News

BlueBeat has just added a new African music playlist, Rhythm Of The Drum. African pop reached a much wider audience during the 80s, thanks to African-influenced albums from rock artists like Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon. Simon's Graceland was a groundbreaking combination of pop songcraft and South African township jive. But there were also a few African artists who had crossover chart success in earlier years: Hugh Masekela's 1968 Grazing In The Grass, and Manu Dibango's Soul Makossa (1972), both smash hits, significantly ...(read more)

- Jeff Thornton, BlueBeat.com Production Manager

We've just added a new killer playlist called "Luna". It contains some of the CDs you might find in a hip music collection, including: jazz from Miles Davis, downtempo from Groove Armada, and reggae from Delroy Wilson. Give it a spin!

- Jeff Thornton, BlueBeat.com Production Manager

Back in the 80's, I knew of Will Smith from his career as a rapper. I first caught him as an actor in the 1993 film, "Six Degrees Of Separation", where his performance surprised me. I thought this guy was just a rapper! While he became a hugely successful superstar as an actor, his music career had its ups and downs. He's back in form now on his new album, "Lost And Found", featuring a song I like, "Mr. Niceguy". He also recently made some comments about the state of hip-hop which I've posted in the General Music Discussion area of our Open Mic Forum.

- Jeff Thornton, BlueBeat.com Production Manager

From now on we'll be mentioning noteworthy albums that we've come across. Here are some recent additions. Have a listen over the three-day weekend!

Gorillaz - Demon Days. This time around, Blur's Damon Albarn is joined by DJ Dangermouse (of the legendary Beatles/Jay-Z Grey Album), and guests such as De La Soul. It's a mixture of pop and hip-hop that could only come from four animated characters. I give it four out of five bananas.

Black Eyed Peas - Monkey Business. Some of their early fans may not like it as much, because the first couple of records by BEP were straight hip-hop. More recently, with the addition of singer Fergie, they've developed a more pop sound, but it works well. By the way, she used to be in a pop band called Wild Orchid, and you can hear them on BlueBeat also.

Common - Be. A favorite of the underground, Common hooked up with the hot producer Kanye West for this album. Innovative beats, intelligent lyrics...check it out.

- Jeff Thornton, BlueBeat.com Production Manager

Our Time Machine Channel Bebop and Hard Bop brings you classic recordings from jazz pioneers such as pianist Bud Powell and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie. If you like your jazz a little more straight-ahead, try the new Killer Playlist Jazz After Hours, with artists like Ben Webster and Jim Hall. What happens when jazz meets rock? Find out with Killer Playlist Fusion Jazz: groundbreaking recordings from Herbie Hancock's Headhunters album to the recent 5-disc release of Miles Davis's Complete Jack Johnson Sessions.

Before I sign off, remember we always welcome your input here at BlueBeat. Take the stage at Open Mic or drop us a line at content@bluebeat.com.

- Jeff Thornton, BlueBeat.com Production Manager

The new BlueBeat is here. We've upgraded and updated our music service with quick website login, listings of your recent music history, a brand new player, and sleeker web pages. Of course, all your favorite channels are still here, and BlueBeat still offers the finest music selection with the best sound available online, for free!

What's more: our website and music player now come in different themes, with many others in the works. Try switching among them on the Your BlueBeat account management page!
It's June, which means it's time for summer fun! Let our new Killer Playlist Summer Days take you on a musical vacation, with songs of sunshine, graduation, and summery good times. With all the kids out of school, we've also set up Children's Garden, a cozy corner of a channel filled with great kids' music by Sesame Street Cast, Banana Slug String Band, and some unexpected ...(read more)

- Jeff Thornton, BlueBeat.com Production Manager

We celebrated April, International Guitar Month, by polishing our Killer Playlist Bring Your Axe. Listen to metal masters like Van Halen and Joe Satriani, plus early pioneers such as Django Reinhart and Charlie Christian, all in one place!

Recently we added the new Killer Playlist BlueBeat Café, for that "Sunday morning with a cup of coffee and the newspaper" feeling. It's a mixture of artists from jazz, blues, and rock featuring people ...(read more)

- Jeff Thornton, BlueBeat.com Production Manager

Just noticed a couple cool new crates that stand out among the latest listener creations! BlueBeat DJ slwarmack has compiled devoted channels to two "supergroups", The Traveling Wilburys and The Highwaymen. The Wilburys were organized by George Harrison and ELO's Jeff Lynne, bringing along one of their musical idols, Roy Orbison, plus Tom Petty and Bob Dylan just for kicks – all heard in the Traveling Wilburys crate. Similarly, Highwaymen features Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson, along with each artist's solo work. Classical fans should give a listen to Moongirl61's Classical, some favorites that really set the mood. Nice work, folks!

- Jeff Thornton

In the Media

International Herald Tribune07/16/08

European borders fall for music royalties

Managing Rights Management by Bob Weber01/22/08

Media Rights Technologies and Microsoft DRM Issued Patents

Telephony Online02/22/06

BlueBeat to power Motorola's iRadio

PR: SYS-CON Media01/31/06

Licensed to Steal!

The Star (Malaysia)09/21/05

Philips introduces seamless music system

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