News

The South by Southwest Interactive Music Festival and Conference returns to Austin for the 22nd consecutive year. What began in 1987 as a modest showcase for underground artists has evolved into one of the year's most important meet-ups in the industry. Panelists for the conference include a couple of my favorite bloggers, Carrie Brownstein (NPR, Sleater-Kinney) and Bay Area-based hip-hop journalist Davy D. Also attending: musicians like Stu Cook (Creedence Clearwater Revival) and gangsta-rapper turned family-movie-star Ice Cube.

Last year, 1580 acts hit 72 stages for a music fan's heaven. A quick look at the schedule of music performances reveals an appearance by Hanson (yes, Hanson), while flavor of the moment Vampire Weekend will bring their preppy punk to the stage. And of course there will be Austin locals like Marcia Ball, as well.

An amazing all-star showcase of singer-songwriters from the rock world is presented to promote the film (and upcoming soundtrack to) Body of War. Kimya Dawson (enjoying a wave of popularity with the Juno ST), Serj Tankian, Tom Morello, Ben Harper, UK folk singer Billy Bragg, and others will perform.

Austin is the place to be this week!

Other SXSW performances to catch:
* Nicole Atkins
* Foreign Born
* The Noisettes
* Lyrics Born
* Chuck Prophet
* Scissors For Lefty
* The Vines
* Greg Laswell
* Luke Temple

- Jeff Thornton

Take A Trip 03/04/08

Take a journey through great American roots music with the new DJ Crate Real Gone Radio Flyers by BlueBeat user misterfathersir.

From the Western Swing of Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys, the New Orleans gumbo
of Professor Longhair, and the latin rock of Ritchie Valens, to jump blues from Jimmy Liggins, and Solomon Burke’s soulful R&B, this is a musical trip around the U.S. In fact, the whole Crate is a who’s-who of music legends!

American Roots Luminaries from Real Gone Radio Flyers:
Johnny Cash
Buddy Holly
Clifton Chenier
The Mills Brothers
The Meters
Hank Williams (Sr.)
The Coasters
Louis Jordan
The Ink Spots
Freddy Fender

- The BlueBeat Crew



Follow me this way, my dear, to the Labyrinth! Open The Doors and see what the Witchy Woman DJ Crate has in store for you: a wonderful mixture of the coolest old Rock, R&B, and Country with the weirdest twist this side of the moon!

- Almighty Aziz

Start beating the tribal drums! The The Black Crowes have released a statement through their management and they're mad as all-get-out! It’s bad enough that Maxim magazine gave their new album "Warpaint" a negative write-up, but they reviewed it without even hearing it!
Calling the review an “educated guess”, Maxim editors first defended their actions, but eventually apologized, while fans everywhere wonder if it's really necessary to listen to the album when it is released (early next month), or whether they should believe the two-and-a-half star rating. Let's give The Crowes some credit, though: their brand of Stones-y rock has kept them around for years. You can hear some of their other tunes in the Crates Cannabaceae - Chronic Rock and How long is it?

In the meantime, use the Maxim Method & test yourself! Judge the title first, then listen (to any of the channels on the album page). How right were you?

Reaching back to the 70s:
* Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy
* Sheik Yerbouti
* Weasels Ripped My Flesh
and some Rap:
* Muse Sick-N-Hour Mess Age
Indie Rock has many offenders:
* Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
* Who Will Cut Our Hair When We're Gone?
* Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?
Alternative is guilty as well:
* Take Off Your Pants And Jacket
* Title Of Record

The worst of all time:
*** When The Pawn Hits The Conflicts He Thinks Like A King What He Knows Throws The Blows When He Goes To The Fight And He'll Win The Whole Thing 'Fore He Enters The Ring There's No Body To Batter When Your Mind Is Your Might So When You Go Solo, You Hold Your Own Hand And Remember That Depth Is The Greatest Of Heights And If You Know Where You Stand, Then You Know Where To Land And If You Fall It Won't Matter, Cuz You'll Know That You're Right.
and
*** Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water

- The BlueBeat Crew

Sticky icky icky! If you're the type of person who likes to take hits from the bong and relax to the sensation of purple haze in your eyes, then you're in for a treat! Trainwreck is a great DJ Crate to give you the munchies and leave you dazed and confused!

