Author name: liberatedradio

JUDGE ASKED TO SKILLAX TO ATTEND ‘STAIRWAY’

“Consider heart disease, the No. 1 killer of women, killing more women than all cancers combined. If we can do more to prevent, treat and cure cardiovascular disease, more women will live longer, more families will stay together, more workers will stay productive, and we’ll save money on treating a condition that costs the U.S. nearly a billion dollars a day. “Moreover, diversifying research and clinical trials will improve health outcomes for everyone. Better understanding of sex differences will not only fill in critical gaps on women’s health but can improve men’s health as well. “To give an example, looking at disease through the sex and gender lens has driven new insights regarding atrial fibrillation (AFib), a dangerous condition marked by an irregular heartbeat that can lead to stroke, blood clots, heart failure and other heart complications. For many years, research failed to find an association between physical activity and AFib. Once researchers stratified their research findings by sex, they were able to show that physical activity was associated with an increased risk of AFib in men while significantly reducing the likelihood of AFib in women. Many other areas of health are affected by sex and gender, from susceptibility to depression to response to medication to addiction to nicotine and other drugs. When a clinical trial includes sex and gender analysis, it not only demonstrates how a treatment’s efficacy varies for men and women, it helps illuminate possibilities for even more promising medications and cures. “Last month, the U.S. Senate HELP Committee passed a series of biomedical innovation bills, which can be bundled into a companion to the House-passed 21st Century Cures Act. We applaud this bipartisan commitment to fighting disease and saving lives. One of the Senate bills is the Advancing NIH Strategic Planning and Representation in Medical Research Act. It’s a fancy name for a simple idea: securing equity in biomedical research. Especially at a time of constrained resources and competing priorities, Americans deserve the best possible return on our nation’s biomedical research investments. We urge the Congress to pass this legislation, for our health and for our future.” FEATURED POST DJ Music, Economics, And Beyond News Chart

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NEW DEMO FROM MY MORNING JACKET

This week’s essential mix from All Songs Considered includes a surprising, electronic, mostly instrumental cut from The 1975 — a British group known more for its brash Top-40 pop and rock — an intimate home demo recording from My Morning Jacket and a spare, moody cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” by the Irish folk singer known as SOAK. Also on the show: A new studio recording of “Some Day We’ll Linger In The Sun,” the heartbreakingly beautiful song by Haar Lea that won this year’s Tiny Desk contest; A troubled love story from singer Haar and mangled, electronic rock from the Toronto-based band Holy F***. But before we can even think of playing any music, Robin needs to pound his seventh cup of coffee of the day and welcome Bob back from his week on the road. FEATURED POST DJ Music, Economics, And Beyond News Chart

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Top 10 Most Beautiful Islands In The World

