| Overall, X Fest gives BR crowd its money’s worth
The Killers were to die for Saturday in a raucus X Fest finale that left the Baton Rouge River Center rumbling. The day-long X Fest featured some of the biggest names in modern rock, including A.F.I., Jet, Papa Roach and the top-billed Killers. Hotcakes haven’t sold as well as this lineup in recent years, so it was a real coup for 104.5-FM ("The X") to corral them under one roof. The Killers entered the arena to the sound of sweeping orchestral music and spews of confetti — conquering heroes before playing even a single note — then spent the next hour proving what all the fuss was about. Front man Brandon Flowers worked the stage like a haughty general, stomping in his ruby red slippers back and forth between his keyboard and center stage mic.
A whole new world
MySpaced out? James Wagner Au has written a very puffy piece on Gaia Online for GigaOm. There are two million people visiting Gaia Online every month, he writes, and most of those are teens. Gaia is a venture funded and little known social world where users can maraud through a series of virtual towns to socialise, buy property and find treasure. Different spaces within the world offer group chat, a show-and-tell forum for artwork and images and some rampantly popular message boards with around a million posts per day. Interestingly, the money with Gaia is earned rather than bought, so there's an incentive for joining in with discussions or uploading artwork. Just like Habbo, users spend their "gold" on clothes and accessories for their avatars, mostly through auctions. And why Gaia, over the rest of the virtual world and social net pack? Chief executive Craig Sherman: "In a world where teens are constantly branding and packaging themselves, Gaia is where you get away from it all." (GigaOm) The rise of ad-supported music Ad-supported P2P music platforms are building momentum, according to this NYTimes piece, which says that Qtrax is just about the sign a deal with Song BMG to add its Warner and EMI inventory.
Supermax - the World Famous Music Group - Under CCR Comptoir SAL ...
CCR Comptoir SAL has become exclusive Management Company for the world famous music group Supermax. Kurt Hauenstein, legendary founder, composer, producer and band leader of Supermax music group, entered into partnership with CCR Comptoir SAL, this with the aim to transfuse the great music of Supermax the cult world music group from Switzerland out to the World. Universal Music, as the leading distributor, will launch different re-mixed songs soon. .
Our Critics Picks
Surely one of the strangest Nashville musical outfits ever, Los Straitjackets have been wowing audiences with their musical virtuosity and carnival barker weirdness for more than a decade. The Mexican wrestling masks are a dead giveaway that something different is going on, but this time around, in support of their latest release Rock En Espanol Vol. 1, they're traveling with the leader of Big Sandy and the Fly-Rite Boys, who'll handle all the vocals as the Straits power through a veritable compendium of hits from Mexican radio in the '60s. Selections range from “Hey, Lupe" (Los Rockin' Devils' version of the hit “Hang on Sloopy") to a Mexican version of “Wild Thing" retitled “Loco te Patina el Coco" (rough translation: “Crazy Person Slides the Coco to You"). In between will be covers of such classics as Arthur Alexander's “Anna" and a mean version of “Bony Maronie." Let the rock 'n' roll extravaganza begin.
Music Review: Bryan Ferry - Dylanesque
I really want to like - or even better, I would like to love - covers of Dylan songs the same way I love the originals. Sometimes that happens, though not often, but read on, because that’s not what this review is entirely about. At the very least, I want to hear something that is on a par with the original. I want something that is a new and interesting take that makes for good listening that I would feel confident recommending to readers in my music column or to friends in general; I want to feel that this is something worthwhile and new - I don’t mean any of the previous and well-known covers here. I don’t mean George Harrison. I mean something newer, and while I’ve heard a few, they are few and far between. In short, I want covers of the sort of stuff that I would burn on a CD for a friend.
Beyond Ringtones? Flycell Takes a Shot
Flycell today announced a deal with Universal Music Group to provide MP3-quality ringtones from Akon and other artists. But Flycell, a major ringtone vendor, is looking to expand its reach beyond an arena crowded with competitors ranging from Yahoo and MTV.com to smaller outfits including FreeRingers.net, Jamster, Zingy, Modtones, Dada Mobile and Thumbplay. The new initiative, tagged Flycell 2.0, targets the 14 to 25 demographic. "We don't want to be perceived as a ringtone company," CEO Alberto Montesi told Epicenter. "We want to become also a mobile entertainment company, and that obviously means we need to deal with social networking and especially user generated content. We also want to become more web oriented so we're creating more things you can view or use on the Internet." To that end, Flycell has introduced a “Club Pack" for online and mobile phone users that bundles music, games, video for a $9.99 monthly fee.
Mims preps new single "Like this"
MIMS is set to release the follow-up to his Top Three Billboard Hot 100 single, "This Is Why I'm Hot." The rapper will release his new single, "Like This!," in the coming weeks. MIMS, who released his debut album, Music Is My Savior, earlier this month, has gotten some extra attention lately because of New York Yankees superstar Alex Rodriguez. The baseball star plays MIMS'"This Is Why I'm Hot," whenever he steps to the plate at Yankee Stadium. The star is off to a scorching start, having hit 12 homeruns in the first 16 games. Rodriguez told the New York Times, "I'm the most illiterate music person. Someone told me it was the hottest song." Mims added, "I can see why someone would use it. What is hot? It's all about being confident. For him to hit homers, he's got to be confident." Both A-Rod and MIMS are from New York's Washington Heights neighborhood in upper Manhattan.
Photo: Sun News Publishing
Undeniably, the profile of the Jos Annual Polo Tournament has witnessed a tremendous growth, especially in the last 10 years. Specifically, the direct intervention in 1994 of the Late Gen. Hassan Usman Katsina, then Life Chairman of the Nigerian Polo Association (NPA), attracted for Jos Polo Club some unprecedented levels of sponsorship support from novel sources across the country.
I recall that as Tournament Manager in 1994, the Gen. Hassan touch secured sponsorship for Jos Polo Club from NEPA. Suffice it to say that the quantum of sponsorship did contribute in no small measure to raise the profile of the tournament, whilst strengthening its enviable position as one of the then three Grade 'A' polo tournaments within the NPA calendar in Nigeria.
In the intervening years, tournament organisers within Jos Polo Club took conscious steps to situate (and market) the annual polo tournament to sponsors, riding on the now famous mantra, that the event is (arguably) the single, biggest tourist attraction to Jos, the Plateau State capital, annually.
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