Happy 88th Birthday Carol Channing

I hope I live to 88.

Carol Elaine Channing (b. January 31, 1921, Seattle, Washington) is an American singer and actress. The recipient of three Tony Awards (including one for lifetime achievement), a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination, Channing is best remembered for her role Lorelei Lee in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and as Dolly Gallagher Levi in Hello, Dolly!.

She is world renowned for her reedy voice, her wide eyes and smile, and her star presence. Her distinctive voice and persona are frequently parodied.







Don't forget, if you search hard enough, you can score one of these fierce Carol Channing Ventriloquist's Dolls....

Pearl Jam - Ten (Deluxe Collector's Edition) and 2-LP edition

Pearl Jam - Ten (Deluxe Collector's Edition)

[4 LP-180G] (plus 2 CD + DVD + Cassette + notebook + poster + repro tickets)

Epic / Legacy Catalog 88697375872
886973758724
Rock
24-Mar-2009
SRP 199.98

Pearl Jam's debut album, Ten, is their most successful album. The personal, narrative singles "Alive," "Jeremy," and "Even Flow" catapulted the emerging band into the 10-million-plus-sales numbers. This Super Deluxe Collector's Edition includes the 2CD Legacy Edition with remastered & remixed tracks; DVD including Pearl Jam's MTV unplugged performance; 2LPs which include remastered and remixed tracks; plus a 2 LP gatefold of "Drop In The Park," cassette of original demos, a replica of Eddie's notebook and repro tickets & tour poster. Remixes: “The band loved the original mix of Ten, but were also interested in what it would sound like if I were to deconstruct and remix it,” says producer Brendan O’Brien. “The original Ten sound is what millions of people bought, dug and loved, so I was initially hesitant to mess around with that. After years of persistent nudging from the band, I was able to wrap my head around the idea of offering it as a companion piece to the original – giving a fresh take on it, a more direct sound.” Ten Redesign: Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament, who served as the art director for the original Ten packaging, reprised his role for the reissues collaborating with designer, Andy Fischer, of Cameron Crowe’s Vinyl Films (Into the Wild soundtrack LP, Vanilla Sky soundtrack LP, Harold and Maude anniversary edition soundtrack LP). "The goal was to assemble the ultimate fan-piece,” explains Fischer. “Something Pearl Jam lovers could pore over as they experience an indelible record all over again, in an entirely new way." “The original concept was about really being together as a group and entering into the world of music as a true band...a sort of all-for-one deal,” says Jeff Ament. “There were some elements of the original Ten artwork that didn't turn out the way we had hoped, due to time constraints. With this reissue, we’ve been able to take our time and invest resources into making the design the way we had originally intended.” Replica of Pearl Jam 3-Song Demo Cassette: In the process of digging through his archives for this project, Ament came across an old cassette marked “Momma-Son” – the fabled original Pearl Jam demo tape featuring the first recorded versions of “Alive,” “Once” and “Footsteps.” Ament and guitarists Stone Gossard and Mike McCready had recorded instrumental tracks of these songs to help solicit a singer for their newly formed band. Mutual friend - and then Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer - Jack Irons suggested they send the tape down to San Diego surfer and little-known singer Eddie Vedder. Completely inspired by what he heard from these musicians that he then only knew by name, Vedder quickly wrote lyrics, put these vocals to the music tracks and shipped the tape back to Seattle. Upon hearing how Vedder had transformed the songs, Ament, Gossard and McCready asked him to come up to Seattle so they could meet and have an official “tryout” together. Shortly thereafter, Pearl Jam was born. A replica of the “Momma-Son” cassette is included in this Super Deluxe Edition of Ten. Features: • Super Deluxe Collector's Edition Box Set • 180g Vinyl • Linen covered, slip-cased Clamshell Box • Double LP Including remastered & remixed tracks • Double LP Gatefold of Drop In the Park • 2CD Legacy Edition with remastered & remixed tracks • DVD including Pearl Jam's MTV unplugged performance • Cassette of original demos • Replica of Eddie's notebook • Repro tickets • Tour poster Selections: CD 1:Digitally remastered (original mix) 1. Once 2. Even Flow 3. Alive 4. Why Go 5. Black 6. Jeremy 7. Oceans 8. Porch 9. Garden 10. Deep 11. Release CD 2: Digitally remastered and remixed by Brendan O’Brien 1. Once 2. Even Flow 3. Alive 4. Why Go 5. Black 6. Jeremy 7. Oceans 8. Porch 9. Garden 10. Deep 11. Release Bonus tracks: 12. Brother 13. Just a Girl 14.State of Love and Trust 15. Breath and a Scream 16. 2,000 Mile Blues 17.Evil Little Goat DVD of Pearl Jam’s previously unreleased 1992 MTV Unplugged performance including never before seen bonus performance of “Oceans” with 5.1 surround sound audio remix LP 1 - Remastered for vinyl 1. Once 2. Even Flow 3. Alive 4. Why Go 5. Black 6. Jeremy 7. Oceans 8. Porch 9. Garden 10. Deep 11. Release LP 2: Remastered for vinyl and remixed by Brendan O’Brien 1. Once 2. Even Flow 3. Alive 4. Why Go 5. Black 6. Jeremy 7. Oceans 8. Porch 9. Garden 10. Deep 11. Release LPs 3 & 4: Drop in the Park – Live at Magnuson Park in Seattle on September 20, 1992 (audio mixed by Brendan O’Brien) Cassette: Replica of original “Momma-Son” Pearl Jam demo cassette featuring “Alive,” “Once” and “Footsteps” Eddie Vedder-style composition notebook: filled with replica personal notes, images and mementos from the collections of Eddie Vedder and Jeff Ament, a vellum envelope with replicated era-specific ephemera from Pearl Jam’s early work and a two-sided print commemorating the Drop in the Park concert. ALSO AVAILABLE: Pearl Jam - Ten [2 LP] (180 Gram) Epic / Legacy Catalog 88697413021 886974130215 Pearl Jam's debut album, Ten, is their most successful album. The personal, narrative singles 'Alive,' 'Jeremy,' and 'Even Flow' catapulted the emerging band into the 10-million-plus-sales numbers. Features: * Double LP * 180g Vinyl * Includes remastered & remixed tracks Selections: LP 1 - Remastered for vinyl 1. Once 2. Even Flow 3. Alive 4. Why Go 5. Black 6. Jeremy 7. Oceans 8. Porch 9. Garden 10. Deep 11. Release LP 2: Remastered for vinyl and remixed by Brendan O’Brien 1. Once 2. Even Flow 3. Alive 4. Why Go 5. Black 6. Jeremy 7. Oceans 8. Porch 9. Garden 10. Deep 11. Release 24-Mar-2009 SRP 21.98