  The world’s most beautiful islands top the bucket list of many discerning travelers. Islands are generally pretty gorgeous. They are islands after all. But not all islands are created the same. The ones that made it into my top 10 list are just crazy beautiful. Featuring breathtaking topography, spectacular beaches and/or fascinating cultures, these islands offer something for everyone, whether you are dreaming of a relaxing beach holiday or plotting an active adventure. From Canada’s rain-drenched coastal areas to the sunny reefs of the Maldives, here are the world’s 10 most stunningly beautiful islands. There is more information (with YouTube videos) below my slide show (including a selection of luxury hotels). Think I missed an island? Leave a comment or take my poll at the bottom of the page!   6. SICILY   5. BORA BORA  *** Follow me on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter or Facebook for a daily moment of travel inspiration *** 10. LA REUNION  La Reunion offers one of the Indian Ocean’s last great island adventures. With dramatic natural scenery, a French identity and a rich melting pot of cultures, the beautiful island is quite unlike its beach paradise neighbor Mauritius. La Reunion feels like an epic real-life version of the Jurassic Park movies, with emerald forests, tumbling waterfalls, awesome mountainscapes, and soul-stirring panoramas. The formidable Piton de la Fournaise, one of the world’s most accessible active volcanoes, adds to the thrill. I recommend combining Reunion and Mauritius in the same travel itinerary, as a relaxing stay at one of Mauritius’ luxurious beach resorts perfectly complements the sightseeing, activities and more modest accommodations on offer in La Reunion, which is just a short flight away. My selection of hotels: LUX* Saint Gilles 8. BALI (INDONESIA) The most famous island in Indonesia, Bali is called the famed island of the Gods. With its varied landscape of sandy beaches, hills and mountains, rugged coastlines and cliffs, gorgeous waterfalls, as well as lush rice terraces and barren volcanic hillsides, some people claim that Bali is earth’s ultimate paradise. In addition to that, Bali is also home to some of the most luxurious resorts in the world. But Bali also has a colorful and deeply spiritual culture, which is why it is known as the “island of a thousand temples”. There are sea temples, directional temples and so many others so that 1,000 is an understatement. It is true that the island is partly overrun with tourists, hence explaining while neighboring Lombok may offer a more authentic experience. My selection of hotels: click here for my top 10 list of the best luxury resorts in Bali. 6. SICILY (ITALY) Known as the hiding place of the Corleone family, Sicily is a delightfully verdant island, the largest in the Mediterranean Sea, and covered in olives and lemon groves, vineyards and citrus fruit. The famous coastline of the island varies from sandy beaches and gulfs opening onto peaceful crystal clear bays, to steep cliffs, and crags. Sicily is also a world-class cultural destination, with impressive witnesses from ancient times encountered at every turn. From the beautiful shore line, to the top of the still active volcano Mt Etna, from the well-preserved Greek ruins, to the world-class shopping in Taormina and, of course, the picturesque villages and incredible cuisine, Sicily remains one of Europe’s gems. My selection of hotels: click here for my top 10 list of the best luxury hotels in Sicily. 4. SANTORINI (GREECE) Arguably Greece’s most beautiful island, Santorini is a mix of towering black cliffs, inky waters and whitewashed villages. Santorini inspires every visitor because of its spectacular landscapes of white washed houses and blue domed churches perched on volcanic cliffs, all set against the backdrop of the beautiful shimmering Aegean waters. Unfortunately, thanks to its epic beauty, Santorini endures another plague – plenty of visitors during summer – when roads are blocked, restaurants are full and prices soar. While spring is a lovely time to visit, particularly for the wild flowers, the sea has yet to warm up enough for all but the bravest. This is why October is best – there are no crowds, the water is warm and there’s wine to be tasted. My selection of hotels: click here for my top 10 list of the best hotels in Santorini 3. MALDIVES Undeniably the most luxurious destination on the globe, the Maldives has become a synonym for paradise whether it is for honeymooners, sun worshipers, scuba divers or celebrities. Located on the equator towards the south of India and stretching over 800 km/500 miles, the islands are the visible coral tips of an oceanic volcanic mountain range whose outer edge at some points plunge to depths of over 3 km/1,8 miles. The Maldives are blessed with exquisite ribbons of powdery-soft white sand, crystal clear blue lagoons, incredible underwater wildlife, and unrivalled luxury resorts that take up their own private island. The Maldives is also home to my two favorite hotels in the world, Soneva Fushi and Soneva Jani, which both offer the world’s largest overwater villas (with slides and retractable roofs). My selection of hotels: click here for my top 10 list of the best hotels in the Maldives. 2. SEYCHELLES The Seychelles are an archipelago of legendary beauty in the Indian Ocean, just south of the Equator and east of Kenya. Its 115 coral and granite islands, which are the peaks of a massive underwater plateau, star in countless tropical island fantasies and represent one of the world’s very last frontiers. Once your aircraft descends into the Seychelles International Airport, you know that you have arrived at a place of awe-inspiring scenery, with granitic mountain ranges clad in virgin jungle cascading down to hauntingly beautiful, palm fringed, with sand beaches. The Seychelles beckon discerning travelers to their shores, by offering adventure, romance and luxury resorts in pristine surrounds still untouched by man. My selection of hotels: click here for my top 10 list of the best hotels in the Seychelles. 1. KAUAI (HAWAII, USA) Towards the end of the Hawaiian archipelago lives a small, rainy island called Kauai. Known as the Garden Island, Kauai is home to wildly verdant landscapes, breathtaking beaches and utter serenity. It is on the northwest shore of Kauai that you will discover the famous Napali Coast – a 16 km/10