- Almighty Aziz

A new DJ Crate from BlueBeat user smitra combines the best in Indian music, old and new: from the traditional with legends like Ravi Shankar and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, to the newer fusions with western dance music. There is a thriving UK scene of drum & bass-styled Indian music,
where the newer artists are not afraid to mingle with the masters.

Two of the
biggest titles in this Crate come from the Shankar family. The late Ananda Shankar (who put out some great sitar-rock LPs back in the day) worked with State Of Bengal for a contemporary take on the style, and Anoushka Shankar joined with Karsh Kale (also a major figure in this genre) for Breathing Under Water (featuring another relative, Norah Jones).

Also check out smitra's other Crates...we like Intelligent Hip-Hop. Anyone who puts Kutmasta Kurt in a Crate is alright by us!

Yet another of smitra's Crates, ItsAGoodWorld focuses on artists you may not know of, but absolutely should. We dive deep into the Crate to bring you the first installment in a continuing series of "Top" lists:

Top 10 Artists in ItsAGoodWorld:
1. Fela Kuti
2. King Sunny Ade
3. Tom Zé
4. Angelique Kidjo
5. Khaled
6. Gotan Project
7. Bembeya Jazz National
8. Seu Jorge
9. Mahlathini
10. Tinariwen

- The BlueBeat Crew

Talk about a good way to get the day started! A little Creedence Clearwater Revival when I'm down on the corner. Or maybe some ZZ Top when I'm waitin' for the bus. Either way, if your lookin' for an electrifying collision of southern rock, then Celestial1's Big Easy Boogie will put a spell on you!

- Almighty Aziz

I've checked out this year's crop of Grammy winners, and the state of the music industry is bleaker than a soggy black suit!

I adore a booming drunk train wreck as much as anyone, but there is music far more deserving of a moment in the spotlight, if not an award. I've taken this opportunity to enlighten my dear audience with CENSORED!!, a DJ Crate which takes a clear look back at the true highlights of the last few years. Beware--this Crate is not for the faint of heart! Indie favorites abound, such as Animal Collective and the electronic popsters Junior Boys. The playlist is further seasoned with a dash of hip-hop from M.I.A. (UK), Edan, and many more.

To the Industry: You get what you pay for!
To the listeners: Open your ears to what's outside the mainstream!

To further underscore my point:
Record of the Year: Amy Winehouse, Rehab
Song of the Year:Amy Winehouse, Rehab
Best New Artist: Yep, Amy again.
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance: Guess Who?
Best Pop Vocal Album: Do I really need to say?

And the others? Check out the titles:
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: Justin Timberlake, What Goes Around...Comes Around (how appropo)
Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance: Bruce Springsteen, Radio Nowhere (snort)
Best Pop Instrumental Album: Beastie Boys, The Mix-Up (insert favorite snarky comment about Music Industry)

Complete list of Grammy winners

- Mark Twain, Original Boho Axe-Grinder

Celtic Mood 02/07/08

Secret Harbor is your musical hideaway. Journey to a soothing place of Celtic and New Age harp, from the traditional music of Patrick Ball to the groundbreaking music released by Andreas Vollenweider.

- The BlueBeat Crew

Don't look now, but there's an actual awards show coming & the WGA will not strike this one! The 50th Annual Grammy
Awards will be presented Sunday night, February 10th, purportedly chock-full of highly-anticipated performances.
There are confirmed performances from Foo Fighters (with Led Zep's John Paul Jones) and indie newcomer Feist, as well as a rumored collab between Kanye West and the very troubled, very talented Amy Winehouse (via satellite?)!

Check out the full list of nominees here, and listen to the nominated artists, albums and songs in BlueBeat's 2008 Grammy Nominees.

- The BlueBeat Crew

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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