DOOM - Born Like This [LP & CD] has been rescheduled

Take if for what it is, but Universal Music Group Distribution, which controls Fontana Distribution, who handles the Lex Records label has announced the rescheduled release date for the enigmatic new album from DOOM, a/k/a MF DOOM, titled "Born Like This."

The current official release date for both the vinyl LP and CD is now set for March 24, 2009.

Listen to his new track "Ballskin" on DOOM's MySpace page:
http://www.myspace.com/mfdoom

We were the first to announce this release, so I feel obligated to keep all our readers up to date with the latest OFFICIAL info.

The original album details were posted here

Please note that the title of the album has been changed from "Born Into This" to "Born Like This"

UPDATE - FEBRUARY 5: HERE

Obama's New Secret Record Collection

Inside the White House Record Library

When Barack Obama moved into the White House on January 20th, he gained access to five chefs, a private bowling alley — and a killer collection of classic LPs. Stored in the basement of the executive mansion is the official White House Record Library: several hundred LPs that include landmark albums in rock (Led Zeppelin IV, the Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed), punk (the Ramones' Rocket to Russia, the Sex Pistols' Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols), cult classics (Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica, the Flying Burrito Brothers' The Gilded Palace of Sin) and disco. Not to mention records by Santana, Neil Young, Talking Heads, Isaac Hayes, Elton John, the Cars and Barry Manilow.

During the waning days of the Nixon administration, the RIAA, the record companies' trade group, decided the library should include sound recordings as well as books. In 1973, the organization donated close to 2,000 LPs. The bad news: The selection was dominated by the likes of Pat Boone, the Carpenters and John Denver. In 1979, legendary producer John Hammond convened a new commission to update the list for the hipper Carter administration. "They felt they needed to redress some of the oversights that might have taken place the first time around," says Boston music critic and author Bob Blumenthal, who was put in charge of adding 200 rock records to the library.

At the commission's first meeting, Blumenthal brought up Randy Newman's thorny dissection of Southern culture, Good Old Boys, to determine what restrictions the panel might face. "That was exhibit A," Blumenthal says. "And I was told, 'Oh, the president loves that album! Go ahead!' " So Blumenthal and his advisers — including Paul Nelson, then Rolling Stone's reviews editor — compiled a list to reflect "diversity in what was going on in popular music." They picked the Kinks' Arthur for its "theme of empire," and Blumenthal snuck in favorites like David Bowie's Hunky Dory.