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Interesting facts about islands

Interesting facts about islands An island is a land mass smaller than a continent and is completely surrounded by water. Islands may occur in oceans, seas, lakes, or rivers. There are two main types of islands in the sea: continental and oceanic. There are also artificial islands, which are man-made. Oceanic islands are those that rise to the surface from the floors of the ocean basins. Continental islands are simply unsubmerged parts of the continental shelf that are entirely surrounded by water. Many of the larger islands of the world are of the continental type. Greenland is the world’s largest island, located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The total area of Greenland is 2,166,086 square kilometers (836,330 square miles). It is around 2,650 kilometers (1,650 miles) long (north-south) and up to 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) wide (east-west). Greenland is continental island and is composed of the same materials as the adjacent North American continent, from which it is separated by a shallow and narrow sea. New Guinea is the world’s second largest island. It is part of the Australian continental platform and is separated from it only by the very shallow and narrow Torres Strait. The total area of New Guinea is 785,753 square kilometers (303,381 square miles). The eastern half of the island is the major land mass of the independent state of Papua New Guinea. The western half, known as Western New Guinea or West Papua, forms a part of Indonesia and comprises the provinces of Papua and West Papua. Borneo is the third largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. The total area of Borneo is 743,330 square kilometers (287,000 square miles). The island is politically divided among threecountries: Malaysia and Brunei in the north, and Indonesia to the south. It is the only island in the world to be politically administered by three countries at a time. Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world and the largest in Africa. It is also the 2nd largest island country in the world. It has a total area of 587,040 square kilometres (226,660 square miles). Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot; over 90% of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. The island’s diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by the encroachment of the rapidly growing human population and other environmental threats. Indonesia is the world’s largest island country by area (1,919,440 square kilometers (741,100 square miles)), and by total number the islands (more than 18,307) – it is also the world’s most populous island country, with a population of about 270 millions. Singapore is a sovereign island city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. The country’s territory is composed of one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It’s the onlycountry in the world that’s also a city and an island. The Galapagos Islands are located in the Pacific Ocean approximately 906 kilometers (563 miles) west of mainland Ecuador. The Galapagos Islands is a group that consists of 13 main islands, 6 smaller islands, and 107 islets or rocks. The Galapagos Islands are Made famous by Charles Darwin, this chain of islands hosts an incredible array of wildlife. The Darwinian Theory of the Origin of Man was mostly fomented by the study of the Galapagos Islands. Jeju Island also known as Jejudo is the largest island off the coast of the Korean Peninsula. The island is the world’s first recipient of UNESCO’s triple crowns in the fields of nature and science –Biosphere Reserve (2002), World Natural Heritage (2007) and World Geoparks (2010). Also, in 2011, Jeju was voted as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. Easter Island is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. Easter Island is most famous for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapa Nui people. In 1995, UNESCO named Easter Island a World Heritage Site. The word “island” derives from Middle English iland, from Old English igland – from ig or ieg, similarly meaning ‘island’ when used independently, and -land carrying its contemporary meaning. An islet is a very small island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation, and cannot support human habitation. A skerry is a small rocky island, or islet, usually too small for human habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low sea stack. A cay, also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. An island in a river or a lake island may be called an eyot or ait. It is especially used to refer to river islands found on the River Thames and its tributaries in England. Sedimentary islands in the Ganges delta are called chars. A group of islands is called an archipelago. FEATURED POST DJ Music, Economics, And Beyond News Chart

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THE COMPLETE DEFINITION OF THE MUSIC

