is ready to put his music career on hold to run for his homeland's top job. But the move will put him in conflict with former Fugees bandmate Pras (Prakazrel Samuel Michel), a Brooklyn native who campaigned for more relief after the deadly January earthquake, who's backing another candidate. Wyclef's reps confirmed he's submitted paperwork to run in the Nov. 28 election...

Fire rages in the streetsAnd swallows everything it meetsIt's just an image often seenOn televisionCome leaders, come you men of greatLet us hear you pontificateYour many virtues laid to wasteAnd we aren't listeningTo Phil.....RIP.

This guy wasn't paying attention when they said to "silence your cell phones..."

Our documentary film, "Rockin' the Wall," how rock ripped the Iron Curtain, will premiere in Washington, D.C. at the "March on DC" sponsored by the Tea Party and other affiliated movements, Thursday September 9, 7:00 (and there will be a matinee on Friday, September 10, 1:00) at the Omni-Shoreham Hotel. I will briefly introduce both showings, and will have a short speaking spot at the Mall on September 11. The film features interviews with 60s-70s rock and rollers from both sides of the Iron Curtain, particularly those who played near or behind the Iron Curtain, including members of the Doors,...

Uprising Paranoia is in bloom, The PR transmissions will resume They'll try to, push drugs that keep us all dumbed down And hope that, we will never see the truth around (so come on) Another promise, another seed Another, packaged lie to keep us trapped in greed And all the, Green belts wrapped around our minds And endless, red tape to keep the truth confined (so come on) They will not force us They will stop degrading us They will not control us We will be victorious so come on Interchanging mind control Come let the, revolution takes its toll...

An oldie, but I've been thinking about this for a while. From the composer of the "Simpsons" theme before he was know outside of SoCal: Capitalism There's nothing wrong with Capitalism There's nothing wrong with free enterprise Don't try to make me feel guilty I'm so tired of hearing you cry There's nothing wrong with making some profit If you ask me I'll say it's just fine There's nothing wrong with wanting to live nice I'm so tired of hearing you whine About the revolution Bringin' down the rich When was the last time you dug a ditch, baby! If...

Every so often, I like to switch the radio in my minivan to a pop or rock station and sing along with whatever is playing, just to impress my teenagers. This isn't difficult, considering how many songs from the 70's and 80's still populate radio playlists. (Please, someone, recognize that Boston's "More Than a Feeling" was a bad song back in 1976 when it first came out.) Of course, today’s pop songs have only one or two lyrical phrases that you can pick up within seconds, so in the span of a stoplight, you belt the chorus as though you...

I-Dosing: How teenagers are getting 'digitally high' from music they download from internet By Daniel Bates Last updated at 5:57 PM on 20th July 2010 They put on their headphones, drape a hood over their head and drift off into the world of ‘digital highs’. Videos posted on YouTube show a young girl freaking out and leaping up in fear, a teenager shaking violently and a young boy in extreme distress. This is the world of ‘i-Dosing’, the new craze sweeping the internet in which teenagers used so-called ‘digital drugs’ to change their brains in the same way as real-life...

A “comedy rock” group which bills itself as the Axis of Awesome has independently discovered the Musical Badness measure. Recall, the Musical Badness measure says repetitiveness makes for poor music. This may be repetitiveness within a song, or even across a genre. The Axis of Awesome have researched assiduously and found that the most popular pop music has only ever employed four chords, and no others. Just four, and the same four in each song; perhaps, but not likely, occurring in a different order. Axis of Awesome (Contains bad language.) More seriously, we have philosopher Roger Scruton, who said, "Countless...

Gene Ludwig of Monroeville, PA, billed as "relentless" in the energy he brought to his music, died Wednesday at West Penn Hospital Forbes Regional Campus. He was 72. The native of Twin Rocks, Cambria County, was a well-known jazz performer in this area, but was known nationally as a frequent guest at clubs in New York City and San Francisco and at international events, such as the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Marty Ashby, executive producer of MCG Jazz at the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild in the North Side, called Mr. Ludwig "one of a kind" in his dedication to the...