On January 13th, 1981, the LPs — each in a sleeve with a presidential seal — were presented to Jimmy Carter at a White House ceremony. But the collection — placed in a hallway near the third-floor listening room, complete with a sound system — didn't remain upstairs long. When Ronald Reagan took office that year, the LPs were moved to the basement. Depending on the source, the reason was Nancy Reagan's distaste for shelves of vinyl, or the edgy choices themselves. A spokesman for Obama said it was too early to comment on whether the president would revive the library. But Obama may be pleased to learn that at least a few of his favorite albums — Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks, Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run — are there if he wants them on pristine slabs of vinyl.

[Rolling Stone]

T.G.I.F.

and this is what I feel like singing today ....

Vinyl Music Making Comeback in Digital Age

Snap, crackle, pop!

No, the radio DJ is not eating Rice Krispies on the air. He's playing music on the old format that had largely disappeared a generation ago: the analog vinyl LP. And though it occasionally hisses and crackles and pops (OK, so we exaggerated about the snapping part), it has other endearing qualities that are being rediscovered in the digital age.

"It actually sounds different," said Andy Chanley, p.m. drive-time jock at 100.3 "The Sound," as he wiped down the next vinyl album he would be spinning.

He sets aside the digital server and CD player and cranks up the station's vintage turntable during "Album Sides Wednesday" on LA radio's latest iteration of the classic rock format (KSWD calls it "best rock").

Chanley's playing mostly vintage stuff: the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour ("You say yes, I say no..."), The Stones' Sticky Fingers ("How come ya dance so good?"), Tom Petty's Full Moon Fever ("I'm free...free fallin'"). Format, not content, the main difference from what he plays on his non-vinyl shifts, though he does get special requests from listeners he cannot initially fulfill.

"We don't have that," Chanley has had to tell more than one listener, only to be delivered a vinly album with the admonition, "Well, here it is. You should play this!"

And he does.

The likable Chanley was still in school (back home in Indiana) in the mid-80's when compact discs heralded the revolutionary switch in music recording from analog to digital. It promised the end of the surface noise created by dragging a diamond stylus through the grooves on vinyl discs. But even then there were purists (or Luddites, depending on your viewpoint), who complained that something was lost in translating music into ones and zeroes; that digital recordings lacked the "warmth" of analog recordings.

"Whether it's better or worse, that's something a lot of people argue about. It's a preference," Chanley said diplomatically. "We're interested in the experience of hearing the vinyl and hearing the warmth. There IS a difference."

Warmth or not, vinyl quickly was marginalized as music marched into the digital age. And now in the 21st century, CDs are inexorably being marginalized by digital downloads. But there's been a parallel phenomenon: the renewed interest in vinyl, with some labels repressing classic discs, and some new artists even pushing for small runs of vinyl recordings to be sold along with their digital versions.

Nearly two million vinyl albums were sold last year, most since Nielsen SoundScan began keeping records in 1991. In the post-Tower-Records economy, vinyl has been a boon to Amoeba Records and other shops tasked with remaining relevant in the download age. In fact, Chanley said his KSWD cohorts rely on Amoeba to fill in gaps in their vinyl collection.

Even Walmart, now the largest retailer of CDs, also stocks vinyl -- not just classics, but new releases as well.

Nobody sees vinyl derailing digital's dominance, but Chanley, among others, sees it staking a claim to a viable niche market.

Snap, crackle, pop!

[MSNBC]

Flashback Video of The Day: Anne Murray - Snowbird

from 1970
Thanks to my good friend Scott for forwarding this classic to me.

The Power Of Music

This picture says it all.


Someone on the Velvet Rope is using it as his signature.

Rare Biggie Video Interview from 1994

With the new NOTORIOUS movie and Notorious Soundtrackout now, check out this rare interview with Notorious B.I.G. from 1994.

Cheap Trick closing Vegas deal to perform Sgt. Pepper's

Cheap Trick close to headliner deal

The iconic American rock band Cheap Trick is close to finalizing a headliner deal with the Las Vegas Hilton that would feature the group performing The Beatles' epic album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" live with a full orchestra.

Word has it their performances could begin as soon as March and stretch throughout 2009.

Cheap Trick's original members would be involved in the exclusive agreement with the Hilton.

The band has sold 20 million records and produced 29 movie sound tracks. They hit it big in 1979 when "I Want You to Want Me" peaked at No. 7 on Billboard's Top 40. "The Flame" topped the charts in 1988 and their cover of Elvis Presley's "Don't Be Cruel" reached No. 4 a couple of months later.

VH1 listed Cheap Trick No. 25 among the "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock."

[Review Journal]