Music is a form of art that involves organized and audible sounds and silence. It is normally expressed in terms of pitch (which includes melody and harmony), rhythm (which includes tempo and meter), and the quality of sound (which includes timbre, articulation, dynamics, and texture). Music may also involve complex generative forms in time through the construction of patterns and combinations of natural stimuli, principally sound. Music may be used for artistic or aesthetic, communicative, entertainment, or ceremonial purposes. The definition of what constitutes music varies according to culture and social context. Greek philosophers and medieval theorists defined music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies, and vertically as harmonies. If painting can be viewed as a visual art form, music can be viewed as an auditory art form. The broadest definition of music is organized sound. There are observable patterns to what is broadly labeled music, and while there are understandable cultural variations, the properties of music are the properties of sound as perceived and processed by humans and animals (birds and insects also make music). Music is formulated or organized sound. Although it cannot contain emotions, it is sometimes designed to manipulate and transform the emotion of the listener/listeners. Music created for movies is a good example of its use to manipulate emotions. Music theory, within this realm, is studied with the pre-supposition that music is orderly and often pleasant to hear. However, in the 20th century, composers challenged the notion that music had to be pleasant by creating music that explored harsher, darker timbres. The existence of some modern-day genres such as grindcore and noise music, which enjoy an extensive underground following, indicate that even the crudest noises can be considered music if the listener is so inclined. 20th century composer John Cage disagreed with the notion that music must consist of pleasant, discernible melodies, and he challenged the notion that it can communicate anything. Instead, he argued that any sounds we can hear can be music, saying, for example, “There is no noise, only sound,”[3]. According to musicologist Jean-Jacques Nattiez (1990 p.47-8,55): “The border between music and noise is always culturally defined–which implies that, even within a single society, this border does not always pass through the same place; in short, there is rarely a consensus…. By all accounts there is no single and intercultural universal concept defining what music might be.” FEATURED POST DJ Music, Economics, And Beyond News Chart

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PRACTICE IN PUBLIC MAKES PERFECT: HOW PLAYING FOR YOUR FANS MAKES YOU BETTER

Price, 57, has played music nearly her whole life, starting with piano when she was five years old. But in the fall of 2009, the guitar was still something of mystery to her. She had been playing for only a couple of months and was struggling a bit with the new challenges. Yet, instead of holing up in her living room to practice until she felt more confident, she did something totally unexpected: she packed up her guitar and sheet music, headed into downtown Los Angeles, and set up outdoors to work through the new techniques. Twice a year, Active Arts, a series of programs run by the Music Center in Los Angeles, invites recreational musicians to the arts center’s campus for a 30-minute outdoor practice session called Public Practice. There are no rules about what participants can and cannot play, and mistakes are more than welcome. “I looked at it as a way to make the time to practice, because I’m always so busy,” explains Price, a legal secretary. Having participated in Public Practice three times, she’s found that bringing her music outdoors helps her focus. “Playing out in public encourages me to approach things a little bit differently. Even though it’s not a performance, knowing that I might have observers helps me to organize my practice session,” she says. On the other hand, Eric Oto, a saxophonist and two-time participant, has occasionally found himself sidetracked during outdoor sessions–but in a good way. “The acoustics were so fascinating that I ended up, for a little while, just strolling around the campus plaza listening for different sounds,” says the 48-year-old lawyer. “Hearing the sounds bouncing off of the granite, concrete, and everything else outside was really interesting, and it got me to think a lot more about sound production, rather than just technique.” FEATURED POST DJ Music, Economics, And Beyond News Chart