On a recent Monday night at a Los Angeles karaoke bar, a meek-looking woman in a business suit and glasses was coaxed on stage by her co-workers. While the boozy crowd readied itself for four minutes of awkward singing, the woman — "Karen" — suddenly belted out exquisite, pitch-perfect renditions of the Jewel songs "Who Will Save Your Soul" and "Foolish Games." Astonished crowd members picked their jaws off the floor and cheered wildly. One person was heard comparing Karen to "an American Susan Boyle." Unbeknownst to them, they had been victims of "undercover karaoke." Karen really was Jewel,

from the going-behind-the-veil dept We recently had a fun post about Hollywood accounting, about how the movie industry makes sure even big hit movies "lose money" on paper. So how about the recording industry? Well, they're pretty famous for doing something quite similar. Reader Jay pointed out in the comments an article from The Root that goes through who gets paid what for music sales, and the basic answer is not the musician. That report suggests that for every $1,000 sold, the average musician gets $23.40. Here's the chart that the article shows, though you should read the whole article...

We need a music thread. Raul Malo -- Lucky One The National -- High Violet Mark Mulcahy -- Love's the Only Thing That Shuts Me Up Danny & the Champions of the World -- Streets of our Time Danny Barnes -- Pizza Box

The pop band Men at Work has been ordered to pay a music publishing company 5 percent of the royalties it earned in Australia for its song "Down Under." A judge said Tuesday the group must pay Larrikin Publishing because it borrowed without permission a flute riff from the popular Australian nursery rhyme "Kookaburra," penned by the late Marion Sinclair in 1932, CNN said. Sinclair died in 1988. Larrikin holds the copyright to the "Kookaburra" but did not became aware of the similarities between it and 1981's "Down Under" until they were compared on a game show in 2007, the...

On Saturday, April 24th, the Opera Company of Philadelphia teamed up with the Reading Terminal Market Italian Festival for a large-scale "Flash Opera" event! Over 30 members of the Opera Company of Philadelphia Chorus and principal cast members of LA TRAVIATA performed the famed "Brindisi" in the aisles of Reading Terminal Market, entertaining hundreds of Philadelphians, and proving that the perfect accompaniment for all things Italian is a little Verdi! The Opera Company sincerely thanks members of the Opera Company of Philadelphia Chorus and cast for generously volunteering their time and talents...

Don't have the lyrics. Please post them if you find them. Downloadable (for $.99): http://ax.itunes.apple.com/us/artist/krista-branch/id376371085

The classic hit from actor/singer Will Smith, which speaks well right now about the heat wave that has hit the east coast, called "Summertime". One of the few hip-hop songs I like. Enjoy. :)=^..^=

Prince, the 52-year-old music icon has pronounced the internet dead, refusing to use any digital platforms to distribute his music. Instead the artist has opted to release his latest album 20Ten in CD format only as a cover-mount free giveaway with The Daily Mirror this weekend.

Krista Branch debuts the video to her recent single release, "I Am America." Share this patriotic song with your family and friends. "I Am America" is a hopeful song.

Live and in person...Wow, what a voice!

The success of iPhone 4 has been astonishing to witness, despite the antenna issues, proving once again that Apple has a unparalleled ability to differentiate around design and integration, not simply “features.” Perhaps the best example of this so far is FaceTime, Apple’s take on video-calling. FaceTime makes video-calling on the Android-based Sprint HTC EVO look silly, because the EVO awkwardly requires users to sign up and download a third-party app, then launch it every time they want to talk. Normal people simply won’t do this...

What is the greatest Independence Day song of all time? ... I suspect The Star Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key would be the #1 choice; however there are others not nearly as well known. One of those songs is actually entitled Independence Day from the 1990 album Powerhouse by the Christian rock group Whiteheart. (whose concert tours included stops at UTA, Six Flags, and other DFW locations) If you never heard this band, or this song, you are in for a treat. ... two videos: The first one is the actual audio recording which includes an intro not found...

Interview with Demi Bardsley on BaldwinMcCullough Radio tonight.