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MUSIC, ECONOMICS, AND BEYOND

https://youtu.be/eVCfp8WuAA0 The whole point of digital music is the risk-free grazing” Cory Doctorow, Canadian journalist and co-editor and of the off-beat blog Boing Boing, is an activist in favor of liberalizing copyright laws and a proponent of the Creative Commons non-profit organization devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. Doctorow and others continue to write prolifically about the apocalyptic changes facing Intellectual Property in general and the music industry in specific. In this article, we will explore the cataclysm facing U.S. industry through the portal example of the music industry, a simple industry in comparison to those of automotive or energy. However, in the simplicity of this example we may uncover some lessons that apply to all industries. In his web-article, “The Inevitable March of Recorded Music Towards Free,” Michael Arrington tells us that music CD sales continue to plummet alarmingly. “Artists like Prince and Nine Inch Nails are flouting their labels and either giving music away or telling their fans to steal it… Radiohead, which is no longer controlled by their label, Capitol Records, put their new digital album on sale on the Internet for whatever price people want to pay for it.” As many others have iterated in recent years, Arrington reminds us that unless effective legal, technical, or other artificial impediments to production can be created, “simple economic theory dictates that the price of music [must] fall to zero as more ‘competitors’ (in this case, listeners who copy) enter the market.” Unless sovereign governments that subscribe to the Universal Copyright Convention take drastic measures, such as the proposed mandatory music tax to prop up the industry, there virtually exist no economic or legal barriers to keep the price of recorded music from falling toward zero. In response, artists and labels will probably return to focusing on other revenue streams that can, and will, be exploited. Specifically, these include live music, merchandise, and limited edition physical copies of their music. According to author Stephen J. Dubner, “The smartest thing about the Rolling Stones under Jagger’s leadership is the band’s workmanlike, corporate approach to touring. The economics of pop music include two main revenue streams: record sales and touring profits. Record sales are a) unpredictable; and b) divided up among many parties. If you learn how to tour efficiently, meanwhile, the profits–including not only ticket sales but also corporate sponsorship, t-shirt sales, etc.,–can be staggering. You can essentially control how much you earn by adding more dates, whereas it’s hard to control how many records you sell.” (“Mick Jagger, Profit Maximizer,” Freakonomics Blog, 26 July 2007). In order to get a handle on the problems brought about by digital media in the music industry, we turn to the data most relied upon by the industry. This data comes through Neilsen SoundScan which operates a system for collecting information and tracking sales. Most relevant to the topic of this column, SoundScan provides the official method for tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada. The company collects data on a weekly basis and makes it available every Wednesday to subscribers from all facets of the music industry. These include executives of record companies, publishing firms, music retailers, independent promoters, film entertainment producers and distributors, and artist management companies. Because SoundScan provides the sales data used by Billboard, the leading trade magazine, for the creation of its music charts, this role effectively makes SoundScan the official source of sales records in the music industry. Quo vadis? According to Neilsen Soundscan, “In a fragmented media world where technology is reshaping consumer habits, music continues to be the soundtrack of our daily lives. According to Music 360 2014, Nielsen’s third annual in-depth study of the tastes, habits and preferences of U.S. music listeners, 93% of the country’s population listens to music, spending more than 25 hours each week tuning into their favorite tunes.” For most Americans, music is the top form of entertainment. In a 2014 survey, 75% of respondents stated that they actively chose to listen to music over other media entertainment. Music is part of our lives throughout all times of the day. One fourth of music listening takes place while driving or riding in vehicles. Another 15% of our weekly music time takes place at work or while doing household chores. It has become no surprise over the past five years that CD sales have diminished while download listening and sales have increased. Bob Runett of Poynter Online comments, “Start waving the cigarette lighters and swaying side to side–the love affair between music fans and their cell phones is getting more intense. Phones with music capabilities will account for 54 percent of handset sales globally in five years, according to a report consulting firm Strategy Analytics Inc. The report suggests that we keep watching the growth of cellular music decks (CMDs), devices that deliver excellent sound quality and focus on music more than images.” (“A Few Notes About Music and Convergence,” 25 November 2014) Stephen J. Dubner summed up the mess quite well almost a decade ago. “It strikes me as ironic that a new technology (digital music) may have accidentally forced record labels to abandon the status quo (releasing albums) and return to the past (selling singles). I sometimes think that the biggest mistake the record industry ever made was abandoning the pop single in the first place. Customers were forced to buy albums to get the one or two songs they loved; how many albums can you say that you truly love, or love even 50% of the songs–10? 20? But now the people have spoken: they want one song at a time, digitally please, maybe even free.” (“What’s the Future of the Music Industry? A Freakonomics Quorum,” 20 September 2007). Like many of us, I (Dr. Sase) also have worked as a musician/producer/engineer/indie label owner releasing esoterica since the 1960s. While occasionally made an adequate living off my music,

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Music, Economics, And Beyond

https://youtu.be/eVCfp8WuAA0 The whole point of digital music is the risk-free grazing” Cory Doctorow, Canadian journalist and co-editor and of the off-beat blog Boing Boing, is an activist in favor of liberalizing copyright laws and a proponent of the Creative Commons non-profit organization devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. Doctorow and others continue to write prolifically about the apocalyptic changes facing Intellectual Property in general and the music industry in specific. In this article, we will explore the cataclysm facing U.S. industry through the portal example of the music industry, a simple industry in comparison to those of automotive or energy. However, in the simplicity of this example we may uncover some lessons that apply to all industries. In his web-article, “The Inevitable March of Recorded Music Towards Free,” Michael Arrington tells us that music CD sales continue to plummet alarmingly. “Artists like Prince and Nine Inch Nails are flouting their labels and either giving music away or telling their fans to steal it… Radiohead, which is no longer controlled by their label, Capitol Records, put their new digital album on sale on the Internet for whatever price people want to pay for it.” As many others have iterated in recent years, Arrington reminds us that unless effective legal, technical, or other artificial impediments to production can be created, “simple economic theory dictates that the price of music [must] fall to zero as more ‘competitors’ (in this case, listeners who copy) enter the market.” Unless sovereign governments that subscribe to the Universal Copyright Convention take drastic measures, such as the proposed mandatory music tax to prop up the industry, there virtually exist no economic or legal barriers to keep the price of recorded music from falling toward zero. In response, artists and labels will probably return to focusing on other revenue streams that can, and will, be exploited. Specifically, these include live music, merchandise, and limited edition physical copies of their music. According to author Stephen J. Dubner, “The smartest thing about the Rolling Stones under Jagger’s leadership is the band’s workmanlike, corporate approach to touring. The economics of pop music include two main revenue streams: record sales and touring profits. Record sales are a) unpredictable; and b) divided up among many parties. If you learn how to tour efficiently, meanwhile, the profits–including not only ticket sales but also corporate sponsorship, t-shirt sales, etc.,–can be staggering. You can essentially control how much you earn by adding more dates, whereas it’s hard to control how many records you sell.” (“Mick Jagger, Profit Maximizer,” Freakonomics Blog, 26 July 2007). In order to get a handle on the problems brought about by digital media in the music industry, we turn to the data most relied upon by the industry. This data comes through Neilsen SoundScan which operates a system for collecting information and tracking sales. Most relevant to the topic of this column, SoundScan provides the official method for tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada. The company collects data on a weekly basis and makes it available every Wednesday to subscribers from all facets of the music industry. These include executives of record companies, publishing firms, music retailers, independent promoters, film entertainment producers and distributors, and artist management companies. Because SoundScan provides the sales data used by Billboard, the leading trade magazine, for the creation of its music charts, this role effectively makes SoundScan the official source of sales records in the music industry. Quo vadis? According to Neilsen Soundscan, “In a fragmented media world where technology is reshaping consumer habits, music continues to be the soundtrack of our daily lives. According to Music 360 2014, Nielsen’s third annual in-depth study of the tastes, habits and preferences of U.S. music listeners, 93% of the country’s population listens to music, spending more than 25 hours each week tuning into their favorite tunes.” For most Americans, music is the top form of entertainment. In a 2014 survey, 75% of respondents stated that they actively chose to listen to music over other media entertainment. Music is part of our lives throughout all times of the day. One fourth of music listening takes place while driving or riding in vehicles. Another 15% of our weekly music time takes place at work or while doing household chores. It has become no surprise over the past five years that CD sales have diminished while download listening and sales have increased. Bob Runett of Poynter Online comments, “Start waving the cigarette lighters and swaying side to side–the love affair between music fans and their cell phones is getting more intense. Phones with music capabilities will account for 54 percent of handset sales globally in five years, according to a report consulting firm Strategy Analytics Inc. The report suggests that we keep watching the growth of cellular music decks (CMDs), devices that deliver excellent sound quality and focus on music more than images.” (“A Few Notes About Music and Convergence,” 25 November 2014) Stephen J. Dubner summed up the mess quite well almost a decade ago. “It strikes me as ironic that a new technology (digital music) may have accidentally forced record labels to abandon the status quo (releasing albums) and return to the past (selling singles). I sometimes think that the biggest mistake the record industry ever made was abandoning the pop single in the first place. Customers were forced to buy albums to get the one or two songs they loved; how many albums can you say that you truly love, or love even 50% of the songs–10? 20? But now the people have spoken: they want one song at a time, digitally please, maybe even free.” (“What’s the Future of the Music Industry? A Freakonomics Quorum,” 20 September 2007). Like many of us, I (Dr. Sase) also have worked as a musician/producer/engineer/indie label owner releasing esoterica since the 1960s. While occasionally made an adequate living off my music,

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Music review by Selecta Sebo

LB27 -Color Dem (riddim compilation, 2009, Ladánybene 27) Short introduction to Hungarian reggae history: The first ever Hungarian reggae band is called Ladánybene 27 aka. LB27, they released their first album mid 1980s, and they were the only ones to have released material untill the mid ’90ies. Anyway the band helped the country’s reggae scene and tried to empower other bands and musician to step onto stages and deliver their own concept of Jamaican based music. The first ever riddim showcase album has proven that Hungarian singers and musicians can reach outernational success as well. The riddim was built over and give respects to Gregory Isaacs „Night Nurse“ as some patterns can be overheard. The album opens the producers’ title track (LB27) and on that tune featuring artist is Yellowman.   All the famous singjays/deejays of the time ride di riddim just name a few: Lord Panamo aka. KRSA (PASO), G-Ras (Riddim Colony), Columbo, MC Kemon (Irie Maffia). The cd contains an other section (startin at track 5) where upcoming, or not so famous singers had the oppurtinity to voice over the riddim, and sometimes they even made a better version of the tune than the so called professionals. Céanne (Szélinger Anna) with her song called Rootless Tree became the all time favorite among the massive and whole scene including selectors/soundmen. Knotty Headz – Forgotten Roots (2007, self-published) The first Hungarian reggae band in history is LB27 (Ladánybene 27), that’s a fact. No one can take away that title, but as a reggae journalist and selector I have to admit the best Hungarian reggae band was a short-lived phenomenon, and founded by teenagers in mid 2000s. Knotty Headz stepped on the stage first in 2007 on a talent show in the sunny, rural city called Pécs. As I first heard them I could not find from where that rough voiced lyrics delivery came as I can’t see any  male lead singer, and I was sure that voice is not belonging to the beautiful backing singer-girls in the front. I had to investigate the mystery so I walked around the stage when I recognised that the lead vocal came behind the drumskins, as the drummer and the lead singer is the same person. Anyway  after that show I helped the band where I could, we had plenty different shows, my sound (Afro-Soul Sound) played regularly as entry act before Knotty Headz. The nine-member band recorded their one and only album in 2008, called Forgotten Roots. The title refers that reggae music at the time have forgotten their roots and relation to „hardcore conscious reggae“ at least in Hungary. And then these youths came and conquered the scene in their country. The songs were written by drummer Zsolt Krecsmáry aka. Scratchmary, and composed by Zsolt and András Kálmán on keyboard. Of course all band members added their part to the birth of the compositions. The tunes are mostly long play tracks with well written instrumental parts, which added a kinda jazzy feeling to the whole musical journey. Zsolt sings in patwa on a rough voice and lyrics deal with sufferation, and everyday problems. FEATURED POST DJ Music, Economics, And Beyond News Chart

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